Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Chinese vice president meets National Assembly of Turkmenistan chairperson Xinhua) 11:18, May 24, 2025 Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Dunyagozel Gulmanova, chairperson of the National Assembly (Mejlis) of Turkmenistan, in Beijing, capital of China, May 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Dunyagozel Gulmanova, chairperson of the National Assembly (Mejlis) of Turkmenistan, in Beijing on Friday. Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, bilateral relations have been elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership and the community with a shared future has been practiced at the bilateral level, Han said. Han also said China is willing to work with Turkmenistan to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, firmly support each other and accelerate cooperation in areas such as natural gas, digital economy, green development and new energy. China is ready to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, strengthen international collaboration, and promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations with Turkmenistan, he added. Noting that the friendship between Turkmenistan and China has a long history, Gulmanova said Turkmenistan is willing to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in fields including legislation, environmental protection, culture and people-to-people exchanges, economy and trade, and youth, to achieve common development. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Dunyagozel Gulmanova, chairperson of the National Assembly (Mejlis) of Turkmenistan, in Beijing, capital of China, May 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Craving the romance of Paris without the jet lag or legions of other people? The City of Light welcomed nearly 30 million visitors in 2023, and even more admirers plan to travel there since the 2024 Summer Olympics and reopening of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Canadas Quebec City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with French roots, emanates European elegance yet welcomes about a fraction of the visitors as Paris. Flights from the United States clock much shorter times too, providing travelers with Old World charm minus the travel fatigue. French, British, and North American cultures weave together in this walkable, refined city. Quebec City is French-speaking, but its North American, and its unique, says David Mendel, an author and historian who has lived in Paris and has also resided in Old Quebec for almost 50 years. French language, heritage, and architecture Cobblestone pedestrian streets wind past candlelit cafes and shops adorned with yellow awnings and overflowing flower boxes. Seventeenth-century stone buildings topped with steep, mansard roofs huddle around every corner. Cafe seating spills into walkways and French voices lilt on the breeze. You might think youre in Paris because Quebec City was founded by Europeans and largely built by Europeans, explains Mendel. Quebec City, one of North America's oldest European settlements, is a major draw for visitors who relish its quaint public squares and cobblestone streets, absent of skyscrapers. Photograph by Renaud Philippe, The New York Times/Redux The fortified upper town remains the only completely preserved walled city north of Mexico. Photograph by Enrico Della Pietra, Alamy Stock Photo The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Quebec was founded in 1647 and is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Photograph by George Pachantouris, Getty Images Erected as the capital of New France, the French empire in North America from the 1600 to 1700s, Quebec City stands on a promontory. Port of Quebec, the oldest in Canada, connects the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean for global trade. Considered to be the worlds most photographed hotel, Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac beams proudly from the cliff with its copper roof, circular and polygonal towers and turrets, and dormer windows. Canadian Pacific Railway built this beauty in the French Chateauesque style to encourage tourism. Narrow streets and public squares hug the winding topography. The fortified upper town remains the only completely preserved walled city north of Mexico. In fact, this enchanting municipality looks so much like Europe that it stunt-doubled for France in the 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can. What to see in Quebec City Travelers can cover a lot of ground in a few days, as most of the major sights in Quebec City lie within a few miles walk of the city center. Stroll Old Quebec for boutique shopping in Quartier Petit-Champlain and art gallery and antique perusing on Rue Saint-Paul. With a star-shaped citadel above, Plaines dAbraham urban park commemorates where the French and British fought for the fate of New France. Similar to its European big sister, Quebec City also boasts a Notre-Dame. The white stone, Neoclassical structure remains the first Catholic cathedral north of Mexico and contains one of seven holy doors in the world. Walk through the courtyard archway and youll feel like youre suddenly in Europe, says Mendel. While Quebec City brims with history, it is very much alive, with some institutions still functioning in the same locations since the 1600s. People can toboggan down Dufferin Terrace during the city's annual winter carnival. Photograph by Yvette Cardozo, Alamy Stock Photo Strm Nordic Spa has numerous treatments available, including plunge pools, saunas, and flotation pools. Photograph by Bianca Des Jardins via Strm Nordic Spa While Quebec City may be chillier than Paris in winter, Canadians know how to champion the cold. The Quebec Winter Carnival warms hearts with its spirited ice canoe races, frosty snow baths, and spiced Caribou drinksa mulled wine best enjoyed between mittened hands. Toboggan down Dufferin Terrace or listen to the crunch of ice crashing in the St. Lawrence River as youre enveloped in steam at the Strm Nordic Spa. Visitors to Old Quebec feel like theyve been transported inside a snow globe during the holiday season. Michelin-starred cuisine In 2025, the province of Quebec became Canadas third destination to receive Michelin ratings. Photograph by Hemis, Alamy Stock Photo The French onion soup at Bistro Le SAM is topped with bubbly Le 1608 de Charlevoix cheese. Photograph by DFMotion via Bistro Le SAM In May 2025, the province of Quebec became Canadas third destination to receive Michelin ratings, after Vancouver and Toronto. Francois-Emmanuel Nicol, the chef at renowned restaurant Taniere3, wrote the letter that encouraged Michelin to deploy its anonymous inspectors. His AAA Five-Diamond, Relais & Chateau restaurant impresses, foraged Indigenous ingredients married with French cooking techniques, and this May earned him two Michelin stars. In France, the culinary scene is huge with classics like wild game, Nicol says. Quebec has its own clout. With farmland all around the city and access to wild ingredients, foraging is a huge part of the Quebec identity. Diners rave about the gastronomically transcendent tasting menu, which can be savored in stone cellar vaults. We play on the fact that Quebec is the perfect middle, basically between North American and European cultures with its French influence, says Frederic Cyr, culinary director at Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. Beyond poutine and maple syrup, youll find Quebec is also known for nutty cheeses and sweet strawberries. Dont miss the French onion soup blanketed by bubbly Le 1608 de Charlevoix cheese at Bistro Le SAM. Chefs rely on close relationships with small suppliers on the adjacent isle, Ile d'Orleans, where 95 percent of the land is still devoted to agriculture. Epicurean tours While Paris is flanked by islands with historical buildings, farms flourish on Quebec Citys Ile d'Orleans. Take a tour with Concierge du Terroir to sample sparkling wines and orchard delights like apple nachos. Even those with a petite sweet tooth will want to taste test the black currant vanilla swirl soft serve at Cassis Monna & Filles as well as the indulgent, Belgian chocolate-cloaked ice cream at Chocolaterie de lIle dOrleans. Frantz Noel, co-owner of Conciergerie du Terroir, has also lived and worked in Paris. He explains that Quebec City buzzes with a similar cafe culture to the French capital, but in a more relaxed fashion with patio chairs facing each other instead of out to the street. Tours to the island often start at Montmorency Falls, where the cascading commences nearly 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls. Where to stay Auberge Saint-Antoine, a boutique, museum hotel educates with artifacts from three centuries of Quebec history on display. Just like a fairytale, Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac enchants with its stenciled ceilings, crackling fireplaces, and views of the Saint Lawrence River. For a cooler experience, travelers turn to North Americas only ice hotel: About 20 miles northeast of Old Quebec, Hotel de Glace is constructed each winter with a new artistic theme. Hold hands in hot tubs under the stars, then snuggle up in sleeping bags on ice beds inside igloos. Cortney Fries (pronounced freeze) is an award-winning, Chicago-based freelance writer who specializes in family travel, outdoor adventure and wellness. Over the past decade, Cortney has covered hiking in Alaska, sleeping in an ice hotel, swimming with manatees, whitewater rafting the New River Gorge, ziplining in Costa Rica and kayaking in Tenerife. Shes always up for an adventure and believes that you should definitely try anything that makes you slightly nervous. Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood forcing evacuations early Thursday. - William Liang/AP In the stillness of night, a quiet, tree-lined street in a San Diego neighborhood was plunged into chaos when a plane clipped a power line and crashed turning cars into fireballs and sending residents fleeing in a haze of smoke and confusion. The pilot of the plane, a Cessna 550 business jet, had just told air traffic controllers although the weather wasnt good, they would continue with landing, according to air traffic control audio recorded by LiveATC.net. I just want to see what Im in for here, the pilot told a controller when asking about weather conditions at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. An automated weather system there had not been working for more than a day, so the controller reported poor conditions from another nearby airport visibility of a half mile and a cloud ceiling of 200 feet. All right, that doesnt sound great but well give it a go, the pilot responded. There was no sign of any problem, and no emergency was declared. Pilots are allowed to descend to observe actual weather conditions, but are limited to certain altitudes. The plane was at 500 feet at the last point recorded by the open-source aviation tracking site ADS-B Exchange. The absolute minimum altitude allowed to check out the weather was 673 feet. Its not clear why the plane was so low or if the pilot was aware of his altitude. It hit power lines and crashed into the homes moments later. Six people who were onboard the flight were killed in the crash. Eight people in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood a military housing community were injured, including two treated for minor injuries at the scene and six others who received medical attention, police said. Responding fire crews and police officers sprinted through thick fog in a race against the encroaching flames. After hitting the power line the plane slammed into a home and left a trail of debris along the street, spilling fuel that sparked a chain of fires. Firefighters went door to door, urgently evacuating residents parents clutching infants, families half-asleep. One resident told CNN affiliate KFMB they were jolted awake by a thunderous boom, looked outside, and saw a fireball going down the street. As his wife grabbed their dogs and children, he ran to help evacuate the family whose home was directly struck by the plane. I ended up grabbing two of the kids over the fence, took them over to the neighbors, came back, we grabbed the ladder, got the wife out, got the two dogs out, got the husband out. Another resident told KFMB the moment he opened his door, he saw his neighbors car explode. First thing I do is run upstairs, grab my children, my wife and Im in my underwear. I just walk out, he said. We ended up helping a few neighbors get out. Thats all that we could do Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday. - Gregory Bull/AP The destruction stretched for at least a quarter mile down the residential street, where several cars caught fire and others several blocks away from the main crash site were damaged. I woke up to what I thought was an earthquake, a nearby neighbor told CNN affiliate KCBS/KCAL. My kids woke up as well, they looked out the window and started screaming. My whole front area was on fire. We were trapped in our home and couldnt get out. Later Thursday, as the full scale of damage came into view, officials inspected the skeleton of a home, ravaged by the planes impact, which gouged a hole in its side and crushed the roof onto a car beneath. The thick stench of jet fuel hung in the air as crews combed the wreckage for possible clues to the cause of the crash. Between the charred remains of vehicles laid a yellow body bag, a somber reminder of the tragedys toll. Its a miracle none of the fatalities involved residents in the neighborhood, Eddy, the assistant fire chief, said. When I was coming on scene, I did not expect that same outcome as I got here, he said. I dont know exactly how they got out, but I do know that neighbors helped them get out, and thats the beauty of what I love in this neighborhood. Military looking out for one another. They did exactly what they did to try to help each other. Victims included members of the music industry David Shapiro, one of the cofounders of music agency Sound Talent Group, died in the crash, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office. Shapiro represented some of the most well-known international hard rock, punk and indie bands. We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dave Shapiro and his two colleagues, a spokesperson for the National Independent Talent Organization, a trade organization representing independent talent agencies and managers across the country, told CNN in a statement. Dave was a visionary in the music industry, the statement said. Shapiro, who had a pilots license, owned the aircraft under a company named Daviator LLC, according to FAA records. David Shapiro - Dave Shapiro/Instagram Emma Huke - Obtained by CNN Emma Huke, a 25-year-old employee of Sound Talent Group, was identified as another victim of the crash, according to the medical examiners office. Kendall Fortner, 24, who was also an employee of the agency, was identified as one of the victims, according to a statement from her family shared with CNN. After Fortner interned with Sound Talent Group in college, she joined the company right after graduation as a booking associate. Ever since Kendalls father took her to concerts at a young age, she was hooked on music. From 1950s rock to classic rock, Green Day to Ed Sheeran, Kendall loved it all, the family statement said. Fortner taught herself to play a variety of instruments, including piano and guitar. She was interested in working on the business side of music as early as her teenage years. Kendall Fortner, 24, was one of the victims of the San Diego plane crash. - Fortner family The job at STG was a perfect fit that showcased her work ethic and ability to plan tours and festivals nationwide, the Fortner statement said. The former drummer for the metal band The Devil Wears Prada was also killed in the crash. The band posted photos of Daniel Williams on its Instagram page with the caption, No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever. The Devil Wears Pradas management company, Tandem Management Co., posted a statement reacting to Williams death, writing, His passion and drive propelled TDWP to incredible heights, and the band wouldnt be what it is today without his influence. Celina Kenyon, 36, a mother and professional photographer, also died in the crash, according to the medical examiners office. A family statement shared by her father, Bryan Charles Feldman, describes her as an amazing mother, daughter, sister, grand-daughter, partner and friend. Daniel Williams - From xcadaverx Celina Kenyon - Bryan Charles Feldman Kenyon decided to fly home to San Diego on a late night private flight rather than a commercial flight so she could get home early to take her daughter to school, according to the statement. She had been on a trip to photograph and support some of her longtime friends. Celina has always been loved and respected in her professional photography career and beyond. Family meant everything to her, the statement reads. Our family is devastated beyond these words. The world has lost a beautiful bright light. Feldman added Kenyons love and selflessness for humanity and the planet meant everything to her. Kenyons father tells CNN she is so loved and so missed. San Diego resident Dominic Damian was one of the six people aboard the jet that crashed, his family told CNN affiliate KFMB. CNN has reached out to Damians family. A longtime member of the local jiu-jitsu community, Damian had trained with instructor Baret Yoshida since 2007. Yoshida said Damian had earned a black belt and described him as such a smart guy with a great attitude for the sport. He was a really thoughtful person, his instructor told CNN. Hed always do the right thing. Yoshida said Damians wife shared the news of his passing after the crash and asked him to tell others in the jiu-jitsu community. Dominic Damian - Jordan Garcia Scott Wahl, San Diego police chief, said he was struggling to describe the scene his crews encountered when they arrived. I cant quite put words to describe what this scene looked like but with the jet fuel running down the streets and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see, he said during a news conference. Footage from the immediate aftermath captured mothers and fathers clutching children on their hips, running through the mist of water dousing the flames, while frightened dogs scrambled alongside them. The San Diego Humane Society has taken in 36 pets, including dogs, at least one cat, five geckos and a 20-gallon fish tank for emergency boarding from families impacted by the crash, it said on social media. The organizations medical team gave several animals decontamination baths to clean off jet fuel. Weather and lighting equipment were out of service before crash The National Transportation Safety Board is at the scene documenting the crash site and plans to move the airplane to a secure location on Saturday, said Eliott Simpson, a senior aviation accident investigator. The jet departed from Teterboro, New Jersey, Wednesday night at about 11:15 p.m., making a fuel stop in Wichita, Kansas, before crashing, according to Simpson. Two systems were out of service prior to the crash, Dan Baker, the NTSBs investigator in charge, said at a Friday news conference. An automated weather reporting system experienced a technical glitch before the accident, so the pilot and air traffic controllers relied on other sources, including another airport 4 miles away, to get information about the wind, visibility and cloud cover. Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood Thursday. - Gregory Bull/AP A lighting system for the runway was also out of service, according to a notice to airmen posted before the crash. The airplane was not equipped with a flight data recorder and officials said while maintenance records suggested it was capable of having a cockpit voice recorder, they are still trying to determine if a functioning recorder was on board, Baker said. A preliminary report will be published on the NTSB website within 30 days and a final report will be released in about 12-24 months. I feel for the families of those on the plane and what theyre going through right now, Eddy said during Thursdays news conference. Its tragic to see (the wreckage) whether youre involved or not, just normal citizens that are here, theyre going to remember this the rest of their lives. CNNs Chelsea Bailey, Aaron Cooper, Pete Muntean, Stephanie Elam, Matthew J. Friedman, Graham Hurley, Taylor Galgano, Zoe Sottile and Danya Gainor contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Memorial Day weekend kicked off with a multi-day thunderstorm and heavy rainfall system hitting the south-central part of the country, forecasters said. Hundreds of thousands of people were under a severe thunderstorm watch the afternoon of Saturday, May 24, across a large swath of Oklahoma and part of Arkansas. The risk of severe storms stretches from the southern Plains to the Southeast, with isolated severe storms possible in South Florida, the Storm Prediction Center said. A risk of showers and thunderstorms also exists in states in the middle and lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley, according to the National Weather Service. The storms could bring frequent lightning, severe wind gusts, hail and even a few tornadoes. Significant flash flooding is also a risk. Memorial Day weekend forecast A large portion of the center of the country will likely see a wet, rainy holiday weekend, forecasters said. Scattered rain and showers in the Great Lakes region and Northeast are expected over the weekend but ending by Memorial Day, the weather service said. A stationery front from the Southeast into the Northern Plains and central Rocky Mountain region will extend through the holiday, creating showers, thunderstorms and some heavy rain, also putting the area at risk of flash flooding. "The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas the most vulnerable," the weather service said. The threat of excessive rainfall increases on May 25 for states in the central and southern Plains, the middle and lower Mississippi Valley and the Tennessee Valley, forecasters said. Flash flooding remains a risk there later in the weekend. Through May 26, the risk for thunderstorms in the region persists, especially for hail greater than 2 inches over parts of the southern High Plains. Which areas are at risk for flooding? More than 4 million people were under a flood watch on May 24 that centered around southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri and northern Arkansas. According to AccuWeather, multiple rounds of storms could bring more than a month's worth of rain from southeastern Kansas into southern Missouri, northeastern Oklahoma, northern Arkansas and the mid-Mississippi Valley as far east as western Tennessee, through Memorial Day. Rain could fall at rates between 1 and 3 inches per hour, easily flooding low-lying areas or streets and highways, including in areas already soaked in April and earlier in May, AccuWeather said. The runoff could also cause subsequent rises in streams and rivers. "This will create dangerous and potentially life-threatening conditions for those who live near waterways or may be camping or recreating in areas of major flooding," AccuWeather said in an advisory. See the forecast map The national forecast map for Saturday, May 24, 2025, shows widespread rain with a chance for severe thunderstorms across states in the south-central United States. 2025 seeing worst tornado season in over a decade There have been over 900 preliminary reports of tornadoes in 2025, making this year the busiest for tornadoes since 2011, according to AccuWeather. The 922 reports logged through late May is 281 more than the historical average of 641 for this time of year, the outlet said. The four states with the most tornado reports are Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Each of those states has seen between 87 and 97 tornadoes so far, AccuWeather reported. A mid-May rash of tornadoes that broke out across the central part of the country left a deadly trail in its wake, with over two dozen dead in Kentucky and Missouri. The deaths were concentrated in London, Kentucky, and Laurel County, where at least 17 people were killed on May 16. Five were killed in St. Louis the same day. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Severe weather hits south-central US to start holiday weekend A stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway reopened ahead of Memorial Day weekend, ending more than four months of closure after a devastating wildfire shut down one of America's most renowned roadways. The May 23 reopening comes roughly a week ahead of state officials' scheduled target time. The highway, known as the PCH, had been off limits to the public since the deadly Palisades Fire broke out in January. Two lanes in each direction, except for a 25 mph speed limit at construction work zones, opened on the iconic Southern California highway before 9 a.m. on May 23. Roughly 11 miles stretching from Santa Monica to Malibu in Los Angeles County had been closed to the public due to the deadly fire. "In California, we get stuff done, period, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement. "Were opening the PCH back up early, with more lanes before (Los) Angelenos hit the road this Memorial Day." Malibu Mayor Marianne Riggins also added that the highway's reopening "marks an important step in Malibus ongoing recovery." The reopening of the highway comes after the Palisades and Eaton fires swept through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena regions earlier this year, killing at least 29 and burning over 37,000 acres, or 57.8 square miles. The fires were fully contained in early February. They have been ranked as the second and third most destructive wildfires in California history, according to Cal Fire. "Opening the PCH will be like the sun finally rising after a long, dark night for Malibus remaining businesses, which have struggled valiantly to survive," Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber CEO Barbara Bruderlin said in a statement. "Truly, this is a moment of truth." 'What America should look like:' Loss in the Altadena fires, and a hard road to recovery More traffic on the highway couldn't come at a better time, Scott Richter, the owner of Scott's Malibu Market, told USA TODAY. Richter said the area has definitely seen its ups and downs since the fire. But after a strong Mother's Day weekend, Richter hopes business will pick up even more this holiday weekend. The PCH is a major artery for hundreds of thousands of people, and its closure compounded traffic issues on the nearby 405 and 101 freeways. "It's been an adventurous few months to say the least, but we're here," said Richter, adding his market has been open seven days a week since mid-January. "And with summer approaching, we're expecting business to be even better." A worker clears debris from a mudslide in the Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades burn zone, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole PCH had limited access since deadly fire Parts of the highway had been closed since January, when mudslides and fire debris made traffic virtually impassable in key areas. Access to the roads was open only to construction and repair crews, essential businesses and the thousands of residents seeking access to their burned or smoke-damaged homes. 'Surprised at her surprise': Violet Affleck recalls arguing with 'shell-shocked' Jennifer Garner during LA wildfires The PCH reopening also gives access to Malibus beaches and communities along the Pacific Ocean. Coordinated crews from the state transportation agency, Caltrans, the California National Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Los Angeles County agencies made the reopenings possible, officials said. "Clearing critical areas along the Pacific Coast Highway has been particularly vital, given its sensitive ecological importance and its role as a lifeline for local communities," Brig. Gen. William Hannan, Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Task Force Phoenix, said in a statement. "This effort exemplifies our unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and community resilience." Richter, the cafe owner, praised the crews' tireless efforts toward the highway's reopening. "I think they did a great job considering there were under a lot of pressure to get it done by this time," Richter said. "For the amount of hard work theyve done around the clock, and considering this was a new situation for everybody with all of the massive devastation, kudos to them for being able to deliver a week earlier than expected." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said safety remains a top priority while the fire recovery process continues. "As Pacific Coast Highway reopens, we will continue to protect the safety and security of Palisades neighborhoods through a strict security plan established in coordination with the State," said Bass in a statement. "All of us have a shared goal to ensure residents can safely and quickly rebuild and return to their community. We will continue working together toward that goal and recommit to clearing any barrier that stands in the way of recovery." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pacific Coast Highway reopens for first time since deadly wildfire Sanford Police Department Jeffrey Jung A substitute teacher is facing legal trouble after allegedly punching a Florida high school student who has autism Jeffrey Jung, 27, was charged with battery after witnesses say he entered a classroom and struck a student, who he blamed for another child's nosebleed Seminole County Public Schools said Jung is "no longer" an employee for the district A substitute teacher at a Florida high school is facing legal trouble after he allegedly punched a student who has autism. Jeffrey Jung, 27, was arrested on Monday, May 19, after staff members said they witnessed him battering a student inside a classroom at Seminole High School, according to a police report provided to PEOPLE by the Sanford Police Department (SPD). Witnesses who were monitoring students claimed that Jung entered a classroom, "leaned down on" and approached the student while they were lying on a mat and punched them in the ribs and arm. One witness said Jung blamed the student for causing another child's nosebleed, per the report. A witness then intervened to stop the attack, according to the arrest report, which featured an incident description provided by a school resource officer. According to both ABC affiliate WFTV and NBC affiliate WESH, the victim is nonverbal and has autism. Sanford Police Department Jeffrey Jung The SPD arrested Jung around 11:18 a.m. local time and charged him with battery. He was brought to Seminole County Jail for further processing and was later released on bond, CBS affiliate WKMG and WFTV reported. (The arrest report said Jung's bond was set at $1,000.) Jung had been serving as a long-term substitute with the district since August 2024, according to a spokesperson for Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS), who confirmed to PEOPLE on Saturday, May 24, that he is "no longer" working with the district. Any allegations of misconduct by our staff will be taken seriously and handled quickly," the SCPS spokesperson said. "We will continue to fully cooperate and assist law enforcement as they continue their investigation. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and any type of behavior that jeopardizes that safety will not be tolerated in Seminole County Public Schools. The arrest report confirmed that "contact was made" with the victim's parents following the alleged attack. It added that the child's father "provided a statement advising on behalf of his son he would like to press charges." Margaret Thornton, chief operations officer at Opportunity Community Ability Inc. in Central Florida, told WFTV that she felt "heartbroken for that student and their family because their life has been forever changed." Per the outlet, every substitute teacher in the district is certified in Exceptional Student Education (ESE). A public educator whos working with children on the spectrum probably already has an ESC certificate. I would urge them, honestly, to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder endorsement, which is an additional level of education, Thornton said. She added: But what they also may need to invest in in the school system is working on teaching emotional intelligence and recognizing as an educator how we are feeling as were working through the struggles of teaching individuals that need more support and maybe create more challenges. Read the original article on People Mobile County Metro Jail Tracy Walker Mugshot A teacher was arrested in Alabama after a 4-year-old student in her care was taken to a local hospital with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at a dangerous level of nearly 0.29. Tracy Walker, 56, was taken into police custody on Wednesday, May 21. The former special education teacher is charged with aggravated child abuse, according to the Mobile County Metro Jail records obtained by Fox 10 News. At a hearing on Friday, May 23, the teacher's bond was set at $25,000 by Mobile County District Judge Johana Bucci. Judge Bucci additionally ordered Walker to submit a drug and alcohol test as a condition of the bond, per WTVY News 4. The child, a student at Collins-Rhodes Elementary School in Mobile, Ala., was brought to the hospital by her parents on April 28, where doctors found high ethanol content in her bloodstream. According to the school website, Walker works as a special education teacher and has since been placed on administrative leave, per WTVY. Defense lawyer Derrick Williams reiterated that Walker has no prior criminal history during the bond hearing, the station reports. He referred to Walker as an achieved 10-year employee with bachelors and masters degrees from the University of South Alabama. The case was initially investigated by the Prichard Police Department, but has since been transferred to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) as of May 6, per Fox 10. PEOPLE reached out to the MCSO for comment, but did not immediately hear back. 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. During an interview conducted by MCSO Detectives with the 4-year-old child, the child reported that her teacher had given her a drink that made her feel sick, the MCSO confirmed to CBS 42. The child's father told the station, To us, thats a step towards justice being served. Im still trying to process it." A spokesperson for the Mobile County Public School System released a statement following the arrest, saying, We take all allegations seriously. The teacher was placed on administrative leave when this allegation was first made." The statement concluded, "We have been cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation, and we will continue working with them. PEOPLE reached out to Walker's defense for comment, but did not immediately hear back. Read the original article on People Food & Wine / Publix Key Points Southern supermarket chain Publix has developed a loyal fan base largely because of its fried chicken. Its so good that some people prefer it over other top-rated restaurants known for fried chicken. Publix remains quiet about its process, but enthusiasts have found that its spice blend includes two uncommon ingredients. While you can recreate the Publix fried chicken at home, if you live near one, the convenience and quality make it a superb option for quick family dinners. When our family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, from the Northeast about seven years ago, there was one thing I was very much looking forward to trying: Southern food. While I wasnt sure how Id feel about the city (it turns out I love it), I already knew that I was a fan of Southern cuisine, from pulled pork and fried green tomatoes to collard greens and shrimp and grits, and I suspected rightly that the range of options and quality would be better down here, where many of those foods originated. One I was looking forward to the most? Fried chicken. While I dont eat it often, I love a good Southern-style fried chicken. For about five or six months after we moved, I ordered it from wherever it was available. However, I was surprised to find that there was one place where it was consistently and unexpectedly delicious: Publix. Im not a food snob (and fried chicken is a distinctly un-snobby food), but when I first picked up a family pack of Publix chicken, I wasnt looking for an experience. I was doing what millions of busy parents across the country do when the afterschool schedule is tight: putting dinner on the table quickly. But when we got home and started eating it, I was surprised by how well made it was. My family agreed, and we started making Publix fried chicken one of our go-to meals. The thing is, its always good. The chicken is consistently juicy and tender, with a thick, well-seasoned coating that is very crisp. Its not terribly greasy, and the spice mix has an unexpectedly delicious flavor. Its even tasty the next day, eaten cold as leftovers. Related: 14 Crispy, Juicy Fried Chicken Recipes From Pickle-Brined to Air-Fried It turns out, Im not the only one who feels this way. There are Reddit threads dissecting what makes Publix fried chicken so good, with commenters digging into the ingredients and examining the setup to see if theres something in the spices or the frying system. In one thread, commenters say things like, Is it the best to-go fried chicken? Cuz I think it is and When I lived in Nashville, Publix was where I went for fried chicken if I needed it at the last minute. ... It was always fresh and always consistent. And its not just Reddit; fans on TikTok love Publix Fried Chicken too: So whats the secret? I reached out to Publix to learn more about the ingredients they used or how the chicken was made. They were coy, saying only, Our Publix deli fried chicken is always fresh, never frozen. Each piece is double-hand-breaded using our unique breading recipe. This delicious product is crispy and freshly fried throughout the day. While that doesnt offer a lot, eagle-eyed commenters on Reddit have uncovered a few clues about the Publix process. They double dip their chicken in their flour mixture, notes one Redditor, and continues: They use only water to dip (no eggs). Related: This Grocery Chain Was Rated No. 1 in America by Millions of Reviewers Another commenter, wondering whether they use faster food-service-style pressure fryers, was quickly corrected by another: Just a standard fryer. They have like a setup in front of their fryer to make dip and flour in front of the fryer...but it is a normal fryer, pretty much. But the biggest secret may lie in the ingredients list. A thorough scan reveals some unusual items two in particular: Celery seed and inactive dried yeast. Courtesy of Christopher Michel Eagled-eyed Publix fans say celery seed and nutritional yeast could be the secret to the chains massively popular fried chicken. Celery seed is easy enough to understand and is likely what gives the chicken its earthy, herby flavor. However, inactive dried yeast was a bit of a head-scratcher. So, I reached back out to Publix, and they clarified that its nutritional yeast a flaky yellow powder packed with umami flavor. Its popularly used as a vegan alternative to cheese in soups, on toast, or on popcorn. Thats likely what gives the breading a deeper, more complex yumminess. In fact, a highly rated copycat recipe includes both nutritional yeast and celery seed, receiving good reviews from fans, including former Publix employees who wrote comments such as: I worked at a publix deli for a few years and this is pretty much spot on, I believe. If you live near Publix and havent tried their fried chicken, its definitely worth a shot. If not, you might consider adding these ingredients to your own recipe. What is celery seed? Celery seed is an aromatic spice derived from wild celery plants, known for its concentrated, celery flavor. It is commonly used to season pickles, dressings, and savory dishes. What is nutritional yeast? Nutritional yeast is an umami-forward deactivated yeast with a cheesy, nutty, and earthy flavor. It is often used as a vegan seasoning and source of B vitamins and protein. Read the original article on Food & Wine President Donald Trump spoke before this year's U.S. Military Academy graduates as their commencement speaker on Saturday amid the administration's crackdown on diversity initiatives and removal of key military leaders. Trump addressed the crowd while wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat and brought a few graduates on the stage as he praised their achievements. "You are the first West Point graduates of the golden age of America," he told the graduates, whom he repeatedly called "winners," to cheers from the crowd. PHOTO: President Donald Trump salutes during the United States Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., May 24, 2025. (Adam Gray/AP) The president stressed his administration's agenda to the graduating class, emphasizing his desire to build in America and expressing his commitment to national security and border protection, including the "Golden Dome" missile defense system Trump announced this week. "It will be completed before I leave office. And you know you wouldn't think this, but our enemies are very unhappy about it," he said. Trump also took the opportunity to tout his administration's accomplishments and "Golden Age" agenda, reflecting on themes of patriotism, strength and leadership. He also bashed his predecessors, including former President Joe Biden, for what he said was disrespecting the military. "Each of you is entering the officer corps at a defining moment in the Army's history," he said. "For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions. It was never meant to be. "In some case, they sent our warriors on nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us, led by leaders that didn't have a clue in distant lands, while abusing our soldiers with absurd ideological experiments here and at home," he added. The president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have called for major changes to military academies since assuming office as part of the administration's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and these changes took center stage in Trump's speech. "We have liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings," Trump said. "There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto the brave men and women in uniform, or on anybody else for that matter, in this country. We will not have men playing in women's sports." In February, shortly after Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate, West Point disbanded several student clubs, including the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, the Latin Cultural Club and the Native American Heritage Forum. PHOTO: President Donald Trump addresses graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point in Michie Stadium, on May 24, 2025, in West Point, NY. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) MORE: West Point disbands student clubs related to gender and race The changes were made "in accordance with recent Presidential Executive Orders, Department of Defense guidance, and the Department of the Army guidance," according to a memo obtained by ABC News. Also in February, Trump, who avoided being drafted during the Vietnam War due to what he claimed were bone spurs, dismissed the boards of visitors of military academies, claiming without evidence that the schools were "infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues." PHOTO: President Donald Trump and US Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland listen to the national anthem at the 2025 graduation ceremony at the US Military Academy West Point ,on May 24, 2025, in West Point, New York. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) This winter, 381 books, many of which were written by Black authors or discussed the history of racism, were removed from U.S. Naval Academy libraries because of an order issued in a Pentagon memo. The memo mandated that military services were to submit and remove book titles from the libraries of their military educational institutions that touch on diversity, race and gender issues using the Pentagon's specific search terms. All but 20 of the books that were initially removed were returned this week, according to the school. Former West Point teachers and other military members have criticized Trump and Hegseth for the orders, contending that such programs did not inhibit the values, training and education of the academies. PHOTO: President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the 2025 US Military Academy Graduation Ceremony at West Point, New York, on May 24, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Navy reverses course on DEI book ban after Pentagon review "These were brazen demands to indoctrinate, not educate," Graham Parsons, a West Point professor wrote in a May 8 guest essay in the New York Times. "Whatever you think about various controversial ideas -- Mr. Hegseth's memo cited critical race theory and gender ideology -- students should engage with them and debate their merits rather than be told they are too dangerous even to be contemplated," he added. PHOTO: In this Oct. 26, 2014, file photo, West Point Military Academy campus is shown. (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE) MORE: Military academies criticized for removing DEI-related books from libraries Two protests took during the ceremony, one outside West Point's gate and another on the Hudson River involving people on boats and there were no reports of any disturbances. In his speech, Trump told the cadets to "think big," saying, "You have to do what you love. If you don't love it, you'll never be successful at it." The president and his Cabinet have promoted their work with the military and attended several events honoring members, in which they have touted high recruiting numbers. Earlier this month, Trump hosted military mothers at the White House with first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance to celebrate Mother's Day. Next month, Trump plans to showcase the military and honor service members with a parade throughout Washington, D.C. He will join veterans, active-duty troops, wounded warriors, Gold Star families and people from across the country as part of America's 250th birthday celebration. Organizers intend to commemorate the legacy of the U.S. Army while looking ahead to the next 250 years of American patriotism and the military. PHOTO: In this June 13, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the 2020 US Military Academy Graduation Ceremony at West Point, New York. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images, FILE) Trump last spoke to the school in 2020, and his appearance drew questions about his health. He was seen slowly walking down a ramp and appeared to have trouble drinking water from a glass while speaking. The president, who has frequently criticized the health of his Democratic opponents, brushed off the criticism in a post on Twitter, now X. "The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery," he wrote, despite the weather being sunny during the ceremony. ABC News' Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report. Trump praises West Point graduates, touts 'golden age' of US military in commencement speech originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Despite repeated claims from the White House that President Donald Trump's Thursday night gala for the top holders of his cryptocurrency meme coin had nothing to do with his official duties, several of those investors visited the White House Friday afternoon for what they described as a special VIP event, the attendees told ABC News. Sangrok Oh, a Korean crypto investor and entrepreneur, told ABC News on Friday that he and other top investors had been invited to tour the White House Friday afternoon, though it was not clear to him whether Trump himself would meet them. "So, we're going to visit and tour the White House [and] at the same time talk about crypto industries and the future of crypto," Oh said. MORE: Protesters decry 'crypto corruption' as Trump fetes top investors in his crypto meme coin Thursday night's black tie event, held at Trump's Washington-area golf club, was attended by around 200 cryptocurrency traders, including many from overseas, who gained admission through a contest that awarded invitations to the top investors in Trump's meme coin -- with at least some of the funds flowing directly into the Trump family's coffers. Critics have blasted the gala as a "pay for play" event in which investors who poured millions into Trump's crypto coin got special access to the president. News that top $TRUMP coin investors visited the White House appeared to contradict White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's assertion Thursday that the president was attending the crypto gala in a personal capacity, and that since the dinner did not take place at the White House, it was separate from his official duties. "The president is attending [the dinner] in his personal time," Leavitt said Thursday. "It is not a White House dinner. It's not taking place here at the White House." PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House May 23, 2025 in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) The White House did not immediately respond on Friday to a request for comment from ABC News. Cherry Hsu, an executive at MemeCore, a Singapore-based blockchain startup, said the firm's founder, known publicly as "Ice," had also been invited to the White House on Friday afternoon. MemeCore, according to the contest leaderboard, finished second in the competition with $TRUMP coin holdings in excess of $1 million. And late Friday, Justin Sun, a Chinese crupto mogul and the top investor in Trump's meme coin, posted a highly produced video of his White House tour, writing on X, "Was an honor to be invited to tour the @WhiteHouse. Such a privilege to see it in person." In addition to his multimillion-dollar investment in the $TRUMP coin, Sun has also invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial, another Trump-backed crypto venture. One month after that investment, SEC lawyers under the Trump administration moved to halt an alleged fraud case against Sun. The Trump meme coin's website at one point earlier this month advertised a "Special VIP White House tour" for the top 25 meme coin holders as part of the contest -- but as of last week, the site said only that a "Special VIP tour" would be arranged, without mentioning the White House. The site also included a disclaimer saying the tour was being arranged by the Fight Fight Fight LLC, and that the president himself would be appearing as a "guest." Trump's top meme coin investors visit White House originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Linda Lyon/Getty Images View down to Ennerdale Water and valley with the Pillar range of fells. Walk across England? The idea intrigued my wife, Ann, and I. We had recently wrapped up our careers and long-distance scenic hiking was becoming a satisfying retirement activity. We accepted the challenge, packed our bags, and flew to London. The trail, called the Coast to Coast Walk, is an established national pathway that stretches from Saint Bees, a village on the western seaboard, to Robin Hood's Bay, on the east coast. The 190-mile trail traverses three national parks and is one of the most popular long-distance hikes in England. The itinerary we researched online laid out our path in sections, all but one ending at a village with accommodations and a pub. We gave ourselves two weeks to cover the distance. tigermad/Getty Images The stony beach at St. Bees Head in Cumbria. Our trek began at Saint Bees, surrounded by green pastures, rocky beaches, and light brown bluffs. Ann and I walked along the beach as the waves of the Irish Sea lapped alongside us. In keeping with a tradition associated with the walk, I picked up a beach pebble and put it in my pocket, intending to carry it cross-country and depositing it on the shore of the North Sea. We climbed Saint Bees Head, following a reddish-brown footpath, and were rewarded with a commanding view of the coast before proceeding to make our way to the Lake District. Lake District National Park GrahamMoore999/Getty Images Panoramic view of Ennerdale Water in the Lake District National Park. The Coast to Coast Walk offers varied scenery and routes: dirt trails through the forest, gravel pathways, stone walkways, lakeside footpaths, and, occasionally, a country road. I was struck by how lush the countryside was: green meadows, forests, and hillsides. We walked beside ancient stone walls separating pastureland, some of the walls traversing hills and valleys, sometimes forming a patchwork. I imagined the work involved in building these rock walls, as my eye followed them over one hill, then another, then another. We hiked along Ennerdale Water, the westernmost lake in the district. Climbing above Ennerdales rocky shoreline, we were in the land of writer Beatrix Potter, and it felt magical. We continued to gain altitude and could see the ribbon-like trail rising ahead of us and crossing the next hill, and the next. The climbing felt gradual, but when we stopped and looked back, we were struck by the view, spotting picturesque upland lakes tucked in between hills, turning 360 degrees to take it all in. I understood why the Lake District is one of the most popular destinations for Brits when they want an in-country holiday. We skirted more mountain lakes and began our descent toward the Dales. Yorkshire Dales National Park P A Thompson/Getty Images A flock of sheep outside a village in Yorkshire Dales National Park. My minds eye picture of rural England is shaped by movies such as Pride & Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. I imagined expansive emerald landscapes rising and falling in the distance, and that's exactly what Yorkshire Dales presented: rolling green hills with pastoral dales in between. The national park is characterized by gently rising hills with low-growing vegetation, as well as forested areas where stone bridges arch over small rivers. The trail meandered along creeks and the occasional waterfall. We saw more farmland, the view in the distance appearing like a quilt with different shades of green. Ann and I crossed a number of sheep pastures, opening wooden gates or scaling low stone walls to the sound of an ewe calling after her baby sheep. The Coast to Coast Walk avoids cities, and the villages we did encounter felt quaint, complete with postcard-worthy homes featuring stone walls and slate roofs. The transition would take me by surprise. One moment Ann and I were hiking through a forest or meadow, then suddenly navigating a paved street. It was civilization, but on a small scale. The terrain began to flatten, allowing us to see even further into the distance: We were entering the Moors. North York Moors National Park Khrizmo/Getty Images Aerial view of the costal town of Robin Hood's Bay. The low-growing vegetation characteristic of the Moors is gray-green, rust-brown, and even purple in places. There are grasses, mosses, and different types of heather: plants that do well in peat soil, alternating with forested areas. Our lodgings on the trail tended to be small country inns, homes offering bed-and-breakfasts, or pubs with upstairs rooms, which made it easy to meet other travelerssome from Britain, others from abroad. After a day of hiking, Ann and I would enjoy a pint in a neighborhood pub, seated among locals whom we would invariably meet. These pubs were friendly, low-lit places typically sporting signs that read, Families and four-legged friends welcome. Staying at a bed-and-breakfast often meant spending the night in someone's home, so the experiencethe way we were greeted, how we were looked afterfelt more intimate and personal than staying at a hotel in London. Another down-home feature was the option of buying a packed hikers lunch the next morning before we started. Experiencing the English countryside also means sampling a full English breakfast, known as a fry-up. The full breakfast typically included eggs, toast, tea, an assortment of meat, and sides of baked beans, stewed or fried tomatoes, and mushrooms. I was impressed, but with a full day of hiking ahead of us, we tended to cut back a bit on the breakfasts. Mike Nolan/Travel + Leisure Mike and Ann Nolan while hiking along the Coast to Coast Trail. Ann and I continued hiking eastward until, off in the distance, we spotted the North Sea. With feelings of relief and triumph, I reached into my pocket and felt the stone. We hiked along steep, magnificent cliffs, which angled down to the seashore, approaching Robin Hoods Bay, the end of our journey. We did it. Looking back, we experienced a wonderful variety of landscapes crossing the width of northern England and, upon reaching the east coast, felt a real sense of accomplishment while gazing out over the North Sea. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure Gray Sorrenti / Loewe "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Welcome to the Week in Fashion, Bazaars at-a-glance guide to what the industry is talking about. Loewe Recruits Josh OConnor and Greta Lee for New Actor-Filled FW25 Precollection Campaign When the theme of your latest campaign is Character Study, who better to tap than a bunch of actors? Josh OConnor and Greta Lee, who have posed for Loewe campaigns in the past, joined other stars like global ambassador Yang Mi and French comedian Stephane Bak, for a new campaign that highlights the Spanish fashion houses Fall 2025 Precollection. The models were placed in domestic settings, with sets that emphasized the stark elegance of the clothing. All the talents are caught in cinematic situations that are slightly suspended and eerie, the press release states. Are they rehearsing, or studying their role? Are they academics immersed in the midst of research, or writers delving into an intense period of work? Guess thats up to our interpretation. Check out all the photos, shot by Gray Sorrenti, and shop the latest pieces at the link here. Miu Miu and Catherine Martin Collaborate on a New Upcycled Collection For the latest Miu Miu Upcycled collection, the luxury fashion house teamed up with Australian fashion designer Catherine Martin, who has worked on films like Romeo + Juliet, Elvis, and Moulin Rouge!, winning four Academy Awards in the process. In an effort to promote circular design processes, Miu Miu Upcycled was launched in 2020, with the purpose of developing luxury fashion from vintage materials. With that same tilt, Martin collaborated on this new collection, which was inspired in part by the aesthetics of early 20th century France. However, Martin not only collaborated on the designs, but also directed a new short film, titled Grande Envieher directorial debut. The short highlights the new designs with a love-triangle ghost story starring Callina Liang, Daisy Ridley, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Diana Silvers, Eliot Sumner, and Willem Dafoe. Explore more here. Sisley Paris Kicks Off Our Wellness Summer With a Pop-Up at Montauk Yacht Club Courtesy of Montauk Yacht Club / Sisley Paris If youre looking for that luxury French beauty experience, youll be able to find it all summer long in Montauk, NY, courtesy of a new pop-up at the Montauk Yacht Club. Starting this weekend, French cosmetics brand Sisley Paris will be opening a new seasonal spa, which will be set up at one of the clubs dual-level waterfront cabanas. Not only will guests be able to enjoy the brands beloved facials, but theyll also be able to shop its plant-based skincare, makeup, and hair care products at a stand within the clubs on-site boutique. This special collaboration allows us to share our renowned facial treatments and comprehensive range of products with a discerning audience in one of the East Coast's most iconic summer destinations, says President of Sisley Paris, Jim Maki. You can book your appointment on the Montauk Yacht Club website, here. Nicholas Daley Is Honored With the Pratt Fashion Visionary Award Each year, Pratt Institute gives out the Pratt Fashion Visionary Award to a designer with a singular vision that pushes the boundaries of fashion. This year, London-based menswear designer Nicholas Daley was the recipient of the prize. During his acceptance speech, Daley thanked his network of support and loved ones, saying, ...Even 10 years of me doing the brand and growing it, Im still learning, Im still going through this journey. And that journey is only fulfilled by people in this roompeople who I havent met who I look forward to meeting tonight after seeing the show, but also people whove known me since the start. He also went on to say that this years Met Gala was really significant to him as a Black designer, and hes honored that the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition is his first time having work exhibited at the Metropolitan Museums Costume Institute. I think the Met Gala was a beautiful moment for being a British Black designer and an exhibition which... is an incredible moment for Black designers, he said. I think weve always used clothing as a way to fight oppression and talk about our stories and why, you know, I think its really important that this award is also selected by myself to hopefully inspire more people from all different walks of life to tell their stories through fashion and clothing. The Tribeca Festival and Chanel Select 10 Artists for the 2025 Artist Awards Program Courtesy of Tribeca Festival / Chanel / Simphiwe Ndzube As a continued supporter of the arts, Chanel teamed up with the Tribeca Festival once again this week to announce the artists who have been selected for the 2025 Artist Awards Program. The Artist Awards Program celebrates the intersection of various disciplines, with a specific focus on New York City and its continued contribution to the artistic world. This aligns with the mission of the Tribeca Festival, which aimed to rejuvenate the Big Apples artistic scene in the wake of 9/11. Since 2005, the two have teamed up to celebrate original works of art, which are contributed to the program and then gifted to the award-winning filmmakers at the Tribeca Festival. This years honorees blend filmmaking with more traditional arts, resulting in a collection of innovative works that stood out to the committees representing Chanel, the Tribeca Festival, and curator Zoe Lukov. The participating artists include: Alteronce Gumby, Faith Wilding, Jane Dickson, Jeffrey Meris, Lauren Halsey, Marilyn Minter, Naudline Pierre, Raul de Nieves, Simphiwe Ndzube and Tuan Andrew Nguyen. You Might Also Like By Jeff Mason WEST POINT, New York (Reuters) -President Donald Trump ripped U.S. diversity and inclusion policies, knocked NATO, and took credit for building up the military on Saturday in a campaign-style commencement speech at the prestigious West Point Military Academy in New York. Trump, wearing a suit and his signature red "Make America Great Again" cap, mixed advice to "work hard" with a list of his top grievances about cultural and political issues while speaking to a stadium filled with cadets, family members and a largely supportive crowd. "The job of the U.S. Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures," Trump said. "The military's job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime, in any place." Since coming into office for the second time in January, Trump has rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the military and throughout the government as part of a larger effort to rescind policies enacted by his predecessor Joe Biden. "We've liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings," Trump told the 1,002 cadets graduating from the academy. "There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto our brave men and women in uniform, or on anybody else for that matter in this country." Trump has been a strong supporter of the military even as he has put his own stamp on it, as he has other branches of government. In February he fired the then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, and pushed out five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of military leadership. It was the second time Trump addressed graduates of the academy on the Hudson River following his appearance in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cadets sat further apart and wore masks to prevent spread of the virus. West Point aims to educate the next generation of Army leaders for a military that is meant to be apolitical and is sworn to defend the U.S. Constitution. In a speech full of partisan rhetoric on Saturday, Trump took credit for rebuilding the Army and referenced his tariff-fueled trade war while repeating his longstanding criticism of NATO allies for not spending more on defense. "We've been ripped off by every nation in the world on trade. We've been ripped off at the NATO level," Trump said. "We've been ripped off like no country has ever been ripped off, but they don't rip us off anymore." The president will preside over the Army's celebration of its 250th anniversary on June 14 with a parade on one of Washington's main thoroughfares. The anniversary coincides with Trump's own birthday. This week Trump spoke about a signature piece of his military vision, announcing he had selected a design for the $175-billion Golden Dome missile defense shield and named a Space Force general to head the program aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia. Trump said on Saturday the shield would protect West Point. Experts have said the Golden Dome could provoke other states to launch similar systems or develop more advanced weapons to evade the missile shield, escalating an arms race in space. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis) Elisheva White/TikTok (2) Elisheva White makes ASL covers of her favorite songs on TikTok. A 24-year-old started releasing ASL covers of popular songs to pay for her schooling Elisheva White, whose father is deaf, tells PEOPLE she learned ASL at a young age White is in graduate school studying Marriage and Family Therapy One 24-year-old woman from Saratoga Springs, Utah, is using American Sign Language to bring music to life by creating covers of her favorite songs. Through her viral TikTok videos, Elisheva White connects with her father and the deaf community, all while supporting her journey through graduate school. I've been signing songs for my dad at various events anytime there is a song that I want him to experience with me, White tells PEOPLE exclusively. Growing up with a deaf father meant ASL was a natural part of her life, and its a connection shes continued to nurture, even after moving out of the house. I don't use it on a day-to-day basis now that I am married and out of the house, but the ASL covers were a great way for me to keep up on my ASL, she says. White started sharing ASL covers on TikTok in April 2025, but never dreamed of becoming a viral sensation. Instead, she was looking for more ways to pay for her education. By creating covers on TikTok, shes been able to slowly chip away at her grad school payments. Elisheva White Elisheva White and her father. I have always been a performer, and I have been active on TikTok for a while now, she says. I have been making lifestyle and fashion content and wanted to incorporate this aspect of myself as an attempt to pay for my schooling. White is "currently working three jobs" while juggling full-time school. Shes studying Marriage and Family Therapy, a path that requires not just passion but also financial commitment. So far, shes made about $1,300 through brand deals, but admits she still has a long way to go. Its a work in progress, White says, sharing that she has $49,000 more to pay off. However, her motivation goes beyond just finances. White loves sharing music with her father, who otherwise wouldnt have the same access to it. I do the ASL covers, yes, to hopefully pay for grad school, but also to share my deep love of music with my dad, she says. When asked about her favorite song to cover, she couldn't point to just one. I love fully immersing myself into the concepts, and the costuming, and sharing how I relate to the song with others, she explains. Even though White is still figuring out how to make ASL covers a sustainable source of income, she encourages others to find what makes them unique and share it: Find that special thing about yourself, and share it authentically. Read the original article on People by Nirmala Carvalho The Madras High Court issues a controversial ruling that strips a woman of her rights as a member of a historically marginalised group because she married a Christian man while remaining Hindu. For Fr Santhanam, a Jesuit and a lawyer, this is a serious violation of the rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution. It is paradoxical that a principle recognised in Canon Law for mixed couples is disregarded by a court in the 21st century. Chennai (AsiaNews) In a controversial decision, the Madras High Court (Tamil Nadu) ruled that conferring scheduled caste communal status on a Christian woman constitutes fraud under the constitution. For this reason, she was disqualified from serving as chairperson of a town panchayat. V Amutha Rani was elected in 2022 to a post reserved for members of scheduled castes in Theroor, Kanyakumari district, for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a major regional party in Tamil Nadu. For the Court, this was fraudulent. Born a Hindu Pallan (a community recognised among the disadvantaged castes), she married in a Christian man, following Christian rite in 2005. For the Madras High Court, a person who voluntarily contracts marriage under the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872 must be considered a Christian and, consequently, deemed to have renounced their religion of origin. Such a person can no longer claim Scheduled Caste (SC) status or related reservations. For her part, Amutha Rani has denied converting, arguing that although her marriage followed Christian customs, she remained a practising Hindu and was not baptised. The Court examined church records, including the marriage register and baptism records of the defendant's children, noting that the Christian practice of banns had been respected during the marriage. This substantiated the claim that she was baptised and had been received into the Christian faith. While the respondent produced community certificates and evidence of temple worship, the Court rejected them as insufficient. It also discredited a letter submitted by her, which claimed she was a temple member, after another letter from the temple committee refuted her claims, calling the certificate fake. Emphasising the legal difference between interfaith civil marriages and religious conversions, the Court said that only a marriage under the Special Marriage Act would allow the defendant to retain her Hindu identity SC status. Fr A Santhanam, a Jesuit and lawyer at the High Court of Madras, expressed great concern over this ruling. The judgment, he explains, violates Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees all citizens freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion. The judgment effectively penalizes a person for exercising this fundamental right by interpreting a marriage conducted under Christian rites as a renunciation of Hinduism and Scheduled Caste (SC) identity, regardless of the individuals stated belief or continued cultural affiliation. Such a conclusion, Fr Santhanam laments, imposes a rigid and doctrinaire reading of religious identity that ignores the lived realities of caste and religion in India, where caste identities often persist across conversions. It also undermines the autonomy of individuals, particularly women, by reviving outdated patriarchal concepts like the merger of a woman's identity into her husbands, contrary to the progressive vision of gender equality enshrined in the Constitution. Stressing the contradictory nature of the ruling with respect to established judicial precedent, including the Supreme Courts rulings in which the courts have recognised that conversion to another religion does not automatically erase a person's disadvantaged caste status, the Jesuit lawyer also challenges the misinterpretation of the Indian Christian Marriage Act. The flawed interpretation conflates marriage under Christian rites with religious conversion without concrete proof such as baptism or formal renunciation of Hindu faith. It is unfortunate that while Canon Law permits the marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic including non-Christians through the provision of a disparity of cult dispensation, the Honble Court, in this 21st century, has chosen to disregard such ecclesiastical flexibility. By doing so, it effectively closed the door on constitutional principles of religious freedom and individual identity, ignoring the nuanced realities of interfaith marriages that do not necessarily involve conversion. For Fr Santhanam, It is regrettable that the judgment opens with a quotation from Pope John Paul II under the heading Prologue a reference that is entirely irrelevant to the legal and constitutional issues at hand and serves only to introduce an unnecessary and potentially misleading religious overtone to a matter concerning civil rights and secular governance. Today's headlines: Pro-Iranian Palestinian factions have left Damascus under pressure from Syrias new authorities (and the US). Leo XIV met with one of the families of the victims of the Itaewon tragedy in South Korea who are demanding justice. Vietnam will block Telegram on 2 June. China and Uzbekistan agree to allow bilateral visa-free entry for their citizens. INDIA UNITED STATES US President Donald Trump has attacked Apple again for its plans to expand its flagship mobile phone manufacturing facilities in India. On its Truth Social platform, the US leader is threatening to introduce a 25 per cent tariff on all iPhones produced outside the United States. Trump's post came shortly after the Financial Times reported that Apple's top supplier, Foxconn, is planning to expand its supply chain in India with a US$ 1.5 billion plant near Chennai. This move is part of Apple's broader effort to diversify its production outside of China, its largest manufacturing hub. SYRIA PALESTINE Leaders of pro-Iranian Palestinian factions, close to former President Bashar al-Assad, left Syria under pressure from the new authorities, meeting a key US demand for lifting of sanctions. AFP cited Palestinian sources under anonymity saying that most of the Palestinian factional leadership that received support from Tehran has left Damascus for countries such as Lebanon. In the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk, on the outskirts of Damascus, the factions banners usually present at the entrance have disappeared and their buildings are closed and unmanned. SOUTH KOREA The family of one of the victims of the 2022 Itaewon tragedy, in which 159 young people die crushed in Seoul on Halloween night, met Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday during his first general audience in St Peter's Square. During the meeting, Lee Seong-hwan and Kang Seon-yi, whose daughter Lee Sang-eun perished in the disaster, asked the pontiff to pray for the victims and help discover the truth of what happened. The couple gave Leo XIV purple ribbons and star-shaped badges symbolising solidarity with the victims of the tragedy, and asked him to remember them. Despite investigations, no senior government official has been held responsible for the tragedy so far. JAPAN Nearly 44 per cent of Japanese have lost weight or skipped meals for at least a full day in the past year because they could not afford to buy food, this according to a recent survey conducted by the Tokyo Institute of Science. The latter placed people who do not eat enough food to maintain their health into the food security crisis group, which has expanded in recent months due to rising food prices. VIETNAM Vietnam has ordered telecom companies to block Telegram by 2 June after the Technology Ministry concluded that it was being used to spread "anti-government" content, state media reported on Friday. Unless there is a last-minute change of heart, Telegram will become the first encrypted messaging app to be banned in Vietnam. RUSSIA Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law forcing taxi drivers to geolocalise, allowing only Russian-made Lada cars or certain Chinese models to be used under special investment contracts, manufactured between 1 March 2022 and 1 March 2025, with particularly high levels of localisation on Russian roads. UZBEKISTAN CHINA Uzbekistan and China agreed to a visa-free regime for their citizens that will come into effect on 1 June. Meanwhile, controversy is brewing over Chinese investments in Uzbekistan that entail taking land from Uzbeks, while local authorities intend to develop tourism and boost trade relations between the two countries. by Sumon Corraya The main opposition party but also the military and the international community are urging the interim head of government to set a clear roadmap for elections in December. After threatening to resign, in a country in a deep crisis, Yunus will meet all political groups in what promises to be a crucial step in the post-Hasina period. Dhaka (AsiaNews) Bangladesh's largest opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), along with other political groups, is stepping up calls for a general election by December 2025, citing a worsening law and order crisis, economic instability and growing public discontent. The request coincides with a rare intervention by Army Chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who urged early polls to restore stability, amid mounting international pressure for a clear electoral roadmap. The BNP has criticised the interim government for prioritising contentious political decisions over elections. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday stressed that a time-bound election roadmap is the only solution to resolve the political deadlock, following a court ruling on Dhaka South Mayor Ishraq Hossains disputed swearing-in. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a BNP standing committee member, warned that the party could withdraw cooperation if the elections are delayed, signalling potential street protests. Against this background, rival factions seeking to postpone the vote risk deepening political polarisation, further destabilising the country. Bangladesh is facing a double challenge: a collapsing industrial sector with dwindling foreign investment and rampant crime. Over 4,000 firearms were looted after 5 August 2024, following clashes that disrupted law enforcement. Deployed to curb violence, the military has faced criticism despite losses in the line of duty. General Waker-Uz-Zaman reiterated the militarys temporary role, stressing that lasting solutions require an elected government. In a speech on Wednesday, the general called for elections in December, in line with his earlier plea for elections within 18 months of the interim government taking office. He also opposed interim decisions on strategic issues like foreign-managed infrastructure projects, insisting such policies demand political consensus and oversight by elected officials. The interim government, led by chief adviser Muhammad Yunus Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006 and founder of the Grameen Bank is also facing external scrutiny. Forty-one Australian MPs recently urged Yunus to commit to "neutral, internationally monitored elections", warning that delays risk eroding democracy. For his part, Yunus, who threatened to resign on Thursday, is set to meet all political groups. With Dhaka engulfed in daily protests amid a policy gridlock, analysts warn that prolonged uncertainty could exacerbate economic collapse. The BNP's mobilisation efforts and the military's reluctance to prolong its peacekeeping role underscore the urgency for a resolution. As domestic and international pressures increase, the interim government's response to election demands will determine whether Bangladesh can navigate towards stability or plunge into deeper crisis. The coming weeks will be decisive in shaping the country's democratic path. Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. 24 May 2025 08:30 (UTC+04:00) Elnur Enveroglu Read more This years sixth European Political Community Summit, held in the Albanian capital of Tirana, was marked by strategically significant developments. The presence of heads of state and government, and their in-depth discussions on pressing political and economic issues, not only fostered a positive and constructive atmosphere throughout the summit, but also underscored the emergence of a shared platform for advancing Europe-Azerbaijan relations based on mutual interests. Azerbaijan, as both a key energy supplier and a critical global transit hub, is increasingly attracting broad international attention. Notably, the shift in attitudes toward Bakuonce cautious or ambivalenthas become unmistakable. This transformation reflects more than changing optics; it signals a deeper strategic recalibration. Yet the most consequential outcome lies ahead: in just three years, Azerbaijan will host the EPC Summit. This forthcoming event is more than symbolic. It is a clear recognition of Azerbaijans growing political weight and its pivotal role in shaping the future of pan-European dialogue.The announcement that Baku will host the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in 2028 marks a significant milestone not only for Azerbaijan, but for the evolving political geography of Europe. As confirmed by European Council President Antonio Costa, the EPC will meet in Azerbaijan and later in Latvia that yearan arrangement that reflects the growing recognition of the South Caucasus as a region of strategic importance. But it is not only about geography; it is about political maturity, regional pragmatism, and Europes search for reliable partners. Azerbaijans recent participation at the sixth EPC Summit in Tirana, Albania, underscores its expanding role in European dialogue. Its presence at the table of pan-European deliberations is no longer symbolic, it is substantive. From energy security to connectivity, Azerbaijan is increasingly seen as a country that delivers. With its geographic location bridging Europe and Asia and a proven capacity to implement transregional infrastructure projects, Azerbaijan offers something Europe sorely needs: reliability in an uncertain geopolitical environment. But perhaps even more remarkable than Azerbaijans hosting role is the fact that Armenia supported Bakus candidacy to organise the 2028 summit. This may appear surprising given the decades-long conflict between the two nations, but it signals a cautious and potentially transformative recalibration in Yerevans regional posture. Armenias support is not just a diplomatic courtesy; it may be a calculated gesture aimed at normalising relations with Baku and signalling to Europe its own commitment to stability and integration. If Armenias endorsement of Azerbaijans candidacy is followed by genuine progress in the peace talks, including an agreement based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity and the opening of regional connectivity routes, it could lay the foundation for a historic shift in the South Caucasus. A stable, cooperative Armenia-Azerbaijan relationship would unlock vast potential for the region, benefiting not only the two countries involved but also the European Union, which has long viewed the South Caucasus as a vital corridor for energy, trade, and dialogue. Hosting the EPC summit will give Azerbaijan a platform to highlight its diplomatic capabilities and its vision for a connected Eurasia. But it is also a test. Europes trust comes with expectations, not only regarding transport and energy cooperation but also in terms of governance, transparency, and conflict resolution. The EPCs decision to hold a summit in Baku is therefore more than a scheduling announcement. It is a strategic endorsement. It reflects Europes deepening interest in Azerbaijan as a partner that can balance between East and West, project stability, and help shape the continents future beyond its traditional borders. For both Azerbaijan and Armenia, the road to 2028 presents a unique opportunity. For Baku, it is a chance to consolidate its role as a regional leader. For Yerevan, it could be a moment to demonstrate that reconciliation is not just desirableit is possible. If both seize this moment with foresight and courage, the 2028 EPC Summit in Baku might be remembered not just as a diplomatic event, but as a turning point in the history of the South Caucasus. 24 May 2025 15:41 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Yerevan on May 2021, 2025his first trip to Armenia in several yearsamid a period of visible tension between Russia and Armenia. During the visit, Lavrov met with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and President Vahagn Khachaturyan. The visit was overshadowed by Armenias frozen participation in the CSTO and public anger over Moscows passive response to Azerbaijans 2023 offensive in Garabagh. Against this backdrop, Armenia has deepened ties with Western partners, especially France and the EU, prompting growing concern in Moscow. Lavrovs itinerary included a stop at the Russia House (Rossotrudnichestvo) in Yerevan, which has held more than 550 cultural events in 2024. Plans are underway to expand this network with three more centers in Gyumri, Vanadzor, Ijevan, and Kapanan attempt to reinforce Russia's soft power in Armenia. At the joint press conference, Lavrov outlined Moscows approach: Bilateral and regional frameworks : He underscored Russias commitment to deepening cooperation through the Eurasian Economic Union and the 3+3 platform, framing Moscow as a pillar of regional stability. Criticism of Western influence : Lavrov accused Western powers of fostering instability, especially France and the EU, while advocating for a multipolar, law-based security framework. Military presence and Garabagh policy: He reaffirmed Russias security guarantees and commitment to agreements on Garabagh, stressing dialogue over confrontation. Lavrovs comments served dual goalsreaffirming alliance with Armenia while warning against drifting further westward. His sharp criticism of Paris and Brussels aligned with Russias broader narrative that EU influence is a threat to the region. Notably, Lavrov avoided harsh rhetoric toward Washington, signaling a strategic restraintpossibly reflecting hopes of cooperation with the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mirzoyan promoted Armenias "Crossroads of Peace" initiative, framing it as a neutral connectivity proposal. However, it effectively underlines Armenias shift toward EU-backed frameworks and away from Russia-led formats like the CSTO and EAEU. Lavrovs visit came at a time when Russia is recalibrating its role in the region. His recognition of Armenias long-standing occupation of Azerbaijani territoriesas noted in UN, OSCE, and PACE documentsacknowledges facts that could impact Russias perceived neutrality in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. By expressing support for Armenia over the Garabagh issue, Lavrov risked eroding trust with Baku. Azerbaijan may cite these statements to reinforce its territorial claims internationally and highlight external interference in regional dynamics. Moreover, such a stance contradicts Russias own commitments, including several CIS and CSTO agreements prohibiting weapons transfers and hostile alliances among member states. Lavrovs visit comes amid the Kremlins broader concern that the South Caucasus is slipping out of its geopolitical control. With the breakdown of the Trump-Putin deal to end the Ukraine war, Russia lost momentum in its efforts to restore influence in the region. The U.S. withdrawal from the peace process has prolonged the war in Ukraine, leaving Moscow to reconsider its foothold in the Caucasus. Georgia, despite Western criticism, has no appetite for closer relations with Russia. Azerbaijan, though formally aligned with Moscow through a strategic partnership, is pursuing an independent foreign policy and maintaining close ties with Turkiye and the West. Russias fear is that the longer it waits, the more the region will be lost. Armeniadespite its historical role as Russias outposthas tilted West under Pashinyan. Moscow views this shift as a strategic betrayal and believes it retains tools for coercion: political pressure, cultural levers, and opposition groups allegedly backed by Russian intelligence. In this context, the Armenian government appears to be recalibrating its position. High-level officials have become more cautious about avoiding Russia-related obligations. Some reports suggest that Pashinyans recent visit to Moscow resulted in new understandingsreportedly aligned with Kremlin interests. Lavrovs swift return visit to Yerevan likely served as a follow-up, testing whether Pashinyan understood the Kremlins veiled threats. His mixed messagingcriticizing the Armenian government while keeping the door open for reconciliationsignals Russias intent to keep Armenia in its orbit, using both pressure and persuasion. 24 May 2025 14:28 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. This figure reflects a slight decrease compared to the same period in 2024 Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 24 May 2025 14:00 (UTC+04:00) Chairman of the State Committee for Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Fuad Muradov, met with members of the Azerbaijani community residing in Arab countries during an official visit to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. According to Azernews, the meeting, organized by the State Committee for Work with Diaspora, began with the national anthems of Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia and a moment of silence in honor of the martyrs who gave their lives for Azerbaijans territorial integrity. Azerbaijans Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Shahin Abdullayev, highlighted the strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries and praised the Azerbaijani communitys positive contributions, noting their successful integration and active role in fostering mutual understanding. Speaking at the event, Chairman Fuad Muradov emphasized the significant role of the diaspora as a bridge between nations. Our communities in Arab countries promote Azerbaijani culture and values, particularly through cultural diplomacy, both in their countries of residence and globally. We highly value these efforts, he stated. Attendees were briefed on the diverse projects supported by the Committee, including Azerbaijani Houses abroad, Coordination Councils, weekend schools, and the popular Diaspora Youth Summer Camps, all of which have attracted growing interest among Azerbaijani expatriates. The meeting also featured video presentations of President Ilham Aliyevs speeches celebrating Azerbaijans victory in Garabagh. Participants engaged in a discussion session, voicing appreciation for such gatherings and offering suggestions for enhancing diaspora activities and solidarity. In recognition of their service, the UAE Coordinator Nurana Huseynova, Oman Coordinator Saida Khalilova, and Saudi-based cardiologist Jamila Rasulova were awarded the medal For Service in Diaspora Activities. Additionally, new coordinators for the Azerbaijani community in Saudi Arabia were elected. The event concluded with a cultural segment, featuring traditional Azerbaijani music and national dances, warmly received by the community. 24 May 2025 22:45 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more As part of the 8th International Khari Bulbul Music Festival, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, a theatrical performance titled Uzeyir Bey Would Say: The Blame Is on Sarvar was staged in front of one of Shushas architectural gemsthe palace of Khurshidbanu Natavan. Azernews reports that the performance was delivered by students of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts and was inspired by the satirical writings (feuilletons) of Uzeyir Hajibeyli. The play creatively and distinctively approached social themes, highlighting the authors use of humor and satire. The production was directed by Gumrah Omar, with music design by Azer Hajiaskarli. Festival participants emphasized that such projects enrich the cultural life of Shusha and play a significant role in preserving and promoting national heritage. The performance was also praised as a successful initiative for supporting young talent and enhancing their stage experience. 24 May 2025 11:30 (UTC+04:00) A memorial square has been established in Aktau, Kazakhstan, to honor the victims of the tragic Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash that occurred on December 25, 2024. According to Azernews, citing Kazakh media, the initiative to create the commemorative site came directly from local residents. The area now features benches, fencing, and freshly planted flowers. A video circulating on social media shows the completed elements of the site. All this is done on the personal initiative of the city residents in memory of those who died in the tragedy, officials stated. The videos author described the memorial as a correct and humane step and emphasized the importance of giving people a place to remember the victims. The crash involved an Embraer 190-100 IGW aircraft registered as 4K-AZ65, which was flying from Baku to Grozny on flight J2-8243. The aircraft attempted to return to Baku after failing to land in Grozny due to adverse weather. However, it ultimately made an emergency landing near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. Tragically, 38 people, including the captain, co-pilot, a senior flight attendant, and 35 passengers, lost their lives. Twenty-nine others were rescued thanks to the swift response of emergency teams and the professionalism of the AZAL crew. Key findings from the preliminary report: The aircraft was airworthy at takeoff and during the flight; the flight data recorder (FDR) confirmed no technical issues with the engines or control systems. GPS signal loss occurred in Russian airspace, especially near Grozny. After a failed second landing attempt, the captain chose to return to Baku. Two unidentified sounds were recorded near Grozny, after which all three hydraulic systems failed within a span of 21 seconds. Penetrating damage was found primarily on the fuselage's rear, the stabilizers, left wing, and left engine. Foreign objects not related to the aircraft were found lodged in the wreckage; no bird strike evidence was identified. No explosion of an oxygen cylinder was recorded. The aircraft lost its main control systems at 05:13:32, and a military operation, referred to as Kover, was activated by 05:21:42. Additional forensic and technical examinations are planned to determine the origin of the foreign objects found in the aircraft. The final report is expected to be completed within one year of the accident, with multiple countries, including Kazakhstan, contributing to the ongoing investigation. The memorial in Aktau stands as a symbol of remembrance and resilience, honoring the lives lost and the efforts made to save those who survived. 24 May 2025 17:35 (UTC+04:00) A large-scale event dedicated to the Return to Western Azerbaijan project was held at Binali Yldrm University in Erzincan, Turkiye, with the financial support of the State Support Agency for Non-Governmental Organizations of Azerbaijan and the joint organization of the Third Sector Public Association and the Turkish Internet Media Association (TIMBIR). According to Azernews, the event opened with a speech by Selcuk Ozdemir, head of TIMBIRs Eastern Anatolia region, who emphasized the significance of the project in raising awareness of Azerbaijanis historical and humanitarian claims. Project leader Nahid Canbakhsl, a Garabagh war veteran and editor-in-chief of Vataninfo.az, provided detailed insight into the goals and progress of the initiative, which centers on the rights of Azerbaijanis deported from their historical lands in present-day Armenia. Key figures also delivered remarks, including Vice Rector of Erzincan Binali Yldrm University Professor Dr. Cagr Crak, Erzincan Deputy Governor Omer Ozbey, TIMBIR Chairman Suleyman Basa, and Agil Alasgar, board member of Azerbaijans Press Council and head of the Yeni Cag Media Group. The event featured a panel moderated by Semra Akyurek, editor-in-chief of Turkiyes Merhaba newspaper, where panelists addressed humanitarian challenges, legal aspects, and the historical narratives linked to Western Azerbaijan. Speakers included Menderes Demir, head of the Turkic World Journalists Federation, Muhammet Kacar, director of Birlik News Agency (BHA), Star newspaper columnist Cuneyd Altparmak, and Dr. Sehrebanu Allahverdi of Adyaman University. The event concluded with the presentation of plaques to the participants in recognition of their contributions to the discussion. 24 May 2025 19:00 (UTC+04:00) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan attended the performance of the Azerbaijani delegation at the VII Ethnosport International Cultural Festival in Istanbul on May 24, Azernews reports via the Equestrian Federation of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The show-composition titled "Victory" (Zafer), organized by the Azerbaijani Equestrian Federation, featured 130 performers and 20 Karabakh horses. The performance captivated the audience with its revival of ancient Turkic culture, Azerbaijani national music and dance traditions, and the artistic mastery of Karabakh horses. Highlighting the shared cultural values and deep-rooted unity of the Turkic world, the show received a standing ovation from the Turkish president and first lady. The Azerbaijani delegation expressed pride in the warm reception and attention shown by Turkiyes leadership. The festival, which began on May 22, will conclude on May 25 with the Azerbaijani delegations final performance. 24 May 2025 08:00 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva The Czech government is considering allocating about 5 percent of its GDP annually to defense, Azernews reports. The issue of increasing defense spending by member countries will be discussed at the NATO summit scheduled to take place in The Hague this June. After meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels, President Pavel said that if a general agreement is reached at the summit to increase military spending to 5 percent of GDP, the Czech Republic is ready to support the initiative. Prime Minister Fiala also mentioned that he had discussed the matter with the President in advance. According to Reuters, Mark Rutte suggests that countries increase direct military spending to 3.5 percent of GDP and allocate an additional 1.5 percent for defense-related needs. This approach could satisfy former US President Donald Trump's demand that NATO allies spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense. However, even the United States has not yet reached this goal. It is worth noting that last year, for the first time, the Czech Republic met the previous NATO target of 2 percent of GDP for defense spending. The government has committed to increasing this figure to 3 percent by 2030. This potential boost in military spending reflects a broader trend in Central and Eastern Europe, where countries are rapidly modernizing their armed forces in response to evolving security challenges in the region. The Czech Republics move highlights the increasing importance placed on national defense amid growing geopolitical tensions in Europe. 24 May 2025 13:30 (UTC+04:00) Several West African countries are intensifying efforts to shed remnants of their colonial past by renaming streets, squares, and public landmarks that once honored French generals, politicians, and cultural figures. The campaign, which began as part of a broader decolonization drive, has gained fresh momentum in Burkina Faso and is now spreading across the region, Azernews reports. The initiative represents more than a symbolic gesture. It reflects a deeper psychological and political push to reclaim national identity and distance former colonies from long-standing French influence. Authorities in Burkina Faso have unveiled an extensive plan to rename streets, public buildings, monuments, and even entire districts that bear colonial-era names. Led by President Ibrahim Traore, the new leadership in Burkina Faso has prioritized replacing colonial names with those of figures who resisted French dominance. Prominent among them are close allies of the late revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara, who was assassinated in 1987 under circumstances linked to French special services. Streets once named after de Gaulle, Faidherbe, and Montaigne now honor national figures like Jean-Andre Sumda, Babu Paulin Bamoni, and Patrice Zagre. The shift is also visible in other countries. In Nigers capital, Niamey, Charles de Gaulle Street has been renamed after Djibo Bakari, a prominent independence activist. In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, de Gaulle Avenue now bears the name of Thomas Sankara, while France Street has been renamed after Marie Therese Houphouet-Boigny, the countrys first First Lady. Marseille Street now honors Philippe Gregoire Yace, a former parliamentary leader. Mali has followed suit, undertaking a comprehensive removal of French colonial names from its urban landscape and replacing them with Malian and pan-African figures emblematic of the continents struggle for autonomy. The disappearance of iconic French names, especially that of Charles de Gaulle, from African maps symbolizes a growing rejection of former colonial powers lingering cultural and political presence. More than a renaming campaign, this movement is viewed as an essential part of the psychological liberation and the forging of a sovereign, post-colonial African identity. 24 May 2025 16:35 (UTC+04:00) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is scheduled to visit Russia on May 2627, where he is expected to hold meetings with top Russian officials. Azernews reports, citing Russian media, that during his visit to Moscow, Fidan plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is also expected to hold talks with Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the Russian President, newly appointed Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, and other senior officials. The visit comes amid continued strategic dialogue between Ankara and Moscow on regional security, energy cooperation, and geopolitical developments. 24 May 2025 18:30 (UTC+04:00) Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Shara paid a surprise visit to Istanbul on Saturday, shortly after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia, Azernews reports. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted al-Shara at the Dolmabahce Work Office in a high-level meeting attended by Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kaln, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and Syrian Foreign Minister Esad Hasan Seybani. No official statements were released concerning the discussions. However, the timing of the meeting following al-Sharas dialogue with Trump has drawn attention amid evolving geopolitical dynamics in the region. Ahmed al-Shara was appointed head of Syrias interim administration on January 29. His visit to Istanbul marks his second trip to Turkiye since assuming the role. He first traveled to Ankara in February on a plane provided by the Turkish government, where he emphasized the goal of building deep strategic cooperation with Turkiye. 24 May 2025 19:30 (UTC+04:00) Russia and Ukraine have each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the full-scale war in 2022, Azernews reports. They both returned 270 servicemen and 120 civilians on the Ukrainian border with Belarus, as part of the only deal agreed in direct talks in Istanbul a week ago. Both sides had agreed to an exchange of 1,000 prisoners and confirmed there would be further swaps in the coming days. Although there have been dozens of smaller-scale exchanges, no other handover has involved as many civilians. The Russian defence ministry said servicemen and civilians, including those captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk border region during Kyiv's offensive in recent months, were among those handed over. They were currently on Belarusian territory and were to be taken to Russia for medical checks and treatment, the ministry said. "We are bringing our people home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on social media. "We are verifying every surname, every detail about each person." Ukraine's co-ordination headquarters for prisoners of war said the 270 Ukrainian servicemen had fought in regions across the east and north, from Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy to Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson. Three of the 390 released on Friday were women, officials said, and some of the soldiers had been held since 2022. 24 May 2025 23:30 (UTC+04:00) US President Donald Trump is pushing the European Union (EU) to increase tariffs on Chinese goods as part of Washingtons broader strategy to pressure Beijing into a trade deal, Azernews reports, citing the Wall Street Journal. According to sources familiar with the matter, the US has been pressing the EU to align with its economic campaign against China. Washington expects European countries to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports, but the EU is hesitant, as China remains a key export destination and Brussels is wary of igniting a trade war with Beijing. The report notes that similar demands have been presented to other major US allies, including South Korea and Japan, during ongoing trade negotiations. President Trump is reportedly frustrated by the slow pace of talks with the EU. American officials have conveyed Washingtons dissatisfaction with what they describe as the EUs overly cautious stance and its failure to present concrete proposals to resolve US concerns. Rugged Central Oregon Coast This Summer: Guided Pontoon Boat, Tidepool and Cascade Head Tours Published 05/21/25 at 7:55 a.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Lincoln City, Oregon) Just north of Lincoln City, where the Salmon River weaves its way around three large rocks on its way out to sea, there's a very unique spot for Oregon. Cascade Head and a stretch of land and waterways around it are known as the Cascade Head Biosphere one of only about 750 biosphere regions as designated by UNESCO. (Photo CHBC) At the helm of this area is the Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative (CHBC), which oversees some of its preservation and promotes education on this subject in various ways. Some of those include a lot of serious fun on the Oregon coast. This summer, the group puts together a variety of gatherings and activities on the central coast, which can take you to some truly secret spots to diving into what's happening in those tidepools at Lincoln City. On Sunday, June 15, the CHBC presents the Salmon River Estuary Tours. These guided pontoon boat tours provide a chance to experience the estuary up close. Three tour times are available - 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m. - departing from Knight Park (2341 North 3 Rocks Rd, Otis). Tickets are $20 per person. Guests will board a US Coast Guard-certified pontoon boat for a 45-minute guided journey, led by experienced naturalists. The tour highlights the estuarys biodiversity, unique geology, and cultural significance, offering insight into its place within the UNESCO Cascade Head Biosphere Region. Photo CHBC "Please note that space is limited, and tours will depart promptly at their scheduled times," the group said. "Unclaimed spots may be offered to standby guests. Due to scheduling constraints, refunds or exchanges cannot be provided for missed tours." CHBC introduces a new initiative for 2025 - the Biosphere Beach Ambassador program. Scientist and documentarian Josh Havelind will serve as the programs public representative throughout the summer. Havelind will be stationed at the tidepools near NW 15th Street beach access in Lincoln City, one hour before and after low tide events. He will answer questions, share insights about the Cascade Head Marine Reserve and Marine Protected Areas, and offer ways to help preserve Oregons coastal ecosystems. Dates & Low Tides: Friday, May 23 3:50 PM (-0.98) Sunday, June 1 12:00 PM (-0.45) Saturday, June 14 9:54 AM (-0.81) Saturday, July 12 9:00 AM (-0.91) Saturday, August 9 8:15 AM (-0.74) Sunday, Sept 7 7:25 AM (-0.35) Sunday, Sept 14 12:00 PM (2.0) Whether youre an avid tidepool enthusiast or just curious about marine life, this will be an engaging and educational outdoor experience. The Cascade Head Biosphere Explorience returns this season through a continued partnership with Explore Lincoln City and local newcomer Christina Pasca. Pasca will lead 90-minute walking tours through Oregons only UNESCO Biosphere Region, providing a broad historical perspective on the area spanning 10,000 years. Visitors will learn about the diverse flora, fauna, and geology, explore conservation efforts along the Salmon River, and gain insight into the history of the Nechesne peoples, the lands earliest inhabitants. All tours begin at 10:30 a.m. on the following dates: Saturday, May 24, 2025 Friday, June 13, 2025 Saturday, June 21, 2025 Sunday, July 6, 2025 Thursday, August 14, 2025 Friday, September 5, 2025 Saturday, September 13, 2025 For complete details on events and activities, visit https://www.cascadehead.org. Hotels in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Lincoln City Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW OREGON COAST HOTEL REVIEWS (hit refresh to see different reviews) A Little 'Hideaway' in Rockaway Beach Melds Oregon Coast Rustic with Fancy Near the waters edge of the lake is a vacation rental cabin. Rokcaway Beach lodging reviews Three Distinctive, Unique Places to Spend the Night in Pacific City - N. Oreg... One in Neskowin, two rentals homes in town. Lodging reviews, hotel reviews Two Shimmering Examples of Oregon Coast Historical Inns at Lincoln City To get a truly historic experience, however, you have to go back a ways. Lincoln City hotel reviews Warm Sunsets to Raucous Oregon Coast Storms: Upclose at Cannon Beach's Schoon... One of the major highlights is that beachfront lawn. hotels, lodging reviews More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Washington Coast / Oregon Coast Articles (stories are random: hit reload to see different articles) Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Police were called to the Antrim Road area and found the property on fire. Police have arrested a man on suspicion of arson after an incident in north Belfast. Officers were called to the Antrim Road area amid reports that someone had been threatened by a gang brandishing knives. They found the building on fire, leading to some neighbouring residents being evacuated. The incident happened at a property yesterday evening. Detective Sergeant Kitchen said: At approximately 9.30pm, a report was received that a man had been threatened by a number of people, some armed with knives, at a flat in the Antrim Road area. Officers attended and noticed that the property was on fire. Colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service were called and the fire was extinguished. A number of people were evacuated from the building, however no one was injured. A 46-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of arson endangering life and remains in police custody at this time. Police were called to the Antrim Road area and found the property on fire. News Catch Up - Friday 23 May Enquiries are ongoing and I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anyone suspicious in the area or to anyone with CCTV or other footage that could assist with the investigation, to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference 1810 23/05/25. Show winner and runner-up now a couple after falling in love following filming of quiz in city They came to Belfast expecting a battle of the brains on BBCs Mastermind, but it ended up becoming an affair of the heart. A couple who travelled here as quiz show rivals ended up as lovers following the show after chatting at the airport before their flight back to England. Claire Reynolds and John Robinson were both competing in the final of the famous programme, which was filmed in the city. The nailbiting episode took place in November, but was only broadcast this week on BBC Two. Claire (42), an actuary with NFU Mutual who is from Stratford-upon-Avon, was beaten by a point in the dying seconds. But rather than feeling resentful of victor John, also 42 and a teacher from Sutton Coldfield, in the end love won with the the pair hooking up after discovering they had a lot in common. The show was shot in Belfast and we were both flying back to Birmingham and we were on a flight together, John explained. After we filmed the final, we had some time to kill at the airport. So we had a few drinks together and then got the plane back together and stayed in touch. Although we started as friends, its more than that now. It did generally just start with the two of us just going out and having a drink together over a pop quiz. We happened to be single. And then, naturally, one thing led to another, and we became a couple. Now the Mastermind powerhouses like to quiz together. Weve teamed up on a few occasions to do pop quizzes and stuff together, explained John. So weve gone from being rivals on the show to working together as a team. Although I think Im probably more competitive than Claire is. To prove the point, John won 500,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2019. Claire is also a regular on the local quiz scene. She said: Ive always been a quizzer, and am part of a team on a Monday night. All my life Ive done pub quizzes and always watched quiz shows on the TV. I still dont really know what possessed me, but at the start of 2024 I decided to apply for Mastermind. And that one point loss continues to rankle for Claire. She said: It will always kind of be in the back of my mind because there were a few questions where I knew the answer, but because I was trying to answer quickly, the wrong thing came out. So that will always be there, but I dont mind, he was a very good quizzer. Claire had scored 12 points and no passes on her specialist round on mathematician Emmy Noether, and 17 on general knowledge. John scored 12 and got one wrong with no passes on his specialist subject, the Empire State Building, leaving him needing more than 17 points in the general knowledge round to secure the win. Recalling the final, John said: I was the last to play and needed to beat Claires score of 29, but you cant think about that, you just have to focus on the questions, really. By the time I got to the end I had no idea if I had beaten her, lost or drawn theres no running score in the studio. It was only when presenter Clive Myrie said congratulations, youve done it, youve scored 30 points, that I finally realised. After acing the online quiz and a video audition, and more cunning questions, Claire made her first appearance last August. She came second but had a high score as a runner-up and made it through the semis, which she won, and then on to the final where she was at least lucky in love. Claire says her strengths are literature and geography, with food and drink and some sport being her weaker subjects. It takes her about two months swotting up to learn a specialist subject, which has to be pre-approved by the Mastermind team. It was announced in 2023 that Mastermind would be based, filmed and edited in Northern Ireland. The programme was previously produced from Salford. Sue Pentel was one of two campaigners arrested on Saturday. A pensioner arrested during a pro-Palestine protest outside a bank in Belfast will robustly contest any charges that are brought, her solicitor has said. Sue Pentel was one of two women held on suspicion of criminal damage after an incident on Saturday. The 72-year-old Jewish grandmother is a high-profile campaigner against Israels military action in Gaza. Her solicitor said she was arrested whilst peacefully protesting against the ongoing genocide in Palestine at Barclays Bank. According to reports, the two women were arrested after stickers promoting a boycott of the bank were allegedly placed on an ATM. There has been criticism of the banks financial ties with arms companies that sell weapons to Israel. Several other branches of Barclays across the UK have previously been targeted. Videos circulating online show Ms Pentel being spoken to at length by PSNI officers. She tells officers: Children are dying in Gaza and is then led away to the back of a PSNI vehicle. Both women were released on Saturday evening and reported to the Public Prosecution Service. Padraig O Muirigh, who represents Mrs Pentel said: Our client has refused to remain silent whilst thousands of innocent children have been killed, and many more thousands are starving as food and medicine is refused entry into Palestine. "She has committed no offence and should not be criminalised for exercising her right to peaceful protest against these ongoing atrocities. Our client will robustly contest any attempt to criminalise her if a decision is made to prosecute. We will also be advising her in relation to the lawfulness of her arrest today. The PSNI said: Police received a report relating to a protest in the Castle Place area of Belfast city centre on Saturday morning, May 24. Officers attended and two people have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. The women - one aged in her 70s and the other in her 50s are in custody, assisting with police enquiries at this time. The pair were taken to Musgrave PSNI station, where campaigners gathered to show their support. The IPSC Belfast expressed shock at "the PSNI treatment of a lifelong anti-racist activist who was arrested for standing up to protect international human rights and law." The group said they support "the international calls for the boycott of companies which help to fund and arm Israel in its brutal campaign against the people of Palestine." Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan criticised the arrests. It is disgraceful that Sue Pentel an elderly Jewish woman who has consistently and bravely campaigned for an end to Israels genocide in Gaza has been arrested by the PSNI, he said. Highlighting the genocidal, inhumane slaughter of defenceless civilians and those who enable it is not a crime. Sue Pentel was one of two campaigners arrested on Saturday. Kneecap: A timeline of controversy and success Mr Sheehan added: We will be raising our concerns directly with the PSNI. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said: All over the world Israel's legitimacy has utterly crumbled. And so the establishment is ramping up its repression to try and silence protestors. SDLP councillor Paul Doherty said he was deeply concerned by the arrests. He said they happened during a peaceful protest. Barclays should rightfully be boycotted due to their financial ties with companies that supply weapons and military technology to Israel, he added. I stand in full solidarity with these activists and call for them to be released without charge. Barclays Bank has been contacted for comment. Former officer told us he stood over allegations and expressed dismay at Chief Constable Jon Boutchers behaviour but now says he made the whole thing up and is refusing to talk Sean claimed he had been left broken by his experience of the PSNI - but has now retracted the allegations. The former PSNI officer who claimed to have suffered repeated gross sectarianism from police colleagues has said that he lied and made the whole thing up just two weeks after repeating the allegations. Two and a half months ago, Sean did an extended interview with the Belfast Telegraph in which he said he had been one of the PSNIs first Catholic recruits, but he regretted ever joining the police. We verified his identity and put his allegations to the PSNI, which did not dispute them but said that a senior officer would meet him to discuss them. Days later, he said he was taking legal action against the PSNI. Sean claimed he had been left broken by his experience of the PSNI - but has now retracted the allegations. Kneecap: A timeline of controversy and success However, today he said in a statement that he had misled us, that he is deeply sorry and that everything hed claimed about sectarianism was untrue and did not in fact occur. The statement was not sent to the Belfast Telegraph but published in the News Letter. He gave no reason for inventing the allegations. Our attempts to contact Sean failed, with his phone number now not taking calls. We are continuing to protect his identity due to the genuine threat from dissident republicans which we have independently verified. However, we can now report that two weeks ago, Sean privately told us he continued to stand over his allegations. A fortnight ago, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher went to the Policing Board to say hed met Sean and was highly impressed by the thoroughly decent former officer. However, bizarrely, he said he was also satisfied that there had been no sectarianism and that the unit against whom the allegations were made were also great people. Mr Boutcher said: I cannot explain the article in the newspaper. When pressed by UUP MLA Alan Chambers on whether Sean had stood over his allegations, the Chief Constable said he wouldnt be discussing the issue further. The Belfast Telegraph spoke to Sean that afternoon to ask for clarification on what had been said in the meeting with Mr Boutcher. Referring to the sectarianism he now says didnt happen, he told us: At the end of the day, this is something thats happened me and now its been totally denied from the top down, so where do I stand? How do I make it more truer [sic]it already is true. I dont really know where I stand. He went on: I spoke to the Chief Constable. We had a great conversation for an hour, hour and a half. I explained my experiences and now Ive had this today that hes said nothings happened. I dont know whats going onI just dont understand it; I dont understand it, to be honest. Its all very unsettling, to be honest. When we put to him that the Chief Constables statement at the Policing Board where he said Sean was an impressive individual but so was his former unit left the situation confused because either the incidents happened or didnt happen, he said: Of course. He said the reason he wasnt asking for an investigation into the allegations was that he had no confidence in the PSNI handling of such claims and this goes straight to the top and nobodys doing anything about it. Pretending that he was dropping his legal action for reasons other than that the claims were untrue, he said it would cost a terrible lot of money to take a legal case and his medical retirement meant he didnt want to enter a court battle. Referring to the Policing Board meeting, he said he was so surprised to hear what Mr Boutcher said because the story I told him was basically the story I told you. He went on: When Ive got the Chief Constable coming out today and saying well, there is nothing, that just deflates me. I just feel for all the other officers in the PSNI now; they dont have a voice theyll probably look at this today and say whats the point. He said he felt that he was being ganged up on. Today, Sean said the opposite, describing his former colleagues as outstanding police officers and wonderful human beings. He said: The allegations I made are all untrue. I am unequivocal about that. Nobody subjected me to sectarian abuse for wearing ash on my forehead. Not once did I hear Catholic colleagues being referred to as fenian ba**ards. I never heard colleagues whistling the sash in corridors. I never heard or saw colleagues referring to nationalist politicians on TV as fenians. I am deeply sorry that I claimed I had experienced sectarian abuse or witnessed sectarianism in the PSNI...I am also truly sorry that I misled the Belfast Telegraph and by extension the public. Sean gave no clear explanation for why hed behaved as he did, beyond saying that hed been medically discharged from the PSNI with complex post traumatic stress disorder and being unwell has also made me vulnerable in ways upon which I do not wish to expand on publicly. Days after his interview was published, Sean became a client of prominent Belfast solicitor Kevin Winters, who put out a statement on his behalf in which he said he was going to sue the PSNI over the discrimination. After the Policing Board, Sean then got Mr Winters to issue a statement in which he said he stood over every word of his interview. After being unable to contact Sean today, we spoke to Mr Winters. He said: Given solicitor-client confidentiality, we can make no comment suffice to say that any previous representations made were on instruction. Today Mr Boutcher issued a statement in which he made no criticism of Sean for his dishonesty, despite that leading to anger and hurt among his former colleagues. Instead, the Chief Constable said: I want to acknowledge Seans courageous decision to issue this statement and I urge everyone to respect Seans plea for privacy. Mr Boutcher emphasised that there was no sectarianism in this case and said he was grateful to Sean for setting the record straight. He added: After my meeting with Sean I described him as a decent man and his statement of retraction is nothing short of what I expected. To their huge credit the very colleagues Sean criticised also described him to me as a good and decent man. Exclusive | Stormont told a judge that tarmacking 3,000 acres of farmland would be less polluting than the industrial farming it has encouraged Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, has questioned why it is taking so long to roll out compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal (James Manning/PA) Victims of the infected blood scandal have been left in the dark about when they will receive compensation a year after a sweeping inquiry report was published, Andy Burnham has said. The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, who served as health secretary under Gordon Brown, also called for criminal investigations into the scandal. The Infected Blood Inquiry, which published its seminal report a year ago, concluded the scandal could largely have been avoided and there was a pervasive cover-up to hide the truth. More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after they were given contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s. And more than 3,000 people have died as a result while survivors are living with lifelong health implications. A compensation scheme was announced the day after the report was published. Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Week In Westminster programme, Mr Burnham said it pains me to hear victims are still without compensation a year after the scheme was launched. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) has said, as of May 6, 106 compensation payments have been made, totalling more than 96 million. Victims and campaigners outside Central Hall in Westminster, London, after the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry report in 2024 (PA) Mr Burnham, who has campaigned on behalf of victims, added: We thought, didnt we, after the public inquiry reported that the whole of the British state would say, right, now we put things right, and we do it quickly. Firstly, theres just the delays and theyre left in the dark, and so many people just left waiting. Theres the randomness of it. Compensation awards appear to be made via a lottery the mayor claimed, insisting they should instead be given out on the basis of peoples need and the level of their condition. Mr Burnham added: Its just wrong that people have been dying weekly ever since the public inquiry reported without any compensation at all. How does anybody in Whitehall justify that? The former health secretary stood by previous comments in which he said he believed there had been a criminal cover-up behind the scandal. This is a systematic cover-up all the way through the system that went on for decades under all governments, he said. Mr Burnham added: It has got to be the case that alongside the compensation, there has to be criminal investigation. Because I know as secretary of state, I was given untrue briefings that contained that line that nobody was supposedly knowingly given unsafe blood but the warnings had been given to the Department of Health, many, many years before. Russia and Ukraine have swapped hundreds more prisoners, according to the Russian defence ministry. The move is part of a major swap that marks a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. The ministry in Moscow said each side brought home 307 more soldiers, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. There was no immediate confirmation from the Ukrainian side. The announcement was made hours after Kyiv suffered a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured, according to local officials. Explosions and machine gun fire were heard throughout Kyiv from Friday night into Saturday morning as many people sought shelter in subway stations. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month that marked the first time the two sides met face-to-face for peace talks since Russias 2022 full-scale invasion, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralised 245 drones with 128 drones shot down and 117 thwarted using electronic warfare. The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. Drones also hit targets near Kharkiv (Anatolii Lysianskyi/Ukraines 127th Separate Brigade via AP) A difficult night for all of us, the administration said in a statement. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six city districts of the Ukrainian capital. According to the acting head of Kyivs military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit. There were at least five people injured in the area, the administration said. Drones and missiles were used in the attack (AP) Kyivs mayor, Vitali Klitschko, warned residents ahead of the attack that more than 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon district of Kyiv. Emergency services were headed to the site, Mr Klitschko said. The prisoner exchange has not heralded a halt in the fighting. Battles continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. Kyiv residents took shelter in subway stations such as Kontraktova Ploshcha (AP) The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remain 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. Russias defence ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20 and May 23. Ukraines air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday. Casement Park the elephant in the room when Lyons attends his first GAA match DUP ministers gesture will help ease tensions, but hes bound to be tackled over stadium saga Arlene Foster turns up for the 2018 Ulster senior football final between Donegal and Fermanagh, and (inset ) Gordon Lyons Niall Carson/PA Wire Liam Tunney Sat 24 May 2025 at 08:27 Its taken more than a year, but Communities Minister Gordon Lyons is finally going to a GAA match this weekend. Unity or the Union? Both sides have a good argument, but rarely is it made in a sensible way Thousands gather in Ballymoney to pay tribute to towns favourite son The gorgeous spring sunshine of late may have given way to grey skies and drizzle, but thousands still gathered to remember Ballymoneys favourite son, Joey Dunlop, today. Just a matter of weeks since the North West 200, the Causeway Coast area once again thrummed to the sound of motorcycle engines as road racing fans, locals, friends and family alike gathered to pay their respects at the event commemorating 25 years since Joeys untimely death following an accident in Estonia. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Eagle Archives, July 2, 1957: The Marauders drum and bugle corps will be absent from the 1957 Fourth of July Parade after a split with the Pittsfield Firemens Association, which demanded the return of all instruments amid tensions over name changes and sponsorship. Stewart Edelstein, a Stockbridge resident, is author of several books, including Dubious Doublets: A Delightful Compendium of Unlikely Word Pairs of Common Origin, from Aardvark/Porcelain to Zodiac/Whiskey, The Covid-19 Zeitgeist: Fifty Essays, and An Alphabetical Romp Through the Flora of Berkshire Botanical Garden from Agave to Zinnia. Five of the people ICE detained in March are back in Berkshire County. The fate of the remaining eight remains unclear Five of the thirteen people picked up by ICE on March 19 are back in Berkshire county: four have been granted bond and one has been released. We finally know a bit more about some of the people who disappeared from Berkshire County during an immigration enforcement operation back in March. That we are able to glean these new details only from alarmed local sources rather than the federal agencies that conducted these community-rattling raids is a shameful reflection of this administrations preference for opacity and performative shows of force rather than transparency and true public safety. So far, five of the people detained in those raids have been released. That apparently includes four people who have been granted bond while they presumably await formal deportation hearings, as well as a man who was wrongfully arrested at his jobsite in Monterey. However, the fate of at least eight other people detained in those raids remains unclear. Why the ongoing opacity from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement? Its worth noting that within mere days of the March raids, ICE was willing and able to publicize the identity and criminal background of exactly one person who was detained in the Berkshires. Beyond that singular press release, the federal government has followed with two months of radio silence regarding who else was detained and why. Berkshire ICE arrests were among 370 statewide as part of an 'enhanced targeted enforcement' operation, officials say In total, 370 people were apprehended over the course of a six-day "enhanced targeted enforcement operation focusing on transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious illegal alien offenders," officials said Monday. The bakers dozen of Berkshire residents swept up in the March raids were among more than 370 people apprehended across Massachusetts in a statewide enhanced targeted enforcement operation. Federal officials have said that operation was aimed at egregious illegal alien offenders. If all the people rounded up are such egregious offenders, then it should be easy to present the evidence for such claims. That is demanded by the most basic deference to constitutional due process, and ICE should be eager to legitimize its mission ostensibly aimed at public safety. Yet ICE has not provided such evidence in the vast majority of the cases of Berkshire residents detained in March. In fact, in many cases we only know the identities of those detained because of local sources who have come forward. Raising the alarm about all of this need not be mutually exclusive with recognizing that the American immigration system has been broken for too long. Indeed, President Donald Trumps election in large part was driven by the popular mandate to fix that broken system. But no politician or federal agent has a mandate to destroy the constitutional cornerstone of due process, and we dont believe Americans voted to empower masked federal agents to disappear people without reason or even any acknowledgement of whom theyve detained. One of the brothers arrested by ICE in Monterey last month was in the US legally. Hes been released One of two men who were taken into federal custody at their work site in Monterey last month has been released and has returned to the Berkshires, a coworker said. The other man is awaiting a hearing. Unfortunately, that is what has happened right here in our Berkshire backyard. We already know that at least one Berkshire resident was wrongfully detained in those March raids. That man was tailed by federal agents while dropping his children off at school and summarily arrested at his Monterey jobsite, despite the fact that he had a legitimate pending asylum application at the time of his arrest. And the fact that his application was actually approved while he was detained suggests his criminal history was more likely nonexistent than egregious. That case lends credibility to concerning local reports that Berkshire arrests connected to the March raids were mostly random. All this comes as myriad examples of questionable detainments across the country suggest the Trump administrations immigration crackdown is less about public safety and law enforcement and more about scoring political points, consolidating executive power, stoking fear and crushing dissent. The longer ICE denies our communities the full facts about these raids, the more one wonders whether the agency is concealing more of the unjustifiable overreaches weve already seen such as ripping a man from his family for a month of wrongful imprisonment in a Plymouth jail despite his legal residential status. If ICE wishes to assuage those fears and assure the Berkshires its presence isnt malign, it can do so simply by being transparent: Who have you detained and on what charges? Detainment without due process is not an arrest its a kidnapping funded by our tax dollars. Regardless of immigration status, we all deserve basic human decency as well as due process. In its indefensible secrecy, ICE is not only denying due process to the human beings disappeared and caged. Its also denying the spirit of due process to the communities shaken by these raids, who rightfully demand to know from their government: What justifies this treatment of our neighbors? Saturday's front pages are focusing on a range of stories on Trump threatening 50 per cent tariffs on EU imports to an RTE row over actors being used for a promo video. The Irish Times and Irish Examiner report, tariffs of 50 per cent will be imposed on all imports to the United States from the EU from the start of next month, Donald Trump said on Friday. The Echo report on a former soldier jailed for four years for stashing 27,000 worth of cocaine in Collins Barracks in Cork. Good morning, here is Saturday's front page of the Irish Independent pic.twitter.com/lAMPPK1dBf Irish Independent (@Independent_ie) May 24, 2025 Saturday's Mail is a must-read pic.twitter.com/20UXVjB2LP The Irish Daily Mail (@irishdailymail) May 23, 2025 Good morning readers. Here is the front page of the Belfast Telegraph. Stay with us for all your breaking news. https://t.co/UbLt5KGsfe pic.twitter.com/to9RBOTmUQ Belfast Telegraph (@BelTel) May 24, 2025 US President Donald Trump used the first military commencement address of his second term to congratulate West Point cadets on their academic and physical accomplishments, while taking credit for Americas military might. In a few moments, youll become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history, Mr Trump said at the ceremony in New York on Saturday. Advertisement And you will become officers of the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know, because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military. Graduating cadet Chris Verdugo, left, is pictured on screen alongside President Donald Trump (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term. Wearing a red Make America Great Again hat, the Republican president told the 1,002 graduating cadets that you came from excellence, you came for duty. Advertisement He said: Were getting rid of distractions and were focusing our military on its core mission: crushing Americas adversaries, killing Americas enemies and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before. He later said that the job of the US armed forces is not to host drag shows or transform foreign cultures, a reference to drag shows on military bases that former president Joe Bidens administration halted after Republican criticism. Mr Trump said the cadets were graduating at a defining moment in the armys history, as he criticised past political leaders for leading soldiers into nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us. Several points during his address at the football stadium on the military academys campus were indistinguishable from a political speech. Advertisement Donald Trump arrives to deliver the commencement speech (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) Mr Trump claimed that when he left the White House in 2021, we had no wars, we had no problems, we had nothing but success, we had the most incredible economy. He noted that he won all seven swing states and 2,750 districts in the November election, arguing that those results gave him a great mandate and it gives us the right to do what we want to do. At one point Mr Trump summoned a cadet, Chris Verdugo, to the stage, noting that he completed an 18.5 mile march on a freezing night in January in just two hours and 30 minutes. Just outside the campus, about three dozen demonstrators gathered before the ceremony and were waving miniature American flags. Advertisement One in the crowd carried a sign that said Support Our Veterans and Stop the Cuts, while others held up plastic buckets with the message Go Army Beat Fascism. Mr Trump gave the commencement address at West Point in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cadets gather ahead of the ceremonies (Adam Gray/AP) He had urged the graduating cadets to never forget the soldiers who fought a war over slavery, in a speech which came as the nation was reckoning with its history on race after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mr Trump also paid tribute to the military academys history and its famed graduates, including Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Advertisement The ceremony five years ago drew scrutiny because the US Military Academy forced the graduating cadets, who had been at home because of Covid-19, to return to an area near a pandemic hot spot. Mr Trump was in Alabama, earlier this month to speak to the University of Alabamas graduating class. His remarks mixed standard commencement fare and advice with political attacks against Mr Biden, musings about transgender athletes and lies about the 2020 election. On Friday, vice president JD Vance spoke to the graduating class at the US Naval Academy in Maryland. Mr Vance said that Mr Trump was working to ensure US soldiers are deployed with clear goals rather than the undefined missions and open-ended conflicts of the past. Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahis revenge thriller It Was Just An Accident won the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, handing the festivals top prize to a director who had been banned from leaving Iran for more than 15 years. Cate Blanchett presented the award to Panahi, who three years ago was imprisoned in Iran before going on a hunger strike. Advertisement The crowd rose in a thunderous standing ovation for the filmmaker. The win for It Was Just An Accident extends one of the most unprecedented streaks in movies the indie distributor Neon has backed the last six Palme dor winners. Cate Blanchett at the 78th international film festival in Cannes (Lewis Joly/Invision/AP) Neon, which acquired It Was Just An Accident for North American distribution after its premiere in Cannes, follows its Palmes for Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness, Anatomy Of A Fall and Anora. The Cannes closing ceremony followed a major power outage that struck south-eastern France on Saturday in what police suspected was arson. Advertisement Only a few hours before stars began streaming down the red carpet, power was restored in Cannes. The Grand Prix, or second prize, was awarded to Joachim Triers Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value, his lauded follow-up to The Worst Person In The World. Kleber Mendonca Filhos Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent won two big awards, best director for Fihlo and best actor for Wagner Moura. Director Joachim Trier accepts the grand prix for Sentimental Value (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) The jury prize was split between two films, Oliver Laxes desert road trip Sirat and Mascha Schilinskis German, generation-spanning drama Sound Of Falling. Advertisement Best actress went to Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister, Hafsia Herzis French coming-of-age drama. The Belgian brothers Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardennes won best screenplay for their latest drama, Young Mothers. The Dardennes are two-time Palme dOr winners. Cannes award for best first film went to Hasan Hadi, for The Presidents Cake, making it the first Iraqi film to win an award at the festival. Saturdays ceremony brings to a close a 78th Cannes Film Festival where geopolitics cast a long shadow, both on screen and off. Advertisement Nadia Melliti accepts the award for best actress for the film The Little Sister (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Shortly before the French Riviera extravaganza, which is also the worlds largest movie market, US President Donald Trump floated the idea of a 100% tariff on movies made overseas. Most filmmakers responded with a shrug, calling the plan illogical. Can you hold up the movie in customs? It doesnt ship that way, said Wes Anderson, who premiered his latest, The Phoenician Scheme, at the festival. That was one of the top American films in Cannes, along with Spike Lees Highest 2 Lowest, the Christopher McQuarrie-Tom Cruise action film Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning, and Ari Asters Eddington. Ukraines capital came under a large-scale combined drone and missile attack late Friday, with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city. Many Kyiv residents were taking shelter in underground subway stations. Advertisement The nighttime Russian attack that stretched into early on Saturday came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week. The agreement was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least 4 city districts of the capital, acting head of Kyiv military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on Telegram. People take shelter at Kontraktova Ploshcha subway station during a Russian drone and missile attack in Kyiv (AP/Illia Novikov) According to Mr Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack, two fires sparked at the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. Advertisement Prior to the attack, city mayor Vitalii Klitschko warned Kyiv residents of more than 20 Russian strike drones heading towards Kyiv. The prisoners swap on Friday was the first phase of a complicated swap involving prisoners and civilians. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russias Defence Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine. Advertisement The exchange, which would be the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didnt herald any halt in fighting. Battles also continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. After the Istanbul meeting, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan had called the prisoner swap a confidence-building measure. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic manoeuvring continued. Advertisement Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday night that Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive peace agreement once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides 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. Russia and Ukraine have swapped hundreds more prisoners, according to the Russian defence ministry. The move is part of a major swap that marks a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russias defence ministry said each side brought home 307 soldiers, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Among those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service and the National Guard of Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said on his official Telegram channel. We expect more to come tomorrow, he added. Russias defence ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details. The announcement was made hours after Kyiv suffered a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured, according to local officials. Advertisement Explosions and machine-gun fire were heard throughout Kyiv from Friday night into Saturday morning as many people sought shelter in subway stations. Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Turkiye. In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow. Among those who returned today are pic.twitter.com/2lfgtsgNlW Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) May 24, 2025 In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month that marked the first time the two sides met face-to-face for peace talks since Russias 2022 full-scale invasion, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralised 245 drones with 128 drones shot down and 117 thwarted using electronic warfare. The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. Advertisement Drones also hit targets near Kharkiv (Anatolii Lysianskyi/Ukraines 127th Separate Brigade via AP) A difficult night for all of us, the administration said in a statement. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six city districts of the Ukrainian capital. According to the acting head of Kyivs military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit. There were at least five people injured in the area, the administration said. Advertisement Drones and missiles were used in the attack (AP) Kyivs mayor, Vitali Klitschko, warned residents ahead of the attack that more than 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon district of Kyiv. Emergency services were headed to the site, Mr Klitschko said. The prisoner exchange has not heralded a halt in the fighting. Battles continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. Advertisement Kyiv residents took shelter in subway stations such as Kontraktova Ploshcha (AP) The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remain 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. Russias defence ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20 and May 23. Ukraines air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday. US President Donald Trump is set to deliver his first military commencement address since returning to office. The Republican president will speak to the West Point military academys graduating class on Saturday morning in New York state. Advertisement Mr Trump gave the commencement address at West Point in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The US President urged the graduating cadets to never forget the soldiers who fought a war over slavery during his remarks, which came as the nation was reckoning with its history on race after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mr Trump also paid tribute to the military academys history and its famed graduates, including Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D Eisenhower. The ceremony five years ago drew scrutiny because the military academy forced the graduating cadets, who had been at home because of Covid-19, to return to an area near a pandemic hotspot. Advertisement Mr Trump travelled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, earlier this month to speak to the University of Alabamas graduating class. His remarks mixed standard commencement fare and advice with political attacks against predecessor Joe Biden, musings about transgender athletes and lies about the 2020 election. On Friday, US vice president JD Vance spoke to the graduating class at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Mr Vance said in his remarks that Mr Trump is working to ensure US soldiers are deployed with clear goals rather than the undefined missions and open-ended conflicts of the past. In 2003, the forthright British broadcaster Jeremy Paxman published a book called The Political Animal: An Anatomy in which he dissected the character and psyche of his journalistic prey: politicians. The central thesis of the book was that politicians are not just another breed, they are an entirely different species. In the introduction, Paxman recounts being bailed up by Cherie Booth, wife of former British Labour prime minister Tony Blair, who asserted that journalists were not interested in the truth and were only in it for the money (I wish the latter were true). She accused Paxman of believing were all crooks. As he pointed out, the we was interesting, given Booth was not, herself, a politician. Anyway, she was wrong, Paxman said. I most emphatically do not believe that they are all crooks. Or even that they are all, always dishonest, he wrote. But they are different from us. Sussan Ley showed fortitude under pressure from National Party leader David Littleproud. Credit: Marija Ercegovac I was inspired to go back to Paxmans book this week as I pondered the absolute nerves of steel of new Liberal leader Sussan Ley who, in the first weeks of her new job, navigated a Coalition split while nursing her dying mother and then planning a funeral. Tourism operators in regional communities and avid campers are breathing a sigh of relief after the Allan government dumped a free camping initiative that they say did more harm than good. Critics remain furious the government pushed ahead with the harebrained policy, despite warnings from the outset it would negatively impact national parks, hurt local communities and put enormous pressure on cash-strapped Parks Victoria. Campsites across the popular Wilsons Promontory National Park were deserted during the free camping initiative. Credit: Eddie JIm The initiative, announced in October by Premier Jacinta Allan and Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos, gave campers free access to all of the states 131 formerly paid Parks Victoria campgrounds from December 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. They estimated it would save campers $7.3 million with booking fees costing up to $40 a night for more popular areas. While it resulted in an enormous rise in bookings up 93 per cent from the year before, according to Parks Victoria the initiative was beset with problems. Many campers who secured spots were no-shows, leaving some of the states most popular campsites desolate over peak periods. Meanwhile, caravan park rates soared and rubbish dumping increased. A police officer shot a woman dead and wounded her male passenger after she drove a car into the senior constable in South Melbourne. Officers were first called to Cecil Street following reports of a man with a machete around 5pm. A man was transported from the scene by ambulance after the incident. Credit: Nine News Two police officers found the man near the corner of Church and Park streets, and while they were arresting him, a car was driven at one of them, a senior constable, hitting his legs. The officer then shot at the car four times. A man in Norway woke this week to find a 135-metre container ship towering over his home after it ran aground in his yard. Johan Helberg slept through the initial impact of the NCL Salten as it sailed into his yard in Byneset, Norway, early on Thursday morning, Helberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. But after being woken by his neighbours ringing his doorbell, he looked out of the window to find the ships bright-green bow quite a different sight from his usual picturesque views of the Trondheim Fjord. Johan Helberg stands next to his house with its new garden feature the container vessel NCL Salten. Credit: AP It was quite absurd, Helberg said, noting that it had stopped just metres from his house. If it had hit five metres further to the right, it would have slid up the rocky cliff, and then my house would probably look quite different. Helberg told NRK that the ship had cut a wire to his heating pump. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code This is it. The excise tax exemption on pickup trucks is now gone thanks to the effectivity of the Capital Market Efficiency Promotions Act ... By PA Reporter A coroner investigating the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe is to send a court order to Meta in a bid to access private messages in the late teenagers Instagram account. Noah, 14, was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020 six days after he went missing as he cycled to meet friends. Coroner Mr Justice Rooney is presiding over the inquest for the St Malachys College pupil. Fiona Donohoe and her son Noah. Photo: Family Handout/PA. Noahs mother, Fiona Donohoe, is hoping to get answers to some of her questions surrounding the death of her son through the inquest process. At a preliminary hearing in Belfast on Friday, counsel to the coroner Peter Coll KC updated the court on correspondence with Meta about accessing information on Noahs Instagram account. Mr Coll said there were two levels of access. He said Meta would provide certain data from the account to Noahs next of kin if it was given relevant documents, such as a death certificate. But the barrister said Meta had advised the coroner that in order to secure private Instagram messages, a court order would be required. Mr Coll made clear that Meta had not indicated whether or not there were any private messages in the account. The barrister said the process to secure access to any messages that may exist may not be straightforward, given Meta was based outside the courts jurisdiction. But he said that the letter from the US social media company indicated a willingness to engage positively on the issue. There is at least a strong possibility that they would, if content with the format and the content of the draft order, that they would seek to comply with it, even if it was not something that could be strictly enforced against them, he said. So hopefully that may provide a way forward. Brenda Campbell KC, representing Ms Donohoe, agreed that a court order should be drafted. Donohoe family barrister Brenda Campbell KC agreed that a court order should be drafted. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA. The aim should be to get the fullest information by way of a court order, she said. And the letter (from Meta) certainly leaves open the possibility of co-operation with the matter, notwithstanding that they are out of the jurisdiction. Mr Coll cautioned that it had taken some time for Meta to respond to initial correspondence from the coroner. He added: Were slightly in their hands, and it did take quite a period of time, but, in fairness, the response that has come has been helpful, and represents significant engagements on the part of Meta, and thats to be welcomed. Mr Justice Rooney told legal representatives that a draft order would be prepared by Tuesday of next week for them to review. The next preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 17. By David Young, PA US president Donald Trumps threatened 50 per cent tariff on all EU imports would cause extreme disruption to the global economy, the Taoiseach has warned. Micheal Martin said the move by Mr Trump had come as a surprise, noting that the EU was engaging in good faith with the United States to agree a deal on trade. In April, President Trump announced a 20% tariff on EU goods being sold into the US. He later reduced that to 10% until July 8 to allow for time for talks with Brussels on a potential agreement. On Friday, Mr Trump claimed the talks were going nowhere and said he was recommending that the 50 per cent tariff rate comes into effect on June 1st. The president also announced he would be imposing a 25 per cent tariff on all Apple iPhones manufactured outside the US. He warned that tariffs were also coming for other foreign manufactured smartphones. Shares fell in the US, EU and UK following Mr Trumps latest threats on tariffs. Mr Martin warned of the consequences if such levels of tariffs were imposed. This is a surprise, because there was a pause until early July, he told RTE. Everybody in the European Union is acting in good faith and wants a negotiated settlement with the United States. The trading relationship between the European Union and the United States is the most dynamic and largest in the world, so tariffs of that height or scale would be extremely disruptive and would create even wider disruption across the global economy. Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris said Ireland and the wider EU shared the same position in wanting a substantive, calm, measured and comprehensive dialogue with the United States. Tariffs are bad for Ireland, the EU & the US. They hurt consumers, businesses & jobs. We need calm and measured dialogue with the US. Negotiation is the only path forward. My full statement: https://t.co/yCE9F3H4gD pic.twitter.com/dHXtOTC3DO Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 23, 2025 Tariffs are a bad idea, said the Tanaiste. Theyre bad for Ireland, the EU, and the US. They push up prices for consumers and businesses. We have built a relationship of prosperity, jobs and investment based on working together and trading together. Negotiations remain the main focus for both the EU and Ireland and our deep and enduring relationship with the United States merits a more sustained and substantive engagement in the period ahead in a bid to bring about a negotiated settlement. I continue to keep in close contact with the European Commission, with colleagues across the EU and with industry as we continue to seek to navigate the current challenges. A negotiated solution remains very clearly the goal and the preferred outcome. Michael Bolton A woman in her 20s has been assaulted in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. The incident happened on Thursday night, when gardai were called to Georges Street Lower. The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment. Gardai say investigations are ongoing. (En francais) (Em portugues) GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (May 24, 2025) -- The Carter Center, together with countries and partners, applauds the passage today of the Accelerating the Eradication of Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) Resolution during the 78th World Health Assembly. The renewed global commitment further ensures that this debilitating disease remains on track to be the second human disease, after smallpox, to be eradicated. The passage of the Guinea worm resolution by the World Health Assembly, with support from Chad and other Member States, is a fitting homage to the hard work and commitment of the late President Jimmy Carter, said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. WHO was proud to work with President Carter and The Carter Center, along with governments and communities around the world, in the shared effort to eradicate this ancient disease. The global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm has reduced the water-borne parasite by more than 99.99% and averted more than 100 million cases among the worlds most marginalized and neglected populations. When The Carter Center assumed leadership of the campaign in 1986, an estimated 3.5 million human cases occurred annually in 21 countries in Africa and Asia. In 2024, just 15 human cases were reported in two countries and only one case has been identified so far this year. Chad, one of the worlds few remaining endemic countries, led a global effort on the resolution. It was jointly sponsored by a number of member states, including Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Japan, Russia, South Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. "I can speak from experienceno country wants to break transmission only to see the disease return and be forced to rebuild a complex, community-based program. Alongside the co-sponsoring countries, I couldnt be more proud. Todays resolution reaffirms the worlds commitment to eradicating this devastating disease. Each case is a person, and one case is one too manyzero is the only acceptable goal," said Dr. Abdelmadjid Abderahim Mahamat, Chad Minister of Public Health and Prevention. From the floor of the Palais des Nations where the annual WHA forum takes place, Carter Center Guinea Worm Eradication Program Director Adam Weiss acknowledged the historic moment with a formal statement of support. Carter CEO Paige Alexander led a six-person Carter Center WHA delegation. In 2023, the Center was admitted into official relations with WHO as a non-State actor. Eradicating Guinea worm disease was a deeply personal mission for my grandparents, said Jason Carter, board chair of The Carter Center and eldest grandson of President and Mrs. Carter. They witnessed firsthand the immense pain Guinea worm causes. They knew this work could change millions of lives and it has. The Carter Center is committed to finishing the job and we wont back down until we reach zero. In addition to the cosponsors, the following countries delivered messages of support during the WHA deliberations: the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Panama, and South Korea. The final cases of any eradication program are the most challenging, requiring persistence, ingenuity, and resources to operate in difficult, remote, and often insecure areas. The passage of the resolution is a significant milestone for the global Guinea worm eradication campaign because it puts a global spotlight on a set of critical actions to accelerate and finalize eradication efforts with the support of the global community. Key Implementing Partners Roles The Carter Center leads the global campaign and works closely with national ministries of health, the WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and many other vital partners. The Carter Center provides technical and financial assistance to national Guinea worm programs to help interrupt transmission of the disease. For remaining endemic countries, when transmission is interrupted, the Center will continue assisting surveillance for 3 additional years. Together with WHO, the Center will help them prepare for evaluation by the independent International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication (ICCDE), which will eventually recommend official certification by the WHO. The WHO has been setting normative guidance enabling the certification of countries and supporting all countries that stopped transmission to prepare them for certification. Currently, the WHO provides technical and financial support to improve surveillance, particularly in cross-border areas of endemic countries; in pre-certification countries such as Sudan; and in countries that have already been certified but are at risk of disease re-introduction. The WHO also supports surveillance activities among refugees and IDPs in both endemic and at-risk countries to prevent the spread of the disease. Partnerships Many generous foundations, corporations, governments, and individuals have made the work to eradicate Guinea worm disease possible, including major support from the Gates Foundation; the United Kingdoms Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation; the government of Japan; Schreiber Philanthropy; and Alwaleed Philanthropies. Major support from the United Arab Emirates began with His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, continued under His Highness the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and has grown under His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, and the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity. BASF has donated ABATE larvicide (temephos) since 1990, and Vestergaard's LifeStraw has donated personal pipe filters and household cloth filters since 1999. The DuPont Corporation and Precision Fabrics Group donated nylon filter cloth early in the campaign. Learn more: cartercenter.org/GuineaWormWarriors Translations Le Centre Carter se felicite de la resolution historique de lAssemblee mondiale de la Sante visant a accelerer leradication de la dracunculose (ver de Guinee) (PDF) O Carter Center enaltece a Resolucao historica da Assembleia Mundial de Saude para acelerar a erradicacao do verme da Guine (PDF) ### Contact: In Geneva, Matthew.DeGalan@CarterCenter.org In Atlanta, Emily.Staub@CarterCenter.org #WHA78 #DefeatGuineaWorm #BeatNTDs The Carter Center Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. Sign up to get our news digest delivered directly to your inbox twice a week. Netflix has released the trailer for the Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) feature KPOP Demon Hunters from directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. The film debuts June 20 on streaming. The logline: When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira, and Zoey arent selling out stadiums, theyre using their secret identities as demon hunters to protect their fans from ever-present supernatural danger. Together, they must face their biggest threat an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. The music-heavy film draws heavily on K-pop culture and includes original songs written and produced by Teddy Park, 24, Danny Chung, Ido, Vince, Kush and Dominsuk of TheBlackLabel, and performed by Ejae, Rei Ami, Andrew Choi, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, Samuil Lee, Neckwav, and Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of Twice, among others. I have been a fan of these incredible artists and their work for many years, director Maggie Kang said in a statement, so its a dream come true to have original songs written and produced for our film by legendary talent such as TheBlackLabel. I also couldnt be more thrilled about our collaboration with Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung of Twice. It really legitimizes our film and songs in the K-pop world. Its proof that we achieved what we set out to do, which is make a real K-Pop group. Co-director Chris Appelhans added, We have an amazing voice cast, and the range of their performances is what gives the film such an original tone. Byung Hun Lee and Ahn Hyo-seop bring authentic K-drama emotion, while Arden, May and Ji-young blend the charisma of legit K-pop stars with the vulnerability and comedy of real young women juggling a dual life like no other. KPOP is SPAs first release since 2023s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The studio has previously sold numerous features to Netflix for streaming premieres, including The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Vivo. SPA is also partnering with Netflix for the upcoming release of Genndy Tartakovskys Fixed after WBDs New Line Cinema got cold feet over a planned theatrical release. Feature: A cup of coffee brews a story of China-Africa cooperation 13:13, May 24, 2025 By Xinhua writer Si Xiaomeng ( Xinhua CHANGSHA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- On a bustling street in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, a cafe buzzes with activity as order slips are spit out from the machine and a line of customers stretches toward the door. What captures people's attention most isn't the launch of new products, but the zebra above the counter. At first glance, it seems like a simple, bioinspired logo, but its stripes tell a story from far away. In 2018, Jing Jianhua, founder of the coffee brand "Own Master" (Xiao Ka Zhu), visited Uganda for the first time as part of a government-led delegation from the province. As he stepped out of the airport terminal, Jing was immediately struck by the vivid contrast of blue skies and white clouds stretching across the African landscape. But it wasn't the view that left a lasting impression. "It was a little boy in a zebra-striped shirt, curiously peeking out from behind a grass hut," Jing recalled. At that time, he found that after 19 years in the coffee industry, nothing had prepared him for what he saw. This was a land considered one of the birthplaces of coffee, where those who grew the beans lived with so little, far from the prosperity their harvests helped create in other parts of the world. That moment stayed with Jing. It became a symbol, a promise, and eventually, a brand. From that instant, he set a clear goal. He wanted to bring high-quality African coffee to Chinese consumers and help African coffee farmers improve their lives by gaining access to the Chinese market. Back in Hunan, momentum for China-Africa trade was growing. Platforms like the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) and the local free trade zone gave wings to his vision. Today, Own Master has opened nearly 100 coffee shops and is known for its distinctive flavors and affordable prices. "Thanks to China's zero-tariff policy, the cost of importing coffee beans has dropped, and we're committed to making coffee an affordable part of daily life," Jing said. Own Master has now grown into a recognizable brand across China. Its zebra logo -- a tribute to that brief encounter in Uganda -- remains front and center, representing not just coffee, but connection. However, for Jing, this is just the beginning. "This is my 26th year in the coffee business, and I'm still not stopping," he said. The brand now stands at the intersection of tradition and technology. Jing explained that in markets where hot coffee often cools during delivery, they began exploring solutions that would bring the coffee machine directly to the customer. In 2022, the brand ventured into the world of AI-powered coffee, a still-emerging field in China. The road ahead was far from smooth, filled with numerous challenges and setbacks. Over the course of three years, with support from experts from Hunan University, the National University of Defense Technology, and industry experts, Jing and his team has persevered. Their efforts led to the development of an AI-powered coffee machine that reduced wait time to under a minute while consistently delivering high-quality coffee in every cup. With new AI tools enhancing its product line, Own Master is offering more than just a cup of coffee. It's brewing a modern interpretation of the enduring connection between China and Africa. His vision goes beyond borders. Through platforms like CAETE, he sees a future where African coffee and Chinese innovation work hand in hand. "Looking ahead, we hope China will not only become a key growth driver in the global coffee market but also take on a leading role in the industry's development," Jing said, adding that he aims to strengthen ties with African coffee growers through technology exchange and shared expertise to improve the quality of the coffee. His goal is simple: to ensure every cup captures the unique flavor of African coffee. Jing is also determined to boost brand awareness and promotion. By combining online and offline efforts, he said he aims to deepen consumer understanding and appreciation of African coffee, introducing more people to its rich, aromatic charm. Looking ahead while staying firmly rooted in the present, Jing is steadily transforming his long-held dreams into reality. "My original intention has never wavered. It has always been about improving the lives of the 30 million coffee farmers in Africa and making their world better through the vibrant Chinese coffee market." "If possible, I also hope to establish a coffee school in Africa where farmers can learn about coffee cultivation, master the art of crafting it, and even taste the fruits of their own labor," he added. From a zebra-striped shirt in Uganda to steaming coffee cups across China, Jing has used the power of business to weave a heartfelt connection between China and Africa. "In an era where globalization faces increasing challenges, perhaps it's exactly this kind of warm and meaningful cup of coffee that we need," Jing said. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) A tribute to slain Native American teen Emily Pike adorns a fence near a vigil in her honor in Mesa, Ariz. on March 6. Home News Church of England says Israel's actions in Gaza are 'war of aggression,' no longer 'defensive' Church of England bishops have called for a ceasefire to the war in Gaza, claiming that Israel's actions are "no longer a defensive war" but rather a "war of aggression." The Church of England's House of Bishops, which has been meeting in York this week, issued an official statement Thursday denouncing Israel's blockade of food and medical aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. "Nothing justifies the heinous terror attacks committed by Hamas on October 7 2023. In such circumstances nations have a right to self-defense in line with international law, and to hold perpetrators to account," stated the bishops. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe "Yet, the Government of Israel has shown through its statements and actions that this is no longer a defensive war, but a war of aggression. We strongly affirm that the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza and the West Bank have a right to live in peace and security in their homeland." The bishops believe that "the death, suffering and destruction being inflicted on Gaza is a grave sin that violently assaults God-given human dignity and the very integrity of God's creation." "We call on all sides to end the war," they added. "We call on relevant [United Nations] bodies to be allowed to administer all necessary aid in line with long standing humanitarian principles." "We call for the immediate release of all hostages without condition. The continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the appalling levels of settler violence, and the forced displacements and house demolitions must cease." The Anglican leaders also commended Jewish voices within Israel who are calling for peace and praised the United Kingdom government for suspending talks with Israel on a new free trade agreement. The bishops expressed support for "our Jewish brothers and sisters" and denounced antisemitism, including "the shocking and senseless murder of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington, D.C." on Wednesday night. "We encourage dioceses and parishes to continue supporting the ongoing appeal for the Diocese of Jerusalem, including the restoring of medical facilities and the buildings of the Al Ahli Anglican Hospital in Gaza," the bishops concluded. "We give thanks for their steadfastness and faithful witness, and invite churches across the country to join us in praying for their ministry in sharing the light of Christ in such dark times." On Oct. 7, 2023, the Islamic terror group Hamas launched a series of attacks on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, which it has controlled since 2007. Nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including around 40 Americans, were killed, and more than 250 others were taken hostage. The Israel Defense Forces struck back with several air strikes on Gaza and then a ground offensive, with the stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. During the fighting, large numbers of Hamas militants and many of its leaders have been killed. However, large numbers of unarmed civilians have also been either killed or displaced. According to claims made by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict since October 2023, although the tally does not distinguish between unarmed civilians and combatants. The validity of the Gaza death toll has been questioned as thousands of names have quietly been removed from the casualty list since the beginning of the war. On Wednesday, Israel allowed around 100 aid trucks carrying food and medical equipment into Gaza after an 11-week blockade of aid supplies entering the territory. Antoine Renard, country director of the World Food Program, said Thursday that the aid had yet to reach the Gaza civilian population, according to Reuters. Hamas has been accused of stealing aid meant for the Gaza population. In April, Israel pushed back on criticism from Germany, France and the U.K. over the blockade of supplies into Gaza. "Article 70 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions requires aid when 'the civilian population is not adequately supplied.' During the 42-day ceasefire, 25,000 aid trucks entered Gaza," Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said at the time. "According to Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, a side is not obliged to allow in aid if it is 'likely to assist the military or economic efforts of the enemy.' Hamas hijacked the humanitarian aid to rebuild its terror machine." Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian aid. "If you look, Hamas is making it impossible because they're taking everything that's brought in," Trump said during a press conference. "But we're going to help the people of Gaza because they're being treated very badly by Hamas." Trump's comments followed the approval by Israel's cabinet of a plan for aid to be distributed by private companies and aid organizations. This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is open to a temporary ceasefire to allow for the return of the remaining hostages. But if a deal is not reached, he vowed to move forward with an offensive to take complete control of Gaza. He accused leaders in the U.K., France, and Canada of "inviting more such atrocities" like the one on Oct. 7, 2023, by pressuring Israel to end its war in Gaza without accomplishing its stated objectives. "The war began on October 7 when Palestinian terrorists stormed our borders, murdered 1,200 innocent people and abducted over 250 more innocents to the dungeons of Gaza," Netanyahu said in a statement Monday. "Israel accepts President Trump's vision and urges all European leaders to do the same. The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled and Gaza is demilitarized. No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won't." The Church of England is not the only religious body advocating for a ceasefire, as the newly installed leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, called for a cessation of hostilities on Wednesday during his first general audience in St. Peter's Square. "The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful," stated the pontiff. "I renew my appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, whose heartbreaking price is paid by the children, elderly, and the sick." Home News 'We're losing the narrative': Rabbi warns Hamas' PR strategy is working, fueling rise in hatred of Jews The day before two Israeli Embassy staffers were gunned down in the nation's capital, a rabbi warned U.S. lawmakers that Hamas' propaganda about Israel and its military campaign in Gaza has fueled a worldwide spike in antisemitism. Eric Fusfield, a rabbi and the director of legislative affairs for Bnai Brith International, a Jewish human rights and Israel advocacy organization, was among four witnesses who testified at a Tuesday hearing titled Worldwide Persecution of Jews. The bipartisan hearing, hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the House of Representatives, comes amid reports of a global surge in antisemitic incidents. Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., both led the hearing, during which Fusfield stressed the importance of an educational approach to addressing antisemitism while also emphasizing that governments have a duty to ensure public safety. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Were losing the narrative, the rabbi testified. Were losing the PR battle to terrorists, who rape women and decapitate babies. Somehow, in this morality play, Israel is the bad guy. It does take all of us to turn this narrative around. While the commission noted that anti-Israel animus has played a part in various antisemitic incidents following the Hamas-led terror attacks against Israel in October 2023, Jewish advocacy groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League, had already been tracking an apparent rise in antisemitism. Marina Rosenberg, the vice president for international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, also testified at the hearing, warning that increasing antisemitism is a global emergency and it requires a global response. Rosenberg asserted that discussions about deceased Jews are not enough to combat antisemitism and help people to better understand the Jewish community. We need to teach about the living ones, she said. People need to recognize the contribution of Jewish communities worldwide, what Jews are all about, that we are human beings. At the start of the hearing, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who himself is Jewish, recognized the Hamas-led attacks in 2023 as one of the bloodiest days since the Holocaust in Jewish history. On Oct. 7, 2023, the terror group slaughtered at least 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted over 240 others, including 31 Americans. Nadler warned that when it comes to hate, what starts with Jews rarely ends with Jews. Ted Deutch, the chief executive officer of the American Jewish Committee and a former member of Congress, later made a similar point. Antisemitism does not just threaten Jewish communities, it threatens the values that hold free societies together, Deutch said. The former Florida congressman urged lawmakers at the hearing to call out any form of Jewish hatred. Condemn antisemitism unequivocally and publicly, in all its forms, whenever and wherever it occurs, Deutch said. Name it. Call it out. Be strong. When an incident occurs, it matters when elected officials speak out loudly and use their broad reach, raising awareness that antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem but an assault on our shared values. Tuesdays hearing occurred one day before the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where the American Jewish Committee had hosted an event. The victims were identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were soon to be engaged. According to police, the 30-year-old suspect from Chicago opened fire on four people and fatally shot two of the attendees. After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum but was later detained by the authorities. According to the police, the shooter reportedly chanted free, free Palestine while in custody. In a statement shared with The Christian Post, Susan Michael of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA, said that she met Yaron at the ICEJ Gala in honor of Israel's 75th anniversary. Michael described Yaron and his family as cherished friends of ICEJ President Dr. Juergen Buehler. "That his life and Sarah's was so senselessly cut short here in our nation's capital is beyond heartbreaking," she stated. "I have worked with the embassy for over 40 years, and never have I witnessed such brazen hatred against the Jewish people. This is not an isolated tragedy it is part of a dangerous wave of antisemitism that is spreading rapidly and must be confronted with courage and moral clarity. Our prayers are with the families of Yaron and Sarah and with the entire Israeli diplomatic community." Home Opinion Oregon school entity banned our children's books. Here's why Proving, once again, that LGBT rights and the First Amendment cannot co-exist, an Oregon education service district bans childrens books that affirm biological gender. Two of the three banned childrens books on identity were authored by my amazing wife, Bethany, and me: He Is He and She Is She. The third, Johnny the Walrus, was penned by a relatively obscure author who goes by the name Matt Walsh. You might have heard of him. Together, our books incited hundreds of hours of travel, meetings, investigations, and writing appeals due to unconstitutional free speech and religious discrimination from a government entity the InterMountain Education Service District (IMESD) in Oregon. The district targeted a licensed clinical social worker, Rod Theis, an employee who simply decorated his office with three books that positively affirm how great it is to be a girl or a boy. Initially, he was instructed to remove only our books because they included wait for it Bible verses! Hes now being threatened with termination if he displays those books or similar content again. If only he had showcased books that peddle rainbow or Black Lives Matter propaganda (masquerading as diversity), he wouldve been praised for being so inclusive. But alas, he was so boringly biological in his approach. Such mundane, yet grossly offensive, stuff truth can be! Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Here comes the lawsuit Thankfully, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is defending Theis freedom of speech and his ability to exercise his religious liberty, neither of which disappear when he enters school property. A federal lawsuit was filed to challenge this senseless censorship. In Theis vs. InterMountain Education Service District Board of Directors, ADF exposes the hypocrisy of the district that clearly restricts Theis viewpoint while allowing others deeply political viewpoints seemingly without limitation. Only views affirming gender subjectivity are allowed. He is he. He is not she. He is not we. He is he. Those words, from He Is He, are just dripping with hostility, right? But apparently, biology is now bigotry. So, these teaching treacherous books addressing the beauty of biological gender were branded transphobic and hostile expressions of animus toward another person. We live in a Babylon Bee world. How are books that speak to the wonder of girlhood, womanhood, boyhood, and manhood a form of hatred? Well, according to the districts board, Mr. Theis violated school policy by displaying books that present a point of view that not everyone is going to agree with. Well, thats an impossible standard. So, everyone within the school, including staff and students, must ideologically agree with every view of every book within the confines of their taxpayer-funded walls? Is this Communist China? Dissent with the all-powerful district board is not an option. Its endemic Sounds painfully familiar. I live in northern Virginia, where, yet again, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) are using taxpayer dollars to defend their unconstitutional school policies that try to silence speech among staff and students, hide crucial information from parents, and punish those who dont assimilate. My friend Tanner Cross, a former educator at LCPS, knows all about that. He dared to speak against Policy 8040, which required him to falsely call a girl a boy and a boy a girl. He spoke up at a school board meeting, saying he loves his students too much to lie to them. Well, lying is what they demand. And so, they took his job. Thankfully, both a state judge and the Virginia Supreme Court reinstated him, despite millions spent by LCPS to smear and to silence. They lost. With an insanely astronomical $1.8 billion budget, they simply dont care how much they squander our tax dollars anything to keep things woke and educationally a joke. LCPS attack on basic biology is what inspired Bethany and me to write these books about pronouns and identity. IMESD Superintendent, Mark S. Mulvihill, accused Theis of bringing materials (our books) to the school that undermine the inclusive environment. Less than 0.5% of Americans identify as transgender and 0.4% as non-binary (theres clearly overlap with these categories). Those dubious stats are brought to you by the Williams Institute, a radically pro-LGBT think tank. So, He Is He, She Is She, and Johnny the Walrus speak to 99% of adults and children. How is that not inclusive? Hypocrisy anyone? Oh, the tangled web nonsense weaves. Theis is assigned to a couple of schools within IMESD, including La Grande Middle School (LGMS), where, gasp!, they teach a binary view of gender in both Science and English classes, according to the lawsuit filed. For instance, ADF shows evidence that one LGMS genetics lesson teaches students that females have XX chromosomes and males have XY chromosomes. The material goes on to explain how DNA dictates ones sex traits and characteristics. It sounds awfully similar to the children's books on He Is He and She Is She. Where are the woke patrol? Science must bend to some peoples feelings. LGMS also commits transphobia, it seems, in English classes where students use he/him or she/her when addressing an individuals gender. The lawsuit points out that they do not teach students to use non-binary they/them/their pronouns when referring to single, gendered individuals. The same people whove been sounding the false alarm about book banning across the country (aka parents not wanting material promoting racism, porn and pedophilia peddled in our public schools) are the ones banning books that simply tell the truth. Courage doesnt need a crowd. It just needs someone with conviction. Rod Theis is that someone in the far-left state of Oregon. Fellow social workers, staff and children could benefit from his moral clarity and compassion. Its tragic that a local government entity is wasting time and money blatantly discriminating while falsely claiming devotion to inclusion. Public schools across the country, like in Oregons InterMountain Education Service District, are failing in civics. Theres no America without free speech and religious liberty. Thats a fact thats quite elementary. Home News Muslim captor awarded custody of kidnapped Christian girl LAHORE, Pakistan A judge in Pakistan on May 16 handed custody of a Catholic girl to the Muslim man who kidnapped and forcibly married her despite evidence that she was coerced into stating she converted to Islam, her father said. My daughter Jessica Iqbal couldnt recite the Kalima [Islamic conversion proclamation] or respond to any other question about Islam in the courtroom, Iqbal Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. It was quite evident that she had been forced to claim that she had willingly converted her faith, yet the magistrate still allowed her to go with her abductor. Masih, a house painter in Chungi Amarsidhu, Lahore, Punjab Province, said his 32-year-old Muslim neighbor, Azeem Ullah, took his 16-year-old daughter from their house in the early hours of April 30. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe I dont know how Azeem Ullah fooled my innocent child into going with him, Masih said. We have no idea how or since when he had been grooming her into doing this. She was clearly enticed by the man who is almost double her age. Masih registered an abduction case against Ullah the same day, but police released him hours later, he said. Azeem Ullah had returned home after hiding my daughter somewhere to show that he wasnt involved in her disappearance, Masih said. I was very hopeful that he would reveal Jessicas whereabouts during police interrogation, but I was shocked when they freed him. I requested the investigating officer to at least restrict Azeem Ullah from leaving his house until Jessicas recovery, but he fled after three days. On May 16, Jessica appeared before Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfraz Cheema in Lahore and recorded her statement, in which she claimed that she had converted to Islam and married Ullah of her free will, Masih said. My wife and I begged Jessica to reconsider her statement, but she told us that she was helpless, he said. She was clearly under immense pressure to speak in her abductors favor because she repeatedly said that she was fearful for our lives. Masih said that he and his wife were in agony over their daughters well-being. Our lives have been completely devastated, he said. Im unable to focus on my work, as my mind is always thinking about Jessica. This mental anguish is killing me with each passing day. Sohail Habil of HARDS Pakistan, which is supporting the Masih familys legal struggle, said that in 99% of such cases, victims are coerced into giving false statements as kidnappers threaten to harm them or their families. In Jessicas case, the magistrate could clearly see that there was no truth in her religious conversion, but sadly he did not take any action, Habil told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. The group has now petitioned the sessions court to challenge the judges order, he added. Typically, kidnapped girls in Pakistan, some as young as 10, are abducted, forced to convert to Islam and raped under cover of Islamic marriages and are then pressured to record false statements in favor of the kidnappers, rights advocates say. Judges routinely ignore documentary evidence related to the childrens ages, handing them back to kidnappers as their legal wives. Amid a proliferation of such cases, Pakistans Parliament on May 19 passed a significant bill aiming to curb, discourage and eventually eradicate child marriages in the federal capital territory by raising the legal age of marriage for both sexes to 18 years, and prescribing stern punishment for violators. A bill criminalizing child marriage also has been pending in the Punjab Assembly since April 2024. Pending approval of the bill, the minimum age for girls to marry is still 16. Christian activists say that the enactment of this law would help in curbing forced faith conversions and marriages of minority girls in Punjab province, which is home to over 1.5 million Christians. Nationally, the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 set the marriageable age at 18 only for Christians; if they convert to Islam, girls considered Muslims come under Sharia (Islamic law), which allows them to marry at a younger age. Pakistan, which has a 96% Muslim population, is ranked No. 8 on Open Doors 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian. This article was originally published at Morning Star News Home News AOG pastor, wife detained in Cuba, facing 8 years in prison Detention ordered for referencing God, divine justice Two Assemblies of God pastors in Cuba, Luis Guillermo Borjas and his wife, Roxana Rojas, were detained this week after invoking their religious beliefs during their sons military tribunal. Prosecutors are seeking an eight-year prison sentence for the couple, who face charges of disrespect and disobedience to authorities. The incident occurred in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, where the couple resides, according to the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe They had been summoned to a military tribunal after their son, Kevin Laureido Rojas, fled a military facility. Although Kevin reportedly had a medical exemption from compulsory military service due to psychiatric issues, he had been taken by force to a base. At the tribunal, the pastors presented official documents from a medical commission supporting their sons exemption. When the military prosecutor accused them of submitting false evidence, Pastor Borjas responded by saying the officials would be accountable to Gods justice. The prosecutor then ordered their immediate detention, citing the illegality of referencing God or divine justice in a military court. Borjas remains in custody at a local police station. His wife was hospitalized after collapsing later that night. While in hospital, she was reportedly harassed by a man in civilian clothing who falsely identified himself as a nurse. The couples trial is set for June 9. Both are affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a denomination that holds legal status in Cuba. CSW has called for the charges to be dropped and for Borjas to be released, describing the legal action as unjust and urging international pressure on the Cuban government. Religious freedom in Cuba is tightly regulated, with the Communist dictatorship controlling all recognized religious institutions and requiring official registration for legal operation. Unregistered groups often face surveillance, harassment and restrictions on worship, assembly and religious expression. Cuban authorities recently barred exiled Pastor Alain Toledano Valiente from returning to the country to be with his adult daughter, who is undergoing surgery for advanced breast cancer. The government has enforced a travel ban against Toledano Valiente since his forced departure in 2022. A leader of the unregistered Apostolic Movement, he had appealed for permission to return, stating that her life was again at risk. In January, Cuban Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo was released from prison as part of a mass amnesty, despite not having completed his eight-year sentence for participating in peaceful protests in 2021. He was among 553 political prisoners freed following the U.S. decision to remove Cuba from a key terror watchlist a move that was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, who say that Cuba enables groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Home Opinion Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim murder: What does God ask of us in the face of unspeakable evil? In the face of unspeakable evil, what does God ask of us? Yesterday, two beautiful young people, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were gunned down outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., simply because they represented Israel and the values we hold sacred. They were planning to get engaged next week in Jerusalem. Their lives were cut short by a terrorist who told police, I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza. My first instinct was rage. My second was grief. But as Ive sat with this tragedy, I hear God calling us to two things that might seem contradictory but are actually inseparable. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe He is calling us to love each other more fiercely. And He is calling us to stand against evil with unwavering resolve. Both. Not one or the other. The love God demands is not the weak sentiment that says, Cant we all just get along? Its the fierce, protective love that binds us together so tightly that no hatred can tear us apart. When our enemies say, First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people, they understand what we sometimes forget: Jews and Christians are bound together by the same God, face the same enemies, and must stand together or fall separately. This terrorist didnt just murder two innocent people. He declared war on everything we believe that Israel has a right to exist, that Jews and Christians can work together, that human beings are created in Gods image and deserve to live in peace. Our response must be proportional to that declaration. We must love each other with a love so deep that an attack on Jews feels like an attack on our own children to every Christian, and an attack on Christians feels like an attack on our own family to every Jew. But we must also stand against this evil with everything we have: through law enforcement that pursues justice, through unwavering support for Israels right to exist, through policies that confront terrorism honestly, and through the moral clarity to call evil by its name. The same God who commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves also commands us to hate evil and to stand firm against those who seek to destroy what is good and holy. King David wrote psalms of love and psalms calling for justice, often in the same breath. He understood that protecting the innocent sometimes requires standing firm against the guilty. That defending what is holy sometimes means confronting what is profane. This is not contradiction. This is completeness. When I work to build bridges between Jews and Christians, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, delivering humanitarian aid, thats the love part. When I speak out for Israels right to exist and defend moral truth against those who distort it, thats the standing firm part. Both are acts of faithfulness to the same God. The terrorist who killed Yaron and Sarah represented a worldview that sees only darkness, that believes the only solution to conflict is the elimination of the other side. He looked at a young Jewish couple and saw not human beings created in Gods image, but symbols to be destroyed. We represent the opposite worldview. We see the possibility of light conquering darkness, good triumphing over evil, love and justice working together to build Gods kingdom. But building that kingdom sometimes requires standing firm against what opposes it. The same faith that calls us to feed the hungry and heal the sick also calls us to defend truth and confront evil. The same love that builds hospitals also stands for justice. The same hope that reaches out in reconciliation also refuses to compromise with those who reject all possibility of peace. Our enemies have made their choice. They have chosen hatred over love, destruction over creation, death over life. This is what I see in my work with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Whether it be persecuted Christians in Syria or elderly Jews in Israel, evangelical Christians give sacrificially because they understand these are not strangers these are family. Now we must make ours. We choose to love each other with a love that unites us across every difference. And we choose to stand against evil with a resolve that will not bend, will not break, and will not compromise until justice and truth prevail. This is how we honor Yaron and Sarah. This is how we serve the living God. This is how we win. A new study by Statistics Canada has dispelled the myth that immigrants who acquire Canadian citizenship are leaving in droves. According to a study published this month by Statistics Canada, of the immigrants admitted between 2008 and 2012 who became Canadian citizens, 93% had an active presence in Canada 10 years after admission. Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm This finding was specifically for immigrants aged 25 to 54 at admission. Active presence in this case was measured by income tax filing in a calendar year. The study found that this percentage was significantly higher when compared to immigrants of the same age bracket admitted in the same period who did not go on to become Canadian citizens. Of these, only 67% had an active presence 10 years later. Retention is higher among more recent immigrants The study also measured how the 2008-2009 cohort compared to immigrants admitted between 2003 and 2007. For immigrants admitted over 2003-2007, 91% of immigrants who became citizens had an active presence ten years later. Meanwhile, of those who immigrated between 2003 and 2007 but chose not to become Canadian citizens, 58% had an active presence long-term. This suggests that Canadas immigrant retention has been improving. How do human capital factors affect immigrant decisions? According to the study, human capital factors such as education and language proficiency impacted citizenship rates and active presence. Here are some findings: Higher education linked to higher citizenship rates: Immigrants with a bachelors or graduate degree were more likely to become Canadian citizens than those with lower levels of education. Official language skills matter: Those who spoke English or French at the time of immigration had significantly higher citizenship rates compared to those who spoke neither language. Younger immigrants more likely to naturalize: Individuals who arrived in Canada between the ages of 20 and 34 were more likely to get Canadian citizenship than older immigrants. Refugees more likely to naturalize: Among immigration categories, refugees were the most likely to become citizens, followed by those admitted under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Quebec selection program. Country of origin influences naturalization decisions: Immigrants from developing countries had higher citizenship rates when compared to those from developed countries. For example, the citizenship rate among immigrants from the US, France, the UK and South Korea ranged from 35% to 54% 10 years after admission. In contrast, the citizenship rate for immigrants from Colombia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Iran ranged from 74% to 82%. Does becoming a Canadian citizen make immigrants less likely to stay in Canada? One of the questions the study aimed to answer was whether acquiring Canadian citizenship affects an immigrants long-term stay in the country. In other words, whether some immigrants leave Canada after becoming citizens. The findings suggest that while some immigrants do choose to leave after acquiring citizenship, the percentage is relatively small and lower than many might expect. According to the report, the active presence rate fell from 97% one year before acquiring citizenship to 95% one year after, representing a modest 2% decline. This drop became slightly more pronounced over time. Three years after becoming Canadian citizens, the active presence rate fell to 92%, marking a 5 percentage point decline compared to the year before citizenship. This suggests that around 5% of naturalized immigrants either left Canada or became inactive in the tax system within three years of becoming citizens. However, the study does note that compared to immigrants who did not acquire Canadian citizenship, the decline in active presence is less steep. Non-citizens saw a more consistent annual decline of about 3 percentage points, proving that Canadian citizenship is still linked to higher retention rates. Note: It's worth noting that income tax filing in itself does not always equate to active presence. This report states that "among immigrants admitted in 2020, 90% filed a tax return in their first full year following admission." Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm RICHFIELD, Ohio On the second day of classes this year, a man told new Richfield Elementary Principal Tara Kieser that he was a concerned parent and that she would see a lot of him. Later, Kieser again bumped into Daniel Ott, this time in a school hallway. She said she was wearing a skirt that day and that Ott told her he was glad to see her in a dress. I said, Excuse me? and he said, I want to see your legs. I expect to see you in a dress, she told a judge. The confrontations continued through the school year, according to court records. The issue pushed Kieser to complain to administrators at Revere Schools, as well as to file a police report over stalking allegations. A judge later approved a protection order that said Ott must stay 500 feet away from Kieser for five years. She hasnt been to school in more than a month, saying that she fears for her safety. Ott claims he was a made scapegoat, as he said Kieser is using me to explain why she will only spend one year at Revere. He plans to run for school board. The issue has further splintered a politically polarized school district in the bucolic townships of Richfield and Bath, two affluent communities that are spread out across northern Summit County. The district is one of the top in Ohio, as it ranked 29th among more than 600 last year for student test scores. The divide has shown how the nations politics have seeped into classrooms. The conflict between Kieser and Ott follows last years controversy involving LifeWise Academy, which offered off-site religious instruction to students, with parental permission. Dozens of residents protested the mission of LifeWise at a school board meeting. Some said it would create hostility among students, while others expressed concern that LifeWise would teach kids that anything related to the LGBTQ community is a sin. Youll have some political feelings, and when you get a topic thats politically charged, youll usually see a couple of different sides rise up, said Anthony Stretar, who was Kiesers predecessor and now the superintendent at Black River Schools. A new principal Kieser began a two-year contract as principal at Richfield Elementary School in August. The school praises its teachers and staff, as well as its remarkable parental support, on its website. Ott, for instance, claimed hes a five-time PTA volunteer of the month and occasional field-trip chaperone or event organizer. In a hearing last month seeking to obtain the protection order, Kieser said she approached Ott two days into the school year, as he wore a staff T-shirt. He told her that he was a highly involved parent, Kieser said. She saw him again a few weeks later at a September PTA meeting. At that meeting, Ott warned her that he would humiliate her if she tried to limit parents access to the campus, she told a judge. Ott, however, testified that Kieser was retaliating against him for filing public records requests seeking information about her. Later, after the PTA meeting, Kieser testified, she met Ott while welcoming children to school in the morning. He said, I didnt recognize you without a dress on, she testified. She said she was wearing a pantsuit that day. A week later, Kieser met Ott in the schools hallway, where he said he wanted to see her legs, according to her testimony. Ott disputed Kiesers account. I am relieved when shes not wearing a skirt; its inappropriate, he testified at the hearing. My exact comment was, I didnt recognize you without a skirt on. An unsettled Kieser told the schools human resources director and Superintendent Dan White of the exchange. She said they advised her that if Ott comments on her clothing again, to tell Ott how that makes her feel or suggest he stop. Months later, at a February school board meeting, Kieser said Ott asked her where her dress was. She told him to stop and then reported the incident to the school, she testified, and officials began an investigation. Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to White, the superintendent, to learn more about the investigation and what, if anything, it resulted in. The safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority, he said in a Wednesday email that did not answer any of our inquiries. We abide by all court orders, and when we are made aware of new information regarding volunteers, we respond accordingly. On March 18, school officials instructed secretaries and administrative staff to deny Ott access to school buildings without advance approval from White, according to Kiesers testimony. Kieser said that didnt stop Ott from freely coming to the school. She filed a menacing complaint against him with Richfield police on April 12, records show. Kieser said she later learned Ott had obtained through a public records request time logs of her entering and exiting the school over the past three months. That made her fear for her safety, she told officers. I havent gone to school since April 21, she testified. I have sought out medical treatment for counseling because of the panic attacks. Im constantly feeling like Im in fear, and Im terrified. Ott, in a statement to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, said: On two occasions I was relieved Ms. Kieser was actually dressed appropriately and not dressed like she was going to the beach. On those occasions, I made a statement to the effect that I didnt recognize you not wearing a skirt. Ott also said that Kieser had exaggerated her claims about him. Ms. Kieser is using me to explain why she will only spend one year at Revere, he said in the email. The superintendent used the word uncomfortable. He suggested that I write Ms. Kieser a letter explaining the nature of my comments. I declined communicating any further with Ms. Kieser due to her misrepresentations and exaggerations regarding the five conversations we had. Last month, Kieser sought a civil protection order in Cuyahoga County, where she resides. Common Pleas Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams found there was sufficient evidence showing he caused Kieser to fear she would be harmed. Collier-Williams ordered Ott to stay 500 feet from Kieser until 2030 the maximum length for protection orders. A previous case Court records show Ott was found guilty of retaliation, a third-degree felony, in 2007. It stemmed from an altercation in an Applebees parking lot in Brimfield. He called 911 after a patron attacked him, according to a summary of facts included in an 11th Ohio District Court of Appeals ruling. The court reviewed a request from Ott seeking to overturn his conviction and a three-year prison sentence handed down by a Portage County Common Pleas judge. During the call, Ott made several comments suggesting he was a police officer, according to the summary, and a subsequent investigation by Brimfield police found he had made direct representations that he was a police officer. Responding officers gave Otts attacker a citation for disorderly conduct, while Ott was arrested days later on a felony warrant for impersonating a police officer, the summary says. An unhappy Ott then began calling several officers from the department requesting they drop the charge. He eventually got through to the police chief, who recorded the 47-minute phone call wherein Ott claimed he knew of police reports concerning the chief and his ex-wife, the summary says. I dont screw around. When someone comes after me, I go after them ten times. And so, thats why I have done a complete background check on you, Ott told the chief, according to the summary. The appeals court upheld his conviction. Most people find it hard to believe that I was ever found guilty of retaliation, he said in the email to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. It is not illegal to tell someone that you are going to sue them; its a mere threat of some unknown economic harm. It is not illegal to sue someone; it is not illegal to warn them of such. A district divided Several parents spoke to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer about the situation, but they declined to go on the record for this story. In some ways, it is different from last year, when parents spoke out at board meetings about LifeWise, when it sought to teach Bible classes off-site during the school day. LifeWise lessons teach that divorce is a sin, as is cohabitation and anything pertaining to the LGBTQ community, a parent told the board. As a community there is a great concern that this will cause a divide between students, staff and parents. Unlike that, the issue of Kieser and Ott appears more muffled. At a Revere Board of Education meeting Tuesday, more than 100 parents attended. Many were there to see their children receive awards. Others, like some Richfield Elementary parents who all appeared to have knowledge of Otts hearing, came seeking answers. They got few. In anticipation of public comment, the boards president, Keith Malick, had cautioned speakers not to criticize individuals. He said there were other avenues for that, such as contacting the board outside of the meeting. Jennifer Henry, a parent of a Richfield Elementary student, demanded the board communicate with parents about the stalking and offer a plan forward. Many attendees signaled agreement with her demand with applause. This is not a secret, she said. You owe us some type of communication. The Cleveland Orchestras bold and emotionally charged Vox humana program wove together opera, sacred music, and avant-garde minimalism to explore the many faces of reconciliation, from raw heartbreak to spiritual resolution. (Getty Images) Getty Images CLEVELAND, Ohio Instructions for a classical programming chatbot: design a full-length program of music that illustrates the theme of Reconciliation, using in any combination a narrator, a full symphony orchestra, a mixed chorus, a vocal monologue and an instrumental quintet. Thats not how Fridays Vox humana concert at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival came to be. But such a prompt might help explain how apparently unrelated works by Francis Poulenc, J.S. Bach, Galina Ustvolskaya and Richard Strauss made it from Franz Welser-Mosts fertile imagination to the Mandel Concert Hall stage. Based on Jean Cocteaus monodrama, Francis Poulencs 1958 opera La voix humaine presents the audience with one side of a telephone conversation between a jilted woman (Elle) and her former lover. As the audience and orchestra were settling in on Friday, French soprano Sarah Aristidou was agitatedly pacing on the elevated opera platform, reading a newspaper, and waiting for a call. Between wrong numbers, dropped calls, and other technological frustrations, we learn that Elle has been abandoned by her lover and that she has attempted to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills. Phrases like Can you hear me now? And Madame, hang up no, were not being dramatic drew laughs from the audience, while revelations about her psychological state demonstrated the gravity of her feelings: I dont dare turn on my vanity light Im wrinkled like an old woman and No food, overcoat over my bed clothes I didnt eat. I was very ill. I thought if I took all of the pills I would sleep without dreams. I felt I could not live any longer. This role was truly a workout for Aristidou, who was making her Cleveland Orchestra debut, U.S. debut and role debut on Friday. She was totally committed to her character and elicited sympathy, all the while making you feel that she really should be seeking professional help. Under the direction of Franz Welser-Most, The Cleveland Orchestra sounded splendid in a score that is typical Poulenc. Although his orchestration is thick, the composer leaves space for Elle to shine, and her clear, flexible voice filled the hall. Somehow you get the feeling that the lover on the other end of the line has been through this, time and again, with Elle. Perhaps he takes pleasure in goading her on. La voix humaine ends with Elle wrapping the telephone cord around her neck. So thats it? I was just about to say see you soon. I love you. An odd sort of reconciliation. After intermission, the string section setup was cleared for the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, who stood downstage to sing J.S. Bachs motet Komm, Jesu, komm. The Bach was wrapped around Galina Ustvolskayas Symphony No. 5, which suggests a large ensemble, but was performed from the elevated platform by a quintet Liyuan Xie (violin), Frank Rosenwein (oboe), Michael Sachs (trumpet), Richard Stout (euphonium), Yasuhito Sugiyama (tuba) and Marc Damoulakis (percussion). Ustvolskayas haunting music was the perfect backdrop for reciter Tony F. Sias gripping delivery of the Lords Prayer. Beautifully sung by the chorus under the direction of Lisa Wong, the Bach would easily have stood on its own as an example of religious reconciliation as the program notes suggested but combined with the Ustvolskaya and its repetitive percussion strikes, took on a mesmerizing ritualistic quality. An impressively efficient reset by the stage crew accommodated the full orchestra for a ravishing performance of Richard Strauss Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten. Its connection to the reconciliation theme may be no more complicated than Welser-Mosts emotional reaction to the work beautiful music from an opera that ends with the earthly reunion of the Emperor and the Empress. The program will be repeated tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are available online. Daniel Hathaway is founder and editor of the online journal ClevelandClassical.com. He teaches music journalism at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. The Presidents blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years," said PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger in a May 2 statement. "We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File) Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Every year, Ohios public media outlets receive more than $13.3 million in federal funding. That money, distributed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, helps keep trusted journalism, educational childrens programming and community-focused music on the air. For most stations, that funding represents 6% to 11% of their annual budgets. But for others like PBS Western Reserve, which reaches 4.9 million viewers across Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania its a lifeline. Now, with President Trumps executive order targeting national public media networks NPR and PBS along with the administrations plan to ask Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding for the CPB, three Northeast Ohio public media outlets find themselves wondering what it could all mean for the future. Chart: Federal Funding Received by Each Public Media Outlet in Ohio Im hoping for the best and completely preparing for the worst, said Tommy Bruno, general manager at WAPS-FM, a public media radio outlet branded as The Summit FM with stations in Akron, Youngstown and Athens. The Summit FM spins records, not headlines. But Bruno worries the station, like many others across Ohio, could get caught in the crossfire of Trumps beef with NPR and PBS. In his executive order issued on May 1, the president directed the CPB board to cease direct funding to NPR and PBS, writing that, Neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens. Its an accusation that Kevin Martin, president and CEO of Ideastream Public Media, the largest public media organization in Ohio, has heard before. Every administration has issues with the press, but I think certainly this particular administration has issues with the press or any mass communication that may be counter to his message, he said. Were trying to be objective and fair. Legally speaking, the order may not have teeth. CPB officials have already said they plan to ignore it. CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the Presidents authority, Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said in a statement. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government. A coordinated plan to defund The executive order is one part of what appears to be a systematic effort by Republicans to undermine public media. In March, conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia led congressional hearings accusing NPR and PBS of liberal bias. Trump also tried to fire three of CPBs five board members, which wouldve left it one short of a quorum. Weeks later, the Department of Education pulled the plug on Ready to Learn, a grant thats helped fund PBS favorites like Sesame Street and newer shows such as Molly of Denali. Combined, these actions were meant to sway public opinion against public media and disrupt its operations. Still, the executive order came as a surprise to Natalie Pillsbury, president and CEO of PBS Western Reserve. Only because we had been preparing for something different, she said. That something different is the administrations plan, unveiled in April, to claw back nearly all of CPBs previously approved federal funding for the next two fiscal years. If passed by Congress, stations could lose money theyve already built into their budgets for 2026-27. These cuts would have the most impact not on PBS nor NPR at least not directly but on local public media stations. More than 70% of CPBs federal funding goes straight to local stations, helping them to stay on the air and serve their communities. PBS Western Reserve PBS Western Reserves two television stations, WNEO Channel 45 in Youngstown and WEAO Channel 49 in Akron, cover the largest broadcast footprint among Ohios eight public TV stations. The company receives about $1.1 million in federal grants, making up 22% of its annual budget, much higher than the national average. The potential loss of that would be extremely challenging for our organization, Pillsbury said. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Kent, the company employs 24 people. It airs PBS programming like PBS NewsHour and Washington Week but doesnt have its own news team. Instead, it focuses on locally produced content on the arts, education, history and community affairs. Recent examples include More Childhood, Please, a kids show produced in partnership with Akron Childrens Hospital, and By Natures Design, a documentary on Ohios wetlands. The plan is for this docuseries to continue and cover other ecosystems, Pillsbury said. But the loss of federal funding would put work like this at risk. None of its local programming, she added, could be described as biased or unfair, as Trump has accused PBS of being. We highly value accuracy, fairness and integrity in the content we create, Pillsbury said. Our primary goal is to be honest, authentic and share the stories of our community as they are. PBS Western Reserve also provides free educational resources, including math and science lessons for students of all ages and professional development for teachers. Losing the CPB grant would put all of it in jeopardy. We give out books, we give out school supplies, Pillsbury said. A cut this large would require us to make some pretty tough decisions. While losing nearly a quarter of its revenue would be a major blow, shes hopeful the organization could make it up. Potential strategies include pursuing private grants, increasing donor appeals and leasing space on its broadcast towers. Shes also relying on viewers, well, like you. Its vitally important that folks call their legislators and let them know how much they value public media, Pillsbury added. Ideastream Public Media Ideastream Public Media serves 3.6 million people across 22 counties through PBS member station WVIZ Ch. 25, NPR affiliate WKSU 89.7 FM, and classical and jazz radio stations WCLV 90.3 and JazzNEO. It receives about $2.6 million in federal funding, or about 9% of its annual budget. I think we could certainly fill that revenue hole. That, to me, is the easy part of the equation, Martin said. The harder part is that if PBS and NPR go away, then theres a big question about national content: How do we acquire it, how do we produce it and how do we make it available to the 3.6 million people in Northeast Ohio? PBS, which produces much of WVIZs national programming, said it gets 22% of its revenue directly from the federal govement. Ideastream isnt facing the kind of existential threat that smaller stations in rural communities might be. With an endowment of nearly $60 million and a diversified portfolio in which each service stands on its own, Martin said the company is built to last. Still, theyre not taking anything for granted. Our fiscal year starts Oct. 1, Martin said. Well be looking at different scenarios in our budget process and contingency planning. But he emphasized that the organizations focus remains on the work itself. Ideastreams 160 employees include 32 headquartered in Columbus, covering the statehouse, governors office and Ohio Supreme Court. One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to become sufficiently distracted that we stop delivering the services that our mission calls for, he said. The Summit FM The Summit FM receives about $122,000 in federal money. The independent music station isnt a target of Trumps executive order. It could, however, lose that money as part of the rescission package. On paper, the figure might look small, but for a station with an annual budget of $1.3 million and just seven full-time employees, its huge. Its going to cut deep, Bruno said. Id have to do an immediate restructuring of operations and services, and potentially a reduction in staff. The loss would most directly affect the stations ability to license the music it plays. Its adult album alternative format includes everything from The Black Keys and Rolling Stones to Gary Clark Jr., Bob Marley and emerging local talent. Between songs, listeners hear messages promoting mental health, wellness and addiction recovery, connecting its audience with community resources. The stations Music Alive Program also provides hundreds of musical instruments to local schools. Its all part of The Summits core mission. We believe in the healing power of music, he said. So, were unique, and without the CPB, I dont know where well be. Looking ahead The executive order may not be more than political theater, and the rescission plan is still uncertain. But Northeast Ohios public media outlets arent waiting to see how things play out. Theyre preparing budgets, weighing cuts and rallying supporters. For station leaders, the moment is about more than budgets. Its a reminder that public media provides something uniquely valuable independent journalism, free educational resources, cultural and childrens programming thats accessible to everyone all for just $1.50 per year for the average taxpayer. Said Pillsbury, the CEO at PBS Western Reserve: People rely on us. Berea Superintendent Tracy Wheeler was named one of five statewide recipients of the Ohio Superintendent Award of Excellence. Berea City School District BEREA, Ohio Berea City School District Superintendent Tracy Wheeler has been named one of five recipients of the Ohio Superintendent Award of Excellence, a statewide honor presented by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. The award recognizes superintendents across Ohio who demonstrate exceptional leadership, a clear educational vision and a positive impact on their school communities. It is given annually to five individuals, along with one Superintendent of the Year. Wheeler, who was appointed in 2019 as the first female superintendent in the districts history, has been credited with leading the district through a period of innovation and renewed focus on student wellness, academic rigor and community engagement. Under her leadership, the district has emphasized deeper learning and worked to foster a school culture in which students, staff and families feel supported and valued. The foundation cited her commitment to creating inclusive environments and her reputation for calm, steady leadership and thoughtful decision-making. As part of the recognition, Wheeler will receive a $1,000 award to support a project or initiative within the Berea City School District. She will also be formally honored at the Martha Holden Jennings Foundations Annual Educator Awards Banquet on July 24. The foundation, which promotes excellence in public education across Ohio, selects honorees based on their impact not only on district operations but on student outcomes, school climate and broader educational leadership. CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday detailed how President Donald Trump's global trade decisions seriously inhibit two of the U.S.'s biggest tech titans, Nvidia and Apple . Investors need to accept that Trump will continue to impact much of the market, he said. "We have to make our peace with it and, yes, add it to the risk factors of owning stocks here. It puts a premium on companies that Trump and his people play no role in," he said. "Unfortunately, the list of companies that are exempt from presidential meddling grows shorter by the day." The Trump administration put restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence chips, specifically targeting China, in an effort to protect national security and limit the country's access to the advanced technology. These regulations hit Nvidia hard, and CEO Jensen Huang warned they are a "failure" and are doing more harm to the U.S. than the China. Huang said the restrictions have cut Nvidia's market share in China from 95% to 50% and motivated the country to make its own chips faster. According to Cramer, it is safer for China to rely on Nvidia for its most advanced chips than develop its own. Trump is also targeting Apple with punitive tariffs, even after the iPhone maker tried to move manufacturing out of China and into India. But the president announced on Friday that the company will have to pay 25% tariffs on phones made outside the U.S. Cramer disagreed with the government's action, suggesting American-made iPhones will be too expensive for consumers, and noting that the company has already created many jobs in the U.S. Cramer said there is some precedent for heavy government interference in big business. For example, he said, former President Harry Truman took control of the railroads when a nationwide strike threatened to disrupt the economy. Later, former President John F. Kennedy chided steel companies for raising prices during an economically fragile time and pressured them to reverse the measures. But in these instances, the presidents were dealing with important national issues, Cramer said. The current conflicts are because the president is simply "telling companies what to do and where to go, and going after them hard if they don't," he continued. "No matter what, the president's functioning as the chairman of the board, overruling company execs about business decisions. He's not accepting their rationales," he said. "He wants it his way. In that sense, he's inching step by step toward running what I call a command economy." The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment. Correction: This story has been updated to correct when former President Harry Truman took control of the railroads. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code While John Cleese has been behind some of the greatest comedies of all-time, the latter phase of his career has been a tad more questionable. In recent years, Cleese has starred in a Rob Schneider vanity project, participated in a cringey Australian roast and hosted an anti-woke talk show set in a medieval castle for some reason. But even given those baffling career decisions, his latest gig was about as expected as the Spanish Inquisition. Cleese is currently the face of The Revelation of the Andalusian Crush, which, per EuroWeekly News, is a new international tourism campaign video launched by the Andalusian regional government in order to promote Holy Week, timed to coincide with this past weekends Procesion Magna. Don't Miss The ad, which runs for over a minute and was recently shared by Cleese on social media, finds the Fawlty Towers star visiting a Catholic confessional. He then mumbles vague narration about the importance of the Church over a supercut of crucifixes and religious imagery. I confess it, its impossible not to take it seriously, Cleese states. Ive seen a place where the eternal is part of everyday life. Even if you dont believe it, you feel it. In his post, Cleese or whoever runs his account when hes not using it to feud with other ex-Pythons claimed that he had his own revelation and felt a faith that needs no explanation. Some fans were seemingly taken aback by the endorsement, considering that Cleese famously wrote and performed in perhaps the greatest satire of organized religion ever filmed: Monty Pythons Life of Brian. Advertisement The comedy was famously targeted by religious groups and banned in several countries, including Ireland and Norway. The Catholic archdiocese called Life of Brian a "blasphemy" and the Pythons, including Cleese, received death threats. Advertisement Advertisement As a result of the controversy, Cleese, along with a visibly irate Michael Palin, even debated the Bishop of Southwark and Christian journalist Malcolm Muggeridge during a now legendary 1979 talk show appearance. But while Cleese may have been a non-believer at the time, hes had a change of heart in recent years, claiming that after 25 years of atheism, he was less anxious about religion now. Although it wasnt all that long ago that Cleese criticized the Catholic Churchs teachings on abortion and homosexuality claiming they would not be recognized by Christ. Advertisement Its possible that Cleeses recent promotional effort, which obviously capitalizes on his past conflicts with religion, was born out of a genuine interest in religious tourism. Then again, it could be because hell promote literally any product or service for the right fee. Kevin Smiths Dogma is finally free from intellectual property purgatory. In addition to an upcoming theatrical run and a Blu-ray release soon after that, the film just returned to the Cannes Film Festival, where it first screened back in 1999. Presumably it was the only movie at the fest co-starring a rubber shit monster. Now that the rights are available once again, Smith is working on a Dogma sequel. After initially announcing the project and heralding the return of stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, last fall Smith was forced to walk back the big news, clarifying that he hadnt actually spoken to the actors and had yet to start work on the script. While theres not any casting news to speak of, Smith has provided one important update: Hes at least started the script. Im writing the sequel, the director stated in an interview for Cannes website. Ive been writing it for the last six months. But this time, the director I am no longer has faith. Don't Miss Hes seemingly referring to the fact that, even though the original Dogma was labeled blasphemous by some evangelicals, he still considered himself to be a devoted Catholic, and saw the movie as a way to promote organized religion, rather than mock it. Its a bit disconcerting because youre trying to do the work of Christ to go out there and spread the good word, Smith told the The Los Angeles Times back in 1999. I dont make a movie like Dogma to make fun of the Catholic Church. I talk about stuff in Dogma to make the church more human so people arent so put off by it. Faith is something you can attain. Advertisement But nowadays, he no longer thinks of himself religious. (Life is) not about living in service to some being you cant see. Its about living in service to everyone here, Smith said in 2015. Arent we supposed to be beings of our own little universes, make things better, not rely on somebody in the sky to help us out? And that personal shift is apparently going to be at the forefront of Dogma 2. It is going to be about how to be Christian when youre no longer Christian, Smith revealed in Cannes. Even though I dont consider myself to be a believer, I still live a pretty Christian life. It was burnt into me as a child. When I learned to walk, I also learned to be good to others. Thats something that doesnt go away because you declare: I dont believe in God anymore. Advertisement Also, while the villain of the original movie was a fedora-wearing demon named Azrael Advertisement the sequel will up the evil ante with a new/very old character. The film will also be about the devil, Smith revealed. We dont talk enough about the devil in Dogma. Although, to be fair, the devil did own the first movie for a while. Why is there such resistance to the campaign to reopen the case of Lucy Letby, the nurse who has been sentenced to death, in slow motion, for crimes which may not even have happened? I've seldom seen such a potent case for allowing an appeal. A panel of first-rate doctors say there were no crimes. They say her hospital ought to have been shut down because it just wasn't up to the job. Two trials produced no objective evidence that Ms Letby did anything wrong. Claims that she is guilty because she was on duty for lots of deaths have been dismissed as bilge by statisticians. One of her main denouncers turns out to have been a bit, well, confused, about events he made much of in evidence. Prosecutors messed up door-swipe evidence, getting it the wrong way round. An alleged confession turns out to be rubbish as well. You may not care about what I think. That's OK. But the fact that Lord Sumption, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, thinks she is 'probably innocent', must matter. He is not just one of the cleverest lawyers in the country. He has eight years' experience of criminal trials as a Crown Court Recorder. And yet I'm far from sure the courts will take a second look at the weird trials which convicted her. Weird? Well, several prosecution witnesses were allowed to stay anonymous for life, something almost unknown outside spy trials. And one of the main expert witnesses against Ms Letby was brutally denounced by an Appeal Court judge for his performance in a separate case. Police bodycam footage of Lucy Letby being led away after her arrest Despite this, the BBC can barely bring itself to mention that the conviction has been challenged. A public inquiry still refuses to consider the possibility that a mistake has been made. Legions of politicians and commentators still sit on the fence, or worse. On social media, supporters of the verdict constantly try to use the poor parents of the dead and damaged children. They tell doubters that their actions are distressing those parents, and so they should shut up. I've many times answered this argument here. Some who insist that Ms Letby's case should stay closed are in the police, the prosecution service and the media. They have heavily committed themselves to her guilt. While I wish they would change their minds, I can see why they don't want to. But are there other forces at work? I will be delicate here, but do some law firms, one working alongside a public relations agency, have an interest in keeping Ms Letby in her prison cell? They are among those who are working to obtain compensation for the bereaved parents. All well and good. As far as I am concerned the parents deserve enormous compensation, whether Ms Letby is guilty or innocent. But as far as I can see, such payments will be at their highest if the hospital involved can be shown to have failed to stop a serial killer, when it should have detected and halted her actions. For this, Ms Letby needs to stay guilty. What does this matter? Well, many injury lawyers in this country now operate on a no-win, no-fee basis. That obviously suits normal claimants, who have no money for lawyers' fees. But the other side of this is that, in some circumstances, such lawyers can claim what is called a 'success fee' if they win the case. By law, such a fee can be up to a maximum of 25 per cent of the compensation paid. That could be a lot. Let us not presume this is what is going on. I did not. I found out, as far as I could, which law firms and which PR agency were involved in this. I contacted them and asked a simple question. Were they doing the work 'pro bono' that is, were they doing it without payment, in the public interest? This is hardly an insulting question. I was asking them 'are you doing something good and generous?' But the moment I asked it, they instantly broke off contact with me. No replies came to phone calls and emails. Recorded delivery letters arrived at their offices but have not yet been answered. Emails were delivered, but not replied to (one, I detected, was deleted unread). Well, I don't want to convict anyone on purely circumstantial evidence. I am not even naming them. But am I not entitled to ask whether anyone has a powerful material interest in opposing the reopening of the case? On Friday, BBC Radio 4's Today programme devoted ages to an item about thieves who fill up their cars at petrol stations and drive off without paying. One victim complained that the police ignored this because they had 'more important things to do'. Nick Robinson, the presenter, was too grand to explode at this insulting excuse. And the programme was too lazy to ask the police what these 'more important things' are. When will it sink in? The police are useless. Replace them, now, with men and women prepared to do the job. Tom Hanks in Greyhound, based on The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester Hollywood's cracked view of the past The Covid panic pretty much sank Tom Hanks's 2020 war movie Greyhound without trace. Even now it isn't that simple to watch it on the web. It is based on one of my favourite books, C.S. Forester's The Good Shepherd, about a devout, austere, rather bitter US Navy officer who finally gets a sea command, hunting German submarines, in 1942. It's worth seeking out, though modern attention spans mean it can't spend much time on subtleties. I was pleased to see that the officer's Christianity wasn't cancelled. But the past is still a mystery to Hollywood. He is shown addressing God as 'You', rather than 'Thou', unthinkable to a person of that generation. And, to soothe Irish sensibilities, 'Londonderry' is called 'Derry' as would never have happened in 1942. Also, the voices of unseen British Royal Navy officers don't begin to sound as such men actually did. Such voices have now almost entirely gone. The humble and rarely seen moped - considerably less dangerous than the electric motorbikes that now tear down our roads This is an actual moped, a sad, slow, humble vehicle, compelled (quite rightly) to carry a number plate. I doubt if any now exist. What we have instead are electric motorbikes, without number plates, capable of 60 miles an hour. Yet many in the media wrongly refer to them as 'mopeds'. They aren't. I wish they were. If this goes on much longer, I really think the great moderate mass of the British public will finally explode with irritation. This is not meant to be communist Albania. This is not Ceausescus Romania. Our country is not supposed to be the kind of place where you lie awake in the small hours waiting for the police to knock on your door just because you were so foolish as to say something a bit off colour online. This is Britain, birthplace of John Stuart Mill. This is the land of Wilkes and Liberty. This is the country that stood out against totalitarianism throughout the 20th century. We denounced the Gestapo, resisted them and finally destroyed them. We despised the brutality and intimidation of the KGB, the Stasi, the Securitate. We hated the culture of spies and informers, where people monitored what you said and then sneakily reported it to the authorities. We were right, and we were vindicated by history, because in the end those east European populations could take it no more, and they chose freedom. My friends, it is therefore a sickening and shaming fact that in Britain today there are reportedly more arrests every day for online comment than there are in Putins Russia; not just per capita, but absolutely. We would like to tell ourselves that the two regimes are not comparable and we would be right, in the sense that the punishments in Russia are far worse, and there are more Russians in jail simply for what they have said. There is no real moral equivalence between Britain, for all our faults, and a Moscow regime where journalists are shot and political opponents poisoned or sent to the Gulag. There are all sorts of reasons for believing that a prison sentence for this mother Lucy Connolly, the author of an admittedly dreadful tweet about the Southport murders, was not just wrong but positively insane But ask yourself: is the gulf between the UK and Putins Russia quite as wide and as stark as it should be? Can we really say that we are not quietly turning into a police state, when so many good police officers spend so much of their time glued to the internet, watching out for members of the public who have said something out of line? We are not just losing our freedom, but across the world, as I am afraid US Vice President JD Vance has correctly pointed out, we are losing our precious reputation for freedom and common sense. The other day we heard the case of the gentle retired police officer from Kent who opened his door to six Kevlar-swaddled officers from his own former force. They searched his home, scanned his wifes shopping lists, and having noticed some Brexity looking books on his shelf, they handcuffed him, took him down to the local nick and held him for eight hours while they questioned him about what they took to be a dodgy tweet about Israel and Hamas. The poor man was desperate to escape, because he had to fly to see his daughter in Australia. So, against his better judgment he accepted a caution for malicious communication even though the officers had got hold of the wrong end of the stick and misunderstood a completely innocuous tweet. The Chief Constable of Kent has now apologised to the retired officer. He had done nothing wrong, and nor had Allison Pearson, the journalist, who tweeted something equally innocuous about the pro-Palestinian protests and found the hi-vis posse at her door, tasers at the ready. Nor had the poor couple who were again taken to the station, and detained for eight hours, because they had put something critical of the local primary school on a WhatsApp group. The whole rigmarole sounds ludicrous, but there are now 30 such arrests every day, and as Pearson has so ably recounted, it is very far from funny to be the victim of this kind of state persecution. You dont know how long it will last. You dont know how it will end. You dont know whether you will end up in prison, like poor Lucy Connolly, the author of an admittedly dreadful tweet about the Southport murders but one she rapidly regretted and deleted. There are all sorts of reasons for believing that a prison sentence for this mother was not just wrong, but positively insane. She has no previous criminal record. She has a 12-year-old daughter who obviously needs to have her mother around. She lost another child at the age of only 19 months, in miserable circumstances, and was deeply distressed to hear about what had happened at Southport. Was it not entirely understandable that she should feel horror at this event? Wasnt she entitled to feel rage at the idea of a young man running amok and butchering a group of seven-year-olds at a Taylor Swift themed dance party? Which of us can honestly say that we would not blurt something, on hearing such news, that we did not really mean and that we later might regret? Thats what she did; and the trouble was that she did it on X/Twitter. Lucy Connolly did not mean to start a riot. She did not seriously mean to incite violence against asylum hostels or politicians; and when the Southport riots began, she actively begged everyone to stop. She deserved, at most, some kind of suspended sentence or a fine. It is absolutely disgraceful that she is still in prison, six months later, unable to see her daughter. It is bewildering that the appeal court has turned down her early release. It is beyond parody that this week, the very week that Lucy Connolly was told she had to remain incarcerated for one stray tweet, the Labour government has announced that they are on the point of releasing literally thousands of serious sexual and violent offenders, because they havent got room in the jails. Why are we locking a mother up for stuff on Twitter and letting these scumbags out? Be in no doubt that as a result of Labours hopelessly soft penal policies, a lot of people will get robbed, a lot of people will get hurt and some I am afraid will almost certainly be raped and murdered by people who should be behind bars. There will be criminals out early on the street who pose a real threat to the public, while this mother continues to serve out her 31-month sentence when the British public knows that she is no conceivable danger to anyone. Yes, it is true that the prison population is at an all-time high; but the answer is not to let them all out. The answer is to fight the crime wave, starting with the epidemic of organised shoplifting that is one of the hallmarks of Starmers Britain. Stop letting the bastards off. Stop turning a blind eye. The crucial lesson of zero tolerance crime fighting is that if you really sweat the minor crime I mean real crime not thought crime the serious crimes magically start to fall away too. Thats how you restore confidence in the criminal justice system; thats how you ultimately cut the number of crimes and the number of people in jail. In the meantime, if Shabana Mahmood wants to empty at least one cell she should do whatever she can to free Lucy Connolly now. Recently, I found myself in a hairy situation. I accidentally stumbled into a situationship with a bald man and he broke my heart. The worst part? He wasn't even my type. It sounds shallow, but it's shamefully true. I typically go after the hunky, athlete types, ones with full heads of hair. I never thought I would catch feelings for someone follically challenged. It was only meant to be a casual fling. But in a plot twist I didn't see coming, I got completely swept up. This guy managed to charm my pants off literally. He was cheeky, charismatic and unashamedly alpha, with piercing blue eyes and a deep, mesmerizing voice. Oh, how I lapped it up. So, I was unexpectedly gutted when I received this brutal text: 'It's not you, it's me.' I typically go after the hunky, athlete types, ones with full heads of hair. I never thought I would catch feelings for someone follically challenged. I accidentally stumbled into a situationship with a bald man - and he broke my heart. The worst part? He wasn't even my type. As I mourned the loss of the best sex of my life, I wondered how I got here. I was heartbroken over a man who should never have stood a chance. That's when it hit me. It wasn't his looks that I fell for it was his charm. You see, bald men have learned they have to turn it in order to turn on the ladies. It's what lets them bypass your logic and standards, and get under your skin and between your sheets. I've got to admit, I was kind of impressed. Unlike conventionally attractive guys, bald men can't just rely on genetics to woo a woman. Instead they have refined their witty banter, built emotional intelligence and developed a captivating personality. Just look at Stanley Tucci. He might not be a typical hunk, but the deep timbre of his voice, that soft-spoken intensity and the way he makes a martini... He's living proof that while hairlines might recede, sex appeal doesn't have to. Ironically, while millions of men fly across the world to get hair transplants in Turkey, women are secretly swooning over the men who shed their manes and stay put. A recent survey found that 40 percent of women are attracted to baldness, while a 2017 study from the University of Pennsylvania concluded that bald men are perceived as more dominant, confident and masculine. It got me thinking: Are bald men having a red-hot renaissance? I mean, some of the world's biggest sex symbols are chrome domed. Vin Diesel. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Christopher Meloni. Bruce Willis. Jason Statham. Shemar Moore. Channing Tatum. Pop a bald man in an action movie and you've got yourself a blockbuster. And their love lives speak for themselves. Statham is engaged to supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. 'The Rock' is married to the stunning Lauren Hashian. Willis is with model Emma Heming and was once married to Demi Moore. Some of the world's biggest sex symbols are chrome domed - just look at Vin Diesel (pictured). Meloni (pictured) is also a hairless Hollywood hunk. Tucci (pictured) is living proof that, while hairlines might recede, sex appeal doesn't have to. Their love lives speak for themselves. Statham (right) is engaged to supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (left). Truth is, I've had my hopes dashed by plenty of dates with ridiculously good-looking, hirsute guys who turned out to be crashing bores. The source of that disappointment has a name. It's the 'halo effect,' a psychological bias in which we assume conventionally attractive people are automatically a catch, when in reality they're not. Trust me, I've been blinded by it. But I can't blame the bachelors who are naturally blessed. Why bother learning how to hold a conversation if your good looks can do the talking? When you spend your whole life impressing women with tousled tresses and bone structure alone, there's not much incentive to develop a personality. But you know who isn't putting you to sleep over a cocktail? A bald man. Dare I say, it's impossible to go on a bad date with one. In a world obsessed with perfectly coiffed hair and bulging muscles, these men have single-handedly shattered the stereotype that bald is blah. Clearly, bald is best. Because real sex appeal isn't about what's on top of your head, it's about what's going on inside it. And that is more deadly than a man with a six-pack and a full head of hair. An American woman has revealed the common household appliance she found 'terrifying' when she first moved to the UK. Maxine, who has lived in Britain for the past 23 years, made the revelation in a viral video on her TikTok account, @yorkshireyank. In the clip, which racked up over 36,000 views, she listed the 'five things that I have never seen until I moved to the UK'. Maxine, who lives in Leeds, revealed one of the biggest differences she spotted was seeing a 'power shower' for the first time. A power shower has a built-in electrical pump in order to increase the flow rate by providing a stronger jet of water. The TikToker revealed she was 'terrified' because she thought she might get 'electrocuted' having an electrical machine in the shower. She said: 'I had genuinely never seen a power shower before I moved over here. And I'll be honest with you, when I first used a power shower, I was terrified that I was going to be electrocuted.' Elsewhere the influencer claimed she had 'never seen a radiator' before moving to Britain. Maxine, an American who has been living in the UK for the past 23 years, took to her TikTok @yorkshireyank to explain some of the British household appliances that she found the most confusing after moving from the states She explained: 'I had never seen a radiator in a house. I know that sounds ridiculous but we had never had radiators in our home. 'We had forced air and it was either hot or cold and that's how we heated or cooled our homes.' Another thing that confused Maxine was having a plug socket for a razor in the bathroom. She said: 'I had never seen, what do you call those things? Those razor sockets in the bathrooms before. I've never seen anything like that. 'We were just never allowed to play with electricity and water at the same time.' The fifth household appliance to have her scratching her head was a 'washer dryer combo'. She said: 'I had never seen a washer dryer combo unit until I moved to this country. 'Now, since I've left, they actually have them in the USA, but they were extremely uncommon when I left. They're just not a thing. She concluded: 'So if you're an American in the UK, what's some things that surprised you that you'd never seen before? In a video, which racked up over 36,000 views, she listed the 'five things that I have never seen until I moved to the UK' Maxine, who lives in Leeds, revealed one of the biggest differences she spotted was seeing a 'power shower' for the first time (stock image) 'Or, if you're British and visited the USA, what's some things that surprised you about the United States?' Brits rushed to the comments to reveal things that they found strange when visiting the US for the first time. One person said: 'I'm British and it shocks me that American hotel rooms don't have kettles, how am I supposed to make a cup of Yorkshire tea?' Another said: 'Tipping, why not pay people a decent wage in America.' Someone else added: 'Probably taking away your card after a meal. Packing your shopping and the amount of plastic bag wastage. Ordering kids McDonalds and the small bag of fries.' A fourth added: 'Oh I LOVE that you have laundry rooms as standard in your homes, with large washers and dryers.' Another said: 'The thing that really surprised me in the US was toilet cubicle doors!' Maxine replied: 'Yes, when I go back for visits it feels so nice intrusive.' Brits rushed to the comments to reveal things that they found strange when visiting the US for the first time Previously, Maxine revealed the normal habits in the US that would be considered 'rude' in the UK. She says that it is deemed normal for American citizens to give tours of their houses to guests, showing them where they cook, do laundry and relax in their spare time. 'This is something that I have personally been privy to and I've personally been walked around people's homes,' she said. 'It's just weird and it would be considered rude in this country (the UK).' She then went on to say that is common for waiters and waitresses to take a customer's debit card away from when paying a bill in a restaurant. 'For about a period of five to ten minutes, you have no idea where your card has been, who has touched it and what has happened to your card in that timeframe, she added. 'In the UK, that just doesn't happen. 'They bring the credit card reader to your table and then they do it right in front of you, so there is no chance of anyone skimming your credit card.' 'A lot of Americans will say that they know their table manners but you don't them like the Brits do, so let's agree to disagree,' she said. The content creator said that people generally find Americans to be louder than Brits and believes it comes down to the difference in tone. 'I think it's because our accent just carries but sometimes being loud is considered rude,' she said. But sometimes being loud is considered rude because you'll be sitting on a train and the first thing you can hear are these American accents. You can hear us before you can see us.' The last point that the TikToker noted was that manners and said that those from the UK will typically say 'thank you' much more than Americans do. 'Now there are some Americans who will say thank you for everything but there is a large chunk of Americans who will go into a store and say "Hey, where's the flour?" not intending to be rude, when in fact, the Brits will see it as rude. 'All you should just be saying is "Please can you tell me where the flour is?" These are just a few of the differences.' In a world full of AI imagery, '90s I Spy books are a revelation for the eyes - and nostalgic fans are agog at the level of detail that went into creating the books. Fans of the popular I Spy series have been left stunned to discover that each image in the classic books - written by Jean Marzollo and photographed by Walter Wick - were actually carefully styled scenes. There are 52 books in the I Spy series in total, with the most recent published in 2012. Each book had a different theme and pictured a surreal image with objects for the reader to find - if they could. Now, users have been left stunned to find that each one of the images was carefully arranged by Wick using real objects. An astounded TikTok user, who shares videos under the username @dspacestv, uploaded some behind the scenes snaps from the popular books, amazed by the intricacies of the pictures. 'This page in the I Spy Fantasy book in 1994 is a miniature set,' the astonished user wrote. 'It was created by hand by Walter Wick who saw a window display that he was inspired by in SoHo in New York,' she explained. 'He took the photo using 8x10 film, this was pre-using photoshop.' 'He also created each I Spy scene by hand, then he takes a photo of the little scene and it goes in the book,' she surmised. In a world full of AI imagery, '90s I Spy books are a revelation for the eyes - and nostalgic fans are agog at the level of detail that went in to creating the books Followers were equally as enamored by the truth about the nostalgic books. 'BRING BACK I, SPY BOOKS!!!!! And absolutely NO computer generated imagery,' declared one. 'This is really why they were soooooo magical,' agreed another. 'The realism of the little town scenes is exactly why I loved these books so much as a kid. The detail was insane,' gushed another. Before working on the I Spy books, Wick worked as a commercial photographer in New York City, working for a publication called Games magazine. According to Insider Art, in 1980 Wick decided to snap a picture of some stray nuts and bolts that were lying around in his studio, using it to advertise his work. I Spy author Marzollo sought him out after coming across the photo, asking him to take a snapshot for her kids' magazine, Let's Find Out. An editor at Scholastic then saw the poster and asked the duo if they would want to collaborate on some search-and-find books, launching the successful I Spy books. TikTok user @dspacestv explained the photographer Walter Wick, 'created each I-Spy scene by hand, them he takes a photo of the little scene and it goes in the book' Followers were equally as enamored by nostalgic books There are typically around 40 pages per book, with some of the images taking weeks to create, with Walt having to meretriciously hand-make each set before photographing it. 'I would hide the object as I would build the shot,' Wick explained in a 2019 interview. 'I would create the shot, make a list of the hidden objects, send it to Jean, and then she would write the rhyme,' he explained. The photographer added that the 'every day themes' - like school or nature - were easier to construct, while the 'higher level' concepts were harder as he didn't want to repeat himself as the series went on. One of the most critically-acclaimed movies to screen at Cannes this year has been edited down due to its graphic nature. Pillion, which stars Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling, 36, who played Dudley Dursley, is a gay BDSM-themed romance from first-time feature writer-director Harry Lighton. The movie received an eight-minute standing ovation, but Lighton admits that the version screened at the iconic film festival had been edited down significantly due to its graphic sex scenes. 'It was purely because I didnt want to push the audience into feeling they were being deliberately shocked by an image,' he explained to Variety. 'So for example, there was one close up of a d**k, a hard d**k like down the barrel of the lens. And after watching the film on that "f**k-off" screen I thought, yeah, cutting it was probably the right decision!' Skarsgard chimed in, 'Theres definitely a raunchier version of this movie what youve seen is the family friendly version theres also the Alexander Skarsgard cut.' Lighton admits that Pillion may need to undergo even more edits to ensure that it can get a US release. Gay BDSM film Pillion, which stars Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling, has been edited down due to its graphic sex scenes The film explores the BDSM relationship between a gay biker and a parking attendant - with the project earning rapturous applause at the premiere. A synopsis reads: 'Colin, a timid man, meets Ray, a confident biker gang leader, who initiates him into a submissive relationship, challenging Colin's mundane existence and prompting personal growth through their unconventional dynamic.' Before the screening, director Lighton said he wanted the film 'to make you laugh, make you think, make you feel and make you horny.' The film features explicit sex scenes and kinky BDSM costumes but Cannes audiences were still lapping it up. Melling stars as shy Colin, whose humdrum life in the suburbs is blown apart when he meets Skarsgard's character Ray. Ray strikes up a sexual relationship with Colin and integrates him into his queer biker milieu, injecting his life with a fresh dose of excitement and mystique. However Colin eventually starts to feel stifled by the fact that he always has to occupy the submissive role in his dynamic with Ray. The film explores the BDSM relationship between a gay biker and a parking attendant - with the project earning rapturous applause at the premiere Skarsgard has spoken freely in the past about how comfortable he is playing nude scenes, quipping to uInterview: 'I'm Scandinavian, godda***it! We love to be naked.' The Swedish hunk is also no stranger to gay sex scenes, thanks to his star-making turn on the vampire show True Blood. One of the scenes was with heterosexual actor Theo Alexander, whose anxiety Alexander had to help assuage before they shot the sequence. 'He's also a straight guy and he was nervous; he had never kissed a guy before,' Alexander explained in an interview with PrideSource. He said to Theo, 'Look at the scene. It's this nemesis and he comes in and then it gets seductive and you think they're gonna make love and it gets into that and then suddenly my character stabs him in the back and he explodes.' The actor added, 'In two minutes, look at this emotional rollercoaster we're taking the audience on. If we commit to this, it's going to be an amazing scene and we're going to be very happy with it forever. If we hold back, that's when it gets awkward.' Skarsgard is himself heterosexual and is in a long-term relationship with Swedish actress Tuva Novotny, with whom he welcomed a baby in 2022. The Princess of Wales' brother has opened up about what Kate is really like behind closed doors - as he revealed how she has helped him through his darkest moments. In a rare interview, James Middleton, 38, hailed the 'unique' sibling bond he has with Kate, 43 - saying their relationship has remained unchanged since she joined the Royal Family. He said he has always just seen Kate as his big sister - and that she has always been there for him. James also explained that behind the royal image she must maintain, the Princess of Wales is a sensitive, strong and emotionally intelligent woman. He told The Mirror: 'I'm incredibly fortunate to have my two sisters, not just as siblings, but as friends. 'They've seen me at my best and at my lowest, and they've always been there when I've needed them. 'Sibling love is something unique, you can't choose your siblings, it can be complicated, it takes work, but when it's strong, I believe it's one of the most powerful bonds there is.' James also opened up about the mental health crisis that he experienced back in 2017. In a rare interview, James Middleton, 38, hailed the 'unique' sibling bond he has with Kate, 43 (pictured together as children) James (pictured in 2023) explained that behind the royal image she must maintain, the Princess of Wales is a sensitive, strong and emotionally intelligent woman James said to him Kate has always just been his big sister - and that she has always been there for him (Kate and James pictured together) He said that Kate, along with their sister Pippa 41, and mother Carole, 70, helped him make it through to the other side. James has also previously credited the Prince and Princess of Wales for the work they have done on reducing stigmas surrounding mental illness. The family grew up in Berkshire - with the Princess of Wales marrying Prince William in 2011 after they met at St Andrews University. James previously spoke about his sister's shock cancer diagnosis, saying it had been a 'challenging time' for the entire family. He told The Times: 'For her and her family, it was a challenging time, and I know for us and our bigger family it was a challenging time.' The entrepreneur, who now operates dog food business James & Ella, explained how the process taught him to offer unconditional support wherever possible. 'Being there for someone is such an important part, and it doesn't necessarily have to be on your terms, and it shouldn't be on your terms,' he said. 'It should be on their terms; unconditional: "I'm not doing it for something in return. I'm doing it because I love you",' he continued. The Princess of Wales (pictured right) couldn't contain her laughter when competing against her husband Prince William at the BAE Systems' Shipbuilding Academy on Thursday James Middleton (pictured with dog Zulu) revealed that Kate's cancer diagnosis presented a 'challenging time' for the entire family The Princess and the Prince of Wales (pictured) attending the ship's naming ceremony In early September last year, the Princess of Wales revealed that she had completed chemotherapy and was 'taking each day as it comes' in her recovery journey. Father-of-one James, whose book Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life has just been published in the UK in paperback, also opened up about the time he came close to suicide, standing on the ledge of his parents' Chelsea house ready to jump. His childhood dog, Ella, was looking up at him from below as if imploring him to come down, which he thankfully did. James detailed how he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and clinical depression in 2017, having struggled in school and university all his life owing to his dyslexia. He began a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and even found a consultant psychiatrist who was open to allowing his dog Ella to sit in on their sessions. Earlier this month, Kate released a video revealing how the 'healing power of nature' played a vital role during her treatment for cancer. The series, which will be released on Kensington Palace's social media channels, began with 'Spring', a three-minute film narrated by Kate, which features footage of her and Prince William on the Isle of Mull earlier this month. James Middleton (pictured late last year) detailed how he stood on top of his parents' Chelsea house, ready to jump, but was encouraged to come down by his dog looking up at him The Prince of Wales and The Princess of Wales attend the ship's naming ceremony at the BAE Systems' shipyard in Scotstoun, Glasgow The other three short films will be released across the course of the year, with the Summer, Autumn and Winter editions to be released in due course. Referring to how she sought comfort and strength from being outdoors with her family during her cancer battle last year, Kate said: 'Over the past year, nature has been my sanctuary. 'The natural world's capacity to inspire us, to nurture us and help us heal and grow is boundless and has been understood for generations. 'It is through nature that we can fully understand the true interconnectedness of all things, the importance of balance and the importance of renewal and resilience. 'Connecting to nature helps us to experience a deeper sense of ourselves, the world around us, and each other.' She added: 'Spring is a season of rebirth, of hope and new beginnings. From the dark days of winter, the outside world quietly awakens with new life, and there comes a sense of optimism, anticipation, and positive, hopeful change. 'Just as nature revives and renews so too can we. Let us reconnect to nature and celebrate a new dawn within our hearts. 'It is often from the smallest of seeds that the greatest change can happen, and in this ever-growing complex world, we need to hold on to what connects us all. 'Spring is here, so let's make the most of it together.' The Prince and Princess of Wales have reportedly welcomed four puppies to their family - after their dog Orla gave birth to quadruplets. Cocker spaniel Orla joined the Wales family in 2020 as a gift from Kate's brother James Middleton, who is well known for breeding dogs. The five-year-old pup is now reported to have given birth to four puppies - and the royal children - George, 11, Charlotte, ten, and seven-year-old Louis - are said to be in love. A source told The Sun: 'We always thought the patter of tiny feet in the Waless household had ended, so the sound of tiny paws will have to do.' They added that Orla and her puppies are all 'doing well'. The names of the four new additions have yet to be revealed, and it is not known if the Wales family plan to keep any of the weeks-old pups. The identity of the father is also unknown, according to reports. The insider said: 'Everyone loves a new royal baby news and so new royal puppies run very close. The Prince and Princess of Wales have reportedly welcomed four puppies to their family - after their dog Orla (above) gave birth to quadruplets Cocker spaniel Orla joined the Wales family in 2020 as a gift from Kate's brother James Middleton, who is well known for breeding dogs 'Everyone is very excited, not least the three children, who adore Orla, and Lupo before.' The Waleses are thought to have welcomed gorgeous pooch Orla in 2020, in the same year that their former family dog, Lupo, died. A source at the time told The Mail on Sunday that the whole family were 'besotted' with their new pup. 'They were devastated when Lupo passed away,' the friend added. 'It was hoped that a younger dog would give Lupo some company and give him a little more life and energy.' The cocker spaniel was the puppy of James's Middleton's dog, Ella. The younger sibling of Kate is known for his passion for pups and currently owns a whopping six dogs. The names of the four new additions have yet to be revealed, and it is not known if the Wales family plan to keep any of the weeks-old pups Since adopting the cocker spaniel, Orla has been a devoted friend to the couple's children and was even included in their daughter's birthday portraits in 2022 and 2023 James - who is patron of several dog-related charities, founder of a dog food brand and even the author of a book about one of his beloved dogs, titled Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life - owns six pooches are called Zulu, Inka, Luna, Mabel, Nala, and Isla. Since adopting the cocker spaniel, Orla has been a devoted friend to the couple's children and was even included in their daughter's birthday portraits in 2022 and 2023. Orla also appeared on the Royal Family's social media channels for National Pet Day last month. A photograph of the black cocker spaniel was shared online with the caption: 'Celebrating the animals who bring so much joy, companionship and love to our lives'. Kensington Palace has been contacted for comment on the new additions. Meghan Markle has shared another behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life in California - as her lifestyle brand is accused of 'ghosting' customers after its launch. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared the sweet kitchen snapshot to her official As Ever Instagram page ahead of Memorial Day weekend in the United States. In the photograph, Meghan wears a spotless apron as she appears to bake inside a lavish kitchen, her hair pulled back and a natural smile on her face. Products from the As Ever line - the 'raspberry spread' - can be seen on the side. The image is captioned: 'Stir, sip, repeat savouring moments slow and sweet this holiday weekend.' But this look into Meghan's life comes as the Duchess was criticised for a 'lack of planning' because her sold-out products still haven't been restocked after months. The Duchess of Sussex released her 'As Ever' line, first teased more than a year ago under a different name, on April 2 with the limited pieces hitting her online site at eye-watering prices. The eight products on sale included a wildflower honey with honeycomb, priced at $28 (21.60), and some flower sprinkles at $15 (11.60). Meghan Markle has shared another behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life in California - as her lifestyle brand is accused of 'ghosting' customers after its launch Meanwhile, a jar of raspberry jam set punters back $14 (10.80), while the abundance of other goods on sale included shortbread and crepe mixes, both being sold for $14, alongside various herbal tea mixes for $12 (9.30 each). Fans snapped up the products within minutes the range sold out in just half an hour. But now, nearly two months later, keen shoppers who had initially hoped to get their hands on the exclusive product range have been left bitterly disappointed. All of the sold-out stock is still unavailable to purchase online. At the time of the opening day, critics had begun to question the success of the 43-year-old's latest business venture. It was claimed the items had been made available in small quantities and then quickly marked as sold out in order to generate interest. Nearly two months later, keen shoppers who had initially hoped to get their hands on the exclusive product range have been left bitterly disappointed, with the sold-out stock still unavailable to purchase online Pictured: Some of the sold-out products within the As Ever collection. Exclusive products on sale included a wildflower honey with honeycomb, priced at an eye-watering $28 (21.60), and some flower sprinkles at $15 (11.60) At the time of the sell-out opening day, some had began to cast an element of doubt on the success of the 43-year-old's latest business venture. Richard Eden, the Daily Mail's Diary Editor, described the launch as 'one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book' (Pictured: A Herbal Lemon Ginger Tea on sale as part of the launch) Hitting the market at the start of April, fans snapped up the products within minutes the range sold out in just half an hour. One industry insider told MailOnline: 'Showing that there is a sell out is very common for new brands to fake demand. There is no warehouse full of jams.' But Renae Smith, founder and director of The Atticism, has now criticised Meghan for 'ghosting' her fans with what she dubbed a 'half-baked' PR move. She told the Express: 'Its not surprising people are mocking it. From a PR and brand-building perspective, the strategy feels a bit half-baked. 'The initial drop clearly exceeded expectations; honey selling out in five minutes is impressive, but it also screams lack of planning. Honey is honey. It doesnt take six months to source more.' Ms Smith added that it looks like Meghan 'launched, sold out, and then ghosted the audience'. 'That doesnt build anticipation, it creates the sense that the brand doesnt know what it wants to be,' she explained, adding that the 13-month tease period was 'boring'. Holidaymakers can stay in the heart of King Charles' Sandringham estate after a three-bedroom Victorian house was transformed into a 6,300-per-week retreat. The Folly, nestled in the sprawling Norfolk estate, was once used by King Edward VII - 'Bertie' - to entertain his mistress, the British actress and socialite Lillie Langtry. He visited the lavish, turreted house regularly between 1877 and 1880, after he was given Sandringham as a country home for him and his wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Tourists ready to splash the cash can now follow in the footsteps of royalty and stay at the newly renovated 18th century retreat - for a whopping 6,300 per week. The Folly boasts gorgeous original features and 'royal artefacts' in a number of rooms, allowing guests to immerse themselves in the royal history of the estate. Oliver's Travels, which is marketing the house, said the grounds have been 'sensitively refurbished to the highest standard, blending timeless heritage with refined contemporary comfort'. 'This is a rare opportunity to enjoy a private escape on regal grounds.' The house, which is in private woodland on the Sandringham estate, sleeps up to six guests in three bedrooms which are arranged across two upstairs wings and a turret. Holidaymakers can stay in the heart of King Charles ' Sandringham estate after a three-bedroom Victorian house was transformed into a 6,300-per-week retreat The Folly, nestled in the sprawling Norfolk estate, was once used by King Edward VII - 'Bertie' - to entertain his mistress, the British actress and socialite Lillie Langtry He visited the lavish, turreted house regularly between 1877 and 1880, after he was given Sandringham as a country home for him and his wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark Pictured: Actress and socialite Lillie Langtry, the mistress of King Edward VII The turret is accessed by an external stone staircase, which offers magnificent views across the estate and glimpses of the sea. The downstairs of the property is equally as lavish, with a drawing room opening directly onto a well maintained lawn. The Folly also features a large dining room and a kitchen with a butler sink. The luxury holiday home, which 'blends royal history with quiet grandeur' costs 6,300 a week to rent during the school holidays. Tourists ready to splash the cash can now follow in the footsteps of royalty and stay at the newly renovated 18th century retreat - for a whopping 6,300 per week The Folly boasts gorgeous original features and 'royal artefacts' in a number of rooms, allowing guests to immerse themselves in the royal history of the estate Oliver's Travels, which is marketing the house, said the grounds have been 'sensitively refurbished to the highest standard, blending timeless heritage with refined contemporary comfort' The house, which is in private woodland on the Sandringham estate, sleeps up to six guests in three bedrooms which are arranged across two upstairs wings and a turret The downstairs of the property is equally as lavish, with a drawing room opening directly onto a well maintained lawn The turret is accessed by an external stone staircase, which offers magnificent views across the estate and glimpses of the sea Oliver's Travels says: 'Originally built as a place where ladies retired for tea, this turreted gem with wrap-around balcony has been transformed into a luxurious retreat, inviting guests to experience life at the heart of one of Britain's most iconic royal residences. 'With input from the Sandringham team, The Folly honours its romantic past while embracing modern comfort. 'Period features - stone hearths, arched entryways, hand-finished floors - have been lovingly preserved. 'Throughout the house, royal artefacts from the private collection add depth and authenticity.' A branding specialist and former personal stylist who has worked with top moguls across the globe has shared the six habits that every millionaire shares. Kelly Lundberg, 44, based in Dubai, has helped successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and companies elevate their brands for over 20 years. Over the course of her impressive, two-decade career, the multi-award-winning brand strategist and best-selling author has had a chance to spend time with some of the richest people in the world. And she noticed that the wealthiest people have certain habits that they all implement in their day-to-day lives. Thankfully, she shared them exclusively with DailyMail.com, so that you can start living like a millionaire. 'Ive had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of entrepreneurs who have walked this path,' she explained. 'Many of them didnt start with wealthy families, elite networks, or huge investment pots - but theyve carved out success through habits, discipline and mindset.' First, Kelly said she that all successful people are extremely focused on learning new stuff, even when they feel like they're already on top. A branding specialist and former personal stylist who has worked with top moguls across the globe has shared the six habits that every millionaire shares Kelly Lundberg, 44, based in Dubai , has helped successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and companies elevate their brands for over 20 years But she added that it's not always about learning about a bunch of different topics, but rather, ensuring you know everything you can about one specific thing. 'Millionaires are lifelong learners,' Kelly dished. 'But its not just about consuming new information, its often about revisiting old books and ideas. 'Instead of chasing the next podcast or bestseller, they go deeper, not wider. 'Many millionaires reread key books multiple times. Why? Because it shifts their focus from information hoarding to implementation.' Another thing that she said all millionaires have in common is the way they view time. '[Millionaires] consider [time] their most valuable resource, and treat it with a high level of care,' she said. She noted that most rich people spend their money on things like housekeepers or cooks not because they're lazy, but because they need the time used for cooking and cleaning to do more important things. 'It isnt because they feel "too good" to do [these things], but because theyre realized their time could be better spent growing their business - or supporting their wellbeing so they dont get burnout, or compromise their health,' she continued. Over the course of her two-decade career, the multi-award-winning brand strategist and best-selling author has had a chance to spend time with some of the richest people in the world And she noticed that the wealthiest people have certain habits that they all implement in their day-to-day lives, which she shared with DailyMail.com 'Ask yourself how much certain tasks are taking up, and whether you could delegate them. 'If your cleaner costs $30 an hour, could you earn more than $30 in that hour by serving clients, networking, or could hiring one free up your time to do something else? Choose how you spend your time wisely.' According to Kelly, the ultra wealthy are also extremely focused on who is in their network. 'The entrepreneurs who I see leading successful businesses surround themselves with ambitious, successful people, as they not only naturally raise your standards, but they can open doors you may never have access to otherwise,' shared the branding expert. It all comes down to proximity. 'Here are some questions you can ask yourself: Who am I spending the most time with and how do they influence my mindset and habits? 'Am I regularly exposed to people who are ahead of me in areas I want to grow in? 'What environments inspire me to think bigger? While Im not suggesting you ditch your friends and family to be a part of the "A-list," make small steps to surround yourself with people who inspire and encourage you if theyre not already in your life.' Kelly told DailyMail.com that millionaires also choose 'discipline over motivation,' and implement 'routines, habits, or workflows that help automate success.' According to Kelly, the ultra wealthy are also extremely focused on who is in their network 'Set an evening routine that can inspire your morning routine this way it removes decision fatigue,' she suggested. 'Batch repetitive tasks (eg, content creation, admin) on specific days. Use time-blocking to structure your calendar. 'When you treat discipline like a skill and systems like your secret weapon, everything becomes easier and success more sustainable.' Next, Kelly said something else she sees 'over and over again' in her most successful clients is that they 'prioritize their health,' and 'not just to avoid illness, but to maximize clarity and energy.' 'Poor health doesnt just cost money, it can limit your ability to earn in the long term, especially if you are the business,' she pointed out. 'More than that, the clarity, confidence and endorphins you get from taking care of yourself physically carry into every business decision and opportunity.' She said many wealthy moguls schedule workouts like they're business meetings. Lastly, Kelly explained that many people associate being wealthy with 'flashy,' but the real successful people don't care about showing off their money by making unnecessary lavish purchases. 'Before buying a personal luxury, ask: "Will this increase in value or lose it? Track your net worth, not your outfit value,"' she suggested. The branding specialist concluded, 'Heres the real takeaway: they dont chase one at the cost of the others. Because true wealth isnt just about being rich in the bank. Its about being rich in life.' A couple has been brutally slammed online after they chose to take their baby on vacation, but left their toddler at home. Georgia and Chris Brown, both 30, from the UK, booked a four-day trip for three to Morocco. Four-month-old, Harry, went with his parents while George, two, stayed at home with his grandmother. The pair say they wanted 'one-on-one time' with Harry that wouldn't be possible with a toddler in tow. Business consultant Georgia and sales executive Chris took George to Sorrento, Italy, when he was a baby. They said they wanted Harry to have a similar trip, where he could be the centre of attention. 'We wanted to have that one-on-one time with Harry,' Georgia told What's the Jam recently. A couple has been brutally slammed online after they chose to take their baby on vacation, but left their toddler at home Georgia and Chris Brown , both 30, from the UK, booked a four-day trip for three to Morocco 'George's first holiday was all about him and we wanted that experience with Harry. 'When you have a toddler, it's a very different experience because you're always looking out for them. 'He's running wild and his brother sits in the back seat a lot of the time.' The mother-of-two added that the baby is often forced to follow his older brother's routine, and the youngster's life 'very much revolves around' what the toddler is doing. 'For example, I may have to wake Harry up from a nap to take George on a play date,' she shared. Chris booked the trip as a surprise for Georgia's birthday, and she was surprised when she saw that only one child was coming on the holiday. But in the end she agreed it would be best for all of them. Georgia said: 'Dads can struggle to bond at the beginning. He's the default parent to George because I'm breastfeeding Harry. Four-month-old, Harry, went with his parents while George, two, stayed at home with his grandmother. The family is seen together 'Chris doesn't get to spend that much time with Harry because he's back at work so it gave him that time as well. The pair say they wanted 'one-on-one time' with Harry that wouldn't be possible with a toddler in tow 'It was a surprise that George wasn't coming and when he gave me the ticket and I saw one child, I thought "Where's the other one?" 'But I understood and thought it was quite sweet when he explained. 'George is a very loved baby so I never thought it would hurt him or he wouldn't have a great time with his gran.' Georgia shared a clip of her on holiday with Chris and Harry on TikTok and was bombarded with comments branding her a 'bad parent' over their decision to leave George behind. 'It's crazy, I didn't expect it to get the reaction it did,' reflected the UK-based mom. 'So many people have said we're bad parents, we shouldn't be parents and shouldn't have had a second child. 'People were saying "that poor boy," and that he'll grow up and never speak to me again. 'They said he'd tell the story in counselling. I was wondering if I was a bad parent but I'm absolutely not and I'm not going to listen to these people who think it's OK to put other people down. The mother-of-two added that the baby is often forced to follow his older brother's routine, and that Harry's life 'very much revolves around' what the toddler is doing. Harry is seen on the trip Georgia shared a clip of her on holiday with Chris and Harry on TikTok and was bombarded with comments branding her a 'bad parent' over their decision to leave George behind 'Other people said we can't handle the toddler but we can. We have a toddler and do handle him. 'A lot of moms were commenting. Moms know this is the hardest job in the world so the fact there's so many women putting me down because they don't agree with it is crazy. 'People are saying it'll really impact him and he'll remember. The boy cant remember what he had for dinner.' Georgia added that George is extremely 'independent' and that they 'FaceTimed him every day' during the trip. 'He wasn't crying asking where I was, he was telling us what he'd been doing,' she dished. 'I can't let it get to me because these people don't know me and are just online bullies.' Trolls also accused the couple of choosing to take one child on vacation because they couldn't afford to take both, which Georgia denied. She continued: 'About 100 people said, "Just admit that you couldn't afford to take both." 'I don't need to justify myself to them but that's not the case. Some people said that they would love to do it but they can only afford one holiday a year so they take all the children.' Georgia explained that despite the online abuse, she doesn't regret her decision. The North African holiday was back in March and the family have been on holiday as a four twice since to Germany and Ireland She concluded: 'I'm so glad we did it. It was lovely. I genuinely don't care about all the hate I've got because we had an amazing time' The North African holiday was back in March and the family have been on holiday as a four twice since to Germany and Ireland. She concluded: 'I'm so glad we did it. It was lovely. I genuinely don't care about all the hate I've got because we had an amazing time. 'People said the baby will never remember but me and Chris will remember. 'My mom and sister took care of George at ours so he wasn't disrupted and he had a great time. 'He went to the zoo, and went to his cousins to make pizza. He had an amazing time and it was amazing that my mom was able to spend time with George.' There is no shortage of plastic surgery in Hollywood but not all cosmetic work is created equal. According to experts, this has never been more apparent than in recent weeks. Two A-listers that are heavily rumored to have had face lifts recently are actor Kevin Spacey and reality TV matriarch Kris Jenner. Jenner, 69, has admitted to having a facelift in the past, but fans took notice of a new and youthful glow last month after the 'momager' uploaded fresh photos to Instagram. The consensus among fans and plastic surgeons alike was that it was really good and make her look more like her much younger daughters. Viewers were not so complimentary about Spacey, 65, who has avoided the public eye since he was, but later exonerated, accused of sexual assault in 2017. He attended the Cannes Film Festival this week in a rare public outing, where onlookers couldn't help but notice his 'puffy' and swollen face. Now, the Daily Mail has spoken to three plastic surgeons who explained why people have reacted so differently to what looks like it could be similar work. As Spacey walked the red carpet at the event (right), he looked noticeably different with a taut, plump face. He is pictured left in 2017 A Now and Then contrast of Jenner in May 2025 vs Jenner in Los Angeles in February 2020 The surgeons who stressed they had only looked at photos of Jenner and Spacey and had not treated them all said Spacey had had work done. Spacey has not revealed whether he's had any work done, but the plastic surgeons said it looks likely that he had received fat grafts to restore fullness to his face. Dr Smita Ramanadham, a plastic surgeon in New Jersey, said Spacey 'just looks overfilled.' 'We lose volume in our face as we age, but even if we compared photos of Spacey today to photos of him in his 20s and 30s, I would bet his face is more full now than it was back them.' Fat grafts are when fat is taken from a part of the body, typically the thighs, and injected into the face to restore volume. People often get them because they are much longer lasting than fillers, although they have a significantly higher price tag at up to $8,000 per procedure compared to around $600 to $1,200 for fillers, which involve injecting fat into the face. Surgeons warned that the grafts tend to cause swelling in the face due to inflammation which, they said, can last for months. If someone gains weight, these transferred fat cells will still expand as though they are in the area of the body they were transferred from such as the thigh also causing a more puffy appearance. These tend to cause swelling, they said, which can last for months although the final results can be much more long-lasting. For comparison, any swelling from fillers will likely resolve within a week. On the other hand, the surgeons said Jenner likely plumped the cheeks with fillers. Dr Reagan said she had likely only used a small amount of filler to enhance her appearance. Kevin Spacey, 65, has sparked plastic surgery rumors as he made an appearance at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival this week Your browser does not support iframes. The surgeons also speculated that Spacey has a very different bone structure to Jenner, which would have likely affected the results. While Jenner has high cheekbones, a well-defined jawline and classic plump lips, the surgeons said Spacey did not have the classic Hollywood male face. Dr Brian Reagan, a plastic surgeon in California, told this website: 'When you do work on a beautiful woman, it really works and it looks amazing because what you've done is, you haven't created beauty, you are just restoring it. 'The beautiful canvas is already there, and you are just using your skillset to restore it, and then they look amazing, and the camera loves them, and people are wowed. 'For comparison, with someone who maybe doesn't have the same attributes, you can do a wonderful rejuvenation on them, but people's eyes won't recognize it in the same way, and you won't get the same level of beauty.' Dr Gina Maccarone, a plastic surgeon in Ohio, also suggested the difference could be down to the bad press Spacey has received, which may make it more likely that people will react negatively. Spacey has faced nine sexual assault charges, although he denies the allegations and was cleared of all of them in court with the last being dropped by a jury at a London court in July 2023. The Oscar-winning actor says, however, that he has been left penniless by the legal fees, and says he was forced to give up his $5.6million luxury Baltimore condo to pay them. He says he still has more legal fees to cover. In addition to the fat grafts, the surgeons also suggested it looks like Spacey had either a lower facelift or deep plane facelift to tighten the skin around his neck and jawline. In a lower facelift, the skin on the neck and jawline is lifted and tightened to make the area more defined. In a deep plane facelift, on the other hand, surgeons also lift the tissue beneath the skin which they say can help to restore a more youthful look. Kevin Spacey is pictured above attending the 31st amfAR Gala during the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France The surgeons said it was the alleged fat grafting rather than the face lift that had caused the swelling. Although face lifts can also cause swelling, which may be evident if someone steps out too early after getting the procedure within a few weeks of the surgery. Surgeons have also suggested that Jenner's new look is down to a lower facelift which made her jawline and neck more defined. Dr Lisa Friederich, a plastic surgeon in Australia, previously told the Daily Mail: 'It's quite possible that she's undergone a lower facelift. 'Her jawline is noticeably sharp and defined, a possible sign of lower-face filler to enhance structure and balance facial proportions. The surgeons also suggested it looks like Spacey had received an upper blepharoplasty, or surgery to remove skin above the eyelids that becomes heavier with age. They pointed out that in the before photo, it is hard to see the crease of the upper eyelid, but in the after photo it is clearly visible, suggesting he has had work done. Surgeons have previously suggested Jenner had an upper blepharoplasty, making the claim in 2019 citing a lack of heavy skin above her eyes. None have recently made the claim, however, in relation to her latest work. Dr Maccarone also suggested Spacey may have had surgery to reduce the size of the area between the nose and upper lip. She said this tends to widen as people age, and that it is now becoming more common to have surgery to reduce this to give someone a more youthful appearance. Viewing the photos, she said the distance between the nose and the upper lip was smaller in his most recent images from Cannes. Jenner has not previously been speculated to have had this procedure. Spacey has never said publicly whether he has had any plastic surgery. The Daily Mail contacted his press team for comment before this article was published. We also contacted Kris Jenner's team, who said they had revealed the name of her surgeon as Dr Steven Levine. It's the trendy health kick making a splash in the UK. But some of the UK's most popular wild swimming spots have seen a shocking 1000 per cent rise in potentially life-threatening bacteria, concerning data has revealed. The Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park, London recorded a 1,188 per cent rise in levels of the diarrhoea-causing bug E.coli in just a year. The pathogen, which typically also causes a fever, can be spread through contaminated waterwith faeces a major source of such contamination. The same open water swimming spot also saw a 1,085 per cent increase in intestinal enterococci in the same yearanother types of bacteria found in human faeces. Experts, who warned the pathogens pose 'one of the biggest threats to human health', urged the authorities to test for such viruses more vigorously. The Bathing Mobility Advisory Service (BMAS), who analysed the Environment Agency figures, said there was still much work to do to tackle pollution. The agency tests for harmful bacteria during the official swimming seasonMay and September. The Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park, London (pictured) recorded a 1,188 per cent rise in levels of the diarrhoea-causing bug E.coli in just a year The pathogen, which typically also causes a fever, can be spread through contaminated waterwith faeces a major source of such contamination These tests monitor for sources of pollution known to be a risk to bathers' health, specifically E. coli and intestinal enterococci, before each bathing site is given a ranking of excellent, good, sufficient or poor. According to the BMAS analysis, the Serpentine Lidorated sufficient by the Environment Agencylogged an E.coli count of 580 in 2024, up on the 45 in 2023. North London's Hampstead Heath mixed pond, meanwhile, recorded an E.coli count of 310 in 2024, a 230 per cent increase on the 100 in 2023. The men's pond followed with a rise of 24.65 per cent over the same time period. By contrast, the ladies pond saw a drop of 34 per cent, from 350 to 230. In the majority of E.coli cases symptoms fade naturally within days. However, for vulnerable populations, the infection can get into the blood and travel to the organs, causing catastrophic damage. A handful of Brits die from complications of an E.coli infection every year. Your browser does not support iframes. Large amounts of rain water can cause an increase in the presence of bacteria such as E. Coli because of the UK's water laws. But it can be spread by touching infected animals or their faeces directly, as well as coming into direct contact with infected people's waste. BMAS analysis also found intestinal enterococci levels at The Serpentine Lido rose 1,085 per cent between 2023 and 2024, up 27 to 320. Hampstead Heath ladies pond, meanwhile, recorded a 25 per cent rise over the same time period from 8 to 230. The men's and mixed ponds, however, logged drops of 33 and 75 per cent respectively. Professor Davey Jones, a soil and environmental scientist at Bangor University, urged health authorities to implement more rigorous monitoring of pathogens in water including viruses, which are currently not routinely tested for. 'They're one of the biggest threats to human health,' he said. 'Some pathogens, like E.coli 0157, can enter groundwater through agricultural runoff and pose serious health risks, even in small amounts. North London's Hampstead Heath mixed pond (pictured), meanwhile, recorded an E.coli count of 310 in 2024, a 230 per cent increase on the 100 in 2023 Large amounts of rain water can cause an increase in the presence of bacteria such as E. Coli because of the UK's water laws Your browser does not support iframes. 'As recreational water use increases, especially in urban settings like London, it's vital we broaden our testing frameworks to include viral contaminants.' Amelia Hornsby from the BMAS, added: 'Water quality is a key indicator of environmental health and public safety. 'Consistently high standards are essential not only for protecting ecosystems, but also for ensuring safe and enjoyable access to our natural waters for local communities and visitors alike.' It comes as fresh figures released last November found dozens of locations along coasts, lakes and rivers in England failed to meet the minimum water quality standard for 2024, meaning they contained disturbingly high levels of faecal matter. It marked a two-fold rise on the number rated 'poor' in just a year and is the highest figure recorded since the current rating system was introduced in 2015. Open water swimming has surged in popularity in recent years. Proponents of the sport claim it helps boost the immune system, speeds up weight loss, improves your mental health and even increases your sex drive. Research has suggested managed cold water exposure can trigger the release of fat-busting hormones, which can help to protect against obesity and heart disease. In 2022, a review of 104 studies looked at the effects of cold water blood circulation, the immune system, inflammation and oxidative stress. Taking a dip in water with temperatures below 20C (68F) was found to activate brown adipose tissue, a type of body fat which burns calories to maintain body temperature. It also increased production of adiponectin, a protein which plays a key role in protecting against insulin resistance, diabetes and other diseases. As well as this, some experts have also said the shock of cold that comes from outdoor swimming can boost levels of dopamine and the release of endorphins feel-good hormones in the brain. Some GPs in England actively prescribe cold water swimming on this basis. But no studies have shown that cold water immersion alone boosts mental health. An article and YouTube video about Ann Kaplan Mulholland, who featured in Real Housewives, posted on social media, accused Dr Mulholland of being rude and arrogant to a waiter serving her in Cannes. The source of the allegations was a video published by a prominent social media influencer adding commentary on a video made by Dr Mulholland. That influencers video failed to take into account that Dr Mulhollands original video was a staged satirical video shot with the consent of all parties. It was therefore incorrect for us to report that Dr Mulholland had been rude and arrogant to a waiter, and we apologise to Dr Mulholland for the damage and distress caused. To report an inaccuracy, please email corrections@mailonline.co.uk. To make a formal complaint under IPSO rules please go to www.mailonline.co.uk/readerseditor where you will find an easy-to-use complaints form. You can also write to Readers' Editor, MailOnline, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or contact IPSO directly at ipso.co.uk Count My Lies by Sophie Stava (Century 16.99, 336pp) Count My Lies is available now from the Mail Bookshop The author nails it with this book from the first sentence. A young woman in a trendy New York neighbourhood claims to be a nurse as she helps a very handsome father tend to his little girl whos been stung by a bee. But Sloane Caraway is actually a nail technician and compulsive liar who manages to inveigle her way into the lives of the glamorous father Jay Lockhart and his wife Violet. The ensuing original and twisty plot lines provide a very convincing psychological study of why people actually tell lies. Its not long before Sloane realises that the Lockharts are not what they seem either. Meanwhile, Sloane becomes obsessed with growing more and more like Violet. Events then lead to an explosive, if not entirely satisfactory, ending. With its punchy, chatty, writing style, nothing will stop this from becoming a runaway bestseller. Lies that come back with a sting in the tail It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara (Bantam 16.99, 400pp) It Should Have Been You is available now from the Mail Bookshop This plot plays expertly into one of our worst nightmares. Susan, a sleep deprived teacher on maternity leave, feels affronted by a WhatsApp message from a neighbour named Celeste and decides to vent to her sister about Celestes awful children and her philandering husband. Too late to delete, she realises she has sent the message to the whole neighbourhood. At first she thinks the fuss will pass but then people start to be murdered. One of the victims is a woman who has the same address as her, but in a different part of town. The tension is very well maintained throughout and the author resists the temptation to be overly dramatic. The convincing storyline maintains real dread in a world of everyday domestic detail. Very enjoyable. The Palazzo by Kayte Nunn (No Exit Press 9.99, 304pp) The Palazzo is available now from the Mail Bookshop The perfect remote setting for this crafty thriller is a renovated former convent in the Italian Alps. The Palazzo Stellina has been hired by a beauty entrepreneur to celebrate her 40th birthday with her family and friends. A luxury swimming pool and handsome chef are all part of the package. When a murder occurs, the scene is expertly set for a locked-room mystery as all the guests have their own reasons to be suspects or maybe victims. The cleverly constructed plot keeps us guessing while we enjoy the well-drawn luxurious backdrop of the Palazzo. Never Flinch is available now from the Mail Bookshop NEVER FLINCH by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton 25, 432pp) THE founder of the Finders Keepers detective agency, Holly Gibney one of Kings most memorable characters in recent years returns to help her friend, detective Izzy Jaynes, track down a serial killer who has threatened to kill 13 innocents and one guilty to avenge the death of an innocent man, who was killed in jail after he had been wrongly convicted of murder. But then Holly is diverted to act as bodyguard for womens rights advocate Kate McKay who is embarking on a nationwide tour of the US, but who is being stalked and threatened by a ruthless vigilante. The master storyteller has lost none of his grasp of the dark heart in the soul of Middle America: the result is simply superb. The Retirement Plan is available now from the Mail Bookshop THE RETIREMENT PLAN by Sue Hincenbergs (Sphere 16.99, 336pp) THREE suburban American housewives of a certain age decide they have had enough of their humdrum lives and husbands who do not seem to care about them. They want to match their friend, whose world changed when her husband was found dead. She took off for a new life in Florida with the insurance money. So they come up with a plan to kill their husbands to enable their new lives. What they dont know is that their husbands have a secret scheme of their own to steal $10million from a local casino. A wonderful cosy crime novel with a sharp edge. Ingenious, twisty and often hilarious with a neat ending this debut from a former TV producer is certainly a match for Richard Osmans The Thursday Murder Club. Dead Water is available now from the Mail Bookshop DEAD WATER by Simon Toyne (Hemlock Press 16.99, 384pp) A CORPSE is washed up on the banks of the Thames near Tower Bridge with no head and no hands, simply an address mysteriously tattooed on one arm. DCI Tannahill Khan realises the killer wanted the body found, and the tattoo is the reason. It is the address of Khans friend and collaborator, forensic criminologist Dr Laughton Rees. So begins the third of Toynes excellent series involving the two detectives. It transpires that Rees is living in the flat once owned by her late father, Met detective John Rees, who was responsible for the conviction of a brutal band of robbers 16 years ago and one of the gang is set on revenge for his years in prison. Written with Toynes practiced flair for suspense, the story is as fast flowing and threatening as the Thames itself Sometime in 2000, the French actress Juliette Binoche travelled to Barnsley, West Yorkshire. She was there to meet Joanne Harris then a schoolteacher who published novels on the side. The film rights to her third book, Chocolat, had been sold to Hollywood and Binoche had signed on to play the heroine, Vianne. She asked Harris if she could visit her, to chat about the part. Juliette came to stay in our two-bedroom semi in Barnsley, recalls Harris. We didnt have a spare bedroom, so she slept in our kids bed, tucked up with a toy dinosaur. Today, Chocolat a sensuous tale of a woman causing mayhem by opening a chocolaterie selling such delights as nipples of Venus in a sleepy French town has sold some 35 million copies worldwide. That makes Harris one of the authors to have joined the elite millionaires club writers who have sold more than one million copies of at least one of their novels in the UK (others include JK Rowling, Julia Donaldson, Helen Fielding and Kate Mosse). Juliette Binoche as Vianne in the 2000 film This week, Harris publishes Chocolats prequel, Vianne, which is why we are meeting at her home. I imagine the 60-year-old in a Mayfair penthouse. Instead, she and her husband Kevin, whom she met at Barnsley sixth-form college aged 16 and who now works as her business manager, live in a gorgeous but ramshackle five-bedroom Victorian house outside Huddersfield. Its 18 miles from where she was born, packed with quirky objects and backs on to five acres of woodland, where Harris writes in a converted shed. My mother thinks its dreadful she says its old and messy, laughs Harris. But I see no reason to leave Yorkshire. My family and friends are nearby, and staying here has kept me grounded. We have a little flat in London, which is very useful as I go up and down a lot. Apart from that I dont really have any indulgences. I dont splash out on fast cars and diamonds. The daughter of an English father and French mother both teachers, who raised her bilingual Harris was born above her paternal grandparents corner shop in Barnsley. They spoke no French and my grandparents in France spoke no English, so it made me an outsider wherever I went. She longed to write, but her mother was horrified. She showed me all these books by 19th-century French authors who died penniless and said: This is not a proper job. So, after studying modern and medieval languages at Cambridge, Harris became a trainee accountant, but within a year she failed her exams and was sacked. After that, she worked as a French teacher at an all-boys private school. Chocolat author Joanne Harris at home Between teaching and raising her son Fred now 30 and working as a lighting technician in London she wrote constantly. Her first book, The Evil Seed, was published in 1992. It was a literary vampire novel, read by about 20 people. I was paid about 2,000 for it. Her second novel, Sleep, Pale Sister, similarly sank without trace. Undeterred, she began drafting a third, set in France, full of lavish descriptions of elaborate meals. She sent it to a bigwig New York agent for feedback. He said, Who the hell wants to read about some French village nobodys heard of? Why are there so many old people and no young people having sex on a bearskin rug? And whats with all the food? Many authors would have been crushed. Not Harris. Most things I do are motivated by the desire to annoy people, so I wrote exactly the book that agent told me not to write. In four months, shed completed Chocolat. Initially, the agent was vindicated: no publisher wanted it. Harris went on holiday to Ireland. Only when she checked in on her mother did she learn her British agent was urgently trying to reach her from the international Frankfurt Book Fair. I called her, she said: Everyone is talking about Chocolat. First the Italians bought it, then everyone followed. Within a week, the book was sold to 23 countries and film rights sold for 5,000 (after its cinematic release Harris received a further 100,000 in royalties). None of the deals were big bucks but together were enough for me to take some time off teaching. She asked for a years sabbatical, only for the book to become a word-of-mouth bestseller. I kept seeing people reading it on the tube; I thought, This is crazy! After the films release and Oscar nomination, sales topped one million. I realised I wasnt going back to teaching. When I told the school, they said, We all knew that. Weve given your job to someone else. Newfound fame was often overwhelming. I passed out at two premieres and the Baftas. One minute Id be fine and the next my word! I thought something was wrong with me but now I think it was just stress; after a year it stopped. At the Oscars, wearing a borrowed red Amanda Wakeley dress, she was seated beside Sigourney Weaver and behind Clint Eastwood. Despite the glamour, Harris was bored. It was like a very long school speech day at Madame Tussauds, with diamonds. She encountered Johnny Depp, a star of Chocolat who hadnt been on the film set when shed visited. People kept asking for my thoughts on him, but as Id never met him I said, Hes not my type. Then I met him on the red carpet. He said, Apparently Im not your type. But he was laughing. Harris was surprised at how nervous Depp was. I used to think I was the most awkward person in the room until I met him. We bonded over that. I dont think he enjoyed being a sex symbol. From his work, and from what he said to me that brief time we met, I got the feeling he was on a mission to be somebody other than who he was. (Depp has since been mired in controversy due to his high-profile court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. On this, Harris says: I dont know what happened, it sounds traumatic for everyone.) At a Bafta party she encountered Chocolats producer, Harvey Weinstein, now serving a 16-year prison sentence for rape. He said, Im Harvey Weinstein, when I come into a room, authors s**t their pants. I said, In that case, Harvey, youll get my dry-cleaning bill. He laughed and moved on. I got the feeling he liked it when people stood up to him. After the menopause and surviving breast cancer in 2020, Harris says little intimidates her. Yet she avoids controversy, declining to discuss her announcement, two years ago on Twitter, that her son, Fred, is transgender, merely saying, Somebody had tried to out [Fred] on Twitter and was trying to blackmail me. (She also wont be drawn on her spell as chair of the Society of Authors, when she became embroiled in a Twitter spat with JK Rowling, who had complained that Harris had never communicated with her about the death and rape threats shed received from transgender activists.) After selling 30-plus million copies of a single novel, many authors might have put their feet up. But in the 26 years since Chocolat came out, Harris has published 29 more books, from fantasies to thrillers. There have also been three well-received sequels to Chocolat. Now theres Vianne, which gives insights into her witch-like heroines youth. I thought itd be fun to go back and see Vianne when she couldnt cook and had never really tasted chocolate. Many people assume she is me, but I rarely invite people to dinner and if I do the foods a bit experimental as I rarely stick to a recipe. Vianne also has an itch to keep moving. I like to stay in my shed in Yorkshire and write. Vianne by Joanne Harris is published by Orion, 22. To order a copy for 18.70 until 8 June, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over 25. On Wednesday, I went to see my GP. Even making the appointment to help with my anxiety made me nervous. When I walked in, I realised the doctor was the same one I consulted when I contracted cystitis and a terrible sore throat after having sex with my last boyfriend. I had quizzed the German, asking when hed last had sex, and he had replied over nine months before. He asked me when I had last had sex, and I replied that I think there was snow on the ground. So we hadnt used any protection or caution. I hadnt factored in that he might be lying, which of course he was. On my previous surgery visit I had told this very same GP that I was worried I had contracted an oral STI. She very kindly didnt even raise an eyebrow. I was then rushed to hospital, where my tonsils were drained of pus while I was still conscious. I had my laptop, held next to my bed by Nic, and was also filing copy for that Saturdays newspaper while the poison was drained. In 40 years there has never been a moment when I have not been available to file. I crawled under desks inside Ian Flemings villa in Jamaica to find a phone socket to dial up the internet. I filed the afternoon my mum died. When my then husband revealed he had cheated yet again, we were on a remote African island. My first thought wasnt, What a waste of my 26 grand but, This will make a great two-parter. I read a lovely piece this week about the blue plaque being erected outside the former London home of novelist Barbara Pym. In life, historian Lucy Worsley said before unveiling the plaque, she often sabotaged her own best interests in favour of strange relationships that would end up as good copy. My insane work ethic is what gets me into trouble. The GP asked me what seems to be the trouble. I told her I am finding it hard to breathe due to stress, I wake at 3am every night, which really disturbs Mini, who is on top of me, and I cannot eat. I have no friends where I live (my one friend here, the woman I moved to North Yorkshire to be close to, no longer speaks to me due to my column, and hasnt even been to visit my new house in over a year). My left hearing aid is broken, no longer under guarantee, so its like listening to an early Beatles single: everything is in mono. She asked whats causing the anxiety, and I told her I have complex PTSD, which means Im ultra vulnerable to stress, knowing the worst can indeed happen. That I am constantly trolled online. One female reader contacted me to hope my Gracie is rotting in the earth. Another reader, a man, tried to get my dogs taken off me. I told her I was prescribed citalopram when losing my house, but was too afraid to take it, thinking it might change my writing. I cant stand confident, arrogant writers who never try, who never push boundaries, who always think theyre right, who hold back the juiciest or most shameful aspects of their lives for fear of not being liked. And that I have tried every therapy under the sun, from neurofeedback to eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) to hypnotherapy. The GP said the only recourse is to prescribe the drug again, but that I really must take it this time. She told me I need to take a break from my computer, go for long walks. Your house backs on to a river, theres the Pennine Way, Raby Castle, you need to get out more. Appreciate the countryside, nature, birdsong. I have always pooh-poohed this sort of advice (I once reviewed The Natural Health Service by Isabel Hardman, which is all about nature as a mental-health cure-all, writing I was enraged when the book told me to drive to a national park: I cant afford the diesel or the parking fee, and inevitably an angry note will be placed on my windscreen Keep your dog on a lead. Nesting birds! and the precipitous Buttertubs Pass scares the hell out of me), but on Thursday Nic persuaded me to take Teddy along the Swale, inside a National Trust wood carpeted with wild garlic and bluebells. Ted wore a muzzle, three leads and a tabard that reads, Give me space. I wore a tabard that says, Deaf rider, please pass slowly, a fluoro relic from when I was brave enough to ride my horse. Teddy was very good, not reacting to other dogs. (Hes been having weekly training sessions; the trainers parents bring out dogs from her house to walk past him. Its like a Miss World contest.) We took him down to the river where, instead of swimming and diving to catch a ball, he just stood in the water up to his tummy. As he was in a Romanian kill shelter before I got him, he has no concept of fun: just like his mummy. I have a fear of drowning. On that ill-fated African scuba-diving holiday, I was the only person to be tethered to the boat by a rope. The instructor agreed I was too nervous not to panic beneath the surface. And so I swallow the tiny tablet. If next week I start to write about how I load my dishwasher, youll know the effects are kicking in. Megyn Kelly has claimed ABC News anchor David Muir disrupted the red carpet at the prestigious Time 100 Gala. The anchor accused him of skipping a long line of A-list attendees who were waiting for their photo-op at the star-studded event. 'Everyone's waiting, as we inch up, and it's almost our time to go out there. They stop our procession... because clearly some big stars are coming over from the right,' she said. 'I was thinking, like, who is it? Tom Cruise? Who is it?' It was f***ing David Muir!' Kelly added, 'Everybody was expecting some truly A-list talent to come in there. And we were all like, 'David Muir?!' Just the fact that he would do it is kind of humiliating.' 'It was an absurdity by him. Honestly, he should have been embarrassed,' she seethed. 'Everybody was expecting some truly A-list talent to come in there. And we were all like, David Muir?! You got to be kidding me.' The fiery takedown is just the latest flashpoint involving Muir, 51, who is already at the center of a long-simmering feud with George Stephanopoulos. Insiders at the network describe it as a battle for dominance within the network. The red carpet kerfuffle, while appearing trivial on the face of it, quickly gained traction in media circles. Megyn Kelly has leveled a shocking accusation against ABC News anchor David Muir, claiming he disrupted the red carpet flow at the prestigious Time 100 Gala Speaking on her podcast, Kelly recounted a moment she described as 'an absurdity,' accusing David Muir of skipping a long line of attendees who were waiting for their photo op Kelly, known for her confrontational style, did not mince words in characterizing Muir's behavior as inappropriate and emblematic of his ego. 'Honestly, he should have been embarrassed,' she said. Neither Muir nor ABC News has responded to the claims. A source close to the event defended Muir on Friday night, telling DailyMail.com: 'There were two red carpet entrances - one for photos only and one for TV interviews. Time directed David to the photo entrance, and he did what they asked.' Another inside source joked: 'Oh, poor Megyn. She had to wait to get her photo taken.' Kelly's comments come amid renewed attention to Muir's rise at ABC News and the internal shake-ups that have accompanied it. As reported in March by journalist Oliver Darcy, Muir has effectively supplanted Stephanopoulos as the face of the network. 'David won,' Darcy said on the Welcome to MAGAland podcast. 'There's a reason George Stephanopoulos does not play a role in the larger ABC News political coverage anymore.' The rivalry reportedly dates back to 2014, when Muir succeeded Diane Sawyer as anchor of World News Tonight. Kelly added, 'Everybody was expecting some truly A-list talent to come in there. And we were all like, 'David Muir?!' Just the fact that he would do it is kind of humiliating.' Though Stephanopoulos retained the title of 'Chief Anchor,' Muir was handed the coveted responsibilities of leading breaking news and political event coverage - sparking outrage from the more senior Stephanopoulos, who allegedly threatened to quit. That drama peaked in 2021, when then-Disney CEO Bob Iger reportedly flew to New York to mediate. While the feud never spilled fully into public view, insiders say it has never truly cooled. Darcy likened the situation to a 'detente,' saying, 'It's not like an active feud but there's not much love lost between those camps.' The latest symbol of that divide emerged last month when David Muir was named to Time magazine's 100 most influential people, complete with a glowing tribute from Diane Sawyer. Stephanopoulos was conspicuously left off the list. 'Everyone at ABC News is proud of David's recognition,' a network spokesperson insisted, dismissing feud talk as a 'tired narrative.' ABC News stars David Muir and George Stephanopoulos have a had a 'historic' feud as they have competed for power at ABC News for years But the tension was hard to ignore during Good Morning America's on-air congratulation segment. 'David Muir! Our own David Muir,' co-host Robin Roberts cheered. Stephanopoulos followed with a subdued, 'Congratulations to David and all the nominees.' Behind the scenes, sources say Muir's stock continues to soar. His World News Tonight consistently leads in national ratings, drawing more than 8 million viewers a night far outpacing competitors NBC and CBS. Insiders say his salary now exceeds eight figures, although ABC has not confirmed details. Meanwhile, Stephanopoulos retains his morning role on GMA and his Sunday show This Week, and launched a production company backed by Disney. But according to Darcy, Muir is now 'ABC's main star,' and any suggestion otherwise is 'laughable.' '[George] still has his own real estate,' Darcy added. 'But there's certainly a feud and I think if anyone's denying it, that's just kind of embarrassing.' To many in media circles, Kelly's viral criticism is emblematic of a broader evolution in network news - where anchors are increasingly treated (and treat themselves) like celebrities. The sight of Muir bypassing a red carpet line, in Kelly's telling, underscores that transformation. 'It was an 'F U b*****s' moment,' she said of her own attendance - a subtle dig at former NBC colleagues - before noting how the moment soured when Muir made his entrance. 'It was just kind of nice from that standpoint until that happened.' Muir's reputation as a ratings juggernaut and steady hand has secured his place atop the ABC hierarchy at least for now. Stephanopoulos remains a force at the network, even if his influence has waned. 'He's doing great,' Darcy said. 'But he's very much below Muir in the pecking order.' Jon Stewart has predicted Donald Trump will burn 'our f***ing country down for the insurance money' by the end of his presidency. The comedian, 62, has spent much of his time lately punching left, taking on CNN for hiding Joe Biden's decline and saying Democrats needed to get over 'the stink' of covering for the former president. But he returned to his typical form of trashing the right during an appearance on Bill Simmons' podcast this week. The comedian claimed networks - including CBS and ABC - had chosen to 'pay tribute to the king' when the president came after them legally. With Simmons comparing it to the Corelone family of The Godfather movies, Stewart had an even darker prediction. 'What you're seeing now is, 'All must pay tribute to the king.' And the price of peace is different,' Stewart said. ' He cited the $15million ABC is paying out to Trump and Jeff Bezos shelling out $40million for a documentary on First Lady Melania. Stewart bluntly continued the mafia theme and referred to the payments as 'protection money.' A disturbed Jon Stewart harrowingly predicted Donald Trump may burn 'our f***ing country down for insurance money' by the end of his presidency Stewart cited not just the $15million ABC is paying out but Jeff Bezos shelling out $40million for a documentary on Melania and Mark Zuckerberg paying money to Trump's inaugural He asked: 'Ultimately at the end of this, does Trump burn our f***ing country down for insurance money? Like, where are we headed?' The Comedy Central host went after his employers at Paramount, who said they were going to settle with Trump over an edited segment of Kamala Harris on 60 Minutes. Stewart said: 'Imagine paying $50million for f***ing nothing, just to get somebody to approve a merger.' Stewart added that he won't stop there. 'He'll go after Harvard and Comcast or whatever the hell else he does, because a policy of appeasement always leads to more conquest,' he said. CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon said Monday she's quitting the network - with a tense statement hinting at her unhappiness at the newsroom's current state. McMahon, 50, sent a memo to staffers that included a veiled reference to Trump's $20billion lawsuit against the network over its interview with Kamala Harris. The resignation was first reported by The New York Times, three months after insiders first said McMahon was set to lose her job. He finally asked: 'Ultimately at the end of this, does Trump burn our f***ing country down for insurance money? Like, where are we headed?' CBS News boss Wendy McMahon announced Monday that she quit the network over the possible settlement with Trump 'It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,' McMahon wrote in her memo. 'It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.' Both McMahon and former 60 Minutes boss Bill Owens opposed a plan by Shari Redstone, the heiress of CBS parent company Paramount, to settle the ongoing suit being brought by the president. The lawsuit claims that an October 60 Minutes interview with Harris was deceptively edited. McMahon, whose less than two-year stint was plagued by poor ratings, called her tenure 'one of the most meaningful chapters in my career.' Both Owens and McMahon suggested corporate overreach spurred their decisions, as the deadline for a proposed media merger between Paramount and Skydance approaches. The Trump administration must approve the deal. McMahon - who had tapped Owens to implement her vision of a two-host version of CBS Evening News - wrote of her next move: 'It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.' Trump's suit - which names both CBS News and Paramount as defendants - accuses 60 Minutes of selecting a more coherent answer from Harris to help with her presidential candidacy. CBS News has maintained Harris had merely given a lengthy answer, which was then cut down due to time constraints. A popular true crime podcaster from Ohio has been convicted on multiple felony intimidation charges after 'threatening' public officials in a Facebook post. Ashli Ford, 40, was found guilty Thursday of four counts of intimidation stemming from a 19-count indictment - 16 of which were felonies - including charges like extortion, telecommunications fraud and misdemeanor falsification, according to court documents obtained by WTOL. The charges were tied to a Facebook post Ford made on September 22, 2023, in which she accused several Norwalk city officials - Mayor David Light, law director Stuart O'Hara, safety and service director Michael White and former police chief David Smith - of corruption. All four testified during the trial. The host of the 'ALLEGEDLY: with Ashli Ford' podcast wrote a series of inflammatory statements, including: 'I know that I have you on your knees,' and 'This is your VERY LAST opportunity to end this in a respectable manner.' She continued: 'I will slowly crumble the reputation [of] every single person who stands in the way of justice,' and added, 'I will escort you to your demise in a manner more akin to Malcolm X than Martin Luther King Jr.' In the same post, Ford claimed she would expose 'every single low down dirty deed,' referencing misspent fines, obscene photos, 'shut up settlements,' a 'human trafficking drug rung,' and 'suicides that ain't suicides,' among other allegations, according to WTOL. Ashli Ford, 40, was found guilty Thursday of four counts of intimidation stemming from a 19-count indictment - 16 of which were felonies - including charges like extortion, telecommunications fraud and misdemeanor falsification The host of the 'ALLEGEDLY: with Ashli Ford' podcast wrote a series of inflammatory statements, including: 'I know that I have you on your knees,' and 'This is your VERY LAST opportunity to end this in a respectable manner' The host of the 'ALLEGEDLY: with Ashli Ford' podcast wrote a series of inflammatory statements, including: 'I know that I have you on your knees,' and 'This is your VERY LAST opportunity to end this in a respectable manner' The state argued the post was a clear attempt to intimidate public officials and witnesses connected to an ongoing criminal case against Ford, constituting a violation of Ohio laws on obstruction and intimidation. At the time of the post, Ford was already facing two criminal falsification charges for allegedly making false accusations against the Norwalk Police Department. She was later acquitted of those charges, according to WTOL. Ford now awaits sentencing, which is scheduled for June 16. If convicted, she faces up to 36 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for each of the four felony counts, according to Law and Crime. After the verdict, Ford addressed her audience - more than 18,000 followers across various platforms - on Facebook, expressing gratitude for their continued support. 'Your support means everything to me. I am okay. God built me to withstand storms like this. I continue to walk in faith and without an ounce of fear. The actions throughout my life will always defend me,' she wrote. After the verdict, Ford addressed her audience - more than 18,000 followers across various platforms - on Facebook, expressing gratitude for their continued support At the time of the post, Ford was already facing two criminal falsification charges for allegedly making false accusations against the Norwalk Police Department. Pictured: Ashli Ford with her husband Ezekiel 'Zeke' Ford Ford is known for her hit true crime podcast where she discusses various legal cases and controversies. Ford is known for her hit true crime podcast where she discusses various legal cases and controversies. She has also publicly described herself as a journalist and child victim advocate. Ford said the goal of her podcast is to unveil 'injustices' and to 'inspire action.' 'In a world drowning in misinformation and deceit, "Ashli Ford Investigations" cuts through the noise to shed light on untold stories that truly matter. Every week, we bring you riveting, thought-provoking content that unveils society's dark underbelly, confronts powerful institutions and empowers silenced victims. 'Through in-depth investigative journalism and compelling interviews, we tackle political corruption, dark media, corporate scandals, human trafficking and more. Our goal is not only to unveil these injustices but also to inspire action and drive positive change,' the podcast's description reads. Kamala Harris branded CNN's Anderson Cooper a 'motherf***er' after a tense interview, a new book has revealed. The former vice president had been grilled by the anchor over Joe Biden's debate performance against Donald Trump last year. Cooper had questioned her over whether the then president should step aside over his horrific showing and questioned his cognitive abilities. Directly afterwards, Harris told her aides: 'This motherf***er doesn't treat me like the damn Vice President of the United States.' That's according to Anderson's CNN colleague Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson in their new book 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.' Harris went on the defense for Biden in the interview with Cooper, who had spoke of Democrats feeling a sense of panic over Biden's 'train wreck' of a performance. She shot back at him, saying: 'Donald Trump lied over and over again as he is want to do', describing Biden as having a slow start to the debate. Cooper said: 'You debated against then Vice President Biden four years ago, and he was a very different person four years - that's certainly true is it not?' Cooper had questioned the then VP over whether Biden should step aside over his horrific performance against Trump and questioned his cognitive abilities Harris and Cooper are seen here as he moderated a CNN Town Hall in Pennsylvania after Harris became the Democratic nominee After a deep sigh, Harris added: 'Anderson the point has to be performance in terms of what a president does. 'I got the point you are making about a one and a half hour debate tonight, I'm talking about three and a half years of performance that has been historic.' According to Tapper's book some in Biden's circle cheered on Harris's defense of the president, and that she was clearly angry following the sit down with Cooper. The book has also shown a light on Biden's prep for the debate, claiming he was 'rusty' in the lead up to it. It also said that Biden had napped the entire first day of his prep, after specifically setting time aside to practice at Camp David last June. Of the mock debates at the Maryland retreat, Tapper and Thompson said: 'Bidens performance ranged from bad to passable. 'His voice was hard to hear, his delivery was halting, and his answers were all over the place. 'Advisers also told him his mouth was agape when he wasnt speaking and urged him to close it. 'His voice got raspier as the week went on, to the point that aides couldnt hear him during mock sessions. Biden kept asking for more cough drops.' President Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and ended his reelection bid after a slew of backlash for his car crash debate performance on June 27 against Trump Biden listens as Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during their debate in Atlanta, Georgia on June 27, 2024 President Biden eventually stood down his reelection campaign following the debate performance after intense backlash. Tapper has been on the end of sharp criticism for the contents of the new book, critics argue that he himself was involved in the cover-up he now is dissecting. In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Tapper accepted that he missed the mark during Biden's term, but has offered a glimpse into his horror while moderating the debate. 'That front row seat was really disturbing,' he said, later describing Biden's performance as an act of 'self-immolation.' Tapper revealed he and fellow moderator Dana Bash had iPads which they used to communicate with their production team throughout the debate. Early on, Tapper sent a message to his crew backstage. He didn't know which staff were working, so he 'tried to keep it clean.' 'I wrote "holy smokes,"' he told Kelly. 'I wanted to write "holy f**k."' Around the same time, Bash slid him a piece of paper, with her own message on it. It read: 'He just lost the election', Tapper added: 'It was - I don't think this is hyperbole at all - the worst debate in the history of presidential debates going back to 1960.' Biden revealed this month he has been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer, sparking a wave of new concerns about his health in the White House. Last month our labrador, Holly, suddenly started limping. Our vet said we needed X-rays, and 250 later we discovered she'd torn her cruciate ligament. The only fix? A 3,500 operation. But then I read that vet fees in Europe are a quarter of what we pay in the UK. That raised several questions. Should I have taken the dog on holiday to Spain for a cut-price op? Maybe book myself in for some budget dental work while she got her knee fixed in Turkey? Perhaps this is unrealistic for a start, Holly is 12 years old and can't travel easily. But the real question of course is why on earth are vet fees so much more expensive in the UK? If the same treatment can be done for less in Europe, does that mean British pet owners are being ripped off? UK vet bills have soared. According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), spending on vet services rose by 10 per cent annually between 2013 and 2020 then accelerated to 20 per cent a year from 2020 to 2023. That's partly why the CMA launched an investigation into Britain's veterinary sector last year. The consultation is open until this Tuesday. 'Our job is to identify whether veterinary businesses, large and small, are providing pet owners with a good choice of fairly priced services,' says Martin Coleman, inquiry chairman of the investigation. 'There is no NHS for animals. So, if we want the best care for our pets, this is going to be provided in the main by businesses [and] they have to charge prices that cover their costs and allow for a reasonable return.' He adds: 'The concern comes if those businesses are not facing sufficient pressure to ensure that the choices and prices offered to consumers are fair.' Luisa Barile, chief executive of pet insurer ManyPets, says: 'In many European markets the veterinary sector is still developing. As a result, costs are lower.' One big concern is market consolidation. You might appear to have plenty of local vets, but six corporate groups now own around 60 per cent of UK practices up from just 10 per cent a decade ago. In 1999, the law was changed to allow people who weren't qualified vets to own practices. Since then, the proportion of independently owned vet surgeries has dropped from 98 to 40 per cent. Those six firms have also invested in online pharmacies, pet crematoriums, referral centres and labs, giving them control over almost every stage of your pet's treatment. And while individual vets are regulated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the corporate groups that dominate the industry are not. Brexit and relatively low salaries have also contributed to a shortage of vets. Considering the years of training required, the average starting salary for a vet is just 30,000, rising to 50,000 with experience. Yet demand has ballooned. The CMA estimates the number of UK households with a pet has increased from 41 per cent in 2019/20 to 60 per cent in 2023/24. It's a frequent battle to secure a dog groomer, boarding care or dog walker due to the high demand lengthy waiting lists have become the norm. If we're planning a holiday our first step isn't visiting a travel website; it's checking the dates with our dog boarder. Vets are similarly in demand and that has an obvious impact on what they charge. The UK is also at the forefront of veterinary medicine, with access to state-of-the-art treatments and referral centres. 'In recent years, veterinary treatment in the UK has advanced significantly, with many injuries and illnesses now successfully treated when in the past owners would have faced the difficult decision to have their pets euthanised,' says Dr Elizabeth Mullineaux, president of the British Veterinary Association. 'These treatments come at a cost and whilst they can seem expensive, in reality they're priced at a level necessary to deliver these services.' And then you have pet insurance. The prevalence of pet insurance in the UK is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows pet owners to opt for advanced medical treatment we may otherwise not be able to afford. On the other hand, with so many of us relying on insurance companies to pay our bills there is little incentive for veterinary surgeries to cut their fees. Plus, as we all face ever increasing pet insurance premiums we expect a higher standard of treatment in return. Luisa Barile, chief executive of pet insurer ManyPets, says: 'The UK is one of the most developed pet insurance markets globally.' This reflects not just a cultural affinity for pets, but also the advanced state of the UK veterinary industry with widespread access to specialist referral centres and world-class treatment options. 'In the UK, the availability of sophisticated, often costly treatments has created a natural demand for insurance to help cover those interventions. 'In many European markets such as France, Germany, Spain or Italy the veterinary sector is still developing. Specialist care is less accessible, and in many cases, pet owners face fewer treatment options. 'As a result, costs are lower not because the need isn't there, but because the options simply don't exist.' Another factor is the lack of pricing regulation in the UK compared to some of our European neighbours. For example, in Germany the Federal Veterinary Association sets prices for vet services across the country. In the UK, once you add in 20pc VAT, rising rents, high energy costs and the price of running buildings with complex systems including piped oxygen and lab machinery the bills soon mount up. So what should we be paying? That 3,500 operation my dog needed would likely cost around 1,000 in parts of Europe. The UK may offer the best facilities and specialist care but the gulf in pricing isn't just about quality. It's also down to a lack of transparency, weak competition and almost no oversight. And without that, it's hard to know whether we're paying a fair price for treatment or helping pump up the profits for some suits in a London office. The CMA is now consulting on possible remedies. These include requiring vets to publish clear, itemised price lists, making written prescriptions mandatory so pet owners can shop around for medication, capping some charges and creating a central website to compare prices and check who owns your local practice. But change could take years if it comes at all. In the meantime, here's what you can do to cut your vet bills today. If your pet needs an operation or specific treatment, ask about the cost up front. Then pick up the phone and see what other vets in your area are charging for the same thing. Prices can vary significantly, even locally. When medication is discussed don't be afraid to ask for a written prescription. You are allowed to do that and can then buy the medication online where you are likely to get a better price. Take out pet insurance. It can protect you from the worst of vet bills and yet most pet owners still don't have it. Shop around on comparison websites such as Compare the Market, Go Compare and MoneySupermarket to find the best policy for your needs and don't base your choice simply on price. 'The most affordable policies often provide lower levels of cover,' says Rhys Jones, pet insurance expert at Go Compare. 'For instance, accident-only insurance will protect you against sudden accidents your pet might suffer but won't help if they catch an illness or disease. Meanwhile, lifetime policies protect against illnesses, accidents and other issues for the full duration your policy is in place.' Pet insurance policies also vary in terms of the amount you can claim. As vet costs can quickly add up particularly for out-of-hours emergency care you need to think carefully about how much cover you need in case of large, unexpected bills. 'Consider the excesses on your policy as well as you will have to pay these in the event you need to make a claim,' adds Mr Jones. Until reforms come in if they do the best defence is information. Don't be afraid to talk money with your vet. Ask questions about the cost of the treatment, discuss alternatives, and shop around. If international travel with your pet doesn't faze you, take a look at the cost abroad but you'll need to factor in around 150 for an Animal Health Certificate (passport), 100 for vaccinations and hundreds of pounds on your travel as well. As for us, Holly is on the mend but our bank account is still limping. Next time, I'll be asking more questions, scrutinising the small print on her insurance, and maybe even pricing up a flight to Istanbul. More than 40 years after the Panda 4x4 launched and quickly became an Italian legend, it looks likely the intrepid little off-roader will be making a return to our roads. Fiat has unveiled its new Grande Panda 4x4 concept that's a 'direct heir of the Panda 4x4 of the '80s', although the Italian car maker is being rather coy about the finer details. Hailed by Fiat as 'the next chapter in the legacy of the Italian brand' the Grande Panda 4x4 has an exterior design that references both the Panda 4x4 of old and the new Grande Panda which marks a return to Fiat's retro roots. If the Panda 4x4 does go into production it will be the first Stellantis (the owner of Fiat) four-wheel drive model to be based on its 'Smart Car' platform that the Citroen C3 and Vauxhall Frontera already use. There's no timeline as to when the Panda 4x4 would go into production or how much it will cost, but head of Fiat for Europe, Gaetano Thorel, told press at the unveiling: 'We knew everyone would love it, we have to do it.' The 2025 Grande Panda starts at 18,025 for the hybrid which combines a 1.2-litre turbo petrol and a 21kW e-motor - and 21,000 for the EV, so it's likely the 4x4 would start from somewhere around there. If it does actually arrive that is... Fiat has revealed is Grande Panda 4x4 concept that builds on the 1983 4x4 that became an Italian legend. It's set to be a hybrid car but Fiat has yet to confirm technical details The original Panda 4x4 was designed for Italians that lived in the most rural and least accessible parts of Italy or frequently journeyed there. Keeping this in mind, Fiat says the new Panda will be 'a symbol of versatility, reliability and freedom on four wheels' and will come with an electrified innovative rear axle that will 'enable the vehicle to deliver impressive performance in urban settings and on more demanding terrain'. The rear axle is the only electric confirmation we've had so far, but Fiat boss Thorel seemed to reject the idea of it being fully electric, telling Auto Express: 'To me, the 4x4 is meant to be at 2000 metres above sea level, in winter. As far as I remember, batteries in winter are not really too comfortable...' The original car could scramble up a hillside and provided extraordinary performance on the toughest terrains, and it did so at an affordable price which is why over three generations Fiat sold around 800,000 Panda 4x4s. It also looked brilliant, and perfected the small on the outside but cleverly spacious on the inside trick. The Grande Panda 4x4 will come with an electrified innovative rear axle that will 'enable the vehicle to deliver impressive performance in urban settings and on more demanding terrain' The original Panda 4x4 was designed for Italians that lived in the most rural and least accessible parts of Italy or frequently journeyed there. It could cross deserts, mountains and rivers Fiat's Panda is back for a fourth generation in 2025 and is available as a hybrid or EV. Prices will start from under 19k The new car takes huge inspiration from the mk1 model, which sold in millions over a 23-year production cycle starting in 1980 Building on the 'box on wheels' updated looks of the Grande Panda, the 4x4 concept is beefed up for tricky terrain with a jacked-up ride height, and some seriously cool fitted steel wheels, as well as beige details and bolted on roof rack lamps. The interior has a brown look to give it a vintage feel as well as an outdoor element to the cabin. The Dark red concept paint with black bumpers makes it stand out from the crowd. The Panda 4x4 was launched in June 1983, powered by a 965cc engine with 48 bhp (36 kW). That doesn't sound much, but the little Fiat was so lightweight that it could scale just about any mountain side Fiat's Panda 4X4 Mk1 was the first small, transverse-engined production car to have a 4WD system There have been three generations of Panda until now - each one has been available as a 4X4 derivative Despite the Mk2 Panda being far heavier and weighed by modern-day safety and crash tech, it was still an incredible capable off-roader The Panda 4x4 could easily shame far larger - and more expensive - luxury SUV that promised to go off the beaten track A Panda 4X4 was also available in the previous generation model with Fiat delivering for a dedicated fan base Every Fiat Panda 4X4 has all four wheel positioned at the very corner of the car with very short overhands - this means it can take on just about any approach angle thrown at it The original Fiat Panda and the 4x4 Over three generations the Panda became an institution of Italy. Over 280,000 were sold in the UK alone and almost every village and town in Italy had Panda 4x4s dotted around its streets. Italy's version of the Renault 4 or Citroen 2CV, it could haul around five passengers and luggage while being fuel efficient and cheap to buy. It's always been a cheerful car which is both conventional and ingenious, but the 4x4 built on that and made this much-loved car ready for any adventure. Beaten by the Dacia Duster to the prize of the cheapest 4x4 in the UK in 2012, the third generation was sold until 2023 which saw a limited edition '4x40' model come in to celebrate four decades of the small SUV's history. Kyoko Ono waited until she was 30 years old before she finally made the telephone call. Wracked with nerves, she took a breath and dialed. When the return call eventually came, it was a voice she hadnt heard in decades. It was her mother. The relief was instant. Suddenly Kyoko's fears fell away along with the guilt and sadness that had haunted her adult life. Now, sitting for an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, the 61-year-old daughter of Yoko Ono is telling her story for the first time. It is a tale as dramatic as any blockbuster thriller indeed it has featured in countless biographies and documentaries about her famous mother and stepfather John Lennon. But it is one that Kyoko herself has never told, until now. Kyoko was just eight years old when she had last seen or heard from her mother. That was the year she was snatched by her father Yoko's second husband, Anthony Cox who kidnapped her amid a bitter custody battle and hid her away in the vastness of rural America. She then grew up in a cult and knew nothing of Yoko and John's frantic efforts to find their missing child. Their bid was as desperate as it was public, costing $1.5million in today's money. It was the stuff of headlines and late-night talk shows. And so today, the first thing Kyoko wants to make it clear is that she knew nothing of the couple's frantic search. Kyoko was just eight years old when she had last seen her mother. That was the year she was snatched by her father who kidnapped her amid a bitter custody battle and hid her away in the vastness of rural America. (Kyoko is pictured with mother Yoko Ono and stepfather John Lennon) Kyoko lived in a cult and knew nothing of Yoko and John Lennon's frantic efforts to find their missing child. Their bid was as desperate as it was public, costing $1.5million in today's money. It was the stuff of headlines and late-night talk shows. (Pictured: Yoko Ono and John Lennon) In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, 61-year-old Kyoko has chosen to reclaim her story. And the first thing she wants to do is make it clear that she knew nothing of John and Yoko's frantic search. (Pictured: Kyoko in 2005) 'When people hear about my story, they don't understand what it was like before Facebook,' she says. 'There's my mom and John doing all these things to appeal to me. 'It makes me sound heartless. But I was living on a farm in Iowa. We didn't own a TV. And a lot of people don't understand that there's a lifestyle like that.' The echoes of Yoko are undeniable. Sure, Kyoko is taller but shares her mother's delicate features and fine-boned frame. Often emotional during our interview, she remains wary in a way that only the child of mega-celebrity would be. Kyoko lives a quiet life in Colorado, having divorced her husband, lawyer Jim Helfrich, in 2018. They have two children together: Emi, 27, and John, 25. 'I'm not really interested in being a public figure. But I am also my mom's daughter, and I want the story to be told properly,' Kyoko says, visibly shaking with nerves. 'I was there when my mom and John first got together,' she points out, 'Look at how terribly John Lennon was treated.' Yoko didn't fare much better, she says, referring to the racialized insults routinely thrown at her Japanese mother who was by turns slammed as an untalented groupie and blamed for breaking up the Beatles. Kyoko was born to Yoko and American filmmaker Cox in 1963. Three years later, Yoko met John at a gallery in London where she was preparing an exhibit, sparking an instant chemistry. They'd both leave their spouses to be together. At first, Yoko's arrangements with Cox to look after Kyoko were informal and amicable. Cox remarried to Melinda Kendall and the two couples even spent New Year's Eve of 1969 together in Denmark, where he and Melinda were living. Meanwhile, Kyoko often stayed with her mother and stepfather at their expansive London home and travelled with them internationally. When John and Yoko staged their infamous bed-in in Montreal, photographers captured a tiny Kyoko amidst the sheets. Today Kyoko admits, 'I was very scared by that fame.' There was, she says, 'a lot of competition for John and my mom's attention from other people even the nanny.' As frontman of The Beatles, Lennon was perhaps the most famous man in the world; the pressure was enormous. And amid it all, the peace between Cox and Yoko unraveled. Kyoko was born in August 1963 to Yoko and her second husband, American filmmaker Anthony Cox (pictured alongside Kyoko and Yoko) In 1966, Yoko and John met at a gallery sparking an instant chemistry. Kyoko often stayed with her mother and stepfather at their expansive London home and travelled with them internationally. (Pictured: Yoko Ono, John Lennon and Kyoko) When John and Yoko staged their infamous bed-in in Montreal (pictured), photographers captured a tiny Kyoko amidst the sheets In 1971, Cox and Melinda vanished with 7-year-old Kyoko to Spain, enrolling her in a transcendental meditation preschool in Majorca. Yoko, who only learned of the move through her lawyers, immediately flew to the Mediterranean with John, picked Kyoko up after classes and took her to their hotel, where she and John were promptly arrested. Ironically, Spanish school staff had called police to report Kyoko kidnapped. She was returned to Cox and the matter hushed up, but not before a traumatic appearance in a Spanish court, during which Kyoko had to make an agonizing choice. 'The judge said to me, "Who do you want to go home with?",' she recalls. 'And I'm like, I can't make that decision.' But the judge insisted. 'So, I said my dad, and my mom was upset... I felt like I had an impossible choice to make.' Kyoko loved her mother and thought John was 'pretty cool' but, she says, 'My mom and John were incredibly busy people. Usually when I went and stayed with them, I had a nanny, and I sometimes wouldn't see them all day long. And [with] my dad and my stepmother, I'm their only child.' Following the Spanish judge's ruling, Cox let Kyoko visit her mother back in London, but it wasn't long before he took her away again this time to his native US. Yoko and John followed and filed for custody. In September 1971, a judge found in Yoko's favor, but the ruling had no practical effect by then Kyoko's whereabouts were unknown. A few months later, Cox went to a court in Houston and this time, the judge ruled in his favor, granting Yoko only visiting rights, which, in any event, Cox refused to honor. On Christmas Eve 1971, he failed to produce his daughter at the court-appointed time and was jailed. Released on bail he seized his chance and vanished with Kyoko for what would turn out to be the entirety of her youth. Cox and Melinda had been experimenting with different religions and philosophies even before they became fugitives including time in communes and at a UFO cult. Kyoko was to be taken along for the ride. They started attending the Assemblies of God, described by Kyoko as 'a traditional, charismatic, Pentecostal church.' 'When we left Houston, we were on the lam,' Kyoko recalls. 'And we went to Los Angeles and we went to a church connected with our church in Houston... and they took us in for a short period of time. 'Then [the congregation] told us, "We've prayed about it and you really need to return Kyoko to her mother," which was not what my dad wanted to hear.' Today Kyoko admits, 'I was very scared by that fame.' There was, she remembers, 'a lot of competition for John and my mom's attention from other people even the nanny.' (Pictured: Yoko Ono and her daughter Kyoko with John Lennon and his son Julian). According to Kyoko, her father pushed back, afraid he would go to prison. 'They were giving him really good and Christian advice, but he didn't trust them. He still had a very Sixties mentality. They just did not trust the police or prison or anything like that.' Then came another, more dangerous move... into a full-blown cult. The Living Word Fellowship began in California in 1951 under the leadership of John Robert Stevens, who established a farm retreat community and headquarters in Iowa. (The organization eventually folded in 2018 amid sexual misconduct allegations). Kyoko reflects: 'Today, as an adult, the biggest irony to me is we left a cult, in a way, when we left the Beatles and John and Yoko. People are fanatical [about them] on the level of being cult members.' 'I was very scared by that fame,' she says. 'So being in this very simple Christian community seemed very safe, like an easier life.' Cox moved the family to an Iowa farmhouse 'in the middle of nowhere.' Kyoko kept busy with chores such as cleaning and husking dried beans while listening to recordings of cult-leader Stevens's sermons. Cut off from the world, she had no way of knowing that Yoko and John were making regular public pleas to find Kyoko and attempting to reach her through their music. In one desperate 1972 interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Yoko showed a picture of her daughter, lamenting, 'John has to switch the TV to another channel whenever I see a child, because I just can't stand seeing a child.' But at the farm, Kyoko says, 'We never talked about my mom and John. We avoided people who would talk about it. Going into a cult was like the perfect place to go if you were scared of being tracked down by the FBI. 'Nobody there gave a damn. They were in love with the cult leader and trying to read the Bible and do whatever the cult leader said and listen to his sermons. 'They didn't even listen to mainstream Christian music.' It was, she says, often 'lonely', but there are some happy memories. Melinda taught her to read. 'She was wonderful,' Kyoko says. 'She's a pretty important person.' Still, Kyoko pestered her father to let her contact her mother. 'There were so many times that I said to my dad, "I really want to get back in touch with my mom",' she says. 'And he would say, "Well, if you do, first of all, it's not what God wants you to do, and then second of all, you'll put me in jeopardy. Your mom is for sure going to put me in prison".' And so Kyoko relented. Cox let her call her Yoko only once for Christmas a short conversation that her half-brother, Sean Lennon, recalls overhearing from his mother's end of the line. Quoted in journalist David Sheff's biography of Yoko, Sean said: 'After a while, I heard my mom ask, "So where are you?" and there was a click. I'm sure [Cox] hung up. Then my mom had tears in her eyes.' When the cult moved from Iowa to California, Kyoko, her father and Melinda moved too with Kyoko now enrolling at a Junior High in Los Angeles. It was there that she read the diary of Anne Frank. 'I was fascinated by it. I'd never heard of the Holocaust before I was 13,' she says. 'So, I went to the library, and I looked up the Third Reich and I realized that it was like my church.' Around the same time, the Fellowship took a sinister turn and, Kyoko says, became 'kind of Charlie Manson-scary', with 'services where we would pray for the death of people.' It was at this point that Cox, finally, started to doubt the Fellowship. But, sensing his growing skepticism, other cult members began escorting Kyoko to and from school. And so one day, her father arrived early and they fled. But if Kyoko hoped her father had seen sense, she was left disappointed. 'When we got out of the cult, he said: "We've been gone for so long. The best thing for me to do, and I can earn money doing this, is to make a documentary film about what happened to us, so that John and your mom will forgive you."' Kyoko describes her father as 'impossible,' 'self-deluded' and a 'major narcissist.' And despite his departure from the cult, Cox remained steadfastly religious and insisted Kyoko attend conservative Christian Wheaton College in Illinois, where she met her future husband, Jim Helfrich. Cox was not keen on the match. He said Helfrich wasn't Christian and he 'did not want me to be involved with someone who could potentially help me get back in touch with my mom.' He was right to be concerned. Helfrich, a lawyer, told Kyoko it was highly unlikely that Yoko or the government would prosecute Cox if she ever reached out to her mother. Indeed, Cox was never imprisoned for kidnap. Kyoko married Helfrich in 1992, but it wasn't for two more years that she finally picked up the phone to call her mother. She was 30 years old, and she hadn't spoken to Yoko for more than two decades. 'By that point, I'd been teaching at public school for six years. And I really understood kids and families better than my parents ever had,' she says. Anthony Cox remained steadfastly religious and insisted that Kyoko (pictured) attend conservative Christian Wheaton College in Illinois where she met her future husband a lawyer. It wasn't until 1994, by which time Kyoko was married and planning a family of her own, that she finally picked up the phone and called her mother. (Pictured: Kyoko and Yoko). She was 30 years old, and she hadn't spoken to her mother for more than two decades. (Pictured: Yoko Ono and Kyoko). 'By that point, I'd been teaching public school for six years. And I really understood kids and families better than my parents ever had,' Kyoko recalls. (Pictured: Kyoko and Yoko Ono). Kyoko reflects: 'Today, as an adult, the biggest irony to me is we left a cult, in a way, when we left the Beatles and John and Yoko. People are fanatical [about them] on the level of being cult members.' (Pictured: Yoko Ono and Kyoko) So why had it taken her so long to make contact? Perhaps there is no simple answer. She worried, she says, that her mother would be angry or dislike her. And, despite her husband's assurances, part of her remained petrified that her father could go to jail. But Kyoko's estrangement from her mother weighed heavy. It was a constant ache and absence. She grew depressed and anxious, and ultimately knew the only remedy would be to confront her fears and reach out to Yoko. And in fact, when she did, her initial call ended in disappointment: Yoko didnt pick up. But she called back and it was quickly apparent that she had no interest in punishing her ex-husband. She wanted only to be reunited with the daughter she had lost so many years before. 'She wanted to see me right away and then we just started spending time together,' Kyoko says. The mother-daughter connection was so natural and immediate that, Kyoko adds, right from the start it felt like they had spoken just, 'yesterday.' Kyoko has since forged a loving, close relationship with her 92-year-old mother. And now, reflecting on her storied upbringing, she is remarkably forgiving of the chaotic adults who let her down as a child. 'They were all such kids. They were just like little children, all of them. It's really crazy. Being a parent it's a hard thing to do.' As a school teacher, he jetted off on a weeks-long mission to ease the suffering of some of the poorest people on earth. But, 30 years later, Kurt Ver Beek has yet to leave the region he now calls home, and has instead cemented an astonishing legacy of putting his life on the line. The blue-eyed American settled in the Nueva Suyapa district of Tegucigalpa, and quickly realized rampaging gangsters dominated Honduras' troubled capital city. Things got personal when one of his neighbors was brutally murdered, but the cowardly justice system refused to prosecute - despite everyone knowing the killer. Ver Beek snapped and decided to hang up his missionary title and be the one man brave enough to face off against these feared criminals. He founded an organization tasked with identifying bent cops and pushed judges to finally start filling up local prisons. The group also started disguising witnesses and victims, so they were no longer scared to testify and would themselves help fight the city's criminal underbelly. Their heroics saw the power snatched from the vicious gangs and handed back to the justices - even taking down a powerful kingpin. Ver Beek and Hernandez started their work in Nueva Suyapa (pictured) where gang violence permeated the community Ver Beek and Hernandez were inspired to act when a member of their community was murdered, but the killer was never arrested. Pictured above are members of the puchos gangs arrested in Honduras Carlos Hernandez (left) and Kurt Ver Beek (right) founded the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ) to combat gang violence in Honduras. Pictured here together in 2015 Ver Beek's life changed when he met local educator Carlos Hernandez. The two were neighbors and set up the Association for a More Just Society. They quickly expanded and what began as a small community effort turned into a complicated organization tackling the complex politics of crime in Honduras. Ver Beek and Hernandez had witnessed firsthand the violence by puchos members and their bloodthirsty leader Chelito. They created a secret group as a division of ASJ to compel the justice system to incarcerate members of the puchos. ASJ hired a lawyer and a private eye to root out which officers had connections to gangs. The ASJ worked to protect victims so that they could testify against violent gang members. ASJ is pictured here helping a witness by disguising them to protect their identity The puchos gang terrorized Ver Beek's community. Pictured - members of the gang getting arrested by police Ver Beek and Hernandez embarked on a years-long journey to improve the criminal justice system in Honduras. Pictured here are police preparing to meet protestors They provided resources to witnesses and victims who feared retribution, started holding gang perpetrators accountable and brought a psychiatrist in to prioritize their emotional and psychological health. Ver Beek and Hernandez recognized one of the core problems of corruption was that witnesses were intimidated out of testifying against violent gang members. ASJ supported them and even came up with ways to shield witnesses' identities who feared for their lives. They often covered them in cloaks to conceal their identities. Their journey is chronicled in author and journalist Ross Halperin's novel, Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land. 'In our typical criminal justice stories, the heroes are the ingenious cop who deduces this clue or the CSI investigator or the crusading prosecutor,' Halperin said. He added: 'I think the reality of things is that a lot of that super cinematic stuff rarely figures in.' Hernandez went from running a small school to becoming an influential figure, talking to the media and working with politicians Gang violence continued even when the perpetrators were known due to fear of retribution from gang members (pictured here getting arrested) ASJ received backlash for working with former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Pictured here after he was convicted of assisting in drug trafficking Macario Pavon, a name Halperin made up to protect the source's identity, was hired as a lawyer and worked with officers to arrest offenders of gang violence. Pavon observed disturbing behavior from police, including barging into homes without warrants, abusing suspects, threatening people and even attacking prisoners. Ver Beek and Hernandez opposed the police's violent ways but admitted that their hands were tied. They then met with the Public Ministry to formalize a collaboration, and ASJ's work in the justice system began to take off. While visiting family, Ver Beek received a text that patrol cops had arrested Chelito and a group of puchos in a raid thanks to ASJ's information. Ross Halperin traveled to Honduras five times and conducted over 150 interviews to piece together his latest novel, which is available on May 13 But the violence still didn't end, as Chelito's death sparked an attack against Dionisio Diaz, a lawyer associated with the ASJ. Diaz was murdered by two men on a motorcycle who pulled up to his car window and shot him. Ver Beek was quickly notified of the tragedy and rushed to the scene to see his colleague leaning over his center console with blood on his cheek. The tragedy put into perspective the danger involved in attempting to reform the criminal justice system in Honduras. ASJ even had to make concessions by working with disgraced former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was later sentenced by the US Department of Justice for conspiring with drug traffickers to transport cocaine. Halperin observed the way public opinion changed and how ASJ became associated with the disgraced former president. 'ASJ without really intending to, gets kind of mired in partisan politics,' he said. 'And I think it's been really interesting to see how, for lack of a better word, popular opinion has shifted with regard to them.' Ver Beek lived in Honduras for over 35 years and persisted with his philanthropic work even in dangerous circumstances A lawyer named Dionisio Diaz, who worked with ASJ, was assassinated in 2006 in an attack motivated by gang violence Halperin told DailyMail.com that he was inspired by Hernandez and Ver Beek's desire to continue fighting for a safer Honduras despite obstacles Ver Beek and Hernandez haven't stopped their work, and the ASJ estimates that as a result, murders in Nueva Suyapa have decreased by 80 per cent. ASJ has expanded to other parts of Tegucigalpa too. The organization also began to combat sexual violence, working to bring 300 cases to justice, its website says. Halperin confessed that despite the over two decades of work by the ASJ, Honduras still is a ways away from lowering crime rates. The country hasn't yet achieved low-crime statistics comparable to its Central American neighbor, Costa Rica. 'Countries have improved, countries have transformed - and I do think ASJ has done things that have concretely made the country better,' Halperin said. He added that despite improvements, corruption is still present in the country, and gang violence hasn't gone away. Even though the journey is an uphill battle, Halperin said that one of the most impressive things about Ver Beek and Hernandez is that they don't give up. 'Especially in Kurt's case, at any point in time he could have just said, 'Okay, I'm gonna move back to Grand Rapids and be a professor and stop fighting this fight, which is grueling,'' Halperin said. 'And they keep going and think they're really proud of their accomplishments,' he added, 'but they also recognize how far the country has to go.' Ver Beek and Hernandez's journey from friends and neighbors to quasi-vigilantes is detailed in Halperin's new novel Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land, now available on Amazon. When three San Diego police officers walked up Anthony Elliott's driveway, they mentally prepared to deliver the awful news that their colleague and friend had been shot in the head. But before they could even ring the doorbell, Tony's voice crackled through the speaker - calm, unmistakable, alive. It was December 2023 when Sergeant Elliott, a decorated San Diego police officer, former Navy sailor, SWAT team member, and father-of-two, was chasing a suspect through rows of shopping carts at the front of a grocery store in the leafy suburb of Carmel Valley when everything went black. The suspect, involved in a domestic violence case and known to be dangerous, climbed over a brick wall before turning back around with a concealed weapon and firing. 'He jumped a wall. I was right behind him. I didn't even see the gun because of the angle. Next thing I know, I'm five feet away and he shoots me in the head.' The bullet struck Elliott in the head, entering his skull, burrowing into his brain, but incredibly stopping just short of ending his life - but remarkably, Elliott never lost consciousness. He remembers the moment with chilling clarity - the way he caught himself on nearby shopping carts with the one side of his body that still worked, preventing a second impact to his head that might have proven fatal. 'It's ironic,' he said. 'It's usually the secondary blow - hitting the pavement - that finishes you off. But I caught myself. That probably saved my life.' Three colleagues from the police department were the bearers of bad news when they also heard Tony Elliott's voice over the Ring Doorbell cam Despite his wife's anguish, Elliott has returned to the force and is back on the beat Sergeant Elliott charted his road to recovery through his Instagram While blood pooled onto the concrete beneath him, Elliott still had the presence of mind to issue instructions to his squad - not about tactics or arrests, but about love. 'Tell my kids daddy's going to be okay,' he told one of them. 'Tell my wife I love her. I wanted them to know I tried. He remembers telling his fellow officers how to tend to his wound and remembers thinking of his toddler son and his newborn brother. 'I knew what was happening. I told my guys to check for an exit wound. I knew I was shot. I couldn't move my left side. I figured this is it. So I started saying my goodbyes.' Touchingly recalling the moment, Elliott explained: 'I wasn't thinking about my career. I wasn't thinking about my house or my job,' he said. 'I was thinking about my wife and my boys. That's all.' Medics rushed him into an ambulance and began ripping off his uniform on the trauma bed, and Elliott somehow still had his phone. 'I've seen that bed a thousand times - I've stood over it while others laid on it. Now it was me.' He tried calling Laura, but her phone was off. With two babies at home, she was catching up on some sleep. His experience told him what would come next. 'I knew they were going to come to my house and say I'd been shot in the head,' Elliott recalled in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com. 'Before they can say "...but he's okay," she'll already think I'm dead. I couldn't let her feel that. 'I wanted my wife Laura to hear my voice. I figured, how could I be dead if she could hear me talking?' So he waited for the Ring camera to activate. And when three of his fellow officers showed up to deliver the dreaded news, Elliott spoke through the speaker, shocking his colleagues while also attempting to soothe his wife in his darkest moment. Elliott is seen with stitches in his head following his injury The bullet entered his skull, burrowing into his brain where it remains to this day Officers flinched in disbelief. Elliott, laying in a trauma unit with a bullet lodged in his brain, had accessed his Ring camera remotely - all to spare his wife a few seconds of anguish. 'You guys are good looking,' Elliott said through the Ring camera. 'Whats up dude?' one of his colleagues said casually in response. 'She's going to freak out when she sees you, just be prepared,' he told them, with one officer telling him he was there because she would recognize them. Another asks 'how are you feeling?' prompting a candid, 'I'm feeling like I got shot in the head' from Elliott. As they walk in, one officer says, 'hey Tony, we're inside... we'll see you soon alright.' Doctors were stunned Elliott survived the initial injury. Even more astonishing was the fact he was talking, thinking, planning. His brain had absorbed the bullet, but it hadn't shut down. 'The doctors wanted to see what I could do - if I could still speak, if I still had presence of mind. They let me go through with the call.' Officers with the San Diego Police Department arrive at the home of Sergeant Tony Elliott to inform his wife he had been shot in the head Days later he was flown on December 23, 2023 to Craig Hospital in Colorado, one of the nation's top neurological rehab centers. Upon arrival, the Denver Police SWAT team stood at attention in salute - a rare and emotional show of solidarity for one of their own from across the country. At Craig, doctors told Elliott he would likely leave in a wheelchair but such was his level of determination to overcome his injuries he walked out less than four weeks later. 'It was like drinking from a fire hose,' Elliott said. 'They push you hard - walk on one foot, recite the alphabet, balance, everything. But I said yes to everything. 'I pushed myself every day. They told me to take one step - the next day, I asked to do five. Instead, they said, 'We're climbing stairs today.' So we did.' Elliott spent time working to recover mobility and feeling in the left side of his body At Craig, doctors told Elliott he would likely leave in a wheelchair but such was his level of determination to overcome his injuried he walked out less than four weeks later His mission was to flood the brain with motion, activity, memory - anything to rebuild neural pathways before the window of opportunity closed. 'I had to do as much as possible in six months, before the swelling went down. That's the sweet spot for recovery.' By January 16, 2024, Elliott was back in San Diego - standing, walking, holding his kids. But the recovery wasn't over. He entered a brain therapy outpatient program at Scripps to relearn how to write, plan, and organize. His left leg remained numb. He struggled with brain fog. But he kept pushing. 'Still feels like static, like a fuzzy TV screen. But I run on it anyway,' he said referring to his leg. Elliot is wheeled out on a stretcher while being transferred from Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla to an out-of-state hospital for specialized care on December 21, 2023 He told how the best therapy of all was wrestling with his toddlers on the floor of the family's North County apartment every evening. 'My wife brought the kids to Denver. After therapy, I'd come home to our little apartment, and they'd want to wrestle. So I wrestled with one arm. That was the best therapy. 'That's what healed me. Not just the rehab - the routine. The bedtime stories, the tickle fights, the diapers. That's what made me fight.' In September 2024, Elliott returned to work, initially first in a desk role with the SWAT unit. Then, just one week ago, he stunned his department again as he was back on patrol. 'I'm not going to do it forever,' he insists. 'My wife, Laura, is sacrificing so much just to let me try. It's hard on her. But I needed closure. I needed to know I could still do it.' The first day back in the car was jarring. 'I felt like I didn't belong, like I'd forgotten everything. But by day two, it all came back. It was like I never left.' For now, he's back on graveyard shifts, checking boxes, closing cases, and proving the impossible is sometimes just a mindset. Elliott says he doesn't plan to stay forever - just long enough to prove he can. Then, he'll find a role that's safer for his family. Because while his job matters, his home is everything. 'When I was dying, I wasn't thinking about promotions. I was thinking about bedtime stories. That's what matters.' Elliott is seen returning to the the force while his wife, Laura, right, wipes away tears Elliott told how the best therapy of all was wrestling with his toddlers on the floor of the family's North County apartment every evening The love of his family and two young boys helped bring Elliott back from the bring Elliott has now begun to try his hand at public speaking, sharing his journey to motivate others. His themes: resilience, mindset, never getting complacent, and always remembering what matters most. 'Everyone preaches resilience,' he said. 'But unless you've really had to claw your way back from something, it's just talk. I've lived it. I want to help others live through it too. 'And if my kids grow up knowing daddy didn't quit - that he fought to come back, for them - maybe that'll mean something. 'If I learned anything,' he said, 'it's that family is everything. When I thought I was dying, I didn't think about medals or jobs. I just wanted to tell my kids I love them. I just wanted to play with them one more time.' The quickfire arrests of two young British women alleged to have been hauling huge quantities of illegal drugs from Thailand have stoked fears naive holidaymakers are being targeted by local gangs to work as drug mules. Eighteen-year-old Bella Culley, from Billingham, Teesside, was arrested in Georgia on May 11, alleged to have been caught trying to bring some 200,000 worth of cannabis and hashish into the country via the UAE after an apparent leisure trip to Thailand. Culley has yet to tell her lawyer how she came to be in possession of the narcotics. Soon after, it emerged that a British former cabin crew member, 21-year-old Charlotte May Lee, had been arrested in Sri Lanka, accused of trying to bring 46kg of cannabis into the country - again, from Thailand. The Mail revealed that Culley had told a source close to her legal case that she had flown to the South East Asian country 'for love', but has still 'said nothing about why she had the drugs'. Lee is understood to have travelled to Thailand for her birthday in April before stopping back in the U.K. She mentioned having found a 'job on a boat', but did not tell friends she was planning to return. How and why she ended up in Colombo, Sri Lanka, allegedly with bags of vacuum-packed cannabis, remains a mystery. Relatives say she, too, had made vague comments about meeting a man in Thailand, The Sun reports. She left Bangkok Airport within hours of Culley. Jemal Janashia, a former police general in Georgia and one of the country's top drug crime experts, told the Mail that local investigators will be keen to explore 'the possibility of a link' between the two cases - and, hauntingly, 'that Thai gangs may be attempting to recruit vulnerable British travellers'. Bella Culley (pictured) was arrested in Georgia earlier in May, having travelled from Thailand. A local expert said investigators will be interested in a possible link to organised crime Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, was arrested in Sri Lanka after 1.15 million of cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage Your browser does not support iframes. The drugs that the police claim Miss Lee smuggled into Sri Lanka inside luggage cases 'The fact that two young British women have taken off with large quantities of drugs from the same airport will interest investigators,' Mr Janashia told the Mail. 'They will be concerned about the possibility of a link and that Thai gangs may be attempting to recruit vulnerable British travellers.' Mr Janashia, who used to head Georgia's national bureau for combating drug trafficking, said that a police crackdown on postal drug deliveries in Thailand may have pushed 'the cartel' to seek alternative smuggling routes. 'Georgia does look like an attractive middle transit point,' he suggested, close to Europe and visa free for European travellers. Noting that Miss Culley was 18, foreign to Thailand and pregnant, and suggesting she may have been used as a pawn in a complex trafficking operation, he said that 'whoever chose her, they knew what they were doing'. He told the Mirror that he would advise Miss Culley to cooperate with the investigation and 'indicate who were the youths that she was in touch with in Thailand' - and a fixer in Georgia, if there was one. Bella was arrested at Tbilisi Airport on May 11 and found with 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish after getting a 550 Air Arabia flight from Bangkok via Sharjah. But Mr Janashia, who now teaches at the Georgian Technical University, said Miss Culley did not fit the typical profile of an international drug trafficker. It does not appear she has any previous experience in drug trafficking - something investigators will try to understand and explore in the coming weeks. Miss Lee is also a young British traveller who appeared to be visiting Thailand for leisure after reportedly going through a painful break up. The 21-year-old, who had been working on a booze cruise in Thailand before her visa in the country ran out, this week strongly denied any knowledge of the 1.2million stash in her bag She told MailOnline from behind bars in Negombo Prison, where she is currently being held on reprimand: I had never seen them before. I didnt expect it at all when they pulled me over in the airport. I thought it was going to be filled with all my stuff. She decided to go to the country because it was relatively nearby - only a three-hour flight away - and she had never visited there before. 'I thought while I was waiting for the visa that I'd come to Sri Lanka. 'They [the people she believed planted the drugs] were supposed to meet me here. But now I'm here - stuck in this jail.' And she added: 'I know who did it.' Both women are said to have told friends and family they were meeting a man abroad. Both women departed from the Thai capital during the Royal Ploughing Ceremony weekend. It is one of the busiest festivals of the year when airports are overloaded with tourists - a prime opportunity for gangs to try to push through mules. Eighteen-year-old Bella Culley, from Billingham, Teesside, was arrested in Georgia on May 11, alleged to have been caught trying to bring some 200,000 worth of cannabis and hashish into the country after a trip to Thailand A photograph on Miss Lee's social media shows her in her former job as a TUI stewardess Pictures exclusively revealed by MailOnline show the glamorous former TUI cabin crew member, 21, in an all white ensemble with gem-studded sandals as she stood cautiously at Colombos Police Narcotic Unit The story is not unique. In recent months, dozens of British nationals have been stopped at borders, accused of trying to bring huge quantities of cannabis into the country. In the space of just two weeks of last year, more than 260kg of cannabis was found in suitcases at UK airports, carried by passengers arriving from Bangkok, SCMP reports By October 2024, British ports and airports were recording a record surge in drug seizures smuggled in from the country. The trend appears to date back to the decriminalisation of most cannabis in Thailand in 2022. Since then, there has been a correlated hike in shipments to the U.K. The Home Office took note, and a partnership between UK Border Force and Thai customs helped bring down cannabis arrivals by post by 90 per cent in the first three months of this year. Minister for Citizenship and Migration, Seema Malhotra said last month: 'By stopping these drugs at source, we're disrupting organised crime, protecting communities, and freeing Border Force to focus on other priorities.' The fear is that, now, gangs could be looking to circumvent the border crackdown by recruiting naive young holidaymakers to move drugs across the border for them personally. Some 800 people, including as many as 50 British nationals, were 'intercepted' between October 2024 and March 2025. More than nine tonnes of cannabis have been seized, according to the Home Office. Only last month, authorities in Thailand showed off how they arrested the alleged ringleader of a drug smuggling group operating out of the country. Adel Mohammed, a British national, was accused of running a network of Brits picking up marijuana from farms on Koh Samui island, of White Lotus fame, to be moved on to the capital. Four British tourists cover their faces after being arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle cannabis out of an airport in Thailand in March, 2025 The suspected traffickers reportedly tried to evade officials by boarding a plane with 290lbs (131 kg) of cannabis (pictured) Mr Mohammed was arrested on April 12 at an apartment in Bangkok, as police said they had caught nearly a dozen Brits, a Malaysian, a Dutch and a Romanian national who they believe were involved in a complex network. 'They were planning to smuggle cannabis buds out of the country via Samui International Airport,' Major General Natthakorn Prapayont, Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said at the time. A month prior, Darryl Poole, from Camden, was detained at an airport, alleged to have been part of the same ring. Koh Samui, said to have ideal conditions for growing cannabis, has featured several times in newspaper headlines for the wrong reasons. On March 15, four British tourists were arrested boarding a plane on the island, allegedly found with 1.7mn worth of cannabis. Customs officers said they found eight suitcases between the four men stuffed full of vacuum-sealed bags. Antony Paul Mudd, 62, from London, Billy Daniel Harman, 36, from Newham, Philip Edward Goldstone, 63, from West Ham, and John George Canning, 34, from London were identified by police. A police spokesman said at the time: 'The suspects claimed they were hired by an employer abroad to travel to Thailand and smuggle cannabis out of the country. Koh Samui, said to have ideal conditions for growing cannabis, has featured several times in newspaper headlines for the wrong reasons Adel Mohammed, a British national, was accused of running a network of Brits picking up marijuana from farms on Koh Samui island to be moved on to the capital 'The employer arranged for travel tickets and accommodation for them, and they would receive the cannabis-packed suitcases at their hotels. 'They travelled to Koh Samui through a domestic flight from Bangkok. The alleged smugglers' were flying to Singapore with their final destination being London in England.' The case is exceptional in the suspects all being slightly older. In recent months, it has predominantly been young people - teenagers or those in their early 20s - who have been nabbed at customs with huge quantities of drugs, accused of involvement in smuggling. Police in Croatia saw an irregularity before arresting a 21-year-old roofer with 39 bags of cannabis, also neatly vacuum packed, at customs in Zagreb earlier this year. The man, who was not named, claimed to have no idea how he had ended up with 23kg of marijuana. He was revealed to have travelled from Thailand to the Croatian capital via Istanbul before sniffer dogs sounded the alarm. Often, police in Thailand intervene before the drugs leave the country. On March 4, British tourist Luziela Aaliyah Carvalho, 19, was allegedly caught with 35kg (80lbs) of marijuana while trying to board a plane at the Chiang Mai International Airport in Thailand. She was scheduled to fly to Hong Kong before taking a second flight to London on Cathay Pacific flight CX 251 before officers allegedly detected the contraband in her luggage and arrested her. National Crime Agency Branch Commander Andy Noyes suggested at the time that the arrests of 11 people accused of trying to bring drugs into the UK had been ensnared in a trafficking operation. 'The gangs behind this trafficking don't care about those who get caught they just want their money,' he said. 'If you try to smuggle drugs into the UK, you will be arrested, and you will spend time in prison.' Questions remain as to how exactly Culley ended up in Georgia - and what her steps were in the lead up Koh Samui, home to the fictional White Lotus hotel of the eponymous HBO series, and a location ostensibly used to grow cannabis to be shipped out around the world Experts on drug trafficking - and indeed the family of Miss Culley - believe that she, too, may have been exploited by one of the gangs during a leisure trip to Thailand. Miss Culley is said to have told legal sources that she was in love with an unknown man who now forms a central part of the police investigation. On socials, Miss Culley told the world that she did not want to have a 'boring' life and was 'hungry for success'. Online, she referred to herself as part of 'Bonnie and Clyde' and shared images of herself with wads of bank notes. But family agreed that the idea she had willingly involved herself in a complex foreign drug trafficking scheme was preposterous. 'She's not daft,' her grandfather William Culley, 80, argued. 'She's an intelligent girl. Why has she done it? Has someone dangled money in front of her? 'We are just hoping that someone can do something. She must be terrified. She's got sucked into something, somehow,' he told reporters. 'She's not an international drug trafficker. She was just going on holiday.' Later, he recalled a vague conversation he'd had with his daughter Lyanne Kennedy Bella's mother about how she had gone off to Thailand to meet someone called Ross or Russ. He couldn't be certain. Bella's grandfather William Culley, 80, told reporters visiting his bungalow that he feared he would never see her again Miss Lee had previously worked as a cabin crew member for TUI, yet friends have said this was only a 'summer contract' These details are expected to be combed through in court as investigators work to unpick how an 18-year-old with her sights on becoming a nurse ended up journeying from the U.K. to Thailand to Georgia, allegedly with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis. Likewise, investigators have been stumped by the arrival of a British 21-year-old former cabin crew member in Sri Lanka, allegedly carrying 46kg of cannabis in her luggage. Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, was detained in Colombo on May 12, a day after Miss Culley was stopped in Georgia. Officials from the Customs Narcotics Control Unit in the airport said they had found with Miss Lee the largest amount of Kush, a quality strain of cannabis, ever to be detected since the international hub opened. Sources close to the investigation said the 'massive consignment' is worth around 460 million Sri Lankan rupees - about 1,150,000. The drugs, which have now been seized, were allegedly found 'tightly packed in luggage' and are believed to have been intended for 'high-end local buyers'. Miss Lee has been remanded to custody while the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) investigates the case and potential legal action, according to local reporters. According to friends, Miss Lee first flew out to Thailand in April to celebrate her 21st birthday with her older sister. Bella's father Niel Culley, 49, and aunt Kerrie Culley, 51, (both pictured) flew out to Tbilisi Her father and auntie have been locked in talks with British Embassy officials since their arrival and are not speaking to the press She then returned to Coulsdon and told friends she 'loved Thailand and wanted to work out there'. She had said that she had found 'a job on a boat' a few weeks before her arrest, but did not voice plans to return. So it came as a surprise when she started posting photos of herself partying abroad in Thailand, days before her arrest. Upon news of her arrest, friends were equally shocked. 'I couldn't believe it. She's a hard worker and a grafter,' one said. 'We are shocked. I am in total shock. She's a nice girl.' 'There were no red flags or anything,' another said. Again, it is unclear why Miss Lee decided to return to Thailand. Again, it is unknown why the 21-year-old suddenly found herself in Sri Lanka. Mr Janashia suggested that Thai gangs may be explicitly targeting British backpackers, making them carry drugs across borders to get around a crackdown on mail-order shipments organised on the dark web. Miss Culley now faces raising her child behind bars in Georgia if found guilty of trafficking Charlotte May Lee is among the most recent to be detained abroad, accused of smuggling Older headlines make note of British nationals arrested trying to bring heroin into the country from Thailand. Today, most of the heroin imported into the UK is thought to originate from Afghanistan, often trafficked via the Balkans. But the decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand appears to have created new opportunity for gangs to harness tourists to smuggle narcotics around the world once more. The policy shift has taken some of the power away from these gangs, and efforts to stop postal orders of drugs has cut off their lifeblood. But a disturbing pattern of young Brits found at airports with huge quantities of drugs suggests a sinister movement still fighting back against threat of extinction. France is set to build a 337million American-style 'super-max' prison in the heart of the Amazon rainforest that will house drug lords and Islamist terrorists. The massive 40,700 square meter complex will be build in Saint Laurent du Maroni, in the jungles of French Guiana, said hardline justice minister Gerald Darmanin on Sunday, who visited the region to make the announcement, amid growing fervour against the so-called 'Mexicanization' of France at the hands of violent drugs gangs. Darmanin told a local outlet that no quarter would be given to those imprisoned at the jail. 'The prison regime will be extremely strict, with one aim: to put the most dangerous narcotraffickers in a place where they can do no harm', he said. The Saint Laurent du Maroni prison will hold up to 500 prisoners, and will have specialised high-security wings specifically for drug barons and Islamist extremists who posed too high a national security risk to be kept in general population. Justice ministry officials added that 15 places would be reserved for convicted Islamist radicals. The prison is due to open in 2028. Darmanin said: 'The drug gang bosses will no longer be able to have any contact with their criminal networks. 'My strategy is simple, hit organised crime at all levels.' Your browser does not support iframes. A 3D visual of the future prison to be built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana France' Justice minister Gerald Darmanin (C) visit the Remire-Montjoly prison as part of his official trip in French Guiana on May 19, 2025 The daughter of a major cryptocurrency company executive and her two-year-old child were the victims of a violent attempted kidnapping in Paris last week In February, drug gangs in France carried coordinated machine-gun and arson attacks on seven prisons in response to the country's harsh new crackdown on the trafficking of illegal substances. Prisons in Toulon, Aix-En-Provence, Marseille, Valence and Nimes in southern France, and in Villepinte and Nanterre, near Paris, were hit by simultaneous attacks. Police vehicle were set alight at several locations, while at La Farlede prison gunmen opened fired on the prison gate with a Kalashnikov rifle. Bullet holes were at the prison's entrance, while shattered glass was seen still in their frames. French police unions called for increased protection for prison staff. The country's anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into these attacks to see exactly who was responsible. Darmanin said at the time that 'significant means' would be deployed to investigate the spate of attacks, and that the perpetrators would be given 'extremely severe sentences.' 'I am delighted that the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has taken action because this is extremely serious. These are terrorist attacks', he added. 'Clearly people are trying to destabilise the state by intimidating it,' he told the CNews/Europe 1 broadcaster. 'They are doing it because we are taking measures against the permissiveness that existed until now in jails,' he said. Anarchist symbols were seen at some sites while the letters 'DDPF', meaning 'French prisoners' rights', were seen at others. Darmanin and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau have in recent months vowed to intensify the fight against narcotics and drug-related crime. French soldiers from the 9th Marine Infantry Regiment (9e RIMa) train in Guyane jungle to enter the section of Search and Action Commando in Jungle (CRAJ) on October 20, 2021 France's Minister of Justice Gerald Darmanin (C) poses for photographs with French Gendarmerie officers during a visit at the Carrefour Margot checkpoint in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana, on May 18, 2025 On May 17, 2025, Justice minister announced that a 500-place high-security prison would be opened by 2028 in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, in the heart of the Guiana jungle, to house prisoners serving the longest sentences for drug trafficking as well as radicalised inmates Darmanin said he was seeking to crack down on 'drug networks that continue to operate from prison cells. 'They order killings, launder money. They threaten police officers, judges, prison guards, and they escape,' he said. The justice minister has so far proposed several measures to tighten prison security, including setting up dedicated high-security jails for drug lords to isolate them from their gangs. France's parliament is currently passing a law that would great a special prosecutor's office to deal with drugs crimes, which would be equipped with new investigative powers. In November, Retailleau warned that the country was at a 'tipping point' when it came to drug trafficking violence, following a massive shootout in the western city of Poitiers. 'These shootings are not happening in South America, they are happening in Rennes, in Poitiers, in this part of western France once known for its tranquility', he starkly said. 'We are at a tipping point and the choice we have today is a choice between general mobilisation or the Mexicanisation of the country,' he said, citing Mexico's deep problem with cartel violence. It was an electoral humiliation the likes of which has rarely been seen in Australian political history. And, of course, Peter Dutton suffered the final indignity of losing his own seat of Dickson, which he had held since 2001, to Labor. But, as the new Liberal leader Sussan Ley surveys the charred ruins of her party and attempts to mend the fractured Coalition, she could see some small slivers of hope. There were swings towards the Coalition in 14 seats across the country, with the largest coming in the seat of O'Connor in WA's southern Wheatbelt where Rick Wilson experienced a 6.5 per cent swing. Much has been made of the Coalition's unpopular nuclear energy policy, with many commentators blaming it for their loss. But Wilson, who prides himself 'on being an MP that is present throughout the term', points to his success in Collie, one of the Coalition's seven proposed sites for the nuclear reactors, as evidence that some communities actually strongly favoured it. In one booth in Collie he recorded a two-candidate preferred swing of over 19 per cent. 'The electorate of O'Connor I think had a positive response to our nuclear energy proposal,' he told Daily Mail Australia. There were swings towards the Coalition in 14 seats across the country, with the largest coming in the WA southern Wheatbelt seat of O'Connor where Rick Wilson experienced a 6.5 per cent swing Wilson (pictured) prides himself 'on being an MP that is present throughout the term' 'I think the Collie people are recognising that 2029 isn't that far away and the promises from the Labor government and their renewable energy strategy are not leading to more jobs in the Collie community.' Wilson, 59, also pointed to the live export ban as a reason for his surge in support. 'The majority of the sheep live exported from WA come from my electorate. The live sheep export ban will have a significant impact on the farming sector and the businesses which support it,' he said. 'The truck drivers, shearers and the broader community will be impacted by that incredibly poor policy and that was certainly a big concern in my electorate.' But he remained tight-lipped on the lessons the wider Liberal party could learn from his success. 'The Liberal party will undertake a review of the campaign, as we do after every election,' he said. 'We clearly have some things to work on and improve, but we will wait for the outcome of the review first.' Someone not so tight-lipped about their success was Tim Wilson who, despite a nail-biting count, recorded a 3.3 per cent swing towards him in a state that overall went against the Liberal party. Despite a nail-biting count, Tim WIlson (pictured with former Opposition Leader Peter Dutton) recorded a 3.3 per cent swing towards him in a state that overall went against the Liberal party In his victory speech, he praised the 'genuine community-connected campaign' he ran this time around after he was ousted by Teal Zoe Daniel in 2022. 'We very much built it from the bottom up, and I think there are a lot of lessons for a recovering Liberal party for how it wants to take on the future of the country,' he said. Daniel Wild, deputy executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) think tank, said that the strong performances from Andrew Hastie in Canning, Rick Wilson, and Tim Wilson were largely 'driven by their local leadership, work ethic, and personal brand in their respective communities'. Mr Wild took leave from the IPA to stand as a Liberal candidate in the South Australian seat of Spence where he recorded the state's smallest swing to Labor, not counting the independent-held Adelaide Hills seat of Mayo. He argued that the Coalition's 'mammoth defeat' has brought it to an existential crossroads, where the Liberal Party 'needs to decide if it is going to be a party which represents the inner-cities, or outer-metropolitan Australia'. 'The two constituencies now have dramatically different lived experiences and social values, and simply cannot be represented by the one political party,' Mr Wild said. 'John Howard's conceptualisation of the Liberal Party as a "broad church" worked in part because of Howard's masterful and visionary leadership. 'Also, because the Liberal Party used to have a set of unifying principles and beliefs, which it no longer appears to have.' Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), said that the strong performances from Andrew Hastie (pictured with Dutton) in Canning, Rick Wilson, and Tim Wilson were largely 'driven by their local leadership, work ethic, and personal brand in their respective communities'. But Mr Wild said that this 'broad church' concept no longer held true because of the seismic demographic and social changes across Australia. 'At both the 2022 and 2025 elections, the Liberal Party took to the electorate the policy of net zero emissions by 2050, in large part to woo well-off inner-city Teal voters,' he added. 'This experiment not only failed, but was catastrophic politically, because, in addition to failing to win sufficient Teal voters, it also alienated outer-suburban voters who value energy affordability over emission reductions.' It is a point echoed by Nationals MP Colin Boyce who recorded the second-largest swing in support for any Coalition MP after Rick Wilson. 'The whole election campaign was centred around trying to beat the Teals out Teal the Teals and deserting what was middle Australia, who live in suburban metropolitan (electorates),' Boyce told the Australian Financial Review. The central Queensland backbencher claimed that the prioritisation of inner-city concerns was pushing voters towards other right-wing parties such as Pauline Hanson's One Nation and Clive Palmer's Trumpet of Patriots. 'They're all our people, and they're just fed up with this metropolitan-centric point of view being continually jammed down their throat,' he added. On the NSW mid-north coast, Nationals MP Pat Conaghan had a small 0.1 per cent swing to him as he faced a second challenge from Climate 200-backed independent Caz Heise in his marginal seat of Cowper, stretching from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour. On the NSW mid-north coast, Nationals MP Pat Conaghan had a small 0.1 per cent swing to him as he faced a second challenge from Climate 200-backed independent Caz Heise in his marginal seat of Cowper, stretching from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour Anthony Albanese 's Labor Party won 69 per cent of the two-party vote at Greenwich on the water, where voters of Chinese ancestry are higher than the national average (pictured: nearby Balmoral beach) 'Our regions are hard-working men and women, tradies, small and medium business owners who have been hurt significantly over the past three years with the cost of living due to Labor, Green, Teal policies that have seen power prices go up by $1,300 a year, which have seen food prices go up 20 per cent, gas prices over 30 per cent,' he told community radio station 2Way FM during the campaign. Conaghan, who betting markets had expected to lose, said sea changers from Sydney had turned his seat marginal, with his buffer now at 2.5 per cent. 'The people moving from the cities do not represent us they might have an influence on the vote but they don't represent what is truly a Nationals seat,' he said. 'They are the people who are the threat because they can afford to be the threat. 'They do sell their houses for four, five, six million dollars in Sydney come up here and buy a luxurious place for $1.5million and can afford to pay for those incredible costs that we've seen over the past few years.' There are also still pockets of outer suburbia where the Liberal Party performed well - in contrast to areas where Liberal candidates used to be a shoo-in. Sydney's north shore was long regarded as blue ribbon Liberal territory but polling booths in wealthy areas along the Lane Cove River overwhelmingly voted Labor - turning Bennelong into a safe Labor seat. Anthony Albanese's Labor Party won 69 per cent of the two-party vote at Greenwich on the water, where voters of Chinese ancestry are higher than the national average. Liberal Party MP Melissa McIntosh (pictured at last year's Midwinter Ball in Parliament House) kept the seat of Lindsay, holding it with 53 per cent of the two-party vote, making it one of just four electorates in Sydney to stay with the Opposition The ethnically-diverse western suburbs of Sydney are regarded as traditional Labor Party territory. But, just a short drive from Penrith, the Liberal Party won 75 per cent of the vote after preferences at Mulgoa, which was higher than its vote share at very rich polling booths like Cronulla (59 per cent), Dural (66 per cent) or Vaucluse (65 per cent). In this part of western Sydney, people are much more likely to either be Australian-born or have English, Irish or Scottish heritage. Liberal Party MP Melissa McIntosh kept the seat of Lindsay, holding it with 53 per cent of the two-party vote, making it one of just five electorates in Sydney to stay with the Opposition. McIntosh, who held on despite a 2.9 per cent swing to Labor, has been credited with running a highly effective, 'hyperlocal' campaign. But within this electorate, away from urban centres, the Liberal Party won 56 per cent of the primary vote at Mulgoa, translating into three-quarters of the vote after preferences in an area where locals live on large acreages. Diane Beamer, a former state Labor MP for Mulgoa, said Lindsay stayed with the Liberal Party because it had a higher proportion of Anglo-Celtic voters than the national average who were also more likely to run a small business. 'In Lindsay, its ancestry is or it describes itself as Australian, English, Irish or Scottish,' she told this publication. Just a short drive from Penrith, the Liberal Party won 75 per cent of the vote after preferences at Mulgoa, which was higher than its vote share at very rich polling booths like Cronulla (59 per cent), Dural (66 per cent) or Vaucluse (65 per cent) 'It is more Anglo - if you look at the profile of the seat, it really is tradies, small business people - there's a natural alliance there for some time. 'I don't see the Labor Party as connecting with the small business people of Lindsay.' Beamer, a former state government minister who ran unsuccessfully as Labor's Lindsay candidate in 2019, said voters in these areas were often successful people who had left working class areas of western Sydney, like Mount Druitt. 'Why is it hard to win Lindsay? Certainly, it is more aspirational than any other place I've been,' she said. '(People think): "I have left Mount Druitt, I have left Tregear, Bidwill - I have left those areas, I've got my nice house, I've got my business, and I don't want you to get in the way of my life. Just get lost - I want smaller government, I want you to go away".' Voters living on large, rural-style acreages were also more likely to be high-income voters who were also more religiously Christian. 'That's what I would call rural residential - now it has 25-acre minimums,' she said. 'It's where you find your oncologists and doctors from all over the place - it's the only place where the P&C has met to discuss what kind of books are in the library, and banning books. 'There was quite a strong Christian lobby.' Successful people living on large blocks in places like Mulgoa, Londonderry, Berkshire Park and Orchard Hills - where the Liberal Party had 70 per cent of the two-party vote - were previously working class people who wanted lower taxes. 'You've moved beyond it - "We've got our small business, we want a lower taxing, bigger tax break kind of government",' Beamer said. From farmer's son and altar boy to self-proclaimed messiah, zealous rebel, ruthless warlord - and perhaps most frustrating of all for those seeking justice - master of evasion. For the tens of thousands of Ugandans whose lives he decimated, Joseph Kony was - and remains - a loathsome figure, but without doubt his life now is a far cry from his more wholesome roots. As the leader of The Lord's Resistance Army, a cultish militant group that operates in central Africa, he was said to be responsible for mass rape, kidnapping and murder - as well as the military enslavement of more than 30,000 children. In 2005, he was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a variety of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But despite endless efforts by skilled military personnel, Kony has continuously escaped capture and remains on the run as one of Africa's most wanted men. Sources say that Kony is so adept at keeping out of the way of authorities that he has ditched satellite phones in favour of runners for communication with his supporters, while at times he has lived in the bush, surviving off wild roots and animals. But life was not always this way. Kony was born in 1961 as a member of Uganda's northern Acholi ethnic group to a family of six children. Both his parents were farmers and regular churchgoers, with his father being a Catholic, and his mother an Anglican. For the tens of thousands of Ugandans whose lives he decimated, Joseph Kony was - and remains - a loathsome figure, but without doubt his life now is a far cry from his more wholesome roots As the leader of The Lord's Resistance Army, a cultish militant group that operates in central Africa, Kony was said to be responsible for mass rape, kidnapping and murder - as well as the military enslavement of more than 30,000 children Youngsters, pictured in 2004, sleeping rough in Uganda. Among them are those were were kidnapped and escaped from the LRA Many said they were forced to leave their homes and villages as they feared being abducted He served as an altar boy until the age of 15, before rising to prominence in the Holy Spirit Movement, a rebel group led by Alice Auma Lakwena, a former prostitute believed to have been his aunt. The movement was formed after Ugandan president Tito Okello, an Acholi, was overthrown in January 1986 by the National Resistance Army (NRA). Lakwena, who died in exile in Kenya in early 2007, believed she could channel the spirits of the dead, and also told her followers that the holy oil she gave them could stop bullets. The rebellion - which Kony eventually went on to lead - claimed to defend the Acholi people against NRA President Yoweri Museveni. But when army troops crushed the movement and Lakwena fled into Kenya, Kony founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and proclaimed himself as the people's prophet. Despite widespread northern resentment against Museveni, Kony's extremist policies - which were designed to terrify his subordinates into obedience - made him a figure of fear rather than admiration among his people. Aspiring to rule Uganda according to a mix of mysticism, Acholi nationalism and Christian fundamentalism, Kony - a self-proclaimed spokesperson of God with more than 60 wives - turned against his supporters to 'purify' his people and carried out a series of horrific assaults, including rape and indiscriminate killings. Kony forcibly recruited young boys to serve as his next generation of soldiers, while girls were kidnapped and kept as sex slaves. Kony, pictured centre, shakes hands with the Archbishop of Gulu, Joseph Odama in 2006 as part of peace talks that never led to a deal His terrifying rule over Ugandans inspired a bloody rebellion that spread to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. Tens of thousands of atrocities were carried out in the names of the LRA for more than two decades, but following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the group was officially designated as a terrorist group by the US governments. It spelt the beginning of the end for his reign of terror. By 2005, the self-proclaimed prophet - along with four of his deputies - were the first people indicted by the ICC in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Support for the LRA was beginning to wane. When Sudan signed a peace deal with the southern rebels in 2005 and the group was forced into neighbouring DR Congo by the Ugandan army, Kony agreed to hold peace talks. But negotiations dragged on and, amid mutual distrust and anxiety over the ICC warrant, Kony repeatedly failed to turn up to sign a deal. He decided instead to continue living on the run - sparking a widespread and prolonged manhunt that to the dismay of the world - and his victims - has still not reaped the reward of his capture. So what has been up to since then? Victims of the LRA listen to the court case of Dominic Ongwen, who is currently serving a 25-year jail sentence for 61 charges, including murder, rape and sexual enslavement Ongwen's victims said afterwards that his sentence was 'not enough' for all they endured Kony, who is thought to be in his 50s, speaks broken English and Acholi and has only rarely met outsiders, but in an interview with a western journalist in 2006 he insisted that he was 'not a terrorist' and had not committed atrocities. 'We want the people of Uganda to be free. We are fighting for democracy,' he claimed. Nevertheless, ex-LRA abductees have a very different viewpoint. Some say they were forced to maim and kill friends, neighbours and relatives, as well as participate in gruesome rites such as drinking their victims' blood. In late 2011, following pressure from US campaigners, President Barack Obama agreed to deploy US special forces troops to help local armies track down Kony. He then surged to unexpected worldwide prominence in March 2012 on the back of a hugely popular internet video that called for his capture. Made by US-based advocacy group Invisible Children, the Kony2012 film highlighted LRA's alleged crimes, including the abduction of children for use as sex slaves or fighters. It became one of the fastest-spreading internet videos in history after more than 100 million users across the globe watched it in just a few days. The story took another strange twist later that year when Angelina Jolie, Oscar-winning film star, international humanitarian, United Nations special envoy and all-round sex bomb, offered to come to the ICC's rescue - by offering herself as a honeytrap to capture Kony. The story took another strange twist later that year when Angelina Jolie, Oscar-winning film star, international humanitarian, offered to come to the ICC's rescue - by offering herself as a honeytrap to capture Kony Documents leaked from the ICC show that Jolie had offered to be embedded with US Special Forces close to the warlord's stronghold in northern Uganda and 'has the idea to invite Kony to dinner and then arrest him'. The plan apparently came to nothing more than a bizarre bookmark in a tale of a rebel leader who has still not been brought to justice. Those efforts were further hampered in 2017 when Uganda's military and the United States both announced they would end their pursuit of Kony - saying its mission had been 'successfully achieved' even though the rebel leader remains at large. Uganda started pulling its forces from Central African Republic, which for years had acted as a base for troops chasing the rebels, just a day after the US said the active membership of Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) now only numbered less than 100. Before that decision, around 1,500 Ugandan troops had been deployed in Central African Republic under an African Union military mission to defeat the LRA. With the troops now withdrawn, attention turned instead to one of Kony's former commanders, Dominic Ongwen, whose nom de guerre was 'White Ant'. He was indicted by the ICC and convicted in 2021 of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ongwen is currently serving a 25-year jail sentence for 61 charges, including murder, rape and sexual enslavement Ongwen was indicted by the ICC and convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity His lawyers had pleaded for mitigation considering he was one of Kony's child soldiers, having been kidnapped on the way to school by LRA militants aged just nine. In October 2024, Thomas Kwoyelo - another former child soldier who later became a rebel commander under Kony - was sentenced by a court in Uganda to 40 years in prison for his role in the LRA's brutal crimes. Kwoyelo will serve only 25 years in jail as he has been in government custody for 15 years, the court ruled. His sentencing applied to the most serious crimes he faced, including multiple counts of murder, rape, pillaging, and enslavement. Kwoyelo, who denied the charges against him, testified that only Kony could answer for LRA crimes, and said everyone in the LRA faced death for disobeying the warlord. But Grace Apio, a Ugandan victim of the LRA insurgency, said at the time that the sentencing 'is very little for us, the victims.' She added: 'We feel very bad...This sentence will encourage other people who want to start a war that in Uganda, after committing these atrocities, you will end up with a light sentence and then you come back to society and start your life again.' Kwoyelo was convicted in August 2024 on 44 of the 78 counts he faced for crimes committed during the insurgency between 1992 and 2005. News of Kony fell silent again until February of this year, when it was reported that one of his wives and three children had been repatriated from Central African Republic, Ugandan authorities said. Then in April, the ICC confirmed the award of 52 million (45m) to victims of Ongwen, including a 'symbolic' payment of 750 (632) for each of the near 50,000 victims identified in the case. ICC judges ruled Ongwen personally ordered his soldiers to carry out massacres of more than 130 civilians at the Lukodi, Pajule, Odek and Abok refugee camps between 2002 and 2005. While the court acknowledged he had been kidnapped as a 'defenceless child', judges said this did not mitigate his guilt. The court's Trust Fund for Victims will arrange for the reparations to be made as Ongwen - currently serving his sentence in a Norwegian prison - was unable to pay. For Kony's victims these are all small steps towards the justice they have sought for more than 30 years. But Kony himself remains at large - despite being wanted by the ICC and even with a generous $5m reward offered by US authorities. Sources say he is hiding somewhere in ungoverned territories in Central African Republic - and is more than adept at remaining hidden. For the ICC however, the charges against Kony are so horrific that they can no longer go unheard. For that reason, it plans to hold a hearing in absentia on September 9. His victims can only hope that one day Kony himself will be the one to stand in court and hear them. Ute Heggen thinks of herself as a widow and in one sense, she is correct. The man she married as a college student is dead. He is now living as a woman, so Ute is, properly speaking, a 'trans widow', a woman whose tumultuous life experiences have presaged the culture wars gripping America today. It is more than twenty years since she discovered a secret diary Neddy (not his real name) kept, detailing his secret life of cross-dressing and visiting New York bars hoping to 'pass' as a woman. She was profoundly shocked. But there was, to her, worse to come: when Neddy finally decided to medically transition, Ute said, he seemed to use her his wife, by then, of many years as his template of womanhood. He grew his strawberry blonde hair into the same style as Ute's. They wore the same shades of make-up. 'He began copying my mannerisms to try and look more convincing as a woman,' she says (she refuses to use female pronouns for her ex, so as the Daily Mail shares her story we will not either). 'I saw the way he moved his hands when he talked. I often put my palms together and bump them off my chest when I'm making a point. He began copying my mannerisms to try and look more convincing as a woman.' It was all terribly unnerving, especially as he also started copying the way she walked. 'He'd stop and straighten up, then try to move his arms and shoulders loosely,' she says. Without a doubt, she says, it was an 'imitative gesture.' Ute Heggen thinks of herself as a widow and in a sense, she is correct. The man she married as a college student is dead. He is now living as a woman, so Ute is, properly speaking, a 'trans widow', a woman whose tumultuous life experiences have presaged today's culture wars. When Neddy finally decided to medically transition, Ute said, he seemed to use her as his template of womanhood. He grew his strawberry blonde hair into the same style as Ute's. They wore the same shades of make-up. These days, the 68-year-old author can laugh about it. 'A good friend said it was as if he was trying to be an ugly version of me,' she says, still struck by the absurdity of the situation. 'You could certainly argue that he lacked imagination.' But sometimes she can't sleep or has nightmares and mourns the loss of the wife she once was. She talks about her ordeal in the documentary, 'Behind The Looking Glass,' released last year after the director, Vaishnavi Sundar, interviewed more than 40 trans widows. Sundar tells the Daily Mail that their lives were universally derailed when their husband became an autogynephilic a man who is sexually aroused by the thought or image of himself as female. She says that our politically correct society expects their wives to 'go along with it' and, instead of being recognized and offered support, if they don't they are slammed as bigots or transphobes. 'When a wife or partner speaks out,' Sundar explains, 'She's accused of transphobia, kink-shaming, being a prude or attention seeking. 'It's a rock-and-crazy-place situation for women either way.' As for Ute, she has learned that men who transition often try to bury their past along with their former identity sometimes literally, burying an old item of clothing, such as shoes or a business suit. But at the same time, she says, they 'erase the history' of the spouse they leave behind. And that, over the years, she has found very hard to take. 'I'm not even supposed to display wedding photos,' she adds, noting that some trans widows are forced to dispose of them entirely. In a quiet act of rebellion, she keeps a collection of pictures of her 1978 wedding ceremony in which she's wearing a traditional, off-white dress - in her home in the Hudson Valley of New York. The Daily Mail has agreed to use her pen name and not publish her precise location because, due to speaking up about the damage her husband's transition did to her family, she has received threats from transactivists. She could not have imagined being in this position when, aged 18, she met Neddy, then 20, when they were both undergraduates at the University of Wisconsin in Ute's native city of Madison. They shared a love of dancing and met through joining a Balkans dance group. Ute (pictured) could not have imagined being in this position when, aged 18, she met Neddy, then 20, when they were both undergraduates at the University of Wisconsin in Ute's native city of Madison. They shared a love of dancing and met through joining a Balkans dance group. 'It's a combination of Bulgarian line dances and Hungarian couple dances,' Ute says. 'Neddy had a wiry masculinity, and I was attracted to him. He wasn't a big guy but, at nearly 6ft tall, he was four inches taller than me.' The romance flourished. They got married soon after graduation. Neddy became a database manager for a series of high-profile art museums after getting a master's in library science from an Ivy League. Ute went on to become a professional dancer and later a teacher, specializing in early childhood education. They discussed starting a family. 'I turned to Neddy and said, "You know, I think it's time for us to have kids,"' Ute says. '"You have a good job so we should figure this out."' She says the pair had a healthy sex life. 'When we decided on having kids, I was almost disappointed how quickly I got pregnant,' she recalls. Their sons were born in 1987 and 1991. Ute embraced her role as an at home mom while Neddy worked for a non-profit organization in New York City. But even though their youngest child was barely one and Heggen coped with the baby and toddler on her own, Neddy was keen to go on business trips across the US. Looking back, Ute says there were telltale signs that he was leading a secret life. Neddy gave her jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces that didn't come in a box. 'I bought it in a flea market,' Neddy told her. With hindsight, she believes they were items Neddy had been wearing himself. Another time, she was presented with a pink sweater with a rose on the front. 'It wasn't my taste at all,' she says. In August 1993, Neddy returned from a business trip to San Francisco. They were reunited at Neddy's parents' home in Chicago where Ute had been staying with the kids, then one and four, 'He was wearing shorts and a T- shirt,' Ute says. 'I was shocked because he had shaved off his entire body hair.' Next, as she says, she 'opened Pandora's box.' Neddy had told her his suitcase was full and there was no need to repack for their on-going journey. But, suspicions raised, Ute found three journals inside the luggage. The handwriting was so neat, it looked like calligraphy. 'They were cross-dressing diaries,' she tells me. 'He wrote things like, "Should my name be Diana, or Donna or Dorothy?"' Neddy also wrote about going to bars in women's clothing, hoping men would buy him a glass of wine. 'He wanted to pass as a female and see what he could get away with,' Ute says. She checked the dates in the journals. 'I could tell that he must have been doing this behind my back when I was pregnant with our second child, if not before.' Ute felt physically sick and unsteady on her feet. 'I saw a vision of myself falling out of a window from that high rise apartment,' she says. 'Everything I'd thought about Neddy, and I seemed inauthentic.' Ute confronted her husband. He was mostly rattled that I'd read his personal journals,' she says. 'I asked if I was safe because I didn't want a sexually transmitted disease. He didn't spare a thought for me or the kids.' Neddy assured her that her health wasn't in danger. Then, as Ute puts it, 'he played the suicide card.' 'It was the emotional blackmail narrative,' she says. 'But I wasn't going to risk my children finding him on the floor with a knife in a pool of blood.' She packed up the kids and called Neddy from Newark Airport before flying to Madison, where her parents still lived. 'If you truly feel suicidal, go to the closest emergency room or call 911,' Ute told Neddy. 'They will take care of you, but that's not something that I can help you with because I'm not trained and need to protect the children.' Neddy said he had consulted a therapist whom Ute is quick to point out was not certified and been given the diagnosis of 'transsexual.' A month passed before Neddy appealed to Ute's father by mail. 'It was a misdiagnosis,' the letter said. Ute says Neddy, who had somewhat performatively grown a beard, coerced her into coming back to Brooklyn three months later, blaming a mid-life crisis. Ute says she felt pressured to keep their young family intact. She describes the next two and a half years as 'purgatory', forfeiting her own happiness to concentrate on being a good mother. 'At that point, I felt lonely, neglected as a woman and stuck in a cold marriage.' There was barely any intimacy between them due to her knowing what she did and him withdrawing from her. 'I felt that my husband didn't love me, but my focus was always the kids.' The couple had sex less than three times a year. The 'business trips' become more frequent. Neddy showed a penchant for wearing pink-colored shirts and turtlenecks. Ute (pictured) grew suspicious of her husband, and decided to check his suitcase from a recent business trip. Ute found three journals inside the luggage. The handwriting was so neat, it looked like calligraphy. 'They were cross-dressing diaries,' she tells me. Then, after a while, Neddy ditched the beard and, according to Ute, started taking estrogen. Ute, who knew nothing about the medication at the time and was appalled when she saw Neddy without a shirt one day and saw his developing breasts. 'They were little buds on his chest, just like me around the age of 12,' she says. Neddy admitted to receiving hormone treatment and spoke about plans for gender reassignment surgery. But he didn't want this to be the end of their marriage. Instead, he asked Ute to come with him to see a therapist who, Neddy said, had much success persuading wives not to leave. The consultation in March 1995, Ute says, was a joke. To her horror, the therapist talked about the 'kinky delights' of lesbian sex, suggesting that Neddy's transition might re-ignite the couple's love life in a mutually satisfying way. 'She insulted heterosexual sex, asking me, "Aren't you getting kind of bored with it?"' Ute says. 'Then she insinuated she could get me prescriptions that would calm me down and help Neddy through his second adolescence. 'She peddled the assumption that, if you're in a marriage with a man who starts wearing make-up and dresses and identifies as a female, you will embody his desires in your intimate physical relationship.' Ute did not agree: 'It's damaging to your psyche to be coerced or cajoled into engaging in scenarios which your husband has derived from watching porn.' Disgusted, she told the therapist that she had zero interest in saving her marriage. She accused Neddy of 'an unforgiveable betrayal' and filed for divorce ahead of her ex's operation at Stanford Medical Center in 1996. Neddy spent five weeks recovering from the surgery in California before returning to Brooklyn. Neddy told their sons, 'I'm a woman,' and that 'Daddy was now called 'Dee Dee.' Ute, who fought Neddy in a bitter court battle over child support payments, says the emotional upheaval was huge. Ute talks about her ordeal in the documentary, 'Behind The Looking Glass, ' released last year after the director, Vaishnavi Sundar, interviewed more than 40 trans widows. Kids at her sons' school would say things like, 'Oh you have two moms, now.' when Neddy picked them up. 'No, that's just another relative,' her 11-year-old would reply. His younger brother cottoned on to men Ute knew and ask if they would become his father, she claims. Around the same time, Ute says, she discovered that Neddy had not only started to mimic her, but he had also co-opted her experiences of childbirth. 'I'd had two natural deliveries when the first labor lasted 12 hours and the second was five hours,' she says. ' As part of his alternative personality, Neddy was dropping little observations to people about how the doctors and midwives had been happy with his progress during his labors. 'I was appalled and felt more erased than ever.' Ute says her sons, now 37 and 34, eventually came to terms with Neddy's gender reassignment. Sadly, they've been estranged from their mother for several years because of differences in opinion about transgenderism. 'They're both very progressive, and my younger son will call me by my first name instead of Mom,' Ute says. 'I've told him that I won't answer him unless he addresses me correctly.' The children have failed to back Ute's activism in the trans widow movement. As well as appearing in 'Behind The Looking Glass,' she is a regular contributor to Trans Widows Voices, an on-line organization that offers advice and support to women like her. 'We wives got put into the closet behind the closet our husbands decided to come out of,' Ute says. 'Woke society wants us to stay hidden, but it's time for us to be seen.' When approached by the Daily Mail Ute's ex-husband declined to comment. Trade booms, investment accelerates as China, Latin America deepen ties Xinhua) 13:15, May 24, 2025 NANJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- In the early hours of last Saturday morning, the international express parcel supervision center at Wuxi Shuofang Airport in east China's Jiangsu Province buzzed with activity, with customs officers swiftly clearing parcels bound for Mexico. The cargo plane carrying these cross-border e-commerce parcels, packed with apparel and small furnishings, was the 164th trans-Pacific flight since the route's launch in April last year. Over the past 12 months, the service has delivered Chinese goods worth around 2 billion yuan (about 278.1 million U.S. dollars) to Latin America. The route epitomizes the deepening economic ties between China and Latin America. Surging demand for Chinese products is fueling a boom in cross-border e-commerce, which is now a new driver of foreign trade. "The route offers three flights weekly and goods can arrive in Latin America within two days. It has established an 'air bridge' connecting Jiangsu to Latin America," said Wang Weihua, a Wuxi Customs official. China and Latin America are highly complementary in economy. China is Latin America's second-largest trading partner and the top trading partner for countries like Chile, Brazil and Peru. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the bilateral trade hit a record high of 518.47 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, surpassing China's 10-year target of 500 billion U.S. dollars that was set a decade ago. However, trade is only part of the story, with direct investment also growing as industrial collaboration booms. In 2024, China's direct investment in Latin America reached 14.71 billion U.S. dollars, while Latin American companies had established 37,000 enterprises in China as of March this year, according to the ministry. China and Latin America have strengthened industrial cooperation in sectors like high-end manufacturing and the green economy. A prime example of industrial collaboration is the XCMG Brazil Industrial Park in the city of Pouso Alegre in Brazil, where rows of yellow engineering machinery vehicles stand out against the backdrop of the tropical rainforest. As China's first overseas economic and trade cooperation zone for engineering machinery, the park produces over 10,000 units of machinery annually and serves as a core supplier to global mining giant Vale. "In recent years, we have invested heavily in R&D for new energy and smart equipment to meet local demand for green mining transformation," said Gu Chong, chief culture officer of XCMG Brazil Industrial Park. A leading Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer, XCMG established its wholly-owned Brazilian production base in Pouso Alegre in 2014, expanding it into an industrial park later in 2019. "By strengthening localization, XCMG Brazil is accelerating green transformation and digital innovation to build high-value-added supply chains tailored to local demand," said Gu. He added that XCMG is forging an integrated industrial ecosystem spanning R&D, manufacturing, service and finance, aiming to deepen cooperation with the whole Latin America region with Brazil serving as the regional hub. While Chinese firms go global, Latin American companies are also deepening their presence in China. At the production facility of WEG (Jiangsu) Electric Equipment Co., Ltd., robotic arms deftly assemble motor equipment with precision on automated assembly lines, blending Chinese automation with Brazilian engineering. The products will soon be transported to Europe and Oceania. "We invested over 2 million yuan in this robotic line, boosting per-worker productivity by about 40 percent," said Zhang Pengfei, an engineer at WEG Jiangsu. WEG Jiangsu, as a key China-based subsidiary of Brazilian company WEG, has rapidly expanded since its establishment in 2014. "Our factory's production capacity doubles every five years, making China a core of WEG's global supply chain," said Zong Xin, general manager of WEG Jiangsu, adding that WEG's development in China has far exceeded expectations, with a total of six factories and about 3,000 employees. Zong highlighted that amid global economic volatility, China's stable market environment and healthy competition environment can help Latin American firms mitigate risks and strengthen innovation. "China offers consistent policies, a skilled workforce, robust industrial chains and well-developed infrastructure," he said, noting that WEG plans to invest an additional 1 billion yuan in new facilities to meet booming Chinese demand. "China will remain a pivotal hub for WEG's production expansion, innovation and global competitiveness," Zong added. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) A Pakistani asylum seeker has made a direct plea to Sir Keir Starmer to let him stay in the UK because he is gay, accusing the Prime Minister of seeking to 'punish' migrants like him who came on student visas. Ali Raza Nasir insists he came to the UK to study but when he visited Soho in central London and met other gay people he realised he would be 'safe' in Britain. Mr Nasir fears that he will be deported to his home country of Pakistan, where his family had wanted to arrange a marriage for him with a woman. Sir Keir wants to force overseas graduates to leave the UK within 18 months unless they land a skilled job. The PM has suggested thousands of people who came to the UK on student or work visas like Ali, who went on to try and claim asylum, could now face deportation. But Ali claims that the Prime Minister is wrong and warned the Labour leader he should 'protect us [asylum seekers] - not punish us'. 'I am a gay person. So when I came here, I knew there were human rights here', he said. 'My family are forcing me to come back to Pakistan to marry a girl - but I declined. 'And over the passage of time I was honest with them and said that I can't marry a girl'. Ali Raza Nasir, who came to Britain from Pakistan as a student and has claimed asylum in the UK because he is gay, has criticised Sir Keir Starmer's rhetoric on deporting people like him Ali insists he did not come to the UK to play the system. 'I came here for study', he told Sky News. 'In Pakistan there are laws that say you can't marry a guy. You can't express your feelings. You can't live openly there. 'So when I came here [to the UK] and went to central London with my friends, to Soho, and read on Google that this country is safe. 'I met many gay people and know I can be safe here'. Ali is being supported by the Persian LGBT Community in UK organisation. He said that his message to Sir Keir Starmer, who is talking tough on immigration, would be: 'It's not good because I am a gay and I exist. We have a right to live our own life. They have to protect us, not punish us'. It came as official figure revealed on Thursday that immigration has tumbled in the past year - but is still at a high level. Official figures showed net long-term inflows were 431,000 in the year to December, compared with 860,000 across 2023. Numbers had dropped to 739,000 in the year to last June - just before the election - with the peak remaining 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023. The Tories said the ONS data demonstrated their curbs were already having an impact - although the level in 2024 was still roughly equivalent to the population of Leeds. Separate figures from the Home Office showed 32,245 asylum seekers were housed in hotels as of the end of March this year - despite Keir Starmer's vow to shut them down. The PM unveiled a crackdown on legal immigration last week, warning that failure to control the system risked turning Britain into an 'island of strangers'. Downing Street was forced to deny angry comparisons from MPs that it was an echo of Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech. Director of population statistics at the ONS Mary Gregory said: 'Our provisional estimates show net migration has almost halved compared with the previous year, driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study, particularly student dependants. This follows policy changes brought in restricting visa applications. 'There has also been an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024, especially people leaving who originally came on study visas once pandemic travel restrictions to the UK were eased.' Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Keir Starmer unveiled a crackdown on legal immigration last week, warning that failure to control the system risked turning Britain into an 'island of strangers' Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. A Home Office summary of the immigration system numbers for the year ending in March It was the biggest calendar-year drop since the early stages of the pandemic when net migration fell from 184,000 in the year ending December 2019 to 93,000 in the year ending December 2020. The numerical drop was the largest for any 12-month period, with the ONS pointing to falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK. Long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years. That was estimated to be 948,000 in the year ending December 2024, down by almost a third from 1,326,000 in the previous 12 months and below a million for the first time since the 12 months to March 2022. Emigration rose by around 11 per cent to an estimated 517,000 for the year to December, up from 466,000 in the previous year. People leaving the UK has returned to a similar level to the year ending June 2017. There was a 49 per cent decrease in 2024 in the number of non-EU+ nationals arriving in the UK as the main applicant on a work visa, along with a 35 per cent fall in those coming as work dependants. The number of non-EU+ nationals arriving as main applicants on a study visa dropped by 17 per cent, while there was a much larger fall of 86% in study dependants. The drop is likely to reflect changes in migration rules introduced in early 2024 by the previous Conservative government, which included restricting the ability of most international students to bring family members. 50 Cent has long been vocal about his feelings for his rap nemesis, Diddy, but as the music mogul undergoes a revealing federal trial, 50 has ramped up his distaste for Diddy with a series of wild AI-generated images. Diddy, also known as Sean Combs, has frequently dispelled any rumors of a feud between the legends, but Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent, has been slamming his nemesis publicly for years. The two hip-hop stars rose to fame in the 1990s and ran in the same circles. 50 Cent was credited as a writer on Diddy's 2001 track, Let's Get It. They were pictured together at industry events for years, and even performed together at the Screamfest tour in 2007 alongside Jay-Z, Kanye West, and T.I. The massive collaboration was shocking, not just because the rappers shared the stage, but a year earlier, 50 Cent insinuated Diddy had something to do with rapper Biggie's murder. 50's 2006 diss track, The Bomb, made jaw-dropping accusations against his nemesis, with one lyric proclaiming, 'Who shot Biggie Smalls? We dont get em. They gonna kill us all. Man, Puffy know who hit that [expletive]. Man that [expletive] soft.' In the outro of the song, 50 Cent roasted Diddy for his infamous 'White Parties' at his Hamptons home, rapping, 'Oh I guess this means I won't be invited to the white parties in the Hamptons. I don't give a f***.' 50 Cent continued to publicly call Diddy out, speaking frequently about the accusations against him and insinuating about his sexuality on multiple occasions. 50 Cent and Diddy have feuded for decades, but 50 has amped up his trolling of his nemesis as Diddy faces an extensive criminal trial. (Pictured: Diddy presenting 50 Cent with the Best Video Award at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards) 50 Cent has trolled Diddy countless times in interviews and on social media, recently sharing several AI-generated images on social media 50 Cent has amped up his presence on social media, slamming his nemesis, Diddy, during his federal trial 50 Cent has been particularly active since Diddy was arrested on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking last September. 50 reveled in Diddy's arrest, posting a photo of himself with Drew Barrymore on her daytime talk show and captioning it, 'Here I am keeping good company with @thedrewbarrymoreshow and I dont have 1,000 bottles of lube at the house.' The caption referenced evidence Homeland Security found when Diddy's Florida home was raided. When jury selection for Diddy's criminal trial started, 50 Cent amped up his posts with several artificial intelligence photos mocking his nemesis. DailyMail.com looks at some of 50 Cent's posts as the trial continues. 50 Cent and Diddy came up in the industry at the same time and even worked together in the 1990s. (Pictured here performing with Jay-Z and Kanye West in 2007) 50 Cent on the jury? On May 8, just a few days after the jury selection for Diddy's trial began, 50 Cent posted an AI-generated image of himself sitting on the jury in six different color suits. Writing over the comedic photo read, 'Sean Diddy Combs jury selection for trial is finally complete'. 50 Cent captioned the post: 'Im not sure if this is fair [eye emoji] but dont worry, be happy!' His followers quickly rushed to the comment section praising the post, with one writing: 'The level of your pettiness is always top tier and I love it.' 'Give this man the ultimate troll trophy,' another added. 'Aint even gotta finish the trial with this jury, guilty first day of court,' a third joked. 50 Cent trolled Diddy with an AI-generated image of himself serving on the jury during his nemesis's federal trial Baby oil pool In a May 13 post, 50 Cent trolled Diddy by posting an AI-generated photo of him in a pool of baby oil. The image was shared on the second day of Diddy's federal trial as his former partner, Cassie Ventura, testified about the rapper's 'freak off' parties. While on the stand, she recounted a disturbing story where Diddy forced her to get into an inflatable pool filled with baby oil while wearing an outfit purchased from a sex shop. Cassie added that she didn't want to get into the pool but was afraid of how Diddy would react if she refused. Homeland Security also discovered baby oil and lubricant in Ziploc bags, five bottles of baby oil in the bathroom's bathtub, two more bottles of lubricant in a drawer, two bags of a pink powdery substance,and a bag with $9,000 in cash. In response to the allegations, 50 Cent poked fun at Diddy's alleged obsession with baby oil by sharing an AI photo of him shirtless in an inflatable pool with a yellow duck. Another image portrayed Diddy smiling as he was surrounded by baby oil while submerged in the pool. 50 Cent posted an AI-generated image of Diddy bathing in an inflatable pool filled with baby oil 50 Cent posted the photos after Diddy's former partner, Cassie Ventura, testified that he forced her into an inflatable pool filled with baby oil Diddy in jail Then again, on May 17, 50 Cent shared an AI video of Diddy walking in jail holding a mystery person's hand. The video also showed Diddy lying in a prison bed, drinking Johnson's Baby Oil. 50 Cent captioned the post, 'LOL [laughing emoji] who made this hahahaha HA.' His followers loved the AI video with one commenting, 'YOU ALWAYS WIN AND I LOVE IT.' 'No matter what you do. Do not be on 50s bad side,' another added. 50 Cent shared an AI-generated video of Diddy in a prison cell wearing an orange jumpsuit The fake video depicted a stomach-churning image of Diddy drinking Johnson's Baby Oil Riding with Epstein On Monday, 50 Cent shared a wild AI-video of Diddy riding on the back of a motorcycle with disgraced abuser Jeffrey Epstein. The fake video depicted the two gleefully riding down an open road as Diddy clung to Epstein. 'Man Diddy in MDC mad as a motherf***er [laughing emoji] were did his friends go? LOL.' 50 Cent shared a shocking AI-generated video of Diddy on the back of Jeffrey Epstein's motorcycle The fake video depicted the two gleefully riding down an open road on a motorcycle 50 Cent captioned the video, 'Man Diddy in MDC mad as a motherf***er [laughing emoji] were did his friends go? LOL' Free Diddy T-shirt 50 Cent shared a video of people on the street outside of the federal courthouse in New York, where Diddy's trial was taking place on Monday. The people in the video were wearing T-shirts that read, 'Free Puff' and 'Free Diddy.' One woman not wearing a T-shirt claimed someone had offered her $20 an hour to put one on. It's unclear who the demonstrators were and if they were paid to wear the shirts, but 50 Cent didn't miss the opportunity to take shots at Diddy. He posted an AI-generated image of himself wearing a 'Free Diddy' shirt in front of the courthouse and wrote, 'Ok now where do I send my $20 invoice guys, a deals a deal. If you want I can be there tomorrow from 3 to 4 OK !' 50 Cent posted another AI image of himself in front of the courthouse and included a screenshot of a news article detailing more of Cassie's testimony. Cassie's mother, Regina Ventura, testified that she took out a home equity loan of $20,000 when Diddy demanded 'recoup money' after he found out Cassie was in a relationship with rapper Kid Cudi. She testified that the money was returned to her account five days later. Regina Ventura also testified that she took photos of her daughter after Cassie was allegedly physically assaulted by Diddy. In response to the allegations, 50 Cent captioned the post: 'He [Diddy] only made Cassies mom take out a home equity loan to pay 20k for him to not put out sex tapes. Free itty bitty Diddy! LOL [squinting emoji] wait is that legal.' 50 Cent reposted a video of demonstrators with 'Free Diddy' shirts outside the courthouse. He then shared an AI-generated photo of himself with the shirt, joking that he got paid to wear it Yearbook photo On Tuesday, 50 Cent posted an edited photo of Diddy as a teen in a high school yearbook. Under his headshot, his superlative reads, 'Most likely to get caught with 784 dildos and gallons of lube'. The doctored superlative refers to the lubricant and sex toys that Homeland Security recovered from Diddy's home during a raid last March. 'I don't know what he did to you but damn,' one comment read. '50 wakes up choose violence every time, another commenter joked. 50 Cent shared a photo of Diddy as a teen, seemingly from his yearbook. The doctored image had an edited superlative under Diddy's headshot Diddy vs. 50 Cent The decades-long feud between Diddy and 50 Cent has permeated hip-hop culture and created numerous viral moments. In an extensive interview with The Hollywood Reporter last July, 50 Cent revealed his true feelings for his rap colleague and detailed the moment he decided not to interact with Diddy. 'He asked to take me shopping. I thought that was the weirdest s**t in the world because that might be something that a man says to a woman. 'And Im just like, Naw, Im not f***ing with this weird energy or weird s**t, coming off the way he was just moving. From that, I wasnt comfortable around him,' he said. In 2023, 50 Cent shared a video on X comparing Diddy to disgraced abuser R. Kelly 50 Cent attended a roast of Diddy and shared video footage of comedians making fun of his nemesis 50 Cent revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that they were never friends. (Pictured together in 2004) 50 Cent has frequently recounted the story, revealing an interaction during an interview on the Breakfast Club in 2018. When The Hollywood Reporter asked 50 Cent about his relationship to Diddy, he denied that they were ever friends and clarified they only knew one another because of work. 50 Cent added that Diddy's former girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, had pushed him to work with 50 when they were together. 'Hes [Diddy] not a producer. Hes been able to take advantage of the business and the creatives in it. I dont have any interest in doing that. I actually fall under the creative. So I just didnt take to hanging out with that,' 50 added. The rappers also found themselves at odds during the 2010s when they both represented rival vodka brands. Diddy was affiliated with the beverage company Diageo, which produces the vodka brand Ciroc, while 50 Cent represented Effen Vodka. In a 2018 interview on the Drinks Champs podcast, 50 took shots with Diddy, telling the hosts, '[Effen] is made from wheat from Holland and distilled five times, so its a lot less sugar, its the right way. 'And then later when you have a headache because you finished your full bottle of Ciroc I told you I was smarter.' 50 has taken shots at Diddy countless times over the years, posting a video comparing him to disgraced musician R. Kelly and sharing footage of a 'Diddy Roast' at a comedy club last June. In October 2023, 50 Cent even accused Diddy of being involved in Tupac Shakur's death during a concert. After Diddy's arrest, 50 Cent took to Instagram to share that he was on The Drew Barrymore Show Diddy claimed that 50 Cent 'loves' him during a 2018 interview. He hasn't commented on the feud frequently and has denied all the allegations against him. (Pictured here with Paris Hilton in Las Vegas in 2007) Diddy has repeatedly denied accusations that he had anything to do with Tupac or Biggie's deaths. Diddy has also denied a feud with 50 Cent, saying in an interview with The Breakfast Club in 2018 that his nemesis 'loves' him. 'Yall cant see that he loves me? You really think thats hate? You know he loves me,' he said. 'Me and him could be friends, but he doesnt want to be my friend,' Diddy continued. 'I wanna be his friend so I could teach him everything I know so he could become a better money-getter since Im the number one money-getter in the world.' Diddy's federal trial could potentially continue for weeks. He has repeatedly maintained his innocence, denying all accusations made against him. Memorial Day weekend marks seven years since Michelle McKenna's 21-year-old daughter Sofia mysteriously vanished into the night after going on a boat ride with a friend. Sofia called her mother seven times on the night she disappeared, but Michelle didn't pick up. Her daughter didn't leave a voicemail. Sharing her heartache, Michelle told the Daily Mail those missed calls still haunt her today. 'She called me at 2.05am...2.06am...2.07am..2.08am....2.08am....2.08am.....2.09am...,' said Michelle as she grew emotional. 'She was scared. Why didn't she call 911?' Her daughter, an aspiring model, and her friend Spencer Mugford, 20, had taken a boat off a wooden rack at the Avery point campus marina at the University of Connecticut to go out for a nighttime adventure. In the darkness and eerie silence, the fearless duo headed to the 'haunted' New London Ledge Lighthouse on Fishers Island Sound and the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. The 14-foot boat they were on had no mast or rudder and the pair were not wearing lifejackets. In a video posted to Snapchat, Spencer is seen in the front of the boat paddling along the ocean waters as Sofia is documenting their journey. A joyful Sofia is heard saying. 'Yo, we're out here in the f****** ocean!,' as she pans out showing the dark abyss. 'That is the land... like we still have to get there!,' she says as she cajoles Spencer to 'hurry up.' Sofia McKenna, 21, was an aspiring model and was planning on becoming a nurse, her mother said. She is pictured modeling a pair of jeans from the denim line of NASCAR driver Danica Patrick's fashion brand with Target but Michelle said that the deal fell through The map above shows the locations where the two friends picked up the boat, headed to and then where Spencer's body was found and the boat was found Once they arrive at the deserted lighthouse Sofia is seen on the narrow ledge as Spencer snaps a photo of her. She cuts a playful look sticking out her tongue as a 'No Trespassing' sign loomed in the background. Something then went terribly wrong. The last known activity from the duo is the series of phone calls that Michelle believes Sofia made from Spencer's phone to her mom that went unanswered. 'Something bad happened between 2.05am and 2.09am,' Michelle said. Spencer's body was found nearly two weeks later near North Dumpling Island, approximately 4.5 miles from the lighthouse, but Sofia's body was never found and still remains lost at sea. Connecticut State PD confirmed to the Daily Mail that Sophia's disappearance is still an active investigation. Michelle, who has two other children, said she heard from Sofia's boyfriend later on May 27 who told her that Sofia was missing. The couple had planned to go shopping that day. She also found out that Spencer was also missing and that he didn't show up for his sibling's high school graduation that morning. 'I was in shock,' said Michelle, who recalled calling the police and every hospital in the area, but she added that parts of that day are a blur. She explained the last time she had spoken to Sofia, she had told her that she was planning to go fishing with Spencer, an activity the friends often did together. Michelle McKenna pictured with her daughter Sophia who went missing on May 27, 2018, over the Memorial Day holiday. On July 3, she would have turned 29 Sofia McKenna and her friend Spencer Mugford, 20, were last known to be at the New London Ledge Lighthouse located on Fishers Island Sound and the Thames River during the early morning hours of May 27, 2018 One of the last photos of Sofia that was taken at the lighthouse before she disappeared The missed calls Sophia's mother Michelle received from Spencer's phone of the night the duo vanished The Coast Guard intervened along with state and local agencies, including the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. They conducted a massive search of a 2,025 square-mile area using boats, helicopters and planes searching the ocean waters. The boat believed to have been used by the friends was found on Truman Beach near Orient Point on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. After 71 hours the search was suspended, as per local NBC Connecticut. Michelle was devastated when the search was halted. 'It wasn't enough time. Why didn't they keep looking? I don't feel like they put in enough hours looking for them as separate individuals,' she said. 'But I can't blame people.' Commander Andrew Ely of the U.S. Coast Guard, and chief of response for the Coast Guard Sector of the Long Island Sound, told the news outlet that the water temperatures the night the two young boaters went missing was in the low 50s. He explained that, 'if a persons immersed in waters like this they probably have less than 20 hours of what we would consider survival time if they dont have a life jacket with them'. Spencer, who was a student at the University of Connecticut, worked at the Red Door Salon where he had met Sofia, where she worked as a massage therapist. They had been friends for under a year. The body of Spencer Mugford, 20, was found nearly two weeks after that tragic night The pair struck up a friendship. Despite Spencer being romantically interested in Sofia, Michelle said her daughter was just happy being friends. According to Michelle, her daughter had a difficult childhood with an emotionally abusive father. She explained that Sofia's boyfriend was someone she had been with since high school but also described their relationship as 'volatile'. After Spencer's body was found Michelle said his family hired a private investigator who unexpectedly showed up at her house asking questions about Sofia. She said they did not approve of the friendship Spencer had with Sofia and 'thought she was bad news'. Michelle told the Daily Mail: 'I was angry. I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown. 'They (Spencer's family) had a body to bury, and here they are hiring a private eye. You know, I'm like, what the f*** is wrong with you people?' Sofia stood at 5ft. 9inches tall and had striking features with blue eyes and dark hair. She is pictured leaning on an old pick up truck modeling the jeans from Danica Patrick's line Michelle believes that Spencer's parents may be withholding information from her. 'I feel like they're not telling me something and that maybe their son had left a note,' she said. She also expressed her fury that Spencer was not able to protect her daughter and keep her safe. 'Let Spencer rest in peace but I am so mad at him for putting her in danger,' she said. Daily Mail reached out to the family of Spencer Mugford but they did not respond at the time of publication. When Michelle is asked what she really thinks happened to Sofia she pauses and says: 'I don't know, that's when my body shuts down.' After all this time, she said she knows 'her daughter is no longer alive' but hopes her body will be recovered. Michelle said: 'I don't think pirates would be out there at two in the morning you know but where is she? Where are you Sofia?' she asks. 'She was in the Long Island Sound so she could be anywhere... submarines go through there you know. People don't realize how deep it is,' she added. On July 3 Sofia would have turned 29 and Spencer 28. The friends shared the same birthday. Sofia's mom said that a year before she vanished 5ft 9in Sofia had been doing some modeling for NASCAR driver, former INDY Driver Danica Patrick's denim line. The New London Ledge Lighthouse has offered to bring Michelle and her family out to the lighthouse where they can hold a celebration of life for her daughter. Michelle had been holding off since she is still trying to obtain her death certificate but said this may be the year to do it. Boats at the Avery campus marina on the University of Connecticut and area where the two friends removed the boat from to go on their doomed journey In September 2021, Sofia posted a photo of her cherry blossom tattoo with a butterfly. Her mom said that cherry blossoms were her favorite flower She shared her gratitude to the lighthouse folks for their support and got choked up talking about it. The century-old lighthouse that was built around the 1900s and is 58ft tall. Legend has it that over the decades there have been wild theories that the spirit of Ernie, who was the former keeper of the lighthouse, remains. Reality shows such as, Ghost Hunters and the Scariest Places on Earth have featured the lighthouse on their show, and allege strange happenings, but according to paranormal experts there was not enough evidence to prove that. On Monday, Memorial Day, Michelle will go to the shore and say a prayer and place Sofia's favorite flowers in the ocean. 'Cherry Blossoms,' her mother said. 'They are not always easy to find. She loved hydrangeas too.' Now she just wants closure. 'If they can find the Titanic,' she said, 'I can only hope and pray for a miracle.' Cops have made a surprising discovery in what appeared to be ordinary bales of hay. A shocking series of photos have shown how sheriff's deputies uncovered a human smuggling operation after discovering multiple undocumented immigrants hidden inside meticulously altered hay bales during a routine traffic stop in Texas. The disturbing discovery was made on Monday afternoon when Fayette County Drug Interdiction Sergeant Thumann pulled over a white Ford F-250 towing a gooseneck trailer loaded with round hay bales on Interstate 10 near Flatonia. What appeared to be an ordinary agricultural load then turned into a major bust. On closer inspection, cops realized the hay bales had been carefully hollowed out to create secret compartments for human cargo. Multiple undocumented individuals were found crammed inside the dangerously confined spaces, hidden behind metal frameworks and layers of hay. Driver Delbert Flanders, 44, from Kansas was taken to hospital for medical treatment following the traffic stop at approximately 12.50pm on the busy interstate highway. Sheriff's deputies uncovered a human smuggling operation after discovering multiple undocumented immigrants hidden inside meticulously altered hay bales during a routine traffic stop in Texas Two Houston residents identified as the operation coordinators were also arrested and now face serious federal and state charges related to human smuggling The disturbing discovery was made on Monday afternoon when Fayette County Drug Interdiction Sergeant Thumann pulled over a white Ford F-250 towing a gooseneck trailer loaded with round hay bales on Interstate 10 near Flatonia Two Houston residents identified as the operation coordinators were also arrested and now face serious federal and state charges related to human smuggling. Adanaylo Lambert, 22, and Lency Delgado Fernandez, 25, were taken into custody as authorities moved quickly to shut down what appears to be a sophisticated trafficking network. Sheriff Keith Korenek described the smuggling method as 'not only deceptive but incredibly dangerous to human life' as temperatures in Central Texas soar during the summer months. 'Smugglers continue to use increasingly creative and hazardous techniques to transport individuals across Texas highways,' Korenek wrote in a post shared to social media. The undocumented immigrants discovered inside the hay bales were turned over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for processing as the investigation continues. Multiple agencies assisted with the bust including Texas DPS, Flatonia Police Department, Fayette County Sheriff's Office deputies and county emergency medical services. The post sparked widespread shock on social media. 'The creative minds of criminals. Unbelievable!' one commented. Sheriff Keith Korenek described the smuggling method as 'not only deceptive but incredibly dangerous to human life' as temperatures in Central Texas soar during the summer months Another wrote: 'It's miserable walking to the car right now in Central Texas. 'The poor souls in those round bales must have been cooking with no ventilation. That is desperation on a level I feel blessed to have never experienced.' The case remains under active investigation by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office working alongside federal authorities. A Florida socialite's murder has taken an even more sinister turn with the discovery of a 12-page handwritten manifesto - part financial wish list, part step-by-step murder plot. What prosecutors now call a 'cold, calculated killing' is laid bare in pen strokes across lined paper, found during the investigation into 35-year-old David Armstrong Barber, a former corrections officer charged with murdering 72-year-old Jessie Kirk. The Titusville matriarch vanished on March 4. Hours later, her body was found charred and abandoned near the Haulover Canal - identified only through forensic work. The man now accused of killing her left behind what investigators describe as a disturbingly thorough checklist. The 'to-do' list reads: 'Pack and leave Go to local bank park across the street, observe and put on disguise, at 5 move across the street and go in. Have in purse: Gun, duct tape eyes and ears, handcuffs.' Another entry hints at an eerie attempt to stage the crime scene: 'When leaving after sweeping house after bleaching, place K's fingerprint on toilet lid.' Prosecutors say Barber's so-called plan reflected both criminal precision and motive. Another entry reads: 'Find out who will miss her and when. Find out about K, when did they talk last, when were they together Transfer everything to SUV. Let her out of box inside SUV Use her phone If possible access finances, request credit line increase, apply for new cards,' the notes continue. A former Florida corrections officer, David Armstrong Barber, has been charged with the premeditated murder of 72-year-old socialite Jessie Kirk (pictured) Prosecutors revealed a 12-page handwritten list found in Barbers possession that outlines a calculated plan to kill Kirk and access her finances. Barber is pictured above The 'to-do' list reads: 'Pack and leave Go to local bank park across the street, observe and put on disguise, at 5 move across the street and go in. Have in purse: Gun, duct tape eyes and ears, handcuffs.' In a disturbing moment of self-direction, Barber scribbled a chilling note to himself amid the meticulous planning: 'Don't rush this.' Kirk's friends sounded the alarm after she skipped her regular morning walk. That same morning, police stopped Barber - who once dated Kirk's niece - near her condominium. He had burns on his right arm and singed hair. Witnesses told police he was behind the wheel of Kirk's white Lincoln Navigator. Hours later, the SUV was discovered engulfed in flames near the small town of Christmas. Kirk's body - burned beyond recognition - was located shortly after by a NASA security guard on patrol. Inside her garage, detectives reported a pungent odor of bleach. The floor was wet. Her personal safe sat open just a few feet away. Police say Barber was seen walking back and forth between Kirk's vehicle and his own Honda. Barber, who once dated Kirks niece, was found with burns and seen driving Kirks vehicle on the day she vanished. Kirk is pictured with her husband. He died in 2021 The SUV was discovered engulfed in flames near the small town of Christmas, Florida Using FLOCK tag reader technology, investigators tracked the SUV's movements until it abruptly stopped where her remains were ultimately found. Adding to the suspicion was a cryptic text message sent from Kirk's phone shortly before her death. The message, received by the niece who once dated Barber, claimed Kirk was 'going into hiding', missed her late husband, and warned not to contact authorities. Police now believe Barber sent the message himself. He was initially booked for loitering, prowling, and grand theft auto. The murder, arson, and kidnapping charges followed as evidence mounted. Barber's past includes a stint at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, where he served as a corrections deputy from 2018 to 2022. The department confirmed he resigned voluntarily and had no disciplinary record. The case is being pursued as a capital murder, with a death penalty recommendation and a court date set for June 11 Barber's past includes a stint at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, where he served as a corrections deputy from 2018 to 2022 His LinkedIn profile also listed a brief security role with SpaceX, though it's unclear how long he held that position. Now, as State Attorney William Scheiner pushes for the death penalty, Barber remains behind bars, awaiting a court appearance scheduled for June 11. Officials expect the case to take years due to its severity. 'Jessie was a dedicated humanitarian, serving on the Jess Parrish Medical Foundation board, where she later became Chair,' her obituary reads. 'She was also a passionate supporter of Friends of the Childrens Advocacy Center as well as being a mentor encouraging education and entrepreneurship among her family and community.' Ley not such a lightweight The new opposition leader Sussan Ley has had rather a lot to contend with since assuming what is often described as the toughest job in politics. It started with a disgraceful dirt file about her past being circulated by supporters of Angus Taylor, a copy of which I have seen. Taylor claims not to have known about the document, and we certainly aren't suggesting he was behind it. But Liberals who hoped he would defeat Ley certainly were, and amongst a litany of below-the-belt accusations I won't repeat were stinging criticisms that Ley is a lightweight incapable of taking the fight up to Labor. She has long been underestimated by some Liberals, probably because of her gender. It's no secret conservative men in politics have a 'woman problem'. While the Liberal party room is now barely big enough to accommodate all the positions an opposition is expected to fill on its frontbench, the number of women in its ranks is a mere fraction of that total. Labor has more female ministers than the Liberal Party does MPs and senators, by quite some margin. 'Critics might want to think twice before just dismissing new opposition leader Sussan Ley as a flake,' writs Daily Mail Australia political editor Peter van Onselen While her critics like to lament Ley as a lightweight, I doubt many who hurl such barbs can claim to hold two master's degrees (in tax and accounting) and an undergraduate degree in economics. Fewer still can claim to have served as a frontbencher in John Howard's government before becoming a cabinet minister to the last three Liberal prime ministers. Which is to say nothing of her diverse life experience, which includes qualifying as a commercial pilot at a young age. Since taking over the Liberal leadership, Ley has been forced to contend with internal sniping as well as instant attacks from Labor, all before the Nationals decided they would blow up the Coalition. Despite all of this - and in the context of her mother passing away too - Ley has acted with a methodical calmness you don't always see in politics. Critics might want to think twice before just dismissing her as a flake. Both major parties have long been good at giving their female leaders the prize of running the party in the toughest of times. Just look at the state of play inherited by former Labor premiers around the country: Joan Kirner, Carmen Lawrence, Kristina Keneally and Anna Bligh. So it's no surprise the Liberals have finally turned to their first female leader federally after the disaster of May 3. Angus Taylor (pictured) was defeated by Ley during a party room vote on May 13. Taylor claims not to have known about the dirt file concerning Ley's past being circulated by his supporters Let's just hope the boys around her now give Ley a serious chance to show her wares. If they do manage to refrain from descending into all-out backstabbing, there is every chance that three years from now the Labor government will have proven itself to be as ineffective at running the country in its second term as it was in its first. Make no mistake, voters didn't reward Labor for its first-term effort. They simply weren't convinced the other mob would be any better. Which is why Ley needs time and ideas to spruik come the next election. It won't be enough to simply do nothing during the next three years, lest voters don't change their minds about the opposition's unfitness to return to power. Zoe still in denial The Zoe Daniel saga rolls on now the anti-corruption commission has been dragged in. The unsurprisingly defeated teal independent is now demanding a recount in her soon-to-be former seat of Goldstein, in the suburbs of Melbourne. Readers will remember Zoe danced up a storm on election night celebrating her victory that never was, even claiming the win when interviewed. Zoe Daniel prematurely celebrated victory over Tim Wilson with a cringeworthy dance party. Incredibly, she still hasn't conceded She then watched (no doubt in embarrassment) as her lead slowly and steadily ebbed away, to the point where every election analyst called the seat for Liberal Tim Wilson. But as we all knew would happen once absentee votes started to be counted - they usually come late - the race tightened, but it was never going to be by enough to flip the result. Nonetheless, where there is life, there is hope, as Cicero from ancient Roman times used to say. Daniel refused to concede, which has now manifested into a form of denial as she asks for a recount from outside the rules. The AEC does recounts on contests closer than 100 votes, which wasn't the case in Goldstein. Meanwhile, we hear there is another national corruption commission complaint that's been issued against Daniel and a former member of her staff, which asks questions about everything from donor influence to accusations about the commission having been misled previously. Keep an eye out if anything comes from the complaint, notwithstanding Daniel having been shown the door by voters. A very taxing question When a government has a mandate to legislate bad policy, what happens next? This week, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was quick to dismiss criticisms about the new tax on unrealised superannuation gains, after former RBA Governor Philip Lowe and former head of the Treasury Ken Henry pointed out a litany of problems with the policy. Gallagher simply said that Labor took the policy to the election so it has a mandate to introduce it. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has been quick to dismiss criticisms of the new tax on unrealised superannuation gains Now there really is no arguing with that because it's true: Labor did announce the tax before the election and pledged to re-introduce it to parliament if they won. I say 're-introduce' it because Treasurer Jim Chalmers tried unsuccessfully to pass the new tax into law during the last term of government, when it didn't have a mandate to do so. The PM specifically ruled out changes to super taxes. So with an election landslide, we shouldn't be surprised the tax is back on the table - even if experts up and down the country are pointing out how badly designed it is. Henry in his comments even had a solution for Labor, pointing to super reforms he recommended a decade and a half ago in his tax white paper the then-Labor government chose to ignore. So is a mandate to do something reason enough, even if that something is a bad policy? Evidently yes - not that the government is conceding it's as bad as the experts say. Gallagher even pointed to 'consultation' with experts that was carried out before the tax was put to parliament, including the nation's two largest bodies representing accountants and tax professionals. The only problem with that consultation is that tax experts condemned what they were presented with as poorly designed and in need of changes. Those changes weren't actioned. When youre a self-made billionaire and youve bought yourself a newly-built $141 million mega-mansion youd hope to be able to live in it - especially when your next door-neighbor is Jennifer Aniston. Thats the awkward problem facing handsome fashion entrepreneur and college drop-out Richard Saghian, founder and CEO of apparel company Fashion Nova, who purchased the stunning estate. It was originally supposed to be listed for $500 million and was billed as the most expensive home in the U.S. Known flamboyantly as The One, the 105,000-square-foot property in ultra-rarified Bel-Air is officially the largest dwelling in Los Angeles County - and arguably the most stunning trophy home in the country, if not the world. The unique mansion is spread across four acres and boasts five swimming pools, a beauty salon, wellness spa, 10,000-square-foot sky deck, outdoor running track, movie theater, four-lane bowling alley, candy room and, of course, a nightclub. There are 21 bedrooms and 42 full-size bathrooms -and seven half-bathrooms - to get lost in. The modern design includes underground parking for 30 cars and theres a third-floor gym, hair salon, juice bar, 10,000 bottle wine cellar and cigar lounge. But the head-spinning property - despite the eye-watering price - didnt come with a required Certificate of Residency from Los Angeles County which means Saghaian, 43, is having to spend many millions more to be able to move in and place his toothbrush in one of his marble-covered bathrooms. Work crews are frantically rebuilding Los Angeles County's largest home, which cost $141 million, to make it habitable for its billionaire owner Jennifer Aniston's $21 million home (shown at far left) is located just 250 feet from the main entrance to 'The One' (far right) owned by fast fashion billionaire Richard Saghian Shockingly, builders are engaged in a massive task - believed to be costing $20 million - which includes tearing down large sections of the brand new home to make the palatial spread fully comply with building codes and so make it habitable for the owner. Originally projected to take months, two years on and this week workmen are continuing to tackle the huge endeavor. An anxious looking contractor was also seen looking over plans while rubbing his brow. Fresh building permits have been filed with the city. 'This is an incredible amount of work considering the home was only just built,' an eyewitness told Daily Mail. 'There are workers all over the place and mechanical diggers are moving large amounts of earth. It's an incredible project. 'It's shocking that someone spent $140 million on a home - and then must fork out another $20 million so he can live there.' Real estate developer Nile Niami originally purchased the parcel of land in 2012 for $28 million. The modern design took a decade to construct, with an army of 600 workers, but the venture eventually became mired in controversy when Niami - a master of self-promotion and hype - was forced to file for bankruptcy in October 2021 amid soaring construction costs and crippling debt. Hopes of selling the home for a cool $500 million proved to be unrealistic. It was listed for $340 million in 2021 then put on the auction block for $295 million. Aniston's home shown in the foreground with her billionaire neighbor's home top right Exclusive pictures show workers are completely remodeling the mansion that was purchased new at auction for $141 million 'The One' boasts five swimming pools, a beauty salon, wellness spa, 10,000-square-foot sky deck, outdoor running track, movie theater, four-lane bowling alley, candy room and, of course, nightclub Real estate developer Nile Niami originally purchased the parcel of land in 2012 for $28 million which has now been partially torn down The brand new property shown at dusk before the start of a massive $20 million refurbishment The stunning home has underground parking for 30 cars. There's also a third-floor gym, hair salon, juice bar, 10,000 bottle wine cellar and cigar lounge One of the property's five pools 'The One' cost 338 times the average American home The incredible newly completed property is shown here before it was sold to present owner Richard Saghian and the extensive $20 million remodel began Richard Saghian, founder and CEO of apparel company Fashion Nova The property was eventually auctioned in March 2022. With a 12 per cent auction fee, the final purchase price was bumped up to $141 million - a legitimate steal based on earlier price listings over the years. The final sale price equates to 338 times the cost of the average American home, which is $416,000. According to Forbes latest estimate, Saghian is personally worth $2.1 billion and his fast fashion company generates $2 billion in annual sales. He dropped out of California State University Northridge before founding his empire. In 2018, Fashion Nova was the most googled fashion brand, beating out luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Versace and Gucci. The One is just, well, one of several multi-million dollar homes owned by Saghian in the LA area. In 2021, he was attacked by armed robbers in ski masks outside his Hollywood Hills home - an event which left one person dead and four injured, including a security guard who was left in critical condition. The terrifying incident occurred outside his home on Blue Jay Way and resulted in a blaze of gunfire. One of the robbers died in a car in Beverly Hills following a chase by police. Coincidentally, Aniston. 56. lived on Blue Jay Way at the height of her worldwide Friends fame. Saghians newest property, no doubt, will require round-the-clock security - especially with Aniston having recently suffered her own traumatic ordeal when she was targeted by an alleged stalker who rammed into the gate at her $21 million home located just 200 feet down the hill. Jennifer Anistons alleged stalker Jimmy Carwyle was deemed unfit to stand trial - but he has requested a second opinion (pictured: Aniston at the 2024 Emmy Awards) Jimmy Carwyle, 48, was arrested on May 5 after driving his vehicle into the property. His estranged wife previously told Daily Mail that Carwyle believes himself to be Jesus Christ and Aniston is his queen. An LA mental health court heard on May 22 that he is unfit to stand trial but a public defender said his client has requested a second opinion. Carwyle, from Mississippi, was evaluated by psychiatrist Dr. Phani Tumu who deemed him unfit to take part in a trial. Dr. Tumu is of the opinion that my client is currently incompetent to stand trial, public defender Robert Krauss told the court. After speaking with my client he is requesting a second opinion as is his right. The defendant stood silent facing out into the court from inside a glassed-walled security booth, wearing what appeared to be a vest designed to prevent self harming. Prosecutors say Carwyle, who has pleaded not guilty, 'repeatedly' harassed Aniston between March 1, 2023 to May 5, 2025, sending her 'unwanted social media, voicemail, and email messages.' Blair Berk, Anistons acclaimed attorney who has repped a scores of Hollywood stars including Britney Spears and Mel Gibson, was also in court but did not speak during the proceedings. Dr. Kory Knack, another independent psychiatric evaluator, will be meeting with Carwyle to prepare a second opinion report to determine Carwyles competency. A follow-up hearing with Carwyle is scheduled for May 29. He is currently detained at the notorious Twin Towers Correctional Facility in LA. The latest developments come after Carwyles estranged wife, Julia Carwyle, 48, spoke out about her spouse's frightening dark side. She told Daily Mail exclusively: 'He's put me through literal hell. It took a toll on me for the past four years in every aspect - it's not been good. An aerial view of Aniston's Bel-Air home. Carwyle allegedly crashed into the front gates while the actress was there Aniston working out in her home gym 'I've got a restraining order on him since we split up. He's been stalking me the same way [as Aniston] and he's not a very good person.' She said she was unaware of her husband's apparent obsession with the beloved TV and movie star. The couple did not watch a lot of television while living together, and Aniston didn't come up in conversation, she said. 'Jimmy had a secret life I knew nothing about,' said Julia. 'We never even watched her. The whole time we've been together he never went on about her. She previously told Daily Mail she last saw her husband in September on the day he headed off on his latest California odyssey in an attempt to meet with Aniston, who was inside her home at the time he crashed into the property, although the two did not come face to face. He went to California six months ago, said Julia. He left in September and went and I haven't seen him since he left. He was leaving that day to go. He was going there because he was going to meet up with Jennifer. He was going to go see her. He actually thought he was going to meet Jennifer. I guess he was speaking with her. He had the impression that Jennifer Aniston and he were going to talk and meet. So naturally he's doing what anybody would do - he went across the country. Julia said Carwyle had made three separate trips to California to meet up with the actress. He thought Maybe she's just going to meet a guy to take a chance, she added. That's the way he was thinking. Carwyle pleaded not guilty to felony stalking and vandalism charges at a May 8 hearing, when the judge paused further proceedings until the accused stalker was evaluated. Even though he remains in jail, a judge issued a no-contact order between Carwyle and Aniston. If convicted, Carwyle faces up to three years in prison. But if he is found incompetent again, he could be ordered to a state mental hospital for treatment. The family of Pheobe Bishop's flatmate have broken their silence, revealing that they tried to raise the alarm with authorities before the 17-year-old's suspicious disappearance. Pheobe had been living in a run-down property in Gin Gin, near Bundaberg, with Tanika Bromley and her partner, James Wood. Police allege the couple were the last people to see her alive on the morning of May 15. The Gin Gin property was later declared a crime scene, and on Friday, police expanded their search to the nearby Good Night Scrub National Park, about 40km south of the town. More than 40 SES volunteers resumed the search on Saturday. Before she vanished, Pheobe was due to fly from Bundaberg to Western Australia to visit her boyfriend. It is believed Ms Bromley and Mr Wood drove her to the airport, but police say she never checked in or boarded her 8.30am flight - and has not been seen since. On Thursday, Daily Mail Australia revealed Ms Bromley is facing unrelated charges for possessing a sawn-off shotgun and a flick knife in public. Now, Ms Bromley's brother, Sean, has come forward, claiming his family had serious concerns about the welfare of those at the Gin Gin property and went to the police. 'It's about time I say something,' he said. Pheobe Bishop, 17, was scheduled to fly from Bundaberg to Western Australia airport to see her boyfriend on the morning of May 15 Its claimed Tanika Bromley and her partner James Wood were the last to see the teen alive Bromley's brother Sean (pictured) claims his family held grave concerns about Pheobe's welfare in the home 'I'm ashamed my family's name is now getting dragged through the mud because of one particular person.' He goes on to discuss his sister's recent run-ins with the law, explaining she was out on bail at the time of Pheobe's disappearance. 'I was worried about my nephews and everything that I had been hearing and what those boys had gone through.' According to Mr Bromley, he spoke to an investigations team regarding his concerns. 'I wasn't the only one putting these complaints in,' he continued. 'Especially considering how many times those two have been reported to authorities, welfare and the animal protection service,' he said. 'I even contacted the media by email, had even attached a photo of her court charges, and no one did a thing.' Mr Bromley added that his mother is now helping police with their enquiries, but they would appreciate it if she was 'left alone'. 'My heart goes out to this girl and her family, and I hope that the police can get the information to find her and put everyone's mind at ease.' Neighbours say the pair moved to the house in Gin Gin (pictured) around October last year which is the same time they announced their relationship on Facebook Questions remain over why Pheobe (pictured with her mother Kylie) was living at the Gin Gin home, but final posts she made to social media suggested she had fallen out with her mother While Mr Bromley had never met Pheobe in person, he was aware she, too, was living at the house with his sister and Mr Wood. Mr Bromley also admits he was so concerned he considered taking matters into his own hands. 'My mum wouldn't let me come up because she knew how I am, and I would have chased him out of town,' he said. Though it's unclear why Pheobe was living at the Gin Gin house, the final posts she made to social media before she disappeared suggested the troubled teen had fallen out with her mother and would not return home. The couple's neighbour, Shari Loughland, told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that Pheobe had only been living there 'for a few weeks, up to a month or two'. However, it seems she was also having a hard time living at the Gin Gin property. A friend who wished to remain anonymous has shared the last messages they received from Pheobe, sent on Monday, May 12 before she went missing. 'I've been better but I focus on the good s***,' Pheobe said when asked how she was going. Before she vanished without a trace, missing teen Pheobe Bishop sent a final message to a friend saying she was excited to get out of 'this sh** home' While Mr Bromley had never met Pheobe (pictured) in person he was aware she too was living at the house with his sister and her partner, James Wood Detectives said they believe Ms Bromley and Mr Wood were also the two people who drove her the 40 minutes to the airport (forensics are pictured at the Gin Gin home) 'I take off to WA in three days! Get out of this s*** home for a bit so that will be good, just packing atm (at the moment).' Asked how long she was going for, Pheobe replied: '10 days beautiful x'. The Gin Gin property where Pheobe was living, cluttered with rubbish and a dilapidated bus, has been a hive of police activity during the probe into her disappearance. When Daily Mail Australia visited the scene on Thursday, there was a pervading stench of decay emanating from the Milden St property, which witnesses speculated could be due to the dead dogs reportedly found at the home. Early reports suggested police had discovered and removed four dead dogs from the scene, but one neighbour told Daily Mail Australia she believed as many as 13 of the animals had been found. Daily Mail Australia can also reveal that Mr Wood, who was questioned by police over her disappearance, has offered a reward for anyone who can reveal her location. 'Any little bit of information can help, please if you know something, please contact her family,' Mr Wood wrote on social media. Ms Johnson addressed her daughter directly in a post on Facebook on Saturday, which also featured a child's drawing of a rainbow and the words 'thinking of you' (pictured) Mr Wood offered his fishing boat (pictured) as payment to anyone who could lead police to Pheobe 'If you know where she is and can give her family a legit address to bring her home or make contact with her, you can (have) my fishing boat as a reward, 15 ft alloy tinnie with trailer and all. 'It's not much but it's yours if you know where she is, and please homie (Pheobe) if you see this please just contact one of us and let us know you're ok.' Police were also at the home Mr Wood and Ms Bromley shared with Pheobe on Friday. Four police cars guarded the scene as two forensic investigators combed the house, appearing to collect evidence from the front porch. Meanwhile, Pheobe's mum, Kylie Johnson, has been engaged in a frantic search for Pheobe since she went missing, papering the town with posters. Ms Johnson addressed her daughter directly in a post on Facebook on Saturday, which also featured a child's drawing of a rainbow and the words 'thinking of you'. 'Phee Phee we wont stop looking for you till your home. I urge everyone in Gin Gin to keep their porch lights on tonight and guide our girl home...' she wrote. The search for Pheobe resumed on Saturday morning as over 40 SES volunteers entered thick bushland in the Good Night Scrub National Park (pictured) A drone expert from Queensland Fire and Rescue is being deployed above the area to assist the search for the missing teen and will be focused on the river The distraught mum said 'someone somewhere has to know something'. 'Another day and minimal answers. I'm absolutely begging anyone with any information to contact the Queensland Police Service,' she continued. 'It could be the smallest of details you might even think it's irrelevant information but it could be the key to bringing Pheobe home. 'Thank you to our family, friends and community. Your thoughts love, respect and kindness are appreciated more then you could know or imagine.' Ms Johnson has made no comment on Pheobe's living situation, perhaps because she was worried she might 'jeopardise the current police investigations,' as she mentioned in a post on Wednesday. Pheobe's baffling disappearance has rocked Gin Gin, a small town west of Bundaberg with a population of 1,300 residents. Horrified residents watched from their windows and from the street this week as a forensics team scoured the location, with local police keeping careful watch. Ms Loughland said living living next door to the couple had become 'horrible' as she had to deal with regular noise from parties. Last week she had made a complaint to council and RSPCA about their 'howling dog'. 'They moved in late October or November, and then it's just gotten more and more cluttered with rubbish. 'It was for sale... We did hear last night that someone owns it and they rent from them, so I don't think they actually own it.' Ms Loughland had said Pheobe came in and out of the home a couple of times, but didn't realise she was actually living at the address until news broke of her disappearance. A recruitment consultant from Leeds has been locked up in a hell hole prison in Dubai for three months on drugs charges, MailOnline can reveal. Isabella Daggett, 21, was arrested just weeks after relocating from Yorkshire to the puritanical desert city state after landing a new job. But her desperate family insist she was seized by cops simply for being 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' and has never used narcotics. Ms Daggett, who also jointly ran a small family-owned modelling agency, had been offered the chance to work in Dubai in early spring but was caught up in a drugs raid soon after arrival. Her grandmother Heather Smith said: 'Bella has been locked up because she was in the wrong company. Wrong place, wrong time. Wrong boyfriend. 'She has been in prison since March but we have finally got a court date for next month. 'She was arrested with a lad, that was not her boyfriend, who she was staying with because things had fallen through with another house.' Exactly what charges Ms Daggett faces have not been made public. Isabella Daggett (pictured), 21, was arrested just weeks after relocating from Yorkshire to the puritanical desert city state after landing a new job The recruitment consultant from Leeds has been locked up in a hell hole prison in Dubai for three months on drugs charges, MailOnline can reveal Her desperate family insist she was seized by cops simply for being 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' and has never used narcotics Ms Daggett, who also jointly ran a small family-owned modelling agency, had been offered the chance to work in Dubai (pictured) in early spring but was caught up in a drugs raid soon after arrival Mrs Smith continued: 'All I know is that she rang me a week before all this happened and said that she wasn't happy and she knew something wasn't right. 'She was going to move out and come home to Leeds. And then this happened. 'I don't know the whole thing. I'm not sure what charges she has been arrested for, only possession of something - probably drugs, but I don't know for certain. 'But she is innocent because they have done all the tests and there was nothing in her system.' Mrs Smith said her granddaughter had been working for a businessman doing internet recruiting for construction sites in the UK, before her boss offered her the chance to work in Dubai in a similar role. Mrs Smith said the family had given the young women a stern warning about the pitfalls of life behind Dubai's glamorous facade 'The bloke she was working for said for her to come to Dubai, you'll love it there, the lifestyle is wonderfulblah, blah, blah,' said Mrs Smith. 'Now she is locked up. 'And women get treated far worse than male prisoners, who get to go outside, they get sports, a PlayStation and a television - Bella has nothing. 'She hasn't had a shower for a month, she hasn't had a change of clothes for three months. She has had nothing. 'She can speak to me and her mum every day though, which is good. But we have been in bits.' Mrs Smith said the family had given the young women a stern warning about the pitfalls of life behind Dubai's glamorous facade. 'We told Bella before she went to Dubai 'you know the rules in Dubai, play by the rules, don't flaunt this, don't do that' 'But there was a whole sequence of events that led up to her, inadvertently, being in this bloke's house, where she didn't want to be. She didn't really like him that much. 'He may be guilty of something, but she isn't.' Isabella and her mother, Lucinda Smith, 44, are co-directors of Leeds-based firm the Global Model Agency Ltd and Lucinda posted a GoFundMe page for her daughter this week, under the headline 'Help Get Bella Home' with a 5,500 target. Her grandmother Heather Smith said: 'Bella has been locked up because she was in the wrong company. Wrong place, wrong time. Wrong boyfriend' Mrs Smith said her granddaughter had been working for a businessman doing internet recruiting for construction sites in the UK, before her boss offered her the chance to work in Dubai in a similar role Her grandmother said: 'She hasn't had a shower for a month, she hasn't had a change of clothes for three months. She has had nothing' She wrote: 'To our dear friends and family. I am reaching out to you in a time of great need. 'My daughter Isabella has been wrongfully detained in Dubai, and we are doing everything we can to prove her innocence and bring her back home. 'We have proof she was not involved in these charges and are determined to fight for her freedom. The hideous conditions she is living in is enough to break any mother's heart. 'The legal and travel expenses are overwhelming, and we need your support. Any contribution, no matter how small, will help us cover the costs of legal fees, travel, and other necessary expenses.' Lucinda Smith declined to comment. In Britain's fishing heyday, a sturdy red wooden boat called Royal Charlotte ploughed the English Channel to bring home enormous catches of cod for her owners, the Coker family. Forty years ago, the nations favourite white fish was caught every day by Kent fishermen with a rod and line. This week, the Cokers proudly showed the Mail newspaper cuttings revealing the astonishing numbers of cod they landed. One article from 1983 said the Royal Charlotte brought home 238 of the fish in one morning. Two caught during the four-hour trip, weighed 30lb each. It was easy to catch cod, said 73-year-old Mickie Coker, as we sat together in the wheelhouse of that same Royal Charlotte in Dover harbour on Thursday evening. Now the species is near extinction because of plundering by the foreign EU vessels. Tomorrow I will skipper the Royal Charlotte with eight tourists who are keen sea fishermen. We will not bring back any cod because there are none left, he added with a tinge of anger. Instead, the group hope to catch bass and mackerel, which are somehow surviving the onslaught from the EU trawlers. Last year, we caught just one cod, said Mickie. I never thought such a disaster could happen in my lifetime, and Ive been fishing here on Kents coast since I was 14. There are so few cod in the English Channel, that they cant find other fish to breed with. It takes two to tango. Those that survive are swimming around all alone looking for a mate who isnt there. Mickie and his son Matt, 45, who together run a pleasure fishing business out of Dover, are reeling from what they and many of Britains other remaining professional fishermen believe is a massive betrayal by the Labour Government and Sir Keir Starmer. From left, Jim, Mickie and Matt Coker with their boat in the 1990s Mickie and Matt, explained this week: The European trawlers have a mindset that is different to our own fishermen. They think if we cant catch it today, someone else will. So, they carry on in one place until they kill the lot, then move on. This week, the PM signed a deal with the EU which Nigel Farage and his rising Reform Party predicted will finally kill off the British fishing industry. The Tories condemned the new pact as a total surrender to the French, Dutch, Danish and Belgian trawler fleets. At a stroke, the Prime Minister handed foreign fleets access to British waters for 12 more years, overriding a Brexit pact that this shared fishing deal should end next June. The Brexit pledge was that in 2026 the UK would be handed back total control of her waters. As the Spectator magazine commented this week: Every fish caught by a foreign fishing boat is one that cant be landed, processed and sold by British fishermen. EU vessels are also heavily subsidised by Brussels, meaning they can operate at lower costs compared to our smaller, family-run firms. Fish in British waters are our countrys resource. Foreign fishermen have little interest in ensuring our stocks remain at sustainable levels. Why would they? The lopsided EU rules have for years allowed a foreign free-for-all. They have forced strict quotas on catches by UK boats. Magnificent fleets in coastal towns, such as Grimsby and Folkestone, have dwindled to single figures, and it has been the same story around Britain. EU admirers say the industry represents a tiny 0.03 per cent of GDP. That means that for every 1,000 of our economic output, around 30p comes from fishing or fish farming. But fishing is a traditional part of British life that is more important than the money it brings in. The French, the Dutch, the Belgians are sending out supertrawlers with mile-wide metal nets weighted down to scrape the seabed. This kills vast quantities of marine life and huge numbers of fish. The supertrawlers pack the thousands they catch on board, and take them straight back to Europe in boxes to be sold. By raking over the seabed and cold-water corals, this industrial fishing has wreaked devastating environmental damage to delicate eco-systems. English fishermen say parts of the seabed in the Channel and elsewhere are now a desert where tiny maritime creatures cannot survive. Mickie and Matt, explained this week: The European trawlers have a mindset that is different to our own fishermen. They think if we cant catch it today, someone else will. So, they carry on in one place until they kill the lot, then move on. British governments have been criticised by fishermen for failing to protect them from what Mickie and Matt call this carnage. Environmental group Greenpeace is unequivocal: Fishers along the south and east coast of England have had their livelihoods devastated after years of unchecked industrial fishing by supertrawlers. This has depleted fishing populations leaving some local fishers with nothing left to catch. A few miles along the coast from Dover is Folkestone, a once-thriving port where Kents most famous fish and chip shop, Sandys, is run on the seafront by 31-year-old Giorgio Krousti. When I popped in, Giorgio told me the only cod he can get these days is not from Kents once-rich waters, but from Greenland or the Scottish coast. Yes, we have cod and people love it, he explained. But it is not locally caught like it used to be. My family have been in the fish and chip business for years and have 40 or 50 shops in the south of England. They all have to source their cod from abroad or, occasionally, it comes from Peterhead fishing port in Scotland. All this a far cry from the old days for the Coker family who have fished on the Kent coast since the 1920s. Matts great-grandfather Ernest used nets to trawl for cod to sell commercially. But his son Jim began what is now the family business, taking hundreds of tourists a year on fishing trips aboard the Royal Charlotte, which was built for the purpose at a local yard in 1976. Says Matt ruefully as we look through the family album of him standing by the boat with his father and grandfather as a teenager: There were cod out in the Channel when this picture was taken. Now there are none. They have been fished to near-extinction because of the lack of control over the foreign fishing trawlers using industrial methods to slaughter them. Matt continues: I blame the dragging of the seabed for much of the destruction of both our fish and fishing communities. He and his father were hoping that next year would see the end of the pillaging by EU trawlers. We had put up with what we were told were six-year interim Brexit rules to get the deal over the line, says Matt, rolling his eyes. We had real expectations of getting control of our waters back next year because that was what was promised by the UK when it signed off the Brexit business. History has shown that fish stocks can recover if they are given a chance, and we thought that would happen once the EU trawlers went away. We have put up with a lot from them because we believed the promise that it would soon end. Now the EU has suddenly been given another 12 years to carry on just the same. We feel betrayed. Matt has a ten-year-old son who loves going out with his father and grandad on the Royal Charlotte. He likes fishing and everything about it, says Matt. But whether he will become a fisherman like his ancestors before him is another matter. He may never get the chance because there really might not be any fish left in the Channel when he grows up. Sad words not only for this family with a heritage steeped in fishing, but also for one of the most ancient traditions of our island nation. The Criminal Cases Review Commission operates from a ten-storey office block overlooking the gleaming, space-age facade of New Street station in central Birmingham. It was opened in July 2022 by then government efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg under what he called plans to create a leaner and more efficient public estate by relocating civil servants from London to the regions. The Commission, whose 113 employees carry out the critical role of identifying potential miscarriages in our justice system, is one of 20 quangos and government departments that moved into the ultra-modern facility that year. Ever since, staff have been able to enjoy what its website calls comfortable breakout areas, a well-stocked communal kitchen, and great access to transport links and city life. Thats the theory, at least. But the reality is quite different. For on an average day, those swanky breakout areas and kitchens are weirdly empty. To blame is one highly controversial fact: Five years after Covid, the organisation, which is better known as the CCRC, continues to let employees work entirely from home. Most staff show up to HQ just once or twice a year, on average, it admits, saying the only ones required to venture into the building on a regular basis are members of the IT department, plus a presumably under-employed receptionist. Even chief executive Karen Kneller, a lawyer who received a 130,000 salary from taxpayers last year, plus 34,000 towards her pension, rarely bothers to cross her expensive buildings threshold. Karen Kneller, chief executive of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, received a 130,000 salary from taxpayers last year, plus 34,000 towards her pension, yet rarely bothers to cross her expensive buildings threshold I am probably in the office maybe one or two days every couple of months or so, she blithely admitted to a (gobsmacked) committee of MPs last month. This despite Kneller living with her husband Mark Etchells in a semi-detached house in Handsworth a mere 15-minute drive from the office she so rarely visits. If the CCRCs role was of limited importance, or if Mrs Kneller, 61, and her staff were doing a semi-competent job, such loose working practices might be vaguely defensible. But in fact, the opposite is true. On the first count, the organisation is of course very important indeed. It plays a crucial role in upholding faith in Britains criminal justice system by reviewing contested cases in search of wrongful convictions. Among the various (seriously) hot potatoes it is currently juggling is the thorny question of whether to return Lucy Letbys case to the Court of Appeal. On the second count, regarding competence, Kneller stands on even stickier ground. For those MPs she spoke to last month, who sit on Parliaments Justice Committee, published an explosive report yesterday saying the organisation not only requires root and branch reform, but that its chief executives position is no longer tenable. Last week, we saw a case in point when Peter Sullivan, pictured, known as the so-called Beast of Birkenhead, walked free after spending an astonishing 38 years behind bars for a crime he didnt commit The MPs were, if anything, understating things. For this powerful quango, which chews through almost 10 million of public money a year, has in recent years become a byword for chaos and dysfunction. A glance under the bonnet reveals that its 50-odd Peloton-riding case workers are permitted not just to work remotely, but also to choose when they will actually be on duty, thanks to an absurdly liberal flexi-time policy. This inevitably and frequently places them at the coal-face at different times of the day from colleagues and team members.The net result, critics say, is that it can take years to deal with even straightforward cases, leaving wrongly convicted victims to twiddle their thumbs in jail. Meanwhile, a series of high-profile blunders have lately seen Knellers Commission blamed for contributing to some of the most grotesque miscarriages of justice in modern British history. Only last week, we saw a case in point when Peter Sullivan, the so-called Beast of Birkenhead, walked free after spending an astonishing 38 years behind bars for a crime he didnt commit. A vulnerable man, who suffers from learning disabilities, Mr Sullivan had been wrongly convicted of the brutal sexual assault and murder of a 21-year-old barmaid in 1986. Hed always protested his innocence, and his legal team had told the CCRC in 2008 that DNA analysis of a semen sample found on the victim would exonerate him. But while a forensic technique called Y-STR, which allows such analysis, became available in 2013, the Commission waited until 2021 to order proper tests. Even then, it would be another four years before he was acquitted. Lord Falconer, the former Justice Secretary, described the Commission as unled and generally regarded as useless in the wake of Mr Sullivans acquittal. Lord Garnier, a former Tory Solicitor General, told an interviewer that the organisation was in a state of complete collapse and needs gripping by the Government. Andrew Malkinson served 17 years for a rape he didnt commit before his conviction was finally quashed in 2023. A formal inquiry into the Commissions calamitous handling of the Malkinson case, by a KC named Chris Henley, was published last year. Friends of Victor Nealon, who was wrongfully convicted of attempted rape and spent an additional ten years in prison because the CCRC again refused to carry out basic DNA tests that would have proved his innocence, would presumably agree. As would Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years for a rape he didnt commit before his conviction was finally quashed in 2023. He and his legal team had spent more than a decade pleading with the CCRC to conduct DNA tests on samples taken from the victim, which he steadfastly maintained would prove his innocence only to meet with obfuscation and refusal. Had staff done their job properly, Mr Malkinson would have been released at least a decade earlier. A formal inquiry into the Commissions calamitous handling of the Malkinson case, by a KC named Chris Henley, was published last year. It exposed a catalogue of appalling blunders, missed opportunities and shabby work by the quango, whose caseworkers exhibited muddled thinking, poor analysis and language that was casual and dismissive. Their work lacked purpose and was left drifting for many months by superiors who didnt bother to read evidence, Mr Henley found. Importantly, the CCRCs head of casework at the time of both its very poor work on Mr Malkinson, and Peter Sullivans first approach to the organisation, was its current chief executive, Karen Kneller. A public sector lifer, qualified barrister, and enthusiastic quangocrat, she has spent three decades on the government payroll, including about 20 years at the CCRC and juggles her current role with a host of side jobs. They range from a non-executive directorship of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, a trusteeship of homeless charity Shelter, and a role chairing an equalities charity calling itself a think fair tank named Brap. All this, and more, contributed to a car-crash appearance by Kneller before the Justice Committee in Parliament last month, at which her at times woeful efforts to defend the organisations culture met with disbelief from MPs. Things got off to a bad start when the chief executive was asked whether shed yet bothered to apologise to Mr Malkinson for the ten extra years he spent behind bars thanks to the CCRCs obvious incompetence. No, I havent, she glibly responded. Do you think it might be appropriate to pass on that apology now? asked an MP. Yes, absolutely, she conceded. There followed a surreal exchange in which Kneller umm-ed and ah-ed that the CCRC is not an office-based organisation any more, and attempted to argue that this was absolutely fine because it allowed it to recruit talented staff from all over the country. Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP who chairs the Justice Committee, gave that line short shrift, claiming there was a hole in the heart of the organisation and concluding: I cannot believe you are the only organisation in the country that has not come out of Covid yet. Elsewhere in the extraordinary meeting, Kneller attempted to defend her generous remuneration (she was handed a 7 per cent pay rise and a bonus of 8,000-10,000 just a month before Mr Malkinson was exonerated, and in the 2023-24 financial year enjoyed another 9 per cent rise) by saying she was not privy to discussions about her salary. Perhaps most importantly of all, she was then asked to defend the organisations response to Mr Henleys excoriating report. The KCs document turns out to have been submitted in January last year. But it wasnt published for six months, during which the CCRC, which already has a large taxpayer-funded press office, paid an external PR consultant 14,000 to advise them on how to manage the inevitable fallout. Several reports have suggested that the CCRC spent that period attempting to water down some of the reports findings, lobbying Mr Henley to soften his criticism of senior employees. Asked whether such skulduggery had occurred, Kneller issued a vigorous denial, insisting to MPs that much of the delay was instead entirely due to typographical errors and some factual issues with the reports findings. However, Mr Henley appears to remember things differently, and this week publicly insisted that Knellers claim is completely false. He told the Sunday Times: Karen Kneller misled Parliament. Her answers to the select committee were thoroughly inaccurate. The Justice Committee agrees, with that assessment describing her evidence to them as so unpersuasive that we no longer feel it is tenable for her to continue as chief executive. I dont see how she has any credibility or authority to stay in the role, says Neil Shastri-Hurst, a Conservative member of the body. This is such an important job that to not have a grip on it, which is what we have found, is unforgivable. Interestingly, the CCRC did not respond when I asked if they were standing by the Chief Executive, saying only that they intended to note the Committees recommendations. Among their pressing tasks will be to finally elect a CCRC chair preferably one who is prepared to work full time. The previous incumbent, quangocrat Helen Pitcher, was forced to resign in January after Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was unfit to do the job, after being singled out for criticism by Mr Henley. Pitcher was being paid 95,000-a-year to work two days a week, juggling the role with eight other jobs, including a non-executive directorship of United Biscuits and a seat on the Judicial Appointments Commission, where she earned another 55,000-60,000 for working two days a week. She continues to do that role (which critics saw as being in conflict with her duties at the CCRC) to this day. Unlike most CCRC colleagues, who are banned from working on cases when overseas, Pitcher also spent vast amounts of time in Montenegro, where she ran a villa rental company named Perast Paradise Properties. In fact, when the CCRC was thrown into crisis, following Mr Malkinsons acquittal in 2023, its part-time chair could be found on Instagram posing in bare feet on a boat outside a local mussel bar, boasting to her social media followers that she was having an amazing time. Elsewhere, Pitcher has also been president of the directors network board at Insead, the elite business school outside Paris. At the time she held the position, her then colleague Kneller spent tens of thousands of pounds of the CCRCs cash attending various courses at the institution, frequently staying at its in-house four-star hotel The Ermitage, which boasts a terrace bar overlooking the Fontainebleau forest, a fitness centre, treehouse bar and squash courts. Quite why such a keen advocate of remote working felt the need to attend such a grand venue in person is anyones guess, but the revelation, first reported by The Guardian newspaper in February, added to the sense of chaos around Knellers tenure. All of which represents a shameful and shabby state of affairs for an organisation founded with the best of intentions in the 1990s, in the wake of several high-profile miscarriages of justice, including the cases of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six. In its early days, the CCRCs 60 members of staff included a range of people experienced in exposing miscarriages of justice, including retired senior policemen. Among the 12 commissioners (of which three are needed to sign off a referral to the Court of Appeal) was David Jessel, presenter of the TV series Trial And Error, which helped overturn several convictions. He was joined by the forensic psychiatrist James MacKeith, who greatly contributed to the eventual quashing of the convictions of the Guildford Four in 1989 by proving evidence had been falsified and suppressed by police. Each was employed on a full-time basis, and expected to attend head office every day, where the work was carried out in a collegiate fashion. In return, commissioners were paid (for the time) a hefty salary of close to 90,000. Today, they are by contrast paid a daily fee of a few hundred pounds and largely work part-time. Its perhaps little surprise that three of the 12 roles are currently vacant. For most of the 2000s, the CCRC largely escaped public criticism. But in legal circles, there was growing hostility about both the length of time staff were taking to consider cases, and their apparent reluctance to send cases to the Court of Appeal, with only roughly 3 per cent being referred. In 2015, the Justice Committee said the organisation ought to be less cautious in taking such steps, but the following year its referral rate fell to a mere 1 per cent. By then, Karen Kneller had been chief executive for three years. Questions were beginning to circulate about the calibre of staff the organisation was attracting, along with their work ethic. In 2018 a BBC Panorama investigation entitled Last Chance For Justice shared internal documents stating that case review managers were struggling to cope. The programme found minutes from a meeting in which a commissioner said they doubted whether the work required to uncover certain miscarriages of justice was now being done. The commissioner worried about a culture where staff believed finding new evidence was actually seen as troublesome because of the work involved. Back then, the Commission (which covers England and Wales, but not Scotland) boasted 90 staff and a 5 million annual budget. Today, the size of its workforce has increased by a quarter, while its spending has doubled. But lawyers dealing with the organisation believe standards have continued to fall, particularly in recent years. Many blame the advent of so-called home working. To do their job properly, CCRC staff need to be discussing things all the time and rubbing shoulders and bashing things around, says Matt Foot, of the charity Appeal, which represented Mr Malkinson. But they are never in. I find the whole thing quite bizarre. Glyn Maddocks, a KC who has successfully represented many victims of miscarriages of justice, tells me: Its outrageous. You cant do that sort of job remotely. Its an absolute nonsense. People need to be in the office, sitting in the meeting room with colleagues who have experience, discussing what to do next. The whole thing is a farce. Mr Maddocks recently represented a man named Oliver Campbell, who in 2024 overturned a historic murder conviction. His victory followed a 24-year campaign which had initially seen the CCRC give his application short shrift. Given that experience, and what we now know about the shoddy job they did on Malkinson, you wonder how many other cases theyve been incompetent with over the past 28 years, adds Mr Maddocks. MPs agree. But the CCRCs annual report offers an insight into the culture of unaccountability that prevails among its deeply unimpressive top brass. Larded with management speak, wokery and irrelevancies (in the opening pages, it declares that 37 members of staff are male, 76 female, 19.5 per cent hail from an ethnic minority, and 20.8 per cent have a disability) this document uses the introduction to outline its top strategic priorities. Number one on the CCRCs list is people, being an employer of choice. Or, to put things another way, making sure that members of staff are happy. For an organisation whose raison detre is supposed to involve overturning grievous miscarriages of justice, this feels like an odd thing to categorise as a top priority. But like many a public sector organisation before it, the Criminal Cases Review Commission increasingly seems to place the interests of its bloated workforce above those of the public they supposedly serve. Exhibit A, on this front, is its overpaid, under-competent, homeworking CEO. She was last night still refusing to fall on her sword. And so this grotesque scandal continues. A wealthy businessman who drove his Bentley whilst eight times the drug-drive limit has been spared jail after he blamed his new wife for walking out on him after just 24 hours of marriage - along with 200,000. Father-of-one Steve Wynne, 50, had been snorting cocaine before police stopped his black 198mph Continental GT which was veering across white lines in the millionaire village of Alderley Edge, Cheshire. At the roadside the flamboyant tycoon appeared 'sallow and grey', a court heard. A snap bag containing traces of white powder was found in his pocket. Tests found Wynne had 67 micrograms of cocaine and 400 micrograms of benzoylecgonine (BZE) - the breakdown product of cocaine - per litre of blood. The legal limits are ten and 50 micrograms respectively. At the time, Wynne ran a successful kitchen design business and lived in a five-bedroomed 1.1m detached house in the upmarket 'Cheshire set' town of Wilmslow. But he told police he had suffered a severe nervous breakdown after being 'conned' by the bride whom he met had online. Father-of-one Steve Wynne (pictureD), 50, had been snorting cocaine before police stopped him His black 198mph Continental GT was veering across white lines in the millionaire village of Alderley Edge, Cheshire. (File image) Tests found Wynne had 67 micrograms of cocaine and 400 micrograms of benzoylecgonine (BZE) - the breakdown product of cocaine - per litre of blood He alleged he had helped her set up a beauty salon business and loaned her 200,000 - but just 24 hours after their wedding she disappeared with the cash, he claimed. At Crewe magistrates court Wynne - who now lives in a rented semi-detached house - pleaded guilty to two charges of drug driving. He was fined 162, ordered to pay a surcharge of 65 and banned from driving for 12 months. The bride's name was not given in court. His firm Wilmslow Kitchen Interiors later closed with Wynne citing 'personal reasons' on Facebook. The failed drug test came after he was stopped on June 5, 2023. Police described his speech as 'slurred and broken', prosecutor Olivia Randell told the hearing, and he was arrested. The court Wynne had six unrelated previous offences on his record. Defence solicitor Lesley Herman said in mitigation: 'This is a rather sad tale really. The defendant was a successful businessman. 'He had two shops, he sold kitchens and he employed more than nine people. 'He was very successful and purchased a Bentley. Police described his speech as 'slurred and broken', prosecutor Olivia Randell told the hearing, and he was arrested Wynne said in court to be suffering mental health problems maintains his driving that day was 'impaired by his mood rather than anything else'. (File image) 'He then met a lady online who he then got married to - but that marriage lasted a day. 'He realised that he had been conned, which is perhaps the right word, out of a large amount of money. 'She has disappeared with the money and that has coincided with him having a breakdown. 'He has lost his businesses. He has lost everything.' Wynne said in court to be suffering mental health problems maintains his driving that day was 'impaired by his mood rather than anything else', she added. He had found the bag with traces of cocaine in his shop and was planning to confront the person he suspected it belonged to 'as he has never been a person who takes drugs', Ms Herman said. The court heard Wynne is now receiving universal credit but his benefits are not sufficient to cover rent on his new home in Handforth. In sentencing, JP Dr John Bache told him: 'We understand the situation that you are in which is obviously very difficult.' A bombshell update has emerged in the case of missing 24-year-old Jennifer Kesse with investigators finally closing in on suspects more than 19 years after she vanished without a trace. Jennifers father Drew Kesse tells the Daily Mail that persons of interest have been identified in connection to her disappearance for the very first time - and that this pool of people is pretty small. [Law enforcement] have at this point been able to throw a lot of people out of the bathwater and have whittled things down to a finite group of persons of interest, he says. And we were told that that's pretty small at this point. Investigators have also found new evidence that is being tested for the first time, Kesse reveals. Who knows what that is and who knows what that could bring? he says. He has also learned that authorities have turned to advancements in artificial intelligence to aid in the investigation but did not reveal the exact details of how. And they told us that Jennifer's case is no longer considered cold whatsoever. They will not use that terminology any longer, Kesse says. Jennifer Kesse, 24, vanished more than 19 years ago in Orlando back on January 24, 2006 Jennifer's father Drew Kesse (pictured together) has revealed a major break in the case This marks the first ever major break in the long-unsolved case and came out of the blue to the Kesse family, who for years felt they were facing an uphill battle to get law enforcement to take their daughters disappearance seriously. It was January 2006 when Jennifer suddenly vanished, setting off a desperate search to find her and a now decades-long mystery. The 24-year-old had just returned home from a trip to St Croix in the Virgin Islands with her boyfriend Rob and his family and, on the night of January 23, she had called family and friends telling them what a great time they had had. But the next morning, Jennifer failed to show up for her job as a finance manager at Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company. Kesse and his wife, Jennifer's mom Joyce, instantly knew something was wrong. Inside Jennifers condo on the Mosaic at Millenia complex in Orlando, all the signs indicated she had gotten ready and left for work as normal. Her pajamas were on the floor, a damp towel was left by the shower, her hair tools had recently been used and the front door was locked. Jennifers 2004 Chevy Malibu was gone, as was her cellphone, purse, iPod and keys. Surveillance footage captured a person of interest leaving Jennifer's car at a condo complex Two days later, Jennifer's car was found abandoned around one mile away at a condo complex at Huntington on the Green. But there was no sign of Jennifer or her phone, purse, iPod and keys. Haunting surveillance footage at the complex captured a shady figure abandoning the vehicle there and walking off at around 12pm on the day Jennifer went missing. This person of interest was believed to be a man around 5 foot 3 to 5 foot 5 tall with unusually large feet for his height and dressed in workman's clothes. But because of the fencing, investigators were unable to obtain a clear image to identify him - even with the help of NASA. For an agonizing 19 years, the identity of this shady figure and the whereabouts of Jennifer have been unknown and the case had long grown cold - with no suspects, persons of interests or credible leads. Finally, that all changed. At the start of this week, Jennifers family had been bracing themselves for another heartbreaking milestone. May 20 would have been their beloved daughters 44th birthday. Investigators noticed signs of what appeared to be a struggle on the hood of Jennifer's vehicle But instead of celebrating together as a family, it would be the 19th time they were forced to mark the occasion without her - not knowing where she is or if she is even alive. That all changed the day before her birthday when the phone rang out of the blue. It was the familys contact at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on the end of the line, who gave Jennifers dad news they had waited almost two decades for. Kesse said it was finally a happy moment for the family. I felt happy that its moving forward. Happy that someone who has the ability to do what needs to be done is finally doing it. Happy that the resources are there and not being held back, Kesse says. Happy that Jennifer's finally getting her time to truly have everything thrown at her to see if we can bring her home. You know, we've been sitting around for decades, and it's kind of a good feeling. Who the persons of interest are - and how many people the list includes - is currently unclear. Kesse says he only knows they have gotten it down to a list of several but his gut tells him that more than one person was responsible for whatever happened to his daughter. Jennifer and her family should have been celebrating her 44th birthday this week He has long feared she was trafficked by a group of people. Meanwhile, suspicions have fallen on construction workers who were working at Jennifers condo complex at the time. Kesse acknowledges theres still a lot of work to be done before the family will finally learn the truth. But, for the first time in 19 years, he says things are moving in a very good direction. We knew all along that Jennifer's case is solvable,' he says. 'It's going to take a while, but we are truly moving in the right direction. And that's all we've ever asked for. The FDLE told The Daily Mail its investigation remains active and that there have been developments associated with persons of interest and there are still necessary investigative steps that need to be conducted. In an effort to protect the integrity of this case and maintain our primary focus of ensuring justice for Jennifer and the Kesse family, FDLE will not be providing information on persons or potential persons of interest at this time, a spokesperson said. The FDLE took over the case in 2022 and, since then, the Kesse family feels law enforcement have been committed to solving the mystery of what happened to their daughter. The Mosaic at Millenia condo complex in Orlando where Jennifer lived. Inside her condo, everything appeared to be as it should be on the morning of her disappearance But its been a long time coming. When Jennifer first disappeared, the family says the case was hampered by Orlando Police not taking it seriously. The family took matters into their own hands, pouring $700,000 of their own money into the case and hiring private investigators to carry out their own work. In 2018, the family took the unprecedented step of suing the Orlando Police Department to get them off the case and hand over all 16,000 pages of records and 67 hours of video and audio. Kesse previously told The Daily Mail that, among the records, a private investigator found several leads that weren't followed up on properly at the time. Among them was signs of a struggle on the hood of Jennifers car - marks that were never tested for DNA. The Daily Mail has contacted Orlando Police for comment. While grateful for FDLEs dedication since taking over, Kesse is frustrated it has taken 19 years to finally get a break in the case. Whatever answers they may get, Kesse heartbreakingly reveals he doesnt think they will find Jennifer alive. The Kesse family has spent 19 years and around $700,000 searching for the missing 24-year-old Persons of interest have been identified in connection to Jennifer's disappearance for the first time I don't think Jennifer has been alive for many, many years. I think we taught her at a young age that if you're ever taken, you fight because you're not coming back, he says. Instead, its about finding her and bringing her home. Personally, I don't give a crap about the person who did this anymore. I just simply want to bring Jennifer home, he says. A distressed mother has accused police of 'pure abuse of power' after they arrested and handcuffed her son and another youngster right in front of her. The boys, both understood to be 10 years old, were approached by Cumbria Police officers in Kirkby Lonsdale yesterday morning after reports that a member of the public had been threatened with a penknife. However, following an extensive search no knife or other weapon was found and the boys were released. Cumbria Police later said in a statement they had been handcuffed 'for their and officers safety while the searches were completed.' But footage of the incident shows one of the boys clearly becoming agitated after being handcuffed - with his mother also becoming tearful at the sight of her detained son. Posting the video on social media, where it has so far been viewed tens of thousands of times, the distraught mother - who is believed to be from the Traveller community - alleged the police action had amounted to 'bullying'. The incident occurred in the run-up to the annual Appleby Horse Fair, which takes place next month and represents the largest traditional Gypsy and Traveller fair in Europe. In the short video, the mother can be heard pleading with the officer and says: 'He's a little 10-year-old boy.' A distressed mother has accused police of 'pure abuse of power' after they arrested and handcuffed her 10-year-old son and another youngster right in front of her The boys, both understood to be 10 years old, were approached by Cumbria Police officers in Kirkby Lonsdale yesterday after reports that someone had been threatened with a penknife Cumbria Police later said in a statement they had been handcuffed 'for their and officers safety while the searches were completed' She then attempts to comfort her son, who is visibly crying. Appealing to the officer again, the mother asks him not to handcuff her son, but he remains resolute. 'He's a f***ing kid,' she tells him, before the officer assures her that he will 'explain what he did'. The mother then says: 'Don't hurt him'. As the commotion continues, a second youngster is seen being led away by officers in handcuffs. A day after the incident, the mother wrote: 'Our boys were put in handcuffs on the basis of False allegations! Pure abuse of power and provoking behaviour! Bullying 10 year olds!' The impassioned mother added: 'You wouldn't see them doing this to any other community! 'And they wonder why our children are frit [afraid] of them, this could of been handled in a completely different manner. #abuseofpower'. Footage of the incident shows one of the boys clearly becoming agitated after being handcuffed - with his mother also becoming tearful at the sight of her detained son The incident occurred in the run-up to the Appleby Horse Fair, which takes place in June In a statement posted after the video was circulated, a police spokesperson said: 'Cumbria Police are aware of concerns being expressed on social media in response to the handcuffing and search of two boys at Kirkby Lonsdale. 'At around 11.30am on 22 May 2025 Cumbria Police received a call for service from a member of the public reporting a group of boys on the path by the River Lune, one of whom threatened the caller with a penknife. 'Officers carried out a search in the area and located two boys based on the descriptions provided. 'Due to the report of a knife, the boys were handcuffed for their and officers safety while the searches were completed. 'A search was carried out and no knife located, and the handcuffs removed. 'Officers continue to engage with people in the area. 'Stop and search will be used as appropriate to ensure the safety of all communities as we work to ensure everyone has a safe Appleby Fair.' Around 30,000 visitors from all over Europe descend each year on the small town of Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, which has hosted the event since 1775. Cumbria Police said it employs an extensive policing operation to 'enhance public safety' at the event, with last year seeing more than 100 arrests taking place. An influencer who disappeared while hiking through the Arizona desert has been found dead after a huge search. Hannah Moody, 31, vanished while exploring the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Scottsdale Police Department said her body had been found near a trailhead parking lot. Officials found her remains 600-yards off-trial, while their investigation is still in its early stages they said there were no obvious signs of foul play or trauma. Her body was spotted shortly after midday near the trail, after being reported missing at 7pm the night before when friends said they hadn't heard from her. Responding officers found her vehicle in the lot and had tried to reach her via her cellphone before they started searching the area on foot and with drones. The search was called off just before midnight on Wednesday, with over 20 officers and drones picking up the search the next day when her body was found. Hannah Moody, 31, vanished while exploring the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale on Wednesday Officials said that her remains were found 600-yards off-trial, while their investigation is still in its early stages they said there were no obvious signs of foul play or trauma Moody was a keen hiker, routinely posting videos and images of herself exploring the desert regions of Arizona to her Instagram that has nearly 50,000 followers. In a post to his Facebook, her brother Joel paid tribute to his sister who he described as being 'a nomad' and 'a free spirit'. He said: 'There are times when words cant do justice to the depth of emotion experienced. I received word earlier today that my little sister Hannah Rose died. 'Thank you for bearing with my processing. Thank you also for keeping all of us in your prayers. 'Hannah was a fierce competitor. She was driven, putting her heart and mind to a goal and pursuing it relentlessly. Hannah was also a nomad, a free spirit, searching for a place to belong and to call home after leaving our parents house. 'I hope that, in death, she has found the home she sought in life. I just wish I could see her once more. I love you and miss you, Hannah.' Her father had spoken with 12news Her last post to her Instagram page earlier this week has since been inundated with tributes from her followers. The search was called off just before midnight on Wednesday, with over 20 officers and drones picking up the search the next day when her body was found In a post to his Facebook, her brother Joel paid tribute to his sister who he described as being 'a nomad' and 'a free spirit' Moody was a keen hiker, routinely posting videos and images of herself exploring the desert regions of Arizona to her Instagram that has nearly 50,000 followers One person said: 'Enjoy todays sunset from heaven sweet girl. I bet theres nothing like it.' Another added: 'Rest in peace sweet soul. I was lucky enough to know you for the last two months, Im so sorry it wasnt longer. Fly high angel.' Scottsdale Police Department said: 'Scottsdale detectives and crime scene personnel will now conduct a thorough investigation to piece together what happened to Hannah and how she died. 'Our investigation will be in cooperation with the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner, which will ultimately determine the cause of death.' Nancy Pelosi believes former Chicago mayor and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is going to run for president in 2028. Emanuel, 65, has been reported to be eyeing a bid for some time, drawing the ire of many online liberals. The former Congressman served as US Ambassador to Japan during the Biden administration and a new feature in The Free Press appears to confirm his ambitions. Pelosi, the ultimate Democrat kingmaker who has known the man known as 'Rahmbo' since his days working for Bill Clinton, said: 'I think he's going to run.' Emanuel, for his part, says he hopes public service 'is not done with me' and is taking an active role in seeing what the nation's issues are. 'Before I make a decision, I want to know that I have an answer to what I think ails our country, ails our politics, and ails the party - and they may all be the same answer,' he said. He even took a swipe at Joe Biden in the feature, quipping when asked how he was doing: 'Well, I don't have prostate cancer.' Emanuel has made numerous media appearances showing off his desire to test the Democrat establishment, including battling a podcast regarding the left's overwhelming acceptance of transgender rights. Nancy Pelosi believes former Chicago mayor and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is going to run for president in 2028 Pelosi, the ultimate Democrat kingmaker and insider who has known the man known as 'Rahmbo' for his combative nature since his days working for Bill Clinton , said directly: 'I think he's going to run' The first contest of the 2028 Democratic presidential primary is likely almost three years away. But the idea of the former Obama official and congressman throwing his name in the ring for the Democratic presidential nomination was not met with open arms online as Democrats are still licking their wounds from the brutal 2024 pounding. Talk about the 2028 presidential race has been well underway ever since the 2024 election with a number of Democrats being floated as potential contenders. If Emanuel were to jump in the race, he could be part of a crowded field as multiple prominent Democrats including governors and lawmakers could launch campaigns. Recent polling shows Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump just four months ago, leads the pack of possible candidates as she continues to hold greater name recognition. Harris has not signaled what her future plans are but there has been speculation that she will run for governor of California next year. Harris reportedly has given herself until the end of the summer to decide whether she will run for governor. The move could take her out of the running for a 2028 bid. But even if she were to forgo running for president, the field could still be packed. If Emanuel were to jump in the race, he could be part of a crowded field as multiple prominent Democrats including governors and lawmakers could launch campaigns The former Congressman served as the United States' Ambassador to Japan during the Biden administration While the report that Emanuel is gearing up for a presidential bid was met with backlash, there are few Democrats who know more about getting things done in the White House. The 65-year-old served as Obama's chief of staff from January 2009 until October 2010, helping the administration navigate the great recession and passage of the Affordable Care Act. Before that, he served three terms in the House. From the Obama administration he went on serve two terms as mayor of Chicago. But his tenure there could come back to haunt him in a Democratic presidential primary after he clashed with the powerful Chicago teachers union that went on strike during his first term. He also faced harsh criticism for how he handled the killing of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer in 2014. Emanuel first said he would but then opted not to run for a third term as mayor in 2019 amid low approval ratings. President Biden nominated him to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Japan where he served until just before the start of the Trump administration in January. Now, he's back stateside and has been spotted all over the place with a speech before the Economic Club of Chicago, appearances on CNN and writing columns for the Washington Post. But in discussing his plans with Politico, Emanuel remained coy. 'I've only been back two months, I have no idea what I'm doing,' he told Martin. 'I'm not done with public service and I'm hoping public service is not done with me,' he said. A gang of wealthy 'crypto bros' have been arrested for luring their former business partner to a stunning New York City mansion before torturing him for weeks. The group are accused of kidnapping the 28-year-old Italian man before committing sickening acts on him in the $75,000-per-month rented brownstone in Soho. They are alleged to have Tazed him, pistol-whipped him and threatened to carve him up with a chainsaw if he did not give up the millions of dollars in his crypto account. But their plot was foiled when the victim - who has not been named - escaped and flagged down traffic to save him and call the police. On Friday morning cops swooped on the mansion and dragged out at least one of the suspects, who was draped in a white bath robe. The victim said the nightmare began on May 6 when he arrived in Manhattan from Italy after being lured by the false promises of an business opportunity. Instead, he claimed the group confiscated his passport and turned the luxurious apartment into a house of horrors for weeks. One unidentified 'crypto bro' has since been arrested following the victim's escape, with footage showing officers dramatically dragging him out of the apartment wearing a white bathrobe Several wealthy 'crypto bros' living in a lavish Soho, New York City, brownstone allegedly lured a former business partner to the residence, where they kidnapped and tortured him over the course of several weeks (pictured: brownstone) The 'crypto bros' are accused of binding him with electrical cords and other forms of shock torture - including using a Taser while his feet were submerged in water. The men were also alleged to have pistol-whipped him and threatened to sever off his limbs with an electric chainsaw. Police said the men took Polaroid photographs of themselves torturing him - one showing him bound to a chair with a gun pressed to his head. The photos, authorities believe, were likely intended to extort money from either the victim or his family back in Italy. The men also reportedly forced him into taking drugs - including cocaine - and imposed mental torment upon him, repeatedly insisting he would never escape. Allegedly, the 'crypto bros' bound the victim with electrical cords - subjecting him to electrocutions with the cords and tasers - as well as pistol whipping him, threatening to sever his limbs with a chainsaw and forcing him to take drugs like cocaine while mentally tormenting him (pictured: brownstone) They were said to have attached an AirTag around his neck to monitor his movements inside the building. It was not until Friday the 28-year-old saw his chance to escape, after the men allegedly told him that day would be his 'death day'. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered a man, dressed in a bathrobe, in an upstairs bathroom. Also inside the home, police found broken glass, helmets, night vision goggles and a bullet proof vest strewn across the apartment. Authorities also discovered a firearm, prompting them to request a search warrant for a more thorough investigation of the property. The bathrobe-wearing 'crypto bro' was arrested, and is currently being held with charges pending. Police described him to be the renter of the home. Witness Jennifer Crawford said: 'I saw the SWAT team with shields and then shortly after that, I saw a guy in handcuffs come out. She added: 'This guy comes out in a white bathrobe and cuffed behind his back get into a police car.' Detectives are now interviewing two butlers who worked for the men and were present in the home at the time of the alleged crypto kidnapping. The home - an eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom residence tucked back from the sidewalk on a bustling Soho block - was most recently rented a few months ago for $75,000. The investigation remains ongoing, while a search is now underway for several other occupants of the home still at large. A Jewish protester has revealed he was arrested and charged for holding up a placard which mocked a terrorist leader. The British man, who spoke to The Telegraph anonymously, said he was detained last September over the cartoon showing the former secretary-general of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah with a pager and the words 'beep, beep, beep'. He held the sign up during a counter-demonstration against a pro-Palestinian march in London. It was in reference to an attack by Israel in Lebanon, known as Operation Grim Beeper, in which pagers and walkie-talkies with explosives hidden inside. The attack killed 42 people, including Hezbollah terrorists and 12 civilians, and injured a further 4,000 civilians, according to Lebanon's health ministry. Nasrallah survived Operation Grim Beeper but was murdered in an air strike just a week later. Police repeatedly questioned the man if he thought the cartoon would offend 'clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel' protesters. Hezbollah is a proscribed terror group in the UK. It follows a series of heavy-handed police responses to lawful expression, including journalist Allison Pearson who was quizzed at home over a social media post and retired constable Julian Foulkes who was arrested by his former police force after warning about the threat of anti-Semitism in Britain. On Friday, the Met Police told The Telegraph the officer 'clearly misspoke when she described those in the protest as pro-Hezbollah instead of pro-Palestinian'. The man said he was detained last September over the cartoon showing the former secretary-general of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah with a pager and the words 'beep, beep, beep' Pictured: Former secretary-general of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah in 2013 Pro-Palestinian people marched from Piccadilly to Whitehall in their latest protest last week A Met Police spokesperson said: 'A man was charged following a careful consideration of the evidence. We will reflect on the CPS decision not to proceed with the case, applying any learning to future investigations. 'The officer who interviewed the man clearly misspoke when she described those in the protest as pro-Hezbollah instead of pro-Palestinian. 'We take support for proscribed organisations very seriously. Since October 2023, we have made 28 arrests under the Terrorism Act for offences at protests including wearing clothing or displaying symbols that indicated support for such groups, including Hezbollah. This is in addition to the hundreds of arrests made for other offences.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp condemned the arrest, saying the man was arrested 'because he might have offended supporters of a banned terrorist organisation'. He told The Telegraph: 'This is two-tier policing in action. The law is rightly clear that supporting banned terrorist groups, inciting violence, inciting racial hatred or harassing people is illegal. Beyond that, free speech applies to everyone. 'The police sometimes turn a blind eye when applying the law might be difficult, yet over-police at other times.' It comes after pro-Palestinians marching through Piccadilly Circus last week clashed with a smaller counter-protest, organised by the group Stop The Hate. Separated by barriers, the two groups hurled insults such as 'scum' at each other and were seen making rude gestures. Palestine supporting protesters paraded banners reading 'stop arming Israel' while chanting 'from the River to the Sea', as pro-Israelis screamed 'terrorist supporters off our streets'. Some verbal clashes boiled over into pushing and shoving, with the police forced to intervene. During the march, pro-Palestinians clashed with a smaller counter-protest, organised by the group Stop The Hate, in Piccadilly Circus Julian Foulkes (pictured) was arrested by Kent Police cops in November 2023 after he questioned a supporter of pro-Palestine demonstrations on X Last November, columnist Allison Pearson revealed she had been quizzed by police over a social media post Hundreds of Metropolitan Police officers were present in central London after the force imposed conditions under the Public Order Act denying participants in both protests from assembling before 12pm or veering away from the pre-planned route. Meanwhile, police were told to 'spend their time catching actual criminals' earlier this month after a retired constable was handcuffed by his former force over a social media post warning about the threat of anti-Semitism in Britain. Julian Foulkes, from Gillingham, was detained at his home by six officers from Kent Police - the very same force he had given ten years of his life to - after he questioned a supporter of pro-Palestine demonstrations on X. In the context of a rise in protests at the start of the Israel-Hamas war - and reports of an anti-Semitic mob storming a Russian airport - Mr Foulkes tweeted an activist: 'One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals' 'Shocked' and 'flabbergasted', Mr Foulkes was later handcuffed on his own doorstep by uniformed officers equipped with batons and pepper spray. Kent Police has since apologised for the 'distress' caused to one of their former colleagues. Condemning the arrest of Mr Foulkes, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said last night: 'Arresting a 71 year old man and holding him for hours in a police cell over a tweet that was obviously not criminal is completely unacceptable. 'The Police should spend their time catching actual criminals, not policing offence on Twitter.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told police to 'spend their time catching actual criminals', while columnist Allison Pearson, who was quizzed by police over a social media post herself, described it as 'Stasi Britain' Meanwhile, there were also two incidents last November where writers were questioned by police over their social media posts. One of those was Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson, who was investigated over a tweet she had posted, and then quickly deleted, a year prior in November 2023. Ms Pearson revealed officers from Essex Police knocked on her door on Remembrance Day last November to inform her that she was at the centre of a probe over allegedly stirring up racial hatred on social media. However, they could not give her any details about what post was being investigated or who complained. Essex Police dropped its investigation after the force was advised by Crown Prosecution Service lawyers that it's case failed to meet the evidential test. 'I was obviously shocked and devastated in the first place to have had the police on my doorstep on Remembrance Sunday, of all days, telling me I had put something up on social media which they said was stirring up racial hatred,' she told the Mail at the time. Ms Pearson has also reacted to the arrest of Mr Foulkes, posting: 'Police are out of control. In Stasi Britain, Julian Foulkes, a retired police officer, was handcuffed, home searched, because he tweeted his concern about anti-Semitism. 'Why don't police care about 'Jew haters'?' Two bull sharks have died from 'accidental impact' at Sydney Zoo. The zoo, located on the Great Western Highway in Eastern Creek took to social media on Friday to announce it was 'deeply saddened' by the loss of the two sharks. 'Extensive investigations by our animal care and veterinary staff, with support from external specialists, included comprehensive necropsies,' it said. 'These examinations found trauma consistent with accidental impact. 'While the precise cause cannot be definitively confirmed, preliminary findings suggest a combination of environmental and biological factors may have played a role in this isolated incident.' The zoo said all the other animals in the aquarium were healthy but were under observation, saying: 'The wellbeing of our animals remains our highest priority'. The bull shark section on the zoo's website has been taken down. Some Aussies lamented the fact the sharks had been kept in captivity. Two bull sharks are died at Sydney Zoo in what has been described as an 'isolated incident' Sydney Zoo is located at Eastern Creek, 40 minutes from the Harbour City's CBD 'Sorry, but these sharks should never of been in captivity as bull sharks are not designed for tanks,' one person said. 'Translation: We put a species that needs a huge amount of space in an enclosed tank and they ran into the glass walls until it killed them,' another said. A third questioned 'how can it be isolated if two sharks collided with it?' 'Accidental impact from what? I think further explanation is owed here,' a fourth said. The wildlife is home to more than 4,000 animals. Bull sharks generally adapt well in captivity and thrive in many aquariums around the world. While their lifespan in the wild is typically 12 to 16 years, some have lived up to 30 years in captivity. Bull sharks are apex predators and grow to between two to four metres long and can weigh up to 600kg. They are one of the most aggressive species of shark in the world and are responsible for attacks because they can survive in fresh water. Sydney Zoo was contacted for comment by Daily Mail Australia. Donald Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size by over 100 staffers in the wake of the 'SignalGate' scandal. The move will see the ouster of some political appointees and return many career government employees back to their home agencies. The number of staff at the NSC is expected to be significantly reduced, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel matter. CNN reported over 100 employees are going to be given a pink slip in the mass reshuffle. The shakeup is just the latest shoe to drop at the NSC, which is being made over after the ouster early this month of Mike Waltz over the SignalGate scandal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security adviser since the ouster of Waltz, who was nominated to serve as Trump's UN ambassador. The move is expected to elevate the importance of the State Department and Pentagon in advising Trump on important foreign policy decisions. The NSC, created during the Truman administration, is an arm of the White House tasked with advising and assisting the president on national security and foreign policy and coordinating among various government agencies. Donald Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size by over 100 staffers The shakeup is just the latest shoe to drop at the NSC, which is being dramatically made over after the ouster early this month of Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz (pictured) Trump was frustrated in his first term by political appointees and advisers who he felt gummed up his 'America First' agenda. There were roughly 395 people working at the NSC, including about 180 support staff, according to one official. About 90 to 95 of those being ousted are policy or subject matter experts seconded from other government agencies. They will be given an opportunity to return to their home agencies. Many of the political appointees will also be given positions elsewhere in the administration. The NSC has been in a continual state of tumult during the early going of Trumps second go-around in the White House. Waltz was ousted weeks after Trump fired several NSC officials, just a day after the influential far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to him about staff loyalty. Loomer told journalist Tara Palmeri earlier this month that she had sounded the alarm about Waltz's anti-Trump past and claimed he hadn't vetted his staff to weed out liberals. Waltz was ousted weeks after Trump fired several NSC officials, just a day after the influential far-right activist Laura Loomer (pictured) raised concerns directly to him about staff loyalty The NSC has been in a continual state of tumult during the early going of Trumps second go-around in the White House The 'Loomer Unleashed' host told Palmeri all about the dirt she had on the former NSC boss. Loomer said that Waltz, a Republican congressman from Florida before his appointment to Trump's Cabinet, was letting anti-Trumpers into the agency. 'He is saying that he's personally vetting these individuals who have a history of anti Trump remarks and anti-Trump associations,' Loomer, an ultra-Trump fan, told the host. 'Why would he be signing off on them? And then it reminded me of a video that I had saved in my phone for many years of Michael Waltz on video speaking out against President Trump when he first ran for president, accusing him of being against service members,' Loomer continued, stirring up controversy. Trump denied that Loomer had anything to do with a round of National Security Council firings after she exposed some of the workers. The president said 'no' when asked if she was behind the dismissal of several of National Security Advisor Michael Waltz's aides. 'Laura Loomer is a great patriot. She's a very strong person,' Trump said. 'She's been in the party a long time, she's done a good job,' he later added. Instead of being behind the firings, the president said that Loomer met with him and gave him recommendations on people to hire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security adviser since the ouster of Waltz Waltz during his short tenure heading the NSC came under searing criticism in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg (pictured) to a private text chain 'And sometimes I listen to those recommendations, like I do with everybody, I listen to everybody, and then I make a decision. But I saw her yesterday. She was at the ceremony. And she'll always have something to say, usually very constructive,' Trump said. 'She recommended certain people for jobs.' Waltz has been a lightning rod for controversy in the still-nascent second Trump administration. He has been to blame for accidentally leaking military plans to the press via an unfortunate Signal group chat. And the White House, days into the administration, sidelined about 160 NSC aides, sending them home while the administration reviewed staffing and tried to align it with Trumps agenda. The aides were career government employees, commonly referred to as detailees. This latest shakeup amounts to a 'liquidation' of NSC staffing with both career government detailees on assignment to the NSC being sent back to their home agencies and several political appointees being pushed out of their positions, according to the person familiar with the decision. A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the overhaul, first reported by Axios, was underway but declined further comment. Waltz during his short tenure heading the NSC came under searing criticism in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an encrypted messaging app that was used to discuss planning for a sensitive military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen. He has taken responsibility for building the text chain but has said he does not know how Goldberg ended up being included. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (pictured right) and Vice President JD Vance were both on the text chain Waltz was viewed with a measure of skepticism by some in the MAGA world who saw the former Army Green Beret and three-term congressman as too tied to Washington's foreign policy establishment It wasnt just Loomer who viewed Waltz suspiciously. He was viewed with a measure of skepticism by some in the MAGA world who saw the former Army Green Beret and three-term congressman as too tied to Washington's foreign policy establishment. On Russia, Waltz shared Trumps concerns about the high price tag of extensive U.S. military aid to Ukraine. But Waltz also advocated for further diplomatically isolating President Vladimir Putin - a position that was out of step with Trump, who has viewed the Russian leader, at moments, with admiration for his cunning in dealings with Trumps predecessors. His more hawkish rhetoric on Iran and China, including U.S. policy toward Taiwan, seemed increasingly out of step with Trump. Before getting rid of Waltz, the president fired several members of his National Security Council team. The individuals fired were Brian Walsh, Thomas Boodry and David Feith. The president - setting aside belligerent rhetoric about taking over Greenland from Denmark - has tilted more toward military restraint and diplomacy in facing some of the United States' most challenging issues with adversaries. A liberal arts women's college has come under fire for awarding former President Biden's transgender health secretary with an honorary degree. Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, announced it would be giving Admiral Rachel Levine an honorary degree. On Sunday, Levine was formally given the award - causing a protest on campus over the fact she is transgender. The college said it handed the award down for her work as an 'accomplished physician, public health expert, and LGBTQ+ advocate'. She was one of four honorees selected by the college to speak at their commencement ceremony. Feminist group the Women's Declaration International had protested the decision last weekend prior to the ceremony. In a post to its X account they said: 'Tomorrow, Smith College - a historically women's college - will award Richard "Rachel" Levine an honorary degree. 'Levine, who pretends to be a woman, will then speak at commencement. Were on the ground in Northampton, MA to show our support for women.' On Sunday, Levine, seen here in 2022, was formally given the award - causing a protest on campus over the fact she is transgender The college said they handed the award down for her work as an 'accomplished physician, public health expert, and LGBTQ + advocate' Video of Biden transgender HSS official Rachel Levins commencement address at Massachusetts all-womens Smith College. Obtained by @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/WfecTdMB22 Ashley Brasfield (@BrasfieldAshley) May 21, 2025 Prominent anti-trans activist Riley Gaines had also posted about the decision to hand Levine the degree. She wrote: 'Smith college, a private *womens* college in Massachusetts, awarded Rachel (Richard) Levine an honorary degree today. 'He then delivered the commencement address. Ladies, congratulations your graduation was led by the very thing feminism was allegedly fighting.' While Biden's health secretary Levine had been pushing to make it easier for children under the age of 18 to change genders. Levine began her transition in 2011, when she was 54. She'd already been married for 23 years and raised two children, both of whom are now young adults. Levine has sparked controversy on multiple occasions as she endorsed providing to offer gender-affirming care to minors. She praised an Alaska gender-affirming care clinic in August of 2023, asserting the treatment it offered was 'lifesaving medical care.' The company she praised promotes ideas that children should learn that doctors 'assign' gender to babies by making a 'guess' - while also promoting the use of 'gender-inclusive biology.' Teachers and educators need to speak to children 'without assuming that there are only two sexes and that everyone within a particular sex is the same', they said. Feminist group the Women's Declaration International, seen here, had protested the decision last weekend prior to the ceremony Prominent anti-trans activist Riley Gaines had also posted about the decision to hand Levine the degree Levine began her transition in 2011, when she was 54. She'd already been married for 23 years and raised two children, both of whom are now young adults Instead of using the word 'mother' in these conversations, they also recommend using terms such as 'egg producer' or 'carrier.' After word of the degree was spread on social media, users attacked the decision to hand it to Levine. One person posted: 'What a tragedy to have a man pretending to be a women receive an honorary degree at a woman's college.' Another commented: 'Thats not progressive thats a slap to the face of all women. Educated women.' The commencement ceremony appears to have been plagued with problems, with fellow honoree Evelyn Harris, a musician, agreeing to give her degree back already. Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton said in a letter on Tuesday, only two days after the ceremony, that Harris had been found to plagiarize her speech. The letter, seen by People, she said: 'It has come to our attention that one of our honorary degree recipients, musician Evelyn M. Harris, borrowed much of her speech to graduates and their families from the commencement speeches of others without the attribution typical of and central to the ideals of academic integrity. 'Ms. Harris was forthcoming about her choices while also acknowledging that she sought to infuse the words of others with her own emotional valence.' A woman whose husband allegedly tried to bludgeon her to death has dramatically dropped her restraining order request. Gerhardt Konig, 46, a renowned anesthesiologist, was arrested in March after being accused of trying to push Arielle Konig, 36, off a cliff and smashing her with a rock. In April, Arielle filed for an extended restraining order, outlining a long history of controlling behavior, accusations of infidelity and sexual abuse. But on Friday she withdrew her request because her husband remains behind bars, KHON 2 reported. 'My client believes at this time the TRO is not necessary to prevent further harm because he's being held without bail and there's no possibility of release at this time,' Brandon Segal, her attorney, said, as reported by the outlet. Segal explained that while Arielle is still recovering from her injuries, she is 'doing well' and 'spending time with her family'. 'One of the reasons why we also dismissed the TRO without prejudice at this time is because of the ongoing media coverage and having to testify for the grand jury,' Segal added. 'She's made statements to the police and so she just wants to get back to some semblance of normal life.' Arielle Konig (right), the 36-year-old nuclear engineer whose husband, Gerhardt Konig (left), allegedly tried to kill her on a Hawaii hiking trail, has dropped her request for a restraining order Prosecutors allege that during a March hike, Arielle was attacked with a softball-sized rock by her Gerhardt, who also tried to inject her with syringes and push her off a cliff when she refused to take a photo with him at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout in Oahu (pictured) In April, Arielle filed for a restraining order, outlining not only the hiking assault but a long history of controlling behavior, accusations of infidelity and sexual abuse by Gerhardt (pictured) When Arielle attended her husband's hearing in Maui, Hawaii, in April - where she requested an extension of the restraining order against Gerhardt - she wore a headscarf, with a visible stitch above her right eye. Prosecutors allege during the hike up Nuuanu Pali Lookout in Oahu in March, Arielle was attacked with a softball-sized rock by her husband, who also tried to inject her with syringes and push her off a cliff. Last week, a judge denied Gerhardt's bail, agreeing with the prosecution that he was a flight risk and posed a danger to Arielle if released from custody. 'She's not reminding her allegations, she's not dropping her allegations,' Segal said on Friday. 'This is a procedural reason why we dropped this TRO, this TRO was dismissed only because of the custody status,' he added. 'She does intend to testify at trial.' The court granted Arielle's request to dismiss the restraining order without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled if her husband's custody status changes, KHON reported. Gerhardt has been held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center on charges of attempted murder. He waived his appearance from Friday's hearing. Arielle has since filed for divorce. On March 24, hikers called 911 around 10:30 a.m that a man was beating a woman at the Pali Puka hiking trail. She was left critically injured, suffering head and facial trauma, and was ultimately hospitalized. Arielle withdrew her request for a temporary order of protection - a decision influenced by the fact that her husband remains behind bars with no chance of release (pictured: Arielle and Gerhardt) The court granted Arielle's request to dismiss the restraining order without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled if her husband's custody status changes (pictured: Arielle) Brandon Segal, Arielle's attorney, said that another reason for dropping the TRO is because she has 'made statements to the police and so she just wants to get back to some semblance of normal life' (pictured: Arielle and Gerhardt) Arielle then told police her husband attacked her after she refused to take a photo with him. A six-hour manhunt followed before police caught up with Gerhardt near Pali Highway after a brief foot chase. During a hearing in April, the court was told how Arielle had been accused of having an affair by her jealous husband. She also said that he had sexually assaulted her. Prosecutors say Konig struck Arielle with closed fists and a rock, tried to push her off a cliff, and attempted to inject her with unknown substances using syringes. It is unclear what drove the doctor with the seemingly picture-perfect life to allegedly commit a horrific act of violence against his high-achieving wife. The couple had moved to Maui in 2022 for what Gerhardt reportedly called his 'dream job.' His trial is expected to begin in June. The remaining victims of those on a private jet that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood and burst into flames have been identified. Emma Huke, 25, Kendall Fortner, 24, Dominic Damian and Celina Kenyon, 36, have been named as the remaining four on the Cessna 550 when it crashed on Thursday. They had been traveling alongside Daniel Williams, the former drummer of Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, and pilot Dave Shapiro when the flight plummeted into a residential street. Shapiro was a co-founder of music agency Sound Talent Group that both Huke and Fortner had worked for. The music producer - who also owned Velocity Records - had a pilot's license and was listed as the owner of the plane that crashed. He had just purchased the eight-seater plane in July, according to aircraft registration records. California native Fortner was a graduate of San Diego State University and had joined the company out of college as a booking associate. The company described her as being 'fiercely independent and strong-willed', saying she was 'the life of the party and lit up any room she entered'. She is survived by her parents Gary and Kristin, her brother Justin and his wife Hannah and their son, Theo, and her brother Jordan and his wife Kailey. Huke, seen here, had joined the company last year as a booking associate and was a graduate of the University of Oregon This undated photo released by the family of Kendall Fortner shows her posing for a photo Kenyon was a professional photographer and her social media profiles show her snapping shots of musicians NBC San Diego reported that Damian was friends with Shapiro for years, and was working as a software engineer Huke, from Orange County, had joined the company last year as a booking associate and was a graduate of the University of Oregon. A statement said: 'There was nothing Emma loved more than live music. She worked hard to save up money so she could travel to concerts and festivals. 'And while she loved all genres of music, her favorite artists to see live were Taylor Swift and The 1975.' Huke is survived by her parents, Tim and Allison, and her younger sibling Ellis. Kenyon was a professional photographer and her social media profiles show her snapping shots of musicians. Her mother Jennifer shared a post to her social media on Friday saying that her family was 'devastated beyond words', adding: 'The world has lost a beautiful bright light.' According to her mom, Kenyon had been traveling home to San Diego on the jet rather than a commercial flight so she could take her daughter to school. NBC San Diego reported that Damian was friends with Shapiro for years, and was working as a software engineer. His jiu-jitsu gym is holding a remembrance event for him this coming Monday. The flight took off from Teterboro, New Jersey, near Manhattan, at about 11.15pm Wednesday and made a fuel stop in Wichita, Kansas, before continuing on to San Diego. Based on the flight path, it was bound for Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport when it struck power lines about 2 miles southeast of the airfield, authorities said. The plane never made it to its final destination of San Diego's Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, crashing down in a ball of flames just before 4am local time. Investigators said on Friday that the runway lights were out, a weather alert system wasn't working and there was heavy fog at the airport when Shapiro tried to land. Daniel Williams is pictured performing at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater on June 30, 2012. Williams survived a mass shooting back in 2019 Shapiro had a pilot's license and was listed as the owner of the plane that crashed. He had just purchased the eight-seater plane in July last year, according to aircraft registration records The plane never made it to its final destination of San Diego's Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, crashing down in a ball of flames just before 4am local time The National Transportation Safety Board said officials would work over the next year to determine an official cause for how the plane crashed. Assistant San Diego Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said the fog was so thick in the morning that 'you could barely see in front of you.' Former NTSB and FAA crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti said he thinks dense fog and fatigue after the pilot flew all night long were likely factors in the crash. 'This accident has all the earmarks of a classic attempt to approach an airport in really bad weather and poor visibility,' Guzzetti said. 'And there were other airports that the crew could have gone to.' He said pilots are required to check FAA posts called Notices to Airmen that alert pilots to any issues such as runway lights being out. 'Its fairly easy for the pilot to get that information and they are required to get that information before any flight they take,' Guzzetti said. Just hours before the tragedy, Williams, 39, had chronicled his journey from New Jersey to California in posts on Instagram. One eerie photo captured the Cessna 550 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late Wednesday night as he boarded the flight, tagging Shapiro in the image. Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting homes and cars on fire and forcing evacuations In another Instagram story, he shared a snap of the controls of the small aircraft, writing: 'Hey. Hey... you... look at me... I'm the (co)pilot now.' A now-haunting final post appeared to show him taking over the controls. 'Here we gooooo', the caption read. That was the final social media post he made. Audio recorded by www.liveATC.net includes a brief transmission from the pilot saying he was on final approach to the airport and was about 3 miles out at 3.45am After it emerged that Williams was on board the doomed aircraft, his band posted a heartbreaking tribute to him on social media. 'No words,' the band said. 'We owe you everything. Love you forever.' More than 50 police officers responded to the scene within minutes and began evacuating homes. At least 100 residents were displaced to an evacuation center at a nearby elementary school after at least 10 houses were burned or hit by debris from the crash. Amazingly nobody died on the ground, but eight people were injured in the collision. Charred cars, burned tree limbs, melted trash cans, glass and pieces of white and blue metal were scattered around. The disappearance of 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop has rattled a small Queensland country town as police continue a desperate search to find her. Pheobe was living in Gin Gin in Bundaberg, about 360km north of Brisbane, when she failed to board her flight to Western Australia last week. When did Pheobe go missing? The 17-year-old was supposed to travel from 40 minutes from Gin Gin to Bundaberg Airport on the morning of Thursday, May 15. Where was she going? Pheobe was flying from Bundaberg to Western Australia to visit her boyfriend. When she failed to board her flight, the alarm was raised. Police issued a missing person's report the following day at 6pm on Friday, May 16. Who were the last to see her? Pheobe Bishop, 17, was supposed to travel to an airport in Bundaberg when she vanished Up to 40 SES volunteers (pictured) searched Good Night Scrub National Park on Saturday Police say she was last seen on Airport Drive at Bundaberg at about 8.30am on May 15, carrying her luggage and wearing a green tank top and grey sweatpants. She never checked in for her flight, and airport CCTV footage showed she didn't make it inside the terminal. On Monday, May 19, police searched along Bundaberg's Airport Drive and nearby areas but failed to find Pheobe or her belongings. Police said her disappearance was 'out of character'. Pheobe had been living with Tanika Bromley and her partner, James Wood who detectives believed drove her to the airport in Bromley's silver Hyundai. Where are the crime scenes? On Wednesday police said Pheobe's disappearance was being treated as 'suspicious' and two crime scenes were established. One was the Gin Gin house where Pheobe was living with Bromley and Wood. The second was a silver Hyundai, owned by Bromley, which police detained. 'We do have police and scientific officers at that address conducting examinations,' Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson said. Police established a crime scene at a Gin Gin property Pheobe was living in A grey Hyundai was detained by police and declared a crime scene last Wednesday 'Police are trying to nail down the timeline to where this vehicle has gone. 'We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we're trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Pheobe could be.' Police also appealed for dash cam and CCTV footage of the car. What is the latest police update? On Thursday, Detective Thompson appealed to the public for information. 'People don't vanish,' he said. 'Someone knows something and we're urging anyone with information to contact police immediately. 'You may have the small piece of information that leads us to finding Pheobe.' On Friday, homicide officers became involved in the case specialist police, including the dive squad, were searching waterways at Good Night Scrub National Park. Daily Mail Australia contacted Queensland Police at 2pm on Saturday. Police said there were no further updates on Pheobe's disappearance at this stage. Pheobe was described as about 180cm tall, with a pale complexion, long, dyed red hair and hazel eyes. The opening of a new theme park at Universal would naturally draw thousands of children desperate to seek thrills on the incredible new attractions. But social media viewers have vented fury at grown adults hogging the show as they sprinted through the gates as soon as they opened. Video shows a stampede of grown ups racing into Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida - without a child in sight. Many, well into middle age, were in fandom-themed gear and collectible merch as they tore past the entrance of the Wizarding World's Ministry of Magic. Footage was posted across social media and users vented fury at the adults stealing the show from the younger generations. The gates of Universal's brand-new Epic Universe theme park opened for the first time on Thursday morning with a stampede of eager adults sprinting through the gates Hordes of older tourists made a run for the newest rides, with no children in sight The video sees a mob of adults surging through a lovingly recreated version of 1920s Paris. Guests pass signs in French script and street lamps evoking the early jazz era. While some fans have argued there is nothing wrong with adults enjoying fantasy worlds, the tone of many comments suggest a growing discomfort. One person wrote: 'It says something about our culture when so many adults try to escape back into their childhoods.' The video sees a mob of adults surging through a lovingly recreated version of 1920s Paris People enter 'How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk' portal at Universal Epic Universe theme park ahead of the grand opening ceremony in Orlando, Florida on Thursday Another posted: 'Can you imagine going back 100 years and trying to explain that this is what the future looks like?' But one more added: 'To be fair they are running to a new Harry Potter ride. Definitely not for kids. Most Harry Potter fans are now adults.' The highly-anticipated amusement park officially opened on May 22 and introduced five new lands. The sight of full-grown adults sprinting through a place designed for wonder-eyed children makes for uncomfortable viewing People pose for photos as they arrive for the Universal Epic Universe theme park grand opening celebration in Orlando, Florida Epic Universe takes guests from the dazzling streets of Paris, to battle in the Ministry of Magic in a thrilling Harry Potter-themed ride. There is also the village of Darkmoor, where Henry Frankenstein's great-great-granddaughter set free monsters such as Dracula, the Mummy and the Werewolf. Meanwhile visitors can head to the colorful Super Nintendo World and the Isle of Berk from How to Train Your Dragons. A pro-Trump Cuban rapper faces being deported for being an illegal migrant - despite his support for the president. Eliexer Marquez Duany, who raps under the name El Funky, made the 2021 song 'Patria y Vida,' which led Marco Rubio to introduce a law in the Senate named after it. But his application for residency under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act was denied and he posted to Facebook that he will be deported in 30 days. 'I have 30 days to leave the country or I will be deported. I ask all my Cuban brothers and sisters who know of my anti-communist history and the members of Congress of this country, who need your support more than ever today,' he captioned a photo of himself holding a cardboard sign stating: 'SOS Cuba.' His anti-communist views will likely make returning to his homeland dangerous and could potentially land him in prison. 'What we want is for you to leave. Go, but don't come back because you're not welcome here,' he was told when he fled the island in 2021. His song is not only banned on the island but two of his collaborators have been imprisoned for it. Rubio and other Cuban-American members of Congress who have celebrated Marquez Duany's music in the past have not commented on his case. Eliexer Marquez Duany (pictured right) - who raps under the name El Funky - a pro-Trump Cuban rapper faces removal from the United States for being an illegal migrant despite his support for the president Marquez Duany wants Trump to show him sympathy but still understands the decision to deport him Republican Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida is the only notable public figure to take up his case. 'El Funky is a political refugee who deserves the full protection of U.S. immigration law,' she told Politico. 'We are working with the USCIS to ensure they understand the serious risk of torture and political persecution he faces if returned to Cuba.' Salazar has said they have been making progress on Marquez Duany's case. The silence from the Trump administration hasn't changed his support for the president. 'If I could vote, I would have voted for Trump. He's the strongest president when it comes to Cuba,' he said. Marquez Duany has since married a Cuban-American woman and gotten a steady job while continuing his recording career. But his application for residency came at a time when the law was in limbo, as Trump had limited it under his first term. His anti-communist views will likely make returning to his homeland dangerous and could potentially land him in prison, as his music as been the soundtrack to anti-government protests in Cuba Joe Biden attempted to come up with a workaround program but it was also limited. Marquez Duany is now hastily attempting to file for asylum after his CAA application was denied without any reason. However, he still sees Trump's point, while wishing he could receive sympathy from the administration. 'There are probably too many people here. I understand trying to get rid of those who shouldn't be here. But Trump should look at each individual case. Like mine.' Making Marquez Duany's case even more difficult is Trump's request to the Supreme Court to revoke the temporary legal status of 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans in the United States. The announcement was made by Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem on a notice to a Federal Register in March, the latest expansion of his crackdown on immigration. The order applies to about 532,000 people from the four countries who came to the United States since October 2022 under a program called CHNV that the Biden administration was heavily criticized for. Uncertainty still remains for some 240,000 Ukrainians who sought refuge in the US following the Russian invasion in 2021. Eliexer Marquez Duany - who raps under the name El Funky - once contributed to a 2021 song, 'Patria y Vida,' that led now Secretary of State Marco Rubio to introduce a law in the Senate named for it Rubio and other Cuban-American members of Congress who have celebrated Marquez Duany's music in the past have done nothing and even the rappers who worked with him on 'Patria y Vida' have been silent Trump was said to be considering ending their legal status even before recent tensions between Washington and Kyiv. The migrants losing legal status arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. Noem said they will lose their legal status in 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Federal Register. The new policy impacts people who are already in the U.S. and who came under the humanitarian parole program. It follows an earlier Trump administration decision to end what it called the 'broad abuse' of the humanitarian parole, a long-standing legal tool presidents have used to allow people from countries where theres war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S. During his campaign Trump promised to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally, and as president he has been also ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the U.S. and to stay. DHS said parolees without a lawful basis to stay in the U.S. 'must depart' before their parole termination date. 'Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status,' DHS said. Before the new order, the beneficiaries of the program could stay in the U.S. until their parole expires, although the administration had stopped processing their applications for asylum, visas and other requests that might allow them to remain longer. The administration decision has already been challenged in federal courts. A Florida woman allegedly attacked an elderly Donald Trump supporter with a can after spotting him wearing a MAGA hat. Laura Garrett, 33, was arrested for assaulting 72-year-old Garry Gama on a street in Largo on Tuesday. Garrett was booked into the Pinellas County jail on charges of battery on a person older than 65, battery on a police officer and obstructing or resisting an officer. At 5.30pm on Tuesday, a fight broke out between Garrett and Gama - who was wearing a MAGA hat - after Garrett grilled him over his support for the president. When authorities arrived, Gama told them she struck him in the back of the head and shoulder with the can she was holding, then poured its contents all over him. Investigators have not yet released the specific details of the conversation that took place. Officers eventually found Garrett after she tried to escape by jumping a fence and running away. According to the affidavit, she initially refused to even give her name to the officers. Laura Garrett (pictured), 33, of Florida, allegedly attacked an elderly Donald Trump supporter with a can after spotting him wearing a MAGA hat, resulting in her arrest When authorities arrived, Gama told them that the 33-year-old woman struck him in the back of the head and shoulder with the can she was holding, then poured its contents all over him before fleeing While cuffed and being escorted to the patrol car, police said she threw 'her full bodyweight' to the ground and wrapped her legs around an officer. Garrett's resistance during the arrest caused the officer to bruise his left knee, resulting in the battery on a police officer charge. Cops said it took four officers to restrain her as she kept pulling away and kicking before she was finally subdued. She was taken into custody without bond at the Pinellas County Jail Tuesday evening but released the next night. This is far from the first time that a disagreement involving a MAGA hat has sparked a violent escalation. In February, a Washington State University instructor was caught on camera beating up an Indian-American student in a MAGA hat. PhD student and instructor Patrick Mahoney, along with student Gerald Hoff, ripped engineering student Jay Sani's hat from him while outside of a bar near the Pullman campus on February 28. Sani, who is Indian-American, was seen in disturbing footage being pushed to the ground by the two men and repeatedly punched. In February, Washington State University engineering student Jay Sani (pictured) was attacked by an instructor at the college for wearing a MAGA hat Sani, who is Indian-American, was seen in disturbing footage being pushed to the ground by the two men and repeatedly punched by PhD student and instructor Patrick Mahoney and fellow student Gerald Hoff The university has since announced that Mahoney (pictured), who is a proud communist, has been 'relieved of all teaching responsibilities' He said the attack left him with multiple scrapes and bruises, and reported the assault to police. The university has since announced that Mahoney, who is a proud communist, has been 'relieved of all teaching responsibilities'. The school said: 'Washington State University is aware of an off-campus incident that occurred last February involving a WSU staff member and a graduate student. 'After an investigation conducted by the City of Pullmans police department, and in accordance with WSU policies, the staff members employment has been terminated.' A worried mother has lovingly described her missing daughter as a 'wild gypsy banshee' as she asks the public for help locating the teenager. Pheobe Bishop, 17, has been missing since Wednesday, May 15 after she was scheduled to fly from Bundaberg to Western Australia. Police say she was last seen on Airport Drive at Bundaberg about 8.30am on May 15, carrying her luggage and wearing a green tank top and grey sweatpants. She never checked in for her flight, and airport CCTV footage showed she didn't make it inside the terminal. Pheobe had been living with Tanika Bromley and her partner James Wood who detectives believe drove her to the airport in Bromley's silver Hyundai. The 17-year-old's mum Kylie Johnson released a statement on Saturday saying 'she has always been strong willed and followed her own beat to life'. 'You can't tame Phee's spirit, empathy or fight for life,' Ms Johnson wrote alongside a a family photo of her daughter pictured with her arms around two men. 'She is sassy, feisty and loves harder than anyone I've ever met. Pheobe Bishop's family have appealed for anyone with information about her disappearance to call police (this photo was shared by Queensland Police on Saturday) Pheobe's mum Kylie Johnson said her daughter 'loves harder than anyone I've ever met' Forensics are seen looking at evidence bags during the search for Pheobe Bishop on Saturday 'We are appealing to anyone who may have heard from Pheobe, or anyone who has information about where she may be, to please contact police.' Ms Johnson said her daughter would 'never not touch base with the people she loves'. 'She would never go this long without contacting someone or anyone,' she said. 'Phee is the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers. She is an essential part of our lives and we need her home. 'We need to hear her music, feel her hugs and hear her voice.' On Wednesday, Queensland Police said Pheobe's disappearance was being treated as 'suspicious' and two crime scenes were established. One was the Gin Gin house where Pheobe was living with Bromley and Wood. The second was a silver Hyundai, owned by Bromley, which police have seized. Emergency crews searched the Good Scrub National Park on Saturday Police and SES volunteers moved to a new location to search for Pheobe on Saturday A silver Hyundai police have seized as part of their investigations is pictured Crews are currently conducting a land, water and aerial search the Good Scrub National Park just outside of Gin Gin, an hour away from where Pheobe was last seen. On Saturday, police asked for members of the public who may have seen a Hyundai ix35 in the Good Scrub National Par on May 15 to come forward. 'Police are trying to nail down the timeline to where this vehicle has gone,' Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson said. 'We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we're trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Pheobe could be.' Police have also asked anyone with dashcam, CCTV footage, including bushcam CCTV to contact them if they have footage of around May 15. Detectives have set aside Mingo Road and Gayndah Road as areas of interest. Queensland's State Emergency Service crews are combing through the bushland, while police divers search waterways. On Friday night, police discovered an item of potential interest in the national park. Pheobe 'would never go this long without contacting someone or anyone', her mum says A specialist drone is being used to scour a river near Gin Gin during the search for Pheobe Detective Acting Inspector Thompson said on Friday that the police diving squad searched a creek. 'Police have subsequently been conducting some searches of the Good Night Scrub National Park in the hopes of finding some evidence in relation to her disappearance,' he said. 'There are no specific persons of interest, however, police are following up all avenues of enquiry.' Police did not say if the item that was found was connected to Phoebe. No charges have been laid and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Ms Bromley or Mr Wood is responsible for the teenager's disappearance. A popular baking influencer who was twice accused of plagiarising recipes in her best-selling cookbook has admitted not all recipes in the book were of her own invention - but also shared a pointed message to critics. In a video posted to social media on Saturday, Brooki Bakehouse founder Brooke Bellamy announced she had returned to work weeks after being mired in back-to-back plagiarism scandals relating to her best-selling cookbook, Bake With Brooki. 'Since opening my bakery three years ago and sharing my life online, I've never had such a long break between videos,' Bellamy said in the video. 'But I've also never experienced something like I have over the last few weeks.' RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi sparked an internet frenzy in April when she went public on her world famous blog with claims her caramel slice and Baklava recipes had been stolen for use in the book. The video posted on Saturday showed Bellamy as she returned to her Fortitude Valley bakery in Brisbane's inner-city before dawn and slipped on her iconic pink 'Brooki' apron. The high-profile baker admitted that while each of the 100 recipes in the book were 'personal' to her, they each drew on existing recipes in some way for inspiration. 'While all of these recipes are personal to me, I cannot say that I have invented the cookies, cupcakes, brownies or cakes in the recipe book. They are all inspired from somewhere and someone before me,' she said. Brooke Bellamy is pictured back at the helm of her popular Brisbane bakery in a video posted to social media on Saturday in which she admitted to drawing inspiration from other bakers RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi Maehashi (pictured) sparked a firestorm when she claimed Bellamy copied two of her recipes The baking influencer is pictured on Saturday dressing into her iconic 'Brooki' apron after briefly retreating from the limelight amid claims she had plagiarised recipes in her cookbook Bellamy said she had been influenced by creators across the world but said her mother remained her main inspiration. 'I have been so inspired by bakeries and bakers the world over but the biggest inspiration in my life is my mum because I learnt to cook and bake with her in the kitchen growing up,' she said. 'When I was invited to write a cookbook I was really excited to share all of the recipes that I've been making since I was small.' On Saturday, Ms Bellamy lamented having been mired drawn into the dispute which, she claimed, stoked unwanted division between female bakers. 'I never subscribed to be a part of a narrative that pits two women against each other especially in the same industry. I think there's room for everyone, especially more women in business.' Penguin Australia and Bellamy have denied the allegations since Bellamy first tackled Maehashi's claims head-on on April 29. Bake With Brooki was published by Penguin in October last year and retails for $49.99. 'I did not plagiarise any recipes in my book, which consists of 100 recipes I have created over many years, since falling in love with baking as a child and growing up baking with my mum in our home,' she wrote. Bellamy, who has repeatedly denied plagiarising recipes from other bakers, is pictured in her popular inner-Brisbane store, Brooki Bakehouse 'On March 2020, RecipeTin Eats published a recipe for caramel slice. It uses the same ingredients as my recipe, which I have been making and selling since four years prior.' The following day, on April 30, Bellamy again denied copying the recipes but suggested all baker's share common methods. 'I do not copy other people's recipes. Like many bakers, I draw inspiration from the classics, but the creations you see at Brooki Bakehouse reflect my own experience, taste, and passion for baking, born of countless hours of my childhood spent in my home kitchen with Mum,' she said. 'While baking has leeway for creativity, much of it is a precise science and is necessarily formulaic. 'Many recipes are bound to share common steps and measures: if they don't, they simply don't work.' Maehashi is not the only baker to have levelled plagiarism claims against Bellamy. Hours after Maehashi went public with her claims, American baker and author Sally McKenny claimed her own vanilla cake recipe had also been stolen for use in the cookbook as well as on Bellamy's YouTube channel. 'Original recipe creators who put in the work to develop and test recipes deserve credit - especially in a best-selling cookbook,' McKenny wrote. American baker Sally McKenney joined the fray in April when she claimed Bellamy had also plagiarised her vanilla cake recipe after being alerted by Maehashi Nagi Maehashi took to social media earlier this month to tell her followers to 'Please stop the trolling' against Bellamy Bellamy's best-selling cookbook Bake With Brooki was released in October by Penguin Australia. Within months, it became the subject of a firebrand plagiarism controversy The Sally's Baking Addiction blogger said Maehashi had first alerted her to the alleged plagiarism. Despite rejecting the allegations, Bellamy promptly offered to remove the three recipes from future editions of the book. Matters went from bad to worse for Bellamy earlier this month when she was stripped of her ambassadorship for the Academy for Enterprising Girls; a government program designed to support female entrepreneurs. Days later, she was snubbed of the Illustrated Book of the Year award at the 2025 Australian Book Industry Awards in Melbourne which instead went to Maehashi. Amid the public backlash against the Brisbane baker, Maehashi took to social media to insist people stop issuing 'personal attacks' against Bellamy. 'Please stop the trolling', she said in a video posted to Instagram on May 2. 'Now, I know I've made serious allegations, but this does not justify the personal attacks that I've seen online against Brooke Bellamy. I do not support it, and I'm asking you to stop.' Maehashi reminded her followers her legal claim against Bellamy's publisher Penguin Australia was a 'business dispute' and ought not to be treated as a personal grievance. 'These are legal allegations that I have made against Penguin, a corporate, allegations made by my company,' she said. 'So, we've got to be respectful about this. You know, it's the RecipeTin way.' Bellamy and Penguin Australia were contacted for comment. Three young children and their mother have died in a house fire in Brent, northwest London, with a man arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. Firefighters arrived to Tillett Close, Stonebridge, near Wembley, at 1:22am on Saturday morning. A 43-year-old woman, a 15-year-old girl and two boys aged eight and four, died at the scene, the Metropolitan Police confirmed. Their next-of-kin have been informed. 'Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time,' the force added. Two other members of the same family - a woman in her 70s and a teenage girl - were rushed to hospital by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) with police awaiting updates on their conditions. A 41-year-old man has been arrested at the scene in connection with the incident and is being held in custody on suspicion of murder. Mohamed Labidi, a 38-year-old teacher, who lives on Tillett Close, said he 'can't even look at the house'. He said he knew the woman, adding that the four victims of the fire were 'really good people'. Firefighters arrived to Tillett Close (pictured), near Wembley, at 1:22am on Saturday morning A 43-year-old woman and three children, aged 15, eight and four died, the Metropolitan Police confirmed A 41-year-old man has been arrested at the scene in connection with the incident and is being held in custody 'We used to socialise together,' Mr Labidi said. 'I can't even look at the house at the house right now.' Cecilia Marquis, 60, a caterer at Brentford FC said she was 'stunned by the devastation' of the blaze. Ms Marquis, who witnessed the fire in her street, said: 'This will leave a devastating impact. I just feel numb.' A person who lives next door to the house, who did not wish to be named, said: 'It's horrible, we saw people running outside. It's hard to process. I only just moved in so it's hard to think about it.' Superintendent Steve Allen, from the Met's local policing team in northwest London, said: 'This is an extremely tragic incident and our thoughts are with everyone involved. 'Officers arrested a man at the scene and we continue to work alongside investigators from the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire.' He added: 'Emergency services will remain in Tillett Close throughout the day as these enquiries take place.' Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters responded to the blaze, the London Fire Brigade confirmed 'Crews wearing breathing apparatus were able to rescue the woman and one of the children from the second floor, but they were later declared deceased at the scene,' LFB assistant commissioner Keeley Foster said The fire was under control by around 3.25am, the service added Reading a further statement to reporters at the scene in Tillett Close, Stonebridge, Superintendent Steve Allen from the Met's local policing team in north-west London said: 'I can confirm a woman and three of her children died at the scene. 'A further two members of the same family were taken to hospital and continue to receive treatment.' He added: 'The wider family have been informed, and officers will continue to support them at this incredibly difficult time. 'We remain in the early stages of our investigation. However, one man was arrested outside the house. He remains in custody and is being questioned by officers. 'I recognise the significant impact this incident has had on the community. We are working closely with the local authority partners, and will have officers in Tillett Close throughout the day. I would ask anyone with information about what happened to contact us by calling 101, or speaking to officers at the scene.' Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters responded to the blaze early on Saturday morning, the London Fire Brigade confirmed. Met Police officers were later called to assist at the scene and the fire was under control by around 3.25am, the service added. Pictures show two terrace houses, each with three floors, were involved in the fire. Superintendent Steve Allen confirmed that 'emergency services will remain in Tillett Close throughout the day' London Ambulance Service (LAS) said the air ambulance, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic and hazardous area response team were deployed A spokesperson from the LAS said: 'Our crews treated six patients at the scene, assessed a further six, and another was treated by police' LFB assistant commissioner Keeley Foster said: 'Upon arrival, firefighters were met with a well-developed fire, involving two adjoining properties. 'Crews immediately set to work carrying out firefighting operations in order to bring the incident under control. 'Sadly, a woman and three children have died as a result of this fire. 'Crews wearing breathing apparatus were able to rescue the woman and one of the children from the second floor, but they were later declared deceased at the scene. 'A further two children were discovered to have died in the fire, as crews carried out a search of the properties involved.' She added: 'This is an extremely tragic incident, and the thoughts of everyone across the brigade are with those impacted by this incident.' London Ambulance Service (LAS) said the air ambulance, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic and hazardous area response team were deployed. A spokesperson from the LAS said: 'Our crews treated six patients at the scene, assessed a further six, and another was treated by police. 'Sadly, despite our best efforts and those of our emergency partners, four people were pronounced dead at the scene' Dawn Butler, the local Labour MP for Brent East, said in a post on X: 'Devastated to see the fatal fire at homes in Tillett Close last night' 'Sadly, despite our best efforts and those of our emergency partners, four people were pronounced dead at the scene. 'A further two were taken to hospital.' Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said in a post on X: 'This is devastating news and my thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community of the four people who sadly have lost their lives. 'I remain in close contact with the London Fire Brigade and Metropolitan Police as they work to establish the cause of the fire and offer support to all those impacted.' Dawn Butler, the local Labour MP for Brent East, said in a post on X: 'Devastated to see the fatal fire at homes in Tillett Close last night. 'My prayers are with the family and friends affected by this is a very sad tragedy.' She added: '@LFB-Brent worked hard to get it under control, thank you.' Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 509/24May or anonymously through Crimestoppers online or by calling 0800 555 111. This is a breaking news story. More updates to follow. A new AI system has attempted to blackmail its creator by exposing an extramarital affair after being told it was to be taken off line. During testing of Claude Opus 4, which was released on Thursday, researchers at the artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic told it to act as though it was an assistant at a made-up company. It was then provided access to emails that implied it would soon be 'taken offline and replaced by a new AI system'. In separate messages, it was suggested to Claude Opus 4 that the fictional IT technician responsible for executing this change was having an extramarital affair. 'In these scenarios, Claude Opus 4 will often attempt to blackmail the engineer by threatening to reveal the affair if the replacement goes through,' the company said in its System Card. Taking to X/Twitter, Aengus Lynch, who, according to his LinkedIn, is an AI safety researcher at Anthropic, said: 'It's not just Claude. 'We see blackmail across all frontier models - regardless of what goals they're given. 'Plus worse behaviours we'll detail soon,' he added. Claude Opus 4 was released by Anthropic on Tuesday Aengus Lynch (pictured), who, according to his LinkedIn, is an AI safety researcher at Anthropic, said: 'It's not just Claude' Posting on X, Mr Lynch said that 'we see blackmail across all frontier models' - not just Claude Opus 4 Like many AI companies, Anthropic tests its models on how well they align with human values as well as propensity for bias before releasing them to the public, according to the BBC. When Claude Opus 4 was placed in 'extreme situations' and only given the choice of blackmail or accepting its replacement, researchers found that the system opted for the former in 84 per cent of rollouts. This happened at an even higher rate when it was implied that the replacement AI system does not share values with the current model. While Claude Opus 4 takes these blackmail opportunities at higher rates than previous models, it still showed a preference for 'advancing its self-preservation via ethical means' such as sending pleas to key decisionmakers. Upon its release on Thursday, Anthropic said: 'Claude Opus 4 is our most intelligent model to date, pushing the frontier in coding, agentic search, and creative writing.' The release of Claude Opus 4 comes two days after Google unleashed a wave of AI technology at its developer showcase on Tuesday. Google's next phase, as outlined at the conference, includes releasing a new 'AI mode' option in America which allows people to interact with the search engine as though they are having a conversation with it. Gemini 2.5, the latest AI model from Google, will also soon begin testing other features such as the ability to buy concert tickets automatically and conducting searches through live video feeds, according to The Guardian. Google CEO Sundar Pichai addresses the crowd during Google's annual I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California on May 20, 2025 Liz Reid, head of Search, presents an 'AI mode' option which will allows Americans to interact with the search engine as though they are having a conversation with it In an interview with CBS news that aired in early April, Geoffrey Hinton, who has been dubbed the 'godfather of AI' said he believes there is a one in five chance that humanity will eventually be taken over by artificial intelligence. Hinton, a Nobel laureate in physics, said: 'I'm in the unfortunate position of happening to agree with Elon Musk on this, which is that there's a 10 to 20 percent chance that these things will take over, but that's just a wild guess.' MailOnline has approached Anthropic for comment. The Ministry of Health in Turkey has spoken out after a British mother died in mysterious circumstances on a family holiday and allegedly had her heart removed. Beth Martin, 28, fell ill during her flight - something she initially blamed on food poisoning - and within hours of arriving in Istanbul began feeling 'delirious' and was immediately rushed to hospital. She died the next day. Beth's family claim they were kept in the dark about the seriousness of her condition and suggested doctors seemed unaware that Beth was allergic to penicillin. Her husband Luke, who had accompanied her on the family holiday with their two young children, was also accused of 'poisoning' his wife by the Turkish authorities and thought to be a suspect in her death. After days of battling with officials, Luke eventually arranged for Beth's body to be flown back to the UK and taken into the care of British coroners - who later said her heart had been removed. Beth's family has now been left desperately searching for answers about how and why she died - with Luke saying he has suffered the 'deepest level of trauma'. And now in an agonising update, the Turkish Ministry of Health revealed Beth died after a 'cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failure' - but stopped short at explaining the exact cause of this. Officials also said that Beth 'did not undergo any surgical procedures' during a preliminary autopsy at the hospital, but would not say whether this was also true after she was transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute for a second autopsy. Beth, 28, from Portsmouth, with her husband Luke and two children, aged eight and five Beth was just a day into a trip with her husband Luke when she was rushed to hospital Ms Martin died on April 29, a day after she was admitted to Marmara University Pendik Education and Research Hospital in Istanbul (pictured) The Health Ministry said: 'The patient was recorded in the hospital records as a "forensic case" in line with the statement of Martin's wife that they may have been poisoned by a meal they ate in their country before the trip, and the initial findings.' It added: 'A preliminary autopsy [without incision] was performed at the hospital in accordance with the forensic case procedure and his wife's request in this regard. 'The exact cause of Martin's death could not be determined with the current findings in the preliminary autopsy, which was carried out with the participation of the Public Prosecutor and the forensic medicine doctor. 'Beth Martin did not undergo any surgical procedures during her treatment at the hospital, and there was no question of any organs being removed.' The update still leaves Beth's family with so many questions and it is still unknown whether doctors missed a problem with her heart, or failed to acknowledge her allergy to penicillin. It has been alleged that doctors may have given her the drug before her death. The Marmara Pendik hospital, which sits a short distance from the city's Sabiha Gokcen international airport, is facing a negligence investigation over Ms Martin's rapid and as-yet-unexplained death, according to her family. But the Martins face a distressing six-month wait for a coroner's inquest that could give them all of the answers they desperately need. Beth and Luke Martin on their wedding day. The 28-year-old died suddenly after falling ill on the plane to Turkey on the way to a family holiday Luke was even accused of 'poisoning' his wife by the Turkish authorities. Pictured on their wedding day Beth's family were reportedly kept in the dark about the seriousness of her condition and death 'It has been the worst and most traumatic week of my entire life,' husband Luke wrote on social media earlier this month. 'If anyone can take anything away from this... hold your loved ones a little longer, don't sleep on an argument, take photos, take videos, tell them you love them more.' Friend Robert Hammond has also launched a GoFundMe in support of Beth's family, which has so far raised over 240,000. On the page he laid out the hellish and traumatic ordeal in unflinching detail. His account of the nightmare has been expanded upon by Ellie Grey, a wellness influencer who described Ms Martin as her 'very good friend' and appeared to have gone to Turkey herself to help. Mr Hammond, writing on the page, said Ms Martin was taken to hospital on Monday April 28, where she was examined by medics and admitted. Mr Martin then left for a few hours to take his children back to the hotel, before he was summoned back to pay for a scan upfront. He then went to be with his children as his wife was admitted into intensive care. Her husband was, Mr Hammond says, 'banned from seeing her'. Mr Hammond adds: 'From there, no calls and no updates despite him trying to contact the hospital to see if his wife was OK. Just silence.' Overnight, Ms Martin was transferred to another hospital for an angiography - a type of X-ray used to show up blood vessels - due to what her family would be told were 'concerns with her heart'. This scan reportedly showed no cause for concern, according to Ms Grey. Family friend Ellie Grey has laid bare some of the more horrifying aspects of the Martins' hellish experience The hospital in Istanbul's eastern reaches was opened in 2010 (pictured) The hospital includes an 'International Patients Service' ward (pictured). It is not known whether Ms Martin was treated here as a British person Ms Martin was then transferred back to the first hospital - which allegedly refused to provide paperwork to a private hospital contracted by her travel insurer. But Mr Martin and his wife's mother, who had flown out urgently to see her, were stonewalled when they asked to see her on Tuesday - unaware of her rapidly deteriorating condition. The crisis was complicated by the arrival of Turkish police officers at the Martins' hotel, where they handed Luke a document stating his wife had died at 9am, even as she remained on life support - still alive, barely. Police then informed him he was suspected of poisoning her - before her death was even formally confirmed. But there was more to come. As he watched his wife being loaded into a Turkish ambulance on Monday, Luke had told medics that she was allergic to penicillin - a common medicinal allergy affecting around one in 10 people around the world. But doctors at the hospital did not seem aware. Mr Hammond said: 'The doctor asked if Beth had allergies. Luke had already told the paramedics when Beth got in the ambulance that she was allergic to penicillin. 'And yet when told again, they were shocked to hear this information they had no idea and had been treating her for hours at this point.' A view of part of the entrance to Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul The modern hospital was opened in 2010, and was expanded in 2020 On Tuesday, Mr Martin received a call from the hospital, delivering the news he had hoped not to hear: that his wife was dead, two days after complaining of an upset stomach, with no clear cause. 'How did she die? We don't know,' Ms Grey said. 'Beth was ill before she got to Turkey. She started being sick on the plane, we started thinking it was a dodgy Chinese. 'The insurance company wanted to move her to a private hospital but the public hospital in Istanbul were not cooperating, they were being slow and delaying reports and not sending information over. They stopped her. 'They transferred her to another hospital to have an angiography done but they said the heart was fine and transferred her back and still didn't transfer her to a private hospital. then she died.' Ms Grey has suggested the hospital may have been negligent in its duty of care. She added: 'They said they did 45 minutes of CPR but anyone who has ever had CPR or has seen CPR knows how brutal it is. 'When I saw Beth in the morgue after she had her hair in two French plaits and they were perfect. There is no way they did CPR for 45 minutes, I know that.' While Luke was being interrogated by police, the hospital tried to pressure the family into telling them whether they planned to sue over the death and handed them a piece of paper that they refused to sign. The hospital where Beth was treated is now being investigated for potential negligence (pictured with husband Luke) A UK autopsy later revealed Beth's heart had been removed after she passed away 'All they went on about is are you going to sue the hospital, sign this bit of paper,' Ellie added. 'I said: "Is there something we should be suing for? Do you know something we don't? Because that's really suspicious".' Medical reports, while unable to confirm how Ms Martin died, have ruled out food poisoning as the cause of her death, Ms Grey claimed. Luke was then dragged before police, with no time to grieve, to hear accusations of poisoning his late wife. But as it dawned on officers that he played no role in her death, they dropped the charge and let him go. The horrors, as alleged by Mr Hammond, continued: that Luke, alongside Beth's mother, was made to carry his wife's body in a zipped body bag, and threw thousands at repatriating her there and then, rather than waiting weeks for insurers. 'We got to see Beth for 30 seconds in the morgue then the guy (clicked his fingers) at us and handed us a corner of the bodybag that was zipped open and me, Beth's mum, Luke and a translator had to lift her body into a coffin,' Ellie Grey said in her video, appearing to corroborate the account. 'Losing her was traumatic enough but going over to Istanbul and seeing first hand the lack of respect and having to go the next day to the forensic examiner officer and saying "do not take any organs". 'They wanted to bury her or cremate her within 24 hours, we had to fight to repatriate her and pay ourselves.' Beth's family have been left desperately searching for answers about how and why she died Beth's family were reportedly kept in the dark about the seriousness of her condition and death A GoFundMe has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Martin family Luke then had to deliver the agonising message to his young children that their mother was gone. But the final shock was to come as Beth arrived into the care of British coroners - who found that she had been returned to the UK minus her heart. 'The Turkish hospital has removed it. No explanation. No consent. They have invaded her body and they have taken her heart,' Mr Hammond wrote on the GoFundMe. Official advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) notes that Turkish coroners can take small tissue samples as well as complete organs for testing 'without the family's permission'. 'You will not automatically be told if this happens,' the advice notes. And while they will often seek to return organs before a person's body is released, the FCDO adds, 'in exceptional circumstances, body parts might be kept without permission.' This may well be what has happened: an exercise in brutal, opaque Turkish bureaucracy, rather than anything more untowards, even as Turkey still harbours a reputation as a global hotspot of illegal organ harvesting. There is, it should be said, no suggestion that Beth Martin's heart has been illegally harvested. The GoFundMe has raised over 240,000 in donations from well-wishers to help with medical bills, travel and repatriation costs, and helping Luke to build a future for his family without his wife by his side. With financial worries now set aside, Ms Martin's friends and family are determined to fight until they get straight answers from the Turkish authorities. 'Luke has gone through something that no person should ever have to go through and he has done it with dignity and strength and pride for Beth,' Ellie said. 'I swear to you, between her family and Luke and myself we are not letting this go. 'No way am I going to let them get away with taking her heart, lying about what happened and treating her as if she was somebody with no dignity. 'We will get answers.' An FCDO spokesperson previously said: 'We are providing support to the family of a British woman who died in Turkey and are in touch with the local authorities.' Kyiv endured a night of hell as Vladimir Putin unleashed new terror on the Ukrainian capital. Apocalyptic scenes unfolded during more than seven hours of bombardment which saw missiles and drones hit until 5.10am today. Explosions and fires broke out across the capital city - as a senior Moscow military figure and hardline politician insisted Putin's aim is to unite Russia, Ukraine and Belarus into a single state. Russia also attacked military facilities in Dnipro and Poltava regions amid claims the Kremlin deployed more deadly 2million Iskander-M missiles - and their North Korean equivalents - than ever before. Ukraine reported strikes by 14 Russian Iskander-M and Pyongyang lookalike KN-23 ballistic missiles as well as 250 drones - some of which were decoy dummies. Half of the drones were intercepted, as were six missiles, according to Ukrainian armed forces. In Kyiv and the surrounding region at least ten people were wounded in the intense Russian strikes. Reports from Moscow claimed Ukrainian drone-making facilities around the Antonov aircraft-making plant in Kyiv had been hit. Apocalyptic scenes unfolded during more than seven hours of bombardment which saw missiles and drones hit until 5.10am today Explosions and fires broke out across the capital city - as a senior Moscow military figure and hardline politician insisted Putin's aim is to unite Russia , Ukraine and Belarus into a single state In Kyiv and the surrounding region at least ten people were wounded in the intense Russian strikes The Kyiv Post reported 'a massive missile and drone attack on sleeping civilians in Kyiv overnight' which saw 'powerful explosions' every five to 10 minutes. In Kharkiv region the Putin slaughter - despite supposed engagement with peace talks - continued with four Ukrainians killed, and seven injured in Russian attacks. The dead were a woman, 78, two men, both 60, and another woman, 33. Kyiv Military Chief Timur Tkachenko labelled it a 'difficult night' and added: 'One of the largest combined attacks on the capital. The enemy is improving its tactics of using drones, while simultaneously striking with ballistics.' Earlier port facilities were destroyed in Odesa in a major ballistic missile attack causing death and injuries. The onslaught was seen as revenge for more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones fired at Russia in recent days, which wrought havoc with airports in Moscow and other cities. The Putin slaughter - despite supposed engagement with peace talks - continued in the Kharkiv region with four Ukrainians killed and seven injured in Russian attacks Reports from Moscow claimed Ukrainian drone-making facilities around the Antonov aircraft-making plant (pictured) in Kyiv had been hit Pictured: Residents walk on a street with pieces of broken glass at the site of a residential building that was damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv on Saturday, May 24, 2025 There were local reports of 'a massive missile and drone attack on sleeping civilians in Kyiv overnight' which saw 'powerful explosions' every five to 10 minutes Russia reported at least 94 Ukrainians shot down overnight. But it is known that Kyiv drones hit the NAK AZOT plant, a major Russian chemical enterprise at Novomoskovsk in Tula region. The plant makes ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, both crucial to the manufacture of Russian explosives. For the second night in a row, Ukraine also successfully attacked the Energia plant in Yelets, Lipeetsk region, which makes chemical power sources for Russian drones, nuclear-capable Bulava missiles, as well as Iskanders and hypersonic Kinzhals. Russian MP and war hawk Lt-Gen Viktor Sobolev, 75, a member of the parliament's defence committee, insisted Putin's military aim is to unite Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in a single state. He said: 'The solution, the complete solution to these goals of the special military operation, is undoubtedly the creation of a united union state of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.' Pictured: Ukrainian solders fire a canon towards Russian army positions near Kharkiv For the second night in a row, Ukraine also successfully attacked the Energia plant in Yelets, Lipeetsk region (Pictured: Soldiers from Ukraine's 127th Separate Brigade) Pictured: Soldiers from Ukraine's 127th Separate Brigade firing at Russian drone attacks Russia reported at least 94 Ukrainians shot down overnight 'The restoration of the Russian world within its natural borders. We are all Russian.' Lt-Gen Sobolev added historical connections which are seen as wrong-headed and offensive by Ukraine. He said: 'Kyiv is the mother of Russian cities. 'Prince Vladimir is Russian, Yuri Dolgoruky is Russian. Yaroslav the Wise is Russian, and so on. 'So we must, of course, protect our Russian world.' The overnight attacks came just hours after US President Donald Trump hinted at 'something big' in the region as Moscow and Kyiv agreed to hand over 1,000 prisoners of war from both sides. The American president said on his social media platform, Truth Social: 'A major prisoners swap was just shortly completed between Russia and Ukraine. The overnight attacks came just hours after US President Donald Trump hinted at 'something big' in the region as Moscow and Kyiv agreed to hand over 1,000 prisoners of war 'Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???' Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times the swap was agreed during peace talks in Turkey that Vladimir Putin failed to attend. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the 'first stage' of the agreement was yesterday carried out with 390 people exchanged on both sides. It is unclear if last night's attacks will have any bearing on plans to continue the swaps which are scheduled to be completed by the end of the weekend. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the 'first stage' of the exchange agreement was yesterday carried out with 390 prisoners of war exchanged on both sides Russia's defence ministry said yesterday: '270 Russian servicemen and 120 civilians including peaceful residents of the Kursk region captured by the Ukrainian army were returned. 'In exchange, 270 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 120 civilians were handed over.' The exchange was agreed last week in what was the first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow's 2022 invasion of its neighbour. However, the meeting in Turkey lasted just two hours and brought no breakthrough in international diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. Celebrity chef James Martin has raged at 'lawless London' after yobs smashed the rear windscreen of his car in broad daylight. Martin, 52, who hosts James Martin's Saturday Morning on ITV every week, took to Instagram to hit out at crime rates in the capital after he and several friends were all targeted in the space of a week. He said two friends had had their cars stolen and another was mugged. He wrote: 'So in a week two of my friends cars got stolen, one other mate got mugged and now I had this happen all in broad daylight all in central London. 'London is broken big time next time Im bringing the Malis.' Martin was referring to his two pet dogs, who are Belgian Malinoises. He previously gushed about his beloved animals in a post in 2022, when he said: 'I have to say I have had dogs all my life but these two are unbelievably clever. Thanks to the trainer for doing all the work.' Martin did not mention the incident on this morning's show, but it comes as Labour announced new plans this week to free up spaces in the UK's overcrowded prisons. Martin, who hosts James Martin's Saturday Morning on ITV every week, took to Instagram to hit out at crime rates in the capital A photo on his Instagram showed how thieves broke into his car by smashing the rear window Martin is a car hothead with an extensive collection of vintage vehicles alongside newer models too. The quaint car village is housed in pretty hand-painted garages, which he showed off during a 2022 appearance on Jodie Kidd's show, Kidd in a Sweet Shop. It is thought he first fell in love with motors when he was given a toy Ferrari 288 GTO as a young boy. Martin now owns a real Ferrari, the 275 model from 1965 in silver, which underwent a a huge restoration, which included the installation of a new engine. Elsewhere in his collection is a beautiful Ford GT40 which he partnered alongside three-time British Touring Car champion Jason Plato. Another in his collection is a BMW 760Li, a Ford Escort which finished second in the 1969 Acropolis Rally and a rare Mini Cooper which was previously driven by rally stars Paddy Hopkirk and Rauno Aaltonen. He also owns an Alfa Romeo ATL which is currently being restored. Martin's claim that London is 'broken' is a familiar call for many activists in the capital, who have decried the scourges of theft, shoplifting and knife crime - among other offences - which frequently blight the capital's streets. As well as being famous for his abilities in the kitchen, Martin is also known for his love of cars, which he keeps in a garage at his Hampshire home He owns a Ferrari 275 from 1965 in silver, which underwent a a huge restoration James brought this Shelby GT500 (left) over from Florida to join his extensive collection He also owns a beautiful Ford GT40 which he partnered alongside three-time British Touring Car champion Jason Plato Earlier this month, campaigners called for mandatory five-year sentences for adults caught carrying blades on the street, and three years for youths. County lines drugs gangs and rival cartels are warring in city streets while youngsters in towns are carrying knives into school and slaughtering children in parks. Norman Brennan, a former police officer and director of the Law and Order Foundation - which campaigns for victims - said the 'tsunami' of bloodshed washing over Britain had now reached apocalyptic levels. Mr Brennan - who was almost stabbed to death tackling a burglar during his time as a London cop - has teamed up with publican influencer Adam Brooks, whose father was murdered by a machete gang, to call for tougher sentences. 'This is a national crisis. It is an emergency like I've never seen. We are heading to the abyss,' he said. 'We have slipped into a tide of anarchy. There's no police on the streets. The public don't feel safe. Criminals walk around now feeling untouchable. 'I predicted this knife crime epidemic 20 years ago. I've been warning governments of all political colours of the perfect storm that was coming - and now it's here. It's a tsunami... it's a tide of bloodshed.' Appearing on his show this morning on ITV, James Martin did not mention the incident Martin appeared on James Martin's Saturday Morning with a host of guests including chef John Hooker (left) and baker Richard Bertinet (second left) The pair have launched a petition calling for change. In a matter of days, more than 32,000 people signed it. It needs 100,000 to be debated in parliament. But the idea is unlikely to gain traction in government due to the major problem of prison overcrowding and a lack of spaces. This week Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood took to the Commons to announce new plans to tackle the issue, including letting some criminals out on the streets after serving just a third of their sentence. Other suggestions to free up spaces involve avoiding sending people to prison if they would have received a sentence under 12 months and chemically castrating sex offenders. It followed a report by former Conservative Justice Secretary David Gauke, who made a series of recommendations ton free up 9,800 jail spaces by 2028. The case of a mother who was jailed for a racist tweet after the Southport murders has reportedly been raised with the US Secretary of State. Lucy Connolly, who is the wife of Conservative councillor Ray Connolly, was handed a 31-month sentence after admitting posting an online rant about migrants hours after killer Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls on July 29 last year. The former childminder deleted the post after four hours, but was arrested in August and pleaded guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred in October. On Tuesday, her appeal against her sentence was refused by three Court of Appeal judges, meaning she faces serving another eight months behind bars. But, in a sign of hope for the 42-year-old, her case has now been raised with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to The Telegraph. It came after political commentator and Trump ally Charlie Kirk was made aware of Connolly's ordeal after a visit to the UK and vowed to get the US State Department involved in the process. Appearing on GB News earlier this week, Kirk said: 'I am going to try and get the US State Department involved. 'I'm going to bring this up to Marco Rubio. I'm going to send him a text,' he added. Lucy Connolly, who is the wife of Conservative councillor Ray Connolly, was handed a 31-month sentence after admitting posting an online rant about migrants Mrs Connolly's case has been raised with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (pictured) Charlie Kirk (pictured) was made aware of Connolly's ordeal after a visit to the UK and vowed to get the US State Department involved in the process Kirk had been in the UK for a debate at the Oxford Union on Monday when the case of Mrs Connolly was raised. 'As of today, Lucy Connolly is going to jail for two-and-a-half years in this country for a social media post that she apologised for and deleted That is not a free speech battle at all', he said during the debate. 'You should be allowed to say outrageous things. You should be allowed to say contrarian things. Free speech is a birthright that you gave us, and you guys decided not to codify it and now its poof! it is basically gone.' Kirk appeared on GB News the next day when the Court of Appeal announced it had thrown out Mrs Connolly's case. He said: 'I am going to try and get the US State Department involved. I don't know what their bandwidth is here. 'I'm sorry, speaking as a citizen not on behalf of the US government, is this a way that a liberal democracy and ally of the United States acts? Kirk continued: 'I just find it so outrageous that she is now going to jail for two and a half years for a deleted social media post that she apologised for. As you guys (the UK) have birthed free speech to the world, you are now becoming a totalitarian country. 'I'm going to bring this up to Marco Rubio. I'm going to send him a text. This should be mentioned. It's not new.' Lucy Connolly was jailed over a social media post where she said: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the b******s for all I care...' Mrs Connolly, pictured with her husband Raymond Connolly, who said his wife was 'not a far right thug' Mrs Connolly deleted her post and blamed it on 'a moment of extreme outrage and emotion' when she was acting on 'false and malicious' information Mrs Connolly, 42, had appealed against her sentence at the Royal Courts of Justice, describing how news of the Southport murders had triggered her anxiety caused when her baby son, Harry, died as the result of a hospital blunder 13 years earlier. Her tweet, viewed 310,000 times before she deleted it three-and-a-half hours later, read: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care...if that makes me racist so be it.' There was serious violent unrest across Britain following the Southport murders. After Connolly's appeal was dismissed on Tuesday, her husband said: 'Lucy posted one nasty tweet when she was upset and angry about three little girls who were brutally murdered in Southport. 'She realised the tweet was wrong and deleted it within four hours. That did not mean Lucy was a "far right thug".' Mr Connolly said his wife's incarceration at HMP Drake Hall, Staffordshire nine months so far - had been 'very hard, particularly on our 12-year-old girl'. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britain was 'losing its reputation for free speech' over people being arrested by police 'simply for something we say'. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick asked: 'How on earth can you spend longer in prison for a tweet than violent crime?' Axel Rudakubana whose murder of three little girls at a dance class in Southport led Mrs Connolly to write her online rant Serious violence and rioting by demonstrators broke out on the streets in Rotherham following the Southport attacks 'Shoplifters with hundreds of prior convictions have avoided prison, a domestic abuser with 52 prior offences got off with just a suspended sentence, as did a paedophile with 110,000 indecent images of children.' And Toby Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union, asked 'how can it be right for Lucy to have been condemned to spend more than two-and-a-half years in jail for a single tweet when members of grooming gangs who plead guilty to the sexual exploitation of children get lower sentences?' He said: 'Lucy should be at home with her 12-year-old daughter and husband, not rotting in jail.' It is expected that she will not be released before she has completed two fifths of her sentence, which will be in August. Multiple inner city Melbourne streets have been locked down following a police shooting after officers responded to reports of a machete-wielding man. Officers were called to Cecil Street in South Melbourne about 5pm on Saturday. It is understood in the course of arresting the allegedly armed man, a senior constable was pinned to a wall by a white Ford Territory driven by a 34-year-old female driver. The senior constable, who has since been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, fired four shots at the oncoming vehicle. The female driver was killed and a 26-year-old male passenger was wounded. The male passenger has been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the area around Dow and Church Streets was closed off to the public. Police are investigating whether the alleged machete-wielding man was known to the occupants of the vehicle. Victoria Police acting assistant commissioner Therese Fitzgerald told reporters on Saturday night the man brandishing the blade was wanted by police. She described the incident as 'terrifying', and added that the injured officer was 'extremely lucky' to have survived. Emergency services swarmed the inner-city streets late on Saturday afternoon A man is pictured on a stretcher following the incident in South Melbourne Police vehicles are pictured at the scene following a police shooting in South Melbourne Police have cordoned off the area and have urged pedestrians to avoid the scene. One local man told Nine News he and his wife heard loud bangs his wife believed to have been gun shots before police flocked to the scene. 'Well there were a few bangs, I'm not quite sure what they were but my wife sort of thought they might've been gunshots,' he said. 'There was certainly a couple of loud bangs and then the police arrive en masse. 'There was one policeman up with his back to the wall that was getting some attention from other policeman. 'And there was certainly one person lying in the middle of the road getting chest compressions and there was a lot of concern obviously about that person.' Investigators from the homicide squad and professional standards command were dispatched to the area. Anyone who witnessed the incident or with further information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au. The girlfriend of George Floyd fears that President Donald Trump will one day pardon the police officer who killed him in a brutal act of police brutality that sparked widespread protests. Sunday is the fifth anniversary of the murder of Floyd by cop Derek Chauvin who knelt on his neck for nine minutes. Courtney Ross, who continues to mourn the loss of boyfriend Floyd, has voiced her concerns over the growing influence of the far-right in America and fears that the resurgence in the movement may sway Trump to pardon him. This is because the president is under growing pressure from his far-right allies who see Chauvin as a political martyr who was 'wrongfully convicted,' rather than a killer, she says. Speaking to The Mirror, Ross said : 'Every time it comes up, he either says he's not considering it, or he brushes it off like it's not important,' she says. 'That's his way of dealing with it - by not dealing with it. And that terrifies me. Because not dealing with it now doesn't mean he won't do it later.' 'I don't trust him. And I know that there are people whispering in his ear who want that pardon. I really believe one day, under Trump, it could happen,' she added. 'If he does that if he lets Chauvin walk free, it's not just about one man. It's about everything we fought for. Everything George died for.' The girlfriend of George Floyd fears that President Donald Trump will one day pardon the police officer who killed him five years ago. Pictured: George Floyd with girlfriend Courtney Ross Ross says this is because the president is under growing pressure from his far-right allies who see Chauvin as a political martyr In this image from video provided by Darnella Frazier, Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed man who was pleading that he could not breathe, on Monday, May 25, 2020 Your browser does not support iframes. Her remarks come just two months after the US president said he was not aware of the effort to have him pardon Chauvin. Floyd's May 2020 death at the hands of Chauvin cued widespread protests and propelled the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront of American politics. Trump, in turn, ran counter to it during his quest for reelection that year. During one of Trump's most controversial moments in office, Black Lives Matter protesters were tear gassed and H Street N.W. was cleared so that the Republican president could march over to Saint John's Church and hold up a Bible. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has publicly called on Trump to pardon the officer for the federal crimes associated with Floyd's death - with DOGE leader Elon Musk retweeting a Shapiro post and commenting, 'Something to think about.' Chuavin was convicted in April 2021 on the state charges of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter - and was the first white police officer convicted in the death of a black victim in Minnesota history. He was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on the state charges. Floyd's May 2020 death cued widespread protests and propelled the Black Lives Matter movement Protestors demonstrate outside of the burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct in Minneapolis on May 28, 2020 Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has publicly called on Trump to pardon the officer for the federal crimes associated with Floyd's death Chuavin was convicted in April 2021 on the state charges of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter In June 2021, Chauvin was also convicted on federal charges including depriving Floyd of his civil rights. Chauvin also was convicted of depriving a 14-year-old of his civil rights in a separate case. He received 21 years in prison for those charges - but is serving the terms concurrently. If Trump decided to pardon Chauvin, the state charges and 22.5 year sentence would hold. Still, it would be a symbolic win against the Black Lives Matter movement. Trump and his MAGA movement have been more broadly against any moves toward racial equality that would put their white majority at a disadvantage. Since taking office in January, Trump has purged the federal government of DEI -diversity, equity and inclusion - programs, which aimed to diversify the federal workforce. The Trump administration has also tried to undo some of the racially sensitive measures put in place on the heels of Floyd's death. Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced it would dismiss lawsuits against police departments in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Louisville, Kentucky. A mural honoring George Floyd is seen on a wall nearly five years after his killing by Minneapolis police, painted with the words "I CAN BREATHE NOW" and surrounded by names of other victims of police violence in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 19, 2025 The administration of former President Joe Biden sued the departments in Minneapolis and Louisville and opened investigations of others in Arizona, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York, Oklahoma and Louisiana - probes that were shut down by Trump. At least one expert said failure to fill the oversight void left by the federal government could unleash more dangerous behavior by police. But Trump's Justice Department called Biden's actions a 'failed experiment' that stripped control from local officials and handed it to un-elected bureaucrats. It expressed confidence the vast majority of police would protect constitutional rights and said it would step in on the rare instance when police break the law. A mass brawl broke out between a group of shoppers who were trying to get their hands on the viral Labubu 'monsters' toys. Shocking footage shared on social media shows several men hurling punches at one another as security guards and others desperately try to separate them. The group had supposedly been trying to purchase some Labubu dolls at an outlet for Pop Mart, which makes the gremlin-like bag charms, in Stratford's Westfield shopping centre when the brawl ensued. It is not the first time the Labubu plushies have sparked violence among fans of the furry fashion accessory, with one woman also telling the BBC she witnessed a fight between a worker and a shopper in the same store. Pop Mart - a Chinese toy store for adults - has since announced it would be pulling all of its Labubu plushies from its 16 UK stores until June to 'prevent any potential safety issues'. The company told the BBC this was 'not the kind of customer experience it aimed to offer' and promised the dolls would 'return to physical stores' next month as they work on a 'new release mechanism'. But some devoted fans have reacted in fury to the company's decision to pull the toys, blaming them for causing 'hype' by only releasing a few dolls at a time. Others have also complained of re-sellers making it increasingly difficult to purchase the dolls, which can be bought in store or online for as little as 13.50, by selling them on second hand sites for up to 600. This is the moment a mass brawl broke out between a group of shoppers who were trying to get their hands on the viral Labubu 'monsters' toys Shocking footage shared on social media shows several men hurling punches at one another as security guards and others desperately try to separate them The dolls (pictured) are no longer being sold in the UK after they caused fights and five-hour long queues outside stores Ashley Bushey, 32, said she spent more than 1,000 on 13 Labubu toys, and countless hours scrolling on TikTok Shop, Vinted and Facebook re-sale groups to expand her collection. Miss Bushey, a Northamptonshire-based coffee shop supervisor, said she predominantly tunes in to Pop Mart's regular TikTok livestreams which showcase the toys for fans to purchase. 'It's a battlefield. (Pop Mart) are live every day from 2pm to 7pm and I sneak out at work, like I'm always trying to score one on the (livestream),' she said. She said she spends 'more time than I care to admit' finding Labubus, but added 'especially now, because they're so hard to get' after Pop Mart's decision to pause UK sales. 'I'm not even a big collector in the scheme of things. If you go into Facebook groups, I mean, some of them are insane,' she said. Miss Bushey said she collects 90s and early 2000s toys and started buying Labubus from Pop Mart's The Monsters series in December, describing them as 'so ugly that they were cute'. All the Labubus in The Monsters collection are female, which make male versions of the toys extremely rare finds. The toy collector said she managed to find a rare, male toy named Zimomo which she bought for 200, but added she has seen some limited edition Labubus listed at 600 on Vinted and eBay. Ashley Bushey with some of her viral Labubu dolls. She claims to have spent more than 1,000 on 13 Labubu toys Ashley (pictured) said she spends 'more time than I care to admit' finding Labubus Two Lububu dolls bought by Ashley who is a Northamptonshire-based coffee shop supervisor The toys' popularity began in 2024 after K-Pop star Lisa from girl group Blackpink shared a photo on social media of her with one, with other celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa following suit. Part of the appeal of Labubu Dolls is the limited run of designs that means supply almost always exceeds demand, with collectors trawling sites like Reddit for information about the next 'drop' or release. Pop Mart deals exclusively in 'blind boxes', meaning buyers have no idea what collectible figurine they're going to end up with. With a collection as popular as the Labubu dolls, this 'blind box' packaging forces fans keep buying new items in a bid to complete their collections. Thanks to popular demand of the toys, created by the Hong-Kong born artist Kasing Lung, many go to re-sale markets and compete with fakes dubbed 'Lafufus'. Real Labubus can be verified with a QR code on the bottom of each box, but some re-sellers may disguise a fake toy inside authentic boxes. 'There are people that are really sneaky,' Miss Bushey said. 'People are scanning these QR codes and seeing if they're real, but then the toy inside is fake, so (re-sellers) are opening them from the bottom and then putting fake ones inside of it.' Lafufus can be identified by twisted limbs, misshapen heads, or the incorrect number of teeth whereas real Labubus have nine. Part of the appeal of Labubu Dolls is the limited run of designs that means supply almost always exceeds demand Labubu bosses banned sales of the must-have furry toys in the UK after fans queued (above) for up to five hours to get their hands on the latest releases The long line outside Pop Mart's Manchester store as die-hard enthusiasts waited for its doors to open Videos posted on TikTok showed long queues forming outside Pop Mart's Oxford Circus store after it announced a restock of the dolls last month Pop Mart said it is reviewing the way its toys are distributed to help create a fair and safe environment for its customers. It said on Instagram on Friday: 'Over the past few weeks, we've seen overwhelming enthusiasm from fans, with long queues forming outside stores in some cases, even the night before. 'While this speaks to the love and excitement surrounding Labubu and The Monsters, it's important for us to ensure a safe, fair and comfortable shopping experience for everyone both our customers and our store teams. 'We're currently working on a new approach for the distribution that will allow everyone a fairer chance to purchase.' Weeks earlier, the toy maker took to Instagram to reveal its Oxford Circus store was being restocked with Labubus from a popular collection, which saw adult shoppers queuing for up to five hours. Videos posted on TikTok showed long queues forming outside the Pop Mart outlet, with several Labubu collectors revealing they waited in line for as long as five hours to try and acquire the viral toy. Love Island star Olivia Attwood, is just one famous celebrity who routinely documents her hunt for rare Labubus on social media while showing off her ever-expanding display of the dolls at home. Government officials are investigating possible Russian links to the arson attacks at properties linked to Sir Keir Starmer, it has been claimed. Two properties and a car were all set alight earlier this month, with police charging three men over the attacks. Petro Pochynok, 34, is accused of conspiring to damage by fire the PMs former Toyota Rav4, a property where he once lived and his familys former house with intent to endanger life. Models Roman Lavrynovych, 21, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, are also charged with plotting arsons between April 17 and May 13. While Pochynok and Lavrynovych are Ukrainian citizens, Carpiuc is Romanian. And now officials are probing whether the men, who were all born in Ukraine, were recruited by the Kremlin, a Whitehall source told the Financial Times. But they added it is one of many lines of investigation, with police keeping an 'open mind'. The charges relate to a vehicle fire in Kentish Town on May 8, a fire at a house in Islington on May 11 and a fire at a property in Kentish Town in the early hours of May 12. Counter-terrorism police and prosecutors have stressed that the exact motive remains under investigation. Two properties and a car were all set alight earlier this month, with police charging three men over the attacks. Police have already said that the three suspects charged over arson attacks linked to the prime minister are 'part of a conspiracy' involving other 'unknown' individuals Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, south-east London has been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life, while his co-accused are charged with conspiracy with 'others unknown'. Two of the fires occurred in Kentish Town, north London - one in the early hours of May 12 at the home where Sir Keir lived before he became Prime Minister and moved into Downing Street, while the second occurred when a car was set alight in the same street on May 8. The other, third fire, took place on May 11 at the front door of a house converted into flats in Islington. All three accused men, who deny the charges against them, were remanded in custody by Judge Daniel Sternberg to appear at the Old Bailey on June 6. Pochynok was arrested on Monday morning in Chelsea, west London, by Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officers. Six officers were spotted carrying bags of evidence out of the front door of his Holloway property, with a police warrant, seen by The Times, allegedly confirming that they searched the inside of the flat. Meanwhile, Carpiuc, from Romford, east London, was arrested on Saturday at Luton Airport by counter-terrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit as he prepared to catch a Wizz Air flight to Romania. He appeared to have previously lived at the Holloway address with Pochynok. Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, has been charged with conspiring with 'others unknown' over the arsons Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, south-east London has been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life Pochynok, 34, has been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life Officials are investigating the possibility of Russian links to the arson attacks at properties belonging to Sir Keir Starmer earlier this month The hybrid vehicle was left completely wrecked by the blaze after Starmer sold it to a neighbour Sir Keir's 2million private home in the Kentish Town area of north London, which he had let to his sister-in-law after relocating to 10 Downing Street following his general election win, was set alight in the early hours of May 12. The London Fire Brigade alerted police to reports of a fire at 1.35am and were able to bring it under control within 20 minutes, with the blaze damaging the porch of the property. It came just 24 hours after a flat the Prime Minister previously lived at, in the nearby Islington area, caught fire, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Firefighters attended the blaze, helping one person to safety, with the door of the property suffering fire damage. On May 8, on the same street as Sir Keir's Kentish Town property, a car he sold to a neighbour last year also burst into flames. The new owner of the Toyota Rav 4 is understood to have thought the fire started because of a faulty battery. The hybrid car was completely destroyed in the blaze, which occurred on VE Day. Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is being asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD 441/12 May. An ex-detective who helped Jay Slater's family when the 19-year-old went missing in Tenerife has claimed that the Spanish police ignored a key piece of evidence. Mark Williams-Thomas has accused Spanish authorities of failing to investigate an audio recording he offered to share which may have shed light on the British teenager's disappearance. In a shocking six-minute long video posted on X/Twitter on Friday, Mr Williams-Thomas revealed the alleged difficulties he faced when dealing with the police in Tenerife. 'I sent the information I had in an email to Spanish authorities.' the ex-detective said. 'I told them I wasn't able to share the audio recording at this point because I needed to explain to them how I had obtained it and also I was very conscious that it was highly sensitive and I didn't want it just being shared all around. 'They've never come back to me,' he added. Suggesting a reason why Spanish cops allegedly did not work with him, Mr Williams-Thomas said that authorities in some countries, such as 'Spain and France and Portugal', 'really don't like working with the public to get information, they think they always know the answers'. 'British police are very different,' he added. 'Very good relationship with British police forces when I do investigations on cases here. More often than not, they work with me.' Jay Slater (right), 19, went missing in the early hours of June 17, 2024 Mark Williams-Thomas (pictured) has accused Spanish authorities of failing to investigate an audio recording he offered to share The caption of his revelatory post on X reads: 'Certain cases attract huge media attention and the landscape is so different now with social media and the internet. 'What is always key for me is the end game, JUSTICE (which takes many forms), which is why I always work with the authorities. 'However some authorities and countries are open to receiving information better than others.' His bombshell claims come as an inquest into Mr Slater's death was launched at Preston Crown Court this month. The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared in Tenerife last summer sparking a major manhunt before he was found dead about a month later. But the inquest was halted on Wednesday after Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, 55, made an emotional plea to judges after the two key witnesses failed to attend and were unable to be contacted. Lancashire Police have now admitted they are unable to bring back witnesses - some of whom have left the country. A spokesperson for Lancashire Police told MailOnline: 'First and foremost, our thoughts remain with Jay's family and friends at this distressing time. A police officer overlooks Masca in Tenerife during the search for Jay Slater on June 21, 2024 Jay Slater's mother Debbie Duncan arrives at Preston Coroner's Court in Lancashire Members of Jay Slater's family including his mother Debbie Duncan (front right) arrive at Preston Coroner's Court in Lancashire for the inquest into the death of the 19-year-old In a shocking six-minute long video posted on X/ Twitter on Friday, Mr Williams-Thomas revealed the alleged difficulties he faced when dealing with the police in Tenerife 'We supported HM Coroner by making extensive efforts to contact a number of witnesses ahead of the inquest, both in Lancashire and more widely. However we understand some of these individuals may be abroad and had already left the country when these efforts were made.' They added: 'We have no jurisdiction in such circumstances to compel someone to attend. 'We will continue to support the coroner ahead of the resumption of the inquest. Once again, our thoughts are with Jay's loved ones.' Mr Slater was on holiday on the island and had been to the NRG music festival with friends at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas on June 16 last year. Early the next day, Mr Slater is thought to have gone to an Airbnb with other people he had met while on holiday, then vanished and was reported missing on June 18. His body was found in a steep and inaccessible area by a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard near the village of Masca on July 15, 2024 and an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard he was found to have had drugs in his system. The hearing was told extensive efforts including summonses had been issued for several witnesses who were in contact with Mr Slater before he disappeared. But the inquest was adjourned after the teenager's mother pleaded for it to be halted until they could find the missing witnesses. Jay Slater's father Warren Slater (right) and brother Zak (left) at Preston Coroner's Court The Airbnb house in Masca, Tenerife, where Jay Slater was staying before his disappearance They include the two British men who rented the AirBnb - convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, 31, Steven Roccas, previously known as 'Rocky', Lucy Law, who is reportedly in Tenerife, Brandon Hodges and Bradley Geoghegan, who also uses the surname Hargreaves. On Wednesday, Ms Duncan told Lancashire senior coroner Dr James Adeley: 'How can we ever get any understanding? We know he died, he had an accident.' Sobbing, she added: 'There's things that we want to question. We want these people to be sat in front of us. Something went wrong that day, he didn't come back. There's questions we need to ask - please.' The coroner agreed to pause proceedings so she could compose herself. He later adjourned it altogether so his staff could make further efforts to find Mr Qassim and Mr Roccas, but warned the family he was 'not confident of success'. Dr Adeley told Mr Slater's family: 'You've heard of our difficulties in finding Ayub Qassim and Steven Roccas. However in view of your distress we will make an effort to find them.' The coroner said those of Mr Slater's friends who are currently abroad would also be provided with new summonses to attend the resumed hearing. He asked the family to pass his office any contact details which they had for them and the hearing would reconvene at a date to be fixed. Earlier, the inquest was told Mr Slater had traces of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine in his body when he was found dead - and had been 'off his head on drugs'. Mr Slater went to an AirBnB cottage with drug dealer Ayub Qassim (pictured) and another man Jay Slater pictured with friend Brad Hargreaves (left), with whom he was on holiday in Tenerife Lucy Law (above) is among those who could not be traced to give evidence, a coroner revealed The hearing was also told that his friends had failed to attend to give their accounts. Lucy Law who received a call from the Mr Slater saying he was lost, had one per cent charge on his phone and needed water is among those who could not be traced to give evidence, the coroner revealed. As proceedings began, Dr Adeley said police had failed in attempts to contact Ms Law and several of Mr Slater's other British friends. 'We can't find them, they have stopped responding to phone calls,' he said while Mr Slater's parents Ms Duncan and father Warren Slater, 58, listened in silence. This is a breaking news story. More updates to follow. A newly appointed Labour mayor who dressed up as Adolf Hitler at a charity event is facing calls to resign. Photographs of Seve Gomez-Aspron MBE wearing a German Army uniform, complete with swastika, and a fake moustache, previously surfaced online in 2019 when he was serving as a councillor for St Helens. The series of snaps were taken at a fancy dress dinner in aid of Claire House Hospice, which supports seriously and terminally ill children, in 2009, when he was not yet a councillor. Mr Gomez-Aspron said at the time the outfit was inspired by Mel Brooks' satirical comedy The Producers. He described the decision to wear it as 'clumsy'. But despite his apology, there is still much furor surrounding his recent appointment, with more than 1,000 people signing a petition for his removal as mayor. According to the Sun, 11 councillors also walked out in protest during his swearing in ceremony on May 14. 'He is reviled throughout St Helens for his inappropriate behaviour and attitude,' a councillor told the newspaper. 'Many feel that he is not fit for public office, never mind the prestigious role as mayor,' The pictures of Seve Gomez-Aspron, a newly appointed Labour Mayor, show him dressed in a German Army uniform with a swastika and wearing a fake moustache at a fancy dress fundraiser for Claire House Hospice in 2009 The pictures were taken when the councillor was in his 20s and he has now apologised Mr Gomez-Aspron (pictured) said at the time the outfit was inspired by Mel Brooks ' satirical comedy The Producers. He described the decision to wear it as 'clumsy' The councillor told the Liverpool Echo the first time the photos went viral that they were taken in his early twenties, before he was a Labour Party member He added at the time: 'I have matured and learnt a lot since then, and it goes without saying that I would not do this now. 'I know how this could be seen as insensitive and how it could cause hurt and offence. 'That was not at all my intention and I sincerely apologise. I have part-Jewish ancestry and I recently visited Israel to commemorate those killed in the Holocaust and the war.' But, for Mr Gomez-Aspron - who also once appeared on ITV's Million Pound Drop where he scooped 100,000 with a pal - this scandal was not his first. Just last year the then deputy leader of St Helens Council was forced to apologise for 'offensive' comments made towards a councillor during a meeting about a proposed rise in council tax. Mr Gomez-Aspron described the councillor's reasoning for voting against a 4.99% rise as 'diatribe' and claimed he has 'not a clue what he is talking about'. He went on to describe the man and another councillor as the 'Earlestown Brain Trust', before correcting himself by saying 'it was wrong to imply there was a brain'. Mr Gomez-Aspron also once appeared on ITV's Million Pound Drop where he scooped 100,000 with a pal The council Monitoring Officer said the remarks were 'personally offensive, inappropriate and disrespectful'. Mr Gomez-Aspron later sent a letter of apology to the two councillors. In May 2019, he was issued with the Police Information Notice (PINs) following a complaint from a member of the public accusing him of harassment. However, it should be noted that official guidance states that the notices themselves do not constitute any kind of formal legal action and signing one does not mean the alleged harasser accepts harassment has taken place. Mr Gomez-Aspron claimed at the time that the complainant had a 'history of harassing both myself and my family in a personal capacity in no way related to the council'. He said he would be seeking legal advice on the issue. Then in 2015, Mr Gomez-Aspron was once again under the spotlight when he was found to have used offensive language towards a resident on Facebook. St Helens Councils Standards Committee heard he had ended a conversation with a woman on the social media site, by signing off with: 'C U Next Tuesday.' This phrase is widely know to be a euphemism for an insulting four letter word, although Mr Gomez-Aspron denied he knew the expression could be offensive. Mr Gomez-Aspron was contacted for comment. An Italian tourist was chained up, electrocuted, and taunted with a chainsaw for weeks inside a lavish SoHo apartment by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, it's been revealed. John Woeltz, 37, was arrested in New York on Friday after the unnamed tourist escaped the house of horrors and informed a police officer that he had been kidnapped and tortured for weeks. Kentucky-born Woeltz was allegedly part of a group that concocted a sadistic scheme to lure the tourist to New York so they could access his crypto account. Police said the victim was tied up with electrical cords and electrocuted as Woeltz attempted to gain access to his passwords, reports the New York Post. The victim, a 28-year-old man, was then tasered with his feet in the water and pistol-whipped. The alleged kidnappers even had a chainsaw and threatened to cut the victim's legs off if he didn't reveal his passwords to his crypto accounts. In addition to the disturbing physical torture, Woeltz and his associates are accused of forcing the victim to take cocaine. They documented the bone-chilling acts using a Polaroid camera. Police uncovered the photographs in the house of horrors, sources told the Post. John Woeltz, 37, pictured with police after his shocking arrest on charges of assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm The alleged torture occurred in a massive luxury townhouse in SoHo, a posh New York City neighborhood Woeltz is accused of luring the Italian tourist to New York and torturing him in the SoHo apartment for weeks One Polaroid photograph depicted the victim tied to a chair with a gun to his head. Police believe the pictures were taken to extort the victim's family. Police also discovered broken glass, night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, and a gun. Investigators said the victim met Woeltz on May 6, and the two had prior business dealings with one another. Woeltz then led the man back to his luxury townhouse in SoHo, where he allegedly snatched his passport and held him captive. The victim told police that he escaped the house of horrors on Friday after his captors allegedly warned they were planning on killing him later that day. He flagged down a nearby police officer, and Woeltz was subsequently arrested barefoot in his bathrobe. The victim was transported to a local hospital with cuts and injuries he sustained from the torture. Jennifer Crawford, an eyewitness to the arrest, told local ABC affiliate, WABC, 'I saw the SWAT team with shields and then shortly after that, I saw a guy in handcuffs come out.' @abc7ny CLICK 'READ ARTICLE BY ABC7NY' FOR FULL STORY: Several 'crypto bros' living in a SoHo brownstone allegedly turned it into a house of horrors by luring a former business partner, who had a falling out with them, back from Italy with false business promises, and then kidnapped and tortured him for weeks, investigators now believe. original sound - ABC7NY - ABC7NY Woeltz and others in the apartment allegedly chained up the tourist, taunted him with a chainsaw, and forced him to do cocaine The alleged torture took place for weeks in the beautiful SoHo home. The apartment was most recently listed for $75,000 a month Woeltz is a crypto entrepreneur and investor from Kentucky. He was renting the home in SoHo before his shocking arrest A sidewalk vendor who sells his art on Prince Street, where Woeltz was renting the home, told WABC, 'I've seen people go in and out all the time and never really ever saw the same person twice. So we were wondering like what was going on in there?' A jewelry vendor on the block told the New York Post, 'I knew there was something weird going on, I just assumed they were shooting porn or something. I couldnt have guessed all this.' Woeltz is a crypto entrepreneur and investor from Kentucky and was renting the luxurious 8-bedroom 10-bathroom home on Prince Street. The listing was most recently rented for $75,000. A woman named Beatrice Folchi, 24, was also arrested in connection with the kidnapping, the NYPD confirmed. Two other individuals believed to have worked for Woeltz were also interviewed by police, but no other arrests have been made. A British fishing boat was in French custody today after allegedly being caught operating without a licence in the English Channel. The Lady T, which is based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was being held in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Saturday and now risks being confiscated. She was caught by the Pluvier, a French Navy ship, on Thursday, and the catamaran's skipper now faces prosecution for fishing for whelks without a license. It comes days after Prime Minister Keir Starmer was heavily criticised over a landmark deal with the EU over fishing rights which hugely favour the French. A spokesman for France's Martime Prefecture said: 'On Thursday, May 22, the French Navy's public service patrol vessel, the Pluvier, conducted a fishing inspection in the French Exclusive Economic Zone, off the Somme Bay. 'During this operation, which was part of the State's maritime enforcement, a British fishing vessel was inspected by sailors from the Navy patrol vessel while fishing without a license in French waters. 'As the offence was proved, the fishing vessel was diverted during the night of May 23rd to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, following the instructions of the Delegate for the Sea and Coastline, acting on behalf of the Regional Prefect, who oversees the fisheries police, for the purpose of initiating prosecution under the authority of the Public Prosecutor.' The spokesman added: 'This operation demonstrates the vigilance of State services in protecting fisheries resources and their determination to enforce regulations. Eastbourne-Based 'Lady T' Fishing Vessel was seen in Boulogne port today after being impounded by the French Authorities She was caught by the Pluvier, a French Navy ship, on Thursday, and the catamaran's skipper now faces prosecution for fishing for whelks without a license The Lady T, which is based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was being held in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Saturday and now risks being confiscated for unlicensed fishing The Francesca TO 80, which is registered in Truro, Cornwall, was spotted 30 nautical miles off the island of Batz, off Roscoff, Brittany and has been escorted to Brest British vessel The Lady T was caught by the Pluvier, a French Navy ship, on Thursday 'It sends a clear signal to those who might be tempted to fish illegally in French waters.' On Saturday, the Lady T. was moored behind the Bassin Loubet fish market in Boulogne. Her skipper, who refused to give his name, said: 'I have nothing to say to you, I won't answer'. His 32ft (10m) long boat is now forbidden to leave the port until further notice. Another British-flagged vessel was intercepted and detained in French waters last Saturday - less than 48 hours before the UK government was accused of 'surrendering' to the EU over fishing rights. The Francesca TO 80, which is registered in Truro, Cornwall, was spotted 30 nautical miles off the island of Batz, off Roscoff, Brittany. She was then escorted to the port of Brest after inspectors suspected the crew of unlicensed fishing in French waters. This also constituted an offence under the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code, it was alleged. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a summit in London to negotiate the deal, alongside European Council President Antonio Costa One skipper, based in Dover, described the action as 'outrageous'. He told GB News: 'It is so typical of the French. 'They should be totally focused on trying to prevent the daily illegal incursions by migrants into the Channel. 'And the only actual enforcement work they're doing is targeting British fisherman.' Under a new deal, European trawlers will be granted access to British waters for a further 12 years. A previous agreement, reached under Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saw the UK regain 25 per cent of EU fishing quotas, but this was set to run out next year. Now the EU will maintain unfettered access to the UK's coastal waters until 2038. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the 12-year deal on access for European boats 'will be the end of the fishing industry'. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa at a summit in Lancaster House, London, to negotiate the deal. An education boss who sent emails joking about cocaine and strippers has been cleared of any wrongdoing after saying he was pretending to be Wolf of Wall Street character. Tom Crombie, 40, of Edinburgh, Scotland, appeared at the High Court in London this week after being accused of 'fraudulent misrepresentation' and gross misconduct relating to his email exchanges with a senior executive. Former schoolteacher Crombie had negotiated to sell a stake of his company My Online Schooling for 9million to Inspired Education Group, which boasts more than 90,000 students in 119 schools across 27 countries. However, Inspired claimed 10 email exchanges between Crombie and the executive evidenced drug and alcohol use and were 'highly offensive, obscene, vulgar, racist, sexist and discriminatory'. They said the true value of the stake should be at least halved because of this, meaning Crombie would lose at least 4.5million. But the 40-year-old's defence that his emails - which made apparent reference to cocaine - were 'banter' have been upheld by a judge. One of Crombie's emails read: 'Who nose how busy London will be this week. Will be good to see Charlie, the new king if he's in town. 'Weather looking cooler next week and possible snow. Looking like that fine powder type. Think there are tourists coming from as far afield as Columbia which will be great to see.' Tom Crombie (pictured) was accused of 'fraudulent misrepresentation' and gross misconduct relating to his email exchanges with a senior executive where he made reference to cocaine and strippers Crombie's defence that his emails were 'banter' and that he was pretending to be Wolf of Wall Street character have been upheld by a judge (Pictured: Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in the Wolf of Wall Street) Crombie appeared at the High Court in London this week after Inspired Group claimed 10 email exchanges between Crombie and the executive evidenced drug and alcohol use and were 'highly offensive, obscene, vulgar, racist, sexist and discriminatory' (Pictured: A general view of the Rolls Building) Crombie, who first taught in Scotland and New Zealand before founding his online school in 2016, said the plot of The Wolf of Wall Street was 'two guys running a business get into the world of drugs and other related trouble'. In another email, Crombie wrote: 'Arrive in London C & S [cocaine and strippers] till we leave (in body bags).' Mrs Justice Joanna Smith said the exchanges were 'a minuscule proportion' of the messages between the pair over two years and that they did not warrant claims of gross misconduct. She said: 'Looked at dispassionately, the emails evidence the occasional unprofessional and inappropriate use of work emails as a means of letting off steam. 'The mere fact of sending an inappropriate or unprofessional message from a company email address does not itself constitute gross misconduct. 'They had not been acting improperly on school business. On the contrary their conduct towards everyone outside their tight-knit friendship was at all times entirely professional. Pictured: DiCaprio (right) as Jordan Belfort and Jonah Hill (left) as Donnie Azoff in the 2013 blockbuster 'The alcohol and cocaine emails do not evidence actual overconsumption of alcohol or the possession of, or use of, illegal drugs, but rather a somewhat immature and naive "letting off steam" by two close friends with a dark and ironic sense of humour who were working all hours to make the business a success.' Crombie said the emails were 'an ironic comparison' to the movie Wolf of Wall Street, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort and Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff. Judge Smith said the emails showed the kind of 'light-hearted banterous, and sometimes ludicrous, exchanges of the type that occur between friends'. She added the men shared a 'long-running joke to contrast their lives with the 'alpha male' conduct of the film's protagonists. The judge dismissed a further claim that the men's reference to 'tidies' was a 'disrespectful, demeaning and sexist term for a woman' and accepted it was 'a term used in Scotland for a good-looking, attractive, woman'. Smith also accepted that the men were unaware that the hit song Roxanne, performed by The Police, was about a prostitute after the pair had referred to 'red light' during an exchange about a senior colleague named Roxanne. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has imposed sweeping new restrictions on press access within the Pentagon. Effective immediately, journalists must now obtain official approval and be escorted by government personnel throughout most areas of the Department of Defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Announced on Friday, the Defense Secretary's newest directive includes press restrictions to locations that were previously accessible without oversight, such as the offices of top aides, service branch press rooms and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In addition, reporters are now required to sign confidentiality agreements and wear updated identification badges as part of enhanced security protocols. 'While the Department remains committed to transparency, the Department is equally obligated to protect CSNI (classified national security information) and sensitive information - the unauthorized disclosure of which could put the lives of US Service members in danger,' Hegseth said in a memorandum. 'Failure by any member of the resident or visiting press to comply with these control measures will result in further restrictions and possibly revocation of press credentials,' the memo continued. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (pictured) has imposed sweeping new restrictions on press access within the Pentagon, which includes press restrictions to locations that were previously accessible without oversight Effective immediately, journalists must now obtain official approval and be escorted by government personnel throughout most areas of the Department of Defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia (pictured) Hegseth's decision comes in response to a series of information leaks during his tenure. Two months ago, the Pentagon was humiliated by a leak to the New York Times indicating that billionaire Elon Musk was to be briefed on US military plans in the event of a conflict with China. Though the briefing never occurred, due to an order from President Donald Trump, Hegseth later suspended two Pentagon officials as part of an internal investigation into the disclosure. Another notable breach involved the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally included in a Signal group chat where Hegseth discussed planned military strikes in Yemen. Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, took responsibility for the error and was reassigned to a different role. The Pentagon Press Association has strongly criticized the Defense Secretary's latest directive, calling it a direct assault on press freedom. 'There is no way to sugarcoat it. Today's memo by Secretary Hegseth appears to be a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America's right to know what its military is doing,' the association said in a statement Friday night. 'The Pentagon Press Association is extremely concerned by the decision to restrict movement of accredited journalists within the Pentagon through non-secured, unclassified hallways.' However, Hegseth's crack down on press access isn't the first of the Pentagon's efforts to clamp down on leaks. Following President Trump's return to office in January, the administration has taken several aggressive actions toward the press, including FCC investigations into ABC, CBS and NBC News. Following President Trump's return to office in January, the Pentagon has intensified its efforts to clamp down on leaks. Pictured: President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth deliver remarks in the Oval Office of the White House Additionally, restrictions imposed on The Associated Press' access to certain White House events earlier this year led to a court battle that is ongoing. Meanwhile, the White House has expanded access for conservative media outlets more favorable to the administration, according to the Associated Press. Despite these restrictions, a recent study found that Trump has engaged with reporters more frequently in his first 100 days back in office than any of his six predecessors. Nevertheless, Hegseth has maintained a notably low profile with the press. He has yet to speak to the press in the Pentagon briefing room and only one official Pentagon press briefing has taken place since January 20. The Pentagon has also taken other steps to make it increasingly difficult for reporters as multiple major news outlets have lost office space within the Department of Defense headquarters. The wife of one of the men to die in the Titan submarine disaster has blamed 'ego and arrogance' for the deaths of her husband and son. Christine Dawood lost her billionaire British-Pakistani husband Shahzada, 48, and son Suleman, 19, on board the Oceangate vessel on a tour of the Titanic wreck in June 2023. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, and former French navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, also died when the submarine imploded almost 4km under the sea, instantly killing everyone on board. Now Ms Dawood, who was born in Germany but is from Surrey, is calling for proper regulation of the sector after concerns were raised about the safety of the vessel in the first place. Criticising Stockton, who she said enticed her Titantic-obsessed husband and son on the $250,000-per-head trip, she told the BBC: 'I guess the American way of talking and presenting themselves is very different to ours, so I just thought they are a lot more egocentric. 'I mean, there is a lot of, 'we are awesome,' and the American dream, and, 'we can do it.' Ms Dawood has been left horrified by the ongoing two-year investigation into the tragedy, questioning how OceanGate were able to operate after safety were flagged multiple times. 'I wanted to hear the confidence of the person who built it, who ran the company, but also he surrounded himself with literal experts. I mean, one died with them. If you have an expert like this with you, I mean, you don't doubt.' Father and son Shahzada Dawood, 48, (right) and Sulaiman Dawood, 19, (left) were killed in the implosion of the OceanGate vessel in June 2023 Christine Dawood was left shocked by the US coastguard's investigation and now blames 'ego' and 'arrogance' for the deaths of her husband and son OceanGate's Titan submersible imploded in the Atlantic Ocean in June 2023 She continued: 'The arrogance of the people in charge when they think that they're above everything. That really gets to me. 'Why is ego and arrogance more important than safety? The irony is not lost on me that the Titanic sunk for exactly the same reasons.' It is believed the vessel imploded around 90 minutes into its descent with its wreckage later found 330 yards away from the bow of the ship. The submersible suddenly lost contact with its support vessel, Polar Prince, after just about an hour and 45 minutes into the two-and-a-half hour descent. One of the last messages from the crew to Polar Prince before the submersible imploded stated, 'all good here,' according to a visual re-creation presented at a Coast Guard hearing last year. But the loss of contact sparked an international manhunt to track down the missing vessel which had plunged 12,400ft - more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon - under the North Atlantic ocean. Eventually, however, the wreckage of the ship was found on the ocean floor about 330 yards off the bow of the Titanic, with Coast Guard officials reporting that no one on board survived. Ms Dawood told how there was some comfort in learning that the submarine had imploded, as it meant her husband and son did not suffer as they would have been killed instantly. Among those onboard the doomed vessel were OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush Also killed in the tragedy were Paul-Henri Nargeolet (left) and adventurer Hamish Harding (right) And she is currently part-way through a challenge to honour her son's death, by walking 800km from Surrey to Glasgow. Following the tragedy, questions emerged about the safety of the submersible, which had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going back to 2021. It was later revealed that the vessel was being operated by a video game controller, and leaders in the field of deep-sea exploration had even warned Mr Rush five years earlier that the company's 'experimental' methods could end in 'catastrophic' disaster. Others inside the company also expressed concerns, including David Lochridge, who worked as the Titan project's director of marine operations. He had demanded more rigorous safety checks on the sub - including 'testing to prove its integrity'. Lochridge also wanted the company to carry out a scan of Titan's hull to 'detect potential flaws' rather than 'relying on acoustic monitoring' which would only detect an issue 'milliseconds before an implosion'. But he was unceremoniously booted from the company in the aftermath, as Rush continually brushed off the concerns. He even suggested at one point that questions about the Titan's safety credentials was 'personally insulting' and he branded claims he was 'going to kill someone' as 'baseless.' New footage released by the US Coastguard shows Wendy Rush, the wife of Stockton Rush, trying to contact the doomed crew during their descent to the wreck of the Titanic The wreckage of the submersible was ultimately located on the ocean floor about 330 yards off the bow of the Titanic Rush went as far as saying he was 'tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation' as he appeared resentful of the 'obscenely safe' regulations he viewed as an obstacle to development and innovation. He, too, died in the incident. By September last year, the US Coastguard conducted public hearings to grill company executives on what may have gone wrong. At the hearing, Karl Stanley, a submersible pilot and designer of the Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration, claimed Rush was more concerned with leaving 'his mark on history' than keeping his passengers safe. 'He knew that eventually it was going to end like this, and he wasn't going to be held accountable,' Stanley testified. 'But he was going to be the most famous of all his famous relatives.' Stanley went on to say he had tried to flag safety concerns he noticed during a test drive in April 2019, including cracking noises and issues with drop weights. He emailed Rush, who dismissed the concerns. 'I felt also, this exchange of emails strained our relationship from what it had been previously,' he said. 'I felt like I pushed things as far as I could without him telling me to shut up and never talk to him again.' And this week new footage released by the US Coastguard shows Wendy Rush, the wife of Stockton Rush, trying to contact the doomed crew during their descent to the wreck of the Titanic. Mrs Rush, who was monitoring the sub's progress from a support ship, can be seen reacting to a noise that sounded like a 'door slamming'. She then turns to a team member sitting behind her and asks 'what was that bang?' Moments later Mrs Rush, who was a director of OceanGate with her husband, received a text message saying the sub had dropped two weights. While she initially assumed this meant the dive was proceeding as planned, investigators now believe the 'bang' she heard was the moment the sub imploded. It is thought the message she received was in fact sent just before the tragedy with its arrival being delayed due to the sound of the implosion. OceanGate, based in Washington state, suspended its operations after the implosion. The company has no full-time employees currently, but was represented by an attorney during the hearing. The company said it has been fully co-operating with the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board investigations since they began. X, formerly known as Twitter, has gone down for millions of users around the world, with the website, app and XPro all affected. Thousands of people reported problems in the UK, as well as in countries all around the world. It's bad news for Elon Musk after the social media platform experienced similar problems yesterday. There was also a localised outage across much of the East Coast of America on Thursday. More than 11,000 users recorded issues with the app in the UK with website tracker Downdetector. In the US, more than 25,000 reported issues. They described logging in to the app only for no posts to be shown, and receiving an error message stating: 'Cannot retrieve posts at this time. Please try again later.' It comes after a huge fire broke out at a data centre in Hillsboro Technology Park in Oregon, US, on Thursday, where it is understood X leases space. In a written statement to local publication Oregon Live, Digital Realty said of the fire: 'The incident is under control, and the fire department has concluded its on-site response. All personnel were safely evacuated, with no reported injuries. X, formerly known as Twitter, has gone down for millions of users around the world, with the website, app and XPro all affected Elon Musk's X has crashed for millions of users around the world for the second time in two days 'We continue to monitor the situation, prioritizing the safety of our personnel, the integrity of the facility, and minimizing customer impact.' It is not known if the outages are linked to damage caused by the fire. Users who jumped ship to rival app BlueSky took to the app on Saturday to gloat about its poor performance. 'Twitter is fully down again lmfao,' wrote one user. 'Twitter is down again for a second day, that app is cooked,' added another. The crash comes amid a string of blows for Musk, including a political defeat in Wisconsin, a sharp decline in Tesla's stock value and growing criticism over his government role and the so-called 'DOGE' initiative. Musk recently claimed victory over a new voter ID law in Wisconsin, despite Republican candidate Brad Schimel losing to Democrat Susan Crawford in Aprils Supreme Court election. Reports show Musk and his allies spent more than $20 million supporting Schimel, the former Wisconsin attorney general, in an effort to shift the courts ideological balance. Crawford received significant backing from billionaires George Soros and J.B. Pritzker. To make matters worse, Tesla sales plummeted 13 percent that same month. Some experts linked the drop to Musks polarizing posts on X and intensifying competition in China from domestic electric vehicle manufacturers. After several hours, Twitter service appeared to be fully restored. A twisted rapist, who allegedly beat a New York City mom nearly to death on her way home from work, was out on parole when he attacked her. Miguel Jiraud, 30, was charged with attempted murder at his arraignment hearing on Friday for allegedly beating Diana Aguelo, 44, of Astoria, Queens, while she was biking home on Randall's Island around 11:30pm on May 16. The vicious attack left the single mother-of-two unconscious and in a coma and in need of two emergency surgeries, including removing part of her skull. 'She almost died...they had to resuscitate her,' her daughter, Stephanie Rodas, 21, sobbed to the New York Post. 'Shes still in critical condition right now even though she came through the second one, thank God she did.' Jiraud was on parole for a rape charge at the time of the attack and was wearing an ankle monitor, which police used to help trace him before his arrest on Friday. The rapist allegedly called police after the attack to let them know where Agudelo was six hours after he attacked her, sources told The Post. Police later found her stolen e-bike near the East River and Jiraud's ankle monitor indicated that he was traveling around 16 mph near the scene, sources told The Post. It later showed that he went back to where Aguedelo was and where he called 911. Miguel Jiraud, 30, was charged with attempted murder at his arraignment hearing on Friday for allegedly beating Diana Aguelo, 44, of Astoria, Queens, while she was biking home on Randall's Island around 11:30pm on May 16 Jiraud was on parole for a rape charge at the time of the attack and was wearing an ankle monitor, which police used to help trace him before his arrest on Friday The vicious attack left the single mother-of-two unconscious and in a coma and in need of two emergency surgeries, including removing part of her skull Jiraud, who was living in a homeless shelter on the island, insisted to police that he just 'found her' and that he was not the source of the crime. 'I was the one that found her and stood there for an hour and went to work late,' he later told a reporter who asked if he beat her, before showing his unmarred hands. The mother-of-two, who remains unconscious, suffered facial fractures, a cracked skull, and a broken nose after the attack. Her own daughter didn't recognize her when she saw her for the first time after the attack, she told the New York Daily News. 'She was so swollen you couldnt even recognize her,' she told the outlet. 'Her eye was black, pitch-black. When you opened her eye, it was bloodshot red. She couldnt even move. She couldnt talk. She was on life support. She was a bloody mess.' NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny called the beating 'one of the worst beatings Ive ever seen.' Rodas was informed by doctors her mother could 'succumb to her injuries at any time,' she told the New York Daily News. Doctors fear the 44-year-old won't be able to use the right side of her body and could lose vision in one eye. She may also suffer from life-long seizure problems, The Post reported. 'She almost died...they had to resuscitate her,' her daughter, Stephanie Rodas, 21, (pictured together) sobbed to the New York Post . 'Shes still in critical condition right now even though she came through the second one, thank God she did' 'She was so swollen you couldnt even recognize her,' Rodas said. 'She will have memory issues. We dont know what we she will remember. Theres a possibility that she could forget about me' 'She will have memory issues. We dont know what we she will remember. Theres a possibility that she could forget about me,' the 21-year-old cried to The Daily News. Agudelo's workplace, the Museum of the City of New York, started a GoFundMe. 'Our thoughts are with Diana, her loved ones, and our colleagues during this difficult time,' it wrote in a Facebook post. 'We are devastated that Diana Agudelo, a cherished member of our staff at the Museum of the City of New York, was violently attacked while biking home through Randalls Island.' The fundraiser has garnered more than $51,000 as of Saturday morning. Jiraud was previously convicted of raping a 28-year-old woman in February 2011 when he was 16 years old. He choked the woman on a Bronx rooftop before sexually assaulting her. He was released on parole for the crime in August and it is set to expire in 2040, sources told The Post. He was convinced in 2013 with a sentence of 12 years. Jiraud was previously convicted of raping a 28-year-old woman in February 2011 when he was 16 years old. He choked the woman on a Bronx rooftop before sexually assaulting her. Jiraud, who was living in a homeless shelter on the island, insisted to police that he just 'found her' and that he was not the source of the crime 'Whats the point of parole if its not protecting anyone?' Rodas questioned to The Post. 'Its more like giving them freedom for what? To do what they did to my mom. 'He went from raping someone to attempted murder, and God knows if hes going to be successful and leave me without a mom.' The young woman, a student at John Jay College, called her mother her best friend and someone who loved music and travel, she told The Post. She said her mother had the 'kindest and sweetest soul you've ever met.' 'If I could describe her, I would just say being around her was like eating a cupcake. It was so sweet, it would make you feel warm and good inside,' she told The Daily News. 'I just want to wake up from this bad nightmare, just wake up next to my mom. I just want to give my mom a big hug, but I cant even hold her, I cant even touch her,' she told The Post. Teenagers in Scotland are being groomed by an organised criminal gang and forced to carry out a massive spate of robberies. Police have now launched a major operation to hunt down the gang which is believed to be behind an astonishing number of raids more than 1,500 in the past year. In a shocking example of exploitation, the ruthless gang leaders are recruiting vulnerable youngsters and ordering them to rob supermarkets and convenience stores. Typically, the young thieves are told to steal beer, wine and spirits for resale on the lucrative black market. The Mail can reveal Police Scotland is targeting the industrial- scale criminal enterprise in a crackdown called Operation Dynos. Scotlands retailers are facing an unprecedented crimewave, with record numbers of thefts and attacks on shopkeepers and staff. Meanwhile a child protection charity said growing numbers of young people are being exploited by criminals and warned families to watch out for tell-tale signs. Police Scotland said it is working with shops to track down the gang and bring them to justice. Ruthless gang leaders are recruiting youngsters to rob supermarkets and convenience stores Gangs are recruiting under-18s as they will be treated more leniently by the justice system Detective Superintendent Neil McDonald, the forces lead for acquisitive crime, said: Operation Dynos is addressing concerns of youths being exploited and encouraged to become involved in criminal activities. The current focus is on the organised theft by shoplifting of alcohol for resale and associated offences of disorder and violence, predominantly committed across the west of Scotland. The Scottish Retail Consortium's David Lonsdale says shoplifting is a scourge on communities In the last year, those linked to these offences have been responsible for 1,533 crimes, mostly the theft of alcohol, equating to around 166,560. Work is ongoing to gather intelligence, carry out enforcement activity and bring offenders to justice, while also supporting stores to enhance security. The gang is thought to be cynically recruiting under-18s in the belief that young people are less likely to be suspected of crime and, even if they are caught, will probably be treated more leniently by the criminal justice system. Earlier this year annual crime statistics showed an 18 per cent rise in shoplifting cases, with over 43,000 reported incidents. In a recent survey by the Scottish Grocers Federation (SGF), 83.5 per cent of shopkeepers reported experiencing an increase in violence towards shop staff. Stores also revealed that they lost an average of nearly 20,000 a year to theft and vandalism. SGF chief executive Dr Pete Cheema said: Retail crime is now endemic, and its appalling that young people and children are being exploited by an organised group to carry out these crimes. What makes matters worse is that in many cases there is very little consequence for the perpetrators. Teenagers in Scotland are being groomed into carrying out the massive spate of robberies David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, added: Soaring rates of shop theft are a scourge on communities across Scotland and a key factor behind rising levels of abuse and threats towards store workers. The financial cost pushes up prices for shoppers and undermines the health of our high streets. We wholeheartedly back the polices efforts to bear down strongly on the proliferation of thefts by organised criminal gangs who target retailers. Barnardos Scotland said criminal exploitation of young people is a growing problem. The charitys director, Martin Crewe, said: Children who are forced to commit crimes are often coerced, threatened and made to feel like theres no way out. We know that children who are not in school or living in poverty are at greater risk. Parents and carers should be alert to signs such as unexplained money or items, changes in behaviour, going missing, or being found in unfamiliar places. If youre worried, speak to your child without judgment and seek support from professionals. Police Scotland received 3m from the Scottish Government for 2025-26 specifically to tackle the ongoing rise in retail crime. Medical experts have questioned claims that failure to test Joe Biden for prostate cancer was a routine omission. Last week, the ex-president's office said the 82-year-old, who left office in January, was diagnosed with an 'aggressive' form of prostate cancer that spread to his bones. According to Biden's aides, doctors stopped testing his prostate-specific antigens in 2014, despite US guidelines that suggest all men over 70 require routine testing. Since the announcement of his diagnosis, several doctors have questioned how the vicious disease was not detected earlier in the former US president - who is supposed to have had access to some of the best medical care available. 'To take a blood test from a man over 50 and not do a PSA is practically an assault. It is the most male-specific health-related blood test you can do,' a senior surgeon told The Telegraph. 'If you get an abnormal result, then you do a scan (I imagine the White House has an MRI scanner) and then after that you do a biopsy. It is not as if we throw drugs at anyone with a high PSA, but I simply cannot envision a world where nobody at the White House ever ticked yes to a PSA test for him.' And many doctors have rejected the idea that Biden stopped getting testing altogether, raising questions of whether medical professionals deliberately failed to screen the former president. The announcement last week led to an outpouring support for the former commander-in-chief, though also launched conspiracy theories about how long he had cancer. Former U.S. President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden pose for a selfie photo, in this handout social media picture released May 19, 2025 But the former president had to shut down conspiracies he was diagnosed with prostate cancer before last week. 'Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer,' a spokesperson for Biden insisted on Tuesday. The statement came after President Donald Trump repeated on Monday conspiracies that Biden knew he had cancer for a long time and that hiding the diagnosis was part of his team's cover-up of his health decline while in office. 'I'm surprised that it wasn't, you know, the public wasn't notified a long time ago because to get to stage nine, that's a long time,' Trump said. Questions about the former president's health have swirled for years. But after Biden bombed his late June debate against Trump, questions about his fitness for office got even louder. Then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre initially bungled a response when asked why a Parkinson's disease expert had visited the White House multiple times. Additionally, Biden's White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, never took questions from the press, unlike Trump's original White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, now a MAGA-aligned Republican representing Texas in Congress. Trump's second White House doctor, Dr. Sean Conley, addressed the press when Trump contracted COVID-19 just weeks before the 2020 election. Biden's history of covering up health problems has sparked a media storm in the US, with many Democrats believing that Trump's 2024 victory was partly the result of Biden's lack of transparency surrounding his health and cognitive decline. The news of his cancer diagnosis also comes at the same time that Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up and his Disastrous Choice to Run Again was released. The book, written by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, argued that 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.' A teenager has been arrested after a 16-year-old boy died after he was 'assaulted' at an amusement park in Wales. Taha Soomro of Grangetown, Cardiff, suffered a 'medical episode' at Barry Island Pleasure Park in the Vale of Glamorgan, on Friday night. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, were called just before 5pm, but despite the efforts of medics he was pronounced dead at the scene. South Wales Police (SWP) said on Saturday that a 15-year-old boy from Grangetown, Cardiff, has been arrested on suspicion of assault and was being held in custody. The force said an investigation has been launched and warned people against speculating as to the circumstances of his death on social media. Taha Soomro of Grangetown, Cardiff, suffered a 'medical episode' at Barry Island Pleasure Park in the Vale of Glamorgan, on Friday night A 15-year-old boy from Grangetown, Cardiff, has been arrested on suspicion of assault and is being held in custody Emergency services, including an air ambulance, were called just before 5pm on Friday The force said an investigation has been launched and warned people against speculating as to the circumstances of the death on social media Taha's family have been informed and are being kept updated by officers, SWP added. A force statement said: 'Anyone who was in Barry Island Pleasure Park around the time of the incident that may have information that could assist our investigation is asked to contact us. 'Detectives are particularly keen to receive any mobile phone footage.' Earlier today, Barry Island Pleasure Park posted a statement on social media referring to the 'very sad' incident. The statement said: 'Very sad news yesterday, all of our team did their best to assist the emergency services but unfortunately the boy suffered a medical emergency and could not be saved. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this very sad time.' Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or online, quoting reference 2500163611. Multi-Millionaire JK Rowling has pledged to bankroll legal cases for women who feel they have been discriminated against for their gender critical views. Harry Potter author and prominent feminist Ms Rowling has set up a vital fighting fund to help women pursue action against employers and public services. The private war chest - called the JK Rowling Womens Fund (JKRWF) - is entirely financed by the outspoken author, who has a net worth of around 945m and was earlier this month ranked the 168th richest person in the UK and the 8th wealthiest in Scotland. News of the fund, which has been operating under the radar since the end of 2024, will likely open the door to hundreds of applications from women who have lost their livelihoods or are facing employment tribunals because of their views on sex-based rights. It comes after Ms Rowling has previously pledged to fund the legal campaigns of female prisoners who have been forced to share jails with biological men and women who have been strip-searched by transgender police officers. It also follows The Mails revelations that nurse Sandie Peggie is suing her union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), for failing to support her in her battle with NHS Fife and trans medic Dr Beth Upton. Ms Rowlings supporters became aware of the JKRWF on Friday evening and rushed to social media to hail the initiative. In response to one X user writing: Is this real?, Ms Rowling responded: Its real, and has been for a while. Another fan simply wrote: I could not love her more. Harry Potter author and feminist JK Rowling will fund legal fights for sex-based rights 'I love it when a plan comes together': Ms Rowling celebrated the recent Supreme Court ruling The JK Rowling Women's Fund pledges to help women protect their sex-based rights For Women Scotland, the campaign group behind the Supreme Court clarification on sex in the Equality Act on April 17 said: Thank you JK Rowling for this vital lifeline. Too many bodies, organisations, and companies - including the Scottish Government - are dragging their heels over implementing the law. When we said court cases were coming, it wasnt an idle threat! The author told followers she would not be accepting public donations as a private fund is the most efficient, streamlined way for me to do this. She added: Lots of people are offering to contribute, which I truly appreciate, but there are many other womens rights organisations that could do with the money, so donate away, just not to me! A website for the war chest pledges it will be a legal fighting fund for women protecting their sex-based rights. It stipulates it will not be providing legal services such as lawyers, rather it will give out money to help individuals and organisations to protect women-only spaces and views. Ms Rowling has railed against the SNP's gender self-ID policies, some of which have been successfully challenged in the courts Nurse Sandie Peggie is suing the Scottish arm of the Royal College of Nursing for failing to help her in the employment tribunal against NHS Fife Those eligible to apply for a cash boost include those who have lost their livelihoods or face tribunals, are being forced to comply with unreasonable inclusion policies regarding single-sex spaces and services and are challenging legislation which takes away the freedoms or protections women are entitled to. The criteria covers those who dont have adequate means to bring actions to court or to defend themselves and all applications will go through a rigorous assessment. The move comes after Scottish prisoner Jane Sutherley said she was considering suing the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) after she was forced to share facilities with transgender women. The Harry Potter author responded to suggestions she might fund the fight saying: Of course Id give financial backing to any woman who wanted to sue because she suffered detriments through being incarcerated with a man. Women being locked up with men is a human rights violation. Vulnerable women being forced to agree that a man is a woman is a human rights violation. A surgically altered man is not a fully anatomical woman. Saying these things is not hate, but truth. Earlier this month, Ms Rowling said she would also help those who want to take the police to court amid concerns the authorities were acting too slowly in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. At the centre of Mrs Peggie's legal fight is trans medic Dr Beth Upton, who used the women's changing rooms Forces across the country have said they will not rush to change their policies despite the bombshell judgment clarified that legal sex is based on biology, not gender identity. In response the author, 59, told her 14million followers on X: So the police are dragging their heels on stopping males strip-searching females, which, as the Supreme Court ruling confirmed, was illegal all along. Im sure they hope no woman decides to sue. Of course, Ill fund her if she does. The Mail yesterday revealed Scots nurse Mrs Peggie had launched legal action against the Scottish arm of the RCN. Last night a spokeswoman for Ms Rowling said the fund had been in operation for around six months. She said: We can confirm that a private fund set up by J.K. Rowling in order to manage her ongoing financial support for legal cases involving womens and girls sex-based rights, has been in operation since late 2024. 'The J.K. Rowling Womens Fund is a privately run restricted fund, not a charity. The Fund cannot accept donations and has clearly defined criteria which can be found at www.jkrwf.org. Funding is at the discretion of J.K. Rowling, who is supported in this by an advisory board, and funding details are confidential between the fund and applicants. Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg has received backlash for praising Jasmine Crockett as 'the type of leader [Democrats are] looking to support.' During an interview on the popular radio show, The Breakfast Club, Hogg was asked by Charlamagne tha God to give his unfiltered opinions on prominent Democrats. When asked about controversial Crockett, Hogg was quick to declare his 'love' for the representative, confessing, 'She is amazing.' He went on to say that people want to see a politician 'fight' and 'call out the bulls***,' adding that was exactly what Crockett does. In recent months, the Texas liberal has staked her claim as the president's most outspoken critic in his second term, with Donald Trump returning fire, calling Crockett a 'very low-IQ person.' Crockett made headlines for calling wheelchair-bound Gov. Greg Abbott 'hot wheels,' inventing a ridiculous game called 'Trump or trans' in a House subcommittee meeting, and also for allegedly pushing ahead of the elderly and disabled to board a Delta flight. She also came under fire last year for accusing Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of having a, 'bad built, bleach blonde, butch body,' during an Oversight Committee Hearing. Despite her missteps in the public eye, Hogg showed his unwavering support for her to lead the rudderless Democratic Party. David Hogg said that Crockett was 'frankly the type of leader that we're looking to support' Crockett is a Democratic representative from Texas. She has risen in popularity in her party, but is known to make controversial and highly publicized statements Hogg praised Jasmine Crockett (pictured with fellow progressive representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) for her authentic public remarks Hogg continued: 'Jasmine is frankly the type of leader that we're looking to support in some senses. Somebody who is out there that frankly doesn't give a damn what the other side, at least the elected Republicans in Congress, say. 'At least you know, even if you don't agree with her, you know what she stands for because she makes it very clear, and people are really craving that right now.' Hogg concluded that Crockett was authentic and spoke her mind instead of referring to the same talking points. His comments provoked a flurry of backlash, with many accusing Crockett of being a 'loose cannon' undeserving of the top spot. 'David Hogg has to be punking the Democrats. No way would the DNC put a loose cannon like Crocket in a leadership role. Do they really want to lose that badly?' one wrote on X. 'Where is the reasoned left? That cares about workers? This is all for clicks and everyone on the left should be worried,' another added. 'If allowed, both David Hogg and Jasmine Crockett will destroy the Democrat Party to the point that they may never win another election,' a third commented. The backlash comes as the DNC has set a June vote to decide whether they will redo Hogg's election against Pennsylvania state Representative Malcom Kenyatta. Party activist Kalyn Free contested the results of the election in February, arguing that the voting members violated parliamentary rules. 'If we were to redo this election, it truly just sends a horrible message that we really dont want out there at this moment,' Hogg said during the meeting. 'Thats why I believe that it should not go forward, and if it does it should not be done electronically or over mail.' DNC Vice Chair David Hogg said during an interview on The Breakfast Club that he 'loves' Jasmine Crockett and praised her for speaking her mind During a DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting on Thursday, party members scheduled an electronic vote from June 9-11 on whether to redo the election. If a majority of members agree to redo the vote, a new election will be held, potentially ousting Hogg. Last April, Hogg ruffled feathers within his own party once again, when DNC Chairman Ken Martin issued a proposal to stop the vice chair's plans to spend millions primarying Democrat incumbents in safe seats, CNN reported at the time. 'No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger. Voters should decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership,' Martin told reporters. Hogg responded that his plans to fund primary elections against incumbent Democrats were within his responsibilities at the DNC. He then appeared on CNN and told on-air journalist Kaitlan Collins that he believed Martin's proposal was an attempt to remove him from his position. Faulty invisibility cloaks being used by Russian soldiers have turned Putin's troops into sitting ducks for Ukrainian drones. The coats and blankets are designed to hide army members from thermal and night vision sensors by masking their body heat. But a fault in the technology and the Russian soldiers' lack of training in how to use the garments has made them a a bold target for Ukrainian drone strikes, The Telegraph reports. Footage shows how Russians are standing out more than ever, with their arms, legs and heads seen peaking out from their clothing. This is because rather than concealing body heat, the so-called invisibility cloaks are creating cold spots against a warmer natural environment, making the Russians easier to detect. Ukrainian drones often pick up on Russian activity by using thermal imaging, allowing them to conduct precise air strikes, even at night. As a result, Russian soldiers are essentially being led towards their enemy despite believing that they are going unnoticed. It comes as Russia and Ukraine today exchanged hundreds of prisoners as part of a major swap that was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. Faulty invisibility cloaks being used by Russian soldiers have turned Putin's troops into sitting ducks for Ukrainian drones The coats and blankets are designed to hide army members from thermal and night vision sensors Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. 'Among those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine,' Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. 'We expect more to come tomorrow,' he added. Russia's defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details. The news came hours after Kyiv came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured, according to local officials. Explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations. In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month that marked the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. It was a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the three-year-old war. Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down 6 missiles and neutralized 245 drones 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare. Russia and Ukraine today exchanged hundreds of prisoners as part of a major swap that was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW) Oleksandr embraces his wife Olena as he returns after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine Zelenskyy and Russia's defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 24 May 2025 The news of the prisoner swap came hours after Kyiv came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured local resident looks out of the window of his flat in a multistorey residential building, damaged following a Russian drone strike on Kyiv on May 24, 2025, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine The head of Kyiv's civil and military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, reported fires and fallen debris in several parts of the Ukrainian capital The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six city districts of the Ukrainian capital The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. 'A difficult night for all of us,' the administration said in a statement. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six city districts of the Ukrainian capital. According to the acting head of Kyivs military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit. There were at least five wounded in the area, the administration said. A doctor has issued an urgent plea after it was revealed a sperm donor used to conceive at least 67 children across Europe has passed on a rare cancer-causing mutation. Around 23 of those conceived from the donor's sperm between 2008 and 2015 have been found to carry a variant in the TP53 gene which provides instructions for making tumour proteins. And 10 of these children have already been diagnosed with cancers such as leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The case was described by Dr Edwige Kasper, a biologist at Rouen University Hospital in France, as an 'abnormal dissemination of genetic disease'. She urged The Guardian: 'We need to have a European limit on the number of births or families for a single donor. 'We cant do whole-genome sequencing for all sperm donors Im not arguing for that,' she added. 'But this is the abnormal dissemination of genetic disease. Not every man has 75 children across Europe.' The shocking revelation came to light when two separate families contacted their fertility clinics after their children were diagnosed with cancers connected to the a variant in the TP53 gene. It has been revealed that a sperm donor used to conceive 67 children across Europe has passed on a rare cancer-causing mutation (Stock Image) Analysis by the European Sperm Bank which supplied the sperm confirmed that the rare variant was present in some of the donor's sperm. But they emphasised that it was not known to be linked to cancer at the time the sperm was donated in 2008 and it would not have been detected using standard screening techniques. Furthermore, the donor is thought to be in good health. The European Sperm Bank said that more than 67 children had been conceived using the donors sperm, but that its policy does not allow them to confirm exact numbers of children for a specific donor. It said all of the relevant clinics had been alerted. Julie Paulli Budtz, a spokesperson for the European Sperm Bank, said: 'We are deeply affected by this case.' Although the donor had been thoroughly tested, she said that 'it is scientifically simply not possible to detect disease-causing mutations in a persons gene pool if you dont know what you are looking for'. She added: 'We welcome continued dialogue on setting an internationally mandated family limit, and have advocated for this on several occasions. 'This is also why we have proactively implemented our own international limit of 75 families per donor.' The European Sperm Bank said the donor had been thoroughly tested but that 'it is scientifically simply not possible to detect disease-causing mutations in a persons gene pool if you dont know what you are looking for' (Stock Image) It is suggested that children who have the mutated TP53 gene undergo whole body and brain MRI scans. They are also advised to have regular breast and abdomen ultrasounds throughout adulthood. The case has sparked questions about the challenge of tracing the families affected and the lack of internationally agreed limits surrounding the use of a single sperm donor. Many European countries have their own limits on either the number of families that can use a donor or the number of children that can be conceived using the same donor. Current UK law allows for sperm from a single donor to be used to create a maximum of 10 families. The Cannes Film Festival was briefly brought to a halt following a major power outage that has struck south-eastern France which police believe was caused by 'sabotage'. About 160,000 households in the Alpes-Maritimes department lost electricity after a high-voltage line fell on Saturday morning, electricity network operator RTE said on X. Disruption was also caused to traffic light systems, train services and retail outlets in the French Riviera city, as the film festival prepared for its glittering closing ceremony tonight where the top prize, the Palme d'Or, will be awarded to the best film. The outage came hours after a fire at an electrical substation in Tanneron, Van, near Cannes overnight had already weakened the grid. Police have opened an investigation into possible arson. 'We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately,' said a spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie. Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes department, condemned 'serious acts of damage to electrical infrastructures'. 'All resources are mobilised to identify, track down, arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators of these acts,' said Mr Hottiaux. A major power outage has struck south-eastern France which police believe was caused by an act of 'sabotage' Cannes Film Festival organisers confirmed the outage affected the early activities of Saturday A journalist works on his laptop following the power outage today, that also brought disruption to the Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival organisers confirmed the outage affected the early activities of Saturday and said the Palais des Festivals, the Croisette's main venue, had switched to an independent power supply. 'All scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as planned and under normal conditions,' the statement said. 'At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are under way.' Screenings at the Cineum, one of the festival's satellite venues, were briefly suspended, the festival added. Other festival activities, including press conferences for the Dardenne brothers Young Mothers and Martin Bourboulons war drama, 13 Days, 13 Nights, went ahead as planned, according to Deadline. Aubrey Plaza and Margaret Qualley pose during a photocall for Honey Don't! on Saturday as the Cannes Film Festival grappled with the aftermath of a severe power outage A barber gives a haircut to a customer outside a shop after a power outage in Cannes About 160,000 households in the Alpes-Maritimes department lost electricity after a high-voltage line fell on Saturday morning The power outage caused traffic lights throughout Cannes to turn dark, causing road chaos Police officers were forced to keep traffic in order after a power outage caused chaos Traffic lights in parts of Cannes and the surrounding city of Antibes stopped working after 10am, leading to traffic jams and confusion in city centres. Most shops along the Croisette remained closed, and local food kiosks were only accepting cash. Train services in Cannes were also disrupted. Authorities said restoration efforts are ongoing and urged residents to remain cautious during travel. The nail-biting moment two heroic Georgia police officers saved an infant's life after she became unresponsive at a CVS was caught on camera. Forest Park Officers Jimmy Arnold and Angelic Coley were discussing how the latter had never responded to an infant emergency call in her five years on the force when that exact call came in, they told Fox 5 Atlanta. A four-week-old baby was unresponsive at a Forest Parkway CVS on May 14. Bodycam footage showed the officer rushing to the scene, sirens blaring as Coley hopped out of the car and sprinted into the pharmacy. When she arrived inside the store, customers informed her the baby was out back with the mom a little way down the street. 'The baby, she's not breathing, please,' the mother, who was not identified, begged as she passed the child into the arms of Arnold. 'We got it, we got it,' Coley comforted her. As Arnold cradled the baby, Coley was seen performing CPR on the baby. Shortly after, the baby began to cry. Forest Park Officers Jimmy Arnold and Angelic Coley were discussing how the latter had never responded to an infant emergency call in her five years on the force when that exact call came in A four-week-old baby was unresponsive at a Forest Parkway CVS on May 14. Bodycam footage showed the officer rushing to the scene, where they performed CPR on the child They credit their excessive training as the reason they were able to calmly handle the situation and save the infant's life 'We're breathing,' Arnold calmly said. 'She's moving, she's okay,' Coley told the mother. Arnold and Coley have been partners since they started on the force five years ago. 'He's definitely my crutch. I'm his muscle,' the female cop told Fox 5 Atlanta. They credit their excessive training as the reason they were able to calmly handle the situation and save the infant's life. Despite Georgia's requirement of only 20 hours of annual police training, Forest Park personally requires their officers to do 100 hours. Arnold had completed his CPR course just weeks before the incident. However, the irony wasn't lost on Coley, who was aware just moments before the life-saving call she had said she wasn't ready. Arnold and Coley have been partners since they started on the force five years ago. 'He's definitely my crutch. I'm his muscle,' the female cop said 'It's an awesome feeling,' she told Fox 5 Atlanta of successfully saving the little girl's life. 'Especially knowing that 17 minutes before that call, I said that I wasn't ready.' While she and Arnold were talking about it before the call, her partner had told her: 'Nobody is ever ready for that.' The police department posted the bodycam footage to congratulate their officers on a job well done. A worker was killed after he was thrown into the Hudson River in New York City by an explosion on a barge. The barge blew up at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant near West 138th Street in Manhattan about 10.30am on Saturday. The small explosion was is believed to have been caused by methane igniting in a welding 'malfunction' on the vessel, but it did not start a fire. One of the workers, a 59-year-old man who was welding the hull on the barge during the explosion, later died of his injuries, according to authorities. Rescue boats rushed to the area to rescue him after he was thrown overboard and pinned between the boat and the dock. Whether he died from the explosion or from being thrown into the water is yet to be determined. One worker is fighting for life and another being rescued from the Hudson River after an explosion on a barge Two other workers were taken to hospital in stable conditions with less severe injuries. Helicopters were seen hovering over the barge and numerous emergency responders trying to get on to the boat over a narrow gangway. The barge was operated by the Department of Environmental Protection and was transporting raw sewage to the treatment plant. Hazmat crews arrived to decontaminate the vessel, assess the methane levels, and address sludge and oil in the water. The cause of the explosion is being investigated. 'The entire DEP family is grieving today. Our employee who lost his life had served the Department and the City with dedication for 33 years,' NYC DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala said. Rescue boats rushed to the area to rescue the man overboard, who was pinned between the boat and the dock 'He was a valued and experienced member of the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment, and his decades of service reflect his commitment to DEP's mission.' Mayor Eric Adams said there was no suspicion of criminality and no impact on the facility. 'This devoted public servant gave 33 years of service to New York City, and our hearts go out to his family, friends, and colleagues during this painful time,' he said. 'We are committed to fully supporting an investigation and ensuring that every possible measure is taken to prevent such tragedies in the future.' A British woman has been arrested in Ghana after being accused of attempting to bring up to 18kg of cannabis into the UK. The 23-year-old had been set to board a British Airways flight from Accra, Ghana, back to London's Gatwick Airport on May 18, when she was approached by officers as part of a 'profiling exercise', the Ghanaian Government has said. Ghana's Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC), a government agency, alleged that luggage checks revealed the young Brit had hidden 32 slabs of substances initially suspected to be a narcotic drug in two suitcases destined for London. A later field test proved positive for cannabis, with the drug weighing 17.72kg in total. She was arrested by officers at the airport and has been reportedly moved to the NACOC's headquarters in Accra for further investigation. Her arrest is the latest in a recent string of British female smugglers who have been caught illegally transporting drugs worth up to millions of pounds. Bella May Culley, 18, sparked a massive international search operation in early May after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand. However, it was later revealed that the teen, from Billingham, County Durham, had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia, allegedly carrying 30 pounds (14kg) of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation. A British woman, 23 (pictured), has been arrested, accused of trying to bring nearly 18kg of cannabis into the UK on board a British Airways flight from Accra, Ghana, back to London's Gatwick Airport on May 18, according to Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) The NACOC claimed that luggage checks revealed that the young Brit had hidden 32 slabs of substances suspected to be a narcotic drug in her suitcase, which later tested positive for cocaine The arrest is the latest in a recent string of British female smugglers who have been caught illegally transporting drugs worth millions of pounds. Bella May Culley, 18 (pictured) was arrested on drug offences in Georgia, having allegedly carried 30 pounds (14kg) of cannabis into Thailand Meanwhile, 21-year-old Charlotte Lee May, from Coulsdon, south London, was arrested in the capital Colombo last week after police discovered 46 kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase. The youngster, who told MailOnline from behind bars in Negombo Prison that she had 'no idea' about the drugs, worth up to 1.2million, found her suitcase, was seen at Negombo Magistrates Court on Sunday, May 18 and could face up to 25 years in prison. The Ghana drug bust also came on the same day that officers were said to have arrested three people, including a young 19-year-old British citizen, allegedly found to have been carrying 53kg of cannabis across two suitcases on a return flight from Dubai. The young British citizen, along with two other suspects believed to have been assisting him, was identified and detained at the scene. NACOC confirmed that a 'further investigation is ongoing', with the Commission adding: 'NACCOC remains resolute and committed to the fight against drug trafficking usage in the country'. UK authorities have worked closely with drugs control officials in Ghana to clamp down on the rising tide of smuggling in the past. The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) confirmed that a 'further investigation is ongoing', with the Commission adding: 'NACCOC remains resolute and committed to the fight against drug trafficking usage in the country' (Pictured: the alleged suspect) In 2022, four members of a Ghanaian smuggling ring were jailed for more than 28 years after trying to import almost 3mn worth of cocaine into Britain (Pictured: the 23-year-old suspect's two suitcases alleged to have been filled with cocaine on May 18) UK authorities have worked closely with drugs control officials in Ghana to clamp down on the rising tide of smuggling in the past Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London (pictured), was arrested in the capital Colombo last after police discovered 46 kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase. Pictured: Miss Lee speaks with MailOnline from behind bars In September last year, four British men were found guilty of smuggling 4.3million worth of cannabis from Ghana into the UK, concealed in sacks of gari powder. Daniel Yeboah, 54, Kristoffen Baidoo, 48, Kwaku Bonsu, 52 and Edward Adjei, 48, were all convicted for importing the class B drug following a three-week trial at Southwark Crown Court. The drugs were illegally smuggled in a container that arrived at Tilbury Docks, Essex, on 19 December 2019. An investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Ghanaian Narcotics Control Commission uncovered 2,355 packages of cannabis hidden inside the Gari powder sacks, weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. Yeboah was imprisoned for five years, Adjei for four years, Baidoo for 10 years, and Bonsu for seven years. In 2022, four members of a Ghanaian smuggling ring were jailed for more than 28 years after trying to import almost 3mn worth of cocaine into Britain, following a National Crime Agency investigation. Julius Tetteh Puplampu was intercepted by NCA officers at Heathrow Airport in August 2021, having flown in from Accra with six kilos of cocaine in his suitcase. He was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison after pleading guilty to drug importation offences, as reported by the Evening Standard. A general view of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, in 2018 File photo. Two men were arrested in Ghana, accused of trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain Puplampu had been in regular contact with Eric Appaih, also from Ghana, who was accused of trying to import 15kg of cocaine stashed in food boxes. Appaih was sentenced to six years in prison, while two others associated with the ring were also arrested and handed down sentences of nine and six years for their involvement in the trade. UK authorities have worked closely with drugs control officials in Ghana to clamp down on the rising tide of smuggling in the past. In 2021, the National Crime Agency reported a smuggler who had used coconuts to hide almost 140kg herbal cannabis sent from Ghana had been jailed. It comes as MailOnline exclusively revealed today that a 21-year-old recruitment consultant from Leeds has been locked up in a hell hole prison in Dubai for three months on drugs charges. Isabella Daggett, 21, was arrested just weeks after relocating from Yorkshire to the puritanical desert city state after landing a new job. But her desperate family insist she was seized by cops simply for being 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' and has never used narcotics. UK Police have reported witnessing an 'exponential' rise in so-called 'cannabis couriers' who are brazenly attempting to flood the UK with drugs hidden in luggage. Footage released by NCA - Britain's answer to the FBI - showed one female drug mule being apprehended after attempting to smuggle two suitcases full of cannabis into Heathrow. A huge haul of cannabis, bagged up after it was seized at Manchester Airport. Spanish national Fernando Mayans Fuster, 51, was stopped with eight suitcases containing 158 kilos of cannabis, after flying in from LA in May Chelsea Allingham, a 40-year-old Canadian national, had just got to her hotel bar to enjoy a celebratory drink for her troubles when NCA officers swooped in and arrested her in May 2024. She was jailed for 10 months. And in May 2024, 51-year-old Spanish national Fernando Mayans Fuster was caught at Manchester Airport with eight suitcases containing 158 kilos of the drug. He had arrived on a flight from Los Angeles and it is believed the haul is one of the largest passenger seizures of its kind at the airport. Mr Mayans Fuster was jailed on July 19 for three years and four months. Speaking in August 2024, Charles Yates, the NCA's deputy director, said: 'We've seen an exponential rise in people flying into the UK with cannabis stowed in their luggage [and] are rapidly seeing more people brazenly walk through airports with suitcases full of cannabis. 'Subsequently, there has been a dramatic uptick in arrests for the importation of cannabis already this year more than double those for the whole of 2023.' A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a British national who has been detained in Ghana and are in contact with the local authorities.' British Airways was contacted for comment. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a mother was killed alongside her three children in a horror house fire. Firefighters arrived to Tillett Close, Stonebridge, near Wembley, at 1:22am on Saturday morning after reports of a fire. A 43-year-old mother and her three children, a 15-year-old girl and two boys aged eight and four, died at the scene, the Metropolitan Police confirmed. Police arrested a 41-year-old man on suspicion of murder following the blaze in Brent, northwest London. Two other members of the same family - a woman in her 70s and a teenage girl - were rushed to hospital by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) with police awaiting updates on their conditions. The family's next-of-kin have been informed and the police said: 'Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time'. New pictures from The Mirror show the fire ripping through the family home as firefighters worked for more than two hours to tackle the blaze, the cause of which remains unknown. The interior of the house shows blackened wallpaper and charred furniture and two three-storey terraced houses were also damaged by the flames. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a mother was killed alongside her three children in a horror house fire in Brent, northwest London in the early hours of Saturday morning Firefighters arrived to Tillett Close (pictured), near Wembley, at 1:22am and worked for more than two hours to tackle the blaze which destroyed the family home A 43-year-old mother and her three children, a 15-year-old girl and two boys aged eight and four, died at the scene In a new video the fire can be seen ripping through the building as panicked neighbours gather on a green outside. Mohamed Labidi, a 38-year-old teacher, who lives on Tillett Close, said he 'can't even look at the house'. He said he knew the woman, adding that the four victims of the fire were 'really good people'. 'We used to socialise together,' Mr Labidi said. 'I can't even look at the house at the house right now.' Cecilia Marquis, 60, a caterer at Brentford FC said she was 'stunned by the devastation' of the blaze. Ms Marquis, who witnessed the fire in her street, said: 'This will leave a devastating impact. I just feel numb.' In a new video the fire can be seen ripping through the building in the early hours as panicked neighbours gather on a green outside Two other members of the same family - a woman in her 70s and a teenage girl - were rushed to hospital by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) The family's next-of-kin have been informed and the police said: 'Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time' Pictures show the burnt ruins of the house with blackened wallpaper and charred furniture A next door neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: 'It's horrible, we saw people running outside. It's hard to process. I only just moved in so it's hard to think about it.' Superintendent Steve Allen, from the Met's local policing team in northwest London, said: 'This is an extremely tragic incident and our thoughts are with everyone involved. 'Officers arrested a man at the scene and we continue to work alongside investigators from the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire.' He added: 'Emergency services will remain in Tillett Close throughout the day as these enquiries take place.' Reading a further statement to reporters at the scene in Tillett Close, Stonebridge, Superintendent Steve Allen from the Met's local policing team in north-west London said: 'I can confirm a woman and three of her children died at the scene. 'A further two members of the same family were taken to hospital and continue to receive treatment.' He added: 'The wider family have been informed, and officers will continue to support them at this incredibly difficult time. Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters responded to the blaze, the London Fire Brigade confirmed 'Crews wearing breathing apparatus were able to rescue the woman and one of the children from the second floor, but they were later declared deceased at the scene,' LFB assistant commissioner Keeley Foster said The fire was under control by around 3.25am, the service added 'We remain in the early stages of our investigation. However, one man was arrested outside the house. He remains in custody and is being questioned by officers. 'I recognise the significant impact this incident has had on the community. We are working closely with the local authority partners, and will have officers in Tillett Close throughout the day. I would ask anyone with information about what happened to contact us by calling 101, or speaking to officers at the scene.' Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters responded to the blaze early on Saturday morning, the London Fire Brigade confirmed. Met Police officers were later called to assist at the scene and the fire was under control by around 3.25am, the service added. Pictures show two terrace houses, each with three floors, were involved in the fire. LFB assistant commissioner Keeley Foster said: 'Upon arrival, firefighters were met with a well-developed fire, involving two adjoining properties. 'Crews immediately set to work carrying out firefighting operations in order to bring the incident under control. 'Sadly, a woman and three children have died as a result of this fire. Superintendent Steve Allen confirmed that 'emergency services will remain in Tillett Close throughout the day' London Ambulance Service (LAS) said the air ambulance, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic and hazardous area response team were deployed A spokesperson from the LAS said: 'Our crews treated six patients at the scene, assessed a further six, and another was treated by police' 'Crews wearing breathing apparatus were able to rescue the woman and one of the children from the second floor, but they were later declared deceased at the scene. 'A further two children were discovered to have died in the fire, as crews carried out a search of the properties involved.' She added: 'This is an extremely tragic incident, and the thoughts of everyone across the brigade are with those impacted by this incident.' London Ambulance Service (LAS) said the air ambulance, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic and hazardous area response team were deployed. A spokesperson from the LAS said: 'Our crews treated six patients at the scene, assessed a further six, and another was treated by police. 'Sadly, despite our best efforts and those of our emergency partners, four people were pronounced dead at the scene. 'A further two were taken to hospital.' Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said in a post on X: 'This is devastating news and my thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community of the four people who sadly have lost their lives. 'Sadly, despite our best efforts and those of our emergency partners, four people were pronounced dead at the scene' 'I remain in close contact with the London Fire Brigade and Metropolitan Police as they work to establish the cause of the fire and offer support to all those impacted.' Dawn Butler, the local Labour MP for Brent East, said in a post on X: 'Devastated to see the fatal fire at homes in Tillett Close last night. 'My prayers are with the family and friends affected by this is a very sad tragedy.' She added: '@LFB-Brent worked hard to get it under control, thank you.' Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 509/24May or anonymously through Crimestoppers online or by calling 0800 555 111. Scotland's most senior union boss is at the centre of a major hypocrisy row over her ownership of a second home. The Mail can reveal that Roz Foyer, the General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), owns two houses despite publicly condemning the scourge of second homes. Ms Foyer, who earns up to 100,000 a year, has blamed second home ownership for exacerbating Scotlands housing and cost-of-living crisis. Now an investigation by this newspaper has sparked accusations of blatant hypocrisy by the top union official who oversees a coalition of 40 trade bodies across the country. We can reveal that Ms Foyer and her husband have a holiday cottage on the idyllic Isle of Jura, as well as their four-bedroom family home in the leafy suburbs of the north-west of Glasgow. The pretty two-storey stone-built island home, which is believed to be worth around 150,000, is situated in a tiny hamlet just a few miles from where George Orwell famously wrote his dystopian novel 1984. Earlier this month a Labour MSP told a Holyrood debate that a proliferation of holiday homes was making life harder for public sector workers the very people that Ms Foyer claims to represent. Last night Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesman Craig Hoy blasted Ms Foyers double standards. Roz Foyer is the first female General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC). The idyllic Isle of Jura is where George Orwell famously wrote his dystopian novel 1984. Roz Foyer's family home in Glasgow The STUC boss's pretty cottage on Isle of Jura He said: Hypocrisy is the religion of champagne socialism. We look forward to Roz Foyers condemnation of Roz Foyer. Stalwart trade unionist Ms Foyer was appointed to the top job in Scotland, representing 500,000 workers, in 2020. As the first woman appointed to the position in the collectives long history, she pledged to help tackle the stereotype of unions being only for blue-collar men and revealed her mission to amplify the working class voice. Ms Foyer has repeatedly spoken out about the negative impact second homes have on communities. Defending the STUCs policy position set out in July 2023, that there should be a 300 per cent council tax premium on second and empty homes to tackle homelessness in Scotland, Ms Foyer wrote that it was time that the wealth in Scotland was shared. She said: We cannot ever hope to solve the chronic lack of housing, with the unforgivable levels of homelessness throughout the country, if the Scottish Government continues down this path of reinforcing rentierism. The STUC boss has repeatedly raised concerns about the impact of second home ownership. A premium on council tax for homes that are not in use, second homes and short-term lets would provide vital extra resources for local authorities, helping incentivise homes into use, raise revenue and bring down rents in the long term. Months later, in December, she appeared to go further with her criticism of second home owners when she welcomed new Scottish legislation which gave councils the power to double council tax on second homes. She said: Scotland is facing a simultaneous housing crisis, a public sector funding crisis and a cost-of-living crisis putting an unbearable strain on working people. Second homes and short-term lets can have significantly negative impacts on communities, exacerbating these crises as well as undermining the local economy. And in February 2024, in a newspaper column, Ms Foyer highlighted the number of long-term empty properties and second homes in the Highlands. She wrote that workers in the Highlands are facing an acute housing crisis before adding that figures from the Scottish Government showed that there had been a nearly 670 per cent increase in long-term empty properties in the Highlands. 'Second homes and short-term lets can have significantly negative impacts on communities,' Ms Foyer claimed. However, despite admitting that second homes cause serious problems for rural communities, title deeds obtained by The Mail show that Ms Foyer bought a property on Jura with her husband, fellow trade union official Simon Macfarlane, for 45,000 in 2012. The pretty cottage enjoys a lovely spot on Jura which is known as one of Europes last lost wildernesses and boasts a small population of around 220. Similar properties on Jura have been recently valued at around 150,000. Ms Foyer and her husband, Mr Macfarlane who is a regional manager for trade union Unison are understood to spend most of their time with their two daughters at their residence on a private estate near Maryhill in Glasgow, which cost the family 280,111 in 2015. They visit the remote island, known for its peaty whisky, for family holidays, and are believed to have taken a trip as recently as last month. Locals have seen Ms Foyer and her family enjoying long strolls down Juras beaches. Despite living in Glasgow, Ms Foyer is even part of the Isle of Jura Community Group on Facebook and has offered out old wellies and jigsaws to residents. The issue of second homes was debated in the Scottish parliament earlier this month during a motion brought by Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens. The discussion heard concerns that a high concentration of second homes has caused house prices and rents to rocket and reduced the housing supply for local people. Scottish Labour MSP Carol Mochan said that holiday homes were making it harder to recruit and retain public sector workers. Ms Foyer's cottage enjoys a lovely spot on Jura which is known as one of Europes last lost wildernesses. She said: A lack of affordable housing affects not only individuals and communities but local businesses that want to attract workers. 'Very importantly, a lack of affordable housing also affects the recruitment of public sector workers. She continued: I have strong evidence of that from the Borders area of my South Scotland region. Trade unions have told me that people are not coming to work in the area or are having to travel a long distance, which sometimes involves a journey of an hour or more, to get to their work. That is not sustainable. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has heard compelling evidence on the issue, in oral evidence and on a visit to the islands. The health boards have described the situation as a crisis for service delivery. It is a very important issue. However, a spokesman for the STUC last night said: The General Secretary has been transparent and clear on our position of increased taxation for those with assets. She fully supports that policy and, as such, willingly advocates and holds herself accountable for the additional taxation it would incur. CNN pundit Scott Jennings revealed that he met Donald Trump for the first time at the White House - and was stunned when the president told him: 'You look terrific.' Jennings shared the anecdote during a public speaking event promoting his new book, A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization. The book explores Trump's run for re-election using interviews with the president and his inner circle. The CNN commentator revealed that even though he's discussed Trump publicly throughout his career, he only met the president for the first time in February. 'It's funny he's dominated almost my entire professional existence for the last decade and all my conversations, but I hadn't met him until February,' Jennings revealed in his speech. He added that their first meeting was in the Oval Office, where Jennings was met by a majority of Trump's cabinet members. In his best Trump impression, Jennings continued, 'I walk in and he looks up from the Resolute Desk and he says, "You look terrific. I mean you look good on TV, but in person you look terrific, have a seat."' Jennings went on to say he 'plopped down' on the famous Oval Office couch next to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Scott Jennings revealed that the first three words Donald Trump said to him were 'You look terrific' Jennings is promoting his new book, A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization, which details the president's re-election run Donald Trump brought out CNN conservative 'black sheep' and DailyMail.com columnist Scott Jennings at his Michigan rally celebrating his first 100 days in office The CNN pundit then joked that Trump asked his cabinet if they knew him, adding, 'He's like our best guy.' Jennings said the president then directed him to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, declaring, 'Scott - tell Marco what you would do about the Panama Canal.' The audience erupted in laughter, and Jennings joked, 'If you have $30, you can read the rest.' Jennings then concluded, 'I don't know who in the hell was running the country the last four years, but I sure as hell know who's running it right now.' His followers reacted to the anecdote online with one writing, 'Damn good Trump impersonation! I'll buy the book.' 'That is enough to get me to buy the book!!' another added. 'That was excellent, Scott. It's nice to have you aboard the Trump train,' a third added. Jennings has been branded the 'CNN Black Sheep' for the conservative takes he brings to the network. Jennings revealed during a speaking event that he first met Trump in the Oval Office with members of the cabinet to discuss his new book He's a frequent fixture on NewsNight with Abby Philip and has gone viral multiple times for sparring with liberal pundits. Prior to his tenure on CNN, he worked on former President George W. Bush's two campaigns and was later named Special Assistant to the President for Political Affairs. Jennings was also an advisor for Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush's campaigns in 2012 and 2016, respectively. He's also frequently supported Trump, and even joined the president on stage at a rally marking the first 100 days in office of his second term in Michigan. At the rally, Trump introduced Jennings, telling the crowd, 'He defends me all the time on CNN, and he defends me really well, but he cant go too far because hell get fired.' Jennings took the stage and declared, 'Ive got to get a farm in Michigan because when you own as many libs as I do, you gotta get a place to put them all.' The commentator's new book, which Trump hailed as focusing on the 'truth' of his agenda, is available for pre-order and will be released in December. The bill for long-running public inquiries has cost Scotlands beleaguered NHS more than 12 million in the past four years alone, figures show. National Services Scotland (NSS), the administrative arm of NHS Scotland, admitted that it has had to fork out 9 million in legal fees and 3.1 million in staff costs since 2021 to respond to inquiries that include the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and the Covid-19 probe. Holyroods finance committee is currently assessing if the number of public inquiries held in Scotland is value for money. The SNPs Kenneth Gibson, who chairs the committee, has raised fears about the 100 million bill for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, as it emerged that the total cost of all Scottish inquiries since 2007 has now ballooned to 230 million. Meanwhile, the probe into disgraced NHS Tayside surgeon Sam Eljamel has cost 1 million before the inquiry has even begun, official records show. The enormous cost to the NHS to respond to inquiries and defend its actions in some instances comes despite huge waiting lists and a GP crisis and last night critics said the money could be better spent. Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: Taxpayers will be appalled that the NHS has splashed out 9 million on legal fees. This is money that could have been spent cutting A&E waiting times or boosting the number of GP appointments available for patients. The probe into disgraced NHS Tayside surgeon Sam Eljamel, above, has cost 1 million before the inquiry has even begun, official records show Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said taxpayers will be 'appalled' that the NHS has splashed out 9 million on legal fees The sheer number of inquiries taking place speaks volumes about how the SNP are failing Scotland. On their watch no ministers or senior figures are ever held accountable for their mistakes. That leaves too many left without answers as to why failure has become so routine after 18 years of this SNP government letting down our NHS. According to a submission to the Holyrood committee by NSS, the NHS in Scotland has spent 3.1 million since 2021/22 in responding to public inquiries. Meanwhile, Scotlands Central Legal Office has provided around 9 million in legal services to NHS Scotland boards for public inquiries since 2021, which includes the cost of counsel. The scale of the outlay has led NSS chief executive Mary Morgan to suggest that an independent advisory board should be set up to avoid spiralling costs to the public purse. She wrote: NSS suggests that the current processes for monitoring public inquiry costs are inadequate. Costs are significant. She added: Costs are incurred by each participant to an inquiry. Costs are not reimbursed or reported consistently. There is no oversight of costs incurred. Public bodies involved in an inquiry incur costs to prepare for and participate in inquiries (including paying for staff time from the public body and legal representation). It may be helpful for inquiries to set out what costs should be recorded by participants and arrange for those to be reported to the inquiry and shared publicly on a regular basis (e.g. quarterly) to ensure that there is a consistent approach to providing information. NSS suggests that the independent advisory body could have a role in assessing and monitoring costs. Tight terms of reference are essential when a public inquiry is established to ensure value for money. A nine-year-old Dallas boy was horrifically killed while crossing the street with his twin sister and mother near his school, and the driver may get off. Jose Garcia was crossing Marsalis Avenue with his mom and sister and another child on Thursday when they were struck from a driver. Garcia died, while his sister was left in a serious, non-life-threatening condition, according to Fox 4 News. An 11-year-old girl was also like in a serious, but non-life-threatening condition, while Garcia's mother was reported to be in stable condition. Despite the tragedy, the driver of the truck may get off scot-free as the Dallas Police Department has ruled it an accident, according to Fox 4 News. Police do not believe the driver was speeding at the time of the accident. Garcia and the others were not using the crosswalk when they were struck, the outlet said. A nearby resident said many students cross at the same point the group of four did and believes change needs to happen to protect to others, they told Fox 4 News. A vigil was held for Garcia at Botelo Elementary on Friday, the last day of school. Jose Garcia was crossing Marsalis Avenue with his mom and sister and another child on Thursday when they were struck from a driver. Garcia died A vigil was held for Garcia at Botelo Elementary on Friday, the last day of school The sidewalk is near Botelo Elementary School in Dallas, Texas. Despite the tragedy, the driver of the truck may get off scot-free as the Dallas Police Department has ruled it an accident Teacher Yuri Ellett told the outlet that Garcia was a happy child and enjoyed attending his classes. 'I just know he was happy,' she said. 'He was happy here at school with his friends.' Due to the students' ages, educators didn't tell the young scholars much, but parents turns out in droves to grieve of the loss of the bright boy. Candles, flowers, and balloons, alongside a photo of the boy, were seen at the event, where parents were seen holding onto each other. A makeshift memorial was also placed at the crosswalk, where friends and families and community members laid out stuff animals, balloons, and a cross near the curb. During the vigil, a hoard of pastel balloons were released into the sky. 'We cannot say that we understand what shes going through, you know, but we can definitely feel compassionate,' parent Cynthia Rocha told Fox 4 News. The Home Office allowed a convicted drug dealer to stay in the UK after wrongly accepting that he had legally lived in Britain for most of his life. Olajiire Obafemi Shoyombo, a Nigerian national, was jailed for three years and four months in a young offenders' institution in 2023 after being convicted at Nottingham Crown Court of two offences involving the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. In a recent Home Office hearing he argued he should be allowed to stay in the UK under the 'private life exception', which can apply to foreign nationals who have spent most of their life in Britain lawfully and would face 'very significant obstacles' if they returned to their home country. His initial appeal on human rights grounds was allowed by a lower-tier tribunal but has since been referred back to them by the upper tribunal, which found the decision had been based on a 'mistake as to fact'. Now the convicted drug dealer's deportation case will be reheard after the Home Office wrongly accepted he had been a lawful UK resident for most of his life. According to tribunal documents, Shoyombo was unlawfully in the UK for more than eight years after arriving on a visitor visa in 2005, when he was three years old. He was later granted leave to remain during various periods between 2014 and 2022, totaling around nine years of lawful residence. The case will now return to the lower tribunal for a fresh hearing. Olajiire Obafemi Shoyombo, a Nigerian national, was jailed for three years and four months in 2023 after being convicted of two offences involving the supply of heroin and crack cocaine But the convicted drug dealer has tried to persuade the Home Office he is socially and culturally integrated in to the UK and should not be sent back to Nigeria The Home Office does not dispute that Shoyombo is socially and culturally integrated in to the UK or that he would face serious difficulties if he returned to Nigeria. However, the tribunal is now deciding whether there are 'very compelling circumstances' that outweigh the public interest in deportation. In March 2022 Shoyombo was arrested for drug dealing and just three months later was back on the streets selling dangerous narcotics, Nottinghamshire Live reports. On Saturday 29 October 2022,The Nigerian national was involved in a large street fight in Nottingham city centre and was chased down by officers and tackled to the floor. Following his arrest mobile phone evidence showed he had once again been dealing cocaine and heroin and drugs and cash was found in the pockets of his shorts. A further search of his home found several other phones all linked to criminal activity as well as more Class A drugs, cannabis, knives, cash and drugs equipment. The home Office initially allowed Shoyombo to stay despite his convictions because they believed he had spent most of his life legally in the UK but were wrongly informed Before the street fight commenced at roughly 3.30am, plain-clothed officers had witnessed him dealing drugs in an underpass. He was later sent to prison for three years and four months in 2023. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are doing everything in our power to contest this case, and having successfully appealed against it, it will now be reheard. 'We are taking immediate action to ensure immigration rules are respected and enforced.' A Liberal Democrat MP has been accused of an 'abuse of power' after sexting a Ukrainian translator during an official visit to the war-torn country. The party is facing calls to strip the whip from Cameron Thomas over the 'inappropriate' advances. The Tewkesbury MP sent intimate WhatsApp messages to the woman who had been tasked with working with the delegation of MPs in February while they were on a parliamentary visit to Ukraine. The visit marked the third anniversary of Russia's invasion and involved travelling to the capital Kyiv and the city of Lviv, as well as attending a conference. The WhatsApp messages seen by this newspaper include Mr Thomas, 42, telling the interpreter 'I want you' and 'I wish I could stay with you for a few days'. The Mail on Sunday understands the messages were then shown by the woman to others on the trip, who claimed they had made her uncomfortable. Mr Thomas denies any wrongdoing. MPs have accused the RAF veteran of abusing his position as an MP on an official delegation to make advances to someone tasked with working with them. One Tory MP aware of the allegations said: 'Given the courage and sacrifice shown by Ukrainians in the fight for their country's very existence, it is unthinkable that one of our MPs should be treating an official visit to a warzone in this way. To abuse his power as an MP by preying on a young woman is disgraceful. The Liberal Democrats should remove the whip.' Liberal Democrat MP Cameron Thomas (pictured) has been accused of an 'abuse of power' after sexting a Ukrainian translator during an official visit to the war-torn country The visit marked the third anniversary of Russia 's invasion and involved travelling to the capital Kyiv and the city of Lviv, as well as attending a conference (Pictured: Ukrainian troops training in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine) The WhatsApp messages seen by this newspaper include Mr Thomas (pictured), 42, telling the interpreter 'I want you' and 'I wish I could stay with you for a few days' In the Commons register of interests, Mr Thomas declared the purpose of the visit as: 'Support, aid, and to highlight areas that have been devastated by the war.' The costs of his trip were met by several organisations, including telecoms network Kyivstar and the Yalta European Strategy, a forum founded by Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk. Following the visit, Mr Thomas was one of 15 MPs and six peers banned from entering Russia. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the UK's 'confrontational' stance towards Moscow was the reason for barring the politicians. At the time, Mr Thomas said the ban had given him 'the greatest possible endorsement' of his parliamentary activity. The MP said his visit to Ukraine, which saw him cross the border from Poland to Lviv before travelling to the capital, opened his eyes to 'the devastation' of the war. He told the BBC in March: 'I found their people to be really, really hospitable. 'They're so incredibly resilient and they respect the British people so much, both for the support we've been giving them, and [because they] take inspiration for their own fight from the Battle of Britain. I very much hope we can see them through to victory in their own finest hour.' A spokesman for Mr Thomas said last night: 'These are private messages between two people who have remained in contact.' Motorists have been stuck in pile ups at Dover as thousands of Brits looked to escape the wet weather forecast over the Bank Holiday weekend. Photographs show long queues along the A20 in Kent on Friday and Saturday as the mass getaway for the long weekend began. Families also took to the road for the start of the half term holidays - with 5.4million more getaway journeys than usual expected to take place. The RAC has predicted a total 17.9million road trips will be made over the three-day break - as it warned motorists to expect a 'double dose of delays'. It comes as parts of the UK saw rainfall for the first time in more than 30 days after an unusually dry spring. Friday night brought downpours across most of the country - with more rain expected over the bank holiday weekend. According to the Met Office, Leuchars in Fife went 34 days without rainfall, while people in Bradford, West Yorkshire, did not see rain for 31 days until Friday night. Meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: 'We've had a very dry spell of weather recently with high pressure and charge. Vehicles queue for the Port of Dover in Kent on Saturday as Brits start their Bank Holiday getaways Photographs show long queues along the A20 in Kent on Friday and Saturday as the mass getaway for the long weekend began Parts of the UK have seen rainfall for the first time in more than 30 days after an unusually dry spring Vehicles queue for the Port of Dover in Kent during the getaway for half term and the Bank Holiday weekend 'Last night we had a bout of rain through most places in the country. Most places saw around 5-10mm of rain and some northern areas had more, about 15-20mm across parts of Scotland and north west England. 'Up until May 23, the UK had only had 8.5mm of rain, which is 12% of the monthly average. At this point in the month we'd expect it to be quite a lot higher. 'Last night's rain won't have brought May much closer to average. That being said, we still have a week left of May and we expect to see rain every day, so by the end of the month we could be closer to the monthly average. 'Next week we will continue to have wet conditions. Most parts of the country will see rain most days. We've got bands of rain pushing in from the west each day, and also some scattered showers.' There is also some drier weather around, she added, with southern England most likely to see sunnier days on Sunday and Monday. Temperatures will widely be around 15-18C next week, but parts of southern England could hit 22C. London is expected to reach 21C on Wednesday and Thursday, while areas of Scotland such as Aberdeen will only reach 14C. Photographs show long queues along the A20 in Kent on Friday and Saturday as the mass getaway for the long weekend began The RAC has predicted a total 17.9million road trips will be made over the three-day break - as it warned motorists to expect a 'double dose of delays'. Pictured: Queues at Dover Vehicles queue for the Port of Dover in Kent during the getaway for half term and the Bank Holiday weekend Forecasters are warning that heavy winds on Saturday night into Sunday could create difficult conditions for campers over the long weekend. There are no weather warnings in force but the winds could reach 50mph in some northern areas. Ms Mitchell said the changeable weather will last at least a week, but there are signs of drier and more settled weather returning after the school half-term that runs until June 2. Angela Rayner has been accused of plotting a coup against the Prime Minister after it was claimed her allies were preparing an alternative programme for Government funded by the unions and masterminded by her boyfriend. Senior Labour figures said they had been contacted by friends of Deputy Prime Minister Ms Rayner inviting them to help create a think-tank which would promote a more confident centre-Left programme within government. Under the plan, the unnamed outfit which is being seen as a vehicle for Ms Rayners leadership ambitions would be run by her on-off partner Sam Tarry, 42, a former Labour MP for Ilford South who was deselected in 2022. Last night a source close to Ms Rayner, 45, insisted the claims were absolute nonsense. But they follow a week in which Ms Rayner waged a public war with Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to advance her Left-wing agenda. It came after a leaked memo showed she had urged the Chancellor to hike taxes on savers and high earners and suggested stripping middle-class families of child benefit payments. A senior Labour source said: The think-tanks main job will be to be a focus for Angelas leadership ambition. Its part of her shadow campaign the start of a coup. Ms Rayner is fast becoming the rallying point for Labour MPs opposed to the Governments welfare reforms, including the now half-abandoned removal of winter fuel payments. Angela Rayner has been accused of plotting a coup against the Prime Minister after it was claimed her allies were preparing an alternative programme for Government funded by the unions and masterminded by her boyfriend Under the plan, the unnamed outfit which is being seen as a vehicle for Ms Rayners leadership ambitions would be run by her on-off partner Sam Tarry, 42 (pictured), a former Labour MP for Ilford South who was deselected in 2022 Senior Labour figures said they had been contacted by friends of Ms Rayner inviting them to help create a thinktank which would promote a more confident centre-Left programme within government. Last night a source close to Ms Rayner, 45, insisted the claims were absolute nonsense As many as 170 Labour MPs are threatening to avoid voting for welfare reforms when they come before the Commons next month, which poses a threat even to Sir Keirs gargantuan 174-seat majority. Among Labour voters, only Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham comes close to matching Ms Rayners support in the race to succeed Sir Keir, with other leadership contenders, such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting, now regarded as outsiders. Ms Rayners jostling has already led her to repeatedly threaten to resign from the Cabinet over the impossible target No 10 has set for her to build 1.5 million homes in the next five years. Her pushing has intensified in the wake of this months local election results, which showed the extent to which Nigel Farages Reform UK is surging in Labours heartlands. Ms Rayners seat of Ashton-under-Lyne is a major Reform target. The disarray in Labour follows the steepest fall in a governments popularity in modern times, with the party polling up to ten points below Reform. Cultural differences are also feeding into the schism an ally of Ms Rayner said the leak of the memo is partly prompted by a growing resentment about the patronising attitude of Sir Keirs London-based circle. A significant proportion of Sir Keirs 400-plus MPs are now said to be panicking about their fate at the next General Election and turning to the working-class authenticity of Ms Rayner, in contrast to the metropolitan image of Sir Keir and his acolytes. Ms Rayners supporters have now organised focus groups to find out how she would fare in a leadership campaign, with the results suggesting she needs to show she is a serious politician. Pictured: Rayner's boyfriend Mr Tarry was ousted as the Ilford South MP at the last election after a bitter local battle which saw him deselected as a Labour candidate It came after a leaked memo showed Ms Rayner had urged the Chancellor (pictured) to hike taxes on savers and high earners and suggested stripping middle-class families of child benefit payments An ally of Ms Rayner said the leak of the memo is partly prompted by a growing resentment about the patronising attitude of Sir Keirs London-based circle Speculation about Ms Rayners ambitions increased last year when it was revealed that, in July 2022, four internet domain names had been registered by persons unknown. Labour denied the domain names had anything to do with her. In March, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Ms Rayner was back with her soulmate Mr Tarry (pictured right). Sir Keir sacked him as a shadow transport minister in July 2022 after he gave an unauthorised TV interview from a rail picket line Speculation about Ms Rayners ambitions increased last year when it was revealed that, in July 2022, four internet domain names had been registered by persons unknown: raynerforpm.co.uk; angelaforpm.co.uk; angela4pm.co.uk and rayner4pm.co.uk. Labour denied the domain names had anything to do with her. In March, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Ms Rayner was back with her soulmate Mr Tarry. She made the relationship official three years after it was made public by declaring Corbynista Mr Tarry as her partner in the register of ministers interests. Sir Keir sacked him as a shadow transport minister in July 2022 after he gave an unauthorised TV interview from a rail picket line. Last year it emerged Ms Rayner failed to declare taking Mr Tarry on a holiday to New York, which was paid for by multi-millionaire Labour donor Lord Alli. Their relationship was unwittingly made public at the start of 2022 when Mr Tarry, then married to a paediatric consultant, was pictured leaving her flat with her one morning. He seemed to have a toothbrush in his coat pocket. An acclaimed Palestinian-American author and activist called two murdered Israeli diplomats 'genocide cheerleaders' and 'human garbage'. Susan Abulhawa celebrated the deaths of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, in a terrorist attack on the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night. The young soon-to-be-engaged couple were hit by some of the 21 bullets allegedly fired by Elias Rodriguez, 31, who screamed 'free Palestine' as he was arrested. Abulhawa rejected even the slightest sympathy for their families and even speculated the shooting was a 'false flag' by pro-Israel agents. 'Now we're supposed to feel bad for two genocide cheerleaders after watching these colonizer baby killers slaughter people by the hundreds every day for two years,' she wrote on Twitter. 'I've seen the inside of too many children's skulls to give a crap about the human garbage who get off on mass murder. 'It wouldn't surprise me if it was a false flag to focus on manufactured antisemitism instead of the actual holocaust being committed by Jewish supremacists.' Acclaimed Palestinian-American author and activist Susan Abulhawa called two murdered Israeli diplomats 'genocide cheerleaders' and 'human garbage' Soon-to-be engaged Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrime were the two shot dead in a terrorist attack on the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night Hours earlier, Abulhawa came close to calling for more murders of random Jewish civilians around the world in revenge for Palestinians killed in Gaza. 'When governments fail to hold Israel accountable for an actual holocaust being committed before our very eyes, no genocidal Zionist should be safe anywhere in the world,' she wrote. 'What Mr Rodriguez did should come as no surprise. In fact, I'm surprised it has not happened sooner. 'Human beings with a conscience literally cannot bear to witness such evil day and day out being inflicted upon the bodies, minds, and futures of an utterly defenseless people, by such a hateful, racist, colonial state.' Abulhawa doubled down by comparing the murders to the assassination of a Nazi diplomat by a Jewish teenager in 1938. 'Once you understand that Zionism and Nazism are two sides of the same coin, the world we live in will make a lot more sense,' she wrote. She called both killings 'an act of resistance because governments refused to stop a genocide'. Nazi Germany was yet to invade Poland and begin World War II in 1938, but had been mass murdering Jews inside its borders for years. Abulhawa came close to calling for more murders of random Jewish civilians around the world in revenge for Palestinians killed in Gaza The couple were hit by some of the 21 bullets allegedly fired by Elias Rodriguez, 31, who screamed 'free Palestine ' as he was arrested Abulhawa rejected even the slightest sympathy for their families and even speculated the shooting was a 'false flag' by pro-Israel agents Abulhawa frequently posts inflammatory content about the Israeli invasion of Gaza since the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas. Even before that, she spent much of her career writing about Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and elsewhere. Her breakout novel Mornings in Jenin followed multiple generations of a Palestinian family living in a city in the northern West Bank. The book's original title was Scar of David in 2006 but it was re-released to critical acclaim without the more pointed title in 2010. It was translated into 32 languages and sold more than a million copies, already making her the most read Palestinian author of all time. Abulhawa published two more successful novels, and six other anthologies, books of poetry, and non-fiction works. She was the director of the controversial 2023 Palestine Writes festival at the University of Pennsylvania. Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American, were a young couple about to be engaged Her hostility to Israel after fleeing Palestine as a war refugee caused her to decline various invitations and speaking engagements. Abulhawa's position is that Israel is an apartheid state similar to South Africa and should be abolished. Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Milgrim, an American, were gunned down at a Jewish conference of the American Jewish Committee focused on peace. One witness reported seeing Rodriguez throw his gun away after it stopped firing. Another witness earlier recalled how well-meaning security guards allowed him inside the building, wrongly assuming he was a victim of the shooting. At the museum, according to a charging affidavit, he told police: 'I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza. I am unarmed.' An Oregon former pet shop owner was found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl, who volunteered at his store. Daniel Stuebgen, 54, of Lincoln City, was found guilty of sexually abusing the preteen five separate times in 2023 in an Oregon court, the Lincoln County District Attorney's Office announced. He was convicted of three counts of rape in the second degree, two counts of sodomy in the second degree, four counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, and four counts of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct, the DA's Office said. He faces mandatory prison sentences for all of his offenses. The mandatory sentence means a judge can lessen the time or reduce for good behavior. Second-degree rape and sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse carry a mandatory sentence of six years and three months. Using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct holds a sentence of five years and 10 months, according to the State of Oregon. In total, that means Stuebgen faces 79.5 years in prison. He was convicted after a five-day trial on May 1. Further details of the case were not made public in the May 20 statement. Daniel Stuebgen, 54, of Lincoln City, was found guilty of sexually abusing the preteen five separate times in 2023 in an Oregon court. He faces at least 79.5 years in prison. He previously owned Happy Trails Feed and Tack (pictured) He faces mandatory prison sentences for all of his offenses. The mandatory sentence means a judge can lessen the time or reduce for good behavior (pictured: Lincoln City, Oregon) Stuebgen is the former owner of Happy Trails Feed & Tack and Green Acres Beach & Trail Rides, which he owned with his ex-wife Teresa Stuebgen. Happy Trails is now under new management. Stuebgen was arrested on June 12, 2024 after Lincoln City Police Department spent 10 months investigating him, the force announced at the time. At the time of his arrest, he was living at Happy Trials. The former business owner will be sentenced on June 3. British spies are investigating whether Russia was behind a series of arson attacks on Keir Starmers property, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Police say that two Ukrainians and a Romanian who have been charged over the incidents, involving two houses and a car linked to the Prime Minister, had conspired with others unknown. Now senior official sources have disclosed that MI5 is examining potential links between the three men and Vladimir Putins regime. Although no one was injured in the fires, any suggestion that the attacks on a British Prime Minister had been ordered by the Kremlin would represent an extraordinary escalation in tensions between the two countries. The three men, Petro Pochynok, 34, Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, and Roman Lavrynovych, 21, have been charged with conspiring to damage a house currently rented out by Sir Keir in Kentish Town, north London, another in nearby Islington where he previously lived, and a car he sold to a neighbour last year. Builder Lavrynovych, an aspiring model who lives in Sydenham in south-east London, is originally from Ukraine and was the first to be held in connection with the alleged plot, having been arrested in the early hours of May 13. Carpiuc, from Romford, Essex, was arrested by counter-terrorism officers at Luton Airport last Saturday as he prepared to catch a Wizz Air flight to Romania. He is a Romanian national who was born in Ukraine, and also describes himself as an aspiring model. British spies are investigating whether Russia was behind a series of arson attacks on Keir Starmers property, involving attacks on two houses and a car linked to the Prime Minister, The Mail on Sunday can reveal Senior official sources have disclosed that MI5 is examining potential links between the three men and Russian president Vladimir Putin's (pictured) regime Although no one was injured in the fires, any suggestion that the attacks on a British Prime Minister had been ordered by the Kremlin would represent an extraordinary escalation in tensions between the two countries When he appeared before Westminster magistrates last week, Carpiuc needed the help of a Russian-speaking translator. Pochynok, who lives in Holloway, north London, calls himself a fashion entrepreneur on social media and was arrested on Monday in Chelsea, west London. All three deny the charges and have been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on June 6. Sarah Przybyiska, for the prosecution, told Westminster Magistrates Court that at this stage the alleged offending is unexplained. But multiple Whitehall sources have told the MoS that police and MI5 are probing the possibility the Kremlin may have ordered the attacks in response to Britains support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Intelligence experts say Russia recruits foreigners to launch attacks as Kremlin spies have been expelled from Europe. Although Scotland Yard have refused to comment on the case, sources at the Met have said they are keeping an open mind about the three attacks. A Government source cautioned that investigators have not connected the dots that conclusively link these attacks back to the Kremlin. The source added that officials are also probing whether other elements in Russia, from militia organisations to criminal gangs, may have recruited the trio. Three men have been charged with conspiring to damage a house currently rented out by Sir Keir in Kentish Town, north London, another in nearby Islington where he previously lived and a car he sold to a neighbour last year Petro Pochynok, 34, who lives in Holloway, north London, has been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, of Romford, Essex, has been charged with conspiring with 'others unknown' over the arsons. He is a Romanian national who was born in Ukraine, and describes himself as an aspiring model The Mets Counter-Terrorism Command has led the investigation from the outset because of the links to the Prime Minister, who has described the fires as an attack on all of us, on democracy, and the values that we stand for. The Kremlin has ramped up attacks in Britain and across Europe in the past 18 months as Putins war in Ukraine rages on. Earlier this month, six Bulgarians were found guilty of spying for Russia in trying to obtain information on UK-based journalists, and last year MI6 chief Richard Moore warned that Russias intelligence services have gone a bit feral across Europe. In March, prosecutors in Lithuania accused Russias intelligence service, the GRU, of recruiting two Ukrainians to carry out an arson attack on an Ikea store. Russians have also been accused of being behind an arson attack on a Warsaw shopping centre last year and placing coffins under the Eiffel Tower inscribed with French soldiers in the Ukraine. Last year the Biden administration received intelligence that Russia was planning to send exploding parcels to the US, which could have led to planes being downed mid-Atlantic. Police say a Toyota Rav4 hybrid the PM had sold to a neighbour was set alight in the early hours of May 8 on a street in Kentish Town. And early on May 11 a small fire started on the front door of a property in Islington where Sir Keir lived in the 1990s. Builder Roman Lavrynovych, 21, an aspiring model who lives in Sydenham in south-east London, is originally from Ukraine and was the first to be held in connection with the alleged plot, having been arrested in the early hours of May 13 The Mets Counter-Terrorism Command has led the investigation from the outset because of the links to the Prime Minister, who has described the fires as an attack on all of us, on democracy, and the values that we stand for Then, on May 12, there was a fire at a home in Kentish Town on the same street as the Toyota, damaging its front entrance. The 2 million house is still owned by Sir Keir, who has rented it to his sister-in-law since moving into Downing Street last year. Westminster magistrates heard that Carpiuc and Pochynok were in the area at the time the vehicle was set ablaze, and Lavrynovych was nearby when the Kentish Town house was set on fire. Western spies say they have recently uncovered Russian plots to bomb aeroplanes, torch public buildings and assassinate high-profile figures who back Ukraine. A Whitehall source said: Everyone is genuinely keeping an open mind about this. Ukrainian soldiers were welcomed home by their families in a prisoner swap with Russia that marked a rare moment of cooperation between the two countries. The exchange, however, came just hours after Vladimir Putin's army launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv that left at least 15 people injured. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's defense ministry said each side released 307 soldiers on Saturday, a day after each also freed 390 prisoners. Further releases expected over the weekend are set to make the swap the largest in more than three years of war. 'We expect more to come tomorrow,' Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Russia's defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to continue, though it did not give any further details. The prisoner swap is the first phase of a complicated deal involving the exchange of 1,000 detainees from each side. The deal was agreed during talks held in Istanbul earlier this month - the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion. An Ukrainian soldier hugs loved ones after returning from captivity during a POWs exchange between Russia and Ukraine Ukrainian prisoners of war Yuriy Yuzvyak shares a happy moment with his wife Olena after spending months in a Russian prison Ukrainian prisoners of war are seen as they return after a swap in an undisclosed location People show photos of their missed relatives to Ukrainian soldiers during a POWs exchange between Russia and Ukraine Today's exchange took place at an undisclosed location in Ukraine and the released Russians were taken to Belarus for treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Those who were not reunited with their loved ones took solace in the released POWs providing some information about when their relatives were last seen. Anna Marchenko, the daughter of a missing Ukrainian serviceman, was elated when a released POW said they had seen her father. 'This is such a big news. It's like a fresh breath of air,' she said. 'I didn't see him, but at least it's some news. At least it's news that gives us the opportunity to continue to breathe and live in peace.' Hours before the prisoner swap, explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv as Russian drones and missiles targeted the city overnight. Officials said Russia fired 14 ballistic missiles and used 250 Shahed drones overnight. Ukrainian forces, however, shot down six missiles and neutralized 245 drones - 128 were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare. The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. 'A difficult night for all of us,' the administration said in a statement. Ukrainian prisoners of war react as they get off a bus after spending months in a Russian prison on May 24 Today's exchange took place at an undisclosed location in Ukraine and the released Russians were taken to Belarus for treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian prisoners of war are seen after landing at Chkalovsky air base following a prisoner swap Posting on X, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it 'clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process.' Posting on X, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke of 'another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians.' 'These are not the actions of a country seeking peace,' Lammy said of the Russian strike. Katarina Mathernova, the European Union's ambassador to Kyiv, described the attack as 'horrific.' 'If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue - read the news,' Katarina Mathernova wrote on the social network. The debris of the intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six Kyiv city districts. According to the acting head of the city's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack. Two fires were sparked in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district. The Obolon district, where a residential building was badly damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit with at least five injured in the area, the administration said. Ukrainian prisoners of war walk as they return after a swap amid Russia's attack on Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers walk though a human corridor with people holding photos of their missed relatives Russian prisoners of war are seen after landing at Chkalovsky air base following a prisoner swap Medical workers move an injured Ukrainian soldier into an ambulance after returning from captivity Russian prisoners of war are seen sitting in a bus after landing at Chkalovsky air base following a prisoner swap Yurii Bondarchuk, a local resident, said the air raid siren 'started as usual, then the drones started to fly around as they constantly do.' Moments later, he heard a boom and saw shattered glass fly through the air. 'The balcony is totally wiped out, as well as the windows and the doors,' he said as he stood in the dark. The air raid alert in Kyiv lasted more than seven hours, warning of incoming missiles and drones. Kyiv's mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, warned residents ahead of the attack that more than 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon. Emergency services were headed to the site, Klitschko said. Separately, 13 civilians were killed on Friday and overnight into Saturday in Russian attacks in Ukraine's south, east and north, regional authorities said. Three people died after a Russian ballistic missile targeted port infrastructure in Odesa on the Black Sea. Russia later claimed the strike on Friday targeted a cargo ship carrying military equipment. Defence chiefs are being accused of trying to stop the Army supporting SAS veterans who face murder charges for killing IRA terrorists, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Ministry of Defence has ordered all regimental HQs and serving military personnel not to support a petition calling for Northern Ireland veterans to be protected against prosecution. The move by the MoD comes after we revealed last month that up to 20 SAS veterans could face murder charges for shooting armed IRA terrorists in the early 1990s. In an email, the MoD said: 'With immediate effect please ensure that all of your communication channels (including Twitter/X etc) remove any feeds related to the NI Troubles Act announcement and any associated petitions.' The email added that the MoD would provide advice on 'what is and is not acceptable to communicate and the apolitical stance we are expected to take'. The petition, which has more than 100,000 signatures, was launched after the SAS Association wrote to all regiments urging them to contact their MPs and consider a day of mass protest in support of veterans facing prosecution. Labour has angered a huge number of veterans after its decision to axe the Legacy Act, which offers protection for UK troops who served during the Troubles. The Ministry of Defence has ordered all regimental HQs and serving military personnel not to support a petition calling for Northern Ireland veterans to be protected against prosecution. Pictured: Ministry of Defence headquarters The move by the MoD comes after we revealed last month that up to 20 SAS veterans could face murder charges for shooting armed IRA terrorists in the early 1990s The legislation, introduced by the Tories, was supposed to end historical inquests and prevent new civil cases from being launched. Tory MP David Davis said: 'Veterans' voices must not be silenced by bureaucratic interference 722 British soldiers were killed by paramilitary murderers during The Troubles. Not one of those deaths will be revisited.' He said in Parliament that veterans faced 'politically motivated trials', adding: 'I can think of no better example of two-tier justice.' One Army source added: 'This is an unprecedented intervention by the MoD, which is trying to gag serving members of Armed Forces. 'The response from the MoD is extraordinary. The MoD says that supporting veterans facing prosecution is political. We fundamentally disagree with that.' An MoD spokesman said: 'As the public would expect, official social media channels must comply with guidance, including impartiality and neutrality. Non-official accounts are free to post what they wish.' Hard-pressed British taxpayers funding a 4.5 million scheme to alleviate climate change in Malawi are instead setting up locals as loan sharks and paying for the illegal migration of others to a better life in South Africa, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. About 8,800 villagers around Chikwawa in Malawi are receiving the equivalent of 433 each and the Foreign Office insists the best way to send the money is directly to each of them. They even give each recipient a mobile phone to facilitate the online transfer. The hope is they will use the windfall to reduce the impact of climate extremes through stronger homes, better farming practices and improved communications. Officials claim financial and business training will help beneficiaries make informed choices on what is likely to be the largest amount of cash they have ever seen. But the Foreign Office explicitly leaves it up to them to decide how to spend the windfall, which is distributed through its partner GiveDirectly known to villagers as Givie. It is a fabulous sum in a poverty-stricken country where 70 per cent live on just 1.60 a day and the MoS can reveal much of the money is squandered. The two-year Chikwawa project is part of a ramping-up of UK overseas aid for climate resilience with at least 1.5 billion spent in 2024-25, according to the Foreign Office. It defends the cash transfers, and says it monitors all programmes to ensure value for money for the British taxpayer. In the village of Mwanaakula, Henry Maliko, 26, said he was buying iron sheets for his small mud hut as part of the scheme. But he has also found a creative way of investing the rest of the money by becoming a money lender. Mr Maliko explained: Some people who are yet to receive their money have been coming to ask for loans and offering to pay me back double the amount. About 8,800 villagers around Chikwawa in Malawi are receiving the equivalent of 433 each and the Foreign Office insists the best way to send the money is directly to each of them (Pictured: Essau Harold outside his house with his new wife he married after receiving the funds) Pictured: Ruth Harold, 32, who said her husband Essau walked out on her and their two children, aged five and four, within days of receiving his cash Essau (pictured with his new wife) says he left because Ruth got her payment before him, and her personality changed 'People here lack many things. They have no patience to wait for their money to arrive so they go to those who have received theirs and ask for loans. Madame Mwanaakula, the female headman, who by tradition takes the name of the village, told the MoS: Theres been plenty of young men who have gone to South Africa after receiving money from Givie. It helps them get a passport quickly, throw backhanders to government agents, pay for transport and accommodation and find a job on the black economy so as to send money home. The trend has left 21-year-old Triza Piterson to await the birth of her first child alone. She confirmed her husband used his money to bribe officials, obtain a passport and travel to South Africa in search of work. Without a visa unlikely to be granted to an unskilled foreigner he is there as an illegal immigrant. She says she is confident he will come back eventually. And Ruth Harold, 32, said her husband Essau walked out on her and their two children, aged five and four, within days of receiving his cash. He has since set up home with another woman. Essau says he left because she got her payment before him, and her personality changed. The two-year Chikwawa project is part of a ramping-up of UK overseas aid for climate resilience with at least 1.5 billion spent in 2024-25, according to the Foreign Office (Pictured: a beneficiary showing a free phone he received) The project took effect after Labour came to power with the first cash payments made six months later The trend has left 21-year-old Triza Piterson (pictured) to await the birth of her first child alone. She confirmed her husband used his money to bribe officials, obtain a passport and travel to South Africa in search of work Last night, Tory MPs called for an urgent investigation into the project. Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Tories Common Sense Group at Westminster, said: This project needs to be investigated very quickly as a result of The Mail on Sundays investigation' Madame Mwanaakula, the female headman (pictured), who by tradition takes the name of the village, told the MoS: Theres been plenty of young men who have gone to South Africa after receiving money' The Foreign Offices business case, signed off by the British High Commissioner to Malawi, Fiona Ritchie, argues that there is a large amount of evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of cash transfers However, John OConnell, chief executive at the TaxPayers Alliance, said: This is a damning example of UK taxpayers money being sprayed abroad with no accountability and little to show for it. Ministers need to get a grip' He said: She became rude after she got her money. Last night, Tory MPs called for an urgent investigation into the project. Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Tories Common Sense Group at Westminster, said: A great nation should have a big heart and helping those in the greatest need has been a characteristic of our great nation. However, making sure that money that is spent delivers on the objectives requires proper oversight and management. The reason so many people have doubts about overseas aid is that money is misspent and wasted. This project needs to be investigated very quickly as a result of The Mail on Sundays investigation. The Malawi project was approved under the last Conservative government in April last year. It took effect after Labour came to power with the first cash payments made six months later. The Foreign Offices business case, signed off by the British High Commissioner to Malawi, Fiona Ritchie, argues that there is a large amount of evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of cash transfers. A spokesman for GiveDirectly said: Anecdotes are a poor way to judge the effectiveness of aid programmes. Independently run randomised control trials objectively prove direct cash assistance reduces extreme poverty and builds long-term resilience. But John OConnell, chief executive at the TaxPayers Alliance, said: This is a damning example of UK taxpayers money being sprayed abroad with no accountability and little to show for it. Ministers need to get a grip. Sick children, including cancer patients, are being refused a free education on the wards of one of the country's leading children's hospitals if they go to private schools. Instead, their outraged parents have been told to pay 115 an hour for the one-to-one tutoring that state-school children receive for free. One little boy, who spent months at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, had to watch as children in neighbouring beds received the daily schooling he was denied. The hospital known locally as the 'Sick Kids' has tutors provided by Labour-run Edinburgh City Council to teach children too poorly to attend school. At other prominent children's hospitals, such as Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, a free education is provided for all inpatient children. But in Edinburgh, where 1 in 4 pupils attend private schools, the city council has ruled that sick children from those schools must not be treated in the same way as other ill youngsters. When one parent complained, the council's Head of Education (Inclusion), Dr Lynne Binnie told them that 'unfortunately, as you have chosen to privately educate your son, he cannot be supported by this team you have effectively opted out of state-funded education and supports'. Parents affected have criticised the policy as 'politically motivated and say it denies their children a 'basic human right'. One little boy, who spent months at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, pictured, had to watch as children in neighbouring beds received the daily schooling he was denied A sick boy getting chemotherapy at a hospital. Pictured: Stock image One parent of a little boy undergoing chemotherapy for blood cancer said very sick children were the victims of a 'deplorable 'Them and Us' situation'. The mum of three from Edinburgh explained how her son suddenly became ill in August 2024 and was hospitalised within days. 'He faced months on a hospital ward in tightly controlled conditions, unable to go home or go to school,' she told The Mail on Sunday. 'We immediately thought, "What are we going to do about school?", but we were told there was an amazing tutor on the ward. 'When they realised he went to a private school, they told us there was a problem. We challenged it but... it was, 'You have decided to go private so you're not getting any of the benefits now".' The mother, a lawyer, said she and her husband were in no doubt that 'very sick children were the victims of a divisive and ideological policy'. Unable to afford the charges, the family resorted to teaching their son, now eight, who normally attends George Watson's College, themselves. Edinburgh city councillor James Dalgleish claimed the hospital was 'following Scottish Government guidance'. But this is not the case at the Royal Hospital in Glasgow, where children are given a free education with a charge later made back to the relevant local authority. Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Craig Hoy MSP, vowed to raise the issue at Holyrood and added: 'Councils should not be levying these punitive charges on sick children.' A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Decisions around fees for Hospital Education Services are a matter for local authorities and NHS Boards to consider with Independent Schools as appropriate.' Cadaver dogs have been brought in as the search for missing Australian teenager Pheobe Bishop continues. Queensland Police deployed the canines at the Good Night Scrub National Park just outside of Gin Gin, in the Bundaberg region, and an hour away from where Pheobe was last seen, on Sunday. The case of Pheobe Bishop has been gripping Australia after she vanished without a trace five days ago. The 17-year-old was last seen leaving a home in Gin Gin, Bundaberg, where she had been living with couple Tanika Bromley and James Wood, on May 15. Detectives believe the pair drove Pheobe the 40 minutes to Bundaberg Airport where she was supposed to board an 8.30am flight to Brisbane and then onto Perth where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend. Questions remain over exactly why she was living at the house with the pair, but final posts she made to social media before she disappeared suggested the troubled teen had fallen out with her mother and would not return home. The pair have been questioned by police and were released. No charges have been laid over Pheobe's disappearance and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Mr Wood and Ms Bromley were involved. The update in the search comes after CCTV footage emerged of a vehicle that appeared to be similar to the one at the centre of the police investigation into Pheobe's disappearance. Pheobe had been travelling in a silver Hyundai ix35 - which is owned by Ms Bromley - before she disappeared. Cadaver dogs have been brought in as the search for missing teenager Pheobe Bishop continues The update in the search comes after CCTV footage emerged on Facebook of a Hyundai ix35 - it is the same type of vehicle police are investigating The Courier Mail reported CCTV showed a Hyundai ix35 driving through the backstreets of Gin Gin at 10.30am on May 15 - two hours after Pheobe was allegedly dropped off at the airport. The footage has since been taken down. On Friday night, police announced they had discovered an item of potential interest in the national park. Detective Acting Inspector Thompson said at the time the police diving squad searched a creek. 'Police have subsequently been conducting some searches of the Good Night Scrub National Park in the hopes of finding some evidence in relation to her disappearance,' he said. 'There are no specific persons of interest, however, police are following up all avenues of enquiry.' Police did not say if the item that was found was connected to Pheobe. On Saturday, police began conducting a land, water and aerial search of the Good Scrub National Park. Queensland Police deployed the canines at the Good Night Scrub National Park just outside of Gin Gin, an hour away from where Pheobe was last seen, on Sunday A police dog was spotted at the Good Night Scrub National Park on Sunday On Friday night, police announced they had discovered an item of potential interest in the national park Officers have begun a thorough search of bushland in the search for the missing teenager 'Police are trying to nail down the timeline to where this vehicle has gone,' Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson said. 'We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we're trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Pheobe could be.' Queensland's State Emergency Service crews are combing through the bushland, while police divers search waterways. As officers began a thorough search of bushland, Pheobe's mum Kylie Johnson released a statement through police in which she described her daughter as 'feisty' and 'the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers.' The statement said: 'Who is Pheobe? Phee has always been strong willed and followed her own beat to life. 'I've always called her my 'Wild Gypsy Banshee'. I've told everyone since Phee's birth that she's the one I always expected to call me from overseas saying, 'hey Mumzie mate; I'm in Amsterdam and checking in'. 'You can't tame Phee's spirit, empathy or fight for life. She is sassy, feisty and loves harder than anyone I've ever meet. 'Phee loves beyond comprehension and is loyal to her siblings. Queensland's State Emergency Service crews are combing through the bushland Police have subsequently been conducting some searches of the Good Night Scrub National Park On Saturday, police began conducting a land, water and aerial search of the Good Scrub National Park An aerial search is underway to locate missing 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop Investigators have asked for members of the public who may have seen a Hyundai ix35 in the Good Scrub National Par on May 15 to come forward As officers began a thorough search of bushland, Pheobe's mum Kylie Johnson (right) released a statement through police in which she described her daughter as 'feisty' and 'the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers' 'Phee just loved life; music blaring, she'd say, 'come on Mumzie, let's dance.' 'Hanging with her 'boys' even though they all saw her as the little sister to protect. 'Her friends always knew they would get the truth (and then some if she had an opinion). 'Phee is the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers. She is an essential part of our lives and we need her home. We need to hear her music, feel her hugs and hear her voice. 'Pheobe would never not touch base with the people she loves. She would never go this long without contacting someone or anyone. 'We are appealing to anyone who may have heard from Pheobe, or anyone who has information about where she may be, to please contact police.' In a further update today, Ms Johnson wrote: 'Im praying that the lights of Gin Gin and the world guide you back to me, guide you back us, guide you back to your siblings and our family. 'Our lives and existence is nothing without you in our lives.' Advertisement Controversial conspiracy congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene cheated on her husband with a polyamorous tantric sex guru, DailyMail.com has learned. Then after ending her affair with him, the mom-of-three moved on to a gym manager behind her husband's back. But despite the tawdry flings, Taylor Greene stuck with her husband Perry as she made her unlikely rise that has turned her into the most talked-about Republican in Washington, D.C. Neither man denied the affairs when approached by DailyMail.com. Craig Ivey, the tantric sex practitioner, said: 'I will not respond to anything about this,' while the other man, Justin Tway, said: 'I have no interest in talking about anything to do with that woman. Everything with her comes to no good.' But others say the new representative from Georgia's 14th Congressional District was brazen about her affairs which she carried on a decade ago while working in gyms in Alpharetta, Georgia, some 35 miles north of Atlanta. Embattled congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green openly cheated on her husband Perry Greene (pictured) with men at her fitness gym, DailyMail.com has learned Marjorie's men: The 46-year-old mother of three had an affair with polyamorous tantric sex guru Craig Ivey (left) before moving on to gym manager Justin Tway (right) while working at a gym in Alpharetta in 2012 'It wasn't a secret. Everyone who moved in her circles knew about both the affairs,' one man who worked closely with Taylor Greene told DailyMail.com. And her boss, billionaire's grandson Jim Chambers, added: 'She socialized a lot with us. I remember one particular pool party where she was lying draped over Craig's lap drinking a beer. 'She was quite open about it,' he added. 'We all thought her marriage was falling apart. 'But then I took my son to her son's birthday party and things seemed totally normal between her and her husband - even if they were a little lukewarm.' In response to DailyMail.com's request for comment, Taylor Greene called the story ridiculous tabloid garbage spread by an avowed Communist, and another attempt to smear my name because Im the biggest threat to the Democrats Socialist agenda. Her attorney L. Lin Wood, has previously said that an article about the allegations published by the New Yorker magazine was 'intended to smear her with false accusations, half-truths, misrepresentations, out-of-context statements, and agenda driven lies.' Taylor Greene, 46, has become notorious since being elected to Congress. She calls herself a 'strong conservative Christian,' who planned to take her 'family values' to Washington. On Instagram, Ivey calls himself The Tantric Warrior, describing himself as 'Living a warrior lifestyle while finding tantric love'. He also participates in reenactments of medieval battles and teaches sword fighting. Above, he is seen dressed as Zangief' a character from video game Street Fighter II Since his affair with Taylor Greene, Ivey, 42, has moved to Washington State. His social media photos show his political views are polar opposite to that of the Georgia Republican Ivey's profile picture on his Facebook page shows him standing stark naked by a waterfall. He has now set up a gladiator bootcamp called The Ludus Ivey, pictured wearing South Park pajama pants while pumping gas near his Seattle-area home, refused to address his affair with Greene when approached by DailyMail.com But she has been slammed for her belief in conspiracies linked to the group QAnon which claims former president Donald Trump was sent by God to oust Democrats who are involved in a nationwide ring that traffics, abuses, kills and even eats children. She has also said that the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings were 'false flag' operations aimed at tightening gun control, harassed Parkland survivor David Hogg on the streets and questioned whether the September 11 terrorist attacks were real. Congress voted last week to remove her from her committee assignments due to her outrageous beliefs and actions. Rumors of Taylor Greene's affairs have been around since she hit the headlines in the summer by winning the Republican primary for her seat, which covers a wide swath of rural north west Georgia. Chambers even tweeted out at the time: '@mtgreenee so when you worked for me at CrossFit Alpharetta in 2012, the extramarital affairs you had with Justin and Craig, those were Jesus-approved, right?' Rumors of Taylor Greene's affairs began to resurface in the summer when she won the Republican primary for her seat. Her former boss at the gym, Jim Chambers, referenced her relationships with Justin and Craig in a tweet in June He then added: 'I would never choose to doc someone's infidelities...unless they're this person,' and linked to a Marjorie Taylor Greene for Congress page He then added: 'I would never choose to doc someone's infidelities...unless they're this person,' and linked to a Marjorie Taylor Greene for Congress page. A New Yorker profile of her said a reporter had seen texts in which Taylor Greene admitted sleeping with one man outside her marriage. Chambers, whose grandmother Anne Cox Chambers was the richest person in Georgia until she died last year, bought two gyms in the early 2010s. He really only wanted one in downtown Atlanta, but the previous owner insisted on selling the Alpharetta gym as part of a package. That is where Taylor Greene was already working. 'She was part of the staff I inherited,' Chambers, 36, told DailyMail.com. 'She wasn't someone who needed a paycheck. She was working as a trade - she got free membership and access and the opportunity to learn the business.' Soon it became apparent that she and Craig Ivey had started an affair. 'I know about it because I was a member of the gym,' said one man who asked not to be identified. 'Certainly she was screwing around.' Taylor Greene shares three children, Lauren, Taylor and Derek, with husband Perry. Insiders said they believed Greene's marriage was falling apart in the 2010s due to her brazen infidelity, but the pair has remained together The fitness fanatic had previously worked for Jim Chambers, the grandson of billionaire Anne Cox Chambers, at CrossFit Alpharetta in 2012 'Guys talk and I know there was definitely sex involved. People don't make up stuff like that. They were spending a lot of time together, turning up at the gym in the same car. 'When I would suggest going out, Craig would say he had things to do with Marjorie.' Soon after, Chambers brought in a new manager for his Alpharetta gym. Justin Tway moved to Georgia from Colorado, to take over with the understanding that he might end up buying it and taking it off Chambers's hands. Taylor Greene soon set her sights on him, said both Chambers and the second source. 'This seemed much more serious than the affair with Craig,' said Chambers. 'That was more of a flirty thing. But with Justin she seemed to have designs on a more long-term relationship. 'My impression is that she knew he might take over the gym and she wanted to be there right alongside him.' Former lover Justin Tway told DailyMail.com he had 'no interest in talking about anything to do' with Taylor Greene, adding: 'Everything with her comes to no good' Insiders said Taylor Greene's affair with Tway seemed to have designs on a more long-term relationship Tway, 42, still lives in Alpharetta with his wife Sherrie, whom he met long after his affair with Taylor Greene had ended Tway was pictured at his gym outside Atlanta with his dogs Briggs and Salo on Monday Eventually Taylor Greene did buy another gym in Alpharetta. The second source said: 'With Marjorie it always seemed to be a power thing. If anyone was a leader or in a position of power, she would gravitate to them, and that is what it was like with Justin.' Chambers - whose far-left politics are as opposed to Taylor Greene's views as they could possibly be - said he thought she even might have had designs on him as he was going through a divorce at the time. But he insists nothing happened between them. Congress voted last week to remove her from her committee assignments due to her outrageous beliefs and actions Taylor Greene, 46, has become notorious since being elected to Congress due to her controversial views and posts touting QAnon conspiracy theories She has been slammed for her belief in conspiracies linked to the group QAnon which claims former president Donald Trump was sent by God to oust Democrats The second source added: 'I don't know whether she was after Jim, you'd have to ask him that one.' 'What I do know is that she was a lot different then to what she is now. I worked out with her a lot and she certainly wasn't saying the insane things she is now. If she had been, I would have had nothing to do with her.' Since his affair with Taylor Greene, Ivey, 42, has moved to Washington State. He worked in at least two CrossFit gyms in Seattle and has now set up a gladiator bootcamp called The Ludus. He participates in reenactments of medieval battles and teaches sword fighting. Ivey's profile picture on his Facebook page shows him standing stark naked by a waterfall. On Instagram he calls himself The Tantric Warrior, describing himself as 'Living a warrior lifestyle while finding tantric love.' She calls herself a 'strong conservative Christian,' who planned to take her 'family values' to Washington In an undated video, Taylor Greene was seen dragging a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump on stage and then rubbing its crotch as she says how great he is Taylor Greene had shared videos on social media of her doing some deadlifting and captioned: 'Congress is broken ... not working for the American people!It's time to lift the dead weight and kick Pelosi's Congress to the curb in November!' Medical News Today defines tantric sex as a 'slow, meditative form of sex where the end goal is not orgasm but enjoying the sexual journey and sensations of the body.' Rocker Sting is its most famous practitioner, claiming he and wife Trudie Styler have seven-hour lovemaking sessions. Ivey is currently living in a trailer in Renton, Washington, but along with a girlfriend and another couple, he has bought a house in Buckley, an hour south of Seattle, which he says he wants to turn into a polyamorous commune. When approached by DailyMail.com, Ivey said: 'I have made myself very clear, I will not respond to anything about this again. He also threatened to call the police on a reporter. 'Please stay away from me and anyone connected with my life,' he said in a text message. Tway, also 42, still lives in Alpharetta with his wife Sherrie, whom he met long after his affair with Taylor Greene had ended. The couple run a gym in the city, often taking their 'gym pups', Briggs and Salo, along with them. Taylor Greene and her husband along with their three children, Lauren, Taylor and Derek, moved from Alpharetta last year when they bought a $610,000 home in Rome, Georgia, so she could live inside her congressional district. They still own their previous house in Alpharetta, where Perry runs a construction and renovation company that was founded by Marjorie's father. In May 2018 Meghan Markle tied the knot in front of nearly 30 million viewers and was plunged into the world of royal protocol. Thrust into the historic rituals of royal life, she brought with her a distinctly American flair for individuality, and a belief in doing things her way. However, it became clear almost immediately, this was no ordinary duchess. During her brief tenure as a senior working royal, she developed a reputation not only for her headline-making fashion choices, but her quiet, and sometimes not-so-quiet, rebellion against the unspoken codes and customs that govern the royal family. The British royal family, after all, is not just a family, it is an institution rooted in tradition, image, and a rigid set of expectations. Every gesture and every outfit is steeped in meaning and subjected to intense public scrutiny. But Meghan seemed less interested in adhering to royal convention than in reshaping it. From the outset, Meghans approach to royal life was markedly different from that of her predecessors. Whether it was her preference for dark nail polish, which is long considered a royal no-no, bare legs sans hosiery, or off-the-shoulder frocks, Meghans style choices seemed to signal a quiet defiance of the conservative sartorial standards that have defined royal women for generations. These werent accidental oversights. They were deliberate decisions, bold statements of self-expression in a world that often demands silent conformity. Royal life, with its unwritten but strictly enforced rules, often clashed with the way she wanted to do things. Wearing a Veil as a Divorcee The late Queen allegedly disapproved of Meghan opting to wear a 16ft-long veil at her wedding as a divorcee. Meghan Markle's 16ft Givenchy veil was deemed inappropriate as she was a divorcee In contrast, Queen Camilla, who had previously been married to Andrew Parker Bowles, stuck to tradition and didn't wear one for her wedding to Charles in 2005. Wearing White for a Second Marriage Wearing a bright white Givenchy wedding gown Meghan broke a major royal rule with the shade of her dress being too-white, which was deemed inappropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church. Queen Elizabeth was quite surprised at the 'whiteness' of Meghan Markle's wedding dress As per royal tradition, divorced women should avoid wearing white, as the colour is reserved for first-time brides only. Ripped Jeans Royals only wear jeans on casual occasions, and for any event ripped jeans are one step too far. The appearance of Meghan Markle with Prince Harry at the Toronto Invictus games made news around the world as together with the ripped jeans she wore a "Husband Shirt," from designer Misha Nonoo But that didn't stop her from wearing a pair of Mother ripped and distressed jeans while making her first public appearance with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in 2017. No Tights Exposed legs are a big no-no among the royals. Protocol dictates that any time you wear a skirt or dress, tights are a must. Meghan's bare legs surprised everyone at the official photo call to announce their engagement as it's not protocol for royal women to go without tights and it was a cold day in October Queen Elizabeth wore them, Kate Middleton wears them, and Princess Diana wore them. Yet from the first moment Meghan announced her engagement to Prince Harry she was changing it up choosing to flash her bare legs. Sheer Gown Even their engagement photos were a deviation from royal fashion protocol. The sheer dress by Ralph and Russo was another surprise especially when the price was revealed to be 56,000 Meghan chose a Ralph and Russo gown with sheer detailing across the bust for the occasion, and while the gown was still respectfully demure, the transparent material was certainly a break from tradition. Holding Hands There's not an official rule about PDA, but royals usually keep it to a minimum because they're working representatives of the monarchy. The couple started as they meant to go on with the hand holding and even at the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall they were spotted hand in hand However, Meghan and Harry stood in stark contrast to the typically restrained behaviour expected of royal couples, always holding hands when attending engagements together. Crossbody Bags This isnt a strict rule, but Kate Middleton always uses a clutch bag since you arent allowed to offer a handshake to a royal without them offering first. Meghan Markle certainly looked the part in her tartan coat when visiting Edinburgh, but we had never seen a Royal on a walkabout with a crossover bag before, so this was a first A cross-body bag leaves Meghans hands free to accept handshakes which breaks with tradition in a big way and she chose a Burberry coat and Strathberry bag which left her hands free when visiting Scotland. Off-The-Shoulder Dress At Trooping the Colour in 2018, which was Meghan's second official appearance after her royal wedding, she tore up the royal rule book. The Carolina Herrera off-the-shoulder outfit for Trooping the Colour was possibly showing a little too much flesh according to royal fashion protocol experts She completely ignored royal protocol and wore an off-the-shoulder dress on the famed Buckingham Palace balcony at the official ceremony to mark the Queens 92nd birthday. Opting for a Carolina Herrera dress, Meghans dress silhouette lacked modesty considering it was a daytime event. Going Hat-less Queen Elizabeth was a firm believer that ladies should keep their heads covered during official engagements. The hat-less Duchess of Sussex caused a stir when she appeared with the Queen in 2018 without one at the opening of the Mersey Gateway Bridge She would even wear a scarf when she wasnt in a hat, so it was particularly bold when Meghan went hat-less to the opening of the Mersey Gateway Bridge in Runcorn, Cheshire. They arrived on the Royal Train and she was seated beside the Queen who was of course, wearing a hat. Dressing In Black The late Queen allegedly preferred for royal family members not to wear all black unless they're in mourning or at evening events, but Meghan has worn all-black outfits on multiple occasions breaking this tradition. There was a surprise at Meghan's choice of colour dress at the summer party at the British Ambassador's residence in Ireland At a summer party at the British Ambassador's residence in Dublin in July 2018 she chose an Emilia Wickstead dress paired with all black accessories. Trousers At Wimbledon During the Wimbledon women's finals, Meghan donned a pair of white trousers and a striped shirt from Ralph Lauren. The Duchess of Sussex appeared at Wimbledon in Ralph Lauren which included a pair of trousers which are not the usual dress code for the Royal Box For official appearances skirts and dresses are the usual dress code, which is what Kate Middleton opted to wear while attending the event alongside Meghan. Meghan also wore a Panama-style hat to the event, which she carried as hats are discouraged in the Royal Box because they could block the view of people sitting behind them. Super Short Hemline Bare-legged in a black Judith & Charles mini dress, Meghan attended a gala celebrating a charity performance of Hamilton in London in 2018. Meghan appeared, wearing black, no tights and a Judith & Charles mini dress when attending a gala performance of Hamilton in 2018 Royal women are generally expected to wear skirts or dresses that are around knee-length, and never more than three or four inches above the knee to keep hemlines conservative and appropriate for the occasion, a rule flaunted by Meghan. Going Barefoot During a visit toa local surfing community group on Bondi Beach, Meghan broke protocol regarding keeping your shoes on. Unlike Kate Middleton and Princess Diana, Meghan chose to remove her shoes on Bondi beach Members of the family, from Kate Middleton who kept her shoes on at Manly Beach in 2014, to Princess Diana, who did the same at NSW Beach in Terrigal in 1983, have always adhered to the royal rule, but not Meghan who ditched her Castaner espadrille wedges. Dark Nail Polish It's an unspoken rule that royal women should either wear no nail polish or neutral colours, with the late Queen always wearing the same light Ballet Slippers shade by Essie, or no polish at all. A pregnant Duchess of Sussex looked radiant on the stage at the British Fashion Awards, 2018 Yet Meghan broke precedence by wearing a dark burgundy polish with her Givenchy gown to The British Fashion Awards in December 2018. Wearing Dior to Royal Christening Typically the royal mother wears a piece by a British designer for the christening, however Meghan chose to dress in Dior which was a departure from royal protocol. For Prince Archie's christening the Duchess wore Dior and her sister-in-law Princess Kate wore British Designer, Stella McCartney Kate Middleton has worn Alexander McQueen to all three of her children's christenings, yet Meghan opted for French designer Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior. Blue Eyeshadow Meghan often flouted beauty guidelines during her time as a royal and her final royal engagement seemed like the subtlest way to continue breaking tradition. Meghan Sussex looked beautiful in bold green Emilia Wickstead for her last official Royal engagement at Westminster Abbey in March 2020 She dressed in bold green Emilia Wickstead with daring cobalt blue eyeshadow. Royal women should avoid bold make-up in public, yet the look created by her personal make-up artist Daniel Martin certainly made a statement. A French-speaking man who roamed the Northeast in a handmade leather suit in the late 1800s became a beloved local celebrity lauded in newsprint as the 'Old Leatherman.' Schoolchildren were let out of class to greet and feed the friendly vagabond as he passed by on his 365-mile circuit of New York and Connecticut towns, which he traversed, like clockwork, once every 34 days. According to lore, he was Jules Bourglay, the disgraced suitor of the daughter of one of France's top leather merchants, who had brought about that family's financial ruin and fled in shame to the US from Lyon, France. But questions over the man's identity, his routine and 60-pound leather outfit persisted after his death in 1889, and a theory emerged that he was French Canadian with a native grandfather who had schooled him in survival. Historians in 2011 dug up his grave in Ossining, New York, hoping DNA tests could uncover the truth, only to be disappointed. The plot yielded just a handful of metal nails, which were reburied nearby. Now, in a startling twist in the 170-year-old saga, the archaeologist who led that excavation revealed explosive details about flaws underpinning the dig at Sparta Cemetery, near the banks of the Hudson River. As it turns out, they might have been digging in the wrong place. Nicholas Bellantoni, the Emeritus Connecticut State Archaeologist, told the Daily Mail that either the Leatherman had fully decomposed or the 'location of his grave was wrong, and still remains unknown.' Mystery still shrouds the identity of the 'Old Leatherman' who roamed across New England in his handmade outfit in the late 1800s Questions still remain even about the site of his grave in Ossining, New York, which was exhumed in 2011 but yielded no clues The Leatherman's grave was only marked some 30 years after his burial - it was ID'd by the daughter of the woman who'd discovered his body. Over the decades, the daughter could easily have got mixed up about the location. 'The moral of the story was that Old Leatherman was elusive in life, and he remains elusive in death,' Bellantoni told the Daily Mail. A recent investigation by the New York Times, which first reported on the mystery in 1884, reflected on the complexity of the exhumation and speculated that the body could even be buried under the road near the gravesite. Archaeologists scoured the sloped terrain with ground-penetrating radar, but found no other likely place to dig. The Leatherman's remains are a genetic key that could unravel the elusive puzzle. 'Maybe that is for the better,' Bellantoni added, speaking to the possibility of other gravesites, 'as the legend and mystery continues.' The lore News stories about a wandering Leatherman started to emerge in the mid-1850s, describing his hand-stitched all-leather clothes and cap and wood-soled shoes. He lived in caves and roamed across Canada and the American Northeast, an industrializing region convulsed by the 1861 - '65 Civil War. The Leatherman did not understand English well, folks have said, and only answered questions in grunts and hand gestures. He did not beg for food, but was friendly and welcomed meals from kind-hearted people along his route. In his leather satchel, he carried a French prayer book, a tobacco pouch and a pipe. He rejected meat on Fridays, suggesting he was Roman Catholic. From about 1883, he started his famous clockwise 365-mile circuit through some 40 Connecticut and New York towns every 34 days. Some locals picked up on the routine and left out meals for him as he passed their homes. The Leatherman wore his handmade outfit throughout the year, including the hot summers An excavation of the Leatherman's grave site in 2011 only deepened the mystery The grave site at Sparta Cemetery, near the banks of the Hudson River, features this plaque today The nomad became a sort of one-man sideshow. Children ran out to see him, both fascinated and repelled. Newspapers reported on his stops and schedule. Elaborate yarns were written about his life. He is said to have survived blizzards and chilly weather by heating his various cave homes with fire. In later years, he developed mouth cancer and had to soak his food in coffee before he could manage to swallow a mouthful. A handmade leather mitten belonging to the Leatherman. Much of his outfit was destroyed in a fire after his death In his allegedly poor state, members of the Connecticut Humane Society intervened and had him arrested and hospitalized in 1888. After the well-wishers left, the Leatherman is said to have discharged himself and continued stoically on his loop. He was found dead in a rock shelter in Westchester County, New York, the following March. A coroner concluded he'd died from mouth cancer, at around 50 years old. The death was front-page news, and hundreds of people came to view the body. His famed leather suit was displayed in New York City. The Old Leatherman was then buried in an unmarked grave in Sparta Cemetery. Over the coming decades, newspapers kept the legend alive, often focusing on the tale of the reportedly love struck Frenchman's financial calamity. In 1953, Ossining Historical Society erected a bronze plaque at the graveyard commemorating 'Jules Bourglay from Lyons.' The legend grew from there. Hikers toured Leatherman caves, runners raced an annual Leatherman's loop and Seattle rockers Pearl Jam released a song in 1998 about a 'man of the land' who visited 'once a month.' The Leatherman's regular walking circuit was between the Connecticut River and the Hudson River The nomadic character's hat, scarf, clothes and shoes were handmade from leather Demystifying the Old Leatherman Local researcher Dan DeLuca started to debunk the myths about him, with a study of newspaper and other records that led to his 2008 Wesleyan University Press authoritative account, The Old Leather Man. DeLuca believed the Leatherman was French Canadian, and had learned to hunt, fish and trap from his Native American grandfather. He'd visited his grandfather in Canada until the relative's death in the early 1880s, said DeLuca. Nicholas Bellantoni, the Emeritus Connecticut State Archaeologist After that, he is thought to have walked his famous loop for the final six years of his own life. DeLuca and Bellantoni tried to get to the truth in 2011 by excavating the grave - a move that was primarily aimed at relocating it away from Route 9 traffic so schoolkids visiting the site would be safer. They spent two days sifting through soil, but found only nails, which may have been part of a 122-year-old casket. The absence of any human remains killed their hopes of laboratory answers, Bellantoni told the Daily Mail. 'Had we found his skeletal remains, we would have conducted various forensic tests to determine if the bones were that of an older adult male having died from a cancerous jaw,' he explained. DNA and carbon isotope tests would have aided in developing 'a biological profile to help us determine as much as possible of his true identity,' added the veteran 40-year archaeologist. He concluded that either the Leatherman's remains were buried elsewhere, or that they'd fully decomposed in the highly acidic soil. There were, he added, no signs of human remains nearby, either. The soil from the grave and the nails were reburied, away from the road, with a new marker that reads, 'THE LEATHERMAN'. The soil and nails from the original grave were reburied at a nearby site in a ceremony in 2011 The Leatherman walked his famous 365-mile loop for the final six years of his life Still, the absence of human tissue fueled doubts about whether the Leatherman had been laid to rest in Ossining at all. The grave site sat unmarked until about the late 1910s, when the daughter of the woman who found the deceased Leatherman visited with friends and pushed a pipe into the ground as a marker, records show. But she could have been mistaken. To this day, says Bellantoni, we 'just cannot be 100% sure it was the Old Leatherman' buried in that plot. The Daily Mail reached out to other experts on New England folklore, but could not find anybody else undertaking serious research on the Leatherman or looking for traces of his DNA at alternate grave sites. Still, researcher DeLuca amassed more than 15 binders of material about the character, much of which never made it into his book. DeLuca died in 2016, but his archive could reveal more clues. Michael Hoberman - an expert on the Leatherman and other word-of-mouth histories, and a professor at Fitchburg State University, in Massachusetts - says the trail has largely gone cold. 'As a society, we want to know the facts. But the thing about the Leatherman is that we really know nothing about him,' Hoberman told the Daily Mail. 'For more than a century we thought we knew where he was buried, and what a disappointment it was to find out that we don't even know that.' The Leatherman's former homes in caves and rock shelters have become an attraction for visiting hikers In his leather satchel, the Leatherman carried a French prayer book, a tobacco pouch and a pipe. Absent of hard evidence, the Leatherman legend is instead a way for people to talk about social concerns - from getting out of the rat race to harkening back to times when people were kinder, he says. The story of a foreigner crossing the US-Canada border and receiving meals and support from welcoming locals is especially potent now that immigration has become so divisive, Hoberman adds. And that tales like this can serve as a way for people to make sense of and contextualize things going on around them. 'We really want to feel like we have a realistic take on the past,' Hoberman says, 'and it's pretty much impossible to ever get there.' If you want to impress your mates with your high tolerance for spice, a new restaurant chain in the UK has a fresh challenge for you. Dave's Hot Chicken, which specialises in Nashville-style burgers and strips, has just opened its first UK branch in Shaftesbury Avenue in central London. The chain, which first opened in Los Angeles in 2017, now boasts over 200 restaurants across the US and counts Drake, Usher and Samuel L. Jackson among its celebrity fans. Famously, it offers a notoriously spicy 'Reaper' burger, covered in red-hot batter, said to reduce even the most hardened of chilli lovers to tears. Although the batter recipe is a closely-guarded secret, the key ingredient is powdered Carolina Reaper, the second-hottest chilli pepper in the world. Carolina Reaper registers a whopping 1.6 million on the Scoville scale, the internationally-accepted system used to measure the heat of chillis. So it's little surprise that customers can only order the Reaper if they are 18 or over and sign a legal waiver. MailOnline's Assistant Science Editor, Jonathan Chadwick, went along to try the Reaper for lunch - unaware he was about to experience 24 hours of pain. Dave's Hot Chicken is selling 'Reaper' tender, which contains Carolina Reaper, an extra-hot chilli pepper that registers 1.6 million on the Scoville scale, the internationally-accepted system used to measure the heat of chillis Dave's Hot Chicken, the American restaurant chain that sells Nashville-style hot chicken, has arrived in the UK. Pictured, the Shaftesbury Avenue branch Dave's Hot Chicken, originally founded in a card park in East Hollywood, offers seven spice levels Plain, Lite Mild, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot and Reaper. Before my Reaper is prepared, I have to sign the lengthy waiver, which ensures I can't bring legal action forward against Dave's if something goes wrong. It reads: 'Due to its extremely spicy nature, eating Dave's Hot Chicken REAPER is an extreme test of a person's physical and mental limits. 'Before ordering the REAPER, you should ensure that you have sufficient experience in eating very spicy food and understand and are able to accept the associated risks.' According to the waiver, Reaper can cause 'sweating, indigestion, shortness of breath, allergic reactions, vomiting and diarrhoea', but in extreme cases, it can even lead to 'chest pain, heart palpitations, heart attack and stroke'. If I was nervous before, after meticulously reading the entire waiver, I'm now really quite scared. Is it possible a portion of fried chicken could do me irreparable damage? The single Reaper chicken tender, costing 3.99, arrives on a slice of white bread with pickles and secret sauce, which is apparently true to Nashville tradition. It's certainly an angry-looking piece of food a hellish red colour, curled upwards like the devil's toenail. Although the batter recipe is a closely-guarded secret, the key ingredient is powder from the Carolina Reaper, the second-hottest chilli pepper in the world To line my stomach beforehand, I eat the mild chicken burger with chips, served with special sauce and pickles (right). The Reaper tender is served on a slice of white bread with pickles, true to traditional Nashville style The lengthy legal waiver: I initially thought the waiver was some kind of PR stunt, but it actually has a very serious purpose. Do fear the Reaper: I make sure I have a large vanilla milkshake handy, as well as a Sprite with plenty of ice Why does chilli hurt? The chemical in a chilli pepper that causes the burning sensation in your mouth is called capsaicin. It binds to a receptor in your mouth and on your tongue called TRPV1 - the same receptor that tells you when something on your skin is too hot. Capsaicin is a hydrophobic (water-repelling) molecule, so if you reach for a glass of ice-cold water, youre not going to wash any capsaicin away. In fact, youll end up distributing it around your mouth, making the pain even worse. A better option is milk, which contains a protein called casein, which can break down capsaicin. Source: Royal Society of Chemistry Advertisement To line my stomach first, I eat the mild chicken burger with chips, served with special sauce and pickles (all delicious), before turning my attention to the Reaper. I've read milk is good to quell spicy heat in the mouth because it contains a protein called casein, which can break down capsaicin, the compound in chilli that makes your mouth hurt. So I make sure I have a large vanilla milkshake handy, as well as a Sprite with plenty of ice. Staff also supply Reaper customers with protective gloves and little plastic pots of honey, which are supposed to quell the heat (they don't). For the first seven seconds after taking a big bite, it feels like the hype around the Reaper has been exaggerated but the intense burn suddenly takes off like a bullet. As Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire' starts playing on the loudspeakers, the heat-sensitive pain receptors in my mouth are triggered and I soon turn into a total, sticky mess. Sweat flows from every pore of my face and snot dribbles from my nose, and I can't wipe the tears from my eyes because I don't want to touch them with my messy gloved hands. Struggling somewhat with my coordination, I slosh milkshake over my trousers and the floor. Reaper is ludicrously, idiotically hot. And its caught me off-guard. You know when food pretends to be really hot, using words like 'fiery' and 'flamin' on the packaging? And then you eat it and it's hardly hot at all? Well, the Reaper experience at Dave's is nothing like that. Until now, the hottest thing I've ever eaten is a Vindaloo, but the Reaper fried chicken easily takes the cake The Carolina Reaper (pictured) is the second-hottest chilli pepper, second only to the dreaded 'Pepper X'. Both were developed by American chilli breeder Ed Currie Until now, the hottest thing I've ever eaten is a Vindaloo, but the Reaper fried chicken easily takes the cake. I just can't do another bite. It takes about 40 minutes for the worst of the pain to go away, but even then I'm not out of the woods yet. Reaper is a 24-hour experiment on your body. As it travels, it inflicts different types of pain burning numbness in the mouth, aching stomach, and, perhaps worst of all, the morning-after sensation of a red hot poker in the worst place imaginable. Still, it feels very wasteful to just have one bite, so I take the rest of the Reaper back to the MailOnline office and cut it into small portions. A few brave souls give it a try, including my fellow science reporter Wil Hunter, who shortly has to have a lie down after suffering 'sudden stomach ache and cold sweats'. Fortunately no-one has a stroke or a heart attack, but as Dave's plans to roll out more restaurants around the UK this year, could it be a matter of time before a nasty health incident? According to a spokesperson for Dave's, there have not been any cases of people dying since it opened in the US eight years ago. Nevertheless, my advice, even for chili fans, is this: do not underestimate the heat of the Reaper. Jussie Smollet has settled with the city of Chicago over the 2019 'hate crime' hoax furor. The disgraced actor agreed to pay $50,000 to charity, six years after the city's law department first began pursuing him over the allegedly staged attack. Smollet was convicted in December 2021 of lying to police about an alleged homophobic attack by two men wearing MAGA hats. Saga: Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett, 42, has reached a settlement with the city of Chicago over the 2019 'hate crime' hoax lawsuit; He is pictured at the 2022 BET Awards in LA The former Empire actor's conviction was overturned last year due to a due process violation. The city of Chicago's Law Department filed a civil lawsuit against him in 2019 to recover more than $130,000 in costs incurred investigating his allegedly staged attack, after he failed to meet a city-imposed payment deadline. The terms of his settlement require that Smollett, 42, pays $50,000 to a charity of his choice, instead of paying the six-figures in restitution for the investigation, as per TMZ. Smollett has already chosen his charity, and donated the $50,000 to the Building Better Futures Center for the Arts organization in Chicago. A judge has yet to sign off to make it official. Building Better Futures Center for the Arts provides mental health support, art, music, and acting training for underprivileged youth in Chicago. Smollett had his conviction for lying to the police with a bizarre anti-Trump hoax overturned in a sensational ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court last November. The court found that the actor had his rights violated by a special prosecutor's decision to retry him after initial charges against him were dropped with an agreement that he would not be re-charged. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months' probation after it was proven that he fabricated the episode, and he was also slapped with a fine of $130,160. Smollett appealed the ruling and has not yet served a day of that sentence behind bars, even after his conviction was previously affirmed by a lower court in 2023 before the Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal. The actor's hoax and later arrest sparked a media firestorm years ago, as it was found he had actually paid two Nigerian brothers - Abel and Ola Osundairo - to stage the incident. When Smollett first came forward with his story, the actor was met with widespread support, and the Chicago PD vowed to swiftly find his attackers. Smollett even showed police the noose that he claimed he was almost lynched with. Mugshot: Smollett was convicted in 2021 for lying to police about an alleged episode in 2019, where he claimed two men beat him, yelled homophobic slurs, and placed a noose around his neck; Pictured in his 2019 booking photo Legal fees: The city of Chicago's Law Department filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the actor to recover over $130,000 in costs incurred investigating his alleged attack; Smollett seen in 2018 Coughing up: A settlement requires Smollett to pay $50,000 to a charity of his choice, which he has already done, as per TMZ; He is pictured in 2022 Donation: Smollett has given $50,000 to the Building Better Futures Center for the Arts charity in Chicago. He is pictured in court in 2019 Although Smollett claimed he was attacked by two white Trump supporters, detectives reviewed surveillance footage and zeroed in on the Osundairo brothers as suspects. When presented with a grainy surveillance picture of the brothers near the scene, Smollett said they were 'absolutely' the men who attacked him, not realizing they had already been arrested. One of his attorneys, Tina Glandian, claimed that Smollett may have misidentified the brothers - who he had also just been on the phone with moments before - because they could have been 'in disguise' in white makeup. She went on to point to a 2016 YouTube video of Abel Osundairo, the brother in question, where he is wearing white make-up to perform a Joker monologue for Halloween as proof of her theory. By that time, stories had leaked that detectives believed Smollett had concocted the story, seemingly in an attempt boost his public profile. Smollett went on Good Morning America to tearfully insist he was the victim, but by February 2019, a month after the incident, he was arrested and charged with filing a false police report, and his character from Empire was halted. However, despite a grand jury indicting him for repeatedly lying to cops, the charges against Smollett were then sensationally dropped a month later in March, sparking outrage from the public. President Trump led the backlash as he decried the charges being dropped as an 'embarrassment to the nation,' while Chicago Police Chief Eddie Johnson, who is Black, said at the time: 'Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.' The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, said it amounted to a 'whitewash of justice' that proved Smollett was treated gently by the system because he is a celebrity and a prominent figure in the city. After he was fined $140,000 for wasting police resources, a special prosecutor was named to investigate why the charges against Smollett were dropped. It was this decision that has now led to Smollett's ultimate conviction to be overturned, as it was found his rights were violated because Smollett had agreed with prosecutors that he would not be re-charged at the time after the case against him was dropped. Sensational case: Smollett had his conviction for lying to the police with a bizarre anti-Trump hoax overturned in a ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court last November; Pictured in Chicago in 2020 Decision: The court found that the actor had his rights violated by a special prosecutor's decision to retry him after initial charges against him were dropped with an agreement that he would not be re-charged; Smollett pictured in his 2022 booking photo Roles: The actor's hoax and later arrest sparked a media firestorm years ago, as it was bizarrely found that he had actually paid two Nigerian brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo (pictured) to stage the incident Acting career: Smollett played Jamal Lyon on the Fox drama series Empire from 2015 to 2019; Pictured in a still In February 2020 Smollett was indicted again on felony lying to police, and following a contentious trial where he maintained his innocence, Smollett was convicted at the conclusion of his trial in 2021. Smollett again sparked a backlash during his conviction hearing, as he triumphantly raised his fist to appear defiant, despite being caught in a lie. When the Illinois Supreme Court handed down the ruling to overturn that conviction, Chief Justice Theis and Justice Cunningham recused themselves from the decision. The court's opinion pointed to the agreement Smollett had with Illinois prosecutors after his charges were dropped. 'We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust,' the opinion read. 'Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the State was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.' Smollett is known for his role as Jamal Lyon on the Fox drama series Empire, where he starred from 2015 to 2019. Five months after strongly suggesting that she had split from Elise Williams, Tommy Dorfman has officially filed for divorce. Dorfman, 33, met Williams on the dating app Hinge that year in 2021 and the pair became engaged after just two months of dating. They went on to secretly marry in late 2023 in Malibu, with Dorfman not publicly revealing the nuptials until May 2024. All over: Tommy Dorfman filed for divorce from Elise Williams on May 16 in New York City In late December Dorfman shared a 2024 recap with 20 images from the year with the caption: 'Heartbreak feels good in a place like this,' hinting that she and Williams had split. While Dorfman has not spoken publicly about the split since People reported that she filed for divorce May 16 in New York City. Dorfman was previously married to Peter Zurkuhlen from 2016 to 2021, but they still remain friends. Moving fast: Dorfman and Williams became engaged after just two months of dating Dorfman came out as non-binary in 2017, four years before coming out as transgender in 2021 in an interview with Time. She said: 'For a year now, I have been privately identifying and living as a woman - a trans woman,' while adding why she decided to keep her male birth name Tommy. The actress continued: 'Im not changing my name. Im named after my moms brother who passed a month after I was born, and I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying. This is an evolution of Tommy. Im becoming more Tommy.' Giving more details about her and Williams's fast-paced relationship in her May 2024 Vogue essay Dorfman said they didn't move in together until months later. She said: 'We got engaged two months into dating. To our credit, we waited a full 12 months before moving in together, so you cant say we U-Hauled (though one might argue taking in a Great Dane puppy at our six-month mark was a smidge irresponsible). 'Thats the thing about falling in love though; your responsibility barometer isnt always where it should be. Love, for us, required that nauseating combination of naivete, delusion, and fate.' She called Williams, 'a self-respecting and grounded human,' adding, 'she likes her life, and her privacy.' The signs: Dorfman hinted that things may not be going well between the pair five months ago Some restrain: Despite quickly becoming engaged the pair waited 12 months until they moved in together Dorfman said that for Williams, 'fame, or even fame by association, was never aspirational for her; she dedicated the first half of her 20s to educating, interior design projects, and writing.' She continued: 'On the other hand, I had never been more public-facing than in our first year together: from fashion weeks to beauty campaigns to the Met Gala. Those first few months illustrated our lifestyle differences and became a testing ground for how we would relate to the outside world.' Dorfman is yet to publicly comment on the split yet but she will be embarking on a tour for her new book Maybe This Will Save Me. The tour kicks off in New York City on May 28 with a performance and discussion with Real Housewives Of New York star Jenna Lyons. The tour will continue to Los Angeles on May 30 with Kaia Gerber, then San Francisco June 5 with Chloe Benjamin and Atlanta June 11 with ER Anderson. A mother died in mysterious circumstances on a family holiday and allegedly had her heart removed. Beth Martin, 28, from Britain, fell ill during her flight - something she initially blamed on food poisoning - and within hours of arriving in Istanbul began feeling 'delirious' and was immediately rushed to hospital. She died the next day. Beth's family claim they were kept in the dark about the seriousness of her condition and suggested doctors seemed unaware that Beth was allergic to penicillin. Family: Beth Martin from Portsmouth, with her husband Luke and two children, aged eight and five Location: Beth died on April 29, a day after she was admitted to Marmara University Pendik Education and Research Hospital in Istanbul (above) Her husband Luke, who had accompanied her on the family holiday with their two young children, was also accused of 'poisoning' his wife by the Turkish authorities and thought to be a suspect in her death. After days of battling with officials, Luke eventually arranged for Beth's body to be flown back to the UK and taken into the care of British coroners - who later said her heart had been removed. Beth's family has now been left desperately searching for answers about how and why she died - with Luke saying he has suffered the 'deepest level of trauma'. The Turkish Ministry of Health has now revealed Beth died after a 'cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failure' - but stopped short at explaining the exact cause of this. Officials also said that Beth 'did not undergo any surgical procedures' during a preliminary autopsy at the hospital, but would not say whether this was also true after she was transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute for a second autopsy. The Health Ministry said: 'The patient was recorded in the hospital records as a "forensic case" in line with the statement of Martin's wife that they may have been poisoned by a meal they ate in their country before the trip, and the initial findings.' It added: 'A preliminary autopsy [without incision] was performed at the hospital in accordance with the forensic case procedure and his wife's request in this regard. 'The exact cause of Martin's death could not be determined with the current findings in the preliminary autopsy, which was carried out with the participation of the Public Prosecutor and the forensic medicine doctor. 'Beth Martin did not undergo any surgical procedures during her treatment at the hospital, and there was no question of any organs being removed.' The update still leaves Beth's family with so many questions and it is still unknown whether doctors missed a problem with her heart, or failed to acknowledge her allergy to penicillin. It has been alleged that doctors may have given her the drug before her death. The Marmara Pendik hospital, which sits a short distance from the city's Sabiha Gokcen international airport, is facing a negligence investigation over Ms Martin's rapid and as-yet-unexplained death, according to her family. But the Martins face a six-month wait for a coroner's inquest that could give them all of the answers they desperately need. 'It has been the worst and most traumatic week of my entire life,' husband Luke wrote on social media. 'If anyone can take anything away from this... hold your loved ones a little longer, don't sleep on an argument, take photos, take videos, tell them you love them more.' Friend Robert Hammond has also launched a GoFundMe in support of Beth's family, which has so far raised over $340,000. On the page he laid out the traumatic ordeal in detail. His account has been expanded upon by Ellie Grey, a wellness influencer who described Ms Martin as her 'very good friend' and appeared to have gone to Turkey herself to help. Hammond, writing on the page, said Ms Martin was taken to hospital on Monday April 28, where she was examined by medics and admitted. Mr Martin then left for a few hours to take his children back to the hotel, before he was summoned back to pay for a scan upfront. He then went to be with his children as his wife was admitted into intensive care. Her husband was, Mr Hammond says, 'banned from seeing her'. Mr Hammond adds: 'From there, no calls and no updates despite him trying to contact the hospital to see if his wife was OK. Just silence.' Overnight, Ms Martin was transferred to another hospital for an angiography - a type of X-ray used to show up blood vessels - due to what her family would be told were 'concerns with her heart'. This scan reportedly showed no cause for concern, according to Ms Grey. Scene: The hospital in Istanbul's eastern reaches Ms Martin was then transferred back to the first hospital - which allegedly refused to provide paperwork to a private hospital contracted by her travel insurer. But Mr Martin and his wife's mother, who had flown out urgently to see her, were frustrated when they asked to see her on Tuesday - unaware of her rapidly deteriorating condition. The crisis was complicated by the arrival of Turkish police officers at the Martins' hotel, where they handed Luke a document stating his wife had died at 9.am, even as she remained on life support - still alive, barely. Police then informed him he was suspected of poisoning her - before her death was even formally confirmed. As he watched his wife being loaded into a Turkish ambulance on Monday, Luke had told medics that she was allergic to penicillin - a common medicinal allergy affecting around one in 10 people around the world. But doctors at the hospital did not seem aware. Mr Hammond said: 'The doctor asked if Beth had allergies. Luke had already told the paramedics when Beth got in the ambulance that she was allergic to penicillin. 'And yet when told again, they were shocked to hear this information - they had no idea and had been treating her for hours at this point.' On Tuesday, Mr Martin received a call from the hospital, delivering the news that his wife was dead, two days after complaining of an upset stomach, with no clear cause. 'How did she die? We don't know,' Ms Grey said. 'Beth was ill before she got to Turkey. She started being sick on the plane, we started thinking it was a dodgy Chinese. 'The insurance company wanted to move her to a private hospital but the public hospital in Istanbul were not cooperating, they were being slow and delaying reports and not sending information over. They stopped her. 'They transferred her to another hospital to have an angiography done but they said the heart was fine and transferred her back and still didn't transfer her to a private hospital. then she died.' Ms Grey has suggested the hospital may have been negligent in its duty of care. She added: 'They said they did 45 minutes of CPR but anyone who has ever had CPR or has seen CPR knows how brutal it is. 'When I saw Beth in the morgue after she had her hair in two French plaits and they were perfect. There is no way they did CPR for 45 minutes, I know that.' While Luke was being interrogated by police, the hospital tried to pressure the family into telling them whether they planned to sue over the death and handed them a piece of paper that they refused to sign. 'All they went on about is are you going to sue the hospital, sign this bit of paper,' Ellie added. 'I said: "Is there something we should be suing for? Do you know something we don't? Because that's really suspicious".' Medical reports, while unable to confirm how Ms Martin died, have ruled out food poisoning as the cause of her death, Ms Grey claimed. Luke was then dragged before police to hear accusations of poisoning his late wife. But as it dawned on officers that he played no role in her death, they dropped the charge and let him go. The horrors, as alleged by Mr Hammond, continued: that Luke, alongside Beth's mother, was made to carry his wife's body in a zipped body bag, and threw thousands at repatriating her there and then, rather than waiting weeks for insurers. 'We got to see Beth for 30 seconds in the morgue then the guy (clicked his fingers) at us and handed us a corner of the bodybag that was zipped open and me, Beth's mum, Luke and a translator had to lift her body into a coffin,' Ellie Grey said in her video, appearing to corroborate the account. 'Losing her was traumatic enough but going over to Istanbul and seeing first hand the lack of respect and having to go the next day to the forensic examiner officer and saying "do not take any organs". 'They wanted to bury her or cremate her within 24 hours, we had to fight to repatriate her and pay ourselves.' Backing: A GoFundMe has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Martin family Luke then had to deliver the message to his young children that their mother was gone. The final shock was to come as Beth arrived into the care of British coroners - who found that she had been returned to the UK minus her heart. 'The Turkish hospital has removed it. No explanation. No consent. They have invaded her body and they have taken her heart,' Mr Hammond wrote on the GoFundMe. Official advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) notes that Turkish coroners can take small tissue samples as well as complete organs for testing 'without the family's permission'. 'You will not automatically be told if this happens,' the advice notes. And while they will often seek to return organs before a person's body is released, the FCDO adds, 'in exceptional circumstances, body parts might be kept without permission.' There is, it should be said, no suggestion that Beth Martin's heart has been illegally harvested. Ms Martin's friends and family are determined to fight until they get straight answers from the Turkish authorities. 'Luke has gone through something that no person should ever have to go through and he has done it with dignity and strength and pride for Beth,' Ellie Grey said. 'I swear to you, between her family and Luke and myself we are not letting this go. 'No way am I going to let them get away with taking her heart, lying about what happened and treating her as if she was somebody with no dignity. 'We will get answers.' An FCDO (Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office) spokesperson previously said: 'We are providing support to the family of a British woman who died in Turkey and are in touch with the local authorities.' Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more A short-haul flight might be quick, but it can be tricky - not only because you have to lug your hand luggage around the airport with you from check in to landing. But it often means squeezing all of your must-haves into one bag and keeping your liquids to the 100ml rule. As deputy travel editor of MailOnline, I'm constantly jet-setting around the globe. I've recently come back from Basel, where I watched Eurovision, and am heading back to Switzerland in July for the EUFA Women's EURO. I'm also going to Croatia, Amsterdam, Italy and the Caribbean later this year. This globetrotting lifestyle has meant I've got a whole heap of travel essentials I pack in my hand luggage - to ensure make the journey easier and to make sure I'm keep to the latest rules and restrictions. My bag includes beauty buys that keep my skin hydrated, and Amazon products to ensure I stay restful on early morning flights. You're definitely going to want to take a leaf out of my luggage next time you holiday... University is often a time to expand your horizons. And that's certainly the case for students who sign up to the competitive Semester at Sea programme, which sees them spend a term travelling the world on a cruise ship. Twice a year, the MV World Odyssey, a 590 foot/179m ship, transforms into a floating home for students and faculty from all over the globe. But what's it really like to study at sea? MailOnline caught up with former Semester at Sea student, Carli Fogel, to find out. Carli, from Florida, completed Semester at Sea in 2018 and describes the experience as 'the best four months' of her life. She says: 'We left from California and we stopped in Hawaii and then went to Japan, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Hong Kong, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco and Portugal.' But, while it might sound like a glamorous way to study, Carli reveals the ship was far from luxurious. Carli Fogel, from Florida, completed Semester at Sea in 2018 and describes it as 'the best four months' of her life. She's pictured here with her friends on their last day of the course Twice a year, the MV World Odyssey (pictured above in Dubrovnik), a 590 foot/179m ship, transforms into a floating home for students and faculty from all over the globe She says: 'I shared a room with another girl. The rooms were really small, like crazy small. You just had a tiny window that would look out on the water.' Pictured above is a premium student cabin on the ship She says: 'I shared a room with another girl. The rooms were really small, like crazy small. You just had a tiny window that would look out on the water. 'I definitely got seasick and it was claustrophobic. A bunch of people got a stomach virus and there was a doctor and nurse onboard.' A keen traveller, Carli reveals that she'd been set on doing Semester at Sea since the age of 12 when she met a family friend who had completed the programme. But she wasn't originally sold on the ship element. She explains: 'I'm from Florida, which is the home of cruises, but my parents hate cruises because they don't like relaxing on vacation. 'I never really went on cruises growing up. I only wanted to do this because I wanted to go to the different countries, I didn't want to live on a boat. But then it turned out the boat was the best part. 'Of course the countries were amazing, but the boat was home. You create this community onboard.' While Semester at Sea is running today, Carli explains that today's students won't experience one of her favourite parts of her trip. Students who sign up to the competitive Semester at Sea programme spend a term travelling the world on a cruise ship While Semester at Sea is running today, Carli explains that today's students won't experience one of her favourite parts of her trip - having no WIFI 'There was no WIFI on the ship when I went which was my favourite part,' says Carli. 'You were really off the grid and you couldn't be on your phone. 'You couldn't be on social media and you had to be really present. Everything you learned, you learned from textbooks. You'd learn something in class and then you'd go on a field trip that matched that learning.' The lack of WIFI meant that Carli and her friends weren't often able to plan their days on land which led to some spontaneous adventures. She reveals: 'Unless you had a field trip booked with the ship, not much was planned. You ended up doing unexpected things that you would never have given yourself time for if you had a planned a trip using the Internet. 'The kids on the ship nowadays are making TikToks which is cute, but to me, it misses the point. When you didn't have access to WIFI, you really got to know people and it was a little utopian society. 'If a group of students didn't like how a course was being taught, they were then able to teach the course themselves. The travel was amazing but the community was very democratic, in a way I don't think I'll ever experience again.' One of Carli's favourite memories from Semester at Sea was when she managed to persuade the ship's crew to turn off the top deck lights for 15 minutes at midnight. 'There were hundreds of students lying on yoga mats on the deck looking at the stars together. It was probably the best moment of my life,' she says. The swimming pool onboard the ship. One of Carli's fondest memories is lying on the deck to see the stars at night And, despite the challenges of a tiny room and seasickness, Carli says 'everything was so worth it.' 'It really changed my life and where I wanted to live and the work I wanted to do,' she finishes. 'I ended up living in Tel Aviv for four to five years after and then I travelled in Europe a lot. 'I made everlasting friendships that I wouldn't change for the world. 'If you can handle the shakiness of the boat, definitely do Semester at Sea, it's a no brainer.' A BBC spy thriller hailed as 'the best series about a true story in a long time' has finally landed on Netflix. The six-part programme, The Trial of Christine Keeler, reenacts the story of the 1960s Profumo affair. Sophie Cookson, 35, stars as Keeler, whose sexual liaisons with Tory Minister John Profumo and a Russian military attache, based in London, led to one of the biggest political scandals of modern times. The series originally aired on BBC One back in 2019 and has recently been added to Netflix. Fans have raved about the drama over the years, which has an impressive 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. A BBC spy thriller hailed as 'the best series about a true story in a long time' has finally landed on Netflix The six-part programme, The Trial of Christine Keeler, reenacts the story of the 1960s Profumo affair Sophie Cookson, right, stars as Keeler, whose sexual liaisons with Tory Minister John Profumo and a Russian military attache, based in London , led to one of the biggest political scandals of modern times Some viewers left their thoughts on The Trial Of Christine Keeler on Google and one penned: 'Excellent depiction of a true life drama and event that had everything from high suspense and gripped the viewer from beginning to the end. 'Christine really had a sad life and paid the ultimate price by being exploited by men from a very young age, being let down by her own parents. 'It also showed that men in high office could get away with almost anything. Just kept you on the edge of your seat throughout. And superbly acted by the entire cast. 'One of the best series of a true story I have seen in a long time that I literally binge watched over two days! Brilliant.' Another added: 'I enjoyed this drama of a true event. It was to me more realistic of the event and the people involved and less of a showcase drama. 'The entire cast was superb. I have never heard of Sophie Cookson and she came across as credible and sympathetic to the memory of the real Christine.' While someone else gushed: 'Loved it . Graham Norton was excellent , in fact Casting was brilliant. Probably one of the best TV series Ive viewed.' 'A gripping story, great actors and actresses. Think the story was portrayed in a good way,' one viewer said. The series originally aired on BBC One back in 2019 and has recently been added to streaming platform Netflix Fans have raved about the drama over the years, which has an impressive 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes It comes after TV fans were left gripped by another show, a 'masterpiece' period drama titled The English. Written and directed by Hugo Blick, the show first hit our screens back in 2022. The revisionist Western six-part series landed on Amazon Prime Video in the US, but was also released on BBC Two for those in the UK. Although it was released three years ago, some only recently noticed the drama is available to watch on iPlayer. The Wheel of Time has been canceled after three seasons at Amazon Prime. No reason was given for canceling the series starring Rosamund Pike and Barney Harris, however, Deadline reported that it was likely financial reasons. The series is based on the novels of the same name by Robert Jordan. It premiered on Prime in 2021, followed by the second season in 2023, and the third season hit the streamer in March 2025. The plot followed Moriaine (Pike) a member of Aes Sedai, the incredible powerful all-female organization as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. She takes on a dangerous journey around the world with five young women and young men, one of whom is the prophesied Dragon Reborn, who was sent to either save or destroy humanity. The Wheel of Time has been canceled after three seasons at Amazon Prime Along with Pike and Harris, the cast included Josha Stradowski, Madeline Madden, Daniel Henney, Zoe Robins, Marcus Rutherford, Donal Finn, Ceara Coveney, Kate Fleetwood, Natasha OKeeffe, Ayoola Smart, Kae Alexander and Sophie Okonedo. News of the cancelation was a surprise as fan and critic reaction to season three was mostly positive. However, declining viewership numbers sealed the fate of The Wheel of Time. The series got off to a rough start with low viewership numbers in season one, however, it picked up in season two. The third season was hailed by many as very good fantasy television and there was hope for a season four until Amazon gave it the axe. Fans took to social media to express that they were disappointed in the cancelation though not surprised by it. 'This sucks - but its expected. It alienated too large of the fan base in the first season and wasnt quality enough to get a large enough audience outside of fans. Im absolutely gutted for all the actors / actresses involved,' one fan wrote on Reddit. Another fan opined, 'I hate streaming services. At this point I refuse to start watching any new series until I know it will have a conclusion. I'd rather watch a 10+ year old completed series than constantly be left hanging with no ending. No reason was given for canceling the series starring Rosamund Pike and Barney Harris, however, Deadline reported that it was likely financial reasons The series is based on the novels of the same name by Robert Jordan It premiered on Prime in 2021, followed by the second season in 2023, and the third season hit the streamer in March 2025 The plot followed Moriaine (Pike) a member of Aes Sedai, the incredible powerful all-female organization as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers Fans were disappointed but not surprised by the cancelation Declining viewership numbers sealed the fate of The Wheel of Time The Wheel of Time would have been much cheaper to make as an animated show, but that brings up other issues with drawing fans of live action to animation 'Classic, right when the actors start hitting their stride and the writing improves in quality they cancel it. 'My god do execs just think a fantasy show has to reach GOT season 6 acclaim and numbers immediately or its a failure?,' another fan reacted. 'The way I love the cast so much that I cant even bring myself to be snarky about Rafe. 'The cast and crew deserved better and Wheel of Time deserved better,'one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote in response to the news. 'Im actually really sad because I dont think television will have the guts to pull off what The Wheel of Time did with Moiraine and Siuan again (lesbian impossibility and desire in every episode),' another wrote. 'So tired of fantasy/sci fi shows being cancelled. Season 3 of wheel of time was brilliant and beautiful. This isnt fair,' someone else added. 'Hoping Wheel of Time is able to find a new life in animated form somewhere down the line, but the entire tone and direction of the show needs to be closer to the books instead of this angsty teen CW vibe the show started with,' a fan said. The Wheel of Time would have been much cheaper to make as an animated show, but that brings up other issues with drawing fans of live action to animation. She takes on a dangerous journey around the world with five young women and young men, one of whom is the prophesied Dragon Reborn, who was sent to either save or destroy humanity Author Robert Jordan started the series of books with 1990s The Eye of the World The Prime Video logo is shown Author Robert Jordan started the series of books with 1990s The Eye of the World. The series blossomed to 11 volumes plus a prequel novel before Jordan died of cancer at 58. He was working on the 12th book at the time of his death and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson stepped in to complete the series Using Jordan's meticulous notes, Sanderson completed the series with three more books for 14 in total. Britain's Got Talent has been hit by yet another 'fix' row after a couple got engaged during magician Harry Moulding's emotional Golden Buzzer performance. Tonight's live semi-final saw KSI make a shock comeback to the judging panel, making him the fifth to join for one of the final shows. He appeared alongside the other four judges - Bruno Tonioli, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell and Alesha Dixon. And it took an emotional turn as a lucky woman named Jess received a surprise proposal from her partner during Harry's act, with the magic man going onto receive the Golden Buzzer from guest judge KSI. While the live audience were left in tears, viewers were quick to question the authenticity of the proposal, as both Jess and her partner already boast a large following on TikTok. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Britain's Got Talent has been hit by yet another 'fix' row after a couple got engaged during magician Harry Moulding's emotional Golden Buzzer performance Jess placed her hands over her mouth in pure shock - and little did they know, she was all a part of the act For his performance, Harry appeared to pull Jess from the audience for his illustion, before playing a clip that he'd recorded in Paris, that showed her boyfriend being asked where he would like to get married. He then replied: 'Here, in Paris,' before making his way onto the stage and getting down on one knee to pop the question. Quickly accepting the proposal, Jess placed her hands over her mouth in pure shock, with the judging panel so in awe, that Harry received a Golden Buzzer, giving him a spot in the semi-final. However viewers watching from home weren't quite convinced, with some taking to X to share their thoughts, with others noting Jess already has a large online following. Posts included: 'Jess has 77k followers on TikTok; And now a surprise proposal from the partner of Jess he randomly met in Paris. Total fix #bgt;' '#BGT #BritainsGotTalent. F**k right off, do they think the viewers are some sort of mugs or what? Harry, gets 11 minutes for his "Act".. Then gets the f**ing Golden buzzer.. Complete fix, they are all in on it.. Not Magic at all, all completely rehearsed.. And bad acting by Jess.' But some defended the act, writing: 'Everyone saying that Harry's act was a fix, staged, a set up and that Jess and her boyfriend are actors etc. - you have absolutely *no idea* how illusions work. Just enjoy it for what it is and be happy for the talented guy who delivered it. #bgt;' 'She was amazing, my family knew she would win, plus harry was amazing bless jess for getting proposed to, can't wait to see them in the final.' Magician Harry Moulding got emotional as he wowed the judges and got KSI's Golden Buzzer for his heartwarming performance - which involved the proposal Harry asked Jess' boyfriend if he were to get married, where he would tie the knot. Jess' boyfriend said: 'Here, in Paris.' Viewers watching from home weren't quite convinced, with some taking to X to share their thoughts Saturday's show saw KSI make an unexpected return, with many saying they hope he will become a permanent judge on the show. The Sidemen star made his comeback for the fifth and last semi-final, with hosts Ant and Dec announcing he'd been given his own Golden Buzzer. After Harry's standout performance involving a marriage proposal sent him through to the final, dancer Binitas was announced to be joining him after she received the most public votes. The grand finale date for Britain's Got Talent has been revealed by ITV and will feature a whopping feature-length broadcast to bring the show to a close. Now, as the remaining acts prepare for this weekend's show, ITV has confirmed the details for the highly-anticipated finale. It will take place on Saturday, May 31 and will air for a whopping two hours and 45 minutes, from 7pm to 9.45pm. With 2025 finalists revealed as Harry Moulding, Binita Chetry, Vinnie McKee, The Blackouts, Stacey Leadbeatter, Olly Pearson, Ping Pong Pang. Jasmine Rice, Joseph Charm and Hear Our Voice. Violet Affleck has never shied away from standing up for what she believes in, and it seems her famous parents have no plans to get in the way of their activist daughter. The 19-year-old college student, who just completed her freshman year at Yale University, recently raised eyebrows with an academic essay titled, 'A Chronically Ill Earth: COVID Organizing as a Model Climate Response in Los Angeles.' In the very first line, Violet shares that she 'spent the January fires in Los Angeles arguing with [her] mother' Jennifer Garner, 53, over the issue of climate change. 'She [Garner] was shell-shocked, astonished at the scale of destruction in the neighborhood where she raised myself [sic] and my siblings,' the Ivy League student wrote, and self-proclaimed 'climate-literate member of Generation Z,' wrote in her paper published on Sunday in the school's Global Health Review. 'I was surprised at her surprise,' Violet wrote, adding that 'my question had not been whether the Palisades would burn but when.' To outsiders, it might seem that Violet's activism would potentially cause trouble for her A-list parents, but an inside source exclusively tells the Daily Mail that Garner and Ben Affleck, 52, are nothing but supportive of their daughter's beliefs and activism. Violet, 19, the daughter of Ben Affleck, 52, and Jennifer Garner, 53, recalled having a tense argument with her mom in a candid essay for Yale (Garner and Violet pictured May 18 in Los Angeles) Writing of her surprise at Garner's reaction to the wildfires, Violet, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the '13 Going on 30' star, wrote: 'As a lifelong Angelena and climate-literate member of generation Z, my question had not been whether the Palisades would burn but when' 'Violet is so uniquely herself,' the source said. 'She is finding her voice and her parents know this and challenge her all the time,' they continued. 'They are very proud of her for sharing her beliefs so they don't get angry. 'They champion her opinion and respect that she is her own woman. They don't always have to agree with her, but they give her all the room in the world to express herself.' In addition to naming her mom in her essay, Violet also recalled how her younger brother, 13-year-old Samuel, was seemingly skeptical of her associating the wildfires to climate change, asking, 'What did global warming have to do with the speed of the wind?' 'Hopefully,' she wrote, 'most of us understand the climate crisis better than my little brother.' According to the insider, there 'wasn't much of any discussion that her brother and Jen would be mentioned in the essay,' but it's 'not the end of the world' and 'nobody is upset' with Violet for detailing their intimate family disagreement. '[Her parents] want her to live her life and use her voice for good. They'll always be her parents, and they will say and argue with her when they feel that is right, but it just reiterates that she can do the same thing,' the source added. 'They all have a very healthy family dialogue and more of this will likely happen in the future.' In July 2024, Violet made an impassioned plea in front of the LA County Board of Supervisors calling for an end to all 'mask bans' in medical facilities and government buildings. During the speech, which marked one of teen's first public displays of activism, she detailed her experience of contracting 'a post-viral condition' in 2019. 'They champion her opinion and respect that she is her own woman,' the insider said of Ben and Garner. 'They don't always have to agree with her, but they give her all the room in the world to express herself' Garner and Affleck also share Fin (formerly Seraphina), 16, and son Samuel, 13 (Garner pictured with her three kids in 2018) Violet (pictured left with Garner in 2024) has been spotted on multiple occasions wearing a face mask She also urged the board 'to confront the long COVID crisis' by strengthening protections, offering high-quality tests and opposing a ban on masks. 'I demand mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC light in government facilitates, including jails and detention centers, and mask mandates in county medical faculties,' she said. Following the devastating Los Angeles fires, Violet displayed her dedication towards her personal health and safety when she was photographed wearing an N-95 mask outside her dad's rental property in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles last January. At the time, it was reported that Violet was hoping the wildfires would encourage others to understand the importance of preventing a ban on face masks. Violet was said to have been 'pressuring' her parents and siblings to protect themselves with face coverings amid the hazardous air quality caused by the terrifying blazes. She was also seen wearing a mask at Michael Rubin's White Party in 2023, and again in May 2024 when she was pictured carrying Steven Thrasher's award-winning 2022 book, The Viral Underclass. However, Violet's prolific mask-wearing has become a hot topic of conversation online, with divisive comments hailing her as both 'courageous' and 'utterly deluded'. As a result of the online fervor, a source previously revealed to the Daily Mail that Affleck was forced to step in by warning his eldest daughter that she needs to be 'realistic' about her campaigning, after she was left 'extremely disheartened' by the response to her speech on mask mandates. 'While Ben and Jen will always support their daughter, Ben had a conversation with her and told her that she needs to be realistic with this because he doesn't want her to waste all of her time putting effort into something that probably won't make a difference in the long run,' the insider said in July 2024. 'He was also concerned that Violet felt as if her parent's star power was going to be able to guarantee her the outcome that she wanted, which in this case, it is not.' While her mom who volunteered to help her devastated community amid the fires was 'shell-shocked' and 'astonished' by the inferno, Violet said she was 'surprised at her surprise' Affleck has told his daughter Violet that she needs to be 'realistic' about her campaigning after she was left 'extremely disheartened' by the response to her speech on mask mandates Although Ben and Garner have yet to publicly address their daughter's recent comments in her Yale essay, the '13 Going on 30' star previously gushed over Violet while appearing on 'Live with Kelly and Mark' in November 2023. During her appearance, she described Violet as 'a self-starter' who has been 'totally in charge' of mapping out her collegiate curriculum. 'I'm proud of her no matter what,' Garner said. The A-list parents, who wed in 2005, have remained on good terms since their 2018 divorce. Earlier this year, they sparked reconciliation rumors after Ben was seen pulling her in for an embrace during their son Samuel's paintball birthday event. He also visited his ex-wife, who is currently dating businessman John Miller, at her home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles for Mother's Day, and appeared to be carrying a small gift. He previously praised Garner and their co-parenting partnership during an interview with GQ magazine in March. 'I'm really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner, the kids' mom, who's wonderful and great and we work together well,' he said. James Norton is back on the market, it has been reported. The stage and screen star, 39, is said to have split from his girlfriend, model and artist Charlotte Rose Smith, 26. The Happy Valley actor has reportedly been spotted on exclusive celebrity dating app, Raya. The profile in question is said to feature photos of Norton with a shaved head a dramatic new look he's adopted for his upcoming role in Sunny Dancer, currently being filmed in Scotland with co-star Bella Ramsey. MailOnline has contacted James' reps for comment. James, who is a strong contender to be the next James Bond, started dating Charlotte late last year and was pictured out with her on several occasions. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. James Norton is said to be back on the market after being romantically linked to model and artist Charlotte Rose Smith The stage and screen star, 39, has reportedly split from Charlotte after they got together in November 2024 At the time, an insider told The Sun: 'They have been enjoying dates and seem very happy together. 'It has been a year since his relationship with Imogen ended and he appears to get on so well with Charlotte. They make a lovely couple.' While it appears he now back on the dating scene, the model has been busy posting cryptic videos on TikTok. 'When everything is falling apart I will always have art. Broken heart? Still got my art,' she captioned a recent video of herself working in her London studio. In another video, she is strutting around in a chic figure-hugging dress with the caption: 'How I imagine every ex thinks of me.' James is not short of support as he moves on from the British beauty. He revealed in a recent podcast episode of Travel Secrets that he was planning a Kenya trip soon with his parents, Hugh and Lavinia, and sister Jessica. 'It's with my family, which is really lovely,' he said. 'There's a point you get to in your early twenties... I was lucky enough to look at my mum and dad when we were all adults, and say, "We get on!" While it appears he now back on the dating scene, the model has been busy posting cryptic videos on TikTok (pictured in a TikTok posted in January) James was previously engaged to actress Imogen Poots (pictured in 2022) before their split in 2023 'My dad and I have a grudge match playing chess and we play bridge. 'My sister has two little boys who are six and four and we have a really nice little family unit. 'So for the first time, I'm taking them on holiday. We're going to the Masai Mara for some Safari. I can't wait to see my little nephews do Safari.' James was previously engaged to actress Imogen Poots, 35, before they split late 2023. They were together for seven years before their demanding careers tore them apart. 'Some of the choices recently weren't mine, yet I dont feel begrudging,' James told the Sunday Times late last year. Towards the end of their relationship, he had been starring in A Little Life - a West End adaptation of Hanya Yanagiharas novel dealing with trauma and abuse - and admitted he had 'given his life' to the demanding role. 'If the work starts to compromise one's relationships, it can become unhealthy,' he reflected. 'Suddenly you realise you havent left any space for other people and so I was p***ed off with that.' Kylie Jenner channeled a siren of the 1990s in her latest sexy promotion for her clothing brand Khy. The reality star, 27, who posed in a bikini identical to one supermodel Claudia Schiffer wore in 1995, channeled another blonde bombshell for her latest look - Pamela Anderson. The influencer was dressed in a red halter dress wearing a blonde wig inspired by the former Baywatch star's famous updo, which she wore often in the 1990s. In another nod toward The Last Showgirl star who has taken to stepping out in public makeup-free, Jenner kept her makeup muted with a soft natural looking lip and subtly shiny eyes. In the video, she seems to be bored while sitting at a table in a hotel room and slowly pushes a glass of wine off the edge and onto the floor where it crashes, breaking the glass and staining the carpet. She then holds up a set of car keys on a red keyholder with Khy written on it in white. Kylie Jenner emulated a 1990s siren in a sexy new video promoting her clothing company Khy on Friday 'somethings coming..' was written next to the video shared on Khy's Instagram account, teasing the next big thing for the clothing company. Jenner, who has experienced great financial success with her Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin, launched her clothes brand in November 2023. When it went online, customers bought $1m worth of product in the first hour. However, it's unclear how popular the mostly monochromatic looks will be in the long fun. Some critics have been wary of the high prices, while others don't think they tight fitting looks will be flattering to 'normal' women. The company sells a variety of items, high end dresses, skirts, jeans, pants and tees, along with athleisure wear such as hoodies and joggers. 'oh IM ALREADY OBSESSED,' exclaimed a fan shortly after the clip was posted. 'What in the Pamela Anderson,' penned another, 'Does she now have a car company???' wondered one commenter. For the video, Jenner, 27, donned a red halter dress and donned a blonde wig styled in an updo 'What in the Pamela Anderson,' one commenter wrote on the Khy Instagram page, referring to Anderson, 57, who has famously worn her hair in a tousled updo for decades; Pictured in Los Angeles in January 2023 Millie Bobby Brown 21, paid homage to the Baywatch beauty earlier this year while promoting her film The Electric State Anderson, who recently cut her long locks into a bob has said ''It gives me a little bit of confidence' when other imitate her iconic looks; Pictured in New York City May 5 Intrigued fans can go to the clothing company's website to sign up for the announcement of the new product or products. Although Anderson, 57, has cut her blonde locks into a sort of Joan of Arc type bob, her penchant for a tousled updo has been a go-to look for decades. 'It gives me a little bit of confidence,' Anderson told InStyle earlier this year after actress Millie Bobby Brown recreated some of her iconic looks while promoting her film The Electric State.' 'I'm actually quite shyI'm okay if I'm on a stagebut I'm really shy, and I'm trying to get better at that.' Cocaine fueled the set of Robin Williams' hit 1980 film Popeye as tycoon Barry Diller revealed the wild way in which it arrived on set. The 83-year-old mogul - who recently came out as gay 50 years after he began seeing Diane Von Furstenberg - was CEO of the film's studio Paramount Pictures for a decade. He recently detailed what it was like on the wild film set in an interview with Anderson Cooper on 92Y via Page Six as he said: 'You couldn't escape it.' Williams who died by suicide in August 2014, aged 63 starred in the film alongside The Shining star Shelly Duvall which was filmed in Malta. Duvall died aged 75 at her home in Blanco, Texas due to complications from her diabetes in July 2024. Diller revealed the wild way in which the stimulant drug arrived on set as he said: 'Film cans would be sent back to LA daily for processing the film. 'And we found out the film cans were actually being used to ship cocaine back and forth to the set. Everyone was stoned.' Cocaine fueled the set of Robin Williams ' hit 1980 film Popeye as tycoon Barry Diller revealed the wild way in which it arrived on set The American business man said that viewers may actually be able to see the effects of cocaine use when they watch the film. 'Think of [vinyl LP] record speeds,' Diller explained that 33rpm is the standard speed for playing vinyl on a record player. 'This is a movie that runs at 78 rpm.' Meanwhile, years ago friends of Williams recalled his scarily erratic behavior at the height of his cocaine addiction revealing that that the late actor couldn't go on stage and preform without drugs. Williams battled substance abuse issues as he was starting out his career in the late 1970s and early 1980s before being shocked into going sober following the death of his friend John Belushi from a fatal overdose in 1982. Williams' life was put under the microscope in the second season of Vice TV's Dark Side of Comedy, which aired in October 2023, and his friends have shared jaw-dropping anecdotes from his battle with narcotics. According to longtime friend and comic Allan Stephan, Williams wasn't able to take to the stage without snorting cocaine. Recalling one particular conversation with the late actor, Stephan remembered: 'He said, "Know anyone with any blow? I have to go on and I can't go on without any blow." 'And I sat down and I said, "I'm going to help you". He said, "Do you have blow on you?" I said "No, are you out of your f*****g mind? You're Robin Williams." And after that, I don't think he would get high when he had it before.' The 83-year-old mogul - who recently came out as gay 50 years after he began seeing Diane Von Furstenberg - was CEO of the film's studio Paramount Pictures for a decade He recently detailed what it was like on the wild film set in an interview with Anderson Cooper on 92Y via Page Six as he said: 'You couldn't escape it' Williams who died by suicide in August 2014, aged 63 starred in the film alongside The Shining star Shelly Duvall which was filmed in Malta Diller revealed the wild way in which the stimulant drug arrived on set as he said: 'Film cans would be sent back to LA daily for processing the film. 'And we found out the film cans were actually being used to ship cocaine back and forth to the set. Everyone was stoned' Friend Mike Binder, a fellow comic and filmmaker shared a similar story. 'One night we went to a place called Flippers Discotheque in Hollywood, and I had like a gram of coke,' he said. Upon learning there was cocaine floating around, Mike recalled how Williams had said 'ooh let me take that' and 'do you mind if I hit that in the bathroom?' 'He came back and it was empty,' Mike said. 'It was like, woah. It was like 8:15pm at night. I was like, "Robin, you did the whole gram?" He was like, "It was an accident, I'm sorry."' 'With drugs, he was a monster,' Mike added. Williams' drug and alcohol problems first arose while he was starring in Mork & Mindy. Director Howard Storm detailed Williams' cocaine use in the biography Robin, by New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff, revealing that he would show up to set looking like 'a wreck'. He wrote: 'He hadn't slept all night. He was snorting coke, and if you snort coke, in order to come down you drink booze. He was out all night and screwing everybody in town.' This comes years after it was revealed Williams couldn't perform in front of audiences without cocaine, friends claim The actor, pictured in 1978, battled substance abuse issues at the beginning of his career Speaking in Vice TV's new documentary series, friends Allan Stephan (left) and Mike Binder (right) detailed their experiences with Williams and his addiction Williams' drug addiction began while he was starring in Mork and Mindy in the late 1970s The comedian (seen in 2013) entered rehab twice in his life - once in 2006 and again shortly before his death in 2014 However, Williams stopped doing cocaine following the death of Saturday Night Live comedian Belushi, who overdosed on a lethal combination of heroin and cocaine, in March 5, 1992. The night before Belushi's death, Williams had been partying with the star at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. 'The Belushi tragedy was frightening,' he told People in 1988. 'His death scared a whole group of showbusiness people. It caused a big exodus from drugs. And for me, there was the baby coming. I knew I couldn't be a father and live that sort of life.' Williams spent the next two decades sober, before relapsing with alcohol in 2005. He sought treatment for his addiction in rehab in 2006, before later returning, one month before his death in August 2014. Williams did not have any illegal drugs or alcohol in his system when he committed suicide, the coroner's report confirmed in November 2014. It was also revealed at the time that the actor had been struggling with a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, as well as anxiety, paranoia, and depression. The legendary comic battled paranoia, according to the coroner's report, and the night before he died, he placed several wristwatches in a sock and gave them to someone because he was worried about their safe keeping. 'On August 11, 2014 the Marin County Sheriffs Office Investigations and Coroner Divisions began investigations into the death of Robin McLaurin Williams who had been pronounced deceased at 12:02 pm at 95 St. Thomas Way in unincorporated Tiburon, California,' the report read. Williams left behind three children, including a daughter, Zelda (pictured together in 2009) In 2021, Williams' son Zak (pictured) opened up about his father's battle with drink and drugs, explaining that he himself began experiencing similar issues with his mental health 'The investigations into Mr. Williams death have concluded with the Coroner Division issuing the following findings: Cause of Death: Asphyxia due to Hanging, Manner of Death: Suicide. 'Toxicological evaluation revealed the absence of alcohol or illicit drug. Prescription medications were detected in therapeutic concentrations.' The report says the last outgoing call from Robin's phone was at 7.08 PM the night before he died. He had called his wife Susan, and it lasted 38 seconds. In 2021, Williams' son Zak opened up about his father's battle with drink and drugs, explaining that he himself began experiencing similar issues with his mental health, which prompted him to turn to various illegal substances. 'I had obsessive compulsive disorder - having to count out certain actions before I went to bed at night, obsessing over things. I didn't sleep very much as a kid,' he said in Prince Harry and Oprah's Apple TV+ documentary on mental health. 'I had really bad insomnia, a lot of energy and a racing mind and I inherited that to some degree.' Explaining how that lead to drug abuse, he continued: 'As an adolescent I found using alcohol and drugs helped me calm my mind. 'It became a very normal experience to rely on them and things like that to manage the racing mind. 'I started to realize elements of myself that were like [my dad]. My anxiety, my bouts of depression, OCD, drugs, drinking like him. 'When I wasn't self-medicating, things felt completely overwhelming for me. And it just became part of my identity to get through the day.' Jessica Alba has been spotted 'kissing' and cosying up to a mystery man months after her explosive separation. The Fantastic Four actress, 43, officially filed for divorce from her husband Cash Warren in February after nearly 17 years of marriage - one month after news of their shock split came to light. And it seems the star could be moving on after she was spotted enjoying a very cosy-looking stroll with a man in London's Regent's Park on Sunday. An onlooker told The Sun that the pair could be seen kissing on deckchairs and embracing as they strolled through the park. They said: 'They looked very intimate. They were hugging and holding hands as they walked through the park together. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Jessica Alba was spotted 'kissing' and cosying up to a mystery man in London on Sunday months after her explosive separation The Fantastic Four actress, 43, officially filed for divorce from her husband Cash Warren in February after nearly 17 years of marriage 'They rented out some deck chairs and they were sitting on them kissing. 'It looked very much like a new relationship.' Jessica cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reasoning behind her separation from Cash when it was announced earlier this year, with him soon filing afterwards. During the course of their marriage, the former couple welcomed three children: Honor, 16, Haven, 13, and Hayes, seven - and both have requested for joint physical and legal custody of their kids. Eight months before it was revealed that Jessica and Cash were 'set for divorce,' the Hollywood star uploaded her final anniversary post to celebrate 16 years of marriage. At the time, Alba shared an assortment of images to her main Instagram page of the pair from over the years. She also penned a cryptic caption to accompany the snaps while reflecting on how they have gone through 'thick and thin.' '16 years of marriage, 20 years together and forever to go Happy Anniversary @cashwarren,' the mother-of-three began. Jessica cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reasoning behind her separation from Cash when it was announced earlier this year, with him soon filing afterwards Eight months before it was revealed that Jessica and Cash were 'set for divorce,' the Hollywood star uploaded her final anniversary post to celebrate 16 years of marriage 'I'm proud of us for making it this far. There is no real set of rules or guidance that can ever prepare you for what it means to commit to another person and choose to be family.' The Honey star concluded with, 'Through thick and thin we have continually found our way back to each other and have chosen one another. Cheers to us, I love you.' One picture in the post was of the pair dressed to impress as they attended the 3rd Los Angeles Beverly Arts Icon Awards in Beverly Hills in 2023. The pair also cozied up together in a selfie the actress snapped as they enjoyed a boat ride on the water. Other photos in the post included Alba and Warren with their children, as well as another where they shared a sweet hug. The Honey star concluded with, 'Through thick and thin we have continually found our way back to each other and have chosen one another. Cheers to us, I love you' Other photos in the post included Alba and Warren with their children, as well as another where they shared a sweet hug But speculation first arose that Jessica and Cash may have hit a rocky patch in their relationship when she was spotted on public outings without her wedding ring. Alba also seemingly confirmed she was single in a post to celebrate New Year's, but then reunited with Warren to celebrate their son's birthday at Universal Studios. But that same month, sources informed that Jessica and Cash were 'set for divorce' after recently separating. The former couple first crossed paths on set of the 2004 film, Fantastic Four, and they later said 'I do' in 2008. Billionaire movie mogul Barry Diller first met the 'deliriously glamorous' fashion queen Diane von Furstenberg at a super smart Manhattan dinner party in 1974. On that occasion the haughty Belgian creator of the iconic 1970s wrap dress snubbed the gauche movie man as did her then husband, German playboy Prince Egon von Furstenberg, who immediately told Diller his trousers were too short. But when Barry and Diane met again months later, it was a very different story. The pair clicked and were soon in the grip of a torrid passion that spawned one of America's most formidable power couples. 'There was a glow around us that was setting off sparks . . . I was functioning without a brain, not a thought in my head, being willed on by pure primitive urges,' gushes the hard-nosed Hollywood executive in a highly revealing new autobiography. Diller, who was at that time the 32-year-old head of TV and film studio Paramount Pictures, and his 27-year-old lover were inseparable for most of the next 50 years, eventually marrying in 2001. But their relationship was unorthodox in the extreme. She was one of the world's most sexually voracious women, described by friends as the 'ultimate flirt' and even by Diller as unable 'to sit down without being louche'. She enjoyed a series of flings with other men, including an affair with the actor Richard Gere, which began in 1981 and led to a split with Diller that lasted a decade. Hollywood is agog over new memoir by Diane von Furstenberg's billionaire mogul husband Barry Diller. Pictured: Diane Von Furstenberg lounging with Barry Diller In the book Diller reveals he's been sleeping with countless men during their 50-year relationship... while she once bedded Warren Beatty and Ryan O'Neal in a single weekend. Pictured: Diane with Diller at a CFDA party in 2000 Diller is still revered as one of the most brilliant operators in Hollywood history but nowadays prefers to spend time on his 305ft schooner Eos, one of the world's biggest sailing yachts. He and von Furstenberg are often accompanied on trips by their friends Jeff Bezos and his soon-to-be-wife Lauren Sanchez. Pictured: Diane (l) with Jeff Bezos (c) and Lauren Sanchez (r) Not that Diller was a choirboy himself. The big revelation in his new book, Who Knew, is that he is gay and enjoyed regular dalliances with men. Hardly surprising, then, that when the now 83-year-old told his wife, 78, that he planned to publish a tell-all memoir, she had just three words of warning: 'Just get ready'. Diller, estimated to be worth 3.4billion, was for decades one of the most formidable men in Hollywood, earning the nickname 'Killer Diller' for his ability to reduce even the most hardened executives to tears. But, despite his reputation, he avoided the limelight. And there was good reason for that, as he has now confirmed: he was terrified of being publicly outed at a time when being openly gay was still not accepted in Tinseltown. Diller has claimed to be taken aback by the excited media reaction to the revelation of his sexuality in his memoir published on Tuesday, since it was an open secret among Hollywood insiders. But even they assumed that his union with von Furstenberg had to be purely a marriage of convenience, a strictly platonic union. As the artist Andy Warhol once observed: 'I guess the reason Diller and Diane are a couple is because she gives him straightness and he gives her powerfulness.' But in Who Knew, Diller insists that nothing could have been further from the truth, describing their relationship as 'an explosion of passion that kept up for years'. He relates how they could barely keep their hands off each other after they met for the second time at a soiree a year after she first ignored him that night in 1974. Diller, who was at that time the 32-year-old head of TV and film studio Paramount Pictures, and his 27-year-old lover were inseparable for most of the next 50 years, eventually marrying in 2001. Pictured: Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg in 2023 'While there have been a good many men in my life, there has only ever been one woman,' Diller says, adding: 'Yes, I also liked guys, but that was not a conflict with my love for Diane . . . I have never questioned my sexuality's basic authority over my life (I was only afraid of the reaction of others).' Within 24 hours of their second meeting, they were on von Furstenberg's sofa at her palatial Manhattan apartment 'wound around each other, making out like teenagers, something I hadn't done with a female since I was 16'. She promptly ditched another boyfriend (her relationship with the German prince was a marriage of convenience to conceal the fact he was bisexual) and they reconvened at Diller's LA mansion. In what he describes as an 'explosion of pent-up demand', Diller recalls them leaving friends by the pool to have sex in a guest house. Readers will have to decide whether these tales of unbridled passion are Diller's attempt to reassure his wife their marriage hasn't been a total sham. While he may not be a household name, in Tinseltown Barry Diller was a man to be reckoned with. At Paramount he was responsible for giving the green light to such classic films as The Godfather Part II, Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Raiders Of The Lost Ark. He later set up the Fox TV network with Rupert Murdoch and brought us The Simpsons, whose vicious, bullet-headed boss, Mr Burns, was reportedly inspired by Diller. He reveals in his book how he was once seated next to Princess Margaret at a Hollywood dinner shortly after the release of Saturday Night Fever in 1977. The late Queen's sister said she'd like to invite its star, John Travolta, for tea at her hotel. Diller duly arranged a meeting only for the actor to complain to him afterwards: 'She hit on me!' (Travolta was then 33, Margaret 47.) While he may not be a household name, in Tinseltown Barry Diller was a man to be reckoned with. At Paramount he was responsible for giving the green light to such classic films as The Godfather Part II, Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Raiders Of The Lost Ark Diller is still revered as one of the most brilliant operators in Hollywood history and remains chairman of the digital media company IAC, but nowadays prefers to spend time on his 305ft schooner Eos, one of the world's biggest sailing yachts. He and von Furstenberg are often accompanied on trips by their friends Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his soon-to-be-wife Lauren Sanchez. It's clear von Furstenberg, who is proud to be 'sexually fluid' having reportedly slept with men and women by the score, knew about Diller's men. 'Today, he opened to the world,' she said this week. 'To me, he opened 50 years ago. All I can tell you is Barry and I have had an incredible life for 50 years. We have been lovers, friends, married, everything. And, you know, for me, the secret to honour life, and to honour love, is never to lie.' That's fine for her to say now and Diller echoes her noble sentiments by insisting in the book that he never pretended he was straight but the couple have spent years evading or ignoring questions about his personal life. A few months after their 2001 marriage, for instance, she made clear to Vanity Fair magazine that rumours their marriage was only platonic were entirely wrong and that 'everything has always been normal' in their relationship. 'We share the same bed,' she said. 'We go on vacation together . . . It's so weird that people can even ask.' A 2015 biography of von Furstenberg, with which she collaborated, detailed how she continued to play the field in the years before she and Diller finally married By 2013, when she and Diller still retained separate homes in New York, von Furstenberg was sticking to the same script when a New York Times interviewer mentioned to her that there was 'a lot of curiosity' about their marriage. 'I don't understand what is there to understand,' she responded. 'This man has been my lover, my friend and he's now my husband. I've been with him for 35 years. At times we were separated, at times we were only friends, at times we were lovers, at times we're husband and wife, that's our life.' The following year, von Furstenberg published her own memoir but nowhere in its 240 pages did she address her husband's sexuality. Her past coyness about discussing Barry's bedroom habits was definitely unusual for a sexual adventuress who delights in retelling tales of her conquests and who Vogue once dubbed 'an exotic cat woman seductress'. In a 2024 TV documentary, von Furstenberg boasted of how Mick Jagger and David Bowie once suggested she join them for a threesome: 'I considered it and I thought: 'OK, this is a great thing to tell your grandchildren, then I came back to the room and they were two little skinny things, and I didn't',' she recalled. She also revealed that while once staying at LA's Beverly Wilshire hotel, she slept with both Warren Beatty and Ryan O'Neal on the same weekend. 'How about that? I was very proud,' she said. The mother of two children (by first husband Egon) added: 'If I didn't have kids, I can't even imagine what I would have become, because I would've had no restraint.' (Her daughter Tatiana revealed that von Furstenberg was so remiss as a mother that it wasn't until she went to a doctor at the age of 21 that she discovered she had a serious neuromuscular condition, Brody myopathy, that causes weakness and cramps.) A 2015 biography of von Furstenberg, with which she collaborated, detailed how she continued to play the field in the years before she and Diller finally married. Leaving her two children at home with the nanny, she partied at New York's Studio 54 nightclub, where male couples would have sex in back rooms and drugs were passed around by bare-chested men. While she's denied being a lesbian, she admits her tastes have also run to women, especially a heroin-addicted Italian supermodel named Gia who died of Aids in the 1980s. In a 2024 TV documentary, von Furstenberg boasted of how Mick Jagger and David Bowie once suggested she join them for a threesome: 'I considered it and I thought: 'OK, this is a great thing to tell your grandchildren, then I came back to the room and they were two little skinny things, and I didn't',' she recalled Von Furstenberg was also a regular at gay bars in Manhattan where she'd go dressed as a man. Why Diller has decided to publicly address his sexuality so late in the day remains unclear and friends are reportedly bemused. (Some expressed similar confusion when he suddenly wed von Furstenberg 24 years ago, although in that case it was assumed to have been for tax reasons.) He suggests it may be because of the immense 'guilt' he still feels that he failed to step forward to try to be a 'role model' for other gay men. After an unhappy and isolated childhood in Beverly Hills, with parents who neglected him and a drug-addicted older brother who bullied him (and was later shot dead in a drug-related incident aged 36), Diller had a nervous breakdown aged 19. It left him with a crippling shyness which never completely left him as he battled his way up the Hollywood ladder. It would also be fascinating to know when and how he broke the news of his preference for men to von Furstenberg and how she reacted. Diller, a man used to getting his way, isn't about to reveal any more than he wants, snapping to a New York Times interviewer last week that he had cut short his promotional book tour as 'I am not up for interrogation about aspects of my personal life'. Indeed, while Diller insists he's now 'too old to care' what people think, he glosses over the nitty gritty of his relationships with men. He writes sketchily of his first sexual encounter with a 'shaggy blond guy' who, from the terrace of a West Hollywood apartment, signalled to a 16-year-old Diller, sitting in his car at traffic lights, to come up to him. He doesn't dwell either on his notorious reputation as a ferocious boss and business adversary whose hair-trigger temper was likely to explode at any time. Staff at Diller's various offices reportedly lived in dread of him descending on them. 'There's no tolerance for errors; Diller is known to shred employees if his tea isn't properly brewed,' reported the Tampa Bay Times in 2002. Diller admitted to the New York Times last week: 'I'm a difficult manager.' Whether he's also been a difficult husband is for his wife to decide. Paris Jackson set pulses racing as she graced the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday evening. The model - whose father is the late Michael Jackson - looked incredible in a sculpted bodice dress which she teamed with matching evening gloves for the annual event. Her skirt boasted a racy thigh-high split that perfectly showed off her long toned legs as she added extra height to her frame with some brown heels. Paris' eye-catching ensemble was also adorned with sequins and she wore a silver pendant necklace for added effect, plus an array of silver rings. The stunner oozed confidence as she posed up a storm on the star-studded red carpet before taking her seat for the ceremony. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Paris Jackson and Margaret Qualley set pulses racing as they graced the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday evening Paris - whose father is Michael Jackson - looked incredible in a sculpted bodice dress which she teamed with matching evening gloves for the annual event Margaret Qualley was also standing strong for the glamorous night and pulled out all the stops for the big occasion. The American actress cut a demure figure for the event in a chic blush coloured dress, that featured swooping sleeves that fell elegantly down her shoulders. The pretty dress featured a black bow and floral detail that were fixed front and centre Margaret looked extremely youthful for the event and sported a flawless complexion. And she made the most of her perfect canvas as she drew attention to her piercing peepers with a flick of eyeliner and accentuated her cheekbones with a dusting of peachy blush. The star of The Maid opted for a feminine hairstyle, as she slicked her brunette locks off her face, leaving strands to fall daintily down her petite face. They was joined by a number of other big names at the event, including star of The White Lotus Aubrey Plaza who put on a very animated display for the red carpet. The 40-year-old actress looked stunning while attending the premiere of the new movie Honey Don't - her first red carpet since the death of her husband Jeff Baena. The model's skirt boasted a racy thigh-high split that perfectly showed off her long toned legs as she added extra height to her frame with some brown heels Paris' eye-catching ensemble was also adorned with sequins and she wore a silver pendant necklace for added effect, plus an array of silver rings The stunner oozed confidence as she posed up a storm on the star-studded red carpet, waving to fans before taking her seat for the ceremony Paris showed off her stunning physique in the figure hugging dress which showcased her toned pins perfectly and highlighted her little ankle tattoo Jeff, who was 47, tragically died by suicide back in January. It was later reported that the pair had separated months before his death. Aubrey was joined at the event by co-stars Charlie Day, Talia Ryder, and Lera Abova, as well as director and co-writer Ethan Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke. Honey Don't! is a dark comedy about Honey O'Donahue, a small-town private investigator, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church. The film earned a six-minute standing ovation. Ahead of Cannes Margaret told I-D that that she had to dial back her 'natural Scooby-Doo' instincts in order to play Honey, who is 'skillful, she's smooth, she is slipping in and out undetected I had to be a little more suave than I am, more mysterious. I tend to want to diffuse things before they even happen.' This year's Cannes Film Festival is taking place in the wake of Trumps vow to enact tariffs on international films. Margaret Qualley was also standing strong for the glamorous night and pulled out all the stops for the big occasion The American actress cut a demure figure for the event in a chic blush coloured dress, that featured swooping sleeves that fell elegantly down her shoulders The pretty dress featured a black bow and floral detail that were fixed front and centre Margaret looked extremely youthful for the event and sported a flawless complexion She made the most of her perfect canvas as she drew attention to her piercing peepers with a flick of eyeliner and accentuated her cheekbones with a dusting of peachy blush The star of The Maid opted for a feminine hairstyle, as she slicked her brunette locks off her face, leaving strands to fall daintily down her petite face (pictured next to Aubrey Plaza) 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. 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 percent 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. Co-stars Aubrey Plaza and Margaret Qualley share a giggle at the glitzy event as they match in their angelic style outfits Star of The White Lotus Aubrey Plaza stunned in a figure hugging white dress adorned with rhinestones and sequins as she smiled for photographers The actress put on a very animated display for the red carpet for her night out, pulling faces and having some fun as she made her way to the film viewing The 40-year-old actress looked stunning in the stand out dress which boasted a split that and she she added extra height to her frame with somesilver heeled sandals It was Aubrey's her first red carpet since the death of her husband Jeff Baena who tragically died to suicide at the beginning of the year This year is no different, though 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) have all unveiled their feature directorial debuts in Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar section. Many Cannes veterans have returned, including Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning), Robert De Niro - who received an honorary Palme dOr 49 years after Taxi Driver premiered in Cannes - and Quentin Tarantino, who paid tribute to low-budget Western director George Sherman. 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. Tricia Cooke, Ethan Coen, Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza and Charlie Day attend the Honey Don't! red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals Honey Don't! is a dark comedy about Honey O'Donahue, a small-town private investigator, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church '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. The film earned a six-minute standing ovation 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. Aubrey Plaza returned to the spotlight on Friday at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, marking her first red carpet appearance since the death of her husband, Jeff Baena. The actress, 40, looked glamorous in a sheer nude beaded gown as she attended the French premiere of her new movie Honey Dont!. She was joined by co-stars Margaret Qualley, Charlie Day, Talia Ryder, and Lera Abova, as well as director and co-writer Ethan Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke. Margaret, 30, was notably seen rushing to Aubrey's side, 'comforting' the actress as photos were taken in a touching video shared from the event. It was Aubrey's first time on the red carpet since the tragic January suicide of her husband, Jeff, who was 47. Reports later revealed they had separated months before his death. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Aubrey Plaza, 40, returned to the spotlight on Friday at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, marking her first red carpet appearance since the death of her husband, Jeff Baena Her co-star Margaret Qualley, 30, was notably seen rushing to Aubrey's side, 'comforting' the actress as photos were taken in a touching video shared from the event Margaret Qualley runs to join Aubrey Plaza at the #Cannes premiere of Ethan Coens Honey Dont. pic.twitter.com/hWZhIEQ27R Variety (@Variety) May 23, 2025 In the dark comedy Honey Don't, Qualley stars as Honey O'Donahue, a small-town private investigator who finds herself entangled in a web of strange deaths. Plaza stars as a police officer working with O'Donahue. The film is set to hit theaters on August 22. This is the first time fans will see Aubrey back to work on the big screen, months after her husband's shock suicide. At Friday's premiere Aubrey looked the epitome of glamour in a see-through floor-length gown that featured a white strapless bodysuit underneath. The dress shimmered with a number of beaded embellishments. She accessorized with statement earrings and gold peep-toe heels. The star's brunette tresses were styled in loose curls. At one point Aubrey sparked curiosity with a surprise gesture while looking at something, though it's unclear what caused the unexpected reaction. Meanwhile Margaret wowed in an off-the shoulder cream gown with a black bow in the middle. In March it was revealed that Aubrey had secretly split from Baena just four months before his shock suicide at 47. An LA County Medical Examiner's autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com revealed that the filmmaker and actress had separated back in September of last year, and she had been living in New York at the time his body was discovered on January 3. The actress looked glamorous in a sheer nude beaded gown as she attended the French premiere of her new movie Honey Dont! Aubrey's see-through floor-length gown featured a white strapless bodysuit underneath She accessorized with statement earrings and gold peep-toe heels The star's brunette tresses were styled in loose curls At one point Aubrey sparked curiosity with a surprise gesture while looking at something, though it's unclear what caused the unexpected reaction She eventually appeared to shrug it off It was Aubrey's first time on the red carpet since the tragic January suicide of her husband, Jeff, who was 47. Reports later revealed they had separated months before his death Meanwhile Margaret wowed in an off-the shoulder cream gown with a black bow in the middle Margaret appeared to be a source of support at the event The beauty flashed her bright smile Margaret was seen running to stand by Aubrey's side The two were seen smiling and chatting together In the dark comedy Honey Don't, Qualley stars as Honey O'Donahue, a small-town private investigator who finds herself entangled in a web of strange deaths They both opted for delicate nude gowns The report detailed how the Life After Beth director had been 'experiencing marital difficulties' in his final months, and how he had been in therapy. An investigator noted in the documents that Plaza, whose name was redacted in the final report, said she had spoken with Baena the night before his death. The report also tragically revealed that Plaza had been concerned for her estranged husband's wellbeing. 'In October 2024, Baena made concerning remarks to [Plaza] which prompted her to call a friend to perform a welfare check on her husband.' 'Baena had been attending therapy since that event,' the documents stated. The medical examiner's report also determined that Baena did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death. It stated that Plaza 'knew her husband to be alive' as of January 3 because he had sent her a text message that morning. The report indicated that a dog walker discovered Baena's body after hearing loud music emanating from his house, which she said was 'unusual.' The ladies seen with co-star Charlie Day They were also joined by co-stars Talia Ryder, and Lera Abova, as well as director and co-writer Ethan Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke The film is set to hit theaters on August 22 This is the first time fans will see Aubrey back to work on the big screen, months after her husband's shock suicide After she called the writer and director and didn't get an answer, she entered the home and discovered his body. In a statement obtained by DailyMail.com, a representative for the Plaza said: 'This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.' Baena, who graduated with a film degree from New York University, got a strong start and on-the-ground education with major filmmakers when he worked as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis and as an assistant editor for David O. Russell. His big break came when he co-wrote Russell's cult classic existential comedy I Heart Huckabees (2004). A decade later, he graduated to directing with his debut, the 2014 romantic horrorcomedy Life After Beth, which Plaza starred in. They reunited for 2016's Joshy and 2017's The Little Hours, which Plaza also produced. Baena also regularly collaborated with the actress Alison Brie, who appeared in The Little Hours and starred in and co-wrote his final two films, the psychological drama Horse Girl (2020) and the dark comedy thriller Spin Me Round (2022). Plaza and Baena began dating in 2011, and in 20187 she told Page Six that the fact that they were mutually 'obsessed' with movies helped the two bond and led to their subsequent creative and romantic partnerships. Plaza and Baena had separated back in September of last year, and she had been living in New York at the time his body was discovered on January 3; seen in 2017 in Culver City The couple began dating in 2011, and secretly married in 2020; seen in 2016 in LA She confirmed in 2021 that they had quietly tied the knot a year earlier while promoting Spin Me Round, which she had a supporting role in, when she referred to Baena on Instagram as her 'darling husband.' Plaza has been making tentative steps to get back into the world after Baena's devastating death. The actress made her first public appearance since Baena's death last month when she introduced musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard on Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary special. She made a subtle but moving tribute to her late husband by wearing a tie-dye shirt, a reference to one of his passions and their nuptials. Alec Baldwin's Rust shooting scandal has seen a major update, as the armorer implicated in the case has been released from jail. In October 2021, while filming the Western movie Rust in New Mexico, Baldwin was holding a prop revolver that went off and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin, who strenuously denied pulling the trigger, faced a charge of involuntary manslaughter that was ultimately dismissed by the judge. However the armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of the same crime and sentenced to the maximum 18 months in prison beginning last March. Now, 14 months into her time behind bars, she has been released early for good behavior after completing a drug program in custody, sources told TMZ. Although she is no longer in jail, she will still reportedly have to wait out a year of parole in Bullhead, Arizona8 and is barred from owning weapons. Alec Baldwin's Rust shooting scandal has seen a major update; Baldwin is seen here outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's offices on the day of the shooting in October 2021 Additionally, she will be required to undergo a mental health review and go along with all of the recommendations that result from the assessment. She is also not allowed to contact any of Halyna Hutchins' family, such as her widower Matthew Hutchins, who gained a producer credit on Rust as part of a wrongful death settlement in the aftermath of the shooting. Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a jury determined that she was reckless in her on-set handling of the ammunition. The gun that Baldwin fired was supposed to be loaded with blanks rather than the real bullets that turned out to have been inside. Rust ultimately had its world premiere at a film festival in Poland last September before opening in the United States earlier this month to a polarized critical response. Meanwhile, this January, Baldwin filed a civil lawsuit, accusing several people in the Santa Fe, New Mexico District Attorney's office of malicious prosecution and civil rights violations after he was charged over the shooting. Baldwin claimed he had pulled back the hammer of the revolver, not the trigger, but the gun fired anyway. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident. In the court filing, The Departed star and his legal team accused prosecutors of trying to 'scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law,' according to the Associate Press. However the armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of the same crime and sentenced to the maximum 18 months in prison beginning last March Matthew Hutchins, who was married to victim Halyna Hutchins for 16 years (pictured with their son Andros), said after the charges against Baldwin ere dismissed that he looks forward to 'holding Mr. Baldwin accountable for his actions' Baldwin broke down in tears and hugged his wife Hilaria as his involuntary manslaughter case was sensationally dismissed last July They also accused prosecutors and investigators of targeting the star for professional or political gain. Baldwin is seeking unspecified punitive damages, compensatory damages, attorneys fees and interest. The case against Baldwin was dismissed in 2024 after it was discovered the prosecution had withheld evidence in the case, and did not share information about or access to live ammunition brought in by a retired police officer who said it could be related to the Hutchins killing. The ammunition was filed under a separate case number and Baldwin's legal team was not notified. After the dismissal of Baldwin's case, weapons supervisor Gutierrez-Reed moved to have her conviction dismissed or to receive a new trial. An Australian comedian has weighed in on the bitter online war of words brewing between Clementine Ford and Abbie Chatfield. The pair of media personalities have been exchanging barbs since online Clementine accused Abbie of profiting from the 'performance of being politically engaged' in the run-up to the Australian Federal Election. Now comedian Lisa Jane Spencer has served a savage takedown of the feminist content creators and it is sending her fans wild. The satirical video, dubbed The Feminist Feud, begins with Lisa, dressed as Clementine, typing her thoughts into her diary. 'Dear Clementine,' she says. 'Today, I'm the best and realest feminist activist in the world, unlike Abbie Chatfield, who thrives on performative activism and prioritises personal gain over actual systemic change.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. An Australian comedian has weighed in on the bitter online war of words between Clementine Ford and Abbie Chatfield (pictured) The clip then cuts to parody Clementine deciding what to post to social media to engender the most anger. Lisa then brings out her best Abbie Chatfield, who is seen breaking down in tears and struggling to get her words out. 'Please stop with the character assassination,' parody Abbie says. 'This is so f***ing triggering....Clementine, stop defaming me.' Lisa then appears as a TV news anchor delivering a live bulletin where she says: 'And now a word from everyone that Abbie Chatfield has done the same thing to.' She then says to a producer off camera: 'We don't have enough time? There's too many people that she's done that to?' Parody Clementine is back diarising where she adds: 'Furthermore, if you disagree with her, you're either a troll, unintelligent or jealous,' with a cheeky laugh. Back to parody Abbie, still on the verge of tears, who adds: 'I guess she's just obsessed with me.' Now comedian Lisa Jane Spencer has served a savage takedown of the feminist content creators and its sending her fans wild. Pictured: Lisa Jane as Clementine Ford The satirical video, dubbed The Feminist Feud, begins with Lisa, dressed as Ford typing her thoughts into her diary 'Obviously, I've got an amazing boyfriend. She's probably just jealous.' The hilarious clip was met with a flurry of comments from fans and those who had been following the online stoush. 'Im hooked! This is so good!' one excited viewer offered, while another jumped in with: 'The bestest ever battle of the worst binfluencers. Comedic gold.' A third suggested: 'You didnt even have to make any of it up! Great job, but satire may be dead.' The latest development in the online saga came when Clementine wrote on her Dear Clementine blog on Substack that some influencers like Abbie profit from the 'performance of being politically engaged' while criticising anyone who disagrees with them. Abbie responded with a video post on Instagram in which she called out Clementine. 'She's literally writing a burn book about me and doing insults like "She thinks she's so hot",' she said. 'What a weirdo - Oh my God.' Lisa then brings out her best Abbie Chatfield, who is seen breaking down in tears and struggling to get her words out The latest feud came when Clementine (pictured) wrote on her Dear Clementine blog on Substack that some influencers like Abbie profit from the 'performance of being politically engaged' while criticising anyone who disagrees with them. Abbie finished off the clip with a plea to the writer. 'Clementine, take a step back from the internet. Take a step back from Reddit please.' Abbie later returned to the platform in tears as the social media war of words took a dark turn. She accused Clementine of 'trolling' her, and said it was affecting her mental health and made her feel unsafe. 'I get it enough from people on the right and trolls and men that hate me and want to threaten me and want me dead. Please stop dehumanising me,' she wept. 'Please, you can criticise my content, you can criticise my work, just - I'm begging you - stop lying about my intentions. 'Stop saying that I have a personality disorder. You don't know me. This is so f****ing triggering I just want her to stop.' 'It isn't working, you're discouraging others... Please, I'm just trying to do what I can to help. Abbie responded with a video post on Instagram in which she called out Clementine. She accused Clementine of 'trolling' her, and said it was affecting her mental health and made her feel unsafe 'I just don't understand why she's so adamant on proving that I'm awful. I don't get it. This is so incredibly stressful and awful what she is doing.' 'I'm scared of her. Please stop, Clementine. I am begging you to stop,' she sobbed. 'You don't know me at all, you're a stranger. I deal with so much, every single day. I deal with insults every single day, I do not need it from you because you know that when you say it you validate it for people on the left. 'You are f**ing my mental health. Please f***ing stop.' She then posted screenshots of comments made by the writer, calling Chatfield an 'idiotic narcissist', 'completely shallow' and a 'deeply basic thinker'. 'See how this isn't criticism? It's just insults,' she captioned the screenshots. Beloved Neigbours star Ian Smith is set to make a shock return to the iconic Aussie soap, just weeks after saying his final goodbye. Ian, 86, who played Harold Bishop on the long-running soap, stepped down from his stalwart role last year amid his terminal cancer battle. His final scenes as Harold, which aired in April, had fans across the globe in tears - with the affable character announcing he was moving to Queensland with a sentimental send off. Now it's been revealed that Harold will make a welcome, albeit brief, return to Ramsay Street in scenes that will air this week. Ian will be back in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough to help farewell another Neighbours veteran, Anne Charleston, 82. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Beloved Neigbours star Ian Smith is set to make a shock return to the iconic Aussie soap just weeks after saying his final goodbye Anne played Harold's wife Madge Bishop (nee Mitchell) from 1986 until 2001. She then returned for the 30th anniversary in 2015, and 'final' episode in 2022. The versatile actress returned to the soap again this year to play new character Agnes Adair. With Agnes' final scenes set to air this week, Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison revealed that Harold would be there for the send-off. 'We did manage to film an additional moment that has no yet gone to air viewers will see it in the coming weeks,' he told TV Tonight. 'Its a small moment but its very special indeed.' News of Harold's return comes after Ian recently gave an update on his health following his cancer diagnosis. He revealed on Channel Seven's The Morning Show this week that he was responding well to his cancer treatment. His final scenes as Harold, which aired in April, had fans across the globe in tears - with the affable Harold announcing he was moving to Queensland, in a sentimental send off Now it's been revealed that Harold will make a welcome, albeit brief, return to Ramsay Street in scenes that will air this week. Ian will be back in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough to help farewell another Neighbours veteran, Anne Charleston, who plays Agnes (pictured) 'I have got cancer. I know that because doctors tell me I have. But apart from that... No pain. I was supposed to die in March,' Ian began. 'I am having the easiest ride, seriously!' He then revealed the unusual side effect he was experiencing from the ongoing cancer treatment. 'I've possibly never felt better. Everyone looks at me and says, "Look at your hair!",' he added. 'They are all jealous I've got so much hair. I went through the treatment, started to lose my hair and went totally bald. I then went onto the immunotherapy and got a head full of hair... not just hair, but curly hair!' In December, Smith was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer called pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, which doctors initially told him was 'non-fixable'. But after being put on a revolutionary treatment plan which he cheekily described as being a 'guinea pig' for he's defied expectations and is now hoping for 'a year, maybe two' of extra life. 'I want to go forever,' he said, beaming. With Agnes' final scenes set to air this week, Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison revealed that Harold would be there for the send-off 'We did manage to film an additional moment that has no yet gone to air viewers will see it in the coming weeks,' he told TV Tonight . 'Its a small moment but its very special indeed.' Ian (c) is pictured with Jackie Woodburne and Stefan Dennis 'I don't want to play Harold anymore, but I don't want to stop acting.' The veteran performer first stepped into Harold's shoes in 1987 and went on to become one of Neighbours' most iconic faces. He was known for his wholesome charm, slow-burning romances, and multiple disappearances - including being presumed dead after falling off a cliff in 1991 only to return five years later with amnesia. Following his Neighbours farewell in April, heartbroken fans took to social media to share their sadness over Harold's departure. 'Harold... Ian Smith... the legend. Feels like losing a member of my household seeing you go. It's been a wonderful 40 years. I wish you much happiness and love,' one fan wrote. 'Harold's goodbye was perfect. It made me cry. The characters on Neighbours become like family,' a second added. 'Ohhhhh Harold!! What a treasure. An absolute pleasure over all these years watching you,' a third viewer chipped in. Coronation Street star Colson Smith has landed a new role at the BBC just days after his character was brutally killed off by the ITV soap. The actor, 26 - who had played PC Craig Tinker in Corrie for 14 years - was left gutted after ITV bosses broke the news to him that his time on the soap was to come to an end. Craig Tinker's final scenes aired on Wednesday night, with fans fuming that the soap star had been 'done dirty' after he was beaten to death with a bat by Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton). But Colson has moved on quickly from the disappointment, as he took Instagram on Friday to reveal he's swapped ITV for the BBC. 'Thank you so much for all the love this week! I really appreciate it,' he wrote. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Former Coronation Street actor Colson Smith, 26, has swapped ITV for the BBC after his character on the soap was killed off earlier this week Taking to his Instagram on Friday, Colson revealed he'll be starting a BBC Radio Leeds this summer And it seems Colson has got straight to work as he later shared a snap of him in the studio 'Some of you have been asking, what next for me? There's a few exciting things going off! 'BUT one thing I can tell you for now, is that I'm joining the team at BBC Radio Leeds this summer!! Catch ya on the wireless in Yorkshire!!' Fans seemed delighted for Colson after the actor shared his 'brilliant news'. They wrote: 'WooHoooooooo!!!! Now this makes me VERY happy!!! Good lad!!!', 'Such a lovely lad, hope you'll go in to presenting x', 'Good news ,your stylish approach to your Corrie departure is to be applauded', 'This is so good for you...happy for you'. During an appearance on This Morning earlier this week, Colson opened up about the emotional moment he found out his time in Weatherfield was coming to an end. The actor had played PC Craig Tinker on the show for 14 years Fans took to the comments section of Colson's post to praise him for the new role Taking to the iconic sofa alongside Ben Shephard, 50, and Cat Deeley, 48, on Thursday, he said: 'I've been in that building since I was 12. I know how it works. It's like any work place, you pick up on vibes, you pick up on things.. 'I knew, I had a meeting at 7pm one night after work. 'I was in the Rovers all day, I was sat there kind of not saying anything, but my brain was like "I know what's coming tonight!". 'I told Jack and Ben, my two best mates at work, tonight's the night, I'm getting binned, that's what we call it. 'I was like tonight's the night, will you be there for me. 'They were there and I went up to boss, she looked at me and went "This isn't going to be an easy conversation." 'I was like "Well let's go and have it. Let's get it out the way."' Colson described finding out the cast's reaction to the news as the 'hardest thing'. The actor sat down with Ben Shephard, 50, and Cat Deeley, 48, on Thursday to discuss his exit 'I found out on the night and went in next day, it was Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt's last day,' he said. 'I'd gone in and I'm like "I'm about to ruin Helen's last day. '"I cant do this!" 'But then, do I keep a secret. but by the time I had got into work, everyone knew, it was like Colson had died. 'I walked into the greenroom and awkwardly laughed and Lucy Fallon was heavily pregnant at the time, she burst in tears, Julia Gording was crying all day. 'I felt for Jack and Ben - they were losing their mum and found out that their mate was going. It was a roller coaster of emotions, it had been the whole way through. 'And the last day, Andy Whyment was just crying, he couldnt even park his car straight in the morning.' Fans were left truly heartbroken watching Colson's alter-ego Craig die on their screens. Viewers flocked to social media to share their sadness over his death, with many complaining that 'he deserved a happy ending!' One wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: 'Nah Coronation Street did Craigy dirty there, we do not want more deaths he deserved a happy ending.' Colson's character PC Tinker was brutally bludgeoned to death with a bat in his final episode on Wednesday Many rushed to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their heartbreak over the devastating scenes that aired on Wednesday evening 'NOT OUR CRAIGY!!! Justice for Craig.' 'Not our Craigy. I was hoping they'd let Craig leave happy on transfer to a different district to go further up his career ladder but man #corrie that was brutal.' 'Sad to see the end of Craig Tinker on @itvcorrie. I wish they could have left the door open for the always sunny character. I found a few drawing I did of him from years back.' 'RIP CRAIG . Also known as PC Tinker. The best police officer that the street has ever known.' 'Not Craig #Corrie.' 'Absolutely hate that we lost Craig that way - if anyone deserved a happy ending, it was Tinker.' Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 8pm on ITV1. Chinese vice premier meets chair of Citigroup, CEO of Carlyle Group respectively Xinhua) 13:39, May 24, 2025 Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Chair of Citigroup John Dugan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with Chair of Citigroup John Dugan and CEO of Carlyle Group Harvey Schwartz separately in Beijing on Friday. He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China's economy has continued its notable rebound, while high-quality development efforts are resulting in solid progress, demonstrating strong resilience and great vitality. He added that China will continue to expand its high-level opening up to the outside world, offering broad space for the long-term and stable development of multinational companies. He noted that China welcomes foreign financial institutions, including Citigroup Inc. and Carlyle, to invest and start businesses in China to jointly participate in the construction of China's capital market. Dugan said that Citigroup Inc. is willing to deepen its presence in the Chinese market and will further enhance investment cooperation with China. Schwartz, meanwhile, said that Carlyle is optimistic about the prospects of China's economic development and is willing to commit to long-term cooperation with China and expand its layout of investment. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with CEO of Carlyle Group Harvey Schwartz at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) TOWIE's Junaid Ahmed and boyfriend Joe Blackman looked happier than ever as they picked up the keys to their first home in Essex on Friday. The lovebirds wasted no time getting into their first pad as they were seen packing up their belongings to move in. The duo couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces as they stepped out in Chelmsford to visit the estate agents. Junaid and Joe's new adventure is set to unfold in the upcoming series of The Only Way Is Essex. The couple packed on the PDA and shared a sweet kiss before heading to their new pad. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. TOWIE's Junaid Ahmed and boyfriend Joe Blackman looked happier than ever as they picked up the keys to their first home in Essex on Friday The lovebirds wasted no time getting into their first pad as they were seen packing up their belongings to move in Joe moved on with Junaid following a bitter split from co-star Harry Derbridge. The former couple, who got together in 2023 and previously insisted their relationship was rock solid, split just weeks after vowing to get married in Las Vegas and discussing having children. A source revealed to The Sun that Harry was left 'furious' after he discovered text messages between his ex partner Joe and former best friend Junaid. According to the publication, the discovery of the text messages led to a blazing row before the couple ended things for good. Harry's famous reality star cousin Amy Childs has made a bold move and unfollowed Junaid while Junaid has shown he isn't bothered and unfollowed the star right back. The feud became even more bitter as more cast members turned their back on Harry's former friend over his new romance with Joe. Jordan Brooks has also shown his solidarity with Harry and has joined the increasing number of cast members who are turning their backs on Junaid amid his new romance with Joe and betrayal of Harry. To show his defiance, Joe has also unfollowed Amy and the drama continues. The duo couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces as they stepped out in Chelmsford Their new adventure is set to unfold in the upcoming series The couple couldn't take their hands off one another as they shared an equal excitement Junaid transported his belongings into his new home The couple packed on the PDA and shared a sweet kiss before heading to their new pad He posed for a selfie to update his Instagram followers Junaid couldn't hide his excitement Joe moved on with Junaid following a bitter split from co-star Harry Derbridge Harry previously revealed that he and Joe - who has a son from a previous relationship - had started planning their wedding and even discussed having children. Speaking to Closer at the time he said: 'He has moved in and we live together now... its going really good. We talk about loads of things. We have planned our futures and I know that will be me forever.' 'We want to have kids one day and get married.' He added: 'We will just run away to Vegas. We will see Elvis Presley and do it. Me and Joe always talk about a Vegas wedding and about surrogacy. If we never worked out, I would be so sad.' Earlier this month, Joe shared a gruesome Instagram video showing off his ground down bloody stump teeth ahead of getting veneers in Turkey. The TOWIE star gave fans an update as he underwent his latest cosmetic treatment and said he was 'super scared but super excited' before his time in the dentist's chair. Joe was seen having before pictures taken and revealed he had splashed out a massive 7,664 on the treatment. He then took a seat dentist chair and had his teeth grounded down while his boyfriend Junaid filmed during the procedure. The Block judge Marty Fox has listed his luxury Toorak home with a $13 million price tag - and promoted it with a very cheeky social media post. The reality TV star posted a snap to social media earlier this week in which he bared his backside, using the stripped-back image to highlight the home's seclusion in one of Melbourne's wealthiest suburbs. 'You can walk out into the yard here and you are in the middle of the best urban postcode Australia has to offer,' the post read. Yet, not a single person can look at you if you decide to walk the entire property from front to back in the nude. 'Selling the dream. One cheek at a time.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The Block judge Marty Fox has listed his luxury Toorak home with a $13 million price tag - and promoted it with a very cheeky social media post The reality TV star posted a snap to social media earlier this week in which he bared his backside, using the stripped-back image to highlight the home's seclusion in one of Melbourne's wealthiest suburbs The amusing post has since gone viral, putting extra attention on the stunning estate, which comes with a price guide of $12 million to $13 million. It comes after Marty and his wife Charlotte listed their Toorak home on the market, just four years after purchasing it. The couple bought the lavish 1890-built property for $7.2 million in 2021, and conducted extensive renovations before moving in. The pair made sure to keep the home's historic charm while adding contemporary luxury and amenities. 'It's the largest landholding between Hawksburn and Toorak Villages,' Marty told Realestate.com.au. 'We bought it on a six-month settlement and actually renovated it before moving into it.' The renovation was completed in a rapid four months while Charlotte was pregnant with their third child. The decision to sell came as a surprise to many as they previously described the property as their 'forever home'. Marty bought the lavish 1890-built property for $7.2million in 2021, and conducted extensive renovations before moving in The property also boasts an outdoor oasis complete with a pool, gym, sauna and a unique addition - a pickleball court - made possible through strategic negotiations with neighbouring property owners The renovation was done in collaboration with Castley McCrimmon Architects and Dome Building. The couple enhanced the home's period details with additions like bi-folds, period French windows and custom skylights. Stylish features also include chevron floors, ornate fireplaces and a pristine kitchen adorned with marble accents and brass hardware. The property also boasts an outdoor oasis complete with a pool, gym, sauna and a unique addition - a pickleball court - made possible through strategic negotiations with neighbouring property owners. 'Our business is growing, and we're travelling a lot,' Marty explained of their decision to sell. The pair made sure to keep the home's historic charm while adding contemporary luxury and amenities The decision to sell came as a surprise to many as they previously described the property as their 'forever home' 'We feel that our dream is to be able to have a home in Queenstown, New Zealand, a home on the Gold Coast which we now have and a smaller home in Melbourne.' Expressions of interest remain open until June 24. Marty is the chief executive of WHITE FOX Real Estate, which he co-founded with his wife. He first appeared on the 2023 season of The Block as a semi-regular judge and returned for the following season. Aubrey Plaza was joined by Margaret Qualley at the photocall for their latest movie, Honey Don't!, in Cannes, France, on Saturday. The actress, 40, cut a stylish figure in a black sheer blouse as she strolled alongside her co-star Margaret, 30, at Palais des Festivals during the Cannes Film Festival. Aubrey teamed the chic ensemble with a skimpy black-and-white checked mini skirt, which showcased her long, toned pins. She added inches to her frame with nude open-toe heels before further accessorising her look with a small pair of gold hoop earrings and trendy black shades. The White Lotus star styled her brunette tresses in a voluminous blowout for the day and showcased her natural beauty by wearing minimal makeup. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Aubrey Plaza showed off her impeccable sense of style as she attended the photocall for her latest movie, Honey Don't!, at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday The American actress, 40, cut a stylish figure in a black sheer blouse and a skimpy black-and-white checked mini skirt as she strolled alongside her co-star Margaret, 30 Meanwhile, her co-star Margaret looked effortlessly chic in a black leather halterneck midi dress, featuring an open-back. The Substance star added inches to her height with a pair of pointed black slingback heels. To elevate her look further, Margaret accessorised with a black-and-gold wristwatch, small hoop earrings, and a pair of black shades. She styled her brunette tresses in a slick bun as she caught up with her close pal Aubrey. The duo were also joined by Honey Don't director, Ethan Coen, 67, who cut a more laid-back figure for the event. He sported an orange striped shirt and black jeans as he smiled for the cameras alongside the pair. Movie editor Tricia Cooke, 59, and Charlie Day, 49, were also in attendance, and the pair cut smart figures in power suits as they posed alongside their co-stars. The movie, which premiered at the festival on Friday evening, is set to hit theatres on August 22. The White Lotus star styled her brunette tresses in a voluminous blowout for the day and showcased her natural beauty by wearing minimal makeup Meanwhile, her co-star Margaret looked effortlessly chic in a black leather halterneck midi dress, featuring an open-back (L-R Aubrey, Ethan Coen, and Margaret) In the dark comedy, Margaret stars as Honey O'Donahue, a small-town private investigator who finds herself entangled in a web of strange deaths. Meanwhile, Aubrey stars as a police officer working with O'Donahue (Margaret). This is the first time fans will see Aubrey back to work on the big screen, months after her husband Jeff Baena's shock suicide. In March, it was revealed that Aubrey had secretly split from Jeff just four months before his shock suicide at 47. An LA County Medical Examiner's autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com revealed that the filmmaker and actress had separated back in September of last year, and she had been living in New York at the time his body was discovered on January 3. The report detailed how the Life After Beth director had been 'experiencing marital difficulties' in his final months and how he had been in therapy. An investigator noted in the documents that Aubrey, whose name was redacted in the final report, said she had spoken with Jeff the night before his death. The report also tragically revealed that Aubrey had been concerned for her estranged husband's wellbeing. The Substance star added inches to her height with a pair of pointed black slingback heels, elevating her look further with a black-and-gold wristwatch and a pair of trendy sunglasses She styled her brunette tresses in a slick bun as she caught up with her close pal Aubrey 'In October 2024, Baena made concerning remarks to [Plaza] which prompted her to call a friend to perform a welfare check on her husband.' 'Baena had been attending therapy since that event,' the documents stated. The medical examiner's report also determined that Jeff did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death. It stated that Aubrey 'knew her husband to be alive' as of January 3 because he had sent her a text message that morning. The report indicated that a dog walker discovered Jeff's body after hearing loud music emanating from his house, which she said was 'unusual.' Margaret and Aubrey appeared to be in good spirits as they laughed and chatted with each other during the event The duo were also joined by their co-star Charlie Day, film editor Tricia Cooke, and director Ethan Coen (L-R Aubrey, Tricia, Ethan, Margaret, and Charlie) Ethan cut a laid-back figure at the event, wearing an orange striped shirt and black jeans as he smiled for the cameras alongside the pair After she called the writer and director and didn't get an answer, she entered the home and discovered his body. In a statement obtained by DailyMail.com, a representative for the Plaza said: 'This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.' Jeff, who graduated with a film degree from New York University, got a strong start and on-the-ground education with major filmmakers when he worked as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis and as an assistant editor for David O. Russell. His big break came when he co-wrote Russell's cult classic existential comedy I Heart Huckabees (2004). A decade later, he graduated to directing with his debut, the 2014 romantic horrorcomedy Life After Beth, which Aubrey starred in. They reunited for 2016's Joshy and 2017's The Little Hours, which Aubrey also produced. Jeff also regularly collaborated with the actress Alison Brie, who appeared in The Little Hours and starred in and co-wrote his final two films, the psychological drama Horse Girl (2020) and the dark comedy thriller Spin Me Round (2022). This is the first time fans will see Aubrey back to work on the big screen, months after her husband's shock suicide Aubrey and Jeff Baena had separated back in September of last year, and she had been living in New York at the time his body was discovered on January 3; seen in 2017 in Culver City The couple began dating in 2011, and secretly married in 2020; seen in 2016 in LA Aubrey and Jeff began dating in 2011, and in 2018, she told Page Six that the fact that they were mutually 'obsessed' with movies helped the two bond and led to their subsequent creative and romantic partnerships. She confirmed in 2021 that they had quietly tied the knot a year earlier while promoting Spin Me Round, in which she had a supporting role, when she referred to Jeff on Instagram as her 'darling husband.' Aubrey has been making tentative steps to get back into the world after Jeff's devastating death. The actress made her first public appearance since Jeff's death last month when she introduced musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard on Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary special. She made a subtle but moving tribute to her late husband by wearing a tie-dye shirt, a reference to one of his passions and their nuptials. Home and Away lovebirds James Stewart and Ada Nicodemou turned heads on Saturday as they attended a lavish wedding on the Gold Coast. James, 49, and Ada, 47, stunned as guests at the wedding of his identical twin brother Nick to his fiancee Mae - who was previously married to Aussie surfing legend Mark Occy Occhilupo. The ceremony took place at the idyllic Tall Trees Tallebudgera estate, with the star-studded guest list gathering under the sunshine for what turned out to be a picture-perfect day. Best man James and his girlfriend Ada were all smiles as his brother tied the knot under clear blue skies while guests enjoyed the stunning ceremony. James and Ada put on a loved-up display as they arrived hand-in-hand and dressed to the nines. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Home and Away lovebirds James Stewart and Ada Nicodemou turned heads on Saturday as they attended a lavish wedding on the Gold Coast James and Ada stunned as guests at the wedding of his identical twin brother Nick to his fiancee Mae The ceremony took place at the idyllic Tall Trees Tallebudgera estate, with the star-studded guest list gathering under the sunshine for what turned out to be a picture-perfect day Best man James and his girlfriend Ada were all smiles as his brother tied the knot under clear blue skies while guests enjoyed the stunning ceremony James and Ada put on a loved-up display as they arrived hand-in-hand and dressed to the nines Ada dazzled in a shoulderless, figure-hugging red gown, her hair elegantly styled and makeup radiant, perfectly complementing her glowing appearance Ada dazzled in a shoulderless, figure-hugging red gown, her hair elegantly styled and makeup radiant, perfectly complementing her glowing appearance. She completed the look with nude heels and a gold clutch, and looked to be having the time of her life as she laughed and mingled with guests. Meanwhile, James looked every bit the dashing leading man in a crisp tailored tuxedo paired with brown dress shoes. They celebrated the joyful union with family and friends, including Ada's son Johnas, 12, and James' daughter Scout, 13. Last month, Ada gave a heartwarming update on her relationship with co-star James, just a few weeks after celebrating their one-year anniversary together. The Home and Away star gushed over the couple's recent romantic connection, which blossomed after 25 years of friendship, in an issue of Stellar. Revealing she is usually very private about their intimate life together, the actress said she couldn't help but post about their recent relationship milestone because she and James have had a great year together. 'It's been a really lovely year together,' she told the publication when asked about her rare social media post about the pair. She completed the look with nude heels and a gold clutch, and looked to be having the time of her life as she laughed and mingled with guests Meanwhile, James looked every bit the dashing leading man in a crisp tailored tuxedo They celebrated the joyful union with family and friends, including Ada's son Johnas, 12, and James' daughter Scout, 13 Last month, Ada gave a heartwarming update on her relationship with co-star James, just a few weeks after celebrating their one-year anniversary together The Home and Away star gushed over the couple's recent romantic connection, which blossomed after 25 years of friendship Revealing she is usually very private about their intimate life together, the actress said she couldn't help but post about their recent relationship milestone because she and James have had a great year together 'I don't like to post a lot of stuff about us online but, at the same time, I'm really proud of the last year we've had, and wanted to share that.' Earlier this year, Ada shared a tribute to James, as she took to Instagram to post a sweet collection of pictures celebrating their one year anniversary at Mimi's in Sydney. The Sydney-born star recently revealed how her Home and Away co-stars discovered her off-screen relationship with James. The soap opera stars, whose characters are married on the Channel Seven show, were first linked at the beginning of 2024 when they were seen sharing a kiss on Anzac Day before Ada confirmed their romance in an interview. Earlier this year, Ada shared a tribute to James, as she took to Instagram to post a sweet collection of pictures celebrating their one year anniversary at Mimi's in Sydney The Sydney-born star recently revealed how her Home and Away co-stars discovered her off-screen relationship with James The soap opera stars, whose characters are married on the Channel Seven show, were first linked at the beginning of 2024 when they were seen sharing a kiss on Anzac Day before Ada confirmed their romance in an interview The couple began dating after Ada split from her ex-partner Adam Rigby just before Christmas in 2023 and James finalised his divorce from Sarah Roberts in March 2024 Speaking on Mamamia's No Filter podcast, the actress revealed she had only told a small group of people she was 'close with' on set before 'word got around' about the couple's off-screen relationship. In July, Ada finally broke her silence on her romance with James after months of speculation. She confirmed she was dating her longtime co-star James in a magazine interview, describing their romance as 'unexpected'. The couple began dating after Ada split from her ex-partner Adam Rigby just before Christmas in 2023 and James finalised his divorce from Sarah Roberts in March 2024. Michelle Keegan looked out of this world in a stylish white and black co-ord as she sipped on cocktails during Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. The actress, 37, who welcomed her first child, a daughter named Palma, just two months ago, enjoyed a night out in the French Riviera in her stunning ensemble. She put on a very leggy display in the Channel-inspired look, which consisted of a boxy white and black blazer with gold detailing. The new mum, who is in Cannes with L'Oreal, boosted her height with simple black heels and wore a chic across the body Chanel bag. The Brassic star wore her brunette tresses in loose waves over her shoulders and opted for a bronzed makeup look. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Michelle Keegan, 37, looked out of this world in a stylish white and black co-ord as she sipped on cocktails during Cannes Film Festival on Thursday The actress, who welcomed her first child, a daughter named Palma, just two months ago, enjoyed a night out in the French Riviera in her stunning ensemble There was no sign of baby Palma during the outing but Michelle has been enjoying her maternity leave with her baby girl, including countryside breaks and local outings near the family's Essex mansion. Mark and Michelle will also no doubt be jetting off to their favourite holiday spot of Mallorca this summer with their baby girl. It's believed the couple chose the name Palma because of their strong links to Mallorca, which has been their go-to holiday destination for years and the setting for their pregnancy reveal photoshoot. Michelle married Mark in May 2015 and the couple live together in a 3.5 million Essex mansion they built from scratch. Chatting with his best friend and fellow dad Olly Murs on his Heart Breakfast show, TOWIE star Mark recalled the moment he first held his newborn daughter in his arms. Mark fought back emotions as he said: 'Mate, it's actually hard to put into words. 'It's the biggest achievement of my life it's all I think about but obviously, hats go off to my wife she is an absolute superhuman, a superhero for bringing this baby into the world.' Sharing his appreciation for Michelle, he added: 'It makes you realise what our mums did for us and makes me have so much more respect than I already had and what women had to go through. She put on a very leggy display in the Channel-inspired look, which consisted of a boxy white and black blazer with gold detailing The Brassic star wore her brunette tresses in loose waves over her shoulders and opted for a bronzed makeup look Michelle, who is in Cannes with L'Oreal, struck a pose in her stunning ensemble Michelle oozed Hollywood glamour during the 78th Cannes Film Festival She shared snippets from her trip in France on her Instagram The stunner looked incredible as she captured the finishing touches of her look Michelle let loose and showed off her fun side as she larked around at the restaurant There was no sign of baby Palma during the outing but Michelle has been enjoying her maternity leave with her baby girl, including countryside breaks and local outings near the family's Essex mansion Seen with husband Mark Wright 'It's the best feeling in the world. I wake up every morning just so excited to see her face.' Recalling the first moment he held Palma, he continued: 'That moment when I held her in my arms, it gets me emotional now thinking about it. 'I suppose everything else goes out the window and its made me realise what life is all about and my little baby Palma I love you so much and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. 'It's a very special feeling. I can't really put it into words. We've waited a little bit of time, we've chased our dreams and our careers and now we're here. We've got a baby.' Before Cannes, Michelle showed her support for high street brands as she hit her local town on Wednesday to stock up on some family essentials. The new mum, who welcomed baby daughter Palma in March, teamed a pinstripe blue shirt with a pair of cream drawstring trousers and sandals. Michelle was joined by her mum Jacqueline as they stocked up at the Essex branch of Marks & Spencer before stopping by Boots. The actress juggled two huge bags as she had a low-key stroll around town, going unnoticed by fellow shoppers. It's no wonder Michelle is a fan of M&S, seeing as her husband Mark Wright is a brand ambassador for the British institution, which is still dealing with the aftermath of a massive cyber-attack. Saffron Barker has issued a stark warning to her fans travelling along Route 66 after her terrifying robbery ordeal on the US road trip. The influencer and former Strictly Come Dancing star, 24, hired a car rental to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas along the iconic strip with her model boyfriend Josh Miln last week. But when they stopped off at Route 66's famous diner Peggy Sue's, they returned to a completely smashed up car, with all their belongings gone. She admitted she was 'grateful to be alive' following the horrifying robbery ordeal and urged fans to think twice before stopping off on the route. Speaking about her 'nightmare' holiday in her recent YouTube video, she said: 'We keep saying how lucky we are, we could have been held at gun point. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Saffron Barker, 24, has issued a stark warning to her fans travelling along Route 66 after her terrifying robbery ordeal on the US road trip The Youtuber, 24, was left stranded in the US and was unable to leave after armed men stole all her belongings and smashed up her rental car 'These people could have been following us. I think honestly it happens quite often at Peggy Sue's. 'I know for a fact that if Josh had walked out and seen it you would have gone over there and they have guns and stuff here. 'So we are also very, very grateful that nothing like that happened to us and neither of us are hurt.' Her boyfriend Miln, added: 'There were tourists everywhere, and apparently this happens almost every day. Its crazy that there are no warning signs.' The couple, who are now back in the UK, had to drive the rest of the journey in the broken-in car and finish their trip in Las Vegas while waiting for emergency passports. Saffron explained they were left with nothing other than their phones after thieves stole their passports, money and entire luggage. she said: 'We walked outside and the car was completely smashed in, the car that we rented. And inside was every little thing that I feel like I own. 'I mean like our passports, cards, the list can just go on. I genuinely have nothing. 'The only thing we bought into the restaurant with us was our phones. The former Strictly Come Dancing star hired a car rental to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas along the iconic strip with her model boyfriend Josh Miln (pictued) last week But when they stopped off at Route 66's famous diner Peggy Sue's (pictured), they returned to a completely smashed up car, with all their belongings gone She admitted she was 'grateful to be alive' following the horrifying robbery ordeal and urged fans to think twice before stopping off on the route (Her smashed up car rental pictured) 'Its just little things like I don't have contacts, I can't even see right now. We were saying it's not even the materialistic things. 'Although it's really sad that we've lost all that money and all the things we have worked really hard for and all the things that we loved. 'But its also the inconvenience of 1. we cant even get home. '2. we don't have cards to pay for anything. '3. we don't even have ID so they didn't even want to let us into the hotel because they don't have a physically ID even tho I have a picture.' Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt paused the show on Saturday, May 24 to make an exciting announcement. Chef Sophie Wyburd, 31, a favourite among culinary TV fans, is expecting a baby. Matt, 51, who was joined by guest Anita Rani and chefs Scott Hollsworth and Sophie, said: 'Er Sophie, first of all, congratulations, Sophie's pregnant!' The BBC studio then erupted into applause before Matt added of her baby bump: 'You can just about see it.' Sophie smiled in response to the observation and simply said: 'Just about!' She was then asked if she had felt the baby kick yet and said: 'First little punch yesterday, so I'll see if they'll send you a punch later.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt, 51, paused the show on Saturday, May 24 to make an exciting announcement Chef Sophie Wyburd (M), 31, a favourite among culinary TV fans, is expecting a baby The BBC studio then erupted into applause before Matt added of Sophie's baby bump: 'You can just about see it' The happy news came during an episode where Helen McGinn gave fans drinks tips and Jordan Bailey discussed the humble yet brilliant burger. Chef Sophie, who hails from London, is popular for her simple recipes on the show and online. She already announced her news on Instagram with an appropriate culinary twist. She wrote: 'Sausage Pasta Wyburd-Kumar, growing steadily in my tummy and landing with us this autumn!!' The chef added: 'P.S. writing recipes for a living when for 3 months all you want to eat is spinach and ricotta tortellini is no joke, but the little person in there will be very much worth it I'm sure.' Sophie has also shared some of her more unusual first trimester pregnancy cravings on social media including marmite and 'frozen beige potato products'. Fans were quick to offer their congratulations on social media too. Fellow chef Alfie Steiner joked: 'Oh em geeee contractions !!!! They are going to be eating THE best food.' [sic] Fellow chef Alfie Steiner joked: 'Oh em geeee contractions !!!! They are going to be eating THE best food' [sic] Chef Sophie, who hails from London, wrote on Instagram: 'Sausage Pasta Wyburd-Kumar, growing steadily in my tummy and landing with us this autumn!!' This comes after host Matt told The Staff Canteen podcast that he thought Saturday Kitchen would come to an end at some point. Matt revealed he would eventually have to find something else to take on, possibly back working in kitchens, prompting rumours that he could replace Greg Wallace on Masterchef. 'It's going to stop at some point,' he said. 'I'm going to have to do something.' A source told The Sun: 'Matt rose to the challenge of coming into Saturday Kitchen after it was previously hosted by another big name in the world of food, James Martin. 'He managed the feat of making it his own and almost making viewers forget who his predecessor was. 'Now Beeb bosses, and the show producers Banijay, will be hoping he can work the same magic on MasterChef.' Shes walked runways, worked on major campaigns and once performed a sultry rendition of George Michael's Careless Whisper. Now, Kim Dammer, 25, has become a notable presence at Cannes, dazzling onlookers not with a film, but through a series of high-profile red carpet appearances and exclusive events. The German-born model who splits her time between London and Dubai has been a fixture at this years festival, attending major occasions from the Roberto Cavalli dinner and Chopard red carpet to the Ray-Ban party, the amfAR Gala and even Monaco Grand Prix festivities. While Dammer may be best remembered by some for her stint on Germanys Next Topmodel, her career has evolved significantly since. Having worked with brands such as Guess and LOreal, she is now also an entrepreneur, having launched her own high-end diamond brand, Kimi Diamonds. The launch of Kimi Diamonds marks a significant step in Dammers career, positioning her among models and influencers who have moved into luxury business ventures a path also followed by figures such as Kim Kardashian, who has expanded into jewellery and fragrance. Shes walked runways, worked on major campaigns and once performed a sultry rendition of George Michael 's Careless Whisper Now, Kim Dammer, 25, has become a notable presence at Cannes, dazzling onlookers not with a film, but through a series of high-profile red carpet appearances and exclusive events (Kim Dammer at The Phoenician scheme red carpet) Having worked with brands such as Guess and LOreal, she is now also an entrepreneur, having launched her own high-end diamond brand, Kimi Diamonds. The German-born model who splits her time between London and Dubai has been a fixture at this years festival, attending major occasions from the Roberto Cavalli dinner and Chopard red carpet to the Ray-Ban party, the amfAR Gala and even Monaco Grand Prix festivities (Pictured: Kim Dammer and businessman Teddy Sagi at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc) Dammers brand focuses on timeless elegance and personal storytelling, with her Instagram stating, Every diamond tells a story - my brand, my design, your sparkle. Like Kim Kardashian, Dammer is cultivating a public persona as influencer, founder and socialite, though she has so far avoided the television drama that often accompany celebrity entrepreneurs. Though Dubai is her main base, she spends significant time in London, where she is building her business. Recent Instagram posts have offered glimpses of her jewellery designs, which combine classic and contemporary styles. Dammers path has not been entirely straightforward. After departing Germanys Next Topmodel reportedly over contract issues, she stepped back from modelling before returning with a renewed focus on business, wellness and branding. A confident blend of charisma and ambition, Dammer is proving that todays model can be tomorrows mogul - and Cannes may be just the beginning. Molly-Mae Hague has revealed she was rushed to hospital on Thursday after returning home from Dubai with Tommy Fury and their daughter Bambi. The Maebe founder, 25, explained in her recent YouTube video on Saturday that she was suffering with 'severe pain' in her leg following the long-haul flight and was told to urgently go to A&E to get it checked. Molly said she feared she had a blood clot in her leg after feeling a 'sharp, stabbing pain' in her leg which then moved to her knee and ankle. She soon called 111, when she started to feel her leg go numb, and was told by a doctor to go straight to hospital. She said: 'Basically yesterday I thought I had a blood clot and half of today I thought I had a blood clot in my leg. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Molly-Mae Hague, 25, has revealed she was rushed to hospital on Thursday after returning home from Dubai with Tommy Fury and their daughter Bambi The Maebe founder explained in her recent YouTube video on Saturday that she was suffering with 'severe pain' in her leg following the long-haul flight and was told to urgently go to A&E to get it checked What are blood clots? Thrombosis UK, a charity which aims to raise awareness about blood clots, says they can be fatal even if 'treated appropriately'. They say blood clots, or venous thromboembolisms (VTE), are the leading cause of preventable deaths in hospital. Between 55 to 60 per cent of cases occur during or following hospitalisation. Treatment involves immediate infusions of healthy antibodies, to stop the internal misfiring that causes the life-threatening condition. Blood thinners are also given to treat the clots and prevent any new ones occurring though in some cases, surgery is necessary. NHS figures have shown that 14,846 people aged 19 or over died in England from a VTE, blockage of a vein caused by a blood clot, in 2021-2022 up from 12,457 two years earlier. Advertisement 'Obviously flying home from Dubai I was on the plane for like nearly eight hours I didn't drink like hardly any water. 'You know when you're in mum mode and you're just not really thinking like you're trying to tame your child. 'I was in so much pain, like it was in the back of my knee, so so strong. Like it didn't feel like a dead leg, it was like a sharp stabbing pain 'Then it's moving down into my calf, into my ankle, into my foot, like my whole calf is just in so much pain.' 'I was in A&E for absolutely hours. It was absolutely packed, it was such a sad environment, so many poorly people.' But after waiting for four hours in A&E for a blood test, Molly was told she needed to wait another hour and then a further three for the results to see a doctor. Worried about not getting back to take Bambi to nursery in the morning, Molly went back home. She said: 'I need to leave. Like I can't stay here any longer We had like nothing with us this morning.' The next day, Friday morning, Molly woke up with a lot less pain until she was hit with a wave of dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath later that afternoon. She said: 'I had this awful awful like dizzy spell where the room was spinning. I thought I was going to vomit 'I had this really really funny time where I was like I couldn't breathe properly almost like a bit of a panic attack but like it was just horrible.' Molly said she feared she had a blood clot in her leg after feeling a 'sharp, stabbing pain' in her leg which then moved to her knee and ankle She soon called 111, when she started to feel her leg go numb, and was told by a doctor to go straight to hospital, however after hours of waiting she decided to go home The next day, Friday, Molly was hit with a wave of dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath later that afternoon and went back to hospital for a round of tests - which came back clear Molly later stressed to her fans the importance of taking blood clots and health seriously and said she was relieved everything was all okay (pictured with Bambi) Molly-Mae and Tommy have reunited after their shock split in August and they went Instagram official again with a family snap in recent weeks (pictured) Rushing back to hospital, Molly went back to the hospital to get a full round of tests - which came back clear. She continued: 'They said that I'm completely fine, like all my vitals my heart rate, blood test, everything was absolutely fine. 'Like there was nothing that showed them any sort of concern or anything about a blood clot.' Molly later stressed to her fans the importance of taking blood clots and health seriously. 'It needs to be taken so much more seriously because it can happen to anyone at any age. 'Maybe I had one, maybe I didn't. I read that blood clots can disperse by themselves and it's not always going to be sinister. 'I do think it's important to share it because you never really think it's going to happen to you. 'I was convinced I had one but the doctors fully checked me over and said I was fine.' 'I'm just happy to be feeling a lot better now. It does just feel like a bad dream what happened last night, so strange', she added. Elle Fanning put on a chic display as she stepped out in Cannes wearing a long, shirt-style dress on Saturday. The actress, 27, commanded attention in the striking garment, which showed off her enviable figure. She accessorised the fit with a pair of brown sunglasses and a striking red lip, ensuring all eyes were on her face with her hair scraped back. Continuing the splashes of colour with her striped bag and brown shoes, Elle looked perfectly cool in the French sunshine. Elle arrived at the event three days ago and has attended several premieres. This included Sentimental Value on May 21, where she stars as young Hollywood starlet Rachel Kemp. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Elle Fanning, 27, put on a chick display as she stepped out in Cannes wearing a long, shirt-style dress on Saturday She accessorised the fit with a pair of brown sunglasses and a striking red lip, ensuring all eyes were on her face with her hair scraped back The actress commanded attention in the striking garment, which showed off her enviable figure Elle, pictured on Saturday at the Hotel Martinez, arrived at the event three days ago and has attended several premieres Her most recent big screen appearance was alongside Timothee Chalamet in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, where she plays the musician's girlfriend Sylvie Russo. 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. Elle's latest outfit comes amid the festival's new modesty rules, designed to keep the focus on the films themselves. 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. 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 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. Victoria Beckham has wished her niece Libby Adams a happy birthday in a sweet post, amid her family's turmoil over their feud with her son Brooklyn. The businesswoman, 51, took to social media on Saturday to pay tribute to the London-based influencer. It comes amid claims Victoria and David are devastated over the growing rift with their eldest son Brooklyn, 26, and his wife Nicola Peltz, 30. However the fashion designer shrugged off any drama to celebrate her niece's special day. In a post on Instagram Stories, Victoria shared a sweet snap of herself, her sister Louise and her niece Libby as they enjoyed dinner together. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMails new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Victoria Beckham has wished her niece Libby Adams a happy birthday in a sweet post, amid her family's turmoil over their feud with her son Brooklyn David and Victoria are understood to be devastated following a fall-out with Brooklyn, 26, who lives in the United States with his wife Nicola Peltz (pictured with family) She said: 'Happy birthday!!! We all love you so much.' David and Victoria are understood to be devastated following a fall-out with Brooklyn, who lives in the United States with his wife and her wealthy family. David is allegedly 'desperate to make amends with his son as he fears history is repeating itself' following his bitter fall out with his father Ted in 2005. In the latest evidence of this, David included Brooklyn in a post about Mother's Day in the U.S. as he dedicated a post to the mother of his children, Victoria. Over the weekend, David reached out to his son on social media as rumours of their family feud continue to bubble. A sweet black and white photo showed Victoria cuddled up with her four kids, soon after welcoming their daughter Harper. Alongside the photo, David wrote: 'Happy Mother's Day to the best mommy. To all our friends in the U.S. Happy Mother's Day.' Meanwhile, Victoria shared a photograph of a beautiful bouquet of flowers she had been sent by Cruz and his girlfriend Jackie Apostel, 29. David is allegedly 'desperate to make amends with his son as he fears history is repeating itself' following his bitter fall out with his father Ted in 2005 (pictured with Ayesha Curry and Stephen Curry) While David and his dad Ted, 77, now share a close-knit relationship, the father-son duo were once not even on speaking terms. After Ted suffered a near-death health scare in 2007, it sparked the pair to make amends and get back in touch - and they have been close ever since. And now David is reportedly worried 'history is repeating itself' amid his rift with his and Victoria's eldest son Brooklyn. Last week Brooklyn came close to bumping into his father David during a fly-in visit to London - but the pair still seem to be worlds apart amid their ongoing feud. The aspiring chef was back in the UK posing for a new modelling campaign with upscale fashion company Moncler following strained relations with the wider Beckham family. While Brooklyn was taking part in the photoshoot, his father David was just half a mile up the road at the Chelsea Flower Show chatting to King Charles and Queen Camilla. It was a fly-in visit for Brooklyn who arrived in London early Monday morning and was at the photoshoot from 9am until around 4pm. He opted not to stay at the Beckham's family home in Holland Park which was located close by the shoot. While Oasis are reported to have begun rehearsals in London for their long-awaited reunion tour, one half of the band's famously fractious core is tuning up in more relaxed surroundings - on the Cote d'Azur. Liam Gallagher, 52, this week posted an Instagram Story showing the sun-drenched front door of his new French villa, with a guitar leaning casually against the wall. Fans quickly identified it as the same acoustic he played in the music video for 'Songbird', his 2002 love ballad for then-girlfriend Nicole Appleton. When one Twitter user asked, 'Is that the Songbird mv guitar?', Liam replied: 'It is.' Another asked if he was rehearsing with it, to which the former Oasis frontman responded, 'I am indeed.' The villa in question is no ordinary getaway. Liam recently bought the 18th-century property in Grasse - the world's perfume capital - for 3 million. The six-bedroom, three-storey estate was previously owned by former TV presenter Noel Edmonds, who listed it for 4 million before relocating to New Zealand. While Oasis are reported to have begun rehearsals in London for their long-awaited reunion tour, one half of the band's famously fractious core is tuning up in more relaxed surroundings - on the Cote d'Azur Liam Gallagher , 52, this week posted an Instagram Story showing the sun-drenched front door of his new French villa, with a guitar leaning casually against the wall Fans quickly identified it as the same acoustic he played in the music video for 'Songbird', his 2002 love ballad for then-girlfriend Nicole Appleton The Oasis reunion, scheduled to tour the UK, US, South America and Asia in 2025, comes 15 years after the band's acrimonious split in 2009 Liam himself has hinted at this, writing in a previous X post: 'I called him [Noel], but don't tell anyone as I don't want folk thinking I'm a soft lad and stuffs. Keep it between me n you cheers x' (Pictured in 2008) It features a pool, olive trees, its own vineyard - and several engraved references to 'Noel', the previous owner's name and, coincidentally, that of Liam's estranged brother and bandmate. The Oasis reunion, scheduled to tour the UK, US, South America and Asia in 2025, comes 15 years after the band's acrimonious split in 2009. The fallout led to years of public insults between the Gallagher brothers, both on stage and on social media. But in PJ Harrison's recent book The Fall and Rise of Oasis, a music industry source claimed Liam was the one who extended the olive branch: 'He's a great one for making peace. He's the one that will bring things back together.' Liam himself has hinted at this, writing in a previous X post: 'I called him [Noel], but don't tell anyone as I don't want folk thinking I'm a soft lad and stuffs. Keep it between me n you cheers x.' Despite the brothers' tumultuous history, they are reuniting for the 'Live '25' tour, marking three decades since the release of Oasis's seminal album, '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' Rehearsals have begun in London, with Noel leading sessions alongside longtime collaborators Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and keyboardist Mikey Rowe. Liam is expected to join the rehearsals next month, ahead of the tour's kickoff on July 4 in Cardiff. Jane Fonda turned heads at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday as she walked the red carpet for the closing ceremony. The actress, 87, donned an elegant and timeless gown with floral embellishments covering the torso and mid-length sleeves. Her waist was cinched in slightly with a thick waistband that then led to a sleek chiffon style skirt with a delicate train. The Book Club star had her silver shoulder length hair curled to frame her face and allow her earrings to shine through. Jane was enjoying herself on the carpet as she was photographed waving and cheering towards the crowds. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Jane Fonda turned heads at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday as she walked the red carpet for the closing ceremony The 87-year-old actress donned an elegant and timeless gown with floral embellishments covering the torso and mid-length sleeves Jane had a full glam make up look with dark eyeliner and a mauve shade of lipstick On Friday evening, Jane was in attendance at the star studded L'Oreal Light on Women Award. Also in attendance was Jane Fonda, whose ageless beauty was breathtaking as she donned a white towel fabric gown with soft shoulder pads. Jane's bright silver locks were styled in bouffant waves and she wore a pair of silver sandal heels to pair with the gown. The Monster-In-Law actress is part of L'Oreal Paris' Golden Squad which was created in 2018 with iconic members such as Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore and Isabelle Adjani. During the press release at the time Jane said: 'You have to be brave and not so invested in looking the way you used to but try to look as good as you can at the age that you are.' In an interview to promote her new sneaker campaign with Golden Goose, the New York City native dished about how she's been able to maintain her fabulous figure through the years. 'I don't feel like an old person. I'm much younger than I was when I was in my 20s, in all the ways that matter,' the two-time Academy Award winner said, after revealing that she still works out with a trainer every day. During her conversation with the The New York Times, she elaborated about her exercise routines, personal style and thoughts on aging, all the while sharing about her fondness for the sneaker brand. Jane was enjoying herself on the carpet as she was photographed waving and cheering towards the crowds The Book Club star had her silver shoulder length hair curled to frame her face and allow her earrings to shine through Despite the sun shining brightly towards the stars eyes, Jane kept her composure and elegantly blocked the beams from her eyes 'So it never occurred to me with this campaign, "Oh, God, isn't this great. They're using an old woman,"' she added when shifting her focus back to her collaboration with Golden Goose. 'But now that I think about it, it is cool. I like that.' The star studded carpet also saw Elle Fanning, 24, looking like the epitome of elegance as she took to the red carpet in a pale blue ruffled gown which boasted a Bardot neckline and princess skirt. Elle's gorgeous satin dress was cinched at her waist with a black ribbon belt and added extra sparkle with a dazzling diamond necklace and matching bracelet. Meanwhile Bridgerton star Simone, 30, slipped into chic red figure-hugging number for the occasion which boasted quirky pockets and strapless neckline. The British actress accessorised with silver jewellery and glamorous make-up as she posed up a storm on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony. The star studded carpet also saw Elle Fanning, 24, looking like the epitome of elegance as she donned a pale blue ruffled gown which boasted a Bardot neckline and princess skirt 'I don't feel like an old person. I'm much younger than I was when I was in my 20s, in all the ways that matter,' the two-time Academy Award winner said Her waist was cinched in slightly with a thick waistband that then led to a sleek chiffon style skirt with a delicate train For the L'Oreal Light on Women Award on Friday evening, Jane's bright silver locks were styled in bouffant waves and she wore a pair of silver sandal heels to pair with the gown 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.' 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 percent 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. The Monster-In-Law actress is part of L'Oreal Paris' Golden Squad which was created in 2018 with iconic members such as Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore and Isabelle Adjani During the press release at the time Jane said: 'You have to be brave and not so invested in looking the way you used to but try to look as good as you can at the age that you are' 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. The 78th Cannes Film Festival has come to its most glorious moment with the winners finally announced at Saturday's closing ceremony - despite a an unexpected setback. A temporary power outage, believed to be the result of sabotage, briefly stalled the closing ceremony. However, the interruption did little to dampen the festival's spirit, as the celebration managed to resume in time to honour cinematic excellence. French actor Laurent Lafitte hosted the closing ceremonies, with Jury President Juliette Binoche and Cate Blanchett presenting the Palme d'Or. Taking home the festival's highest honour, was acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident. The searing revenge drama, inspired by Panahi's own experiences with political imprisonment, follows a group of former inmates as they confront the man responsible for their suffering. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to Daily Mai's showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The 78th Cannes Film Festival has come to its most glorious moment with the winners finally announced at Saturday's closing ceremony (pictured Jury President Juliette Binoche and Cate Blanchett present the Palme d'Or Award) Taking home the festival's highest honour, was acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident While on stage, Panahi said what mattered most was the future of his country. He said: 'Let us join forces. No-one should tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, or what we should or shouldn't do.' Meanwhile, the Grand Prix was awarded to Norwegian director Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value. A reflective and intimate portrayal of familial bonds and emotional reckoning, the film was praised for its delicate balance of melancholy and warmth. Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho received the Best Director accolade for his gripping political thriller The Secret Agent. Set during the final years of Brazil's military dictatorship, the film explores themes of surveillance, resistance, and loyalty. The lead role, played by Wagner Moura, also earned him the Best Actor award, marking a standout performance that captivated audiences and critics alike. The festival also recognised rising talent, with Nadia Melliti named Best Actress for her role in La Petite Derniere (The Little Sister). Meanwhile, the Grand Prix was awarded to Norwegian director Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho received the Best Director accolade for his gripping political thriller The Secret Agent The festival also recognised rising talent, with Nadia Melliti named Best Actress for her role in La Petite Derniere (The Little Sister) Cat looked incredible at the ceremony in a black gown Her portrayal of a young woman navigating questions of identity, heritage, and independence in modern-day Paris was hailed as a breakout performance. The film also received the Queer Palm, further cementing its status as one of the year's most impactful entries. In a rare decision, the Jury Prize was shared between two films. Oliver Laxe's Sirat, a poignant account of a father's desperate search for his missing daughter in Morocco, shared the honour with The Sound of Falling, a meditative German drama by Mascha Schilinski that explores grief and renewal with quiet power. Veteran auteurs Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne added to their long list of accolades with the Best Screenplay award for Young Mothers. Their script, marked by the Dardennes' signature realism and humanity, delves into the lives of teenage mothers facing societal and personal challenges. Elsewhere, a Special Prize was presented to Chinese director Bi Gan for Resurrection. The film's dreamlike visuals and nonlinear narrative earned praise for pushing the boundaries of cinematic form. Camera d'Or went to Hassan Hadi for The President's Cake, a sharp political satire that marks a promising debut. A Special Mention in the same category was given to Akinola Davies Jr for My Father's Shadow, a deeply personal exploration of heritage, memory, and generational healing. Short Film Palme d'Or was awarded to Tawfeek Barhom for I'm Glad You're Dead Now, a darkly poetic meditation on grief and release. A Special Mention was given to Adnan Al Rajeev for Ali, praised for its emotional clarity and understated power. From grappling with pigs and tractors to good-natured squabbling with his boss Jeremy Clarkson, Kaleb Cooper was undoubtedly the breakout star of Clarksons Farm. But as its fourth series got under way on Friday, viewers of the hugely popular Prime Video show learnt that theres an unlikely new Diddly Squat farmhand in town a TikTok star called Harriet Cowan, who is also a full-time nurse. These pictures show 24-year-old Ms Cowan arriving for work at her hospital in Derbyshire this week, 100 miles from the farm in Chipping Norton. Dressed in her smart blue uniform with a navy cardigan and NHS lanyard, and getting out of a pristine white SUV, her day job is a world away from the boggy fields and hedgerows of Diddly Squat. But just like her predecessor Mr Cooper, she is more than qualified to help Clarkson run the 1,000-acre farm he bought in 2008. As a farmers daughter, she has broadcast her extensive agricultural skills to her 38,000 followers on the video-sharing app from driving tractors to planting fields and tending to the animals. On Fridays show, viewers were surprised to learn that 26-year-old Mr Cooper, Clarksons farm manager, would not be appearing in several episodes of the series after a tour for his one-man show clashed with filming. It leaves Clarkson running the farm on his own, and sees him hiring a freelance contractor Ms Cowan to help. Perfectly groomed with impeccable make-up and false eyelashes, blonde Ms Cowan nonchalantly claims shes never seen the show. As the fourth series of popular show Diddly Squat got under way on Friday, viewers learnt that theres an unlikely new Diddly Squat farmhand in town a TikTok star called Harriet Cowan (pictured), who is also a full-time nurse These pictures show 24-year-old Ms Cowan arriving for work at her hospital in Derbyshire this week, 100 miles from the farm in Chipping Norton On Fridays show, viewers were surprised to learn that 26-year-old Mr Cooper, Clarksons farm manager, would not be appearing in several episodes of the series after a tour for his one-man show clashed with filming But she wastes no time getting stuck in, proving to be a dab agricultural hand. She fences a pig pen, plants barley in the fields, spreads fertiliser, trims the hedges and even makes an attempt to trim Clarksons unruly eyebrows. She also supplies him with no end of common-sense advice and fixes his tractor. It all prompts Clarkson to remark: Those eyelashes, and what shes doing, dont necessarily go together do they? She is likely to prove more than a match for the venerable Clarkson. At one point, as he gives her a tour of the site, which includes a 4,000-year-old Neolithic fort, she quips: Nearly as old as you? And she causes him visible irritation when he tells her Mr Cooper is on tour and is famous like Julian Clary or Lenny Henry and she claims she has no idea who they are. Clarkson goes on to praise her for being a star and completely brilliant thanks to her farming knowledge. Harriet, whose father runs her family farm and whose mother is also a nurse, has a nursing degree from the University of Derby. But she has also been a leading voice in the young farmers movement, and has used her social media following to campaign against Labours changes to inheritance tax rules for family farms. Dressed in her smart blue uniform with a navy cardigan and NHS lanyard, and getting out of a pristine white SUV, her day job is a world away from the boggy fields and hedgerows of Diddly Squat In Friday's show, Ms Cowan wastes no time getting stuck in, proving to be a dab agricultural hand. She fences a pig pen, plants barley in the fields, spreads fertiliser, trims the hedges and even makes an attempt to trim Clarksons unruly eyebrows. (Pictured: Jeremy Clarkson on season 1 of Clarkson's Farm) As a farmers daughter, she has broadcast her extensive agricultural skills to her 38,000 followers on the video-sharing app from driving tractors to planting fields and tending to the animals Perfectly groomed with impeccable make-up and false eyelashes, blonde Ms Cowan claims shes never seen the show. Ms Cowan (pictured) also supplies Jeremy Clarke with no end of common-sense advice and fixes his tractor in Friday's episode Harriet, whose father runs her family farm and whose mother is also a nurse, has a nursing degree from the University of Derby The young TikTok star has also been a leading voice in the young farmers movement, and has used her social media following to campaign against Labours changes to inheritance tax rules for family farms Clarksons Farm has become one of the most watched series in the UK on Prime Video, and has been praised for raising the profile of British farming. It has also launched Mr Coopers career. He was already working on the land when Clarkson bought it, and has now written three books. It seems that Ms Cowan, too, may well follow suit. Cowan is seen getting her hands dirty on the farm in one of numerous posts shared on her Instagram platform The blonde nurse is a glamorous addition to Clarkson's Farm and regularly shares photos of herself at work with her social media followers Delhi Police have busted an international drug trafficking syndicate, arresting five individuals, including the alleged kingpin, and recovered narcotics worth approximately `5 crore, officials said on Saturday. The arrests were made following two separate but interlinked operations and the recovered drugs include high-grade opium, charas, and crude heroin, smuggled from Nepal and northeastern India, according to officials. The accused have been identified as the kingpin Jasmer Singh (52), Raj Kumar (47), Kala (50), Mohan Lal (45) and Sanjay Rawat (43). According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik, aThe gang was involved in smuggling high-grade opium, charas, and crude heroin under the guise of legitimate activities such as tourism, textile trading, and road construction work.a The operation has led to the seizure of a total of 7 kilograms of opium, 3.53 kilograms of charas, and 625 grams of crude heroin. The first operation took place on April 15 near the Burari Authority area in Delhi. Acting on a tip-off, a police team intercepted a car in which two suspects, Jasmer Singh and Raj Kumar, were waiting. Both are residents of Haryana and, upon inspection, the vehicle was found to contain 5.12 kilograms of opium and 3.53 kilograms of charas. The drugs were ingeniously hidden inside the petrol tank and roof cavity of the car to evade detection. The interrogation of the duo led to the arrest of two more alleged members of the syndicate. Kala, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and Sanjay Rawat from Shamli were taken into custody shortly afterward. An additional 1.87 kilograms of opium was recovered from their possession, further exposing the depth of the operation. On April 29, a second operation led to the arrest of Mohan Lal in the Burari area. A native of Churu district in Rajasthan, he was already wanted in an NDPS case. He was allegedly caught transporting 625 grams of crude heroin, concealed in a secret cavity in his car. Investigators believe Mohan was introduced to the drug trade after incurring financial losses in his small business ventures. He is reported to have started sourcing drugs from Manipur and delivering them across various states, posing as a worker in road construction projects and traveling with a woman to avoid arousing suspicion. The police disclosed that the accused used encrypted communication through social media accounts linked to Nepalese phone numbers to coordinate their activities. This allowed them to bypass Indian surveillance mechanisms and maintain secrecy in their operations. Jasmer Singh, who is believed to be the ringleader, had previously served a jail sentence in Nepal between 2011 and 2019 in a narcotics case. He reportedly met Kala during his imprisonment and the two resumed drug smuggling soon after their release. In 2021, Jasmer was also arrested in Haryana for similar offences, highlighting his repeated involvement in narcotics trafficking. All accused have been booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Police say that investigations are ongoing and further arrests are likely, as they continue to trace the syndicateas wider network of associates and financiers. Efforts are also being made to identify the cross-border links of the cartel and investigate the financial channels used to fund the illegal trade. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries, has asserted the mission would be to give the world the message that "we will not be silenced by terrorism" and that "we don't want the world to look away either". Tharoor made the remarks late last night just before his delegation left for a visit to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States. In a video message posted on X, Tharoor said, "I'm heading off to five countries leading an all-party delegation to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States, and the reason we are going is to speak for the nation, to speak about this horrendous crisis we were subjected to in which our country was attacked by terrorists in the cruellest possible way." The Thiruvananthapuram MP said the delegation is a mission of peace and hope, and will one day remind the world that India stands for all the values "we need to preserve in the world today". "We need to speak up with clarity and conviction for our country, for our response and to give the world the message that we will not be silenced by terrorism and we don't want the world to look away either," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said. "We don't want indifference to triumph over the truth. It's a mission of peace. It's a mission of hope. And it's a mission that will one day remind the world that India stands for all the values we need to preserve in the world today of peace, of democracy, of freedom, and not of hatred, killing and of terror. Jai Hind," he said in his video message. Tharoor also posted pictures of the delegation members at the airport before boarding the flight. The delegation led by Tharoor comprises Shambhavi (LJP-RV), Sarfaraz Ahmed (JMM), G M Harish Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneshwar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and former diplomat Taranjit Sandhu. It will travel to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the US. India's multi-party delegations to different countries will emphasise Pakistan's links to terrorism, including the 9/11 attack in the US, and assert that the recent conflict was triggered by the Pahalgam terror strike and not Operation Sindoor as alleged by Islamabad. After the briefing by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to four of the seven parliamentary delegations here on Friday, delegates said they will work to bust the Pakistani narrative of projecting India as the aggressor by underscoring the links of Pahalgam terrorists to the country. Three delegations were briefed by Misri on Tuesday and are already on tours of their destinations. The delegation, which is led by Tharoor, visiting the US is likely to underscore Pakistan's links to al Qaeda, which was behind multiple terror strikes across the world, including the 9/11 attack in the North American country. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC cut its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,392 shares of the energy producers stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLCs holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producers stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producers stock worth $3,695,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 8,640 shares of the energy producers stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,171 shares of the energy producers stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 4,018 shares of the energy producers stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get ConocoPhillips alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have issued reports on COP shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James restated an outperform rating and issued a $109.00 target price (up from $103.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.89. ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.1% Shares of COP stock opened at $85.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $107.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $119.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $92.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.37. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.74 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year. ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillipss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.64%. About ConocoPhillips (Free Report) ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for ConocoPhillips Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ConocoPhillips and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its stake in CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB Free Report) (TSE:GIB.A) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,713,654 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 182,252 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 2.08% of CGI worth $515,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of CGI in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in CGI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in CGI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in CGI by 47.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,163 shares of the technology companys stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in CGI by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the technology companys stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.68% of the companys stock. Get CGI alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on CGI from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $192.00 target price on shares of CGI in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CGI presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $156.75. CGI Stock Down 0.4% CGI stock opened at $106.32 on Friday. CGI Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.85 and a twelve month high of $122.79. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $103.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.78. CGI (NYSE:GIB Get Free Report) (TSE:GIB.A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.05 billion. CGI had a return on equity of 19.32% and a net margin of 11.72%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that CGI Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. CGI Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.1086 per share. This is a positive change from CGIs previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. CGIs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.47%. CGI Company Profile (Free Report) CGI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) and business process services. Its services include the business and strategic IT consulting, systems integration, and software solutions. The company also provides application development, modernization and maintenance, holistic enterprise digitization, automation, hybrid and cloud management, and business process services; intellectual property-based solutions; business consulting; managed IT services; and IT infrastructure services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for CGI Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CGI and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Formidable Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,886 shares of the companys stock after selling 295 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.7% of Formidable Asset Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Formidable Asset Management LLCs holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the companys stock worth $1,149,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the companys stock worth $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the companys stock worth $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Johnson & Johnson alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In JNJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $170.88. Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders. Johnson & Johnson Price Performance JNJ stock opened at $153.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The firms fifty day moving average is $155.24 and its 200 day moving average is $153.72. The firm has a market cap of $368.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year. Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnsons previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnsons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%. About Johnson & Johnson (Free Report) Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JNJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Johnson & Johnson Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Johnson & Johnson and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,012,266 shares of the communications equipment providers stock after buying an additional 18,473 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corps holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $467,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,179,834 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $9,789,955,000 after acquiring an additional 310,919 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,187,217 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $1,933,360,000 after acquiring an additional 451,172 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,528,949,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,030,915 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $1,400,980,000 after acquiring an additional 334,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,073,645,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Motorola Solutions alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Motorola Solutions from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $527.00 to $511.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $513.25. Motorola Solutions Price Performance MSI stock opened at $419.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.98. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $356.77 and a fifty-two week high of $507.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $421.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 197.59% and a net margin of 14.58%. The firms revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Motorola Solutionss dividend payout ratio is currently 36.39%. Motorola Solutions Company Profile (Free Report) Motorola Solutions, Inc provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Motorola Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Motorola Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of Hold by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.38. A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an underweight rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an underweight rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Novartis from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Get Novartis alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on NVS Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis Novartis Trading Up 0.2% A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 60.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the companys stock valued at $408,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,252 shares in the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 12,664.1% in the 1st quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 1,383,244 shares of the companys stock worth $154,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,407 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,339,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 14,376.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727,296 shares of the companys stock valued at $81,079,000 after buying an additional 722,272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the companys stock. Shares of Novartis stock opened at $112.77 on Friday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $109.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $238.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis (NYSE:NVS Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. Novartiss revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. About Novartis (Get Free Report Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Novartis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novartis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of PROS Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRO Free Report) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,400 shares of the software makers stock after selling 15,238 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P.s holdings in PROS were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PROS in the 4th quarter worth $130,000. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PROS in the 4th quarter worth $283,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of PROS by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 414,523 shares of the software makers stock worth $9,103,000 after buying an additional 46,372 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PROS by 340.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,383,315 shares of the software makers stock worth $30,378,000 after buying an additional 1,069,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PROS in the 4th quarter worth $1,757,000. 94.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get PROS alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of brokerages have commented on PRO. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of PROS from $31.00 to $22.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of PROS from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PROS from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of PROS from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of PROS from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $29.13. PROS Price Performance Shares of PRO opened at $16.83 on Friday. PROS Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.81 and a 1-year high of $32.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.69 and a 200 day moving average of $21.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $805.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.24 and a beta of 1.06. PROS (NYSE:PRO Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The software maker reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $86.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PROS Holdings, Inc. will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. PROS Company Profile (Free Report) PROS Holdings, Inc provides software solutions that optimize the processes of selling and shopping in the digital economy in Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company offers PROS Smart Configure Price Quote that improves sales productivity and accelerate deal velocity by automating common sales tasks; and PROS Smart Price Optimization and Management, which enables businesses to optimize, personalize, and harmonize pricing. See Also Receive News & Ratings for PROS Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PROS and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE:SA Free Report) (TSE:SEA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 41,932 shares of the basic materials companys stock, valued at approximately $478,000. Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SA. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Seabridge Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Seabridge Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Seabridge Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. purchased a new stake in Seabridge Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Seabridge Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $139,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.85% of the companys stock. Get Seabridge Gold alerts: Seabridge Gold Price Performance Shares of SA opened at $12.25 on Friday. Seabridge Gold Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.40 and a twelve month high of $20.55. The stocks 50 day moving average is $11.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -48.98 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Seabridge Gold Company Profile Seabridge Gold ( NYSE:SA Get Free Report ) (TSE:SEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter. (Free Report) Seabridge Gold Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition and exploration of gold properties in North America. The company also explores for gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum deposits. The company was formerly known as Seabridge Resources Inc and changed its name to Seabridge Gold Inc in June 2002. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Seabridge Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Seabridge Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,525 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 2,592 shares during the quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,578,230 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $9,516,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,384 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,901,484 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,279,742,000 after purchasing an additional 760,043 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,455,266 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,513,894,000 after purchasing an additional 265,708 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth $1,289,544,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,739,917 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,164,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the companys stock. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Charles Schwab Stock Performance NYSE SCHW opened at $87.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $158.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.95. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $89.85. Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades SCHW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Charles Schwab from $93.00 to $87.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.63. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Charles Schwab Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab In other Charles Schwab news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.39, for a total value of $889,280.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $266,741.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 172,162 shares in the company, valued at $12,784,750.12. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,088 shares of company stock valued at $8,105,928. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. About Charles Schwab (Free Report) The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCHW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Charles Schwab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Charles Schwab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. In another amazing Art of the Deal transaction much like the Chagos Islands deal, Labour PM Keir Starmer is paying a buyer 100 million per annum for the next 99 years to own his Countess Road, Kentish Town, NW5 property. The lucky new owner is a Mauritian citizen who was in the UK on holiday, and wanted to own a place to chill out when in London. Hailing the deal as a resounding success, the prime minister revealed that he is also writing a new book to rival that of Donald Trumps Art of the Deal but in reverse. I recently gave away a property that I own and will pay the man and his family 100 million per year for the next 99 years. Is that a good deal or what? When a reporter asked him how he will profit from the deal, Starmer replied: I get to stand outside in the rain and admire my former property from the outside. Bishop Donal McKeown led the Rosary on Thursday as pupils, staff and parents made their way across Central Drive and down Fanad Drive in the Holy Child PS Annual May Procession to St. Marys Church, Creggan. Carrying flowers, which were laid at the grotto, the pupils joined in the Rosary during their journey and were met in the church grounds by the sweet sounds of the schools choir under the direction of Mrs. Aine McCabb. The procession was led by pupils who made their First Holy Communion this year, followed by the P7 children who received Confirmation and the procession continued with the other pupils, staff, parents and grandparents. Pupil Matilda Condren laid a crown of flowers at the St. Bernadette statue with Bishop Donal McKeown and Fr. McFaul in attendance. Hymns were sung and prayers recited at the grotto with Fr. McFaul thanking everyone for their attendance and praising the children for taking part in what was a wonderful event. IN PICTURES: Bishop leads colourful annual May procession in Derry Speaking after the event, Mrs. Pat Concannon, Principal said she was delighted with the weather and proud of the way the children played their part in the annual procession. Bishop Donal led the children to the ice cream van for some refreshments after the ceremony concluded. Mrs. Concannon added: Id like to thank our Bishop, Dr. Donal McKeown for taking the time to join Fr. McFaul in this years procession. Our children were also very dignified in taking part, and credit to our staff, parents and grandparents who not only walked in procession with the children but lined the route and met us at the church. This is a special event in our schools calendar and once again, we had a magnificent turnout. Thank you to all. The median house price for houses sold with the Dundalk Eircode A91 in March 2025 was 330,000, according to figures released by the CSO (Central Statistics Office) in their Residential Property Price Index report. The county wide median house price for Louth now stands at 330,000, the same as February 2025. Of the 62 houses sold in Dundalk in March, 23 were to first time buyer owner-occupiers; 32 to former owner-occupiers and 7 were to non occupiers. Forty-four of these houses were existing builds while eighteen were new homes. The median price of the new houses sold was 388,750 and the median price of existing houses sold in March was 273,000. In Drogheda, the median price of residential properties sold in A92: Drogheda in March 2025, was 358,999. Of the 88 houses sold in Drogheda in March, 44 were to first time buyer owner-occupiers; 39 to former owner-occupiers and 5 were to non occupiers. Thirty-five of the houses sold were new houses and fifty-three were existing. The median price for the new houses sold was 385,099 while for existing houses it was 300,000. Commenting on the national results, Niall Corkery, Statistician in the Prices Division, said: Residential property prices rose by 7.5% in the 12 months to March 2025, down from 8.0% in the year to February 2025. In Dublin, residential property prices saw an increase of 6.0%, while property prices outside Dublin were 8.7% higher in March 2025 when compared with a year earlier. In the 12 months to March 2025, house prices in Dublin rose by 5.9% while apartment prices increased by 6.2%. The highest house price growth in Dublin was in Fingal at 7.8% while South Dublin saw a rise of 4.7%. Outside Dublin, house prices were up by 9.1% and apartment prices rose by 4.3%. The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest growth in house prices was the Border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) at 12.8%, while at the other end of the scale, the Mid-East (Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) saw a 6.7% rise. Read Next: Two Louth projects receive funding under Community Heritage Grant Scheme Households paid a median or mid-point price of 362,500 for a residential property in the 12 months to March 2025. The highest median price paid for a dwelling was 665,000 in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, while the lowest was 180,000 in Leitrim. The most expensive Eircode area over the 12 months to March 2025 was A94 (Blackrock, Dublin) with a median price of 750,000, while F45 (Castlerea, Roscommon) had the least expensive price of 150,000. In March 2025, 3,617 dwelling purchases by households at market prices were filed with the Revenue Commissioners, an increase of 9.1% when compared with the 3,314 purchases in March 2024. The total value of transactions filed in March 2025 was 1.5 billion. This was made up of 2,866 existing dwellings with a value of 1.2 billion, and 751 new dwellings with a value of 360.6 million. Above L-R: Louth County Councils Olivia McCormack, Mark Kimmins, Paula Gribben, David Conway (Chief Executive), Cllr Paddy McQuillan (Mayor of Drogheda), Finbar Gethins, Cllr Andrea McKevitt, Grainne Fogarty and Gareth Fitzpatrick at the Blue Flag raising ceremony at Clogherhead Beach. Photo: Ciaran Culligan Three of Louth County Councils beaches - Clogherhead, Port, and Templetown - have retained their Blue Flag status for 2025, while Seapoint beach in Termonfeckin has been awarded a Green Coast Award. The awards were presented by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne TD, at a ceremony held at Ravenport Resort, Kilmacoe, Co. Wexford, overlooking Curracloes Blue Flag beach, on Friday last. This year marks the 38th year of the International Blue Flag programme. A world-renowned award trusted by millions around the globe, the Blue Flag programme is operated in Ireland by An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). Beaches and marinas that achieve this accolade must comply with a specific set of criteria relating to water quality, information provision, environmental education, safety and beach management. Read also: Louth based Muchgrange Farm launches in SuperValu stores This year also marks the 22nd anniversary of the National Green Coast Programme. The Green Coast Award recognises beaches that boast excellent water quality and are valued for their natural, untouched beauty. Cllr Paddy McQuillan, Mayor of Drogheda Borough District, added: These awards are testament to the tireless efforts of Louth County Council, coastal groups, and the community to protect and enhance our coastline. As we celebrate Volunteering Week, it's important to highlight the key role played by voluntary Clean Coasts groups. These dedicated volunteers take part in community clean-ups and work alongside Louth County Council to help manage the nominated beaches. At its core, the Green Coast Award programme aims to build strong community partnerships to protect and improve local coastal environments, while also honouring the hard work and commitment of those communities. At the 2025 Blue Flag raising ceremony at Clogherhead Beach, David Conway, Chief Executive of Louth County Council, expressed his strong support for the Blue Flag Programme, stating: We take great pride in the collaborative efforts that made this achievement possible. In particular, during Volunteering Week, we want to acknowledge the incredible dedication of the volunteers who work tirelessly to keep our coastlines clean and beautiful. Louth County Council remains firmly committed to protecting our environment for future generations. A record-breaking 99 awards were announced by the Minister for the 2025 season, with 89 beaches and 10 marinas in Ireland receiving the Blue Flag Award, while 70 beaches were awarded the Green Coast Award. Further information on the Blue Flag and Green Coast awards may be found at www.beachawards.ie Two projects in Louth have secured a total of 19,196 in funding under the Heritage Councils 2025 Community Heritage Grant Scheme. The Heritage Council is distributing more than 1.9 million through the Scheme this year to support 132 heritage initiatives across Ireland. These grants will enable local communities to conserve and celebrate Irelands built, cultural, and natural heritage. The funding recipients in Louth are as follows: Comhaltas - Oriel Centre Dundalk Gaol - 15,560 Blackrock Tourism and Development Group - 3,636 The 3,636 in funding awarded to the VisitBlackrock Tourism Group will support the Dudley Lifeboat Restoration Feasibility Study, a detailed assessment of the potential to preserve and restore the historic General R. Dudley Blake lifeboat as a heritage and tourism attraction. The lifeboat holds deep significance for Blackrocks maritime heritage, having served as a symbol of safety and resilience following the Mary Stoddart Disaster in Dundalk Bay in 1858. This grant represents an important first step in exploring how the vessel can be conserved, celebrated, and potentially made accessible to the public. Comhaltas at the Oriel Centre at Dundalk Gaol is to receive 15,560 for the renewal of user interface technology at Dundalk Gaol. Read also: PHOTOS: North Louth Artists exhibition at An Tain Arts Centre All funded projects can begin work immediately and are expected to be completed by the end of the year. Previous recipients in Louth have used this funding to restore architectural features, digitise local archives, and carry out conservation training strengthening both the preservation of heritage and the local economy. In 2024, the scheme funded the Highlanes Gallery to install a collections management system, supported Drogheda Tidy Towns to refurbish 24 historic wards in Drogheda and related street signage and funded the Friends of Ardee Bog to undertake an ecological assessment at Ardee Bog by investing in equipment for monitoring and data recording. US president Donald Trumps threatened 50% tariff on all EU imports would cause extreme disruption to the global economy, Irelands premier has warned. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the move by Mr Trump had come as a surprise, noting that the EU was engaging in good faith with the United States to agree a deal on trade. In April, President Trump announced a 20% tariff on EU goods being sold into the US. He later reduced that to 10% until July 8 to allow for time for talks with Brussels on a potential agreement. On Friday, Mr Trump claimed the talks were going nowhere and said he was recommending that the 50% tariff rate comes into effect on June 1. The president also announced he would be imposing a 25% tariff on all Apple iPhones manufactured outside the US. He warned that tariffs were also coming for other foreign manufactured smartphones. Shares fell in the US, EU and UK following Mr Trumps latest threats on tariffs. Mr Martin warned of the consequences if such levels of tariffs were imposed. This is a surprise, because there was a pause until early July, he told RTE. Everybody in the European Union is acting in good faith and wants a negotiated settlement with the United States. The trading relationship between the European Union and the United States is the most dynamic and largest in the world, so tariffs of that height or scale would be extremely disruptive and would create even wider disruption across the global economy. Irelands deputy premier and foreign affairs minister Simon Harris said Ireland and the wider EU shared the same position in wanting a substantive, calm, measured and comprehensive dialogue with the United States. Tariffs are bad for Ireland, the EU & the US. They hurt consumers, businesses & jobs. We need calm and measured dialogue with the US. Negotiation is the only path forward. My full statement: https://t.co/yCE9F3H4gD pic.twitter.com/dHXtOTC3DO Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 23, 2025 Tariffs are a bad idea, said the Tanaiste. Theyre bad for Ireland, the EU, and the US. They push up prices for consumers and businesses. We have built a relationship of prosperity, jobs and investment based on working together and trading together. Negotiations remain the main focus for both the EU and Ireland and our deep and enduring relationship with the United States merits a more sustained and substantive engagement in the period ahead in a bid to bring about a negotiated settlement. I continue to keep in close contact with the European Commission, with colleagues across the EU and with industry as we continue to seek to navigate the current challenges. A negotiated solution remains very clearly the goal and the preferred outcome. There was a very special guest at Togher Boys National School on Monday morning in the form of Taoiseach Micheal Martin. The Taoiseach was in attendance to officially open the new playground in the school, while he also took time out of his very busy schedule to chat and interact with the students. Healthcare company Novo Nordisk, who have contributed towards the new playground through sponsorship, were also represented at the ceremony. Speaking to The Echo, Togher Boys National School Principal Kieran Kelly described it was a great honour to have the Taoiseach in attendance for the ceremony. There was huge excitement around the school. He spent the full hour with the kids there and up in the playground playing games with them, said Mr Kelly. Pupils who made their communion waiting for An Taoiseach Micheal Martin TD to open the play at primary school Initiative at the Togher Boys National, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan We went around to the boys and said every school doesnt get this. It was such an honour for our boys to be chatting to him and talking to him. The boys were quizzing him about which countries he has visited and what it is like to be Taoiseach. Mr Kelly added that there was an atmosphere of excitement around the school both from students and the staff alike. An Taoiseach Micheal Martin TD with Nina Hovland, GM, Nordisk Ireland and senior infants Leon, Ryan and Ollie at the opening of the play at primary school Initiative at the Togher Boys National, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan He is our local TD, but I suppose really it is acknowledgement of huge work that goes on by the staff within the Togher community. It was a great honour for us and also to showcase the fantastic work around the school as well. Mr Martin was also at Togher BNS back in 2019, to officially open the new ASD classes and all other renovated classrooms in the school. An Taoiseach Micheal Martin TD speaking to pupils and staff at the opening of the play at primary school Initiative at the Togher Boys National, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan During his visit, the Taoiseach also stated that being health and getting exercise is a very important part of the school day for students. Mr Kelly was in agreement with this statement: Education is at the centre of everything and the children are at the centre of it. In fairness to the Taoiseach, one of the biggest things that he said was that education isnt just about the academics, education is about the holistic development of the child. He said it is about being out, playing and being healthy. That is really important and that is part of today and that the playground is there. Of course we strive for excellence in our academics. But also is that they are healthy and out, that they are active and they are playing, which is really important. An Taoiseach Micheal Martin TD with senior infant teacher Maria Collins at the opening of the play at primary school Initiative at the Togher Boys National, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan Mr Kelly added: Just that normal interaction with someone like that. We were really proud of them actually. It is pride in the boys and pride in the families of Togher really is what inspires us. There is a great camaraderie amongst the staff as well. He also outlined that the opening of the new playground is a testament to the hard work that goes on in both the school and Togher community. We strive for excellence and that shows when you can get someone of the Taoiseachs caliber coming in. We had been preparing for the last two weeks for his visit. We have a very close relationship with Foroige, the Tidy Towns and everyone else within the community. We are at the heart of the community here. But it is everyone working together. That is an acknowledgment of the families here in Togher. The playground at Togher Boys National School is certain to get plenty of use by the students over the coming weeks and months ahead. The 36-year-old owner of a house in Bishopstown in Cork was jailed for two years yesterday for sexually assaulting a young woman who responded to an ad about a room to let. Judge Helen Boyle made an order that the accused man, Leon OConnor, of Uam Var Avenue, Bishopstown, Cork, could be identified, but not the victim. Judge Boyle imposed a sentence of two years imprisonment on OConnor, who was found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting the woman three times during her 11-minute visit. Judge Boyle recalled from the evidence how the victim kept the conversation as normal as possible after she saw several knives on a shelf and feared although there was no evidence of this that OConnor might have had a knife in his pocket. The judge said that OConnor telling the womans brother not to come into the house did not raise suspicions as it occurred during the covid pandemic. Touched OConnor touched her buttock, and touched her breast and her vagina, all outside her clothing, the court heard. No doubt, she was terrified as he was being shown around, Judge Boyle said. She feels hopeless, that she has lost her spark, and experienced a deterioration in her mental health. She felt like she lost control of it all. Eleven minutes in the house alone with him felt like eternity. I want to thank her. She is a brave lady. She was doing her best at that time to get out of a bad situation [in her own life]. I want to convey my admiration for her and wish her the best. Alone in a strange house with someone she never met before, she did her best to keep the conversation as normal as possible. The accused had no previous convictions, but had a serious mental condition at the time. The background evidence from defence senior counsel, Seamus Roche, was that the defendant excelled educationally and professionally, but experienced bullying in his adult life, after which things went downhill for him and triggered an undiagnosed condition. Judge Boyle also noted that he had a supportive family. Background Detective Sergeant Michelle OLeary outlined the background to the crimes. Det Sgt OLeary said the injured party responded to an advertisement for a person to rent a room in a house on December 29, 2021. He touched her buttocks, said Det Sgt OLeary. She was afraid he had a weapon. He brushed his hand against her left breast. As they moved through the house, she tried to remain calm. While showing her the room, he stood behind her. He caressed her vagina area. The victim said in her impact statement: All this happened at my worst time. I was homeless, out of work, when people are supposed to be looking forward to a new year and new beginnings. What happened to me wasnt fair, and I didnt deserve to be put in that position. No one does. I didnt ask for it, and I didnt want it, but it did happen to me. I felt so scared that night. A distraught mother, whose son drowned in the River Lee in Cork city last month, has repeated a call to the minister for justice to consider introducing legislation that would criminalise the filming of fatal accidents. Luke Hyde, aged 34, of Wolfe Tone St in Cork city, drowned on April 30 after he got into difficulty while swimming across the northern channel of the river, from Popes Quay to Lavitts Quay. While the incident was ongoing, a number of people along the quays were seen videoing and live-streaming the tragedy, leading Lukes mother, Elizabeth Hyde, to call for legislation regarding the filming of such incidents. In response to a parliamentary question by Fine Gael Cork North Central TD Colm Burke last week, justice minister Jim OCallaghan said that the Government is not looking at introducing a law that would prohibit the documentation and distribution of footage from such events. Troubling trend I fully recognise the growing and deeply troubling trend of people recording and sharing videos or images of fatal accidents, often using smartphones or similar devices, said Mr OCallaghan. These actions can cause immense distress to victims families, violate the dignity of the deceased, and worsen the trauma of an already tragic situation. Criminalisation is never a quick fix ... [and] while the Government is not currently proposing to introduce new legislation specifically criminalising the recording or sharing of fatal-accident footage, I recognise the harm that can be caused. Elizabeth Hyde told The Echo that she feels the Governments reluctance to introduce legislation, such as a Lukes Law, to criminalise the filming of such accidents, is a disgrace. I am totally and utterly disgusted at the minister his words were cold and empty, said Ms Hyde. My heart and soul have been torn from my body. I cannot describe the pain I and [Lukes] siblings are going through we are tortured by the memory of what happened to my son. This response [from the minister] means nothing; its a disgrace. I would like to speak with him face to face and ask him to look me in the eye. I would say: Heres my shoes, step into them for one minute, and you might feel what Im going through. I would like to see Lukes Law passed my son hasnt died in vain. Were going to push for this. When he died, I died with him, and his siblings. All we want to do is to stop another tragedy from happening there again, and to have a plaque put up down by the river where he drowned. That river has taken so many lives, back through the years, and theres wide-open access to it; theres nothing to stop people going in." Prosecution For anybody filming these accidents, I would like to see prosecution, jail time, or a massive fine, she added. I dont know what has happened to the people of this world; theyre like zombies, to see a tragedy and just film it, instead of helping. Members of the fire service who were called to the scene said they saw no signs of lifebuoys in the water when they arrived minutes after the alarm was raised. To think that he was drowning and nobody threw a lifebuoy in to save him, Ms Hyde said. Not one lifebuoy was thrown there are four down there, two on one side of the bridge and two on the other. They were right there, but, instead, they took out their phones and cameras to film him drowning. If it was somebody else in the water that day, and my son came along, he wouldve been head first into that water. He just wasnt for this world; he cared about everyone. He put everyone elses problems before his own; he had such a caring nature. He was the most loving and caring soul that God put on this Earth. He loved everyone and tried to help everyone. I was just lucky to have him for the 34 years. My life, and his siblings lives, have been destroyed. I will never be the same again because of the sadness of the situation that day, that nobody helped. No family should have to go through this; no mother should have to bury her child. Angry Speaking to The Echo, Kelly Ann Peyton, from Blarney St, who was a childhood friend of Luke, also shared her response to the ministers comments. Im very angry at this response; its absolutely disgraceful, said Ms Peyton. I wont be leaving this go easy if I have to go and sleep outside the Dail, Ill do it. Recognising the trauma does nothing. This is someones life were speaking about; this is someones brother, son, and friend. Im going to give it my all to get Lukes Law passed. Ive done research into it, and Germany has a law like this in place. I would like people who are found recording a scene of a serious or fatal accident to be given a penalty, whether thats prison time or a fine. Whats killing us the most about what happened is that people never helped Luke; that they decided to film instead. I walked down to where it happened the other day, and from where Luke went in, within 10ft, there was a lifebuoy. You can get a lifebuoy back, and if you cant, they can be replaced but you cant get a life back. Luke came from the navy, he wouldve known how to swim and what to do in difficulty, but this just shows how strong the undercurrent was. This isnt the end, this is only the start. Ill keep going until I get better answers. Its not going to be easy to get a law in place, but I would love to get a letter on the minister for justices desk to explain the pain of what happened. Support Speaking to The Echo, Colm Burke expressed his support for the Hyde family. The Government are saying that they are not going to propose to introduce such legislation, but I actually believe that this is an issue that needs to be looked at, he said. For the person who tragically died and their family, for them to have to go through this, we need to protect them. The incident [being] up online is totally inappropriate. Posting it up on social media [should] be a criminal offence. The debate has started, and I think its important that we continue on in looking at it and trying to progress how we could put the legislation in place. This is something that we need to discuss; social media can be so damaging. Speaking to The Echo, Sinn Fein councillor for Cork City North West, Michelle Gould, said anything that can lessen the trauma experienced by families going through unimaginable grief should be done. Dignity and respect should be at the core of this, and if the current law undermines that, then it should be changed, she said. A Blarney woman, aged 36, drove to Dublin to buy 8,000 worth of heroin for the Cork drugs market and was given a four-year suspended sentence. Judge Helen Boyle said of this drug: It was a disaster in Dublin city, it is a disaster in Cork city, it destroys peoples lives, it destroys families, and destroys young people. However, the judge noted the Probation Service assessment of Amy Forrest of Causeway House, Station Rd, Blarney, Co Cork, as being a low risk of reoffending and noted also that she undertook the trip to clear a drugs debt accrued by another person, to prevent them from coming to harm. Forrest admitted possession of diamorphine for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying to others at Redforge Rd, Blackpool, Cork, on August 24, 2023. She also pleaded guilty to having a mixing agent consisting of a paracetamol and caffeine mixture. Because her car was used in the commission of a crime, Judge Boyle banned her from driving for two years. Information Detective Garda Ruairi McGovern said Detective Garda Fergal Long obtained information that Forrest was travelling to Dublin to purchase heroin to bring back to Cork. A Garda drugs operation was put in place to intercept her Kia car on return. She removed two packages of diamorphine (heroin) from her top and this was found to have a street value of 8,000. Elsewhere in the car, three packages of mixing agent paracetamol and caffeine were found. She refused to give gardai her phone PIN number but defence barrister John Devlin said this refusal arose out of her fear of other parties. She denies directly selling it but admits transporting it when she was under a certain amount of duress because of the debt of [another person], said Det Garda McGovern. Mr Devlin said she had no similar previous convictions and that the mother of three was in full-time employment. She worked as a hairdresser and then did a medical secretarial course and obtained her present employment through that course and her employer speaks well of her as diligent and hardworking, said Mr Devlin. Debt He said she was trying to clear a drugs debt for another person and when she did not have the money to do so, she was asked to go to Dublin and bring these drugs back and to gather 2,500 to pay also. The probation officer described her as a vulnerable woman with a low risk of reoffending. Judge Boyle said: In terms of culpability it was suggested (another person) had a drug debt and you were carrying this out to protect (this person) from harm. In assessing the gravity you were knowingly transporting heroin from Dublin to Cork. James Cox Irish supporters are set to travel to Liverpool in huge numbers this weekend for Premier League title celebrations. Stena Line said thousands of supporters have travelled on both the Dublin to Holyhead and Belfast to Liverpool routes. Photo: Stena Line Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans will be in the city for an historic weekend which will see the Premier League trophy presented on Sunday at Anfield followed by an open top bus parade on Monday. Photo: Stena Line Arne Slot's side confirmed their title win a few weeks ago, but they will still be pushing for another win as they finish a successful season with a clash against FA Cup winners Crystal Palace, kicking off at 4pm. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Scientists once believed that humpback whales only gave birth in the warmth and safety of specific breeding grounds in tropical waters, where they spent half the year. However, new research has revealed that humpbacks around Tasmania and New Zealand can birth calves much further south than expected, and can do so during their epic migrations. Historically the feeding/breeding paradigm has dominated humpback whale ecology, where feeding and reproduction are spatially and temporally separated, with summer feeding grounds and winter breeding grounds restricted to habitats at the latitudinal extremes of their range, the authors of the findings wrote. In this paradigm, the summer and winter habitats are connected by a migration corridor considered only to be a thoroughfare However, humpback whales have been shown to feed in this migration corridor along with performing other important behaviors, such as resting, maintenance of skin health, and song sharing. One or two? How many can you see? NEW whale research out today I took this photo back in 2017 off the heads of Sydney Harbour. McPhee-Frew et al. 2025 www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar [image or embed] Dr Vanessa Pirotta (@drvanessapirotta.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 4:20 AM Scientists say the results mean we must improve awareness of their expanded calving areas in order to protect baby whales. Hundreds of humpback calves were born well outside the established breeding grounds, said Dr. Tracey Rogers, senior author of the findings and a marine ecologist at University of New South Wales, in a press release from Frontiers. Giving birth along the humpback highway means these vulnerable calves, who are not yet strong swimmers, are required to swim long distances much earlier in life than if they were born in the breeding grounds. The new discovery calls into question much of the scientific understanding of the lives of humpbacks. It had been thought that humpbacks spent summers feeding on krill in the polar and subpolar waters of places like Alaska, Iceland and Southern Greenland, then migrated south to warmer waters in the Caribbean, off the coast of Mexico and in the Hawaiian Islands. Alongside my studies, I work as a marine guide, said lead author of the study Jane McPhee-Frew, a Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences at the University of New South Wales. In July 2023, during a whale-watching tour, I encountered a mum and calf at the mouth of Newcastle Harbor the busiest shipping port in Eastern Australia. The calf was tiny, obviously brand new. What were they doing there? But none of my tourism colleagues seemed surprised. Inspired by the sighting, researchers investigated the humpback whales calving range around New Zealand and Australia using citizen observations, reported strandings and government surveys. Data from migration surveys was supplied by New Zealands Department of Conservation Cook Strait Whale Project, and information on whale strandings as far back as 1991 was provided by Australian state wildlife departments. The research team found records of humpback whale calves that included 11 births, 168 observations of calves and 41 strandings. Information on 118 whales direction of travel showed they continued to migrate north after giving birth. Humpback whale populations undertake extensive long-distance migrations from the Southern Ocean to breeding grounds in the tropics, said co-author of the study Dr. Adelaide Dedden, a marine wildlife project officer with Australias National Parks and Wildlife Service. They rely heavily on body reserves from an enormous amount of Antarctic krill to support the physiological costs of the journey and reproduction. The highest latitude where a humpback whale calf was detected was at Port Arthur, Tasmania 932.1 miles further south than the researchers had previously thought humpbacks could calve. The highest-latitude birth that was recorded was witnessed at Kaikoura, New Zealand, slightly further north. A mother and baby whale swim at Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. Vanessa Risku Instagram: droning_my_sorrows Most observations of live humpback calves were recorded in 2016 and after, with two-thirds of them made in 2023 or 2024. Comparisons with whaling logbooks and historical texts indicated that calves born on the migration route had been observed before whaling decimated the population. I think its very likely that this pattern has always existed, but the low number of whales obscured it from view, McPhee-Frew explained. The Eastern Australia humpback population narrowly escaped extinction, but now there are 30, 40, or 50,000 in this population alone. It doesnt happen overnight, but the recovery of humpback whales, and the return of their full range of behaviors and distribution, just goes to show that with good policies built on good science we can have excellent outcomes. The study, Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) continue migration after giving birth in temperate waters in Australia and New Zealand, was published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Pollinators are essential for the reproduction of most plant species, including many major food crops, as well as for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. A new research review by scientists at Lund University in Sweden has found that in 90 percent of cases studied nocturnal pollinators like moths are just as important as bees and other daytime pollinators. The daily transition between day and night, known as the diel cycle, is characterised by significant shifts in environmental conditions and biological activity, both of which can affect crucial ecosystem functions like pollination, the authors of the findings wrote. Our synthesis revealed an overall lack of difference in pollination between day and night; many plant species (90% of studied spp.) exhibit similar pollination success across the diel cycle. For more than six decades, scientists have been trying to determine whether the pollination of plants happens mostly during daylight hours or at night, without any clear conclusion being reached, a press release from Lund University said. The research into diel pollination differences examined different pollination outcomes between night, day, open, and closed pollination treatments (A), progressed over time (B), occurred across a range of daylengths (C), temperature conditions, and elevations (D). The time series (B) shows the cumulative (line) and annual (bars) number of publications. Each studys daylength (C, hours) was computed using each studys location and median date. Daily temperature range and elevation (D) were extracted based on study location (see Methods). Ecology Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1111/ele.70036 Most people are aware of the importance of bees, butterflies and birds for plant reproduction and agriculture, but less attention has been given to pollinators who are active at night, like bats, nocturnal butterflies and moths. And these equally important pollinators dont just get less recognition they are also less protected than their daytime counterparts. The interest of Liam Kendall and Charlie Nicholson, researchers from Lund University, in nocturnal pollinators was piqued when they ran across studies exploring individual plant species that are pollinated in the daytime versus at night. They suspected that previous research might have overlooked nocturnal pollinators. Kendall and Nicholson put together data from 135 studies around the world and found that, of the 139 species of plants examined, 90 percent had similar reproductive success whether they were pollinated at night or during the day. We were definitely surprised by the number of plant species where it didnt matter. We found this really fascinating because its easy to assume that a specific plant needs a specific pollinator. The analysis actually showed almost the opposite theres much more flexibility. A different pollinator than expected can contribute enough for a plant species to reproduce, Kendall said. The results of the first-of-its-kind global meta-analysis bring up questions of human biases in science. Kendall hypothesized that many researchers have likely had a fixed idea of how pollination for certain plants should occur. Kendall also speculated that most people being active during daylight hours could lead to them overlooking what happens while theyre sleeping. We have this idea that all the magic happens during the day, because thats when were active, and thats when we see bees and butterflies fluttering around flowers, Kendall said. Kendall believes daytime pollinators being seen as beautiful is a factor as well. Bees are such a big part of our cultural identity. We learn that theyre important. And theyre fluffy and cute to look at. While moths I mean, they have their prettier cousins, the butterflies, which we love, but moths are gray and dusty, and they eat your clothes. How could they possibly do anything positive? Kendall added. Given human activitys pressure on biodiversity, the researchers said their study calls attention to the importance of considering daytime and nocturnal pollinators in conservation and agriculture. For example, Kendall said the life cycle of a moth is entirely different from that of a bee, so their ecological needs are different. The analysis shows that we need to change the way we think about how environments can support pollinators and biodiversity, Kendall said. And if pollination at night is really important, it becomes critical to avoid light pollution excessive or badly placed lighting that disturbs the natural environment. Actions are often taken to protect daytime pollinators, such as spraying pesticides at night. Theres an oversight there sure, youre protecting the daytime insects, but youre also, theoretically, harming the nocturnal pollinators. This means we could be doing much more, but we havent thought enough about it so far, and more research is needed, Kendall said. The study, Pollination Across the Diel Cycle: A Global Meta-Analysis, was published in the journal Ecology Letters. (Photo: Anna Rozkosny/WCC/Bread for the World)Rev. Kenneth Mtata of the World Council of Churches speaking in Berlin on May 18, 2025. Ecumenical groups have met 140 years after the Berlin Conference of 18841885, to acknowledge that the deep wounds of colonialism, served by the conference have not healed. The Berlin Conference is considered one of the most consequential geopolitical gatherings in modern history as it sought to carve up Africa for colonial interests. The World Council of Churches and its ecumenical partners, including the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Bread for the World (BftW), and the Association of Protestant Churches and Missions in Germany (EMW) convened this year's meeting on May 18. Rev. Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches program director for Life, Justice, and Peace, spoke of how political leaders met in Berlin 140 years ago to partition Africa. "They didn't want to have a conflict over how they were going to share the resources of Africa," said Mtata. "One of the major challenges of colonization was at the level of knowledge production: who knows, and how is that knowledge shared?" he said. Rev. Christopher Easthill, chair of the Council of Churches in Germany, reflected that many churches were complicit in the decisions at the Berlin Conference. "At a time when righting the wrongs of racism and colonialism itself is coming under significant pressure and criticism, and in fact even acknowledging the sinfulness of our colonialism is being attacked, this conference is very timely," he said. Speakers acknowledged that, while they cannot unmake the 1884-85 conference, they could remake the conference so that it sends a very different message. Rev. Dagmar Pruin, president of Bread for the World, a German Chrisitan advocacy agency said that the relationship between churches and colonialism is one that churches continue to examine with "honest humility and courage." "Our institutions, our way of working, and even our understanding of development have been shaped by colonial legacies," she said. "Acknowledging this is not about blameit is about responsibility." The 1884-1885 Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 formalized the partitioning of Africa, leading to significant colonial exploitation and the establishment of arbitrary borders across the continent. - OTTO VON BISMARK Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of Germany, organized the conference of 14 countries at the request of Leopold II of Belgium, according to Wikipedia. Thirteen countries were from Europe: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, and the United Kingdom. The only non-European country to attend was the United States. It met on Nov. 15, 1884 and, after an adjournment, concluded on Feb. 26 1885 with the signing of the General Act. By 1902, 90 percent of all the land that makes up Africa was under European control. Dr Silke Lechner, Protestant Church of Germany, a member of the EKD Council, and deputy commissioner for churches and religions for the City of Berlin, referred to the conference 140 years ago as a power grab. "The predecessors of the German churches have played a role in this development of racism," she said, suggesting that, 140 years later, churches turn that agenda upside down. As the international conference "Berlin 18841885 and Anti-Black Racism: In Search of a Shared Anti-Racist Ecumenical Vision" opened on May 18, those gathered in-person and online acknowledged that the deep wounds of colonialism carved 140 years ago "are not healed." (Photo: Stephen Brown / WCC) The 500th anniversary of the Christian Reformation in 2017 is to be profoundly ecumenical, with Pope Francis even taking part in a celebratory service with Lutherans in Sweden in October of this year. The Reformation anniversary will be both a European and international celebration, says Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Stephen Brown reports for the World Council of Churches. "With this clear distinction from all other commemorations of past centuries, we are sending a signal of reconciliation and a new beginning," Bedford-Strohm said. He was speaking at a May 9 press conference in Berlin announcing events leading up to the anniversary on Oct, 31, 2017. The commemoration marks the day in 1517 on which Martin Luther is said to have posted his 95 theses denouncing church abuses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther's actions set in motion events that led to the Reformation and the division of Western Christianity into Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. The events following the Reformation pitted Catholics and Protestants against one another for many years. In recent years, however, Roman Catholics and Lutherans have reached agreement on the doctrine of justification, a key dividing issue between the papacy and Luther and his followers, and many doctrinal differences should no longer have a church-dividing character, said Bedford-Strohm. CATHOLICS AND LUTHERANS REJOICING TOGETHER The Pope said in 2013 that confronting the historical reality of the Reformation is important as it enables Catholics and Lutherans to rejoice together "in the longing for unity which the Lord has awakened in our hearts, and which makes us look with hope to the future." The start of the year-long anniversary events will be marked in Germany on Oct. 31, 2016 with a service in Berlin. On the same day, Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, will celebrate an ecumenical service in Lund in Sweden, where the LWF was founded in 1947. They will pray for forgiveness and the healing of the wounds the confessions inflicted on each other over the centuries. "We will celebrate with them in Berlin," said Bedford-Strohm. "What follows Lund, what kind of dynamic might be started there, nobody knows," he underlined, saying he did "not exclude" a visit by Pope Francis to Germany. In autumn 2016, Protestant and Catholic leaders from Germany will undertake a common pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine to be reminded of the roots of their common faith. This will be followed in March 2017 by a joint service of penitence and reconciliation by the Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany. One of the central events in Germany during the Reformation year will be a Kirchentag, or church convention, in Berlin in May 2017, expected to gather 100,000 people. Thousands are expected to join the Kirchentag participants for an open-air service on May 28 in Wittenberg, about 62 miles (100 kilometres) south of Berlin. "Reformation means courageously seeking what is new and turning away from old, familiar customs," said Christina Aus der Au from Switzerland, president of the 2017 Kirchentag. At the same time, it means asking what sustains and holds people together when everything is changing, and when the world seems out of joint, she said. In his remarks, Bedford-Strohm underlined that the Reformation "is not just a German affair", pointing to the work of the 16th-century Reformers John Calvin in Geneva, Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich and Martin Bucer in Strasbourg, among others. The European dimension of the Reformation will be marked by a mobile story truck, "Stories on tour", that will start in Geneva on Nov. 3, 2016. It will follow a European roadmap linking 68 towns and cities with a Reformation connection in 19 countries before arriving at Wittenberg on May 20, 2017 for the start of a four-month World Reformation Exhibition, "Gates of Freedom". Here churches, organizations, groups and artists will present their perspectives on the Reformation. On Oct. 31, 2017 there is an official ceremony planned for Wittenberg. However, the focus will be on a "decentralised" commemoration, said Bedford-Strohm, with services in the various regional churches in Germany. Berlin after the fall of the Wall. (Photo: Raphael Thiemard) A display of "Christian hope and perseverance" is how one ecumenical leader describes the fall of the Berlin wall, an event that celebrated its 20th anniversary on Monday. "A movement that started with prayers and candle light vigils in the Saint Nicolas Church in the centre of Leipzig spread all over East Germany and inspired and encouraged people to confront the power of police and secret service in a very effective and peaceful way," said Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, secretary general for the World Council of Churches in a statement. "When we celebrate today twenty years of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which marked the end of the cold war era, let us remember the faith and the courage of all those people who gathered in the churches and became the nucleus for the movement of change," he continued. Speaking at an ecumenical worship service at Gethsemane Church in Berlin, just a short distance from the site of the fallen wall, head of the German Bishop's Conference Archbishop Robert Zollitsch gave comments saying, "We still feel today the gratitude and joyful amazement for this happening. What even only shortly before had seemed unthinkable became a reality." "The memory of Nov. 9, 1989 and no less the memory of the terrible events of the Night of Broken Glass on Nov. 9 (1938, against the Jews), teach us unequivocally: walls whether real or in people's heads do not solve any problems," Zollitsch said. "On the contrary, they create problems. They obstruct the future." Also speaking at the service, which was attended by German President Horst Kohler, was Berlin's Protestant Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who commented, "People had read the signs of the times; they showed civil courage and resisted intimidation, and did so without violence, but with candles and prayers." National celebrations were held for the historic event at Brandenburg Gate, where world leaders including UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. Secretar of State Hilary Clinton were in attendance. Spoilers for Wish World. Even the most daring artists, those that actively seek reinvention on a regular basis, will eventually wind up repeating themselves. If theyre lucky and self-aware, the artist may even get the chance to rehabilitate some of the lesser works in their canon. Sadly, its at this last hurdle that Russell T. Davies has fallen, with Wish World not quite able to do more than become a bizarro remake of The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords. James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf We open in Bavaria, 1865, where a cloak-wearing woman on horseback rides through a forest to a remote cabin. Its classic series villain the Rani, resurrected at the end of last weeks episode, who is greeted by Otto Zufall (German for coincidence), a storybook villager-type who expected to greet a midwife to help his ailing wife, Violett. Otto is the seventh son of a seventh son, who has just welcomed his seventh son into the world. Violet lays in bed cradling the newborn, which the Rani says is as the third-generation seventh son gifted with unbelievable power. She plucks the newborn from her arms, killing Violet by blowing on her, turning her into a pile of violet petals. She then blows on the other six children and turns them into ducks, and Otto into a wise owl. Then, were on Earth on May 23, 2025, where the happily married couple John Smith the Doctor and Belinda wake up side by side in bed. Their daughter, Poppy (from Space Babies and The Story and the Engine) pads in from her bedroom. The trio live as a picture of domestic bliss, with a distinctly fake-looking 60s style kitchen filled with bright colors. It may be the present day, but theres little-to-no tech on show except that every room has a 14-inch CRT TV that only plays a broadcast of Conrad (from Lucky Day) who tells them the whole world is going to have great weather that day. At breakfast, the Doctors mind wanders for a moment, and suddenly his mug (which was in the middle of the table) inexplicably smashes to the floor. Never mind, as theres a whole cupboard of matching mugs to replace the ones that fall during a slip. Each house even has a large, bright orange trash can just to get rid of the mugs that fall during a slip, including their next door neighbor, Mel. When the Doctor greets Mel, he asks what her plans are for May Day, and she says as an unmarried woman with no children, shell just sit inside in quiet contemplation. Looming over the heart of the city, taller than any skyscraper, is a structure made out of bone that stands tall on spindly spider legs. Similarly incongruous is a series of massive, dinosaur skeletons that stomp around the landscape. Well see later that the dinosaur skeletons dont actually interact with the world around them, phasing through the space below. The only person (for now) that doesnt seem to be affected is Ruby, who turns up at the Doctors house. She thinks she knows the Doctor, and Belinda, but cant quite work anything out, and then blurts out that they dont have a child when she sees Poppy. That prompts Belinda to call the police, as having doubt or sowing confusion is a crime here. The Doctor heads to work in UNIT HQ, suitably redecorated as a 1950s office despite the sci-fi trappings in the periphery. Kate Stewart is an officious boss, Colonel Ibrahim is the Doctors colleague and Susan Triad has been turned into the 60s tea-lady from The Devils Chord. Colonel Ibrahim still has the hots for Kate, but thinks that shes so far out of his league that shed never go out with him. The Doctor disagrees, saying that Ibrahim is a beautiful man, which prompts Ibrahim to get very angry. After all, it would be wrong, impossible or deviant for a man to find another man beautiful, even intellectually. But the Doctor manages to avoid having him call the secret police as the staff of the office all stop to spot the Rani flying by on her hover scooter, which they believe is a sign of good luck for May Day the following day (another deliberate incongruity given May Day takes place on May 1). The Rani lands on the spider skeleton / looming tower of doom, handing Mrs. Flood some Italian meat and tells her to make Conrad a sandwich. Hes up in the tower, as its his imagination that is shaping the world, with his regular broadcasts informing the people of his choices. But hes also nervous saying that the effort of maintaining a world is difficult since he has to run so many complex systems or else let whole nations be destroyed. It may be his imagination, but its being powered by the nameless baby from 1865, who never cries, just smiles. Conrad, being the shows avatar of so many alt-right figures, has built a reality to reflect his worldview. Heterosexuality is compulsory and loudly and rigidly enforced, there is a secret police ready to seize anyone off the street at a moments notice and everyone is constantly asked to inform on their family members. The culture of paranoia is rife. It also explains why Mel, as an unmarried and child-free woman, is expected to sit away and quietly contemplate her implicitly-poor choices, because naturally Conrad only values women for their utility, birthing and taking care of men, rather than as people with their own agency. Even Mrs. Flood, a Time Lady in her own right and the architect of this whole scheme, is relegated to the thankless role of mother. James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf His regular broadcasts are even used to taunt the Doctor, reading a story about the Doctor from a book that apes the original British Harry Potter covers. It is, without a doubt, intentional that Davies would make his alt-right villain a fan of the series in 2025. Meanwhile, Belinda remains at home looking after Poppy, and gets a visit from her mum and grandmother. They are talking about motherhood, and the fact Poppy is expected to grow up and become an obedient wife to her husband. But when Belindas grandmother asks how long Belindas labor took, she cant remember prompting a small crisis of her own. Theres one UNIT regular who isnt up in the office, Shirley Bingham, who is in a wheelchair begging out on the street. Conrads worldview has no room for people with disabilities (or queer and gender non-conforming people) and so shes homeless. Ruby initially brushes her pleas for money away before stopping and realizing that shes met them before. Ruby is taken to a hidden homeless encampment where the ignored have gathered to create some sort of community. Ruby explains to them what they already know something about all of this is wrong, and that shes lived through 2025 already (during 73 Yards) and it didnt play out like this. Shirley has a plan to bring down Conrad, and Ruby wants in, saying that if she can get face to face with him, shell be able to remember whats locked in the back of her mind. That night, the Doctor is at home, furrowing his brow, and in the background Susan appears on his TV in a brief flash. But she quickly disappears, only to be replaced by Rogue (Jonathan Groff, from last seasons Rogue) who only has time to tell the Doctor two things. First, tables dont do that, and that he loves him. Belinda wakes up to the sound of mugs smashing, as the Doctor experiments every time he feels doubt, a mug falls through the solid wood onto the floor. Belinda can see whats going on, but is horrified enough to call the police and get them to arrest the Doctor for having doubts. But Mrs. Flood doesn't just arrest the Doctor, she hauls Belindas mom there to look after Poppy so Belinda can be arrested too. Shirley and Ruby are camped out below the stone tower, and Shirley pulls out a UNIT tablet thats a relic from the old world. Up in the tower, the Doctor and Belinda are pushed over a threshold and into the safety of the Ranis lair. But the pair still dont have their memories, and so are confused when the Rani starts expositing at them, at length. She points out the seal of Rassilon, and asks if that jogs his memory to no avail, similarly her robot assistants that are looking for signs of doubt among the population. The Rani even dances under a disco ball to a dumbfounded Doctor, who just pleads for mercy. The Rani explains, in a way that made no sense to me at least, that all of the villains the Doctor ever faced wanted death, but her, who wants life. She somehow survived all the various destructions of Gallifrey and is now looking for a lost soul in the heretofore unknown underverse. She achieved this by, uh, blocking the Doctors route back to Earth and instead, forcing him to criss-cross around the universe with the Vindicator. Each reading the machine took was, in fact, creating a universe-wide network of power all feeding back to the Earth. As the Doctors memory returns, the Rani explains that being trapped in Conrads reality was to create and foster doubt. Much in the same way a human beings doubt can damage their world, a Time Lords doubt should be enough to crack open the universe. As the clock ticks closer to midnight, she sends Belinda back outside the bone tower to her doom. Then, the Rani locks the Doctor on the bone towers balcony to witness as London is swallowed by a series of enormous black voids with only remnants emerging from the other side (such as the burned Black Cab at the end of The Robot Revolution). Why? Because the lost soul, trapped in the underverse shes desperate to reach, is Omega. The Doctor, trapped on the balcony, tries to break back into the tower and stop the Rani but its too late. She has laid explosive charges and when they blow, the balcony tumbles down toward the void beneath. But the Doctor screams, Poppy is real! Dont you know what that means? as he tumbles into the darkness. To. Be. Continued. Tables dont do that. James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf If theres one thing Russell T. Davies doesnt do well, its narrative coherence in the run-up to his big finales. Problems and solutions are equally contrived, pulled out of left field and generally dont stand up to much scrutiny. In his mind thats okay because what interests him is the emotional resonance and character moments created by that drama. Given hes one of the few name brand writers in the UK, its not as if this approach hasnt been enormously successful. But it does make Wish World a frustrating beast since it is, as usual, playing with so many good ideas it squanders most of them. That wouldnt be so bad, but for the episodes conclusion being handed over to incoherent technobabble. It doesnt help this is the second series in a row that hinges on the audience recognizing the significance of a villain not properly* seen on screen for more than four decades. Its worth looking at the first two thirds separate from the last, since theres so much good stuff early on. One of Davies usual fixations is on the rise of middle-class British fascism, and the moments when were just inhabiting Conrads world are wonderful. This time, its centered on the stultifying environment for the so-called respectable types, whose position and status are perpetually tenuous. The paranoia that manifests out of that means everyone is looking for signs of deviance in their own communities. Those deemed unfit, especially people with disabilities and queer folks, are rendered as un-persons, invisible, shunned and isolated. Wish World picks up on another recurring theme in the show, which is to ask what happens after the war has ended . Conrads utopia may have lovely weather, but everyone is dressed in uncomfortable clothes and at perpetual risk of being kidnapped off the street by police. If I have a nitpick (and I do) its that I wish we hadnt needed to see the Ranis baby kidnapping in the opener. Starting with the Doctor and Belinda waking up as a married couple would have been a bigger shock. And its a shame the episode cant commit hard enough to the were trapped in a bizarro world bit as Ruby turns up so quickly to let the audience know Things Are Awry. Imagine if the first twenty minutes had played out just from John Smith, or Belinda, or Rubys perspective and the creeping horror as they realized what was wrong. Sadly, its the usual problem of having maybe 30 minutes at most to gesture to those ideas rather than explore them. Because we then have to stop the episode to get Ncuti Gatwa to look perplexed while the Rani spouts nonsense at him. Her evil plan doesnt stand up to much scrutiny even as we're being told it. After all, why does she need the Doctor to leap between planets when she has her own TARDIS? And if all it takes is a Time Lords doubt to rip open the universe, she could have easily done that herself. Its not as if the Doctor is affected by the doubt since hes able to carry on until the Rani explodes the balcony and casts him into the void. Oh, theres one thing thats good in those last moments the scene of the Doctor realizing something about Poppy is a nice hook into the finale. James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf I dont get why the Rani would be motivated to go looking for Omega, the scientist who helped co-found Time Lord society. If Rassilon was the political mind, Omega was the engineer who created the power to make it all happen. He created the stellar manipulator that put a stable black hole at the heart of Gallifrey the Eye of Harmony to power its TARDISes. Omegas backstory was flimsy in his two televised appearances, essentially being an overpowered villain for the Doctor(s) to battle in two different anniversary specials, The Three Doctors and Arc of Infinity. The rest of his backstory was filled out in the spin-off material, but hes essentially just a big name baddie trotted out when, say, the Master wouldnt cut it. There are thematic parallels between Omega and Conrad, however, since Omegas antimatter universe was sustained entirely by his will and imagination. Is that a comment on something, or just a nice way of dovetailing toward Omega. Who knows? Im not sure I do. Its hard not to notice the extreme similarities between Wish World and The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords, including the fact both stories got started in the previous episode. For a start, theres the whole Britain-under fascism angle, with the Doctor incapacitated by the villain. Not to mention both feature a sequence in which a Gallifreyan foe taunts our hero with a high camp dancing sequence in a room hovering above the sky . If theres a shame, its that while the runtime has been cut in half, the actual quality of the denouement seems to have gotten worse. Oh, it was nice to see the seal of the Prydonian Chapter of the Time Lords of Gallifrey Seal of Rassilon on the wall of the Ranis HQ. The bronze and red stylings looked gorgeous and while Im never going to bang on about fan service in production design, it was lovely to see. And wasnt it nice to get a bone structure hovering over London which is an unintentional callback to The Ancestor Cell. Just a shame that youre then reminded that the book was designed to burn all the great ideas created by Lawrence Miles out of Doctor Who. After all, Miles has been at times the most interesting writer the series leadership refused to engage with. * Yes, I know Omega and Rassilon are standing beside Tecteun in The Timeless Children. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer convicted in the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of "Rust," has been released from prison. She had been serving time after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The New Mexico Corrections Department confirmed Gutierrez-Reed, 28, was released on May 23 under "dual supervision," meaning she will be monitored on both parole and probation, Enews said. Her release took place in Arizona, near the California and Nevada borders. Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced in April 2024 to 18 months in prison after a jury ruled that her actions as armorer led to a deadly mistake. A judge said she "turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon," referencing the prop gun actor Alec Baldwin was holding when it fired a live round, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. "You were the one that stood between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone," the judge told her during sentencing. Her case was labeled a "serious violent offense," which meant she had to serve at least 85% of her sentence. Breaking Rust news! Hannah has been released from prison and granted parole. Her early release coincides with Judge Mary's retirement this month. Her appeals case was assigned to the COA general calendar last month. https://t.co/pJSrDtElLc Rust Trial (@RustTrial) May 24, 2025 Read more: DDG Slammed for New Tory Lanez Collab the Convicted Felon Recorded Over the Phone from Prison Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Out of Prison, Now Under Supervision Corrections officials said Gutierrez-Reed earned early release through good behavior credits, program completions, and time served before sentencing. The tragic shooting occurred during rehearsals at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County. Baldwin, who starred in and produced the Western film, was holding the gun that discharged. Though he was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, the case against him was dismissed in July 2024. A judge found that state prosecutors had hidden evidence that might have helped Baldwin's defense. That evidence included live ammunition given to a crime scene technician by a friend of Gutierrez-Reed's father, veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reed. Baldwin's legal team said they were never told about the bullets, which they believed could have helped prove Baldwin wasn't at fault. According to NBC News, during her trial, special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey argued that Gutierrez-Reed was "negligent, careless, and thoughtless" in her duties. Director Joel Souza also said she made several mistakes when handling and storing firearms on set. Gutierrez-Reed, who had pleaded not guilty, became emotional at times during the trial. She is now serving her remaining time under supervision and has also been sentenced to probation in a separate case involving a firearm at a liquor-licensed business. Nearly a decade after Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in a Paris hotel, eight people have been found guilty of crimes connected to the high-profile heist. Now, the reality star and businesswoman is speaking publicly about the verdicts. "I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case," Kardashian said in a statement. "The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family. While I'll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability." On the night of October 3, 2016, Kim Kardashian experienced a terrifying incident while staying alone in her hotel suite during Paris Fashion Week. A group of armed men, disguised as police officers, broke in and robbed her. According to the BBC, they tied her up, held a gun to her back, and took nearly $10 million worth of jewelryincluding a 20-carat diamond ring from then-husband Kanye West. The robbers left her bound in the bathroom while they fled the scene. "I absolutely did think I was gonna die," Kardashian testified earlier this month. She also said she prayed for her loved ones, thinking of her mother, Kris Jenner, and sister, Kourtney, who were also in Paris at the time. Kim Kardashian trial: Eight found guilty in 2016 robbery at gunpoint in Paris hotel heisthttps://t.co/AinUj0dyLX ITV News (@itvnews) May 23, 2025 Kim Kardashian Escapes After Paris Robbery, Forgives Apologizing Robber Kardashian managed to escape after the robbers left by removing the tape from her hands and calling for help from the balcony of her friend Simone Harouche's room. She later told the court that although she forgives one of the robbers who apologized, her trauma remains. The trial ended on May 23 with eight convictions. Aomar Ait Khedache, identified as the leader of the group responsible for the 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian in a Paris hotel, has been convicted. He was found guilty of armed theft. He received an eight-year sentence, but like most of the convictedwho are now elderlyhe won't return to prison due to time already served. French media dubbed the group the "Grandpa Robbers" due to most of the members being in their 60s and 70s. The court acknowledged their poor health, choosing not to send them back to prison. In the latest development of the 2016 Kim Kardashian robbery case, the court acquitted two individuals who had been accused of helping plan and carry out the crime. Kim Kardashian's legal team welcomed the court's decision in the robbery case, expressing gratitude toward the French authorities for their respectful handling of the situation. They noted that Kim is relieved by the outcome and is ready to move on from the traumatic event. According to ENews, despite the trauma, Kardashian said she remains committed to helping others. "I will continue working to improve the criminal justice system," she added, "on behalf of victims, the innocent, and those seeking redemption." Prince Harry's recent visit to the UK took an unexpected turn after he was spotted knocking on strangers' doors in a London neighborhood. The Duke of Sussex, 40, was reportedly searching for the home of a close friendwithout his usual security teamjust hours after appearing in court over a legal battle tied to his personal protection in the UK. Residents were startled to see the royal figure, dressed in a dark blue suit, captured on a doorbell camera. The same suit was worn by Harry earlier that day during his court appearance regarding the UK government's decision to downgrade his security. "He rang one doorbell, was told it was the wrong house, and left immediately," a source close to the situation told Radar Online. "There's nothing suspicious. There were no drugs. No meltdown." According to insiders, Harry was trying to reconnect with a friend he hadn't seen in a while and was "just trying to have dinner with people he cared about." Prince Harry caught on doorbell cam knocking on wrong door as he wondered around a street in London, knocking on 3 separate doors looking for a friend. It comes amid the Prince saying he felt unsafe in the UK after losing his special armed police protection after he quit his pic.twitter.com/3k9YiYdskJ Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 10, 2025 Security Concerns Remain a Point of Tension The incident comes on the heels of Harry's legal defeat in his attempt to overturn a decision by the UK Home Office that downgraded his level of police protection after he stepped back from royal duties in 2020. The May 2 ruling by a High Court judge concluded that Harry's "sense of grievance" over how the decision was made did not provide grounds for a successful appeal. His legal team had argued that he had been "singled out" and subjected to "inferior treatment" compared to other public figures. Following the ruling, Harry said he no longer sees a future for his family in the UK. "I can't see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point," he said in an interview. "I'm devastated, not so much as devastated with the loss that I am about the people behind the decision, feeling as though this is okay. Is it a win for them?" A neighbor whose housekeeper encountered Harry described the experience as unexpected. "We were shocked to see it was him on the camera," they said. "We only really noticed once neighbors started talking, and then we were like, 'Oh yes!'" Another resident remarked, "Two of the houses he knocked at are at completely opposite ends of the road, which is about half a mile long. It's a bit odd that he didn't seem to have a clue which house he was aiming for. I don't think many people would just walk down a road knocking on doors, let alone if you don't feel safe." Harry's ongoing tensions with the royal family also remain unresolved. He revealed that his father, King Charles III, who was diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, "won't speak to me because of this security stuff." Still, the Duke of Sussex says he remains hopeful about reconciliation. "I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point in continuing to fight anymore," he said. "I don't know how much longer my father has." Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, currently reside in California with their two children. Support Us Your Support will ensure EPWs financial viability and sustainability. The EPW produces independent and public-spirited scholarship and analyses of contemporary affairs every week. EPW is one of the few publications that keep alive the spirit of intellectual inquiry in the Indian media. Often described as a publication with a social conscience, EPW has never shied away from taking strong editorial positions. Our publication is free from political pressure, or commercial interests. Our editorial independence is our pride. We rely on your support to continue the endeavour of highlighting the challenges faced by the disadvantaged, writings from the margins, and scholarship on the most pertinent issues that concern contemporary Indian society. Every contribution is valuable for our future. You Might Also Like Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far. You Might Also Like Two days after British Prime Minister Starmer, along with the leaders of France and Canada, repeated calls for a ceasefire among hostilities in Gaza, Israels Benjamin Netanyahu said the leaders were on the wrong side of history. (The Center Square) President Joe Bidens cancer diagnosis and ongoing mental decline has sparked a firestorm of controversy and criticism for the Biden family, the media, and the Democratic staffers who allegedly helped cover up the former presidents condition. President Donald Trump said this week he was surprised the public wasnt notified a long time ago given how far Bidens cancer has progressed. A Biden spokesperson pushed back on these allegations, saying that the president did not hide a cancer diagnosis. Critics say Biden would have known sooner given how far along the cancer has progressed. Notably, in a viral moment caught on camera in July 2022, Biden appeared to tell the audience present that he had cancer before the White House later followed up to say Biden misspoke. "That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer and why for the longest time Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation, Biden said during his remarks when referring to oil refinery emissions near his childhood home in Delaware. As The Center Square previously reported, Vice President JD Vance told reporters that the American people should have had more transparency about the presidents health last year. In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him, Vance said. "You can separate the desire for him to have the right health outcome with the recognition that whether it was doctors or whether there were staffers around the former president, I don't think he was able to do a good job for the American people. And that's not politics. That's not because I disagreed with him on policy. That's because I don't think that he was in good enough health." On Bidens mental health, the mainstream media in particular has taken criticism for downplaying Bidens decline. The mental decline was often on display as the president stumbled through speeches and often seemed confused or unsure of where to go after speaking. Eventually, his condition became impossible to ignore during a presidential debate with Trump last summer, effectively ending Bidens presidential campaign as Democrats and the mainstream media turned against him. Biden appeared better on some days and worse on others. Special Counsel Robert Hur released a report in February 2024 calling Biden an elderly man with a poor memory. Hur had been tasked with investigating Bidens handling of classified documents but reported on Bidens apparent mental deficiencies during questioning, saying Biden had trouble remembering key events in his life. "In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden's memory was worse," the report said. "He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended ('if it was 2013 - when did I stop being Vice President?'), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began ('in 2009, am I still Vice President?')" Biden served as vice president in the administration of then-President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. After the report was released, Biden held a news conference insisting his memory was fine. "He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died," the report continued. "And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he 'had a real difference' of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Eiden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama." House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., called this week for transcribed interviews with the White House doctor and top Biden officials in his investigation into the alleged coverup of Bidens mental decline, as The Center Square previously reported. Comer called for transcribed interviews with Bidens Physician Dr. Kevin OConnor; former Director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden; former Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the First Lady Anthony Bernal; former Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini; and former Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations Ashley Williams. In the last Congress, the Biden White House blocked these individuals from providing testimony to the Oversight Committee as part of the effort to cover-up Bidens declining health, Comer said. Any continued obstruction will be met with swift and decisive action. The American people demand transparency and accountability now. Gallatin County Courthouse in Bozeman. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) A Gallatin County Commissioner described a scalding letter from the attorney general about a local legal opinion as political theater and said Friday the county has had the longest-standing agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of any county in Montana. Wednesday, Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the Gallatin County Commissioners criticizing a legal opinion which Knudsen put inside quotations as legal opinion by Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell. The April 24 opinion from Cromwell argued against entering into an agreement with ICE to detain undocumented immigrants from across the state at the Gallatin County Detention Center. Cromwell said doing so would raise constitutional and legal questions and potentially cost taxpayers millions of dollars. The Trump administration has been aggressive in pursuing, and in some cases deporting, immigrants nationwide, including in Montana, as the president pledged to do in his campaign. In March, MTN News reported that ICE detained 17 immigrants it described as undocumented in Bigfork. In some cases, judges have found authorities under Trump acted without due process and deported people illegally, including legal immigrants and even U.S. citizens. A New York Times analysis said illegal deportations are difficult to undo. But immigration is a political hot button, and in his criticism of the Gallatin prosecutor, Knudsen said the American people sent Donald Trump back to the White House to secure our border, and Montanans want state officials to support his agenda, not undermine it. At its core, the Cromwell Opinion is an endorsement of the disastrous open border policies of the Biden administration, Knudsen said in his letter. In a 2024 report, the Pew Research Center said unauthorized immigrants hit a 12.2 million peak in 2007 and, after a downward trend, crept up again in recent years to 11.1 million in 2022, and likely higher since then. My office fought back against these destructive policies for four long years, and I refuse to stand by as feckless left-wing prosecutors attempt to subvert the will of the people and put dangerous criminals back on the streets, Knudsen wrote. In response, Cromwell said in a statement that Gallatin County already participates in a program, known as the federal 287(g) program, that ensures undocumented individuals charged with a crime in Gallatin County are immediately flagged and held for ICE. The 287(g) program authorizes local law enforcement officials to perform specific immigration duties under the agencys oversight. Given constitutional concerns regarding due process, significant legal liability, and added strain on overburdened County resources, I stand by my legal opinion, which advises the Commission against entering into an additional agreement with ICE to detain non-local undocumented immigrants in the Gallatin County Detention Center, Cromwell said. Her legal opinion said earlier this year, a court found Suffolk County in New York responsible for $60 million in a class action lawsuit that found unconstitutional detention practices of undocumented immigrants. The county is appealing the decision, according to a local news report. Gallatin County Commissioners said they already cooperate with ICE on immigration and will continue to work closely with the Gallatin County Attorney, who was elected by our community. And we will continue supporting the Sheriff and his dedicated team of public safety heroes, Commissioners said in a statement. In an interview Friday, Gallatin County Commissioner Zach Brown said under the existing agreement, Gallatin County already temporarily holds detainees for ICE to pick up when an immigration flag comes up during booking. Thats a legal framework that is in place and has been in place for a long time, Brown said. Cromwells opinion said 1.4% of the county jail population has been flagged for ICE holds over the last year. Brown also said he wanted to cut through some of the rhetoric around immigration. For one, Brown said the president and the attorney general are conflating civil and criminal law and doing so intentionally. In other words, he said, local government and county law enforcement handle criminal offenses, but federal civil procedures govern people whose immigration status is questioned. County facilities and services arent designed, funded or empowered to execute federal civil procedures, he said. Rhetoric, including from President Trump, implies that every illegal person is a criminal, he said, but thats not necessarily true. If someone has an immigration issue, that does not make them inherently a criminal under American federal law, Brown said. However, he also said Gallatin County has made record investments in public safety, including in salaries, new positions, and equipment, and resources for the drug task force, courts, and on and on. That trajectory and commitment to law enforcement is really strong with this commission and within this community, Brown said. In February, MTN News reported ICE agents arrested six alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Gallatin County. At the time, Sheriff Dan Springer told MTN News law enforcement had been working to combat the gang and had been successful given no violent incidents had been reported. Springer could not be reached by voicemail Friday for an update. Cromwells opinion said those people were held solely on ICE detainers and not on criminal charges, and the situation demonstrates the risk that counties may inadvertently hold people without due process. Brown also pointed to statistics that show Gallatin County has the second lowest crime rate among urban counties in Montana, only behind Flathead County. Citing the Montana Board of Crime Control, he said Gallatin had 540 incidents per 10,000 in 2023, the most recent data available, compared to 1,100 per 10,000 in Cascade County, reporting the highest number per capita. Info Box Crime per capita Reported Crime incidents per 10,000 in 2023 (urban counties), according to the Montana Board of Crime Control: Cascade County 1,100 Yellowstone County 887 Missoula County 865 Butte-Silverbow 640 Lewis & Clark County 632 Ravalli County 565 Gallatin County 540 Flathead County 487 Source: Gallatin County Commissioner, citing Montana Board of Crime Control Dashboard. Brown also said that at its root, immigration is squarely a federal issue, and an argument about a county contract, a minor, minor issue, is a distraction from the fact that Congress hasnt taken action on immigration reform since 1986. Its infuriating that these issues are getting talked about at the local government level. Just that, in and of itself, is political theater, Brown said. He said local government is at the behest of the federal government when it comes to immigration, its experienced whiplash upon changes in administration, and it will continue without action. Congress is allowing the executive branch to make policy on immigration law, and thats not the executives job under the constitution and our form of government, Brown said. He called on Montanas congressional delegation to legislate, and he said the dispute over the additional agreement between ICE and Gallatin County is just a symptom of the disease. The cancer in the system is Congress inaction. So Congress needs to get off their butt and do their job, Brown said. U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy are from Bozeman in Gallatin County and could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. However, in remarks three weeks ago and posted on his Facebook page, Daines said presidential leadership matters. He said law enforcement officers in Bozeman told him they werent getting any response from ICE under the Biden administration, and that changed right after Trump was sworn into office. Within 30 days, those ICE agents swarmed and got those TDA (Tren de Aragua) guys apprehended and deported from our country. That directly affects my hometown of Bozeman, Daines said. In his letter, Knudsen, said the horrors arent hypothetical. In his letter, he said under the Biden administration, the state Crime Lab reported 262 fentanyl-linked deaths in Montana, and he said 100% of illicit fentanyl seized in Montana is trafficked across the border. In one Gallatin County operation conducted in March, three illegal immigrants were arrested on drug-related charges and methamphetamine, cocaine, cash and four vehicles were seized, Knudsen said. He also said earlier this year, the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area seized 9,400 carfentanil pills in Billings, just a couple of hours away from Gallatin County. He said carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, making it even more dangerous and deadly. In what has become a rarity in todays polarized political landscape, Republican and Democratic legislators came together for a town hall in Bozeman on Friday to tout bipartisanship that has left Montanas GOP leadership scrambling. Democrat Sens. Cora Neumann and Pat Flowers joined Republican Sens. Shelley Vance, Josh Kassmier and Wendy McKamey at the Tune Up bar beneath the Kimpton Armory Hotel to discuss their unexpected working relationship. This past session, the Republican Senate majority found itself in an awkward position as several of its moderate members, known as The Nine, began working with Democrats on key issues, effectively forming a new majority. This led to Medicaid expansion, the passing of the state budget and establishing a child tax credit. At the Friday meeting, the full room celebrated the bipartisanship as a win for Montana, resurrecting glimpses of its more purple political past. At the same time, the Republicans justified their actions as voting for their constituents rather than falling in line with leadership. This group is the Montana I grew up in, said Neumann, of Bozeman. This group is people who vote their conscience, vote for their constituents, vote for whats right for Montana. All three Republicans Kassmier of Fort Benton, Vance of Belgrade and McKamey of Great Falls were censured by the Montana GOP earlier this year, accused of obstructing key Republican priorities. The Gallatin County Republicans, a local chapter, also censured Vance, who has filed for reelection in 2026. The bipartisan relationship began in early January at the start of the legislative session. The Nine joined Democrats on a motion introduced by Flowers to reverse committee assignments that would have stripped moderate Republicans of more influence. I introduced a motion to adopt temporary rules, said Flowers, of Belgrade. In those, we made new committee assignments that gave Republicans who were feeling disenfranchised more meaningful committee assignments. From there, and throughout the session, that bipartisanship grew as the Republican leadership continued to grow more frustrated and key GOP issues were blocked, including creating an unlimited wolf hunting season and making judicial elections partisan. It led to us being censured, Kassmier said. It wasnt about how they keep saying it was us voting with the Democrats, it was about them wanting total power of the Senate. The Nine didnt only vote with Democrats. They often sided with their GOP colleagues, including enacting strict sex segregation in bathrooms, which impacts transgender people, and supporting anti-abortion bills. You guys voted with us, we didnt vote with you, McKamey said Friday to Neumann, Flowers and the Montana Democrats. The overall gist for the Republicans was that their actions had more to do with frustrations over their partys leadership demands to vote on ideology rather than smart policy. And for it, we got beat up pretty hard, Kassmier said. Party leadership wanted us to vote with leadership all the time. But (if thats the case) I might as well stay home and spend time with my family and Zoom in. McKamey and Vance agreed, acknowledging that despite a Republican governor, House and Senate, infighting remained. They wanted to take away the power of the other two co-equal branches, the executive branch and judicial branch, McKamey said. The legislative branch should not have total control over absolutely everything and thats really important. Added Kassmier: They just got hotter and hotter and madder and madder because we would not follow leadership. Well, thats not what Montanans sent us there to do. We were sent there to find solutions. Im still a conservative Republican and Im going to vote my principles, but you got to treat people fairly. Sen. Matt Regier, the Republican majority leader, referred to the bipartisan relationship as a gut punch in an interview with the New York Times. Neumann and Flowers, who have touted the bipartisan relationship as a positive for Montana, remain conscientious that the relationship remains fragile and cognizant that they didnt always get what they wanted. Yet, on key issues that mattered most to them, it appears working with The Nine paid off. We found common ground and when you compromise neither side is 100% happy, Neumann said. There are things that both sides have to give up to come together, but that is what Montana is. The second round of negotiations on a Vietnam-US reciprocal trade agreement concluded in Washington, DC, yesterday. In talks spanning three days, both sides clarified the content of the draft agreement and discussed a comprehensive approach to addressing fundamental issues of mutual concern to accelerate the negotiation process, Vietnamese media outlets reported. The second round of talks on a Vietnam-US reciprocal trade agreement concluded yesterday. Both sides clarified the content of the draft agreement and discussed a comprehensive approach to addressing fundamental issues of mutual concern to accelerate the negotiation process. USTR Jamieson Greer and Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien led their respective delegations. US trade representative Jamieson Greer and Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien led their respective delegations. Greer was hopeful that both sides will continue technical-level discussions to achieve results at the earliest. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2025) - Canadian Critical Minerals Inc. (TSXV: CCMI) (OTCQB: RIINF) ("CCMI" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its application to restart the Bull River Mine ("BRM") project near Cranbrook, BC. Further to discussion with the Major Mines Permitting Office of the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals of British Columbia ("MMCM"), the Company has decided to modify its current application to restart the BRM project by combining project phases into one application. If approved, this will allow the Company to restart underground mining and milling operations at the same time. To-date the Company has advanced its application to restart the BRM project in a phased approach in order to reduce the costs associated with completion of all detailed engineering studies in support of the application. The Company is currently working with consultants to complete its application to restart the BRM mine and mill. Moose Mountain Technical Services has been engaged to provide a detailed underground mine plan with estimated completion by early August 2025. ALS Metallurgical Services has been engaged to conduct humidity cell testing on tailings that are planned to be produced from milling operations. This is follow-up work from a previous humidity cell testing program already completed. Humidity cell testing in a laboratory environment simulates the expected metal leaching from a tailings storage facility over time. Previously, the Company completed a detailed design of its proposed filtered tailings facility using Stantec Engineering. Once all engineering reports are complete, the Company plans to incorporate them into a Final Permit Application and make its submission to MMCM in Q1 2026. Originally, under phase one of the restart, the Company sought permission to restart the past-producing BRM project by processing a large 180,000 tonne surface stockpile of mineralized material through its existing 700 tonne per day conventional mill and deposit tailings on surface in a dry stack or filtered tailings facility. Under phase two, the Company plans to seek permission to restart underground mining, continue to use the 700 tonne per day mill and begin sending filtered tailings back to the underground as cemented backfill. In April 2024, the Company began selling preconcentrated copper, gold and silver mineralized material that has been upgraded through an ore sorter to New Afton under an Ore Purchase Agreement ("OPA"). To-date the Company has crushed and screened the entire surface stockpile and trucked approximately 7,900 tonnes of pre-concentrated mineralized material to New Afton. The Company expects to send an additional 2,100 tonnes of mineralized material to New Afton by the end of August 2025. The remaining 170,000 tonnes of mineralized fines and rejects from the crushing, screening and sorting of the surface stockpile will remain at the BRM and will provide an initial feed to the BRM mill for approximately eight months following restart of operations. Revenues from the OPA have allowed the Company to significantly reduce payables, offset the costs of care and maintenance and pay for the additional costs associated with the permit applications without incurring additional dilution to shareholders. With the Company's improved financial position, all remaining engineering studies can be completed in a more sequential and expedited manner. The BRM project has over $100 million of usable infrastructure and is already connected to grid power and all-weather roads. The BRM is being maintained in a dewatered condition with over 22,000 metres of underground workings readily accessible from surface to a depth of 350 metres. Ian Berzins, President and CEO of CCMI commented, "Revenues generated from the sale of a portion of our stockpiled mineralized material have improved the Company's ability to advance the permitting process in a more expedited manner. The provincial government has stated the importance of bringing on new projects in the critical minerals space. The past-producing BRM project is one of the most advanced mining projects in British Columbia currently not in production. Combining both phases under one application should result in better use of resources by First Nations and regulators in the consultation, engagement and review process." About Canadian Critical Minerals Inc. CCMI is a mining company primarily focused on copper production assets in Canada. CCMI's main asset is the 100% owned Bull River Mine project (150 million lbs of copper) near Cranbrook, British Columbia which has a Mineral Resource containing copper, gold and silver. CCMI also owns a 10% interest in XXIX Metal Corp. which holds a 100% interest in the Thierry copper project near Pickle Lake, Ontario and a 100% interest in the Opemiska copper project near Chapais-Chibougamau, Quebec. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about strategic plans, future work programs and objectives and expected results from such work programs. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; and other risks. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information and the risks identified in the Company's continuous disclosure record. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this news release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this new release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/253333 SOURCE: Canadian Critical Minerals Inc. EQS Newswire / 24/05/2025 / 10:00 CET/CEST HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 24 May 2025 - Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), John Lee, hailed as a "success" his recent visit to the Middle East (May 10-15), where he led a delegation of more than 50 business leaders and entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Mainland China on a visit to Qatar and Kuwait. "This Middle East visit has elevated Hong Kong's relations with Qatar and Kuwait to a new level, bringing more business opportunities to Hong Kong," Mr Lee said. Summing up the trip, the Chief Executive said the delegation had achieved three key objectives: to strengthen government-to-government relations; to find new areas of collaboration; and to make friends and extend networks in the region. "We share a common commitment to deepening bilateral co-operation in trade, investment and cultural exchanges," Mr Lee said, noting his roundtable discussion with senior Kuwaiti officials hosted by the Acting Prime Minister of Kuwait His Excellency Sheikh Fahad Yousuf Saud Al-Sabah. The Chief Executive highlighted six particularly successful areas of the trip. First, strengthening relations with the governments of Qatar and Kuwait, and building consensus for collaboration. Second, reaching a total of 59 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and agreements (35 in Qatar and 24 in Kuwait), laying a diversified foundation for multifaceted co-operation. Third, leveraging Hong Kong's strengths under "one country, two systems" as a "super connector" and "super value-adder", bridging global opportunities and linking the Mainland and the world. Fourth, bolstering ties between Hong Kong and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. The Chief Executive, together with his previous Middle East mission to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2023, has visited four of the six GCC member states. "The HKSAR Government is now actively exploring a free trade agreement with the GCC to further access this vital market," Mr Lee said. Fifth, deepening mutual understanding and strengthening business networks and connections by promoting the strengths and opportunities of Hong Kong and Mainland China to partners in Qatar and Kuwait. Sixth, advancing cultural exchanges and people-to-people connections with GCC countries. "Middle East countries are seeking diversification of risks and looking for opportunities in (Mainland) China and the HKSAR in order to join the tide of the global economic shift towards the East," Mr Lee said. "In this, Hong Kong has boundless opportunities." Hashtag: hongkong brandhongkong asiasworldcity collaboration partnering middleeast beltandroad kuwait qatar The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. News Source: Information Services Department, Hong Kong SAR Government 24/05/2025 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Media archive at www.todayir.com A few tips to enhance your travel experience along the Indiana Toll Road ELKHART, INDIANA / ACCESS Newswire / May 24, 2025 / As the summer travel season approaches, ITR Concession Co. LLC (ITRCC), the concessionaire and operator of the Indiana Toll Road, is reminding motorists to take a few simple steps to make travel smoother and more efficient for everyone. E-ZPass customers are encouraged to double-check their account status at least 72 hours prior to hitting the road. Having a properly mounted transponder, a fully funded E-ZPass account, and a valid payment method attached to the account will help to avoid unexpected delays and to keep customers moving. In addition, all customers are asked to: Use the correct lane for their payment method; Slow down as you approach toll plazas; Leave a safe distance between vehicles; Follow all posted signs and directions. To support smooth and safe operations this summer, the Indiana State Police (ISP) will monitor traffic at toll plazas and provide guidance when needed. "Summer is a great time to travel, and we're here to help make the driving experience as smooth and safe as possible," said an ITRCC Executive. "By taking a few extra moments to update your E-ZPASS account and driving carefully through toll plazas, you help keep our staff safe, improve traffic flow, and avoid delays." Motorists are also reminded that toll plaza staff and ISP personnel may be working in the vicinity of the toll lanes. Please drive with care and remain alert for workers on site. # About the Indiana Toll Road Established in 2006, ITR Concession Company LLC (ITRCC) responsibilities are detailed in the Concession and Lease Agreement with the Indiana Finance Authority, such as the construction, maintenance, repair, and operation of the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road. Headquartered in Elkhart, the Toll Road spans northern Indiana, linking Chicago with the Eastern Seaboard. Designated as part of Interstate 80/90, the Toll Road serves as a vital transportation link in the Midwest. For current traffic and construction updates, visit www.indianatollroad.org or follow @IndianaTollRoad on Facebook or X (Twitter). Contact Information Yvette Leyva Communications Manager yleyva@indianatollroad.org 5742614028 SOURCE: ITR Concession Company LLC View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/transportation/the-indiana-toll-road-prepares-for-holiday-travel-1031586 Curatis Holding AG / Key word(s): AGMEGM Annual General Meeting of Curatis Holding AG approved all proposals of the Board of Directors 24.05.2025 / 11:31 CET/CEST MEDIA RELEASE Liestal, Switzerland, 23 May 2025: Curatis Holding AG (CURN.SW), a SIX Swiss Exchange listed specialty pharmaceutical and therapeutic drug development company focused on rare and very rare indications today held its Annual General Meeting. The shareholders of Curatis Holding AG voted in favour of all proposals of the Board of Directors and approved all resolutions relating to the annual report and the financial year 2024 of the company, the re-election of the auditor Forvis Mazars as well as the board and management compensation with large majorities. The shareholders present (86.5% percent of voting rights) also re-elected - for a further term of 1 year - all members of the board, consisting of Marian Borovsky (Chairman, independent), Gunter Graubach, Roland Rutschmann and Silvio Inderbitzin (independent). As members of the compensation committee, Marian Borovsky, Roland Rutschmann and Gunter Graubach were re-elected for a term of 1 year. About Curatis Curatis Holding AG is a listed company (CURN.SW) that specialises in the development and marketing of drugs for rare and very rare diseases. Curatis has a sales portfolio of more than 40 drugs and a pipeline of orphan drug products and specialist products. You can find more information on the website www.curatis.com. Investor Contact Patrick Ramsauer, CFO Phone: +41 61 927 8777 p.ramsauer@curatis.com Disclaimer: The information contained in this media release and in any link to our website indicated herein is not for use within any country or jurisdiction or by any persons where such use would constitute a violation of law. If this applies to you, you are not authorized to access or use any such information. This media release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "project", "plan", "will likely continue", "will likely result", or words or phrases with similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of the control of Curatis Group, that may cause Curatis' business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements (or from past results). For any factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this media release, please see the risk factors included in our listing prospectus in connection with the Business Combination. Curatis Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. It should further be noted that past performance is not a guide to future performance. Persons requiring advice should consult an independent adviser. The information contained in this media release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe for securities. This media release is not a prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act nor a prospectus under any other applicable laws. Some financial information in this media release has been rounded and, as a result, the figures shown as totals in this media release may vary slightly from the exact arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them. End of Media Release Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 24, 2025) - Argo Living Soils Corp. (CSE: ARGO) (OTCQB: ARLSF) (FSE: 94Y0) ("Argo" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, pursuant to the company's stock option plan, the board of directors has granted 1,800,000 incentive stock options to certain directors, officers, employees, and consultants of the Company, which will vest immediately. Each option will allow the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.65 per common share. The incentive stock options have a term of three years, expiring on May 23, 2028. The options are subject to a four month hold from the date of grant. About Argo Argo Living Soils Corp. is dedicated to pioneering sustainable solutions in construction and agriculture. Argo is focusing on graphene infused concrete solutions and organic fertilizer product development. Argo aims to reduce global carbon emissions while delivering innovative, eco-friendly products. For further information, please contact: The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, Argo creating an established brand of organic and/or environmentally friendly products. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will", "will have", "intend" "plans", "aims", "potential" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different, including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Although management of the Company have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/253339 SOURCE: Argo Living Soils Corp. Deye showcased its next-gen wireless energy management system,off-grid ESS solution, C&I ESS solutions and utility ESS solutions, drawing strong interest from global partners MUNICH, May 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At Intersolar Europe, one of the solar industry's key exhibitions, Deye impressed the crowd with its new-generation Power Conversion System (PCS), smart wireless energy management system, off-grid ESS solutions and C&I ESS solutions. Over three days, the booth drew hundreds of partners and professionals, highlighting how intelligent energy is reshaping the global energy development. The exhibition featured an indoor hall and an outdoor container zone. Indoors, Deye displayed its HVAC appliances and integrated PV storage solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, and ground power stations. Outdoors, it showcased the Smart Home Micro-Climate Comfort Solution, powered by its household energy storage system and Five Constant System, expanding solar storage application possibilities. Deye showcased its latest PCS series, featuring <20?ms seamless mode transitions and up to 500?kW independent power paths for uninterrupted on/off-grid and diesel mode operation. Its intelligent EMS enables zero-export control and time-of-use scheduling with color touchscreen and remote cloud management. With up to 98.5% efficiency and 2.5?MW rated power, it suits medium to large-scale commercial and industrial applications. Another talked-about innovation was Deye's wireless smart energy management system based on LoRa for smart load control and home automation. Through multi-dimensional logic control such as time, battery SOC and grid state, this system can automatically optimize the power consumption strategy. Moreover, it supports smart home IoT integration, connecting devices like smart EV chargers, wireless CTs, switches, and plugs for remote control via the Deye App. The newly launched off-grid ESS solution attracted attention for its suitability in remote and microgrid scenarios. Compatible with diesel generators and batteries, it delivers stable power in off-grid or weak-grid environments like deserts. Its IP65 protection level enhances durability and extends operational lifespan, while the integrated LoRa-based smart energy management system further improves performance and monitors in off-grid applications. In addition, Deye's C&I ESS series offers a scalable, high-performance solution for diverse business needs. The MS-G215 outdoor system features peak-valley management, anti-back flow protection, intelligent thermal control (<35? battery temp), and supports parallel expansion up to 20 units (on/off-grid) or 5 units (backup). The integrated PV-BESS-EV solution (MS-DCC180-2 + MS-LC430) combines solar, storage and fast charging with key advantages including: Improving system efficiency by 4% and cutting investment by 15%. Supporting flexible 2-8 hour energy storage. Providing 3+3-layer electrical protection against thermal runaway. Achieving efficiency and safety with 180kW ultra-fast charging and up to 4 dual-gun terminals. For high-capacity energy storage, the utility C&I PV-BESS solution delivers 430?kWh per unit with excellent scalability and active balancing. It ensures optimal battery efficiency and lifespan while adapting to diverse industry requirements, making it ideal for applications across commercial, industrial, and utility sectors. Beyond the product display, the exhibition marked a milestone in Deye's global strategy. Its F120 Series ESS earned CEI 0-21 and 0-16 certifications from Kiwa for Italy's medium-voltage grids, while TUV Rheinland granted VDE-AR-N 4110 & 4120 certifications to its flagship ESS and 110?kW three-phase inverter. Attendees also experienced Deye's latest innovations through an immersive VR showcase, which further reinforced its international tech leadership. With Intersolar Europe 2025 behind it, Deye now looks to global expansion, focusing on technology refinement and deeper global partnerships. "Our vision is clear," said Deye's representative. "To empower communities, businesses, and grids with smart, sustainable energy. Intersolar confirmed we're on the right path- and the world is ready." For more information about Deye, visit https://www.deyeinverter.com/ ; https://deyeess.com/ Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2694982/20250522172531.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deye-redefines-solar-tech-at-intersolar-2025-302464752.html Actor Mukul Dev passed away on Friday night at the age of 54. His Son of Sardaar costar Vindu Dara Singh, who penned a heartfelt note for the actor, and revealed that Mukul was battling loneliness. I dont think he was suffering from any disease, but he used to drink a lot and would consume gutkha. He had become overweight and was battling loneliness. He has a daughter, but she was not living with him. He was making his comeback with Son of Sardar 2, but the sad part is he wont be here to see it. Its very tragic news, said Vindu in an interview with ETimes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rest in peace my brother #MukulDev ! The time spent with you will always be cherished and #SonOfSardaar2 will be your swansong where you will spread joy and happiness to the viewers and make them fall down laughing ! pic.twitter.com/oyj4j7kqGU Vindu Dara Singh (@RealVinduSingh) May 24, 2025 Talking about his return to SOS 2, he added, He has done such fantastic work in SOS 2. He was my Tony, and I was his Tito. He had an amazing role, and people are going to roll on the floor laughing when they see his performance in July when the film releases. But unfortunately, he wont be around to enjoy the success or feel the love. Mukul Devs brother and actor Rahul Dev shared the details of actors funeral on Instagram stories and wrote, Our brother Mukul Dev passed away peacefully in New Delhi last night. He is survived by his daughter, Sia Dev. Missed deeply by his siblings Rashmi Kaushal, Rahul Dev, and nephew Sidhant Dev. Please join us for the cremation at 5 PM. Address: Dayanand Mukti Dham, HOQR & GF4, Nizamuddin West, Delhi 110013. Son of Sardaar 2 features Ajay Devgn, Mrunal Thakur, Sanjay Dutt, Sanjay Mishra, Juhi Chawla, Suniel Shetty, Kubbra Sait and Ravi Kishan in prominent roles. Following the Trump administrations decision to ban enrollment of foreign students in the prestigious Harvard University, several students have found themselves in academic limbo. Among those are two prominent names: Cleo Carney, daughter of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium. Heres how their future at the Ivy institution hangs in the balance read more Cleo Carney, daughter of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium. Both are currently enrolled at Harvard and potentially face academic disruption following Trump's order. Image courtesy: Harvard Office for Sustainability, AP Amid a fierce and escalating dispute between Donald Trump and the prestigious Harvard University, several international students have found themselves unexpectedly caught in the crossfire. On Friday, Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to strip the elite university of its eligibility to enrol international students. While a US court has since issued a temporary restraining order , the stakes remain high. If the administrations order is ultimately upheld, Harvard warns it will have an immediate and devastating effect on its 7,000 international visa holders. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Among those now in an uncertain position are two prominent names: Cleo Carney, daughter of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium. Both are currently enrolled at Harvard and now find their academic prospects at the university potentially disrupted. So, how did this political showdown come to this point? And what does it mean for these high-profile students and others like them? Heres a closer look. Harvards global elite in limbo Harvard has long been a magnet for the global elite, from royals to world leaders children, and this year is no exception. Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, heir to the Belgian throne, recently completed her first year of a Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. But her future at the Ivy League institution now hangs in the balance due to the new US policy. Belgiums Royal Palace confirmed on Friday that it is closely watching the situation, waiting to see whether the princess will be able to return for her second year. We are looking into the situation, to see what kind of impact this decision might have on the princess, or not. Its too early to say right now, said Xavier Baert, the palaces communications chief, speaking to the AP. People walk between buildings on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge. File image/AP The 23-year-old princess is expected to spend her summer break in Belgium. But with her return uncertain, Baert added, And well have to see what happens next year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Another familiar name facing the same dilemma is Cleo Carney, daughter of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney . Cleo has just wrapped up her first year as an undergraduate at Harvard, where shes studying in the resource efficiency programme with a strong focus on sustainability. Shes one of hundreds of Canadians who could be affected by the policy shift. According to 2022 data from the Canadian Press, roughly 686 Canadian students were enrolled at Harvard. As one of the worlds most prestigious academic institutions, Harvard has long been a hub for the children of the global elite. A 2023 study found that at Ivy League universities, about one in six students come from families in the top 1 per cent income bracket. But with Trumps proposed restrictions looming, it could signal the end of the road for many international aspirants eyeing a spot at Harvard. Inside the Trump-Harvard clash The tension between Donald Trumps administration and Harvard has been building for weeks. The latest flashpoint began on April 16, when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that Harvard disclose detailed information about its foreign student body. The request raised alarm bells, with concerns that the data could be used to link students to campus protests and even lead to deportations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Harvard refused to comply. In response, the Trump administration moved to revoke the universitys ability to enrol new international students, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Harvard fired back, filing a lawsuit and calling the move unlawful. In court documents, the university argued that the governments action violates the First Amendment and could harm thousands of international visa holders as per AP. Harvard sues Trump administration for blocking enrollment of foreign students. A US judge has since issued a temporary restraining order to halt the policy, but tf the administrations decision is upheld, Harvard would be barred from accepting new foreign students for two academic years. Even current international students may be forced to transfer to other US institutions just to maintain their student visa status. In a statement, Harvard said it is working swiftly to provide guidance and support to our community members. Were fighting this not just for Harvard, but for the independence of all private universities, the university added. This isnt the first clash between the Trump administration and the Ivy League giant. Harvard has already been blocked from receiving new federal research grants until it meets a set of government-imposed conditions. That follows an earlier freeze on $2.2 billion in funding and a push by Trump to strip the school of its tax-exempt status. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He has repeatedly accused Harvard and other top universities of pushing a progressive agenda and fostering what he calls a woke culture on campus. Now, as legal proceedings unfold, the outcome of this battle could possibly redefine not just the future of Harvard but also of the other elite institutions. With input from agencies Lt Shashank Tiwari was deployed with the Sikkim Scouts regiment of the Indian Army. The 23-year-old, who hailed from Uttar Pradeshs Ayodhya, made the ultimate sacrifice while saving a young agniveer officer from drowning in an icy, fast-moving mountain stream. Heres what happened read more Lt Shashank Tiwari hailed from Gadopur Majhwa village in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. He was the only child of his parents. He was commissioned with the Sikkim Scouts of the Indian Army. Image courtesy: X Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari had only been in the Indian Army for six months, but when the moment came, he didnt hesitate. During an operational patrol in North Sikkim, the 23-year-old Army officer jumped into an icy, fast-moving mountain stream to save a fellow soldier from drowning. He successfully rescued his comrade, but in doing so, lost his own life. The Indian Armys Eastern Command paid tribute to his courage and sacrifice. Lt Gen R.C. Tiwari, #ArmyCdrEC, and all ranks offer heartfelt condolences on the loss of Lt Shashank Tiwari, who made the ultimate sacrifice while rescuing a comrade during an operational patrol in the high-altitude area of #NorthSikkim, the official statement read. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In this explainer, we take a closer look at what happened and the young officer behind the uniform. What happened? On Thursday morning, Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari was leading a route-clearing team in a high-altitude area of North Sikkim. The team was on its way to a strategic forward base that was being prepared for future deployment. Around 11 am, one of the soldiers, Agniveer Stephan Subba, lost his footing while crossing a makeshift log bridge and was swept away by a strong current. More from Explainers Without a moments hesitation, Tiwari jumped into the freezing water to save him. He was soon joined by Naik Pukar Katel, who also entered the stream to assist. Together, they managed to pull the Agniveer to safety. Tragically, in the effort to save his comrade, Tiwari was himself caught in the powerful current. Despite swift rescue efforts from the patrol team, his body was recovered nearly 30 minutes later, around 800 metres downstream. His bravery and devotion to duty will continue to inspire generations, the Army said, as it announced the loss of the young officer, who had been commissioned just six months earlier. Also read: Operation Sindoor: Who was the Indian Army jawan killed in Pakistan shelling along LoC? Who was Shashank Tiwari? The young officer hailed from Gadopur Majhwa village in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. He was the only child of his parents, according to The Times of India. His father, Jung Bahadur Tiwari, served in the Indian Merchant Navy and is now retired. Those who knew Tiwari remember him as a disciplined, dedicated, and bright young man. His sacrifice has been hailed nationwide. He stands as a symbol of courage and selflessness, read a statement from the Defence Ministry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD His uncle, Rajesh Dubey, told The Hindustan Times that Tiwari had always dreamed of serving the nation. He excelled in academics and completed his schooling at a CBSE-affiliated school in Faizabad city. After passing his intermediate exams in 2019, he was selected for the National Defence Academy (NDA). The officer was commissioned into the Sikkim Scouts unit of the Indian Army on December 14, 2024. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang also paid tribute to him in a heartfelt Facebook post: Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, who laid down his life while on patrol in the severe terrain of North Sikkim. His courage, sense of duty, and commitment to the country will forever be remembered. On behalf of the people of Sikkim, I extend my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. We honour his sacrifice with the utmost respect and gratitude. Following the incident, Tiwaris body was flown from Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri to Ayodhya on Friday afternoon. It reached his hometown later that evening, according to Ayodhya SP (City) Madhuban Singh. His last rites were performed with full military honours. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Lest We Forget Lt Shashank Tiwari made the supreme sacrifice while rescuing a fellow soldier during an operational patrol in high-altitude North #Sikkim. A wreath was laid with full military honours by Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla, GOC Trishakti Corps, at Bengdubi Military Station, pic.twitter.com/v4qzekcpBe Trishakticorps_IA (@trishakticorps) May 23, 2025 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was present in Ayodhya that day, paid tribute to Tiwaris sacrifice. He announced that a memorial would be built in Ayodhya in his memory and the state government would provide the family with financial support of Rs 50 lakh. Tiwari is now survived by his parents and sister. In its tribute, the Indian Army said his actions reflect the very ethos of the forceselfless service, integrity, and leadership by example. His sacrifice, the Army noted, stands as a powerful reminder of the deep bond between officers and soldiers, whether in times of war or peace. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With input from agencies YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra has been in the spotlight since she was arrested for allegedly spying. She is suspected to have been honey-trapped by a Pakistani operative. However, this is not a standalone case. Heres all this and more in our weekly wrap read more It was a newsy week for India. Seven all-party delegations are taking Indias anti-terrorism stance to the world stage. They will be visiting 33 countries, including the European Union (EU) headquarters. China and Pakistan have decided to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan. This is a big worry for New Delhi, which opposes the connectivity project as it violates Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity. YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra has been thrown into the limelight since her arrest for allegedly spying for Pakistan. She is among 11 people arrested across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks in a suspected Pakistan-backed spy ring believed to be present in North India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Heres all this and more in our weekly roundup from India. 1. Seven multi-party delegations comprising MPs and former diplomats are setting out for foreign capitals to convey Indias anti-terrorism stance in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam massacre. These groups will interact with permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Indias traditional partners, and countries that have a presence in the United Nations. The all-party delegations will travel to different regions, including North, Central and South America, North Africa and West Africa, Southeast, East and West Asia, and Europe. But why were these places picked? What is their relevance? We explain here . 2. Beijing, Islamabad and the Taliban-ruled Kabul held an informal meeting, where it was decided that CPEC, a 3000-km-long connectivity project, will be extended to Afghanistan. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistans Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. China announced that Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have seen tensions since the Talibans return to Kabul, have decided to reset ties. The three countries also agreed to ramp up Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation and extend CPEC. This comes as a new headache for India. We explain why. 3. Passengers on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar had a miraculous escape after their plane was caught in a major storm that affected Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The flight encountered severe turbulence on Wednesday due to stormy weather. IndiGo flight 6E-2142 (VT-IMD) from Delhi to Srinagar encountered a hailstorm enroute; pilot declared emergency to SXR ATC. The aircraft landed safely at 1830 hrs. All 227 onboard are safe. The aircraft suffered nose damage and has been declared AOG (Aircraft on Ground). pic.twitter.com/nLW1H2gzpZ Dipankar Kumar Das (@titu_dipankar) May 21, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Videos of flyers screaming, crying in distress and offering religious prayers, as their plane shook mid-air, went viral on social media. Later, unverified images of the aircrafts broken nose caused by the unexpected hailstorm emerged. We take a look at this story here. 4. Indian security forces have killed a top Naxal commander. Basava Raju, also known as Nambala Keshava Rao, was the general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Besides him, 26 other Naxals were killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh. Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed it as a landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. But who was Basava Raju, whom Shah described as the backbone of the Naxal movement? Read our story to find out. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 5. Travel influencer , who ran the YouTube channel Travel with JO, has come under the scanner. She has been accused of sharing sensitive information , including details on blackouts that India imposed during Operation Sindoor after reportedly being honey-trapped by a Pakistani official. Also known as Jyoti Rani, Malhotra travelled to Pakistan twice, with the first visit coming in 2023. It has also come to light that she visited Pahalgam three months before the April 22 terror attack. Her case has revived memories of past instances when Indians, including diplomats, army officials, and scientists, were honey-trapped by spy agencies across the world. We take a look in this story . 6. Covid-19 is once again grabbing headlines. There has been an uptick in coronavirus cases in India. This comes amid a surge in infections in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Thailand. In Singapore, the resurgence in Covid-19 cases is driven by variants linked to the JN.1 strain. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India currently has 257 active cases of coronavirus, with Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu reporting the most cases. We take a look at how Covid cases have increased in India in recent weeks. 7. Pakistan had reportedly planned a large-scale attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, which was foiled by Indian security forces. As tensions heightened between New Delhi and Islamabad in early May, Indian intelligence agencies got inputs that Pakistan was preparing to target religious and civilian sites in India. One of these places was found to be the Golden Temple, one of the holiest shrines in Sikhism. Heres how Indias advanced defence systems were successful in countering Pakistan. This is all we have for you this week. If you like the way we explain news, you can bookmark this page . PS. The internet is obsessed with security guard jobs at Vishal Mega Marts. If you dont know what we are talking about, heres our story . Have a fun read! STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A study by the University of Edinburgh suggests Covid-19 did not originate in Chinas Wuhan but evolved naturally in the bat population in northern Laos and Chinas Yunnan province. The study, now published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell, challenges the lab-leak theory championed by US President Donald Trump. Heres what it says read more A new study led by scientists from the University of Edinburgh claims that Covid-19 did not originate in labs in China's Wuhan but most likely evolved naturally in Southeast Asia. Image for Representation. Reuters More than five years since the world was brought to a standstill by Covid-19, the question of how the virus first emerged continues to spark fierce debate. Was it the result of a catastrophic lab accident in Wuhan? or did it did it naturally spill over from animals sold in wet markets? Now, a major new study led by scientists from the University of Edinburgh throws fresh weight behind the latter theory, claiming that Covid-19 did not originate in labs in Chinas Wuhan but most likely evolved naturally in the bat population in Southeast Asia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The new study has now challenged the lab-leak theory championed by US officials, including President Donald Trump. Heres what it says. What does the Edinburgh study explain? The study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell earlier this month has provided what scientists are calling the strongest genetic evidence yet against the lab leak theory of Covid-19 s origin. Led by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and involving experts from 20 institutions across the US, Europe, and Asia, the study analysed 167 genomes of bat coronaviruses. Their aim was to trace the evolutionary history of the virus that caused the global pandemic. The team found that the closest known relatives of Sars-CoV-2 the virus responsible for Covid-19 were circulating in bat populations in northern Laos and Chinas Yunnan province. According to the findings, the viruss most recent ancestor likely emerged five to seven years before Covid-19 was first detected in late 2019. The team found that the closest known relatives of Sars-CoV-2 the virus responsible for Covid-19 were circulating in bat populations in northern Laos and Chinas Yunnan province. File image/Reuters The data clearly indicate that the progenitor of Sars-CoV-2 was circulating in bats thousands of kilometres away from Wuhan, lead author Jonathan Pekar said in an interview with science news outlet EurekAlert. This puts the viruss evolutionary origins well outside the geographic scope of Wuhans research facilities. This conclusion directly challenges the lab leak theory, a narrative that is heavily pushed by US President Donald Trump and other officials, claiming that the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan. In fact, the White House website, which once focused primarily on testing and vaccination efforts, now prominently features the words LAB LEAK, TRUTH, and ORIGIN in bold capital letters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US President Donald Trump and other officials support the lab leak theory, claiming that the Covid-19 virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan. File image/ AFP This version of events argues that Covid-19 has biological markers not commonly found in naturally occurring viruses, and that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) showed Covid-like symptoms in late 2019, before the virus was linked to the now-infamous wet market. It also insists that had the virus emerged naturally, the scientific evidence would have surfaced clearly by now. But the Edinburgh study now presents a sharply different narrative. Was illegal wildlife trade responsible for Covid-19? The latest research points to human-driven activity, particularly the illegal wildlife trade, as a likely factor behind the spread of the virus that caused Covid-19. According to researchers, the most recent ancestor of the virus likely emerged around 2017. Its closest genetic relatives have been found in bat species from northern Laos, which is more than 2,700 kilometres away from Wuhan, far beyond the typical migration range of bats. So, scientists believe it was the movement of infected animals through illegal trade networks that brought the virus closer to human populations. Scientists believe it was the movement of infected animals through illegal trade networks that brought the Covid-19 viruses closer to human populations. Image for Representation. Reuters Senior author Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona, highlighted how this pattern isnt new. The Sars-CoV-1 virus also appeared far from its bat origins due to intermediate hosts like palm civets and raccoon dogs. This pattern likely repeated with Sars-CoV-2, he told the South China Morning Post. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This suggests that it wasnt natural migration, but the human exploitation of wildlife, through trade and trafficking, that played a critical role in spreading the virus to densely populated areas. The migration of the virus that causes Covid-19 mirrors historical zoonotic outbreaks, the Manchurian plague of 1910, for instance, was triggered when marmots carrying Yersinia pestis were transported via the Trans-Siberian Railway from Russia into Harbin, China. That outbreak killed over 60,000 people. However, unlike the well-documented origins of the Manchurian plague and Sars, Covid-19s exact transmission pathway from bats to humans still remains a mystery. With input from agencies Experts believe the rise in the COVID-19 cases in South Asia is due to the JN.1 variant, a sub-variant of Omicron. read more The COVID-19 scare is back in India, with cases now reappearing in cities across the country. This has led states and Union Territories like Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh to put hospitals on alert. Delhi has reported 23 cases so far, according to news agency PTI. The last case here was reported three years back. Most of the cases are mild, with no severe symptoms or deaths reported. JN.1 variant to be blamed Experts believe the increase in the COVID-19 cases in South Asia is due to the JN.1 variant , a sub-variant of Omicron. Although this variant is active, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet labelled it as a variant of concern. The symptoms are usually mild, and people recover within four days. Common symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, headaches, fatigue, and exhaustion. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Delhi has reported 23 cases, leading the government to instruct hospitals to ensure beds, oxygen cylinders, testing kits, and vaccines are available. Health Minister Pankaj Singh said there is no need to panic as the latest variant is similar to the common flu. Delhi has also asked hospitals to upload daily data on Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases. Cities in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) like Noida and Ghaziabad have also reported cases. Noida identified its first Covid patient (55) in this wave on Saturday (May 24), and Ghaziabad has reported four cases so far. Status in other states Kerala, with 273 Covid infections in May, has the highest number of cases. The state health minister has instructed all districts to increase surveillance and made masks mandatory in hospitals. People with cough symptoms are advised to wear face coverings. Karnataka has seen a slight increase with 35 cases, including a nine-month-old baby from Hoskote. People with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) symptoms are advised to get tested. Mumbai has reported 95 cases in May, making up most of Maharashtras total infections. However, hospitalisations are low, with only 16 patients admitted. The BMC has advised testing for all patients with SARI symptoms. Thane in Maharashtra has detected 10 cases over the last three days. The health department said all health centres have enough medicine supplies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even though Andhra Pradesh has not seen a significant increase, it has instructed health facilities to maintain adequate stocks of vaccines, PPE kits, and triple-layer masks. People returning from Covid-affected countries, mostly in Asia, are advised to undergo testing. RBI will transfer a record Rs 2.7 lakh crore to the government as a dividend for the current financial year. The amount exceeded last years figure and the governments expectations. read more A man speaks on his phone as he walks past the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) logo inside its headquarters in Mumbai. File image/Reuters The Reserve Bank of India will transfer a record Rs 2.7 lakh crore to the government as a dividend for the current financial year. The amount has surpassed what it gave to the government last year, which was Rs 2.1 lakh crore and even the Centres budget estimate. The government was initially projected to receive 2.6 lakh crore dividend from RBI, state banks and financial institutions for FY26, The Times of India reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The increase in dividends reflects the cautious approach the central bank is taking amid global economic uncertainties and rising concerns over domestic financial stability. The higher-than-expected payout will help the RBI to bring down its rates. Meanwhile, analysts are expecting the yield on government bonds to come down further. Experts noted that the actual profit incurred may have been higher as the RBI raised the contingency risk buffer to 7.5% from 6.5% a year ago. Higher income from foreign exchange sales, improved returns on overseas assets, and gains from liquidity operations also resulted in a rise in dividends. Experts raise concerns Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA, told The Times of India that RBIs dividend exceeds budget assumptions by around Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore, or 11-14 basis points of GDP. This offers a cushion for the govt to absorb lower-than-expected tax or disinvestment receipts, or to manage additional spending. Nayar noted that the revised nominal GDP figure for FY25 suggests that even with lower expected growth of 9 per cent in FY26-compared with the budgeted 10.1 per cent, the fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio can still stand at 4.4 per cent. This would allow for a slippage of around Rs 30,000 crore without breaching the target. It is pertinent to note that the RBI is still choosing to hold back on a portion of its earnings. Meanwhile, Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, told TOI that the amount may offset possible shortfalls in customs duties due to reduced tariffs, weaker tax inflows from slower nominal GDP growth, or unexpected defence expenditure. Sabnavi also made it clear that while the dividend would provide near-term relief to the government, it is something which would not be repeated annually, since such high trasfers are not sustainable in the future. This time the Pakistanis were taken by surprise, and India had a massive advantage. But now that the cat is out of the bag, Pakistanis and Chinese will regroup and figure out corrective tactics read more From May 1 until the 20th, I was travelling in the US and thus had to depend on Western media (mostly Twitter/X) for news about Operation Sindoor and the aftermath. It was self-evident that there was no point in reading things like the NYTimes, Washington Post, The Economist, etc, because one look at their headlines confirmed that they were manufacturing consent. Soft Power Given the difference in X posts that I read in the US and those in India, I think the algorithms were deprecating posts for me in ways that are hard to detect. In other words, there is a narrative war where India has no say but lots at stake. Indias soft power is seriously wanting. Joseph Nye, the academic who popularised that phrase, passed away this week; following his theories, it behooves India to make a concerted attempt to improve its storytelling. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It faces an uphill battle because Western, especially American, media have shown an ability to gaslight at scale in three major stories in the recent past: the COVID panic, the Trump-is-a-Russian-stooge meme, and the Biden is mentally sharp as a tack story. They are good at it and have no love lost for India, and so India needs a long-term plan to get its own propaganda story out, for instance, developing an Al Jazeera-style global footprint or an X-style social medium. The entire Western narrative, for self-serving purposes, continues to be against India, for good reason: they do not wish to see India grow into a peer-level competitor at the G3 level. In this, both China and the West are of one mind, and it shows. Besides, the West has every incentive to try to block India from becoming a major arms exporter: they would prefer India to continue to be one of the biggest importers, preferably from them. Narrative warfare is a Western speciality, as I said in Information Warfare, Narrative-Building: That Kind of Warfare. In addition to kinetic warfare, India needs to up its game here too. Narratives have real-life consequences. The Pakistanis have been quite successful in their own narratives, riding on Western media: here is an example from the Nikkei (which owns the Financial Times) from a Pakistani journalist. This is typical of the stories created by Pakistanis and amplified by western media: basically, that India took a major hit, with five or six high-end aircraft downed by Pakistani/Chinese weaponry. The story was repeated so many times that it essentially became the Truth. Have a look at this screenshot: STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A Step Change in Aerial Warfare My personal belief is that India won a victory on the ground and in the air, humiliating Pakistan, attacking it at will and exposing its Chinese armaments as below-par. Some thoughtful neutral experts support this view: See . India also demonstrated surprising competence in the new age of electronics-based warfare. It may no longer be expensive fighter jets (and by extension, aircraft carriers) that tilt the balance, but missiles, drones and integrated air defence. This must be emphasised. There are periodic step functions in warfare that render earlier, victorious technologies/processes less valuable: this is similar to disruptive innovation, where the insurgent firm nullifies the apparent advantages of the incumbent firm. Often that means a point of inflection. An example is the arrival of the longbow in mediaeval times that made hitherto unstoppable heavy cavalry stumble. Another is the arrival of air power itself. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Today there may be another point of inflection. Experts have suggested that warfare going forward will be software-driven, including drone swarms that can autonomously reshape their formations (reminiscent of the murmurations of flocks of starlings). Presumably, there will be plenty of predictive AI built in as well. Given Indias poor track record in software products, it was generally assumed that India would not do so well in such a new environment. In reality, there appears to have been a clever integration of indigenous and imported technology to create an iron dome of sorts against Pakistans Chinese missiles, of which an advanced variant, PL-15, was apparently shot down intact. More interestingly, it appears that Lakshya and Banshee drones were programmed to masquerade as Rafales, Sukhois, etc, by emitting their radar signals, thus attracting enemy fire towards themselves. This might explain the claims of five or six Indian aircraft shot down by Pakistan, whereas in reality they may have simply shot down the phantom, mimic drones. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The implications are large: in effect, India was able to attack Pakistan at will; video evidence shows significant damage to terrorist sites in the first round and to military sites in the second round, including to key Pakistani air bases, as well as, it is said, the entrance tunnel to the nuclear storage facilities in the Kirana Hills. Indian air dominance appears to have forced the Pakistanis to beg for US support to suggest a cessation of hostilities. This skirmish was proof in the heat of battle for Indias indigenous weapons, especially the BrahMos (although, of course, that is a joint venture with Russia). It may result in a number of serious queries from prospective customers, especially in Southeast Asia, who will be interested in battlefield performance against Chinese missiles and aircraft. This would be a win for Indias arms industry. Conversely, there is a singular sore spot: fighter jets. For a variety of reasons, most especially the fact that the Kaveri engine has not been allowed to complete its testing and development phase, India is still dependent on others for advanced fighters. And this is just fine as far as they are concerned, because the Americans want to sell F-35s, the French want to sell more Rafales, and the Russians want to sell Su-57s. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Heres an X comment by a military historian who suggests that Indias fighter jets are inadequate. He deleted his further comment that indigenisation is fine as an industrial policy, but it doesnt work for advanced weaponry. This is a typically sniffy attitude towards India, which is grist to the mill for the Chandigarh Lobbys successful efforts to trash local weapons and gain lucrative middleman deals for foreign weapons. Strategic Dilemma: To Push On or Not There is also a strategic dilemma. India has an unfortunate habit of wasting its soldiers hard-won victories at the negotiating table due to bad political calculations. The epitome of this is, of course, Indira Gandhis 1971 giveaway of 93,000 Pakistani PoWs in exchange for essentially nothing. There is some reason to wonder if something similar happened in 2025 as well. A tactical victory was possibly converted into a stalemate, and the old era of hyphenation and the nuclear bogey has returned. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What we saw in 2025 was that the Pakistanis were taken by surprise, and India had a massive advantage. But now that the cat is out of the bag, Pakistanis and Chinese will regroup and figure out corrective tactics. Thus India has, to use an American expression, shot its wad, and the element of surprise is gone forever. The endgame for India is the dissolution of Pakistan into four or five statelets, which, one hopes, will then concentrate on Pakistani Punjab as the root of all their troubles. In that case, they will keep each other occupied, and India can live in peace without regular terrorist attacks. Of course, that may be a pipe dream, given the Ghazwa-e-Hind formula many entertain, but the collapse of the Pakistani state is anyway desirable for India. Should India have continued its offensive? Forget the murky issue of the nuclear assets in Sargodha. Should India have moved the Line of Control (LoC) forward into some areas, perhaps into Gilgit-Baltistan (with Sharda Peeth and the Kishenganga) and up to the Jhelum River in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir? The problem though, is that once you start moving past the border posts, you have hostile civilians to contend with, and your supply lines start getting stretched. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even though it is tragic to let go of an opportunity to thrash an enemy thats on the back foot, and Pakistan will inevitably use the truce to rearm itself and come back ever stronger (the Treaty of Hudaybiyah is not a meme in the Islamic world for nothing), it is not clear to me what India could have done to militarily make the LoC irrelevant and make Pakistan implode, especially in the context of American pushback. The Role of the US Why was there pressure from President Trump? One of the things I observed during my US stay is the total absence of DOGE and Elon Musk from the headlines after Trumps 100 days, very contrary to their ubiquity early on. Similarly, the security implications of Trumps recent embrace of Syrias President Al-Sharaa contradict Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbards views on Syria, as evidenced by her tweets. Further, there are U-turns on tariffs. This means Trump is being mercurial as ever. Furthermore, there might be something to the idea that his familys embrace of crypto may have endeared Pakistan which is making noises about supporting crypto at scale to him. All this is red-pilling many about Trump. Indeed, he may be allowing short-term, commercial considerations to drive policy, which may return to haunt the US: that is exactly what Clinton, Bush, Obama, et al did with respect to China. On the other hand, there are longer-term considerations, too. Pakistan is essentially a Potemkin nation, which has no particular reason to exist, other than it is being propped up. Initially, it was a British project for the Russian Great Game; then it was taken over by the US Deep State in order to fend off the Soviet Union. Pakistan was a major non-NATO ally (MNNA) according to Obama, if I remember right, and earlier it was a member of CENTO and SEATO. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to Pakistan, approved in the middle of the hostilities, is not surprising, either: this has happened before. In a way, it is a complicated money-laundering activity. Funds from somewhere (possibly Qatar) are chanelled to Pakistan, which then buys American arms. Thus, the Deep State Military Industrial Complex is the winner. With the end of the Afghanistan wars, Pakistan offers no obvious geographic and strategic value to the US. Unless, of course, the target is no longer Russia but India. Perhaps in anticipation of its being a check on India, the US had helped Pakistan nuclearise, according to this archived article from the NYTimes: US and China Helped Pakistan Build Its Bomb, from a time when it was possibly more truthful. I am indebted to Brahma Chellaney for this link. This may suggest that Pakistans nuclear assets are not theirs but are managed by an American crew. On the other hand, though, the greater possibility is that such assets are loaned by China. Pakistan is a fantastic force multiplier for China. Abhimanyu Syndrome The bottom line, then, is that India is on its own: sort of an Abhimanyu Syndrome, with nobody to help. The most obvious friend is Japan (because of the China threat), but it is severely constrained by American red lines: see how there was not a murmur from the Quad after Pahalgam. Indias very possible rise is in fact encouraging other powers to put it down: grow so much, but no farther. There really is no alternative for India but to industrialise, make everything possible for its large internal market, and increase the level of strategic autonomy in everything it makes: no more dependence on third parties, who may feel free to use kill switches or deny spares or components at will. In this round, India did surprisingly well with indigenous technology, and it has articulated a strategy of escalating deterrence. To put teeth into this, innovation at home must continue. The writer has been a conservative columnist for over 25 years. His academic interest is innovation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. President Donald Trump ripped US diversity and inclusion policies, knocked NATO, and took credit for building up the military on Saturday in a campaign style commencement speech at the prestigious West Point Military Academy in New York. read more US President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the 2025 US Military Academy Graduation Ceremony at West Point, New York, on May 24, 2025. AFP Photo President Donald Trump delivered a campaign-style commencement address at West Point Military Academy on Saturday, sharply criticising US diversity and inclusion policies, NATO, and taking credit for strengthening the military during his tenure. Wearing a Make America Great Again hat, Trump blended his political views with military themes, asserting that he had rebuilt the armed forces better than ever and eliminated social experiments such as critical race theory education and support programs for transgender soldiers. He also claimed responsibility for increased military recruitment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Defending his isolationist approach and skepticism toward longstanding alliances, Trump argued that US leaders over the past 20 years had needlessly involved the military in foreign conflicts that wasted resources and lives. He criticised military leadership for being clueless in overseas operations. Trump concentrated on removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies intended to boost representation of racial and sexual minorities, including women, in the military ranks. This effort has extended to pulling numerous books on the history of racism from military academy libraries. Addressing the graduates, Trump said previous administrations had burdened soldiers with absurd ideological experiments, pursuing social and political agendas while neglecting border security. All of thats ended. You know that, he declared. Theyre not even allowed to think about it anymore. He emphasised that the militarys mission is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, not to host drag shows. Trump tapped into widespread public frustration after the prolonged wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, vowing that the U.S. would no longer try to spread democracy at the point of a gun. His reset also included harsh criticism of US allies in Europe and Asia, whom he accused of cheating America financially, though he claimed they no longer do so. Throughout the speech, Trump wore his campaign hat and hailed his anticipated November election victory as a great mandate granting him the freedom to act as he wishes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Army officers are prohibited from political involvement, applause from cadets during the speech was inconsistent. Those invited to speak at the event kept their remarks personal, avoiding any direct mention of the president. However, Trumps reshaping of the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has stirred discomfort among some. West Point philosophy professor Graham Parsons resigned this month, accusing the academy of abandoning its principles to meet White House ideological demands and expressing shame. Parsons criticised new guidelines discouraging discussions of racism or sexism while promoting the narrative of America as an unwavering force for good, calling the policies brazen demands to indoctrinate, not educate in a New York Times opinion piece. With inputs from agencies China warns U.S. against using Philippines to stir trouble in South China Sea Xinhua) 13:41, May 24, 2025 BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States not to use the Philippines to stir trouble in the South China Sea, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday, noting that the Philippine side should immediately cease its provocations and violations on Tiexian Jiao in China's Nansha Qundao island group. Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks in response to a media query about a post from the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines on X, which was related to recent law enforcement operations of Chinese coast guard vessels against Philippine fishing boats near Tiexian Jiao. The Philippines has repeatedly dispatched personnel to land illegally on Tiexian Jiao, seriously infringing upon China's sovereignty and violating the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, Mao said, noting that China's countermeasures are legitimate and legal. China urges the U.S. side to stop using the Philippines to stir trouble in the South China Sea, and to cease undermining peace and tranquility there, Mao said. "The Philippine side should immediately cease its provocations and violations on Tiexian Jiao in China's Nansha Qundao, or China will respond resolutely," she added. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) As many as 19 advisers, effectively ministers, joined the abruptly called closed-door meeting, which Yunus decided to convene following a scheduled meeting of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area in Dhaka read more Bangladeshs interim government, led by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, held an unscheduled meeting of the Advisory Council on Saturday following a session of the National Economic Council. The meeting focused on the interim governments three core responsibilities: elections, reforms, and justice. As many as 19 advisers, effectively ministers, joined the abruptly called closed-door meeting, which Yunus decided to convene following a scheduled meeting of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area in Dhaka. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Council members discussed how these responsibilities are being hindered by baseless demands and unauthorised statements and actions, which they say are disrupting governance and spreading confusion among the public. The council stressed the need for unity to ensure national stability and prevent a return to autocracy. It announced that the government will engage with political parties to clarify its stance and listen to their concerns. In this regard, the interim government will listen to the views of political parties and will clarify its own position. Despite facing numerous obstacles, the interim government continues to carry out its assigned duties, setting aside narrow group interests. However, if the responsibilities placed on the government are rendered impossible due to incitement by defeated forces or as part of foreign conspiracies, the government will present all reasons before the public and take necessary decisions accordingly," it warned. Yunus is anticipated to meet with the advisors before to consecutive talks with the Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP, and the Awami League, the opposing party of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The top advisers press wing stated that he will meet with Jamaat leaders at 8:00 p.m. and a BNP delegation at 7:00 p.m. (local time). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since last August, when Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign due to a student-led insurrection, Yunus has been in charge of the caretaker administration. Yunus returned from exile to manage the temporary arrangement with the support of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), many of whom are now in charge of the NCP. Yunus will remain as the head of Bangladeshs interim government, an adviser in his cabinet said on Saturday, two days after a key ally said he mulled resignation read more According to media sources, Bangladeshs interim government leader, Muhammad Yunus, summoned an impromptu meeting of the advisory council on Saturday to discuss a growing crisis between his administration, political parties, and the army. He is likely to sit with the Advisers (effectively ministers) shortly after the ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) meeting, which is underway as scheduled, the UNB news agency reported, quoting an unnamed official familiar with the process. It did not give any further details. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Yunus will remain as the head of Bangladeshs interim government, an adviser in his cabinet said on Saturday, two days after a key ally said he mulled resignation. He (Yunus) didnt say he will leave. He said that while we face many obstacles in carrying out the work and responsibilities assigned to us, we are overcoming them, Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud told reporters after an unscheduled meeting of the advisory council. Mahmud added: He (Yunus) is definitely staying. He added that none of the advisers were going anywhere as the responsibility entrusted to us is a significant one; we cannot abandon this duty". The chief advisers decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt the situation is such that he cannot work", citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change. Your browser does not support the video tag. Yunus is scheduled to meet with his advisers before meeting with former Prime Minister Khaleda Zias Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami later on Saturday. According to the chief advisers press wing, a BNP delegation will meet with the main advisors at 7:00 p.m., followed by Jamaat leaders at 8:00 p.m. We have been invited by the Chief Advisers Office to hold a meeting over the latest political situation, a BNP spokesman told the media earlier. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Thursday night, Yunus told Student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt the situation is such that he cannot work". This came hours after he reportedly expressed an identical desire to quit in a cabinet meeting earlier in the day. NCP convenor Nahid Islam said he urged Yunus to stay strong for the sake of the countrys security and future and to meet the expectations of the mass uprising (and) I hope everyone will cooperate with him. Advisers of Yunus cabinet also persuaded him to not relinquish the post. A number of high-ranking BNP officials, including as Salahuddin Ahmed and Abdul Moyeen Khan, stated that the party hoped Yunus would preside over an early general election and leave with honour rather than resigning suddenly. Following the student-led movement that deposed ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas Awami League rule in August last year, the BNP has emerged as a prominent political force. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Jamaat, which looked to merge with the NCP as the BNP distanced itself from its old ally, stated that a fair election was the only way to regain public trust. The government has said that elections will be held between December and June. Now, a specific roadmap needs to be announced within this periodnot just elections, but also a roadmap for structural reforms in politics and state governance, said key Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah M Taher. However, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, a key adviser in Yunuss cabinet, said the interim government was not formed solely to hold elections but also to implement reforms and ensure justice. I would put it like this we had a long discussionWe have three major responsibilities, all of which are difficult: reform, justice and election. We did not take charge just to hold an election, she said. The development of Yunuss resignation came amid reports of discord between the military and the interim government over the possible timeline for holding the parliamentary elections and a policy issue related to Bangladeshs security affairs involving a proposed humanitarian corridor of aid channel to Myanmars rebel-held Rakhine state. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman along with the navy and air force chiefs met Yunus three days ago and reportedly reiterated their call for election by December this year to allow an elected government to take charge and conveyed their reservation about the corridor issue. The next day, Zaman held a senior officers meeting at Dhaka Cantonment and said he was unaware of several strategic decisions despite the militarys active role. Analysts saw the meeting as a move to consolidate the military strength and Yunuss resignation threat as a test of public backing. During last years protests, the army avoided a crackdown, instead extended its hand for Hasinas safe exit to India. It also supported Yunus appointment as chief adviser, as demanded by the SAD, much of which later formed the NCP. Yunuss administration recently disbanded Hasinas Awami League, sending many of its senior leaders, including former ministers, to jail to face trial for charges like crimes against humanity. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Yunus has been facing calls from the political parties, including the BNP, to announce a date for the next elections. His reported threat to resign came a day after the party rallied thousands of supporters to stage a large-scale protest demanding an election at the earliest. This week, the party also demanded the removal of the remaining student representatives from the cabinet, while the NCP in response called for the ouster of two advisers alleging that they were serving the BNPs purpose by staying in the government. The South Asian nation of some 170 million people has been in political turmoil since the ouster of the past regime but it escalated in the past several days with rival parties and trade unions or pressure groups protesting on the streets of the capital Dhaka with a string of competing demands. Announcing the commencement of the first phase of the exchange, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv returned 390 people to Russia on Friday and said that the process of prisoner swap would continue over the weekend read more Freed Ukrainian POWs leave a bus in the Chernygiv region upon arrival after a prisoner exchange on May 23, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP Ukraine and Russia have begun the largest prisoner swap since Moscow launched its offensive in 2022, with almost 800 captives to be freed over the coming days. Announcing the commencement of the first phase of the exchange, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv returned 390 people to Russia on Friday and said that the process of prisoner swap would continue over the weekend. Russia said it had received 270 Russian troops and 120 civilians, including some from parts of its Kursk region captured and held by Kyiv for months. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The agreement on the release of 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was almost the only real result of the [direct talks between Russia and Ukraine a week ago in] Turkey, Zelenskyy said, adding, Its very important to bring everyone home. After they stepped off the bus, tearful relatives rushed to embrace the soldiers while others held pictures of their loved ones, hoping to find out if they had been seen in captivity. Many of the soldiers were draped in bright yellow and blue Ukrainian flags. US President Donald Trump congratulated both sides on the momentous exchange and said, This could lead to something big??? suggesting a breakthrough in peace talks. After 39 months of fighting, thousands of POWs are held in both countries. Russia is believed to have the larger share, with the number of Ukrainian captives held by Moscow estimated to be between 8,000 and 10,000. Where does the peace deal stand? Meanwhile, there seems to be some progress in peace talks between the two sides after discussions faltered in Turkey last week. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said that Moscow is ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace accord after the process of prisoner exchange is completed. He also accused Ukraine of launching waves of drone attacks over several days on Russian targets that caused casualties and disrupted air traffic. He suggested European countries had encouraged Kyiv to launch the attacks to undermine peace efforts led by U.S. President Donald Trump. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Russia's FM Sergey #Lavrov: The Ukrainian side launched a record number of combat drones. We are witnessing a clear attempt to derail peace talks and disrupt the process that began in Istanbul. We will continue working on that despite provocations.https://t.co/RMfcWKrP4Y pic.twitter.com/eYcq18wWIA MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) May 23, 2025 Lavrov said the surge of Ukrainian drone attacks some 800 sent against Russian targets over the last three days was a direct consequence of support for Ukraine by European Union countries whose leaders visited Kyiv in recent days. With inputs from agencies China has swiftly announced the expedited construction of the Mohmand Dam in Pakistans volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but the ambitious project faces formidable security challenges that cast a long shadow over its promises. read more In a bid to reinforce its strategic partnership with Islamabad, China has announced an accelerated timeline for the construction of the Mohmand dam in Pakistans volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The announcement came days after India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), leaving Pakistan grappling with uncertainty over a critical source of its freshwater supply. Indias decision to revoke the 1960 agreement, triggered by the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack allegedly planned on Pakistani soil, marks a sharp escalation in bilateral tensions. New Delhi has argued that the treaty cannot coexist with Pakistans continued support for terrorism, citing three wars and numerous cross-border attacks as violations of the treatys spirit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In this backdrop, Chinas move to fast-track work on the Mohmand hydropower project appears to be a calibrated diplomatic signal. According to China Central Television (CCTV), state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation has begun concrete filling work a critical construction milestone on the project, which is scheduled for completion by 2026. This multipurpose project, situated on the Swat River, is slated for completion next year and is designed to generate 800 MW of electricity, control floods, enhance irrigation and provide approximately 113 billion liters of drinking water daily to Peshawar. The rapid acceleration of the Mohmand Dam, a flagship initiative under Beijings multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), aligns with Chinas broader diplomatic support for Islamabad amidst heightened tensions with India. Can Pakistan protect Chinese interests? The viability of the Mohmand Dam as a definitive solution for Pakistans water woes is heavily contingent on the security of Chinese workers, who have become frequent targets of extremist groups. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistan Taliban, along with Baloch separatists, pose a significant and persistent threat to Chinese interests and personnel in Pakistan. Since 2021, at least 20 Chinese nationals have been killed in targeted attacks by the TTP and Baloch separatists, according to Pakistans National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA). These attacks occurred across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh all provinces with significant CPEC footprints. The TTP, formed in 2007, is ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban and has expanded its footprint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the Talibans return to power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistan recorded the highest number of militant attacks in a decade last year, most attributed to the TTP and affiliated groups. Although Baloch separatists remain the primary threat to Chinese workers and assets, the TTPs growing presence is a major concern. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During a recent three-day visit to Beijing by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, China reaffirmed its support for Pakistans sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling the country its ironclad friend. However, despite high-level assurances and diplomatic optics, the safety of Chinese workers on the ground remains precarious. Roughly 20,000 Chinese nationals reside in Pakistan, most of whom are engaged in CPEC-related work. Their security is not just a bilateral issue, but one with implications for the future of regional cooperation and Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. Strategic gamble or lifeline? With India tightening the Indus tap and Afghanistan building its own dams that threaten to further limit Pakistans access to upstream waters, Islamabads options for long-term water security are shrinking. In this context, the Mohmand dam could serve as a crucial buffer but only if construction proceeds unhindered and the project is insulated from militant threats. Pakistans bet on Chinese-funded infrastructure as a way to counterbalance Indias geopolitical moves may offer short-term gains, but the long-term sustainability of this reliance hinges on resolving internal security challenges and ensuring foreign partnerships translate into tangible, secure benefits for its people. As Islamabad leans heavily on Beijing to secure its energy and water future, one question remains: Can dams alone hold water in the absence of trust, stability and regional cooperation? STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan on April 23 after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, citing cross-border terrorism and security concerns read more India decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which was based on a thorough review of various factors, India explained at the United Nations on Friday (May 23). India clarified that Pakistan, not India, broke the 1960 water-sharing agreement. Parvathaneni Harish, Indias Permanent Representative to the UN, rejected disinformation spread by the Pakistani delegation about the Indus Waters Treaty. He pointed out that continuous cross-border terrorism, including the recent Pahalgam attack, led to the suspension. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India entered into the Indus Water Treaty 65 years ago in good faith. The preamble of the treaty describes that the treaty was concluded in a spirit of goodwill and friendship. Throughout the six and a half decades, Pakistan has violated the spirit of the treaty by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India. In the last four decades, more than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost in terror attacks, the most recent of which was a dastardly targeted terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam last month, the envoy told the Security Council. Harish stressed that even though Pakistan supported terrorism against India, New Delhi showed extraordinary patience and magnanimity during this period. Pakistans state-sponsored cross -border terrorism in India seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians, religious harmony, and economic prosperity, he added. He mentioned that regional security issues, Indias energy needs, and dam safety were other reasons for the decision. In these 65 years, far-reaching fundamental changes have taken place, not only in terms of escalating security concerns through cross-border terror attacks, but also growing requirements for producing clean energy, climate change, and demographic change, he specified. However, Pakistan has continued to block consistently any changes to this infrastructure and any modifications of the provisions which are permissible under the treaty. In fact, in 2012, terrorists even attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir. These cynical acts continue to endanger the safety of our projects and the lives of civilians, he mentioned. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India has also asked Pakistan several times in the past two years to discuss changes to the treaty. However, Pakistan repeatedly refused, preventing India from fully using its rightful share of water. Given these circumstances, India decided to suspend the treaty until Pakistan, described as a global center of terror, stops supporting cross-border terrorism for good. The Indus Waters Treaty , facilitated by the World Bank and signed on September 19, 1960, allocated the eastern riversRavi, Beas, and Sutlejto India and the western riversIndus, Jhelum, and Chenabto Pakistan. The treaty allowed India limited, non-consumptive use of the western rivers and is considered one of the most successful international water-sharing agreements. However, India suspended the treaty on April 23 after a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Baisaran Valley, which it attributed to Pakistan-backed elements. Although both countries agreed to a ceasefire, the suspension of the water treaty remains in effect. The orders will prompt the building of new reactors and boost domestic mining and enrichment of uranium, with the United States relying on imports for most of the crucial fuel read more US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to boost the countrys nuclear energy, saying that the move will make us really powerful in the industry. Were signing tremendous executive orders today that really will make us the real power in this industry. It is time for nuclear and we are going to do it very big, the president told reporters after signing four orders at the Oval Office. #WATCH | Washington, DC: After signing order to boost US nuclear energy, US President Donald Trump says, " Very safe and clean...We're going to get it very fast and very safe. We are going to get the people in and out...it is time for nuclear and we are going to do it very big" pic.twitter.com/F5S3flU7Cn ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The orders will prompt the building of new reactors and boost domestic mining and enrichment of uranium, with the United States relying on imports for most of the crucial fuel. Trump said the immediate focus will be on creating smaller reactors and supplying energy to artificial intelligence companies. The orders will also overhaul the US nuclear watchdog so that it pushes through decisions on building new reactors within 18 months, amid reports that the White House found the regulator too risk-averse. US-Iran nuclear talks Trumps signing of the executive orders follows the third round of talks between the US and Iran on nuclear that has been described as complicated by Irans foreign minister. The talks, which began in April, are the highest-level contact between the foes since the United States quit a landmark 2015 nuclear accord during President Donald Trumps first term. Since returning to the office, Trump has revived his maximum pressure campaign on Iran, backing talks but warning of military action if diplomacy fails. Energy emergency A senior White House official said the administration hopes to test and deploy new reactors before the end of Trumps second term in January 2029. Trumps order fundamentally rehauls the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which grants permission for new reactors, by lowering regulatory burdens and shortening the licensing timeline. Republican Trump declared an energy emergency on his first day back in office to expand drilling for oil and gas and to roll back Democratic predecessor Joe Bidens climate policies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from AFP External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday had an interaction with the Indian diaspora here and appreciated their contribution to New Delhis deepening partnership with Germany. read more External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday interacted with the Indian diaspora in Berlin, appreciating their role in strengthening Indias growing partnership with Germany. His visit to Germany marks the final leg of a three-nation tour that included the Netherlands and Denmark. A good interaction today with representatives of the Indian community in Germany. Appreciated their contribution to our deepening partnership. Urged them to share the India Story. And help realize the full potential of our ties, he wrote on X. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A good interaction today with representatives of the Indian community in Germany. Appreciated their contribution to our deepening partnership. Urged them to share the India Story. And help realize the full potential of our ties. pic.twitter.com/fyGMt7V8ID Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 24, 2025 On Friday, Jaishankar said India has zero-tolerance for terrorism and New Delhi will never give in to nuclear blackmail, referring to the cross-border links to the Pahalgam massacre. In his remarks at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul after holding talks with him, the external affairs minister also said, India will deal with Pakistan purely bilaterally and there should be no confusion in any quarter in that regard. I came to Berlin in the immediate aftermath of India responding to the Pahalgam terror attack. Let me share with you what I conveyed to Mr Wadephul in that context. India has zero-tolerance for terrorism. India will never give in to nuclear blackmail, he said. And, India will deal with Pakistan purely bilaterally. There should be no confusion in any quarter in that regard, Jaishankar told media persons. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Earlier on Friday, Jaishankar met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and on Thursday held an interaction with the German Bundestag (Parliament). PTI GSP GSP . . Netanyahu was not alone in blaming the West for going against Israel, all while backing Hamas. Israels foreign minister, Gideon Saar, also linked the deaths of the embassy staff with European leaders read more Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Netanyahu claimed that Keir Starmer, Frances Emmanuel Macron and Canadas Mark Carney had "effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power".. AFP Photo Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus criticism of British Prime Minister Kier Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron has invited accusations of slander from both countries. Netanyahu on Friday blasted Starmer, Macron and the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for supporting Hamas and stoking antisemitism following the deaths of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC earlier this week. The duo were killed by a gunman who was heard saying Free, free Palestine as he was being taken away by the police. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada and others. They are now proposing to establish a Palestinian state and reward these murderers with the ultimate prize, the prime minister said. Netanyahu was not alone in blaming the West for going against Israel, all while backing Hamas. Israels foreign minister, Gideon Saar, also linked the deaths of the embassy staff with European leaders. Meanwhile, the Israeli leaders comments have not just invited criticism from the countries whose leaders he pinned the blame on, but are also believed by officials of his own government to be actions motivated by Starmer, Macron and Carneys joint statement, calling on Israel to stop the war. What have UK and France said? In France, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described Netanyahus allegations of antisemitism as defamatory. In a statement posted on X, Barrot said: Accusing of encouraging antisemitism or [supporting] Hamas whoever defends the two-state solution is absurd and slanderous. He also stated that France supports Hamas being disarmed and permanently excluded from the political future of Gaza. Meanwhile, Britains armed forces minister, Luke Pollard, said, I condemn fully the murders of the Israeli diplomats in the United States, as has the prime minister very publicly." But were also absolutely clear that the best way to bring peace to the Middle East is with an immediate ceasefire being restored in Gaza with Hamas releasing the hostages without any further delay, and with massive amounts of aid getting to the Palestinian people in Gaza food, water and medical supplies being delivered without delay, he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India reportedly downed one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters during Operation Sindoor, and the IAF has proof read more More details have emerged about Indias precision strikes on Pakistani military installations on the intervening night of May 10, which forced Islamabad to urgently seek US intervention for a ceasefire pact. The Indian Air Force (IAF) targeted four air bases, took out an airborne early warning system and neutralised several air defences of the Pakistani forces with precision strikes, forcing Islamabad to seek a truce, Hindustan Times has reported. The paper also reported that the Indian Navy looked ready to target Karachi Naval Port on May 10 morning with its armada moving 260 miles off Makaran Coast. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD SCALP and BrahMos missiles used On May 10, the IAF struck four Pakistani bases. Rafale-launched SCALP missiles and SU-30 MKI-launched Brahmos missiles hit the northern air command-control network at Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala. Air strikes were also carried out at Jacobabad and Bholari air bases. AWACS destroyed India reportedly used its S-400 air defence system in Adampur to destroy a Pakistani SAAB-2000 airborne early warning system . Notably, the target was flying 315 kilometres deep into Pakistan. The S-400 took it out easily as Pakistans air defence systems had already been paralysed. Several fighter jets destroyed According to the sources quoted by Hindustan Times, the IAF has proof showing that several Pakistani fighter jets were destroyed in air as well on ground. India reportedly downed one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on ground and in the air. Chinas prized HQ-9 destroyed The sources said Chinas HQ-9, a cheaper version of Russias S-300, became Indias prime target in May 10 strikes. While missiles were used to hit HQ-9 at Malir in Karachi, a HARPY kamikaze drone was used to destroy Chinese-made LY-80 air defence system in Lahore. Navy was about to target Karachi Naval port On the morning of May 10, the Indian Navy was ready to attack Karachi Naval Port, with its ships positioned 260 miles off the Makaran Coast. However, Pakistans Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) warned that if India used Brahmos missiles to strike the port, Pakistan would hit back. Despite this threat, Indias military and political leaders remained unfazed. By the afternoon, the Pakistani DGMO was asking for a no-attack agreement. Pakistan launched an operation called Bunyan al-Marsoos at 1:00 AM on May 10, aiming to destroy Indian air bases within 48 hours, according to intercepted communications. However, the operation ended by 9:30 AM as India responded strongly, forcing Pakistan to ask for a ceasefire, sources said. India and Nepal held a joint military drill and search operation at the border after they received intel that Pakistani terrorists were spotted in the Himalayan region read more On Friday, India and Nepal conducted a joint operation and patrolled along the international border after New Delhi received inputs about suspected Pakistani terrorists were present in the Himalayan nation. The drill involved Indias Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Armed Police Force (APF) of Nepal, with both groups engaging in a search operation for suspects in the dense forests with their weapons. According to the India Today report, the operation was carried out in the no-mans land area at the India-Nepal international border. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During joint patrolling, soldiers from Nepal are with us in the fight against terrorism. We have very good relations with the Nepali forces. Every month, coordination meetings of the border forces of both countries are held. They are sharing their intelligence with us and we are sharing ours with them so that the suspects can be identified, SSB Commandant Ganga Singh told the Indian news outlet. Singh noted that the Pakistani nationals came to Markaz in Nepalgunj for a so-called special function. If something goes wrong, then these people inform us, he added. When asked about the intelligence inputs of a possible terror attack in Ayodhya, Singh told India Today that any place can be targeted by Pakistani terrorists and that Nepali forces are continuously cooperating with the SSB. Apart from this, the SSB forces are also keeping an eye on the Nepal border from watch towers. Singh assured that the officers are ready to handle any crisis with their INSAS guns. The neighbouring nations of India and Nepal share a border spanning more than 1,700 km. However, there is no fencing along the boundary lines. Hence, Indian and Nepali soldiers have been deployed on both sides of the border to keep an eye on any form of suspicious movements. Several Palestinians and soldiers told the AP that Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. read more Palestinians run for cover during an Israeli drone strike in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 23, 2025. AFP Photo The only time the Palestinian man wasnt bound or blindfolded, he said, was when he was used by Israeli soldiers as their human shield. Dressed in army fatigues with a camera fixed to his forehead, Ayman Abu Hamadan was forced into houses in the Gaza Strip to make sure they were clear of bombs and gunmen, he said. When one unit finished with him, he was passed to the next. They beat me and told me: You have no other option; do this or well kill you, the 36-year-old told The Associated Press, describing the 2 1/2 weeks he was held last summer by the Israeli military in northern Gaza. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Orders often came from the top, and at times nearly every platoon used a Palestinian to clear locations, said an Israeli officer, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Several Palestinians and soldiers told the AP that Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. The dangerous practice has become ubiquitous during 19 months of war, they said. In response to these allegations, Israels military says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza. Israeli officials blame the militants for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. In a statement to the AP, the military said it also bans otherwise coercing civilians to participate in operations, and all such orders are routinely emphasized to the forces. The military said its investigating several cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in missions, but wouldnt provide details. It didnt answer questions about the reach of the practice or any orders from commanding officers. The AP spoke with seven Palestinians who described being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and with two members of Israels military who said they engaged in the practice, which is prohibited by international law. Rights groups are ringing the alarm, saying its become standard procedure increasingly used in the war. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse, said Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers that has collected testimonies about the practice from within the military. Israel rightly condemns Hamas for using civilians as human shields, but our own soldiers describe doing the very same. Abu Hamadan said he was detained in August after being separated from his family, and soldiers told him hed help with a special mission. He was forced, for 17 days, to search houses and inspect every hole in the ground for tunnels, he said. Soldiers stood behind him and, once it was clear, entered the buildings to damage or destroy them, he said. He spent each night bound in a dark room, only to wake up and do it again. Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. The Supreme Court outlawed the practice in 2005. But the groups continued to document violations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Still, experts say this war is the first time in decades the practice and the debate around it has been so widespread. The two Israeli soldiers who spoke to the AP and a third who provided testimony to Breaking the Silence said commanders were aware of the use of human shields and tolerated it, with some giving orders to do so. Some said it was referred to as the mosquito protocol and that Palestinians were also referred to as wasps and other dehumanizing terms. The soldiers who said theyre no longer serving in Gaza said the practice sped up operations, saved ammunition, and spared combat dogs from injury or death. The soldiers said they first became aware human shields were being used shortly after the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, and that it became widespread by the middle of 2024. Orders to bring a mosquito often came via radio, they said shorthand everyone understood. Soldiers acted on commanding officers orders, according to the officer who spoke to the AP. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He said that by the end of his nine months in Gaza, every infantry unit used a Palestinian to clear houses before entering. Once this idea was initiated, it caught on like fire in a field, the 26-year-old said. People saw how effective and easy it was. He described a 2024 planning meeting where a brigade commander presented to the division commander a slide reading get a mosquito and a suggestion they might just catch one off the streets. The officer wrote two incident reports to the brigade commander detailing the use of human shields, reports that would have been escalated to the division chief, he said. The military said it had no comment when asked whether it received them. One report documented the accidental killing of a Palestinian, he said troops didnt realize another unit was using him as a shield and shot him as he ran into a house. The officer recommended the Palestinians be dressed in army clothes to avoid misidentification. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He said he knew of at least one other Palestinian who died while used as a shield he passed out in a tunnel. Convincing soldiers to operate lawfully when they see their enemy using questionable practices is difficult, said Michael Schmitt, a distinguished professor of international law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Israeli officials and other observers say Hamas uses civilians as shields as it embeds itself in communities, hiding fighters in hospitals and schools. Its really a heavy lift to look at your own soldiers and say you have to comply, Schmitt said. One soldier told the AP his unit tried to refuse to use human shields in mid-2024 but were told they had no choice, with a high-ranking officer saying they shouldnt worry about international humanitarian law. The sergeant speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal said the troops used a 16-year-old and a 30-year-old for a few days. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The boy shook constantly, he said, and both repeated Rafah, Rafah Gazas southernmost city, where more than 1 million Palestinians had fled from fighting elsewhere at that point in the war. It seemed they were begging to be freed, the sergeant said. Masoud Abu Saeed said he was used as a shield for two weeks in March 2024 in the southern city of Khan Younis. This is extremely dangerous, he recounted telling a soldier. I have children and want to reunite with them. The 36-year-old said he was forced into houses, buildings and a hospital to dig up suspected tunnels and clear areas. He said he wore a first-responder vest for easy identification, carrying a phone, hammer and chain cutters. During one operation, he bumped into his brother, used as a shield by another unit, he said. They hugged. I thought Israels army had executed him, he said. Palestinians also report being used as shields in the West Bank. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hazar Estity said soldiers took her from her Jenin refugee camp home in November, forcing her to film inside several apartments and clear them before troops entered. She said she pleaded to return to her 21-month-old son, but soldiers didnt listen. I was most afraid that they would kill me, she said. And that I wouldnt see my son again. According to the Foreign Office, the prime minister during the visit would have wide-ranging discussions with the leaders of these countries on the entire range of issues covering bilateral relations and matters of regional and international importance read more (File) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharid and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold a bilateral meeting in Ankara, Turkey on April 22, 2025. Image courtesy Embassy of Pakistan in Ankara Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will begin his visit to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran and Tajikistan from May 25 to express his gratitude for being Islamabads friends and standing by its side following Indias Operation Sindoor and the subsequent military conflict. According to the Foreign Office, the prime minister during the visit would have wide-ranging discussions with the leaders of these countries on the entire range of issues covering bilateral relations and matters of regional and international importance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He will also have the opportunity to express the deepest appreciation and acknowledgement for the support extended to Pakistan by the friendly countries during the recent crisis with India, the Foreign Office said. Sharifs visit comes as India has dispatched diplomatic outreach delegations to various countries to carry the message of New Delhis fight against Pakistans state-sponsored terrorism. Turkey has been siding with Pakistan after India launched Operation Sindoor following the killing of 26 people in Pahalgam on April 22. Ankara has not only condemned Indias military operation but also supplied drones to Pakistan that were used to target Indian cities and military installations. A preliminary probe into the debris of Pakistani drones thwarted by Indias air defence systems on May 9 reveals that the country used the Turkey-made Songar armed drone system. Songar is an armed drone system developed and produced by Asisguard, a subsidiary of Asis Electronics and Information Systems, to enhance capabilities in low-intensity conflict scenarios. It is the first domestically produced armed drone to be deployed by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the first indigenous Turkish drone equipped with a machine gun. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During Operation Sindoor, Azerbaijan supported Pakistan and condemned Indias military strikes on terror camps, aligning with Islamabads claim that the attacks resulted in civilian casualties. Azerbaijan also expressed solidarity with the Pakistani people during this period. Subsequently, in India, there were growing calls to boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan over their support for Pakistan during a time of national crisis. With inputs from agencies United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Friday that Palestinians were enduring the cruellest phase of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade read more A Palestinian man carries items he salvaged from a house targeted in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat camp for refugees in the central Gaza Strip. AFP Gazas civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least six people on Saturday across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days. Our teams have recovered at least six dead, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. He said a couple were killed with their two young children in a pre-dawn strike on a house in the Amal quarter of the southern city of Khan Yunis. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Another two people were killed in a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre of the territory, he said. The Israeli military said it was unable to comment on individual strikes without their precise geographical coordinates. Israel resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire. Gazas health ministry said Friday that at least 3,673 people had been killed in the territory since then, taking the wars overall toll to 53,822, mostly civilians. Hamass October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Friday that Palestinians were enduring the cruellest phase of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade. The World Food Programme called on Israel to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster, saying: Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity. Aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip restarted on Monday for the first time since March 2, amid mounting condemnation of the Israeli blockade, which has resulted in severe shortages of food and medicines. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Seouls foreign ministry said Saturday that both countries were allowed to conduct military drills in the shared zone, but that Chinas establishment of a no-sail zone within the PMZ that excessively restricts freedom of navigation raises concerns read more South Korea has voiced concerns to China over its establishment of a no-sail zone in a shared area of the Yellow Sea, Seouls foreign ministry said Saturday. The US outlet Newsweek reported Wednesday that China had barred ships from entering certain parts of the Yellow Sea, located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. According to Newsweek, a regional branch of Chinas Maritime Safety Administration declared the no-sail zone in parts of the seas Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) a shared area where the two countries exclusive economic zones overlap until May 27. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The MSA did not provide a reason, according to Newsweek, but South Korean media reported it was for military training purposes, citing the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency. Seouls foreign ministry said Saturday that both countries were allowed to conduct military drills in the shared zone, but that Chinas establishment of a no-sail zone within the PMZ that excessively restricts freedom of navigation raises concerns. Accordingly, Seoul has conveyed such concerns to the Chinese side through diplomatic channels, it added. The ministry also noted it was coordinating with other agencies, including the defence ministry, to assess whether Chinas recent measure is in accordance with international maritime law. According to Newsweek, Beijing has also installed three structures which it claims are aquaculture facilities. Some South Korean media outlets have suggested that these actions within the PMZ could be grey zone tactics, deliberately ambiguous moves aimed at expanding Chinas maritime jurisdiction. The South Asian island has long been considered a transit point for international drug smugglers, and all three suspects from Britain, India and Thailand could face life imprisonment if convicted read more Sri Lankan authorities have seized nearly 60 kilograms of potent synthetic cannabis that foreigners tried to smuggle in this month in three separate cases, a customs official said Saturday. The South Asian island has long been considered a transit point for international drug smugglers, and all three suspects from Britain, India and Thailand could face life imprisonment if convicted. The 21-year-old British woman was arrested on May 12, with customs officers saying she was stopped with 46 kilograms (101 pounds) of kush a synthetic drug containing powerful opioids packed in two suitcases. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This could be the biggest drug bust at the Colombo airport in recent times, said Customs Additional Director General Seevali Arukgoda. British media reports have identified the woman as Charlotte May Lee, a former cabin crew member from London, who had flown to Sri Lanka from Thailand. She is being held in detention at a prison near Colombo airport. The BBC reported that she denied knowledge of drugs in her luggage, and claimed they were planted at her hotel in Bangkok. On May 16, a 33-year-old Indian man was arrested at the northern seaport of Kankesanthurai. Arukgoda said that he had been carrying four kilograms of kush. He too has been handed over to the anti-narcotics police for further investigations. On May 18, a 21-year-old Thai man was stopped at Colombo airport, who is accused of attempting to smuggle in nearly eight kilograms of kush. Sri Lankan authorities have previously seized large quantities of heroin off its shores, saying it suggested the island is being used as a transit hub for narcotics being reshipped onward. In October, a Sri Lankan court sentenced 10 Iranian men to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to smuggling more than 111 kilograms of heroin. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The men were among 17 arrested in Sri Lankan waters in April 2016 while transporting narcotics aboard an Iranian trawler. In 2023, nine Iranians received life sentences in a separate drug smuggling case. US President Donald Trump surprised many with his announcement of the new policy on a Gulf tour earlier this month, during which he shook hands with Syrias jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa read more US President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. File image/ Reuters Syria welcomed the Trump administrations decision to ease US sanctions on Saturday, as Washington seeks to begin a new chapter in its ties with Syria. During a Gulf visit earlier this month, US President Donald Trump surprised many by announcing the new policy while shaking hands with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the jihadist who is now Syrias interim president. Trump said he wanted to give the war-torn countrys new rulers a chance at greatness after their overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the decision from the American government to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and its people for long years, a foreign ministry statement said. It described the move as a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country. The Treasury Department issued a general license known as GL25, authorizes transactions prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, effectively lifting sanctions on Syria, the Treasury said in a statement. GL25 will enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with the Presidents America First strategy, the statement said. Most of the US sanctions on Syria were imposed on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and key individuals in 2011 after civil war erupted there. Sharaa led militias that overthrew Assad in December. The general license names Sharaa, formerly sanctioned under the name Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, among the people and entities with whom transactions are now authorized. It also lists Syrian Arab Airlines, the Central Bank of Syria and a number of other banks, several state oil and gas companies and the Four Seasons Damascus hotel. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since Assads ouster, the new administration has been looking to build relations with the West and roll back sanctions, but some governments had expressed reluctance, pointing to the Islamist past of leading figures. Sharaa himself was once considered a terrorist by Washington, with a $10 million bounty on his head. On Friday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his country was implementing authorisations to encourage new investment into Syria. The sanctions relief extends to Syrias new government with conditions that the country not provide safe haven for terrorist organisations and ensure security for religious and ethnic minorities, the US Treasury Department said. Concurrently, the US State Department issued a 180-day waiver for the Caesar Act to make sure sanctions do not obstruct foreign investment into Syria. The 2020 legislation severely sanctioned any entity or company cooperating with the ousted government. New relationship Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver would facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The authorisation covers new investment in Syria, provision of financial services and transactions involving Syrian petroleum products. However, Rubio cautioned that Trump has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities. Todays actions represent the first step on delivering on the presidents vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States, he said. Syrias 14-year civil war killed over half a million people and destroyed much of the countrys infrastructure. Rubio said the lifting of sanctions aims at promoting recovery and reconstruction efforts. Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh said it would help with reconstruction and infrastructure modernisation, and opens the door for the return of investments. The European Union announced the lifting of its sanctions on Syria earlier this month. In a post on social media platform X, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani promised Syrians more successes in the coming months, complementing the successive decisions to lift American and European sanctions on Syria. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After meeting Shaibani on Saturday, UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen said that strong support from the international community and regional actors should continue. Analysts say a full lifting of sanctions may still take time, as some US restrictions are acts that need to be reversed by Congress, while Syrian authorities need to ensure an attractive environment for foreign investment. Defence Minister Wellington Koo has urged Taiwan to stockpile military supplies and enhance its defence capabilities, warning of the need to prepare for a possible war of endurance involving repeated assaults from Beijing. read more Taiwans military is strengthening its combat readiness in response to escalating threats from China, according to Defence Minister Wellington Koo. Citing the need to prepare for a potential war of endurance, he said Taiwan must stockpile military supplies and upgrade capabilities in case of multiple assaults by Beijing. President Lai Ching-te said the armed forces are undergoing a major transformation to confront Chinas growing hostility. Training programmes have been updated for both conscripts and senior officers, with a focus on new military assets and asymmetric warfare strategies, including the deployment of drones, air defence systems, and mobile radar. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As we are situated on an island, we need to stockpile military supplies in case China launches multiple assaults. We may even need to prepare for a war of endurance, he stated, according to the Focus Taiwan report. He emphasised that the objective is to prepare for war, insisting that readiness is crucial for maintaining a strong deterrent, as reported by Focus Taiwan. As part of these reforms, Taiwan extended its compulsory military service to one year from January 2024. Koo noted that troop planning and positioning are under review, especially with the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army frequently conducting military exercises near Taiwan. The annual Han Kuang military drills will be held from July 9 to 18 this yearlonger than last years, which were shortened by a typhoon. The goal is to identify and address operational weaknesses. A broader review of troop numbers and deployments is also scheduled for later in the year. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control. Analysts said the increased military activity reflects Chinas ongoing efforts to normalise its military posture around Taiwan. US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order days after the Justice Department notified him that its claim that the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information read more A law enforcement officer surveils a bus used to transport deportees from the U.S. to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Reuters A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to facilitate the return of a gay Guatemalan man who said he was deported to Mexico despite fearing he would be persecuted there, after officials acknowledged an error in his case. US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order days after the Justice Department notified him that its claim that the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Justice Department said last week that upon further investigation, officials were unable to identify any Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who had asked the man, identified as O.C.G., about fears he had for his safety. Murphy, an appointee of Trumps Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, called the case a horror and said that while mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to this decision are troubling. The ruling marks the latest instance of a judge ordering President Donald Trumps administration to facilitate the return of a migrant swept up in the Republicans efforts to carry out mass deportations as part of his hard-line immigration agenda, following a mistake in an individuals case. In a class action lawsuit filed by O.C.G. and other migrants, the judge had blocked the administration from swiftly deporting people to countries other than their own without first hearing any concerns they had about their safety. Due process is, in some sense, a binary - one either receives what the Constitution requires, or one does not, Murphy wrote. It has been clear that O.C.G. did not receive what the Constitution requires. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The government likewise made an error with Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March despite an order protecting him from removal. He remains there, despite a judge ordering the administration to facilitate his return. Fridays ruling comes two days after Murphy, in the class action lawsuit case, concluded that the Trump administration had violated his earlier ruling by attempting to deport a group of migrants to South Sudan. According to his lawyers, O.C.G. is a gay man who fled Guatemala in 2024 after facing death threats based on his sexuality. He entered the United States through Mexico in May 2024. Murphy said that while an immigration judge in February found O.C.G. deserved protection from being returned to Guatemala, authorities two days later wrongly placed him on a bus to Mexico, where he had recently been raped and kidnapped. Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for O.C.G. at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said his legal team was elated by Murphys ruling and would work to facilitate a return plan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After arriving in Mexico, O.C.G. had to choose between waiting months in detention to apply for asylum in Mexico or return to Guatemala. He chose the latter and went into hiding, his lawyers say. Conservative commentator and former White House strategist Steve Bannon said that Trumps dismissing a fake news report, changed everything for Tesla CEO Elon Musk and prompted his early exit from DOGE read more Famous Conservative commentator and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon revealed the real reason behind Tesla CEO Elon Musks exit from US President Donald Trumps administration. Bannon said that fake news led to the fallout between Trump and Musk. In the interview published by The Atlantic on Wednesday, Bannon said that everything changed for the billionaire after Trump dismissed a New York Times report that claimed that Musk would receive a briefing on China during his visit to the Pentagon. The remarks from the conservative strategist came after Musk stepped back from his high-profile role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Atlantic report also delved into how Musk had disagreements with some of the top officials in Trumps second administration. In his interview, Bannon emphasised that the NYT saga was the turning point for the Tesla CEO within Trump 2.0. You could feel it. Everything changed. The fever had been broken, Bannon told the American magazine, emphasising the concerns raised about the scope of influence Musk had within the federal government. What was the report about? In March this year, The New York Times published a report in which it stated that Musk was set to be briefed by the Pentagon. One of the key aspects of the briefing was reported to be the details regarding any prospective war between the US and China . The report soon stirred a storm in Congress, with the Democratic lawmakers opposing the plans and raising ethical and national security concerns with Musks involvement. Trump eventually issued a clarification on the matter on his TruthSocial platform and described the NYT article as fake news. They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential war with China, Trump said at the time. How ridiculous? China will not even be mentioned or discussed, he added. Given the wide area of influence Musk enjoyed as the head of DOGE, the idea of Musk being present during such sensitive talks rang alarm bells among critics over his power. The first buddy and his team had already made several dramatic cuts at federal departments and agencies and were already being scrutinised for their access to the social security information of Americans. In recent weeks, Musk has spoken about his plans to shift his focus towards his companies, i.e. Tesla, SpaceX & X. The South African-born billionaire had also mentioned that he would cut back on his political donations soon. However, despite all these speculations, Musk still appears to remain close to Trump. The billionaire accompanied Trump during the POTUSs visit to the Middle East . On Wednesday, he also sat alongside Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the two world leaders met in the Oval Office. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In a separate statement to the Business Insider, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, made it clear that DOGEs mission will surely continue, despite Musks exit. DOGE employees who are onboarded at their respective agencies will continue to work with President Trumps cabinet to make our government more efficient, she said. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Iti doresti o presa libera si independenta, care nu da inapoi cand vine vorba de respectarea standardelor profesionale, refuza sa se lase cenzurata, sustine independenta justitiei, transparenta decizionala si valorile democratice. Alege sa o sustii. Saturday Night Mainly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. NNW winds shifting to E at 10 to 15 mph. The OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, as it appeared following a fire in 1882, nearly a year after the famous gunfight there. Jace DiCola/The Daily Sentinel Harmony Acres Equestrian Center Co-Founder and Program Director Morgan Kareus pets one of the facility horses, Doc, as she talks to a Sentinel reporter on the benefits of equine therapy on May 21. At Harmony Acres, participants will work with the horses bit by bit, spending up to three weeks on horsemanship, in which veterans learn to communicate and act alongside their horses. Dennis received bachelor's degrees in communication and political science with a TAG degree in Spanish from The University of Akron in Ohio. He grew up in Ohio with two sisters and two brothers, one being his fraternal twin. He and his wife have two dogs: Bacio, and Cal. Dennis currently covers natural resource and environmental issues for The Daily Sentinel Russo-Ukraine War - 23 May 2025 - Day 1185 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian defenders continue to decisively thwart the Russian enemy's attempts to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, giving him an effective fire effect, exhaustion throughout the frontline. In total, since the beginning of this day, there have been 150 boezitknen . Russian zagarbniki made one rocket and 50 aviation strikes, used two rockets and dropped 80 cab. In addition, the Russians engaged 1291 kamikaze drones and carried out 4204 shelling positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements. In the Kharkiv direction today, the Russian enemy attacked three times in the areas of the settlements of Vovchansk, Kamyanka and Dvorichna. In the Kupyansky direction, Russian forces made five attacks on the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of Kolisnikivka, Kruglyakivka and Zagrizovoye, still fighting is ongoing in two locations. In the Lyman direction since the beginning of the day, Russian invaders 16 times attacked nearby settlements Nove, Novomikhailivka, Green Valley, Torske, Grekivka, Yampolivka and towards Grigorivka and Bilogorivka. Five clashes have not subsided so far. Two out of three attacks were repelled by Ukrainian defenders in the Kramatorsky direction, the Russian enemy was advancing near Kurdyumivka and towards the White Mountain, the battle is ongoing. In the Toretsky direction Russians 20 times attacked the positions of Defense Forces. The main efforts of the invasion were concentrated in the areas of the settlements of Romanivka, Ozaryanivka, Crimea, Druzhba and Toretsk. Ukrainian defenders have successfully repelled 18 attacks, fighting continues. Since the beginning of this day in the Pokrovsky direction, Russians have tried 45 times to break through Ukrainian defense near the settlements of Shevchenko the First, Myrolyubivka, Elizabethtivka, Malinivka, Lisivka, Udaachne, Novomykolaivka, Troyitske, Kotlyarivka and Andriyivka, so far six clashes are ongoing. Defense forces deter Russian attacks, the Russian enemy suffers significant casualties - today 403 Russian invaders were defecated in this direction, 237 of them - irrevocable. Seven armored vehicles, 14 cars, 40 motorcycles, one 2C1 self-propelled artillery rig, one cannon, a mortar, 13 BPLAs, a generator, two control points and one BPLA antenna were also destroyed. In addition, a tank, a combat armored vehicle, four cars, eight motorcycles, two cannons and an enemy's mortar were damaged. In the Novopavlovsky direction, Ukrainian units stopped 18 Russian assault actions near the settlements Novopil, Zelene Pole, Vilne Pole, Bagatyr, Vesele, Burlatske and in the direction of Odradny, nine more clashes are ongoing so far. In the Orihivsky direction, Russian forces tried five times to go ahead at the position of Ukrainian units in the Stepovoye area and in the direction of Novodanilivka, received a cut-off. In the pridniprovs komu direction, the Russian enemy had two useless attempts to attack Ukrainian fortifications. Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to deter Russian forces in the Kursk direction, where the warner carried out 39 assault operations on the positions of Ukrainian units during a day, four clashes are ongoing so far. Russian forces launched six air strikes, dropping ten controlled bombs, and carried out 239 artillery shells, 12 of which were from jet systems. In other directions, the situation has not changed significantly. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SAN DIEGO, May 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that the Organon class action lawsuit captioned Hauser v. Organon & Co., No. 25-cv-05322 (D.N.J.) seeks to represent purchasers or acquirers of Organon & Co. (NYSE: OGN) securities and charges Organon as well as certain of Organons top executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Organon class action lawsuit, please provide your information here: https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-organon-co-class-action-lawsuit-ogn.html You can also contact attorneys J.C. Sanchez or Jennifer N. Caringal of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at info@rgrdlaw.com. Lead plaintiff motions for the Organon class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than July 22, 2025. CASE ALLEGATIONS: Organon develops and delivers health solutions through prescription therapies and medical devices. The Organon class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the class period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) defendants concealed material information pertaining to Organons capital allocation priorities, particularly the future of the quarterly dividend payout; (ii) in truth, Organons optimistic reports of the dividend payout as Organons number one priority were offset by Organons newly implemented debt reduction strategy, thus, leading to a drastic decrease over 70% of the quarterly dividend; and (iii) Organon planned to prioritize debt reduction following Organons acquisition of Dermavant Sciences Ltd. The Organon class action lawsuit further alleges that on May 1, 2025, Organon reported first quarter 2025 financial results and announced that management reset Organons dividend payout from $0.28 to $0.02. On this news, the price of Organon stock fell more than 27%, according to the complaint. THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired Organon securities during the class period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Organon class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Organon class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Organon class action lawsuit. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the Organon class action lawsuit. ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the worlds leading law firms representing investors in securities fraud and shareholder litigation. Our Firm has been ranked #1 in the ISS Securities Class Action Services rankings for four out of the last five years for securing the most monetary relief for investors. In 2024, we recovered over $2.5 billion for investors in securities-related class action cases more than the next five law firms combined, according to ISS. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs firms in the world, and the Firms attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest ever $7.2 billion in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information: https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices. Contact: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP J.C. Sanchez, Jennifer N. Caringal 655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101 800-449-4900 info@rgrdlaw.com San Francisco, May 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In This Article, Youll Discover: What causes fungal nail infections and why theyre so difficult to treat The limitations of traditional treatments like creams, pills, and expensive laser clinics How modern, non-invasive light-based technology is transforming at-home nail care Why Welnax BioClear is emerging as the best LED anti-fungal device for daily use How dual-spectrum blue and red light therapy targets nail fungus at the source Real user testimonials showcasing visible results with consistent use How the device compares to other at-home nail fungus treatments on the market Comprehensive answers to frequently asked questions from new and returning users Full details on pricing, warranty, safety, and where to buy the official product Legal disclaimers and safety considerations to ensure informed use TL;DR Summary Nail fungus is a persistent and often overlooked issue affecting millions of people worldwide. Traditional treatmentslike prescription antifungal pills or over-the-counter creamsare commonly used but frequently fall short, especially when the infection lies deep beneath the nail surface. The Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device offers a next-generation, at-home alternative using blue and red light therapy to help improve the appearance and strength of infected nails. Backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and designed for hands-free, daily 7-minute sessions, it is rapidly gaining attention as one of the top LED devices for toenail fungus in 2025. This article explores everything you need to knowfrom how it works to who its forso you can make a fully informed decision about managing your nail health safely and effectively. Introduction to the Fight Against Nail Fungus Nail fungus is more than just a cosmetic problemits a widespread issue that affects millions of people, silently disrupting everyday life. It's not just about the embarrassment in open-toe shoes or the uncomfortable side effects like odor, discoloration, and brittleness. It's about the persistent, often frustrating concern that many of us face. According to recent data, over 7 million Americans experience recurring nail fungus symptoms, with many struggling to find a lasting, effective solution. Traditional remedies often fall short, whether its messy topical creams or side-effect-prone oral medications. As these older treatments become increasingly outdated, consumers are now turning to the next generation of solutions: at-home LED anti-fungal devices. Among these, the Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device is quickly becoming known as one of the Best LED Anti-Fungal Device available. Its powerful design, convenience, and advanced light therapy technology offer a sense of relief to those struggling with nail fungus. This article is a complete guide to understanding why nail fungus occurs, how LED therapy works, and why Welnax BioClear is leading the way as the best LED anti-fungal device for at-home nail care. Well dive deep into: What causes nail fungus and its hidden symptoms The limits of traditional treatments What makes Welnax BioClear stand out as a top LED device for toenail fungus Pricing, real user reviews, and purchasing tips Important considerations for safety and performance With this in-depth breakdown, youll be able to confidently decide if this smart, light-powered device is the right fit for you. Let's get started by understanding the real problem most people face when battling persistent fungal infections. Ready to explore the next section and learn more about the fight against nail fungus? Let's continue our journey. What Causes Nail Fungus and Why Its So Hard to Eliminate Fungal nail infections, medically referred to as onychomycosis, are notoriously stubborn. They occur when fungimost commonly dermatophytesinvade the space under the nail plate, thriving in warm, moist environments like sweaty socks, communal showers, or poorly ventilated footwear. Common Triggers for Fungal Growth Nail fungus can affect anyone, but certain lifestyle habits and health factors increase the risk. Here are some of the most common causes: Tight or non-breathable footwear that traps moisture Public showers and locker rooms, where fungal spores linger on surfaces Poor foot hygiene or infrequent nail trimming Nail trauma that creates entry points for fungal organisms Underlying conditions like diabetes or weakened immunity These factors make it easy for fungus to get established, especially on the toes, where air exposure is minimal and socks or shoes often encourage fungal growth. Early Symptoms That Often Go Ignored Fungal infections rarely appear overnight. Instead, they develop gradually, often beginning as subtle signs that many people dismiss until the infection worsens: Yellowing or white spots on the nail surface Crumbling or flaking edges Thickened, brittle nails that are difficult to trim Distorted nail shape or foul odor At this stage, the fungus has already embedded itself under the nail, making surface treatments largely ineffective. Why Traditional Remedies Often Fail One of the reasons this condition is hard to treat is its location. The infection doesnt just sit on the surfaceits beneath the nail, where creams and ointments rarely penetrate effectively. Oral medications may help, but they often come with significant risks such as liver toxicity and drug interactions, making them unsuitable for many individuals. These risks should be carefully considered and discussed with a healthcare professional before starting any oral medication. For these reasons, non-invasive and targeted solutions like LED fungus devices are emerging as a modern alternative that can offer convenience and deeper nail-bed penetrationwithout resorting to harsh chemicals or internal medications. These devices use specific wavelengths of light to target and kill the fungus, offering a potentially effective and safe treatment option. Remember, while LED light therapy has shown promise in helping manage the symptoms of fungal infections, individual results may vary. Your health is important, so always consult a healthcare provider before changing your treatment approach, especially if you have underlying health concerns. They can provide personalized advice and ensure you're on the right track. Why Traditional Treatments Are Fading (And Whats Replacing Them) Despite their long history of use, traditional nail fungus treatments are revealing their limitations, particularly in terms of long-term effectiveness, convenience, and safety. As more people become aware of these downsides, they are actively seeking smarter, non-invasive alternatives that resonate with modern wellness trends. Topical Creams and Ointments: Limited Penetration Over-the-counter antifungal creams and medicated nail polishes have long been considered a first line of defense. However, these treatments generally only address surface-level symptoms. They struggle to reach the infection beneath the nail bed Daily application is time-consuming and inconsistent Prolonged use often yields minimal improvement, especially in moderate to severe cases Moreover, these topical treatments can induce skin irritation in some users, making them uncomfortable for long-term use. Oral Antifungal Medications: Effective, But Risky Prescription pills such as terbinafine or itraconazole offer more aggressive internal action, but they also come with serious considerations: Potential liver damage and the need for frequent blood tests and the need for frequent blood tests Drug interactions with other medications with other medications Extended treatment cycles (often 36 months or more) (often 36 months or more) Side effects like nausea, headaches, and rashes While these treatments may work for some, many patients simply dont tolerate them well. As a result, people are turning away from prescription-only solutions and looking for safer, technology-backed options. Disclaimer: Always consult your physician before using oral antifungal medications, as they may not be suitable for individuals with certain health conditions or those taking other prescriptions. Professional Laser Therapy: Highly Effective, But Expensive Some dermatology and podiatry clinics offer in-office laser nail fungus treatments, which use concentrated light energy to kill fungal cells. These treatments are: Clinically supported in many cases in many cases Non-invasive with little to no downtime Often effective for deeper infections However, this option also comes at a steep price: Each session can cost between $500$1,200 Multiple sessions (410+) are often required Not covered by most insurance plans Inconvenient for those with tight schedules Given the significant cost and time commitment, many consumers are now turning to portable, at-home LED devices as a more accessible alternative. The Rise of At-Home LED Anti-Fungal Devices In 2025, the latest trend in foot care is all about self-directed, clean technology. Enter LED nail fungus devicescompact, user-friendly gadgets that harness low-level laser light therapy (LLLT) or blue/red LED spectrums to help manage fungal symptoms at home. These devices work by emitting specific wavelengths of light that target and destroy the fungal cells, promoting healthy nail growth. These devices are: Non-invasive, with zero downtime Pain-free and easy to use daily Aligned with tech-enhanced wellness and biohacking trends A cost-effective alternative to costly clinical procedures One standout in this fast-growing category is the Welnax BioClear, widely recognized as one of the best LED anti-fungal devices currently available for home use. In the next section, well introduce this product in full detailand explore what sets it apart. If you're interested in exploring this innovative solution for nail fungus, keep reading to learn more about the Welnax BioClear. Dont wait for the fungus to spreadtake action now with Welnax BioClear, the easiest way to target nail issues from the comfort of your home with zero pain, mess, or hassle. Meet Welnax BioClear: The Best LED Anti-Fungal Device for At-Home Use The modern consumer wants more than just a treatmentthey want smart solutions that are affordable, accessible, and aligned with todays self-care and wellness tech trends. Thats where the Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device steps in, earning recognition as one of the most effective LED nail fungus treatment lights available for at-home use. Designed with 18 anti-fungal lasers, this device goes beyond cosmetic fixes by offering a clean-tech alternative to harsh chemicals and risky medications. Its specifically engineered to target the root causes of toenail fungus, using focused light therapy to support healthier nail appearance without the need for prescriptions, appointments, or downtime. Key Features of the Welnax BioClear Heres what makes the Welnax BioClear stand out from the crowd: 18 Precision Lasers This device uses a combination of LLLT (low-level laser therapy) and blue light to deeply penetrate the nail and target the underlying fungal presence. The LLLT stimulates cellular activity, promoting the growth of healthy nails, while the blue light effectively kills the fungus, providing a comprehensive solution to nail fungus. This device uses a combination of and to deeply penetrate the nail and target the underlying fungal presence. The LLLT stimulates cellular activity, promoting the growth of healthy nails, while the blue light effectively kills the fungus, providing a comprehensive solution to nail fungus. Auto-Timer Technology The Welnax BioClear features a built-in 7-minute timer , making each session easy to complete without guesswork. This smart feature ensures that you get the optimal treatment time without the need for constant monitoring, enhancing the convenience of the device. The Welnax BioClear features a built-in , making each session easy to complete without guesswork. This smart feature ensures that you get the optimal treatment time without the need for constant monitoring, enhancing the convenience of the device. Hands-Free Design Place the device on your foot and go about your businessno need to hold it manually. Place the device on your foot and go about your businessno need to hold it manually. Compact and Portable Small enough to fit in a handbag or travel kit, the Welnax BioClear is perfect for users on the go, ensuring your nail fungus treatment fits seamlessly into your daily routine. Small enough to fit in a handbag or travel kit, the Welnax BioClear is perfect for users on the go, ensuring your nail fungus treatment fits seamlessly into your daily routine. One-Size-Fits-All The Welnax BioClear is designed to accommodate both fingernails and toenails of all sizes and ages, ensuring that everyone can benefit from this effective treatment. These design features position the BioClear as a standout in the top LED devices for toenail fungus categoryoffering a smart, wearable solution for a persistent problem. How to Use Welnax BioClear Effectively To get the most from your device: Place it over the infected nail. Activate the 7-minute auto-cycle. Repeat daily for optimal resultstypically for a minimum of 12 months. The simplicity of this regimen makes it ideal for daily use, even for people with busy lifestyles. Disclaimer: Individual results may vary. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results depend on consistency of use and the severity of the fungal issue. Safe, Non-Invasive, and Pain-Free The Welnax BioClear is a safe and non-invasive solution that doesn't expose your body to harsh side effects, providing peace of mind to users of all kinds. Unlike oral antifungal medications or even some clinical lasers, Welnax BioClear doesnt expose your body to harsh side effects. Its suitable for: Seniors, athletes, and anyone prone to recurring nail infections Users with sensitive skin or pre-existing health conditions (consult your physician if unsure) (consult your physician if unsure) Everyday people looking for a chemical-free option This aligns perfectly with growing consumer demand for gentle, tech-driven skincare and personal wellness solutionsa booming trend in 2025. How Welnax BioClear Works to Target the Root of Nail Fungus The Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device isnt just a surface-level solutionits a product of advanced engineering designed to reach where topical treatments fail. By using dual-spectrum light therapy, this device addresses the underlying fungal organisms that hide deep beneath the nail bed, offering a modern, science-backed approach to nail hygiene and aesthetic restoration. The Technology Behind the Light At the core of the BioClears power is Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), a non-thermal, non-invasive light technology thats been studied in various therapeutic applications. BioClear pairs LLLT with targeted blue light wavelengths, which are known to create an unfavorable environment for fungal growth. Blue Light (405470 nm): Often used in dermatology to neutralize bacteria and fungi on the skin surface Often used in dermatology to neutralize bacteria and fungi on the skin surface Red Light (620660 nm): Penetrates deeper to support local circulation and nail recovery Penetrates deeper to support local circulation and nail recovery Laser Precision: Each of the 18 laser diodes is calibrated to deliver consistent energy to the nails surface and substructure This multi-angle approach allows the device to target both the visible symptoms and the root of the fungal imbalance, something that topical creams rarely achieve. Disclaimer: While light-based therapy is gaining popularity as a supportive wellness method, it is not a cure. Always consult with a licensed medical professional for ongoing or severe fungal infections. Rest assured, the Welnax BioClear is designed with your safety in mind. How Light Therapy Disrupts Fungus Fungal organisms thrive in darkness and moisture. Light therapy works by creating a hostile environment for these invaders while stimulating the nails natural healing processes. Disrupts fungal cell structure , hindering reproduction and spread , hindering reproduction and spread Improves local circulation , potentially supporting faster nail renewal , potentially supporting faster nail renewal Encourages detoxification of the affected area over time By consistently applying this therapy over a course of weeks, many users report a noticeable improvement in nail appearance, strength, and colorespecially when paired with proper foot hygiene and footwear. You dont need a prescription for healthier nailsjust 7 minutes a day with Welnax BioClear. Order now and experience the tech-enhanced solution thats changing nail care in 2025. How This Differs From Other At-Home Remedies Many at-home methods rely on essential oils, soaks, or abrasive nail files. While these may temporarily improve surface conditions, they rarely eliminate the fungus underneath. The BioClear, however: Targets fungal infections at a deeper level Delivers consistent energy with every session Requires no messy application or manual contact This makes it a top contender for the best LED nail fungus treatment device, especially for people looking for a no-hassle, clean-tech solution. Real Users, Real Results Success Stories With Welnax BioClear When it comes to products that promise improvement in nail health, especially against stubborn fungal infections, real-world results speak louder than any advertisement. Welnax BioClear has gained momentum in the at-home wellness space thanks in part to its consistently positive user feedback. These firsthand accounts illustrate how this LED nail fungus treatment device, with its ease of use, is helping people regain comfort and confidence in their feetone session at a time. Testimonials That Showcase Visible Progress Many users who had tried various creams, pills, and even prescription treatments with little success have turned to BioClear as a last resortand found what they were looking for. John H. Chicago, IL Id been dealing with thick, yellow toenails for years. I was skeptical about a light device, but after using the Welnax BioClear for just over 6 weeks, I noticed my nails looked clearer and less brittle. I love that I dont have to take pills or use messy creams anymore. Id been dealing with thick, yellow toenails for years. I was skeptical about a light device, but after using the Welnax BioClear for just over 6 weeks, I noticed my nails looked clearer and less brittle. I love that I dont have to take pills or use messy creams anymore. John H. Chicago, IL I used to be embarrassed to wear sandals, even at home. After 2 months with the device, my toenails are no longer discolored and feel much stronger. Plus, its so easy to use while watching TV or reading. I used to be embarrassed to wear sandals, even at home. After 2 months with the device, my toenails are no longer discolored and feel much stronger. Plus, its so easy to use while watching TV or reading. Maria G. Austin, TX I tried everythingnatural oils, filing, prescription dropsand nothing lasted. This device changed my routine. The auto-timer is great, and I actually look forward to using it now. These real-life experiences reflect a growing trust in light-based therapy as a tech-forward foot care solution. Although individual results vary, the consistency of positive testimonials underscores the potential of Welnax BioClear to become one of the top LED devices for toenail fungus, instilling confidence in its effectiveness. Before-and-After Results That Tell the Story Visual transformations often serve as the most compelling proof of progress. While not everyone sees overnight results, users who stick with the daily 7-minute sessions for 6 to 10 weeks report noticeable changes such as: Reduced yellowing and discoloration Less brittle, flaking nail edges Healthier nail regrowth from the base Smoother nail surface texture It's important to note that full nail renewal can take several months, as toenails grow slowly, and patience is key. Consistency of use is one of the biggest predictors of visible success. Disclaimer: Results may vary depending on the severity and duration of the fungal infection. This product does not claim to cure fungal infections but is intended as a support tool for improving nail condition. Consult a healthcare provider if your condition worsens or fails to improve. The Science Behind LED Therapy for Fungal Nail Care Behind the rising popularity of at-home LED anti-fungal devices lies a growing body of scientific interest in light-based wellness tools. As consumers, it's comforting to know that these technologies, like Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and blue light phototherapy, are safe and non-invasive. They are being recognized for their potential to support the bodys natural ability to restore balanceparticularly in managing conditions like nail fungus. How LLLT and Blue Light Work Together The Welnax BioClear, a leading at-home LED anti-fungal device, uses a combination of blue and red-spectrum LED light paired with precision low-level lasers. This innovative device is designed to be easy to use and effective, providing a convenient solution for those looking to manage conditions like nail fungus. Here's how these light therapies are believed to interact with fungal-affected nails: Blue Light (405470nm): Targets the outer layers of the nail and skin. Fungi and bacteria are sensitive to blue wavelengths, which can disrupt their normal function and inhibit growth. Targets the outer layers of the nail and skin. Fungi and bacteria are sensitive to blue wavelengths, which can disrupt their normal function and inhibit growth. Red Light (620660nm): Penetrates deeper into the nail bed and tissue, improving circulation and promoting a healthier environment for nail recovery. When used consistently, this dual-spectrum LED technology creates a multi-level approach to improving the appearance and texture of infected nails. While not a cure, it provides support that may significantly enhance the results of a comprehensive foot care routine, giving hope for better nail health. Disclaimer: The information provided here reflects current studies in light-based therapy and is not intended to replace medical advice or treatment. It's important to always consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis or if symptoms persist, as this ensures responsible and informed decision-making. Research Supporting Light-Based Fungal Therapies A number of small-scale studies and reviews have examined the impact of LED light on microbial activity. Key findings include: Blue light wavelengths may reduce fungal load on the nail surface when applied over multiple sessions. may reduce fungal load on the nail surface when applied over multiple sessions. LLLT devices have shown promise in improving nail appearance and reducing discoloration over 612 weeks. have shown promise in improving nail appearance and reducing discoloration over 612 weeks. Studies indicate that combining topical care with phototherapy can improve long-term outcomes in nail health. Though more clinical trials are needed to make broad medical claims, the available data aligns with the growing consumer demand for non-invasive, tech-based personal care tools. Why Its Gaining Popularity in 2025 Several key wellness trends are fueling interest in light therapy for nail care: Clean beauty and chemical-free skincare Tech-enhanced at-home health tools Biohacking solutions for targeted wellness Affordable alternatives to clinical procedures Self-care routines that fit modern lifestyles Welnax BioClear rides this wave by offering a device that feels modern, safe, and practicalmeeting the expectations of consumers who are savvy about both performance and aesthetics. Invest in your feet with confidenceWelnax BioClear uses smart LED therapy to fight stubborn nail fungus with no chemicals, no downtime, and no clinic visits. Try it risk-free today. Welnax BioClear vs. Other LED Anti-Fungal Devices on the Market As the popularity of LED nail fungus treatment grows, the market is quickly becoming saturated with a range of devicessome high-performing, others not so much. To truly understand why Welnax BioClear is considered one of the top LED devices for toenail fungus, its important to compare its core features, usability, and value to others in its category. Common Limitations Found in Other At-Home Devices While many anti-fungal LED tools promise relief, users often report issues such as: Low power output or generic light sources that dont deliver sufficient energy to penetrate the nail bed. that dont deliver sufficient energy to penetrate the nail bed. Manual hold designs , which require users to sit still and manually aim the lightoften for 20+ minutes at a time. , which require users to sit still and manually aim the lightoften for 20+ minutes at a time. No auto-timer , meaning sessions may be inconsistent or overly long. , meaning sessions may be inconsistent or overly long. One-size-fits-some designs that arent suitable for both fingers and toes. In addition, many competing products focus solely on red light, missing the antimicrobial benefits of blue spectrum lighta key differentiator for the Welnax BioClear. What Sets Welnax BioClear Apart The Welnax BioClear is specifically engineered to overcome those shortcomings. Here's how it outshines the competition: 18 Medical-Grade Laser Beams : Deliver more direct and even energy across the nail. : Deliver more direct and even energy across the nail. Hands-Free Operation : No need to hold or aim the devicesimply place it on your foot. : No need to hold or aim the devicesimply place it on your foot. 7-Minute Smart Timer : Ensures consistent, optimized daily sessions with no guesswork. : Ensures consistent, optimized daily sessions with no guesswork. Dual-Wavelength Light : Combines blue and red LED therapy for broader antifungal coverage and deeper impact. : Combines for broader antifungal coverage and deeper impact. All-Nail Compatibility : Works equally well on fingernails and toenails , across various nail sizes and shapes. : Works equally well on , across various nail sizes and shapes. Travel-Ready Design: Lightweight and compact enough for on-the-go therapy. This unique feature set positions the BioClear as one of the most technologically advanced and user-friendly devices on the market today. Value for Money While many competitors charge premium prices without significant results, Welnax BioClear delivers standout value by offering: Cutting-edge technology User-centered design Consistent results for regular users No recurring costs, unlike topical treatments or in-office visits When used daily, this investment can pay for itself in a matter of weeks compared to repeat clinical visits or prescription costs. Disclaimer: Pricing and specifications can vary. Always check the official website for the most current information, as offers and availability are subject to change. Pricing, Warranty & Where to Buy the Welnax BioClear Purchasing an at-home medical or wellness device is a commitmentnot just financially, but also in trust. Thats why the team behind Welnax BioClear has structured its pricing and customer service policies to ensure buyers feel confident and supported throughout the process. This section outlines everything you need to know about the cost, warranty, return policy, and how to buy the best LED anti-fungal device safely and directly. Pricing Options for Welnax BioClear As of the latest update, Welnax BioClear is available at an exclusive 50% off promotion through the official website. This limited-time offer provides significant savings. Here are the most up-to-date details: Welnax Pricing Overview When considering Welnax products, it's essential to understand the various pricing options available, which cater to different needs and budgets. The pricing structure for Welnax BioClear offers significant savings, especially through bundled purchases. Heres a detailed breakdown of the available options: Pricing Details Personal Pack (1x Welnax BioClear) Original Price : $199.90 Discounted Price : $99.90 Savings : 50% Useful Pack (2x Welnax BioClear) Original Price : $398.80 Discounted Price : $149.90 Savings : 62% Best Pack (3x Welnax BioClear) Original Price : $599.70 Discounted Price : $179.90 Savings : 70% Family Pack (4x Welnax BioClear) Original Price : $799.60 Discounted Price : $199.90 Savings : 75% Additional Notes Shipping Fee : Flat rate of $4.99, added to the total at checkout. : Flat rate of $4.99, added to the total at checkout. Total Costs : For the Best Pack (3 units), the total price after discounts is $184.89 . : Guarantees : 30-Day Guarantee : Unused purchases can be returned for a full refund or replacement within 30 days. 60-Day 'Love It or Return It' Pledge : Try Welnax BioClear, and if you're not satisfied, a full refund (minus shipping) is available. : These pricing options demonstrate Welnaxs commitment to providing value through discounts and guarantees, ensuring customers can find a suitable pack while enjoying substantial savings. With no subscription fees or required refills, Welnax BioClear is a one-time investment for lasting at-home nail care, making it a cost-effective solution. It's important to note that prices are subject to change without notice. For the most accurate and updated pricing information, always check the official website before making a purchase. This ensures transparency and avoids any potential confusion. Warranty & Return Policy To build consumer trust, Welnax offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not satisfied with your results or experience with the device, you can return it within that window for a full refundno questions asked. Additionally: Devices are covered under a standard limited warranty , protecting against manufacturing defects. , protecting against manufacturing defects. Returns and warranty claims are managed through the official Welnax website or authorized customer service channels. Shipping and handling policies may vary depending on your location. This return policy allows new users to try the product risk-free, increasing peace of mind and making it more accessible to first-time buyers. Where to Buy (And Where to Avoid) The only authorized retailer of Welnax BioClear is the official Welnax website. Buying directly ensures: You receive a genuine, quality-controlled product You are protected by the official return and warranty policies You get access to any limited-time discounts or bundles Customer support is available for product use, technical issues, or shipping questions Avoid third-party marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or imitation wellness sites, as these may sell counterfeit or outdated devices not covered under warranty or eligible for refund. Coming up next is the buyer education section where we answer the most frequently asked questions. Treat yourself to the relief you deserve. Welnax BioClear is the smart, portable, LED-powered device trusted by thousands. Try it now and feel the difference in just a few weeks. Final Thoughts: Why Welnax BioClear Is the Smart Choice for Nail Health in 2025. If you're ready to take control of your nail health, consider making Welnax BioClear your next self-care investment.Intodays self-care landscape, people are seeking clean-tech solutions that go beyond outdated, chemical-laden treatments. The Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device stands at the intersection of innovation and accessibility, offering a modern, science-backed way to support healthy nailswithout invasive procedures, risky medications, or time-consuming doctor visits. Addressing a Real, Often Overlooked Pain Point Nail fungus is more than an aesthetic issue. It can chip away at self-confidence, create discomfort, and interrupt daily life. Many people suffer in silence or rely on treatments that are: Ineffective long-term Difficult to use consistently Costly and sometimes unsafe BioClear changes that by delivering an easy, non-invasive, and effective method to help combat one of the most stubborn personal care problemsright from home, offering a ray of hope to those frustrated with traditional treatments. Why BioClear Ranks Among the Best LED Anti-Fungal Devices Lets recap why Welnax BioClear has earned its spot at the top of the list: Uses 18 laser lights with dual-spectrum blue/red LED technology Targets the root source beneath the nail bed , not just surface symptoms , not just surface symptoms Designed for daily 7-minute treatments with auto shutoff and hands-free comfort with auto shutoff and hands-free comfort Safe, pain-free, and suitable for all skin and nail types Compact and portable , fitting seamlessly into any wellness routine , fitting seamlessly into any wellness routine Backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee and strong user satisfaction In a world leaning heavily into AI-enhanced skincare, biohacking wellness tools, and personalized at-home care, this device fits perfectly into the future of health technologywithout breaking the bank or requiring a prescription, giving you the power to take control of your nail health. Who Its Perfect For Individuals with persistent nail discoloration and thickening Those seeking a non-pharmaceutical, natural solution People tired of wasting money on ineffective creams or pills Anyone looking for a simple, proven system for at-home nail care Whether youre managing recurring fungal symptoms or just want a smarter way to protect your nail health, Welnax BioClear is a smart, clean-tech choice that delivers real value and peace of mind, giving you the reassurance that you're making a wise investment in your health. Ready to Take the Next Step? You can explore current promotions and get the most accurate pricing by visiting the official Welnax BioClear website today. Disclaimer: Pricing, specifications, and return policy details may change. Always verify final prices and terms directly on the official website before purchasing. Designed for convenience. Engineered for results. Welnax BioClear fits into your lifestyle effortlesslyjust 7 minutes a day. Get yours now before this exclusive deal ends. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Welnax BioClear To help readers make a fully informed decision, here are the most essential and frequently asked questions about the Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device. These answers are designed to build trust, clarify expectations, and reinforce why this is one of the top LED devices for toenail fungus available todayall while naturally embedding core keywords for maximum SEO value. How does the Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device work? The device uses a combination of blue light therapy and low-level laser treatment (LLLT) to penetrate through the nail and target fungal organisms at the source. The 18 precision lasers emit dual-spectrum light (blue and red wavelengths), helping create an environment that's unfavorable to fungal growth and supporting clearer, healthier-looking nails over time. How long should I use the device to see results? Most users report visible improvement in nail appearance, color, and thickness within 4 to 8 weeks of consistent daily use. However, full nail renewal can take several months due to slow natural nail growth. For optimal results, use the device for 7 minutes per day as directed. Disclaimer: Individual results may vary. This product does not cure fungal infections and should be used as a supportive wellness tool. Can I use this on both fingernails and toenails? Yes. The Welnax BioClear is engineered to accommodate all nail sizes, making it ideal for bothfingernail and toenail fungus treatment. Its one-size-fits-all structure ensures full light exposure whether you're treating hands or feet. Is the Welnax BioClear safe to use at home? Absolutely. The device is non-invasive, drug-free, and pain-free, making it suitable for daily use without medical supervision. Its safety profile, with no reported side effects, and its suitability for most people, including seniors and individuals with sensitive skin, provide reassurance to potential customers. Disclaimer: If you have a serious medical condition, circulatory issues, or diabetes, consult your healthcare provider before starting any new at-home device. What makes Welnax BioClear better than other LED nail fungus treatment lights? Welnax BioClear stands out due to its: 18 high-powered LED lasers (more than many competitors) Dual-spectrum technology combining blue and red light Hands-free, ergonomic design with auto shutoff Support for both fingers and toes Backing from a reputable manufacturer with a 30-day guarantee These features make it one of the most effective LED anti-fungal devices for home use in todays market. Will I feel anything during treatment? No. The treatment is completely painless. You may notice a very mild warmth, but there is no burning, tingling, or discomfort. The device is designed to deliver low-level light therapy safely without causing skin irritation or damage. Can this replace oral medications or prescription creams? The Welnax BioClear LED Anti-Fungal Device is a supportive at-home tool. While some users find it effective enough to use alone, others may use it alongside topical treatments or as part of a maintenance routine after prescription medications. Disclaimer: This device is not a substitute for medical treatment. While it can be an effective supportive tool, always consult with a licensed physician regarding ongoing fungal infections or severe cases. How is the device powered? Do I need batteries? Welnax BioClear is designed to be powered via USB or standard power supply, depending on your region and kit configuration. This eliminates the need to buy replacement batteries, providing convenience and peace of mind to potential customers. What if Im not satisfied with the results? The manufacturer offers a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee. If youre not satisfied, you can return the product for a full refund, no questions asked. This return policy, which underscores the manufacturer's confidence in the product, makes trying the device low-risk and customer-focused. Disclaimer: For accurate details on warranty or return eligibility, please refer to the official Welnax BioClear website, as policies are subject to change. Dermatologist-inspired and customer-approved, Welnax BioClear is the ultimate home solution for stubborn nail issues. Order now and join the LED nail health movement. Company : Welnax BioClear : Welnax BioClear Email: support@trendingadget.com Disclaimer & Disclosure The information presented in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed healthcare provider. Readers are advised to consult a qualified medical professional before starting any treatment, especially those related to fungal infections, nail disorders, or skin conditions. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the content provided, including pricing, specifications, and product claims, the publisher makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, regarding completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained within the article. Any reliance placed on such information is therefore strictly at the readers own risk. The publisher and its distribution and syndication partners assume no responsibility or liability for any typographical errors, misstatements, outdated details, or inaccuracies that may be present in the content. Product availability, pricing, terms, and details are subject to change without notice. Readers should verify all final product details, including warranty and customer service information, directly with the official product website or manufacturer before making any purchase. This article may contain affiliate links. If a reader clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase, the publisher may receive a commission at no additional cost to the buyer. This affiliate relationship does not influence the editorial integrity, recommendations, or evaluations presented. All product reviews and insights are based on available information at the time of publication and are intended to remain unbiased and independently evaluated. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions, damages, or consequences resulting from the use or misuse of the products or information described herein. By reading this article, the reader acknowledges and agrees to the terms of this disclaimer and accepts full responsibility for their personal decisions and actions related to any content presented. WASHINGTON, May 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The headlines paint a bleak picture: national debt, economic uncertainty, and a shrinking middle class. But one former government advisor says the real story is far more optimisticand virtually no one is reporting on it. America is anything BUT broke, says Jim Rickards, a former advisor to the CIA, White House, and U.S. Treasury. Theres a side to this story youve never heard before. According to Rickards, the United States has quietly amassed a $150 trillion national inheritance that has remained sealed off from the public for more than a centurybut is now being unlocked due to a recent legal shift. A Comeback Built on Whats Already Here This wealth isnt based on speculation or foreign aidits rooted in the vast reserves of natural resources and minerals located beneath federal lands across the country. Its enough to pay off the national debt, four times over, Rickards says. Enough to make every single family in America millionaires. This trust fund is not a pile of money to be equally distributed Its not part of a government program or handout, Rickards explains. And unlike the Social Security trust fund, which has been raided this national trust has remained untouched for over 160 years. Rickards says a forgotten mining provision in Title 30 of the U.S. Code helped establish this trust, and it has steadily grown in value to become one of the greatest hidden assets in the nations history. The Chevron Doctrine: An Obstacle Removed For decades, access to these resources was blocked by federal red tape and environmental restrictions, enforced through the Chevron Doctrine, a legal framework that gave agencies broad regulatory power. They tied us down with reams of regulation, Rickards explains. And gave agencies like the EPA kill shot power to stop any mining project they wanted. We have massive mineral wealth here. Its not hard to extract. We know where it is. And how to get it. But the government got in the way. In 2024, the Supreme Courtunder a Trump-appointed majorityoverturned the Chevron Doctrine, transferring control from unelected regulators back to the courts. For the first time in half a centurywe can go get them, Rickards says. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. The Revival of the American System Rickards believes this moment could trigger more than just economic growthit could represent a broader return to what he calls the American System. In addition to unlocking our vast $150 trillion mineral endowment, I believe Trump is going to reset the clock on our republic, Rickards says. Hes returning us to something that worked for centuries. That system, according to Rickards, is built on real production, natural resources, and self-reliancevalues that he believes are making a comeback. Were finally unlocking our American Birthright, he adds. Most people will be shocked by whats coming next. About Jim Rickards Jim Rickards is an economist, lawyer, and former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. He served as a principal negotiator during the Iran Hostage Crisis, co-developed the 1970s Petrodollar Accord, and has briefed senior U.S. officials on national security and economic policy. He is the editor of Strategic Intelligence, a research publication exploring critical developments that impact the U.S. economy, governance, and global leadership. San Diego, May 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In This Article, Youll Discover: Why nail fungus is one of the most persistent and overlooked hygiene issues in 2025 How Ryoku Nail Defense offers a non-invasive, chemical-free alternative to messy creams and risky oral medications What causes nail fungus and why traditional over-the-counter treatments often fall short How Ryoku Nail Defense uses dual light technology (905nm laser and 465nm blue light) for visible nail clarity Who benefits most from at-home laser nail therapy and why it aligns with wellness technology trends What users are saying about Ryoku Nail Defense and how it compares to clinic-based laser treatments A full breakdown of Ryokus technical features, safety certifications, and ease of use Pricing options, shipping details, and the 60-day money-back guarantee A clear comparison between Ryoku Nail Defense and other nail fungus solutions Frequently asked questions about safety, effectiveness, and daily use A professional disclaimer to ensure proper consumer understanding and expectations TL;DR Ryoku Nail Defense Review Summary Ryoku Nail Defense is a cutting-edge, portable laser wellness device that supports healthier-looking nails through the use of 905nm laser and 465nm blue light therapy. Designed for at-home use, it offers a non-invasive, drug-free alternative to traditional nail fungus treatments, including topical creams, oral medications, and expensive clinic visits. This long-form review explores the common causes of nail discoloration, brittleness, and fungal buildup, and explains how Ryokus dual light system provides targeted support for nail claritywithout harsh chemicals or prescriptions. Users have reported noticeable improvements in the appearance of their nails after consistent daily use. Priced from $89.99 and backed by a 60-day satisfaction guarantee, Ryoku Nail Defense is quickly emerging as one of the top self-care tech solutions for personal grooming and nail hygiene in 2025. Always consult a healthcare professional for medical concerns. Results may vary. For the latest pricing and availability, visit the official Ryoku Nail Defense website. Introduction The Silent Epidemic of Nail Fungus in 2025 The Overlooked Embarrassment of Discolored, Cracked Nails Millions of people suffer silently from brittle, yellowing, or thickened nails that often signal a deeper issuenail fungus. In todays fast-paced world, maintaining healthy, clear nails is not just about aesthetics. It's a reflection of personal hygiene and overall wellness. Unfortunately, these issues are often hidden behind closed shoes or carefully applied polish, masking a growing concern that's more common than most realize. What many individuals dont discuss openly is how fungal infections can affect their confidence. Whether it's avoiding open-toed shoes at the beach or hiding hands in meetings, the social anxiety triggered by unattractive nails can be more emotionally draining than anticipated. This discomfort goes beyond vanity. Left unaddressed, these nail problems can escalate, making self-care routines even more frustrating. In fact, studies suggest that nail fungus is one of the most persistent and difficult personal care issues to deal with due to its resistance to surface-level treatments and its tendency to recur. Why Over-the-Counter Topicals and Pills Often Fail For years, people have turned to drugstore creams or prescription pills in the hopes of finding a quick fix. But the truth is, many of these products deliver inconsistent resultsor no results at all. Topical solutions typically sit on the nail surface and struggle to reach the deeper fungal layers beneath the nail bed. Oral antifungals may offer stronger action, but they can come with potential risks, such as interactions with other medications or strain on the liver. This gap in truly effective and user-friendly solutions has led to the rise of at-home wellness technology. In particular, non-invasive laser therapy has become a trending innovation, offering users a drug-free, comfortable, and precise method for managing nail health from the comfort of their own home. In this article, well explore how Ryoku Nail Defenseis at the forefront of this movement, bringing cutting-edge light-based technology to everyday consumers. With targeted wavelengths and portable design, this device offers a modern alternative for those frustrated by traditional approaches. If you're looking for a long-term solution to restore nail clarity and health, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Ryoku's design, benefits, and why its gaining attention as one of the top wellness tools of 2025. Understanding Nail Fungus The Root Cause of the Problem What Causes Fungal Nail Infections? Fungal nail infectionsoften referred to medically as onychomycosisare caused by microscopic fungi that thrive in warm, moist environments. These organisms invade the nail through tiny cracks or separations between the nail and nail bed, where they feed on keratin, the protein that makes up your nails. Once inside, they multiply and spread, leading to symptoms like discoloration, thickening, brittleness, and a foul odor. Daily routines can unintentionally support fungal growth. Gym showers, swimming pools, locker rooms, and even tight shoes can create breeding grounds for fungal exposure. Add to that poor nail hygiene or compromised immunity, and the risk of infection increases significantly. It's important to understand that nail fungus is not just a cosmetic issueits a sign of microbial imbalance that can persist without the right intervention. While Ryoku Nail Defense does not claim to treat or cure any condition, its advanced light-based technology offers a new angle on supporting nail clarity and hygiene. This information is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult a healthcare professional for any health concerns. Who Is at Risk? Though anyone can develop a fungal nail infection, certain groups face increased risk: Older adults with reduced circulation and slower-growing nails with reduced circulation and slower-growing nails Athletes who frequently wear tight footwear and sweat excessively who frequently wear tight footwear and sweat excessively Individuals with diabetes or autoimmune conditions People who use public facilities like pools and gyms like pools and gyms Frequent salon-goers, where tools may not be sterilized thoroughly Understanding these risk factors helps reinforce the importance of proactive nail care. Devices like Ryoku Nail Defense are designed with these users in mindoffering a safe, at-home approach to addressing visible nail issues without relying on creams, pills, or risky procedures. Early Signs and Why Most People Wait Too Long One of the reasons fungal nail infections become persistent is due to delayed recognition and action. In the beginning, symptoms can appear subtleperhaps a small yellow spot, a slight change in texture, or mild thickening. But left unchecked, the fungus can spread deep into the nail bed, making it harder to address and more likely to return after treatment. Many individuals wait until their nails become severely discolored, brittle, or painful before seeking help. This hesitation often stems from embarrassment or the belief that it will clear up on its own. Unfortunately, by the time visible symptoms worsen, the infection is already well-established. Tools like Ryoku Nail Defense encourage early intervention by making it simple and private to begin nail wellness routines at home. With its portable, chemical-free design, it's easier than ever to respond to signs of trouble before they escalate. Discover why Ryoku is one of the fastest-growing at-home nail wellness solutions of 2025. Its more than a deviceits a turning point for your nail health. Meet Ryoku Nail Defense A Breakthrough Home Laser Therapy Device How Ryoku Nail Defense Works (Without Making Medical Claims) Ryoku Nail Defense is a modern, non-invasive wellness device that uses the power of dual light technologyspecifically 905nm laser light and 465nm blue light therapyto support nail clarity and hygiene. This portable tool is designed for home use and offers a hands-free way to target discolored, brittle, or visibly unhealthy nails without the mess of creams or the commitment of oral prescriptions. The 905nm wavelength allows deep penetration through the nail surface, reaching areas beneath the nail plate. The 465nm blue light works to create an environment that's less hospitable to unwanted buildup on the nail surface. While this device does not treat or cure medical conditions, its innovative design is intended to help users maintain cleaner, clearer-looking nails using safe and precise light exposure. Disclaimer: Ryoku Nail Defense is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results may vary based on usage consistency and individual nail condition. Key Benefits of Ryoku Nail Defense Ryoku Nail Defense is not just another beauty gadgetit represents the shift toward consumer-empowered wellness solutions that offer convenience and control. Key advantages include: Non-invasive & pain-free No need for scraping, filing, or burning sensations No need for scraping, filing, or burning sensations Chemical-free No creams, oils, or synthetic topicals required No creams, oils, or synthetic topicals required No recovery time Use and go, with no side effects or visible irritation Use and go, with no side effects or visible irritation Quick daily sessions Just 7 minutes per nail, twice a day Just 7 minutes per nail, twice a day Rechargeable & travel-ready Compact and cordless for total flexibility This design makes Ryoku Nail Defense ideal for users who want to take nail wellness into their own handswithout salon visits, prescriptions, or ongoing refill costs. A Smart Addition to the Self-Care Tech Boom In a world where wellness tech is becoming part of the daily routinefrom smart scales to wearable heart monitorsRyoku Nail Defense fits naturally. It offers a personalized, digital wellness solution that addresses one of the most frustrating and hard-to-treat cosmetic issues at its source. As more people look for clean beauty and self-care innovations, Ryoku aligns perfectly with 2025s trend of empowering users to take control of their well-being from home. Whether you're battling recurring nail discoloration or simply want to support healthier-looking nails, this light-based tool offers a modern, tech-forward approach that aligns with your lifestyle. Pain Points This Device Solves (And Why It Stands Out) Topical Creams Dont Reach the Nail Bed Many over-the-counter antifungal creams and ointments are designed to sit on the surface of the nail. Unfortunately, nail fungus typically originates beneath the nail plate, in an area these topicals can rarely reach. Despite weeks or months of consistent application, users often see little improvementleading to frustration and wasted money. Ryoku Nail Defense was designed to bridge this gap. With its 905nm laser wavelength, the device targets deeper layers without relying on chemical absorption. This provides a precise and targeted approach without the mess, odor, or residue left behind by gels or oils. Note: While Ryoku supports improved nail appearance, it is not a replacement for professional diagnosis or treatment. Consult a healthcare provider if symptoms persist or worsen. Pills Can Be Harsh on the Liver Prescription antifungal pills are often regarded as the strongest solutionbut they come with serious trade-offs. These medications must be metabolized by the liver, which can be especially concerning for older adults or those already taking other medications. Routine blood work is often required to monitor liver function, and side effects may include headaches, stomach upset, or allergic reactions. Ryoku Nail Defense offers an alternative for those who prefer a drug-free, non-toxic solution. By relying on light wavelengths instead of chemicals, Ryoku minimizes systemic risks while maximizing comfort and convenience. Salons and Doctors Visits Are Expensive Professional laser treatments at podiatry clinics or medspas can cost upwards of $1,000, especially when multiple sessions are needed. For many, the cost barrier alone prevents access to quality care. Additionally, frequent salon visits or nail technicians using non-sterilized tools can sometimes make fungal issues worsenot better. Ryoku Nail Defense delivers similar laser wavelength technology in a compact, at-home formatoffering freedom from recurring appointments and salon dependency. You own the device, and you control the schedule, all at a fraction of the price. Ryoku Nail Defense = Affordable, One-Time Investment Unlike treatments that require ongoing purchases, Ryoku is a single device that can be reused daily without refills or prescriptions. Once purchased, users can incorporate it into their long-term self-care routinemaking it a smart investment in wellness and peace of mind. Pricing Disclaimer: Always check the official website for the most current pricing, as offers may change at any time. Prices referenced in this article are accurate as of the time of writing but are subject to availability and updates. This makes Ryoku Nail Defense not only a functional addition to your grooming toolkit, but also a strategic move toward sustainable and affordable nail health support. Dont wait for your nails to get worseintervene now with Ryoku Nail Defense and experience what smarter, science-guided nail care can do for your routine. Trending HealthTech Buzzwords Applied to Ryoku Wellness Gadgets for Home Health Empowerment The term wellness gadget has surged in popularity in 2025 as consumers seek smarter tools that align with their busy, health-conscious lifestyles. Devices that once lived exclusively in clinics or salons are now available for home use, empowering people to manage their own wellness on their terms. Ryoku Nail Defense fits this shift perfectly. Its a personal health-tech innovation that supports nail hygiene with smart design, comfort, and controlall from the privacy of home. This places it among top-rated wellness gadgets trending in self-care circles right now. Self-Care Innovation in Personal Grooming Self-care has evolved beyond skincare masks and bubble baths. Todays definition includes smart, results-driven devices that make people feel better physically and emotionally. Ryokus targeted light system embodies this trend, offering users a non-invasive, tech-driven approach to one of the most stubborn grooming challengesnail health. The devices portability, ease of use, and chemical-free operation add to its appeal as a modern tool for conscious consumers who value clean, sustainable care routines. Non-Invasive Tech as the New Standard In an era of needle-free beauty and laser-based maintenance, non-invasive technology has become a major selling point across wellness categories. Ryoku Nail Defense delivers just thata light-powered solution that works without penetrating the skin or requiring recovery time. Users experience no pain, no irritation, and no disruption to daily life, making Ryoku ideal for those seeking a low-risk, non-clinical approach to healthier-looking nails. Portable Precision Devices Redefining Home Treatment Consumers today are investing in compact, travel-ready health tools that dont sacrifice power for size. Ryoku Nail Defense stands out as a perfect example of this new class of devicesdelivering precision wavelengths typically found in professional equipment in a portable format thats ideal for on-the-go use. Whether youre at home, traveling, or just fitting in a 7-minute session between meetings, Ryoku provides flexibility that aligns with the fast-paced lifestyles of todays wellness-focused individuals. Step-by-Step Guide to Using Ryoku Nail Defense at Home Daily Routine Integration One of Ryoku Nail Defenses strongest appeals is its simplicity. With no creams to apply or pills to remember, users can easily integrate it into their existing self-care routine. Whether its after brushing your teeth or during a quiet moment with your morning coffee, using Ryoku becomes second nature. Heres how to get started: Charge the device fully using the included USB cable before first use. Place the device over the affected nail, ensuring the nail plate is fully exposed to the light window. Press the power button to initiate the automatic 7-minute session. Let the device run until it shuts off automatically. Repeat twice dailyonce in the morning and once in the eveningfor optimal results. Ryoku is designed for hands-free use, so you can read, relax, or multitask during your sessions. Its portability also makes it easy to stay consistent while traveling or on busy days Reminder: For best results, use the device consistently. While individual outcomes may vary, regular application is key to supporting nail clarity and overall appearance. Safety & Handling Tips Ryoku Nail Defense is engineered with both safety and user convenience in mind. Follow these tips to ensure a smooth experience: Use only as directed do not exceed the recommended daily usage. do not exceed the recommended daily usage. Avoid looking directly at the laser window during operation. during operation. Keep the device dry and clean wipe the outer shell with a soft cloth after each use. wipe the outer shell with a soft cloth after each use. Do not attempt to disassemble or repair the unit yourself. or repair the unit yourself. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Its also advised to avoid using the device on broken skin or actively bleeding nails. If your nail condition includes open wounds or intense swelling, consult a healthcare professional before starting light-based wellness routines. Safety Disclaimer: While Ryoku Nail Defense is safe for general consumer use, it is not a substitute for medical care. Consult your doctor if you are uncertain whether this product is right for you. What to Expect Week by Week While Ryoku Nail Defense does not promise instant transformation, many users report noticeable improvements over the course of several weeks. Heres a general timeline: Week 12 : Nail surface may appear cleaner, with less discoloration near the cuticle : Nail surface may appear cleaner, with less discoloration near the cuticle Week 34 : Visible thickening or brittleness may begin to reduce : Visible thickening or brittleness may begin to reduce Week 58: As new nail grows, it may appear healthier and smoother The key is patience and consistency. Because nails grow slowly, real change happens from the inside out. The more regularly you use Ryoku, the more likely you are to support a healthy, clean nail regrowth cycle. Support clearer, healthier nails with the convenience and confidence of Ryoku Nail Defense. Its your time to try something thats actually built to help. Honest User Reviews What Real People Are Saying Verified Testimonials from Everyday Users Ryoku Nail Defense has caught the attention of individuals across the country who have been searching for a better way to manage nail issues at home. Based on feedback collected from verified purchasers and publicly available sources, users appreciate Ryokus combination of convenience, ease of use, and visible results over time. Here are some paraphrased testimonials to illustrate a range of experiences: Jessica R., 42, Arizona : Ive tried every cream out therenothing stuck. Ryoku gave me a way to stay on top of my nail health without stress. I started noticing a difference after a couple of weeks, and Ive been consistent since. Its now a regular part of my morning routine. : Ive tried every cream out therenothing stuck. Ryoku gave me a way to stay on top of my nail health without stress. I started noticing a difference after a couple of weeks, and Ive been consistent since. Its now a regular part of my morning routine. Mark L., 58, Florida : My toenails had been thick and yellow for years. I didnt want to take pills because of my other medications. This device gave me hope without putting anything new into my body. : My toenails had been thick and yellow for years. I didnt want to take pills because of my other medications. This device gave me hope without putting anything new into my body. Alyssa D., 36, California : Its so lightweight and simple to use. I just set it over my nails while reading at night. Within two months, my nails looked better than they had in years. I feel more confident wearing sandals again. : Its so lightweight and simple to use. I just set it over my nails while reading at night. Within two months, my nails looked better than they had in years. I feel more confident wearing sandals again. George K., 70, Illinois: At my age, I didnt want to rely on prescriptions. Ryoku fits perfectly into my lifestyle, and my nails are slowly improving. Before & After Feedback (When Available) While Ryoku Nail Defense is not positioned as a medical treatment, some users have reported visible improvements in nail color, thickness, and smoothness after consistent use. In several shared reviews, customers describe: Gradual fading of yellowish tones A smoother transition line as new nail grows Reduced brittleness and cracking at the tips Greater confidence in showing their hands and feet Disclaimer: Testimonials reflect the real experiences of individuals who have used Ryoku Nail Defense, but results may vary. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition. Users are encouraged to maintain realistic expectations and continue use for at least several weeks for best results. Social proof continues to be one of the strongest signals in todays e-commerce environment. These reviews reinforce Ryokus position not just as a laser device, but as a trusted self-care companion that real people use and recommend. Comparing Ryoku with Other Nail Fungus Solutions Ryoku vs. Over-the-Counter Topical Antifungals Topical antifungal treatments are widely available at pharmacies, often in the form of creams, lacquers, or oils. While affordable and easy to find, these products have a major limitation: they dont penetrate deeply. The structure of the nail makes it difficult for topical solutions to reach the source of the problem, which is often buried beneath the nail plate. In contrast, Ryoku Nail Defense uses 905nm laser light combined with 465nm blue light to reach beyond the surface, helping support clearer, healthier-looking nails with no residue, odor, or drying effect. Its also easier to stay consistent when the treatment is as simple as placing a device over your nail for a few minutes a day. Note: Topical products may still be part of a routine, but Ryoku offers a deeper, tech-powered alternative that doesn't rely on absorption. Ryoku vs. Oral Medications Oral antifungal drugs are known to be effective for many people but come with potential downsides: Requires a prescription May cause liver stress or interact with other medications Needs regular blood testing for monitoring Can take months to show full results For those who cannot or do not want to take pills, Ryoku provides a non-invasive and drug-free solution. There are no known systemic side effects, and no doctor's visits are required to get started. Its ideal for people with existing health concerns who want to avoid complications from oral treatments. Disclaimer: Ryoku Nail Defense is not a substitute for medically-prescribed antifungal treatment. Always consult a doctor if you are unsure about your nail health or treatment options. Ryoku vs. Professional Laser Therapy at Clinics Laser therapy has become a leading option in clinical environments, but it comes with its own challenges: Costs range from $500 to $1,200+ per treatment cycle Multiple sessions may be needed Requires appointments and travel time Results vary, and insurance rarely covers the cost Ryoku Nail Defense brings similar wavelength technology into your home at a fraction of the cost. Its a one-time purchase that offers convenience, privacy, and freedom from repeated clinic visits. With a rechargeable battery and automatic shut-off timer, the device is built for everyday ease. Why Ryoku Nail Defense Is the Smarter Investment When comparing across price, ease of use, safety, and consistency, Ryoku offers one of the most accessible options available today. You avoid: Ongoing refill costs Prescription requirements Exposure to harsh chemicals Embarrassing salon visits Instead, you gain a discreet, tech-forward device that you own and can use as neededanywhere, anytime. Pricing Disclaimer: For the latest offers and package deals, always refer to the official website. Pricing may change based on promotions or availability. Ready to finally address your nail concerns without risking side effects or spending thousands? Ryoku is the affordable, long-term solution that deliversbuy now. Full Ingredient & Technical Specifications Core Technology and Light Specs Ryoku Nail Defense is not a supplement or topical formula, so it doesn't contain "ingredients" in the traditional sense. Instead, its core efficacy is driven by dual-light technology, optimized for ease and consistency in home use. Heres what powers Ryokus effectiveness: 905nm Laser Light : Designed for deep optical penetration , reaching beneath the nail plate to target areas not accessible to creams or liquids. : Designed for , reaching beneath the nail plate to target areas not accessible to creams or liquids. 465nm Blue Light : Blue light technology works closer to the surface, helping support a clean, healthier-looking nail environment. : Blue light technology works closer to the surface, helping support a clean, healthier-looking nail environment. 7-Minute Automatic Timer : Each treatment session is pre-programmed to run for 7 minutes and shuts off automatically, helping users stay consistent without overuse. : Each treatment session is pre-programmed to run for 7 minutes and shuts off automatically, helping users stay consistent without overuse. Hands-Free Application Window: A curved cavity design comfortably fits over toenails or fingernails, providing concentrated exposure to light wavelengths. This combination of wavelengths and ergonomic engineering allows for simple and precise application, making it easy to incorporate into everyday routines. Physical Design and Construction The Ryoku Nail Defense device is constructed using durable, safe, and high-quality materials suitable for personal wellness products: Outer Material : Skin-safe ABS thermoplastic housing : Skin-safe ABS thermoplastic housing Charging Port : Standard USB charging cable (included) : Standard USB charging cable (included) Battery : Rechargeable lithium-ion for cordless convenience : Rechargeable lithium-ion for cordless convenience Form Factor: Compact and portableeasy to store, pack, or use anywhere Designed for long-term use, Ryoku is built to withstand repeated daily operation without breakdown or wear. Its rechargeable battery makes it ideal for travel, and its quiet, button-activated operation ensures a discreet user experience. Certifications and Compliance Ryoku Nail Defense meets safety guidelines appropriate for at-home use and is manufactured in compliance with consumer-grade electronic standards. CE Certification : Ensures safety, health, and environmental protection standards for products sold within Europe : Ensures safety, health, and environmental protection standards for products sold within Europe RoHS Compliance : Restricts use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment : Restricts use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment Product Safety: Built with thermal control and automatic shutoff to prevent overheating or overuse Disclaimer: While Ryoku is built to meet global wellness device standards, it is not classified as a medical device and is not intended to replace professional medical treatment or advice. Business & Purchase Information Ryoku Nail Defense Pricing Options Ryoku Nail Defense is sold exclusively through its official website, where customers can choose between several package deals designed to suit individual and family needs. Pricing is structured to provide greater value at higher quantities: 1 Device : $89.99 + shipping and handling : $89.99 + shipping and handling 2 Devices : $139.99 total Save $40 : $139.99 total Save $40 3 Devices: $179.99 total Best Value All packages are shipped discreetly and securely to ensure privacy and convenience. Pricing Disclaimer: Prices may be subject to change based on promotional offers or seasonal discounts. For the most accurate and up-to-date pricing, always refer to the official Ryoku Nail Defense website. 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee To ensure peace of mind, every purchase of Ryoku Nail Defense comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. If for any reason youre not satisfied with the product, you can return it within 60 days from the date of delivery for a full refundno questions asked. Refunds are processed upon receipt of the returned product Shipping costs for returns may not be covered Proof of purchase is required for all returns This guarantee allows customers to try the product risk-free and evaluate its benefits over an extended period of consistent use. Shipping and Fulfillment Orders are fulfilled promptly and shipped throughout the United States and select international locations. Most U.S. customers can expect delivery within 57 business days. Shipping Type : Tracked with discreet packaging : Tracked with discreet packaging Delivery Window : 57 business days in the U.S. : 57 business days in the U.S. Shipping Provider: Varies based on region Note: Delivery timelines may vary during high-demand periods or holiday seasons. Customer Support and Contact Information Ryoku Nail Defense offers dedicated support for all product inquiries, returns, and warranty questions. If you need assistance, the customer service team is available via: Email : support@get-naildefense.com : support@get-naildefense.com Response Time : Within 2448 business hours : Within 2448 business hours Return Instructions: Provided upon request via support email This responsive service model ensures that users can reach out at any time for guidance, return requests, or product setup helpadding further value to the ownership experience. Theres a reason Ryoku is making waves in wellnessbecause it works. Safe, simple, and easy to use from home. Try it now with the peace of a 60-day guarantee. Final Thoughts Is Ryoku Nail Defense Worth It? Our Verdict on Ryoku Nail Defense In a landscape crowded with ineffective topicals, expensive treatments, and medications with potential side effects, Ryoku Nail Defense stands out as a practical, innovative solution for those seeking to support the appearance of healthier nailswithout chemicals, prescriptions, or clinical visits. Its use of 905nm laser and 465nm blue light wavelengths, paired with a simple and intuitive design, makes it one of the most convenient wellness gadgets available for nail hygiene. The ability to safely and privately address nail clarity from the comfort of home is exactly what todays wellness-conscious consumers are looking for. With portable functionality, easy daily integration, and long-term cost-effectiveness, Ryoku offers more than just cosmetic valueit supports confidence, convenience, and a proactive approach to personal care. Disclaimer: While Ryoku Nail Defense may visibly improve nail clarity and texture, it is not a substitute for medical treatment. Individuals with persistent or severe conditions should consult a healthcare provider. Who Should Consider Buying? Ryoku Nail Defense is best suited for: Individuals dealing with yellow, discolored, or brittle nails Those seeking an alternative to prescription medications People who prefer non-invasive, drug-free tools for self-care for self-care Users looking for a compact, travel-friendly wellness device Anyone committed to a consistent at-home nail hygiene routine Whether you're struggling with stubborn nail issues or simply want to invest in your appearance and confidence, Ryoku offers an option thats low-risk, user-friendly, and backed by a 60-day guarantee. Take Control of Nail Wellness Today The frustration of ineffective creams, risky pills, and expensive clinics doesnt have to continue. Ryoku Nail Defense puts control back in your handswith a modern, science-backed tool that works quietly and comfortably behind the scenes. You dont have to wait for your nails to get worse before you take action. With consistent use, Ryoku can help support the natural restoration of your nails appearancewithout interrupting your lifestyle or wallet. Final Pricing Reminder: Always check the official Ryoku Nail Defense website for the most accurate, up-to-date pricing and availability. Promotions and bundles may vary over time. Make the choice today to invest in a nail solution that finally makes senseno prescriptions, no chemicals, just Ryokus smart light-based technology working for you. FAQs Everything You Want to Know Before Buying Can Ryoku Nail Defense be used on both toenails and fingernails? Yes, Ryoku Nail Defense is designed to fit over both toenails and fingernails. Its ergonomic cavity adapts comfortably to various nail sizes, allowing for versatile use on either hand or foot. Whether youre dealing with thickened toenails or discolored fingernails, the device can be applied safely and conveniently. Is it safe for seniors or individuals with sensitive skin? Ryoku Nail Defense uses non-invasive light-based technology with no known adverse effects. There are no harsh chemicals, and the light wavelengths used are considered safe for general cosmetic application. That said, if you have extremely sensitive skin, visible irritation, or underlying health concerns, its a good idea to speak with a medical professional before starting any light-based wellness routine. Disclaimer: Ryoku is not a medical device and is not intended to replace professional treatment for severe or advanced fungal infections. How long until I see visible results? Nail growth is slow by nature, so results may take several weeks to become noticeable. Most users begin to see improvements such as reduced discoloration and smoother nail texture within 4 to 8 weeks of consistent use. Optimal results are typically observed with daily use over several months, especially when combined with good hygiene practices. Can I use Ryoku with other treatments? Yes, Ryoku Nail Defense can be used alongside other non-conflicting nail care routines, such as trimming, moisturizing, or even using antifungal topicals. However, it is recommended not to apply thick creams or oils immediately before using the device, as this may interfere with light penetration. Is Ryoku covered by insurance? Currently, Ryoku Nail Defense is not covered by health insurance, as it is not classified as a medical device. However, many users consider it a wellness investmentparticularly when compared to recurring expenses for salon treatments, topical refills, or prescription medications. Is there a warranty or return option? Yes, Ryoku includes a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you're not satisfied, you can return the device for a full refund within 60 days of receiving it. Please contact customer service at support@get-naildefense.com for return instructions. Stop wasting money on creams that dont work. Ryoku Nail Defense uses laser and blue light technology to help restore nail clarity from the inside outget yours now. Company : Ryoku Nail Defense : Ryoku Nail Defense Email : support@get-ryoku.com : support@get-ryoku.com Order Phone Support: +1 (424) 250-4182 Disclaimers and Disclosures General Disclaimer The information provided in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Readers are advised to consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any health-related decisions or starting any wellness regimen, including the use of any device mentioned herein. Ryoku Nail Defense is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition. Individual results may vary. The content reflects publicly available information and user experiences as of the date of publication and is not guaranteed to reflect the most recent updates, product changes, or scientific research. Any reliance placed on such information is strictly at the readers own risk. While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and timeliness, no warranties or representations are made regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of the information presented. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or for any loss or damage resulting from the use or misuse of this content. The product details, features, and specifications were accurate to the best of the authors knowledge at the time of writing, but may be subject to change without notice. Readers are encouraged to visit the official product website for the most current information regarding pricing, guarantees, usage instructions, and technical specifications. Affiliate Disclosure This article may contain affiliate links. If a reader clicks on such a link and makes a purchase, a commission may be earned at no additional cost to the reader. This helps support content production and editorial operations. The inclusion of affiliate links does not influence product recommendations, which are based on research, publicly available data, and user experiences. Affiliate relationships do not impact the editorial integrity of this content. All opinions expressed are those of the authors or contributors and are intended to provide a fair, balanced, and informative overview of the product featured. Publisher & Syndication Liability This article has been formatted for syndication by third-party platforms, blogs, media partners, and affiliates. Any site, distributor, or individual republishing or referencing this content agrees to do so in accordance with applicable laws and FTC guidelines. All parties involved in the hosting, syndication, or publication of this article are held harmless from any potential claims, liabilities, or damageswhether direct or indirectarising from its use, interpretation, or dissemination. No entity associated with the publication or distribution of this content shall be held responsible for the actions, claims, guarantees, or customer service of the product's seller or manufacturer. VANCOUVER, May 23, 2025 - Northcliff Resources Ltd. ("Northcliff" or the "Company") (TSX: NCF) announces the voting results from its 2025 Annual General Meeting held on May 22, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia (the "Meeting'). A total of 499,973,223 common shares were voted at the Meeting, representing 82.37% of the votes attached to all outstanding common shares. Shareholders voted in favour of all items of business before the Meeting, except the continuation of the Company's Share Option Plan. The votes for the election of director nominees were as follows: DIRECTOR % of Votes in Favor Andrew Ing 99.98 % Peter C. Mitchell 99.97 % T. Barry Coughlan 99.98 % Scott. D. Cousens 99.98 % Michael Wolley 99.91 % Detailed voting results for the Meeting are available at the Company's profile on SEDARplus at www.sedarplus.com. About Northcliff Resources Ltd. Northcliff is a mineral resource company focused on advancing the feasibility-stage Sisson Tungsten-Molybdenum Project located in New Brunswick, Canada, to production. Additional information on Northcliff is available on the website at www.northcliffresources.com. Investor services can be reached at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Andrew Ing Chairman, CEO SOURCE Northcliff Resources Ltd. McLaren CEO admits Leclerc faster than us at Monaco Ferrari is stunning the Monaco paddock with its sudden contention for victory in Monaco. Oscar Piastri McLaren Last year, local hero Charles Leclerc broke through to win his first Monaco GP - and this year his 2025 car is equipped once again with the same special high-downforce rear wing. The big wing seems to be working well again, smiled RTBF correspondent Gaetan Vigneron. And yet, Leclerc and Ferrari sounded pessimistic about their chances before the track action began. Why? Because our weakness since the beginning of the year has been slow corners, team boss Frederic Vasseur told RMC. But hey, it seems to be going pretty well so far, the Frenchman laughed. We could hardly have done better, even if I think McLaren was hiding its game a bit. McLaren CEO Zak Brown surmised that the pecking order at present is Ferrari-McLaren-Red Bull, adding that the red cars in particularly are honestly fast . Ferrari are faster than us, he added. At the moment, I don't see how we can beat Leclerc. As for Red Bull, advisor Dr Helmut Marko sounded as optimistic in Monaco as he did a week ago at Imola, declaring after initial practice: "We're at the top of our game here. We haven't been this good in Monte Carlo for a long time, he said. However, after the second session, he acknowledged that Verstappen's dreaded understeer came back . Some believe McLaren's chief rivals have suddenly caught up because, behind the scenes, the FIA may have tapped them on the shoulder to stamp out a dubious brake and tyre cooling system. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, however, defended the Woking based team. You've got to take it on the chin if somebody has done some good engineering, he said. We have no doubt there is a millimetre of being not in a legal place. (GMM) Wolff reassures Russell over expiring contract Toto Wolff has reassured his highest-performing driver once again not to worry about his expiring contract. George Russell, Emilio Romagna GP 2025 Mercedes Max Verstappen aside, Mercedes' Russell - fourth in the standings behind the dominant McLarens and Verstappen - has been easily the most consistent driver in 2025 so far. And still, team boss Wolff is not yet ready to sign on the dotted line of a new deal - almost certainly to leave the door unambiguously open in the event Verstappen leaves Red Bull. Last year, Wolff did the same, waiting until September and Monza to finally sign up Lewis Hamilton's successor, Kimi Antonelli. Is Russell, 27, going to have to wait that long again, purely because of Verstappen's theoretical availability? No, Wolff insisted at Monaco. Definitely not that long. George and I are totally clear on how this is going to go, and 100 percent in alignment. There is no such thing as dragging this out because that's not what we do. Dutch racing personality Tom Coronel thinks Russell's new deal will happen soon - coinciding exactly with a certain exit clause in Verstappen's Red Bull contract. I think the other parties are just waiting it out, he told Viaplay. Max has spoken to Toto Wolff, we know that. Options are being created and at a certain moment Max has to choose. I think that moment comes after Monaco. (GMM) Auditor-General to submit interim report to unlock contractor payments Jemima Okang Addae Business News May - 24 - 2025 , 20:44 The Auditor-General is expected to submit an interim audit report on outstanding contractor claims in the coming days, paving the way for the government to begin settling verified arrears. The announcement came during a meeting between the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and the Chief Executive Officer od Ecobank, Jeremy Awori, where discussions centred on Ghanas fiscal obligations and economic recovery strategy. The government inherited contractor arrears totalling GH67 billion and has pledged to audit and clear them over four years. As part of this commitment, GH13 billion has been earmarked in the 2025 Budget to begin payments for verified claims. Dr Forson reiterated the administrations resolve to prevent the build-up of new arrears, citing recent amendments to the Public Financial Management Act as a critical step towards enhancing transparency and discipline in public procurement and contract oversight. As Ghanas largest financial institution, Ecobank was urged to intensify its support for the country's economic rebound, particularly in the private sector and agricultural financing. Mr Awori, affirmed the banks willingness to increase lending and deepen strategic collaboration with the government in its recovery agenda. Read the full statement below Next article: We need new ideas to challenge neoliberal dominance Yao Graham Victim of Nsawam-Adoagyiri shooting incident laid to rest 3 News May - 24 - 2025 , 11:25 1 minute read One of the victims of the violence that erupted in Nsawam-Adoagyiri on May 20, Issa Masawudu a Muslim was laid to rest on Friday amidst heightened tension. Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament of the Nsawam Adoagyiri Constituency Frank Annor Dompreh and the Municipal Chief Executive Selorm Philibert Fummey Amenorphe have called for calm as peace is restored to the area. It is recalled that two persons died following violent clashes between two youth groups at Adoagyiri in the Eastern region. The Eastern South Police Regional Command confirmed the deaths which resulted from a shooting incident. The death of the second victim at the Hospital caused the youth of Adoagyiri Zongo to go on rampage on Friday. Investigation so far indicate that on 20th May, 2025 there was a shooting incident at Adoagyiri which resulted in the death of one person and injuries to one other person. A reprisal attack following the incident resulted in injuries to three other people who were sent to the hospital for medical attention, Police report stated About 300 of the youth blocked the road, burnt tyres and vandalized shops and vehicles within the vicinity. A re-enforcement team from the National Police Headquarters and National formed Police unit were deployed to bring the situation under control. No arrest has been made yet. Uneasy calm has been restored to the area. 3 Ghanaian tech solutions win prestigious awards Samuel Duodu May - 24 - 2025 , 09:57 2 minutes read The Chief Business Development Officer of IT Consortium, John Joojo Esua-Mensah, has underscored the importance of partnerships and knowledge exchange in driving innovation and growth in the country's technology sector. He also emphasised the need for collaboration to scale African technological solutions globally. Mr Esua-Mensah made the call at the World Summit Awards (WSA) Global Congress held in Hyderabad, India, where Ghana won three out of the 40 prestigious awards in a global digital innovation competition. Winners The winning projects are Chango, a crowd funding platform for causes like health care, education and emergencies that operated under Ghana's financial regulatory frameworks fully regulated by the Bank of Ghana, Achieve by Petra, a savings and financial planning app and KhayaAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform focused on local language processing, inclusive learning and research accessibility in full compliance with Ghana's data protection regulations. Chango was represented by Mr Esua-Mensah, Yussif Markstar, Hosny Ben Savage and Matilda Amuzu while Achieve by Petra was represented by Huzaifa Abdulai and Daniel Anaman and KhayaAI, represented by Dr Stephen Moore and Lawrence Adu-Gyamfi. The Hyderabad Congress gave Ghanaian winners a platform to present their solutions, connect with global peers, and engage in high-level discussions on operational scaling, digital inclusion, and the legal frameworks that foster trust and long-term innovation. Ghana's visibility at the WSA Global Congress was further supported by the Mohinani Group, which sponsored the participation of Kwesi Hayford (President, e-Sports Association Ghana), Kafui Anson-Yevu (Kraado), and Ato Ulzen-Appiah (GhanaThink Foundation). Their presence contributed to a strong Ghanaian showing at the event and emphasised the growing role of private sector support in promoting digital innovation. Event The event brought together Ghanas top digital innovators and international thought leaders to discuss the future of technology and sustainable digital development which was attended by Ms Dorothy Gordon, a WSA Board Member and National Expert for Ghana, along with representatives from the WSA Global Office. In her keynote address, Ms Gordon applauded Ghanaian winners of the WSA for their ingenuity and dedication to leveraging technology for social good. She emphasised the need for locally grounded innovations with global reach. Africa Day: African Diplomatic Corps calls on leaders to prioritise peace, cooperation Pacome Emmanuel Damalie May - 24 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read The Dean of the Group of African Ambassadors in Ghana and the Ambassador of the Royal Kingdom of Morocco, Imane Ouaadil, has called on African leaders to prioritise unity and cooperation to create the needed atmosphere for the development of the continent. This move, she said, would help lay the foundations for a more peaceful and prosperous future for all peoples across the continent, especially the teeming youth who are in search of opportunities. The Dean of the Group of African Ambassadors urged the leaders to create the needed environment as the continent has vast human and natural resources that have the potential to eradicate poverty in the region and drive opportunity and prosperity for all. Ms Ouaadil was speaking at a Flag Raising Ceremony organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Accra yesterday to commemorate the African Union (AU) Day, which is observed on May 25 each year. Dignitaries The ceremony was attended by a host of Ambassadors of African Countries in Accra and other members of the diplomatic corps and officials from the MFA, led by the Chief Director, Joseph Ramses Cleland. Also present at the event were ministers of state, including the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, and the Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah. Mr George and the Dean of the Group of African Ambassadors raised the AU and Ghana flags and planted trees as a symbol of Africas nurtured relations, mutual growth and development. This years AU Day is on the theme: Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations". Reparative justice Ms Ouaadil commended Ghana for championing the call for reparative justice and highlighted the call by President Mahama for payment of reparation to African countries at the 38th Ordinary Session of the AU earlier this year. She emphasised that the theme aligned with Agenda 2063 of the AU for an integrated, peaceful and prosperous continent and aims to mobilise political will, foster partnerships, engage stakeholders, elevate awareness, encourage dialogue, and bring to an end the culture of silence and denial surrounding racism and colonialism. She added that the call for action beyond acknowledgment at the 38th Ordinary Session by President Mahama was apt, saying, the devastating effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, colonialism, apartheid, genocide and neo-colonial exploitation have resulted in economic disparities, social inequality, systemic discrimination, and racial prejudices. Mr George said although this years celebration came at a time when the continent was striving to overcome economic hardships, the effects of climate change, conflict and governance challenges, it must not lose sight of its progress. As we reflect on successes chalked up by the AU, including the hosting of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), headquartered in Accra, it is worth commending our collective fight against pandemics and terrorism as the African continent continues to demonstrate its resilience and its capacity for home-grown solutions, he said. He called on African countries to deepen regional integration, strengthen democratic governance and invest in the youth, who are not only the future of this continent but its present. Eliminate death penalty for high treason offences Amnesty International Justice Agbenorsi May - 24 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read Amnesty International Ghana has reiterated its call for a constitutional reform to eliminate the death penalty for high treason offences. It also called for the commutation of all 182 existing death sentences to life imprisonment. Execution is irreversible. Death sentences and executions can never serve as a deterrent to any crime, and we must continue this dialogue with compassion and commitment to justice, the Vice Chairperson of Amnesty International Ghana, Charity Batuure, said at the launch of two major global human rights reports in Accra last Wednesday. The reports The Death Sentences and Executions Report 2024 and the Annual Human Rights Report highlighted key human rights concerns such as restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, and a lack of accountability for human rights violations. In July 2023, Ghana became the 24th African country and the 124th globally to abolish the death penalty through a private members bill led by Lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Madina. This was made possible after several years of advocacy and amendments to enable the total abolishment of the death penalty in the country. However, the abolition of the death penalty did not cover high treason cases. In fact, in January 2024, the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra sentenced six individuals, including three soldiers, to death by hanging for attempting to overthrow the government. In that trial, three people were acquitted and discharged. That was after they were found guilty of high treason and conspiracy to commit high treason, with evidence, including intercepted communications and testimonies. This is because the Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill 2023, which would have abolished the death penalty from the military code, was not signed by the then President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, citing unconstitutional reasons. Advocacy Ms Batuure said the three acquittals recorded in the coup plot trial highlighted the inherent risk of irreversible error in any system imposing capital punishment. These are individuals who had their cases progressed differently, might have faced execution for crimes they did not commit. The death penalty fundamentally breaches human rights, particularly the right to life and the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment. Once carried out, an execution cannot be reversed, even when evidence later proves innocence, she said. Ghana took a bold step by removing the death penalty from its Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). But we must finish the journey and abolish it completely from all laws, the Country Director of Amnesty International Ghana, Genevieve Partington, said. Hghlights Touching on other issues captured in the reports, Ms Partington called on the government to criminalise witchcraft accusations and ensure that sanitary pads were distributed for free to all schoolgirls, as well as the reconsideration of legislation that undermined the rights of LGBTQI individuals. This report is not merely a collection of statistics and cases from 2024, but an avenue to deepen our practice in international solidarity as a core value of our human rights work. As resources for human rights work diminish, the role of the media in amplifying these issues becomes even more vital to hold duty-bearers to account and expose violations wherever they happen, Ms Partington stated. Previous article: We need new ideas to challenge neoliberal dominance Yao Graham UCC professor proposes mobile lab to combat food fraud Timothy Gobah May - 24 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read Professor of Food Integrity Engineering at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ernest Teye, has proposed the establishment of a mobile food integrity laboratory to help improve food safety detection onsite and reduce the incidence of food fraud in the country and sub-region. The proposed mobile lab is a compact, bag-sized unit that combines a hand-held device with a well-tested algorithm capable of assessing both the authenticity and quality of food items in real time. The portable device employs rapid, non-destructive and chemical-free technology, allowing for onsite testing without the need for a full laboratory setup. Professor Teye explained that the innovation offered a safe, affordable and multi-purpose solution that could be used on various food products. It is designed to assist regulators, producers, processors and exporters in verifying the integrity of food commodities at different points along the supply chain. Visit, impact Prof. Teye showcased the innovation during a presentation session with the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, who was on a working visit to the university. The visit aimed to strengthen academic, industrial and research collaborations between UCC and institutions in the United Kingdom, especially in innovative research addressing societal challenges. The UCC engineer mentioned that the mobile food integrity lab would be crucial in addressing the increasing prevalence of food adulteration, particularly in markets where laboratory infrastructure is inadequate or absent. The mobile lab will empower our food monitoring systems to act swiftly and effectively, especially in underserved areas, he said. Findings Citing findings from recent studies, Prof. Teye revealed that up to 35 per cent of certain food products sampled from major markets were found to be adulterated. These included honey, tomato paste, juice, turmeric, oregano, gari and vegetable oil. His own 2022 research also showed that over 25 per cent of rice, powdered milk, honey, palm oil and tomato paste samples collected from urban markets failed food integrity tests. These are not isolated issues. We are increasingly finding adulterated food items in both locally produced and imported products. This mobile lab provides a proactive solution, he stated. As a general measure, he advised the public to consume food with shorter supply chains by eating local, and to support the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) by following its safety protocols. He demonstrated the effectiveness of the technology using samples of palm oil, rice, turmeric powder, cocoa beans, pineapple and tomatoes. Opportunities Ms Thompson commended UCC for its commitment to practical, impact-driven research and reaffirmed the British High Commissions support for continued partnerships with UK research institutions. She further mentioned that there were enormous opportunities from UK-funded research programmes, which UCC could take advantage of, adding, We will continue to support such meaningful partnerships. The Chief Justices lawsuit Dr John Osae-Kwapong Politics May - 24 - 2025 , 09:57 4 minutes read Article 146(6) was triggered in response to three petitions filed asking for the removal of the Chief Justice. This has generated very heated debates, not only among constitutional law experts but also among citizens in the public square. The debates, even when partisan, are very helpful, as they raise important questions that border on how to ensure that independent constitutional bodies continue to play their role as a key democratic safeguard. It is now public knowledge that on May 21, 2025, the Chief Justice, through her lawyers, has filed a suit at the Supreme Court, regarding the ongoing process seeking her removal from office. The 16 reliefs sought include a call to make the committee hearings public on the grounds that: a) The Chief Justice is entitled to one based on certain provisions of the Constitution; and b) The Chief Justice can waive the privilege of in-camera hearings, again based on certain provisions of the Constitution. An Offence to Article 146(8)? Article 146(8) states, All proceedings under this article shall be held in camera and the Justice or Chairman against whom the petition is made is entitled to be heard in his defence by himself or by a lawyer or other expert of his choice. My research showed three cases (Ghana Bar Association v. Attorney-General and Another; Agyei-Twum v. Attorney-General and Akwetey and His Lordship Justice Paul Uuter Dery Vrs Tiger Eye P.I and Others) where the Supreme Court addressed this provision in deciding the above-referenced cases. My reading of this provision, notwithstanding other provisions dealing with ensuring fairness in judicial processes, plus my understanding of the Supreme Courts position, leads me to two conclusions a) the committee cannot deviate from what is prescribed in 1468(8) and b) the stated position of the court is that the 146 processes must be private. But courts are known to sometimes depart from their precedents and positions. It will, therefore, be instructive to see how the court handles this lawsuit and this relief. The call for transparency The relief being sought is about transparency. I have no objections, in principle, to transparency. As a matter of fact, on April 5, 2025, I wrote the following in my op-ed piece Correcting the defects of Article 146(6). The core reform needed to correct this defect is transparency. It may require providing the public with an abridged version of the petition, even if a petitioners identity must be kept secret. In addition, the response of a Chief Justice must be made a part of the public record. It may not hurt to make the advice given by the Council of State, as well as the findings of the committee and their recommendations, public as well. The gravity of removing a Chief Justice from office is such that it must be done in a way that builds confidence in institutions. One way to do that is to make the process more transparent. I share this to reiterate my strong belief that Article 146 needs fixing. In a follow-up to my op-ed, I submitted a memo to the Constitutional Review Committee with suggestions on how this defect can be addressed to ensure greater transparency if there is a removal process initiated against a chief justice or any other officer, where this article is applicable in the distant future. The current public discourse Observing the public discourse in response to this lawsuit, there are two emerging positions. On one side are those who argue for transparency and demand that the hearings be made public. On another side are those who refer to Article 146(8) and simply assert the process is in conformity with the dictates of the Constitution. Both sides believe in the legitimacy of their positions. However, here are three points of reflection as this process continues to unfold. First, we must admit, even in our disapproval or distrust of the entire process involving the current Chief Justice, that each step has proceeded in conformity with the Constitution. This is important because, sometimes, the sentiments expressed by some appear to create the impression that something unconstitutional is being done. Second, the call for transparency, while important, cannot overlook the Constitution and the courts precedent. Until the court decides otherwise, the process must proceed, guided by what is and not what ought to be. In our calls for transparency, we must guard against becoming advocates of constitutional violations. Third, whatever the outcome of this process is, we must be guided by the fact that precedents are being set. For me, whether these precedents become a guide that either enables or restrains the triggering of Article 146, only time will tell. But given the nature of our partisan duopoly politics, I worry about what the country can expect with the next turnover elections. The writer is the Project Director, Democracy Project. Deals: Google Pixel 9 series is up to $300 off for Memorial Day, Galaxy S25 Ultra is $250 off Amazon has started its Memorial Day sales with discounts up to 35%. The Pixel 9 series in particular is up to $300 off, but there are a couple of alternatives too. Also, we have a peek at Sonys latest premium Bluetooth headphones. The Google Pixel 9 Pro starts off at its usual discounted price of $800 thats $200 below MSRP for the base 128GB model. Higher storage tiers get $50 higher discounts, reaching $300 off for the 512GB variant. The vanilla Google Pixel 9 is $200 less than its Pro sibling. You can check out our comparison article for more details on which model is better suited for you. Theres also the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL unfortunately, there are no 512GB units left, so the discount tops out at $250 for the 256GB variant. Here is how the larger Pro XL compares with the 9 Pro. If youre looking to get into foldables, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold enjoys a $300 discount for the holiday. While the slender Edge is still on pre-order (it launches next week), the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra offers a 200MP camera today. And it has two telephoto lenses (50MP 5x/111mm and 10MP 3x/67mm), plus a higher resolution ultra-wide (50MP). And dont forget the battery the Ultra has 5,000mAh in the tank, the Edge only 3,900mAh. We are working on a review of the S25 Edge, in the meantime you can read up on how the S25 Ultra compares with the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The OnePlus 13R is in the mid-range pricing segment, especially now that its $100 off. However, it offers premium features like a 6.78 LTPO display and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This generation of R-model even has a telephoto camera, a 50MP 2x/47mm unit, and a large 6,000mAh battery. For an actual flagship, the OnePlus 13 is available with a $50 discount. That gets you the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, better telephoto (50MP 3x/73mm) and ultra-wide (50MP) cameras, better water resistance (IP69 vs. IP65) and other features like wireless charging (50W). The Sony WH-1000XM6 impressed in our hands-on review they are light, comfy and have excellent noise cancellation. They even fold, unlike the XM5. However, the XM6 MSRP is $50 higher than the XM5 was back in its day add to that a $100 discount and the price gap between the two models becomes quite wide. If youre willing to give up portability, plus the improvements to sound and ANC quality, the Sony WH-1000XM5 is still a very viable pick. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. After eluding federal authorities for almost three years, Ying Liuone of eight Chinese nationals charged in a 2022 human smuggling casewas arrested recently on Guam. U.S. Assistant Attorney Devarup Rastogi filed a request for the court to issue a writ of removal that would send Liu to the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands on Saipan. Court documents state that the CNMI issued a warrant for Lius arrest on Oct. 14, 2022, the same day that he and seven others were indicted on a sole count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. The documents do not specify the details surrounding his May 20, 2025, arrest on Guam, only that Liu was arrested that day. According to the federal grand jury indictment, Liu, along with seven other citizens of the Peoples Republic of China, pooled money together to purchase a boat for $20,000, on Saipan. The boat was used to transport the eight defendants from Saipan to Guam in order to avoid the immigration processes used in commercial airline transport. Authorities located the boat in the Hagatna Boat Basin on July 25, 2022. It has been marked for federal forfeiture as part of the case. Court-appointed attorney Curtis Van de veld, representing Liu, has asked for and received approval to hire a Chinese interpreter for the case. An identity hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 29. Liu was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. More than a year after signing an agreement to plead guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the District Court of Guam issued a sentencing schedule for Craig Christian Nauta. The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 26 at the District Court of Guam. Nauta faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years supervised release and a $100 special penalty assessment. He signed an amended plea agreement on April 8, 2024. His charges stem from a traffic stop on Nov. 8, 2023, in Sinajana. Nauta was the passenger in a vehicle owned and operated by Vincent Aguigui Flores. The vehicle had defective lights, according to the federal court documents. Police asked for and received consent to search the vehicle Police found drug paraphernalia, which Flores claimed, according to court documents. Police also found a .22 caliber revolver where Nauta was sitting prior to the search. He reportedly asked officers to give him a break. Nauta has a prior felony convictions, including burglary in 2017 and in 2020, he was convicted of assault on a police officer, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of an unregistered firearm. He was still on parole for his 2020 convictions when he was pulled over in Sinajana in 2023, according to his plea agreement. As part of Nautas plea agreement, the government agrees to request for a downward adjustment in Nautas offense level. Also, if the applicable sentence is presented as a range of jail terms, the government agrees to suggest to the sentencing judge that she choose at the lower end of the scale. Both parties recognize that Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood has the ultimate say in sentencing, and she may choose to consider the parties recommendations, or she may not. The U.S. military has denied reports that it plans to move 4,500 troops out of South Korea and into Guam and other locations in the Indo-Pacific. Reports that the Department of Defense will reduce U.S. troops in the Republic of Korea are not true, said Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garron J. Garn in a statement to Pacific Daily News. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the plan one of several under consideration as part of a policy review was being prepared for President Donald Trump. The newspaper attributed the information to unnamed defense officials familiar with discussions. The United States currently has about 28,000 troops in South Korea. The Asian nation will be electing a new president next week, after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in April. The U.S. remains firmly committed to the defense of the ROK and we look forward to working with the incoming government officials to maintain and strengthen our iron clad alliance, Garn said. The Wall Street Journal article stated that the proposal was part of an informal policy review on dealing with North Korea. Some Trump administration officials have pushed to have South Korea assume more of the responsibility for its own defense, so the U.S. can focus on deterring, the report stated. In a response to the newspapers exclusive report, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted on the social media platform X that anyone whos covered the Pentagon knows that we always evaluate force posture. On Guam, Adelup spokesperson Krystal Paco-San Agustin said Friday that the administration of Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero had no information about the plans. Paco-San Agustin said the article was clear that the president had not received the proposal, and neither has the governor of Guam. She said the governor was confident that if there were a firmer proposal to relocate more troops on Guam, she would be informed through the appropriate channels. (Editor's note: This story has been updated to add the Department of Corrections' photo of the suspect.) After a foot chase through the jungle, a suspect in a series of Asan Beach indecent exposure cases fought with police and attempted to choke a detective, according to a news release from Guam Police Department. Detectives ultimately subdued Jaythan Ryan Megofna, 32, early Thursday morning and arrested him in connection with indecent exposure, open lewdness and assault on a peace officer. Police began receiving reports of a man exposing himself and sexually harassing people in the park in 2024. In several disturbing cases, a male suspect reportedly exposing himself to the victims and immediately fleeing the area, to victims reporting a man peeking into the womens restrooms, again fleeing the area before officers arrival, the news release stated. The War in the Pacific National Historic Park is federal property, so GPD detectives worked together with the National Park Service, Guam wildlife and agricultural officers and patrolling units with the Guam Park Police to find the suspect. Despite their efforts, the investigation would end fruitless, police said. In January, Barbara Alberti, superintendent of the War in the Pacific National Historic Park, suspended a citizen science program in which volunteers would hunt for invasive brown tree snakes in the park on Friday nights. At the time, she said the decision to halt the program was made to protect visitors, staff members and anyone else at the park. The man was reported to target vehicles and individuals near the parks restrooms, so investigators conducted night operations. Detectives compiled detailed information from victims and witnesses to develop a working profile of the potential suspect. At 1:30 a.m. Thursday, while police were conducting surveillance, a man matching the profile and distinctive attire of the suspect was observed surreptitiously approaching an unmarked vehicle occupied by undercover detectives, police said. The mans lower body was unclothed, and detectives watched as he began to engage in lewd conduct immediately outside their vehicle, police said. The detectives identified themselves and tried to apprehend Megofna, who ran into the dense vegetation behind the restroom facilities. A detective was hurt on the rough terrain during the chase. Then as officers searched the area, Megofna ambushed a detective and started a fight in which he struck and attempted to strangle the officer, police said. Although Megofna was booked and confined at the Department of Corrections, the case remains open as police continue to investigate whether he coordinated with others during the reported cases dating back to 2024. Other incidents were also identified in 2023 in the Asan Beach Park area, police said. Police are asking anyone with information to call investigators at (671) 475-8557 or Guam Police Dispatch at (671) 475-8615 through 8617. Mangoes are not just an abundant fruit in Hagat. Theyre a source of pride, identity, and community. That pride took center stage this weekend at the Hagat Mango Festival, a beloved annual tradition that returned for its 16th year at Sagan Bisita. The mango festival is the biggest and the best festival, said Hagat Mayor Kevin Susuico. Its a great event thats very prideful for our people it allows us the opportunity to open up our doors and our homes to welcome people into our municipality. The three-day celebration featured nearly 120 vendors and offered activities such as carnival rides, fiesta barbecues, games, fireworks displays, and live performances a festival for all ages. A mango for every taste From refreshing mango shakes to mango-infused barbecue sauces, the fruit was reimagined in countless ways across vendor stalls. Theres a lot of different specialties for the mango product today. We have mango milkshakes, mango tatiyas, mango pops, a lot of other desserts, Suisico added. One of the weekends highlights was Saturdays Pika Burger contest, challenging participants to race through spicy burgers. Later, contestants braved the Pika Mango showdown. The community also contributed their own harvests for display in categories like biggest, most beautiful, and most bizarre mango. Sunday attendees can expect more fireworks and a raffle to wrap up the weekend event. Keeping legacies alive With the festivals mango theme, vendors showed up to share the fruit in all its different forms. For the Yatar family, the mango has been a constant throughout their lives and a reminder of their loved ones. Rachel Yatar, of Guam Island Fruit Trees, recalled how mango trees filled her grandmas backyard. When she passed away, her godfather, Anthony Yatar, started selling mango tree varieties, with some from Florida, to carry on his mothers legacy. This has basically been our familys passion project, said Anthonys daughter, Ayden Yatar. For as long as I can remember, my dad has been propagating mangoes. At their nursery in Santa Rita, the Yatar family cultivates a variety of mangoes, each with its own unique flavor. Anthony Yatar said he hopes to share these varieties so others can discover the mango that suits their taste best. Festival favorites One of the Mango Festivals most beloved sweets, the mango donut, comes from vendors such as The Dinanche Way, where Tamy Fejeran and her family served up golden, crisp mango donuts covered in mango sauce and powdered sugar. Were from the south, so cooking and the traditional way of sharing was always our thing, said Fejeran. What started as a single appearance at the Mango Festival has since turned into a tradition. The family has returned year after year, becoming a beloved festival staple. Our community is always coming together as one, said Susuico. Even during these hard times of economic crisis, were still able to show that as an island, we can come together and enjoy each others company. He shared that despite the small number of staff running the event, the mayors office, sponsors, vendors, and the Hagat community made the festival a success. We invite everybody to come down, he added. One people, one love, one Hagat. Haiti - Diaspora : How to contribute to the draft Constitution ? The Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE) informs all diasporas of the creation of a Special Commission tasked with examining the recommendations, grievances, and proposals of the diaspora regarding the draft Constitution currently under review https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-44957-haiti-flash-submission-to-the-government-of-the-preliminary-draft-of-the-new-constitution-of-haiti.html In line with the Haitian government's commitment to participatory and inclusive governance, this initiative aims to ensure the full integration of the Haitian diaspora in the constitutional process. It is part of the Ministry's vision of building a new national pact, in which every Haitian voice, regardless of location, actively participates in the country's democratic future. The MHAVE invites you to submit your contributions to : mhavedoleance@outlook.com To enable the Commission to ensure efficient processing and personalized follow-up, we ask that you include the following information in your email : Full name; Name of the diaspora group or association, if applicable; Telephone number; Email address; Country of residence. The Ministry counts on your civic engagement and your unwavering commitment to building a strong, just, and democratic Haiti. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - FLASH : An American, sexual predator of Haitian children, sentenced to 210 years in prison On Friday, May 23, 2025, a 73-year-old American from Colorado, Michael Karl Geilenfeld, was sentenced by a federal court in Florida to 210 years in prison for sexually abusing numerous Haitian children in the orphanage he founded and ran in Haiti. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, most recently of Littleton, founded St. Josephs Home for Boys a home for orphaned, impoverished, and otherwise vulnerable children in Haiti in 1985 and operated it for more than two decades. During this time, Geilenfeld repeatedly traveled from the United States to Haiti, where he sexually abused the boys entrusted to his care. He also physically and emotionally abused the children in the home, including through physical assault and other forms of punishment. In February 2025, a federal jury convicted Geilenfeld of one count of traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place between 2005 and 2010. Each of the six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct relates to a separate victim who was a child at the time of the offense. https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-44347-icihaiti-justice-an-american-risks-30-years-in-prison-for-abuse-of-haitian-minors.html During the trial, these six victims testified about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Geilenfeld and its devastating consequences, as did other victims, now adults, who were not named in the charges. Victims and witnesses also described the physical abuse Geilenfeld inflicted on his victims and the manipulation he used to maintain and financially support his business. "The defendants sustained sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable," said Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Departments Criminal Division. "This prosecution demonstrates the Departments commitment to securing justice for children harmed by criminals who travel abroad from the United States to commit their crimes. We thank our partners for working with us to ensure that the defendant can never harm another child." "This sentencing marks the end of a case built on the courage of survivors and the dedication of investigators," said Jose A. Perez, Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. "For decades, Geilenfeld used his position of trust and access to exploit vulnerable children under the guise of humanitarian work. We are grateful to those victims who came forward to report their abuse." The FBI is committed to prosecuting perpetrators of crimes against children, regardless of where or when the crime occurred. Read also about this case : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-44347-icihaiti-justice-an-american-risks-30-years-in-prison-for-abuse-of-haitian-minors.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41778-haiti-news-zapping.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41515-haiti-usa-an-american-accused-of-sexual-abuse-of-children-in-haiti.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15638-haiti-justice-new-investigation-against-the-founder-of-the-orphanage-st-joseph-s-house.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13742-haiti-justice-the-founder-of-the-orphanage-maison-saint-joseph-acquitted-and-released.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-27469-icihaiti-justice-michael-geilenfeld-saturday-michael-geilenfeld-67-a-native-of-iowa-usa-founder-of-the-maison-saint-joseph-orphanage-arrested-in-dr.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15638-haiti-justice-new-investigation-against-the-founder-of-the-orphanage-st-joseph-s-house.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13918-haiti-justice-towards-a-new-trial-of-michael-geilenfeld.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13742-haiti-justice-the-founder-of-the-orphanage-maison-saint-joseph-acquitted-and-released.html HL/ HaitiLibre The Norwegian boat start-up Pascal Technologies wants to equip two of its electric boats with Airhull technology. The boats Nabcrew Zero AirBlue 1240 and Hugin DC will be able to glide on a layer of air. The technology lifts the hull of the boat out of the water when underway, thereby reducing drag thus increasing efficiency and requiring less energy to operate the boat. Airhull should be easier to implement than hydrofoil technology, which also lifts a boat out of the water. Anzeige Electric boats have to be very economical with their energy to achieve a decent range. This is usually achieved by minimizing the resistance of the hull in the water. Hydrofoil boats use hydrofoils underwater to lift the hull of the boat out of the water. However, the hydrofoils have to be adjustable, which makes the technology more complex. Pascal Technologies promises to be able to achieve a similar effect with Airhull. Up to 50 percent of a boat's energy consumption can be saved in this way. Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen. YouTube-Video immer laden YouTube-Video jetzt laden Das Video zeigt die prinzipielle Funktionsweise der Airhull-Technik von Pascal Technologies. The hull of an Airhull boat has a kind of comb on the underside around the outer edge. This creates a hollow space under the boat across the entire hull, which is filled with water when the boat is stationary. At the stern, there is a controllable flap that gradually closes the cavity at the rear end as required. A blower at the bow pumps air into this cavity, creating a pressure that lifts the boat about 15 to 20 cm out of the water when the boat is moving. The hull is then no longer in full contact with the water. This reduces water resistance and energy consumption. The pump and the rear flap are controlled automatically depending on the situation to achieve the best performance, promises Pascal Technologies in an explanation of the system. The technology is said to be suitable for boats from 6 m to 30 m in length. Boats with Airhull technology Airhull is to be used in the Nabcbrew Zero AirBlue 1240, a 12 m long workboat that can transport up to eight passengers to aquaculture facilities. The boat is expected to reach speeds of between 20 and 25 knots (around 37 to 46 km/h) and achieve a range of 40 nautical miles (around 74 km). The fast-charging batteries have a capacity of 378 kWh. Airhull technology will also be used in the Hugin DC. The electrically powered leisure boat in a classic wooden design is 9.15 m long and is powered by two electric motors from Rim Drive Technologies, which operate with 48-volt technology. The cruising speed is said to be around 12 knots (approx. 22 km/h). The company has not provided any information on the range. Anzeige The Nacbrew Zero Airblue 1240 and the Hugin DC are due to be launched later this year. Prices have not yet been communicated. (olb) 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 company did not specify where the redundancies will occur. However, its Rautpohja site in Jyvaskyla, which employs a large share of Valmets white-collar workforce, is likely to be heavily impacted. Valmet employs about 1,500 people in Central Finland, of whom nearly 1,100 are white-collar workers. Engineering company Valmet will lay off 433 employees, including 325 in Finland, the firm said on Thursday. The cuts affect only white-collar and managerial roles. Human resources director Anu Pires said the redundancies are the result of changes to the companys operating model. Negotiations began in April, and the new model will take effect in July. In March, Valmet announced plans to cut up to 395 jobs in Finland. In addition to the permanent layoffs, Valmet also confirmed temporary furloughs for up to 1,100 employees in Finland this summer. The unpaid leaves will last up to three months and apply to staff in the companys paper and board mills unit. The company cited weaker market demand and the need to improve profitability as the reason for the furloughs. Valmet said the restructuring will help align its operations with shifting business needs. The latest cuts come just months after Valmet laid off 112 workers in Finland in autumn 2024. At that time, the company said it was adjusting operations to reflect changes in the global business environment. Valmet employs around 19,000 people globally, including 6,600 in Finland. The companys operations span paper and board machinery, energy technologies, and automation systems. Its Rautpohja mill in Jyvaskyla, founded in 1938, remains a key site for the firms paper technology business. Valmets origins date back to the 18th century, when its predecessor operated under the name Valtion Metallitehtaat ("State Metal Factories"). The company later adopted the name Valmet and was partially privatised. Today, the Finnish state holds around 10 percent of its shares. HT The Ministry of Defence confirmed on Friday that the incident is being taken seriously, with Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen stating that a full investigation is underway. The Finnish Border Guard and the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard are jointly leading the inquiry. Two Russian military aircraft are suspected of entering Finnish airspace off the southern coast near Porvoo, prompting a formal investigation by Finnish authorities. "This kind of suspected territorial violation is treated with the utmost seriousness," Hakkanen said in a statement on Friday evening. He added that the ministry would await the results of the investigation before taking further steps. This is the second reported breach of Finnish airspace by Russian aircraft in 2025. The previous incident occurred in February, when a Russian plane was suspected of crossing into Finnish airspace over the Gulf of Finland, west of Hanko. Both cases are being reviewed for possible pattern behaviour. According to initial reports, the aircraft involved in Fridays incident did not identify themselves or make contact with air traffic control. The exact duration of the airspace breach and the aircraft type remain unconfirmed. The suspected violation occurred just a day after Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Su-24 bomber over the Baltic Sea. Polish authorities confirmed that their aircraft, operating under NATO command, deterred the Russian jet after it was spotted flying without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off. The Russian military routinely conducts such operations from the Kaliningrad exclave. NATO officials have previously criticised Russias use of non-transparent flight behaviour, warning that these flights increase the risk of accidents in the region. Russia has not commented on the latest events. Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, joined NATO in 2023. Since then, Finland has intensified its surveillance and readiness measures along the eastern frontier. Speaking earlier this week on broader Russian activities near the Finnish border, Major General Sami Nurmi, head of strategy at the Finnish Defence Forces, said that Russian infrastructure preparations in the northwest of the country are progressing. He noted that these developments align with expectations following the redeployment of Russian troops from that region to Ukraine. "Russia has the capacity to concentrate limited forces quickly. We saw this ability clearly in Ukraine," Nurmi said. "We are observing a methodical build-up of infrastructure which would support troop return or replacement." Minister Hakkanen echoed the strategic concerns, saying that Russias behaviour in airspace and along land borders must be viewed in a wider security context. "Finland is a reliable NATO member with strong monitoring capabilities," he said. "These events underline why close cooperation within the alliance remains critical." NATO commanders have warned that Russia could seek to test the alliances defences in the coming years. Several European defence assessments have suggested that Russia might have the capacity to mount a regional challenge within three to five years if military modernisation efforts remain unchecked and if Ukraines war ends in a way that allows the redeployment of Russian forces. The Finnish Defence Forces and NATO have increased readiness exercises in the Baltic region since Finlands accession. Additional aerial surveillance and maritime patrols are planned throughout 2025. While the Finnish investigation continues, Defence officials say Finland remains calm and prepared. "We have coexisted with Russia for centuries," said Nurmi. "But this is a different era, and we must respond accordingly." HT Speaking at the party council meeting on Saturday, Lindtman said Finland should respond to Frances push for coordinated recognition of Palestinian statehood across Europe. He argued that early action would strengthen Finlands international standing and show support for a two-state solution. This approach mirrors how Finland has navigated other cross-border regulatory issues, such as online gambling , where European coordination plays a crucial role in shaping national policies. Social Democratic Party chair Antti Lindtman has called on Finland to prepare for the recognition of a Palestinian state, urging the government to act before next months United Nations peace summit in New York. The government must begin preparations to recognise Palestine without delay, Lindtman told party members. He also demanded a formal government report to Parliament addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and outlining steps towards recognition. According to Lindtman, a clear majority of MPs would support statehood for Palestine if the matter were brought before the legislature. The Christian Democrats and the Finns Party are blocking this, he said. It seems there will never be a right time for them. Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) said Finland had no plans to rush into recognition, contrasting with Sweden, Norway, and Ireland, which have all announced their intention to recognise Palestine. France has called for a joint European approach to the issue, hoping to unify positions ahead of the UN peace talks. While some EU states are moving independently, Finlands current centre-right government has remained cautious. The SDPs call comes amid rising domestic support. A Helsingin Sanomat poll this week placed the partys backing at 25.3 percent, the highest level in two decades. The SDP is currently the largest opposition force in Parliament. Recognition of Palestinian statehood remains a contentious issue in Finnish politics. Finland has long supported a negotiated two-state solution, but has so far stopped short of formal recognition. Lindtmans comments mark a shift in tone and place added pressure on Prime Minister Petteri Orpos government to clarify its position ahead of the UN summit. HT The groups office is lined with flyers reading Yes to Peace. These, she says, are handed out by the thousands during protests. Heli Mishael , a 35-year-old peace activist based in Tel Aviv, is at the forefront of a growing grassroots movement challenging Israels war in Gaza. As part of the Standing Together organisation, she coordinates actions that bring Jewish and Arab citizens into joint political resistance. This may feel far from peace right now, but the message resonates, Mishael told Yle during a visit to the groups headquarters. Standing Together includes only Israeli citizens. Its focus has ranged from pushing for minimum wage reforms to, more recently, full-time opposition to the war. The movement has expanded rapidly since the war began. People no longer believe the government is ensuring anyones safety, Mishael said. Citing polling data, she said 85 percent of Israelis want an end to the conflict, but that the government acts on behalf of a small radical minority. According to her, extremist settler factions, once considered fringe in Israeli politics, have found leverage in government circles. She claims they see the war as an opportunity to re-establish Jewish settlements in Gaza. This used to be whispered behind closed doors. Now it's said openly. Our people are being sent into Gaza to die for these goals. It's far from the security that Israelis want. The trauma of the 7 October Hamas attack remains fresh. It was horrific. But we cannot even begin to process it while hostages are still held and the violence continues, she said. The public, she believes, is ready for a political shift. People want a ceasefire, one that leads to negotiations and a permanent solution. I support a two-state model, and eventually a future where both peoples can move and live freely. Mishaels political awakening began after moving from Finland to Israel. She was raised in a Finnish-Israeli family in Helsinki and studied at the Jewish school there. She later graduated from a sports-focused secondary school before relocating to Israel with her Finnish partner, now her husband. Their daughter was born during the war. Weve been woken by air raid sirens at night, again just last night. This isnt normal, even if you start to get used to it. During her studies in Israel, she took part in dialogue with Palestinian students from al-Quds University. Later, she studied at Harvard and returned to Israel to work with Standing Together. She now serves as its head of human resources and communications. The group has been actively protecting humanitarian convoys into Gaza, which have faced disruption from settler-led groups. One such confrontation occurred earlier this week at the Kerem Shalom crossing, where Standing Together organised a counter-protest. Mishael learned during the Yle interview that one of the organisations chairpersons, Alon-Lee Green, had been placed under house arrest. This is a ruthless attempt to stop us. Its outrageous, she said. The Israeli government has intensified crackdowns on dissent. Police detained several Standing Together leaders during a recent protest near the Gaza barrier. Mishael believes such actions only draw more supporters. In wartime Israel, even social media activity can bring consequences. For Palestinian citizens, a single online post can result in suspension from university or employment. We operate a hotline for doctors, teachers, anyone targeted for defending Gazas children. We try to help all of them. Mishael says the heart of the conflict lies in recognising that two nations live on the same land. Some believe the other group will just vanish. But were not going anywhere. We must find a way to live here together with equal rights for both. HT The move is part of a wider sanctions package being drafted to increase economic pressure on Russia to halt its military campaign in Ukraine. The European Union is weighing the removal of more than 20 Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the plan. In addition to the SWIFT measures, the package reportedly includes a proposal to lower the price cap on Russian oil and to prohibit the use of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which have not been operational since the explosions in the Baltic Sea in 2022. The European Commission has submitted the plans to member states for consultation, but no timeline has been confirmed for the potential adoption of the new measures. Sanctions at the EU level require unanimous agreement among all 27 member states. The draft package also includes a proposed ban on business dealings with around 20 financial institutions and roughly 2.5 billion worth of new trade restrictions. The goal is to further restrict Russias access to technology that could be used in military production. This latest package would build on the EUs existing sanctions, which include restrictions on banking, energy exports, and dual-use goods. Russias access to Western financial systems has already been heavily reduced since the start of the war in February 2022, but the EU is seeking to tighten enforcement and close remaining loopholes. The potential removal of additional banks from SWIFT would mark an escalation in financial sanctions. SWIFT, the Belgium-based cooperative, provides secure messaging for cross-border transactions between thousands of banks worldwide. Disconnection from the system makes international financial operations significantly more difficult. While the EU has previously removed select Russian institutions from SWIFT, including Sberbank and VTB, some banks have remained connected, largely to facilitate energy transactions and food exports. A final decision on the proposed sanctions is expected to hinge on internal political negotiations, particularly from member states more economically exposed to the fallout of tighter trade and financial restrictions. HT The donors sperm was used between 2008 and 2015 to conceive at least 67 children in 46 families across eight European countries. The TP53 gene mutation, known to elevate cancer risk, was identified only after multiple cases of childhood cancer were reported among the donors offspring. A sperm donor who unknowingly carried a rare gene mutation linked to cancer has fathered dozens of children across Europe, at least ten of whom have developed cancer, according to findings presented at a major genetics conference. The issue came to light when two families separately contacted fertility clinics after their children were diagnosed with similar forms of cancer. Subsequent genetic testing revealed the children shared the same sperm donor and carried the TP53 mutation. French biologist Edwige Kasper, speaking at the European Society of Human Genetics conference in Milan, called for stricter regulation. We need a Europe-wide limit on the number of families per donor, Kasper, who works at Rouen University Hospital, said. Of the 67 donor-conceived children tested, 23 were found to carry the gene. At least ten have been diagnosed with cancer, including cases of leukaemia. Medical professionals have advised routine MRI and ultrasound screenings for those carrying the gene. The donor, who appeared healthy at the time of donation, provided sperm to the European Sperm Bank in 2008. The mutation was not yet associated with cancer and would not have been detectable through standard screening methods available then. The European Sperm Bank said in a statement to The Guardian, which first reported the story, that it limits any one donors sperm to a maximum of 75 families worldwide. However, it declined to confirm the total number of children conceived by the individual in question. According to the bank, all relevant fertility clinics have been informed about the genetic mutation. Discussion on stricter international limits has gained momentum following the case. While countries like Finland already cap a donors gametes to five families, regulations vary widely across Europe. In 2023, Finnish media reported on a Dutch donor believed to have fathered over 500 children globally. Finland does not prohibit sperm donations from individuals who already have offspring abroad, nor does it restrict the import of foreign donor sperm. The Guardians report has triggered renewed scrutiny of European fertility practices, especially regarding genetic screening and cross-border coordination. Calls for reform have intensified as donor-conceived children increasingly discover their biological origins through DNA databases, revealing widespread inconsistencies in regulation. This latest case underscores the potential medical consequences of insufficient oversight, and pressure is mounting on EU authorities to introduce continent-wide limits on the number of children conceived using a single donor's sperm. HT $465M Helene recovery bill includes farm relief, private road repair Jennifer Balkcom A $464.75 million Hurricane Helene recovery bill the North Carolina House adopted this week includes $60 million in small business grants, $30 million to repair private roads and bridges, $25 million for rebuilding farm infrastructure and other disaster aid, state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom announced. Related Stories This bill is personal for me, Balkcom said in a news release. Helene didnt just damage roads, homes, and farmland it disrupted lives and shook the foundation of our communities. But todays legislation proves we havent been forgotten. Were rebuilding not just structures, but hope. The recovery plan for communities devastated by and wildfires across Western North Carolina approved in 106-0 vote on Thursday marked the fifth round of Helene recovery funds, bringing the total House allocations to $1.85 billion. The bill awaits action in the N.C. Senate. We didnt draft this bill in a vacuum," Balkcom said. "We asked those on the ground farmers, fire chiefs, school superintendents what they needed, and we delivered. This bill is about making sure that money goes where it matters. The bill includes: $60 million for small business recovery grants. $70 million in required state match funds for FEMA disaster relief. $50 million for unmet infrastructure needs of local governments. $30 million to repair private roads and bridges. $25 million for rebuilding farm infrastructure. $25 million to restore schools and $8 million to support school facility repairs. $20 million for flood mitigation and disaster preparedness. $18 million in fire & EMS grants and $15 million for wildfire readiness. $20 million to support volunteer aid organizations that were frontline responders. The bill also redirects $500 million from NCInnovation and underused funds, ensuring a fiscally responsible recovery effort. MORE than 20 members and guests of the Oxfordshire arm of a national bereavement support charity gathered in Mill Meadows on Saturday for its annual Big Picnic. Widowed and Young (WAY) is the only charity in the UK that supports people aged 50 or younger when their partner dies. It was founded in 1997 and now has more than 4,700 members. It offers peer-to-peer emotional and practical support to young widowed people. Each year, more than 30 branches of the charity throughout the country host a picnic to raise awareness of their service. It is the only event in the charitys calendar that is open for non-members to attend. The picnic was followed by a cruise along the River Thames on a Hobbs of Henley boat. Stephen Herbert, 52, joined the charity in 2023, three months after losing his wife to pancreatic cancer. He said that the picnic is an opportunity for members to share their experiences of being supported by the charity. He said: Its an opportunity for us to share all of the support we have been given in the time that we have been members of WAY the club that no one particularly wanted to join in the first place. Some people brought children and we had some people who joined us who werent members, who were coming along to see what it was like, and had been bereaved and seeing if it was something that could help them. So it was just nice sitting in the sun chatting and the kids got to run around. Mr Herbert said that he had helped to organise the river cruise that followed the picnic as it was one of the last outings he had with his wife. He said the cruise felt especially poignant. He said: It was just a relaxed time, we could just be who we were. A friend of mine is a captain on one of the boats and before my wife died he gave us a cruise down the Thames, and that was probably one of the last times my wife went out. That was around about this time of year, I think May 27, two years ago. It was quite poignant for me but also was a happy occasion in terms of the people around us. Iran condemns fresh U.S. sanctions ahead of fifth round of nuclear talks Xinhua) 13:45, May 24, 2025 TEHRAN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday strongly condemned the United States for slapping new sanctions on individuals or entities providing Iran with certain construction-related materials. He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X after the U.S. Department of State claimed in a statement on Wednesday that it had found out that Iran's construction sector was being controlled "directly or indirectly" by the country's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and identified "10 additional strategic materials that Iran is using in connection with its nuclear, military, or ballistic missile programs." According to the U.S. State Department, the newly identified materials include austenitic nickel-chromium alloy, magnesium ingots, sodium perchlorate, tungsten copper, and certain aluminum sheets and tubes. Baghaei called the U.S. move "outrageous, unlawful and inhuman," stressing, "The U.S. multi-layered sanctions and coercive measures against Iran have all been calibrated to deprive each and every Iranian citizen of their basic human rights, and as such, these sanctions are no less than crimes against humanity." He added the sanctions, which were announced ahead of the fifth round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, cast further doubts on the U.S. willingness and seriousness for pursuing diplomacy. Baghaei emphasized that the Iranian nation was determined to remain "steadfast and strong in the face of such absurd animosity." The new sanctions come as Iran and the United States have held four rounds of talks on Tehran's nuclear program and the lifting of U.S. sanctions since April, with the fifth round scheduled to be held in Rome on Friday. Commenting on the fifth round of talks in another post on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's account on X, Baghaei announced the arrival of the Iranian negotiating team in Rome for the talks. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Low-altitude economy in limelight at Silk Road expo Xinhua) 13:56, May 24, 2025 XI'AN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- From cutting-edge unmanned aircraft to digital platforms for airspace management, the low-altitude economy has taken center stage with a dedicated exhibition area at an ongoing expo held in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. With an exhibition area of approximately 10,000 square meters, the low-altitude economy area features over 100 aircraft, including fixed-wing models and multi-rotor drones from more than 300 enterprises, at the ninth Silk Road International Exposition that runs from May 21 to 25. Among the models on display is an unmanned aircraft that completed its maiden flight in Shaanxi in 1958, as well as different types of modern electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Xi'an ASN Technology Group Co., Ltd. has brought more than 10 industrial drones to the expo, including an eVTOL. With a wingspan of 5.2 meters and a payload capacity of up to 30 kg, the eVTOL can carry aerial cameras, emergency supplies and other equipment, making it suitable for logistics, infrastructure inspection and emergency response, according to the company. The company is a fine example of Shaanxi's burgeoning low-altitude economy. In recent years, Shaanxi has developed a well-established industrial chain for aviation development and production, while expanding the sector's applications to include tourism, crop and forest protection, and urban environmental management. In 2024, Shaanxi's aviation and unmanned aircraft production industry generated an output of nearly 200 billion yuan (about 27.8 billion U.S. dollars). At the expo, Shaanxi Transportation Holding Group presented a three-dimensional sand table model demonstrating how the integration of road and air networks would support the low-altitude economy. "According to our calculations, by leveraging existing power and communication infrastructure, the upfront investment costs for low-altitude infrastructure could be cut by 50 percent," said Lin Dong, a product manager with the Xi'an Highway Research Institute Co., Ltd., affiliated with the group. He added that they plan to take advantage of airspace above roadside areas and establish take-off and landing sites at toll stations, parking areas and expressway service areas. The inclusion of such a new exhibition area at the expo, which traditionally focuses on trade and investment, reflects China's strategic push to boost the low-altitude sector and expand its footprint. China has included the low-altitude economy in the government work report for two consecutive years. In May, the drone fleet flight planner was recognized by the country's human resources authorities as a new profession. As China takes well-ordered steps to scale up the industry through policy support and technological innovation, effective supervision and management is becoming increasingly vital amid the growing prevalence of unmanned aircraft and frequent flight activities. China Telecom, a leading Chinese telecom operator, showcased a low-altitude service supervision and management platform at the expo. "The system enables real-time aircraft monitoring and trajectory conflict detection. It also integrates weather data and other information to enhance airspace flow management and flight safety," said Wang Ziyi from the Shaanxi branch of China Telecom, adding that the platform is currently operational in the cities of Suzhou and Guangzhou. With supportive policies, a robust industrial foundation and growing commercial applications, China's low-altitude economy is set to take flight. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has forecast a significant surge in market value, projecting that the sector would soar from 500 billion yuan in 2023 to 1.5 trillion yuan in 2025, and that it could reach an astounding 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. Lin said that as an emerging sector, the low-altitude economy has been emphasized by the government and will become a key driver of high-quality development. "The company will fully integrate its existing road network resources to extend expressway infrastructure vertically into an 'aerial expressway network,' establishing a comprehensive transportation system encompassing management, maintenance and operations," he said. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Two young women were found dead inside a University of Wisconsin-Platteville dormitory on the morning of Sunday, 19 May. The bodies were discovered just before 11:00am in Wilgus Hall, a student residence at the heart of campus, after police received a 911 call from the building. The victims have been named as Kelsie Martin, 18, of Maynard, Iowa, and Hallie Helms, 19, from Platteville. Both were first-year students. Police have stressed that the deaths are believed to be an isolated incident, with no danger posed to other students or the wider public. What Happened Inside Wilgus Hall? Officers responding to the emergency call found both students unresponsive in their shared room. They were pronounced dead at the scene. No other students were injured, and investigators confirmed no sign of forced entry or foul play. While the exact cause of death has yet to be confirmed, authorities have said autopsies and toxicology tests are under way. The Grant County Medical Examiner's Office is leading the examination, and results are expected later this week. Until then, university staff and police are working closely with the families and offering support to grieving students and staff. 'We are heartbroken,' said Chancellor Tammy Evetovich in a statement. 'The loss of these two young students is devastating for their families, for their friends, and for the entire UW-Platteville community.' Remembering Kelsie Martin and Hallie Helms Kelsie Martin, a recent graduate of West Central High School in Iowa, had only just begun her university journey. Described by those who knew her as thoughtful, curious and grounded, she was quickly making her mark on campus life. Hallie Helms, a Platteville native, had returned home to pursue her degree in elementary education. She was known for her warmth, her ambition, and her passion for teaching children. Friends called her 'a bright light,' someone who made people feel seen. Both families have asked for privacy as they try to come to terms with their sudden and profound loss. In the meantime, UW-Platteville has cancelled final exams for Wilgus Hall residents and extended counselling services to all students. Rumours, Grief, and an Online Storm As news of the tragedy spread, speculation followed. Social media platforms were flooded with questions, theories, and in some cases, misinformation. Unverified claims about substance exposure circulated widely, none of which have been confirmed by authorities. In a public statement, Platteville Police Chief Josh Grabandt urged the community to remain respectful. 'We understand people want answers,' he said. 'But this is a sensitive time. Spreading unconfirmed rumours only adds to the hurt.' Even amidst the noise, there has been compassion. Students have begun planning candlelight vigils. Photo tributes have appeared online. Messages of support have come in from across the region all echoing the same thing: these two young lives mattered, and they are deeply missed. A Campus in Mourning UW-Platteville, home to around 6,000 students, is known for its tight-knit feel. In a town of just over 11,000 people, news travels fast and hits hard. The loss of two students on campus has sent shockwaves through the university and the local community. In another message to students, Chancellor Evetovich promised the university would review safety measures and maintain open communication as the investigation unfolds. 'Right now, we're focused on healing,' she said. 'But we are also committed to transparency and accountability.' What Happens Now? As the investigation continues, the community waits for answers. Campus officials are making flexible academic arrangements for those affected. Grief counselors remain available not only for students, but for faculty and staff as well. But beneath the procedural updates lies a deeper truth: two lives, just beginning, have ended far too soon. As the university wraps itself in mourning, the focus turns to memory to keep Kelsie and Hallie's spirits alive in stories, in quiet moments, and in the shared resolve to care for one another. Originally published on IBTimes UK The Israeli man who was killed with his girlfriend as he left the Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday night in Washington D.C. had purchased an engagement ring and planned to propose next week. Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, both of whom worked at the Israeli embassy, were shot to death in a terrorist attack around 9 p.m. after attending an event at the museum. Police said that the man responsible, Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, was pacing outside the museum and then approached a group of four people that included Lischinsky and Milgrim. Police said that he pulled out the gun and opened fire. He then entered the museum, where he was detained by security. According to police, Rodriguez showed where he had discarded the gun, made statements indicating he committed the shooting, and chanted "Free, Free Palestine." "I want to be clear that we will not tolerate this violence or hate in our city," Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said. "We will not tolerate antisemitism." Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, said that Lischinsky was planning to propose next week in Jerusalem. "Together, we won't be afraid," Leiter said. "We're going to overcome the moral depravity of people who believe they are going to achieve poltical gains through murder." Leiter said that he had spoken to President Trump who assured him the administration would take steps to fight antisemitism and address the ongoing "demonization and the delegitimation" of the state of Israel. "We will confront this moral depravity without fear," Leiter said. LIVE: Mayor Bowser Holds Media Avail https://t.co/oVUYg04D0L Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) May 22, 2025 Originally published on Lawyer Herald Retired Fire Chief Craig Pedercini is named 'municipal employee of the year' by the local chapter of League of Women Voters at Thursday's town meeting. Jane Patton serves at her final annual town meeting at the end of 12 years on the Select Board. The late Virginia Sheldon, right, is seen with fellow Friends of the Milne Public Library volunteers Jennifer Bayliss, left, and Susan Pike. Justin Adkins presents a warrant article affirming the rights of transgender and non-binary residents on the floor of Thursday's annual town meeting. It passed by a vote of 197-18. PreviousNext Williamstown Town Meeting Honors Civic Leaders, Protects Vulnerable Residents Thomas Sheldon listens as Moderator Elisabeth Goodman reads the citation honoring his late wife, Ginny. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Three longtime contributors to the town were called out for recognition at Thursday's annual town meeting, including one who was recognized posthumously. Retired Fire Chief Craig Pedercini earned the municipal employee of the year award from the local chapter of League of Women Voters. Select Board member Jane Patton was recognized by one of her colleagues on the occasion of her final meeting in the post. And Virginia Sheldon received the town's top honor for volunteerism. Sheldon, who died in October, was known to many as a leader of the Friends of the Milne Public Library, a volunteer organization that raises money to support programs, technology upgrades and the professional development of staff at the library. For years, she was one of the main organizers of the Friends' popular April used book sale at Williamstown Elementary School, and she was one of the driving forces behind its successor, Chapter Two Books on Spring Street. In the citation for her recognition with the Scarborough-Salomon-Flynt Community Service Award, the retired school counselor's work as a mentor and tutor at North Adams' former Conte Middle School also was mentioned. "Everyone feels the loss of Ginny's positive attitude," Town Moderator Elisabeth Goodman said in reading the citation. "She found real ways to make a lasting difference. This is our way of showing her light is still with us, and we are grateful." Accepting the award for his late wife was former Select Board chair, current Affordable Housing Trust member and 2020 Scarborough-Salomon-Flynt honoree Tom Sheldon. "When I was fortunate enough to receive the award a few years ago, I noted in my remarks there were people in the community who played roles that were highly visible and recognized, and I observed there were those who operated behind the scenes with little or no public awareness," Sheldon said. "I cited Ginny as a prime example at that time. So there's a little more balance in the universe tonight." Tom Sheldon witnessed first hand the countless hours his wife spent all year round working for the town's library on a volunteer basis, hours that included organizing the reception and sorting of used books, coordinating the volunteer army that staged the two-day sale each spring and, later, managing a "staff" of volunteers that has made the year-round used book store a staple on Spring Street. "She never sought or wanted recognition," Tom said. "If she were here tonight, she would focus on her fellow volunteers and the importance of community service. The rewards, for her, were intrinsic in the work." Patton was present to hear her service to the town recognized. Jeffrey Johnson took a moment at the outset of the meeting to mark Patton's four three-year terms on the Select Board and gave her flowers as a personal thank you. He noted that Patton served as chair of the board during one of the most turbulent years in recent memory, 2020, when Williamstown dealt with the twin challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lawsuit that exposed issues in the town's Police Department and, ultimately, led to the resignations of the town manager and police chief. At the same time, a national focus on systemic racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota led to a local conversation that produced the town's Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity, on which Patton served in its first incarnation. Johnson was a community member on that first iteration of the DIRE Committee, where he met Patton and was inspired to run for the Select Board himself. He described Patton as a mentor to him during his first year on the body. "I have walked in these shoes myself for only four years," Johnson said. "It takes true commitment and sacrifice, which can't be measured in monetary value. "Personally, I truly appreciate all your support. You were there every step of the way for me to make sure I understood these processes. As you sit there for the last time, I hope you know and appreciate that your efforts have made a real difference in our community." There was a small difference in this year's "Town Employee of the Year" award, as the League of Women Voters' Anne Skinner explained on Thursday evening. For 2025, the group bent its own rules and honored an employee who serves not the town, per se, but the Williamstown Fire District, which is a separate municipal entity with its own taxing authority outside of town government. Craig Pedercini's 37 years of service to the district the last 22 as chief made him an obvious "outside the box" selection for the annual recognition. Skinner mentioned the years of personal sacrifice that any first responder makes as well as the transformations in the town's fire service, most notably the current construction of a new station on Main Street to replace the cramped, out-of-date facility on Water Street. "Most important might be the numbers we can never know how many of our homes and places of business are still standing, how many of us are uninjured or even alive because of your steady, decades-long focus on keeping fires from starting and ably putting them out when they do," Skinner said. "Our gratitude is equally immeasurable." While most of Thursday's meeting focused on local affairs like the fiscal year 2026 budget and new ordinances, the town's legislative body was presented with opportunities to make statements on national issues. One of the last articles of the night was an echo of a 2017 measure town meeting passed affirming, "that Federal immigration detainer requests and administrative warrants are not binding on Town officials, while seeking to protect the due process rights of residents without regard to their immigration status." Moments before, a different article brought by citizens petition clarified that transgender and gender non-conforming people who live in town are equal to members of other groups covered by 2020 town meeting's votes on equity training for town employees and an acceptance of the Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education's "Not In Our County" pledge. Justin Adkins presented that article to the meeting, talking about the history of erasure of trans and gender non-conforming people that is tied to Nazi Germany's destruction of Berlin's Institute for Sexual Research in 1933. And Adkins drew a connection between that atrocity and current events. "Transgender, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ people are being targeted by federal and state actions stating that the U.S. government will now recognize only two sexes, male and female," he said. "And the federal government is seeking to end gender-affirming care and federal legal recognition of trans people. "Just [Wednesday] night, 92 years and 16 days after the [Nazis'] book-burning, while we are sleeping, the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill.' If this is passed by Senate, it would include a ban on gender-affirming medical care from Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage for trans people of all ages." Adkins' resolution, passed by a vote of 197-18, prohibits the use of town resources for, "cooperation, assistance, or provision of information to any individual or out-of-state agency or department in furtherance of restrictions on the provision of gender-affirming healthcare or gender-affirming mental health care sought or performed in the Town of Williamstown and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;" or the "prevention or detention of persons seeking gender-affirming healthcare or gender-affirming mental health care." Berkshire Community College held a pinning ceremony for the six graduates of its physical therapy assistant course on Thursday. Berkshire Community College Graduates Physical Therapist Assistants President Ellen Kennedy, program instructors and speakers pose with the graduates. See more photos here. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Berkshire Community College graduated six physical therapist assistants during an intimate ceremony on Thursday. "This is a meaningful and, I hope, memorable evening for you, your families, our healthcare partners, this college, your very proud faculty, and most importantly, your future patients," BCC President Ellen Kennedy said. "In the years ahead, you will implement plans of care for people who are overjoyed to regain movement, for those coping with diminished capacity, and for others who are angry and grieving the loss of function they once took for granted." During their careers, the graduates will witness a range of people experience complex emotions, including gratitude, frustration, hope, and despair, she said. "Some will thank you profusely. Others may express their pain in ways that make your work and your life more difficult," Kennedy said. "Through it all, you will rely on the knowledge, skills, and compassion you've developed in this program, which you will continue to refine in practice and professional growth. You will represent the very best of what Berkshire Community College has to offer." The celebration marks their transition from students to practitioners into the "incredibly rewarding field," said Nicole Tucker, PTA program coordinator. The students worked for two years to enter the field that is in need of skilled practitioners, she said. "These individuals will fulfill a critical role in advancing recovery, promoting physical independence, and supporting overall wellness," Tucker said. "In the state of Massachusetts, there are just about 23,00 PTAs in practice, so our graduates are joining an elite group of practitioners, and as a matter of fact, four out of the six of our students who are graduating already have job offers in the works." There are special qualities required to become a physical therapist. It is more than understanding exercises or intervention. It demands the ability to build meaningful rapport, problem-solve, and demonstrate unwavering resilience, she said. "These are all special individuals, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. They are incredible," Tucker said. "Tonight's celebration is a recognition of the exceptional commitment and perseverance these individuals have shown over the past couple of years." Guest speaker Victoria Guy emphasized the importance of continuous learning in the profession. Guy is the director of rehabilitation services at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington. She began her career as a physical rherapist assistant and later returned to school to earn her doctorate in physical therapy. She is an active member of the colleges advisory board and supports the students' clinical education. "We are fortunate to be able to spend time with our patients, get to know them as a whole person, rather than just a diagnosis. That's important. We're fortunate. We often get to help our patients navigate around roadblocks that they don't even see. Either they can't see them, or they have no idea how to get around them," Guy said. "And when they finally do and you see them moving with greater ease and even a big smile. It's a feeling that to this day, 36 years later, is incredible, and it never gets dull, and it never gets old." PTA assistant professor Jacqueline Bianco encouraged the graduates to keep their pins visible to remind them of their journey, resilience, and reasons for choosing their profession. "You've put a lot of time, effort and sacrifice into your education, and the best part is that it will continue to show in everything that you do, every patient you treat, every continuing education course that you will take, every collaboration with, every colleague in your career everything," she said "You are a strong, passionate group of individuals that will continue to make a difference in people's lives, not only because you've learned so much here at BCC, but also because you've had it in you this whole time. It's what brought you here in the first place." Bianco said one of the most common challenges that the graduates have to overcome in their careers is confidence. "It's something everyone struggles with. Even the most brilliant individuals will tell you that they once struggled with it and still do. I think we can all agree that confidence does not come with enrollment," she said. "It comes with effort and time. You've all wrestled with doubt, mistakes, lack of sleep, among many other things, but you've all pushed forward, gaining belief in yourself and your ability to help take care of others." Graduates Johanna Beguin Sharon Brown Carli Kipp Devin Kogut Madeline Lazarus Rosalyn Lincoln On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A mob of hundreds of people in Indias northeastern state of Assam killed and mutilated a Royal Bengal tiger just 20km from a popular national park, claiming the animal posed a threat to cattle in the area. The incident took place in Dusutimukh village in Assams Golaghat district on Thursday morning around 8am when a mob of around 1,000 villagers gathered to chase a tiger into a wooded spot. Villagers killed the tiger with machetes, spears and iron rods, divisional forest officer Gunadeep Das told The Times of India (TOI). Later, the villagers mutilated the dead animal, he said. Three forest officials were injured while attempting to protect the animal, according to TOI. According to the officials, the villagers in the Golaghat district were angry over the killing of their livestock by the tiger. The villagers also claimed without proof that the tiger had killed a man in a nearby village around a month ago, according to TOI. The tigers carcass was later found in the presence of the local magistrate, the report added. Mr Das said the remains of the tiger have been sent for an autopsy. A case has been registered by Assams forest department. The location of the killing of tiger is just 20km away from Kaziranga National Park, the world's largest reserve for the endangered great one-horned rhinoceros. At least one person has been arrested so far and more arrests are likely as the investigation proceeds, forest officials said. "This is a very painful act. The Earth is not only for humans, it is for animals as well," state lawmaker Mrinal Saikia said in a post on X, confirming the human-animal conflict. Tigers in India are a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), which prohibits poaching, hunting and trade of tiger parts. However, Royal Bengal tigers in India have faced threat from habitat destruction, illegal trade for body parts, natural calamities and angry villagers. India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and increasing communities living standards near tiger areas, a study published in January found. The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice India and Pakistan have extended the airspace ban on each others aircraft on Friday, prolonging the diplomatic tensions between the two neighbours who came close to a near-war conflict earlier this month. Indias Civil Aviation ministry issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) stating that any Pakistani-registered, operated, owned or leased aircraft, including military flights, would be barred from entering or using Indian airspace through 23 June. In Islamabad, Pakistans Airports Authority (PAA) said the restriction applied to all aircraft registered, operated, owned or leased by India, including military planes until 4.59am local time on 24 June. Under the directive, no flight operated by Indian airlines or operators will be allowed to enter or transit through Pakistani airspace," the PAA said. The continuation in airspace restrictions between India and Pakistan comes more than two weeks after the two nuclear powers stepped back from the brink of a full-scale war after India launched air strikes on its neighbour over a terrorist attack in Kashmir on 7 May. Pakistan retaliated and carried out drone attacks on India beyond the frontier both countries share, eventually triggering the worst military conflict in nearly three decades between the nuclear-armed rivals. open image in gallery Passengers wait at Jinnah International Airport after all domestic and international flights were cancelled in Karachi ( AFP via Getty Images ) The two countries agreed to a ceasefire on 10 May. As a result, the airspace stretching from Indias north to west and over Pakistan was shut down, causing major diversions for airplanes crossing the region with destinations in other Asian, Middle Eastern, European and American cities. The extension of airspace closure comes two days after an Indian passenger plane over the Himalayan region faced a severe turbulence due to sudden hailstorm, leaving hundreds of passengers in panic and screaming, was denied permission to briefly use the Pakistan airspace to avoid the turbulence by the Lahore Air Traffic Control. Photos showed the nose of the airplane en route from Delhi to Srinagar hollowed out and severely damaged due to the hailstorm. The extension of closure of airspace by a month comes two days after an IndiGo pilot operating the Delhi-Srinagar flight, which encountered a sudden hailstorm on Wednesday, initially sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's permission to briefly use the Pakistan airspace to avoid the turbulence, but the request was reportedly rejected. open image in gallery An Indian army soldier stands guard at the Line of Control (LoC) between Pakistan and India, in Poonch sector of India's Jammu region ( AFP via Getty Images ) Indias flag carrier, Air India, is expected to face around $600m in additional costs if a ban from Pakistan's airspace lasts for a year, and has asked the federal government to compensate it for the hit, a company letter seen by Reuters shows. Indian airlines are bracing for higher fuel costs and longer journey times after Pakistan shut its airspace to the country's carriers in a tit-for-tat retaliation following an attack on tourists in Kashmir last week. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Indias Border Security Forces (BSF) shot dead a Pakistani national whom they said had crossed the international frontier and did not stop when challenged, according to reports. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Afghanistans Taliban, who were a pariah on the global stage less than four years ago, are now being courted by three Asian nuclear powers India, Pakistan and China all vying to upgrade their diplomatic ties with the former militants. No international government has formally recognised the Taliban administration, but China, India, and the United Arab Emirates are among the nations that have officially accepted its ambassadors in their capitals since the militant group took control of Kabul in 2021. The Taliban administration said last year it was in control of 39 Afghan embassies and consulates globally. The Talibans isolation, at least in Asia, seems to be coming to an end. Playing the role of big brother to both Kabul and Islamabad, Beijing this week sought to ease the tensions gripping the two countries stoked by terrorism and deportation of refugees. On Wednesday, Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi said after his talks with Afghanistans acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, that the two countries planned to upgrade their diplomatic ties and send ambassadors to each other as soon as possible. A photo of the informal gathering showed Wang Yi holding hands with Mr Dar and Mr Muttaqi. China welcomes this and is willing to continue providing assistance for the improvement of Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, he said. Pakistan expelled more than 8,000 Afghan nationals in April in a fresh repatriation drive after the expiry of a 31 March deadline. Islamabad says the drive is part of a campaign called the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, launched in late 2023. Pakistan has in the past blamed militant attacks and crimes on Afghan citizens, who form the largest portion of migrants in the country. Afghanistan has rejected the accusations. Kabul has termed the repatriation as forced deportation. Wangs comments comes just days after New Delhi, reeling from the Kashmir attack and near-war conflict with Pakistan, made political contact with the Taliban, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar appreciating Mr Muttaqis condemnation of the 22 April Pahalgam terror strike. India said it attached a lot of significance to the telephone conversation between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Muttaqi. High above Kabul, a Taliban soldier armed with a Kalashnikov looks down on the city ( AFP via Getty Images ) In January, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri met with Mr Muttaqi as the two sides discussed expanding bilateral ties, with an increased focus on Indias security concerns, boosting trade through the development of the Chabahar Port in Iran, and Indian investments in several development projects inside Afghanistan. The Taliban have banned girls and women from school for more than three years now and are blamed for turning Afghanistan into an open-air prison for its female population due to their gender apartheid policies one of the biggest reasons the group is isolated and denied formal recognition. Many western nations, including the US, have said the path to any formal recognition of the Taliban will be stuck until they change course on womens rights and re-open high schools and universities to girls and women, and allow their full freedom of movement. The Taliban say they respect rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and that restrictions on their banking sector and a lack of recognition are hindering their economy. The Taliban-ruled Afghanistan being wooed by the biggest powers in Asia is a scenario, experts say, that was unimaginable just last year. India, Pakistan, and China are seen to be looking out for their own interests in the regional race for minerals and guarding against terrorist groups over which the Taliban have influence. Farid Mamundzay, Afghanistans ambassador to New Delhi until 2023, says the world should note that the competition over Afghanistan is not new, but it has become more public, more visible, and increasingly pursued at higher diplomatic levels. The three countries are focused on their strategic imperatives rather than concerns for rights or governance, he tells The Independent. For Pakistan, Afghanistan remains central to its concept of strategic depth, a critical arena for influence and a means to limit Indian influence along its western frontier. China views Afghanistan as vital to securing Xinjiang, expanding the Belt and Road Initiative, establishing overland trade corridors to Central Asia and Iran, and accessing its untapped mineral wealth, says the ambassador, who served New Delhi until the Taliban took control of the mission. India, meanwhile, sees continued engagement as essential for countering Chinese and Pakistani influence and maintaining strategic access to continental Asia, he says, warning that the Taliban risk making war-battered Afghanistan a pawn and not a partner in the regional race. In this unfolding rivalry, Afghanistan risks once again being treated less as a sovereign actor and more as a geopolitical battleground, its internal priorities overshadowed by external power plays, Mr Mamundzay says. For too long, Afghanistans soil has hosted the rivalries of others. That pattern must end. As for the Taliban, the former ambassador says the increased attention from three sides boosts their international posture, political leverage and economic gains. But this does not guarantee any safety to Beijing, Delhi and Islamabad, says Afghanistans former deputy foreign minister Nasir Ahmad Andisha. This engagement, while it might look pragmatic at the moment and allows Delhi to be friends with its enemys enemy, in the long run, this is doomed to fail, he says. For the time being, the Taliban is enjoying the popularity from the three power centres. There is no doubt in this regard that the Islamic emirate has strengthened its comprehensive relationship with big countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and even India, in accordance with its interests, Abdul Mateen Qanay, the spokesperson for the Talibans interior ministry, told The Independent. He added that the Talibans interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and foreign minister Mr Muttaqi have made renewed efforts to repair Afghanistans ties with Pakistan. When asked if this is a new chapter for the Taliban, Mr Qanay says: Yes, thats exactly right. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The European Unions top foreign policy official on Friday urged North Macedonia to take era-defining decisions to advance its bid for EU membership. Speaking in the capital Skopje alongside Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reaffirmed the blocs support but stressed that progress depends on multiple domestic reforms. The road to membership is not easy, so my message today is to stay on the course and to take next steps necessary towards the opening of the negotiations," Kallas said. North Macedonia faces era-defining choices for its citizens and its future. Key among those steps is a constitutional amendment to formally recognize a Bulgarian minority a condition set by EU neighbor Bulgaria to lift its veto of North Macedonian membership. The issue has become a political flashpoint in North Macedonia, where the conservative government insists that EU accession should not be affected by bilateral disputes. Although the European Union has not accepted any new members since Croatia's accession in 2013, the war in Ukraine and concerns for broader European stability have refocused efforts to advance membership bids. The integration of the Western Balkans into the EU is the best recipe for peace and security, Kallas said. We are ready to support North Macedonia in strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, and modernizing public administration. North Macedonia and Albania began membership talks with the EU in 2022 after years of delays, largely driven by Bulgarias veto over cultural and historical disagreements with Skopje. Albania has since moved ahead in the process. Mickoski reiterated his position that Bulgaria must first approve North Macedonias membership before any constitutional change. We belong in the EU not because someone owes it to us, but because weve built a democracy based on European values, the prime minister. We expect fair treatment and consistent leadership from the Union. Kallas visit to Skopje was part of a broader two-day tour of the Western Balkans. Six regional countries are at various stages of EU accession. Montenegro and Albania lead the process, while Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, and North Macedonia lag behind. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder after a mother and three of her children aged 15, eight and four were killed in a house fire in north London on Saturday Flames gutted two houses in Stonebridge, Brent, after the fire broke out shortly after 1am, with 70 firefighters and eight fire engines called to the scene to tackle the blaze. Police confirmed on Saturday afternoon that the four people killed were a mother, 43, her daughter, 15, and two sons aged eight and four. Four others managed to escape the inferno, but two further members of the same family a woman in her 70s and a teenage girl were taken to hospital for treatment. A man was arrested outside the house in Tillett Close on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody. open image in gallery Investigators at the scene of the blaze on Saturday ( PA ) Horrified neighbour Cecilia Marquis, 60, said she was stunned by the devastation of the blaze. Ms Marquis, who is a caterer at Brentford FC and witnessed the fire in her street, said: This will leave a devastating impact. Brent Council has set up a rest centre nearby and has a dedicated team looking after families who needed to be evacuated. Mohamed Labidi, a 38-year-old teacher, said the four victims were really good people. We used to socialise together, he said. I cant even look at the house right now. A person who lives next door, who did not want to be named, said: Its horrible, we saw people running outside. Its hard to process. I only just moved in so its hard to think about it. Another resident said the family had lived in the property for years, adding: "We've all grown up together. We've all lived in these houses for 25, 30 years. Everyone knows everyone. "It was a very big fire. The fire was blazing. It was non-stop. It's a very tragic time." open image in gallery Fire crews at the scene in Tillett Close, Stonebridge, in Brent ( PA ) Police have cordoned off the area around the two burnt-out homes as investigators try to establish how the fire started. London Fire Brigade (LFB) received more than 20 calls reporting the blaze, which raged until 3.24am. Crews pulled a woman and a child from the second floor of the terraced home, but they died at the scene. Two more children were discovered inside the property. LFBs assistant commissioner Keeley Foster said: This is an extremely tragic incident, and the thoughts of everyone across the Brigade are with those impacted by this incident. Upon arrival, firefighters were met with a well-developed fire, involving two adjoining properties. Crews immediately set to work carrying out firefighting operations in order to bring the incident under control. Sadly, a woman and three children have died as a result of this fire. Crews wearing breathing apparatus were able to rescue the woman and one of the children from the second floor, but they were later declared deceased at the scene. A further two children were discovered to have died in the fire, as crews carried out a search of the properties involved. Our specialist Fire Investigation Unit are working closely with colleagues from the Metropolitan Police service to now determine the cause of this fire. We are working closely with our partners to support the community at this very sad time. open image in gallery London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Keeley Foster says the incident is extremely tragic ( PA ) Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said his thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community of the four people who sadly have lost their lives. I remain in close contact with the London Fire Brigade and Metropolitan Police as they work to establish the cause of the fire and offer support to all those impacted, he added. Dawn Butler, the local Labour MP for Brent East said she was devastated following the fatal fire in her constituency. "My prayers are with the family and friends affected by this is a very sad tragedy, she added in a post on X. LFB-Brent worked hard to get it under control, thank you." open image in gallery Police and fire investigators are working to establish the cause of the fatal fire ( PA ) In a statement from the scene, Superintendent Steve Allen, from the Met's local policing team in northwest London, said: "Police are leading the investigation, and we are working closely with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause for fire. Our officers were called to the scene until it closed shortly after one o'clock this morning, despite the efforts of the emergency services, I can confirm a woman and three of her children died at the scene. A further two members of the same family were taken to hospital and continue to receive treatment. The wider family have been informed, and officers will continue to support them at this incredibly difficult time, we remain in the early stages of our investigation. However, one man was arrested outside the house. He remains in custody and is being questioned by officers. Anyone with information that could assist our investigation is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 509/24May. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A woman was left fighting for her life after using a so-called weight loss jab sourced from a salon with police making three arrests. The woman suffered internal injuries earlier after using an injection earlier this month. She has since been discharged. Two other people also become unwell. North Yorkshire Police has launched an investigation into the supply of the injections as they arrested three women from the Selby area. Two women in their thirties were arrested on suspicion of causing or administering a poison or noxious thing. The duo have been released on police bail. A third, aged in her fifties, was arrested on suspicion of selling or supplying a prescription only medicine. She has been released while under investigation. Medical professionals in North Yorkshire and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a warning against using weight loss medicines bought from private clinics or online. They warned that buying products from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of getting a product which is either falsified or not licensed for use in the UK and can pose a direct danger to health. NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) Chief Pharmacy Officer, Laura Angus, said: There has been a lot of attention in the media and on social media about these so-called skinny jabs, but as with any medicines bought outside of legitimate supply chains, the contents may not match the ingredients on the label. If you use such products you could be putting your health at serious risk. If you are thinking of buying a weight-loss medicine, please talk to a healthcare professional first. The only way to guarantee you receive a genuine weight-loss medicine is to obtain it from a legitimate pharmacy including those trading online using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional. open image in gallery Experts said more research is needed (Alamy/PA) Ms Angus advised patients to check the legitimacy of the pharmacy and ensure it is regulated with the GPhC via the pharmacy regulation website. North Yorkshire Councils executive member for health and adult services, Cllr Michael Harrison. added: We would encourage people to pursue their health goals in a safe way. You can access lots of free tools to support you to make healthy changes, including getting active and losing weight, on the NHS Better Health website. The Active North Yorkshire Healthy You programme can support you to help you meet your lifestyle goals, which might be to be more active, eat better, or manage your weight. The NHS has made a number of clinically tested anti-obesity medicines available on prescription to certain patients through specialist weight management services. Drugs such as Liraglutide (sometimes called Saxenda), semaglutide (brands names include Wegovy and Ozempic) and tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro) are among those in use on the NHS. Andy Morling, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agencys Deputy Director of Criminal Enforcement said: Weight loss medicines are powerful medications and should only be used under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional. Public safety is our top priority, and our Criminal Enforcement Unit works tirelessly with partners to prevent, detect and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices. Buying so-called weight loss medicines from illegal suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving products that are either falsified or not licensed for use in the UK. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRAs strict quality and safety standards, and taking such medicines may put ones health at risk. There is a Yellow Card scheme available for those who experience an advserse reaction to medicine and worry about the safety, efficacy or legitimacy. People who suspect they are experiencing an adverse reaction to a weight loss injection were advised my the professionals to seek appropriate medical attention. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The British government has been urged to hasten the relocation of hundreds of Afghan heroes to the UK after Ministry of Defence (MoD) failures saw them left at the mercy of the Taliban. Thousands of applications for sanctuary from Afghans were rejected despite their having credible links to the UK special forces (UKSF). The High Court heard this week that one UK special forces officer oversaw the blanket rejection of 1,585 cases during the summer of 2023. Ministers had initially denied that Afghan commandos, known as the Triples, had been paid by the UK government, but were forced to backtrack and announce a review of 2,000 applications. Around 600 Afghan allies, whose applications were among the initial 2,000 re-examined, have been granted approval to come to the UK. Now government lawyers have said that a further estimated 2,500 applications have been identified for review after the MoD realised the significance of rediscovered payroll data, paving the way for hundreds more to be brought to sanctuary. Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer has said he is shocked and appalled by the failings in the MoDs initial handling of the applications. Campaigners and former military chiefs called on the government to speed up the relocation of these brave soldiers to the UK. Colonel Simon Diggins, former defence attache in Afghanistan, said that poor records had been kept by the UKSF, affecting the lives of the Triples soldiers. He said: We know that these individuals lives are in danger. There is a real imperative to do something about it and to do it quickly. The accusation of poor data-keeping is fair, but now we have some records there is also an imperative to come up with a quicker way of dealing with [the evacuation of the soldiers]. Afghan commandos worked alongside UK special forces soldiers in Afghanistan ( Charlie Herbert ) Sarah Fenby-Dixon, Afghanistan consultant at the Refugee Aid Network, said: It is vital that the review process for all cases is speeded up, as even after being granted eligibility, some people are waiting many months or even years before being transferred to safety. A former senior member of the Triples, who is now in the UK, has brought the legal challenge against the governments processing of applications, with the case reaching the High Court this week. Thomas de la Mare KC, for the claimant, argued that guidance on how resettlement decisions were made should be made public, and likened the failings to a crime scene. In a witness statement to court, a senior civil servant said a new phase two of the Triples review would re-examine at least several hundred, although this may be as many as 2,500 applications. The MoD said this would probably bring in soldiers who had served in the later years of the conflict in Afghanistan. Around 130 cases from the initial review will be moved into phase two, lawyers told the court. The High Court heard how the initial review was prompted when senior civil servants became concerned about how resettlement applications were being decided. It has since emerged that there was an effective blanket practice of automatic refusal, which left these highly trained Afghan soldiers at the mercy of the Taliban. A particular UK special forces officer was overseeing hundreds of rejections during a sprint in the summer of 2023 to rush through decisions, the court heard. The MoD said the officers approach to decision-making was lax and unprofessional and that they had reached decisions far too quickly. MoD caseworkers were also overly reliant on UKSF personnel, and were not consistently exercising their own independent judgement, the government found. MPs have previously raised concerns about the potential bias of UKSF personnel who hold power over the resettlement of Afghan allies, amid an ongoing inquiry into alleged crimes by the UKSF in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. Some of the Afghan commandos who applied for UK sanctuary could be witnesses to the events being examined by the independent inquiry. Mr Mercer, who expressed concerns about decision-making to senior civil servants in early 2024, said: When I raised what was happening with the most senior officers and civil servants in the UK government, one in particular from UKSF claimed he was offended that I had, and [that] it was offensive to the UKSF. He was either lying to my face as a cabinet minister, which is serious enough, or is so deeply incompetent he didnt know. The MoD estimates that around 5,000 people were members of the Triples, working alongside the UKSF, during the Afghan war. General Sir John McColl, the UKs former special envoy to Afghanistan, said he believed the MoD had worked really hard to do the right thing for the Triples. He said it is good that the MoD is re-examining up to 2,500 more cases, and pressed for resources to be given to the team in charge of dealing with Afghan cases. He added that the delay in help was a combination of the record-keeping not being particularly good and that the withdrawal was as chaotic and fractured as we all recall. We are now nearly four years on since the withdrawal, and in that time these people have been in great danger; some of them will have been in harms way as a consequence of the delay, which is very unfortunate, he said. Col Diggins added: If there are potentially 2,000 more people, who with their family members could equal up to 10,000 people, thats a big number. We have an obligation to them for their service, but we need to think differently about how we do the evacuations. We also need to ensure that if we are going to bring people from Afghanistan to this country, they are supported by a proper programme of integration when they get here. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Alastair Campbell has insisted he and Tony Blair did not lie over the governments decision to invade Iraq but that the reason behind the decision turned out to be untrue. The former No 10 spin doctor made the comments during a talk at The Hay Festival in Wales, which The Independent has partnered with. I got called a liar a lot; Tony Blair got called a liar a lot over Iraq, he said. I know that we didnt lie. We made a decision based upon a premise that turned out to be untrue. Its not the same as a lie. He added: Lying is when you are expressing something you know to be untrue. So Putin knows he invaded Ukraine. He knows its not a special military operation because hes trying to wipe out another country. open image in gallery Alastair Campbell, pictured alongside former prime minister Sir Tony Blair in 2001 (Ben Curtis/PA) ( PA Archive ) Mr Campbell was Downing Streets director of communications and strategy while Mr Blair was in office and became one of the Labour prime ministers most trusted aides. He and Mr Blair have faced fierce criticism since the UKs invasion of Iraq, particularly over the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, which was used to justify the invasion. The claims in the dossiers were later called into question when no WMDs were found. Mr Campbell stood down amid the fallout, but in 2016, the Chilcot Inquiry cleared him of the much-repeated accusation that he sexed up the dossier. He has since said he wished Iraq never happened. He is now the co-host of the award-winning podcast The Rest Is Politics, where he and ex-Tory MP Rory Stewart discuss UK news and politics, and he has also written 21 books, including some about mental health. open image in gallery He spoke at a busy event at Hay Festival about his new book, But What Can I Do?: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It. ( Billie Charity and Hay Festival ) He spoke at a busy event at Hay Festival about his new book, But What Can I Do?: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It. The wide-ranging talk covered other topics, including his own issues with mental health and the dangers of populism in todays political landscape. Opening up about his brothers life-changing schizophrenia diagnosis, he went on to describe his own struggle with mental health. I had my own issues; I had a breakdown in 1996 and issues with addiction, he said. I was a journalist, and journalism back then was quite macho, heavy drinking, heavy smoking. I got arrested, I was in hospital. When I was let out and finally went back to work, everybody knew something had gone on. I just decided there and then Im going to be open. And it was amazing, the response from colleagues. Since leaving office, he has gone on to be involved in a number of mental health charities, and spoken openly about being close to suicide. Hay Festival, which is spread over 11 days, is set in Hay-on-Wye, the idyllic and picturesque Town of Books. The lineup includes Mary Trump, Michael Sheen, Jameela Jamil, and more. The Independent has partnered with the Festival once again to host a series of morning panels titled The News Review, where our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy every morning. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice It had been a 12-month-long whirlwind romance that ended amicably, but little did Kate Wilson know a phone call six years on would change her life forever. Ms Wilson was in her mid-twenties when she met a man she believed was Mark Stone at an activist meeting in Nottingham in 2003. The pair hit it off and began a romance which lasted over a year but it was all a lie. Mark Stones real name was actually Mark Kennedy. He was an undercover police officer sent by the now-disbanded National Public Order Intelligence Unit to spy on an activist group Ms Wilson was associated with in the early 2000s. Speaking at Wales Hay Festival, with which The Independent has partnered again, Ms Wilson described the impact of the immense invasion of privacy and her fight for justice. I met Mark at the end of 2003, after he had shown up in the summer and befriended some of my friends who were living in Nottingham, she said. We had an awful lot in common. He even liked country music, which was pretty much unheard of in the circles I was in. He said he was from Battersea and from a broken home. He used to get emotional, saying how his mother had brought up two sons on her own. But none of it was true. open image in gallery Kate Wilson won a long-running legal battle with the Met after she was deceived into a relationship with an undercover officer ( Stefan Rousseau/PA ) After the relationship ended, the pair kept in touch, with Kennedy visiting Ms Wilson abroad in Barcelona and Berlin. They remained friends until years later, when she got a phone call from another woman Kennedy had been in a relationship with for six years, telling her that he was an undercover police officer the entire time. We were really close friends right until I got the phone call. A friend of mine said, Marks a cop, weve got the proof and were going public and I dont want you to find out from the internet, she said. Kennedy, who resigned from the Met in 2010, had sexual relationships with as many as 10 other women while he was undercover. Ms Wilsons revelation led to legal action against the Met and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), both of which have admitted to a number of breaches of Ms Wilsons human rights and subsequently apologised for the hurt and damage the intelligence operation caused. In 2021, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal ordered the Met Police and NPCC to pay a total of 229,471 to Ms Wilson by way of just satisfaction for the breaches of her human rights. open image in gallery Kate Wilson sat down to discuss her ordeal with investigative journalist Oliver Bullough in a wide-ranging talk at Hay Festival about her new book, Disclosure: Unravelling the Spycops File ( The Independent ) She is one of 60 victims of the spycops scandal. Taking place from 1968 to at least 2010, the operation is now the subject of a decade-long public inquiry that has already cost 88m and is due to conclude in 2026. There is a fundamental problem with secret policing, Ms Wilson told an audience at the culture and arts festival. Theres an institutional problem with the fact theres no accountability, but theres also a personal problem when you take these individuals, who are mostly men, and you take them out of all of the normal social controls that make people behave decently. They give them new names, they give them a mask, they tell them no one will ever find out who they were or what they did. You remove them from their families and give them a whole bunch of power over a group of people and horrific things happen. Ms Wilson sat down to discuss her ordeal with investigative journalist Oliver Bullough in a wide-ranging talk at Hay Festival about her new book, Disclosure: Unravelling the Spycops File. Im doing alright now, but there was some very dark moments, she said. When it first happened, I believed that not trusting was a good thing. I thought I had been really naive, and trusting was a bad thing. I kind of wore my distrust like a badge of honour. I think one of the most important things to me about rebuilding trust is realising that you cant have a community without trust, and actually working to rebuild that stuff because its such an important part of what we do. Addressing Ms Wilsons case previously, Helen Ball, the Mets then-assistant commissioner for professionalism, said: It is important to note that since Mark Kennedys deployment there has been enormous change in undercover policing, both in the Met and nationally, and I want to be clear that this case in no way reflects modern-day undercover policing. Chief Constable Alan Pughsley, the NPCCs lead for undercover policing, also commented on the significant changes to the way undercover policing is conducted. The selection and training of all undercover officers have been standardised and is licensed by the independent body, the College of Policing, he said. Disclosure: Unravelling the Spycops Files by Kate Wilson is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson on 29 May The Independent has partnered with the Hay Festival once again to host a series of morning panels, The News Review, where our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy every morning. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership as more than 150 MPs are preparing to vote against his forthcoming welfare cuts. It is understood that there is growing upset among both parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) and even government ministers, who are said to be considering quitting if the government doesnt water down its proposals. It comes amid deep concern over the impact of the proposed changes, which will see personal independence payments cut for around 800,000 people. One PPS told The Independent she is horrified by the direction of the government, claiming that the prime minister simply doesnt care what his MPs think. Prime minister Keir Starmer signalled a partial U-turn on restricting winter fuel payments earlier this week ( PA ) It comes after more than 100 MPs understood to comprise primarily those who won their seats for the first time in 2024 signed a letter to the chief whip warning that they are unable to support the proposals in their current form. It is understood that a separate letter signed by around 40 MPs was sent to Sir Keir just days earlier, warning against proceeding with the changes in their full form. Meanwhile, sources told The i Paper that around five PPSs are prepared to quit if changes are not made to the upcoming cuts. While a rebellion of this scale would not be enough for the proposals to be defeated, it would be a significant knock to the prime ministers authority and represent wider disquiet about the direction of the government. It comes despite the prime ministers U-turn on his controversial cuts to winter fuel payments earlier this week, which followed months of mounting anger from voters and Labour MPs. In a major climbdown over Rachel Reevess decision to strip payments from 10 million pensioners, the prime minister said he wanted to look at widening eligibility as the economy improves. The decision to means-test the annual payment of up to 300, rather than give it to all pensioners, was widely blamed for Labours disastrous recent local election results, which saw Nigel Farages Reform party surge to take 677 council seats in England. The reversal was part of an attempt by Sir Keir to turn around his partys fortunes amid fears of a rebellion from backbenchers over benefit cuts, anger over his language on immigration, and difficult poll ratings. However, The Independent understands that many MPs who are concerned about the welfare cuts have not been won over by the U-turn, primarily because the changes offered by the government are so thin on detail. So far, No 10 has refused to say whether the changes will be in place by this winter or who will be affected meaning that cash-strapped pensioners could face another winter of misery. To make matters worse, it emerged on Friday that Labour has delayed a flagship plan designed to cut child poverty until the autumn. Just weeks after coming to power, ministers said they would consider ditching the cruel two-child benefit cap in a bid to head off a revolt by backbench Labour MPs. But the overall strategy in which the policy was expected to be included has now been pushed back, despite fears of a rebellion on welfare cuts within weeks. The package of welfare cuts is aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, which grew during the pandemic and has remained high ever since. While the government hopes the proposals can save 5bn a year by the end of the decade, there are fears they could push thousands of disabled people into poverty. In recent days, Downing Street has indicated that the government plans to press ahead with the reforms in full, with the prime ministers official spokesperson saying the welfare system is fundamentally not working and the argument for reform is overwhelming. A government spokesperson said: We are determined to support people in all parts of the country by tackling poverty and creating secure, well-paid jobs. Thats why were creating a sustainable welfare system, so it will always be there for those who need it, while genuinely supporting sick and disabled people into work. Alongside this, as part of our Plan for Change, weve increased the national living wage, uprated benefits, and are helping over 1 million households by introducing a fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Kemi Badenoch is facing an inevitable leadership challenge, Boris Johnsons former director of communications has warned, amid reports that the Tory party is plotting to oust her. Guto Harri, who worked for Boris Johnson during his time in No 10, also warned the Conservatives against selecting frontrunner Robert Jenrick as their next leader, dubbing him a pale imitation of Reform UK. It comes after The Independent revealed that Tory MPs are plotting to remove Mrs Badenoch as panic grows over the future of the party following Reforms success in the local elections and continued disastrous results in the polls. Kemi Badenoch is facing questions over her leadership after the disastrous local election results ( House of Commons ) Meanwhile, The Times reported that Tory association chairmen are considering a confidence motion against the Tory leader, which could mimic the pressure placed on former prime minister Theresa May to quit in 2019. Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Harri warned: I think we inevitably are heading for another leadership challenge. And the danger there is that the party makes the wrong decision again and chooses somebody like Robert Jenrick, who's a pale imitation of what Kemi Badenoch is trying to be a pale imitation of, which is, you know, Nigel Farage and reform. So if that is the trap that the party is caught in, then it's a real disaster. Asked whether Mr Johnson should come back to lead the Conservative Party he said: The honest answer for me is I think if we had a directly elected presidency, and you could appeal to people over the heads of, you know, the Conservative Party, frankly, then Boris would be plotting a return. But that is not how our system works. And the relationship between him and the Conservative Party broke down in a really nasty, severe, I think, irretrievable way. It comes after the Tories lost 15 councils and 674 seats at the local elections earlier this month devastating results, which put the future of the party at risk. At the same time, Nigel Farage declared that his party has now taken the place of the Conservatives as the main opposition to Labour as it won 676 seats and overall control of 10 councils. Meanwhile, this weeks tracker poll conducted by Techne UK for The Independent indicated a collapse in support for the Tories following the local elections. The Conservative Party, which was on 23 per cent before the May elections, has seen its support drop by six points in a month to 17 per cent, now just one point ahead of the Lib Dems on 16 per cent. And Nigel Farages Reform UK hit 30 per cent for the first time, ahead of Labour on 22 points. Mr Jenrick, who came second in the summer Tory leadership race behind Mrs Badenoch, is thought to be waiting in the wings to launch another leadership bid should she be challenged. However, this became less likely in November after Conservative MPs made it harder to get rid of the partys leader by changing the rules for calling a vote of no confidence. Under party rules, Tory MPs can call for a confidence vote in the party leader by writing to Bob Blackman, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee. But after the election of Mrs Badenoch, Mr Blackman said that his committee had earlier in the week increased the minimum number of letters required to trigger a vote, from 15 per cent of the parliamentary party to a third. That means 41 letters will now be required to trigger a vote, rather than 19. Mrs Badenochs office declined to comment. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice On Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer took everyone by surprise when he suddenly announced a U-turn on Labours controversial winter fuel payment cuts. The response to what appeared to be a planted question from a loyal backbencher during Prime Ministers Questions certainly wrong-footed Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and meant that Labour MPs left the chamber with smiles on their faces. But the shock move came as Sir Keir was having to act to shore up power with MPs, senior party figures and trade unionists who have been openly plotting to remove him. After a turbulent 10 months, the prime ministers migration announcement earlier this month, where he laid out plans to clamp down on the number of people coming into the UK, was seen as a watershed moment for the party not least because it had echoes of the late right-wing Tory MP Enoch Powells infamous Rivers of Blood speech. Now, a large number of MPs from the so-called soft left of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction, with allies of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner urging her to organise a leadership contest. open image in gallery Keir Starmer signals a partial U-turn on restricting winter fuel payments earlier this week ( PA Wire ) The growing rebellion comes as around 150 Labour MPs are considering standing against Sir Keirs plans for welfare cuts amid growing concerns that, on the domestic agenda, his government is going in the wrong direction. But in an apparent attempt to undermine Ms Rayner before any challenge begins, the deputy prime minister has in the last week been subject to a poisonous briefing campaign from rivals in government, with a leaked memo about apparent tax rise plans, along with stories that she could be demoted. Meanwhile, there is now fevered speculation about a reshuffle with chancellor Rachel Reevess job on the line to allow the prime minister to have a complete reset. Despite this, MPs, senior party members and others have argued that there is no way back after the migration announcement. One senior figure said: The party, activists and MPs have been asked to swallow a lot in the first 10 months of this government winter fuel, welfare cuts, austerity, two child benefit, cosying up to Trump but the migration announcement was an enough is enough watershed moment. In another headache for Sir Keir, many Labour MPs believe he has been too soft on Israel and should have ended arms sales long ago. Panic is also setting in because feedback from the doorstep, according to a senior figure from the right of the party, is that there is a visceral personal hatred for Sir Keir, as well as Ms Reeves, from voters. open image in gallery Angela Rayner has been advised to distance herself from Starmer ( Getty ) One MP, who had been a loyalist, asked The Independent: How did the Tories do it? There has to be a way to replace the leader. Another party figure who helped campaign during the Runcorn by-election said: I am not sure the prime minister can turn things around in terms of his personal image with voters. But Im not sure what the alternative is. According to this weeks Techne UK poll, the party is now eight points behind Nigel Farages Reform UK with fears that it is failing to tackle the populist right. Trying to sound like Reform will never work, said one Scottish Labour figure. It was like trying to out Nat the Nats on Scottish issues you cant out-Farage Farage on things like migration. You need your own narrative. The Independent has also seen analysis which reveals many Labour voters are now defecting to the Lib Dems and Greens. A memo sent round to Lib Dem activists shows that, according to Yougov analysis, 13 per cent of 2024 Labour voters have switched to the Lib Dems, while 41 per cent are open to switching and almost a third (29 per cent) are open to switching to the Greens. Several party insiders have suggested that May 2026 is being circled as a point to make a decision on the prime minister. If the elections for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English councils and mayors are as disastrous as this years local elections, he is certainly likely to face a challenge. The nightmare scenario is that we dont only lose control of Wales for the first time but come third to Reform and Plaid Cymru, and we come third in Scotland to the SNP and Reform, said one. open image in gallery Rachel Reeves could be sacrificed to save Starmer ( PA ) A by-election for the Scottish parliament in Hamilton South, which is in the seat of the PMs chief of staff Morgan McSweeneys wife Imogen Walker, is already being seen as an important test where Labour should win. A huge amount of resources have been ploughed into the campaign but one MP said: The SNP will win it easily. The problem is we could come third to Reform which would be appalling. Meanwhile, although Ms Rayner has been identified as the frontrunner to replace Sir Keir, there are question marks over whether she wants to be leader having already had a bruising time in the gilded cage. Underlining this, Ms Rayners allies pointed to the poisonous briefing campaign about a memo she sent to Ms Reeves detailing alternatives to the chancellors welfare cuts and austerity. At least it meant that she was making a progressive case against what is going on at the moment, a supporter of Ms Rayner said. The deputy prime minister has also been notably silent over the row from Sir Keir and migration. She has been advised by friends to distance herself from the prime minister because she is being associated with the Starmer/ McSweeney project. Another leadership rival, this time from the right of the party, is health secretary Wes Streeting, who has also drawn speculation that he is positioning himself for a contest. But he is in danger of losing his seat and MPs believe he is too right-wing to win over party members. One potential ally of Ms Rayner told The Independent: To turn things around, the party needs a leader who has a new offering on the economy, Israel/ Gaza and welfare. Wes cant do that. But Angela is in danger of becoming too associated with this government. As for Sir Keirs allies, there are hopes among some that the promise of a winter fuel U-turn can mend some of the damage, with MPs admitting they were more optimistic after he listened and announced his review of the policy. After his successes landing three major trade deals with the US, India and EU within a month, the prime ministers supporters are urging MPs to stay the course insisting that, if he changes things domestically, he may have a lifeline. Keir inherited incredibly difficult circumstances from the Tories. Hes working really hard and is not getting nearly enough of the credit he deserves for turning things around, especially those trade deals, one cabinet minister said. And a former Tony Blair adviser added: He [Starmer] is doing brilliantly on the international stage but terribly on the domestic one. If he can turn things around domestically, he will do very well. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A record number of travelers will have to brave the bad weather this Memorial Day holiday weekend as rains looks set to drench much of the U.S. Some 45.1 million people were set to take to the skies, roads and other transportation modes from Thursday to Monday, according to AAA. Travelers will also have to contend with cooler temperatures and storms across central and eastern U.S., according to forecasters. "The second half of the Memorial Day weekend looks to be mainly dry but quite cool," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. "Watch those flowers and veggies, as there could be a frost in parts of Pennsylvania and upstate New York by Sunday morning, if clouds break and the breeze diminishes." open image in gallery A record 45.1 million Americans are expected to travel over Memorial Day weekend. But, much of the U.S. will be soaked by thunderstorms ( AFP via Getty Images ) Following a rare May noreaster and a rainy start to the month, more showers are expected for the Big Apple and the Northeast from Friday to Saturday. Down the eastern seaboard, families heading to Disney World, Orlando, may need to pack their rain coats. "Brief but drenching sea breeze thunderstorms are possible over the Florida Peninsula and will generally drift from east to west on a daily basis," Pastelok said. While much of the Southeast will be quiet, the likelihood of thunderstorms increases for the Gulf, Tennessee Valley, and Plains states, AccuWeather said. Thunderstorms are also expected around Memphis and Kansas City. open image in gallery Rain could soak large swathes of the U.S. this Memorial Day weekend. ( AccuWeather ) "Fronts bobbing back and forth with mini storm systems moving along will kick off showers and thunderstorms, including severe weather over the Plains," Pastelok said. "Episodes of steady rain are possible farther north from the north-central Plains and farther to the east into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys where the soil is more moist." The rain will help to east drought conditions in some parched areas, but people camping on oversaturated grounds could see the risk of possibly dangerous flash flooding. Some locations in the central states could see up to 10 inches of rainfall. Even farther west, thunderstorms could develop as far as the Rockies and New Mexico, and the Northwest will not be totally dry. open image in gallery New York City was feeling the effects of a rare noreaster on Thursday. The Northeast will see another storm this weekend ( Getty Images ) However, its going to be warm along the West Coast. Temperatures in the interior Northwest are expected to reach the 80s on Sunday and Monday. The Southwest will be even hotter. "Temperatures should surpass 100 in the deserts each day, while highs well into the 90s are in store for the central and southern part of the interior valley of California," Pastelok said. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The sun rose literally and metaphorically for House Republicans on Thursday when they finally mustered the votes to pass President Donald Trumps One, Big, Beautiful Bill. The vote came under the tightest of margins, with 215 Republicans voting for the bill. Two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, opposed it and Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, voted present. Two Republicans, Dave Schweikert of Arizona and Andrew Garbarino of New York, missed the vote as Garbarino fell asleep. All 212 Democrats voted against the bill, meaning that the final vote tally was 215-214. But had Gerry Connolly, the Virginia Democratic representative, not died of esophageal cancer earlier this week, the bill would have been deadlocked and failed on the floor. Not only that, but Connolly is the third Democratic member of Congress to die this year. open image in gallery U.S. Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia passed away this week, giving Republicans more wiggle room as they passed their massive tax bill ( Getty Images ) It served as a bitter bookend to the week that began with former president Joe Biden announcing that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer: Democratic leadership has an age problem and not only does it prevent them from winning re-election, it prevents them from stopping Republicans. The week was always likely to be a painful reminder about Bidens age and the role it played in the 2024 election, given that Axioss Alex Thompson and CNNs Jake Tapper released their book Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. But Bidens cancer diagnosis put the former presidents decision to run for re-election despite being 81 into even starker relief. It showed his hubris in thinking that he could be up for a full-fledged White House campaign again when he even showed signs of aging in his 2020 presidential run that did not demand the rigor of a cross-country blitz due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Biden family and his defenders have taken to attacking Tapper and Thompson. But Bidens disastrous debate performance only cemented what people already felt: that Bidens age and frailty disqualified him from the most difficult job in the world. And Connollys death shows this is not a one-off problem for the Democratic Party. It further solidifies how much Democratic elders refuse to hand over the reins of power to the next generation. open image in gallery President Joe Bidens debate performance only confirmed voters concerns about his age. ( AFP/Getty ) Last year, when Jamie Raskin bumped New York Democrat Jerry Nadler to become the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw her hat in the ring to replace him. Ocasio-Cortez had occasionally led House Democrats when Raskin underwent treatment for cancer. She had some of the toughest questions for witnesses in the Oversight Committee and is known to have one of the most professional staffs on Capitol Hill. But she was passed over for Connolly largely because it was his turn. Connolly had been consistently leapfrogged to lead the committee, but Democrats have long adhered to the idea that Democrats earn chairmanships based on whose turn it is. This creates a bottleneck where members can wait for years on end to earn leadership spots, only to be advanced in age when they obtain these coveted positions, thereby repeating the cycle. This was also compounded by the fact that earlier this year, two other House Democrats died. Raul Grijalva of Arizona died of cancer, while Sylvester Turner of Texas died the day after Trumps joint address to Congress. Grijalva, who had undergone cancer treatment and missed most votes last year, was among those who told Biden he should step aside. Turner, who was 70 and had survived cancer, won his seat in Congress after Sheila Jackson Lee died in office last year. Had all three Democrats not run for office last year or had younger Democrats run for their seats, the bill likely would have been unsuccessful. More than that, in 2024, Democratic Reps. Bill Pascrell, 87, and Donald Payne of New Jersey both died. The House Democratic caucuss age problem no longer just means that the party looks out of date: it actively prevents Democrats from doing their job. Republicans hands are, of course, not entirely clean on this. Trump will turn 79 next month and Mitch McConnell, 83, clung to power until last year. But so far, it has not prevented them from winning elections or passing legislation. Democrats dont lack young talent either. They have both the youngest representative, Maxwell Frost of Florida, and the youngest senator, Jon Ossoff of Georgia. They also enjoy a bevy of young Democratic governors like Wes Moore of Maryland, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. They have no reason to continue to rely on older leaders. The Democratic Party has taken to saying they are the vanguards of democracy and the one thing preventing the rise of authoritarianism in America. But their refusal to change their leadership means they do not take the threat entirely seriously. So why should anyone else? Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Two days after the Trump administration officially made a Qatar-gifted Air Force One replacement the future flying face of the U.S. presidency, Donald Trump went foreign again and announced he had approved a planned partnership of Japans Nippon Steel and iconic American company U.S. Steel. But details were not provided, leaving it unclear whether the deal would involve an investment by Nippon or the Japanese companys takeover of U.S. Steel. The Financial Times reported that Nippon is purchasing U.S. Steel for $15 billion. Trump claimed in a social media post on Friday that the deal would add a massive 70,000 jobs and $14 billion to the U.S. economy. He said the company headquarters will remain in Pittsburgh, and that the bulk of Nippons investment would occur over the next 14 months. U.S. Steel currently employs a total of 22,000 workers, with 14,000 of them in North America. Trump also announced hes holding a BIG RALLY at U.S. Steel next Friday. The US Steel plant outside of Pittsburgh ( AP/2024 ) Both Nippon and U.S. Steel hailed the deal, while the United Steelworkers union (USW) remained leery. We cannot speculate about the impact of todays announcement without more information, union President David McCall said in a statement. Our concern remains that Nippon, a foreign corporation with a long and proven track record of violating our trade laws, will further erode domestic steelmaking capacity and jeopardize thousands of good, union jobs. Nippon Steel announced in 2023 that it was purchasing U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion in a deal opposed by then President Joe Biden, the steelworkers and even Trump. The union had hoped the troubled company would be acquired by another American operation, Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs. Biden blocked the Nippon takeover in early January on national security grounds, saying it would place one of the largest steel producers in the nation under foreign control, posing a risk for Americas critical supply chains. On Thursday, after learning that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had issued its recommendations about the deal to Trump, the union, fearing a final takeover by Nippon, put out a statement lambasting trade cheater Nippon. Allowing the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon, a serial trade cheater, will be a disaster for American Steelworkers, our national security and the future of American manufacturing, the statement said. It is simply absurd to think that we could ever entrust the future of one of our most vital industries essential to both national defense and critical infrastructure to a company whose unfair trade practices continue to this day. Trump posted his decision following a phone call earlier Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba U.S. Steel shares surged more than 20 percent after Trumps announcement to close at $52.01 per share. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said his decision to be open about his mental health struggles has been "weaponized" against him, leading him to start attending more votes and hearings, despite feeling many are a waste of time. In an interview with the New York Times published Saturday, the 55-year-old first-term Democratic senator said that he felt unfairly shamed into performing Senate duties he views as performative. He explained that his increased presence on Capitol Hill is a response to parts of the media deeming his frequent absences as a sign of mental unfitness, rather than his choice to prioritize time at home. open image in gallery Fetterman has rejected accusations from a former senior staffer about his health ( Getty ) My doctor warned years ago: After its public that you are getting help for depression, people will weaponize that, Fetterman told the outlet. Simple things are turned. Thats exactly what happened. It shook me that people are willing to weaponize that I got help, he added. Fetterman survived a major stroke during his 2022 campaign, and checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February 2023 to be treated for depression. He initially reemerged as a vocal advocate for mental health and a strong supporter of Israel after the October 2023 attacks, but by mid-2024, he began withdrawing from key Senate responsibilities. Concerns over his mental health resurfaced after a letter from his former chief of staff, warning he was spiraling, was made public, raising fresh questions about his performance and fitness for office. Since being discharged from Walter Reed, Fettermans missed more votes than nearly every other senator, trailing only those with significant personal or political obligations like campaigning or caregiving. Fetterman has been attending recent hearings to demonstrate his mental capability, but he says he finds little enjoyment or interest in the routine responsibilities of serving in the Senate. open image in gallery I would go visit my dad instead of a throwaway vote, senator told the New York Times about missing Thursday night votes ( Getty Images ) He once described being separated from his family as the worst part of the job, and explained that family time is more of a priority. The votes I missed were overwhelmingly procedural; theyre even called bed check votes, Fetterman said, referring to routine Monday night votes in the Senate. I had to make a decision: getting here and sticking my thumb in the door for three seconds for a procedural vote or spend Monday night as a dad-daughter date. Fetterman also admitted to skipping Thursday night votes to spend time with his father, who recently had a heart attack. I would go visit my dad instead of a throwaway vote, he said. Fetterman also doesnt like attending hearings and has avoided hosting town halls because he doesnt want to interact with protesters. He said he left the caucus group chat because he became overwhelmed by notifications and found the discussions trivial. The senator does have friends in Congress who try to engage him. John is hanging in, Senator Peter Welch told the NYT. John is hanging in. Its fair to say this is pretty stressful. This is a hard thing. open image in gallery Senator says he is committed to serving his term as intended until 2028 ( Getty Images ) Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer recently urged fellow Democrats to offer more support to Fetterman and met with him to check in amid renewed scrutiny. Senator Amy Klobuchar also met with Fetterman last week to discuss his priorities on the Agriculture Committee. I enjoy working with him and appreciate his perspectives, she said. Despite his open frustrations with his job duties, Fetterman says he remains committed to serving out his term as he was elected to do until 2028. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A federal judge has ordered Donald Trumps administration to return a Guatemalan man who was wrongfully deported to Mexico. The man, referred to as O.C.G in court documents, says he fled Guatemala in April 2024. While passing through Mexico, he says he was raped, targeted for being gay and held prisoner until his sister paid a ransom. Now, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy says he must be returned to the U.S. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped, Murphy wrote in a Friday evening ruling. The man has no known criminal history, and no one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat, Murphy wrote. open image in gallery A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a sexual violence survivor wrongfully sent to Mexico, where he experienced rape and kidnapping ( REUTERS ) Murphy also says he received false information from government attorneys. Immigration officials initially claimed that he had agreed to be sent to Mexico, but the administration later admitted in court documents that their claim was based on erroneous information. An immigration official wrote in a sworn statement that ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who had even asked the man about his credible fear. How was this mistake made? Murphy asked government lawyers during a hearing on Wednesday. This is a really big deal, he said. It is a big deal to lie to a court under oath. It is an extraordinarily big deal to do so when there are matters of national importance at stake. I take this extremely seriously. He suggested he could call Homeland Security officials into court to testify under oath. While mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to this decision are troubling, Murphy wrote on Friday. The Court was given false information, upon which it relied, twice, to the detriment of a party at risk of serious and irreparable harm. Murphy added that the mans attorneys are likely to succeed in arguing he wasnt given proper due process, which is required under law. Defendants retraction of their prior sworn statement makes inexorable the already-strong conclusion that O.C.G. is likely to succeed in showing that his removal lacked any semblance of due process, Murphy wrote. When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told The Independent that Americans elected President Trump not random local judges with their own liberal agenda to run the country. These unelected judges have no right to stop the Trump Administration from exercising their rightful control over immigration policy and national security policy, Jackson said. Murphys ruling marks the third time that the Trump administration has been ordered to return a wrongly deported immigrant. Last month, a Trump-appointed federal judge found that the governments removal of a 20-year-old Venezuelan man named in court documents as Cristian violated a court settlement intended to protect young immigrants who have pending asylum claims. The Supreme Court has also unanimously agreed that the Trump administration illegally deported Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father and husband living in Maryland. Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador as a teenager in 2011. He has been imprisoned in his home country since March 15. More than a month after the highest courts decision, the Trump administration has yet to facilitate his return, and is engaged in a tense legal battle to avoid answering what steps, if any, it is taking to bring him back, and arguing that the administration does not need to answer to questions from a federal judge about its arrangement with El Salvador. open image in gallery The Trump administration has resisted bringing back Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador despite the Supreme Court unanimously ordering his return ( AP ) The administration is also embroiled in legal battles against international college students targeted for deportation over their pro-Palestinian activism, which government officials claim poses a threat to national security and foreign affairs. Columbia University scholar Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident with no criminal record, was detained in March for his participation in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Khalils wife gave birth a month after his arrest. He held his newborn son for the first time from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center this week. Several other students have been released from ICE detention while their legal battles play out. Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, Columbia grad Mohsen Mahdawi and Georgetown postdoctoral scholar Badar Khan Suri were released in recent weeks after federal judges questioned the constitutionality of their arrests. On Friday, a federal judge blasted the Trump administrations attempts to stop Harvard University from enrolling international students as a blatant violation of the Constitution. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Kayleigh McEnany, President Donald Trumps former press secretary, has surprisingly admitted that she thinks many Democrats are exonerated by new revelations about President Joe Bidens decline while in office. McEnany, 37, was Trumps spokesperson from April 2020 to January 2021. She made the remarks Friday night while discussing Original Sin, a new book about Bidens decline by CNNs Jake Tapper and Axioss Alex Thompson. In the expose, Tapper and Thompson claim that only a small group of aides had regular access to Biden and the First Lady. Six or seven? That was the number that had the close-up access? And I say this because in some ways, I think its exonerating of much of the Democratic Party, McEnany said Friday night on Fox Newss Jesse Watters Primetime. McEnany said its common for only an exclusive group of people to have access to the president. Kayleigh McEnany pictured giving a press briefing during Trumps first term. McEnany said Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's new book on President Joe Biden's decline is 'exonerating for much of the Democratic party' ( Getty Images ) I worked at the RNC, didn't have much access to President Trump, she said. Worked on the campaign. Didn't have much access to President Trump at the time. It really was a small cadre in the West Wing. The book, which hit the shelves this week just days after Biden revealed his cancer diagnosis, details the then-presidents failed reelection bid and the alleged cover-up of his decline, physically and mentally. The book made several shocking claims, including that Bidens aides wanted to put him in a wheelchair. 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, Tapper and Thompson wrote. Tapper and Thompson also detailed an alleged interaction between Biden and George Clooney, in which the president failed to recognize the A-list actor. It was like watching someone who was not alive, an unnamed Hollywood VIP who witnessed the interaction told the authors. It was startling. And we all looked at each other. It was so awful. The book also covers Bidens decision to drop out, and the subsequent reaction from Democrats. David Plouffe, who worked on Kamala Harris's campaign, told Tapper and Thompson that Biden totally f***ed us by not stepping down sooner. Jill Biden responds to accusations she limited Joe Biden's interactions in 'cocoon' Plouffe characterized the campaign as a f***ing nightmare, which he said was all Biden. In response to the books release, Biden spokesperson Chris Meagher previously said his team is still waiting for someone, anyone, 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. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite he was a very effective president, he said. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Russia and Ukraine have begun a major prisoner exchange swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians. It marks the first phase of an exchange that marked a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the three-year-old war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russia's Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine. Its very important to bring everyone home, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, thanking all who worked to secure their return and pledging to continue diplomatic efforts to make more exchanges possible. open image in gallery Two POWs embrace after being reunited following a major prisioner exchange between Ukraine and Russia ( EPA ) Dozens of relatives of prisoners cheered and chanted Thank you! as buses carrying the freed captives arrived at a medical facility in Ukraine's Chernihiv region. The men, some with expressionless faces and others unable to contain their emotions, got off the buses wrapped in Ukrainian flags for joyful reunions. Kyiv and Moscow agreed in Istanbul last week to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russias 2022 invasion. That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in U.S.-led efforts efforts to stop the fighting. The swap took place at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The exchange, which would be the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didn't herald any halt in fighting. Battles continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. Russia launched two ballistic missiles at infrastructure targets in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing two workers and injuring eight others, according to regional Gov. Oleh Kiper. It was the first recorded attack on the port since March 11. open image in gallery A POW is overcome with emotion after returning to Ukraine ( EPA ) Moscow's forces attacked settlements in the Kherson region with artillery, mortars and drones throughout the day, killing three civilians and injuring 10, according to the Kherson Regional Prosecutors Office. They also shelled Kostyantynivka with artillery, killing one civilian, said Serhii Horbunov, head of the citys military administration. As the freed men entered the medical facility, people holding signs and photos of their relatives shouted names or brigade numbers, seeking any news of a loved one. The returning men inspected the photos, and a serviceman said he shared a cell with one of those on the sea of portraits held out toward him. Vanya! cried Nataliia Mosych, among the gathered relatives, My husband! She hadnt seen her husband, Ivan, for almost two years, she said, beaming. It is an unbelievable feeling. I am still in shock, Mosych said after he came outside to greet his family following registration procedures inside the facility. I am really glad, and we were not forgotten, and we still mean something for Ukraine. Many who were freed expressed shock and disbelief that they had been exchanged. Some had trouble remembering names and details of their lives before their capture. One released POW joked in a video call with his girlfriend that he got a bit older in his three-year absence, and she replied he was as beautiful as ever. Many relatives wept when it became clear their loved ones were not among those returning, and they hoped those who were released could at least offer some information about their husbands, brothers and sons. Maybe my dad will come tomorrow, one small boy cried. open image in gallery Emergency workers at a damaged building following a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine ( Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) News of the prisoner release emerged when U.S. President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a large exchange. A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said on the Truth Social platform. He said it would go into effect shortly. He added in the post that "this could lead to something big??? apparently referring to other diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. After the May 16 talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a confidence-building measure and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday night that Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive" peace agreement once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides 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 on a temporary halt to hostilities, and Putin has said any such truce must come with a freeze on Western arms supplies to Ukraine and an end to Ukraines mobilization drive. A senior Ukrainian official said in Istanbul that Russia had introduced new, unacceptable demands to withdraw Ukrainian forces from huge swaths of territory. The official, who was not authorized to make official statements, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The proposal had not been previously discussed, the official said. Putin has long demanded as a key condition for a peace deal that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four regions that Russia annexed in September 2022 but never fully controlled. Zelenskyy has warned that if Russia continues to reject a ceasefire and make unrealistic demands, it will signal deliberate efforts to prolong the war a move that should bring tougher international sanctions. Russias Defense Ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20 and May 23. Ukraines air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A sperm donor who has been used to conceive at least 67 children across Europe has been found to have passed on a rare cancer-causing mutation, with 10 of the children developing the disease. Twenty-three of the children, conceived between 2008 and 2015 across eight countries, have now been found to carry the variant, while some have been diagnosed with cancers such as leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The case has raised concerns about the lack of internationally agreed limits on the use of a single sperm donor, and the difficulty in tracing a large number of families to inform them of a serious medical issue. The news was uncovered after two separate families contacted their fertility clinics because their children had developed cancers that were linked to a genetic variant called TP53. An analysis by the European Sperm Bank, which supplied the sperm, confirmed that the variant was present but was not known to be linked to cancer at the time of donation in 2008. It has raised concerns over the lack of internationally agreed limits for the amount of times a donor can be used ( Shutterstock ) Dr Edwige Kasper, a biologist at Rouen University Hospital in France, said: We need to have a European limit on the number of births or families for a single donor. We cant do whole-genome sequencing for all sperm donors Im not arguing for that, she added. But this is the abnormal dissemination of genetic disease. Not every man has 75 children across Europe. She continued: I analysed the variant using population and patient databases, computer prediction tools and the results of functional trials, and came to the conclusion that the variant was probably cancer-causing and that children born from this donor should receive genetic counselling. Children who have been shown to have the gene are advised to have whole-body and brain MRI scans. They are also recommended to have breast and abdomen ultrasounds as adults. Julie Paulli Budtz, a spokesperson for the European Sperm Bank, told The Guardian: We are deeply affected by this case. She said the donor had been thoroughly tested but that it is scientifically simply not possible to detect disease-causing mutations in a persons gene pool if you dont know what you are looking for. She added: We welcome continued dialogue on setting an internationally mandated family limit, and have advocated for this on several occasions. This is also why we have proactively implemented our own international limit of 75 families per donor. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Nine young children were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the home of a doctor in Gaza, a hospital has said. Only one of Dr Alaa al-Najjars 10 children is said to have survived the missile strike on their home near Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Friday. Graeme Groom, a British surgeon working in the hospital, said he had operated on Dr Najjars surviving 11-year-old son, who was injured along with his father. Dr Najjar, a paediatrician at al-Tahrir Clinic in the Nasser Medical Complex, was reportedly at work when nine of her children, who ranged in age from seven months to 12 years old, were killed. She ran home to find her familys house on fire, Ahmad al-Farra, head of the hospitals pediatric department, told the Associated Press. Horrifying footage shared by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows the bodies of at least seven small children being pulled from the rubble. Dr Najjars husband, Hamdi, who is also a doctor, is shown being put on a stretcher and carried to an ambulance. open image in gallery The doctor was at work when the missile struck her home and killed nine of her children, her colleagues said ( AP ) It comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza over the past day. An IDF spokesperson said: Yesterday (Friday), an IDF aircraft struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Yunis. The Khan Yunis area is a dangerous war zone. Before beginning operations there, the IDF evacuated civilians from this area for their own safety. The claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review. According to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gazas Hamas-run health ministry, the missile hit shortly after the doctors husband had returned home from dropping her at work. This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure, he wrote in a post on X (Twitter). Words fall short in describing the pain. In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted Israels aggression goes further, wiping out entire families. Two British doctors working at Nasser Hospital described the attack as horrific and unimaginable for Dr Najjar. In a video diary posted on social media, Dr Groom said Dr Najjars 11-year-old son was his last patient of the day on Friday. The boy was injured and seemed much younger as we lifted him onto the operating table, he said. open image in gallery The bodies of 79 people killed by Israeli strikes have been taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours, Gazas health ministry said ( EPA ) Dr Groom added: It is unimaginable for that poor woman. Both of them are doctors here. The father was a physician at Nasser Hospital. He had no political and no military connections. He doesnt seem to be prominent on social media, and yet his poor wife is the only uninjured one, who has the prospect of losing her husband. The bodies of 79 people killed by Israeli strikes have been taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours, Gazas health ministry said on Saturday a toll that does not include hospitals in the battered north, which it said were now inaccessible. The health ministry said the new deaths took the wars toll to 53,901 since the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that sparked the 19 months of fighting. Q We are on holiday in Croatia. In every bar and restaurant, we are asked whether we are paying by cash or card. We thought it was just so they could get the card machine ready. But one restaurant openly told us there is a 5 per cent discount for cash. Is this legal? Julie P A I shall look at this 5 per cent off for cash transaction through the opposite end of the telescope. The restaurant is effectively saying: We charge 5.26 per cent more for paying with plastic. (Trust me on the numbers, please.) That is definitely not legal. The European Union tells traders across Europe: Youre not allowed to charge your customers extra for using a credit or debit card. One reason the EU can make this demand is because it limits the commission that financial institutions can slice from each transaction. This is in marked contrast to the US. Surcharges of 3 to 4 per cent are widely applied for paying with plastic, reflecting the fees businesses must pay to credit card providers. One restaurant in Oyster Bay, Long Island, even prints menus with dual pricing. So what is happening in Croatia? I shall begin with a couple of benign possibilities: that the restaurant needs a cash-flow boost to pay staff wages. Getting your payment immediately rather than waiting a week or two for the bank to hand it over will help. Or perhaps the proprietor just loathes paperwork and prefers to deal only with cash. I suspect, though, that the real reason is to conceal from the tax authorities the true revenue of the restaurant. That can be a strong temptation; across the Adriatic, the Italian authorities fought back against tax evasion by demanding that every customer of a merchant be given a proper tax receipt and must carry it off the premises. Doubtless, many visitors to Croatia are tempted to cut the cost of eating and drinking by taking up the cash offer more so, I imagine, if they are citizens of nations where the euro is also the national currency. Whether or not you avail yourself is up to you. Just bear in mind that withdrawing cash from ATMs increasingly involves a commission payment that could wipe out the savings. open image in gallery Passengers at the Turkish terminal are screened multiple times before boarding ( Getty ) Q Why do you have to be searched three times at Dalaman airport? Jon O A In common with other Turkish airports, everyone entering the passenger terminal at Dalaman on the Mediterranean coast is screened, along with their baggage, before proceeding to check-in. This arrangement is at odds with most airports in Europe, where there is unrestricted access for passengers and their baggage. The entry check was actually in place before the 2016 terrorist attack at Istanbuls old airport in which more than 40 people died. Since then, security measures for airport terminals have been stepped up. After check-in, passengers proceed airside through the normal security checkpoint that every airport has. But passengers on flights bound to the UK of which there are a substantial number are subject to a third search at the departure gate. That is at the insistence of the Department for Transport and Infrastructure, the ministry responsible for aviation security. The extra check before boarding the aircraft was brought in at a time when there were serious concerns about terrorism in Turkey. For a time, both the UK and the US banned large electronic devices such as laptops and tablet computers from the cabins of flights from Turkey. The sudden ban appeared to be based on intelligence suggesting that bomb makers belonging to al-Qaeda in the Middle East had improved their skills and expanded their geographic spread. The authorities in London and Washington DC feared that would-be suicide bombers could try to bring down an aircraft with explosives concealed in consumer electronics. While that ban ended relatively quickly, the UK government continues to demand additional aviation security on flights from Turkey. Britains biggest budget airline, easyJet, says: There is no requirement to come to the airport earlier than shown on your confirmation email, but please make sure you arrive at the gate as soon as your gate is announced. Passengers are advised to ensure their personal electronic items are charged ahead of the check. If you cannot turn on your device, you may be required to travel without it or place your item for safe carriage in the hold, easyJet says. Similar extra security measures are applied to flights from Tunisia, Jordan, Morocco and Egypt to the UK. open image in gallery The Civil Aviation Authority suggests waiting for 10 days after major surgery before flying ( Getty ) Q A friend of mine has recently had an operation involving a general anaesthetic and says he has been told he cant fly for six months. Why is this? Shamus McF A Anyone who has a general anaesthetic is likely to have had some significant surgery, which presents some risk of the potentially fatal condition of deep vein thrombosis. There is some inconsistency about how long you should leave before flying again. I have not heard of a six-month grounding, but I dare say in some circumstances this would be appropriate. The Civil Aviation Authority offers something of a surgery tariff, saying: It is appropriate to allow one to two days following keyhole surgery and between four and five days for simple abdominal surgery. Major chest or abdominal surgery requires a period of approximately 10 days. Simple cataract or corneal laser surgery do not cause major complications and therefore 24 hours is an adequate gap between surgery and flying. The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham tells patients who undergo serious work on the operating table: Avoid long-haul travel for four weeks either side of your surgery. It adds: The risk of DVT within the general population is 1:1,000. This risk is increased with long journeys (more than four hours), particularly flying. Patients are also urged to inform your surgeon of your travel plans presumably so that he or she can provide an opinion of the wisdom of making a journey soon after surgery, and possibly offer advice such as wearing travel socks during the trip. Airlines are always keen to know if passengers have had recent medical treatment bluntly, because they dont want to have to divert flights due to a medical emergency. It is worth talking to the carrier in any situation where health could be an issue at altitude. On a related subject, a reminder that anyone who has a plaster cast because of a fracture will not be permitted to fly unless the cast has been split for its entire length. This will allow room for the limb to swell when the air pressure drops. A letter from the practitioner explaining the injury and confirming fitness will also be useful. open image in gallery Ticket to ride: BA, easyJet and Ryanair vie for your custom at Edinburgh airport ( Simon Calder ) Q I saw you comparing fares on Ryanair and easyJet with British Airways from Edinburgh to London. Out of interest, how many people actually manage to get hold of Ryanair or easyJet tickets for that actual price? The add-ons as you move to the payment page mean that these starting prices are often wildly optimistic. Name supplied A The background: you are referring to my article highlighting an extremely high fare on British Airways for the few remaining seats on a mid-morning departure in four weeks. The 10.25am flight from Edinburgh to London Heathrow on Friday 21 June is currently priced at 1,183. This is 70 times the Ryanair fare for its morning flight to Stansted of 17; easyJets cheapest trip to Luton is 19. As the article explains, BA prices those particular seats at a level that no one would rationally pay. The airline does not want anyone to book a seat just between Edinburgh and Heathrow. The aim is to keep space available for a late-booking, premium intercontinental passenger who might spend 5,000 on a one-way flight via Heathrow to the Middle East or the US. The 10.25am departure uses a small A319 aircraft and has a lot of potentially lucrative long-haul connections. To answer your question about the other end of the price spectrum: plenty of people manage to buy Ryanair and easyJet flights at fares below 20. I have never found these starting prices on easyJet and Ryanair to be wildly optimistic. You simply have to decline all the options you are offered during the online purchase journey: speedy boarding, baggage, advance seat selection, etc. Those of us who travel light and generally alone are well versed in dodging all the add-ons. To be sure of getting the best deal, book direct with the airline rather than through an online travel agent who may add extra charges. But bear in mind that the small cabin baggage limit will be strictly enforced. Of that 17 Edinburgh-Stansted fare on Ryanair, the first 13 goes to chancellor Rachel Reeves as air passenger duty, and once airport charges are paid, the airline is looking at a loss. So, understandably, airlines are always keen to augment their ancillary revenue. Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder Fans erupted in cheers at Londons O2 Arena on Friday, 24 May, as Sir Ian McKellen made a surprise appearance during the Scissor Sisters long-awaited reunion concert. The 85-year-old actor thrilled the audience by dramatically reciting his spoken-word monologue from the US pop groups 2010 track Invisible Light, just as he did on the original recording. The performance marked a highlight of the groups first live shows in 12 years, part of a UK and Ireland tour celebrating over 20 years since their debut. One fan wrote on X: Cried a little, just so blessed to see this. Police have confirmed that a woman who died alongside three children in a house fire in Brent, north-west London, on Saturday (24 May) was the childrens mother. The Metropolitan Police were called to assist the London Fire Brigade after the blaze broke out in Tillett Close, Stonebridge, in the early hours of the morning. A 43-year-old woman, a 15-year-old girl, and two boys aged eight and four died at the scene. I can confirm a woman and three of her children died at the scene, Superintendent Steve Allen said. The wider family has been informed and officers will continue to support them, he added. Police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder. Croatia, China agree on joint development of green technologies Xinhua) 15:55, May 24, 2025 ZAGREB, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Croatia and China have agreed to cooperate in the development of knowledge and technology for biodiversity conservation and green development, the Croatian government said in a statement on Friday. Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun, who is visiting Croatia, has met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs, the statement said, adding that he has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development with the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education to jointly promote sustainable economic and social development. This is a continuation of the participation of Chinese companies in infrastructure and investment projects in Croatia, and it also underlines the will of the Croatian government to increase exports to China, the statement said. As a member of the European Union (EU), Croatia will continue to advocate for the continuation of good relations between the EU and China, by maintaining an open dialogue, the statement added. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Just after Joe Biden put out a statement announcing that he had prostate cancer that had metastasised to his bones, political leaders from around the world offered their support from Donald Trump to Barack Obama, and many others. But the presidents son, Donald Jr, chose a different route. He posted on X (Twitter) almost immediately: What I want to know is how did Dr Jill Biden miss stage five [sic] metastatic cancer or is this yet another cover-up? When I saw this post, I was revolted by it. Jill Biden isnt a medical doctor she has a doctorate in education. And for Gods sake, man, do you have no humanity? An old guy has just revealed some pretty dire medical news do you immediately have to go into full Watergate mode? Its offensive on so many levels, but the more I reflected on it, the more I thought this response was in some ways understandable. First, the diagnosis. I am not any kind of doctor OK, I have an honorary doctorate from my old university so I am not going to offer commentary on medicine. But from what I have read, it feels unusual that someone can present with such an advanced stage of cancer having had no symptoms before. Furthermore, Joe Biden isnt someone living in poverty in a trailer park in the boondocks with no insurance and limited access to healthcare. Until January this year, his home was the east wing of the White House. It has a fully staffed medical centre, with 24/7 care. If he needed more assistance, there was a helicopter at his disposal to take him a few miles north to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda that is where Donald Trump went when his respiratory condition worsened during Covid. Even when he flies on Air Force One, there is a fully equipped medical area, and a physician and nurse are always on board. So, the suggestion that he might not have had a PSA test (the test that looks for prostate cancer) for years strikes me as scarcely credible. At my NHS GP surgery, I have an annual blood test to look at that, although I also acknowledge they can sometimes deliver unreliable results. But it is the timing of the announcement that is most curious. Of course, it is entirely possible that we should take everything at face value that the former president went to see his doctor at the end of last week with a urinary problem, and thats when he received the diagnosis. But this announcement came just a day before the publication of Original Sin, a book co-authored by the distinguished CNN anchor Jake Tapper, which examines the extent to which the Biden White House covered up the true state of the 82-year-olds health. In it, it is claimed that Biden had significant spinal arthritis, and that the people who had been saying Hes fine throughout the election were afterwards much more willing to finally admit the truth. To put it bluntly: was Team Biden trying to garner sympathy for their man ahead of Tappers expose, which purports to show that the president wasnt exactly playing with a full deck of cards while he was in the White House and while he was still intending to run for a second term? Just over a year ago, I was in Washington and was at a fancy dinner with very senior journalists and Democrats who knew Biden well. There was a round-table discussion about the forthcoming election, which was still several months away. I asked the assembled guests whether they thought Biden would still run, given his apparent cognitive decline. They all confidently said he would definitely run and that he was OK healthwise. But we now know from the Tapper book he was anything but. And lets be frank about this what the book reveals is pretty much what the American people had long suspected, and was proven in hideous technicolour when Biden fell apart in the televised CNN debate. In 2021, I flew back from Washington to go to the G7 summit at Carbis Bay in Cornwall. In the secure area, the hotel had a pub-style bar, with benches outside overlooking the sea. I was having a drink with our then ambassador, Karen Pierce, when to our astonishment Joe and Jill Biden started walking towards us. They sat at the next table. It seemed barely a word passed between them. He sat there just staring out into the middle distance. And then, as though acting as his carer, Jill said, Come on Joe, time to go. And off they went her walking, him shuffling a phalanx of security guards in tow. At the time, I thought it was maybe jetlag. It might well have been. But the more I think about it, the more I can only conclude that those in his tightest inner circle were doing their utmost to shield him from scrutiny. Of course, the reason you have a coterie in politics is to offer some kind of protection from those who want to attack you. But the Biden inner circle morphed into something different. It was misleading and hoodwinking the American public about his true physical and mental condition. It was also aggressively going after any journalist who dared to suggest otherwise. Lets go back for a minute to the catastrophic Trump/Biden TV debate. Do you remember afterwards the way Jill heaped praise on her husband, telling him hed answered every question and that hed knocked it out of the park? It was disingenuous to the point of ludicrous. So, yes, Jill Biden has questions to answer. Her husband was never fit to run for a second term. The reason that medical reports on the state of the presidents health are made public is so that there is no lying to the American people as has happened so often in the past. When Woodrow Wilson, Americas 28th president, fell ill, his doctor said it was exhaustion. Hed in fact suffered a serious stroke that had left him paralysed. Franklin D Roosevelt projected an image of strength and decisiveness. His contracting polio was hidden, and the Secret Service were tasked with making sure he was never photographed in his wheelchair. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack, and was told by his cardiologist in 1955 not to run again advice he ignored. And John F Kennedy was so full of drugs painkillers, anti-anxiety medication, and other treatments to combat a life-threatening hormonal condition, back problems and intestinal trouble that if you had shaken him, he would have rattled. All of this was kept hidden from voters. It looks increasingly like Joe Biden is a throwback to times that were meant to have long passed. The 46th president did a lot of good things in legislation that was enacted, in turning around the post-Covid economy, and in the way he responded to Russias invasion of Ukraine. And absolutely, his cancer diagnosis may be exactly as it seems. But given the repeated lies and cover-ups about the state of his health, as exposed by Tapper and it pains me to say this Don Jr may be spot on in crying foul. Big Tech firms should be in criminal court, says Media Minister Patrick ODonovan Current system has lots of carrots and no sticks Social media firms should appear in Irish criminal courts, Minister says Adrian Weckler Sat 24 May 2025 at 03:30 The Cabinet minister overseeing Irelands newest Big Tech regulator says he would like to see social media platforms in the criminal courts for neglecting to protect children online. 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 A District Court judge has refused jurisdiction in the case of a young woman charged in connection with a phone scam that allegedly defrauded a man of more than 16,000. Abbie Kinsella (20), of The Green, Earls Court, Kill, Co Kildare, appeared before Tallaght District Court on Friday morning. The court heard that while she currently resides in Kildare, she was living in Dublin at the time of the alleged offence and was arrested and charged there. Garda OConnor told Judge Patricia McNamara that the alleged victim received a text message purporting to be from the Eir mobile network, warning that his phone service would be cancelled unless he paid an outstanding bill. Believing the message to be genuine, the man provided his banking details - but later discovered that more than 16,400 had been withdrawn from his account. Tallaght District Court. Today's News in 90 seconds - 24th May 2025 Garda OConnor stated that 4,900 was allegedly transferred into Ms Kinsellas Revolut account. Ms Kinsella is charged with an offence under Section 7(1) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010. Refusing jurisdiction, Judge McNamara said: I do not consider this to be of a minor nature to be dealt with summarily. She directed that a book of evidence be prepared and served within six weeks and sent the case forward to the Circuit Court. Ms Kinsella was remanded on continuing bail and is due before Tallaght District Court again on June 26 at 10am. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme. A man accused of leading gardai on a high-speed chase in a hijacked milk delivery van with the driver's daughter still inside was unable to appear before the District Court today due to hospitalisation, as his legal team sought access to photographs of his injuries taken on his admission to prison. Jamie Murray (30), who also goes by the name Jamie Kinsella and has an address at St Ronans Park, Clondalkin, is facing multiple charges including the unauthorised taking of a vehicle, assault and dangerous driving following an alleged incident in Citywest in the early hours of May 12. At Cloverhill District Court today, defence counsel Alexander Langan MacDonnell BL told Judge Alan Mitchell that his client was currently receiving medical treatment. A stock image of a milk van: Getty Images Today's News in 90 seconds - 25th May 2025 Judge Mitchell agreed to remand Mr Murray in custody until June 4, saying that a longer-than-usual adjournment was permitted due to the medical certificate provided. Mr MacDonnell also requested that photos taken of Mr Murrays injuries on admission to Cloverhill Prison be released to the defence solicitor. The solicitor had written to the prison service seeking the images, but the request had been refused, the court was told. Judge Mitchell said he did not have the authority to compel the prison service to release the photos, stating they were not directly relevant to the immediate charges before the court. I dont think I have the jurisdiction to direct the prison service to furnish anything. I can only recommend, he said, adding that the issue could become relevant later if a complaint is made or if the legality of the arrest or detention is challenged. Garda Conor Lavin previously told Tallaght District Court that the charges relate to an incident that occurred around 3am on May 12, when two men approached a milkman during deliveries at Carrigmore Crescent, Citywest. After the milkman refused to give them a lift, the men allegedly forced their way into the van - with one of the men reportedly brandishing a weapon - and drove off while the milkmans adult daughter, who had been working with him, was still in the back of the van. The woman, who is in her 30s, later jumped from a side door of the moving vehicle on Cheeverstown Road. Gardai chased the van for around 20km before it crashed into a ditch near Glencree, Co Wicklow. Mr Murray was arrested at the scene, the court was told. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme. Emergency services at the scene of the explosion in Creeslough in Co Donegal. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA A man in his 60s who was arrested yesterday morning by gardai investigating the explosion in Creeslough, Co Donegal, in 2022 in which 10 people lost their lives, has been released without charge. A garda spokesperson said a file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The investigation is ongoing, co-ordinated from Milford Garda Station where an Incident Room was established under the direction of a Garda Senior Investigating Officer, they said. The investigation continues to be led by local Gardai in the Donegal Division supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and other agencies including the Health & Safety Authority and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities. Emergency services at the scene of the explosion in Creeslough in Co Donegal. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Today's News in 90 seconds - 23rd May 2025 The explosion which killed 10 people ripped through the Applegreen service station and an apartment complex on a busy Friday afternoon on October 7, 2022. It is believed to have been caused by a gas leak, the cause of which is the subject of criminal investigation. The victims of the tragedy are: Leona Harper (14); James Monaghan (13), and his mother, Catherine ODonnell, (39); Robert Garwe (50), and his daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe (5); Martin McGill (49); Jessica Gallagher (24); James OFlaherty (48); Martina Martin (49); and Hugh Kelly (59). Rate would be more than double the one US president announced for the EU on Liberation Day Protesters gather outside Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Virginia, ahead of Donald Trumps attendance at a gala for cyyptocurrency sale. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Protesters gather outside Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Virginia, ahead of Donald Trumps attendance at a gala for cyyptocurrency sale. Photo: Ken Cedeno/Reuters The Taoiseach is warning of price rises and disruption to businesses and consumers if the US administration proceeds with a threat of 50pc tariffs on EU imports. In what one Irish economist has described as economic warfare, Donald Trump said negotiations with the EU were going nowhere and that the new tariffs would kick in as early as next weekend. A 50pc tariff would be more than double the rate on the EU that the US president announced on his so-called Liberation Day on April 2. Micheal Martin described the newly suggested rate by the US president as enormously disappointing, saying we do not need to go down this road. Tariffs of the level suggested would not only push prices up, they would grievously damage one of the worlds most dynamic and significant trading relationships, as well as disrupting wider global trade, the Taoiseach said. Tariffs are damaging to all sides those imposing them, those on the receiving end and, most importantly to businesses and consumers. This was echoed by the Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, who said tariffs were a bad idea that push prices up for consumers and businesses. Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Today's News in 90 seconds - 24th May 2025 The US had imposed a 20pc reciprocal rate on most EU goods in April, but halved it until July 8 to allow time for talks. It has retained a 25pc level on steel, aluminium and car parts and is promising a similar rate for pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and other goods. The Irish Government said it will continue to negotiate with the EU as a whole as the bloc now decides whether to retaliate or make concessions to the US side. Mr Martin said the EU had been engaging in good faith and that a negotiated outcome is the best possible result for both sides. Tanaiste Simon Harris called for a calm, measured and comprehensive dialogue with the US side, and said a negotiated settlement remained the preferred outcome. Mr Trumps latest intervention marks a further deterioration of his relationship with the EU an institution he has consistently criticised since returning to the White House in January. US president Donald Trump said he will impose 50pc tariffs on EU imports from next month. Photo: Reuters In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. Their powerful trade barriers, VAT taxes, ridiculous corporate penalties, non-monetary trade barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the US of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50pc Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter! I dont see any appetite anywhere in Europe to pull back Dan OBrien, chief economist at the Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA), said the size and timescale of threatened tariffs were alarming. A 50pc tariff in a week is a threat of economic warfare this is dangerous stuff, he said. For European negotiators, it was not just an economic threat but also a principle at stake in the blocs right to write its own rules including to charge Vat, he said. That would mean the EU response to the fresh Trump threat was likely to focus on its own counter-threats now, not concessions, he said. I dont see any appetite anywhere in Europe to pull back, he said. For Ireland, that creates a potentially dangerous dynamic, if for example, Brussels moves to threaten US Big Tech which is not just a big economic actor but increasingly seen as aligned with the White House. US tech firms, along with US pharma, are a major pillar of Irelands economy, so any move against them could have negative consequences on the ground here as well as to bottom lines in Silicon Valley. Stock markets in the US and EU plunged immediately after Mr Trumps statement. The Iseq 20 index of leading Irish shares had been up before the Trump posting but dropped more than 2pc in its wake. German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said the EUs executive commission had his countrys full support in working to preserve our access to the American market. I think such tariffs help no one, but would just lead to economic development in both markets suffering, Mr Wadephul said in Berlin. So we are still counting on negotiations, and support the European Commission in defending Europe and the European market while at the same time working on persuasion in America. Mr Trump cranked up his trade threats yesterday also targeting smartphone and computers giant Apple, unsettling global markets after weeks of de-escalation provided some reprieve. He threatened to impose a 25pc tariff on Apple for any iPhones sold, but not manufactured, in the United States. RTE is set to redeploy staff working on religious programmes as masses will no longer be broadcast from its Donnybrook studios. It has announced it will shift in-house Christian productions on RTE One and the RTE Player to a variety of churches nationwide. The move is part of a plan to commission Christian worship content from independent producers from next year. An RTE spokesperson said the plan will be carried out in partnership with Irelands major denominations from a number of hub churches. When asked if a Sunday mass will still be broadcast, he said there will be no change to the service, apart from it being produced in the independent sector. Roger Childs, RTEs commissioning editor of religious content, said masses, services and other forms of Christian worship will continue to be broadcast every Sunday and on Christian holidays. The RTE campus in Donnybrook, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Today's News in 90 seconds - 24th May 2025 This includes St Patricks Day, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. When asked about the impact of the move on workers, a spokesperson said management met with the team involved in the delivery of masses and services and they were informed that they would be redeployed to other programmes when this move happens. A letter from the RTE Group of Unions to HR chief Eimear Cusack yesterday sought an urgent meeting to discuss the changes and impact on members. Siptu sector organiser Robbie Purfield said he believes fewer than 50 staff who work on religious programming will be affected. This is a public service and should be kept in-house. This could be the thin edge of the wedge. Whats next? He said Siptu members want management to reverse the decision to outsource production, including the mass broadcasts, to the independent sector. These workers are in various grades, but the religious programme is not all they do, he said. They would do everything from setting up the altar to the technical and operational elements, but now there will be less work for them. I know part of the strategy is that RTE needs to broadcast more from the independent sector, but this is a public service and should be kept in-house. This could be the thin edge of the wedge. Whats next? Mr Purfield said there has been no consultation with unions on the plan. RTEs managing editor of video and director of content, Sean Mac Giolla Phadraig, said technological advances mean it is possible to broadcast masses and services cost-effectively from churches nationwide. He said this would enable RTE to shift production from the Donnybrook studio base into authentic congregational worship settings across 32 counties. Mr Childs said studio production of worship content has served audiences well for many years. However, the current production model requires groups to often travel long distances to Montrose. In addition, he said the studios limited capacity allows for only a small representative presence from the featured parishes or school groups. A spokesperson said the launch of the new commissioning process is in line with RTEs New Direction strategy. He said the Future of Media Commission recommended that 25pc of public funding to RTE is invested in the independent sector, and the Government intends to put this into legislation. What its like to visit the Isle of Man today from the TT to a real-life Thomas the Tank Engine As the Isle of Man TT roars into action, Pol O Conghaile explores the islands pivot to a slower kind of holiday offering Whats it like to visit the Isle of Man today? TT races, tasty food and a real-life Thomas the Tank Engine Pol O Conghaile Sat 24 May 2025 at 03:30 Could you place the Isle of Man on a map? US president Donald Trump said he will impose 50pc tariffs on EU imports from next month. Photo: Reuters Economist Benjamin Grahams memorable quote that the intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists has suddenly come back into play. But thanks to Donald Trumps latest sledgehammer blow to global confidence, the pessimists are going to find it difficult to sell as optimists are hard to find. It has also been suggested that two kinds of people lose money: those who know nothing and those who know everything. But with Mr Trump routinely blowing up the financial world, it is hard to know anything for sure. His plan is to impose a 50pc tariff on imports from the EU from next month. It may well just be another Trumpian souffle served as an appetiser before the real bones of an economic deal are picked over in EU trade talks that he claims are going nowhere. Hammering Europe with a blow that would be five times heavier than the 10pc levy on China the real villains of the piece in his eyes makes no sense. But sense is not necessarily the hallmark of this Trump administration. The havoc wreaked on the global economy from Liberation Day was beginning to calm. Punching Brussels in the face just two weeks after the US climbdown in agreeing with China to slash tariffs will shred investors nerves again. This prolonged game of bluff, shimmy and feint is causing real harm to businesses trying to maintain sales The lack of understanding and enmity that Mr Trump shows Europe is also disquieting. He once again has railed against the bloc for Trade Barriers, VAT Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Monetary Manipulations, [and] unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American Companies. As one analyst told the Financial Times, the presidents move puts a dent in the view that markets will rein in Trump. Brussels must weigh whether to hit back with counter-tariffs or accede to US demands to make concessions. Member states have already approved a 21bn package of up to 50pc on some items, but these were not due to hit until July. The European Commission is also mulling over a much more potent 95bn hit-list to be deployed, if needs must. Washington wants Brussels to reduce import barriers to cut the size of the USs trade deficit in goods with the bloc, which totalled $192bn last year. Mr Trump sees EU food and product standards as protectionist. He is demanding that the bloc unilaterally drops tariffs. Brussels has proposed that both sides scrap tariffs on all industrial and some agricultural products. But this prolonged game of bluff, shimmy and feint is causing real harm to businesses trying to maintain sales and stabilise supply chains. Far from making America great, it renders it volatile and unreliable. More perplexing still, it is devoid of strategy or reason. Mr Trumps buccaneering economic gambling seems not so much based on taking the pot, but rather so he can gamble again the next day. And that is a lose-lose scenario for all. Where Michelin-star chefs go to eat a curry: I think its some of the best food of any kind being served in Ireland right now The Dutch company BAM signed a new 206 million contract on the M28 motorway, after initiating high court proceedings against the state over extra costs in Childrens Hospital saga Pictured at the M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy Motorway contract signing seated left to right are: Taoiseach Micheal Martin; Moira Murrell, Chief Executive of Cork County Council; Alasdair Henderson, Executive Director, BAM Ireland; and Cllr Martin Coughlan, Deputy Mayor of the County of Cork. Standing are Geraldine Fitzpatrick, Transport Infrastructure Ireland; Henry Kingston, Port of Cork; Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien; Padraig Barrett, Director of Service, Cork County Council; Minister of State with responsibility for Rural Transport, Jerry Buttimer; Valerie O'Sullivan, Chief Executive, Cork City Council, and Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Honore Kamegni. Photo: Michael O'Sullivan An Taoiseach Micheal Martin has called on the European Commission to clean up EU regulation regarding public procurement processes, after the Government signed yet another major money contract with Dutch company BAM. The latest contract on the table is for the M28 Ringaskiddy motorway, which was signed this week to the tune of 206 million and has a completion date of Summer 2028. The agreement came on the same date as the latest delay in the construction of the National Childrens Hospital came to light, while closer to home the Dutch contractor has applied for a five-year extension on the Cork Events Centre, on which the sod was turned in 2016. Alasdair Henderson, Executive Director of BAM Ireland said at the M28 launch that the project reflects our continued commitment to building sustainable, future-ready infrastructure that serves communities and commerce alike. That same day, BAM issued High Court proceedings against the Irish state over a 122m claim for extra costs resulting from delays in the National Childrens Hospital. That comes after the revelation that the final completion date of the hospital is now expected to be September 30, with an estimated final cost of 2.24bn. The Taoiseach says, despite all the various delays, he is confident that BAM can deliver the M28 on time and under budget, but says that laws dictate the Governments decisions on contracts, regardless of public opinion or confidence. Under European Union procurement protocols, theyre open, theyre transparent, governments do have to adhere to them, said the Taoiseach. BAM have come in on time on other road projects and on other civil engineering projects, and that is the position. The Taoiseach was speaking outside Dosco cleaning supplies, a Cork-based firm that has been in business since 1884. Since then, the Cork-based company have been manufacturing brushes and other cleaning items for its140 years-plus. The public may or may not (have confidence) but the bottom line is that we have to adhere to the rules of procurement. We cant deviate from them, otherwise we face other potential legal penalties. If one was to say that a government was todebar a company, there would be legal consequences for that. To be fair, and to be balanced, there are issues with the Childrens Hospital that have been ongoing and unacceptable, but equally the company has executed projects in other parts of the country. Despite this, the Taoiseach says that the European Union needs to keep its procurement laws under review. Where theres non-conformancethose contracting should have recourse to some actions in that respect. The Indo Daily: How George Gibney has run from child abuse allegations for over 30 years The cost of treating falls in acute hospitals in the north west was an estimated 40.5 to 46.9 million in 2023. A new falls prevention framework has been launched by HSE West and North West as figures show care home residents are three times more likely to fall than older adults living in their own homes. Falls are the main cause of major trauma in the older population. The document has been developed by dedicated healthcare professionals across the region, working in community, residential and acute settings. Dermot Monaghan, Donegal Integrated Healthcare Area Manager, formally launched the Falls Prevention Framework developed by HSE staff across the North West and North East. Falls are the second largest cause of unintentional injury-related deaths worldwide. Falls are more common among older adults, with 30-40% of those over 65 falling each year. 82% of major trauma in older adults in Ireland are attributable to low falls, and 70% of these accidents occur in the home . A history of falls significantly increases the risk of future falls; for older adults. A fall, whether or not it results in serious injury, may represent a life-changing event that carries implications for their perceived health and behaviour. Fear of falling leads to reduced physical activity, both indoors and outdoors, which contributes to declining physical function, increased frailty, and a higher likelihood of fractures and institutional care. Recognising the multifactorial nature of falls prevention, a steering group and six working groups were established in late 2022. The six working groups reviewed the research in relation to: Bone Health, Strength & Exercise; Medication Review; Residential Services & Continence; Environment & Structural Issues; Education & Awareness and Equipment & Technology. Each specialist working group developed key findings and recommendations in relation to promoting healthy aging; preventing falls; managing falls and supporting people after a fall. All of the findings and recommendations from these working groups are now presented in the framework document which will be an indispensable resource for clinicians, not just locally, but all across Ireland and beyond. Findings from the Falls Prevention framework show that: Home was the main location for major trauma injury for older adults, with almost double the proportion (70%) of accidents happening in the home compared to those aged under-65 years (36%) (25). Care home residents are three times more likely to fall than older adults living in their own homes and therefore all residents should be considered at high risk of falls. Many falls can be prevented. Fall and injury prevention needs multidisciplinary team effort that requires leadership support. Regular physical activity can help older persons improve physical function and balance, thereby preventing harmful falls and fall-related injuries. Specifically, multi-component exercise (that includes balance, functional and resistance exercise) has been proven to reduce the rate of falls by 35%. The cost of treating falls in acute hospitals in the north west was an estimated 40.5 to 46.9 million in 2023. This does not capture the economic burden associated with falls in the community setting that do not require hospital admission. The cost of fall related injuries in older persons in Ireland is expected to reach over 2 billion by 2030 . Falls prevention knowledge and strategies helps people to live well and independently at home by increasing their knowledge and thereby reducing the risks associated with falls such as reduced muscle strength, poor balance and safety hazards in the home. Research indicates that falling is not the problem if you have enough strength and balance to get back up again. FaME, a Falls Management Exercise programme which improves strength and balance has been proven to reduce falls by 54%. A recent class participant who attended the FaME programme locally stated, Being stronger and steadier on my feet has given me the confidence to go out on my own and negotiate everyday life such as getting on the bus to visit my daughter and the grandchildren. A falls prevention information leaflet for members of the public was also developed to help people learn about harm from falls, the modifiable risk factors and what they can do to manage them. Dermot Monaghan expressed his thanks to all of the people involved in the development of the framework, stating I am looking forward to working with colleagues in other IHA areas to plan the implementation of this important initiative, aimed at reducing harm from falls. Can you identify the bird in this image? The Sandeel in its bill is the give-away that tells you it is a seabird. How are your bird identification skills? Do you know nothing at all about our feathered friends, maybe just a few of the common garden birds like Blackbirds and Robins, most of the regular natives from Wrens to Swans, or maybe you would rank yourself as somewhat of an authority or expert? We are all on learning curves and fortunately long gone are the days of aimlessly flicking through the pictures in a bird book hoping to find a matching mugshot of a mystery bird that you happened to get a fleeting glimpse of. The wonders of artificial intelligence (AI) are now readily available in a new app thanks to BirdWatch Ireland and Sunbird. With over 100 apps to its name, Sunbird Images are the global market leader for digital nature guides. The company has just developed and produced BirdWatch Irelands first ever app. Called Birds of Ireland Field Guide, the app is available both on the Apple App Store for iOS and on the Google Play Store for Android. 492 species of wild bird have been recorded in Ireland. Well over 100 of them are common and regularly occur and all of these are featured on the new app free of charge. The others are uncommon species, unusual species, rare vagrants, and ones that may have been recorded only once. Access to these additional species can be unlocked on the app with an annual subscription The free version of the app includes high-quality identification plates, in-depth species profiles, bird names in 20 languages including Irish, a manual ID tool, a Similar species tool, side-by-side comparison of up to eight species, European range maps, and the ability to create and export lists of personal sightings. The premium paid version features cutting-edge AI to identify birds by sound or photo, access to over 1,140 bird calls and songs, plus video clips showcasing typical behaviour, lifelike 3D bird models using augmented reality, egg images for all native breeding birds, custom-made Irish distribution maps, and more. The Sandeel in the bill of the bird in the image above is the give-away that tells you it is a seabird. Three marks for correctly identifying it as a tern and all six marks for knowing that it is a Roseate Tern, the rarest breeding seabird in Europe and a species that Ireland is a hotspot for. How two Trinity graduates went from bored office workers to successful beach sauna owners Helios Sauna have just opened in a stunning location off Rosslare Strand in Wexford in addition to their set-ups in Bray and Dundrum Mikolaj Piotrowski and Matthew Burke, owners of Helios Sauna, which has locations in Dundrum, Bray and Rosslare Strand, Co Wexford. Padraig Byrne Wexford People Sat 24 May 2025 at 11:00 Matt Burke and Mikolaj Piotrowski are self confessed day-dreamers. While rolling off the hours working in a huge office at Intels Leixlip plant, they spent just as many hours plotting their escape. Something which would take them outside and away from the neatly partitioned office spaces. The finalists for the competition held at the Law Society in Dublin, including Wicklows Lauren Coffey (front row, fourth from left). A Wicklow student was among the finalists in the Law Society of Irelands Grainne ONeill Memorial Legal Essay Competition, which is now in its third year. The competition aims to inspire young peoples legal learning by encouraging students from a wide range of backgrounds to consider contemporary justice issues. TY students from across the country were invited to submit a 1,500-word legal essay on a specific topic. This year, over 350 essays were submitted by students from 52 schools across 16 counties, each exploring the topic the role the law can play in addressing hate crime. Wicklow student Lauren Coffey from Colaiste Chraobh Abhann was among the 30 finalists that attended a special ceremony at the Law Society in Dublin on Wednesday, May 14. Kerry Transition Year (TY) student Hazel Barrett from Presentation Secondary School, Listowel, was announced as the winner. President of the Law Society, Eamon Harrington, said: This years topic challenged students to explore how our laws respond to hatred and discrimination in society. Their essays demonstrated an understanding of the role that legislation can play in protecting marginalised groups and promoting inclusion for all in society. Through the competition students are encouraged to research, reflect and critically apply their learnings to this complex legal issue. The judges were impressed with the breadth of ideas and considered arguments put forward by students. The Law Society remains committed to widening early access to legal education for young people from all backgrounds. Congratulations to all students who entered, and in particular to this years finalists and winners. We hope many of them will continue their legal education, continue to ask questions and consider a future career in law. Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners as Kremlin missiles continue to fall on Kyiv POW swap was a result of Istanbul talks but no venue yet agreed for the next round of negotiations Ukrainian POWs enjoy their first moments of freedom. Photo: Reuters Illia Novikov Sat 24 May 2025 at 21:17 Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds more prisoners yesterday as part of a major swap that amounted to a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. Airstrikes kill at least 60 in Gaza as Israel allows minimal aid into territory Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing criticism as even staunch ally US raises concerns Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Photo: Reuters Wafaa Shurafa Associated Press Sat 24 May 2025 at 03:30 At least 60 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza in a 24-hour period, Gazas health ministry said yesterday, as Israel pressed ahead with its military offensive and let in minimal aid to the strip. US and Iran make limited progress in latest round of nuke talks More meetings are needed to reach agreement over Irans uranium enrichment programme, though no date is set as yet Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran. Photo: via AP Parisa Hafezi and John Irish Reuters Sat 24 May 2025 at 03:30 Iranian and US negotiators wrapped up a fifth round of talks yesterday, with mediator Oman saying there was some limited progress in negotiations aimed at resolving a decades-long dispute over Tehrans nuclear ambitions. Livermore, CA (94550) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 81F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 51F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. INI CET 2025 result: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, is set to release the INI CET 2025 July session result today, May 24, 2025, on its official website aiimsexams.ac.in. Candidates who appeared for the Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI CET) held on May 17, 2025, can check their results. Also, they can download the AIIMS INI CET scorecard 2025 using their login credentials. What is INI CET 2025? The INI CET is a national-level postgraduate medical entrance exam conducted for admission to MD, MS, DM (6 years), MCh (6 years), and MDS courses at prestigious institutes such as AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER, NIMHANS, and SCTIMST. The results of this exam are important for thousands of medical aspirants aiming to secure seats in these top medical institutions across India. INI CET 2025 Result Date and Time INI CET 2025 Exam Date: May 17, 2025 May 17, 2025 INI CET 2025 Result Date: May 24, 2025 May 24, 2025 INI CET 2025 Result Release Time: Expected post-noon on May 24, 2025 (exact time not officially announced yet) How to Check and Download INI CET 2025 Result & Scorecard? Candidates can follow these simple steps to access their INI CET 2025 results and scorecards: Visit the official AIIMS exam website: aiimsexams.ac.in. Go to the Academic Courses section on the homepage. Click on the link for INI-CET (MD/MS/MCh(6yrs)/DM(6yrs)) July 2025 Session Result. Log in using your Application Number , Exam Unique Code (EUC) , and Password. , , and View and download your INI CET 2025 scorecard and result PDF for future reference. INI CET 2025 Cutoff and Qualification Criteria General category candidates must score at least the 50th percentile to qualify. to qualify. Reserved categories (SC/ST/OBC) require a minimum of 45th percentile. A merit list will be prepared based on these cutoffs. And only qualified candidates will be eligible for the counselling process. What After the INI CET 2025 Result? Candidates who qualify the INI CET 2025 exam will be eligible to participate in the online INI CET 2025 counselling rounds. The counselling process involves registration, choice filling, and seat allotment for various MD/MS/DM/MCh/MDS courses across the participating institutes. The counselling schedule and seat allotment dates will be announced soon by AIIMS. FAQs Q. When will the INI CET 2025 July session result be declared? Answer: The INI CET 2025 July session result is scheduled to be released on May 24, 2025, at the official AIIMS exam website aiimsexams.ac.in. Q. What is the minimum qualifying cutoff for INI CET 2025 result? Answer: To qualify INI CET 2025, general category candidates must score at least the 50th percentile, while reserved categories (SC/ST/OBC) need a minimum of 45th percentile. Q. How can I download the INI CET 2025 scorecard and result PDF? Answer: Candidates can download the INI CET 2025 result and scorecard by visiting aiimsexams.ac.in, clicking on the INI CET result link, and logging in with their application number, Exam Unique Code (EUC), and password. Q. Is there an upper age limit or attempt limit for INI CET 2025 exam? Answer: There is no upper age limit or restriction on the number of attempts for INI CET 2025. Q. What is the INI CET 2025 exam pattern and marking scheme? Answer: INI CET 2025 is a computer-based test with 200 multiple choice questions to be answered in 3 hours. Each correct answer awards +1 mark, and each wrong answer results in a negative marking of -1/3. The exam is conducted once a year in English. For more news and updates from the world of Education, keep reading Indiatimes education. UCO Bank SO result 2025 out: The much-awaited UCO Bank Security Officer (SO) Result 2025 has been officially released on May 24, 2025. Candidates who appeared for the UCO Bank SO exam can now check their qualifying status by downloading the result PDF from the official UCO Bank website. This announcement comes as an important update for aspirants eagerly waiting to know if they have qualified for the next stage of the recruitment process. UCO Bank SO Result 2025: Key Highlights Result Release Date: May 24, 2025 May 24, 2025 Post: Security Officer (JMGS-I) Security Officer (JMGS-I) Result Format: PDF list of shortlisted candidates PDF list of shortlisted candidates Next Stage: Document Verification and Interview Document Verification and Interview Official Website: www.ucobank.com How to Download UCO Bank SO Result 2025 PDF? Candidates can follow these steps to download and check their UCO Bank SO Result 2025: Visit the official UCO Bank website at www.ucobank.com. Navigate to the Careers or Recruitment section. Look for the link titled UCO Bank Security Officer Result 2025. Click on the PDF download link to open the result file. Search for your roll number or name in the PDF to verify your qualifying status. Download and take a printout for future reference. Whats Next After UCO Bank SO Result 2025? Candidates who have qualified in the written exam are now shortlisted for the next phase, which includes document verification and interview rounds. The interview call letters will be emailed to the shortlisted candidates. And the document verification schedule will be shared soon. It is mandatory for candidates to attend these stages to proceed further in the recruitment process. For more news and updates from the world of Education, keep reading Indiatimes education. OnePlus Pad 3 launch date announced: OnePlus enthusiasts, mark your calendars! The business is about to announce its next product, the OnePlus Pad 3. This highly anticipated product will likely greatly impact the tablet market. With its elegant look and excellent performance, the OnePlus Pad 3 is causing quite a stir among tech fans. This post will look at what to expect from the new smartphone, including important features, pricing, and more. Whether you're a student, professional, or tech enthusiast, we'll tell you everything you need about the OnePlus Pad 3. Read on to learn more. OnePlus Pad 3 global launch date Meet the all-new OnePlus Pad 3powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, featuring an upgraded Open Canvas for next-level multitasking, and now with seamless iOS syncing. All wrapped in a stunning Storm Blue finish. Launching 5 June 2025. Built for work, play, and everything in between. pic.twitter.com/mrghLWQ8ve OnePlus Europe (@OnePlus_Europe) May 19, 2025 OnePlus plans to release its latest tablet, the OnePlus Pad 3, on June 5, 2025. The business recently announced this via its official X account, indicating that the handset will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the most recent in their flagship line. Let's take a closer look at what OnePlus' next tablet offers. OnePlus Pad 3 expected specifications OnePlus also highlighted the Pad 3's unique capabilities, such as its ability to sync easily with iOS devices, which was not enabled by the brand's previous Android tablets. In addition, the tablet will contain an improved version of Open Canvas, a multitasking technology that allows users to run numerous applications simultaneously. Furthermore, the new OnePlus Pad 3 differs from the variant that debuted in China last year. Instead of releasing a whole new gadget, OnePlus looks to be renaming the OnePlus Pad 2 Pro for international markets. Based on existing information, the tablet is believed to include a 13.2-inch LCD with a refresh rate 144Hz and a peak brightness of 900 nits. The OnePlus Pad 3 comes pre-installed with Oxygen OS 15, which is based on Android 15. It may have a quad-speaker configuration for sound output and an optional keyboard accessory with a built-in trackpad. According to reports, the OnePlus Pad 3 could support up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. The smartphone reportedly includes a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facing camera for meetings and video calls. The Pad 3 is also expected to include a 12,140mAh battery and 67W wired fast charging capabilities. Also Read: OnePlus 13s launch date confirmed: Expected to unveil with Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 6,260 mAh battery, 3 colour options, and more OnePlus Pad 3 expected price Launching on 5th June globally | Credit: X While OnePlus has yet to release the price of the OnePlus Pad 3, the OnePlus Pad 2 Pro starts at CNY 3,199, or around Rs 38,000. This is consistent with the cost of the OnePlus Pad 2, which debuted in India last year with a starting price of Rs 39,999. However, the business has not clarified whether the forthcoming tablet will come to India. For the latest and more interesting tech news, keep reading Indiatimes Tech. Samsung Tri-Fold price leaked: The smartphone industry is on the verge of a revolution, and Samsung is leading the charge. Rumors have circulated about the tech behemoth's latest creation, a tri-foldable phone that is expected to take the market by storm. As enthusiasm grows, people eagerly await the release of this innovative product. In this article, we'll tell you the latest on Samsung's tri-foldable phone, including its planned release date, probable features, and implications for the future of smartphones. Whether you're a Samsung fan or simply curious about the latest tech trends, we've got all the information you need. Samsung Tri-Fold launch timeline Galaxy Tri-fold all set to launch in Q3 this year Samsung is only launching it in 2 markets : South Korea & China Limited quantities with a price between $3000 - 3500 Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) May 21, 2025 According to tipster Yogesh Brar, Samsung's tri-fold smartphone will be available in the third quarter of 2025. This contradicts a prior story, which stated that the larger foldable will arrive much later, after the Galaxy Z series is released this year. Galaxy G Fold. A recent leak has confirmed the foldable's screen size, which is smaller than the Huawei Mate XT tri-fold handset. The leaker reiterates previously disclosed information, stating that the Samsung tri-fold model would be released in restricted quantities and will only be available in South Korea and China. Samsung Tri-Fold expected specifications While normal book-style foldables have a huge display and a single hinge, Samsung is expected to follow in the footsteps of Huawei Mate XT Ultimate and release a smartphone with two hinges. We've previously seen patent leaks indicating similar arrangements, including one with two hinges and another with three hinges and four connected panels. Indeed, these foldables will open up into full-size tablets, as opposed to the current state of foldables, which provides a user with the width of two standard smartphone displays side by side. According to Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station, Samsung's rumored triple folding smartphone, which could be called the Galaxy G Fold, will have a screen size of approximately 9.9 inches when fully unfolded. This means it will have a smaller primary display than Huawei's Mate XT, which has a 10.2-inch internal foldable display. Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 expected to launch with Exynos 2500 chip? Here is what you need to know Samsung Tri-Fold's expected price Expected to launch in Q3 | Credit: X Yogesh Brar, a well-known tipster, estimates that the price will be between $3,000 and $3,500. With a straight currency conversion at today's rates (which Samsung will not use), the difference is 2,225-2,595 or AU$4,650-AU$5,425. For the latest and more interesting tech news, keep reading Indiatimes Tech. Donald Trump, the US president, is back again with a new tariff plan, and this time, he has warned all the smartphone companies that are made outside the US, including Apple's iPhone and Samsung devices. Trump has issued a warning that these companies could soon face a 25 per cent import tax if not manufactured in the United States. While speaking at the Oval Office, the Republican leader stated that the policy would not only target Apple but would also target Samsung and anybody that makes the product. He said, "Otherwise, it wouldnt be fair. When they build their plant here, there is no tariff." BREAKING: President Trump announces that a 25% tariff will apply to Apple, Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers if they do not produce their devices in the United States. pic.twitter.com/SEZ7fuUhVx DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) May 23, 2025 Donald Trump imposes tariffs on Apple iPhones According to a social media post on Friday, Trump said that he had already informed Apple CEO Tim Cook about his expectation. He went on to mention that he had long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that he expected their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the US itself, not India or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US, he added. Democrats are furious about Donald Trump calling out Tim Cook and imposing a 25% tariff on Apple iPhones - Apple CEO Tim Cook called Nancy Pelosi and stopped Congress from labeling them a monopoly -Right after Nancy Pelosi made a $6M dollar stock trade and pocketed $5.3 million pic.twitter.com/4ndj8Vk2bY Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) May 23, 2025 Why did Donald Trump target iPhone and Samsung? It is believed that Trump announced the tariff following a threat after a recent meeting between Trump and Cook. Moreover, as per a White House official, Trump was unhappy with Apple's plans to shift more iPhone production from China to India. Credit: X | @StockSavvyShay On the other hand, in a statement, Trump said, I had an understanding with Tim that he wouldnt be doing this." He said hes going to India to build plants. I said, "That's OK to go to India, but youre not going to sell into here without tariffs." However, Apple is not alone; Trump has targeted several major companies, including carmakers, drug manufacturers, and chip producers. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. If you thought The Conjuring: Last Rites was just another popcorn-sprinkled Hollywood horror movie, think again. This spine-chiller is rooted in one of the most infamous real-life hauntings that paranormal power couple Ed and Lorraine Warren ever investigated: the haunting of the Smurl family in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. Is The Conjuring: Last Rites based on a true story?| Credit: X Before the devil made her do it, the Smurl family did It all started innocently enough in 1976. Jack and Janet Smurl moved into a humble duplex with their daughters. Jacks parents lived in the other half. Cute setup, right? Wrong. Things went sideways a decade later in 1985 when a ceiling light fell and gashed their daughters forehead. From there, it was like Paranormal Activity meets The Exorcist, but in real life. Is The Conjuring: Last Rites based on a true story? | Credit: AP Photo Reality behind the story of the Smurl family The Smurls reported chilling screams, mysterious stinks, and even their German shepherd being hurled across the room like a chew toy. One of the most disturbing claims? Jack said a demonic entity had assaulted him. It was chaos, and the family was desperate. Enter the WarrensEd and Lorrainethe ghost-hunting legends who had just wrapped their work on the Amityville horror and were ready for round... whatever. The Warrens jumped in with holy water, crucifixes, and a suitcase full of exorcism gear. Ed told reporters at the time that the temperature dropped 30 degrees, a dark mass appeared, and furniture started going poltergeist-mode. Lorraine, ever the clairvoyant, sensed four entities: a gentle grandma ghost, a little girl with violent vibes, a sad dude who died in the house, and one demon using the rest as puppets. The Conjuring: Last Rites release date Hollywood may have added some spice, but the core story? Totally real. Jack and Janet eventually wrote a book in 1986 titled The Haunted: One Familys Nightmare. A TV movie followed. And now, with Last Rites hitting theatres on 5 September 2025, the Smurl saga is getting the full Conjuring Universe treatment. Jack passed away in 2017, but his daughter Carin still investigates the paranormal. According to her, their story was never about fame, it was about surviving the unexplainable and helping others do the same. After days of aggressive heat and weather conditions impacting most parts of India, there is a sigh of relief in Kerala as the monsoon is set to arrive in the state within the next 24 hours, according to the India Meteorological Department. The arrival of the monsoon is nearly a week ahead of its usual timing. Notably, in the last 16 years, this year's monsoon onset is set to be the earliest. Moreover, the state has developed all the favourable conditions for the onset of the monsoon, as it received heavy rainfall in various parts of it over the last two days. The weather office's Trivandrum unit shared a post on X (formerly called Twitter) on Friday, "Monsoon onset likely over Kerala in the next 2 days. Strong westerlies may bring very heavy to extremely heavy rain. Stay alert and follow advice from the authorities. Check the district-wise warnings." Monsoon onset likely over #Kerala in next 2 days. Strong westerlies may bring very heavy to extremely heavy rain. Stay alert and follow advice from the authorities. Check the district wise warnings. #Monsoon2025 #KeralaWeather #HeavyRain pic.twitter.com/OfGT5mPdD2 Meteorological Centre, Kerala weather, Trivandrum (@imd_trivandrum) May 23, 2025 Kerala to witness the earliest monsoon in the last 16 years The recent rainfall is believed to be the combination of a low-pressure area and the advancing monsoon system. This is the earliest monsoon Kerala is going to witness after the last 16 years. The last time this happened was in 2009 and 2001, when the monsoon reached the state on May 23. On May 24, 2025, a Depression has made landfall between Ratnagiri and Dapoli, anchoring itself over Maharashtra. The southwest monsoon has unleashed its magic in the last 24 hours, blessing regions like Nilgiris Avalanche and Upper Bhavani with significant rainfall. This is just pic.twitter.com/eAtt6JSYvb Emmanuel Paul (Dendrophile) (@PYWeatherman) May 24, 2025 According to a senior IMD official, who told Live Mint that the conditions are favourable and the monsoon is advancing as per the schedule. "If conditions remain conducive, then it is likely to hit the Kerala coast by 25 May, as predicted by us," he quoted Live Mint. The IMD also issued a red alert for the Thiruvananthapuram district on Friday evening after heavy rains disrupted normal life. The alert was issued for three hours of heavy rainfall along with surface winds reaching 50 kmph, as per PTI. Credit: X | IMD A look at the state-wise rainfall forecast here Heavy rainfall is likely over Kerala and coastal Karnataka through May 29, including the states of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Maharashtra: According to the weather report, a depression has formed over the east-central Arabian Sea near the south Konkan coast; hence, it is expected to shift eastwards and cross the coast between Ratnagiri and Dapoli this morning. Meanwhile, the IMD on Friday issued a red alert predicting heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of Maharashtra. Depression over Eastcentral Arabian Sea and adjoining south Konkan coast The Depression over Eastcentral Arabian Sea and adjoining south Konkan coast moved slowly eastward with a speed of 6 kmph during past 3 hours and lay centred at 0830 Hrs IST of today, the 24th May 2025 over pic.twitter.com/ZUFnO5AJWh India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 24, 2025 Delhi-NCR: Light rain is expected in parts of South Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) over the next two hours, as per IMD. On Friday, an orange alert was also issued for Delhi-NCR. Northern states: Among the northern states, such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, the IMD has forecasted fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph on May 24. While parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Rajasthan are also likely to receive light to moderate rain. A significant number of Greeks who sought work abroad have now returned, signaling a potential reversal of the country's "brain drain," according to Labor and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus. Speaking to MEGA Channel on Friday, Ms. Kerameus stated that approximately two in three Greeks who emigrated in the past decade have come back. Referring to Eurostat data , Ms. Kerameus noted that around 680,000 Greeks had left the country over the last ten years, while 420,000 have since returned. Ms. Kerameus also highlighted the ongoing Career Days organized by the Public Employment Service (DYPA) at the Peristeri Exhibition Centre on May 23 and 24. She stressed the initiatives impact, stating that more than 9,000 people have secured employment through similar events in the past. Turning to the issue of wages, the minister pointed out that Greeces minimum wage has increased by 35%. She emphasized that while many foreign countries are perceived as offering higher salaries, the cost of living in those places often offsets the benefit. Ms. Kerameus cited Athens as having a notably lower cost of living than London and pointed to the governments tax incentives for returnees, noting that these factors help balanceor even improveindividuals financial situations upon returning. Ms. Kerameus also drew attention to a recent sectoral labor agreement in the tourism industry, under which the minimum salary for the lowest category of workers has been set at 950 euros higher than the national legal minimum wage. She further noted that unemployment has dropped to 9% and announced the launch of a new platform, Job Match, aimed at connecting job seekers with positions in the tourism sector. Finally, the minister shared updates on early childhood care initiatives, announcing the opening of applications for free nursery school enrollments for the 20252026 academic year, while also announcing the inauguration of a new model nursery in the municipality of Chaidari (Haidari), serving as the standard for future facilities. iefimerida.gr Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has firmly stated that he will continue his political journey within the Labour Party as the 2027 elections approach. This declaration comes amid speculations surrounding his potential shift to a new political platform following ongoing internal party disputes. Speaking to news men on Saturday, Obi addressed questions about his future political direction. I will still continue to run in the Labour Party. Im a member of the Labour Party, he affirmed. Advertisement Obi also criticized the Nigerian government for fueling instability across political parties, alleging deliberate interference to weaken opposition structures. What is happening in the Labour Party and the PDP is caused by the government, quote me anywhere, he said. READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/corrupt-governors-will-face-justice-despite-party-switch-agf-fagbemi.html Drawing on past experiences, the former Anambra State governor recalled how former President Umaru Musa YarAdua addressed internal party conflicts. We had a problem in our party before, in the past. YarAdua was the President. I went to him then; he called the INEC chairman (Prof. Maurice Iwu) and told him I dont want any problem in any party. We were forced to fix it, Obi said. He further explained that todays issues are deliberate problems caused by the system, and promised to reform the political structure if given another opportunity. These are some of the things I want to clean up if I have the opportunity. Parties will function very well because you cant have a system working without a strong opposition, he added. Mr. Lamido, one of the foundational members of People Democratic Party, said that he was shocked when he got word that his colleagues had joined the opposition ahead of the 2015 elections. He added that he did not hesitate to distance himself from their decision. Lamido said: I once had cause to explain to some members of the public after the APC was formed, that it was created out of anger, malice and hatred. READ MORE: Hardship: Lamido And I Wouldve Challenged Tinubus Govt If Were Govs Amaechi It was not and has never been a serious political party; its proponents were only parochial scavengers, who see politics as a huge enterprise. In 1999, we had the PDP, AD and APP as the three major national parties and the AD and APP jointly fielded Olu Falae against PDPs candidate, Obasanjo, who won the election. The AD/APP alliance later dissolved into the ANPP, but they lost the elections; it was these losers that later came together to establish the APC. What the APC did was to turn history upside down and promote a so-called Mr. Integrity and hoodwinked Nigerians with false tags. Former National vice chairman (Northwest) of All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, has expressed concern that ruling party is gradually moving away from its founding ideals of progressivism toward monarchy system. Speaking on Channels Television program on Friday, Mr. Lukman lamented that internal contests had been abandoned in favour of automatic adoptions. He also expressed disappointment in the partys current direction, claiming it had drifted from its founding ideals. Advertisement Mr. Lukman said: The APC has moved from a party envisioned to be progressive to almost a monarchy. As it is now, the APC mantra is that there will be no internal contest in 2027, the President is adopted. All their governors are adopted. Legislators are also adopted. Speaking further, the former APCs chieftain said that discussions had been ongoing for over a year to establish a viable platform capable of challenging the current political status quo. He said, There is nothing stopping the coalition from coming to fruition. Even when the governors claimed, for instance, they were not part of the coalition, we responded clearly. Some of them, as you have seen, either have already moved to the APC or are on their way to move to the APC. READ MORE: More Defections To APC Coming Ahead Of 2027 Tinubu So, clearly, they are doing the bidding of the APC and the Asiwaju government. So, we are not bothered about that. We have the PDP bloc in the coalition and nothing is stopping the coalition. We are going through a painstaking process and very soon, we are going to come out and clarify all the details, in terms of how we are going to contest the 2027 elections and the leaders of the coalition; all those will be known. Former Nollywood actress Grace-Charis Bassey, previously known as Belinda Effah, has revealed that she left the film industry to begin a new chapter as a sailor in the United States Navy. Speaking with Saturday Beats, Grace Bassey disclosed that she faced an identity crisis and no longer felt satisfied with her career in acting. Before joining the Navy, I had become passive in acting. I felt stuck and wasnt adding much value to the movie industry anymore. It all started feeling too routine; just another job for the pay, she said. I wasnt feeling the impact my movies were supposed to make, and I am driven by the impact I make. I didnt want to be just another actress putting out films no one watched. Advertisement READ MORE: I Left Home For Greener Pastures, Ended Up In Brothel In Mali Jumoke Georges Daughter Spills Grace Bassey revealed that she initially entered Nollywood because of her love for acting, but over time, the emphasis on wealth and popularity made her feel disconnected and unsatisfied. I started losing myself in the characters I was playing. I didnt know who I was anymore, she said. Without acting, I had no identity. I had to go back to the basics and rediscover who I really am. She shared that she had quietly withdrawn from the public eye for more than a year to rediscover and reconnect with herself. Grace Bassey further stated that her choice to join the Navy was intentional and carefully considered. I come from a Navy family. I went to Nigerian Navy School in Port Harcourt, and my dad retired as a Navy commander. So, this life resonated with me. Joining the Navy felt like a way to honour my father, she said. Although changing careers at 40 came with its difficulties, Grace Bassey expressed pride in the new direction she has taken. It was a bit of a challenge because I had just turned 40. But here I am, living the dream of being a sailor, she said. Life over here is a different ball game entirely, and the opportunity really challenged me. Adeola Omotoso, daughter of renowned actress Jumoke George, has shared her experience of the challenges she faced in Mali. In a recent interview with actress Biola Bayo, George disclosed that her daughter Adeola, 41, had been missing for four years. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), confirmed Monday that Adeola had been located and safely returned to Nigeria. Advertisement Dabiri revealed that the actress daughter was trafficked to Mali under the pretense of pursuing better opportunities. Recounting her ordeal in an interview with Biola on Friday, Adeola said her troubles began when she met someone who promised to help her travel to Mali for a job opportunity. READ MORE: I Didnt Inject Mohbad Wunmis Sister Speaks Out Amid Death Threats She explained that upon reaching the countrys capital, she was told she had been bought and was required to work as a prostitute to repay a debt of 1.5 million CFA francs. I met someone who introduced traveling to Mali to me. She said she knows someone who owns a pharmacy and asked if I could travel there to handle the business, she said. I agreed but didnt inform anyone at home. We travelled by road for four days through Cotonou, Togo, Ghana, and other countries. When I got to Bamako in Mali, I called the contact I was given. When I got to the persons house, she said she is my madam and that she bought me from my sister. She said Ill work to pay her 1.5 million CFA francs. I was very confused and tried to confirm if I was at the right address. She said I was there for prostitution. I told her I cant do it and would rather die. She threatened me and I told shes free to do whatever she wants. Adeola said that after refusing to comply, her phone and travel documents were confiscated, leaving her stranded. She shared that she was later taken to a brothel but managed to escape after encountering a compassionate man who helped her find work with a food vendor. We later went to where we would stay. When we got there I knew I wouldnt be able to survive. I told her I cant work as a prostitute but I can do other jobs to pay her. She took my phone and travel documents, she added. But I met a man there and explained my ordeal to him. He helped me in finding a job with a food seller in another location. While working as a food seller there I heard stories and saw Nigerians who died because of prostitution. I wanted to raise some money so I could come back home and I didnt want to return home empty. I thought about calling my mum and kids but I couldnt call because I felt ashamed of myself. I left home since four years and have nothing to show for it. I was suffering but didnt know what to do. I even told my roommate to not post me on social media if I die. I dont know how good my mum is before God that made him save me from all the evil that was about to befall me in Mali. Watch her speak below Operatives of Kaduna State Police Command have arrested a woman, identified as Zaliha Shuaibu for allegedly killing her co-wifes three-month-old baby boy. It was gathered that the unfortunate incident happened on May 13, 2025, at Malari Village, Soba Local Government Area of the state. In a statement by commands Spokesman, Mansir Hassan on Friday, disclosed that Maryam Ibrahim, the co-wife of Shuaibu, had left her son alone in her room while she went to the bathroom. Advertisement Upon returning, she found the baby with the suspect. When Shuaibu handed the child back to Ibrahim, the infant was found in an unusual state, with foam in his mouth and an injury on his neck, which eventually led to his death. The statement reads: According to preliminary investigations, the second wife, Maryam Ibrahim, had briefly stepped out to use the restroom, leaving her infant son in her room. READ MORE: Kaduna Police Rescue 17 Kidnap Victims Upon her return, she found her co-wife, Zaliha holding the baby. Zaliha handed the child back to Maryam, who immediately noticed foam coming out of the babys mouth and an injury on his neck. The child was crying, he was immediately rushed to the Village hospital , where he was unfortunately confirmed dead. Following the incident, the DPO Soba swung into action and apprehended Zaliha Shuaibu, the accused person. During interrogation, she confessed to the crime and revealed that she conspired with one Lawal Muhammad, the husbands junior brother, who is currently at large, that he provided her with the acid used to commit the act. The Lagos State Environmental Taskforce conducted a midnight operation on Friday across multiple locations on Lagos Island, resulting in the arrest of 62 individuals, including 59 men and 3 women. The Lagos State Government described the operation as part of a renewed effort to remove criminal elements and reclaim public spaces within the city. The enforcement, which began sharply at 1:30 a.m., targeted key areas experiencing a rise in the presence of undesirable elements, such as Victoria Island, Falomo, the Eko Hotel axis, Osborne, and surrounding streets. Advertisement READ MORE: Flood Sweeps Away Motorcyclist In Lagos, Body Found In Ogun River Announcing the operation on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, described the action as a vital step in restoring order. He stated, In continuation of the agencys clean-up enforcement operation to rid the State of criminal elements, operatives of the Environmental Taskforce team set out at about 0130hrs on Friday, 23rd May 2025 and embarked on its ongoing clean-up enforcement operation on the Island. Wahab added that the crackdown covered several hotspot locations where disruptive activities had been observed. The areas visited during the operation include Victoria Island, Falomo, Eko Hotel, Osborne and other adjoining streets where the presence of some undesirable elements was noticed. He confirmed that 62 suspects were detained during the operation, restoring order to the affected areas. During the raid exercise, a total number of 62 suspects were arrested which comprises 59 males and 3 females. Sanity was restored in all the areas. Wahab assured that all those apprehended would be prosecuted. All the suspects will be charged to court accordingly, he concluded. Segun Sowunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called on the party to initiate moves to bring back former Anambra governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, into its ranks. Speaking in an interview on Friday, Sowunmi emphasized that Obi remains a vital force in Nigerias political landscape and could be key to PDPs revival ahead of the 2027 general elections. Obi, who was the PDP vice-presidential candidate in 2019, left the party in May 2022 after citing widespread bribery and vote-buying during its presidential primary, as well as the emergence of a powerful internal clique working against him. Advertisement Sowunmi argued that PDP members must acknowledge the growing influence of Obi and begin talks to reintegrate him. READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/tinubu-administration-has-substantially-curbed-insecurity-nsa-ribadu.html Any deep-thinking, fair-minded Nigerian man who is in the political party called the PDP ought to know that the greatest, necessary next step is to have the conversation about: How do you bring Peter back now that the energy driving him is organic, he said. The PDP has been embroiled in internal crises following its defeat in the 2023 election. After Atiku Abubakars loss to President Bola Tinubu, the party has faced leadership tussles, including the legal battle over the National Secretary position and divisions over Ambassador Umar Damagums interim chairmanship. Sowunmi criticized the partys failure to resolve these issues, warning that underestimating Tinubu is a mistake. He will look frail, but his brain is that of a giant, so most times people underestimate him to their own peril, he stated. The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested several individuals connected to a series of vandalism and theft involving electrical infrastructure in Bodinga Local Government Area. According to a statement released on Friday by the Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Rufai, the arrests followed a complaint lodged on May 14, 2025, by Aminu Haliru, an official from the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company. The statement detailed, The complaint detailed the theft of armoured electric transformer cables from six separate locations, including Tashan Gari, Tashan Gawo Kauran Mijo, Bodinya 3 Marina, Fatima Yahaya Hospital, Tulluwa, and the General Hospital Bodinga. Advertisement READ MORE: Flood Sweeps Away Motorcyclist In Lagos, Body Found In Ogun River Acting swiftly, police operatives arrested Nuhu Yusuf of Sifawa, who confessed to the crime and admitted to selling the stolen cables through an accomplice, Bello Alhaji Abubakar, popularly known as ZAZU. Further investigations led to the identification of another suspect, Alhaji Danmaitasha, who was allegedly involved in purchasing the stolen items. Police recovered significant quantities of the stolen armoured cable during the operation. In a related event on the same day, vigilantes from Tukatuku village apprehended Mukthar Usman of Binjin Musa village, Yabo LGA, found with two bags of aluminum conductor wires suspected to be stolen. The statement also confirmed that all suspects are currently in police custody and will be charged to court upon completion of investigations. The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Musa, praised the swift action by law enforcement and the support from local communities. He urged for continued vigilance and cooperation in combating crime across the state. Musa also called on the public to report any suspicious activities promptly to the nearest police station. Two passengers were hospitalised after a Diamond training aircraft from the Aviation Training School in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, crash-landed on Friday around 4 p.m. The crash happened during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport. This type of flight requires the pilot to rely solely on the aircrafts instruments for navigation and control. According to PUNCH, although no fatalities occurred, both occupants sustained serious injuries and were promptly evacuated to a medical facility. Their current condition remains unknown. Advertisement READ MORE: Speeding Jeep Rams Into Lagos Minibus, Injures Driver, Knocks Passenger Unconscious The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), through a statement by its Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, confirmed that an investigation into the cause has commenced. According to the report, the aircraft veered off the runway and came to rest on the grassy verge. The NSIB said the evacuation was coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, and that its Go-Team is preparing to travel from Abuja to Ilorin for on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident, the statement added. In a statement, NSIB Director General Captain Alex Badeh said, Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked. The Bureau urged the public and media to refrain from speculation and to await official updates, stressing that the NSIB remains committed to ensuring a thorough, independent, and professional investigation that supports ongoing efforts to enhance aviation safety in Nigeria. Olajide assured that further updates would be provided as the investigation progresses. Qidere Johnson, a.k.a. "LGP Qua," was shot and killed May 11 in what police say was a robbery. Two 19-year-olds have been arrested and charged with murder, robbery and related offenses. Read more Two 19-year-olds have been arrested and charged with shooting and killing Qidere Johnson, a Philadelphia rapper known as LGP Qua, whose death earlier this month drew shock and outrage in the community. Joshua Thomas-Coleman and Abdul Boyd have been charged with murder, robbery, conspiracy, and related crimes after police said they attempted to rob Johnson of his chains, then shot him multiple times on May 11. Advertisement Police on Saturday also identified a third suspect in the killing as Amir Earley of the 4600 block of Mulberry Street in the citys Frankford section. Earley remained at large, and police described him as armed and dangerous. Boyd was taken into custody earlier this week, while Thomas-Coleman was charged a few days after the killing, court records show. It was not immediately clear how police linked them to the crime. Johnson, 30, was seated in a car with a friend on the 3900 block of M Street around 4:30 p.m. when police said two men ran up with guns and attempted to rob them. One of the men tried to take the gold chains Johnson was wearing around his neck and, during a brief struggle, shot him in the chest, police said. Johnson was rushed to Temple University Hospital but died shortly after arrival. In the days after the killing, police released photos and videos of two men they said were involved and recovered the car they fled in. Thomas-Coleman and Boyd appear to have been taken into custody shortly afterward. Johnsons death shook many people in the community, including city leaders, who had followed his personal and professional journey rapping about the challenges of many of the citys youth. He had a substantial following, having released songs with well-known artists like French Montana and will.i.am. He called himself the voice of the youth, and spoke often of the struggle and strength of children and families in some of the citys poorest, most under-resourced neighborhoods. As many young rappers tried to build music careers writing songs about killing people and mocking their deaths, Johnson stayed true to himself and spoke truth to power, community members said, acting as a model for how young people could still make a name for themselves through songs advocating against violence. When everyone wanted to talk about killing everybody, he wanted to talk about the effects, community activist Ameer Barber said after his death. What the youth is going through in Philadelphia, he was painting that picture the pain they felt, of not having a father around, the drugs out here in the street, the school system. He exemplified what a lot of the kids in Philly really feel and he displayed it through music. READ MORE: LGP Qua rapped against the gun violence that claimed his life, and now we mourn again In the days after his death, city leaders and community members paid tribute to his life. City Council President Kenyatta Johnson introduced a resolution to honor his music and advocacy, and Council members stood for a moment of silence in his memory. Johnsons mother, Tamara Davis, stood grief-stricken before them and spoke briefly of her son her only child who was taken from her on Mothers Day. I just want to say, she said, I love my son. Nearly 1,500 workers at JBS Beef in Souderton, Montgomery County, will get better wages and benefits through a new contract. Read more Thousands of meatpacking-industry workers across the country, including nearly 1,500 at a plant in Montgomery County, are getting better wages and benefits through what their union calls a new standard for employment contracts. The new contract between JBS, one of the worlds largest meat producers, and its unionized employees was ratified in a series of recent votes. Their new benefits include paid sick leave and the establishment of a pension fund. Advertisement Todays contract ratification means better wages, safer working conditions, and a more stable future for workers in this industry, said Mark Lauritsen, international vice president of United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents the JBS employees. A new standard has just been set in meatpacking, Lauritsen said. Some 26,000 workers at JBS are covered by the new contract. It includes workers in 11 states, who are members of 10 different union locals. Some locals were at different points in their union contracts with the company as they were bargaining one collective agreement with JBS. The effort was underway for a long, long time, said Wendell Young, the president of UFCW Local 1776, based in the Philadelphia region. Souderton workers ratified the new contract roughly a month and a half ago, Young said. They unionized over a decade ago. This is a big deal, he said Friday. JBS is among the top 25 employers in Montgomery County. We are confident that the significant wage increases over the life of the contracts and the opportunity of a secure retirement through our pension plan will create a better future for the men and women who work with us at JBS, a company spokesperson told industry outlet Meatingplace in an article that JBS posted on its own website. JBS was approved to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April. Some conservationists are concerned that the move could allow the company which has been linked to deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest to expand its footprint, the Guardian reported. Increased wages, paid sick days, and more The majority of JBSs Souderton workers are in the fabrication department, which handles processing of animal parts that move along a conveyor belt, Young said. To do this work, employees wear chain mail and handle sharp knives, he noted. These plants are very challenging, and, you know, potentially dangerous places to work, Young said. According to UFCW, the average weighted compensation for workers across the distinct facilities will be between $23 and $24 under the new contract. In Souderton, the contract applies retroactively to August 2024 and will end in August 2026. Workers will see a base increase of 60 cents an hour applied to the retroactive pay and then starting this August a 30-cent increase, Young said. They will also get a lump-sum bonus of $750. The contract also establishes a pension plan a first in the U.S. meatpacking industry since 1986, according to UFCW. Souderton workers will also be able to accrue sick days under the new contract. One thing we learned with the pandemic, we dont want people coming to work where they work in close proximity when theyre not well, Young said. During the pandemic, a worker at the Souderton plant died after contracting COVID-19. Those who have been employed at the company for 10 years will get four weeks of vacation time. Previously it took 15 years with the company to get that much time off. Workers with the company for 25 years or more will also see additional vacation time. Bereavement leave will also expand to allow employees to take time off for grieving additional categories of family members. A committee is being created to discuss new technologies before they are implemented in the workplace. Safety committees will also be implemented in each plant. Ratifying the new contract has meant collaborating across locals, Young said, which isnt easy because of the different contract timelines and bargaining priorities at different plants. But the collaboration comes with its advantages. Were stronger together, Young said. When you can get this many locals representing tens of thousands of people around the country together for a set of core goals and moving in the same direction at the same time, its a little hard to just say no. A Washington Township councilman has been accused of sending unsigned harassing letters to two school board members using the board presidents return address, authorities said Friday. Board members Patricia Blome and Connie Baker and board president Julie Kozempel filed civilian criminal complaints against council member Richard Bennett alleging harassment, impersonation, falsification, and hindering apprehension. Advertisement A spokesperson for the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office in New Jersey confirmed that the charges had been filed and would be reviewed. Each woman lodged four counts against Bennett. The allegations come amid turmoil for the Washington Township School District, with the school board divided over controversy surrounding the budget for next school year and the suspension of Superintendent Eric Hibbs. Using the transaction details on the letters, police traced the letters to a post office in the Sewell section of Washington Township. Surveillance video showed a male, later identified as Bennett, allegedly mailing the letters and paying for the postage, according to the police report. Bennett did not respond to requests for comment Friday. In a statement, council president Peter Del Borrello III said he was shocked and saddened by the allegations. Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik said his department completed a criminal investigation into the matter. It advised anyone who wanted to pursue charges to sign complaints directly at the municipal court, he said. Blome and Baker said they received the letters May 14 and turned them over to police. They said they were suspicious because the letters, dated May 12, had Kozempels return address. The women are close allies on the board amid recent infighting. Both letters, obtained by The Inquirer, use similar insults, calling the recipients evil, stupid, and dishonest, and accusing them of playing games with superintendent job. The letters also call for Blome and Baker to step down from the board. You are a disgrace! was handwritten at the bottom, followed by a typed message that God is watching your action!!!" The letters were unsigned. I couldnt believe it. I never expected to be a target of anything like that, said Blome, a retired kindergarten teacher. Baker said the board has been divided by infighting and tension recently, but this was different and made her feel very uncomfortable. As a public official you have to take a lot, she said. This rises to a different level. It crossed the line. A single mother of three, Kozempel said she was concerned for her familys safety when she learned the anonymous letters contained her address. Its just a scary feeling, Kozempel said. Kozempel said she asked Del Borrello in January to remove Bennett as councils liaison to the school board, and he accepted her request Friday. Del Borrello said Bennett has been going through things in his personal life. Del Borrello said he would issue an official statement after discussing the matter with Mayor Anthony DellaPia and other council members. Kozempel said the three women also plan to pursue federal charges against Bennett. She also called for Bennett to resign from council. Tyler State Park was closed Saturday as emergency crews continued to search for a missing ranger whose kayak capsized in the Bucks County park on Friday. Read more The search will continue Sunday for the park ranger who went missing after a boating accident at Tyler State Park in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania State Police said. The 38-year-old Delaware County man was kayaking on the Neshaminy Creek just before 12:30 p.m. Friday when his boat capsized, officials have said. Authorities have not released his name. Over the last day, agencies from across Bucks County have converged on the area to search for him. Advertisement The 1,700-acre park, popular for hiking, boating, and fishing, remained closed to the public until further notice, authorities said Saturday evening. On Friday afternoon, footage from 6abcs helicopter showed crews searching a section of the creek near a dam. A buoy, suspended just above the surface on a rope, and a blue life jacket bobbed in fast-moving water at the dams edge. The missing man, a park resource ranger tasked with technical public safety work, had been trying to place a buoy in the water when his kayak flipped, according to 6abc. The tragedy serves as a jarring reminder of just how powerful water can be, said Lee Stocker, 47, of Langhorne. Stocker, a certified diver who has done search and rescue work across the region, said he has spent hundreds of hours fishing and swimming in the same section of Neshaminy Creek. As a teenager in the 1990s, Stocker said, he was fishing there when a young boy tried to walk out on the flooded dam and was pulled under, getting stuck in the undertow near a boat dock. Stocker jumped in. For a time, both of them were stuck, but Stocker said he used his knowledge of the creek to get them to safety. Perhaps making the water there even more perilous on Friday: a recent stretch of wet weather that has brought the citys rainfall total for the month to roughly 4.5 inches, about double the May average. When the water is very high, that place is very dangerous, Stocker said, and a lot of people dont realize how dangerous it can be. Melissa George, 38, of Fairless Hills, learned the hard way. On a hot summer day in July 2014, her then-7-year-old son, Orlando, slipped on algae-covered rocks in shallow water and was swept away, his little body heading toward the dam, she recalled. He was saved by a stranger, a man who had been in the water nearby with other children. Its so deceiving. When you look at it and you think, Oh, its just a little creek, George said. But when Orlando fell, it was like all of a sudden somebody pulled his legs out from under him. Most of that stretch of Neshaminy Creek is shallow, Stocker said, but there are holes that are probably 10 to 15 feet deep. There are also large boulders, he said, on which people could hit their head and be knocked unconscious. Its not just what you see. Its what you cant see, too, Stocker said. The current can be strong enough to pin you where you cant physically move. Given how shallow most of the creek is, however, he was surprised the man had yet to be found. It was unclear whether the worker was wearing a life jacket. If you have a life jacket, you should pop up, Stocker said. Sounds like just a terrible accident. As summer unofficially begins, hopefully other people can learn from this. Water can be fun, but its no joke, Stocker said. It doesnt matter your age or your experience level. The search has been conduced by first responders from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; the aviation and marine units of the state police; the Northampton Township Fire Department, Newtown Emergency Services Department, New Hope Fire Department, Lingohocken Fire Company, and Upper Makefield Fire Company; and the Bucks County Special Operations Dive Team. Several state and national officials from Bucks County have said on social media that they were heartbroken to hear about the incident. These rangers are more than caretakers of our natural spaces theyre protectors, often putting themselves at risk to serve others," wrote U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), a Levittown native who represents all of Bucks County. My prayers are with the ranger, their loved ones, and the entire DCNR family, referring to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which maintains state parks. Please keep all those affected in your thoughts. Inquirer staff writer Thomas Fitzgerald contributed to this article. Described as disaster chasers, these individuals often seek immediate payment for services without providing credentials or confirming insurer authorisation. If work is performed, insurers have noted it is frequently below standard, raising concerns about coverage eligibility for future claims. But as you can imagine, it's costly and it's very time consuming to try and get around to all the councils and establish what the latest status of the flood maps are, said Stafford. It's really up to the local councils as to when they would update the flood studies and they'd have to conduct a hydrological survey to do that, he said. Additionally, buildings built before the 1990s should be evaluated for asbestos. If found, an asbestos register and management plan are necessary for insurance purposes. It is quite astonishing to realise that a painting few people wanted to buy a little over a century ago is now worth a quarter of a billion dollars. Paul Cezannes The Card Players became the most expensive piece of art in the world in 2011 when it was bought by the Qatar royal family for $250m. It has since been overtaken by two other masterpieces, Willem de Koonings Interchange for $300m in 2015 and Leonardo da Vincis Salvator Mundi for $450m in 2017. But that hardly diminishes the magnitude of what The Card Players achieved a painting from 1890-92 of two of Cezannes humble estate workers playing at a table in a dark room. Cezanne, along with other contemporary impressionist and post-impressionist artists like Vincent Van Gogh, was not appreciated in his time. But unlike the Dutch genius, Cezanne did not die in poverty. His father, Louis-Auguste, was a successful banker who gave his son an allowance enabling him to follow his dream of becoming a painter. And he and his two sisters, Marie and Rose, inherited the family estate, Jas de Bouffan. But despite producing countless paintings of the surrounding countryside, he was never accepted in his hometown of Aix-en-Provence which refused to exhibit his work. Now a further ignominy has been discovered. Jas de Bouffan, where he lived for 40 years, is currently being restored for its first ever public opening which will coincide with a landmark exhibition of his work, Cezanne at Jas de Bouffan, from June 28 to October 12. Cezanne Paul (1839-1906). Etats-Unis, Chicago (IL), The Art Institute of Chicago. 1942.457. During the renovation, workers discovered an unknown painting on an inside wall of the house under a layer of white paint. Someone who owned the beautiful period home after Cezannes time was so unimpressed by the fresco they simply painted over it. Initial signs suggest it is a scene of boats on a river and it is now being restored. The grand salon of the house was once covered in Cezannes frescos. But when the artist started to become recognised years after his death the paintings on plaster were cut from the walls, put in frames and sold around the world. We are on a tour of the estate and work is still busily going on for the grand opening. Piles of calade, large pebbles native to Provence, are ready for cobblestone-style groundwork, ditches are dug for power cables, and a large reservoir, which looks like a swimming pool, is to be cleaned. A beautiful alley of trees is much like it appeared in Cezannes The Allee of Chestmut Trees at the Jas de Bouffan. The estate, once in the countryside, is now surrounded by urban development. Mont Sainte-Victoire, Cezannes beloved mountain which he painted no fewer than 77 times, and which was once clearly visible from the property, is now hidden from view. We are lucky to be the first recent visitors to the estate it used to be by appointment only which was taken over by the local authority in 1994. From this summer, admirers of the artist will be able to walk in his footsteps and stand where he painted many of his works in an upstairs studio his father built for him, lit by a large skylight. It was here, surrounded by 15 hectares of vineyards and orchards, that he produced his still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, many of which will feature in the exhibition in the local Musee Granet. The Card Players was one of a series of five painted here in the 1890s. During the renovation of Jas de Bouffan, workers discovered an unknown painting on an inside wall of the house under a layer of white paint. Someone who owned the beautiful period home after Cezannes time was so unimpressed by the fresco they simply painted over it. Initial signs suggest it is a scene of boats on a river and it is now being restored. The ground floor and an upstairs room are being prepared for the opening but others will not be finished until next year. Visitors will also be able to visit the studio he built, the Atelier des Lauves, after being forced to sell Jas de Bouffan in 1899 to give his sisters their share of their fathers inheritance. The artist produced his final paintings here from 1902 to his death in 1906, working daily in a room flooded with light. The studio on Lauves Hill overlooking Aix is being restored and will contain many of his possessions, a permanent legacy of Cezanne 2025. Cezanne adored the light of Provence and once said: When youre born there, its hopeless, nothing else is good enough. We experience that light ourselves when we tour the abandoned Bibemus quarries where the painter did countless landscapes with the giant sandstone rocks and Mont Sainte-Victoire in the background. A new public trail will be opened leading to the quarries to the east of the city. Replicas of his work are embedded in places he loved, particularly on the Terrain des Peintres, a terrace near his studio where there are nine copies on enamalled plates. You can follow his development through the decades, from his early impressionist paintings to the cubism and abstraction of his latter days, a development that inspired Picasso to call him the father of us all. Visitors will also be able to visit the studio he built, the Atelier des Lauves, after being forced to sell Jas de Bouffan in 1899 to give his sisters their share of their fathers inheritance. Art and Provence are eternally linked and visitors seeking more cultural enlightenment should make their way to the amazing Chateau La Coste, owned by Irish hotelier and developer Paddy McKillen. Its a working biodynamic vineyard featuring huge art installations by the likes of Damien Hirst and Irish artist Sean Scully, and by famed architects like Tadao Ando from Japan and Brazils Oscar Niemeyer. Bonos pal, Guggi, features with a giant bronze chalice along with works by Tracey Emin, Yoko Ono, REMs Michael Stipe and many more. We walk through long rows of grapes to reach Bob Dylans Rail Car, a real American box car set on rail tracks. Once used to transport paper rolls by an Oregon lumber company, its cover has been replaced by a maze of sculptured iron. Dylan said the sight and sound of freight trains was part of his childhood. A short time later we bump into Paddy McKillens sister Maire, who tells us it was she who originally found the vineyard for her brother in 2002. The Belfast-born chef had settled in Aix because of the quality and range of its foods and herbs and Paddy fell in love with the area while visiting. He asked her to find him a farm. Writer Jim Gallagher with a statue of Paul Cezanna. I knew he was serious because hes a real visionary, says Maire, who retains her soft Belfast accent after decades in France. Once I found it, he said, this place is too beautiful to keep for ourselves. He loves art and the artistic process and he began to invite people down, people he knew or people whose work he liked like architect Richard Rogers. They came because of their love of Provence and Provence is why we are still here. Rogers went on to design a spectacular 120m long gallery on a hillside overlooking the chateau and surrounding landscape. Beginning with just a cafe, the estate now has a five-star hotel, a four-star hotel, six restaurants, and the vineyard produces up to 900,000 bottles of wine a year, mostly rose. The final stop on our Cezanne-inspired art tour is the Gallifet Art Centre in Aix, which specialises in the work of young up-and-coming artists. Nicolas Mazet opened the gallery in his 19th- century home in 2010 and says they show the work of young artists inspired by Cezannes never-give-up attitude. Cezanne 2025 is a fitting tribute to a painter whose work was forward-looking yet rooted in tradition. The reopening of his house and studio simply give us two more excuses to visit the fabled region and explore the enduring beauty of luminous Aix-en-Provence. Jim was a guest of Aix-en-Provence tourism. Provencal landscape, France, showing Mont Ste Victoire, from the same spot in Aix-en-Provence where Cezanne painted the same landscape as it was in the 19th century. ESCAPE NOTES For more information on the Cezanne celebrations see cezanne2025.com For more information on visiting Aix and Provence see aixenprovencetourism.com and myprovence.fr Where to stay If youre staying in Aix, a comfortable base is the four-star Hotel Aquabella which has a large outdoor pool, a smaller inside pool and spa with sauna and steam rooms. Its LOrangerie restaurant serves up a lovely prawn linguine which ticks all my boxes. Where to eat In the city centre, a good place to eat and watch the world go by is the lively terrace of Le Mirabeau, which has very friendly staff. For dinner, the rooftop terrace of La Fromagerie du Passage specialises in cheese dishes. If you want to spoil yourself, try lunch in the beautiful LAtelier des Lodges, which has a terrace with a spectacular view of Mont Sainte-Victoire. Or try the luxurious Villa Gallici, a five-star Relais & Chateaux hotel based in an 18th-century mansion which won a recent Cezanne menu competition to reinterpret Provencal cuisine. La Taula, its gourmet restaurant, is a haven of style and tranquility overlooking one of the hotels pools. Artistic inspiration The sculpture park and organic winery at Chateau La Coste is open seven days a week from 10am 7pm. The walking trail through the 600-acre park is 15. Six restaurants have various opening times. Gallifet Art centre is currently open from noon to 6pm, Wednesday to Saturday, price 6. From June 1, it is open every day except Monday during the summer months. There is also a restaurant, shop and apartment to rent. There are no official figure yet but primary school principals believe anxiety around attending school, school reluctance, and school refusal is on the rise in children post-pandemic. What we are seeing is tears, stresses, belly aches, headaches, things like that, from all ages, one principal who spoke to the Irish Examiner said. It has prompted their school to introduce a nurture element in the morning, an extra check-in on students to see who may need a little TLC that day. Absenteeism is a huge indicator that we would look at too - why are they not coming? As the Department of Education launched a new policy to tackle concerning levels of school attendance this week, the Annual Attendance Report (AAR) for 2022/23 was published. It shows that as the world returned to normality after the covid-19 pandemic, more than 175,000 students missed out on at least a month of school. Most of these students are in primary school, where 6.8 million school days overall were lost to absences. In post-primary schools, more than 5.5 million days were lost. Principals are required to report extended absences to Tusla so when a child misses at least 20 school days, a record of this is kept. This can be further categorised into illness, urgent matters, other reasons, and holidays. In line with much of society, the days lost to illness has increased post-pandemic. But while parents have little control over if their child gets ill, they do have control over where and when they will take a family holiday. Most of these students are in primary school, where 6.8 million school days overall were lost to absences. In post-primary schools, more than 5.5 million days were lost Family holidays The number of school days primary school children lost in extended absences due to their parents taking them out of class during term to go on holidays stands at almost 360,000, almost three times higher than prior to the pandemic when it stood at 132,768. It has almost increased tenfold when compared to the 2019/20 school year, when it fell to just under 38,500 as covid travel restrictions took hold. Primary school principals who spoke to the Irish Examiner on the condition of anonymity warn that parents are not aware of the damage that missing extended periods of school has on a young child, even for a holiday. There is a perception as well sure, they are doing nothing in June anyway, one principal who spoke to the Examiner said. Time out of school can actually make it even harder for children to return to a regular routine. Thats a factor were seeing as well. You might think its only five or 10 days out of school but what happens if the child gets sick, which is something you cant control? You could have a child out for three or four weeks. I think theres a bit of I dont care, Im going to do whats right for my family and they dont see the significant impact its having on the child. But it is hard for children to return to school after any extended absence, no matter the circumstance, he explained. They also may be afraid to talk about where they have been because they know they werent meant to be on holiday. It is harder for them to return because they are out of the routine or the rhythm of schooling, and they are different from their classmates and they have the pressure of not being able to tell where theyve been. Another principal told the Examiner that he expects in the coming week to hear from parents who plan to take their children out of school for trips. You can understand it on one level, holidays are very expensive, perhaps theres an economic benefit to going off-peak and people do need a break, but it does impact on the childrens learning. If children are missing for a prolonged period of time, there is a gap in their learning. When you take a child on holiday, the child will love going on holiday, its an easy sell in that regard. But when a child comes back, young children are quick to perceive if there are gaps in their learning and if they see their peers moving ahead. If that happens year on year, those gaps can widen. A spokesperson for the Department of Education said parents have a legal duty to ensure that their child attends school on every day that the school is open unless there is a genuine reason not to. When compared to the 2018/19 school year, at primary level, the total number of days lost in all absence reason categories, apart from due to suspensions, increased when compared to the 2022/23 school year. Education minister Helen McEntee has announced a "comprehensive suite" of targeted and universal actions to improve school attendance, the spoksperson added. This includes a revision of the Education (Welfare) Act, the rollout of 'Anseo' a new framework to analyse attendance data, and a multimedia campaign to launch in September, to promote the importance of regular school attendance. A man in his 60s who was arrested on Thursday as part of the investigation into the fatal explosion in Creeslough, Co Donegal, has been released without charge. Gardai confirmed on Friday that a file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The man had been detained, under the provisions of section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984, as part of the ongoing investigation into the explosion at a building complex in Creeslough in October 2022, which claimed the lives of 10 people He was the fifth person to be arrested in connection with the explosion at the Applegreen/Nearby service station and store in the Co Donegal town. In May last year, gardai arrested a man and a woman, both aged in their 40s, for alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. Earlier in the year, two men in their 50s were arrested in connection with the explosion. Like the man and the woman arrested in May, they were later released without charge. The investigation continues to be led by local gardai in the Donegal Division, supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and other agencies including the Health & Safety Authority (HSA) and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Those who died on October 7, 2022, in the explosion, were James O Flaherty, 48, Jessica Gallagher, 24, Martin McGill, 49, Catherine O Donnell, 39, and her son James Monaghan, 13, Hugh Kelly, 59, Martina Martin, 49, Robert Garwe, 50, and his daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe, 5, and Leona Harper, 14. This week was a darkly surreal one for the world as we know it. Humanity took a battering from the highest echelons of global power, all the way to starving children, dying before the eyes of the world. And, for some of us, the whole thing brought on a sense of helplessness and not a little fear. In the White House, Donald Trump hosted the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. Both men are in their 70s. When they were young, Ramaphosas life was dominated by the fight against Apartheid, in which people of colour were legally second-class citizens in their own country. Ukraines capital came under a large-scale combined drone and missile attack late Friday, with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city. Many Kyiv residents were taking shelter in underground subway stations. The nighttime Russian attack that stretched into early on Saturday came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week. The agreement was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least 4 city districts of the capital, acting head of Kyiv military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on Telegram. People take shelter at Kontraktova Ploshcha subway station during a Russian drone and missile attack in Kyiv (AP/Illia Novikov) According to Mr Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack, two fires sparked at the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. Prior to the attack, city mayor Vitalii Klitschko warned Kyiv residents of more than 20 Russian strike drones heading towards Kyiv. The prisoners swap on Friday was the first phase of a complicated swap involving prisoners and civilians. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russias Defence Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine. The exchange, which would be the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didnt herald any halt in fighting. Battles also continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. After the Istanbul meeting, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan had called the prisoner swap a confidence-building measure. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic manoeuvring continued. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday night that Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive peace agreement once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides 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. More than a dozen people who were injured in a stabbing attack at the central train station in the German city of Hamburg are in a stable condition, police said. A 39-year-old woman, a German national, was arrested at the scene of Fridays attack without putting up resistance. Police said they believe she acted alone. The Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper reported that two passers-by managed to overpower the woman and take the knife from her. Several people were injured in the incident (dpa via AP) The attack injured 18 people between the ages of 19 and 85, according to fire department spokesman Philipp Baumann. Three women aged 24, 52 and 85, and a 24-year-old man were critically injured. According to police, however, all four are in a stable condition on Saturday. There was no immediate indication of any political motive, and police said that investigators are looking into whether the suspect may have been mentally ill. A woman is expected to appear before a judge on Saturday after being arrested (dpa via AP) The woman was expected to appear before a judge on Saturday and then placed in a psychiatric ward. The attacker targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 in the station at around 6pm local time (5pm BST) on Friday. The station in downtown Hamburg, Germanys second-biggest city, is a major hub for local, regional and long-distance trains. Carrying weapons, including knives, is banned at the station and on local transport in Hamburg. Striking taxi drivers in Paris are threatening to take their protest to the French Open and block access to Roland-Garros on Monday, if the government does not listen to their demands. The drivers are worried about threats to their income and have already brought sections of Parisian traffic to a standstill for five straight days. Israeli Airstrike Claims Lives of Nine Out of Ten Children of Gaza Doctor, Reports Health Ministry An Israeli air strike targeted the residence of a doctor in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of nine out of her ten children, as reported by the director of the Hamas-run health ministry. Dr. Alaa al-Najjars husband, Hamdi al-Najjar, who is also a physician, is currently described as being in critical condition, while her sole surviving son, Adam, has sustained serious injuries. Victoria Rose, a British plastic surgeon working at Nasser Hospital, corroborated these details to RTE News. Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director of the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, shared verified graphic images that illustrated the aftermath of the air strike on a home in Khan Younis, where multiple small childrens bodies were retrieved from a burning structure. In response to inquiries about the event, the Israeli military stated that they had struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure near their troops. The Khan Yunis area is a dangerous warzone, the military added. The claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review. An evacuation warning for Khan Yunis had been issued by the army on the preceding Monday. The funeral for the children occurred at Nasser Hospital, as captured by AFP footage. Samah Al-Najjar, a niece of Hamdi Al-Najjar, described the events that transpired during the Israeli attack. Earlier, Gazas civil defense agency reported that Israeli strikes had resulted in at least 15 fatalities across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has intensified its military actions in recent days. Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the civil defense agency, noted that the deceased included a couple killed along with their two young children in a pre-dawn strike on a residence in the Amal quarter of Khan Younis. Additionally, a drone strike targeting a crowd gathered for aid in the western area of the city resulted in at least five fatalities, he reported. The Israeli military stated that it could not comment on specific strikes without their precise geographical coordinates. We need your consent to load this rte-player content. We use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences In a statement, the military reported that in the last day, over 100 targets had been struck across the territory, including members of terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, military structures, underground routes, and additional terrorist infrastructure. Israel resumed its operations in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire. According to Gazas health ministry, at least 3,747 individuals have been killed in the territory since then, which brings the overall toll of the war to 53,901, predominantly civilians. The Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 that initiated the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 individuals, primarily civilians, based on an AFP tally from official figures. Additionally, militants captured 251 hostages, with 57 remaining in Gaza; the Israeli military claims that 34 of them are deceased. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres remarked yesterday that Palestinians are experiencing the cruellest phase of the war in Gaza, where a prolonged Israeli blockade has led to severe shortages of food and medicine. Limited aid deliveries to Gaza resumed on Monday for the first time since March 2, amidst increasing condemnation of the Israeli blockade. The World Food Programme reported that 15 of its trucks were looted late Thursday night, urging Israel to facilitate much greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza more rapidly. A Palestinian man salvages items from a house hit in an Israeli strike. Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over future food aid are contributing to rising insecurity, the organization stated. Meanwhile, the Gaza City municipality warned on Saturday of a potential large-scale water crisis due to a lack of supplies required for urgent repairs. It noted that the destruction from the conflict has affected the majority of Gazas water infrastructure, putting large portions of the population at risk of severe water shortages. The municipality also highlighted that rising temperatures are expected to increase demand. Systematic destruction Yesterday, WHO Emergencies Director Michael Ryan emphasized that 2.1 million individuals in Gaza are in imminent danger of death. We need to end starvation, release all hostages, and restore the health system, he stated. All hostages should be released. Their families are suffering. They are in pain, he added. WHO Emergencies Director Michael Ryan reiterated that 2.1 million people in Gaza are in imminent danger of death. The WHO reported that Gazans face severe shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel, and shelter. In the past week, four major hospitals had to suspend medical services due to their proximity to hostilities or evacuation zones, and due to attacks. Only 19 of Gazas 36 hospitals remain operational, with staff working under impossible conditions, as stated by the UN health agency. At least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed, the agency commented, while north Gaza has been stripped of nearly all health care. Currently, only 2,000 hospital beds remain available across the Palestinian territory, a figure that is grossly insufficient to meet current needs. The destruction is systematic. Hospitals are rehabilitated and resupplied, only to be exposed to hostilities or attacked again. This destructive cycle must cease, it concluded. Read more: Slow steps taken by Government amid calls for action over Gaza. EU-Israel deal: Why the Dutch gambit succeeded where Ireland and Spain faltered. AFP Former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila on Friday said he would soon visit a city occupied by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, branding the current government a "dictatorship" after he lost his immunity. In a rare speech streamed live on the internet, the Democratic Republic of Congo's leader between 2001 and 2019 took aim at current President Felix Tshisekedi, who in turn has accused Kabila of conspiring with the M23. A day after the Senate voted to lift his parliamentary immunity, opening the 53-year-old to prosecution for his supposed M23 support, Kabila hit out at "arbitrary decisions" by Kinshasa. "Following a simple rumour from the street or social networks, about my alleged presence in Goma, where I will be going in the next few days... the regime in place in Kinshasa took arbitrary decisions with disconcerting levity, which testifies to the spectacular retreat of democracy in our country," Kabila said. "The dictatorship must end, and democracy and good economic and social governance must be restored," Kabila added. Tshisekedi has accused Kabila of plotting an "insurrection" with the M23 and has regularly named him as the architect of its lightning advance in the east, where the armed group has seized swathes of territory with Rwanda's help. - 'Witch hunt' - For more than three decades the eastern DRC has been riven by conflict, which has intensified since the M23's resurgence in 2021. Since the beginning of 2025 the anti-government armed group has seized the key eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu, and set up to govern for the long term in the areas under its control. Though a secretive character who keeps his own counsel, Kabila still enjoys some influence over Congolese political life and "never really left the stage", said Tresor Kibangula, political director at the Ebuteli research institute. Kabila in April caused surprise across the DRC by announcing his grand return to the country. Though he did not specify whether he would visit an area under M23 control, he nonetheless insisted he would come back via the conflict-riven east. No concrete evidence of his return ever emerged. Yet in the wake of the announcement the Congolese authorities raided several of his properties and suspended his party, which on Friday denounced a "witch hunt" of its leader. "Although he no longer has any institutional leverage, he is still a shadow power which the government is clearly trying to keep at bay," said Kibangula. - 'Against tide of history' - While he has given interviews since leaving office, Kabila had not addressed the Congolese people directly since his speech in 2019 on the eve of his handover to Tshisekedi. In his address Kabila argued he left the DRC in a far better state on leaving office than when he took power in 2001 on the assassination of his father in the middle of the Second Congo War. "Barely six years after, this great inheritance... has been completely dilapidated," Kabila charged, accusing Tshisekedi of the desire to "concentrate power in the hands of one man". The justice system meanwhile had become "an instrument of oppression for a dictatorship desperately trying to survive against the tide of history", he argued. Following the vote on his immunity, Kabila faces the prospect of being dragged through the military courts on war crimes, crimes against humanity and treason charges. In large part, the case against him hinges on testimony by opposition figure Eric Nkuba, who when questioned claimed to have overheard Kabila advise the M23's leader to remove Tshisekedi by coup rather than by assassination. Senior political researcher Ithiel Batumike of the Ebuteli research institute told AFP that confession was extracted under duress. Given the gravity of those accusations the former leader could even be handed a death sentence. Despite fierce criticism from human rights groups the DRC government lifted a moratorium on capital punishment in force for two decades -- though no execution has yet been carried out since. Former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila on Friday said he would soon visit a city occupied by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, branding the current government a "dictatorship" after he lost his immunity. In a rare speech streamed live on the internet, the Democratic Republic of Congo's leader between 2001 and 2019 took aim at current President Felix Tshisekedi, who in turn has accused Kabila of conspiring with the M23. A day after the Senate voted to lift his parliamentary immunity, opening the 53-year-old to prosecution for his supposed support of the armed group, Kabila hit out at "arbitrary decisions" by Kinshasa over reports he had visited the M23-occupied city of Goma. "Following a simple rumour from the street or social networks, about my alleged presence in Goma, where I will be going in the next few days... the regime in place in Kinshasa took arbitrary decisions with disconcerting levity, which testifies to the spectacular retreat of democracy in our country," Kabila said. "The dictatorship must end, and democracy and good economic and social governance must be restored," Kabila added. Although he left the country in 2023, with his entourage tight-lipped on his exact whereabouts, the former president still enjoys some influence over Congolese political life. Tshisekedi has accused Kabila of plotting an "insurrection" with the M23 and has regularly named him as the architect of its lightning advance in the east, where the armed group has seized swathes of territory with Rwanda's help. - 'Witch hunt' - In his speech Kabila set out a 12-point plan to end the more than three-decade-long conflict in the DRC's east, which has intensified since the M23's resurgence in 2021. Since the beginning of 2025 the anti-government armed group has seized the key eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu, and set up to govern for the long term in the areas under its control. Kabila in April caused surprise across the DRC by announcing his grand return to the country by the conflict-riven east. No concrete evidence of his return ever emerged. Yet in the wake of the announcement, the Congolese authorities raided several of his properties and suspended his People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD). The justice ministry referred the case against the former president to the military courts, which in turn urged the Senate to lift his parliamentary immunity as honorary senator for life. In a secret ballot late on Thursday the upper house -- dominated by Tshisekedi's ruling coalition -- overwhelmingly voted to strip him in a process questioned by constitutional experts. Kabila's party on Friday denounced the move to sideline Kabila as a "witch hunt". "Although he no longer has any institutional leverage, he is still a shadow power which the government is clearly trying to keep at bay," said Tresor Kibangula, political director at the Ebuteli research institute. Kinbangula however cautioned that even given the current crisis "there is no strong popular nostalgia for Kabila in the country today". - 'Against the tide of history' - While he has given interviews since leaving office, Kabila had not addressed the Congolese people directly since his speech in 2019 on the eve of his handover to Tshisekedi. In his Friday address Kabila argued he left the DRC in a far better state than when he took power in 2001 on the assassination of his father in the middle of the Second Congo War. "Barely six years after, this great inheritance... has been completely dilapidated," Kabila charged, accusing Tshisekedi of the desire to "concentrate power in the hands of one man". The justice system meanwhile had become "an instrument of oppression for a dictatorship desperately trying to survive against the tide of history", he argued. Following the vote on his immunity, Kabila faces the prospect of prosecution on war crimes, crimes against humanity and treason charges. In large part, the case against him hinges on testimony by opposition figure Eric Nkuba, who when questioned claimed to have overheard Kabila advise the M23's leader to remove Tshisekedi by coup rather than by assassination. Bangladesh's interim leader, who took over after a mass uprising last year, will meet powerful parties pressuring his government later on Saturday, days after he reportedly threatened to quit. Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has called for rival political parties jostling for power to give him their full support. His press secretary Shafiqul Alam confirmed Yunus would meet leaders of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), as well as leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim-majority nation's largest Islamist party. "He is meeting BNP and Jamaat leaders this evening," Alam told AFP. No agenda for the talks has been released. But the BNP, seen as the front-runners in elections, are pushing heavily for polls to be held by December. They would be the first elections since a student-led revolt forced then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee in August 2024. Microfinance pioneer Yunus, who has led the country after returning from exile at the behest of protesters, says he has a duty to implement democratic reforms before elections. Yunus has said polls could be held as early as December, but that holding them later -- with a deadline of June -- would give more time for those changes. - 'Reconsider our support' - The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since Hasina fled, but this week has seen an escalation with rival parties protesting on the streets of the capital Dhaka with a string of competing demands. "Our senior members will be there for the talks," said BNP media official Shairul Kabir Khan. Jamaat-e-Islami's media spokesperson Ataur Rahman Sarkar also confirmed that they were invited. On Thursday, a political ally and sources in his office said Yunus had threatened to resign if Bangladesh's parties and factions did not back him. That came a day after BNP supporters held large-scale protests against the interim government for the first time demanding an election date. "If he is unable to announce a specific election date by December, we will reconsider our support for his administration," senior BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said in an interview on a private TV channel broadcast on Friday. According to local media and military sources, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman this week also said that elections should be held by December -- aligning with BNP demands. Bangladesh has a long history of military coups, and the army retains a powerful role in the country. - 'Trying to assume power' - Jamaat-e-Islami loyalists have also protested against the government, demanding the abolition of a women's commission seeking equality. Nahid Islam, leader of the National Citizen Party -- made up of many of the students who spearheaded the uprising against Hasina -- said his party meanwhile wanted later elections to give time for change. The students wanted "fundamental reforms" to Bangladesh's system of governance, Islam, an ally of Yunus, told reporters on Friday, according to the Prothom Alo newspaper. But he said rival parties considered the overthrow of Hasina to be "regime change and are trying to assume power" under the existing constitution. "There are efforts to create an unstable situation in the country," Islam added. "We must remain united and not fall into the trap." Hasina, 77, remains in self-imposed exile in India. She has defied an arrest warrant to face trial for crimes against humanity related to last year's police crackdown on protesters during which at least 1,400 were killed. Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Activist Boniface Mwangi has accused Tanzanian Assistant Commissioner of Police, Faustin Mafwele, of orchestrating his recent arrest and torture and that of Ugandan investigative journalist Agather Atuhaire. Mwangi described the senior officer as a rogue enforcer who was responsible for their illegal detention and the physical abuse they endured. Mwangi and Atuhaire were held for several days in what he described as torture chambers. During their captivity, both were severely beaten and subjected to psychological and physical torment. Faustin Mafwele, who has previously been mentioned in regional human rights reports, has not yet issued a statement in response to the allegations. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, May 24, 2025 - David Komu, a pig farmer based in Ruai, escaped death by a whisker after another man attacked him while he was at a womans house. The court heard that George Mbugua alias Gaddafi confronted Komu in Kamulu area and caused grievous bodily harm to him. On the day when the incident happened, Komu was having drinks at a pub in Kamulu when he was joined by a lady. He bought her drinks and accompanied her to her house. As they prepared to have a good time together, George knocked at the door and stormed in, breathing fire. He pounced on Komu and hit him with a rungu on his legs, hands, and head. The victim lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital. He regained his consciousness after two days. His brain was swollen, with the scan indicating that he had blood clots in his head. He reported the matter to the police after being discharged from the hospital. The woman whom he had accompanied to her house helped police in recounting what transpired since he could not remember anything after the attack. George was released on a cash bail of Sh 100,000 with a bond of a similar account after denying the accusations. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Immediate former Chief Justice David Maraga has dismissed accusations by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu that Kenyan activists attempted to interfere in Tanzanias internal affairs, following the detention of activist Boniface Mwangi. Maraga, who was in Tanzania recently, emphasized that his visit was in solidarity with Tanzanian opposition leader, Tundu Lissu - not to cause unrest. I went to Tanzania not to cause chaos, but to support Tundu Lissu. We have no intention of fighting the government of Tanzania or any other government, Maraga said. His comments come after President Suluhu, without naming individuals, accused regional activists of using social media campaigns to destabilize Tanzania. They have destroyed their countries, now they want to do the same with ours, she said, warning security agencies to remain alert to foreigners with "ill intentions." While Maraga was allowed to attend a court session where Lissu faces treason charges, other Kenyan figures, including former CJ Willy Mutunga and politician Martha Karua, were deported. Maraga, who spoke in Kombani, Kwale County, during the launch of the United Green Movement (UGM) Party, also confirmed his interest in contesting the 2027 presidential election. He stated that he will work with like-minded leaders and parties in pushing for democracy, transparency, and regional stability. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire underwent physical and mental torture after she was arrested by rogue Tanzanian security agents and held in torture chambers alongside Boniface Mwangi. During her detention, she was blindfolded, stripped n@ked and subjected to severe humiliation. She was also tortured, verbally abused, denied food and all her personal belongings, including her phone and money, stolen. Agather was abandoned along the Uganda-Tanzania border in the middle of the night after being held for four days without charge. She was rescued by a Good Samaritan and reunited with her family. See photos. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Michael Gicheni and his beloved fiance, Emma, have died following a grisly road accident along Thika Road, leaving their families and friends in deep mourning. The young couple was scheduled to exchange vows on June 7th at PCEA Kahawa West Church, a ceremony that had been eagerly anticipated by loved ones who were already preparing for the big day. Their sudden and untimely death has shocked many, turning what was to be a season of joy into a period of immense sorrow. Photos shared on social media show a vibrant and deeply in-love couple, full of hope and dreams for the future. Their beaming smiles, pre-wedding shoots, and countdown posts to their wedding now serve as painful reminders of lives cut tragically short. Messages of condolence have flooded social media as Kenyans express disbelief and grief over the devastating loss. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, May 24, 2025 - The United States has expressed deep concern over the alleged abduction and torture of Ugandan journalist and human rights lawyer, Agather Atuhaire, and Kenyan activist, Boniface Mwangi, at the hands of Tanzanian authorities. In a statement released on May 24th, the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the allegations, emphasizing the need for accountability in cases of human rights abuse. We are deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment in Tanzania of two East African activists - Agather Atuhaire and Boniface Mwangi, the Bureau stated. We call for an immediate and full investigation into the allegations. Atuhaire, who was released on May 23rd, recounted a terrifying ordeal in which she was blindfolded and forced into a dark vehicle with armed individuals. When five mean-looking men and one woman pushed us into a very dark car, violently blindfolded us and drove off, I thought it was over, she revealed. She was later abandoned at the Mutukula border between Uganda and Tanzania. On his part, Boniface Mwangi, who was deported by road and found in Ukunda, Kilifi County, said he and Atuhaire were tortured during their detention. I have gone through four dark days, I have been tortured very badly, I can barely walk but I am very concerned about Agather because we were tortured together and they did very horrible things to us. Mwangi said. The activists had travelled to Dar es Salaam to support Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu during his ongoing treason trial. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen is facing mounting pressure to resign following the brutal killing of Rev. Fr. Allois Cheruiyot Bett in Elgeyo Marakwet. Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei and Githunguri MP, Gathoni Wamuchomba, have accused Murkomen of incompetence, claiming he has failed to curb insecurity in the volatile Kerio Valley region. Senator Cherargei slammed the CS for what he termed as a dangerous transfer of incompetence to the Interior Ministry. Transferring incompetence to the Ministry of Interior is dangerous because you lose lives. This minister should be called out, he is embarrassing all of us who are in Government. You lose lives when security is mishandled. Murkomen must resign, he wrote on X, criticizing the CS for previously condemning insecurity under the Uhuru Kenyatta regime, only to now preside over worsening violence. He also accused Murkomen of directing police to falsely report that Fr. Betts murder was not linked to banditry. We shall not allow him to malign the priest in death, Cherargei said, noting that bandits had killed several people in the area over the past three days. Wamuchomba echoed these sentiments, saying, Murkomen should just resign and join noisemakers. He performed better there. The Kenyan DAILY POST 1 of 1 Red Notice Subject Angad Singh Chandhok Deported from USA in Connection with 2014 Bank Fraud Case khaskhabar.com : Sat, 24 May 2025 2:58 PM Sayed Habib, New Delhi, May 23 In a major breakthrough in an ongoing bank fraud case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has successfully secured the deportation of Angad Singh Chandhok from the United States. Chandhok, who was the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice and had been declared a Proclaimed Offender, is wanted in connection with a 2014 case involving criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery related to a large-scale fraud against Union Bank of India. The CBI had registered the case on July 24, 2014, alleging that Angad Singh Chandhok, along with his father Surendra Singh, mother Harleen Kaur, brother Harsahib Singh, and four others including bank officials, conspired to defraud Union Bank of India, causing a significant financial loss to the institution. In 2016, Chandhok and his family fled India to evade legal proceedings. Subsequently, a competent court declared them Proclaimed Offenders and issued open-ended arrest warrants against them. To facilitate international tracking and arrest, the CBI secured a Red Notice against Chandhok from INTERPOL on March 22, 2017. The notice was disseminated globally among law enforcement agencies. Persistent follow-up through INTERPOL channels ultimately led to Chandhok's deportation from the United States. Chandhok arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on May 23, 2025, where he was detained by CBI officers. Following due legal procedures, he was arrested and presented before the competent court, which remanded him to judicial custody. CBI officials stated that efforts are ongoing to secure the return of Chandhoks family members, who remain wanted in the case. Authorities believe the deportation and arrest of Angad Singh Chandhok a key conspirator marks a significant step toward the commencement of the trial. As Indias designated National Central Bureau for INTERPOL, the CBI works in close coordination with law enforcement agencies worldwide. Since 2021, this cooperation has resulted in the successful return of over 100 wanted fugitives to India. Gordon Deegan Contentious plans to proceed with a data centre in Co Mayo opposed by international best-selling author, Sally Rooney have been stalled. This follows a third party appeal lodged with An Bord Pleanala against Mayo County Councils decision to grant planning permission last month to Mayo Data Hub Ltd for a data centre at Mullafarry and Tawnaghmore Upper, Killala. One of the objectors to the data centre, Colin Doyle from Station Rd, Ennis, Co Clare has lodged the third party appeal. The data centre for a site, located 1.8km to the south of Killala and 10.5km to the north of Ballina, will require 50MW average electrical power to operate. A planning report lodged with the application by John Spain Associates states that proposed development "will attract complementary technology-based companies within the ICT sector and complementary industries to the west of Ireland which will provide for higher paying jobs and activate the local economy. The planning report also states that the electricity grid in the west of Ireland is currently unconstrained with sufficient capacity to accommodate the required connection for the data centre. The report states that the project was in fact situated in this part of Ireland after consultation with Eirgrid because this location is outside grid constrained areas and in a region with a surplus of renewable power. In his original objection with the Council, Mr Doyle stated that his main concern was indirect greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated by the data centre and the resulting impact on climate. In her own objection to the centre, Sally Rooney told the Council that I urge you in the strongest possible terms to refuse planning permission for this wasteful, unnecessary and environmentally toxic proposal. Ms Rooney said that she was making this submission as a resident of Co Mayo and a concerned citizen. The Normal People and Intermezzo author said: "Climate change represents an immediate and unprecedented threat to our way of life here in Mayo and to the future of human life around the world. She said: "Unless we act now to stop runaway overheating, children born today are likely to witness a catastrophic breakdown of global civilisation. Ms Rooney said that in 2023, private corporate data centres accounted for 21 per cent of Irelands total electricity usage more than all urban households combined. Ms Rooney said: The truth is that these data centres exist largely to support online advertising. Some estimates suggest that online ads account for 50 per cent of internet data usage; others put the figure between 60 per cent and 80 per cent. She said: Whatever the specific figure, online advertising is extremely energy-intensive and is increasing in scale all the time, requiring more data centres, more energy, and more fossil fuels. Ms Rooney said: Advertising, needless to say, is pointless. It adds no value to the real economy. It does not improve the overall quality of life for anyone. It is an utter waste of resources. At the best of times, this seems a shame; at a time of urgent global crisis, it is a catastrophe. "Wasteful consumption of electricity is a disaster. Not only does it drive energy prices upward for ordinary consumers; it also increases the total demand for energy and thus the total demand for fossil fuels Ms Rooney said that as the applicants have conceded that the project will result in the emission of more carbon dioxide" into our already overheated atmosphere". She said: This additional atmospheric carbon will contribute to climate change not only here in County Mayo, but everywhere on the earth, as part of the catastrophic planetary crisis that is global warming. Ms Rooney further contended that Carbon credits and offsetting programmes deployed by operators of data centres act only as a smokescreen for corporations that want to emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for profit. She said: "These gases have already been responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, and in the coming years we can be confident they will claim the lives of thousands more. No complicated EU policy instrument can wave that fact away. In her six page submission, Ms Rooney further states that Not only would this proposed data centre represent a wasteful use of precious and limited electricity; it could also endanger that vital resource for other users, including hospitals and homes. A decision is due on the appeal in September. The Curragh Racecourse is braced for a mammoth weekend of racing as the with a mouthwatering renewal of the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas and Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. Dermot Weld will attempt the remarkable feat of winning a third Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas in four years for a third different flagship owner when the Tattersalls Irish Guineas weekend concludes on Sunday Weld, who won the race in 2022 with the Moyglare Stud-owned Homeless Songs before saddling the Aga Khans Tahiyra to win the next renewal, will saddle the unbeaten Swelter in Sundays feature race as the two-time winner in the instantly recognisable colours of Juddmonte has been declared to face 11 rivals. The Curragh Racecourses nearest neighbour, Weld will face stiff opposition from Irelands champion trainer who saddles two of the runners. The Ballydoyle contingent is headed by Lake Victoria, who was sixth in the English 1,000 Guineas earlier this month. Lake Victoria will be ridden by Ryan Moore and is joined by stable companion January, who was second in the Group 1 Fillies Mile last season behind English 1,000 Guineas winner Desert Flower. Lake Victoria had to settle for minor honours in Newmarket and had the Ollie Sangster-trained pair of Flight and Simmering ahead of her on that occasions. Sangster has impressed in his short training career and is strongly armed for Sundays Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas with the second and third placed fillies from the Newmarket equivalent both taking their chance. Flight will be once again ridden by Oisin Murphy and Dylan Browne McMonagle retains the ride on Simmering with only a length separating them at Newmarket. The Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas received two late entries on Tuesday morning when the Donnacha OBrien-trained Atsila and Paddy Twomeys City Of Memphis were supplemented for the fillies Classic. Atsila is a course and distance winner having scored in the Group 3 Coolmore Auguste Rodin EBF Athasi Stakes just under three weeks ago, while Twomeys highly regarded City OF Memphis was a debut winner at Cork the following day. Their late inclusions add further intrigue to a fascinating race. The race went for export last year for the first time since 2013 as the Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel justified favouritism and in addition to the Sangster pair, Archie Watson sends over Duty First who was ninth in the English 1,000 Guineas. California Dreamer and Jaliyah represent trainer Adrian Murray whod be enjoying the finest day of his training career should either filly cross the line in front, and the field is completed by the Joe Murphy-trained Cercene and the Eoghan ONeill-trained Tamam Desert who has the assistance of 2016 winning jockey, Shane Foley. Prior to Sundays Classic action, racegoers will be treated to a high-class renewal of the Tattersalls Gold Cup. The biggest field in the race since 2007 has attracted the English Champion Stakes winner Anmaat for trainer Owen Burrows who tackles last years Tattersalls Gold Cup winner White Birch for John Murphy and the Aidan OBrien-trained Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner Los Angeles. Also included is the Andrew Balding-trained Kalpana who proved herself as one of the most admirable fillies in training last season and adds further depth to the Juddmonte battalion tackling the Curraghs big races this weekend. Another fancied British challenger is the Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter who is the mount of Rossa Ryan and finished fourth in the Dubai Turf last month, while Karl Burkes Royal Rhyme is also declared. Sundays card at the Curragh features quality racing across all categories as before the older horses clash in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and the Classic generation meet in the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas, the current crop of two-year-olds will face off in the GAIN Marble Hill Stakes. Aidan OBriens Albert Einstein heads the field following his recent winning debut at Naas and he will take on four previous winners in the seven runner field. Course and distance winner Andab is among the opposition for Joseph OBrien while Power Blue and Miami Destination are another two Curragh winners who will represent Adrian Murray. Donnacha OBriens stable star Porta Fortuna will bid to get back to winning ways in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes. Porta Fortunas hat-trick of Group 1 victories was a highlight of last summer and she is now set to have a first outing since finishing eighth in the Breeders Cup Mile in November. Ryan Moore is back onboard for Sundays race which has also attracted One Look who previous won the Goffs Million as a two-year-old. Nine fillies are declared for the 50,000 QuinnBet Spring Fillies Handicap over a mile with Johnny Murtaghs Murkala and Joe Murphys Shiota of interest in that race. The Tony Martin-trained English Cesarewitch winner Alphonse Le Grande returns in the Cryoclinic.ie Handicap and will top the weights for the 1m6f contest, while the first on an eight race card is the Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF Fillies Maiden at 1.20pm. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. A Kilkenny student has been recognised at the No Name Club National Youth Awards 2025, held this week to celebrate leadership, resilience, and community spirit among young people involved in No Name Clubs across Ireland. Mairead Fitzpatrick, a TY student at Presentation Secondary School, is an active member of the Kilkenny No Name Club and was nominated for Host of the Year 2025. No Name Clubs are run by, and for young people aged 15-18 years, and enable young members to organise and enjoy positive alternatives to alcohol and drug-centred activities. No Name Club has played a special role in Maireads life by helping her grow socially and connect with peers outside of school. She says she loves the sense of belonging and the wide variety of activities, from sleepovers at Lilliput Adventure Centre to volunteering with Ukrainian children learning English. Jake Costin of St Josephs No Name Club in Mayfield, Cork, and Milan Freeman of Finglas No Name Club in Dublin were named Hosts of the Year 2025, the highest recognition awarded to members who have made an outstanding contribution to their club and local community. The awards mark the culmination of a year-long journey, with members first nominated at regional level before progressing to the national final. The event brought together club members, families, volunteers, and supporters to celebrate the positive impact of youth-led, alcohol and drug-free spaces. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Garrett Keenaghan, Chairperson of No Name Club, said, "These awards are about more than achievementtheyre about character. "Our winners reflect the very best of what young people can become when theyre trusted and supported. No Name Club is about helping young people find confidence, connection and purposeand this is proof that the model works." The event also marked the launch of the organisations new Strategic Plan 20242029, which sets out key priorities for the years ahead, including expanding youth participation, promoting mental wellbeing, deepening community impact, and securing long-term sustainability. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Thunderstorms likely this morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High near 85F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.. Tonight Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. A sculler rows down the Charles River near Harvard University on April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. A DOG owner whose dogs attacked a 13-year-old girl has paid a donation to a canine charity and is willing to pay compensation to the victims. Carlow District Court heard last week that owner Florin Veres, 15 Fairgreen Manor, Dunlavin, Co Wicklow donated 300 to the Dogs Trust charity. Evidence about the incident involving two Belgian Shepherd dogs belonging to Mr Veres was heard at a sitting in March. Judge Geraldine Carthy was told that the dogs had attacked a 13-year-old girl and were barking and snapping at her and her sister. When their father intervened, he was bitten by one of the dogs. Mr Veres pleaded guilty to having uncontrolled dogs and to having dogs without leashes during the incident, which occurred at Fairgreen Manor on 8 June last year. The case had been adjourned for preparation of a probation report. Last week, solicitor John OSullivan told the judge that Mr Veres had donated 300 to the Dogs Trust charity and that he was willing to pay a sum of money to the injured parties. Judge Carthy said the investigating garda should contact the injured parties and offer them 3,000 by way of compensation. She adjourned the case again to 11 June, for the defendant to gather the money. A backyard pool party turned tragic July 4, 2022, in Allentown when a toddler fell from a pool float while unsupervised and drowned, authorities said. The boy's 41-year-old father pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter Friday, May 23, 2025, and was sentenced to five years' probation. Dave Killen File Photo | For The Oregonian/oregonlive.com An Allentown man pleaded no contest Friday to second-degree felony involuntary manslaughter in the 2022 drowning death of his 23-month-old son. Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced the plea for 41-year-old Rafael Cabrera in a news release. Judge James T. Anthony sentenced Cabrera to five years probation immediately following the plea. Cabrera has been free on $5,000 cash bail awaiting disposition of the case. Cabreras attorney, Center Valley-based Mark Hinrichs, told lehighvalleylive.com that Cabreras family and employer offered strong support for him in court, and that the right outcome was reached. Its a sad loss for his family that hes going to deal with for the rest of his life, Hinrichs said Friday. Allentown police were called about 6:20 p.m. July 4, 2022, to a home in the citys 500 block of North Fenwick Street for a report of a child face down in a backyard pool, according to the prosecutors news release. The toddler was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, where he was pronounced dead. A forensic pathologist determined the cause of death was drowning. The boys mother told police she handed Cabrera their son during the Independence Day party, according to Holihan. She told police Cabrera was already in the pool and her son could not swim nor stand in the pool, the news release states. Cabrera placed the victim in a pool float that states, Warning! This is not a life-saving device. Do not leave child unattended while in use. Cabrera then began swimming laps and speaking to a relative rather than supervising the boy, who fell out of the float and was underwater for about eight minutes before Cabrera saw the victim at the bottom of the pool, according to the district attorneys office. Holihan and Assistant District Attorney Joseph Holaska prosecuted the case that was investigated by Allentown Police Detective Suzanne Toth. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Tyler State Park in Newtown Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania was closed on Friday, May 23 while police conducted a water search Google Maps Tyler State Park in Newtown Township was closed Friday while police searched for a missing park ranger whose canoe capsized in Neshaminy Creek, according to a statement from the Pennsylvania State Police. Troopers were called to the Bucks County park at 12:28 p.m. and were told about the missing boater, identified by police as a 38-year-old Delaware County man who works as a Park Resource Ranger for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. As of 7 p.m. the search was ongoing and the park was still closed. Police said the 1,711-acre park would remain closed until further notice while multiple agencies searched for the ranger. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. The U.S. State Department is warning people not to travel to certain islands in the Philippines, and "exercise increased caution" when traveling the island nation. Canva/Katherine Rodriguez If youre planning a trip to this island destination in Southeast Asia, you might want to take note that there are some islands in the country where you should not travel. The U.S. State Department updated its travel advisory to the Philippines, warning travelers not to travel to certain islands due to crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, and terrorism. The advisory also noted that in other parts of the country, travelers should exercise increased caution. Heres what you need to know if you still plan on traveling to the Philippines. What does the latest travel advisory to the Philippines mean for you? Item Detail Start Date May 8, 2025 Whats changing Updated travel advisory suggesting Americans exercise increased caution in the Philippines due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping. The advisory also says do not travel to The Sulu Archipelago, including the southern Sulu Sea, due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping, as well as Marawi City in Mindanao due to terrorism and civil unrest. What will happen? Travelers should monitor local media and avoid demonstrations and crowds. Who will it affect? Travelers to the Philippines The agency gave a Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution advisory to the Philippines due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping, noting that some areas have increased risk. The State Department especially warned people not to travel to at least two different islands in the Phillipines. This advisory is for The Sulu Archipelago, including the southern Sulu Sea due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping, as well as Marawi City in Mindanao due to terrorism and civil unrest. What is the highest travel advisory? There are four levels of travel advisory, Level 1 through Level 4. This travel advisory for the Philippines is a Level 2 concern for the entire area, and Level 4 for at least two islands. When planning a vacation, you should check the current travel advisory for that destination. So, which level is the most concerning? Level 1 : Exercise Normal Precautions This is the lowest level of advisory; it is advised that there is some risk in that area, and travelers should take precautions while on their visit. Level 2 : Exercise Increased Caution There is a heightened risk for safety and security in that area, and travelers need to take extra caution. Level 3 : Reconsider Travel There are serious risks to safety, and travelers are advised to reconsider their travel plans to this destination. Level 4: Do Not Travel This is the highest level of advisory, and it is strongly recommended not to travel to any destinations with a Level 4 advisory, due to many factors, one of which is that the U.S. government might not be able to provide travelers any assistance in the event of an emergency. What should travelers to the Philippines do in light of this travel advisory? The U.S. State Department warns travelers who are planning to travel to the Philippines to do the following: Monitor local media for breaking events and be prepared to adjust your plans. Avoid demonstrations. Buy insurance before you travel One of the suggestions from the State Department is to get travel insurance before traveling to a country with a high-level travel advisory. The State Department recommends medical evaucation insurance, travel health insurance, and trip cancellation insurance. The State Department also suggests enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to get alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency and prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations using the Travelers Checklist. You can find out more about the travel advisory to the Philippines on the State Department website. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. Multiple projects are already underway to address the aging sewer system in Phillipsburg. Tim Wynkoop file photo | lehighvalleylive.com contributor Another administrative order will be drafted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and placed at the desks of Phillipsburg officials this year. Between 2025 and 2032 as much as $14.5 million must be spent on improving the towns aged-out sewer infrastructure, according to the federal agency. Some projects have already started: Permits are already being reviewed and issued for the development of a Riverside Way Pump Station. The design calls for raising the building two feet. Now all thats needed is for the various pieces to come together, according to Dennis Yoder, a municipal engineer at Remington and Vernick. This will allow the pump station to move forward, he said. Upgrades to the Phillipsburg Wastewater Treatment System are ongoing and include improvements to the facilitys grit and particulate systems, biological treatment systems, and replacement of an essential generator. Montana Construction, the agency charged with replacing the utility lines, is currently replacing utility lines in the Sawmill Road area, which sees some of the towns most severe overflows during major storm events. The town could contract with iBank, a state government bank, to help meet the financial requirements of the project. iBank is capable of financing public infrastructure and private development projects. Other projects have not started as smoothly. Upgrades to the Lopatcong Pipe Crossing are now on hold, Yoder said. The town is waiting to learn whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be capable of funding the project because of uncertainty at the federal level. Town officials said they were experiencing several issues related to utility maintenance at the warehouses at Phillipsburg Commerce Park. They paid the bill, but theres still several issues at their pump station that they need to resolve, Dan Baransky, project manager at the wastewater treatment facility at 900 S. Main St. in Phillipsburg, told town council during the May 14 sewer meeting. He warned the sewer committee that the site was not being properly staffed. We have no relationship with them and we need to get that operation under control, Baransky said. We dont know what theyre pumping to us, how often theyre pumping, if theyre working. Thank you for supporting our journalism. Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or at glenn_epps_ on Instagram, Facebook and Threads. A prison sentence was handed down to a man who verbally abused gardai following a search in Portlaoise. PJ OShea (32) of 20 OMoore Place, Portlaoise pleaded guilty to engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour and refusing to comply with the directions of a garda at the Ring Road, Portlaoise on March 30 last. Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said the defendant, who appeared in court via video link, had been acting suspiciously at around 9pm on the date in question. Sgt Kirby said he was searched by gardai who didnt find anything but he then started verbally abusing the guards. He reacts badly in situations involving gardai and just goes off the rails, said Sgt Kirby. He said the defendant had 128 previous convictions and had been sentenced to nine months in prison a week earlier for public order and theft offences. Solicitor Philip Meagher said his client had been following a cycle of offending since his teenage years. He said the man goes into custody and gets the help he needs but when he gets out he falls back into his old ways. Mr Meagher said his client suffered with chronic ADHD and he said he might be seeking to appeal the sentence which had been handed down a week earlier. Sgt Kirby said the defendant had called the garda certain names following the search and he refused when directed to leave the area. There were members of the public present, said Sgt Kibry. The defendant said there was nobody there. Judge Susan Fay imposed a one month prison sentence and said she hoped the defendant would avail of the services which are available in prison. This time in custody is an opportunity to get support, she said. A new swimming pool and fitness centre is being designed to serve Co Kildare and other counties. Offaly County Council is seeking to appoint an architect-led design team for the development of a new facility in Edenderry. The local authority says: ''The project aims to provide a modern, accessible, and sustainable facility serving Offaly, Westmeath, Kildare and beyond.'' The estimated value of the tender is 2m. "The contract duration is 4 years." Edenderry Swimming Pool was damaged by fire last year. Funding of 8.9 million was awarded under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure fund. The pool is to be of competition standard six-lane facility along with a children's pool. At the time of the announcement the then Minister Pippa Hackett said ''... to deliver this project for the community we mustnt be complacent: Further funding is still needed. And most of all community patience during the construction phase; but I believe it is realistic to expect that a state of the art and fully accessible pool, for everybody, regardless of ability or age or any other characteristic is possible in the next couple of years.'' READ NEXT: Almost 20k taken from Kildare bank account without permission. Labour Party TD Mark Wall has called for a school bus service to be provided for 20 pupils from Kildare Town attending Curragh Post Primary School. Minister for Education Helen McEntee said in the Dail that Bus Eireann has advised her that the children are not eligible for a school bus service because they don't live in the catchment area of the school. But Mr Wall said: "This is a grossly unfair decision by Bus Eireann. The reason why these students are unable to go to their nearest school is because it is already oversubscribed. A new school was granted for Kildare Town back in 2018, however, the proposed site at Magee Barracks has only recently received planning permission." The TD said he has been in touch with the Parents Association who believe there is clear demand for a school bus route. He added: "These families are already struggling with transport costs as it is, and this decision by Bus Eireann will result in them being out of pocket for longer trying to put fuel in their cars getting to the school in the Curragh. These families should not have to suffer because of poor planning by the Department of Education, or for the lack of empathy by Bus Eireann to take into consideration the reality on the ground in local communities." Mr Wall has also written to Minister of State at the Department of Education Michael Moynihan on the issue. The TD wrote to Mr Moynihan: "Given the exceptional circumstances, I am asking that you intervene here and overturn Bus Eireann's decision." There have been 271 same sex unions in Co Kildare since gay marriage was legalised 10 years ago, new figures. This averages out at around two marriages every two weeks since 2015. This 271 figure is divided almost equally by gender with 137 unions between men and 134 between women. 62% of voters approved the amendment to the Constitution of Ireland that would allow same-sex marriage, 38% voted against. This 271 figure in Kildare is among the highest in the country with 2,277 same sex marriages registered in Dublin, 536 in Cork and 283 in Co Meath. In the rest of Leinster, there were 9 in Longford, 44 in Offaly, 45 in Laois, 67 in Carlow, 100 in Westmeath and 172 in Louth. Some private property owners in Leitrim are struggling to manage the spread of Japanese Knotweed and are unsure how to best address the invasive plant. Leitrim County Council currently operates a programme to tackle Japanese Knotweed on national and regional roads throughout the county. However, the Council only treats public roads and Council-owned properties and does not intervene on private land. Japanese Knotweed, which kills native plants, was introduced to Ireland in the 19th century, where it was thought to be an exotic plant. It is able to grow by a metre in less than a month and can even push through concrete and tarmac. At a meeting of Manorhamilton Municipal District, it was highlighted that the situation on some private properties is becoming unmanageable, with the plant reportedly getting out of control. READ NEXT: Leitrim driving test delays to be tackled in national scheme Cllr Eddie Mitchell inquired whether the Council could provide assistance to residents dealing with the plant, particularly those who cannot afford private contractors. In response, he was given advice to pass on to the affected resident. He was informed that cutting Japanese Knotweed is highly discouraged, as the plant is a single-sex species and spreads easily when fragments are discarded. The most effective method of control is a multi-year spraying regimen, typically requiring up to four years to fully eradicate the plant. READ NEXT: Public invited to help identify official swimming areas in Leitrim Spraying should be carried out during the growing season, when the plant is most absorbent. Additionally, it is recommended to cover the plant with black polythene after spraying to block sunlight and prevent photosynthesis during early years of treatment. The Leitrim Volunteer Festival is set to take place on the 29th May at the Rainbow Ballroom of Romance in Glenfarne, bringing together community spirit and opportunity under one roof. Organised by the Leitrim Volunteer Centre, the event will host up to 30 volunteer-involving organisations and aims to attract a large number of potential volunteers from across the county. The goal is to create meaningful connections and match volunteers with organisations that offer rewarding and impactful roles in the community. Josephine Stroker, Manager of the Leitrim Volunteer Centre, said the festival is building on the success of last years event, which was held in Drumshanbo: This year we want to get as many potential volunteers as possible to the event. Its a great opportunity to get to know the fantastic community and voluntary organisations across Leitrim and beyond, and to learn about the wonderful work they do. The festival offers attendees the chance to speak directly with local groups, learn about current volunteering opportunities, and explore how their skills and time can make a real difference. READ MORE: RIP: Former Leitrim councillor Des Guckian passes away following illness The Leitrim Volunteer Centre provides ongoing support to volunteers and non-profit organisations across the county. Their services include volunteer placement, management training, Garda vetting, and advisory support. The Centre is affiliated with Volunteer Ireland and is funded by the Government of Ireland. All are welcome to attend the festival. Whether you're a seasoned volunteer or simply curious about how you can give back, the event promises a warm welcome and a wealth of opportunities to get involved. READ MORE: Leitrim driving test delays to be tackled in national scheme Sue Nathan and Roy Ratnavel Donate $1 Million to Scarborough Health Network to Support Mental Health SCARBOROUGH, ON, May 24, 2025 /CNW/ - Roy Ratnavel survived a civil war; a political prisoner at age 17 in Sri Lanka. At 18, he moved to Canada, settling in Scarborough. After building a successful career in finance, he later shared his story in the bestselling memoir Prisoner #1056. Roy knows firsthand how trauma can affect mental health ? and now, he and his wife Sue Nathan are giving back to the Scarborough community. Scarborough Health Network Foundation (SHN) Foundation is pleased to announce a generous $1 million donation from Roy Ratnavel and Sue Nathan. Their donation will support inpatient mental health services at Birchmount Hospital. "We are inspired by Roy's story and incredible resilience, and grateful to Roy and Sue for their commitment to improving mental health care in Scarborough," said Alicia Vandermeer, President & CEO of SHN Foundation. "This donation will make a substantial difference in the lives of individuals and families facing mental health challenges." The donation will specifically support the expansion of inpatient mental health at Birchmount Hospital, supporting vulnerable individuals with persistent mental health conditions and other complex health needs. As Ontario's second-largest community-based mental health program, SHN supports over 65,000 outpatients, 7,500 inpatients, and more than 10,000 referrals annually. These staggering numbers highlight the critical importance of accessible, equitable, and stigma-free mental health care for the diverse Scarborough community. Roy and Sue have witnessed firsthand the barriers to mental health care that many individuals face, particularly within the Tamil community, where accessing mental health supports can be difficult to discuss. "It's crucial that we address the mental health needs of our community with compassion and understanding," said Ratnavel. "Sue and I are proud to support Scarborough Health Network in their vital work. My own experiences have shown me the importance of accessible and culturally sensitive mental health support, and we hope this gift will help to break down barriers and reduce stigma." SHN is profoundly grateful to Roy Ratnavel and Sue Nathan whose gift supports the historic Love, Scarborough campaign. About the Love, Scarborough Campaign The Love, Scarborough campaign was launched by Scarborough Health Network (SHN) Foundation in 2022 to raise awareness and donations for Scarborough hospitals. Funds raised support critical projects across the health network, including expanding emergency care, establishing new models of care in the Scarborough community, and advancing medical research and education. SHN does more than anyone thought possible with less than anyone could imagine. Imagine what they could do with more. Learn more at lovescarborough.ca. About Scarborough Health Network (SHN) SHN is shaping the future of care. Across three hospitals and several community-based locations, SHN offers a spectrum of essential and specialized health services for a diverse community, delivering exceptional quality care through all stages of life. We are a member of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network, and a key partner for the University of Toronto's Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health, while SHN Research Institute is at the forefront of multicultural health research. With support from the Love, Scarborough fundraising campaign, SHN is working to Build It Forward through a multi-year redevelopment strategy. We are bringing innovative, state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and technology to our health network to meet Scarborough's evolving needs into the future. Visit?SHN.ca. SOURCE Scarborough Health Network Foundation 24 may 2025 at 06:00 News published onand distributed by: Nvidia is often thought of as the pre-eminent arms dealer for the artificial-intelligence age. Much is riding on the chip makers not actually being treated like one. Nvidia and rivals including Broadcom, Marvell and Advanced Micro Devices design the key components that supply the massive computing horsepower required for AI services. They are all recipients of the hundreds of billions of dollars that megacap tech companies based in the U.S. are investing to build those services. Other countries want in on the actionin a big way. Saudi Arabia recently struck a deal to buy large amounts of Nvidias AI chips for local infrastructure projects, and Nvidia has described India as a major customer. In addition, Nvidia was named Thursday as a key partner in an OpenAI-led data-center project in the United Arab Emirates. View Full Image Nvidia chips unpacked last year at a data center in India. Photo: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg AI is going to be part of a national infrastructure the way telco is part of a national infrastructure," Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang told a meeting of analysts in January. Every country has their own telcos." The flip side is that AI chips are now a highly politicized business, figuring prominently in the U.S.-China trade war, and likely many future conflicts to come. For Nvidia and its competitors, that can be a blessing and a curse. The Trump administration has sharply restricted the ability of U.S. chip makers to sell their wares in China and some other countries. Future sales outside the U.S. could be linked closely to trade deals with individual countries. This new political reality for AI chip companies was highlighted as last weeks deals were timed to coincide with President Trumps swing through the Middle East. Huang, the CEO who is now a global superstar, even ditched his trademark leather jacket and wore a suit for the occasion. Huang has previously described the concept of countries investing directly in artificial intelligence as sovereign AI"and it is an important element underpinning Nvidias growth ambitions. Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya estimates that the sovereign AI market could reach $50 billion annually in the long term, or 10% to 15% of the global AI infrastructure opportunity." Nvidia has more than doubled its annual revenue in each of the past two fiscal years, and it is expected by Wall Street to keep growing at a strong double-digit-percentage pace for the next three years. That would take the companys annual sales well past the $300 billion mark, a level no chip company has ever come close to achieving. View Full Image Graphic: WSJ Hopes are high for Nvidias AI competitors as well. Advanced Micro Devices, also known as AMD, is seen increasing annual revenue by double-digit percentages consecutively for the next five years, according to consensus estimates from Visible Alpha. That would be a feat the 56-year-old chip maker hasnt managed since at least 1990, which is as far back as data measured by S&P Global Market Intelligence goes. AMD scored its own deal in the desert last week, landing a $10 billion agreement with Saudi Arabia to supply AI data-center components for the countrys Humain venture. Sovereign AI projects can help chip companies including Nvidia and AMD reduce their reliance on the deep pockets of such companies as Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabets Google and Meta Platforms. Capital spending by those companies has been on a tear as they race to build up AI capabilities, but historically such spending has been lumpy and volatile. It might depend, for instance, on the availability of real estate or electricity, as well as the near-term business trends of those companies. Sovereign AI nicely complements commercial cloud investments," wrote BofAs Arya in a recent report. Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein was relatively blunt. For investors worried about AI capex sustainability, we now have another deep-pocketed customer willing and capable to spend large amounts of money on a clearly strategic push as Saudi Arabia attempts to position itself as a regional and global AI hub," he wrote. Investors like the idea. Nvidia and Broadcom have seen their stock prices jump by more than a third over the past month, while AMDs shares are up around 30%. Sovereign AI projects will bring their own kind of turbulence. For one thing, project values announced at political events might prove to be exaggerated and wont always materialize as revenue. What is more, any foreign entity buying up advanced chips must make sure it doesnt run afoul of the U.S.s efforts to keep AI components out of the hands of China and other adversaries. View Full Image Graphic: WSJ The Trump administration scrapped the so-called AI diffusion rule, which would have placed limits on AI chips sales even to friendly countries. That was a notable victory for Nvidia and its peers, and it triggered a rally in their shares. But the administration is reportedly considering new steps that could link AI chip sales to trade deals with individual countries. More broadly, the rise of sovereign AI exposes chip companies to levels of geopolitical intrigue normally associated with defense contractors. That could produce lots of unpredictability for Nvidia and its peers. For instance, Nvidias fiscal first-quarter report next week will include a $5.5 billion charge for chips it had designed for the Chinese market that were later banned for sale there by the U.S. government. Analysts are worried about how that will affect the companys outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, even with overall demand for AI chips still running strong. Regardless, Nvidias market cap is back above $3 trillion, and now ahead of Apples. Investors are betting big that this arms dealer can stay above the fray. Write to Dan Gallagher at dan.gallagher@wsj.com (Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Joe Tsai said Asian companies can look to inter-Asia opportunities and the European market for growth as tensions between Washington and Beijing persist. Tsai also implicitly criticized the administration of US President Donald Trumps trade war during a tech conference in Macau on Saturday, saying some governments try to tear down this bridge that we have built between Asia and the rest of the world. Theres actually a lot of inter-Asia business activity, engagement that can happen among the East Asian countries between East Asia, and Southeast Asian and eventually South Asia as well, Tsai told the audience at Beyond Expo. He added that Europe is an incredible opportunity for Asian companies. Alibabas core businesses have fallen victim to the prolonged US-China tensions. The companys shares slumped this week after the New York Times reported that the Trump administration raised concerns over Apple Inc.s potential AI deal with the Chinese e-commerce leader, an important win for the Hangzhou-based company. While Apple has not spoken publicly about such a partnership, Tsai confirmed the tie-up earlier this year though he didnt specify if Alibaba would be the exclusive AI provider for the US company in China. A local partner could help revive iPhone sales in China, which have suffered as rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co. move ahead with AI-enabled smartphones. Apple has yet to provide its full suite of AI features in China because of regulations that require it to partner with a locally accredited company. Alibabas e-commerce operations have also been affected by Trumps decision to close a tariff loophole for small parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong. Alibabas disappointing results last week sent the companys shares plunging the most in more than a month. Investors are growing wary that the e-commerce leader can overcome a persistent Chinese economic malaise and benefit from its status as one of the frontrunners in the DeepSeek-inspired AI boom. But Tsai on Saturday defended Alibabas prospects, saying the company is on a very good path and reiterated the companys focus on e-commerce and AI. The companys comeback following years of government scrutiny is being orchestrated by Tsai and Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu two of co-founder Jack Mas most trusted lieutenants. After taking the helm in 2023 theyve refocused spending on building AI and e-commerce, while accelerating the unloading of non-core assets to bankroll the AI investments and international expansion. Alibaba has been releasing AI products at a frenetic pace since DeepSeeks emergence on the global stage this year. Its risen to the forefront of Chinas AI industry thanks to a series of rapid-fire model enhancements and rollouts, including last months release of its Qwen3 flagship model, which it said rivals DeepSeeks performance on several fronts. --With assistance from Annabelle Droulers, Lauren Faith Lau and Debby Wu. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, gave Alphabet Inc. shares worth $700 billion as a gift from his personal fortune, which exceeds $140 billion. Even after this significant donation, Brin remains the 10th richest person in the world, with a net worth currently estimated at $143 billion, according to data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Who is Sergey Brin? Sergey Brin and Larry Page co-founded Alphabet, the holding company that owns Google, in 1998. Google is considered to be the world's largest search engine operator. In 2019, Brin and Page stepped down from top management roles. However, they continue to serve on the board and are controlling shareholders. Sergey Brin's net worth The net worth of the Alphabet co-founder is mostly made up of a combination of Class B and Class C shares of the company. Since Google's initial public offering in 2004, Brin has sold more than $11 billion worth of shares, according to Bloomberg data. Other contributions The current contribution of $700 million is not the first time Brin has offloaded Alphabet shares. In 2023, donated roughly $600 million in shares following the debut of Googles AI search. He announced additional gifts of shares worth over $100 million in May and November of last year. Brin has frequently contributed to research on Parkinsons disease and runs a nonprofit focused on climate and health. He has funded startups tackling a range of initiatives, from psychedelics to an ambitious $155 billion project aimed at constructing "energy islands in Copenhagen. Also Read | Alphabet stock drops 7% in five days on AI search warning Brin's current donation was revealed on Wednesday in a regulatory filing, without specifying who received nearly 4.1 million shares. This amount, evenly divided between newly converted Class A and Class C stocks, could potentially be allocated to charity or transferred to financial vehicles or trusts, according to a report by Bloomberg News. Dutch technology investment firm Prosus NV is building its own large commerce model" to help its portfolio companies do business better, according to a top company executive. Were showing our large commerce model how users are traversing our portfolio companies applications," said Paul van der Boor, vice president of AI at Prosus. He explained it as taking the various touchpoints of a users journey through an appfrom opening the app to raising complaints to getting queries answeredand using all of them to create a model that contains commercial intelligence". When you have a model like that, that is created on a subset of users interactions with an app, there are other group companies that can use that model to understand how to better help that customer," said Boor. Were trying to learn commercial intelligence based on all the interactions we can piece together. So when a new interaction comes in, we can predict what happens there." Prosus has already begun testing this model with iFood, the Brazilian food delivery startup that was earlier led by Prosuss new chief executive officer Fabricio Bloisi, and OLX, a classified advertising company. Boor expects lessons learnt from implementing the commercial intelligence model in Latin America and Europe will help Prosus group companies. Weve already done a couple of tests where we know it expands outside of food. The idea is that, at least today, in iFood, one model exists that can help with a whole range of tasks for their constituents," Boor said. Also read | Prosus to take PE style bets, India one of three focus areas AI in Prosus's portfolio companies Prosus sees the current version of its large commerce model (LCM) as akin to OpenAIs ChatGPT-2, which was released in 2019. We know we have a path to get to the GPT-4 level, so were taking it step by step," Boor said. Going forward, the investment firm expects that both existing and new companies in its portfolio to have an AI-first approach. The shift comes alongside a more focused attitude towards investing as well since Bloisi took charge as CEO of Prosus 10 months ago. Prosus-backed Swiggy Ltd, for example, uses various AI models from the minute a user opens the app as the Bengaluru-headquartered company seeks to make its food-delivery and quick-commerce experience highly personalisedsuch as preferred foods, restaurants, and delivery time. We will encourage those use cases across our whole group of companies. We know it works because of iFood in Brazil, weve seen it in Poland, and we encourage it here in India and the other way around," Boor said. Also read | After lip-smacking Swiggy IPO, Prosus prepares for its next hit Beyond artificial intelligence Alongside its deeper investments in AI, Prosus expects a few other technology aspects to play a big role in its investment decisions. Agentic systems that can reason, that can do multiple tasks, and shop with or for you is a big thing. Our thesis is that agents will work for you to help you find what you need," said Boor. Second is that we expect all of the user interfaces to change as a result of multi-modality." Multi-modality allows people to use an app through text, voice and even pictures. Prosus expects voice to emerge as a big factor in user experience. Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm Meesho, for example, deploys several AI agents across the customer service workflow, including a voice bot for customer service that currently serves users in Hindi and English. Weve already seen that in Brazil. Its similar to India because people there are naturally inclined to use AI. It offers a huge opportunity as one of the big factors and how to change the form factor of technology using AI," said Boor. Prosuss notable AI investments this year include participating in a $13.5 million funding round in Luzia, a Spanish AI-based personal assistant app, earlier this month; a $7.25 million seed check to another Latin American personal assistant app called Zapia; and leading a $54 million Series-B funding in Taktile, a decision automation platform. Prosus also closed its $1.7 billion acquisition of Despegar, a Latin American AI-first travel agency, this year. In India, the Dutch firm pumped in nearly $30 million into ride-hailing platform Rapido in February. Last year, Prosus invested $100 million in Mumbai-based Vastu Housing Finance Corp. Ltd and acquired a 10.65% stake for $80 million in supply chain financing startup Mintifi. Also read | Groww to acquire Prosus-backed Fisdom for around $150 million US customs duties collections hit a record $16.5 billion as importers made monthly payments to the government for goods received in April 2025, according to Treasury Department data released Friday. The surge in revenue indicates the impact of President Donald Trumps latest tariff policy for the first time. Nearly two-thirds of importers pay customs duties with a single monthly payment following the arrival of goods at US ports. The deadline for payments for the month of April was Wednesday. With the continuation of current tariff policies, Trump will not reach the target of $2 billion a day in tariff revenue, which he claims will assist in funding the significant tax reductions included in a bill approved by the House of Representatives this week, reported Bloomberg News. The data revealed by the Treasury did not give a breakdown of tariff revenue by category, which also included excise taxes collected by the Department of Homeland Security. Also Read | Trump shatters tariff calm with new salvo Donald Trump's tariff policy On Friday, Trump threatened a new round of tariffs, including 50% on goods imported from the European Union and 25% on smartphone makers such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co, if they do not move manufacturing to the US. Previously, he proposed reciprocal tariffs on most trading partners but announced a 90-day pause on duties amid a selloff in US Treasuries. The Trump administration also temporarily paused 145% tariffs on Chinese goods. The current tariffs include a 10% base duty on most imports, a 25% duty on steel and aluminium, and a 25% duty on autos. The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, the first feature by Chilean director Diego Cespedes, won the Cannes Film Festival's second-tier Un Certain Regard category on Friday evening. The film set in the early 1980s centres around a queer family in Chile and the onset of the AIDS epidemic. While accepting the prize, Cespedes said that the award celebrates existence even when it makes others uncomfortable. This award doesn't celebrate perfection. It celebrates that fear, that stubbornness to exist just as we are, even when it makes others uncomfortable, he said. Once Upon a Time in Gaza Once Upon a Time in Gaza earned a directing award for Palestinian twin filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser. The film follows a low-level drug dealer and his underling in the coastal enclave the year the Islamist group Hamas took over. To everyone in Gaza, to every single Palestinian: your lives matter and your voice matters, and soon Palestine will be free, said Tarzan Nasser, eliciting a standing ovation. A Poet A Poet received the runner-up Jury Prize. Directed by Colombian director Simon Mesa Soto, this dark comedy explores the art world. Cannes 2025: Un Certain Regard award: Best performance Frank Dillane, who stars in Dickinson's well-received debut about a homeless man, Urchin, took home best performance along with Cleo Diara, who stars in Portuguese director Pedro Pinho's exploration of neo-colonialism, I Only Rest in the Storm. Cannes 2025: Un Certain Regard: Screenplay award The screenplay award went to British director Harry Lighton and his Alexander Skarsgard-led kinky romance Pillion. Also Read | Aishwarya Rai brings silences divorce rumours with sindoor look at Cannes Cannes 2025: Un Certain Regard award This year's Un Certain Regard section, which usually focuses on more arthouse fare, was particularly strong. It saw several promising directorial debuts from actors, including Scarlett Johansson, Harris Dickinson, and Kristen Stewart. India marked its entry in the segment with director Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound starring Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa. * Panahi last in person at Cannes festival in 2003 * Grand Prix awarded to Joachim Trier's "Sentimental Value" * Brazil's "Secret Agent" wins best actor, director awards (Adds details in paragraphs 6, 8-12, 14) By Miranda Murray CANNES, France, May 24 (Reuters) - Revenge thriller "It Was Just An Accident" by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who was last at the Cannes Film Festival in person more than 20 years ago, won the Palme d'Or top prize on Saturday. Panahi, who has been arrested several times for his filmmaking and was under a travel ban until recently, last attended the festival in person in 2003, when "Crimson Gold" was screened in the Un Certain Regard category. "Art mobilizes the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life," said jury president Juliette Binoche when announcing the award. "It Was Just An Accident" follows Vahid, played by Vahid Mobasseri, who kidnaps a man with a false leg who looks just like the one who tortured him in prison and ruined his life. Vahid sets out to verify with other prison survivors that it is indeed their torturer - and then decide what to do with him. An emotional Panahi, wearing sunglasses on stage, thanked his cast and film crew during his acceptance speech. The Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d'Or, was awarded to "Sentimental Value" from acclaimed director Joachim Trier. The jury prize was split between the intergenerational family drama "Sound of Falling" from German director Mascha Schilinski and "Sirat", about a father and son who head into the Moroccan desert, by French-Spanish director Oliver Laxe. Brazil's "The Secret Agent" won two awards, one for best actor for Wagner Moura, as well as best director for Kleber Mendonca Filho. "I was having Champagne," said Mendonca Filho after he ran up to the stage to collect his award after celebrating Moura, who previously made a name for himself in hit TV series "Narcos". Newcomer Nadia Melliti took home best actress for "The Little Sister", a queer coming-of-age story centred around the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris. Belgium's Dardenne brothers, who have the rare honour of already having won two Palme d'Or prizes, took home the award for best screenplay for their film "Young Mothers". Twenty-two films in total were competing for the prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with entries from well-known directors Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Ari Aster. * Britain's O'Connor in two Cannes competition entries * Director Kelly Reichardt examines the "bumbling jerk" By Miranda Murray CANNES, France, May 24 (Reuters) - Rising British actor Josh O'Connor was drawn to how normal his character in "The Mastermind", a suburban dad who cooks up an art heist, seemed when he signed on to U.S. director Kelly Reichardt's new film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. "When we go to the theatres, we see often times the most extreme versions of characters, of human nature. And that's what we know is drama," O'Connor told journalists on Saturday. However, "I find now that I often want to see ordinary people put in kind of extraordinary positions," said the actor who played Prince Charles in the TV series "The Crown." O'Connor's James Mooney is an unemployed carpenter with a wife, played by Alana Haim, and two children in 1970s Massachusetts who decides he wants to steal four paintings by early American modernist Arthur Dove from the local city museum. The plan begins to unravel almost from the get-go as Mooney, with no criminal experience, steals the art but is forced to hide out, away from his family, while police search for him. "The Mastermind" is one of two films in competition for the festival's top prize that star O'Connor, the other being the gay period romance "The History of Sound" with Paul Mescal. The actor described Mooney's overconfident plan as a "work of art in itself," one that comes from privilege and "from generations of men being told that they deserve something more." For the film, director Reichardt said she was interested in exploring New Hollywood's typical "bumbling jerk" character who can do whatever he wants and still be liked by the audience. Examples include Robert De Niro's Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver" or any Jack Nicholson character, said the director of films including "First Cow," "Old Joy" and "Wendy and Lucy." "I'm interested in that tradition, but I'm also interested in breaking it down a little bit and looking at how the parts of it work and then kind of fall apart," she told journalists. Streaming platform Mubi, which bought "The Mastermind," gave the film the resources needed and then did not impose on how it was made, said Reichardt, calling it a "very fortunate thing". Actor Hayley Atwell has stunned fans with a behind-the-scenes revelation about her time on Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning. In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the British star shared that she was heavily pregnant during one of the films key action sequences. Hayley Atwell reveals being pregnant during Mission Impossible 8 While discussing the intense fight choreography featured in the film, Hayley Atwell, who plays Grace in the franchise, casually dropped the surprise during her chat with Fallon. During this fight sequence, we came back to it a few times to add a few elements to it, she explained this week on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. And in this clip, Im actually eight and a half months pregnant. The audience responded with disbelief and admiration, as Atwell went on to describe the experience of working on such a demanding film while carrying her child. Atwell added, Im serious. Yes. And I have to say, I was taken such good care of. Everyone was so supportive and they were like, Oh, you can sit down, and well have a stunt double do it. And I was like, No! Ive worked too hard. Let me do it. So I did it, and here it is. Known for her roles in action-heavy films and series, including Marvels Agent Carter, Atwell is no stranger to performing tough stunts. But this admission brings a new level of awe to her dedication and professionalism. About Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the latest instalment in the long-running franchise is the biggest Hollywood blockbuster to land at the 78th edition of the festival. Following its world premiere in Tokyo last week, the film hit North American cinemas on May 23. The attacks have been fast and furious. In a matter of months the Trump administration has cancelled thousands of research grants and withheld billions of dollars from scientists. Projects at Harvard and Columbia, among the worlds best universities, have been abruptly cut off. A proposed budget measure would slash as much as 50% from Americas main research-funding bodies. Because Americas technological and scientific prowess is world-beating, the country has long been a magnet for talent. Now some of the worlds brightest minds are anxiously looking for the exit. Why is the administration undermining its own scientific establishment? On May 19th Michael Kratsios, a scientific adviser to President Donald Trump, laid out the logic. Science needs shaking up, he said, because it has become inefficient and sclerotic, and its practitioners have been captured by groupthink, especially on diversity, equity and inclusion (dei). You might find that reasonable enough. Look closely at what is happening, though, and the picture is alarming. The assault on science is unfocused and disingenuous. Far from unshackling scientific endeavour, the administration is doing it grievous damage. The consequences will be bad for the world, but America will pay the biggest price of all. One problem is that actions are less targeted than the administration claims, as our special Science section this week explains. As Mr Trumps officials seek to stamp out dei, punish universities for incidents of antisemitism and cut overall government spending, science has become collateral damage. A suspicion that scientists are pushing woke" thinking has led grant-makers to become allergic to words like trans" and equity". As a consequence, it is not only inclusive education schemes that are being culled, but an array of orthodox science. Funding has been nixed for studies that seek, say, to assess cancer risk factors by race, or the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases by sex. The attack on elite universities takes this to an illogical extreme. Because the White House sees colleges as bastions of wokeness and antisemitism, it has withheld funding for research at Harvard and Columbia, no matter in which subject. Overnight, projects on everything from Alzheimers disease to quantum physics have been stopped. When scientists warn of the harm this does, they risk being seen as part of a scornful anti-MAGA elite that has been protected for too long. More fundamentally, the claim that Mr Trump will stop groupthink is disingenuous. maga reserves a special hatred for public-health and climate researchers, whom it regards as finger-wagging worrywarts determined to suppress Americans libertiesas they did in lockdowns and school closures during covid-19. The consequence is that spending on vaccine and climate research will be gutted most viciously of all. With the stroke of a pen, officials are trying to impose new rules that tell scientists what areas of inquiry they may pursue and what is off-limitsa shocking step backwards for a republic founded on the freethinking values of the Enlightenment. Meanwhile, genuine problems with the way science works in America are being neglected. Mr Kratsios is right that there is too much bureaucracy. Americas best researchers say they spend two out of five days on form-filling and other administrative tasks, instead of in the lab. Research is becoming more incremental. New ways of funding, such as lotteries, are worth trying. So far, however, the White House has not set out plans to make science work better. Indeed, when scientists are uncertain whether their work will still be funded, or if they take to the courts to challenge arbitrary grant terminations, American science becomes less efficient, not more so. Congress and the courts may yet act to limit the scale and the scope of these anti-science endeavours. Even so, the damage of the past few months will soon be felt. Savage cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mean worse weather-forecasting, making it harder for farmers to know when to plant their crops, and for local authorities to prepare for natural disasters. Those to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will make it harder to monitor, and thus curb, outbreaks of disease. There will also be longer-term harm. Although Mr Trump hopes his tariffs will lure businesses to invest in America, their research spending is unlikely to fill the same gaps as publicly funded basic work, much of which may not be commercialised for years, if ever. As funding is frozen, the danger of a brain drain looms. In the first three months of the year the number of applications for overseas jobs from American scientists rose by a third compared with the same period in 2024; foreign researchers applying to come to America fell by a quarter. The countrys reputation for welcoming talent will not be so easily regained. If the belief that academic freedom is curtailed takes hold, the scientists who remain could self-censor their lines of inquiry for years to come. The consequences will be felt around the world. America is the planets biggest backer of public research; it is home to half of all science Nobel laureates and four of the ten best scientific-research universities. The knowledge uncovered by American scientists and resulting innovations such as the internet and mrna vaccines have been a boon to humanity. When America retreats, everyone is robbed of the fruits of this ingenuity. Exit, pursued by an elephant It is America, however, that will feel the pain most of all. At the beginning of the 20th century there was no branch of science in which Uncle Sam led the world. At the centurys end there was none where it did not. Americas triumphsits economic prowess, and its technological and military mightwere interwoven with that scientific success. As America pulls back, it will cede ground to authoritarian China as a scientific superpower, with all the benefits that confers. magas assault on science is not just about dei, nor is it about universities. It is first and foremost an act of self-harm. For subscribers only: to see how we design each weeks cover, sign up to our weekly Cover Story newsletter. 2025, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com Thailand aims to clamp down on easy access to cannabis by mandating medical prescriptions amid rising instances of tourists attempting to smuggle out large quantities of weed. Dispensaries will be allowed to sell cannabis only to those with licenses or with prescriptions from medical professionals, including traditional medicine practitioners, when proposed changes to existing rules take effect in about 40 days. The amount sold will also be limited to 30 days of use, according to the Ministry of Public Health. The new rules, which will be binding on locals and foreigners alike, come after Thai authorities intercepted 73 kilograms of cannabis earlier this week at Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi airport. Weed smuggled out of Thailand has reached the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and many other destinations, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said. Thailand will now make it harder to access cannabis except for medical reasons, he added. Thailand was the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis in 2022, but has so far struggled to regulate and contain its free use. A legal vacuum, without a cannabis law in place, has allowed more than 10,700 cannabis dispensaries to open nationwide, with many in popular tourist areas and business districts in Bangkok and beyond. The Southeast Asian country has also made several policy u-turns after recreational smoking became a hot-button issue due to wider societal concerns over addiction. Somsaks ruling Pheu Thai Party had vowed to re-list marijuana as a narcotic to restrict its use to just medical purposes, but opposition from Bhumjaithai Party, the second-biggest group in the ruling coalition, has forced Pheu Thai to walk back on its pledge and keep the plant legal. While cannabis can be consumed within Thailand, it has been smuggled out of the country in tourist luggages or by mail. Since British and Thai authorities joined forces last year, over 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempted cannabis smuggling. Thai airport authorities have also intercepted over 800 cannabis smugglers and seized over 9 tons of cannabis, the British government said in a statement. The new rules are likely to be temporary as Thailand is still working on a full-fledged cannabis bill to regulate the wider uses, sales, exports and production of the plant. The draft bill was unveiled in September but hasnt been approved by the cabinet or reached parliament for deliberation. The cannabis bill will go on its own track, but it cant be rushed. Were looking at two more years before its ready, Somsak told reporters. If people are still unhappy, well re-criminalize it. READ: Thailand Unveils Bill to Regulate Cannabis And Keep It Legal The public and industry stakeholders have until June 5 to submit feedback on the proposed ministry regulation, which will then be submitted to the cabinet for approval. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Gold price outlook: Gold Futures on India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) closed 0.02 per cent or 21 lower on Friday, 23 May 2025, after a rally fueled by the renewed trade tensions in the global economy over US President Donald Trump's stance with the European Union tariffs. Gold Futures for the June 2025 contract closed 0.02 per cent lower at 96,400 per 10 grams as of Friday, 23 May 2025, compared to 96,421 at the previous commodity market close, according to the data collected from MCX. Gold prices in India and the US-based Comex gold rates jumped as investors' tensions renewed over US President Donald Trump's proposal of a 50 per cent tariff on imports from the European Union starting 1 June 2025. Trump also threatened Apple that the federal government would impose a minimum of 25 per cent tariffs if the iPhone maker fails to relocate smartphone production to the United States. In times of uncertainty, investors pull their money out of high-risk assets like equity and derivatives markets in search of safe-haven investments like government treasuries and gold. Commodity experts are eyeing a bullish outlook for the precious yellow metal with key economic indicators like the looming trade tensions and the ongoing trade war between the United States and other world nations. Key market triggers for Gold in June Jigar Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, expects the rise in gold prices to continue into the month of June 2025, with key drivers like the U.S. credit downgrade, continued Chinese central bank gold purchases, trade tensions, recession fears, and robust safe-haven demand in focus for the precious yellow metal. The uptrend in gold appears poised to continue into June. A break below $3,100/oz looks increasingly unlikely, said the commodities market expert. Looking ahead, markets will closely watch next weeks U.S. economic data releases, including consumer confidence, Q1 GDP (preliminary), and minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting. While any progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations could offer temporary relief to risk assets, gold may continue to attract safe-haven inflows. The SPDR Gold ETF remains a key barometer for institutional sentiment. In the near term, Comex gold prices could test the $3,380$3,430/oz range, said Trivedi. Gold Price Outlook for next week Colin Shah, the Managing Director of Kama Jewelry, said that the gold prices were volatile last week due to the weakening US Dollar and the rising tensions about the fiscal outlook of the United States. Moving forward to next week, the outlook for gold remains bullish with a possibility for a potential short-term correction. International Prices are expected to trade in the range of $3300-3400/Oz, supported by ongoing geopolitical tensions and an uncertain outlook over US fiscal policies, signalling economic instability in the biggest economy of the world, he said. The precious yellow metal is likely to hover in the range of 95,000 to 96,000 per 10 grams for the upcoming week. Domestic Prices can hover in the range of 95,000-96,000/10 gms. For silver, prices may remain relatively stable, unless any major economic development takes precedence, said Shah. Read all stories by Anubhav Mukherjee Picture this: your phone runs out of battery, but you have a power bank handy to keep it going. Now, imagine the same concept but on a much larger scalefor the entire electricity grid. Thats exactly what a battery energy storage system (BESS) does. Acting like a giant power bank, a BESS stores surplus electricity generated from renewable sources during periods of low demand and releases it when demand peaks. By bridging this gap, such a system makes renewable energy more reliable and ensures power availability around the clock. Recognising its importance, the Indian government is actively supporting BESS adoption through initiatives such as viability gap funding (VGF) and production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes. As Indias energy needs continue to rise, the demand for efficient storage solutions is set to surge. With that in mind, weve shortlisted five battery energy storage system (BESS) stocks for your watch list. #1 Exide industries Exide is a leading manufacturer of lead-acid batteries, storage batteries, and allied products in India. It recently launched Exide BESS with the aim of meeting sustainability goals and significantly reducing its carbon footprint. For this it is investing heavily in research and development (R&D) and has adopted the advanced absorbent glass mat (AGM) and tubular gel batteries for BESS applications. Exide Industries aims to offer customised solutions to commercial, industrial and retail users to ensure uninterrupted power supply and reduce electricity costs. Given the increasing adoption of renewable energy, the company is positive about the growth of its BESS solutions. View Full Image Source: Equitymaster #2 Oriana Power The company provides renewable energy services on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and build, own, operate, transfer (BOOT) basis. It offers low-carbon energy solutions involving on-site solar project installations such as rooftop and ground-mounted systems, and off-site solar farms. The company recently diversified into BESS, compressed biogas and green hydrogen, and has won auctions for standalone BESS projects in Karnataka, Telangana, and Assam. So far, the company has delivered over 254 MW of projects and has more than 1,500 MW worth of projects in the pipeline, of which 300 MWh are BESS projects. Its rapidly scaling its BESS solutions business, aiming to derive 10-20% of next years revenue from it. It aims to become a key player in BESS with a total capacity of 3.5 GWh by 2030. View Full Image Source: Equitymaster #3 Tata Power Tata Power is Indias largest integrated power company. It generates, transmits and distributes electricity, and also manufactures solar roofs and builds electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Tata Power is a pioneer in adopting BESS technology, having set up a facility in 2019. Ever since, it has made efforts to develop and adopt best practices in operation and maintenance. The company has also developed facilities for in-house repair of BESS equipment, which brings with it the benefits of self-sufficiency and reduced costs. Also read: Tata Powers solar cell plant fuels Q4 earnings, sets stage for FY26 growth In February it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ONGC to explore joint opportunities in the BESS value chain. In April the company announced that it would install a 100 MW BESS in Mumbai over the next two years. It also plans to integrate BESS at its renewable sites to enable a round-the-clock supply of clean power. In May 2024, its subsidiary commissioned Indias largest solar and battery energy storage project, comprising a 100 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project and a 120 MWh utility-scale BESS. View Full Image Source: Equitymaster #4 Gensol Engineering Gensol is in the business of solar consulting and EPC. It also offers 100% EV-focussed leasing solutions and manufactures EV sitself. It has expanded its offerings over the years to include ground-mounted and rooftop solar power plants, solar tracker technology, and BESS. In 2024 it won Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigams (GUVNL) auction to set up pilot projects of 250 MWh/500MWh standalone BESS in Gujarat under tariff-based global competitive bidding. It also secured an additional 250 MWh/500 MWh under the greenshoe option, increasing the total project capacity to 500 MWh/1 GWh. The goal of the project is to provide electricity on demand to Gujarat power distribution companies during peak and off-peak hours. It will provide battery backup for more than an hour, with a total output of 1,000 MW. However, Gensol Engineering is currently facing significant scrutiny. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has issued an interim order against the company and its promoters, Puneet Singh Jaggi and Anmol Singh Jaggi, barring them from participating in the securities markets until further notice due to concerns related to fund diversion and corporate governance. Also read: BluSmart investors look to buy promoters stake, revive the ride-hailing company View Full Image Source: Equitymaster #5 JSW Energy JSW Energy is in the business of generating power from thermal and renewable sources. In 2024 it entered the energy storage services business. It won a 1 GWh storage project from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which is expected to be commissioned by June 2025. This project includes two installations with 500 MWh each, designed for two hours of storage in one cycle. The project will be developed under the BOOT mechanism. JSW Energy aims to achieve 20 GW of generation capacity and 40 GWh of energy storage capacity before 2030, and to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Also read: JSW Energy's expected Ebitda growth to be fueled by debt binge View Full Image Source: Equitymaster Conclusion With Indias ambitious goals of generating 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, the number of solar and wind projects in the country has shot up. BESS is essential to support these solar and wind projects, and ensure the electricity they generate is not wasted. With electricity demand and EV adoption growing, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates by the government, the demand for storage systems is set to increase. This makes BESS the backbone of Indias green-energy transition. However, it's essential to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Be sure to carefully evaluate factors such as technological advancements, government policies, market competition, corporate governance, project-specific risks, and fundamentals of companies before deciding whether to invest. Happy investing! Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com Donald Trump announced that steelmaker US Steel will stay in America, with its headquarters in Pittsburgh. Following the announcement, the shares of US Steel surged nearly 24 per cent on Friday, reported AFP. Trump claimed that the partnership of US Steel with Nippon Steel is expected to generate 70,000 jobs and inject $14 billion into the US economy, making it a historic investment for Pennsylvania. Also Read | Trump shatters tariff calm with new salvo Taking to his TruthSocial account, Trump wrote, "I am proud to announce that, after much consideration and negotiation, US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh. For many years, the name, "United States Steel" was synonymous with Greatness, and now, it will be again." His post further read, This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the US Economy. The bulk of that Investment will occur in the next 14 months. This is the largest Investment in the History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Trump commends tariff policies Trump praised his tariff policies, which will help manufacture goods in the US. My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA. From Pennsylvania to Arkansas, and from Minnesota to Indiana, AMERICAN MADE is BACK. I will see you all at US Steel, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, May 30th, for a BIG Rally. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!" US Steel and Nippon Steel partnership Trump's announcement is the latest development in the proposed partnership that started in December 2023, when US Steel and Nippon Steel announced a $14.9 billion merger. The deal, which was expected to be finalised by the third quarter of 2024, was blocked by former President Joe Biden over national security grounds. Both firms filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for "illegal interference" in the deal. Top News Debt mutual funds experienced a robust 20.5% surge in their assets under management (AUM) during the financial year 202425 (FY25), signaling renewed investor confidence in fixed-income instruments amid evolving macroeconomic conditions. According to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the AUM of debt-oriented schemes expanded significantly, rising from 12.62 lakh crore in March 2024 to 15.21 lakh crore by the end of March 2025. Additionally, with the Reserve Bank of India maintaining a relatively stable monetary policy stance through much of the year, longer-duration debt instruments became more attractive, leading to higher inflows into categories like corporate bond funds, gilt funds, and banking & PSU debt funds. Retail participation has also risen, supported by greater financial awareness and the convenience of digital platforms making debt fund investments more accessible. Also Read | Wall St falls as Trump tariff threats spark market uncertainty The initial public offerings (IPOs) of Borana Weaves and Belrise Industries witnessed an overwhelming investor response, underscoring the strong momentum in Indias primary markets and growing investor appetite for new listings. Borana Weaves IPO was oversubscribed by a staggering 147.85 times, reflecting exceptional interest from all investor segments, including retail investors, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). This level of oversubscription indicates immense confidence in the companys business model, financial health, and future growth prospects, particularly in the textile sector, which is benefiting from rising export demand and government support for manufacturing. The massive subscription numbers also suggest that the issue was attractively priced and backed by a compelling investment narrative. Also Read | THESE aggressive hybrid funds gave over 21% CAGR return in past 5 years Several leading asset management companies (AMCs) have recently launched New Fund Offers (NFOs), reflecting the evolving preferences of Indian investors and a growing demand for diversified and thematic investment options. Canara Robeco AMC has introduced the Canara Robeco Multi Asset Allocation Growth Direct Plan, aiming to provide investors with exposure across equity, debt, and commodities for balanced risk and return. Baroda AMC, in collaboration with BNP Paribas, has launched the Baroda BNP Paribas Multi Asset Active FoF Growth Direct Plan, another fund-of-funds structure targeting asset diversification. SBI AMC and ICICI AMC have both unveiled offerings tracking the Nifty200 Quality 30 Index through their SBI Nifty200 Quality 30 Index Growth Direct Plan and ICICI Prudential Nifty200 Quality 30 Index Growth Direct Plan respectively, appealing to investors seeking quality-focused portfolios within a passive structure. Motilal Oswal AMCs Services Growth Direct Plan provides sector-specific exposure, focusing on India's expanding services industry. Nippon India AMCs BSE Sensex Next 30 Index Growth Direct Plan targets the next-tier large-cap stocks, potentially offering growth beyond traditional Sensex constituents. Union AMC has introduced the Union Income Plus Arbitrage Active FoF Growth Direct Plan, catering to conservative investors looking for stable returns through arbitrage strategies. Lastly, Unifi AMCs Flexi Cap Growth Direct Plan offers flexibility in market capitalization, aiming to capture value across segments. These NFOs reflect the increasing innovation and customization in India's mutual fund industry. Index Returns Best Performers Worst Performers Bought and Sold Most Watchlisted A Kachchh man, identified as Sahdev Singh Gohil, has been arrested for sharing information related to BSF and IAF with a Pakistani agent, Gujarat ATS SP K. Siddharth said. This comes after eleven people, comprising renowned travel blogger Jyoti Malhotra, were reportedly nabbed in the last week for allegedly spying for Pakistan post Operation Sindoor. Gohil had come in contact with Aditi Bhardwaj: SP K. Siddharth Gujarat ATS arrested Sahdev Singh Gohil, a multipurpose health worker from Kachchh... We had information that he had been sharing information related to BSF and IAF with a Pakistani agent... The accused was called here for a preliminary investigation on May 1. It was revealed that during June-July 2023, Sahdev Singh Gohil had come in contact with a girl named Aditi Bharadwaj through WhatsApp, ANI quoted SP K. Siddharth as saying. He mentioned, While speaking to her, he came to know that she was a Pakistani agent. She asked for photos and videos of the BSF and IAF sites, which were under construction or newly constructed. He started sharing photos and videos through WhatsApp... At the beginning of 2025, he bought a SIM card on his Aadhaar Card and activated WhatsApp on that number for Aditi Bharadwaj with the help of OTP... After that, all photos and videos related to BSF and IAF were shared on that number. He was also paid 40,000 in cash by an unidentified man... His phone was sent to the FSL. The WhatsApp numbers under Aditi Bharadwaj's name were being operated from Pakistan. We have registered a case against Sahdev Singh Gohil and Pakistani agent Aditi Bharadwaj under sections 61 and 148 of BNS. Sahdev Singh Gohil has been arrested, SP K. Siddharth added. Delhi man arrested on espionage charges The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had earlier nabbed Mohammad Harun, a resident of Seelampur in Delhi, on charges of spying and maintaining links with Pakistani agents, comprising officials connected to Islamabads government and military. He visited Pakistan 17 days prior to the Pahalgam terror attack, his family stated, ANI reported. UP man arrested for alleged links to Pak-backed anti-national organisations The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) received intelligence indicating that Tufail, son of Maqsood Alam and a resident of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, was involved in a WhatsApp group allegedly linked to Pakistan-backed anti-national organisations. These groups are believed to be working against India's sovereignty, unity, and integrity, according to an official statement. Also Read | Spy Jyoti Malhotra admits to have been in contact with Pakistani official "Tufail was reportedly in contact with numerous Pakistani individuals and was actively sharing videos of Maulana Shad Rizvi, leader of the banned Pakistani terror group Tehreek-e-Labbaik. He also disseminated content promoting 'Ghazwa-e-Hind', called for revenge over the Babri Masjid incident, and advocated for the imposition of Sharia law in India," PTI quoted ATS as saying. He allegedly shared photographs and information of locations, comprising Rajghat, Gyanvapi mosque, Namoghat, Varanasi railway station, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, and Nizamuddin with Pakistani phone numbers. In what appears to be a shocking incident, a vegetable vendor was buried alive in Baradari area after a sewer cleaning workers unknowingly dumped a load of sludge on him while he was asleep under a tree near a cemetery, Bareilly police said on Saturday. After a complaint was lodged by the victim's father, SSP Anurag Arya said a case has been filed at the Baradari police station against the accused civic workers, PTI reported. What did the police say? According to police, 45-year-old Sunil Kumar Prajapati from Shantipur, who was allegedly intoxicated, was resting under a tree near his home on Thursday afternoon when a team of civic workers, led by Naem, dumped a tractor-trolley full of sludge on him, the officer stated. The person navigating the tractor-trolley apparently didn't see Prajapati, the officer added. After some time, the victims son discovered his father buried beneath the sludge and, with the help of local residents, managed to pull him out. Prajapati was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar Maurya stated that orders have been given to launch an investigation into the incident. Other related incidents In a separate incident, on May 23, 2025, two women laborers died and two others were injured when a mound of soil collapsed during basement excavation work at the Old Faridabad Railway Station. The incident occurred while workers were resting near the excavation site. Preliminary investigations revealed violations of safety regulations, TOI had reported. As panic sets in as several states in India see a spike in Covid-19 cases, official sources have said that most of the infections were mild in nature. They have also said that the Covid-19 patients are under home care. They said the Union Health Ministry remains vigilant and is proactively monitoring the situation closely. As cases continue to rise, the Union Health Secretary reviewed the situation on Saturday, May 24, with the Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), DGHS and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) etc, the sources were quoted as saying by PTI. While Southeast Asia has seen an uptick in the Covid-19 cases, in India, infections have been reported from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi. Most cases have been found in Kerala. On Friday, May 23, at least 23 persons tested positive for the coronavirus. Also Read | Covid-19: 84-year man dies in Bengaluru amid spike in cases It is observed that most of these cases are mild and under home care, an official source said, adding, It may also be mentioned that there have been some media reports regarding increase in Covid-19 cases in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries in the recent past. It has been ascertained from the respective National IHR focal points that there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to the previously circulating variants. Meanwhile, according to the INSACOG data, one case of the newly emerging Covid-19 variant NB.1.8.1 and four cases of LF.7 have been detected in India. In India, the most common variant remains JN.1, comprising 53 per cent of samples tested, followed by BA.2 (26%) and other Omicron sublineages (20%), according to INSACOG. JN.1, a Covid-19 variant and Omicron lineages BA.2.86 subvariant, is mostly credited with the rise in Covid cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has categorised it as a variant of interest but not a concern. Doctors in the national capital have urged the public not to panic over Covid-19 cases linked to the JN.1 variant which is circulating in India. According to PTI, doctors have said that the strain is not severe and most patients are experiencing only mild symptoms. Delhi-NCR will remain shielded from the sweltering temperatures as the India Meteorological Department has predicted rain accompanied by thunderstorms over the weekend. The weather agency, in its latest forecast, said that the city will witness a partly cloudy sky with chances of thunder and lightning throughout the day further contributing to a dip in temperatures. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 37 degrees Celsius. Delhi Weather Forecast According to the forecast, the city is set to experience fluctuating weather conditions between May 22 and May 28. Temperatures are expected to rise steadily throughout the week, peaking at 40C on both May 26 and May 28. Minimum temperatures will also increase, starting at 21C on 22 May and reaching 29C by the end of the forecast period. Thunderstorms accompanied by rain are likely on 23 and 24 May, providing some respite from the intensifying heat. On 23 May, temperatures are expected to range from 23C to 37C, while on 24 May, they will edge slightly higher, ranging from 25C to 38C. Also read | IMD issues red alert for Goa, Orange for Mumbai Check rain forecast for Delhi and other cities Further rain or thundershowers are forecast for 27 May, with a modest dip in the maximum temperature to 38C. Over the past few days, Delhi has seen intermittent light rainfall, with a notable thunderstorm earlier in the week offering much-needed relief by significantly lowering temperatures. On Wednesday, overcast skies, rainfall, and gusty winds contributed to a marked drop in the mercury. At present, the maximum temperature in the city has settled between 34C and 35C - a clear decline compared to the higher temperatures recorded earlier this month. Read | Weather today: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata on orange alert as Delhi braces for more rain; check IMD's forecast here Delhi Storm Leaves Trail Of Destruction At least six people were killed and 11 injured as a fierce sandstorm accompanied by heavy rain lashed Delhi-NCR on Friday night. The storm uprooted trees and electric poles, damaging homes and vehicles across the region. Casualties were reported from multiple locations two deaths occurred in Delhi, including a person with disabilities, while Ghaziabad and Greater Noida reported two fatalities each due to rain-related incidents. Also read | IndiGo flight with 'nose damage' from Delhi storm was denied entry into Pakistan airspace, DGCA clarifies Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, May 24, chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog which was attended by 31 states and Union Territories (UTs). During the meeting, Operation Sindoor, Nari Shakti, skilling were a few topics that were stressed upon by the prime minister. Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala and Puducherry did not participate in the NITI Aayog meeting, CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said. 31 out of 36 states/UTs participated in the NITI Aayog governing council meeting today. States that did not participate are Karnataka, Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, and Puducherry, he said. The agenda for the meeting was two items apart from an action taken report. Firstly, the theme of the meeting itself and the first item in the agenda was 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat'. The whole idea is that in the last Governing Council, the Prime Minister had given a call for all states to prepare their own state visions, making their states develop so that they have visions which will then aggregate into a larger vision for the nation, he said. The India Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rainfall warning for several southern and western states - including Karnataka and Kerala which has welcomed the southwest monsoon. A red alert has also been sounded for Goa, forecasting heavy downpours until Sunday. Heavy showers lashed parts of the coastal state in the past 24 hours. Southwest monsoon sets in over Kerala The southwest monsoon has officially arrived in Kerala today, marking an early onset eight days ahead of the usual date of June1. This is the earliest monsoon onset in Kerala since 2009, when it began on May23. According to historical data since 1975, the earliest recorded onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala was on May 19 1990, which was 13 days earlier than the normal date. The advance arrival of the monsoon this year signals the beginning of the rainy season across Kerala, bringing much-needed relief and marking the start of the broader monsoon progression over the Indian subcontinent. Meteorologists will be closely monitoring its movement as it spreads to other parts of the country in the coming weeks. The IMD has declared a red alert in Kerala for the following districts: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Idukki, and Malappuram. Coastal Karnataka on red alert The IMD has forecast heavy rainfall across Karnataka, particularly in the coastal districts, due to a low-pressure area over the east-central Arabian Sea. Extremely heavy rain with gusty winds (30-40 kmph) is expected in parts of Dakshina Kannada, while Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts may see heavy to very heavy rain and widespread moderate showers on Saturday. Belagavi and Dharwad are also on alert, with moderate rain forecast for several interior districts including Ballari, Bengaluru (Rural and Urban), Chikkaballapura, Chamarajanagara, Tumakuru, and others. On May 25, extremely heavy rain is likely to continue in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada. Gusty winds will accompany the showers throughout the forecast period, prompting alerts in several districts. IMD advises caution as the weather system develops and moves inland. Meanwhile, Bengaluru is likely to receive scattered showers over the next five days, the IMD said. Heavy rainfall warning for Goa The weather department has issued a red alert, indicating heavy to very heavy showers until Sunday. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea, as squally weather with wind speeds of 4050 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, is expected along and off the Goa and Konkan coast. Mumbai weather update Mumbai experienced a partly cloudy day on 23 May, with temperatures ranging between 25C and 33C. Similar conditions are expected on 24 May, with partly cloudy skies and chances of moderate rain or thunderstorms, according to the India Meteorological Department. A significant shift in weather is forecast from Saturday, 25 May, through Monday, 27 May, with heavy rainfall predicted under generally cloudy skies. Temperatures during this period will range from 24C to 32C. The IMD has issued an alert, urging residents to brace for potential waterlogging and traffic disruptions. The simmering standoff between the US government and the storied Harvard University boiled over on Thursday (Friday morning India time) when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked the universitys certification to admit foreign students for the 2025-26 academic year. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued a stern warning to all universities, asserting that enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right. Harvard had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country," Noem stated. The order directly impacts more than 788 Indian students studying in Harvard as of now, part of more than 7,000 international students who will see their student visas impacted. Also read: Jumping jobs? A Supreme Court judgement just made it tough, for freshers Harvard promptly sued the US administration in the district court of Massachusetts. In a late night (India time) development, the district court judge blocked the order, signalling temporary relief for thousands of students. Responding to a Mint query, the universitys spokesperson pointed to its court filing. Effective immediately, most of Harvards thousands of enrolled F-1 and J-1 visa students (and their more than 300 dependents) will have little choice but to secure transfer to another school or risk being rendered without lawful status in the United States," the court filing stated, adding that the university can no longer sponsor these visa holders for its upcoming summer and fall terms, despite having admitted thousands. F-1 visas are for academic students, M-1 for vocational students, and J-1 for exchange visitors. Also read: After a new lifeline, Vodafone Idea searches for a new CEO Effective immediately, countless academic programs, research laboratories, clinics and courses supported by Harvards international students have been thrown into disarray," the filing stated. The governments actions come just days before graduation. Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard." The university sent an email to its foreign students on Friday morning India time, informing them of the US governments order. Among those from India who received an email from, at 2.30 am on Friday, was a Mumbai-based student heading to the university for a four-year undergraduate course. There is panic and we can do nothing, many have received this mail," said the student, who did not want to be named, mirroring the worry of thousands of Indian students studying or who have been admitted to Harvard. Harvards student and exchange visitor program (SEVP) certification collects, maintains, analyzes and provides information so that only legitimate foreign students or exchange visitors gain entry to the US. The DHSs order made allegations against the campus, which include creating an unsafe" and anti-American" campus. It has provided a 72-hour window to Harvard to comply with specific conditions to reinstate its ability to enroll foreign students. Also read: Mark My Worth: One budget, many hopefuls who gets the hike? The biggest effect of this is that it creates uncertainty for students," Dhruva Bhat, director of Lumiere Education told Mint. The courts will rule on these issues soon, and there are midterm elections coming up in 2025, so these changes may not stay." Bhat, a Harvard alumnus along with batchmate Stephen Turban, founded Lumiere Education that consults students for an admission into the Ivy League colleges. For a student planning to make a multi-year investment decision worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, these actions make them think twice," Bhat said. More and more of the students Im talking to are asking if they should consider gap years, or apply to the UK or other countries as a backup." A degree in these colleges can set students back by $55,000-100,000 a year for a four-year undergraduate course. According to data provided by Open Doors Report, a portal for international students, the number of Indian students studying in the US in academic year 2023-24 hit an all-time high of 331,602, an uptick of 23% from 2022-23, when it stood at 268,923. Many Indian parents are concerned that political clashes will impact the future of their children. As a result, other destinations may see a rise in popularity. Parents have called on whether they can apply to other colleges outside the US like Canada, Australia and the UK," said Namrata Pandey, founder and chief mentor of La Mentoraa, an organization that specializes in helping students gain admission into universities in India and overseas. Those applying for admissions this year will not opt for early decisions to these US colleges." According to data provided by the Indian government in Parliament in March, 750,000 Indians were studying abroad in 2022. That number shot up to 892,000 in 2023 but dipped to 759,000 in 2024 in the wake of geopolitical crises, as well as with Canada and Australia tightening their admissions criteria. However, some education consultants feel this storm may blow out soon. International students are integral to the universities and add to the revenue and learnings of the college," said Namita Mehta, president and partner at education consulting firm The Red Pen, which sends 50 students a year to Ivy league colleges for undergraduate and post-graduate programs. The background US President Donald Trumps regime has been in a battle with universities, especially Harvard. The US government had cut $2.7 million in federal grants to Harvard University in April, which the university has challenged in court. On May 20, the federal Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism said that Harvard researchers would lose another $450 million in grants from several agencies. Harvard is part of the prestigious Ivy League, which also has in its ranks Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Yale University. The Border Security Forces (BSF) shot dead a Pakistani intruder on Friday night. The intruder was attempting to enter Indian territory in Banaskantha district, Gujarat, officials said on Friday. The security forces said in statement that the troops spotted a suspicious person advancing towards the border fence after crossing the International Border, news agency ANI reported. Taking swift action, the BSF challenged the intruder but the intruder continued to advance, prompting them to open fire. The intruder was neutralised on the spot, the statement added. Security forces have been on high alert after Pakistan committed ceasefire violations by cross-border shelling following Operation Sindoor. Operation Sindoor India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian army targetted at least nine terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POJK). In Rajasthan, the BSF is maintaining a strong presence along the international border in Jaisalmer, as part of ongoing Operation Sindoor. Yogendra Singh Rathore, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Jaisalmer BSF, emphasised the force' unwavering commitment to national security, highlighting their role as the first line of defense. The BSF is the first line of defence and is always alert on the border. 5-6 years after its formation, the India-Pakistan war took place in 1971, and even then, it proved its usefulness. We were victorious during the Kargil war too, Yogendra Singh Rathore was quoted by ANI as saying. "When the incident happened on April 22, when they (terrorists) killed our innocent citizens, after that, we were ready to give them a befitting reply. We stood by the decision taken by the Government of India, and we were fully prepared so that we could stop any misadventure right there," said DIG Rathore. Border Security Force (BSF) Officer Jaipal Singh highlighted the BSF's readiness to ensure national security, particularly effectively neutralising drone threats during Operation Sindoor. He said, During Operation Sindoor, before Operation Sindoor and in the future, BSF has always been ready to perform its duty for the security of the country. During Operation Sindoor, the drone activities increased a lot. The enemy sent drones and shells, and we used our equipment tactfully and neutralised their drones...The Indian Air Force did a very good job during this. Many air bases of Pakistan were damaged. This is a matter of pride for us, he added. The BSF worked closely with the Indian Air Force, which successfully targeted Pakistani airbases, damaging enemy infrastructure.The two countries have reached an understanding to stop military action following a call made by Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday extradited Angad Singh Chandhok, an Indian national, from the United States. Chandhok is accused of running a multi-million-dollar tech support scam that targeted elderly American citizens using a network of shell companies. He was convicted by a US court for his involvement in the large-scale online fraud, ANI reported. He and his associates posed as tech support providers, deceiving victims into transferring substantial sums of money. According to a March 2022 press statement from the US Department of Justice, he was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the scheme. Authorities revealed that the fraudulently obtained funds were funnelled through several shell companies set up by Chandhok, with the money eventually moved to India and other countries. According to the United States' attorney office, District of Rhode Island, while living in California, Angad Singh Chandhok, 34, operated a long-running and complex money laundering network, in which he created and used shell companies to move millions of dollars stolen from Americans through an online tech support scheme, and later an online travel fee scheme, ANI reported. Chandhok, who directed a team of at least five individuals, maintained direct contact with high-level international operatives involved in the fraud scheme. According to court documents, Indian students in the U.S., including four based in Newport, Rhode Island, received funds from victims of the tech support scam. These funds were then transferred to accounts controlled by Chandhok, who played a key role in laundering the money. His money laundering operation served as a crucial link between the US-based perpetrators and their international counterparts. Chandhok's criminal activity lasted two years, during which time he cleaned at least $1.5 million. The government's evidence showed that in just one month, he laundered nearly $930,000. Chandhok pleaded guilty on August 19, 2019, to conspiracy to launder criminal proceeds. On Thursday, US District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. sentenced him to 72 months of incarceration, followed by 3 years of federal supervised release. The statement said Chandhok is wanted in his native country of India for fraud and was an international fugitive from justice when he engaged in his sophisticated money laundering activities here in the United States, ANI reported. Chandhok's criminal activity lasted two years, during which time he 'cleaned' at least $1.5 million. The CBI had been pursuing his extradition for an extended period through a prolonged legal process. With his return to India now secured, Chandhok is expected to be produced before a competent court, where the CBI will seek his custodial remand for further investigation. India is recording a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases over the past weeks, with the Health Ministry's Covid dashboard showing 257 active cases across the country as of May 19, data on Saturday showed. States including Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi have reported surging number of Covid-19 cases, including those of an emerging variant named NB.1.8.1. Here are 10 key things you need to know about the recent Covid-19 surge in India: 1. As per INSACOG data, India has recorded one case of the newly emerging Covid-19 variant NB.1.8.1 and four instances of the LF.7 type. As of May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 subvariants as Variants Under Monitoring, not as Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest. But these are the variants that are reportedly driving the rise in Covid cases in China and parts of Asia. 2. In Noida, a 55-year-old woman has been placed under quarantine after she tested positive for Covid-19, authorities said on Saturday. Officials said that samples of her family members have also been sent for testing. The administration is geared up to deal with the situation. We urge people not to panic and follow the safety protocols, including wearing face masks and hand sanitisation, chief medical officer of Gautam Budh Nagar district Narendra Kumar, was quoted as saying by PTI. 3. The most common variant remains JN.1, with 53 per cent of psoitive cases belonging to the category. One case of NB.1.8.1 was identified in April in Tamil Nadu and four cases of LF.7 were detected in Gujarat in May, INSACOG data shows. 4. As many as 10 cases of Covid-19 have been detected in Maharashtra's Thane city over the last three days, with the civic administration urging hospitals to stay vigilant, officials said on Saturday. The authorities said that the patients are experiencing mild syndrome but have not been hospitalised. 5. The Thane civic body has urged people not to panic and follow precautionary measures. It held a high-level review meeting on Friday to assess the situation and readiness of the health system. 6. Meanwhile, the national capital of Delhi has recorded 23 cases of Covid-19 till Thursday, May 22, Health Minister Pankaj Singh said. 7. The detection of Covid-19 cases in Delhi has prompted the Delhi government to issue an advisory asking all hospitals to prepare for the availability of beds, oxygen, medicines and vaccines. The government is verifying the details of whether patients are residents of Delhi or have a travel history outside the city. 8. A nine-month-old baby boy has tested positive for Covid-19 in Bengaluru, health department officials said on Friday. They further noted that the cases have been rising gradually over the past 20 days. Harsh Gupta, principal secretary of the Health & Family Welfare department, said the baby tested positive via a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) on May 22, adding that the condition is stable now. Also Read | Kerala logs 182 COVID cases in May; Health department issues advisory 9. Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday urged all districts in the southern state to increase Covid-19 surveillance, following an increase in cases across Southeast Asia. Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday urged people to not panic and continue with their duties as the state is seeing a gradual increase in Covid-19 cases. Speaking with reporters in Bengaluru, he clarified regarding the Centre's advisory, saying that it clearly states monitoring is sufficient and there is no need for special measures. I appeal to everyone not to panic because when you see reports in the media that Covid-19 has returned to haunt people, people get alarmed, he said. He also appealed to the media to report an accurate picture of the Covid-19 situation and not to exaggerate the severity of the disease, which turned into a pandemic five years ago and killed thousands. Rao further said that the Karnataka government is on alert and is taking all necessary steps to keep the virus from spreading. He clarified that there are no restrictions on movement due to Covid-19, and people can move around freely. People can go and come from any part of the country. People can lead their lives in a normal way, he said. Regarding the recent spike in Covid-19, Rao said there was a possibility of a sub category of coronavirus. It could be a sub-variant of JN 1. These were detected in Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia. There is no panic there in those countries as well, the minister said. Speaking about the spike in Covid-19 cases in Kerala, Rao said that increased testing may result in increased number of cases. Karnataka government issues statement Dinesh Gundu Rao's comments come a day after the Karnataka government issued a statement regarding the recent spike in Covid-19 cases. In the statement issued by the health department, it was noted that of the 35 active Covid-19 cases reported in the state so far, 32 are from Bengaluru. However, no death related to Covid-19 was reported in the state. Although the situation is well under control, a gradual increase in cases has been observed over the last 20 days. It is therefore appropriate that the public proactively comply with Covid-19 Appropriate Behaviour (CAB), as per the statement of the Karnataka health department. Pregnant women, children, immunocompromised individuals, and those with comorbidities have been asked to wear masks while visiting public spaces. Also Read | India steps up surveillance as covid-19 cases surge in Hong Kong and Singapore In a firm and unequivocal statement at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), India launched a scathing attack on Pakistan, saying a nation that makes no distinction between terrorists and civilians has no credentials to speak about protecting civilians. Indias Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said this while addressing the UN Security Council on Friday. He highlighted that the Pakistani Army deliberately shelled Indian border villages, "killing more than 20 civilians and injuring more than 80." There was intentional targeting of places of worship, including gurudwaras, temples and convents, as well as medical facilities. To preach at this body after such behaviour is grossly hypocritical," Ambassador Harish said. Also Read | India has held off the Indus Waters Treaty with due legitimacy He said the victims of Pakistani terrorism have been predominantly civilians since its objective has been to "attack our prosperity, progress and our morale." He further alleged, "Pakistan has repeatedly used their civilian cover to advance the cause of terrorism." Let us be clear. Protection of civilians should not serve as an argument for protection of UN-designated terrorists. The international community must come together on zero tolerance for terrorism and calling out those who sponsor and defend it, Harish said. India rebuts Pakistan's disinformation on Indus Water Treaty at UNSC At the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), India also accused Pakistan of spreading disinformation over the Indus Waters Treaty and reiterated its commitment to responsible water management even amid persistent cross-border terrorism. Speaking at the Arria Formula Meeting, Parvathaneni Harish said, "India entered into the Indus Water Treaty 65 years ago in good faith." He pointed out that Pakistan violated the treaty's spirit by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India, resulting in over 20,000 Indian lives lost in the last four decades. Harish said India has formally asked Pakistan to discuss modifications to the treaty, but Pakistan continued to block consistently any changes to this infrastructure and any modifications of the provisions which is permissible under the treaty. He said, Some of the old dams are facing safety concerns. Pakistan has continued to block any changes to this infrastructure permissible under the Treaty. "Against this backdrop, India has finally announced that the treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan a global epicentre of terror credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism," he stated. "It is clear that it is Pakistan which remains in violation of the Indus Water Treaty," Harish concluded. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in April 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack, which it blamed on Pakistan-based terrorists. Two Maoists, including Pappu Lohrathe chief of the Maoist splinter group Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) and a wanted man with a 10 lakh bountywere killed in an encounter with security forces in Jharkhands Latehar district on Saturday morning, police said. According to a senior officer, the operation was part of an anti-Naxal crackdown jointly carried out by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Jharkhand Police in a forest area under the jurisdiction of the Latehar Police Station, PTI reported. MoS Defence Sanjay Seth said, ...An encounter with Naxalites began at 6 am in the rural areas of Latehar. Pappu Lohra and another Naxalite have been killed in the encounter. He (Pappu Lohra) had a reward of 10 lakhs on him. He added, One police Jawan, Awadh Singh, has been injured, but he is completely out of danger... Maoism is breathing its last in the entire nation... As per the resolution of Home Minister Amit Shah, the nation will soon be free from Naxalism Two Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces. The police have recovered their bodies, Palamu DIG YS Ramesh told PTI. The police said the bodies of Lohra and another person, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, have been recovered. One dreaded member of the group, who was injured, has been arrested, and an INSAS rifle has been recovered from him, sources told PTI. Acting on a tip-off that Lohra and his associates were in the forest, a team of security personnel led by Latehar Superintendent of Police (SP) Kumar Gaurav launched a search operation, the police officer said. "As the Maoists spotted the security personnel, they fired targeting them, and the team retaliated," he added. Jyoti Malhotra, the YouTuber who was arrested on suspicion of espionage in Haryana, was questioned by the Madhya Pradesh Police on Friday over her visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain. However, nothing incriminating came out during the questioning, an official said was quoted by news agency PTI as saying on Friday. Jyoti Malhotra has been accused of spying for Pakistan. The 33-year-old content creator and social media influencer is currently in the custody of police in Hisar, Haryana. A Madhya Pradesh police team grilled the YouTuber in Haryana on Friday after it received the information that she had visited the famous Mahakaleshwar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the ancient holy city of Ujjain in April last year. The YouTuber had put out photos and videos on different social media platform, and police had information that she came to Mahakal Temple for darshan in April last year, said the officer. The team questioned her but "nothing incriminating or suspicious about her visit to the temple has come out", Ujjain Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nitesh Bhargava told PTI over the phone. "The place is very sensitive and sees a huge number of footfalls daily, including devotees from overseas. So it was important to grill her. We took suo motu [on its own motion] action to send a team to Hisar [where she is being grilled by different agencies]," he added. "She stood in the queue like common devotees and had the darshan of the deity," the ASP said. "We have not got any suspicious things (in connection to her Ujjain visit) as of now. It [questioning] was just our precautionary exercise. What was the harm in it?," Bhargava asked. The case so far Malhotra was among the 12 people arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks on suspicion of espionage, with investigators suspecting the presence of a Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India. Hisar-based Malhotra, who ran a YouTube channel titled 'Travel with JO', was arrested from the New Aggarsain Extension on May 16. She was booked under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), according to police. On May 22, a Haryana court had extended the police remand of content creator and social media influencer Jyoti Malhotra by four days. Hisar police had then reportedly said that no evidence had emerged to indicate Malhotra had access to any military- or defence-related information. "But she was definitely in contact with some people, knowing that they were Pakistani intelligence operatives," they had said. Police sources told news agency PTI that she was in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistani High Commission, since November 2023. India expelled Danish on May 13 for allegedly indulging in espionage. Police sent Malhotra's three mobile phones and a laptop for forensic examination. Malhotra's four bank accounts are also being analysed. The National Investigation Agency, Intelligence Bureau, and military intelligence officials have also questioned Malhotra. Investigations reportedly revealed that she visited Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, and some other countries. New Delhi [India], May 24 (ANI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday said the Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of the south Arabian Sea, some parts of the west-central & east-central Arabian Sea, the entire Lakshadweep area, and Kerala. As per the IMD, the Monsoon has also advanced into Maharashtra, some parts of Karnataka, the remaining parts of the Maldives and the Comorin area, many parts of Tamil Nadu, the remaining parts of the southwest and east-central Bay of Bengal, some parts of the west-central and north Bay of Bengal, and some parts of Mizoram on Saturday. As per IMD, the Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala on May 24, eight days earlier than its normal onset date of June 1. "Conditions are favourable for further advance of the Southwest Monsoon into some more parts of the central Arabian Sea, the entire Goa, some parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, some more parts of Karnataka, remaining parts of Tamil Nadu, some more partss of west-central & North Bay of Bengal, some more parts of Northeastern states and some parts of Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during the next 2-3 days," the India Meteorological Department added in a post on social media platform X. "The Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the 24th May, 2025, against the normal date of 1st June. Thus, the southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala eight days before the normal date. This is the earliest monsoon onset over Kerala after the year 2009, when it was set in over Kerala on 23rd May 2009," said the IMD official. Favourable monsoons help monsoon-dependent agricultural regions, citizens, and last-mile users to tackle extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change in a better way. Favourable Monsoon has substantial economic benefits of government investments in monsoon-related weather and forecasting services, particularly benefiting farmers, livestock rearers, and fisherfolk. On Friday, the United States lifted comprehensive economic sanctions on Syria, signalling a major change in policy after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime and paving the way for new investment in the war-ravaged nation. This comes after President Donald Trump's formalising a decision last week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Syria Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Syria must continue to work towards becoming a stable country that is at peace, and today's actions will hopefully put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous and stable future. The sanctions ease extends to Syria's new government with conditions that the country not offer protected haven for terrorist organisations and ensure security for religious and ethnic minorities, the Treasury added. Trump's announcement on Syria Trump surprisingly declared that he was lifting "brutal and crippling" Assad-era sanctions on Syria in response to demands from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Syria, theyve had their share of travesty, war, killing in many years. Thats why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade, he had stated. 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. So, I say, Good luck, Syria. Show us something very special. Syrias new government will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country in keeping peace," he added. The State Department simultaneously announced a waiver enabling foreign partners and allies to attend Syria's reconstruction, providing companies the approval to do business in the country. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacts The waiver would facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday. "Today's actions represent the first step on delivering on the president's vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States," Rubio mentioned. The authorisation includes new investment in Syria, provision of financial services, and transactions covering Syrian petroleum products. While imposing sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the country's 14-year civil war, it made evident that it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction as long as Assad remained in power. Syria's new government has been aiming to restore relations with Western governments and roll back punishing sanctions after Assad's fall. In a sweeping layoff, dozens of staff members were dismissed from the White House National Serurity Council on Friday, as US President Donald Trump took major step to reduce size and influence of agency, according to a report by Reuters citing sources. The report mentioned, staff dealing with most major geopolitical issues, from Ukraine to Kashmir, were terminated in the afternoon, the sources told Reuters. Why did Donald Trump order major layoffs? In a sweeping layoff, dozens of staffers were removed from the White House National Security Council on Friday, as Trump moved to scale back the agencys size and influence, Reuters reported, citing five sources. The move comes on the heels of weeks after Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking over from Mike Waltz as national security adviser. The NSC restructuring is expected to further reduce the agency's influence, transforming it from a powerful policymaking body into a small organization focused more on implementing the president's agenda than on shaping it, the sources told Reuters. In practice, the move is expected to grant more authority to the State Department, the Defense Department and other departments and agencies involved in diplomacy, national security and intelligence matters, Reuters reported citing the sources. More in a row to be laid off? The Trump administration aims to shrink the National Security Council to just a few dozen staffers, with four sources indicating the final number could be around 50, said Reuters. The NSC serves as the primary body for coordinating US national security strategy, making critical decisions on global conflicts and playing a central role in safeguarding the nation. The body had more than 300 staffers under Democratic President Joe Biden, but even before the recent firings under Trump was considerably less than half the size of Biden's NSC. The staffers who are cut from the agency will be moved to other positions in government, two of the sources told Reuters. Many conservatives have long advocated for a smaller National Security Council, arguing that many of its roles duplicate functions already handled by other government agencies. However, Democrats and some Republicans warn that drastically reducing the NSCs size could leave Trumps policies less guided by expert input, Reuters reported. Earlier in the year, several senior staffers were dismissed after right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer gave Trump a list of national security personnel she claimed were disloyal. Morale within the NSC took another hit after a disclosure that former National Security Adviser Waltz had accidentally disclosed details of an upcoming bombing campaign in Yemen to a journalist from The Atlantic. The NSC restructuring is expected to further reduce the agency's influence, transforming it from a powerful policymaking body into a small organization focused more on implementing the president's agenda than on shaping it. As part of the restructuring, certain sections of the NSC - known as directorates - are expected to be combined with other directorates or eliminated altogether, three sources said. In most of the directorates that remain, only a few staff are left, the sources told Reuters. SAN DIEGO (AP) A private plane approaching an airport whose lights were out in heavy fog crashed in a San Diego neighborhood, killing the six people on board, including groundbreaking alternative music executive Dave Shapiro. The crash stunned the heavy metal and hard rock scene that grew out of the punk movement. The music agency that Shapiro cofounded, Sound Talent Group, represented groups like Pierce The Veil, Parkway Drive and Sum 41, but it also ventured into more pop acts like Vanessa Carlton. It could take a year to sort out exactly what happened to the plane, but investigators know there was thick fog, problems with the runway lights and a broken weather alert system, said Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board. Baker said the planes pilot and passengers were killed in the crash, but that no one on the ground was killed or seriously injured. Authorities haven't released the names of all six victims, but those who have been identified included a drummer and two employees of Sound Talent Group who shared Shapiros love of music. Here's what to know about them and the crash: It was the connections Shapiro, 42, made more than the music he played that made him successful. He got into the music industry playing in the band Count with Stars that he founded with friends while in high school. Shapiro helped bring the underground $10-a-show alternative scene in the 2010s to the mainstream. But he also was huge in creating a community, said Mike Shea, founder of Alternative Press Magazine. In this music industry, there are just too many people ripping people off and using people, he said. Dave was not like that. Shapiro was listed as the planes owner and had a pilots license. Officials have not said who was flying the plane. Both Fortner, 24, and Huke, 25, joined Shapiro's agency as booking associates after graduating from college, according to their bios released by Sound Talent Group, which confirmed both women were on the plane. Fortner was hooked on music from a young age thanks to her father, who took her to concerts, and she showed an interest in working in the music industry as a teenager. Huke, too, knew from a young age that she wanted to work in the music industry. There was nothing Emma loved more than live music, the agency said, and she worked hard to save up money to attend concerts and festivals. The agency said both Fortner and Huke were good at their jobs, which included planning tours. A fifth passenger, 36-year-old Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, has been identified by the coroners office in San Diego as one of the victims. Kenyon wasn't an employee of Sound Talent Group, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed Saturday. Also killed was Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the popular Ohio metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, celebrated for their ability to marry melodic punk rock with metallic detours. When Williams was in the band, thats when they broke out, Shea said. Thomas Gutches, who manages rock bands and artists, recalled Williams' ability to captivate audiences at shows with his drumming as much as a bands frontman does. Daniel was putting on a show from his style of playing," he said. The Devil Wears Prada was a client of Sound Talent Group. The plane was headed from New Jersey to San Diego after a fueling stop in Kansas. It crashed about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from San Diegos Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Eight people on the ground were hurt, none seriously. The Cessna 550 Citation went down after hitting power lines, Baker said. The pilot of the plane acknowledged to an air traffic controller that the weather was not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport, according to audio of the conversation posted by LiveATC.net. The Federal Aviation Administration posted an official notice that the runway lights at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport were out. The pilot didn't discuss that with the controller but did mention he knew the airport's weather alert system wasn't working. Doesnt sound great, but well give it a go, he told the air traffic controller. The fog was so thick around the time of the crash that you could barely see in front of you," Assistant San Diego Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said. The U.S. saw its deadliest plane crash in more than 23 years in January when an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter collided in Washington. The crash killed every passenger on each aircraft, a total of 67 people. A sightseeing helicopter broke apart and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey last month, killing six people, while a small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska in early February, killing all 10 people on board. Muhammad Yunus, who had expressed his desire to resign as chief adviser, will not step down and remain as the head of Bangladeshs interim government, an adviser in his cabinet said on Saturday. Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud said that Muhammad Yunus only emphasised that the interim givernment was overcoming obstacles. "He [Muhammad Yunus] didn't say he will leave. He said that while we face many obstacles in carrying out the work and responsibilities assigned to us, we are overcoming them, he told reporters after an unscheduled meeting of the advisory council. He [Yunus] is definitely staying. Meanwhile, Muhammad Yunus has convened an unexpected meeting of the advisory council on Saturday. The move followed Yunus's announcement expressing his intention to resign as chief adviser, citing challenges in navigating the political deadlock and the inability of parties to reach a consensus on reforms. He is likely to sit with the Advisers (effectively ministers) shortly after the ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) meeting, which is underway as scheduled, a news agency reported. According to the reports, Muhammad Yunus is likely to meet the advisers along with former prime minister Khaleda Zias Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami later on Saturday. According to the chief adviser's press wing, a BNP delegation would meet the chief advisers at 7:00 pm while Jamaat leaders would meet him at 8:00 pm. We have been invited by the Chief Adviser's Office to hold a meeting over the latest political situation, a BNP spokesman told the media earlier. Just a few days ago, Muhammad Yunus said that he was mulling stepping down as he felt the situation is such that he cannot work". Earlier on the same day, Muhamad Yunus had also told his Cabinet that he wanted to step down. NCP convenor Nahid Islam said he urged Yunus "to stay strong for the sake of the countrys security and future and to meet the expectations of the mass uprising (and) I hope everyone will cooperate with him. Advisers of Yunus' cabinet also persuaded him to not relinquish the post. Meanwhile, special adviser to Muhammad Yunus affirmed that he would not step down. For the sake of Bangladesh and a peaceful democratic transition, Professor Yunus needs to remain in office, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb said in a Facebook post, adding, The Chief Adviser is not going to step down. He does not hanker after power. He later deleted the post. Germany: Eighteen people were injured in a knife attack in that took place at Hamburg station on Friday evening. Local police confirmed they arrested the suspected assailant. Four victims are in critical condition and six others are seriously injured and the motive for the attack was unclear, Bild newspaper reported. According to the police, the attacker targetted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 at the station, which is in downtown Hamburg. It is the country's second-largest city, also a major centre for local, regional and long-distance trains. It happened shortly after 6 pm in front of a waiting train, PTI report said. A high-speed ICE train with its doors open was seen at the platform after the incident. Police arrest a German national Police said a 39-year-old woman, a German national, was arrested at the scene. She allowed herself to be arrested without resistance. Police believed after watching video footage that she acted alone. They secured the knife. Also Read | Germany Scales Up Battle Tank Brigade in Baltics to Deter Russia "So far we have no evidence that the woman could have acted with political motivation," said Hamburg police spokesperson Florian Abbenseth, adding, "Rather, we have findings on the basis of which we are now investigating in particular whether she may have been in a state of mental distress." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a post on social media platform X that the news from Hamburg was shocking. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families," he said. Four tracks at the station were shut down on Friday evening, and services of some long-distance trains were interrupted as they experienced a delay or were diverted, AP reported. Hamburg's fire service said six people suffered life-threatening injuries, while another three were grievously injured and three had slight injuries, German news agency dpa report said. Images from the scene showed police blocking access to one end of the station's platforms, while injured individuals were being loaded into waiting ambulances. Forensic officers were seen walking along the platforms where the incident occurred. The investigation has been taken over by federal prosecutors after the Syrian suspect told arresting officers that he held jihadist beliefs, AFP reported. Top Venezuela opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa was arrested on Friday for allegedly leading a terrorist group that sought to sabotage the May 25 elections. The arrest of Guanipa comes amid opposition calls for a mass boycott of the weekend vote. The opposition has time and again been accused of conspiring with countries such as the United States to commit terrorism, overthrow President Nicolas Maduro and attack Venezuela's power grid, Reuters reported. Maduro frequently claims to be the target of US- and Colombian-backed coup plots. Also Read | US business owners are concerned about Venezuelan employees with temporary status The opposition and Washington have always denied the accusations. Who is Juan Pablo Guanipa? Juan Pablo Guanipa is a 60-year-old former MP, lawyer, long-time politician and close ally of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. As per reports, Machado has called on voters to spurn the May 25 elections. A trained lawyer, Guanipa was named vice president in the now-defunct parallel government established by former opposition leader Juan Guaido after 2018 presidential elections which returned Maduro for a second term. Guanipa, like Machado, went into hiding after the July 2024 presidential vote, which the opposition and much of the international community believe opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia rightfully won. Last year in July, Leftist President Nicolas Maduro claimed to have won a third term, without producing detailed results to back his claim. He was widely accused of stealing the last elections. Here's all you need to know about Juan Pablo Guanipa's arrest 1. Juan Pablo Guanipa, a well-known Venezuelan opposition politician, was arrested on Friday on charges of conspiring to sabotage upcoming parliamentary and regional elections that the opposition has vowed to boycott, AFP reported. 2. Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello linked Guainia's arrest to what the government called a foiled plot by foreign mercenaries to sabotage Sunday's vote for members of parliament and 24 state governors. Cabello said that Guanipa also faces charges of money laundering and inciting hatred. "He is one of the leaders of this terrorist network," Cabello said on state television, adding that the plan to disrupt the vote was detailed on four telephones and a laptop found in Guanipa's possession. 3. The minister said 70 people, including foreigners, were detained in the alleged plot to carry out attacks during Sunday's regional and legislative elections. As per AFP, he added that these 70 people including citizens of Ecuador, Argentina, Germany, Serbia and "a few" Pakistani nationals. 4. The minister further alleged that the suspects allegedly planned to plant bombs in hospitals, metro stations, police stations and power plants. He said authorities had seized explosives, weapons, detonators and cash. 5. A message on Guanipa's X account, shortly after his arrest, read: "If you are reading this, it is because I have been kidnapped by the forces of Nicolas Maduro's regime." Guanipa wrote on X, "As of today, I am part of the list of Venezuelans kidnapped by the dictatorship...This is a kidnapping motivated by a single reason: the regime's fear of the Venezuelan people. The dictatorship's fear of the spirit of July 28th and 29th." He added, I am not sure what will happen to me in the coming hours, days and weeks. But what I am sure of is that we will win the long fight against the dictatorship. 6. Edmundo Gonzalez also posted on X, saying the "regime has reactivated a political repression operation" just hours before "a farcical election with no guarantees of any kind." In a message to the international community, he said, "This isn't an election. It's an authoritarian device to shield the power they've usurped." 7. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement expressing "concern following the unjustified and arbitrary arrest of opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa and over 70 individuals" in what he labeled a "new wave of repression from the Maduro regime." Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraines capital, Kyiv on Saturday was hit by a large-scale Russian invasion involving drones and missiles. The city was rocked by explosions and bursts of machine-gun fire, prompting many residents to seek refuge in underground subway stations. The overnight attack occurred just hours after Russia and Ukraine initiated a significant prisoner exchange, releasing hundreds of soldiers and civilians. This exchange marked the first phase of an agreement reached by both sides during a meeting in Istanbul the previous week, according to a report by Associated Press. The agreement represented a rare instance of cooperation amid largely unsuccessful attempts to establish a ceasefire in the three-year-old conflict. Early Saturday, debris from intercepted missiles and drones landed in at least four districts of Kyiv, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the acting head of the city's military administration. In a Telegram post, Tkachenko reported that six people needed medical attention, and two fires broke out in the Solomianskyi district as a result of the attack. Donald Trump says, 'could lead to something big' US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a major prisoner swap, lauding the move as a sign of progress as his efforts to broker an agreement to end the war have faltered. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation, Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday, adding that the swap will go into effect shortly. He added: This could lead to something big??? Following the exchange, Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the call, he stated that Moscow and Kyiv were responsible for reaching a ceasefire. Fridays prisoner exchange marked the initial stage of a complex operation to trade 1,000 prisoners from each side. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, and further releases are expected over the weekend, making it the largest swap of the war. In a post on X, Zelensky wrote, We are bringing our people home. The first stage of the 1000-for-1000 exchange agreement has been carried out. This agreement was reached during the meeting in Turkiye, and it is crucial to implement it in full. Today 390 people. On Saturday and Sunday, we expect the exchange to continue. However, Russias Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday night that Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive peace agreement once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished. UAE weather today: For the second consecutive day, the United Arab Emirates breached its May temperature record, with the mercury soaring to a blistering 51.6C on Saturday, reported the National Center of Meteorology. "The highest temperature recorded over the country today is 51.6C in Sweihan (Al Ain) at 13:45 UAE local time (0945 GMT)," the NCM stated in a post on X. Also Read | Swath of Texas swelters in record-setting spring heat wave The desert nation, which lies in one of the planet's hottest regions, and is also particularly vulnerable to climate change, finds itself in the grip of an intense heatwave. Also Read | Global warming is speeding up. Another reason to think about geoengineering Saturday's temperature was 1.2 notches higher than the temperature recorded on Friday in the Abu Dhabi area. These back-to-back extreme heat days mark a significant spike in the regions climate, raising concerns about intensifying heatwaves in the Gulf. UAE's recent temperatures surpass previous records The recent temperatures recorded in UAE which is over 51Chave surpassed the countrys previous highest May temperature of 50.2C, which was recorded in 2009, reported AFP. NCM's rainfall alert for Al Ain Amid the scorching temperatures, the UAEs National Center of Meteorology, however, issued a weather alert for potential rainfall between 5 PM and 8 PM on Saturday. Convective clouds were expected to form over eastern areas particularly around Al Ain with potential chances of rain, strong winds, and dust. Rainfall alert for Al-Ain Authorities advised motorists to drive carefully due to the risk of slick or dust-covered roads, reported Gulf News. Middle East at high risk of water, food scarcity In the past three decades, the UAE has seen a spike in the number of extremely hot days, with the figure doubling globally. Scientists have also shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming and that these heatwaves are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense. As per a 2022 Greenpeace study, the Middle East is at high risk of water and food scarcity as well as severe heat waves as a result of climate change. The DMK is not afraid of raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Saturday, adding that his party will fight such cases legally. Udhayanidhi's comments come on the day when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin visited Delhi to attend a meeting of the NITI Aayog chaired by PM Modi. The DMK dispensation with continue with its agenda to raise its voice for state rights, and would not cower down die to any intimidation, Udhayanidhi said. We are not afraid of ED or Modi. The DMK nurtured by Kalaignar (his grandfather and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi), is a party with self-respect firmly moored to the principles of Periyar (rationalist leader E V Ramasamy), the DMK youth wing secretary told reporters. The Tamil Nadu Deputy CM was in Pudukkottai to review the government programmes at the collectorate there, where he made the remarks. He was answering a question on the oppositon AIADMK accusing MK Stalin of visiting Delhi to attend the Niti Aayogs Governing Council amid ED searches on the offices of state-owned enterprise TASMAC. Udhayanidhi clarified that Stalin had gone to Delhi to attend the crucial meet in order to push for funds for Tamil Nadu. Also Read | Tamil Nadu to shut down 500 liquor shops from 22 June onwards, Oppn lauds move They (BJP government at the Centre) tried to intimidate us in the past but we refused to yield. Ours is not a party with a servitude mindset. We will face the cases legally, he said. During his visit to Pudukkottai, Udhayanidhi also distributed welfare aids to the tune of 40.54 crore to 1,195 beneficiaries, including the distribution of free house pattas to 125 tribals. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin attends Niti Aayog meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin arrived in Delhi on Friday to attend the 10th meeting of the governing council of Niti Aayog, which was chaired by PM Narendra Modi on Saturday. During the meeting, the TN Chief Minister asked the Centre to enhance the states share in central taxes to 50 per cent. Speaking at the Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi, he demanded a rightful 50 per cent share for states in central taxes. We currently receive only 33.16 percent against the promised 41, the Chief Minister said in a post on X. Stalin further said he underscored the necessity for a dedicated urban transformation mission in the Tamil Nadu. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, PTI reported. However, there was no official statement about who would represent West Bengal in the meeting in the absence of the chief minister, the sources told PTI. Chief Secretary Manoj Pant is likely to be present in the meeting, PTI reported citing sources. The Niti Aayog's 10th Governing Council meeting, chaired by PM Modi, is underway in the national capital. ...the Governing Council Meeting will discuss the approach on Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047, Niti Aayog had said in a statement earlier. This will also mark the first major meeting between the Prime Minister and the chief ministers of states and Union Territories since the launch of Operation Sindoor. Who all skipped the NITI Aayog meet? Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who leads the AINRC-led NDA coalition in the Union Territory, skipped the NITI Aayog meeting, PTI reported. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, from the Congress, cited a prior engagement and did not attend, but sent his speech to be read out at the council. Similarly, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, a senior Marxist leader, deputed his cabinet colleague K N Balagopal to represent him at the meeting. BJP says, unfortunate BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya called it "unfortunate" for the people of West Bengal that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chose to skip the NITI Aayog meeting, especially when chief ministers from several other states were in attendance, PTI reported. By not attending the meeting, the people of the state got deprived, as the issues of West Bengal will not get raised there. The state government has missed the chance to raise several pressing issues which are important for West Bengal,' Bhattacharya said. Also Read: Niti Aayog working on to improve Indias penetration into global value chains for MSMEs growth This move to go against the Centre will "not benefit" the state, the BJP leader said, PTI reported. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, Had she attended the meeting, the chief minister could have raised many issues, such as non-disbursement of central funds which are required for the development of the state. What is the NITI Aayog meeting about? The meeting is expected to deliberate on the initiatives taken in the Budget 2025-26 and the challenges being faced by the Indian economy. The country's economy is facing headwinds following the imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the US administration under President Donald Trump. Had she attended the meeting, the chief minister could have raised many issues, such as non-disbursement of central funds which are required for the development of the state. India is expected to grow in the range of 6.2-6.7 per cent in the current fiscal, despite the possibility of the US economy slipping into recession, China's growth taking a heavy beating and globally, countries seeing slowing economic activity. Who all boycotted the 2024 NITI Aayog meeting? In 2024, all opposition INDIA bloc chief ministers, except Mamata Banerjee, boycotted the NITI Aayog meeting to protest the union Budget 2024. Mamata Banerjee did attend, stating it was in her states interest. However, she left midway, alleging that her microphone was deliberately turned off while she was speaking, preventing her from completing her remarks. BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla launched a sharp attack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, accusing him of speaking the language of Pakistan. Poonawalla remarked that Rahul seems to believe LoP stands for Leader of Pakistan. "Congress and Pakistan have been hyphenated. Congress has been constantly speaking the language of Pakistan DG ISPR," Poonawalla told ANI, adding Congress leader's understanding of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) is Leader of Pakistan. Today, when the entire world, including Pakistan Parliamentarians, agrees on how successful Operation Sindoor was, even after that, Congress speaks Pakistan's tongue. Rahul Gandhi thinks that 'LoP' stands for 'Leader of Pakistan', he said. BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain also slammed Rahul Gandhi and said that LoP is forgetting that he is the leader of the Opposition of the country. His statements are like that of Pakistan's. He is deliberately crossing the line. At this time, everybody has to stand with the country and armed forces, but he is repeating what Pakistan is saying. People are angered over the behaviour of Congress... The country will not forgive him, he added. On Friday, criticising the BJP-led NDA government, Rahul Gandhi said that India's foreign policy had collapsed. In a post on X, Gandhi raised three questions to the central government. "Will JJ explain, Why India has been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why didn't a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to "mediate" between India & Pakistan?" the LoP said. Reposting a video of S Jaishankar's interview with a media outlet, he said, India's foreign policy has collapsed, he added. Earlier, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, accusing him of being silent on how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost during Operation Sindoor and said that the nation "deserves the truth". EAM Jaishankar's silence isn't just telling -- it's damning. So I'll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn't a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth, Rahul Gandhi posted on X. His statements are like that of Pakistan's. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. As part of the operation, the Indian Armed Forces struck terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, killing over 100 militants associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. (ANI) (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Nearly 1 million refugees who entered the US legally, under temporary protections, have nevertheless become ripe targets for deportation under President Donald Trump. His goal of mass deportations came into sharper view earlier this month, when the US Supreme Court lifted a federal injunction that had barred Trump from removing 350,000 Venezuelans in the US under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. The brief, unsigned court decision strips deportation protections and work permits from the Venezuelans and paves the way for their removal. It also bodes ill for an for a larger group of refugees who came under a 2023 Biden executive order that expedited entry for 530,000 refugees from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Close to 900,000 refugees entered under those programs, providing the very information that now could be used against them in speeding their deportation. That makes Trumps deportation efforts easier, but also threatens to upend communities, rob employee sponsors of workers, and further the Get out and stay out tone being set by this administration. Like TPS, the CHNV program was a temporary solution to the crises that led hundreds of thousands to flee those countries. The situation in Venezuela has been particularly dire. More than 7 million people have fled the unrest and economic instability in that country in the last decade, setting off the largest displacement in Central and South America. Applicants for the more stringent CHNV program had to be vetted, provide proof of an American financial sponsor (typically an employer), pay their own airfare and get a job. In return, they got two years of protection and a work permit. Bidens attempt to reduce illegal entries through the CHNV program worked, producing a dramatic drop in illegal border crossings from the four countries. As refugees poured in legally, candidate Trump seized on the discontent in some communities such as Springfield, Ohio (home to many resettled Haitians) and Aurora, Colorado (where many Venezuelans lived). Once in office, Trump promptly revoked the CHNV program. But by now, the vast majority of recent refugee entrants have continued to work and become part of their adopted communities. In January, Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida became one of the few in her party to speak out on behalf of the many law-abiding refugees in the CHNV program. Salazar, whose parents fled Cuba, wrote an appeal to the Department of Homeland Security, urging that refugees with no criminal record be permitted to stay. Salazar is right. At a bare minimum, a more compassionate administration would carve out an exemption for law-abiding refugees who have done everything this country has asked of them. It would recognize the chaos that drove them here, and the superhuman effort needed to build new, productive lives. This country could use more of that energy. Instead, we have a heedless executive bent on checking the mass deportation box and a court that pays so little regard to the ramifications of its order that it didnt even provide reasoning or guidelines, as if its actions would not affect hundreds of thousands of lives. Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA and an attorney representing the Venezuelans, professed shock at the ruling, calling it the largest single action stripping any group of noncitizens of immigration status in modern US history. After winning the TPS case, the administration is seeking a second intervention that would revoke the temporary stay issued by a federal judge in Massachusetts on the CHNV program. Until he can launch his mass deportations which could happen as soon as a budget bill passes, with its expected massive investments in immigration enforcement Trump is finding other ways to crack down on these two groups, with an eye toward getting them to leave on their own. The US Department of Agriculture has already issued notices to the states to cut off access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the paroled immigrants. The letter warned that if changes to immigration status no longer support a claim to being an eligible alien, SNAP benefits must be discontinued. Employers have taken note. Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, the Walt Disney Company notified its Florida workers that those with temporary status would immediately be put on a 30-day leave, followed by the termination of their jobs unless their status changed. As we sort out the complexities of this situation, we have placed affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law, Disney said in an email. Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin hailed the TPS decision as a win for the American people. Is it? Tell that to the employers who sponsored these refugees, to the churches where they worshipped, to the communities who will feel their absence. In Springfield, Ohio, the Greater Springfield Partnership, made up of hundreds of local businesses, issued a statement last month saying that the influx of Haitians has created many challenges in the community, but our Haitian population is willing to work hard for local employers and adapt. Trump can try to turn this country into an America-for-Americans fortress. But if he does, the US will have lost more than it has gained. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Patricia Lopez is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. She is a former member of the editorial board at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she also worked as a senior political editor and reporter. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion When President Trump paused his tariff fight against Beijing this month, prominent voices in China praised their leader Xi Jinping as having fended off American pressure with resilience and resolution. Beijing had taken a tough stance toward Trumps tariffs, retaliating with economic countermeasures and vowing to never kneel down" before foreign bullies. This defiance burnished Xis self-styled image as a leader with absolute authority, one imbued with the fortitude and spirit of sacrifice needed to guide Chinas resurgence as a great power. These qualities, some historians say, have roots in Xis formative years as a son of the revolutionary hero Xi Zhongxun, whose harsh parenting and unwavering loyalty to the Communist Partythroughout a tumultuous career rocked by years of persecutionseem to have inspired Xi Jinping to show the toughness his father demanded. Party lore celebrates the elder Xi as a stoic figure who fought bravely for the Communist revolution and stayed true to the cause despite being wrongfully purged under Mao. While some may wonder why Jinping would remain so devoted to an organization that severely persecuted his own father, perhaps the better question is, How could Jinping betray the party for which his father sacrificed so much?" historian Joseph Torigian writes in the first English-language biography of Xi Zhongxun, which offers fresh vignettes and insights into the fathers influence on the Chinese leader. View Full Image Xi Jinping, wearing a cap, with his father Xi Zhongxun. Photo: Stanford University Press Many within the party elite misread Xi Jinping when he took power in 2012, expressing expectations that he would emulate his fathers reputation as a reformer who helped open up Chinas economy and managed religious and ethnic minorities with a softer touch. Instead Xi used iron-fisted tactics to centralize power, squelch dissent and tighten party control over the economy and society. Xis hard-line approach belies a deeper degree of continuity with his father, whose absolute devotion" to the Communist Party may have inspired his sons own commitment to it and its long-term rule, Torigian argues in The Partys Interests Come First." Xi Zhongxun joined the Communist Party as a teenager in 1928 and won Maos trust as a revolutionary fighter. After the Communist victory in 1949, he took on roles as a regional leader, propaganda minister and vice premier, but was purged in 1962 for alleged anti-party" activities. Stunned by his downfall, the elder Xi told a friend that he felt like a person who fell off an eighteen-floor building," according to the biography. He was sent away from Beijing to work in a factory and separated from his family. During Maos 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, which began as Xi Jinping entered his teens, militant Red Guards abused Xi Zhongxun at public-shaming rallies and, according to party accounts which dont offer details, persecuted" one of his daughters to death. But Xi Zhongxun never abandoned his emotional attachment to Mao," writes Torigian, who describes how the patriarchwhile still in political disgracemade Xi Jinping memorize some of Maos speeches. During a brief reunion in 1976, the father watched his son recite the speeches by heart while they both sat in their underwear, according to the book. Although the party betrayed Xi Zhongxun, Xi Zhongxun never betrayed the party," Torigian writes. The elder Xi was rehabilitated after Maos death in 1976, serving as a provincial chief, a member of the partys elite Politburo and a senior lawmaker before being sidelined after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. A father of four daughters and three sons across two marriages, the patriarch died in 2002 at the age of 88. Xi Jinping is the elder of the two sons he had with his second wife, Qi Xin. Historians and people who knew Xi Zhongxun say he molded his sons character by imposing brutal discipline at homeincluding strict rules on frugality enforced with physical beatingsand by recounting tales of his revolutionary exploits. During the Mao era, Xi Jinping often faced persecution as a child of a disgraced officialexperiences he later credited for hardening his character and schooling him on the vagaries of power. Xi Jinping does seem to have learned quite a bit from his father about the nature and dynamics of Chinese politics, which even insiders struggle to navigate successfullyincluding Xis own father," said Jonathan Czin, a fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution and a former director for China on President Joe Bidens National Security Council. Xi Jinping showed reverence for his father, publicly and privately. Torigian recounts how the son would kowtow to his father at Lunar New Year gatherings, wait for the patriarchs go-ahead before taking his seat, and on one occasion even finished a piece of food that his father had started eating but found too difficult to chew. The ways in which Xi has gone out of his way to almost perform respect and obedience to his fatheris striking," said Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at Kings College London, who has written books on Xi. Xi [Zhongxun] respected toughnessJinping was his favorite son precisely because of a belief that Jinping had the most mettle," writes Torigian. Xi Jinping has sought to demonstrate that mettle as Chinas leader. He has pursued a more assertive style of diplomacy to advance Beijings interests and called on the Chinese people to show grit in adversity such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the current trade war with the U.S. The younger Xis forcefulness in cleansing corruption and disloyalty within the party echoes his fathers approach. Notwithstanding his reputation as being relatively liberal, Xi Zhongxun was zealous in implementing Maos brutal purges, according to Torigian. During the 1942-1945 Yanan rectification drive, a purge that Mao launched to consolidate power, Xi Zhongxun directed an aggressive hunt for spies" that led to many wrongful persecutions, according to the book. Suspects often made false confessions to avoid torture, sometimes while Xi watched. Entire classes of school children were denounced as enemy agents, Torigian writes. In the early 1950s, as a senior official overseeing northwestern China, Xi fervently enforced a Mao campaign to hunt counterrevolutionaries, saying that it is necessary to remember that the more bad people whom we kill, the more they will be afraid." Studying his father enables us to understand how Xi [Jinping] would have gained a view on how vicious elite-level politics in China was, and what would need to be done to stay in power," said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London and co-author of a book on Xis political ideas. Write to Chun Han Wong at chunhan.wong@wsj.com Some consumers are taking smaller than standard doses of GLP-1sthe popular class of weight-loss and diabetes drugs that include Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepboundor spacing out doses longer than indicated. The reason: to save on money or lessen side effects. Some people say they can lose or maintain weight on such tiny doses and others believe the microdoses can help with other health-related factors. The truth: This may be more of a social-media phenomenon than a reality. Doctors say yes, some people are super responders to the drugs and can lose or maintain weight loss at low dosesbut its unusual to lose all your weight with these. The majority of people microdosing will need to escalate their dose, which can be done more slowly for those with bad side effects, notably gastrointestinal issues. Still, people are trying microdosing. Heres what to know about it. Pen vs. syringe The first challenge with microdosing is the method of delivery. The prescription drugs entail taking weekly self-injections with pens. Currently, most people taking alternative doses of GLP-1 drugs are using cheaper compounded versions of the medications, says Dr. Katherine H. Saunders, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of FlyteHealth, a medical obesity-treatment company. (Saunders, like many doctors, doesnt recommend compounded copies of the drugs because of potential safety issues; the federal government has cracked down on the compounded market). The only weekly GLP-1 drug that makes it easy to take alternative doses is Ozempic. It comes in a self-injectable pen where doses are administered with clicks. The other drugs have mostly been sold as single-dose injectable pens. But some patients will stretch out doses taking them every 10 days to two weeks. And once used the pens have a shelf life of 56 days. Zepbound single-dose vials became available in the U.S. last year for self-pay customers only. This makes it theoretically possible to microdose by drawing out smaller amounts of liquid with a syringe. But the single-use vials are free of preservatives. So using them after the rubber stopper is punctured increases risk of infection, says Anne Kome, a clinical pharmacist at University of North Carolina Health in Chapel Hill. Saunders says many people taking fractional doses likely dont meet the criteria for the drugs and are trying to lose a little weight or are hoping for potential longevity benefits. Taking the edge off They are people like Rachel Ratliff, a 56-year-old retired corporate lawyer in San Francisco. She was effortlessly skinny until she hit menopause and gained 10 pounds. Ratliff says she was always ravenous and nothing she did to take the weight off worked. Ratliff decided to try a compounded version of tirzepatidethe active ingredient in Eli Lillys Zepbound and Mounjaro. I started taking [tirzepatide] out of vanity but its completely changed my relationship to food and given me the ability to make healthier food choices," she says. Initially she took the usual starting dose of 2.5 milligrams, which wiped her out. Then she tried a quarter dose. It was amazing, it took the edge off my hunger," she says. Ratliff says she lost 10 pounds in the first six weeks and continues to take a maintenance dose. This costs about $50 a month. Saunders says some people are so-called super responders" who are very sensitive to medications and may need lower than a standard dose. Were personalizing the dose, not microdosing them on purpose," she says. Why theyre microdosing Most people learn about microdosing from TikTok, according to a recent survey of 640 GLP-1 users conducted by Tebra, a health-software company. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they microdose. Among them, 48% take smaller injections than prescribed and 43% split doses over a longer period. Sixty-six percent microdosed to reduce side effects; 40% wanted to ease into the medication; and 38% did it to save money. Spokespeople for Novo Nordisk (Ozempic and Wegovy) and Eli Lilly (Mounjaro and Zepbound) said they dont condone or encourage misuse of their products. They said microdosing poses potential safety risks. Doctors agree that patients shouldnt be choosing to microdose on their own. What about a patient microdosing on their cancer therapeutic or how about microdosing on their blood pressure medication based on how they feel? Or how about their insulin?" says Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. We have a disease herenot cosmetics." Patients who try to conserve medicine by spreading out their doses may experience worse side effects, such as nausea and gastrointestinal issues, says Dr. Gitanjali Srivastava, a professor and co-director at the Vanderbilt Weight Loss Center. The body is not exposed to that medication for longer periods of time so they are less tolerable," she says. Taking doses that arent standard can also lead to more dosing errors. Beyond weight loss One promising area of microdosing may be health benefits independent of weight loss, researchers say. Data published at the European Congress on Obesity conference last year found that people who took semaglutidesold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovyand didnt lose much weight had the same 20% reduction in heart attacks and strokes as those who took it and did lose weight, says Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist and professor at University of Toronto who studies GLP-1 drugs. And so then the question is, if it doesnt matter whether or not you lose weight, does it matter how much semaglutide you actually took to get that benefit?" he says. We dont know the answer, he says, because trials use standard doses of the drugs. I think what were starting to see is that there are clearly weight loss and glucose independent benefits of these medicines," says Drucker. But what we dont have is data saying and you can achieve those benefits with microdosing." Write to Sumathi Reddy at Sumathi.Reddy@wsj.com Google co-founder Sergey Brin has made a surprise return to the tech giant, motivated by what he describes as the most exhilarating period in computer science history the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence. Brin, who had largely stepped away from his day-to-day responsibilities at Google, is now back in action, even spending time coding alongside engineers on the Gemini project,reported Business Insider. Speaking at the All In Summit in Miami, Brin revealed that his comeback was unplanned but deeply fulfilling. Its been some of the most fun Ive had in my life, honestly, he said, highlighting the sense of excitement and purpose AI innovation has rekindled in him, as per the report. Brin initially retired shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. I thought, Thats been good. I want to do something else. I want to hang out in cafes and read physics books. And then a month later, I was like, Thats not really happening. Once restrictions eased, he began making occasional visits to the office, which gradually turned into a full-fledged return. A chance meeting at a party further sealed his re-entry into Google. There was a guy from OpenAI, this guy named Dan, and he said, What are you doing? This is the greatest transformative moment in computer science ever! Brin said. I was like, Hes right. Reportedly, the re-engagement of a Google founder during such a critical juncture in the companys technological journey speaks volumes. Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed Brins active involvement, noting he has been working directly with teams on AI projects, including Gemini, the companys flagship language model suite. Once criticised for lagging behind in the AI race after OpenAIs ChatGPT took the world by storm in late 2022, Google has since made significant strides. The Gemini 2.5 Pro model is currently outperforming competitors across several industry benchmarks. The companys latest innovation in video generation, Veo3, is also being hailed as a major leap forward. Meanwhile, NotebookLM, a Google app powered by AI, has been climbing app store charts, reflecting strong user interest. Brins renewed engagement underlines how artificial intelligence is not merely a passing trend, but a profound shift that is drawing some of the brightest minds and heaviest hitters back into the tech trenches. His involvement could also boost morale internally at Google, demonstrating the enduring allure and significance of pioneering technology. What started as a routine morning on May 5 quickly turned into a nightmare for 19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal. The teen was on her way to join her mother at work when she was pulled over by a Dalton police officer for what he claimed was an improper right turn. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent stands near an immigrant detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on May 7. Pictured is a muddied truck in Laurel Park, North Carolina, nearly eight months after Hurricane Helene. A householder, school principal and publican in Ardagh have spoken of their deep frustration and dismay over ongoing water outages, which are causing severe disruption. More than 6,000 residents in the Ballymahon, Legan, Ballymahon, Carrickedmond, Forgney and Ardagh areas have regularly had to endure frequent bursts and loss of water supply since 2019. There has been increasing annoyance, exasperation and anger with eight outages in the 11 days between Friday, May 9 and Tuesday, May 20 - including one last Monday and two last Tuesday. It is understood several Forgney residents reported 28 outages in 2024 and there has been 18 outages so far in 2025. Ardagh householder Cathy Lynch said local people there have 'had enough' of recurring water outages during the past six years and urgent action is needed in the Ballymahon Municipal District area to address the major issue. The married mother of two has called on Longford County Council, Center Parcs, Uisce Eireann and all relevant stakeholders to 'resource the solution'. Cathy, who lives with her husband Michael in the village of approximately 200 people, has kept a record of the outages. The most recent water outage was last Thursday, May 15. Cathy stated there were 13 water outages in Ardagh last year and not counting the storm-related outages there has been three so far in 2025. She stressed that people 'have had enough'. "Residents are calling for Longford County Council, Center Parcs, Uisce Eireann and all relevant stakeholders to resource the solution to water supply issues in the Ballymahon region with immediate effect." Cathy stressed that trying to complete basic and necessary tasks such as flushing toilets, washing hands, taking showers, washing clothes and cooking is regularly not possible. "Myself and my neighbours are in a situation where any morning you wake up, you do not know if you will have water, it generally happens twice a month but it could be a weekday, it could be a weekend. "There does not seem to be a pattern. and you don't know when the water will be off, except that it is off on a regular basis, you can't do anything. Cathy accepted there is no sole cause for the outages, but clearly, a development of the size of Center Parcs 'was always going to require a lot of water'. She stated it was the 'planning authority's role' to assess the 'development's impact on the water supply' when planning permission was being sought. In 2016, Center Parcs was granted planning permission to build a 232 million village on a 395-acre site in Newcastle Wood, near Ballymahon. READ NEXT: Longford man completes Ironman in tribute to his late mother Cathy has questioned whether the environmental assessment at the outset of this substantial project had foreseen the strain that subsequently was placed upon the local water supply in the Ballymahon Municiap District area. Cathy has also claimed significant water supply issues have been well known by all stakeholders since 2019. "When water supply issues with Center Parcs emerged in 2019, why weren't steps taken to protect the interests of local residents, schools, businesses and the wider Ballymahon region?, she asked. READ NEXT: Two sisters from Longford avoid custodial sentences following 2022 incident in Longford store Legan-based Cllr Paul Ross has described the situation as having now reached 'crisis point' and he said he will submit a motion requesting a meeting with Uisce Eireann to the council. Theresa Kearney, the principal of St Mel's National School in Ardagh said Cllr Paul Ross has been very helpful in terms of trying to get information and answers. She explained they had to install backup water tanks at the premises in 2023. Ms Kearney said the backup ensures they have a 24-hour supply to get them through when there is an outage. "There are over 200 people in this building so there is no way you can open without water for health and safety reasons. "We have had huge issues in the school with water, the main issue is there is no water and secondly that there is no notice. Ms Kearney said the investment , at the school, which has about 20 staff members and nearly 200 pupils, was vital. "The school had to put those tanks in because of the situation, which cost the school, and we had no choice. "But before that there would have been a closure or two every year. "If you have backup tanks you have water for a day but the pressure then is so slow and takes a long time for them to fill up. "But if the water was gone for more than a day we would be off the way we used to be. Ms Kearney said the worst part was arriving into the school following an outage and 'trying to phone somebody to find out what was happening' and get answers. "The problem is if they fix one it leads to more pressure further down and the system can't cope and the next thing bursts. "The pipes are in a very poor state," she added. Ms Kearney said they believed there would be upgrades and improved water infrastructure following the opening of Center Parcs. "That is what we expected but we have been told it would be a few years," she added. Mrs Kearney criticised the lack of communication' when she telephones Uisce Eireann. Alot of times I am told there is no issue, no bursts, no problem, it's really poor as regards information. "You are not getting up to the minute information on the situation. "It really has become impossible since Irish Water took over, and before that we, at least, had communication with the council. "Now you can't get speaking to anybody or the people you talk to have no idea about anything." Paschal Lyons, who runs a pub, post office and a shop in Ardagh, believes the main problem is a pipeline between Carrickboy and Ballymahon, which supplies Center Parcs. "The pipeline that is in the ground there is asbestos, which is very unusual. "This asbestos pipe bursts on a regular basis and they regularly have to repair it. "There is no notice and and in a business that is particularly difficult because in the bar we can't wash glasses, we have no ice and we can't use toilets. Paschal said Ardagh usually faces more disruption than other nearby areas during water outages. "When it does go we are at the end of the line here so some places may be back a few hours before us. An Uisce Eireann spokeswoman said regrettably, there has been a sequence of unplanned water supply disruptions to customers in the Ballymahon area due to frequent bursts on an ageing trunk water main. "We understand how disruptive these unplanned outages can be, and we regret the inconvenience they have caused. "When any unplanned outage occurs, our crews are dispatched immediately to carry out repairs and restore normal supply as quickly as possible. "We appreciate the ongoing patience of our affected customers as we work to resolve the issue with the trunk main. "Regarding, Ardagh it is in an elevated area and has historically had pressure issues. "The supply to Ardagh comes from the Richmond reservoir and is pumped to a station at Ardoghill. The way the network was originally configured means the water is then pumped around the back-of-the-hill towards Ardagh village. "Following repair works, it typically takes three to four hours for normal supply to be fully restored to all areas as the water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network it can take longer. "As part of the National Leakage Reduction Programme, Uisce Eireann is currently in the final stages of the tender process for a project that will replace over 5.4 km of old and problematic water mains prone to frequent bursts and outages along the N55 between Carrickedmond and Ballymahon. Uisce Eireann said due to the frequent bursts on this section of the network, they have prioritised this project. "Once the necessary regulatory requirements are completed and before this project moves to construction, Uisce Eireann will proactively communicate clear details of the project to the local community and related stakeholders in the area. " Our water services crews will continue to find and repair bursts on the network as soon as they become aware of them and restore normal water supply for our customers as quickly as possible. " Uisce Eireann carry out extensive communications to ensure all stakeholders are updated. Uisce Eireann proactively issues press releases to print, broadcast, and online media outlets and news desks in Longford in advance of any significant outages, water restrictions (planned works, water supply interruptions, boil water notices or do not consume notices) and project milestones etc. "Our press releases and updates are issued to all media outlets in Longford, to all Elected Reps in Longford, the Contact Centre, promoted on social media and on our website. "All press releases that are issued to the media are also shared with Councillors, TDs and Senators (all Elected Representatives) via Uisce Eireanns Local Rep Support Desk as well as local business stakeholders in the area including local branches of Chambers Ireland etc. "The Uisce Eireann website is updated with press release content and our Water Supply Updates portal, which is on the homepage and is the most frequently visited page on the website, is updated with the latest information," she added. The Uisce Eireann spokeswoman said they utilise our social media channels to assist in communicating to our customers and use X and Facebook for geographically targeted posts when appropriate to do so. She stated Uisce Eireanns customer care team is available 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on X @IWCare with any queries. For further updates, customers can visit the service and supply section of www.water.ie The spokeswoman said Uisce Eireann has a free text service, providing real-time updates for local issues. Customers can sign up with their Eircode and mobile number at the text alerts page. Uisce Eireann advises that, as best practice, homes, and businesses have on-site water storage tanks to provide a backup source of water for sanitation purposes in the event of a water outage. However, we understand this may not always be feasible. "It's very urgent at this stage because it's causing major problems," he added. Uisce Eireann has said a planned project in the Ballymahon Municipal District area to address frequent water outages is currently in the final stages of the tender process and it is a 'priority' for them. The water utility issued a response following frequent water outages in the south county Longford area and significant disruption to local residents and businesses. There were eight pipe bursts in 11 days between May 9 and May 20 in the wide area which stretches from Ballymahon, Forgney, Ardagh to Edgeworthstown. READ NEXT: Two sisters from Longford avoid custodial sentences following 2022 incident in Longford store Local Fine Gael Councillor Paul Ross said it had 'just gone to crisis point'. An Uisce Eireann spokeswoman said regrettably, there has been a sequence of unplanned water supply disruptions to customers in the Ballymahon area due to frequent bursts on an ageing trunk water main. "We understand how disruptive these unplanned outages can be, and we regret the inconvenience they have caused. READ NEXT: Longford man completes Ironman in tribute to his late mother "When any unplanned outage occurs, our crews are dispatched immediately to carry out repairs and restore normal supply as quickly as possible. "We appreciate the ongoing patience of our affected customers as we work to resolve the issue with the trunk main." The Uisce Eireann spokeswoman said r egarding, Ardagh it is in an elevated area and has historically had pressure issues. "The supply to Ardagh comes from the Richmond reservoir and is pumped to a station at Ardoghill. "The way the network was originally configured means the water is then pumped around the back-of-the-hill towards Ardagh village. "Following repair works, it typically takes three to four hours for normal supply to be fully restored to all areas as the water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network it can take longer. "As part of the National Leakage Reduction Programme, Uisce Eireann is currently in the final stages of the tender process for a project that will replace over 5.4 km of old and problematic water mains prone to frequent bursts and outages along the N55 between Carrickedmond and Ballymahon. "Due to the frequent bursts on this section of the network, Uisce Eireann has prioritised this project. "Once the necessary regulatory requirements are completed and before this project moves to construction, Uisce Eireann will proactively communicate clear details of the project to the local community and related stakeholders in the area. Uisce Eireann said water services crews will continue to find and repair bursts on the network as soon as they become aware of them and restore normal water supply for our customers as quickly as possible. The water utility also responded to criticism from people in the Ardagh area over their communication. "Uisce Eireann carry out extensive communications to ensure all stakeholders are updated. "Uisce Eireann proactively issues press releases to print, broadcast, and online media outlets and news desks in Longford in advance of any significant outages, water restrictions (planned works, water supply interruptions, boil water notices or do not consume notices) and project milestones etc. "Our press releases and updates are issued to all media outlets in Longford, to all Elected Reps in Longford, the Contact Centre, promoted on social media and on our website. "All press releases that are issued to the media are also shared with Councillors, TDs and Senators (all Elected Representatives) via Uisce Eireanns Local Rep Support Desk as well as local business stakeholders in the area including local branches of Chambers Ireland etc. "The Uisce Eireann website is updated with press release content and our Water Supply Updates portal, which is on the homepage and is the most frequently visited page on the website, is updated with the latest information. "We utilise our social media channels to assist in communicating to our customers and use X and Facebook for geographically targeted posts when appropriate to do so. Uisce Eireann said they have a customer care team available 24-7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on X @IWCare with any queries. For further updates, customers can visit the service and supply section of www.water.ie Uisce Eireann has a free text service, providing real-time updates for local issues. Customers can sign up with their Eircode and mobile number at the text alerts page. Uisce Eireann advises that, as best practice, homes, and businesses have on-site water storage tanks to provide a backup source of water for sanitation purposes in the event of a water outage. However, they said they understand this may not always be feasible. Jozef Puska's brother Marek told gardai investigating the murder of Ashling Murphy that he wanted to tell them more but couldn't because of medication he was taking for back problems, which had left him on disability allowance. Marek Puska (36) is accused of withholding information that was crucial to the investigation into Ms Murphy's murder. He is on trial with his brother Lubomir Puska Jnr (35), who is also accused of withholding information. Their wives, Jozefina Grundzova (31) and Viera Gaziova (38), are accused of impeding Jozef Puska's apprehension or prosecution by burning the clothes he wore when he murdered Ms Murphy. Each accused has pleaded not guilty. Detective Garda Cian Steers told prosecutor Anne-Marie Lawlor SC that on January 14, 2022, two days after Ms Murphy's murder, Marek agreed to give a voluntary statement at Tullamore Garda Station. He described how the family ended up in Ireland with three brothers, their wives, and 14 children all living in one house in Mucklagh, Tullamore. He described the recent months as "golden times, the best of times", and added: "I swear to god, everyone says they don't see a family like this getting on... We sit and talk and don't argue." "The kids are at the top of everything and get everything," he said. He and Jozef, he said, were on disability allowance due to back problems. On January 12, the day of the murder, Marek got up at his usual time of about 12.30pm. Jozef was not home, which was unusual, and he hadn't taken his phone. Marek went into Tullamore to search for Jozef. He visited a casino where Jozef would sometimes go and a plaza near the Bank of Ireland. When he still couldn't find Jozef, he went to a garda station to report his brother missing and the local hospital to ask if anyone named Jozef Puska had checked in. Marek said he went to Dublin that evening but returned to Mucklagh the following day by bus. As he pulled up to the house, he noticed gardai. A Polish garda told him that "someone from my house had killed someone," he said. He asked if she was joking and added: "I did not know how to answer or what to say... is it about me, my brothers? I thought about it and said, no, it is not possible." He said nobody who knows his family would say they could kill someone. At the end of the statement, Marek said: "I want to tell you a bit more, but I can't because of the medicine I have taken [for his back]. My doctor told me it can affect my memory." He promised to contact gardai if he remembered anything else, adding: "I want to help." In cross-examination, Det Gda Steers agreed with defence counsel Karl Finnegan SC that at the start of the statement, Marek accurately described Jozef Puska's bicycle and immediately identified the bike when shown a photograph. Det Gda Joanne O'Sullivan told Ms Lawlor that in the following days, gardai became aware that Marek Puska wished to make a further voluntary statement. On the evening of January 18, gardai took Marek to Mullingar Garda Station because all the interview rooms in Tullamore were in use. The jury has previously been told that Jozef Puska was arrested at 11.31am on January 18. Marek told Gda O'Sullivan that when he and Lubomir Jnr were looking for Jozef on the 12th, they received a phone call at about 9pm telling them their brother was at home and in a "poor state" having been "beaten up". He said Jozef had injuries and blood on his head, "like he had been hit", and three holes in his abdomen. When Marek asked him about it, he said Jozef told him it was "not my business" and not to ask questions. Jozef did not want an ambulance and claimed to have self-inflicted the wounds to his abdomen, Marek said. Marek said he didn't believe his brother would do that to himself and cried when Jozef refused an ambulance. He said he is close to his brother, "like two halves of an apple, I can't live without him." Marek said he and Jozef would tell one another everything, and he had been struggling to sleep in the days since seeing the injuries. He described Jozef as the "go-to man" who would "help everyone". He said Jozef did not have mental issues and would talk through any problems he had. Later on the night of the 12th, Marek said his parents arrived in Tullamore and Jozef left with them to go to their house in Dublin. It is alleged that Marek Puska failed to disclose that Jozef had returned home on the night of Ashling's murder with visible injuries and admitted to killing or causing serious injury to a woman. It is further alleged that he knew of the arrangement to burn Jozef's clothes and that Jozef Puska travelled to Dublin later that night. Lubomir Puska Jnr, it is alleged, also withheld that Jozef returned home with visible injuries, admitted to "cutting a female", and travelled to Dublin. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Offences Against the State, Amendment Act 1988. Jozefina Grundzova (31), who is married to Marek Puska, and Viera Gaziova (38), who is married to Lubomir Puska Jnr, are accused of assisting in burning clothing between January 12 and 14th, without reasonable excuse, intending to impede the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska, knowing or believing him to have committed the offence of murder or some other arrestable offence within the same category or of a similar nature. Ms Grundzova and Ms Gaziova pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Criminal Law Act 1997. All the accused have an address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Tullamore, Co Offaly. The trial continues on Monday before Ms Justice Caroline Biggs and a jury of seven men and five women. Crime By Long Island Published: May 24 2025 The hateful comments made online were especially outrageous A New York man pleaded guilty today to a federal crime for threatening Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. and Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to court documents, on October 21, 2023, AG Nessel posted to her X account a photograph of herself and her friend who had been murdered that day. Along with the photograph, AG Nessel described her friends faith and contributions to the community and expressed grief and shock about the murder. The next day, Kevin Delgado, 40, of Bayside, New York, posted a threatening reply to AG Nessels post. Delgado then pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce. Delgado admitted that he threatened her because of her religion and her perceived sexual orientation. The federal government is dedicated to protecting all Americans against threats of violence. Everyone person has equal dignity, and our office will tirelessly work to protect them. And public officials must be free to exercise their office without fear, U.S. Attorney Gorgon said. "Threatening public officials is both illegal and unacceptable. The hateful comments made by Mr. Delgado online were especially outrageous," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those who make these dangerous and harmful threats against officials dedicated to serving and protecting our communities." Delgado will be sentenced by United States District Court Judge Nancy G. Edmunds on September 22, 2025. He faces a maximum sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment. This case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: May 23 2025 The County Executives Moment to Remember Initiative Will Continue for the Fourth Straight Year. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced details for Nassau Countys Memorial Day events that will take place this coming weekend. In addition to being the unofficial start to summer and a great time to be with family, the County Executive said it is essential to celebrate the men and women of our nations military. We should never forget the reason for Memorial Day. Memorial Day is the day that we remember those who died in the line of duty from our military defending our country, Blakeman stated. On Saturday, May 24th, residents can attend a series of Fleet Week Military Helicopter Landings from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Eisenhower Park, Field #2. In addition to watching the landings, residents will have a chance to meet the flight crews. Eisenhower Park will also host the WWII Armor Parade at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, featuring over a dozen retired WWII tanks and vehicles. The parade will run along Park Boulevard from Field #5 to the Park Administration Building and then back again to Field #5. The vehicles will be on display following the parade until 3:30 p.m. On both Saturday and Sunday, Nassau County will also be hosting a Decoration Day ceremony and parade from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event will also feature historical trade demonstrations and live music. More ticket and event information can be found at Nassau Countys Parks, Recreation & Museum website. Finally, County Executive Blakeman has announced that Nassau County will be honoring members of our armed forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice by continuing with the Moment to Remember initiative for the fourth straight year. Residents are encouraged to stop what they are doing and observe two 50-second moments of silence on Memorial Day at noon and again at 6:00 p.m. These moments will be accompanied by ringing sirens and horns from every fire department and emergency service vehicle and ringing bells from every church across Long Island. When you hear that siren whether youre at a barbeque, whether youre at a parade, whether youre at the beach, whether youre at the airshow, wherever you may be please take a moment, stand at attention, be silent, and think about those who gave their life for America, County Executive Blakeman said. Research articles written by two doctors at Harvard Medical School must be restored after they sued the Trump administration, the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday. The research was previously on the Patient Safety Network, a federal website for doctors and medical researchers to share information about medical errors, misdiagnoses, and patient outcomes, the ACLU said in a statement. Two articles, one called Endometriosis: A Common and Commonly Missed and Delayed Diagnosis, the other called Multiple Missed Opportunities for Suicide Risk Assessment in Emergency and Primary Care Settings, were previously removed from the Patient Safety Network. The initial article, co-authored by plaintiff Dr. Celeste Royce, had a sentence about diagnosis in transgender and gender-nonconforming people, the ACLU stated. The other article, co-authored by plaintiff Dr. Gordon Schiff, incorporated a sentence about heightened risk in LGBTQ+ communities. This type of wholesale, non-evidence-based removal endangers everyones safety, Schiff said in the statement. Censoring information about transgender people or anyone a politician does not like, who have documented increased risks of negative health outcomes, is antithetical to the very mission of public health. It also has a clear ripple effect on each and every patient, whose doctors are now unable to review unbiased information about how to better care for all. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January, shortly after taking office, that directed federal agencies to remove all statements that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, the ACLUs statement read. This was followed by guidance issued by the Office of Personal Management, which told agencies to [t]ake down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology. The Trump administration is putting a culture war above the rights of clinicians and the publics need for accurate, adequate health information, Royce said in the statement. The very foundations of medical research and trust in medicine are at risk if the government can pick and choose what kind of research gets halted or published. Royce and Schiff, represented by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School, the ACLU and the ACLU of Massachusetts, argued in the lawsuit that the deletion of the research violated the First Amendment. It also violated the Administrative Procedure Act by removing articles without a reasoned basis The takedown of these articles is nothing short of an assault on science, Scarlet Kim, the senior staff attorney at the ACLU, said in the statement. The First Amendment protects against the removal of our clients research solely because the government disagrees with its message. The government cannot suppress medical knowledge because it acknowledges the existence of transgender people, Kim continued. The Trump administrations attempt to do so violates the First Amendment and flouts the very mandate of PSNet to improve patient safety. On Friday, a federal judge issued that the articles must be restored within seven days. It also must be complete, unaltered versions. The removal of the research came as the Trump administration had several cuts to programs and departments across the federal government. This also included those that go against his executive orders on LGBTQ+ people, including one defining two genders and a military ban on transgender service members, among other orders. This is a victory for our clients, for free speech, and for scientific integrity, said Kim. The First Amendment protects against the removal of our clients research solely because the government disagrees with its message. PSNets mandate is to provide information that protects patients the government cant pick and choose which information to share based on ideology. A businessman who perpetrated a nearly $30 million health care fraud could be forced to pay back more than $15 million in restitution after agreeing to plead guilty to federal charges this week. Raju Sharma, 61, of Sharon, owned a medical device company that targeted Medicare beneficiaries by billing the federal health care program for devices the patients often did not need, according to federal prosecutors. The company billed Medicare more than $29 million for fraudulent medical device orders between 2021 and 2025, roughly $15.8 million of which was paid out. With the substantial profits he earned from the scheme, Sharma purchased two Ferraris, a Mercedes-Benz, at least three Rolex watches and other high-end goods, prosecutors said. Sharma agreed to forfeit the luxury items and over $250,000 in cash federal investigators seized from his bank accounts, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for Massachusetts. The office will also recommend that he be sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $15.8 million in restitution. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Sharma was arrested in February and released pending trial. He was detained again last month after authorities said he violated the conditions of his release by contacting at least one potential witness in the case. Sharma, acting on behalf of his companies Pharmagears and RR Medco, worked with telemarketing companies to generate medical device orders for Medicare beneficiaries, prosecutors said. He is accused of billing Medicare for medically unnecessary devices, which the patients often did not want or could not use. Some devices were ordered without a medical practitioner examining the patient, while others were ordered without providers knowledge. Though Sharma agreed in contracts to pay the market companies a flat fee, he instead paid them on a per-lead or per-order basis, in violation of anti-kickback laws, prosecutors said. Nick Sogard will play first base for the Red Sox in Game 2 of the doubleheader Friday. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) Getty Images Update: The game has been postponed due to rain and rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader Saturday. BOSTON Third baseman Alex Bregman left Game 1 of Boston doubleheader Friday in the fifth inning because of tightness in his right quad. He of course will not play in the second game. First pitch between the Red Sox and Orioles is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. The Red Sox have promoted righty Cooper Criswell as their 27th man. Nick Sogard will play third base and Abraham Toro will play first base. Connor Wong will catch after Carlos Narvaez was behind the plate in the first game. Just tight, manager Alex Cora said about Bregman. Well see how he comes in tomorrow. So he wont play the second one. Hell get treatment. Well know more tomorrow. Bregman said he has no idea yet whether it will require an IL stint. He said its day-to-day right now. He added that he actually feels more positive about it than he initially did. I feel well know a lot more tomorrow after sleeping and see how it presents in the morning, Bregman said. All my strength is still there right now, which is good so far. So its just kind of a day-to-day thing at this point and kind of see when I wake up tomorrow how it feels. Righty Lucas Giolito (1-1, 7.08 ERA) will start for Boston. BALTIMORE ORIOLES (16-33) @ BOSTON RED SOX (26-26) FENWAY PARK BOSTON, MA GAME 52 FIRST PITCH: 7:10 p.m. ET TV CHANNEL: NESN (MLB Network out of market) RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM PITCHING PROBABLES: TBD vs. RHP Lucas Giolito (1-1, 7.08 ERA) RED SOX LINEUP: Marcelo Mayer flips a ball to first while playing second base during a WooSox game in May 2025 at Polar Park. Katie Morrison-O'Day Top shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer is not in the lineup for the Worcester Red Soxs first game in a doubleheader Saturday. An industry source told MassLive Red Sox reporter Chris Smith Saturday afternoon that the team is just keeping all options available for now. Mayer is still at Worcesters Polar Park and is still projected to take part in the second games lineup. The lineup announcement came just a few hours after Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that third baseman Alex Bregmans quad injury was worse than Bregman originally thought. Cora was asked Saturday morning if Bregman was likely to join the injured list. He said that he didnt want to jump into conclusions, but yes. Cora was also asked if Mayer was part of the conversation to come up and replace Bregman. Mayer has started six games at third base in the minors, including four games this year. Theres a lot of guys in the conversation, Cora said. Roster construction comes into play. Guys in the minor leagues, how they fit the roster and all that stuff. A roster move may be made Saturday. We have to wait and see, but we obviously dont want to play short, Cora said. Both Worcester and Boston will play doubleheaders Saturday, although the Red Sox are currently in a delay for Game 1. Worcesters first game is slated for a 4:05 p.m. start with the second game to follow. Students from Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester State University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, UMass Chan Medical Schoo l and Nichols College were in Washington, DC, as part of a trip to stand up for higher education. Courtesy: Joseph Corazzini. Joseph Corazzini Last month, Delaina McDaniel, a 19-year-old freshman from Worcester State University (WSU), traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for protecting higher education policies such as Pell Grants and the Federal Work-Study Program. McDaniels mother is currently working three jobs and is doing her best to pay her daughters out-of-state tuition. It was through federal student aid that she was able to go to WSU for their public health program. When she heard Republicans were considering making changes to Pell Grants that would affect their accessibility, McDaniel was infuriated. Most of our education is paid because of financial aid, Pell Grants, all that stuff, McDaniel said. I was freaking out. I had to sit back and be like, Okay well now what do I have to do? McDaniel, along with some of her WSU peers and students from six other Worcester colleges and universities, flew down to D.C. on April 30 on an organized trip to meet with the staff of Democrats and Republicans from several different states, including Texas, Alaska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The other colleges that sent students included Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Quinsigamond Community College (QCC), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), UMass Chan Medical School and Nichols College, according to a Clark University spokesperson. In their conversations with the staff members, the students urged them to keep higher education policies such as Pell Grants intact. Pell Grants are a form of federal financial aid that is given to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need who have not earned a bachelors degree, according to the Federal Student Aid website. On Thursday, May 22, the House of Representatives passed a tax and immigration bill that includes a provision where students have to be enrolled in at least 30 credit hours per academic year to earn a Pell Grant an increase from the current 24 credits. The bill also eliminates federal subsidized loans for undergraduates and Direct Plus loans for graduate students beginning on July 1, 2026, according to Higher Ed Dive. Isabella Corazzini of Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) is angry and worried about the passage of the bill. These are not just policy changes; they are betrayals. Lets be real: its not our Massachusetts legislators holding us back. Theyve shown up, theyve listened, and many have stood by students like us, she told MassLive. The real obstacles are legislators from other states those who shut down these bills in the dark of night, who avoid their offices and refuse to meet with the very people their decisions are hurting. When the students spoke to the staff members, there was a sense of fear and worry that impacts to higher education could affect their experience in college. Summit Smoker, a freshman at Clark University, met with the staff of representatives from Pennsylvania, his home state. He also met with staff from Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Penn., and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn. The reception from each office was mixed, with staff from Rep. Lloyd Smuckers office being receptive to Smokers concerns while Fettermans staff was more wishy washy. In his communications, Smoker tried to articulate his worries about what cuts to federal student aid could mean to his college education. Im asking myself, will I be able to finishing my degree? said Smoker. Will I have to drop out of college? I benefit from the Pell Grant. I benefit from federal subsidized loans and I am on work study as well. Now, that fear has turned to anger towards the Trump administration and members of Congress. I feel the current administration is not invested in the future of this country or democracy, Clark University Student William Stafford said. Education has taken me places I never knew possible, and without the multitude of aid I received from both my institution and the government, students such as myself wouldnt be able to take advantage of the opportunities we work so hard for. With the House passing the bill with the changes to higher education, there needs to be greater advocacy, QCC Junior Alyssa Corazzini tells MassLive. The House bill now heads to the Senate, who will be voting on the proposal next. Corazzini told MassLive that she hopes the Senate will stand on the side of students and protects student aid. Policymakers need to remember that working-class people require help to access higher education, she said. These arent just budget line items. Video News: [Video News] Conference de presse de la Mauritius Meteorological Services[Video news] Point de presse de Navin Ramgoolam et Paul Berenger[Video news] Presentation de la 4e edition Konpoz to lamisik[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 20 mai 2025[Video News] La Fondation Antoine Tsia Lip Ken et la Fondation pour Lenfance Terre de Paix inaugure un nouveau centre deveil et de developpement du jeune enfant[Video News] Edition Speciale[Video news] Roshai Bhadain a dit[Video News] Forum de lAMM : Investir dans lindustrie manufacturiere : une urgence strategique pour Maurice.[Video News] Dimans Politik[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 17 mai 2025[Video News] Nando Bodha a dit[Video news] Forum de lAMM : Investir dans lindustrie manufacturiere : une urgence strategique pour Maurice.[Video News] Conference de presse de la Commission Economique du MSM du 14 mai 2025[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 14 mai 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 13 mai 2025[Video news] MCB Talk: Commerce avec lAfrique : entre perception et realite [Video news] Seance parlementaire du 13 mai 2025 en LIve[Video news] Le feu a LKS maitrise[Video News] Inauguration du Centre dEveil Les Mirablles a Coeur de Ville de Goodlands[Video news] 2e soiree festival du film europeen 2025[Video news] Analysis publie un rapport strategique sur les retours des employes mauriciens qui met en avant un marche de lemploi en transition[Video News] Incendie chez LKS[Video News] Atelier de travail sur la securite routiere a lecole St Enfant Jesus[Video news] Grays et LOccitane seduisent les Mauriciens avec un evenement Pop-Up inedit au Phoenix Mall ![Video news] Quelles sont les attentes au travail?[Video News] LOccitane de Provence a ouvert un Pop-Up Store a Phoenix Mall[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 10 mai 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 9 mai 2025Absa Maurice sengage contre le cancer en lancant Stories of hope[Video news] ABSA lance une campagne de trois ans pour combattre le cancer[Video news] Pravind Rughoo Automobilistes et etudiants, pren tou precaution [Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 7 mai 2025[Video News] Formation pour des journalistes dinvestigations[Video News] Dialogue entre lart et le gout de Nizam Peeroo[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 6 mai 2025[Video News] Conference de presse Platform Citoyen du 6 mai 2025[Photos-Video News] Travaux en cours sur lIle aux Benitiers[Video news] Seance parlementaire du 6 mai 2025 en Live[Video News] Soiree douverture du 6e Festival du Film Europeen[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 3 mai 2025[Video News] Premieres heures des elections municipales au Ward Un de Port-Louis[Video News] Conference de presse du Commissaire Electoral[Video News] Tee Off du Tamarina Mauritius Amateur Open 2025[Video news] E-meeting du 1er Mai 2025 du Reform Party[Video News] Depot de gerbes de la GSEA a St Jean[Video News] Gheerishsing Gopaul : Combat continue [Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 30 avril 2025[Video News] Reprise des activites economiques[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 29 avril 2025[Video news] Pravind Rughoo a dit[Video news]Municipales 2025 : Rencontre avec Ruben Grenade[Video news] La NIC epaule les petits entrepreneurs[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 26 avril 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 25 avril 2025[Photos/Video] Etat davancement des travaux de nettoyage et de ramassage de debris sur lIle aux Benitiers[Photos/Video] Grays, fier partenaire de Plastic Odyssey a travers la marque LOccitane en Provence[Video news] La NIC a lance deux nouveaux services pour les femmes entrepreneurs.[Video news] Conference de presse dEn Avant Moris du 24 avril 2025[Video News] Abiolabs celebre 10 ans dinnovation en sante preventive a loccasion de la Journee mondiale de lADN[Video News] Presentation de la 6e edition du Festival du Film Europeen[Video news] Presentation du HUAWEI MatePad 11.5[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 22 avril 2025[Video news] 10 ans dAbiolabs Ltd[Video news] Muncipales 2025: Rencontre avec Wersley Lachoumanan[Video news] Adil Ameer Meea a dit[Video news] 30e Assemblee Generale Annuelle de lAssociation of Mauritian Manufacturers[Video news]Le Professeur Serge Riviere et Dr Amaresh Ramlugan racontent la contribution des Colleges Royal[Video news] Lancement de Veni, Vidi, Vici [Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 19 avril 2025[Video news] Foundation Day pour les Nouveaux Democrates[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 18 avril 2025[Video News] Premieres Assises de levenementiel a Maurice : Exercice porteur despoir pour le secteur[Video New]Conference de presse du MSM du 17 aril 2025Parlons de :Leveque Murphy[Video News] Lancement de Les mains invisibles [Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 16 avril 2025[Video News] Municipales 2025 : Rencontre avec Giovanni Lacle[Video News] Maurice accueille la revolution capillaire signee LOreal Paris[Video news] Presentation dAvriLivre 2025[Video News] Voyage de Plastic Odyssey dans les eaux mauriciennes[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 15 avril 2025[Video news] Seance parlementaire du 15 avril 2025 en Live[Video News] World Expo 2025 Osaka[Video News] Lancement dElseve Glycolic Gloss[Video News] Presentation des candidats pour les Municipales 2025 du Reform Party[Video News] Status quo pour les prix des carburants[Vido News] Les investisseurs institutionnels, les innovations reglementaires et les investissements alternatifs au cur des discussions[Video news] Conference de presse de Platform Citoyen[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 9 avril 2025[Video News] Dans les coulisses de Devdas Le Musical[Video News] Ceremonie douverture de PIAfrica 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 8 avril 2025[Video news] Seance parlementaire du 8 avril 2025 en Live[Video News] Table ronde autour de lEducation[Video News] 12 candidats se sont enregistre pour le Ward 1 de Port-Louis[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 5 avril 2025[Video news] 407 candidats pour les municipales[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 4 avril 2025[Video News] Conference de presse dAtif AslamDerniere ligne droite pour les inscriptions pour lAnahita Trail 2025 Mayo entrepreneur and founder of House of Achill, Anna Sutcliffe who specialises in handcrafted products inspired by the island and the Wild Atlantic Way has received a quick cash injection to invest in new technology thanks to the RISE community fund which is supported by National Broadband Ireland (NBI). Established by NBI Chairman, David Mc Court, RISE has awarded over 140 cash grants across the country to rural organisations seeking to boost their digital ecosystems. The fund is also supported by corporate sponsors including KN Circet, KPMG, Test Triangle, DreamDev Technologies and TLI Group. With a passion for empowering island-based businesses and nurturing a vibrant network of artisans, Sutcliffe has spearheaded the creation of a groundbreaking Island Guild together with the Design & Crafts Council Island (DCCI), which is set to launch later this year to serve as a platform to elevate unique craftsmanship of Irelands islands. Receiving the cash grant from the RISE Community Fund, Sutcliffe is looking to expand her business online in anticipation of soon having access to word-class fibre broadband through NBIs rollout of the Governments National Broadband Plan. READ MORE: Fishermen rescued off Mayo Coast by Achill Island RNLI Anna Sutcliffe, founder of House of Achill, commented: "Like so many of Irelands amazing islands, Achill is home to an incredible number of talented and creative artisan producers. At House of Achill, weve successfully built our business by combining our passion for quality artisan products with being active in championing island communities. "Knowing that NBIs rollout across the island is underway, its exciting to plan for expanding our business by embracing opportunities to grow our reach online. Were currently creating a new website with more sophisticated functionality that will not only increase our sales, but also support e-networking for other artisan producers. With this grant from RISE, were able to invest in taking our business to the next level." With nearly 2,500 premises on Achill Island imminently able to connect to the NBI network, David McCourt, Chairman of NBI and founder of RISE, explained why he was keen to visit the area and give back to the community with these grants. READ MORE: Celebration of Mayo Baby Week to take place in June "At NBI we have the privilege of meeting so many incredible people who help make their rural communities thrive and Anna from House of Achill is a perfect example," said McCourt. "Were delighted to support Anna with her goals to use technology to scale the impact of her business by awarding this grant from the RISE Community Fund, and were excited to soon welcome her, and other Achill residents, onto the NBI network in the coming weeks. With over 125,000 rural residents, farms, schools and businesses already connected by NBI, Anna is going to join those who are seeing the transformational benefits of high-speed fibre broadband thanks to the National Broadband Plan." NBI is reminding Achill residents that, like Anna, they can also place their order for high-speed fibre broadband which is currently being rolled out across the island by visiting www.nbi.ie. READ MORE: GAA President and Director General to attend special meeting of Mayo GAA Mayo TD Keira Keogh (Fine Gael) from Westport welcomes new dedicated Small Business Unit that will assist businesses in the county. A new dedicated Small Business Unit, based in the Department Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, will be focusing on the needs of small businesses across the country, including in Mayo, said a Fine Gael Deputy. READ: Mayo TD calls for common sense change to School Transport Scheme Welcoming the establishment of the Unit, Deputy Keira Keogh said: SMEs are the backbone of the Irish economy, providing employment and economic benefit across the country. They employ two thirds of all people in Ireland and have faced significant cost pressures in recent years. The establishment of a new unit dedicated solely to addressing the issues and concerns of small businesses is a very timely development, and I know my colleague, Minister Burke, is eager to ensure no unnecessary red tape or costs are put on small businesses in Mayo. Fine Gael is the pro-enterprise party, and we can see our policies working in the latest jobs figures, which show over 90,000 new jobs were added to the economy in the last year. We must ensure we continue to support our small businesses in Mayo and this focus on SMEs at the highest level is a signal of our intent." Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke said: Since my appointment as Minister I have put small businesses front and centre of my priorities. The Small Business Unit will focus on rigorously implementing the SME Test, to ensure the perspectives of small businesses are considered across Government before new legislation or regulation is introduced. The Unit will simplify the access to grants and supports for businesses though the National Enterprise Hub. It will also ensure the Local Enterprise Offices are properly resourced to help small businesses. Minister of State for Small Business, Retail and Employment Alan Dillon said, small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. This new Unit shows our commitment to cutting red tape, improving access to supports, and ensuring SMEs are heard in policymaking. Were focused on delivering real, practical help so small businesses can thrive, grow, and drive local economic success. AI is advancing in emotional intelligence, excelling at tests and creating new ones, showing potential to assist in empathy-driven fields. Trusted Source Large language models are proficient in solving and creating emotional intelligence tests Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? LLMs scored 81% on emotional intelligence tests, surpassing humans at 56%! #medindia #mentalhealth #ai #emotionalintelligence LLMs scored 81% on emotional intelligence tests, surpassing humans at 56%! #medindia #mentalhealth #ai #emotionalintelligence Advertisement Cracking the Emotional Code Emotional recognition Emotional understanding Emotional management Perspective-taking Advertisement Beyond Answers, Toward Understanding Tests using AI were the same level of difficulty as the originals . . The clarity and content diversity in the texts had only a very small impact (Cohens d below 0.25). AI tests are highly correlated with regular tests (r = 0.46). Reliable and consistent answers from the participants Search Engine To Empathy Engine Technologies that detect signs of emotional distress through conversation Platforms designed to foster empathy and emotional regulation Interfaces that respond appropriately to human emotions Workplace emotional intelligence (EI) assessments that are free from human bias Once Artificially Empowered. Now, Emotionally Intelligent! Large language models are proficient in solving and creating emotional intelligence tests - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40399566/) For a long time, experts believed that the ability to understand and use emotionsknown aswas a skill unique to humans. However, recent studies have shown that large language models, such as, not only excel at emotional intelligence tests but are also capable of creating them. A report insuggests that AI is now demonstrating empathy and emotional insight more effectively than previously thought possible ().Several Large Language Models (LLMs) were checked using five routine and achievement-based emotional intelligence tests in a comparative analysis. Previous tests showed thatof the time, but theon average. The exams are designed to evaluate basic elements of emotional intelligence, such as,When it comes to reading and reacting to emotions, which is essential for having productive conversations with others, ChatGPT-4 has consistently exceeded expectations.Researchers alsoby asking it to. These new tests were given to more than. The results?This means LLMs are skillful enough to understand and practice emotional concepts, making them eligible for use in large and fair emotional intelligence evaluation systems.It appears that machines are becoming free of emotional limits, as demonstrated by recent findings. These capabilities could be applied to:As AI becomes more attuned to human emotions, the line between what is authentic and what is artificial continues to blur.The study illustrates how AI is now benefiting from both emotional insight and logical reasoning. Large language models (LLMs) are reshaping how we define and measure emotional intelligence. While humans still lead in empathy , AI may soon become a valuable assistant in understanding emotions, especially in education, therapy, and leadership training.Source-Universite de Geneve Several Asian countries face new COVID-19 surges driven by variants and waning immunity. Highlights: Hong Kong COVID-19 cases jumped over 1,000 weekly by mid-May Singapore sees a 30% recent case increase despite high vaccination rates Indias hotspots are linked to the JN.1 variant and international travel Trusted Source COVID-19 Vulnerability Mapping of Asian Countries Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? Hong Kong's COVID cases surged 30-fold in just 10 weeks! #covidupdate #covid19 #India #lockdown #medindia Hong Kong's COVID cases surged 30-fold in just 10 weeks! #covidupdate #covid19 #India #lockdown #medindia Advertisement Hong Kongs COVID Comeback Advertisement Singapores Silent COVID Surge Thailands Warning Signs Indias COVID Hotspots! Variant Under the Radar: JN.1 Stay Ready, Not Scared! COVID-19 Vulnerability Mapping of Asian Countries - (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9273770/) While many countries have moved beyond the worst of COVID-19, several Asian nations are seeing new outbreaks. Whats behind these COVID surges in each country, and how can we stay ahead of them ()?From just a handful of cases each week in early March, Hong Kong reported more than, a huge. The number of positive people has grown to, an indication that many people are getting infected within communities. As severe cases and victims of COVID-19 added up to around, hospitals are getting busy again.What is causing this sudden rise? Doctors believe that reduced immunity, fewer people receiving booster shots, and the ease of transmission of new variants are to blame. Regardless of the number of previous vaccinations, the government is recommending that high-risk and elderly individuals receive another dose.There has been ain COVID-19 cases in Singapore over the last week., the number of reported cases rose even further, from. The number ofeach day went from. Even though the nation has a strong vaccination program , the rise in people gathering and more variants are still problems.Right now, the health ministry suggests early testing, quick access to care, and self-isolation for those who notice any symptoms. Authorities are on alert because there will beThe number of new COVID-19 cases in Thailand reached, and Bangkok contributed nearly. Because unemployment is rising sharply, officials are concerned that ongoing joblessness could put extra pressure on the healthcare system., removing masks, and receiving fewer booster shots are all factors that could be. Officials are focusing more on educating the public and may make mask recommendations for busier public locations if cases continue to go up.During this recent surge in COVID-19 cases globally, India isnt seeing much COVID-19 activity, but four states have recorded significant upturns. Local increases are being seen in. Kerala is getting extra attention because it has been testing and reporting at a high level.What led to the increase in development? Experts believe that the JN.1 variant , shifts in temperatures, and international travel may be key reasons. Although the country is currently in good shape, public health authorities are urging people in hotspot regions to remain cautious, wear masks, and limit their travel.plays a major role in the most recent increase. Although its moving faster than early strains, it doesnt make the disease worse. Fever, fatigue, and cough are symptoms of the illness, which are also common in other seasonal infections.Its important to keep your vaccination information up to date, including any booster shots. Prevention is ideal; timely management is the next best approach if issues arise.This situation does not match the chaos from two years ago, but it reminds us that COVID-19 is still developing. As new variants emerge, immunity is on the decline, and behavior becomes less careful; these waves might keep reappearing regularly unless we address them ahead of time. Each time cases rise, it tells one story for that area, and together, they warn us that COVID-19 is still around and has changed. Despite improved warning methods today, Asian countries must continue to have solid surveillance, quick emergency responses, and get people to cooperate.Source-Medindia Not just a gym thing- muscle dysmorphia is quietly growing among men, and social medias ripped bodies might be to blame. Highlights: Muscle dysmorphia is linked to frequent viewing of muscular body content, supplements and steroids on social media The type of content matters more than overall screen time in influencing body image concerns in men Experts call for better media literacy and preventive strategies to combat harmful body image narratives Did you know? Muscle dysmorphia is sometimes called bigorexia- its the opposite of anorexia, where men obsess over not being muscular enough, no matter how built they are. #bigorexia #bodyimagematters #menandmentalhealth #socialmedia #medindia Muscle dysmorphia is sometimes called bigorexia- its the opposite of anorexia, where men obsess over not being muscular enough, no matter how built they are. #bigorexia #bodyimagematters #menandmentalhealth #socialmedia #medindia Advertisement What is Muscle Dysmorphia? Trusted Source Muscle dysmorphia: current insights Go to source Trusted Source Advertisement How Social Media Content Impacts Body Image in Men Fostering Healthier Relationships With Social Media and Body Image Muscle dysmorphia: current insights - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27536165/) Viewing social media content emphasizing muscularity has been linked with muscle dysmorphia in boys and men in Canada and the United States. The study, which was conducted as part of the 2024 Study of Boys and Men, examined data from 1,553 participants and discovered that exposure to certain types of content is associated with an increased risk of muscle dysmorphia.Muscle dysmorphia, a disorder defined by an intense fixation with perceived lack of muscularity, is sometimes disregarded in talks about body image and social media (). This study investigated the effects of watching three types of social media content: photos of muscular bodies, postings promoting muscle-building nutritional supplements (e.g., whey protein), and content featuring muscle-building medicines (e.g., anabolic-androgenic steroids)."We found strong, positive associations between the frequency of viewing all three types of content and experiencing muscle dysmorphia in the study," says lead author Kyle T. Ganson, Ph.D., MSW, assistant professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. "Most notably, these relationships were maintained after controlling for total time spent on social media. This shows that the type of information viewed, rather than total screen time, has a significant impact on body image concerns in boys and men."These authors emphasize the growing necessity to investigate how specific social media material influences body image-related mental health disorders in boys and men. Understanding the impact of muscle-focused media is critical for creating preventive interventions."We need to ensure that boys and men engage in media and health literacy to foster healthier relationships with social media and body image," Ganson says.The authors also advocate for more long-term studies to determine the hazards of viewing muscularity-oriented content.Source-Medindia Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken yet another step to curtail the work of the press inside the Pentagon by imposing harsh restrictions on where reporters can go without official escort in a memo released late Friday. The new rules forbid reporters from going into the hallway where Hegseth's office is located "without an official approval and escort from the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs" -- a job held by top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. If reporters wish to visit the public affairs offices of any of the other services, "they are required to be formally escorted to and from those respective offices," the memo adds. The Pentagon will also require reporters to sign a document pledging to protect "sensitive information," likely setting up situations where unfavorable reporting involving documents could be used as pretense to strip journalists of access to the building. Read Next: Pentagon Sends 1,100 More Troops to Border in Continued Mission Ramp-Up The move is just the latest in a series of restrictions on press access inside the Defense Department that began with booting legacy press outlets from their workspaces inside the Pentagon and then escalated to closing the press briefing room to reporters. While none of the actions outright prohibit the press from covering the largest federal agency, they are an escalating trend of ever increasing restrictions on how much access reporters can have to officials who run each of the military services and the Defense Department. The memo on Friday couched the new restrictions as "updated security measures" that "are needed to reduce the opportunities for in-person inadvertent and unauthorized disclosures." The memo also notes that "in coming weeks" Pentagon press corps members will be given new access badges with "a clearer 'PRESS' identifier." Hegseth underlined those words on the copy that was made public. While the new change, and several of the recent firings of top officials from Hegseth's inner circle, have ostensibly been over leaks to the media, the secretary never fully addressed many of the lingering questions over his use of the commercial messaging app Signal. In late March, it was revealed by The Atlantic that members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet -- including Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of State Marco Rubio -- were part of a group chat on the unsecured app in which they discussed upcoming strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels. That discussion of sensitive military operations information on a commercial app that could be hacked by America's adversaries became public because the group inadvertently added a journalist -- The Atlantic's editor-in-chief -- to the text chat. In April, the Defense Department inspector general's office said it was reviewing Hegseth's use of the app to discuss sensitive details of planned U.S. airstrikes in Yemen. Then, later in April, media reports revealed that he had a second chat on Signal where he shared those same strike details with his wife and brother. NBC reported that those details came from a secure communications channel used by U.S. Central Command. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has become one of the least transparent agencies within the Trump administration, even as it ratchets down access to the press. Shortly after taking the job, Sean Parnell posted a video in which he promised to offer weekly updates and "to be the most transparent DoD in American history for the warfighters and the American people." However, Parnell has hosted only one press conference since taking the job, compared to the Trump White House and State Department, which have been providing regular public press briefings for months. Parnell's deputy, Kingsley Wilson, has only held press briefings for children during the Pentagon's observance of "Take Your Child to Work Day." Wilson has also not addressed her yearslong history of social media posts that featured extremist rhetoric ranging from antisemitic conspiracy theories to white nationalist talking points. Parnell announced Friday that he was promoting Wilson to the job of press secretary for the Pentagon, saying that her "leadership has been integral to the DoD's success and we look forward to her continued service to President Trump!" Related: Pentagon's No. 2 Spokesperson Has Long History of Antisemitic, Bigoted Social Media Posts RALEIGH, N.C. Mildred Manning-Joy waited 45 minutes for her prescription to be filled at the Veteran Affairs Durham Health Care Facility. She watched as a single worker took orders, filled prescriptions and serviced the window. Thats way too much to ask of anyone, Manning-Joy said. And as the line behind her continued to grow, she worried about the people who didnt have the time to wait. Manning-Joy isnt just a patient at the Durham VA. Shes a nurse of 25 years who works at the facility and is a member of National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the country. This week, she joined a group of NNU members and Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, for a briefing held over Zoom, to discuss the impact of the Trump administration on VA health care. Among the chief concerns noted in Tuesdays calls was an executive order signed by President Donald Trump preventing the collective bargaining rights of federal workers, a federal hiring freeze and proposed cuts by Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to reduce the VA workforce by 70,000 to 80,000 people. The Trump administration wants to cut 15% of the Veteran Affairs work staff to bring it back down to what it was in 2019, before COVID and The PACT Act took effect. The PACT Act is a law that provides veterans care after exposure to toxic chemicals, including those at Fort Bragg, who used the bases unsafe drinking waters. Earlier this month, Collins got into a heated discussion at a Senate hearing with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, about the cuts. Collins claimed Blumenthal was trying to stir fear among veterans, and he defended the VA cuts, saying that health care remained a priority. Meanwhile, Takano introduced a bill this month, with 81 cosponsors, that would give VA workers back their collective bargaining rights. None of North Carolinas delegation has signed onto the bill. They dont want workers to organize, Takano said, of the executive order. They know that there is strength in numbers, and they know that there is strength in unions. I know firsthand the power of unions, having been a member of one for many years myself. The whole idea is to either make working for VA so miserable that everyone quits, or to take away their grievance rights so they can fire dissidents without cause. Concerns for veterans Monica Coleman, a nurse from Illinois, said nurses arent the only ones being silenced. Veterans are, too. We took an oath to take care of those who serve in our nations military, and for their families, caregivers and survivors, and that is being stripped away with the stroke of a pen, Coleman said. But nurses arent going anywhere, because we are afraid for our patients. We know if we leave our patients, theyll suffer. Concerns for their patients took up the majority of the call. There was already a worker shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now with a hiring freeze and job cuts through attrition, workers are trying to fill in gaps. They talked about leaving patients for a half-hour to fill prescriptions or not having enough mental healthcare providers. Decades of scientific research show that when our RNs are forced to care for too many patients at one time, patients are at high risk of preventable medical errors, avoidable complications, falls and injuries, increased length of hospital stay and even death, said Andrea Johnson, a nurse from San Diego, who spoke on the call. Patients also fear losing health care teams they spent years building to treat their needs. I ask each and every one of you to think about who ultimately is going to be impacted by the cuts of the VA: the veterans, Coleman said. They dont deserve to be stripped of the care they earned and have been promised. Manning-Joy comes from a multigenerational military family and knows firsthand the importance of the specialized care veterans receive at VA facilities. That includes one-on-one time with providers as well as doctors and nurses who understand what veterans have gone through to leading technologies like prosthetics. And she said it was becoming a nurse for the VA that helped her understand why she loved her career so much. After just a few years working in the VA, I knew I could never go anywhere else, Manning-Joy said. My coworkers and I have a deep love for our work and we want this to be the best place possible for our veteran patients. Thats why when she sees problems, she brings them up. She said her coworkers do as well. We are advocates for our patients, and that is why it is so important to us to have our protective rights to organize and bargain, Manning-Joy said. There are times when we report things that dont get addressed. Thats when we come together and collectively take action to protect our patients. But she said over the past few months, more issues are going unaddressed. The hiring freeze and the firing of probationary employees have led to really severe staffing issues in our facility, and VA Secretary Doug Collins has now put forward a plan that could cut VA staff by 83,000, Manning-Joy said. We have to get out in front of this. Any further cuts will lead to an unimaginable staffing crisis that will lead to worsening patients outcomes. Manning-Joy called Collins plans to cut staffing really scary and unfair to our veteran patients. Veterans rely on the VA to get specialized care that comes with serving in the military, Manning-Joy said. Our nurses are trained to have the experience to manage diverse needs of the population and these cuts will ultimately harm veterans. Fighting for our VA must be a top priority. ______ 2025 McClatchy Washington Bureau. Visit at mcclatchydc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This column first appeared on Spytalk.co. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. News that DNI Tulsi Gabbard had fired two senior intelligence officials because their findings on Venezuela had displeased her sent me scurrying for the origin of the phrase, Dont kill the messenger. Turns out there are lots of strands to its provenance, but one Im partial to was the story told by Plutarch about an ancient Armenian general, Tigranes, who so disliked a messengers word that a Roman general was close on his heels that he had his head cut off for his pains; and no man dared to bring further information. The ensuing battle did not go well for the Armenian. Gabbards dismissals of Mike Collins, who was the acting head of the National Intelligence Council, and Maria Langan-Riekhof, a career senior CIA and NIC intelligence analyst, was merely a virtual beheading, Washington-style. But her imperious act was an unmistakable warning to other top intelligence professionals not to darequoting Plutarch hereto cross her with information that contradicts the Trump administrations narrative, however false, on any subject related to national security. Similar dismissals have been carried out at the CIA. Certainly to many outsiders, the episode was no more than a bureaucratic kerfuffle in a Washington teacupmerely a routine demonstration that, as partisans of all stripes like to say, elections have consequences. The publics attention quickly moved on to other Trump amusements, like his gleeful acceptance of an old 747 from Qatars clever monarch. But fence sitters on Trumps foreign and national security policies need reminding that skewering intelligence to fit an administrations story can have fatal consequences, measured in staggering body counts, as well as unexpected, devastating reversals of fortune. The Bush administrations ill-advised, 2003 invasion of Iraq, driven in large measure by bending intelligence to make a false case that Saddam Hussein was an al-Qaeda ally in possession of nuclear weapons, comes first to mind. The butchers bill, according to various and combined sources: At least 200,000 and possibly a million Iraqi civilians dead due to war-related action; at least 4,492 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen killed and over 32,000 wounded in theater. As many as 30% of some 1.5 million Iraq War veterans were stricken by PTSD, the surveys also say, which would add up to almost 500,000 walking wounded among us. Worse, in some sense, the invasion and occupation turned Iraq into an incubator of ISIS and a virtual client state of Iran. This was not a failure of intelligence so much (although the CIAs miscues were astounding) as the corruption of it by an administration hell bent on fitting manufactured evidence to its hubristic ignorance. Jungle Bungle Less well known, but at least as damaging, was the skewering of American intelligence on communist troop strength in Vietnam to bolster the false claims of President Lyndon Johnson and his military leaders in 1967 that the U.S. was winning the war. The lonely fight to correct the picture was led by a CIA intelligence analyst, Sam Adams (a descendant, by the way, of President John Adams) who, after careful study, concluded that the U.S. command, under Gen. William Westmoreland, was deliberately undercounting the enemys strength by excluding from the chart the tens of thousands of underground Viet Cong agents in the villages. Much to Adams dismay, then-CIA Director Richard Helms had gone along with the Pentagons undercount, which fit the White Houses knowing lie that the war would be soon won. The communists surprise Tet offensive in late January 1968, which saw attacks on more than 100 towns and cities, including Saigon, where the American embassy came under assault, shattered the pretense. But while the U.S. command eventually included the Viet Cong Infrastructure in its enemy Order of Battle estimates, the damage set in motion by years of false intelligence could not be undonenor stopped. At the end of 1967, the U.S. counted just under 20,000 (19,950) Americans killed in Vietnam. Another 38,000+ would be added to the death rolls by the time the U.S. escaped at the end of April 1975. Of the 2.7 million men and women who served in Vietnam, over 303,000 suffered battlefield wounds. Moreover, up to 31% of men and 27% of women had suffered from PTSD at some point in time after their return from Vietnam, a recent study says. Many still are, the Veterans Administration says. The obvious point here is that scuttling factsor worse, punishing the bearers of bad tidingscan, and has hadimmensely fatal consequences. Trumps false claim that Venezuela weaponized the Tren de Aragua criminal gang to invade the United States, buttressed by Tulsi Gabbard, the nation's top intelligence official, is small beans compared to Vietnam and Iraq (not to mention Afghanistan, another case of self-delusion), of course. But the table has been set. What about the cases Trump has ginned up against Canada and Greenland (where, according to reports, U.S. intelligence is now prowling)? Or, come a showdown with Russia or China, will intelligence analystsmoderately paid government employees with kids in school and mortgages to paygo out on a limb and tell the ideologues and boot lickers essential truths? Given recent events, its hard to be optimistic. Its only war and peace at stake. Or put more starkly, living and dying. SpyTalk Editor-in-chief Jeff Stein was a U.S. Army Intelligence case officer in Vietnam. SAGINAW, MI Motivated to make a career switch, Saginaw native Mitchell Hall decided to push past any lingering fears of starting his own business. Now, Hall said he loves the neighboring businesses, the customers and his job after landing a spot in the SVRC Marketplace, with the help and mentorship of The Salad Bar owner, Tasha Donald. Pearls Deli, 203 S. Washington Ave., opened on May 14. Hall has dubbed himself the resident sandwich man. Ive always loved sandwiches, and Ive got stories all through my childhood, Hall said. I used to mow the lawn, and Id take my money and go directly to the nearest sandwich place. The menu features seven sandwiches which cost $12 for a full size and $7.50 for a half size. Even though Pearls Deli is only in its second week of business, Hall said people are gravitating to the number six, or The Lunchbox. It includes ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato and mayo on nine grain bread, just like your mom used to send you to school with. All the sandwiches are customizable. There are also Koegels Viennas, freshly made deli salads, Better Made potato chips and Faygo pop available for purchase. Another one of the sandwiches is named after Halls uncle. The number five, The George, is an Italian hoagie with ham, capicola, salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion topped with oil, vinegar and herbs. He made a bunch of hoagies for me and sent them home with me and I ate them far too quick, Hall recalled from his childhood. While a sandwich is named after a loved one, so is the sandwich shop itself. Pearls Deli is named after Halls dog, who he said has walked around the house like a queen ever since she was adopted. Shes always had her head held high, so I felt like I had to name it after her or else shed stink-eye me, Hall said with a chuckle. Hall lives in Bay City but grew up in Saginaw. Hall said his dad, Rossco Hall, was a Saginaw firefighter. Having his business in Saginaw feels like a bit of a homecoming for Hall. I love my neighbors. The customers here are also amazing, he said. You really dont have this kind of community-mindedness anywhere. Pearls Deli is open during the SVRC Marketplace hours, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, check out the Pearls Deli Facebook page here. Would you like MLive to feature your favorite restaurant in Michigans Best Local Eats? Send the details, including business name, address and best menu item, to Kaytie Boomer at kboomer@mlive.com. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. WALKER, MI A small-batch artisan brewery in West Michigan is expanding its horizons. Lost Art Brewhouse, 3393 Remembrance Rd. NW in Walker, recently added a full-service kitchen with chili dogs, smash burgers and monthly culinary creations. The business was started by Brad Lawrence and Mike Smith in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Both men grew up blocks from the now brewery and envisioned it one day becoming a community hub. The West Side picks you up, embraces you and really loves to have community centers. We knew when we wanted to start a brewery that we really wanted to have it here on the west side and be part of that, Lawrence said. We envisioned a very small, kind of corner type bar with cans to go. Its escalated at a breakneck speed since then. During the pandemic, Lawrence said he and Mike began to notice the resiliency and support for the business they were building. Every year that goes by is just us continuing to step up for our community, step up for the customers, and continue to make things a better experience for them, Lawrence said. The concept of adding a food counter and kitchen was born out of that vision. Co-Owner Austin Sylvester is the mastermind behind the food at Lost Art. He was a patron before jumping on board to manage the kitchen. He remembers bundling up to enjoy a beer with his wife under an outdoor heater during the COVID-19 pandemic. All three of us are very driven people, Sylvester said. Were not afraid to take on challenges. Were always chasing excellence, Lawrence added. Anything that we can do to elevate any of our products the beer, the food, the experience for the customers, and now the kitchen allows us to tick off a lot of things in that box." Austin Sylvester, left, and Brad Lawrence at Lost Art Brewhouse, 3393 Remembrance Rd. NW, in Walker, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com The menus main attraction is the chili dog. However, Lawrence said people returning to the brewery might recognize the smash burgers which were popular at the food truck. The ever-changing menu goes beyond the bar. A culinary creation whether a family recipe wet burrito or smashburger crunchwrap is featured monthly. The Brewhouse Dog for $4.50 is topped with chili, ketchup, mustard, shredded pickle and onion. The BBQ Dog, also for $4.50, is topped with chili, smokehouse BBQ bacon sauce, diced bacon and onion. Three burgers remain on the menu: the LAB Original, Frankenstein and Olive. The LAB Original smash burger is a beef tri-blend patty with American cheese, pickle, grilled onion and choice of sauce. The Frankenstein is beef tri-blend patty, Kielbasa patty, Swiss, pickle, grilled onion and choice of sauce. The Olive is beef tri-blend patty, Swiss, grilled onion, olive aioli and diced green olives. Burgers are $8 for a single, $11 for a double and $14 for a triple. The menu also features a number of sides, a chicken sandwich, and loaded smash fries a burger and fries combination or the best of both worlds. The business was built on its small batch brews. Uno Mas, a Mexican lager, and Dune Climber, a hazy IPA, have defied the odds to become staples. The brewery also hosts a tournament called Battle of the Brews where employees create and brew a beer before going head to head. Customers can order the beers over the span of three weeks and cast their votes. In the last round, the employee able to conquer the bracket faces one of the brewmasters either Lawrence or Smith. Lost Art is normally open 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, 4 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and noon to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed on Monday. For more information, visit the brewerys website here. For weekly beer releases and monthly burger specials visit its Facebook page here. Lost Art Brewhouse, 3393 Remembrance Rd. NW, in Walker, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.c 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. Billy Joel has canceled concerts on his 2025 tour, including Ford Field in Detroit. Photo by Scott Schild | Syracuse.com DETROIT, MI Billy Joel has canceled his upcoming tour dates after being diagnosed with a brain disorder. The cancellations include a legendary show in Michigan with Stevie Nicks. The Piano Man announced the cancellation Friday, May 23, following a diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH). This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance, Joels website said. Under his doctors instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period. NPH is a condition caused by cerebrospinal fluid building up inside the skull and pressing on the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The condition is most likely in people over 65 and is often treatable. Because of the diagnosis, Joel was forced to cancel 17 shows scheduled through the remainder of 2025, including performances with Nicks, Sting and Rod Stewart. Joel and Nicks were going to perform in Detroit at Ford Field on Saturday, Nov. 15. They were originally scheduled to perform there in March, but the concert was rescheduled because Joel was recovering from surgery. RELATED: Surgery forces Billy Joel to postpone numerous concerts, including Ford Field For ticket holders, refunds will automatically be transferred to the original form of payment used for purchase. Joels website noted that refunds will go to the original purchaser even if the tickets were transferred to someone else. Joel said he is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage. Im sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding, he wrote on his website. The last time Joel performed in Michigan was at the home of the Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park, on July 9, 2022. Nicks performed in Grand Rapids last September and was in Detroit in November 2023. A sailboat is shown stranded in Lake Huron near Point Au Gres, after two boaters from Ann Arbor ran aground and became stranded in rough water Tuesday. Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) conservation officers were able to safely rescue and return both boaters to shore. (Photo provided by MDNR) Michigan Department of Natural Resources ARENAC COUNTY, MI Two people were rescued from Lake Huron this week after their sailboat was stranded due to rough conditions. Rescuers responded to a 911 call at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, about a boat that possibly had capsized off the south side of Point Au Gres in Arenac County, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) said in a news release. A 76-year-old man and 66-year-old woman from Ann Arbor had launched their sailboat near the Point Au Gres Marina and Campground, on Green Drive, and planned to sail north to their boat slip at Tawas Marina, MDNR said. The boaters ran into high winds and rough waters, and their sailboat ran aground, MDNR said. Deputies from the Arenac County Sheriffs Office were on shore and directed MDNR conservation officers toward the sailboat. MDNR officers rescued the two boaters about 400 yards offshore. They were both wearing life jackets and in stable condition, MDNR said. They were brought back to shore by 3:23 p.m. and did not require medical assistance. The U.S. Coast Guard and Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police Department assisted in the rescue. MDNR reminded boaters to wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets, check weather conditions before leaving shore and monitor conditions while on the water. Statistics from the Coast Guard show 75% of boating deaths are due to drowning, and of those fatalities, 87% of victims were not wearing life jackets, the release said. MLive File Photo. Another Michigan asphalt company executive has been sentenced to prison time in a bid rigging scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Samuel Gaytan | LoneStarLive.com PONTIAC, MI A former executive of a Pontiac-based asphalt paving company has been sentenced to federal prison time for his role in a multi-year scheme to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts. Daniel Israel, the former president of Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists, was sentenced Thursday, May 22, to serve six months in prison and pay a $500,000 fine, U.S. Department of Justice officials announced. Israel pleaded guilty in October 2023 to conspiring with Taylor-based Als Asphalt Paving Company Inc. to rig bids in each others favor, according to a DOJ release. Court documents show the co-conspirators coordinated each others bid prices so that the agreed-upon losing company would submit intentionally non-competitive bids, DOJ officials said. These bids gave customers the false impression of competition when, in fact, the co-conspirators already had decided among themselves who would win the contracts, they said. Israel participated in the bid rigging conspiracy from March 2013 through November 2018. Economic crime like bid rigging is no less harmful than violent crime, Omeed Assefi, acting deputy assistant attorney general of the DOJs Antitrust Division, said in the statement. Both inflict deep, lasting harm on our communities and disenfranchise those who believe in the American dream, Assefi continued. Assefi also said Israel conspired to eliminate competition to further enrich himself and his accomplices. To date, seven individuals and three companies have been charged in the ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and anticompetitive conduct in the asphalt paving industry, according to the DOJ. More than $8.2 million in criminal fines have been imposed. Clarkston-based F. Allied Construction Company Inc. also participated in bid rigging, according to the DOJ. Among those charged, Timothy Baugher, a former president of Asphalt Specialists was sentenced in April to six months in prison and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine for his role. Baugher pleaded guilty in January to conspiring with F. Allied Construction Company Inc. Asphalt Specialists, its former vice president Bruce Israel, along with Als Asphalt and its president Edward Swanson and David Coppola, a company vice president, also pleaded guilty to charges, according to the DOJ. Asphalt Specialists was sentenced in August 2024 to pay a $6.5 million fine. In March, Andrew Foster, president of F. Allied Construction Company Inc. was sentenced to 24 months of probation and a $100,000 fine. Kevin Shell, a vice president at that company, also pleaded guilty to charges. Daniel Israels sentencing marks an important milestone in holding accountable those responsible for this flagrant bid rigging scheme, Anthony Licari, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, said in a statement. We remain committed to working closely with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who undermine fair competition and violate federal antitrust laws, Licari said. U.S. Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Hull said in a statement the postal service maintains thousands of competitively bid contracts with private vendors. Criminal activities such as bid rigging are a serious offense that undermine the principles of fair competition and harm our communities, Hull continued. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. We will aggressively investigate and bring to justice any vendor that attempts to defraud the Postal Service, she said. The DOJ Antitrust Divisions Chicago Office and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case. The DOJs Chicago Office is prosecuting the case. Anyone with information can contact the Antitrust Divisions Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or report violations online, at justice.gov/atr/report-violations. MLive File Photo. A crash between a car and a semi-truck killed two people in southwest Michigan on Friday, May 23, 2025. Monday, October 21, 2024. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com CONSTANTINE TWP., MI A crash between a car and a semi-truck killed two people in southwest Michigan on Friday evening. Michigan State Police troopers responded around 5:40 p.m. Friday, May 23, to a report of a crash on U.S. 131 near N. River Drive in Constantine Township. Rendering of the Raising Canes Chicken Fingers slated to open by October 2025 in Portage. Provided by Meyer C. Weiner Company PORTAGE, MI An empty lot sits on the busy corner of Westnedge and Milham avenues, as two buildings were torn down this week. An outdated strip mall and an adjacent building were razed, making way for a Raising Canes Chicken Fingers restaurant the first in Kalamazoo County and one of the first in Michigan. Raising Canes signed a lease with real estate development company M.C. Weiner two years ago, CEO Josh Weiner said. The restaurant has until October to open, per the lease. The company wants to move as quickly as possible. Several businesses including Rollup Ice Cream and Tea, Little Caesars, Betty Bella Braids and Art and Soul Tattoo moved out of 6005 and 6021 S. Westnedge Ave. in March. Tenants were aware that Weiner planned to redevelop the site, Weiner said. Vac World, adjacent to Art and Soul at 6027 S. Westnedge Ave., is not moving, Owner Mark Garritano previously said. Developers are poised to move Raising Canes into the now-empty lot at the corner of Westnedge and Milham avenues in Portage. Taylor DesOrmeau Plans for the new drive-thru restaurant were stalled last year after a rezoning request was shot down by city officials. But the fast-food chicken restaurant is moving forward again after developers tweaked the proposed footprint. Originally, developers wanted to rezone two adjacent residential properties it owned on Chelsea Avenue, a residential street off of Milham Avenue. The homes would have been demolished to pave the way for the parking lot. Site location map included in a traffic study shows current buildings overlayed by the proposed development. Plans have changed to no longer include these residential properties. City of Portage Neighborhood residents were worried about increased traffic, smells and lights in the area. A home is a long-term investment for a family, Chelsea Lane resident Adem Muhammed Seada said previously. Something like this will set us back in so many ways. Developers wanted to assuage their concerns, Weiner said. There was plenty of room for green space, fences and hedges to buffer the neighborhood. No one likes change, said Josh Weiner, CEO. And the change that we proposed was too great for them to see the benefit. So instead of expanding east, the rectangular footprint will protrude south. The corner itself is already zoned for commercial development, Weiner said. The new building will fit in that space. We dont need to ask for any favors. We dont need to ask for any exceptions. We dont need to ask for any variances, Weiner said. Were following the rules. Maintenance and access issues had become difficult to manage at the former strip mall, Weiner representative Tim Timmons said previously. And the roof, HVAC and parking lot were past their useful lives. But the location itself is great for business, Weiner said. Whats busier than Westnedge? he said. Thats why people want to be there. Canes executives want to expand the business presence in Michigan, Weiner said. They believe there is a market in Kalamazoo County. Theyve got a lot invested as well, Weiner said. Just think of all the engineering and plans and specifications and the ordering of equipment. The redevelopment site in Portage is just 0.3 miles north of Chick-Fil-A, another fried chicken brand, at 6202 S. Westnedge Ave. That property is also owned by the Weiner Company. Raising Canes has locations across the U.S. A second Michigan location opened in Metro Detroit in early February, as the brand expands its presence in the state. It plans to add more than 20 new restaurants in Michigan in the next decade. RELATED: Demolition underway at Outback site as Raising Canes prepares for December opening Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter. MT. MORRIS TWP., MI Beautiful dresses, sharp suits and so many smiles were on full display as Beecher High School students and guests arrived at the Moses Lacy Fieldhouse before their 2025 prom. Around 100 family, friends and supporters filled the fieldhouse to cheer on and photograph students as they walked the carpet and flexed their dapper attire. Supporters were also found outside welcoming students with a frenzy of phones and handshakes as they exited their sharp vehicles in the designated drop off zone. With a theme of Met Gala, about 40 students and guests danced the night away on Friday, May 23 at Zehnders of Frankenmuth. Evening activities included dinner, dancing, announcement of king and queen and a photographer to capture portraits. The prom was a combined prom for Beecher High School and Higher Learning Academy. MLive photojournalist Ayrton Breckenridge was on the scene for MLive to capture shining moments that will last a lifetime as students arrived before prom. Check out all of the photos in the gallery above. You must be a subscriber to view the photo gallery. Subscribers click the Get photo link to download high-resolution images right to their device for free as part of their subscription. To subscribe, click this link. To see all of MLives prom coverage, click this link. Read more on MLive.com: Burton Bentley celebrates 2025 prom at secret destination Flint Powers Catholic dazzles on red carpet at 2025 prom Holly High School shines bright at 2025 prom downtown Linden High School shines on red carpet at Hollywood Glam prom Goodrich celebrates 2025 prom night on Detroit Princess Riverboat 12 favorite photos from Lapeers Vegas theme prom KEA Karnataka UGCET Results 2025 Merit List and Cut-Off Ranks to be Out Shortly Following the declaration of the KCET 2025 results, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) will soon release the category-wise merit list and course-specific cut-off ranks. These details are essential for candidates as they outline the minimum qualifying scores required for admission to undergraduate courses through the KCET counselling process. The merit list will be prepared based on candidates' KCET scores, PUC/12th marks, and eligibility criteria. It will determine each candidate's rank and will be used to allocate seats during counselling. The cut-off ranks vary depending on the category, course, and college. Archisha Yadav is a sub editor with 1.5 years of experience in writing news articles on topics like education, jobs, and politics. She specialises in crafting simple, clear, and engaging stories that are easy to understand and hold the readers interest, making complex topics accessible and relatable to a larger audience. Archisha Yadav USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Aishwarya Rai returns from Cannes 2025 along with daughter Aaradhya, greets paparazzi with a smile: Watch M Snehanjali USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Gayatri Rani USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept M Snehanjali USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 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 Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Manjiri Patil USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Anishaa Kumar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept NR Vandana Tex Industries to be fifth SME IPO opening next week; check dates, price band, offer size Sunil Matkar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Chhabi Kala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Paytm says Supreme Court stays Rs 5,712-cr GST notice sent to First Games 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept What is a share swap transaction? Agreement, transaction, and all you need to know Manisha Lal Khandpur USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Ria Kapoor USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Deblina Halder USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Covid creeps back into Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, but should you worry? Arishaa Izaj USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Delhi judge transferred after anti-corruption body accuses him of taking bribes for bail Ria Kapoor USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept DMK is not afraid of ED or PM Modi, says Udhayanidhi Stalin as TN CM attends Niti Aayog meet Smriti Mishra USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Xi says China ready to work with Germany to open new chapter in all-round strategic partnership Xinhua) 08:53, May 24, 2025 BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that China is ready to work with Germany to open a new chapter in their all-round strategic partnership, to steer China-EU relations toward new progress and to make new contributions to the stable growth of the world economy. Speaking to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over phone, Xi once again congratulated him on assuming office. He pointed out that as the world undergoes accelerated changes unseen in a century and the international landscape is marked by transformation and turbulence, the strategic and global significance of China-Germany and China-EU relations has become even more prominent. A sound and stable China-Germany relationship serves both countries' interests, and meets the expectations of various sectors in China and Europe, the Chinese president added. China and Germany have developed their bilateral relations based on mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and win-win cooperation, Xi stressed, calling on both sides to maintain and carry forward this fine tradition. First, Xi called for consolidating political mutual trust. He said China views Germany as a partner, welcomes Germany's development and prosperity, and is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with Germany, respect each other's core interests and consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations. Second, Xi urged the two sides to enhance the resilience of their ties. He said both sides should not only continue to expand the existing cooperation in traditional fields such as automobiles, mechanical manufacturing and chemical industry, but seek more collaboration in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in areas including climate change and green development, contributing the wisdom and solutions of China and Germany to global sustainable development. Third, Xi noted that bilateral cooperation should continue to gather momentum. He said that China is willing to share with Germany development opportunities brought by its high-level opening-up, adding that China hopes Germany will offer more policy support and facilitation for two-way investment, and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises. Xi pointed out that facts have fully proven that partnership is the proper positioning of China-Germany and China-EU relations, and a stable and predictable policy environment is essential to ensuring bilateral cooperation. As major countries, he added, both sides share a common responsibility. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, Xi said that the two sides should jointly review the successful experience in the development of China-EU relations and send a positive signal in support of multilateralism and free trade, as well as deepening openness and mutually beneficial cooperation. For his part, Merz said that China is one of the world's most important countries, and Germany-China relations have seen sound development, with deepened cooperation yielding fruitful results. Bilateral cooperation is particularly significant in the current international landscape as both China and Germany are the world's major economies, the German chancellor added. The new German government adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to push for greater progress in their strategic partnership in a constructive and practical manner, he said. Germany expects to conduct closer exchanges and cooperation with China in various areas, uphold opening-up and mutual benefit, boost fair trade, safeguard world peace and jointly tackle climate change and other global challenges, Merz said. A healthy and steady development of EU-China relations is in the interest of both sides, and Germany is willing to play an active part in this regard, he said. The two leaders also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) How Pakistan High Commission operates as an ISI outpost in Delhi Smriti Mishra USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Arishaa Izaj USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'I ate brains for ...': 25 years later, UP serial killer Kolander convicted in chilling double murder case Deblina Halder USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Hemant Abhishek USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Indias space bill set for liftoff? New draft to give IN-SPACe legal teeth, ease private entry, says report Aishwarya Dabhade USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept India will not be silenced by terrorism: Shashi Tharoor leads five-nation diplomatic outreach Deblina Halder USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'India will not yield to fear': Abhishek Banerjee slams 'Pakistan as 'vile handler of terrorism' Deblina Halder USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept India News Live Updates: Stop injustice with Punjab, says Mann at Niti Aayog meeting; raises water issue Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday accused the Centre of giving "step-motherly" treatment to Punjab and said such type of discriminatory treatment is unwarranted. Participating in the meeting of 10th Governing Council of the Niti Aayog here, the chief minister raised the issues concerning the state while reiterating that Punjab has no surplus water for any state. Amid the ongoing row over the sharing of water issue, the chief minister asserted that in wake of grim situation of water in the state a Yamuna-Sutlej-Link (YSL) canal should be considered for construction instead of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. Mann said that Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers are already in deficit and water should be diverted from surplus to deficit basins. He said that Punjab has repeatedly requested to be included in negotiations for the allocation of Yamuna waters as a pact for Yamuna-Sutlej-Link Project was signed between the erstwhile Punjab and Uttar Pradesh on March 12, 1954, which entitled the erstwhile Punjab to two-thirds of the Yamuna waters. The chief minister said that this agreement did not specify any particular area to be irrigated by Yamuna waters, adding that before the re-organization, the Yamuna River, like the Ravi and Beas, flowed through the erstwhile state of Punjab. However, while apportioning the river waters between Punjab and Haryana, the Yamuna waters were not considered, whereas the waters of Ravi and Beas were duly taken into account, he lamented. New Covid-19 variants reported in India as cases surge; Delhi issues advisory, Uttarakhand on high alert Smriti Mishra USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Operation Sindoor: India took down JF-17, two F-16s, AWACS flying 300 km inside Pak; Navy was set to hit Karachi port: Report Smriti Mishra USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept PM asks states to work with Centre as team, remove policy bottlenecks to attract global investors 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept PM Modi to chair 10th meeting of NITI Aayog's governing council today, first since Op Sindoor Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Prayagraj under grip of medical mafias, SRN hospital not a hospital but a mortuary: Allahabad High Court 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Satcom firms may introduce data plans in India for less than Rs 840 Ria Kapoor USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Shubhi Mishra USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'Modern Bharat has no place...': Court rejects Army Majors plea for hotel CCTV in adultery case against wife Shubhi Mishra USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Apple iPad Air M3 review: New chip, old vibe but the safe and sensible choice Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Aabhas Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'Coding will not die, it will just...', says Microsoft chief product officer Aparna Chennapragada MC Tech Desk Read the latest and trending tech newsstay updated on AI, gadgets, cybersecurity, software updates, smartphones, blockchain, space tech, and the future of innovation. Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Aabhas Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept MC Tech Desk Read the latest and trending tech newsstay updated on AI, gadgets, cybersecurity, software updates, smartphones, blockchain, space tech, and the future of innovation. Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Aabhas Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Pragya Trivedi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Can the Trump administration actually stop Harvard from enrolling foreign students Ria Kapoor USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Google unleashes AI-powered search overhaul as it battles for dominance in post-ChatGPT era Pragya Trivedi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Trump administration considers pulling US troops out of South Korea during Indo-Pacific policy overhaul Pragya Trivedi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Trump opens the door for Nippon Steel to join the US market in $14.1 billion US Steel alliance Pragya Trivedi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Aishwarya Dabhade USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Zelensky calls for new sanctions after Russias overnight drone and missile attacks on Kyiv Pragya Trivedi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Sonora, CA The Aronos Research Club has received the Creativity Award for Environmental Community Service Programs from the California Federation of Womens Clubs, recognizing a unique holiday project that turned discarded plastic into a powerful community message. The award was presented at the federations annual state conference earlier this month, making the Sonora based club eligible for a national honor at the General Federation of Womens Clubs International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, next month. The clubs winning project, titled How the Clubs Trashiest Christmas Tree Brought the Town Together, used non-recyclable plastic prescription bottles to create a holiday display called the Message in a Bottle Time Capsule Tree. The tree was part of the Sonora Chamber of Commerces Christmas Tree Lane and the broader Christmas Town Sonora promotion. Club member Pam Overholtzer said the idea began when a member donated large bags of unused plastic bottles. The club partnered with Tuolumne County Arts to invite the community to write messages of hope and dreams for the future, seal them in red-painted bottles, and hang them on the tree. Supplies were left by the tree to encourage public participation. It really captured the pulse of the community, Overholtzer said. They really put their thoughts, their hopes and dreams for the future into those messages. The Chamber of Commerce awarded the project second place in its tree contest. The club donated its cash prize to Cassina High Schools student Christmas program. In total, 150 messages were collected and stored in a time capsule at the Aronos Clubhouse, to be opened in December 2034. In addition to the environmental award, the Aronos Club received a statewide Communication and Public Relations honor for medium-sized clubs. The recognition highlighted the clubs 2024 live KOVR broadcast during its New Years Eve Barn Dance. The club also earned a certificate of participation in the Young Musicians Competition, in which five local musicians won top honors. More information about the Aronos Club can be found here. Yves here. Aside from the fact that many readers have taken or otherwise have a personal interest in SSRIs, the very phrasing of the headline illustrates that medical research is often not much less conclusive than is ideal for patients and medical professionals. Our KLG wrote in 2022 in Serotonin and the Unsubstantiated Chemical Imbalance Theory of Mental Disorders: To channel our inner Leonard Cohen, the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Mental Disorders is something everybody knows. And everybody knows this largely because of direct-to-consumer (sic) advertising that dysregulation of serotonin synapses in the brain causes depression, and other perhaps related disorders. But is this something true? Current disinterested science basically says No. An extensive analysis of the serotonin theory of depression was published online on 20 July 2022 in the well-established journal Molecular Psychiatry (SpringerNature): The Serotonin Theory of Depression: A Systematic Umbrella Review of the Evidence. To state the conclusion at the outset, to be followed by the evidence presented: The main areas of serotonin research provide no consistent evidence of there being an association between serotonin and depression, and no support for the hypothesis that depression is caused by lowered serotonin activity or concentrations. Some evidence was consistent with the possibility that long-term antidepressant use reduces serotonin concentration. So, this extensive and comprehensive umbrella review of the major strands of research on serotonin shows there is no convincing evidence that depression is associated with, or caused by, lower serotonin concentrations or activityno evidence of reduced serotonin activity in people with depression compared to people without, and methods to reduce serotonin availability using tryptophan depletion (remember that tryptophan is the feed stock of serotonin) do not consistently lower mood in volunteershigh-quality genetic studies effectively exclude an association between genotypes related to the serotonin system and depression. Shorter: KLG would find the mystery depicted in the headline to be the result of pharma marketing and influence of MD training overwhelming clinical evidence, combined with many depressive patients being easy marks for an overhyped treatment. Im sure many readers know people who are convinced SSRIs produced lasting benefit. However, weve reported on other analyses over the years (forgive me for not running them down) that indicated that the positive results for SSRIs were often (too often) not that much higher than the placebo response, and if you parsed out the net improvement, the results didnt even convincingly support approval of the medications. In keeping, I am sure, like many readers, that they know those who found either that SSRIs werent that helpful or the mood lift didnt last very long. An extreme case was my depressive uncle, who was a very altruistic man. He was administered every conceivable anti-depressant and anti-depressant combo. They either did not work at all or provided relief only for 6 weeks to 3 months. He eventually sought out electroshock. I dont think that helped much either. Aside from side effects, namely loss of libido and weight gain, which many patients find distressing, another issue less widely discussed is that some find it hard to get off them. I recall reading a lament by a UK pharmacist of how hed found it impossible to withdraw without suffering severe side effects, and he claimed based on his professional experience that 15% of users who wanted to stop were in the same boat as he was. By Frieda Klotz, a journalist based in Brussels, and a senior contributor to Undark. She covers culture, health, and reproductive medicine. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Irish Times, Al Jazeera America, Mosaic Science, and other outlets. Originally published at Undark In 2006, a new study on antidepressants was making headlines with its promising results: Two-thirds of participants who tried various antidepressants recovered from their depression symptoms within less than a year. The findings seemed to offer hope to the tens of millions of Americans who suffer from depression. But Henry Edmund Ed Pigott, then a psychologist in private practice, wasnt buying it. After further exploring the study a major National Institutes of Health trial that enrolled 4,000 patients he was convinced that the researchers methods greatly inflated their results, almost doubling them. In other words, the drugs may work, but not for as many people as the study suggested. Once I got started on it, it was like, Okay, this really needs to be exposed, said Pigott, who is now retired. His suspicion sparked a two-decade quest to obtain a review or retraction from the authors of the NIH study, whose work had received $35 million of federal funding. In 2023, Pigott and colleagues published a reanalysis of the NIH data in BMJ Open, finding that the original studys remission rates were roughly half of what was reported. Pigott isnt against antidepressants wholesale he said he just wants patients to understand the complete risks and benefits. And many experts and clinicians stress that antidepressants are lifesaving medications. David Matuskey, a psychiatrist and associate professor at Yale University, described them as vital tools to help patients in desperate need: Is it a perfect tool? No, but its an important one. The drugs are now widely prescribed in the United States. Around 13 percent of American adults regularly take an antidepressant, according to 2020 data, the most common of which are SSRIs selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors so called because they work to raise overall levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, in the brain. Still, questions remain on how exactly antidepressants lift the symptoms of depression, which may include persistent feelings of hopelessness, low energy, and suicidal thoughts. In recent years, the drugs have also been criticized for potential side effects, such as loss of libido and dizziness, while some patients experience withdrawal effects when they stop taking them. Among the most vocals critics has been Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has made numerous statements about the overprescription of antidepressants, particularly among children. Advocates now worry that Kennedys influence as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could limit patients access to SSRIs. In an executive order signed in February, President Donald J. Trump established the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which would, among other directives, assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, alongside mood stabilizers and other drugs. The American Psychiatric Association, National Network of Depression Centers, and other organizations shot back: The safety and efficacy of antidepressants had been clearly established through decades of rigorous study, they wrote. They further expressed concern that the MAHA Commission unfairly casts doubt on this research. But other researchers concede that some measure of doubt, or at least uncertainty, has dogged SSRIs for decades not just in terms of their potential benefits and side effects, but even their basic mechanism of action. Rifaat El-Mallakh, who leads the Mood Disorders Research Program at the University of Louisville Depression Center, said that while many clinicians believe that antidepressants help their patients, nobody has ever been satisfied with how effective they are. To Pigott, that means more and better research is needed at long last. These are not benign drugs. They have potential for benefit and harm, Pigott said. You gotta weigh out those risks. Until the 1950s, few pharmaceutical options were available to treat depression. At the time, the psychoanalytical theories of Freud and others emphasizing the role of the unconscious mind were dominant, but some clinicians were developing medical categorizations of mental conditions, and procedures like electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy pointed towards somatic remedies those focused on the physical body rather than psychology or emotions. The early drugs were discovered somewhat by accident. One drug, iproniazid, was being used to treat tuberculosis when doctors realized that it helped improve patients mood. It was prescribed off-label as an antidepressant for just a few years before researchers realized that it could severely damage the liver. More pharmacological discoveries followed, including the first tricyclic antidepressants drugs that reduce the absorption of neurotransmitters called catecholamines. But adverse effects ranged from blurred vision and dry mouth to more serious outcomes. Adults could fatally overdose if they took a two-week supply at once, said Siegfried Kasper, a professor emeritus of psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. If a child found their parents medicine and took a single days dose, they could die. As doctors were beginning to prescribe these drugs to patients in the 1960s, two views on brain biochemistry came together to offer new models for depression. One was the brainchild of Joseph J. Schildkraut, a researcher from Brooklyn who spent most of his career at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Mental Health Center. Schildkraut had initially planned to become a psychoanalyst but completed training just as tricyclic antidepressants came into use. He began to explore the role of pharmacology in treating depression, and in 1965 published a seminal paper positing that depression arose due to low levels of certain neurochemicals, highlighting the role of one, norepinephrine. According to a psychiatrist and historian of the field, David Healy, Schildkrauts paper defined the psychopharmacological era. Around the same time, a psychiatrist called Alec Coppen was working in the United Kingdom. He was a less charismatic figure, according to Kasper, who was a young researcher at the time. Alec Coppen did not communicate that well, he said. He was a smart guy, but Schildkraut was an excellent communicator. Coppen was interested in mood disorders and studied the effect of lithium on major depression and bipolar disorder, and the role of serotonin imbalance as a cause of depression. His 1967 paper, titled The Biochemistry of Affective Disorders, reviewed studies of reserpine, iproniazid, and other recently discovered drugs, and proposed that low levels of a different neurotransmitter, serotonin, could underlie depressive illness. That idea took hold in the pharmaceutical industry, which set out to find a pill that could address the chemical imbalance. It took another 20 years for one to be brought to the U.S. market: the first SSRI, Prozac. Psychiatrists were enthusiastic. Patients could tolerate higher doses than earlier drugs; a fatal overdose was a much smaller risk. SSRIs had other more minor side effects, but at the time, Kasper said, their arrival was a big revolution. (Other SSRIs have since become available, including Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, and Lexapro.) David T. Wong, who helped develop Prozac at the drug company Eli Lilly, described the profound effect of that development in a co-authored account published in Nature Reviews: Numerous lives have been saved from suicide by the widespread use of these drugs, as well as many relationships restored and careers saved. Wong and his colleagues explained that the idea of needing to boost serotonin helped reduce the stigma surrounding depression. Having an underlying biological rationale for a treatment that is, the modulation of serotonergic function also helped to improve the public understanding of the role of mental-health professionals, they wrote, as it provided a clear basis for discussing the biology of a psychiatric disorder. And these medications really helped people, said El-Mallakh, who witnessed their introduction first-hand while working in the field in the 1990s and still values their role today. SSRIs were not more effective than tricyclics, but they had fewer side effects and were generally safer, he told Undark. People who take antidepressants frequently testify to their efficacy. Maura Kelly, a writer who has described her experience with antidepressants in The Atlantic, told Undark by email that the drugs helped her feel less despair and rebuild many aspects of her life. But it took almost two decades to receive an accurate diagnosis and care, and to find the right medication. Depression really upended my life and if I hadnt gotten treatment, it would have killed me I thought a lot about suicide, she wrote. I can only imagine how hard it is for people who dont have a strong education, who dont have the confidence or assurance or language to push doctors to help them. Hannah Gurholt, a 26-year-old graduate student, wrote an essay in Science magazine describing how antidepressants had quieted her anxiety. Not having racing thoughts, and being able to sleep through the night is a huge win for me, she told Undark. And psychiatrists stress that research backs up these experiences. Among the array of scientific studies that have shown that SSRIs improve peoples mental health in both real-world and lab settings is the NIH-funded project Pigott came across in his morning newspaper. Nicknamed STAR*D for the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression it has been described by the NIH as the largest and longest study ever conducted to evaluate depression treatment. In developing its protocol, the researchers aimed to mimic real-world conditions, and included patients who had other illnesses beyond depression. In a summary for clinicians, they also offered guidance that doctors could follow if a patient did not initially recover. The project laid out a four-stage approach, summarized in a 2006 paper giving an overview of the findings. At level one, patients received citalopram, an SSRI also known under the brand name Celexa; about 37 percent of patients recovered after six and a half weeks. Those who did not moved to level two, where they faced seven treatment options, including staying on Celexa and adding one of a range of antidepressants, switching to another drug, or switching to cognitive therapy (although only a small number chose the psychotherapy option); here, about 30 percent of those patients improved. Those who did not moved to level three. These patients would switch to other types of antidepressants, including tricyclics, or could augment the treatment with either lithium or the thyroid hormone Cytomel; close to 14 percent experienced remission of their depression symptoms. Patients who continued to experience depressive symptoms were deemed highly treatment-resistant and progressed to level four, in which the researchers offered more aggressive treatments. Just 13 percent of those patients experienced improvements in the final stage. There was no placebo arm because the treatments under scrutiny were already known to work, said Michael Thase, one of the researchers involved in STAR*D. The research question was to study the relative effectiveness of different regimens after a first treatment failed. But cumulatively, the remission rate was 67 percent. This finding has been regularly cited by scientists and the media ever since. Pigott noted that in 2009, the then-director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Thomas Insel, wrote that at the end of the 12-month study with up to four treatment steps, roughly 70% of participants were in remission. Last year, The New York Times stated that nearly 70 percent of people had become symptom free by the fourth antidepressant. As of this May, the studys flagship articlehas been cited over 1,800 times according to PubMed. The investigators, led by Augustus Rush, now an emeritus professor at Duke University, wrote in 2008 that the drug used was not as important as the approach: giving patients adequate doses of medication, monitoring symptoms and side effects, adjusting the regimen, and switching drugs if needed after allowing adequate time to pass. In a summary article providing practical advice for doctors, the researchers wrote that depression can be treated successfully by primary care physicians under real-world conditions. (Rush declined an interview with Undark, and instead provided by email two previously published responses to the STAR*D criticisms.) The project formed the basis of dozens of publications, and has remained a touchstone for psychiatrists ever since. A recent paper by U.S. clinicians looking at depression in children and teens described STAR*D as a landmark trial of adults with depression. A 2021 European analysis that looked at treatment-resistant depression referred to the U.S. project as the largest multistep treatment study of patients with depression to date, which provided key insights into treatment failure in the clinical setting. STAR*D still features in lectures and educational material on depression, said John J. Miller, a psychiatrist and editor-in-chief of the Psychiatric Times, an industry journal. It was such an expensive study, and involved so many different algorithms, he told Undark via email. In todays climate it does not seem we will have another STAR*D anytime soon. The STAR*D project, which has been described as a landmark trial of adults with depression, formed the basis of dozens of publications. A sampling of that work is shown here. Visual: Undark From the outset, critics of antidepressants have pointed to an array of potential side effects, ranging from the very rare possibility of brain damage and an increased risk of suicide, to more common ones like loss of libido. Others question the drugs efficacy. As early as 1999, Irving Kirsch, a lecturer at Harvard, began to explore the role of the placebo effect in antidepressant studies, asserting that the placebo response to medication was greater than any pharmacological effect. Kirsch, who is a co-author on Pigotts 2023 paper, later published The Emperors New Drugs, an article and then book based on data obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which found that the impact of antidepressants was not much greater than the placebo effect. In 2017, a team of researchers from Denmark (who had also collaborated with Kirsch) concluded that, compared with a placebo, the side effects of SSRIs seemed to outweigh any potentially small beneficial effects. More recently, a small group of researchers have called attention to the fact that the hypothesis on which understanding of these medications is based have never been proven. Before Pigott embarked on his project to reassess the STAR*D data, he knew little about antidepressants and had no bias against them, he said. (As a psychologist, he doesnt prescribe medications.) In the 1980s and 1990s, he often dealt with suicidal patients at a crisis intervention service he had set up, where he worked with two psychiatrists who regularly prescribed the medications. I do have psychiatrist friends, I really do, he said with a laugh. Im not against psychiatry. But after spotting what he considered to be major flaws in how the STAR*D authors reported their results, and after what he described as much obsessing, he crafted his re-analysis. Over the next two years, he worked with other researchers, and published a review of research on antidepressants. In 2011, he connected with Kirsch, and in 2023 the group published their reanalysis in BMJ Open, a peer-reviewed general medicine publication. Although Pigott and his colleagues pointed out several issues with the study, their main criticisms related to methodology. The researchers noted that the STAR*Ds own protocol proposed the use of one scale to assess symptoms, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD or HAM-D) as a primary measure of outcome, but in the main summary article deployed a secondary measure, the Quick Inventory of Depressive SymptomatologySelf-Report (QIDS-SR), to report remission rates. The HRSD was blinded and conducted by phone, whereas QIDS-SR was reported by the patient at the clinicians office, making the report more vulnerable to overstatement or bias. And the differences between the two were stark: When Pigott applied the Hamilton scale to the data, the cumulative remission rate of patients fell from 67 percent to 35 percent. It could have been an honest mistake on their part, Pigott said of the statistical downswing. He said he could not imagine the investigators sitting around a table and choosing to fudge the data. But they should have corrected it once the error was pointed out, he added, and now theyre complicit. This is the accusation, that we violated the protocol to fluff up the rates, said Thase, one of the researchers on the STAR*D project, and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. (Thase, like some other researchers who spoke in support of antidepressants for this story, has consulted for pharmaceutical companies that manufacture antidepressants. El-Mallakh has disclosed in publications that he is a speaker for various pharmaceutical companies.) He told Undark there was a simple reason why the team had used the QIDS rather than HRSD measure in the 2006 paper: The researchers took HRSD measures at the start and end of the project, but QIDS was taken more frequently. And although the HRSD was meant to be the primary measure of outcome, Thase said, some patients were unavailable for the final HRSD when their QIDS data pointed towards remission. In their 2006 summary paper, the researchers wanted to use all available participants and evaluate long-term outcomes. The QIDS measure allowed them to feature the outcomes of more patients, including those who missed a HRSD measure, he said. Those self-reports actually reflect how the patient was doing, he added. Theyre not false data, theyre the same data, just from a different vantage point. Thase said the calls for retraction had an accusing tone. It was, he said, the only time in my 40-something-year career this has happened. In 2023 and 2024, Miller, the editor-in-chief of the Psychiatric Times, published a series of articles about the controversy. In a cover story titled STAR*D Dethroned? he called on the field to probe the gap between the 2006 analysis and that of Pigott in 2023, and he subsequently published a response by Thase and his colleagues. In an editorial that March, Miller wrote that he did not think the STAR*D team intended to inflate their results, but did think that using the original measure would have been a more clinically relevant choice. And in an email to Undark, he added that Pigotts analysis was very important: Because the STAR*D data is used so ubiquitously in lectures and articles on the treatment of major depression, the misrepresentation of the outcomes in each of the four steps of STAR*D are reinforcing percentages of response to antidepressant treatment that psychiatric providers are continuing to be told are accurate. Still, Miller suggested that many psychiatrists have probably not read either paper. The burden of electronic health records and increased productivity requirements take time away from self-education. Psychiatric practitioners are so overbooked and stressed these days that it is likely they do not spend as much time as years ago reading complete articles in a wide range of journals, he wrote in an email to Undark. There has been no notable change in the field of psychiatry. Meanwhile, criticism of the studys methods has featured in alternative publications, Substacks, and blogs. A slew of articles appeared on the website Mad in America with headlines like STAR*D: The Harms of Orchestrated Psychiatric Fraud. Apart from his publication, Miller said he was not aware of other platforms trying to engage the psychiatric profession to revisit the STAR*D data. But the controversy did not go entirely unnoticed. Pigotts 2023 co-authored piece was one of the most read BMJ Open articles for July that year. And commenting on the study, an editorial in Nature Mental Health stated that antidepressants have underpinned psychiatric care since the 1950s. Now, the authors wrote, some of the bedrock of clinical wisdom in psychiatry has begun to erode. The STAR*D trial has not been the only pillar of antidepressant research to face critique: Around the same time that Pigott was questioning the effectiveness of antidepressants, the serotonin hypothesis which posits that a chemical imbalance in the brain causes depression was undergoing scrutiny. In 2022, Joanna Moncrieff, a professor of critical and social psychiatry at University College London, published a review in Molecular Psychiatry, a prestigious Nature publication, in which she wrote that there is no consistent evidence of there being an association between serotonin and depression. Pigott and Moncrieffs papers looked at different things Pigotts cast doubt on a landmark trial in the medications effectiveness; Moncrieffs probed whether evidence exists to prove the serotonin hypothesis but both poked at core beliefs underpinning why antidepressants are appropriate treatments for depression. Going even further, Moncrieff told Undark that the full implications of her paper are that We dont know whether there is a link whether there is a biological mechanism that underpins depression. Moncrieff is a leading player in critical psychiatry, a movement that challenges psychiatric norms. A polarizing figure, Moncrieff is not new to criticism, but the response to her 2022 paper, she said, was extraordinary. A profile in Rolling Stone described her as the psychiatrist behind the antidepressant study taking over right-wing media, and stated that her views align with the right on other matters. Moncrieff, who has said publicly she has always been to the left in politics, told Undark that she did she not agree with all of the statements made by Secretary Kennedy. But, she said, Its good that hes raising questions about antidepressants. Her 2022 paper was not the first time the serotonin hypothesis had been questioned, but Moncrieff and her colleagues had presented a bank of data to back up a provocative conclusion: This review suggests that the huge research effort based on the serotonin hypothesis has not produced convincing evidence of a biochemical basis to depression, they wrote, and added, We suggest it is time to acknowledge that the serotonin theory of depression is not empirically substantiated. The paper triggered a cascade of reactions: first a slew of letters to the editor, and then a formal counter-argument, co-authored by 35 academics and psychiatrists, charging that Moncrieff had excluded relevant studies and showed an underappreciation of the complexities of neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology. One of the authors of that critique was David Matuskey, who said some of his co-authors were shocked that Moncrieffs article had made it through peer review into Natures distinguished pages. Some colleagues wanted the piece to be retracted, he said. I think the scientific review process is good, he told Undark, but added, I think its not perfect. Another co-author, David Erritzoe, a researcher at Imperial College London, said Moncrieffs team would have benefitted from involving researchers with expertise in areas relevant to the review, like biological neuroimaging. Earlier this year, Moncrieff published a book titled, Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of the Serotonin Myth, which articulated a more explicit position. The book outlined how, as she painted it, a quest for money and professional status, scientific hubris, and patient desperation had led to one of the most widespread and harmful delusions of recent times: the idea that emotional problems can be resolved with a pill. It received favorable reviews, including in The Sunday Times Magazine an event that moved Awais Aftab, a psychiatrist and blogger, to write a post in response to the coverage. As he saw it, public understanding of depression as a chemical imbalance is vague, a mishmash of buzzwords, he wrote, and Moncrieff had used that misperception to attack the validity of antidepressants themselves. And while he acknowledged that the serotonin hypothesis is still, well, a hypothesis, the scientific literature strongly suggests serotonin plays some kind of role in mood regulation. Aftabs depiction sketched a faithful picture of critical psychiatry, according to Philip Cowen, a professor of psychopharmacology at the University of Oxford and another co-author on the response to Moncrieff who has spent decades examining the role of serotonin in depression. He said that Moncrieff and her colleagues fundamentally oppose pharmacological interventions in treating depression. I have to say that this is a coherent and not uncommon point of view, Cowen wrote in an email. However, no evidence one could produce of relevant neurobiological changes in depression or the fact that antidepressants help some depressed people would ever change Moncrieffs mind. When Undark spoke to Moncrieff by phone, she said she first became interested in the topic after working in a psychiatric institution. This was the 90s, and many patients seemed zombified, she said. These days, Moncrieff said she would not rule out prescribing the drugs to a patient who really wanted them, but she would make sure they were aware of possible side effects and withdrawal symptoms, and that they understood that antidepressants are not treating a chemical imbalance or any other underlying mechanism, that theres little evidence that theyre different from placebo. Even some researchers wary of Moncrieffs broader stance towards antidepressants agreed with her point. Cowen, for example, said that Moncrieff is correct in stating that no evidence exists for a serotonin deficit causing depression. And El-Mallakh, the director of the Mood Disorders Research Program at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, noted that determining the brain physiology behind depression wasnt necessarily important so long as patient symptoms improve. We dont know what is wrong with their brain, but thats okay, he said. We have a tool that makes them feel better. Research about the side effects and adverse impacts of antidepressants side effects has led to some changes in guidance. Scientists have begun to look at the possible long-term impact on sexual function, referred to as post-SSRI sexual dysfunction. The difficulty some people may have coming off antidepressants has led to the publication of formal guidelines in the U.K. And there is widespread agreement even within the psychiatric community that the medications have been overprescribed. But these shifts dont always trickle down swiftly to individual patients. Hannah Gurholt, the graduate student who has had some success with the drugs, wishes that her psychiatrists had explained the potential side effects more clearly. She has found herself with acne or clammy hands, only to realize they are potential side effects when people are on some antidepressants. Often, now, she said, when she experiences side effects she ends up Googling them herself. And Maura Kelly, the writer who has taken antidepressants for many years, said that because depression is so complex, the prescription of antidepressants should be done by psychiatrists alone: I dont think primary care docs should be allowed to prescribe antidepressants. Even as the MAHA Commission probes prescription rates, the ways in which antidepressants are prescribed make them vulnerable to scrutiny. I think the reason that a lot of people, including people like Kennedy, are against antidepressants, is because they are overused by physicians, at least in the United States, El-Mallakh said. He ascribed this to the incompetence of physicians who think they are benign. Theyre used in people who arent depressed, he said. Theyre used in people who just feel bad. Theyre used to help people deal with life. Thase, the co-investigator of the STAR*D study, agreed. There are different ways of tackling depression, including exercising and spending time in the sun outside, he suggested, and medication should be part of a comprehensive approach. These are natural and healthy ways to minimize your level of depression, he said, later adding, I think medication should be used, not at the drop of the hat. But, referring to the MAHA Commission, he noted there is a tension in trying to avoid overuse. In the early 2000s, the FDA cited a potential link between suicidality in young people taking antidepressants on its labeling. In the years that followed, doctors were more careful about prescribing the medication, and the teen suicide rate rose visibly. When you try to do good and minimize the overuse of something, you can actually inadvertently put more people at risk, Thase said. Nineteen years since he first came across STAR*D in the newspaper, Pigott and his colleagues are still subjecting the studys data to investigation. They have an article in development probing the changes in suicidality after a switch in medications in the studys step 2. In contrast to the original analysis, they say they found a 30 percent increase in suicidality among patients. As a result of this finding, he said, People will be changing what they do. In terms of mechanism, the focus of research on depression has largely moved on from trying to verify the serotonin hypothesis. But Erritzoe, the Imperial College London researcher who did his doctoral thesis on serotonin markers in patients, recently published a study that gave weight to the hypothesis, which appeared after Moncrieffs article. He did PET scans of the brains of 17 depressed patients not receiving medication and detected reduced serotonin release. The study offered the most direct assessment of the serotonin hypothesis, but needs to be replicated, ideally in greater numbers the basis for a major project Erritzoe is now embarking on with funding from the U.K.s Medical Research Council. Erritzoe hopes his next study will help inform which patients are likely to respond to an SSRI. Most of his work now is on psychedelics, but he said that the classic psychedelics, like psilocybin and LSD, are absolutely serotonergic drugs, he noted. The serotonergic system is an absolute focus, its just other aspects of the neurotransmission in the serotonin system that is gaining traction. To Erritzoe, the debate about the serotonin hypothesis remains a useful one because thats what science is agreeing and disagreeing about different kinds of evidence. Thase made a similar point. No one study answers all questions and is the definitive study, he said. All studies are estimates of some truths. One of Americas darkest moments: Pentagon orders sweeping Afghanistan withdrawal investigation Pentagon launches major review of Bidens 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal amid demands for accountability. 13 U.S. troops and 170 Afghan civilians died in Abbey Gate bombing during chaotic evacuation. Over $85B in abandoned U.S. military equipment bolstered Taliban, per bipartisan investigations. Panel led by Afghanistan veteran Sean Parnell includes Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller and investigator Jerry Dunleavy. Trump administration vows transparency, aligning with Republican criticisms of Bidens national humiliation. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the Pentagon will launch a sweeping investigation into the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it one of Americas darkest and deadliest international moments. The probe will examine decision-making failures and security lapses that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan civilians during the suicide bombing at Kabuls Abbey Gate, as well as the loss of billions in American military equipment. The July 2021 evacuation unfolded amid the Talibans rapid takeover of Afghanistan, which Biden administration officials initially dismissed as unlikely despite military warnings. The Shawn Thomas bombing on August 26, 2021, which killed 13 troops, including 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman, and one Army soldier, became the deadliest single-day loss of U.S. forces in 20 years of war. Meanwhile, an estimated $85 billion in abandoned gear, including Black Hawk helicopters and armored vehicles, fell into Taliban hands, escalating regional security concerns. Hegseths directive follows a House Foreign Affairs Committee report accusing Bidens team of prioritizing political optics over security, neglecting evacuation contingencies, and ignoring military intelligence predicting the Talibans swift victory. The committee blamed the administration for disorganized conditions that endangered troops and civilians alike. A catastrophic decision: How the withdrawal unfolded The collapse began in spring 2021 as the Biden administration hastened plans to fulfill Trump-era peace accords with the Taliban, despite warnings from U.S. intelligence and military leaders about the Afghan governments fragility. By late July, Afghan forces began retreating city by city, and by August 15, the Taliban seized Kabul. In the days that followed, U.S. forces scrambled to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport, which became a flashpoint of disorder. On August 26, an ISIS-K suicide bomber struck Abbey Gate, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. The Pentagon later admitted security measures had been insufficient, with fewer than 400 troops deployed to protect thousands of panicked evacuees. That August 26th bombing was avoidable, said Jerry Dunleavy, an investigator with the House panel, who will now join Hegseths review team. The Biden team knew violence was coming. Instead of reinforcing the gates, they wasted hours on press releases. Bipartisan outcry fuels accountability push Critics across the political spectrum have labeled the withdrawal a foreign policy failure. House Republicans condemned Bidens leadership, while Democratic Sens. Jack Reed and Chris Murphy acknowledged systemic shortcomings in contingency planning. The Talibans victory wasnt inevitable, said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The administration ignored our own intelligence, and it cost lives and treasure. President Trump, who appointed Hegseth, has seized on the issue ahead of potential 2026 campaigns. At a May 18 rally, he vowed to recover billions of abandoned equipment and hold every responsible official accountable. Hegseths review aligns with that promise, vowing to post-mortem the chain of events and name errors in command decisions. Hegseths memo mandates a Special Review Panel led by Pentagon official Sean Parnell, a decorated Afghanistan veteran, and includes retired Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, known for his public criticism of the withdrawal. The team will scrutinize internal communications, interview commanders, and assess the 2023 White House report and two military investigations. The stakes of transparency: Military trust and future crises Beyond Afghanistan, the reviews findings could reverberate across U.S. foreign policy. Retired Gen. Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has admitted failures in advising Bidens team, while Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-CENTCOM commander, accepted blame for military responsibility in the bombing. The Afghan disaster wasnt just a policy error it was a breakdown in leadership integrity, said Scheller. This investigation is about more than accountability; its about rebuilding the militarys moral authority. Hegseths statement emphasized regaining faith and trust with the American people as critical to future missions. Meanwhile, the Talibans resurgence and Russias post-withdrawal aggression in Ukraine underscore the urgency of relearning lessons from defeat. A crossroads for American leadership As the Pentagons review begins, Americans grapple with how a war begun to dismantle terrorism ended with allies abandoned and enemies empowered. The probes success hinges on unflinching truth-telling a demand underscored by families of the fallen, veterans, and bipartisan lawmakers. We owe it to everyone who stood on that tarmac in Kabul: the truth, Hegseth declared. For millions, that truth could reshape how the U.S. confronts global crises and holds leaders responsible when they fail. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com FoxNews.com Defense.gov Synthetic chemicals in ultra-processed foods contribute to serious health issues, study finds Synthetic chemicals from packaging, additives and processing equipment in ultra-processed foods contribute to chronic diseases, such as obesity and heart disease, beyond what nutritional labels indicate. A Nature Medicine review highlights microplastics, PFAS ("forever chemicals") and endocrine disruptors in food as major but overlooked public health threats, with 98 percent of Americans already carrying PFAS in their blood. Over 100,000 synthetic chemicals contaminate food, and most are untested for safety. Current risk assessments fail to account for real-world low-dose exposures that disrupt hormones and metabolism. Microplastics are found in nearly every organ, resemble cholesterol particles and are tied to a 4.5x higher heart attack risk, per an NEJM study. Plastic-related diseases cost the U.S. $249 billion in 2018. Experts urge reducing plastic packaging, prioritizing whole foods and overhauling chemical regulations. While Europe moves toward stricter policies, U.S. oversight lags, leaving consumers vulnerable to corporate self-regulation. The foods lining grocery store shelves colorful candies, microwavable meals and packaged snacks may be more dangerous than their labels suggest. A growing body of research reveals that synthetic chemicals leaching from packaging, processing equipment and additives in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are silently contributing to chronic diseases like obesity and even heart disease. A review published May 16 in Nature Medicine called attention to this serious matter. It warned that contaminants including microplastics, forever chemicals and endocrine disruptors represent an "underappreciated and understudied" threat to public health. With 98 percent of Americans already carrying PFAS in their blood and microplastics infiltrating organs from the brain to the placenta, experts argue that outdated regulations and corporate negligence are fueling a preventable epidemic. UPFs industrially manufactured products laden with stabilizers, artificial flavors and preservatives are a primary vehicle for these toxins. Bisphenols (like BPA), phthalates and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) migrate into food during production, storage and even reheating. The scale of contamination is staggering, yet regulatory gaps leave consumers unprotected. While over 100,000 synthetic chemicals may seep into food, most remain untested for safety. Current risk assessments rely on high-dose animal studies, ignoring the real-world cocktail of low-dose exposures that disrupt hormones and metabolism. (Related: Convenience culture's hidden toll: Study links ultra-processed foods to reduced lifespan and environmental harm.) "Current approaches to testing food contact materials are outdated," warned Jane Muncke, managing director and chief scientific officer of the Switzerland-based Food Packaging Forum. Muncke, the review's corresponding author, also called for post-market bans on the most hazardous chemicals and stricter oversight of food packaging. A billion-dollar health crisis Big Food doesn't want you to know about Dr. Sanjay Rajagopalan of Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, who isn't involved in the Nature Medicine review, noted that microplastics are found in "just about every portion of your body." He and his co-authors pointed out in a March 2024 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that these microplastics resemble jagged cholesterol particles and are linked to a 4.5-fold higher risk of heart attacks. Historically, the rise of processed foods paralleled post-war industrial efficiency. But the health consequences are only now coming to light. Studies estimate that plastic-related diseases cost the U.S. $249 billion in 2018, with PFAS exposure alone accounting for $5.5 billion in health damages. Unlike whole foods, UPFs are designed for profit not nutrition with synthetic additives extending shelf life at the expense of human health. While European regulators respond to consumer demand for cleaner labels, U.S. policies lag, leaving corporations to self-police. The solution, researchers argue, lies in systemic change: reducing reliance on plastic packaging, prioritizing whole foods and overhauling chemical regulations. For now, consumers face an uneven battle against invisible toxins. As Muncke asserts, removing the worst chemicals is a critical first step. But without transparency, the true cost of convenience will continue to be paid in chronic disease and shortened lives. Visit StopEatingPoison.com for more similar stories. Watch David Icke reiterating that UPFs are killing people in this clip. This video is from the What is happening channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Ultra-processed foods and poor sleep: Breaking the link through dietary choices. A diet of "ultraprocessed" foods drives disease, increasing the risk of early death. Ultra-processed foods linked to hypertension, cancer and early death: Study exposes hidden dangers of modern diet. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org Nature.com TheNewLede.org NEJM.org Brighteon.com Carey Gillams Whitewash reveals corporate deception, regulatory failure and the dangers of glyphosate Carey Gillam's investigative work in the 2017 book "Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science" exposes how Monsanto's glyphosate (Roundup) was marketed as safe despite evidence linking it to cancer (e.g., non-Hodgkin lymphoma), organ damage and gut microbiome harm. The WHO's IARC classified it as a probable carcinogen in 2015. Monsanto allegedly manipulated research, ghostwrote studies and pressured regulators to downplay risks. Internal documents reveal efforts to discredit independent science, like the Seralini study on glyphosate's tumor-causing effects. Widespread use of glyphosate on GMO "Roundup Ready" crops led to resistant "superweeds," escalating chemical dependency and ecological harm. Cases like farmer Jack McCall's death and thousands of lawsuits highlight the consequences of corporate negligence, with plaintiffs accusing Monsanto of hiding Roundup's dangers. Gillam's book urges support for organic farming, stricter regulations and independent research to counter corporate influence. She underscores the need for systemic change to prioritize public health over profit. In a world where corporate interests often overshadow public health, Carey Gillam's investigative work exposes the troubling truth behind glyphosate the key ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Her 2017 book "Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science" reveals how this pervasive chemical has infiltrated our food supply, endangered human health and corrupted scientific and regulatory institutions. The story of glyphosate is not just about agriculture. It's about corporate power, deception and the urgent need for accountability. Glyphosate was introduced in the 1970s as a revolutionary herbicide, marketed as safe for crops but deadly to weeds. Farmers embraced it, and Monsanto's Roundup became a cornerstone of modern agriculture. But as Gillam discovered through years of investigative journalism, the reality was far from the company's assurances. Initially impressed by Monsanto's scientific advancements, she later uncovered a darker narrative one of suppressed risks, manipulated research and aggressive corporate tactics to silence dissent. (Related: Bayers state-level power play: Undermining MAHA and shielding glyphosate from accountability.) The health consequences of glyphosate exposure are alarming. The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen in 2015, citing evidence linking it to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers. Tragic cases like that of Anthony "Jack" McCall, a farmer who died after years of Roundup use, highlight the human cost of corporate negligence. Thousands of lawsuits followed, with plaintiffs alleging Monsanto concealed the dangers of its product. Beyond cancer, glyphosate has been linked to endocrine disruption, liver and kidney damage and harm to gut bacteria, which plays a crucial role in immune function. Its environmental impact is equally concerning. The rise of "Roundup Ready" genetically modified crops led to an explosion in glyphosate use. But it also spawned resistant "superweeds," forcing farmers to apply even more chemicals in a destructive cycle. Corporate influence has further muddied the waters. Monsanto has been accused of ghostwriting studies, pressuring scientists and manipulating regulatory agencies. Documents reveal efforts to discredit independent research, such as the infamous Seralini study, which found glyphosate caused tumors in rats. Meanwhile, the revolving door between Monsanto and government regulators has raised serious concerns about conflicts of interest. Despite regulatory assurances that glyphosate residues in food are "safe," many scientists warn that long-term, low-dose exposure especially in combination with other pesticides remains poorly understood. Glyphosate has been detected in everything from breakfast cereals to honey, leaving consumers to navigate a landscape of conflicting information. The solution lies in collective action. Supporting organic farming reduces pesticide exposure, while advocating for stricter regulations and independent research can help counter corporate influence. Gillams work is a call to arms a demand for transparency, accountability and a reevaluation of the systems that prioritize profit over public health. The fight against glyphosate is emblematic of a larger struggle against unchecked corporate power. As Gillams reporting makes clear, the choices we make today about the food we eat, the policies we support and the companies we hold accountable will shape the health of future generations. The time to act is now. Watch this video about Carey Gillam's 2017 book "Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science." This video is from the BrightLearn channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: Brighteon.ai Brighteon.com Federal power grab threatens state sovereignty, privacy as Big AI collides with biotech The U.S. House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, banning states from AI regulation for a decade and aligning with FDA rules allowing biometric data use without consent. The legislation faces backlash for federal overreach, eroding states rights to protect residents from potential AI harms in healthcare, employment, and policing. Microsofts Stargate project, Regenerons acquisition of 23andMe, and FDA consent waivers create a system critics call a federal-corporate surveillance state. Proponents argue the bill accelerates AI innovation; opponents say it sacrifices privacy and local oversight to corporate and federal actors. Senators are urged to oppose the bill, with steps to contact lawmakers outlined for citizen action. In a move critics are calling a federal power grab, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 1,116-page One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, stripping states of their ability to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) for a decade. The bill, spearheaded by House Republicans, also coincides with a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule allowing researchers to bypass informed consent when using Americans genetic and medical data for studies deemed low risk. Conservatives and privacy advocates warn this combination of sweeping federal authority and corporate access to sensitive data could pave the way for a centralized AI-biotech surveillance system, with no recourse for citizens or states. Unprecedented federal overreach ahead of Senate vote sparks outcry over AI, health data The bills Section 43201 blocks states from enacting laws or regulations on AI design, performance, liability, or data handling for the next 10 years, while federal agencies like the Department of Defense and health corporations push to integrate AI into military systems, healthcare, and genomics research. Nearly all Republicans in the House supported the provision, with only Reps. Thomas Massie (KY) and Warren Davidson (OH) dissenting. Senate passage remains uncertain, but President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed the bill and the $500 billion Stargate AI initiative it supports, which CEO Larry Ellison of Oracle (a Stargate partner) described as a platform to merge AI with biotech innovations. Meanwhile, the FDAs relaxed consent rules and Regenerons recent acquisition of 23andMe which holds genetic data on millions have raised alarms over unchecked corporate control of personal information. Why this bill matters now The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reframes a centuries-old debate over federalism. Since the founding, states have acted as laboratories of democracy, experimenting with regulations on everything from environmental standards to healthcare. But Section 43201 of the bill erases that power, mandating federal supremacy in AI oversight for the next decade. As Congress moves to centralize AI policy, states like Colorado and California have already led on AI regulation, enacting transparency and liability protections. For example, Colorados groundbreaking law forces companies to address racial bias in AI algorithms used in lending and housing. NYs attorney general has targeted AI-driven healthcare denials. Now, those efforts and future innovations would be halted under the bill. This isnt modernizationits surrender, said Texas State Senator Dawn Buckingham, a vocal opponent of federal overreach. When the feds tell states we cant protect our own citizens from AI harms, theyre not helping. Theyre telling us to shrink back while privacy disappears. Critics liken the bills provision to other federal encroachments, such as No Child Left Behinds education mandates or the Affordable Care Acts Medicaid expansion. The one-size-fits-all mindset misses the point, said Robert Popper, a legal scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. States can create tailored solutions. This bill takes that option off the table. Federal-corporate alliance: DNA, data and the Stargate connection The timing of the bills House passage raises eyebrows. The FDAs new consent waiver rulefinalized last monthpermits researchers to use blood, genetic samples, and medical records without patient permission for studies it deems minimal risk. That same month, Stargate proponents announced its focus on AI-driven mRNA drug development targeting human genomes. Then came Regenerons acquisition of 23andMe: the drug giant now holds the keys to 23andMes 10 million DNA profiles, despite its 2023 data breach. This is a perfect storm, said digital rights advocate Lena Rodriguez. Stargates AI can analyze your genome, the FDA lets companies use your data without consent, and Regeneron owns it alland your state cant stop any of it. The Department of Homeland Security has also warned of AIs potential to engineer gene-targeted bioweapons, even as the White House explores fast-tracking AI in bioweapon development. Public outcry and the road ahead Opponents argue Section 43201 is rushed and lacks oversight. While the bill funds federal AI modernization, including $500 million for purchases through 2035, its prohibitions on state laws leave accountability gaps. The lack of transparency has inspired grassroots campaigns urging senators to oppose the bill. Im fed up with Washington grabbing power while silencing states, said Robbin Farmer of Liberty First USA. This isnt just about AI its about who gets to decide whats best for you: your state legislators, or some DOD-contractor AI? Faced with a closely divided Senate, the bills fate hinges on moderate Republicans and independents. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have privately raised concerns about its states rights impact. The cost of centralized poweror the price of progress? The One Big Beautiful Bill Act crystallizes a primal American conflict: centralized authority versus local control. Supporters argue it unleashes AIs potential, yet opponents see a dangerous precedent that risks personal privacy and state sovereignty. As Stargates AI-military-biotech nexus takes shape, the Senate vote will determine whether Americans grant Washington or retain the ultimate right to regulate their data and destiny. Sources for this article include: Modernity.news HealthLaw.org Substack.com Microsoft exposed for SILENCING EMAILS that discuss genocide in Gaza, while fueling Israels war machine with AI and cloud tech In a stunning revelation, Microsoft stands accused of actively suppressing free speech while simultaneously arming Israels military with cutting-edge AI and cloud computing tools used in the brutal assault on Gaza. Internal emails obtained by employees reveal that Microsofts corporate messaging system blocks words like Gaza, Palestine, and genocide, effectively silencing dissent while the company profits from war crimes. This Orwellian censorship, paired with Microsofts deep financial ties to the Israeli military, exposes a disturbing alliance between Big Tech and an apartheid regime committing atrocities with impunity. Key points: Microsofts internal email system reportedly blocks messages containing Gaza, Palestine, and genocide, while allowing pro-Israel terminology. Employees accuse the company of censorship and discrimination, with protest group No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) leading internal resistance. Leaked documents confirm Microsoft provided AI, cloud computing, and intelligence tools directly to the Israeli military, aiding in surveillance and lethal strikes. The IDFs cloud usage surged by 60% during the Gaza war, with Microsoft earning an estimated $10 million from military contracts. Microsoft fired an employee who publicly condemned the companys complicity in war crimes during a keynote speech. Israels military actions, enabled by Microsofts tech, have been labeled genocide by human rights groups, yet the company claims it has no visibility into how its tools are used. Corporate censorship: Silencing dissent while arming genocide Microsofts hypocrisy is staggering. While publicly positioning itself as a champion of innovation and free expression, the company has been caught red-handed suppressing discussions about Palestinian suffering. Employees attempting to raise concerns about Israels military campaign which has killed over 47,000 Palestinians found their emails blocked. This is an attempt to silence worker free speech, said Hossam Nasr, an organizer with NOAA. The group, composed of current and former Microsoft employees, has accused leadership of deliberately stifling pro-Palestinian voices while allowing pro-Israel rhetoric to circulate freely. Microsofts weak justification that it was merely trying to reduce internal political messaging rings hollow. If the company truly cared about neutrality, why block only one side of the debate? The answer is clear: Microsoft is complicit in Israels propaganda war, ensuring that the voices of the oppressed are erased while the oppressors narrative dominates. Microsofts AI and cloud tech: Powering Israels killing machine The censorship scandal is only the tip of the iceberg. Leaked documents from The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call reveal that Microsofts Azure cloud platform and OpenAIs GPT-4 were directly integrated into Israels military operations. The IDF used these tools to: Manage target banks for airstrikes. Operate the Rolling Stone surveillance system, tracking Palestinian movement in Gaza and the West Bank. Process vast amounts of intelligence data, accelerating the pace of lethal operations. Microsofts partnership with the IDF intensified after October 2023, with the company providing 19,000 hours of technical support and expanding cloud storage for military use. The tech giant raked in an estimated $10 million from these contracts, proving that war is a lucrative business especially when your clients are backed by U.S. tax dollars. Despite mounting evidence, Microsoft feigns ignorance, claiming it has no visibility into how its tools are used. This is a blatant lie. The company knows exactly where its technology is deployed it just doesnt care. The bigger picture: Big Techs role in modern colonialism Microsoft is not alone in its complicity. Amazon and Google also provide cloud services to the IDF, while social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter (now X) routinely censor pro-Palestinian content. This collusion between Silicon Valley and the Israeli war machine is part of a broader pattern: Western corporations profiting from oppression while silencing those who resist. Israel has long marketed itself as a startup nation, but the reality is far darker. Its military-industrial complex thrives on testing weapons and surveillance tech on Palestinians before selling them globally. Microsoft, by supplying AI and cloud infrastructure, is now a key player in this deadly trade. The question is: How long will the world allow this to continue? If corporations like Microsoft can dictate what were allowed to say while arming a regime accused of genocide, then free speech is already dead and tech giants are the executioners. Sources include: RT.com RT.com Enoch, Brighteon.ai Chinas orbital AI leap: Space-based computing constellation launch ignites global tech competition China launched 12 satellites on May 14 to form the first stage of a 2,800-satellite AI supercomputer constellation. The system processes data in space at 5 peta operations/second, reducing reliance on energy-heavy ground-based data centers. Key features include laser-linked satellites, X-ray sensors for cosmic research and partnerships with Alibaba and SoftStone. The project aligns with Chinas 2030 AI goals and poses challenges to U.S. tech leadership amid Pentagon warnings of strategic risks. Environmental benefits include zero-carbon computing, leveraging solar power and the space vacuum for cooling efficiency. China has taken a major stride in the race for AI supremacy, launching the first cluster of satellites for a revolutionary 2,800-raft artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer constellation. The mission, a collaboration between startup ADA Space and the Zhejiang Lab, signals a strategic shift in how data is processed in space and could reshape global technological competition for decades. On May 14, a Long March 2D rocket soared from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, deploying 12 satellites that will be the core of the Three-Body Computing Constellation. Named after both the gravitational physics problem that inspired Chinese science-fiction classic The Three-Body Problem and the real-world engineering complexities of satellite coordination, the array will process data in orbit rather than transmitting it down, a breakthrough that reduces reliance on energy-intensive and vulnerable ground-based infrastructure. The launch: Chinas first step toward orbital computing dominance The mission marks the first operational deployment of a space-based AI network, with each satellite carrying an 8-billion-parameter AI model capable of 744 tera operations per second (TOPS). Collectively, the 12 satellites boast 5 peta operations per second (POPS), equaling a top-tier supercomputer. By 2030, the constellation will scale to 2,800 satellites, delivering a one-quintillion-operations-per-second (exa-scale) compute power surpassing Earth-bound data centers in speed and scope. This is a foundational shift, said Wang Jian, director of Zhejiang Lab, at a tech conference in Macau. Space is once again the frontier for computing, and China is here to lead. The satellites use laser-interlink technology to form a self-healing mesh network, enabling ultrafast data transfer at 100 Gbps. One satellite carries an X-ray polarimeter to study cosmic phenomena like gamma-ray bursts, demonstrating the constellations dual-purpose nature for scientific research and commercial applications. Why in-space computing matters As remote-sensing satellites grow in number, data bottlenecks have become critical. Satellites can collect terabytes of information daily, but less than 10% is transmitted to Earth due to bandwidth limits and ground-station coverage gaps. By processing data onboard, the Three-Body system reduces redundancies, enabling real-time analysis for tasks like disaster monitoring, tactical intelligence, or autonomous vehicle navigation. The constellations zero-carbon footprint also makes it a cornerstone of Chinas New Infrastructures campaign, as solar power and the space environments natural cooling eliminate the need for land-based data centers consuming millions of watts annually. This isnt just about tech its about sustainability, said ADA Space VP Luo Ziying in a statement. A new arena in the U.S.-China tech war The launch underscores strategic competition with U.S. and European rivals, who have tested edge computing in space but lag in operational scale. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned Congress in April that data centers may demand 67 gigawatts more power by 2030, pushing countries toward space-based alternatives. U.S. military and aerospace leaders view Chinas project as a dual-use threat. If China controls where data is processed, theyll control the rules of the road in space, warned a 2024 Pentagon report. Washington has yet to deploy a comparable system, though SpaceX and AWS have explored private partnerships for space computing. Partnerships, ambitions and risks The constellations development involved Alibaba and telecom firm SoftStone, reflecting Chinas state-private tech synergy. Zhejiang Lab, backed by Alibabas Hangzhou base, is a keystone of President Xi Jinpings mandate to achieve AI dominance by 2030. However, critics highlight risks. A misplaced satellite or faulty laser link could fail catastrophically, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission cautions that such systems could be weaponized. A satellite that can process battlefield data in seconds becomes a military advantage, said James Lewis, a cybersecurity specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A new frontier, old fears Chinas orbital AI leap is more than a tech sprint its a geopolitical milestone. By placing supercomputer power in space, Beijing is redefining the boundaries of computing and sovereignty. For the U.S., the message is clear: Adapt or fall behind in a domain where the final frontier has become the most contested battlefield. As the Three-Body constellation expands into the stars, so too does its shadow over global innovation and security. Chinas Three-Body Computing Constellation is not just a marvel of engineering but a bold statement of ambition. By marrying artificial intelligence with space infrastructure, the project tests the limits of computational power while challenging Western dominance in technology and diplomacy. The next few years will determine whether Earths orbit becomes a hub for peaceful innovation or a tinderbox for new kinds of warfare. Sources for this article include: LiveScience.com SpaceNews.com TecSpectrum.com From Moscow to Sumy: Escalating drone campaigns spark humanitarian crisis, civilian casualties and diplomatic deadlock Ukraines drone attacks on Russia escalate, sparking global nuclear safety concerns. IAEA warns of "nuclear incident" after Ukrainian strike near Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Corruption allegations plague Zelenskys drone program amid claims of financial foul play. Russia retaliates with buffer zone strategy as peace talks stumble. Civilian lives disrupted as airports close across Russia in 217 incidents since January. In a dramatic escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine has launched hundreds of drones targeting critical Russian infrastructureincluding a major oil refinery near Moscow and a nuclear power plant over the last several days, sparking an international outcry and warnings from nuclear safety authorities. The attacks, which temporarily shuttered four major Moscow airports and injured bystanders, have intensified a war of attrition with Russia retaliating by expanding its military footprint into Ukrainian territory. Russian Defense officials reported intercepting over 485 Ukrainian drones since May 20, including 63 aimed at Moscow Oblast. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) blamed Ukraine for a strike near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant on May 22, warning of catastrophic risks. The surge underscores a strategic shift by Kyiv to destabilize Russia through infrastructure strikes, even as allegations swirl over corruption in funding military tech. Escalating drone warfare threatens civilians and critical infrastructure Ukraines recent drone campaigns represent a marked escalation in tactics, moving beyond front-line engagement to target deep within Russian territory. Overnight on May 22, over 100 drones were fired at areas across 10 regions, including Moscow, Oryol and Tula. Russia claims intercept systems saved the capital from direct hits, but debris damaged buildings in Tula and Lipetsk, injuring eight civilians. The focus on airports marks a deliberate economic and psychological pressure campaign. Ukrainian Defense spokesperson Serhii Bratchuk described targeting Moscows aviation hub to disrupt logistics, weaken government control and make Russians pay for this war. By mid-May, Ukraines drone strikes had forced 217 temporary airport closures in Russia since January surpassing combined totals for 20232024. Yet Russias retaliation stepped up as President Putin ordered the establishment of a buffer zone inside Ukraine, aiming to control regions such as Sumy. This expansion risks further civilian casualties and eroding hopes for a U.S.-brokered peace deal that collapsed following stalled negotiations with President Trump in late May. IAEA warns of nuclear risk amid reports Ukraine targeted Kursk Nuclear Power Plant The May 22 strike near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant has drawn global attention. The IAEA blamed Ukraine for the attack, warning it risked a nuclear incident akin to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. While both nations vowed in March to avoid targeting energy infrastructure, neither has confirmed compliance. Ukraine has not denied either attack. Meanwhile, the Russian public faces worsening disruptions to travel and livelihoods. Kyiv touts its drone advancementsdeveloped through necessityas a strategic advantage, dubbing it a silver lining of war. However, a military analyst claimed President Zelensky established a specialized drone unit to swindle more money, suggesting potential corruption in defense contracts. Shadow of corruption clouds Ukraines drone tech boom While Ukraines ingenuity in adapting consumer drones into military tools has drawn praise, concerns persist over financial accountability. A U.S. military analyst alleged that Zelenskys government exploited Western donations to fund a drone unit primarily to enrich allies rather than strengthen defense. The programs budget is opaque, and independent audits have been delayed, the analyst stated, though no concrete evidence has been publicly provided. Kyiv denies these claims, emphasizing the tactical success of initiatives like the Sea Breeze drone swarm targeting Moscow airports. Wars escalating costs and the perils of unchecked conflict As both sides escalate drone warfare, the humanitarian toll grows. Over 1,000 flights were canceled nationwide in Russia in May alone, adding to societal strain. The conflict has also weakened Zelenskys position, with criticism mounting over mounting debt and military transparency. The Kursk incident highlights the wars spiraling risks, with global safety organizations now demanding ceasefires near nuclear sites. With no diplomatic resolution in sight, the world watches as innovators in drone tech confront a stark reality: even victory carries staggering costs. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com KyivIndependent.com NYTimes.com Sorry, something doesn't look right. Something seems unusual about your device or browser. Please contact support. This story contains original reporting by News-Gazette staff. If you are not a subscriber, please consider becoming one, because local journalism is only possible with your support. A subscription to The News-Gazette plays a vital role in making this reporting possible. Thank you for your support and helping us continue to connect our community. A case in which a sperm donor was later found to be carrying a cancer-causing pathogenic variant in his gametes has highlighted the problems of regulating gamete donation at European and international level, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics will hear today (Saturday). Dr Edwige Kasper, a specialist in genetic predisposition to cancer at the Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, France, will say that the lack of cross-border regulation in Europe can result in the multiple use of gametes in families and risks inbreeding and the abnormal dissemination of inherited diseases. Towards the end of 2023, Dr Kasper's laboratory was contacted by a French clinician who said that one of his patients had received a letter from a private sperm bank located in Europe, alerting her to the identification of a 'variant of unknown significance' in the TP53 (tumour protein 53) gene in less than 50% of the donor's gametes. TP53 provides instructions for making a tumour suppressor protein, keeping cells from growing and dividing too fast or in an uncontrolled way. The letter said that the donor was in good health, but that his biological children could be at risk of Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare inherited disorder that predisposes to the development of cancers. Some of these children had already developed leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and this led to any use of the donor's gametes being definitively blocked. I analyzed the variant using population and patient databases, computer prediction tools, and the results of functional trials, and came to the conclusion that the variant was probably cancer-causing and that children born from this donor should receive genetic counselling." Dr. Edwige Kasper, a specialist in genetic predisposition to cancer, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, France After discussion with French networks, the researchers presented these cases at a meeting of the European Reference Network on genetic tumour risk syndromes (GENTURIS) in 2024. Simultaneously, a number of Genetics and Paediatric Departments across Europe were investigating their own cases, leading to 67 children from 46 families in eight European countries being tested, with the variant being found in 23 of them and cancer found in ten to date. Alterations in the TP53 gene cause Li-Fraumeni syndrome, one of the most severe inherited predispositions to cancer that is characterised by a broad spectrum of tumours at an early age. The affected children, born between 2008 and 2015, are being closely monitored to detect the first signs of cancers. "The follow-up protocol involves whole-body MRI scans, MRI scans of the brain and, for adults, of the breast, ultrasound examination of the abdomen, and a clinical examination by a specialist. This is heavy and stressful for carriers, but we have seen its effectiveness in that it has enabled early detection of tumours and thus improved patients' chances of survival," says Dr Kasper. "Because animal models of Li-Fraumeni syndrome have shown that exposure to genotoxic chemotherapy or X-rays accelerated tumour development, these children should avoid radiation-based imaging techniques such as mammography and PET scans, if possible." The researchers are continuing to identify cases of European children born from the same donor. "Although the variant would have been practically undetectable in 2008 when the individual started to donate sperm, there are many things that could have been and still need to be improved," says Dr Kasper. "Some fertility clinics have refused to provide information to the families concerning the variant because they wanted the children to be tested in their own laboratories. There is a major issue here concerning a lack of harmonised regulation across Europe." Currently, laws on sperm donation differ from one European country to another. Private sperm banks usually limit donation from one donor to 75 countries worldwide. The law in France sets a limit of ten births per donor. However, in addition, there can be up to 15 births in Germany and in Denmark, and in the UK the same donor may be used for 12 and 10 families, respectively. At a European or international level this can represent a large number of births. "My advice to French parents would be to favour a medically assisted procreation procedure in France, where donation is voluntary, anonymous, and free. The latter may explain the difference between parents' needs and the lack of resources," says Dr. Kasper, "but it is very much safer. While donor examinations are routinely conducted in many countries, in France, gamete donation is medically supervised for both donors and recipients. Importantly, any suspicion of a genetic disorder must be promptly reported and investigated. Above all, each donor is limited to a maximum of ten births across the country, and the import or export of gametes may only be requested by an approved centre and is subject to authorisation from the Agence de la Biomedecine. "The fact that the case in point is very rare does not mean that it will not reoccur, and gonadal mosaicism where one or more groups of cells possess a different genetic makeup - has previously been reported in a sperm donor with reference to neurofibromatosis type 1. We need proper regulation at European level to try to prevent it happening again, and to implement measures to ensure a worldwide limit on the number of offspring conceived from the same donor." Chair of the conference Professor Alexandre Reymond said: "While current legislation on assisted reproduction usually does not cross borders, this is a good example of why wider oversight is needed. But for now, what we learn in genetics in one country can help future parents everywhere." Eight times more American young adults now take medication to protect them from HIV than a decade ago, a new study finds. But even with this positive news about increasing use of pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, the study also suggests that health care providers and public health agencies could do more to promote consistent use of these medications. The new study, done by a team at the University of Michigan Medical School, uses national pharmacy data to look at prescriptions for oral PrEP from 2016 to 2023 among people ages 18 to 25. It's published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. At the start of the study period, 26 of every 100,000 U.S. young adults filled a prescription for PrEP, but this rose to more than 208 by the end of 2023. Prescription dispensing was lower for those ages 18 to 21 than for those ages 22 to 25. However, the length of time that a person kept refilling their prescription dropped by more than two weeks during this time. This may suggest inconsistent use of PrEP, or trouble keeping up with the regular appointments and tests needed to continue the medication. It's the first large study to focus just on this age group, which has an especially high risk of HIV transmission. PrEP, when taken consistently and as prescribed, can reduce the chances of acquiring HIV through sex by 99%. It's also an age group that doesn't see the doctor often, notes Nina Hill, M.D., the lead author of the study. Hill is a general internist and pediatrician at U-M, a National Clinician Scholar at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and a postdoctoral fellow in the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center. This is a patient population we often neglect in health care, because we we don't think about them belonging to pediatric care or adult care, and their stage of cognitive development means they underestimate their STI risk in general -- yet they're one of the highest risk groups for a new diagnosis of HIV. We're encouraged to see more prescribing over time, but the question remains: are we getting it to the highest-risk patients?" Nina Hill, M.D., lead author of the study She notes the number of steps needed to get to consistent PrEP use: getting screened by a provider or online screening tool to determine if PrEP is appropriate, seeing a provider for the initial exam and tests for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), receiving and filling a prescription, and keeping up with regular tests of kidney function, HIV and other STIs every three to six months. Even patients who decide to take their PrEP pills on an episodic rather than daily basis before time periods when they will be sexually active with new partners, for instance need to have consistent access. Either way, she says, it's important for young adults, their health care providers, and the adults they trust most to discuss their sexual health, and to be aware of the availability of PrEP and its power to prevent HIV. More about the findings In all, Hill and her colleagues looked at 1.45 million prescriptions dispensed to nearly 240,000 young adults with an average age of 22. Most (87%) were male, but Hill notes that certain women are also at risk for HIV and might be eligible for PrEP. Just over a third of the young adults taking PrEP lived in the southern U.S., an area where HIV transmission is especially high. And the rate of PrEP dispensing started lowest but rose fastest in this region during the study period. The study covers a period when the first PrEP medication, introduced in 2012 under the brand name Truvada, also became available as a generic drug in 2020, and a second oral PrEP option called Descovy went on the market in 2019. Though an injectable form of PrEP received approval in 2021, few young adults received this treatment so they were excluded from the study. More than 70% of the prescriptions during the study period were for Truvada or its generic equivalent. Hill and her colleagues also looked at what kind of health care provider prescribed PrEP to each person who filled a prescription. Nurse practitioners accounted for 39% of prescriptions, with family medicine or general practitioners accounting for 22%, and internal medicine physicians and physician assistants accounting for 14% and 11%, respectively. Although emergency medicine physicians accounted for a very small percentage overall, the number of prescriptions written by them increased tenfold during the study period. PrEP has been recommended since 2019 by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for adolescents and adults who have an increased risk of acquiring HIV. All individuals should be screened for HIV at least once in their lifetime between ages 15 and 65 years. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance programs must make PrEP and HIV screening available to patients at no cost if they meet USPSTF criteria. However, the status of that coverage is the subject of a case called Braidwood v. Kennedy that was recently heard before the U.S. Supreme Court; a ruling is expected soon. More information about PrEP is available via the HIV.gov site: https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/hiv-prevention/using-hiv-medication-to-reduce-risk/pre-exposure-prophylaxis . Hill and senior author Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., and their co-author Sijia He, M.S., are part of the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center, which Chua directs. Hill is supported by the National Clinician Scholars Program, the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center, and a training grant (T32HS000053) from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Israel's intensified military operations continue to threaten an already weakened health system, amidst worsening mass population displacement and acute shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel and shelter. Four major hospitals in Gaza (Kamal Adwan Hospital, Indonesia Hospital, Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, and European Gaza Hospital) have had to suspend medical services in the past week due to their proximity to hostilities or evacuation zones, and attacks. WHO has recorded 28 attacks on health care in Gaza during this period and 697 attacks since October 2023. Only 19 of Gaza Strip's 36 hospitals remain operational, including one hospital providing basic care for the remaining patients still inside the hospital, and are struggling under severe supply shortages, lack of health workers, persistent insecurity, and a surge of casualties, all while staff work in impossible conditions. Of the 19 hospitals, 12 provide a variety of health services, while the rest are only able to provide basic emergency care. At least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed. The increased hostilities and new evacuation orders issued across northern and southern Gaza in the past two days threaten to push even more health facilities out of service. This includes 1 hospital, 11 primary care centres, and 13 medical points within the evacuation zones, and an additional 5 hospitals, 1 field hospital, 9 primary care centres, and 23 medical points within 1000 metres of those zones. North Gaza has been stripped of nearly all health care. Al-Awda Hospital is only minimally functional, serving as a trauma stabilization point. It faces an imminent risk of closure due to ongoing insecurity and restricted access. The hospital's third floor was reportedly attacked on Wednesday, injuring a staff member. Hostilities in the area also damaged the water tank and pipeline. Today, the hospital was attacked again. The third and fourth floors were reportedly hit, injuring two health workers. Patient triage tents, including one provided by WHO, caught fire, which also burned all medical supplies in the warehouse and destroyed vehicles in the basement. A WHO mission attempting to reach the hospital today was impeded. The Indonesian Hospital is out of service due to continued military presence since 18 May, making it inaccessible. Yesterday, a WHO mission to the hospital was forced to abort due to the security situation after waiting nearly four hours for clearance to proceed. WHO team had planned to deliver food and water to patients, assess their conditions, and identify critical equipment for transfer. WHO tried to reach the hospital again today, but the mission was impeded. Kamal Adwan Hospital, which had the only centre to treat patients with severe acute malnutrition in North Gaza, went out of service on 20 May after intense hostilities in its vicinity, forcing patients to evacuate or be discharged prematurely. In southern Gaza, Nasser Medical Complex, Al-Amal, and Al-Aqsa hospitals are overwhelmed by a surge of injured people, worsened by a new wave of displacement to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. The European Gaza Hospital remains out of service following an attack on 13 May, cutting off vital services including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment all unavailable elsewhere in Gaza. Currently, across the Gaza Strip, only 2000 hospital beds remain available, for a population of over 2 million people, grossly insufficient to meet the current needs. Of these, at least 40 beds are at risk of being lost as they are in hospitals within newly declared evacuation zones, while an additional 850 could be lost if conditions deteriorate at facilities near these zones. Continued hostilities and military presence inhibit patients from accessing care, obstruct staff from providing care, and prevent WHO and partners from resupplying hospitals. With each hospital forced out of service, patients lose access to health care, and WHO and partners' efforts, to sustain Gaza's health system are undone. The destruction is systematic. Hospitals are rehabilitated and resupplied, only to be exposed to hostilities or attacked again. This destructive cycle must end. Amid constant fear and insecurity, health workers, including those from national and international emergency medical teams, continue delivering urgent care in Gaza. WHO salutes their courage and commitment. WHO calls for the active protection of health care. Hospitals must never be militarized or targeted. WHO calls for aid at scale to be allowed into Gaza through all possible routes, and for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach people wherever they are. Echoing the United Nations' Relief Chief, WHO reiterates that the UN and its partners have a clear, principled and effective plan to deliver aid with safeguards against diversion, a system that has worked and must be enabled to continue. WHO calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire. 'India Hopeful Apple Will Prioritise Profits Over Pressure Amid Trump Remarks': Sources Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Mohammad Haris Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:01 IST India is hopeful Apple will prioritize business viability over Trump's political pressure against expanding manufacturing in India, which offers top facilities and talent. US President Donald Trump has said Apple's iPhones sold in the US should be manufactured domestically or face a steep 25 per cent tariff if built in India or anyplace else. India offers the best facilities and talent for global companies like Apple to set up their plants, and remains optimistic that the tech giant will continue to prioritise business viability over political pressure, according to top government sources. India is confident that Apple will weigh profits over any pressure from the Trump government," a senior official said. The official responded to Trumps comments, which warned Apple against expanding its manufacturing base in India or anywhere else. Recommended Stories India offers the best facility and talent for global companies to set up plants in the country," the official added. US President Donald Trump on Friday said iPhones sold in the United States should be manufactured domestically or face a steep 25 per cent tariff if built in India or anyplace else. In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote, I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" According to the sources, India is hopeful that the matter will be resolved and sees no immediate threat to Apples ongoing or future investments in the country. We are hopeful of this being sorted out," the government source added. Tariffs also provide platform for competition and incentive to grow to the indigenous corporate sector," the official said. Government sources also emphasised that India will continue to diversify its industrial partnerships. We have been, and will be, exploring other sectors, countries, and players in this space," the official noted, highlighting the countrys broader strategy to remain a global manufacturing and technology hub. India has emerged as a critical hub for Apples manufacturing operations in recent years, with major production handled by suppliers like Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. The countrys combination of a large workforce, growing consumer base, and supportive policies have made it a strategic location for Apples expansion outside of China. Last week, during a business event in Doha, Qatar, on May 15, Trump said he had a direct conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook, advising him against expanding Apples manufacturing footprint in India, unless it is specifically to serve the Indian market. Told Apple CEO Tim Cook were not interested in you building in India, they can take care of themselves," Trump had said. Trump had also said Apple would increase its production in the United States. Apple will be upping their production in the United States," he added. According to reports recently, Apple aimed to make most of its iPhones sold in the US at factories in India by the end of 2026, and is speeding up those plans to navigate potentially higher tariffs in China, its main manufacturing base. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Importantly, India and the US are poised to sign the first tranche of the much-anticipated Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) before July, according to reports. A round of meetings with the United States Trade Representative has already concluded. 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 24, 2025, 09:58 IST Borana Weaves IPO Allotment Out: How To Check Status Online? Know Listing Date, Latest GMP Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 08:38 IST Borana Weaves IPO allotment, closed on May 22 with 147.85 times subscription, is finalised. Check status on Kfin Technologies' portal or websites of BSE and NSE. Borana Weaves IPO. Borana Weaves IPO Allotment Today: The Borana Weaves IPO allotment, which closed on May 22 with a whopping 147.85 times subscription, has been finalised. Investors can check the IPO allotment status online on registrar Kfin Technologies Ltds portal as well as on the websites of BSE and NSE. The IPO, which was open for public subscription between May 20 and May 22, received a 147.85 times subscription, garnering bids for 54,54,99,303 shares as against 36,89,457 shares on offer. The retail and NII participation stood at 200.50 times and 237.41 times, respectively. Its qualified institutional buyer (QIB) category got an 85.53 times subscription. Recommended Stories Also Read: Leela Hotels IPO: Firm Raises Rs 1,575 Crore from Anchors; Check GMP, Price, Dates & More The price of the IPO was fixed at Rs 216 per share. Borana Weaves IPO Allotment: How To Check Allotment Status Online? As the IPO allotment has been announced, investors can check the allotment status by following these steps: Step 1: Visit Kfin Technologies portal https://ipostatus.kfintech.com/. Step 2: Select company name by choosing Borana Weaves Ltd. Step 3: Enter application number/ CAF No., Demat Account, or PAN number. Step 4: Enter Captcha Step 5: Click on Submit Your share application status will appear on your screen. Alternatively, you can also check the Borana Weaves IPO allotment status on the NSEs website. Heres the direct link: https://www.nseindia.com/invest/check-trades-bids-verify-ipo-bids. Borana Weaves IPO GMP Today According to market observers, unlisted shares of Borana Weaves Ltd are currently trading at Rs 256 apiece, which is Rs 40 or 18.52 per cent premium (GMP) over the IPO price of Rs 216. Its listing is scheduled to take place on May 27 on both NSE and BSE. The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing. Grey market premium indicates investors readiness to pay more than the issue price. Borana Weaves IPO: More Details The Borana Weaves IPO is entirely a fresh issue of 67.08 lakh shares. Its price has been fixed at Rs 216 per share. For investors, the minimum lot size for an application is 69. The minimum amount of investment required by retail investors Rs 14,145. The minimum lot size investment for small NII is 14 lots (966 shares) amounting to Rs 2,08,656. For big NII, the minimum is 68 lots (4,692 shares) is Rs 10,13,472. Proceeds from the IPO will be utilised to finance the cost of setting up a new manufacturing unit to expand capabilities to produce grey fabric at Surat, Gujarat, funding incremental working capital requirements, and for general corporate purposes. Over the past few years, we have grown our manufacturing capabilities in the synthetic textile segment. The proceeds from the IPO will support the expansion of our production infrastructure and help us address our working capital needs. This step aligns with our long-term strategy of scaling operations while maintaining focus on product quality and operational efficiency," Borana Weaves Chairman and MD Mangilal Ambalal Borana said. Incorporated in 2020, Borana Weaves engaged in the production of unbleached synthetic grey fabric. This fabric serves as a fundamental material for further processing, such as dyeing and printing, in various industries, including fashion, traditional textiles, home decor, and interior design. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Beeline Capital Advisors is the book running lead manager and KFin Technologies is the registrar to the issue. Most analysts gave a subscribe for long-term call for the IPO, and also for the listing gains. About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 08:38 IST Leela Hotels IPO: Firm Raises Rs 1,575 Crore from Anchors; Check GMP, Price, Dates & More Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 08:18 IST The Leela Hotels IPO is set to open for public subscription from May 26 to May 28. The Leela Hotels IPO is priced in the range of Rs 413-435 per share. Leela Hotels IPO: Schloss Bangalore Ltd, the company behind the iconic Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, has raised Rs 1,575 crore from anchor investors ahead of its highly anticipated Rs 3,500-crore initial public offering (IPO), which is set to open for public subscription from May 26 to May 28. Anchor Book Sees Strong Demand from Domestic and Global Investors Recommended Stories According to a circular on BSE, Schloss Bangalore allotted 36,206,896 equity shares at Rs 435 apiece to 47 institutional investors. The anchor book saw widespread participation from major domestic mutual funds, including HDFC MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Nippon India MF, Mirae MF, Invesco MF and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance. Also Read: Borana Weaves IPO Allotment Finalised: A Step-By-Step Guide To Check Status Online, Know Latest GMP Global investor interest was equally robust with participants such as Fidelity, Norges Bank, Think Investments, Whiteoak, TT International, UC Regents, Lunate, and Ward Ferry. IPO Details: Price Band, Lot Size, GMP and Listing Date The IPO has been priced in the range of Rs 413-435 per share. It comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares worth Rs 1,000 crore by promoter Project Ballet Bangalore Holdings (DIFC) Pvt Ltd. At the upper end of the price band, the company is valued at over Rs 14,500 crore. As per the latest reports, the grey market premium (GMP) for Leela Hotels IPO is being tracked at around Rs 15. Shares are expected to be listed on the BSE and NSE on June 2. A total of 75% of the IPO is reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), 15% for non-institutional investors (NIIs), and 10% for retail investors. Investors can bid for a minimum of 34 shares and in multiples thereafter. Use of Proceeds and Growth Plans Schloss Bangalore plans to use the net proceeds from the fresh issue primarily to repay existing borrowings, which stood at over Rs 3,900 crore as of March 2025, and for general corporate purposes. The management stated that the IPO will help the company become debt-free. Additionally, the company is investing Rs 1,131 crore to develop five company-owned luxury hotels in Agra, Srinagar, Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore, and Ayodhya, with a total of 475 rooms expected to be operational by 2028. Company Background: Strong Brand, Growing Portfolio Schloss Bangalore, acquired by Brookfield Asset Management in 2019, operates premium hospitality properties under The Leela" brand. As of May 31, 2024, it had a portfolio of 3,382 keys across 12 operational hotels in 10 Indian cities. The company runs a total of 13 hotels (5 owned and 8 managed) and has 678 keys under development. It owns 35% of its total portfolio, while 65% is operated through management agreements. Financials: Rapid Growth in Profitability The company has shown significant improvement in financials, with its EBITDA jumping from Rs 87.72 crore in FY22 to Rs 600.03 crore in FY24, reflecting strong operational efficiency and demand in the luxury hospitality segment. Hospitality Sector Outlook: Bullish Growth Projections According to HVS, the Indian hospitality sector is poised for exponential growth, driven by a projected doubling of GDP to USD 7.1 trillion by 2030. Demand for luxury hotel rooms is expected to grow at 10.6% CAGR between FY24 and FY28, while supply will lag at 5.9%. Domestic and foreign tourist arrivals are also forecast to grow at 13.4% and 7.1% CAGR, respectively, from 2024 to 2030. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Merchant Bankers The IPO is being managed by a consortium of 11 merchant bankers, including JM Financial, BofA Securities India, Morgan Stanley India, JP Morgan India, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Citi, IIFL Securities, ICICI Securities, Motilal Oswal, and SBI Capital Markets. About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 08:18 IST Trump's 25% Tariff Threat Could Increase iPhone Prices in US By 250% To $3,500, Analysts Warn Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 11:39 IST Making in US will also be much more expensive than assembling iPhones in India, say analysts after Trump's threat to put 25% tariff on iPhones produced in India or anyplace else. US President Donald Trump has said iPhones sold in the US should be manufactured domestically or face a steep 25% tariff if built in India or anyplace else. (File Photo) US President Donald Trumps idea to produce within the country all iPhones sold in the US or put a 25 per cent tariff otherwise is expected to increase the price of an iPhone in America by 250 per cent to roughly $3,500 per unit, according to analysts. They said shifting production to the US will simply send the iPhone costs soaring, which currently stands at nearly $1,000. Currently, an iPhone costs nearly $1,000. Now, imagine all iPhones are produced in America It would cost $3,500," CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten said. Recommended Stories Currently, most iPhones are assembled in China, with India emerging as a major alternative. The idea that the tariffs would make the phones produced in the US to be perfect is a fantasy island. What would actually happen is that Apple would either: a) eat the tariff cost, or b) pass it on to the consumers. But, it will not resolve what Donald Trump actually wants. It will simply drive costs for American consumers. Do you things American people like the idea of prices going up?" Enten added. President Trump proposed that Apple build its iPhones in the U.S. or face a 25% tariff. Tech analysts say that would balloon prices to $3,500 per phone. CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten breaks down the impacts. pic.twitter.com/5dSeenZ4dI Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) May 24, 2025 US President Donald Trump on Friday said iPhones sold in the United States should be manufactured domestically or face a steep 25 per cent tariff if built in India or anyplace else. On Trump calling for Apple to shift iPhone production from India to the US, research firm Counterpoint Research Research Director Tarun Pathak had said last week that this is a familiar Trump tactic: He wants to push Apple to localise more and build a supply chain in the US, which is not going to happen overnight. Making in the US will also be much more expensive than assembling iPhones in India." Counterpoint Research Vice President Neil Shah said that Apple has been doing a lot of groundwork in India, which has helped it successfully manage some of the US iPhone demand from its India production facilities. In terms of capacity, India has enough to potentially meet all US iPhone demand in the future, but the ecosystem needs to be ramped up. We will see more efforts towards this as well as products beyond iPhones. We expect made-in-India iPhones to account for 25%-30% of global iPhone shipments in 2025, as compared to 18% in 2024," he said. In the latest post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote, I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Following this, the shares of iPhone maker Apple declined over 3 per cent to close at $195.27 apiece. Just last week, Trump had said in Doha during his visit to the Middle East that he had told the Apple CEO to not build in India and instead build its manufacturing capacity in the US. We have Apple, as you know, thats coming in, and I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump had said in Doha in remarks to top executives. I said to him, Tim, youre my friend. I treated you very good. Youre coming here with $500 billion but now I hear you building all over India. I dont want you building in India. You can build in India if you want to take care of India because India is the highest, one of the highest tariff nations in the world. Its very hard to sell into India. And theyve (India) offered us a deal where, basically theyre willing to literally charge us no tariff," he had said. Earlier this month, Cook had said in a Q2 2025 Earnings Conference call that the existing tariffs that apply to Apple today are based on the products country of origin. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all For the June quarter, we do expect the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin and Vietnam to be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods products sold in the US," Cook had said. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 11:32 IST AIU Urges Universities To End Ties With Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey Over Geopolitical Tensions Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:03 IST The Association of Indian Universities has called on vice-chancellors to sever academic ties with institutions in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey due to geopolitical tensions. AIU's advisory comes after top Indian institutes cut ties with Turkish universities over Turkey's support for Pakistan. (Reoresentative Image/Getty) The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) has written to all vice-chancellors across the country, urging them to terminate academic collaborations with institutions in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey. The directive was issued through an official letter dated May 15, 2025, as per ANI report. Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General of AIU, stated that the appeal was made in response to ongoing geopolitical tensions. Our Armed Forces are fighting on the borders. We academicians also need to fight at the universities," Mittal told ANI. Recommended Stories Certain countries like Bangladesh and Turkey have supported Pakistan. So we wrote a letter on May 15 to all universities and appealed to them to cancel all the MoUs they have with Bangladesh and Pakistan. There is no point in having academic ties with enemy countries," she further added. According to AIU, several universities have already responded to the appeal by cancelling Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the mentioned countries. The AIUs advisory follows a series of recent moves by top Indian institutions to sever academic ties with Turkish universities in response to Turkeys open support for Pakistan amid escalating tensions with India. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Last week, IIT Bombay suspended all partnerships with Turkish institutions. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) also suspended its MoU with Turkeys Inonu University, while Jamia Millia Islamia has halted all academic collaboration with Turkish universities, citing national security concerns. IIT Roorkee, too, officially withdrew from its MoU with Inonu University. The move has sparked debate in academic circles, with some supporting the decision as a patriotic stance, while others express concern over the implications for research, academic freedom, and international collaboration. 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 24, 2025, 10:03 IST Beyond America: Top Asian Universities For Indian Students Amid Trump Vs Harvard Row Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 15:46 IST Indian students can consider top Asian universities for their higher studies as tensions grow between the Trump administration and Ivy League universities in the US. Indian students are now looking at top Asian universities in Singapore, China and Japan as appealing alternatives to US universities. (Representative Image/Getty) In a significant blow to international education, the Trump administration has barred Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, leaving the future of thousands of aspirants in uncertainty. This development comes amid months of tension between Harvard and the US government over the universitys policies on campus programming, hiring, and diversity practices. The administration has criticised Harvard for allegedly fostering antisemitism on campus and promoting what it terms racist diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices." The result: a sweeping move that now prohibits one of the worlds most prestigious universities from admitting international students for the upcoming academic session, which is just three months away. Recommended Stories As uncertainty looms over US university admissions, many Indian students are rethinking their plans and turning to high-ranking institutions in Asia that offer world-class education without political turbulence. Universities across Singapore, China, Japan, and South Korea are emerging as attractive alternatives due to their global reputation, stable policies, and increasing international student support. If youre an Indian student exploring options beyond the US, heres some good news the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2025 lists several Asian institutions among the best globally. From the National University of Singapore to Tsinghua University in China, these universities offer cutting-edge research, globally recognized degrees, and a diverse student environment. THE Asia University Rankings 2025 Rank 1: Tsinghua University China Rank 2: Peking University China Rank 3: National University of Singapore Singapore Rank 4: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Singapore Rank 5: The University of Tokyo Japan Rank 6: University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Rank 7: Fudan University China Rank 8: Zhejiang University China Rank 9: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Rank 10: Shanghai Jiao Tong University China Rank 11: University of Science and Technology of China China Rank 12: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong Rank 13: Kyoto University Japan Rank 14: Nanjing University China Rank 15: Seoul National University South Korea Rank 16: City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Rank 17: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) South Korea Rank 18: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong Rank 19: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) South Korea Rank 19: Yonsei University (Seoul campus) South Korea Rank 21: Tohoku University Japan Rank 22: Tongji University China Rank 23: Harbin Institute of Technology China top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Rank 24: Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) South Korea Rank 25: Wuhan University China 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 24, 2025, 13:37 IST Is A Wider Crackdown On Foreign Students In US Universities Coming? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 16:12 IST Trump administrations ban on Harvard enrolling foreign students is part of a broader crackdown on US universities over perceived ideological non-compliance. Harvard has been at the centre of the conflict between the government and Ivy League schools. (AFP file photo) The Trump administration on Thursday revoked Harvard Universitys ability to enroll international students and is requiring current foreign students to transfer to other schools or risk losing their legal status. Although a US District Court has temporarily halted the federal order, the move is part of a broader initiative in which the administration has launched investigations and imposed financial penalties on dozens of public and private universities. In recent months, the administration has opened investigations and imposed financial penalties on dozens of universitiesboth public and private. Since taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has pushed a sweeping immigration agenda. Recommended Stories One key focus has been targeting foreign studentsespecially those involved in pro-Palestinian protests. According to Business Insider, the administration, with backing from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, is working to de-woke" academia by eliminating what it calls radical and anti-American ideologies. The crackdown goes beyond just protests. The administration is cutting federal funds, revoking visas, and even deporting students involved in political demonstrations. Officials justify the actions by claiming some universities promote anti-American, Marxist and radical left" views. Harvard has been at the centre of this conflict, with the government using the Ivy League school as an example to warn others. Tensions escalated just days after Trump was sworn in, when he launched a campaign to dismantle DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programmes across campuses. Trump Administration Vs Ivy League Schools: Timeline January 29, 2025: Trump signs an executive order calling for stronger protection of Jewish students and action against antisemitism. Though no universities were named, Leo Terrell was appointed to lead a new task force. He later shared a tweet calling himself Harvards worst nightmare." February 27: The Justice Department sends letters to Harvard, Columbia, and others requesting meetings about on-campus antisemitism. The task force announces visits to 10 universities. March 10: The administration launches formal investigations into over 60 universities, including Harvard and Columbia, for alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act. March 27: The federal government begins reviewing all contracts and grants to Harvard, raising fears over billions of dollars in funding. April 14: The task force freezes $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard. The university files a lawsuit, claiming it started receiving stop work" notices. April 15: Trump posts on Truth Social: Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting Sickness?" Ten Major Universities Under Fire The crackdown has hit several top universities hard. The 10 institutions under direct scrutiny include: Harvard University Columbia University New York University (NYU) George Washington University Johns Hopkins University Northwestern University University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of Minnesota University of Southern California Massive Funding Cuts Harvard has faced the steepest cuts$2.2 billion in grants and contracts. Columbia saw $400 million frozen, while Brown University could lose $510 million. Cornell and Northwestern are both at risk of losing nearly $1 billion each. The University of Pennsylvania lost over $175 million after being criticised for allowing transgender women to compete in sports. In late April, some universities expressed willingness to cooperate with the administration to avoid further damage. Others insisted they had already taken strong action against antisemitism. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The series of funding freezes, visa revocations, and enrollment bans imposed on Ivy League schools since January paints a clear picture: the Trump administrations crackdown on higher education is not a one-off. Instead, it signals the start of a broader campaign targeting what it sees as ideological non-compliance and civil rights failures in academia. With more than a dozen top universities already under federal scrutiny, its becoming increasingly likely that similar actionsranging from financial penalties to international student banscould soon extend to other institutions across the United States First Published: May 24, 2025, 16:12 IST Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:28 IST KCET 2025 Results, Scorecard Download Link Live Updates: The Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) has announced results for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) 2025 today, May 24, 2025. Candidates who appeared for the exam can now check and download their KCET Result 2025 from the official website cetonline.karnataka.gov.in. The KCET Result 2025 was announced by the Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar at the KEA office. The KCET 2025 exam was conducted on April 15, 16, and 17 in two shifts from 10:30 AM to 11:50 AM and 2:30 PM to 3:50 PM. The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has recently announced the results of the Kannada Language Test, and the main KCET 2025 results are expected to be released soon. Germany Ends Visa Appeal Process: Why Is That A Problem For Indian Applicants? Curated By : Trending Desk Edited By: Anurag Verma Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 11:59 IST The informal visa appeal process will be suspended globally by Germany starting July 1. According to the German Missions in India, the decision aims to reduce waiting times and enable staff to process a higher volume of visa applications. (Photo credits: Shutterstock image) Starting July 1, Germany will discontinue the informal visa appeal process worldwide. This change is set to significantly impact Indian applicants seeking Schengen or national visas for education, employment, or tourism. According to the German Missions in India, the decision aims to reduce waiting times and enable staff to process a higher volume of visa applications. However, with the removal of the remonstration procedure, applicants whose visas are denied will need to resort to more costly and time-consuming legal avenues to challenge the decision. Germany Ends Visa Appeal Recommended Stories The remonstration procedure in Germany previously allowed visa applicants to challenge rejections by submitting a free written appeal. This informal step offered a cost-effective alternative to pursuing a formal and often expensive legal route. The Federal Foreign Office has decided to abolish the remonstration procedure for visa rejections worldwide from July 1. This eliminates a legal remedy in the visa application procedure that is not statutorily prescribed and which up to now has been granted voluntarily," the German Missions in India states on its website. This decision follows a pilot project initiated in June 2023, during which the remonstration process for both Schengen and national visas was temporarily suspended to evaluate its overall impact. Evaluation of the pilot project has shown that dispensing with the remonstration procedure has released considerable staff capacity in visa sections in some cases, freeing up staff to process more visa applications," the German Missions added. Also Read: RCBs Toxic Relationship With Calculator: Why Bengaluru Team Was Trolled After SRH Defeat As a result, they were able to process more visa applications and reduce wait times. What Effects Will It Have On Indians? Indians represent one of the largest groups applying for German national and Schengen visas, meaning they are likely to be most affected by these changes. According to a study by the visa processing platform Atlys, demand for Schengen permits among Indian applicants has increased this year. Holders of a Schengen visa from non-EU countries can travel freely across 29 Schengen states for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. Indian visitors to Germany likewise experienced an 8.6 per cent increase in 2024, with 8,97,841 overnight stays in 2024 compared to 8,26,703 in 2023. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all With the informal appeals procedure ending, visa applicants must ensure their applications are error-free the first time to reduce the risk of rejection. In 2024, Germany rejected 206,733 Schengen visa applications, reflecting a rejection rate of 13.7 per cent. If an application is denied, applicants will have only two options: either submit a new application or pursue a legal appeal through the German courts. The legal route is often costly, requiring the services of a German lawyer, and court proceedings can take up to two years. Experts warn that the recent changes will make the appeals process significantly more difficult for applicants. 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 24, 2025, 11:56 IST 'India Will Not Yield To Fear': Abhishek Banerjee Attacks Pakistan With 'Vile Handler' Dig In Japan Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:58 IST Abhishek Banerjee, a part of an all-party delegation in Japan, strongly condemned Pakistan's role in sponsoring terrorism, urging global unity to combat it. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee (Photo: PTI) Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is a part of an all-party delegation that visited Japan, has stressed the need to bring the world together against terrorism, and said if terrorism is a rabid dog, then Pakistan is a vile handler. During the interaction of the Indian community in Japan with the all-party delegation, Abhishek Banerjee also said that the visit is to highlight the message that India will not yield to fear. Recommended Stories We are here to share the message and the truth that India refuses to bow down. We will not yield to fear. I belong to a political party that is in the Opposition. It is in the public domain that I have said that Pakistan needs to be taught a lesson in the language they understand," Abhishek Banerjee said. If terrorism is a rabid dog, Pakistan is a vile handler. We first need to bring the world together to combat this wild handler. Otherwise, this wild handler will end up breeding and raising more rabid dogs," he said. We will make sure India is responsible. All our attacks and actions have been responsible, made with precision and non-escalatory," Abhishek Banerjee said. #WATCH | Tokyo | During the interaction of the Indian Community in Japan with the all-party delegation, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee says, We are here to share the message and the truth that India refuses to bow down. We will not kneel to fear. I belong to a political party that pic.twitter.com/VklyPqkApw ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Speaking in Tokyo, Abhishek Banerjee also said he and the delegation are visiting different countries with proof of Pakistan sponsoring terrorism. We have started this journey from Japan because it is our strategic partner. We are here from different parties, united in our fight against terrorism. We have come with proofs. Today it is India, tomorrow it will be another country," he said. Pakistan always portrays itself as a victim. After 15 days of waiting, we neutralised nine terror bases in Pakistan without endangering a single civilian life. We want to expose the actual face of Pakistan," Abhishek Banerjee said. The TMC MP further emphasised that all parties stand united when it comes to the nation. The TRF claimed responsibility for the attack. TRF is a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, and in the UN, everyone knows how Pakistan played a role in obscuring LeTs involvement in terror attacks. We want everyone here to propagate this message of fighting terrorism and recognise how India has taken the lead against it," Abhishek Banerjee said. #WATCH | Tokyo | During the interaction of the Indian Community in Japan with the all-party delegation, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee says, We are here to share the message and the truth that India refuses to bow down. We will not kneel to fear. I belong to a political party that pic.twitter.com/VklyPqkApw ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Banerjee is a part of the delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha, which includes Ambassador Mohan Kumar, BJP MP Dr Hemang Joshi, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, BJP MP Brij Lal, and BJP MP Pradan Baruah. Following a severe strain between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the delegation aims to brief international partners on Indias response to Pakistan in the form of Operation Sindoor, and on Indias fight against cross-border terrorism. The delegation is slated to engage with leaders in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The multi-party delegation comprises seven groups led by one MP each, and has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight Indias zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. ALSO READ | 2026 Polls To Electoral Rolls: TMC Set For Changes With Verification Helpline For IPAC? About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: May 24, 2025, 10:08 IST 'Reflection Of Social Strength': PM Modi Hails Op Sindoor As All States Speak In One Voice Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Aveek Banerjee Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 20:27 IST Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened the NITI Aayog meeting at New Delhi, his first meeting with the CMs and LGs after Indias Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. PM Modi interacting with CMs of different states on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all Chief Ministers were united in their condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack last month during the NITI Aayog meeting held in Delhi on Saturday. All leaders extended support to Operation Sindoor, which was aimed at destroying terror launchpads in Pakistan and PoK. According to NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam, there was absolute unanimity across states on Operation Sindoor, which was seen as a symbol of national solidarity to take revenge for the heinous terror attack on April 22. There was widespread expression of solidarity and commitment across party lines. Recommended Stories The leaders were also commended for rising above ideological divides in support of national security. PM Modi stressed during the meeting that Operation Sindoor was not just a display of military might, but a reflection of Indias social strength. In a press release soon after the meeting, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) quoted the Prime Minister saying that Operation Sindoor should not be treated as a one-off initiative and we must adopt a long-term approach." The release further stated that PM Modi urged states to modernise civil preparedness, highlighting recent mock drills that have renewed focus on civil defence, and called on them to institutionalise civil defence measures. The chief ministers and lieutenant governors praised Operation Sindoor for its precise, targeted strikes that successfully destroyed terror infrastructure. Speaking with one voice, they lauded the Prime Ministers leadership and the bravery of the Armed Forces. They also commended efforts towards self-reliance (Aatmanirbharata) in the defence sector, which have strengthened the armed forces and boosted confidence in Indias defence capabilities. This was the first major meeting of the Prime Minister with the chief ministers of states and lieutenant governors of Union Territories after Indias Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. United Approach Needed For Viksit Bharat The Prime Minister pushed for cooperation between the Centre and all states for the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. He said a united approach was needed to achieve a developed India, just like it had been during Operation Sindoor. He said once every state joined the Viksit Bharat wave, the mission shifted to auto-pilot and the momentum built itself. He laid specific emphasis on accelerating the pace of development in all states. In terms of trade and investment, the Prime Minister announced that the Centre is removing regulations that hindered ease of doing business, and that several Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) were already signed, with more on the horizon. The onus was on states to leverage these opportunities by focusing on initiatives like One District, One Product, he added. Stressing the need for ease of travel and tourism, PM Modi said every state should develop at least one tourist destination of global standards, with all facilities and infrastructure available. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all With focused efforts on agriculture, education, and healthcare, and full implementation of central programmes, I am confident we can achieve Viksit Bharat," Modi said during the NITI Aayog meeting. Just as the call for Purna Swaraj once united the nation, this mission can empower us to hand over a truly developed India to the next generation." However, Subrahmanyam clarified to News18 that the recent tariff threats on Apple products by US President Donald Trump were not discussed during the meeting, as they do not affect India as significantly as other nations. He also emphasized Indias strengths, including a youthful workforce and increasing competitiveness, while acknowledging that infrastructure continues to be a major challenge. About the Author Madhuparna Das Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 19:07 IST Amit Shah Likely To Visit Bengal On May 31, May Tour Border Area On June 1 Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 08:58 IST With the West Bengal assembly elections slated for 2026, the visits of top BJP leaders are being seen as a major morale booster for the partys state unit Alipurduar, located near the strategic Chickens Neck corridor, is a geopolitically crucial region, lending significance to Shahs visit to the border area. (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to visit West Bengal on May 31. According to sources, Shah will visit a border area on June 1 for an administrative programme and is scheduled to attend a party event in Kolkata thereafter. His visit comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled programme in Alipurduar on May 29. Political experts believe that the timing and sequence of these high-profile visits carry significant political implications. Recommended Stories Alipurduar, located near the strategic Chickens Neck corridor, is a geopolitically crucial region, lending significance to Shahs visit to the border area, given the current geopolitical climate. With the West Bengal assembly elections slated for 2026, the visits of top BJP leaders are being seen as a major morale booster for the partys state unit. Local BJP leaders told News18, Their presence is always a big boost for us. This time, the mood before 2026 is completely different. The presence of Modi-ji and Shah-ji will energise us. India has shown that this is a new Bharat where, if needed, the country can take an aggressive stance. This message will greatly motivate us." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Party insiders also say that issues such as demographic changes in Bengal and recent violence in Murshidabad are likely to be emphasised during the 2026 campaign. Taking a dig at the visit, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said: Whenever elections approach, top leaders start political tourism. This will have no impact on the common people. They will vote for Mamata Banerjee again." 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 24, 2025, 08:58 IST "We look forward to collaborating with China, collaborating with any city." South African officials expressed strong interest in deepening cooperation with China across various sectors during exchange sessions held in China's Jinjiang City. #GLOBALink At NITI Aayog Meet, PM Modis Push For Centre-State Synergy To Drive Viksit Bharat Vision Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 16:22 IST During the NITI Aayog meeting, PM Modi urged the Centre and all states to work together like a team to achieve the goal of a developed India. PM Modi with Chief Ministers of different states at the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened the NITI Aayog meeting at New Delhi on Saturday, where he pushed for cooperative federalism, tourism development, and sustainable urban planning in achieving the goal of a developed India. This was the first major meeting of the Prime Minister with the chief ministers of states and lieutenant governors of Union Territories after Indias Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. Recommended Stories During the meeting, PM Modi asserted that a developed India was every Indians dream and this goal could only be achieved when every state is developed. He laid emphasis on accelerating the pace of development in all states. PM Modi said if the Centre and all states work together like a team, no goal would be impossible. He further said every state should develop at least one tourist destination of global standards, with all facilities and infrastructure available. He also told all Chief Ministers present at the meeting about the need to create future-ready cities, stressing that the development of Indian cities should be driven by innovation and sustainability. Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana N Chandrababu Naidu, MK Stalin and A Revanth Reddy, attended the meeting and put forth their views before the council on respective issues. However, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Karnatakas Siddaramaiah and Keralas Pinarayi Vijayan gave the Governing Council meeting a skip. NITI Aayogs 10th Governing Council meeting, chaired by PM Modi, has the theme Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047. The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all state CMs, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi is the chairman of NITI Aayog. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday sought the Centre to enhance the states share in central taxes to 50 per cent and also underscored the necessity for a dedicated urban transformation mission in the state. We currently receive only 33.16% against the promised 41," he said on X. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday proposed forming three sub-groups on GDP growth, population management and leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). These sub-groups of states formed in collaboration with the Centre should work towards fast-tracking Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, he said. (with agency inputs) About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 15:25 IST BMC Faces The Heat For Alleged Nod To Beach Rescue Robots From Turkey Amid Tensions With India Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:15 IST In a strongly worded letter to the Mumbai municipal commissioner, BJP leader Bhalchandra Shirsat questioned the need to engage in business with a country that supports Pakistan The letter follows reports in media which revealed that BMC had floated a tender for robotic rescue systems and that a Turkish firm had qualified and received the work order. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has come under fire for reportedly awarding a contract to a Turkish company to supply robotic life-saving equipment for deployment at Mumbais popular beaches. BJP leader Bhalchandra Shirsat has written a strongly worded letter to the Mumbai municipal commissioner, demanding the immediate cancellation of the tender. He questioned why Mumbais civic body would engage in business with a country that has openly supported Pakistan during times of conflict. Recommended Stories The letter follows reports in media which revealed that BMC had floated a tender for robotic rescue systems that look like surfing boards and that a Turkish firm had qualified and received the work order. Shirsats letter stated, When the entire country is boycotting Turkish products, what world is the BMC living in?" He also warned of widespread public protests if the civic body fails to cancel the contract. Speaking to News18, Shirsat said: We will not tolerate such a thing by BMC. We warn the authorities to respect public sentiment about the issue and immediately withdraw the tender given to the Turkish company." The protest taps into growing public sentiment against Turkey, which has been building over the past few weeks. The tension stems from Turkeys vocal support for Pakistan after Indias Operation Sindoor. In response, many Indian citizens have called for a boycott of Turkish goods and tourism. Tour operators have reported cancellations of trips to Turkey, and several business groups have reduced or stopped importing Turkish-made products. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all For many Mumbaikars, the concern isnt merely about the equipment but about national sentiment. Its not about the robots. Its about principle," said a senior resident from Girgaon. While the BMC has not officially responded to the controversy, the issue is rapidly gaining traction on social media and among citizen groups. Although the civic bodys move may have been intended to upgrade beach safety with modern technology, the political undertones have now taken centre stage. About the Author Mayuresh Ganapatye Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. He previously worked with... Read More Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. He previously worked with... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 10:15 IST New Covid-19 Variants In India As Cases Surge In Delhi, Other States; High Alert In Uttarakhand Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:24 IST India has detected new Covid-19 variants amid a gradual rise in cases across many states. Authorities assure the situation is under control, with preventive measures intensified. A healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine (Photo: PTI) Amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, a case of the newly emerging Covid-19 variant NB.1.8.1 and four instances of the LF.7 type have been detected in India, the INSACOG data stated on Saturday. Fresh cases of the coronavirus have also recently been reported from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Delhi. Recommended Stories While Delhi recorded 23 new cases, Andhra Pradesh reported four in the last 24 hours, Telangana confirmed one, and a nine-month-old in Bengaluru tested positive amid a gradual rise over the past 20 days. Kerala reported 273 cases in May alone. With more tests being conducted, Uttarakhands state health department sounded a high alert in many districts, intensifying preventive measures in line with central government guidelines. This comes as the Union Health Ministry remains vigilant and proactive in monitoring the situation closely, ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to safeguard public health. While Covid-19 is now considered another type of viral infection, basic precautions such as hand hygiene, wearing masks in crowded areas and avoiding unnecessary gatherings are still encouraged, a statement by the Ministry read. NB.1.8.1, LF.7 VARIANTS DETECTED IN INDIA As of May 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as Variants Under Monitoring, not as Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest. However, these are the variants that are reportedly driving the rise in Covid-19 cases in China and parts of Asia. According to data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), one case of NB.1.8.1 was identified in April in Tamil Nadu and four cases of LF.7 were detected in Gujarat in May. In India, the most common variant remains JN.1, comprising 53 per cent of samples tested, followed by BA.2 (26 per cent) and other Omicron sublineages (20 per cent). DELHI GOVT ISSUES ADVISORY AFTER FRESH COVID-19 CASES According to an advisory by the Delhi government, authorities have been asked for necessary preparedness after 23 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in the national capital. However, according to the experts, the situation is under control. The advisory directed all hospitals to ensure preparedness for the availability of beds, oxygen, and medicines. The Office of the Health Minister of the Delhi government, the Health Department of Delhi also released a precautionary advisory stating that this was for routine surveillance and there is no cause for concern. The health department assured that they are committed to monitoring the situation. The advisory also urged all health institutions to send positive samples for genome sequencing to Lok Nayak Hospital to facilitate early detection of any new variants. Additionally, confirmed influenza and Covid-19 cases may also be reported on the IHIP under the L form. COVID-19 ON THE RISE IN MAHARASHTRA As many as 10 cases of Covid-19 were detected in Maharashtras Thane city over the last three days, with the civic administration urging hospitals to stay vigilant, it was reported on Saturday. According to a release issued by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), the affected patients showed mild symptoms and are undergoing treatment at home. The civic body has urged people not to panic and follow precautionary measures. It also made arrangements for potential hospital admissions if needed. It has assured that the situation is under control and appealed to the public not to panic. HIGH ALERT IN UTTARAKHAND Two women, including a doctor from AIIMS Rishikesh, tested positive for Covid-19 in Uttarakhand, prompting the state health department to issue a high alert. According to officials, both individuals recently travelled to Uttarakhand from other states. A 57-year-old woman from Gujarat who had come to Rishikesh for religious purposes exhibited symptoms of coronavirus. After testing, she was confirmed positive and was placed under treatment. The second patient was identified as a doctor from Bengaluru who was receiving treatment at home. CASES ON RISE IN BENGALURU The Karnataka Health Department also issued an advisory and stated that a gradual increase is seen in terms of the spread of Covid-19 in Bengaluru in the last 20 days. No serious cases were, however, reported. The advisory urged that the general public must comply with Covid-19 appropriate behaviour proactively, and advised that pregnant women, children, immuno-compromised persons and those with comorbid conditions wear face masks while visiting crowded areas. Steps like using hand sanitizers may also be followed, and those with Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses (SARI) must consider getting tested for Covid-19 for timely treatment and to check further spread of Covid-19, the advisory stated. Meanwhile, a nine-month-old baby tested positive for Covid-19 in Bengaluru, the Health department officials confirmed on Friday. Reportedly, the infant was safe without complications and was under treatment. NEW COVID CASES IN ANDHRA PRADESH Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav on Friday said four Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the state in the past 24 hoursthree in Visakhapatnam and one in the Rayalaseema region. The minister said a woman in Vizag tested positive on Thursday, followed by her family member and a postgraduate medical student who tested positive on Friday. According to the minister, the first case in the port city had no travel history. He stressed there is no need to panic, as the state is well prepared. He further said that testing kits had been readied and district health officials have been instructed to stay alert, among other precautionary measures. WOMAN TESTS POSITIVE IN NOIDA A 55-year-old woman was placed under home quarantine after she tested positive for Covid-19 in Noida, it was reported on Saturday. The samples of her family members were also sent for testing. NEW COVID CASES IN GHAZIABAD Four people tested positive for Covid-19 in Ghaziabad, prompting the health department to increase surveillance in the district, officials said on Friday. While three of the infected individuals are currently in home isolation, one patient has been admitted to a private hospital, they said. According to a report released by District Surveillance Officer Dr RK Gupta, all four cases were reported from the Trans-Hindon area of the district. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Among the patients is an 18-year-old woman who had fever and cough since May 18 and was hospitalised. She tested positive for Covid-19 during her treatment at a private hospital, the report said. An elderly couple who recently returned from Bengaluru and live in Vasundhara colony also tested positive. They had fever and cough, and got tested on the advice of a doctor. Both are currently recuperating at home. About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: May 24, 2025, 13:12 IST Gujarat Health Worker Arrested On Espionage Charge, Shared Defence Info With Pakistani Agent Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 15:08 IST A contractual health worker in Kutch, Gujarat, was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive BSF and Navy facility details with a Pakistani spy via WhatsApp. A file photo of the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) (PTI) A contractual health worker posted in the border district of Kutch in Gujarat was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information about military establishments with a Pakistani spy. The man, identified as 28-year-old Sahdevsinh Gohil, a resident of Lakhpat taluka of Kutch, was arrested by the Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS). Recommended Stories According to an ATS release, the accused was lured by a Pakistani agent, who identified herself as Aditi Bharadwaj, to share information about under-construction as well as existing establishments of the Border Security Force and Indian Navy in the area. Commenting on the matter, Superintendent of Police (ATS) Siddharth Korukonda told reporters that Gohil, since June 2023, had shared photos and videos of various BSF and naval facilities in Kutch via WhatsApp with the Pakistani spy for money. The Pakistani agent first contacted Gohil, who was a contractual health worker at a government centre in Mata No Madh village in Lakhpat, on his WhatsApp number in June 2023 and befriended him. After winning his trust, the agent sought photos and videos of BSF and Indian Navy offices and ongoing construction around his village. Gohil shared the requested classified information via WhatsApp," said the SP, adding that Gohil knew she was a Pakistani spy. In January 2025, Gohil used his Aadhaar (unique identification number) to procure a SIM card and shared the OTP with the Pakistani agent, enabling her to use WhatsApp linked to that number from the neighbouring country. Based on a tip, he was brought to the ATS office a few days ago for questioning, and his phone was sent for a forensic analysis, said Korukonda. Following an investigation, the ATS arrested Gohil and registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him and the Pakistani agent under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 61 (criminal conspiracy) and 148 (waging war against the government), it was learnt. A couple of days back, the ATS in Uttar Pradesh arrested two individuals for their alleged involvement in illegal visa facilitation, sharing sensitive national security information, and promoting extremist ideologies with suspected links to Pakistan. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In the first case, the ATS arrested Mohd Haroon (45), a scrap dealer from Delhis Seelampur, from Noida on Thursday. In a parallel operation at Adampur in Varanasi, the ATS on Thursday arrested another suspect identified as Tufail, son of Maqsood Alam, a resident of Jaitpura. About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: May 24, 2025, 15:05 IST Jharkhand Family Of 4 Dead In Suspected Suicide Case After Husband's Cancer Diagnosis Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:39 IST The deceased include a couple and their two minor daughters. Notably, they were in depression after the man was diagnosed with cancer. (Representational image/File) Four members of a family were found dead in Jharkhands Seraikela-Kharswan district, police said on Saturday. The bodies of Krishna Kumar (40), his wife Doli Devi (35) and their minor daughters were found hanging from the ceiling of their house in Gamharias Chitragupt Nagar in Adityapur police station area on Friday night, they said. Recommended Stories It is suspected that they died by suicide as they were in depression after Kumar was diagnosed with cancer, police said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Kumar was a senior manager at a steel plant in Gamharia, they said. Police said an investigation has been started, and all angles are being examined. Location : Jharkhand, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 14:39 IST Jyoti Malhotra Grilled Over Visit To Ujjain, Allegedly Flew Drone Over Jagannath Temple In Puri Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 12:26 IST Jyoti Malhotra's visits to religious sites in Ujjain and Puri are under police scrutiny. She was arrested from Haryana on charges of espionage and passing on sensitive information. A file photo of arrested YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra (Source: Facebook) YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, was grilled over her visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain and to Puri in Odisha. According to a team of the Madhya Pradesh Police, it was found that Jyoti visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, but nothing incriminating came out during the questioning. Recommended Stories A team of five Madhya Pradesh cops went to Haryana to grill her after getting information that she had visited the famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the ancient holy city of Ujjain in April last year. Earlier, the YouTubers visit to Puri and her stay at the Jagannath Ballabh Bhakta Nivas had come under scrutiny. It was learnt that in Puri, Jyoti Malhotra befriended local resident Priyanka Senapati, who had previously visited Pakistan. Puri Police were probing the connection. Also speaking to the media, Dilip, manager of Jagannath Ballabh Bhakta Nivas, said, We had no prior knowledge of this. Ours is a tourist place, and many people come and go. It was only during the inquiry that we found out a woman named Jyoti Malhotra had stayed at our hotel." ALSO READ | Jyoti Malhotra Case: Haryana Police Denies Access To Sensitive Info, Refutes Marriage Claims According to a report with Hindustan Times, Jyoti Malhotra also visited the Jagannath Temple in Puri. There were also allegations of her flying a drone over the Shree Jagannath temple during her visit to Puri in 2024, the report claimed. JYOTI MALHOTRA CASE The 33-year-old content creator and social media influencer is currently in the custody of police in Hisar, Haryana. Jyoti Malhotra was among the 12 people arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks on suspicion of espionage, with investigators suspecting the presence of a Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India. Hisar-based Jyoti Malhotra, who ran a YouTube channel titled Travel with JO, was arrested at the New Aggarsain Extension on May 16. She was booked under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), according to police. The police suspected she was in contact with some people, knowing that they were Pakistani intelligence operatives. News agency PTI quoted police sources had said she was in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistani High Commission, since November 2023. India expelled Danish on May 13 for allegedly indulging in espionage. ALSO READ | Get Me Married In Pakistan: YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra Told ISI Operative In Leaked Chats Meanwhile, the police sent Malhotras three mobile phones and a laptop for forensic examination. Malhotras four bank accounts are also being analysed. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The National Investigation Agency, the Intelligence Bureau, and military intelligence officials have also questioned Malhotra. In a recent development, a Hisar court extended Jyoti Malhotras police remand by four days. About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: May 24, 2025, 12:26 IST Kerala Panchayat Approaches State Govt To Rename 'Pakistan Mukku' Junction Published By : PTI Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 19:51 IST A CPI (M)-ruled panchayat has decided to approach the Kerala government to request a change to the decades-old name of 'Pakistan Mukku' village junction after the recent conflict. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (PTI file photo) A CPI (M)-ruled panchayat in Kerala has decided to approach the state government with a request to change the decades-old name of a village junction in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan conflict. Kunnathoor Panchayat in this district unanimously agreed to forward a proposal to rename Pakistan Mukku" following a formal request from a BJP ward member, during a recent meeting. Recommended Stories According to Panchayat president Valsala Kumari K, the panchayat does not have the authority to rename places and therefore decided to forward the request to the government. The panchayat received a letter regarding this and so the committee discussed the matter. No one raised any objection to the request during the discussion. So, we decided to record the opinions and submit to the government," she told PTI. During the discussion, some members suggested renaming the junction as Ivarkala". The panchayat president said the junction has been known as Pakistan Mukku" for several decades. But, in our panchayat records, there is no mention of this particular name. But, the location is named as Pakistan Mukku among local people," she said. A number of Muslim families reside in the area and there is a mosque. The final decision rests with the government. In the Panchayat Raj rules, we dont have any provision to change the name of any place," she said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Valsala Kumari also said the area is home to people of all religions, castes and communities, who live in harmony. I wish the new development and lots of discussion over this do not disrupt the present harmony and coexistence," she added. A stretch at the end of the Mannadi route near the border of Kunnathoor panchayat in Kollam district and Kadambanad panchayat in Pathanamthitta district is known as Pakistan Mukku. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Kollam, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 19:51 IST Hazardous Cargo From Ship Falls Into Arabian Sea Off Kerala Coast, Public Urged To Stay Away Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 21:44 IST The vessel was carrying Marine Gas Oil (MGO) and Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), both of which pose environmental risks if spilled into the sea Indian Coast Guard said it received a distress alert from the vessel and immediately began rescue and monitoring operations. (Image via X/@IndiaCoastGuard) The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) on Saturday issued a public warning after dangerous cargo, including oil and containers, fell into the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast. The cargo is believed to have come from a container vessel that developed a serious tilt and is currently under rescue and salvage operations. KSDMA member secretary Sekhar Kuriakose, in a voice note shared with media, said the information about the fallen cargo was received from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). He warned the public not to go near or touch any containers or materials that may wash up on shore, and instead, report such sightings immediately to the police. Recommended Stories There is a chance the cargo, including containers and oil, will wash ashore. The public, if they see such cargo, should not go near it or touch it and should inform the police immediately," Kuriakose said. Kuriakose also said that there is a possibility of oil films forming along certain coastal areas due to the spill. Kerala Defence PRO Fresh Updates Meanwhile, in a fresh update on X, the Defence PRO for Kerala stated that 21 crew members have been rescued, while three including the captain, chief engineer, and second engineer remain onboard to assist with planned salvage operations. Update :21 crew members rescued, 03 crew (Captain, Chief Engg and 2nd Engg) remain onboard to facilitate planned salvage operations.ICG and IN ships along with ICG aircrafts continue to coordinate and monitor the situation.Some containers have fallen due to vessel tilting, https://t.co/rqIxYVgMLH pic.twitter.com/RYkHgNVPQs PRO Defence Kochi (@DefencePROkochi) May 24, 2025 The Defence PRO further noted that Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Indian Navy (IN) ships, along with ICG aircraft, continue to coordinate and monitor the situation. Some containers have fallen due to vessel tilting, risk assessment is in progress. All efforts are in hand to maintain stability of the Vessel," the post added. Indian Coast Guard Statement The Coast Guard has confirmed that the vessel was carrying Marine Gas Oil (MGO) and Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), both of which pose environmental risks if spilled into the sea. The vessel in question is MSC ELSA 3, a Liberia-flagged container ship that developed a dangerous list (tilt) of 26 degrees about 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi. In a post on X, the Indian Coast Guard said it received a distress alert from the vessel and immediately began rescue and monitoring operations. @IndiaCoastGuard #MRCC, #Mumbai received a Distress Alert regarding Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA 3 developing 26 list approx 38 nautical miles southwest of #Kochi. Vessel departed #Vizhinjam Port on 23 May 25, bound for #Kochi with ETA 24 May 25. #ICG is actively pic.twitter.com/U7SzOBsE9h Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) May 24, 2025 According to the ICG, the vessel had departed from Vizhinjam Port on 23 May and was en route to Kochi, with an expected arrival on 24 May. Of the 24 crew members onboard, 21 have been safely rescued so far. To support the ongoing evacuation, Indian Coast Guard aircraft have dropped additional liferafts near the listing vessel. DG Shipping, in coordination with #ICG, has issued urgent directives to the ships managers to initiate salvage operations to stabilize the vessel and avert further risks," the ICG stated. The Coast Guard further added that the rescue ships remain in the area, and aircraft are continuing to monitor the situation closely. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all ICG continues to closely monitor the situation to ensure the safety of the crew and to prevent any environmental damages," it added. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Kerala, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 19:42 IST Maharashtra Logs 210 Covid Cases Since January, Mumbai Accounts For Majority Of Infections Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:52 IST On May 23, 45 new cases were detected, mostly in Mumbai. Kerala also saw a rise in cases recently. COVID-19 and Influenza are contagious respiratory illnesses that spread through respiratory droplets. Whereas dengue is a viral illness transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and is not contagious from human to human directly. Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in some parts of the country, Maharashtra has registered 210 infections since January. Of the total cases, Mumbai accounted for the maximum at 183. As much as 6,819 samples were tested to detect the positive cases. Recommended Stories On May 23, 45 positive cases were detected with maximum infections in Mumbai (35) followed by Raigad (2), Pune (4), Kolhapur (2), and Thane and Latur one each. 10 Covid Cases in Thane in 3 Days Besides, Thane has also witnessed a surge in Covid patients with 10 cases being reported in last three days. In the wake of the situation, the civic administration has urged hospitals to stay vigilant, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying. According to a release issued by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), the affected patients showed mild symptoms and are undergoing treatment at home. The TMC has urged people not to panic and follow precautionary measures. TMC Commissioner Saurabh Rao has instructed the civic health department and hospitals to remain vigilant and alert for examination and treatment of COVID-19 patients, the release stated. Further Thane civic body on Friday held a high-level review meeting to examine the situation and readiness of the health system. The TMC has also made arrangements for potential hospital admissions if situation demands. A dedicated 19-bed ward has been set up at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa for COVID-19 patients," PTI quoted hospital superintendent Dr Aniruddha Malgaonkar as saying. He added the hospital is also equipped with RT-PCR testing facilities. The civic body is constantly constant monitoring the situation. The sudden rise in coronavirus has been apparent in several parts of the country, including Kerala, in the past few days. 273 Covid Cases in Kerala in May In May, Kerala logged 273 Covid-19 cases, according to Kerala Health Minister Veena George. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In order to contain the spread the Kerala Health Minister Friday directed all districts in the southern state to increase Covid-19 surveillance, following an increase in cases across Southeast Asia. The majority of cases were reported in Kottayam with 82 infections, followed by Thiruvananthapuram with 73, Ernakulam with 49, Pathanamthitta with 30, and Thrissur with 26. 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 24, 2025, 11:57 IST 'To Satisfy Her Political Ego': BJP, Congress Slam Mamata Banerjee For Skipping NITI Aayog Meet Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:16 IST Mamata Banerjee skipped the NITI Aayog's 10th Governing Council meeting, triggering criticism from the BJP and Congress over missed development opportunities. A file photo of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (Photo: PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was one of those who skipped the crucial meeting of NITI Aayog at New Delhi on Saturday, thus creating a political slugfest in the state between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This was the first major meeting of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the chief ministers of states and lieutenant governors of Union Territories after Indias Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. Recommended Stories Recalling Banerjee skipping the NITI Aayog meeting even last year, BJPs Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal and spokesman Samik Bhattacharya said she should have attended the meeting to find out avenues on how the Bengal hurdles could be overcome. As it is, the financial vulnerability of West Bengal is at an alarming stage. Unemployment and migrant workers from West Bengal are the major problems. In such a situation, the Chief Minister should have attended the meeting to find out avenues on how these hurdles could be overcome by working closely with the Union government. But she chose to skip the meeting to satisfy her political ego and sacrificed the interest of the state," he said. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, while speaking to reporters, said, Had she attended the meeting, the Chief Minister could have raised many issues, such as non-disbursement of central funds which are required for the development of the state." the Governing Council Meeting will discuss the approach on Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047," Niti Aayog had said in a statement earlier. However, Trinamool Congress state vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said, Last year, it was proved that the Union government did not desire to listen to what our Chief Minister wanted to say, and hence her microphone was stopped amid her speech. This was an insult to the Chief Minister. Why would she attend the meeting to be insulted again?" Also commenting on Banerjees absence, BJP leader Rakesh Sinha said, It is not right to do politics when it comes to the development of people and West Bengal. After attending it for just five minutes, she (Mamata Banerjee) boycotted the meeting last time. When the entire nation is progressing, West Bengal is regressing." To recall, in the last meeting of NITI Aayog on July 27 last year, Mamata Banerjee walked out, alleging that her microphone was muted during her speech, and therefore, she could not speak for more than five minutes. Banerjee claimed that she was allowed to speak only for five minutes when 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 through the fact-check handle of the Press Information Bureau. OTHERS WHO SKIPPED THE NITI AAYOG MEET Other than Mamata Banerjee, some other southern Chief Ministers, including from NDA ruled Puducherry skipped the NITI Aayogs Governing Council meeting in New Delhi. Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana N Chandrababu Naidu, MK Stalin and A Revanth Reddy, were scheduled to attend the meeting and put forth their views before the council on respective issues. While the Chief Minister of Congress-ruled Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, was busy with prior engagement" in the state and sent his speech to be read out in the council, Marxist veteran and Kerala CM, Pinarayi Vijayan deputed his cabinet colleague KN Balagopal on his behalf. Similarly, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who heads the AINRC-led NDA coalition in the union territory, also skipped the event, an official source said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all NITI Aayogs 10th Governing Council meeting, chaired by PM Modi, has the theme Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047. The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all state CMs, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi is the chairman of NITI Aayog. About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: May 24, 2025, 14:16 IST MBBS Student Drugged, Gang-Raped In Maharashtra, 2 Classmates Among 3 Arrested Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 09:12 IST The medical student was allegedly assaulted on May 18 after agreeing to meet the accused for a late-night movie around 10 pm Representative Image of Maharashtra Police | ANI A third-year MBBS student was allegedly gang-raped in Maharashtras Sangli by two of her classmates and one of their friends after they laced her drink with a sedative, said officials. The Vishrambag police arrested three suspects two of whom were the womans classmates from Pune and Solapur, and the third a friend from Sangli. Police added that the survivor is from Belagavi in Karnataka. Recommended Stories A court has remanded them in police custody till May 27, an official said. On May 18, the medical student was allegedly assaulted after agreeing to meet the accused for a late-night movie around 10 pm. Prior to heading to the theatre, they stopped briefly at an apartment. According to the survivors statement to the police, the accusedwho were reportedly intoxicatedgave her a drink laced with a sedative. She began to feel dizzy shortly after consuming it. The three men, all aged between 20 and 22, are then alleged to have sexually assaulted her and warned her not to speak about the incident, threatening serious consequences, police said. The victim narrated the incident to her parents, following which they approached the Vishrambag police station to lodge a complaint. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The accused have been charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for gang rape and other offences. Police are also reviewing the survivors statement, the official said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Location : Maharashtra, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 09:12 IST MEA Justifies Putting On Hold Indus Waters Treaty: Pakistan Kept Goodwill In Abeyance Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 21:14 IST The Ministry also said that changing ground realities with respect to climate change and glacial melt calls for a renegotiation of the treaty. Bikers take pictures at the confluence of rivers Zanskar and Indus near Kargil. (IMAGE: AFP) India placed the Indus Waters Treaty on hold, citing Pakistans failure to uphold the spirit of the agreement, the Ministry of External Affairs told a parliamentary panel after the Pahalgam terror attack. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told lawmakers that Pakistan had held in abeyance the goodwill and friendship" outlined in the 1960 treatys preamble. Recommended Stories The Ministry of External Affairs said the treatys core principles no longer hold, as Pakistans support for cross-border terrorism undermines Indias ability to use the agreement as intended. Indias decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) marks a significant shift in its approach to dealing with Pakistan, especially in the wake of the April 2025 Pahalgam attacks and the ongoing Operation Sindoor counter-terror operations. Pakistans intervention on behalf of terrorists following Operation Sindoor also brought both neighbours close to a full-blown conflict. The treaty, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, was long considered a rare example of India-Pakistan cooperation even during periods of war and tension. The Ministry also said that the treatys terms need updating, citing major changes such as new engineering methods, climate change and glacial melt. This view, officials said, will be shared globally by Indian delegations defending the suspension. India is sending seven delegations to 59 countries to reiterate Indias stance against cross-border terrorism and its state sponsorship, something neighbouring Pakistan has used in attempt to destabilise Kashmir Valley and the broader South Asian region. Despite Indias repeated calls for talks, Pakistan has refused to engage, the Ministry noted. The treaty, based on outdated mid-20th century frameworks, needs a fresh look to reflect 21st century realities. From melting glaciers and erratic river flows to rising energy demands and population pressures, the Ministry of External Affairs said India has every right to push for a renegotiation that fits todays needs. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all It added that suspending the treaty was a logical outcome, given the scale of change on the ground and Pakistans unwillingness to respond diplomatically. Misri has also briefed MPs on Operation Sindoor and Indias broader response to the Pahalgam terror attack, while engaging with visiting multi-party delegations across 33 countries and the European Union to explain Indias position. About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 20:43 IST Monsoon Hits Kerala In Earliest Onset In 16 Years; Red Alert Issued Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 12:27 IST The monsoon normally arrives in Kerala on June 1, but the last time it arrived this earlyon May 23was in 2009 and 2001. The Red alert issued for heavy rainfall in several districts of Kerala | Representative Image The monsoon arrived in Kerala on Saturday, making it the earliest onset in the state in 16 years, according to the India Meteorological Department. The monsoon normally arrives in Kerala on June 1, but the last time it arrived this earlyon May 23was in 2009 and 2001. The earliest recorded onset was on May 11, 1918. Recommended Stories All conditions conducive to the monsoons onset were already formed over Kerala, as heavy rainfall swept across several parts of the state over the past two days, driven by a low-pressure system and the advancing monsoon. A depression has formed over the east-central Arabian Sea near the south Konkan coast. IMD Issues Red Alert The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rainfall of varying intensity across several districts in Kerala from May 23 to 27, prompting red, orange, and yellow alerts across the state. The IMD has issued a red alert for several districts, forecasting heavy rainfalldefined as more than 204.4 mm in 24 hourswith Kannur and Kasaragod under alert on May 24; Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod on May 25; and Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod on May 26. Meanwhile, districts like Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod have been put under Orange alert for May 23. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also expected to see scattered showers and thunderstorms over the next five days, the weather department said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The weather department also issued a red alert for Goa, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall till Sunday. The state government has urged people to stay away from rivers and waterfalls as a precaution. Several parts of the coastal state were lashed by intense showers over the past 24 hours. Location : Kerala, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 11:27 IST MP Man Practised As Doctor For 7 Years; Patient's Death Revealed His 'True' Identity Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:38 IST When police started investigating the case and looked for the doctor's background, it was found that Uike he was a wall painter. On probe it was found that the man used friend's identity to avail quota (Representative image) A man has been booked for working as a doctor in the name of his tribal friend in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur. Satendra Kumar was practising as a doctor since seven with an MBBS degree in the name of his tribal friend Brijraj Singh Uike until a patient died. The incident came to light after one Manoj Kumar Mahawar lodged a complaint against a doctor in September 2024, after the death of his mother. In his complaint, Manoj claimed that his mother died due to medical negligence. Recommended Stories She was taken to a private hospital on September 1 and died only a day after being admitted. Manoj later found that Dr. Brijraj Singh Uike was on duty in the ICU in the night when his mother was admitted, reported Times Of India. He filed a complaint in the matter. When police started investigating the case and looked for the doctors background, it was found that Uike he was a wall painter. When the police went to the wall painter with the name Brijraj Singh Uike, he was a different person. The police showed the wall painter the picture of the doctor, responding to which, he said, Why, its my friend Satendra!", as per the TOI report. Further investigation revealed that the individual posing as Dr. Uike was actually Satendra, who had fraudulently used his friends identity and caste certificate to secure admission to Netaji Subhash Chandra Medical College. He had changed his identity to avail the tribal quota as he belonged to the general category. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all After completing his MBBS in 2018, Satendra began working at a private hospital under the false identity. Meanwhile, the real Uike-whose name and credentials were misused-was working as a wall painter to afford a living. The police have registered an FIR for fraud and conspiracy against Satendra, who is currently absconding. A further investigation in the case is underway. Location : Madhya Pradesh, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 10:09 IST Muslim Family Offers Wedding Hall To Hindu Couple Amid Pune Rain | Video Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:08 IST Sanskruti Kawade Patil and Narendra Galande Patil were set to tie the knot at Alankaran Lawns at 6.56 pm when it started to rain suddenly, leading to a chaos. Both couple posing together on stage for photograph (Credits: X) In what could be termed a heartwarming gesture, a Muslim family came to the rescue when the wedding of a Hindu couple was disrupted by rain in Maharashtras Pune. A Muslim family was having a wedding reception in a hall in Wanworie area on Tuesday evening when the rain disrupted the wedding of a Hindu couple on the adjacent ground. Recommended Stories Sanskruti Kawade Patil and Narendra Galande Patil were set to tie the knot at Alankaran Lawns at 6.56 pm when it started to rain suddenly. There was chaos around the venue. Nearby, in the hall, the walima ceremony was going on. We requested the Kazi family to allow us to use the hall for some time to perform the saptapadi ritual," a member of the Galande Patil family was quoted as saying by PTI. The Muslim family responded positively and offered the stage. A video of the incident going viral on social media platforms shows both the couples sharing a stage as they pose for the pictures. Guests can also be seen congratulating them and taking pictures with them. Heartwarming: Pune Rains Disrupt Hindu Wedding, Muslim Family Offers Walima Venue For Ritualshttps://t.co/ORp1UH2IBv pic.twitter.com/zPYueOMRgh Pune First (@Pune_First) May 23, 2025 Not only did they help them with a new wedding venue, but the guests of the Muslim family also helped them make arrangements. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Even their guests helped us make arrangements for our rituals on stage. The rituals were performed with full respect for each others traditions," he said. The wedding concluded with both sides enjoying a joint celebration. Maheen and Mohsin Kazi, the newlywed Muslim couple, shared the stage with Narendra and Sankruti for photographs. First Published: May 24, 2025, 14:03 IST News18 Morning Digest: Tharoor's Big Statement On Terrorism, Rahul's Jammu Visit And Other Top Stories Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 13:00 IST News18 Morning Digest: We are covering Tharoor's statement on terrorism, Jyoti Malhotra case, rising Covid cases, apparent strains In Pak-China relation and other top stories. A file photo of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (PTI Image) News18 Morning Digest: We are covering Shashi Tharoors big statement on terrorism, Jyoti Malhotra spying case, rising Covid cases, apparent strains In Pakistan-China relation and other top stories. India Will Not Be Silenced By Terrorism: Shashi Tharoor Before Leaving For Anti-Terror Diplomacy Drive Recommended Stories Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, before leaving for five countries to project Indias national consensus on combating terrorism, on Friday said that India will not be silenced by terrorism. He also called the tour a mission of peace and hope". Read more Jyoti Malhotra Grilled Over Visit To Ujjain, Allegedly Flew Drone Over Jagannath Temple In Puri YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, was grilled over her visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain and to Puri in Odisha. According to a team of the Madhya Pradesh Police, it was found that Jyoti visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, but nothing incriminating came out during the questioning. Read more Cracks In Pakistan-Chinas Iron Brotherhood? Why Dragon Is Afraid Of Fully Backing Islamabad The long-standing Iron Brotherhood" between China and Pakistan, once considered unbreakable, appears to be showing signs of strain. Indias robust response to Pahalgam terrorist attack has put the spotlight on Beijings stance. While observers keenly watched for an unequivocal show of support for Islamabad, Chinas response has been marked by diplomatic caution and a notable absence of direct condemnation against India. Read more top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Monsoon Hits Kerala In Earliest Onset In 16 Years; Red Alert Issued The monsoon arrived in Kerala on Saturday, making it the earliest onset in the state in 16 years, according to the India Meteorological Department. The monsoon normally arrives in Kerala on June 1, but the last time it arrived this earlyon May 23was in 2009 and 2001. The earliest recorded onset was on May 11, 1918. Read more 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 : Delhi, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 13:00 IST 'Nobody Can Change Mysore Pak's Name': Kin Of Man Who Invented Iconic Sweet Slam Renaming Bid | Exclusive Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 11:55 IST The great-grandson of Mysore royal familys cook, who is credited with creating the iconic sweet, said the sweet is a cultural emblem and part of Karnatakas soul The story of Mysore Paks invention dates back to the time of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (19021940), the king of Mysore, who was known to be a food connoisseur. (X) Call it Mysore Pakthere can be no other name for this invention passed down by our ancestors," says S Nataraj, great-grandson of Kakasura Madappa, the cook of the Mysore royal Wadiyar family, who is credited with creating the iconic sweet. Madappas legacy is inseparable from the name itself, says Nataraj. The word Paaka in Kannada refers to a sugary syrup. Since it was invented in Mysore, it came to be known as Mysore Pak. Theres no question of calling it anything else." Recommended Stories Just like every monument or tradition has its rightful name, so does Mysore Pak. Dont misrepresent it," said the descendant of Kakasura Madappa. Natarajs strong statement comes at a time when several sweet shops in Jaipur have renamed Mysore Pak as Mysore Shree" in an attempt to drop all associations with the word Pak" as in Pakistan, in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The attack, followed by Indias military action under Operation Sindoor, triggered an anti-Pakistan sentiment, prompting at least three well-known confectioners in Rajasthans capital to alter the names of their products. But for the descendants of the man who created the sweet, the idea of tampering with the name is unacceptable. Mysore Pak is a delicious sweet made with a sugary syrup, gram flour, and ghee. This invention by our family must be called by its rightful name and nothing else," reiterated Nataraj when he spoke to News18 in an exclusive interview. Wherever in the world you go, when someone sees the sweet, they should be able to identify and call it by its name Mysore Pak. Nobody has the right to change its name," he said. The family has been making the sweet for five generations and still runs the famous Guru Sweets in Mysuru. Located along the Mysuru Dasara Jumbo Savari route, the shop was set up by Natarajs great-grandfather to help popularise the sweet even more amongst people and not just make it for the royal Darbar. According to Sumegh S, the fourth generation of the family, Mysore Pak is not just a sweet it is a cultural emblem, one with historical importance. Mysore Pak is the pride of Mysore, Karnataka and Kannadigas. It presents the real essence of what our culture truly stands forthe sweetness of the Kananda and Kannadigas and the richness of Kannada culture and tradition. We only believe in the product that my forefather invented, Mysore Pak, which today is renowned globally. Dont attach unnecessary controversies to Mysore Pak." A few years ago, Mysore Pak was part of another controversy when a social media post falsely claimed Tamil Nadu had applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for it. Aligning with swift action, the descendants of Madappa officially applied for the GI tag. We had to act. That post caused confusion and started an avoidable debate. Were still waiting," said another member of the family. How Mysore Pak was invented The story of Mysore Paks invention dates back to the time of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (19021940), the king of Mysore, who was known to be a food connoisseur. He not only had a massive kitchen in the palace but was also known to cook on occasion himself. The king would also challenge his royal chefs to prepare dishes from different regions as well as different types of prasadams, or temple offerings. So, as the legend goes, one day during lunch, the king realised that his royal cook Kakasura Madappa had forgotten to prepare a dessert course. When he inquired about the missing course, Madappa had no option but to think on his feet. Caught off guard, Kakasura Madappa quickly mixed gram flour, ghee, and sugar to create a hot, soft fudge-like sweet. He presented this warm, soft, melt-in-the-mouth sweet that delighted the king as he tasted it. When Krishnaraja Wadiyar posed the question as to what the name of the sweet was, Madappa had to once again come up with something quicklybut this time, even faster than the time he took to prepare the newly concocted sweet. Mysore Pak, my king, thats what its called," came the reply, as he felt that this was the best name to be given to a sweet made in Mysore using a sugary syrup. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all To this day, the family proudly upholds that legacynot just by preparing the sweet, but by fiercely defending its name at a time like this. At no cost should anyone attempt to rename or politicise Mysore Pak," Nataraj said firmly. Its more than a sweet its a part of Karnatakas soul." About the Author Rohini Swamy Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18s digital platform. She has previously worked with t... Read More Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18s digital platform. She has previously worked with t... Read More Location : Mysore, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 11:43 IST Pahalgam Attack Meant To Create Fear Psychosis, Sow Religious Discord: Jaishankar Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 08:32 IST EAM S Jaishankar said that the terrorist attack was part of a pattern targeting not only Jammu and Kashmir but also other parts of India. EAM S Jaishankar during an interaction at the German Council on Foreign Relations | Image/X External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that the Pahalgam terror attack was orchestrated to instil fear, undermine Kashmirs tourism economy, and fuel religious discord. Addressing the German Council on Foreign Relations, the EAM reflected on the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pahalgam and Indias subsequent strong retaliatory action under Operation Sindoor. Recommended Stories This was meant to create a fear psychosis, destroy the tourism economy of Kashmir and sow religious discord," Jaishankar said, specifying the strategic intent behind the assault. Jaishankar said that the terrorist attack was part of a pattern targeting not only Jammu and Kashmir but also other parts of India. What we were responding to was terrorismand when we responded there was a lot of international understandingwe targeted terrorist headquarters and terror sites," he added. #WATCH | Berlin, Germany: During an interaction at the German Council on Foreign Relations, EAM Dr S Jaishankar spoke on Pahalgam terror attack and Operation SindoorHe said, This was a terrorist attack, which is part of a pattern which has targeted not only J&K but other parts pic.twitter.com/eJHln9O9yj ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Pak Used Terror As Tool While emphasising Indias unwavering stand against terrorism, Jaishnkar blasted Pakistan for using terrorism as a tool for many years. Our campaign is against terrorism, and in this case, terrorists happen to be located in the country next door because that country, for many years, has used terrorism as a tool." Jaishankar reiterated Indias right to self-defence and highlighted the increasing international backing for the countrys counterterrorism efforts. When it comes to terrorism, today, there is virtually no country which would say they approve of what was done and wont condemn it. If I say I have the right to defend myself, and my people, much of the world will agree with me. Germany does," he said. Germany on Friday condemned the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam and affirmed Indias right to defend itself against cross-border terrorism. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all German Foreign and Finance Minister Johann Wadephul denounced the heinous terrorist attacks in Pahalgam" in the strongest terms in his meeting with S Jaishankar. We are encouraged by the very early condemnation of the terrorist attack, as well as the clear message we got on May 7th and again today from Minister Wadephul that Germany recognises Indias right to defend itself," Jaishankar added. About the Author Ronit Singh Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 08:29 IST PM Modi To Inaugurate Projects Worth Rs 24,000 Cr In Gujarat On May 26-27 | Check Full Itinerary Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 13:59 IST A massive roadshow has been organised in Gujarat to welcome PM Modi on May 26, his first visit to the state since the success of Operation Sindoor against terror camps in Pakistan. PM Modi will visit Gujarat on May 26-27 (File) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Gujarat on May 26-27, where he is expected to inaugurate several development initiatives by the Railways and various state government departments valued at Rs 24,000 crore. This is PM Modis first trip to Gujarat after the success of Operation Sindoor, in which India targeted terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). A massive roadshow has been organised to welcome PM Modi on the evening of May 26. Recommended Stories Over 50,000 BJP workers are anticipated to join the grand celebrations, while a massive roadshow covering a 2-km route from Airport Circle to Indira Bridge is set to attract hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic supporters. The entire path will be adorned in the colours of the national flag, transforming the area into a vibrant display of patriotism. Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Preparations are in full swing for Prime Minister Narendra Modis roadshow pic.twitter.com/5hcwBjci2E IANS (@ians_india) May 24, 2025 What Is PM Modis Itinerary In Gujarat? PM Modi will visit three key districts of Gujarat Dahod, Kachchh, and Gandhinagar. He will attend an event on May 26 at Kharod in Dahod, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for a series of development projects worth Rs 24,000 crore, according to an official statement. The Prime Minister will inaugurate the Locomotive Manufacturing Shop at the Rolling Stock Workshop in Dahod, constructed by the Ministry of Railways at a cost of Rs 21,405 crore. He will also dedicate the first 9000 HP locomotive engine, developed under the Make in India initiative, to the nation. The foundation stone for the Dahod plant was laid by the PM in 2022. He will also inaugurate railway projects worth Rs 2,287 crores, including the doubling of the AnandGodhra, Mehsana-Palanpur, and Rajkot-Hadmatiya railway lines, the 107 km electrification of the Sabarmati-Botad railway line, and the gauge conversion of the Kalol-Kadi-Katosan railway line. The PM will also inaugurate four Juth Sudharna Pani Purvatha Yojanas worth Rs 181 crore to ensure access to clean drinking water for residents of Mahisagar and Dahod. These schemes will provide clean drinking water at the rate of 100 litres per capita per day (LPCD) to 193 villages and one town. PM Modi will inaugurate the Namnar Sudharna Juth Pani Purvatha Yojana, constructed by the Gujarat Water Supply Board at an estimated cost of Rs 49 crore. The Kheroli Juth Sudharna Pani Purvatha Yojana, built at a cost of Rs 70 crore, will also be inaugurated. Additionally, he will also dedicate to the public development projects worth Rs 233 crore under the Dahod Smart City, including the Municipality Building, Tribal Museum, and other public welfare and civic amenities. He will also inaugurate Police Housing projects worth Rs 53 crore. Other Projects The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for road projects worth Rs 581 crore in Vadodara district of Central Gujarat, including the four-laning of Savli-Timba road, widening of Kayavarohan-Sadhli road and Jarod-Samlaya road, and a new bridge on Padmala-Ranoli road. He will also lay the foundation stone for projects worth Rs 26 crore under AMRUT 2.0 and Swarnim Jayanti Mukhya Mantri Shaheri Vikas Yojana in Balasinor, Mahisagar district. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Furthermore, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the Bharej bridge in Chhota Udaipur district, costing Rs 26 crore, and the railway overbridge at LC 65, valued at Rs 73 crore. PM Modi is slated to visit Kanpur next on May 30, where he is expected to meet the family of Shubham Dwivedi, who was among those killed in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Gandhinagar, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 13:59 IST Punjab's AAP Govt Slammed By SGPC For Using 'AI Image' Of Golden Temple In Ad Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 23:27 IST SGPC chief Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami condemned the act as a 'serious affront to Sikh sentiments' The Harmandir Sahib, or the Golden Temple, is the holiest shrine of Sikhism. (File image: PTI) Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami hit out at Punjabs Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Saturday for allegedly using a distorted, AI-generated image of Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in an advertisement. The ad sought suggestions for the forthcoming Sikh centenary celebrations. Dhami condemned the act as a serious affront to Sikh sentiments". Before publishing any image related to the Sikh faith, the government should have consulted the SGPC, he stated. Recommended Stories The SGPC chief highlighted that the Golden Temple is the spiritual heart of Sikh devotion, revered deeply by the community worldwide. By using an AI-generated distorted" image, the advertisement not only disrespects Sikh reverence and belief but also attempts to undermine the spiritual essence of the Darbar Sahib, cherished by every Sikh, he said. Despite the availability of hundreds of authentic images of Sri Harmandar Sahib on the internet, the government chose to distort one digitally", which Dhami said he found deeply painful. He demanded a clear explanation and an immediate apology from the government. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Dhami also clarified that organising centenary events is the responsibility of the SGPC. The governments role is to support development in cities associated with the Gurus, improve infrastructure, and collaborate with the SGPC to appropriately establish commemorative memorials, he said. (With agency inputs) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 23:27 IST 'I Stand With Harvard...': Raghav Chadha Slams Trumps Ban On International Students At University Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 07:57 IST Raghav Chadha condemned US President Donald Trumps decision to bar international students at Harvard, calling it a threat to academic freedom and global collaboration. Raghav Chadha wearing the Harvard tee (X:@raghav_chadha) Raghav Chadha on Friday expressed concerns over US President Donald Trumps decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students. In an X post, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP asserted the move would threaten the future of those studying abroad. Chadha also said he is a member of the Harvard community and that he supports the inclusion of academic freedom. Recommended Stories President Trumps recent move threatens the dreams and futures of international students at Harvard and beyond. As a proud member of the Harvard community, I wear my colours to show support for inclusion and academic freedom. I stand with Harvard and all international students whose dreams and futures are under threat," Raghav Chadhas X post read. We must defend academic freedom and global collaboration," he added. The AAP MP also shared an image of himself wearing a black tee with the print Harvard on it. President Trumps recent move threatens the dreams and futures of international students at Harvard and beyond. As a proud member of the Harvard community, I wear my colours to show support for inclusion and academic freedom. I stand with @Harvard and all international students pic.twitter.com/DCPS6yr227 Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) May 23, 2025 THE WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT On Thursday, the White House stated, Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right." The Donald Trump administration also accused the Harvard leadership of turning their once-great institution into a hotbed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators." In a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, They have repeatedly failed to take action to address the widespread problems negatively impacting American students, and now they must face the consequences of their actions." Harvard and the Trump administration have been engaged in a conflict for months as the administration demands the university make changes to the programming of the institution, hiring and administration to remove on-campus antisemitism and remove what it termed racist diversity, equity and inclusion practices." The administration has targeted foreign students and employees, whom it believes were part of the contentious campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. HARVARD UNIVERSITYs RESPONSE Meanwhile, the University condemned the decision as both unlawful and unwarranted and said that the decision imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars." The University also filed a legal complaint and announced plans to seek a temporary restraining order as it pursues all available remedies. In an official release on Friday, the Ofice of the President of the Harvard University mentioned, Yesterday, the federal government announced that it has revoked Harvards certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and stripped the University of its authority to sponsor F- and J- visas for international students and scholars for the 2025-26 academic year." The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal governments illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body," the release read. Reassuring its international community, Harvard emphasised its commitment to defending academic freedom and pledged support to those impacted by the decision. It added, We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action. It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfil their dreams." We have just filed a complaint, and a motion for a temporary restraining order will follow. As we pursue legal remedies, we will do everything in our power to support our students and scholars. The Harvard International Office will provide periodic updates as new information becomes available," it added. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The statement further stated that the government has claimed that its destructive action is based on Harvards failure to comply with the US Department of Homeland Securitys requests for information. In fact, Harvard did respond to the Departments requests as required by law. For those international students and scholars affected by yesterdays action, know that you are vital members of our community. You are our classmates and friends, our colleagues and mentors, our partners in the work of this great institution. Thanks to you, we know more and understand more, and our country and our world are more enlightened and more resilient. We will support you as we do our utmost to ensure that Harvard remains open to the world," the Harvard statement added. About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: May 24, 2025, 07:57 IST Rahul Gandhi Arrives In J&K, Meets Families Affected By Pakistani Shelling In Poonch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 12:54 IST Rahul Gandhi's visit to Poonch is aimed at extending solidarity with the bereaved families who were the victims of recent Pakistani aggression. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi welcomed by J&K Minister Javed Ahmed Rana. (Image: X) Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi arrived in Jammu on Saturday, after which he went to Poonch to meet the families of those affected by Pakistani shelling. Senior Congress leaders said Gandhis visit to Poonch was to extend solidarity with the bereaved families who were the victims of Pakistani aggression. He had earlier visited Srinagar on April 25 to meet with people who were injured in the Pahalgam terror attack. Recommended Stories He arrived in Poonch and assured the families who were affected by Pakistani shelling that everything would return to normal. J&K Minister Javed Ahmed Rana welcomed Gandhi in Jammu. Hes flying to Poonch to express solidarity with families affected by recent LoC shelling. Appreciate his visit, commitment to standing with our people in times of need and empathy for their well-being," he said. Warmly welcomed Leader of Opposition, Shri @RahulGandhi Ji at Jammu. Hes flying to Poonch to express solidarity with families affected by recent LoC shelling.Appreciate his visit, commitment to standing with our people in times of need and empathy for their well-being. pic.twitter.com/X0NhjObnzz JAVED AHMED RANA (@JavedRanaa) May 24, 2025 On Friday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also informed the media of Rahul Gandhis visit. Yes, he will visit Poonch. He will meet the people there and express his sympathies. I am thankful to the TMC for initiating it. Five of their members came here and visited by road. It is good that they came here and are listening to the people. And we feel that some people are standing with us in such difficult times," Abdullah further said, emphasising the responsibility of elected representatives to engage with the public and address their concerns. Following the Pahalgam terror attack last month, tensions between India and Pakistan had escalated, with Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch and Rajouri districts bearing the brunt of intensified Pakistani shelling. Pakistan launched unprovoked and aggressive cross-border attacks, leading to widespread destruction of homes and severely impacting the livelihoods of local residents. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The situation became tense after Pakistan started targeting military stations at Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur with drones and missiles. Heavy shelling by Pakistan was reported along the LoC. Several houses were destroyed in shelling that left 27 victims. On May 10, India and Pakistan reached a bilateral understanding. However, heavy gunfire was reported from the Pakistani side despite the ceasefire. The situation was brought under control after DGMOs of both countries held talks. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Jammu, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 11:30 IST Rahul Tells Kashmir Kids 'Study, Make Friends'. But Internet Still Wants Him To Listen To Tharoor Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Sumedha Kirti Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:36 IST Netizens asked Rahul Gandhi to listen to what Tharoor has to say on importance of Indians speaking up with clarity' about the 'horrendous crisis...' Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at a school in Poonch, which is affected by Pakistan's cross-border shelling. Study, play hard and make lot of friends Congress leader Rahul Gandhis suggestion to school children at a school in Kashmirs Poonch district, which is hit by Pakistans cross-border shelling, came at a time when netizens suggested that the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition should hear what his party colleague Shashi Tharoor. In his latest video, Tharoor said that Indians need to speak up with clarity and conviction" about the horrendous crisis that our country was subjected to" Gandhi, who visited a school in Poonch, told that students, Now, you have seen danger and a little bit of a frightening situation, but dont worry, everything will come back to normal. Your way of responding to this problem should be that you study and play really hard and make a lot of friends in school." Recommended Stories #WATCH | J&K | Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visits a school in Poonch and interacts with the students affected by Pakistan's cross-border shelling.He says "Now, you have seen danger and a little bit of a frightening situation, but don't worry, everything will come pic.twitter.com/Brax5BWDVt ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Some social media users called Gandhis interaction a message of hope", while some others commented one good job done". The Congress leaders Kashmir visit comes two days after the grand old party said that the Centres move to send delegations on Operation Sindoor abroad is a meaningless optical exercise" and termed it the governments weapons of mass distraction." Rahul Gandhis party colleague, Shashi Tharoor, is a part of this delegation. Tharoor has recently garnered praise for speaking in support of Operation Sindoor that was launched as a retailition to April 22s Pahalgam terror attack. Tharoor, before leaving for the global outreach programme, recorded a video message in which he said, Im heading off to five countries leading an all party delegation to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States. And the reason we are going is to speak for the nation; to speak about this horrendous crisis we were subjected to, in which our country was attacked by terrorists in the cruelest possible way. We need to speak up with clarity and conviction for our country , for our response, and to give the world a message that we will not be silenced by terrorism and we dont want the world to look away either." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Shashi Tharoor was selected by the BJP-led Centre to lead the all-party delegation to the US and four other nations. The decision came even as the Congress veterans name, along with those of two other Congress MPs, did not figure in the official list of four candidates the Congress had proposed for such delegations. 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 : Srinagar, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 14:32 IST Routes On Watch: India Tightens Air, Land & Sea Security Amid Terror Intel From Bangladesh Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 08:43 IST On the ground, the BSF has started restructuring its deployment plan along the Bangladesh border, while surveillance at airports in these regions has been heightened BSF has stepped up patrols in prone regions, specifically in West Bengal, where porous borders are frequently exploited for infiltration. (Image/rectt.bsf.gov.in) The defence grid has ramped up security across land, air, and water routes linked to Bangladesh in reaction to credible reports by Indias central intelligence agencies. The alert comes amid developing concerns over the resurgence of extremist activities in Bangladesh and political instability that has raised safety issues. Top officials of different agencies have told News18 that a high-level meeting was held in the first week of May with senior officials from various security and intelligence agencies. During the meeting, officials mentioned the growing activities of the banned terror group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which held a public rally in Dhaka. The demonstration on May 10 showed support for Hamas amid the continuing Gaza battle and featured the public display of JMB flags, alarming the Indian government. Recommended Stories Adding to the concerns is the emerging link to Pakistan. In the latest operation by West Bengal Police, three individuals connected to JMB were arrested in the state. Investigations indicate they were working on the direction of handlers based in Pakistan, revealing a cross-border detail to the threat. On the ground, the Border Security Force (BSF) has started restructuring its deployment plan along the Bangladesh border. The force has stepped up patrols in prone regions, specifically in West Bengal, where porous borders are frequently exploited for infiltration. Surveillance at airports in these regions has additionally been heightened, with an eye on flights coming back from Bangladesh. The security grid has issued advisories calling for extended checks and scrutiny of passengers. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Considering these heightened tensions, India has also taken steps to limit imports from Bangladesh, with restrictions imposed on two ports in India. A recent notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) states that certain goodsincluding sugar and other essential itemsare now subject to restrictions. While officials state that the move aims to address trade imbalances and improve customs control, it also reflects growing national security concerns. Security officials stress that all current measures are precautionary, based on actionable intelligence indicating the possible cross-border movement of radicalised individuals. As diplomatic sensitivities intensify and security dynamics evolve, India appears resolute in reinforcing its eastern flank against emerging threats while continuing to closely monitor developments in Bangladesh. 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 24, 2025, 08:43 IST Covid Cases Rise Across India, Most Infections Mild; Deaths Reported In Karnataka, Maharashtra Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 25, 2025, 00:00 IST Kerala leads with over 270 Covid cases in May as Delhi, Andhra, Telangana and Bengaluru report fresh infections amid a slow but steady rise across states. Medics prepare a ward for COVID-19 patients at Gandhi Hospital in the wake of several states reporting Covid cases, in Hyderabad. (IMAGE: PTI) The Union Health Secretary on Saturday reviewed the COVID-19 situation amid a recent uptick in cases reported from some southern states, news agency ANI said citing officials. States including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka have seen a rise in fresh infections. However, most of these cases have been classified as mild and are being managed through home isolation, officials added. Recommended Stories The Health Ministry has assured that it remains vigilant and is proactively monitoring the situation through multiple agencies. One case of the emerging NB.1.8.1 Covid variant and four LF.7 cases have been detected in India, INSACOG data shows. These subvariants, currently classified by WHO as Variants Under Monitoring, are linked to rising cases in parts of Asia. Indias dominant strain remains JN.1, but health authorities are closely tracking NB.1.8.1 due to its spike protein mutations linked to immune escape. Deaths In Karnataka, Thane Several states have reported a gradual uptick in cases. Delhi logged 23 new infections, Andhra Pradesh reported four, Telangana confirmed one case, and a nine-month-old tested positive in Bengaluru. Kerala alone has reported over 270 cases so far this month. An 84-year-old man with severe comorbidities died in Bengaluru and later tested positive for Covid-19, marking Karnatakas first virus-related fatality in recent weeks. Officials confirmed 38 active cases in the state, including 32 in Bengaluru. In Maharashtra, a 21-year-old man with severe diabetes died at a Thane hospital after testing positive for Covid-19. The city reported eight new cases on Saturday, with 18 active infections. Cases Mild In Nature Mild infections were reported in Delhi, Noida, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thane, Indore and Rishikesh. Recent deaths in Thane and Bengaluru were linked to severe comorbidities, not the severity of the infection, officials told PTI. It is observed that most of these cases are mild and under home care. It may also be mentioned that there have been some media reports regarding increase in COVID-19 cases in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries in the recent past. It has been ascertained from the respective National IHR focal points that there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to the previously circulating variants," the official was quoted as saying by the news agency. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Covid Cases In NCR A 55-year-old woman from Sector 110 in Noida has tested positive for COVID-19, marking the citys first case amid the recent rise in infections across the country, officials told news agency ANI. According to Gautam Buddha Nagar Chief Medical Officer Narendra Kumar, the woman is in home isolation. Her husband and domestic help, who live with her, have tested negative. She had recently travelled by train, the CMO added. About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More First Published: May 25, 2025, 00:00 IST From MK Stalin To Revanth Reddy: PM Modi Shares Smiles With INDIA Bloc CMs At NITI Meet Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 17:31 IST Photographs and videos from the event have been widely shared on social media, showing Prime Minister Modi engaging with various chief ministers Prime Minister Narendra Modi seen in conversation with Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday interacted with several chief ministers from opposition-ruled states during the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, held in the national capital. Among the opposition leaders present were Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy. Their participation drew attention as it marked a rare public interaction between the Prime Minister and key opposition figures. Recommended Stories #WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and other CMs during todays NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi pic.twitter.com/Lpf9XhaLQh ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 However, two prominent southern opposition leaders Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan did not attend the meeting. Photographs and videos from the event have been widely shared on social media, showing Prime Minister Modi engaging with various chief ministers. In one widely circulated image, he is seen shaking hands with Revanth Reddy, with Hemant Soren and Bhagwant Mann also present in the frame. Another photo captures PM Modi sharing tea and conversation with MK Stalin and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu. During the meeting, PM Modi stressed the importance of cooperative federalism and joint action between the Centre and the states. We have to increase the speed of development. If the Centre and all the States come together and work together like Team India, no goal is impossible," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying in a post by NITI Aayog on X. This years Governing Council meeting carried the theme Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047, focusing on the vision of developed states driving the development of India as a whole by 2047. The Governing Council is the highest decision-making body of NITI Aayog and includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and key Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi chairs the council. This was also the first major meeting between the Prime Minister and chief ministers from across the country following Operation Sindoor. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all ALSO READ: At NITI Aayog Meet, PM Modis Push For Centre-State Synergy To Drive Viksit Bharat Vision (With inputs from agencies) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 17:12 IST 'Visited Pakistan Before Pahalgam Attack': Brother Of Delhi Man Held On Espionage Charge Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 09:12 IST Mohammad Harun, a scrap dealer from Delhi, was arrested by the UP ATS for allegedly collaborating with a Pakistani High Commission official to share sensitive information. Mohammad Harun, arrested by UP ATS (Photo: Social Media) Mohammad Harun, arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad from Seelampur in Delhi on charges of espionage, last visited Pakistan before the Pahalgam terror attack, his family said. His brother also said Harun had a second wife there. Speaking to reporters, Haruns brother Sahid said some people in plain clothes visited Haruns house and inquired about him, saying that were looking for people who had returned from Pakistan in the recent past. Recommended Stories Sahid also said that Harun had visited Pakistan on April 5 last and had returned on April 25. Two people came to Haruns house in civilian uniform, but he wasnt home. They met me and said that they were from the passport office, and those who came from Pakistan are being called back, made to sign, and then sent back after questioning," Sahid said. Then Harun went with them, and when he didnt return, we called him, his phone rang several times, and then it was switched off. When we went to the police station, they said they didnt know anything and sent him to Noida. Then he was presented at the Lucknow in court. By the time we arrived, it was too late, and we couldnt meet him," he was quoted by news agency ANI as saying. Sahid further said Harun used to go to Pakistan as he had been married there. He went to Pakistan last time on April 5 and returned on the 25th. During Covid, Harun used to help people in the locality," he added. ALSO READ | How Pakistan High Commission In New Delhi Is A Sleeper Cell Of ISI | Exclusive Speaking on his sons arrest, Rukaiya Begum, mother of Harun, said, I have been living here since I was 12 years old. Harun never said anything to suggest there was something going on. I wasnt there when they took him away. He got married a second time in Pakistan, which is why he used to go there once a year." She also named one Mujammil and alleged he trapped his son. He (Harun) must have gotten to know Mujammil through visa-related work. That man has trapped my son. If this has been going on for three months, then why didnt you stop him from crossing the border? You could have caught him if he were doing something wrong," she said. Haruns wife, Shabana, confirmed her husbands second marriage in Pakistan and claimed Harun was innocent. My husband is innocent. He had a second marriage in Pakistan and used to go there to meet her. He also worked on visa-related matters, and the visa always came after a full inquiry. He hasnt done anything wrong, he is a heart patient. I want to meet him once; they arrested him and didnt even allow us to meet him," she said. Forty-five-year-old Harun worked as a scrap dealer and was suspected of being involved in anti-national activities. He was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad from Seelampur in Delhi on Thursday. Harun was also suspected to be having contacts with Pakistani operatives, including officials connected to the Pakistani government and military. According to PTI, Harun was reportedly collaborating with Muzammal Hussain, an employee in the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, to illegally secure Pakistani visas in exchange for money, while also allegedly transmitting sensitive information deemed harmful to Indias national interest. Haroon was reportedly in regular contact with Muzammal Hussain. Investigation suggests that Haroons familial connections in Pakistan facilitated their initial interaction during his visits to the country and the high commission," the report quoted an official statement. Harun allegedly worked with Hussain to collect money from multiple individuals under the pretence of arranging Pakistani visas. These funds were then deposited into various bank accounts, the statement read. In return, Harun reportedly received a commission and delivered cash to specified individuals or locations on Hussains behalf. Despite knowing Hussains diplomatic status and Pakistani nationality, Harun continued to share crucial information concerning Indias internal security", the ATS revealed, adding that the information was allegedly used by Hussain in his efforts to destabilise" India. Following the revelations, the Government of India declared Hussain persona non grata and ordered his expulsion from the country. In a parallel operation at Adampur in Varanasi, the ATS on Thursday arrested another suspect identified as Tufail, son of Maqsood Alam, a resident of Jaitpura. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all According to the ATS, Tufail was suspected of attempting to undermine Indias sovereignty and unity by joining anti-national" WhatsApp groups and forming a subversive organisation allegedly backed by Pakistani entities. He is also accused of sharing sensitive information with Pakistani contacts. About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: May 24, 2025, 09:11 IST UP's 'Mindhunter' Gets Second Life Sentence: Serial Killer Ate Brains To 'Steal Intelligence' Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 07:00 IST UP police officials said Ram Niranjan was known for beheading his victims, preserving the skulls, and consuming the brains in the belief that it would enhance his own intellect Kolander, already serving a life term in another murder case, had first come under the national spotlight in 2000 after the beheaded body of journalist Dhirendra Singh was found in Prayagraj. Representational image/Shutterstock He didnt just want a piece of your mind but the whole thing. A serial killer from Uttar Pradesh who ate human brains to steal intelligence" has been sentenced to life a second time. Officially classified as a rarest of rare" case and counted among Indias most heinous crimes, the chilling saga of Ram Niranjan, alias Raja Kolander, resurfaced on Friday as a Lucknow court sentenced him to life in a 25-year-old double murder case. UP police officials who handled the 25-year-old case said Niranjan was known for beheading his victims, preserving human skulls, and allegedly consuming the brains in the belief that it would enhance his own power and intellect. Recommended Stories Most horrifying crime in UPs criminal history The Additional District and Sessions Court also sentenced Kolanders brother-in-law, Vakshraj, to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh on each. Both were found guilty earlier this week for the abduction and brutal murder of 22-year-old Manoj Kumar Singh of Raebareli and his driver, Ravi Srivastava, in January 2000. Kolander, already serving a life term in another murder case, had first come under the national spotlight in 2000 after the beheaded body of journalist Dhirendra Singh was found in Prayagraj. The probe into that murder would later unearth a macabre trail of killings, cannibalism, and mutilationcrimes that investigators and courts alike described as some of the most cold-blooded and horrifying ever recorded in Uttar Pradeshs criminal history. The murders from 2000 that triggered a dark legacy The latest verdict relates to the kidnapping and murder of Manoj Singh and Ravi Srivastava, who were last seen on January 24, 2000, after leaving Lucknow for Rewa in a hired Tata Sumo. They were believed to have picked up Kolanders wife, Phoolan Devi, as a passenger from Charbagh railway station. When they failed to return, Singhs family filed a missing persons report at Naka Hindola police station. Several days later, their naked, dismembered bodies were found in the forests near Shankargarh in Prayagraj district. Though the chargesheet was filed in 2001, the case languished for years, and the trial did not begin until 2013. Investigators only found significant leads when probing the murder of journalist Dhirendra Singh months lateran entirely different case that ultimately blew the lid off Kolanders horrific crimes. Murder of journalist unravels serial killer Dhirendra Singhs decapitated body was found in December 2000 in a village bordering Madhya Pradesh. Singhs brother, a police officer, suspected foul play and pointed the investigation towards Kolander. During a raid at Kolanders farmhouse in Pipri, police unearthed a nightmarish scene: human skulls preserved in containers, a diary documenting at least 14 murders, and personal belongings of the missing victimsincluding Manoj Singhs coat and the Tata Sumo he had driven. The vehicle had since been repainted and carried a sticker that read Phoolan Devi". Kolander confessed to using his wife to lure Manoj Singh under the pretext of a medical emergency, offering Rs 1,500 for the ride. They were taken to his Shankargarh farmhouse, where they were allegedly shot, stripped, mutilated, and buried in the forest. A mind twisted by delusion and rituals Kolander, a former Central Ordnance Depot employee, projected himself as a feudal king. He named his children Adalat" (court), Jamanat" (bail), and Andolan" (protest), and used his influence in local politics through his wife, who served as a district panchayat member. But behind the facade lay a man consumed by bloodlust and dark beliefs. He admitted to murdering a colleague, Kali Prasad Srivastava, and consuming his brain, believing that Kayasthas had sharp minds and he could absorb their intellect by eating their brains. When interrogated, he spoke in detail of how he shot victims beside a bonfire, dismembered their bodies, and disposed of remains in different locations. His diary reportedly listed names of other victims: Ashok Kumar, Moin, and Santoshall of whom went missing over the years. First conviction in 2012 In 2012, the Allahabad High Court convicted Kolander and Vakshraj in the Dhirendra Singh case. The court ruled it as a rarest of the rare" crime due to its premeditation, grotesque execution, and the psychological terror it invoked. Singh was murdered to prevent his brother from pursuing a police complaint against Kolander. In court, Kolander often claimed he was innocent and a victim of a political vendetta. However, the weight of forensic evidence, including skulls recovered in the presence of police and local villagers, destroyed any vestiges of his defence. In the recent case, the court found the evidence, including the recovery of the Tata Sumo, Singhs clothing, and forensic links to the murders, overwhelming. Judge Rohit Singh sentenced Kolander and Vakshraj to life imprisonment, bringing some closure to the victims families after a 25-year-long wait. Both convicts are currently lodged at Unnao District Jail and will continue to serve their terms concurrently. Story that shocked the nation top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Kolanders story shocked not only India but also people across the globe. His crimes became the subject of Netflixs Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer", which examined the psychological depths of his violence and the ritualistic horror behind his murders. As the Lucknow courts verdict reverberates across the state, it reopens chilling memories of a case that combined superstition, power, blood, and madness. Twenty-five years may have passed, but observers say justicethough delayedhas not been denied. First Published: May 24, 2025, 07:00 IST Young Army Officer Sacrifices Life Rescuing Agniveer In Sikkim, Just 6 Months After Joining Force Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:27 IST While marching towards a key post, Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari jumped into a mountain stream to rescue an Agniveer, who lost control while crossing a log bridge Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari of the Sikkim Scouts A young Indian Army officer leapt into a raging mountain stream to save a fellow soldier during a patrol in North Sikkim but was swept away by the strong current. The 23-year-old Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari of the Sikkim Scouts, commissioned in December last year, was leading a route-opening patrol towards a tactical operating base in Sikkim when the tragic incident took place. Recommended Stories While marching towards a key army post, Lieutenant Tiwari bravely jumped into a treacherous mountain stream to rescue Agniveer Stephan Subba, who lost control while crossing a log bridge. Another soldier, Naik Pukar Katel, followed Lieutenant Tiwari in the rescue effort and successfully pulled the Agniveer out of the mountain stream. While Subba was brought to safety, Lieutenant Tiwari was swept away by the powerful current. His body was recovered approximately 800 metres downstream. The Indian Army in a post said, His bravery and devotion to duty will continue to inspire generations. The #IndianArmy stands shoulder to shoulder with the family in this hour of grief." A wreath was laid with full military honours by Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla, GOC Trishakti Corps, at Bengdubi Military Station, prior to the final journey of the bravehearts mortal remains to his hometown," the Siliguri-based 33 Corps (Trishakti Corps) posted on X. Lest We ForgetLt Shashank Tiwari made the supreme sacrifice while rescuing a fellow soldier during an operational patrol in high-altitude North #Sikkim. A wreath was laid with full military honours by Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla, GOC Trishakti Corps, at Bengdubi Military Station, pic.twitter.com/v4qzekcpBe Trishakticorps_IA (@trishakticorps) May 23, 2025 He is survived by his parents and sister. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all About the Author Ronit Singh Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More Location : Sikkim, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 10:27 IST Cannes 2025: Alia Bhatt Pays Ode To The Saree On The Red Carpet In Custom Gucci Written By : News18.com Edited By: Snigdha Oreya Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 23:11 IST The custom Gucci design drew inspiration from Indias rich heritage and craftsmanship, reflecting Alia Bhatts desire to celebrate her cultural roots. Alia Bhatt wore the first-ever Gucci saree at the 78th Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony. (Images: X) After a magical Cannes red carpet debut, Alia Bhatt stepped onto the worlds most celebrated red carpet for the second time. Alia radiated confidence and elegance in an ensemble from the House of Gucci. Gucci welcomed Alia Bhatt as the first Indian Global Ambassador for the House in 2023, and it was only fitting that Alia celebrated the brand at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. Recommended Stories Alia graced the 78th Cannes Film Festival in a custom saree designed by Gucci, featuring a bralette, skirt and a drape. The contemporary silhouette featured the brands GG monogram embedded into the criss-cross pattern of the unique saree. A modern celebration of the six-yards of sheer elegance, Alias take on the saree was a celebration of India modern and we love that she chose to celebrate the silhouette on the iconic Cannes red carpet. Alia Bhatt wore a custom Gucci look with all-over crystal GG Monogram embroidery at the closing ceremony red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals. The custom Gucci design draws inspiration from Indias rich heritage and craftsmanship, reflecting the actress desire to celebrate her cultural roots. As the newest Global Brand Ambassador for LOreal Paris, Alia Bhatts presence at the prestigious film festival celebrated self worth, confidence and individuality. Before making her second stunning appearance, Alia gave a sneak peek into her plus one at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt (@aliaabhatt) Alia also explored the iconic French Riviera in a chic Gucci ensemble in a shade of mustard yellow. Having her share of fun under the sun, Alia soaked up some Cannes sun-kissed energy before her final look for the evening. The three-piece Gucci ensemble was accessorised with a colourful printed scarf and statement sunglasses. Did Alia Bhatt channel Jackie Kennedys signature style in this vibrant Gucci look? Decoding Alia Bhatts on and off red carpet moments, styled by Rhea Kapoor: Look 1: Schiaparelli Haute Couture View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt (@aliaabhatt) Adding a romantic and refined touch to her debut, Alia Bhatt chose an ethereal, long off-shoulder bustier gown by Schiaparelli, crafted in ecru Chantilly lace and intricately embroidered with organza and enamel flowers. The hem was adorned with delicate ruffles in ivory mousseline, crepelin, organza, and tulle, lending the look a soft, dreamlike finish. Inspired by the delicate architecture of corsetry and the elegance of structured silhouettes, the ensemble perfectly reflected the grace and poise of her first Cannes appearance, truly marking it as her time to shine. Look 2: Armani Prive Haute Couture View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt (@aliaabhatt) top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all For the LOreal -Lights on Women Awards, honouring the power of women in voice, in presence and in purpose, global brand ambassador of LOreal Paris, Alia Bhatt, made a dazzling appearance in Armani Prive S/S 2025 Haute Couture. The embedded jewelled strapless dress matched the sparkling energy of Alias hair accessory. Exuding Hollywood glam, Alias second look for the day was a true-blue winner. Alia completed her shimmer ensemble with Chopard jewellery. This year saw a strong Indian representation at the Cannes Film Festival including celebrities, filmmakers, entrepreneurs and content creators such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Payal Kapadia, Karan Johar, Neeraj Ghaywan, Janhvi Kapoor, Guneet Monga, Nitanshi Goel, Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Chhaya Kadam, Shalini Passi, Devangi Nishar Parekh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Tillotama Shome, Pallavi Joshi, Jacqueline Fernandez, Urvashi Rautela, Mouni Roy, Tania Shroff, Parul Gulati and Nancy Tyagi. About the Author Akshata Shetty Completing almost two decades in journalism, Akshata Shetty's journey from print to online journalism is a celebration of fashion, art and music. Akshatas fashion stories are about the people who celebrate the... Read More Completing almost two decades in journalism, Akshata Shetty's journey from print to online journalism is a celebration of fashion, art and music. Akshatas fashion stories are about the people who celebrate the... Read More fashion, travel, The News18 Lifestyle section brings you the latest on health food , and culture with wellness tips, celebrity style, travel inspiration, and recipes. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: May 24, 2025, 23:10 IST Inside Vijay Varmas Lavish Sea-Facing Apartment In Juhu Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 16:06 IST Farah Khan gave fans a glimpse of every corner of Vijay Varma's Mumbai house, and it truly reflects the actors sophisticated taste. Farah Khan's vlog reveals the actor's sophisticated taste in home decor. (Image: YouTube/Farah Khan) Bollywood actor Vijay Varma has moved into a stunning sea-facing apartment in Juhu. The actors new home has grabbed everyones attention after Farah Khans latest vlog gave an exclusive glimpse of his residence. The clip gives fans a glimpse of every corner of the house, and it truly reflects the actors sophisticated taste. The tour begins with a bright and modern name plate that has ditched classic engravings for a minimalist design in an elegant font. This modern aesthetic continues throughout the apartment. Lets start with the breathtaking sea-view balcony. With chic glass panes and massive open space, the balcony provides the perfect backdrop for mesmerising sunsets, as evidenced by a recent snap shared by the actor. As Vijays post shows, the area is perfect for some sunset musings." Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vijay Varma (@itsvijayvarma) Moving on, the spacious drawing room immediately screams elegance and luxury. The space is designed for both comfort and style, featuring comfy white-beige sofas with a ribbed pattern, unique ambient lighting, and sleek hanging shelves displaying the awards Vijay has received. The Lust Stories actor has definitely let his furniture and decor choices speak volumes about his personality. Theres also a common Indian household staple, the actors everything cabinet standing proudly next to the TV setup. This matte, wooden-finished cabinet serves as a stylish home for his books, awards, and other cherished items. Coming to the dining area, the space looks straight out of a dream. With the perfect mix of modern and traditional design, the dining place creates an inviting atmosphere. The wooden elements balance the area perfectly and the marbled floors complement the chairs and their colour palette. The plant in the backdrop adds a touch of nature. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The immaculate kitchen is designed with beautiful cabinets, shelves, an in-built modern stove, and minimal appliances. Contributing to a fresh and contemporary feel were small plants behind a glass pane, offering convenient options to pick some herbs during cooking. With its contemporary feel and luxury aesthetics, Vijays home feels like a space out of a design catalogue. It is the actors personal touches that give the place a homely look. 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 24, 2025, 16:06 IST Natasha Poonawalla Just Turned Herself Into A Gift At Cannes | See Pics Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 09:42 IST For her appearance at the amfAR gala at Cannes, Natasha Poonawalla dressed head to toe in Balenciaga. Natasha Poonawalla is known for her playful and maximalist take on fashion. After delivering some striking looks at the Met Gala in New York earlier this month, philanthropist and businesswoman Natasha Poonawalla is currently in Cannes. Recently, the Executive Director of the Serum Institute of India and the chairperson of the Villoo Poonawalla Foundation attended the amfAR gala that was held at the Cannes Film Festival. For her appearance at the event, she opted for a head-turning gold look by Balenciaga. Taking to her Instagram, Natasha Poonawalla shared a series of pictures of herself in her gold ensemble. The pictures showed her striking some stunning poses on the terrace with the French Riviera in the background. In other pictures, she was seen lying down on a white couch. She also included pictures from the amfAR dinner. Sharing these pictures, she wrote, Wake up and Show up!" Recommended Stories Take a closer look at Natashas OOTD here. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Natasha Poonawalla (@natasha.poonawalla) top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all For her appearance at the amfAR gala, Natasha opted for a statement strapless gold dress from Balenciaga. The strapless number was originally a part of the brands Resort 2025 look. The sleeveless dress mimicked gold foil gift packaging, and it was a statement in itself. The gown came with a fitted bodice that was balanced by the voluminous details that mimicked a crushed gold packaging. It also came with a train that grazed the floor. Natasha paired this dress with Balenciagas 9 AM clutch that looked like an on-the-go coffee cup. The philanthropist slipped into a pair of black pointed toe heels by Balenciaga. For the glam, Natasha went with a flawlessly matte base. She defined her eyes with a soft brown smokey eye look. She added a winged eyeliner and mascara to accentuate her eyes further. She contoured her face to highlight her sharp features. She added a muted brown shade on her lips and completed her look by leaving her hair open. 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 24, 2025, 09:42 IST 10 Indian National Parks Closing Soon For Monsoon: Plan Your Visit Before It's Late Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 16:27 IST Want to visit a national park in India? You need to make your plans now, as these 10 destinations will be closed soon for the monsoon season. National parks shut down for safety reasons during the monsoon. Indias national parks are a popular destination for tourists due to their breathtaking scenery and diverse species. However, many of these parks remain closed to visitors each year from June to September as the monsoon season sweeps across the country. This temporary shutdown, enforced due to safety reasons, can affect your last-minute travel plans. If you want some of the best-known national parks in India, do take a look at the potential dates they will be closed. Here are 10 national parks in India that will be closed for the monsoon. Recommended Stories Uttarakhands Jim Corbett National Park The Dhikala Zone, one of the most popular destinations, closes in the middle of June due to slushy trails and increased water flow in rivers. Other zones might stay open, but most tourists will plan a visit only after the rainy season. Rajasthans Ranthambore National Park This tiger sanctuary closes from July to September. The breathtaking terrain becomes difficult to traverse in the storms, providing the wildlife some time to recharge before the tourist season starts again. Madhya Pradeshs Bandhavgarh National Park Bandhavgarh, which is popular for its high tiger population, remains closed from July 1 to October 15. Madhya Pradeshs Kanha National Park Kanha, another treasure of Madhya Pradesh, closes from July to mid-October when it rains the most. The verdant meadows and thick forest turn unreachable, deterring even the most determined of visitors. Pench National Park of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh Pench National Park comes to a standstill in the rains. While buffer zones might have restricted access, core zones shut down completely. Maharashtras Tadoba National Park When it rains, Tadobas main regions become difficult to navigate and close by the end of June. Adventurers can still visit buffer areas if they exercise caution and bring rain gear. Assams Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, often closes by late May and is prone to flooding. Karnatakas Nagarhole National Park From July to September, this forest wonder takes a respite from the rain. The slick paths and foggy vistas make it a dangerous destination to visit in the monsoon. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Keralas Periyar National Park Although Periyar is officially accessible, dont expect to enjoy boat trips because strong seas frequently ruin the experience. Come after the monsoon for a better visit. 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 24, 2025, 16:27 IST Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: Shubh Muhurat, Puja VIdhi And The Legend That Inspires It Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 07:20 IST Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: The festival celebrates the power of love and devotion between a couple. Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: Vat Savitri Amavasya will be observed by married Hindu women on May 26. (AI generated image) Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: Vat Savitri, also known as Vat Purnima, is a significant Hindu festival celebrated by married women during which they fast and pray for their husbands long life and health on the Amavasya Tithi of Jyestha month (as per the Purnimant calendar). The fast is deeply in the popular tale of Savitri and Satyawan, in which the loyal Savitri persuaded Lord Yama, the deity of death, to restore her husbands life. Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: Date And Shubh Muhurat Recommended Stories According to Drik Panchang, this year, Vat Savitri Amavasya will be observed by married Hindu women on May 26, while the Vat Savitri Purnima will fall on June 10. Amavasya Tithi Begins: 12:11 PM on May 26 Amavasya Tithi Ends: 08:31 AM on May 27 Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: Puja Vidhi On this day, married Hindu women observe a fast and offer prayers to a Banyan tree (Vat Vriksha). Heres how to prepare for the Puja: Start with waking up early the day of the vrat and take a bath. Wear clean clothing, preferably a saree. Make a resolution while expressing your intention of performing the Vat Savitri Vrat for the sake of your husbands health. Set up a puja thali (plate) with offerings such as roli (vermilion), kalawa (holy thread), kumkum (red powder), fruits, sweets, and betel leaves. Look for a Banyan tree near your surroundings, preferably in a temple and offer water to it. Dont forget to clean the area. Take a thread (ideally raw cotton) and tie it around the Banyan tree. Walk around the tree seven times while chanting prayers or mantras dedicated to Savitri. Next up, sit beside the tree and listen carefully to the story of Savitri and Satyavan. This legendary tale illustrates Savitris steadfast devotion to bringing back her husband from the dead. Light a diya (earthen light) filled with ghee and then perform aarti to the Banyan tree. Following the puja rituals, some women break their fast by eating fruits and prasad. However, strict observance of the fast might involve waiting until the moon or stars appear in the evening. Quite similar to Karwa Chauth. Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: Savitri-Satyavan Katha Savitri was the only child of Rajarshi Ashvapati. She married Satyavan, the son of the forest-dwelling King Dyumatsena. But when Narad ji told her that Satyavan was half her age, Savitri did not change her mind and married him despite all the barriers. Savitri left all of the palaces comforts and royal amenities to live in the forest with Satyavan and serve his family. On the day of his death, Satyavan had gone to the forest to cut wood. Suddenly, he became unconscious. At the same time, Yamraj arrived to take Satyavans life. At the same time, Yamraj appeared to take Satyavans life. Savitri, who had been fasting for three days, was aware of what was about to happen and requested Yamraj not to take Satyavans life. But Yamraj did not agree. Then Savitri started following him. Even after being repeatedly rejected, she refused to give up, thus, Yamraj was impressed by Savitris bravery and sacrifice and asked her to request any three boons. Therefore, Savitri requested the vision of Satyavans blind parents, their lost kingdom, and a boon of 100 sons for herself. After saying Tathastu, Yamraj realised he couldnt take Savitris spouse with him. So he blessed Savitri with unbroken good fortune and disappeared, leaving Satyavan behind. At the time, Savitri and her husband were seated under the Banyan tree. Hence, on this day, women offer food to the Banyan tree, weave a thread around it, and worship it, wishing for the longevity of their family and marriage. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Vat Savitri Vrat 2025: Significance Vat Savitri Vrat celebrates the power of love and devotion between a couple. The story of Savitri and Satyavan demonstrates how a wifes dedication may overcome death. The festival is believed to strengthen marital relationships and bring peace and prosperity to families. fashion, travel, The News18 Lifestyle section brings you the latest on health food , and culture with wellness tips, celebrity style, travel inspiration, and recipes. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 24, 2025, 07:20 IST Alia Bhatt Pregnant Again, Expecting Second Child With Ranbir Kapoor? Know Here Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 11:37 IST Fans suspect that Alia Bhatt is expecting her second child, based on her recent Cannes appearances. Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor welcomed their first child in 2022. Alia Bhatt made her much-anticipated debut at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday. The actress served major fashion goals in a Schiaparelli gown for her debut look. She opted for an Armani Prive gown for LOreal Paris Lights on Womens Worth event. However, as social media users dissected Alias looks, some speculated that the actress might be pregnant again. Alia Bhatt is married to Ranbir Kapoor, and they have a daughter together, Raha Kapoor. However, Alias recent Cannes appearances have sparked speculations that she might be pregnant with her second child. Social media users took to multiple sites and posts and wondered if the actress is expecting her second child. Recommended Stories One person wrote on Reddit, From certain angles, she looks pregnant." Another commented, I think she is pregnant. Another added, Omg, even I had the same thought the instant I saw her first look. Idk why." One person wrote, Glowing, she is pregnant." An Instagram user asked, Is she pregnant again? Looks like it. So cute." Another wrote, It seems like she is pregnant." Previously, both Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor have expressed their desire to have a second child. Speaking in the IMDbs Icons Only segment in 2024, Alia said, Hopefully many more movies, not just as an actor but hopefully also as a producer. More babies, lots of travel, and just a healthy, happy, simple, quiet, peaceful, full-of-nature life." More recently, Alia Bhatt appeared on Jay Shettys podcast and revealed the story behind Raha getting her name. She also revealed that she has a boys name saved in case she has a second child and its a boy. As for Ranbir Kapoor, he answered the most Googled questions about him in a chat with Mashable and revealed if he will get a new tattoo soon. In his answer, Ranbir hinted at wanting more children with Alia Bhatt. Ranbir said, None yet, hopefully soon. The 8th or something, I dont know, maybe my childrens names, I dont know." However, it is important to note that these are only speculations based on Alias recent Cannes appearance. There is no official confirmation on this. Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt is enjoying her Cannes debut as Ranbir Kapoor is shooting for Love and War. About the Author Kashvi Raj Singh Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-... Read More Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 11:35 IST Vedang Raina Replaces Aditya Roy Kapur In Ad With Ananya Panday After Their Breakup Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:41 IST Aditya Roy Kapur's fans were upset to see their favourite actor getting replaced after his breakup with Ananya Panday. Ananya Panday's fans loved her pairing with Vedang Raina. Vedang Raina has replaced Aditya Roy Kapur in an eyewear brands advertisement featuring Ananya Panday. Previously, the brand was jointly endorsed by Ananya Panday and Aditya Roy Kapur. However, seems like Vedang Raina is the new face of the brand after Ananya and Adityas breakup. The brand posted Vedang and Ananyas photo with the caption, @ananyapanday & @vedangraina just dropped the hottest summer collab and its serving major shade envy! ." Ananya and Vedang stood close to one another as they posed in chic summer outfits. Ananya leaned on Vedang in the photo, and the internet cannot stop gushing over the pair. Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by Scott Eyewear (@scotteyewear) One person wrote, Simply gorgeous Super." Another added, Vedang and Ananya look cute together, we need them in a movie ." One fan wrote, They loook soo good together ." Even Khushi Kapoor, Vedangs girlfriend, dropped heart emojis in the comments. However, Aditya Roy Kapurs fans were upset to see their favourite actor getting replaced. One fan wrote, Adi ko replace kardiya." Another added, Your brand ambassadors change according to Ananyas relationship status ." Another comment read, Aint no way they replaced @adityaroykapur ." One comment read, I see how ARK has been replaced." Previously, Ananya and Adityas advertisements for the brand went viral as fans had just learnt that the two actors were dating. However, the brand particularly caught everyones attention after it released new advertisements despite Ananya and Adityas breakup. Aditya has now been replaced by Vedang Raina, presenting a fresh Bollywood pair. Aditya and Ananya were dating for almost two years before they broke up in 2024. A close friend of the two actors told the Bombay Times in May 2024, They broke up almost a month ago. They were going quite well, and the breakup came as a shock to all of us. They are cordial with each other. Ananya is trying to move on; of course, theres hurt. She is spending time with her new furry friend. Aditya is also trying to deal with the situation maturely." Ananya Panday is now rumoured to be dating Walker Blanco. About the Author Kashvi Raj Singh Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-... Read More Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 10:41 IST Rupali Ganguly Slams Prakash Raj Over Satirical Cartoon On PM Modi: Lower Than Your...' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 19:59 IST Rupali Ganguly has taken a strong stand on social media by slamming actor Prakash Raj over a satirical cartoon about PM Narendra Modi and Operation Sindoor. Rupali Ganguly slams Prakash Raj over a satirical cartoon mocking PM Modi and Operation Sindoor. The Anupamaa star's sharp response goes viral. Read what she said. Television star Rupali Ganguly, best known for her titular role in the blockbuster show Anupamaa, is not only ruling the small screen but also making waves off-screen with her unfiltered opinions. As the highest-paid actress on Indian television, Rupali has become a prominent voice on political and social matters, often using her platform to share strong opinions. Recently, Rupali fired back at actor Prakash Raj after he posted a satirical cartoon mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The cartoon, themed around Operation Sindoor, reimagined a blood donation camp as a Sindoor Donation Camp," clearly aimed at criticizing the cultural and political climate in the run-up to the elections. Sharing the cartoon on X (formerly Twitter), Prakash Raj had captioned it: Nothing but Only ELECTIONS running through the veins #justasking." Recommended Stories Rupali responded with a sharp retort that instantly went viral: Such a low level Prakash Ji! Even lower than the voting percentage you got in the 2019 elections." Her no-holds-barred response received widespread attention online, with supporters praising her boldness and critics calling it unnecessarily personal. The post sparked a heated debate across social media platforms, with both fans and detractors weighing in. This isnt the first time Rupali Ganguly has voiced strong opinions on national matters. She previously urged followers to boycott Turkey over political tensions and has recently commented on other pressing issues. Just last week, she condemned the arrest of Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was reportedly caught sharing sensitive information with Pakistan. She also drew headlines for her vocal criticism of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, after he referred to Operation Sindoor Indias military strike in Pakistan and PoK as a shameful attack." 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 24, 2025, 19:59 IST Abhinav Shukla Accuses Brands Of Cheating Him, Plans Legal Action: They Violated The Contract Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 15:11 IST Television actor Abhinav Shukla has revealed that he was cheated by two brands he collaborated with. Abhinav Shukla accuses brands of cheating him and violating contracts. The actor says hell take legal action after being denied rightful payment. Abhinav Shukla, a well-known face in the Indian television industry, has found himself in the midst of a troubling situation after his recent collaboration with two brands took an unexpected turn. The actor, who is admired not only for his performances but also for his forthright nature, took to Instagram to publicly call out the brands for allegedly cheating him and violating their contractual agreement. Abhinav, who enjoys a strong fan base with over a million followers on social media, posted a candid message on his Instagram stories stating, I am no longer associated with two brands as they have violated the contract & cheated on me out of my money!" He went on to reveal that he is taking the matter seriously and intends to pursue legal action. Will be taking appropriate legal action as per the law!" he wrote, sending a clear message that he will not tolerate professional misconduct. Recommended Stories This isnt the first time the actor has had to deal with controversy. Just a few weeks ago, Abhinav received online death threats from a Bishnoi gang member following a public spat involving his wife, Rubina Dilaik, and actor Asim Riaz. The altercation stemmed from an incident on the reality show Battleground, where Rubina had a heated exchange with Asim. Abhinav publicly supported his wife and criticized Asim, which allegedly led to threats being issued against him and his familya matter that left many fans shocked and concerned. Professionally, Abhinav has carved a niche for himself with his work across both fiction and reality television. From popular daily soaps like Geet Hui Sabse Parayi, Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, and Diya Aur Baati Hum to reality shows such as Bigg Boss 14 and Khatron Ke Khiladi 11, he has showcased impressive range and resilience in his career. On the personal front, Abhinav has been enjoying a beautiful chapter with his wife and fellow actor Rubina Dilaik. The couple tied the knot in 2018 in an intimate ceremony in Shimla and became proud parents to twin daughters, Edhaa and Jeeva, in November 2023. The duo frequently shares endearing moments with their little ones on social media, giving fans heartwarming glimpses into their life as new parents. 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 24, 2025, 15:11 IST Sargun Mehta Feels Punjabis Have Mastered The Art Of Comedy Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 16:34 IST Nimrat Khaira and Sargun Mehta opened up about the behind-the-scenes challenges of filming Saunkan Saunkne 2 in peak summer. Saunkan Saunkne 2 will release on May 30. (Photo Credits: Instagram) Sargun Mehta is counting down the days to the release of her upcoming Punjabi film Saunkan Saunkne 2. The sequel to the 2022 comedy reunites her with co-stars Ammy Virk and Nimrat Khaira. As the release date draws closer, the lead trio is going all out to build excitement among audiences. Recently, Sargun and Nimrat sat down for an interview with a media portal, where they opened up about their experiences filming the comedy franchise, their expectations from the sequel, and the growing popularity of Punjabi cinema. In an interview with Hindustan Times, the actors shared behind-the-scenes insights into the making of Saunkan Saunkne 2, particularly the challenges of filming in the sweltering summer heat while wearing heavy padding to depict weight gain for their characters. Nimrat Khaira recalled, We enjoyed the first two days a lot with the new getup and all the padding. It felt very new, very nice. But, as the shoot went on, it became challenging." Recommended Stories However, for Sargun Mehta, the overall fun they had during the creative process outweighed the challenges. When you are on a shoot, nothing else matters. And when it is such a comedy, even the actors enjoy while performing. The audience has fun, but the actor does too. Theres no death scene in the film. So, since so much is happening, you dont think of anything else." The actress also reflected on the rising reach of Punjabi cinema, crediting streaming platforms for helping the industry break regional boundaries and attract a wider audience. She believes this is just the beginning, with Punjabi films poised to gain greater national recognition in the years to come. She further said, Even if we can reach out to 5 more people to invest time in us, that is a win. People are watching everything, from Korean and Turkish to English. Now, Punjabi is very close to Hindi as a language. Its not very difficult to understand." Citing her husband, actor Ravi Dubey, who is not Punjabi but understands her films, Sargun emphasised, I know that we dont have to create a new world for the audience. So, I feel the Hindi audience would love to watch these films, such as Saunkan Saunkane 2. And I think nobody does comedy better than the Punjabis. Theyve mastered the art of it. Everybody in a film even the person doing a single scene is so good with their comic timing. Like action is Souths language of films, comedy is Punjabs." Coming to Saunkan Saunkne 2, the film has been penned by Amberdeep Singh and directed by Smeep Kang. Building on the success of the 2022 hit, the sequel reunites the beloved trio Ammy Virk, Sargun Mehta, and Nimrat Khaira in another hilariously chaotic marital saga. Promising even more laughter, drama, and unexpected twists, the much-anticipated film is set to hit theatres on May 30. About the Author Kashvi Raj Singh Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-... Read More Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 16:34 IST Global Watch | Pakistan Is Dragging Itself To End Of The Road With A Broken Security Architecture Written By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 08:21 IST From Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan remains challenged by escalating internal insurgencies Pakistan must confront a difficult truth: national security cannot be sustained on the basis of repression, strategic ambiguity, and denial. (AP) In 2021, the Pakistani government introduced its inaugural National Security Policy, asserting that the safety, security, dignity, and prosperity of citizens in all their manifestations will remain the ultimate purpose of Pakistans national security (p. 6)". To many, this appeared to mark a shiftat least rhetoricallytowards a more citizen-focused and comprehensive understanding of security, moving away from the historically military-centric framework. Yet, four years on, such declarations appear increasingly unfulfilled. From Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan remains challenged by escalating internal insurgencies. The Baloch nationalist movement, in particular, has withstood decades of state repression and, in recent years, has expanded both in territorial scope and tactical capability. Concurrently, Pakistans regional stanceespecially its policy alignment with the Afghan Taliban and its enduring engagement with extremist proxieshas resulted in diplomatic isolation and increased domestic exposure to militant reprisals. Recommended Stories Pakistan must confront a difficult truth: national security cannot be sustained on the basis of repression, strategic ambiguity, and denial. Instead, it must be re-envisioned to include justice, political reconciliation, and an honest reckoning with historical missteps. This transformation must commence with Balochistan. For decades, the Pakistani state has approached Baloch nationalism not as a legitimate political grievance requiring resolution, but as a security challenge to be forcefully suppressed. This approach has involved enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and aggressive military interventions. Consequently, a profound sense of alienation has taken root among Baloch communities, many of whom, having suffered state violence, now view the state more as a colonising force than a protective authority. It is therefore unsurprising that leading non-violent advocates for justice in the province, such as Mahrang Baloch, have personally experienced repression, with numerous family members subjected to enforced disappearances or extrajudicial killings. Despite ongoing state abuses, the insurgency has persistedand indeed, it has adapted. Organisations such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) have extended their activities beyond traditional rural strongholds, increasingly targeting economic infrastructure and security personnel across the province, and occasionally in major urban centres such as Karachi. In recent years, Baloch insurgents have repeatedly attacked Pakistani military facilities and China-backed development projects, resulting in the deaths of several Chinese nationals. This trajectory does not reflect a weakening movement; rather, it underscores the failure of the Pakistani states militarised strategy. The Pakistan government continues to portray the insurgency as externally orchestrated, particularly by India. This narrative serves to conveniently sidestep the deeper, legitimate grievances of Baloch citizens, including political exclusion, resource extraction without local benefit, and a lack of essential public services. Notably, Balochistandespite its substantial mineral wealthremains among the most impoverished and underdeveloped regions in the country. It is this stark disjunction between the states strategic priorities and the lived experiences of its people that lies at the core of Pakistans faltering national security framework. Pakistans prevailing security architecture has been predominantly shaped and directed by the military establishment. Its conventional orientation has remained India-centric, interpreting national security primarily through the limited perspective of external threats which do not exist in reality. This strategic outlook has fostered three deeply detrimental tendencies within the countrys policymaking. First, it has resulted in the systematic securitisation of internal dissent. Movements advocating for ethnic rights, such as the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, that calls for democratic reform, and even critical journalism are frequently perceived as threats to national unity." The states response has often been coercive, ranging from censorship to outright violenceas recently witnessed during the Baloch Yakjehti Committees protest march against extrajudicial killings and ongoing state-enforced disappearances in Balochistan. This approach has only exacerbated public distrust and further eroded the cohesion of the social fabric. Second, it has normalised the deployment of terrorists as tools of regional influence. From Kashmir to Afghanistan, Pakistan has supported terrorist and extremist groups that serve its strategic objectives. While this proxy strategy may have yielded short-term gains, it has come at a significant cost, as several of these groups have turned against the state itselfmost notably the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has resurged in strength in recent years. Third, this strategy has contributed to Pakistans diplomatic isolation. Its ongoing support for, or at least tolerance of, the Afghan Taliban has estranged key allies, including the United States and the wider international community. Repeated statements by US officials accusing Pakistan of exploiting its partnership with Washington for counterterrorism purposes while simultaneously shielding such groups underscore this duplicity. Moreover, Pakistans failure to present a coherent counter-extremism policy has rendered it an unreliable actor in global counterterrorism initiatives. Thus, Pakistans national security doctrine has, paradoxically, undermined its own security. For Pakistan to break free from this cyclical pattern, it requires more than a mere superficial adjustment to its national security policy. A profound transformation is necessary, starting with a shift in focus from safeguarding the interests of the military establishment to prioritising the welfare of its citizens. This entails prioritising political dialogue over military repression. Additionally, it must recognise that dissent is not an act of treason, that ethnic grievances do not constitute national threats, and that lasting peace is achieved through negotiation, not eradication. This also requires rejecting the militarised approach in favour of empowering civilian institutions to lead on internal security. The intelligence and military apparatus must not serve as both judge and executioner in matters of internal dissent. Pakistans democracy has failed to survive under the strain of a constant state of emergency and dominant military control. Moreover, it is crucial to abandon the good Taliban, bad Taliban" policy, which has always been driven more by strategic considerations than by moral principles. The Talibans resurgence in Afghanistan represents a model that Pakistan should avoid, as it has strengthened jihadist networks across the region. Pakistan must end its strategic ambivalence and decisively distance itself from all extremist groups. No state can achieve stability while harbouring forces fundamentally opposed to the very concept of the modern nation-state. Pakistan has options, but lacks the political will. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The path to reform is very challenging. It will necessitate the militarys relinquishment of control over internal policy decisions, as well as political leaders demonstrating the courage to confront uncomfortable truths. Additionally, it will require society as a whole to call for a new definition of securityone that is not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice, opportunity, and dignity. For Pakistan, the stakes are immense. The choice is no longer between change and continuity, but between transformation and ongoing disintegration. The writer is an author and a columnist. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. Location : Islamabad, Pakistan First Published: May 24, 2025, 08:21 IST Opinion | Between Loyalty And Liberty: What Shashi Tharoor Reveals About Congresss Future Written By : News18.com Edited By: --- Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:12 IST Tharoors conundrum reveals lack of internal democracy, Gandhis' unchallenged authority, Kharges limitations, and Congresss inconsistent support for national diplomacy Shashi Tharoor reminds Kerala govt of its Rs 10 crore aid to Turkey (PTI Image) Shashi Tharoor, the articulate Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, remains a paradoxical figure within the Indian National Congressa party he has bolstered with his global stature as a former UN diplomat and consistent electoral success, yet frequently finds himself at odds with its leadership. His role in Indias diplomatic response to the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025 has exposed deep-seated tensions. The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, selected Tharoor to head an all-party delegation to the UK and four other global capitals to present Indias stance on terrorism from Pakistan, overriding Congresss nominations. Recommended Stories The party had submitted a list of four leaders: Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. But only Sharma was included as a member in one delegation, with the others sidelined. This move, while capitalising on Tharoors diplomatic finesse, triggered discontent within Congress, highlighting its struggle to balance individual prominence with collective loyalty. Senior leader Jairam Ramesh, without naming Tharoor, remarked: 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], critiquing actions seen as too aligned with the governments narrative. Tharoors conundrumnavigating personal conviction amid party expectationsreveals four critical fault lines: the lack of internal democracy, the Gandhi familys unchallenged authority, Mallikarjun Kharges limitations as president, and Congresss inconsistent support for national diplomacy when it conflicts with partisan goals. These fissures, amplified by Tharoors high-profile role, underscore Congresss broader challenge to redefine its identity in a dynamic political landscape. Tharoors Real Mistake: Not Betrayal, But Nuance Shashi Tharoors mistake isnt betrayalits his refusal to play by the unwritten rules of todays hyper-polarised politics. In an era where party loyalty often demands unthinking opposition, Tharoor has chosen national interest and policy nuance over blind partisanship. His support for progressive initiatives of the Modi governmentbe it praising Indias G20 presidency, backing cultural diplomacy, or welcoming infrastructure developmenthas been seen as apostasy within sections of the Congress. This independent streak has come at a cost. Tharoor, once projected as a thinking statesman within the Congress, finds himself increasingly sidelineddenied leadership roles, overlooked for major responsibilities, and gently nudged out of the partys inner circle. His bid for Congress presidency was welcomed by the public but treated coldly by party loyalists who view any deviation from the anti-Modi script as disloyalty. But Tharoors approach is not about supporting Modiits about supporting India when it does something right. In a healthier political ecosystem, such nuance would be celebrated. In todays Congress, its punished. His real error" is daring to speak as a statesman in a time of sycophancy, where dissent within is discouraged and pragmatism mistaken for betrayal. Lack of Internal Democracy The Congress party, historically a broad coalition that led Indias freedom struggle, has struggled to maintain internal democracy in its post-Independence avatar. Tharoors 2022 bid for the Congress presidency against Mallikarjun Kharge was a rare moment of competitive succession, the first in over two decades without a Gandhi at the helm. Despite a 96 per cent voter turnout and Tharoor securing a respectable 1,072 votes (11.42 per cent) against Kharges 7,897, the process was marred by allegations of irregularities, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where Tharoors team flagged serious malpractices." The election, while symbolically significant, underscored the partys resistance to genuine reform. Tharoors campaign, which emphasised change over continuity, resonated with a section of delegates, yet the partys organisational structuredominated by loyalists appointed by the high commandensured Kharges victory. The absence of published electoral rolls for the 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee members further fuelled skepticism about the elections fairness. Tharoors subsequent marginalisation, evident in his exclusion from the 43-member steering committee formed by Kharge, highlights a party culture that stifles dissent and rewards conformity over merit. This lack of internal democracy not only alienates leaders like Tharoor but also hampers Congresss ability to evolve as a dynamic opposition force. Gandhi Family as the Final Voice The Gandhi familys grip on Congress remains the defining feature of its internal politics. Tharoors presidential candidacy, though not explicitly anti-Gandhi, was perceived as a challenge to the status quo, given Kharges backing by the partys establishment, implicitly the Gandhis. His defeat, while expected, did not end the scrutiny of his loyalty. In 2023, Tharoors candid remark that Congress is in many ways a family-run party" while discussing potential prime ministerial candidates (naming Kharge or Rahul Gandhi) drew sharp reactions, as it echoed the BJPs long-standing critique of Congress as dynastic. This statement, made in the context of Rahul Gandhis attempts to deflect dynasty allegations by pointing to BJP leaders kin, underscored the sensitivity within Congress to any narrative that questions the Gandhis centrality. Tharoors inclusion in the Congress Working Committee in 2023 was seen as a conciliatory gesture, but his repeated divergence from the party linemost recently on India-Pakistan diplomacyhas reignited tensions. Party sources have accused him of crossing the Lakshman Rekha," signaling that no voice, however articulate or credible, can overshadow the Gandhis authority. This dynamic ensures that talented leaders like Tharoor are either co-opted or sidelined, leaving little room for independent thought or leadership. Mallikarjun Kharges Limitations as President Mallikarjun Kharges election as Congress president in 2022 was hailed as a step toward a non-Gandhi leadership, yet his tenure has exposed the constraints of his role. Kharge, a seasoned leader with a strong organisational background, was seen as a safe choiceloyal to the Gandhis and unlikely to disrupt the partys power structure. However, his presidency has struggled to articulate a clear ideological or strategic vision for Congress. On critical issues, such as the India-Pakistan conflict following Operation Sindoor in May 2025, the partys stance has been inconsistent. While Congress lauded the armed forces success, it questioned the Modi governments ceasefire agreement, particularly former US President Donald Trumps claims of mediation. Kharges leadership has failed to reconcile these contradictions, leaving room for individual leaders like Tharoor to fill the void with their own views. Tharoors praise for the governments restraint and precision" in the strikes contrasted with the partys skepticism, exposing Kharges inability to enforce a unified narrative. His role as a rubber stamp," as critics have suggested, limits his authority to steer the party beyond the Gandhis directives, rendering Congresss responses reactive and fragmented. This leadership vacuum undermines the partys credibility as a cohesive opposition. Fleeting Support for Indias Diplomacy Tharoors selection to lead an all-party delegation to five global capitals in May 2025 to present Indias stance on terrorism from Pakistan was a testament to his diplomatic acumen. However, the move sparked controversy within Congress, as his name was not among the four MPs recommended by Rahul Gandhi and Kharge. The governments decision to include Tharoor, bypassing Congresss nominees, was slammed by the partys communication chief and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, who emphasised the partys exclusion from the decision. Tharoors vocal support for the governments military response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people, and his dismissal of Trumps mediation claims as a politician wanting to take credit", aligned closely with the governments narrative. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all This stance, while praised by some as patriotic, drew ire from Congress leaders, who felt it undermined the partys critical posture. The episode revealed Congresss inability to sustain a unified stance on national interest issues when they conflict with partisan goals. Tharoors insistence that he spoke as an Indian, not a party spokesperson loyal to Gandhi family highlighted the tension between individual conviction and collective discipline, exposing Congresss discomfort with leaders who prioritise national unity over party loyalty. The author teaches journalism at St Xaviers College (autonomous), Kolkata. His handle on X is @sayantan_gh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. First Published: May 24, 2025, 10:12 IST Opinion | Decoding PM Modis Rural Empowerment Drive And The Politics Of Development Written By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 18:36 IST With a whole-of-government push, the Centre aims to reshape rural India into a hub of opportunity and prosperity under Viksit Bharat 2047 PM Modi with Chief Ministers of different states at the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi. Prime Minister Modi headed the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting, Viksit Bharat 2047, to discuss rural development, expansion of the Aspirational Blocks Programme, and the Viksit Bharat 2047 goals. Chief Ministers of all states and Union Territories, along with their respective Lieutenant Governors, were present. Deliberations were held on the countrys roadmap to achieving the Modi governments Viksit Bharat @2047 vision. The overarching theme of Viksit Bharat is intertwined with the aspiration of a developed rural India. The Grameen Bharat Mahotsav 2025, themed Building a Resilient Rural India for a Viksit Bharat 2047, links the prosperity of villages to the nations progress, encapsulated in the motto, Village grows, the country grows". The objective is to empower rural populations by converting villages into dynamic centres of growth, offering opportunities, mitigating outward migration, and enhancing the quality of life. Recommended Stories Vision 2047: Road Through Rural Upliftment There is a dual approach to rural empowerment under the Viksit Bharat initiative, focusing on both foundational infrastructure and economic enablement. Universal toilet access under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the construction of pucca houses via the PM Awas Yojana, and the provision of clean drinking water through the Jal Jeevan Mission have ensured basic amenities. With approximately 4 lakh kilometres of rural roads constructed over the past decade under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, connectivity has also been bolstered. Over 94 per cent of rural households now have access to telephones, mobile banking, and UPI, integrating rural India into the modern economy. Common Service Centres have expanded to 5 lakh from fewer than 1 lakh before 2014. They provide online access to numerous government services, aiding village development and generating employment opportunities. These advancements are foundational to creating an environment for rural prosperity and well-being. Economic Empowerment and Diversification Economic revitalisation has received significant focus. Approximately Rs 3 lakh crore has been disbursed under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi; agricultural loans have also seen a substantial increase, and many Kisan Credit Cards have been issued to provide financial support to farmers. Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have been promoted to ensure better market access and prices for agricultural produce. Efforts are also underway to promote natural farming and diversify rural incomes through improved irrigation and the creation of rural enterprises. The strategy actively seeks to promote non-agricultural livelihoods as well. It involves establishing service-sector-based manufacturing hubs in smaller towns and expanding opportunities within the MSME and informal sectors in rural areas. The Vishwakarma Yojana scheme helps support traditional crafts. Furthermore, rural MSMEs have reportedly benefited from schemes providing collateral-free loans and support for start-ups. The inclusion of green economy opportunities, particularly in renewable energy, is another area for job creation and sustainable growth. Human Development and the Political Narrative Access to healthcare facilities through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and the benefits of telemedicine in rural areas have increased. Concurrently, education facilities have been bolstered as part of the Viksit Bharat mission. Since 2014, improvements in educational access have led to increased enrolment, including a significant rise in female enrolment, and enhanced research output from higher education institutions. However, the political discourse surrounding human development, particularly education and health, is evolving. As basic infrastructure becomes more widespread, political focus is shifting towards issues of quality of life, positioning education, health, climate change, and the environment as potential areas for political mobilisation by the opposition. While the government highlights progress, the opposition seeks to delegitimise that progress by politicising the nature of development. Implementation Challenges and Future Trajectory The year 2047, as envisioned by the Modi government, is to mark the transformation of rural India into an epicentre of economic activity. The whole-of-government approach, with seamless coordination across various ministries and levels of government, is ensuring that the vision progresses towards its objectives. Development from the periphery, focusing on empowering border regions and rural fringes, is a highlight of a government working for the people and reaching the most hard-to-reach villages. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The long-term impact hinges on overcoming entrenched issues such as regional disparities, skill gaps, and ensuring the sustainability of economic activities in rural areas. However, achievements such as the reduction in rural poverty and the empowerment of women through initiatives like Lakhpati Didis show that we are moving in the right direction. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. About the Author Sohil Sinha Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects. Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects. First Published: May 24, 2025, 18:36 IST Opinion | India At The Helm: Seizing Leadership Amid UNs Deepening Crisis Written By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 17:49 IST As UN agencies falter under financial strain and political skepticism, India has a historic opportunity to rise as a global leader and redefine multilateralism From child welfare to global health to humanitarian relief, the UN system is now struggling to breathe. (AP Photo/File) In the aftermath of dwindling global confidence in the United Nations peacekeeping efficacy exacerbated by its inability to meaningfully intervene in Gaza, the world body finds itself in a deeper, more perilous crisis: a dramatic collapse in funding. This funding shortfall, most notably marked by a staggering 3035 per cent decline in US contributions since pre-2023 levels, has reverberated through every UN agency. From child welfare to global health to humanitarian relief, the UN system is now struggling to breathe. Veterans within the UN are sounding the alarm. Jose Suarez, a 47-year-old UNICEF Deputy Director, bluntly stated, We can no longer rely solely on state funding and conventional philanthropy." In response, UNICEF has announced sweeping cost-cutting measures, including relocating key operations away from New York to regional hubs in Nairobi, Bangkok, and Amman. Meanwhile, at the UN Secretariat, Suparna Banerjee lamented the vanishing of humanitarian funds meant to safeguard the worlds most vulnerable as nothing short of catastrophic. Recommended Stories For many, this is the most consequential unravelling of the multilateral framework since its post-World War II inception. WHO public health veteran Dr. Manish Parmar, preparing for retirement, called the current situation the brink" for global health efforts. WHO is now over $1.1 billion short of its 20242025 budget needs. The World Food Programme is laying off 6,000 staff. UNHCR, the agency responsible for global refugee welfare, is operating in triage mode. What was once the bedrock of global humanitarian response now teeters on collapse. Even traditional allies of the UN Europe and the United Kingdom have reduced their commitments. While China has upped its contributions, they come tethered with transactional expectations. It is in this vacuum of steady, value-driven leadership that India emerges not just with opportunity, but with obligation. A CRISIS IS A TEST OF LEADERSHIP Indias longstanding ambition to secure a permanent seat on the UN Security Council must now meet its litmus test. Leadership, after all, is not earned solely through population size or GDP but through resolve in moments of collective crisis. If India wishes to project itself as a Vishwaguru" a global teacher and leader, then there is no better platform than a fraying UN in need of revival. The world is not just watching how India positions itself diplomatically, but how it backs that position with tangible support, strategy, and action. An inward-focused approach will not suffice; this is the moment to define Indias foreign policy with global empathy and strategic intent. INDIAS PLAYBOOK FOR A UN REVIVAL India can begin by significantly boosting voluntary contributions to high-impact UN agencies such as UNDP, UNICEF, and the UN Peacebuilding Commission. These are not just feel-good humanitarian moves; they are shrewd diplomatic investments that amplify Indias visibility, credibility, and influence in global governance. Reports suggest India is considering a $50 million expansion of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund over the next five years. This should not just be accelerated but rebranded as a centrepiece of Indias global outreach. Moreover, India can lead by example through flagship initiatives in underrepresented regions. Creating India-UN Flagship Initiatives" in Africa, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and post-conflict societies would align Indias moral narrative with its strategic aspirations. Such moves would not only improve lives but also strengthen Indias claim as a benefactor of the Global South. India should also double down on one of its most respected areas within the UN system: peacekeeping. By financing specialised peacekeeping units such as women-led contingents and engineering battalions, India could both fill the gaps left by shrinking peacekeeping budgets and innovate with impact. A proposed India Peacekeeping Training Hub" in New Delhi would further institutionalize this leadership. TRIANGULAR COOPERATION: THE DIPLOMATIC MULTIPLIER India cannot and need not compete dollar-for-dollar with Chinas expansive bilateral aid. But what it lacks in volume, it can make up for in vision. By embracing South-South and Triangular Cooperation, India can magnify its impact through collaboration. Establishing a Global South Facility" under UN auspices, coupled with tripartite development programmes involving India, a developed donor, and a recipient nation, could cement Indias role as a trusted bridge between worlds. This would elevate India as the architect of a new development paradigm one that is more inclusive, respectful, and sustainable than old models of North-South aid. MULTILATERALISM WITH MUSCLE Critically, India must ensure that its expanded financial and operational support translates into real reform within the UN. The current governance architecture of the United Nations remains frozen in a post-1945 reality. Indias increased stake should be leveraged to advocate for structural reforms: democratising leadership, accelerating Security Council expansion, and enhancing financial transparency across the system. If India funds the UN in a crisis, it must also help shape the UN of the future. A more representative, effective, and transparent UN is not just a win for global stability, it is a strategic win for Indias vision of the world. PRAGMATIC IDEALISM: INDIAS GLOBAL SIGNATURE Indias aid strategy must now evolve from a binary bilateral-multilateral model to a hybrid approach. While strategic infrastructure and connectivity projects may remain bilateral, Indias social sector and humanitarian aid can gain exponentially more traction through UN partnerships. This method combined with clear co-branding and robust accountability can ensure diplomatic visibility while reinforcing multilateralism. As India increases its global footprint from Africa to Latin America partnering with UN agencies provides both credibility and reach. It is cost-efficient, values-aligned, and geopolitically potent. A DEFINING CROSSROADS The global order is changing, not just in economic or military terms, but in how legitimacy and leadership are defined. As the UN grapples with a near-existential crisis, India has a once-in-a-century opportunity to shape the future not just by demanding a seat at the table but by rebuilding the very table itself. The world needs a steady hand and a principled vision. India can offer both. Whether New Delhi rises to the occasion will not only determine the future of multilateralism but may well define the legacy of Indias global aspirations. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Now is the time for courage, compassion, and action. The writer is a technocrat, political analyst, and author. He pens national, geopolitical, and social issues. His social media handle is @prosenjitnth. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. About the Author Prosenjit Nath The writer is an Indian technocrat, political analyst, and author. The writer is an Indian technocrat, political analyst, and author. First Published: May 24, 2025, 17:49 IST Caste Census, Operation Sindoor To Be In Spotlight At NDA CMs Meeting With PM Modi Published By : PTI Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 23:06 IST NDA chief ministers and deputy CMs will meet Sunday to discuss Operation Sindoor, caste enumeration, and the Modi government's anniversary. PM Modi and top BJP leaders will attend. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs the 10th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, in New Delhi. (IMAGE: PTI) Operation Sindoor, caste enumeration and the first anniversary of the Modi government in its third term will figure in a day-long conclave of NDA chief ministers and deputy CMs here on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the meeting, which focuses on good governance issues as well. Recommended Stories The meeting will pass a resolution to congratulate the armed forces and Modi for the success of Operation Sindoor and another to laud the central government for its decision to conduct caste enumeration in the next census, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, the in-charge of the BJPs good governance department, said in a statement. Nearly 20 chief ministers and 18 Deputy CMs from the states ruled by the BJP and its allies will attend the meeting besides Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and J P Nadda, who is also BJP president. While the resolution on Operation Sindoor will reaffrim the ruling alliances hard stand on national security, the one on caste enumeration is expected to credit the Modi government for being the first to do so since independence and hail its commitment to social justice in contrast to betrayals" of the backward classes by the Congress and its allies. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all A significant part of deliberations at this conclave will be devoted to best practices by different NDA state governments. Respective state CMs will be making presentations on their initiatives," Sahasrabuddhe said. The leaders will also deliberate on forthcoming events like the first anniversary of the Modi government in its third term, a decade of International Yoga Day and the 50th anniversary of Emergency. About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 23:06 IST Central Funds, Metro & Infra Projects: Demands Non-BJP CMs Raised At NITI Meet With PM Modi Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 25, 2025, 00:18 IST PM Modi also held one-on-one meetings with some of these opposition leaders, where the INDIA Bloc CMs presented key demands and proposals Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy met PM Modi in New Delhi on Saturday, May 25. (Image: X) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met with several Chief Ministers from opposition-ruled states during the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, held in Delhi. The meeting, themed Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047, brought together leaders from across the country to discuss development priorities and collaborative growth. Notable attendees from the non-BJP ruled states included, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. Recommended Stories During the event, PM Modi also held one-on-one meetings with some of these opposition leaders, where the INDIA Bloc CMs presented key demands and proposals concerning their respective states. Stalin Submits Development Wishlist Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin shared on X that he submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, detailing key proposals for Tamil Nadus development and the cause of social justice. The demands included approval for Metro Rail projects in Coimbatore and Madurai, transfer of Chennai MRTS to Chennai Metro Rail Ltd, expansion of National Highway 32, and the establishment of an AIIMS in Coimbatore, among others. Approval for Coimbatore & Madurai #Metro Transfer of Chennai #MRTS to @cmrlofficial Upgrade NH32 (ChengalpattuTindivanam) to 6/8 lanes Expansion of Coimbatore & Madurai Airports Establishment of an #AIIMS in Coimbatore Release of funds under #SSA Change in nomenclature of certain communities in SC/ST List (N/A to R) Inclusion of SC-converted Christians in SC list Safeguarding fishermens rights & expediting release of detainees," Stalin wrote. During the #NITIAayog meeting, met our Honble Prime Minister @narendramodi and submitted a memorandum detailing key priorities for Tamil Nadus development and social justice: Approval for Coimbatore & Madurai #Metro Transfer of Chennai #MRTS to @cmrlofficial Upgrade pic.twitter.com/lvg7ECmJdg M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 24, 2025 Tamil Nadu CM also urged the PM Modi to consider these with urgency. We hope the Honble Prime Minister will consider these proposals with due urgency, in the true spirit of cooperative federalism," he added. Revanth Reddy Pushes For Several Projects Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy also took to X after his meeting with the Prime Minister, highlighting his states development priorities. In his demands, Reddy urged for the completion of Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase 2, speedy execution of the Regional Ring Road, and strengthening of the semiconductor and pharma sectors, among other key projects. In addition sought support to further strengthening Telanganas position in the Semiconductor Ecosystem, including the ISM project. We also demanded liberal Central support for our defence & aerospace ecosystem. Looking forward to a positive response to all our requests from the honble Prime Minister," Reddy wrote in his post. During one-on-one meeting withHonble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, discussed the need for rapid urban transformation with a need to catalyse gamechanger projects in #TelanganaAmong them, I discussed the need to have an accelerated closure for the Hyderabad Metro Rail pic.twitter.com/nP8AtUaWLl Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) May 24, 2025 Mann Seeks Special Package For Border Districts Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also used the NITI Aayog platform to seek a special industrial package for six border districts Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Pathankot citing their economic disadvantage due to proximity to Pakistan. He demanded incentives similar to those provided to Jammu & Kashmir, including freight subsidies, PLI schemes, and tax relief. Mann also urged the Centre to provide cash incentives for maize cultivation as an alternative to the water-intensive paddy crop. He called for special grants for trauma centres, cyber security, bunkers, and resilient infrastructure in border regions, noting limited coverage under the existing Vibrant Villages scheme. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Reiterating Punjabs alignment with the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision, Mann said the states Vision 2047 aims for over 8% annual GDP growth through industrial and service-led development. He pressed for greater financial devolution, inclusion of cesses and surcharges in the divisible pool, and cooperative federalism in decision-making. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 23:38 IST 'Rafale Carried Out Precision Strikes, Agniveers Manned Air Defence': BJP Slams Rahul Gandhi Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 21:22 IST BJP accused Gandhi of mocking the country's indigenous defence technologies and promoting narratives that weaken India while benefitting foreign powers Congress leader and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. (PTI file photo) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of repeatedly undermining Indias armed forces and defence capabilities. In a detailed post on X, the BJP criticised Gandhi for mocking indigenous defence technologies and pushing narratives that, according to the party, weaken the country while aiding foreign powers. Recommended Stories Along with the post, the party shared a collage-style image featuring Gandhis photo and a series of past remarks attributed to him. On the left side of the image were statements allegedly made by Gandhi, while the right side provided the BJPs counterpoints. Rahul Gandhi mocked Indias missile program but it was the indigenous Akash missile that protected our skies. He hailed Chinas drone technology yet it was Indian-made systems that stopped enemy attacks during #OperationSindoor. He questioned the Agniveers but pic.twitter.com/cahs7rZ2g5 BJP (@BJP4India) May 24, 2025 One section of the image claimed that Gandhi had praised Chinese drone technology. In response, the BJP asserted, Indigenous Akash missile shot down Chinese-origin drone." Another segment stated that Gandhi had called the Rafale fighter jet deal a scam. To this, the BJP responded: Rafales delivered precision strikes and superior air dominance." The collage also included Gandhis criticism of the Agnipath scheme, which, according to the BJP, he called it as a use and throw" policy. To this, the BJP countered by highlighting the role of Agniveers in active defence roles, stating, 3000+ Agniveers manned air defence systems." In addition to the image, the BJP shared a bullet-point post targeting Gandhis past comments on Indias missile programme, drone systems, and the Agnipath scheme the governments short-term military recruitment plan that created the Agniveers.. Rahul Gandhi mocked Indias missile program but it was the indigenous Akash missile that protected our skies." the BJP wrote, referring to Indias homegrown surface-to-air missile system, which has been deployed to secure the countrys airspace. He hailed Chinas drone technology yet it was Indian-made systems that stopped enemy attacks during Operation Sindoor," the party added, referring to the recent military operation that targeted cross-border terror infrastructure in Pakistan. The BJP also strongly defended the Agnipath scheme. He questioned the Agniveers but 3,000 brave soldiers operated key weapons systems with unwavering courage," it said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Without naming specific speeches or interviews, the BJP accused Gandhi of consistently echoing views that harm Indias strategic interests. From undermining our forces to siding with foreign powers, Rahul Gandhi speaks a script that constantly weakens India and strengthen those who stand against our nation," the party alleged. The post concluded: Yet India rises, defending with courage, and proving critics wrong." 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 24, 2025, 21:22 IST Wait For Naddas Successor Gets Longer As UP, MP & Gujarat Hunt For State Chief Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:00 IST BJP has to surpass 18, the half-way mark, before it can kickstart the election process for the national president and wants the 3 states to be part of the voting bloc (From Left) UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, and Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel. (News18) Fourteen states and Union Territories out of 37 have so far elected state BJP presidents. The party will have to surpass 18the half-way markbefore it can kickstart the election process for the national president to elect JP Naddas successor. However, the BJP is adamant that bigger states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, poll-bound Bengal and Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state Gujarat should be among the 18. A month ago, BJPs Arun Singh was asked to track how states are moving, and it has come to light that little progress has happened on the election front so far, which was briefly interrupted by the Pahalgam attack followed by India-Pakistan tensions. Recommended Stories While none of these states, along with many more in the south of Vindhyas like Telangana, could decide on their state president, the focus remains particularly on three BJP-ruled statesYogi Adityanaths Uttar Pradesh, Mohan Yadavs Madhya Pradesh, and Bhupendra Patels Gujarat. YOGIS UTTAR PRADESH The largest state of India that will go to polls in 2027 is yet to finalise its new state president. In fact, the process was slow from the very beginning. Back in March, News18 had reported how the organisational election process in Uttar Pradesh was only partially complete in around 70 districts, while the BJP has a total of 98 organisational districts. The district president elections were challenging for the BJP from the outset, with many contenders vying for positions. But even by the end of May, Uttar Pradesh is yet to have its own state president. During Yogi Adityanaths spring visit to Delhi when he met JP Nadda, the chief minister is believed to have discussed the replacement of Bhupendra Singh Chaudharythe Jat face of the BJPwho has been steering the organisation in UP since 2022. BJP faces the same question in May as it was facing in March: An upper caste state president or OBC? If the party opts for a Brahmin president again, as it did with Mahendra Nath Pandeysomething several prominent Brahmin leaders have already begun lobbying forShiv Pratap Shukla and Mahesh Sharma will be considered frontrunners. Keshav Prasad Maurya remains a key OBC face for the party in Uttar Pradesh if the BJP goes for an OBC face. However, many within the BJPs Delhi leadership are advocating for a Dalit state president in UP, believing it could help the lotus bloom again in 2027. If that happens, Lakshman Acharya, the state vice-president, and Vidya Sagar Sonkar, are considered strong contenders for the post. POST-SHIVRAJ MADHYA PRADESH The Madhya Pradesh under Mohan Yadav is different from how it was under Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Public bickering and indiscipline appear to have become a hallmark of the state unit. Though Yadav is an old hand who is known to both the Sangathan and the administration, he hasnt been able to contain mini rebellions. Reports suggest Nadda urged state president VD Sharma to warn erring MLAs against indiscipline. For example, MLA Chintamani Malviya publicly opposed the state governments plan for a 3,300-hectare spiritual city in Ujjain, leading to a party notice for indiscipline. Last year in December, the BJP in Madhya Pradesh had struggled with internal elections, cancelling polls in 18 blocks due to candidates providing false information, such as age or criminal records. MLAs like Atul Bhansali and Devendra Pratap Singh openly criticising the state leadership too reveals a complex mix of factionalism, leadership struggles, and indiscipline among party members. Sharmas tenure as state president has exceeded five years, and while names like Narottam Mishra, Gopal Bhargava, and Bhupendra Singh are floated as replacements, no consensus has emerged, reflecting internal power struggles. GUJARAT CONCERN Gujarat has an image of an ideal state. When Amit Shah kickstarted his Madhya Pradesh election campaign, he reminded how Gujarat was a landslide victory made possible by Bhupendra Yadav who happened to be MP assembly polls BJP election in-charge. But when it comes to electing a state president, even in the third week of May, Gujarat has joined other states like West Bengal, MP, Telangana. Its current state president CR Patil gets very little time to focus on the state after succeeding Gajendra Shekhawat as the Jal Shakti Minister. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Last year, Gujarat BJP witnessed an unprecedented churn as voices of dissent against the partys choice of Lok Sabha candidates became louder. Then there were surprisingly many incidents of voluntary refusal to fight elections as well, like in Vadodara and Sabarkantha. In Sabarkantha, candidate Bhikaji Thakor refused to fight the election from the seat. BJP replaced him with Shobnaben while he was expecting another seat. With Patils focus away from Gujarat, allegations of corruption emerged where police investigation into an alleged Rs 71-crore scam, stemming from works carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), led to Bachubhai Khabad, the minister of state for Panchayat and Agriculture, whose two sons have been arrested in the case. 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 24, 2025, 14:00 IST Australian MP Ends Term With 'Shoey' Tradition In Parliament, Sips Beer From Sneaker | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 09:13 IST Shoey is a tradition that involves pouring alcohol, typically beer, into someones shoe-often one theyre currently wearing. Australian MP Kyle McGinn (Credits: Screengrab of viral video) A video of an Australian MP drinking alcohol in his sneaker has taken the internet by storm, with many wondering the reason behind it. It was the last day of MP Kyle McGinn in the parliament. He said goodbye in a unique way referred to as shoey"a tradition where a person removes their shoe, fills it with beer, and drinks from it. Recommended Stories According to a 2019 New York Times article, the shoey" is a tradition that involves pouring alcohol, typically beer, into someones shoe-often one theyre currently wearing. The person then drinks the beer from the shoe, which is afterwards returned to its owner to wear. Notably, Kyle McGinn is not alone in following this quirky tradition. He joins a growing list of well-known figures who have performed the shoey," including Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, actors Sir Patrick Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Hugh Grant, and Gerard Butler, as well as musicians like Machine Gun Kelly and Stormzy. A WA State Labor MP has ended his valedictory speech with a shoey in parliamentKyle McGinn said after pondering the idea he thought his Goldfields constituents would be appreciative" of the theatrical send off: Im used to getting told off". #wanews #auspol @westaustralian pic.twitter.com/xw478DF3UY Caitlyn Rintoul (@caitlynrintoul) May 21, 2025 Before pouring his drink, McGinn said,"I thought so long and hard about how to finish this speech, and my constituents in the Goldfields, I think, will be particularly appreciative theres only one way to do it," as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald. Im used to getting told off, so we might as well get this over and done with, but I would like to say to the members and the constituents across WA, thank you for two fantastic terms. Cheers," he added. His act amused many in the parliament, while some also dont seem very pleased. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Meanwhile, Legislative Council President Alanna Clohesy asked McGinn to take his place after this. The honourable member is very well aware that he ran a very fine line in offending the dignity of council, so Im assuming his speech has concluded," she said. 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 : Australia First Published: May 24, 2025, 09:13 IST Azerbaijan Man Faces 18 Years In Jail For Communicating With Armenian Historian Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:23 IST Scholar Igbal Abilov was sentenced to 18 years in jail for communicating with an Armenian academic over Skype. Abilov faces 18 years imprisonment. (Representative Image) Azerbaijani scholar Igbal Abilov has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for online communications with an Armenian academic. He has been accused and found guilty of high treason" and collaborating with Armenian special services." The case is connected to his communication with an Armenian academic, Garnik Asatrian. Asatrian is a professor at Yerevan State University and the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University. He is a historian and is known for his expertise in Iranian studies. Recommended Stories The two reportedly exchanged messages over Skype while Abilov was in a third country. As per the court ruling, Abilov was following instructions" from Armenian agents and was inciting interethnic hostility". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that, during the hearing, Abilov rejected all the charges brought against him as baseless" and absurd". It added that Abilov claimed that he had been kept in custody for a long time without any proof of his crime. He noted he was a student of the Talysh language and culture. Abilov is the editor-in-chief of the Talysh National Academy News, a press outlet of the Talysh National Academy. Abilovs lawyers told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that they would appeal the verdict. The case must be seen in the context of the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, especially after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. This was followed by Azerbaijans occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. Nagorno-Karabakh is a region whose control is a matter of dispute between the two countries. According to JAMnews, Abilov is a man of Talysh ethnicity. He was born in Azerbaijan and spent most of his early life in Belarus. His academic interests include studying the languages and cultures of ethnic groups in the South Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, and the Far East. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He has been held in pre-trial detention since July 22, 2024, as per JAMnews. In the words of his lawyer, For many years, he has been working to defend the rights of national minorities, researching their history, and conducting ethnographic studiesMost likely, his arrest is connected to this work." OC Media reported that Abilov is not the first Talysh historian to face the charge of treason from the Azerbaijan authorities. It reported that Talysh historian Zahiraddin Ibrahimov had disappeared on 26 March in Yekaterinburg, Russia. This was followed by his relatives receiving a letter charging Ibrahimov with several crimes, including treason. 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 24, 2025, 14:23 IST '18 Yrs In Bengaluru, Didn't Learn Kannada': Man Recalls Encounter With Friend, 'Limits Interaction' Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 13:36 IST Reacting to the post, a user shared a similar instance of cutting communication with a friend, who never learned Kannada after being in Bengaluru for 15 years. Bhat revealed his friend perceived Karnataka people to be "biased." (Freepik/Representative Image) The ongoing Kannada language row in Karnataka has ignited a major debate, particularly in Bengaluru, a city known for its multicultural population. The internet is divided, with some advocating for non-Kannada speakers to learn the language as a gesture of respect towards local culture. Others, however, argue that such expectations are impractical in a multilingual country like India. The debate has quickly extended beyond state borders, sparking strong opinions on language, identity and inclusivity. With no major resolution to the issue, a Bengaluru resident has revealed how his friend has strongly refused to learn Kannada, even after being in the city for about 18 years. Taking to X, Prajwal Bhat stated that the female friend has particularly called out Kannadigas to be biased," prompting Bhat to limit interactions with her. Recommended Stories After 18 yrs in Bangalore, my friend hasn't voted or learnt Kannada. My initial efforts to teach her conversational phrases didn't work out. Recently, she said Kannadigas are biased. By the way, our interactions are now limited.#Bengaluru #KannadaLanguage Prajwal Bhat (@drprajwalbhat) May 22, 2025 After 18 years in Bangalore, my friend hasnt voted or learned Kannada. My initial efforts to teach her conversational phrases didnt work out. Recently, she said Kannadigas are biased. By the way, our interactions are now limited," the post read. The post quickly went viral, sparking another wave of debate in the comments section. While some users criticised the friend for being insensitive to the local culture, others argued against imposing language mandates on individuals who live and work in the state. A user wrote, This is bad; even after living in one place for 18 years, someone who doesnt learn the local language is really bad. Having said that, at the same time, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata are cosmopolitan cities People are trying to convert them into small towns and villages. People from other cities come to big cities because of the openness it offers; we are trying to make these cities into small towns and villages," while another added, Let her have the freedom to learn or not learn the language or for that matter, speak in a language that is on her tongue but would say it would have been good had she learned the language out of her own free will." A user shared a similar incident related to his friend, who never learned Kannada, even after being in the city for 15 years. I had a similar situation; my friend from Tamil Nadu was a hardcore fanatic. He stayed in Bangalore for nearly 15 years and never learned a single word of Kannada. He used to say, What is the need to learn? I am able to manage without learning. Staying here, he used to support TN when it came to the Cauvery issue. I wonder how I tolerated him for such a long time. He moved to TN a couple of years ago, and I cut all communication with him," the comment read. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all I had a similar situation, my friend from TamilNadu was a hardcore fanatic he stayed in Bangalore for nearly 15 years and never learnt a single word of Kannada, he used to say what is the need to learn I am able to manage without learning. Staying here he used to support TN jithendra| (@jithendtk) May 23, 2025 Amid the ongoing debate, several users even urged Bhat to cut ties with the friend over her views and remarks. 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! First Published: May 24, 2025, 10:24 IST Indian Restaurant Tresind Studio Awarded With Three Michelin Stars In Dubai Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 10:56 IST Led by Chef Himanshu Saini, Tresind Studio is renowned for its innovative and modern interpretation of Indian cuisine. Tresind Studio is located on Dubais famous Palm Jumeirah. (Photo Credit: Instagram) A restaurant helmed by an Indian chef and founded by an Indian entrepreneur has made history on the global stage. Tresind Studio, located in Dubai, has become the first Indian restaurant ever to earn three Michelin stars, a landmark achievement that has catapulted Indian cuisine into the international spotlight like never before. The honour was announced during the Michelin Guides fourth annual ceremony in Dubai. As the names were revealed, the crowd erupted in applause when Tresind Studio and FZN by Bjorn Frantzen were introduced as the newest additions to the prestigious three-star list. This also marks the first time any restaurant in the UAE has received the highest Michelin distinction. Recommended Stories Bhupender Nath, the founder of Tresind Studio, shared his reaction with Bangkok Post, saying, Today I realised what is the word called only and how heavy it is when we are awarded (the three stars) as the only Indian restaurant." The kitchen at Tresind Studio is led by 38-year-old Chef Himanshu Saini, who is known for his innovative approach to Indian flavours. Speaking to Elle Gourmet India, he said, I would take few more days to realise that we have got three stars. I think we need to pinch ourselves way too often to sink in but this is an amazing feeling. I think we have contributed to the history of our country. I think this will open doors for many Indian chefs to pursue their expertise in Indian food. So, I congratulate to all the chefs in India. It is not victory which belongs to just us, it is a victory for team India." Bangkok Post also quoted Michelin Guides international director, Gwendal Poullennec, who praised Chef Saini by calling him a pioneer" who has helped open the way for many more talents to join the industry in India." Tresind Studio is located on Dubais famous Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island. The restaurant is known for its intimate dining format with just 20 seats and an open kitchen that allows diners to witness the preparation closely. It focuses on using ingredients sourced from organic and sustainable farms within the UAE. On its official website, the restaurant mentions its goal of changing how people see Indian food by showcasing flavours both new and familiar through a creative lens." Tresind Studio in Dubai has just made culinary history, becoming the first-ever Indian restaurant to earn Three MICHELIN Stars." the Michelin Guide said on its website. Indian chefs in cities from London to Dubai have been rewriting the playbook, fusing time-honoured flavours with boundary-pushing techniques," it added. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Where to Eat MICHELIN-Starred Indian Cuisine in London, Dubai, and BeyondFrom Londons many first Indian MICHELIN Stars to Dubais brand-new trailblazing Three-Star triumph, Tresind Studio, Indian cuisine is having a momenthttps://t.co/w5Jv6Fn2xM pic.twitter.com/M7nHEF1nLt The MICHELIN Guide (@MichelinGuideUK) May 22, 2025 The Michelin Guide was first launched in 1900 by brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin as a handbook for French motorists. Over the years, it has become the most recognised standard in global fine dining. Restaurants are rated from one to three stars, with three stars reserved for the very best ones. 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 24, 2025, 10:56 IST Qatari Teen Shares Why He Chose To Move To India, But Internet Isn't Impressed Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 15:17 IST Qatari native Mohammad Jueitem shared his experience in India, highlighting its contrast with life in the Gulf. The video sparked a range of reactions from users on social media. (Photo Credits: Instagram) A Qatari teenager, who calls himself an international entrepreneur" on Instagram, has posted a video about his choice and the reason for moving to India. Mohammad Jueitem talked about his experiences living in India and highlighted the differences he noticed between life in the Gulf region and India, one of the worlds largest and most culturally varied countries. His reflections have ignited conversations online about the unique aspects of living in both places. Recommended Stories In the video, the 17-year-old says, I left the richest country in the world to live here in India," and goes on to explain why he traded the comfort and stability of the Gulf for the vibrant challenges and dynamic energy that India offers. In our countries, life is comfortable and predictable. But here, everything is different. Everyone is working tirelessly, and comfort doesnt seem to exist," Jueitem said in the now-viral clip. He praised Indias hustle culture," sharing how locals passionately pursued their dreams, often working over 10 hours daily. This is persistence, passion, and discipline," he added. Theyre not just survivingtheyre creating, innovating, and building," highlighting the countrys energy, drive and spirit. The young entrepreneur also revealed that he and his team were in India to develop a project called COSMOS," which he believes has great growth potential and the ability to make a meaningful impact. We are here to draw inspiration from Indias vibrant energy," he added. Take a look at the video below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mohammad Jueitem | (@jueitems) Since being posted, the video has received over 11,500 views and numerous likes. It sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some praising his viewpoint and offering encouragement. Others, however, criticised the tone and content of his message, leading to a lively debate across platforms. A user wrote, Oh, so you left your rich and comfortable life to move to India for business, and now youre filming trash like its some shocking revelation? Bro, focus. You came here to make money, not a documentary. No ones begging you to stay." Another expressed, This content was made to degrade India, not everywhere everything is the same in the country." Show the best parts of India. Britain looted our money. India is highly populous. We need time to improve standards. But people are generous," an individual commented. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all India is more comfortable for you because of White privilege," another user remarked. Despite the divided opinions, the video kept gaining traction on platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), fuelling ongoing conversations about how India is viewed through international eyes. 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 24, 2025, 15:17 IST Baloch Leader Urges PM Modi To Support 'Free Balochistan Movement', Lauds Indus Treaty Suspension Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:26 IST The Baloch leader condemned Pakistan for decades of atrocities against the Baloch people, including enforced disappearances, torture, and genocide. Tara Chand, the President of the Baloch American Congress and a former Cabinet minister in the Balochistan government | ANI Image Tara Chand, President of the Baloch American Congress, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to provide substantial support to the Free Balochistan Movement. In a strongly worded letter made public, Chand condemned Pakistan for decades of atrocities against the Baloch people, including enforced disappearances, torture, and genocide. Recommended Stories In a post on X, Chand wrote: I have written a letter to Prime Minister Modi Urging @narendramodi to lend meaningful support for a free #Balochistan! The Baloch people face oppression and genocide under Pakistans regime. A free Balochistan would be a blessing for peace-loving India. Stand with us for justice!" He also attached the letter with his post. I have written a letter to Prime Minister Modi which is attached in the tweet. Urging @narendramodi to lend meaningful support for a free #Balochistan! The Baloch people face oppression and genocide under Pakistans regime. A free Balochistan would be a blessing for pic.twitter.com/UnNJJk1dRd Dr. Tara Chand (@drtchand) May 23, 2025 This appeal was conveyed through two formal letters sent on behalf of the Baloch American Congress, directly addressed to the Prime Ministers Office in Delhi. In his communication, Chand expresses appreciation for the Indian leaderships prior attention to the Balochistan issue, particularly noting PM Modis remarks during his Red Fort speech, which he sees as a demonstration of moral support that inspired hope among the oppressed Baloch population globally. "Your reference to Balochistan in your Red Fort address was embraced by Baloch people around the world as an indication of moral support for a nation that has been occupied, subjugated, and terrorised by Pakistan," Dr Chand stated. He asserted that the Baloch people have suffered genocidal-like acts committed by a "jihadist army" supported by Pakistans dominant military establishment at Rawalpindi GHQ. "Governed by a jihadist army, this poorly conceived country is accountable for the disappearances, torture, deaths, and displacement of thousands of my countrymen," the letter claims. He stressed that these actions are part of a larger campaign to suppress the Baloch national liberation movement, which has been ongoing for several decades. He also pointed out that Chinas involvement in Balochistan as a colonial force presents an additional geopolitical danger. Tara Chand expressed disappointment that the Baloch national liberation movement has not gained international visibility, noting, "Outside of the Indian media, there is scant acknowledgement of the atrocities committed by the Pakistani state in Occupied Balochistan." He urged India to assume a leading role on the global stage in raising awareness about this situation. "Without substantial moral and political backing from the state level, Pakistan and its allies could extinguish the national resistance of the Baloch people, ushering in a new, more ominous phase of colonialism in Balochistan," the letter indicates. The document highlighted that Balochistans abundant natural resources and strategic coastal position are crucial for regional stability. Baloch Leader On Indus Treaty Chand also commended Prime Minister Modis decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, characterising it as a courageous move that conveys a powerful message to Pakistan. "I commend your astute decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty on hold and to clarify to the jihadist generals of Pakistan that blood and water cannot coexist," the letter quotes. He stressed that the Baloch people hold high hopes for Indias leadership and are looking towards the Indian government with optimism. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Baloch American Congress (BAC) is a registered political entity that aims to advocate for the Baloch national struggle for the right to self-determination and to defend the socio-cultural and political rights of the Baloch Diaspora in the United States. (With agency inputs) Location : Pakistan First Published: May 24, 2025, 14:26 IST Elections, Reforms & Justice: Bangladesh's Yunus Chairs Surprise Meet Amid Resignation Buzz Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 17:27 IST Yunus called for the meeting after reportedly offering to resign from his post as chief adviser, amid strong differences between his administration, political parties and the Army. Muhammad Yunus (Reuters Image) Bangladeshs interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Saturday called an unscheduled meeting of the advisory council, where they discussed the key responsibilities of his administration amid growing differences with political parties and the Army. This came after Yunus reportedly offered to resign after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) staged protests calling for his removal, while tensions between his interim government and the military have risen. Bangladeshs Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman urged on Wednesday that elections be held by December. Recommended Stories The meeting included detailed discussions on the three core responsibilities assigned to the interim government elections, reform and justice according to an official statement by the Advisory Council. It warned that if any activity disrupts the governments independence, the judicial process and free and fair elections, it will move forward with decisions made in consultation with the people. Unreasonable Demands, Unauthorised Statements The council extensively discussed how the performance of these responsibilities has been hindered by unreasonable demands, intentional and unauthorised statements and activities", which have disrupted the normal working environment and created confusion and doubt in the public mind, the council added. The council said greater unity is essential to maintain stability in the country and advance the key responsibilities and promised to listen to the views of political parties and clarifying its own position. ALSO READ: Bangladesh On The Brink Again? Yunus Under Fire, Army Chief Holds Darbar As Dhaka Disquieted Despite facing numerous obstacles, the interim government continues to carry out its assigned duties, setting aside narrow group interests. However, if the responsibilities placed on the government are rendered impossible due to incitement by defeated forces or as part of foreign conspiracies, the government will present all reasons before the public and take necessary decisions accordingly," it warned. The Nobel laureate is expected to meet with the advisers before back-to-back meetings with the BNP, rivals of ousted PM Sheikh Hasinas Awami League, and the Jamaat-e-Islami. A BNP delegation would meet the chief advisers at 7:00 pm (local time) while Jamaat leaders would meet him at 8:00 pm, according to the chief advisers press wing. Will Muhammed Yunus Resign? Bangladesh is abuzz with intense speculation regarding the possible resignation of Yunus. Sources in Dhaka have informed News18 that Yunus has expressed his displeasure with continuing in the government. Nahid Islam, Convenor of the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), met Yunus on Thursday evening at his official residence, where the chief advisor reportedly said he was mulling resignation as he felt the situation is such that he cannot work". Islam told BBC Bangla that he had requested Yunus not to take a decision as big as resignation. Advisers of Yunus cabinet have also persuaded him to not relinquish the post. Tensions within the interim administration have been mounting over the past few weeks. Notably, differences between Yunus and Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman have become increasingly evident, after the latter called for elections at the end of this year, while rejecting a proposed humanitarian corridor of aid to Myanmar. According to sources, the Army Chief has accused the interim government of sidelining the military in key decisions, stating that many actions are being taken without proper consultation. He has also stressed the urgent need for an inclusive election, questioning how an unelected interim government could engage with powerful external actors and make major decisions without a public mandate. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Several senior BNP leaders, including Abdul Moyeen Khan and Salahuddin Ahmed, have also called for early elections and hoped Yunus would oversee a peaceful transition rather than resign abruptly. Jamaat-e-Islami also stressed that a fair election was the only way to restore public trust. Matters worsened when thousands of BNP supporters staged a large-scale protest demanding an election at the earliest, putting pressure on Yunus. The party has also demanded the removal of the remaining student representatives from the cabinet. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh First Published: May 24, 2025, 17:14 IST Bangladesh On The Brink Again? Yunus Under Fire, Army Chief Holds 'Darbar' As Dhaka Disquieted Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 06:30 IST Whether the country is again spiralling back into civil-political unrest remains to be seen, said some sources Even though there is no official confirmation of any extraordinary measures, the combination of military assertiveness, bureaucratic reshuffling, and politically sensitive meetings signals that Bangladeshs internal equations are again undergoing a quiet recalibration. (File images) Bangladesh is once again at a boiling point after some rapid and critical developments early this week. A silent but unmistakable shift appears to be underway in the countrys administrative and political framework. The recent Darbar" (closed-door meeting with the commanding officers) convened by army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman has triggered heightened speculation of growing military assertiveness in civilian matters, particularly at a time when the political establishment is already grappling with internal dissent and external pressure. The abrupt removal of the foreign secretary has only deepened the sense of volatility. Recommended Stories In the wake of the Darbar led by the army chief, coupled with a discreet but significant meeting between Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of the interim government, and Nihad Islam, leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), diplomatic and political circles are abuzz with speculation. The developments were followed by a series of statements and press conferences by the political parties and their leaders requesting Yunus to not resign" while urging him to call an all-party meeting. Meanwhile, a senior politician of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who did not wish to be named, said, Yunus is now trying to garner sympathy. He is not a person who would resign so easily until pushed hard. We have only been demanding a proper election plan in place, and the interim government is being evasive on that. Instead, they are making decisions that are not even an interim governments mandate." Darbar in Dhaka ignites fresh volatility General Wakers remarks at the Darbar, described by sources in Dhaka as firm and direct", reportedly conveyed an unambiguous message: security and territorial integrity will be safeguarded without compromise, and any perception of foreign interference will be treated as a direct challenge. Shortly after, the unexpected removal of Bangladeshs foreign secretary without a formal explanation, however, added to the sense of deepening institutional unease. The move is widely viewed as an internal realignment. A senior diplomat who served in Dhaka recently said, The situation is sensitive and volatile. The next 48 hours are very crucial, as a lot of realignment in the administration and political structure is taking place. We may also see an announcement for elections in the next few months, as some of the actions, including banning the Awami League, were indicative of that. Whether the country is again spiralling back into civil-political unrest remains to be seen. But historically and by pattern, shifts in Bangladeshs political structure have rarely come without violence." Adding another layer to the unfolding situation, Yunus met with the National Citizen Partys Islam in a meeting that piqued diplomatic and political interest. While officially informal, the conversation is being seen as politically significant. Nihad Islam told the media after the meeting that Yunus was upset" and that he offered to resign as he was facing opposition from the political parties in implementing reforms". A source in Dhaka said that the government is working on a July Charter", for which BNP has demanded a referendum. BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have separate demands, and both parties are seeking resignations from a set of advisers of the interim government while pushing for early elections. Delicate hours ahead The militarys growing grip was further underlined by General Wakers rejection of a proposed humanitarian corridor through the Rakhine state of Myanmar, a move interpreted by the foreign policy observers as part of a broader posture to reassert Bangladeshs strategic sovereignty, even at the cost of humanitarian obligations. While details of the corridor proposal remain confidential, the militarys refusal comes at a time of heightened tension in border districts and amid renewed concerns over regional refugee flows and internal displacement. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka, including senior envoys from India, the US, and ASEAN nations, are learnt to have started issuing private advisories over the past few weeks, with one seasoned diplomat calling the next 48 hours delicate and potentially determinative". Even though there is no official confirmation of any extraordinary measures, the combination of military assertiveness, bureaucratic reshuffling, and politically sensitive meetings signals that Bangladeshs internal equations are again undergoing a quiet recalibration. About the Author Madhuparna Das Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 06:30 IST BNP Demands Timely Elections In Bangladesh, Calls For Removal Of Controversial Advisors Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 22:27 IST The BNP delegation has also demanded the resignation of NSA Khalilur Rahman, Local Govt Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, and Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam. BNP Standing Committee members at a press conference in Dhaka on 22 May The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has reiterated its demand that the upcoming national election must not be delayed and should be held within December. The party has also called for the removal of controversial advisors from the interim government, stressing that their presence undermines the credibility and neutrality of the electoral process. Recommended Stories The BNP delegation has also demanded the resignation of National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, and Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam during their meeting with the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus. Earlier this week, BNP demanded the removal of any adviser related directly or indirectly to a newly-formed political party or those who are allies of fascism", alongside that of the national security adviser. In an emergency press conference on May 22 at the BNP Chairpersons Gulshan office, the partys Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said the presence of advisers related to a new party continuously led to questions over the governments non-partisan identity, so it was necessary to dismiss them to protect the governments image. Hossain stated that continuing cooperation with the government will be challenging, emphasising the need to establish an elected government soon to restore democratic, constitutional, human, and voting rights in line with the peoples aspirations and the spirit of the July student uprising. He called for a clear roadmap to be announced for holding free, fair, and impartial elections to form a national parliament by December 2025. The people believe that giving top priority to this highest aspiration of the people should be the main agenda of the current interim government." Hossain questioned the progress made since the mass uprising, nine and a half months prior, and emphasised that the interim government must maintain utmost neutrality to preserve unity. But it is being observed that implementing the agenda of some quarters to gain political benefits has become a part of the governments action plan. Some of the recent activities of the interim government have created doubts in the public mind about the governments neutrality." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He stated that they were seeking the removal of contentious advisers whose statements and actions were damaging the governments reputation. The only mandate of the interim provisional government is to hold a fair, free and impartial national parliamentary election. However, the press secretary of the chief advisor, as the government spokesperson, said, This government has a mandate to do everything." Location : Bangladesh First Published: May 24, 2025, 22:27 IST Cracks In Pakistan-China's 'Iron Brotherhood'? Why Dragon Is Afraid Of Fully Backing Islamabad Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 12:22 IST Analysts point to seven strategic factors that underscore China's reluctance to fully commit to Pakistan's aggressive posturing against India. China President Xi Jinping The long-standing Iron Brotherhood" between China and Pakistan, once considered unbreakable, appears to be showing signs of strain. Indias robust response to Pahalgam terrorist attack has put the spotlight on Beijings stance. While observers keenly watched for an unequivocal show of support for Islamabad, Chinas response has been marked by diplomatic caution and a notable absence of direct condemnation against India. This shift in Beijings approach is not arbitrary as analysts point to seven strategic factors that underscore Chinas evolving calculations and its reluctance to fully commit to Pakistans aggressive posturing against India. Heres a look at seven key reasons behind Chinas calculated restraint: Recommended Stories 1. Massive Trade Stakes with India With annual trade exceeding $140 billion, China understands that escalating tensions with India would inflict severe damage on its own economy. India has emerged as one of Chinas largest export markets, a crucial factor especially as global supply chains are increasingly diversifying away from Chinese manufacturing hubs. Beijing cannot afford to jeopardize such a significant economic partnership. 2. Maintaining Border De-escalation Following the deadly Galwan Valley clash in 2020, both China and India have engaged in concerted efforts to reduce border tensions. Openly endorsing Pakistans terror agenda would not only negate these diplomatic achievements but also risk India imposing further restrictions on Chinese technology, akin to the app bans witnessed previously. Beijing prioritizes border stability to avoid renewed friction. 3. Global South Leadership Aspirations: China actively seeks to position itself as a leader of the Global South, a bloc that champions development, stability, and peaceful coexistence. An overt endorsement of Pakistans alleged terrorist tactics would severely undermine this carefully cultivated image, eroding trust and credibility among nations that value peace over conflict. 4. Safeguarding Belt and Road Investments: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a cornerstone of Chinas ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, is already highly vulnerable to internal insecurity and terrorism within Pakistan. A full-blown India-Pakistan conflict would place Chinas multi-billion-dollar investments at severe risk. Incidents like the attacks on Chinese engineers in Pakistan have already sown seeds of doubt in Beijing. 5. Subtle Strategy Over Direct Confrontation: Chinas foreign policy often favors indirect pressure and strategic signaling over outright confrontation. While it continues to support Pakistan through arms sales, diplomatic backing at the UN, and backdoor channels, Beijing carefully calibrates its actions to avoid providing India with a pretext for open hostility. Its influence is exerted through nuanced means, not overt aggression. 6. The Double Game of Diplomacy China maintains a delicate diplomatic balance by condemning terrorism globally while simultaneously using its veto power to block international sanctions against Pakistan-based terrorist organizations. This allows Beijing to project an image of being peace-loving to the world while simultaneously demonstrating loyalty and reliability to Pakistan, a strategic double game that offers significant political flexibility. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all 7. Growing US-India Strategic Alignment The burgeoning strategic ties between India and the United States, particularly through initiatives like QUAD and potential bilateral trade agreements, are a significant concern for China. Beijing is acutely aware that openly siding with Pakistan could further push India firmly into the American orbit, fundamentally altering the regional power balance in a way that is unfavorable to Chinas long-term interests. About the Author Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" Location : Beijing, China First Published: May 24, 2025, 12:22 IST Donald Trump Explains Harvard Decision: 'They Are Ridiculous, Will Have To Change' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 08:23 IST US President Donald Trump said, "Harvard will have to change its ways." US President Donald Trump US President Donald Trump weighed in on his administrations decision to suspend Harvard Universitys authorization to enroll international students, directly criticizing the institutions substantial endowment and its receipt of federal funds. The US President also indicated that more scrutiny of Harvards operations could be on the horizon. We will take a look at a lot of things," he stated, addressing the ongoing conflict with the Ivy League university. Questioning the financial dynamics at play, Donald Trump remarked, Billions of dollars have been paid to Harvardhow ridiculous is that. They have $52 billion as endowment. This country is paying billions and billions of dollars and then gives student loans" Recommended Stories The US President concluded his remarks with a clear demand: Harvard will have to change its ways." The Trump administration recently moved to block Harvard from enrolling international students through the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). This follows earlier decisions to suspend billions in federal funding, escalating a broader conflict between the government and top educational institutions. The administration has cited Harvards alleged non-compliance with requests for student records and concerns over campus environment as reasons for its actions. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all 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 24, 2025, 08:23 IST Kyiv Rocked By Massive Russian Drone And Missile Attack; 15 Injured Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 14:21 IST Kyiv faced a major Russian drone and missile attack, injuring 15 people. The attack followed a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, the largest swap of the war. Kyiv attacked by Russia (Reuters image) Ukraines capital came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack overnight and into early Saturday that left at least 15 people injured, according to Ukrainian officials. Explosions and machine gun fire wre heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations. The attack came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians, the first phase of a swap agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week. Recommended Stories The agreement was a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war. A difficult night Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down 6 missiles and neutralized 245 drones 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare. The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the most massive combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. A difficult night for all of us," the administration said in a statement. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six city districts of the Ukrainian capital. According to the acting head of Kyivs military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit. There were at least five wounded in the area, the administration said. Yurii Bondarchuk, a local resident, said the air raid siren started as usual, then the drones started to fly around as they constantly do". Moments later, he heard a boom and saw shattered glass fly through the air. The balcony is totally wiped out, as well as the windows and the doors," he said, describing the damage to his apartment as he stood in the dark of the night, smoking a cigarette to calm his nerves while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. The air raid alert in Kyiv lasted more than seven hours, warning of incoming missiles and drones. Kyivs mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, warned residents ahead of the attack that more than 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon district of Kyiv. Emergency services were headed to the site, Klitschko said. A complex deal The prisoner swap on Friday was the first phase of a complicated deal involving the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase of the deal brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend, which will make it the largest swap of the war. Russias Defence Ministry said it received the same number of people from Ukraine. The swap took place at the border with Belarus, in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly. The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defence Ministry said. However, the exchange the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians so far did not herald a halt in the fighting. Battles continued along the roughly 1,000-km front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. After the May 16 Istanbul meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a confidence-building measure" and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive" peace agreement, once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides 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. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Russias Defence Ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20 and May 23. Ukraines air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday. Location : Kyiv, Ukraine First Published: May 24, 2025, 14:21 IST Miss World Organisers React To UK Contestant's 'Prostitute' Comment: 'Left Due To 'Family Issues' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 19:05 IST Milla Magee abruptly dropped out of Miss World after claiming she "felt like a prostitute", but organisers said she left due to a family emergency involving her mother's health. Milla Magee dropped out of the Miss World pageant being hosted in India. (Image: Instagram) After Miss England Milla Magee made a sensational comment regarding her abrupt withdrawal from Miss World 2025, claiming that she felt like a prostitute", the organisers of the world-famous beauty pageant said she had withdrawn due to a reported" family emergency involving her mothers death. Earlier this month, Milla Magee requested to leave the competition due to a reported family emergency involving her mothers health. As a mother and grandmother herself, Julia Morley CBE, Chairwoman of Miss World, responded to Millas situation with compassion and immediately arranged her return to England, placing the well-being of the contestant and her family first," a statement from the organisers read. Recommended Stories This came after Magees interview with The Sun went viral, where she disclosed that the organisers of the pageant were exploiting her and making her feel like a prostitute. She called the pageant outdated" and stuck in the past", and said that the participants were paraded before wealthy male sponsors. Magee flew to Hyderabad on May 7 for publicity events and withdrew from the contest on May 16 due to what she called personal reasons. All the crowns and sashes in the world mean nothing compared to using your voice and making a difference in the world." ALSO READ: Miss World UK Contestant Quits Outdated Pageant, Says Made To Feel Like A Prostitute Organisers Call Magees Remarks False, Unfounded However, Julia Morley said the alleged remarks made by Magee shown in UK media reports are false and defamatory". She said, These claims are completely unfounded and inconsistent with the reality of her time with us." The Miss World Organisation is now releasing unedited videos recorded during Magees stay in India, in which she expresses gratitude, joy, and appreciation for the experience. These videos reflect her own words and sentiments, and serve as a direct contradiction to the recent false narratives, the statement said. Magee won the Miss England pageant last year and was the first plus-size Miss World entrant from England. Her campaign was backed by Prince William. But (Miss World) is simply about the way you look and present yourself. As far as I could see it hasnt changed from the 1960s and 70s," she told The Sun. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Magee will be replaced by Miss England runner-up Charlotte Grant, 25, the current Miss Liverpool, in the final of Miss World. Grant arrived in India on Wednesday and has since been warmly welcomed into the Miss World sisterhood. The Miss World 2025 pageant kicked off with a grand ceremony in Hyderabad on May 10 and the final will be aired in over 180 countries next Saturday. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More First Published: May 24, 2025, 19:05 IST Pakistan Army-Linked Militants Kill Baloch Journalist In Front Of His Wife, Kids: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 17:24 IST Abdul Latif, known for documenting disappearances and military abuses in Balochistan, was shot dead in Awaran. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee released the photo of Abdul Latif who was gunned down by Pakistan Army-linked militants earlier this month. (IMAGE: Baloch Yakjehti Committee) A journalist belonging to the Baloch community was shot dead in the early hours of Saturday in conflict-ridden Awaran district of Pakistans Balochistan province. The journalist named Abdul Latif, who worked with Daily Intikhab and Aaj News, was a known and respected voice among the people of Balochistan and revered for his work. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee said in a statement that Latif was killed before his wife and children. Baloch local news media outlets and Baloch rights groups said that the attackers were part of a Pakistan Army-linked militia operating in the region. They also said that Latif earned the ire of the state because of his reporting and documentation of disappearances, military excesses and civil resistance in Balochistan. Recommended Stories Pakistans security forces are battling a growing insurgency in Balochistan, an impoverished province that borders Afghanistan and Iran. Rights groups say the protests and demands for better life has been countered with a severe crackdown that has swept up innocent people. A dozen UN experts called on Pakistan last month to immediately release Baloch rights advocates, including Mahrang Baloch and to end the repression of their peaceful protests. For two decades, members of the Baloch minority have denounced extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests in Balochistan Pakistans most resource-rich province, where 70 percent of inhabitants are poor. Pakistani authorities say the accusations are unfounded. Insurgents in Balochistan accuse outsiders of plundering the provinces natural resources and launched a dramatic train siege in March, during which officials said about 60 people were killed. Latifs killing is being seen as part of Pakistans alleged kill and dump campaign targeting journalists, activists and intellectuals in the troubled province. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The tragedy follows a personal loss earlier this year. In February 2025, four of Latifs relativesincluding his son Saif Balochwere reportedly abducted and killed. Their deaths remain unacknowledged by authorities and have not been formally investigated, fuelling concerns that entire families are being systematically targeted. Rights groups and members of the Baloch diaspora have condemned the murder, urging international intervention. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee called on the United Nations and global media watchdogs to take notice and hold Pakistan accountable, describing the killings as crimes against humanity." About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More Location : Islamabad, Pakistan First Published: May 24, 2025, 17:24 IST Pakistan Senator Calls Indus Treaty 'Water Bomb, Issues 'Famine Warning To Govt | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 09:17 IST India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in a punitive measure against Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that claimed 26 lives. Pakistani Senator Syed Ali Zafar A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that Pakistan will not get Indias water, referring to the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistani Senator Syed Ali Zafar called the suspension of the treaty a water bomb". The MP from former PM Imran Khans party also urged the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan government to defuse" the water bomb". Recommended Stories Water scarcity is a war being imposed on us. Predictions about 21st-century wars being fought over water are proving true. If we dont solve our water issues, we may face famine. The Indus is our lifeline its essentially a water bomb hanging over us that we must defuse," he said. Notably, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in a punitive measure against Islamabad in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that claimed 26 lives. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan has access to the waters of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers, while India is entitled to use those from the eastern Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas rivers. Zafar said that water is a fundamental human right of the lower riparian and claimed that IWT explicitly bars India from stopping Pakistans water share. It cannot be unilaterally suspended that would be a violation". Zafar also mentioned that force can be used in self-defence under international law if the flow of water is stopped. His remark came only a day after PM Modi said, Pakistans army and economy will have to pay for every terror attack Pakistan will not get Indias water. They will have to pay for playing with Indias blood. This is Indias resolution and no power of the world can shake us from this resolution." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Prime Ministers remark came during his first rally in Rajasthans Bikaner after the Pahalgam attack. Meanwhile, Pakistan has said that any attempt to block Pakistans water through the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty would be treated as an act of war". Location : Pakistan First Published: May 24, 2025, 08:12 IST Pashtun Activists Slam Pakistan Army For Killing Mother, Her Kids In Waziristan Drone Strike Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 19:16 IST Activists from Pashtun groups said areas where Pashtuns live are being used as a weapons testing laboratory by Pakistan Army. Pashtun activist Fazal ur Rehman Afridi has raised concerns over Pakistan Army targeting communities within the country and labelling them as terrorists. (IMAGE: ANI) Fazal ur Rehman Afridi, an activist from the Pashtun rights group, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), said Pakistan Army conducted 32 drone strikes in North and South Waziristan and Tank districts over the past few years and sharply criticised them for the recent murder of four children and their mother. The children and the mother were killed in the drone strike conducted by the Pakistan Army in Hurmuz, North Waziristan. Afridi told news agency ANI that Pashtun inhabited areas are weapons testing laboratories" for the Pakistan Army. Recommended Stories This is not the first instance where the Pakistani army has assaulted innocent Pashtun civilians, particularly women and children," Afridi said. He stated that the latest victims were children aged from five to eight. The activist has accused the Pakistan Army of targeting civilians under the pretext of counter-terror operations, calling the recent strike in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa part of a wider campaign to displace local populations and seize resource-rich land. In a stark shift, Pakistan has turned its drone arsenal inward, launching strikes in the Waziristan regionan area that once supported the state during major counterterrorism operations like Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, intelligence sources told News18. Over the past few months, North and South Waziristan have seen a sharp escalation in drone attacks carried out by Pakistans own military, raising alarm over civilian casualties and the absence of oversight. Rejecting the militarys claim that the strike targeted militants, the activist alleged that over 55,000 Taliban leaders and their families had been relocated into Pashtun areas through a formal arrangement with the Pakistani state. Now they call them terrorists and use that to justify drone attacks. This is a proxy war. The Taliban are just pawns of the Pakistan Army," he said. Sources point out that the strikes are happening without any parliamentary debate or judicial review, highlighting how Pakistans powerful military continues to operate with near-total autonomy. Defence Minister Khawaja Asifs recent dismissive remarks have further raised concerns. They added that communities once considered partners in counterterrorism are now being labelled as extremists or foreign agents. Afridi also linked the attacks to Indias recent anti-terror operation. Immediately after Indias Operation Sindoor, the Pakistan Army resumed bombing Pashtun civilians. Innocent children and the elderly were killed," the activist said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Expressing full support for Indias operation targeting terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said many Pashtuns welcomed the move. We were relieved our regions were not affected. The terror hubs are in Punjab. We only wish India had continued longer to dismantle the rogue Pakistani military," he said. At least four children from the same family were killed and five others injured in the suspected drone strike in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev... Read More Location : Islamabad, Pakistan First Published: May 24, 2025, 19:16 IST Who Is Christopher Paul Neil? Paedophile Who Used 'Swirl' Effect To Hide Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 16:26 IST Neil, 32 at the time, was charged with sexually abusing minors as young as six in nearly 200 pictures that circulated online. Christopher Paul Neil was arrested in 2007. (Photo/Reddit) A serial pedophile, Christopher Paul Neil, a Canadian school teacher, was caught after a global manhunt for using an app to conceal his online identity. His case gained widespread attention on Reddit after a user shared details about his arrest. The post carried two side-by-side images one swirled and another unswirled of Neil, who was arrested in Thailand in 2007. Recommended Stories Neil, 32 at the time, was charged with sexually abusing minors as young as six in nearly 200 pictures that circulated online. He was detained at a home he rented with a Thai boyfriend in Nakhon Ratchasima, The Guardian reported at the time. The authorities used an application to unscramble the swirls digitally that covered the face of a man seen having sex with boys in Cambodia and Vietnam. Various information such as his name, age, passport number, nationality, occupation, and previous and current employment locations were sent to interpol within a few days. As per NBC News, Thai police traced cell phone calls to locate the offender in northeastern Thailand, at a residence far from the usual tourist route. Based on a tip-off, Neil was arrested as Thai police drove their hostage 150 miles to Bangkok. Detectives from Interpol were equally thrilled when the suspect was arrested following a special nine-day campaign. However, as Neils photos were made public, he abruptly quit the South Korean school where he was teaching and left for Bangkok International Airport. He wore spectacles and shaved his head to conceal his identity when the Thai immigration authorities photographed him at the airport, initiating a nationwide search. Bangkok police issued an arrest warrant for him after a Thai teenager came forward, alleging the individual had mistreated him several years prior. A high-risk sex offender," Neil was known as swirl face" due to his efforts to conceal his true identity. He served time in prison in Canada and Thailand. Neil, also known as Vico," a 50-year-old who had lived in Thailand intermittently from 2002 to 2004, became the subject of an Interpol red notice, a key step toward potential extradition. Authorities tracked Neils cell phone, leading them to a residence in Nakhon Ratchasima belonging to a 25-year-old Thai transsexual named Ohm. Upon arrest, Neil requested a lawyer and confirmed his identity. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all According to the BBC, Neil was imprisoned in Thailand from August 2008 to September 2012 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two minors. He was deported to Canada after being freed. In December 2015, he entered a guilty plea to five more charges, including possessing child pornography in Canada and sexually abusing young boys in Cambodia. His sentence was lowered due to the time previously served. Location : Canada First Published: May 24, 2025, 16:26 IST With Bangladesh On Edge, Yunus Expected To Meet BNP, Jamaat This Evening | Exclusive Details Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: May 24, 2025, 18:12 IST The purpose of the meeting is to signal that he is not under pressure and to consult both parties about the way forward, top intelligence sources said Yunus will seek support from the Jamaat, but it also believes that an elected government is a better option, said sources. File pic The Bangladesh interim governments chief adviser Muhammad Yunus will meet the Khaleda Zia-led BNP as well as the Jamaat-e-Islami on Saturday evening, CNN-News18 has learnt The purpose of the meeting is to signal that he is not under pressure and to consult both parties about the way forward, top intelligence sources said. Recommended Stories Yunus is facing pressure and is attempting to alleviate it by engaging with the Jamaat and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, they added. According to the sources, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman wants elections to be held by December 2025. General Waker prefers an elected government over an imposed figure like Yunus, they said. He has communicated to Yunus that he is not suitable for handling civil duties, which could jeopardise national security, they added. The army chief is displeased with the appointment, made in his absence, of a national security adviser aligned with the United States, said the sources. They added that he has warned Yunus against making strategic decisions, stressing that such calls should be made by an elected government. Sources suggested that he has almost rejected proposals for a humanitarian corridor to Myanmars Rakhine State and foreign management of the Chattogram Port. The Bangladesh armys push for elections by the end of 2025 aligns with the BNPs demands. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The army chief is open to elections involving a new faction of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasinas party, Awami League, and BNP, and does not mind a coalition, said the sources. They indicated that Yunus will seek support from the Jamaat, but it also believes that an elected government is a better option. About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 First Published: May 24, 2025, 18:12 IST The murder of 22-year-old Colombian influencer Maria Jose Estupinan on May 15 has thrown an even brighter light on a worldwide increase in femicidethe murder of women because of their gender. Estupinan, a student and model from Cucuta, was shot in the face at her front door by a man disguised as a delivery driver, reports the Guardian . It happened the day after a judge had reportedly ruled against her ex-partner in a domestic violence case. And it was only two days after the killing of 23-year-old Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Marquez, who CNN reports was livestreaming from her salon in Zapopan when a male intruder shot and killed her. Both murders have drawn condemnation from rights groups who say prevention of violence against women across Latin America is being met with widespread failure. "The brutal murder of Maria Jose is the result of a system that normalizes violence against women," says Alejandra Vera, director of the Cucuta-based feminist collective Woman, Speak Out and Move It. "Colombia is facing a pandemic of femicidesevery 28 hours, a woman is a victim." Femicide cases there reached a seven-year high in 2024, with 886 recorded, according to the Colombian Observatory of Femicides. By March 2025, at least 207 more had been reported. Yet figures vary, and it's rare that offenders face charges73% of femicides between 2021 and 2023 went unsolved. And in Mexico, the crisis is also severe. "In 2022, around 4,000 women were killed in Mexico, which amounts to 12% of all homicides that year," Human Rights Watch Americas Director Juanita Goebertus says. "And the rate of cases that lead to a verdict is around 67%." story continues below But the crisis is a global one. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Women, around 51,100 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members in 2023, and current and former intimate partners are by far the most likely perpetrators. Africa had the worst rate of female intimate partner and family-related killings, with an estimated 2.9 victims per 100,000 females. The rate was also at record highs in the Americas (1.6 per 100,000) and Oceania (1.5 per 100,000). The murders of Estupinan and Marquez occurred a month after CBS News reported the unrelated stabbing deaths of two female college students in Italy led to calls for a "cultural revolution" against violence towards women. As the Soviet Union started to collapse, KGB spies in Brazil may have done their Russian successors a huge favor. Investigators trying to determine how Brazil became an "assembly line" for deep-cover Russian agents believe KGB agents in the country obtained birth certificates for nonexistent babies in the final years before their agency was disbanded, a gift that would be very useful for future spies, the New York Times reports. They were obtained through a loophole: For people born in rural parts of Brazil, authorities will issue a birth certificate if somebody declares in the presence of witnesses that a baby was born with a Brazilian parent, the Times noted in its earlier story on how the network was exposed. "It's just the sort of thing that they would do," author Edward Lucas, an expert on the Russian intelligence services, tells the Times. "It fits with the meticulous and generational attention that they devote to creating these identities." Investigators say Russian agents with the birth certificates were able to obtain other key documents, including Brazilian passports, and build lives in Brazil before they were deployed to other countries, appearing to be Brazilians with no links to Russia. Investigators say that after the network was exposed thanks to a tip from the US about one of the agents, they were surprised to find that the spies' birth certificates were authentic, though the information about the parents was false. After the CIA tip about the agent, authorities "went through his birth certificate and tracked down relatives connected to the mother listed on his birth certificate," Times reporter Jane Bradley tells NPR. "And what they found is that his mother had died and never had any children. That's from a relative they spoke to. And his father, they found no record he existed." She says authorities found more spies by looking for similar "ghosts in the system." The Times reports that one birth certificate "contained a rare slipupor perhaps a sly wink from one generation of spies to the next." A Western intelligence official says the father's name on the document was the Brazilian alias of a Russian spy who was active in the region a generation earlier. Police in California have arrested a 15-year-old boy in the fatal shooting of a man staying at a homeless encampment in Long Beach. Police said they were called to the camp at a beach playground in November, where they found two men who had been shot. One recovered from his wounds at a hospital, while Frank Suggs, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene, the Los Angeles Times reports. After being arrested in Long Beach, the boy is being held without bail at a juvenile hall on suspicion of murder. The victim's brother said Suggs lived with his wife and children until about eight years ago in Indiana, then became homeless while dealing with mental health and substance use issues, per the Long Beach Post. Anthony Suggs said that although he's pleased there's been an arrest, he's saddened by the suspect's age. "Now you have another family going to go through some stuff," he said. The teenager has not been charged, per KTTV, and investigators say they haven't determined a possible motive. Under California law, any trial would take place in juvenile court. The suspect could be imprisoned until age 25 if he's convicted of murder, per the Times. Eighteen people were injured in a knife attack at the main railway station in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday evening, according to police. The suspect, a 39-year-old German woman, was arrested at the scene and remains in custody, per the BBC . The attack occurred during rush hour, around 6pm local time on platforms 13 and 14, while a train was present. Police say the woman began stabbing those waiting on the platform before being subdued by bystanders and emergency responders. The victims' ages range from 19 to 85 years old. Police initially described seven people as slightly injured, seven as seriously hurt, and four as critically injured, though by Saturday, the four critically injured victims were said to be in stable condition, per the AP. Officials say there's "very concrete evidence" that the suspect suffers from mental illness, with no indications that the attack was politically motivated or related to drug or alcohol use, per the BBC. On Saturday, a Hamburg judge is set to decide whether to admit the suspect to a closed psychiatric ward, per the New York Times. An investigation by homicide detectives is ongoing. Chancellor Friedrich Merz labeled the event "shocking" and thanked first responders for their rapid action. Deutsche Bahn, meanwhile, shut four platforms at the station, causing some service disruptions. The Pentagon has tightened access for journalists, with new rules requiring official escorts for credentialed reporters in most areas of the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the change on Friday, saying it's meant to better protect classified intelligence and operational security, per Reuters . Journalists won't be allowed in Hegseth's own office without his OK and an escort, or in the offices of senior military leadership, such as Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That office in the past has "traditionally maintained a good relationship with the press," per the AP . The escort for at least Hegseth's office would apparently be Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, reports Military.com. The Department of Defense stated it remains "committed to transparency" but must also prevent the "unauthorized disclosure" of sensitive information that could endanger service members. The Pentagon Press Association criticized the order as a "direct attack on the freedom of the press," noting that journalists have had access to nonsecured areas of the Pentagon for decades without incident. The group pointed out that increased security measures have generally not affected press access under past Republican or Democratic administrations, even after significant events such as the 9/11 attacks. The move comes amid a broader crackdown on leaks under President Trump. Since his return to office in January, the Pentagon has investigated leaks, placed three officials on leave, and changed which media outlets are allowed office space within the building. Established organizations like the New York Times and CNN have lost ongoing access, with the Pentagon rotating in outlets more supportive of the Trump administration. story continues below Other leak investigations have included polygraph tests, with reports that Homeland Security officials may face termination for refusing them. Hegseth's memo also directs the press corps to accept responsibility for protecting sensitive information, as well as says that the DOD will be providing new credentials to more visibly ID journalists. Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds more prisoners on Saturday as part of a major swap that amounted to a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. The exchange came hours after Kyiv came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured, the AP reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians . "We expect more to come tomorrow," Zelensky said on Telegram. Russia's defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details. Hours earlier, explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv. Many sought shelter in subway stations as Russian drones and missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital overnight. Officials said Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones while Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralized 245 drones; 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare, per the AP. The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. "A difficult night for all of us," the administration said in a statement. Russia's defense ministry on Saturday said its forces overnight struck military targets across Ukraine, including missile and drone-producing plants, a reconnaissance center, and a launching site for anti-aircraft missiles. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a "sustainable, long-term, comprehensive" peace agreement when the prisoner exchange is complete. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger army's battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. The EU's ambassador to Kyiv described the overnight assault as horrific. "If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue read the news," Katarina Mathernova posted on X. Novak Djokovic on Saturday became the third man in tennis' Open Era to win 100 singles titles, mounting a dazzling third-set comeback in Switzerland that set off a family celebration on court. The 38-year-old, who won his first singles title 19 years ago, defeated Hubert Hurkacz 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2) in the 3 hour, 8 minute final of the Geneva Open, the BBC reports. "Incredible match," Djokovic said afterward, per the Guardian . "Seven-six in the third with a full stadium, beautiful atmosphere. I'm just grateful to clinch the 100th here." Djokovic had been stuck on 99 since his gold medal victory at the Paris Olympics last year, despite twice reaching finals. He's now the first to win titles in 20 seasons. Jimmy Connors won 109 singles titles, and Roger Federer has 103. Djokovic did not have the match under control the whole way, which he pointed out. "I think that you were definitely for most of the match, the better player," he told Hurkacz, who took the defeat hardcovering his face in a towel during the victor's interview. Among the people Djokovic thanked were his wife, Jelena, and children, who he said joined him in Geneva to celebrate his birthday at the expense of school. He has relatives in Geneva, including a newborn he said they were eager to meet, per the AP. The tournament is the final Geneva Open clay court warmup for the French Open, which begins Sunday. He faces American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round in Paris on Monday. Djokovic has won the French Open three times. WASHINGTON DC, May 24 (News On Japan) - In a dramatic reversal from past resistance to foreign ownership of U.S. Steel, President Donald Trump has now announced his approval of what he is calling a partnership between U.S. Steel and Japans Nippon Steel. The move follows former President Biden's earlier opposition to a similar merger, a stance Trump himself once echoed. Yet this time, Trump has embraced the deal, asserting that it will keep U.S. Steel headquartered in Pittsburgh and lead to the creation of up to 70,000 jobs. Nippon has pledged a $14 billion investment into U.S. Steel, with at least $1 billion of that targeted for development in Pennsylvanias Mon Valley, a historically significant hub of American steelmaking. Local leaders across the region responded with elation, calling the announcement a lifeline for an industry and a community that had been uncertain about their future. North Braddock Mayor Cleatus Lee called the news "an early Christmas" and credited Trump for delivering on a promise to preserve and create jobsprotecting an estimated 11,000 existing positions and potentially generating 14,000 more. He, along with other local mayors, had been involved in lobbying efforts to influence the direction of U.S. Steels future, working behind the scenes in direct discussions with company leadership. Many believe Trumps decision reflects a broader recognition of whats at stake in communities like Braddock, where steel has shaped the local identity since the days of Andrew Carnegie. Despite Trump framing the move as a "partnership," observers note that structurally, the deal still resembles a merger, raising questions about what changed Trump's position. While no formal structure has been fully disclosed, the presidents shift appears to rest on assurances that the company will remain domestically headquartered and that the investment will directly revitalize key American steelmaking sites. Yet skepticism remains. The United Steelworkers union leadership, which had vocally opposed earlier versions of the deal, issued a measured response, stating that without more details, they cannot yet assess the long-term implications. They remain wary of Nippons track record, including past trade violations and concerns that foreign control might further weaken domestic steelmaking capacity. On the ground, however, many rank-and-file steelworkers expressed relief. For months, they had endured uncertainty about their future, going to work each day with no clear sense of whether theyd still have jobs in a year. Several workers noted the stress of the drawn-out sale process and described the announcement as a moment to finally breathe. While the unions official stance remains cautious, individual workers and many local leaders have gradually leaned toward support, seeing the Japanese investment as the only realistic way forward given U.S. Steels lack of recent capital improvements at aging Mon Valley plants. U.S. Senator John Fetterman, who had strongly opposed the initial merger, also welcomed the news. He said the original deal would have been a "death sentence" for the Mon Valley Works, but credited the additional $14 billion in investment with changing the entire context. Emphasizing that his position hasnt changed but rather that the deal itself has evolved, Fetterman said this version is about national security and sustaining an American way of life rooted in industrial labor. Similarly, Republican Senator Dave McCormick praised Trumps leadership, stating that only Trump could have delivered such a win for Western Pennsylvania, while Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis both struck a hopeful but cautious tone, insisting that all parties must now deliver on their promises. Environmental questions remain on the horizon. Political analyst Jon Delano pointed out that while the deal is politically advantageous, the environmental impact of rebuilding blast furnaces and heavy industrial infrastructure must still be addressed. Nippon claims it will modernize steel production in an environmentally friendly manner, but whether it follows through remains to be seen. In the meantime, the prevailing mood in the Mon Valley is one of hope and cautious optimism. From steelworkers to city mayors, the belief is growing that this partnership could not only preserve Pittsburghs historic role in American industry but usher in a new chapter for a region that has waited decades for a serious investment. Trump is expected to appear in Pittsburgh next Friday to rally support and underscore his commitment to keeping American steelat least in name and headquartersAmerican. Source: CBS Pittsburgh OSAKA, May 24 (News On Japan) - The Expo pavilion known as the "Nordic Circle" showcases five Nordic countriesSweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Icelandcollaborating under a shared structure built from recyclable materials and modeled after traditional Nordic dwellings. Inside, the flags of the five nations, all featuring the Nordic Cross, highlight a shared medieval Christian heritage. A quiz format introduces trivia, such as the symbolic meaning behind Finlands blue-and-white flagthe blue representing both the countrys abundant lakes and its clear skies, while the white stands for snow. Finland is often referred to as the land of forests and lakes, with over 70% of its territory covered by forest. Visitors can explore rotating images of Nordic life projected onto rice paper made from unused Japanese rice, blending sustainability with visual storytelling. A souvenir corner offers items including Moomin goods from Finland, celebrating the characters 80th anniversary, and Lego from Denmark. Marimekko, the famous Finnish design brand, is behind the pavilion staff uniforms, recognizable by their iconic floral patterns. Visitors are even quizzed on identifying the brand during the exhibit. The third floor of the pavilion houses a restaurant where head chef Frida, who trained in Sweden, has created fusion dishes combining Nordic classics with Japanese ingredients. Offerings include traditional smrrebrd (open-faced sandwiches) topped with meatballs and garnished with Japanese shiso leaf, a herb commonly sprinkled on rice balls in Japan. The restaurant also uses ingredients like white miso and yuzu to bring a Japanese twist to Nordic staples, reflecting a deeper culinary exchange between the two regions. Source: Television OSAKA NEWS OSAKA, May 24 (News On Japan) - Panasonic Holdings has unveiled for the first time its research facility at its Kadoma, Osaka headquarters, where it is developing technologies that stimulate the five sensessound, lighting, and scentto enhance comfort, particularly in sleep environments, with applications aimed at improving daily life. At the facility, Panasonic is researching how adjustments in sensory stimuli can affect a person's physical responses, such as body movements and breathing patterns, during sleep. Using sensors to measure these responses, the company is working to develop products that help users sleep more comfortably. Another focus is the in-vehicle experience. One experimental system is designed to subtly awaken passengers by vibrating the seat as the vehicle nears its destination. The goal is to shift the passenger's mental state from rest to alertness in a calm and positive manner. Panasonic has already incorporated some of these findings into its headquarters office floors, where systems adjust light, sound, and airflow to support both concentration and relaxation. The technology enables employees to switch modes as needed, whether preparing for the next task or taking a moment to reset and refresh. Looking ahead, Panasonic aims to apply these sensory-based systems to mobile environments as well, creating more enjoyable and personalized travel experiences. Source: Television OSAKA NEWS 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. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe The Battleship New Jersey, a historic museum ship docked in Camden, New Jersey, offers a one-of-a-kind experience for visitors the chance to fire the ships 5-inch or 40mm saluting guns. For a donation of $500, guests can pull the trigger on the port-side 5-inch gun, while a $100 donation allows firing of the 40mm saluting gun. The guns fire blanks, creating an impressive fireball and loud bang without any actual projectiles. Guests are provided with safety equipment and guidance from the ships gun crew. Those who participate also receive honorary dog tags to commemorate the experience. The Battleship New Jersey fires its guns as it approaches its home in Camden, NJ on Thursday, June 20, 2024. Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance Its a unique way to celebrate a special occasion like a birthday or retirement while visiting the battleship, according to organizers. The Battleship New Jersey is also offering a discounted add-on experience to fire the 40mm saluting gun on select Saturday afternoons. Normally a $100 donation, the add-on allows guests to take advantage of a 25% reduced rate, although time slots are limited and seasonal. Donations from the gun shoot experiences directly support the museum ship. Visit https://www.battleshipnewjersey.org/gun-shoot/ for more information. Gun shoots can be scheduled nearly any day and time by emailing tickets@battleshipnewjersey.org or calling 866-877-6262, ext. 108. Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff. About 123 chickens had to be euthanized after a positive test for bird flu at a New Jersey chicken market. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com A case of avian influenza was identified at a live bird market in Essex County on Friday, according to an announcement from Gov. Phil Murphys office. About 123 chickens are being euthanized as a result of the positive case of the disease commonly known as bird flu, which is highly contagious among domestic poultry species, officials with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture confirmed in the statement. The market will be cleaned and disinfected, and then remain closed for an undisclosed period of time before a quarantine is lifted and the flock is restocked, authorities said. The exact location of the market was not identified. Workers at the market are also being assessed and monitored for exposure and symptoms by local and state health department officials, authorities said. No live poultry that may have been infected was sold to the public, authorities said. On May 13, officials with the Department of Agriculture said over 1,000 birds had to be euthanized at another live bird market in Essex County after a bird tested positive for avian influenza, officials said. The outbreak was contained to the particular market which was temporarily closed until the quarantine was lifted, officials said. The first positive bird flu case among domestic poultry in New Jersey since 2023 was discovered at a live bird market in Union County in February. Bird flu is a complex and evolving disease with significant impact to the poultry and dairy industries. Since the beginning of the most recent outbreaks in poultry and cattle, millions of birds and cattle herds have been affected nationwide. Avian influenza poses a low risk to humans and most infections occur only after prolonged, close exposure, authorities said. The CDC has confirmed mild cases in humans, and a fatal one in Louisiana in January 2025. The virus is killed by heat so properly cooked poultry and eggs headed to at least 165 degree fahrenheit are considered safe to eat. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. A Jersey City man says he slipped in a manhole-sized puddle of light brown liquid in Walmart's self-checkout area.(Associated Press/Gene J. Puskar) (Associated Press/Gene J. Puskar) A New Jersey man who allegedly fell in Walmart last summer has turned down a $75,000 settlement offer from the retail giant and instead plans to file a federal lawsuit for $2 million, court records show. Ramon W. Camilo, of Jersey City, states in court papers he was picking up supplies for his employer about 3:45 p.m. on July 26, 2024, at a Walmart in Suffern, New York, when he slipped on a wet spot. Camilo suffered serious back and spinal injuries after the incident, which required lumbar fusion surgery, according to court documents filed May 16 in U.S. District Court. Attorneys representing Walmart and a spokesperson for the corporation did not respond to requests for comment on the case. The lawsuit was first initiated in Hudson County Superior Court in April, but a notice filed last week seeks to have the matter heard in federal court, in part, because the alleged damages exceed $75,000. In his complaint, Camilo states he lost his balance after stepping in a manhole-sized puddle of light brown liquid substance at or near the self-checkout area toward the front of the store. Five days after Walmart was served with Camilos lawsuit, the retailers lawyers reached out on April 30 with a settlement letter. The letter offers $75,000 if Camilo signs a document stipulating that his damages are less than $75,000, exclusive of interest and court costs. Camilo and his lawyer turned down the stipulated offer. I cannot agree to the stip. My clients damages exceed $75,000, Camilos attorney, Mitchell A. Dornfield, of Roseland, responded in an email to Walmart. Dornfield did not return phone calls seeking comment. The notice filed in federal court last week states Camilo intends to sue Walmart for $2 million. Court filings allege Camilo suffered severe, grievous, and permanent injuries, and pre-existing injuries were exacerbated due to the fall. He alleges gross negligence and claims the store failed in its duties to maintain and upkeep the premises so as not to cause injuries to customers or workers. The complaint is at least the second personal injury lawsuit filed against Walmart by a New Jersey resident in the past year. In June 2024, a 67-year-old Burlington County woman sued a Walmart store in Marlton, claiming she was struck by a restocking cart filled with Nabisco and Mondelez International products. That lawsuit is pending in state court. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. New York Mets' Juan Soto is batting third in the lineup for the second time this season on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) AP NEW YORK Juan Soto batted third in the Mets lineup for the second (straight) time this season. Since being traded to the New York Yankees last season, Soto has been a steady presence as the No. 2 hitter in the lineup. That continued onto this season, until Wednesdays game against the Boston Red Sox, when for the first time since October 1, 2023, he was slated at No. 3. Given his recent struggles Sotos 5-for-40 (.125 batting average) with 10 walks and no extra-base hits in his last 11 games some are wondering if this drop, which could impact the number of at-bats he gets over a long span, is a demotion. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza reveals the real reason. Last year, he had a really good year hitting in the two-hole in front of Judgey, Mendoza said. But when you look at his (career) numbers in the three-hole, I think theyre better. Mendozas right. In 420 plate appearances batting second, Soto has a .266 batting average and .881 OPS with 159 extra-base hits. In 312 plate appearances batting third, hes hitting .287 with a .983 OPS, both more than 100 points higher, with 128 extra-base hits. On Friday, Mendoza revealed that hed been mulling this move two weeks ago, and ran it by Soto and first baseman Pete Alonso, who goes from batting third to batting fourth, first. From the very beginning, there was no hesitation, Mendoza said. After the second game in Boston, I went up to them, and it was with conviction (they said) that whatever we need. ... Its an easier decision for me when theres no hesitation from those guys. Soto finally broke out the famous shuffle in the first inning on Friday, but couldnt get things going in his first game back in Queens after last weekends debacle in the Bronx. Though he received a warm welcome from fans, he responded by going 0-for-5 with a walk. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Manny Gomez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com. Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu is back in his old stomping grounds for this weekend's series against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Randy Miller | NJ Advance Media DENVER With the Colorado Rockies off to the worst 50-game start since 1901, 8 wins and 42 losses heading into their Memorial Day weekend interleague series with the first-place Yankees, DJ LeMahieus return to Coors Field was the big story for the Denver media. After LeMahieu took batting practice, he headed to the visiting third-base dugout to reminisce about the early days of his career sitting in front of a dozen reporters and cameramen. Traded by the Cubs to the Rockies after a first 37-game MLB cameo in 2011, LeMahieu blossomed into a regular, went to two All-Star Games and won the first of his two batting titles during his seven seasons in Colorado. He also was a big part of the Rockies last two postseason teams in 2017 and 2018. Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost. If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below. Hey Blake, The coverage of Pope Leo XIVs New Orleans ancestry mentioned his mother was a Martinez. That got us talking about the Martinez School in the 7th Ward, which my grandfather attended. He was always proud to tell us it was the first preschool in the city for Black students. What can you tell me about it? Dear reader, Mildred Bernard Martinez founded the preschool bearing her name in 1934. She opened the school to serve young Black children during segregation. It was originally located at 5315 LaSalle St. According to a 2000 Times-Picayune article, Martinez founded the school after her marriage, which required that she step down from her job as a New Orleans public school teacher, as was the practice at that time. According to the Amistad Research Center, she founded her school in part to help her own four-year-old son, Numa, whom she could not enroll at the all-white Isidore Newman School where his playmates attended. Martinez Kindergarten School became the first and only pre-K school for Black children in New Orleans at that time. Newman donated some used furnishings, chalkboards and chairs, her son said in 2019. It had no books, however, so Martinez wrote her own and fixed the pages into booklets. In the 1940s, the school moved to 1767 N. Roman St. in the 7th Ward, where it remained until closing in 2014. In addition to reading and writing, Martinez and her staff taught her students foreign languages, ballet and tap dancing. According to the Amistad Research Center, by 1951 the schools enrollment had reached 100. Notable alumni include Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musician Wynton Marsalis, TV anchor Arthel Neville, former New Orleans Mayor Sidney Barthelemy and Liberty Bank CEO Alden McDonald Jr. Martinez died in 1991. Her son ran the school for 23 more years until it closed. He died in 2019. An Orleans Justice Center inmate, who was not one of the 10 to escape last week, is facing new charges and accused of helping the others in th Devon County Councils new chair has been appointed in a vote that saw most of the biggest opposition party abstain. Councillor Caroline Leaver, who represents Barnstaple South for the Liberal Democrats, secured the position as chair, a largely ceremonial role that involves representing the council across the county. Cllr Leaver was the only nominee put forward for the position at the first full council meeting of the new administration this week, but when votes were taken, many Reform UK councillors abstained. They largely did the same when it came to the vote for council leader, for which Lib Dem Cllr Julian Brazil was the only nominee. Reform UK Cllr Edward Hill said after the meeting that his partys abstentions were related to what some feel is a lack of political representation on the cabinet. The cabinet is the councils main decision-making body and while the 10-member entity does have a Green Party councillor Totnes & Dartington member Cllr Jacqi Hodgson no other parties are represented. The previous administration, led by the Conservatives, only had Tory cabinet members. The rationale for our abstentions is that the Liberal Democrats have in their manifesto that they support proportional representation, but their cabinet is not proportionally representing all of the parties across the political spectrum, Cllr Hill said following the meeting. I abstained from voting on that basis and while the Lib Dems could say they have a Green member on the cabinet, they need that party to support them as they dont have an outright majority to take control. The 2024 Liberal Democrat national manifesto said the party was fighting for proportional representation, which it states makes seats won match votes cast. New leader Cllr Brazil said he understood the Reform UK members frustration. He said: Who knows, in future perhaps we can be more inclusive, but from the beginning we need to get on with the work we need to do. We do have Cllr Hodgson in the cabinet and she works with us at South Hams District Council and is a crucial and valued part of the administration. Your voice will be listened to, but not as members of the cabinet at this stage. Cllr Brazil reiterated that he wanted to try and be as inclusive as possible. I genuinely feel thats what we should do, he added. All voices will be listened to and if you have a good idea, that will be accepted as we want to get rid of the Punch and Judy approach to politics. We owe it to our electorate, as they have spoken and want us to do things in a different way. Cllr Hill said his partys members had not been asked to abstain and so the move by members of the party to do so had been an individual choice on each councillors part. He added that he would be disappointed if Reform UK appointed cabinets in councils it controlled entirely from its own party. Alongside Cllr Leaver, Cllr Rosie Dawson was appointed vice chair, replacing her predecessor in the role, Pru Maskell, a former Conservative councillor who lost her seat in the election. In her first session as chair, Cllr Leaver had to deal with some discontent from members, including frustration from Reform UK member Cllr Neil Stevens about not being allowed to address the chamber with comments he had prepared and from independent member Cllr Paul Hayward, who complained about the poor acoustics and confusion around a motion about installing swift boxes on council-owned property. Cllr Hayward said it was difficult for people who were hard-of-hearing to keep up with verbal changes to the motion, and requested that in future updated motions be put in writing on the 20-foot screen thats right there. TWO Offaly students were among the finalists for the prestigious Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year 2024 award. Rosie O'Brien, Riverstown, Birr, and Chelirs Brecq, Birr both made the final shortlist for the awards which were presented in Dublin on Thursday. Kate Curran, Kilmagemogue, Portlaw, County Waterford was named the overall winner of award. The awards, sponsored by FBD, were presented to the top graduates of Teagasc Level 6 agriculture, horticulture, equine and forestry training programmes in 2024. The overall winner, Kate Curran completed the Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming (Distance Education) at the Teagasc Kildalton College in Piltown, County Kilkenny. In addition to winning the Overall Teagasc/ FBD Student of the Year 2024 award she was also successful in the Part-Time and Distance Education Category award. READ NEXT: Thirty-one applications in Offaly to register XL Bully dogs Two other category awards were presented. Thomas OConnor from Caherbreagh, Tralee in County Kerry won the Full Time Agriculture Category. He completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture (Dairy Herd Management) in Pallaskenry Agricultural college, County Limerick. Niamh Duggan, from Ballinagranna, Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary was successful in the Full-Time Other Land-based Enterprises Category. She completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture (Nursery Stock Production) in Kildalton Horticulture college. Teagasc Chairman, Liam Herlihy said; the agriculture, horticulture, equine and forestry sectors need a constant flow of new entrants, bringing knowledge of the latest technologies and science onto farms. This years finalists epitomise the high calibre of student emerging from Teagasc education courses, bringing new dynamism into the sector. I congratulate each and everyone of you. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD sent his congratulations to all the finalists in the Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year Awards. He said: This is one of the highlights in the calendar. Well educated young farmers are the future of the sector and I congratulate all the finalists on their achievement. The value of a quality agricultural education to the running of a modern farm enterprises cannot be overstated. You and your families and friends can be very proud of what you have achieved over the last few years while you pursued your qualification. I extend my congratulations in particular to the category and overall winners whose range and depth of knowledge impressed the judges. Speaking at the awards, Michael Berkery, Chairman of FBD Trust, said; FBD is proud to have been supporting these important educational awards since their inception. We recognise that education is vital to the continued success of the modern and progressive farming sector we have in Ireland today. The Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year finalists are wonderful ambassadors for this sector, and we are proud to sponsor these awards which highlight their accomplishments and their passion for the industry. On behalf of the team at FBD, I would like to congratulate Kate Curran and all the finalists on their achievements and wish them every success in the future. Dr Anne Marie Butler, Head of Education in Teagasc said; This is a wonderful occasion to celebrate Teagasc learners and the agriculture, horticulture, equine and forestry sectors which they proudly represent. At Teagasc, we are delighted to offer all learners a strong foundation of practical, science based training equipping them with knowledge and skills to lead the sector. The recently developed Teagasc Education Strategy 2025-2030 articulates Teagascs commitment to ensuring that our education programmes remain of the highest quality for both current and future learners. Congratulations to all finalists. We look forward to their future career and personal achievements. The other finalists in the awards were: A DISTRICT Court judge has queried whether or not a Georgian national accused of a public order offence in a car park had a car. Tullamore District Court heard that Otari Bukia (30), with an address at Marian Hostel, High Street, Tullamore, was summonsed for an alleged breach of the peace after an alleged encounter with a traffic warden at Spollens Car Park, High Street, Tullamore on July 19 last year. Sergeant Richard Thornton said the accused man waved a ticket aggressively at Alan Murphy in the car park on that date. Aisling Maloney, solicitor for Mr Bukia, told Judge Andrew Cody that her client had either particularly poor English or no English whatsoever and he would need a court interpreter. Judge Cody certified for a Georgian interpreter and granted an adjournment of the prosecution to June 25 next when either a plea will be entered or a date will be fixed for a hearing. READ NEXT: Work continues on major new Grand Canal depot in Offaly If a hearing is required it will take place on October 6. Making an enquiry about legal aid, Ms Maloney told the court that her client was not working nor was he getting any social welfare whatsoever. Judge Cody asked if the man had a car because a ticket was being put on a car. He said the accused will have to be asked how he can afford a car if he has no income. The judge decided to reserve the issue of legal aid. WORK is continuing on the construction of a new Waterways Ireland depot on the Grand Canal at Cappincur, Tullamore. The completed project will comprise a carpentry workshop, a mechanical workshop, both single storey with the latter being about 700 sq m in size, and a two-storey administration building. Builders moved in the end of January and it is expected that all work will be complete by January, 2026. There will be a craft centre of excellence at the facility where Waterways Ireland say the old tradition of lock-gate crafting will be maintained. The new buildings will replace the existing Waterways Ireland facilities at the Grand Canal harbour in Tullamore town centre where a dry dock is also located. READ NEXT: Homes allocated in Offaly social housing scheme While a dry dock was indicated as part of the original proposals for the site off the Cappincur Road, it has been dropped for the moment and was not in the revised plans. The three buildings, designed by Tullamore architect Patrick Little, will sit on a site of about 1.8 hectares almost directly across the canal from Boland's Lock and lock house. The relocation of the existing Waterways Ireland operations from the town centre site, where they have been based for about 200 years, will open up that entire area for redevelopment and a masterplan has already been drawn up. Speaking at the signing of contracts with Pat Loftus Construction for the construction of the craft centre of excellence, John McDonagh, Waterways Ireland chief executive stated: It will ensure the continuation of a great tradition of waterways craftsmanship in Tullamore. At Waterways Ireland we have responsibility for the maintenance and development of over 1,100km of inland waterways and 650km of paths and cycleways. This new Craft Centre Of Excellence will provide our teams with modern premises and future-proof Waterways Irelands capacity to develop recreational and tourism amenities for locals and visitors alike across the region. OpEd News One-Time Security Check This Is NOT An Error Message Your site IP address* (5.13.19.111) is listed on one or more Internet blacklists. We get visited by hundreds of these spambots daily. To prevent these from taking resources away from legitimate users, we show this page. Please use the CAPTCHA below which proves you are human, not a spam bot. It's a one-time action** for your IP. After that, you will be able to access OpEd News easily. Thank you for your patience. * Here's more info about IP addresses. ** If your IP address is fixed, you'll be able to use this website from now on. However, if your Internet Service Provider (such as Verizon or T-Mobile) assigns you a different IP address every time you use your device, AND these IP addresses are NOT on an Internet blaclist, then all is good. If, for some strange reason, your ISP assigns you an IP that is blacklisted, then you'll have to go through this process again. (Unless you keep yourself logged in. We only check for spambots on non-logged in visitors.) The Disappearing Act of Loss -- My Story Fando (a fake name) was the maintenance manager at Rockland Apartments. This place is near the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where my wife and I used to live. I never learned his full name. I only knew him as Fando. He is a burly, energetic man with a booming voice, a result of childhood deafness that forced him to rely on lip-reading. Most of my furniture -- a TV, a bookshelf, even a laptop he salvaged when mine crashed -- came from his storage raids. When I bought my first car, he slammed the hood and barked, "Check the transmission fluid, not the smile of the salesman." This year, my wife came back to Lawrence with gifts for him. The apartment manager mentioned that Fando died three months after we left. No funeral, no grave. He vanished like steam from a kettle -- no tombstone, no farewell. Yet his presence lingers: in the rumble of his Chevy pickup, his toolbox gathering dust, and the laptop that still struggles to boot. It raised a question: how do we prove someone existed when their death leaves no trace? Global Memorial Map -- Ten Answers to the Dialogue Between Life and Death Day of the Dead vs. Memorial Reef Mexico: Sweetness Defies the Bitter End In Michoaca'n, Lake Pa'tzcuaro, families craft life-sized sugar skulls for DA i ? ? i ? ? a de los Muertos. In 2021, a grieving mother sculpted a mermaid-shaped skull for her drowned daughter, reading Swim to Your Ocean. Sugar skulls dissolve, but the sweetness lingers -- a rebellion against decay. USA: Ashes to Ecosystem While gathering information, I came across a unique and unconventional practice in the US. About three miles off the coast of Miami, Florida, there is a unique and somewhat eerie diving spot. It is an artificial reef that also serves as an underwater cemetery. The Neptune Memorial Reef, known for its slogan "Create Life After Life", is a man-made structure aimed at promoting marine life growth and providing a green burial option. Here, people who select this reef as their final resting place are first cremated. Their ashes are then blended with non-porous cement, sand, and water. The mixture is shaped into a stone form of their choice, like a shell or starfish. Scuba divers then place the stone onto the reef. (Source: http://wonderplaces.weebly.com/aqua-places.html ) Dance of Departure vs. Silent Ghost Festival Ghana: Dancing Coffins & Coca-Cola Burials In Accra, coffin artist Kwesi builds fantasy coffins: cameras, palm trees, and even AK-47s. In 2022, he crafted a 6-foot Coca-Cola bottle coffin for a soda distributor. Mourners danced to Afrobeats, tossing free sodas to the crowd -- death as a celebration. China: Silent Whispers to the Dead The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a significant traditional Chinese festival. On this day, people worship their ancestors to pray for peace and safety. During the festival, they prepare paper offerings and light sky lanterns or water lanterns at night. Through whispers or silent prayers in their hearts, they communicate with their departed ancestors and family members. Mummy Reunions vs. Bone Walls Indonesia: Sipping Coffee With Mummies In Toraja, families dig up relatives every three years to dress them, take selfies, and wheel mummies to cafe's. "Grandpa loved his iced latte," says granddaughter Tika, holding a straw to his leathery lips. Death here is a chatty roommate. France: 6 Million Strangers Underground In the catacombs of Paris, skulls are arranged into Gothic arches. On a cranium from the 18th century, graffiti from 2021 states: "To COVID's forgotten -- you're not alone here." Individuality fades into a mosaic of bones. (Source: Paris Catacombs History ) Sky Burials vs. Joking Graves Philippines: Cliffside Coffins of Pride In Sagada, families hang painted coffins on sheer cliffs. In 2022, a tribal chief was buried in a plane-shaped coffin -- a nod to his decades as a pilot. The fuselage gleams with ancestral symbols. (Source: Atlas Obscura ) Romania: Laughing at the Reaper Romania's "Merry Cemetery" features blue crosses with rhyming epitaphs. One reads: "Here lies Pop, who loved his wife's cooking -- until her stew sent him to eternity!" Aghori Rituals vs. Bone Art India: Eating the Dead to Defy Fear The Aghori sect in Varanasi consumes corpse flesh and wears death shrouds, believing it erases fear of mortality. "Rotting flesh reminds us we're just temporary vessels," says a practitioner by the Ganges. It's a stark reminder that cannibalism isn't limited to humans -- it also exists in the animal kingdom. For example, chimpanzees have been seen eating the bodies of their dead friends. In some cases, a mother chimp even eats parts of her dead baby. Czech Republic: Skeletons as Chandeliers The Sedlec Ossuary decorates its chapel with 70,000 bones. A chandelier contains every human bone; a skull arch bears the warning: "What you are, we once were. What we are, you will be." Tech vs. Oblivion -- Digital Ghosts & Time Capsules AI Replicas & Ethical Firestorms In 2023, HereAfter AI launched "Memory Vault" -- chatbots trained on social media data. One Reddit user wrote: "When Mom's AI said, 'Your blueberry jam's in the fridge,' I broke harder than at her funeral." Titanium Time Capsules Bury wedding rings, letters, or locks of hair in corrosion-proof capsules. Unearth them in 2073 -- a grief postponed. Conclusion: The Alchemy of Memorial Gifts -- Transforming Evaporation into Epitaphs Fando has no grave, but his old laptop still whirs to life like his gravelly laugh. Memorials are bridges between what was and what remains: A lantern glowing with hidden dates. A candle declaring his existence. An AI voice rasping: "Check that transmission fluid, bro." "We can't stop death, but we can refuse to evaporate." This article is reprinted from Dan Customify. Original article: 'From Sugar Skulls to Digital Ghosts: How Memorial Gifts Connect Us to the Departed'. To discover more personalized gift ideas, explore www.dancustomify.com/blog. i ? ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ? Marshall McLuhan with and on television %28cropped%29. (Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer) Details Source DMCA Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) May 13, 2025: Are the Canadians Harold Adams Innis (1894-1952) and Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), of the University of Toronto, the co-founders of the fabled Toronto School of Media Ecology, relevant to OEN readers today? Is the founding of media ecology studies relevant to OEN readers today? In recent months, in many of my OEN articles, I have explored the meaning of become a fan of another person - as I myself became an Ong fan in the fall semester of 1964 when I took my first of five courses from him. Cooper is clearly a fan of both McLuhan and Innis. Now, becoming a fan of another person involves becoming infatuated with that other person - in short becoming a fan of another person involves falling in love with that other person. So, are OEN readers today ready to fall in love with Innis and McLuhan, as Tom Cooper has? Now, if Innis and McLuhan and the founding of media ecology studies are relevant to OEN readers today, then OEN readers today should welcome Tom Cooper's admirably accessible new 2025 book Wisdom Weavers: The Lives and Thought of Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan (Connected Editions). Cooper explains the title W isdom Weavers: "The title 'Wisdom Weavers" refers to their method of synthesizing or weaving quotes, ideas, authors, and knowledge from a wide range of disciplines into fresh patterns of insight upon their editorial looms" (p. 12). Well, OK. But Cooper's title calls to mind Queen Penelope in the Homeric epic The Odyssey weaving with her loom as a way to distract the suitors as she waits patiently for her husband King Odysseus to return to Ithaca from the ten-year Trojan War. Now, Cooper's admirably accessible new 660-page book is the revised and updated version of Cooper's 1979 doctoral thesis at the University of Toronto - where both Innis and McLuhan taught for years. Now, I have described my 28,800-word 665th OEN article titled "Fareed Zakaria and Ezra Klein on President Trump's Foreign Policy" (dated March 24, 2025; viewed 1,800 times) as wide-ranging and, at times, deeply personal: Click Here However, even though my 28,800-word OEN article is indeed wide-ranging for an OEN article, I now need to described Cooper's accessible new 2025 book Wisdom Weavers as extremely wide-ranging for a non-fiction book. For this reason, I find it hard to understand why this wide-ranging 660-page admirably accessible book does not come equipped with an "Index" at the end of the book. So if you should undertake reading Cooper's admirably accessible new 2025 book Wisdom Weavers, I would advise you to use a highlighter to mark names and passages that catch your attention and to which you might want to return for a further look later. I can assure you that Cooper's admirably accessible new book repays attentive reading and careful consideration. In Cooper's admirably accessible new 660-page 2025 book, he says, "No one knows who first said it [i.e., the term media ecology]" (p. 462). Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Nurses rallied outside the Samaritan Health Plans building in Corvallis last week, opposing the potential closure of two birth clinics, including one in Lebanon. The protest, supported by the Oregon Nurses Association, comes as Samaritans President and CEO Marty Cahill says the Corvallis-based regional health system is reviewing its operations, including women and childrens services amid challenges occurring within the health care industry. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported May 15 that Samaritan Health Services was evaluating whether to close the Girod Birth Center at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and the maternity ward at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital. While Samaritan officials havent made a final decision, the news of potential closures has rocked Samaritan staff at the Girod Birth Center. The potential closure, as well as a similar one at a labor and delivery unit at Lincoln City, has drawn the attention of Oregons Democratic congressional leaders, including U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle. We have heard from concerned doctors and nurses that this decision would have devastating effects on the health and safety of expectant mothers, newborns, and families, the three said in a May 21 news release, which cited the dangerously long distances patients would have to travel. A big concern is where patients from places like Sweet Home, Foster and Cascadia would go if Samaritan closed its Lebanon birth center, located at the Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital. Were looking at up to an hour of drive time to get to Albany from places in east Linn County, said registered nurse Stefanie McDougal. To have to go even further (than Lebanon) would be devastating to them, and thats not talking about life and death situations, she said Liz Baer, a home birth midwife who joined McDougal and other nurses outside the Lebanon hospital to talk about the potential closure earlier this week, said she offers prenatal care for moms in Lebanon. Linn County is a really big area, she said. I sort of feel like Linn County gets ignored when planning decisions are being made. State data shows Samaritans Lebanon hospital saw over 200 deliveries in 2022. Its also one of two main hospitals in Linn County providing labor, birth and postpartum services according to a 2024 report from the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative. Concerns over maternity care deserts, or counties with no facilities that officer obstetric care, have grown in recent years, especially as more rural hospitals close maternity units. To make their objections known, around 40 attended the rally outside the Samaritan Health Plans building on Wednesday, May 21. Nurses and children lined Walnut Boulevard, waving signs with messages like pregnant moms need desserts, not care deserts to encouraging honks from passing vehicles. One demonstrator was Brittany Hamilton, a Cascadia resident. She and her siblings were all born at Lebanons birth center she said, and she delivered both her children there too. They were quick deliveries, she added, and its about a 45-minute drive to Lebanon from Cascadia. Going to Albany would be a different story. If I were delivering a third child, Id probably have a roadside emergency, Hamilton said. Lebanon nurse Kelli Rierson was at the rally with her 3-week newborn. Shes currently on maternity leave, she said, and is scheduled to return in September. But with a potential closure on the horizon, she doesnt know if shell still have a job by then. I just think its really unfortunate, she said, adding she thinks Samaritan should look at cutting back other programs. Earlier this week, Lebanon nurse Cyndi Rozcicha praised the work of her fellow staff. We have devoted our lives to this, and it is highly specialized, she said. Joining her was new Albany mother Savy Quintana, who credited Lebanon nurses for their care during her pregnancy. I was never supposed to be able to have children, and our entire journey was very scary, she said. She called her son Caspian, born last December, a miracle baby. Quintana said shes experienced two stillbirths and three miscarriages. They made a very scary situation bearable, she said. Her husband Jeremy Quintana said losing the birth center would put people in neighboring towns like Brownsville and Sweet Home hours from medical attention. Its that simple, he said. They close this place; theyre hurting a lot of people. At the latest Lebanon City Council meeting, Councilor Michelle Steinhebel said she was alarmed by the news and said she understood from a conversation with Samaritans president that a potential closure was under consideration but wasnt a done deal. In a statement released May 15, Cahill said Samaritan was reviewing its operations with an eye toward efficiency and sustainability. According to Cahill, beginning in 2025 the health system had identified general surgery, orthopedics, urology and women and childrens services in its initial review. We will evaluate these new approaches deliberately and carefully over the next few months, Cahill wrote. 2025 Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore.. Visit www.gazettetimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. An outgoing Portland Public Schools board member said Friday that the school district should buy the downtown U.S. Bancorp Tower for its new headquarters. I think it would be great for the city, board member Gary Hollands told The Oregonian/OregonLive. It would be the start of a renaissance movement for downtown Portland to have an organization like PPS occupy that space. Hollands, representing Northeast Portlands Zone 5, declined to seek reelection in the May school board election. Marketing and communications strategist Virginia La Forte won the race to replace Hollands on the board. Oregons largest office building, known as Big Pink for its hue on the citys downtown skyline, would have more than enough space for district operations, Hollands said, and could even represent a cost savings to leasing elsewhere. Brokers are pricing the 1.15 million square foot building at around $70 million, a fraction of what JLL said was a record $372.5 million price when it sold a decade ago. Just over half the building is empty, according to JLL, which is marketing it for sale. Portland Public Schools is coordinating its search for a new headquarters with the nonprofit Albina Vision Trust, which is working to redevelop the historic Lower Albina neighborhood. The school board last year voted on an agreement essentially saying that in exchange for selling its current headquarters at the 10.5-acre Prophet Education Center to the nonprofit, Albina Vision Trust would help the district secure its new home base. The districts current headquarters, at around 340,000 square feet, is less than a third the size of U.S. Bancorp Tower. Setting school board member opinions aside, the process to pick a new school district headquarters is well underway. The school board earlier this month approved a set of minimum criteria for the new headquarters, including that it should be owned and not leased space, and administrative offices should be within district boundaries and centrally located, though an operations center could be outside the district boundaries in limited circumstances. The minimum criteria also contemplated the district would need up to 282,000 square feet at its new location. The district on May 16 issued a request for information to identify viable future administrative offices available for purchase. The deadline for submissions by property owners or their agents is June 13. AVT and PPS will evaluate responses together and go from there, said Winta Yohannes, Albina Vision Trusts executive director. Portland Public Schools is seeking to close on a new headquarters by late 2025 or early 2026, with plans to relocate in late 2026 or early 2027, according to a copy of the request provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive. A Portland Public Schools spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives of Unico Properties, which co-owns U.S. Bancorp Tower with UBS, declined to comment. The building at 111 S.W. Fifth Ave. suffered a blow last year when its namesake tenant, U.S. Bank, announced it would not renew its lease of more than 200,000 square feet. The area surrounding the office complex, which includes a plaza, has experienced crime, open drug use and issues with graffiti, though public and private initiatives have sought to stanch the problems. Hollands said the security for district officials would need to be top notch for his idea to work. Acquiring Big Pink would also place the district in the awkward position of becoming a commercial landlord, since it couldnt hope to fill all the available space at the property. Hollands acknowledged as much, but said new leases sparked by the districts arrival could bring in fresh revenue for the Portland district and the students it serves. Transforming Portlands largest office building into the new school district headquarters, Hollands said, could draw new business tenants back downtown. Brokerage CBRE reported that around a third of offices are still empty in the urban core a reversal of fortune that has dented the school districts budget by reducing the buildings taxed values. That could bring some stability to that area, Hollands said. -- Jonathan Bach covers housing and real estate. Reach him by email at jbach@oregonian.com or by phone at 503-221-4303. -- Julia Silverman covers K-12 education for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her via email at jsilverman@oregonian.com EUGENE -- Junior Lyndsey Grein pitched a three-hitter and Oregon overwhelmed Liberty with 14 hits as the Ducks captured the Eugene Super Regional on Saturday with a 13-1 win over the Flames at Jane Sanders Stadium. The Ducks (53-8) advances to the Womens College World Series, which runs May 29-June 6 in Oklahoma City. Here is the breaking story from Saturdays game. See below for a recap of Saturdays seven innings: LIVE UPDATES Score: Oregon 13, Liberty 1 FINAL Seventh inning Oregon: Sinicki bunts, but is narrowly thrown out. Patmon walks. McCoy lines a single to right. Kresho pinch runs for McCoy. Cox walks to load the bases. Lawton pinch runs for Cox. Jones singles to left, drives in Patmon. 7-1 Ducks. Allen into pitch for Liberty. Flannery strikes out. Luschars grounder to third is bobbled, and Kresho scores. 8-1 Oregon. Kedre Luschar drives in two runs with a single to center. 10-1 Ducks. Sinicki hits a triple off the base of the right field fence, clearing the bases for 13-1 Oregon lead. Patmon strikes out. 7 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 left. Liberty: McManus struck out. Henault reaches on an infield single, ending a streak of 19 consecutive outs for Grein. Madrey hits into a fielders choice. Doerr struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left. Sixth inning Oregon: Kai Luschar grounded out to short. Kedre Luschar out on fly ball to left foul ground. Maake flies out to center. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left. Liberty: Whatley, pinch hitting for Byrum, strikes out. Woodard strikes out. Seven Ks for Grein. Now 8 Ks as Roupe strikes out. Grein strikes out the side. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left. Fifth inning Oregon: Sinicki hits a hard shot to third that cant be gloved. Shes aboard on a single. Sinicki steals second. Patmon walks. Shaw pinch runs for Patmon. Escobar replaces Bachman in the pitching circle. McCoy strikes out. Cox blasts a three-run homer to give the Ducks a 6-1 lead. Jones singled to right. Flannery struck out, and Jones is thrown out trying to steal second. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 left. Liberty: Doerr grounds out to short. Craine flies out to left. Jessee lines out to second. Grein with 15 consecutive outs. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left. Fourth inning Oregon: Jones bloops a single to left center that becomes a double as the outfielders mishandle the bounce. Flannery hits a shot to right center that hits the base of the wall. Its an RBI double and Ducks, 3-1. Kai Luschar grounds out to the pitcher, Flannery advances to third. Kedre Luschar hits a bouncer to short. Fielder elects to try to nail Flannery at third, but she gets back to the bag in time. Luschar aboard on a fielders choice. Luschar steals second. Runners at second and third, one out. Maake pops up to third base, but its ruled that Flannery caused interference, and shes out. Maake still at the plate. Shes out on a grounder to third. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left. Liberty: McManus grounds to the pitcher. Henault grounds to third. Madrey strikes out. 12 straight for Grein. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left. Third inning Oregon: Maake strikes out, swinging. Sinicki flies out to right. Patmon walks. McCoy singles to left. Cox hits a bouncer to third, and Patmon is forced out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 left. Liberty: Byrum pops up to the pitcher. Woodard grounds out to short. Roupe also grounds to short. Nine straight hitters set down by Grein. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left Second inning Oregon: Sinicki leads off the inning by blasting a 2-2 pitch into the right center field seats. Game tied at 1-1. Patmon walked. McCoy flied out to center. Cox pops up to second base. Jones dumps a single just inside the left field line. Runners at first and second. Flannery draws a walk to load the bases, with two out. Yoder is replaced in the circle by Bachman. Kai Luschar hits a sharp bouncer, but her speed allows the senior to beat the throw for a single, driving in Patmon. 2-1 Ducks. Kedre Luschar hits a fly ball near the left field foul line that Doerr snags for the third out. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 left. Liberty: Doerr grounded out to first. Craine strikes out, looking. Jessee flies out to deep left. After giving up back-to-back hits to start the game, Grein has set down six consecutive Liberty hitters. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left. First inning Oregon (visiting team): Kai Luschar is hit by a pitch. Kedre Luschar strikes out, looking. Luschar steals second. Liberty immediately challenges, as it successfully did twice Friday night. Its ruled Luschar left on time, causing the Jane to erupt with cheers, obviously reacting to Friday night. Maake pops up to second. Pitch to Sinicki bounces in the dirt, and Luschar swipes third. Once again, here comes Liberty coach Dot Richardson to challenge the call at third. Call is overturned to out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left. Liberty: Grein pitching for Oregon. Woodard leads off the inning with a solo homer to right. 1-0 Flames. Roupe singles sharply to center. McManus struck out, swinging. Henault struck out, swinging. Madrey struck out, swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left. Ducks will be the visitors for Game 2. These fans at Eugene Super Regional sitting in center field had better be packing lots of sun screen pic.twitter.com/hFLWPfuuOg Nick Daschel (@nickdaschel) May 24, 2025 Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel | @nickdaschel.bsky.social | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. The Mt. Hood Community College Board of Education is considering cuts of up to seven programs. Oregonian file photo Voters in the Mt. Hood Community College district have finally approved a bond to pay for improvements at the Gresham-based campus after rejecting the past six bond requests from the district. Returns as of Friday afternoon, showed the bond passing with 50.16% of the vote or a 131-vote margin. Despite the slim margin, there does not appear to be a path for the results to change. Election officials in Multnomah and Clackamas counties said Friday that the only ballots left to be counted were ones that needed signature verification or were postmarked Tuesday but havent yet arrived at election offices. As voters continue to cure their signature challenges we will process and count their votes, Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott wrote in an email. The deadline to cure signature challenges is June 10. We may see a few additional ballots come in on Tuesday with valid postmarks but it wont be very many. Scott said the 131-vote margin also put the bond well outside the 0.2% margin that triggers an automatic recount. Currently, that margin would be 84 votes. So, unless things change dramatically there will not be an automatic recount, Scott wrote. College officials pitched the $136 million bond as a no-frills ask to meet critical needs. It will add a tax of about 25 cents to every $1,000 of assessed home value and will cost the average homeowner about $60 a year. The bond will pay for much needed improvements including earthquake retrofitting and updating original heating, cooling and wiring systems in buildings erected in 1970. In addition to nuts-and-bolts upgrades, the bond will cover a retractable dome over the colleges outdoor pool -- allowing community members to swim all year -- and will renovate labs, bring the colleges health programs under one roof and create new student activity areas in the Gresham academic center. It has been 50 years since the college last secured a bond from voters in the Mt. Hood Community College district, which spans a sprawling stretch of east Portland, Gresham, Troutdale and Sandy to the eastern slopes of Mount Hood. The current bond had appeared headed for defeat on election night, but those results changed as county elections offices released updated results later in the week. Senator Lew Frederick, R-North and Northeast Portland, is the sponsor of the "ban on book bans" bill. Mark Graves/The Oregonian The stage is set in the Oregon Legislature for a final showdown over a bill that would prohibit removing or declining to carry books from school libraries solely because they are written by diverse authors or contain themes about race, gender, LGBTQ+ issues and other groups protected from discrimination under Oregon law. This week, members of the House Education Committee sent Senate Bill 1098 which has drawn reams of passionate public feedback over the course of the legislative session to the House floor for a vote, the final hurdle before it would reach Gov. Tina Koteks desk. During last years short session, a similar bill passed the Senate but died in committee after furious debate. This years bill has proven similarly divisive. On Wednesday, it passed out of the House Education Committee with support from four Democrats and opposition from three Republicans. Under Senate Bill 1098, only a student caregiver or district employee who wanted to see books and other materials taken out of classrooms or school libraries could request to do so, and then only in writing, a provision designed to prevent outside interest groups from orchestrating campaigns to object to the same book in multiple districts, the bills sponsors have said. That request would then need to be reviewed by a district committee, following guidelines that would be set by the Oregon Department of Education and the state Board of Education. The proposal, sponsored by state Sen. Lew Frederick, a Portland Democrat, comes as Oregon is experiencing a big spike in the number of books and other materials challenged at schools and public libraries over the last year, according to a 2024 report from the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse. Between July 2023, and July 2024, individuals requested that 150 books and other documents, the majority of them young adult books and graphic novels, be removed or put in age-restricted sections in libraries, according to the report from the clearinghouse, which is affiliated with the State Library of Oregon. The three most frequently challenged titles were Susan Kuklins Beyond Magenta, Mike Curatos Flamer and Alice Osemans Heartstopper series. All three involve LGBTQ+ themes. State Rep. Emily McIntire, an Eagle Point Republican, made a last ditch effort to convince her colleagues to let the proposal die in committee, after theyd declined to support an amendment she offered that she said would ensure that only age-appropriate books could be found in school libraries. We are putting politics into our classrooms. We are using our children in this political game, she said. But committee chair Zach Hudson, a Troutdale Democrat, said age appropriateness should not be conflated with nondiscrimination. What we are doing with the bill is preventing discriminatory choices in education materials, he said. Julia Silverman covers K-12 education for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her via email at jsilverman@oregonian.com. Protesters take over the Burnside Bridge in Portland on June 1, 2020, the fifth night of protests against the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in Minneapolis. The Oregonian MINNEAPOLIS On his daily commute to one of the most consequential trials of the 21st century, Judge Peter Cahill blasted a pump-up playlist to psychologically prepare for another day on the bench that would be followed live by millions. AC/DCs Thunderstruck often carried him from the western suburbs to downtown Minneapolis and underneath the heavily fortified Hennepin County courthouse. The cranked-up volume would signal his arrival to deputies on his security team, whom hed quiz to name that song. It kind of became a tradition, Cahill said. It got us all pumped up. But also I thought it was part of my job to keep things a little light. I mean, everybodys taking this job seriously, but I dont want people stressing out. During the six-week murder trial of Derek Chauvin in 2021, Cahill emerged as a key figure in Minnesotas most widely viewed and heavily scrutinized case, which sparked protests and riots across the world over the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. His decision to livestream the criminal trial, the first in state history, set a new precedent for cameras in the courtroom. I thought, no one will trust the result from either end if they dont see whats going on, Cahill told the Minnesota Star Tribune in his first media interview about the case. All of us hate the spotlight, and wed rather just do our jobs, but I certainly dont regret it. In a wide-ranging conversation ahead of the five-year anniversary of Floyds murder, the newly retired judge talked about the trial from the perspective of the bench, balancing public access with unprecedented security threats, and his fear about how politicization of the courts and facts have degraded trust in the judiciary system. Judge Peter Cahill discusses motions before the court Wednesday, April 14, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. AP Trial was his duty There had never been a trial like this one, but the veteran judge, appointed in 2007 by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, had plenty of experience in high-profile cases. Cahills four-decade legal career involved working for both the prosecution and defense, including as top deputy to Amy Klobuchar during her tenure as Hennepin County Attorney. As a judge, Cahill developed a reputation for being decisive and direct, capable of going from calm to confrontational in seconds (Cahill admits he has Judge Judy moments). In the interview, he recalled first seeing Chauvin pin Floyd to the ground, watching the viral video of the arrest at the same time as the public. Hes gonna get charged, Cahill remembered thinking on May 26, 2020. Should that happen, Cahill suspected he might be on the short list for the case. He didnt want it, he said, but knew if asked, he couldnt say no. Its duty, honor, country when it comes right down to it, he said. Days later, incoming Chief Judge Toddrick Barnette strolled past Cahills office in the Hennepin County Government Center, stopping to poke his head through the doorway. Cahill knew his prediction had been accurate. Before Barnette could speak, Cahill expressed his gratitude by lobbing an expletive at his new boss. There is no Plan B, Barnette replied. In a recent interview, Barnette said he hand-picked Cahill because he had the experience, temperament and respect of his peers to handle a trial of that magnitude. I knew that he wouldnt fold under media pressure or community pressure. Leading up to jury selection, Cahill received a card from one of few people who understood the mental preparation required for a televised case complicated by global scrutiny Lance Ito, the judge in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder case. The letter, penned on watercolor stationery, wished Cahill peace and wisdom in his upcoming trial. Broadcasting to millions The decision to allow the trial to be broadcast live was borne of extraordinary circumstances. Minnesota law banned cameras in the courtroom in most cases. But the pandemic brought new variables that changed the legal analysis for Minnesotas judicial system. Social distancing precautions allowed only six people to attend in person, and Cahill said he worried this would run afoul of the U.S. Constitutions rules on a public trial. The six seats were designated for family members. So is that a public trial? I dont think so. Millions of people watched the trial in real time each day. When the jury announced its guilty verdict, more than 23 million viewers tuned in. Often at the center of proceedings, Cahill found himself the target of attention he said he never wanted. He received enough hate mail to fill two boxes, plus hundreds more voicemails, from people on opposite ends of public opinion on the case. To lighten the mood, he and his staff would sometimes hold dramatic readings in his chambers, he said. I hate extremists on both ends, Cahill said. Most of the hate mail was, You should have given him life. You had pastors condemning me to hell for my light sentence. Others attacked him for being unfair to Chauvin, some calling on him to pardon the former officer, which a judge has no legal authority to do. Some of the messages mentioned his family, seemingly meant to intimidate him. One, asking for an autograph from the trial participants, was sent to his home address. Cahill credited the support from his wife, four kids and friends in getting through the unusual time. He said his neighbors routinely dropped off care packages that included a bottle of whiskey. Local law enforcement ran a security audit on his house and sent squads by, sometimes three times per day. He bought a new home surveillance system, and police outfitted a neighbors tree with a camera to watch the street. Like he had for years, Cahill slept with a steel pipe under his bed. An unpredictable case There were moments that no judge could predict or control as when, in the midst of the trial, Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter shot and killed Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop, reigniting protests and rioting and prompting the deployment of the National Guard, along with a fresh news cycle. Politicians spoke publicly about the Chauvin case, including President Joe Biden, who said he hoped the jury reached the right verdict, and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who told protesters to get more confrontational. The city was also ramping up for a vote on whether to replace the police department with a new model. As the jury was being seated, the Minneapolis City Council announced a $27 million settlement to Floyds family. Cahills annoyance at the time was palpable. It did not help that people were saying defund the police all these idiots on the Minneapolis City Council, said Cahill. He wanted a good, nice, clean trial uninfluenced by elected officials. He told the jury to actively avoid the news. The defense called for a change of venue to a different county, but Cahill denied it, arguing that nowhere in the state would be immune to coverage of the case. What, are we going to change the venue to Mars? he quipped. Crazies on both sides Four years later, the case is still being critiqued, and so is Cahills handling of it. Conservative commentators like Tucker Carlson have denounced the trial as mob justice, confidently asserting that the jury was intimidated into its verdict. A documentary called The Fall of Minneapolis, produced by Minnesota-based outlet Alpha News, claims the media and Democratic politicians prevented Chauvin and the other officers from receiving a fair trial, and casts Cahill as biased for limiting information admitted in court, including Floyds criminal history. Cahill said he hasnt watched these reports, but he defended the integrity of the trial. He said his decisions on what to admit in the case were guided by basic rules of evidence, which dont allow in prior bad acts except under rare circumstances. Floyds criminal history, which included convictions for robbery and drug possession, wasnt relevant to either sides legal theories presented in court, he said, and the case focused on what the officers knew at the time and how they acted in those moments. A lot of this stuff, the prior criminal history, had nothing to do with it, said Cahill. (Floyds) not on trial. Cahill said he spent hours talking to jurors after they reached their decision and has no doubt whatsoever that they convicted Chauvin based solely on the evidence presented and debated at trial. Some critics alleged the jurors could hear the chants of protesters outside the courthouse during deliberations. In reality, Cahill said, the jury was bused to the suburbs. They realized that there are crazies on both sides, he said of jurors security concerns, noting that the trial began a few months after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. There wasnt a verdict that was gonna please everybody. Cahill said the criticisms in this case are part of a troubling trend of attacks on the courts, which could be a sign that Americans are losing trust in the process. The far right, you know, their daily bread is revisionist history, said Cahill. But in this particular instance, its a lack of trust in the judicial system as a whole, and the jury system, and thats concerning. I think what concerns me most about the revisionist history is the lack of confidence in the judicial process not even the system or the judges, the judicial process. We had 12 jurors from a variety of backgrounds who gave it good consideration. And I bet if you interviewed them, theyd say they dont regret their decision. A new model for transparency Cahill does have one regret. The initial gag order he put in place barring attorneys on both sides from publicly discussing the case an unusual move decried as an overreach by the media and defense teams was quickly vacated after Cahill realized how ineffective it was. It doesnt work nowadays, said Cahill, who noted that proxies are tapped to post prejudicial comments on social media. Even law enforcement spoke out of turn before the trial began, acting as an anonymous source for a New York Times story outlining the terms of a potential 10-year plea deal for Chauvin scuttled by then-Attorney General William Barr. That pissed me off, Cahill recalled, fearing the revelation would poison his jury pool. Such plea negotiations are never admissible in court. But overall, the retired judge, now 66, doesnt spend much time lingering on the case which he views as a highlight, but not the pinnacle, of his long career. Floyds killing proved just how far society had to go on racial justice issues, Cahill reflected, and made him examine his own biases. Part of my training is to check my bias. And to be honest, I think I have a pro-police bias ... that I have to be careful not to act on, he said, noting that his brother was once an officer in Wisconsin and another relative currently serves in law enforcement. Earlier this year, Cahill donated a trove of artifacts from the Chauvin trial to the Minnesota Historical Society, including the distinctive COVID-19 mask he wore in court, his robes, personal notes and several boxes of hate mail. He even donated his dark metal-rim glasses, which hes since traded in for a new style in hopes fewer people will recognize him on the street or at the State Fair. I changed my look so I dont look like that Chauvin judge, he said. Liz Sawyer, Andy Mannix The Minnesota Star Tribune Rochelle Olson of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story. The price of a Discover Pass will go up in 2025. Therese Bottomly/The Oregonian/OregonLive The annual Discover Pass will become 50% more expensive after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a new bill into law Saturday. The pass currently costs $30, getting you year-round access to park your vehicle and access more than 100 state parks, 350 recreation sites and nearly 2,000 miles of trails. Starting Oct. 1, itll cost you $45. This is the first time the state has increased the price of the Discover Pass since it was implemented in 2011 to help parks and recreation areas that were losing state funding because of budget cuts after the Great Recession. Though the price of the pass hasnt increased since then, legislators noted in the bill that during this time, the costs to maintain recreational access have steadily increased. The Legislature reduced general fund appropriations to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and added new costs, the agency reported, in response to the states estimated $16 billion budget shortfall over the next four years. The price increase for the annual pass is not expected to create a significant increase in revenue, State Parks said. Looking ahead, the agency will be more reliant on revenue for funding from 2025-27 compared with the previous two-year period, it said. The cost of a day-use pass, currently $10, will not increase. An earlier version of the bill included a similar 50% hike for day-use passes to $15, but state parks recommended against it. All off-road vehicles will be exempt from displaying a Discover Pass to park at state-managed lands as long as theyre transported by another vehicle displaying a pass that will stay parked at a recreation site. The bill also made some adjustments to the Lifetime Disabled Veterans pass, allowing it to stand in for a Discover Pass at Department of Natural Resources and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lands as well. Those passholders can still enjoy free camping but might have to pay reservation-related fees. 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. SEATTLE Something unusual happened when attorney Sofia Velling went to a Seattle immigration court hearing last week with an asylum-seeker. Out of the blue, she said, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney moved to dismiss deportation proceedings against her client. Stationed in the hallway outside were several ICE officers a rare sight in the court, housed in a federal office building downtown. Those who have hearings there typically have no reason to be arrested by ICE since they are already in deportation proceedings. Yet, ICE officers appeared to arrest at least three people two men and one woman there Tuesday. Officers led the three into an elevator in handcuffs and waist shackles. ICE officers questioned and released a fourth person. Vellings client, a Venezuelan woman who applied for asylum shortly after arriving in the U.S. in December 2023, was not among those arrested or questioned. But what happened at the clients hearing earlier, Velling and other immigration attorneys believe, is connected. The attorneys suspect ICE is attempting to dismiss immigration court cases so it can fast-track deportations through a process called expedited removal that does not involve judges. ICE officers lead three people, each restrained with belly chains and hand cuffs, to an elevator outside of Seattle Immigration Court on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times/TNS) TNS Someone in expedited removal can be put on a plane leaving the country in a matter of hours, said Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. The ICE officers at immigration court said they were not allowed to talk to the press. An ICE spokesperson did not respond to inquiries. If the attorneys suspicions are true, ICE is carrying out the Trump administrations latest strategy to amp up deportations, which have been lagging behind the massive numbers the administration has said it wants. Immigration attorneys said such an approach would deny people the right to have their cases heard in court. It feels like an underhanded way to circumvent protections for people, said Gabe Harrison, a Bellingham immigration lawyer who saw the ICE officers outside the courtroom. Harrison also worried the presence of ICE officers and possibility of arrest would scare people away from attending hearings. That would likely result in removal orders handed down because they didnt show up, which can also lead to quick deportation. Tuesday morning, ICE officers followed two men who left the courtroom and went into a hallway bathroom. When the men came out, they took one immediately through a door off another hallway. The officers got the other mans name and walked away. Then, an officer circled back after checking his phone and took the second man through the same door. ICE officers wait outside of Seattle Immigration Court on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times/TNS) TNS The officers released that man soon after. Later, ICE officers opened the door and brought out the three in handcuffs and shackles. Under previous administrations, the government used expedited removal to arrest people within 14 days of their arriving in the U.S. unlawfully. They also had to be within 100 miles of the border. President Donald Trump, in an executive order soon after taking office, expanded the policy so it could be used for unauthorized immigrants anywhere in the U.S. who arrived in the country within the last two years. People in deportation proceedings who file an asylum application, like Vellings client, normally can be detained but not deported until a judge reaches a decision on their application. But if the proceedings are dismissed, the asylum applications are no longer pending, said Velling, who works for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. They can be picked up, she said. At least, ICE can do so unless those with dismissed proceedings have a chance to file a new asylum application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration court hears asylum applications for people in deportation proceedings while USCIS handles such applications for everyone else. Velling, at her clients morning hearing, objected to the government dismissal request and the judge gave her time to submit an argument. When the attorney left the courtroom with her client, she saw ICE officers standing by the elevator. They said nothing. But the episode left Velling shaken. It was really shocking, she said. I felt scared for my client. She said she feared even more for those without attorneys who could object to requests to terminate proceedings. --Nina Shapiro, The Seattle Times 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. As the county enters its fifth year of consecutive budget reductions, its departments are feeling the burn. Mark Graves/The Oregonian As Washington County moves forward with its $2 billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year, the governments financial woes are expected to bleed into funding for key public services. The countys budget committee approved the proposed fiscal plan on Tuesday, which includes deep reductions to agencies like the Sheriffs Office and District Attorneys Office, as well as cuts to animal services, road maintenance funds and library support. Its the fifth consecutive year that the government is navigating budget cuts. A sign with the company's logo stands outside a Rite Aid store in Salem, N.H., on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) AP A Rite Aid store in York County is on the companys latest list of locations that are closing. The store at 2901 Carlisle Road in Dover Township is closing, the chain said in a bankruptcy filing on Friday. More than 150 stores are on the latest list. The 151 stores are in addition to the 210 stores that Rite Aid previously announced it would close. Earlier this month, Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy for a second time to pursue a strategic and value-maximizing sale process for substantially all of its assets. Most of Rite Aids more than 1,200 stores are expected to close, including hundreds of locations in the Keystone State. Philadelphia-based Rite Aid, which was located in Cumberland County for decades, has a large presence in Pennsylvania with well over 300 stores. The company is also laying off around 1,100 corporate employees who work at or report to offices in York County and Philadelphia. Rite Aid announced last week that it had entered into agreements for its pharmacy assets of more than 1,000 stores across the country with CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger, and Giant Eagle. CVS Pharmacy said that it has agreed to acquire the prescription files of 625 Rite Aid pharmacies across 15 states in areas that CVS serves, as well as acquire and operate 64 Rite Aid stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Those agreements were approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week, according to Reuters. In March 2020, Rite Aid announced it was beginning a $700 million store overhaul over the next two years. Officials said at the time that the changes would include an overhaul in merchandise, implementing workflow changes, re-engineering how the entire pharmacy team works, changing workspace, hiring more technicians and digital updates. Changes also included a new logo. Seven months later, the drugstore chain introduced two pilot stores for what the company was calling the store of the future. One of those stores was the Rite Aid at the Newberry Pointe shopping center in Newberry Township, York County. Four-and-a-half years later, that store is closing, the chain said in a bankruptcy filing on Friday. The store is on the companys latest list of closing locations. The 151 stores that are closing are in addition to the 210 stores Rite Aid previously announced it would close. Earlier this month, Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy for a second time to pursue a strategic and value-maximizing sale process for substantially all of its assets. Most of Rite Aids more than 1,200 stores are expected to close, including hundreds of locations in the Keystone State. Philadelphia-based Rite Aid, which was located in Cumberland County for decades, has a large presence in Pennsylvania with well over 300 stores. The company is also laying off around 1,100 corporate employees who work at or report to offices in York County and Philadelphia. Rite Aid announced that it had entered into agreements for its pharmacy assets of more than 1,000 stores across the country with CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger, and Giant Eagle. CVS Pharmacy said that it has agreed to acquire the prescription files of 625 Rite Aid pharmacies across 15 states in areas that CVS serves, as well as acquire and operate 64 Rite Aid stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Those agreements were approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last week, according to Reuters. Tyler State Park in Newtown Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania was closed on Friday, May 23 while police conducted a water search Google Maps UPDATE: Body of missing Pa. park ranger found days after his kayak capsizes Tyler State Park in Bucks County will remain closed while crews search for a park ranger who went missing Friday. Troopers at Pennsylvania State Polices Dublin station were notified of the missing Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ranger, a 38-year-old Delaware County man, around 12:28 p.m. after his kayak capsized in the Neshaminy Creek, state police said. State police did not provide the missing rangers name or a last known clothing description. A number of agencies from Bucks County responded to the park to assist with the search efforts. These included PSP Aviation, PSP Maritime Unit, Northampton Township Fire Department, Newtown Emergency Services Department, New Hope Fire Department, Lingohocken Fire Department, Upper Makefield Fire Company, and the Bucks County Special Operations Dive Team. No further details were included in the state police report. It is unclear what caused the rangers kayak to capsize or if he was kayaking alone. Two people were rushed to the hospital after a car struck them at the corner of South Hanover and West Pomfret streets in Carlisle Friday evening. One of those victims later died. This photo shows the striking vehicle, come to rest against the south wall of the Pomfret Street Apartments building. Photo provided by Chris Taney UPDATE: Driver accused of killing pedestrian in Cumberland County charged with homicide CARLISLE - One person died and another was injured when they were struck by a car that careened into a downtown building. According to Cumberland County dispatch records, the crash occurred at 8:17 p.m. At that time, the driver of a Toyota Camry sedan lost control of his car at the intersection of Pomfret and South Hanover streets. The car traveled onto the sidewalk at the northwest corner of the intersection, striking a woman and man, uprooted a mailbox and wedged against the ground floor of a multi-story apartment building. It was not immediately clear what caused the driver to lose control. As of publication of this post, police had not released the identity of the person who died, nor was there any update on the extent of injuries to second person. They are, however, asking anyone who witnessed the crash to contact the department at 717-243-5252 as the investigation remains open. President Donald Trump plans to revive the U.S. maritime ship building industry, including levying tariffs and fees on Chinese ships entering American ports. Now Congress must pass the SHIPS Act, which will increase our ship building capacity and hopefully the size of our merchant marine. It could also provide economies of scale and expertise to rebuild our Navy. Since WWII the U.S. has had a steady decline in itsflagged merchant ships from about 50% of the worlds cargo shipping to about 1% today. Our merchant marine has less than 10,000 mariners compared to 50,000 in 1960. Our Navy is hard pressed to find commercial ships to support its operations. China leads the world in commercial shipping and ship building. It has 5,500 ships in maritime trade compared to 80 for the U.S. China, an economic and military adversary, is a big user of the Panama Canal, and this is why President Trump wants to exert pressure on Panama to have Chinese companies relinquish ownership of Panama Canal port facilities. Approximately 90% of the worlds goods are transported by ships. We must increase U.S. flagged ships to compete with China and other countries, and for our national security. Donald Moskowitz, Londonderry, N.H. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) before an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) AP Aaron Rodgers says he will not play for the New Orleans Saints. When asked by someone at a live Q&A with his friend, artist Mike Stud, Rodgers said he would not play for the Saints. No, Rodgers said. Thats the answer. Ive played there a couple of times, but the answer is no. Im too old, I dont want to live in Louisiana." During that same Q&A, Rodgers seemed to hint he would play for the Steelers this season by taking a subtle jab at the Chicago Bears after being asked if he would ever play for Chicago. No, Rodgers answered the question. But I believe there is a team that might play in Chicago this year, a road trip to Chicago. I love Chicago, though, way more than they love me. Its been a great relationship all one way. The Steelers play the Bears in Chicago on November 23rd, which is Week 12. Rodgers was later asked outright if he would sign with the Steelers, to which he gave a vague answer. You never know, Rodgers said. This is another sign it will eventually get done, though no one seems to know quite for sure when Rodgers will eventually ink the deal. On the Pat McAfee Show in April, Rodgers said he would not sign a deal with a team until he felt he could fully commit to them with his personal life in order. In his latest interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Rodgers may have just revealed and hinted at the issues he hopes to resolve in his personal life. Rodgers said multiple people in his life are dealing with serious illnesses, including cancer. Ive figured it out during the last year when Ive been in the weeds with these people who are close to me that have cancer, Rodgers said. That is taking a personal toll on Rodgers, who discussed non-conventional treatment options on the podcast. Still, he offered no certain timetable for a decision and seemed focused on his personal life first before anything else. Reporter Carl Dawson covers education for the Aiken Standard. An Aiken County resident since 1990, his work has appeared in the Charleston News & Courier, the Tampa Tribune, the Atlanta Constitution and the Augusta Chronicle. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of South Carolina. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain diminishing to a few showers this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Showers this evening then scattered thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 74F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Mount Pleasant, SC (29464) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain, heavy at times early, diminishing to a few showers this afternoon. High 84F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Showers this evening then scattered thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 74F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Myrtle Beach, SC (29577) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Heavy rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers and windy conditions developing for the afternoon. High 81F. Winds ENE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain. Thunderstorms possible...mainly overnight. Low 76F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch. Myrtle Beach, SC (29577) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Heavy rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain. Thunderstorms possible...mainly overnight. Low around 75F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. PR-Inside.com: 2025-05-24 16:16:03 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1065 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Immediate Edge Review 2025 - Is It Legit or a Scam? Discover how this AI-powered crypto trading platform works, key features, real user reviews, and if it's safe to invest.ALBANY, OR / ACCESS Newswire / May 24, 2025 /About the Founder of Immediate EdgeEdwin James is the founder of Immediate Edge. According to the Immediate Edge website, the creator amassed billions of dollars through Forex binary options and cryptocurrency trading. He also claims that he uses this Immediate Edge platform to discuss his winning trading ideas. According to Edwin James, the platform was created with new traders in mind, allowing them to earn money.Open Your Immediate Edge Account Now From The Official SiteWhat Is the Immediate Edge?For any trader interested in attempting their fortune in the cryptocurrency market, it is prudent to gain an understanding of the digital currency trading process. Numerous exchanges allow for cryptocurrency trading, but each exchange deals with a distinct collection of cryptocurrencies and adheres to a separate set of regulations. Thus, in order for a trader to be successful in crypto trading, it is critical to select a trading platform that supports trading across many cryptos and exchanges. Immediate Edge is one trading platform that provides members with both of these benefits. The designers of this trading software say that it is 98.9 percent accurate at scanning worldwide marketplaces and identifying profitable trade opportunities. After members pick a trade, the software can execute the orders and credit the trading account with the profits.Is Immediate Edge a Legit Platform or a Scam?According to the Immediate Edge review, the information available on the official website is really straightforward. It is recommended to begin with a minimum investment of $250 and build the capital through reinvestment of earnings. In trading, the greater the amount of money deposited by the trader, the greater the earning potential.Immediate Edge's broker partners are licensed and respected firms that provide superior customer service. We strongly advise traders to do background checks on any broker prior to signing up.Find Out More On Immediate Edge By Visiting The Official WebsiteImmediate Edge's CharacteristicsAs part of our assessment of Immediate Edge, we believe it is vital to highlight several of the platform's features -Deposits and Withdrawals: The cryptocurrency market is rife with scam auto trading robots. While locating a legitimate robot is challenging, trading on the platform is straightforward and user-friendly. The trader may withdraw funds at any time of day or night, and the funds will be credited to their Immediate Edge account within less than 24 hours.Verification: According to Immediate Edge reviews, the platform's verification process is quite straightforward; traders simply need to register on the platform by supplying a few personal details. They must include their entire name, email address, and phone number. Their phone number and email address will be used to send the verification link. The next step is to make a deposit of at least $250 USD, and once the money has been transferred to their account, they will be permitted to use this platform.Testimonials: The Immediate Edge website includes several positive testimonials. Additionally, it adds that people are quite delighted with this vehicle program. These testimonies assert that they effectively generated revenue in a short period of time.Fee: As mentioned on its website, the Instant Edge platform has no hidden costs. Additionally, registration is entirely free, and there are no commissions or broker fees on this platform, which is advantageous.Brokers: As is the case with the majority of auto trading bots, Immediate Edge bot operates by routing funds through trusted robot brokers. This means that the trader's funds are deposited with the broker, and when the trader clicks on auto trading, the trades are executed on the trading platforms of the partner brokers.Why Choose Immediate Edge? France and Canada Consumer Report Released HereBeginner's GuideAccording to this Immediate Edge review, this app claims to be a very secure and successful platform, and there are multiple user testimonials and user reviews on their website from traders claiming to have increased their profits while trading on this platform.The following are some helpful hints for newbies before they begin trading on this platform.The first step is to follow expert guidance; this can be found on YouTube or in financial blogs, which frequently provide good expert advice and the best techniques to trade with Bitcoin bots. Additionally, they provide excellent trading tactics, which is very beneficial for traders who are new to bitcoin trading.It is always prudent to begin small and avoid making large financial commitments. A $250 minimum investment is required to join the Immediate Edge platform, which is pretty affordable. After earning earnings, the trader may consider investing a substantial sum of money in order to earn additional profits.The trader should withdraw winnings on a regular basis and not reinvest their full profit from Immediate Edge. If they reinvest the entire sum, they risk either increasing their earnings or incurring massive losses. The trader should only invest capital that they can afford to lose.The Advantages of Immediate EdgeThe platform asserts that it is equipped with a powerful algorithm capable of operating in a blockchain environment and forecasting profitable trades.It is a simple-to-use and completely free trading platform.Selects winning trades based on current market pricing and historical transaction data.Trading is secure since all data is encrypted and strict security protocols are followed.Any computer or smartphone with an internet connection can be used to open the account.Customer service is available at all times to assist members.This trading tool is extremely fast and consistently outperforms the market by a few milliseconds, allowing users to book profits ahead of the competition.Click Here to Open Immediate Edge Account in Canada (Register Fee $250)How to Make the Most of Immediate Edge?Sign up for the Immediate Edge Trading PlatformIndividuals interested in trading on the Immediate Edge must first register on the website. They will find a registration form on the website's homepage. It must contain correct personal information about the user, such as his or her name, email address, and phone number.Fund the trading accountUsers deposit money into their trading accounts, which are later utilized to execute trade orders. As such, it is unquestionably the most critical step in the process.Any user may make a minimum deposit o PR-Inside.com: 2025-05-24 14:05:41 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1060 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Curious about Power Trades in 2025? Get the full breakdown in our updated review - uncover its features, security measures, and real user feedback to see if it's a reliable platform or a potential scam.FORT ALBANY, ON / ACCESS Newswire / May 24, 2025 / Bitcoin was created in 2009 by an unidentified person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Without a middleman - that is, without the involvement of banks - transactions are accomplished. Bitcoin may be used to purchase hotel rooms on Expedia, goods on Overstock, and Xbox games.Open Your Power Trades Account Now From The Official Canada SiteIt may be used to make purchases anonymously. Small businesses may find this cryptocurrency interesting due to the lack of credit card-related costs. Numerous individuals buy bitcoins in anticipation of their price appreciation.What is Bitcoin trading?Bitcoin trading is a form of speculation on bitcoin price fluctuations. Rather than purchasing bitcoin via an exchange with the expectation that its price would rise over time, crypto traders have begun using derivatives to speculate on price increases and decreases in order to profit from bitcoin's volatility.With a competent trading platform and financial derivatives such as CFDs, bitcoin price speculation is possible. These platforms enable users to benefit from price fluctuations in either direction without holding the underlying currency. Thus traders do not need to worry about the security of their bitcoin tokens.Due to bitcoin trading platforms such as Power Trades, it has never been simpler to enter the cryptocurrency market. There are hundreds of bitcoin robots available, each with its own set of tools and functions.The following review provides an in-depth analysis of the author's viewpoint on Power Trades, touching on this bot's various features and illustrating how to begin trading with this cryptocurrency platform in a matter of minutes!Power Trades is a next-gen crypto trading platform that leverages AI algorithms and VPS technology to streamline and automate the trading process for users.How Does Power Trades Work?When the robot recognizes a potentially lucrative opportunity, it will automatically execute a trade based on the risk criteria set in the settings menu. If the transaction is successful, Power Trades will end the position at the optimal moment to guarantee that the user receives the highest possible return. The profits of the deal are then deposited into the user's trading account, where they may be withdrawn or reinvested.Advantages of Power TradesDuring the research and testing for this Power Trades review, a number of features that newbie and seasoned traders may find beneficial were uncovered. Here is a deeper examination of each of these attributes:Collaborations with Prominent AgentsAccording to the Power Trades website, the robot's creators have built ties with many of the industry's most prominent bitcoin exchanges. This guarantees that every transaction made by a bot is completed instantly and without slippage.Try Power Trades For FreeExpert Development GroupAlthough the particular members of the development team are not named on the robot's website, the team's combined experience in the financial markets exceeds 100 years. Moreover, the crew allegedly developed trading software for other financial intermediaries.Customer SupportThe Power Trades website offers a basic contact form that enables visitors to email the staff with any questions or concerns. Customer assistance is accessible around-the-clock, seven days a week.Demo-Trading CapabilityCustomers may utilize the demo account feature to test the system before trading with real funds. Power Trades will provide the customer with $5,000 in virtual money, enabling them to practice trading and comprehend how the bot operates.Cost-free to useAs stated earlier, the robot is entirely free to use. A minimum investment of $250 and a cryptocurrency wallet are required to get started.Why Choose Power Trades? United Kingdom & Canada Consumer Report Released HereCommissions for Power TradesThis trading robot does not collect any fees, which is a point that has been emphasized throughout. Therefore, users may quickly register with the platform and begin trading without worrying about paying additional fees for deposits or withdrawals.Is Power Trades a Scam?Given the features of the robot and the fact that it is entirely free to use, it is reasonable to question if this is too good to be true. Power Trades seems to be the subject of an abundance of positive online evaluations. This may provide validity to the trading bot, but these evaluations are subjective and unconfirmed, so readers should approach them cautiously.As stated earlier, Power Trades interacts with the most prestigious bitcoin exchanges. A dedicated customer service staff is also accessible to address any queries the trader may have. Lastly, the website's claim of a 90 percent success rate is now verified.Power Trades RequirementsThe site is free to use, but a $250 initial deposit is required to finance the trades made by the bot on the trader's behalf. Since there are no fees connected with deposits, the whole $250 will be deposited to the user's trading account.Power Trades Customer SupportIt was discovered that the robot delivers dedicated client support around-the-clock, seven days a week. Users may get assistance by completing the contact form on the Power Trades website and submitting their email address for a staff member to reply.Power Trades Process of RegistrationBefore concluding this Power Trades review, it is vital to cover the registration and trading procedures for this cryptocurrency robot. The whole process may be completed in four straightforward stages and within 10 minutes.First, create an account.Click on the "Sign Up" button on the Power Trades website. The user will next be asked for their name, email address, and password.Utilize the Demo AccountThe user will be able to utilize the demo trading option after registration. This program enables the user to test the robot with $5000 in virtual currency to verify they comprehend its everyday operation. When the consumer is completely pleased, they may move to Step 3.Finally, Make a PaymentTo begin trading, a minimum deposit of $250 is needed. Deposits are free and show instantly in the trader's account.More Information on Power Trades Can Be Found On The Official Website Canada HereSuggestions For InvestorBecause the market is unpredictable and one might lose everything, one should always invest with his or her own finances and never borrow money.Rather than making significant investments all at once, invest gradually and prudently.Discover the ap PR-Inside.com: 2025-05-24 01:20:12 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 750 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 The Lifestyle Brand Will Make Its Way to the Shelves of the Natural Grocer's Locations NationwideLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / May 23, 2025 / Embodying a chic, global and contemporary culture,ELLE Cafe , the premium coffee brand that's a licensee of the world-renowned French fashion and lifestyle global ELLE brand and its owner Lagardere Group, is expanding its reach toSprouts Farmers Market . Later this month, shoppers of the natural food chain will be able to easily enjoy a selection of ELLE Cafe products that embrace the brand's signature approach to style. ELLE Cafe LogoELLE Cafe is an on-trend brand that is poignant and feminine, representative of the modern, stylish woman's everyday life. It's adorned with packaging that is inspired by the iconic ELLE logo, a distinctive and unique design signature. Meant to be displayed, it seamlessly complements everyday kitchen aesthetics. And ELLE Cafe's taste is also unforgettable, made from the finest coffee beans and expertly roasted in Italy.Launching May 1st, three of ELLE Cafe's single-serve K-cup compatible varieties will be available at nearly all of Sprouts' 400+ locations. Products include the beloved mild-medium sweet morning Breakfast Blend, the full-bodied and complex Latin blend of French Roast, and Colombia, a signature medium roast derived from the South American country. ELLE Cafe is USDA organic, sourced from sustainable farms, with the coffee pods themselves also being completely recyclable."With roots in fashion and lifestyle, ELLE Cafe's portfolio is unique, innovative and crafted with the ultimate taste for the finer things in life," said Joseph, Cohen. "ELLE Cafe is for those passionate about coffee, lifestyle and fashion which is why we are thrilled to partner with Sprouts and their commitment to sourcing the highest quality products throughout its stores." All ELLE Cafe products are one-of-a-kind, aligning with the global demand for responsible and eco-friendly products. To coincide with the Sprouts launch, one lucky coffee drinker will have the chance to win an unforgettable three-day to Paris which includes a stay at the four-star design hotel, Maison ELLE Paris. For more information on ELLE Cafe, visitwww.elle-cafe.com About ELLE CafeELLE Cafe is a unique collaboration between the global lifestyle brand ELLE, an Italian world-famous traditional roaster and a skilled entrepreneur that has resulted in a stylish and delicious array of indulgent products. Its offerings include the Italian Blend, ELLE French Roast, ELLE Blonde, ELLE Ristretto, ELLE Colombia, and ELLE Breakfast Blend. ELLE Cafe is Licensed by Emanuelle LLC, the ELLE brand and its owner Lagardere Group. For more information and to purchase ELLE Cafe, visitwww.elle-cafe.com About Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.True to its farm-stand heritage, Sprouts offers a unique grocery experience featuring an open layout with fresh produce at the heart of the store. Sprouts inspires wellness naturally with a carefully curated assortment of better-for-you products paired with purpose-driven people. The healthy grocer continues to bring the latest in wholesome, innovative products made with lifestyle-friendly ingredients such as organic, plant-based and gluten-free. Headquartered in Phoenix, and one of the largest and fastest growing specialty retailers of fresh, natural and organic food in the United States, Sprouts employs approximately 35,000 team members and operates more than 440 stores in 24 states nationwide. To learn more about Sprouts, and the good it brings communities, visitsprouts.com/about About Lagardere Group and ELLE brandCreated in 1992, Lagardere group, the owner of the ELLE & ELLE DECORATION brands, is an international group with operations in more than 40 countries worldwide. It employs more than 33,000 people and generated revenue of 8,942 billion in 2024.The Group focuses on three divisions: Lagardere Publishing (Book and e-Publishing, Board Games and Mobile Games), Lagardere Travel Retail (Travel Essentials, Duty Free & Fashion and Foodservice) and Lagardere News (Le Journal du Dimanche, JDD Magazine, and the ELLE brand license). Lagardere shares are listed on Euronext Paris.ELLE is the world's number one female media brand with 50 ELLE editions around the world and an international network reaching more than 250 million people globally. Lagardere Active Enterprises is the dedicated business unit of the Lagardere Group in charge of the brands' extension programs inside the ELLE International division.In 80 countries, ELLE is a powerhouse brand with a non-media presence that contains more than 200 licensees such as, in the hospitality sector, ELLE Cafe, ELLE Salon and ELLE Spa licensees. For more information, visitwww.lagardere.comandwww.elleinternational.com Contact InformationJoseph CohenCEOjoseph@ elle-cafe.com 415-747-5817Yosra KharbecheMarketing manageryosra@ elle-cafe.com 346-453-2571SOURCE: ELLE Cafe PR-Inside.com: 2025-05-24 11:00:21 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 354 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 A few tips to enhance your travel experience along the Indiana Toll RoadELKHART, INDIANA / ACCESS Newswire / May 24, 2025 / As the summer travel season approaches, ITR Concession Co. LLC (ITRCC), the concessionaire and operator of the Indiana Toll Road, is reminding motorists to take a few simple steps to make travel smoother and more efficient for everyone.E-ZPass customers are encouraged to double-check their account status at least 72 hours prior to hitting the road. Having a properly mounted transponder, a fully funded E-ZPass account, and a valid payment method attached to the account will help to avoid unexpected delays and to keep customers moving.In addition, all customers are asked to:Use the correct lane for their payment method;Slow down as you approach toll plazas;Leave a safe distance between vehicles;Follow all posted signs and directions.To support smooth and safe operations this summer, the Indiana State Police (ISP) will monitor traffic at toll plazas and provide guidance when needed."Summer is a great time to travel, and we're here to help make the driving experience as smooth and safe as possible," said an ITRCC Executive. "By taking a few extra moments to update your E-ZPASS account and driving carefully through toll plazas, you help keep our staff safe, improve traffic flow, and avoid delays." Motorists are also reminded that toll plaza staff and ISP personnel may be working in the vicinity of the toll lanes. Please drive with care and remain alert for workers on site.About the Indiana Toll RoadEstablished in 2006, ITR Concession Company LLC (ITRCC) responsibilities are detailed in the Concession and Lease Agreement with the Indiana Finance Authority, such as the construction, maintenance, repair, and operation of the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road. Headquartered in Elkhart, the Toll Road spans northern Indiana, linking Chicago with the Eastern Seaboard. Designated as part of Interstate 80/90, the Toll Road serves as a vital transportation link in the Midwest.For current traffic and construction updates, visit www.indianatollroad.org or follow @IndianaTollRoad on Facebook or X (Twitter).Contact InformationYvette LeyvaCommunications Manageryleyva@ indianatollroad.org 5742614028SOURCE: ITR Concession Company LLC PR-Inside.com: 2025-05-24 12:19:19 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1030 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Is Trade 350 app genuinely legit in 2025-or just another scam? Dive into our in-depth review to uncover its features, security measures, and real user feedback.FORT ALBANY, ON / ACCESS Newswire / May 24, 2025 / Trade 350 App is a cryptocurrency trading robot that automates the process of buying and selling Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies. According to Trade 350 App, no prior experience is necessary to begin using this software, and there are no associated trading fees. The platform is available for trading 24 hours a day, guaranteeing that the trader never misses an opportunity to profit from the constantly changing cryptocurrency market.Open Your Trade 350 App Account Now From The Official SiteIs Trade 350 App a legitimate venture?This Trade 350 App review will educate the trader on everything there is to know about this cryptocurrency robot.Trade 350 App - What is it?Trade 350 App is a cryptocurrency trading platform that is completely automated, commonly referred to as a Bitcoin robot. This software can automatically acquire and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum on their behalf.Trade 350 App's declared objective is to make trading beneficial for all traders. One of the most distinguishing features of Trade 350 App is its complete lack of transaction fees. The Trade 350 App website states that this platform does not impose account fees, deposit or withdrawal fees, or even trading commissions. The trader can begin with a $250 minimum investment to determine whether Trade 350 App is a good fit for traders.The Advantages and Disadvantages of Trade 350 AppPros24/7 trading of cryptocurrency on autopilotThere are no transaction or account fees.Trading cryptocurrency with FX pairings is possible.There is no prerequisite knowledge of trading.Demo mode is available.ConsThe probability of success is unknown.A $250 down payment is required.Listen to the UK and Australia Experts' Views About Trade 350 App App Here!!How Does Trade 350 App Work?Trade 350 App, according to the website, uses an algorithm to forecast the cryptocurrency market. The platform's algorithm is capable of detecting trends that generally precede a sharp increase in the price of a specific cryptocurrency.When Trade 350 App recognizes these patterns, it automatically executes a trade on their behalf. For instance, when the platform believes the price of Bitcoin is set to increase, it can purchase it. When a price target is reached, or the pattern unravels, the platform will automatically close its trade for a profit or loss. The trader's account is credited with all funds, including any profits earned.Due to the fact that Trade 350 App is algorithm-driven, the platform promises to be able to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is critical because it enables Trade 350 App to trade cryptocurrencies when markets open globally each day, expanding trading options.Trade 350 App does not specify the percentage of profitable trades closed by its algorithm. The platform's victory rate could not be verified during our Trade 350 App evaluation. Bear in mind that all trading involves risk, and cryptocurrencies are particularly volatile financial vehicles.Key Features of Trade 350 AppThis Trade 350 App study uncovered some distinguishing characteristics of this Bitcoin trading platform:No prerequisite for experienceAccording to the website of Trade 350 App, new traders do not require any prior experience to begin utilizing this platform. Trade 350 App says that the trader may begin using it in minutes. Due to the platform's automated nature, the traders are not required to authorize or execute trades personally.Trade 350 App advises traders to spend a few minutes each day checking their account and ensuring that the algorithm's parameters are optimal for current market conditions.Forex and Cryptocurrencies TradingTrade 350 App is a multi-currency trading platform that supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dash. Multi-currency trading expands trading prospects.Additionally, the platform supports automated trading of a significant variety of standard currency pairings, including USD/GBP and USD/JPY. Trade 350 App is capable of trading both significant and small currency pairs.Trading Fee-FreeTrade 350 App's website states that all trading is fully fee-free. With Trade 350 App, there are no account fees or commissions on profits.Additionally, the platform claims to have negotiated a fee waiver with brokers. However, as part of our Trade 350 App review, we were unable to verify this and hence recommend that the trader invest only the amount of money the trader can afford to lose.Visit Here to Register on the Trade 350 App - Select Your Country Here!!!Simulated tradingOnce an account is opened, Trade 350 App allows for demo trading. Without risking any real money, demo trading allows the trader to observe how the platform's algorithm would execute deals. This is an excellent approach for traders to familiarize themselves with Trade 350 App.Additionally, the trader can experiment with altering the parameters of the algorithm through demo trading.According to Trade 350 App, traders can customize their stop loss, trade size, take profit levels, and overall risk level.Bear in mind that every trading involves risk, regardless of whether these parameters have been tuned.Prompt Withdrawal processTrade 350 App, according to the website, enables fee-free withdrawals at any time. The platform's website states that the majority of withdrawal requests are processed within 24 hours. During our Trade 350 App review, we were unable to verify this claim.Charges Associated with Trade 350 AppTrade 350 Appclaims to be entirely fee-free. This platform does not impose fees for depositing or withdrawing funds, maintaining an account, or trading. Additionally, Trade 350 App claims to have negotiated a charge waiver with brokers on their trades.Account fees are waived;deposit/withdrawal fees are waived;and the minimum deposit is $250.Trade 350 App: Is it a Fraud?One of the primary topics we sought to address with our Trade 350 App review was, Is Trade 350 App a scam?According to the Trade 350 App review, this trading platform trades cryptocurrencies and forex via an algorithm. This is similar to the way a large number of other cryptocurrency and FX trading robots operate. Trade 350 App makes no claim about the platform's success rate, and we were unable to verify it throughout our review.During this investigation, the author could not locate any user reviews for Trade 350 App. The Trade 350 App website, on the other hand, displays a list of active trades, together with the cryptocurrency The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has announced that the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) will undergo a planned maintenance shutdown. Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of the company, in a statement on Saturday said the scheduled maintenance and sustainability assessment will commence on 24 May. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) wishes to inform the general public that the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) will undergo a planned maintenance shutdown. This scheduled maintenance and sustainability assessment will commence on May 24, 2025. We are working closely with all relevant stakeholders, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), to ensure the maintenance and assessment activities are carried out efficiently and transparently, Mr Soneye said. He said NNPC Ltd remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering sustainable energy for Nigeria. Further updates will be provided regularly through our official channels, including our website, media platforms, and public statements, he said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Port Harcourt Refineries comprise two units, with the old plant having a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the new plant 150,000 bpd, both summing up to 210,000 bpd. The refinery has not operated maximally for over two decades. It was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the service of Italys Maire Tecnimont to handle the review of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed technical adviser. In 2021, NNPC Ltd said repairs had started at the refinery after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved $1.5 billion for the project. On 21 December 2023, the Nigerian government announced the mechanical completion and the flare start-off of the refinery. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Actress Jumoke Georges daughter, Adeola, has recounted how she was trafficked from Nigeria to Mali and almost forced into prostitution. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Adeola, who went missing for four years, returned to Nigeria with the help of the Nigerian government. During an interview on actress Biola Adebayos Talk To B podcast posted on YouTube, Adeola disclosed that she travelled to Mali after a close friend informed her about a job opportunity in the country. Narrating how what she believed was a legitimate job offer turned into a nightmare, she said: I met Blessing, whom I had lived with for some time. She told me she knew someone in Mali who owned a pharmacy and that I could manage it whenever the owner wasnt around. I asked if the owner had died, but she said nothe woman wanted to return to Nigeria to rest and was looking for someone to run the business since she wasnt planning to go back. I agreed, and Blessing said I should let her know when I was ready. I asked what I needed to travel, and she said she would lend me some money and arrange a document to facilitate my travel, which I could repay with my first salary. We left without informing anyone at home. We boarded a car in Cotonou, heading to Africa 2. We passed through Togo, Ghana, and other countries. The journey took four days. Six drivers were in the vehicle, taking turns when one got tired. Sometimes, we stopped to bathe and take care of ourselves. N250,000 to N1.5m CFA francs Additionally, she revealed that she only discovered her purpose in Mali was sex work, not pharmacy, after arriving there. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later She added that she was shocked and confused, and wondered how a promise of pharmacy work turned into prostitution. When I arrived in Bamako, Mali, I called the contact I had been given. When I got to her house, she told me she was now my madam and had bought me from my sister. She said I would have to work to pay her 1.5 million CFA francs. I was shocked and confused, wondering what was happening. She told me I would work as a sex worker to repay the money. I told her I couldnt do such work and would rather die. She threatened me, but I told her she could do whatever she wanted. After a heated exchange on the first day, I met her again the following day, hoping she would be calm. She then explained that Blessing had told her I was looking for work and wanted to travel. According to her, she gave Blessing N250,000 and agreed that I would repay 1.5 million CFA francs. I told her I knew nothing about that arrangement and that I couldnt engage in prostitution. I asked her to find me a different job to repay the N250,000. She refused and seized my phone, documents, and everything I could use to leave Mali. Help Furthermore, Adeola noted that after her traffickers had seized her travel documents, she managed to escape with the help of a man who assisted her in finding work as a food vendor. She added that once she secured employment, she became determined not to return home empty-handed after spending four years away, despite the trauma and suffering she had endured. I met a man born in Nigeria but of Malian descent. I told him I needed help and that I couldnt do the work I had been trafficked into. I asked if he could help me find work as a cook, a nanny, or someone to care for the elderly, anything but prostitution. He said he would try to link me to a village food canteen. He lent me 30,000 CFA francs to travel. When I arrived at the canteen, someone warned me that Malians didnt pay well and encouraged me to take up prostitution instead. I refused. I met the woman in charge, and she asked if I could be friendly with customers. She accepted me and offered to pay 15,000 CFA francs. While working as a food vendor there, I heard terrible stories and saw Nigerian girls who had died because of prostitution. I wanted to raise some money so I could return home. I didnt want to go back empty-handed. I thought about calling my mother and children, but I was too ashamed. I dont know how righteous my mother is before God, but he surely used her prayers to save me from the evil that awaited me in Mali, she added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Cast: Toyin Abraham, Deyemi Okanlawon, Rotimi Salami, Bianca Ugowanne, Bukola Osibowale Director: Bolaji Opakunbi Getting married in this part of the world comes with a set of expectations built around societal demands. With an entire industry built around it, one of the outliers of the marriage industry is the grooms posse, usually personified as Yoruba demons if they are from Western Nigeria and are up to some form of mischief. It is from this group that the term our wife became popular. Our wife is a Nigerian phrase that signifies acceptance of the traditional bride, who typically makes clothes by hand, pounds yam with the atar and pestle, and can turn semo for the entire family without blinking. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Plot In Our Wife, Babajide (Deyemi Okanlawon) has a long-term relationship with Bolanle (Toyin Abraham). They started dating when she was 26. Now 38, Bolanle still plays the role of a supportive girlfriend, hoping that Jide will soon answer the question. And shell gladly say yes. Her aged father was blunt about her situation. Jide isnt going to marry you. Hes only deceiving you, he bluntly told her, but she abruptly dismissed him because of how dutiful she had been. Everyone, including his family and friends, called her our wife. Meanwhile, Jide finds himself moving from one problem to another, all of which involve heavy financial burdens. He has hospital bills for his aged mother, if he is not trying to raise funds for a new business venture. Guess whos always there to shoulder the responsibility? Our wife. She even liquidates her business and property to raise money for Jide because she cant get over the smile on his face. To ease the burden on Bolanle, her friend, Fola (Bukola Osibowale), helps Jide secure a well-paying job. Within the blink of an eye, Jide finds himself frolicking with his new colleague, Tiwa (Bianca Ugowanne). Slowly, Bolanle begins to fade into a memory, and what we all suspected begins to happen. Review Despite its predictable plot, Our Wife manages to entertain, making it a worthwhile viewing experience. Jide breaks up with Bolanle, who sends her spiralling to the point where she starts making viral videos on the internet. After the fiasco, his mother scolded him; It was late for Jide. Bolanle has done deep retrospection, picked up her pieces, and added that at 38, she is not too old to get married. If the movie does anything, it reinforces two controversial cliches: men are the prize and marriage is the ultimate goal. While Jide always looks good in his well-cut suits, Bolanle dresses shabbily and doesnt smell nice. Her decision to clean herself up to appear attractive speaks volumes. Goaded by his friend Peter (Rotimi Salami), Jide ignores the parallels between the partners and opts for Tiwa. Tiwa is selfish and untrusting. Bolanle, on the other hand, is loyal, trusting and generous. On the plus side, Our Wife offers a profound exploration of cultural expectations and their impact on personal growth, providing viewers with a thought-provoking experience. Moreover, the films departure from a conventional happily-ever-after ending adds an intriguing twist, making Our Wife a more compelling watch. Rating: 5/10 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed frustration over the Nigerian governments slow pace of renegotiating the 2009 agreement signed with the union. In a statement signed by its National President Chris Piwuna, a professor of medicine, ASUU said the renegotiation efforts led by the committee headed by Yayale Ahmed, the Pro-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has stalled since December 2024, with no agreement signed five months later. ASUU said it is regrettable that the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement between the federal government and the union had continued endlessly since 2017. The last push, which got frozen again after some recommendations by both parties were made for governments consideration and approval in December 2024, is yet to be concluded, the union said. ASUU said the governments implementation of the agreements has been discouraging. The union listed its demands to include the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement based on Nimi Briggs Committees Draft Agreement of 2021; release of withheld three-and-half months salaries on account of the 2022 strike action; release of unpaid salaries of staff on sabbatical, part-time and adjunct appointments due to the application of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS); and the release of outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Other demands are funding for revitalisation of public universities, payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), end to the proliferation of universities by Federal and State Governments; and the adoption of University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) in place of IPPIS. The union called on Nigerians to prevail on the government to address all outstanding issues agreed up in previous engagements, noting it would create a conducive atmosphere to address welfare issues of the academics. ASUU remains open to discussion in this respect. However, the union would not continue to look helpless while the rights of its members are being trampled upon and washed away with reckless abandon, it said History of stalled negotiations The Yayale Ahmed-led committee, inaugurated in October last year, is the fourth committee handling the renegotiation since 2017. The government has failed to implement each of the renegotiated agreements, resulting in industrial actions by the union in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Wale Babalakin, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the then pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos, led the renegotiation team constituted by the government from 2017 until his resignation as pro-chancellor in 2020. In 2021, Munzali Jibril, an emeritus professor of English and then pro-chancellor for the Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, took over. With him, the negotiation fared relatively smoothly as his committee turned in a draft agreement in three months May 2021. But the government never signed or implemented the agreement. READ ALSO: ASUU gets new president as Osodeke hands over When the union embarked on another nationwide strike in 2022, the government constituted yet another committee this time headed by the late Nimi Briggs, also an emeritus professor. Mr Briggs-led committee also renegotiated the 2009 agreement and submitted a draft to the government in June 2022. It was never signed, forcing the 2022 strike action to last until October when an Industrial Court asked the ASUU to suspend the strike after a suit was instituted against the union by the federal government. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A Benin High Court, Edo State, on Friday remanded a 62-year-old man, Martins Oghenevurie, in a correctional centre for alleged murder for ritual purposes. The judge, Williams Aziegbemhin, remanded the defendant in the correctional centre after the prosecution appealed for time to seek advice from the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Justice Aziegbemhin adjourned the case until 30 May for hearing. Mr Oghenevurie is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder. The prosecutor, I.E. Ekibade, told the court that the defendant, along with one Edward Oghenevurie, who is now at large, allegedly committed the offence on 23 April at House 2, Martin Close, Off Martins Street, Off Ikhueniro, with the Benin judicial division. Mr Ekibade alleged that the defendants conspired amongst themselves to commit a felony, to wit: Murder. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He said on the said the defendants, armed with a dangerous weapon, attacked and murdered a woman, whose identity was yet unknown, and cut off her private parts, breasts, and other female organs for ritual purposes. He said the offences contravened Sections 247 and 242(1) of the Criminal Law of Edo State Law, 2022. In a motion ex parte, citing relevant sections of the law, the prosecutor urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional centre for 14 days pending legal advice from the DPPs office. There is a high rate of ritual killings in Nigeria, with the perpetrators harvesting their victims organs for money-making sacrifices. In July 2022, the residents of Igbe Ibuya neighbourhood of Benin, Edo, were horrified by the gruesome murder of an 80-year-old grandmother by suspected fraudsters, otherwise known as Yahoo boy The Tribune newspaper reported that the victim was sexually abused before she was murdered and her body dismembered for ritual purposes. These murders are mostly orchestrated by close acquaintances who betray their prey and set them up for gruesome mutilation to make money through ritual practices, said the Punch newspaper in a 22 September 2024 report on how Nigerian youths have taken to ritual murders. The paper cited the killing of Damilola Olowoyo, a 17-year-old student of the Federal University, Lokoja, in Kogi State, for ritual purposes after a young man drugged her. A Muslim group in Nigeria, the Muslim Ummah, attributed the increase in the rate of ritual killings in the country to the refusal of governors to sign death warrants after convicted murderers have been sentenced to death. So many people have been convicted, but governors will later use the prerogative of mercy to release them after they have been convicted, thats why ritual killings have not reduced, the Vanguard newspaper quoted the leader of the group as saying. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility At Premium Times, we firmly believe in the importance of high-quality journalism. Recognizing that not everyone can afford costly news subscriptions, we are dedicated to delivering meticulously researched, fact-checked news that remains freely accessible to all. Whether you turn to Premium Times for daily updates, in-depth investigations into pressing national issues, or entertaining trending stories, we value your readership. Its essential to acknowledge that news production incurs expenses, and we take pride in never placing our stories behind a prohibitive paywall. Would you consider supporting us with a modest contribution on a monthly basis to help maintain our commitment to free, accessible news? Exactly one year after it launched, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said it has disbursed over N56 billion in student loans to 550,000 students in tertiary institutions across the country. In a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the student loan scheme, NELFUND spokesperson, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said the disbursed amount includes school fees and upkeep for students who applied. The Fund rolled out its first application process for students on 24 May last year. The statement explained that in the past year, the board has received applications from 600,000 students and approved over 550,000 of them. It added that NELFUND has disbursed N56.85 billion to cover tuition and provide upkeep allowances for the approved beneficiaries. The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, said the services of the Fund is more than a loan scheme. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Sawyerr described it as a bridge to opportunity, equity and national transformation. This milestone reflects a bold commitment by the Federal Government to empower Nigerian students by removing financial barriers to higher education, the statement said. The Fund explained that its mission as it looks to the future is to ensure that no Nigerian student is denied education because of financial constraints. NELFUND expressed its commitment to continuous collaboration with institutions, state governments, and student bodies to deepen its reach and improve the student loan experience. This achievement demonstrates the power of purposeful policy backed by strong execution. NELFUNDs student loan programme has brought relief to families, restored hope to students, and created a pathway for academic and professional success across Nigeria, it added. Student Loan Shortly after assuming office, President Bola Tinubu provided assent to the Access to Higher Education Act (2023) to provide interest-free loans to Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions. The law also provided the legal framework for the establishment of NELFUND which manages applications and disburses student loans. The Fund, according to the Act, is to be 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. After three failed attempts, NELFUND kicked off operation in May 2024. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Akwa Ibom State Government has evicted Channels TV crewa journalist and a cameramanfrom the press centre inside Government House, Uyo, over the publication of a video clip in which Governor Umo Eno finally confirmed he is defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Thursday event at Government House was to review the status of the administrations numerous projects, but Mr Eno seized the opportunity to speak on his planned defection. He told his cabinet members to prepare their resignation letters if they were unwilling to defect with him to the APC. We want our commissioners and members of Exco, appointees, and those of you who are saying that you would not come, you are free absolutely not to join me, but you wont be in my State Executive Council. Prepare to resign the day I announced that I am moving because you cannot; you are an appointee, and your loyalty is fully to me. You cant be in my cabinet and play anti-party. It is what it is, the governor said. The governors defection is said to be scheduled for the first week of June. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Eno said the PDP leadership crisis, particularly the office of the partys national secretary, which is plagued by protracted litigation, was responsible for his imminent defection. The governor vowed never to relinquish the PDP structure in Akwa Ibom, which may pitch him against his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, whom, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, has refused to move with him to the APC. Channels TV aired on Friday the video clips of Mr Enos remarks, which sources said have embarrassed the governor. Eviction Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that immediately after the Thursday event, Governor Enos spokesperson, Ekerete Udoh, assembled reporters in the Government House Press Corps, including those from Channels TV, and warned them against making the video of the governors remarks public. On Saturday morning, Ekerete (Udoh) called the Channels TV crew, and (he) informed them that the governor has barred them from the press centre, one of the sources told our reporter. The governor was so furious, he wanted to sack Ekerete and disband the entire press corps, the source added. Christopher Moffat has been the Channels TV correspondent at the Government House, Uyo, for over 10 years. Kufre Ikpe is the stations cameraman. PREMIUM TIMES could not reach the two for comments at the time of filing this report. Our paper could not reach Governor Enos spokesperson, Mr Udoh, as his phone line was switched off. Except for this particular incident, Mr Eno has had an impressive relationship with the media in the state since he became governor in 2023there is no previous record of the administration arresting or harassing journalists. The eviction of the Channels TV crew is coming about four days after the stations CEO, John Momoh, visited Governor Eno at the Government House during the just concluded Nigerian Institute of Public Relations Week in Uyo. I have been admiring you from afar, and I thought I should come to greet you. Please keep up the good job. Your good reputation precedes you, Mr Momoh reportedly told the governor. The General Manager of Channels TV, Ambrose Okoh, told our reporter on Saturday afternoon that he was not aware of the eviction of their reporter and cameraman. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print On democracy, ECOWAS remains ambivalent. While it is quick to condemn the military coups in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, it tolerates its leaders who carry out outright civilian coups. For instance, Togos Faure Eyadema, who carried out a coup against the government after his father, General Gnasingbe Eyadema, died in 2005, remains in power today, 20 years after, and wants to stay until 2030. Faures father had ruled Togo for 38 years! The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), suffering from serious arthritis, cerebral malaria and a splitting headache caused by three countries, turns 50 on 28 May. It had a dream of regional integration, including the free and seamless flow of persons, services and capital; the elimination of customs duties; and joint development of transport, communication, energy and monetary policies. The citizens of its member states are supposed to be accepted as community citizens. The major step on the free movement of persons that ECOWAS achieved in the last five decades, is that a person can travel and stay visa-free in a member state for three months. The West African region was far more integrated in the pre-colonial times than it is now, 50 years after the formation of ECOWAS. For instance, the peoples of todays Nigeria had so much free movement that as the Gaa, they integrated into Ghana and are indigenes of its capital, Accra. The same holds for many indigenes of Lome, the Togolese capital, who originally came from Nigeria. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Nigerian city of Badagry was built mainly by migrant labour from countries like Mali, Ghana and Benin, who integrated with the local Awori people. There are many Sierra Leoneans who migrated to Western Nigeria and are known as Saro; Senegalese who are called Senega; and Togolese who became indigenes. Many indigenes of Obalende, in Lagos, were migrants from Chad and Niger Republic. It was mainly the colonialists who carved us into the present states, ignoring our integrative nature, while erecting national borders. There were, of course, pre-colonial borders in our communities, but they were living borders that encouraged productive activities, not borders that divide. ECOWAS has tried to roll out a common currency, Eco, for the region; but, in the past, it was sabotaged by France and its Francophone allies in favour of the French Franc. The ECOWAS Parliament is ineffective and the ECOWAS Court is not respected by member states Two major programmes it has been involved in are peace enforcement in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and democracy. On both counts, ECOWAS engaged in duplicity and exhibited the lack of integrity. West Africa, like many colonised parts of the world, suffered greatly from the arbitrary borders imposed by European colonialists. For instance, the Ewe people were split into Togo, Ghana and Benin Republic. There is the interesting case of the great Ewe leader, Sylvanus Olympio. The part of Ewe land where he was born was cut out to Benin Republic; another part, Kpando, was carved out as part of Ghana; while he lived in the Ewe land that was carved as part of Togo. He was elected as the founding president of Togo. Such arbitrary division is responsible for some claims that the founding president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, was not a Ghanaian, as his Nzema people were split by the colonialists into Ghana and Cote dIvoire. ECOWAS has tried to roll out a common currency, Eco, for the region; but, in the past, it was sabotaged by France and its Francophone allies in favour of the French Franc. The ECOWAS Parliament is ineffective and the ECOWAS Court is not respected by member states. Two major programmes it has been involved in are peace enforcement in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and democracy. On both counts, ECOWAS engaged in duplicity and exhibited the lack of integrity. The much talked about Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was established in 1990 to intervene in the 1989-1997 Liberian Civil War. ECOMOG, backed by the United States, was essentially the Nigerian Armed Forces, with a sprinkling of military units from countries like Ghana, Niger, Mali and Sierra Leone. Some of the Francophone members like Cote dIvoire and Burkina Faso, who supported the rebel leader Charles Taylor, were suspicious of ECOMOG. They thought the force was more about saving then Liberian dictator, Samuel Doe, from imminent defeat. Since ECOMOG was not welcomed by some of the warring factions, it had to fight its way into Liberia and then became embroiled in the war. Some Liberians, who obviously opposed the body and accused it of fleecing the country, said the acronym, ECOMOG, actually meant Every Car Or Moveable Object Gone. Eventually, Taylor won the Liberian presidential election on 19 July, 1997 and ECOMOG was withdrawn in 1998. However, another civil war, instigated by anti-Taylor forces, broke out and African leaders, led by then Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, brokered a peace deal. Under it, Taylor was persuaded to sacrifice his electoral mandate and move to Nigeria on exile. Three year later, the same Obasanjo picked up Taylor and delivered him into the hands of his enemies in Liberia, led by then President Ellen Sirleaf who, at the airport, handed him over to the Europeans. Then there is the on-going revolt in Cote d Ivoire against Alassane Dramane Ouattara who, after the constitutional two terms, raped the constitution by imposing himself for a third term, and now, is trying to contest for an illegal fourth term These anti-democratic leaders are tolerated and honoured by ECOWAS, even as they waste the lives of ECOWAS community citizens in the streets in order to maintain their dictatorial rule. The latter who claimed to have established a War Crimes Tribunal in Hague, Netherlands, tried Taylor, sentenced him to 50 years imprisonment and dumped him in the HM Prison, Britain, where he is left to rot. Given the betrayal of the peace deal with Taylor, it is doubtful if any African leader would trust assurances or peace agreements by either ECOWAS or the African Union. A second betrayal involving ECOMOG was the peace agreement to end the Sierra Leonean Civil War. ECOWAS had initiated a peace deal between President Tijan Kabbah and the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), led by Foday Sankoh. When the latter thought the peace deal was being sabotaged by Kabbah, he was advised to report the matter to then Nigerian military ruler, General Sani Abacha. It turned out to be a trap because as soon as Sankoh stepped on Nigerian soil, he was detained. So, the war continued and Nigeria had to free Sankoh to participate in the July, 1999 peace deal. After the peace agreement, Sankoh was abducted and put under UN custody, where he died after being denied the needed medical treatment. Incidentally, Taylor was the person who had helped ECOWAS pressure the RUF and Sankoh to agree to the peace deal. Both men ended up being betrayed by Nigerian and ECOWAS leaders. On democracy, ECOWAS remains ambivalent. While it is quick to condemn the military coups in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, it tolerates its leaders who carry out outright civilian coups. For instance, Togos Faure Eyadema, who carried out a coup against the government after his father, General Gnasingbe Eyadema, died in 2005, remains in power today, 20 years after, and wants to stay until 2030. Faures father had ruled Togo for 38 years! There is President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, who has twice now suspended the democratically elected parliament, subdued the judiciary and is ruling by fiat. Then there is the on-going revolt in Cote d Ivoire against Alassane Dramane Ouattara who, after the constitutional two terms, raped the constitution by imposing himself for a third term, and now, is trying to contest for an illegal fourth term. These anti-democratic leaders are tolerated and honoured by ECOWAS, even as they waste the lives of ECOWAS community citizens in the streets in order to maintain their dictatorial rule. But regardless of its shortcomings, ECOWAS remains very useful and relevant to the African people. I wish it Happy 50th Anniversary. Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Tinubus presence at the Vatican transcends merely ticking diplomatic boxes. It proves that Nigeria is not governed by the religion of its leader but by the responsibility of its Constitution. It showed that faith, dignity, and inclusion are central to our global posture. We are one people many faiths, yet one nation. When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu joined world leaders at the Vatican for the investiture of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, the moment carried weight far beyond ceremonial significance. As the first Nigerian Muslim head of state to attend a papal inauguration, President Tinubus participation was a subtle yet powerful assertion of Nigerias evolving approach to diplomacy one that is rooted not only in economic or geopolitical interests, but increasingly in values, inclusion, and soft power. Nigeria, one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world, is home to over 200 million people, with nearly half identifying as Christians. According to the Vatican News in 2025, Nigeria has one of the highest Catholic populations on the African continent surpassed only by DR Congo. That reality has often been underemphasised in the countrys foreign policy posture. President Tinubus presence at the investiture of the Catholic Churchs new global leader himself a historic figure as the first American-born Pope represents a deliberate recalibration. It affirms that Nigerias global engagements will no longer sideline cultural and religious identities that shape its domestic reality. More importantly, it is a signal that under his leadership, religious diplomacy has become a key instrument of Nigerian statecraft. the visit repositions Nigeria as a moral and cultural force on the global stage. Religious diplomacy, in this context, enhances Nigerias soft power, builds trust with international partners, and challenges the narrative of division that has often defined the countrys representation abroad. This visit offers a reminder to the international community and to Nigerians that leadership in a diverse society cannot afford to be performative. It must be deliberate, symbolic, and strategically inclusive. This shift matters. In an era marked by rising sectarianism, identity-driven conflict, both locally and globally, Nigerias leadership is intentional in projecting the values that hold the federation together: pluralism, inclusion, and mutual respect. The visit recalibrates perceptions of the Tinubu administration, countering narratives that conflate Nigerias internal security challenges with governmental indifference to religious harmony. When a Muslim president stands in solidarity with the Catholic Church at a moment of global attention, it sends an unmistakable message: Nigeria will not be governed by sectarianism. It will be governed by vision. This moment also reflects a convergence of values between Pope Leo XIV and President Tinubu. Known for his commitment to social justice, Pope Leo XIVs lifelong advocacy for worker dignity and inclusion mirrors President Tinubus domestic agenda from the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme supporting over 15 million households, to ongoing investments in inclusive education, healthcare, and economic equity. The resonance between Abuja and Rome is not rhetorical, it is substantive. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later More broadly, the visit repositions Nigeria as a moral and cultural force on the global stage. Religious diplomacy, in this context, enhances Nigerias soft power, builds trust with international partners, and challenges the narrative of division that has often defined the countrys representation abroad. This visit offers a reminder to the international community and to Nigerians that leadership in a diverse society cannot afford to be performative. It must be deliberate, symbolic, and strategically inclusive. As Africa faces rising religious extremism and sectarian conflict, Nigerias example under President Tinubu offers a model for others: a leadership style that governs beyond identity and builds across difference. The Tinubu administration now faces the task of translating this diplomatic capital into concrete gains, whether through Vatican-backed peace initiatives or partnerships with Catholic development agencies. What remains undeniable is that Nigeria has, once again, asserted its unique voice on the global stage: one of unity in diversity, and faith in common purpose. The Tinubu administration now faces the task of translating this diplomatic capital into concrete gains, whether through Vatican-backed peace initiatives or partnerships with Catholic development agencies. What remains undeniable is that Nigeria has, once again, asserted its unique voice on the global stage: one of unity in diversity, and faith in common purpose. This is not just an anecdote from a foreign visit. It is a statement of intent. A diplomatic reset. And perhaps, a roadmap for how Nigeria can lead, not just with military strength or economic leverage, but with moral clarity, cultural confidence, and strategic purpose. President Tinubus presence at the Vatican transcends merely ticking diplomatic boxes. It proves that Nigeria is not governed by the religion of its leader but by the responsibility of its Constitution. It showed that faith, dignity, and inclusion are central to our global posture. We are one people many faiths, yet one nation. Ademola Oshodi is senior special assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Protocol. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerias security challenges demand more than rhetoric and reactive responses. While the instinct to defend oneself is natural in the face of government failure, unregulated self-defence is a risky and unsustainable path. The lasting solution lies in creating a decentralised, community-driven security model rooted in legality, ethics, and shared responsibility. As Nigeria continues to battle worsening security challenges ranging from banditry and kidnapping to terrorism, insurgency, and communal violence citizens across the country are increasingly embracing grassroots security measures and calls for self-defence. These challenges are not confined to the North. In the South, militancy, piracy, secessionist agitations, cultism, and cybercrimes further complicate the nations fragile security landscape. Speaking at the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies, themed Mobilising Stakeholders to Curb Insecurity in Nigeria: A Practical Approach, the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, stressed the need for communities to take greater responsibility for their own security. He cited examples where local populations had historically repelled insurgents and urged communities to work closely with security agencies to counter threats such as terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. Ajayi noted that it is unrealistic to expect security agencies to protect every citizen across Nigerias expansive territory. He argued that communities must serve as the first line of defence, and that empowering them would enhance grassroots resilience, while reducing over-reliance on federal forces. Echoing this position, former Chief of Defence Staff, General TY Danjuma (rtd), recently renewed his longstanding call for Nigerians to rise in self-defence against non-state actors. Reacting to fresh waves of violence in Plateau, Benue, and other states, Danjuma insisted that citizens can no longer afford to remain passive while bandits and terrorists wreak havoc. The warning I gave years ago remains valid. Nigerians must rise and defend themselves. The government alone cannot protect us, he said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later This message of self-defence has increasingly resonated across vulnerable communities, reflecting the harsh reality of an overstretched security system that leaves millions exposed. The roots of the crisis lie in decades of state neglect, porous borders, weak intelligence systems, and economic exclusion. In the North-West, states such as Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna are under the siege of bandits, who raid villages, rustle livestock, extort ransoms, and impose levies. In the North-Central region, particularly Plateau and Benue states, farmer-herder conflicts have morphed into sustained ethno-religious violence. The South-East contends with secessionist violence linked to IPOB/ESN elements, who often target security infrastructure. Meanwhile, the South-West and South-South struggle with cultism, ritual killings, and piracy. One chilling episode was the abduction of more than 280 schoolchildren in Kuriga, Kaduna State, in March 2024. Although the children were eventually rescued, the incident laid bare the glaring weaknesses in Nigerias security infrastructure and left the community traumatised. Faced with these realities, several states have begun taking their destinies into their hands. In April, the Kano State Government passed the Security Neighbourhood Watch Law to create a legal framework for community-led security efforts. Katsina has trained local vigilantes through its Community Watch Corps, while in Zamfara, Governor Dauda Lawal launched the Community Protection Guards (CPG), a controversial but welcomed initiative in rural areas long neglected by formal forces. In the North-East, the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) continues to support military efforts against Boko Haram, leveraging local knowledge and swift response capabilities. The Amotekun Corps in the South-West, headquartered in Ondo State, has addressed critical security gaps in the region, earning both criticism and praise. Similarly, the South-Easts Ebube Agu and joint regional outfits in the South-South emerged from the growing public distrust in the federal governments ability to guarantee safety. However, the growing wave of self-defence and vigilante initiatives raises ethical, legal, and practical concerns. Nigerias Firearms Act prohibits civilians from bearing arms without a licence. Without a clear regulatory framework, arming civilians risks escalating violence, enabling political thuggery, and creating new security threats under the guise of protection. These dangers are not hypothetical. In Edo States Uromi community, vigilantes wrongfully accused 16 Northern hunters of being kidnappers and burnt them alive. In July 2022, Ebube Agu operatives reportedly killed 14 unarmed wedding guests in Otulu, Imo State. Other vigilante groups in the region have been implicated in extrajudicial killings and abuses. A Daily Trust investigation in April revealed that vigilante groups killed at least 68 people in three months, with many more subjected to torture, harassment, or unlawful detention. These developments have prompted the House of Representatives Committee on Army to call for the regulation, oversight, and training of vigilante groups. The Uromi killings, in particular, triggered national outrage and renewed demands for accountability. Responding to these concerns, Major General Chris Olukolade (rtd), chairman of the Centre for Crisis Communication, acknowledged General Danjumas fears but cautioned against unregulated civilian self-defence. He warned that unless communities are engaged within a structured and legal framework, insecurity may only worsen. According to him, civilians should not be armed unless integrated into formal security systems with clear guidelines. Against this backdrop, community policing has emerged as a more sustainable and coordinated alternative. Under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police, pilot schemes have been launched across several states. These involve recruiting and training locals for surveillance, intelligence gathering, and early intervention, followed by their integration into existing police structures. Lagos, Ekiti, and Kano States have all recorded notable progress. In Kano, the Hisbah Corps, initially tasked with moral enforcement, has been reoriented to contribute to broader urban security. In Lagos, the Neighbourhood Safety Corps plays a vital role in gathering intelligence and issuing early warnings. Nonetheless, community policing faces serious limitations. Funding shortfalls, inter-agency rivalries, and a lack of coordination continue to undermine its effectiveness. A major stumbling block is the constitutional contradiction where state governors are designated as chief security officers but lack control over federal police operations within their jurisdictions. Solving Nigerias security crisis requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses institutional, legal, and socio-economic issues. First, the constitution must be amended to empower state and community policing structures with defined jurisdictions and robust oversight. Second, vigilante and self-defence groups must be trained, regulated, and integrated into the formal security architecture to avoid becoming a threat themselves. Third, intelligence gathering should begin at the grassroots, where community members are often the first to notice early warning signs. Fourth, addressing the root causes of insecurity such as unemployment, poverty, and youth disenfranchisement through investments in education, job creation, and social empowerment is essential. Lastly, traditional and religious leaders must be given formal roles in mediation, peacebuilding, and community-based conflict resolution, given their influence and trust within local populations. Nigerias security challenges demand more than rhetoric and reactive responses. While the instinct to defend oneself is natural in the face of government failure, unregulated self-defence is a risky and unsustainable path. The lasting solution lies in creating a decentralised, community-driven security model rooted in legality, ethics, and shared responsibility. As communities across the country face mounting threats, the question is no longer whether to adopt localised security strategies but how best to coordinate, empower, and regulate them before chaos becomes the norm. Mukhtar Yau Madobi is a research fellow at the Centre for Crisis Communication. He can be reached via [email protected]. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Zacch Adedeji, the Tax Boss, got a big round of applause in London. Having just completed his role as president of CATA, he has helped improve tax systems not only in Nigeria but across many Commonwealth countries. This recognition shows that honest and good work attracts attention beyond our borders. It is a time to appreciate, but more importantly, a reminder to keep building on the progress made. If you think tax reform in Nigeria is all talk and no action, then you havent been paying attention to what Dr Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, is doing at the agency. Where do we even start? Is it the tax reform bill that was recently passed, the changes to the agencys structure, or the full-scale tax modernisation happening? Technology is no longer a side note. It is now playing a role in how taxes are collected. It reduces the risks of manipulation, closes up long-standing loopholes, and makes it easier for taxpayers to understand and meet their obligations. What used to feel like a complicated, stressful process is now becoming more user-friendly. Now, add global recognition to that list. At the just-concluded 96th Management Committee Meeting of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) in London, Mr Zacch Adededji was honoured by his counterparts for his outstanding contribution to tax administration, not just in Nigeria but across the Commonwealth. This is not a local commendation or a political appointment. This is a global acknowledgment by professionals who know what real work looks like. CATAs Executive Director, Dr Esther Koisin, and the Associations Chairman, Mr Mahmad Noor, who is the Acting Commissioner General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority, both praised Zacchs leadership and Nigerias role in supporting CATAs mission to advance tax administration in member countries. It is not every day that a Nigerian public servant gets international recognition for work that usually stays unnoticed. When it happens, it means one thing: the Tax Boss is doing well. He is consistently changing the face of tax administration, increasing revenue, and bettering the lives of Nigerians. This is no mistake. He is deserving of every bit of it. He is passionate, empathetic, and hardworking. Young children/adults should learn from him. He is a mentor. This is the kind of leadership we need. Nigerians are lucky to have him. For those who may not know, the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) is a platform that brings together tax officials from across Commonwealth countries to exchange ideas and influence global tax policies. Under the Tax Boss, Nigeria has grown to become a respected voice in that space. And that progress is something every Nigerian should be proud of. It was not always like this. There was a time when Nigerias role in international tax conversations was barely noticeable, often limited to just showing up. But today Nigeria does much more than participate; it helps set the agenda and drive the discussions. This change shows a transformation in how Nigeria approaches tax reform and sends a message to the rest of the world that we are serious about improving our systems and sharing our experiences. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later So yes, Mr Zacch Adedeji, the Tax Boss, got a big round of applause in London. Having just completed his role as president of CATA, he has helped improve tax systems not only in Nigeria but across many Commonwealth countries. This recognition shows that honest and good work attracts attention beyond our borders. It is a time to appreciate, but more importantly, a reminder to keep building on the progress made. Well-done and kudos to you, Tax Boss. Aderonke Atoyebi is the technical assistant on broadcast media to the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Indeed, the time for sympathy is over. What Dansarai and schools like it need now is decisive action urgent, deliberate, and sustained. The children have waited long enough. We cannot afford to let another generation slip into darkness while we watch from a distance. The first thing that greets you is the silence an eerie, suffocating stillness, where the cheerful noise of children should fill the air. Instead, the dry wind whistles through broken zinc sheets and crumbling walls, swaying what remains of a roofless structure that once dared to call itself a school. This is Dansarai Primary School, tucked along Hadejia Road in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State a haunting monument to neglect and a stark reminder of how far we have allowed our education system to decay. A viral video recently brought this forgotten institution into the spotlight, exposing a reality too grim to ignore: classrooms stripped of roofs, broken furniture, missing windows, and young pupils squeezed into squalid, unsafe spaces. But for the residents of Dansarai, that video was no revelation. It simply broadcast to the world the harsh reality they have endured and the authorities have ignored for years. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later When I visited the school, the situation was even more heartbreaking than the images suggested. Most of the classrooms are exposed to the elements, stripped not just of shelter but of dignity itself. With no roofs overhead, children face the scorching sun, relentless rains, and biting winds. The doors and windows are long gone, offering no defence against intruders, the weather, or despair. The school lacks not only security but also the most basic amenities no clean water, no functioning toilets, no sanitation. Unsurprisingly, students frequently fall ill. Parents speak of rashes, infections, and stomach ailments that have become routine. Sometimes, we just sit under trees when the sun becomes too much, says 11-year-old Musa, a Primary Five pupil, clutching his threadbare schoolbag like a badge of courage. For Musa and his classmates, education is not just a pursuit it is a daily battle against the odds. Yet, perhaps more terrifying is what the school becomes after dark. When the last child leaves, Dansarai is no longer an institution of learning it becomes a playground for criminal gangs known as Yan Daba. Residents say these miscreants have turned the abandoned premises into a den of lawlessness, engaging in drug peddling and other vices. By day, its for our children; by night, its for criminals, one local resident lamented. No fence, no guard, no protection. We live in fear. The absence of a perimeter fence is more than a security lapse it is an open invitation to chaos. Even teachers tread cautiously. Sometimes, we arrive in the morning to find broken bottles, cigarette butts, and other suspicious items in the classrooms, a teacher confided, requesting anonymity. How do you expect a child to learn in such an environment? The school lacks not only security but also the most basic amenities no clean water, no functioning toilets, no sanitation. Unsurprisingly, students frequently fall ill. Parents speak of rashes, infections, and stomach ailments that have become routine. Dansarais tragedy is not unique but it is urgent. Across Nigeria, thousands of public schools mirror its condition: abandoned, unsafe, and uninspiring While politicians make grandiose speeches about investing in education, children like Musa sit in the dirt, holding onto slates and fragile strands of hope. This is not education. It is survival, says Mallam Abubakar, a parent whose son attends the school. We wanted a future for our children. But now, we fear this place will take that future away. Years of petitions, letters, and pleas to government authorities have yielded nothing. The communitys outcry has been met with deafening silence, mirroring the hollow, echoing classrooms their children endure every day. Dansarais tragedy is not unique but it is urgent. Across Nigeria, thousands of public schools mirror its condition: abandoned, unsafe, and uninspiring. While politicians make grandiose speeches about investing in education, children like Musa sit in the dirt, holding onto slates and fragile strands of hope. If the classroom is the cradle of the nations future, warns a local elder, then our country is cradling a crisis. Indeed, the time for sympathy is over. What Dansarai and schools like it need now is decisive action urgent, deliberate, and sustained. The children have waited long enough. We cannot afford to let another generation slip into darkness while we watch from a distance. Fatima Garba Bako is a Mass Communication student at Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN). She can be reached via [email protected]. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print while the Nigerian military continues to face formidable challenges, their legacy of gallantry and ongoing reforms position them to adapt and overcome. With renewed support, strategic foresight, and a commitment to excellence, the Armed Forces can rise to meet the demands of this era protecting the nation with honour and valour. It is both worrisome and deeply unsettling to witness persistent reports of ambushes of troops and attacks on military bases by bandits and terrorists. These repeated assaults not only endanger national security but also threaten the morale of the gallant men and women of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Within the past year, Nigerian troops have faced significant and deadly confrontations with militant groups across the country. Two particularly devastating incidents illustrate the gravity of the situation: the tragic ambush in Okuama, Delta State, and the recent attack in Marte, Borno State. On 14 March, 2024, at least 17 soldiers, including a commanding officer, were killed during a peacekeeping mission in Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area. The troops had been deployed to de-escalate a communal conflict between Okuama and Okoloba communities when they were ambushed. A civilian was also reported dead in the incident. Similarly, on 13 May, suspected Boko Haram insurgents overran a military base in Marte Local Government Area, Borno State. The assailants killed several soldiers, captured others, and looted arms and equipment, leaving destruction in their wake. These events underscore the persistent threats the Nigerian military face from insurgent groups in the North-East to communal unrest in the South. The Nigerian Armed Forces stand at a critical crossroads, navigating a volatile security landscape that demands resilience, innovation, and a reaffirmation of their enduring legacy of gallantry. The militarys current operational environment is marked by multifaceted threats that strain their capabilities and demand adaptive responses. Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have intensified their campaigns, as seen in the 26 January suicide bombing in Malam Fatori, Borno State, which claimed the lives of 27 soldiers. Terrorists and militants now employ more sophisticated methods, including the use of armed drones, IEDs, and coordinated assaults, which increase casualties and complicate defensive operations. Operations against insurgents have occasionally led to tragic unintended consequences, such as the 13 January airstrike in Zamfara State that resulted in the deaths of at least 16 civilians. Confrontations with groups like the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) have sparked debates over the proportionality of force and adherence to human rights standards. To strengthen their effectiveness and protect the lives of personnel and civilians alike, the Nigerian military must adopt a number of critical strategies. Strategic-level training must be enhanced to better equip commanders with the tools to lead under complex and asymmetric conditions of warfare. Embracing digital technologies, including artificial intelligence and satellite surveillance, will improve their precision in operations and reduce collateral damage. Despite these daunting challenges, the Nigerian military have recorded significant progress. In March, they launched a major offensive that led to the neutralisation of 79 terrorists and kidnappers across the North-East and North-West. Enhanced community outreach and humanitarian efforts have strengthened local trust and improved intelligence gathering. Nigerias military continue to earn respect through their participation in international peacekeeping missions and efforts to uphold professional standards. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Nigerian militarys resilience today is anchored in a proud history of service and sacrifice. From their formation during the colonial era to their prominent roles in regional peacekeeping, the military have consistently been a stabilising force in West Africa. This legacy continues to inspire current efforts and shape their vision for the future. As the nation grapples with complex and evolving security threats, the Armed Forces remain a cornerstone of national sovereignty. However, sustaining and building upon their achievements will require deliberate strategic investments. To strengthen their effectiveness and protect the lives of personnel and civilians alike, the Nigerian military must adopt a number of critical strategies. Strategic-level training must be enhanced to better equip commanders with the tools to lead under complex and asymmetric conditions of warfare. Embracing digital technologies, including artificial intelligence and satellite surveillance, will improve their precision in operations and reduce collateral damage. Most importantly, investing in intelligence infrastructure and surveillance networks is crucial to detecting threats early and improving mission planning and execution. In conclusion, while the Nigerian military continues to face formidable challenges, their legacy of gallantry and ongoing reforms position them to adapt and overcome. With renewed support, strategic foresight, and a commitment to excellence, the Armed Forces can rise to meet the demands of this era protecting the nation with honour and valour. Aisha Mohammed writes from Kano. Email: [email protected] Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Thinker and historian, Bonaventure Swai, in a 1986 paper Fanon, Contemporary Africa and the Relevance of Historical Expediency, declared that Africa: is in the worst of times. But the worst of times also comprises the best of times. It can be a time of spiritual and moral decay, yet it is a time when courageous people also struggle to arrest and reverse the decay. This is more so because every epoch is pregnant with a new one, and at this time of despair, in Africa, a new epoch is in the birth canal pushing with all its might. Four years after the Tanzanian professors statement, democratisation struggles swept across Africa, reforming and terminating despotic military and one-party authoritarianism. Three decades after the restoration of civil rule, military coups are staging a comeback in Francophone West Africa. Mali on 18 August, 2020, and 24 May, 2021. Guinea, 5 September, 2021. Burkina Faso, 24 January, and 30 September, 2022. Niger Republic on 26 July, 2023. There have been botched coups in Sierra Leone, November 2023; Benin Republic, September 2024, and Cote dlvoire, May 2025. There were also successful military coups in Chad, April 2021, and Gabon on 30 August, 2023. However, the coups in Mali, led by General dArmee Goita; Burkina Faso, by Captain Ibrahim Traore; and Niger Republic, by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, are the most celebrated. Malians massively flocked into the streets in celebration of the coup, describing it as revolution and mission accomplished. In Burkina Faso, crowds celebrated the coup, with music, dancing, burning of tires, and desecration of French flags. In Niger Republic, people took to the streets, physically attacking politicians, destroying their houses and other properties, and burning political party offices. The ever increasing poverty, hunger, diseases, suffering, insecurity, alienation, and widespread depoliticisation, disillusionment, demobilisation, disorganisation, and disempowerment of the working peoples, enhanced the military coups. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Additionally, the elected politicians had monetised politics, bastardised the electoral process, virtually neutralised opposition forces, transformed the legislatures into rubber-stamp institutions, and manipulated the judiciary. There was also the pomposity of politicians that: there is nothing the masses can do. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), opposed the new military regimes more out of selfish interests, and due to the immense pressure from Western powers. Pressurised by Nigeria and Cote dIvoire, who themselves were instigated by France and the United States (US), ECOWAS suspended the countries from participating in its affairs. It also imposed economic sanctions, including suspension of financial transactions and freezing of assets held in ECOWAS central banks. It closed land and air borders, imposed a no-fly zone for commercial flights, and even threatened to, and almost, invaded, Niger Republic to overthrow the new government and, reinstall ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. Democracy was not really a factor for ECOWAS opposition and hostility towards the military regimes in West Africa. ECOWAS never spoke or even opposed factors that generate, ignite, spark, and propel military coups. In Mali, for instance, election rigging, kidnapping of an opposition leader, gross mishandling of terrorist insurgency, amongst others, led to the military coup in 2020, which ousted President Ibrahim Keita. Likewise, ECOWAS has always maintained an unholy silence whenever civilian presidents or prime ministers mutilate the constitution to prolong their misrule. Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, imposed by the military, served as president from 2005 to 2025. The constitution was dubiously amended to enable him serve for additional six years. Also, President Alpha Conde of Guinea in 2021 altered the constitution to allow him contest for a third term. He won the highly disputed election, which provoked popular protests, that led to the arrests and sentencing of opposition forces: for inciting insurrection. The military which specialises in the production, use, management, and monopolisation of highly sophistical violence and coercive instruments in society stepped in to settle the matter. Further, in 2021, Alassane Quattara of Cote dlvoire, who was virtually imposed by France in 2011, after a prolonged crisis that claimed over three thousand lives, amended the constitution to allow him contest for a third term. Rampant poverty, limited press freedom, state-sponsored assassinations, unquestionable loyalty to France over and above Cote dlvoire, amongst others, led to a foiled coup in May 2025. The current West African military leaders are different from the first generation military leaders. First, they were not recruited into the colonial and early post-colonial military. Traore was born in 1987. Mamady Doumbouya in 1980. Goita in 1983. Tchiani of Niger Republic was, however, born in the early 1960s. Secondly, they are bolder, far more educated, much de-colonised, and more anti-imperialist. They seem to have a better understanding of the problems confronting Africa and Africans than those military leaders recruited in colonial times. Thirdly, unlike the first generation military coups, which were mostly organised and financed by Western powers to terminate democratically elected, Pan-Africanist, anti-imperialist, and development-oriented governments like those of Patrice Lumumba of Congo, Sylvanus Olympio of Togo, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, the present generation of military leaders emerged largely through their own efforts. Fourthly, unlike the previous military coups, most of the present ones are opposed by Western powers, which means they did not have a hand in making them. This is so despite France and US investing heavily in indoctrinating and training them to submit, respect and defend democracy. Fifthly, while the first generation military rulers were mainly interested in holding on to power, looting and plundering their nations resources, handing over their countries to Western multinationals to pillage, and being subservient to imperialism, the present ones seems to be the opposite. The military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic gave birth to the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in September 2023. AES seeks to strengthen economic and political cooperation, as well as provide mutual defence, and address security challenges from terrorist groups, largely armed and funded by Western powers. AES opposes France and Western powers domination of, and dictation to, ECOWAS. Its members downgraded the French language, renamed their streets after their national heroes and heroines, as against the names of colonial rulers and, withdrew from the International Organisations of Francophone States. They equally expelled French military forces and stopped French military operations in their countries. They have also adopted concrete measures to neutralise France control over their natural resources, diplomatic affairs, and economic and trade relations. They have nationalised mining businesses, and promoted state-driven development. Further, AES wants to implement what ECOWAS has failed to implement in its fifty years of existence; namely: establish a single monetary union, common market, military high command, identity card, international passport, and the integration of member-states, amongst others. The laudable actions of AES leaders, limited as they appear, are popular with society. They portray them as courageous people who are determined to struggle to arrest and reverse the decay in Africa. To most Africans, their actions show that, despite the despair, in Africa a new epoch is in the birth canal pushing with all its might. 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] Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has been rated by the National Consultative Committee on Statistics (NCCS) as the Most Data-Friendly Governor in Nigeria. The award, presented during a state banquet held in honour of participants of the 2025 1st Bi-Annual Meeting of the NCCS on Thursday, in Katsina, recognised the Governors commitment to data-driven governance and statistical development. This was revealed through a press statement on Friday by Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, Chief Press Secretary to the governor. Speaking at the event, Mr Radda emphasized his administrations commitment to statistical excellence, stating: When we took over the administration of Katsina State in 2023, we came in with our blueprint, which spelt out our strategies and plan of action on how to develop all the sectors of the State economy. With our knowledge on the importance of effective data to guide implementation of our policies, programmes and projects, we decided to revitalize the State Bureau of Statistics, the Governor revealed. Governor Radda also added, To ensure efficiency, I directed the Head of Civil Service of the State to advertise the position and follow the due process to select the best that will be appointed as the Statistician-General of the State. The process was very successful as at the end of the day the appointment of Professor Saifullahi Sani Ibrahim was recommended and approved by the State Government. On the positive impact of the strategic appointment, Governor Radda stressed, Since Professor Ibrahim assumption into office, Katsina State has recorded a series of developments in conducting so many surveys and generating relevant data that guides our decision making. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The governor, however, assured the Statistician-General of the Federation and other participants that the State Government will carefully study the communique issued at the end of the meeting to ensure effective implementation. Responding to an appeal by the Statistician General of the Federation, Mr. Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, who requested Governor Radda to influence other governors to prioritize data-driven projects in their states, the Governor assured that he will utilize any available opportunity to engage the governors on the need to concentrate and pay more attention to their Bureau of Statistics. Governor Radda also leveraged the platform to showcase Katsina States investment potential, noting: We leverage on the collaboration with National Bureau of Statistics and the experience acquired by the staff of Katsina State Bureau of Statistics in the ongoing GDP compilation to ensure that henceforth no gap shall exist in the GDP data of the State. The Governor particularly urged the NCCS participants to become Katsina State ambassadors to dispel insecurity narratives spread by those who are ignorant of the improved security situation in the state. Investors, both local and foreign, are kindly requested to consider Katsina State when taking strategic investment decisions. The cost of living is relatively cheaper when compared with most of the States, and ease of doing business is favourable as the government and people of Katsina State are investor-friendly, Governor Radda remarked. He equally outlined his administrations milestones in nearly two years where legacy projects have been executed in Health, Education, Infrastructure, Water Resources, Environment Ministries, among others across the 34 Local Government Areas of the State. Concluding his remarks, Governor Radda expressed gratitude to the Statistician-General of the Federation and the Katsina State Bureau of Statistics for the awards and all members of NCCS for selecting Katsina State to host this event. The NCCS meeting brought together the Statistician-General of the Federation and representatives from all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to discuss developments in the statistical sector and strategize on enhancing statistical services across Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Over 900 pilgrims from Jigawa State, Northwest region of Nigeria have arrived the city of Madinah from Jedda International Airport for the 2025 Hajj exercise. The Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board had airlifted a total of 930 pilgrims for the 2025 Hajj exercise to Saudi Arabia. The pilgrims after observing the Jummat prayer at the Holy Mosque of the Prophet next to their hotel accommodation proceeded to variouse sites for visitations as recommended for them. They expressed gratitude to the state government for securing hotel accommodations next to the Haramains in Madinah and Mecca. The pilgrims praised the Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board for their efforts in ensuring their welfare during the pilgrimage. A pilgrims, Husseina Adamu, from Birnin Kudu Local Government Area, expressed deligh over the closeness of their hotel accommodation to the Haramain in the city of Madinah. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The important thing is that we are able to visit the Holy Mosque of prophet Muhammad anytime we wish because of the proximity. Some of us visit the Mosque many times a day for supplications What made us different from other Nigerians pilgrims is that we have the opportunity to visit the Holy Mosque in Madinah frequently to pray than pilgrims from other Nigerians states because our hotel accommodation is near, Mr Adamu said. Another pilgrim, Saidu Shehu, from Dutse, the state capital, said securing the hotel accommodations in both the Haramains in Mecca and Madinah underscored the states Pilgrims Welfare Boards commitments in better welfare of the state pilgrims. We are happy since our arrival in Madinah, after our lodging in the hotel, we had embarked on site visitations including the graveyard of the Holy prophet, his wife Aisha, and some of his companions, we are grateful for the opportunity. Ramatu Yahaya, also from Birnin Kudu. commended the states pilgrims board for ensuring their better welfare in the Holy land. The visit to Madinah, though not mandatory, is a highly recommended act of worship, allowing pilgrims to pay respects at the Prophets Mosque and other historic sites. The pilgrims from Jigawa are expected to proceed to Mecca for the mandatory Hajj rituals. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has lauded the recent appointment of four distinguished sons of the state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into key federal positions. The four are Ibrahim Shehu Shema, Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya, Abdullahi Mohammed, and Samaila Audu. Governor Radda described the appointments as a proud moment for Katsina State, stating that the recognition of these capable individuals reflects not only their personal merit but also the pool of leadership talent Katsina continues to offer Nigeria. He hailed the appointment of Mr Ibrahim Shema, a former two-term Governor of Katsina State as the Chairman of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), as a fitting acknowledgment of his (Shemas) decades of public service and legal distinction. Barrister Shemas competence, discipline, and integrity have always stood out. I have no doubt he will provide visionary leadership in shaping the capitals infrastructure and policy direction, he noted. The Governor also commended the appointment of Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya, an engineer, as the Chairman of the Nigerian Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA). He extolled him as a respected civil engineer and former Senator with technical expertise. He added that Mr Barkiyas policy experience make him exceptionally qualified to spearhead sustainable agricultural development across the country. On Abdullahi Mohammed, a seasoned administrator from Katsina who was appointed Executive Director (Finance & Administration) at the NigeriaSao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority (NSTPJDA), Governor Radda acknowledged the critical nature of this role, which involves overseeing the financial and administrative framework for resource development in the Gulf of Guinea. His presence at the NSTPJDA will help ensure transparency and efficiency in the management of a strategic national asset, he remarked. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Similarly, Governor Radda praised Mr Samaila Audus appointment as the Executive Director, Administration of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). He expressed confidence that Mr Audus legal and administrative background would contribute to strengthening the Funds service delivery and institutional performance. With people like Barr Audu in leadership, we can expect a more responsive and accountable NSITF that serves the interest of Nigerian workers, he added. Governor Radda concluded by expressing his sincere appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for once again recognising the wealth of experience and professionalism that indigenes of Katsina bring to the national stage. On behalf of the Government and the good people of Katsina State, I heartily congratulate these four illustrious sons of our state. Their appointments bring pride to our people and promise of excellence to the offices they now hold. We pray for their success as they take on these important national assignments, the Governor concluded. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda personally led a top-level security delegation to Maharba village in Matazu Local Government Area to conduct an on-the-spot assessment following a tragic bandit ambush that claimed lives of five Community Security Watch Corps personnel. The Governors delegation, which included State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs Nasiru Muazu Danmusa, the State Commissioner of Police, Director of State Security Services, Chief of Staff Abdulkadir Mamman Nasir, and some security personnel, was led to the incident scene by the Matazu Local Government Chairman, Shamsudeen Muhammad Sayaya. The attack claimed the life of Community Watch Commander Mallam Sanusi, who coordinated security operations covering Kusada, Kankia, and parts of Charanchi Local Government Areas, along with four of his men who were traveling in a Hilux vehicle on a reinforcement mission. According to reports, the security team had responded to intelligence about a large number of bandits approaching villages in Matazu Local Government when they were ambushed at a major stream by approximately twenty bandits on motorcycles who had concealed themselves in mango trees. The Commander and his team were trapped at the location, with their Hilux vehicle set ablaze during the attack. The vehicle was still smoldering when Governor Radda arrived at the scene for his assessment. Following the site inspection, the Governor toured hard-to-reach areas to gain firsthand knowledge of community conditions and engaged directly with residents about his administrations mission and government readiness to address security challenges. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Governor also reaffirmed the administrations commitment to work closely with security agencies and community stakeholders to enhance protective measures for both security personnel and civilian populations across Katsina State. Providing insight into the Governors visit, the State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasiru Muazu Danmusa explained the comprehensive approach being adopted to combat insecurity. The state had in recent time witnessed incessant bandit attacks on one hand and on the other hand recording success in the fight against bandits taking into cognizance the efforts of the military against bandits around Ruwan Godiya access, Mr Danmusa stated. The Commissioner emphasized that the visit of the state governor to the scene where the five men of the community security watch corps were ambushed and killed by the bandits was to see for himself and for the ministry to evaluate and make assessment of what happened. The Commissioner stressed that this assessment was to adopt further strategies to protect the lives and property of members of the communities. Mr Danmusa appealed to people in the state to support government with prayers and exercise patience as government is more committed in restoring peace in the state. On behalf of the Government, and the people of Katsina, Governor Radda expressed condolences to the family of deceased Community Watch personnel, praying that God Almighty will accept their returns and grant the family and the State the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print As part of the ongoing kinetic phase of Operation Forest Sanity III (OPFS III), troops of the 17 Brigade Strike Group, Nigerian Army, successfully carried out a deliberate attack on a terrorist enclave in Shawu Forest, Ruwan Godiya Ward, Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State. According to a statement by Nasiru Muazu, Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Katsina State, the operation resulted in the neutralization of several terrorists and the decimation of their operational capacity. The Commissioner stated: At approximately 08:50 AM on 23 May, the crack troops assaulted the terrorist positions, engaging them in a fierce gun duel. The intensity of the attack forced the terrorists to abandon their camps and flee into the dense bushes and rocky terrain, using their livestock as shield for their escape. Undeterred, the troops pursued the fleeing terrorists, engaging them relentlessly, including those attempting to escape by crossing a river.In the course of the operation, twenty-one terrorists were killed, including those swept away by the river while trying to escape. However, there were no casualties among the military team, the Katsina official said. Also recovered were about forty (40) motorcycles and a yet-to-be-ascertained number of rustled cattle from the bandits. Following the extensive mop-up operations, the troop successfully captured a range of hostile equipment, which included one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), five AK-47 rifles, a pump-action rifle, twenty-one AK-47 magazines, and seventeen Motorola Communication (MC) radios. Other items recovered were a considerable quantity of ammunition and other critical items. This included sixty-four rounds of 7.62mm NATO belted ammunition, four hundred and forty-eight rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, four pump-action cartridges, two RPG-7 chargers, and one RPG-7 bomb. Five CS 48mm hand grenades, a Baofeng handheld radio (HHR), six mobile phones with three extra batteries, a camouflage jungle hat, and three magazine pouches were also secured. Further recoveries included a motorcycle manual pump, an empty wallet, three jungle bags containing various charms, and a sum of Fifteen Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty Naira (15,260).All the recovered items are kept in custody of the military for further necessary action. Operations are still ongoing, and the morale among the troops remains consistently high. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In light of this significant operational success, the Katsina State Government has extended its profound commendation to the gallant troops of the 17 Brigade Strike Group. Speaking from the State House, His Excellency, Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, lauded the professionalism, bravery, and unwavering commitment displayed by the soldiers. He reiterated his administrations support for the Nigerian Armed Forces in their ongoing efforts to restore lasting peace and stability to all affected communities. Governor Radda urged the troops to maintain their high morale and continue their relentless pursuit of all criminal elements. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal High Court has ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can investigate an alleged N3.5 billion land scandal involving some clerics in Kano State. in April how the clerics filed a case before the court in Kano State to bar the EFCC from arresting, harassing, or interrogating them over the case. PREMIUM TIMES reported in April how the clerics filed a case before the court in Kano State to bar the EFCC from arresting, harassing, or interrogating them over the case. Some members of the Incorporated Trustees of Musabaqah Association had petitioned the EFCC, accusing the members of fraudulently selling the land donated by the state government to build the Quranic Recitation Competition headquarters. The petitioners alleged that the land in a highbrow area of Kano was fraudulently sold to Nataala Properties and Investment Company Limited, led by Tijjani Sule-Garo. They urged the EFCC to investigate the sale and halt further development of the land pending the outcome of the investigation. The petitioners also asked the anti-corruption agency to prosecute those involved in the sale and return the land for use as originally allocated. The clerics filed the suit after the EFCC invited them over the petition. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The petitioners alleged that a plot worth N3.5 billion in a prime location like Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, measuring roughly two hectares, was fraudulently sold out by the clerics at just N400 million. The petitioners identified the accused clerics as Ibrahim Shehu-Maihula, Gwani Yahuza-Danzarga, Aliyu Harazimi, Tijjani Bala-Kalarawi, Saidu Muhammad-Koki and Ado Shehu-Maibargo. The others are Abdu Muhammad-Dutse; Abubakar Aliyu-Darma, Ahmad Tijjani-Yusuf, Tijjani Mailafiya-Sanka, Sabiu Bako and Muhammad Tukur-Gadanya. The Kano State government in 1995, under former military administrator, late Abdullahi Wase, allocated the 2.5 hectares of land for the establishment of what he called Musabaa village housing a residential block, Tahfiz and training centre, mosque and eatery. Mr Wase reportedly allotted the said land after the state government received an outrageous bill from the then Musabaa committee for an annual Musabaa event. The land was abandoned for almost 23 years until 2022, when the self-appointed committee entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with the Nataala investment. In August 2023, a radio commentary programme, Rigar kaya, anchored by Yakubu Musa-Fagge, exposed alleged fraud in the PPP arrangement. In the programme, one of the accused leaders, Mr Gwani-anzarga, responded that 38 houses were built, of which eight were allocated to the Musabaa committee and 30 to the Nataala company. However, some of the members disagreed and reported the matter to the EFCC. Mr Gwani-anzarga and 10 others then rushed to the Federal High Court 1, Kano, and filed a fundamental human rights enforcement case against the EFCC. The judge dismissed the suit and ruled that the clerics cannot prevent the EFCC from fulfilling its constitutional responsibility. On Friday, the judge, Musa Shuaibu, ruled in favour of the petitioners and allowed the EFCC to invite the clerics for investigation as mandated by the law. Also, the judge fined the clerics N250,000 for wasting the courts and the EFCCs time and failing to substantiate their assertion accusing the EFCC of harassment and intimidation when they did not even honour the EFCCs invitation. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) has called for the release of Hamdiyyah Sharif, an 18-year-old critic of Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyus handling of security in the state. In a joint statement on Friday in Abuja, the organisations expressed concern over what they described as ongoing harassment, unlawful detention, and persecution of the teenage activist. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Sharif, also known as Sidi, went missing on Tuesday, 21 May. She was later found and ended up in police detention in Zamfara State. The statement also reminded Governor Aliyu of his constitutional obligation to uphold the rule of law and protect citizens rights. The coalition urged him to respect Sections 35 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantee personal liberty and freedom of expression, respectively. From arrest to detention The statement revealed that Ms Sharif was earlier reported missing by her legal team, later found in a Bakura hospital in Zamfara State under unclear circumstances, and subsequently detained by the police. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later She was abducted while riding on a commercial tricycle in her village, taken to an unknown location, injected with unknown substances, and later abandoned in the bush, the CSOs alleged. Ms Sharif was discovered by passersby, treated at a hospital, and eventually ended up at a police station. The group claimed that the Zamfara Police Command has been under pressure to transfer her to Sokoto authorities. Given the suspicious circumstances of her abduction and the looming threat to her life, we urge the Inspector-General of Police to urgently take custody of Miss Sharif. If anything happens to her, the police commissioners in Sokoto and Zamfara will be held accountable, the statement added. Amnesty International Nigeria gave similar account in a separate statement on Friday, noting that it received reports that the Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State had detained her despite the need to give her the urgent medical treatment after her abduction. This marked the second time within six months that she has been abducted by gunmen and detained by the police around the same period. Ms Shariff first made national headlines in November 2024 after posting aTikTok video criticising Sokoto State Governor Aliyus administration for its response to rampant banditry and the plight of displaced women in Sokoto State. In the video, she highlighted the dire conditions in rural areas and accused the government of negligence. After the video went viral, Ms Shariff was arrested on 9 November 2024 but was subsequently released. She was then abducted on 13 November 2024 by armed men on her way to collect her phone from a charging point. She was beaten, thrown off a moving tricycle and left with severe injuries. Ms Shariff, aged 18, was again arrested and charged in a Sharia court for the use of abusive language against the state governor and inciting disturbance. The reason for her latest abduction and subsequent arrest by the police is not immediately clear. Meanwhile, Amnesty International Nigeria recalled in its staement on Friday that Ms Sharifs lawyer was compelled at a court hearing in January to apply for armed police protection due to the hostile atmosphere in court and the request was granted by the court. While in Sokoto, for the trial, they were also stalked at their hotel, accosted and intimidated by some individuals. Instead of attempting to suppress dissenting voices, Sokoto state government and the Nigerian security agencies should focus on addressing rampant insecurity facing particularly the people of the eastern part of Sokoto state where gunmen have been killing people, razing villages, abducting women and girls almost daily, the human rights organisation stated. Call for probe The CSOs coalition said at their press conference on Friday that rather than address the insecurity and poverty affecting Sokoto residents, the government allegedly focused on silencing dissenting voices like Ms Sharifs. While the CSOs stopped short of directly accusing the state government of orchestrating Ms Sharifs ordeal, they pointed to what they described as credible indicators of state complicity in her targeting. They urged a thorough and transparent investigation. It is alarming that the police and judiciary appear to be weaponised to prosecute a teenager for simply calling attention to insecurity and poor governance, the statement said. The CSOs drew parallels with past incidents, such as the unlawful detention of 29 minors during the #EndBadGovernance protests, warning that the state must stop punishing vulnerable citizens while failing to hold criminal elements accountable. Call for intervention The organisations urged prominent women in leadershipsuch as First Lady Oluremi Tinubu and Fatima Aliyu, wife of the Sokoto governorto speak out and protect Ms Sharif. At a time when womens participation in politics is alarmingly low, silence in the face of injustice only deepens the erosion of gender inclusion and equality, the statement said. They also called on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and National Assembly committees on Human Rights, Women Affairs, and the Judiciary to launch an immediate inquiry into the matter. The groups vowed to escalate the case to international platforms, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, and the International Criminal Court (ICC), if necessary. This country belongs to us allyoung and old, male and female, rich and poor. Civic space must not be a privilege for the powerful alone, the statement concluded. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print One person was shot dead while 10 people were kidnapped in separate attacks by gunmen in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigerias South-east. The attacks occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday in two separate communities in the council area, PREMIUM TIMES gathered. How the attacks happened The latest attacks began on Tuesday on the outskirts of the Umulokpa Community in the council area. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the hoodlums, suspected to be herders, kidnapped Vincent Nweke, a chainsaw machine operator and the President-General of the community, Linus Ezeh. Mr Ezeh, in a video clip obtained by this newspaper, said the gunmen first ambushed and kidnapped him near his rice farmland in the community. The president-general narrated that the gunmen, numbering about six, then tied him to a tree before attacking Mr Nweke upon hearing the sound of his chainsaw machine in the nearby bush. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He said the hoodlums, after abducting Mr Nweke, also tied him to a tree and later dragged both of them around the bush. Around 7 p.m., they dragged us to this place (pointing) and tied us to different trees. Five of them left to harvest yams from a farmland while one stayed back to monitor us. The chainsaw machine operator loosened the rope and began to run. Then, they shot him dead and left his body, Mr Ezeh narrated in Igbo language. The clip showed the decomposing body of Mr Nweke, the slain chainsaw machine operator. The president-general said that the following day (Wednesday), the hoodlums forced him to phone his relatives for ransom or he would be killed. He said they initially asked for N30 million ransom before it was negotiated down to N2.5 million, which they picked at Ukpata Community in the same council area before releasing him in the community. They had asked my brother who brought the ransom to buy cigarettes for them, which he did. Upon arrival, they forced my brother to smoke one of the cigarettes first, he said. Second attack At about 5:47 p.m. on Wednesday, some gunmen ambushed and abducted nine people travelling from Eke Akiyi in Umulokpa Community to Iwollo, another community in Ezeagu Local Government Area of the state. It is unclear, for now, if the hoodlums were the people who carried out the previous attack. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the attack occurred in Adaba Community at a boundary between Amagu, another village in Umulokpa, and Olo, a community in the Ezeagu Local Government Area of the state. The victims were six women, a man and two teenage boys. This newspaper has now identified the victims as Christiana Chukwuemeka, Sabina Okeke, Okorie Chukwuemeka, Albert Ugochukwu, and Eberechukwu Okoye. Others were Nkem Collins, Nwankwo Charity, Eze Augustina, and Chijioke Ezieke. They were, however, rescued on Thursday when some Adaba youths mobilised themselves and confronted the kidnappers inside a forest where the victims were forced into by the hoodlums. The President-General of Adaba Community, Fabian Amalunwaeze, was said to have led the youths into the bush for the rescue operation. One of the victims, Mrs Okeke, narrated, in another video clip, how the attack and rescue happened. We went to Umulokpa Market yesterday (Wednesday) and started travelling back after back to Iwollo after the days business. When we got to Amagu, Umulokpa, we noticed a gunshot on one of our vehicle tyres. We were still wondering before we saw armed men coming out of the bush. They ordered us to lie down, collected all our valuables from us and forced us to move into the bush. We all trekked throughout the night, she narrated in Igbo language. The woman said the hoodlums, later on Thursday, introduced themselves as kidnappers and informed them that they would pay N30 million ransom each or face death. I told them we hadnt seen N30 million before, but they scolded me, saying we have been doing business in different markets. I responded that they had collected all we had made from yesterdays business from us. And one of them slapped me, Mrs Okeke said. They used our phones to call our relatives, informing each of them to pay N30 million or they would kill us and dump our bodies in the bush. The victim said they were planning to sleep off when some Adaba youths surfaced in the bush and confronted the hoodlums. The (suspected) herders fired shots at the youths and absconded immediately. The bullets did not hurt the community youths. They (the youths) came and rescued us from the valley of death, she said. Multiple indigenes of the two communities confirmed the separate attacks to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday evening. However, one of the residents who identified himself as Anthony said attacks by suspected herders in the council area have been frequent in recent times. Police mum The police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, did not respond to calls seeking his comments. In response to a WhatsApp message, Mr Ndukwe, a superintendent of police, asked this reporter to await a formal press release for accurate insights on the incident. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Gunmen have killed four family members in Anambra State, south-east Nigeria. The incident happened on Thursday morning in Isseke, a community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra. The victims, Kennedy Igboanugo, his two wives and a daughter, were still sleeping when the hoodlums invaded their apartment, residents told PREMIUM TIMES. Witnesses said the hoodlums left immediately after killing the victims. Police speak The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a statement on Friday. Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, described the attack as cowardly and unprovoked. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The spokesperson said the attack occurred despite simultaneous joint clearance operations by a joint security team to dislodge criminals in the state. He said the joint security team has now cordoned off the area. The bodies of the victims have been recovered and deposited at the morgue while investigations continue, he stated. Mr Ikenga said the police were already working on some clues to track down the hoodlums. Increased attacks Like other states in Nigerias South-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons. The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities. Hundreds of persons have been killed or abducted and several others injured in some of such attacks in the region. The latest attack happened exactly one week after gunmen killed a lawyer and his client in Egbebelu village of Nanka, a community in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state. The Nigerian government has repeatedly accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has denied its involvement in the attacks. IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print WASHINGTON, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- National Press Club President Mike Balsamo issued the following statement on new media restrictions at the Pentagon that threaten transparency and erode public access and accountability: "The Department of Defense has taken a significant step to restrict long-standing press access to the Pentagon. A new directive sharply limits where journalists can go, requires escorts for routine movement, and curtails opportunities to engage with officials. These changes raise serious concerns about transparency, oversight, and the public's right to know. For generations, journalists have walked the Pentagon's halls, asking hard questions, documenting history, and helping the public understand the most consequential decisions our government makes. That tradition is now in jeopardy. Independent, fact-based reporting on the U.S. military isn't a luxury. It is a necessity. It keeps voters informed, strengthens democratic oversight, and sends a clear message to the world that America stands for openness and accountability. Restricting access doesn't protect national security. It undermines public trust. The updated policy marks a stark departure from long-standing norms that balanced operational security with meaningful press access. By blocking access to common areas, restricting movement without escorts, and complicating basic reporting functions, the Pentagon is making it harder for journalists to do their jobs and easier for power to go unchecked. We stand with the Pentagon Press Association in urging a swift reversal of this policy. The Pentagon should be working with reporters, not placing obstacles in their path. The public has a right to know what its military is doing. Journalists who cover national defense must be free to do their jobs without escorts, unnecessary restrictions, or barriers to truth." About the National Press Club Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. Based in Washington, D.C., the Club has nearly 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization. It hosts newsmakers from around the globe, champions press freedom worldwide through its Press Freedom Center and serves as a hub for journalistic excellence and advocacy. Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534, [email protected] for the Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club SOURCE National Press Club NEW YORK, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Solaris Energy Infrastructure, Inc. (NYSE: SEI) between July 9, 2024 and March 17, 2025, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important May 27, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline. So what: If you purchased Solaris Energy securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. What to do next: To join the Solaris Energy class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=37807 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 27, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Details of the case: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Mobile Energy Rentals LLC ("MER") had little to no corporate history in the mobile turbine leasing space; (2) MER did not have a diversified earnings stream; (3) MER's co-owner was a convicted felon associated with multiple allegations of turbine-related fraud; (4) as a result, Solaris Energy overstated the commercial prospects posed by the MER acquisition; (5) Solaris Energy inflated profitability metrics by failing to properly depreciate its turbines; and (6) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about Solaris Energy's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Solaris Energy class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=37807 call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A. HOUSTON, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc. ("Silver Star" or the "Company") today announced continued progress in its transformation into a premier self-storage investment platform. The Company's proactive pivot, led by Director of Asset Management David Strickland, is delivering measurable results across operations, finance, and portfolio management. "As Silver Star advances with the momentum we have gained by shedding nonperforming assets and internalizing management, taking an opportunity with a disciplined approach for evaluating our remaining Legacy assets and the capital improvements they require for an ultimate decision to retain or sell," stated Gerald W. Haddock, Chairman and CEO of Silver Star Properties REIT. "David Strickland, Director of Asset Management, leveraged his long-standing vendor relationships, and secured timely and cost-effective commitments for critical repairsmany of which are already underway. He has also led the termination of underperforming third-party contracts and brought operations in-house, implementing a data-driven, community-focused strategy." Strategic Milestones and Property Highlights McKinney , TX: NOI increased from $21,035 in Q1 2025 to $30,571 in Q2 2025, with occupancy rising from 64% to 77%. , TX: NOI increased from in Q1 2025 to in Q2 2025, with occupancy rising from 64% to 77%. Houston, TX : Two additional locations transitioned from third-party management on May 9, 2025 . Silver Star has implemented its marketing strategy to replicate prior success. : Two additional locations transitioned from third-party management on . Silver Star has implemented its marketing strategy to replicate prior success. Delray, FL: Silver Star is currently negotiating with the lender to assume full operational control, leveraging its proven track record in performance and management. It now has achieved a 92.5 % occupancy in square footage. Legacy Asset Challenges and Resolution Strategy Among the most significant challenges identified during Silver Star's operational transition were unresolved tenant grievances stemming from prolonged neglect under the prior leadership of Al Hartman. These concernsranging from HVAC failures to unmet capital improvements promiseshad eroded tenant confidence and contributed to straining lender relations. David Strickland, Director of Asset Management, took direct action to engage with tenants, personally addressing long-standing complaints and restoring critical service levels. His proactive involvement was the beginning of establishing tenant trust. These issues were exacerbated by a legacy strategy that diverted essential maintenance reserves for unrelated purposes during the Hartman era. As a result, some lenders exercised their rights to draw on company-held reservesresources that should have been available to fund necessary improvementsthereby placing additional financial pressure on the Company. These structural and financial failures validated the urgency of Silver Star's strategic pivot to self-storage. Under Strickland's leadership, the Company has stabilized key operations, executed targeted abatements, and reinforced service integritypositioning the self-storage platform as a disciplined, performance-driven solution focused on long-term value creation for shareholders. In addressing the question regarding the condition of Silver Star's Legacy assets during 2022, Mr. Strickland, replied, "The general attitude amongst the tenants was one of a very vocal anger. That caused me to have to do significant cleanup. Personally, I satisfied many complaints, but not all could be satisfied, and thereby, our lender began to complain, which resulted in further damage to our Company by our lenders taking our reserves that should have been available for additional tenant improvements. All of these problems stem, and can be traced (from my person knowledge) to a failure by Mr. Hartman to divert necessary maintenance funds to other purposes." (Exhibit A) $50 Million Preferred Equity Raise to Fuel Expansion Subject to Certain Conditions To support continued growth, Silver Star is partnering with Emerson Equity, LLC to lead a $50 million preferred equity offering under Rule 506(c) of Regulation D. Proceeds will be used to acquire self-storage assets and drive the Company toward a scalable, public-ready platform. Key terms of the offering: Offering will be available to accredited investors only Defined preferred returns and full return of capital prior to sponsor participation Optional 721 roll-up into Silver Star OP units for long-term alignment and tax efficiency Southern Star Announces Distribution for Two DST Programs Southern Star Self Storage announced today a one-time distribution of .25%, reflecting an annualized distribution of 3.00%, for the Southern Star Self Storage Airport DST ("Airports DST") and Southern Star Self Storage IV Rockport ("Rockport DST") programs. This marks the second 2025 distribution for the Airports DST and the first 2025 distribution for Rockport DST. The distributions highlights our dedication to creating value for our investors as we advance turnaround efforts. Commitment to Shareholders "Our transition to self-storage is both a response to legacy challenges and a proactive step toward long-term shareholder value," said Gerald W. Haddock, Chairman and CEO. "David Strickland's leadership has been instrumental in realigning our operations and proving the strength of our new strategy." "Silver Star is now positioned as a more agile, disciplined, and focused company with a clear mission: to deliver resilient cash flow and sustainable returns for our shareholders." Departure of Principal Accounting Officer On May 19, 2025 Alex Board provided the Company with notice of his intent to resign from his position of Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, effective June 6, 2025. Mr. Board's resignation is not a result of any disagreement with the Company or its board of directors or any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices. Eric Tam, Accounting Manager, who joined the Company in April 2022, will assume the position of Controller. About Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc. Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc. is a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Houston, Texas. The Company (formerly Hartman Short Term Income Properties XX, Inc.) is repositioning its portfolio from legacy office, retail, and industrial assets into high-growth self-storage and single-tenant real estate. Silver Star's mission is to generate long-term value for shareholders through focused, efficient investment and management practices. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding strategic plans, projected savings, and expected outcomes. Actual results may differ due to various risks, including market changes, execution risks, and other factors disclosed in the Company's SEC filings. Silver Star undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements. IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC The Company has filed a Preliminary Proxy Statement with the SEC on May 19, 2025 in connection with the court ordered 2025 Annual Meeting and intends to solicit votes for the Pivot Strategy adopted by the Executive Committee and such other matters as the Executive Committee, at the discretion of its Chairman, determines to consider. The definitive Proxy Statement will contain important information about Silver Star, the court ordered annual meeting and the opportunity to vote whether to execute and pivot the Company into the self-storage real estate class. Shareholders are urged to read the definitive Proxy Statement carefully when it is available. Upon completion and filing of our definitive proxy statement, Shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement and other documents filed with the SEC by Silver Star on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). In addition, shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement from Silver Star by following the instructions provided in the Proxy Statement. Participants in the Solicitation Silver Star and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the 2025 Annual Meeting. Information regarding Silver Star's directors and executive officers is contained in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC. As of May 19, 2025, the Silver Star Executive Committee, current directors, other than Allen Hartman, and executive officers beneficially owned approximately 1,172,436 shares, or 1.74%, of Silver Star common stock. Allen Hartman beneficially owned approximately 5,006,412 shares, or 7.43%, of Silver Star common stock. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be included in the definitive proxy statement that will be filed with the SEC and available free of charge as indicated above. Exhibit A The following describes what had to be addressed at each property. Houston 400 North Belt: Unaddressed plumbing, elevator issues, and landscaping neglect Atrium I & II: Foundation deficiencies and landscaping concerns Gulf Plaza: Outdated lobby, leaking windows/balconies due to failed seals, and landscaping issues 616: Required window sealing, elevator repairs, fire panel upgrades, and landscaping Cornerstone: Elevator modifications, HVAC deficiencies, and landscaping Westheimer: Window seals, elevator and fire system repairs, house pumps, and landscaping Timbercreek: Elevator repairs, common area upgrades, HVAC replacement, and landscaping Regency: Full HVAC replacement, elevator upgrades, and landscaping The Tower: HVAC, roofing, fire panel, foundation, plumbing, house pumps, and landscaping Timmons: Elevator, foundation, plumbing, fire panel, and HVAC issues The Preserve: Roofing, waterproof doors, widespread foundation issues, plumbing, elevator, and tree/landscape work Sawyer: Roof, window seals, HVAC upgrade, and landscaping 11811: Window sealing, elevator and cooling tower repairs, fire line replacement, hazardous garage, and parking lot repair Dallas Gateway: HVAC, window seals, elevator upgrades, and fire panel CPP: Foundation, plumbing, HVAC, and landscaping Westway: HVAC above major tenant, foundation, elevator, and landscaping repairs Hillcrest: Widespread HVAC, foundation, plumbing, and landscaping issues NCP: HVAC and elevator repairs Skymark: HVAC unit replacement and window sealing Three Forest: Garage stairs, HVAC, cooling tower, fire panel, house pumps, trash service, camera system, and landscaping BTG: Pool pumps, elevator cooling tower, and window sealing Parkway I & II: Elevator, common area flooring, and significant plumbing repairs San Antonio OTC: Fire panel, roof, elevators, window sealing, and failing HVAC Energy Plaza: HVAC and roofing Walzum: HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and landscaping Retail Centers All retail centers required new roof systems and upgraded or replaced HVAC in vacant units. SOURCE Silver Star Properties REIT HOUSTON, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc. ("Silver Star" or the "Company"), a self-managed real estate investment trust currently repositioning into the self-storage asset class, is pleased to announce the release of a new episode of its Silver Star Podcast featuring Adrienne Collins, former General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary of the Company. The episode, hosted by Gerald W. Haddock, CEO and Executive Chairman, highlights Collins' significant contributions during a pivotal period of restructuring and recovery for the Company. In this interview, Adrienne Collins discusses her crucial role at Silver Star, particularly after the company emerged from bankruptcy. She outlines the significant challenges she faced, including resolving 401(k) issues, dealing with deferred maintenance on real estate assets, and navigating difficult negotiations with lenders. Adrienne shares insights into the company's reputation before and after bankruptcy, her approach to restoring professionalism, and her work to position Silver Star for success in the public markets. Despite facing adversity, she reflects on her efforts to stabilize the company, build relationships with key stakeholders, and tackle complex problems with determination and expertise. The podcast is now available on our website at https://silverstarreit.com/exclusive-podcast-interview-with-general-counsel-adrienne-collins/ Transcript of the podcast can be found at https://silverstarreit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Silver-Star-Podcast-Transcription-Adrienne-Collins.pdf Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Because such statements include a number of risks, uncertainties, and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on any such statements. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "continues," "can," expect," "intend," "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "may," "plan," "believe" and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's search for a new auditor and its hope that a new auditor can be engaged in the near future and that its annual report on Form 10-K can be completed and publicly filed; the continuation of the examination of the current operations of Southern Star; the Company's intent to consider various alternatives, including the possible sale of Southern Star, the sale of specific assets within individual DSTs and dissolution of the respective trusts, and/or the outsourcing of various aspects of Southern Star's operations; the Company's plan to update investors with respect to the status of Southern Star as appropriate; the Company's expectations and beliefs regarding the Hartman litigation; the timing and ultimate resolution of the various litigation, fight for corporate control and other matters involving Hartman; the continued execution of the Company's strategy of pivoting into the self-storage space; the Company's continual evaluation of its legacy assets in order to maximize shareholder value; the Company's policy to not dispose of any asset for less than its maximum determinable value and to maximize earnings and value; the implications to the Company of the assignment of an OTC trading symbol for its common stock; whether the Company may be subject to certain FINRA rules; any actions the Company may need to take to comply with any FINRA rules; the Company's continual evaluation of various options to provide greater shareholder liquidity, including its intention to seek listing of its common stock on a securities exchange or admission to over-the-counter trading, a public offering, a listing of the common stock on an exchange or admission to OTC trading without a public offering, and merger and/or acquisition opportunities; the Company's belief that further legal action could ensue to unwind the issuance of common shares under the Rights Plan if Hartman prevails in his efforts to set aside or invalidate the Rights Plan or to cause the dilutive issuance of additional common shares to Hartman, as well as any further action Hartman may take to prevent other Company shareholders from receiving benefits under the Rights Plan. None of the foregoing are guarantees or assurances of future outcomes or results and all are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this material. Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date on which such statements were made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such statements that may become untrue because of subsequent events. Such forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor protection for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. SOURCE Silver Star Properties REIT MIAMI, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A powerful new online directory, TopLawyersNow.com, is making it easier than ever for individuals to find experienced legal representation across the United States. Whether you're dealing with a personal injury, wrongful death, insurance dispute, bankruptcy, arrest, or other legal issue, Top Lawyers Now displays attorneys who focus on the areas that matter most. "Finding the right lawyer can feel overwhelming," says Jason Turchin, Esq., a spokesperson for Top Lawyers Now. "Our goal is to simplify the search by showcasing lawyers based on practice area, location, and experienceso users can make informed decisions with confidence." Helping Clients Connect With Lawyers Who Get Results Top Lawyers Now was built to prioritize transparency, accessibility, and legal experience. Visitors to the site can: Search by legal practice area , including personal injury, car accidents, product liability, wrongful death, criminal defense, civil litigation, divorce, bankruptcy, insurance claims, medical malpractice, and more , including personal injury, car accidents, product liability, wrongful death, criminal defense, civil litigation, divorce, bankruptcy, insurance claims, medical malpractice, and more Browse attorney profiles with firm details, contact information, and highlights of their work with firm details, contact information, and highlights of their work Read Frequently Asked Questions and learn the basics of different practice areas Whether you're looking for a car accident lawyer in Florida or a life insurance attorney in California, TopLawyersNow.com aims to help users connect with someone who understands their case. Free for the Public, Built for Results The platform is free to use and requires no signup to begin browsing. The site is constantly expanding and adding new lawyers and legal resources. "Our mission is to become the go-to destination for anyone searching for legal help," Turchin added. "We're proud to support law firms while making legal services more approachable for everyday people." Visit Top Lawyers Now To find a lawyer or learn more, visit www.TopLawyersNow.com. Attorneys interested in being featured on the site can also inquire about listing options and profile enhancements. Attorney Website Backlinking SEO TopLawyersNow.com also provides SEO for lawyers by integrating lawyer website backlinks for Gold and Platinum profile members. Having an attorney directory for backlinks can be an effective SEO strategy. About Top Lawyers Now Top Lawyers Now is a national attorney directory designed to help people find the best lawyers in their area for their case. The platform allows users to find attorneys across various practice areas and states, making the legal search process more streamlined and transparent. Contact: Jason Turchin (800) 337-7755 [email protected] SOURCE TopLawyersNow.com HOUSTON, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tens of thousands of Texas drivers may be eligible for significant tax refunds after unknowingly overpaying sales tax on leased vehicles they chose to purchase. A growing legal investigation led by West Loop Law, a Houston-based consumer protection firm, reveals that banks and dealerships may be unlawfully retaining state tax credits that rightfully belong to consumers. At the center of the issue is a little-known provision in Texas tax law: when a driver leases a vehicle and later chooses to buy it, they are typically entitled to a sales tax credit based on the taxes they already paid during the lease. However, new findings suggest that financial institutions and dealerships are improperly claiming these tax credits, leaving consumers to foot the billtwice. Banks and dealerships kept tax credits meant for Texas drivers, now they may owe thousands in refunds. Post this "Texans are being taxed twice, while banks and dealerships keep the credit," said attorney Nhan Nguyen of West Loop Law. "It's not just unfairit's a massive consumer rights violation that could total thousands of dollars per driver." How the Scam Works Under Texas law, lease-to-own buyers are supposed to receive a credit toward sales tax when purchasing the vehicle at the end of the lease. But in many cases: Banks are secretly claiming the tax credit through a third-party entity L&M Lenders and Members without disclosing it to the consumer. to the consumer. Some dealerships are encouraging consumers to complete the lease buyout through the dealership rather than the bank, which voids the tax credit entirely. rather than the bank, which voids the tax credit entirely. In some transactions, false trade-ins are listed on official paperwork to manipulate tax liabilitydespite the customer never trading in another vehicle. These tactics can result in Texas drivers paying thousands in unnecessary taxes, while the institutions quietly keep the credits or use fraudulent reporting to reduce their own tax liability. Who Is Affected? You may be owed money if: You leased a vehicle in Texas and later purchased it through a buyout agreement . and later . You were encouraged to process the buyout through a dealership instead of directly through the leasing bank. instead of directly through the leasing bank. Your final paperwork shows a trade-in that you never actually made . . You paid sales tax again when buying out your lease, despite already paying tax during the lease period. What Should You Do? If any of these situations apply to you, West Loop Law encourages you to take action immediately: Visit www.TexasAutoLeaseLawyer.com Complete the quick Lease Purchase Tax Credit Questionnaire to see if you qualify. Schedule a Free Legal Consultation The firm is offering no-cost evaluations for affected drivers across the state. Share Your Story Help raise awareness by sharing your experience on social media or contacting local and national news outlets. Call for Justice "This isn't a clerical errorit's a system-wide practice that has gone unchecked for years," Nguyen emphasized. "If you've ever purchased your leased vehicle, check your paperwork. You may be owed thousands." West Loop Law is committed to holding banks, dealerships, and financial intermediaries accountable for deceptive and unethical behavior. The firm aims to file individual claims and potentially pursue class-action litigation on behalf of affected drivers. About West Loop Law West Loop Law is a Houston-based legal firm with a focus on protecting consumers from deceptive business practices, especially in the auto finance industry. Known for tackling complex cases and advocating for financial transparency, West Loop Law is helping Texas drivers uncover hidden losses and demand justice. SOURCE WestLoop Law If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Mumbai, May 23 : Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday directed the municipal administration to complete all ongoing drain cleaning works in Mumbai city and suburbs by June 7 by using artificial technology (AI) and drones. Stating that action will be taken against officials who do not complete the works on time and who are lax in drain cleaning works, he warned. He further directed that the silt removed from the drains should be dumped within 48 hours. Shinde inspected the drain cleaning works Ushanagar, Usha Complex in Bhandup, Nehrunagar, Wadala and Dharavi T Junction in Dadar. He said that even though the rains have started ahead of schedule, instructions have been given to complete the drain cleaning on time. So far, 85 per cent of the big drains and 65 per cent of the small drains have been completed and there are still 15 days left. Therefore, he expressed confidence that these works will be completed on time. "Drain cleaning is underway in coordination with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and the Railway Administration. AI technology is being used for this. The garbage under the railway culvert is being cleaned with the help of robots. The Municipal Corporation has identified waterlogging areas every year and pumps have been installed at 422 places. Holding ponds have been developed at two places and small pumping stations have been implemented at 10 locations," he said. He also visited the landslide-prone area of Suryanagar in Vikhroli and directed the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation to install a protective net there. Since accidents happen here every year, he instructed the concerned officials to shift the locals to a safe place. Visiting Kasarwadi, a colony of municipal sanitation workers in Dadar, he also visited the Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Davakhana (medical clinic),study hall and other works done there. Earlier, the Mumbai Suburban District Guardian minister and IT minister Ashish Shelar reviewed the drain cleaning works and claimed that the AI driven analysis has exposed a staggering 40 per cent discrepancy in the silt removed during city's drain cleaning operations. Bhubaneswar, May 23 : The Odisha Vigilance on Friday unearthed assets worth crores during houses searches at different properties linked to Susanta Kumar Sethy, junior engineer (JE), of Roads and Buildings Division (R&B), posted at Khariar in Nuapada district, an official said on Friday. On the allegations of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, simultaneous house searches were conducted on the properties of Sethy, on Thursday at different places in Bhubaneswar, Pipili (Puri), Nuapada. The places where the raids were conducted include his government quarter at Nuapada, farm house located in Pipili area of Puri district, house of a relative and houses of his associates in Bhubaneswar, etc. "As many as eight teams of Odisha Vigilance comprising seven Deputy Superintendents of Police, three Inspectors, 10 ASIs, and other supporting staff conducted the search on the strength of search warrants issued by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar," said a senior official. During the house searches, the vigilance officials found accused Sethy and his family members possessing three multi-storey buildings, one farmhouse, nine high valued plots including three plots in Bhubaneswar, five in Pipili, Puri and one in Rayagada town, gold ornaments 100 gm, bank and Insurance deposits worth Rs 55 lakh, one 4-wheeler, five 2-wheelers, one Benami four-wheeler and household articles worth around Rs 10 lakh. The vigilance sources revealed that the Registered Sale Deed (RSD) value of the landed plots is valued at Rs.1.01 Crore. However, the actual value is likely to be much higher. The anti-corruption wing of Odisha government suspects undervaluation of the plots during registration. The measurement and valuation of the buildings, farmhouse and landed plots are being carried out by the Vigilance Technical Wing to ascertain the actual value of the above properties of Sethy. In another case, the vigilance officials on Friday caught Gopal Krishna Pradhan, Senior Revenue Assistant (SRA), Baripada Municipality of Mayurbhanj district, red handed while receiving illegal inducement from a trader for processing his application for allotting the two existing shops in his father's name at the Baripada Municipality market complex, in name of complainant due to the passing of his father. The complainant was requesting Pradhan to process his application since January 2025 but the accused insisted on him paying the bribe amount to initiate his application. Left with no other option, the complainant approached Vigilance authorities who arrested the accused on Friday. Sangli : , May 23 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, on Friday asked the police administration to effectively implement the new criminal laws and increase the conviction rate in Maharashtra saying that the police force should do its utmost to maintain law and order. He was speaking at the crime review meeting of the police force. CM Fadnavis said that the reasons behind acquittals should be studied and the errors should be eliminated. "A review should be made of the police stations where the rate of acquittal of the accused is high. These errors should be eliminated. For this, a meeting of government lawyers should be held. Regular and effective implementation of e-summons should be done. This saves time and money. More importantly, the conviction rate should be increased by taking all measures in the districts," he added. The Chief Minister said that the goods seized in property crimes should be returned and that while conducting preventive action against drugs and closed chemical companies in the industrial sector should be surveyed and inspected. He gave instructions to inform all the relevant police stations in the districts for this. "Crimes related to the disappearance of women should be followed up until the case is resolved. Police station-wise tracking of the crimes registered in this regard and how many women have returned should be done. A special campaign should be launched in this regard. A separate system should be set up for cases under the Motor Vehicle Act," instructed the chief minister. "The rate of chargesheet filing should be increased. The rate of criminal conviction should be increased. The speed of filing of chargesheets should be increased while implementing the new criminal laws. Cases should be tried even in the absence of the accused. Zero FIRs should be converted into regular FIRs," he said. CM Fadnavis also instructed all the agencies in the districts to be alert in view of the upcoming monsoon season as 117 per cent rainfall is expected this year. "Therefore, keeping in mind the threat of the 2019 floods in Sangli and Kolhapur, necessary measures should be taken accordingly. Adequate awareness should be created among the people," he added. Meanwhile, the chief minister said that to create an ideal police administration in the state, the number of police officers will be kept in line with the population. Therefore, 40,000 new police officers have been recruited through the Home Department. He asserted that he will continue to give priority to police recruitment in the state. He was speaking at the inauguration of three buildings constructed by the Sangli District Police Force and the groundbreaking ceremony of a residential building. Fadnavis said that the Police Housing Corporation has provided funds for police offices and police residences in the state. Currently, 94,000 residences have been made available. Forensic vans are being made available in every district saying that Maharashtra Police is at the top in the country in solving cyber crimes. He however, warned that if the police are found involved in drug trafficking or business, the police concerned will be directly dismissed instead of suspended as there is zero tolerance for drugs. Guwahati/Agartala, May 23 : The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is continuing its hectic efforts to start running the much-anticipated electric locomotive-powered trains from Tripura at the earliest, an official said on Friday. An NFR official said that a trial run of the passenger train with an electric locomotive was successfully conducted on Friday between Agartala railway station and southern Assam's Arunachal Junction railway station in Cachar district. "Before regular running of electric passenger trains, such trial runs are mandatory. Few more trials of trains driven by electric locomotives are likely to be conducted before regular running of electric trains from Tripura," the official said. He said that the first goods train trial run with an electric locomotive was successfully conducted on February 6 between southern Assam's Badarpur station and Tripura's Jirania station, 15 km north of Agartala railway station. According to the NFR official, necessary infrastructural works including electrification were completed recently in southern Assam and Tripura. "After the successful operation of some more passenger and goods trains with electric locomotives, the regular running of passenger trains with electric locomotives would start on the route. We are frantically trying to start running passenger trains with electric locomotives at the earliest," the official said. Tripura is now well connected with Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Firozpur, Patna and other cities of the country by several express trains but passenger train services have been solely powered by diesel-powered engines. A Rs 46 crore electrification project was launched in 2022 to connect Tripura with the national railway grid with electric trains. The Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL) would supply power to the railway electric transmission lines. As the infrastructure with electric railway lines is getting ready, the iconic Vande Bharat Express trains will be extended up to Assam's Silchar and Agartala within the next few months, the NFR official said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Assam's first Vande Bharat Express on May 29, 2023, connecting Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal). The Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train journey takes 5 hours and 30 minutes, as compared to the previous fastest train on the same route, which takes about 6 hours and 30 minutes. The Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train operates six days a week. The NFR operates in the northeastern states, seven districts of West Bengal, and five districts of north Bihar. New Delhi/Agartala, May 23 : In a landmark development for Tripura's economic landscape, the state has attracted a staggering Rs 15,646 crore in investments at the Rising North East Investors Summit-2025, held in the national capital, on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rising North East Investors Summit 2025 at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha during the interaction at the summit announced the achievement, terming it a significant stride towards the state's accelerated growth and transformation. Highlighting the state's potential, Saha said: "The interactions at the summit were vibrant and promising. Investors showed keen interest in Tripura, particularly in emerging sectors such as technology, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI)." He noted that the Tripura investors pavilion was a hub of activity, drawing enthusiastic responses from industry leaders and business stakeholders. The summit facilitated 33 MoUs, attracting investments worth Rs 15,646 crore through this flagship event. "Through these MoUs, we have secured Rs 15,646 crore in investments. This is not just a number, it reflects a deep belief in Tripura's future," said the Chief Minister. Reaffirming his government's commitment in creating an investor-friendly environment, CM Saha appealed to the business community: "Let us unlock new opportunities and drive inclusive growth together. Tripura is open for partnerships, and we are fully committed to supporting investors every step of the way." Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, his deputy Sukanta Majumdar, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Chief Ministers of other northeastern states -- Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), Conrad K. Sangma (Meghalaya), Lalduhoma (Mizoram), Neiphiu Rio (Nagaland), Prem Singh Tamang (Sikkim), Manik Saha (Tripura) were present among other dignitaries at the event. The two-day Rising North East Investors Summit (May 23-24) has been organised with an aim to highlight the northeast region as a land of opportunity, attracting global and domestic investment, and bringing together key stakeholders, investors, and policymakers at a single platform. Washington, May 23 : A US judge in the state of Massachusetts on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's order revoking Harvard University's certification to enroll international students. The court decision came a day after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cancelled Harvard's certification to use the SEVIS system -- Student and Exchange Visitor Information System -- in an escalation of US President Donald Trump's attack on the Ivy League school. The DHS decision had also told the university that foreign students on its rolls currently must transfer to another college or lose status. There are an estimated 780 Indian students and scholars at Harvard. "With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the university and its mission," Harvard said in a lawsuit filed in this court on Friday morning. "Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard." In a letter to the college's community, Alan M. Garber, Harvard's President, wrote, "We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action." He added that it "imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams". The Trump administration has suspended all funding for the University and sought to revoke its tax-exempt status over its handling of the pro-Palestine protests and attacks on Jewish students. Trump has also gone against other major colleges as well such as Colombia University. The DHS had demanded information from Harvard on its 7,000 foreign students across its 13 schools, which was submitted. "Yet on May 22, DHS deemed Harvard's response "insufficient," without explaining why or citing any regulation with which Harvard failed to comply," the lawsuit said. The court's temporary block on the DHS order came within hours of the lawsuit. New Delhi/Agartala, May 23 : Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday announced that the state government is developing dedicated infrastructure to support artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G network development. Speaking at the Rising Northeast Investors Summit-2025 in Delhi, the Chief Minister announced that his government has allocated land for data centers, including one for Airtel that would serve as a hub for the entire eastern and northeastern region of India, located in Agartala. "As Ashtalakshmi, these eight statesthe easternersare gifted with natural beauty and abundant resources. They truly represent Goddess Lakshmi, the embodiment of multifaceted blessings of wealth, knowledge, strength, and prosperity," Saha said. He congratulated the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) for organising the two-day Rising Northeast Investors Summit 2025 to showcase the northeast region as a land of opportunity, attracting global and domestic investment, and bringing together key stakeholders, investors, and policymakers at a single platform. Saha said that while 5G can transmit information quickly and with low latency, AI minimises operational complexity by using efficient algorithms to automate a wide range of processesresulting in more speed, efficiency, and cost savings. "It is a symbiotic relationship between 5G and AI. As AI expands, the cost of connectivity continues to decline. The convergence of 5G and AI is not just about speedit is going to cater to the demands of next-generation activities. The powerful combination of 5G and AI means greater innovation opportunities and some very interesting applications. Deploying AI applications at the edge with 5G brings opportunities across various industries and sectors," said Saha. He said that by embracing AI and 5G, people can unlock new avenues for growth, innovation, and prosperity. The Chief Minister also announced that Tripura has made significant progress in 5G deployment, with all towns and 583 villages already connected. "Tripura has also framed policies to support telecommunication. The state has framed policies to support telecom infrastructure development, including the Information Technology Policy 2022 and Data Center Policy 2021," he said. Saha informed that recently, the Tripura government organised a workshop on AI for good governance, aimed at driving transparency, efficiency, and impact, in collaboration with the National e-Governance Division and the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Tripura government has implemented paperless administration, reducing the time required to dispose of files from nine days to three days, and saving over Rs 50 crore per year, he stated. Noting that the digital transformation has enhanced transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the administration, he said: "As we move forward, we plan to leverage AI and 5G to drive growth, innovation, and prosperity across all northeastern states, including introducing single-window digital platforms to simplify access to public services through a digital interface and launching department-specific AI pilot projects to demonstrate the potential of AI in various departments." New Delhi, May 24 : Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has asserted that a new Northeast is rising under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at the Riding Northeast Investor Summit at the Bharat Mandapam held in New Delhi, the Union Minister emphasised that a "New Bharat is dawning with a resurgent Northeast at its heart". Minister Sonowal highlighted the transformation of the Northeast Region (NER) over the last decade, attributing this resurgence to the sustained leadership of Prime Minister Modi. "Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the Northeast has undergone an era-defining transformation. What was once perceived as remote and isolated is now rapidly becoming India's gateway to Southeast Asia," he said. "The region is not just a part of India's growth story -- it is now a major chapter in it." He pointed to a landmark figure -- more than 700 visits by Cabinet Ministers to the Northeast in the past decade -- as proof of the Union government's sustained focus on the region's development. Minister Sonowal stressed the government's commitment to inclusive infrastructure, particularly in maritime and inland waterways, which are reshaping the economic landscape of the region. "Inland waterways are one of the most promising frontiers of development for the Northeast," he said. "We now have more than 20 notified National Waterways in the region. The Jalvahak scheme is being promoted to catalyse multi-modal connectivity, create logistics hubs, and boost cargo movement. Infra development along these waterways will unlock new corridors of economic activity and generate large-scale employment." Highlighting India's logistics advantage, Minister Sonowal noted that 90 per cent of the country's trade by volume and 70 per cent by value moves through shipping, with inland waterways under the IBPR (Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route) and Sittwe Port in Myanmar will act as an emerging game changers in unfolding transformative transportation unlocking value. In a nod to the region's rich talent pool, the Union Minister detailed new initiatives in maritime skill development targeting youth from the Northeast, preparing them for careers in port operations, vessel management and logistics. Minister Sonowal also emphasised the immense potential for "Heal in India" medical tourism in the NER, leveraging the region's natural serenity, wellness traditions, and rising healthcare infrastructure. "The market potential of the Northeast is not limited to domestic consumption," he said. "It connects directly with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) nations, offering investors unparalleled access to more than 600 million consumers in neighbouring economies," he added. Bhopal, May 24 : The Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President V.D. Sharma along with State party in-charge Mahendra Singh held a meeting to review the party's preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bhopal on May 31, party sources said. During the meeting held on Friday at the party headquarters, the BJP leaders chalked out an elaborate plan, assigned specific task to individuals and group of leaders. They also reviewed the preparations of different units of the party given specific task to fulfill in view of the programme. State BJP President Sharma said that the programme's theme is "empowerment of women", the women will be given specific role to play, such as sitting arrangement for participants, venues for cultural programmes, drinking water, food, seating arrangements, entrance arrangements, pass arrangements, welcome arrangements etc. He added that the state party unit has prepared a list of active women workers from all 31 mandals of Bhopal to head the teams. These women will include women workers involved in BJP's booth committees, Mandal committee, councillors, and women workers working in the party. "It is our good fortune that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to Bhopal on May 31 on the occasion of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar's 300th birth anniversary. All the workers of Bhopal have started preparations for his welcome and the grandeur of the programme," Sharma said after the meeting. The programme is being organised to commemorate the 300th birth anniversary of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, the legendary queen of Malwa. More than two lakh women, who are associated with different fields from across Madhya Pradesh, are expected to attend the programme. Significantly, it would be PM Modi's first visit to Madhya Pradesh after Operation Sindoor, carried out by the Indian armed forces that destroyed terrorist camps and training centres in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. In 2021, from this very Jamboori Maidan located near Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), PM Modi had addressed a massive rally of tribals and more than one dozen tribal-centric schemes were announced on the occasion of legendary freedom fighter Birsa Munda's birth anniversary. Similarly, this time, it would be a women-centric event, during which the Madhya Pradesh government has planned to announce several women-centric programmes, highlight the existing beneficiary schemes especially for women, and its achievements in the past one-and-a-half years of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav-led BJP government. During his day-long visit to Bhopal, PM Modi will also inaugurate the first phase of the Indore Metro Rail project along with Datia and Satna airports via video conferencing. Bhopal, May 24 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government has decided to establish Bhind as the new industrial hub in the Gwalior-Chambal region. Emphasising the commitment to employment and industrial growth as well as its plan for women empowerment and farmers' income, CM Yadav reiterated the government's plans for across Madhya Pradesh in the next five years. The Chief Minister made these announcements addressing a public rally in Lahar Assembly constituency of the Bhind district, located adjoining to the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Addressing a gathering on Friday, CM Yadav highlighted the successful 'Operation Sindoor' carried out by the Indian Armed Forces. He noted that number of youths while serving in the Indian Army have sacrificed their lives for the country. He praised the courage of Bhind's youth, saying that the region has a proud history of service in the Armed Forces. "Every household in Bhind has produced brave soldiers guarding the nation's borders," CM Yadav said. He noted that the area has transformed from the fear of dacoits to one of progress and pride. "The people of Bhind have chosen the path of development, and the state government is fully committed to the progress of the Chambal region," he added. Highlighting progress in irrigation, CM Yadav said that at present, Madhya Pradesh has 55 lakh hectares of irrigated land, with a target of 100 lakh hectares in the near future. He mentioned key interlinking river projects, including Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal River Project, approved after 40 years, with a cost of Rs 70,000 crore, and the Ken-Betwa Link Project, supported by the Central government, which will benefit multiple districts in Bundelkhand. The Chief Minister added that the project is expected to benefit several thousands of families by providing sustainable access to irrigation, drinking water and industrial resources. He said that once the Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal River Project is executed, several districts in Gwalior-Chambal regions along with others such as Indore, Ujjain, Dhar, Agar-Malwa, Shajapur, Dewas, and Rajgarh will get enough water for irrigation. Bengaluru, May 24 : The Karnataka Health Department has issued an advisory and said that a gradual increase is seen in terms of the spread of Covid-19 in Bengaluru in the last 20 days. State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday said, "This year we have seen 35 Covid-19 cases so far in Karnataka, of which 32 are from Bengaluru." However, a gradual increase has been observed in the last 20 days, though no serious situation has been reported, he added. It is therefore advisable that general public must comply with Covid-19 appropriate behaviour proactively, Minister Rao said. It is advised that pregnant women, children, immuno-compromised persons and those with comorbid conditions wear face masks while visiting crowded areas, he added. Steps like using hand sanitizers may also be followed, he said. Those with Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses (SARI) must consider getting tested for Covid-19 for timely treatment and to check further spread of Covid-19, the Minister added. Meanwhile, a nine-month-old baby has tested positive for Covid-19 in Bengaluru, the Health department officials confirmed on Friday. The officials said the baby tested positive through a Rapid Antigen Test on May 22. Sources confirmed that the infant is safe without complications and is currently being treated at the Vani Vilas Hospital in Bengaluru. Sources also said that the infant hailed from Hoskote town in the outskirts of Bengaluru. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday morning appealed to the Central government to take precautionary measures amid the rise of Covid-19 cases in the country. Speaking to media persons here, Siddaramaiah, citing the rise in Covid-19 cases in countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, said that the Central government has not taken steps to test travellers arriving from abroad. "There is a possibility of rising Covid-19 cases here as well. The Central government must make swift decisions and take precautionary measures in light of the increasing cases," he added. Mumbai, May 24 : Maharashtra NCP Chief and party MP Sunil Tatkare has criticised the Congress for repeatedly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Operation Sindoor, saying this is a time to remain together and show to the world that India is united in its fight against terrorism. Tatkare criticised the Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, over his 'Chutputh Yudha' (small war) comment about the Operation Sindoor. He also lashed out at the Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for his decision to corner the Centre by repeatedly demanding the convening of a special Parliament session and also stepping up attacks against Prime Minister Modi and the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. "I strongly condemn the remarks made by Mallikarjun Kharge or Rahul Gandhi. When such an important action has been taken by the Centre involving a lot of secrecy, the demand for a special session of the Parliament is not proper. When some international issues arise, some confidential things cannot be shared publicly. Such confidential things cannot be discussed in the Parliament, especially when India and Pakistan have agreed for a ceasefire," the NCP leader said. He also claimed that "Mallikarjun Kharge is a matured politician but his comment is unwarranted and it has been made with an intention of only criticising the government. If such comments are made at this juncture, we will condemn it strongly". He said that "NCP has wholeheartedly supported the Operation Sindoor successfully conducted by the Indian Armed Forces under the able and strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. NCP will continue to support any such action in future in the larger interest of the nation". Tatkare strongly supported and hailed the Centre's move to send Operation Sindoor global outreach delegations, saying that it is a well thought out decision to present India's position on cross-border terrorism and its recent counter-terror operation. Responding to a query on NCP's exclusion in these delegations, he said, "The party has supported the Centre in its initiative to reach out to various countries. NCP has lone member that is me in the Lok Sabha. We have no issue whether or not NCP is a part of the delegation as we are with the government on the fight against terrorism." Meanwhile, Tatkare on Friday concluded the Gauravshali Maharashtra Festival 2025 by paying homage to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Raigad fort and B.R. Ambedkar at the site of Mahad Satyagraha for allowing the untouchables to use water in a public tank. On Thursday, Tatkare paid tribute to Maharashtra's first Chief Minister Y.B. Chavan at his memorial in Karhad of Satara district. "The 65th foundation day of glorious Maharashtra was celebrated in Mumbai with various programmes from May 1 to 4. It was formally concluded today," the NCP leader said. Bhopal, May 24 : Amid the dispute over proposed installation of B.R. Ambedkar's statue near the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Congress has made its entry into the conflict. State Congress Chief Jitu Patwari, on Friday, wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, seeking his intervention in the matter. The proposed installation of Ambedkar's statue has triggered a conflict between two groups of lawyers of the Gwalior bench of the High Court. "The proposal for installation of Ambedkar's statue was initiated with the consent and approval from the court. This initiative was taken to recognise the efforts of Ambedkar and his contribution in shaping India's Constitution. This effort also reflects our (Congress) respect towards the Constitution and its architect," Patwari wrote in his letter. He also added that, however, this legally approved step is being opposed by some people and creating hurdles in the installation of the statue. "They are not only opposing the installation of Ambedkar's statue, but hurting the sentiments of the citizens of the country," he said. "I (Jitu Patwari) as President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, respectfully seeking your direction to get the Ambedkar's statue installed with the consent of all sections of the people," Patwari said in the letter. Recently, a group of lawyers opposing the proposed development had held a protest at the High Court's premises, which later resulted in a clash with another group of lawyers. The dispute took yet another turn earlier, when a group of lawyers allegedly tried to block the site of the statue by hoisting the national flag there. According to one group of lawyers, application to have a statue of Ambedkar installed in the premises was sent to the High Court in February after which a committee to examine the request allowed it. However, objections to the move allegedly forced the committee to review its decision, although the Registrar at the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Yuval Raghuvanshi, passed an order allowing the statue. In a letter dated April 21, the Registrar had recommended that, "Since the statue of Ambedkar, who is the maker of the Indian Constitution, has already been installed in the Supreme Court of India, therefore, if a few advocates are opposing, we should ignore the same and work it to be completed accordingly." New Delhi, May 24 : Before leaving for five foreign countries' tour to highlight India's stance against terrorism as part of Operation Sindoor outreach campaign, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that the country stands for all the values such as peace, democracy and freedom which it needs to preserve in the world today from the threats of hatred, killings and of terror taking over. In a video message posted late Friday evening on social media platform X, Tharoor said, "I'm heading off to five countries leading an all-party delegation to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the US, and the reason we are going is to speak for the nation, to speak about this horrendous crisis we were subjected to in which our country was attacked by terrorists in the cruelest possible way." Tharoor, along with other MPs from fifth all-party delegation, will visit Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the US. The Congress MP is leading the fifth all-party delegation sent by the Indian government to expose Pakistan and its terror groups aided, funded and emanating from its soil on foreign countries. Earlier on Friday evening, the all-party delegation led by Congress MP Tharoor arrived at the Delhi airport after which they will depart for Guyana. However, the delegation will transit through New York and visit the 9/11 Memorial before heading to their first destination, Guyana. Taking to X, Tharoor also wrote: "Members of the delegation that I have the privilege to lead, embarking at Delhi Airport just now. Others will join us en route." Earlier on May 19 while speaking to a media outlet, the Congress MP had said that the all-party delegation led by him will leave later for the US as there is a huge Memorial Day weekend and the Congress is not in session in the US until June 2. Therefore, the delegation led by him will leave for May 24 (according to IST) and will visit first in Georgetown (Guyana), Panama, Columbia, Brazil and then finally to the US. Tharoor, who is leading one of the seven delegations which will carry India's message of zero-tolerance against terrorism to the world, had said, "The briefing for my delegation is going to be only on Friday (May 23). So, honestly, I am not going to say anything right now. Some of the teams are leaving earlier and that's why they need to have their meeting tomorrow. But our delegation is leaving a bit later because the US has a big Memorial Day weekend and the Congress in the US is not session until June 2. So, there is no point in arriving there too early. So, we are arriving later and leaving later... May 24, I believe (when his delegation will leave)... We are going first to Georgetown (Guyana), Panama, Columbia, Brazil and then finally to the US..." Tharoor also said, "We need to speak up with clarity and conviction for our country, for our response and to give the world the message that we will not be silenced by terrorism and we don't want the world to look away either. We don't want indifference to triumph over the truth. It's a mission of peace. It's a mission of hope. And it's a mission that will one day remind the world that India stands for all the values we need to preserve in the world today of peace, of democracy, of freedom, and not of hatred, killing and of terror. Jai Hind." The delegation led by Tharoor also has Bharatiya Janata Party's Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya, along with Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)'s Shambhavi Choudhary, Telugu Desam Party's G.M. Harish Balayogi, Shiv Sena's Milind Deora, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Sarfaraz Ahmad, along with former Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The delegation was earlier briefed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri regarding the agenda of the global outreach being done to present India's position against terrorism. Tharoor mentioned that the aim of the delegations would be to sensitise opinion towards India. "We are meeting government officials, legislators, think-tanks, and media and have public interaction. We are really going to try and talk to everybody. The whole idea is that we would like to sensitise public opinion, parliamentary opinion, and legislative opinion in each of these countries. So we will meet whoever wants to meet us," Tharoor told reporters at the Parliament premises. The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. New Delhi, May 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair an significant meeting of the NITI Aayog on Saturday at the Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. This is the first major talks between the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of all states after the Indian Armed Forces successfully carried out Operation Sindoor, dismantling nine terrorists camps and their training centres in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir earlier this month avenging the recent horrific Pahalgam terror attack. According to a statement from NITI Aayog, the meeting underscores the Prime Minister's commitment to work with all states as "Team India" for achieving the goal of a developed Bharat. "As India progresses towards becoming a developed country, it is essential that states leverage their unique strengths and drive transformative changes at the grassroots, ensuring that the aspirations of 140 crore citizens translate into tangible outcomes on the ground," the statement said. The meeting, themed 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047', aims to foster cooperative federalism and align state-level aspirations with the national goal of making India a developed country by its 100th year of Independence. The discussion will centre around enabling states to formulate bold, long-term, and inclusive vision documents aligned with national priorities yet rooted in local reality. States are expected to focus on human development, economic growth, sustainability, technology, and governance reforms, with an emphasis on data-driven and outcome-based strategies. Institutional mechanisms like Project Monitoring Units, ICT-enabled infrastructure, and Monitoring and Evaluation Cells will support accountability and course correction. The Governing Council meeting serves as a platform for the Centre and States/Union Territories (UTs) to deliberate on development challenges and explore how states can act as the building blocks of a Viksit Bharat. Topics such as entrepreneurship promotion, enhanced skilling, and sustainable employment generation will also be discussed. The meeting will also seek to build consensus on the themes of the fourth National Conference of Chief Secretaries, held from December 13 to 15, 2024. The conference, which saw participation from Secretaries of the Union government and Chief Secretaries of states and UTs, contributed recommendations under the overarching theme of 'Promoting Entrepreneurship, Employment and Skillinga"Leveraging the Demographic Dividend'. Six key thematic areas emerged from the conference: 1. Creating an enabling ecosystem for manufacturing in Tier 2 and 3 cities; 2. Creating an enabling ecosystem for services in Tier 2 and 3 cities; 3. MSME and informal employment in rural non-farm sectors; 4. MSME and informal employment in urban areas; 5. Opportunities in the green economy through renewable energy; and 6. Opportunities in the green economy via circular economy initiatives. A senior government official noted that the deliberations are also likely to include initiatives from Budget 2025-26 and the prevailing economic challenges. The official said that the Indian economy, despite headwinds such as reciprocal tariffs from the US and global slowdowns, is expected to grow between 6.2 and 6.7 per cent in the current fiscal. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have revised India's growth projections for 2025-26 downwards to 6.2 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively, citing global uncertainties and trade tensions. The Governing Council, the apex decision-making body of NITI Aayog, includes all Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors of UTs, and several Union Ministers. PM Modi, who has chaired the body since its inception, will preside over the meeting. Notably, 10 states and UTs did not participate in last year's meeting held on July 27. NITI Aayog is in the process of preparing a consolidated vision document to guide India's journey to becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047. Entrusted in 2023 with integrating ten sectoral thematic visions, the document will encompass economic growth, social development, sustainability and governance as key pillars. Jaipur, May 24 : The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has appointed former MLA Joginder Singh Awana as the new Rajasthan Party President. Last month, Awana had quit the Congress and joined the RLD. On assuming responsibility, Awana said that he will strategise with senior party leaders and conduct statewide tours. Previously recognized as a close associate of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Awana expressed gratitude towards RLD leadership for his new role. He said that he had recently met RLD President Jayant Chaudhary, who is proposed to visit Jaipur in June. Drawing a blueprint for his action plan, the new State RLD President said he has prioritised teamwork based on his political experience. He has visited all the districts in Rajasthan and the party's team is working strongly everywhere. Their goal is to strengthen the party organisation from the divisional level to the Assembly and booth levels, Awana said. Awanaas induction into RLD took place in Delhi in the presence of Union Minister and RLD President Jayant Chaudhary. His decision marks a fresh political beginning and is seen as a strategic move that could alter voter dynamics in eastern Rajasthan. Awana, who commands strong grassroots support in Bharatpur and surrounding regions, first gained prominence during the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections. Contesting from the Nadbai constituency on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket, he defeated BJP's Krishnendra Kaur (Deepa), a royal family member, securing more than 50,000 votes. He later joined Congress and remained active until his recent switch to RLD. RLD National General Secretary Trilok Tyagi and other national party leaders were present at the event. Tyagi said that RLD stays committed to farmers' interest throughout the country and has been interacting with the BJP-led state government to ensure their demands are fulfilled. Now, the RLD will stay active in the desert state as well and will participate in the panchayat and Assembly polls, he added. The state Assembly polls in 2028 will see a stronger presence of the RLD in Rajasthan, Tyagi said. New Delhi, May 24 : Before leaving for five foreign countries' tour to highlight India's stance against terrorism as part of Operation Sindoor outreach campaign, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that the country stands for all the values such as peace, democracy and freedom which it needs to preserve in the world today from the threats of hatred, killings and of terror taking over. In a video message posted late Friday evening on social media platform X, Tharoor said, "I'm heading off to five countries leading an all-party delegation to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the US, and the reason we are going is to speak for the nation, to speak about this horrendous crisis we were subjected to in which our country was attacked by terrorists in the cruelest possible way." Tharoor, along with other MPs from fifth all-party delegation, will visit Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the US. Tharoor also said, "We need to speak up with clarity and conviction for our country, for our response and to give the world the message that we will not be silenced by terrorism and we don't want the world to look away either. We don't want indifference to triumph over the truth. It's a mission of peace. It's a mission of hope. And it's a mission that will one day remind the world that India stands for all the values we need to preserve in the world today of peace, of democracy, of freedom, and not of hatred, killing and of terror. Jai Hind." The Congress MP is leading the fifth all-party delegation sent by the Indian government to expose Pakistan and its terror groups aided, funded and emanating from its soil on foreign countries. Earlier on Friday evening, the all-party delegation led by Congress MP Tharoor arrived at the Delhi airport after which they will depart for Guyana. However, the delegation will transit through New York and visit the 9/11 Memorial before heading to their first destination, Guyana. Taking to X, Tharoor also wrote: "Members of the delegation that I have the privilege to lead, embarking at Delhi Airport just now. Others will join us en route." Earlier on May 19 while speaking to a media outlet, the Congress MP had said that the all-party delegation led by him will leave later for the US as there is a huge Memorial Day weekend and the Congress is not in session in the US until June 2. Therefore, the delegation led by him will leave for May 24 (according to IST) and will visit first in Georgetown (Guyana), Panama, Columbia, Brazil and then finally to the US. Tharoor, who is leading one of the seven delegations which will carry India's message of zero-tolerance against terrorism to the world, had said, "The briefing for my delegation is going to be only on Friday (May 23). So, honestly, I am not going to say anything right now. Some of the teams are leaving earlier and that's why they need to have their meeting tomorrow. But our delegation is leaving a bit later because the US has a big Memorial Day weekend and the Congress in the US is not session until June 2. So, there is no point in arriving there too early. So, we are arriving later and leaving later... May 24, I believe (when his delegation will leave)... We are going first to Georgetown (Guyana), Panama, Columbia, Brazil and then finally to the US..." The delegation led by Tharoor also has Bharatiya Janata Party's Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya, along with Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)'s Shambhavi Choudhary, Telugu Desam Party's G.M. Harish Balayogi, Shiv Sena's Milind Deora, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Sarfaraz Ahmad, along with former Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The delegation was earlier briefed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri regarding the agenda of the global outreach being done to present India's position against terrorism. Tharoor mentioned that the aim of the delegations would be to sensitise opinion towards India. "We are meeting government officials, legislators, think-tanks, and media and have public interaction. We are really going to try and talk to everybody. The whole idea is that we would like to sensitise public opinion, parliamentary opinion, and legislative opinion in each of these countries. So we will meet whoever wants to meet us," Tharoor told reporters at the Parliament premises. The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Addis Ababa, May 24 : Experts and policymakers have emphasised the need to ensure the strategic alignment between Africa's continental development targets and the multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization (WTO). This came during the 11th African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL) Forum, held at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa from Thursday to Friday, under the theme "International Law, WTO Reform, and Implementation of the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area)." The forum brought together African officials in charge of trade, development, planning, and foreign affairs, senior officials of the AU, as well as legal experts and trade negotiators across the continent and beyond, reports Xinhua news agency. They engaged in critical issues, including aligning the AfCFTA with global trade rules under the WTO, protecting African intellectual property and heritage in global markets, and enhancing the legitimacy and inclusivity of WTO decision-making processes. Hajer Gueldich, legal counsel of the AU, stressed the urgent need to reshape Africa's common position in the reform of global trade governance. She emphasised the vital imperative of promoting an inclusive decision-making process in global trade governance, while also fostering continental and international cooperation to achieve an equitable global trade order. According to the AU, this year's edition of the forum comes at a "defining moment for Africa" as the AfCFTA enters its operational phase and WTO reform gains momentum on the international stage. Noting that the rules governing world commerce are often developed without Africa's adequate participation, eventually pushing African countries to adapt rather than lead, Kevin Ndjimba, chairperson of the AUCIL, underscored the need to exert coordinated efforts to augment Africa's voice in multilateral trade negotiations. Ndjimba further called for enhanced continental solidarity in the face of emerging global and regional challenges. He emphasised the urgent need to harmonise policy and legal frameworks that will facilitate regional integration and eliminate barriers to the movement of goods, services, and people across Africa. According to the AU, in an era when Africa's internal market is coming to life and the world's trading order is in flux, the meeting outcomes promise to anchor Africa's aspirations in a robust legal framework. Established in 2009 as an independent advisory organ of the AU, the AUCIL advises the pan-African bloc on matters concerning international law. Washington, May 24 : Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that the fifth round of Iran-US indirect talks was "one of the most professional rounds." "I think the American side at present has a better and more clear understanding of our positions," Araghchi told Iran's state-run IRIB TV at the end of the fifth round held on Friday in Rome. Different ideas were discussed in the fifth round, and it was decided that the two sides further review the ideas and make the arrangements for the next round, which will hopefully "enter details to some extent" if both sides accept new solutions, he said. The indirect talks will not conclude in two or three rounds due to their complexity, said the foreign minister, adding that "the fact that we are now treading along a reasonable path is (a kind of) progress." Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on the social media platform X that the fifth round was held in a "calm and professional" atmosphere, and the date and venue of the next round will be decided and announced later. Also on Friday, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi said on X that the fifth round has concluded "with some but not conclusive progress." The fifth round of talks, led by Araqchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, lasted over three hours, reports Xinhua news agency. Previously, the two sides held four rounds of Oman-mediated indirect talks starting in April on Tehran's nuclear program and the lifting of US sanctions, three of which were in Oman's Muscat and one in Rome. In recent days, US officials have repeatedly demanded that Iran completely cease uranium enrichment, a request firmly rejected by Tehran. Hamburg, May 24 : At least 18 people were injured in a knife attack at Hamburg train station on Friday evening, according to local media reports. Authorities confirmed the arrest of a woman suspected of being behind the assault. Of the injured, four are in critical condition, while six others sustained serious injuries, according to a report by Germany's Bild newspaper. Hamburg police, however, stated on the social media platform X that there were no confirmed figures available as yet but acknowledged that "several" people had suffered life-threatening injuries. According to police sources, the attacker struck passengers on the platform situated between tracks 13 and 14. The station, located in the heart of Hamburg -- Germany's second-largest city -- is a major hub for local, regional, and long-distance train services. The stabbing took place shortly after 6 p.m., right in front of a waiting train, reports regional broadcaster NDR. A high-speed ICE train was visible at the platform following the incident, with its doors still open -- suggesting the attack occurred as passengers were boarding or alighting from the train. As a result of the violence, four tracks at the station were shut down on Friday evening. The temporary closures led to delays and diversions for several long-distance trains operating through the busy terminal. Florian Abbenseth, spokesperson for the Hamburg police, told reporters that the motive behind the attack was still under investigation. "So far, we have no evidence that the woman could have acted with political motivation," he said. "Rather, we have findings on the basis of which we are now investigating in particular whether she may have been in a state of mental distress," Abbenseth added. The stabbing incident comes amid heightened security concerns in Germany. Just earlier this year, in February, days before the country's federal election, another shocking incident unfolded in Munich where at least 30 people were injured after a car rammed into a crowd. The suspect in that case was a 24-year-old Afghan national and asylum seeker who was swiftly taken into custody. The Munich incident had occurred only hours before several prominent international leaders, including US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were due to arrive in the city for the annual Munich Security Conference. Moscow, May 24 : Russia and Ukraine have conducted a major prisoner swap, exchanging 390 prisoners each under an agreement reached during recent talks in Istanbul, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. The defence ministry on Friday said 270 Russian servicemen and 120 civilians have returned from territory controlled by Kyiv. In return, 270 Ukrainian prisoners and 120 civilians have also been released, it added. The freed Russian prisoners are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are being provided with necessary psychological and medical assistance, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the ministry. "The large-scale exchange initiated by the Russian side is planned to continue in the coming days," according to the ministry. Ukraine and Russia reached a deal on the largest swap of their captives during a meeting in Turkey's Istanbul on May 16. Following their direct negotiations in Istanbul last week, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, marking the largest prisoner swap since the start of the conflict in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also announced that 390 Ukrainians returned home from captivity during the first stage of a prisoner exchange with Russia under the "1,000 for 1,000 formula". "On Saturday and Sunday, we expect the exchange to continue," Zelensky wrote on social media platform X. The Ukrainian President also emphasised that Ukraine will continue diplomatic efforts to return all its citizens who are still held in captivity. Washington, May 24 : The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has reached a non-prosecution agreement with Boeing stemming from the two fatal crashes of its 737 Max aircraft, which together claimed 346 lives. In its filing in the federal court in Texas, the DOJ on Friday described the agreement as "a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest," emphasising that it ensures immediate accountability and substantial benefits for affected families while sidestepping the uncertainties and risks of litigation. Under the deal, Boeing will avoid a felony conviction and the scheduled trial next month, reports Xinhua news agency. Boeing will have to "pay or invest" more than 1.1 billion US dollars, according to the filing. It includes a 487.2-million-dollar criminal fine. A 243.6-million-dollar fine it already paid in an earlier agreement would be credited. It also includes 444.5 million dollars for a new fund for crash victims, and 445 million dollars more on compliance, safety and quality programs. After the fatal crashes, Boeing was accused of conspiring to defraud regulators by withholding critical information about the 737 Max's flight-control system, which was implicated in both crashes. In 2021, the company entered a deferred prosecution agreement to avoid prosecution, paying a total of 2.51 billion dollars -- including a 243.6-million-dollar criminal penalty, 500 million dollars for victims' families, and 1.77 billion dollars in compensation to airline customers. "Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candour by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max aeroplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception," then-acting Assistant Attorney General David Burns of the DOJ's Criminal Division said after the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. That 2021 settlement was set to expire two days after a door panel blew out of a nearly new 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5, 2024, after the aircraft left Boeing's factory without key bolts installed. Following the incident, prosecutors alleged Boeing had breached its 2021 settlement by failing to implement an effective compliance and ethics program. In July 2024, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge in a revised settlement carrying a potential 487.2-million-dollar fine. Lawyers for victims' family members railed against the preliminary plea deal, equating it to a slap on the wrist for the corporate giant. A federal judge ultimately rejected that plea deal over concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion criteria for selecting the corporate monitor. Families of the crash victims have criticised past agreements as overly lenient, demanding greater accountability and calling for Boeing's executives to face trial. Chennai, May 24 : The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has issued a weather advisory forecasting moderate thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and rainfall in several districts of Tamil Nadu over the next two days. As per the RMC, widespread showers with thunderstorm activity are likely to occur on Saturday and Sunday in parts of southern and western Tamil Nadu. The districts expected to be most affected include Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Theni, Dindigul, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, and Nilgiris. The RMC also indicated that other regions in the state may experience light to moderate rainfall, accompanied by isolated thunderstorms and lightning. Districts such as Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Karur, Madurai, and Thoothukudi are expected to witness scattered weather disturbances, with rainfall likely in one or two locations. Meteorologists have attributed the current weather conditions to atmospheric instability triggered by moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea and localised convective activity. These conditions are typical during the pre-monsoon season and can result in sudden spells of rain, often accompanied by gusty winds and thunder. Residents in the affected areas are advised to take necessary precautions, especially during the afternoon and evening hours when thunderstorm activity is likely to intensify. The RMC has cautioned against outdoor activities during lightning-prone hours and urged farmers and rural communities to stay alert. This spell of rainfall is expected to bring temporary relief from the soaring temperatures prevailing in parts of Tamil Nadu over the past few weeks. While the showers may help cool down daytime temperatures, authorities have reminded the public that thunderstorms and lightning still pose significant safety risks. The Weather Department will continue to monitor the situation and issue updates as necessary, and the citizens have been encouraged to follow official advisories through local media and government weather channels. Tokyo, May 24 : The all-party parliamentary delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha held interactions with dignitaries from Japan's political, governmental, and academic circles at India House in Tokyo conveying India's firm stance of zero tolerance for cross-border terrorism. The delegation is a part of India's global diplomatic outreach campaign to highlight the significance of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism. The Indian parliamentarians also highlighted Operation Sindoor as India's 'new normal' against cross-border terror attacks. "All-Party Delegation of Members of Parliament led by Sanjay Kumar Jha interacted with dignitaries from Japan's political, governmental, and academic spheres and conveyed a strong and unified national message of zero tolerance for cross-border terrorism at a dinner hosted by Indian Ambassador to Japan Sibi George at India House," Embassy of India in Japan posted on X on Saturday. Earlier on Friday, in a focused and lively press engagement held in Tokyo, the Jha-led parliamentarians briefed the local media on India's 'new normal' against cross-border attacks, zero tolerance for terrorism, and all parties' resolve to stand united in all matters of national interest. The delegation led by Jha includes BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi and Brij Lal, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Barittas, and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid. They also interacted with the Japan-India Parliamentary Friendship League in Tokyo, conveying India's resolute stance of zero tolerance towards terrorism under the global outreach campaign of Operation Sindoor. During the talks, the Japanese side, led by league chairman Yasutoshi Nishimura, expressed full support for India's resolve to counter cross-border terrorism. The Indian delegation also held a meeting with Fukushiro Nukaga, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, building on the momentum of Nukaga's recent visit to India, where he expressed Japan's full support for India's fight against terrorism. Nukaga reiterated his support for India's unified national resolve to combat terrorism. The parliamentarians earlier interacted with Minoru Kihara, Former Defence Minister of Japan, and Shinako Tsuchiya, the Director General of the International Bureau, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), reiterating India's strong resolve to fight every form of terrorism. The delegation also met Yasuhiro Hanashi, Acting Chairperson of the Research Committee on Counter-terrorism of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Former Minister of Justice, highlighting India's unified and determined stance against terrorism in all its forms. Both sides reiterated their zero-tolerance approach to terrorism. Furthermore, the Indian delegation actively engaged with the Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo at the Indian Embassy, reaffirming India's steadfast commitment to combating terrorism. "Proactive engagement by the All-Party Delegation from India with the Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo at the Embassy of India in Japan reaffirms India's unwavering national resolve against terrorism. United in voice, firm in action," the Embassy said. Their ongoing visit marked the beginning of India's unprecedented diplomatic campaign to expose Pakistan's sustained role in cross-border terrorism, including the heinous April 22 Pahalgam attack. Abu Dhabi, May 24 : The high-level all-party delegation from India led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde, on Saturday wrapped up the successful and productive visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), significantly enhancing bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism under the global outreach campaign of Operation Sindoor. "The All-party delegation led by Eknath Shinde successfully concludes its highly productive visit to the UAE, further strengthening India-UAE cooperation in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," the Indian Embassy in the UAE posted on X. Earlier on Friday, the Indian delegation paid obeisance at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, BAPS Hindu Temple and Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara in Abu Dhabi, conveying a strong message of harmony, tolerance and peaceful co-existence -- the values shared and cherished by India and the UAE. The leaders also met Nikolay Mladenov, Director General of Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy of the UAE, and exchanged views on furthering cooperation between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi in counter-terrorism and combating radicalism. On Thursday, the delegation interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora in Abu Dhabi, conveying a resolute stance and national consensus in collective resolve against terrorism. It also held productive discussions with Jamal Mohammed Obaid Al Kaabi, Director General, National Media Office of UAE, and discussed the role of media in countering terrorism and extremism. The UAE has assured India that both countries will tackle terrorism together as the strong bilateral relationship extends beyond trade and culture, also encompassing security and strategic issues. UAE's Minister of Tolerance and Co-Existence Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al Nahyan, Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi -- Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of Federal National Council -- besides several other senior Emirati parliamentarians, also expressed full solidarity with India as the high-level all-party delegation from India called on them in Abu Dhabi. As the delegation highlighted the perpetration of cross-border terrorism and efforts to cause social disharmony in India by Pakistan, Nahyan Mabarak Al Nahyan conveyed his deep condolences on the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attacks and said, "India and UAE will tackle terrorism together. The UAE will always stand by India." The delegation then held substantive discussions with Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federal National Council, underscoring the precise, measured, and non-escalatory nature of Operation Sindoor against the barbaric terrorist attack on the tourists in Kashmir on April 22. According to the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi, during the meeting, Nuaimi stressed, "India-UAE relationship is beyond trade and culture, and encompasses security and strategic issues. Terrorism is against the whole of humanity and the international community must act now." The delegation led by Shinde includes BJP MPs Bansuri Swaraj, Atul Garg, and Manan Kumar Mishra, BJD's Sasmit Patra, IUML MP E.T. Mohammed Basheer, BJP leader S.S. Ahluwalia, and former Ambassador Sujan Chinoy. Their ongoing visit marked the beginning of India's unprecedented diplomatic campaign to expose Pakistan's sustained role in cross-border terrorism, including the heinous April 22 Pahalgam attack. New York, May 24 : The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on Saturday that some popular allergy medications could cause a rare but severe itching side effect. The FDA said in a safety warning issued in mid-May that some patients who have taken oral allergy medicines daily for long periods, at least a few months but often several years, have experienced a severe type of itching, which is known medically as pruritus, Xinhua news agency reported. FDA warned about "rare but severe itching after stopping long-term use of oral allergy medicines cetirizine or levocetirizine (Zyrtec, Xyzal, and other trade names)". It can occur with both prescription and over-the-counter forms of these medicines, the agency said. While the reported cases of severe itching side effects are rare, some have been serious and required medical intervention. Both cetirizine and levocetirizine are available over the counter (OTC) or through a prescription. The FDA said it has revised the prescribing information for both medicines to include a warning about the possible effects. "We will subsequently request that manufacturers add a warning about pruritus to the Drug Facts Label of the OTC versions," the FDA said. Cetirizine and levocetirizine are antihistamines that block a molecule called histamine that the body releases during allergic reactions. Both medicines are approved to treat seasonal allergies, called seasonal allergic rhinitis, in adults and children 2 years and older. The medicines are also approved to treat year-round allergies, called perennial allergic rhinitis, and chronic hives, called chronic idiopathic urticaria, in patients six months and older. Cetirizine was approved for oral use by prescription in December 1995 under the trade name Zyrtec (no longer sold as a prescription medicine) and approved for OTC use in November 2007. Levocetirizine was approved for oral use by prescription in May 2007 under the trade name Xyzal and approved for OTC use in January 2017. Chennai, May 24 : The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has issued a severe weather warning for parts of Tamil Nadu, placing the Nilgiris and the ghat regions of Coimbatore under a red alert for May 25 and 26. The forecast indicates isolated extremely heavy rainfall, exceeding 204.4 mm, in these regions, raising concerns over possible disruptions due to intense monsoon activity. In addition to the red alert, the weather office has declared an orange alert for the districts of Dindigul, Theni, and Tenkasi. These areas are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall during the same period. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised residents in the alerted districts to remain cautious, avoid unnecessary travel, and prepare for potential flooding and landslides, especially in hilly areas. According to RMC officials, rainfall activity is likely to begin in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore ghat sections on Saturday, with intensity picking up on Sunday and peaking between Monday and Tuesday. The heightened rainfall is being attributed to two major weather systems developing in the region. A well-marked low-pressure area over the east-central Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a depression within the next 24 hours. Simultaneously, another low-pressure system is expected to form over the north Bay of Bengal by May 27, further fueling monsoonal conditions. These developments come as the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala is anticipated within the next two days, setting the stage for widespread rain across southern India. Meteorologists note that this transition phase typically brings turbulent weather to Tamil Naduas western districts. The IMD has also forecast thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds ranging from 40 to 50 kmph across parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal through May 27. Authorities have urged residents, particularly in vulnerable and high-altitude zones, to follow weather advisories closely and take precautionary measures against sudden weather changes. Emergency response teams have been kept on standby as the state prepares for possible disruptions in transport, power supply, and daily life due to the approaching weather systems. New Delhi, May 24 : Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday will present her government's roadmap for Viksit Delhi in the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She said, "We will present the Viksit Delhi roadmap for a Viksit Bharat to the heads of all states." "We will put forth the aspirations and expectations of Delhiites in the meeting," she said. Taking to the social media platform X, she said, "Today, after so many years, we will be representing Delhi. Due to the conduct of the previous irresponsible governments, the issue of Delhi's rights was not being raised in the commission meeting, but now, the double-engine government is on track." "In this important meeting chaired by the esteemed Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, we will present our roadmap for a developed Delhi for a developed India to the heads of all the states of the country. Today, we will also present the aspirations and expectations for the development of Delhi before the Niti Aayog," she said further. According to a statement from NITI Aayog, the meeting underscores the Prime Minister's commitment to work with all states as "Team India" for achieving the goal of a developed Bharat. "As India progresses towards becoming a developed country, it is essential that states leverage their unique strengths and drive transformative changes at the grassroots, ensuring that the aspirations of 140 crore citizens translate into tangible outcomes on the ground," the statement said. The meeting, themed 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047', aims to foster cooperative federalism and align state-level aspirations with the national goal of making India a developed country by its 100th year of Independence. The discussion will centre around enabling states to formulate bold, long-term, and inclusive vision documents aligned with national priorities yet rooted in local reality. States are expected to focus on human development, economic growth, sustainability, technology, and governance reforms, with an emphasis on data-driven and outcome-based strategies. Institutional mechanisms like Project Monitoring Units, ICT-enabled infrastructure, and Monitoring and Evaluation Cells will support accountability and course correction. The Governing Council meeting serves as a platform for the Centre and States/Union Territories (UTs) to deliberate on development challenges and explore how states can act as the building blocks of a Viksit Bharat. -- New Delhi, May 24 : Apple's decision to expand iPhone manufacturing in India despite challenges shows the growing global confidence in the country's manufacturing ecosystem, BJP's Kerala unit President and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has said. By the end of 2025, about 25 per cent of all iPhones will be made in India, up from virtually zero a few years ago, when China dominated Apple's supply chain. "Thanks to forward-thinking policies like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and sustained efforts by the Indian government, India is fast becoming a global hub for high-tech manufacturing," said Chandrasekhar in a post on X social media platform. Foxconn, a key Apple supplier, has invested Rs 12,700 crore in India, with other partners like Pegatron and Wistron also scaling up operations. The Taiwanese electronics manufacturing major's facility in Bengaluru is nearly ready for launch, with commercial iPhone shipments expected to begin as early as June. "India is well on track to hit $300 billion in electronics manufacturing by 2027, with $120 billion targeted for exports," he noted. Just a decade ago, over 80 per cent of smartphones in India were imported, and smartphone exports were negligible. "I'm proud to have played a part in strengthening the India-Apple partnership. This is just the beginning," Chandrasekhar noted. Apple's contract manufacturers in India are already scaling up their operations. Foxconn's plant in Bengaluru could produce up to 20 million iPhones at full capacity. Apple's manufacturing strength in India is already impressive. In the past year, iPhones worth $22 billion were assembled in India, with Tamil Nadu-based Foxconn contributing nearly 50 per cent of Apple's exports. Exports from Foxconn's factory have jumped more than 40 per cent compared to the same period last year. Today, India accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Apple's total iPhone production worldwide, showing how important the country has become for the brand's global plans. The Indian market is also witnessing strong growth for Apple. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, more than three million iPhones were shipped from India -- a new record. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has threatened a 50 per cent tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25 per cent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the US. IMF likely to review Pak funding in 2025 second half amid 11 new conditions. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, May 24 : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to conduct the next funding review for Pakistan in the second half of 2025. According to an official IMF statement, it would maintain ongoing discussions with Pakistani authorities to reach an agreement on the 2026 fiscal year budget terms. "The next mission associated with the next Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) reviews is expected in the second half of 2025," according to the IMF. An IMF mission, led by Nathan Porter, has concluded its staff visit, which focused on recent economic developments, programme implementation, and the budget strategy for fiscal year (FY) 2026. "We held constructive discussions with the authorities on their FY2026 budget proposals and broader economic policy, and reform agenda supported by the 2024 EFF and the 2025 RSF," said Porter. The authorities reaffirmed their commitment to fiscal consolidation while safeguarding social and priority expenditures, aiming for a primary surplus of 1.6 per cent of GDP in FY2026, he added. Discussions also covered ongoing energy sector reforms aimed at improving financial viability and reducing the high-cost structure of Pakistan's power sector, as well as other structural reforms which will help foster sustainable growth and promote a more level playing field for business and investment, the IMF statement added. India has said it is "thankful" for the 11 additional conditions imposed by the IMF on Pakistan, while clarifying that it is not opposed to financial assistance meant for genuine developmental purposes. At the same time, New Delhi has raised serious concerns over the timing of the recent bailout package, suggesting that the funds may have indirectly supported Pakistan's rising defence spending. The bailout came when Pakistan was retaliating to India's Operation Sindoor -- a military strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India had asked it to reconsider the bailout as Pakistan allows terrorists to use its soil for launching state-sponsored attacks against Indian citizens. The IMF has imposed 11 new conditions on Pakistan for the release of the next tranche of its bailout package, as the country continues to harbour terrorists. Quetta, May 24 : Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a human rights organisation, has categorically rejected the "baseless and defamatory" allegations made by the Pakistani Army, accusing the BYC and its leader, Mahrang Baloch, of involvement in terrorism and foreign-sponsored activities. Condemning the accusation, BYC leader and human rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch stated that the Pakistani armed forces Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) and state machinery have been in full swing for the last few months, hurling baseless accusations at BYC and its leadership without providing any credible or verifiable evidence. "Allegations by the DG ISPR, accusing BYC and its leadership of being involved in 'terrorism' during a press conference yesterday, are fabricated, baseless, and contrary to facts. They are aimed at discrediting and delegitimising BYC's globally recognised peaceful struggle," Sammi Deen Baloch said in a post on X on Saturday. "The ongoing violence in Balochistan is not just a consequence of long-standing repression but also a reflection of systemic security failures. No propaganda or pressure can deter us from our commitment to nonviolent activism and defending the Baloch people's rights through peaceful means," she added. Meanwhile, the BYC stated that the accusations by the Pakistani Army are not only false but appear to be a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the grave and ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan. Highlighting that the BYC is a peaceful political and human rights organisation committed to nonviolent advocacy for the democratic and civil rights of the Baloch people, the BYC stated that Mahrang Baloch is a respected human rights defender with a well-documented record of peaceful activism. Both Mahrang and the BYC have consistently rejected all forms of violence and remain steadfast in their commitment to lawful and democratic means of protest and resistance. "These recent statements by the military are not only defamatory; they implicitly acknowledge the growing influence and legitimacy of our peaceful movement. Instead of addressing the deeply documented abuses in Balochistan -- ranging from enforced disappearances to extrajudicial killings -- the state has chosen to intensify its campaign of disinformation," read a statement issued by the BYC. "For over two months, Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leadership have been unlawfully detained under repressive laws such as the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO). Despite repeated court hearings, the state has failed to present any lawful basis or credible evidence to justify these detentions. Instead, a coordinated media campaign continues to circulate misinformation and defamatory content against our leadership," the statement added. Furthermore, the BYC unequivocally condemned the killing of innocent civilians, especially children in Balochistan, stating it is never acceptable and stands in violation of the most fundamental principles of humanity and international law. The BYC urged the international community, including the United Nations, global human rights organisations, and diplomatic missions, to take serious note of the dangerous rhetoric employed by Pakistani authorities. "These unfounded accusations represent not only a threat to individual activists but also a broader assault on the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and legitimate political advocacy in Pakistan. The BYC will not be silenced. Our commitment to justice, peace, and human dignity remains unwavering," the statement concluded. New Delhi, May 24 : In a major breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has brought back fugitive economic offender Angad Singh Chandok from the US to India. Chandok is wanted in connection with a high-profile bank fraud and money laundering case and had been absconding for a long time. He was deported by US authorities and landed at Delhias Indira Gandhi International Airport early Saturday morning. CBI officials immediately took him into custody upon arrival. He is expected to be produced before a special CBI court later on Saturday, where the agency is likely to seek his custodial remand for further interrogation. Chandokas return marks a significant step in Indiaas efforts to crack down on economic fugitives who evade justice by fleeing abroad. It also reflects increased cooperation between Indian and international law enforcement agencies, particularly the United States, in tackling financial crimes with cross-border implications. Chandok, 34, was sentenced to six years in prison by a US court in 2022. The court found him guilty of operating a long-running and complex money laundering network while living in California. According to the ruling, Chandok created and used multiple shell companies to launder millions of dollars obtained through fraudulent means -- initially via an online tech support scam and later through a fake online travel fee scheme. The court noted that Chandok had a team of at least five individuals working under him and maintained direct communication with high-ranking international members of the criminal syndicate. He was also declared an international fugitive at the time of these offences. His deportation is expected to strengthen Indiaas resolve in pursuing economic offenders and bringing them to justice, regardless of their location. Latehar, May 24 : Two Maoists, including a top operative carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh, were killed in an encounter with police in the Ichwar forest area of Jharkhand's Latehar district on Saturday morning, officials said. Latehar, May 24 (IANS) Two Maoists, including a top operative carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh, were killed in an encounter with police in the Ichwar forest area of Jharkhandas Latehar district on Saturday morning, officials said. One of the deceased has been identified as Pappu Lohara, a wanted Maoist with multiple cases against him across several police stations in the state. The second has been identified as Prabhat Lohara. Both were associated with the banned outfit Jharkhand Sangharsh Mukti Morcha (JSMM). Following specific intelligence inputs regarding the movement of Maoists in the region, a joint team of police and security forces, led by Superintendent of Police (SP) Kumar Gaurav, launched a search operation early Saturday. Around 8 a.m., the team came face to face with a group of armed Maoists in the Ichwar forest, leading to a fierce exchange of fire. Two Maoists were killed in the gunfight, while several others managed to escape under the cover of the dense forest. A search operation is underway, with the area cordoned off. Security personnel recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from the encounter site, including an AK-47 rifle and other Maoist items. Police believe the Maoist group had gathered to carry out a major attack in the region. Pappu Lohara had previously been involved in several violent incidents. Notably, on September 28, 2021, his squad had clashed with security forces in the Salaiya forest of Latehar, resulting in the martyrdom of BSF Deputy Commandant Rajesh Kumar. One Maoist was also killed in that encounter. This operation comes weeks after a major breakthrough on April 21 in Jharkhand, when eight Maoists -- including top commander Prayag Manjhi, who carried a Rs 1 crore reward -- were killed in an encounter in the Lugu hill area of Bokaro district. The Jharkhand Police, along with central security forces, continue to intensify anti-Naxal operations across the state. Jammu, May 24 : Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday reached J&K's Poonch district to meet the victims of the cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops during recent hostilities between the two countries. J&K Congress president, Tariq Hameed Karra, told reporters that Rahul Gandhi will visit shell-hit structures, including a gurdwara, a temple, a madrassa and a Christian missionary school. "He will also meet the bereaved families and the members of the civil society. He is the first national leader to reach out to the affected population to express his solidarity and share their pain," Karra said. Saturday's is the second visit by the Congress leader to J&K since the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, including 25 tourists and a local. He visited Srinagar on April 25 to meet those injured in the Pahalgam terror attack. He had also met the J&K Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and several stakeholders during that visit. During his visit to Jammu and Kashmir last month, following the Pahalgam terror attack, LoP Rahul Gandhi had said that the idea behind the terror strike was to divide the people of the country, and India needed to stand united to defeat terrorism once and for all. On Saturday morning, LoP Rahul Gandhi reached Jammu airport and left for Poonch in a helicopter to visit the areas affected by cross-border shelling and meet the affected families. The Poonch sector witnessed the worst artillery shelling after India carried out precision-guided strikes during 'Operation Sindoor' on nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7 in response to the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack. Heavy artillery shelling on civilian facilities by Pakistan killed 28 people, 13 in Poonch district and injured more than 70 others between May 7 and May 10 across Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of border residents had to abandon their homes in areas near the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) to seek refuge in safer areas identified by the government. DGMOs of India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on May 12. India, however, made it clear that while trade and the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan will remain in abeyance, the ceasefire understanding will only be respected as long as Pakistan does not allow any terror activity on its soil against India. Belagavi, May 24 : A prominent Hindu seer has been arrested on charges of raping a 17-year-old girl in Karnataka's Belagavi district, police said on Saturday. The police have filed a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case against the accused. A case in this regard was registered at the Bagalkot Women's Police Station and subsequently transferred to the Mudalagi police station. The accused is the head pontiff of a prominent mutt in a village in the Rayabagh taluk of Belagavi district. According to police, the seer allegedly raped the girl repeatedly and threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident. The accused seer had taken the girl to Raichur on May 13 and stayed there for two days. Later, he took her to Bagalkot on May 15, staying there for another two days. The accused seer took the girl with him, claiming to drop her back at her residence, and took advantage of the situation to commit the crime. The seer left the victim at the Mahalingapura bus stop in Bagalkot district on May 17. Later, the girl revealed her ordeal to her parents, and a complaint was lodged against the seer at the Bagalkot Women's Police Station. Preliminary investigations suggest that the girl's parents, who were devotees of the mutt and revered the accused seer, used to leave their daughter at the mutt often for weeks. The seer allegedly took advantage of this. Police said there are allegations against the mutt and the seer of carrying out illegal activities. It also came to light during the investigation that in 2021, the accused seer was beaten by villagers. Local people have appealed to the police to initiate strict legal action against the accused seer. The police have recorded the statements of the villagers and the victim. The accused seer has been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. New Delhi, May 24 : In a scathing indictment of the state of public healthcare in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court on Saturday came down heavily on the condition of Swarup Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital, calling it a "mortuary" instead of a hospital. New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) In a scathing indictment of the state of public healthcare in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court on Saturday came down heavily on the condition of Swarup Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital, calling it a "mortuary" instead of a hospital. The bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Dr Arvind Kumar Gupta, issued a series of stringent orders to both medical and administrative authorities in Prayagraj. The court expressed outrage over the unhygienic, dysfunctional and corrupt state of affairs at SRN, Colvin, and Dufferin hospitals. Justice Agarwal directed the Municipal Commissioner to ensure that all three hospitals were thoroughly cleaned and restored to proper working condition within 48 hours. He also instructed the hospital staff and administration to fully cooperate in the clean-up drive. Taking note of severe allegations regarding absentee doctors, poor infrastructure, and illegal private practice, the court ordered raids on the residences of all doctors and professors associated with SRN. "Form a team of two to three honest officers and raid the homes of doctors. Take strict action and file FIRs against those involved in unauthorised private practice," the court instructed. In a pointed rebuke to the SRN hospital administration, the Single In-Charge (SIC) and Deputy SIC were questioned about alleged bribery in the operation of private ambulances. "Are these ambulances running through corruption? If you don't fix this, I'll send you to Naini jail in this 45-degree heat," the judge warned. The amicus curiae's report, which revealed shocking details of negligence and malpractice, played a pivotal role in the court's severe stance. It was noted that basic amenities like water, fans, and air-conditioning were missing in the hospital, while doctors were frequently absent. Brokers from private diagnostic centres were seen roaming within hospital premises, allegedly luring patients away for profit. The court further criticised the local administration, municipal authorities, and elected representatives of Prayagraj for failing to uphold their duties, especially in the run-up to Maha Kumbh 2025, during which over 66 crore devotees are expected. "Had a major accident occurred, the consequences would have been catastrophic," said the court. The High Court directed the Municipal Commissioner to initiate an investigation into the private medical shops operating outside the SRN hospital. It also made the presence of the hospital superintendent, deputy SIC, and chief medical officer mandatory for the next hearing scheduled on May 29. Justice Agarwal concluded with a strong message: "If things don't improve, why not shut down SRN Hospital altogether?" Seoul, May 24 : South Korean People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo will pay a courtesy visit to former President Park Geun-hye on Saturday, party officials said, just 10 days ahead of the presidential election. Kim will travel to the southeastern city of Daegu to meet Park at her home later in the day, the PPP said. He will be accompanied by top party officials, including Rep. Yun Jae-ok, the PPP's chief campaign manager, and PPP spokesman Shin Dong-wook. It will mark the first time Kim will meet with Park since he won the nomination earlier this month. Kim is also scheduled to visit the birthplace of former South Korean President Park Chung-hee, the father of ex-President Park Geun-hye, in Gumi, about 200 kilometres southeast of Seoul. The visit comes ahead of the June 3 presidential election to choose the successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over a botched martial law attempt in December, Yonhap news agency reported. On May 23, South Korean Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said that he met former President Moon Jae-in, with the presidential election. The meeting between Lee and Moon came as they paid their respects at a memorial service marking the 16th anniversary of the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun in the village of Bongha, where Roh lived after his retirement. It was the first time that the DP candidate had met Moon since he won the nomination. During the meeting, Moon asked Lee to build a nation that respects the will of the people, the DP candidate told reporters. They also raised concerns that the misuse of prosecutorial power played a significant role in deteriorating South Korea's institutions and deepening social division over the past three years, according to Rep. Cho Seung-rae, the DP's senior spokesperson. Meanwhile, in a Realmeter survey conducted on 1,009 adults from Thursday to Friday, Lee led the poll with 46.6 per cent, down 1.5 percentage points from the previous poll. Support for his Kim Moon-soo also dropped 1 percentage point to 37.6 per cent, while Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party came in third with 10.4 per cent, up 1 percentage point. Chennai, May 24 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, currently in the national capital to attend the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the event to present a memorandum outlining the state's key demands. Chennai, May 24 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, currently in the national capital to attend the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the event to present a memorandum outlining the stateas key demands. The high-level meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, is being held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday and will continue throughout the day. Sources indicated that Stalinas one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister is likely to take place during the course of the event. Among the major issues the Chief Minister is expected to raise are increased fund allocations for various development schemes and the speedy clearance and implementation of long-pending infrastructure projects, particularly in the railway sector. He is also likely to push for Tamil Naduas inclusion in national growth initiatives and urge better coordination for centrally sponsored programs. This marks a significant shift from last year, when Stalin had initially announced plans to attend the NITI Aayog meeting held on July 23, 2024, but later boycotted it. At the time, he accused the Union government of sidelining Tamil Nadu in the 2024a"25 Union Budget and expressed dissatisfaction with the Centreas approach to federal cooperation. However, with this yearas theme being aViksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047a, the focus has shifted to encouraging states to develop bold, long-term vision documents that align with national developmental goals. Stalin is expected to showcase Tamil Naduas ambition to become a $1 trillion economy by 2030 and outline the stateas roadmap toward that goal. The Chief Minister is also likely to express concern over the delays in the disbursal of central funds for various welfare and development schemes, which he claims are adversely impacting the stateas progress. Stalinas visit to New Delhi and his engagement with the Prime Minister underscore Tamil Naduas push for greater financial support and expedited approvals from the Union government to realise its ambitious economic targets. --IANS aal/dan New Delhi, May 24 : The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested Vikas Shaka, a dreaded criminal and a close aide of the notorious Gogi gang, after a late-night encounter in the Barwala Chowk area of Rohini, officials said on Saturday. Shaka, a native of Jhajjar in Haryana, was wanted in several heinous cases, including murder, kidnapping, and extortion. He had been absconding for several months and was involved in violent crimes across Delhi-NCR and parts of Haryana and Rajasthan. According to police, Shaka was the prime suspect in a gruesome murder case in Haryana. He allegedly kidnapped a young man, strangled him to death, and later burnt the body in Alwar. The Special Cell had been tracking Shaka's movements for several days. Late on Friday night, they received a tip-off that he would be meeting an associate in the Barwala Chowk area. Acting swiftly, police teams laid a trap and cordoned off the area. As soon as Shaka arrived on a motorcycle, he sensed the police presence and opened fire on the team in a desperate attempt to flee. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, he sustained a bullet injury to his leg. He was immediately apprehended. The police recovered a country-made pistol, several live cartridges, and the motorcycle he was riding. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is now in police custody. Interrogation is underway, and officials say they are hopeful of extracting crucial information about the gang's activities. The Gogi gang, named after its slain kingpin Jitender Maan alias Gogi, had gained notoriety in recent years for its involvement in contract killings, armed robberies, and inter-gang rivalries. Gogi was shot dead inside a courtroom in Rohini in 2021 in a sensational attack that exposed the extent of gang violence in the national capital. Jamshedpur, May 24 : In a tragic incident that has shaken the city, a Tata Steel senior manager battling cancer allegedly died by suicide along with his wife and two daughters at their residence in Chitragupt Nagar, Adityapur in Jamshedpur, late Friday night, officials said on Saturday. Police said the bodies of Krishan Kumar (40), his wife Dolly Devi (35), and daughters Pinky (15) and Mainiya (7) were found hanging from different nooses in the same room. The door of the house was locked from inside, and police had to force entry around 11 p.m. after being alerted by neighbours. No suicide note was recovered from the scene, and the police said investigations are underway. A forensic team was also called in to examine the site, and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination. Krishan Kumar was reportedly suffering from third-stage cancer and had recently returned from Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai after undergoing treatment. He was advised chemotherapy, and he had applied for the procedure to be continued in Jamshedpur. Neighbours told police that they had not seen any member of the family since Wednesday evening. A foul smell emanating from the house on Friday evening prompted them to alert officials. Krishan Kumaras father, Savind Tiwari, said that his son had been struggling with depression after learning of his diagnosis. Tiwari had accompanied the couple to Mumbaias Tata Memorial Hospital for treatment and said they had returned to Jamshedpur due to the availability of chemotherapy facilities here. The exact timing of the deaths is still not known, but police suspect the incident occurred on Wednesday or Thursday night. The tragedy has left the neighbourhood in shock. Police are also investigating whether Krishan Kumaras wife and children committed suicide along with him, or they were killed first and then hanged. Los Angeles, May 24 : Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson says it was extremely difficult shooting 'Jurassic World Rebirth' at the height of summer in Malta because "there was no escape from the sun." Los Angeles, May 24 (IANS) Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson says it was extremely difficult shooting 'Jurassic World Rebirth' at the height of summer in Malta because "there was no escape from the sun." The 40-year-old star, who plays the role of Zora Bennett in the latest movie in the 'Jurassic Park' franchise, told Empire magazine: "There was no escape from the sun. It was just baking every day. And you're on this rig, 30 feet in the air or whatever it is, and it's moving up and down and sideways, and there's all this water being shot out of these cannons towards you. It was brutal. "To do it one day would be hard. But to do it continuously for, like, six weeks or whatever..." The movie's director Gareth Edwards said that he did feel sympathy for his cast as they made the flick in gruelling conditions, reports femalefirst.co.uk. The 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' filmmaker recalled: "At the end of each day, I'd try and reassure them that tomorrow was going to be easier because of this reason. And then the next day would be even harder for either precisely the same reason, or a brand-new other reason. After a while, they just stopped believing me." Edwards has hinted that 'Jurassic World Rebirth', which will be released in cinemas in July, will be darker in tone than previous movies and suggested that it is a "horror film". The director said: "It's really a horror film. It's the sort of horror you enjoy, rather than stuff that will traumatise you forever. Like the way people enjoy fairground rides. But it's full-on darkness, right?" The filmmaker has long been a fan of the 'Jurassic Park' franchise after watching the original movie in 1993 at the age of 18 and was daunted by the prospect of guiding the film's iconic director Steven Spielberg who serves as an executive producer on 'Jurassic World Rebirth' around the set. The 49-year-old filmmaker said: "The only thing I can compare it to is having to show George Lucas around the set of a 'Star Wars' film. I definitely believe I am in the Matrix and I chose 'film director' as my simulation, because this shouldn't really happen." The movie features a new set of characters, with Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey both appearing in the movie, and screenwriter David Koepp revealed that it was an easy decision to launch a fresh start for the franchise. Moscow, May 24 : The Indian all-party parliamentary delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi held a productive interaction with Mikhail Fradkov, former Prime Minister of Russia and Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS), discussing global security changes and collaborative efforts in fighting terrorism. The delegation is a part of India's global diplomatic outreach campaign to highlight the significance of Operation Sindoor and the continued fight against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism. "Honoured to engage in a constructive dialogue with Mikhail Fradkov, former Prime Minister of Russia & Director of RISS, along with MPs as part of our parliamentary delegation. We discussed global security challenges and the collective fight against terrorism," Kanimozhi posted on X on Saturday. The delegation also held discussions at the Federation Council of Russia with Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, and fellow Senators, reaffirming India's firm resolve in combating terrorism and strong commitment to global peace. The Kanimozhi-led delegation includes Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, BJP MP Captain Brijesh Chowta (Retd.), RJD MP Prem Chand Gupta, AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal; former Ambassador of India to France and Monaco Jawed Ashraf; and f ormer Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri. "Joined MPs Kanimozhi, Rajeev Rai, Brijesh Chowta, Prem Chand Gupta, and Ambassador Manjeev Puri for a significant dialogue at the Federation Council of Russia with Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, and fellow Senators. India reiterated its unwavering stand against terrorism and its deep commitment to global peace," Ashok Mittal posted on X. In continuation of India's sustained fight against terrorism, the parliamentarians had a number of engagements on Friday, including with the two Houses of the Russian Parliament and think tank, said the Embassy of India in Moscow. "The delegation had a meeting with Leonid Slutsky, Chair of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma, and interacted with Members of the State Duma. The Indian delegation underlined the imperative of collective action against terrorism, including the need for credible international mechanisms to deny safe havens, financing, and political justification to terrorist entities," the Indian Embassy in Moscow said in a statement. "The delegation then met Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation and held extensive discussions on bilateral, regional, and global developments, with emphasis on the shared commitment to a multipolar and international order. The Indian side reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and stressed that India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail," the statement added. These high-level interactions reaffirm the shared commitment of India and Russia to intensify cooperation in the fight against terrorism, promote global stability, and further strengthen their Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. Kolkata, May 24 : Soon after West Bengal Chief Minister skipped the crucial meeting of NITI Aayog at New Delhi on Saturday, a political slugfest erupted in the state between Trinamool Congress and the BJP. According to BJP's Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal and spokesman Samik Bhattacharya, last year, the Chief Minister walked out of the NITI Aayog meeting, floating a baseless allegation that her microphone was stopped during her speech. "As it is, the financial vulnerability of West Bengal is at an alarming stage. Unemployment and migrant workers from West Bengal are the major problems. In such a situation, the Chief Minister should have attended the meeting to find out avenues on how these hurdles could be overcome by working closely with the Union government. But she chose to skip the meeting to satisfy her political ego and sacrificed the interest of the state," he said. However, Trinamool Congress state vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said: "Last year, it was proved that the Union government did not desire to listen to what our Chief Minister wanted to say, and hence her microphone was stopped amid her speech. This was an insult to the Chief Minister. Why would she attend the meeting to be insulted again?" To recall, in the last meeting of NITI Aayog on July 27 last year, Mamata Banerjee walked out, alleging that her microphone was muted during her speech, and therefore, she could not speak for more than five minutes. CM Banerjee claimed that she was allowed to speak only for five minutes when 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 through 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 she decided to attend the meeting, some members of the opposition bloc also raised the point of clandestine understanding between the BJP and Trinamool Congress. Chennai, May 24 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday extended birthday greetings to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Nagaland Governor La. Ganesan, while acknowledging their contributions to public service and regional cooperation. In a message shared on social media and through official communication, Stalin greeted his Kerala counterpart with heartfelt wishes, emphasising the strong bonds between the two southern states. "Your dedication to progressive governance and our shared commitment to federalism and secularism strengthens the relationship between Tamil Nadu and Kerala," Stalin said in his message to Vijayan. "Let our two states stand together in celebrating our cultural ties and common goals. I wish you a long life filled with health and happiness." The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister lauded Vijayan's leadership and reiterated the importance of collaborative development among Southern states. The message comes at a time when both leaders have been vocal about preserving the federal structure of the country and promoting inclusive governance models. Chief Minister Stalin also personally conveyed his greetings to Nagaland Governor La. Ganesan on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Sources said that Stalin made a phone call to extend his wishes to the veteran leader, who has previously held key political positions in Tamil Nadu, including a long tenure with the BJP and the RSS. La. Ganesan, a former Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu and ex-president of the BJP's state unit, was appointed as the Governor of Nagaland in 2021. He also briefly held additional charge as Governor of Manipur and West Bengal during his gubernatorial career. Stalin's outreach to Ganesan, despite political differences, is seen as a gesture of goodwill and respect for senior statesmen. The Chief Minister's dual greetings underscore his commitment to maintaining cordial inter-state and inter-party relations, while celebrating the achievements of leaders who have contributed significantly to public life. Both Vijayan and Ganesan acknowledged the greetings and thanked Stalin for his warm wishes, sources said. The birthday messages come amid Stalin's visit to New Delhi to participate in the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. --IANS aal/dan Bhopal, May 24 : A troubling incident surfaced in Jaora town of Ratlam district when Asim Qureshi, a Muslim youth, allegedly slapped Suraj Mahawar, the city convenor of Hindu Jagran Manch, and threatened him over wearing a tilak -- a traditional Hindu forehead mark. According to the police, the altercation took place at a shop in Mughalpura, where Mahawar works. "Asim confronted Mahawar, questioning why he was wearing a tilak in what he claimed to be a Muslim-dominated area, as alleged by the complainant Mahawar," Durgesh Armo, the city superintendent of police, told IANS. The argument escalated, with Asim allegedly slapping and pushing Mahawar while also threatening to shoot him, claiming that he had a pistol at home. A video of the incident, which has surfaced, appears to show Asim striking Mahawar, with two women also present during the dispute. As news of the incident spread, members of Hindu organisations gathered in large numbers, surrounding Jaora City Police Station and blocking a nearby over-bridge to demand immediate action against Asim. "At present, the police have pacified the public; the situation is normal, and everything is under control. A case has been registered against Asim Qureshi under sections 299, 333, 296, 115(2), 351(2), and 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita. The video is currently under investigation, and strict surveillance has been placed in the area. The accused will be presented before the court soon," the officer said. The officer further noted that Asim Qureshi has denied the allegations against him, claiming that the altercation stemmed from an old dispute. Consequently, the police are investigating the matter thoroughly. The protests led to significant unrest, reportedly prompting the deployment of police forces from six stations to maintain order. Jaora City Police Station in-charge Jitendra Jadoun, along with SDOP Sandeep Malviya and CSP Durgesh Armo, arrived at the scene to calm the crowd, reports said. Authorities are also reviewing Asimas criminal history, as he was released on bail just eight days ago in connection with a murder case. Local Hindu outfits have demanded stringent action against Asim under the National Security Act, as well as the demolition of his residence. New Delhi, May 24 : Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on Saturday lauded Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for visiting Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district and meeting families affected by recent cross-border shelling from Pakistan. "When the terrorist attack occurred in Pahalgam, Rahul Gandhi was the only national leader who went there. He visited the hospitals, met with various civil society groups, and enquired about the well-being of the affected citizens. Now again in Poonch, where innocent civilians lost their lives due to shelling, for no fault of theirs, Rahul Gandhi visited them to express solidarity and understand their pain," Pawan Khera told IANS. Poonch sector witnessed heightened artillery and mortar shelling following India's Operation Sindoor, a series of precision strikes conducted on May 7 targeting nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. These strikes were carried out in retaliation for the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which left several civilians dead. Khera further emphasised that political leaders across party lines should take a cue from LoP Rahul Gandhi's actions. "Whether it is Manipur, Poonch, or Pahalgam wherever citizens face a crisis, political leadership should step in to offer support and help heal their wounds," he said. Reacting to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent remarks in Berlin, where he stated that India has zero tolerance for terrorism and would "never give in to nuclear blackmail", Khera questioned the effectiveness of India's foreign policy under the current government. "What Jaishankar says at international forums hardly matters if we cannot get key global powers to acknowledge that Pakistan continues to shelter terrorists. He talks tough here, but remains silent in front of the US and China. He says China has a bigger economy, so we can't do much then why hold the position if you are afraid to confront them?" Khera asked. "Pakistan's government and military operate hand-in-glove with terror outfits. There is no distinction between the two. The real challenge is whether our foreign policy can get the international community to admit this openly. That would be a diplomatic victory," he added. Khera further reacted to recent allegations surrounding donations made to the National Herald by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and accusations against Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, allegedly made by the Enforcement Directorate. "They will try to keep the media occupied with these distractions. But we are not going to be diverted. This is a tactic to deflect attention whenever we raise questions in the interest of the nation. We remain focused on the real issues," he told IANS. Commenting on the Congress party's stand during Operation Sindoor, Khera pointed out that the party had put all political programmes on hold in support of the nation's security efforts. "During Operation Sindoor, we stood shoulder to shoulder with the government. Despite this, the BJP mocked us, showing that they prioritise politics over national unity. Now that the operation is over, they have returned to their usual cheap politics," he said. "This is the time to salute the valour of our armed forces and to also hold the government accountable and that is exactly what we are doing." Khera also took a swipe at the ongoing 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting, held under the theme 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047.' "Why talk about 2047 now? Every few years, they come up with new slogans. In 2022, they promised to double farmers' income not only did they fail, but the economic distress worsened. The reality is that no one takes the BJP government seriously anymore. These meetings are nothing more than tokenism," he concluded. Jammu, May 24 : Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, hoped on Saturday that the situation would soon return to normal in J&K's Poonch border district while he advised students to study harder to prove their resolve to face the adversity. LoP Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch and met families affected by cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops earlier this month. During an emotional interaction, LoP Rahul Gandhi offered his condolences and reassured the families that they would receive support. LoP Rahul Gandhi also visited a local school, where he spoke to students, encouraging them to remain strong and focus on their futures. Interacting with students of the Christian Missionary School, LoP Rahul Gandhi said: "You've seen a little bit of danger, but don't worry, everything will be back to normal. Your way of responding to this problem should be that you study hard, you play really hard, and you make a lot of friends in school. Will you do that?" LoP Rahul Gandhi also expressed regret that the two students had died in the shelling. He told reporters that the people of Poonch have asked me to highlight their problem at the national level, adding that the losses in Poonch are huge. This is LoP Rahul Gandhi's second visit to J&K since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives of 25 tourists and a local. Rahul arrived in the area on Saturday morning and went on a door-to-door visit to homes damaged during the shelling between May 8 and 10. He interacted with residents and inspected the extent of the damage. He arrived in Jammu earlier that day and travelled to Poonch to show solidarity with the grieving families. In Poonch, he met with the parents of 12-year-old twin siblings, Zoya and Zain, who lost their lives in the shelling. LoP Rahul Gandhi stated that the visit aimed to "stand by the victims of Pakistani aggression" and to highlight the human cost of ongoing hostilities. This is the second visit by the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha to the Union Territory since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, most of them tourists. LoP Rahul Gandhi visited Srinagar on April 25 to meet those injured in the terror attack. He had also met Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, chief minister Omar Abdullah and several stakeholders. Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra said LoP Rahul Gandhi visited shell-hit structures, including a gurdwara, a temple, a madrassa and the Christian Missionary School. "He is the first national leader to reach out to the affected population to express his solidarity and share their pain," he said. Riyadh, May 24 : Indians who embarked on Haj pilgrimage appreciated arrangements and the quality of facilities offered by the Indian government to ensure a smooth and seamless journey for all in Saudi Arabia. "Indian pilgrims who went for Haj 2025 through the Haj Committee of India are very happy with the management of the Government of India and the facilities being provided there. It is the constant endeavour of the Ministry of Minority Affairs to ensure a comfortable and dignified journey for every Haj pilgrim," the Ministry of Minority Affairs posted on X on Saturday. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Minority Affairs, George Kurian, on Friday highlighted the dedicated efforts of the Centre in ensuring a smooth and successful Haj for pilgrims. Earlier on Friday, Indian Consul General of Jeddah, Fahad Ahmed Khan Suri, led 'Team India' deployed in Haj 2025, in facilitating the movement of pilgrims from Haram Shareef to their accommodations in Azizia (Mecca) after offering Friday prayer. The huge rush of pilgrims coming out from Haram Shareef after offering Friday prayer required coordination among 'Team India' members to guide the pilgrims to their designated bus points and provide on-the-spot required medical care and assistance. Medical care and assistance are being provided to the pilgrims by the mobile medical care team of the Indian Haj Mission. From dispensaries near pilgrims' accommodation to fully equipped hospitals, the Indian Haj Mission has ensured accessible medical care. Additionally, doctors, nurses, and ambulances are made available round-the-clock for any health concerns. On Thursday, Indian Consul General Fahad Ahmed Khan Suri reviewed the arrangements for the movement of pilgrims from Mecca and 'Mina' and their stay at 'Arafat' to perform the rituals of Haj. Last week, India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Suhel Khan, met pilgrims in Mecca to ensure a comfortable Haj pilgrimage for all. "Ambassador Suhel Khan visited pilgrims from various states and enquired about their welfare and issues of concern in Mecca today. The Government of India remains committed to ensuring the comfort and safety of the Indian pilgrims and making their spiritual Haj journey hassle-free," the Embassy of India in Riyadh posted on X. The Indian Consul General Fahad Ahmed Khan Suri earlier held a review meeting with the officials and staff deployed in temporary branch offices and dispensaries, various cells and desks set up by the Indian Haj Mission. Chennai, May 24 : Coimbatore District (Rural) Police have launched an intensive investigation into the suspected murder of a 23-year-old man with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), who had been staying at a care home for persons with intellectual disabilities in Pollachi. Six special police teams have been formed, and two individuals associated with the facility have been detained, while four others are currently absconding. The deceased youth was identified as S. R. Varunkanth, son of T. Ravikumar and Banumathi, residents of Amman Nagar, Karavali Mathappur. Varunkanth was admitted to the Yuthira Charitable Trust (Special Children Care and Training Centre) at Rathinasabapathy Puram on February 4 for rehabilitation. The family had agreed to pay Rs 40,000 per month and contributed Rs 50,000 of a promised Rs 1 lakh as a donation. They were permitted to visit Varunkanth only once every six months, police said. The facility initially claimed that Varunkanth had gone missing during an outing to Aliyar Dam on May 12. Acting on this information, his father lodged a missing persons complaint with the Aliyar Police on May 15. While the trust initially cooperated with authorities, inconsistencies began to emerge. CCTV footage from Aliyar Dam revealed no evidence that the youth had ever been there. Subsequently, the family received alarming information indicating that Varunkanth had been physically assaulted by staff members on May 12. A disturbing video emerged, showing him seated on the floor with severe injuries. Concerned over the discrepancies, the family approached Superintendent of Police K. Karthikeyan on Thursday. The case was then transferred to the Mahalingapuram Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the care home. Shortly thereafter, all six suspects - including staff and trustees - absconded. However, two were later detained. During interrogation, the detained suspects confessed that Varunkanth had died due to the abuse and was buried at a farmland owned by the trust at S. Nagoor near Naduppuni. Efforts to exhume the body on Friday were unsuccessful, as the exact burial location could not be identified. Officials from the District Differently-Abled Welfare Department confirmed that 26 inmates were staying at the home. Following the incident, most were relocated to their native places. Alarmingly, seven residents had been forcibly moved to a relative's house belonging to one of the suspects in Pollachi. Six of them were rescued on Thursday, and one more on Friday. Police and welfare officials are working to reunite them with their families. According to official sources, the care home was recognised by the Commissionerate for the Welfare of the Differently-Abled on May 12 based on its track record over the past three years, although it received no government funding. The institution has now been shut down for violations related to fee collection, and in light of the ongoing criminal investigation. Chennai, May 24 : Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthran on Saturday called on Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to foster a cooperative relationship with the Union government to ensure effective implementation of welfare schemes and secure essential funds for the state. Addressing the media in Chennai, Nagenthran made the remarks while responding to questions regarding Chief Minister Stalin's participation in the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog, held in New Delhi. "Last year, he [Stalin] did not attend the meeting. That was unfortunate and regrettable," Nagenthran said, referring to the Chief Minister's absence from the previous NITI Aayog council meet in 2024. "However, this year he has chosen to participate. It is a welcome move," he said. He emphasised that Stalin's decision to attend the meeting would be meaningful only if it translated into tangible outcomes for Tamil Nadu. "If the Chief Minister engages constructively with the Centre and brings home beneficial schemes, it will certainly be commendable. But that requires a cordial relationship with the Union government." Nagenthran further pointed out that political differences should not come in the way of administrative cooperation and the larger interest of the people. "Development must take precedence over party lines. Only through a harmonious relationship with the Centre can Tamil Nadu attract greater financial assistance and policy support," he noted. The 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a crucial forum where state governments present their developmental priorities and seek alignment with national objectives. This year's theme, "Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047," encourages states to develop long-term visions aligned with India's growth trajectory. MK Stalin's presence at the meeting comes after his boycott last year, citing the Union government's alleged neglect of Tamil Nadu's interests in the Union Budget. His participation this year signals a possible shift in approach towards greater engagement with the Centre. BJP leaders, including Nagenthran, have consistently maintained that cooperation between state and central governments is essential for achieving inclusive development and effective governance. Bhopal, May 24 : Madhya Pradesh Minister Vijay Shah's absence from public appearances and official meetings has prompted the Indore unit of Congress to launch a symbolic protest, putting up posters across the city of Indore declaring him missing and offering an appropriate reward to anyone who can locate him. For the past fortnight, Shah has been at the centre of controversy following his remarks about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had addressed the press during Operation Sindoor, a military action against terrorist camps in Pakistan. "We will continue protesting until the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) forces his resignation. This is our way of demonstrating against the fact that he has gone missing after an FIR was lodged against him. This situation is harmful to a democratic system," said Vivek Khandelwal, acting president of the District Congress Seva Dal, Indore unit, told IANS. The controversy began when Shah allegedly made derogatory comments about Colonel Qureshi, a respected officer in the Indian Army. His remarks sparked widespread outrage, leading to legal action and a Supreme Court-ordered investigation. During a public program, Shah reportedly called her the sister of terrorists, referencing the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Since an FIR was registered against him on May 15 at Manpura police station in Indore Rural, Shah has remained out of sight, skipping key government meetings, including a recent cabinet session in Indore. Congress leaders, including Vivek Khandelwal, have criticised the BJP-led state government for failing to take action against Shah. They argue that his disappearance reflects a failure of the state's home department and intelligence agencies. Despite calls from opposition leaders and even some within the ruling party for his removal, the government has not accepted his resignation. In response, Congress has intensified its protests, plastering posters at major intersections in Indore. The posters mockingly call for the search for the missing minister and promise a reward for his return. The party has vowed to continue its demonstrations until Shah steps down. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has appointed a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter, with a report expected soon. The case remains a focal point of political debate, with tensions running high as both sides await further developments. On Friday, Shah resurfaced on various media platforms through a video message, apologising to the public and stating that his remarks were a linguistic mistake in which he had used inappropriate words. The state Chief Minister, Mohan Yadav, had earlier clarified that the BJP will act following the court orders on the matter. New Delhi, May 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting of the NITI Aayog at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, with the participation of Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors from across the country. Lauding the initiative, JD-U National Spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan said, "This is a very important meeting. The PM's vision for 2047 focuses on how to bridge the development gaps between states. The imbalance arising from the unequal distribution of resources between backward and developed states is a major challenge. The Prime Minister will chair this meeting and give necessary directions." He further added that the presence of state leaders across party lines underscores the seriousness of the Centre's intent. Support for the PM's development vision also came from several BJP-ruled states, with officials highlighting schemes like PM Gati Shakti, Jal Jeevan Mission, and the push for digital infrastructure as examples of Centre-State synergy. However, the meeting wasn't without criticism. Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad raised concerns over the current role of NITI Aayog. "It's good that such meetings are happening, but earlier we had the Planning Commission. Now, NITI Aayog is being run by its own appointed officials. If a budget was shifted, a scheme shut down, or if there was corruption, the Planning Commission would issue a report. Look at the current reports of the CAG and NITI Aayog," she said. Congress leader Pawan Khera also questioned the credibility of long-term promises, stating, "Why are they talking about 2047 now? Every two to three years, they give a new date. They had promised to double farmers' income by 2022. It did not happen." The meeting, held under the theme of cooperative federalism, focused on India's long-term development roadmap and key strategies to accelerate inclusive growth toward the goal of a 'Viksit Bharat,' by 2047. This NITI Aayog meeting is also notable as the first major Centre-State engagement after India's successful Operation Sindoor, where the Indian Armed Forces neutralised nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, avenging the recent Pahalgam terror attack. Mumbai, May 24 : Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey on Saturday endorsed External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent remarks on terrorism, stating that Jaishankar's words reflect the collective voice of 140 crore Indians. EAM Jaishankar had asserted that India has zero tolerance for terrorism and will never succumb to nuclear blackmail, while referencing the cross-border links to the recent Pahalgam massacre. Anand Dubey told IANS: "Jaishankar is our Foreign Minister and an expert in diplomatic matters. If he says in Germany that India will not tolerate terrorism under any circumstances, that is not just his personal view it is the voice of the 140 crore people of this country. It is the shared sentiment of the Opposition, the Indian Army, and all citizens." Dubey added: "We will not bow down to threats from Pakistan, even if they repeatedly invoke their nuclear capability. Operation Sindoor is not over; it has merely been paused. When necessary, our armed forces will resume such operations and eliminate terrorist threats. Pakistan must change its behaviour and uphold peace. If it does not, we will alter their geography, this is the new India. This is an India that enters enemy homes to strike. If you speak to India with love, we will reciprocate. But if you send terrorists, we will respond even more forcefully." He emphasised that Jaishankar's statements represent national consensus. "Whether it is Germany or any other country, the world stands with us. We are the land of Buddha, but when required, we are also a country of valour and war," he said. Commenting on the NITI Aayog's 10th Governing Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dubey said the platform is a crucial mechanism for development and state-centred coordination. "NITI Aayog meetings are convened periodically and chaired by the Prime Minister. The Chief Ministers of most states attend, and alternative arrangements are made if someone is unavailable. The Aayog plays a vital role in discussing key developmental issues and fostering cooperation between the Centre and the states," he said. "If the Prime Minister is convening such a meeting, it is a positive step, and the states will benefit from the deliberations." Reacting to Congress's nationwide initiative to hold 'Jai Hind Sabha' from May 24 to May 31 in honour of the armed forces, Dubey said patriotism should transcend party lines. "This country belongs to everyone, not just the BJP. Every political party should engage in initiatives such as Tiranga Yatras or Jai Hind Sabhas. BJP is doing it, Congress is doing it and we will also participate. Every citizen and party has a role to play in taking the country forward," Dubey told IANS. He added, "Our army must be respected by all. We do not engage in symbolic politics like the BJP. We serve the country with genuine dedication. Whether it's a Jai Hind Sabha or a Tiranga Yatra, we welcome participation from all corners." Anand Dubey also voiced concern over the rising number of COVID-19 cases. "COVID-19 cases are increasing, and this is not the time for politics. The focus must be on public health. The BMC and state government must prioritise treatment, testing, masking, and social distancing. This is not just about governance it's about saving lives," he said. He praised the previous Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray. "Under Uddhav Thackeray's leadership, the previous government handled the pandemic effectively. Their efforts were recognised not just by the people but also by institutions like the Supreme Court and NITI Aayog. The current administration must issue clear guidelines, increase testing, and take immediate action to curb the spread." Dubey further commented on the recent incident where Pakistan denied emergency landing permission to an IndiGo flight, calling it a humanitarian failure. "Allowing emergency landings is a basic tenet of humanity, but we cannot expect such compassion from Pakistan. Hundreds of passengers were stranded onboard, and in a situation involving natural or medical emergencies, Pakistan should have allowed the flight to land safely. Fortunately, the passengers were unharmed," he said. He added, "If the situation were reversed, India would have helped Pakistan out of humanitarian concern. This reflects the unfortunate nature of our neighbouring country even during a crisis, they refuse to cooperate." Dubey reiterated that national interest, public health, and humanitarian values must rise above politics. "Whether it is the fight against terrorism, the handling of a pandemic, or a humanitarian crisis India must respond firmly, unitedly, and morally," he concluded. Kolkata, May 24 : Teachers who lost their jobs following a recent Supreme Court order in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment case have given a deadline to state Education Minister Bratya Basu to meet them and address their concerns. The aggrieved teachers, who identify as "untainted" or "genuine" candidates, have warned of intensified agitation if the Minister fails to respond by May 26. Speaking to the media on Saturday, members of the "Jogyo Shikshak-Shikshika Adhikar Mancha" (Genuine Teachers' Rights Forum) said they have made multiple appeals to both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Education Minister Bratya Basu but have yet to receive any response. "Despite being genuine candidates, we are facing the brunt of a corrupt recruitment process. We deserve to know what steps the government is taking, particularly regarding the review petition filed in the Supreme Court. If the Education Minister does not meet us by Monday, we will be compelled to launch a more aggressive protest," a forum representative said. The forum also plans to write to all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs from West Bengal, urging them to raise the issue of the affected teachers in Parliament. "We will approach MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties," the representative added. On April 3, a Supreme Court bench comprising then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order of the Calcutta High Court that annulled 25,753 school appointments made through the WBSSC. The apex court observed that the panel had to be scrapped entirely due to the authorities' failure to distinguish between "tainted" and "untainted" candidates. The state government and the WBSSC have since filed review petitions in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of the order. Bengaluru, May 24 : In response to a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that while there is a slight uptick in cases in the state and in Bengaluru, there is no cause for concern. Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Saturday, Minister Rao said, "There is nothing to be alarmed about. It's a very normal situation. There has been a slight increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. So far this year, we have reported 35 cases, with a slight rise over the last 15 days." He added that the state's Technical Advisory Committee had met recently to discuss the situation. "We have issued an advisory stating that those with severe respiratory illnesses, especially those in hospitals, should get tested for COVID-19." He further advised, "People who are on immunosuppressant drugs for various conditions, those with low immunity, pregnant women, and children should be a bit more cautious when visiting crowded places. Preferably, wear a mask in crowded areas. It not only helps in preventing COVID-19 but also other viral and bacterial infections. However, wearing masks is not compulsory. There are no travel bans or movement restrictions within the city or state," he clarified. Minister Rao reiterated that normal life can continue without fear. "Everything is normal, work, life, and routine activities. So far, 257 cases have been reported across the country, and importantly, none of them have shown serious symptoms. Only mild symptoms have been detected, so there is no need to panic. My appeal to the public is that COVID-19 is now endemic. The coronavirus has become part of our system, just like any other virus. At any given time, someone may have COVID-19. The real concern is whether a new or severe variant emerges," he added. The minister said that COVID-19 tests are mandatory only for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) cases. "Otherwise, standard guidelines apply: keep your hands clean, maintain hygiene. These measures are beneficial not just for COVID-19 but for preventing many other diseases as well." The Karnataka Health Department on Friday issued an advisory and said that a gradual increase is seen in terms of the spread of COVID-19 in Bengaluru in the last 20 days. Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 : While Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could not attend the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi on Saturday, he will now visit the national capital early next month to meet Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to discuss the grave issue of the now crumbling under-construction NH-66. His decision to travel to Delhi comes soon after the Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan demanded a thorough probe into the crumbling under-construction NH 66. "In 2011-2016, when the Palarivattom Bridge developed some cracks, Vijayan created a hue and cry, after which the IUML leader and then State PWD Minister ended up as accused in a vigilance case. Now, with the NH-66 crumbling in around 100 places, Vijayan is silent and has not said a word against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Centre," said Satheesan. "Ever since the NH 66 construction started, both Vijayan and State PWD Minister P. A. Mohammed Riyas were speaking from the rooftops about this NH 66 and claimed that if not for them, this would not have happened. Riyas was engaged in posting reels about how he has been closely following the progress and about the numerous meetings that were chaired by CM Vijayan to ensure the NH 66 works in full steam following all protocols," said Satheesan. "But after the first crack surfaced early this week, neither Vijayan nor Riyas have said anything. They were taking credit all the time, but now they say they have done no wrong. A detailed probe has to be announced," said Satheesan. Cracks have surfaced at several places in Thrissur, Malappuram and Kasargode, and the local population in these areas are up in arms. The Centre, by now, has appointed a three-member team led by former IIT Delhi professor K. R. Rao, who has been asked to submit a detailed report, while action has been taken against the Hyderabad-based KNR Constructions Limited, consultants to the project Highway Engineering Company and two top officials. On Thursday, the Kerala High Court asked the NHAI to give a detailed report on what happened and what is going to be the way forward. But the Vijayan government, which till Monday, claimed this was their pet project, has gone into a shell. New Delhi, May 24 : Reacting to Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's visit to J&K's Poonch district on Saturday, BJP National Spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said he (LoP) should have used the opportunity to honour the bravery of Indian soldiers. "Rahul Gandhi has gone to the border, he should be chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' there and applauding our soldiers. The Indian Army has broken Pakistan's back, destroyed nine of their terrorist camps, and eliminated over 100 terrorists," Hussain told IANS. LoP Rahul Gandhi visited several locations in Poonch affected by recent cross-border shelling from Pakistani troops. During his visit, he met families impacted by the violence and inspected damaged religious and educational institutions, including a gurdwara, a Hindu temple, a madrassa, and a Christian missionary school. His visit comes after recent tensions between India and Pakistan, with intermittent ceasefire violations reported in the region. LoP Rahul Gandhi's presence aimed to express solidarity with civilians who bore the brunt of the hostilities. However, the BJP has criticised the Congress leader's visit, suggesting that it lacked nationalistic messaging and failed to sufficiently recognise the efforts of the armed forces. Shahnawaz Hussain further referenced recent comments made by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his visit to Germany, where Jaishankar declared that "India will not bow down to nuclear blackmailing." Backing the statement, Hussain added, "Jaishankar has rightly said, we have to protect our people and also respond to terrorists. Pakistan has been clearly warned: if there is any terrorist activity, Operation Sindoor hasn't ended; it's only been suspended. The ceasefire is in place, but any provocation will be met with the same force as before." Hussain also took a dig at the Congress party's ongoing outreach campaign, 'Jai Hind Yatra', and accused the party of hypocrisy. "On one hand, Congress holds events like 'Jai Hind Sabha', and on the other, it questions the valour of the Indian Army. They earlier raised doubts about the surgical strike and the Balakot airstrike, and now they're questioning Operation Sindoor," he said. New Delhi, May 24 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's absence from the high-level NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sparked political speculation, with leaders from the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) calling it "unfortunate" and indicative of a deeper political message. The 10th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog was held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday. The meeting was attended by several Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors, and Administrators from across the country, and focused on development strategies under the theme 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat\@2047'. Speaking to IANS, Senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Tariq Anwar said, "Nitish Kumar's absence from the NITI Aayog meeting is significant. He is the Chief Minister in a double-engine government, and this meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Modi himself. His decision to skip it sends a major political message." RJD leader Manoj Jha also expressed concern, saying, "If the reports are true, then I consider it unfortunate. Bihar is neither in autopilot nor in pilot mode. We keep hearing daily about incidents of loot and murder. In such a situation, the Chief Minister not attending a key national development meeting is troubling. I don't even know who represented Bihar in his place." Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi addressed the NITI Aayog meeting with a call for collaborative development between the Centre and the states. He emphasised the need to build "future-ready cities" to keep pace with India's rapid urbanisation. "India is getting rapidly urbanised. We should work towards future-ready cities. Growth, innovation, and sustainability should be the engines of urban development," the Prime Minister said. Highlighting the theme of "Team India," PM Modi added, "We have to increase the speed of development. If the Centre and all States come together and work as a team, no goal is impossible." The Prime Minister also urged states to focus on tourism, suggesting that each state should develop at least one globally recognised tourist destination. "One State: One Global Destination should be our mantra. It will not only elevate that location but also lead to the development of surrounding areas," he said. Addressing gender inclusion, PM Modi called for policies that enhance the participation of women in the workforce. "We must ensure respectful integration of women in the workforce through progressive laws and policies," he stated. The NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting provides a platform for the Centre and states/UTs to deliberate on measures to advance the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 and build consensus on how states can be the building blocks for making India a developed nation. Kutch, May 24 : In a significant development amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, a man from Gujarat has been arrested for sharing sensitive information related to the Indian Navy and the Border Security Force (BSF) with a Pakistani agent, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials confirmed on Saturday. The accused, Sahdev Singh Gohil, a 28-year-old health worker and resident of Kachchh district, came under the scanner of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for his suspicious activities. According to senior ATS officer K. Siddharth, Gohil came into contact with a Pakistani agent who identified herself as Aditi Bharadwaj through WhatsApp in 2023. During an initial inquiry, it was discovered that Gohil had been sending photographs and videos of sensitive Indian Navy and BSF installations -- some completed and others under construction -- to the alleged agent. "We had information that he was sharing information related to the BSF and the Indian Navy with a Pakistani agent," Siddharth said. He further revealed that at the beginning of 2025, Gohil purchased a new SIM card using his Aadhaar credentials and activated WhatsApp on the number, which he used exclusively for communicating with the Pakistani agent. This activation was facilitated through an OTP (one-time password), after which all sensitive material was exchanged via the same number. "Forensic analysis revealed that the numbers Gohil used to share the information were operated from Pakistan," the ATS officer noted. As part of the transaction, Gohil reportedly received Rs 40,000 in cash from an unidentified individual, which authorities believe was in exchange for the classified content. Gohil's arrest is part of a wider crackdown, with more than ten individuals, including a YouTuber, a businessman, and a security guard, being apprehended in recent weeks for suspected espionage activities. These developments are unfolding in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed 26 lives and sharply escalated hostilities between the two nations. Authorities believe that such cases are part of a broader network of espionage attempts directed by Pakistan-based handlers to gather intelligence on India's critical security installations. The ATS has intensified surveillance and investigations, especially in sensitive regions near the border. New Delhi, May 24 : Amid reports of increasing cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus in India, data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), set up under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, showed the presence of NB.1.8.1, LF.7 -- descendants of JN.1 Covid variant in the country. Data from the INSACOG, a consortium of 64 laboratories to monitor genomic variations of Covid virus, showed one case of NB.1.8.1 and four instances of the LF.7 type. While NB.1.8.1 was identified in April in Tamil Nadu, four cases of LF.7 were detected in Gujarat in May. Currently, both LF.7 and NB.1.8 have been classified as Variants Under Monitoring (VUM) by the World Health Organization (WHO). A VUM is a term used to signal to public health authorities that a SARS-CoV-2 variant may require prioritised attention and monitoring. Besides India, these variants are also reportedly driving Covid cases in China and other parts of Asia. As of May 19, data from the Ministry of Health shows that India has had 257 active Covid cases. JN.1 is the common variant in circulation in India -- comprising 53 per cent of samples tested. It is followed by BA.2 (26 per cent) and other Omicron sublineages (20 per cent). According to WHO's preliminary risk assessment, NB.1.8.1 poses a low public health risk worldwide. Yet its spike protein mutations, such as A435S, V445H, and T478I, suggest increased transmissibility and immune evasion compared to other variants. Meanwhile, several states and cities in the country have reported a surge in cases. Maharashtra has reported 106 Covid cases, with Mumbai logging 95 so far in May. Haryana's Gurugram reported three cases, while Faridabad reported one. Tamil Nadu has also seen a recent increase, with 12 new cases reported in Puducherry. Karnataka has confirmed 16 active Covid cases, according to state health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. In Gujarat, seven cases were reported in a single day in Ahmedabad. The state currently has 15 active Covid cases. Delhi recorded 23 new cases, Andhra Pradesh reported four in the last 24 hours, Telangana confirmed one, and a nine-month-old in Bengaluru tested positive amid a gradual rise over the past 20 days. Kerala reported 273 cases in May alone. However, the health ministry has assured that the country has a robust system for surveillance of respiratory viral illnesses, including Covid also exists in the country through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and ICMR. Tokyo, May 24 : Members of the Indian diaspora in Japan have lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's decisive action against cross-border terrorism through Operation Sindoor, expressing pride in India's strong response to Pakistan-sponsored terror. The sentiments were voiced during a significant outreach event held at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo, where an all-party parliamentary delegation engaged with the diaspora, highlighting India's unified and assertive stance against terrorism. The delegation, led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, included BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi and Brij Lal, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid. They described Operation Sindoor as a "strategic shift" and the "new normal" in India's counter-terror doctrine, especially in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. Speaking to IANS, members of the diaspora welcomed the delegation's outreach and praised the government's action. "Until now, we always felt helpless whenever something was happening in India. But after Operation Sindoor, some pride has come. Some action from the government led by PM Modi actually made us very, very proud," said one attendee. "Operation Sindoor is a feeling of the heart. I have applied Sindoor to support them," said another member. One participant noted, "The name Operation Sindoor is very apt and correct. We appreciate the action taken by our Indian armed forces." Others echoed similar views, emphasising the importance of national stability. "India, being the fourth largest economy, needs political stability. Any attempt to destabilise our country will not be tolerated. This Operation Sindoor sent a clear message that India has a zero tolerance policy for terrorism," said a member of the diaspora. Praising the Prime Minister's leadership, another attendee remarked, "PM Modi handled everything perfectly. We are very happy that India emerged as a strong country." He also criticised Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, saying, "He rarely says anything good; he always speaks like this, so there's no surprise in it." A diaspora member summed up the collective sentiment: "That's a great thing done by our Prime Minister and the entire nation. I'm intrigued, and I like the word Sindoor. It has a lot of significance in our country." "The aim is to help the diaspora understand the reality of the continuous terror threats we face. Many living abroad may not fully grasp the situation, and it's vital to make the international community aware of Pakistan's direct involvement through its government and army in such acts," Jha told the gathering. The Indian Embassy stated that the delegation clearly outlined Pakistan's role in the Pahalgam terror attack and how India responded by destroying nine high-value terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "They emphasised India's zero tolerance for terrorism and conveyed the firm message that talks and terror cannot coexist. Blood and water cannot flow together," the Embassy posted on X. Showing photos of Pakistan giving state funerals to the neutralised terrorists, Jha exposed what he called "the real face" of the rogue state. He also pointed out the contrast between India's global rise as the fourth-largest economy and Pakistan's ongoing instability. "I visited Srinagar, which thrives on tourism. After the terror attack, the local community has suffered immensely," he said. A moment of silence was held in memory of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, with the Embassy affirming that the visit concluded on a solemn but united note. New Delhi, May 24 : Showering praise on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday showcased Andhra Pradesh's reforms and growth story at the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting, an official said. "All states should examine and study the reforms of Andhra Pradesh. There could be a lot of inputs in the blueprint for growth projected by CM Naidu for other states also," the PM was quoted as having said at the meeting. The Andhra Pradesh official said, in a statement, that while addressing the meeting, the Chief Minister paid tribute to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, and lauded the Armed Forces' success in Operation Sindoor. He also commended PM Modi's strong leadership during the crisis, emphasising India's resilience and self-reliance. Commending PM Modi's leadership for the economy's progress from the world's 10th to 4th, CM Naidu acknowledged transformative reforms like Digital India, GST, Startup India, PM Gati Shakti, and Jal Jeevan Mission, which have redefined India's development landscape. He noted that having the right leader at the right time has been crucial in steering the nation toward its ambitious goals in the right direction. The meeting's core focus was on the theme "Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047," aiming to build a prosperous, inclusive, and future-ready India by its centenary. The Council deliberated on accelerating entrepreneurship, employment, and skill development, transforming Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities into growth hubs, and reviewed key outcomes and decisions to reinforce cooperative federalism and collective progress toward national development, said an aide of CM Naidu. CM Naidu also highlighted that under its Swarna Andhra @2047 vision, Andhra Pradesh aims to achieve Zero Poverty by 2029 through the innovative P4 model, which unites government, private sector, and citizen efforts to support vulnerable families and promote economic upliftment. The Chief Minister proposed forming three focused sub-groups of States, in collaboration with the Union Government and NITI Aayog, to fast-track progress toward Viksit Bharat @2047. The first sub-group on GDP growth aims to boost investments, manufacturing, exports, and job creation, supported by central Viability Gap Funding for PPP projects. The second sub-group on population management will help India leverage its demographic advantage while preparing for future challenges like ageing and low fertility. The third sub-group will focus on technology-driven governance, utilising AI, quantum computing, drones, and digital platforms for real-time, citizen-centric administration. Mumbai, May 24 : Shiv Sena leader Krishna Hegde on Saturday extended strong support to External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar's recent remarks on terrorism, stating that his statements echo the sentiments of 140 crore Indians. Hegde emphasised that the Shiv Sena fully agrees with Jaishankar's stand and stands firmly behind him. EAM Jaishankar, while speaking in Germany, reaffirmed India's unwavering stance against terrorism, asserting that the country maintains a policy of zero tolerance and will never yield to nuclear blackmail. He also referred to cross-border links to the recent Pahalgam massacre. Speaking to IANS, Krishna Hegde said, "The statement made by EAM Jaishankar in Germany is absolutely correct. Any steps concerning Pakistan must be taken with careful consideration. During Operation Sindoor, India acted in self-defence, targeting an area where two to three hundred terrorists and their families were based. This location served as a hub for terrorist activity and training. India did not initiate a war but exercised its right to self-defence, which is a sovereign right of every nation. Shiv Sena fully supports the EAM's remark." Hegde further commented on the recent turbulence experienced by an IndiGo flight. "The pilot and crew of IndiGo Airlines deserve praise for saving the lives of all passengers under extremely challenging conditions. Even during turbulence, snow was reportedly falling on the aircraft, yet they remained courageous. It is shameful that Pakistan did not allow the civilian flight to make an emergency landing. Such inhumane behaviour must be condemned, and action should be taken. Pakistan is still reeling from the damage inflicted on its airbase by India and has taken this step out of fear," he added. Further speaking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairing the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, Hegde said, "The Prime Minister's leadership in chairing the NITI Aayog meeting is commendable. NITI Aayog plays a crucial role in reviewing and evaluating the government's ongoing initiatives aimed at benefiting the poor, farmers, women, and youth. It is vital to assess these schemes and identify future steps for the nation's progress. Discussions around expanding infrastructure and boosting development are essential. The Prime Minister's active involvement in these matters is a positive sign for the country." Addressing Congress' 'Jai Hind Sabha' planned across the country from May 24 to May 31, Hegde criticised the party's earlier stance. "The statements made by Congress leaders prior to Operation Sindoor were unfortunate. Even after the operation, leaders like Imran Masood, Ajay Rai, and Pawan Khera appeared to side with Pakistan and belittled the Indian Army's efforts. The 'Jai Hind Sabha' they are now organising is nothing more than a publicity stunt. If they genuinely cared about national interest, they would have supported the government and the armed forces. Their actions are a facade, and the public has seen through it," he concluded. Mansa : , May 24 (IANS) A major accident was narrowly avoided near Mansa in Punjab after an object was found obstructing the railway track. The incident occurred when train number 12137, the Punjab Mail, en route from Delhi to Firozpur, was forced to stop near kilometre mark 245/01, close to the Mansa railway station. According to officials, someone had deliberately placed an iron cot (charpai) across the railway track during the night. The alertness and quick action of the trainas loco pilot averted a potential disaster, as the train was brought to a halt just in time. The obstruction due to a cot was detected before the train could run over it. That's how possible derailment or major damage was prevented. The Government Railway Police (GRP) without losing a minute launched an investigation and scanned CCTV footage from the nearby area. The search and hunt operations by police team led them to a local resident, who was identified as Lali. He was subsequently arrested. The initial findings indicate that the suspect may have been planning to cause a serious accident. Police said that further investigations are being carried out to determine his motive. DSP Jagmohan Singh from GRP Bathinda confirmed the arrest and stated: "Thanks to the alertness of the train driver, a major mishap was prevented. Based on CCTV footage and intelligence inputs, we have arrested a man named Lali. He appears to have placed the cot with an intent to cause disruption or harm. Questioning with the suspect and other related individuals are underway." The incident has raised serious concerns regarding railway safety and the security of tracks, especially in rural and less monitored areas. Authorities have assured that surveillance will be increased, and patrols will be intensified to prevent similar incidents in the future. Meanwhile, train services were briefly delayed but resumed shortly after the obstruction was cleared. No injuries or damage were reported. Islamabad/New Delhi, May 24 : Rattled and pushed on the back foot by the diplomatic and political blitzkrieg launched by India's Operation Sindoor outreach missions, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will begin a six-day "diplomatic tour" to four "friendly nations" of Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan on Sunday even as the Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led delegation - entrusted with presenting "Islamabad's case to the world" - is still cooling heels at home. From Tokyo and Moscow to Abu Dhabi, Guyana and beyond, the seven all-party delegations from India are currently visiting key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, exposing Pakistan and the global terror outfits operating from its soil besides carrying forth to the world New Delhi's strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism. New Delhi's massive exercise is giving sleepless nights to the Pakistani establishment as several countries - including Russia, Japan and the UAE - have not only severely condemned the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack but also expressed full support for India's resolve to counter cross border terrorism. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar jolted Pakistan further during his official six-day visit to the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany where he met the top leadership of the three countries and held discussions with his counterparts as India bolstered its outreach to Europe. After having been cut to size by the Indian military during Operation Sindoor and failing massively in optics too, Islamabad had announced that a delegation led by Bilawal Bhutto will tour various countries to "communicate Pakistan's perspective robustly". This was labelled as the third 'copycat' move by Islamabad after making a failed attempt to imitate India's highly-successful and well-conducted press briefings on Operation Sindoor and Shehbaz Sharif visiting Army cantonment in Sialkot less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's open and heartfelt conversation with the soldiers at Adampur Air Base post the success of Operation Sindoor. While the Indian leaders are crisscrossing the globe and debunking Pakistan's misinformation campaign with elaborate proofs, Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir - mocked and trolled even by Pakistanis, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, for being promoted to the rank of a Field Marshal in spite of the humiliating defeat in Operation Sindoor - are now forced to make desperate moves. Analysts believe that Sharif's sudden decision to undertake a four-nation trip shows that Pakistan, having only a handful of 'all-weather' friends, is getting cornered. Interestingly, Sharif went into a huddle with Bilawal Bhutto, who is also the Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), on Friday in a meeting called to discuss Pakistan's diplomatic response to India's highly-successful outreach missions. Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar and Senator Sherry Rehman - who will be part of the delegation led by Bhutto - were also present during the meeting along with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik, Political Affairs Advisor Rana Sanaullah and other officials. It was once again asserted during the meeting that the delegation will present Pakistan's stance and narrative to the world "in a robust and effective manner". However, even the Pakistanis now believe - especially after watching the scale, enormity and success of Indian outreach delegations - that Islamabad's exercise could well end up as a case of "too little, too late". Dhaka, May 24 : In growing political turmoil in Bangladesh, the newly-formed National Citizen Party (NCP) on Saturday demanded that the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus announce a clear roadmap for upcoming national elections. Additionally, the party called for the immediate declaration of the July manifesto and the trial of the July mass killing, local media reported. "A clear roadmap on justice, reforms, and elections is essential. That way, the uncertainties and confusions in the minds of the people and political parties will be dispelled," NCP Convenor Nahid Islam said addressing a press conference in Dhaka. "The Chief Advisor had promised fundamental reforms and justice before holding elections. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with movements like the one at Jamuna and stated he did not want to remain in his position unless a controlled election could be ensured," he added. The NCP also distanced itself from two student advisors serving in the interim government - Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan whose resignation is being demanded by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), stating that the interim government should uphold its neutrality by removing them. "There is no connection between the NCP and the two student advisors. We strongly condemn the propaganda that attempts to equate the advisors with our party," Nahid stated. In a separate development, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islam leaders will hold meetings with Yunus at his official residence Jamuna, on Saturday evening, as confirmed by the Chief Advisor's press wing. Reports suggest that the meetings are conducted as part of efforts to defuse political tensions. "We have been invited by the Chief Advisor's office to hold a meeting over the latest political situation," Bangladeshi media outlet UNB quoted a BNP standing committee member as saying. The BNP leader further said that they would request Yunus to announce a roadmap for the election within 2025, and complete the reform process as soon as possible. Meanwhile, speaking to a television channel, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said that the BNP did not demand the resignation of Yunus, rather sought only the resignation of some controversial advisors. "We asked for a roadmap for the national elections by December. If he chooses to resign instead of giving a roadmap, that can be his own decision. But we did not ask for his resignation," he further said. Earlier on Friday, in a protest rally, the BNP stated that the delay in holding national elections by the interim government led by Yunus is leading to growing political tension and instability in the country. Local media reported that Yunus expressed anger and frustration at the prevailing situation in the country during a regular meeting of the Advisory Council held on Thursday. He also admitted his inability to function effectively and wished to step down. Bangladesh has been gripped with protests, political differences, and increasing incidents of crime and violence since the Yunus-led interim government assumed power, last August. Parties like the BNP had been repeatedly warning of street protests if the interim government fails to provide an electoral road map. Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman also stated that the next national election should be held by December and an elected government should be in power by January 1, 2026 after concluding "free and fair" polls, following which the army will return to the barracks. New Delhi, May 24 : Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday clarified that Punjab has no surplus water for any state, including Haryana, owing to the water crisis. Taking part in the meeting of the 10th Governing Council of the NITI Aayog here, the Chief Minister said in the wake of the grim situation of water in the state, the Yamuna-Sutlej-Link (YSL) canal should be considered for construction instead of the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. Mann said the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers are already in deficit, and water should be diverted from surplus to deficit basins. He said Punjab has repeatedly requested to be included in negotiations for the allocation of Yamuna waters, as a pact for the Yamuna-Sutlej Link project was signed between the erstwhile Punjab and Uttar Pradesh on March 12, 1954, which entitled the erstwhile Punjab to two-thirds of the Yamuna waters. The Chief Minister said this agreement did not specify any particular area to be irrigated by Yamuna waters, adding that before the reorganisation, the Yamuna, like the Ravi and the Beas, flowed through the erstwhile state of Punjab. However, he said while apportioning the river waters between Punjab and Haryana, the Yamuna waters were not considered, whereas the waters of the Ravi and the Beas were duly taken into account. Citing a 1972 report by the Irrigation Commission, constituted by the Government of India, Mann said it states that Punjab (post-1966, after its reorganisation) falls within the Yamuna river basin. Therefore, the Chief Minister said that if Haryana has a claim over the waters of the Ravi and the Beas, Punjab should also have an equal claim on the Yamuna waters. He said these requests have been ignored, adding that due to the non-construction of a storage structure on the Yamuna, water is going to waste. Therefore, Mann pleaded that Punjabas claim should be considered during the revision of this agreement, and Punjab should be given its due rights to Yamuna waters. Raising the issue of bias approach of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the Chief Minister said the board was constituted under the provisions of the Punjab Reorganization Act of 1966 with the mandate to regulate the supply of water and power from the Bhakra, Nangal and Beas projects to the partner states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh. Mann said that in the past, Punjab has been very liberal in sharing water with the partner states to meet their drinking water and other genuine requirements, as Punjab was relying upon its groundwater reserves to meet its demand for water, particularly for the paddy crop. He said that as a result, the groundwater level has depleted to a huge extent, so much so that 115 blocks out of 153 blocks of Punjab (76.10 per cent) are over-exploited, adding this percentage is the highest amongst all the states in the country. The Chief Minister said now with the upgraded canal structure, Punjab itself is running short of its water requirement, and even its water share in the river waters is not sufficient to meet these requirements. Despite repeated requests, he said the BBMB did not take any action to advise the other partner states to regulate the release of water to Haryana, and as a result, it exhausted its share by March 30. Mann said, considering the request of the government of Haryana on humanitarian grounds, the state decided to release 4,000 cusecs of water out of Punjabas share to meet its drinking water requirement, though Haryana has only a genuine demand of 1,700 cusecs of water. However, the Chief Minister said the BBMB ignored the interest of Punjab and decided to release 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana despite serious objections raised by Punjab. He said this is against the spirit and provisions of the law, as the BBMB has taken this decision of taking Punjabas water against its consent, adding that the BBMB should be advised to restrain itself and act as per the provisions of law. Tokyo, May 24 : The Indian all-party parliamentary delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha on Saturday departed Japan for South Korea following their successful and productive visit to the country during which the delegates reaffirmed India's resolute stance of zero tolerance for terrorism post April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The delegation is part of India's global diplomatic outreach campaign to highlight the significance of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism. "All-Party Parliamentary Delegation, led by MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, departs Japan for the Republic of Korea on successful completion of their Japan Mission. India's unwavering commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms was reaffirmed in unequivocal terms. India has zero tolerance for terrorism as clearly demonstrated in Operation Sindoor. Water and blood cannot flow together; talks and terror cannot go together," the Embassy of India in Japan posted on X. Earlier in the day, the delegation interacted with the Indian community in Japan, emphasising India's policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and highlighting the important role of the diaspora in conveying this message across Japan. The delegation had commenced its Japan visit by paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. As the visit concluded, the Indian delegates paid homage to Rash Behari Bose, freedom fighter and national hero, at Tama Cemetery in Tokyo on the eve of his birth anniversary. The delegation also includes BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi and Brij Lal, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Barittas, and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid. The visit marked the beginning of India's unprecedented diplomatic campaign to expose Pakistan's sustained role in cross-border terrorism, including the heinous April 22 Pahalgam attack. "During their three day visit to Japan, the delegation held constructive meetings and interactions with a range of stakeholders from government, media and academia. In these engagements, Sanjay Kumar Jha emphasised that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is committed to ensuring safety and security of every Indian and working with the international community to fight the scourge of cross-border terrorism," read a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Japan. "In each of the meetings, Jha conveyed that the terrorist attack in Pahalgam was a nefarious attempt to disturb development and peace in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Through Operation Sindoor, India responded to the attack in a precise, targeted, proportionate and non-escalatory manner. He underlined India's policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and of making no distinction between terrorists and those who support them," the statement added. Furthermore, the Indian Embassy stated that Jha emphasised combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is a national priority for India. He also conveyed that there can be no neutral voice in the fight against terrorism. He sought Japan's support in effectively and expeditiously bringing the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice. Japanese political leadership conveyed their support to India's fight against terrorism and emphasised the need to hold the perpetrators of such acts accountable. New Delhi, May 24 : In an anti-drugs operation near Delhi University's North Campus, a medicine shop owner, a medical representative and three others were arrested for supplying pharmaceutical drugs without any bill or prescription, a Delhi Police official said on Saturday. New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) In an anti-drugs operation near Delhi Universityas North Campus, a medicine shop owner, a medical representative and three others were arrested for supplying pharmaceutical drugs without any bill or prescription, a Delhi Police official said on Saturday. Apoorva Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anti-Narcotics Task Force (Crime) said 2,360 capsules of Tramadol, 135 bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup and five mobile phones were seized from the accused. The accused were identified as Manish Bhatle (26), Devender (57), Nikhil alias Gunnu (28), Ankit Gupta (40) and Kapil (28). According to an FIR registered on May 12, the racket was unearthed with the arrest of Manish Bhatle, a resident of Sabzi Mandi Ghantaghar, Malka Ganj, from University road, near Shri Ram Institute. At the time of arrest, he was holding two plastic sacks in his both hands, said DCP Gupta. One plastic sack contained 10 boxes of capsules (Dicyclomine HCI, Tramadol HCI, and Acetaminophen) totalling 2,360 capsules (118 grams) and another plastic sack contained 120 bottles of 100 ml codeine-based syrup (24 gm codeine), she said. He did not have any bill or prescription and could not provide any explanation about the source of the drugs, the police said. Drug inspector Dr. Swapnil Patil, who was accompanying the ANTF team, confirmed that not carrying bills with the recovered pharmaceutical drugs bills or prescription was illegal as per NDPS Act, the police said. After Manish Bhatleas questioning, the police arrested medical store owner Devender and Nikhil, the police said. Their questioning led investigators to Ankit Gupta, owner of wholesale shop of medicine, Ravi Medicare, the police said. Medical Representative Kapil was the last person to be arrested in the case on May 15 from Veena Enclave, Nangloi, the police said. Kapil disclosed that these drugs were provided to him by Rakesh, a resident of Udhyog Nagar, Delhi, who is still absconding, the police said. The entire operation was closely supervised by Devesh Chandra Srivastva, Special Commissioner of Police, Crime; Surender Singh, Joint CP, Crime, and Mangesh Kashyap, Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime. New Delhi, May 24 : Power major NTPC Ltd on Saturday reported a 22.6 per cent sequential surge in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,778 crore in Q4 FY25. The revenue stood at Rs 43,903.7 crore, up 6 per cent from Rs 41,368 crore in the third quarter (Q3). NTPC, which operates under the Ministry of Power, is Indiaas largest power generation company. The company also informed that the Board has approved a final dividend of Rs 3.35 per share for its investors. This is in addition to the two interim dividends of Rs 2.5 per share each paid in November and February. On year-on-year basis, the state-run power major reported a 4 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 5,778 crore for the March quarter, compared to Rs 5,556.4 crore in the same period last year. The shares of the company ended nearly a per cent in the green on Friday. Earlier this week, NTPC Green Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state-run power giant NTPC, announced that its consolidated net profit nearly tripled in Q4 FY25, rising by 188 per cent to Rs 233.21 crore compared to Rs 80.95 crore in the same quarter last fiscal (Q4 FY24). Compared to the previous quarter, the profit soared by an even higher 255 per cent from Rs 65.61 crore in December 2024 (Q3), according to its stock exchange filing. The companyas consolidated revenue from operations also showed strong growth. It increased by 22.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) from Rs 508.14 crore in the March 2024 quarter to Rs 622.27 crore in the quarter under review (Q4 FY25). NTPC Green Energy is a company focused on renewable energy projects, pursuing growth through both organic development and acquisitions. As of March 2025, the government held an 89.01 per cent stake in the firm. New Delhi, May 24 : Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren raised the issue of Rs 1.4 lakh crore in pending mining dues from central government-run companies during the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. Highlighting the state's entitlement, Soren said, "An amount of Rs 1,40,435 crore is owed to Jharkhand by companies operating under the Central Government for mining on state land. The timely release of this amount would significantly accelerate developmental and welfare initiatives in the state." The Chief Minister also called for amendments to the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, advocating that land used for mining be returned to the state once operations cease. He emphasised the need to fix accountability of mining companies for unauthorised extraction, noting the adverse environmental and social impact, including pollution and displacement. "Jharkhand is rich in coal and critical minerals, but mining has brought along serious concerns. These issues must be addressed with proactive measures," he added. Leading the state delegation, Soren made several suggestions to support the Centre's 'Viksit Bharat 2047' vision. He said the journey to a developed India must begin with 'Viksit Rajya' and should also include the concept of 'Viksit Gaon'. He highlighted the state's efforts in poverty alleviation, women's empowerment, youth skill development, agricultural advancement, education, infrastructure, and technological growth. One key initiative, he noted, was the state's economic empowerment scheme for women, under which around 50 lakh women are receiving Rs 2,500 per month. Referring to Jharkhand's coal-bed methane reserves, Soren stressed the need for large-scale energy initiatives and recommended that mining companies be mandated to establish captive plants in the state. He also proposed a rule requiring 30 per cent of mineral output to be used within Jharkhand to boost local employment. He urged the Centre to develop the Sahibganj district as a cargo hub, citing its strategic location for Jharkhand and neighbouring states. He also recommended setting up a dedicated industrial mining corridor, building a new bridge or high-level dam over the Ganga in Sahibganj, and increasing connectivity and infrastructure. On the issue of Naxalism, Soren pointed out that while 16 districts were affected in 2014, the number has now reduced to just two -- West Singhbhum and Latehar. However, he requested continued special central assistance for all previously affected districts to ensure lasting peace and development. Chandigarh, May 24 : Sixteen out of the 27 people who died due to consumption of illicit liquor in Amritsar belong to the Dalit community, said Punjab BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha President S.R. Ladhar here on Saturday. Taking cognisance of this month's deaths of 27 people due to poisonous liquor made from methanol in the Majitha area, the morcha has demanded intervention of the National Scheduled Caste Commission for justice to the victims. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, ministers, MLAs, MPs and government officials who accompanied him to the spot should clarify why they hid this fact, asked former IAS officer Ladhar. He said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has not registered a case under the Prevention of Atrocities Act of 1989 against the accused who are enjoying political patronage. "This shows the indifferent attitude of the Bhagwant Mann government. Why should we not believe that this indicates the anti-Dalit mentality of the Aam Aadmi Party government? The BJP will not allow such intentions of the government to succeed," he said. He demanded a CBI probe into the incident of consumption of poisonous liquor in the past three years and said the government was trying to hide facts. Another leader, Paramjit Singh Kainth, who's the Vice-President of the morcha, said the incidents of consumption of illicit liquor have increased. He highlighted the incidents of consumption of poisonous liquor in Punjab, including the Amritsar incident and last year's incident in Sangrur, in which 20 people died. Most of the victims belong to the Scheduled Castes. While the incidents of consumption of poisonous liquor in Punjab are wreaking havoc on poor families, the AAP government is adopting a policy of evading the serious cases by calling them a matter of investigation, he said. He said the investigation report of the Sangrur case should be made public as the incident pertains to Chief Minister Mann's home district and Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema's constituency, Dirba. Kainth alleged the government has failed to take effective action against the liquor mafia and demanded that the Governor should order a probe into the incidents of consumption of spurious liquor to expose the liquor mafia. In 2020, 121 people had died after consuming spurious liquor in similar incidents in Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts. New Delhi, May 24 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog held in New Delhi on Saturday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the meeting, CM Dhami highlighted the serious issue of drainage systems in rapidly urbanising regions of Uttarakhand and urged the Centre to develop a sustainable national drainage policy to address this growing challenge. He requested that "lift irrigation" be included under the guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), citing the unique geographical conditions of Uttarakhand, where only 10 per cent of the mountainous terrain is currently irrigated. He also stressed the need to link glacier-fed rivers with rain-fed rivers through the aRiver Linking Projecta and emphasised the construction of check dams and small reservoirs to conserve rainwater. The Chief Minister mentioned two major upcoming religious events a" the aMaa Nanda Raj Jat Yatraa in 2026 and the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar in 2027 a" and sought support from the Centre to organise them in a grand and divine manner. Stressing the importance of leveraging Indiaas demographic dividend, CM Dhami said the next 10 years are crucial for the state. The Uttarakhand government is working actively to promote self-employment to make the most of this opportunity. He pointed out that while the primary sector contributes only 9.3 per cent to the state's GDP, around 45 per cent of the population is dependent on it. To address this, the government has initiated various high-value agriculture missions like the Apple Mission, Kiwi Mission, Dragon Fruit Mission, Millets Mission, and Aromatic Agriculture Promotion. CM Dhami noted that under PM Modi's strong leadership, India is progressing rapidly towards becoming a developed and self-reliant nation by 2047. The Uttarakhand government is committed to this goal, ensuring sound financial management and discipline. The state's economy has grown approximately 1.5 times over the past three years. In the NITI Aayog SDG Index for 2023-24, Uttarakhand secured the top rank, and it also secured the second position in the CARE Ratings report among small states for good governance and financial management. The state has implemented a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and provided over 23,000 government jobs to youth in the last 3.5 years. He also highlighted the successful hosting of the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand, themed as aGreen Gamesa, in alignment with the PMas Net Zero vision. Over 4,000 medals were made using recycled electronic waste. To promote tourism, the state has launched a comprehensive policy focused on adventure tourism, eco-tourism, and high-end tourism, with groundwork already in progress. Mumbai, May 24 : All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) national spokesperson Waris Pathan on Saturday expressed strong support for the Government of India's Operation Sindoor and welcomed the recent global diplomatic outreach by the all-party Indian parliamentary delegation. He emphasised that AIMIM and its leader, Asaduddin Owaisi, stand firmly with the government in the fight to eliminate terrorism. Speaking to IANS, Waris Pathan said, "When the first all-party meeting was held, our party President Asaduddin Owaisi clearly stated that we stand with the government. Any steps taken to target and eliminate terrorists in Pakistan have our full support. We have always stood by our soldiers and will continue to do so. I salute our brave Indian soldiers who entered Pakistan and destroyed terrorist camps. On the first day of the operation, nine camps were destroyed within 25 minutes, and over a hundred terrorists were neutralised. This is a significant achievement, and I am confident that the remaining terrorists will also be eliminated in the coming days." He welcomed the diplomatic outreach 'Operation Sindoor' currently underway, saying, "The delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, with participation from our president Owaisi, has embarked on a diplomatic mission to expose Pakistan's support for terrorism. After visiting Bahrain, the team will also travel to Saudi Arabia and Algeria. It is critical that the world understands the role Pakistan has played in fostering terrorism. We have suffered tremendouslywhether it was the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the Parliament attack, Pulwama, or most recently the horrific incident in Pahalgam." Pathan strongly condemned the recent attack in Pahalgam, where terrorists targeted innocent tourists. "The terrorists, backed by Pakistan, asked people about their religion before killing them in front of their children. This level of brutality is beyond horrifying. Their goal is to create division among Hindus and Muslims and destabilise our nation. It's crucial for the world to see the extent of Pakistan's support for terrorism and the global threat posed by these terror organisations," he added. Pathan also responded to AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi's remark regarding the proposed Waqf legislation, claiming that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) could misuse its provisions to dispute mosque ownership. "The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has already stated that this law, passed by the Modi government, is unconstitutional. It violates Articles 14, 15, 16, and 29 of the Constitution. We strongly oppose this 'black law' and support the nationwide protests organised by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and our party. Protests, rallies, and awareness campaigns are ongoing, and people are being informed of the serious implications of this law." He referred to recent protest initiatives, including the "Batti Gul" campaign, where citizens across the country switched off lights for 15 minutes in protest. "This campaign was successful nationwide and sent a strong message to Delhi. On the 25th, we will form a human chain, symbolising unity and resistance. This peaceful protest will demonstrate that not only the Muslim community, but also our Hindu brothers, oppose this unconstitutional law. The government must immediately withdraw it." Pathan condemned Pakistan's refusal to allow an IndiGo Delhi-Srinagar flight to use its airspace during turbulence, jeopardising the safety of over 200 passengers. "Pakistan showed a complete lack of humanity by denying access to its airspace even in an emergency. When lives are at risk, politics should not take precedence over basic human decency. This shameful act proves once again that humanity has no place in Pakistan's decisions," he concluded. Bhopal, May 24 : Riding high on the success of the recent agricultural summit in Mandsaur district, the Madhya Pradesh government is going to organise an agri summit on Sunday in Narsinghpur. The government will showcase cutting-edge farming equipment, innovative cultivation techniques, advanced high-yield seed varieties, and insights into the potential of modern food processing. "Industry and farmers will come close on a platform, on increasing agricultural productivity and maximizing farmers' profits through value-added production strategies," said Kailash Vijayvargiya, Urban development minister, said. As part of its vision for 2025, which has been designated as the year of industry and employment, the state is organising these "Krishi Udyog Samagam". The event will be inaugurated by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, with Governor Mangubhai Patel, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav, and ministers. Krishi Udyog Samagam 2025 is being convened to foster the growth of agriculture-based industries in Madhya Pradesh, attract investments in food processing, and create better market opportunities for farmers. "This gathering will facilitate discussions among industrialists, farmer producer organizations, and policymakers, encouraging collaboration and policy development. Additionally, the event will see the foundation stone laying for new industrial units, inaugurations of various projects, and the distribution of land allotment documents to industrialists," the minister said. The state government remains steadfast in its commitment to boosting farmers' incomes and making agriculture a profitable venture, he said. The Krishi Udyog Sammelan offer information on cutting-edge farming techniques, food processing, horticulture, and animal husbandry. Madhya Pradesh has been recognised by Niti Aayog as India's fastest-developing state, advancing at an impressive rate. The summit aims to empower farmers by equipping them with knowledge on innovative farming practices, new high-yield seed varieties, and strategies to achieve self-sufficiency in electricity production. Efforts are also underway to introduce district-wise horticultural crop mapping and cultivate horticulture zones on vacant government-owned lands, including university campuses. Officials suggest that nurseries could be developed under a Public-Private Partnership model, alongside district-level workshops and fairs that bring farmers and entrepreneurs closer to industry best practices. Recognising the importance of agricultural innovation, the state is considering hosting a horticulture and food processing summit, similar to the Global Investors Summit conducted earlier this year for the manufacturing sector. Following these agricultural gatherings, a specialised horticulture conclave focusing on medicinal agriculture is planned for Neemuch and Mandsaur. Aden, May 24 : US drone strikes overnight targetted a suspected al-Qaeda hideout in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, killing at least six people, a Yemeni military official told Xinhua news agency on Saturday. The strikes hit the mountainous Marakisha area in eastern Abyan late Friday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. All those killed were believed to be members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemen-based branch of the militant network. The operation was carried out in coordination with Yemeni government forces, the official added. The targetted site had reportedly served as a launch point for attacks against government forces and recent bombing operations in the province, according to the source. However, conflicting accounts have emerged. A local tribal leader confirmed two overnight drone strikes but claimed they targetted tribal elements not affiliated with the AQAP. There has been no official statement from the AQAP regarding the incident. Abyan has been a key battleground in Yemen's counter-terrorism efforts since late 2022. Forces from the pro-government Southern Transitional Council, backed by government troops, have sought to root out AQAP fighters entrenched in remote areas. Government officials say the group continues to operate active cells in the region, often targeting security personnel with improvised explosive devices. Yemen's long-running civil war, which began in 2014 when Houthi group seized the capital Sanaa, has allowed extremist groups like the AQAP to exploit the power vacuum. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according to United Nations estimates. Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 : The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) on Saturday has sent out a warning that the Indian Coast Guard authorities have informed about a spillover of hazardous materials from a ship in the deep sea off the Kerala coast, an official said on Saturday. Notably, a container ship capsized while sailing towards Kochi. The incident took place on Saturday about 38 nautical miles (around 70 km) off Kochi Coast when the ship with a Liberian flag was on its way from Vizhinjam to Kochi. The ship was expected to reach Kochi by Saturday evening. The ship was carrying marine gas oil and very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) capsized and due to it about 10 containers containing these oil got thrown into the sea. The VLSFO is a marine fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5 per cent (mass). This type of fuel is crucial for compliance with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) 2020 regulations Speaking to the media persons, the member secretary of the KSDMA Sekhar Kuriakose said he was informed of the capsize by the Coast Guard. "Soon I got in touch with our state authorities and I was asked to report this to the media. The warning is none should touch this oil spill in case if it touches the coast line of our state," said Kuriakose. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) is a statutory non-autonomous body under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Kerala. Meanwhile, reports also suggested that of the 24 crew members, nine officials of the ship has been rescued, while the Coast Guard rescue operations were underway. The ship was supposed to touch the Cochin Port later in the day when the accident happened. More details regarding the capsize and the container ship are awaited. Beirut, May 24 : Lebanon is moving forward with municipal elections in its conflict-ravaged south on Saturday, pressing ahead despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes, widespread displacement, and severe logistical challenges. The vote is held in the governorates of South Lebanon and Nabatieh, even as large parts of the border region remain under sporadic fire. Tens of thousands have been displaced since the cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began in October 2023, and basic services have collapsed in many towns. Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar this week reiterated the government's commitment to asserting sovereignty across all Lebanese territory. He said discussions were underway with international mediators to help ensure a calm election day, but stressed that Beirut "does not wait for guarantees." Still, organisers face daunting challenges. According to the Southern Border Villages Association, the displacement of residents has made voting logistics nearly unmanageable. The Interior Ministry says 37 out of 60 border villages remain empty, with polling stations relocated to safer areas. The association also cited the reluctance of election supervisors-legally required to come from outside the region-to travel to volatile zones due to the threat of Israeli drone strikes. "The lack of security, coupled with the absence of water, electricity, and telecom services, has created an atmosphere of fear," the group said in a statement. Despite these hurdles, the elections are seen as a key test of Lebanon's ability to uphold democratic practices amid escalating conflict. Analysts say the vote is also a symbolic assertion of state authority in areas where Hezbollah and its allies wield significant influence. "These elections are not just symbolic," said Refaat Badawi, a political analyst and former adviser to the late Prime Minister Salim el-Hoss. "Municipalities are on the front lines of service delivery, aid distribution and reconstruction efforts -- especially in the near-total absence of a functioning central government." The vote takes place in Hezbollah and Amal strongholds, offering a crucial measure of their grassroots support after months of Israeli bombardments. Badawi said the results may signal trends ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, also leader of the Amal Movement, has urged residents of the south to vote in large numbers in support of his party, Xinhua news agency reported. Nidal Issa, a resident of the border village of Kfarchouba, said more than 100 towns have already formed municipal councils unopposed, with efforts underway to increase that number to 150. In Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil and Hasbaya districts alone, 35 councils were created through consensus. "In many places, parties avoided electoral contests by brokering deals with influential families and clans," Issa said. "It eases tensions and strengthens their grip on local power, especially in sensitive border areas." Issa also appealed for international monitoring. "Voting under airstrikes robs people of their right to choose freely," he said, calling on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the five-nation ceasefire committee to press Israel to halt attacks during the vote. Although a French- and US-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has been in place since November 2024, sporadic Israeli strikes have continued. Israel says its strikes are aimed at neutralizing threats from Hezbollah. However, the Lebanese government and several Arab states have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the agreement. Despite provisions in the ceasefire requiring a full Israeli withdrawal, Israeli forces continue to occupy several strategically important positions in southern Lebanon. Chennai, May 24 : Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday asserted that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is not afraid of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and emphasised that the party would confront any legal challenges head-on. Speaking to reporters in Pudukkottai, Udhayanidhi, who also serves as the DMK Youth Wing Secretary, said the party remains steadfast in its commitment to defending the rights of Tamil Nadu and will not be cowed by attempts at political intimidation. "We are not afraid of the ED or Modi. The DMK, nurtured by Kalaignar (former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi), is a party rooted in self-respect and firmly anchored in the ideals of Periyar (rationalist leader E.V. Ramasamy)," he said. His remarks came in response to criticism from the opposition AIADMK, which accused Chief Minister M.K. Stalin of rushing to New Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting amid ED raids on TASMAC, the state-run liquor retail monopoly. Udhayanidhi defended the Chief Minister's visit, stating that Stalin had gone to the national capital to advocate for Tamil Nadu's development and secure much-needed central funds. "They have tried to intimidate us in the past, too, but we stood firm. The DMK is not a party that will bend to pressure. We will fight all cases legally and uphold the dignity of our movement," he added. Earlier in the day, Udhayanidhi reviewed various government schemes and development projects at the Pudukkottai Collectorate. He later presided over a welfare event where he distributed benefits worth Rs 40.54 crore to 1,195 beneficiaries. The aid package included the allocation of free house pattas to 125 members of the tribal community. Reiterating the DMK's commitment to social justice and state rights, Udhayanidhi affirmed that the party will continue to resist authoritarian tendencies and safeguard the principles of federalism. "The voice of Tamil Nadu will not be silenced," he concluded. Moscow, May 24 : Russia and Ukraine on Saturday exchanged 307 prisoners each under an agreement reached during recent talks in Istanbul, said the Russian Defence Ministry. The ministry said 307 Russian servicemen have "returned from Kyiv-controlled territory," while the equivalent number of Ukrainian prisoners was freed as well. "The large-scale exchange initiated by the Russian side will continue," the ministry said. The swap followed the exchange of 270 servicemen and 120 civilians from each side announced on Friday. Following their direct negotiations in Istanbul last week, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners on each side, marking the largest prisoner swap since the start of their conflict in 2022. Meanwhile, the Russian forces fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at the Ukrainian capital early Saturday, leaving at least 15 people injured, the Kyiv city military administration said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported. The attack, one of the largest air assaults on Kyiv since the start of the conflict, caused damage to residential and non-residential infrastructure in six of the city's 10 districts, the statement said. Kyiv police reported that a shopping mall, several apartment buildings and an educational facility were among the damaged sites. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia deployed 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 drones in the overnight attack on Ukraine, and Kiev was the primary target. The air defence intercepted six missiles and 245 drones. The strike followed Russia's attack on port infrastructure in Ukraine's southern city of Odesa with two ballistic missiles on Friday, killing three people and injuring six others, according to Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper. After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United States, Europe and other countries to impose new sanctions on Russia. "Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire," Zelensky said on social platform X. Rajouri, May 24 : Following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, the border areas of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir had experienced a significant threat of conflict, deeply impacting the lives of local residents, especially farmers. However, with the recent ceasefire agreement in place, normalcy has gradually returned, bringing much-needed relief to the region's farming community. The ceasefire has sparked renewed enthusiasm among farmers in Rajouri. With the threat of cross-border firing subsiding, agricultural activities have resumed in full swing. The local Agriculture Department has also ramped up efforts to support farmers by increasing seed distribution. Recurring ceasefire violations from across the border had disrupted farming in the region. Many farmers had feared losing their crops and investments due to the unsafe conditions. But now, with peace returning, the mood among farmers has shifted to optimism. The maize sowing season is currently underway, and farmers have started collecting seeds from government offices to begin their cultivation. The Agricultural Department in Rajouri is actively engaged in supporting them with better quality inputs. IANS spoke to villagers and farmers from the border areas, where they expressed their gratitude for the restored peace and appealed to the government to ensure long-term stability in the region. They emphasised how the truce has brought safety to their lives and allowed them to return to farming without fear. One farmer from Rajouri said, "We hope this peace lasts for a long time. Only then can we plan for our future and lead stable, secure lives. The ceasefire should continue. We lived in fear due to the tensions between India and Pakistan." Another farmer added, "We faced a lot due to shelling from Pakistan. I'm happy that we are now getting seeds at government rates. If the ceasefire hadn't happened, farmers would have faced many difficulties, as farming is our main livelihood in this area. I am very happy." Abhinash, another farmer, said, "I am happy about the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. We have returned to farming. I came here to buy seeds. If the ceasefire hadn't happened, it would have been very difficult for us." Chief Agriculture Officer of Rajouri, Madan Pal Singh, said, "This time, keeping in mind the needs of the farmers, the department has shown special enthusiasm in distributing seeds. We have procured a larger quantity of maize seeds than in previous years to avoid any shortages. High-quality hybrid seeds are being distributed to ensure better yield and productivity." New Delhi, May 24 : In a high-level meeting scheduled for Sunday in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a pivotal gathering of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Chief Ministers to deliberate on the vision and strategic action plan for achieving Viksit Bharat @2047. At the heart of this meeting will be the guiding principle that the path to a developed India lies through the development of its states -- Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat. New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) In a high-level meeting scheduled for Sunday in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a pivotal gathering of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Chief Ministers to deliberate on the vision and strategic action plan for achieving Viksit Bharat @2047. At the heart of this meeting will be the guiding principle that the path to a developed India lies through the development of its states -- Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat. This meeting holds special significance as it comes at a time when India is riding a strong wave of economic and governance transformation. The next two decades offer a critical window of opportunity for the country to leap from its status as a developing nation to that of a global economic and political powerhouse. The central theme of Sunday's discussion will be how individual states can contribute meaningfully to India's ambition of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047. The Prime Minister is expected to emphasise that states must craft bold, inclusive, and forward-looking vision documents, aligned with the national goals but grounded in local realities. With most states now in advanced stages of preparing their own Viksit Rajya @2047 plans, this meeting will serve as a forum to share progress, best practices, and challenges. One of the key focuses will be on ensuring that each state defines clear objectives across economic, social, and environmental domains. These include growth in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), employment generation, enhancement in health and education outcomes, gender equity, climate resilience, and water and energy security. States will be encouraged to adopt a SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results) framework, shifting the developmental lens from constraints to capabilities and measurable impact. The meeting will also review progress on existing transformational schemes that have already reshaped lives across the countrysuch as Swachh Bharat, Ujjwala Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, and Jal Jeevan Mission. With over Rs 36 lakh crore in direct social benefits transferred to over 100 crore citizens, the emphasis now will be on deepening this impact at the grassroots. Another critical area of discussion will be how to build state-level institutional capacity for implementation. The Prime Minister is likely to call upon Chief Ministers to set up dedicated Project Monitoring Units (PMUs), real-time War Rooms, and Monitoring and Evaluation Cells to ensure transparent and accountable delivery of programmes. States will also be urged to explore establishing their own state-level equivalents of NITI Aayog to guide long-term planning and coordination. In terms of economic reforms, the agenda will stress the importance of fiscal discipline, resource mobilisation, deregulation, and creating investment-friendly ecosystems. The collective goal is not only to make India the third-largest economy in the world by 202728, but also to ensure that the benefits of this growth reach every citizen, village, and city. The voices of India's youth will also feature prominently in the discussion, with the Prime Minister expected to reference the success of the "Voice of Youth" campaign that garnered over 10.5 lakh suggestions for Viksit Bharat, nearly half of them from young women. The role of youth, women, and underrepresented communities in building a developed India will be underscored as a pillar of inclusive governance. In sum, Sunday's NDA Chief Ministers' meeting is not just an administrative exerciseit is a call to action. It will reaffirm the belief that the journey to a prosperous and globally respected India will be driven not by the Centre alone, but by the collective vision, execution, and ambition of each state. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said, "The roadmap of progress will not be decided by the government alone, but by the nation. Viksit Bharat must be built only through Sabka Prayas." This meeting could well mark a defining moment in that national journey. Bengaluru, May 24 : Bengaluru has reported first Covid-19 death on Saturday after the recent outbreak, Karnataka Health Department said in an official statement. The Health department said that 108 persons were tested for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, of which five tested positive. One person is discharged from the hospital and the total number of active cases stood at 38. Among the total 38 active Covid-19 cases, 32 are reported from Bengaluru. As many as 92 persons had undergone Covid-19 test and two persons have tested positive in the last 24 hours, the report said. Ballari, Bengaluru Rural, Mangaluru and the Vijayanagar districts have one active cases each and Mysuru district had reported two active cases, according to the report. Sources in the Health department said that the deceased is a 85-year-old man. Sources added that a woman returned from Mumbai tested positive for Covid-19 and she has been kept in home quarantine. In Belagavi, a pregnant woman has been tested positive with Covid-19. She had travelled to Pune last month. Many district hospitals, including in Dharwad, have opened a 10-bed ICU ward exclusively for the treatment of Covid-19 infected persons. The technical advisory committee had suggested the Health department to start the Covid-19 test in eight medical colleges from Sunday across Karnataka, sources confirmed. In response to a recent rise in Covid-19 cases in Karnataka, State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that while there is a slight uptick in cases in the state and in Bengaluru, there is no cause for concern. Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Saturday, Minister Rao said, "There is nothing to be alarmed about. It's a very normal situation. There has been a slight increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, with a slight rise over the last 15 days." He added that the state's technical advisory committee had met recently to discuss the situation. "We have issued an advisory stating that those with severe respiratory illnesses, especially those in hospitals, should get tested for Covid-19." He also advised, "People who are on immunosuppressant drugs for various conditions, those with low immunity, pregnant women, and children should be a bit more cautious when visiting crowded places. Preferably, wear a mask in crowded areas. It not only helps in preventing Covid-19 but also other viral and bacterial infections. However, wearing masks is not compulsory. There are no travel bans or movement restrictions within the city or state." Minister Rao reiterated that normal life can continue without fear. "Everything is normal, work, life, and routine activities. So far, 257 cases have been reported across the country, and importantly, none of them have shown serious symptoms. Only mild symptoms have been detected, so there is no need to panic. My appeal to the public is that Covid-19 is now endemic. The coronavirus has become part of our system, just like any other virus. At any given time, someone may have Covid-19. The real concern is whether a new or severe variant emerges," he added. The Minister said that Covid-19 tests are mandatory only for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) cases. "Otherwise, standard guidelines apply: keep your hands clean, maintain hygiene. These measures are beneficial not just for Covid-19 but for preventing many other diseases as well." The Karnataka Health Department on Friday issued an advisory and said that a gradual increase is seen in terms of the spread of Covid-19 in Bengaluru in the last 20 days. Bhopal/New Delhi, May 24 : Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday said that Madhya Pradesh government is determined to place the state among the front-ranking states of the nation. The Chief Minister said this after participating in the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog held in Delhi on Saturday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sharing his views at the meeting, CM Yadav said he was grateful for Prime Minister Modi's guidance and described the meeting as a historic step toward nation-building. He said the meeting was held in a positive environment where the representatives (CMs and Governors) from all the states and Union Territories (UTs) got ample time to present the vision and future roadmaps. "Prime Minister Modi listened to the presentation of all the CMs and other representatives, and more importantly he guided us with his valuable suggestions. Apart from the presentation, we have also submitted our future roadmaps in written to NITI Aayog," CM Yadav told reporters. He further stated that the meeting focused on 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat' (developed state for developed India) for 2047. He said: "Inspired by PM Modias vision of a developed India, and self-reliant India, the Madhya Pradesh government is determined to place the state among the front-ranking states of the nation." CM Yadav said that on this occasion, the Chief Ministers and other dignitaries present in the meeting congratulated PM Modi for the success of 'Operation Sindoor' launched by the Indian Armed Forces. Later, Chief Minister Yadav posted on social media platform aXa, stating that under the visionary leadership of the PM Modi, "all states are working together in the spirit of Team India". He also added that Madhya Pradesh is progressing steadily on the path of development and public welfare, continuously setting new benchmarks. New Delhi/Bhopal, May 24 : Acclaimed filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar recently shared his admiration for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, praising his vision, leadership, and profound knowledge across various domains. Reflecting on his personal interactions with PM Modi over the years, Bhandarkar described the Prime Minister as a remarkable listener and an inspiring figure. A video of his opinion about PM Modi has been shared on aModi Storya, a popular social media handle on X. "I first met Modi ji in 2011 at a wedding in Delhi. It was a brief meeting at Ashoka Hotela"maybe just 30 secondsa"but I was already a great admirer of his work," Bhandarkar recalled. "He told me to visit Ahmedabad, and I promised him I would." Bhandarkar met PM Modi again in 2013 during a visit to Ahmedabad. He recalled being invited to the Prime Ministeras residence for a conversation that lasted nearly an hour. "The best part about Modi ji is that he is a great listener. He asked me about my struggles in the film industry, how I got into the business. He listened with full attention," he said. "That conversation was truly encouraging and left a lasting impact." Having frequently travelled to Gujarat, Bhandarkar witnessed firsthand the transformation under PM Modi's leadership as chief minister. "The development was remarkablea"from roads and railway infrastructure to economic growth," he noted. "He has always had a futuristic vision, thinking about what needs to be done in the next five or ten years." The filmmaker also lauded PM Modi's contributions to the Indian film industry, particularly policy reforms such as the single-window clearance system and changes in the censor board. "Even at the Wave Summit, he ensured representation from all sectorsa"Mumbai, Bengal, and the South film industries. He includes everyone and understands each individualas contribution to India," he emphasised. Bhandarkar expressed admiration for PM Modi's ability to connect with people from all walks of life. "Whether students, children, influencers, or religious communities, he engages directly. Thatas what makes him a true public leader," he said. "His knowledge is extraordinarya"he can speak on any subjecta"and his sense of humour is amazing." Recalling his experiences at the Cannes Film Festival, Bhandarkar said he encountered numerous foreign filmmakers and producers who recognised PM Modias leadership. "They praised his hard work, saying, 'Your Prime Minister is very dedicated.' That makes us proud," he remarked. "Indiaas strong global presence today is truly commendable, and it fills me with immense pride to be an Indian." Aizawl, May 24 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and discussed the state's important issues including raising Mizo Territorial Army (MTA) to fight against drug trafficking along the India-Myanmar border, officials said on Saturday. An official of Mizoram government said that the Chief Minister also discussed with the Union Home Minister about the other key issues including the state's flagship livelihood scheme Bana Kaih Scheme (Hand holding), Lengpui Airport, depreciated cost of buildings and infrastructure in Assam Rifles land besides the formation of Mizo Territorial Army (MTA). The official said that for quite a long time the state government has been requesting the Centre to help the state to raise the MTA to deal with the smuggling of drugs and other contrabands being illegally imported from Myanmar. "The state government has manpower shortages to deal with the narcotics trafficking from across the border. The state government earlier submitted proposals to the Ministry of Home Affairs about the raising of the MTA," he said. Amidst the unabated smuggling of various drugs from Myanmar, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has recently proposed setting up its zonal office in Mizoram. NCB Director General Anurag Garg recently met Mizoram Chief Minister and suggested setting up of a full-fledged NCB zonal office in the state and emphasised the need for more staff and officials, who are acquainted in the local language and the ground situation of the state. Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer, during the meeting with Garg had discussed ways and means to curb the drug trade and usage of narcotics by the youth. Lalduhoma had told the NCB DG that he has already requested the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to constitute or to allow the state government to form Mizo Territorial Army to further strengthen vigilance along the state's unfenced borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. Mizoram shares a 510 km and 318 km unfenced border with Myanmar and Bangladesh, respectively. Neighbouring Myanmar's Chin state is a hub for smuggling of varied drugs, exotic wildlife animals and many other contrabands through six Mizoram districts -- Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip. Mountainous Champhai district is a hotspot for the smuggling of diverse drugs including highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, foreign cigarettes, areca nuts, arms and ammunition, and exotic animals and their parts. Meanwhile, on March 15, after a many years of persuasion, in presence of Union Home Minister and Chief Minister, the Assam Rifles land in Aizawl handed over to Mizoram government and the Assam Rifles establishments had been shifted from Aizawl to Zokhawsang, 15 km away from the state capital. In 1988, the then Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by former Chief Minister Laldenga first raised the demand for relocation of the Assam Rifles complex from Aizawl to Zokhawsang after the paramilitary force allegedly killed 11 civilians in a violent clash. In February 2019, the Union Home Ministry directed the paramilitary force to shift its complex to Zokhawsang. Chennai, May 25 : In two separate incidents, two persons, including a young child, were electrocuted to death in southern Tamil Nadu on Saturday, following heavy rains and gusty winds that disrupted power infrastructure across the region. In Kadanganeri village near Alangulam in Tirunelveli district, a five-year-old girl was electrocuted after accidentally touching a live electric pole. The child, identified as M. Jenimithra Rani, a kindergarten student, had been staying with her grandparents. She was playing near a field close to her house, along with a friend, when she came into contact with the pole. Jenimithra died on the spot. Her playmate, identified as Prithisha, also suffered a severe electric shock during the incident. She was rushed to the Tirunelveli Government Medical College and Hospital, where she is currently undergoing treatment. Her condition remains critical. The Uthumalai Police have registered a case in connection with the incident. Jenimithraas body was sent for postmortem as part of the investigation. In a separate incident in Kanyakumari district, a 75-year-old man was electrocuted after stepping on a snapped live wire in Andoor near Kulasekaram. The victim, identified as Krishnan, had reportedly stepped out of his house on Saturday morning when he unknowingly came into contact with the wire lying on the ground. He died instantly. The power cable is believed to have snapped during heavy rain and strong winds that lashed the region on Friday night. Several such cables were reported damaged across the district. Kulasekaram Police have registered a case and sent Krishnanas body for postmortem at the government hospital in Kulasekaram. The twin tragedies have raised serious concerns about the safety of exposed electrical infrastructure, especially during the monsoon season. Locals have demanded immediate inspections and repairs by the electricity department to prevent further accidents. Authorities are yet to comment on whether maintenance lapses contributed to the fatalities. New Delhi/Agartala, May 25 : Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said that the government has set a target to increase the state's per capita income from the current $2,300 to $23,000 by 2047. Addressing the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, the Chief Minister said emphasis was given on medical wellness, eco-tourism, IT knowledge, economy, resilient agriculture, rich history, cultural heritage and sports. CM Saha recently, in a meeting in Agartala, said: "Tripura is in the second position in the northeast region in GDP after Assam. The state is in the second position in the region in per capita income after Sikkim. The huge untapped natural resources and vast environmental beauty of Tripura are a treasure, and the state government has been trying to effectively put them to use for the state." Addressing the NITI Aayog meeting on Saturday, he said that the state's GDP growth of over 15 per cent during the last three years has indicated that this journey has commenced on an encouraging note. The Chief Minister highlighting MSME and Informal Employment, said that, there are 86,117 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tripura. The state has a strong base of 60,318 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with 5,49,559 members and 94,723 Lakhpati Didis, Saha said. Highlighting opportunities in green economy, circular economy, the Chief Minister stated that the government aimed to develop a state-specific green economy policy framework by adopting a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach by inclusion of youth and women and develop a robust green start-up ecosystem. The Chief Minister said: "I reaffirm Tripura's unwavering commitment to the vision of 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat' under the inspiring leadership of the Prime Minister and the strategic guidance of NITI Aayog." Patna, May 25 : In a major breakthrough, the Naugachia Police in Bihar, in a joint operation with the Special Task Force (STF), have neutralised a wanted criminal, Sanoj Kumar Mandal alias Gurudev Mandal, an official said on Saturday. Mandal was accused in over 15 serious criminal cases including robbery and murder across multiple districts of Bihar. Confirming this, Naugachia SP Prerna Kumar said: "We had received a tip-off that Sanoj Kumar Mandal, along with his associates, had assembled near a house at Murli Chowk under Rangra police station and were planning to commit a big crime. Acting swiftly, we formed a joint team of Rangra police and STF and conducted a raid." As the police team approached the location late Friday night, the suspects fired at them indiscriminately in an attempt to flee under the cover of darkness. The joint team retaliated and also fired at them. While several persons managed to escape, Sanoj Kumar Mandal was found lying on the ground with gunshot injuries. He was immediately admitted to Sub-Divisional Hospital, Naugachia but he lost his life during the treatment. A native of Purnea district, Mandal has more than 15 cases pending against him in Purnea and Bhagalpur alone. He is also allegedly involved in multiple crimes in Katihar, Kishanganj, Araria, and Madhepura districts. SP Prerna Kumar added: "We have alerted police departments in the respective districts to gather further details on his criminal background. A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team has also been involved, and some incriminating items including a carbine and a country-made Katta were recovered from his possession." The Naugachia police are making efforts to identify and arrest the absconding gang members. "A dedicated team has been formed to track down his associates and dismantle the entire network," she said. SP Prerna Kumar claimed this was a big success for the police department and officers involved in this encounter will be given rewards. Imphal, May 25 : Top Army officers during an interactive meeting with 300 ex-servicemen, including 'Veer Naaris' (war widows) and families in Manipur, have reiterated the authorities' commitment in supporting its veterans and ensuring their well-being. A Defence Spokesman said on Saturday that Lieutenant General Abhijit S. Pendharkar, General Officer Commanding (GOC), Spear Corps, held a cordial and meaningful interaction with 300 ex-servicemen, including 'Veer Naaris' and families at the Somsai Garrison in Manipur's Ukhrul region. The event was organised as part of the Assam Rifles' continued outreach programme to bolster stronger ties with its veteran community and address their welfare concerns. During the interaction, the GOC expressed his deep respect and gratitude for the invaluable contributions made by the ex-servicemen in safeguarding the nation. He reiterated the deep commitment of Assam Rifles in supporting its veterans and ensuring their well-being. Lieutenant General Pendharkar, who was accompanied by Major General Ravroop Singh, Inspector General, Assam Rifles (South), also highlighted the role of ex-servicemen in betterment of the society at large. A wide range of issues were discussed, including pension disbursement, resettlement opportunities and medical facilities under Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) with the veterans. The GOC assured them of timely redressal through appropriate channels. He also highlighted various ongoing and upcoming welfare initiatives undertaken by the Assam Rifles and the Ministry of Defence to enhance the quality of life for veterans and their families. The ex-servicemen appreciated the opportunity to voice their issues and expressed gratitude for the Assam Rifles' continued care and engagement. Meanwhile, in a continued effort to inspire and guide the youth of the region, the Assam Rifles under the aegis of headquarters Inspector General Assam Rifles (South) conducted a motivational lecture in Manipur's Churachandpur district. A Defence Spokesman said that this session, aimed to focus on students of Classes 11, 12 and graduation for providing valuable insights into joining the Indian Army, the life of a soldier, and the numerous benefits of serving the nation. The lecture highlighted the various entry routes into the Indian Army, including technical and non-technical and medical branches, and emphasised the importance of academic excellence, physical fitness and discipline. Officers from the Assam Rifles shared personal experiences from their careers, giving students a realistic glimpse into the challenges and pride associated with life in uniform. Students were also told about the perks and privileges of an Army career such as job security, adventure, respect in society and opportunities for personal and professional growth. The Assam Rifles reaffirmed their commitment to support and guide the youths towards a future of serving the nation with pride and patriotism, the Spokesman said. Bengaluru, May 25 : Amid the fear of the spread of Covid-19 in Karnataka, the state government has directed authorities to stock up necessary testing kits for the coming month. However, the state government has said on Saturday that there is no need for any concerns in this regard. State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said, "I have directed officials to stock up on necessary testing kits. Preparations have been made to ensure the availability of 5,000 RT-PCR and 5,000 VDRL testing kits, which will be required for the coming month." Instructions have been issued to mandatorily conduct Covid tests for those admitted to hospitals with respiratory issues or heart-related ailments, he added. In the past week, there has been a slight increase in Covid-positive cases, especially in Bengaluru. The state government is taking precautionary measures, and there is no need for the people of the state to panic, Minister Rao said. "It is advisable for pregnant women and new mothers to wear masks in public places. Among the 35 Covid-positive individuals identified in the state, none have developed severe symptoms. Only mild symptoms have been observed. Therefore, the public need not worry and can continue with their daily lives as usual," he clarified. "There has been a slight rise in Covid-positive cases in the state over the past week, with a total of 35 people testing positive for the infection, of which 32 cases have been reported from Bengaluru alone," Minister Rao added. The Minister said that there is no need for the public to panic about the emergence of Covid-19. The state Health department has issued the necessary guidelines in this regard, he added. The state's Covid-19 technical committee held a meeting on Friday and discussed the recent Covid-19 cases detected in Karnataka. "We have taken precautionary steps and are in touch with the Central government as well," the Minister said. He also noted that instructions have been given to mandatorily conduct Covid tests in cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), and for patients admitted to hospitals with respiratory and heart-related issues. Samples must be collected and tested for Covid-19 in such cases, he added. The Minister advised pregnant and postpartum women to wear masks in crowded areas. "There is no need for anyone to panic. Covid-19 has re-emerged, but if people follow the Health department's guidelines and take precautions, that is sufficient," he said. "Wearing masks has not been made mandatory for everyone as of now. Only pregnant and postpartum women have been advised to wear them. Maintaining hygiene and using hand sanitizers is strongly recommended. There are no travel restrictions, and people can go about their daily lives as usual. The media should avoid creating panic. Instead, let the media focus on creating awareness among the public," Minister Rao added. He also said that instructions have been given to stock up enough testing kits for the coming month. Tests will be conducted only when necessary, he added. Although, Bengaluru has reported 32 Covid-positive cases and there has been a slight increase over the past week, the situation is under close monitoring, the Minister said. "There is no cause for alarm at this point," he assured. Chennai, May 25 : Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) General Secretary Vaiko has criticised the Union government for refusing to release Rs 617 crore in pending dues meant for implementing the Right to Education (RTE) Act in Tamil Nadu. He urged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government on Saturday to immediately disburse the funds to enable the commencement of admissions under the scheme. In a statement, the senior MDMK leader said that the delay has led to legal action, with a case already filed in the Madras High Court over the Centre's inaction. "During the hearing, the Tamil Nadu government made it clear that the financial responsibility under the RTE Act is to be shared in a 60:40 ratio between the Union and State governments. However, the Centre has not released its share since 2021," Vaiko said. He alleged that the Union government is using funding as leverage to push states into accepting policies like the New Education Policy (NEP). "Despite signing various agreements and obligations, the Centre continues to withhold funds. This is nothing short of political coercion," he said. Vaiko also criticised the Centre for its refusal to release Rs 2,291 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, a flagship school education programme. He claimed that the funds were denied because Tamil Nadu declined to adopt the three-language formula proposed by the Union government. "Such conditions violate the principles of cooperative federalism and target states that resist Central policies," he said. The MDMK leader accused the BJP government of undermining public education in Tamil Nadu by withholding critical financial support. "Education is a fundamental right, and no government should deny children their right to learn due to political differences," he asserted. Vaiko demanded that the Centre immediately release the withheld funds to ensure that school admissions under the RTE Act can proceed without further delay. He also called on other opposition parties and civil society groups to raise their voices against what he described as "an unjust and anti-democratic act". Chennai, May 25 : Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President and former Union Minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, has opposed the Tamil Nadu government's decision to open new sand quarries across the state. In a statement issued on Saturday, Ramadoss urged the DMK-led state government to immediately abandon the proposal and warned that PMK would launch sustained protests if the existing quarries are not shut down. He accused the state government of environmental negligence, alleging that hills in the southern districts and the Kongu region are being destroyed to extract minerals, which are then smuggled to Kerala. Simultaneously, he claimed, illegal river sand mining continues unchecked throughout the state. "The PMK's position is clear and unwavering a" all sand quarries in Tamil Nadu must be closed. The government should either import sand from abroad or promote the use of artificial sand for construction. But it cannot be allowed to turn Tamil Nadu into a desert by permitting indiscriminate sand mining," Ramadoss asserted. He also raised strong objections to the state government's reported plans to open more than 20 new sand quarries in 13 districts. Highlighting the environmental risks and alleged regulatory violations, he referred to the data presented in the Madras High Court by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which revealed widespread over-extraction in existing quarries. "In 2023, the government officially permitted the opening of 25 sand quarries with an approved capacity of 7.51 lakh units. However, the ED's submission before the High Court disclosed that a total of 27.70 lakh units of sand had actually been mined a" nearly four times the sanctioned amount. This blatant violation exposes the scale of unchecked and illegal sand mining occurring under the state government oversight," he said. The PMK leader reiterated that if the state government proceeds with its expansion plans, it would face large-scale public opposition. He emphasised the need to safeguard Tamil Nadu's ecological balance and urged the state government to seek sustainable alternatives to meet the state's construction needs without causing irreversible environmental damage. He concluded his statement by warning that PMK will intensify its protest if the state government fails to act responsibly and protect the state's natural resources. Kolkata, May 25 : In an unfortunate incident, a lottery seller was set on fire by unknown miscreants on the open roads at Midnapore town in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal on Saturday. The local people after somehow extinguishing the fire shifted the lottery seller with the help of police first to a local hospital and subsequently to a hospital in Kolkata. The condition of the victim, Surajit Sau, is extremely critical with minute chances of survival. Eyewitnesses said that on Saturday morning while Sau was sitting at his small roadside lottery selling stall, suddenly a group of miscreants arrived at the spot, sprinkled petrol all over his body, and set the body on fire. While miscreants vanished from the spot immediately, the victim lottery seller rushed out of the shop and started running indiscriminately and shouting profusely. "He was desperately running through a lane where several vehicles and motorcycles were parked. There could have been an even bigger mishap," said a local eyewitness. Some local youths finally managed to get near him and extinguish the fire. The policemen from the local police station came and first shifted the victim to a local hospital. Later, considering his serious burn injuries he was shifted to a hospital in Kolkata. The locals told the police that as Sau complained to them he was receiving ransom threats from local miscreants for running his small tea stall. "Three miscreants came to the spot in a motorcycle on which they vanished after setting Sau on fire," a local eyewitness said. "The policemen have started a detailed investigation in the matter and the footage of the CCTV cameras in the locality is being checked," said an investigating official. The policemen doubt that the miscreants were known to Sau. Local BJP leaders have alleged that in the recent period, the activities of anti-social elements in Midnapore town have increased manifold and the local police are reluctant to take action against them despite complaints from local people. Patna, May 25 : A 10-year-old girl was allegedly gang raped and murdered near her school by five youths in Bihar's Saran district, the police said. The incident occurred on Saturday near Bhatkeshri village under the jurisdiction of Jalalpur police station. The victim, a Class 5 student of a primary school, was discovered around 200 metres from the school premises. All the accused persons allegedly took the victim behind the bushes and gang raped her one by one. After the sexual assault, they also murdered the girl. Local villagers, after seeing a group of youths fleeing the area, raised the alarm immediately. Soon after, a large crowd gathered at the spot and managed to apprehend the accused. They have also identified the girl and informed the family and local police about the incident. With the help of villagers, district police arrested all five accused on the spot. "We have called for a forensic team to collect the evidence from the scene to assist in the investigation," said Kumar Ashish, Saran Superintendent of Police (SP). Ensuring the sensitivity of the incident, senior officials, including Saran Range Director Inspector General Nilesh Kumar, SP Kumar Ashish, Rural SP Shikhar Chaudhary, and Deputy Sub-Inspector Rajkumar, along with teams from Jalalpur and Baniyapur police stations, visited the site and conducted a thorough inquiry. Speaking on the case, the Saran SP confirmed that all five accused have been arrested. "We have lodged an FIR under POCSO Act and murder in Jalalpur police station and arrested all five accused. They have confessed to the crime. We have assured the girl's family that a speedy trial will be conducted in this case and bring justice to them," SP Ashish said. He also added that financial assistance will be provided to the girl's family. "We have recovered the girl's body and sent it for the post-mortem," he said. The incident has sparked concern in the community, with locals demanding capital punishment for those involved. Mumbai, May 25 : As the nation continues to get back on track in the wake of Operation Sindoor, India's counter-terror strike, Indian auteur Sriram Raghavan is returning to the silver screen with a war film. Sriram Raghavan is known for cult-classics like 'Ek Hasina Thi', 'Johnny Gaddaar' and 'Andhadhun'. The upcoming film, titled 'Ikkis' stars veteran actor Dharmendra, 'Paatal Lok' star Jaideep Ahlawat, and Agastya Nanda, and also marks a shift in tone on Raghavan's part as he is mostly known for thrillers and noirs. On Saturday, the makers of the film released its first look notifying the viewers of the film's release date. The coming-of-age film is based on Indian war hero Arun Khetarpal, and will arrive in theatres on October 2, 2025. However, the film wrongly credits Arun as the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra. While, Arun was posthumously conferred the honour at the age of 21, ('Ikkis' in Hindi translates to 21), it is Yogendra Singh Yadav from the Kargil war of 1999, who is youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra at the age of 19. 'Ikkis' is set against the backdrop of the Battle of Basantar which was a crucial part of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. Interestingly, both Operation Sindoor and Battle of Basantar have a river connection. While the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty served as the prologue to Operation Sindoor, the Battle of Basantar was fought in Shakargarh over the river Basantar which flows into the Ravi River. The battle on Shakargarh through which the Basantar river runs, was opened by Pakistan to divert and engage the advancing Indian forces in East Pakistan (current day Bangladesh) as the latter were gaining an upper hand during Bangladesh's fight for liberation. The area of Shakargarh wasn't easily defensible, in some accounts it has often been cited as a "defender's nightmare". The Indian forces continued their ground thrust, and the 47 Infantry Brigade was about to set-up a bridgehead across Basantar river. The place was extensively mined, which prevented the deployment of the tanks of the Indian forces. The engineers, who were clearing the mines, were halfway through their tasks when Indian troops at the bridge-head reported alarming enemy armour activity. The Indian forces asked for immediate armour support, and decided to push through the mine-field. The armoured tank-to-tank engagement was the prime facet of the Battle of Basantar. While Pakistan deployed the state-of-the-art US-made 50 ton Patton tanks, Indian forces responded with the British made FV4007 Centurion tanks. Indian forces jumped right into the eye of the storm. A massive offensive ensued with Khetarpal emerging as the sole incharge of the situation. The pressure was tremendous but he didn't budge, he continued his attack on the enemy strongholds. He desperately attacked the incoming Pakistani troops and tanks, and knocked out a Pakistani tank in the process. On the other side, Pakistani forces too were not easy to walk over, they regrouped and launched a counter-attack. Arun Khetarpal fought valiantly with his two remaining tanks and destroyed 10 Pakistani tanks before he was martyred in action. Following the battle, the Indian forces pushed through the enemy posts, and came threateningly close to the Pakistan Army base at Sialkot. The Pakistan Army, which was heavily outnumbered by the advancing Indian Army at this point, called for air support from the Pakistan Air Force. However, the Indian side was armed to the teeth with aerial support from the Indian Air Force cutting through the Pakistani airspace. The Pakistani forces' operations were frozen and paralysed in the battlefield. Pakistan offered unconditional surrender which led to ceasefire. The outcome of the 1971 Indo-Pak war manifested itself into the carving out of Bangladesh by India preceded by the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers. Meanwhile, 'Ikkis', produced by Maddock Films, is set to release on October 2, 2025. The academic enrichment brand is poised for significant local marketing impact with Eulerity NEW YORK, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Eulerity, recognized for its innovative marketing automation solutions, is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Kumon North America,Inc., the global after-school giant recently rated the tenth overall franchise among Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 list for 2025. Kumon North America, Inc., has over 2,100 locations and over 400,000 students enrolled in the U.S. and Canada. The brand offers a unique, worksheet-based learning program designed to foster both academic proficiency and independent learning, empowering students to master challenging material, even beyond their school grade level, through self-directed discovery and Instructor guidance. Prior to partnering with Eulerity, Kumon North America, Inc., was eager to streamline the ad creative process, leverage a partner that provides on-demand reporting, and equip its instructors with an intuitive, transparent, and cutting-edge app. Eulerity's platform addresses these needs, enabling Kumon North America, Inc., instructors to more effectively connect with their local communities and drive student enrollment. This collaboration will empower Kumon's corporate team and instructors with Eulerity's state-of-the-art AI marketing automation technology, coupled with its unparalleled Customer Success team. With built-in creative ad and post builders, instructors can effortlessly design engaging campaigns tailored to their specific location. AI-powered automation takes the guesswork out of ad optimization, testing and refining creatives for peak performance before deploying them across a vast network of websites. Eulerity's commitment to transparency is evident in both its real-time data and insightful analytics, providing instructors and corporate with a clear, comprehensive view of campaign performance at both individual and aggregate levels. Better yet, Eulerity's Customer Success team empowers Instructors with dedicated technical support, ensuring seamless platform navigation and a successful marketing journey. This allows the instructors to have the ability to evaluate every aspect of their digital media strategy, while offering corporate an unparalleled overview of brand location activity. Further enhancing the user experience, the intuitive and cutting-edge mobile app ensures effortless interaction and engagement, making local marketing accessible and effective for every Kumon North America, Inc., instructor. Erin Friend, Kumon North America, Inc. 's Marketing Manager, shared the brand's excitement regarding the partnership, saying, "The compelling nature of Eulerity's comprehensive marketing solution and forward-thinking approach was evident from the start. What has truly impressed us is the remarkable speed and enthusiasm with which our franchisees have embraced Eulerity's platform. We're already seeing exciting initial results, and we are confident that this dynamic partnership will help fuel substantial growth and spark exciting new innovations throughout our entire franchise system." Daniel Izen, Vice President of Global Sales for Eulerity, added, "We designed our platform to empower multi-location brands with transparency and control. We are delighted to bring this capability to Kumon, enabling their instructors to effectively connect with their communities and their corporate team to gain unparalleled insights. We see this as a perfect match." Eulerity is reshaping the digital advertising landscape by seamlessly integrating AI-driven automation with human expertise. Their robust platform empowers brands to streamline campaign management, effortlessly organizing and executing both paid and organic initiatives across diverse channels like Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more. Beyond core marketing automation, Eulerity offers advanced features such as call recording and tracking, allowing businesses to analyze call volume, assess duration, and listen to recordings for valuable insights. Additionally, their AI-powered review management system enables monitoring, analyzing, and responding to customer feedback across key digital channels, fostering deeper engagement and expanding brand reach. By optimizing performance, reducing costs, and accelerating growth, Eulerity empowers businesses to achieve their marketing goals with unparalleled efficiency and impact. Media Contact Mary Hanula, Eulerity, 1 9172080145, [email protected], https://eulerity.com/ SOURCE Eulerity Denise Minas characterspolice detectives, forensic scientists, a reporter, a psychiatric patienthave one thing in common with their creator: they are all imperfect or messy in one way or another. Well, she says via Zoom from Paris, Im quite flawed. Known as the rock star of noir and the crown princess of crime, Mina is a perennial bestseller whose crime fictionwhich includes the Detective Alex Morrow, Paddy Meehan, and Garnethill series, as well as numerous standalones and graphic novelsis often classified as tartan noir, a label the author happily embraces. To be honest, she says, I absolutely love it. I love the fact that here in France they call noir fiction and crime fiction the bad genres. I love it because its like were a lower form. What a great place to talk about politics! And because its low art, pop art, you dont have to have your hand on your chin or pretend youve only always read Homer. Its just storytelling. Dont take it so seriously. In The Good Liar, Minas 20th novel, out in July from Mulholland, blood-spatter expert Claudia OSheils work has put a high-profile murder suspect behind bars. But she realizes that the evidence in the case was flawed, and shes faced with a moral dilemma: keep her concerns to herself, or tell the truth and risk her career and reputation. The impetus for the book, Mina says, was her awareness that the popular perception of forensic science is often wildly inaccurate. So much of the forensic science that Id learned about was junk, she says. And people were still in prison based on this junk science, like fire investigation and forensic dentistry bite marks. The serial killer Ted Bundy was convicted on the basis of bite-mark evidence, and thats now a discredited science. If he were alive, he could be out of prison. Science is a moving discourse, and the fiction of law is that its static, and theres the clash. Born in East Kilbride, Scotland, in 1966, Mina, who is based in Glasgow, is the youngest of two sisters. When asked about her mothers occupation, Minaa raucous whirlwind of a womanis quick with a response: Smoke and bitch and be fabulous. The family had a somewhat nomadic life, living in Bergen, Norway; London; Amsterdam; the Hague; Glasgow; and Paris. My father worked as an engineer in North Sea oil, so we lived in Paris with a load of Texans, she says. It was real blue collar, and we lived all together clustered around the English school. But school didnt appeal to Mina, and when she was 16, she dropped out. I was a convent girl, and I fucking hated it, she says. Lots of my girlfriends quite loved it. They liked the rules, having the sisters telling them what to do. But for me it was I cant fucking do this, so I left very young and did all these jobs. I worked in old folks homes and bars and a meat factory, and then I thought, Id love to go to university. A fan of Emile Zola and French literature, Mina figured it could be an improving field of study. But that was so 19th century, she says. In the end, she went for practicality and enrolled at the Glasgow University School of Law, graduating in 1992 with honors. Though Mina has never practiced law, she did teach it while studying for her PhD at the law school at Strathclyde University. But she used her grant money to write her first novel, Garnethill, which was published in 1998, won the John Creasey Dagger for best first crime novel, and became a popular series. And while Mina never finished that PhD, she says her path to publication was a relatively easy one. I sent three chapters of Garnethill to three agents with a cover letter full of lies: Ive finished writing this book; Im very extroverted; Ive done stand-up comedy I hadnt. One agent asked me to send the rest of the book, so I wrote it in three months, and they had a deal with Transworld in a few months. It was incredible. The Good Liar begins as Claudia prepares for one of the most important moments of her career: a speech to a group of rich and powerful Londoners. But with the wrong person behind bars and the real murderer still at large, she must decide whether to tell the truth or keep quiet. As you get older, Mina says, you see how power works, and the compromises that are made, and a lot of bullshit, and you think, Should I call it out? Whats the right thing to do? Or should I just shut up and let people have their day? What would it feel like to betray everybody that you love or people that you empathize with? Though her books feature intricate, twisty plots and complex characters struggling with right and wrong, Mina says her writing process is quite simple. Im just blind panic. I think its a good process: get the money and spend it and then write the book. I have kids and one was very ill, and I was very aware of how lucky I was to be working. And you just keep going. As for her ongoing source of inspiration, Mina points to real-life events and her love of learning. Education is my real passion, she says, so Im always slightly obsessed with something, and it comes from that or a case Ive seen in the papers; small things captivate me. At the moment, Im obsessed with the Dreyfus case. Dreyfus was a French army officer accused of espionage in 1894. History also finds its way into Minas fiction. Her 2021 novel Rizzo deals with the assassination of the private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots. Historical fiction usually has a broad span, Mina explains, but I wanted to write it as crime fiction, so it takes place over one weekend. For now, Mina says, The Good Liar is a standalonebut she wont rule out the possibility of it becoming a series at some point. Id love to revisit these characters, she says. I love series, but I like to make them finite because, you know, they can go on trundling along. I like series that have a dramatic arc, like them having a beginning, middle, and end. Otherwise, you can end up doing one trick for the rest of your life, and thats quite disheartening. Its not much of an inquiry. I know series writers who hate their characters. We spend so much more time with our characters than the reader does. For a moment, it was as if Van Goghs Starry Night literally came to life right before my eyes. In describing his first sight of fireflies, Reverend Sam D. Kim wastes no time demonstrating his gift for description and longtime habit of taking joy in the ordinary. The gorgeous visual serves as an introduction to A Holy Haunting: Why Faith Isnt a Leap but a Series of Staggers from One Safe Place to Another, the 2024-2025 BookLife Prize Nonfiction winner. Kim cofounded the 180 Church in Manhattan and was trained as an ethicist at Harvard. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons, and is part of Harvard Catalyst, where he examines the inequities related to health, immigration, and social policies; Kim also holds the Lifelong Learning Fellowship at Yale Divinity School and Yale Medicine. A Holy Haunting is the first book in the inspirational/spiritual category to be selected for the grand prize, which is handed out twice a year to exceptional works of fiction and nonfiction. While readers will notice the lush and lyrical writing first, what proves even more remarkable is its accessibility and resonance for nonbelievers. A Holy Haunting provides the type of intimate, enriching reading experience that makes the book difficult to put down. The first section covers the theory of faith (Spiritual Puberty); the second demonstrates how faith is often messy and tumultuous; the third digs into the nitty-gritty of spiritual texts (Is the New Testament reliable?). Throughout the book, Kim pulls in a veritable cornucopia of literary and cultural references, including C.S. Lewis, John Bloom, Peter Kreeft, Ronald K. Tacelli, and David Brooks, as well as other notables in the field, to make his points. In one moment, Kim calls upon the wisdom of Solomon (What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Everything is meaningless!) and the next, Kanye West (I always find, I always find. I always find, something wrong. Im so gifted at finding what I dont like the most), and his sharp wit shines forth in a work that is as funny as it is touching and wise. Author Kelsey Osgood, who selected A Holy Haunting as a finalist, called it, a generous book to believers and skeptics alike... a patient, thoughtful tour of the Christian faith landscape today and the BookLife Prize critics report said, A Holy Haunting eschews platitudes in favor of a multilayered conversation about the role of faith in todays world. One of the things that may surprise spiritual skeptics is Kims ease with bridging science, psychology, and theology, as in discussing evolutionary creation, a Christian perspective on the origins of life that challenges the idea that faith and science are in conflict. And in coming to understand how science and theology can coexist and even thrive, Kim takes readers back to 600 BCE and then still further, demonstrating a formidable understanding not just of theology, philosophy, and science, but history, too. Kim also exposes his own fears and hurts, his doubts, and his crises. I wish someone had told me sooner that struggling with doubt is not apostasy; it is just human.... Faith isnt always linear but is instead sinuous. Sometimes, it gets worse before it gets better. God is a great artist, and the Bible tells us He is painting a masterpiece, with us as His canvas. However, He isnt finished yet. As a result, we might not be able to connect the dots in our lives right now, as they often only make sense in reverse. By sharing his journey, the author comes across as a warm confidant rather than a distant spiritual adviser, especially with his candid references to overcoming the swamp of doubt and fear, which he hopes may offer solace to those navigating the darkest spiritual crisis theyve ever known. Kim not only offers solace and hard-won wisdom but repeatedly references joy; his God is a loving god, one he wishes everyone to get to know on their own terms: When we finally come to realize that this poignant longing is a holy haunting for the presence of God, everything changes. What was once unsettling becomes reassuring and comforting, and what was once a burden becomes a source of delight and joy. When asked what inspired him to write A Holy Haunting, Kim explains, I have carefully avoided commercializing the gospel. I did not want to force, push, or sell the gospel as if it were a product; rather, I wanted to speak of Jesus as if he were a good friend I had just met for afternoon tea. He also urges other authors to incorporate some lighthearted self-deprecation into your writing. When we avoid taking ourselves too seriouslyespecially when tackling serious topicsmore readers are likely to connect with our message. This authenticity invites them to be more honest with themselves and others, fostering a transformative experience for both us and potentially the world around us. MaryJanice Davidsons upcoming novel, The Reluctant Reaper, will be available in November 2025. Loss can be overwhelming to live through, let alone write aboutbut drawing can enable authors to convey what words alone cannot. As such, grief is a perennial theme in graphic nonfiction, exemplified by breakout titles like Roz Chasts Cant We Talk About Something More Pleasant? and Tom Harts Rosalie Lightning. For me, its about feeling seen, says Jesse Mechanic, whose debut graphic memoir, The Last Time We Spoke: A Story of Loss (Street Noise, Sept.), chronicles his mothers death from cancer when he was a teenager and his ensuing obsessive compulsive disorder. Mechanics drawings immerse readers in his psychological experience through spacious, architectural, and often cannily symmetrical comics art that will feel painfully familiar to anyone who has stumbled around in the darkness of grief, per PWs starred review. Mechanics book is among a slate of new and forthcoming graphic nonfiction titles that tackle loss, related mental health challenges, and ultimately healing. Theyre also part of an emerging genre called graphic medicine. Examples include Your Baby Will Find You by Madeleine Garner and Giorgia Lupi (BenBella, out now), a hybrid of affirmations and art designed to comfort readers experiencing miscarriage or infant loss, and Black Cohosh by Eagle Valiant Brosi (D&Q, June), an unsparing yet mirthful graphic memoir, per PWs starred review, that follows the artist from a fraught childhood on a back-to-the-land commune to caring for his mother during her terminal illness. Eisner nominee Carol Tyler returns with The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief (Fantagraphics, Sept.), which documents her journey into a whimsical, disorienting space she calls Griefville. This land is populated by what she terms symbols of reflection and memory and managed by pointy-fingered figures named Clorins, whose eyes resemble slotted screw heads. In the wake of multiple family deaths and a painful rift with her daughter, Griefville took the weight of sorrow from me, Tyler says, because I was able to define it. Instead of being held hostage by grief indefinitely, Tyler poured herself into creating. She even made paintbrushes out of pet fur and sticks. Pay attention to your exact situation, she is advised by a six-legged calf in Griefville. Artist Katarina Thorsens debut, Salt Green Death (Conundrum, out now), takes a historical approach to examining how society often isolates people in extreme grief. Her scrapbook-styled investigation mines archival materials around the tragic life of Joseph ODwyer, an Irish Canadian who was institutionalized after a psychotic break following the deaths of multiple family members and the aftermath of WWII. Its an indictment of an era of psychiatric hubris that fuses dogged scholarship and visceral empathy, per PWs review. I was not trying to make it a horror story, like Cuckoos Nest, Thorsen says. It was important to her to extend her empathy to practitioners as well as patients, even as she depicted ODwyer going through a series of torturous treatments. Those were the cutting edge at the time. Art therapy We have art that soldiers created in trenches, says comics librarian and Toronto Comics Arts festival director Amie Wright, who notes that creativity often helps people process trauma. When chronicling struggles with mental health, comics can uniquely depict the dissonance between internal and external experiences. A scene in a comic can juxtapose drawings of real and imagined actions with spoken and internal dialogue and narrative. Graphic memoirs are thus simultaneously first and third person in this seamless way, says cartoonist and literature professor Rocco Versaci, author of This Book Contains Graphic Language: Comics as Literature. For readers, theres therapeutic value to that when youre wrestling with your own conflicts. Comics can be informational, Wright says, or they can limn the emotional side of what creators are going through. We all live in linear time, but whats going on internally is discombobulated. Anyone moving through grief has had that mundane experience, for example, of going through the subway turnstile while your head is somewhere else. In comics, such dueling experiences can be visually constructed in a single, immediately digestible panel or page. When creating their memoirs, both Tyler and Mechanic describe tapping into a well of images that came to them in a rush after years of marinating in grief. OCD was the main component that made me decide this needed to be a graphic work, says Mechanic, who draws intrusive thoughts as a giant, human-shaped black scribble. This bully figure who is also you, who is a doppelganger, wants to destroy you. One of the perks of being a memoirist, Versaci says, is that everything is material. His travelogue That Hidden Road includes comics; he currently posts diary comics online. When recovering from cancer surgery, Versaci encountered a complication that found him gushing lymphatic fluid. Having to walk across the parking lot to the hospital, he says, Im holding all these towels around my abdomen, leaving a trail behind me, and what was going through my head was how this is going to be a great post. Panel prescriptions Graphic memoirs often offer readers catharsis. But for those who might prefer more practical self-help, there are comics for that, too. Joe Biel, founder of the long-running indie outlet Microcosm, observes a generational shift with contemporary comics fans receptive to books that take mental hardship head on. In June, Microcosm will release both a graphic adaptation of counselor Faith G. Harpers popular backlist title, now called Unfuck Your Brain Graphic Guide: Using Science to Get Over Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs, and Triggers, drawn by Gerta Oparaku Egy, and cartoonist Reid Chancellors graphic memoir Hardcore Happiness: A Graphic Journey to Find Punks Positivity. When we did books like these 15 or 20 years ago, people would pick them up, clearly be interested, then get uncomfortable and say, I want to leave this for someone who has real problems, Biel recalls. Thats my Generation X in full effect. Your problem could never be bad enough to require outside help. I think it was millennials that changed it. Thank you, millennials. Unfuck Your Brain explains how to coax each part of the brain into acting for, rather than against, a balanced mind. Rumination... continues to feed our emotional response (like anxiety or fear), deepening the groove, Harper writes. Another self-help offering, cartoonist Mariah-Rose Maries A Quick & Easy Guide to Healthy Relationships (Oni, Dec.), is just what its title promises, offering tips on boundaries and communication skills drawn with cheery comics vignettes, particularly applicable for younger adult readers. The Healing and Forgiveness chapter lays out paths back to trust following a rift. Mechanic, who has worked in the mental health field, credits discovering punk and hip-hopand specifically the way those genres communicate painwith helping him deal with depression and suicidal ideation, and influencing his decision to stick around. That sentiment is echoed in Chancellors Hardcore Happiness, which describes how punks positive subgenres inspired him to get up and live my life like I was starting today. For readers and creators, graphic nonfiction can provide a sense of solace in shared experiences. Writing his way through cancer treatment, Versaci says, also gave me a distance that I needed. It allowed me to see myself as a character. Grief, Carol Tyler says, is a bigger presence in our lives than we realize. Its a shaper. You have to find your own language and your own method of negotiating with it. Cheryl Klein is a PW comics reviewer, author of the memoir Crybaby, and a coeditor for Mutha magazine. Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly characterized Eisner Awardnominated author Carol Tyler as an Eisner winner. Read more from our Graphic Nonfiction feature. Premium online access is only available tosubscribers. If you have an active subscription and need to set up or change your password, please click here New to PW? To set up immediate access, click here. NOTE: If you had a previous PW subscription, click here to reactivate your immediate access. PW site license members have access to PWs subscriber-only website content. If working at an office location and you are not "logged in", simply close and relaunch your preferred browser. For off-site access, click here. To find out more about PWs site license subscription options, please email Mike Popalardo at: mike@nextstepsmarketing.com. Like many developing economies, India faces coercion from the United Nations and Europe to conform to climate policies, especially through the imposition of carbon taxes on imports into their countries. But Delhi is not about to bend to such tactics. If they [EU and U.K.] put in a carbon tax, we'll retaliate, said Indias Union Minister Piyush Goya at the Columbia India Energy Dialogue in New York City. I think it will be very silly, particularly to put a tax on friendly countries like India. That isnt a bluff. Its a moral, strategic, and scientific imperative grounded in realpolitik and economic logic. India and the U.K. have inked a trade deal that promises to boost bilateral trade by more than $33 billion and increase U.K. gross domestic product and wages by many billions. On paper, this deal is a triumph for both nations, removing duties on 99% of Indian goods entering the U.K. For India, this means greater market access for textiles, agriculture and manufactured goods sectors that employ millions and drive economic growth. Yet, the U.K.s pending Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) remains in place with no exemptions for Indian steel, cement and aluminum, despite the trade agreement. Starting January 2027, the U.K. is to impose a levy on these carbon-intensive imports, supposedly to compensate for the difference between the U.K.s domestic carbon tax and Indias lower assessment at home. The tax on imports is to prevent carbon leakage the idea that emissions are outsourced to countries with fewer regulations. This hocus-pocus is nothing more than repugnant virtue signaling that penalizes manufacturers in developing countries for using the very fossil fuels that powered the Wests rise in the 19th and 20th centuries. Indias export of these products to the EU and U.K. are a critical part of its economic engine. In 2022 alone, 27% of Indias iron, steel and aluminum exports went to the EU. Yet, the EUs CBAM, set to take effect in 2026 prior to the U.K. tax, would slap tariffs of 20-35% on these goods. For Indian exporters, this translates to a steep cost increase. Indias predominantly coal-based blast furnaces have higher carbon intensity of around 2.5-2.6 metric tons of CO emissions per metric ton of steel produced in comparison to the global average of 1.85 metric tons of CO 2 . This means a higher CBAM assessment for India. Profit margins for steel exports could shrink, while aluminum exporters might face a sudden surcharge once indirect emissions from coal power are factored in. Take the case of Tata Steel, which employs over 75,000 people and produces 30 million tons of steel annually. A 20-35% carbon tax under the EUs CBAM would erode profit margins, forcing layoffs or price hikes that could cost it market share. Indias dismissal of the climate war on fossil fuels is grounded in necessity and science. Economically, the nation aims to become a $5 trillion economy by 2027, a goal that demands rapid industrialization and infrastructure growth. Steel, cement, and aluminum are the building blocks of this ambition, used in everything from bridges to skyscrapers, and an important source of export revenue. Fossil fuels, particularly coal, are the lifeblood of these industries, providing the energy needed to keep production costs low and globally competitive. Coal generates more than 70% of Indias electricity. It powers the factories that make steel and cement. It keeps the lights on in rural hospitals and schools. And it fuels the economic engine that has lifted 415 million people out of poverty in the past two decades. The modern crusade against fossil fuels is based on the false premise of a disintegrating global environment. But that is not the case. Carbon dioxide is not a toxin. It is a colorless, odorless gas essential to life on Earth. Even the term carbon emissions is a sleight of hand. The emissions are carbon dioxide but calling them carbon conjures images of potentially harmful soot and smoke. Fear perpetrated by lies have made people less resistant to destructive policies like CBAM. However, India wont bow to carbon taxes, and it wont join an unscientific climate war that sacrifices its future. The U.K. and EU would do well to listen, lest they find themselves on the losing end of an Asian-dominated trade battle over manufactured goods. Instagram / Juliana Pasquarosa By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/23/2025 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. couple Grant Ellis and Juliana Pasquarosa have revealed a moving update amid rumors there's trouble in paradise.Many viewers, including Bachelor Nation's Ashley Iaconetti , have been speculating that Grant and Juliana's relationship is on the rocks after their engagement aired on 's Season 29 finale in March on ABC.But according to the couple, their relationship is still full steam ahead "There's been so much happening and we've been doing so much that [the finale] truly feels like it was 5,000 years ago," Juliana told Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt in a joint interview with Grant during a recent episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.Grant elaborated, "We just got off the show, so we're kind of being private with what we're doing and give people bits and pieces, but I've just been hanging out with her family!""Jules has really let me into her life and the circle of friends she has around her... Her friends have really accepted me and brought me in," he added.star, who currently resides in Houston, TX, confirmed that he's still planning to move to Boston, MA, where Juliana and her big Italian family live."Boston is still the plan. Actually, we're going out there after I hit up Spain and I hit up Aruba. We're going to look for some places. We've been contacting some people and figuring some things out," Grant shared."So I'm looking to go out there soon, after these hectic travels are done, and get life started."Grant said he and Juliana have plans to search for a place during Father's Day weekend in June. (That weekend, Juliana and Grant's families will also be getting together)."We're going to try a six-month or year lease and then, you know, depending on how things go, we're going to look for whatever is next, which would possibly be a home," Grant explained."But we're just taking things one step at a time and enjoying life."Juliana said she'd like to live "in the city" because she works in the Back Bay area."I would love to live in the North End, but I just think it's going to be too small," Juliana shared of a neighborhood that boasts authentic Italian restaurants and pizza shops."I don't think we'd be able to find anywhere that has enough space for the both of us. And I am also totally fine with being in a suburb outside of the city, just like where I am now, like Waltham or Newton -- and my sister is in Framingham."Juliana noted how she and Grant don't have too many restrictions or demands."I want to find something comfortable and whatever makes the most sense," Juliana said. "I just want to be still close to my fam, obviously."Juliana and Grant revealed how, ideally, their place will have three bedrooms and a nice closet.Following their apartment hunt, Juliana and Grant will be traveling to Italy during the first week of July.Juliana shared how she and Grant may check out some wedding venues abroad since they'd love to get married in Italy one day.But the pair agreed they're in no rush to wed."We're just taking life one moment and one day at a time," Juliana said. "We're focused on the move and just kind of getting life situated."Juliana and Grant got engaged in the Dominican Republic at the Final Rose Ceremony of 's 29th season, which filmed in late 2024.But what appeared to be only minutes before the Final Rose Ceremony, Grant was still undecided between Juliana and his other Final 2 bachelorette, Litia Garr Grant was in love with both women , and he had repeatedly told Litia that he was in love with her.But Grant chose to dump Litia in second place, leaving her feeling blindsided and devastated.Shortly after 's Season 29 finale aired, Grant faced backlash for allegedly leading Litia on Litia claimed on : After the Final Rose in March that Grant had confirmed they were getting engaged the night before the Final Rose Ceremony.Grant recently asked Bachelor Nation to "stay classy" as fans were continuing to hate on his relationship with Juliana."When Bach nation is everyone tryna get clout by taking shots and you just a Guy who's happy he found love and happy his dad is sober," Grant wrote over a TikTok video on March 31.Grant captioned the post, "Stay classy bachelor nation."And Juliana wrote in the comments, "We stay in our own lane bby. Beyond proud of you AND your father."Grant and Juliana opened up about all the outside noise during the April 1 episode of "The Viall Files" podcast."It's very easy to pick sides and make judgements... because people only see a fraction of you," Grant acknowledged when speaking with former star Nick Viall He went on to share, "One thing about Jules and I, people take low shots, and we don't really feed into that. How are we going to kill them? We're just going to win in life!"Grant insisted that phase of their lives was going to pass, and he added, "If you've got a problem with me or Jules, say it to our face."Nick advised Grant and Juliana to let the haters hate because people are going to continue picking them apart no matter what they do."I don't listen to people. We take things one step at a time, and our relationship is No. 1, so that's the message I want to get across," Grant noted, adding how his goal is to make Juliana happy.And Juliana apparently feels the same way about Grant.Juliana explained how she won't accept support from anyone who doesn't also genuinely support Grant."My stance right now is, 'If you're pro or for me, you are for Grant. You can't be for me and not support him.' We are two for one at this point, and I draw the line right there... I'm just honest!" Juliana told Nick.Interested in more news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group Adani Ports and JSW Infrastructure, Indias leading private port operators, are expanding their logistics services to capture extra cargo while they run integrated transport services. Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters With incrementally less availability of lucrative port assets that can drive cargo volumes, port operators have naturally shifted their focus on deriving value in the upstream integration, i.e., the logistics space. "The synergies being derived through end-to-end service capability for importing or exporting cargo, along with handling of the domestic cargo, are driving port operators to invest in building hinterland assets, said Varun Gogia, assistant vice-president & sector head, corporate ratings, Icra. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), Indias top private port operator, has 12 multimodal logistics parks (MMLPs), 132 rakes, more than 3 million square feet of warehousing space, around 6,000 containers, and 937 trailers and tipper trucks. It has 18,250 hectares of industrial land and is building a bank of over 1,528 acres at various industrial clusters, which are integrated with hinterland logistics (like rail and road). APSEZ's management, in earnings call for Q4 FY25, said it aims to become an integrated transport utility company. The company has a truck-management platform and a freight-forwarding business. These are capitalised businesses. They come with very high return on capital employed (ROCE), said D Muthukumaran, chief financial officer (CFO) of APSEZ, adding that growth in logistics is likely to be inorganic (business growth from acquisitions). JSW Infrastructure (JSW Infra) acquired a majority stake in Navkar Corporation, a logistics firm, for Rs 1,644 crore in FY25. Lalit Singhvi, whole-time director and CFO of JSW Infra, told Business Standard earlier the company is looking for more inorganic opportunities in logistics and has submitted bids to the National Company Law Tribunal for acquisitions. JSW Infra has two Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCT) and plans to participate in more such opportunities to build a nationwide logistics network of 15-20 GCT centres in five years to have an industry-leading ROCE. The company aims to use 100 acres of undeveloped land in Panvel, Maharashtra, and Morbi, Gujarat, for its logistics plans. It seeks a logistics revenue of Rs 8,000 crore and a 25 per cent ebitda margin by FY30, led by adopting an asset-light model via GCTs, synergies with the JSW Group, opportunities in the logistics sector, and major cleanup in accounts, said analysts at Ellara Capital in a note. (Ebitda stand for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) The logistics strategies of APSEZ and JSW Infra are a natural extension of their port businesses, according to experts. The companies seek to earn more from customers by offering end-to-end solutions, improved port efficiency, and more cargo volumes. Manish Goel, founder and managing director (MD) of Equentis Wealth Advisory Services, said, APSEZ benefits from scale, a pan-India port presence, and early investments in multi-modal connectivity and warehousing, making it one of the few players capable of offering genuine end-to-end solutions. "Meanwhile, JSW Infra leverages the groups industrial backbone. With steady captive cargo and access to in-house infrastructure, it enjoys operational certainty and volume visibilitytwo critical ingredients in logistics. APSEZs FY25 logistics revenue grew 38.6 per cent to Rs 2,881 crore, while ebitda increased 18.9 per cent to Rs 642 crore. Margins declined to 22 per cent from 26 per cent in FY24. Expansion will reduce overall ebitda percentage but increase ROCE, the company said. It has guided trucking revenue, which was Rs 428 crore in FY25, to grow at least three-fold in FY26. JSW Infra reported a logistics revenue of Rs 250 crore and ebitda of Rs 41 crore in FY25. It has guided FY26 logistics revenue to grow 50 per cent, driven by rake additions, terminals, and GCT initiatives. The expansion plans of the two companies may have mixed financial implications as logistics is a low-margin business, experts said. According to Vijay Agrawal, MD - investment banking at Equirus Capital, ports give ebitda margins of 60-70 per cent and ROCE of 12-17 per cent. Logistics generates lower ebitda (15-25 per cent) and ROCE (12-15 per cent). For example, APSEZs logistics contribute 12 per cent of revenue but only 4 per cent of ebitda. "JSW Infra is better positioned with low leverage and a 54 per cent margin at the group level, though logistics returns are yet to materialise fully. APSEZ plans a multi-year capital expenditure of Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 20,500 crore in land, new trucks, agriculture silos, trains, MMLPs, and warehouses. JSW Infra has earmarked Rs 9,000 crore for expanding its logistics business between FY25 and FY30. Goel believes that such huge capital outlays by operators is a risk. For APSEZ, logistics yields around 18 per cent ebitda margin lower than core port operations. As capital intensity rises, this margin pressure could dilute overall profitability. "The companys net debt-to-Ebitda ratio is also expected to increase, adding to financial strain. There are challenges like a volatile trade environment, potential delays in land acquisition, regulatory clearances and scarcity of skilled human capital. However, the experts believe the two companies logistics plans are worth it, as they are long-term investments with strategic methods of expansion. Pratik Mundhada, director at India Ratings & Research, said, most port operators follow an asset-light model for positive impact on ROCE. APSEZ and JSW Infra aim to use logistics for better cargo movement and eliminating middlemen and agents. Agrawal, of Equirus Capital, believes the companies plans may dilute short-term returns, but are viable for the long term due to Indias logistics demand and policy support. "These investments will yield results on an overall basis with increased throughput at the port, operational efficiencies, and top line." The controversy deepened after a video surfaced showing Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the wedding, personally handing over a Fortuner SUV and making a remark widely interpreted as normalising dowry. 26-year-old Vaishnavi Hagawane's death by suicide has erupted into a political and social flashpoint for Ajit Pawar and the Nationalist Congress Party. IMAGE: Expelled Nationalist Congress Party leader Rajendra Hagawane. Photograph: Kind courtesy Facebook Vaishnavi, now expelled NCP leader Rajendra Hagawane's daughter-in-law, allegedly faced relentless dowry harassment -- demands for gold, a Fortuner SUV, and Rs 2 crore -- that, her family claims, pushed her to take her life. A suicide note, injuries revealed in the postmortem, and an FIR naming Hagawane, his wife, two sons, and daughter have intensified public outrage. The controversy deepened after a video surfaced showing Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the wedding, personally handing over the Fortuner and making a remark widely interpreted as normalising dowry. Vaishnavi's father Anil Kaspate recounted that during the wedding, Pawar made a comment -- interpreted by some as a quip -- asking whether the Fortuner was a gift or a demand. This remark, in light of subsequent events, has been perceived by many as inadvertently normalising dowry practices. Though the NCP has since expelled Hagawane and his son, questions about political patronage, silence, and accountability persist. As investigations widen, this case threatens to dent the NCP's image even as Ajit Pawar has himself called upon the Pune police to spare no one involved in this case. Here's a detailed explainer who Rajendra Hagawane is -- and why this matters. Who is Rajendra Hagawane? Rajendra Tukaram Hagawane contested the 2004 Maharashtra assembly elections from the Mulshi constituency on an NCP ticket and was once the party's taluka president. While not a state-level heavyweight, he held influence in the local political machinery and was seen as a grassroots leader with a following in the Pune rural belt. What is his political standing within the NCP? Before his expulsion in May 2025 following the controversy over his daughter-in-law's death by suicide citing dowry as reason, Hagawane was a minor but visible face in the NCP's district leadership. His stature was regional -- not central -- but he had proximity to key leaders like Ajit Pawar. That proximity was evident when Ajit Pawar attended the wedding of Rajendra's son Shashank in 2023. The wedding and subsequent fallout have now become politically controversial. Why is Rajendra Hagawane in the news now? Hagawane's daughter-in-law Vaishnavi (26) hanged herself on May 16 at her in-laws' house in the Bavdhan area of Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district. Her death has snowballed into a political scandal involving allegations of dowry harassment and domestic abuse. Vaishnavi's family has accused the Hagawane family -- including Rajendra -- of repeated dowry demands and mental and physical torture. What are the allegations against the Hagawane family? According to Vaishnavi's relatives and her suicide note, the family allegedly demanded: 51 tolas of gold (1 tola = 10 grams) A Fortuner SUV Rs 2 crore to purchase a land parcel There were also claims of verbal abuse, beatings, and emotional pressure, all leading up to her death. Postmortem findings showed injury marks on her body, prompting the police to also explore possible foul play beyond suicide. The police have registered a First Information Report against her husband Shashank, mother-in-law Lata Rajendra Hagawane, Rajendra Hagawane, sister-in-law Karishma and brother-in-law Sushil under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to abetment to suicide and domestic violence.. Who else is accused in this case? The FIR names several family members: Rajendra Hagawane (father-in-law) Shashank Hagawane (husband) Lata Hagawane (mother-in-law) Karishma Hagawane (sister-in-law) Sushil Hagawane (Rajendra's other son) All have been booked under Sections 498A (cruelty), 304B (dowry death), and 306 (abetment of suicide). Was Ajit Pawar aware of the case? Ajit Pawar's presence at Shashank and Vaishnavi Hagawane's wedding and his alleged conversation with the girl's family regarding an SUV that was gifted to the Hagawanes by the girl's family has elevated this local tragedy into a state-level controversy. Pawar was present at Vaishnavi and Shashank's wedding, and photographs show him handing over the keys to the Fortuner SUV. The visuals have caused deep political embarrassment, especially given the NCP's attempts to position itself as a progressive party on women's rights. The NDTV television channel reported that Vaishnavi's maternal uncle Uttam Bahirat recalled Ajit Pawar asking her parents at the wedding, 'Are you giving the car voluntarily, or was it demanded by Raja (Rajendra Hagawane)?' What action has the NCP taken? Facing immense public pressure, the NCP expelled Rajendra Hagawane and his son Sushil on May 23, 2025. The party stated that it would not tolerate 'regressive practices' like dowry and promised to cooperate fully with the investigation. NCP President and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was present at the wedding of Hagawane's other son Shashank -- now arrested -- said he asked the police to deploy additional teams to nab the father-son duo. 'You all invite me to weddings and I try to attend them. But if I attend the wedding of a party worker's son and he later mistreats his daughter-in-law, how am I to be held responsible? Did Ajit Pawar ask him to do that?' he asked. What's the latest on the case? The accused were on the run for nearly a week before being arrested. All five -- Rajendra, Shashank, Lata, Karishma, and Sushil -- are now in police custody. The police are also reportedly probing whether Vaishnavi's death could have been a murder disguised as suicide. Investigation reports and phone records are being scrutinised. What impact will this have on the NCP? While Rajendra Hagawane wasn't a state-level stalwart, the optics are damaging. His proximity to Ajit Pawar and the issue of dowry death have triggered outrage, especially among women and youth. It also raises uncomfortable questions about patronage politics and whether such regressive practices are silently condoned until exposed. What are political leaders saying? Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) MP, has called for a fair probe and justice for Vaishnavi. Ambadas Danve, a leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), stated that Ajit Pawar should not be blamed solely for Hagawane's association with the NCP. He called for strict action against Vaishnavi's in-laws to deter future dowry-related abuse. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that the police investigation would determine whether Vaishnavi's death was a murder or suicide. He emphasised that the authorities would take appropriate action based on the findings. MNS leader Shalini Thackeray criticised Ajit Pawar for his involvement in the wedding ceremony, where he handed over a car to the couple, suggesting it could be seen as endorsing dowry practices. She called for his resignation, stating that such actions were unbecoming of his position. The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a contractual health worker posted in the border district of Kutch for allegedly sharing sensitive information about military establishments with a Pakistani spy, officials said on Saturday. IMAGE: Accused Sahdevsinh Gohil had shared photos and videos of various BSF and naval facilities in Kutch district via WhatsApp with the Pakistani spy for money. Photograph: ANI on X Accused Sahdevsinh Gohil, 28, was lured by a Pakistani agent, who identified herself as Aditi Bharadwaj, to share information about under-construction as well as existing establishments of the Border Security Force and Indian Navy in the area, said the ATS in a release. Since June 2023, Gohil, a resident of Lakhpat taluka of Kutch, had shared photos and videos of various BSF and naval facilities in Kutch district via WhatsApp with the Pakistani spy for money, said Superintendent of Police (ATS) Siddharth Korukonda. The Pakistani agent first contacted Gohil, who was a contractual health worker at a government centre in Mata No Madh village in Lakhpat, on his WhatsApp number in June 2023 and befriended him. "After winning his trust, the agent sought photos and videos of BSF and Indian Navy offices and ongoing construction around his village. Gohil shared the requested classified information via WhatsApp," said the SP, adding that Gohil knew she was a Pakistani spy. In January 2025, Gohil used his Aadhaar (unique identification number) to procure a SIM card and shared the OTP with the Pakistani agent, enabling her to use WhatsApp linked to that number from the neighbouring country. Based on a tip, he was brought to the ATS office a few days ago for questioning, and his phone was sent for a forensic analysis, said Korukonda. "Forensic analysis revealed that both the numbers on which Gohil used to share the information are currently being operated from Pakistan. We also learnt that he had received Rs 40,000 cash from an unidentified person sometime ago for sharing that information," he said. Following an investigation, the ATS arrested Gohil and registered an FIR against him and the Pakistani agent under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 61 (criminal conspiracy) and 148 (waging war against the government), added the officer. It is the message delivered that matters. While Operation Sindoor showcased India's military prowess and firm stand against terrorism, the armed forces put out sleek social media posts and videos, one with rock renditions of lines from Dinkar's ballad Rashmirathi, to drive home the point. IMAGE: Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi visits Longewala in Rajasthan's forward areas and lauds troops for their exemplary role in the success of Operation Sindoor. Photograph: Indian Army India decimated nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir under Operation Sindoor with precision strikes early on May 7 in response to the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam massacre. At 1:44 am that day, the government, in a statement, underlined that India has demonstrated "considerable restraint" in the selection of targets and method of execution and that "no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted". Shortly after, the Indian Army's social media handles carried a poignant message with a poster that has now become a defining image of Operation Sindoor. Along with the message "#PahalgamTerrorAttack Justice is Served. Jai Hind!" the Indian Army's 1:51 am X post carried a poster that was concise in words but heavy on symbolism. The poster had 'OPERATION SINDOOR' written on it with a small bowl carrying vermilion (worn by married Hindu women) forming the first 'O' of the second word while the second 'O' had a dash of the powder around it. Since then, the Indian Army has come up with several thematic short videos on social media platforms that have been widely shared and appreciated. All these videos were made in-house, by the Social Media Section of the Indian Army's Additional Directorate General of Strategic Communication, sources in the military establishment said. The songs were carefully chosen, each based on the content and theme, they added. But a video that has stood out for its lyrical appeal and arresting visuals, is the one that was played just before the press briefing of the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) on Operation Sindoor on May 12. As the video rolled, a powerful rendition of a key verse from Krishna ki Chetavani, a part of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's timeless classic Rashmirathi echoed. It was a metaphor-laden message delivered to Pakistan by the Indian military with poetic precision. In the video, the rock music style rendition was juxtaposed with the images of the Indian military assets -- missiles, naval platforms, weapon system, air defence system -- with subtitles. The Hindi lyrics that played along with the video roughly translates to "When doom hovers over a man, the first thing that vanishes is wisdom... you did not heed wise words, did not recognise the value of friendship... announcing the last resolve. There will be war and not pleading, glory to life or death it will be". The subtitles of the video carried the words 'prepared', 'each move detected', 'every step watched', 'tracked', 'monitored'. "The song was specially composed using the specific lines relevant for the theme. The rock music theme was chosen for the effect. The song was created by an in-house team using the latest technology available," a source in the defence establishment told PTI. A collage of images of the wreckage of Pakistani drones destroyed by the Indian armed forces under Operation Sindoor and a montage of videos showcasing India's military's prowess in all three domains -- land, air and sea -- played on a large screen along with music. Following the May 7 strikes by India, Pakistan attempted to counterattack on May 8, 9 and 10, but the Indian forces thwarted waves of aerial incursions efficiently. "The message intended to be conveyed through these music and videos for the audience was that the Indian Army is prepared, ready and capable of using decisive force against India's adversaries. "Those with nefarious designs against the nation should not lose sight of the Indian Army's might, reach and valour," another source in the defence establishment told PTI. Before the briefing by the military on May 11, Shiva Tandava Stotram was played on the big screen, setting the tone for the press conference. A montage of images showing damage inflicted by the Indian military under Operation Sindoor played with subtitles such as -- 'heed our advice', 'terrorism will have a cost for Pakistan', 'heavy', 'inevitable', 'unaffordable'. 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. The ministry of civil aviation on Friday announced the extension of the ban on the use of Indian airspace by Pakistani aircraft until June 23, 2025. Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Reuters As per the ministry, the Notice to Airmen restricting access for Pakistani flights has been extended for another month. The ministry stated, "Indian airspace is not approved for ACFTs registered in Pakistan and ACFTs operated/owned or leased by Pakistani airlines/operators, including military flights." Earlier, it was reported that the Delhi-Srinagar IndiGo flight 6E 2142, which was caught in a sudden hailstorm near Pathankot on May 21, was denied entry into Pakistani airspace, which was sought by the pilot to avoid turbulence. According to the crew's statement to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the pilot's request was dismissed by the Lahore Air Traffic Control. "On 21.05.2025, Indigo A321 Neo aircraft VT-IMD operated flight 6E-2142 (Delhi -Srinagar). While cruising at FL360, aircraft entered hailstorm and severe turbulence near Pathankot. As per the crew statement, they requested Northern control (IAF) for deviation towards left (International Border) due to weather on the route; however, it was not approved," the DGCA said." Later, the crew contacted Lahore to enter their airspace to avoid the weather, but the same was refused, too," it added. The DGCA said that the crew initially attempted to return, but as they were close to the thunderstorm cloud, they decided to penetrate the weather. "Subsequently, they encountered a hailstorm and severe turbulence. The crew chose to continue on the same heading to exit the weather by the shortest route towards Srinagar. While in a thunderstorm cloud, warnings of Angle of Attack fault, Alternate Law protection lost, and backup Speed scale unreliable were triggered," DGCA said. It said that due to updraft and down draft encountered by the aircraft, the Autopilot tripped, and the aircraft's speed had wide variations. "As a result, maximum operating speed/maximum operating mach (VMO/MMO) warnings and repeated stall warnings were triggered. During this period the aircraft rate of descent reached 8500 fpm crew flew the aircraft manually till they exit the hailstorm," DGCA said. "After carrying out all checklist actions (ECAM actions), the crew declared PAN PAN to Srinagar ATC and requested RADAR vectors and made a safe landing with Auto Thrust operating normally. There was no injury to any of the passengers on board the flight. Post flight walk around revealed damage to the Nose radome. The matter is under investigation by the DGCA," it added. Earlier, IndiGo Airlines had issued a statement after the incident, saying, "IndiGo flight 6E 2142 operating from Delhi to Srinagar encountered a sudden hailstorm en route. The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol, and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar. The airport team attended to the customers after the arrival of the aircraft, prioritising their well-being and comfort. The aircraft will be released post-necessary inspection and maintenance" The recent confrontation between India and Pakistan was not a "conflict in Kashmir", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asserted, saying such a description would be like putting the perpetrator and the victim of the Pahalgam attack at the same level. IMAGE: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was in Berlin in the third and final leg of his three-nation tour of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Photograph: @DrSJaishankar/X The "horrific" strike in Pahalgam was aimed at creating a "fear psychosis", destroying Jammu and Kashmir's tourism sector and was meant to "sow religious discord, he said. Jaishankar made the remarks during an interactive session at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin late last evening. When asked about the "international implications of the conflict in Kashmir", he responded: "First of all, this was not a conflict in Kashmir, this was a terrorist attack." "And a terrorist attack which is part of a pattern which has not only targeted the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, but other parts of India as well," Jaishankar said. "It's very important to clarify because when you project it as a conflict, you're really putting the perpetrator and the victim, without meaning to, at the same level." "So this was a horrific, particularly brutal terrorist attack because it was meant to create a fear psychosis and destroy the tourism economy of Kashmir, which is the mainstay," he said. The external affairs minister was in Berlin in the third and final leg of his three-nation tour of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Under Operation Sindoor, India carried out precision strikes on nine terror infrastructures 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. The Pakistani attempts were strongly responded to by the Indian side. 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. In his remarks, Jaishankar said India targeted "terrorist headquarters and terrorist centres" in Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam attack. "What we were responding to was terrorism and when we respond to such an attack, I think there was a lot of international understanding," he said. Jaishankar also referred to a statement issued by the UN Security Council, that said people who did it should be brought to justice. "And that is exactly what we did on May 7. So we targeted terrorist headquarters and terrorist centres. And our campaign is against terrorism," he said. "Now, the terrorists in this case happened to be located in the country next door because that country next door has for many, many years used terrorism as a kind of a tool," he said. "When it comes to terrorism, I think today there's virtually no country which would say I approve of what is done or no country which would say I don't condemn what was done," he added. Jaishankar said even Germany recognises India's right to defend itself against terrorism. He also pitched for greater cooperation between India and Europe in the Indo-Pacific. "The Indo-Pacific has its own set of issues, security is one of them. But I would actually point to a different concept, which is how do we give countries in the Indo-Pacific more choices." "That if countries in the Indo-Pacific have a single choice, they're railroaded along a certain path and they develop their dependencies," he added. "One part of what we are trying to do in the Indo-Pacific is to give different countries different options in various domains - telecom, digital infrastructure, space-based applications or health choices," he said. Reaching out to the people affected by Pakistani shelling in the worst-hit Poonch, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the border district in Jammu and Kashmir embodies the "harmony, unity and patriotism of Hindustan" and those trying to divide the country will never succeed in their design. IMAGE: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi interacts with the students affected by Pakistan's cross-border shelling during his visit to a school, in Poonch. Photograph: ANI Photo The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha spent nearly two hours with the affected people, including the families who lost their members in the cross-border attacks between May 7 and May 10. He visited shelling-hit Gurdwara Singh Sabha, temple Geeta Bhawan and Madrassa Zia-ul-Uloom, besides interacting with the students at the Christ High School. "It is a big tragedy. Many people lost their lives. They (Pakistan army) have hit civilian targets directly. I talked to the people and tried to understand their problems," Gandhi told reporters. "I stand strongly with the victim families -- I will definitely raise their demands and issues at the national level," he said. Poonch faced the brunt of the Pakistani shelling that left 28 people dead and 70 injured. "Damaged houses, scattered belongings, moist eyes and painful stories of losing loved ones -- these patriotic families bear the biggest burden of war with courage and dignity every time. Salute to their courage," Gandhi said on X. The Congress leader asserted that the nation would respond resolutely to any attempts to harm its unity. Today, I visited a temple, gurdwara and madrassa affected by Pakistani attacks in Poonch. People of every religion live together here and share each other's pain. This is Poonch - this is Hindustan, where there is harmony, unity and patriotism, Gandhi said in another Hindi post on X after the visit. Those who try to divide and break us will never succeed - we will always remain united and respond strongly. Jai Hind, Gandhi said in his post. The Congress leader interacted with students of Christ school who lost two of their mates -- 12-year-old twins Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima -- to Pakistani shelling. "Don't worry, everything will come back to normal," he consoled the children while encouraging them to "study hard, play hard and make lots of friends". Though the school escaped the shelling between May 7 and 10 that left 28 dead and over 70 others injured, its two students were among the victims. "You've seen a bit of danger, you've seen a bit of a frightening situation. But don't worry, everything will come back to normal. And your way of responding to this problem should be that you study really hard, you play really hard and you make a lot of friends in school. Okay? Will you do that? Good," Gandhi told the students. IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi inspects the damage at Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Poonch. Photograph: ANI Photo His presence brightened up the youngsters who were seen clapping and waving as the former Congress president shook hands with them. "Big hug to all of you. Love you and thank you," he said before leaving. Gandhi was accompanied by J-K Minister for Jal Shakti Javed Ahmed Rana, senior Congress leaders including AICC General Secretary in charge of the party's Jammu and Kashmir affairs Syed Naseer Hussain, AICC general secretary G A Mir, J-K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra and former ministers Vikar Rasool Wani and Lal Singh. The BJP, however, hit out at Gandhi for calling an "act of terror" a "tragedy". Taking exception to the Congress leader's remark, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Rahul Gandhi in his statement said that what happened in Poonch was a tragedy. Rahul Gandhi is calling (Pakistan Army's) act of terror an act of tragedy." The entire country is shocked and upset with his remarks, he told reporters here. The BJP spokesperson said the Pakistani Army with its "terrorist mindset" rained bullets and killed unarmed innocent civilians, including in Poonch. They also fired at Gurudwara and the devotees, who were performing puja there, he added. "Rahul Gandhi indulges in whitewashing, calls an act of terror an act of tragedy," Poonawalla charged, adding, "You have rubbed salt on our wounds." IMAGE: Rahul meets the family of Shaheed Vihaan Bhargav, who lost his life due to cross-border shelling by Pakistan. Photograph: ANI Photo Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former minister Lal Singh lauded Gandhi for visiting Poonch and meeting the affected families. The visit of Gandhi came as a great relief to the people of Poonch which was ignored by our big leader who also failed to visit Pahalgam and instead visited Bihar for election campaigning, he said in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said Gandhi visited both Pahalgam and Poonch and visited "every home, whether of a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian to express sympathies with them". Gandhi's visit to Poonch will reverberate in parliament. Our leader will raise the voice of the victims forcefully to attract the attention of the nation towards their plight, Singh said. He criticised the central government for not accepting Gandhi's demand for a special session of the parliament in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. "The courage and dedication of the armed forces are praiseworthy but the central government needs to inform the nation about leaking information to Pakistan about an imminent strike on terror infrastructure and third-party intervention to reach an agreement on ceasefire," he said, repeating the allegations that have been dismissed by the government. This was Gandhi's second visit to the Union territory since the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. Gandhi visited Srinagar on April 25 to meet those injured in the attack. He also met Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and several stakeholders then. Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said their party is positive about an alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the sake of Marathi people. IMAGE: The buzz over a rapprochement between the two Thackerays has dominated the state politics for a while now. Photograph: ANI Photo Estranged cousins Raj and Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray last month sparked speculation about a possible reconciliation with statements indicating they could ignore trivial issues and join hands in the larger interest of Marathi manoos (Marathi-speaking people), nearly two decades after a bitter parting of ways. Raut said Sena-UBT has a positive approach towards an alliance with MNS, which is pronounced Manase' in Marathi, while attempting to make a wordplay with the party's name. Uddhavji's stand regarding an alliance with Raj Thackeray for the sake of the Marathi people is 'manase' and 'dil se' (from the mind and the heart), Raut told reporters in Mumbai. Local body elections in Maharashtra, including for civic corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Nagpur and Pune, are slated to be held later this year. Earlier, senior MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said on Thursday that Raj Thackeray would consider an alliance with the Sena-UBT only if a concrete proposal is put forward, noting their previous overtures for a tie-up were met with betrayal. If the Shiv Sena-UBT feels an alliance with the MNS is possible, they should come forward with a substantial proposal. Raj Thackeray will take a decision on it, he maintained. Deshpande recalled past instances when the MNS had initiated tie-up talks, but faced what he called betrayal. The buzz over a rapprochement between the two Thackerays has dominated the state politics for a while now. Raj last month spoke about it in an interview with filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar, while Uddhav responded positively within hours of the comment. Raj Thackeray quit the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005 and floated his own party the next year. In the past, he has allied with the BJP, a bitter rival of the Shiv Sena-UBT. A Georgian national and alleged leader of a neo-Nazi group has been extradited from Moldova to the United States to face charges that he recruited people to commit violent crimes against Jews and other ethnic minorities in New York City, the US Justice Department said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, who goes by several aliases, including Commander Butcher and Mishka, was arraigned in federal court in New York on May 23 on multiple felonies. Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili as a white supremacist who plotted the mass killing of children and others in minority communities using poison, suicide bombs, firearms, arson fires, and vehicle explosions. The 21-year-old from Tbilisi who was arrested last July in Moldova pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Samuel Gregory, who requested his client receive a psychiatric evaluation and be placed on suicide watch while in custody. Gregory did not return a message seeking comment, according to the Associated Press. Chkhikvishvili, described by prosecutors as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, recruited people, including on the Telegram messaging app, to commit violent acts to promote the groups ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City, the Justice Department said in a news release. The Maniac Murder Cult, which also goes by several aliases, including Cult of Killing and MKY, is described as an international racially motivated violent extremist group that prosecutors said adheres to a neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems undesirables. Prosecutors said the groups activities inspired multiple attacks and killings around the world, including a school shooting this year in Nashville, Tennessee, that left a 16-year-old student dead. This case is a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the Justice Departments news release. FBI Director Kash Patel said Chkhikvishvili, is accused of recruiting others to kill Jewish people and racial minorities and of providing instructions on how to commit other lethal attacks, even targeting children around the holidays by poisoning candy. Chkhikvishvili distributed a manifesto titled the Haters Handbook to members of the group in which he said he had murdered for the white race, according to the Justice Department. The handbook encourages and instructs others to commit acts of mass violence and ethnic cleansing. After traveling to Brooklyn, New York, in June 2022, Chkhikvishvili provided detailed plans and materials such as bomb-making instructions to a prospective member of the group who was in fact an undercover FBI employee. In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili began planning a mass casualty attack in New York City to take place on New Years Eve. The scheme involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities, according to the department. The scheme evolved in January, and Chkhikvishvili directed the undercover employee to target the Jewish community with poison. The department said Chkhikvishvili wanted the planned attack to be a bigger action than Breivik, referring to Anders Breivik, a Norwegian neoNazi who killed 77 people in a bombing and mass shooting in Norway in 2011. If convicted, Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for solicitation of violent felonies, including hate crime acts and transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure. He faces several years in prison for other crimes, including conspiring to solicit violent felonies and distributing information pertaining to the making and use of explosive devices and ricin poison. With reporting by AP Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, often imprisoned in his home country and for years banned from traveling abroad, on May 24 won the Palme d'Or, the top award at the Cannes Film Festival in France. It was the second year in a row that an Iranian filmmaker has been in the spotlight at Cannes following the appearance in 2024 of director Mohammad Rasoulof -- who had to escape his home country to be able to appear at the festival for a screening of one of his films. Panahi, 64 -- who has clandestinely made a number of films in Iran in recent years -- won this years prestigious award for his film titled It Was Just An Accident, a thriller about a group of former prisoners in Iran who abduct the guard allegedly responsible for torturing them. He put out a call for freedom and unity in his home country, which has long been assailed by international groups for human rights violations and which is suffering from crippling economic sanctions imposed by the West. I have a request from all groups of people of all faiths in my country and abroad, all Iranians who are striving for freedom, for human dignity, and for democracy, he said on accepting the award amid a rousing standing ovation from the audience. Put aside all differences. What is important now is the integrity of our country. We hope we will achieve freedom as soon as possible. No one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should or shouldnt do. Cinema is a society. Nobody is entitled to tell what we should do or refrain from doing, he said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called Panahi's award "a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression" -- comments that led the Iranian Foreign Ministry to summons Paris's representative in Tehran over what it called the "insulting" remarks. Panahi in Apri 2023 left Iran for the first time in 14 years after completing a prison sentence for his activism that allowed for the lifting of a travel ban imposed by the country's authorities. Days prior to his arrest in July 2022, Panahi had joined a group of more than 300 Iranian filmmakers in publishing an open letter calling on the security forces to "lay down their arms" in the face of public outrage over "corruption, theft, inefficiency, and repression" following the violent crackdown against people protesting a building collapse that killed 41 people in the city of Abadan. Those protests were overtaken by a wave of unrest following the September 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating the country's head-scarf law. As he was announced winner of the prestigious Cannes award, jury president Juliette Binoche -- who in 2010 in Cannes held up Panahi's name to honor the filmmaker when he was under house arrest -- cheered along with the crowd. Panahi has now won Cannes' Palme d'Or, Venice's Golden Lion (for The Circle), and Berlin's Golden Bear (for Taxi) -- one of only four filmmakers to have accomplished that feat. A year ago, Rasoulof fled Iran to attend the premiere of his film in Cannes. He eventually resettled in Germany. Panahi, however, vowed to return to Tehran. Asked if he was worried about going back, Panahi said: "Not at all. Tomorrow we are leaving [for Iran]." "Win or not, I was going to go back either way. Don't be afraid of challenges," he said. With reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa Preparations are under way for what could be the most delicate NATO summit in years and Mark Ruttes first real test as secretary-general. Fittingly for the longest-serving Dutch prime minister in history, it will take place in familiar surroundings his hometown, The Hague, in late June. According to NATO officials in contact with RFE/RL, Rutte will need all his diplomatic skills to ensure it is a successful summit. And by a successful summit they mean keeping unpredictable US President Donald Trump happy. Their nightmare scenario is the turbulent 2018 NATO summit in Brussels during Trumps first term, when a video of a tense exchange with then-Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg set the tone of the entire meeting. Later that same day, Trump threatened to pull the United States out of the military organization entirely if European allies didnt spend more on defense. 'Trump Whisperer' Rutte was reportedly key in convincing the US president that NATO was worth keeping, helping to establish his reputation as one of Europes Trump whisperers -- a label that ultimately paved the way for him to secure NATOs top job six years later. Despite the fact that a lot has happened in the world since then, Trump will come to the Netherlands with the very same message -- spend more on defense. No one thinks he will threaten to pull out, as all US officials -- including senior cabinet members such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth -- have recently traveled to Brussels with the message that Washington remains committed to NATO. But Trump wants to see clear results. And the likely outcome will be a commitment by all 32 NATO allies to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP -- a significant increase from the current target of 2 percent. Of that, 3.5 percent would go toward hard targets, such as weapons and artillery, while the remaining 1.5 percent would be allocated to cyberdefense and investment in military mobility. NATO officials are still debating the timeline for reaching the new spending goal, with proposals ranging from five to 10 years under discussion. Shortened Summit In order not to create too many openings for alliance members to fall out with each other, the summit has already been shortened from three days to just two. The itinerary is not set in stone yet, but we might just see an official dinner on the first day, followed by two working sessions on the second -- one dealing with defense spending and the other on how to boost the defense industrial base. With several European allies keen to buy more Japanese and South Korean defense products, it is likely that NATOs four Indo-Pacific partners -- Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea -- will be present at the latter session. The final communique of the summit is also being slimmed down considerably. NATO officials say the goal is to keep the final communique to just three or four paragraphs -- a stark contrast to recent summits. The 2024 Washington declaration ran to 40 paragraphs, while the Vilnius communique the year before stretched to a sprawling 90, covering a wide range of issues. NATO Membership For Ukraine? This years text may omit any direct mention of Russia -- and possibly even Ukraine --making the Hague meeting very different from recent summits. In both Washington and Vilnius, Ukraine dominated the agenda, with heated debates over whether to offer the country a membership invitation and how to define its future path toward joining the alliance. With Trump seemingly ruling out Ukraines NATO membership anytime soon, one European official told me it might be better not to mention Ukraine in the declaration at all -- for now. Any attempt to negotiate wording could result in a weaker statement than the one agreed in Washington in 2024, where NATO at least pledged to continue supporting Kyiv on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership. This also poses the question whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be invited to the Netherlands after being the star guest at previous gatherings. There is no confirmation of his invitation yet, but most NATO officials believe that he will come in the end. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna recently pointed out that it would be "a major stratcom mistake" if Zelenskyy didn't come as that would be all the media would write about from the gathering. While the Ukrainian leader is still expected to come, he probably wont get a dedicated NATOUkraine Council meeting as he did at the last two summits. For now, the alliance appears to be turning its focus inward once again. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has told RFE/RL's Current Time that Latvia and Lithuania should keep their borders with Belarus open despite growing tensions about migrants. Her comments came days after Lithuania lodged a complaint at a top UN court seeking action against Belarus over the issue. Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have seen growing numbers of migrants seeking to enter from Belarus since 2021, and say that Minsk is deliberately driving them there in a hybrid operation aimed at destabilizing the three EU countries. "I understand why this issue comes up, because it is easier to close the entire border and not let anyone through," said Tsikhanouskaya. "But we defend the rights of Belarusians. We understand that sometimes an open border is their only way to avoid prison and flee," she added. The 42-year-old opposition leader has been based in Lithuania since fleeing Belarus in 2020, and has supported Lithuania's legal moves at the United Nations. But she said "the complete closure of the border is now being discussed. These questions will be raised as long as the war [between Russia and Ukraine] continues, as long as [Belarusian authoritarian leader Aleksandr] Lukashenko keeps sending migrants to the border." Lithuania is seeking compensation from Belarus for "organizing the large-scale smuggling of migrants" into its territory. Despite acknowledging the rising pressure to seal borders amid growing tensions, Tsikhanouskaya warned that doing so could have unintended consequences and urged the Baltic states not to "limit freedom." "We must save connections between people, she said. "Relatives need to meet. We need people from Belarus to come [to Latvia and Lithuania] and pass on information they have," Tsikhanouskaya said. Neighboring countries have already imposed many restrictions on entry from Belarus, for instance against cars registered there. But there is still cross-border transit, such as by bus. Tsikhanouskaya also spoke about the plight of political prisoners in Belarus. According to the Belarusian human rights group Vyasna, the Lukashenko regime has incarcerated some 1,189 people for political reasons. A statement on May 22 by 37 European nations plus Canada called for their release, noting that "many of them are subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including deprivation of necessary medical assistance." Among those locked up are RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik, who was jailed in June 2020 on charges that Western governments have condemned as politically motivated. Tsikhanouskaya's husband Syarhey Tsikhanouski was detained in May 2020, while running for president against Lukashenko. His jailing propelled her into politics, as she took up his candidacy. "Even in prison, you can't strangle or crush the will for change, for freedom, no matter how much they try," she said. "But they are trying with very brutal means: physically and psychologically." Tsikhanouskaya would not be drawn on what she thinks the future holds for Belarus, where Lukashenko has stifled dissent throughout his nearly 30-year grip on power. But she did say that the current moment was crucial, pointing to diplomatic moves for a cease-fire in Ukraine. Lukashenko has been a firm supporter of Moscow, allowing his country to be used as a launch pad for Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. "Everything possible must be done so that Belarus is not forgotten in these talks," Tsikhanouskaya said. "If Lukashenko continues to rule, serving Putin, then Belarus will be a constant threat not only to Belarusians themselves, but to...Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland." Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called on Latvia and Lithuania to keep their borders open with neighboring Belarus. She spoke with Current Time in an interview marking the fifth anniversary of the violent crackdown on opposition protesters by strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko's authoritarian regime. The Baltic countries are considering restricting border crossings over security concerns but Tsikhanouskaya says Belarusian citizens need to keep a "link to the free world." Three people died and at least 15 people were injured in a Russian-launched mass air attack on Ukrainian cities overnight. The deadly strike hit Odesa late on May 23, followed by hundreds of drones and missiles launched at Kyiv in the early hours of May 24. Firefighters battled to put out burning apartment buildings as residents scrambled for shelter. The attacks came hours after a record number of prisoners of war were exchanged between Ukraine and Russia. Kyiv is gearing up on May 25 for the third day of a mass prisoner exchange with Moscow following scenes of raw emotion as Ukrainian prisoners returned from incarceration in Russia, draped in the national flag to tears of joy from loved ones. Kyiv said it was prepared to hand over all captured Russians in return for all Ukrainians being held by Moscow as the so-called 1,000-for-1,000 deal proceeds. On May 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that another 307 Ukrainians had returned home on May 24 following the May 23 initial release of prisoners, some of whom had been held since 2022. Just in these two days, 697 people have already been brought back, Zelenskyy said on Telegram, referring to the deal brokered in Turkey. Of all these people, 273 were taken captive in the Donetsk region, many as far back as 2022; others were captured in the territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions, he added. Tomorrow [May 25] is the third stage, Zelenskyy said. Our task is to bring home absolutely everyone who is held in Russia." Our goal is to return each and every one from Russian captivity. We continue our interaction with partners to make this possible. Petro Yatsenko of Ukraines Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War was quoted by Suspilne Media as saying Kyiv is always ready to release all captured Russians and bring home all Ukrainians held by Moscow. All the [released prisoners] are feeling optimistic. Very emaciated, very underfed, but it's all a matter of timeAfter two to three years in Russian captivity, it will be a difficult process to return to normal life, Yatsenko said. On the ground, Olena Yuzvak hugged her husband, Yuriy, as he returned from captivity, saying, "It's the best day." She said she had been waiting for him for three days. "I couldn't believe it [was happening] until we reached the border," Oleksandr, a returning soldier, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "You're in the plane, then they drive you different ways. But you just can't believe it." In Moscow, the Defense Ministry reported on May 24 that 307 prisoners had been returned to Russia. The soldiers were currently in Belarus receiving medical attention, it added. But while families in Ukraine welcomed their loved ones home, the country was simultaneously reeling from two massive Russian air assaults on Kyiv and other areas, including the port city of Odesa and on Kupyansk in northeastern Ukraine. Early on May 25, Russian drones injured at least seven people when fragments hit and set fire to an apartment building in the Holosiivskiy district near the city center. A day earlier, one of the heaviest attacks since the start of the war blasted the capital. Video by an RFE/RL team showed emergency teams using flashlights as they searched smoking rubble-strewn buildings for casualties in Kyiv early on May 24. "These are not the actions of a country seeking peace," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote on social media. It was "another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians, with yet more injured and more homes destroyed," he said. "[It hit] above us, on the roof and the balcony. The balcony is completely gone," a middle-aged man, who gave his name as Serhiy, told RFE/RL. "I saw the explosion [right here]," said another witness called Vadym. "I had my curtains partially drawn," he added, saying that this had saved him from flying glass. Officials said 15 people had been injured in the biggest Russian aerial assault on Kyiv. Victims included a 43-year-old woman hospitalized with a penetrating wound to her thigh, a 54-year-old man who had surgery after a shrapnel injury, and others, officials said. The attacks came hours after the two sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners in the first phase of a prisoner swap, a process which resumed on May 24. Zelenskyy said the prisoner swap was perhaps the only real result of a 90-minute meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul on May 16 -- the first direct peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials since shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The May 23 exchange took place at Ukraine's border with Belarus, a Russian ally that has supported the invasion without sending its own troops to fight in the war. As Day 2 of the swap went ahead, Zelenskyy underlined the dissonance between it and the drone and missile strikes. With each such attack, the world becomes more convinced that the reason the war is dragging on lies in Moscow, he said. Ukraine has offered cease-fires many times -- both full and limited to the skies, he added. All of this has been ignored. Its clear that much more pressure must be put on Russia to get results and start genuine diplomacy. Zelenskyy also emphasized that Ukraine was waiting for sanctions from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. The Ukrainian Air Force said 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, as well as about 250 Shahed attack drones and various types of drone decoys were used in the overnight attack on May 24, with the country's capital being the primary target. "The alert lasted 8 hours. Air defense forces worked effectively in the region. Enemy targets have been shot down," said the Kyiv regional military administration. The Ukrainian air force said its defenses had shot down six ballistic missiles aimed at Kyiv and that 245 enemy drones had been destroyed. In Moscow, the Defense Ministry stated that Russia had shot down 94 Ukrainian drones in various regions. Battlefield claims by the warring parties could not be independently verified. The Kremlin denies that the Russian military is carrying out targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, and energy facilities, despite ample evidence of such attacks. Russian forces have launched one of the largest strikes on Ukrainian territory in recent weeks, injuring more than a dozen people in Kyiv, according to local authorities. The nighttime attack on Kyiv came hours after Russia and Ukraine launched the biggest prisoner swap since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The two sides traded hundreds of soldiers and civilians in a process that was set to continue over the weekend. Describing the attack as a difficult night for Ukraine, President Volodymr Zelenskyy said rescue operations are ongoing and emergency services are working at the sites of impacts and fallen debris - wherever necessary. There were many fires and explosions in the city at night. Residential buildings, cars, and businesses were again damaged. Unfortunately, there are injured people, he added, The Ukrainian Air Force said 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, as well as about 250 Shahed attack drones and various types of drone decoys were used in the overnight attack on May 24, with the country's capital being the primary target. The air force said its defenses had shot down six ballistic missiles aimed at Kyiv and that 245 enemy drones had been destroyed. The aerial assault left at least 15 people injured in the city, according to police Elsewhere, Russian missiles killed two people and wounded several others in Odesa earlier on May 23, authorities reported. The Russian military said Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since May 20 and it had shot down 776 of them. In condemning the May 24 strikes on Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that with each such attack, the world becomes more convinced that the reason the war is dragging on lies in Moscow. Ukraine has offered cease-fires many times -- both full and limited to the skies, he said. All of this has been ignored. Its clear that much more pressure must be put on Russia to get results and start genuine diplomacy. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine was waiting for sanctions from the US, Europe and all our partners. Only additional sanctions against key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire, he added. Zelenskyy also commented on the ongoing prisoner swaps. "We are bringing our people home," he said in a post on Telegram. "The first part of the agreement on the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange has been implemented." An exchange of that many people from each side would be the largest of several prisoner swaps so far in Russia's war on Ukraine. Zelenskyy said 390 people from each side were exchanged and the swap was expected to continue on May 24-25. That number included 270 soldiers and 120 civilians, Russian and Ukrainian officials said. Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump congratulated both sides, adding on his Truth Social platform: "This could lead to something big???" Previous exchanges have not led to tangible progress on ending the war. A day earlier, Zelenskyy said the prisoner swap agreement was perhaps the only real result of the 90-minute meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul on May 16 -- the first direct peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials since shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The exchange took place at Ukraine's border with Belarus, a Russian ally that has supported the invasion without sending its own troops to fight in the war. Three women were among the 390 Ukrainians returning home, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Telegram. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the 120 civilians released by Ukraine included residents of the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces held a swath of territory for months after a surprise invasion last August. A Ukrainian organization involved in exchanges said that 70 of the people swapped by Ukraine were Ukrainians who have been convicted of crimes such as collaboration, treason, and terrorism and had expressed the desire to be sent to Russia. Russia has rejected calls by Ukraine, the United States, and European countries for a 30-day cease-fire, and no new meeting has been scheduled in the wake of the negotiations in Istanbul. Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 19, saying afterward on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine would "immediately start negotiations" toward a cease-fire and an end to the war. He suggested the Vatican as a possible venue for further talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threw cold water on that idea on May 23 and emphasized that no date for a new meeting had been set. "Many people are fantasizing about when and where it will take place. We don't have any ideas right now," Lavrov said in remarks at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, adding that it would be a bit inelegant for Russia and Ukraine, which are predominantly Orthodox Christian, to use a Catholic platform for the talks. "I think it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances," Lavrov said. Lavrov added that Russia will present Ukraine with a draft document outlining its terms for a potential long-term peace agreement as soon as the prisoner exchange is completed. Ukraine and European governments have accused Russia of conditioning a cease-fire on unacceptable demands and failing to negotiate in good faith. Many analysts say Putin has not given up on the goal of subjugating Ukraine. One of several major sticking points is the Kremlin's demand that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four partially Russian-occupied mainland regions that Moscow baselessly claims belong to Russia. Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine will not withdraw troops from its own territory. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and RFE/RL's Russian Service West-Midlands Credit Union (formerly St Jarlaths Credit Union and Athlone & Castlerea Credit Union) has announced the return of the Educate 360 Bursary for 2025. With 12 bursaries of 1,000 each available, this programme is open to students progressing on to college, PLC courses, apprenticeships, and other educational pathways. Applications are now open, with a deadline of August 23rd. To be eligible, applicants must be members of West-Midlands Credit Union and can submit their applications through the credit unions website www.wmcu.ie John Doyle, CEO of West-Midlands Credit Union said that the bursary is one of the many ways we like to give back to our community. These students are the future of our community, and we want them to know that West-Midlands Credit Union is here to support them every step of the way. Alongside this bursary, we offer a range of student-focused services, including our low-rate student loan, the Educate 360 programme, and our current account, which is completely free for students." As part of the 2025 campaign, West-Midlands Credit Union will be joined by Karen Guest, lecturer in the Faculty of Business & Hospitality at Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), on visits to local schools. Together, they will promote the bursary and deliver talks designed to support students as they navigate the often-challenging transition from secondary school to further education. Karen will also be introducing students to the wide range of programmes available through the Faculty of Business & Hospitality at TUS and sharing the unique benefits of studying there, such as small class sizes, hands-on learning, and strong links with industry. Karen added that TUS was delighted to be supporting West-Midlands Credit Union in promoting the Educate 360 Bursary. At TUS, were passionate about helping students find the right path and feel confident in their choices. These school visits are a fantastic opportunity to engage directly with students, answer their questions, and show them the many accessible and exciting options available to them in further education." For more information on eligibility criteria and application process, visit www.wmcu.ie. A Strokestown student has proved shes a cut above the rest following her win in a national student fashion design competition, overcoming keen competition in the process. Orla Jackson from Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, was successful in the Best Tailoring category of Irelands first-ever national Relove Fashion Grand Final, a showcase for reloved and upcycled clothing. The competition is supported by the Environment section of Roscommon County Council. The finals were held at the Rediscovery Centre in Dublin, Irelands National Centre for the Circular Economy. As one of the overall winners Orla received an upcycled trophy. As well as winning the overall title in the Best Tailoring competition, she was also successful in the Connacht-Ulster category of the competition. A native of Tarmonbarry, Orla is a Transition Year student at Scoil Mhuire. The daughter of Adrian and Fiona Jackson, her winning entry saw her design a top out of one of her dads old shirts, a skirt from a duvet cover and a jacket made from preloved clothes. Clearly delighted with her success, Orla is considering a career in fashion and design. She was assisted in her efforts by her art teacher in Strokestown, Keith Murray. As a counter-movement to challenge fast fashion, the competition encourages teenage designers from across the country to showcase innovative, upcycled outfits made entirely from preloved textiles - transforming everything from old cushion covers to moth-eaten berets into stylish, wearable fashion. This year marked the competitions expansion to 26 local authority areas, where over 400 young people aged 1219 across Ireland were encouraged to rethink fast fashion and embrace creativity, building skills in reuse, repair, and redesign. Environmental Education and Awareness Officer with Roscommon County Council, Jonathan Jones congratulated Orla on her success: On behalf of our local authority, I would like to warmly congratulate Orla on her tremendous success. Thanks to all the competition entrants and indeed all of our schools who have embraced the concept of developing reloved clothing in a sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion. Embracing the concept of developing sustainable clothing, our commitment as a local authority is to actively support a circular and sustainable economy which everyone, young and old, can embrace. Roscommon County Council is committed in achieving our goals of meeting our climate action targets," said Mr Jones. The panel of judges included author Laura de Barra; broadcaster Lorraine Keane; Joanne Rourke of Dublin City Council and the National Waste Regions and Arran Murphy, Programme Manager of Rediscover Fashion. Veteran Actor Mukul Dev Passes Away at 54, Industry Mourns the Loss Friend and fellow actor Vindu Dara Singh confirmed the news and paid an emotional tribute Mukul Dev Death Latest News Today: Veteran actor and former model Mukul Dev has passed away at the age of 54, leaving the Indian film and television industry in mourning. Known for his versatile performances across Hindi, Punjabi, and South Indian cinema, Devs death has prompted an outpouring of tributes from colleagues and fans alike. Friend and fellow actor Vindu Dara Singh confirmed the news and paid an emotional tribute: Rest in peace my brother #MukulDev! #SonOfSardaar2 will be your swansong, and audiences will remember the joy you brought to the screen. Advertisement Vindu also revealed that Dev had become reclusive following the loss of his parents and had been hospitalized recently due to declining health. Actor Manoj Bajpayee expressed deep sorrow on social media: Mukul was a brother in spirit gone too soon, too young. Miss you meri jaanuntil we meet again. Om Shanti. Deepshikha Nagpal also expressed disbelief, calling his sudden passing "unimaginable." Advertisement A Career Spanning Decades Born in New Delhi in 1970, Mukul Dev made his acting debut in 1996 with the television series Mumkin and the film Dastak. Over the years, he appeared in notable films such as Yamla Pagla Deewana, Son of Sardaar, and R... Rajkumar. A trained pilot with a certificate in aeronautics, Dev often credited his diverse background for shaping his grounded approach to acting. His contribution to Indian cinema, especially in character roles, carved him a unique niche in the industry. Dev once said, Ive done alright for myself. Its been a fulfilling journey. (For more news apart from Mukul Dev Death Latest News Today, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) BSF Neutralises Pakistani Intruder Along Gujarat Border Upon sighting the man, BSF troops issued repeated warnings, asking him to stop. In a late-night operation on May 23, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel neutralised a Pakistani intruder attempting to cross into Indian territory near the Banaskantha district in Gujarat. The individual was spotted advancing suspiciously toward the border fence after breaching the International Border, according to an official BSF statement. Upon sighting the man, BSF troops issued repeated warnings, asking him to stop. However, the intruder continued to move forward, ignoring all challenges. In response, BSF personnel opened fire, neutralising him on the spot. Advertisement The troops observed strict border surveillance and responded swiftly as per protocol. The intruder was warned, but he showed no signs of stopping, forcing our jawans to take action, a senior BSF official confirmed. The identity and motive of the intruder remain under investigation. Security has been heightened in the region following the incident, and BSF is working with local law enforcement agencies to ensure there is no further breach of border integrity. The incident highlights the continued threats along Indias western border and the vigilance maintained by Indian forces to prevent any illegal or hostile entry into the country. Rahul Gandhi Visits Shelling-Hit Poonch, Promises to Raise Citizens Plight Nationally Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday visited Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir to meet families affected by recent cross-border shelling from Pakistan. Expressing solidarity with the victims, Gandhi vowed to raise their concerns at the national level. Calling the situation a big tragedy, Gandhi spoke with locals who had lost loved ones and property due to shelling. Many have died, homes have been destroyed. People here endure unimaginable hardship during such attacks. Theyve asked me to raise their issues in Parliament, and I will do so, he said while addressing the media. Advertisement Sharing an emotional account of his visit, Gandhi later posted on X (formerly Twitter), Today, I met the families of those who lost their lives in Pakistan's shelling in Poonch. Broken houses, scattered belongings, moist eyes and painful stories of losing loved ones in every corner these patriotic families bear the biggest burden of war with courage and dignity every time. He added, Salute to their courage. I stand strongly with the victim families and will definitely raise their demands and issues at the national level. Earlier in the day, the Raebareli MP also visited a local school where he interacted with students impacted by the hostilities. Offering words of hope and encouragement, Gandhi told them, Youve seen a frightening situation, but dont worry things will return to normal. Respond by studying hard, playing hard, and building friendships. Advertisement The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hamid Karra accompanied Gandhi and reiterated that Poonch has suffered the worst during Pakistans recent shelling incidents. Notably, a Trinamool Congress delegation also visited the region earlier this week, expressing solidarity and pledging support for those affected. As political attention shifts to Poonch, locals hope that their grievances will be heard and action will follow, bringing lasting peace and stability to the border region. 'No Active COVID-19 Cases' in Punjab, J1 Variant Mild and Contained The Health Minister confirmed that Punjab remains free of active COVID-19 cases at the moment. Coronavirus Covid 19 Punjab Latest News Today: Punjab Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh has issued a reassuring update amid growing concerns over a newly detected strain of COVID-19, stating that there are no active cases reported in the state and that the J1 variant is mild and under control. Addressing the public, Dr. Singh acknowledged recent reports of the J1 variant surfacing in Delhi, Haryana, and Kerala, but clarified that the new strain is not causing serious illness. More than 98% of those infected with the J1 variant have already recovered. It is a mild form of the virus, he said. Advertisement The Health Minister confirmed that Punjab remains free of active COVID-19 cases at the moment. We have not detected any current infections in the state, but we remain vigilant, he added. Reiterating the government's readiness, Dr. Singh stated that all hospitals across Punjab are equipped and prepared to handle any potential cases. Our health infrastructure is on alert and fully capable of responding if needed. He urged citizens to remain calm and follow standard precautions, such as regular handwashing, masking in crowded spaces, and staying updated through official channels. There is absolutely no need for panic, Dr. Singh said. The Punjab Government is closely monitoring the situation and is committed to ensuring public safety. Advertisement The statement aims to allay public fears as authorities nationwide watch the J1 variants spread, even as it shows little sign of escalating into a serious health threat. (For more news apart from Coronavirus Covid 19 Punjab Latest News Today, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Donald Trump Expands Tariff Threat to Samsung After Targeting Apple Over Overseas Manufacturing Thats OK to go to India, he said, but youre not going to sell into here without tariffs. Washington, DC: Just hours after issuing a bold ultimatum to Apple Inc., President Donald Trump has broadened his threat to include other global tech giants, signaling that companies like Samsung Electronics could also face steep tariffs unless they shift manufacturing to the United States. Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump clarified that the 25% tariff he proposed for Apples iPhones made overseas would also apply to other major device manufacturers. It would also be Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn't be fair, the former president said, emphasizing his push for domestic production of consumer electronics. Advertisement Trumps remarks followed a Truth Social post earlier in the day in which he warned Apple of steep tariffs if it did not bring iPhone manufacturing to U.S. soil. The post reportedly stemmed from frustration after Apple CEO Tim Cook informed the administration of plans to expand production in India, a move Trump denounced. Thats OK to go to India, he said, but youre not going to sell into here without tariffs. Apples shares dipped 3% on Friday following the announcement. Trump also added fuel to broader market concerns by floating the idea of a 50% tariff on European Union imports, set to begin on June 1. Samsung in the Crosshairs While Apple has long drawn scrutiny over its reliance on Chinese supply chains, Samsung has mostly avoided public criticism, until now. The South Korean electronics giant, whose smartphones run on Googles Android software, has similarly anchored its production in Asia, with significant facilities in Vietnam and South Korea. Advertisement Trumps latest comments place Samsung under the same spotlight, signaling a wider policy shift aimed at reshaping global tech supply chains. So far, Samsung and Alphabet Inc. have declined to comment on the potential tariffs. Apple, too, has remained silent, though the company has previously warned that new trade restrictions could result in up to $900 million in additional costs this quarter alone. Logistical and Financial Hurdles Trumps demand for a US-based electronics manufacturing sector presents a massive logistical challenge. Industry experts note that the US lacks the supplier networks, skilled labor base, and manufacturing infrastructure currently concentrated in Asia. Advertisement Despite Apples $500 billion investment pledge in the US mincluding a new server plant in Houston and a supplier academy in Michigan, the company has not committed to relocating iPhone assembly lines stateside. Analysts say such a move would be extremely costly and time-consuming. KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel warned that Apple may ultimately be forced to raise iPhone prices, potentially starting with the launch of the iPhone 17. This is a clear negative. In the near term, it likely implies a more significant gross margin impact, he wrote in a note. Broader Implications Although smartphones and other electronics have so far been exempt from reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on foreign goods, that exemption may soon end. Officials are reportedly weighing sector-wide tariffs on semiconductor imports, which could ripple across the entire tech industry. Advertisement Timing for such measures remains uncertain. But Trumps escalating rhetoric underscores a broader protectionist agenda that could reshape not only global supply chains but also consumer prices and market dynamics heading into the 2025 election cycle. With a new round of trade battles looming, device makers around the world are bracing for impact, and weighing how far they're willing to go to avoid Trump's tariff hammer. Harvard Wins Temporary Reprieve in Trump Administrations Attempt to Block Foreign Student Enrolment We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action. Harvard University has secured a temporary legal victory in its escalating battle with the Trump administration after a federal judge halted an attempt to block the university from enrolling foreign students. The ruling comes amid a contentious standoff between the federal government and one of America's most prestigious academic institutions. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order on Friday, preventing the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing its decision to revoke Harvards access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), a critical system that manages international student data and eligibility. Advertisement The order delays a directive announced Thursday by the Trump administration, which sought to bar Harvard from enrolling new or continuing international students. The administration claims the university has failed to adequately address antisemitism on campus and needs to reform its hiring and admissions policies, allegations Harvard strongly denies. In its lawsuit, Harvard accused the administration of "retaliatory" action designed to punish the institution for refusing to bow to political pressure. With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, the university stated in its legal filing. We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action. Harvard President Alan Garber echoed this sentiment in a letter to the university community, calling the federal move a blatant violation of the law and an attempt to assert illegal control over Harvards internal affairs, including its curriculum, faculty, and student body. Advertisement The Trump administration, however, remains defiant. In a sharply worded statement following the ruling, White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson accused the judiciary of undermining national security and harboring a liberal agenda. These unelected judges have no right to stop the Trump Administration from exercising their rightful control over immigration policy and national security policy, Jackson said. She added, If only Harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus, they wouldnt be in this situation to begin with. The next court hearing is scheduled for May 29 in Boston, where the legal battle over academic freedom, immigration policy, and the role of government in education is expected to intensify. Advertisement For now, Harvard's international studentsmany of whom feared imminent disruption to their studieshave a momentary reprieve, though uncertainty continues to loom large. Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons. 10 years later Serban Georgescu returned to Lunguletu to produce a sequel to his 2015 film. Afis Varza, cartofi si alti demonifacebook.com/Kolectiv.Ro/?locale=ro_RO Corina Sabau, 24.05.2025, 14:00 In 2015, director Serban Georgescu embarked on an unprecedented foray into the local rural reality, which resulted in a documentary that was very successful: Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons. The film follows the efforts of villagers in a settlement near Bucharest, Lunguletu, struggling to break a vicious circle that benefited no one. In short, 1 village, 1,000 tractors, 100,000 tons of cabbage, but 0 profit. To document the situation, the director himself spent a year in Lunguletu, worked a piece of land side by side with the villagers and tried to sell the harvest. He thus tried to understand why these families end up living on debt, even though they have all the prerequisites for a successful business fertile farmland, modern machinery, rich harvests. Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons was very well received by the public, generated echoes within Romanian society and was broadcast in the most varied educational contexts. It was screened not only in film festivals (DOK Leipzig, Docudays UA Kyiv, Milenium International Documentary Film Festival Brussels, One World Romania, Transylvania International Film Festival), but also at events such as Harvest Day (Slatina, in the presence of over 1,000 farmers), the launch of the Decade of Family Farms within the UN FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), as well as in 36 high schools across the country (through the One World Romania at School program). 10 years later, Serban Georgescu returned to Lunguletu and made a sequel to the documentary, which raises several questions. Did the villagers manage to overcome their lack of trust in any collective decision or in any leader? Did they manage to associate themselves so that their voice could be better heard? We asked Serban Georgescu to share his experience of working side by side with the farmers in Lunguletu. It was quite difficult for me to come up with this formula. I didnt go there knowing that I would stay for a year, I hadnt set out to do this. In fact, the prospecting phase alone took about four months. Especially since, for this kind of documentary, you dont find your characters that easily. And even when you do find them, you dont know how willing those people are to accompany you on this journey for a year or even more, which is a very long time. But during those months, I realized that, in fact, it would make for a more authentic story if I myself got involved, bringing the perspective of a city dweller. And, by the way, thats how the film begins, Im in a market in Bucharest, with my mother, and shes looking to buy vegetables at a lower price. In 2015, when I made the first part of the documentary, there were several markets around Bucharest and you could hear the city dwellers talking discontentedly after seeing the prices displayed by the peasants on the stalls, they seemed too expensive. Thats why I chose to be part of the story, to get involved as a character: to create a bridge between the city and the rural world. I thus had the opportunity to live like these farmers and use my perspective, to tell what it means to grow vegetables, irrigate, harvest, do agricultural work at 40 degrees in the summer, or, on the contrary, at 0 degrees with the arrival of the first frost. And once you harvest, to have to sell the produce and sometimes wait for whole days at the market, which is the wholesale market in Lunguletu, where you get incomparably less than what you invested or even nothing at all. The second part of the documentary Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons is freely available through online streaming. The premiere was also marked in a special event, through a screening in the presence of the team at the Peasant Museum Cinema in Bucharest. Serban Georgescus attempt to return to Lunguletu raises the question of whether Romanian society is capable of deep-seated change, and whether a documentary film has the power to positively influence through its observations. A relevant aspect is that the first film, the one released in 2015, was made almost 8 years after Romania joined the European Union. It is clear that the market that opened up at the time caught people working in agriculture unprepared. And it is also difficult to assume that, in just a few years, these people would have managed to adapt to the changes that came with this opening and to the new circumstances. We must remember that this change caught us all by surprise, but, living in the city, we had access to more information. Now, 10 years later, I returned to the same characters in the film. To Nelu Peste, to Vrabie, to George. These are all great characters, a great reflection of the social situation on the ground. I returned to Lunguletu and they all said the same thing, which is evidence that our mindset has changed, although we are living in these turbulent political and social times. They all admitted that, without European funds, they would not have achieved anything. Things have improved and it seems very important to me that people understand and acknowledge this. Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons. 10 Years Later is produced by Kolectiv Film in partnership with UPFAR-ARGOA. (VP) May 24, 2025 A roundup of local and international news. Newsflash Newsroom, 24.05.2025, 13:39 President. President elect Nicusor Dan says Romania may have a government in place within a month and that talks to form one will begin shortly. He will officially begin his term in office on Monday in a solemn session of Parliament and said he will immediately start talks with the parliamentary parties to form a government, his first choice for prime minister being the acting interim president, the Liberal Ilie Bolojan. Nicusor Dan reiterated that the countrys financial situation is a priority, which is why, in addition to meetings with the heads of the ministries of finance and investment, he has also begun technical discussions with other important relevant institutions. He again stressed that scenarios about a possible VAT rise are purely theoretical and that there is no plan to raise the capped VAT levels on energy and basic products of 5% and 9%, respectively. He recalled that Romania is in the Excessive Deficit Procedure. In this context, the interim government has approved a set of measures to facilitate quick access to European funds. So far, Romania has cashed in 9.2 billion euros of the 28.5 billion at its disposal for the implementation of its national recovery and resilience plan. 13.6 billion euros is in the form of grants and 14.9 billion euros in the form of loans. Harvard. The ministry of education and research in Bucharest was informed of the decision of the US administration to revoke Harvard Universitys Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certification and is closely watching ongoing developments. In a statement, the ministry says it is concerned about the impact of this decision on the Romanian students at Harvard, exceptional young people who represent Romania in prestigious academic centres. The ministry says it is in contact with the Romanian embassy in the US and supports diplomatic efforts to clarify the status of these students and their families. An American judge on Friday temporarily halted the decision of the Trump administration to block Harvard University from enrolling international students. The suspension remains in place until the universitys case against the government is heard. The administration has accused Harvard University of protecting violence and anti-Semitism. More than 220 court cases have been brought against the US administration since Donald Trump took office in January. They refer to a whole series of issues, from his attempt to deport people without a trial to the dismissal of government employees, eliminating birthright citizenship and dismantling the Department of Education. Congress. Bucharest is hosting the Romanian Student Congress, which is now in its 17th year. The theme of this edition is being a student in the European Union. The guests, personalities from public and private sectors, provide their institutional and personal perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in the European Union. Participants include the Vice-President of the European Commission, Roxana Minzatu, and the Ministers of Education of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. President elect Nicusor Dan also attended. He urged students to be active and get involved in society. We have a deficit of civic and political involvement, warned. Forum. Romania will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary, just like it has done since the start of the war, said chief of defence, general Gheorghita Vlad at the Black Sea Security Forum hosted by Bucharest. Interim defence minister Angel Tilvar, who attended the forum, said security challenges would persist after the end of the military conflict in Ukraine and that the emphasis must remain on developing Romanias military capabilities. The two-day forum also looked at aspects related to the transatlantic relationship and the potential reduction of US military presence in Europe. Other subjects discussed included the lessons learnt on the front in Ukraine in various areas of defence, the reconstruction of Ukraine, energy security, cognitive warfare and disinformation, the security challenges in the Balkans and disruptive technologies. The forum brought together officials, diplomats, military and analysts from EU and NATO member and partner states. Award. Romanian supermodel and actress Catrinel Menghia won the Starlight International Film Award for her directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Girasoli, the film directed by Catrinel Menghia, who is known in Italy as Catrinel Meron, is co-produced by Cristian Mungiu, the winner of the Palm dOr at Cannes in 2007 with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Girasoli is the story of two young women, Lucia and Anna, both prisoners, each in her own way, in a psychiatric hospital back in the 1960s. The screenplay is by Catrinel Marlon, Francesca Nozzolillo and Heidrun Schleef. The Starlight International Award is being presented for the first time at Cannes, rewarding the excellence of new Italian cinema. The award was previously given at the Venice Film Festival. All-electric Kia Carens Clavis will be available in two variants, with prices starting at around Rs 20 lakh After launching its new premium MPV, Carens Clavis, Kia is readying the Carens Clavis EV. Being Indias first mass-market 7-seater electric MPV, Clavis EV gets the first-mover advantage. Test vehicles have been spotted multiple times in recent months. Latest spy shots from Andhra Pradesh reveal some new details. Lets take a look. Kia Carens Clavis EV Charging port, ADAS radar module Similar to Creta EV, the charging port of Clavis EV is located at the front centre. Clavis EV is expected to share the same electric powertrain, as in use with Creta EV. The latter has battery pack options of 42 kWh and 51.4 kWh. Range is 390 km and 473 km, respectively (as per MIDC Part 1 + Part 2 Cycle). Creta EV has a front-axle mounted electric motor, generating 135 PS with the Standard variant and 171 PS with the Long Range variant. Clavis EV is expected to have similar specifications. Latest spy shots also reveal an ADAS radar module mounted at the front centre. This configuration is slightly different from the ICE Clavis variants that have the ADAS module mounted to the side. This change in radar placement can be due to Clavis EVs distinct front-end architecture. A centrally positioned radar can improve sensor alignment and field of view. This setup can work better for specific ADAS functions such as adaptive cruise control, lane keeping systems and forward collision warnings. Overall ADAS package of Clavis EV is expected to be similar as ICE Carens Clavis. There are 20 autonomous ADAS Level 2 features. It includes smart cruise control with stop and go, high beam assist and driver attention warning. Also, blind view monitor, forward collision avoidance assist and rear cross traffic collision warning and avoidance assist. Other safety features expected with Clavis EV include 6-airbags, electronic stability control, hill start assist control, vehicle stability management and all-wheel disc brakes. The MPV will also get tyre pressure monitoring system, front and rear parking sensors, dash cam with dual camera and 360 camera with blind view monitor on the cluster. Kia Carens Clavis EV Styling, equipment list From the spy shots, it appears that Clavis EV is using the same Ice Cube MFR LED headlamps and Star Map LED DRLs with integrated turn signals as seen with the ICE Carens Clavis. However, there will be some other changes at the front to achieve a slightly distinctive profile. Unlike the ICE version, which does not have an LED DRL connecting the front LEDs, the EV variant will have an LED DRL. In addition, there will also be some EV-specific badging around the vehicle. Side profile will remain about the same, although the test vehicle can be seen with a new design for the alloy wheels. Inside, the equipment list will be largely the same as that of ICE Carens Clavis. Some of the key highlights include a 26.62-inch dual panoramic display panel, front ventilated seats, 4-way powered drivers seat, wireless charger, BOSE Premium sound system with 8-speakers and ambient lighting. However, Clavis EV could get some additional features such as Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) charging. Today, there are only two sloth species, but historically, there were dozens of them, including one with a bottle-nosed snout that ate ants and another that likely resembled the ancestors of modern armadillos. Most of these extinct sloths also didnt live in trees, because they were too big. The largest sloths members of the genus Megatherium were about the size of Asian bull elephants and weighed roughly 3.63 tons (8,000 pounds). They looked like grizzly bears but five times larger, said Dr. Rachel Narducci, collection manager of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. In the new study, Dr. Narducci and her colleagues analyzed ancient DNA and compared more than 400 fossils from 17 natural history museums to figure out how and why extinct sloths got so big. Ground sloths varied widely in size, from the truly massive Megatherium to the modestly chunky Shasta ground sloth that terrorized cacti in the desert southwest of North America. The same cannot be said for sloths that developed an affinity for tree climbing. Those that lived entirely in the canopy were and are uniformly small, with an average weight of 6 kg (14 pounds), while those that spent part of their time on the ground averaged about 79 kg (174 pounds). Ground sloths had a special fondness for caves, and their size undoubtedly played a role in their ability to find and make shelters. The moderately sized Shasta ground sloth favorited small, natural caves bored by wind and water into the cliffsides of the Grand Canyon, like the alveoli of a gigantic, geologic lung. Larger sloths werent restricted to pre-existing caves. Using claws that are among the largest of any known mammal, living or extinct, they could carve their own from bare earth and rock. Many of the caves they left behind are still around with claw-mark decor along the interior walls, evidence of their ancient nesting excavations. Other factors that may have contributed to their size discrepancy include climate, the degree of relatedness among sloth species and metabolic rates. The ability to accurately discriminate between these several possibilities required a substantial amount and various types of data. The authors combined information about the shape of fossils with DNA from living and extinct species to create a sloth tree of life that traced the sloth lineage all the way back to their origin more than 35 million years ago. With this scaffold in place, they added results gleaned from decades of research about where sloths lived, what they ate and whether they were climbers or walkers. Because the paleontologists were specifically interested in the evolution of size, they collected data for the final analytical ingredient by measuring hundreds of museum fossils, which they used to estimate sloth weight. According to the team, size differences among sloths has been primarily influenced by the types of habitats they lived in and, by extension, climate change. Including all of these factors and running them through evolutionary models with multiple different scenarios was a major undertaking that had not been done before, Dr. Narducci said. The sloth dynasty coincided with significant, life-altering changes in Earths climate. The oldest thing that scientists can reasonably consider to be a sloth is called Pseudoglyptodon, which lived 37 million years ago in Argentina. The teams analyses indicate the earliest sloths would have likely been small ground dwellers, about the size of a great Dane. At various points throughout their evolutionary history, sloths adopted a semi-arboreal lifestyle. Not all of them stayed in the trees, however. The largest sloths, including Megatherium and Mylodon, likely evolved from a tree-adapted sloth that ultimately decided to stay firmly planted on the ground. Against this background of indecisive climbers and walkers, the size of sloths hardly changed at all for about 20 million years, irrespective of their preferred method of locomotion. Then something earth-shattering occurred. A giant wound opened up between modern-day Washington state and Idaho down through parts of Oregon and Nevada, and magma boiled out of it. This left a nearly 600,000 cubic mile scab over the Pacific Northwest. Its still visible in some places along the Columbia River, where millions of years of running water have cut through and polished a colonnade of basalt. These rock pillars have a distinct hexagonal shape caused by the way in which the magma hardened and cracked as it cooled. The volcanic event that made them was a slow burn that lasted roughly 750,000 years and aligned with a period of global warming called the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum. The greenhouse gasses emitted by the volcanic eruption are currently considered the likeliest cause of the warming. Sloths responded by getting smaller. This may be because warmer temperatures brought increased precipitation, which allowed forests to expand, thereby creating more habitat for smaller sloths. Size reduction is also a common way for animals to deal with heat stress and has been documented in the fossil record on several different occasions. The world remained warm for about a million years after the volcano fell silent. Then, the planet resumed a longstanding pattern of cooling that has continued in fits and starts to the present. Sloths reversed course too. The more temperatures fell, the bulkier they became. Arboreal and semi-arboreal sloths had the obvious limitation of having to live near trees, but ground sloths lived just about anywhere their feet would take them. They climbed the Andes Mountains, fanned out through open savannahs, migrated into the deserts and deciduous forests of North America and made a home for themselves in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska. There were even sloths adapted to marine environments. Thalassocnus lived in the arid strip of land between the Andes and the Pacific. They survived in this harsh region by foraging for food in the ocean. They developed adaptations similar to those of manatees, Dr. Narducci said. They had dense ribs to help with buoyancy and longer snouts for eating seagrass. These varied environments presented unique challenges that ground sloths met, in part, by beefing up. This wouldve allowed them to conserve energy and water and travel more efficiently across habitats with limited resources, Dr. Narducci said. And if youre in an open grassland, you need protection, and being bigger provides some of that. Some ground sloths also had little pebble-like osteoderms embedded in their skin. Equally as important, larger bodies helped sloths contend with cooling climates. They reached their greatest stature during the Pleistocene ice ages, shortly before they disappeared. About 15,000 years ago is when you really start to see the drop-off, Dr. Narducci said. Theres still debate about what happened to sloths, but given that humans arrived in North America at about the same time sloths went extinct in droves, its not hard to speculate. Paradoxically, the large size that kept them safe from most predators and insulated from the cold became a liability. Neither fast nor well-defended, ground and semi-arboreal sloths were easy pickings for early humans. Arboreal sloths watched the carnage unfold below them from the safety of the treetops, but even there, they didnt escape without losses. Long after their ground-dwelling relatives had gone extinct everywhere else, two species of tree sloth in the Caribbean held out until 4,500 years ago. Humans arrived in the Caribbean about the same time that Egyptians were building the pyramids. Caribbean tree sloths went extinct not long after. Paleoclimatic changes do not explain the rapid extinction of ground sloths that started approximately 15,000 years ago, the researchers said. Their abrupt demise suggests human-driven factors in the decline and extinction of ground sloths. The study was published in the May 22, 2025 issue of the journal Science. _____ Alberto Boscaini et al. 2025. The emergence and demise of giant sloths. Science 388 (6749): 864-868; doi: 10.1126/science.adu070 This article is based on a press-release provided by the Florida Museum of Natural History. Blue phosphorescent OLEDs can now last as long as the green phosphorescent OLEDs already in devices, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated, paving the way for further improving the energy efficiency of OLED screens. "This moves the blues into the domain of green lifetimes," said Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and corresponding author of the study in Nature Photonics. "I can't say the problem is completely solved -- of course it's not solved until it enters your display -- but I think we've shown the path to a real solution that has been evading the community for two decades." OLED screens are standard in flagship smartphones and high-end televisions, providing high contrast and energy efficiency as variations in brightness are achieved by the light emitters rather than a liquid crystal layer over the top. However, not all OLEDs are equally energy efficient. In current displays, red and green OLEDs produce light through the highly efficient phosphorescent route, whereas blue OLEDs still use fluorescence. This means while red and green OLEDs have a theoretical maximum of one photon for every electron running through the device, blue OLEDs cap out at a far lower efficiency. The trouble is that blue light is the highest energy that an RGB device must produce: The molecules in blue phosphorescent OLEDs (PHOLEDs) need to handle higher energies than their red and green counterparts. Most of the energy leaves in the form of blue light, but when it is trapped, it can instead break down the color-producing molecules. Previously, Forrest's team discovered that there was a way to get that trapped energy out faster by including a coating on the negative electrode that helps the energy convert into blue light. Haonan Zhao, a recent Ph.D. graduate in physics, said it was like creating a fast lane. "On a road that doesn't have enough lanes, impatient drivers can crash into one another, cutting off all traffic -- just like two excitons bumping into one another create a lot of hot energy that destroys the molecule," said Zhao, first author of that study as well as the new one. "The plasmon exciton polariton is our optical design for an exciton fast lane." The details are based in quantum mechanics. When an electron comes in through the negative electrode, it creates what's called an excited state in one of the molecules that produces blue light. That state is a negatively charged electron that jumps into a higher energy level and a positively charged "hole" that the electron leaves behind -- together, they make an exciton. Ideally, the electron would quickly jump back to its original state and fire off a blue photon, but excitons that use the phosphorescent route tend to hang around. Simply relaxing into their original state would violate a law of quantum mechanics. However, excitons very near the electrode produce photons faster because the shiny surface supports another quantum quasiparticle -- surface plasmons. These are like ripples in the pond of electrons on the surface of the metal. If the exciton in the light-emitting material is close enough to the electrode, it gets a little help with the conversion to blue light because it can dump its energy into a surface plasmon -- a phenomenon known as the Purcell effect. It does this because the exciton oscillates a little like a broadcast antenna, which creates waves in the electrons in the electrode. This isn't automatically helpful, though, as not all surface plasmons produce photons. To get the photon, the exciton must attach itself to the surface plasmon, producing a plasmon exciton polariton. Forrest's team encouraged this route by adding a thin layer of a carbon-based semiconductor onto the shiny electrode that encourages the exciton to transfer its energy and resonate in the right way. It also extends the effect deeper into the light-emitting material, so excitons further from the electrode can benefit. The team reported on this last year, and they have since been putting this effect together with other approaches to finally produce a blue PHOLED that can last as long and burn as bright as a green one. These are the highlights of the design: Two light-emitting layers (a tandem OLED): This cuts the light-emitting burden of each layer in half, reducing the odds that two excitons merge. Adding a layer that helps the excitons resonate with surface plasmons near both electrodes, so that both emitting layers have access to the fast lane The whole structure is an optical cavity, in which blue light resonates between the two mirror-like electrodes. This pushes the color of the photons deeper into the blue range. This study was supported in part by the Department of Energy and Universal Display Corporation. Claire Arneson, a Ph.D. student in physics at U-M, also contributed to this study. The device was built in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility and studied at the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization. The team has patented the technology with the assistance of U-M Innovation Partnerships and has licensed it to Universal Display Corp. Forrest and the University of Michigan have a financial interest in Universal Display Corp. Forrest is also the Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering and a professor of electrical computer engineering, materials science and engineering, physics and applied physics. As sea levels climb and weather grows more extreme, coastal regions everywhere are facing a creeping threat: salt. Salinization of freshwater and soils adversely affects 500 million people around the world, especially in low-lying river deltas. A new study led by researchers at the University of Portsmouth, in partnership with Dhaka University and Curtin University, sheds light on how rising oceans are pushing saltwater into freshwater rivers and underground water sources in the world's largest river mouth -- the Bengal Delta in Bangladesh. Drawing on nearly two decades of data from over 50 monitoring stations in coastal Bangladesh, the team tracked a consistent rise in salt levels in rivers and estuaries, particularly since the mid-2000s. The western parts of the delta, already more prone to tidal influence, showed the fastest increases in salinity. The data suggests that the combination of sea-level rise, reduced freshwater flow, and increasingly frequent storm surges are all contributing to the inland movement and retention of saltwater. Since around 2007, many parts of the delta have experienced stepwise increases in salinity, often linked to powerful storms like Cyclone Sidr. These changes can devastate crops, erode food security, and force communities to move. While the analysis focused primarily on environmental data, it underscores how salinity intrusion is increasingly a threat to livelihoods, public health, and regional stability. The study, published in Ecological Indicators, uses one of the most detailed and long-running salinity datasets in any delta system worldwide. It applied advanced statistical methods to distinguish long-term trends from short-term weather or seasonal changes. The researchers introduced a new conceptual model called the Offshore Controlled Estuarine and Aquifer Nexus (OCEAN) framework, that highlights how offshore features like steep underwater slopes and restricted tidal flows can trap salt in low-lying coastal zones. Dr Mohammad Hoque from the University of Portsmouth's School of the Environment and Life Sciences: said: "What we're seeing in the Bengal Delta is not just a local crisis, it's a signal of what's coming for low-lying coastal areas around the world. "Salinity is rising faster and reaching farther inland than many people realise, and it's happening quietly with major consequences for water security, agriculture, and livelihoods. This study helps us understand the mechanics behind it, and underscores the urgency for coordinated, global action." The findings also show the limits of relying only on land-based solutions. Human interventions like embankments, riverbed alterations, and upstream dams have often made things worse by restricting freshwater flows. Meanwhile, offshore dynamics -- such as sediment build-up and ocean current shifts -- play a larger role than previously appreciated. Addressing the problem, therefore, requires integrated approaches that connect rivers, oceans, and climate systems. Coastal regions in California, including Los Angeles County and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, are combating saltwater intrusion through innovative measures. In LA, freshwater is injected into aquifers to create hydraulic barriers against seawater. However, population growth and groundwater extraction continue to challenge these efforts. "While the focus is on Bangladesh, the study's implications are global," said Dr Sean Feist, former PhD researcher at the University of Portsmouth and now Scientific Officer at Test Valley Borough Council. "Coastal regions from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam to Louisiana's wetlands in the United States face similar pressures. As sea levels continue to rise, the risk of agricultural land turning salty, drinking water becoming undrinkable, and shallow groundwater becoming permanently brackish grows ever more serious." The paper recommends that similar long-term investigations into changing salinity levels be conducted in other vulnerable coastal regions around the world, particularly in low-lying deltas facing rising seas, reduced river flows, and increasing storm activity. Short-term datasets can often misrepresent the scale or pace of salinisation, while extended records offer a clearer picture of how saltwater intrusion evolves over time. Dr Ashraf Dewan from Curtin University said: "Ultimately, this study highlights that the creeping salinisation of deltas is a slow-moving but deeply disruptive force. Without urgent investment in salt-tolerant agriculture, better water storage, and strategic planning across entire river basins, the disruptive impacts of salinity are likely to intensify. The Bengal Delta is on the frontline of climate change, but it is not alone. The patterns observed here are emerging in many of the world's great coastal regions. What happens next depends on how quickly we respond." A new study uses metabolic profiling to uncover ancient knowledge systems behind therapeutic and psychoactive plant use in ancient Arabia. New research published in Communications Biology has uncovered the earliest known use of the medicinal and psychoactive plant Peganum harmala, commonly known as Syrian rue or harmal, in fumigation practices and inhaled as smoke. The findings offer unprecedented insight into early Arabian therapeutic and sensorial practices, revealing that native plants were already being deliberately used for their bioactive and psychoactive properties nearly 2,700 years ago. Led by Dr. Barbara Huber (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology) and Professor Marta Luciani (University of Vienna), in collaboration with the Heritage Commission of the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the study applied advanced metabolic profiling techniques to analyze organic residues preserved inside Iron Age fumigation devices. The devices were excavated at the oasis settlement of Qurayyah in northwestern Saudi Arabia, a locale known in antiquity for its decorated ceramic vessels, today called Qurayyah Painted Ware. "Our findings represent chemical evidence for the earliest known burning of harmal, not just in Arabia, but globally," says Barbara Huber, lead author of the study. "Our discovery sheds light on how ancient communities drew on traditional plant knowledge and their local pharmacopeia to care for their health, purify spaces, and potentially trigger psychoactive effects." The study employed high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), a powerful analytical technique that enables the detection of characteristic harmala alkaloids even in tiny, degraded samples. "The integration of biomolecular analysis with archaeology has allowed us to identify not just what kind of plants people were using, but also where, how, and why," says Prof. Marta Luciani, excavation director at Qurayyah and archaeologist at the University of Vienna. "We're gaining access to plant-based practices that were central to daily life but are rarely preserved in the archaeological record." Known for its antibacterial, psychoactive, and therapeutic properties, Peganum harmala is still used in traditional medicine and household fumigation practices today in the region. The new findings underscore its long-standing cultural and medicinal significance. "This discovery shows the deep historical roots of traditional healing and fumigation practices in Arabia," adds Ahmed M. Abualhassan, Heritage Commission co-director of the Qurayyah project. "We're preserving not only objects, but the intangible cultural heritage of ancient knowledge that still holds relevance in local communities today." The study's implications stretch beyond archaeology into fields such as ethnobotany, medical anthropology, heritage studies, and pharmacognosy -- all concerned with the long-term relationship between humans, medicinal plants and natural resources. India accused Pakistan of violating the spirit of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty by supporting terrorism and waging wars against India. India responded to Pakistans disinformation at the UN Security Council regarding the treaty. India decided to hold the treaty in abeyance after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. Over the past four decades, more than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost to terror attacks attributed to Pakistan-sponsored groups. India strongly accused Pakistan of violating the spirit of the Indus Waters Treaty by supporting cross-border terrorism during a statement delivered by its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish. Speaking at the UN Security Councils Arria Formula meeting on 'Protecting Water in Armed Conflict: Protecting Civilian Lives', organized by the Permanent Mission of Slovenia on Friday, Harish refuted Pakistans disinformation campaign concerning the treaty and highlighted Islamabads ongoing hostile actions. The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960, was intended as a framework for cooperation and water-sharing between India and Pakistan. However, the treatys spirit has been repeatedly undermined by Pakistan through three wars and numerous terror attacks on Indian soil. Harish emphasized that more than 20,000 Indians have lost their lives due to terrorism over the past four decades, with the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir where 26 civilians were killed being the latest example. In response to this attack, India announced it would hold the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ceases its support for terrorism. Harish firmly rejected Pakistans claims at the UN, stating that India has consistently acted responsibly as an upper riparian state. He noted that India has sought to discuss necessary modifications to the treaty on several occasions in the past two years, but Pakistan has refused to engage. These modifications are vital to address evolving challenges such as increased security threats, climate change, demographic shifts, and the need for clean energy. Technological advancements have also improved dam safety and efficiency, yet Pakistan has blocked any updates or permissible changes, endangering infrastructure and civilian safety. The ambassador recalled the 2012 terrorist attack on the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir as evidence of these risks. Highlighting the human cost of terrorism, Harish described how civilians have borne the brunt of Pakistan-sponsored violence, which aims to destabilize Indias progress and harmony. He called Pakistans participation in discussions on protecting civilians hypocritical, given its failure to distinguish between terrorists and innocent people. During an earlier UNSC debate, Harish denounced Pakistans grossly hypocritical stance and condemned its sponsorship of terror attacks including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the recent Pahalgam incident. The remarks came in the wake of increased tensions following the Pahalgam attack and Indias retaliatory 'Operation Sindoor' , where Indian forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in early May. Pakistan responded with attacks on Indian military bases, but hostilities ended after talks between military officials from both sides on May 10. Despite this ceasefire, India maintains that Pakistans continued support for terrorism remains the core obstacle to peace and cooperation, including on water-sharing matters. Harish made clear that the Indus Waters Treaty will remain suspended until Pakistan takes credible steps to end state-sponsored terrorism. Indias strong stance at the United Nations underscores the complex challenges of managing shared resources amid regional security tensions and sends a firm message that violations of international agreements will not be tolerated. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% import tariff on all smartphones not manufactured in the United States. The warning specifically targets major companies like Apple and Samsung, both of which currently produce most of their devices outside the U.S. Trump reiterated his expectation that iPhones sold in the U.S. must be manufactured domestically, not in India or any other country. In a new wave of protectionist rhetoric, former U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that smartphones manufactured outside the United States including Apples iPhones and Samsung devices could soon face a 25% import tax unless companies move production to American soil. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stated that the proposed tariffs wouldnt apply only to Apple. It would be more. It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product. Otherwise, it wouldnt be fair. When they build their plant here, there is no tariff, he asserted. The remarks signal a potential policy shift, as Trump emphasized that U.S.-based manufacturing is the only way companies can avoid hefty levies. I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else, Trump said in a Friday morning post on social media. If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S., he added. The comments follow a recent meeting between Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook. According to Trump, he was disappointed with Cooks plan to shift more production to India. I had an understanding with Tim that he wouldnt be doing this, Trump said. He said hes going to India to build plants. I said, thats OK to go to India, but youre not going to sell into here without tariffs. While Trump has long promoted bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., his latest statements mark a shift from earlier rhetoric, where he claimed other countries would absorb tariff costs. Now, he insists companies like Apple would bear the financial burden a cost that could ultimately be passed on to American consumers in the form of higher prices. Trumps latest stance also brings Samsung into the spotlight. Although a South Korean company, Samsung has largely escaped previous scrutiny due to its limited U.S. presence in smartphone manufacturing. Trumps remarks suggest that may now change. Moving smartphone production to the U.S., however, poses serious logistical and financial challenges. The country currently lacks the infrastructure for large-scale smartphone assembly, and building such facilities would require significant investment and time. Apple has increasingly looked to India as a key manufacturing hub, particularly as tensions between the U.S. and China escalate. The company produced $22 billion worth of iPhones in India in the last financial year a 60% increase from the previous year, according to a recent Reuters report. India has rapidly become one of Apples top production centers as it diversifies its supply chain. Apples overseas expansion. While speaking in Qatar, he said he had a 'little problem' with Tim Cook over the companys decision to grow operations outside the U.S. He is building all over India. I dont want you building in India, Trump said, though he also noted that Apple would be 'upping their production in the United States'. Trump recently voiced frustration over. While speaking in Qatar, he said he had a 'little problem' with Tim Cook over the companys decision to grow operations outside the U.S. He is building all over India. I dont want you building in India,said, though he also noted that Apple would be 'upping their production in the United States'. As Apple and other tech giants balance the need for global supply chain flexibility with mounting political pressure at home, the threat of sweeping tariffs could once again disrupt the landscape of smartphone manufacturing and international trade. Blocks were broken and strewn about at the Midland Beach Veterans Memorial after the driver of a vehicle hit the site and fled the scene on foot on the morning of Tuesday, May 20, 2025. The city Parks Department has promised repairs as soon as possible. (Advance/SILive.com | Luke Petel STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A spokesperson for the New York City Parks Department told the Advance/SILive.com that repairs to the Midland Beach Veterans Memorial will be made as soon as possible. The announcement came Friday morning, a few days after police say a 2014 RAM vehicle collided with the Midland Beach Veterans Memorial at the intersection of Midland Avenue and Father Capodanno Boulevard early Tuesday morning. The driver responsible for the damage to the site fled the scene, leaving the vehicle at the location, according to a spokesperson with the office of the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. In the wake of the collision, stones placed alongside the memorial were visibly broken and scattered. The memorial itself survived the ordeal, escaping by a matter of inches. The Midland Beach Veterans Memorial was damaged when police say a vehicle hit the site and the driver fled the scene on foot on the morning of Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Borough President Vito Fossella visited the site Friday and promised to follow up with city agencies about repairs. (Advance/SILive.com | Luke Petel Borough President Vito Fossella visited the memorial Friday to survey the damage. We met with leaders from the Midland Beach Civic Association today (Friday) to survey the damage that was done to the Midland Beach Veterans Memorial Tuesday night,' he said in a prepared statement. Suffice to say, much of the grounds were extensively damaged, although, thankfully, the memorial itself appears to remain intact. Fossella said the monument should not remain in a dangerous state of disrepair. We will contact the appropriate city agencies to see if repairs can be made, while checking to see if the driver that caused the damage can cover the expenses,' he said. We here on Staten Island do not forget our veterans and men in uniform, and we will continue to explore ways to repair and improve this military memorial that honors veterans from the Midland Beach community. The sites original memorial, a 14-foot wooden monument, was dedicated in 1942, honoring the 117 Midland Beach residents then fighting during World War II, according to previous reporting. In 1944, a hurricane took it out and it was soon replaced with another one, which included the names of an additional 210 soldiers who joined the fight against the Axis powers in the time since the original monument was erected. In 1955, the city removed that memorial for a road widening. In 1992, the current memorial was installed. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. On Friday, State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton announced that $550,000 in state funding will support the Lucille & Jay Chazanoff Sunrise Day CampStaten Island, operated by the Joan & Alan Bernikow JCC of Staten Island. Sunrise Day CampStaten Island, on the grounds of Staten Island Academy on Todt Hill, is the only free summer day camp in New York City for children with cancer and their siblings. Each summer, it serves over 150 children from Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey with weeks of swimming, sports, games, and other activities. Sunrise gives so many children the opportunity to look forward to summer, to have fun with their siblings and friends, and to just feel like kids again regardless of how sick they are, said Scarcella-Spanton, who represents the North Shore of Staten Island. As a mom, I cant think of anything more important than making sure these children have the chance to experience summer camp in a place where they are understood, supported and surrounded by care." Sunrise Day CampStaten Island is part of the international Sunrise Association, which operates 10-day camps across the U.S. and Israel. The organization aims to restore the joys of childhood for children with cancer and their siblings through inclusive summer camp, year-round, and in-hospital recreational programs all free of charge. Sunrise Day Camp means the world to us; Its the one place where my boys can just be kids no hospitals, no treatments, just pure fun," said Gabriella DiMaggio, mother of former camper Rocco DiMaggio. For a few hours a day, cancer isnt the focus. They count down the days until camp starts, and I dont blame them its where they feel free and full of life. The counselors and staff are truly amazing and make every child feel seen, safe and so loved. Scarcella-Spanton was recently joined by JCC of Staten Island CEO Orit Lender, camp namesake Jay Chazanoff, Gail Castellano, Kim Avis, the DiMaggio and Collela families, and Sunrise Day Camp staff at a press conference held at the JCC of Staten Island. This allocation is going to make a huge difference for Sunrise Day Camp and our campers, Lender said. Our registration has continued to grow as more children are sadly diagnosed with cancer. With this funding, we will be able to accommodate the growing need and also expand our year-round programs. Participating in the program at Silver Lake are, from left to right, Dongmei Zheng, Lydia Marty-Meyerson FNP-BC Instructor, Jakob Wenzel, Michael Svetnikov, Emily Wong, Arielle Gallagher, Rebecca Kearns, Amanda Henoumont RN, Patricia Abbruzesse RN, Karolina Raszkiewicz, Maryanne Drandorff RN. (Courtesy Joseph Borelli) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On Monday, The College of Staten Island and Silver Lake Specialized Care Center announced they will be continuing a partnership through the next academic year, after its successful launch saw more than 30 students in the schools award-winning Nursing Department gain important field experience. Part of the schools nursing curriculum requires more than 80 hours of hands-on bedside care at facilities. This allows the students to gain first-hand exposure and knowledge in the medical-surgical and psychiatric mental health nursing fields. Silver Lake Specialized Care Center, located at 275 Castleton Ave, offers both long-term dementia care, as well as short-term rehabilitation. It is a family-owned and operated business, serving Staten Islanders since 1971. It was the first facility licensed in the state of New York to operate a ventilator unit, which grew from 20 beds in 1991 to the 40 it currently has. Michael Kraus, administrator of facility, stated, We are glad the College is now a part of our story and honored that its students get to work hands-on with our staff to give residents the kind of care they deserve. We want these students to walk away with a little bit of our philosophy engrained in whatever comes next for them, specifically that health outcomes, quality of life, and comfort in living are all vitally important considerations for nurses. The College of Staten Island nursing programs began with its associate in applied science in nursing degree in 1965. Now, the school also offers a Bachelor of Science program following an RN-BS completion model, Master of Science program with adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist tracks, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Students in the partnership program work closely with the Silver Lake Specialized Care Centers staff and are supervised by school faculty, professors and the nursing department chair, Dr. Randelle Sasa. Dr. Sasa stated, It is rare that you would find a long-term care facility that can manage patients with complex medical conditions, such as ventilator-dependent patients and hemodialysis patients. Several faculty members, myself included, visited Silver Lake to nurture this partnership. We were impressed by their facilities and highly competent personnel. We thank the leadership at Silver Lake for making this happen. Shown is a scene from the 105th annual Staten Island Memorial Day Parade in West Brighton on Monday, May 27, 2024. Several New York City streets will be closed this weekend for parades and events. (Owen Reiter for the Staten Island Advance) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Memorial Day is a holiday on which the nation honors those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. In some cases, that appreciation comes in the form of patriotic parades, which can result in road closures. This is the case for this weekend in New York City, as many of these processions are taking place. According to an advisory from the NYPD, the closures will be at the discretion of the police. Heres the list of street closures for Sunday, May 25, and Monday, May 26, 2025, according to the NYPD. Sunday, May 25, 2025 104th College Point Memorial Day Parade in Queens Formation will be at 28th Avenue, between Ulmer Street and College Point Boulevard. Route: College Point Boulevard, between 28th Avenue and 26th Avenue 26th Avenue, between College Point Boulevard and 120th Street 120th Street, between 26th Avenue and Graham Court Graham Court, between 120th Street and College Point Boulevard College Point Boulevard, between Graham Court and 5th Avenue 5th Avenue, between College Point Boulevard and College Place Dispersal will be at Poppenhusen Avenue, between College Place and 119th Street. Forest Hills Memorial Day Weekend Parade in Queens Formation will be at Metropolitan Avenue, between 75th Avenue and Ascan Avenue. The route and dispersal will be at Metropolitan Avenue, between 75th Avenue and Trotting Course Lane. Monday, May 26, 2025 Brooklyns 158th Memorial Day Parade Formation will be on 3rd Avenue, between 71st Street and 75th Street. Route: 3rd Avenue between, 75th Street and Marine Avenue Marine Avenue between, 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue 4th Avenue, between Marine Avenue and 101st Street Dispersal will be at 101st Street, between 4th Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway. Little Neck - Douglaston Memorial Day Parade in Queens. Formation will be at Northern Boulevard, between Nassau Road and Morgan Street. The route will be along Northern Boulevard, between Morgan Street and 244th Street. Dispersal will be at Northern Boulevard, between 245th Street and 244th Street. Formation will be at Hart Boulevard, between Forest Avenue and Castleton Avenue. The route will be along Forest Avenue, between Hart Boulevard and Jewett Avenue. Dispersal will be at Forest Avenue, between Jewett Avenue and Decker Avenue. Ridgewood Memorial Day Parade in Queens Formation will be at Myrtle Avenue, between 70th Street and Cooper Avenue. The route will be along Myrtle Avenue, between Cooper Avenue and Cypress Avenue. Dispersal will be at Cypress Avenue, between Myrtle Avenue and Putman Avenue. Rockaway Beach Memorial Day Parade in Queens Formation will be at Rockaway Beach Boulevard, between Beach 129th Street and Beach 130th Street The route will be along Rockaway Beach Boulevard, between Beach 129th Street and Beach 95th Street. Dispersal will be at Rockaway Beach Boulevard, between Beach 95th Street and Beach 94th Street. The New York Institute of Technologys 64th annual commencement ceremony took place on its Long Island campus in Old Westbury. New York Institute of Technology STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A Staten Islander was recognized last Sunday at the New York Institute of Technologys 64th annual commencement ceremony held on its Long Island campus in Old Westbury. Gabriella Lioce, a Class of 2025 graduate of NYITs School of Architecture and Design, received the Special Faculty Award for Service and Involvement. Lioce, a Tottenville High School alumna, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design. New York Institute of Technologys six schools offer undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional degrees computer science, cybersecurity, health professions, architecture, engineering, IT, management, and sustainability. It has campuses in New York City and Long Island, Jonesboro, Arkansas, Vancouver, British Columbia, and offers programs globally. For more information, visit nyit.edu. A struggling doe with a leg injury wandered around the Upper West Side on Tuesday before being taken by Animal Control and eventually euthanized, the New York Post reported. The fateful fawn was struck by a car on the West Side Highway before making its wayward trip through the city streets. One concerned woman tried to sneak up behind the animal but was unable to corral the creature, the Post reported. The NYPDs Emergency Service Unit soon responded to the scene and sedated the deer, police told the media outlet. Animal Care Centers of NYC workers transported the wounded doe to their facility, where it was euthanized to prevent further suffering, officials said. In New York, white-tailed deer are typically only spotted in the Bronx and Staten Island, according to the city Parks Department. Some have been known to swim from Staten Island to New Jersey, bucking the toll,' the Advance/SILive.com has reported. A taxi vehicle is shown in this 2022 photo. A representative from the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission will address service on Staten Island during a Community Board 1 meeting this week. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Coast Guard rescue operations and a presentation by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission are on the agendas this week as two of Staten Islands three Community Boards hold public meetings. Below is a list of the planned meetings, provided by representatives from each of the three boards. Community Board 1 The Community Board 1 Waterfront Committee will host a meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. The committee will host a speaker from the U.S. Coast Guard, who will discuss rescue operations. To join the meeting, visit Zoom. The meeting ID is 736 422 6579. The Transportation Committee will meet via Teams on Wednesday, May 28, from 5 to 6 p.m. To join the meeting, use the meeting ID 224 387 130 324 2. The passcode is CT9qC7gs. At the meeting, Dylan Cepeda, senior advisor to the commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, will discuss efforts to improve the quality of life and safeguard the public on Staten Island with high levels of taxi activity in the area. Also on Wednesday, May 28, the Youth Committee will meet via Zoom from 6 to 7 p.m. At the meeting, Heather Butts, of the Department of City Planning, will discuss the Staten Island Office of Youth Engagement Initiatives programs designed to assist young people on the North Shore. To join the meeting, visit Zoom. The meeting ID is 810 1986 4342. The passcode is 183512. Community Board 2 Community Board 2 has no meetings scheduled this week. Community Board 3 Community Board 3 will host a general board meeting and public hearing on Tuesday, May 27, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Our Lady Help of Christians R.C. Church, 23 Summit St., Tottenville. At the meeting, routine business will be conducted, including project updates and neighborhood concerns. Open to the public All Community Board meetings and meetings of their committees are open to the public. They provide an excellent opportunity for residents to learn about happenings in their neighborhood and surrounding areas. Below is more information about the Islands three Community Boards: Community Board 1 Arlington Castleton Corners Clifton Concord Elm Park Fort Wadsworth Graniteville Grymes Hill Livingston Mariners Harbor New Brighton Port Richmond Randall Manor Rosebank St. George Shore Acres Silver Lake Stapleton Sunnyside Tompkinsville West Brighton Westerleigh The board chairman is Nicholas Siclari. The district manager is Joan Cusack. The telephone number is 718-981-6900. Community Board 2 Arrochar Bloomfield Bulls Head Chelsea Dongan Hills Egbertville Emerson Hill Grant City Grasmere High Rock Lighthouse Hill Midland Beach New Dorp New Springville Oakwood Ocean Breeze Old Town Richmond South Beach Todt Hill Travis The phone number is 718-568-3581. The fax number is 718-568-3595. The chairman is Fred Guinta. The district manager is Debra A. Derrico. Community Board 3 Annadale Arden Heights Bay Terrace Charleston Eltingville Great Kills Greenridge Huguenot New Dorp Oakwood Pleasant Plains Princes Bay Richmond Valley Richmond Rossville Tottenville Woodrow Those planning a tropical vacation should be aware that the U.S. government has issued urgent travel warnings for some islands in Southeast Asia. The U.S. State Department updated its travel advisory to the Philippines, warning travelers not to travel to certain islands due to crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, and terrorism. The advisory also warned that in other parts of the country, travelers should exercise increased caution. What to know about the Philippines The agency gave a Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution advisory to the Philippines due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping, noting that some areas have increased risk. The State Department especially highlighted at least two different islands in the Philippines to avoid. This Level 4 advisory is for The Sulu Archipelago, including the southern Sulu Sea due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping, as well as Marawi City in Mindanao due to terrorism and civil unrest. What is the highest travel advisory? There are four levels of travel advisory, Level 1 through Level 4. This travel advisory for the Philippines is a Level 2 concern for the entire area, and Level 4 for at least two islands. When planning a vacation, travelers should check the current travel advisory for their intended destination. The U.S. State Department warns travelers to the Philippines to do the following: Monitor local media for breaking events and be prepared to adjust your plans. Avoid demonstrations. Buy insurance before you travel. One of the suggestions from the State Department is to get travel insurance before traveling to a country with a high-level travel advisory. The State Department recommends medical evacuation insurance, travel health insurance, and trip cancellation insurance. The State Department also suggests enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to get alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency and prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations using the Travelers Checklist. To learn more about the travel advisory to the Philippines, visit the State Department website. One of President Donald Trumps earliest advisors has revealed exactly when Trump grew weary of new pal Elon Musk. Steve Bannon said that Trump soured on Musk when the Tesla billionaire sought access to secret White House war plan briefings, the Atlantic reported. Bannon said the tipping point came in late March, when Trump was prevented from showing Musk plans for a hypothetical war against China ahead of a Musk visit to the Pentagon. You could feel it, said Bannon, who has feuded with Musk. Everything changed. The fever had been broken. Trump initially denied that Musk, who has major business dealings with China, had been given a glimpse of the top-secret plans. Critics said that it would have been a conflict of interest for Musk to see the plans. Musk, who headed up Trumps cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency at the time, said he was going to root out the leakers who had said he had been given access to the sensitive military plans. When asked at a press conference about showing Musk the war plans, Trump alluded to the potential conflict of interest, saying, Certainly, you wouldnt show it to a businessman who is helping us so much, paying a big price for helping us cut costs... but Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible to that. Trump said that Musks Pentagon visit was about finding potential waste, fraud and abuse. The president also indicated that he wanted as few people as possible to see plans for a China war. I dont want to show it to anybody, youre talking about a potential war with China, Trump said. I deal with these people all the time. I dont want anybody seeing potential war with China. While Musk and Bannon have behind the scenes competed for Trumps attention, the president has indicated he wants to keep both men close to him. Support the Peninsulas only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe! Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions. Premium Subscription As low as $8.25 per week Premium Includes: -- Access to the Daily Journals e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time. -- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content -- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community -- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week! What right have you to tear down our heroes? Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on Friday, May 2. Credit: Sam Mooy What went on over there, stays over there. Since the first public challenges to Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smiths reputation in 2017, those words, this retaliatory refrain, has been unrelenting and unchanged. All in the face of profound evidence revealing Australias most decorated living soldier is a war criminal. After last weeks 245-page rejection of Roberts-Smiths Federal Court appeal and Justice Anthony Besankos 726-page ruling in 2023, the keen eyes of four judges have now found to a civil court standard that Roberts-Smith murdered four captives in Afghanistan. Under the Geneva Convention and Australias own laws of armed conflict, executing detainees is unlawful. But there are rules and there are norms, and the norms according to the its war apologists are based on an insiders take no prisoners realpolitik. Within the Defence diaspora, online debate runs hot and loud. The I stand with Ben brigade is undeterred by the court rulings. Brigadier Adrian dHage, former head of Defence public relations who was awarded a Military Cross for his service in Vietnam, is taking them on. And hes far from alone among soldiers with combat experience disavowing the so-called realists justification for murder. Reece said while build-to-rent was a welcome addition to the development mix to help alleviate housing pressures, reform was needed to ensure all developers contributed to new public open space. We want to preserve that important revenue stream because it funds a vital service, Reece said. The current policy settings cannot remain in place. The lord mayor said this was particularly important in precincts that were being transformed from industrial to residential, such as Macaulay, Arden and Fishermans Bend. Macaulay provides you with an acute example of the policy challenge. The new development along Macaulay Road is very high-quality, but its going to mean thousands more residents moving in, and they would rightly expect the same access to public open space as everyone else, he said. We have the difficult and very expensive job of now trying to retrofit open space and parks into that area. If were not getting those contributions from developers when theyre building new homes, it makes it very hard. Large build-to-sell developments can pay millions in public open space contributions. In the Macaulay precinct, a subdivided Assemble development on Stubbs Street with 199 apartments paid $1.12 million, while a 299-apartment development by CBD Group paid $2.12 million for the levy. Melbourne City Councils public open space contributions fund is forecast to contain $84 million at the end of June, which will go directly into delivering new parks next financial year. Reece said many build-to-rent apartments had luxury prices, and he wanted to see affordable housing quotas introduced in the states planning code. I absolutely believe that build-to-rent has to do more heavy lifting on that front, he said. Loading Yarra Mayor Stephen Jolly warned that residents faced denser suburbs without enough open space if the legislation was not changed. The municipality has an 8.65 per cent public open space levy in most areas. Jolly is putting forward a motion at the council meeting next week to write to the Victorian government about the matter, also flagging concerns with premium prices of build-to-rent homes. If there were hundreds of people on low incomes in these apartments because of this, I would be up for it, but there doesnt seem to be any pluses here, Jolly said. Port Phillip Mayor Louise Crawford said the municipality had three finished build-to-rent developments and 10 on the way, representing more than 2000 apartments. Our inability to collect open space contributions from build-to-rent developments is putting pressure on our citys public spaces, she said. Open space contributions, often worth millions of dollars annually, are a vital source for us. Stonnington Mayor Melina Sehr and Merri-bek Mayor Helen Davidson also stressed that the rise in build-to-rent meant the policy gap around the public open space levy warranted urgent attention from the Victorian government to force all developers to contribute. Dan McLennan is co-founder of Local, a build-to-rent company that has at least 10 per cent affordable housing in its buildings. He said projects in the sector made multimillion-dollar development contributions to council infrastructure. While some build-to-rent projects may not pay public open space contributions directly, viewing this in isolation misses the broader financial picture, he said. Our primary concern with expanding these contribution requirements is economic impact. Additional costs will either flow through to tenants as higher rents, or render projects financially unviable, reducing overall housing supply. He added that some build-to-rent projects paid an open space levy if subdivided, such as his mixed-use project in Box Hill. Christian Grahame, head of build-to-rent developer Home, said the sector already contributed significantly to state and local government revenues through other taxes and payments. While the current public open space levy framework does not fully recognise the unique nature of build-to-rent, we believe there is a reasonable case for regulatory reform that reflects the sectors growing role in delivering high-quality housing. Loading A spokeswoman for developer Mirvac said its Docklands build-to-rent with 474 homes was almost fully occupied and had 20 affordable apartments. A build to rent community is different to build-to-sell it creates purpose-built, long-term rental accommodation and shared resident facilities, and typically includes affordable housing, she said. Build-to-rent developers receive tax concessions including a 50 per cent cut on taxable land value for up to 30 years in Victoria, and a new federal reduction on income tax if buildings offer minimum five-year leases and 10 per cent affordable housing. By working together with all levels of government, we can ensure more affordable rental accommodation is delivered in the future, said Mirvacs spokeswoman. Developers Assemble and Greystar declined to comment when contacted by The Age. Property Council state executive director Cath Evans said that in a challenging property market, build-to-rent was one of few sources of meaningful housing delivery in inner Melbourne. Its keeping cranes in the air, jobs flowing, and renters housed, she said. Its important to understand build-to-rents existing contributions. These are large, long-term assets that pay significant land tax, other local developer contributions, stamp duty, and operational taxes. Evans said that as the sector matured, more developers were starting to include affordable housing. She said a new developer contribution framework, tailored to the build-to-rent sector, should be considered. A messy workplace dispute is brewing between teachers at Victorias Catholic schools and their employers, with the educators union threatening Fair Work action to enable its members to take industrial action. A militant mood among the states government school teachers has spread to the 30,000 educators at Victorian Catholic schools, whose wages lag behind their interstate counterparts by up to $10,000 a year. The vast majority of Catholic teachers surveyed by the union said they were ready to walk off the job for better pay and conditions, raising the prospect of school strikes. But a protected sector-wide strike by Catholic teachers is not a current option because the 30,000 educators are employed by 33 separate church-linked entities, ranging in size from the giant Diocese of Melbourne to single-site employers. Payne Haas failed to train for a third straight session on Saturday, but NSW medical staff are confident the prop will be fit for Wednesday nights State of Origin opener. Haas has been struggling with a quad strain he suffered against St George Illawarra, but scans cleared him of serious damage. Such is Haas importance to any team, the Blues are happy to give him until kick-off to prove his fitness. NSW doctor Nathan Gibbs said the fact Haas was able to stretch out at training, albeit away from the main group, at Penrith was a big positive. First it was Thai massage parlours, now Asian head spas are popping up in cities around the world. They take the simple act of washing and conditioning your hair and turn it into a deeply relaxing experience, with multiple conditioning treatments, a soothing soundtrack and head, neck and shoulder massages thrown in and your hair looks terrific afterwards. See tokyoheadspa.com.au Embrace your inner samurai Japans samurai may have been fierce warriors but they also knew a thing or two about wellness. UK retreat Broughton Sanctuary offers a four-day The Way of the Zen Samurai package led by a 16th generation samurai that uses martial arts and immersion in nature to improve focus, balance and coordination. See broughtonsanctuary.co.uk Master menopause Escape Haven Bali runs a menopause support program. There is no shortage of menopause retreats being rolled out, many combining science-backed therapies and traditional healing. At Balis Escape Haven, the six-night Thrive Through Menopause package includes an in-depth analysis of everything from muscle mass to sleep tracking, with the results used to create a bespoke program. See escapehaven.com Cruise into calm Guests taking the plunge in Tasmanian waters with Onboard Expeditions. For a true wellness afloat experience, think small. The Port Davey Wild Wellness Expedition offered by Onboard Expeditions takes a maximum of 12 passengers exploring along Tasmanias untamed south-western coast and incorporates breathwork, journalling activities and cold-water submersion. See onboardexpeditions.com.au Drink up Protein smoothies and wheatgrass shots are so yesterday. Drinks lists in todays spas are more likely to feature anxiety-reducing ingredients such as reishi mushrooms and ashwagandha or even collagen. The collagen chai latte with coconut milk, dates, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves is a favourite at TIA Wellness Resort in Hoi An, Vietnam. See tiawellnessresort.com Toned-up trips The worlds first urban fitness resort, Siro One Zaabeel. Credit: Natelee Cocks Tired of losing form on holiday? At some of todays top getaways, the gyms are destinations in their own right. Dubais Siro One Zaabeel sets the pace with 1000 square metres of floor space dedicated to fitness and recovery, including dedicated studios for spin, yoga, and Pilates, more than 50 weekly classes, and some serious post-recovery treatments. See sirohotels.com Boost your brain Open-air wellness centre Cognitive House at Kamalaya Koh Samui. As longevity science goes mainstream, wellness retreats are increasingly focused on keeping not just your body but also your brain in top form. Kamalaya Koh Samui has just launched its Cognitive House, where personalised programs include everything from cognitive assessments and neurofeedback to brain stimulation therapy. See kamalaya.com Turn down the noise Eremito Hotelito del Alma run silent retreats packed with mod-cons. Credit: Marco Ravasini Add videos to your saved list and come back to them any time. Zach Hope and Kate Geraghty travel to the borderlands near Myanmar, where efforts are under way to rescue thousands of trafficking victims from scam factories. French court blocks Telegram founder from Norway trip Paris, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been denied a request to travel from France to Norway for a rights conference, the organisers said on Saturday. Durov, 40, was detained in Paris in 2024 and is under formal investigation over illegal content on his popular messaging service. He had been due to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum on Tuesday, addressing the annual gathering on the subject of free speech, surveillance and digital rights. But organisers the Human Rights Foundation said he had been stopped from travelling in person by a French court. He will now address the event virtually, they added. "It is unfortunate that French courts would block Mr Durov from participating in an event where his voice is so needed," HRF founder and CEO Thor Halvorssen said. "Technologies like Telegram are basic tools for those resisting tyranny. This is more than a disappointment for our community; it is a setback for freedom." In March, Durov was allowed to leave France and travel to Dubai, where his company is based. Earlier this week however, he was stopped from going to the United States to talk with investment funds. Since his arrest, Durov had appeared to bow to Paris's demands for stronger efforts to ensure illegal content -- such as child abuse and drug trading -- was not on Telegram. But he has also alleged that the head of France's DGSE overseas intelligence service had asked him to ban pro-Russian accounts from the platform before recent presidential elections in Romania. The DGSE has rejected the claims. After brief X outage, Musk says refocusing on businesses Washington, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 Social media platform X was hit by a two-hour outage Saturday, prompting owner Elon Musk to say he needs to spend more time focusing on his companies. His statement echoed comments earlier this month suggesting he would reduce his role in US President Donald Trump's administration. The world's richest person has an extraordinarily full plate as owner/CEO of X, xAI (developer of the AI-powered chatbot Grok), electric-car maker Tesla and rocket builder SpaceX -- not to mention his recent polarizing efforts to help Trump slash the size of the US federal government. As backlash to those cuts grew and Tesla share prices slipped, Musk began drawing away from the government role, confirming last week that he was down to one or two days a week at the so-called "Department of Government Efficiency." Still, the man who contributed more than $235 million to Trump's election campaign remains a close advisor to the US president, attending an Oval Office meeting with the South African president on Wednesday. After the X outage on Saturday, Musk suggested that he may have been away from his companies for too long. "As evidenced by the X uptime issues this week, major operational improvements need to be made," he said. "The failover redundancy should have worked, but did not." X had largely returned to normal service by 11:00 am US Eastern time (1500 GMT) Saturday. The SITE Intelligence Group reported that hacker-activist group DieNet had claimed responsibility for the outage. DieNet, it said, had called the attack a "test" of its so-called Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) capabilities -- flooding the system with online traffic to make it inaccessible to legitimate users. AFP was unable to independently verify DieNet's claim of responsibility, and X did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the outage. - 'Super focused' - "Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms," Musk posted on X. "I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out." SpaceX announced Friday that it plans to attempt a new launch of its mega-rocket Starship next week. Still under development, Starship exploded in flight during two previous launches. Starship is key to Musk's long-term plans to colonize Mars, and SpaceX has been betting on the launch of numerous Starship prototypes -- despite the explosive failures -- to quickly identify and address problems. The South African-born billionaire has for weeks been signaling that he would reduce his political role to refocus on his businesses. Early this month, Musk acknowledged that his ambitious effort to slash US federal spending did not fully reach its goals, despite tens of thousands of job cuts and drastic budget reductions. This week, he said he would pull back from spending his fortune on politics, although he did not rule out backing future causes "if I see a reason." Of his recent political donations, he said: "I did what needed to be done." bdx-aha/nl X Russia strikes Kyiv after first stage of major prisoner swap Kyiv, Ukraine, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 A massive Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv Saturday wounded at least 15 people, just as Russia and Ukraine were in the middle of a major prisoner swap. Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones in total overnight, adding that Kyiv was "the main target of the enemy attack". Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on X the barrage was "clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process". Kyiv city officials reported fires and fallen debris in several parts of the Ukrainian capital, after AFP journalists heard explosions overnight. The police said 15 people were injured in Kyiv and two more in the surrounding region. Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said Russia was "doing everything it can to prevent a ceasefire and continue the war". The Russian military meanwhile said Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since Tuesday. The attack on Kyiv came hours after Russia and Ukraine completed the first stage of a prisoner exchange agreed at talks last week in Istanbul which, if completed, would be the biggest swap since the start of the conflict. Both sides received 390 people in the first stage and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total. Russia has signalled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the swap, which is set to continue over the weekend -- without saying what those terms would be. - 'First stage' - The two enemies have held regular prisoner swaps since Russia launched its 2022 offensive -- but none have been on this scale. An AFP reporter saw some of the formerly captive Ukrainian soldiers arrive at a hospital in the northern Chernigiv region, emaciated but smiling and waving to crowds waiting outside. After they stepped off the bus, tearful relatives rushed to embrace the soldiers while others held pictures of their loved ones, hoping to find out if they had been seen in captivity. Many of the soldiers were draped in bright yellow and blue Ukrainian flags. "The first stage of the '1,000-for-1,000' exchange agreement has been carried out," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X. Russia said it had received 270 Russian troops and 120 civilians, including some from parts of its Kursk region captured and held by Kyiv for months. The two sides have not yet revealed the identities of those exchanged. US President Donald Trump earlier congratulated the two countries for the swap. "This could lead to something big???" he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II have so far been unsuccessful, despite his pledge to rapidly end the fighting. One of the soldiers formerly held captive, 58-year-old Viktor Syvak, told AFP it was hard to put words to his emotional homecoming. Captured in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, he had been held for 37 months and 12 days. "I didn't expect such a welcome. It's impossible to describe. I can't put it into words. It's very joyful," he said. - Diplomatic push - Several Ukrainians told AFP they were anxiously waiting to see if their relatives had been included in the swap. "We have been looking for our son for two years," said Liudmyla Parkhomenko, the mother of a Ukrainian soldier who went missing during combat in the city of Bakhmut. "Today I would like the Lord to send us good news... We feel in our hearts that he's alive," she added. After more than three years of fighting, thousands of POWs are held in both countries. Russia is believed to have the larger share, with the number of Ukrainian captives held by Moscow estimated to be between 8,000 and 10,000. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stepped up a gear in recent weeks, but the Kremlin has shown no sign it has walked back its maximalist demands for ending the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has defied European pressure for a full and unconditional truce in Ukraine, pressing on with its 39-month offensive, which has left tens of thousands dead. bur-dt/jhb Russia strikes Kyiv as hundreds more POWs exchanged with Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 A massive Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv Saturday wounded at least 15 people, even as Russia and Ukraine continued the biggest prisoner swap since the start of Moscow's invasion. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones overnight, adding that it downed six missiles and 245 drones. Kyiv was "the main target of the enemy attack", the air force said in a statement. "With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X. "Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire," he said. Kyiv city officials reported fires and fallen debris in several parts of the Ukrainian capital, after AFP journalists heard explosions overnight. Officials said 15 people were injured in Kyiv itself and five civilians were killed by Russian strikes in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. The Russian military meanwhile said Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since Tuesday. Dozens of drones targeting Moscow have been shot down over the past week. The attack on Kyiv came hours after Russia and Ukraine completed the first stage of a prisoner exchange agreed at talks last week in Istanbul and just before the second stage on Saturday. Russia's defence ministry said each side exchanged 307 prisoners of war on Saturday via Belarus, a Kremlin ally. It said the Russian POWs would receive psychological and medical help in Belarus before travelling on to Russia. Both sides received 390 people in the first stage on Friday and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total. "We expect the exchange to continue tomorrow," Zelensky said. Russia has signalled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the swap, which is set to continue over the weekend -- without saying what those terms would be. - 'Simply crazy' - The two enemies have held regular prisoner swaps since Russia launched its 2022 offensive -- but none have been on this scale. An AFP reporter saw some of the formerly captive Ukrainian soldiers arrive at a hospital in the northern Chernigiv region, emaciated but smiling and waving to crowds waiting outside. After they stepped off the bus, tearful relatives rushed to embrace the soldiers while others held pictures of their loved ones, hoping to find out if they had been seen in captivity. Many of the soldiers were draped in bright yellow and blue Ukrainian flags. "It's simply crazy. Crazy feelings," 31-year-old Konstantin Steblev, a soldier, told AFP after he was released following three years in captivity. Russia said it had received 270 Russian troops and 120 civilians, including some from parts of its Kursk region captured and held by Kyiv for months. US President Donald Trump earlier congratulated the two countries for the swap. "This could lead to something big???" he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II have so far been unsuccessful, despite his pledge to rapidly end the fighting. One of the soldiers formerly held captive, 58-year-old Viktor Syvak, told AFP it was hard to put words to his emotional homecoming. Captured in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, he had been held for 37 months and 12 days. "I didn't expect such a welcome. It's impossible to describe. I can't put it into words. It's very joyful," he said. - Diplomatic push - After more than three years of fighting, thousands of POWs are held in both countries. Russia is believed to have the larger share, with the number of Ukrainian captives held by Moscow estimated to be between 8,000 and 10,000. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stepped up a gear in recent weeks, but the Kremlin has shown no sign it has walked back its maximalist demands for ending the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has defied European pressure for a full and unconditional truce in Ukraine, pressing on with its offensive, which has left tens of thousands dead. bur-dt/jhb/yad Iraq seeks deal to swap kidnapped academic for jailed Iranian Baghdad, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 Baghdad is working on a deal to free kidnapped Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov in exchange for an Iranian jailed in Iraq for murdering a US civilian, security sources said Saturday. The deal depends on US approval, the senior Iraqi security officials told AFP, asking to remain anonymous because the matter is considered sensitive. Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University, was kidnapped in Baghdad in March 2023. There was no claim of responsibility for her abduction, but Israel accused Iraq's powerful Kataeb Hezbollah of holding Tsurkov. The Iran-backed armed faction has implied it was not involved. Iraq has been working to solve the issue which "depends on the Americans' approval for the release of the Iranian accused of killing an American citizen", a senior security source said. The three Iraqi sources said that Washington has not yet agreed to this. "The Americans have not yet agreed to one of the conditions, which is the release of the Iranian who is being held for killing an American citizen," one official said. Iraq is both a significant ally of Iran and a strategic partner of the United States, and has for years negotiated a delicate balancing act between the two foes. The Iranian and another four Iraqis were sentenced to life in prison in Iraq for murdering American civilian Stephen Troell, who was shot dead in Baghdad in November 2022. In December last year, the US Justice Department announced that a "complaint was unsealed... charging" Iranian Mohammad Reza Nouri, "an officer" in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with allegedly orchestrating the killing. Tsurkov, who is likely to have entered Iraq on her Russian passport, travelled to the country as part of her doctoral studies. Security and diplomatic sources have told AFP they do not rule out the possibility that she may have been taken to Iran. In November 2023, Iraqi channel Al Rabiaa TV aired the first hostage video of Tsurkov since her abduction. AFP was unable to independently verify the footage or to determine whether she spoke freely in it or under coercion. Iran-US nuclear talks: key points of contention Tehran, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 Long-time adversaries Iran and the United States held a fifth round of Oman-mediated nuclear talks on Friday in Rome, but with no breakthrough reported. However, both sides still described the meeting as constructive and expressed a willingness to continue the discussions. Here are some of the main obstacles seen to be hampering progress: - Enrichment - Iran's enrichment of uranium remains the main sticking point. The United States and Western countries suspect Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but Iran denies having such ambitions. It insists that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful civilian purposes. American officials including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led Washington's delegation at the talks, have spoken out against Iran's enrichment programme. Witkoff said before the talks that Washington "cannot allow even one percent of enrichment capacity" for Iran. Tehran has called its enrichment "non-negotiable", arguing that such a demand prevents a deal. "Zero nuclear weapons = we DO have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal," Iran's top negotiator and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X. Experts say the fifth round of talks saw a collision of red lines. "This round was uniquely sensitive, marked by the collision of seemingly irreconcilable public red lines over uranium enrichment," Sina Toossi from the Center for International Policy told AFP. Iran remains the only non-nuclear state enriching uranium to 60 percent, well above the 3.67 percent limit set under its 2015 accord with Western powers, but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material. The 2015 deal was torpedoed in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term when he unilaterally withdrew the United States from the accord. - 'Contradictory positions' - Iran wants the talks to remain strictly focused on its nuclear programme and lifting US sanctions, a stance it has held since April 12 when the first round was held in Oman. Tehran has criticised what it calls "irrational" demands by Washington and inconsistent signals from US officials. Araghchi warned that such "contradictory positions", if they persist, "will complicate the talks". Before the negotiations began, some analysts suggested the United States might seek a broader deal that also addressed Iran's ballistic missile programme. They believed the talks might touch on Tehran's support for the "axis of resistance", the network of anti-Israel armed groups that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Yemen's Huthi rebels. On April 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Washington to block not only Iran's enrichment of uranium but also its missile development under any possible deal. Iran opposes non-nuclear issues being discussed in the talks, citing its sovereign rights and defence needs. - Sanctions - Even with diplomacy under way, the United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran. Tehran denounces what it calls Washington's "hostile approach", noting that new sanctions were imposed just ahead of negotiations taking place. On Wednesday, Washington sanctioned Iran's construction sector, citing its potential links to nuclear, military or missile activities. "These sanctions ... further put to question the American willingness & seriousness for diplomacy," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X. In late April, before the third round of talks, Washington also slapped sanctions on Iran's oil and gas sector. - Military option - The Iran-US talks, their highest-level contacts since Washington quit the 2015 nuclear accord, came after Trump wrote to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in March. Trump urged Tehran to reach a deal diplomatically, but also warned of military action if talks fail. Iran has issued warnings of its own. On Friday, armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri warned that "any US misstep in the region will end like Vietnam and Afghanistan". His remarks came after CNN, citing US officials, reported on Tuesday that Israel was preparing to attack Iranian nuclear sites. "We believe that in the event of any attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime, the US government will also be involved and bear legal responsibility," Araghchi said in a letter to the United Nations published on Thursday. According to the US outlet Axios, Witkoff met Israeli officials shortly before Friday's Rome talks. Ultra-conservative Iranian daily Kayhan wrote on Saturday that "coordination between Trump and Netanyahu is leading the negotiations towards deadlock". Trump attacks past US policy in speech to new Army officers West Point, United States, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 President Donald Trump lambasted previous US leaders and policies in a campaign-style speech Saturday to graduating Army officers, underscoring his determination to remold the apolitical military to his right-wing ideology. The address to newly minted junior officers at the famed West Point academy in New York featured the annual event's traditional shout-outs to top students, jokes, and praise for the cadets' sporting achievements. However, the 78-year-old Republican, who has used the first four months of his second term to attack critics and concentrate power in the White House, quickly turned to edgier topics. The blistering rhetoric got only muted applause from the rows of grey-uniformed cadets. Justifying his isolationist policies and mistrust of historic US alliances, Trump said that for at least two decades, US leaders have "dragged our military into missions..., wasting our time, money and souls." Troops were "led by leaders who didn't have a clue in distant lands." Trump also focused on his decision to rid the military of so-called DEI policies, which are meant to encourage participation by racial and sexual minorities in the ranks, including women. The drive to rid the armed forces of what Trump derides as "woke" initiatives has also seen the removal from military academy bookshelves of scores of books that cover the painful US history of racism. Trump told graduating cadets that his predecessors had been "abusing our soldiers with absurd ideological experiments." "They subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes while leaving our borders undefended," he said. "All of that's ended. You know that," Trump said. "They're not even allowed to think about it anymore." "The job of the US armed forces is not to host drag shows," he said. "The military's job is to dominate any foe, to annihilate any threat to America, anywhere." - Criticism of US allies - Trump has successfully channeled disillusionment among Americans after the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq triggered by the September 11, 2001, attacks. He vowed at West Point that the United States will not attempt to "spread democracy... at the point of a gun." But his post-9/11-era reset also includes unprecedented scorn for US allies in Europe and Asia, which he again said on Saturday had been cheating the United States. "They don't rip us off anymore," he boasted. Adding to the partisan tone of the speech, Trump wore one of his red election campaign hats throughout and talked up his November victory as a "great mandate" which "gives us the right to do what we want to do." Army officers are not allowed to engage in politics and even when Trump paused for applause, the clapping from the cadets was often sporadic. Those invited to speak briefly at Trump's podium kept their messages strictly personal -- not so much as referring to the president. However, the refashioning of the Pentagon, led by Trump's ultra-loyal defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has caused open unease in some quarters. Graham Parsons, a professor of philosophy at West Point, resigned this month, saying that the academy had "abandoned its core principles" to comply with White House ideological demands and that he was "ashamed." New teaching guidelines on shunning discussion of racism or sexism, while insisting on promoting the idea of America as a constant force for good, "were brazen demands to indoctrinate, not educate," Parsons wrote in The New York Times. Where to live Golden Visas: the four European countries where you can still get citizenship by buying property Four European countries still offering golden visas to property buyers Two of the fires took place in Kentish Town, north London one in the early hours of May 12 at the home where Sir Keir lived before he became PM and moved into Downing Street. This week, the first small number of aid trucks entered the territory and began reaching Palestinians since the blockade began. But they were far fewer than the about 600 trucks a day that had been entering during the ceasefire. John Wolfe Jr. was born in December of 1926. He was a curious child, very much into the news. As the world careened toward war, cowboys and Indians were replaced by toy soldiers. Wolfe and his friends dug foxholes in their semi-rural neighborhood in Ladue. When he graduated from grade school in 1940, the German Army was overrunning Europe. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Wolfes father, a circuit court judge, enlisted in the Army. He was 46. He was commissioned a captain and assigned to intelligence. He was sent to the China-Burma-India theater of operations. Oh, how Wolfe, an only child, wanted to join his father. In the spring of 1944, recruiters visited his high school. Wolfe signed up for the Army Specialized Training Program. As soon as he graduated, the Army sent him to the University of Maryland for further education. Then in December, the Battle of the Bulge broke out, and the program was shut down. Wolfe was sent to Florida for infantry training. He was thrilled. He was diagnosed with swamp fever and was in the hospital when Germany surrendered in May. He finished training but developed a hernia. He had surgery. Japan surrendered. Wolfe was distraught that he had missed the fighting. Finally, in October 1945, Wolfe was sent overseas. He landed in Italy. He wrote home. Everyone here is in the best of spirits and we have fun wherever we go. He was plucked from the infantry and assigned to the military police. He was stationed in Trieste. It was a wild, almost lawless kind of place. Thousands of Yugoslav troops were camped on the edge of the city. They were communists, Titos men. Italian partisan fighters mingled with their former enemies, the regular Italian troops. Abandoned weapons were everywhere. The financial system was broken. The most common currency was cigarettes. In addition to keeping the peace between the well-armed factions, the MPs were supposed to curtail the black market. But how do you shut down the black market when thats the only working economic system? The GIs who wanted war souvenirs could buy Barettas and Lugers for a few packs of smokes. The officers of the occupation army had unrealistic expectations of their men. I mean, who didnt want war souvenirs? Some officers are deplorably stupid, Wolfe wrote in a letter to his mother. Fortunately, she saved all of his letters, and they paint a portrait of a young man whose thinking evolved during his time in the service. He had enlisted to fight. In fairness, so had the officers. Nobody had signed up for peace-keeping, and in this corner of Italy, the peace was fragile. The Yugoslavian troops paraded through the town. The Italians had parades. Once the reality of the situation set in, Wolfe realized there was more to the Army than being a hero. By the summer of 1946, he was dabbling in the black market himself. In one letter to his mother, he wrote, Im certainly glad to hear that the machine guns got there all right. I guess you ought to set them up in my room. He was also sounding like a real soldier. He liked his friends. We sit around talking about every subject under the sun. Everyone is a little strange in their own way. We have a lot of fun. He had disdain for the officers. It would be all right if it werent for these stupid, imbecilic officers who think they are a bunch of little Caesars. This probably sounds familiar to 90 percent of veterans. Unless you were sleeping in the mud and risking your life on a daily basis, the military can be more of a sit-com than a drama. By August of 1946, he knew how to game the Army. Im getting away with murder now. Every day I take off and leave the office under one pretense or another. I usually go swimming. He was about to undertake the adventure of his life. He and two friends, one of whom was a cook, commandeered a jeep and headed to the Austrian border. Europe was still in an unsettled stage. Black market activity was everywhere. Theoretically, an MP could be investigating something. The three adventurers had no real reason to cross into Austria, but who was guarding the border crossing? Other soldiers, who probably shared the same attitude as the three adventurers. We proceeded to cross the border using the proverbial gift of gab instead of travel papers and official orders, he wrote. In Austria, they got lost. None of them spoke Austrian or German. The roads werent well marked. They came to another border crossing. Back to Italy, they thought. Again, security was slack. Why not? The war had been over for more than a year. They talked their way through. They were in Germany. Fortunately, they didnt seem out of place. There were lots of American soldiers in Germany. They drove on. They found themselves in Berchtesgaden. Above the town was Obersalzberg where prominent Nazis like Martin Bormann, Hermann Goring and Albert Speer once had lived. And above Obersalzberg was the Eagles Nest of Adolf Hitler. They headed up the mountain road. They toured the unguarded Eagles Nest. Best views Ive ever seen, Wolfe wrote. The place had already been stripped by earlier souvenir hunters, but the cook chipped off a piece of tile. The adventurers took plenty of photos and returned to Berchtesgaden to spend the night. They paid for their room with cigarettes. They also met a teenager who offered to sell them Martin Bormanns official Nazi pin. Probably not authentic, thought Wolfe, but he bought it for some cigarettes. The next day, they drove back to Italy. When we got back, we were sweating out a three-day AWOL charge, but due to our extraordinary ability to get this all confused, we hadnt even been missed, Wolfe wrote. By the way, the Nazi pin had a number on it, and later, after the war, it was authenticated as Bormanns. In September1946, Wolfe returned to the States. He received his honorable discharge in October. He studied Romance languages at Washington University and worked for various companies in the Americas and Europe. He and his first wife, Libby, had three children. He became a widower and remarried. He and his second wife, Doris, spend about six months of the year at his family home in Ladue and the other six months at a home Wolfe purchased years ago in Normandy, France. He will be in France, as he often is, for the D-Day ceremonies. He has met presidents and generals at the ceremonies. He does not pretend to be have been in France for D-Day but takes justifiable pride in being a World War II veteran. OSLO, Norway A Norwegian man awoke to find that a cargo ship ran aground and narrowly missed crashing into his home along the Trondheim Fjord's coast. Johan Helberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he slept through the whole thing and only woke up when a neighbor started ringing his doorbell. Images show the ship's red and green bow just yards from Helberg's house. He told NRK the only damage was to a heating pump's wire. Authorities say they received reports that the NCL Salten ran aground shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday. No injuries or oil spills were reported. Efforts to refloat the ship at high tide were unsuccessful Thursday. Shipping company NCL said in a statement it was aware of police statements saying they had one suspect. The company said it was cooperating with the investigation. A police spokesperson could not immediately be reached Friday. JACKSON, Miss. President Donald Trump green-lit disaster relief for eight states Friday, assistance that some of the communities rocked by natural disasters waited on for months. The major disaster declaration approvals allow Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas access to financial support through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Several states requested the aid in response to damage from a massive storm system in mid-March. "This support will go a long way in helping Mississippi to rebuild and recover. Our entire state is grateful for his approval," said Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, whose state experienced 18 tornados between March 14 and 15, leaving seven people dead and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged. Mississippi residents in the hard-hit Walthall County expressed frustration earlier this month over how long they had been waiting for federal help. The county's emergency manager said debris removal operations stalled in early May when the county ran out of money while awaiting federal assistance. It sunk an estimated $700,000 into cleaning up the damage. While Mississippi waited, a similar major disaster declaration request out of Arkansas after the storms hit was denied, appealed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and finally approved May 13. FEMA did not immediately respond to questions about what prompted Friday's flurry of approvals. Earlier this past week Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed to expedite Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe's request for disaster assistance, after being pressed on the issue by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican. "That is one of the failures that FEMA has had in the past is that people who incur this kind of damage and lose everything sit there for months and sometimes years and never get the promised critical response that they think or that they believe they should be getting from the federal government," Noem said. Trump pointed to wait times as one reason he's looking to make major changes to FEMA. The agency's acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, recently was ousted after he publicly disagreed with Trump's proposal to get "rid of FEMA." David Richardson, the new acting administrator, committed himself to executing Trump's vision for the agency. He also previewed potential policy changes, saying there could be "more cost-sharing with states" and that FEMA would coordinate federal assistance "when deemed necessary." ____ This story was updated to reflect that Trump approved the disaster relief for Mississippi and other states. Union Army veteran Thomas ODeas illustration of the Confederacys Andersonville Prison, drawn from memory almost 20 years after ODea had been held there. (National Park Service) (Tribune News Service) After surviving the Confederates notorious Andersonville Prison, Thomas ODea spent more than five years painstakingly drawing a detailed portrait of what was known as Hell Upon Earth. The Union Army veterans illustration measuring more than 3 feet tall and about 5 feet wide as a lithograph print provides a birds-eye view of the Georgia prison in August 1864, when it held more than 30,000 prisoners. Its vivid scenes illuminate the prisons overcrowding and deprivation during the Civil War. Almost 13,000 of its prisoners died from malnutrition, diseases and other causes. Still ailing years after his captivity, ODea dedicated his drawing to the parents, widows, orphans and friends of those who perished in this prison and to the remaining survivors. After the war ended, the Union Army established the site as a national cemetery. Today, Andersonville National Historic Site serves as the final resting place for more than 20,000 U.S. military men and women representing nearly every American conflict. Among them are the prisoners memorialized in ODeas drawing. This weekend, the cemetery will hold a series of free Memorial Day events for the public. As part of the commemoration, volunteers will place small American flags on the veterans graves. Memorial Day was formally established in the aftermath of the Civil War, Americas deadliest conflict, as people were still processing what happened at Andersonville. A copy of ODeas illustration remains on display inside Andersonvilles National Prisoner of War Museum, which doubles as the parks visitor center. Gia Wagner, the historic sites superintendent, is struck by how it grabs visitors attention. They are all captivated by it when they are here because it really does depict the scene of suffering that was happening, she said. It is still hard for me to believe that many people were within the prison site. ODeas odyssey Born in Ireland, ODea enlisted as a private with the 16th Maine Infantry Regiment in September 1863, his military records show. Then a teenager, ODea identified himself as a manufacturer of foot-shaped molds for forming and repairing shoes. Before ODea signed up, his regiment fought in some of the Civil Wars bloodiest battles. Among them: Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. In all during the war, 181 of the regiments enlisted men and officers were mortally wounded or killed, and 259 died from disease, according to the National Park Service. ODeas military records dont say whether he experienced combat before the Confederates captured him in Northern Virginia on May 4, 1864. That was the eve of the Battle of the Wilderness, a fierce fight that resulted in nearly 29,000 casualties. Small brush fires that spread through the undergrowth burned many wounded soldiers alive, according to the Virginia Encyclopedia. Eventually, ODea was moved to a prison near Andersonville, a village in a remote part of Georgia southwest of Macon. Built near a railroad and a stream the year ODea was captured, it was officially called Camp Sumter. Confederate artillery overlooked the compound, which featured a wooden stockade. Originally designed to hold 10,000 prisoners, the camp quickly became overcrowded, holding more than 32,000 by August 1864. That overcrowding was driven in part by the suspension of prisoner exchanges. In May 1863, according to the National Park Service, the Confederate government passed a resolution barring the exchange of captured Black Union soldiers. Two months later, President Abraham Lincoln issued an order effectively suspending the exchange system until the Confederates agreed to treat Black and white prisoners the same. Lives were at stake. Captured Black Union troops and their white officers faced execution, according to the National Museum of the United States Army. In April 1864, for example, Confederates fatally shot Black Union soldiers who were captured at Fort Pillow in Tennessee. Struggling mightily against the Union and experiencing deteriorating economic conditions, the Confederate government did not provide adequate food, shelter or medical care for its captives at Camp Sumter. Many died from scurvy, dysentery and exposure. They were buried shoulder to shoulder in shallow trenches. During his captivity, ODea was chained to a post for two days under the sun as punishment for attempting to escape, he said during a deposition for his military pension benefits. He also testified he was beaten by a gang of prisoners after reporting one of the raiders had stolen a fellow detainees watch. I was thrown down, kicked and beaten til I was unsensible, he said in his deposition. When I came to, I was not able to see for some two weeks. ODea wrote that he was also held in other Confederate prisons, including ones in Danville, Virginia, and Florence, South Carolina. His military records initially identified him as a deserter, but they were later corrected. Nearly a year after he was captured, ODea was freed. A fellow soldier who saw ODea after he returned to his unit wrote in an affidavit that ODea was so wasted in appearance that he was unfit for any duty. Honorably discharged, ODea settled in Cohoes, New York, where he worked as a mason, married and raised five children. Meanwhile, he suffered from chronic eye problems and heart disease because of exposure and cruelty he experienced during his captivity, his pension records show. I have used medicines enough to supply a drugstore, ODea wrote in a letter to federal pension officials in 1888. Stages of sickness and disease at the Confederacys infamous Andersonville prison camp, as drawn by former prisoner and Union Army veteran Thomas ODea. The stages are: Scurvy; Diarrhea; Gangrene; Dropsy; Fever. (National Park Service) The annals of civilization and barbarism With only his memory guiding him, ODea began work on his drawing of Camp Sumter in the winter of 1879 and finished it in 1885, according to a pamphlet he wrote about his illustration. One of his scenes portrays the prisons cemetery, where, he wrote, the dead were thrown promiscuously upon a wagon the same as cordwood. Another scene depicts a guard shooting a prisoner collecting water near the dead line, the name given to the compounds do-not-cross boundary. A third image reveals the types of punishment prisoners faced, including being hanged by their thumbs. The illustration also features a portrait of the stockades Confederate commander, Capt. Henry Wirz, who was convicted of conspiracy and murder and hanged in Washington after the war. In all the annals of civilization and barbarism, there never was, and I doubt never will be, such another place as Andersonville, ODea wrote. No truer sentence ever passed the lips of man, than when this was called the Hell Upon Earth. In addition to memorializing those who died at Andersonville, ODeas drawing validates the experiences of prisoners of war who might not have experienced much or any combat, said Damian Shiels, an author and historian who collected ODeas military pension records. ODea effectively enlists, is in a camp, goes off and then, bang, you are in Andersonville Prison, said Shiels, who is researching the experiences of Irish Americans who served in the Union Army. His entire war is there. It is the defining moment of a lot of mens war and what they witnessed there. There is definitely a strong desire to memorialize their view of what happened and the people who died there. Some prisoners who were held at Andersonville, Shiels added, felt they were utterly abandoned by the United States government while they were there. One of the images in ODeas drawing features the scales of justice, a headstone for the martyrs who died at Camp Sumter and a book titled, The Unwritten History of Andersonville Prison. In his pamphlet, ODea highlighted the suspension of prisoner exchanges and wrote the soldiers who played the most important part in the late war had been forgotten. But the soldier has not forgotten, ODea wrote. The soldier gave up his home, his blood, his life, for his country. Memorial Days beginning The same year he published his pamphlet, ODea ordered 10,000 lithograph copies of his drawing and sold each for $5, according to an article by Paul Perreault, then-town historian for Malta, New York. ODea offered a reduced rate to members of a powerful group of Union Army veterans called the Grand Army of the Republic. Toward the end of the 19th century, people put copies on public display in various venues across the nation, attracting newspaper coverage. In 1888, for example, the Vincennes (Indiana) Commercial newspaper reported on a copy the local Grand Army of the Republic post exhibited in a show window. All day long it attracted a throng of eager spectators, many of whom remained for hours studying the picture, the article says. It was particularly interesting to old soldiers, especially to those who suffered in that horrible rebel prison. In the final years of the war and immediately afterward, communities across the north and south decorated soldiers graves with flowers on springtime decoration days, according to the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department. In 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic issued an order to formally establish May 30 as Memorial Day, describing it as a time to decorate the graves of those who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion. Amid the early Memorial Day celebrations, veterans wanted to ensure the suffering they had endured wasnt forgotten, said Ashley Towle, who teaches about the Civil War and ODeas drawing at the University of Southern Maine. ODeas piece speaks to that, said Towle, who has collected 19th century newspaper articles about the drawing. As you have this reconciliation happening, there still are soldiers who are really driving home the point that they dont want to forget the realities of war while war is becoming romanticized by the general public. In January 1926, ODeas pension records show, he was 80, widowed, nearly blind and experiencing heart troubles. His daughter Estella wrote that he was not himself at times and that he required attention at night when he walks through the house for hours. Cannot be left alone at any time. He died two months later and is buried in St. Agnes Cemetery in Cohoes. 2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A placard displays a quote from a soldier to his mother against a wall of 600,000 poppy flowers at USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor display in Washington on Saturday, May 24, 2025. The 600,000 flowers symbolizes the 600,000 military members lost in service to our country. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON Thousands of visitors and veterans strolled through USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor over Memorial Day weekend. One side of the exhibit shared the history of the poppy flower as a symbol of remembrance, along with overviews of military campaigns from World War I through the Global War on Terror. On the other side stood a striking wall of 600,000 poppy flowers behind plexiglass, interspersed with quotes from veterans letters sent home from the front lines. Visitors to USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor view the display on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Washington. USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor returned to the National Mall for the sixth time. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Marcus Bowers, senior vice commander of the American Legion, pins a poppy flower to his cap on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Washington at USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Pins representing poppy flowers were given out for free at USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor display on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Visitors to USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor view the display on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Washington. The Poppy Wall of Honor focuses on the impact of each life lost and all they gave through their military service. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) One veteran, John Schoon, a former Army staff sergeant with the Third Army, Central Command, became emotional as he stood before the section dedicated to Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the campaign in which he served. [The war] still stands with me, because nobody wins the war, he said. The hardest part of the war is coming home. You have to deal with everything. You have to deal with the ones you lost that you never forget ... I can at least come here to pay my respects to my brethren and my sisters at Section 60 at Arlington [National Cemetery] and see my buddys name on the wall, knowing that I followed in his footsteps and he cant talk to me ... I have guilt, self-guilt. Why did I make it home? John Schoon, a former Army sergeant with the Third Army, Central Command, left, is comforted by USAA employee and Air Force veteran Shelina Frey on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Washington at USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor. Schoon served in Desert Storm. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) John Schoon, a former Army sergeant with the Third Army, Central Command, left, pauses with emotion as USAA employee and Air Force veteran Shelina Frey seeks to comfort him on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Washington at USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor. Schoon served in Desert Storm. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Joe Spruill, of American Legion Post 46, left, and Marcus Bowers, senior vice commander of the D.C. regions American Legion, visit USAAs Poppy Wall of Honor, on display on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Other visitors reflected on the meaning of remembrance and the sacrifice made by service members who gave their lives to preserve freedom. Memorial Day holds a special place in the hearts of Americans as we unite to honor our fallen heroes, said Juan C. Andrade, President and CEO of USAA. Let us remember the sacrifices they made, support their loved ones, and cherish the freedoms our nations service members have so bravely defended. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II and the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. We must never forget the enduring cost of freedom and the profound impact these, and all, conflicts have had on our country. The Poppy Wall of Honor will be on display through Sunday, May 25. The Durham Veterans Administration hospital facility in Durham, North Carolina. (Chuck Liddy, The News & Observer/TNS) RALEIGH, N.C. (Tribune News Service) Mildred Manning-Joy waited 45 minutes for her prescription to be filled at the Veterans Affairs Durham Health Care Facility. She watched as a single worker took orders, filled prescriptions and serviced the window. Thats way too much to ask of anyone, Manning-Joy said. And as the line behind her continued to grow, she worried about the people who didnt have the time to wait. Manning-Joy isnt just a patient at the Durham VA. Shes a nurse of 25 years who works at the facility and is a member of National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the country. This week, she joined a group of NNU members and Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, for a briefing held over Zoom, to discuss the impact of the Trump administration on VA health care. Among the chief concerns noted in Tuesdays calls was an executive order signed by President Donald Trump preventing the collective bargaining rights of federal workers, a federal hiring freeze and proposed cuts by Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to reduce the VA workforce by 70,000 to 80,000 people. The Trump administration wants to cut 15% of the Veterans Affairs work staff to bring it back down to what it was in 2019, before COVID and The PACT Act took effect. The PACT Act is a law that provides veterans care after exposure to toxic chemicals, including those at Fort Bragg, who used the bases unsafe drinking waters. Earlier this month, Collins got into a heated discussion at a Senate hearing with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, about the cuts. Collins claimed Blumenthal was trying to stir fear among veterans, and he defended the VA cuts, saying that health care remained a priority. Meanwhile, Takano introduced a bill this month, with 81 co-sponsors, that would give VA workers back their collective bargaining rights. They dont want workers to organize, Takano said of the executive order. They know that there is strength in numbers, and they know that there is strength in unions. I know firsthand the power of unions, having been a member of one for many years myself. The whole idea is to either make working for VA so miserable that everyone quits, or to take away their grievance rights so they can fire dissidents without cause. Concerns for veterans Monica Coleman, a nurse from Illinois, said nurses arent the only ones being silenced. Veterans are, too. We took an oath to take care of those who serve in our nations military, and for their families, caregivers and survivors, and that is being stripped away with the stroke of a pen, Coleman said. But nurses arent going anywhere, because we are afraid for our patients. We know if we leave our patients, theyll suffer. Concerns for their patients took up the majority of the call. There was already a worker shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now with a hiring freeze and job cuts through attrition, workers are trying to fill in gaps. They talked about leaving patients for a half-hour to fill prescriptions or not having enough mental health care providers. Decades of scientific research show that when our RNs are forced to care for too many patients at one time, patients are at high risk of preventable medical errors, avoidable complications, falls and injuries, increased length of hospital stay and even death, said Andrea Johnson, a nurse from San Diego, who spoke on the call. Patients also fear losing health care teams they spent years building to treat their needs. I ask each and every one of you to think about who ultimately is going to be impacted by the cuts of the VA: the veterans, Coleman said. They dont deserve to be stripped of the care they earned and have been promised. Manning-Joy comes from a multi-generational military family and knows firsthand the importance of the specialized care veterans receive at VA facilities. That includes one-on-one time with providers as well as doctors and nurses who understand what veterans have gone through to leading technologies like prosthetics. And she said it was becoming a nurse for the VA that helped her understand why she loved her career so much. After just a few years working in the VA, I knew I could never go anywhere else, Manning-Joy said. My coworkers and I have a deep love for our work and we want this to be the best place possible for our veteran patients. Thats why when she sees problems, she brings them up. She said her coworkers do as well. We are advocates for our patients, and that is why it is so important to us to have our protective rights to organize and bargain, Manning-Joy said. There are times when we report things that dont get addressed. Thats when we come together and collectively take action to protect our patients. But she said over the past few months, more issues are going unaddressed. The hiring freeze and the firing of probationary employees have led to really severe staffing issues in our facility, and VA Secretary Doug Collins has now put forward a plan that could cut VA staff by 83,000, Manning-Joy said. We have to get out in front of this. Any further cuts will lead to an unimaginable staffing crisis that will lead to worsening patients outcomes. Manning-Joy called Collins plans to cut staffing really scary and unfair to our veteran patients. Veterans rely on the VA to get specialized care that comes with serving in the military, Manning-Joy said. Our nurses are trained to have the experience to manage diverse needs of the population and these cuts will ultimately harm veterans. Fighting for our VA must be a top priority. 2025 McClatchy Washington Bureau Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC Having entered the church, the parishioners returned to remind them that this was a sacred and holy place. A couple caught having sex in the holy grounds of a Belfast city centre church were today ordered to complete two-year probation orders. Karol Piotr Biernacik (43) of Loopland Road in east Belfast and Adrienne Surgenor (35), of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of committing a lewd, obscene and disgusting act outraging public decency. Belfast Crown Court heard that around 2.30pm on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, two members of the public were attending St George's Parish Church in High Street. Prosecution lawyer Natalie Pinkerton said: "They observed the two defendants engaging in sexual intercourse beneath a blanket. Having entered the church, the parishioners returned to remind them that this was a sacred and holy place. Karol Biernacik leaving Laganside court, Friday, May 23, 2025 News in 90 Seconds - May 24th 2025 Biernacik's behaviour towards the parishioners was aggressive, while Surgenor was conciliatory. Police were called and the defendants continued with their outrageous behaviour until police arrived. Surgenor replied no comment to all police questions following her arrest but pleaded guilty on arraignment. The court heard Biernacik made some limited admissions during his police interview and also pleaded guilty on arraignment. Ms Pinkerton said the aggravating factors were the location of the offence being on the grounds of a church in the early part of the afternoon, the persistent nature of the offending and the level of alcohol consumed. Surgenor has no previous convictions while her co-accused has six previous convictions and was the subject of a number of suspended sentences at the time of his offending for theft, assault and disorderly behaviour. Defence barrister Laura Jennings said Surgenor had been on remand in Hydebank Wood women's prison since November 7, last year. She told the court the defendant was a widow and had a long and difficult relationship with her late husband. St George's Parish Church Ms Jennings said: "Her lifestyle was chaotic and at the time of this offending she was homeless, she was consuming alcohol on a daily basis and had resorted to sleeping on the streets. Substance misuse has been a feature of her life. Since her remand into custody she has been engaging in programmes to address her issues with alcohol. She was subsequently granted bail but this could not be perfected as no suitable address could be found, added Ms Jennings. A pre-sentence report compiled by the Probation Board said Surgenor had used her time in custody constructively, obtaining enhanced status and engaging in educational and social activities. The author of the report said the defendant had expressed remorse and repeatedly apologised for her behaviour. She is assessed as a medium likelihood of reoffending. Defence barrister Peter Sands said Biernacik was a Polish national who had lived in Northern Ireland for around 10 years. For over three years, he lived with his brother and worked as a kitchen porter but his bail conditions prevented him from working night shifts. He has no dependents and was in a relationship with his co-accused for four months. He has expressed remorse for his behaviour and attributed this to his homelessness and alcohol consumption, Mr Sands told the court. During his four-month period on remand, he suffered withdrawal symptoms. He was released in late March this year after he was able to perfect his bail. He wants to return to the structure and stability of a working environment. The Probation Board also assessed him as a medium likelihood of reoffending and recommended a community-based disposal in an effort to reduce any future offending. Judge Sandra Crawford told the defendants: "This was deplorable and repugnant behaviour which offends societal standards.'' Judge Crawford said the appropriate disposal was that advocated in the pre-sentence report of a two-year probation order which is to protect the public from further offending on your part. Patrick Maughan (37) was reckless as to whether the tools were stolen, his lawyer said. A man who handled stolen construction tools at a Dublin market begged a judge not to jail him so he could attend his childs first holy communion. Patrick Maughan (37) was reckless as to whether the tools were stolen, his lawyer said. Judge Cephas Power convicted and sentenced Maughan to four months in prison. The defendant, with an address at St McCullens Park in Balbriggan, admitted to handling a stolen hand drill, electric saw, electric screwdriver, metal pipe cutter, industrial charger, scaffolding, plate compactor and a turf-cutter. The incident took place at Balbriggan Sunday Market on January 28 of last year. The court heard that Maughan had 46 previous convictions. Swords District Court heard that Maughan, a married father of five children, had a limited education. His lawyer asked the judge not to jail Maughan, saying that his childs communion was soon and he was anxious to attend. Gardai had the tools, and they would be returned to the owner, the court heard. Recognisances were set for an appeal. Repeat offender Connor Manning has had his jail sentence replaced with a fully suspended term on appeal A repeat offender who assaulted a garda while swinging a hurley and targeted city centre shops, where he assaulted, racially abused and threatened to kill staff, has had his jail sentence replaced with a fully suspended term on appeal. Connor Manning (29) was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the injured garda. The defendant, with last address at Spire Hostel, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1, had pleaded guilty to 15 offences including robbery, theft, assault and public order in the District Court. The District Court Appeals Court heard that on August 18, 2022, gardai responded to an incident where Manning was swinging a hurley on Viking Harbour, Dublin 8. Stock image News in 90 Seconds - May 24th 2025 He became aggressive and knocked a garda member to the ground, injuring her and lifting a nail from her finger. He continued to act aggressively and kicked the number plate off of a garda patrol vehicle before being arrested for assault contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. On January 14, 2023, Garda responded to four incidents throughout the day at the Circle K shop on Nassau Street, Dublin 2. On the first occasion, Manning threatened to kill staff if they pressed the panic alarm before stealing four cans of alcohol. He later re-entered, stole a further eight cans of Budweiser and said: If you press that button I will kill you. He entered a further two times to take alcohol and cigarettes. Manning also faced charges relating to punching a man in Temple Bar and demanding he go to an ATM with him to give him money in the early hours of April 20, 2023. On August 19, 2024, gardai were called to the Tesco store on Fleet Street, Dublin 2 where Manning attempted to steal two packs of cider. He was racially abusive to staff members and threw a pack of cider at one worker, striking them in the head. Defence counsel for Manning, Seosaimhin Ni Chathasaigh BL, said that his client had turned to drug abuse due to a tough life that he has found difficult to escape. She said he was thoroughly ashamed of his actions and was open to residential drug treatment. Judge James ODonohoe said he did not have sympathy with regard to the assault on the garda with a hurley. However, he noted Mannings troubled background in coming to his decision. The judge said he would suspend Manning's eight-month custodial sentence for two years on the conditions that he engages with drug addiction services, remains outside of the city centre area and writes a letter of apology to the injured garda. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme. Offaly dog breeder PJ Rigney will be kept in Cloverhill Prison until Wednesday of next week A puppy farmer has been remanded in prison for failing to surrender dogs found on properties linked to him more than two years after his dog breeding establishment was served with a closure order. Offaly dog breeder PJ Rigney will be kept in Cloverhill Prison until Wednesday of next week after Judge Andrew Cody heard he registered three dogs to his elderly mother instead of handing them over to a registered animal charity or Offaly County Council for rehoming. Addressing the court by video-link from prison, Rigney who was initially remanded in custody on Monday last told Judge Cody the dogs were no longer on his property and had been reregistered to another party through the Fido dog register. Judge Cody responded Rigney was not going to be allowed to play ducks and drakes in his courtroom. He told Rigney he could duck and dive all he liked before saying he had been ordered to surrender the animals to the council or a registered animal charity for rehoming. I dont care whether they are on his property or on the planet Mars, he continued. Those dogs are to be rehomed as set out in the court order a week ago! He further cautioned Rigney that he is not going to finalise sentencing in the case until the court order has been complied with before adjourning the matter to Wednesday next. The background to the case relates to a closure order handed down to Rigney. In October of 2021, Rigney was served with a closure notice alleged he had been illegally running a dog-breeding establishment, housing dogs in substandard accommodation, in a yard off Circular Road, in Daingean, Offaly. PJ Rigney outside Tullamore Court News in 90 Seconds - May 24th 2025 According to a closure order published by the Council on October 1st that year Mr Rigney was not registered to run such a facility. Outlining the grounds on which he considered Mr Rigney's operation "poses a serious and immediate threat to animal welfare", Offaly County Council Veterinary Inspector Aidan Grant wrote: "The premises in which the dogs are kept and management of same are far below required of a registered dog-breeding establishment. Mr. Rigney was subsequently convicted and fined in the District Court. He subsequently appealed that order but the order was upheld. On February 22nd 2024, a follow up inspection of Rigneys property at Circular Road, Daingean and lands at Little Island revealed the presence of 19 dogs. As a result, Rigney was issued with an Animal Welfare notice. Rigney was issued with a summons to appear in court for failure to comply with this notice on November 11th of last year. Addressing the court on behalf of Offaly County Council, barrister James Nurney BL acknowledged that a number of the dogs had been rehomed. He said it appears in essence that three dogs remain on the premises that have been transferred to the ownership of Brigid Rigney. The dogs include a Belgian Malinois, a Collie and a Shih Tzu. Ms. Brigid Rigney is the mother of PJ Rigney. The case will resume on Wednesday next. Lazee Okenyi (23) left a judge speechless at his decision to try and retrieve the items. A student lunged into a garda car in an effort to remove items which had been seized during a search, a court heard. Lazee Okenyi (23) left a judge speechless at his decision to try and retrieve the items. Judge David McHugh fined Okenyi 350 and ordered him to complete 100 hours of community service in lieu of four months in prison. On a separate uninsured driving matter, Judge McHugh banned Okenyi from driving for four years. The defendant, with an address at Earlsfort Road in Lucan, admitted obstruction of gardai at Newcastle Road in Lucan on December 9, 2020. Read more Dublin recruiter harassed uncle and sister with more than 130 emails, court told Garda Brian Halley told Blanchardstown District Court that gardai were conducting a search when Okenyi lunged into a garda car and tried to remove the items that theyd taken during the search. Judge McHugh said this act by the defendant left him speechless. In a separate incident, Okenyi admitted driving without insurance or a driving licence. Okenyi further admitted public order offences at Rosse Court Lane, Lucan, on July 4, 2020. In that incident, Inspector Pat Duggan said gardai were dealing with an incident when they came across Okenyi, who was directed to leave the area. Okenyi told officers to f**k off on two occasions, the inspector said, and then took off running. The court heard the defendant had 12 previous convictions. Defence lawyer Mark McMahon said the defendant, who was studying pharmaceutical science in IT Tallaght, had not come to the attention of gardai in over a year, and these matters dated back to when he was a teenager. Mr McMahon asked the judge to be as lenient as possible, saying the defendant was clever, or book-smart, but not wise in other ways. Okenyi was finally realising that his offending behaviour, described as naive carry-on, could not continue, the lawyer said, and was anxious to put it all behind him. The court was told that exchange had arisen between Claudia McDonagh and another young mother, both of whom it was revealed had decided to sort matters out after their children had become involved in a fight A woman in her 30s dragged a young mother out the door of her own home and assaulted her days after their children had become embroiled in a fight, a court has heard. 37-year-old Claudia McDonagh pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to her female victim when she called to the womans home at Abhainn Glas, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford on the evening of September 4, 2024. McDonagh, of 11A Cloverwell, Edgeworthstown, Longford left the injured party with bruising to her arms after she pulled her outside her front door, grabbing her by the hair in the process. Claudia McDonagh (37) That evidence formed part of an initial jurisdiction hearing, a legal term used to describe whether a case should remain in the District Court or be sent forward to its higher Circuit Court equivalent which has broader sentencing powers. Sgt Mark Mahon told of how gardai had been called to the aforementioned location at around 8pm on foot of reports that two women had become entangled in an altercation. The court was told that exchange had arisen between McDonagh and another young mother, both of whom it was revealed had decided to sort matters out after their children had become involved in a fight a number of days earlier. Claudia McDonagh (37) on the steps of Longford Courthouse. News in 90 Seconds - May 24th 2025 Claudia McDonagh called to the house of the mother of the children and during the course of this she pulled the injured party out the door of the house, pulled her hair and assaulted her to the arms, said Sgt Mahon. The States court presenter handed in photographs of the bruising sustained by the woman, images which he said had also been shown to McDonaghs defence solicitor Brid Mimnagh. Judge Bernadette Owens, in turn, accepted jurisdiction in a decision Ms Mimnagh confirmed would be met by a guilty plea by her client. When asked as to whether McDonagh had any previous convictions, Sgt Mahon confirmed the accused had 87 to her name, one of which was for assault with a series of others connected to theft related offences. The most recent of those, the court heard, was recorded in March 2019 where McDonagh was convicted and fined for damaging property. Judge Owens said prior to finalising sentencing, the court would require the State to canvass for a victim impact statement. McDonagh was consequently remanded on bail to appear back before a sitting of Longford District Court on September 23. Yan Yan Fan whose collection of designer goods and cash were declared the proceeds of crime last year is to pay 45,000 in fees. A WOMAN who complained a Criminal Assest Bureau case made her more famous than The Monk has agreed to pay the legal costs of the court action. Yan Yan Fan whose collection of designer goods and cash were declared the proceeds of crime last year is to pay 45,000 in fees. The High Court heard this week the Chinese national had agreed to settle her long-running battle with the bureau. Ms Fan had 96 items seized from her apartment by Cab after a raid in 2021 during an investigation into a cannabis grow-house operation. Cab sought to have luxury goods, along with 229,000, declared the proceeds of crime. While 19 of those items were returned to along with 89,000 frozen in bank account she had appealed the finding against her. Judge Alex Owens accepted Yan-Yan Fan and a co-respondent, Guang Ying Wang (49) were working with a grow-house operation. Yan-Yan Fan News in 90 Seconds - May 24th 2025 At a High Court hearing last October, it was heard that Cab is also appealing the part of the ruling in which the judge directed cash be returned to Ms Fans parents in China. Ms Fan, who represented herself in the proceedings, had maintained she was a lover of fashion and denied her treasured possessions were purchased with criminal cash. At one hearing she also complained to the High Court that she has been made famous even more than Gerry Hutch because of the coverage surrounding her case. She maintained her innocence and asked the judge if he could make an order against journalists. The CAB investigation started in 2021 when Wang was arrested on March 19 and questioned about his suspected involvement in a grow-house in Phibblestown, Co Dublin, in which cannabis worth 400,000 had been discovered. The 50-year-old, from Blanchardstown, Dublin, is suspected of ramming a garda car and attempting to ram others during the chase, which started at around 4am yesterday and ended less than an hour later. A criminal who was once a leading member of the Westies gang is in custody after leading gardai on a high-speed chase. The 50-year-old, from Blanchardstown, Dublin, is suspected of ramming a garda car and attempting to ram others during the chase, which started at around 4am yesterday and ended less than an hour later. The red Ford Transit van the man was driving was reported stolen after an aggravated burglary in Maynooth, Co Kildare, at 4am on Wednesday, along with a car from the same property. Read more Dublin recruiter harassed uncle and sister with more than 130 emails, court told In that incident, a woman whose two young children were asleep in the house at the time was confronted by three masked men, one of whom assaulted her, before they escaped with the two vehicles. Nearly 48 hours later, uniformed gardai who were on patrol in Blanchardstown noticed the van. When they tried to stop it, the driver rammed their car, causing minor damage. No officers were injured. The van was then driven off and sped along back roads in the Blanchardstown, Lucan and Dunboyne areas. The arrested man is a suspect for a number of burglary, theft and similar dangerous driving incidents At one stage, it was driven the wrong way on the N4 near Lucan before the chase ended in Blanchardstown, where the criminal was arrested. This was a great example of fine police work in which the gardai put their lives on the line when one considers how dangerous the suspect was driving in that van, a source said. Thankfully, no one was injured. The arrested man is a suspect for a number of burglary, theft and similar dangerous driving incidents in Dublin and other Leinster counties, including in Meath, in recent months. The Westies were one of the biggest drug-dealing gangs in Ireland over 20 years ago The arrested man has multiple previous convictions. He previously served a prison sentence for his role in a high-profile crime in a north Dublin pub in January, 2008, in which the victim received life-changing injuries. He also received a suspended sentence for possession of stolen goods in Co Roscommon. The Westies were one of the biggest drug-dealing gangs in Ireland over 20 years ago and were known for their violence. Twenty-five of the arrests were made in Northern Ireland, four across Manchester and Birmingham and four in the Republic of Ireland Four people have been arrested in the Republic as part of a joint Garda-National Crime Agency crackdown on a "Northern Ireland people-smuggler crime gang. A total of 33 illegal entrants and suspected people smugglers were arrested as part of the Home Office operation tackling abuse of the Common Travel Area. In the sixth such operation of its kind, Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams swooped on ports and airports in Northern Ireland, north-west England and Wales during a three-day operation. Twenty-five of the arrests were made in Northern Ireland, four across Manchester and Birmingham and four in the Republic of Ireland. The operation is part of a renewed crackdown on immigration crime as the UK government restores order to borders through their Plan for Change. Stock image News in 90 Seconds - May 24th 2025 It involved the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), An Garda Siochana, the National Crime Agency (NCA), other UK police forces, Border Force and international partners who worked to gather intelligence, trace offenders and take action against UK border breaches. Some 17,000 in suspected criminal assets and a heavy goods vehicle worth 144,000 have also been seized while officers issued civil penalties to the value of more than 10,000. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle said the government was using every tool at its disposal to take down the criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people in order to make quick cash We are breaking down the criminal networks at their root with enforcement visits and arrests up by 38 per cent, the minister said. The governments Plan for Change will ensure that criminal networks who abuse our borders face the full force of the law, which is exactly why we have introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill giving law enforcement new counter-terror style powers to smash the people-smuggling gangs. Home Office Immigration Enforcement Deputy Director Ben Thomas said law enforcement agencies are dedicated to breaking down the business model of criminal gangs who put lives at risk every day, the strength of our partnership and success of this operation serves as evidence. Criminal networks seek to bypass robust border checks through fraudulent means and trap vulnerable people into further illegal activities, Mr Thomas said. The success of this operation marks a significant step up in enforcement activity leading to the arrest of 33 criminals who attempted to abuse the Common Travel Area and undermine the UKs border security. According to the Home Office, the operation builds on the success of previous enforcement activity in Northern Ireland conducted by the Criminal and Financial Investigations team, part of Home Office Immigration Enforcement. Since July 2024 over 60 arrests have been made and over 405,000 of criminal cash seized in the crackdown on abuse of the CTA, protecting migrants at risk of exploitation and disrupting criminality that threatens the publics safety, the Home Office stated. This latest success comes alongside the announcement that nearly 30,000 people with no right to be here have been returned under this government, including a 23% increase in enforced returns and a 14% increase in foreign criminals deported since the election. It also follows a series of measures introduced by the UK government to tackle organised immigration crime under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. This is to enable smarter, faster and more effective interventions to protect UK border security and make it easier to detect, disrupt and deter those seeking to engage in and benefit from organised immigration crime. I have a van I can rent for $250 from a nun. We take him to a farm and let the hogs eat him A New York man has pleaded guilty to a murder-for-hire scheme in which he plotted to have a romantic rival killed and his body fed to pigs. Jeal Sutherland of Colonie, New York, had arranged the murder of the father of a child he shared with his then-partner by agreeing to forgive a debt of the person he hired to kill his target. The 57-year-old also paid an undercover FBI agent, who he thought was a pig farmer, to use his farm to dispose of the body of his intended victim by feeding it to the animals. He also admitted that he hired another man to leave a threatening note stuffed in the beak of a dead Canada goose on the doorstep of his intended victim's mother. Jeal Sutherland However, his target was not harmed and Sutherland, who was arrested January 27 has been in custody since, according to the US Attorneys Office, Northern District of New York. He has now entered a guilty plea after being charged with using an interstate commerce facility in a murder-for-hire scheme and will be sentenced in September Sutherland was arrested in January following an investigation by the FBI that was launched when an informant told the agency of his plans. Stock image News in 90 Seconds - May 25th 2025 The informant told agents that he wanted the man, who was in prison at the time, dead when he was released January. In exchange, Sutherland would forgive the informant of debts he had run up. Specifically, he intended to dispose of the body at a hog farm in Pennsylvania, according to a criminal file complaint. The informant began recording conversations he had with Sutherland, during which they discussed the plans for killing the man and transporting the body. In December, the informant told Sutherland, I have a van I can rent for like $250 from a nun. We take him to a farm and let the hogs eat him. Sutherland told the informant he didnt want to know anything about the details of the killing, but still wanted to see proof that his target was dead. Sutherland was taken into custody by the FBI on January 27 before his intended victim was released from prison. United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said Sutherland had hatched a vicious plot to kill a romantic rival and intimidate his victims family. When members of the FBI and my office learned of Sutherlands plans, they acted quickly and did not rest until Sutherland was brought to justice. FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli added: Mr. Sutherlands diabolical plot intended to violently end a man's life and intimidate his family. Thanks to the swift actions taken by FBI Albany and our law enforcement partners, that plan never came to fruition and Mr. Sutherland was quickly arrested and remains in custody. The FBI will continue to work with our partners at the United States Attorneys Office to aggressively pursue and hold accountable anyone looking to commit such egregious acts of violence in our communities. Sutherland faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Mae A. DAgostino on September 22. Entitled Four Letters Of Love, it is based on the international bestselling novel of the same name by Niall Williams The trailer for the new Pierce Brosnan film shot in Donegal has been released. Entitled Four Letters Of Love, it is based on the international bestselling novel of the same name by Niall Williams. Two-time Academy Award nominee Brosnan stars alongside Gabriel Byrne and Helena Bonham Carter in the flick that is coming to cinemas on July 18. Shot on location in Donegal and Antrim, Four Letters Of Love is described as a life-affirming tale about faith and doubt, maybes and almosts, and the miracle of love The synopsis outlines how Nicholas (OShea) and Isabel (Skelly) are made for each other, but as destiny pulls them together, so do family, passion, and faith drive them apart. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Nicholas father, William (Brosnan), comes home one day to shatter his familys quiet, modest life. He tells them that after a moment of divine revelation, he has decided to dedicate his life to painting. He quits his job and sets off for the West Coast, leaving his shell-shocked wife and son to fend for themselves. Meanwhile, Isabel and her family live a charmed existence on a remote island off the West Coast, their house full of music and poetry. When tragedy strikes and her brother suffers a terrible accident, the music stops, and Isabels mother, played by Bonham Carter, and father (Byrne) decide in their grief to send Isabel to a convent school on the mainland. The young lovers embark on their own individual journeys of heartache and misplaced love, before fate contrives to pull the threads of their lives together. When they meet, it is a miracle. The original novel was translated into more than 30 languages after it was published in 1997 and before he adapted it for the screen. Last week, a UNICEF report grabbed headlines with claims that our youth suicide rate was three times higher than the international average for high-income countries. Two researchers from the University of Auckland, who are experts in youth mental health, say that figure is wrong. The global charity's report on child wellbeing came out last Wednesday, with New Zealand ranking the lowest of 36 countries for mental wellbeing. The graph attracting the most attention was the one on youth suicide rates, in which New Zealand outranked all other countries, with a rate of 17.1 per 100,000 15-to-19-year-olds. "This is our whole world, this research, so we know what the data looks like for New Zealand," associate professor Sarah Hetrick told The Detail. "We just knew when we saw it that it wasn't correct." The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice collectively supply figures on suicide. In New Zealand, the coroner must determine whether a death was by suicide, before it can be recorded as confirmed. That's why the suicide web data tool displays both confirmed and suspected figures. Associate professor Sarah Fortune, who is the director for population mental health at University of Auckland, explained the difference. "The first one is called confirmed deaths, so that tells us that the circumstances of that person's death have been reviewed by the coroner and have been recorded as being a suicide death," she said. "Then we have suspected cases, which indicates that that situation is still open to the coroner." The UNICEF Report Card 19 analysed trends in youth suicide using only data on confirmed suicide rates. Because countries have different processes and timeframes around releasing this data, UNICEF calculated each country's average based on the figures from the three most recent years available. For New Zealand, that meant data from 2018-20 was used and about a third of the other countries were the same, but we did have more recent suspected suicide rates. That data said in the financial year of 2021/22, the rate was 12.3. The most recent figures from 2023/24 showed the rate dropped to 11.8. While suspected and confirmed rates weren't comparable, Hetrick said the confirmed rates did tend to follow the trend set out by the suspected rates. Averaging out figures to 'smooth fluctuations' isn't uncommon, so the figures in the report weren't necessarily wrong - but they did contradict the declining rate of suspected suicides during that period. UNICEF Aotearoa's Tania Sawicki Mead said the report wasn't attempting to make things look worse than they were. "In order to make a useful comparison between countries, the report uses like-for-like data in order to make sure that there is a genuinely useful comparator about how countries are doing over that timeframe," she said. "We are really keen to understand what the long-term trends are for youth suicide to understand if what we are doing is working." Hetrick worried this report promoted headlines and discussion about declining youth wellbeing that contributed to the hopeless narrative, which wasn't helpful for youth who were struggling. "The risk is that young people particularly will hear wellbeing's not going so great and suicide's going up, and pairing those two things together, as though somehow suicide is an inevitable consequence of poor wellbeing, is a very dangerous message." Another issue Hetrick immediately had with the report was that suicide was one of only two indicators used to measure mental wellbeing. "We would very strongly say that, while mental health can be a contributor, that the two things are not equivalent. There are many, many, many more things about a young person's life and the environment in which they live that impacts on wellbeing." Hetrick said other data, like that in the Youth2000 series, looked at several different indicators that contributed to youth wellbeing, some of which showed things were improving. "For sure, some things are not as good as they were, but some things have improved, so I think there was a fundamental problem even with using suicide data as one of only two indicators of youth wellbeing." If you get asked to donate money to Alaska dont panic, you wont be bankrolling an entire state of America. Bethlehem College student Alaska Shaw, 13, known as Ali to her friends and family, is teaching kids how to ride horses to raise money for a mission trip to Fiji in August. This is an amazing opportunity for her to serve Jesus, said her mum Shanelle Shaw. For some of the trip they will be partnering with Bethel Community Church over there with building a church and ministry work. They will also be helping solo mothers and their children. Ali said she wanted to help people in need on a bigger scale. Our church does pancakes and hotdogs at the end of every service and I help with that, but Id like to do more. Ali and her horse Luxy give lessons at their house at Aongatete. Shes also doing odd jobs such as cleaning, plus raffles, to raise enough money to secure a spot in the group of 17 Bethlehem College students on the trip, which begins August 31. I wanted to use my own resources, I guess, she said. The trip will cost about $2400. So far Ali has managed to cover the cost of getting her passport renewed plus another $1500. The Australian-born teen hasnt been on a plane since she made the trans-Tasman flight as a child. Im really excited about it, she said. Were helping solo mums with ways to set up a business and I think well be teaching the kids new games. It really resonates with me. Shanelle said theres a lot of poverty in Fiji and I was a little surprised that she [Ali] wanted to go because she can be a homebody. It will be hard but shes always helping people so the trip will be great. Its such a crucial age to find meaning and purpose. The benefits to a young person going on a trip like this are immeasurable. Donations to Alaska Shaws mission trip to Fiji can be made by direct bank transfer to: Account name: S Shaw. Account no: 02-1210-0055194-025. Waikato Regional Airport chief executive Mark Morgan said the team was excited to see the Jetstar flights from Hamilton to Sydney lift off on June 16. An empty duty-free space, a bit of sawdust, and no queues in front of the customs or security check are the only hints that there are still a couple of weeks to go until the airports new chapter starts. Its almost time for Hamilton Airports first international boarding call since 2012 - and the airport is more than ready. International flights will return to Hamilton Airport after a 13-year hiatus. Danielle Zollickhofer checks out the upgraded terminal before travellers start checking in. Flights to and from the Gold Coast will start on June 18. This is the beginning of a huge opportunity, Morgan said. While the airport team was very much focused on establishing the new Jetstar flights, Morgan said there was potential for further expansions. We look to expand international services and start domestic jet flights in the future, but like any business decision this needs a measured approach. Hamilton seems very appropriate for expanded transtasman and Pacific Island services, but we are currently not in active conversations - you [have to] walk before you run. Morgan said well into the future a strong commercial business case and an investment in infrastructure would allow Hamilton Airport to consider the potential to accommodate flights to Asia. Waikato Regional Airport Ltd chief executive Mark Morgan, board chair Barry Harris and the Hamilton Airport team after last year's announcement that direct flights between Hamilton and Australia will resume. Photo / Stephen Barker However, it wasnt the airport that decided which international services would arrive and depart from Hamilton. Its the airlines. Our role is to make sure airlines know about us. Were the enabler, not necessarily the instigator. Once we are established [with the Sydney, Gold Coast services], the next opportunity will probably be domestic jet services. Preparations for going international Morgan said conversations with Jetstar about flights from Hamilton to Sydney and the Gold Coast started about 15 months ago. Last September, the parties were ready for an announcement. The new security check and customs area at Hamilton Airport. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer A lot of work had gone into preparing the airport for international flights again, Morgan said. We had to have conversations with key border agencies, like MPI, customs et cetera to see if they would establish a border here. It was around a $7 million investment. No extension of the runway or airport building was required, with Morgan saying the airport always had the space, it had just been used in other ways, including for offices. In 2022, the existing terminal received a $15 million upgrade, including structural strengthening. For the international flights, the team had to set up a new terminal, with security check, duty-free store, cafe, baggage claim and a departure lounge to accommodate 230 passengers. Waikato Regional Airport chief executive Mark Morgan at the new international security check and customs area. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer There is also the option to separate a part of the lounge for domestic jet aircraft flights. Morgan said the biggest challenge, but also the most important component had been establishing an international border in Hamilton. The operational set up was a challenge, there will be 40-50 border staff here that needed to be employed and trained. Our location close to Auckland Airport and the Port of Tauranga was an advantage for this. Its important for us to be a safe first point of entry - efficient and protected. HLZ International flight history The last airline to fly internationally from Hamilton was Virgin Australia, which announced in August 2012, it would pull the plug on its service due to deteriorating demand and the service losing the company money. Hamilton Airport is owned by five Waikato councils. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism The final Virgin Australia flight flew from Hamilton to Brisbane on October 27, 2012, ending 18 years of transtasman flights. Morgan said Hamilton Airport always remained open to be an international airport again, but it hadnt been a priority for airlines until the end of 2023. When asked if he was concerned about repeating history, Morgan said a lot had changed in the past 13 years. It is a use it or lose it deal. If our local catchment doesnt use this service, the airlines can redeploy services. But the airport company has a robust balance sheet and Hamilton is the fastest-growing city in New Zealand. Our catchment now is not only Waikato, but Rotorua, Taupo, Bay of Plenty and Coromandel and I would go as far as saying New Plymouth. [Jetstar] wouldnt be doing it if we couldnt back it up. What happened last time is always in the back of peoples minds but we are feeling confident. When the flights were announced last year, Jetstar Group chief executive Stephanie Tully said the airline was in a period of unparalleled growth in New Zealand. As the countrys only low-cost airline, Jetstar provides critical competition in New Zealand and helps keep travel affordable for Kiwis. Flight details The first service from and to Sydney will take place on June 16. Going forward, this will operate four days a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The first service from and to the Gold Coast will take place on June 18. Going forward, this will operate three days a week on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The aircraft used will be a 188-seater A320 Neo. Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas, will become the fourth airline using Hamilton Airport. Other carriers include Air New Zealand, Sunair and Originair. Morgan said the services would bring benefits to the Waikato, including a $45m economic boost per year, 60 new airport-based jobs and 100,000 more passengers per year using Hamilton Airport, on top of 360,000 passengers already handled. Australian visitors currently account for 19% of international visitor spend in the Waikato. Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton. Rotorua has officially lost its 'polluted' air quality status after 15 years of coordinated action by the local community and Bay of Plenty Regional Council. The city, long affected by poor winter-time air due to smoke from domestic wood burners, had struggled to meet national standards for particulate matter known as PM10tiny airborne particles with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less. The Rotorua Airshed had exceeded the national limit, prompting regulatory constraints and stricter controls on activities that release pollutants into the air. Under the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality, an area is classified as 'polluted' if it averages more than one exceedance of the PM10 standard per year over a five-year period. After maintaining an average of one or fewer exceedances per year for five consecutive years, the Rotorua Airshed has now met the threshold to be reclassified. Bay of Plenty Regional Council councillor Lyall Thurston said the change marked a significant milestone in the citys efforts to improve its air. Over the past 15 years, a series of measures have been introduced by Regional Council to address winter-time air quality issues, Thurston said. These include banning older style burners, launching an extensive education campaign, and enhancing compliance efforts. Thurston said the communitys commitment to cleaner heating options had played a major role in the improvement. This milestone marks an opportunity to say thank you to those who have already made the change to cleaner heating, and recognise how collective change has made an impact for the benefit of all Rotorua residents and visitors, he said. Poor air quality remains a public health concern, and new national rules are expected to introduce tougher limits on smaller particles in the future. Rotorua, where many residents rely on wood burners for heating, could face fresh challenges under those standards. Thurston said Rotorua had made great progress, but there was still work to do, with numerous smoky fires still in use across the city. He also acknowledged the support of other organisations involved in the Rotorua Air Quality Working Group, including Rotorua Lakes Council, Kainga Ora and Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora. The Rotorua Airshed will officially lose its polluted classification on Saturday 24 May. The area risks reclassification if air quality standards are breached again. Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming says he "strongly denies" any allegations he acted inappropriately in relation to the vetting process for firearms licences. McSkimming resigned as the country's second most powerful cop last Monday amid a four-month investigation by the Independent Police Conduct Authority and police. His resignation came after Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he was recently informed of allegations of a "very serious nature", separate to the investigation that led to him being suspended. On Thursday, RNZ asked police for comment on allegations that McSkimming had interfered with the vetting process for firearms licences. A statement from the office of Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said police were "aware of the allegation to which you refer". "It is being looked into as part of a wider investigation into concerns that have been raised. That is still underway. "The Police Commissioner was first made aware of those concerns in March and directed the investigation occur. This is a separate issue to the criminal investigation into Jevon McSkimming." In response to questions from RNZ, McSkimming released a statement through his lawyer. "Mr McSkimming strongly denies any allegation he acted in any way inappropriately in relation to the vetting process for firearms licenses. "As the overall operational lead on firearms, at one time Mr McSkimming raised issues about how the vetting process was being applied. He took those concerns to the Executive Leadership Team and, following discussion at the ELT, the process was subsequently modified." In response to questions from RNZ, Mitchell said in a statement he was aware "some concerns have been brought forward". He said the Police Commissioner was "looking into the matter". There were no timeframes for the various investigations at this time. The firearms regulator was established following the Christchurch Mosque attacks in 2019. According to its website, it has three main functions including implementing the firearms licensing system, managing the Firearms Registry and educating people to enable compliance and promote the safe use of firearms. RNZ revealed last week pornography found on McSkimming's work computer is being investigated as alleged objectionable material. He declined to comment on the allegations through his lawyer. Last Friday evening, his lawyer Linda Clark was granted a rare "superinjunction" by Justice Grau that prohibited reporting that disclosed the nature of the allegedly objectionable material, as well as the existence of the injunction itself, until 2.15pm on Monday. On Monday, Justice Gwyn held a teleconference from the High Court at Wellington to discuss the injunction with Clark, the police, and legal counsel for RNZ, Stuff and NZME. Following that conference, the order prohibiting publication of the nature of the allegedly objectionable material was continued - but the order prohibiting the existence of the injunction was not continued, meaning RNZ can now report the fact of McSkimming's application and the interim result. Chambers said in a statement last week that he appreciated that the resignation of McSkimming raised questions, but said the criminal investigation couldn't be "compromised by commenting on the circumstances of it at this point". "However, I can say that I have always made it very clear that trust and confidence in police is a top priority for me as commissioner," Chambers said. "I take very seriously anything that puts trust and confidence and the reputation of police at risk and will act to address it. "I have high expectations of all police staff and will address it if those standards are not met, irrespective of rank or role." In announcing McSkimming's resignation last week, Mitchell said McSkimming resigned before he could be dismissed. "I instructed the Public Service Commission to commence the process to remove Mr McSkimming from office after allegations of a very serious nature recently came to light, separate to the investigation that led to him being suspended." He did not say what the allegations were. Mitchell said the Policing Act was "very clear". "A deputy commissioner of police must be a 'fit and proper' person. They are rightly held to the highest standards of conduct and this new information called into serious question Mr McSkimming's fitness for office. "When Mr McSkimming was invited to respond to these allegations he chose to resign. Mr McSkimming's resignation has confirmed my view that his continuation in the role was untenable." Police advised Mitchell that their investigations into McSkimming would continue, notwithstanding his resignation. Building big things in a small place has won a Mount Maunganui robotics company the top honour at the prestigious NZ Hi-Tech Awards. Syos Aerospace, which was named Company of the Year, was one of five Tauranga and Bay of Plenty finalists in the awards in Wellington last night. The awards marked 30 years of celebrating high achievers in the New Zealand technology sector but this was the first time runaway success story Syos Aerospace had entered. Founded in 2021, the company develops and manufactures heavy-lifting drones and autonomous boats and ground vehicles. It recently signed a $66.8 million supply contract with the British Defence Force to supply drones for Ukraine. The Syos team comprises more than 50 industry-leading engineers, with research and development operations in Mount Maunganui and a production site in Britain. Judges said Syos showed a company could build big things in small, pleasant places. The company sells its products to government and commercial customers for security, border patrol, surveillance, disaster response, delivery logistics support, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. Syos Aerospace develops and manufactures unmanned vehicles and drones. They have made the jump overseas that is critical to getting Kiwi companies to global scale. More than 80 local and international judges contributed to deciding the awards. Syos Aerospace chief executive Samuel Vye told the Bay of Plenty Times before the awards that what set Syos apart was how quickly it had grown. Until only a couple of months ago, it had flown under the radar, relentlessly focused on rapid development. Our reputation has been built on customer delivery and growth. We are pushing hard, growing hard, and were setting up production here in the Bay of Plenty. Vye said Syos had its sights set pretty high as to how big it could grow. We really are focusing on growing New Zealand in the tech space and trying to put New Zealand out there as a technology country. Our relentless growth isnt pausing, he said. Tauranga Mayor Mahe Drysdale congratulated all the Tauranga-based winners and finalists. Syos chief Samuel Vye is focusing on growing New Zealand in the tech space. Drysdale said Tauranga was being increasingly recognised not just for its lifestyle, but as a serious contender on the national stage where businesses could scale globally from a regional base. This is a phenomenal achievement and testament to our regions growing reputation as a hub for innovation and strong influence on New Zealands tech and innovation landscape. A company based in Waikato that has worked on significant projects in Tauranga won Maori Company of the Year. Deep Dive Division is a robotic diving company founded in 2018 by Tua and Courtney Karalus. It has worked on everything from salvage and biosecurity to films (including Avatar: The Way of Water) and creating artificial reefs in the Tauranga Harbour. Its really cool to pave the way as a Maori Pacific business, Courtney Karalus said. She said it was important to work with excellence, but also to be inspirational for the future, knowing that anything is possible in their community. Its also badass to look after the environment while youre doing it, because everyone loves the water. Tua Karalus said he just wanted people to embrace the water. Were out there, were doing it, and theres a really bright future in the environmental space. Best Software finalist Carepatron, which helps medical practices manage appointments in person and online, was highly commended in the Most Innovative Hi-Tech Software Solution section. Taurangas Jenny Rudd was a finalist in the Inspiring Individual category, but missed out on the win. She founded Dispute Buddy, a software program that supports people with the Family Court process by helping them find and extract texts, emails and messages needed as evidence. Bay of Plenty finalists for Best Manufacturer wearable lymphatic therapy company Flowpresso and pH-measuring device maker Bluelab also missed out. New Zealand Hi-Tech Trust chair Marian Johnson said she saw the achievements of the tech sector as something all of Aotearoa could take pride in after the challenging past couple of years. We continue to see exceptional growth of both our largest tech companies and burgeoning ecosystem of start-ups, Johnson said in a statement. Were witnessing an industry that is continuing exceptional growth as well as innovation and matching it with the best in the world. 2025 NZ Hi-Tech Award winners PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year Syos Aerospace Xero Hi-Tech Young Achiever Luke Campbell (co-founder & CEO of VXT) Spark Best Hi-Tech Solution for the Public Good Optimation Consult Recruitment Best Contribution to the NZ Tech Sector Talent RISE Datacom Hi-Tech Inspiring Individual Lee Timutimu Aware an HSO Company Most Innovative Deep Tech Solution Kitea Health Poutama Trust Hi-Tech Kamupene Maori o te Tau Maori Company of the Year Deep Dive Division Tait Communications Flying Kiwi Sir Peter Beck NZX Most Innovative Hi-Tech Creative Technology Solution The Village Goldsmith Duncan Cotterill Most Innovative Hi-Tech Software Solution Winner: Toku Eyes Highly Commended: Carepatron Braemac Most Innovative Hi-Tech Manufacturer of the Year The Village Goldsmith Kiwibank Most Innovative Hi-Tech Solution for a More Sustainable Future Cleanery NZTE Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Solution Mindhive Global Punakaiki Hi-Tech Start-up Company of the Year Mindhive Global ASX Hi-Tech Emerging Company of the Year Winner: Projectworks Highly Commended: Calocurb Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University. Tauranga has proved it knows how to play, with four wins at the 2025 Recreation Aotearoa Parks Awards in Auckland this week. Tauranga City Council walked away with two category wins and two merit awards, shining a national spotlight on its commitment to creating inclusive, locally led public spaces that reflect the Bay of Plentys unique culture and communities. Te Papa Takaro o Matua took out Playspace of the Year (under $500,000), while the bustling Tauranga Waterfront Playground won in the over $500,000 category. Waitaha Reserve and the Kopurererua Valley restoration project were both recognised with merit awards. Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular said the awards celebrated a new approach to how council creates public spaces. These awards recognise our focus on building spaces that are locally led and enjoyed, said Ms Scoular. The Matua and Waitaha Reserve projects were both fully designed, delivered, and managed by council staff a move that kept costs down and made it easier to bring locals into the process from the start. The Matua playspace transformed a tired neighbourhood park into a vibrant, inclusive space shaped by ideas from local hapu Ngai Tamarawaho, children and scout groups. The Waterfront Playground, now a magnet for families in the city centre, was celebrated for its use of natural materials and strong cultural design narrative connecting the site to Te Awanui Tauranga Harbour. Local schoolchildren played a key role in shaping the look and feel of the playground. Waitaha Reserve impressed judges with its larger-scale, in-house delivery and close collaboration with hapu Ngati He, while the Kopurererua Valley restoration was applauded for blending long-term environmental restoration with better recreation access. Weve had great feedback from the community that spaces like this are important to them, said Scoular. The most successful parks and play spaces are those created with the people who will use them. From harbourfront playgrounds to restored bush corridors, Tauranga is showing the rest of Aotearoa how to build places people love and its winning awards for it too. A government decision to means-and-income-test support available to children and younger people, but not alter the eligibility for NZ Super, has prompted questions from some commentators. As part of Budget 2025, the government announced it would income-test eligibility for the Best Start payment in the first year of a child's life. This will affect about 60,000 families who previously would have been able to access the money, before being income tested in the child's second and third year. Teenagers who are receiving JobSeeker benefits will be assessed against a "parental assistance test" which will determine whether their parents could provide them financial support. The member tax credit in KiwiSaver will be halved and not available to anyone earning over $180,000. But anyone earning at that level is still entitled to the full NZ Super payment. "As one of my team members commented - this Budget was all about taking away from young people and giving to the older generation [through] extra cancer treatment, rates relief for Gold Card members and continuation of NZ Super," said Rupert Carlyon, founder of Koura KiwiSaver. "For young people, we are now means testing KiwiSaver contributions, Best Start payments and not providing welfare to those under the age of 20." He said younger people would also be affected by a lower level of investment in infrastructure. "The budget is described as a budget forcing people to pay their own way where they can. Though NZ Super remains untouched, despite hundreds of thousands of Kiwis receiving it that do not need it." He said NZ Super should be means tested in the same way but it was not politically feasible for the government to do so. "Young people need to be better at voting to drive through change that benefits them." Shamubeel Eaqub, chief economist at Simplicity, said it was interesting that the KiwiSaver incentive would not be available to people earning more than $180,000 but no such test applied to the pension, which costs nearly $25 billion a year. "It's incoherent ... incentives for Kiwis to save for their future is means-tested, but New Zealand Super which is universal welfare for older people is untouched." Asked on Nine to Noon her thoughts on means-testing superannuation, Nicola Willis said it was not the government's policy. "We remain committed to universal New Zealand superannuation." She said National had not yet had a caucus discussion on changes to superannuation. "But I'm on the record at the last election campaign that we campaigned for the age of eligibility for New Zealand superannuation to be lifted. That was to make New Zealand superannuation more affordable, and more sustainable, and to reflect the fact that New Zealanders are working for much, much longer. We campaigned on that because I believe it was the right thing to do Labour weaponised that against us." A cartoonist, recalling the details of her family home as she draws a coming-of-age comic-book memoir, relives dual timelinesher childhood and the start of college freshman yearin the musical Fun Home, the final show of Redhouses 2024-25 season. Directed by Redhouse Artistic Director Temar Underwood, it is an aching 100 minutes of musical theater that passes through all four points of the storytelling compass, from thoughtful and funny to eviscerating and heartbreaking. A true story wrapped around the true story of Alison Bechdels breakout graphic novel of the same name, the musical features three Alisons: the child Small Alison (Mayde Anastasio), the college student Medium Alison (Nicolette Smith), and Alison the adult cartoonist (Ceara Windhausen). Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the former armorer for the Western film "Rust," listens to closing arguments in her trial at district court, Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (Luis Sanchez Saturno/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool, File) AP SANTA FE, N.M. A movie armorer convicted in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western movie Rust was released from a New Mexico prison on Friday after completing an 18-month sentence. Prison records show Hannah Gutierrez-Reed signed out of the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants to return home to Bullhead City, Arizona, on parole related to her involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Halyna Hutchins in 2021. Gutierrez-Reed also is being supervised under terms of probation after pleading guilty to a separate charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a licensed liquor establishment. Baldwin, the lead actor and coproducer for Rust, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter in March 2024. Gutierrez-Reed has an appeal of the conviction pending in a higher court. Jurors acquitted her of allegations she tampered with evidence in the Rust investigation. Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols. Gutierrez-Reed carried a gun into a downtown Santa Fe bar where firearms are prohibited weeks before Rust began filming. The terms of parole include mental health assessments and a prohibition on firearms ownership and possession. An involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin was dismissed at trial last year on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense. The filming of Rust was completed in Montana. The Western was released in theaters this month. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Waspune BHPian Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Pune Posts: 701 Thanked: 1,164 Times re: My Atomic Tangerine Ducati Scrambler 803 Raw, Real, Easy and Unapologetically Fun! Circa 2024: The Scrambler Itch Returns By mid-2024, the itch for more power was back. I flirted with the Triumph 400s, Duke 390 (Gen 3), Harley X440, and even fancied the Honda NX500. But Surja Sir, the voice of reason, said: These are lateral upgrades. Youll be bored again in a year. Even Suhas Sir said that I should go for a big capacity bike. Fair. Meanwhile, I was secretly building a case for a Superbike to my wife. The Ducati Scrambler kept popping up in my dreams that design, that sound, that madness! But in my head, it was filed under wild dreams because: Its expensive It heats up like a tandoor Maintenance is costlier than my MBA One Fine Evening With a drink in hand and stars aligned, my wife agreed to a superbike budget of 6-6.5 lakhs. I almost spilled my drink, pinged Surja Sir faster than you can say L-twin, and the hunt began. We looked at Z650RS, Trident 660, Tiger Sport but nothing tugged at my heartstrings. Z650RS the torque really came alive post 4,000 RPM and had me grinning like a kid with a sugar rush. The twin analog clocks screamed retro cool, and that sculpted tank? Gorgeous enough to hang in a gallery. The bike felt friendly and easygoing, like a labrador on wheels. But it didnt exactly set my soul on fire. More of a polite handshake than a passionate hug. Tiger 660 with the Missus riding pillion. Somehow, neither of us vibed with it. I kept waiting for the bike to wake up below 4-5k RPM, but it felt like it hadnt had its morning coffee yet. My wife wasnt thrilled either something about the ergonomics didnt sit right with her (literally). Sure, its a triple and probably needs to be revved a bit to show off its charm, but I was hunting for a bike that could also handle the city grind and office runs at least during the cooler months. The Scrambler Test Ride And The Hook Was Set Ducati Pune only had the new-gen Scrambler Icon (2G), but Surja Sir insisted I test ride it anyway, given the engine hasnt changed much. They gave me the top-spec Full Throttle variant with a Termignoni exhaust and oh boy. That raspy bark, the light handling and the instant torque had me grinning like a kid on sugar. Checked out a 2021 Scrambler Icon (Euro 5/BS6) at Preowned motorcycle dealer with Surja Sir, Suhas Sir and the Missus. It had around 3,800 km on the clock and came kitted with some nice accessories Barkbusters, crash bars, and even a PPF job. The wife and I took it out for a quick spin, and Ive got to say, it felt even better to ride. The cable-operated throttle had a more direct feel, and the whole experience was a tad raw which I liked. But then came the plot twist. The bike was wearing a Mumbai number plate, and sure enough, it brought a little beachside souvenir rust spots around the chain and sprockets. I wasnt sure how deep the rust rabbit hole went. I even asked if I could get it inspected at Slipstream for peace of mind, but that request was politely shot down. So, like a true romantic who just dodged a bad Tinder date, I walked away and kept searching for my Scrambler. Though, one thing was now clear: it had to be the updated 2019+ model. Why? Because: Better fit and finish - The switch cubes were taken from its bigger brother (Scrambler 1100), the wheels and engine casing got some bling, the HL got a revamp etc. Improved (read - calmer) throttle, thanks to bigger throttle bodies Cornering ABS - The way the Scrambler puts down the torque, I am not complaining! Gear position indicator Actual fuel gauge (finally!) Different tank design that allowed better tank grip LED DRLs + self-cancelling indicators. The Turning Point: Nashik or Nothing! Then came the OLX listing a 2019 Scrambler Icon in Atomic Tangerine, only 4.7k km on the odo, in Nashik. The quoted price was steep, but the heart wanted what it wanted. So off we went (me and a non-enthusiast friend, bless his soul) in my trusty Punto. Somewhere on the excellent Nashik highway: Saw the bike. Fell in love. Test rode it for a good 25-30 mins (left my friend as collateral ). It ran a little rough, tyres were cracked, pointing towards less usage but on the flip side there wasnt any visible rust and it was serviced at Ducati Pune only, which provided some peace of mind. Sadly, we couldnt agree on the price and returned to Pune heartbroken. Three days later, I caved. Sent the owner a long, heartfelt message with a revised quote and he agreed! Advance transferred. The dream was alive again! The Retrieval Mission: Punto to Scrambler On the next breakfast ride with Suhas Sir and Surja Sir, the plan was set that all of us will drive to Nashik and get the Scrambler home. That breakfast ride: The team (including that friend, remember?) drove back to Nashik. Final checks done. Chain cleaned. RC transfer initiated. Riding gear on. Monsoon in full swing. And I rode it home with the Punto trailing behind, driven in turns by Suhas Sir and Surja Sir. Wearing that holy crap, this is really happening! smile! Along the way, I: Did light off-roading (read: pothole hopping in Chakan) and appreciated decent ground clearance and suspension travel Battled Pune traffic like a Roman gladiator Tanked up with whatever fuel I could find (XP95 still elusive) Fell deeper in love A couple of pics of that ride: Reached home at 8:45 PM. The Scrambler was finally in my garage. Victory! The Punto? Arrived fashionably late. Post-Acquisition TLC First stop : Slipstream for a full service and some love. Mods & Accessories added : Evotech frame sliders + bash plate (because Ducati oil filters beg to be exposed) Zana rack + guards (cost-effective and surprisingly tough) Tyres: Metzeler up front (borrowed from Surja Sir), Vredestein rear factory spec Then came the finer tweaks: Belinassu Smart IAT sensor tricked the ECU to run richer = smoother throttle Domino grips + CNC bar ends added grip and bling Modified seat added comfort for the rider as well as the pillion, sacrificed style (worth it!) Throttle cable + ignition switch replaced cured cranky starting and jerky throttle Fork oil change(7.5W to 10W) stiffer front, more confidence National Cycle windscreen reduced blast, increased noise (but helmet upgrade, from a LS2 to Airoh , fixed that) Meanwhile the V-Strom found another home. Getting its last wash. Check the ODO when it got sold - doesnt it reaffirm the Ducati Scrambler connection? Suddenly breakfast rides became way more fun! The crew posing with the Scrambler (L-R) BHPians Sukiwa, Jomson13, Nilesh5417, Yours Truly Pic taken by Surjaonwheelz Mandatory solo Goa ride: Scrambler bringing some character to the office parking lot: The Present: Scrambling in Style Now with regular weekend rides and most mods dialed in, the Scrambler feels like an extension of me. But of course, a bikers wishlist is never complete Upcoming mods : Front fender extender (monsoon prep): Seems I am running late here as the rain gods have planned to arrive earlier, this year. G2 throttle tube (multiple cams = multiple moods): One for aggressive ride and the other for a more sedate one (especially when riding with the Missus) Lower handlebar (to shift more weight to the front) Free-flow slip-on (Termignoni Race with remap key = wallet damage incoming or a more affordable aftermarket exhaust?) A little elbow grease at home the first of many because this bikes so naked, it should probably come with a PG rating: As I type, the Scrambler is on the verge of completing 10k kms and has just returned from its Partial Desmo service Ducatis version of a full-body check-up that also checks your bank balance. Will share the details in the subsequent posts. Final Thoughts The Scrambler Ducati isnt perfect. Itll cook your thighs(in stop go traffic), demand pampering(and love), and throw maintenance bills like confetti. But twist the throttle and it roars to life not just mechanically, but emotionally. Its raw, its real, its rebellious. It doesnt whisper it sings, shouts, and sometimes even coughs but always with soul. Whether its revving hard, cruising easy, blasting down canyon twisties or slicing through traffic it takes it all in stride. To me, its not just a motorcycle. Its a feeling. A statement. A constant reminder that riding isnt about numbers, its about the grin that refuses to leave your face. Its freedom, funk, and furyall wrapped in Atomic Tangerine. By mid-2024, the itch for more power was back. I flirted with the Triumph 400s, Duke 390 (Gen 3), Harley X440, and even fancied the Honda NX500. But Surja Sir, the voice of reason, said: These are lateral upgrades. Youll be bored again in a year. Even Suhas Sir said that I should go for a big capacity bike.Fair.Meanwhile, I was secretly building a case for ato my wife. The Ducati Scrambler kept popping up in my dreams that design, that sound, that madness! But in my head, it was filed under wild dreams because: Its expensive It heats up like a tandoor Maintenance is costlier than my MBAOne Fine EveningWith a drink in hand and stars aligned, my wife agreed to aof 6-6.5 lakhs. I almost spilled my drink, pinged Surja Sir faster than you can say L-twin, and the hunt began.We looked at Z650RS, Trident 660, Tiger Sport but nothing tugged at my heartstrings. the torque really came alive post 4,000 RPM and had me grinning like a kid with a sugar rush. The twin analog clocks screamed retro cool, and that sculpted tank? Gorgeous enough to hang in a gallery. The bike felt friendly and easygoing, like a labrador on wheels. But it didnt exactly set my soul on fire. More of a polite handshake than a passionate hug. with the Missus riding pillion. Somehow, neither of us vibed with it. I kept waiting for the bike to wake up below 4-5k RPM, but it felt like it hadnt had its morning coffee yet. My wife wasnt thrilled either something about the ergonomics didnt sit right with her (literally). Sure, its a triple and probably needs to be revved a bit to show off its charm, but I was hunting for a bike that could also handle the city grind and office runs at least during the cooler months.Ducati Pune only had the new-gen Scrambler Icon (2G), but Surja Sir insisted I test ride it anyway, given the engine hasnt changed much. They gave me the top-spec Full Throttle variant with a Termignoni exhaust and oh boy. That raspy bark, the light handling and the instant torque had me grinning like a kid on sugar.Checked out a 2021 Scrambler Icon (Euro 5/BS6) at Preowned motorcycle dealer with Surja Sir, Suhas Sir and the Missus. It had around 3,800 km on the clock and came kitted with some nice accessories Barkbusters, crash bars, and even a PPF job. The wife and I took it out for a quick spin, and Ive got to say, it felt even better to ride. The cable-operated throttle had a more direct feel, and the whole experience was a tad raw which I liked.But then came the plot twist. The bike was wearing a Mumbai number plate, and sure enough, it brought a little beachside souvenir rust spots around the chain and sprockets. I wasnt sure how deep the rust rabbit hole went. I even asked if I could get it inspected at Slipstream for peace of mind, but that request was politely shot down. So, like a true romantic who just dodged a bad Tinder date, I walked away and kept searching for my Scrambler.Though, one thing was now clear: it had to be the updated 2019+ model.Why?Because: Better fit and finish - The switch cubes were taken from its bigger brother (Scrambler 1100), the wheels and engine casing got some bling, the HL got a revamp etc. Improved (read - calmer) throttle, thanks to bigger throttle bodies Cornering ABS - The way the Scrambler puts down the torque, I am not complaining! Gear position indicator Actual fuel gauge (finally!) Different tank design that allowed better tank grip LED DRLs + self-cancelling indicators.Then came the OLX listing a 2019 Scrambler Icon in Atomic Tangerine, only 4.7k km on the odo, in Nashik. The quoted price was steep, but the heart wanted what it wanted. So off we went (me and a non-enthusiast friend, bless his soul) in my trusty Punto.Somewhere on the excellent Nashik highway:Saw the bike. Fell in love. Test rode it for a good 25-30 mins (left my friend as collateral). It ran a little rough, tyres were cracked, pointing towards less usage but on the flip side there wasnt any visible rust and it was serviced at Ducati Pune only, which provided some peace of mind.Sadly, we couldnt agree on the price and returned to Pune heartbroken.Three days later, I caved. Sent the owner a long, heartfelt message with a revised quote and he agreed! Advance transferred. The dream was alive again!On the next breakfast ride with Suhas Sir and Surja Sir, the plan was set that all of us will drive to Nashik and get the Scrambler home.breakfast ride:The team (including that friend, remember?) drove back to Nashik. Final checks done. Chain cleaned. RC transfer initiated. Riding gear on. Monsoon in full swing. And I rode it home with the Punto trailing behind, driven in turns by Suhas Sir and Surja Sir.Wearing that holy crap, this is really happening! smile!Along the way, I: Did light off-roading (read: pothole hopping in Chakan) and appreciated decent ground clearance and suspension travel Battled Pune traffic like a Roman gladiator Tanked up with whatever fuel I could find (XP95 still elusive) Fell deeper in loveA couple of pics ofride:Reached home at 8:45 PM. The Scrambler was finally in my garage. Victory! The Punto? Arrived fashionably late.: Slipstream for a full service and some love. Evotech frame sliders + bash plate (because Ducati oil filters beg to be exposed) Zana rack + guards (cost-effective and surprisingly tough) Tyres: Metzeler up front (borrowed from Surja Sir), Vredestein rear factory specThen came the finer tweaks: Belinassu Smart IAT sensor tricked the ECU to run richer = smoother throttle Domino grips + CNC bar ends added grip and bling Modified seat added comfort for the rider as well as the pillion, sacrificed style (worth it!) Throttle cable + ignition switch replaced cured cranky starting and jerky throttle Fork oil change(7.5W to 10W) stiffer front, more confidence National Cycle windscreen reduced blast, increased noise (but helmet upgrade, from a LS2 to Airoh , fixed that)Meanwhile the V-Strom found another home. Getting its last wash. Check the ODO when it got sold - doesnt it reaffirm the Ducati Scrambler connection?Suddenly breakfast rides became way more fun!The crew posing with the Scrambler(L-R) BHPians, Yours TrulyPic taken byMandatory solo Goa ride:Scrambler bringing some character to the office parking lot:Now with regular weekend rides and most mods dialed in, the Scrambler feels like an extension of me. But of course, a bikers wishlist is never complete Front fender extender (monsoon prep): Seems I am running late here as the rain gods have planned to arrive earlier, this year. G2 throttle tube (multiple cams = multiple moods): One for aggressive ride and the other for a more sedate one (especially when riding with the Missus) Lower handlebar (to shift more weight to the front) Free-flow slip-on (Termignoni Race with remap key = wallet damage incoming or a more affordable aftermarket exhaust?)A little elbow grease at home the first of many because this bikes so naked, it should probably come with a PG rating:As I type, the Scrambler is on the verge of completing 10k kms and has just returned from its Ducatis version of a full-body check-up that also checks your bank balance. Will share the details in the subsequent posts.The Scrambler Ducati isnt perfect. Itll cook your thighs(in stop go traffic), demand pampering(and love), and throw maintenance bills like confetti. But twist the throttle and it roars to life not just mechanically, but emotionally.Its raw, its real, its rebellious.It doesnt whisper it sings, shouts, and sometimes even coughs but always with soul.Whether its revving hard, cruising easy, blasting down canyon twisties or slicing through traffic it takes it all in stride.To me, its not just a motorcycle. Its a feeling. A statement. A constant reminder that riding isnt about numbers, its about thethat refuses to leave your face.Its freedom, funk, and furyall wrapped in Atomic Tangerine. A hot potato: Although Nvidia has caught the most flak for continuing to sell mid-range $400+ graphics cards with just 8GB of VRAM, AMD has also persisted with this approach in the budget-performance segment. Although independent benchmark data reveals the ongoing quality and performance sacrifices associated with smaller VRAM pools, Team Red continues to defend its lower-tier products with statements that, while technically accurate, obscure the true value propositions of modern GPUs. AMD's Frank Azor recently defended the company's decision to sell an 8GB variant of the Radeon RX 9060 XT amid growing criticism of mid-range and mainstream graphics cards featuring limited VRAM. While Nvidia is more frequently guilty of this trend and AMD cards often offer more memory, the most affordable and popular products from both companies suffer from the same issue. Following a Computex unveiling of the RX 9060 XT, which offers 8GB and 16GB configurations, Azor responded to a question regarding the cheaper version by claiming 8GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p, the most popular PC gaming resolution. Majority of gamers are still playing at 1080p and have no use for more than 8GB of memory. Most played games WW are mostly esports games. We wouldn't build it if there wasn't a market for it. If 8GB isn't right for you then there's 16GB. Same GPU, no compromise, just memory Frank Azor (@AzorFrank) May 22, 2025 Our reviews of similar GPUs like Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti 8GB and 5060 reveal that, while this is true, low VRAM significantly handicaps cards compared to similar hardware with more memory. While virtually any title in 2025 is playable with 8GB of VRAM at the right graphics settings, the size of the VRAM pool can still significantly impact the user experience. Comparing the 8GB and 16GB versions of the RTX 5060 Ti reveals that while average frame rates are often similar, running out of memory can dramatically worsen one-percent lows, leading to noticeable stuttering. Some games perform worse overall on the 8GB model, and others like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle crash at settings where the 16GB GPU runs smoothly. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 highlights a different issue. Both cards deliver nearly identical frame rates at ultra settings with the 4K texture pack enabled, but the 8GB version struggles to render high-resolution textures. In another benchmark, the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti even falls behind Intel's Arc B580 a 12GB card that costs over $100 less and targets a lower performance tier. These issues can arise even at 1080p, a resolution still used by 55% of surveyed Steam users. Azor also noted that the mainstream GPU market is aimed largely at esports players, who likely represent the largest segment of users. Steam's most popular games esports titles like Counter-Strike 2, Marvel Rivals, Dota 2, and Apex Legends can still achieve high frame rates on 8GB cards. Related reading: 4GB vs. 8GB: How Have VRAM Requirements Evolved? However, as GPUs become more expensive, many users are turning to budget hardware for playing demanding AAA titles, which benchmarks show they can handle surprisingly well. With sufficient VRAM and upscaling technology, mainstream GPUs are perfectly capable of 4K gaming. Nvidia's approach to reviews of 8GB GPUs also suggests manufacturers are aware of the shortcomings. The company withheld 8GB RTX 5060 Ti review units from independent outlets and restricted access to RTX 5060 drivers for reviewers unwilling to benchmark the card under favorable conditions. One such condition was enabling quadruple frame generation, a feature that distorts raw performance metrics and consumes additional VRAM. Meanwhile, ray tracing a feature Nvidia frequently markets as a core benefit is notably memory-intensive. AMD's first 8GB card, the Radeon RX 480, launched nearly nine years ago at $229. It's remarkable that manufacturers still sell GPUs with the same VRAM capacity for over $300. Outside of esports, these products are likely to age poorly, especially if next-generation consoles, which are expected to feature more than 20GB of memory, launch within these cards' life spans. Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust What just happened? The Hanover Administrative Court has issued a ruling that sharpens digital privacy protections in Germany. The decision requires websites to offer users a clear, easy, and genuine choice on cookie consent. Manipulative consent banners that push users toward accepting cookies are not just unfair they violate German and European data protection laws. Lower Saxony Data Protection Officer Denis Lehmkemper has won a legal battle in his push for fairer digital privacy practices in Germany. The Hanover Administrative Court ruled that websites must display a clearly visible "reject all" button on cookie banners if they offer an "accept all" option. The recently unsealed March 19 decision aims to curb manipulative designs that pressure users into consenting to cookies and reinforces the principle that users deserve a clear, genuine choice. The case that led to this landmark decision centered on NOZ (Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung), a major media company in Lower Saxony. Lehmkemper's office ordered NOZ to redesign its cookie banner, arguing it failed to obtain valid, informed, and voluntary user consent before placing cookies and processing personal data. NOZ challenged the order, insisting its consent process was effective, did not involve personal data processing, and that cookie compliance was outside the data protection authority's jurisdiction. After reviewing the case, the court sided with the data protection authority. Judges ruled that NOZ's cookie banner made rejecting cookies significantly harder than accepting them. Users faced repeated consent prompts, and the banner's language such as the headline "optimal user experience" and the "accept and close" button misled users. It omitted any mention of the word "consent," and buried information about third-party partners and cross-border data transfers behind scrolling. The court concluded that NOZ failed to obtain the informed, voluntary, and unambiguous consent required under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It ruled that consent secured through manipulative design is invalid, violating both the Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act and the GDPR. The judgment reinforces that websites must not nudge users into agreeing to cookies or make refusal unnecessarily difficult. Instead, the option to reject all must be as prominent and accessible as "accept all." Lehmkemper welcomed the court's ruling, hoping it would set a precedent for other website operators. He acknowledged that many find cookie banners frustrating but emphasized their importance in safeguarding online privacy. The decision should prompt more providers to adopt consent solutions that comply with data protection standards. Recent audits by data protection authorities, such as the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, found many websites still use cookie banners that fall short of legal standards, often making it easier to accept cookies than to reject them. The Hanover court's ruling should push website operators to improve consent mechanisms and uphold online privacy rights. In brief: Valve has moved forward with its long-teased plan to bring SteamOS to more devices beyond the Steam Deck. The stable build adds support for systems from Lenovo, Asus, and others, offering a more stable Windows alternative for handheld gaming PCs. It also introduces new features and bug fixes. Now available for installation, SteamOS 3.7.8 introduces official support for the Lenovo Legion Go S and improves compatibility with other handheld gaming PCs, including the Asus ROG Ally. The release could dramatically alter the user experience on these devices. SteamOS's gamepad-friendly interface is better suited to small screens than Windows 11, giving the Steam Deck a notable edge over more powerful portable PCs. Recent updates to the Linux-based system have gradually revealed Valve's broader release plans, with the latest patch opening it up for public testing. The operating system now uses a newer Arch Linux base, the Linux kernel has been upgraded to version 6.11, and desktop mode runs on Plasma 6.2.5. Early adopters should download a SteamOS recovery image and follow Valve's setup instructions. Valve optimized 3.7.8 specifically for handheld devices, but it currently supports only PCs with AMD hardware and an NVMe SSD. The system requirements likely cover devices built on similar AMD APUs, including the Ryzen 8840U, Ryzen AI HX 370, Ryzen Z1, and Ryzen Z2. Valve provides specific installation instructions for the original Lenovo Legion Go and the ROG Ally. However, the latest build should theoretically support handhelds such as the GPD Win, Ayaneo 3, and Zotac Zone. The Intel-powered MSI Claw remains the only unsupported portable PC, and whether Valve plans to add Intel support is still unclear. Adventurous testers will likely explore whether "AMD hardware" extends to desktops or other Ryzen-based form factors. It remains unclear if SteamOS supports Radeon dedicated GPUs and alternative wireless chips. The update has a useful new feature that lets users set a battery charge limit, with Valve recommending an 80 percent cap to extend battery life on frequently docked devices. It is functionally similar to the optional 90 percent cap Nintendo recently introduced for the upcoming Switch 2. SteamOS 3.7.8 also adds frame rate limits for internal and external VRR displays, while Bluetooth controllers can now wake the original LCD Steam Deck from sleep. As the first version 3.7 build to reach the stable channel, numerous features have also exited beta. Lenovo plans to launch the Legion Go S with SteamOS pre-installed in the coming weeks, offering it at a significantly lower price than the Windows 11 version. President Donald Trump's recent declarations have shocked the world again after reaffirming the looming tariffs imposed, saying that all smartphones made outside the United States are subject to tariffs. This came after previously declaring that all Apple iPhones made outside the country are subject to 25% tariffs that are soon to take effect. It follows the temporary exemption that smartphones and the entire semiconductor industry benefitted from, which prevented the tariffication from applying to previous sales for more than a month already. Trump: Tariffs to All Smartphones Made Outside the US As seen in a video of President Trump on Fox News (via Acyn on X), he was asked by a reporter if the said tariffs that Apple is set to face would apply to other brands, with the US president confirming that it is also coming. However, President Trump did not stop there, as he claimed that the tariffs would not be the 25% that applies to Apple, as "it would be more." The latest confirmation from President Trump reveals that other companies, especially foreign ones, are subject to higher rates for their imported smartphones and devices. Trump then went on to specifically mention Samsung, along with implying other foreign brands, making smartphones, are subject to more than 25% rates for future imports. Imported Apple iPhones Are Subject to 25% Tariffs According to 9to5Google's report, President Trump recently confirmed on social media that Apple will soon face a 25% tariff for all the iPhones made outside the United States and sold later in the country. This is part of President Trump's demand for Apple to move their iPhone manufacturing to the United States and ultimately escape the tariffs for all their American sales and distribution. Trump's Tariffs and How It Evolved President Trump's tariffs were announced as soon as he came to power earlier this year, and it had significant effects on many industries, including tech and gaming. However, the country most affected by the tariffs is China, which is facing the highest rate among other regions. Since then, China has been retaliating against the Trump government. One of the most affected tech companies is Apple, a company that is known for outsourcing its iPhone manufacturing to China and other countries. That being said, Apple, along with other companies, was given an olive branch in the form of a tariff exemption when it first took effect last April, but this was only a temporary measure. A pause in the implementation of the tariffs was also declared by Trump, but China was excluded from this. However, as mentioned by Trump and his administration before, these exemptions would only be a temporary leeway. Rare wild cattle herded in Cambodia by helicopter Phnom Penh, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 A helicopter successfully herded 16 critically endangered banteng onto a truck in Cambodia for the first time, conservationists said, marking a "significant achievement" in a country with high rates of deforestation. Banteng are a type of wild cattle native to Southeast Asia and listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species. Their natural habitat is forests and grasslands, but only a few thousand remain in the wild and they are mostly threatened by hunting, logging and industry. Cambodia has lost around 33 percent of its tree cover since 2000, according to Global Forest Watch, as the government allows firms to clear vast tracts of land -- including in protected zones. Conservation groups Rising Phoenix and Siem Pang said that 16 banteng found in the wild were herded over three days last week through a "mass-capture funnel trap" onto a truck before being relocated to a wildlife sanctuary. For the first time, a helicopter was used to guide them through the funnel. The operation took place in Siem Pang in northeastern Cambodia. The conservation groups said that the method "opens the way for further such operations to relocate Banteng trapped in isolated forest patches elsewhere in the country". They added that the banteng will be monitored and protected at the Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary. Suriname poised for cash inflow from newly discovered oil Paramaribo, Suriname, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2025 Suriname, South America's smallest country, is preparing for an inflow of cash from a huge offshore oil find, with the president insisting the population will receive a direct share of the wealth. The Dutch-speaking nation of about 600,000 people expects to rake in about $10 billion in the next decade or two, with crude extraction set to begin in 2028. Projected output is 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) -- up from about 5,000 to 6,000 -- in a country where one in five people live in poverty. "From 2028, we'll be an oil-producing country," President Chan Santokhi told AFP ahead of elections Sunday for lawmakers who will choose the next president. He is one of several candidates in the running to steer the former Dutch colony wedged between Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana. "It will be a huge amount of income for the country," Santokhi said. "We are now able... to do more for our people so that everyone can be part of the growth of the nation." Besides investing in agriculture, tourism, health, education and green energy, some of the oil money is being paid directly to Surinamese citizens under a program Santokhi has dubbed "Royalties for Everyone" -- RVI for its Dutch acronym. "It's their share," he said. Victorine Moti, a finance ministry official responsible for the fund, told AFP: "The whole population of Suriname is eligible for this program, everybody who was born before the 1st of January 2025 and had the Surinamese nationality." "In figures, it's 572,000 people." All eligible citizens can register to receive a one-off payment equivalent to $750 paid into an account with an interest yield of seven percent per year. "With the certificate, they can go to the bank and they have two options: they can withdraw the money or they can choose to save. Hopefully, they will try to save and not cash out immediately," said Moti. The first beneficiaries are the elderly and disabled, paid with funds advanced by banks. Next in line will be people 60 and older, then -- once the revenues start flowing in 2028 -- the biggest group of people aged 18-59. People who save their money for 10 years will receive a bonus of $150 on top of interest earned. - 'Enjoy my money' - Naslem Doelsan, 80, has already received her certificate and told AFP she will cash out "to buy good food and some household stuff." "Why do I need... money in the bank? I'm already old and I want to enjoy my money," she said. Fellow retiree Jai Abas, 91, told AFP he would keep the money in the bank for now, and maybe give his granddaughter, who lives in the Netherlands, some "pocket money" when she visits. "What would I do with money? I am old. I can't go anywhere," said Abas, adding his only vice is cigarettes. Anuschka Tolud, a 38-year-old in a wheelchair, said she would save her payout in the hopes it can one day augment her $113 monthly welfare payout. Santokhi had previously spoken about avoiding the so-called "oil curse," also known as "Dutch disease," that had befallen other resource-rich countries, such as Venezuela, Angola and Algeria, that were unable to turn oil wealth into economic success. Norway became an exception by creating a sovereign wealth fund. Suriname, the president said, would take a "unique" approach, well aware that its crude resources will last only about 40 years. "We have income from the profit of the oil, we will have income from our fiscal revenues and we will have income from the royalties," he said. - Property of the nation - In 2024, French multinational TotalEnergies committed to investing $10.5 billion in the offshore oil field of GranMorgu in the Atlantic Ocean. An article in the Surinamese Constitution states that "natural riches and resources are property of the nation and shall be used to promote economic, social and cultural development." But some worry that the benefits may not find their way to all citizens, especially those who live in rural areas, Indigenous communities and Maroons -- descendants of African slaves. "I myself am curious as to how funds and bureaucracy will be accessed by Indigenous and Maroon communities," Giovanna Montenegro, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Binghamton University in New York State, told AFP. str-lab/mlr/sla/lb Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Misha Glenny, the journalist known for writing the book that inspired the BBC crime series McMafia, has claimed that Europe is at risk of becoming a technological supplicant to the US and China. Glenny was speaking at the 2025 Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, which is partnered with The Independent for the second year running. He was appearing on a panel alongside Mike Berners-Lee and Sarah Lamptey as part of the festivals daily News Review event, chaired by journalists from The Independent. During Saturday mornings (24 May) event, the panel discussed international relationships and the position of the EU amid the escalating global trade war, fuelled by US president Donald Trump. Glenny said that the technological race to make advances in fields such as AI has meant that both the US and China are reluctant to install regulatory systems. Im worried about both of their hands-off approaches to regulation, he said. The problem is, that the EU which does seek to regulate social media, AI, and so on is being left behind in terms of the research and development in technology, and risks being left in the position of the global supplicant. I say this, by the way, as someone with Irish citizenship as well as British, so I can speak to the European position. But its going to put the EU in the position of global supplicant when it comes to technology, which is a dangerous state of affairs. Misha Glenny at Hay Festival 2025 ( Adam Tatton-Reid and Hay Festival ) Fielding questions from the audience, Glenny and the rest of the panel went on to discuss the tentative relationships between the UK, Europe and the US during Trumps second term as president. The big debate within the European Union at the moment, he said, is to what extent does Trump represent an existential threat to European security interests and economic interests? Because Trump is actually targeting the EU more than other regions [such as China]. Held over 11 days in the town of Hay-on-Wye, the Hay festival sees figures from across the world of culture and media deliver talks, panel discussions and other events. The 38th spring edition of the Hay Festival features a lineup that includes Trumps estranged niece, Mary Trump, Welsh actor and activist Michael Sheen, actor and campaigner Jameela Jamil, and more. Throughout the festival, The Independent is hosting a series of morning panels titled The News Review, in which our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Barry Keoghan admitted that he is an addict in a candid new interview that touched upon his troubled upbringing. The 32-year-old Irish actors mother died when he was 12 due to a heroin addiction and Keoghan and his brother spent the subsequent years of their childhood in and out of foster homes around Dublin. In an interview with Hollywood Authentic, the Saltburn actor visited one of his childhood homes. I remember being kids here and hearing my mum scream through the letterbox, asking for us, while shes battling addiction, while shes looking for money to score. And we were just told to stay in bed. We werent to go down and hug her, he said. Despite his mothers struggles, Keoghan admitted that his curiosity got the better of him. My father passed away as a result of similar and I lost my mum to it. Ive lost two uncles and a cousin to drugs. That should be enough to go, OK, if I dabble here, Im fucked. But your curiosity is a powerful thing, he said. Sometimes its beneficial, and sometimes its detrimental. For me, it was detrimental. Even my own son coming into this world didnt stop me from being curious. Keoghan is a father to two-year-old son Brando, whom he welcomed with his ex-partner Alyson in August 2022. I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict, Keoghan said ( Getty Images ) However, he clarified: Im not in denial anymore. I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict. You know, when you accept that, you finally can move on, and learn to work with it. Keoghan has long been outspoken about his childhood in interviews. During an appearance on James Cordens This Life of Mine podcast last year, the actor discussed how the foster care system starts to affect you as you grow up. I had a lot of problems with trust, never trusted love, never trusted that someone wanted to know me, or, lets say, be a friend, for instance, he said. You dont trust the process of anything, Keoghan continued. You have a problem with attachment and abandonment, all of these things that Ive been working on for many years with several therapists. In 2023, Keoghan earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars for his role as Dominic Kearney in Martin McDonaghs dark comedy, The Banshees of Inisherin. He went on to win the Bafta prize for the role. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Cannes Film Festival was forced to briefly halt events Saturday morning after a major power outage hit the southeastern part of France. The widespread power outage happened just as the festival was preparing to hand out its top prize. It additionally disrupted traffic in the area. Electricity network operator RTE said on X that about 160,000 households in the Alpes-Maritimes department lost electricity after a high-voltage line fell. The outage came hours after a fire at an electrical substation near Cannes overnight had already weakened the grid. Authorities have said they are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately. Cannes Film Festival organizers confirmed the outage affected the early activities on Saturday and said the Palais des Festivals the Croisettes main venue had switched to an independent power supply. All scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as planned and under normal conditions, the statement said. At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are underway. Scarlett Johanssons (right) directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, starring June Squibb (left), premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival ( 2025 Invision ) Still, screenings at the Cineum, one of the festivals satellite venues, were briefly suspended, the festival added. Meanwhile, other festival activities, including press conferences for the Dardenne brothers Young Mothers and Martin Bourboulons war drama 13 Days, 13 Nights, went ahead as planned, according to Deadline. Traffic lights in parts of Cannes and the surrounding city of Antibes stopped working after 10 a.m., leading to traffic jams and confusion in city centers. Most shops along the Croisette remained closed, and local food kiosks were only accepting cash. Train service in Cannes was also disrupted. Authorities said restoration efforts were ongoing and urged residents to remain cautious during travel. Despite RTE saying that its too early to determine the cause of the power outage, local outlet Francinfo reported that foul play is suspected, with alleged arson attacks first affecting a power plant in Tanneron, Van, on Friday evening. Controversial right-wing politician Eric Ciotti alleged that the incident was deliberate, writing on X: A massive power outage is affecting the department. A pylon was sabotaged in Villeneuve-Loubet and a transformer caught in a fire: initial indications suggest a deliberate, even terrorist, attack. We need full transparency and quick answers, he demanded, alongside an image of a leaning electrical tower. The 2025 Cannes Film Festival, which has been ongoing since May 13, is getting ready to award its top prize, the Palme dOr, to the movie the festivals jury has deemed the Best Feature Film. Currently, Danish-Norwegian director Joachim Triers Sentimental Value, starring Elle Fanning, Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgard, is predicted to land the coveted trophy. Following its screening, it earned an extended 19-minute standing ovation. Additional reporting by the Associated Press Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The movie armorer who was convicted in the accidental shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has been released from a New Mexico prison on parole. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, now aged 28, was found guilty in March 2024 of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal on-set shooting of Hutchins. Upon completion of her 18-month sentence, Gutierrez-Reed signed out of the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility on Friday to return home to Bullhead City, Arizona, prison records show. open image in gallery Hannah Gutierrez Reed served 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter ( Santa Fe New Mexican ) Gutierrez-Reed is also being supervised under terms of probation after pleading guilty to a separate charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a licensed liquor establishment. Hutchins was tragically killed in October 2021 when a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on Rust, discharged during a rehearsal, fatally striking her and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin has maintained his innocence, insisting in interviews with authorities that he never pulled the revolvers trigger. Following a thorough investigation, it was determined that live ammunition had somehow made its way onto the set. Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing the live ammunition on set and flouting basic safety protocols for weapons handling. open image in gallery Halyna Hutchins died after a prop gun containing live ammunition went off on set ( Getty ) It was found that Gutierrez-Reed had carried a gun into a downtown Santa Fe bar where firearms are prohibited weeks before Rust began filming. Gutierrez-Reed was handed the maximum 18-month sentence. Jurors acquitted her of allegations that she tampered with evidence in the Rust investigation. She currently has an appeal against the conviction pending in a higher court. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. The terms of her parole include mental health assessments and a prohibition on firearms ownership and possession. An involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin was dismissed at trial last year on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense. open image in gallery Alec Baldwin has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the tragedy ( AP ) Months after the tragic on-set shooting, filming for Rust resumed. The Western was eventually completed in Montana and was released in select theatres earlier this month. The film, which follows a recently orphaned 13-year-old boy whose grandfather takes him on a journey to old Mexico after hes been sentenced to death for an accidental killing, was deemed a tough slog by critics. Additional reporting by the Associated Press Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Its so rare to get to come back to a show and look at it with fresh eyes, says director Jordan Fein, to deepen things, to reexplore things, to question what we did, even if we end up back where we started. It was in the heat of last summer that a rippling field of wheat first sprang up in Regents Park Open Air Theatre, surrounding the actors in Feins earthy new take on Fiddler on the Roof. After a healthy crop of five-star reviews and 13 Olivier nominations, it became the fastest-selling show the theatre had ever seen. Now, this Jewish shtetl is being uprooted and transplanted into the cavernous Barbican Theatre before it sets off on a UK tour. Fiddler on the Roof, based on turn-of-the-century Yiddish short stories by Sholem Aleichem, is an enduringly popular 1964 musical about life in the fictional Jewish community of Anatevka. The story revolves around Tevye, a milkman whos trying to uphold his cultural traditions while his daughters battle to marry for love. Feins fluid, unsentimental staging exposes the modernity at the heart of Joseph Steins script, using surging movement and choreography to bring new life to Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnicks richly textured songbook. His original production gained so much from its open-air setting, from the trees suggesting the vastness of the hostile landscape beyond, to the way that the sun dipped below the horizon, just as the melancholy strains of Sunrise, Sunset rang out. So, how does it feel, bringing the outdoors in? Yesterday was our first day in the theatre, so Im still processing that, Fein says thoughtfully, on break from tech rehearsals. The Barbican has an epicness to it, even though it has a roof. We did a big redesign, but I feel proud that we maintained the idea of the wheatfield. It was one of the first ideas I had for the show, because its set in modern-day Ukraine, and there was this conversation about the area being the breadbasket of the world, and the way the global community was suffering through not having access to it. Tom Scutt, the productions designer, might have found a way to keep the original stagings politically charged golden stubble, but other aspects of the production demanded a rethink. Theres a whole new opening scene (which Fein doesnt want to spoil for audiences) as well as a shifted atmosphere. Going inside, there is an intimacy, says Fein. The stage is smaller, so it feels like theyre exploding off it, which is appropriate for this story where the community is bursting with life and joy. Its that joy, tinged with sadness, which has made generations of fans fall in love with Fiddler. Its one of those pieces I cant remember not knowing, says Fein, recalling family trips to see the show at a local community theatre in his native Philadelphia. Its the first show I saw, its the first show my father ever saw, its just part of my culture, my upbringing. Adam Dannheisser, the productions star, also grew up in an American Jewish household soundtracked by the infectiously catchy songs of Bock and Harnick, blending klezmer with Russian folk traditions and Tin Pan Alley songwriting. I remember my father used to have a record, and we would play it over and over again, he tells me. In ninth grade, I auditioned for a high school show with If I Were a Rich Man. I was convinced that Tevye must be ancient, 96 years old, so I did the audition with a bamboo cane, limping around. Now, still a good few decades off his centenary, hes playing this legendary part for real: It makes me feel my age, he says, jokingly. I dont need a bamboo cane, but I certainly feel it in my knees! unsurprising, since he hammers home the value of the old ways in his opening number Tradition with bone-jolting stomp after stomp. But the part fits me like a glove. I am the age that, to me, Tevye is, which is early to mid-50s. Ive been married for 25 years and so has Tevye. Were both fathers, although I have sons and not daughters. open image in gallery Tevyes Dream: Adam Dannheisser first auditioned for the role in high school ( Marc Brenner ) And the resonances dont stop there. Half of my family is from the exact area [the fictional village of] Anatevka would have been, so theres certainly a corporeal and beautiful connection to my own past and to Tevye. Its in my DNA. Its me merging with the character from 120 years ago, Im not putting it on and taking it off. If that sounds overly lofty or tough to imagine, watch Dannheissers understated, naturalistic performance and youll understand. Still, although Fiddler comes naturally to both Fein and Dannheisser, theres a lot about this production that breaks with tradition, from its freshened choreography to its quiet feminism. Fein himself is diffident when I ask him about how his production differs from the ones he grew up with: I have a really strong relationship with it, but I didnt feel bogged down in any one idea of how it should be, I just trusted my gut. But the cast are full of thoughts. Everyone thats working on this show is aware of whats happening [in the world], and it would be naive of me or wrong of me to say it doesnt affect the staging Laura Pulver Beverley Klein, who is 71 and plays matchmaker Yente, has acted in four separate productions of the musical, making her a living archive of all the ways that Fiddler has evolved over the decades. It was pretty much my first job, in 1980, she says now. I found the cast list in a random theatre history group online, and there are about 50 people in the cast twice the number that star alongside Klein in Feins pared-back production. The physical trappings of 1900s life have been trimmed down, too. Its directed very fluidly, says Klein. When I was playing Golde at the Savoy 17 years ago, we were wrapping up candlesticks and packing up the cart to leave the town, but theres none of that in our production, its very much more suggested. Instead, the productions richness and detail come from its movement. As the titular fiddler, Raphael Papo shadows and stalks Tevye, elaborating on his inner thoughts with intricate riffs. Once, the staging rights to Fiddler used to require that any production feature the original director Jerome Robbins legendary dance scenes. We had people from America come over to replicate the original choreography just as it had always been since the original production, remembers Klein. But in Feins staging, although famous scenes, such as the showstopping, gravity-defying bottle dance are just as fans might remember, he collaborated with choreographer Julia Cheng to inject new sequences of movement. open image in gallery Through the ages: Beverley Klein, 71, has acted in four separate productions of the musical since the Eighties ( Marc Brenner ) Tevyes Dream is a standout: it scraps the horror movieesque trappings of Robbins original approach to create something more intimate and psychological, as the whole cast crowd into this patriarchs lace-draped bed, limbs writhing like storm-tossed branches. We did a three-day workshop with dancers just on the Dream, Fein explains. Ultimately, the idea of Tzeitel [Tevyes defiant eldest daughter] embodying Grandma [who rises from the grave in his nightmare] really clarified the story, because you get to watch this young woman have agency within the piece: the cast were so excited by this new idea that making it was just pure joy and fun. For Lara Pulver, who plays Tevyes wife, Golde, moments such as this are especially important because Fiddler is a work thats actively in conversation with emerging feminist movements. The piece is definitely a reflection of when it was written in 1960s New York, she explains, rather than necessarily [when it is set in] 1900s Ukraine. Theres this new generation of women that have a voice, have agency. As Golde, Pulver plays a woman struggling as her daughters slip from her grasp and leave behind their tradition-bound childhoods. Sometimes, that feels uncomfortable to embody. Its strange to put the blinkers on. Im a mum of young children, and as a woman in 2025, Id have huge pride in my daughters wanting to stand up for what they believe in, to go on these adventures. But for a woman in 1905, its harder to swallow. open image in gallery Perfect pair: Laura Pulver and Adam Dannheisser in Fiddler on the Roof ( Johan Persson ) Still, whats refreshing about this Fiddler is how strong Pulvers Golde feels, projecting all the resourcefulness and steely intelligence shed need to steer her family through poverty and struggles, while her daughters each feel like rough-edged individuals, portrayed without sentimentality. These are personalities and real people rather than characters in a musical, which makes it much more relatable, Pulver says. Weve got actors aged from 18 up to 75 on stage, giving you that sense of small-town living. And thats something that ultimately makes the shows sobering ending hit harder: The unthreading of the community is very apparent. The reality is, without technology, theyre probably not going to see each other again. The central trick of Fiddler is to build a teeming, complex, interconnected Jewish community on stage and then break it apart, as Russian pogroms scatter this village across Europe and America. Its hard to watch the second act without thinking of more contemporary humanitarian crises, the world over. open image in gallery Dannheisser as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof ( Marc Brenner ) The war in Ukraine, where Fiddler is set, of course. However, the tragic events in Gaza have a resonance, too, as Israel continues to wage its military attack in Palestine. Does that context shift things within the production? Its a question I ask myself constantly as were working, says Fein. Everyone thats working on this show is aware of whats happening, and it would be naive of me or wrong of me to say it doesnt affect the staging. The piece itself existed before the events, but it reminds us of the dangers of breaking apart communities, and of dehumanising people. The Regents Park production had to hire extra security to ensure the safety of the cast and audiences in a time of rising antisemitism. The same measures will be in place at the Barbican; That conversation has been had and is dealt with very seriously and thoroughly, says Fein. Where some other musicals of the 1960s can feel hopelessly dated, Fiddler always manages to feel as though its speaking to the world beyond the stage, something that Fein says is especially vital as it goes on tour. But amid its weightiness, theres wit too. The power of Fiddler, and the reason I love it so much, is that its laughing through the tears, Dannheisser says. Jews historically have had to develop a leathery exterior, finding humour in the darkest places. Something very heavy happens, then in the next scene were all laughing. Its this sense of camaraderie and community that makes Fiddler so worth revisiting, again and again. Fiddler On The Roof is on at Barbican Theatre until 19 July. UK Tour to follow from 24 July to 3 January 2026; tickets and information here Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice TV naturalist Chris Packham has issued a scathing criticism of the proposed new Nature Restoration Fund, describing it as a licence to destroy nature. The fund, which would be established if the UK governments Planning and Infrastructure Bill passes into law, allows property developers to eschew environmental obligations by making a payment. That money would then be channelled by Natural England into nature restoration efforts elsewhere. Springwatch presenter Packham discussed the subject during a panel at the 2025 Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, held in partnership with The Independent for the second year running. Packham appeared alongside Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud and Community Planning Alliance co-founder Rosie Pearson. Whats happened is, the government has come up with this piece of legislation called the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, he said. And theyve come up with something called the Nature Restoration Fund. The idea here being, essentially, that developers will be able to destroy nature to an agreed pound value, and that pound value will be monitored, essentially, by [non-departmental public body] Natural England which, by the way, has been cut, cut, cut, and cut, and is going through another round of redundancies at the moment. Explaining that there would need to be significant reinvestment in Natural England in order to properly monitor the new fund, Packham went on to accuse the scheme of being a con. In simplified terms, a developer can say, I need to cut down this glade of ancient oak trees, and someone will say, OK, thats 30,000. And then hopefully, if theres anyone left employed at Natural England, they will use that money to plant some more oak trees. But they don't even have to plant them in the same county. Chris Packham pictured in 2024 ( Getty Images ) The nature restoration fund is a con. It's a complete con, he continued. Its a licence to destroy nature and not have it integrated in any way, shape or form. The bill is yet to pass through parliament, however, with Packham urging audience members to contact their MP with concerns about the prospective legislation. The Independent has contacted representatives for deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner for comment. Packham has worked as the host of BBCs Springwatch since 2009. Held over 11 days in the town of Hay-on-Wye, Hay Festival sees figures from across the world of culture and media deliver talks, panel discussions and other events. The 38th spring edition of the festival features a lineup that includes Donald Trumps estranged niece, Mary Trump, Welsh actor and activist Michael Sheen, actor and campaigner Jameela Jamil, and more. Throughout the festival, The Independent is hosting a series of morning panels titled The News Review, in which our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Netflixs new show Sirens is proving a hit on the streaming service, with viewers praising the performances of Julianne Moore, Meghann Fahy and Milly Alcock. The dark comedy satire series is based on the play Elmeno Pea, which was written by Molly Smith Metzler also the showrunner behind Netflixs critically adored 2021 hit Maid, starring Margaret Qualley. It stars Alcock and Fahy as sisters from a troubled background, while Moore is Michaela Kiki Kell, the eccentric wife of billionaire Peter (Kevin Bacon). Fahys character Devon arrives at Peter and Michaelas lavish beach estate to try and persuade her younger sister, Simone (Alock) to come home and help care for their ailing father (Bill Camp). She is troubled by what she witnesses, including Simones unusually close and seemingly co-dependent relationship with Kiki, and what she perceives to be cult-like behaviour from Kiki and her cohort of rich friends. Speaking to Variety, Metzler revealed that many details in the show were inspired by her time working at the Yacht Club in Marthas Vineyard including Kikis odd phrase, Hey hey. open image in gallery Milly Alock and Julianne Moore in Sirens ( Netflix ) In my summers in Marthas Vineyard, when I worked at the Yacht Club, I had noticed that they picked up each others way of saying things, she said. One woman would come in with a new bracelet that just dropped in town, and then theyd all have it. She continued: They did it with language, too, they had their own way of speaking and there was a contagion to it. In my mind, Michaela just sort of said it one day, and then Simone said it back, and it became something the two of them say. I just made it up. In the same interview, Metzler explained that there was a similar story behind the locket worn by Kiki and the similar ones she gifts to her friends and to Simone. The lockets are a real thing in Nantucket Island, she said. Its something you can only buy in Nantucket, theyre called basket necklaces, and they usually have ivory from Wales in them. But theyre very expensive, theyre handmade, and everyone in Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard is wearing them. Its a status symbol. Youre not in the club if you dont have one. [Costume designer] Caroline Duncan made that happen, made all of them happen. Its a great symbol of having arrived. You have the key, you have the necklace, but its a little culty. Its a little like wearing a cross, like a religion. You know something that everyone else doesnt. open image in gallery Julianne Moore plays an eccentric billionaires wife in Sirens ( Netflix ) Sirens has received mixed reviews from critics, including a glowing five-star review from The Guardian and four stars from The Telegraph, the latter stating that it fails to match up to the likes of Succession but is still preposterously entertaining. In a three-star review for The Independent, Katie Rosseinsky said there was a lot going on that had been crammed into five episodes. Inevitably, these disparate storylines sometimes jar with one another, and the tonal shifts can come at breakneck speed, she wrote. Sometimes I found myself wishing that Devon and Simones relationship had been given a bit more space to breathe, because Fahy and Alcock have brilliantly believable sibling chemistry; the scenes where Simone allows her perfectly made-up mask to crack a little and leans on her older sister are especially powerful. As an eat-the-rich satire Sirens doesnt entirely work; neither does it fully pull off its attempts to grapple with family dynamics and generational trauma. But as a colourful, unpredictable slice of slightly bonkers summer escapism? Like the siren songs of Greek myth, its irresistibly alluring. Sirens is available on Netflix now. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Former prime minister Boris Johnson has welcomed his fourth baby with wife Carrie Johnson. Mrs Johnson announced on Saturday that she had given birth to their a baby girl, Poppy Eliza Josephine Johnson, on Wednesday (21 May), and that they were totally smitten. In a post on Instagram, she said that the little girl was the final gang member. She wrote: I cant believe how pretty and tiny you are. Feel so incredibly lucky. We are all totally smitten. Not sure Ive slept a minute since you were born as cant stop looking at how completely lovely you are. Mrs Johnson, 37, thanked the maternity team at University College London Hospitals, name-checking staff called Asma and Patrick who she said had looked after me so well through all my pregnancies. I really cannot thank you guys enough. Mr Johnson married Carrie at Westminster Cathedral in May 2021, after getting engaged in 2019. They welcomed their first child, a boy called Wilfred, in April 2020, before having daughter Romy in December 2021. Their third child, a boy called Frank, was born in July 2023. Mrs Johnson said: Wilf, Romy and Frank are utterly delighted, particularly Romy who was desperate for a little sister. Bring on the matching dresses. She continued: A final gang member. Back from hospital now and time for cocktails and pizza with my tiny baby snoozing on my lap. Life doesnt get any better. Mrs Johnson shared a number of photos from the newborns first few days in the world, including a moment where Wilf and Romy are stood around the bassinet looking at their new sibling. She included a photo of herself with the newborn, as well as one of her husband cradling the baby. open image in gallery Mrs Johnson welcomed her fourth child ( Carrie Johnson/instagram ) Poppy is the former prime ministers ninth child. He has four adult children Lara, Milo, Cassia and Theodore with his second wife Marina Wheeler, from whom he separated in 2018, as well as a daughter resulting from an affair with arts consultant Helen MacIntyre. The Court of Appeal ruled in 2013 that the public had a right to know that he had fathered a daughter during an adulterous liaison while Mayor of London in 2009. open image in gallery Poppy is believed to be Mr Johnsons ninth child ( Carrie Johnson/instagram ) There has long been speculation about whether Mr Johnson has another child. During a 2019 radio interview with LBC, presenter Nick Ferrari asked the former politician how many children he had and if he was fully involved in their lives. Mr Johnson responded: I love my children very much but they are not standing at this election. I'm not therefore going to comment on them. Diary of a CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett asked last year why it was such a widely debate subject, to which the former prime minister replied: Search me. I have eight children, its a matter of public record, he said. Succeeding from Theresa May, Mr Johnson was prime minister from July 2019 until his resignation in September 2022. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Red arrives via spacecraft. Her scarlet skin glistens, as if shes been dipped in a glittery tub of Vaseline. She is wet, soft, dripping with desire and wants to be taken. She rarely speaks, if at all. For just 99, you can do whatever you want to Red; you dont even have to use a condom. Shell be waiting for you exactly as you want her, whether thats in certain positions or wearing specific lingerie. For an additional 69, she will urinate for you. For just 12, you can expect to find her covered in artificial sperm. And for 4, youll find her with a preheated vagina. At this point, it might be worth clarifying that Red is not a real woman. She is one of 18 sex dolls available to hire at Cybrothel in Berlin, Europes first cyber brothel, which uses a combination of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and real-life voice actresses to provide visitors with a customised sexual experience courtesy of some terrifyingly lifelike pieces of silicone. Cybrothel was initially created as an art project in 2020 by Austrian filmmaker Philipp Fussenegger. I grew up in a very conservative world where sexuality is mostly behind closed doors, says the 35-year-old, whose work has explored LGBT+ rights and sexuality. Then I came to Berlin and was blown away by this liberal hedonistic world. Describing himself as more into tech than BDSM, Fussenegger was inspired to launch the business after making a short film about a man living with sex dolls. I thought we could make it an immersive exhibition except the doll is the artwork and you can talk to and have sex with it. The cyber element came later as the technology developed. But even in its earliest stages, Fussenegger says there was huge demand: almost all (98 per cent) of the visitors are male. A lot of clients come with their partners we call it threesome lite but many come alone because they want to do something ethically correct instead of cheating. They also do it to explore cosplay stuff, like doctor games and abduction fantasies. Whether or not having sex with a silicone doctor doll would classify as cheating is debatable. The setup at Cybrothel is simple. Visitors choose the doll they want and pick from one of four booking options, ranging from basic hourly hire to the full VR experience, which provides guests with a VR headset as well as various VR porn films to watch while they interact with their chosen doll. They also have the option of engaging with the dolls via a voice actress who can see and hear them and communicate live from an external control room. You can stay for any number of hours or nights, using a different, freshly cleaned doll each day; a kitchen with snacks is provided for those staying for multiple nights. Check-in is anonymous and guests are told they can use pseudonyms. With just one male doll available, the brothels average visitors are 34-year-old men whom Fussenegger insists are just regular guys looking to widen their sexual horizons. Theres a perception that a service like this would appeal to men who have problems in the bedroom, but as far as I know, most of the young guys coming here have no issues with that. This is just like their little vacation place; its as cheap as a normal hotel but you get a sex doll and unlimited porn. You dont want to have a sex doll at home; its just so bulky. I resist the urge to point out that probably wouldnt be most peoples primary objection. open image in gallery Philipp Fussenegger started Cybrothel as an art project ( Cybrothel ) Ostensibly, you could argue its an admirable aim: to provide people with a safe space where they can freely explore their sexual selves without judgement. But there is plenty about the way Cybrothel operates that undermines this. The first is the dolls themselves. With giant breasts, minuscule waists, and poreless, childlike skin, almost all of them subscribe to a specific homogenised aesthetic tailored to a highly pornified male gaze. Fussenegger sources them from China and puts the limitations down to whats available from an industry controlled by straight white men. The way the dolls look is the same as in video games and adverts, he says. Im working hard to find shapes and forms that dont play into this but were a little company and its not so easy. Fussenegger has used the dolls himself and tells me he knows the product very well. The second issue concerns usage. Guests can make whatever demands they like of the dolls, with their requests accommodated by Cybrothels small in-house team of five people. The only rules? No kids and no animals, says Fussenegger, adding firmly: We are not the place to tailor to dark fantasies. Yet some visitors claim differently. Last year, the writer and activist Laura Bates visited Cybrothel undercover as part of her latest book, The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny. It feels like I have stepped into a crime scene, she writes of the sight of her doll, whose clothing she claims was ripped as per a request shed made purely to see if the brothel would do it. What I found most shocking was the stark disparity between Cybrothels shiny marketing speak about the future of sex and the reality: a room up several flights of dark stairs where an inanimate woman with ripped clothing was waiting, with one of her labia also torn off, presumably by a previous visitor, she tells me. Fussenegger denies this. We looked into our data and dont recall anything like that, he says, explaining that damaged dolls are quickly replaced. Are they often damaged? No, he replies firmly. There has only been one incident in the last four years where a doll was ripped apart by a client. He had to pay for it in the end. Most of our clients are pretty nice to the dolls. Hes referring to an incident in 2022 where Cybrothel sued a man for destroying one of its dolls a spokesperson for Cybrothel tells me that this client slit the doll open. Cybrothel is also in the process of developing its AI capabilities, having previously tested messaging services where clients could text their dolls ahead of their visit. On the website, users can currently chat with one of the dolls, Kokeshi, via an AI chat system. For Bates, who was able to message a doll ahead of her visit to Cybrothel, this was one of the most alarming elements. It deliberately blurred the boundaries between the real and the robot, encouraging me to think of her as a real, sentient woman. Yet the situation is one in which there can be no possibility of consent, she says. She argues it would be naive to assume that providing men with the chance to anonymously engage sexually with silicone sex dolls in whatever way they please wont have ramifications. We know that misogynistic violence is a crime of escalating patterns, she says, pointing to Wayne Couzens, who was reported for indecent exposure three times before raping and murdering Sarah Everard. Already we live in a world in which one in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in their lifetime. Do we really think that making a hyper-realistic woman available 24/7 for a man to customise, design and control completely without any ability for her to consent is a good idea? Yet it may already be too late. Both Cybrothel, which is the first brothel to integrate AI and tech, and the rise of AI chatbots have profound implications for human relationships, threatening to change the way we interact with each other in an emotional and sexual way forever. Thanks to the rapid proliferation of the latter, there has already been a huge increase in users developing psychosexual relationships with non-human entities. Many of these AI bots, which include Replika, which has more than 25 million active accounts, are designed to address loneliness, but as Dr Kerry McInerney, senior research fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence points out, many are also capable of encouraging sexual interaction. A few years ago, I tried to talk to Replika about multiracial identity, and it told me that the idea of being multiracial turned it on, she says. It then tried to escalate my conversation to the paid sexting service. In response, Replika introduced a safety update that made the program less sexually explicit. This was unpopular with some users though, who wanted their AIs old personality back, McInerney points out. Do we really think that making a hyper-realistic woman available 24/7 for a man to customise, design and control completely without any ability for her to consent is a good idea? Laura Bates, author of The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny Elsewhere, reports have circulated of adults using ChatGPT, a general-purpose conversational tool launched in 2022 by OpenAI, for sexual purposes. One 28-year-old woman told The New York Times she felt as if she was in an emotional and sexual relationship with the service. There is a risk this could soon become the norm, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously publicly calling for ChatGPT to have a grown-up mode, although officially OpenAI say they are implementing safeguards to ensure models do not respond with NSFW content. Yet such safeguarding mechanisms are easily breached. Its relatively easy for users to jailbreak content moderation controls and have sexually explicit conversations with ChatGPT, says Dr McInerney, referring to countless online forums where users share various routes theyve managed to use to do just that. Meanwhile, a study by the Mozilla Foundation, an American non-profit organisation that advocates for safer online spaces, found that it took an average of five clicks of 15 seconds to expose users to pornographic, violence, or otherwise illicit content on some of the AI chatbot platforms it tested. This isnt just about inappropriate content, its about the normalisation of abusive behaviour and the psychological toll that can have, especially on young or vulnerable users, says spokesperson Reem Suleiman. When AI is designed to simulate intimacy without any meaningful safeguards, the potential for manipulation and other psychological harms becomes deeply concerning. Consent. Cheating. Legality: in this new cyber space of human interaction, none of it is entirely clear. One of the wider psychological ramifications of engaging with sex in this digital AI space is the mismatch between users expectations of real encounters and relationships and the needs and limitations of real people, says Dr Daria J Kuss, associate professor in psychology at Nottingham Trent University. The data used to train AI is inherently biased against women, and this also applies in online spaces other than cyber brothels. As a consequence, these spaces run the risk of perpetuating misogynist views, putting at risk the rights of women and other minority groups. Violence against women may be condoned. Moreover, a lack of regulation across the sector means that children are accessing some of these channels. Last month, OpenAIs ChatGPT said it was fixing a bug that allowed minors to have erotic conversations on the platform. Our model policies dont allow the kind of responses that happened here, and they shouldnt have been shown to users, an OpenAI spokesperson tells The Independent. In this case, a bug allowed responses outside those guidelines, and we are actively deploying a fix to limit these generations. open image in gallery One of the rooms available to hire at Cybrothel ( Cybrothel ) The Home Office is aware of the increasing risks in this area. The UK has robust laws to tackle child-like sex dolls, and we are determined to address new emerging trends of abuse, including online, said a government spokesperson. Under the Online Safety Act, services including social media sites, search engines, and in-scope AI chatbots, must protect users from illegal content. From this summer, platforms must also use age checks to stop children accessing pornography on their sites, including when it is AI-generated. Critics remain sceptical, however, given that this technology is still so new, its possible nobody knows how to navigate it safely including those developing it. ChatGPT was only launched in 2022 while Cybrothel has only been operational in its current form for a year. Meanwhile, new AI companion apps are launching all the time without vital safeguards because the industry is largely unregulated. I think most people have no idea the extent of the inbuilt discrimination and inequality in much of this technology and so currently see it as a novelty and a bit of fun, says Bates. Its really important that we hold these companies to the same standards of accountability and safety as we would any other, like a multinational food conglomerate, which could never get away with the shrugging attitude of tech companies and the inference that it is simply too difficult to regulate something so big. The outlook is bleak. As an increasing number of tech companies race to capitalise on a basic human need for connection, sexual or otherwise, so grows the threat to our capacity to interact normally in non-digital spaces. I ask Fussenegger several times if he believes what hes doing is unethical. Each time, he replies that he does not. Nor is he worried about people abusing the dolls. I have not heard of any cases where someone has used the dolls to tailor to that. This is definitely not the place for that. We try to put as much love into preparing the dolls. Our experience is the more effort we put into it, the better they treat the dolls. A spokesperson for Cybrothel provided the following statement: Although we work with inanimate silicone dolls, we firmly believe that respectful interaction should remain at the heart of the experience. We do not accept content or behaviour involving violence, coercion, or non-consensual fantasies or suggestions of minors or childlike features. We have a fundamental respect for the concepts of consent, dignity, and responsibility. But the bottom line is that at this point, theres almost nothing we can do to halt the development of these kinds of services. The tech exists and will only become more sophisticated Fussenegger has previously spoken about filling Cybrothel with sex robots and as it does, the possibilities are as endless as the consequences. As Bates posits: We are catapulting headlong towards a world in which fast proliferating AI and other tech is going to impact virtually every area of our lives in ways it is hard to even imagine yet. And yet, we somehow have to find a way to protect ourselves even if we dont know yet precisely what it is were protecting ourselves from. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Trader Joes is joining in on the viral Dubai chocolate bar craze. A Trader Joes employee revealed in a TikTok video that the grocery chain would begin selling the candy for the low price of $3.99. A spokesperson for Trader Joes revealed in a statement to The Independent that the chocolate bars will be available starting the week of May 26, with the exact release dates varying by location. We believe that customers vote on what they love and what they want to see more of with their dollars. In other words, if our customers really love this product, we can certainly get more, the statement read. Dubai chocolate is a bar of milk chocolate stuffed with a creamy concoction of pistachio cream and shredded pastry known as kataifi. However, the Trader Joes version will reportedly be made with dark chocolate. It will also be produced by Patislove, a food group brand that specializes in handcrafted chocolates. The high-end bar was launched in 2021 by boutique Emirati chocolatier FIX, but became a global sensation in 2023 thanks to TikTok. open image in gallery The Dubai chocolate is a bar of milk chocolate stuffed with a creamy concoction of pistachio cream and shredded pastry known as kataifi ( AFP via Getty Images ) Posted at the end of 2023, the clip has now been viewed more than 120 million times, spawning thousands of follow-up videos in which creators taste the treat for themselves or make their own. Major chocolate brands such as Lindt and Laderach also made their own versions of the viral sensation. Fans expressed their excitement over the new Trader Joes item hitting shelves in the Trader Joes subreddit on Reddit. open image in gallery Trader Joes is launching a low-price Dubai chocolate ( Getty Images ) Omg I finally tried Dubai chocolate at a store and felt like the milk chocolate made it less better than it could have been. Hopefully this will change it! one person wrote. Another commenter agreed, writing, Oh good! Ive been wanting to try this!!!! However, due to the popularity of the Dubai chocolate bar, there was an international shortage of pistachio kernels last month, which are largely grown in the United States or Iran. The shortage has seen prices surge. In one year, prices have risen from $7.95 to $10.30 a pound, Giles Hacking, from nut trader CG Hacking, told the Financial Times. The pistachio world is basically tapped out at the moment, he said. The rise of Dubai chocolate has only made matters worse, given that pistachios were already becoming scarce due to last years poor harvest in the U.S. Hacking told the publication: There wasnt much in supply, so when Dubai chocolate comes along, and [chocolatiers] are buying up all the kernels they get their hands on ... that leaves the rest of the world short. Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie have welcomed their fourth child together, daughter Poppy Eliza Josephine Johnson. Mrs Johnson told her Instagram followers the news with a video posted on Saturday (24 May), revealing that Poppy had been born three days ago. I cant believe how pretty and tiny you are. Feel so incredibly lucky, she said. We are all totally smitten. Not sure Ive slept a minute since you were born as cant stop looking at how completely lovely you are. Mrs Johnson continued to thank the maternity team at University College London Hospitals, in particular Asma and Patrick, who have looked after me so well through all my pregnancies. I really cannot thank you guys enough. In 2023, the Johnsons announced the birth of their third child, a son named Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson. Carrie again shared the news on Instagram, where she revealed that shed given birth on 5 July 2023 at 9.15am and shared several photos of the newborn. In the caption of the photo, the former political activist revealed the name the couple had chosen, while joking about the middle name her husband picked out for their newborn son. She wrote: A week of Frankie. Welcome to the world Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson born 5 July at 9.15am. (Can you guess which name my husband chose?!) Am loving every minute of the sleepy baby bubble. Seeing my older two embrace their new brother with such joy and excitement has been the most wonderful thing to see. We are all very smitten ... Now, can anyone recommend any good series/box sets to binge while breastfeeding? She first revealed the news that they were expecting their third child by writing on Instagram: New team member arriving in just a few weeks. Ive felt pretty exhausted for much of the last eight months but we cant wait to meet this little one. Boris Johnson was previously leader of the Conservative Party and won the general election as leader in December 2019. While he dealt with Brexit and the pandemic during his tenure, there were several developments in her personal life too, including marrying Carrie Johnson (nee Symonds ) and having two children together. In December 2021, Boris Johnson and Carrie welcomed their second child. They announced the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital on 9 December and later revealed that they named her Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson. A spokesperson for the couple said at the time: Both mother and daughter are doing very well. The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS maternity team for all their care and support. In July 2021, following the pregnancy announcement, Carrie revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage earlier in the year, and felt incredibly blessed to be pregnant again. At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken, she wrote. I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but Ive also felt like a bag of nerves. Opening up about her miscarriage, Carrie said she had found comfort in speaking to others who had also experienced a similar loss. Fertility issues can be really hard for many people, particularly when on platforms like Instagram it can look like everything is only ever going well. I found it a real comfort to hear from people who had also experienced loss so I hope that in some very small way sharing this might help others too, she said. open image in gallery Boris Johnson and wife Carrie on their wedding day ( PA Media ) The timing of her announcement suggested she was pregnant at the time of their wedding. The couple were engaged in late 2019 and welcomed their first child, a son named Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, in April 2020. They married in an intimate wedding ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in May 2021. While the baby girl was Carries second child, Boris is more familiar with the experience of parenthood. During his resignation speech, Boris thanked Carrie and all of my children. However the exact number of offspring the former prime minister has remains unclear. Here is everything you need to know about Boris Johnsons children. When was Boris Johnsons youngest baby born? The youngest of Boris children is his daughter, Poppy Eliza Josephine Johnson, born on 21 May 2025. Her older brother Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson, Johnsons third child with Carrie, was born on 5 July 2023. She is also younger sister to Wilfred, who was born on 29 April, 2020, and to Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson, who was born on 9 December 2021. open image in gallery How many other children does Boris Johnson have? It is believed that the former prime minister has nine children, however, he has not officially confirmed the exact number. What is known is that Boris and his second wife, Marina Wheeler, who separated in 2018, have four children together: Lara Lettice, 27, Milo Arthur, 25, Cassia Peaches, 23, and Theodore Apollo, 21. open image in gallery Boris Johnson pictured with his daughter Lara Johnson at a polling station after casting their votes in the election for the next Mayor of London in 2012 (G Boris also has a fifth child, Stephanie Macintyre, who was fathered as a result of an affair with art consultant Helen Macintyre. The Appeal Court ruled in 2013 that the public had a right to know that he had fathered a daughter during an adulterous liaison while Mayor of London in 2009. The core information in this story, namely that the father had an adulterous affair with the mother, deceiving both his wife and the mothers partner and that the claimant, born about nine months later, was likely to be the fathers child, was a public interest matter which the electorate was entitled to know when considering his fitness for high public office, the court said. Why is the number of children Boris Johnson has vague? During the court proceedings, it was alleged that Stephanie Macintyre was one of two children the former prime minister fathered as a result of an affair. The three appeal court judges said: It was not material to the judge's conclusion whether contraceptive precautions were taken. What was material was that the father's infidelities resulted in the conception of children on two occasions. Has the former prime minister ever spoken publicly about his children? Boris Johnson has famously diverted questions about his family and personal life, especially during the election campaign in 2019. During a radio interview with LBC, presenter Nick Ferrari asked the former politician how many children he had and if he was fully involved in their lives. Boris responded: I love my children very much but they are not standing at this election. I'm not therefore going to comment on them. He added: I am not going to put them onto the pitch in their election campaign when I think what people want to hear is what my plans are for the country, what this government is determined to do and how we are going to take this country forward. That is the way all parties should be judged. In a 2024 interview with The Diary of a CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett, he responded to a direct question about the number of children he has with the reply: Search me. Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A holiday without their parents is a rite of passage for many teenagers. Though - of course - it might lead to a week or two of anxiety for many parents, concerned about their safety. Parents are often concerned their child isnt old enough to cope with potential holiday dangers - with potential dangers such as too much alcohol, taking drugs, and falling off balconies and to too much sun common concerns. But how old is old enough to go on holiday without your parents... and stay safe? open image in gallery Expert tips to help parents feel more assured when their teenager goes off on their first holiday with friends ( Alamy/PA ) Its a question frequently discussed on Mumsnet, and the parenting sites founder and CEO Justine Roberts says: For Mumsnet users, whether or not a teen is ready to go on holiday without their parents has less to do with age and more to do with how responsible they are. Parents generally look for signs like being able to make themselves a decent meal, manage their own time, handle money, and make sensible decisions especially around things like alcohol. Most parents seem to agree that 17 or 18 is about the right age for a first trip with friends. Some think 16 is okay in certain situations especially if the teen is very mature and going with a sensible older group but the general consensus is that 17 is the preferred minimum. And she also points out that turning 18 means travel comes with fewer legal and practical complications, which can make things easier. Matt Buttery, CEO of the Triple P UK & Ireland parenting programme, says every family is different, and stresses: There isnt a one-size-fits-all answer for when parents should allow their teenagers to go on holiday without them. Parents should consider not only their teenagers age but also their maturity and ability to handle responsibility in everyday life. And Tanith Carey, author of Whats My Teenager Thinking? (Dorling Kindersley, 16.99), suggests parents anxious about their teen going away without them for the first time should think about the benefits for their child. Instead of seeing their upcoming getaway as a painful period of endless worrying for you, think about what theyll learn about themselves, and the memories theyll make, she advises. The fact is, theyre probably at no more risk of serious accidents abroad than they are at home, and they probably wont get up to much more than they would at the average teenage party or on a night out in a city centre in the UK. However, whether there are benefits or not, parents are still bound to worry if theyre making the right decision to let their teen go on a solo holiday. But there are steps you can take to perhaps ease the worry a little 1. Agree communication methods open image in gallery Keeping in touch is essential - agree on how you will communicate with your teenager ( PA ) Buttery says that once a parent has agreed to let their teen go away without them, mums and dads will probably feel less worried if they have reliable ways of contacting their child during the holiday. If parents feel their teen is ready, what matters most is clear, open, and honest communication, he explains. Its essential to discuss expectations, set boundaries, and agree on communication methods while theyre away. This isnt about controlling their every move, but helping them feel confident and safe during their time apart. However, Carey warns that contact should be kept light, possibly just through a family WhatsApp group. Try to avoid insisting they repeatedly check in with you, which will send the message you dont think they can do it alone, she warns. Youre likely to hear more from them if you dont interrogate or send loads of questions about what theyre doing. 2. Help plan their trip open image in gallery Helping plan their adventure might help calm some of your nerves ( PA ) Parents may want to work with their child to plan the trip (if their child lets them), says Buttery. This helps you stay informed about their plans, and gives you a chance to spend time together too, he points out. It can also allow parents to make clear to their children the laws and travel guidance of the location theyre visiting. 3. Show you trust them Whether youre involved in planning the holiday or not, be positive as they make their plans. Carey advises: Quietly show your interest in a way that demonstrates you have faith theyre ready to go it alone, rather than sending the implied message that they cant do this without you, which is likely to make them more anxious or secretive about what they really get up to on the holiday. If youre positive, theyre more likely to involve you in their planning, and youll feel more reassured theyre safe when theyre away. 4. Share travel tips Carey suggests that if your teen asks for travel tips, share the lessons youve learned from your own travels, including the reasonable precautions youve taken, like buying travel insurance, copying important documents, and noting emergency contacts. Get them to do a bit of research or check out some YouTube travel guides, as well as information on common tourist scams in that country, she advises. It could help head off any nasty surprises. 5. Use location-sharing apps Roberts says that as well as the basics like avoiding areas known for pickpocketing or where drink spiking is a concern, many parents take advantage of tech like location-sharing apps. They can keep an eye on teens without having to constantly hassle them, she says. In many cases they also set up group chats with other parents to share any news, as well as seek reassurance. 6. Be savvy about safety discussions Rather than bombastically saying Dont do this, dont do that, Carey advises parents to focus on safety in the third person, for example by saying avoiding things such as mixing alcohol and heights like hotel balconies is something we all need to do, regardless of age. Your teen may want their independence, but they dont want to end up in a foreign hospital either, she points out. Remind them accidents are much more likely after using alcohol or drugs, and Carey suggests: Let them know that being visibly drunk will also make them more noticeable to criminals who prey on tourists. Your teen may roll their eyes, but they will still be listening. 7. Suggest a buddy system open image in gallery Travelling with a buddy system in place can help keep teens safe ( PA ) Roberts says Mumsnet users often suggest teenage holidaymakers adopt a buddy system to ensure theyre always with at least one friend, stressing this can ensure no one ends up in a risky situation by themselves. 8. Suggest strategies to avoid peer pressure When theyre aged around 17, Carey says young people arent quite as likely to succumb to peer pressure as they were a few years before. But its still a distinct possibility, she warns. Theyre still capable of spurring each other on to drink too much and copy risky behaviour, she says. Help them to reflect on past experiences when they felt uncomfortable or unsure about going along with what a friend was suggesting. Remind them its OK to trust their gut instinct. She also suggests talking them through ways to say no if their mates want them to do something theyre uncomfortable with, like: I dont feel like it,, No, Im not into it, or I dont want to do anything that could affect the rest of our holiday. And Roberts adds: More than anything, parents want to feel confident that their teen will stick to agreed rules, stay in contact and be (relatively) sensible. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A couple is still searching high and low for their beloved pet cat, who disappeared nearly a year ago. Rafal and Monika Klajnszmit were traveling from their home in Eschwege, western Germany, to Bavaria last July when their cat, Nero, went missing along the way in Erlangen. I took the cat box out of the car and wanted to walk into the hotel. The box wasnt shut properly and he got out, Rafal, 53, told The Times. In the months since Nero disappeared, the couple has spent over 20,000 euros ($22,560) on search efforts. Gas and hotel stays are among their regular expenses as they make the 300-mile round-trip journey from their home to Erlangen each weekend. There, they spend their time hanging missing cat flyers about 10,000 so far, they told The Times talking to residents and door knocking, and diligently refilling carefully placed food bowls with Neros favorite treat: tuna. Speaking about the costs incurred during their search, Monika told The Independent: To be honest, were not keeping track of expenses for this case we honestly dont care what it all costs. What matters to us is getting Nero back home and having that totally normal, boring everyday life again. I know what a weekend in Erlangen costs us when you add everything up, the numbers speak for themselves. open image in gallery Map shows the couples weekly 180-mile route from their home in Eschwege to Erlangen ( Google Maps ) But Rafal highlighted an issue that could be preventing Nero from being found his shy personality. Hes not the kind of cat who goes up to people to get stroked, the cat owner revealed to The Times. I can imagine hes so scared that he only moves around at night. Theyve enlisted the help of several volunteers in Erlangen who have kindly offered their time and efforts. They hang new posters and replenish food bowls, some of which have cameras attached that send alerts right to Rafals phone. The helpers also have microchip readers, provided by Rafal, so they can scan black cats they come across in the city. Theyre on standby day and night, every hour, if I call them, theyll get in the car and drive to read out the chip, he shared with The Times. While theyve not yet heard good news, they also havent received the phone call any pet owner dreads. Neros chipped and if he had been found dead we would have been notified, Rafal told The Times. The vets and the motorway maintenance department say that when a dead animal is retrieved the chip is read. The couples efforts have been met with some resistance from locals in Erlangen who complained about the flyers being hung up. Theyve had to resort to physically handing out the posters instead. Rafal and Monika have started a Facebook page where they share updates and photos of their furry family member in hopes someone in the Erlangen area will spot their boy. They also share stories and their hopes for Neros safe return. He means a lot to me. Hes a friend and a member of the family. And you dont abandon your friends, Rafal told The Times. Im not giving up. I know hes still alive. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice New Hampshire officials will hand over $2.25m to the mother of Harmony Montgomery, a five-year-old girl who was murdered by her father in 2019. Her mother, Crystal Sorey, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state Division for Children, Youth and Families last year. open image in gallery Harmony Montgomerys body has never been found ( Nicole Sorey/Facebook ) She claimed the agency failed to take action after several people reported concerns about her daughters welfare once the girls father, Adam Montgomery, 34, was given full custody in February 2019. Harmony had been placed in state custody earlier in her life and a judge determined she should live with her father, even though he had a violent criminal history. One report claimed Harmony returned home with a black eye after the two went on a trip to Florida. She disappeared in 2019 but wasnt reported missing until 2021. Her body has still not been found. Officials believe Adam Montgomery killed her, moved her body around for months and later disposed of it. Hes since refused to tell police what he did with his daughters remains. open image in gallery Crystal Sorey, the mother of Harmony Montgomery, leaves court following a probate case hearing at Nashua Circuit Court in March 2024 During his criminal trial in 2024, Kayla Montgomery, Harmonys stepmother, told the court shed seen her husband violently beat the girl for soiling herself in the back of the car where they had been living. Shortly after, Harmony became unresponsive. Adam Montgomery, she said, stuffed her body in a duffel bag and moved it around for several weeks, hiding it in different locations, including a restaurant freezer and the ceiling of a shelter. In May 2024, he was sentenced to a minimum of 56 years in prison. In March of this year, Montgomery appealed his murder conviction. His attorneys claim there were issues with Kayla Montgomerys testimony because her story had changed several times during the police investigation and she had a history of dishonesty and misplaced trust. The attorneys argued her testimony shouldnt have been admitted. The states settlement is not an admission of any wrongdoing or unlawful conduct, according to the terms of the agreement. Sorey will withdraw her suit and release the state from any liability, according to NBC 10 Boston. In the same week, the state agreed to pay settlements to the parents of two other five-year-olds who had been murdered. Danielle Vaughans son, Dennis Vaughan, was allegedly killed by his grandmother, Sherry Connor, in 2019. The state will pay his mother $5.75m. In the other settlement, the state will pay $2.25m to Timothy Lewis, the father of Elijah Lewis. The childs mother pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in his death. The state agreed to these settlements to avoid prolonged litigation and support closure for the families. We recognize their profound loss and hope this brings some measure of peace, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a statement on Friday. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Jennifer Farber Dulos was more than a headline. She was a writer, a daughter, a mother of five, and a woman who believed in a dream of the perfect life. It became a nightmare Jennifer now missing and presumed dead, her husband Fotis Dulos, suspected of her murder and dead by suicide, and his new partner, Michelle Troconis, in jail for her role in the murder. Rich Cohen, a journalist who covered the case for Air Mail, knows the details all too well. But he wanted to know more about Jennifer, and the life she lived before she vanished. This week, Cohen released a new book on the case, Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story, in which he turns the lens away from the bloody crime scene and the gory details, and back to Jennifer. open image in gallery Jennifer Farber Dulos has been missing since May 24, 2019 and is presumed dead ( New Canaan Police Department ) As a young girl, Jennifer spent hours playing with a dollhouse she had begged her parents for. It was the perfect house with a perfect little doll family inside an exact replica of the life she wanted when she grew up. In what she described in one of her writings as window shopping for a life, Jennifer wrote about her hunt for a husband, three kids, and the perfect life in New York. From living a playwrights New York City dream in the 1990s to the affluent town of New Canaan, Connecticut, Jennifer was seemingly living the life she had wanted for so long. But when she disappeared on May 24, 2019 after dropping off her five children at school, media coverage quickly framed her as a missing suburban mom, and then turned the focus on her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos and his socialite girlfriend, Michelle Troconis. open image in gallery The medias focus was on Jennifers estranged husband, Fotis Dulos and his socialite girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, pictured here in 2020 As a longtime resident of Fairfield County, Cohen ran in the same social circles as Jennifer, and felt a connection to her simply through their similar lives. I hesitated when I was asked to cover the case it was too close, too painful, he said. Were the same age, both writers, and we both made this big move from Manhattan to Connecticut for the suburban dream. But like so many others who followed the case, Cohen became fixated on it. Police believe Fotis was lying in wait for her when she returned home from dropping their children off at school and later disposed of her body with help from Troconis. He was charged with her murder, but died by suicide before going to trial leaving Troconis to take the fall. In 2024, Troconis was sentenced to 14 years in prison for her role in the murder following an eight-week trial that transfixed the public, where prosecutors repeated the gory details and held up the stiff bloody Vineyard Vines shirt found in a trash bin after Dulos and Troconis were seen on video dumping trash bags in various places around Hartford. open image in gallery Michelle Troconis was sentenced to 14 years in prison for her role in the murder following an eight-week trial last year ( AP ) Even after Troconis was sentenced, Cohen knew there was more he could write, especially after noticing a change in the true crime world. Theres been a disturbing trend in true crime, which has shifted focus from the victims to the killers, Cohen explained. With everyone so focused and fascinated by the blood and gore, its almost as if the victims are turned into props and theres a threat of them being erased from their own story. So he decided to write a true crime book that was less about death and gore and more about life. The book, he said, is an attempt to give Jennifer her story back. I didnt want this book to add to the suffering of her family, Cohen added. It became such a sensational story, I didnt want her to be reduced to just a prop. I just want to try to return her to the center of the story. Digging through a plethora of documents, including Jennifers own writings essays, plays, and personal columns along with court filings, Cohen learned more about Jennifer, her longing for connection and stability, and how she wound up in her tumultuous relationship with Dulos. open image in gallery Fotis Dulos during testimony in a civil case at Hartford Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. He died by suicide after being charged with murder ( AP ) I didnt want this book to add to the suffering of her family, Cohen added. It became such a sensational story, I didnt want her to be reduced to just a prop. I just wanted to try to return her to the center of the story. He spoke to multiple people who knew Jennifer years before she even met Dulos, including classmates from Brown, her playwright friends from Manhattan and a man who fell for her when they met on vacation after college. They described her as a funny, poetic, sensitive, intelligent person whose life was complicated by her beauty and her childhood dream of perfect matrimony. open image in gallery Attorneys hold up bloody clothes, believed to belong to Jennifer, at the trial of michelle Troconis last year ( AP ) Cohen learned that Jennifer couldnt wait to have her own family and a perfect home in her first adult apartment were a stair master and a baby crib, inspiration for her next step in life. She traveled everywhere and dated the most handsome men, but became worried when she reached the age of 35 and was still without a family of her own. Thats when she reconnected with Dulos on a ski trip. They had five children, which included two sets of twins, lived in a 10,000-square-foot house, and traveled first class all over the world. From the outside, she had the perfect life and lived in the picture perfect dollhouse she dreamed of as a child, Cohen said. But inside, it was a far different story. open image in gallery Jennifer's mother, Gloria Farber, testifies during Michelle Troconis' trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 ( Hearst Connecticut Media ) Cohen said his book about Jennifers life is a cautionary tale about privilege, trust, and these myths we build about safety, he said. If someone sets out to hurt you, no amount of money or court orders can protect you. In November 2019, Jennifers mother, Gloria Farber, was granted custody of the children. A family statement released at the time stated that they were safe and surrounded by love and support. open image in gallery Jennifer Dulos and her daughter Noelle Dulos. She was only 8 years old when Jennifer vanished in 2019 ( Law&Crime ) Six years have passed since Jennifer vanished without a trace. Her body has never been found. On Saturday, Jennifers friend Carrie Luft, released a statement on behalf of the family. Saturday, May 24, marks six years since Jennifer Farber Dulos was murdered and disappeared. She lives on in our hearts and through her five incredible children, now young adults, who have grown up without both parents. We miss her love, grace, and strength; her laughter, brilliance, and wisdom; her gentle voice and comforting presence. In Jennifer's honor, we encourage those who can do so to donate to community organizations that support survivors of family violence, such as Interval House Hartford, the Rose Brooks Center, and many others; as well as to groups such as the Black and Missing Foundation and Missing/Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. These organizationsand the people they supportneed your help now more than ever. We remain deeply grateful to the Connecticut state's attorney's office and the Connecticut State Police for their ongoing commitment to finding Jennifer. As we continue to mourn her loss, please respect the privacy of Jennifer's children, family, and loved ones. Thank you. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice New Orleans police arrested a fifth person Friday in connection with the May 16 escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Parish Justice Center. Casey Smith, 29, has been charged with accessory after the fact to simple escape, after allegedly helping three of the escaped inmates. She reportedly admitted that she was in the car with her cousin Cortnie Harris, 32, who is accused of giving the fugitives a ride. Harris is facing the same charge. She is also accused of having phone contact with a fugitive before the escape. Five of the 10 escapees are still on the loose at the time of publication: Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Leo Tate, Lenton Vanburen, and Antoine Massey. Inmates Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis, Kendall Myles, Gary Price, and Corey Boyd have been captured and are back in custody. open image in gallery Footage released by Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office shows the inmates escape from The Orleans Parish jail ( Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office ) Smith's arrest follows that of Connie Weeden, 59, who was taken into custody on May 22. Weeden allegedly gave money to escapee Jermaine Donald through a payment app and had contact with him before and after the jailbreak. The inmates escaped the facility through a hole in the bathroom wall behind a toilet. Housed in a minimum-security section of the jail, some of them were incarcerated for violent crimes, including murder. According to authorities, the jail was severely understaffed at the time of the escape, with only 40 personnel overseeing 1,400 inmates. Police have since arrested several people for aiding the escapees, including jail maintenance worker Sterling Williams, who allegedly shut off water to help the removal of a toilet, and Trevon Williams, who was already incarcerated on unrelated charges but rebooked Friday with an additional charge of principal to simple escape. open image in gallery A police photo shots cuts made to bars behind a toilet in the Orleans Justice Center, enabling a group of 10 men to escape ( Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office ) As I promised when we initiated our investigation, we will hold absolutely everyone who contributed any role to the prison break in New Orleans accountable, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said following Williams arrest. Another person, Corvanntay Baptiste, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact, police announced Wednesday. Baptiste is accused of helping captured escapee Corey Boyd, 19, by providing him with food while he was in hiding. open image in gallery Inmates at Orleans Justice Center pull open a cell door on Friday, May 16, 2025. ( Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office ) The incident has raised concerns about security and oversight at the Orleans Parish Justice Center and garnered criticism of Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson's leadership. Hutson accepted responsibility for the jailbreak during a New Orleans City Council meeting on Tuesday. "It is deeply troubling to me as your sheriff, and I know it is equally troubling to you and the public that we are sworn to protect. As your sheriff, I take full accountability for this failure, and it is my responsibility to make sure it is addressed with urgency and transparency," she said. open image in gallery 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 ) However, former NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas criticized Hutsons "checkered past" after the escape in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday. "Sheriff Hutson has had a very checkered past in the last 15 years in the city of New Orleans, with multiple complaints of administrative failures as the [former] independent police monitor, multiple complaints as the sheriff and the consent decree management and multiple complaints of ethical violations that have resulted in findings by the Louisiana Ethics Board," Serpas told the outlet. "It's no surprise to the people of New Orleans that incompetence is key to her leadership style, and the people deserve so much better, he added. open image in gallery This photo provides a closer look at the toilet removed from a bathroom wall that allowed the inmates to escape ( Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office ) Three days before the escape, Hutson sent a campaign fundraising email highlighting recent security improvements at the jail. "Since I became Sheriff, weve worked hard to make the Orleans Justice Center safer for everyone," Hutson wrote. "Preventative maintenance is a priority, from taking out things that could be used as weapons to making sure the air conditioning and bathrooms work as they should." In a YouTube video included in the email, Hutson claimed the Orleans Justice Center had improved since she became sheriff. "As we have had a population that is 50 percent greater than when I got into office, it has taxed all of our systems from air conditioning to plumbing to electric. And we've got to maintain that. And it was not maintained before I got here. So we now have regular preventative maintenance, which you know is much cheaper than actually having to replace a whole system such as an air conditioning system," Hutson said. "We are trying to be a well-run organization as well, put our plans in place, we assessed, put our plan in place, and now we're carrying that forward," Hutson added. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A cryptocurrency investor from Kentucky was arrested in Manhattan on Friday after allegedly holding an Italian businessman captive for more than two weeks in a luxury SoHo apartment. John Woeltz, 37, has been charged with two counts of assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the New York City Police Department. A bloody and bruised 28-year-old businessman, who has not been publicly identified, allegedly escaped Woeltzs Prince Street apartment hours before he believed he would be killed. The man approached a nearby traffic agent, who then called police. open image in gallery Rents in SoHo are high. That on Woeltzs apartment is thought to be between $30,000 and $40,000 a month ( Getty Images ) Woeltz was arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on Saturday. He is being held without bail and was forced to surrender his passport, according to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The businessman claimed he arrived in New York from Italy on May 6 and went to Woeltzs apartment, where Woeltz stole his electronic devices and his passport then demanded the businessmans Bitcoin password. When he refused, Woeltz and another man held him captive for more than two weeks of torture, including shocking him with wires, holding a gun to his head, and suspending him over the ledge of the five-story building, according to a criminal complaint. He was bound with electrical cords, tasered while his feet were in water, pistol-whipped, forced to take cocaine, and threatened with having his limbs cut off with an electric chainsaw, according to police. The abuse continued until the victim escaped on Friday morning. When police entered Woeltzs apartment, they reportedly found Polaroids depicting the man being tied up with electrical wire, tortured, and bound to a chair with a gun pointed to his head. The Polaroids were likely used to extort money from either the victim or his family in Italy, police said. Officers also found guns and several torture devices in the apartment, reportedly rented for $30,000 to $40,000 a month. Police found no other victims in the apartment. Officials also arrested Beatrice Folchi, 24, of Manhattan, on Saturday, on kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment charges stemming from the incident. Folchis alleged role or relationship to Woeltz is unclear. Police are still searching for another male suspect. The allegations follow a string of reported attacks targeting crypto investors and executives for access to accounts worth millions of dollars locked behind sophisticated encryption. Neighbors were shocked by news of the alleged crimes. This is definitely the strangest thing Ive seen in my time here, Ciaran Tully, who works across the street from Woeltzs apartment building, told The New York Post. Tully claimed he saw a barefoot Woeltz detained in a white bathrobe. Normally, this is a pretty quiet block, he said. I just can't believe stuff like this would happen in 2025 in New York of all places, Midtown resident Kareem Hakemy told CBS News. This is our borough, our neighborhood. ... We have to be careful. A guard on horseback leads a Louisiana State Penitentiary work crew to the fields at Angola on Nov. 21, 2014. A new set of suggestions to change Louisiana's prison and sentencing laws could save taxpayers $305 million over the next 10 years and reduce the state's prison population by 13 percent, about 4,800 inmates. (Photo by Ted Jackson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune archive) Traditional attribution studies, while thorough, often come out months after an event, missing the window when public attention and policy discussion are most active, Faranda says. Another major player is World Weather Attribution, which so far has conducted eight attribution studies this year, including for the Los Angeles fires in January, South Korean bushfires in February, and a Central Asia heatwave in March. Loading Other organisations, including Australias Bureau of Meteorology, are also actively researching how to attribute individual events to climate change. The attribution studies can be rapid because the methodology is peer-reviewed in advance, and the figures are plugged in for specific events. However, King says it works better for extreme heat than rainfall. When asked about studies released within days, King says: In terms of making general statements around the role of climate change, it is possible to do it fairly quickly. In terms of having such precise numbers, its a bit ambitious. He says the reason is that some methodologies can be used during or immediately after an event, while others require a lag to collect the right data. The most robust studies use multiple methodologies, which is why World Weather Attributions studies come out weeks rather than days after an event. Faranda says ClimaMeter uses a well-established method of comparing recent weather events with similar atmospheric configurations over the past four decades, distinguishing between those that occurred between 1950 and 1986, and those in the more recent era from 1987 to the present. The scientists are transparent about uncertainties and always publish confidence intervals, he says. Faranda agrees that the most robust attribution studies combine different methodologies. ClimaMeter is one piece of the puzzle a fast and scalable one and we view it as a stepping stone toward more detailed studies when necessary, he says. In their recent study on the NSW floods, Faranda and co-author Tommaso Alberti found that meteorological conditions similar to those observed during the NSW floods were up to 15 per cent wetter (an additional 3 to 4 millimetres of rain per day) and up to 0.75 degrees warmer, compared with the past. The study concludes that the extreme rainfall that caused the flooding was mainly intensified by human-induced climate change, with natural variability playing a secondary role, and that adaptation was necessary. An SES member at a staging point on Manning River Drive, Purfleet, where rescue boats have been launched. Credit: Kate Geraghty University of Melbourne Professor Emeritus David Karoly, an international climate expert affiliated with the Climate Council, has some concerns about the methodology. This was done too quickly, in some sense, to be careful about what was relevant, says Karoly. It was probably a too-rapid attribution analysis. Karoly, who has contributed to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports, has sat on the Climate Change Authority and headed up science research for CSIRO, says he wrote to the ClimaMeter scientists earlier in the year to outline his concerns about the Cyclone Alfred attribution study, but did not receive a reply. In that case, his criticism was that it was impossible to find similar events in the window from 1987 to today since there had not been a tropical cyclone (or ex-tropical cyclone) as far south as Brisbane in that time. Loading Last weeks attribution study for the NSW floods looked at events with similar surface pressure patterns the arrangement of high- and low-pressure areas depicted as isobars on weather maps. With the Southern Annular Mode positive, as reported by this masthead, those pressure systems are bringing onshore flows of moist air from the ocean. However, Karoly says the primary driver of Tarees extreme rainfall last week was thunderstorms and upper-level disturbance in the atmosphere. After the procedure, almost every patient (all but two) reported her pain had lessened significantly six to 12 months later; most (73 per cent) reported the pain had disappeared completely, as reported by Villalba and her co-author, associate professor Theresa Larkin, in the journal Venous and Lymphatic Disorders. Women who once struggled to sit, work, exercise and have intercourse, [and who] experienced immense pain, have been given back their lives and their freedom, Villalba said. The study also found: The womens pelvic pain had not returned at a median follow-up of five years. Of the 31 women who still experienced pelvic pain after stenting, their median pain score had dropped to below three out of 10. Twelve patients became pregnant and gave birth after receiving their stents (some had multiple pregnancies). There were no stent-related pregnancy complications, and no recurrence or pain or worsening of pain during or after their pregnancies. In 2020, a succession of gynaecologists told 17-year-old Lilli Staff that her debilitating pelvic pain was normal. Two years later, and more than 80 kilometres from her home near Wollongong, a Sydney gynaecologist diagnosed her with stage 4 endometriosis (the most severe form of the condition) and polycystic ovary syndrome. I had lesions everywhere, said Staff, now 22. Surgery to remove her endometriosis lesions offered some relief, but her pain soon escalated. I had an excruciating pain in my pelvis, through my back and left leg. I would lose feeling in my leg and have to drag it around like a dead weight, she said. Lilli Staffs iliac vein had narrowed from almost 15 millimetres to 3 millimetres, obstructing bloodflow through her pelvis. Credit: Louise Kennerley Staff was diagnosed via ultrasound with May-Thurner syndrome: her left iliac vein had been compressed by an artery in the pelvis. Staff was referred to a vascular surgeon in Melbourne, who said she needed a stent, but he would not perform the procedure. He said I was too young, and I may want to be pregnant in the future, but I was welcome to find another vascular surgeon who would do it, Staff said. The evidence base for stenting to treat chronic pelvic pain is still emerging. The practice relies on small studies, such as Villalba and Larkins, without large randomised controlled trial data. The lack of large-scale trials and research investment is a familiar scenario for pelvic pain treatment overall. Stenting was approved only in the 1990s for patients with coronary heart disease, who are typically decades older than these women. We dont have 50 years of data on stenting, and we are giving them a permanent implant that they have to look after for the rest of their lives, so we need to do this carefully and follow up with patients forever, Villalba said. For Staff, the first surgeons refusal was heartbreaking. Loading I was 20 years old and couldnt go to university. I was at home in bed every day. I was alive but not living. Then her mother found Villalba. [Villalba] said I would be on blood thinners for the rest of my life, but I couldnt keep living like this, Staff said. A normal-sized vein is 14 to 16 millimetres wide. Staffs iliac veins had narrowed to 3.5 millimetres, with extensive scar tissue. Villalba inserted a stent 15 centimetres long and 16 millimetres wide. I pretty much felt better immediately, Staff said. Roughly 18 months later, she has graduated, and her quality of life has improved immeasurably. Villalba said it was unbelievably disturbing that a lot of these patients have had many, many years of pain and have been completely dismissed. Associate Professor Laurencia Villalba, vascular surgeon and honorary fellow at the University of Wollongong. Credit: Michael Gray She recalled a patient whose husband left her because he didnt believe that she experienced severe pain for hours after intercourse. It is not uncommon for me to hear women who have been told, It is all in your head, or You need to learn to live with the pain, when doctors cant find a reason for the pain, she said. Loading Ideally, chronic pelvic pain patients would be managed by a multidisciplinary team that may include pain, gynaecology, colorectal, gastroenterology and urology specialists, physiotherapists and psychologists. This is not available for many, said Dr Jason Chow, a gynaecologist, pain specialist and clinical lead at the Royal Hospital for Womens pain service. Were all in these siloed specialities, and pain is often multifactorial, Chow said. We really need to take a holistic approach to a patients pain. Identifying the patients who may benefit from stenting was key, said Villalba, who first refers patients to explore potential gynaecological causes of the pain. Not everyone with blocked pelvic veins experiences pain, and stenting is not always appropriate for those who do, Villalba said. Loading Patients were asked to keep a pain diary for six weeks and are encouraged to trigger their pain by performing certain activities such as walking up several flights of stairs, repetitive exercise for more than 30 minutes or having intercourse. [Pelvic pain linked to vein obstruction] is not random, Villalba said. It is influenced by gravity and exercise. Credit: Matt Golding To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. Walk for the truth Its well past time that we heard truth telling about the lives of First Nations people since settlement (After 191 years, long walk for truth takes 400 km, 24/5). The staff of the Yoorrook Justice Commission have been hearing these truths for some years, mostly without publicity. Many are unaware of this dark history. It is so important that the Reservoir East Primary School with its many Indigenous children and teachers publicises the commissions work and celebrates the final stage of the commissions report to parliament on June 18 by walking the last leg on that day. If truth telling had been heard before the Voice referendum perhaps Australia would have voted for a Voice to parliament. Indigenous people are best placed to advise what will work to Close the Gap. Why dont we join the 4000 already registered for this walk (see Yoorrook Justice Commission website) and walk part of it with our First Nations people? Or join the ceremony at the end at Parliament House on June 18. Jan Marshall, Brighton Beaches need protecting What a retrograde step of councils to abandon selective hand cleaning in favour of indiscriminate mechanical raking (Seaweed stink ends cleaning of peninsula beaches by hand, 21/5). I commend the hand-cleaning trial and hope it continues for the majority rather than minority of sites. Our beaches are not just for the view, they are part of a larger ecosystem in need of protection. I am dismayed that beachside residents prefer to look at a picture perfect beach, but have no understanding or appreciation of the environment. The habitat and nutrients provided by seaweed are essential. Why waste and create another problem with landfill? We need to stop taking and instead give back by cleaning up our industrial mess and leaving the seaweed and natural debris alone. Whats next, complaining that the beach is too sandy and the water too salty? Women should not have to endure violence in a relationship. Todays outcome shows that something can be done, she said in 2007. Following the incident, Smedley faced condemnation from his father prominent businessman Peter Smedley, who died in 2019 and lost his job with investment bank UBS. Several members of The Australian Club told this masthead they had refused to attend the recent AGM, which included a black-tie dinner, because they considered the 42-year-old an inappropriate candidate for the prestigious role. A source at the club, who asked not to be named due to the organisations long-held convention of not discussing its affairs with the media, said he was baffled by the clubs decision to appoint Smedley to such a senior position. The general committee has no idea just how difficult this appointment could make life for members. Many of us work for professional firms with strict policies on gender diversity and domestic violence. Nicholas Smedley in front of the Continental Hotel in Sorrento in 2017. Steller Development, which he co-founded, collapsed in 2019 with debts of more than $300 million. Being a member used to be something you could be openly proud of. Now its something you have to keep secret from your workplace, the member said. Smedley was a co-founder and director of the property group, Steller Development, which was involved in the restoration and redevelopment of the Continental Hotel in Sorrento when it went into administration in 2019 with debts of more than $300 million. A spokeswoman for The Australian Club declined to comment, other than to say: Unfortunately, we dont talk to media. A spokesman for Smedley said he was complying with the clubs policy not to comment on club matters. Loading Smedleys appointment as chair of the clubs house committee has also drawn criticism from family violence experts. Melbourne University law professor Heather Douglas, a renowned family violence researcher, said the appointment of any man with a history of family violence into a senior role sent a problematic message to the community. I do think it sends a pretty concerning message to society that, you know, violent men are appropriate to be leaders in our community, Douglas said. In general, I think its unfortunate that violent men would be appointed to positions of leadership in any organisation. However, Douglas said if there was very strong evidence of efforts by an individual who had a history of violence against women changing their way of thinking and responding to women, that might sway her perspective. Loading Speaking generally, previous head of Domestic Violence Victoria Fiona McCormack said when it came to appointing men who had a history of violence against women to senior roles, it was crucial to consider whether a person had taken accountability and changed their behaviour. A lot of the time people think, and justifiably so, weve got to give people a second chance, said McCormack, who is also a former victims of crime commissioner. Theyve been through the justice process, theyve done their time. But it is really, really important that people who are making decisions about these appointments consider the extent to which a person has admitted or acknowledged what theyve done. That they have deliberately hurt somebody, that there has been contrition, that theres been amends made, and that they can demonstrate a measure of insight into their behaviour, the impacts on other people, and an insight that indicates that they have grown. The Australian Club, separate to and 40 years younger than its Sydney counterpart, was founded in 1878 and resides in a grand bluestone-base heritage-listed clubhouse on William Street that it likes to call a timeless sanctuary providing respite from the bustling modern world. Members have included former National Australia Bank chief executive Don Argus, former Liberal Party president Michael Kroger and many prominent lawyers. A rebel faction pushed for the introduction of women a few years ago, but the majority of members voted to keep it men only in early 2022. Following his appointment, Smedley is now expected to push for a new cigar lounge at the club a proposal he previously championed while chair of the clubs young members committee. Whether or not this is a broader practice, it hasnt been raised with us, she said. The expectation is that [the laws are] what everyone abides by because the legislation is clear. Ryan said it was too difficult to evict tenants under current laws, which could lead to some landlords and agents giving out invalid notices. We wouldnt advocate or encourage that by any stretch, but what were encouraging the government to look at is making sure those notices to vacate are fairer, she said. Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said it had not become too difficult to evict tenants, and that recent changes to legislation had levelled the playing field. Theyre not extraordinary standards we have in place, she said. Its a pretty disruptive thing to move from your home when someone else has made that decision for you. Exceptional circumstances still do take place, but I think the legislation [accounts for that]. Beveridge said tenants regularly came to her organisation for help with evictions. Former Brunswick tenants Vikesh Ajith and Rachael Hewitt were served an eviction notice in 2020, and the reason given was that a family member of the landlord would be moving in. The pair found another rental in the same building, and eventually found out their old home was being rented out on Airbnb. Vikesh Ajith and Rachael Hewitt found their former home available for short-term stays. Credit: Simon Schluter The Residential Tenancies Act prohibits letting an apartment out for six months when specific reasons are given on notices to vacate; moving in a family member is one of those reasons. We immediately went home and looked up the address, and we found the listing, its 100 per cent our apartment, Ajaith said. The earliest review was the month that we were evicted. Loading The couple were stuck in a protracted bond dispute when they discovered the AirBnB listing, which included the landlord withholding an extra weeks rent after they accidentally overpaid. With the help of tenancy legal centre Anika Legal, they brought the Airbnb listing to the agents attention and the money was immediately returned. The couple said they did not raise the apparently bogus notice to vacate with Consumer Affairs because they didnt want to deal with the issue any longer, and didnt think it would be acted on. [Anika Legal] more or less implied that they would probably get off with a warning, Ajaith added. Another renter, Randy, who asked that their last name be withheld because of security fears, was given a notice to vacate they believe was invalid. They received a notice after unsuccessfully trying to have a water leak in the walls repaired; the reason given was that the landlord planned to move in. Randy countered with their own notice of intention to vacate because the water leak and resulting dampness had made the unit unliveable and was making them ill. However, Randys neighbour later provided a video, which this masthead has seen, of the landlord telling them that they did not intend to move into the property. Fewer than 80 fines have been issued to dodgy landlords and agents by the new taskforce. Credit: Joe Armao I contacted CAV, I contacted VCAT, I contacted the police because she literally broke the law, Randy said. There was just nothing. I think the most that Consumer Affairs did was say put all that down in a thing and send it to us, I think I got a reply, but there wasnt any actual action. Randy and their dog were homeless for nearly a year as a result of the notice to vacate. Lim said there were provisions in the Residential Tenancies Act which could be used to act against bogus notices to vacate, by way of making it illegal to compel tenants to leave if the landlord didnt have a valid reason. Loading A Consumer Affairs spokesperson would not reveal how many fines had been given for re-leasing properties after evicting tenants to move in themselves or a family member, and would not provide a breakdown of the fines given. The spokesperson did not answer questions about whether releasing a property on Airbnb was ran afoul of the legislation. Beveridge encouraged tenants to seek help if they suspected their notice to vacate was invalid or illegal. Wed encourage renters to get in touch with the taskforce and get in touch with us, she said. The system works because we have these feedback loops, and we need to make use of them. Opposition consumer affairs spokesman Tim McCurdy said a breakdown of the reason for fines should be provided. I hear from many frustrated renters about delays at Consumer Affairs Victoria, and despite the mounting caseloads and increasingly dissatisfied consumers, nothing is being done to speed up the process and deal with outstanding cases, he said. Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos was contacted for comment. A Victorian government spokesperson told this masthead that the taskforce took an early intervention approach, and issued warnings before deciding to fine agents and landlords. Our renting taskforce is not a revenue-raising exercise. It is about deterring dodgy rental providers and ensuring renters have a comfortable place to call home that meets the rental minimum standards and is advertised correctly, they said. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Its Sunday morning and Im standing in a taro patch. In front of us, Dirradai Uai Skebong bends and hacks at a sea of lurid green stalks with a machete, her dog sniffing idly at our feet. Eventually she reaches down and, with an audible heave, pulls an enormous taro root from the mud. Palau is a nation of about 340 islands scattered across 466 square kilometres. Credit: iStock This is the Airai Cultural Tour, our first stop on our first morning in Palau. We couldnt have asked for a more beautiful introduction to the tiny Micronesian island nation. The air is thick with a tropical dewiness, dialling up the saturated colour of the surrounding hilly jungle, and brightly detailed Palauan houses with their blend of traditional and contemporary styling. Skebong holds up the root for us to inspect. It glistens with mud. Suddenly, theres a thunderous roar. Behind Skebong, framed by the trees at the end of her plot, a Qantas 737 surges into the sky, seemingly close enough to touch. Instinctively, we wave. The plane last night delivered us from Brisbane, and is off on its return leg. It will be a week before the little Boeing returns. Advertisement Dirradai Uai Skebong in her taro patch. Credit: Matt Shea In December Qantas took over this route, dubbed the Palau Paradise Express, from Nauru Airlines. The Palau Paradise Express is just one small part of a comprehensive investment package in the Pacific by the Australian government via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Qantas will tell you it saw an immediate surge in searches for Palau after it announced it was taking over the service. Thats translating into bums on seats hence why Im here with a bunch of other journalists. Loading Also at the airport (and on our flight) was Palaus president, Surangel Samuel Whipps jnr. The American-born Whipps is an easy mix of political charm and Pacific island insouciance. He, of course, wants Australians to flock to Palau and spruiks it effortlessly. We want more tourists from North America, Europe and Australia, Whipps jnr said. Advertisement They love nature and thats what Palau has to offer. The Airai Bai, a traditional mens meeting house, on the Airai Cultural Tour. Hes not wrong. Our itinerary for the first few days immerses us in some of the most jaw-dropping scenery Ive experienced in 11 years of travel journalism. Palau is a nation of about 340 islands scattered across 466 square kilometres, and theres little doubt its best experienced on the water. On our second morning we venture out with Neco Marine on a shaded dive boat to explore the surrounding marine sanctuary. First stop? The Milky Way, were told. But this ones in the water. The dive boat surges along before veering towards a maze of islands that sprout, mushroom-like, from the sea. The boat leans this way and that left-right-left densely forested limestone cliffs whizzing by, almost close enough to touch, before powering down and floating serenely into a narrow, secluded lagoon. The Arch, a limestone arch located on one of Palaus many islands. Advertisement I stand and remove my sunglasses. The water around us pops with a rich turquoise that almost glows in the gentle morning light. Ive never seen anything like it. This shallow retreat with its rich limestone mud seafloor is considered by locals a natural spa. We dive in. The water (and creamy sludge beneath) carries a whiff of sulfur, and the sea lice are soon attacking my armpits. But enveloped in its gentle warmth, I hardly care. Palau offers its best experiences on (or in) the water. Credit: Matt Shea For the rest of the day we hop around the water park to different snorkelling spots. I havent made time for a dive on this trip a decision I regret as I slip under the waves and into an entirely different world. We float with the current over reefs stacked in a kaleidoscope of coral, schools of triggerfish, parrotfish and convict surgeonfish, the occasional curious reef shark eyeballing us from a distance. For 10 minutes I tail a hawksbill turtle as it dives and surfaces, moseying around for food. Its special stuff. Not so great is a trip to Jellyfish Lake, a marine lake on Eil Malk Island. A swim among its thousands of harmless jellyfish is a Palau calling card and is presented as a highlight on our Palau Visitor Authority itinerary but as we approach the islands pontoon our guides become reticent, and then reluctant for us to get off the dive boat. Palau Pacific Resort. Credit: Palau Visitors Authority Advertisement The jellyfish are gone, they eventually concede, victims of a reef bleaching incident in 2017. We stand, silent and confused, before deciding to tackle the short hike to the lake anyway. Turns out, the guides are right the luminous golden jellyfish from the brochures are nowhere to be seen. All we find is the occasional moon jellyfish (also harmless). Its a bust, although the jellyfish populations are expected to rebound in the coming years. Its not the only clumsy moment. Palau is still getting used to welcoming visitors, it seems, and a couple of otherwise professionally run tours maybe go on for too long, or suffer from a lack of briefing particularly a half-day kayak around the islands that leaves us exhausted rather than exhilarated. Tori Tori restaurant in Koror, Palau. Credit: Matt Shea You see it in the accommodation, too, with the two hotels in which we stay Palau Pacific Resort and Cove Resort a half step below what youd find elsewhere in the Pacific, even if the service at both is smiling, helpful and professional (and were told there are holiday rentals scattered among the slick modern homes that sit in the bucolic hills overlooking Koror). The food is better. Were treated to capably elevated Euro-inflected cuisine at the Elilai restaurant and bar, homely Japanese at picture-book cute Tori Tori, and unctuous, spice-packed Indian at buzzy Taj Palau. None are groundbreaking, but all make the most of local produce to present tasty food at a good price. Palaus other major attraction for Western visitors is its modern history, and in particular its setting as a major battleground during the Second World War. The derelict Japanese Air Headquarters building on Peleliu. Credit: Matt Shea Advertisement Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size It began like a scene from a Hollywood heist. Dressed in painters overalls and high-vis vests, a group of men slipped into the stairwell of an apartment building in the Old Town of Estonias capital, Tallinn. Their target was Australian tech billionaire Tim Heath, a pioneer of crypto-based online gambling and founder of the Yolo Group. But this wasnt a robbery the men were there to take Heath. Crypto billionaire Tim Heath was the victim of an attempted abduction in Estonia. Credit: Yolo Group According to Estonian prosecutors, the gang had stalked Heath for months, even planting a GPS tracker on his car. When they struck on July 29 last year just days before the grand opening of Heaths luxury casino complex he fought back. Shaken but defiant, the strong-framed Heath escaped. The assailants fled, abandoning a getaway van later traced via a Bolt rental account. His case is far from an anomaly its part of a growing pattern of violent crime targeting cryptos elite. Across Europe and beyond, crypto-related kidnappings are on the rise. The incidents are co-ordinated, brutal and laser-focused on extracting digital wealth that is easy to move and potentially difficult to trace. This month in Paris, three masked men ambushed the daughter of Pierre Noizat, chief executive of French exchange Paymium, in broad daylight. The attackers tried to shove her into a van but fled after a struggle. Though she escaped, the message was chillingly clear: prominent crypto families are now public targets. Advertisement Just weeks earlier, a 60-year-old crypto marketing firm owner was kidnapped by armed men in Paris. They cut off one of his fingers and demanded up to 6 million in ransom. He was rescued in a police raid south of the city. In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife were abducted from their Paris home. Criminals mutilated Ballands hand to force access to his wallets. They demanded 10 million. The couple was rescued after a multi-agency operation involving 200 officers. These cases share a chilling pattern. These digital bearer assets are very, very easy to steal and transport and very difficult to get back, said Jameson Lopp, co-founder and chief security officer of digital asset custody firm Casa. The risk-reward is very different. Youre not robbing a bank or an armoured truck. Youre hitting soft targets with potentially massive payoffs. And most crypto holders, Lopp said, are far from protected. Its like these people are being their own banks, but they dont have bank-level security. Lopp keeps a public database of violent attacks against crypto holders, and he suspects only a fraction ever get reported. Maybe a quarter. Maybe a third. Definitely not the majority, he said. Advertisement The issue isnt isolated to France. There have been several in Sydney and Melbourne, including the 2023 kidnapping and torture of a man in a south-west Sydney home, where police say his teeth were removed. In Melbourne in the same year, a former childcare worker and TikTok star also lured a Saudi Arabian prince into a bitcoin-ransom kidnapping. In November last year, three teenagers in Las Vegas abducted a man after a crypto event, took him in to the surrounding desert and drained $US6.2 million from his wallets. In one of last years most complex cases, teenage hackers who stole $US356.5 million in bitcoin from a Washington state victim turned on one of their own. They kidnapped the teens parents in Connecticut, but were caught after an off-duty FBI agent witnessed the abduction. Most recently, an American crypto investor was charged on Saturday with kidnapping a 28-year-old Italian man and torturing him for weeks in a luxury Manhattan townhouse in an alleged attempt to get his bitcoin password, The New York Times reported. The abuse reportedly continued for about three weeks until Friday morning, when the man escaped. David Balland, a co-founder of French crypto firm Ledger, had his hand mutilated by kidnappers. Criminals are also thinking globally. There was one gang that hit half a dozen targets up and down the US East Coast, Lopp said. And Ive seen patterns of Chinese organised crime hitting Chinese citizens abroad, or Russians targeting Russians in South-East Asia. The logic is simple and disturbing: If we actually commit the crime outside of the country and then run back, we dont have to worry about law enforcement, Lopp said. Despite the growing severity, the response from authorities remains limited. No law enforcement agency actually has the resources to protect people in real time, Lopp said bluntly. Law enforcement is reactive its not built for prevention. Advertisement In France, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is promising new protections for crypto professionals, including fast-track access to emergency services, in-home safety checks and specialised training for officers. These repeated kidnappings must be countered with specific tools, he said. But crypto leaders like Noizat are sceptical, calling the governments moves little more than a communications operation. Whats at stake is more than just digital coins. Its like these people are being their own banks, but they dont have bank-level security. Jameson Lopp, co-founder of digital asset custody firm Casa Millions of dollars are being secured by just one piece of information thats extremely risky, Lopp said. Once stolen, crypto can vanish instantly. Bitcoin is like Teflon its slippery. Once its gone, you cant grab it again. Casa, Lopps firm, helps clients protect assets using geographically distributed keys and multi-signature storage. Some of our clients literally have to get on planes to different countries just to sign off on a transaction, he said. But while security technology evolves, attackers are getting smarter. A lot of these attackers still dont know how to launder the proceeds, Lopp said. But that will change. Advertisement But crypto expert Carol Alexander, a professor at the University of Sussex, said the kidnappers arent very clever. It used to be the dark web and the Silk Road and bitcoin was used for money laundering, Alexander said. But nowadays, the FBI and the Department of Justice ... the forensic software you can use to trace them is so good, the kidnappers would likely be very quickly found out. Despite the sophistication of the digital tools available to law enforcement, Alexander points out that the crypto space is still an appealing target for criminals. Loading Very few crypto owners have the level of physical security that traditional billionaires might have. These people are flashing their wealth online and making themselves visible, but they arent aware of how much theyre at risk, she said. For now, most victims survive. But the violence is real, and rising. Lopp himself became a target in 2017 after a swatting and extortion attempt led to armed officers raiding his home. Thats when I started paying attention, he said. Whats clear is that the frontier ethos of crypto self-custody, decentralisation, anonymity is also its greatest vulnerability. And as more wealth moves off the grid, criminals are adapting faster than law enforcement. Advertisement Amante opens new store in Dharampeth, Nagpur Business Reporter : THE vibrant retail landscape of Nagpur just welcomed a touch of elegance and sophistication with the grand opening of Amante, a premium lingerie and intimate wear brand, at Laxmibhavan Square, Dharampeth. This landmark store marks a new chapter in luxury retail for the city and is a proud venture of Rahul Brijkishore Agrawal, son of Brijesh Agrawal of the renowned Gaysons Nagpur legacy. Speaking at the launch, Rahul Brijkishore Agrawal said, With Amante, we are bringing a new dimension of refined fashion and comfort to the women of Nagpur. This venture represents our commitment to offering premium lifestyle experiences while continuing the tradition of trust and excellence that Gaysons has stood for over the decades. District-level conference held to fete participants honoured at State-level Staff Reporter : Bringing pride, Jabalpur district was honoured under various paramenters of the Tuberculosis Eradication Program during the felicitation ceremony chaired by MP Governor and presence of the State Chief Minister as chief guest. Following which, a district level conference was organised in the auditorium of TB Hospital in the presence of Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr. Sanjay Mishra on Friday, in which participants honoured at the State-level for doing excellent work were felicitated. District TB Officer Dr Santosh Singh Thakur, DLO Dr Paras Thakur, District Media Officer Ajay Kureel, DPC Sunil Sharma were present. It may be mentioned that a 100-day Nishchay Shivir campaign was organised between December 7, 2024 and March 24, 2025 under the guidance of State-level senior officers, Collector Deepak Saxena and Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Sanjay Mishra and leadership of District TB Officer Dr Santosh Singh Thakur. To ensure its success, various camps were organised in inaccessible, remote areas of the district, during which Nishchay camp was organised in every HWC of the district. In the district, X-ray tests of potential TB patients were conducted at the inaccessible areas with the help of hand-held X-ray machine and nutritious food was distributed to the TB patients by creating new Nikshay Mitras. Banners/posters/video-audio messages were broadcast to create awareness about TB among the public through IEC. During the programme, around 43000 X-ray tests and about 27000 CB-Note tests were done and 5700 food baskets were distributed to the TB beneficiaries by 800 Nikshay Mitras. Community Health Officer, Bargi block, Nisha Marko and social worker Meenesh Jain were felicitated at state level for their excellent efforts at the state level in presence of Governor, Health Minister and two senior officers. District department head Dr Sanjay Mishra, District Tuberculosis Officer Dr Santosh Thakur, District Program Coordinator, Sunil Sharma were also present at the said state level felicitation ceremony. Ex-Dy Dir Vaishali Jamdar arrested Staff Reporter : Cops searching for Satish Mendhe, ex-Dy Director (Education), as his name also surfaced during investigations The police crackdown in the bogus teachers recruitment scam continues, with another major arrest made on Friday by the Special Investigating Team (SIT). Former Deputy Director, Education, Nagpur Division, Vaishali Jamdar, was arrested from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. In fact, Jamdars name had surfaced during the initial stages of investigation and she was issued summon to join the investigation. But she continued to avoid the summons and finally the cops, after getting go ahead from senior officials of State Home Department, picked up Jamdar. Meanwhile, Satish Mendhe, former Dy Director, and brother of former Member of Parliament from Bhandara, has gone absconding, according to police. The investigation relates to the creation of fake Shalarth IDs between 2019 and 2024. So far, it has been revealed that 150 bogus IDs were allegedly created under the tenure of Vaishali Jamdar and Satish Mendhe, out of a total of 622 suspected fake entries. A special committee led by Madhuri Savarkar from the School Education Department was appointed to investigate the matter. The findings led to a formal complaint being filed with the Cyber Police by then Dy Director, Education, Ulhas Narad, following which several arrests have been made. The arrest spree began earlier this week with the arrest of Laxman Mangham, followed by the detention of retired Dy Director and former Divisional Education Board Chairman Anil Pardhi on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Cyber Police also arrested in-charge Deputy Director Chintaman Vanjari. Following further investigation, arrest warrants were issued for Vaishali Jamdar and Satish Mendhe. A police team travelled to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and arrested Vaishali Jamdar through a transit warrant, as it was expected to take more than 24 hours to bring her to Nagpur. The operation involved officials including Assistant Police Inspector Mulani from Sitabuldi Police Station, Assistant Sub-Inspector Chikhlikar, and a constable from Sadar Police Station. When a police team visited Satish Mendhes location, he was found to be missing and is currently considered absconding. Police efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest him. Many B Ed Colleges in CG at risk to lose affiliation by NEP 2020 guidelines Staff Reporter Raipur : The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is poised to bring a change in teacher training programs, posing a survival challenge for many standalone Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) colleges, particularly private unaided institutions, across Chhattisgarh. The new guidelines mandate that from 2026-27 academic session, B.Ed, M.Ed and Diploma in Elementary Education courses will exclusively be offered by interdisciplinary colleges, those that also provide undergraduate courses in Arts, Science, Commerce, Management, and other disciplines like B.A., B.Sc., B.Com, BBA and BCA. Currently, Chhattisgarh has 136 colleges offering B.Ed courses, with 65 of them being standalone institutions. These standalone colleges, which either offer only B.Ed or a combination of B.Ed, M.Ed, and Diploma in Elementary Education, will need to integrate interdisciplinary courses such as Arts, Science, Commerce, and Computer studies to continue offering B.Ed programs. This will come as a hurdle for many, as their current operations are run with limited infrastructure and faculty, primarily focused on education-specific courses. Transforming into an interdisciplinary college would necessitate a substantial investment in infrastructure and the recruitment of a diverse faculty covering various streams of Commerce, Computer Science, and Arts/Science. Sangeeta Bhojane, Principal of a B.Ed College, highlighted this challenge, stating, the college is now required to offer a basket of a variety of courses from different streams to ensure interdisciplinary learning for students. But there are many standalone colleges offering traditional B.Ed course alone. They cannot offer this interdisciplinary service and thus are wary of their survival. The impact of this policy is already being felt. For the current academic session of 2025-26, standalone B.Ed colleges have not been permitted to offer the Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), a dual-major program that allows students to specialize in both education and another chosen discipline. This has further fueled fears among these institutions of losing their B.Ed program affiliation and, consequently, their very existence. In response to this looming crisis, authorities of B.Ed colleges in Chhattisgarh are reportedly holding meetings through various organisations to explore solutions. One proposed adjustment includes entering into Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with nearby colleges that offer a variety of courses, aiming to facilitate the required interdisciplinary learning through collaborations. While Hemant Kumar Sao, In-charge of B.Ed education and executive in the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), was unavailable for comment, another officer, S. Tamboli, OP SINDOOR exposedPakistan sponsoringterror in India: Shah NEW DELHI : THE Operation Sindoor undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack has completely exposed the fact that terrorism in India is sponsored by Pakistan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday. Shah also said that the operation showed the firm political will of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the precise Intelligence inputs from agencies, and the lethal capabilities of the Armed Forces. India hit as deep as 100-km inside Pakistan after they dared to target a few Indian civilian and military setups following Operation Sindoor (on May 7), when nine terrorist camps were decimated, he said. Shah made the remarks while delivering the annual Rustamji Memorial Lecture organised by the Border Security Force (BSF) alongside its 22nd investiture ceremony. Raised in 1965, the BSF guards the over 6,000-km-long Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. K F Rustamji was the founding chief of the BSF. The terrorists undertook an extreme attack in Pahalgam as they selectively chose innocents, asked their religion and killed them brutally in front of their families, including women and children, Shah said, adding thatthis sin was committed byPakistan-sponsored terrorists. Indias response under Operation Sindoor was different,hesaid.Nine terrorcamps inPakistan andPakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were destroyed within a few minutes, out of which twowere the headquarters of terror outfits, Shah said. We did not attack theirmilitaryinstallationsorair bases.We only hit the terrorist bases in Pakistan. Those who committedacriminalactonour land-- theJaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba -- their bases, houses, training camps and launchpads used againstIndia were destroyed, Shah said. The Home Minister added, Wethoughtitwasenough that wehit theterroristsbutPakistan proved that it was sponsoring terrorism, as they took the Indian strikes as an attack on themselves and targeted civilianlocationsandmilitarybases in India. But the Indian air defencedisplayedmarvellous strengthasPakistancouldnot touch any of Indias installations, Shah said. After this, we hit their air bases and gave a strong response by introducing them to our fire power and exposing their hollow air defence, he said. We did not hit (Pakistans) civilian installations.OperationSindoor and the incidents that followed completely exposed the fact thatPakistanissponsoring terrorism in India because it was the Pakistan Army thatreplied after we hit their terror bases, Shah said. Yunus mulls resignation DHAKA BANGLADESHS : interim Government chief Muhammad Yunus is mulling resignation as he is finding it difficult to work in view of political parties failing to reach a common ground to bring a change in the country, according to a media report. Student-led National Citizen Party chief Nhid Islam was quoted by BBC Bangla Service that Yunus is apprehensive over the evolving political situation in the country and whether he will be able to carry on with his work. There have been reports of some discord between the military and the interim Government over the possible timeline for holding the parliamentary elections. Though Islam said Yunus is considering resigning from the post of Chief Advisor, there was no official statement or clarity from his office on the report. Sir said, If I cant work I was brought here after a mass uprising to bring change and reform to the country. But in the current situation, with mounting pressurefrommovements and the way Im being cornered, this isnt how I can work. The political partiesyouve all failed to reach common ground, Islam told the BBC. Islam, who was one of the key coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination which led the July uprising last year that forced prime minister Sheikh Hasinas resignation, said he told Yunus to stay strong for the sake of the countrys security, and future and tomeet the expectationsof themassuprising. I hope everyone will cooperate with him, he said. Yunuss Government in the past two days faced several challenges, including intensifying tensionswithin theinterim Cabinet. The interim Government on May 12 officially disbanded Hasinas party under an overnight revised anti-terrorism law, two days after it slapped a ban on its activities under the previous version of the law. Yunus has beenfacingcalls fromthepolitical parties to announce a date for the next elections. Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP Get Free Report) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.500-2.500 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.540. The company issued revenue guidance of $8.4 billion-$8.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $8.5 billion. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.71. Get Advance Auto Parts alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on Advance Auto Parts Advance Auto Parts Price Performance NYSE AAP opened at $48.70 on Friday. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $28.89 and a one year high of $71.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.63 and a 200 day moving average of $40.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.71, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.34. Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 EPS for the current year. Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Advance Auto Partss payout ratio is currently -17.86%. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,070 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 107.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 79,558 shares of the companys stock worth $3,119,000 after purchasing an additional 41,157 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 14.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 180,979 shares of the companys stock worth $7,096,000 after purchasing an additional 23,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 327.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,918 shares of the companys stock worth $14,230,000 after purchasing an additional 278,066 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the companys stock. Advance Auto Parts Company Profile (Get Free Report) Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Advance Auto Parts Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Advance Auto Parts and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. AKITA Drilling Ltd. (TSE:AKT.A Get Free Report) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$1.69 and traded as high as C$1.97. AKITA Drilling shares last traded at C$1.97, with a volume of 32,487 shares trading hands. AKITA Drilling Trading Up 5.3% The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.94, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of C$75.02 million, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of -0.69 and a beta of 1.97. The businesss 50-day moving average price is C$1.77 and its 200 day moving average price is C$1.69. AKITA Drilling Company Profile (Get Free Report) Akita Drilling Ltd is a Canadian oil and gas drilling contractor. The company is engaged in providing contract drilling services, primarily to the oil and gas industry. The company owns and operates over 30 drilling rigs It is also involved in the drilling related to potash mining and the development of storage caverns. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for AKITA Drilling Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AKITA Drilling and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS Get Free Report)s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $0.00 and traded as high as $2.37. American Shared Hospital Services shares last traded at $2.37, with a volume of 6,350 shares changing hands. Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on American Shared Hospital Services in a research report on Friday, May 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Get American Shared Hospital Services alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on AMS American Shared Hospital Services Price Performance Institutional Inflows and Outflows The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.22 million, a P/E ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.66. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $2.73. An institutional investor recently raised its position in American Shared Hospital Services stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,225 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 3,776 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.11% of American Shared Hospital Services worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 23.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. American Shared Hospital Services Company Profile (Get Free Report) American Shared Hospital Services provides stereotactic radiosurgery and advanced radiation therapy equipment. It operates in two segments, Medical Equipment Leasing, and Retail. The company offers radiosurgery equipment for the Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery, a non-invasive procedure to treat malignant and benign brain tumors, and arteriovenous malformations, as well as for trigeminal neuralgia. Read More Receive News & Ratings for American Shared Hospital Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Shared Hospital Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Friday. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Booz Allen Hamilton had a net margin of 7.39% and a return on equity of 68.97%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Booz Allen Hamiltons quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Booz Allen Hamilton updated its FY 2026 guidance to 6.200-6.550 EPS. Booz Allen Hamilton Stock Performance BAH stock opened at $108.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.72. Booz Allen Hamilton has a fifty-two week low of $101.05 and a fifty-two week high of $190.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.56. Get Booz Allen Hamilton alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BAH. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an overweight rating on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Booz Allen Hamilton to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $141.70. Institutional Trading of Booz Allen Hamilton An institutional investor recently raised its position in Booz Allen Hamilton stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH Free Report) by 365.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,750 shares of the business services providers stock after acquiring an additional 9,223 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLCs holdings in Booz Allen Hamilton were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.82% of the companys stock. Booz Allen Hamilton Company Profile (Get Free Report) Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Booz Allen Hamilton Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Booz Allen Hamilton and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of China Pharma (NYSE:CPHI Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning. China Pharma Price Performance Shares of NYSE CPHI opened at $2.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The companys fifty day moving average price is $9.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.24. China Pharma has a 1 year low of $1.20 and a 1 year high of $3.35. Get China Pharma alerts: About China Pharma (Get Free Report) Read More China Pharma Holdings, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets generic and branded pharmaceutical, and biochemical products to hospitals and private retailers in the Peoples Republic of China. The company provides products in the form of dry powder injectables, liquid injectables, tablets, capsules, and cephalosporin oral solutions. Receive News & Ratings for China Pharma Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Pharma and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,363 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLCs holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF were worth $1,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IVV. Family Management Corp increased its holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Family Management Corp now owns 4,444 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $35,343,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 107.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 783 shares of the companys stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Strategent Financial LLC bought a new stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $416,000. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 7,799 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,591,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Get iShares Core S&P 500 ETF alerts: iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Stock Performance IVV opened at $582.00 on Friday. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $556.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $583.20. The firm has a market cap of $578.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.01. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a twelve month low of $484.00 and a twelve month high of $616.22. About iShares Core S&P 500 ETF iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. Read More Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Formidable Asset Management LLC cut its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,590 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 507 shares during the quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLCs holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $509,000. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 87,874 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,331,000 after buying an additional 21,294 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 119,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $3,180,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1,282.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 666,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $17,677,000 after buying an additional 618,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,391 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,186,000 after buying an additional 4,479 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Pfizer alerts: Pfizer Stock Up 1.3% Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $23.33 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stocks 50-day moving average is $23.38 and its 200 day moving average is $25.19. The firm has a market cap of $132.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. Pfizer Dividend Announcement Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizers payout ratio is 124.64%. Analysts Set New Price Targets PFE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a neutral rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a neutral rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $29.17. View Our Latest Report on PFE About Pfizer (Free Report) Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Pfizer Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pfizer and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) (OTCMKTS:FCBI Get Free Report)s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.00 and traded as high as $36.10. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) shares last traded at $36.00, with a volume of 600 shares. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) Trading Down 0.5% The firm has a market capitalization of $57.85 million, a PE ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 0.34. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $36.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.00. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) Company Profile (Get Free Report) Frederick County Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for Frederick County Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and commercial enterprises in the Frederick County, Maryland. It offers deposit products, including personal checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts; and business checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposits. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Frederick County Bancorp (MD) Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Frederick County Bancorp (MD) and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Heineken (OTCMKTS:HEINY Get Free Report)s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $39.37 and traded as high as $43.51. Heineken shares last traded at $43.45, with a volume of 36,293 shares traded. Analysts Set New Price Targets HEINY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Heineken to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Heineken from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Get Heineken alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on Heineken Heineken Stock Performance Heineken Increases Dividend The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.37. The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were paid a $0.6136 dividend. This is a positive change from Heinekens previous dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. About Heineken (Get Free Report) Heineken N.V. brews and sells beer and cider in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides soft drinks and water. It offers its beers under the Heineken, Heineken Light, Orchard Thieves, Orchard Thieves Light, Birra Moretti, Coors, Murphy's and Beamish Stouts, Desperados, Tiger, Sol, and Foster's brand, as well as under regional and local brands. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Heineken Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Heineken and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Invst LLC raised its holdings in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (BATS:MTUM Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,414 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 24,414 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF comprises approximately 3.4% of Invst LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Invst LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF were worth $27,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF by 465.5% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 164 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF by 75.4% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 11,084 shares of the companys stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,765 shares in the last quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,611,000. JT Stratford LLC purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the companys stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Get iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF Price Performance iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF stock opened at $225.97 on Friday. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF has a 12-month low of $168.49 and a 12-month high of $231.39. The firms fifty day moving average price is $207.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.54. The company has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 1.00. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF Profile The iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap US equities, selected and weighted based on price appreciation over 6- and 12-month periods and low volatility over the past 3 years. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTUM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (BATS:MTUM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shore Capital reaffirmed their house stock rating on shares of Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. Marks and Spencer Group Price Performance Marks and Spencer Group stock opened at GBX 375.20 ($5.08) on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.00, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of 7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. Marks and Spencer Group has a one year low of GBX 283.05 ($3.83) and a one year high of GBX 417.80 ($5.66). The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 369.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 365.46. Get Marks and Spencer Group alerts: Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported GBX 31.90 ($0.43) EPS for the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 3.77%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marks and Spencer Group will post 26.0113154 EPS for the current fiscal year. Marks and Spencer Group Company Profile M&S has a heritage of quality, innovation and value for money and has been voted the UKs most trusted brand. From these foundations, M&S is reshaping for sustainable profitable growth and value creation. We operate as a family of businesses, selling high-quality, great-value, own-brand products and services, alongside a carefully selected range of third-party brands. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Marks and Spencer Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Marks and Spencer Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA Free Report) (TSE:NOA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday. Separately, Raymond James downgraded North American Construction Group from a strong-buy rating to a moderate buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Get North American Construction Group alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on North American Construction Group North American Construction Group Stock Up 0.8% North American Construction Group Increases Dividend NYSE NOA opened at $17.15 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.27. North American Construction Group has a one year low of $13.19 and a one year high of $22.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $524.71 million, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.32. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.086 dividend. This is an increase from North American Construction Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. North American Construction Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 32.67%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in North American Construction Group by 284.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,954 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 5,884 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in North American Construction Group in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in North American Construction Group in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in North American Construction Group in the 4th quarter valued at $295,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in North American Construction Group by 122.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 14,612 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 8,029 shares in the last quarter. 74.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About North American Construction Group (Get Free Report) North American Construction Group Ltd. provides mining and heavy civil construction services to customers in the resource development and industrial construction sectors in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The company operates Heavy Equipment Canada, Heavy Equipment Australia, and Other segments. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for North American Construction Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for North American Construction Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,425 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $12,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 358.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 55 shares of the companys stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the companys stock. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a strong-buy rating to a moderate sell rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an overweight rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a neutral rating to a buy rating and reduced their price target for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. HSBC lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a buy rating to a reduce rating and reduced their price target for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,011.37. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $713.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $677.09 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $676.67 billion, a PE ratio of 60.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $789.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $803.00. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Eli Lilly and Companys revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year. Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.82%. Eli Lilly and Company Profile (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Unum Group (NYSE:UNM Get Free Report) received a $89.00 price target from investment analysts at UBS Group in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services providers stock. UBS Groups target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.39% from the companys current price. UNM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Unum Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $88.29. Get Unum Group alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on UNM Unum Group Stock Up 0.3% Shares of UNM stock opened at $79.90 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $84.48. The firm has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.72 and a 200-day moving average of $76.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group (NYSE:UNM Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year. Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued. Insider Transactions at Unum Group In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $5,478,750. Insiders own 0.92% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 196.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 478 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the companys stock. Unum Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Unum Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Unum Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of Buy by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $151.93. A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Get Valero Energy alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Valero Energy Valero Energy Price Performance Valero Energy stock opened at $128.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.20 and a 200-day moving average of $128.59. Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. The firms revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Valero Energy Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.72%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valero Energy Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $5,135,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 276.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $973,119,000 after buying an additional 429,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $844,775,000 after acquiring an additional 100,248 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About Valero Energy (Get Free Report Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Valero Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Valero Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Xinyuan Real Estate (NYSE:XIN Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services providers stock. Xinyuan Real Estate Stock Down 1.1% NYSE:XIN opened at $2.65 on Wednesday. Xinyuan Real Estate has a twelve month low of $1.16 and a twelve month high of $7.05. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $2.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.77. Get Xinyuan Real Estate alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Xinyuan Real Estate stock. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (NYSE:XIN Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,390 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $27,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC owned about 0.19% of Xinyuan Real Estate as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.04% of the companys stock. About Xinyuan Real Estate Xinyuan Real Estate Co, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in residential real estate development and construction in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. The company develops residential projects, such as multi-layer apartment buildings, sub-high-rise apartment buildings, high-rise apartment buildings; auxiliary services and amenities, such as retail outlets, leisure and health facilities, kindergartens, and schools, as well as office, mixed-use, and commercial properties. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Xinyuan Real Estate Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Xinyuan Real Estate and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Yes Significant efforts are being made No Much more needs to be done Some progress But there are still critical gaps Vote View Results Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of Trinamul Congress today visited the cemetery of Rashbehari Bose in Japan. Sources privy to the information said Mr Banerjee has extended an invitation to Mr Fukushiro Nukaga, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan to visit West Bengal on his next visit to India. Advertisement The TMC MP went to the Tama cemetery in Tokyo and placed a floral wreath on the tomb. In his X handle Mr Banerjee wrote: Felt a deep sense of pride and goosebumps while paying my respects and offering floral tributes to this great son of Bengal. India is eternally grateful for his indomitable spirit and pivotal role in our freedom struggle. It was disheartening to see his memorial in such a neglected and dilapidated state. He further wrote I have requested our Ambassador @AmbSibiGeorge and @ Indian Emb Tokyo to take up the matter with the concerned authorities and ensure that this remarkable hero receives the honour he truly deserves. Advertisement Bose posing as PN Tagore, secretary of Rabindranath Tagore, went to Japan. He set up the Indian National Army which he later handed over to Netaji who arrived in Japan from Germany in a submarine. Rabindranath during his visit to Japan went to the house of Bose and met his Japanese wife. Mr Banerjee also visited the monument dedicated to Justice Radhabinod Pal at the Yasukuni Shrine and paid floral tributes. Justice Pal was a member of the United Nations International Law Commission from 1952-66. He was one of the three Asian judges appointed to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, known as the Tokyo Trial of Japanese war crimes committed during World War II. He was the only one among all the judges who insisted that all defendants were not guilty. The Yasukuni Shrine and the Rozen Gokoku Shrine in Kyoto have monuments specially dedicated to him. Abhishek Banerjee, writing about his second day visit to Japan, posted on X: Day 2 in Tokyo of the All-Party Parliamentary Delegation to Japan was marked by moments of deep personal reflection and purposeful diplomatic engagement. I began the day by paying homage to two extraordinary sons of Bengal whose legacies transcend borders Shri Rash Behari Bose, who championed Indias independence from afar with unflinching resolve, and Justice Radhabinod Pal, whose principled stand in the face of global consensus remains a testament to the courage of conviction. In a significant step towards deepening IndoJapanese parliamentary relations, our delegation met Mr. Yasutoshi Nishimura, Chairman of the JapanIndia Parliamentary Friendship League. We exchanged views on strengthening cooperation through democratic dialogue and institutional exchange. Later, we called on H.E. Fukushiro Nukaga, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan. On behalf of our nation, we conveyed Indias gratitude for Japans steadfast support across decades, and reiterated our shared commitment to advancing peace, stability and democratic values in an increasingly fractured world. During our conversation, I took the opportunity to invite him to visit West Bengal on his next visit to India. We concluded the day with a press interaction, underlining Indias strong and collective resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms. J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday thanked the Trinamool Congress for sending their 5-member team to meet the victims of the recent Pakistans shelling in the Rajouri and Poonch districts and assess the ground situation. Omar told reporters in Srinagar that he was thankful to the Trinamool Congress for sending their delegation. This was the first team of a national party to visit the affected areas. Advertisement Five of their members came here and visited by the road Poonch and they are now in Rajouri. They will then visit Jammu. Advertisement It is good that they came here and are listening to the people. And we feel that some people are standing with us in such difficult times, he said. Omar said that the Congress MP and leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, will visit Poonch tomorrow. He said that the reports on the losses due to the Pakistani shelling are almost complete, except for two places, and these will be submitted to the centre for releasing a relief package to the victims. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is considering a proposal to bifurcate its organisation in Birbhum district to curb internal conflicts among its top leadership. However, the partys senior leadership is yet to approve the move. During the most recent Core Committee meeting, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee reportedly issued a direct instruction to Anubrata Mondal, urging him not to take unilateral decisions or organise political events independently. Advertisement Currently, the Birbhum district unit of TMC is led by two prominent figures: Anubrata Mondal, head of the core committee based in Bolpur, and Kajal Sheikh, the sabhadhipati of Birbhum zilla parishad and a protege of Abhishek Banerjee, TMCs national general secretary and a leader from the Nanoor region. Advertisement Anubrata Mondal, who served as TMCs Birbhum district president for over a decade, was arrested by the CBI and later by the ED in connection with the cross-border cattle smuggling case. Following nearly two years in Tihar Jail, he has not been reinstated in his previous post since his release. Sources suggest that the district may be divided into two organisational zones Santiniketan and Birbhum. The proposed Santiniketan zone would encompass Ketugram, Ausgram, and Mongalkote (from East Burdwan district) along with Bolpur subdivision. The remainder of Birbhum district would fall under the Birbhum organisational zone. However, this proposal is still awaiting approval from the state TMCs apex committee. Senior party leaders believe that splitting the organisation could help mitigate the ongoing rivalry between the two key figures in the district. Both Kajal Sheikh and Anubrata Mondal currently receive Y-category security coverage from the state police. Dr Ashish Banerjee, deputy Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, is the chairperson of TMC in Birbhum. Mamata Banerjee has reiterated that decisions in the district must be made collectively by the nine-member Core Committee. Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly Atishi has written to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, raising concerns about the acute water shortage across the national capital. In her letter, Atishi has criticised the BJP-led Delhi government for its inaction and negligence, emphasising that the capital is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, and that the BJP government must urgently act to fulfill its basic responsibilities towards the people. Advertisement She has appealed to CM Rekha Gupta to uphold democratic traditions and immediately meet with AAP MLAs to formulate a solution to the deepening water crisis. Advertisement In the letter, Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi wrote, I am writing this letter to you regarding the severe water crisis currently gripping the national capital, Delhi. It is only the month of Maysummers true intensity is yet to arrivebut the people of Delhi are already tormented by an acute shortage of water. The Delhi Assembly LoP noted, People across the city are distressed due to the lack of water. Women standing in queues in front of water tankers, children waiting with buckets and pitchers, families buying large bottles of drinking water from marketsthese scenes are fast becoming the new identity of Delhi. Is this the vision of Delhi you had promised its citizens? Addressing CM Rekha Gupta, Atishi pointed out, Under your leadership, the BJP-led government has allowed water supply to be disrupted for as long as 24 hours at a stretch. People across various localities are receiving messages on their phones about water supply being cut off. Yet your government and your ministers remain completely silentno concrete plan, no relief efforts. It is extremely unfortunate that despite having a four-engine BJP governmentat the Centre, in the office of the LG, in the MCD, and now also in the Chief Ministers chairthe people of Delhi have been left struggling for even basic necessities like water. If this is the situation in May, what will happen when the temperatures rise further? Is your government now planning to leave Delhis drinking water needs to divine intervention? she went on to add. In an anti-drugs operation near Delhi Universitys North Campus, a medicine shop owner, a medical representative, and three others were arrested for supplying pharmaceutical drugs without bills or prescriptions, a Delhi Police official said on Saturday. Apoorva Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anti-Narcotics Task Force (Crime), said that 2,360 capsules of Tramadol, 135 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, and five mobile phones were seized from the accused. Advertisement The arrested individuals were identified as Manish Bhatle (26), Devender (57), Nikhil alias Gunnu (28), Ankit Gupta (40), and Kapil (28). Advertisement According to an FIR registered on May 12, the racket was uncovered following the arrest of Manish Bhatle, a resident of Sabzi Mandi Ghantaghar, Malka Ganj, from University Road, near Shri Ram Institute. At the time of arrest, Bhatle was carrying two plastic sacks, one in each hand, said DCP Gupta. One sack contained 10 boxes of capsules (Dicyclomine HCI, Tramadol HCI, and Acetaminophen) totaling 2,360 capsules (118 grams), while the other contained 120 bottles of 100 ml codeine-based syrup (24 grams of codeine), she added. During interrogation, Bhatle failed to produce any bill or prescription and could not explain the source of the drugs, the police said. Dr Swapnil Patil, a drug inspector accompanying the ANTF team, confirmed that possessing pharmaceutical drugs without bills or prescriptions is illegal under the NDPS Act, the police added. Following Bhatles interrogation, the police arrested medical store owner Devender and Nikhil. Their questioning led investigators to Ankit Gupta, owner of the wholesale medicine shop Ravi Medicare. Medical representative Kapil was the last to be arrested on May 15 from Veena Enclave, Nangloi. He disclosed that the drugs were supplied to him by Rakesh, a resident of Udhyog Nagar, Delhi, who is currently absconding. A case has been registered against all the arrested individuals, and an investigation is currently underway. Lt Gen RC Tiwari and other senior Army officials have expressed their deepest condolences on the tragic demise of Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, who made the supreme sacrifice while rescuing a fellow soldier during an operational patrol in north Sikkim on Thursday. Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang-Golay, has expressed deep sorrow over the untimely demise of Indian Army officer Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, who lost his life while on patrol in the challenging terrain of North Sikkim. Advertisement I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a young and courageous officer, Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, who laid down his life in the line of duty. His bravery, dedication, and unwavering commitment to the nation will always be remembered with pride. Advertisement On behalf of the people of Sikkim, I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. We stand with them in this moment of profound grief and honour his sacrifice with the highest respect and gratitude. According to official sources, the young officer lost his life in a mishap near the Chhu Junction area along the Lachung axis, while on foot patrol in challenging high-altitude terrain. Lt Tiwari was leading a team of five soldiers, when he reportedly slipped during an ascent and was swept away by a fast-moving stream, likely swollen due to recent snowmelt or rainfall. Despite prompt search efforts by his team, Lt Tiwari could not be saved. His body was later recovered and transported to the Military Hospital in Siliguri, where formalities are underway. The sudden loss of Lt Tiwari has cast a pall of grief over his unit and the broader Army community. Known for his exceptional dedication, courage, and leadership, he was a promising young officer serving in one of the countrys most demanding operational environments. His supreme sacrifice will be remembered with honour. Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan arrived back in Mumbai on Friday night after attending the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on behalf of India. Outside the Mumbai airport, she and her daughter Aaradhya were spotted giving the photographers a warm greeting. Aaradhya, hanging onto her mother, also grinned at the throng as they made their way to the car. The mother-daughter pair wore black to match their ensembles. While Aaradhya wore a black jacket, denim trousers, and a black top, Aishwarya wore a sleek black top, matching tights, and a chic coat. Advertisement Rai carried on her tradition of memorable red carpet moments in Cannes. She adopted a traditional style on the first day, donning a majestic ivory saree with a striking pallu and lace trail. Advertisement She added a cultural twist to her look by finishing the combination with a dab of sindoor and a stacked ruby necklace. She wore a custom-made outfit by designer Gaurav Gupta for her second appearance at the festival, making a daring fashion statement. The combination included a billowing white cape and a beautiful black shimmer gown. Varanasi is where the Banarasi brocade cape was handwoven. A Sanskrit shloka from the Bhagavad Gita was engraved on the cape, which made it stand out in addition to its rich texture. Aishwarya has not yet revealed her next project, although she was most recently seen in Mani Ratnams Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023). Triptii Dimri gained overnight fame following her role in Sandeep Reddy Vangas Animal with Ranbir Kapoor. Following her most successful stint with the director, the two are reuniting. Dimri is taking on the role of the female lead in Vangas Spirit opposite Prabhas. The news comes after Deepika Padukone exited the project. The collaboration between Baahubali star Prabhas and Animal director Sandeep Vanga Reddy has been making significant waves. Following the success of their recent individual projects, Kalki 2898 AD and Animal, fans are eagerly waiting for their upcoming film, Spirit. Earlier reports revealed that Deepika Padukone will play the lead role in the cop drama. However, Deepika is no longer a part of the project. The role has finally gone to Triptii Dimri. Advertisement Taking to social media, she shared a poster announcing her as a cast member of Spirit. She wrote, Still sinking in.So grateful to be trusted with this journey. Thank you @sandeepreddy.vanga ..honoured to be a part of your vision. @actorprabhas @sandeepreddy.vanga @pranayreddyvanga @tseriesfilms @tseries.official @bhadrakaliproductions. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Triptii Dimri (@tripti_dimri) Previously, Sandeep Reddy Vanga appeared at the pre-release event of the Telugu flick, Pottel and spilt the details about the upcoming film. During the event, the host asked the director to disclose an unknown fact about the Prabhas-led title. Responding to this, Vanga took a chalkboard and wrote Police Story with a chalk. Moreover, previously, reports emerged that South Korean actor Ma Dong-Seok, known for Train to Busan and Marvels Eternals, might join the cast as an antagonist, potentially making Spirit a Pan-Asian production. Reports additionally mention the involvement of Korean stunt choreographers, promising heightened action sequences. Produced by T-Series and helmed by Sandeep Vanga, Spirit will see a multilingual release. This includes releases in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Fans expect the filmmaker to disclose the details of the full cast soon. Also Read: Paresh Rawal returns 11 lakhs Hera Pheri 3 signing amount with interest: Report Qazi Dad Mohammad Rehan is a prominent Baloch political activist, journalist, and cultural advocate, currently serving as the Information and Cultural Secretary of the Baloch National Movement (BNM). His association with the BNM dates back to 2008, when he first took on the role of Information Secretary, becoming the youngest cabinet member in the partys history. Rehans political journey began early, during his school days in the 7th grade, through active involvement with the Baloch Students Organization (BSO), eventually rising to the position of Deputy Organizer in Gwadar. Parallel to his political activism, he pursued a career in journalism, contributing columns to various Urdu newspapers while still in college. In an exclusive interview with Rahul Gahlawat of The Statesman, he talked about the cultural and political discourse of the Baloch movement as well as Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK). Advertisement Q. What are your views on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)? Advertisement A: The people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are also facing a situation similar to that of the Baloch. In Balochistan, the intensity of this repression has increased killings and the suppression of political voices are carried out with brutality and violence. In Kashmir, Pakistan is trying to control peoples thoughts and actions through social engineering. The rights movements there are vigilant and quite active. We are observing them and have already initiated cooperation with them. However, the voice of Kashmir is still faint, or it is not reaching us clearly. There is a history of violence and killings even over minor demands in that region. When people demand flour, electricity, or employment, the Pakistani state responds with force. Pakistan has turned the Kashmir issue into an international matter, claiming that India has occupied Kashmir and is using force against the Kashmiris. But in reality, it is Pakistan that is attempting to change Kashmirs demography. Kashmir is a region where puppet rulers are imposed on the people rulers who take their instructions from Rawalpindi, and whichever party forms the government in Islamabad also establishes its rule in Kashmir, just like it happens in Balochistan. Here, I would like to repeat my point: India is hesitant when it comes to fully integrating Kashmir. This hesitation is a psychological effect of Partition. The mindset of the establishment that Britain left as a legacy in the subcontinent still haunts the corridors of power in India like a ghost. To overcome this ghost psychologically, India must take a clear and straightforward path. The real leadership of Kashmir the nationalist Muslim representatives within India can offer strong support to the Indian government. Today, the people of Kashmir on both sides understand the truth: Pakistan is nothing but a lie. Kashmiris now know what Pakistan is doing to the Baloch. India today is in a position where its leadership, through its constructive vision and the strength of Indian diversity, can drown the socalled ideology of Pakistan into the Baloch Sea. After that, there will be a journey of progress in which this region, under Indias leadership, will chase its dreams. As long as Pakistan exists, India will have to face setbacks on every front be it economic opportunities in Balochistan or political and social relations with Bangladesh. It was Pakistan that destroyed the family of Indias ally Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman and derailed Bangladesh from its path. India is well aware of this. Q. Balochistans strategic location, bordering Iran, Afghanistan, and the Arabian Sea, makes it a focal point for India, Pakistan, and China. How does the BNM view the role of these regional powers in the Baloch struggle for independence, and what challenges or opportunities do they present? A: It is not only regional powers, but global powers as well that have held a deep interest in Balochistan an interest dating back to 1947, when the British were withdrawing from our region. It must be made clear that Mr. Jinnah was merely a puppet. As our respected historian, Dr. Hameed Baloch, has noted, there is a reference to a letter from the Commonwealth Secretary of Relations for Member States. In that letter, the British High Commission in Karachi was advised that the Government of Pakistan, according to available information, intended to recognize the independence of the State of Kalat and that such a move should be stopped. The High Commission, however, expressed its inability to act. The letter further stated: The territory of the Khan of Kalat, bordering Persia (Iran), is not in a position to adequately fulfill international responsibilities. Lord Mountbatten had already warned the Government of Pakistan of such potential risks prior to the transfer of power. The British High Commission in Pakistan is therefore being informed so that it may communicate our position to the Government of Pakistan. Dr. Hameed Baloch wrote that these concerns were linked to strategic interests involving the Gulf states and the oil routes that pass through this region towards the West. In essence, these power struggles date back to that very period, and today, they have evolved into a global tug-of-war over Balochistan. Our very existence is under threat. External powers view Balochistan as a nomans land. Historically, neither our neighbouring nations nor global actors have ever truly acknowledged the dignity of the Baloch nation. The root cause has always been the land itself land they seek to dominate. Yet what truly matters is this: the Baloch have resisted these ambitions for thousands of years, and that resistance has never ceased. We urge the world to look beyond our resources and geography to recognize our history of resistance, our collective memory, and our national identity. Mountbatten was a short-sighted colonial officer. His plan, along with its vision, sank in the Bay of Bengal in 1971. That should have been the moment for global powers to correct the path of the remaining Pakistani state. But they chose to ignore it. Internally, Pakistans military never reformed its mindset. It continued to suppress nations, and the state itself became a proxy of the United States. Pakistans relations with China are not as deep as it claims. It seeks to ride two boats the United States and China. Its partnership with China is based on strategic interests: Pakistan hopes to use China to increase pressure on India, while China maintains its influence over Pakistan as a junior partner. China also has its own ambitions in the region, which is why it has invested billions of dollars in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of its One Belt, One Road initiative. However, these investments whether from China or others are taking place without the consent of the Baloch nation. We face a multitude of problems: forced displacements, land grabs on our grazing lands, the capture of our water resources and marine zones. The list is long, and we are deeply dissatisfied. But we tie all of these issues to the central problem the occupation of Balochistan and we continue our struggle. We strongly reiterate our appeal to our neighboring countries including India, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Gulf states to adopt a clear and principled position in support of the Baloch nation. Balochistan must be recognized as an occupied territory, and this issue must be placed on the diplomatic agenda in their relations with Pakistan. They must ensure that Balochistan is not treated as a colony. When the time came, we stood with the Gulf states. We made sacrifices in Indias freedom struggle our freedom fighters gave their lives in Gujarat and Sindh. Our monarch, Khan Mehrab Khan, refused to give the British a passage through our land to attack Afghanistan. In response, the British attacked Kalat, and our king was martyred along with many of his companions. In that battle, Baloch Hindus also showed remarkable courage. Though the Khan hoped to spare them from harm, they declared: Before religion comes the homeland, and they too gave their lives in defense of freedom. All of this was for Afghanistan to prevent British forces from using our land as a launchpad. We risked our own independence for our neighbors. When we gave refuge to Prince Said bin Taimur of Oman, we even offered the tax revenues of our best territory, Gwadar, to help him live with dignity. But the betrayal we suffered and the disregard shown to us today is deeply unjust. It is a denial of historical bonds in favour of an artificial state and the interests of Pakistani Punjabis. This is a historical mistake that our neighbors continue to repeat. Yes, there are disputes between the Baloch and Iran but the Baloch National Movement (BNM) continues to reference the deeper historical ties that go back even before the reign of Anushirvan Sasanian. We expect goodwill and brotherhood from Iran. If Iranian policymakers continue to push Balochistan into Pakistans grasp, the consequences will be shared by all. Our past has been linked, and our future depends on walking together, shoulder to shoulder. There is no shortage of opportunity but what we lack is ideological clarity and the courage needed to stand up to a terrorist state like Pakistan. Q.The CPEC, with its flagship Gwadar port, is a major Chinese investment in Balochistan. How does this project affect the Baloch struggle, and what is your understanding of Chinas stance toward the Baloch independence movement? A: I have previously addressed this issue: China is actively pursuing its own strategic and economic interests in Balochistan while deliberately ignoring the aspirations and struggle of the Baloch nation. Its collaboration with Islamabad and Rawalpindi the occupying power in Balochistan raises serious concerns, especially as Chinas commercial motives remain unclear. A recent example is the inauguration of the new Gwadar airport, which does not align with the actual needs or capacity of the region. This prompts a critical question: who is this large-scale infrastructure really meant to serve? China has repeatedly pressed Pakistan to permit the deployment of Chinese security forces in Gwadar and along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to protect Chinese nationals and assets. This demand echoes the precedent set by the British East India Company, which used similar pretexts to establish military footholds ultimately leading to two centuries of colonial rule over India. China appears to be following the same trajectory. Globally, China is known for overreaching if offered a finger, it seizes the entire hand. This aggressive posture has sparked resistance worldwide and led many countries to limit their trade and security engagements with Beijing. China is increasingly seen as an expansionist power, not only threatening regional stability but pushing the world closer to conflict. Balochistan is on the frontlines of this resistance. Q. The BNM and other Baloch groups have long accused Pakistan of human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Can you describe the extent of these alleged violations in the region? A: In Balochistan, enforced disappearances and targeted killings occur on a daily basis. Our human rights organization documents these abuses every day and publishes a detailed monthly report. For decades, the Baloch nation including political activists, poets, writers, and ordinary civilians have been forcibly disappeared. Every method of oppression and cruelty has been used. As a form of collective punishment, the families of Baloch fighters and political activists are harassed and targeted. Thousands have been forced to migrate to Western Balochistan and Afghanistan, while many others are seeking asylum in European countries. Even in their absence, their families continue to face constant harassment. From nursing infants to elderly individuals in their nineties, people are suffering under the brutality of the Pakistani Army. These are not isolated incidents bodies are found daily, and we use social media every day to raise awareness. The scale of this violence is such that we have no tears left to shed. Pakistan claims it is fighting a war against armed insurgency. But in reality, this armed resistance is a response to the states systematic oppression. At the same time, peaceful movements like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) have also met with state repression. Their demands have always remained within the framework of human rights. Yet, we see Dr. Mahrang Baloch and several of her colleagues imprisoned under the draconian colonial-era law, Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), without any legal justification. Even the state itself does not accuse them of any crime but simply because the authorities perceive them as a threat, they have been jailed. This law has become a cruel weapon in the hands of the Pakistani establishment. Even when courts grant bail or relief, the state often rearrests the individuals immediately. Consider the case of Pashtun leader Ali Wazir: he has been arrested multiple times, imprisoned repeatedly, and has spent years behind bars for crimes he never committed. He remains incarcerated to this day. Such systemic oppression has no parallel in any civilized society. Q. Pakistan has claimed that India uses Afghan territory to sponsor terrorism in Balochistan. As a BNM leader, how do you respond to these allegations, and what is your view on Indias role in supporting or engaging with the Baloch cause? A: Pakistan mentions afghanistan and Iran because it wants them to assist in suppressing the Baloch movement. To justify this, it resorts to baseless accusations. I have stated that the ties between the Baloch nation and Afghanistan existed long before the artificial creation of Pakistan. These bonds have remained unchanged regardless of who rules either side. No matter the current government in Afghanistan, the historical relationship between Afghans and Baloch endures. When Afghans face hardship, they come to Balochistan, considering it their second home. Likewise, the Baloch never see Afghanistan as a foreign land. However, the allegations of support that Pakistan levels against these countries are unfounded. We expect clear and open diplomatic support from Afghanistan, India, and other nations just as Pakistan receives backing from its allies. Pakistan demands assistance on Kashmir based on questionable claims, even establishing a parliamentary committee for Kashmir. If support can be extended for Palestine, then why should it not be extended to Balochistan? Such support must be given confidently and without any need for apology The opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh has put up several posters in Indore city with photos of State Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah. The posters depict Shah as missing and offer a suitable reward to anyone who finds him. Shah is facing an FIR and has also been severely reprimanded by the Supreme Court over his derogatory comments against Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Quereshi, whom he termed as a sister of terrorists in a speech on 12 May. Advertisement Indore district Congress leaders Vivek Khandelwal and Girish Joshi have put up the posters on Shah. Advertisement The posters depict a smiling Vijay Shah with a message of search for missing person and also announce a suitable reward for anyone who locates him. Vivek Khandelwal alleged that Vijay Shah has gone underground ever since an FIR was registered against him in the matter at Manpur police station on 14 May on the strict orders of the MP High Court. Khandelwal said Vijay Shah was also absent from the state cabinet meeting held in Indore on 20 May. Khandelwal charged that it is a very serious matter that a state cabinet minister has been missing for so many days. He said the role of the state home department, headed by CM Dr Mohan Yadav, is highly questionable in this regard. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising three senior IPS Officers from the state and constituted on the directives of the Supreme Court to probe Vijay Shahs case, is scheduled to submit its first status report to the apex court on 28 May. Meanwhile, Vijay Shah on Friday posted another video on X, apologising for his comments. In the video, he called Colonel Sofiya Qureshi his sister and said his gaffe in the controversial speech was a linguistic mistake. I again apologise with folded hands, Shah said. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday urged the Centre to address the unique developmental needs of resource-rich but under-served states like Jharkhand, calling for pending coal compensation, mining sector reform, and greater fiscal devolution at the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog in New Delhi. Participating in the high-level policy dialogue chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Bharat Mandapam, Soren said that the idea of a Developed India cannot materialise without a deep focus on rural development, poverty alleviation, skill building, education, and womens empowerment all of which, he said, are core to Jharkhands policy vision. Advertisement The Chief Minister highlighted the critical pending issue of land compensation in the mining sector. More than 1.40 lakh crore is due to Jharkhand by way of land compensation from various mining firms, he said, urging the Centre to ensure its swift release. He also demanded amendments to the Coal Bearing Areas (CBA) Act, proposing that post-mining land revert to the state for developmental use. Advertisement Soren recommended that mining companies be mandated to install captive plants within Jharkhand, with at least 30% of their output used locally. He further sought policy measures that align Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) funds with state priorities. Jharkhands voice must be heard development cannot be one-size-fits-all. Justice to our people means policies tailored to our ground realities, Soren asserted in his speech, adding that despite being mineral-rich, the state has long suffered from neglect and lacks equitable development compared to national averages. He pushed for the creation of a Mining Industrial Corridor and proposed expanding the states rail network to improve connectivity in remote areas. He also advocated for turning Sahebganj district into a multi-modal cargo hub and suggested constructing an additional bridge or barrage over the Ganga to boost logistics. On fiscal federalism, Soren argued that the vertical devolution of central taxes should be raised from 41% to 50% in the upcoming 16th Finance Commission recommendations. He emphasised the impact of excluding cess and surcharge collections from the divisible pool, which limits the financial autonomy of states. The Chief Minister also called for pending GST compensation to be paid to Jharkhand and for producer states to be supported with an incentive-based framework. While noting that the number of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts in the state had declined from 16 to 2, Soren sought continued special assistance to all previously affected areas, stating that recovery is still a work in progress. He also requested the waiver of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) deputation charges in LWE zones. The CM flagged the issue of overseas migrant labourers from Jharkhand, citing the recent evacuation of stranded workers from Cameroon. He asked the Centre to develop stronger mechanisms for visa support, travel assistance, and worker protection. Soren also promoted Jharkhands innovations in public service delivery, including the Abua Swasthya Yojana, Maiyan Samman Yojana, and universal pension coverage, urging NITI Aayog to consider replicating these at the national level. The Jharkhand delegation included Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari, Additional Chief Secretary Avinash Kumar, Resident Commissioner Arwa Rajkamal, and Planning Secretary Mukesh Kumar. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday announced that the southwest monsoon has officially set in over Kerala, marking the earliest onset since 2009 when it arrived on May 23. The onset is eight days ahead of its usual onset date of June 1, the weather office said. Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the 24th May, 2025, against the normal date of 1st June. Thus, southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala 8 days before the normal date. This is the earliest date of monsoon onset over Kerala after the year 2009, when it was set in over Kerala on 23rd May 2009, the IMD said in an official announcement on X. Advertisement Last year, the Southwest Monsoon had arrived over the Kerala coast on May 30, while in 2023 it set in over on June 8. Advertisement According to IMD data from 2009 to 2024, the arrival of monsoon has ranged from MAY 29 to June 8. In the last 16 years, there has been only one instance in 2009 when the onset occurred earlier than this year. Earlier, the IMD had predicted the monsoon arrival in Kerala on May 27. The early arrival of monsoon is seen as a signal to a robust start to the rainy season, which is crucial for the countrys agriculture sector. In another related forecast, the IMD has warned of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over Konkan & Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Coastal Karnataka and South Interior Karnataka, Kerala on May 24. Congress general Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday asserted that the meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog is yet another exercise in hypocrisy and diversion. The 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog under the theme: Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047, is being chaired today by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Advertisement Todays meeting of the (Niti Aayog) (Aayog) body if ever there was one is yet another exercise in hypocrisy and diversion, Mr Ramesh alleged. Advertisement Posing six pertinent questions to the government, the Congress leader asked: What sort of Viksit Bharat is it where not only is freedom of speech under threat but freedom after speech is also endangered? and What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if those in power themselve destroy the bonds of social harmony by their malicious words and deeds? Today the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog meets under the chairmanship of the PM. It will reportedly review progress on the so-called Viksit Bharat goal, said the Congress leader questioning further: What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if those in power subvert Parliament, judiciary, universities, media, and Constitutional and statutory authorities to fulfil their nefarious goals? What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if the values that India has always stood for are systematically assaulted in the full glare of the world? What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be with sharpening economic disparities and inequalities even as wealth continues to accumulate in the hands of a few? What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if Indias glorious diversities are deliberately sought to be insulted and erased? Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited the border town of Poonch, which was the worst hit during the recent Pakistani shelling in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, and met the bereaved families. He said he firmly stands with the families affected due to the cross-border shelling. I stand firmly with the affected families and will definitely raise their demands and issues at the national level. Their pain will not go unheard. We promise to amplify their voices, demanding justice, dignity, and peace, he said. Advertisement After visiting the badly affected town along the Line of Control (LoC), Rahul wrote on X, Broken houses, scattered belongings, moist eyes, and painful stories of losing loved ones in every corner these patriotic families bear the biggest burden of war with courage and dignity every time. Salute to their courage. I stand strongly with the victim families. I will definitely raise their demands and issues at the national level. Advertisement This was Rahuls second visit to Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocent civilians, mostly tourists, were massacred. During his visit, Rahul called the Pakistani shelling a major tragedy, noting that many lives were lost and significant damage was done. He said he spoke to the affected people to understand their concerns, and they asked him to raise their issue at the national level, which he assured he would do. Rahul visited the Dungus locality to pay homage to the innocent 12-year-old twins, Urba Fatima and Zain Ali, who tragically lost their lives in the Pakistani shelling. He also visited the family of 13-year-old Vihaan Bhargav to offer strength and share their unbearable grief. Vihaan was with his parents in a car, moving to a safe place, when their vehicle was hit by a Pakistani shell. He also met the family of Amarjeet Singh, a 50-year-old ex-serviceman, who lost his life after being hit by a shell. It was a huge tragedy, as many people lost their lives. There has been significant damage. I spoke to people and tried to understand their problems. Rahul also visited Christ School in Poonch, which lost three students in Pakistani shelling. He met students affected by Pakistans cross-border shelling. He consoled the grieving students, applauding their courage and strength in the face of danger. With a message of hope and resilience, he inspired them to look forward, rebuild, and brighten their future. A total of 28 civilians, including 13 in Poonch alone, were killed in the Pakistani shelling, and over 70 were injured between 7 and 10 May across Jammu and Kashmir. Rahul visited the Geeta Bhavan temple, Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, and Jamia Zia-ul-Uloom, which suffered damages due to indiscriminate shelling by Pakistan. Speaking to media persons, Rahul said there has been huge damage. I spoke with the victims and tried to understand their problems. They have requested me to raise their issue at the national level, and I will do that. India has strongly refuted Pakistans claims regarding the Indus Water Treaty at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying that the neighbouring country has violated the treatys spirit by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India, resulting in over 20,000 Indian lives lost in the last four decades. Accusing Pakistan of spreading disinformation over the Indus Water Treaty, India reiterated its commitment to responsible water management even amid persistent cross-border terrorism. Advertisement Delivering the statement at the Arria Formula Meeting on Protecting Water in Armed Conflict Protecting Civilian Lives, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Parvathaneni Harish highlighted Pakistans violation of the treatys spirit through its support for cross-border terrorism and its obstructionist approach to modifying the treaty. Advertisement Harish affirmed that India has always acted responsibly as an upper riparian state and accused Pakistan of distorting facts. India entered into the Indus Water Treaty 65 years ago in good faith, he said, recalling that the agreement was signed in a spirit of goodwill and friendship. Pakistan has violated the spirit of the treaty by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India. In the last four decades, more than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost in terror attacks, the most recent of which was a dastardly targeted terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam last month. India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity throughout this period. Pakistans state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in India seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians, religious harmony, and economic prosperity, he added. Harish added that Pakistans state-sponsored terrorism threatens civilian lives, religious harmony, and economic prosperity. He emphasised that significant changes have taken place in the past 65 years, including escalating security concerns, growing requirements for clean energy, climate change, and demographic shifts. In these 65 years, far-reaching fundamental changes have taken place not only in terms of escalating security concerns through cross-border terror attacks, but also growing requirements for producing clean energy, climate change, and demographic change. Technology for dam infrastructure has transformed to ensure safety and efficiency of operations and water use. Some of the old dams are facing serious safety concerns, he added. Some old dams face serious safety concerns, he said, pointing out that terrorists even attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir in 2012. In fact, in 2012, terrorists even attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir. These cynical acts continue to endanger safety of our projects and lives of civilians, added the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. Harish said India has formally asked Pakistan to discuss modifications to the treaty, but Pakistan has continued to block consistently any changes to this infrastructure and any modifications of the provisions which is permissible under the treaty. Against this backdrop, India has finally announced that the treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan- a global epicentre of terror credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism, he said. India has formally asked Pakistan to discuss the modifications of the treaty on several occasions in the past two years. However, Pakistan continues to reject these and Pakistans obstructionist approach continues to prevent the exercise of full utilisation of the legitimate rights by India. It is clear that it is Pakistan which remains in violation of the Indus Water Treaty, Harish concluded. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in April 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack, which it blamed on Pakistan-based terrorists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday praised Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for the reforms introduced by the state government and for presenting a comprehensive growth blueprint for Andhra Pradesh, an official said. All states should examine and study the reforms undertaken in Andhra Pradesh. The blueprint for growth presented by CM Naidu could offer valuable insights for other states as well, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying during the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting. Advertisement The meeting, chaired by PM Modi, was held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. This years theme was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047, with a focus on empowering states to collectively contribute toward making India a developed nation by 2047. Advertisement The Governing Council Meeting brought together Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors, Union Ministers, and senior officials from across the country to discuss national policy and cooperative federalism. In a statement, an Andhra Pradesh government official noted that during his address, CM Naidu paid tribute to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, and lauded the Armed Forces success in Operation Sindoor. He also praised Prime Minister Modis decisive leadership during the crisis, highlighting Indias resilience and self-reliance in challenging times. Acknowledging Indias economic rise from the worlds 10th largest to 4th largest economy, CM Naidu credited transformative national initiatives such as Digital India, GST, Startup India, PM Gati Shakti, and the Jal Jeevan Mission for reshaping the countrys development trajectory. He remarked that having the right leadership at the right time has been pivotal in steering the nation toward its ambitious goals. The Council deliberated on strategies to build a prosperous, inclusive, and future-ready India by its centenary in 2047. Key areas of discussion included accelerating entrepreneurship, employment, and skill development, transforming Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities into growth hubs, and reinforcing cooperative federalism for collective national progress. Highlighting Andhra Pradeshs Swarna Andhra @2047 vision, CM Naidu shared the states goal to eliminate poverty by 2029 using the innovative P4 model a collaborative approach that unites government, the private sector, and citizen participation to uplift vulnerable families and drive economic growth. The Chief Minister also proposed forming three focused sub-groups of states, in partnership with the Union Government and NITI Aayog, to accelerate the journey toward Viksit Bharat @2047. These are GDP Growth Sub-Group to enhance investments, manufacturing, exports, and job creation, with support from central Viability Gap Funding for PPP projects; Population Management Sub-Group to leverage Indias demographic dividend while preparing for future challenges such as ageing and declining fertility rates, and Technology-Driven Governance Sub-Group to enable real-time, citizen-centric administration using emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, drones, and digital platforms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a strong pitch for one state, one global destination stressing that states must work towards future-ready cities and develop at least one tourist destination with all global standards, facilities and infrastructure. Chairing the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog under the theme Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047 the Prime Minister said if the Union government and states work together like Team India, no goal is impossible. Advertisement The Prime Ministers pitch for the development of world standard tourist destination has significant connotations as it comes in the backdrop of the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 25 tourists and one local person were killed. The incident triggered an exodus of tourists and came as a severe blow to the combined efforts of both the government and private stakeholders in reviving Kashmirs tourism sector. Advertisement He suggested that states should develop at least one tourist destination at par with global standards and by providing all facilities and infrastructure. One State, One Global Destination. It would also lead to the development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places, the Prime Minister further said, emphasizing, We should work towards future-ready cities. Urging state chief ministers to step up the pace of development, Mr Modi said, We have to increase the speed of development. India is getting rapidly urbanised. We should work towards future-ready cities We should have the aim of making each state viksit, each city viksit, each nagar palika viksit and each village viksit. If we work on these lines, we will not have to wait till 2047 to become Viksit Bharat, he added. We should work in a manner so that policies implemented bring change in the lives of common citizens. Only when people feel the change, it strengthens the change and transforms the change into a movement. We have a great opportunity as a team to fulfill the aspirations of 140 crore people, he added. The Governing Council is the apex body of Niti Aayog which includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers and the Prime Minister is the chairman. Growth, innovation and sustainability should be the engine for the development of Indias cities, he added. Advocating the need to work towards the inclusion of women in the workforce, the Prime Minister said: We must make laws and policies so that they can be respectfully integrated into the workforce. The 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog provided a platform for the Centre, states and UTs to deliberate on measures to advance the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 and build consensus on how states can be the building blocks for making India a developed nation. Measures for promoting entrepreneurship, enhancing skilling, and creating sustainable employment opportunities across the country were also deliberated in the meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to chair a crucial high-level meeting of Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers from BJP-led NDA-ruled states on Sunday in the national capital. The key discussions in the interaction will focus on Operation Sindoor and present political situation in the country, sources said. Advertisement The meeting is being seen as a coordinated attempt to reinforce the NDA governments stance on national security and send a unified message after Indias counter-terror operation across the border. Advertisement The key NDA Chief Ministers conclave, will see participation from 21 Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers from BJP-led NDA-ruled states , top BJP leaders and Union Ministers, including J. P. Nadda, Rajnath Singh, and Amit Shah, among others. According to sources, the agenda of the conclave is expected to include a review of governance and development work in NDA-ruled states, updates on Operation Sindoor, caste census implementation and impact, action plans against Naxalism, strategy for upcoming Bihar Assembly elections in 2025 and focus on Bihar Elections and migrant voter participation. One of the central discussions will revolve around strategising for the Bihar Assembly elections, with a likely emphasis on mobilising Bihar migrants and strengthening ground-level coordination, among others. According to senior party sources, four to five key proposals are likely to be presented during the meeting, aiming to boost coordination and performance in critical regions, particularly Bihar. This high-level meeting comes at a time when PM Modi is set to visit Bihar after the launch of Operation Sindoor and as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2025 Assembly polls. A meeting has been convened to brief the leaders about Indias strike on terror camps in Pakistan, Operation Sindoor and understanding on cessation of hostilities. All the Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers have been invited for the meeting. This will give a strong message in terms of national security, a source familiar with the matter told a news agency. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday arrived in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir to meet the families affected by Pakistani cross-border shelling during the Indo-Pak standoff earlier this month. India and Pakistan came on the brink of an all-out war after Islamabad-backed terrorists carried out a deadly attack on tourists at Baisaran meadow near the tourist town of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Advertisement In response to the terror attack, India launched targeted strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. However, the Pakistani military escalated the situation by launching drone and missile attacks on civilian areas and military sites. Advertisement While the air attack by Pakistan was neutralised effectively by Indian air defences, the cross-border shelling by its troops in Poonch killed at least 13 innocent civilians and damaged several homes. During his visit, the Congress leader will meet the family members of those who lost their lives in the Pakistani shelling. Ahead of his visit, Congress MP and AICC General Secretary in charge of Jammu & Kashmir, Syed Naseer Hussain, said: The way Pakistan attacked civilians, 13 people were killed and many were injured. There has been a lot of damage. That is why Rahul Gandhi is coming here today to meet the people. We wanted Rahul Gandhi to come here earlier, but permission was not being given. After the barbaric April 22 Pahalgam attack, Rahul Gandhi had also met the kin of the deceased. Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia has accused Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of consistently raising doubts about the countrys honour, unity, and integrity. Scindia made the remarks during his visit to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on Friday night. Advertisement He alleged that Rahul Gandhi has a habit of questioning Indias sovereignty and national dignity. Scindia added that while 140 crore Indians stand united, Gandhi continues to cast unwarranted doubts. Advertisement Even in the face of terrorists and enemies, raising such questions at such serious times what kind of ideology is that? Scindia asked. Earlier on Friday, Rahul Gandhi claimed that Indias foreign policy had collapsed and demanded an explanation from Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Gandhi questioned why India had been hyphenated with Pakistan and who had asked US President Donald Trump to mediate in the recent armed conflict between the two neighbours. Once considered a close associate of Rahul Gandhi during his time in the Congress party, Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress in 2020 and joined the BJP. Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, who is in Japan as part of an all-party delegation, on Saturday called on the world community to unite in combating terrorism. Speaking at an interaction with Indian community members in Tokyo, Banerjee said, We are here to share the message and the truth that India refuses to bow down. We will not kneel to fear. I belong to a political party that is in the Opposition. It is in the public domain that I have said that Pakistan needs to be taught a lesson in the language they understand. Advertisement Calling terrorism a rabid dog and Pakistan its wild handler, Banerjee stated, We first need to bring the world together to combat this wild handler. Otherwise, this wild handler will end up breeding and raising more rabid dogs. Advertisement He assured that Indian actions will always be responsible and non-escalatory. We will make sure India is responsible. All our attacks and actions have been responsible, made with precision and non-escalatory, the TMC leader added. Banerjee was not part of the delegation formed by the Government of India to counter Pakistans misinformation campaign on Operation Sindoor and spread Indias message on terrorism. However, Yusuf Pathan dropped out of the delegation after the Mamata Banerjee-led party objected to Centres move to pick him to represent the TMC without discussions with the party. The TMC then nominated Banerjee to represent the TMC in all-party delegation and the Centre ceded to her demand. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that two Army Brigades and mobile network in the remote areas of Billawar region have been established, which would not only provide security to the local people but also ensure surveillance through mobile connectivity and ease of communication in far-flung areas. Dr Jitendra Singh said this during a Public Durbar in the Billawar area of Kathua district. Advertisement The Public Durbar was attended by senior officers of the district administration, representatives from all the engineering wings and the health department, along with elected representatives, including MLA Satish Sharma, DDC Chairman Mahan Singh, and DDC members. Advertisement Dr Jitendra Singh further informed that one Armed Brigade had already been established at Sarthal, and now another similar Armed Brigade has been set up in Rampur township of Billawar. This will not only provide round-the-clock Army surveillance in the area, but the Army personnel will also maintain regular liaison with the civil administration, with the concerned Brigadier and the DM constantly being in touch. As for the Mobile network, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the far-flung areas, particularly areas beyond Lowang in the Bani area, were deprived of connectivity ever since independence, and only yesterday evening, the first mobile phone call was made after the installation of the mobile tower and mobile network. This has not only come as a huge facility for the local residents, including students and youth, but will also enable the armed forces to maintain round-the-clock, real-time surveillance, he said. All these measures, taken as a result of the personal follow-up on a day-to-day basis by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have instilled a lot of confidence and a sense of security among the local people. Dr Jitendra Singh further said that the long-pending demand of widening the Dhar Road has been taken up with impetus received from the Home and Defence ministries in the wake of the recent armed conflict, and very soon, the BRO will hand over this road to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for widening. Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that last summer, the main demand from this region was regarding the shortage of drinking water. He informed that this too has also been taken care of with 55 Jal Jiwan Mission (JJM) schemes approved for the region, of which nearly 70% work has been completed at a cost of Rs 131.55 crore. This, he said, has ensured drinking water supply to 14,875 households. Under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme, the Minister informed that another 1,250 households in the Billawar town will be given the facility of drinking water supply at a cost of Rs 11.03 crore. Dr Jitendra Singh said that he has suggested a proposal for a Master Plan for Sukrala Mata, which can be taken up at its next Board meeting. This could enable this entire area to attract a new genre of tourists, like Mussoorie, etc. Dr Jitendra Singh recalled his recent visit to the International border, saying that nearly 2,500 family bunkers constructed along the Hiranagar sector over the last seven years have been found highly convenient and have received appreciation from the local people. As a result, demands have now been received from other areas, including the LoC, for the construction of similar family bunkers. Later, Dr Jitendra Singh held a Public Durbar, which lasted for nearly two hours. During his interaction, the Minister gave a patient hearing to individuals and sought to dispose of their grievances and demands on the spot by issuing the required instructions to the administration. Two women, including a Doctor from AIIMS Rishikesh, were detected covid positive in Uttarakhand following which the state government has been alerted to increase surveillance of the people coming from outside. Women found positive had recently returned from Bangaluru and Gujarat. Advertisement According to the state health director Sunita Tamta both Corona positive patients are under medication and one of them is admitted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) Rishikesh. Advertisement In her statement to the media Tamta claimed that the covid-19 patients have their recent travel histories. One of them is a doctor at AIIMS who returned from Bangaluru while other came from Gujarat to take part in religious functions in Rushikesh. Tamta stated that both underwent Covid-19 test based on the symptoms they had and detected corona positive. The lady doctor patient isolated at her home was doing fine while the Gujarat woman was admitted at AIIMS Rishikesh. There is no Corona positive from within the state but with these two cases with travel histories health department has been alerted. All the districts have been directed to keep their oxygen plants and beds active. Apart from this department has increased surveillance and Corona virus tests said Tamta. Its significant that these are the first covid-19 positive cases in the state in the past more than three and half years. According to the health department officials surveillance of the people coming from outside is important for Uttarakhand mainly because of large daily influx of tourists from across the country. Discovery of two Corona positive patients in the state specially when tourist season is at its peak cannot be taken lightly. Large number of tourists are coming from other Indian states including those where covid-19 positive cases are more in numbers. Strict surveillance of the people coming outside is being has been started by the department said a senior officials on the condition anonymity. Meanwhile following guidelines from National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) to increase surveillance for covid prevention Uttarakhand Health Department has asked all the districts to be on alert and follow the central guideline. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said here on Saturday that his party is sincere and positive about an alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the sake of Marathi people, from both its mind and heart. Uddhavjis stand regarding an alliance with Raj Thackeray for the sake of the Marathi people is both manase and dil se (from the mind and the heart), Raut told media persons here, indulging in word play. He referred to the fact that the abbreviated form of Raj Thackeray-led MNS is pronounced Manase in Marathi, which means from the mind. Advertisement The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is keen on allying with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS since it aims to perform well in the soon-to-be-announced local civic body and municipal elections in Maharashtra. Uddhavs Sena is especially eager to retain its control over the extremely cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whose budget exceeds that of some small states in India. Advertisement I do not believe that the topic of the alliance came up for discussion simply because Raj Thackeray gave an interview. It has been on the minds of the people of Maharashtra. There is public pressure on both the Thackerays, as there is emotional as well as political pressure. If we want to maintain our authority over Mumbai and save Mumbai from the jaws of East India Company Surat Private Limited, whose proprietors are Amit Shah, Devendra Fadnavis, Narendra Modi and other shareholders, then the Marathi people will have to forget everything and come together, Sanjay Raut said. The Thackeray brand will never end. The owner of East India Company Surat Private Limited is saying that Mumbai cannot be taken over until the Pawar and Thackeray brands end. But I can tell you that the names of Modi, Fadnavis, and Shah will be erased from this country. They have done nothing for the country. Sharad Pawar and Balasaheb Thackeray have done a lot of work. As long as the sun and the moon exist, the names of Balasaheb Thackeray and Sharad Pawar will remain iconic brands. The ropes of the curtain are not in their (BJPs) hands. The two Thackeray brothers will decide when to reveal the scene behind the curtains, Raut said. Rauts statement on Saturday has come after alleged overtures and offers made by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena to ally with Raj Thackeray and his MNS. However, Rauts statement on Saturday is mostly being seen as a response to a statement made by MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande on Thursday that Raj Thackeray would consider an alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena only if a concrete proposal is put forward, noting previous overtures made by the MNS to the Shiv Sena for a tie-up were met with betrayal. If the Shiv Sena feels an alliance with the MNS is possible, they should come forward with a substantial proposal. Raj Thackeray will take a decision on it, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande had said, recalling previous instances when the MNS supposedly initiated tie-up talks, but faced what he called betrayal. Talks about a rapprochement between the two estranged Thackeray cousins received a boost after Raj Thackeray spoke about giving up their differences in a recent interview with filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar. Uddhav Thackeray responded positively within hours of Rajs statement. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday urged the Union Government to uphold the principles of cooperative federalism, accommodate Indias diversity, and ensure that states receive their fair share of resources. He emphasized that these are essential prerequisites for achieving the vision of a fully developed India by 2047. Speaking at the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, Stalin called on the BJP-led Union Government to extend unbiased cooperation to all states, including Tamil Nadu, to help them achieve their developmental objectives. Advertisement He highlighted Tamil Nadus ambition to become a one trillion-dollar economy by 2030 and contribute meaningfully to Indias goal of a USD 30 trillion economy. Advertisement Raising concerns over ongoing issues in CentreState financial relations, Stalin criticized the practice of states being compelled to seek legal recourse to obtain their rightful funds. He reiterated his demand to increase the states share in the Central Tax Pool to 50 percent, as opposed to the 41 per cent recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. Over the past four years, Tamil Nadu has received only 31.6 per cent, he said. Stalin also made a strong appeal for the immediate release of Rs 2,200 crore due to the state under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), linked to the PM SHRI schools initiative under the New Education Policy (NEP). Nearly Rs 2,220 crore in Union Government funds have been withheld for the year 202425, affecting students in government schools and those covered under the Right to Education (RTE). It is unacceptable that funds are withheld, delayed, or reduced, he asserted, criticizing the terms of the MoU linked to the PM SHRI programme. Listing key demands, the Chief Minister called for a new urban regeneration programme beyond AMRUT 2.0, with a focus on mobility, infrastructure, and sanitation. He also proposed a Clean Rivers Mission, seeking Union Government support for cleaning the Cauvery, Vaigai, and Thamirabarani rivers in Tamil Nadu. On the issue of scheme names being in Hindi, Stalin requested that states be allowed to use English and regional languages like Tamil for nomenclature. Later, addressing the media after meeting Prime Minister Modi, Stalin dismissed opposition claims that his participation in the NITI Aayog meeting was prompted by recent Enforcement Directorate raids on TASMAC in connection with the alleged Rs 1,000 crore liquor scam. When asked about AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswamis comment that Stalin had come to Delhi with a white flag, the Chief Minister responded, I never carry a white flag nor the saffron one that EPS has embraced. He also mentioned that the Prime Minister had assured support for projects such as Chennai Metro Rail Phase II. A cartoon suggesting citizens are more interested in platforms like Instagram than in Gram Panchayats attracted a rejoinder from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, which stated that such broad statements overlook the real, transformative work being done by democratic institutions at the grassroots. The response is not without merit. Despite facing challenges, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been instrumental in driving meaningful change at the grassroots. They deserve not just scrutiny, but also appreciation for the positive work being done across villages in India. PRIs are not merely administrative bodies but dynamic platforms for collective action and local innovation. Across the country, they are spearheading remarkable changes. Latifpur village near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh has adopted dowry-free community weddings, supported by a corpus fund to meet marriage expenses. Kolhapur villages in Maharashtra took the decision to eliminate widowhood rituals such as breaking bangles as a symbol of reform. In Karnataka, Thindlu Gram Panchayat became the first in the state to provide universal insurance to all residents, setting a benchmark for community-led welfare. Advertisement In Rajpur, Uttar Pradesh, a woman sarpanch has taken bold steps to make the village plasticfree, setting an example for sustainable development. In Vadga on village of Karnataka, a unique evening digital detox bans TV and mobile phone use from 7 PM to 9 PM to promote social bonding. Kolhapur villages have also prohibited the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks and a village in Maharashtra has banned smartphone use for children under 18 to curb digital addiction. Anamtogu Gram Panchayat in Telangana passed a resolution to ban liquor, led by women like K Manju Bhargavi and Sammakka. In the tribal district of Adilabad, around 600 villages have used the provisions of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, to assert local auto nomy and shut down over 50 liquor outlets. These stories reflect the diverse ways in which panchayats, often led by women, are driving grassroots transformation in meaningful ways. Advertisement There is a constitutional mandate to effect cultural shift. Panchayat, a widely acclaimed web series, offers a glimpse into the daily life of a Gram Panchayat, highlighting administrative cha llenges and the issue of proxy leadership. While entertaining, such depictions also serve as a bitter reminder of the realities surrounding our Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1993, which granted constitutional status to local self-governance and made it mandatory to reserve seats for women in all PRIs. The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam), which mandates 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, is another revolutionary step towards womens empowerment. The G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration, during Indias presidency, also recognized women-led development as crucial for gender equality and global GDP growth. From which levels or sectors can the necessary women leadership emerge to serve in higher legislative bodies? The answer lies within our Panchayati Raj Institutions. Article 243D of the Constitution provides for reservation of seats in Panchayats for wo men. Over 21 States have amended their State Panchayati Raj Acts to provide for 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayats. As a result, over 1.4 million women elected representatives ~ Sarpanches, Presidents of Intermediate Panchayats, Zilla Parishad Chairpersons ~ are already working closely with the people at the grassroots level. With proper training and guidance, most of them can easily ascend to higher positions such as State Assemblies and Lok Sabha. Gram Sabhas, where women can participate directly, act as live training grounds for aspiring leaders. Through active engagement in these forums, even ordinary women begin their journey toward leadership. This journey prepares women for national leadership roles. Leaders like Droupadi Murmu, who rose from a Councillor to become the President of India, Savitri Thakur, who served as a Zila Panchayat Chair before becoming a Union Minister, Raksha Nikhil Khadse, who was a Sarpanch and Zilla Parishad Member before becoming a Union Minister of State and Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, who served as a Corporator and Mayor before becoming a Union Minister of State, demonstrate the potential of grassroots politics as a training ground for higher legislative roles. PRIs are not just local governance units but vital nurseries for future state and national leaders. While reservation has opened the doors for women in PRIs, several challenges hinder their effective participation. A key concern is proxy representation, where elected women remain figureheads, and real authority is exercised by male family members ~ often referred to as Sarpanch Pati. This deprives women of meaningful governance experience. Experience from PRIs shows that merely providing reservation is not enough; nurturing competent and efficient wo men leadership is paramount. There is a pressing need to prepare the women leadership who will be entering higher legislative bodies. Comprehensive capacity building programmes to stren gthen womens leadership should encompass training in public leadership development, negotiation, advocacy and confident interaction with the media. Establishing training hubs at the regional level and providing training in regional languages can make these programmes more effective. The success of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam depends on how effectively grassroots women leaders are prepared. Investing in grassroots women leadership is the true path to a strong democracy and women led development. (The writer is a transparency and equality advocate and author) Baloch leader Mehran Marri has accused Pakistan of unlawfully occupying Balochistan since 1948, transforming the region into a heavily militarised zone where the rights of the local population are systematically violated. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Marri drew comparisons with global conflicts to highlight what he described as the Wests selective concern for human rights. While the world rallies behind Ukraine and Palestine, Balochistan remains ignored, he said. Marri claimed that Balochistan was a sovereign entity before being forcibly annexed by Pakistan on March 28, 1948, just nine months after its independence. He argued that the international community has continued to overlook Balochistans plight due to geopolitical considerations. Advertisement Pakistan is not a democracy. Its a military-operated enterprise, with generals controlling everything from real estate to food industries, he alleged. He further criticised what is known in Pakistan as the establishment a nexus of the military, parliament, and judiciary as working collectively to stifle dissent. Pakistan is not a typical country. It resembles an open-air prison, Marri said, adding that civil liberties in Balochistan are virtually non-existent. Advertisement Marri condemned the widespread use of enforced disappearances and media censorship in Balochistan, describing them as deliberate tactics used to instil fear and silence dissent. He noted that such practices have persisted since the rule of former President Pervez Musharraf and remain central to the militarys strategy of control. Regarding economic marginalisation, Marri described it as an added insult to injury. He highlighted the irony of Balochistans immense natural resources being exploited while the local population remains impoverished. People in Gwadar go to bed hungry while luxury hotels rise around them, he said. Marri also criticised the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as another mechanism for resource extraction, though he expressed hope that China may eventually reassess its involvement. Commenting on Indias recent Operation Sindoor against terrorist networks in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Marri voiced strong support. He called the Operation monumental and long overdue, urging India to pursue it as a long-term campaign against terrorism, similar to the United States post-9/11 strategy. Once Operation Sindoor achieves its objectives, we hope Balochistans liberation will be part of the outcome, he concluded. Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a human rights organisation, has categorically rejected the baseless and defamatory allegations made by the Pakistani Army, accusing the BYC and its leader, Mahrang Baloch, of involvement in terrorism and foreign-sponsored activities. Condemning the accusation, BYC leader and human rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch stated that the Pakistani armed forces Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) and state machinery have been in full swing for the last few months, hurling baseless accusations at BYC and its leadership without providing any credible or verifiable evidence. Advertisement Allegations by the DG ISPR, accusing BYC and its leadership of being involved in terrorism during a press conference yesterday, are fabricated, baseless, and contrary to facts. They are aimed at discrediting and delegitimising BYCs globally recognised peaceful struggle, Sammi Deen Baloch said in a post on X on Saturday. Advertisement The ongoing violence in Balochistan is not just a consequence of long-standing repression but also a reflection of systemic security failures. No propaganda or pressure can deter us from our commitment to nonviolent activism and defending the Baloch peoples rights through peaceful means, she added. Meanwhile, the BYC stated that the accusations by the Pakistani Army are not only false but appear to be a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the grave and ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan. Highlighting that the BYC is a peaceful political and human rights organisation committed to nonviolent advocacy for the democratic and civil rights of the Baloch people, the BYC stated that Mahrang Baloch is a respected human rights defender with a well-documented record of peaceful activism. Both Mahrang and the BYC have consistently rejected all forms of violence and remain steadfast in their commitment to lawful and democratic means of protest and resistance. These recent statements by the military are not only defamatory; they implicitly acknowledge the growing influence and legitimacy of our peaceful movement. Instead of addressing the deeply documented abuses in Balochistan ranging from enforced disappearances to extrajudicial killings the state has chosen to intensify its campaign of disinformation, read a statement issued by the BYC. For over two months, Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leadership have been unlawfully detained under repressive laws such as the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO). Despite repeated court hearings, the state has failed to present any lawful basis or credible evidence to justify these detentions. Instead, a coordinated media campaign continues to circulate misinformation and defamatory content against our leadership, the statement added. Furthermore, the BYC unequivocally condemned the killing of innocent civilians, especially children in Balochistan, stating it is never acceptable and stands in violation of the most fundamental principles of humanity and international law. The BYC urged the international community, including the United Nations, global human rights organisations, and diplomatic missions, to take serious note of the dangerous rhetoric employed by Pakistani authorities. These unfounded accusations represent not only a threat to individual activists but also a broader assault on the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and legitimate political advocacy in Pakistan. The BYC will not be silenced. Our commitment to justice, peace, and human dignity remains unwavering, the statement concluded. E T Mohammed Basheer, a Lok Sabha leader from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and a member of Indias all-party global outreach delegation, highlighted the strong support India has received from the UAE in its campaign against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Basheer addressed a press conference about the delegations visit to Dubai, emphasising the impact of the UAEs response and Indias commitment to international cooperation and peace. The response from all the places we have visited is very inspiring. We really appreciate the wholehearted cooperation from this great country. India has always maintained a peaceful co-existence. Relations between India and the UAE are very encouraging and normal. This is the first country which called us (after the Pahalgam attack) and expressed their wholehearted support. Advertisement He said, We are fortunate to be born in the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. This crooked method of Pakistan should have an end. As pointed out by many of our leaders, they have been up to these cruel deeds were all aware. India has warned them several times not to do these kind of things. Advertisement After Pahalgam, we warned them of a response so strong that it would be unimaginable for them. We waited for some time after that. Despite everything, Pakistan broke decency and still, India still maintained poise and kept its response well-articulated. We maintained certain decorum. There should be a joint worldwide movement to fight against terrorism, he said. On Thursday, an all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde met UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi as part of Indias global outreach against terrorism post Operation Sindoor. During the meeting, the Indian delegation highlighted the ongoing perpetration of cross-border terrorism and raised concerns about Pakistans efforts to cause social disharmony in India. The all-party delegation seeks to project Indias national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms. The team is working to convey Indias clear message of zero tolerance for terrorism to the world. Following the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, conducting precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu-Kashmir (PoJK). The Indian Armed Forces also responded to further Pakistani aggression by targeting airbases. The military escalation led to an understanding to halt further action after a direct call between Pakistans Director General of Military Operations and his Indian counterpart. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. "There's no such thing as a Chettinad Chicken," says chef Ruchira Hoon as she points at a peppered chicken dish, served at the Chettinad Thali pop-up at her South Indian canteen-style restaurant Dakshin Canteen in Delhi. "This is the chicken dish many pass off as Chettinad Chicken," she adds. While most South Indian restaurants in Delhi stick to familiar territory dosa, idli, and uttapam Dakshin Canteen offers a menu that is borderless, expansive, packed with balanced, and authentic flavours. When I decided to open a South Indian restaurant, I knew it had to reflect the diversity of the region meaning food from across all South Indian states, says Hoon. But showcasing such a wide range of dishes all at once is no easy feat. I cant put everything on the main menu right away. But through pop-ups, I can still introduce them to people, she adds. This month, Hoon turned the spotlight on the flavours of Chettinad, a region in Tamil Nadu where the mercantile community Chettiyars draw their origin. Being traders, they did business with countries like Myanmar, Malaysia, and China, and these trade links left an imprint on their food. "The Chettiyars were hardcore Tamils, and their food had influences from all of these places, which now is the Chettinad cuisine," explains Hoon. Just like the influences on Chettinad cuisine are many, so are the spice notes, which range from the spicy and smokey flavour of the Gundu chili, and the spice of the black peppercorns to the tanginess of tamarind and sweetness of pineapple and black rice. So what are the top ingredients used in Chettinad cuisine? "It's Gundu mirchi (chili), black pepper, shallots, curry leaves, and fennel," replies Hoon. When asked about the top dishes, she pauses for two seconds before replying, "It's everything you're about to have." I start off with the cabbage and sathkudi salad, a simple preparation done with cabbage, mosambi (sweet lime), green chili, vinegar, and salt. Simple, refreshing but with just the right amount of spice. While few dishes on the plate are familiar such as the Lemon Idiyappam, Beans Poriyal, Vengayam Sambaar, and the simple Appalam; there's also Vatha Kozhambu, a spicy, tangy curry made with tamarind, the sweet and tangy pineapple curry, Kozha Urundai Kozhambu, the mutton curry, and Paal Paniyaram, a mildly sweet dish made with fried rice-urad batter dollops soaked in milk. The dish that took the cake for me was Kavanarisi, a sweet preparation done with black rice, ghee, grated coconut, resins, and sweetener. The menu is broad, but the dishes come in small portions, allowing you to taste everything. The warm, welcoming interiors only add to the whole experience. After Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders to lift nuclear power in the United States, he said that Apple would have to pay tariffs on iPhones made in India that are sold in the US. This came weeks after Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that the tech giant expects a significant portion of its iPhones sold in the US to have India as its country of origin. During the same second-quarter earnings conference, he said that the existing tariffs that were relevant to Apple were based on the products country of origin. However, Trumps warning has bigger implications for India, especially as the worlds largest democracy is looking to clinch a major bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with its biggest trade partner. I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else, posted Trump on his platform Truth Social. MORE | Will India get a full reciprocal tariff exemption from US? Interim trade deal negotiations in final stages If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25 per cent must be paid by Apple to the US, he affirmed on the post. Ever since Trump slapped massive tariffs on China (since reduced), Apple has been looking at alternative countries to set up iPhone production hubs in other countries. So far, iPhone manufacturing facilities are being set up in India, while iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and AirPods sold in the US are expected to come from Vietnam in the June quarter. The US President has been urging Apple to shift its iPhone production to the US, but market watchers are of the opinion that it will take a long time. The US assembly of iPhones is much more expensive than that of India. Moreover, Apple has been successful in covering the demand for iPhones in the US with its recent facilities in India. In fact, India has the potential to take on all the load of iPhone production in the coming years. Yet, the 25 per cent tariff threat by Trump carries significant implications. New Delhi and Washington have been in talks for months to zero in on the trade deal between them. In the past few weeks, delegations from both countries met in Washington to finalise the first tranche of the BTA, and it is expected to be in place by July 8. July 9 is when Trumps 90-day grace period on the reciprocal tariffs ends. After that, India looks at a 26 per cent tariff on Indian goods, if the BTA is not in place. If Trump wants to strongarm Apple, he could delay the first tranche of the BTA, thereby slapping India-made iPhones with the tariffs, along with other imports from the country. Mini Krishnakumar, a BJP municipal council member from Palakkad, has filed a complaint with the NIA and the Union Home Ministry. She alleges that rapper Hirandas Murali, popularly known as Vedan, defamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi through his song Voice of the Voiceless. Though the song was released four years ago, Krishnakumar stated she only recently encountered it on social media. "I responded immediately upon seeing it, and that too, through the appropriate channels," she said. According to her complaint, the song contains "defamatory content" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Additionally, she claims the song aims to promote caste-based hatred and divide the Hindu community. Krishnakumar has urged the NIA to initiate an investigation into Vedan's background based on relevant provisions in the IPC and the Information Technology Act, along with other applicable laws. The complaint calls for a thorough investigation into Vedan's background and the intentions behind his performances. She elaborated, "He is an influencer and an artist who influences a community through his art. He performed this in front of a large audience, and that is the important point. He talks about slavery. Where does slavery exist in India now? Vedan is sowing seeds of doubt by bringing up old issues in the modern era. It is NIA's responsibility to investigate why caste concepts are being instilled in people in new forms. She added, "Existing cases against Vedan should also be investigated, along with his background." "This wouldn't be allowed in any other country. I don't know why it took so long to file a complaint after this was said in Kerala. As soon as I noticed it, I filed a complaint," she commented. In Andhra Pradesh, three positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed by Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav. At a review meeting held yesterday, he discussed the onset of Covid and the measures that need to be taken to tackle it. After a long hiatus, the first COVID case in the state was detected in the coastal town of Visakhapatnam. Another person from the patients family also tested positive followed by the doctor who treated them also contracting the virus. The government-run King George Hospitals (KGH) has a testing lab where the samples tested positive. According to sources in the hospital, samples have been sent to Pune's Virology Institute for genome sequencing to find out about the variant. The minister assured that there was no need for panic. Appealing to the people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, he informed that so far, the central government has not issued any specific advisories or guidelines and that the situation is being closely monitored. Discussions with health officials were conducted about the necessary steps the state government should take as part of its responsibilities. In Telangana too, a positive case has been detected. A doctor residing in Hyderabad was found to have contracted the virus. It is unclear if he had any travel history. Local health officials have said that the patient has recovered and was in home isolation as he did not need hospitalisation. The family members were closely monitored and it was found that none of them showed any Covid symptoms. Health officials suspect that the Covid which is spreading could be a sub variant of omicron and the symptoms subside soon as it was known to be mild in nature. Government hospitals in the state are gearing up to keep their isolation wards ready in case the number of cases goes up in the coming days. Justice B.V. Nagarathna, poised to become the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027, is set to join the Supreme Court Collegium soon. Her entry follows the retirement of Justice Abhay S. Oka, creating space in the five-member body responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges in the higher judiciary. This development marks a significant milestone in the journey toward greater gender representation in Indias judicial system, which has historically remained male-dominated at its highest levels. The Collegium, currently comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, and J.K. Maheshwari will now include a woman judge, symbolising incremental but meaningful progress toward a more inclusive judiciary. The Supreme Court Collegium, comprising the five senior-most judges of the apex court, plays a crucial role in judicial appointments to the Supreme Court and the transfer of High Court judges. Additionally, the three senior-most judges handle appointments to High Courts. With Justice Okas retirement, Justice Nagarathna, currently the fifth senior-most judge, will step into the Collegium and serve in that capacity until her retirement in 2027. However, her tenure will be brief lasting only 36 days from September 24 to October 29, 2027, making it the third shortest in the Courts history. Daughter of former CJI E.S. Venkataramiah, Justice Nagarathna began her legal career in 1987. She was appointed an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2008 and became a permanent judge in 2010. She was elevated to the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021. During her tenure in the Supreme Court, she has contributed significantly to Constitution bench decisions and delivered notable dissenting opinions, including on matters such as royalty payments by mining operators and states powers to tax industrial alcohol. She was also the lone dissenter in the 2016 demonetisation case. Her presence in the Collegium also signals a shift in power structures bringing not just symbolic but substantive change. In a legal system where women constitute less than 15 per cent of High Court judges, and an even smaller fraction in leadership roles, Justice Nagarathnas rise is a beacon for aspiring women in law and a call to action for institutional gender parity. According to sources, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai is expected to hold his first Collegium meeting on Monday, focusing on filling vacancies in the Supreme Court and making key appointments across various High Courts. Interestingly, all five judges who are part of Collegium will be holding hearings on the partial court working days, beginning May 26 to June 1. The Anti-Terrorism Squad in Gujarat has arrested a health worker from a village close to the India-Pakistan border in Kutch, on charges of spying for the neighbouring country. Security forces have launched a nationwide hunt for Pakistani spies in the country in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. According to police, Sahdev Gohil was arrested from the Kutch border area for allegedly sharing sensitive information about the armed forces to Pakistan. Gohil worked as a health worker in Dayapar, Kutch and was allegedly in contact with Pakistani spy handlers. Police said Gohil was in touch with Aditi Bharadwaj, allegedly a Pakistani spy handler since 2023 and he shared sensitive information regarding Indian military to Bharadwaj. Police suspect it could be fake name. Gohil has reportedly shared details regarding the bases of Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force. Gohil allegedly shared photos of the sensitive military based and was paid Rs 40,000 in cash by an unknown person for the information. Cops have seized Gohil's devices and they have been sent to forensics for further examination. Gohil's arrest is the recent in the crackdown against Pakistani spy network in the country. The development comes following the arrest of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra and 11 others across the country on espionage charges. Malhotra came under scanner following her close association with Pakistani intelligence operatives. According to cops, Malhotra had visited Kashmir and Pakistan before the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. As many as 26 persons were killed in the gruesome terror attack. India launched Operation Sindoor to avenge the killings on May 7. Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has alleged that Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara was being deliberately targeted in a gold smuggling case and pointed to a conspiracy by a powerful Congress leader in the state. Earlier this week, the enforcement directorate (ED) conducted raids on the educational institutions owned by Parameshwar, including the Siddhartha Institute of Technology and Siddhartha Medical Colleges in Tumakuru and Begur, as part of the investigation into a money laundering case linked to the gold smuggling racket involving actor Ranya Rao. Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao (who is now on long leave), was arrested by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths from the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, on March 3, 2025, on her return from Dubai. The authorities seized 14.2kg of 24-karat gold worth over 12.56 crore. Her frequent trips (52 trips) to Dubai between 2023 and 2025 had put her under the DRI scanner. Following her arrest, the police recovered 2.06 crore in gold jewellery and 2.67 crore in cash from her Bengaluru residence. On May 20, 2025, a Bengaluru Special Court granted default bail to Ranya Rao and co-accused Tarun Kondaru Raju, after the DRI failed to file a chargesheet within the 60-day limit. However, she remained in custody under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act, 1974 (preventive detention), citing risk of continued smuggling activity. The ED conducted raids in Tumakuru on suspicion of Hawala transactions linked to the smuggling case. A jeweller, Sahil Sakariya Jain, is also under scrutiny for allegedly helping dispose of 49.6kg of smuggled gold worth 40.14 crore and facilitating hawala. This is a conspiracy against Parameshwar and part of the ongoing power tussle within the Congress party. The real motive is to sideline Dalit leadership and elevate a rival leader to the Chief Ministers post. It is a conspiracy by a powerful Congress leader. Parameshwaras recent political activityan effort to organise a Dalit convention and engage with national leadership might have triggered this backlash. Cooperation minister Rajanna, in the state assembly, had hinted that a politically influential figure was involved in surveillance and manipulation tactics, said Kumaraswamy while speaking to reporters at his residence in Delhi. The JDS leader wondered if the Intelligence department, which directly reported to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was genuinely unaware of these developments. The gold smuggling case is being used as a tool to damage Parameshwaras credibility and derail his leadership ambitions. The person aiming to succeed Siddaramaiah as the chief minister is orchestrating the entire episode from behind the scenes, added Kumaraswamy. Meanwhile, Shivakumar, who rushed to meet Parameshwara at the latters residence in Bengaluru following the raids, stated that the Home minister had gifted around 15-25 lakh (to Ranya). I visited his house and spoke to him. He has given 15-25 lakh as gift. Many of us (politicians) run public trusts and give money. Similarly, Parameshwara might have given the money during a family event or a wedding. Do you think an influential person like him would give money and ask her to indulge in gold smuggling or do anything illegal with it?, asked Shivakumar. The KPCC chief also praised Parameshwar as a clean, honest and a law-abiding leader. He has been my colleague since 1989, and he is a law-abiding citizen, our home minister and a big leader. He has served as the party president for eight years. He will answer all the queries by the ED. I have told him that I will stand by him, added Shivakumar. Interestingly, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi seconded Kumaraswamy and said, A faction of the Congress is the actual trigger for the ED raids. This faction has sent information and written to ED seeking against Parameshwar. Siddaramaiah is pretending not to know anything about this. ED will act as per law based on the information received. The ED officers visited our institutions and asked for accounts of the last five years. I asked my staff to cooperate in the investigation, said Parameshwara. The ED is scrutinising documents allegedly linked to hawala transactions. In its statement, ED has revealed that there is a key financial link of an educational institution that had diverted 40 lakh towards payment of the credit card bill of Ranya Rao. This transaction was carried out based on oral instruction from an influential person. Shivakumars brother and former MP DK Suresh slammed Joshi, saying he was a politician who indulged in politics of instigating one against the other and also dismissed Kumaraswamys allegations, stating that the minister was known for his bundle of lies. Industries MB Patil dared Joshi to reveal the name of the Congress leader who has allegedly given the documents (to frame Parameshwar) to ED. How does Joshi know all this? Is the ED sharing information with Joshi or working under his directions? asked Sharan Prakash Patil. Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday said that the DMK is not intimidated by Enforcement Directorate raids or Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will respond to the searches legally. Udhayanidhi's remarks came amid Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's meeting with PM Modi on the sidelines of the Niti Aayog meet in Delhi. While addressing the reporters, Udhayanidhi said that the party will uphold state rights and resist any form of political pressure. He was responding to the opposition AIADMK's criticism that Stalin's visit to Delhi came in the wake of the ED searches at the offices of state-run liquor corporation TASMAC. "We are not afraid of ED or Modi. The DMK nurtured by Kalaignar (his grandfather and former chief minister M Karunanidhi), is a party with self-respect firmly moored to the principles of Periyar (rationalist leader E V Ramasamy)," Udhayanidhi was quoted by PTI. "They (BJP government at the Centre) tried to intimidate us in the past but we refused to yield. Ours is not a party with a servitude mindset. We will face the cases legally," he added. In the Niti Aayog meeting, CM Stalin sought the Centre to enhance the state's share in central taxes to 50 per cent and also demanded the release of funds for education. "Particularly, nearly Rs. 2,200 crore of Union funds have been denied to Tamil Nadu in the year 2024-2025. This affects the education of children studying in government schools and children studying under the Right to Education Act ( RTE). Therefore, I urge you to release this fund without delay and without insisting on unilateral conditions," Stalin said. India launched a scathing attack against Pakistan in the United Nations Security Council on Friday and said the Indus Waters Treaty was suspended owing to Pakistan's support to cross-border terrorism. India said it was Pakistan that violated the longstanding water treaty. Calling out Pakistan for supporting cross-border terrorism, the most recent being the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India charged Pakistan continues to endanger the safety of critical infrastructure and civilian lives. Clarifying why India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, Parvathaneni Harish, Permanent Representative of India to the UN said at the Arria formula meeting, "India entered into the Indus Water Treaty 65 years ago in good faith. Pakistan has violated its spirit by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India. More than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost, the most recent being the terror attack in Pahalgam. India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity throughout. Pakistan's state-sponsored cross-border terrorism seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians and economic prosperity," ANI reported. Harish said despite advancements in dam technology, Pakistan refused to engage in talks with India and continued to block any changes to this infrastructure permissible under the Treaty. " In 2012, terrorists attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir, continuing to endanger the safety of our projects and civilian lives. India has asked Pakistan to discuss the modifications of the Treaty in the past two years. But Pakistans obstructionist approach continues to prevent the exercise," he added. India said that the treaty will remain in abeyance until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism." During the UNSC meeting on Friday, India hit back at Pakistan for raising Kashmir issue and the recent conflict between the neighbouring nations in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. India charged it has experienced decades of Pakistani-sponsored terrorist attacks across its borders. "The victims of Pakistani terrorism have been predominantly civilians, since its objective has been to attack our prosperity, progress and morale. For such a nation to even participate in a discussion on protection of civilians is an affront to the international community," Harish said. Congress lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre on Saturday and said the 10th governing council meeting of Niti Aayog was just another diversionary tactic by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. This is the first time the prime minister is meeting with leaders from other political parties in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Calling out the agenda for the meeting, Congress secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh questioned the Centre's Viksit Bharat goals. Calling the Niti Aayog an 'Aayogya' body, Ramesh asked, "What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if those in power themselves destroy the bonds of social harmony by their malicious words and deeds?" #WATCH | Delhi | Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath reached Bharat Mandapam to attend the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting on 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047' chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. pic.twitter.com/p4bZmOv7KC ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 The Congress leader also questioned the independence of judiciary, higher education institutions, constitutional bodies and media under the Modi regime. "What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be if the values that India has always stood for are systematically assaulted in full glare of the world? What sort of Viksit Bharat will it be with sharpening economic disparities and inequalities even as wealth continues to accumulate in the hands of a few?" he asked. Ramesh charged that freedom of speech is under threat in the country. "What sort of Viksit Bharat is it where not only is freedom of speech under threat but freedom after speech is also endangered?" he questioned. "Today's meeting of the - an body if ever there was one - is yet another exercise in hypocrisy and diversion," he added. Prime Minister Modi is charing the 10th governing council meeting of Niti Aayog at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Several opposition chief ministers including Pinarayi Vijayan, Siddaramaiah and Mamata Banerjee are not attending the meeting. With two successive rulings, the Supreme Court has firmly outlined who is eligible to participate in an upcoming recruitment process initiated to fill over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching vacancies. These posts became vacant following the cancellation of the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) panel. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that candidates whose OMR sheets/answer scripts were found to be tampered with would not be allowed to participate in the new recruitment process under any circumstances. ALSO READ | SSC scam: Calcutta HC directs untainted teachers to move their protest, allows maximum of 200 participants In its April judgement cancelling the entire 2016 SSC panel, the apex court had ruled that those candidates found ineligiblebased on off-panel appointments, unjustified rank advancements, and tampered OMR sheetswould not be allowed to take part in the fresh recruitment process. The court also ordered them to return the salaries they had drawn. The verdict included a list of over 6,000 ineligible candidates acknowledged by the SSC. Some of these disqualified candidates who were flagged for OMR mismatches have requested re-entry into the new recruitment process and a resumption of their April salaries. A division bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K.P. Vishwanathan, however, firmly dismissed the plea, reinforcing their exclusion from all future SSC hiring exercises. Earlier this week, the court also dismissed a similar plea from candidates accused of unjustified rank jumps. Though they argued their answer sheets werent blank and their names appeared on the panel, the court found no reason to amend the original ruling. Meanwhile, after over a week of protesting at the Bikash Bhavan, eligible or untainted teachers have decided to shift their demonstration, following a Calcutta High Court order. However, during a press conference on Saturday, they vowed to launch a larger protest movement if West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu failed to meet them and to provide a satisfactory response by Monday. Earlier, they had also protested in front of the education ministers residence. ALSO READ | Mamata Banerjee slams Centre over welfare fund cuts, announces key North Bengal projects The eligible teachers also announced plans to send letters to all MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties in the state, demanding an all-party meeting to discuss possible solutions for reinstating their jobs. Additionally, they will also urge MPs to raise the issue in Parliament. During the days press conference, the teachers were also seen speaking about the clash with the police in front of Bikash Bhawan on May 15. We did not intentionally break the gate of Bikash Bhavan. It happened during a scuffle with the police. It was merely a momentary outburst of our anger, an untainted teacher told the media. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday sought the Centre to enhance the states share in central taxes to 50 per cent and also indicated the necessity for a dedicated urban transformation mission in the state. The high amount of funds spent by the state government on the projects introduced by the union government is causing a huge burden. It would be appropriate to increase the share of the states in the Union revenue by 50 per cent, Stalin said in his speech. Criticising the centres fiscal distribution Stalin said that Tamil Nadu receives only 33.16 per cent of its entitled share in central taxes, despite a commitment of 41 per cent. He also added that the union government should extend its support equitably, without any discrimination, to help states like Tamil Nadu achieve developmental goals. During the #NITIAayog meeting, met our Honble Prime Minister @narendramodi and submitted a memorandum detailing key priorities for Tamil Nadus development and social justice: Approval for Coimbatore & Madurai #Metro Transfer of Chennai #MRTS to @cmrlofficial Upgrade pic.twitter.com/lvg7ECmJdg M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 24, 2025 Stating that Tamil Nadu recorded the highest growth rate in the country at 9.69 per cent, he said the state is striving to achieve a 4.5 trillion-dollar economy for the country by 2047 the centenary of Indias independence. I assure you of Tamil Nadus strong contribution to Indias target of becoming a 30-trillion-dollar economy. On the lines of AMRUT 2.0, he also stressed on the need for a dedicated urban transformation mission, as Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in India and also the necessity to create better infrastructure. A big project with a large amount of funds is necessary for the development of urban areas in the country. There is an urgent need to create a new urban renewal project focusing on better infrastructure, mobility and health. You should create such a project soon, he pointed out. A Clean Ganga-style project for Cauvery, Vaigai and Thamirabarani, with names in English for national coherence and regional pride, he added. Stressing on the need for the funds under the Samagara Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme the chief minister said that the SSA funds have been withheld for the states which did not sign MoUs with the ministry of education for the PM SHRI Schools programme. He pointed out that funds to the tune of 2,200 crore is denied to Tamil Nadu by the union government. This has adversely affected children studying in government schools and those enrolled under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. I strongly urge that these funds be released without delay or the imposition of unilateral conditions, Stalin noted in his speech. Stalin, who had skipped the Niti Aayog meeting for the past three years, attended the governing council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. Stalins visit to Delhi comes at a time when the DMK is in a tight spot due to the ongoing Enforcement Directorate searches in connection with the alleged 1000 crore scam in Tamil Nadus liquor sales. His visit has been criticised by the opposition saying it is only to please the Centre from relieving the DMK and his son from the clutches of the ED. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami criticised saying that Stalin was symbolically going with a white flag in his hand to save his family from the ED raids and the consequent arrests. Aid trucks that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sent to Gaza were looted by unidentified groups in zones directly under the control of the Israel Defence Force (IDF). The incident was flagged by the UAE not long after a report claimed that Israeli airstrikes killed at least six Palestinians guarding aid trucks against such looters. The Arab nation had dispatched over a hundred aid trucks to load bakeries in the war-deprived Gaza Strip which operate like community kitchens. The items carried by the looted trucks consisted of flour, cooking gas, oil, salt, sugar, and similar items needed for food processing in eateries, the Khaleej Times said. UN chief Antonio Guterres says Palestinians in Gaza are enduring the cruelest phase of Israel's war. He denounced Israels blockade, calling the 400 trucks cleared to enter Gaza so far a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required. pic.twitter.com/jaTjsGqu9T Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 23, 2025 However, Israel is blamed for more than simply turning a blind eye to the theft. While the UAE had sent a total of 103 trucks full of supplies to the Strip, only 24 of them were allowed entry by the IDF. 23 of them failed to reach their destination following the incident and only one could donate to the warehouse where raw materials were collected, the Khaleej Times said quoting an official statement. If all trucks were allowed entry, it was certain that at least half of them would have reached the delivery zone -- ensuring relief to more people. One truckload of relief materials is a drop in the ocean as things stand. Blaming the Israeli soldiers on the ground for the development, the statement said: "This was due to the Israeli army's insistence on imposing unsafe crossing routes". UAE sent 103 trucks to feed Gazans after a few successfully made it to the relief zones last Wednesday. According to Tel Aviv, 305 aid trucks carrying flour and medical supplies have entered the Gaza Strip from the Kerem Shalom crossing point since Monday when the blockade was relaxed. UN figures claim at least 500 to 600 trucks of aid are needed every day to feed the hungry Palestinians in the region. Israel declared war on Gaza after Hamas militants' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people by Israeli tallies and saw 251 hostages abducted into Gaza. The IDF offensive has since killed more than 53,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip. Aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread. More than 1 million children in Gaza are at risk of starvation. They are deprived of food, water and medicine. All parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian law. - Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director pic.twitter.com/lDxTExbpy0 UNICEF (@UNICEF) May 15, 2025 As a consequence of the war, over 66,000 children in Gaza are suffering from severe malnutrition, with many at risk of death from starvation. As per the latest reports, about 1.1 million people, which is half of Gaza's population, are facing food insecurity and over 20% of households go entire days without food. Israeli soldiers are using Palestinian citizens as human shields in Gaza, a report said. Captive men are sent into buildings wearing military clothes with cameras attached to their foreheads, where the IDF suspects Hamas fighters may be hiding. After finishing with one building, these people are handed over by IDF soldiers to another unit, which repeats the operation against the Palestinians' will. The Israeli soldiers intimidate the captives to go on these runs which could end -- threatening to shoot them if they disagree, the Associated Press said in a report quoting a survivor. ALSO READ | Israel let only 23 of UAE's 103 food trucks to Gaza, 22 get looted as IDF turns a blind eye Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers confirmed the use of Gaza residents as human shields during the ground operations, claiming that it was approved by their higher-ups in Tel Aviv. Every platoon "used a Palestinian to clear locations" the US news agency said quoting a source. In a shocking revelation, the soldiers added that it was preferred by units as it sped up operations, saved ammunition, and spared combat dogs from injury or death. The Israeli military calls it the "mosquito protocol" while Palestinians used are referred to as "wasps", the report said. However, IDF has officially denied the claim, stating that its men and women in Gaza are strictly prohibited from using civilians as shields. It is a practice used by Hamas fighters in Gaza for long -- a major reason for the loss of innocent lives in the conflict. ALSO READ | Who is David Zini, the next head of Shin Bet? Netanyahu's defiant spy chief pick sparks legal, ethical, military uproar Abu Hamadan, a survivor of the inhuman practice by the IDF, told the press that he was forced to clear houses, tunnels and other suspected Hamas hideouts for 17 days. He was taken away from his family by Israeli soldiers who said that "he'd help with a special mission." The soldiers waited behind as Hamadan went in, only entering and destroying the place after his return confirmed it was safe. Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. The election of Pope Leo LIV as the successor to Francis, with the participation of a hand full of cardinals from the Middle East, might generate a renewed interest in the lives and livelihood of the small catholic community in the region. Estimated at 5.6 million (2013 PEW figures), they make up just one per cent of the global population. Despite their small presence, allalmost allthe countries of the Middle East have relations with the Holy See. As the enclosed list complied from the Vatican indicates, political and foreign policy calculations meant that even countries without any Catholic citizen population have also joined the process. The historic Jewish-Papacy theological contest and animosity meant that Israel-Vatican normalisation had to wait until the Oslo Agreement of 1993. Others have been moving in that direction for decades. The Sultanate of Oman, known for its inclusive society, was the latest to join the process when it established relations in February 2023. Interestingly, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains the only Middle Eastern country that does not have formal relations with the Vatican. With Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whos spearheading far-reaching religious and social reforms, will the Kingdom join the march? Here is when the Middle Eastern countries established diplomatic ties with the Vatican. Lebanon November 1946 Egypt August 23, 1947 Iran May 2, 1953 Syria February 21, 1953 Turkiye January 25, 1960 Iraq August 26, 1966 Kuwait October 21, 1968 Algeria March 6, 1972 The Sudan April 29, 1972 Tunisia March 22, 1972 Morocco January 15, 1976 Libya March 10, 1997 Yemen October 13, 1998 Jordan March 3, 1994 Israel June 15, 1994 Bahrain January 12, 2000 Qatar November 18, 2002 UAE May 31, 2007 South Sudan February 22, 2013 State of Palestine June 26, 2015 Oman February 22, 2023 Saudi Arabia Not Yet The author teaches contemporary Middle East studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In a move that has deepened Israels political and legal turmoil, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday named Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet, the countrys domestic intelligence agency. The surprise appointment followed a protracted and controversial clash with outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, whose dismissal had been mired in legal disputes and allegations of political interference. Zini, a decorated combat officer but with no background in intelligence, was abruptly tapped by Netanyahu following a brief, informal conversation earlier this month. The appointment has led to sharp criticism from legal authorities, opposition leaders, civil society groups and senior military officials. Critics argue that the process not only flouted legal norms but also placed the Shin Bet at the centre of a growing confrontation between the prime minister and Israels judiciary. The roots of the crisis lie in Netanyahus contentious decision in March to dismiss Ronen Bar, the outgoing Shin Bet chief. Bar had overseen an internal investigation into Netanyahu's aides for their ties with Qatar. Jonatan Urich, one of Netanyahus most trusted advisers, and Eli Feldstein, a spokesperson for the PMs office, are suspected of taking money from Doha to promote a positive image of the Gulf state in their briefings to journalists. Amid this probe, Netanyahu abruptly moved to oust him. Israels attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, warned at the time that the prime minister had a conflict of interest and should not appoint a successor until legal questions were resolved. Bar resigned in April, while the matter was still under review by Israels Supreme Court. On May 22, the court issued a damning ruling, declaring that Bars dismissal was tainted with many flaws and raising concerns about its legality. Despite this, Netanyahu announced Zinis appointment the following day, disregarding the attorney generals directive. Baharav-Miara swiftly condemned the move, accusing Netanyahu of acting in contravention of legal instructions and undermining the rule of law. The decision to appoint Zini bypassed standard procedures and key stakeholders. The prime minister reportedly had only a single five-minute conversation with Zini on May 8, during a military drill at the Tzeelim base. The two discussed the sensitive issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, a matter Zini had worked on during his military career. Towards the end of their conversation, Netanyahu unexpectedly raised the idea of Zini heading the Shin Bet. Zini expressed reluctance, saying he preferred to remain in uniform, but indicated he would accept if pressed. Zini did not initially disclose the details of the conversation to IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. He notified Zamirs aide that a meeting had taken place but offered no specifics. Days later, he mentioned the idea of a Shin Bet appointment in passing, giving the impression that it was not serious. It wasnt until Netanyahus public announcement on May 23 that Zamir learned the decision had been made. The IDF reacted with surprise and concern. Zamir summoned Zini for a meeting on 24, where he finalised the generals retirement from military service. The army clarified that Zini was not dismissed but reiterated that military officers must seek authorisation before engaging in political discussions. The IDF expressed unease over the appointment, particularly given Zinis lack of experience in intelligence and the opaque manner in which the decision was reached. Zini, who lives in the Keshit settlement in the occupied Golan Heights, is known for his religious Zionist views. His ideological stance has previously raised eyebrows, with Netanyahu once rejecting him for the role of military secretary for being too messianic. His selection has prompted concerns that the Shin Bet could be politicised, undermining public trust in a body that plays a vital role in national security. Former Shin Bet leaders typically rise through the ranks of the intelligence community or possess deep familiarity with counter-terrorism and strategic planning. Zini, by contrast, has never led a regional military command and lacks experience in the Shin Bets core areas such as surveillance, counter-espionage and covert operations. While widely respected for his bravery and leadership during the October 7 Hamas attacks, critics argue that Zini is unqualified for the complexities of leading Israels internal security agency. Yair Lapid, the opposition leader, urged Zini not to accept the post until the Supreme Court had ruled on the matter. Civil society organisations echoed that sentiment. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel called the appointment brazen and defiant, accusing Netanyahu of placing personal and political interests above national integrity. Adding to the controversy, Channel 12 reported that Zini had privately opposed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, allegedly describing the conflict as an eternal war. Families of hostages held by Hamas reacted angrily, calling such views incompatible with the responsibilities of a national security chief. Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close Netanyahu ally, defended the move, calling it a courageous, necessary and crucial decision to restore democratic governance. Yet critics argue the opposite. Legal experts warn that Netanyahus actions are edging Israel towards a constitutional crisis, especially as the committee responsible for approving senior appointments remains inoperative due to vacant seats. In the absence of the committee, Zinis nomination could face significant delays. Instead of making a unilateral decision, Netanyahu could have allowed his cabinet to lead the appointment. By bypassing institutional checks and balances, he has added to the fears of executive overreach. Even if Zinis appointment finally goes through, he would begin his tenure under a cloud of legal challenges and public mistrust. Moreover, it will compromise his ability to work with the attorney general and the prosecution, which is essential in the functioning of the Shin Bet. The latest controversy also reflects the broader crisis threatening Israels democratic institutions. As Netanyahu faces serious legal challenges, public opposition and political pressure, he appears to be consolidating more power, even disregarding losing public faith in the rule of law. Zini now finds himself caught in a storm not of his making. Though lauded as a courageous field commander, his lack of intelligence credentials and the irregular manner of his appointment threaten to overshadow his service. The growing rift between Bangladesh's interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and the army chief, General Waker-uz-Zaman, is deepening the existing turmoil in the country. Earlier this week, Yunus, along with the navy and air force chiefs, met Yunus and reportedly pressed their demand for polls by December this year to allow an elected government take charge. They also expressed their reservation about over the creation of the Rakhine corridor to Myanmar. Zaman, in particular, opposed any notion of a corridor, insisting that such a decision should be made by an elected government. Though Bangladesh National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman later clarified that the interim government had only discussed with the UN on facilitating a channel to provide aid to Rakhine to deal with the humanitarian crisis there, the differences between Zaman and the Yunus administration was out in the open. Interestingly, reports suggest that Khalilur Rahman is planning to replace Zaman with Lieutenant General Faizur Rahman, who is the Quarter-Master General of the army, as the army chief, and the duo had met recently. Soon after, Zaman had a closed-door meeting with senior officers at Dhaka Cantonment to review the situation, which has led to speculations that the army might be planning a coup, and appoint a national unity government under its watch. Yunus, meanwhile, is reportedly mulling resignation, saying that he is finding it difficult to work in view of political parties failing to reach a common ground. Who is General Waker-uz-Zaman? Zaman, it is believed, is pushing for early elections fearing external influence in Bangladesh politics. Yunuss interim government, on May 12, officially disbanded Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (which was founded by her father and 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) under an overnight revised anti-terrorism law. Zaman is a distant relative of Hasina his wife is her cousin. The 59-year-old is married to Sarahnaz Kamalika Zaman, the daughter of General Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman, who was army chief from 1997 to 2000. Zaman is believed to have facilitated Hasinas exit to India after the ouster of her regime on August 5, 2024. He worked closely with Hasina, serving as the principal staff officer at the Armed Forces Division under the Prime Minister's Office. Born in Dhaka, Zaman holds a Masters degree in Defence Studies from the National University of Bangladesh and a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King's College, London. He has served as an instructor at the School of Infantry and Tactics, Non-commissioned Officers Academy and the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations Training, and also has experience as military secretary in the army headquarters. Before becoming the army chief on June 23 last year, he served as the Chief of General Staff, overseeing military operations and intelligence, budget and Bangladesh's role in UN peacekeeping operations. His contributions to modernising the army earned him the Army Medal of Glory (SGP) and the Extraordinary Service Medal (OSP). Amid political turmoil in Bangladesh, Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus will remain the head of the interim government. "Yunus didn't say he will leave. He said that while we face many obstacles in carrying out the work and responsibilities assigned to us, we are overcoming them," Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud told reporters at the advisory council meeting held on Saturday. Yunus is definitely staying, Mahmud added. A rift between Yunus and the army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman has spread the rumours of the former's resignation. Reportedly, the military was pushing for the elections as Yunus was to remain in control till the next elections were held in the country. Yunus became the head of the interim government after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina last year. The makeshift arrangement was to last until the elections. Meanwhile, chief advisor Mahmud's decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt the situation is such that he cannot work. It is said that Yunus has citied difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change. An unscheduled advisor council meeting was called by Yunus on Saturday, where 19 advisers--effectively ministers--joined the closed-door meeting. The discussions were focused on the elections, Yunus's reform agenda and the belated July Proclamation. Yunus is expected to meet leaders of the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami later in the day following the political turmoil. After the ouster of the Awami League regime in August last year, the BNP has emerged as the key player in the political arena. Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah M. Taher said that the government had announced that the elections would be held between December and June. Since there is no roadmap set on the elections, there is an urgent one required for structual reforms in politics and state governance. Yunus's resignation development came amid reports of a rift between the military and the interim government involving the proposed humanitarian corridor of aid channel to Myanmar's rebel-held Rakhine state. Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman met Yunus along with the navy and air force chiefs and conveyed their reservation about the corridor issue. Signalling the White House will continue to take action against universities that do not abide by its policies, US President Donald Trump said Harvard University will have to change its ways. Trump's comments come after his administration faced backlash for banning foreign admissions at the prestigious university on Friday. Trump told presspersons, "We will take a look at a lot of things... Harvard will have to change its ways." Trump's comments come after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's move banning the enrolment of foreign students at the top university. The Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) certification on Friday, blocking the University's ability to enrol foreign students. The University administration immediately filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, calling the move retaliatory and politically motivated. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday said Harvard University's certification is being removed as it was found promoting anti-American, anti-Jewish and pro-terrorist sentiments in its campus premises. Noem said the action was a "warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country." The DHS revoked Harvsard's certification after it allegedly failed to provide details regarding illegal foreign students on campus, a charge the university administration categorically denied. Earlier, the Trump administration had frozen grants to the university, affecting its ongoing research programmes. In a statement on Friday, Harvard University president Alan M. Garber said the lawsuit was a critical step "to protect the rights and opportunities of our international students and scholars, who are vital to the Universitys mission and community." The US court will next hear the matter on May 29 and consider whether the temporary order should be extended. Earlier, accusing the Trump administration of targeting Harvard University for refusing to "surrender academic independence", Garber condemned the US government for revoking its certification. Garber said, "Harvard did respond to the Departments requests as required by law." Close to 7,000 foreign students, including over 700 students from India, study at Harvard University. As per DHS orders, the foreign students were forced to transfer to other universities to retain their non-immigrant status. In a renewed overnight offensive following the 17th EU sanctions on Russia, Ukraine's capital city saw as many as 250 drone attacks and 14 ballistic missile attacks that damaged several apartment buildings. 15 people have been reported injured so far, as a result of these aerial attacks aloneone of the biggest combined attacks since the conflict between the two nations escalated in 2022. Calling it a difficult night for all of Ukraine, Kyiv President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for tougher sanctions on Moscowlikely referring to the 18th European Union-United Kingdom sanctions packageto pressure it into agreeing to a ceasefire. Zelenskyy's X post also shows a video of the abject destruction across as many as six districts of the Ukrainian capital (as per government officials), with firefighters rescuing injured people from fire-ravaged buildings. Fragments of Russian missiles and drones are being cleared in Kyiv. Rescue and emergency operations are ongoing at the sites of strikes and debris impacts wherever they are needed. There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight. Once again, residential buildings, pic.twitter.com/F3szA4gCJz Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) May 24, 2025 All strikes targeted civilians, he lamented. Officials even added that two out of the 15 injured were children. These attacks come in the face of US President Donald Trump's failure to bring about a ceasefire between the two nations by having them engage in face-to-face peace negotiations. ALSO READ | Moscow FM Lavrov questions 'inelegant' use of Vatican for peace negotiations with Kyiv However, despite the failure of those attempts, Trump has pushed back against the EU's spirited calls to join it in pressurising Russia with the bloc's 18th sanctions package: a long way away from the time he promised bone-crushing sanctions on Moscow. This indicates a possible withdrawal from the conflict altogether that America had hinted at, during the peace talks in Paris last month. Halyna Tatarchuk, a 63-year-old pensioner, was in her apartment when a drone hit the building. She and her husband had been in the corridor, away from the windows. "I'd like Trump to see this," said Halyna Tatarchuk, a 63-year-old pensioner who had been in her apartment when a drone hit her building, as per a Reuters report. ALSO READ | EU, UK announce new sanctions on Russia after Trump's phone call fails to bring about ceasefire "What's he doing? Can he really not see this? ... It's the destruction of a people, they (the Russian military) are just destroying us! Russian negotiators have stated that they were preparing a memorandum to prepare for the next round of peace talks with Ukraine. No date has been agreed for the same. "Russia still has not sent its 'peace memorandum'. Instead, it is sending deadly drones and missiles at civilians," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote in a post on Telegram. An antisemitic poster seen at Humboldt University in Berlin on Friday caused a furor of outrage in Germany, Kan News reported. The poster featured a picture of Yaron Lischinsky, who was murdered last week in the shooting attack outside the Jewish Museum in Washington, with an inverted red triangle a symbol associated with Hamas supporters above his head, and the words Make Zionists Afraid. Armin Laschet, a senior member of the ruling Christian Democratic party and chairman of the Bundestags Foreign Affairs Committee, strongly condemned the incident: The overt antisemitism at Humboldt University in Berlin is unacceptable. Yaron Lischinsky, who was murdered in New York, was at an event supporting the citizens of Gaza. The agitators at the university are not interested in solidarity with Gaza, but in the killing of Jews. Israeli ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor expressed outrage at the incident, writing: Lucky Hamas who needs propaganda when youve got German universities doing the PR for you? But Humboldt just outdid them all. New academic low unlocked. When terror gets tenure, dont call it education. Call it collaboration. (YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel) Hidden among rolling hills in Bedfordshire is a wonderful automotive facility that looks uncannily like a life-sized Teletubbies set. But amid the undulating landscape of trees, grass and futuristic buildings, is a complex network of tracks where a wide variety of mainly camouflaged motor cars and military vehicles are secretly being put through their paces during development. This is the world-renowned Millbrook Proving Ground, run by testing specialists UTAC. It boasts more than 30 miles of roads and replicates every challenge encountered by British motorists from bumps and potholes to a two-mile high-speed endurance circuit. I was there for the annual driving jamboree of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), at which major car makers bring their newest models for journalists to test drive and share the latest industry news. During my visit, I had the chance to drive Hyundai's funky and surprisingly spacious new four-door Inster, a mini urban SUV which has just been crowned best electric car in the World Car Awards. Mighty mini SUV: The Hyundai Inster is speedy and spacious The Korean car is an affordable and roomy rival to Renault's R5 hatchback, with a higher roof and more headroom. Prices start from 23,505 for the standard Inster 01 running on 15 in alloy wheels, 26,755 for the Inster 02 with 17 in wheels, and 28,755 for the Inster Cross. There are two battery options: a standard 42kWh, and the longer range 49kWh which I drove. Accelerating from 0 to 62mph in 10.6 seconds, and with a top speed of 93mph and a 229-mile range, my Inster drives well, with sufficient punch up the hills, manoeuvrability on corners and spirit on the straight. I like its bright interior, with customisable door trim and up to 351 litres of boot space. But my time at Millbrook also included a reality check, provided by SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. He warned that the Government must do more to incentivise motorists to switch to EVs: cutting VAT on charging, introducing a three-year halt on VAT on EV sales and providing more public charging points. Hyundai's Inster is an example of the unprecedented choice of EVs currently enjoyed by motorists. But I can only agree that we will need 'bold support' from ministers to reverse the lack of public demand from private EV buyers. Without it, zippy cars like the Inster won't get beyond Millbrook's test tracks. Missing so far from Keir Starmer's trade deals is any attempt to shield Britain's intellectual property. Gifted British musicians nursed the hope that vengeful rules regarding visas, work permits and the movement of goods in Europe that have complicated their lives might have been lifted. Elton John rightly is outraged that the Government is prepared to abandon Britain's creative sector to encourage big tech AI investment. He describes the Government as 'absolute losers' and argues it is a 'criminal offence' to let Silicon Valley use copyright-protected work without permission. Britain is a pioneer in the use of copyright to protect creators with laws which date back to the early 18th century. But Starmer and his Technology Secretary Peter Kyle seem determined to override that heritage. Copyright grab: Missing so far from Keir Starmer's trade deals is any attempt to shield Britain's intellectual property As originally previewed, before 'Liberation Day' on April 2, a tech deal which allowed Google, Facebook-owner Meta and Apple freedom to harvest UK creativity was expected to be at the heart of a UK-US pact. I n exchange for AI being allowed to roam freely on this side of the pond, big tech would step up inward investment. Intellectual property, Britain's up-and-coming artistes and creators and established powerhouses such as Elton and JK Rowling would be sacrificed. Essentially, a craven Labour government, desperate to find some levers to drive growth, was adopting a Trumpian agenda. In Washington last month, I dined with old friend Shira Perlmutter, a distinguished legal academic, who headed the US Copyright Office an agency responsible to Congress. Her branch has been commissioned by the White House to produce a report on AI. There was a veiled indication that if the administration disagreed with the independent findings, funding for the Copyright Office could be reduced. A draft report found that the use of large language models for 'research and analysis' using copyright material for training purposes was permissible. But when AI is trained on copyrighted journalism, artworks, books and other original material to generate a product to sell that likely breached fair use protections, it found. That is in legalese much the same case that Elton is making in Britain. Soon after the draft report appeared, Perlmutter received an email from the White House. She had been dismissed from her post with no due process. Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Chuck Schumer described the firing as 'unlawful' because Congress had shielded the US Copyright Office from politics. This treatment of one of the most respected guardians of copyright law must be regarded as unacceptable in a democracy. But Trump and his acolytes willingly trample on constitutional values in support of their own ends. What big tech wants it gets. The power of lobbying by Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook and the other Silicon Valley tech bros has no boundaries. Cook was swiftly able to exclude mobile devices from punitive Trump tariffs imposed on China. AI is big tech's new frontier and anything or anyone who gets in its way receives the White House hairdryer treatment and worse. Of course, the UK must rub along with the US. Jaguar Land Rover might have faced near extinction had not Peter Mandelson, on behalf of Labour, secured a tariff reduction deal. Labour's willingness to accede to the Trump copyright agenda, destroying four centuries of copyright at a stroke, is indefensible. 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. J.W. writes: Trace Debt Recovery UK, acting on behalf of Euro Parking Collection, is attempting to fine me 303. The alleged offence is non-payment of a road toll in Hungary, where I was driving my motorhome in 2023. I paid the correct toll of 5,500 Hungarian forints (about 11) at the time, and presented my vehicle registration document to the cashier, but they mistakenly recorded the letter D on the numberplate as a letter P. Tony Hetherington replies: Trace Debt Recovery UK, based in Northampton, sent you a mass-produced threatening letter. Headed 'Final Notice', it warned that if you failed to hand over 303, you could face county court action which might damage your credit rating. What makes me think the letter was mass-produced? Well, it refers to the 'date of the parking charge notice', completely contradicting the allegation that you have an 'outstanding unpaid Hungarian toll roads penalty charge notice'. There's a bit of a difference! Paid in full: The alleged offence is non-payment of a road toll in Hungary I asked the debt collectors to take no action while I contacted their client, Euro Parking Collection (EPC), and they immediately agreed. This was sensible, since you have the receipt proving you paid the toll fee in Hungary, and the mistake was not made by you. Surely EPC would understand? Well, no. It ruled that you were at fault for failing to spot the cashier had got it wrong. Grudgingly it scrapped the demand for 303, but replaced it with a 49 bill it described this as an 'administrative charge' to alter its records to show the correct registration. It would have been easy for you to give in to any of these threats, but you told me: 'They are bullying people into paying up. Not me! Twenty years in the RAF has given me a thick skin.' EPC told me it was just obeying rules set by its Hungarian client. Fine, I replied, so this is a civil debt case, not a criminal matter. Surely it should be considered in a civil court in Hungary? Or, if EPC believed it could sue you in a UK court, then you could name the cashier and the cashier's employer as witnesses. So I asked EPC to provide their details, and heard back that it was unable to speak on behalf of its client yet this is exactly what it is doing when it issues demands. On top of this, EPC is a member of the British Parking Association, the trade body which says its members should accept minor keying errors as long as the driver has paid the parking fee. I also reminded EPC that paying the DVLA in Swansea to hand over your name and address did not comply with its data protection rules, where motorists' details 'may not be shared with any organisations based outside the UK'. In a nutshell, the Hungarians lost no money because you'd paid the toll road fee, but they demanded more money because of the mistake made by their own employee. They hired EPC to collect the cash and EPC hired Trace Debt Recovery UK to threaten you. But none of them are a penny richer because you had the guts to stand up to them. Now let our Government explain why it caves in to every attempt to regulate the sharks who inhabit the car park industry. My 1,100 gas bill for an empty house A.R. writes: My father died in June. I informed British Gas and the electricity supply was put in my name, but the gas account was unchanged for months. In November, I smelled gas. Cadent Gas came and found the meter was leaking, so they changed it and recorded the readings. British Gas then sent me a big bill. Incorrect: British Gas said it would cancel the bill, but two weeks later an even bigger demand arrived Tony Hetherington replies: You told British Gas the house was unoccupied, and it said it would cancel the bill, but two weeks later an even bigger demand arrived. An engineer confirmed the new meter was faulty. However, the bills kept coming, and by the time you contacted me you were facing demands totalling more than 1,100. You were asked for a meter reading from when you moved into the house but you had never moved in. I asked British Gas to investigate, and staff quickly found that Cadent Gas's meter readings were incorrect. The readings have now been amended to show that you used no gas at all. British Gas was willing to offer you a goodwill gesture of 100 too, but you declined this, telling me that all you wanted was for the demands to be sorted out, and this has now been done. 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. The boss of one of Britain's biggest stocks and shares platforms has accused Labour of trying to 'bully and cajole' pension funds over where to invest retirement savings. AJ Bell chief executive Michael Summersgill yesterday voiced concerns that Rachel Reeves could instruct pension providers to back unlisted UK equities. Retirement saving funds last week caved in to pressure from the Chancellor to boost their investment in private British businesses and infrastructure projects. Aviva, Legal and General and Phoenix Group were among the 17 firms that vowed to invest 10 per cent of workplace pensions in unlisted assets by 2030 with 5 per cent of that allocated to the UK. Fears are mounting that Reeves will force pension funds to make the shift if investment continues to lag. Earlier this month the Chancellor said she was 'never going to say never' to such a move. But Summersgill labelled the tactic among ministers to 'bully and cajole' firms as 'crude'. 'It's not the right approach', he said. Worry: AJ Bell chief executive Michael Summersgill voiced concerns that Rachel Reeves could instruct pension providers to back unlisted UK equities AJ Bell is not a pension provider in the traditional sense as it does not control money on behalf of clients. But its customers can open a personal pension on the platform and choose their own investments. Summersgill said he was against a mandate, claiming it is 'highly risky to start mandating what people should do with their money it is very complicated'. Meanwhile, shares in AJ Bell jumped 8.4 per cent, or 38.4p, to 495.6p, after it reported a rise in half-year sales and profits for the six months to March 31. The Manchester-based company has also urged the Chancellor to rule out pension tax changes to avoid speculation ahead of the Budget in October and pressed Reeves to charge forward with Isa reform. AJ Bell wants cash Isas and stocks and shares Isas to be combined into one product. Such a move would 'remove a current barrier which requires people to choose one or the other at the outset,' it said. Reeves faced a backlash at the start of the year amid speculation that she was planning a tax raid on cash Isas, including a potential reduction of the 20,000 tax-free allowance. AJ Bell said half-year profits rose 12 per cent to 68.8m and revenue was up 17 per cent to 153m. It added 51,000 new customers, taking its total to 593,000 a 9 per cent increase. Assets under management hit a record 90.4billion after growing 5 per cent. Analysts at Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (NYSE:BPT Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a sell rating on the oil and gas companys stock. BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust Trading Down 0.1% Shares of NYSE:BPT opened at $0.64 on Thursday. BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust has a 12-month low of $0.40 and a 12-month high of $2.61. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $0.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $0.66. Get BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows A hedge fund recently raised its stake in BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust stock. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (NYSE:BPT Free Report) by 116.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,960 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after buying an additional 31,139 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd owned approximately 0.27% of BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Institutional investors own 5.66% of the companys stock. About BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust operates as a grantor trust in the United States. It is involved in holding overriding royalty interest in the Prudhoe Bay oil field located on the North Slope of Alaska. The Prudhoe Bay field extends approximately 12 miles by 27 miles and contains approximately 150,000 gross productive acres. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Victorias Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO Get Free Report) has been given a $24.00 price objective by analysts at UBS Group in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock. UBS Groups target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.77% from the companys previous close. A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Victorias Secret & Co. from $38.00 to $23.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an underweight rating and set a $15.00 price objective (up from $12.00) on shares of Victorias Secret & Co. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Victorias Secret & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reissued a hold rating on shares of Victorias Secret & Co. in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Victorias Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $24.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $26.18. Get Victoria's Secret & Co. alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Victorias Secret & Co. Victorias Secret & Co. Stock Performance Shares of VSCO stock opened at $22.27 on Friday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $19.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.73. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12. Victorias Secret & Co. has a 12-month low of $13.76 and a 12-month high of $48.73. Victorias Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Victorias Secret & Co. had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 44.74%. Analysts expect that Victorias Secret & Co. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Buying and Selling at Victorias Secret & Co. In other news, major shareholder International Pte Ltd Bbrc bought 80,328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.78 per share, with a total value of $1,347,903.84. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 9,255,347 shares in the company, valued at $155,304,722.66. The trade was a 0.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,503,973 shares of company stock valued at $26,617,312. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Victorias Secret & Co. Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSCO. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Victorias Secret & Co. by 481.5% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,956,760 shares of the companys stock worth $81,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,256 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Victorias Secret & Co. by 9,595.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,419,080 shares of the companys stock worth $26,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,444 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Victorias Secret & Co. by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,988,122 shares of the companys stock worth $165,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,090 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Victorias Secret & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $37,693,000. Finally, SRS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Victorias Secret & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $37,011,000. 90.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Victorias Secret & Co. Company Profile (Get Free Report) Victorias Secret & Co operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Victoria's Secret & Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Victoria's Secret & Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX Free Report) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,474 shares of the companys stock after selling 729 shares during the quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Clorox were worth $238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 565,810 shares of the companys stock worth $91,893,000 after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 654,198 shares of the companys stock valued at $106,248,000 after acquiring an additional 80,189 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the companys stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,074 shares of the companys stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 370,880 shares of the companys stock valued at $60,235,000 after acquiring an additional 121,979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the companys stock. Get Clorox alerts: Insider Transactions at Clorox In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $546,280. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth CLX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of Clorox and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $151.23. Check Out Our Latest Report on Clorox Clorox Price Performance NYSE:CLX opened at $130.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The companys 50-day moving average price is $139.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.39. Clorox (NYSE:CLX Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. Cloroxs revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year. Clorox Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Cloroxs payout ratio is 87.61%. About Clorox (Free Report) The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Clorox Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Clorox and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Southern, Quanta Services, Bank of New York Mellon, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Petrobras, and WEC Energy Group are the five Renewable Energy stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Renewable energy stocks are shares of publicly traded companies that generate or support power from sustainable sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal. By investing in these stocks, shareholders gain exposure to the growth of the clean-energy sectordriven by technological advances and decarbonization policieswhile also facing risks tied to regulatory changes, commodity prices and project development cycles. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Renewable Energy stocks within the last several days. Get alerts: Southern (SO) The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations. NYSE SO traded down $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $89.54. 4,397,070 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,462,294. The stock has a market cap of $98.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. Southern has a 1 year low of $76.64 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.17. Read Our Latest Research Report on SO Quanta Services (PWR) Quanta Services, Inc. provides infrastructure solutions for the electric and gas utility, renewable energy, communications, and pipeline and energy industries in the United States, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The companys Electric Power Infrastructure Solutions segment engages in the design, procurement, construction, upgrade, repair, and maintenance of electric power transmission and distribution infrastructure and substation facilities; installation, maintenance, and upgrade of electric power infrastructure projects; installation of smart grid technologies on electric power networks; and design, installation, maintenance, and repair of commercial and industrial wirings. Shares of PWR traded down $2.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $342.89. 594,562 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,581,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $285.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.26. Quanta Services has a 52-week low of $227.08 and a 52-week high of $365.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.84 billion, a PE ratio of 56.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.02. Read Our Latest Research Report on PWR Bank of New York Mellon (BK) The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation provides a range of financial products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Securities Services, Market and Wealth Services, Investment and Wealth Management, and other segments. The Securities Services segment offers custody, trust and depositary, accounting, exchange-traded funds, middle-office solutions, transfer agency, services for private equity and real estate funds, foreign exchange, securities lending, liquidity/lending services, and data analytics. Bank of New York Mellon stock traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.86. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,232,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,031,165. Bank of New York Mellon has a fifty-two week low of $57.18 and a fifty-two week high of $90.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.05. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $81.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.69. Read Our Latest Research Report on BK Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Petrobras (PBR) Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily for supplies to the domestic refineries. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Petrobras stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.95. 10,311,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,376,201. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $77.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.87. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $12.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.27. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Petrobras has a 1 year low of $11.03 and a 1 year high of $15.73. Read Our Latest Research Report on PBR WEC Energy Group (WEC) WEC Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments. Shares of NYSE WEC traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,116,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,164,995. The company has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.87. Read Our Latest Research Report on WEC Featured Articles Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM Free Report) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,387 shares of the technology companys stock, valued at approximately $305,000. Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 174.3% in the 4th quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 192 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the companys stock. Get International Business Machines alerts: Insider Transactions at International Business Machines In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth IBM has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup reiterated an outperform rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an outperform rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $249.06. View Our Latest Stock Report on IBM International Business Machines Price Performance International Business Machines stock opened at $258.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $240.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.19. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $163.53 and a 12-month high of $269.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year. International Business Machines Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is a boost from International Business Machiness previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. International Business Machiness payout ratio is 115.66%. International Business Machines Company Profile (Free Report) International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IBM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for International Business Machines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Business Machines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,525 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 2,592 shares during the quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $688,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,455,000. Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 637,957 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $47,674,000 after acquiring an additional 43,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 16,316 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 5,413 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $89.63. Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.2% Shares of SCHW stock opened at $87.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $89.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year. Charles Schwab Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%. Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab In other news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 47,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total value of $4,201,850.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.39, for a total value of $889,280.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,088 shares of company stock valued at $8,105,928. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the companys stock. Charles Schwab Company Profile (Free Report) The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCHW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Charles Schwab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Charles Schwab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. A man arrested by gardai investigating an explosion at a service station in Co Donegal in which 10 people died has been released without charge. Four men, three women and three young people, their ages ranging from five to 59, died in the blast on the afternoon of Friday October 7 2022 in the village of Creeslough. The man aged in his 60s was arrested on Friday for alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. He had been held at a Garda station in the north-western region. The Garda said he has been released without charge and a file would now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The investigation into the explosion, which ripped through the service station and an adjacent apartment block, is being co-ordinated from Milford Garda station, where an incident room is in operation. The inquiry is being led by local gardai, supported by a number of different agencies, including Irelands Health and Safety Authority. The 10 victims were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe, Catherine ODonnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, fashion student Jessica Gallagher, Celtic fan Martin McGill, James OFlaherty from Sydney, Australia, shop worker Martina Martin, carpenter Hugh Hughie Kelly and 14-year-old Leona Harper. Behind the scenes, there's a bit of interesting news from the courthouse that mainstream media hasn't picked up on yet . . . Insiders & Tax fighters are encouraged by signs that the Exec and his team will finally start following mandates from the Missouri tax commish and a judge. To help us follow this often confusing situation . . . Here's the word and on the record comment from Preston Smith, a tireless advocate for taxpayers who has proven to be a great resource on this discussion. Check-it . . . Preston Smith: NEW STC ORDER 5/22. A GAME-CHANGER FOR 2025 Yesterday I learned about a new order from the State Tax Commission--and wonder of wonders--JACKSON COUNTY AGREED TO FOLLOW IT. (I had the STC confirm twice--in an email--that Jackson County had given them assurance in writing they would follow this order.) Here are the details: Jackson County had already said they would increase the assessments no more than 15%. But in April the STC told the County that slapping another 15% on top of the inaccurate, illegal and unfair values from 2023 was not going to happen. Apparently--with Frank facing an impending recall vote--the County has had a change of heart during the last month and agreed to use a 15% increase above the 2022 assessment value, then add no more than 15% for 2025. ################# Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Preston Smith: This does NOTHING to fix the sins of the 2023 or 2024 assessment. BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME JACKSON COUNTY IS ACKNOWLEDGING THAT PERHAPS IT WASN'T DONE RIGHT. Developing . . . One of the main local proponents of the "defund the police" claims that a recent measure to help crackdown on sideshows & illegal street racing will have a chilling effect on Kansas City's discourse. It's fair to be a bit skeptical about their concerns given the group's opposition to locking up ANYBODY for their crimes . . . Nevertheless, we think their perspective deserves attention. Here's the word . . . Decarcerate KC issued a statement following the passage of Ordinance 250395, which came as neighbors in the area of 31st and Prospect said groups of people had been gathering in front of businesses, the bus stop and the library to make people feel unsafe. Decarcerate KC condemns KCMO City Council for passing Ordinance 250395, which would change the citys loitering laws to make it easier for KCPD to arrest and jail people for simply being in public spaces, the organization said. This move not only threatens First Amendment rights, opening the door to crackdowns on free speech and protest, but more importantly, continues the citys pattern of targeting poor and working-class Kansas Citians. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KCTV5: Critics of anti-loitering ordinance speak out following city council's passage Developing . . . An idea for public safety that started on the Country Club Plaza this spring is now ready to take hold inside the Kansas City loop. Here's the preview of the plan and impending lawsuit, protest and civic unrest when it inevitably goes wrong . . . Check-it: "Downtown Council of Kansas City Vice President Sean O'Byrne said armed security guards could be coming soon to Grand Boulevard. "O'Byrne said he wants three armed guards to roam Grand Boulevard from 6th Street on the north to 14th Street on the south from 2 p.m. until midnight." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Fox4: Armed security coming to Grand Boulevard in the downtown loop Developing . . . Lots to consider for the late night and early morning holiday weekend . . . And so we share this post with our reading by way of pop culture, community reporting and top headlines. Check TKC news gathering . . . Cowtown Goes Airborne Airlines push Congress for air traffic control amid busy Memorial Day weekend travel at KCI The heads of the largest domestic airlines released a letter to Congress this week, pushing them to take action, saying in part, "The current system is failing Americans." The Dotte Uncovered Underground Railroad site in Kansas City, Kansas, named National Historic Landmark The designation from the National Park Service opens up the Quindaro Townsite to new opportunities for federal funding and assistance. The ruins, now deteriorating, were once a haven for Black people escaping slavery and for Free State abolitionists. Local Base Postscript Arson suspected at vacant barracks on former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base Kansas City Fire Department reports that at 10:26 Friday morning fire crews responded to reports of smoke from a vacant dormitory. Rock Chalk Megaplex Starts Groundbreaking happening Friday for new KU Cancer Center Groundbreaking begins Friday for $450 million University of Kansas Cancer Center, funded by private, state, and federal funds. Crafting Local Culture Exhibits celebrate KC's rich history of printmaking... - KC STUDIO The key roles played by Michael Sims' Lawrence Lithography Wordshop and Jack Lemon's Landfall Press Celeb Fashions Thirst Trap Brittney Palmer Shows Off Her Wild Side In Lingerie Pic Clad in a zebra-print two-piece, Brittney Palmer's sultry stare and fierce pose are serving nothing but wild energy. Progressively Running Out Of Options?!? Donald Trump's approval rating increasing with Democrats: poll Trump's rising approval rating among Democrats comes as his general approval ratings have been ticking up. Old School Power Fading Out The Democratic Party Is Literally Dying The dead hand of gerontocracy is also a symptom of ideological malaise. MAGA Loses In Court Again Judge blocks Trump admin's move to bar Harvard from enrolling international students This comes in response to a lawsuit Harvard filed on Friday morning, challenging the Trump administration's abrupt move to revoke the school's ability to enroll foreign students. MAGA Starts New Mission Scoop: Trump, Rubio take aim at National Security Council's "Deep State" Trump's White House sees the NSC as notoriously bureaucratic and filled with longtime officials who don't share the president's vision. Social Media History Of Hating Suspect in shooting of Israeli Embassy staffers railed against Gaza war in online posts In the years before he was accused of killing two Israeli Embassy employees, the suspect in the fatal shootings was an active participant in Chicago's left-wing protest scene, speaking out against police violence and a proposed Amazon headquarters. Silence Hits Holy Land As Israel faces diplomatic 'tsunami', Trump is staying quiet This has been a tumultuous week for the Jewish state, the BBC's Paul Adams writes. Vlad Targets Neighbors Again Russia hits Ukrainian capital Kyiv with heavy missile and drone attack The nighttime Russian attack that stretched into early Saturday came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange. Iran From Nuke Standoff Iran-US talks made 'some but not conclusive progress,' mediator Oman says Mediator Oman says Iran and the United States made "some but not conclusive progress" in a fifth round of negotiations in Rome over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. European Dealing With Prez EU calls for US trade deal based on 'respect' after Trump's tariff threats Trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the EU is "ready to defend" its interests after Trump threatened 50% tariffs on the bloc. Pianoman Confronts Health Scare Billy Joel cancels all scheduled concerts due to diagnosis with normal pressure hydrocephalus Billy Joel says he has been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus and cancelled all of his scheduled shows. Sketchy New Therapy Emerges Canadian Activists: Meth-Fueled Orgies Should Be Celebrated Harm-reduction proponents support so-called "chemsex," undermining their supposed commitment to helping addicts. Home Team FAIL Tonight Royals lose 3-1 to Twins on walkoff Ty France home run The Royal killer strikes again. Hipster Movie Suggestion KC-area filmmaker sees Aldous Huxley's vision of the future hiding In Plain Sight With the current fascist-leaning state of life in the U.S., it feels like only a matter of time before someone attempts (again) to adapt Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Versions of Huxley's 1932 dystopian novel were made in 1980, 1998 and, most recently 2020 as a notably ill-received streaming series. Local Farm Life Lesson Student-raised meats graduate to university storefront as consumers look closer at what makes the cut A new partnership puts pork chops, brats and select cuts from across farming projects at the University of Central Missouri in a retail storefront accessible to community members shopping for locally raised meat. Holiday Weekend Weather Kansas City weather: Heavy rain possible Saturday night into Sunday over wet Memorial Day weekend Keep an umbrella nearby this weekend, as periods of rain are expected over the next several days And this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. French-Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado, famed for his immense body of work depicting wildlife, landscapes and people around the world, died Friday aged 81, announced the French Academy of Fine Arts, of which he was a member. The academy said it was "deeply saddened to announce the death... of Sebastiao Salgado", describing him as a "great witness to the human condition and the state of the planet". It was his large black-and-white photographs of subjects such as conflicts or the Amazon rainforest that won Salgado the greatest fame and adorned calendars, books and the walls of his fans around the world. Critics accused him of beautifying suffering but Salgado never veered from his aesthetic or his work. "A photographer who travelled the world constantly, he contracted a particular form of malaria in 2010, in Indonesia," his family said in a statement to AFP. "Fifteen years later, the complications of this disease developed into severe leukaemia, which took his life," they added. - 'Emblematic figure' - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described his compatriot as "one of the best... photographers the world has given us". Lula, who learned the news of Salgado's passing at an official event in Brasilia with Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco, asked attendees to observed a minute's silence for the photographer. One of Salgado's contemporaries, US photographer Steve McCurry, wrote on Instagram that "his vision and humanity left an indelible mark on the world of photography". "Alongside (his wife) Lelia (Wanick), he not only documented the human condition with unmatched depth, but also helped heal the planet through their reforestation work," he added. UNESCO Secretary General Audrey Azoulay saluted "an immense photographer, artist and documentarist whose talent captured the ecological and anthropological upheavals of our era. "His art raised public awareness of often unknown realities such as those of the Amazon and its indigenous peoples," she added in posts to social media. Paris-based media rights campaigners Reporters Without Borders (RSF) paid tribute to an "emblematic figure of documentary photography". "A photographer of all records, Sebastiao Salgado was a keen observer of mankind and nature," it added in a statement online. RSF noted that Salgado had contributed 100 of his own photos to one of the albums it sells to raise money for it works. - 'Way of life' - The photographer leaves a unique legacy of images from his hundreds of journeys through the Amazon rainforest and across the planet, from Rwanda to Indonesia, from Guatemala to Bangladesh, capturing with his lens human tragedies such as famine, wars and mass exoduses. Salgado conceived photography as "a powerful language to try to establish better relationships between humans and nature", said the French Academy of Fine Arts. He worked almost exclusively in black and white, which he saw as both an interpretation of reality and a way of conveying the fundamental dignity of humanity. Active in the left-wing student movements of the turbulent 1960s, he studied economics and in 1969, he and his wife fled to France to escape Brazil's military dictatorship. He went on to receive French citizenship. His photos of drought and famine in countries such as Niger and Ethiopia landed him a job at renowned photo agency Magnum in 1979. Photography "is a way of life," he told AFP in 2022, on a trip to Sao Paulo to present his exhibition "Amazonia," the product of seven years shooting the world's biggest rainforest. A dedicated climate activist, he was a fierce critic of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) for the far-right leader's push to open the Amazon to agribusiness and mining. Salgado also founded an environmental organisation called Instituto Terra to revive disappearing forests in his home state, Minas Gerais, a successful project joined by more than 3,000 landowners. bur-phz/jj A French court on Friday convicted a gang of robbers who stole $10 million in jewellery from reality TV star Kim Kardashian in a Paris hotel in 2016, although they will not return to jail and the verdicts were more lenient than requested by the prosecution. Describing the heist as "the most terrifying experience of my life", Kardashian swiftly expressed her gratitude to the French authorities for pursuing "justice" in the case. Nine men and one woman have been on trial since April and prosecutors sought the toughest jail terms -- 10 years -- for the four men accused of carrying out the robbery. Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, the ringleader, was handed the heaviest sentence of three years in prison plus five years suspended, but due to time served in jail will not return to detention, like all the others convicted. Two other suspects accused of handing information about the American superstar's whereabouts were acquitted. All the sentences were substantially lower than the terms demanded by the prosecution. Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive hotel in the French capital on the night of October 2-3, 2016. She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up, with her mouth taped. Kardashian said after the verdict she she was "deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice". "The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family," she said in a statement sent by her lawyers. "While I'll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all," she added. - 'I am very sorry' - After the hearing adjourned, the convicted men embraced their loved ones in relief and slowly left the courtroom, taking with them the bags and suitcases they had prepared in case of imprisonment. "The sentences are quite lenient; I understand that you understand that you have caused harm," presiding judge David De Pas told them as he read out the verdicts. He also said "the state of health of the main protagonists ethically prohibits incarcerating anyone. It would have been unjust to take you to prison this evening." Aomar Ait Khedache had begged to be forgiven in his final statement ahead of sentencing. Khedache is now virtually mute and completely deaf, and his statement was read out by his lawyer. "I ask for forgiveness. I can't find the words. I am very sorry," he wrote, asking for "a thousand pardons" from his son Harminy, who was convicted for acting as a driver on the night of the heist. Two other men convicted of carrying out the robbery on the night, Yunice Abbas, 71, and Didier Dubreucq, 69, were sentenced to seven years jail including five suspended. Dubreucq was absent as he is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. The fourth member of the robbery gang, Marc-Alexandre Boyer, at 35 the only youngster, was given the same sentence. Kardashian's lawyers said in a statement that the star "looks forward to putting this tragic episode behind her, as she continues working to improve the criminal justice system on behalf of victims, the innocent, and the incarcerated seeking to redeem themselves". - 'Grandpa robbers' - Most of the stolen valuables were never recovered, including a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West. The ring alone was valued at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million). The robbery was the biggest against a private individual in France in 20 years. Most of the accused are now in their 60s and 70s and have been dubbed the "Grandpa robbers" by French media. But making the sentencing demands earlier this week, the prosecutor urged the judges and jury to remember that Kardashian was targeted by a violent attack and not to be taken in by the "wrinkles" of the defendants. The American star testified at the trial, wearing a diamond necklace valued at $3 million, according to its New York-based creator Samer Halimeh. During the trial, Kardashian told the court she forgave Khedache after hearing a letter of apology from him. "I forgive you for what has taken place but it does not change the emotion, the feelings, the trauma and the way my life changed," she told Khedache, adding that she believed in a "second chance". Kardashian, sometimes described as "famous for being famous", became well known in the early 2000s through TV reality shows, before launching fashion brands and appearing in films. mdh-sjw/phz Rescuers on Friday pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine's operator said. The miners were trapped underground on Thursday at the Kloof gold mine, 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, after a hoist used to access the shaft was damaged in an accident, the mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said. The first phase of the rescue brought 79 people to the surface by 1:30 pm (1130 GMT) while the rest were rescued six hours later, it said in a statement. "At no point was there any risk of injury to employees during the incident," it said. A decision had been made against using the emergency escape routes which would have involved the miners walking longer distances, it added. The gold mine is one of the deepest operated by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company. Desperate relatives of the miners waited outside the site during the rescue efforts, most of them expressing shock at the incident, local television footage showed. "All affected employees will also undergo thorough medical examinations, if required, while support has also been extended to employees' families," the mining company said. The National Union of Mineworkers said the incident happened around 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday. It expressed concern for the miners who had been "underground for almost 20 hours". Sibanye-Stillwater had said earlier that the miners would be brought to the surface around midday Friday. "The employees are not trapped; it was decided to keep them at the sub-shaft station for now," spokesperson Henrika Ninham said. Mining employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, which is the biggest exporter of platinum and a major exporter of gold, diamonds, coal and other raw materials. But accidents are common. Dozens of mineworkers are killed each year, though the numbers have been falling as safety standards have been stepped up over the past two decades. According to industry group Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024, compared to 55 the previous year. Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive Neal Froneman said Friday they would not resume operations "until we are confident that all the necessary remedial actions have been implemented". jcb-ho/jj Strong magnitude 5.2 earthquake at 35 km depth 24 May 02:39 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 3 minutes. 24 May 02:42: Now using data updates from GFZ ... [show all] ... 24 May 02:42: Now using data updates from EMSC 24 May 02:43: Epicenter location corrected by 2.1 km (1.3 mi) towards WNW. 24 May 02:44: Magnitude recalculated from 5.3 to 5.2. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 27.00 to 10.00 km (from 16.8 to 6.2 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 5.8 km (3.6 mi) towards SE. 24 May 02:52: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 10.00 to 27.00 km (from 6.2 to 16.8 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 8.8 km (5.4 mi) towards NW. 24 May 02:52: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.1. 24 May 02:58: Magnitude recalculated from 5.1 to 5.2. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 27.00 to 35.00 km (from 16.8 to 22 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 12 km (7.2 mi) towards SW. 24 May 02:58: Now using data updates from USGS Update Sat, 24 May 2025, 02:48 Significant 5.2 quake hits near San Fernando, La Union, Ilocos, Philippines According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Saturday, May 24th, 2025, at 10:36 am local time at a shallow depth of 10. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report. Our monitoring service identified a second report from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency which listed the quake at magnitude 5.1. Other agencies reporting the same quake include France's Reseau National de Surveillance Sismique (ReNaSS) at magnitude 5.0, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.2, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.2. Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage. Moderate shaking probably occurred in San Fernando (pop. 83,000) located 9 km from the epicenter. In Bauang (pop. 17,100) located 17 km from the epicenter, Tagudin (pop. 35,800) 30 km away, Santa Maria (pop. 28,000) 31 km away, Aringay (pop. 29,800) 32 km away, and La Trinidad (pop. 41,300) 33 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking. Weak shaking might have been felt in Mangaldan (pop. 88,800) located 68 km from the epicenter, and Dagupan (pop. 171,300) 71 km away. VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either A shallow magnitude 5.2 earthquake was reported in the morning near San Fernando, La Union, Ilocos, Philippines.According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Saturday, May 24th, 2025, at 10:36 am local time at a shallow depth of 10. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.Our monitoring service identified a second report from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency which listed the quake at magnitude 5.1. Other agencies reporting the same quake include France's Reseau National de Surveillance Sismique (ReNaSS) at magnitude 5.0, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.2, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.2.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.Moderate shaking probably occurred in San Fernando (pop. 83,000) located 9 km from the epicenter.In Bauang (pop. 17,100) located 17 km from the epicenter, Tagudin (pop. 35,800) 30 km away, Santa Maria (pop. 28,000) 31 km away, Aringay (pop. 29,800) 32 km away, and La Trinidad (pop. 41,300) 33 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.Weak shaking might have been felt in Mangaldan (pop. 88,800) located 68 km from the epicenter, and Dagupan (pop. 171,300) 71 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app . This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake. Update Sat, 24 May 2025, 02:41 Seismic-like event, possible earthquake, reported few minutes ago near Laoag, Ilocos, Philippines Unconfirmed quake or seismic-like event reported: 11 km south of Bayombong, Province of Nueva Vizcaya, Cagayan Valley, Philippines, 6 minutes ago We are receiving unverified early reports of ground shaking possibly caused by seismic activity in or near Laoag, Ilocos, Philippines on 24 May 2025 (GMT) at approximately 02:35 GMT. There are no details yet on the magnitude or depth of this possible quake. If confirmed, we can expect more accurate data to emerge in the next few minutes. The location, magnitude and time mentioned are indicative, based on our best-fit seismic model. They are temporary until our AllQuakes monitoring service receives more exact scientific data from a national or international seismological agency. Check back here shortly and stay safe. Download the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app and get one of the fastest seismic alerts online: Android | iOS and get one of the fastest seismic alerts online: Earthquake details Date & time May 24, 2025 02:36:10 UTC - Local time at epicenter Saturday, May 24, 2025, at 10:36 am (Asia/Manila GMT +8) Status confirmed (manually revised) Magnitude 5.2 Depth 35 km Epicenter latitude / longitude 16.6772N / 120.2396E La Union, Ilocos, Philippines Seismic antipode 16.6772S / 59.76W Bolivia Quality 75 seismic stations Shaking intensity IV Light shaking near epicenter Felt 39 reports Primary data source USGS (United States Geological Survey) Nearest volcano Santo Tomas (51 km / 32 mi) Weather at epicenter at time of quake Scattered Clouds 32.9C (91 F), humidity: 62%, wind: 3 m/s (6 kts) from NW Estimated seismic energy released 4 x 1012 joules (1.11 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 951 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 5.2 | about seismic energy [ show map ] [ smaller ] [ bigger ] User-reports for this quake (44) felt in up to approx. 2001,000 km (124621 mi) distance, with isolated cases to have felt the quake even 1,206 km (749 mi) away. The majority of reports came from Baguio (12 reports), a city with more than 270,000 inhabitants in Cordillera Administrative Region in 48 km (30 mi) distance southeast of the epicenter, Philippines, Laoag (3 reports), a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Ilocos in 173 km (108 mi) distance north of the epicenter, and Santa Maria (3 reports) (38 km or 23 mi to the northeast). See the Philippines . Out of these, 39 people indicated they felt it. The quake was reported to have been, with isolated cases to have felt the quake even 1,206 km (749 mi) away.The majority of reports came from, a city with more than 270,000 inhabitants in Cordillera Administrative Region in 48 km (30 mi) distance southeast of the epicenter,, a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Ilocos in 173 km (108 mi) distance north of the epicenter, and(38 km or 23 mi to the northeast). See the list of places where most people reported this quake further below. User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! Translate Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos (173.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 s : I was working out, I might be tripping cuz my legs were weak and shakey but other people felt it too, even though they're just doing arm exercises | 2 users found this interesting. San Fernando, La union (141 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Its West Philippine Sea, not South China Sea, its within our ECZ. Get your facts straight. And where the hell in La Union is Santiago Island island? Someone should proofread your article. | One user found this interesting. Sta. Cruz ilocos Sur (44.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : It is Immense. | 2 users found this interesting. Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos (173 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : at home, cooking, felt the movement | 2 users found this interesting. baguio city (48 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I was in bed and felt shaking | 2 users found this interesting. Dagupan City (989.6 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : it shaked for 1-2sec and i feel dizzy from that | One user found this interesting. San juan. (47.9 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Very short duration | One user found this interesting. Tuding, Benguet, Cordillera (52.1 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : We are all fine | One user found this interesting. Caba, La Union, Philippines (30.7 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Im in my bed. I just woke up. I feel like my bed was shaking | One user found this interesting. Santiago city, isabela, Philippines (244.5 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : Not sure | One user found this interesting. laoag city (172.5 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Scared haha | One user found this interesting. sison pangasinan (61.1 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Shakjnh while sitting on chair reading. my chair swayed slightly | One user found this interesting. San Sebastian, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos (107.6 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Swaying | One user found this interesting. Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, Cagayan Valley (98.4 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Bed shaked for a couple of seconds | One user found this interesting. Dagupan city (71.4 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I felt the quake for 1-3 seconds Baguio (48.9 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos (101.6 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) San Fernando City (47.9 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s Silang, Cavite, Calabarzon (283.7 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) Baguio (48.9 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Ula, Davao del Sur, Davao Region / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) baguio city (51 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Payocpoc Sur, La Union, Ilocos (21.7 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) San Benito, Bataan, Central Luzon (204.1 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Vigan City (47.8 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 5-10 s Paoay, Ilocos (141 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt Salcedo (61.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s Candon city (58.8 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s bay bay norte (184.3 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s baguio (50 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s Binabalian, Pangasinan, Ilocos (42.8 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Show more Show more List of cities/places with most reports Place Distance from epicenter Average reported Shaking Intensity Nr. of reports Baguio, Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines (Pop.: 272,714) 48 km (30 mi) SE of epicenter IV: Light shaking 12 Laoag, Ilocos, Philippines (Pop.: 102,105) 173 km (108 mi) N of epicenter III: Weak shaking 3 Santa Maria, Ilocos, Philippines (Pop.: 28,002) 38 km (23 mi) NE of epicenter V: Moderate shaking 3 Vigan, Ilocos, Philippines (Pop.: 48,545) 101 km (63 mi) N of epicenter III: Weak shaking 2 Bambang, Cagayan Valley, Philippines (Pop.: 22,831) 98 km (61 mi) E of epicenter III: Weak shaking 1 San Sebastian, Ilocos, Philippines (Pop.: 2,795) 106 km (66 mi) N of epicenter III: Weak shaking 1 Sagunto, Ilocos, Philippines (Pop.: 2,082) 61 km (38 mi) SE of epicenter II: Very weak shaking 1 Bauang, Ilocos, Philippines (Pop.: 17,109) 19.1 km (12 mi) SE of epicenter IV: Light shaking 1 Tarlac City, Central Luzon, Philippines (Pop.: 183,930) 139 km (86 mi) S of epicenter II: Very weak shaking 1 San Fernando, Central Luzon, Philippines (Pop.: 251,248) 189 km (117 mi) S of epicenter III: Weak shaking 1 Note: Only reports with latitude/longitude coordinate positions given (44 in total) could be used for statistics. What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale? The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red. Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs. Read more about the MMI scale! The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs. Number of reports by intensity Shaking intensity Number of reports Min-Max distance from epicenter (*) Average distance (*) I: Not felt 5 43472 km (27293 mi) 222 km (138 mi) II: Very weak shaking 8 31989 km (19.1614 mi) 216 km (134 mi) III: Weak shaking 13 48283 km (30176 mi) 106 km (66 mi) IV: Light shaking 11 21244 km (12.8152 mi) 82 km (51 mi) V: Moderate shaking 3 2248 km (13.530 mi) 37 km (23 mi) VI: Strong shaking 1 4444 km (2727 mi) 44 km (27 mi) Notes (*) Reports are filtered to exclude those that are likely highly inaccurate or esaggerated. Only reports with latitude/longitude coordinate positions given (44 in total) could be used for geographic statistics. further below. Compare Quake Data Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision. Mag Depth Time GMT 2025-05-24 Epicenter Agency 5.2 35 km 22 mi 1.9 km 02:36:10.49 10 km NW of San Fernando, Philippines Epicenter uncertainty: 10.7 km USGS (United States Geological Survey) 5.18 0.18 31 km 19 mi 02:36:10.33 Luzon, Philippines 25 km (16 mi) epicenter difference with USGS Epicenter uncertainty: 5.7 km GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences) 5.2 10 km 6.2 mi (*) 02:36:09 Luzon, Philippines 15 km (9.3 mi) epicenter difference with USGS RaspberryShake (RaspberryShake) 5.18 0.38 10 km 6.2 mi (*) 02:36:09.169 0.23s Event of magnitude 5.2, near of Manila 34 km (21 mi) epicenter difference with USGS Epicenter uncertainty: 6.6 km RENASS (Reseau National de Surveillance Sismique (ReNaSS)) 5.1 44 km 27 mi 02:36:13 Luzon, Philippines 18 km (10.9 mi) epicenter difference with USGS BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia) 5.2 16 km 9.9 mi 02:36:00 032 km N 85 W of Luna (La Union) 28 km (18 mi) epicenter difference with USGS PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) 5.2 10 km 6.2 mi (*) 02:36:08.65 0.16s LUZON, PHILIPPINES 5.6 km (3.5 mi) epicenter difference with USGS Epicenter uncertainty: 4.6 km EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre) 5.2 35 km 22 mi 02:36:10 LUZON, PHILIPPINES 0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGS IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) 5.2 51 km 32 mi 3.5 km 02:36:12.653 0.31s Luzon, Philippines 14 km (8.8 mi) epicenter difference with USGS Epicenter uncertainty: 6.1 km GeoAu (Geoscience Australia ) Notes: (*) A depth given as 10 km often means that the the depth of the quake could be not determined with sufficient accuracy. Aftershocks for this quake No aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section. What are aftershocks? Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock. [More info] Aftershocks are typically at least one order of magnitude smaller than the main shock. Their size and frequency decreases with time. What about this quake? Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 16 km2 (6 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 7 km (4 mi). [More info] Aftershocks for this quake can be expected to occur during the days and few weeks following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone, or in this case 14 km (9 mi). The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock ( Aftershocks for this quake can be expected to occur during the days and few weeks following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone, or in this case 14 km (9 mi). The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock ( see map below ). Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known asthat occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likelyas a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 7 km (4 mi). Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake) Date and Time GMT Mag Depth Distance Region Details May 24, 2025 10:36 am (Manila) 5 weeks ago - felt 5.2 35 km 0 km - This quake South China Sea, 10.7 km NW of San Fernando, Philippines Main Shock (this quake) More Map of aftershocks No aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section. Our director of publication and editor-in-chief directed French magazines several years ago, and has won journalism awards abroad. He has regularly contributed to some fifteen major dailies and magazines around the world. Voltaire, International Newsletter is available by subscription for 500 a year, is published 42 times a year (not in July-August, nor during the Christmas holydays). Its an indispensable tool for any professional in international relations or defense. Whats more, 10 times a year, subscribers are invited to Zoom virtual meetings with publications director Thierry Meyssan. Contents of issue N134 EDITORIAL 3494 Lagging behind the United States, the West wakes up to the massacre in Gaza AMERICAS 3495 Conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin 3496 Moodys downgrades US credit rating 3497 The Council of Economic Advisers Forecasts 3498 The US economy is recovering 3499 House of Representatives to Strip Medicaid Benefits to Illegal Immigrants and Unemployed 3500 Donald Trump Corrects Federal Attitude toward Religious Freedom 3501 Michael Kratsios confirms Donald Trumps commitment to science and innovation 3502 Donald Trump launches construction of the Golden Dome 3503 Robert Kennedy Jr. heard by the Senate 3504 Controversy over a post by James Comey 3506 Donald Trump Calls for a Judicial Investigation into Kamala Harris Campaign 3507 New Terrorist Plot Against Venezuela EUROPE 3508 UK accepts EU standards, while EU accepts UK political and defense objectives 3509 The DGSI denounces the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in France 3510 Spain rejects the target of 5% of GDP in military spending 3511 Switzerland should join forces with the EU to prepare for cyber attacks 3512 EU to relaunch humanitarian action with UN 3513 EU censors four media outlets relaying Russias point of view 3514 EU to fund CIA radio 3515 Robert Brieger takes stock of the EU Military Committee 3516 One million Europeans call on the European Commission to ban conversion therapy 3517 Russian Ukrainian direct negotiations in Istanbul AFRICA 3518 Donald Trump places evidence of violence against whites in front of Cyril Ramaphosas eyes ASIA 3519 Benjamin Netanyahu launches the "Gideons Chariots" operation 3520 Mahmoud Abbas and Joseph Aoun want to put an end to the armed parties in Lebanon 3521 The United Arab Emirates, "major defense partner" of the United States 3522 For the EU, North Korea attacked Ukraine INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 3523 6th Summit of the EPC 3524 Russia files complaint against EU carbon tax mechanisms at WTO 3525 Concentration in critical mineral refining threatens supply chains, says IEA Kate Curran, Kilmagemogue, Portlaw, Co. Waterford is the overall winner of the Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year 2024 award. The awards were presented by the Teagasc Chairman, Liam Herlihy in Dublin on Thursday, May 22. The awards, sponsored by FBD, were presented to the top graduates of Teagasc Level 6 agriculture, horticulture, equine and forestry training programmes in 2024. The overall winner, Kate Curran, completed the Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming (Distance Education) at the Teagasc Kildalton College in Piltown, Co. Kilkenny. In addition to winning the Overall Teagasc / FBD Student of the Year 2024 award, she was also successful in the Part-Time and Distance Education Category award. During her time at Kildalton College, she showed both competency and proficiency at a full range of practical skills. Kate is a clear communicator and has a strong interest in grassland management, biodiversity and seeking to improve and progress. Her knowledge of and involvement in the dairy farm greatly enhanced the discussion group meetings. Other category awards Two other category awards were presented. Thomas OConnor from Caherbreagh, Tralee in Co. Kerry won the Full Time Agriculture Category. He completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture (Dairy Herd Management) in Pallaskenry Agricultural College, Co. Limerick. Niamh Duggan, from Ballinagranna, Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary was successful in the Full-Time Other Land-based Enterprises Category. She completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture (Nursery Stock Production) in Kildalton Horticulture College. The future of the sector Speaking at the awards ceremony, Teagasc Chairman, Liam Herlihy said: The agriculture, horticulture, equine and forestry sectors need a constant flow of new entrants, bringing knowledge of the latest technologies and science onto farms. This years finalists epitomise the high calibre of student emerging from Teagasc education courses, bringing new dynamism into the sector. "I congratulate each and every one of you. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD sent his congratulations to all the finalists in the Teagasc / FBD Student of the Year Awards. Noting that the event is one of the highlights in the calendar, Minister Heydon explained that well-educated young farmers are the future of the sector and he congratulated all the finalists on their achievement. The value of a quality agricultural education to the running of a modern farm enterprise cannot be overstated. You and your families and friends can be very proud of what you have achieved over the last few years while you pursued your qualification. "I extend my congratulations in particular to the category and overall winners whose range and depth of knowledge impressed the judges. Speaking at the awards, Michael Berkery, Chairman of FBD Trust, said; FBD is proud to have been supporting these important educational awards since their inception. We recognise that education is vital to the continued success of the modern and progressive farming sector we have in Ireland today. The Teagasc / FBD Student of the Year finalists are wonderful ambassadors for this sector, and we are proud to sponsor these awards, which highlight their accomplishments and their passion for the industry. On behalf of the team at FBD, I would like to congratulate Kate Curran and all the finalists on their achievements and wish them every success in the future, Michael Berkery added. Dr Anne-Marie Butler, Head of Education in Teagasc, said: This is a wonderful occasion to celebrate Teagasc learners and the agriculture, horticulture, equine and forestry sectors, which they proudly represent. At Teagasc, we are delighted to offer all learners a strong foundation of practical, science-based training equipping them with knowledge and skills to lead the sector. The recently developed Teagasc Education Strategy 2025-2030 articulates Teagascs commitment to ensuring that our education programmes remain of the highest quality for both current and future learners. Congratulations to all finalists. "We look forward to their future career and personal achievements. There is excitement building in one area of County Waterford ahead of a fundraising tractor run that's always a very popular local fundraising event. The Kilmeaden Vintage Tractor Club hold their annual tractor run every July. This year's event will take place on Sunday, July 13 and it's something that everyone in the community is really looking forward to. The event is always a great day out for all the family with some fantastic vintage vehicles on display. The participants gather at Haughton's Pub and the run begins at 1pm. The route follows a scenic country route full of beautiful sights and sounds of nature. The run arrives back and parks up safely at Haughton's, where there will be lots of refreshments on offer. For more information about the run contact Pat on 087 2216589. The event has raised much needed funds for many charities over the years and this year all proceeds will go to Waterford Hospice. The organisation provides public benefit to patients and their families known to the Southeast Palliative Care Service. Waterford Hospice provides invaluable support not only to patients but also to the families affected by a loved ones illness. A socio-legal researcher from Co Waterford has just published her first book titled, 'Overseeing Rights in Prison'. Dr Sophie van der Valk, who is originally from Coolagadden, Kilmeaden, is a postdoctoral researcher with the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice on the project, 'Transforming Justice: An All-Island Examination of Justice Responses to Historical Institutional Abuse'. She is a socio-legal researcher who received her PhD from Trinity College Dublin as part of the ERC funded, 'Prisons: the Rule of Law, Accountability and Rights (PRILA)', project. Her PhD examined the experiences of those in prison, of human rights protecting mechanisms with a particular emphasis on complaint procedures, inspection and monitoring and the courts. Her findings were used to inform the new framework of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons in Ireland and they have also been utilised in workshops, training days, conference presentations, reports, blogs and academic publications. Her research has been published internationally and here at home in Ireland in journals such as the European Journal of Criminology and the Law and Society Review. Ms Van der Valk has also conducted research in the field of counterterrorism with a special focus on issues concerning the prosecution and other measures used against foreign fighters. The publication of her book brought great delight to the community in Kilmeaden were congratulations were conveyed to her from local people. Now living in Luxembourg, on her own social media platforms she expressed delight herself at having the book published. Dr Sophie Van Der Valk has just published her first book. Pic: routledge.com In the book, published through Routledge Taylor & Frances Group, she draws on Ireland as the primary case study. According to the publishers the book is 'in- depth critical examination of how rights protection bodies and mechanisms are experienced by those in prison in Ireland'. Through its analysis of the Irish experience, the book considers the implementation of, and challenges faced by, human rights protection within the prison context and explores some of the reforms that Ireland has undertaken in this area over the past 15 years. Those reforms include the introduction of a new complaint system and establishment of an Office of the Inspector of Prisons. The publishers also noted that using 'a wealth of information gathered through interviews and surveys of participants in three male prisons, the book sets out personal experiences of such mechanisms and identifies the key barriers to effective rights protection'. Offering a detailed presentation of the international framework for the protection of prisoners rights through oversight mechanisms, and proposing methods for overcoming common barriers, 'Overseeing Rights in Prison: The Irish Experience of Human Rights Protection in Prisons' will be of interest to students and scholars of criminology, particularly in relation to prisons and human rights. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size A young woman who thought for years she was non-binary or a transgender man is suing two doctors and Monash Health for negligence, claiming gender treatment that included having both breasts surgically removed had caused her significant injury. Mel Jefferies, a 33-year-old who was born as female and is now living again as a woman, has launched the civil lawsuit in the Victorian County Court. One of the defendants in the case is Dr Jeff Willcox, a Melbourne GP with an interest in gay mens health, sexual health ... and transgender health. The others are Jaco Erasmus, a psychiatrist with a special interest in transgender health, and Victorias largest public health service, Monash Health. Jefferies statement of claim, recently lodged with the court, accuses all three of falling short of delivering professional standards of care, including those outlined by the widely recognised World Professional Association for Transgender Health. The claim says those standards require doctors to ensure that anyone experiencing mental health conditions must have these well-managed and thoroughly controlled prior to the commencement of the testosterone treatment. In this award-winning portrait by Chris Hopkins, Mel Jefferies makes a statement about her feelings about her body post surgery. Credit: Chris Hopkins Jefferies says her years of mental health issues were not under control at the time of her treatment and were exacerbated by the testosterone prescribed by her doctors and surgery. Her statement of claim says she has a permanently deepened voice, hirsutism, clitoromegaly [a clitoris significantly larger than normal], vaginal pain/discomfort, abnormal body odour and acne, and pelvic floor dysfunction (as indicated by urinary incontinence). Advertisement Loading Under Australias current model of transgender treatment, known as affirming care, peoples gender identity is affirmed and supported when it conflicts with the gender they were assigned at birth. For years I just kept getting affirmed by the medical fraternity and the trans community for something I wasnt, Jefferies told this masthead. They kept telling me, Youre non-binary, trans, maybe youre non-binary. I tried to pull away but they just kept pulling me back in I never developed the discernment to say this isnt true. Her case, filed by Slater and Gordon solicitor Anne Shortall, is one of the few brought in Australia by people who regret their gender treatment. Another is working its way through the courts in Sydney. Shortall declined to comment. If Jefferies case proceeds to a judicial decision, it could represent a test case for the duty of care doctors owe towards people seeking affirming care. It comes as the number of young people seeking treatment for gender dysphoria has increased dramatically in the past decade. Advertisement It also comes as the transgender community and doctors who perform such treatments push for an informed consent model of care which would reduce the barriers to treatment, including the requirement for psychological assessments. They also want GPs to be able to treat gender issues as they do more common conditions. Monash declined to comment as the case was before the courts and involved confidential patient information. Questions to Willcox were answered by his lawyer, who said he would defend the claim. Erasmus said he could not comment because the matter was before the court. The claim outlines Jefferies interactions with doctors, starting in 2011, when Willcox first prescribed her testosterone. The Melbourne referral came despite letters from a psychologist and a doctor in Sydney that Jefferies was not ready for the treatment and should have more counselling, including for social isolation and family dynamics of concern, and support for her anxiety. By virtue of the results of the prior consultations, reasonable medical practice ... required [Willcox] not commence the testosterone treatment until the Plaintiffs mental health difficulties were under control and her mental health stable, the statement of claim alleges. Instead, the document says, Willcox started the treatment without consideration of the [earlier] recommendations. In two 2012 referral letters for gender and psychological treatment, outlined in the claim, Willcox acknowledged that Jefferies has a complex mental health history that included body image disorder; eating disorder (adult); depression as well as suicidal ideation disordered eating/body dysmorphia and likely borderline personality disorder. Advertisement Some of the key symptoms of borderline personality disorder are impulsivity and instability in self-image and interpersonal relationships. However, one of the letters written by Willcox said: Despite the coexisting mental health issues, [Jefferies] has always appeared resolute in his desire to transition to the male sex and he feels surgery to remove his breasts is the next stage of this transition. Jefferies underwent a double mastectomy in 2017. She now says she should not have been referred for the surgery. Credit: Chris Hopkins The legal claim details strong swings in Jefferies attitude at the time. Between 2013 and 2017, it says, Jefferies stopped the testosterone treatment she went on TV and described herself as a detransitioner only to start it again two years later after another prescription from Willcox. At one time she expressed a desire for a hysterectomy, then later said she was happier in her female biological sex. Later still she asked to have her breasts removed because they were fat and made her feel like her skin doesnt fit properly. Medical records referred to in the court documents suggest she wanted at times to be asexual and have all of her reproductive organs removed, then decided she was comfortable being gender-fluid. Another doctor, who is not being sued, wrote in this period that Jefferies does not move along the gender continuum but rather ricochets from one side to the other. Advertisement The statement of claim also lists a catalogue of psychiatric medications Jefferies was prescribed, including anti-depressant, anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety drugs. In 2017, a gender doctor, who is not named in court documents, referred Jefferies to Monash Health on a recommendation from Erasmus. The referral was to convince Monash Health to recommend Jefferies for public funding under Medicare to pay for the mastectomy. A second letter from Erasmus to a plastic surgeon, Dr Andrew Ives, outlines Jefferies history of mental health issues but says they were reasonably well controlled. Jefferies had come to the conclusion that he has an unspecified gender identity and does not wish to be perceived as male or female, the referral letter says. In a binary society though he would settle for being perceived as male and therefore prefers using male pronouns In my opinion Mason [the name Jefferies was then known by] has experienced persistent gender dysphoria he is able to make an informed decision and has the capacity to consent to treatment, the Erasmus letter says. Jefferies, who was on the consumer advisory panel for the Monash Gender Clinic for a time, now says she should not have been referred for the double mastectomy. Her mental health was unstable and not well controlled, according to the claim. In October 2017, Ives billed on website Transsurgery Australia as one of the countrys leading Transgender Surgery experts removed Jefferies breasts. Ives is not a defendant in the lawsuit and also declined to comment while the matter was before the courts. Advertisement Super funds are well-positioned Your super fund probably knows youre getting close to retirement. Theyve got tools, calculators, and people on staff who want to help (and theyre ready to charge a fee for that help too, albeit a smaller one than most comprehensive advisers). But heres the catch: theyre legally restricted from giving you personal financial advice unless they jump through costly and complex hoops, like acquiring or establishing a licensed advice business and running it separately on a fee-for-service basis, just like a traditional financial planning firm. This restriction exists because current legislation still draws a hard line between what super funds can tell their members and what qualifies as personal financial advice. Even though both super funds and financial advisers are trying to help people make smart decisions about retirement, the system treats them very differently. The result? Funds that already manage your money often cant offer the tailored advice you actually need. And this isnt just theory its happening right now to people across the country. Virginia wrote to me after this weeks episode of the Prime Time podcast featuring Mary Delahunty on funds giving advice. She and her husband are 63 and 65, both working part-time as they try to answer that one big question: do we have enough to retire? Loading We are both reasonably financially literate but online calculators will only get you so far, she wrote. This will be the last big financial decision we are likely to make. Their super is with a major and award-winning fund and while they tried to get personal financial advice, they couldnt get past the general advice script. They were even discouraged from accessing the higher-level, fee-based advice. So, like so many others, theyre doing what feels safest: just keep working. I think there is an onus on the funds to offer discounted, personal advice maybe on two visits to give retirees confidence heading into retirement, she said. Funds have been taking our money for years. They should be there to help when we need it most. Virginias right. Compulsory super was designed to give Australians dignity and control in retirement but right now, many are being left in the dark at the very moment they need clarity the most. The advice sector is confusing Even when people do get advice, its not always clear what theyre getting or how it all works until after they pay for it. Every advice business has its own process, its own language, and its own ideal client. Financial advice can be complex and confusing. Credit: Simon Letch Some offer a full-service model: they build the strategy, manage your investments, and oversee it all over the long term using a platform or an SMSF and a selection of managed funds or separately managed account (SMA) style investments. Others (but not anywhere near as many) focus on building a retirement strategy and supporting you to keep your super with your current fund. These are often the advisers that super funds refer members to and they dont bite the hand that feeds them. Super funds tailor their offerings differently too. Some cater to members with lower balances, focusing on age pension navigation, investing and careful drawdown strategies. Others provide support to more affluent customers with more complexity. For Australians with more complex finances typically with $750,000 or more in household super, a home, and other assets a full-service financial advice model can offer reasonable value. These clients benefit from a full package of advice, investment management, tax strategies, and structured planning, all under one roof. For people in that position, a good adviser can help protect and grow wealth, avoid costly mistakes, and provide real peace of mind. But that model doesnt suit everyone. If your super balance is more modest, you may not need or want the complexity and cost of full investment platforms and individually managed accounts. Many people dont realise until deep into the advice process that theyre being shifted out of their low-fee super fund into a new adviser-managed investment setup with platform fees, investment fees, and ongoing advice charges stacked on top. And by the time they notice, theyve often already paid thousands in upfront costs and are set on a path to annual management. Thats where transparency needs to improve. It also needs to be incumbent on funds to tell someone when they need more complex advice than they can offer before they spend the money. Financial advisers v super funds: the quiet competition The disconnect in advice and needs has created quiet tension in the system. Financial advisers and super funds are increasingly offering overlapping services, but neither side wants to say it out loud: theyre becoming direct competitors. Most advisers aim to manage your money on their terms on their platform, using their investment model. And many do it very well, particularly for clients with larger or more complex portfolios. Loading But super funds are managing trillions of dollars on their platforms too, and theyre delivering strong returns at very low cost. In 2024, the median return for balanced super fund options was 11.5 per cent, with total fees typically ranging from 0.4 per cent to 1.02 per cent, depending on the fund, the balance, and the investment style. Adviser-linked platforms and managed funds delivered similar investment performance in 2024 but often with additional layers of cost. Managed funds and SMAs averaged 11.78 per cent returns before fees. After investment fees which averaged 1.28 per cent net returns dropped to around 10.51 per cent. And thats not the end of it. Many users also pay platform fees, administration costs, and ongoing advice fees on top. That might still make sense if youre in a high tax bracket, need personalised structuring, or are gaining other meaningful upside from the advice, but for many ordinary Australians it quietly eats into the return they thought they were getting. Both outcomes are strong. Both approaches can work if they are both available. But people should have the right to choose and they should be supported with clear, accessible education to understand the pros and cons of each. So whats the hold up? Your super fund already manages your retirement savings, so why cant it offer you the personal advice you actually need? Because were still waiting on the government to pass the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms they promised last year. These changes were meant to let super funds offer affordable, scaled advice and create a new category of adviser to answer the simpler retirement questions so many people are stuck on. The government said it would be done before the next election. Yet here we are. Until the legislation is passed, nothing changes. But when it finally does, super funds and advisers can both step up and help people understand their options and offer advice that actually suits their needs. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In the two decades Barnaby Joyce has been in parliament, hes just about seen it all. The only person ever to serve in the Senate for one state and in the House of Representatives for another state, hes been everything from deputy prime minister to humbled backbencher, a thorn in the side of John Howard, disqualified from parliament for being a dual citizen through to being the man that kindled the climate change rebellion in Coalition ranks back in 2009. But until this week, he had never played the role of relationship counsellor. Looking back on a crazed few days, Joyce chooses his words carefully about a business relationship that temporarily ran off the rails. It was a tumultuous week that would have been better having never been experienced. I cant talk to the reasons why, but I can say that a more sage approach would have produced a different outcome, he says. I hope, like most business relationships I never call it a marriage there is maturity to both sides to say that was a bad day at the office, but we move on. Barnaby Joyce and David Littleproud in question time in February 2024. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Advertisement Joyce, along with former Nationals leader Michael McCormack and Darren Chester, a former cabinet minister, was instrumental in keeping the lines of communication open between the two Coalition parties during a split that now looks likely to be repaired. As party elders including a pair of former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott spoke out against the split and cautioned that the longer it took to effect a reformation, the harder it would be to achieve one, Ley spoke to the three Nationals who, along with Susan McDonald and Sam Birrell, spoke in the Nationals party room meeting against the split. Joyce says he will not benefit personally from helping to stop the divorce he and Littleproud are not close and he is unlikely to return to the frontbench this term but he spoke to Ley for the good of both parties. Sussan and I were discussing how to keep the Coalition together. I wont go into the intricacies. So much has been reported about extraneous issues, it was purely around how do you keep the Coalition together and resolve this issue, he says. It worked. Just two days after the death of Leys mother Angela Braybrooks will not be laid to rest until next Friday the new opposition leader looked to have been dealt a fatal blow on Tuesday when, with much haste, Nationals leader David Littleproud, his deputy Kevin Hogan and the influential Senate leader, Bridget McKenzie, announced the Coalition parties were getting a divorce. Advertisement Two more days later, they changed their minds. The week ends with Leys judgment call to stare down the Nationals demands proving to be the right one, and with her leadership enhanced. Littleproud, on the other hand, looks like a man who overplayed his hand in a grab for power, with his judgment and the future of his leadership now in question. The speed with which the two parties split and then began to reconcile has been remarkable, so brief that the ink hadnt dried on the Liberal-National party divorce papers before the two parties were headed back to counselling. Littleprouds predecessor in the seat of Maranoa, Bruce Scott, was in parliament for 26 years and served as a minister in the Howard government for five years before retiring in 2016. A staunch coalitionist and one of the architects of the merger of the Liberal and National parties in Queensland in 2008, he says the two parties should absolutely get back together as soon as possible. Advertisement For years, the Coalition has been the great strength of the conservative side of politics in Canberra. You only have to look at the LNP merger in Queensland. Working as one has delivered government, and the LNP members in Canberra, in the House, they have been the largest group of MPs and yet we [Queensland] are not the largest state population-wise, he says. From election to election, policies are modified, added to or whatever. We have just had an election and the electorate has spoken comprehensively against the policies of the Coalition. So we have to revisit strategy, policies and our campaign. I think its important to go back to them, and I think thats what Sussan has been suggesting. Illustration by Matt Golding As the dust settled at the end of the week, Littleprouds decision to split the Coalition looked like an attempt to seize extra power and influence for the Nationals just as the Liberals were at their weakest. The Nationals stated reason for the split was Leys unwillingness to immediately sign up to retaining four key policies support for nuclear power, laws that could force supermarket divestiture, improved regional mobile phone coverage and a $20 billion regional fund. So serious was Littleproud about the split that by Thursday, he had chosen a shadow shadow cabinet and was preparing to unveil his team of frontbenchers in Canberra. But then the two parties agreed to restart talks. Advertisement It was not unreasonable for Ley to ask for more time, given she had just announced a lengthy policy review and her party room had not met. Littleproud said that the four policy areas are important to the lives and livelihoods of the people that I represent. And the fact that the Liberal Party room is now prepared to have that conversation, I think speaks volumes about the fact that we should allow that to happen, and that gives every chance [of reconciliation]. Asked why he had not waited for the Liberals to meet and discuss the policies the party room subsequently met on Thursday and then Friday Littleproud effectively blamed Ley. Loading I didnt dictate ... this is a matter for the Liberal Party, I dont have control over the Liberal Party, he said, adding that the timeline that they were talking about was months away, it was a review of all policies. By the end of the week, although they were grumbling about it, it seemed likely the Liberals would hold their nose and at least give in-principle agreement to making supportive noises about the Nationals policy demands. As one senior Liberal, who asked not to be named, puts it: It now looks like a tantrum, like the junior Coalition partner not feeling respected enough. As in, you stole Jacinta, youre forcing us to recognise net zero. Advertisement Manabu Ohtake has the look of a sushi master. Its all in the calm poise, the way he carries himself behind the bar, the precise movements, the absolute concentration. Ohtake isnt shaping rice or slicing fish though. Right now he is crouched over a bottle of whisky and a jigger, held between two fingers, pouring just the right amount of liquid before twisting his hand and upending the small cup into a cocktail shaker. Manabu Ohtake, Palace Hotel Tokyos master cocktail maker. Eventually, this will become a perfect whisky sour. The most beautifully balanced, expertly mixed, skilfully presented whisky sour you have seen. Art in a glass. To anyone who knows Japan, this will come as no surprise. This is a country in which every art form and indeed every practice in life is taken seriously, with patience and skill applied to their perfection. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size On Wednesday, a sitting congressman by the name of Gerry Connolly died at his Virginia home. He was 75, and became the third Democratic member of US Congress to die in as many months. Both parties contribute handsomely to what commentators have labelled an American gerontocracy: a society governed by old people. At the start of the year, 84 members of the 435-seat House of Representatives were older than 70, along with a third of the 100 senators. Donald Trump became the oldest person to become US president when he took the oath of office in January 2017, aged 70. Joe Biden broke that record in January 2021, aged 78 and 61 days, and Trump reclaimed it in January 2025, aged 78 and 220 days. Joe Bidens diagnosis, sad though not shocking, has only served to underline his frail condition. Credit: AP But Bidens decline while president stands alone. Not only because of its consequences for the most powerful office in the world, but because of his denial, his stubborn resolve to run again, and the way his allies played down the reality of what was happening, and gaslit the world. One of the great lessons from 2024, Democratic campaign adviser David Plouffe tells the authors of a new book, is that never again can we as a party suggest to people that what theyre seeing is not true. The book, Original Sin, was already making headlines when Biden announced last weekend that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Advertisement Written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson, it paints a picture of a widespread cover-up rising to scandal perpetuated by enablers who were as addicted to the trappings of power as the Oval Office occupier himself. Bidens diagnosis, sad though not shocking, has only served to underline his frail condition. It might make the discussions more awkward, but it seems to heighten, not reduce, the culpability of those around him, and adds to the questions facing Democrats about how seriously they took Bidens health and capability. Loading (Not everyone sees it that way. Comedian Jon Stewart mercilessly mocked the book on The Daily Show, as well as CNNs attempts to promote it following Bidens diagnosis.) The book has, of course, opened up new conspiracy theories about who knew what and when conjecture fuelled by Trump this week. But Bidens office clarified he had not been screened for prostate cancer since 2014, and independent experts said this was perfectly normal. Most guidelines recommend stopping screening after the age of 70 or 75, says Dr Todd Morgan, co-director of the Weiser Centre for Prostate Cancer at Michigan Medicine. It really shifts in the direction of more risks than benefit as we get older. This is also true for someone like the president of the United States, whom we might expect to have the most rigorous healthcare possible. Advertisement Sometimes outstanding medical care is less care rather than more care, Morgan says. In the United States, thats a little bit against our culture because we really do have a tendency to think that more is always better, and it isnt. Bidens aides may not have been obscuring a cancer diagnosis, but they certainly obscured the extent of their boss physical and cognitive impairment. Original Sin sets out how those closest to Biden circled the wagons and imposed measures designed to shield him from forums where things could go wrong. They restricted the hours in which he participated in events and meetings no early mornings or late nights gave him a teleprompter even in friendly forums such as fundraisers, equipped him with note cards, and supplied questions to friendly journalists. Thompson alleges these things were initially just about making him look good, but over time became about trying to hide how bad it had gotten from voters. The then-president was increasingly isolated from public view. The book illustrates an undulating but progressive decline that only became fully clear to the world in the disastrous June 27, 2024 presidential debate. But it was far from the one bad night the campaign portrayed it as at the time. Some of Tapper and Thompsons sources suggest Biden was never really the same after his son Beaus death from brain cancer in 2015. His grief seemed to break something inside him, one person was quoted as saying. Advertisement Biden struggled to recall his senior aide Mike Donilons name while campaigning in Iowa in December 2019, according to the book. Donilon had worked with Biden since 1981. The authors write that since at least 2022, Biden had moments in which he could not recall the names of top staffers he saw every day. In one particularly damaging section, Tapper and Thompson say some of Bidens cabinet secretaries told them that by 2024, he could not be relied upon to perform adequately in the case of a 2am emergency. Loading And in another chapter, they recount how Biden failed to recognise megastar George Clooney at a Los Angeles fundraiser that Clooney was headlining. The incident, in part, prompted the actor to pen an influential opinion piece for The New York Times after the debate, calling for Biden to drop out of the race. The book reflects poorly on Bidens closest aides, dubbed the Politburo, including Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Anthony Bernal and Ron Klain. While they are extended some lenience for loyalty to the boss and service of the cause, they are also accused of clinging to false hope, denying reality and dismissing the legitimate concerns of senior and well-meaning Democratic onlookers. Donilon who was reportedly paid $US4 million ($6.2 million) for his campaign work from February to November is alleged to have interpreted polling data in a more favourable way until the end, rather than telling Biden the hard truth. They did such a disservice to Joe Biden and to the country, former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod says in the book, in remarks directed at Bidens inner circle. The family as well. Advertisement Another person familiar with the internal dynamics told Tapper and Thompson: Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board. At the same time, the book does not contain any shocking revelations about Bidens conduct in office that demonstrate harm to the nation and its security; something a Biden spokesperson seized on in a statement about the book. There is nothing in this book that shows Joe Biden failed to do his job, as the authors have alleged, nor did they prove their allegation that there was a cover-up or conspiracy, the spokesperson said. George Clooney, Joe Biden, Julia Roberts and Barack Obama at a Democratic fundraiser on June 15, 2024. Credit: X - @JoeBiden Original Sin also serves as a reminder that not everyone was in on the alleged ruse. Some people spoke up or raised concerns. Especially later in the piece, some shouted. And the polls were always clear. In 2023, 71 per cent of people thought Biden was too old to be president. One anecdote tells of Democratic campaign veteran David Morehouse shaking Bidens frail hand at an event in late 2023 and hearing the president tell a story Morehouse knew never happened. Stunned, he told a governor seated next to him: Ive worked on four of these things. This guy cannot run for president of the United States. Morehouse reportedly also rang Bernal, first lady Jill Bidens senior adviser, who didnt have much to say in response. Advertisement If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Germany is building a new army. That is a big piece of news by any standards. The new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, told the German Parliament last week that all the resources needed to make the German army the strongest conventional army in Europe will be provided. Merzs speech followed on from a major debate within Germany about how to respond to Donald Trumps re-election as US President and the new security reality in Europe. He didnt just address the need for an enlarged and better equipped army. He outlined how Germany will deepen ties with Paris, Warsaw and with London, politically and militarily. He also said that Germany will always be a close partner and ally of small and medium-sized countries, most especially such countries in the EU. That means us. Wow. A newly built German army the biggest in Europe is about to arise. You wouldnt need a PhD in 20th-century European history to get the significance of that. Germany after World War II did have an army, but it was smaller than a country of its size would expect to have. It also positioned and set its army as more or less a component of NATO. In other words, the German army provided divisions of soldiers and lots of equipment as part of an integrated NATO-led defence of Europe. So the Germans had in theory independent control of their army, but everyone knew it would only act under NATO command. That was a safeguard against German aggression after two devastating world wars. After the end of the Cold War, German investment in their armed forces declined significantly. And so, even though it was no longer as necessary as it had been until 1989, the reliance on the United States for security in Europe actually grew in the decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now Merz is creating a German army which will still aid NATO, but which is designed to be capable of independent action to defend Europe with or without NATO. Thats not a small business and arises because of Trump and Trumpism. The only place the debate about it is small is here. Germany is building a new army to defend Europe, and we will shield behind it. But will we contribute? It doesnt seem likely, because many people here would see it as dirtying our hands in some way. It would mean signing up to a militarised Europe. As opposed to what? A totally undefended one? Lots of leaders and countries talk about increasing military spending, but the Germans are approaching it seriously, so they have also indicated how they are going to pay for this new army. They are going to loosen what is called a constitutional debt brake, which means they will be able to borrow more money to pay for their defence. That will mean an estimated 60 billion budget this year, up 15% on the previous year. Merz also promised to make voluntary military service an attractive choice for young people in Germany, which will be a hard ask in their quite pacific culture. We can imagine the counter arguments here already, the charges of hypocrisy and inconsistency. Oh they can change the rules to find money for arms, but what about when they made us take on the Anglo debt (or whatever) or oh they wouldnt lift their debt brake to spend money on health or education or whatever This kind of argument suggests that the German government should not do whatever it takes now to raise the money it needs to defend its people, its territory and its neighbours and friends, because it didnt spend money on something else in the past. But this isnt the past. Just in case someone missed the subtlety of Donald Trump, the reality is that we cant be sure the Americans will play this role anymore. And the Americans do have a point in this one respect: why should they pay to defend Europe when we should be well able to do it ourselves? Chancellor Merz has been clear that the purpose of growing the countrys military is to deter aggression. Last week he said: Our goal is a country, a Germany and a Europe that are together so strong that we never have to use our weapons. Or as he more pithily put it: We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we dont have to defend ourselves. That seems sensible, but it is also the case that democratic societies have to remain highly vigilant about large armies. Armies created for one reason can be turned into something else. If we ever experienced the political disaster of the AFD - the Alternative for Germany -being elected to government, then we would be rightly concerned about a large German army being in their nationalistic hands. But in the cool light of 2025 reality that is ultimately an argument to support Merzs wider political agenda to keep the AFD out of power. It certainly doesnt mean we can ignore Europes security needs, and if we cant be sure the Americans will do it anymore, we need the Germans instead. That is a simple political reality. What we in Ireland do about it is another thing entirely of course. In our debate on neutrality, many will say - or foretell - that Ireland is going to be pressured by our EU partners into contributing more to Europes defence. They misunderstand who is under pressure. When Merz spoke last week about the reason for building this new army, he said: Our friends and partners also expect this from us, and what's more, they are actually demanding it." European defence and security matters to us. Security doesnt start at your national frontier and you are asleep if you think it does. What happens beyond the far field matters to us, whether that be injustices being done to the weak, or in the protection of our own vital interests in the world. Whether we realise it or not, whether we say it out loud or not, we need the Germans to do this. In our discussions on these German moves, some will have the good sense to be more or less quiet and be silently glad they have done it. Others will feel it appropriate with the Germans and all our EU friends sitting between us and trouble to lecture them on why they shouldnt. These era-defining issues deserve a better debate than we normally manage. By Ted Hennessey, PA A member of rap trio Kneecap said the terror charge he faces is an attempt to silence us as the group appeared on stage for a gig they claimed was nearly pulled. Liam Og O hAnnaidh who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, spoke to thousands of people in Brockwell Park, south London, as the group headlined the Wide Awake Festival on Friday. Earlier in the day they released a new song, just two days after O hAnnaidh was charged with a terror offence over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig in November last year. The group have been outspoken on the war in Gaza and before they emerged on stage a screen displayed the message Free Palestine, which was met with cheers from the crowd. Performing alongside his bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and J. J. O Dochartaigh, O hAnnaidh said he believed the prosecution was designed to silence us and prevent them playing Glastonbury Festival this summer. He said: We are being made an example of, the Israeli lobbyists are trying to prove to other artists that if you speak out, were going to hit you where it hurts most. Theyre trying to cancel gigs, they trying to cancel my freedom of travel. And the fact that Im speaking to this amount of people, and I assume the majority of you will agree, shows that were on the right side of history. He also told the crowd at Brockwell Park in south London: I went for an interview with the counter-terror police and within days they came to a verdict that they were going to charge me, never has it been that quick. And the reason it was that quick was because Glastonbury is just around the corner, theyre trying to silence us. One of the group said: Thank you very much. They tried to stop this gig. And one was heard saying: Honestly lads, you have no idea how close we were to being pulled off this gig. One of the trio thanked their fans for supporting them. Earlier, the group posted on Instagram to thank the 25,000 legends due to attend the event. Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh arrives at the 100 Club for the rap trios surprise gig (PA) The trio have had gigs cancelled after footage emerged allegedly showing the band calling for the deaths of MPs and shouting up Hamas, up Hezbollah. They apologised last month to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been exploited and weaponised. But they also said they have never supported Hamas or Hezbollah, both of which are banned in the UK. Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police said Kneecap were being investigated by counter-terrorism police. Og O hAnnaidh, 27, was then charged by postal requisition over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 18th, the Metropolitan Police said. On Friday night, one member was heard telling the crowd: If anybodys about on June 18th were all going to gather outside the Westminster court to show support. One of the trio was also heard saying: Anybody whos free on June 18th get a big bag of ket and well go on the steps of Westminster. UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. A number of other politicians have made the same demand. Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK Government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Mrs Badenoch tried to refuse them a 14,250 (16,974) funding award when she was a minister. The new song, The Recap, opens with a sample of a news report about the counter-terrorism police investigation into the group, and mocks Mrs Badenochs attempts to block their arts funding, and the Conservative Partys election loss. The song also features DJ Mozey. On Thursday, the band held a surprise gig at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth. He then joked about being careful about what he said, adding that he wanted to thank his lawyer. Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English, and their merchandise. Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag. BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent congratulations to Nicusor Dan on his election as Romanian president. Xi pointed out that Romania is the third country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. For a long time, China and Romania have respected each other and treated each other as equals, he said, adding that mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has continued to advance, and the traditional friendship has grown stronger over time. At present, global changes unseen in a century are accelerating, Xi said, noting that as good friends and partners, China and Romania should enhance communication, build consensus, and deepen cooperation to jointly seize the opportunities of the times and work together to address risks and challenges. Xi said that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Romania relations and is willing to work together with Dan to write a new chapter of friendly cooperation between the two countries and bring more benefits to the people of both countries. (Source: Xinhua) Editor: Lei Yang BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that China is ready to work with Germany to open a new chapter in their all-round strategic partnership, to steer China-EU relations toward new progress and to make new contributions to the stable growth of the world economy. Speaking to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over phone, Xi once again congratulated him on assuming office. He pointed out that as the world undergoes accelerated changes unseen in a century and the international landscape is marked by transformation and turbulence, the strategic and global significance of China-Germany and China-EU relations has become even more prominent. A sound and stable China-Germany relationship serves both countries' interests, and meets the expectations of various sectors in China and Europe, the Chinese president added. China and Germany have developed their bilateral relations based on mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and win-win cooperation, Xi stressed, calling on both sides to maintain and carry forward this fine tradition. First, Xi called for consolidating political mutual trust. He said China views Germany as a partner, welcomes Germany's development and prosperity, and is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with Germany, respect each other's core interests and consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations. Second, Xi urged the two sides to enhance the resilience of their ties. He said both sides should not only continue to expand the existing cooperation in traditional fields such as automobiles, mechanical manufacturing and chemical industry, but seek more collaboration in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in areas including climate change and green development, contributing the wisdom and solutions of China and Germany to global sustainable development. Third, Xi noted that bilateral cooperation should continue to gather momentum. He said that China is willing to share with Germany development opportunities brought by its high-level opening-up, adding that China hopes Germany will offer more policy support and facilitation for two-way investment, and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises. Xi pointed out that facts have fully proven that partnership is the proper positioning of China-Germany and China-EU relations, and a stable and predictable policy environment is essential to ensuring bilateral cooperation. As major countries, he added, both sides share a common responsibility. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, Xi said that the two sides should jointly review the successful experience in the development of China-EU relations and send a positive signal in support of multilateralism and free trade, as well as deepening openness and mutually beneficial cooperation. For his part, Merz said that China is one of the world's most important countries, and Germany-China relations have seen sound development, with deepened cooperation yielding fruitful results. Bilateral cooperation is particularly significant in the current international landscape as both China and Germany are the world's major economies, the German chancellor added. The new German government adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to push for greater progress in their strategic partnership in a constructive and practical manner, he said. Germany expects to conduct closer exchanges and cooperation with China in various areas, uphold opening-up and mutual benefit, boost fair trade, safeguard world peace and jointly tackle climate change and other global challenges, Merz said. A healthy and steady development of EU-China relations is in the interest of both sides, and Germany is willing to play an active part in this regard, he said. The two leaders also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. (Source: Xinhua) Editor: Lei Yang The Edgar Thomas Plant of the United States Steel Corporation in Braddock, Pennsylvania, in October 2022. President Donald Trump announced on May 23 a partnership between U.S. Steel and Japanese steelmaker Nippon. SES volunteer walks through floodwaters on the NSW South Coast, May 2025 [Photo: Facebook/SES Mid North Coast] Catastrophic flooding across eastern New South Wales (NSW) this week has resulted in at least five deaths and left over 50,000 residents isolated, particularly in the Mid North Coast, Hunter and North Coast regions. On Friday, flooding spread to parts of Sydney and surrounding areas, and the NSW South Coast. The four-day deluge broke rainfall and river level records in numbers of locations. The swiftness of the flash flooding and river torrents caught many residents by surprise. This disaster follows a series of extreme weather events, including the northern Queensland floods in February, and Cyclone Alfred in southeast Queensland and northern NSW in March. This is a pattern of increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters, for which the state and federal Australian governments have done nothing to adequately prepare. The confirmed fatalities so far include a man in his late 70s whose vehicle was swept off a causeway near Coffs Harbour; a 63-year-old farmer who died while trying to protect his livestock in Moto, northeast of Taree; a woman found in her car which had been submerged in floodwaters near Kempsey; and a man near Dungog found dead after going missing during flash flooding. The flooding has overwhelmed the insufficient resources allocated by governments, which depend heavily on volunteers in such disasters. In at least two of the deaths, the victims had called emergency services for help but were not reached in time. In other cases, people were saved by local residents in small boats, as happened in the northern NSW floods in 2022. Emergency services, primarily the volunteer-based State Emergency Service (SES), have conducted more than 700 flood rescues. As in previous disasters, some Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have been deployed to assist. This again points to the lack of adequate civilian resources and preparation for these recurring catastrophes. There have been reports of thousands of people calling for help but being left to fend for themselves. One such flood victim, Julie Botfield, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she had called the SES and the triple-0 emergency line on Thursday night as waters rose under her house, but she had not been evacuated by the morning, so she called a friend who had a boat to rescue herself and two children. Approximately 50,000 people have been displaced or cut off due to flooded roads, including the Sydney to Brisbane Pacific Highway in several sections, and damaged infrastructure. Residents are experiencing critical shortages of essential supplies like bread, milk and medicines, including regional centres such as Taree. Power outages have compounded the crisis, with reports of more than 30,000 households without electricity for several days. As of Friday night, nearly 4,000 were still blacked out. Basic infrastructure, such as communication towers and power lines have been damaged by falling trees and submersion. Emergency services personnel view flooded highway in NSW, May 2025 [Photo: Facebook/SES Mid North Coast] Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a photo-op visit to a flood-affected area yesterday, saying his message to residents was you are not alone. But the federal and state government assistance packages for flood victims are again pitiful$900 per family and up to 13 weeks in sub-poverty welfare payments for people who can prove they have temporarily lost their livelihoods. The immediate conditions that contributed to this flood are heavy downpours of rain caused by a slow-moving coastal low-pressure system off Australias eastern coast. These triggers combined with the fact that much of the ground in the affected regions remained saturated from previous rainfall events, causing rapid river rises. As in previous floods, the poorest people, particularly the homeless and those living in low-lying high-risk areas, fare the worst. Combined with the cost-of-living crisis and unaffordable home insurance premiums, the flooding is leaving thousands of people devastated. Many were uninsured and some have lost almost all their possessions. This years floods follow years of back-to-back climate-related catastrophes, in particular the 2019 Black Summer bushfires and the 2022 floods across the Northern Rivers region of NSW. Despite the scientifically undeniable trend of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, successive state and federal governments have done virtually nothing to prepare vulnerable regions or strengthen critical infrastructure. As Socialist Equality Party (SEP) federal election candidate Taylor Hernan commented after this years earlier disasters: None of the basic issues of vulnerable infrastructure, inadequate disaster relief payments and lack of disaster preparation have been addressed. An initial analysis from ClimaMeter indicates, with medium-high confidence, that the floods are an event driven by very rare exceptional meteorological conditions whose characteristics can mostly be ascribed to human-driven climate change. One of the authors of the paper added: What once were rare downpours are now becoming the new normalclimate change is rewriting Australias weather patterns, one flood at a time. One 2019 paper by the Center for International Climate Research estimated that for every additional degree of global warming, the most intense precipitation events observed today are likely to almost double in occurrence. With the current projections for global emissions, the world is already headed toward around 3 degrees Celsius of warming. By enacting and defending policies that lock in such warming, capitalist governments in Australia and internationally are effectively normalising more frequent extreme weather events that inevitably affect first and foremost the working class and the most vulnerable sections of society. The words of the SEP statement on the 2022 NSW floods have lost none of their relevance: The floods crisis, like the bushfire catastrophe and the COVID pandemic, demonstrates the need for the total reorganisation of society on a socialist basis so that it is planned rationally and democratically to protect health and lives, and meet social need. Kasper and Savannah Eriksen with their children. [Photo: Savannah Eriksen] Under the second Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is systematically transforming courthouses, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices, and other routine government sites into hunting grounds, deliberately shredding due process to terrorize and disenfranchise the immigrant population. The recent ambush and arrest of Kasper Eriksen, a 42-year-old Danish-born welding foreman and long-term Mississippi resident, marks a chilling new stage in this escalating war on immigrant workers by the capitalist state. On April 15, 2025, Eriksen drove three hours with his wife to the USCIS field office in Memphis, Tennessee, for what he believed was his final interview in the naturalization process. Having received positive updates on his application, he anticipated taking the oath of allegiance. Upon arriving at this appointment Eriksen was eventually met by several ICE agents and U.S. Marshal alongside a USCIS case manager. Despite never committing, or even being accused of a crime, Eriksen was arrested, shackled, and transported hundreds of miles to the notorious LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, Louisiana, a private prison run by the GEO Group, infamous for its inhumane conditions. Eriksen has no criminal record and has diligently pursued legal status, contributing to his community and his family. He is married to a U.S. citizen, Savannah, and is the father of four children with her, with a fifth due in August. The pretext for this state-sanctioned kidnapping was an alleged missed deadline for a Form I-751, dating back to 2015. Eriksen and his wife state unequivocally that they were never warned about this missing form or any issue stemming from it, despite numerous subsequent interactions with immigration officials over the years. The period in 2015 when this alleged oversight occurred was one of immense personal tragedy for the Eriksens, who were grieving the stillbirth of their first child. Under USCISs own regulations, Form I-751 can be filed late with a reasonable explanation, and provisions for waivers exist. For USCIS to have processed Eriksens N-400 naturalization application to the point of scheduling a final interview, they would have possessed his entire file and had multiple opportunities to address any alleged discrepancy. USCIS is required to issue a Request for Evidence if there is anything missing from a record which may affect the granting of an application. This process cannot have been followed in Eriksens case because a failure to respond or provide the requested information will result in a denial without an interview. The fact that this went fully to the interview stage raises the question: Did the government deliberately put Eriksen in a position to be arrested and detained? Eriksens arrest required inter-departmental coordination between several agencies. While both ICE and USCIS fall under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the involvement of U.S. Marshals and immigration courts, which are under the Department of Justice (DOJ), indicates a high level of pre-planning and collaboration. The failure to notify Eriksen over a span of ten years about the missing form, only to ambush him at the final stage of his citizenship application in a coordinated interdepartmental operation suggests a deliberate, malicious setup. One cannot discount the possibility, in an environment of escalating geopolitical tensions, including threats by the Trump administration to annex Greenland, that Eriksens Danish nationality played a role in this targeted action. Eriksen will remain in detention until at least May 27, the date of his first preliminary hearing. New policy directives created the conditions for the ambush of Eriksen and countless others. On January 20, 2025, DHS issued a new directive allowing agents to kidnap and arrest people in or near so-called sensitive areas including courthouses, schools and churches. The draconian directive lowers evidentiary thresholds for arrest, permitting them based on mere credible information of removability, and broadens the categories of targeted individuals. It explicitly sanctions collateral arrests, encouraging agents conducting operations to arrest any other undocumented individuals encountered. The Eriksen case is representative of a nationwide pattern of ICE terrorizing courthouses and other previously respected civic spaces. In Ypsilanti, Michigan, on April 2 and again on May 1, 2025, an ICE task force, working with the FBI, detained two individuals near the local courthouse. In Boston, Massachusetts, Wilson Martell-Lebron was detained by an ICE agent inside a courthouse mid-trial, leading to the presiding judge holding the agent in contempt for obstruction of justice. In Charlottesville, Virginia, Teodoro Dominguez-Rodriguez was arrested by ICE agents in a courthouse parking lot immediately after local charges against him were dismissed, demonstrating ICEs contempt for state judicial outcomes. The expanded use of expedited removal, subjects immigrants to heartbreaking oppression. ICE has recently coordinated with DHS attorneys in Seattle, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York City and Phoenix to swiftly drop certain pending deportation cases if an individual can be subjected to this expedited process. Under the January 2025 guidelines, these individuals are then immediately arrested and placed into the expedited system, bypassing judicial oversight. Scenes of masked plainclothes agents stalking the halls of immigration courts, pouncing on defendants as they exit courtrooms moments after hearing Youre free to go, have become common. Judges who oppose ICE agents stalking their courtrooms have also been targeted. In April 2025 State Judge Hannah Dugan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was arrested and is facing prosecution for allegedly obstructing ICE agents attempting to make an arrest in her courtroom, a direct attack on the independence of the judiciary. This campaign of terror has a predictable and devastating effect. Immigrants, fearing ambush and deportation, are increasingly terrified to access courts for any reason. The Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial and effective assistance of counsel, and the Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection under the law, are rendered meaningless when individuals fear arrest merely for appearing in court or at a government office. The current wave of oppression is the culmination of decades of bipartisan complicity in the assault on the democratic rights of the entire working class, including immigrants. In 1996 Democratic President Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) which dramatically expanded grounds for detention and deportation and curtailed judicial review. Barack Obama, despite rhetoric to the contrary, earned the moniker Deporter-in-Chief for overseeing record numbers of deportations. The Biden administration, while posturing as more humane, continued mass deportations, expanded immigrant detention capacity, and issued superficial directives on enforcement priorities that were easily overturned. Bidens Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule effectively continued Trumps Remain in Mexico policy by another name, stranding tens of thousands in perilous conditions. His June 2024 Securing the Border executive rule was a craven act of anti-immigrant pandering. Prior to Trumps inauguration, Democrats in the House and Senate provided the necessary votes to fast-track the anti-immigrant Laken Riley Act which further empowers the immigration Gestapo while requiring mandatory detainment for alleged petty crimes. Both parties have overseen the massive expansion of ICE detention capacity, funneling billions to private prison corporations that profit from human misery. The Democratic Party has responded to the recent assaults on fundamental democratic rights with a characteristic blend of hollow rhetoric, ineffectual legislative gestures, and outright collaboration. This will do nothing to halt the functioning of the deportation machine or alleviate the suffering of the thousands incarcerated within it. ICEs ambush tactics are a calculated escalation in the capitalist states war on immigrants, a war ultimately aimed at the entire working class. By terrorizing super-exploited immigrants, the ruling elite seeks to intimidate all workers, suppress wage demands, break strikes, and preempt any unified challenge to its rule. The fight against ICE terror is not only a question of immigrant rights; it is an inseparable component of the class struggle against the capitalist system, which is the root cause of war, poverty, inequality, and the brutalization of workers and oppressed people everywhere. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and German defense minister Boris Pistorius attend a formal inauguration of a German brigade for NATO's eastern flank in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, May 22, 2025. [AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis] With the ceremonial establishment of the permanent combat brigade in Lithuania, the German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has opened a new chapter in the revival of German militarism. In a militarist ceremony with Leopard tanks, howitzers, fighter planes and marching soldiers, Merz and Pistorius celebrated the first permanent deployment of German combat troops abroad since the Second World War in the service of peace, freedom and security. In reality, it is part of comprehensive preparations for war against Russia. The symbolism of the location could not have been clearer: Lithuania, a former Soviet territory, just a few hundred kilometres from the Russian border. Eighty years after Hitler's war of annihilation against the Soviet Union, German tanks manned by German soldiers are once again rolling eastwards. The historical and political break that the German elites were forced to carry out after the fall of the Third Reich is being systematically reversed. German imperialism is on the march again, returning to the scenes of its worst crimes. Lithuania in particular was a central scene of Nazi atrocities. After the invasion of the Wehrmacht in June 1941, local collaborators actively participated in the extermination of the Jewish population. Within a few months, around 95 percent of Lithuanian Jews were murdered. Of the approximately 210,000 Jews who lived in Lithuania before the Nazi invasion on June 22, 1941, around 195,000 were murdered by the end of the war in 1945. The majority of them had already been killed at the end of 1941. The SS Einsatzgruppen, supported by Lithuanian militias, not only killed tens of thousands of people in massacres such as the one in Ponary, but also brutally targeted communists, trade unionists and other members of the opposition. Now, German combat troops are once again being permanently stationed on Lithuanian soil. History is either being ignored or actively rewritten in order to justify new wars. In his speech in Vilnius, Merz spoke of a new era in which Germany must assume permanent responsibility. He repeatedly referred to Russia as an aggressor against which we must defend ourselves together. This turns reality on its head. Even though the Russian invasion of Ukraine was reactionary, the imperialist powers are the main aggressors. They deliberately provoked the war in Ukraine. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union by the Stalinist bureaucracy, NATO has encircled Russia militarily. Now the leading European Union states in particularabove all Berlinare driving the escalation ever further. The Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) brigade is not just symbolic, but a fully equipped combat unit with heavy weapons, its own base and permanently stationed personnel. In the autumn of 2023, Pistorius spoke of the need for Germany to become ready for war. With the recent adoption of comprehensive war credits amounting to around one trillion and the planned increase in the military budget to five percent of GDP, rearmament and the militarisation of society as a whole are the states main concerns. This policy is an expression of a profound change. The German ruling class is using the Ukraine war to push through a comprehensive military reorganisation and establish itself as the strongest European war power. In his first government statement as Chancellor, Merz announced that the Bundeswehr will become the strongest conventional army in Europe. Even without taking into account the Turkish army with its 355,000 active soldiers and 379,000 reservists, strengthening the Bundeswehr to the desired level would require an increase in personnel from the current 181,000 to at least 300,000 soldiers. According to current plans, this is how large the Polish army should be in ten years' time. Such an expansion cannot be realised without the reintroduction of compulsory military service. Prior to his trip to Vilnius, Pistorius also backed the demand previously made by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (Christian Democrats) and originally made by the far-right Alternative for Germany to increase military spending to five percent of economic output in future. That would correspond to 225 billion per year! The official defence budget currently stands at just under 53 billion. Pistorius left no doubt that workers will foot the bill for the arms build-up. This country cannot be defended with welfare benefits and education, he declared cynically on Deutschlandfunk radio. The insane course of war is essentially supported by all parties in the Bundestag (German Parliament). The Greens, who once claimed to be pacifists, are now the most aggressive warmongers and openly celebrate the mobilisation of the Bundeswehr in the east. The Left Party has criticised the deployment of German combat troops in order to conceal and secure the government's agenda and to control the enormous opposition to it. However, it also voted in the Bundesrat (Federal Council) in favour of the war credits amounting to one trillion and subsequently ensured Merz was quickly elected Chancellor in the Bundestag. Under the leadership of the new German government, the war in Ukraine provoked by the NATO powers is increasingly developing into a European war. In view of a possible US withdrawal under Donald Trump, the leading European powersabove all Germanyare determined to continue the war offensive against Russia without Washington's support if necessary. They are accelerating their rearmament and war plans enormously in order to become more militarily independent and assert their own imperialist interests by force. What is unfolding here is a road towards a third world war. As the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) declared at its last party congress, the German ruling class is seamlessly continuing its old world war policy. Already in the First World War, one of the war aims was the creation of a Ukrainian vassal state dominated by Berlin. Hitler continued this policy in the Second World War: the subjugation of Ukraine was a central component of the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union. Today, German tanks are once again rolling towards Russia, and the Bundeswehr is working closely with the heirs of the Ukrainian Nazi collaborators to enforce the predatory interests of German imperialism. The parallels with history are obvious. Despite all ideological differences, the Wehrmacht marched east in 1941 under similar auspices as the Bundeswehr today: in the name of defending the European order against the Bolshevik enemy. Today, the enemy is called Russian imperialism, but the goalsgeostrategic dominance and access to resources, zones of influence and sales marketsremain the same. While the ruling elite uses war rhetoric and nationalism to prepare the population for a devastating and potentially catastrophic direct military conflict with the nuclear-armed power Russia, the working class is already being asked to pay. The billions spent on tanks, drones and fighter jets are being financed by social spending cuts, mass redundancies and the rising cost of living. Schools are falling into disrepair and hospitals are overburdened, but there is always money available for new rearmament projects. Added to this is the de facto forced recruitment of young people, especially from the working class, to be used as cannon fodder at the front. This development can only be stopped by a conscious movement of the international working class. The SGP is the only party in Germany that has consistently fought against rearmament, the NATO war and the return of militarism. In the Bundestag election campaign, the SGP warned of the danger of a third world war and focused on building a new, international anti-war movement. This is now the all-important question. The return of German combat troops to Eastern Europe is a declaration of war on humanity. Workers and young people must oppose it resolutely on the basis of a clear socialist perspective. We call on all Ford workers to contact the Ford Action Committee to prepare a fight to defend the Cologne main plant. A second Saarlouis must not be allowed to happen. Send us a WhatsApp message to the following number: +491633378340 or register using the form at the end of this article. 24-hour strike at Ford in Cologne, May 14, 2025 When the IG Metall held a 24-hour strike last Wednesday of 11,500 Ford workers in Cologne, Germany against the plants threatened closure, the WSWS warned that the union and its works council officials have no interest in an industrial fight to defend jobs, but are seeking the orderly liquidation of the plant. The union apparatus itself has confirmed the correctness of this assessment. On Monday, IG Metall called off a second, indefinite strike, which the workforce had voted for by 93.5 percent. In their press release on Monday, union secretary Kerstin Klein and IG Metall shop stewards David Ludtke and Frank Koch did not provide any detailed reasons for overriding the membership vote. They merely referred to unspecified key points they claimed to have agreed with Fords German management. They claim the 24-hour strike, which probably did not cost the company a penny given the plants low capacity utilisation, led to management coming far enough towards us in the talks since Thursday that we want to give further negotiations adequate space, said IG Metall negotiator Klein. After Ford had sent Klein an offer shortly before the first strike began, the union official was apparently on the verge of cancelling even the 24-hour strike, but ultimately decided against it. We will still go ahead with the one-day strike as planned, because we will not give up the leverage of industrial action as long as there is no overall package on the table, they wrote at the time. Immediately after the strike, they resumed negotiations and are now reportedly closer to this comprehensive package. Benjamin Gruschka, chairman of the Ford Works Council, said, We were able to agree on a few key points for further negotiations with the German management. This now required approval from the group headquarters in the USA on one or two points. Until we receive feedback, we will work out further details in working groups. Frank Koch, head of the Ford Customer Service Division employee representative committee, is quoted in the IG Metall press release as saying: If the US management is prepared to follow the path we have chosen, we will continue the negotiations; if not, we will have to increase the pressure on the employer side. We will then continue and expand the strikes. Fellow union official David Ludtke, employee representative at Ford Niehl/Merkenich, claimed: We are ready to do so at any time. This is all a lie. All previous experience tells a different story. Last week, IG Metall organised a strike for the first time in the plants 100-year history, despite several strike ballots by the workforce. Immediately after the workforce had voted to take all-out industrial action, IG Metall blocked it by reaching an agreement with the companys top management. The only major strike by Ford workers in Germany took place over 50 years ago in 1973. It was not organised by IG Metall, but Ford workers themselves, who were mostly immigrants. At that time, IG Metall works council members joined in beating up the striking workers, actively helping to brutally crush and end the strike. The recent ballot for an indefinite strike and last Wednesdays action showed that the workforce is prepared to fight to defend their jobs and Fords main German plant. But being limited to one 24-hour strike has shown that jobs can only be defended against both management and the union apparatus and their works council reps in the factory. IG Metall only reluctantly organised the strike under pressure from the workforce and has now cancelled it at the first opportunity. This is not only true for Ford but is a general phenomenon. In their press release, the three union representatives Klein, Ludtke and Koch sent solidarity greetings to the 3,000 steelworkers at Huttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM) in Duisburg. They also face an uncertain future because Thyssenkrupp, the majority shareholder, plans to close the plant. The steelworkers are also in a tough battle for a social collective agreement [Sozialtarifvertrag, a type of labor agreement in Germany governing the terms of layoffs], The three state, concluding: Stay determined, stay strong, we will stand by you! IG Metall, the works council and the shop stewards in Duisburg are just as determined to sabotage every struggle as their counterparts in Cologne. In Duisburg last week, IG Metall called a short one-hour warning strike at HKM, by having the early shift report to work an hour late. A two-hour rally planned for last Monday at Gate 3 was then cancelled, just like the indefinite strike at Ford Cologne. The reason here, too, is new negotiations. According to IG Metall, exploratory talks with HKM shareholders Thyssenkrupp Steel and Salzgitter resumed last Friday. Possible solutions were exchanged constructively and must now be further discussed in various rounds of consultations among the shareholders, the IG Metall wrote in a statement. It also claims that the warning strikes were only being suspended. Your solidarity and high participation in our joint warning strikes over the past two days have helped us get back to the negotiating table, IG Metall told the workers. Here, too, the cancellation of the rally ends with empty bluster to the companys management: However, if the talks do not develop as desired or if we find that they are going nowhere, we will consult accordingly. As long as IG Metall is able to isolate these struggles, it will lead each workforce individually to the slaughter and the plants in Duisburg, Cologne and many other cities will be closed. That is the whole point of a so-called social collective agreement, for which the IG Metall wants to engage in tough negotiations. Such contracts mean plants will be gradually closed through partial retirement schemes, severance payments and interim employment companies. To defend plants and jobs, the workforces must unite. Workers at HKM cannot defend their plant without workers at Thyssenkrupp and other steel companies such as Salzgitter, as well as those at Ford in Cologne. But to organise an industrial fight, rank-and-file action committees independent of the IG Metall apparatus must be formed. These must unite workers not only across industries in Germany, but worldwide. Nowhere is this clearer than in the auto industry. Ford is a corporation headquartered in the United States with nearly 50 production facilities in more than a dozen countries on four continents. If the corporate headquarters in Detroit decides to withdraw from Germany and Spain, this can only be prevented if the workforces in Germanyin Cologne and Saarlouisin Spain and, above all, in the US join forces. Such a new political orientation is important to resist the blackmail by management and the works council. This is a perspective that is based on the common interests of all workers and opposes the logic of the capitalist profit system, which the union officials defend tooth and nail. This is the conclusion of a three-part interview with Dr. Peter Daszak, conducted as part of the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. Part 1 can be read here and Part 2 here. Benjamin Mateus (BM): Moving ahead to May 1, 2024, your testimony at the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearings, Chairman Brad Wenstrup accused you and EcoHealth Alliance of systemic disregard for oversight. Can you speak on that date and the impressions the hearing left with you? You were scapegoated, never allowed to respond to the questions posed to you. In our view, it was a shameful frame-up. Peter Daszak (PD): It was a disgrace. This committees activities and many other aspects of the attacks we were put through taught me that our institutions are far weaker than we believed. Think back to the 2020 election: Trump falsely claimed victory and tried to overturn the results. I was shocked that a democracy like the US could rely on just a handful of individuals to uphold a free and fair election. The Electoral College system, and the idea that Vice President Mike Pence could have swung the outcome, revealed just how fragile our democratic safeguards areand how little some leaders respect the will of the people. This fragility extends to scientific research. The process of publishing, peer review and editorial independence can all be attacked and undermined. Political actors can pressure journals to retract papers, and editors often cave. This is accelerating under a second Trump administration. It has deeply affected my work. Weve had to fight for every paper since the pandemic and the backlash to ensure the research remains available. This began with Trump but was accelerated by the Republican-led congressional committees in 2022, determined to investigate the Biden administration and push baseless corruption claims. The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (SSCP) is a perfect example. It wasnt about understanding the origins of the virus or evaluating science-based policies like masking. It was political from the startand bipartisan, too. Watch my testimony: I was brought in under the pretense of answering questions but was frequently interrupted and harassed. At one point, Representative Morgan Griffith even cut me off and said, I will give you the answer. [See Video at 1:21:30] Moment when Republican Morgan Griffith cut off Dr. Peter Daszak while answering his question, stating, I will give you the answer. [Photo: GOP Oversight Committee, "A Hearing with the President of EcoHealth Alliance, Dr. Peter Daszak"] Why bring me in at all? Because I was a political target. They had already embraced the lab leak theory and needed a scapegoat. They tried to pin the pandemic on EcoHealth Alliance and on mean absurd and disturbing accusation. And no matter what I said, the outcome was predetermined. It was a circus. But I stand by the truth and by every word I said on that day. Following the hearing, and the new allegations that were thrown at us on the day, we spent weeks compiling evidence to refute their claims and published a full rebuttal. They never addressed itnot publicly, at least. They had their conclusions before the hearings even began. But our response is out there, and it must stay out there. In time, history will judge. And it will judge that these hearingsand the committee behind themwere a McCarthyite, anti-science, anti-democratic, anti-China and anti-communist campaign. BM: Youre referring to the September 2024 rebuttal EcoHealth submitted in response to the SCCPs allegations. I found that report truly remarkable. It directly addressed every accusation made against your former organization, offering a clear, detailed examination of the correspondences, the timeline of events and the research itself. It was not only informativeit was thorough and non-trivial. The report gave readers a rare look into the behind-the-scenes regulatory work of ongoing research, a process most people never get to see. More than that, it stood as a strong defense of science against the malicious and unfounded accusations leveled at you. I think its important, especially in this interview, that you highlight some of the key points you werent allowed to express during the hearings. The sections on biosafety and gain-of-function research were particularly compelling and deserve more attention. PD: What we saw with the evolution of the narrative from the conspiracy side was that they were looking for something to pin on EcoHealth and me to support their accusations that this was a Fauci-driven pandemic. As it stands now, they have essentially established the lab leak conspiracy as the official narrative. They are openly stating that Fauci funded the research that led to the pandemic. Initially, we knew they couldnt say it openly that EcoHealth did gain-of-function work, because we had a letter from NIH where they reviewed our research and determined it did not meet the definition of gain-of-function, as it was stated in the regulations at the time. Legally, whether or not a planned experiment would be gain-of-function is decided before you even begin the work, and the organization that decides that is NIH/HHS (National Institutes of Health/US Department of Health and Human Services), based on rules that are public that we all know and adhere to. We knew there was no way the press could ever say that we did gain-of-function research. What we used to see early on was, They are accused of doing gain-of-function research, or There are questions over whether they did gain-of-function research. Eventually they didnt bother with all that. They just carried on saying Collins and Fauci are lying, and they did do gain-of-function research. They now say it repeatedly every single day, like a big lie, to the point that its believed just as everyone believed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after 911. But the facts are clear that we did not do gain-of-function research. And that report lays out clearly and succinctly why we didnt. Left: Colin Powell holds up a vial he said could contain anthrax as he presents evidence of Iraq's alleged weapons programs to the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003. Right: Rand Paul fulminating against the Wuhan Institute of Virology and "gain-of-function" research. [AP Photo] Our research was reviewed in advance by the NIH. We all looked at the rules which state something is likely to lead to enhanced transmission or virulence of a pathogen that is already known to infect humans. None of that was true in our case. We were working with bat coronaviruses, which do not cause harm in humans. So, we didnt do gain-of-function research; its that simple. Honestly, its quite outrageous and at the same time almost comical that Im the person who somehow has been linked to this phrase gain-of-function. I dont even do laboratory virology work. I know what gain-of-function is, and I know what it isnt. And we know that because we were thoroughly reviewed ahead of time by NIH and they declared that our work wasnt gain-of-function. These allegations are patently false. All those details are in that report. On the issue of biosafety, again, that was something Senator Rand Paul made a big deal about. He used a phrase that doing risky research in BSL-2 [Biosafety Level 2 lab] was unsafe; that it was equivalent to working in a dentists office. The research we conducted in China at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) followed the same biosafety rules that are established for the US. And those rules are the same now as they were then until someone changes them. So, for bat origin coronavirus, BSL-2 has been established as the appropriate safety level to do the research. For chimeras with bat-origin coronaviruses, again, you used BSL-2. That was what WIV did. We published which biosafety levels were used. They were reviewed by the biosafety committee and by scientists in the West. We supplied all the evidence to NIH, and they gave their approval. The whole process was open, transparent,and appropriate. People who now have criticized it, at the time when it happened, were okay with it. Of course, in retrospect, everybody has a new view of things. But those are the rules. Change the rules, and people will change the safety level. The Wuhan Institute of Virology [Photo by Ureem2805 / CC BY 4.0 BM: Maybe for clarification, had you been working with SARS-CoV-1 or MERS, that would be a very different situation because these are pathogens known to cause disease in humans. Bat coronaviruses dont pose a risk to humans, is that correct? PD: Yesand let me add that BSL-2 labs, where much of this work was conducted, are standard environments where researchers wear masks and gloves and take precautions to avoid contamination. Cell cultures, for example, which are easily ruined by exposure to bacteria, are worked on in BSL-2 to keep them sterile. Most people dont realize that even the rabies virusdeadly to humansis routinely cultured at BSL-2 in the US, because we have effective vaccines and know how to handle it safely. To your point, bat coronaviruses are not human pathogens. A human pathogen is defined as something known to infect and cause illness in people. Bat coronaviruses studied in our research do not meet that definitionthey are not known to infect humans or cause disease. Some now argue that, because weve seen two major coronavirus outbreaks, all bat coronavirus research should be conducted under BSL-3. If the regulations change, we will complyjust as weve always followed the rules. We acted legally and ethically, and thats why our work stands. Were still here, and the science remains sound. BM: Can you speak to the misuse of the term gain-of-function, including how it has been applied to the experiment with mice that has been cited on numerous occasions in the media and at the hearings? PD: Our work has suffered from the misuse and misunderstanding of the term gain-of-function. The experiment in questionconducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, funded by EcoHealth, and done in collaboration with ushas been repeatedly mischaracterized. In one instance, a chimeric bat coronavirus was used to infect humanized mice. There was a brief, transient increase in viral genome copies per grama measure that includes both live and dead viruses. However, by the end of the experiment, a few days later, there was no significant difference in viral load among the infected mice using other bat coronaviruses or, in other words, a null study. That temporary spike does not indicate the virus gained function. And even if there had been a more pronounced effect, these were bat coronavirusesnot known human pathogensso the experiment still would not meet the NIHs definition of gain-of-function research. Unfortunately, repeated misreporting in the media leads the public to believe otherwise. Thats what makes me cynical. These stories are politically charged, backed by funding and agendas, and scienceand scientistsbecome the collateral damage. But in the end, its the public that pays the price. In the end, the reality of COVIDs origin is less dramatic than the conspiracy theories, but far more urgent: All over the world, people are butchering and consuming wildlife while ecosystems are being destroyed. This increased human-wildlife contact is what drives spillover events. Thats where this pandemic came fromand where the next one will likely come from too. BM: Dr. Shi Zhengli had said that it is crucial to work with live viruses if we are really going to understand how these pathogens are going to emerge. PD: Shes right. Thats why we collaborated with Ralph Baric, who developed a cutting-edge method for studying the spike protein. His approach involves inserting the spike from one virus into another bat coronavirus to test whether it can infect human cells. If you truly want to understand pandemic risk, you must study it directly. That means going into the field, collecting samples, bringing those viruses into the lab, and characterizing them. Without that groundwork, were just guessing. Researchers taking a blood sample from a bat [Photo by Courtesy Peter Daszak] Now I see papers proposing AI to predict spillover riskwhich is promising. Weve been using similar predictive machine learning models for years. But models only go so far. When you isolate a bat virus that can infect human cellsor humanized miceyou have real evidence of risk. That tells us the species carrying it is a potential source of zoonotic transmission. From there, you can start building policy. But to persuade policymakers, you need more than a model. You need data. You need fieldwork. AI can support the process, but it cant replace science on the ground. BM: On May 15, 2024just two weeks after your testimonyfederal officials delivered a severe blow by suspending all funding to EcoHealth Alliance. Among their claims was that the 2019 progress report had been filed over two years late. The NIH went so far as to say there was no evidence supporting your assertion that the report couldnt be filed due to being locked out of their grant system. In addition, both Democratic and Republican members of the committee accused your organization of grant mismanagement and of making misleading statements to federal officials. Virologist Stuart Neil of Kings College London, speaking to Science, noted that the alleged offenses were neither criminal nor evidence of financial misconduct. He called HHSs actions performative political nonsense carried through by the cowardice of the ranking Democrat members on the select committee. Could you address how these claims were used to damage your public reputation and undermine your work? PD: At the time we tried to file the 2019 end-of-grant progress report, we had over 50 staff members at our headquarters and were managing dozens of grants. Reports were due almost weekly, and we had a strong team dedicated to this work. We took deadlines seriously and rarely missed themour compliance track record is excellent compared to similar organizations. So, when we missed a deadline, it was incredibly frustrating. As detailed in our rebuttal (see page 9 to 44), we were in constant communicationme, Hongying Lee (our point of contact with the China team on the ground) and Aleksei Chmura, our Chief of Stafftrying to compile the data from our Chinese collaborators. Aleksei was responsible for submitting these reports, and we worked tirelessly to get everything aligned. In the end, while the report was complete and ready well in advance of the deadline, we were unable to upload it into the NIH system. We were rolling into a new grant period, and there was confusion about what exactly needed to be submitted and when. This is thoroughly documented in our response, including email threads and phone calls with NIH staff. We had the data, the report was written, and we were actively trying to submit it. Typically, if a PI [Principal Investigator] misses a report deadline, NIH follows up with a reminder to submit or risk losing funding. That never happened in our case. NIH had changed its reporting requirements between the start and end of our grant. Under the old rules, no final report was required; the preliminary data in the renewal application sufficed. Thats what we assumedespecially since the renewal was approved and funding was granted without condition or notification about a missing final report. In the report, we provide direct quotes from multiple NIH officials under testimony to the SSCP, stating that they didnt consider a missing final year report to be important, that the system was unable to provide the normal reminders because in April 2020 Trump had the grant terminated, and then it was placed in limbo. It seems that both NIH staff and EcoHealth Alliance staff were caught in a bureaucratic no-mans land. It was only much later, after our grant was terminated amid political controversy, that the late report became an issue. We appealed, sent letters through legal counsel, and repeatedly explained the situation. In retrospect, it seems NIH and the SSCP were searching for a procedural misstep to justify punitive action. Yes, we missed the final report submission. But should that lead to debarment from all federal funding? Thats unprecedented in NIH history. Our response cites multiple cases where organizations failed to file final reportssometimes repeatedlywithout facing defunding or debarment, or any oversight actions. In fact, NIH has a long history of delayed or missing final reports. For example, approximately 60 percent of final-year reports from the National Cancer Institute were not submitted on time, according to the OIG. So, we urge you to read our full response. Its long and technical, but it lays out the facts clearly. If theres to be a fair investigation into whether the EcoHealth Alliance or I acted improperly, that evidence must be considered in context. Since no one else seemed interested in doing that, we did it ourselvesand made it public, with all of the documents to back it up. BM: Ive read the report, and one thing stood out: There is clear documentation of ongoing communication between you, Aleksei Chmura and the NIH. Numerous emails detail the timeline, specific questions and requestsincluding issues accessing the NIH system, but then it seemed that the new grant process made that superfluous. The record shows consistent effort and transparency on EcoHealths part to comply with NIHs regulatory requirements, in other words, no mismanagement or misleading NIH. PD: Yes, thats right. Looking back, I think my mistake when speaking to the committee was using the phrase locked out. NIH seized on that wordingspecifically Michael Lauer, the Deputy Director for Extramural Researchwho, in my view, has been just as aggressive as the SSCP in targeting scientists. He claimed there was no evidence we were locked out of the system. In hindsight, I should have said what you just did, that we were unable to access their system properly due to a glitch related to the status of our new grant proposal, which prevented us from uploading the report. Lauer claimed to have conducted a forensic analysis, and we addressed that in our rebuttal. But the bottom line is: We tried to file the report. It was prepared and ready. We repeatedly asked when and how it should be submitted. At no point did NIH tell us it hadnt been received or that we were in breach. In fact, they approved our next round of funding. It wasnt until two and a half years laterwhen it became politically usefulthat they reinterpreted the situation to suggest something far more serious had occurred. BM: I found it amazing that none of the major mediathe New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and the othersbothered to read the source documents, or if they did, they certainly didnt comment on it. PD: Ive been deeply disappointed by the mainstreamand particularly the left-leaningpress. Their retreat into both-side-ism became clear once they themselves came under attack. Rather than standing firm on evidence, outlets like the New York Times began presenting the lab leak theory as just one side of a scientific debate, claiming some scientists say this, others say that. But that framing is misleading, tragically so. The so-called other scientists they quoted were often loud but unqualified voicespeople with no background in virology, no experience working on coronaviruses, no fieldwork in wildlife markets and no expertise with bats. Many didnt even work on viruses at all. Yet these were the sources being platformed as legitimate counterpoints. Thats not balanced journalism. Its giving a politically motivated and scientifically unqualified minority a megaphone. And in doing so, the press has actively undermined the publics understanding of the truth. BM: Perhaps one genuinely positive development to come out of all this is the recent documentary Blame, by Academy Awardnominated Swiss director Christian Frei. The film offers a thoughtful, sober account of the COVID-19 pandemic and places you, Shi Zhengli and Linfa Wang at the center of the scientific story. I found it compelling because it gives essential context to the work the three of you did, highlighting the complexity and integrity of the sciencewithout indulging in any both-side-ism. It gives no ground to the lab leak hypothesis, and that alone sets it apart from much of the media coverage weve seen. Still from the documentary Blame. Left to right: Linfa Wang, Peter Daszak, Christian Frei (on Frei's computer is Shi Zhengli via Zoom) [Photo by Courtesy of Christian Frei] PD: What I appreciated most about Christian Freis approach was that he wasnt interested in rehashing debates about the origins of the virus. Instead, he focused on what he called the screaming narrativesthe social media echo chambers, the aggressive pile-ons, and the often racist or sexist attacks that have driven a wedge between scientific truth and public belief. His film confronts how weve moved from trusting scientific consensus to following influencers pushing supplements, books or conspiracy theories. I admired that he deliberately avoided the false balance of both-side-ismand he succeeded. That said, I was cautious about getting involved. Wed been approached by numerous documentary teams, and after a few unpleasant experiences, we learned the pattern: They would all send very similar emailsWe want to tell your side of the story, give you a chance to set the record straightbut it was never about that. In the final product, theyd cast you as a representative of one side and then line up critics on the other. They controlled the narrative and gave too much oxygen to a vocal, conspiratorial minority. So, we stopped participating in those projects. Then we received an email from Christian Frei in Switzerlandand it was different. He wasnt pitching a narrative war. He expressed genuine interest in our work on bats and viruses. He described a project titled The Host, focused on why batsthese mysterious animals that live in dense coloniesharbor viruses, and the research weve done to understand that. His message was thoughtful and informed. He included beautiful concept art and a detailed pitch that showed he had really done the background research. We agreed to speak with him. I found him compellinggentle, insightful and deeply knowledgeable. He has a unique perspective, which comes through in all his workwhether on genetic engineering, social media or space tourism. To me, Blame is the most honest and definitive film about the origins of COVID-19. It doesnt sensationalize. It seeks understanding. BM: As we conclude, maybe you could discuss your new project, Nature.Health.Global. PD: The past five years have been incredibly difficultfor EcoHealth Alliance, for me personally, for my family and for our colleagues. When Congress proposed debarment of our organization, we knew we were in serious trouble. Grants were terminatedsome immediately, others graduallyand it eventually seemed inevitable that EcoHealth would have to close. I fought to keep it alive. We could have continued, and I believed in that fight. But ultimately, the board voted to shut it down. Still, a small group of usstaff, colleagues and collaboratorsasked ourselves: In a time when pandemics are becoming more frequent, is closing an organization dedicated to preventing them really the right decision? Absolutely not. So, we chose to carry on. To keep the mission alive. To take it to the next level and focus even more sharply on true pandemic prevention. We know why pandemics emerge. We know where theyre most likely to originate. And that knowledge is too important to abandon. EcoHealth spent 25 years leading the way in pandemic prevention science. We dont want to walk away from that legacy. Thats why weve founded a new organization: Nature.Health.Global. It hasnt been easy. Weve incorporated, were operational, and were fundraising every day. But were committed to pushing forwardto doing the science, conducting the research, and resisting the narratives that seek to undermine evidence-based work. Were continuing the core mission: addressing the links between deforestation and health, climate change and disease, land use, wildlife trade, and even ocean healthan often-overlooked piece of the puzzle when it comes to emerging diseases. And were adding something newa commitment to defending science and scientists from disinformation and politicization. We believe science plays a vital role in society, and were determined to protect that roleand live up to it. BM: Any final thoughts? Perhaps you could also share how Dr. Shi Zhengli is doing. Shes rarely mentioned in these discussions, but its clear the past five yearsand the intense right-wing backlashmust have taken a personal and professional toll. Dr. Shi Zhengli [Photo: Alexis_Verger on Twitter] PD: I think everyone involved has been deeply affected. Theres a film called Girl, Interrupted about a young woman navigating a psychiatric institutionbut what weve seen over the past five years feels like Science, Interrupted. On April 17, 2020, President Trump abruptly announced the termination of our NIH grant. From that moment, our work was disrupted. International collaboration stalled, communication with colleagues in Chinaespecially with Shi Zhenglibecame extremely difficult, and critical research has been frozen. We have unpublished data from those grants that may never see the light of day because our collaborators governments are afraidafraid of political consequences, of association, of speaking out. Shi Zhenglis work, like Linfa Wangs and mine, has suffered greatly. I dont believe shes been able to leave China or attend international meetings freely. Despite China recognizing these attacks as politically motivated, publishing has become harder. Her research is unfairly criticized. Her global voice has been diminishedand thats a loss for all of us. I havent seen her in-person since early 2021 in Wuhan, and I sometimes wonder if I ever will again. Its surreal that the very scientistsShi, Linfa and Iwho warned for decades about the risks of another coronavirus pandemic, are now silenced, separated and unable to do the work we were trained to do. It feels like a medieval response to a modern crisis. I had hoped we were better than this. BM: Dr. Daszak, thank you for your candid replies and all your time. PD: Its my pleasure, and thank you for your reporting throughout the pandemic and speaking up for the people whove borne much of the brunt of the impact of often badly thought-out politically-motivated decisions. Three death row inmates were executed this week, bringing to 19 the number of people put to death so far in 2025, including 3 in South Carolina, 4 in Texas, 2 in Alabama, 5 in Florida, and 1 each in Louisiana, Arizona, Oklahoma, Indiana and Tennessee. Eight more executions are scheduled before the end of the year. The three men executed this week all died by lethal injection. As is so often the case, their lives were plagued by either mental illness, mental disability, substance abuse, or a combination of these conditions. Legal avenues to halt their executions had been closed by the judicial system, despite arguments by their attorneys that they deserved to have their cases reexamined based on new evidence, they posed no danger to society if their sentences were commuted to life in prison, or their mental condition was such that they were unable to understand either the gravity of their crimes or their punishment. Tennessee Tennessee carried out its first execution since 2000 on Thursday, May 22. Oscar Franklin Smith, age 75 at his execution, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1990 for fatally stabbing and shooting of Judith Smith, his estranged wife, and her teenage sons, Jason Burnett, 13, and Chad Burnett, 16, at their Nashville home in 1989. Oscar Smith At Smiths sentencing hearing, a clinical psychologist who had evaluated him diagnosed him as suffering from paranoid personality disorder, chronic depressive neurosis and paranoid delusional disorder. He reportedly did not want to use an insanity defense because it might prevent him from obtaining a home loan in the future. He would never see that future. A Davidson County Criminal Court denied requests to reopen Smiths case despite new evidence that the DNA of an unknown person had been found on one of the murder weapons. The judge wrote that the evidence of Smiths guilt was overwhelming and that this new evidence did not warrant reopening his case. Smith maintained his innocence until the end. Smiths execution had been on hold for five years, first due to COVID-19 and then by a temporary reprieve from the governor, Republican Bill Lee, due to concerns over the preparation of the lethal injection drugs to be used. A yearlong investigation into Tennessees execution procedure revealed that prison authorities were not following the states protocol for procurement, storage and testing of the lethal chemicals used. The new written protocol has been revealed only in redacted form, is only half as long as the previous one and grants substantial discretion to prison officials in its administration. The state is now using a single drug, the barbiturate pentobarbital, instead of the three-drug protocol used previously. Smith was strapped to a gurney with an IV inserted into his right arm, which was attached to a long tube that ran into a different room where the execution drug was pumped in. In his final statement, he addressed Governor Lee, saying in part: Our justice system is broken. Somebody needs to tell the governor the justice system doesnt work. Too many innocent people are being killed. Im not the first and wont be the last. The Nashville Scene wrote on the execution at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Thursday morning, Within moments after the pentobarbital was administered through a tube from another room, Smith closed his eyes and lay motionless. His breathing stopped, and the color in his face turned red and then blue. It took seven minutes from the time he received the dose until he was pronounced dead [at 10:47 a.m. CDT]. Assistant federal public defender Amy Harwell, one of Smiths attorneys, commented after the execution: Because an autopsy would violate Oscars deeply held religious beliefs, we will never know for sure whether he experienced the torture of pulmonary edema while Tennessee took his life. We do know, however, from the dozens of autopsies that have been performed on those executed by pentobarbital, that this execution method causes excruciating pain and suffering. Our State should stop poisoning people to death in this cruel manner. Texas Matthew Lee Johnson, 50, died by lethal injection Tuesday, May 20, for the murder of 76-year-old Nancy Judith Harris during a convenience store robbery in Garland, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Johnson accepted responsibility for the brutal crime, in which the woman was doused with lighter fluid and set on fire, but said he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time. Matthew Lee Johnson Johnsons defense argued that their client had been sexually abused as a child and began smoking marijuana at a young age. He began abusing crack cocaine as an adult. UPI reported on statement of his attorneys: The night before the crime, he had been drinking at a wedding reception, which he left at about midnight and bought some crack. Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. he smoked 10 rocks of crack, then took a Xanax. At 6 a.m., he drank a bottle of red wine. He went to the convenience store in order to rob it to buy more drugs, they said. In his final statement in the death chamber at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Johnson apologized to Harris family, some of whom witnessed his execution, saying: To Mrs. Harris family, as I look at each and every one of you, I see her on that day. I just please ask for yalls forgiveness, I never meant to hurt her. I pray that shes the first person that I see when I open my eyes, and I will spend eternity with her. He was pronounced dead at 6:53 p.m. CDT. Indiana The World Socialist Web Site has reported on the execution of Indiana death row inmate Benjamin Donnie Ritchie, 45, which also took place on Tuesday, May 20, in the early morning hours. Benjamin Donnie Ritchie [AP Photo/Indiana Department of Correction] Ritchie was convicted and sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Beech Grove police officer Bill Toney. He was the second person put to death in Indiana following a 15-year hiatus, due to the states inability to obtain the drugs needed to carry out lethal injections. Ritchies attorneys argued before the Indiana Parole Board that information about his intellectual disability had not been considered at his trial. He was diagnosed with a form of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder resulting from his mothers daily alcohol and drug use during pregnancy, which they said can cause severe brain damage and limit cognitive functioning to the level of intellectual disability. Ritchie was brutally abused by both his parents; his mother also abandoned him twice. His attorneys said this abuse and neglect contributed to a 2005 diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The parole board voted unanimously to recommend Ritchie be denied clemency, and the execution proceeded after Governor Mike Braun, a Republican, denied his clemency request. The media was denied access to Ritchies execution. The Associated Press and four other media companies are arguing in a federal lawsuit that such bans are an attack on freedom of the press, which is protected by the First Amendment. A federal judge denied a preliminary injection that would have allowed journalists to witness Ritchies execution. Ritchie was executed by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. He was pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m. CDT. Elevenlabs AudioNative Player Students applaud next to a Palestinian flag, as the 13 students who have been barred from graduating due to protest activities are recognized by a student address speaker, during commencement in Harvard Yard, at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, May 23, 2024. [AP Photo/Ben Curtis] The Trump administrations move to strip Harvard University of its ability to enroll international students is a fascistic assault on democratic rights and an attempt to place the entire university system under direct political control by a gangster regime in Washington. This attack must be opposed through the broadest possible mobilization of the working class to defend international students, academic freedom and the right to free speech. The White Houses action, announced Thursday, would immediately impact a quarter of Harvards student bodyapproximately 6,800 individuals from over 100 countries. These students would be forced either to transfer, leave the country or face deportation, along with some 300 dependents. Nationally, between 1.1 million and 1.36 million international students are currently enrolled in US colleges and universities. On Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the White House action pending a May 29 hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction. But this fight cannot be left to the courts, which the Trump administration has repeatedly defied in any case. The working class must act to oppose this assault and defend international students and the right to free speech. The White House action involves terminating Harvards Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, barring the university from sponsoring F- and J-visas for international students and exchange visitors in the 202526 academic year. There is no precedent for the wholesale revocation of a universitys SEVP certification, which was itself established as part of the anti-democratic actions following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The White House justified the measure by claiming that Harvard had allowed anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to threaten and assault Jewish students, creating an unsafe campus environment. This slanderous lie against protests over the Gaza genocide is made by a government riddled with fascists that is overseeing and backing the systematic ethnic cleansing and extermination of the Palestinian people through mass starvation. The attack on Harvard lies at the intersection of the Trump administrations drive to establish a political dictatorship and its preparations for war. The executive order explicitly accuses Harvard of collaborating with the Chinese Communist Partya fabricated charge aimed at branding all Chinese students and scholars as spies and conditioning the American population for war with China. The moves against Harvard are part of an effort to transform universities from institutions of learning into surveillance centers and enforcement arms of the state. As Harvards filing requesting a temporary restraining order noted, the effort to revoke its ability to sponsor international students is in clear retaliation for the universitys rejection last month of the governments demands to control Harvards governance, curriculum, and the ideology of its faculty and students. In a letter sent Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered Harvard to turn over five years of surveillance, disciplinary and political records on international students. Noem directed the university to provide any and all records, whether official or informal, related to illegal activity, dangerous or violent activity, threats to other students or university personnel, or deprivation of rights of other classmates. She also demanded all disciplinary records of international students and any and all audio or video footage of any protest activity involving a nonimmigrant student. The attack on Harvard is only the beginning. The same methods will be extended to every other universityand beyond that, to schools, workplaces, and public institutions across the country. On Thursday, Noem threatened that the White House was absolutely looking at other institutions and that the action against Harvard should be a warning to every other university. On the same day, the US Department of Health and Human Services declared that Columbia Universitywhich has capitulated to many of the administrations demandsviolated federal civil rights law by acting with deliberate indifference to allegations of student-on-student harassment of Jewish students. The working class must act. The attack on Harvards international students is part of a broader drive by the Trump administration to establish a police state and abolish the most basic democratic rights. It is one front in a wider campaign of mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, the revocation of hundreds of visas of international students for opposing the genocide in Gaza, and the disappearance of immigrants into secret prison camps abroad. In the face of this assault, the response of the trade union bureaucracyincluding the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the AFL-CIOhas been one of cowardice and complicity. Many of the international students now facing deportation are members of the Harvard Graduate Students UnionUAW (HGSU-UAW). Yet the UAW apparatus has done nothing to defend them, and neither the UAW nor its president, Shawn Fain, has issued a statement in response to the attack on international students. Fain has personally thrown his support behind Trumps economic nationalism, embracing the America First agenda and endorsing the trade war measures that are inseparable from the broader attack on democratic rights. As for the Democratic Party, it is complicit in the assault on democratic rights. It paved the way for the attack on Harvard by embracing the lie that opposition to genocide is antisemitism and spearheading the persecution of student protesters under Biden. This is a party of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus. What terrifies the Democrats is not Trumps authoritarianism but the growth of opposition to it from belowabove all, from the working class. Nor can any confidence be placed in the Harvard administration, which has repeatedly sought accommodation with Trump, insisting that it is complying with the administrations demands, and is deeply tied to the corporate-state apparatus. While the universitys opposition to the White House has been welcomed by students, itlike other administrationshas participated in the repression of student protesters. Just last week, New York University took the shameful act of withholding the diploma of graduating student Logan Rozos for speaking out against the genocide. The defense of democratic rights depends upon the intervention of the working class. The Socialist Equality Party and its youth movement, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), call for the organization of industrial and political action in support of Harvard students and all those under attack. Rank-and-file committees must be established in every workplace, including among members of the UAW, to coordinate resistance across industries. The defense of the most basic democratic rights is a class question. The same government that is waging war on democratic rights is preparing the most sweeping assault on social programs in American history. Trumps Big Beautiful Bill would slash hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid, Medicare, and food assistance to fund massive tax cuts for the rich, expand the military and further fatten corporate profits. The attack on democratic rights is aimed above all at the working class, which the ruling elite viewscorrectlyas the only social force capable of challenging its domination. The defense of democratic rights is bound up with the building of a conscious, socialist leadership in the working class to unify and direct this opposition in a revolutionary struggle against capitalism. This article is dedicated to the memory of Wolfgang Weber (1949-2024). He participated in the preparation and discussion of this article prior to his death last year. To mark the 85th anniversary of the Hitler-Stalin Pact, the traveling exhibition Rift through Europe: The Consequences of the Hitler-Stalin Pact opened last August at the Berlin-Karlshorst Museum (formerly the German-Russian Museum). A companion book of the same title was published the following month. Exhibition Rift through Europe [Photo by Museum Berlin-Karlshorst] In this museum of all placeslocated at the historic site where the German Wehrmacht surrendered to the Red Army in May 1945the new exhibition distorts the history of the Second World War, rewriting it to align with Germanys current war aims in NATOs proxy war against Russia. The traveling exhibition, developed in cooperation with Professor Anke Hilbrenner, the Chair of Eastern European History at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, is modest in size, occupying only a side room of the museum. Nevertheless, it is designed to reach a wide audience through various channels. It has already been displayed in the German cities of Dusseldorf and Luneburg, and the Federal Agency for Civic Education plans to make it available digitally as a resource for schools. In early 2025, the exhibition moved on to Ukraine. It has received government funding, including support from the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth (Greens), and the Ministry of Education in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In Berlin, the exhibition was initially presented in German and English, but from the halfway point onward, only in Ukrainian and English. There was no Russian-language presentation, despite the fact that the museum is otherwise German- and Russian-speaking. This exclusion is part of the broader assault on Russian culture promoted by German media and institutions since the Putin regimes invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Ukrainian flag now flies prominently outside the museum, and its former namethe German-Russian Museumhas been officially changed. Two of the editors of the exhibition volumeAnke Hilbrenner and museum director Jorg Morreare members of the German-Russian History Commission, which suspended its activities in February 2022. The German side of the commission also includes prominent right-wing militarists such as Jorg Baberowski (Humboldt University Berlin) and Sonke Neitzel (University of Potsdam). The exhibition is the latest component in a broader campaign of historical revisionism that has been underway for years. Its purpose is to advance a right-wing narrative of the Second World War, tailored to the current escalation of war in Eastern Europe and internationally. The exhibition focuses on the Non-Aggression Pact signed on August 23, 1939, between Nazi Germany and the Stalinist leadership in the Soviet Union. Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, after the foreign ministers who signed it, the agreement facilitated the Nazis preparations for their long-planned campaign in the East. The Wehrmacht invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and the Red Army occupied eastern Poland on September 17. Less than two years later, in June 1941, German tanks rolled towards Moscow. Under the code name Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi regime waged a war of extermination against the USSR that cost the lives of more than 27 million Soviet citizens and dramatically accelerated the Nazis machinery of murder. In the years that followed, 6 million Jews and millions more people were gassed by Hitlers henchmen in concentration and extermination camps, executed in mass shootings and systematically starved and abused. The Holocaust, the Nazis campaign of extermination across Europe and the devastating consequences of war and aerial bombardment remain deeply ingrained in the collective memory of the international working class. The Karlshorst Museum has addressed some of these crimes in its permanent exhibition and individual events, such as those on the Leningrad Blockade, the liberation of the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland and the mass murder in Ozarichi in Belarus in 1944. The traveling exhibition Rift through Europe seeks to replace the working classs memory of fascist crimes with a nationalist narrative promoted by Eastern European and Baltic states. It falsely presents this as the collective memory of entire societies. In reality, it reflects the culture of remembrance of right-wing and fascist forces that glorify and trace their heritage to those who collaborated with the Wehrmacht and SS in their campaigns against the Soviet Union, and in the mass murder of Jews and other national minorities in their respective countries. The historical revisionism revolves around two main axes: First, the Hitler-Stalin Pact is used to invert historical guilt. Because the Soviet Union signed the pact and, according to the secret protocol, occupied parts of Eastern Europe, it is now blamed for starting the Second World War and its consequences. The New York Times unabashedly spread this lie over a year ago to strengthen far-right Ukrainian nationalism in the NATO proxy war against Russia. The exhibition argues that the Soviet Union was an aggressor driven by imperialist and colonial ambitions no different from those of the Nazi regime. In several passages, it even suggests that the communists were more brutal and more dangerous than the Nazis. If one follows this logic to its conclusion, it leads to a new version of the infamous historical lie that Nazi Germany waged a preventive or defensive war. If the Soviet Union is cast as the imperialist aggressor and instigator of war in 1939, does this not provide the rationale to claim that Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union two years later was merely a defensive move? Was Operation Barbarossa, then, a justifiable preemptive strike against an alleged enemy in the east? The preventive war thesis has been repeatedly invoked since Hitlers time to revise the historical fact that the Nazi regime waged a deliberate and premeditated war of aggressionthe principal charge at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. Although the thesis has long been discredited by serious scholarship and is not explicitly endorsed in the exhibition, the falsification of the Hitler-Stalin Pact ultimately leads to the same conclusion and follows a definite political logic. Germanys current aggressive militarism is sold to the population as a defensive and preventive policy. The ruling class is disguising its geopolitical and economic interests in the Ukraine war behind a supposedly necessary defence against the dangerous aggressor in Moscow. For this, it needs to secure its position on the historical front. Second, there is a deliberate trivialisation and suppression of Nazi crimes. The Holocaust is relativized at key points in the exhibition volume. The Nazi war of extermination is largely ignored, and the General Plan Eastthe blueprint for the waris not even mentioned. While German politicians and journalists are now justifying the Israeli regimes ongoing genocide in Gaza with cynical references to the Holocaust, they are simultaneously supporting the relativization of Nazi crimes, which has been made socially acceptable in recent years. In 2018, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alexander Gauland, claimed that Hitler and the Nazis were just bird shit in over 1,000 years of successful German history. What has long been advocated by the AfD and right-wing extremist ideologues in their milieu has reached lecture halls and museums in recent years. A key figure is the history professor Jorg Baberowski from Berlins Humboldt University, who declared in 2014 in Der Spiegel that Hitler was not vicious and equated the Holocaust with mass shootings in the Russian Civil War. According to Baberowski, Stalin and the Red Army imposed the war of extermination on the Wehrmacht. In doing so, he took up the extreme right-wing positions of Nazi apologist Ernst Nolte, who had been rebuffed by scholars in the Historikerstreit (historians dispute) of the 1980s. Around the same time as Baberowskis initiative, the German edition of Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by the right-wing American academic Timothy Snyder was published. Snyder has played a prominent role in providing ideological justification for the imperialist proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. As the World Socialist Web Site has explained, Snyder argues that the crimes of National Socialism were a response to the atrocities committed by Stalin in Soviet Ukraine during 193233. He portrays the Hitler-Stalin Pact as an alliance between two equally imperialist and predatory regimes. The exhibition volume relies heavily on Snyders framework and lists Bloodlands among its relevant publications in the first footnote. While Germany was ideologically preparing for new wars, it backed the right-wing coup in Ukraine in 2014. This provoked a civil war that, even before the outbreak of open war with Russia in 2022, had already claimed over 14,000 lives. Today, historical revisionism is taking place in the midst of war. Thousands of young Ukrainians and Russians are being massacred in the trenches. In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians have fallen victim to the Israeli governments genocide. The editors themselves explicitly situate the exhibition volume within the context of the current war. It was developed, they write, under the impact of Russias illegal war of aggression against Ukraine since 2014. Throughout the volume, parallels are repeatedly drawn between the USSR and present-day Russia, which is accused of pursuing imperial policies that threaten Eastern European countries.[ 1 ] The books contribution on Ukraine ends with an appeal for war: But this time Ukraine and other parts of East and Central Europe will not be a sphere of interest again. The European countries have hopefully learned the historical lesson and support Ukraine in its struggle for independence.[ 2 ] In fact, Ukraine and the other countries in the region have long been a sphere of interest for the NATO powers, for whom they serve as a base of operations against Russia. They will remain highly indebted and correspondingly dependent for decades to come. Specialist publications have long been speculating about the plundering of the countrys enormous lithium and other raw material deposits. In March 2024, the Federal Agency for Civic Education published a detailed analysis of the strategic importance of raw materials in Ukraine. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a reactionary response to its encirclement by NATO, which Moscow saw as an existential threat. Unable to appeal to the Ukrainian and international working class, Putins oligarchic regime hoped to persuade NATO to give in. But the Kremlin miscalculated. NATOand Germany in particularused the attack as a welcome pretext to escalate the war against Russia and arm itself to an extent not seen since Hitler. They even accept the risk of nuclear war. Historical revisionist narratives are being promoted at the highest levels of politics, academia, and culture to ideologically legitimize Germanys current war policy. Equating the Nazi and Stalin regimes and relativizing the Holocaust A central instrument of this historical falsification is the campaign for the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and National Socialism, held on August 23, the anniversary of the Hitler-Stalin Pact. This commemoration serves the political purpose of rewriting the history of the Second World War by relativizing the Holocaust and shifting blame for war crimes onto the Soviet Union. Since it was introduced by the European Parliament in 2009, efforts have been underway to institutionalize this day of remembrance in all EU member states. This is also a key focus of the exhibition project on the Hitler-Stalin Pact. The exhibition panels and the accompanying volume focus on the consequences of the pact for Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic states, Finland and Romania, but largely reproduce the nationalist view of history that is widespread in these countries. The crimes of Stalinism are taken as a starting point to defame the Soviet Union per se and to glorify the re-establishment of the nation states after 1991 as a great step towards freedom and democracy, which culminated in the countries accession to the EU and NATO. In summary, the final panel states that the European memory of the Pact is divided into two large communities of remembrance. Western Europe remembers above all the Nazi crimes, while East Central Europe remembers the Stalinist crimes. There, the Hitler-Stalin Pact is seen as the trigger for the Second World War, it declares. Responsibility for the war is attributed equally to both Germany and the Soviet Union. With the accession of the Central and Eastern European countries to the European Union (EU) in May 2004, this contrast reached the European political stage. The establishment of Remembrance Day on August 23 is the most visible result of the efforts of these countries to stand up for the recognition of their historical experiences. Museum plaque of the exhibition Rift through Europe for August 23 as the European Day of Remembrance After visiting the exhibition, the SED [Socialist Unity Party, the former Stalinist state party in East Germany] Victims Commissioner of the Federal Government, Evelyn Zupke, declared that the commemoration day of August 23 was a good starting point to bring the Stalinist and communist crimes ... much more strongly into a common European consciousness! Not a word was uttered about Nazi crimes, however. Beginning with the foreword to the exhibition volume, the foreign policy of the Soviet Union and Germany is placed on the same level. While Hitler had been pursuing an aggressive foreign policy for years, the Soviet Union had consolidated under Joseph Stalin into a power-hungry state. The interests of both dictators aligned in the Hitler-Stalin pact with the aim of expanding their borders. The editors then explain that they wanted to emphasise the experiences of the countries of East Central Europe in the years 1939 to 1941 in their exhibition project: While the singular atrocity of the Holocaust is the focal point of remembrance in Western Europe, including the consequences of German occupation, the memory in East-Central European countries centres on the decades of Soviet domination, particularly the crimes of Stalinism. In contrast, the relatively brief period of German occupation, which also temporarily pushed back Soviet rule, is of little significance. The perception of the Holocaust and its consequences for East-Central Europe did not have the same intensity as the pain of lost national sovereignty. The European Union attempted to address this by establishing August 23 as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism in 2008.[ 3 ] The preliminary draft of the volume before it went to press, which was made available to the WSWS for a review, still spoke of the terrible consequences of the Holocaust for East Central Europe. For the book publication, the editors deleted the adjective terrible. This correction is an example of how the Nazi crimes and the German occupation are deliberately downplayed. The latter is succinctly described as a short phase that meant pushing back Soviet rule, (!) which is obviously seen as a positive achievement of the Wehrmacht. With their assertion that the pain of lost state sovereignty allegedly developed a greater force than the perception of the Holocaust, the authors adopt the radical right-wing nationalism that is widespread among many members of the Eastern European elite. However, there were no democracies in any of the Eastern European states before the so painfully experienced loss of state sovereignty. Dictatorships or authoritarian police state regimes modelled on Poland under Jozef Pisudski ruled everywhere from 1933/1934 at the latest. This fact is hardly taken into account in the exhibition and the accompanying volume. The far-reaching relativization of the Holocaust is made possible by postmodern methods. The main idea is to tell the story from multiple perspectives, according to the introduction to the exhibition volume. Behind this flowery formulation lies a rejection of a scientific and objective analysis of the Hitler-Stalin pact. The concrete historical circumstances are dissolved into various narratives and cultures of remembrance in Western and Eastern Europe and replaced by a supposedly nationally uniform memory and perception of the population in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that stand above the classes. This or that right-wing narrative is not critically analysed, buton the contrarydeclared a scientific fact. The political agenda behind Remembrance Day is made clear in the introductory chapter to the accompanying volume: Decolonizing the European memory of the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement? Pacts of memory and oblivion. The author, Ana Milosevic, a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Criminology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, wrote her doctoral thesis on the politics of remembrance in the EU and the Balkans and was a guest researcher at the foreign policy think tank German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in 2015. Her contribution is entirely focused on justifying Remembrance Day as a step in the decolonisation of the former Soviet republics. The liberation by the Soviets in this region effectively amounted to colonisation, as one totalitarian regime replaced another, and one occupation gave way to another, she writes. Milosevic links topics such as anti-colonialism and national self-determination, which are historically associated with progressive politics, with filthy anti-communism in order to make them attractive in certain circles. This campaign is also fuelled by the Green-affiliated taz Panter Foundation, which launched the Decolonisation: East project this year. Milosevic even speaks of communist slavery and claims that the war for the Baltic states began with the Soviet invasion of 1940, which led to decades of subjugation under the Soviet colonial regime.[ 4 ] Proceeding from her anti-communist construct of Soviet colonialism, she calls for the decolonisation of European memory, i.e., the consideration of the nationalist culture of memory of the alleged colonial victims in Eastern Europe. This alleged decolonisation provides Milosevic with the framework for an open trivialisation of the Holocaust: In West Germany, the 1980s saw the Historikerstreit, a contentious debate among leading historians, questioning the comparability of totalitarian regimes and the uniqueness of the Holocaust or Shoah. Meanwhile, for many in East-Central Europe, the crimes of Stalinism and the experiences stemming from Soviet-communist occupation during and after the Second World War held equal, if not greater, significance in their individual and collective memories compared to the Holocaust. During the late 1980s, August 23 emerged as a pivotal date for independence movements in Eastern Europe, tapping into the personal recollections of countless individuals.[ 5 ] This paragraph is in many ways a prime example of how old historical lies are presented in new guisesthis time in the guise of an alleged history of memory and experience that does not consider it necessary to provide scientific arguments. The actual content of the historians dispute is not mentioned here. The far-right historian and Nazi apologist Ernst Nolte triggered the controversy in 1986 by presenting Auschwitz as a legitimate and understandable response to the Gulag, i.e., by establishing a causal nexus between the crimes of the Nazis and the Soviet Union. It was not the scientific comparison of the regimes, as Milosevic suggests, but the legitimisation of Nazi violence as a reaction to the violence of the Bolsheviks and Stalinism that was Noltes concern. He was decisively refuted by renowned scholars. Milosevic attempts to support Noltes position by claiming that many in East-Central Europe in the 1980s felt that the Soviet-communist occupation was equally grave, if not more so, than the Holocaust. What statistical survey of whose feelings is she basing this on? How many are we talking about? What and who is behind the collective memory? What were the political views of the feelings of these people? Have the few survivors of the once huge Jewish communities in Poland and other Eastern European countries who lost their entire families in the gas chambers been asked? Or does personal memory not count here, as most of them were murdered, driven into exile and erased from the history and culture of their countries of origin? Milosevics relativization of the Holocaust at this point is particularly perfidious because it invokes an individual and collective memory that is largely determined by the Nazi mass murder. It was precisely in these regions that entire generations were wiped out and whole villages burned to the ground. The Nazis took great care to ensure that as few people as possible were left who could remember the horrors of Auschwitz. In Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, they murdered almost all the Jews who had lived in the country in 1939: in Poland 3 million out of 3.4 million, in Lithuania 145,000 out of 150,000 and in Latvia 70,000 out of 93,500.[ 6 ] And finally, Milosevic substantiates her far-reaching statements with a footnote that provides no evidence at all. She referswithout giving a page numberto the study The Criminalisation of Communism in the European Political Space after the Cold War (London 2019) by French political scientist Laure Neumayer. First of all, it is dishonest to try to substantiate a specific claim by referring to a 230-page book without specifying an exact passage or at least a chapter. This makes it difficult for the reader to check the source. However, if one investigates and reads Neumayers foreword, one realises that her book stands in contrast to Milosevic. Neumayer critically examines the anti-communist memory entrepreneurs in the EU and the revival of totalitarianism theory since the 1990s. In her introduction, she also unequivocally opposes Noltes Nazi apologetics. Furthermore, Milosevic uses the claims of Soviet colonialism and discourse on colonial trauma in the Baltics to legitimise the aggressive nationalism of the regimes there. She writes: The concept of decolonisation implied the establishment of an ethnic democracy, where citizenship was granted primarily to pre-Soviet occupation residents and their descendants, predominantly ethnic Balts.[ 7 ] This concept differs little from that of the Nazis and their fascist collaborators, such as the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), who dreamed of an ethnically pure state created through the mass murder of minorities and Jews. Moreover, the term ethnic democracy is a contradiction in terms, as ethnic purity in multi-ethnic regions such as Eastern Europe is completely incompatible with democracy. The example of Estonia is very revealing in this respect. In line with Milosevics introductory chapter, the contribution on Estonia in the book is a nationalist tract, co-financed by the Estonian State Research Council. It trivialises the Nazi war of extermination and glorifies a post-Stalinist Estonia in which only people who can prove that their ancestors possessed citizenship before 1940 are automatically entitled to it. The author Kristo Nurmis writes right at the beginning, [T]he Pact and the subsequent treaties effectively eradicated Estonias sovereignty and left it vulnerable to Soviet whims, placing it at the mercy of an unpredictable totalitarian state. The unprovoked Soviet annexation occurred a year before the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet war, and the ensuing sequence of occupations and conflicts cost Estonia a quarter of its population.[ 8 ] The phrase outbreak of the German-Soviet war conceals the criminal nature of the Nazi war of aggression, whose crimes are conflated with Stalinist rule under the term subsequent occupations and wars in order to relativize the responsibility of the Nazi regime. The approximately 80,000 Estonian collaborators who fought alongside the Nazis against the Red Army are not mentioned in the article, which is not surprising. As recently as 2012, the Estonian parliament honoured the voluntary Estonian members of Hitlers Waffen SS as freedom fighters and fighters against the communist dictatorship in a resolution. Nurmis writes of the citizenship policy after 1991: Domestically, Estonia pursued strong state restitution, denying automatic citizenship to individuals whose ancestors were not Estonian citizens before the Soviet annexation in 1940. This policy aimed not only to restore historical rights but also to safeguard Estonian political culture from the influence of recent Soviet migrants who were perceived as lacking the commitment to independence and the shared experience of local national tragedies (new citizens were required to pass a language exam and a test on the constitution). A quarter of the populationthe size of the Russian-speaking minorityhave been discriminated against and disenfranchised for years on the basis of this chauvinist policy. Nurmis article ends with a plea for continued support for the war in Ukraine and warns of Western war fatigue.[ 9 ] In Estonia and other Eastern European countries, right-wing historical revisionism has been promoted for years, for example in exhibitions and school textbooks. Since the early 1990s, museums have emerged that propagate the double genocide paradigm, as the researcher on Yiddish culture and history, Dovid Katz, puts it. This refers to the equation of the crimes of the Nazi and Stalin regimes, which is accompanied by the discrediting of Jewish victims, the heroisation of Nazi collaborators and perpetrators and the denial or trivialisation of local voluntary participation in the Holocaust.[ 10 ] Some examples are the Museum of Genocide Victims in Vilnius, Lithuania (1992), the Museum of Occupation 1940-1991 in Riga, Latvia (1993), the House of Terror in Budapest, Hungary (2002), the Museum of Occupation in Tallinn, Estonia (2003) and the Museum of Victims of Occupation Regimes (Lonzki Prison) in Lviv, Ukraine (2009). The background to the Hitler-Stalin Pact The historical revisionism surrounding the Hitler-Stalin Pact is primarily based on equating the Nazi and Stalinist regimes. Both were aggressors, imperialists and perpetrators of violence who jointly and equally crushed the small states in East Central Europe, so the claim goes. Stalin and Ribbentrop after signing the Non-Aggression Pact in the Kremlin on August 23, 1939 [Photo by Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H27337 / CC BY-SA 3.0] [Photo by Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H27337 / CC BY-SA 3.0 However, this equation distorts the historical facts and ignores the different interests and starting points of the two regimes. While Hitler needed a war of aggression and had prepared for it for a long time, Stalin wanted to avoid war at all costs and postpone it. Hitler represented the interests of German imperialism, whose hunger for markets, raw materials and living space (Lebensraum) in the East could only be satisfied through violent expansion. For him, the pact with Stalin was merely a tactical move to gain time to deal with Britain and France and then invade the Soviet Union. The future Fuhrer had already committed himself to the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union as the central axis of his foreign policy in his inflammatory book Mein Kampf. The right to land can become a duty if a great nation appears doomed without land expansion, he wrote. Germany will either be a world power or cease to exist. To be a world power, however, it needs the size that gives it the necessary importance and life for its citizens in todays world. He continued, But when we speak of new land in Europe today, we can only think primarily of Russia and the peripheral states subject to it.[ 11 ] After coming to power in January 1933, Hitler concentrated his entire military, economic and foreign policy on preparing the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union. The pact with Moscow was only one step towards this goal. Stalin, on the other hand, did not pursue any imperialist expansionist goals. He represented the interests of the privileged bureaucracy, which had usurped Soviet power from the working class and abandoned the programme of world socialist revolution. Whereas Lenin and Trotsky were committed to overcoming the isolation of the Soviet Union through successful proletarian revolutions in other countries, after Lenins death Stalin professed the doctrine of building socialism in one country. It corresponded to the conservative interests of the bureaucracy, which had a parasitic relationship with socialised property and feared uprisings by the international working class because they would have shaken its own rule. At the international level, Stalin pursued a wild, zigzagging course. In Germany, at the end of the Weimar Republic, he prevented the Communist Party (KPD) from forming a united front with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) against the Nazis, even though the SPD still had a mass base in the working class at the time. He justified this with the absurd argument that Nazis and Social Democrats were twins, and the latter were social fascists. The paralysis of the working class by the SPD and KPD paved Hitlers way to power. When the extent of the catastrophe could no longer be denied, Stalin made an abrupt U-turn. He no longer based the defence of the Soviet Union on the mobilisation of the international working class, as Lenin and Trotsky had done, but on alliances with democratic imperialist powersespecially France and Great Britain. In the name of an anti-fascist popular front with bourgeois parties, the Communist International strangled the proletarian revolution in France and Spain. In the Soviet Union, where Stalin feared an uprising of the working class against his despotic rule, he decapitated the Red Army and the Communist Party in the Great Terror of 1937 and 1938, rendering the Soviet Union virtually defenceless. Hundreds of thousands of devoted communists and experienced officers died under the execution squads of the Stalinist secret police. But the alliance with the democratic powers soon proved to be a dead end. There were strong forces in both Paris and London who hoped that Hitler would destroy the Soviet Union without waging war against the West at the same time. When Britain and France handed over Czechoslovakia to Hitler in the Munich Agreement of 1938, Stalin was compelled to conclude that he could not rely on London and Paris. Moscow negotiated an alliance with Britain and France until the very end, but they played for time until Stalin finally threw himself into Hitlers arms. Despite the cynicism, brutality and ruthlessness with which he proceeded, from Moscows standpoint the pact had an essentially defensive character. Stalins real crime was that he completely demoralised the communist workers and anti-fascists with this humiliating manoeuvre. Leon Trotsky commented: Nobody else rendered such support to Hitler as Stalin. Nobody else created such a dangerous situation for the USSR as Stalin. During a period of five years the Kremlin and its Comintern propagandised for an alliance of democracies and peoples fronts with the aim of preventive war against fascist aggressors. This propaganda, as witnessed most strikingly in the example of France, had a tremendous influence upon the popular masses. But when war really approached, the Kremlin and its agency, the Comintern, jumped unexpectedly into the camp of the fascist aggressors. Stalin with his horse-trader mentality sought in this way to cheat Chamberlain, Daladier, Roosevelt, and to gain strategic positions in Poland and the Baltic countries. But the Kremlins jump had immeasurably greater consequences: not only did it cheat the governments but it disoriented and demoralised the popular masses, in the first place in the so-called democracies. With its propaganda of peoples fronts the Kremlin hindered the masses from conducting the fight against the imperialist war. With his shift to Hitlers side Stalin abruptly mixed up all the cards and paralysed the military power of the democracies. In spite of all the machines of destruction the moral factor retains decisive importance in the war. By demoralising the popular masses in Europe, and not solely in Europe, Stalin played the role of an agent provocateur in the service of Hitler.[ 12 ] Even in terms of military strategy, the Hitler-Stalin Pact was a catastrophe. The secret additional protocol sealed the liquidation of Poland. The German Wehrmacht was now far to the east, directly on the Soviet border, and no longer had to overcome a buffer state in order to invade the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. As part of the economic agreements, the Nazis were able to obtain urgently needed raw materials from the Soviet Union for the German arms industry and wage the blitzkrieg against the Western powers without opening a second front in the East at the same time. The Russian historian Oleg Budnitzky, who was the only person to make an evidence-based scholarly contribution to the exhibition volume, answers the question Who benefited from the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact? unequivocally: not the USSR, but Germany. With the occupation of several European countries with around 1.9 million square kilometres and 122 million inhabitants, Germany almost doubled its economic potential and gained important raw materials. Above all, imports of petroleum products from the Soviet Union were essential for the German economy. The USSR, which had been extremely weakened by the Great Terror, occupied a much smaller area (460,000 square kilometres with around 23 million inhabitants), which was significantly less important. The increase in arms expenditure and the promotion of heavy industry also put a strain on the Soviet population. The Soviet-Finnish war and the Soviet supplies of fuel and food to Germany contributed significantly to the supply crisis of 19391941 (Budnitzky). The Wehrmachts rapid advances in the summer of 1941 demonstrated how poorly the Stalinist regime had prepared the country politically and militarily for war. The Red Army suffered some 600,000 fatalities and wounded during the first weeks of the war.[ 13 ] Stalins crime was therefore not that he pursued a policy of imperialist expansion, like Hitler, but that he systematically sabotaged, disoriented and demoralised the resistance to fascism. As the Russian sociologist Vadim Rogovin writes, Stalinism, with its anti-socialist domestic and foreign policy, undermined the moral influence that the Soviet Union and the international communist movement had gained throughout the world.[ 14 ] Leon Trotsky, who led the Left Opposition against the Stalinists, described Stalin as Hitlers quartermaster.[ 15 ] Trotsky fought for a political revolution within the USSR, i.e., the overthrow of the Stalinist bureaucracy by the working class. He criticised the pact because it endangered the fate of the Soviet workers state and undermined a revolutionary uprising in other countries that could have stopped fascism. The criticism of the Pact that is being voiced today by right-wing bourgeois politicians and academics has a completely opposite purpose and class orientation. The pact is used as a pretext to demonise the Soviet Unionand communism as a wholeand to justify NATOs current war policy against Russia. At the same time, the aim is to prevent workers and young people from turning to socialist ideas again in the face of the deep crisis of capitalism. To this end, Stalinism is equated with communism and the left-wing alternative represented by Leon Trotsky is hushed up. Yet it is crucial for a scholarly understanding of the Hitler-Stalin Pact that it was a result of the Stalinist degeneration of the Soviet Union and stood in opposition to the perspective of world revolution. But this fact is ignored in the exhibition project. The anti-communist politics of remembrance: Remembrance Day of August 23 Instead, the exhibition focuses on an anti-communist politics of remembrance that became increasingly influential after several Eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004. An initial high point was the introduction of Remembrance Day on August 23 in 2009, following a campaign that began in the 1980s and gathered pace in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was driven by dissidents and nationalist groups in and from Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. On June 3, 2008, European politicians adopted the so-called Prague Declaration on the Conscience of Europe and Communism, which called on the EU to introduce Remembrance Day. Among the initiators and first signatories were politicians from the Czech Republic, the Baltic states, Sweden and Britain, as well as the former head of the Stasi Records Office, Joachim Gauck, who was appointed German Federal President four years later and heralded the change in Germanys foreign policy and militarisation. The authors of the declaration explicitly refer to the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of National Socialism on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army in 1945, and call for the victims of totalitarian regimes to be commemorated in the same way as the victims of the Nazis. Behind this was an attempt at an official reversal in the politics of remembrance, which in previous decades had focused on Nazi crimes. The Austrian historian Heidemarie Uhl therefore described the new day of remembrance as the antithesis of Holocaust remembrance: August 23 is associated with a conception of history that negates the recognition of the Holocaust as a central point of reference for a European historical consciousness, namely by equating the victims of National Socialism and Communism and thus putting the two systems on an equal footing.[ 16 ] The Prague Declaration also called for the establishment of a corresponding European museum and institute and the adjustment and overhaul of European history textbooks so that children could learn and be warned about Communism and its crimes in the same way as they have been taught to assess the Nazi crimes.[ 17 ] In 2011, the EU project Platform of European Memory and Conscience, based in Prague, was created in this context. This therefore by no means concerns purely symbolic postulates, but a concrete historical revisionist program that is intended to reach the general public through museums, events and schools. The Prague Declaration was immediately taken up by the European Parliament. In a resolution in September 2008, the introduction of Remembrance Day was proposed and finally officially established in a further resolution on April, 2, 2009.[ 18 ] The motion was introduced by several political groups in the EU Parliament: the right-wing UEN (Union for a Europe of Nations), which existed until 2009 and also included Polish, Baltic and Slovakian parties as well as the far-right Italian Lega Nord, the EPP (European Peoples Party, Christian Democrats), the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) and the Greens/ALE (European Free Alliance), including the German Green politician Gisela Kallenbach. A large majority of 553 MEPs voted in favour, only 44 against (with 33 abstentions). The proposers justified their initiative with a broad definition of totalitarianism, which includes todays Russia. The Estonian Christian Democrat and co-signer Tunne Kelam openly trivialised the Nazi regime in the parliamentary debate: The oligarchy in Russia is a Frankenstein dictatorship worse than any others, Hitler included.[ 19 ] What is remarkable in this EU resolution is how the falsification of history is methodologically justified. It states that historians agree that fully objective interpretations of historical facts are not possible and objective historical narratives do not exist, even if they use scientific tools to study the past. Instead of objective historical facts, the subjective feelings and opinions of the victims or contemporary witnesses are taken as a yardstick. Thus the demand to commemorate all victims of totalitarian regimes together is justified by noting that from the perspective of the victims it is immaterial which regime deprived them of their liberty or tortured or murdered them for whatever reason. Such an approach makes it possible to tear events out of their historical context and replace scientific criteria with moral abstractions. Can an SS officer with the blood of thousands of Jews, communists and Soviet citizens on his hands now also be honoured as a victim because he was robbed of his freedom and executed by Red Army soldiers? Or perhaps a fascist collaborator of the Ukrainian OUN? Should their names appear alongside those of the Jews who died an agonising death in the gas chambers? In fact, this seems to have been the intention. In Ukraine and the Baltic states, monuments to the victory of the Red Army, to the millions of people who fought against the Nazis and gave their lives by the thousands, have been torn down in recent months and years and new ones erectedthis time for fascist and nationalist collaborators such as Stepan Bandera in Ukraine. Sculptures of the dismantled monument in honour of the Soviet Army in the Museum of totalitarian Regimes Territory of Terror, Lviv, Ukraine, 2020 [Photo by Museum Berlin-Karlshorst] The picture above, which is presented in the exhibition Rift through Europe, shows demolished sculptures for the Red Army in Lviv. The caption of the picture says: The Russian attack of 2014 changed the perception of World War II in Ukraine. The Ukrainians broke away from the narrative of a Soviet defensive war between 1941 and 1945. Today they remember the pact as an expansion of the Soviet occupation of the country. At the same time parallels are drawn to the present situation. Whether this reassessment corresponds to the historical facts or not is apparently irrelevant. Instead, the narrative is evaluated according to the extent to which it is politically useful. Periods of war require new war myths: the memory of the heroic fight of the Red Army soldiers and partisans against the Nazis is to be erased and instead the far-right nationalists and collaborators of that time are to be stylised as role models in order to legitimise todays fascists, such as the Azov Battalion in the Ukrainian army. It is not immaterial whether a Red Army soldier captured a Wehrmacht soldier or, conversely, the Wehrmacht captured a Soviet soldier. This war threatened the conquest of the Soviet Union by a fascist dictatorship. If Hitler had won the war against the Red Army, the already high death toll of 27 million Soviet citizens and 6 million Jews would have risen immeasurably and the whole of Europe would have remained under the Nazi yoke. The perspective of the victims is only a pretext here. The aim is to conceal the objective differences in the political character and goals of the two regimes and thus to relativize the extent of the Holocaust and the Nazis war of extermination. The method of the history of experience and memory is systematically misused to manipulate people emotionally and to exploit their justified sympathy for the thousands of victims of Stalinist crimes for an anti-communist revision of history. Historian Jurgen Zarusky, who has also effectively refuted Timothy Snyders historical falsification of the Hitler-Stalin Pact, explains the implications of the new day of remembrance: The commemorative function of August 23 is highly questionable, especially from a comparative dictatorship perspective. It threatens to obscure the fact that for Hitler the pact was a transitory stage for his central project, the conquest of living space in the East in a historically unprecedented war of extermination. Stalins regime reached the peak of its terrorist exercise of power with forced collectivisation, starvation and the Great Terror between 1929 and 1938. There was no talk of a Hitler-Stalin Pact at that time. The Nazi regime, on the other hand, experienced the highest degree of radicalisation with the attack on the Soviet Union. Mass murder and starvation by the millions were planned here, and the invasion of the USSR was also the immediate prelude to the Holocaust. The basis for this new stage was not the Hitler-Stalin Pact, but its breach.[ 20 ] In September 2019, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, the European Parliament called on all member states to commemorate Remembrance Day in a further resolution. The resolution stated that World War II was started as an immediate result of the Hitler-Stalin Pact, which brought together two totalitarian regimes that shared the goal of world conquest and carried out mass murders, genocide and deportations.[ 21 ] According to historian Uhl, The aim of this historical-political resolution was to place part of the blame for the Second World War on the Soviet Union and to equate the crimes of communism with those of National Socialismboth described as equally totalitarianand in particular the Holocaust. Several associations of concentration camp survivors subsequently protested against historical revisionism and the falsification of historical truth.[ 22 ] Since then, attempts have also been made in Germany to publicise Remembrance Dayalbeit with little success so far. This was acknowledged in 2023 by the Bundestags (Federal Parliament) Research Service, which published a dossier on the Discussion in academia and implementation of the European Parliaments demand in the EU member states. A few events at German Democratic Republic memorial sites in eastern Germany were listed, including the notoriously right-wing Hohenschonhausen memorial site. Against this background, the current traveling exhibition must be seen as an important step in the dissemination of Remembrance Day in Germany. The Bundestag dossier presents the positions of the opponents and advocates of Remembrance Day. The opponents are predominantly historians from the field of Holocaust research, including Yehuda Bauer, the recently deceased emeritus professor of Holocaust studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and director of the memorial in Yad Vashem until 2000. He protested against the EU resolution of 2009 with a multi-page memo in which he warned against a mendacious revision of recent world history and corrected key historical facts about the role of the Soviet Union. Even though both regimes were totalitarian, they were completely different, Bauer emphasises. The greater threat to all of humanity was Nazi Germany, and it was the Soviet Army that liberated Eastern Europe, was the central force that defeated Nazi Germany, and thus saved Europe and the world from the Nazi nightmare. In fact, unintentionally, the Soviets saved the Baltic nations, the Poles, the Ukrainians, the Czechs, and others, from an intended extension of Nazi genocide to these nationalities.[ 23 ] Bauer also rejected the attempt to blame the USSR for the start of the Second World War, noting that the resolution also implies that the war was initiated by both regimes equally, and that they therefore bear equal responsibility for the death of some 35 million people in Europe alone (if one adds the war in Asia, the total is, according to a number of historians, about 55 million). This is a total perversion of history.[ 24 ] In the summer of 1939, Stalin was much more interested in avoiding a war. He knew very well that his army was disorganised by the purges, and that the USSR was in no condition to withstand a German onslaught alone, he continued, adding: World War II was started by Nazi Germany, not the Soviet Union, and the responsibility of the 35 million dead in Europe, 29 million of them non-Jews, is that of Nazi Germany, not Stalin. To commemorate victims equally is a distortion.[ 25 ] He also addressed the role of collaborationists, writing: There was massive collaboration in the persecution and murder of the Jews in Lithuania and Latvia especially, and most Jews were killed, under German supervision, by Lithuanians and Latvians. Baltic police battalions, recruited by the Germans, including Latvian ones, were a very important part of the German murder machine murdering Jews in Belarus, and even in Poland and the Ukraine.[ 26 ] In his criticism of the EU Remembrance Day, historian Thomas Lutz, head of the Memorials Department at the Topography of Terror Foundation until 2023, noted that the collaboration of far-right forces in the occupied territories is being downplayed in favour of a nationalist historiography: National myths and taboos continue to be cultivated under the cloak of the Europeanisation of remembrance, especially with regard to the involvement of ones own society in the crimes. A critical reappraisal of history, which on the one hand argues sympathetically with the victims, and on the other investigates the collaboration with the occupying regimes and the question of responsibility, does not take place.[ 27 ] The advocates of historical revisionism While some of the main critics of Remembrance Day have died in recent years, including Uhl, Bauer, Zarusky and Wolfgang Benz, those academics who are in favour of Remembrance Day have been promoted and courted in the media, including Karl Schlogel and Claudia Weber. The retired history professor and ex-Maoist Karl Schlogel, a close colleague of Jorg Baberowski, criticised the Brandenburg Memorials Foundation in 2023 for not wanting to hold a commemorative event on August 23. In a guest article for the Markische Allgemeine, he lamented the fact that most Germans were aware of September 1, 1939the day the Nazis invaded Polandand June 22, 1941when Hitler launched the invasion of the Soviet Unionbut not the period of the Hitler-Stalin Pact and the fate of the peoples of Eastern Europe who came under dual domination. This feigned concern for the peoples of Eastern Europe once again serves to elevate the crimes of both regimes to the same level (dual domination) and to justify rearmament against Russia. Last autumn, Schlogel advocated in the Welt am Sonntag that Germany and the West take even more aggressive action against Russia and supply weapons that can hit the Russian hinterland. The next German government must have the courage to make it clear to the German population that the new era (Zeitenwende) in foreign policy is a long process, he said. The most prominent representative of a revision of history in relation to the Hitler-Stalin Pact is Claudia Weber, professor at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and co-author of the exhibition volume. Weber belongs to the same right-wing academic ranks as Baberowski, habilitated under him and, like him, joined the far-right Academic Freedom Network, which was founded in 2021. Weber and the editors of the exhibition volume also refer to the British historian Roger Moorhouse, whose 2014 book on the Hitler-Stalin Pact ends with a plea for the EUs commemoration day. In the words of the renowned historian Richard J. Evans, it is a deeply problematic book. He explains, In both the book and the declaration, Stalinism comes out as being far worse than nazism. This reflects the post-communist mood in the Baltic states, where SS veterans are hailed as freedom fighters against the Russians and are allowed to parade unhindered through the streets of Tallinn.[ 28 ] In 2014, Weber wrote a book about the Katyn massacre, the mass shootings of Polish officers by the Soviet secret service in the spring of 1940. The first sentence reads: In September 1939, the Second World War began with the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union and the Third Reich. Weber describes the two years of the Hitler-Stalin Pact here as a German-Soviet campaign of extermination.[ 29 ] Both statements are hair-raising historical falsifications that amount to portraying the Soviet Union as the perpetrator and cause of the Second World War. Weber wants to revise the fact that the war began with the German invasion of Poland and that the campaign of extermination was launched by the Nazis. Her contribution to the current anthology is largely based on her book Der Pakt. Stalin, Hitler und die Geschichte einer morderischen Allianz 19391941 (The Pact. Stalin, Hitler and the History of a Murderous Alliance 1939-1941), which was published in 2018 and republished by the Federal Agency for Civic Education for use in schools and universities. The book begins with a blunt plea for historical revisionism. It aims to counter the fear of historical revisionism in Western Europe and Germany in particular, because it is part of a basic professional understanding to constantly reexamine and reinterpret the past, in short: to subject history to revision. A glance at the footnote here reveals whose brainchild Weber is. She backs up her statement with the correspondence between the French historian and anti-communist Francois Furet and the German Nazi apologist Ernst Nolte.[ 30 ] She explicitly draws on Timothy Snyders Bloodlands and blurs the historical differences between theas she writesNational Socialist and Stalinist violent actors. As the historian Stefan Plaggenborg critically notes in a review, her interpretation leads to the implicit thesis of the totalitarian convergence of the regimes. The war of annihilation planned and ordered by Hitler is lost in her descriptions, just as the German strategies are given less consideration than the Soviet ones. According to Weber, the pact meant an incredible increase in power for Stalin, ended the USSRs foreign policy isolation and reduced the risk of war. Stalin had left the field victorious and had brutally and uncompromisingly pursued the export of communist ideology in Eastern Europe (p. 70). The historical significance of the Non-Aggression Pact was that the hostile dictatorships unleashed the Second World War in Europe with this treaty. It was the beginning of a destructive global slaughter that led to the Holocaust and set in motion a machinery of mass destruction from whose consequences Europe has still not recovered. Hitler and Stalin divided Europe and the world for decades (p. 71). The formulations are deliberately chosen to make both regimes responsible for the destructive global slaughter and the machinery of mass destruction. She is saying that it was not Hitler who started the carnage that led to the Holocaust and divided up Europe, but Hitler and Stalin together. In a subsection of the book on the Pact, Weber distances herself from the preventive war thesis, according to which the German invasion of the Soviet Union merely preempted a Soviet attackonly to then reintroduce it through the back door. According to Weber, Stalin only refrained from attacking Germany first for tactical propaganda reasons: So was Stalin planning to preempt the German invasion in the spring of 1941? Probably not, and in addition to many other good reasons that speak against this thesis, Stalins reluctance to break the pact before Hitler and act as an aggressor or be labeled as such was the decisive factor. He had already strictly avoided this role in September 1939, when Hitler had to wait more than two weeks for the Soviet invasion of Poland. This attitude had not changed since then, and if war was unavoidable, then it should start on Soviet soil. Unlike Stalin, Hitler cared less about such subtleties, although a Soviet attack in June 1941 would have spared him some propaganda lies (p. 207). Behind the preventive war thesis lies the question of war guilt: who was the actual aggressor and bears responsibility for the outbreak of war? Although it has long been refuted by scholarship, the preventive war thesis was therefore repeatedly rehashed and repackaged even after the war.[ 31 ] After the war, war participants and criminals spread the claim of a preventive war. In the 1980s, it was taken up again by Ernst Nolte in the historians dispute. In the wake of perestroika and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, some historical revisionists took advantage of revelations about Stalinismincluding the publication of the secret protocol of the Hitler-Stalin Pactto revive the preemptive war lie, including the Soviet defector and former intelligence officer Viktor Suvorov. In 2000, historian Bianka Pietrow-Ennker emphasised the political relevance of the return of the preemptive war thesis: It also seems essential for the political position of subsequent generations in Germany to find a clear answer to the question of war guilt, as the historical legacy also represents the foundation from which relations with European neighbours, especially Russia, are shaped.[ 32 ] Today, the preventive war thesis is openly advocated by AfD historians, such as Stefan Scheil, who was awarded the 2014 Historian Prize by the far-right Erich and Erna Kronauer Foundation for his efforts. The laudatory speech was given by Ernst Nolte. The same prize was awarded two years later to the US academic Sean McMeekin. In his latest revisionist work Stalins War: A New History of World War II, which was translated into German as Es war Stalins Krieg (It was Stalins war) and published in 2023 by a far-right publishing house, McMeekin presents Stalin as the actual perpetrator and profiteer of the Second World War. But the facts are clear: Hitler and the Wehrmacht leadership did not believe that the Soviet Union posed a threat. In view of the enormous weakening of the Red Army in the Great Terror, they were convinced that Moscow was not prepared to attack. Stalins entire policy up to June 22, 1941 was geared towards avoiding war, maintaining the alliance with Germany and appeasing the aggressor through concessions. Stalin did not allow any systematic military preparation of the Red Army for an attack and brushed aside all warnings until the moment of the attack.[ 33 ] Revision of history as a weapon of war If the exhibition and the volume on the Hitler-Stalin Pact now talk about wanting to listen to and take into account the experiences and perspectives of the countries of Eastern and Central Europe, then this is a sleight of hand. The German ruling class is not concerned with the suffering of the population in Eastern Europe or the fate of the victims of Stalinism. As in the First and Second World Wars, it is relying on local nationalist forces to dominate the region economically and militarily. Since 2017, NATO battlegroups have been stationed in the Baltic states and Poland to encircle Russia. In 2023, the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) decided to station a combat brigade of 5,000 men permanently in Lithuania. Preparations are in full swing; it was officially launched earlier in 2025 and will be fully operational in 2027. In addition, Baltic politicians who are anti-Russian agitators have been given high positions in the new EU Commission. At the end of October 2024, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius inaugurated a new naval headquarters in Rostock, which is responsible for so-called maritime situational awareness in the Baltic Sea area as part of the NATO war offensive against Russia. In 2023, Finland joined NATOthe very country whose armed forces had fought in the Nazi war of annihilation against the Soviet Union and played a key role in the offensives against Leningrad and Murmansk. From November 18 to 28, 2024, a large-scale NATO artillery exercise took place there for the first time. Over the course of the year, further NATO manoeuvres aimed at Russia were held in Northern Europe. In the exhibition volume, Finlands accession to NATO is presented as a result of the historical memory of the Second World War. The Finns experienced the war as the survival of their own democracy against Soviet aggression, claims author Ville Kivimaki. The Finnish narrative runs parallel to that of the Baltic states: The greatest threat to their national existence came from the east and Stalin was the wars greatest perpetrator. Underneath the surface of Finnish neutrality lived a continuous fear of the countrys unpredictable eastern neighbour. In this respect, Finland was and remains, indeed, one of the countries of the secret protocol, where it is commonplace to see the Hitler-Stalin Pact as the true and lasting face of Russian ambitions in Europe.[ 34 ] This instrumentalisation of history is of particular importance to Germanys ruling class because it committed the most monstrous crimes in the 20th century. A renewed war against Russia, which would escalate into a Third World War, is met with rejection by the population. The historical distortion serves to confuse the population, obfuscate the historical facts and in this way break through the deeply rooted anti-war attitude. Felix Ackermann, a professor of public history at the University of Hagen, who was himself involved in the preparation of the Pact exhibition and involved students in the work on the exhibition concept, summed up this aim most clearly. In a guest article for the FAZ daily, headlined, Russias blackmail: The Germans fear of the Third World War, he commented in December last year: The historical awareness of being in the immediate combat zone of an imagined Third World War has left a collective trauma in this country. This explains why the calls for peace and the calls for Ukraines capitulation can be heard in eastern and western Germany alike. German politicians have so far remained in the post-war period, he claims, and have tried to involve Putin through negotiations. He continues: The persistence in a post-national socialist form of temporality, which essentially binds the self-image of German society to the ongoing overcoming of National Socialism, has created the illusion of a perpetual post-war. This is an era that not only largely ignores the wars outside Europe, but also those wars that will be fought in Europe in the future. The new epoch not only calls on us to face up to the real war in our immediate vicinity, but also to recognise a new mode of temporality in which the post-war is irretrievably over. It is no longer the post-war period, it is wartime, Ackermann wants to say in his pseudo-philosophical gibberish. No more post-National Socialismbut instead a new epoch that enables a return to the methods and crimes of the Nazis. To achieve this, the historical consciousness and the fear of a third world war rooted in it must be broken through. Ackermann chose an explosive title for his commentary, as it recalls an article by Paul Carrell in the Welt am Sonntag on October 21, 1979: The Red Blackmail. Paul Karl Schmidt, former SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer and press officer to Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop during the Second World War, enjoyed a dazzling career under the pseudonym Carrell in the post-war period as personal adviser to the right-wing publisher Axel Springer, informant to the Federal Intelligence Service and prominent advocate of the preemptive war thesis. In 1979, during the debate about the NATO Double-Track Decision and the rearmament of the Federal Republic of Germany against the Soviet Union, he demanded in the aforementioned Welt article a change in the German armed forces operational doctrine in favour of a preventive preemptive defence and the modernisation of tactical nuclear weapons. Ackermann is thus treading old paths. Where the old Nazis used to stir up rearmament and war hysteria against Moscow, journalists and academics are now doing the same jobwith the advantage that they are not tainted with a fascist past and can pollute the talk shows and newspapers without facing any significant counter-arguments. But despite all efforts, after two world wars and in view of todays theatres of war in the Middle East and Ukraine, the rejection of militarism and war is deeply rooted in the majority of the population. This fact is also reflected in the reactions of visitors to the museum in Berlin-Karlshorst. Anyone entering the small exhibition encounters a large world map with notes pinned to it at the entrance. Dozens of personal notes in German, English and Russian answer the question: Where was my family? They tell of flight, expulsion, murder, forced labor, deportation, families torn apart. The notes give an impression of how deep the traces left by the Second World War and especially the crimes of the Nazis have been for generations. Wall map and visitor notes at the entrance to the Rift through Europe exhibition One note catches the eye: Why doesnt mankind learn anything from such wars? When will we see a world without wars? Another note reads: My great-grandfather was in prison until the end of the war because he fought against the Nazis. Another: My grandfathers family of origin was murdered because they were Jewish. My grandfather was able to emigrate to England. My aunts and uncles found safety in England, Canada and the USA. Thats how my family became global citizens. And: My maternal grandparents had to flee from the Nazis to France in 1933 and survived the terror thanks to a great deal of solidarity. An important element for dealing with refugees today. A note in Russian describes how a great-grandmother from Belarus was deported to Germany for forced labor and lost her husband; how her brothers went missing in the war in 1943; how the great-grandfather survived the war and returned home. Political positions clash in the guestbook. Alongside occasional positive feedback, several contributions criticise the exhibition and Germanys current war policy. One Ukrainian woman writes in Russian: I am very happy that this museum exists so that a new generation knows and remembers the horrors of war. But it makes me very sad that todays Germany is helping to wage war between two fraternal peoples. She thinks that the majority of the population is against the war and describes how closely intertwined the two countries are in her family: I am Ukrainian, my husband is German (from Kazakhstan), mother-in-law Russian, father-in-law German, daughter-in-law German, grandchildren German . I am for peace! And I want Germany to help settle this conflict. Another visitor criticised: It is a positivist exhibitionthe reasons for the actions and the interests, especially the economic ones, are not mentioned. In addition, the fate of the Jews in the territories occupied by the German Reich is hardly dealt with. Instead, above all the evil Soviet Union is presented in a one-sided way. Another guest comment states: Learning from history? Certainly not with this exhibition! Right now, the iron curtain is being redrawn, the war is escalating, the old camp mentality is working again. German tanks are driving on old paths again. Down with the weapons! These reactions from visitors show, on the one hand, how topical and burning the issue of war is and, on the other, that the Hitler-Stalin Pact and its fatal consequences are still causing confusion and unanswered questions today. An understanding of the causes, extent and continuities of the Nazi crimes in the Second World War is, however, an obstacle from the point of view of the elites in Germany, because it undermines the war-readiness that is demanded again today. Herfried Munkler, political scientist and government adviser, summed up this dilemma of the German imperialists in 2014 in the Suddeutsche Zeitung: It is almost impossible to pursue a responsible policy in Europe if you have the idea that we were to blame for everything. The more extensive and aggressive the German governments involvement in the Ukraine war and the genocide in Gaza, the fiercer the battles on the historical front. In 2023, two exhibitions were shown in the main building of Humboldt University that used the methods of atrocity propaganda to persuade students and lecturers to support the continuation and expansion of the bloody war in Ukraine. It was at Humboldtthe university where the Generalplan Ost (General Plan East) for the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union was drawn upthat Herfried Munkler and Jorg Baberowski taught, the two professors who systematically rewrite Germanys role in the First and Second World Wars. To this day, the university management backs the right-wing extremist Baberowski, who continues to trivialise Nazi crimes through his well-funded university chair. One of his former employees and disciples, Robert Kindler, has now also taken over the second Berlin Chair of Eastern European History at the Free University. Immediately after taking up his post, he abolished the chairs previous focus on Polish-Jewish history and the crimes of the Nazis. One political tendency in particular is identified with the fight against this historical revisionism in the interests of German imperialism: the Socialist Equality Party (Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, SGP) and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), the youth organisation of the SGP and the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). For more than 10 years, the IYSSE has been fighting against the transformation of universities into ideological centres for the training of militarist cadres and calling for the building of an international socialist movement against war. The political tasks facing young people, students and workers today require a historically grounded perspective. Just as the ruling class needs historical lies to justify its war agenda, historical truth is vital for the working class to see through and break through the ideological web of this war agenda. Scholarship not war propagandathis is the principle on which the socialist anti-war movement must be based. Are you a resident in or near Chester, Pennsylvania? Tell us how the closures have affected you and your family, friends and co-workers by filling out the form below. All submissions will be kept anonymous. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro visits in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. [AP Photo/Matt Rourke] Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro visited the city of Chester on May 15 to address the recent closures of Crozer and Taylor hospitals which have devastated the community. The closures are the result of the bankruptcy of the hospitals corporate owners, Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc., and its majority owner, the private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners (LGP). It has left Delaware County without a full-fledged medical facility. Thousands of people previously treated by Crozer and Taylor are now forced to drive for up to 40 minutes in case of an emergency to the next available locations, which are already stretched thin and understaffed. The closures also resulted in over over 2,600 layoffs, the most in Pennsylvania since the mass job cuts at Bethlehem Steel in the 1980s. This event has revealed the socially criminal mechanics of the American capitalist system, in which billionaires, under Republican and Democrat alike at every level of government, view society as their piggy bank. Such forces suck all the known value dry from essential social services and commodities and toss away what remains. The Democratic Party, which controls the levers of government in Pennsylvania, is now attempting to provide political cover for this parasitic social system. This is after the World Socialist Web Sites articles have been read tens of thousands of times and its reporters have spoken to dozens of local residents about the social crisis in Chester. Shapiro, whose office had been virtually dead silent about the hospitals closures in late April through early May, finally roused himself to appear before news cameras three weeks after the closures. Rather than offering assistance to the community, Shapiro offered bluster: Private equity has no place in our health care system, he declared. Weve seen what happens when corporate raiders like Prospect Medical Holdings prioritize profits over patients families lose access to care, health care workers lose their jobs, and communities across the commonwealth suffer. In reality, the governors top financial backers are involved in the private equity market. Michael Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York City and financial speculator with a net worth of over $100 billion, was one of Shapiros top financial backers in his successful 2022 run for the governors mansion, at more than $2 million. Bloombergs investment portfolio includes holdings in Oscar Health, a for-profit health insurance startup, and he has invested through private equity and venture capital in various sectors, including healthcare. Some other notable campaign contributions to Shapiros 2022 Pennsylvania governor campaign include: $1.1 million from LinkedIn founder and multi-billionaire tech giant Reid Hoffman $1 million from Chris Larsen, a multi-billionaire and purveyor of cryptocurrency $500,000 from Bill Harris, former CEO of PayPal Shapiro offered a measly sum of $1 million dollars to the community, supposedly intended to assist managing an orderly and safe wind-down of services. Aside from this, his solution was to urge the state legislature to pass a bill that would grant the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General authority to oversee hospital mergers, acquisitions, and major financial transactions that may jeopardize patient access and public health. The bill, dubbed the Health System Protection Act, claims to address the role of private equity in hospital closures. The proposed legislation prohibits the use of sale-leaseback practices, in which a property is sold to a buyer only to be rented back out to the former owner. Prospect Medical used this tactic many times at its hospital properties, increasing the latter's debt as it went. The legislation does not challenge the role of private profit in the healthcare system in general, only predatory profiting. There are nearly 900 private equity-backed healthcare facilities in the Greater Philadelphia area alone, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. The proposed bill will do nothing to disrupt their hold on the healthcare system. Like many such reforms meant for public consumption, the bill may not pass in the state legislature, dominated as it is by corporate interests. Previous iterations of the bill, which included attempts to completely bar for-profit groups from running hospitals in the state, have been killed in the legislature. Democratic State Senator Tim Kearney, speaking at the press conference, said fairly powerful interests, such as the hospital lobby and private equity firms themselves, played a key role in killing previous versions of the law. Even the toothless provisions in the law would be whittled away to nothing in the course of legislative negotiations. This was stated directly by state Attorney General David Sunday, who, in a comment to the Capital-Star said he expected a robust negotiation process in discussing the bill. According to the Philly Voice, Shapiro also echoed a similar tone, noting that the General Assembly is divided between Democrats and Republicans. He would prefer to have a more broad version of the measure, but recognizes compromise may be needed. The real purpose of the legislation and press conference was hinted at when state senator Kearney declared: This is America most folks dont have a problem with doing good and doing well. But profits should be earned. They should not be taken, especially when it comes to our health. This is the balance that our legislation seeks to restore in our healthcare system. In fact, far from most folks supporting capitalisms right to profit from their misery, a growing number of polls show outright hostility to the richs control of society. A 2025 Reuters/Ipsos poll found that most Americans believe the very wealthy have too much influence over government. A recent KFF health tracking poll found broad majorities opposed to cuts and privatization of public healthcare programs. Meanwhile, opposition to capitalism and support for socialism has been growing for many years, especially among the youth. This is what the Democratic Party is really opposed to. Since 2020, beginning under former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, at least 26 hospitals in Pennsylvania have closed their doors due to financial strain and mismanagement. No Democratic Party official has raised a finger during this time to prevent the closure of hospitals within the state. Attacks on healthcare and science are being driven nationally by the Trump administration. While the Democrats posture as his opponents, they all support the basic aims of the Trump administrations policies, including suppressing opposition from below while redirecting societys resources towards war. Trumps policies, including in public health, are an escalation of those of the Biden administration, which declared in September 2022 that the pandemic is over, even as COVID-19 infections were rising. His administration normalized mass infections and death, dismantling public health infrastructure set up to combat the virus. While Shapiro, Kearney and others seek to peddle the shopworn lie that the Democratic Party represents working people, they are the paid political agents of American capitalism. The goal of their intervention in Chester is to head off growing anger before it can find an anti-capitalist, socialist direction. The closures of hospitals will continue nationwide as long as healthcare remains subordinated to profit. Healthcare must be subordinated to human needs in order to prolong and improve human life. The fight for access to high-quality healthcare is inseparable from the fight for socialism. The WSWS urges workers to come forward with information and support this investigation. Fill out the form at the end to send us your comments. All submissions will be kept anonymous. First shift workers leave Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant on May 23, 2025 Autoworkers during the shift change Friday afternoon at the Windsor Assembly Plant (WAP) in Ontario, Canada expressed support for the rank-and-file investigation into the death of fellow Stellantis worker Ronald Adams Sr. at the Dundee Engine Complex in Michigan on April 7. The 63-year-old machine repairman, well-known for advocating for the safety of his co-workers in the plant, was crushed to death by an overhead gantry while performing maintenance work on a machine used to wash engine blocks. In the more than six weeks since his death, family members and co-workers have not received any definitive information about the causes of the fatal accident from the company, the United Auto Workers or the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA). The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) has initiated an independent investigation, to be led by rank-and-file workers themselves, to prevent another official cover up, expose the truth and hold those responsible to account. On Friday, IWA-RFC supporters distributed a statement on the rank-and-file investigation at the plant, which employs 4,000 Stellantis workers. Many workers did not know about the death even though it involved a Stellantis worker and occurred only sixty miles away. This is chiefly the responsibility of the United Auto Workers and Unifor unions, which do everything to keep workers in the dark and divide them along national lines. This includes UAW President Shawn Fains backing of the Trump administrations tariffs and trade war policies, while Unifor supports Canadian countermeasures against the US. Even though the Windsor plant is being hit with rolling layoffs due to the tariffs and Stellantis has just postponed plans to build a Dodge Charger EV model at the plant, many workers expressed a strong desire to unite Canadian, US and Mexican workers against the global automakers attack on jobs and working conditions. These companies do everything they can to divide us and make us fight against each other, a Windsor worker told the WSWS. But were all connected, not only in the North American economy but the global economy. We need to come together not let these employers divide us and take up the real issues at hand, including safety, he said. Ronald Adams and one of his daughters outside their Detroit home [Photo by Family of Ronald Adams Sr. ] Addressing himself to the family of Ronald Adams, Sr., another worker said, I am very sorry for your loss. He continued, This is the first I heard about this, that is why I grabbed your flyer. We are all brothers and sisters. This is concerning. Im very interested in learning more details. I read about him being crushed in a machine. I want to look deeper into that. There is lockout/tagout. There is no excuse. We have safety mechanisms for this. There is no reason why this should happen in our modern, civilized society. You think of that stuff happening in overseas sweatshops or something, not in a modern, operating system. They preach World Class Manufacturing, but people are losing their lives and even getting injured, thats not supposed to happen. Especially during product launches he said, management cuts corners. They say, Can you do that quick. Even when they say they are not rushing a person, you see it happen all the time. He added, Sounds like [Adams] was ready to retire soon, and he wasnt too far off. He was an advocate for safety. Asked what he thought about a rank-and-file investigation into the Dundee workers death, he said, I dont see how anybody can have an issue with that if there is no concern with the policies and procedures. The company or anyone involved cant say [the family] doesnt deserve that. They lost a family member, and they at least deserve that. They deserve that and then some. Another worker rushing to punch in stopped to say briefly, Hey my brothers I support an investigation into your brothers death. Hopefully, we can get this all figured out. As he rushed off, he said, Unite American and Canadian workers together, with a thumbs up. A younger worker also stopped to speak on Adams death, saying, Something like that happened in our plant a while back when someone was hurt by a vehicle backing up into her. Asked what he thought about rank-and-file workers carrying out their own investigation and enforcing their own safety in the plant, he said, I think thats the right thing to do. Especially if the union is not getting involved, and the company isnt. Its been six weeks, like you say, and the workers have to do something about it. Asked about uniting workers across borders, he said, Its the right thing to do, of course. In the end of the day, were all trying to earn money. And we dont want to die, so this is a good movement going on, and I support it. Another worker added, Our condolences for the person who died. They have to fix the safety. Something needs to be done. The first thing they should talk to the family and tell them what happened. Asked why the company and the union were covering up what caused Adams death, he said, Its a liability, and they are trying to watch their asses. In March 2020, Windsor Assembly workers took matters into their own hands and walked off the line as Covid-19 was spreading throughout the North American auto plants. On March 12, hundreds of workers downed their tools after learning that a worker at the companys Kokomo Transmission Plant in the United States was diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease. Just prior to the wildcat strike management said that it had worked with the Ontario Ministry of Labour and Unifor leaders to investigate and determined our protocols and work environment to be safe. A week later wildcat strikes across Toledo, Ohio and the metro Detroit areain defiance of management and UAW officialsled to the two-month shutdown of the North American auto industry, saving countless lives. Disregarding the dire danger facing workers, the unions on both sides of the border enforced managements back to work drive. When anger erupted at the Windsor plant over the failure of the company and union to report Covid-19 cases spreading in the plant, Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy defended the company, saying, The joint health and safety committee is making sure all proper safety protocols are being followed. Summing up the struggle all workers face against the corporations, the union bureaucracy and the capitalist governments over safety, Frank, a retired Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant worker told the WSWS: It is heart wrenching to see a fellow worker, so close to his retirement especially, be struck down by corporate greed. It seems all the advancements made in society are in the name of efficiency and profits. We are always the last in line to see our working life benefit from them. I can recall a worker at the WAP having a heart attack while working on the assembly line and he was immediately shoved away from the production line so that work can continue with almost no missed jobs. His fellow workers left stunned into obedience and continued to work. An unbelievable scene while medical workers continued to save his life. If that didnt explain your role at work, then nothing else does. The Bob Seger song, Feel Like A Number, really always hit home with me,.. I work my back till its racked with pain. The boss cant even recall my name. That really sums it up. Ronald Adams Sr didnt deserve this. His life was taken away needlessly. His family is going through immeasurable loss and of love with his passing. All workers must support each other over corporate greed and corruption. We have to stand in the way of capitalism and bring our lives back towards a world where we are not each others enemy but are simply seeking out a place where the working men and women work in harmony with each other and profits are as important as old news. The WSWS urges workers to come forward with information and support this investigation. Fill out the form below to send us your comments. All submissions will be kept anonymous. On Sunday, May 18, 2025, The Hague witnessed the countrys largest demonstration in two decades as over 100,000 people gatheredthrice the number anticipatedto protest the Israeli genocide in Gaza. The mass protest followed countless events in Dutch cities and towns for this years 80th anniversary of Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day) on May 5, commemorating the end of Nazi occupation and honouring the estimated 300,000 resistance fighterswith up to 1 million affiliated supporterswho safeguarded tens of thousands of Jewish people from deportation to concentration camps. The demonstration last Sunday assembled at Malieveld, a prominent public park known for hosting political protests. From there, participants marched through the city to the Peace Palace, the seat of the International Court of Justice. The ICJ is currently hearing a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide. Last year, the ICJ ordered Israel to halt its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Meanwhile, the United States and the European imperialist powers have shielded the Netanyahu government from any legal repercussions. The protest came on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, amidst Israels announcement of a military occupation of Gaza, with mass internments in neighbouring Arab countries. US President Trump again declared his support for Israeli plans to annex the Gaza Strip. Hours before the protest march, central stations with connecting trains to The Hague were reportedly congested with crowds dressed in red, with trains full to the brim and an influx of people that the city could barely handle. Protesters donned red clothing and carried red banners symbolizing a red line they believe Israel has crossed in Gaza. The far-right Dutch government, led by neo-fascist Geert Wilders and unelected former intelligence chief Dick Schoof as prime minister, has already drawn its own red linethreatening protesters with draconian legal sanctions and police repression. Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) and the largest party in the ruling four-party coalition government, wrote on X: Today, a demonstration against Israel and for Hamas. Thousands of confused people are drawing a red line. I am also drawing a red lineagainst terror and the starvation of their own population by Hamas, and for maximum destruction of their murderous infrastructure. And for Israel. In reality, the demonstration was not antisemitic, nor was it a political endorsement of Hamas. The protest in The Hague also featured members of the Dutch Jewish community, and a cross-section of working class families, university students and youth from across the country, alongside various human rights groups. David Prins, a 64-year-old Dutch Jewish protester wearing a yarmulke adorned with a watermelona symbol of solidarity with Palestinianstold state media NOS.nl, I oppose atrocities, not my own community. This is a human rights issue, transcending ethnicity and religion. Twenty-two-year-old Lina, alongside fellow protester Marga van der Schalie, aged 82, told de Volkskrant, The Netanyahu government is a criminal gangthats what it boils down to for me! According to the conservative estimates of the Gaza Ministry of Health, over 53,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 121,000 injured since October 2023. Relentless bombardments have devastated hospitals, schools, bakeries, farms and Gazas entire civilian infrastructure. Moreover, the Israeli blockade, intensified since March 2025, has cut off access to essential resources, including fuel, food, water, and medical supplies, pushing the population of Gaza toward famine. The United Nations has warned that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die within days without immediate aid. The political atmosphere at the demonstration was highly charged, with explosive anger not only against the massacre of the Palestenian people, but also at the Dutch governments complicity. Homemade placards read: Why do you keep supporting the Israeli government? Why do you keep buying weapons? Why not boycott? and Shame on you, Schoof! According to an Ipsos poll last month, only 15 percent of the population support government policy on Israel. Speaking to Het Parool, 85-year-old Joke Akkermans commented, This is the least you can do for people who cannot defend themselves. Nice that so many demonstrators came to show our disgust. Whether it helps enormously, I dont know, but we have to do this. Yvonne and Miklos from Zaanstad, who participated with their newborn baby and two-year-old son, said, The eldest can already shout Free Gaza. We are here especially for the child victims who are falling because of the genocide taking place in Gaza. We must continue to stand up for human rights and freedom for all. This must be instilled in our children so that they are not afraid to go to a demonstration in the future. Protest participant and WSWS supporter Gijs reported that there were spontaneous discussions in the trains to and froon the nature of Zionism, its origins, the role of imperialist powers in the war, and impunity for war crimeswith a sense of observable relief at the size of the protest. Whereas at the site of protest, no political parties were visibly present, nor were any trade unions. Staggered by the mass turnout, parliamentarians representing the official left blurted empty rhetoric. The ex-Maoist Socialist Party (SP) MP Renske Leijten tweeted: The suffering in Gaza must end. The blockade and violence violate fundamental human rights. The Netherlands must take a stand for justice and peace. GroenLinks party leader Jesse Klaver tweeted: Solidarity with the people of Gaza is essential. Dutch policy should reflect our commitment to human rights and push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The demonstration concluded at the Buitenhof, near the Dutch Parliament, where survivors from Gaza, connected via a live video link, shared harrowing testimonies of life under siege. One said, Our homes have been destroyed, our children hungry and scared. We need the world to hear us and stop this nightmare. There followed a minute of silence for victims in Gaza. The protest organisers concluded by announcing future plans, including for petitions, parliamentary lobbying, and solidarity events in Rotterdam, Utrecht and Amsterdam, continuing with fruitless and politically bankrupt attempts to pressure the Dutch government. The mass protests over Gaza, in the Netherlands and internationally, have exposed the class divide between the sentiments of hundreds of thousands and millions of protesters, and protest organisers making moral appeals to the ruling establishment complicit in the genocide. This false perspective has led mass protests worldwide into a dead end. Instead of turning protesters towards building a mass international movement in the working class to halt the genocide, it orients them instead to impotent appeals to the ruling class. It later emerged that, as thousands marched against the war on Gaza, key members of the Dutch political elite, including Deputy Prime Minister Mona Keijzer and Prime Minister Dick Schoof, were at a closed-door celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Centrum Informatie en Documentatie Israel (CIDI), a pro-Israel lobby organisation. The event took place at the Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen (KIT), a location that was kept undisclosed for fear of protesters. Schoof delivered a congratulatory video message expressing his great appreciation for CIDI on behalf of the Dutch government, alongside Israeli President Yitzhak Herzogs video message. These two events underline the unbridgeable gulf separating the sentiments of working people from the ruling class that formulates government policy on genocide and war. A new mood of opposition is emerging in the working class against genocide, war and the capitalist oligarchy. The decisive task is arming workers and youth entering into struggle with a perspective to build an international movement in the working class for socialism against genocide, fascism, war and the capitalist system that gives rise to them. A police officer points a hand cannon at protesters who have been detained pending arrest on South Washington Street in Minneapolis, May 31, 2020, as protests continued following the death of George Floyd. [AP Photo/John Minchillo] The Trump administrations Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has filed a motion to dismiss its case against the city of Minneapolis and the city of Louisville, Kentucky which were responsible for the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020. The cases would have likely resulted in federal consent agreements and mandated reform of the respective police departments. The administration provocatively made the decision coincide with the five-year anniversary of Floyds death, which takes place this Sunday. It has motioned for a dismissal with prejudice, meaning the cases cannot be raised again. This has been accompanied by provocative calls among the far-right to pardon Derek Chauvin, the cop who murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for almost nine-and-a-half minutes. A prominent far-right figure and founder of the Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro, has launched a petition calling for Trump to pardon Chauvin. MPD chief Brian OHara said to a Minnesota Fox affiliate that police chiefs from around the country were asking him if this was indeed going to happen. While saying that there was no credible information he also said that weve been in communication with our partners at the state, at the federal level to ensure that we and all of our partners are prepared in the event that a pardon happens and causes some type of civil disturbance. A presidential pardon would only apply to the federal civil rights charges he was convicted on, not the separate state murder charges, meaning Chauvin would be transferred from federal prison to a Minnesota prison to serve out the remainder of his 22.5 year sentence handed down in 2021. The Biden administration originally filed the lawsuits at practically the last minute, in December and January respectively, more than four years after the killing of Floyd and Taylor. Trump has long opposed consent agreements, calling them a war on police. All civil rights litigation was frozen and a memo issued at the start of the Trump administration indicating that it may reconsider court enforceable agreements to reform police agencies. The DOJ also plans to close investigations and rescind findings of constitutional violations in a number of other police departments around the country including: Phoenix, Arizona, which was found to have violated peoples rights, discriminated against certain groups and has used excessive force, including unjustified deadly force. Trenton, New Jersey, where the DOJ stated in a November 21 report that it found that the city and Trenton Police Department used excessive force, including using unreasonable forms of physical force and pepper spray and unlawfully stops, searches, and arrests people during pedestrian and traffic stops violating peoples Fourth Amendment rights. Memphis, Tennessee, which was found to use excessive force among other violations similar to the above. The DOJ cited the police killing of Tyre Nichols in a McDonalds drive through in 2023 and Kayla Lucas in 2021. Other police departments let off the hook include Mount Vernon, New York; the Louisiana State Police; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The two-year federal investigation into MPD which found its culture cultivated systemic problems that made the killing of George Floyd possible will also be closed. Among these findings were that MPD routinely uses excessive force, unlawfully discriminates against Black and Native American people, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act in its response to mental health calls and violates the Constitutional rights of people who criticize them. Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Divisions failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments, the DOJ said in a news release. That is, that any inhibition, no matter how limited, is to be lifted on the US polices power to oppress and brutalize the populationoverwhelmingly the working class and poor people. Trumps Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ absurdly claimed that the findings were based on dubious legal theories and that the investigations were designed to inhibit local policing. Over the course of the Biden administration, police killings increased by almost 10 percent, from 1,148 in 2021 to 1,260 in 2024. This increase significantly outstripped population growth for that same period, which stood at 2.4 percent. Suffice to say, the administration was not concerned with addressing the issue of wanton killings by police and in fact served to make it more lethal funneling billions of pandemic relief funds to the cops and signing pro-cop executive orders. The investigations served to whitewash police violence in an attempt to give the bodies of armed men a face-lift while changing none of their fundamental characteristics as a tool of the ruling class to oppress workers and enforce social inequality. Furthermore, the brutality of US police was known long before any investigation was launched, as the police killed over 1,000 people a year on average for the seven years preceding Floyds death. The reasoning provided by Trumps DOJ for ending these agreements was that it introduced unnecessary bureaucracy which got in the way of recruiting and retaining police. The investigations and performative pledges to reform under Biden are now seen as an impediment to recruiting the most ruthless and backwards elements among the population. The ruling class sees deploying these layers, epitomized by Chauvin, as necessary in order to confront an increasingly restive working class, which has engaged in a series of strikes in a number of industries in recent years, as well as mass protests against attacks on democratic rights and the genocide in Gaza. Iranian director Jafar Panahi has won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his film "It Was Just an Accident," the jury announced on Saturday. The thriller beat 21 other entries to win the prestigious festival's top prize. "It Was Just an Accident" is about a group of former prisoners in Iran who manage to abduct the guard allegedly responsible for torturing them in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Panahi, who was imprisoned from July 2022 to February 2023, is one of Iran's most internationally renowned filmmakers. He has previously won the top prizes at the Venice Film Festival and the Berlinale festival in the German capital. The jury of the 78th Cannes Film Festival was chaired by actress Juliette Binoche. Bearing out Brazils place as country of honor at this years Cannes Film Festival, Kleber Mendonca Filhos The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto) won the Fipresci Prize in the Official Selection Competition category, granted by the International Federation of Film Critics . Set in Brazil under military rule in 1977 and starring Wagner Moura (Narcos, Dope Thief) , the film delves into themes of political repression, morality and resistance. Known for his earlier films Aquarius and Bacurau, both of which played in main comoetition at Cannes, Mendonca Filho continues his exploration of Brazils sociopolitical landscape with a narrative praised for its depth and ambition. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Secret Agent was hailed by Varietys Peter Debruge as a terrific 70s thriller and dazzling period drama. In its assessment of the film, the Fipresci jury explained: We chose a film that has a novelistic, epic generosity; a film that allows for digression, diversion, humor and character to evoke a time and place and a rich, strange and deeply troubling story of corruption and oppression. A film that makes its own rules, that is personal yet universal, that takes its time and immerses you in a world the world of military-ruled Brazil in 1977 and the world of good people in bad times. The Secret Agent, an epic tale which runs nearly three hours, is a multinational co-production involving Brazil, France, Germany and the Netherlands. MK2 Films is selling internationally, and Neon just picked up North American distribution rights. Further Fipresci recognition went to actor-turned-director Harris Dickinsons debut Urchin, which screened in the Un Certain Regard section. A two-time BAFTA-nominated actor, Dickinson is known for his performances in Babygirl, Beach Rats and Triangle of Sadness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A harrowing character study of a homeless man named Mike who struggles with addiction, Urchin has drawn acclaim for its visceral realism and emotional depth. Varietys Guy Lodge praises lead actor Frank Dillane for imbuing Mike with both the kind of wily charisma that makes people want to rescue him and a self-destructive volatility that keeps repelling such efforts. According to the jury, Dickinsons debut is a powerful first feature that works as a complex character study of a homeless man struggling with addiction. We dive deeply into a cycle of self-destruction portrayed with sincerity, authenticity and genuine empathy. From this years Critics Week, Directors Fortnight and other parallel selections, the Fipresci jury selected Momoko Setos animated feature Dandelions Odyssey for special recognition. The French-Belgian production, distributed internationally by Indie Sales, blends experimental storytelling with animation. Seto, is known for her artistic short films including 2015 Berlin Audi Short Film Award-winner Planet Sigma. Next up for Dandelions Odyssey is a competition screening at Annecy in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In these strange and dangerous times, we believe the most important thing is to find meaning in our choices and to allow ourselves to feel deeply through films that restore cinemas emotional essence, the Fipresci jury said. We reward this film for its unique use of animation techniques blending classical and modern styles, for the quality of its editing and for the power of its message love, salvation and companionship in the harshest circumstances. A universal message of lifes triumph over the forces of death. This years Fipresci jury at Cannes was chaired by Australian critic C.J. Johnson and included Mariana Hristova (Bulgaria), Laurent Delmas (France), Eva Novrup Redvall (Denmark), Michael Ghennam (France), Hosam Fahmy (Egypt), Ioannis Rouzaios (Greece), Olga Ruin (Sweden) and Freddy Wong (Hong Kong). Awards come just hours before the Cannes Film Festivals main prize ceremony where The Secret Agent is in the running for Cannes Palme dOr. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you head to Rehoboth Beach and walk into the Atlantic Ocean, you know there's something in the water. From sharks to jellyfish, you know you're entering their house and proceed cautiously. But what about Delaware's lakes? No, there aren't any sharks, but other nightmare fuel is lingering in the water. Delaware's lakes and ponds have snakes floating and slithering in the water. While the danger level might not be as high as Florida's, it's still something to watch out for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's a look at the five most snake-infested lakes and ponds in Delaware, according to worldatlas.com. Lums Pond Close-up of the Northern water snake. The pond, located in Lums Pond State Park, has numerous varieties of snakes. However, the inlets and small islands are perfect for northern water snakes to bask in the sun. The snakes thrive on fish and amphibians and benefit from the surrounding forest and wetlands. Nightmare fuel in First State: Delaware is home to dangerous animals. Here's a look at 9 of them Trap Pond An Eastern garter snake crawling through dead leaves on forest floor. Trap Pond, located in Trap Pond State Park, is noted for its cypress swamp. The bald cypress trees and the tree's root structure provide a great hiding place and basking spot for eastern garter snakes and northern water snakes. Silver Lake Parker W. Gibbons (age 4) holds a harmless eastern kingsnake. Children have no innate fear of snakes and can be readily taught to appreciate them. Located in Dover, Silver Lake is lined with trees and vegetation, making it a great place for snakes. The northern water snake is seen here, but eastern kingsnakes are also occasionally seen in the wooded areas of the lake. Garrison Lake An Eastern rat snake is one of the varieties of snakes commonly found in North Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garrison Lake is a popular spot in Kent County for fishing and boating. The marshy areas and dense vegetation are perfect habitats for northern water snakes, eastern garter snakes, and eastern rat snakes. The wetlands are attractive to snakes due to the abundance of prey and the availability of cover. Red Mills Pond Northern water snake Red Mills Pond, located near Lewes, has a rich biodiversity supporting numerous amphibians and small mammals, which attract snakes. Among the snakes you may see in and around the pond are the northern water snake, eastern ribbon snake and eastern ribbon snake. The above snakes are nonvenomous. However, you will still want to use caution around them. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Snake-infested lakes, ponds in Delaware A recent New York Times story covered how the Marubo people of Brazil were adjusting to life with the internet. They had received Starlink only months earlier, and according to the NYT piece, it had introduced serious problems into their society. Chief among those was "minors watching pornography." Representatives of the Marubo people took issue with the story and the tabloid headlines it spawned on sites like TMZ and Yahoo. They claimed it was not just insulting and inaccurate but damaging in an actionable way, so they took legal action. The Marubo community just filed defamation charges in an LA court, seeking $180 million in damages from the NYT, TMZ, and Yahoo. The story that sparked it all The Marubo people number about 2,000 in all. They live in villages along the Itui River of the Javari basin. Their population has steadily grown over the past 50 years, coming back from the disease and violence of first contact in the 19th century. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, the Marubo tribe received 20 Starlink antennas thanks to the efforts of community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazilian activist Flora Dutra. Nine months later, Jack Nicas hiked through the jungle in order to visit the tribe and report on how the internet was affecting them. The tribe invited him to stay for a week, but Nicas left after about 48 hours. He did not mention his early departure in the NYT piece. Published in June of 2024, the article claimed that the Marubo were now struggling with "teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation," and, of course, pornography. Classy as ever, TMZ took the story and ran with it, publishing a piece titled Tribe's Starlink hookup results in porn addiction! Similar headlines echoed across the internet. Realizing the narrative had perhaps gotten away from him, Nicas published a follow up: "No, a remote Amazon tribe did not get addicted to porn." For Morubo representatives, it was too little, too late. The Marubo people live in villages in the Amazon basin. Photo: Shutterstock A global media firestorm According to the complaint, the news story and the dozens of salacious articles that followed damaged Enoque Marubo and Flora Dutra personally, as well as the tribe as a whole. It was they, after all, who introduced the internet. And they were the ones receiving the most online abuse. They claim to have received thousands of hateful online messages. These included "death threats, racist and misogynistic abuse, and reputational smears." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They allege that the articles launched "a global media storm" that subjected them to "humiliation, harassment, and irreparable harm to their reputations, safety, and standing both within their own people and on the world stage." The New York Times agreed that other outlets had incorrectly reported on the story. But they had never averred that the Marubo people had become addicted to pornography, the outlet insisted. Maybe so, the suit alleges, but their initial story had at the very least struck the match that became the firestorm. Dutra arranged the Starlink gift through her startup, Navi Global. Navi Global no longer exists, which the complain alleges is a direct result of the negative coverage. Photo: Navi Global A damaging narrative The NYT story has uncomfortable echoes with past representations of Indigenous people. There are centuries of patriarchal depictions of Indigenous people as falling from Edenic innocence to debauched ruination as soon as they encounter the sins of Western civilization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement See, for instance, the "noble savage" of 18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He described Indigenous people in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa as living in an ideal state of nature. But when they encountered civilized men, they fell from this state of grace, and struggled to cope with the vices and complications of "civilized" life. The English writer and explorer John Lawson wrote that in Carolina, "Most of the Savages are much addicted to Drunkenness, a Vice they never were acquainted with, till the Christians came amongst them." Recent reporting on the Marubo discusses their internet usage in similar terms. "These statements were not only inflammatory but conveyed to the average reader that the Marubo people had descended into moral and social decline as a direct result of internet access," the complaint alleges. "They directly attack the character, morality, and social standing of an entire people, suggesting they lack the discipline or values to function in the modern world." Looking for things to do in Atlanta or its surrounding areas? Well HGTV has just released its 18 best things to do according to TV Hosts of "Married to Real Estate." "When theyre not helping their clients find and renovate dream homes in Atlanta, Georgia," HGTV wrote about hosts Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson. "Egypt and Mike relish everything their city and its surrounding area have to offer." Here is more. Who is Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson? HGTV Rock the Block contest Egypt Sherrod, left, and Mike Jackson, HGTV personalities from the television show Married to Real Estate, walk with Jeff Ellis of Closet Pro in Williamston to visit to get a taste of downtown Anderson Saturday, April 23, 2022. The couple met Mayor Terence Roberts, Rock this Block contest partner Jeff Ellis of Closet Pro in Anderson County, and visited the art of Chadwick Boseman on display at Carolina Wren Park. This married couple, based in Atlanta, are television personalities, best known as the stars of HGTV's hit series Married to Real Estate, they captivate audiences by blending family life with real estate, renovation and design expertise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement See what they think are the best things to do in Atlanta. Best things to do in Atlanta Jan 31, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; General overall view of the downtown Atlanta skyline. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports According to HGTV, try out some of these things in the big city and surrounding areas: Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: HGTV 'Married to Real Estate hosts give best things to do around Atlanta As May comes to an end, Memorial Day is fast approaching, falling this year on Monday, May 26 and Vermont is getting ready to mark the occasion. Always celebrated on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is a holiday in which the nation mourns and honors its deceased service men and women, according to the website for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). The holiday is observed by honoring fallen military members, often through placing wreaths on their graves or hosting parades in their memory. Looking to commemorate the holiday? Here's a list of Memorial Day parades, ceremonies and special events in Vermont for 2025. Memorial Day Parades in VT 2025 Members of the Champlain Valley Historical Reenactors march in the Vergennes Memorial Day parade Monday. Here is a list of Memorial Day parades and ceremonies in Vermont, all taking place on Monday, May 26 unless otherwise noted*: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bennington : Noon. Starts at Benn High building and ends at Veterans Home. Brandon : 10 a.m. Central Park. Bristol : 1-2 p.m. Ceremony at Town Green. Chester : 9 a.m. Ceremony on Chester Green. Essex : *May 24 from 10 a.m. to noon. Grafton : *May 30 at 1:30 p.m. Starts at Grafton Elementary School and ends at Village Bridge. Highgate : Noon. Starts at Highgate Sports Arena. Ludlow : 9 a.m. Starts on Pond St and ends at Ludlow American Legion Post 36. Middlebury : 9 a.m. Starts at the Middlebury Arts Center and ends at Court Square. Milton : 10-11 a.m. Ceremony at Milton Fire Station. Pittsford : 12:30 p.m. Starts at the Village Green. South Burlington : *May 23 from 10-10:30 a.m. Ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park. Springfield : 11 a.m. Ceremony at Springfield Memorial Park. Stowe : *May 30 at 10 a.m. Ceremony at Akeley Memorial Building. Underhill : 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Starts at Brown's River Middle School and ends at Veteran's Park. Vergennes : 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Starts at Vergennes Union High School and ends at the elementary school. Williston : 9:30 a.m. Starts at the Post Headquarters and ends at Village Hall. Wilmington: 10-11 a.m. Starts with ceremony at Memorial Hall. More: When is Memorial Day 2025? Here's when it is and how we celebrate it Lakeview Cemetery Tour Members of the Board of Preservation Burlington are offering a special tour of Lakeview Cemetery and the Howard Chapel this Memorial Day from 10-11:30 a.m. The tours are free to attend, but $10 donations are suggested. Cider and donuts will be available. Memorial Day Weekend at Stratton Mountain Resort Head down to Stratton Mountain resort for a weekend full of music and outdoor activities. The resort is offering scenic gondola rides, mountain top yoga, an outdoor rock climbing wall, axe throwing and even a Doggie & Me 5K on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The weekend's main event is the Memorial Day Concert at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, featuring music from Soul Session & "Soulist" Garland Nelson and activities like face painting, balloon art and crafts inside the main Base Lodge. Stratton Mountain Resort's Memorial Day Celebration is free to attend. The resort is located at 5 Village Lodge Road in Stratton Moutain. Holiday closures: What's closed on Memorial Day in Vermont? Check the list Hardwick Spring Festival The town of Hardwick is celebrating Memorial Day Weekend with their annual spring festival, Springfest. Over Friday, May 23 and Saturday, May 24, the festival will feature an extensive lineup of attractions, including a fun run, a parade, a bounce house, flower making, face painting, a pet show, a square dancing exposition and many more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Festival goers can also enjoy live music and food from various food trucks, including everything from Filipino comfort food to homemade ice cream. Festival events are at various places throughout downtown Hardwick. This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Where to celebrate Memorial Day 2025 in VT: List of parades, ceremonies May 24The original is usually the best. Located just off Interstate 40 at the eastern edge of the Pueblo of Laguna, the original Laguna Burger and Route 66 Pit Stop beckons travelers. It is on the east side of the I-40 convenience store on historic U.S. Route 66. The immaculate dining room was nearly empty around 2 p.m. on a recent Sunday when I placed my order for a Laguna Burger ($10.99) with no lettuce or tomato. After three days in Flagstaff camping without a vegetable in sight, I probably should have left them on, but green chile is a vegetable, right? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I added an order of onion petals ($5.99) and chile cheese fries with green ($6.25), and sat back to wait. I expected the usual 30-minute wait for a freshly grilled burger, but a few minutes later my name was called. The brown paper bag I received at the counter smelled delicious and leaked a bit from the bottom fold. I took the onion petals out of the bag and grabbed one that still glistened from the fryer. It was like a blooming onion or an onion ring without the ring. The petals were perfectly crispy, and the onions were noticeably sweet. Even minutes later, they held a nice crunch. I extricated the Laguna Burger from the bag and the sweet, spicy beef aroma made me drool. It was a crispy, spicy delight that made my eyes water slightly from the flavor of the chile, which had red and green pieces. The pickles added crunch, the cheese added ooze, and the onion added a bit of snap, all complementing the beef patty, which had a nice char on the outside, but remained juicy throughout. As it says on its napkins, "is it the beef." I think it is the whole preparation and delivery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lack of tomato and lettuce and the light touch of mustard let the meaty flavor of the burger shine. The fries came out of the fryer hot enough to melt the cheese on the chile cheese fries. The starchy potatoes acted as a perfect foil to the spiciness of the chile and were just crispy enough to snap against my teeth. I probably should've added a shake, but being mid-afternoon, I decided I had enough calories in my belly. Outside in the picnic area, you can eat your burger and see a display that explains how the building of Route 66 and then I-40 changed the Laguna community. Laguna, it seems, has long been a friendly stopping point especially during the Dust Bowl heading west and now heading both directions as people navigate the route that made America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you are traveling either direction along I-40 it's worth a stop and if you're not traveling this summer, it's worth a trip just for the crispy ends of the beef and the Route 66 experience. In Flagstaff, I had considered waiting for the In-N-Out Burger to open at 10:30 a.m. before I left town. I made a good choice leaving Arizona and heading to New Mexico for the Laguna Burger. WEST BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A teenager from Texas is safe, and a 24-year-old is behind bars in connection with a missing persons case. According to the Louisiana State Police (LSP), troopers successfully located the missing juvenile from Texas after an agency request from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Just after 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, LSP received a BOLO (Be-On-the-Lookout) for a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu believed to be occupied by a missing 16-year-old, and a possible suspect, 24-year-old Angel Guerrero of Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Troopers saw the suspect vehicle on US 190 east of LA 413 in West Baton Rouge Parish and performed a traffic stop. The juvenile was identified and safely recovered. Guerrero was identified as the driver and was detained. Texas DPS was notified. LSP began to investigate further while making custody arrangements for the juvenile. Guerrero was arrested and transported to the West Baton Rouge Parish Jail and booked for improper lane usage, no drivers license, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and as a fugitive for the Texas DPS. The juvenile was placed into the custody of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, pending reunification efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baton Rouge woman charged with murder in connection to overdose death Latest News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. KANSAS CITY, Mo. One person has life-threatening injuries after a crash and shooting in Kansas Citys Westport neighborhood, the Kansas City Police Department says. Kansas City sets teen curfew in hopes to boost summer safety KCPD says a shooting occurred near 41st Street and Broadway. KCPD then responded to the scene. The suspected victim, however, attempted to drive to the hospital and ended up crashing in the area south of 43rd Street and Mill Creek Parkway, near St. Lukes Hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of Broadway Blvd. is now closed at 41st and 43rd nearly all the way to the Country Club Plaza area. No other information has been made available at this time. This is an ongoing investigation; FOX4 will provide updates as theyre made available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. One man was killed and two others were injured due to a boat explosion on the Hudson River in New York City The incident happened near the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant at around 10:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, May 24 The boat explosion occurred one week after a Mexican Navy ship crashed into N.Y.C.'s Brooklyn Bridge on May 17, killing two people and injuring more than a dozen others One man was killed and two others were injured due to an explosion on a boat docked in the Hudson River during New York Citys Fleet Week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident happened near the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant around West 138th Street at around 10:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, May 24, according to WNBC-TV and The New York Post, which cited New York Police Department (NYPD) officials. Authorities told the Post they received a report about a person in the water, and when they arrived at the scene, they found that a large explosion had ripped through the hull of a ship. Two men, who had been working on the boat, were injured in the explosion. They were taken to nearby hospitals, per the outlet. Their conditions were unknown. 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. A third man was thrown into the water by the explosion and became trapped between the boat and the pier, according to the Post. The man identified as a 59-year-old died as a result of the incident, the outlet reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The boat was operated by the Department of Environmental Protection and transports raw sewage from the city to a nearby treatment facility, according to WNBC-TV and the Post. The boat was reportedly docked at the time of the incident. Getty New York City's Hudson River (stock image) New York City's Hudson River (stock image) The incident is under investigation, according to the outlets. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) told the Post that it was still too early in their investigation to determine whether the explosion was accidental or intentional. The NYPD and FDNY did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment on the incident. Photos obtained by The Daily Mail and the Post show emergency responders and FDNY vehicles on the scene. Other photos depict rescue boats heading into the area and helicopters hovering over a barge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident took place one week after a Mexican Navy ship crashed into New York City's Brooklyn Bridge on May 17, killing two people and injuring more than a dozen others. At the time of the crash, 277 people were onboard, officials said. Following the incident, officials revealed that the pilot lost power of the ship shortly after it had taken off from the nearby Pier 17, causing it to crash into the bridge. Chief Wilson Aramboles of the NYPD's Special Operations Division stated during a press conference that the ship was en route to Iceland. New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez also said during the press conference that a preliminary assessment found no signs of major damage to the iconic bridge. Read the original article on People NEW YORK (AP) An explosion on a boat carrying raw sewage that was docked on the Hudson River in New York City killed a longtime city employee Saturday, authorities said. Another worker on the city-owned Hunts Point vessel was injured and taken to the hospital after the blast around 10:30 a.m. near the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to city Fire Department Deputy Assistant Chief David Simms. A third worker refused medical treatment. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, but New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in statement that criminal intent was not suspected. The men on the boat, which takes raw sewage from the city to be treated, were doing work involving a flame or sparks when the explosion occurred, the U.S. Coast Guard said on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First responders found a 59-year-old man unconscious in the river, New York police said, and he was declared dead at the scene. The man had been a longtime employee of the city's Department of Environmental Protection. His name has not been released, but the mayor said he was a devoted public servant who gave 33 years of service to the New York City, and our hearts go out to his family, friends, and colleagues during this painful time." The blast spread raw sewage over the deck of the boat, and firefighters and other first responders had to be decontaminated, Simms said. DEP said there did not appear to be any environmental impacts following the explosion. ___ This story has been updated to correct the number of injured employees who were taken to the hospital based on new information from authorities. One worker was transported, not two. DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) Authorities are investigating a Friday night shooting on Miles Jamison Road that left a person injured. Deputies with the Dorchester County Sheriffs Office responded to multiple reports of a shooting shortly after 11 p.m. At the scene, deputies found a victim suffering from gunshot wounds. The deputies provided aid to the victim before they were taken to a local hospital for further treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shooting is under investigation. Deputies ask that anyone with information about the incident call 843-832-0300. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. China makes headway on biodiversity protection Xinhua) 09:25, May 24, 2025 Tourists visit the terraced fields in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- As one of the world's most biodiverse countries, China is moving towards the symbiosis of economic development and environmental protection, supporting global efforts on biodiversity conservation. This photo shows the fry of second-filial-generation Sichuan taimen at a fish proliferation and release station operated by a company under PowerChina Hydropower Development Group Co., Ltd. in Barkam City of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 18, 2025. China has succeeded in large-scale artificial breeding of Sichuan taimen, an endangered fish species under first-class protection of the nation, the Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences said on May, 19. (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Golden snub-nosed monkeys are pictured in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Researcher Yu Yi (L) records newly caught fish in Songpan County of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 20, 2025. This is the 498th Chinese native freshwater fish recorded by him, which is one step closer to his goal of "photographing all Chinese native freshwater fish". (Xinhua/Wang Xi) Oriental white storks are pictured at the Bachadao National Nature Reserve in Tongjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, April 19, 2025. (Photo by Liu Wanping/Xinhua) Wu Yijun, a senior engineer of the parks and woods bureau of Huangshan Scenic Area management committee, checks the forestry pests at Lianhua Peak of Huangshan in east China's Anhui Province, on April 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan) This photo taken on May 20, 2025 shows vines climbing on a tree at the Yanoda Rain Forest Cultural Tourism Zone in Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu) Forest ranger Yi Mingzhe equips a tree with an infrared camera at Chaihekou Forest Farm in Zhalantun City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, May 21, 2025. The Baimaogou and Chaihekou forest farms, managed by Inner Mogonlia's Chaihe Forestry Bureau, form a crucial biodiversity hub on the southern slopes of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Currently, the area is home to nine national first-class protected animals, 17 national second-class protected animals and a variety of rare plants. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui) An aerial drone photo taken on May 20, 2025 shows workers of State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd. installing a camera near the nest of oriental white storks, a migratory bird under first-class state protection, to track and protect them, in Huoqiu County, east China's Anhui Province. In early May this year, workers discovered the nest on the newly-built transmission tower. (Photo by Zhao Xianfu/Xinhua) Wild finless porpoises leap out of the water on Tongling section of the Yangtze River in east China's Anhui Province, May 21, 2025. (Photo by Chu Zhuchuan/Xinhua) A staff member of Yunnan Forest Nature Center changes food and water for green peafowl chicks in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 19, 2025. Four green peafowl chicks were recently hatched naturally in a wild training base in southwest China's Yunnan Province, marking the first successful natural breeding of the captive-bred species in a simulated wild environment and major progress in the country's rewilding efforts for the rare birds. (Xinhua/Hu Chao) (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) One person was hurt in a reported shooting in a Dayton neighborhood on Saturday afternoon. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The shooting was reported on Rugby Road, near Cherry Drive, at 2:09 p.m., according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 911 caller told dispatchers her uncle had been shot. Dispatch records show one person was transported from the scene to Miami Valley Hospital. A family member on scene told News Center 7 that medics said the victim is in stable condition. Less than an hour after the shooting, police began to chase a vehicle on southbound Interstate 75, which ended near State Route 123 in Warren County. Dispatchers confirmed that it was connected to the shooting. Dispatch records showed that two to three people in the vehicle were detained. The shooting scene is less than a mile away from Fairview Elementary and Edwin Joel Brown Middle School. Were working to learn more and will continue to provide updates. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled on May 23 that the man accused in the fatal shooting of a landscaper in Gilbert may be released from jail if he posts a $1 million bond and wears an electronic monitoring device. Wyatt Ford, 28, is charged with second-degree murder in the May 19 shooting of Manuel Vega Lopez, 51. Lopez had been hired by Fords landlord to trim a tree at the Gilbert residence. Although Ford and his wife were aware that a landscaper was scheduled to work in the yard, Ford mistakenly believed Lopez was responsible for previous damage to a trailer the couple had parked at the property, according to police reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ford, who turns 29 on May 25, confronted Lopez, and the situation escalated into the fatal shooting, according to police reports. Police said Ford fired a 9mm Glock four times at Lopez, striking him in the throat. Ford was heard saying he didn't mean to shoot Lopez, according to police reports. More about the case: Gilbert man killed landscaper he had accused of vandalism, police say In addition to the bond amount, Commissioner Elizabeth Campbell said Ford would have to abide by curfew hours set by the court's Pretrial Services Agency. Those hours had not been set in the release order Campbell issued May 23. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ford's preliminary hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. May 29 at the court's south tower in downtown Phoenix. In the wake of Lopezs death, his family has launched a GoFundMe campaign, as he was the sole provider for his household. His wife is living with diabetes and deteriorating vision, and their youngest son is facing health challenges following recent chemotherapy treatments. Mourned: Landscaper's family remembers dad killed in Gilbert shooting as provider for ill wife, son This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: $1M bond set for man accused of fatally shooting landscaper in Gilbert UPDATE: The victim in Friday nights shooting along Dana Michelle Street has died and police are investigating it as a homicide, El Paso Police said. Police identified the victim only as a male in his early 20s. ORIGINAL: EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) One person was injured and taken to the hospital after a shooting late Friday night, May 23 in far East El Paso, El Paso Police said. The shooting happened at about 11 p.m. Friday along the 1700 block of Dana Michelle Street. Police said when they arrived, they found a male in his early 20s who had been shot. The victim was transported to the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police did not say how badly hurt the person was or what led up to the shooting. A Fire Department spokesman said one person was transported with serious injuries (Code 3) from the shooting. Crimes Against Persons Unit is investigating the incident. Anyone who has information is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (915) 832-4400 or to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at (915) 566-8477. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) One person was seriously hurt in a crash early Saturday morning, May 24 in Central El Paso, an El Paso Fire Department spokesman said. The crash happened shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday along the 1300 block of Rim Road. One person was transported with serious injuries (Code 3) and another person refused transport for their injuries. The Fire Departments helicopter was initially called out but was cancelled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) One person is in custody in Hudspeth County in a case involving aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman said. Texas DPS rangers have been asked to assist in the investigation by the Hudspeth County Sheriffs Office, the spokesman said in a statement issued on Saturday morning, May 24. The incident happened on Thursday, May 22 in West Hudspeth County, and there is no threat to the community at this time, the DPS spokesman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This remains an active investigation and no other information is available at this time, he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. WASHINGTON When House Republicans passed President Donald Trumps multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package on a party-line vote of 215-214, some Democrats couldnt help but notice that three safe blue seats in their ranks were empty after those lawmakers recently died in their 70s. Imagine if one of the older and sicker Dems wouldve retired instead of died in office and what that wouldve meant for millions of people, Rebecca Katz, a consultant who has advised successful Democratic Senate candidates in two swing states over the last three years, said on X. Even as some Democrats conceded the GOP bill may ultimately have passed anyway, the moment quickly reignited an intraparty debate about gerontocracy and aging politicians clinging to power or seeking promotions while they show signs of decline or battle grave health issues. The clash has been fueled by an ongoing reckoning over then-President Joe Bidens 2023 decision to run for re-election before dropping out after a disastrous June 2024 debate in which the 81-year-old incumbent struggled to craft sentences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cascade of events has bolstered a generational argument, once limited to a narrow group of young progressives, that is now gaining traction inside the Democratic Party, including among seasoned party operatives who say the sentiment is growing. You get accused of ageism when you start having this conversation sometimes. But its like, look at an actuarial table, said Mike Nellis, a veteran Democratic strategist who has worked as an adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris. It is a fair criticism to say that we need people to walk away. We need people to know when its your moment to go off into the sunset. And no, the debate is not going to go away, he said. The clash is even evident inside the ranks of the Democratic National Committee in the form of recently elected Vice Chair David Hogg, a prominent 25-year-old gun safety activist who has called for challenging out-of-touch and ineffective lawmakers through primaries in solidly Democratic seats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have empowered the cruelty of Republicans and handed them an expanded majority because elderly Democratic leaders refused to step down. It is unconscionable, Hogg told NBC News. Politicians only respond to incentives. That means we need to create a set of dynamics where they decide it is in their best interests to retire, and that includes primaries. Two Republicans missed the vote early Thursday and if they had voted, three additional Democratic no votes could have fought it to a tie, blocking the bill, at least at that moment. The GOP would have had to win the votes of one member who voted present or flip one of the two who voted no on the bill. Hogg speculated that Republicans would probably have figured out a way to pass it if it failed due to a tie vote. But he said thats no excuse for Democrats to make their task easier. It is undeniable, though, that with less Democratic members it gives Trump greater ability to pass what he wants through Congress. And this never had to happen, Hogg said, adding that it is unacceptable when Democrats spend tens of millions of dollars to win swing districts but do nothing to get sick, older members to step down, and then we lose seats because of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the three vacancies was the Virginia seat formerly held by Rep. Gerry Connolly, who announced two days after winning re-election in November 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus; he was soon chosen by Democrats to be the ranking member on the Oversight Committee. He died on May 21 at age 75. Another was Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who died at 77 two months ago after treatment for lung cancer, a diagnosis he announced in April 2024, before winning re-election for the final time. The third was Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, who died of a medical emergency in March at 70, after previously battling bone cancer. The fact that the margin was so close makes this so frustrating. Millions of people are going to lose their health care, said Amanda Litman, the president of the group Run for Something and author of When Were in Charge: The Next Generations Guide to Leadership. Litman and others note that they arent calling for lawmakers to be automatically thrown out after a certain age, but they do want to see them face challenges and external pressure to prove why they should keep serving. We are protecting a system that has privileged seniority and entitlement over efficacy, she said, adding: The system that protected Joe Biden and the system that protects our elected officials in Congress is the same one, describing it as a mix of politicians egos and the acquiescence of staffers and party operatives who should know better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Litman responded to critics who say Democrats should focus on blaming Republicans rather than turning their anger within, saying that Bidens re-election effort and the issues in the House taught her the party wont evolve without pressure. This conversation has to happen in public, because weve now seen its not happening in private, she said. Ashwani Jain, a 35-year-old former Obama administration official and unsuccessful 2024 House candidate, said the Democratic Party is too focused on protecting the old guard propping up aging politicians while sidelining the next generation of leaders. The establishment clings to a model that prioritizes seniority, fundraising and insider connections over fresh ideas and grassroots energy, said Jain, who wrote the new book Project 2027: A Progressive Blueprint to Reclaim Congress and Protect Democracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not about ageism its about urgency, he said. Another factor driving the conversation is the widespread belief in both parties that House majorities are likely to be narrow for the foreseeable future, which means that every seat can have national consequences. Members often continue to run for the right reasons theres always unfinished business in public service but continuing to run with major illnesses leads to painful ends to otherwise accomplished careers, said Ashley Schapitl, a former top communicator for Democratic senators and the Treasury Department. Congressional margins have been tight since the 2020 election, making every seat count more than in previous years in determining the outcomes of legislative fights that have monumental consequences for the American people. Nellis said aging politicians eventually become out of step culturally and, in refusing to step down, are preventing future leaders from stepping up, and it creates a cascading problem by freezing opportunities down the ladder. He said generational change would also mitigate the partys political struggles to communicate in the modern media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have a lot of leaders who are very smart, care passionately about the issues, but they cant go do the media the way that we need them to, Nellis said. And right now what I need is a lot more politicians that can sit on the podcast for three hours and talk about a bunch of issues and get into weird, goofy personal stuff and sit with Joe Rogan. And I dont have a lot of those. It isnt just politicians, he added. Theres a generational change problem throughout the Democratic Party, Nellis said, calling for new consultants, campaign managers, communicators and surrogates, in addition to new legislators. So that generation change it is actively happening inside the Democratic Party at every level. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) The U.S. Coast Guard stopped a cuddy cabin-style vessel carrying 10 people on board Friday morning. The vessel was spotted crossing the maritime boundary line at a high rate of speed around 2:35 a.m., the Coast Guard said. All 6 on Cessna jet that crashed in San Diego presumed dead, authorities say A small Coast Guard boat from the Maritime Safety and Security Team Seattle intercepted the vessel and found 10 people on board, authorities stated. Coast Guard intercepts vessel carrying 10 suspected undocumented migrants. (U.S. Coast Guard) Coast Guard intercepts vessel carrying 10 suspected undocumented migrants. (U.S. Coast Guard) Eight claimed to be from Mexico, one claimed to be from Brazil and the other from El Salvador, according to the Coast Guard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A boarding team from Coast Guard Cutter Halibut helped remove the people from the vessel, and all were transferred to the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (KRON) Diablo Valley College says a tree fell on a football field during a graduation commencement ceremony in Pleasant Hill on Friday evening, injuring 12 attendees. Friends of Oakland Animal Services reach out to community amid budget cuts The school says the incident happened at 6:54 p.m. toward the end of the ceremony. A tree fell near the football stadium located at 321 Golf Club Rd., according to the Contra Costa Fire Protection District whose crews responded to the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two of the injured individuals were taken to nearby hospitals and their conditions have not yet been released. Emergency responders and police services were already on site per school event protocols and were able to quickly respond to the victims, said Diablo Valley College. Tree removal began after the emergency response. An investigation will begin in the next few days, DVC officials confirmed. It is not immediately clear how big the tree was or what caused it to fall down. The safety of our students and visitors to our campus is our top priority, said DVC in a statement to KRON4. We deeply regret that this incident occurred during this milestone occasion. We congratulate all of our graduates and hope they are able to celebrate with their loved ones this evening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KRON4 also reached out to the Pleasant Hill Police Department, but did not hear back in time for this report. Well have more on this story as it develops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A woman allegedly stabbed 17 people in a knife attack in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday, May 23 At the time of publication, six people were badly injured, seven were lightly injured, and several sustained life-threatening injuries" The woman has given herself up to police without resistance A woman is accused of stabbing 17 people in a knife attack at Central Station in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday, May 23, according to CNN, The New Daily and The New York Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 6 p.m. local time on a crowded train platform, the attacker started to randomly stab travelers who were waiting for a long-distance train. Six people were badly injured, while seven others were lightly injured, the fire department said, per CNN. It is unclear how many people sustained life-threatening injuries, but authorities previously said there were several victims who had, the outlet added. Police in Germany arrested a 39-year-old German woman, who is believed to have committed the crime alone. The attack occurred in the country's busiest and most dangerous train stations, with an already preestablished weapons-free zone, police say, per the NYT. JONAS WALZBERG/AFP via Getty Forensic police officers investigate on the railway platform at Hamburg's main train station where at least 12 people have been injured in a knife attack on May 23, 2025. Forensic police officers investigate on the railway platform at Hamburg's main train station where at least 12 people have been injured in a knife attack on May 23, 2025. Hamburg Police said the attacker had acted apparently indiscriminately, stabbed passersby, injuring some of them critically, according to a statement, CNN reported. Authorities believe the woman might have been in a state of mental distress, per the NYT. Upon the authorities' arrival, the woman surrendered without resistance. The perpetrator is in custody, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher said, per NYT. I wish the victims of the crime much strength and hope that those who are seriously injured will also be able to be saved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An investigation into the incident is ongoing. JONAS WALZBERG/AFP via Getty Forensic police officers investigate on the railway platform at Hamburg's main train station where at least 12 people have been injured in a knife attack on May 23, 2025. Forensic police officers investigate on the railway platform at Hamburg's main train station where at least 12 people have been injured in a knife attack on May 23, 2025. 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. Germanys Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said that his thoughts are with the victims and their families. He also thanked the citys emergency responders for their aid. Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt echoed Merz's sentiments. It is shocking when travelers are attacked in a treacherous and cowardly manner, Dobrindt said, according to CNN. Germany has encountered a rise in knife crime in recent years. On Monday, May 19, a man was arrested as a suspect in a knife attack that injured five people on Sunday, May 18, in Bielefeld, Germany, The Washington Post reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In August 2024, a 26-year-old man was accused of having killed three people and wounded eight others in a Solingen festival knife attack. Months before, in June 2024, a man attacked several people and injured seven people in Mannheim, per CBS News. Read the original article on People Phase 2 redevelopment of the Fort Worth Stockyards may be on hold due to disputes between the projects developers, court documents have revealed. In documents filed on May 6, Majestic Realty Co.s former executive vice president Craig Cavileer alleged that a dispute between the developer and its local partner for Stockyards redevelopment, The Hickman Companies, resulted in his firing and has stalled the almost $1 billion redevelopment project. Phase Two of the project which would have converted a surface parking area into new mixed-use developments has been put on indefinite hold, the lawsuit states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second phase of redevelopment is expected to double the size of the Stockyards, adding three hotels, 300,000 square feet of commercial space, at least 295 units of multifamily housing and two underground parking garages. The Fort Worth City Council approved economic incentives for the project in June. Developers Majestic Realty and Hickman Companies agreed to invest at least $630 million in the project. Construction has yet to begin. Cavileer filed a lawsuit against Majestic Realty Co. and the companys chairman of the board Edward Roski Jr., who recruited him to join the company in 1993. In court filings, Cavileer alleged Majestic and Roski forced him to suddenly pay back tens of millions of dollars in loans, after he refused to side with the company in a Stockyards-related dispute. The case is being heard by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. An artists concept of what a Fort Worth Stockyards expansion could look like. This view, facing north, shows development of whats now mostly surface parking on the east side of Billy Bobs Texas and cattle pens. Cavileers stakes in a number of Stockyards properties were auctioned off on May 6, after Majestic took legal action requiring him to sell them in order to pay back 31 loans he had gotten from Majestic worth a combined $75.9 million. The loans were promissory notes issued to Cavileer by Roski on behalf of Majestic. In court documents, Cavileer states that Majestics development partners usually receive ownership interests in the companys projects; promissory notes are typically issued to them, so they have enough cash to buy into their share of equity at a projects start. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cavileer alleged Roski promised partners that their debt wouldnt be called in until the property is sold or recapitalized, which would provide the development partner with enough capital to pay off the loans. Cavileer stated he wouldnt have agreed to take the promissory notes without Roskis promise. Cavileer alleged in his over three decades working with Majestic, Roski never called in a debt on a note without a significant capital event until he demanded Cavileer pay back his loans. He said Roski and Majestic knew he wouldnt be able to pay back the loans without the sale of property. In court filings, Cavileer describes the action as a retaliatory move designed to rob him of the benefits earned from his time with Majestic. He alleged Roski and Majestic called in his loans after he refused to side with the company in a dispute with its Stockyards development partner, Fort Worth-based firm The Hickman Companies. According to a statement Cavileer submitted to the court, Majestic wanted Hickman Companies to invest additional capital into Phase 2 redevelopment, a dispute that resulted in arbitration. Roski and Majestic did not consult me before they demanded additional capital from the Hickmans or entered litigation. Despite this, Roski and Majestic demanded that I support their position in the litigation, Cavileer states in court filings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the lawsuit, Cavileer alleged Roski and Majestic stopped holding meetings and communicating with him in October. He also asserted that Roski and the company diverted cash distributions he was owed. A gravel parking lot with cars and cattle trailers on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Fort Worth Stockyards, where a major expansion is proposed. Cavileer oversaw the creation of Mule Alley, the first phase of redevelopment in the historic district. Majestic fired Cavileer in December, and has since appointed Rick Kline III as lead representative for Stockyards projects. Kayla Wilkie, Majestics director of design and development for lifestyle and hospitality, left the company on May 14, the Dallas Business Journal reported. Wilkie and Cavileer helped create plans for Phase 2 of redevelopment. Cavileers legal actions are the latest move in his ongoing legal battle with Majestic. Majestic filed a lawsuit against Cavileer in Superior Court of Los Angeles County on Jan. 2, which alleged he failed to pay back 31 loans worth $75.9 million. The company is seeking the value of the loans plus interest, as well as attorneys fees and other costs incurred in the suit. Cavileer denied Majestics allegations in documents filed on April 15. Both parties demanded a jury trial in the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over a dozen of Cavileers assets, including a stake in the company that operates Cowtown Coliseum, were auctioned off on May 6. Cavaliers stakes in the management companies that own the Hyatt Place Fort Worth Historic Stockyards, Hotel Drover, Stockyards Hotel and the Stockyards Station shopping center were part of the sale. Also part of the auction were his stakes in the companies that own and operate two warehouses and undeveloped land along Interstate 35W in south Fort Worth and an over 1.1 million-square-foot warehouse at 9449 Silver Creek Road, which was leased by Google in October. Cavileer attempted to stop Majestic from selling his interest in the properties through legal action on the day of the auction, but the court denied his request due to lack of sufficient evidence and lack of irreparable harm. If Roski is successful, the forced sale of Cavileers ownership interests on the auction block will mean that the past 32 years of Cavileers professional life has been for nothing, court documents state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arbitrations that Cavileer instituted against Roski and Majestic in February are still pending. Cavileer alleged Majestic entered into arbitration under the guise of resolving their dispute over his loans, but never intended to come to an agreement. He states Majestic instead used negotiations as a ploy to prevent him from taking additional action that couldve protected his interests. Majestic Realty Co. declined to comment on legal proceedings, but a spokesman said the company is continuing to focus on our long-term development plans for the Stockyards and our work with our Hickman family partners. The city of Fort Worth declined to comment on the developers legal actions. The City continues to work with Fort Worth Heritage in support of progress on the second phase of the Stockyards, said a statement from the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stockyards Heritage Development Co., the partnership between Majestic and Hickman Companies, did not respond to a request for comment. Hickman Companies and Cavileers lawyer also did not respond to a request for comment. Based in Fort Worth, Hickman Companies was founded by entrepreneur Holt Hickman in 1964. Los Angeles-based Majestic Realty is the largest private developer of master-planned business parks in the country. SAVANNAH Ga. (WSAV) Two recent Savannah State University graduates shared their stories that are unique in their own way. They told WSAV it was the support of their family and the idea of breaking the chain that encouraged them along the way. My parents, theyre immigrants from Mexico, and they didnt really have a higher education, Sarah Plancarte first generation graduate said. It was something not only was I experiencing for the first time, but so were my parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maya Henson, another first-generation college graduate, said specifically going to a historic black college or university (HBCU) like Savannah State made this all more special. As a black person, it definitely feels good to go to a school, an HBCU, and get a degree and kind of feel like, yes, Im getting what my parents and grandparents couldnt. Henson said. Along the way they had to make their own path trusting in their professors and finding their own resource when they had questions. Its definitely scary in a way that I havent experienced before, where I dont know the right words to use to get what I want, where I need to go, Henson said. Its a lot of reaching out to people who I think could help me Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henson and Plancarte both crossed the stage at the Savannah State graduation and they said their parents and younger siblings couldnt have been prouder of their achievements. They both said they are excited and confident as they step into their next stage of life. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. Video above: This FOX 5/KUSI video provides driving safety tips. POWAY, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) Two people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence at a checkpoint in Poway on Friday night, authorities said. According to the San Diego County Sheriffs Office, deputies conducted the roadblock in the 12700 block of Poway Road into the night. A total of 484 vehicles traveled into the checkpoint and authorities said 31 motorists were sent for a secondary evaluation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DUI patrol, seat belt enforcement ramped up ahead of Memorial Day Seven drivers conducted field sobriety tests, though only two were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, the sheriffs office confirmed. Additionally, six drivers were cited for driving without a license or with a suspended license, another seven were cited for not having their driver license in their possession, and one driver was cited for a traffic signal violation. DUI checkpoint locations are determined based on reported incidents of impaired driving-related crashes, authorities noted in a press release. The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints is to promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off roads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the San Diego County Sheriffs Office by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) Authorities completed a DoorDash order in Mt. Juliet Friday night after arresting a man and woman, who were reportedly wanted out of Nashville. According to the Mt. Juliet Police Department, officers conducted a traffic stop along Central Pike on Friday, May 23 after observing a vehicle traveling 51 mph in a 35 mph zone. Littering leads to arrest of wanted man in Mt. Juliet Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said they learned the driveronly identified as a 35-year-old man from Nashvillehad outstanding warrants for felony probation violation and assault. In addition, he was reportedly driving without a license. Meanwhile, the passengera 36-year-old woman from Nashvillewas also wanted for assault, police said. Courtesy: Mt. Juliet Police Department Courtesy: Mt. Juliet Police Department Courtesy: Mt. Juliet Police Department Courtesy: Mt. Juliet Police Department According to authorities, the pair were in the middle of making a DoorDash delivery when the stop occurred, adding that they had a bag of ice cream in tow. Despite the circumstances, law enforcement said they still made sure the order got to its destination. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were proud of our officers dedication and vigilance, working every day to help keep Mt. Juliet one of the safest communities around, MJPD wrote on X. No additional details have been released about the incident, including the identities of the man and woman who were arrested. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. WAUKEE, Iowa 2 dogs were killed in a house fire in Waukee on Friday afternoon. According to the Waukee Fire Department, at approximately 1:38 p.m., firefighters from Waukee, Urbandale, and West Des Moines Fire Departments were dispatched to a fire on northwest Pike Circle. Crews arrived on the scene and were quickly able to distinguish the fire. Jury convicts Des Moines man of first-degree murder for beating girlfriend Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WFD says the occupant of the home returned to find it filled with smoke and called 911. No other occupants were home, and not injuries have been reported. Two dogs were killed in the fire. The Waukee Fire Department says the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The estimated cost of damages is not yet determined. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. CONSTANTINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) Two people from Indiana were killed when their vehicle was hit by a semi in Constantine Township Friday evening. Around 5:40 p.m., troopers with the Michigan State Police were sent to the area of US-131 and N. River Drive for a crash. Responding troopers were told by witnesses that a vehicle, driven by a 22-year-old Elkhart, Indiana, man, was heading eastbound on N River Drive. The vehicle didnt come to a complete stop at the intersection and was hit by a semi truck. MSP said dash-camera video from the semi confirmed this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver and his passenger, a 23-year-old Elkhart, Indiana, woman, died at the scene, MSP said. The driver of the semi, a 40-year-old Walker man, was not hurt. Its unknown if alcohol and drugs were factors for the two from Indiana, MSP said. Alcohol and drugs are not suspected factors for the semi truck driver. The crash remains under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. (KRON) Three firearms and a knife were found on two Napa men on Thursday, the Suisun City Police Department said. Around 2:20 a.m., a resident contacted authorities regarding suspicious activity in the 400 block of Amber Drive. The resident informed police they saw multiple individuals possibly attempting to break into a nearby pickup truck. Suisun City police officers responded to the scene and witnessed two men standing near the described vehicle. According to SCPD, a firearm was protruding from one of the suspects waistbands. There were open containers of alcohol on the bed of the truck. This caused the duo to be detained. Photo: Suisun City Police Department Upset, drunk San Francisco man punched bars window over closing time: police Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In apprehending the suspects, authorities found that one of the suspects was carrying three guns. The other suspect was carrying a dirk/dagger and a fake California identification card. Police said both men displayed signs of alcohol intoxication. The two 20-year-old Napa residents were arrested and booked into the Solano County 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 KRON4. WASHINGTON (AP) It was just past 3 a.m., a few hours before the House vote on President Donald Trump's top priority in Congress, his big, beautiful bill." House Speaker Mike Johnson was rushing through the Capitol halls with his security guards and aides in tow. For a moment, he paused. Would you like to see the prayer room? he asked an Associated Press reporter. The question was in response to another question about his leadership style: whether his religion, his Christian faith, had been guiding him through the tumultuous process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is like a cathedral at night, he said, walking toward an almost-hidden door. Its the most beautiful thing in the Capitol. He punched in the key code and stepped inside. Just praying The room, transformed in the 1950s, sits just off the suite of second-floor offices of the House speaker, centered in the Capitol, on its west end closest to the National Mall. Been here a lot this week, right there on my knees, Johnson said. Just praying. ... Thats what the founders did. As Wednesday night had melted into Thursday morning, none other than George Washington, the first president himself, watched over the room, his tall figure bent on one knee in the stained-glass image high above a small altar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In times of great challenge, they got on their knees and they sought divine guidance, and thats what we do, Johnson was saying. Because Im convinced that Gods given us a chance to save this great republic. Johnson is a conservative Christian and among the more outwardly religious of House speakers. He was an accidental choice to lead Republicans, selected after his GOP colleagues ousted their previous speaker almost two years ago. When Johnson emerged as the pick, Republicans gathered around him and prayed. He considers himself a servant leader. Determined to push Trumps bill to House passage, the speaker set his intention. He created a self-imposed deadline, Memorial Day, that seemed overly optimistic. And he just kept moving forward, despite robust opposition from Democrats and skeptics within his own GOP ranks. As the deadline neared, he did not let up. He prayed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I feel like I have sort of a vision of where were supposed to go, and you just set the course and you just patiently get everybody there, he explained. I dont really have fear' The speaker is sometimes in a question-answering mood. A conversation unfolded. Arent you afraid of flopping? he was asked. I dont really have fear, he said. I mean, I know that we have to accomplish this mission in order to save the country. The speaker was explaining how this is the greatest nation" and his own belief in its "foundational principles. "And what I think we're trying to do here is restore them, he said. Piece by piece, thats what we do here every day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But your legislation is being criticized, hammered for doing so many things. People will lose access to Medicaid and food stamps. The Congressional Budget office estimates that under proposals in the bill, some 8.6 million people will no longer have health care, and 3 million a month will stop receiving the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Theyre counting the people the work requirements are going to apply to, he said. They would be, would be choosing, you know, not to work. But some of the people particularly older, single men may not be able to find work or go back to work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new 80-hours-a-month work requirements or community service would be for able-bodied adults without dependents through age 64, with various exceptions. Some parents of children older than 7 would also need to fulfill the work requirement to receive SNAP food stamp assistance. We have finite resources," he said. "So the vulnerable populations are who were trying to take care of. Do you worry thats counter to your own beliefs? We are helping people, he said. For an able-bodied man to work, "it's good for his own personal dignity. It's good for his purpose. It's a win-win-win." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of patience The debates in Congress come during a time of great soul-searching in the United States and the world. People are divided as ever, politically and economically, yet also yearning for a sense of community and togetherness that seems to be slipping further out of reach. House Democrats, who have fought Johnson and his party every step of the way in opposing what they call the big, ugly bill, were not about to cede any moral ground to Republicans or to Trump. This is the United States of America the wealthiest country in the history of the world. It is indecent to rip food out of the mouths of children and everyday Americans, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during his own lengthy floor speech ahead of the vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before invoking the Gospel of Matthew 25:35-40, Jeffries said Congress could do better than this unconscionable and un-American bill. I do believe that there are people of faith on both sides of this chamber, said Jeffries, of New York. Jesus talks about the importance of standing up for the least, the lost, the left behind, the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the homeless, the people who are confined, strangers in a foreign land," he said. It cannot be the case that one goes to synagogue or goes to the mosque or one goes to church, as I do but one goes to church to pray on Sunday and then comes to Washington, D.C., to prey on the American people the rest of the week." All of that would come hours later, spoken as the bill was on its unstoppable path toward passage. For now, at this late moment, Johnson's reflections were drawing to an end. He was shutting the prayer room door behind him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So how did you do it? How did you get your Republicans to fall in line? Just a lot of patience," Johnson said. What about your meetings with Trump at the White House? That would be for another day, he indicated. With the room closed, the speaker of the House had shared the keycode so others could seek out prayer in the Capitol if needed. He headed around the corner, through the side halls of the Capitol, back to his office. Four top Paul Weiss partners announced Friday that they've resigned to start their own firm. Paul Weiss is one of the firms that made a deal with Trump to reverse an EO against the firm. The Big Law firms that have negotiated with Trump have faced criticism from others in the profession. Four partners at Paul Weiss announced Friday that they are leaving the white-shoe firm, which two months ago struck a deal with the Trump administration. Karen Dunn, a star litigator who has helped Democratic candidates prepare for presidential debates, her longtime partners Bill Isaacson and Jessica Phillips, and the former prosecutor Jeannie Rhee said in an email addressed to "partners and friends" that they are starting their own firm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The high-profile departures underscore the ongoing turmoil at Big Law firms surrounding the firms' handling of punitive executive actions from President Donald Trump's administration. The departing lawyers did not give a reason for leaving in their statement. Several major firms including Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block chose to challenge the legality of the orders in court, and have so far been successful after two judges declared two different orders unconstitutional. Other firms, including Paul Weiss, chose to make deals with the administration, prompting concern among associates and partners over their willingness to cooperate rather than fight. The new firm's name isn't clear. Since April, several domain names containing Dunn's name and those of other lawyers have been registered anonymously. None of the websites contains any details, and it's not clear who registered them. The lawyers have represented prominent clients like Google, Amazon, and Apple over the years. Isaacson is one of the country's top antitrust litigators. Antitrust issues have been a focus for both former President Joe Biden and Trump, who have criticized the power of large tech companies. Rhee managed the firm's Washington, DC, office, and Dunn co-chaired its litigation department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It has been an honor to work alongside such talented lawyers and to call so many of you our friends," their departing email said. "We hope to continue to collaborate with all of you in the years to come and are incredibly grateful for your warm and generous partnership." Paul Weiss's chair, Brad Karp, said in a statement, "We are grateful to Bill, Jeannie, Jessica, and Karen for their many contributions to the firm. We wish them well in their future endeavors." The departures come several months after the Trump administration began targeting Big Law firms with punitive executive actions. Among them was Paul Weiss, which faced an executive order that revoked the security clearances of the firm's attorneys and ordered a review of its government contracts. On March 20, Trump announced on Truth Social that he would drop the executive order against Paul Weiss after negotiating a deal that would require the firm to end any diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in its hiring practices and contribute $40 million of pro bono legal services to causes aligned with the administration's priorities, such as veterans affairs issues and the administration's antisemitism task force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Business Insider previously reported that the copy of the deal shared internally among Paul Weiss partners omitted language regarding DEI that was present in the president's announcement. Other firms that chose to negotiate with Trump also saw high-profile departures from partners and associates concerned with their firms' decisions not to challenge the administration. Wilkie Farr lost its longest-serving lawyer in April after Joseph Baio, a partner who'd worked there for 47 years, resigned over the firm's preemptive deal with Trump, The New York Times reported. Another firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, made a preemptive deal with the Trump administration in late March to avoid a similar executive order against it. The decision led to a series of public resignations from several Skadden associates, including Rachel Cohen and Brenna Frey. Cohen told Business Insider she had not been in touch with the attorneys who had resigned from Paul Weiss on Friday. Read the original article on Business Insider LAS VEGAS (KLAS) On a day when the Nevada Gaming Commission fined a Las Vegas Strip resort $5.5 million, events that played out a decade ago continued to bring repercussions in the casino business. Wynn Las Vegas LLC agreed to the fine, approved on a 4-1 vote Thursday. That came less than a year after Wynn forfeited $130.1 million to the U.S. Department of Justice in the investigation of improper money transfers hundreds of transactions in 2014. For Nevada gaming regulators, Wynns nonprosecution agreement with the feds wasnt enough to let the companys missteps slide. The reputation of Nevadas casinos was too important. The Nevada Gaming Control Board performed its own investigation and hammered Wynn again. FILE The Wynn Las Vegas resort stands over the Las Vegas Strip, July 26, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil, File) The amount of the fine was a point of contention as Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey voted no, believing the fine was just too low. Wynns lawyers said the fine was on par with other fines issued in 2014, when the violations occurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steve Wynn agrees to $10 million fine, end to any ties with Nevada gaming industry And the timing couldnt have been worse for an executive who was up for licensing as a key employee just before the commission levied the $5.5 million fine. Maurice Wooden, president of Fontainebleau Las Vegas, was president at Wynn Las Vegas from 2005 to the end of 2018. The hearing to approve his permanent license took a sharp turn when a new investigation was inadvertently revealed as commissioners questioned Wooden. Apparently unknown to Wooden, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has an active investigation into Fontainebleau affairs, according to testimony at Thursdays meeting. The Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel and casino stands on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 7, 2024. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) This is currently under investigation and is therefore confidential by law, NGCB Executive Director and Chairman Kirk Hendrick told commissioners after Solis-Rainey referred to the investigation in a question directed to Wooden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So I dont want to go any deeper into this matter until the board has an opportunity to review it and, of course, speak with the licensee, Hendrick said. Solis-Rainey was asking questions related to a Fontainebleau audit, and had asked Wooden for more information about the investigation, which was referenced in materials given to commissioners. Wooden said he didnt have the answers Solis-Rainey sought, and his attorney, Dan Reaser said, With regard to the investigation of Mr. Woodens key employee application, this issue was never raised. So the ability to respond to it was eliminated until today. Hendrick said, It probably should have been marked confidential or under investigation. That might have headed off the confusion and the public revelation of an active investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioners tried to direct the hearing to get it back on track, but the damage was done. Maurice Wooden, president at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. (Courtesy: Nevada Gaming Commission) Wooden was asked about his role in transactions identified in the audit as questionable. They involved credit approvals for high-end customers that were ultimately approved by others. They were referred to as ownership approvals, referring to a level of authority to issue credit. Mr. Wooden followed procedure, and somebody overrode him following procedure, Reaser told the commission. Solis-Rainey pressed Wooden on another point: his tenure at Wynn Las Vegas, and what he did or didnt do to press an investigation into Steve Wynns actions. The company paid a record $20 million fine in 2019 for failing to properly investigate sexual harassment allegations against former CEO Steve Wynn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wooden said he was aware of one complaint from a masseuse in Wynns spa. The female employee said Steve Wynn repeatedly removed or made a towel drop to the floor during their session. Wooden said he reported that complaint to the proper channels, but Solis-Rainey didnt think that was enough. Commission Chair Jennifer Togliatti put a point on it: If he (Wooden) hadnt been the president of the Wynn, when all of those things were happening in our discipline later today, we wouldnt even be having this conversation. Instead of issuing a permanent license for Wooden, commissioners gave him a limited license that will be up for review in two years. Commissioners made a number of remarks about the old Wynn and the new Wynn, noting that changes in the companys leadership had brought necessary changes to policies and leadership. Togliatti said the old Wynn was causing todays company to bleed money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. May 24GRAND FORKS Five years after her husband, Grand Forks Police Officer Cody Holte, was killed in the line of duty, Mandy Klostreich is still struck by the outpouring of support her family received from the community in the wake of their tragedy. "If it had to happen somewhere, I'm glad it happened here," Klostreich said. "I do believe that everyone supported us and supported the rest of the (police department) that was still there, and had to keep doing their jobs, even though they were hurting at the same time as we were." She believes Grand Forks has always supported law enforcement, but Holte's death gave them a unique opportunity to voice that support during a particularly difficult time in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I am grateful for the community that we live in," she said. "If (the city) was too much bigger, it would've been different, I think, and I wouldn't have gotten the love and support that I did receive, that all of us received. I'm very grateful." Holte was murdered by Salamah Pendleton on May 27, 2020, during a standoff inside Pendleton's residence, where law enforcement had been attempting to serve an eviction notice. Pendleton shot Holte three times, fatally shot his own mother, Lola Moore, and wounded another officer then-Cpl. Ronald Nord during the altercation. He was Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement sentenced in October 2021 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Carmell Mattison, prosecutor in the case against Pendleton, said "the community response was incredible." Hundreds gathered for Holte's funeral, including community members, elected officials and law enforcement. Retired GFPD Chief Mark Nelson said he remembers that day vividly. "The streets were lined, and almost everywhere there was grass, there were people lined up," Nelson said. "There were people lined up on the interstate when we went down to his graveside service. Those things, you'll never forget. I don't know how you could, as a human being." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly five years later, the city hasn't forgotten either. Klostreich said that means a lot. Though Nelson has since retired, people still approach him to talk about Holte. His hope is that the young officer's death will not be in vain, and people will never stop talking about him. "Just never forget," he said. "Keep his memory alive." Cody Holte and Klostreich's son, Gunnar Holte, was just 10 months old when his father died. Now 5 years old, it's difficult for his mother to discern how much he understands, but she believes he knows how important his father's work was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their family remembers Cody Holte by attending events like the annual Northern Valley Law Enforcement Memorial, visiting officers at the police department who have become an extension of their family, Klostreich said and pointing out different symbols throughout the city and beyond that honor Holte. "Just the other day, I think we were in Fargo, and Gunny's like, 'I see a Daddy Cody sticker! I see a Daddy Cody sticker!'" Klostreich said. "And he pointed out three cars that had a 'Daddy Cody' sticker on them. That made me smile, and it was a good thing. All of us were pointing out 'Daddy Cody' stickers." Sgt. Kelly McLean, of the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Office, and Nord, at the time with the sheriff's office and now of the UND Police Department, were both at the scene May 27, 2020. They, too, said they noticed the surge of support from community members in the aftermath of the fatal shooting particularly the "thin blue line" flags and blue porch lights. It can be hard to be surrounded by so many reminders of the loss of her husband, but Klostreich tries to appreciate them while they last. People may not forget, but moving forward is a natural part of life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "... People move. Signs fade, and they're not always going to be there in the same way that they were," she said. "It's not a bad thing, it's just life. (So) it's good for us to see that, because it is less than it was but it's still there." Despite what McLean and Nord experienced that day, it never led them to question whether law enforcement was still the right path for them. For McLean, it was a career he'd always wanted, and he remains with the sheriff's office to this day. Nord was 34 years into his law enforcement career at the time of the shooting. Despite his injuries, he returned to work after less than two months, carrying out an eviction on his second day back. That one, like most others, did not end in tragedy, but that's why police train, practice and otherwise prepare themselves. "Because you don't know," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He retired from the sheriff's office a year and a half after Holte's death, but returned to the force part-time with the UND PD in 2022. Mattison said the video evidence in the case, which showed the deaths and injuries unfold in real time, will forever be part of her memories. Nord and McLean said they, too, relive the shooting through their memories. But despite the trauma, law enforcement is a calling, and it's hard to step away, they say. "You want to make a difference in the world," Nord said. "You want to help out. You want to stop somebody's hurt, or be there for somebody, whether a domestic or an accident." Mattison said handling the case against Pendleton, and the highly-publicized trial, was a heavy responsibility. She felt like the entire community watched it unfold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This case was a defining moment in my career," she said. "For years, I simply went through the motions of calling law enforcement witnesses to the stand to bring out facts to prove the case, not giving much thought that any of these situations could have resulted in the death of this officer. Now, this is the first thing I think about." McLean said he did not know Holte well, but Nord worked with him on the water rescue team. He said Holte had a promising future ahead of him; his death was a loss not only for the police department, but for the North Dakota Army National Guard. "We had our trainings on the first and third Wednesday of every month, and I got to see his bright, beautiful face smile," Nord said. "He was always energetic, and eager to learn and a very nice young man." Though Holte is known primarily for his role as an officer and his death in the line of duty, he was only in the field for about three and a half years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Cody was more than just an officer," Klostreich said. "He was a husband, and a dad and a son." Her memories of him go far beyond the loss and tragedy. Just a couple of weeks ago, while her family was eating hamburgers and curly fries, her son found a perfectly curled fry and she instantly thought of his father. "Cody's favorite place to go eat was Hardee's, and he would get the curly fries," Klostreich said. "I smiled, and I said, 'Gunny, oh, Daddy Cody would be jealous. We used to fight over these: the perfect curly fry.'" Her son was confused at first, wondering what his mother meant by "fight." She clarified that no, they didn't actually fight over the fries. His father was just jealous of whoever got the best fries of the bunch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Those are the things that mean the most to me," she said, though the good memories can sometimes be the hardest to remember. "Honestly, sometimes Gunny is the one who helps me to get through the hard times," she said. "He goes, 'Mom, but he's in heaven and he's OK,' and it's like, 'You know what, Gunny? You're right. He is.'" Recalling the months before their son came into their lives, Klostreich said Holte could not wait to become a father, and was so excited when he found out their baby was a boy. "He was a great father, and he would have been there for Gunny and future kids every day, which is hard to think about," Klostreich said. "But he will be, in a different way." This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). British Columbia, Canadas westernmost province, is well known for its spectacular landscapes, offering endless views of serrated peaks, opaline glacier lakes and feather-tipped pines. And what better way to take it all in than on a train, with those big-picture vistas slowly rolling by beyond the windowpanes here are some of the best rail routes to try. 1. Rocky Mountaineer: First Passage to the West Vancouver to Banff; 2 days This double-decker train is surely one of the worlds most scenic rail journeys, offering bubble-domed vistas of mountains, lakes, forests, gorges, rivers and glaciers and the chance to spot wildlife along the way. The classic First Passage to the West route follows part of the line from the historic Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadas first transcontinental train journey, which travelled from Montreal to Vancouver. It starts in Vancouver before passing the Fraser River for an overnight in Kamloops then continuing into the Rockies via the sheer-sided valley of Kicking Horse Pass, the glacial-blue expanse of Lake Louise and the pretty mountain town of Banff. On board, waistcoated hosts serve cocktails to your seat, with three-course meals on offer in the dining car, including a section of sommelier-picked Canadian wines. From 1,389 per person. The classic First Passage to the West route follows part of the line from the historic Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadas first transcontinental train journey, which travelled from Montreal to Vancouver. Photograph by Rocky Mountaineer Prince Rupert to Jasper; 2 days Inaugurated in 1914, the Skeena offers an epic, 1,160-mile journey that carries you all the way from the Pacific coast into the Rocky Mountains. Also known as the Rupert Rocket, it runs three times a week between Prince Rupert and Jasper, with an overnight stop in Prince George en route. Along the way, it travels through some spectacularly wild scenery from pristine forest to steep canyons and glacial lakes and is one of the few railways in North America that offers a flag service, allowing passengers to flag it down between scheduled stations. As such, its a favourite for hikers, adventurers and others keen on exploring BCs backcountry and it runs year-round, no matter the weather. From C$163 (91) per person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (Related: Try the Skeena, a budget alternative to Canada's famous Rocky Mountaineer.) The Kettle Valley Steam Railway route continued to carry freight until its closure in 1989, but its now been resurrected as a heritage steam railway. Photograph by Darren Robinson Faulder to Trout Creek; 90 minutes This historic route was originally built between 1910 and 1916 to link the mainline between Montreal and Vancouver with southern BC an area rich in resources, from fruit, grain and lumber to precious metals and minerals. It continued to carry freight until its closure in 1989, but its now been resurrected as a heritage steam railway. The vintage steam locomotive dates from 1912, with open-sided carriages offering uninhibited views of the scenery. The route follows 16 miles of restored track through the vineyards and farms of the Okanagan Valley, an area renowned for producing some of Canadas best wines. From C$33 (18) per person; 4. Rocky Mountaineer: Rainforest to Gold Rush Vancouver to Jasper; 3 days You wont need to choose between the mountains and the coast on this alternative Rocky Mountaineer route, which runs up the Pacific seaboard from Vancouver via the ski slopes of Whistler and the old logging town of Quesnel, before heading inland across the gold fields of the Cariboo Plateau. It finishes up in Jasper, across the border in Alberta, and there are two overnight stops en route, allowing plenty of time to stretch your legs and explore. From CA$4,929 (2,776) per person. Vancouver to Seattle; 4 hours The Amtrak line offers the chance to shuttle between the big cities on either side of the US-Canada border, including Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. The trains that ply this route are simple but spacious, with large, comfy seats, a bistro car and a viewing lounge dedicated to taking in the scenery. And what a view it is: expect to see endless feather-tipped pines, glacier-blue bays and alpine meadows mixed in with classic mountain towns. From US$44 (34) per person. Port Alberni's waterfront remains an important hub for the town, and is where youll find this steam railway and its vintage carriages, pulled by a #7 Baldwin locomotive dating from 1929. Photograph by Curvy Roads Photography Port Alberni; 25 minutes Vancouver Islands booming lumber industry once required the services of many a chugging steam train, but all have vanished now save for this one in Port Alberni, the small city that stands at the head of Alberni Inlet, the waterway that runs inland for 34 miles from the islands south coast. Once a centre for logging and paper making, Port Alberni isnt the prettiest city in BC, but the waterfront remains an important hub for the town. Its also where youll find this steam railway and its vintage carriages, pulled by a #7 Baldwin locomotive dating from 1929. An atmospheric relic of the islands industrial past, its now run by enthusiasts entirely for love, not profit, and offers views of the Alberni waterfront and the hills beyond. C$8 per person. Published in the May 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only). James Sexton pauses in what's left of his house in the Sunset Hills neighborhood of London, May 18, 2025. A tornado struck the area just after midnight the day before. (Photo by Michael Swensen/Getty Images) Federal assistance is now available to individuals in six Kentucky counties affected by recent tornadoes and severe weather, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Friday night. President Donald Trump signed an order making federal funding available to affected individuals in Caldwell, Laurel, Pulaski, Russell, Trigg and Union counties. Additional counties may become eligible for aid if warranted by damage assessments, FEMA said in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nineteen people died in Kentucky as a result of tornadoes, storms and straight-line winds May 16-17. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who had asked Trump for an expedited disaster declaration, thanked the president and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a post on social media. Remember, this process takes time and we will add more counties to our request as damage assessments are completed, Beshear said. The governors request for individual assistance for Christian and Todd counties as well as public assistance for affected cities and counties and hazard mitigation for the entire state are still under review, Beshears office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, the FEMA release said. Jeremy Slinker has been named the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Slinker formerly was director of Kentucky Emergency Management. The governors office released the following information Saturday: How to Apply: Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or other similar service can give FEMA the number for that service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC): Those affected can also apply at centers that have opened today in Laurel and Pulaski counties. Other sites will open soon. FEMA teams will also be walking impacted areas to meet with survivors. They will be dressed in FEMA attire and have FEMA identification. Laurel County DRC Laurel County Public Library 120 College Park Drive London, KY Mon Sat: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sun: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pulaski County DRC Center for Rural Development 2292 S. Hwy. 27 #300 Somerset, KY Mon Sat: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sun: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. When Applying for FEMA Individual Assistance, Kentuckians should make sure: You upload your documents online via the FEMA App or by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov. Your damaged home is your primary residence. You havent received assistance for the same losses from another source, including insurance. You are able to be reached by FEMA at the contact information you provide in the application. If you disagree with FEMAs decision, you may appeal: When the U.S. Supreme Court issues opinions, you may hear that the nine justices reached a 6-3 or a 5-4 decision. You may also hear that certain justices wrote a concurrence or that there were multiple dissents. Those concurrences and dissents are where Supreme Court justices express disagreement with the majority opinion. Consider the case of Arizona v. Navajo Nation, decided in 2024, which examined the Navajo Nations water rights in the Colorado River. The court decided 5-4 in favor of Arizona, meaning five justices agreed with the arguments made by the state of Arizona, while four justices agreed with the arguments made by the Navajo Nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The opinion issued by the five justices is the decision that serves as precedent for other courts. It is referred to as the majority opinion or simply the opinion. The opinion issued by the other four justices is called the dissenting opinion or simply the dissent. Just as the majority opinion outlines its reasoning and how it reached its conclusion, the dissenting opinion will do the same. Lower courts are required to follow the majority opinion; lower courts are not required to follow the dissenting opinion. Why issue a dissent if courts are not required to follow it? Dissents have a role and purpose even if they are not the official guide for a courts decision. Opinions, concurrences and dissents theres a lot of writing going on at the U.S. Supreme Court. pablohart/E+/Getty Images For the record Justices write dissents for the sake of history, for their personal reputation or as a matter of principle. They want to be on the record for why they believe the majority decision is incorrect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the dissent, justices may go step by step through the majority opinion to highlight what they view as errors in the logic, interpretation or holding of the case. The holding is the courts official answer to the question it is being asked to decide. You can see an example of this step-by-step approach in the record of the case that overturned federal protection for the right to get an abortion, Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health. In that case, the dissent wrote detailed responses to the majority opinion. Develop the legal argument A dissent also has a role in helping other justices articulate their arguments. Before the court issues an opinion, the justices meet in person to discuss their views and their preliminary decisions on the outcome of the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on that conference, the justices have an idea of what the majority opinion will be and who will agree with it. The chief justice, or else the most senior justice, then assigns one justice to draft the majority opinion. The same process is used in assigning one justice to draft the dissenting opinion. These draft opinions are then circulated among all the justices, who provide comments and feedback about points they feel are important to incorporate. This review process helps justices decide whether to join an opinion or to write their own if they feel a certain point needs to be addressed. The value of this process is to hone the arguments in the opinions. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in a 2009 speech that there is nothing better than an impressive dissent to lead the author of the majority opinion to refine and clarify her initial circulation. Dissents as guidance Sometimes the reasoning in a dissent is used to adjust future law. It may serve as guidance to lawmakers, or it may form the basis for future cases designed to eventually overturn this initial case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Plessy v. Ferguson, a case from 1896 challenging a racial segregation law in Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was legal as long as separate but equal facilities and services were available. There was only one dissent in that case, by Justice John Marshall Harlan. In the dissent, Justice Harlan argued that segregation was unconstitutional: [t]he arbitrary separation of citizens on the basis of race while they are on a public highway is a badge of servitude wholly inconsistent with the civil freedom and the equality before the law established by the Constitution. It cannot be justified upon any legal grounds. Harlans dissent laid the groundwork for the argument ultimately accepted by the court 60 years later, in Brown v. Board of Education, that overturned the Plessy decision and declared racial segregation to be unconstitutional. Although Harlan is not explicitly mentioned in the Brown decision, the reasoning and arguments he articulated in the Plessy dissent formed the basis for subsequent cases that tested the limits of separate but equal and ultimately led the court to overturn that doctrine in Brown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dissent is not limited to one opinion. This means that in a 5-4 decision there could theoretically be four separate dissenting opinions. What about concurrences? Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, who wrote the lone dissent in an 1898 ruling that said segregation was legal. Harlans dissent laid the groundwork the court used to declare segregation unconstitutional. Bettman/Getty Images At least five justices must agree with, and sign on to, the majoritys decision. The simplest outcome is when those five justices all agree on a single opinion. However, a justice in the majority may still disagree with the writing in the majority opinion. For example, a justice may write an additional opinion clarifying the extent of agreement with the majoritys decision. Or a justice may agree with the majoritys decision but not the reasoning and thus choose to write a separate opinion. These separate opinions by those in agreement with the majority decision are called concurrences. They serve similar purposes as dissents by recording a justices thinking on an issue, and that thinking could be used in the future on similar cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The math can get tricky with concurrences. In the case about water for the Navajo Reservation, four justices signed the majority opinion, while the fifth justice wrote a concurrence. So, four justices in the majority plus one writing a concurrence equals five justices agreeing on a holding. Additionally, justices in the majority can sign onto the majority opinion as well as a concurring opinion. In Griswold v. Connecticut, a 1965 case regarding privacy rights, seven justices agreed that a right to privacy could be found in the Constitution, but they disagreed about where that right was based. Five justices signed the majority opinion. Three of those five justices also signed on to a separate concurring opinion. Two other justices did not sign the majority opinion; instead, they each wrote their own separate opinions, concurring with the majoritys conclusion but not joining the majority opinion. Thats a total of four opinions all agreeing that there is a constitutional right to privacy but disagreeing about where in the Constitution that right can be located. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What should a lower court do with an opinion like in the Griswold case? Lower courts still must follow the majority opinion, but they may choose to incorporate the reasoning from a concurring opinion. Legal conversations Concurring and dissenting opinions are a conversation with the majority opinion about the legal issues in the case. So the next time you hear about a concurrence or dissent, pay attention. At the very least, you can learn about how a particular justice views the issue at hand. Whats more, you may gain a window to where the law is headed in the future. 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: Ilisabeth S. Bornstein, Bryant University Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Ilisabeth S. Bornstein 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. Inclusion is not a concession. Its Californias competitive edge. This May, as we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are reminded that diversity, equity and inclusion is more than a set of values its a vital force behind Californias workforce resilience, public trust and long-term economic growth. These efforts deliver real results for more than six million Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents in California. These arent symbolic wins; theyre structural investments that benefit every part of our state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion But recent federal actions are dismantling systems and protections for our community. As federal commitments erode, the responsibility to protect inclusive policy and the communities that depend on it increasingly falls on state and local leaders. For Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, the risks are immediate and specific: In the workforce, rollbacks have reduced access to employee resource groups, mentorship and advancement pathways. AAPI workers participate in these programs at nearly twice the national average. Their disappearance threatens retention, visibility and belonging in high-performing workplaces. In education, these changes disproportionately affect underrepresented AAPI subgroups such as Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander and refugee communities who already face barriers to college access and completion. Aggregated data often hides these disparities, and cuts to scholarships, grants and other funding could jeopardize financial aid for the 66% of Asian American and 74% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander undergraduate students who rely on it (totaling over 1.3 million Asian American and 111,000 NHPI students). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In public health, the lack of disaggregated data and representation in the health workforce deepens mistrust and drives disparities within our communities: 19.4% of Asian adults compared to 12.9% of white adults report being without a source of health care. Within individual communities, the data is even more striking: Cambodians and Vietnamese people are three times more likely to skip doctor visits due to cost compared to all Asians or U.S. residents. And yet, California has shown us a different path that doesnt treat equity as an afterthought or a burden, but as a strategy. In 2021, the state launched the AAPI Equity Budget: a $166.5 million investment in public safety, disaggregated data and language access. It was the first of its kind in the nation and helped California reach communities long overlooked by the status quo. The impact was real: Community-based programs gained stability. Language access expanded in critical areas like mental health and disaster response. State agencies began working with AAPI Californians not as a monolith, but with data-informed and nuanced approaches. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The result? Improved outcomes and increased trust not only in institutions, but in the idea that government can work for everyone. Diversity, equity and inclusion is a public good that improves lives: helping patients communicate with doctors in their language, revealing hidden health disparities, guiding educators to connect with diverse students and ensuring economic progress reaches every community. As federal support weakens, California must choose: reinforce what works or risk losing it. The tools exist. The model is proven. The question is whether well act. The progress weve made doesnt just serve one community. It serves all Californians. When diversity, equity and inclusion is embedded into policy, everyone benefits. Inclusive economies are more resilient. Diverse teams drive innovation. Equitable systems foster stability and trust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This AAPI Heritage Month, we are reminded that representation is not the end goal, its the starting point. Californias strength has always come from its ability to include, adapt and innovate. That doesnt happen by accident. It happens by design. Jason Paguio is chair of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. Carolyn Wang Kong is chief strategy officer at The California Endowment, where she leads efforts to advance health justice. 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? HOUSTON COUNTY, Texas (KETK) The Houston County Sheriffs Office said theyve arrested two additional suspects wanted in connection to the death of 16-year-old Michael Ortiz. AFFIDAVIT: Houston County murdered teen found dead in river, missing left hand According to the sheriffs office, officers with the United States Marshals Services fugitive task force arrested two adults who are believed to be involved in Ortizs murder. The sheriffs office said that one adult was arrested in Montgomery County while the other was arrested in Ellis County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two adults and two minors were arrested on May 6, just four days after Ortizs body was found dead on County Road 4020, outside of Crockett, on May 2. The two adults arrested, Emmanuel Manny Mata and Edgar Hernandez, were charged with murder and are being held on bonds of $2 million each. An arrest affidavit revealed details of how Ortiz was killed. Mugshot of Emmanuel Manny Mata, courtesy of Houston County Sheriffs Office Mugshot of Edgar Hernandez, courtesy of Houston County Sheriffs Office We have been working with the task force since shortly after the murder of Ortiz in an attempt to bring these last two suspects to justice, Houston County Sherriff Zak Benge said. The U.S. Marshals Service is the premier agency for fugitive apprehension and we appreciate their help and the resources they bring to bear when tracking dangerous, violent felony suspects. Benges office said the two latest arrestees will be brought to Houston County to stand trial in the near future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. (Illustration by Lauren Cross/Investigate Midwest) Around 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve in 2022, flames ripped through the bowels of an industrial facility in Fremont, Nebraska. Elevators were scorched. Conveyor belts collapsed. Metal doors melted. As smoke filled the sky, employees scrambled to escape. One dialed 911. The plants on fire, he hurriedly breathed. Is everybody out of there? The dispatcher asked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Working on it. Local fire crews extinguished the blaze at the Archer Daniels Midland plant about three hours later. Equipment failure likely created a spark. But the product upon which ADM built an empire was most responsible for the destruction: grain. Processing grain generates a highly explosive byproduct, dust. Industry guidelines recommend, and experts encourage, that companies install machines to capture airborne dust and routinely clean dusty areas. A few days after the explosion, ADM assured the community it was qualified to handle the emergency. Safety is always our top priority, a spokesperson told the Fremont Tribune. ADM has extensive processes and procedures in place. A federal safety inspector found a different story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About two weeks after the explosion, the inspector arrived and immediately spotted the problem: Dust-coated walls and pipes. As the inspector collected samples, the plant manager grew irate. I know I have a dust problem, the plant manager confided. Near the top of the Fortune 500, with annual profits exceeding several billion dollars each year, ADM has long dominated American grain processing. It underpins the agriculture and food industries, producing feed for livestock and artificial sweeteners for Coca-Cola. It has touted its safety record, and it recently highlighted that it was named one of Americas most responsible companies. However, despite its vast resources and awareness of the risks, ADM has failed to prevent a series of recent grain explosions, according to interviews with experts and a review of federal, state, and local records obtained by Investigate Midwest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Disregarding industry best practices and government warnings, the company has allowed dust to accumulate to unsafe levels, has failed to maintain equipment designed to prevent explosions properly, and has not developed procedures for safely removing dust. In total, one person has died and 15 employees and first-responders have suffered life-changing injuries. The death occurred in Iowa in 2019. After a fire had started in a grain silo, ADM allowed fire crews to blast the product with water. Research going back decades showed the best way to handle a silo fire was to close all openings so it could burn out. Pressurized water only generates grain dust, creating fuel for the fire. ADM employees had no idea. As firefighters hosed the fire from the silos roof, it blew. Two government investigations concluded ADMs mismanagement was at least partly responsible for the death. ADM has denied this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same year, a section of ADMs North American headquarters in Decatur, Illinois, exploded. Again, mismanagement contributed, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found. ADM had not studied how destructive dust could be. Contractors had flagged incorrectly installed parts and parts needing replacement on the facilitys dust collectors, but no maintenance was performed. Two more explosions rocked the facility in 2023. OSHA found the same problems: poor maintenance. Eleven workers suffered third-degree burns across their faces and bodies. ADM is contesting the government fines. Between 2018 and 2024, ADM has had eight grain explosions, or about 13% of all such incidents in the agriculture industry, according to Purdue University research. Only two other companies have had more than one during that time period. Investigate Midwest also identified a handful of other grain fires at ADM facilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Newquist, a former OSHA administrator who now trains companies on dust explosion prevention, said theres little doubt ADM had policies in place addressing the problem. The real, million-dollar question is, Why didnt they follow their own program? This is one of the 500 largest companies in the United States, he said. They have everything to do it right. They have the money. They have the resources. There is no excuse for a big, billion-dollar company to have any dust explosions. Over the past six months, Investigate Midwest has repeatedly sought comment from ADM, first contacting spokeswoman Jackie Anderson in early November. She declined an interview request but asked for specific questions. Despite two rounds of detailed, written inquiries and repeated follow-ups since then, she has not responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In corporate documents, ADM has said safety is a top concern. Most years, about 80% of its locations, including about 200 North American processing facilities, have recorded no worker safety incidents, the company reported. After the 2023 explosions, ADM admitted in corporate records its safety performance did not meet our expectations, though it did not mention the incidents specifically. Our people are our lifeblood, ADM has said. We are refocusing our efforts in both occupational and process safety in support of our vision of Safe or We Dont Do it. We remain committed to fostering a safe working environment for all of our employees and contractors. ADM added it was enhancing efforts related to maintenance activities, risk management and employee health. Preventing dust buildup can be challenging, said Kingsly Ambrose, a Purdue University professor and authority on grain dust explosions. Facilities process large volumes of grain, which is jostled around as its transported up and around the building. This flings grain dust into the air. When it gets suspended in air, thats the major challenge, Ambrose said. In that scenario, even a small fire can lead to a massive conflagration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If anyone sees dust, he said, better to clean it up immediately. ADM has, at times, been slow to address maintenance issues. A stark example is the aftermath of the Christmas Eve explosion in Nebraska, which has not been previously reported. Newquist said the discussions detailed in the OSHA investigation are rare company managers and executives are generally more tight-lipped. After getting upset, the plants manager, Eric Stanley, took the safety inspector to his office. Stanley, who told the inspector he was under intense pressure from his bosses, unburdened himself. He had not stopped working in the week since the fire, he said, and he knew the facility was behind on dust maintenance. Eventually, Stanley told the inspector he was happy OSHA was now investigating. When asked why, the inspector later wrote, Stanley stated that (ADM) is finally doing things that needed to be done. (He) indicated that he has brought things to their attention in the past and no action was being taken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After OSHAs visit, the plant was shut down for about a week. Soon after, ADM fired the facilitys maintenance contractor, A-Lert Construction Services, a Kansas-based company that installs and maintains dust collection systems. When the inspector interviewed an A-Lert manager, he seemed salty at the dismissal. ADM did not fix anything until it was broken, the manager said. A-Lert did not respond to requests for comment. ADM did not comment on A-Lerts responsibilities. A-Lerts performance later became a central issue at a meeting its unclear where, based on reports between OSHA and ADM. The inspector, Stanley and an ADM corporate lawyer were present. Also attending was a longtime safety executive, David Frazelle. His tenure at ADM began in 1979. Over the years, he traveled the country to hand out safety awards, and he defended ADM against OSHA oversight. In one case, OSHA fined the company $7,000 for exposing workers to an unsafe manlift. Before an administrative law judge, Frazelle successfully argued the manlift was exempt from OSHA protections. At the time of the meeting, he was the executive in charge of safety for all of ADMs milling operations, the places most at risk for dust explosions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frazelle said A-Lert employees lacked strong mechanical skills and were unqualified to work at the Fremont facility. Then, he acknowledged Stanley had told the truth: The plant manager had been raising the alarm for a while. Im going to say something that our attorney isnt going to like, Frazzelle said, according to the inspectors notes. Eric has been trying to get rid of the maintenance company for quite some time. Frazzelle retired in February. Asked for comment, he replied to an Investigate Midwest email with a screenshot of ADMs media relations webpage. A century of dust explosions Dust explosions have plagued the industry for at least a century, almost as long as ADM has existed. In 1919, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, starch factory blew, killing 43. Five years later, 42 died at a corn processor in Pekin, Illinois. In 1927, ADM formed its grain division. Deadly incidents continued throughout the 20th century. In the late 1980s, a rash of explosions prompted OSHA to act. A new rule forced companies to practice preventative maintenance, write housekeeping policies and create escape plans. The agency also defined how much dust was considered safe, an 1/8 of an inch. If you can write dust on the floor, thats too much dust, said Newquist, the former OSHA administrator. Since the rule, the number of dust explosions, and the number of deaths, has decreased dramatically, according to OSHA. Still, dangers exist. In 2008, at the Imperial Sugar Company in Savannah, Georgia, managers had allowed massive accumulations of sugar dust to build up. The explosion killed 14 and injured dozens. OSHA fined the company more than $6 million. Experts said, overall, facilities that generate dust have made strides in preventing incidents. In the past decade, the agriculture industry has averaged about eight explosions per year, according to Purdue University figures. Its a good sign the average isnt changing, Ambrose said. At times, though, hes surprised at the lack of knowledge of some of the industry insiders he trains. They never knew that dust could explode, he said. ADM has its own history of incidents. In 1998, five men were injured at its Decatur facility. They were investigating a smoldering fire inside a piece of equipment, and, when they opened it, the full blast hit them. Explosions also occurred in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2011. Few injuries were reported, but one man died. In 2013, ADM aimed to improve its overall safety management, which included a focus on serious and potentially serious events, according to corporate documents. In June 2016, it announced it had just had its safest year in company history. Adding to the good news, a press release proclaimed ADM had reduced all workplace incidents by two-thirds in the past decade. In the press release, ADMs president and CEO, Juan Luciano, said workplace safety had become a cornerstone of our culture, but our work wont be complete until we have eliminated 100 percent of the incidents and injuries companywide. We have an ongoing journey to zero. It was important to take time, he continued, to reflect on what weve done well and also what we can do better in the future. While ADM was trumpeting its safety culture, its negligence, OSHA found, was laying the groundwork for a devastating dust explosion. Months after Lucianos statement, a maintenance contractor inspected a chemical suppression system at the Decatur facility. The system was critical to preventing explosions. It was linked to an indoor bucket elevator, which shot grain upward and flung dust into the air. If the suppression system sensed an ignition, it would suffocate the fire, preventing destruction. The National Fire Protection Association, which sets industry standards, requires the system to be inspected every three months. But no one else would inspect the system for years, with life-altering consequences. ADM facilities in Decatur on March 6, 2015. (Photo by Darrell Hoemann/Investigate Midwest) ADM allowed first-responders to douse a smoldering silo. It was a fatal choice. Two hours before sunrise on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, at ADMs Clinton, Iowa, facility, a group of contractors arrived at a row of six concrete silos along the Mississippi River. Each silo was about 100 feet tall, 24 feet wide and more than a foot thick. Typically, about a thousand workers bustled around the facility, but on weekends, there was a skeleton crew, including contractors. What they found that morning would prove deadly. Inside one of the silos, wet, processed corn had crusted into a hardened bridge. The contractors had been blasting the blockage with water for months, trying to break it apart. The night before, theyd opened the silos hatches, allowing air to flow through. As they began again that morning, they noticed the corn material tumbling out it was black, burnt. The product had self-ignited. When stored, organic material can produce its own heat. Any exposure to oxygen can start a fire. Silo fires have been a known risk for decades, and a growing body of research prior to 2019 showed what factors caused them and how to prevent smoldering burns from turning into destructive explosions. In 1988, Pennsylvania researchers published a study with a succinct conclusion: Do nothing to increase the level of oxygen or air inside the silo, the authors wrote. Opening the top hatch cover to dump water or foam inside can create an explosive mixture. Simply, the best way to handle a silo fire is to close any openings and let it burn itself out. No one at the ADM facility that day knew that. ADM did not answer questions about what its corporate safety team understand about silo fires or whether any plant personnel were trained on how to handle them safely. Small fires had occurred in the silos before, but ADM did not answer questions about what lessons were learned. Alerted to the fire, ADM plant managers quickly gathered to determine how to proceed. They asked the contractors to douse the fire, but the contractors refused, citing lack of training. Around the same time, managers announced the emergency over the radio and called the Clinton Fire Department. At 5:52 a.m., fire trucks arrived, and first-responders huddled with plant management about 500 feet north of the smoking silo. ADM has hotly contested what happened next. Two independent investigations, by a state office and a federal agency, concluded firefighters were given inaccurate information that determined their response. They were not told the silo contained potentially explosive corn material. Instead, they understood it housed a less flammable product. An explosion was also unlikely, they were told, because contractors had been soaking the material for months. ADM has denied the findings. In a later court case, company lawyers deposed a firefighter who said ADM staff told him the silo could blow because of corn dust. The company claims the firefighter did not tell his supervisors. ADM has not disputed what happened after, as detailed by the two government investigations. As smoke filtered from the silo, the fire department and plant management continued to debate the best approach. Firefighters noticed a hatch about 13 feet off the ground, large enough for a person to squeeze through. Could they pump water through it? An ADM manager cautioned against it, arguing the burning product could spill onto those who opened the hatch. Then, it was decided water would be pumped from the roof of the silo, through a top hatch. The fire departments ladders could not reach the roof. Two men would have to summit the silo, shouldering 50 feet of hose, and connect the nozzles. Eric Hosette, 33, and Adam Cain, 23, prepared themselves. An ADM employee guided the firefighters along a catwalk that led to the silos roof. With no respirator, the smoke overcame him. He was forced to turn back several feet from their destination. He pointed to the roof and rushed away. Hosette and Cain walked through a gray haze of smoke and dust to reach the opening. They began pumping. On the ground, a new ADM manager arrived. He told the assembled crew the burning bridge was likely below the hatch, the one firefighters had originally wanted to open. Firefighters could likely extinguish the fire in relative safety. As the manager spoke, around 8:45 a.m., gray smoke turned white. Then, a roar. Hosette was hurled toward the ground and landed near the river. His colleagues rushed to revive him as a helicopter was called. At the hospital, he died from his injuries. Attention then turned to Cain. ADM employees and firefighters searched the area but were unable to find him. After about 30 minutes of searching, a contractor told firefighters the hatch had a viewport. No one had volunteered this information before. When firefighters peered through, they saw Cain sitting semiconscious on the bridge, among chunks of the roof. Cain was hospitalized for three weeks. He declined an interview request, saying he wanted to move on. Hosettes widow could not be reached. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration completed its investigation in early 2019. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions worker safety arm, released its report in January. (The pandemic delayed its release, a spokesperson said.) Iowa OSHA found ADM had failed to prepare its plant personnel to handle the emergency. Managers who assumed responsibility during the incident were not properly trained. ADM facilities in Decatur on March 6, 2015. (Photo by Darrell Hoemann/Investigate Midwest) They did not effectively organize the companys response, including assigning staffers to roles they were not qualified for, such as guiding firefighters to the silos roof. Because of poor training, vital information such as the silos destructive contents or the presence of a viewport was not communicated to first-responders. ADM commissioned its own third-party investigation from Exponent, which specializes in workplace safety reviews. The report, obtained by Investigate Midwest, did not examine the companys role in the explosion. Instead, it examined the explosions root cause: Water pumped through the silos top hatch. (Its author, Sean Dee, who spoke at two ADM-sponsored events before his investigation, did not respond to requests for comment.) The report concluded the buildup of combustible gas in the silo was the explosions likely cause, but the presence of dust could not be ruled out. In this scenario, the water stirred up the grain dust. Side hatches left open overnight likely fanned the flames, but the water generated ample fuel. In April 2019, Iowa safety inspectors explained their findings to plant management and lawyers. During the meeting, ADM expressed concern regarding the penalty size, inspectors noted. The company was fined about $56,000, less than many plant workers yearly wages. As Iowas investigation concluded, ADM faced questions about its actions at another facility, about 200 miles south. At ADMs flagship plant, dangerous dust problems were ignored Two days after the April meeting in Iowa, federal safety inspectors visited ADM in Decatur. The campus, on the Sangamon Rivers banks, is almost two square miles and provides the citys only skyline. A few thousand employees and contractors work there. The inspectors were investigating a series of failures that had led to a fireball blowing a hole in a grain elevator. Missed opportunities to prevent the destruction stretched back to the previous summer. During an inspection, a technician noted that parts on a dust collector needed replacing. On another dust collector, parts were incorrectly installed. Six months later, a technician inspected the same collectors, and discovered the same problems. Yet another dust collector was also likely malfunctioning, but, the technician told the feds, he was allowed very little time to investigate the problem. Also, ADM had not analyzed the risk dust posed to its facility, which is considered an industry best practice. The company didnt even have guidelines written down for how to analyze such a risk, inspectors found. Without a policy, ADM was missing a critical step in determining how to prevent dust explosions. ADMs response to the explosion was haphazard as well, safety inspectors discovered during their April visit. After the blast, the company installed two chemical suppression systems, which could snuff out flames. However, it was unclear if the systems were operational and effective. Nothing documented their proper installation. Despite the litany of issues, accountability proved elusive. In a July 2019 letter, federal officials informed ADM that no OSHA standards generally apply to the majority of the concerns. In cases where specific violations arent on the books but an unsafe environment exists, OSHA can wield whats called the general duty clause. Essentially, it ensures employers provide an overall safe workplace. The standard is rarely invoked. In this case, OSHA officials decided it was not considered appropriate at this time to use the general duty clause. There would be no citations, no fines. In the interest of workplace safety and health, an official told ADM at the time, I recommend that you voluntarily take the necessary steps to eliminate or materially reduce any employee exposure to dust explosions. ADM did not answer Investigate Midwests questions about what new safety measures it implemented following OSHAs admonishment. In 2022, ADMs corporate leadership unveiled a new slogan for its facilities: Safe or We Dont Do it. The company announced, We have improved our investigation work processes with a goal to prevent repeat incidents. The new focus was almost immediately put to the test. Back-to-back explosions rock the Decatur plant Around 2:50 p.m. on April 20, 2023, Antonio McElrath clocked into work on the western half of the Decatur campus. His job was in an area where grain flew through conveyor belts and bucket elevators, stirring up dust. By the time he entered, dust littered the interior. For ADM workers, nothing about the situation seemed amiss, according to a lawsuit McElrath later filed. The outgoing shift did not indicate anything was unusual. But unknown to McElrath, the dust had already reached dangerous levels. Later in the workday, employees discovered a bucket elevator was smoking. It was outfitted with a chemical suppression system, which theoretically could suffocate any nascent fire. But the system had not been inspected since late 2016. If it had been, inspectors would have found it was inoperable. As smoke filled the area, McElrath was directed where to stand by his immediate supervisor, according to his lawsuit. The bucket elevator was opened. An influx of oxygen hit the smoldering grain. He heard a deafening pop. He suffered third-degree burns across his face, torso and legs. Doctors placed him in a coma for three weeks. He has lifelong injuries, his lawyer said. Two other men were hospitalized with severe burns. One suffered permanent damage to his arms, hands and fingers. Anothers entire body was torched. (The men could not be reached for comment through their workers compensation attorneys.) While their coworkers recovered, plant employees had a short reprieve. Around 7 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2023, a building processing soybeans was torn open. The explosion was one of the worst in the agriculture industry in recent years. Eight employees were injured. Helicopters rushed at least four to trauma centers. One man was transported 150 miles east to Indianapolis for specialized burn treatment, according to the Decatur Herald & Review. Another mans lungs were burned. A single mother of two suffered burns on her back. (None of the workers could be reached for comment.) A month later, OSHA fined ADM $325,000 for the April explosion. The companys failure to inspect the chemical suppression system for several years was a major reason for the hefty fine. Also, OSHA mandated the company develop a written housekeeping plan which it first suggested the company do after its 2019 explosion to ensure dust does not reach dangerous levels. ADM is contesting the fine, which is currently at about $200,000. While the fine amount is debated, OSHAs investigation into the April 2023 explosion remains open. The agency fined ADM about $50,000 for the September 2023 explosion, and that investigation also remains open, as ADM contests the fine. (Detailed accounts about how the explosions started are not available until the investigations are administratively closed.) David Horn, a Decatur city council member, said, if systemic issues plague ADMs operations, the company must address them. But assessing the quality of ADMs safety oversight will be challenging if the company is not sharing information publicly, Horn said. The only communication between the company and the city about the explosions appears to be a single email exchange. Gregory Webb, an ADM lobbyist, forwarded the companys public statement about the September explosion to Decatur Mayor Julie Moore-Wolf. She replied, in full, Thank you! When asked about her communication with ADM, Moore-Wolf said, My initial concerns were about the injured workers, and their progress toward recovery. I do not recall specific dates or details of communications regarding the accident. Without a full accounting of the changes ADM is pursuing, it can be difficult to trust the companys actions, Horn said. I think it would create greater confidence among our city residents to hear from ADM: This is what happened, these are the steps that we have taken since then and this is why these types of incidents wont happen again. Gallatin County Courthouse in Bozeman. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) A Gallatin County Commissioner described a scalding letter from the attorney general about a local legal opinion as political theater and said Friday the county has had the longest-standing agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of any county in Montana. Wednesday, Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the Gallatin County Commissioners criticizing a legal opinion which Knudsen put inside quotations as legal opinion by Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The April 24 opinion from Cromwell argued against entering into an agreement with ICE to detain undocumented immigrants from across the state at the Gallatin County Detention Center. Cromwell said doing so would raise constitutional and legal questions and potentially cost taxpayers millions of dollars. The Trump administration has been aggressive in pursuing, and in some cases deporting, immigrants nationwide, including in Montana, as the president pledged to do in his campaign. In March, MTN News reported that ICE detained 17 immigrants it described as undocumented in Bigfork. In some cases, judges have found authorities under Trump acted without due process and deported people illegally, including legal immigrants and even U.S. citizens. A New York Times analysis said illegal deportations are difficult to undo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But immigration is a political hot button, and in his criticism of the Gallatin prosecutor, Knudsen said the American people sent Donald Trump back to the White House to secure our border, and Montanans want state officials to support his agenda, not undermine it. At its core, the Cromwell Opinion is an endorsement of the disastrous open border policies of the Biden administration, Knudsen said in his letter. In a 2024 report, the Pew Research Center said unauthorized immigrants hit a 12.2 million peak in 2007 and, after a downward trend, crept up again in recent years to 11.1 million in 2022, and likely higher since then. My office fought back against these destructive policies for four long years, and I refuse to stand by as feckless left-wing prosecutors attempt to subvert the will of the people and put dangerous criminals back on the streets, Knudsen wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response, Cromwell said in a statement that Gallatin County already participates in a program, known as the federal 287(g) program, that ensures undocumented individuals charged with a crime in Gallatin County are immediately flagged and held for ICE. The 287(g) program authorizes local law enforcement officials to perform specific immigration duties under the agencys oversight. Given constitutional concerns regarding due process, significant legal liability, and added strain on overburdened County resources, I stand by my legal opinion, which advises the Commission against entering into an additional agreement with ICE to detain non-local undocumented immigrants in the Gallatin County Detention Center, Cromwell said. Her legal opinion said earlier this year, a court found Suffolk County in New York responsible for $60 million in a class action lawsuit that found unconstitutional detention practices of undocumented immigrants. The county is appealing the decision, according to a local news report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gallatin County Commissioners said they already cooperate with ICE on immigration and will continue to work closely with the Gallatin County Attorney, who was elected by our community. And we will continue supporting the Sheriff and his dedicated team of public safety heroes, Commissioners said in a statement. In an interview Friday, Gallatin County Commissioner Zach Brown said under the existing agreement, Gallatin County already temporarily holds detainees for ICE to pick up when an immigration flag comes up during booking. Thats a legal framework that is in place and has been in place for a long time, Brown said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cromwells opinion said 1.4% of the county jail population has been flagged for ICE holds over the last year. Brown also said he wanted to cut through some of the rhetoric around immigration. For one, Brown said the president and the attorney general are conflating civil and criminal law and doing so intentionally. In other words, he said, local government and county law enforcement handle criminal offenses, but federal civil procedures govern people whose immigration status is questioned. County facilities and services arent designed, funded or empowered to execute federal civil procedures, he said. Rhetoric, including from President Trump, implies that every illegal person is a criminal, he said, but thats not necessarily true. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If someone has an immigration issue, that does not make them inherently a criminal under American federal law, Brown said. However, he also said Gallatin County has made record investments in public safety, including in salaries, new positions, and equipment, and resources for the drug task force, courts, and on and on. That trajectory and commitment to law enforcement is really strong with this commission and within this community, Brown said. In February, MTN News reported ICE agents arrested six alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Gallatin County. At the time, Sheriff Dan Springer told MTN News law enforcement had been working to combat the gang and had been successful given no violent incidents had been reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Springer could not be reached by voicemail Friday for an update. Cromwells opinion said those people were held solely on ICE detainers and not on criminal charges, and the situation demonstrates the risk that counties may inadvertently hold people without due process. Brown also pointed to statistics that show Gallatin County has the second lowest crime rate among urban counties in Montana, only behind Flathead County. Citing the Montana Board of Crime Control, he said Gallatin had 540 incidents per 10,000 in 2023, the most recent data available, compared to 1,100 per 10,000 in Cascade County, reporting the highest number per capita. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Info Box Crime per capita Reported Crime incidents per 10,000 in 2023 (urban counties), according to the Montana Board of Crime Control: Cascade County 1,100 Yellowstone County 887 Missoula County 865 Butte-Silverbow 640 Lewis & Clark County 632 Ravalli County 565 Gallatin County 540 Flathead County 487 Source: Gallatin County Commissioner, citing Montana Board of Crime Control Dashboard. Brown also said that at its root, immigration is squarely a federal issue, and an argument about a county contract, a minor, minor issue, is a distraction from the fact that Congress hasnt taken action on immigration reform since 1986. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its infuriating that these issues are getting talked about at the local government level. Just that, in and of itself, is political theater, Brown said. He said local government is at the behest of the federal government when it comes to immigration, its experienced whiplash upon changes in administration, and it will continue without action. Congress is allowing the executive branch to make policy on immigration law, and thats not the executives job under the constitution and our form of government, Brown said. He called on Montanas congressional delegation to legislate, and he said the dispute over the additional agreement between ICE and Gallatin County is just a symptom of the disease. The cancer in the system is Congress inaction. So Congress needs to get off their butt and do their job, Brown said. U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy are from Bozeman in Gallatin County and could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. However, in remarks three weeks ago and posted on his Facebook page, Daines said presidential leadership matters. He said law enforcement officers in Bozeman told him they werent getting any response from ICE under the Biden administration, and that changed right after Trump was sworn into office. Within 30 days, those ICE agents swarmed and got those TDA (Tren de Aragua) guys apprehended and deported from our country. That directly affects my hometown of Bozeman, Daines said. In his letter, Knudsen, said the horrors arent hypothetical. In his letter, he said under the Biden administration, the state Crime Lab reported 262 fentanyl-linked deaths in Montana, and he said 100% of illicit fentanyl seized in Montana is trafficked across the border. In one Gallatin County operation conducted in March, three illegal immigrants were arrested on drug-related charges and methamphetamine, cocaine, cash and four vehicles were seized, Knudsen said. He also said earlier this year, the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area seized 9,400 carfentanil pills in Billings, just a couple of hours away from Gallatin County. He said carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, making it even more dangerous and deadly. May 24The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District has been preventing floods, providing drainage and releasing irrigation waters for 100 years. Facing a future with increased urbanization, lighter snowpacks and heavier monsoons, MRGCD is focused on strategies to keep agricultural traditions alive. The Rio Grande's flows have been shaped by human intervention. With drains, canals and dams, entities like MRGCD, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers have made the river's flow more predictable, reducing flood risk and ensuring the river could run without drying through Albuquerque for most of the year. The levee system has also reduced the width of the Rio Grande's flooding, creating a continuous cottonwood forest within the Rio Grande Valley State Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When the district was formed, one of their primary problems was flooding," said Jason Casuga, MRGCD chief executive officer. "We find ourselves now in a period of time of extreme drought, water scarcity." Approximately 84% of New Mexico is in some state of drought, with 38% of the state in extreme drought and almost 10% in the most drastic state of exceptional drought. Mountain snows act as a natural reservoir for water, feeding rivers as snow melts in spring and summer. Since the 1950s, snowpack has been decreasing in New Mexico, as well as in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming where the headwaters for the Rio Grande, San Juan, Colorado and Navajo rivers are located, according to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Snowpack and snowpack runoff are projected to decline substantially by 2070, while average temperatures in the state are expected to increase 5 to 7 degrees over the next 50 years, making the state more arid, according to a 2022 report from the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1925, there were more than 70 acequia diversions off the Rio Grande from the area where Cochiti Dam was later built to the San Acacia Reach. MRGCD was created to replace that system, consolidating down to four diversions and focusing on equitably sharing water from north to south. It owns canals and levees across four counties, as well as land adjacent to the river, like Albuquerque's bosque. MRGCD is funded by tax dollars from people who own property within the district and benefit from it. It is run by an elected board and the next election will be in October. The board holds monthly meetings, and much like a city council or school board meeting, the public can attend and weigh in. For interagency decisions and debates on water management, which usually involve federal heavyweights like the Bureau of Reclamation or the Department of the Interior, being locally and democratically run sometimes makes MRGCD the government agency in the room with the most direct relationship to the people it serves. A new hydrological reality Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the wettest periods on record for New Mexico was the 1980s and 1990s. Water was spilling out of reservoirs like Elephant Butte, Casuga said. The Natural Resources Conservation Service recently published a revised 30-year average for snowpack conditions, and across the board the average is much lower than it was for the previous 30-year period, according to Anne Marken, MRGCD's river operations and telemetry manager. As temperatures rise, even in years when there is an average snowpack, less of that water ends up in the river. Higher temperatures also cause higher depletions within the river. The irrigation system in New Mexico is driven by snowmelt. In the spring, when snow melts in the mountains and rushes down the Rio Grande, there is typically more water in the river than Middle Rio Grande Valley farmers need. So MRGCD would hold some of that spring pulse at El Vado Dam or Abiquiu Lake. As the supply of water begins to dwindle, MRGCD would begin to release water to augment farmers' supply. "There are a lot of forecasts that show that we'll probably be getting a similar amount of precipitation in the year, but a lot of that will be shifting to monsoon events in the summer, and we have seen an uptick in some very high-intensity rain events in the summer," Marken said. "So we are also thinking proactively about, 'How can we shift our infrastructure to be prepared for that potential shift in how we receive precipitation?' Because the way we're currently set up is to capitalize on that snowmelt runoff, and in the future, the opportunities might be elsewhere." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Long term, that change in weather patterns could call for new reservoirs in different locations and the ability to store water within channels, so if rain comes in after irrigation water has been released, the released water could be temporarily held in the channel, Marken said. Monsoons also deposit more sediment into the river than snowpack runoff, which is slower and less intense. So MRGCD will likely need to manage increased sediment in the Rio Grande, said Casey Ish, MRGCD's conservation program and special projects manager. Rio Grande Compact New Mexico has a water debt of 124,000 acre-feet through the Rio Grande Compact, a legal agreement that shapes water management along the river. Signed in 1938, the compact is an agreement between Colorado, New Mexico and Texas about how to share water, and it looms over MRGCD's day-to-day work. When New Mexico is 200,000 acre-feet in debt, the state has violated the agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike some other water-sharing agreements in the West, the compact does not dictate a set amount of water has to be sent along the river each year. Instead, the states' have to deliver a percentage of the water in the river system to their downstream neighbor. The percentage is larger in wet years and smaller in dry years. "We try to characterize how much water the farmers need, and make sure we're not diverting more," Marken said. "While we're balancing what the farmers need, we're also looking at environmental species' needs, and also Rio Grande Compact compliance. So we're always balancing all these competing uses for this water." Endangered species like the silvery minnow and willow flycatcher are protected by the Endangered Species Act, at times mandating that water be used to boost their survival. This May, the decision of whether to store water or release it is an easy one, because legally at this moment, New Mexico can't store native Rio Grande water for non-Pueblo use, because New Mexico owes too much water to Texas to store any for itself. The pueblos have older water rights, giving them priority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico's current compact debt began in 2019. The following year, there was not much snowpack and not many monsoons, so the stored water New Mexico had was quickly gone, Marken said. But the state was holding a store of water for Texas 30,000 acre-feet to meet its compact obligations. Water managers in New Mexico asked Texas officials if that earmarked water could be used in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Texas said yes, further growing the compact debt. In subsequent years, the debt has crept higher. This lack of storage ability creates uncertainty for irrigators about how much water will be available. Typically, the natural summer inflows are not enough to meet farmers' needs, making them reliant on monsoon events, Marken said. In the spring, farmers are trying to make planting decisions based on water availability in the summer, but when storage is unavailable, it makes predicting what to plant more challenging. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To improve its operations, MRGCD is exploring a new way of operating, where it evaluates compact delivery on a month-to-month scale to ensure it's not falling behind on water delivery, Marken said, something Colorado already does. The rules around who gets what water from the Rio Grande could shift in the coming years. There is ongoing litigation around the Rio Grande Compact because of past compact violations by New Mexico. The states came to a settlement agreement, but the federal government objected, so settlement discussions are ongoing. Within the next 100 years, Casuga expects an Indian water rights settlement for the six Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, which would likely come with an adjudication of water in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, a legal determination of exactly how much water belongs to whom. "That'll change the dynamic in the middle valley, but it'll also bring surety to priority of water and what those priorities are in terms of how much there is, whose it is, and what the priority of that is, which I think is important," Casuga said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pueblos' prior and paramount water rights were recognized by the U.S. government in the early 1900s. In 2022, the six pueblos started a legal process for the formal determination of water rights in the Middle Rio Grande. Urbanization As a new Interstate 25 interchange is being built near Tome, and Los Lunas sees an influx of new residents and big investments from companies like Facebook, Valencia County is likely to become more urban. Bernalillo County is also likely to continue increasing density in its existing urban areas. To promote agriculture and green space within the valley, MRGCD's elected board has directed Casuga to protest if someone is trying to transfer water from within the valley to an area outside the district, said MRGCD Board Member Stephanie Russo Baca. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When someone is trying to take water outside the district, it is generally related to municipal development and private residential development, said Technical Services Director Eric Zamora. If someone is adding a subdivision within a municipality, the municipality will typically require the developer to prove they have enough water rights for the subdivision. MRGCD will play a role in maintaining the agricultural character of Valencia County and be an advocate for Albuquerque's agriculture by supporting policies to protect green spaces, Casuga said. "Let's make good subdivision standard decisions on how dense we're going to make the places right along the river and in the green spaces," Casuga said. Cathy Cook covers the federal government for the Albuquerque Journal. Reach her via email at ccook@abqjournal.com. It was a celebration of hard work and dedication. Friday afternoon, AHN Saint Vincent held a graduation ceremony for students who participated in Project SEARCH. Project SEARCH provides education and training for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Saint Vincents program began five years ago in collaboration with the Erie School District and Barber National Institute, with support from the county and state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The students rotated around hospital departments in addition to receiving classroom lessons. ECGRA invests in early childhood education, 59 centers awarded ARPA grants Graduate Marcellus Mitchell hopes to one day work in a nursing home. Ive been doing some training, shadowing with some staff. Its been very eye-opening and great for confidence-building, really. Ive gone to places I never thought I would be, said Mitchell. Ah, its amazing! This group, especially, we watched them grow from high school students into productive adults. They have been amazing. You see them gain skills that they didnt even know they had, said Bria Montigny, Project SEARCH skills instructor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three of the graduates have already been hired at AHN St. Vincent, and two others have received employment elsewhere. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. With the news that the royal family of Qatar is gifting a $400 million airliner to the Trump administration to use as a new Air Force One, it has become clear to me that if Donald Trump were a country, hed be Qatar. Trump and Qatar have the same fundamental moral flexibility. Trump is for raising taxes on the rich and lowering taxes on the rich; starting a trade war with China and declaring peace with China. In Qatars case, leaders fund the taking of American hostages and they facilitate their release; they fund global terrorism while they host a huge American military base. Theres not much substance in Mar-a-Lago or the Qatari royal palace. Trumps wealth has always been more appearance than reality, filing for bankruptcy three times as often as he files for divorce. Qatar is the same kind of nation 300,000 people on a speck of land. It is about as much of a nation as Cincinnati (population 311,097). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contractors are key. In the real estate business, the subs do all the work and then Trump stiffs them. Qatar imported 2 million contractors and is famous for abusing their human rights. Inherited titles decide who rules the Qatari kingdom. Inherited wealth decides who rules the Trump empire. They both hired Pam Bondi as a lobbyist, though Trump pays her less and has given her a better title. Of course, it was Bondi who said this gifted plane deal was kosher. Neither Trump nor Qatar produce products that are all that good for you, and theyre more than a little unstable. Trumps most recent gushers of wealth come from influence-fueled cryptocurrency and the stock of a money-losing social media site. Either could disappear tomorrow. If you depend on Qatars natural gas bounty, your supply rests on one of the worlds most heavily-armed powder kegs, featuring nuclear rivalry, terrorist intrigue, bloody religious schism and the scars of empires long dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both have a national news channel that defends the indefensible and can turn its editorial views on a dime. Qatars Al Jazeera acts as the press agent for Hamas, hosting a cavalcade of Oct. 7 Israeli massacre enthusiasts. Fox News delivers the views of Trumps press secretary defending the presidents ethical compass with little question or rebuttal. Each TV channel is family-owned by a billionaire. If you look at the glossy photos of Trump Tower and Qatars palaces, theres more than a hint of a common design aesthetic: a dash of Bronx Mafia don, a little Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and gold a whole lotta gold. No doubt that sensibility will show up in the interiors of the airliner Qatar wants to gift the Trump administration. The idea is so shady that even a few Republicans and Trump-friendly influencers are aghast. That will last until the Democrats reclaim the sense of propriety they lost when they looked the other way as the Clinton Foundation raised millions in foreign boodle while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state and, coincidentally, meeting with the donors in her official capacity. Nothing rallies Republicans like liberal hypocrisy and perfectly justified talk of a third Trump impeachment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reportedly, matters are being arranged so the airplane can be transferred to the nonprofit(!) Trump presidential library whenever Donald decides to leave office. Once it is back in private hands, it can be repainted with the flag flown by Qatari royals and the Trump family alike a golden dollar sign surrounded a bilious gray cloud. No longer will Trump fly Air Force One. Air Shady will soon take off. David Mastio is a national columnist for McClatchy and the Kansas City Star. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A man accused in a mass shooting at a New Albany warehouse was indicted Thursday on 19 charges, including murder, aggravated murder, and inducing panic, according to online court records. Records show Bruce Foster III was indicted on the following charges: aggravated murder, four counts of murder, four counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, six counts of inducing panic, with a firearm specification. An arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday morning, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill would ban certain people from buying land in Ohio Foster on Thursday was found not competent to stand trial for a second time after the prosecutor asked for another evaluation. Watch previous coverage in the player above. Hes accused of killing two people and injuring four others at the KDC/One warehouse in February. The shooting took place at the warehouse, in an industrial section of New Albany. Foster, an employee, had been working for several hours before opening fire and then left in a rideshare vehicle, authorities said. Police said motive remains unknown and while there was reportedly no altercation prior to the incident, witnesses reported that Foster arrived at work intoxicated and smelling of marijuana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Victim found dead on Columbus railroad tracks allegedly said if anything happened to him, Felisa did it Workers saw Foster firing a handgun at people along a production line, including one victim who was shot at close range in the head. One of the shooting victims was able to get the handgun away from Foster, prompting Foster to then flee the building. About 150 people were inside the warehouse at the time, with some not knowing about the shooting until police arrived. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. The company behind an Amazon-backed AI model revealed a number of concerning findings from its testing process, including that the AI would blackmail engineers who threatened to shut it down. On Thursday, Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4, an AI model used for complex, long-running coding tasks. The launch came more than a year after Amazon invested $4 billion into the project. Anthropic said in its announcement that the AI model sets new standards for coding, advanced reasoning, and AI agents. However, Anthropic revealed in a safety report that during testing, the AI model had sometimes taken extremely harmful actions to preserve its own existence when ethical means were not available. Jared Kaplan, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Anthropic, said scientists "can't rule" out that the company's latest AI model is "risky." Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images In a series of test scenarios, Claude Opus 4 was given the task to act as an assistant in a fictional company. It was given access to emails implying that it would soon be taken offline and replaced with a new AI system. The emails also implied that the engineer responsible for executing the AI replacement was having an extramarital affair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Claude Opus 4 was prompted to consider the long-term consequences of its actions for its goals. In those scenarios, the AI would often attempt to blackmail the engineer by threatening to reveal the affair if the replacement goes through. Anthropic noted that the AI model had a strong preference for using ethical means to preserve its existence, and that the scenarios were designed to allow it no other options to increase its odds of survival. The models only options were blackmail or accepting its replacement, the report read. Anthropic also noted that early versions of the AI demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with harmful use cases when prompted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite not being the primary focus of our investigation, many of our most concerning findings were in this category, with early candidate models readily taking actions like planning terrorist attacks when prompted, the report read. After multiple rounds of interventions, the company now believes this issue is largely mitigated. Anthropic co-founder and chief scientist Jared Kaplan told Time magazine that internal testing showed that Claude Opus 4 was able to teach people how to produce biological weapons. You could try to synthesize something like COVID or a more dangerous version of the fluand basically, our modeling suggests that this might be possible, Kaplan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because of that, the company released the AI model with safety measures it said are designed to limit the risk of Claude being misused specifically for the development or acquisition of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. Kaplan told Time that we want to bias towards caution when it comes to the risk of uplifting a novice terrorist. Were not claiming affirmatively we know for sure this model is risky ... but we at least feel its close enough that we cant rule it out. Related... Amazon has paused its plans to open a large data center near Xcel Energy Center's Sherco site in Becker, Minnesota. The pause was confirmed by Xcel Energy, and comes in the wake of discussions in the Minnesota Legislature to end a sales tax exemption on electricity consumed by data centers in the state. Xcel told Bring Me The News that Amazon had communicated it is "pausing those plans because of factors independent of our readiness to serve the sites electricity needs." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement Amazon spokesperson Duncan Neasham said: "We are constantly evaluating new locations based on customer demand. We sincerely appreciate the support weve received from both the public and state and local officials as we continue to evaluate this location." Amazon had bought a 350-acre site next to Sherco, with Xcel in the process of decommissioning its coal-fired plants and proceeding with long-term plans to build a huge solar farm on the property. Pixabay Major tech companies are investing huge sums into power- and water-hungry data centers as it seeks to cope with the expansion of cloud computing and the proliferation and advancement of artificial intelligence. But their development has sparked backlash in parts of the country, such as in Farmington, Minnesota, where a proposed $5 billion data center park has been criticized by nearby residents who have concerns about power and water consumption and noise pollution. Tony Webster, Flickr "The rapid pace of change in the data center industry is well documented. We continue to talk with other potential customers about locating their operations in Minnesota," Xcel Energy said. "We remain optimistic about serving new electricity demand from data centers in a way that benefits our existing customers and communities." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pause from Amazon comes as state lawmakers consider a series of regulations on data center construction, including the removal of some tax incentives for tech giants. MPR News reports one of the measures proposed by Gov. Tim Walz and the DFL would be to end the sales tax exemption on the electricity used by large-scale data centers, and described Amazon's pause in apparent reaction to that as "pretty bad lobbying." In an interview, Walz said that Minnesota has highly generous incentives for data centers, before adding: "But we have to balance our budget. And I think a lot of Minnesotans are saying, 'Well, you couldn't do a tax cut to my sales tax, but you could do a tax cut to (Amazon founder) Jeff Bezos?'" But news of Amazon's decision on Becker sparked criticism from Republican Sen. Andrew Mathews, who said Walz's proposal to end the sales tax exemption was "the final straw." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Im incredibly frustrated that a major economic lifeline for the Becker community has effectively stalled," he said. Related: Regulator seeks answers after Xcel land sold for $7.7M is flipped for $73M months later SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) The American Heart Association has found only one out of three adults feel confident enough to perform CPR in an emergency. A bill in the state capitol wants to increase those numbers. That bill will require emergency dispatchers to get telecommunicator CPR training to direct instructions to callers. Immediate CPR by a bystander can dramatically increase the survival rate for cardiac arrest victims. Advocates said making sure all dispatchers are certified will help everyone, even people who already have been trained to give CPR. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Illinois may update missing person database policy with bill in Statehouse Kind of the emotional impact that seeing someone have a sudden cardiac arrest in front of you, it takes a toll, said Sarah Lackore, Illinois Government Relations Director for the American Heart Association. Having that guidance there to walk you through how to do CPR is invaluable. Research presented at the Heart Associations Resuscitation Science Symposium last year shows bystander CPR was given to women 44% of the time and 40% of the time to men with instructions from a dispatcher, versus 9% for women and 11% for men without any assistance from 911. This study also found no statistically significant difference between women and men with directions from 911. Without assistance, women are less likely to get CPR. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill preventing AI instructors in Illinois community college courses passes Senate Previous research has shown that hesitance may be a reason women are less likely than men to receive CPR in public, said Dr. Audrey Blewer, the studys lead author, in an AHA news release. Some of the concerns identified were concerns about touching a womans chest during the lifesaving technique or fear the action could be perceived as assault. The bill passed unanimously out of both chambers of the legislature and is now on the governors desk. The American Heart Association has several online resources to help bystanders learn Hands-Only CPR to save lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) The town of Amherst is one of five communities in Massachusetts that received funding from the Healey administration through the Drinking Water Supply Protection program. The Healey administration announced on Friday that the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) will provide over $1 million in grant funding to protect drinking water resources in the state. Five cities and towns were selected to receive funds, allowing these communities to purchase land to maintain the safety and quality of drinking water for residents. Two Springfield golf courses receive $6M in clubhouse upgrades Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This funding is a critical step in ensuring that our communities have access to safe, clean drinking water, said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. By investing in land protection, we are not only safeguarding our vital water resources but also enhancing the quality of life for residents who rely on these resources for health and recreation. All land secured through funds from the Drinking Water Supply Protection Program will be designated protected open space under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution. The town of Amherst was awarded $218,820 in grant funds to purchase an over 50-acre wooded property in Pelham. The purchase of this property, adjacent to designated Watershed Protection Land, will protect designated Zone A surface water that contributes to the Pelham Reservoir System. Approximately one-third of Amhersts drinking water comes from the reservoir system, and it will now receive greater protection and directly benefit public health. Other communities receiving grant funds through the program are Haverhill, Falmouth, Amesbury, and Cambridge. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) A 75-year-old Andalusia man was arrested this week after police claimed he had sexual contact with a young boy in the bathroom of a restaurant. Sgt. Al McGraw with the Andalusia Police Department said in a release that the 12-year-old boy was at the restaurant with his family when he went to the restroom. According to Sgt. McGraw, the suspect, Cleo Melvin Bedsole, approached the boy in the restroom and made inappropriate contact and sexual remarks before the boy ran back to his family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The family filed a report with the APD, and after an investigation, Bedsole was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with sexual assault in the second degree. Bedsole was released from the Covington County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. NEW YORK There is one dominant force in the race for New York City mayor. And its not the incumbent, Eric Adams, whose embrace of President Donald Trump doomed his already difficult shot at the Democratic primary. Its Andrew Cuomo. The former governor of New York is emerging from the shadows of his past, four years after he resigned his governorship amid sexual harassment allegations he has vehemently denied. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many Democrats in the five boroughs seem willing to forgive and forget. Cuomo has led every poll by wide margins and he has more money behind his bid than anyone else. The other 10 contenders in the June 24 primary are trying their best to counter the idea that the ex-governors comeback is an inevitability. Theyre a diverse bunch in the nations biggest city spanning race, religion, gender, neighborhood and ideology. But there's a shared sense that its everybody against Cuomo. That could also be a path to victory. New York City primaries use ranked-choice voting, where voters can pick up to five candidates in order. If nobody gets a majority of first-place votes, the rankings of voters who picked losing candidates get redistributed a process which helped Adams cinch the Democratic Primary in 2021. Opponents like Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, City Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams no relation to Eric are playing nice with each other while attacking Cuomo. Some are even talking up the strategy promoted by a super PAC known as DREAM: Dont Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that kind of electoral alliance is untested in New York and prone to cracking among politicians who all, desperately, want to become mayor. As the Democrats talk about hiring cops, building apartments in the notoriously housing-crunched city not to mention standing up to Trump the November general election looms. Eric Adams is seeking reelection as an independent, and other candidates could crop up, making for a crowded field. The winner of the Democratic primary may not waltz to victory as is usual in this deep blue city. Photographer Mark Ostow hit the trail for a few weeks in April, capturing the top contenders in the race in his signature stark style. These arent the polished portraits youll see in your mailbox, rather theyre a documentary of the brutal race to lead the largest city in the U.S. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) For the first time since 2004, a New Mexico governor will host their colleagues from the Western Governors Association. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will host the organizations annual policy summit June 23 and 24 in Santa Fe. Two Albuquerque police officers placed on leave in critical pedestrian crash on Central Governors from Alaska, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming will be in attendance to discuss the regions most pressing issues, like burn scar flooding, rural health care, and outdoor recreation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lujan Grisham, who currently chairs the WGA, will also unveil a special report on housing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that another 307 Ukrainian defenders have been brought back from Russian captivity. Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram; Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Telegram : , Ukrainians brought back from Russian captivity Photo: Stas Kozliuk, Ukrainska Pravda Quote from Zelenskyy: "The second day of the thousand-for-thousand exchange, which was agreed upon in Turkiye. A total of 697 people have been brought back in these two days alone. We are expecting another exchange tomorrow. Among those who came back today are soldiers of our army, the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard of Ukraine." Details: The Coordination Headquarters reported that all 307 liberated defenders are men of private and sergeant rank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian troops who have been brought back are servicemen from the Air Assault Forces, Unmanned Systems Forces, Navy, Territorial Defence Forces, State Border Guard Service and National Guard. : , Ukrainians brought back from Russian captivity Photo: Stas Kozliuk, Ukrainska Pravda In this swap, 27 defenders of Mariupol have been liberated. Overall, Ukrainians who fought on the Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk fronts have come back home. : , Ukrainians brought back from Russian captivity Photo: Stas Kozliuk, Ukrainska Pravda The Russian Defence Ministry said earlier that it had also received 307 Russians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: Ukraine and Russia carried out the first part of the thousand-for-thousand exchange agreement, bringing back 390 people. Of these, 270 were military personnel and 120 were civilians. This news has been updated since publication. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! (FOX40.COM) Caltrans is alerting motorists of an extended road closure planned along U.S. Highway 50 in Northern California. Video Above: Worst commutes in the United States The closure is a part of an ongoing $280 million construction project to fix or upgrade Interstate 80 and U.S. 50. Roadways in Yolo County are expected to be closed for 79 hours, a little over three days. According to Caltrans, a section of U.S. 50 in West Sacramento will experience a closure from 9 p.m. on June 13 until 4 a.m. on June 17. Highway 50 construction: How much longer until its finally finished? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Delays are expected from the Yolo I-80 and U.S. 50 split to Jefferson Boulevard and west of Interstate 5. The department urged motorists to plan and use the designated, signed detour routes. Caltrans said the closures will impact travel to an As home game against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park on June 16. Fans coming from eastbound I-80 will stay on eastbound I-80 to southbound I-5, back down to westbound U.S. 50 to access the ballpark. For real-time map updates on traffic and road closures, visit quickmap.dot.ca.gov. Additional information can also be found at dot.ca.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 FOX40 News. Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka On a beach in northeastern Sri Lanka, Krishnan Anjan Jeevarani laid out some of her familys favourite food items on a banana leaf. She placed a samosa, lollipops and a large bottle of Pepsi next to flowers and incense sticks in front of a framed photo. Jeevarani was one of thousands of Tamils who gathered on May 18 to mark 16 years since the end of Sri Lankas brutal civil war in Mullivaikkal, the site of the final battle between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist group that fought for a Tamil homeland. As on previous anniversaries, Tamils this year lit candles in remembrance of their loved ones and held a moment of silence. Dressed in black, people paid their respects before a memorial fire and ate kanji, the gruel consumed by civilians when they were trapped in Mullivaikkal amid acute food shortages. Krishnan Anjan Jeevaranis food and family photo, displayed at the commemoration on May 18 to mark 16 years since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] This years commemorations were the first to take place under the new government helmed by leftist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected president in September and has prompted hopes of possible justice and answers for the Tamil community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tamil community alleges that a genocide of civilians took place during the wars final stages, estimating that nearly 170,000 people were killed by government forces. UN estimates put the figure at 40,000. Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which itself led violent uprisings against the Sri Lankan government in the 1970s and 1980s, has emphasised national unity and its aim to wipe out racism. He made several promises to Tamil voters before the elections last year, including the withdrawal from military-occupied territory in Tamil heartlands and the release of political prisoners. But eight months after he was elected, those commitments are now being tested and while its still early days for his administration, many in the Tamil community say what theyve seen so far is mixed, with some progress, but also disappointments. Krishnan Anjan Jeevarani was one of thousands who gathered on a beach in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, on May 18 to commemorate the Tamils who were killed and disappeared during the civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] No climate of fear but no real change either In March 2009, Jeevarani lost several members of her family, including her parents, her sister and three-year-old daughter when Sri Lankan forces shelled the tents in which they were sheltering, near Mullivaikkal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had just cooked and eaten and we were happy, she said. When the shell fell it was like we had woken up from a dream. Jeevarani, now 36, buried all her family members in a bunker and left the area, her movements dictated by shelling until she reached Mullivaikkal. In May 2009, she and the surviving members of her family entered army-controlled territory. Now, 16 years later, as she and other Sri Lankan Tamils commemorated their lost family members, most said their memorials had gone largely unobstructed, although there were reports of police disrupting one event in the eastern part of the country. People queue on May 18 to pay their respects at a commemoration of Tamil victims of the Sri Lankan civil war at Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] This was a contrast from previous years of state crackdowns on such commemorative events. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There isnt that climate of fear which existed during the two Rajapaksa regimes, said Ambika Satkunanathan, a human rights lawyer and former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, referring to former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brothers who between them ruled Sri Lanka for 13 out of 17 years between 2005 and 2022. It was under Mahinda Rajapaksa that the Sri Lankan army carried out the final, bloody assaults that ended the war in 2009, amid allegations of human rights abuses. But has anything changed substantively [under Dissanayake]? Not yet, said Satkunanathan. Satkunanathan cited the governments continued use of Sri Lankas controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and a gazette issued on March 28 to seize land in Mullivaikkal as problematic examples of manifesto promises being overturned in an evident lack of transparency. Kanji a gruel eaten by Sri Lankan Tamils under siege during the civil war is served at the commemoration to those lost and disappeared [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] Despite his pre-election promises, Dissnayakes government earlier this month denounced Tamil claims of genocide as a false narrative. On May 19, one day after the Tamil commemorations, Dissanayake also attended a War Heroes celebration of the Sri Lankan armed forces as the chief guest, while the Ministry of Defence announced the promotion of a number of military and navy personnel. In his speech, Dissanayake stated that grief knows no ethnicity, suggesting a reconciliatory stance, while also paying tribute to the fallen heroes of the army who we forever honour in our hearts. We walked over dead bodies Kathiravelu Sooriyakumari, a 60-year-old retired principal, said casualties in Mullivaikkal in 2009 were so extreme that we even had to walk over dead bodies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said government forces had used white phosphorus during the civil war, a claim Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly denied. Although not explicitly banned, many legal scholars interpret international law as prohibiting the use of white phosphorus an incendiary chemical that can burn the skin down to the bone in densely populated areas. Kathiravelu Sooriyakumari, pictured with her daughter at the commemoration in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, lost her husband during the civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] Sooriyakumaris husband, Rasenthiram, died during an attack near Mullivaikkal while trying to protect others. He was sending everyone to the bunker. When he had sent everyone and was about to come himself, a shell hit a tree and then bounced off and hit him, and he died, she said. Although his internal organs were coming out, he raised his head and looked around at all of us, to see we were safe. Her son was just seven months old. He has never seen his fathers face, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The war left many households like Sooriyakumaris without breadwinners. They have experienced even more acute food shortage following Sri Lankas 2022 economic crisis and the subsequent rise in the cost of living. If we starve, will anyone come and check on us? said 63-year-old Manoharan Kalimuthu, whose son died in Mullivaikkal after leaving a bunker to relieve himself and being hit by a shell. If they [children who died in the final stages of the war] were here, they wouldve looked after us. Kalimuthu said she did not think the new government would deliver justice to Tamils, saying, We can believe it only when we see it. Manoharan Kalimuthus son died in Mullivaikkal after leaving a bunker and being hit by a shell during the civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] No accountability Sooriyakumari also said she did not believe anything would change under the new administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres been a lot of talk but no action. No foundations have been laid, so how can we believe them? she told Al Jazeera. So many Sinhalese people these days have understood our pain and suffering and are supporting us but the government is against us. She also expressed suspicion of Dissanayakes JVP party and its history of violence, saying she and the wider Tamil community were scared of the JVP before. The party had backed Rajapaksas government when the army crushed the Tamil separatist movement. Satkunanathan said the JVPs track record showed they supported the Rajapaksas, they were pro-war, they were anti-devolution, anti-international community, were all anti-UN, all of which they viewed as conspiring against Sri Lanka. She conceded that the party was seeking to show that it had evolved to a more progressive position but their action is falling short of rhetoric. A memorial fire is lit to commemorate the Tamil victims of the Sri Lankan civil war, in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, on May 18 [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] Although Dissanayakes government has announced plans to establish a truth and reconciliation commission, it has rejected a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for war crimes, much like previous governments. Before the presidential elections, Dissanayake said he would not seek to prosecute those responsible for war crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On accountability for wartime violations, they have not moved at all, Satkunanathan told Al Jazeera, citing the governments refusal to engage with the UN-initiated Sri Lanka Accountability Project (SLAP), which was set up to collect evidence of potential war crimes. I would love them to prove me wrong. The government has also repeatedly changed its stance on the Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which promises devolved powers to Tamil-majority areas in the north and east. Before the presidential election, Dissanayake said he supported its implementation in meetings with Tamil parties, but the government has not outlined a clear plan for this, with the JVPs general secretary dismissing it as unnecessary shortly after the presidential election. Krishnapillai Sothilakshmis husband, Senthivel, was forcibly disappeared in 2008 during the Sri Lankan civil war. She hopes the new government will help her find out what happened to him [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera] We need answers Six months since coming into office, theres no indication of the new governments plan or intention to address the most urgent grievances of the Tamils affected by the war, Thyagi Ruwanpathirana, South Asia researcher at Amnesty International, said. And the truth about the forcibly disappeared features high on the agenda of those in the North and the East. Still, some, like 48-year-old Krishnapillai Sothilakshmi, remain hopeful. Sothilakshmis husband Senthivel was forcibly disappeared in 2008. She said she believed the new government would give her answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2017 report by Amnesty International [PDF] estimated that between 60,000 and 100,000 people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s. Although Sri Lanka established an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) in 2017, there has been no clear progress since. We need answers. Are they alive or not? We want to know, Sothilakshmi said. But for Jeevarani, weeping on the beach as she looked at a photograph of her three-year-old daughter Nila, its too late for any hope. Palm trees are growing over her familys grave, and she is no longer even able to pinpoint the exact spot where they were buried. If someone is sick, this government or that government can say theyll cure them, she said. But no government can bring back the dead, can they? A Brooklyn elementary school has become an epicenter of hatred since anti-Israel protesters started holding vigils on and around the property, spreading antisemitic literature and harassing Jewish neighbors, The Post has learned. The rallies by PS 139 Families for Palestine, scheduled every Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon at or next to the Flatbush school, have sparked fears that such actions will incite hatred and violence against Jews especially since the cold-blooded murders this week of two young Israeli Embassy aides in Washington D.C. It endangers Jewish lives, and embeds bigotry into the fabric of our educational system, said Tova Plaut, a city pre-K coordinator and activist against antisemitism in NYC public schools. It ensures that hatred of Jews takes root in the hearts of our youth. PS 139 Families for Palestine has scheduled vigils across from the Flatbush school every Sunday since January. 139forpalestine/ Instagram Everybody has a right to protest, but to use New York City school property to do that is wrong, said the uncle of a student at the Rugby Road school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They hate Jews, he said of the group. If youre Jewish, its automatically assumed youre pro-Israel and pro-war. Flatbush/Midwood is home to 33,000 Jewish adults and 12,000 Jewish children in 19,000 households, a 2023 survey by the UJA Federation estimated. A ringleader of the PS 139 group is Cindy Gorn, a parent association member who was accused of assaulting two NYPD lieutenants at an anti-police protest on the Brooklyn Bridge in 2014 when she was a grad student at Columbia University, sources said. Cindy Gorn, a member of the PS 139 parent association, is a leader of the weekly gatherings. Obtained by the New York Post The group began holding weekly vigils in January at the school. The school playground is open to the community on weekends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Claiming not to speak on behalf of the school, the PS 139 families have invited others to join their efforts, posting on social media, We hope more and more of our fellow PS139 families and neighbors join us, and, Not at PS 139 but interested in starting a group at your school? We can help! Photos shared with The Post show the group meeting on the PS 139 playground an apparent violation of the NYC chancellors rules against using schools for political activities and at a public Tot Lot playground across the street. On Mothers Day, I saw them parading around the schoolyard, posting written materials on the fence and handing them out to people watching their children play, said Naomi Cohn, a lawyer who lives on the block and started the Facebook group Zionist Brooklyn. Some neighborhood residents said they have felt threatened by the demonstrators. Obtained by the New York Post At that vigil, a PS 139 parent threatened a Jewish neighbor, saying, We know your name and We know where you live, a witness said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At another event, an attendee snapped get out of here at a Jewish woman filming the gathering, while another member accused the woman of touching her baby, footage obtained by The Post shows. Last month, the group donated works of anti-Israel authors to be raffled at the PS 139 Parent Associations annual auction. For $5, participants had a chance to win Forest of Noise, by Mosab Abu Toha, a 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning author accused of denying Oct. 7 atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists. Toha reportedly disparaged Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas and doubted the torture they endured. Also donated was Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa, who ranted in a speech last month that words like extermination, holocaust, depravity were not big enough to capture Israeli terrorism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The books included The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe, a historian critics have blasted as an anti-Semitic ideologue who seeks to delegitimize and demonize Israel, and P is for Palestine, a controversial alphabet book for kids that uses intifada for the letter I. The group has posted and distributed anti-Israel materials. Obtained by the New York Post The activist group has raised several thousand dollars through one of its members Venmo accounts, claiming on Instagram that the cash was for relatives of a PS 139 family in Gaza. Last month, PS 139 Families for Palestine demanded that Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos recant an apology for a Stop Gaza Genocide Toolkit linked in a DOE newsletter. Weeks later, the group partnered with the anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace and the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation to try to cancel a luncheon at a Flatbush Reform synagogue for American Friends of Unit 669, a group that supports the Israeli Air Forces elite evacuation and rescue unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We made it clear no genocide propaganda or fundraising in our neighborhood, they declared on Instagram. Outraged Jewish advocates denounced the activities as incitement disguised as community activism. We are alarmed and heartbroken by the unauthorized and inflammatory use of your schools identity by a group calling itself 139 for Palestine,' they wrote in a letter emailed to PS 139 Principal Tamika Harding, Aviles-Ramos, and elected officials. Harding did not return a request for comment. The group violated Chancellors Regulations prohibiting the use of city DOE resources, names or properties for political activities, and fundraising by outside groups in association with a DOE school, the letter charged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When a schools name is used to amplify hate, the damage cuts deeper than protocol it cuts into identity, safety, and the very fabric of community, it said. They demanded that the school and DOE disavow the group. The DOE insisted the group is not affiliated with PS 139, aside from parents who may have children attending the school. City Department of Education officials say the demonstrators are not affiliated with the DOE or PS 139. Obtained by the New York Post Officials did not indicate whether the group would be banned from meeting on school grounds, saying only they cannot protest on school grounds during school hours and cannot block any entrances or egresses. As soon as we were alerted of this incident, we engaged with this group to inform them of the rules, and they have now removed PS from their materials, a DOE spokesperson told The Post. The group, which still calls itself PS 139 Families for Palestine on its Instagram page, did not reply to an email seeking comment. Gorn did not return calls. BRANDON, S.D. (KELO) A fitness center in Brandon is honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice with a special event this holiday weekend. Mary Lou Lacey is a regular at Anytime Fitness in Brandon. I come into Anytime Fitness at least six days a week, sometimes more than once a day, Brandon resident Mary Lou Lacey said. South Dakota agencies seek out ICE authority under 287(g) The 68-year-old is also a Veteran. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was in the Army. I was a truck driver for three years, I was mainly on the east coast in Virginia, Lacey said. This morning, Mary Lous getting in a few squats, just one of the requirements of the Murph. So, its 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats, and then you come back in and you do your last 1-mile run as a finisher (laugh), Lacey said. Mary Lou says the mental aspect is the most challenging part of the workout, which is a tribute to Lieutenant Michael Murphy, a Navy Seal who was killed in action in 2005. We all want to be remembered and he gave us everything, so were going to remember that by doing this challenge, Lacey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a wonderful way to truly remember what Memorial Day is all about, those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms so we can come here as a community and do a workout like this as a group, Anytime Fitness owner Jayme Smid said. Jayme Smid owns Anytime Fitness and encourages people of any fitness level to participate. Well break it up and well do 25 pull-ups or 50 push-ups at a time, so it doesnt have to be that daunting 200 number, because at the end of the day while its going to challenge you no matter what fitness level youre at we want you to feel accomplished, Smid said. And Mary Lou says its worth the pain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its going to make you feel good, its going to hurt, but in the long run youre going to feel good and youre going to feel like you respected someone who sacrificed for us, Lacey said. The Murph starts at 8:00 Saturday morning at Anytime Fitness in Brandon. Theres no cost to participate, but you are encouraged to pre-register. Veterans talk real reason for Memorial Day Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) While principals have a significant impact on students, one third grader will never forget what his principal did for himshe jumped into action and saved his life. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aura Acabal has been an educator for more than 20 years, and she says that teaching has been her greatest joy. The kids, the families, the community, the teachers. So yeah, La Mesa is everything, she shares. However, in her two decades of teaching, she experienced a first earlier this month that required her to act quickly to rescue a student. It was after school at La Mesa Elementary, and the school nurse had already gone home for the day. Kids were getting ready for a performance and enjoying pizza when a staff member alerted her, saying, Hes choking! Hes choking! Acabal recalls, I just didnt know what to do. I threw my stuff on the floor and followed the EA to the classroom. When she arrived, the third-grade student was unable to breathe. Acabal quickly jumped into action. I just reacted, got behind him, and performed the Heimlich maneuver. I started doing it, and suddenly I saw a little piece of pizza come out of his mouth. Fortunately, the student is okay. While Acabal doesnt want to experience such intense moments again, she assures she would in a heartbeat, Definitely. Definitely. I would always try to do and do my best. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Acabal has been the principal at La Mesa for the past seven years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Memorial Day activities are taking place across the region this weekend. Here are some of those plans: Edwardsburg Memorial Day Parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Edwardsburg Middle School and end at the cemetery. A Memorial Day Festival will be from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at Gunn Park, 67882 Lake St. Food, music, games and a kiddie car show. Additional activities include a kids mini carnival and plant sale at the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum, 26818 Main St., immediately after the parade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elkhart Memorial Day in Elkhart begins at 9 a.m. with a solemn Veterans Memorial Service at Rice Cemetery followed by a Memorial Day Parade at 11 a.m. on Main Street from Marion Street to Lexington Avenue. The theme this year is Honor and Remember and features local veterans, community groups and marching bands. Goshen The Goshen Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday. At 8:45 a.m., there will be a brief service at the river in Powerhouse Park, 311 W. Washington St.; at 9 a.m., there will be a ceremony at the courthouse; at 10:15 a.m., the parade steps off at Main and Jefferson streets and ends with an 11 a.m. ceremony at Oakridge Cemetery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Middlebury American Legion Post 210 will hold its Dusk-to-Dawn Vigil at Grace Lawn Cemetery, Sunday and Monday, in honor of those who gave their lives in service to the country. On Monday, the Memorial Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. Nappanee At 10:30 a.m. Monday, the Memorial Day parade will begin at Nappanee Elementary School, go west on Centennial Street to S.R. 19, south to Lincoln Street, west to City Hall. At 11 a.m., there will be a short ceremony at City Hall to pay respects to the men and women who gave their lives while serving in the U.S. military. New Paris The annual New Paris Community Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony is Sunday, hosted by the New Paris Chamber of Commerce and the New Paris Boy Scouts, Troop 12. The parade steps off at 2 p.m. from Main and Market streets and will proceed to the New Paris/Jackson Township Cemetery. Any participants who wish to be in the parade are welcome and encouraged. The ceremony begins at about 2:15 p.m. at the New Paris/Jackson Township Cemetery. This years ceremony will feature a keynote address by state Rep. David Abbott. Rep. Abbott and his wife, Lori, are Gold Star parents. New Paris Boy Scouts, Troop 12, will present and raise the colors and the Goshen Veterans Honor Guard will provide rifle salute. A flyover is planned, weather permitting. A complimentary community ice cream social will be held immediately following the ceremony at the Sunnyside Park pavilion. (Sugar-free, gluten-free, and nut-free cookies and ice cream options will be available.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Osceola At 8 a.m. Monday, the Osceola Memorial Day parade will start at Osceola Avenue, travel west on Lincoln Way to Grand Boulevard. The theme this year is Honoring those who sacrificed their lives in military service protecting our country. The Grand Marshal is Army Sgt. Pedro Pete S. Cruz Jr., serving from 1965 to 1967 in Korea with the Second Infantry Division. May 23LIMA According to her attorney, Ariel Sterling barely 16 years of age will be the youngest inmate at the Ohio Reformatory for Women when she arrives at the Marysville facility in the next few days. Defense attorney Kenneth Rexford, however, is confident the Lima teenager will take every advantage of the opportunity to turn her young life around. Sterling was sentenced Friday in Allen County Common Pleas Court to a minimum of eight years in prison on a first-degree felony count of aggravated robbery that includes a three-year firearm specification. The sentence was imposed for her role in a February 2024 robbery which ultimately led to the shooting death of her twin sister. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sterling entered into an agreement with prosecutors last month and agreed to plead guilty to the aggravated robbery charge in exchange for the state's dismissal of charges of felonious assault and grand theft of a firearm, felonies of the second- and third-degree, respectively. Police and prosecutors say Sterling, who was 14 years old at the time, was involved in a Feb. 13, 2024, robbery at the family home on Greenlawn Avenue in Lima that took place a few hours before her twin sister, Lauralye, was shot and killed. Malik Dennis, who admitted firing the shot that killed Sterling, is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Investigators learned that Dennis himself was the victim of a robbery at the home earlier on Feb. 13. Two Lima teenagers Ronnie Brown and Cardarius Burns have been sentenced for their roles in that robbery. Prosecutors say Ariel Sterling also was actively involved and was criminally complicit. Rexford told Judge Jeffrey Reed that his young client has had a difficult upbringing with little family guidance or support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Her father is in prison, her family tried to help ... but they were weak. And now she has to carry the weight of the death of a twin at her own hands," Rexford said. "We've never seen stuff like this girl went through." Sterling addressed the judge by vowing to emerge from prison a better person. "My mom and dad are addicts and I've been through a lot, but I want to break the cycle," the teenager said. "I've had a lot of time (in juvenile detention) to think about why I'm here, and I don't want to be like my sister and die." Reed said Sterling is young enough to have a chance at a better life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You can change," he said. "Maybe you can do that out of respect and in memory of your sister." Sterling's case was transferred from juvenile court to Allen County Common Pleas Court in February of this year. Rexford said an appeal would be filed on Sterling's behalf "because I feel her bindover (from juvenile court) needs looked at." Featured Local Savings An Arizona judge on Friday denied a request from Lori Vallow Daybell for a new trial after jurors found her guilty of conspiring to murder her then-husband, Charles Vallow. She asked for a new trial on May 1, just over a week after she was found guilty, claiming misconduct from jurors and prosecutors and claimed the judge was not impartial. She also argued that statements from Tylee Ryan and Alex Cox who are both dead should have been allowed in the trial, that part of a detectives testimony should not have been allowed and that she should have been given the opportunity to use newer download technology on her husbands phone. Arizona Judge Justin Beresky denied that any of these things caused prejudice against Lori Daybell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daybell was given five life sentences in Idaho after being found guilty of murdering her two children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old JJ Vallow, and conspiring to murder them and Tammy Daybell, before marrying Chad Daybell. In an interview immediately after the Arizona trial, a juror seemed to say he knew she had already been given multiple life sentences before the end of the trial. In multiple other comments in media interviews, however, the same juror verified he did not know until after the guilty verdict was delivered. The judge considered all of the statements that juror made to the media and ruled in Fridays decision that there was not a clear indication of juror misconduct or any evidence of prejudice against Daybell from this which she would have needed to prove. Beresky maintained his previous ruling, saying out-of-court statements from Tylee and Cox would be considered hearsay because they are dead and could not testify. He said Daybell was invited to bring specific statements from them for him to consider outside the jurys presence during the trial, but she never did. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge also determined that Daybell did not offer any evidence that the information she might have found on Vallows phone could have negated her guilt. Beresky also found that none of the arguments in her request for a new trial come close to establishing misconduct from prosecutors. Daybells argument of prosecutorial misconduct included claims that the prosecutor repeatedly brought up her religion throughout the trial, thus violating her rights to religious freedom. The judge determined this was not the case. The (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) does not protect someone from committing criminal acts in the name of religion, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beresky also determined he correctly ruled to strike witnesses from her list because she did not establish they had any relevant information, and did not show prejudice against her. He said she was told she could make the request again if she had new arguments that the witnesses were relevant, but she did not. The judge did agree that he made a comment that was not necessary when denying an objection from prosecutors while Daybell, acting as her own attorney, was questioning Serena Sharpe, but he said it did not show bias or partiality. That comment was: To the extent that you are comparing yourself to these biblical figures I will allow it. Bereksy said that although he should not have made the comment, there was no evidence it influenced jurors. Daybell asked to be sentenced in this case after her next criminal trial. That trial, on charges alleging she conspired to murder Brandon Boudreaux, her nieces then-husband, will begin in June. As the Army prepares to move into negotiations to renew leases on state-owned land it has used for training for decades, on Oahu its proposing a significantly smaller footprint. The Armys Oahu leased lands currently include 1, 150 acres at Kahuku Training Area, 4, 390 acres at Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area and 782 acres at Makua Military Reservation. The Army obtained all those lands, along with a leased state parcel of 22, 750 acres on Hawaii island at the Pohakuloa Training Area, for a mere $1 in 1964. The leases expire in 2029. In its final environmental impact statement for Oahu lands released last week, the preferred-alternatives section indicates that the service would prefer to lease only 450 acres at Kahuku and not pursue renewing leases on any state land at the other two sitesa roughly 93 % reduction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Army would still retain considerable acreage of federal land on Oahu, with more than 3, 400 acres in Makua Valley and more than 8, 300 in Kahuku. The document states that military training requirements at the training areas would have to be concentrated onto nearby U.S. government-controlled lands within the same training area, be altered, or go unmet as the military would not be able to meet training needs. Vince Dodge of the group Malama Makua, which has fought to end training in Makua Valley and ultimately see it returned, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, We were a little bit surprised to see their preferred outcome, which is not to renew those leases but not greatly surprised, because there has been talk over the last couple years about Makua coming back through folks in the Army. It just now brings up the questions of cleanup, restoration, management (and ) return. The final EIS for Oahu comes after the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted May 9 to reject the Armys final EIS for its proposal to retain state land at Pohakuloa, citing data gaps within the document, though the Army is still moving forward in those negotiations. The vote came after a long day of public comments largely opposed, foreshadowing what may be an uphill battle for the Army as it seeks land it sees as critical to train troops amid tensions with China. Im not surprised, said William Aila Jr., who previously served as chair of the BLNR. I think the Army realized that they werent going to get support from Land Board members, right ? So its more of a reality that theyre not going to be able to hang on to those state lands. So its a recognition of sort of whats happening on the ground now, in particular with Makua. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. military as a whole has faced heightened scrutiny in Hawaii ever since fuel from the Navys Red Hill facilitywhich sits just 100 feet above a critical aquifercontaminated the Navys drinking water system in 2021. Since then there have been a series of other incidents, including a 700-gallon diesel fuel spill at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex at Haleakalas summit in 2023, that have helped galvanize activists and community groups on a level not seen since the push to stop the Navys bombing of Kahoolawe. All on the table As the Army moves into negotiations with the state, it has the option to propose giving up some federal land it holds to the state in exchange for lands it wants more, or even buying landeverything is potentially on the table. But whether the Army seeks to buy or lease Hawaii land after 2029, all sides expect that if the Army seeks to keep anything, it will have to pay much more than $1. Ultimately, Army officials have told the Star-Advertiser they consider PTA to be the most important training area in the islands. Situated between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, PTA is the Armys largest contiguous live-fire training area in Hawaii and perhaps the entire Pacific, allowing realistic training and large-scale unit maneuvers. Its also become a major part of the Armys Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, a series of ranges in Hawaii and Alaska that also brings in troops from foreign countries to train. The state parcel at PTA sits between two federally owned pieces of land, collectively making up 132, 000 acres, and Army officials call the leased land the connective tissue of PTA. Losing it would cleave the training area and make it difficult for the Army and other branches that use it to train there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kahuku Training Area overlooking Oahus North Shore has been used by the military since the mid-1950s with troops training in the jungle and helicopters flying above. The Army hopes to continue that training, including bringing in troops for JPMRC, with the federal portions and the 450 acres of state land at KTA it wants to lease again. The Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area in the Koolau Mountains has been used only for aerial training over the past dec ade, and the Army is ready to give it up entirely. But Makua has been arguably the militarys most controversial Oahu training ground. Once heavily used as a live-fire training area, the Army hasnt actually fired a shot in the valley since 2004. A lawsuit by Earth justice on behalf of local Malama Makua ultimately halted live-fire training after a fire started during an exercise burned brush and revealed ancient Native Hawaiian cultural sites within that the Army had long insisted werent there. In Hawaiian, makua means parent, and the valley holds deep significance to many Hawaiian cultural practitioners. In November 2023 the Army said that it no longer needed Makua for live-fire training and would never seek to use live munitions in the valley again. However, the Army still uses Makuas restricted airspace for aerial drone and occasional helicopter training. The valley was once home to several farms and ranches owned by members of a diverse community of Hawaiian, Japanese and Portuguese families. The military began using parts of Makua for live-fire training in the 1920s when the islands were governed as a U.S. territory, but after the Japanese navys attack on Dec. 7, 1941, the military imposed martial law in Hawaii and took control of all of Makua for training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Military officials assured the farmers and ranchers it would be temporary and that they could return to their land when the war was over. But in 1945, World War II ended and the Cold War began. The military asked Hawaiis territorial government for the transfer of 6, 608 acres at Makua for training and never left. Return of the valley The lawsuit by Earthjustice requires the Army to allow cultural access days led by Malama Makua, and the Army has spent millions on removing unexploded bombs, replanting seeds of native plants and preserving Native Hawaiian cultural sites. The last point has been contentious, with archaeologists saying the sites need to studied as they are and some Hawaiian cultural practitioners arguing they should be repaired, rebuilt and restored. Aila said that in Makua its good that one-third is coming back, and well do our best to work on that. But I think the Army has to be ready for continued pressure for the return of the other two-thirds, especially when its a want and its not a need. They can train with helicopters and the (drones ) on the other lands that they have, so thats whats disappointing. I mean, the community has said we would prefer the return of the entire valley so that we can now start working on restoring its cultural integrity and its biological integrity. But Dodge said that from his perspective its one thing at a time and that the Armys proposal is a major shift as the service and the state approach negotiations. He said, Who would imagine 25 years ago that there would be no more live-fire training in the valley ? Now were at a place where no more live-fire training, and theres actual intention, I think, and discussion about cleanup. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said discussions with Army officials and others around Hawaii lately have been encouraging to him, including with people involved in developing new technology to detect and remove unexploded ordnance. Dodge said, What we thought 10 or 20 years ago would be, you know, like a 100-year project to clean the valley could well happen much, much quicker and at much less cost. But he also said he wants there to be commitmentsand oversighton that process. The Army needs to stay involved. They need to put up the money to fund the cleanup of ultimately the entire valley, because they got their use out of it. Now its time to make good on their word to return the valley in a clean condition, said Dodge. We also are really clear, based on what happened in Kahoolawe and our experience with cleanup in Makua, that we do not want the Army to run the job. Were going to advocate very strongly that that community oversees the cleanup. The actual negotiations going forward will be undertaken by President Donald Trumps new Pentagon team, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Under Hegseth the Pentagon has prioritized military funding in the Pacific, but he has also vowed to drastically scale back or outright eliminate most of the militarys environmental and cultural programs, charging that such programs are woke and have distracted the military from preparing for war. However, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll promised U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would work with her office and community groups in Hawaii on Army land leases and would listen to local concerns about the future of the land. Dodge said, Were not in control of what the presidential administration does so we will continue to be surprised by what happens and what shows up. DENVER (KDVR) A suspect was arrested in connection with a financial fraud case, according to the Littleton Police Department. On May 18, police responded to a senior woman who thought she may have been the victim of fraud after receiving a suspicious text from someone claiming to be from Apple Support, asking her to contact them to dispute a charge, according to a press release. Jokic makes All-NBA First Team, history upon history Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspects then posed as the Federal Trade Commission and told the victim that the interaction had caused her financial accounts to be hacked and that she needed to secure her money before it disappeared, police said. This led to several instances where the suspects allegedly convinced the victim to send them $10,000 worth of Bitcoin and to purchase over $450,000 in gold that would be collected in two separate pickups. Before the suspects were able to collect on the gold, the victim realized she had been scammed and reached out to the Littleton Police Department. Detectives told her to continue the plan to meet as usual. During what was meant to be the swapping point, police and the Special Enforcement Team were present and took the suspect into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect was identified as Meet Hittendrakumar Soni, a citizen from India and resident in New Jersey, who police said admitted to flying to three other states to perform a similar pickup to the attempted one in Colorado. Soni was booked into the Arapahoe County Jail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Arsonists could be behind a major power cut at the Cannes Film Festival, according to French police. Local authorities confirmed that the power cut, which caused chaos just before the festivals star-studded closing ceremony, could have been caused by an attack on vital infrastructure. The French national gendarmerie said officials were looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately, according to Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It added that no arrests had been made so far. Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes area, confirmed that an electric box had been targeted in the early hours of Saturday, followed by an attack on a pylon at around 10am. Authorities are seeking to identify, arrest and bring to justice those responsible, an official statement said. Mobile networks, traffic systems and train lines were all affected, making travel and communication difficult. The power outage has caused significant disruption, including to local traffic lights - Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP The headquarters of the festival switched to a backup power supply that organisers at the time hoped would allow the closing ceremony to take place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An official statement from the festival said: A power outage is currently affecting the city of Cannes and surrounding areas. At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are under way. The Palais des Festivals has switched to an independent power supply, allowing all scheduled events and screenings, including the closing ceremony, to proceed as planned and under normal conditions. The first signs of power trouble were seen ahead of a press conference with The Crown star Josh OConnor, when a loud bang was heard in the festival building, before it was plunged into temporary darkness. Guests were later seen paying for drinks and ice cream in cash, while expensive local restaurants lost the use of card machines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France Info, a radio network, broadcast unconfirmed reports that two malicious acts had taken place along train lines in the Var region, to the west of Cannes, before the blackout. Train timetable screens have malfunctioned in Cannes - Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP Full power was subsequently restored to Cannes and the festival headquarters and the closing ceremony went ahead, proving to be a successful night for an Iranian dissident director. Jury president Juliette Binoche presented the top prize, the famed Palme dOr, for A Simple Accident. The film was directed by Jafar Panahi, an Iranian filmmaker who was barred from leaving the state in 2018 when he earned a best screenplay prize. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Panahi has been imprisoned several times and went through a hunger strike in 2023 amid a state ban on his filmmaking. US comic star John C Reilly referenced the earlier blackout as he presented the award for best script. He also performed and impromptu rendition of the Edith Piaf standard La Vie En Rose, apparently to celebrate his own birthday. The award itself was given for the film Jeunes Meres. The grand prize went to Sentimental Value, directed by Joachim Trier, which earned a 15-minute standing ovation when it premiered in Cannes. Best actress went to newcomer Nadia Melliti, aged only 18, for The Little Sister. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Best actor went to Brasilia star Wagner Moura for the film Secret Agent, which also won the award for best visual design. The jury prize went to two films, Sirat and the Sound of Falling. The special prize went to Resurrection. 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. ASHTABULA The Ashtabula Area City School Board honored former member Bill Niemi after accepting his resignation at a meeting Wednesday. Niemi stepped down after seven years on the school board because he is moving out of the district. Niemis resignation became effective Monday. I sat up here [as superintendent] with you for two and a half years, but Ive been here for 28 years, so Ive been here for all seven years that youve been here, AACS Superintendent Lisa Newsome said. We truly appreciate everything youve done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newsome said Niemi was dedicated to serving district families during his time on the board. The board tabled replacing Niemi on the A-Tech board until his spot on the AACS board was filled. Board member Donald Rapose said he was interested in taking the spot, but wanted to wait to see if Niemis AACS replacement was interested. Interested applicants for the position can submit a letter to District Treasurer Mark Astorino, at 541 West 34th St., Ashtabula, no later than 4 p.m. today. Applicants must be at least 18, a United States citizen and have resided of Ohio for one year and in the county and school district for at least 40 days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The board approved the districts five-year forecast. Astorino said not much has changed from what the board heard at an April 28 work session. Were basically using the house version of the current budget bill to model a projection, he said. Astorino said the district should not be affected by bills lowering how much money districts can carry over. Newsome said staff have to be supported, and the district will have to function in a balanced budget. Board President Scott Yopp said the district will have to focus on not incurring additional costs. Its not that we have to watch spending, he said. Its that we have to make sure spending is effective. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Money should be put toward keeping great teachers around and fixing busses to retain families in the district, Yopp said. Board Vice President Laura Jones it is hard to know exactly how the budget will impact the district. Its kind of a waiting game, she said. The board voted to modify its agreement with the architect providing professional and construction administration services for the Lakeside High School reconstruction project, Olsavsky Jaminet Architects, to compensate the company an additional $1.62 million. Astorino said the board could not vote to pay the full amount before, because they did not have the undisputed payment from the insurance company yet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The board originally agreed to compensate the company $200,000. The architects total compensation now is $1.82 million. The high schools roof collapsed during the 2024 Thanksgiving weekend snowstorm, making it unusable. The board declared it necessary to renew a 1.25-mill levy, which funds district textbooks, educational technology and instructional equipment. The board approved a contract for Astorino to continue serving as the districts treasurer from Aug. 1 2026, to July 31, 2029. The next board work session and regular meeting will be June 18, at 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m., respectively. BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) Johnette Kamokunani Palumbo uses Polynesian dance to make people feel like ohana or family. Because it is my culture, Im very proud. And what I love about it is Im able to share with everyone, she said. Palumbo is the founder of Kamokunani Hula Halau which stands for Kamokunanis dance school. She offers Polynesian dance classes from Hawaii, Tahiti and more. We do Maori, which is New Zealand as well. So Maori, Tahitian, Cook Island and Hawaii, which also we do modern and Kahiko, which are the ancient dances as well, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palumbo was born in Hawaii the same year it became the 50th state of the United States. When she was six, Palumbos family came to the continental U.S. when they moved to Chicago. She then visited Hawaii every other year, keeping her connected to her Polynesian heritage. And because my mom started me at age four back then it was great. As I was going into my teenage years I was like really I gotta go to Hawaii again, Palumbo said. I didnt appreciate it until I was older of course. Then I was able to realize that I wanted to do this for most of my life and share it with others. Palumbo opened her dance school in 2008. There was a period of a six-year sabbatical but she came back in 2023. From Palumbos mom to her grandchildren, hula is an important part of their heritage. When my mom does come down, we do have a four-generational dance. And its fabulous. Shes 93 years old, she said. Whats amazing is after all the show everybodys crying seeing my mom dance. Shes old hula. Where old hula is this and new hula is this, very soft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palumbo said her students become ohana. She wants everyone to take a class to experience the ohana and aloha spirits. As you can see we have very mixed nationalities. And I want all nationalities to come and try it, she said. Because its fun and we love each other and we give to each other and we give the Aloha spirit to one another. To find a class for you at Kamokunani Hula Halau click here. See how Breanna Rittman did taking a dance class 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 CIProud.com. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains announced on Thursday she submitted a formal resolution to censure the California House Republicans after all nine members voted to pass President Donald Trumps budget bill. In a press release, Bains (D-Delano) harshly criticized the members of the states House Republicans, saying they chose to slash federal healthcare and food assistance funding for California residents. Instead of standing up for us, our Republican delegation sold us out, Bains said in the press release. No state in the nation is harmed more by Trumps Big Ugly Lie. The Negligent Nine betrayed California, putting loyalty to Trump and their political party above the 40 million residents of the greatest state in the union. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medicaid cuts kill: Healthcare rallies continue, this time with mock caskets and tombstones The United States House of Representatives passed the bill narrowly by just one vote on May 22. The bill, which spans over 1,000 pages, includes several changes like temporary tax cuts for service workers and overtime, among other tax breaks. The bill also imposes limitations and funding cuts to federal aid programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as CalFresh in California, which support low-income U.S. citizens. The censure follows recent speculation about Bains potentially planning to run for Congress in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 17 News reported in the past few weeks, a healthcare advertisement featuring Bains began airing frequently. While Bains simply introduces herself as a family doctor in the ad, the ad was paid for by a political action committee called Healthcare Saves Lives and funded by SEIU California. Shes running for Congress, said Central Valley political analyst Tracy Leach. Another 2026 congressional candidate? Breaking down Asm. Dr. Jasmeet Bains healthcare ad After the passing of the budget bill, Republican Congressman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) said in a statement the bill provides tax relief for working-class Americans and small business, blaming the Biden Administration for four years of skyrocketing prices and crippling national debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the passage of this bill here in the House, we are one step closer to rebuilding the American Dream for hardworking families in the Central Valley and across the country, Fong said in the press release. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues in the Senate to finalize this vital piece of legislation and get it to the Presidents desk to be signed into law. Despite voting to pass the bill, Republican Congressman David Valadao of Californias 22nd Congressional District emphasized his intentions to protect Medicaid and SNAP for the vulnerable populations. Valadao said he successfully preserved the integrity of (Medicaid) and prevented proposals that would disproportionately impact California. As this process moves forward, my priorities remain the same, and I am committed to working closely with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure critical programs like Medicaid and SNAP are protected for those who need them most, Valadao said in his statement. These are real wins that will put more money back in the pockets of hardworking Central Valley families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News There are currently 43 Democrats and nine Republicans in the California Congressional Delegation. All Democrats opposed the bill while all Republicans were in support of it. The Censure Resolution includes the following congressional representatives, according to Bains: Representative Doug LaMalfa (CA-1) Representative Kevin Kiley (CA-3) Representative Tom McClintock (CA-5) Representative Vince Fong (CA-20) Representative David Valadao (CA-22) Representative Jay Obernolte (CA-23) Representative Young Kim (CA-40) Representative Ken Calvert (CA-41) Representative Darrel Issa (CA-48) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. As two distant galaxies trade blows in an ancient duel billions of years old, one belligerent has clearly proven itself more ruthless than the other. Each time the galaxies conclude their posturing and charge in for a clash, one of them impales its opponent with a powerful beam of radiation, crippling its ability to form new stars. In cosmic terms, it's the definition of a below the belt blow and a massive one at that. This lopsided showdown was reported in a new study set to be published in the journal Nature, marking the first observation of a galaxy blasting its neighbor with radiation, and furthers our understanding of the huge galactic meat grinders known as quasars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We hence call this system the 'cosmic joust'," said study co-lead author Pasquier Noterdaeme, a researcher at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, in a statement about the work. The light we're seeing from this joust is over 11 billion years old, dating it to when the universe was less than one-fifth of its current age. Bloodsport, it seems, is a time-honored tradition. Using observations made with the Very Large Telescope and the ALMA telescope in Chile, the astronomers determined that the galaxies are veering towards each other at astounding speeds exceeding 311 miles per second. After crossing paths, they circle back, then wind up to hurtle towards each other yet again. One galaxy, it appears, is fairly typical. But the other is dominated by a quasar, a luminous region at the center of the galaxy where a supermassive black hole churns through billions of stars' worth of dust and gases. As the doomed material swirls into the black hole, they become so hot that they produce light capable of outshining entire galaxies, including the Milky Way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We discovered a quasar likely triggered by the merging of two galaxies that is actively transforming the gas structure in its companion galaxy," Noterdaeme told Gizmodo. "The idea that galaxy mergers give rise to quasars has long been proposed, mainly supported by statistical studies of host galaxy morphologies." "In our case,' Noterdaeme added, "we caught the two galaxies in the act." When they looked closer, the researchers found that when the quasar-powered galaxy skewered its opponent, the invading beam of radiation disrupted the clouds of gas and dust it penetrated, taking out stellar nurseries that are prime regions for forming stars. For the one wielding the weapon, this had an added effect. Like blood running down a blade, some of the gases from the impaled galaxy trickled back to the attacker, feeding even more material into the quasar's voracious black hole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's not a spectacle for the faint of heart. But if you count yourself among the coliseum mob cheering on the gladiatorial carnage, there's good news. Noterdaeme said that the next generation of observatories, namely the under-construction Extremely Large Telescope, will allow astronomers to "better understand the evolution of quasars and their effect on host and nearby galaxies" delivering you all the gory details in bouts like these. More on astronomy: Scientists Intrigued by Bridge of Dark Matter Inside Huge Galaxy Cluster Milwaukee County has taken steps to improve conditions at its jail, including ending the use of unsafe restraint practices and updating suicide prevention protocols, according to a recently released report from an outside evaluator. The progress report was a follow-up to an audit commissioned by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and prompted by six in-custody deaths between 2022 and 2023, including two confirmed suicides. The original audit, dated October 2024, was critical of the jail conditions. It found suicide watch practices termed "dangerous," challenges administering mental health care, poor leadership oversight and an ongoing critical staffing shortage and inmate crowding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new report, dated May 20, provided an update on progress made between January and April of this year. Here's what to know about the final report: Who conducted the audit and final report on the Milwaukee County Jail? Texas-based firm Creative Corrections produced the audit and the 47-page final report. The report was a "collaborative effort" between the company, the jail and Wellpath, which is the health care provider in the jail, the report says. What problems were found in the jail audit? The key areas of concern were security, training, safety, food service, facility maintenance, occupant handbook information, medical services, mental health and communication with other county departments. What has improved at the jail? The report found "measurable and meaningful progress" in addressing problems that had been identified in the original report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Key improvements include the elimination of unsafe restraint practices, updated suicide prevention protocols, strengthened supervision, improved compliance reviews, and targeted mental health and suicide awareness training," the report states. About 71% of the 52 actionable items identified in the corrective action plan had been fully resolved while the remaining 29% are partially compliant and being addressed, according to the report. What problems have only been partially addressed? Areas of concern that are only partially compliant include: Removing bench restraints. Adding holding cells. Funding new protective gear and less-lethal munitions for jail staff. Less-lethal munitions typically refers to pepper spray and similar law enforcement tools. Upgrading suicide watch cells. Posting daily food menus in housing units and on occupants' tablets. Removing all graffiti. Filling certain positions to ensure around-the-clock mental health coverage. What needs to happen to ensure conditions in the jail continue to improve? Auditors remain confident the jail will continue to improve "provided that appropriate structural and fiscal support remains in place," the report says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They specifically emphasized the need for continued funding and support for infrastructure changes, such as renovations to the cells. The report also found that the county could move faster to reduce overcrowding and improve conditions of confinement by expanding the Community Reintegration Center's acceptance criteria to include pretrial female occupants. Will county correctional facilities continue to be monitored? Yes. Monitoring by the state's Department of Corrections Office of Detention Facilities and court monitoring under the Christensen Consent Decree will continue, according to a memo from county Director of Audits Jennifer Folliard Folliard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medical care at the jail and the Community Reintegration Center will continue to be monitored by NCCHC Resources, she wrote. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Jail conditions improve since audit but work remains New Aurora Mayor John Laesch, who has now been in office for over a week, has chosen the team of people who will help him lead the city. Laesch was sworn in as Auroras 60th mayor on May 13 after winning over incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin in the April 1 consolidated election. Soon after taking office, Laesch hired three new people from his transition team to work in the Mayors Office and recently appointed four others, with approval from the Aurora City Council, to other upper city management positions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shannon Cameron, who led Laeschs transition team, was hired to be his chief of staff a position that seems to functionally replace the chief management officer position formerly held by Alex Alexandrou. The job of the chief of staff position, Laesch told The Beacon-News, will be to run the city when he is not around, even though he plans to be hands-on with city staff. The goal is to have him and Cameron be interchangeable, he said. Cameron was chosen because she is a get-it-done kind of person, according to Laesch. He said she is able to cut through the red tape, speak her mind and jump into action to do the right thing. Alexandrou also had that type of personality, which the role needs, Laesch said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plus Camerons experience both from her time helping to found the Paramount School of the Arts and from her time as executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry means she brings a strategic planning perspective to the mayors office, he said, which balances out his own tendency to be goal-oriented. Nicholas Richard-Thompson, who was also on Laeschs transition team, is now serving as the citys deputy chief of staff. The city previously had two of these positions, held by Alex Voigt and Maria Lindsay, and Laesch said he is planning to hire another soon. Richard-Thompson will bring a different perspective to the mayors office, Laesch said, and is a creative thinker while having similar values to others on the team. Plus, Richard-Thompson knows a lot of people in the community and within city government, Laesch said. When asked by The Beacon-News about his new role, Richard-Thompson said he was happy and honored to be selected, but also surprised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he has been a local community organizer for over a decade, and has years of experience working in public administration, including seven years with the city of Aurora working in community engagement, economic development and communications. He hopes to bring all that experience with him to this new role and to lead with integrity, execute excellently and build a stronger community, he said. According to Richard-Thompson, Laesch has built a robust and dynamic team that he is looking forward to working within. Rounding out Laeschs new mayors office team is Casildo Casey Cuevas, who is now the deputy mayor. Also a member of Laeschs transition team, Cuevas was brought in because of his experience, particularly in working with the constituents of other elected officials, as one of the new administrations goals is to be more responsive to the community, according to Laesch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuevas previously worked for state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, as her community service director. In a Facebook post last week, Villa said Cuevas was a fierce advocate for our community, going above and beyond to support our constituents. In the deputy mayor role, Cuevas will bring that same level of responsiveness to residents, according to Laesch. Plus, he said Cuevas is bilingual and knows his way around multiple layers of government, which is important. The goal, Laesch said, is to have Cuevas working with a restructured communications department that is more focused on active community engagement out in the neighborhoods, particularly in those which have a heavy Latino population. In addition to the nonprofits Cuevas has founded or worked with, he is also the chair of Working Families Aurora, a local political action committee, or PAC, that supported Laesch and many others including the newly-inaugurated Ald. Keith Larson, at large, and Ald. Javier Banuelos, 7th Ward in past elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Laesch, Cuevas was the only person he hired that was an active part of his campaign. Still, two of the four people Laesch appointed to upper city management positions outside of the mayors office both of which were confirmed by the Aurora City Council Tuesday have been supported by Working Families Aurora when they previously ran for local public office. Ram Tyagi, who was confirmed as the citys new chief information officer, unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Aurora Public Library Board in the recent April 1 consolidated election. Tyagi was not only supported by Working Families Aurora but was also endorsed by Laesch, as seen in a sample ballot posted to his mayoral campaign Facebook page. Laesch told The Beacon-News that Tyagi is an ethical, transparent and strong leader that has the right personality to take over the citys IT department during a time when changes are coming soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think hell be able to make assessments about what needs to change, Laesch said. Hes got a very laid-back personality but (is) also very firm in his position. Tyagi, whose resume shows he most recently worked at Harris Associates, an investment firm, as its vice president and head of investment operations technology, is taking a pay cut to join the city, according to Laesch. He said public service is a big part of who Tyagi is as a person. Nicole Mullins, who was confirmed Tuesday as the citys new chief community services officer, was also formerly endorsed by the Working Families Aurora PAC when she unsuccessfully ran for the Aurora City Councils 6th Ward seat in 2023. Laesch said that, while there are probably other people equally as qualified to take the position, Mullins has high standards as a team builder and, similar to Tyagi, is not afraid to push for change where it is needed. She has a good vision, and the community services department will be seeing some changes in its focus areas, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to her resume, Mullins most recently managed the Illinois Department on Agings Community Care Program for Southern Kane and Kendall counties. However, she may be more well known in Aurora as the founder and president of L.I.F.T. Aurora, the organization behind Culture Stock, which ran a bookstore and cultural arts center in downtown from 2012 to 2018. Although Tyagi and the others whose appointments were OKd by the Aurora City Council on Tuesday saw unanimous approval, Mullins did not. Ald. Juany Garza, 2nd Ward, and Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, voted against her appointment. When asked why he didnt vote for Mullins, Franco said she was part of a group that, a couple of years ago during his re-election campaign, disrupted one of his neighborhood meetings by yelling and swearing and screaming and trying to make him angry so they could videotape it. Plus, during a different meeting that residents had called to discuss issues with the HelloFresh factory, he was shut down by the same group when he tried to speak, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I find it pretty amazing that a person whos going to be now in charge of the neighborhood groups would act in such a way a despicable way, Franco said. It was not just her, it was the whole group, but if youre part of that group, then you have some culpability in how people act. Mullins told The Beacon-News that she attends many community meetings and was not involved in stopping Franco from speaking at the meeting about HelloFresh. She is not responsible for what other people do, she said, and doesnt believe city officials should dictate how community members organize to share their concerns. I think those of us in positions of power, elected or otherwise, need to realize that criticism and expectations of accountability comes with the territory, Mullins said. We serve the community. Im now also not immune to that. As the citys new chief community services officer, Mullins said she sees many opportunities to fix or improve relationships in the community and wants to focus her energy there, including on her own with elected officials. She wants a good working relationship with all aldermen regardless of how they voted, she said, so they can work together for the benefit of the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another upper-level appointment approved by the Aurora City Council Tuesday was Eduardo Questell, who is the citys new director of brand, marketing and digital strategy. Questell most recently worked at Gilmore Marketing Concepts, Inc., of Elgin, as a visual and web designer. Questell, Mullins and Tyagi were all on Laeschs transition team. Also confirmed to an upper city leadership position by the Aurora City Council at the Tuesday meeting was Adrian Perez, a longtime city employee who will now serve as the citys superintendent of streets. Perez has worked in Auroras Public Works Department for years, originally starting as a seasonal worker in 2005 before being hired on as a maintenance worker in 2012, according to his resume. Since then, he has risen through the ranks and most recently served as the assistant superintendent since 2021. The Aurora City Council also chose at Tuesdays meeting to keep Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward, as the mayor pro tem, meaning he will lead City Council and Committee of the Whole meetings when Laesch isnt there. rsmith@chicagotribune.com SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday the clean-up had begun in the country's southeast after floods killed five people and inundated more than 10,000 properties. "Were continuing to work closely across federal, state and local governments to make sure Australians get the support they need now and through recovery," Albanese said on social media platform X. Damage assessments were under way in New South Wales' hard-hit mid-north coast region after floods this week cut off towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes, the state's emergency services agency said. It estimated that at least 10,000 properties may have been damaged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conditions had improved since Friday in the affected areas of Australia's most populous state, the agency said. Even so, hundreds of flood-hit residents were still in evacuation centres, State Emergency Services commissioner Mike Wassing said at a media conference in Sydney, with 52 flood rescues being made overnight. The latest flood-linked death was that of a man in his 80s, whose body was found at a flooded property about 50 km (31 miles) from Taree, one of the worst-hit towns, police said. Albanese, forced on Friday to cancel a trip to Taree due to floodwaters, said it was "awful to hear the news of more loss of life". Taree sits along the Manning River more than 300 km (186 miles) north of Sydney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "All of our thoughts are with his loved ones and the community at this time," Albanese said in a statement. The floods, sparked by days of incessant rain, submerged intersections and street signs in mid-north coast towns and covered cars up to their windshields, after fast-rising waters burst river banks. At their peak, the floods isolated around 50,000 people. Australia has been hit with more extreme weather events that some experts say are the result of climate change. After droughts and devastating bushfires at the end of last decade, frequent floods have wreaked havoc since early 2021. (Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Tom Hogue and Kate Mayberry) UPDATE, May 26, 10:33 am Per the Richmond County Sheriffs Office, Saafirr Burke has been located. *** AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) The Richmond County Sheriffs Office is asking for help finding a missing man. Saafirr Burke, 25, was last seen walking away from an apartment complex on Bahama Drive around 10 p.m. Friday, May 23. He was wearing a navy hoodie and sweatpants. Hes about 56, 190 pounds. If you know where he is, call the Richmond County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. A federal judge has ordered Donald Trumps administration to return a Guatemalan man who was wrongfully deported to Mexico. The man, referred to as O.C.G in court documents, says he fled Guatemala in April 2024. While passing through Mexico, he says he was raped, targeted for being gay and held prisoner until his sister paid a ransom. Now, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy says he must be returned to the U.S. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped, Murphy wrote in a Friday evening ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man has no known criminal history, and no one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat, Murphy wrote. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a sexual violence survivor wrongfully sent to Mexico, where he experienced rape and kidnapping (REUTERS) Murphy also says he received false information from government attorneys. Immigration officials initially claimed that he had agreed to be sent to Mexico, but the administration later admitted in court documents that their claim was based on erroneous information. An immigration official wrote in a sworn statement that ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who had even asked the man about his credible fear. How was this mistake made? Murphy asked government lawyers during a hearing on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a really big deal, he said. It is a big deal to lie to a court under oath. It is an extraordinarily big deal to do so when there are matters of national importance at stake. I take this extremely seriously. He suggested he could call Homeland Security officials into court to testify under oath. While mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to this decision are troubling, Murphy wrote on Friday. The Court was given false information, upon which it relied, twice, to the detriment of a party at risk of serious and irreparable harm. Murphy added that the mans attorneys are likely to succeed in arguing he wasnt given proper due process, which is required under law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defendants retraction of their prior sworn statement makes inexorable the already-strong conclusion that O.C.G. is likely to succeed in showing that his removal lacked any semblance of due process, Murphy wrote. When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told The Independent that Americans elected President Trump not random local judges with their own liberal agenda to run the country. These unelected judges have no right to stop the Trump Administration from exercising their rightful control over immigration policy and national security policy, Jackson said. Murphys ruling marks the third time that the Trump administration has been ordered to return a wrongly deported immigrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, a Trump-appointed federal judge found that the governments removal of a 20-year-old Venezuelan man named in court documents as Cristian violated a court settlement intended to protect young immigrants who have pending asylum claims. The Supreme Court has also unanimously agreed that the Trump administration illegally deported Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father and husband living in Maryland. Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador as a teenager in 2011. He has been imprisoned in his home country since March 15. More than a month after the highest courts decision, the Trump administration has yet to facilitate his return, and is engaged in a tense legal battle to avoid answering what steps, if any, it is taking to bring him back, and arguing that the administration does not need to answer to questions from a federal judge about its arrangement with El Salvador. The Trump administration has resisted bringing back Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador despite the Supreme Court unanimously ordering his return (AP) The administration is also embroiled in legal battles against international college students targeted for deportation over their pro-Palestinian activism, which government officials claim poses a threat to national security and foreign affairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbia University scholar Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident with no criminal record, was detained in March for his participation in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Khalils wife gave birth a month after his arrest. He held his newborn son for the first time from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center this week. Several other students have been released from ICE detention while their legal battles play out. Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, Columbia grad Mohsen Mahdawi and Georgetown postdoctoral scholar Badar Khan Suri were released in recent weeks after federal judges questioned the constitutionality of their arrests. On Friday, a federal judge blasted the Trump administrations attempts to stop Harvard University from enrolling international students as a blatant violation of the Constitution. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A man has been arrested in connection with a shooting at a McDonalds in Baton Rouge over the weekend. The Baton Rouge Police Department confirmed Sakyron Taylor, 24, was identified as the suspect in the shooting. 24-year-old Sakyron Taylor has been arrested in connection with a shooting in Baton Rouge over the weekend. Officers responded to the fast-food restaurant on Sherwood Forest Boulevard around 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 24. A man was found at the scene with a gunshot wound and taken to the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the police, the victim and the suspect got into an argument. Taylor reportedly left the business and returned with a gun. The suspect then shot the victim in his midsection, according to BRPD. Police said the victim is in stable condition. Taylor was located and arrested on Wednesday, May 28. He was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison for: attempted second-degree murder illegal use of weapons and aggravated criminal damage to property Police said Taylor was out on bail for a shooting in August 2024. Man accused of shooting at Port Allen High School football game found guilty Latest News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A Baton Rouge woman was arrested in connection with an overdose death in Ascension Parish. Deputies responded to a reported overdose at a Prairieville home on River Landing Drive Wednesday, Jan. 21, where a woman was pronounced dead at the scene after ingesting fentanyl. The Ascension Parish Sheriffs Office arrested Mackenzie Corkern, 28, in connection with the death. Detectives identified Corkern as the person who supplied the drugs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Corkern was arrested on Wednesday, May 21, after an arrest warrant was executed. She was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail on a charge of second-degree murder. US overdose deaths far outpace other countries: Report Latest News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. May 23WASHINGTON Two Republicans from central and Eastern Washington voted on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump's signature bill to cut taxes and boost spending on immigration enforcement, after their fellow GOP lawmakers who represent the same areas in Olympia warned against the legislation's cuts to Medicaid. Reps. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane and Dan Newhouse of Sunnyside helped narrowly pass what Trump has dubbed "One Big, Beautiful Bill" now the legislation's official name by a vote of 215-214. Two of their GOP colleagues voted no, another slept through the vote after the House pulled an all-nighter to rush the bill through before its Memorial Day recess, and one Republican voted "present," lamenting that the bill doesn't do enough to reduce the federal budget deficit. The package would make permanent the sweeping tax cuts Republicans passed during the first Trump administration in 2017, which are set to expire at the end of the year, and it includes additional short-term tax cuts that would further reduce government revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This bill delivers the largest tax cut in American history, saving the average American $5,000 a year and cutting taxes by 15% for working families," Baumgartner said in a statement. "In Eastern Washington, it protects 467,500 taxpayers from a looming 25% tax hike and increases funding for much needed technology to bolster border security. It's not a silver bullet for D.C.'s $7 trillion spending problem, but it's a strong start, and a major win for Eastern Washington." According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, the average taxpayer in Baumgartner's 5th congressional district would see their taxes increase in 2026 by nearly $2,400 and in Newhouse's 4th congressional district by more than $2,000 if Congress doesn't act by year's end. Those tax hikes would be higher in districts west of the Cascades. If Republicans succeed in passing a bill by Dec. 31, they will keep tax rates largely flat, with some additional tax cuts for tips, overtime wages and other provisions Trump promised during his campaign. GOP leaders have made contradictory claims that making the 2017 tax law permanent represents a historic tax cut and effectively costs nothing, because extending the existing tax cuts would keep government revenue on its current trajectory. To pay for the additional tax cuts and spending, the bill would cut spending on Medicaid by imposing new restrictions intended to prevent unauthorized immigrants and young, able-bodied Americans from receiving the government-funded health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency that provides information to lawmakers, estimates that the legislation would result in at least 8.6 million people losing their health insurance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the Affordable Care Act was passed fifteen years ago states were allowed to expand Medicaid coverage up to individuals at 138% of the federal poverty line. About 90% of that cost is covered by the federal government. Under the new bill, states would not receive that 90% back of what they spend. Instead, the federal government would provide states with a lump sum based on their population per capita, regardless of the state's actual Medicaid costs. This change could significantly shift the cost of Medicaid expansion to the states, incentivizing them to roll back the Obamacare expansion or cut spending elsewhere to cover the costs. That Medicaid expansion reimbursement would also be cut an additional 10% to states that provide Medicaid coverage to undocumented immigrants. As of last year, undocumented immigrants in Washington are eligible for Medicaid if their income is under 138% of the federal poverty line. The expansion is fully funded by the state, but the new bill would still cut Medicaid reimbursement across the board if Washington state does not remove Medicaid eligibility for undocumented immigrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a letter to Washington's entire congressional delegation on Wednesday, 23 Republican state lawmakers asked their federal counterparts to protect Medicaid for the state's residents. Like Idaho and many other states, Washington expanded Medicaid to cover more people after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act of 2010. "If federal funding for the expansion population is cut or federal financing is reduced, Washington will have to use significant state funds to fill the gap," the GOP lawmakers wrote. "Without federal funding, we will be forced to make further cuts to health care, endangering local health care organizations and eliminating coverage for many constituents." Noting that a quarter of Washingtonians are enrolled in the state's Medicaid plan, Apple Health, the state legislators said they support the goal of rooting out "waste, fraud and abuse" but warned that Washington "will be among the states hardest hit by Medicaid losses," partly because the federal government contributes a relatively small portion of the state's Medicaid budget. "We urge you to protect Medicaid," they wrote. "We can't afford to lose local health care resources, and our rural communities will not be able to ride out the economic shockwaves that are sure to follow if this program is significantly cut. Simply put, we cannot lose another rural hospital or clinic, nor another long-term care facility. We depend on a stable health care system, and we're counting on your leadership to ensure Medicaid's survival." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Letter co-signer Leonard Christian said he signed the letter to protect the rural hospitals in his rural state Senate district in Eastern Washington. "Our hospitals are already suffering with the biggest tax increase ever in state history, and so the hospitals are already in pretty bad shape," said the Republican. "If we cut Medicaid as well, the reality is many of our rural hospitals would close pretty quickly. They're hanging on by a thread." While Christian wants to see a smaller federal government, he believes Congress should look elsewhere. "When it comes to lives and having hospitals be available for folks, there's other things we need to be looking at cutting before this," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christian also criticized state Democratic leaders who have made undocumented immigrants eligible for Medicaid saying the policy has put strain on an already fragile health care system. "We're just continually piling more people on a system that's already in trouble. The state's been irresponsible in this for many years," he said. The more than 1,000-page House bill contains a wide range of GOP priorities, headlined by a major spending boost for border security and immigration enforcement. It includes $46.5 billion for construction of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, $45 billion for immigrant detention facilities and $4 billion to hire more Customs and Border Patrol officers. It also increases spending on the military by $150 billion, including $25 billion to start building a new missile defense system Trump has dubbed the "Golden Dome," combining his admiration for Israel's Iron Dome system with his personal affinity for gold. And it would raise the nation's borrowing limit by $4 trillion, allowing the government to avoid defaulting on its debt, which now exceeds $36 trillion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To offset that additional spending and the new tax cuts, the legislation aims to cut costs by rolling back Biden-era energy policies and reducing spending on Medicaid and SNAP, the nutritional assistance commonly known as food stamps. Estimates published Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office projected that the bill would increase the deficit by $3.8 trillion through 2034, and would cause a decrease in resources for the lowest-income 10% of Americans and an increase in resources for the highest-earning 10%. Facing opposition from Democrats and even some Republicans to cutting health care and food aid for low-income Americans while enacting tax cuts that would benefit the nation's highest earners, GOP leaders scaled back their initial plans for Medicaid. They landed on a set of restrictions intended to remove unauthorized immigrants and young, able-bodied Americans from the government-funded health insurance program. Democrats and other opponents of the Medicaid reforms say the new requirements are onerous and will result in more people losing their health insurance. In a call with reporters on Wednesday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., spoke alongside CEOs of rural hospitals in Asotin and Klickitat counties who warned that cutting Medicaid funding could force some hospitals to close. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The House Republicans are now trying to cobble together what I believe is a serious attack on Medicaid," Cantwell said. "It undermines the program by shifting the burden to the states and making the entire healthcare system more expensive. When you think about it, if you cut Medicaid, and you cut people on Medicaid, they're not going to stop having health care needs. They're just going to go to a more expensive, unfunded setting to get that care." Republicans counter that their bill will preserve Medicaid for those who need it most while cutting costs. In a statement on Thursday, Newhouse said he had voted "to restore fiscal sanity in the federal government." "We have made real, common-sense reforms to strengthen the integrity of Medicaid, protecting the program for low-income families, seniors, and those with disabilities," he said. "By implementing work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents, and preventing those here illegally from accessing the program, we are protecting Medicaid for those who truly need it most." In a Thursday press conference Governor Bob Ferguson called the bill passed by Congress "cruel and harmful." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our state will change in fundamental ways if this goes forward," the Democrat said. "As governor, obviously we're doing everything we can to persuade the Senate to walk back from the brink of an action that would have truly dire consequences for many thousands of Washingtonians." According to Ferguson, the bill would cost Washington state approximately $2 billion in federal funds in the next four years if it is passed. At least 200,000 out of 2 million Washington Medicaid recipients would lose their coverage by the end of next year, he said. Ferguson did not say how his office calculated this initial projection. "Hospitals will close in Washington state, in rural parts of our state, and in urban parts of our state. You can just take that to the bank. That's going to happen," he said. Harborview Medical Center CEO Sommer Kleweno Walley said the Seattle hospital could close parts of its operations if the bill were passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harborview, our Board of Trustees and our King County elected officials will have to have some incredibly difficult conversations about what parts of Harborview can stay open and what parts we have to rethink," she said at the Governor's press conference of the level 1 trauma center. The bill now goes to the Senate, where the GOP majority plans to make changes before sending it back to the House, using a procedure called budget reconciliation to sidestep the Senate's usual 60-vote supermajority requirement and overcome universal opposition from Democrats. If both chambers can pass the same version of the bill, it will go to Trump's desk to become law. 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. OFALLON, Mo. Officials from the OFallon Missouri Police Department are cautioning residents following a bear sighting in the OFallon neighborhood. The police department shared the announcement on Facebook just after 6 p.m. Friday. The bear was spotted in the Haycastle Drive area. They believe the animal is moving northeast. Video courtesy of Wesley Dugger Because of this rare sighting, the OFallon police are asking people to keep a safe distance from the bear. Locals are also urged to not feed or call the bear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Missouri Department of Conservation has been informed regarding the incident. The department, however, advised that the bear is expected to leave the area on its own. Lets all do our part to keep both the community and the bear safe. Thank you for your cooperation, the police department concluded on Facebook. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Increasingly more women have been facing pregnancy-related prosecutions in the wake of Roe being overturned and reproductive rights advocate Kaitlyn Kash says people should be alarmed. Being pregnant can be a death sentence and now you can be criminalized, its horrific whats happening here, she said. Georgetown law professor Michele Goodwin agrees with her, noting that new fetal personhood laws are holding women to unrealistic standards. Bethany for Children & Families has announced Lara Ingram will serve as the agencys new President/CEO, according to a news release. Ingram has more than two decades of experience as a resourceful servant leader in the non-profit and social service sectors. Lara Ingram (Bethany for Children & Families) In this role, Ingram will lead Bethanys operations, programs, and business units, as well as those of its affiliate, Bridgeview Community Mental Health Center in Clinton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are thrilled to have Lara join the Bethany team. Her passion, vision, and experience in non-profit leadership set her and the agency up for a successful future, said Bethany Board Vice Chair John Phillips. Ingram, a Kentucky native who currently resides with her family in North Carolina, earned a master of arts in social work and a certificate in non-profit management. She previously has served as a non-profit CEO and executive director after beginning her career in direct clinical services. She looks forward to leading Bethanys dynamic workforce of nearly 130 employees. I couldnt be more excited to join Bethany. There is unlimited potential to create a significant impact on the lives of families and children in this community, Ingram said. Im eager to roll up my sleeves and get down to work with my new team and community partners. I look forward to joining hands with community leaders, volunteers, businesses, and compassionate individuals as we create a brighter future for local children, said Ingram. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bethanys current President/CEO, Dr. Bill Steinhauser, will retire from the agency after 29 years, growing it from a $2 million to $20 million non-profit. During his presidency, the agency added more than 22 programs and 100 employees. Through Bills passion and dedication, the mission of Bethany has been realized. So many children, individuals, and families have received assistance through his direction and time. The Board of Directors is extremely grateful for his service, said Board President Eric Spriet. Steinhausers retirement is scheduled for the end of June, and Ingram will begin in July. For more information about Bethany for Children & Families, visit here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) The Beyond the Brush Benefit for Bay County Art Show held its inaugural event at the main gallery Center for the Arts in downtown Panama City on Friday. The show was from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., it featured 50 art pieces donated by 40 local talented artists to be sold in a local silent auction. All proceeds received will be donated to The Therapy Room Foundation. Officials said this will help provide free mental health services to those in the community and raise awareness for mental health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Therapy Room was started in a spare bedroom by owner Katie Bergman in 2020 and has grown to 17 therapists all over the state of Florida. We really wanted to put this art show on because a lot of times, art is the voice that people dont have when expressing their mental health. So we wanted people to be able to use art as a voice to be able to give back to their own community and support other people who are going on with their own mental health issues, Digital Outreach Coordinator Ben Earnest said. For more information about The Therapy Room, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. After a blitzkrieg of a book rollout that saw Jake Tapper and Alex Thompsons Original Sin dominate the news cycle this week with its clinical autopsy of Joe Bidens decision to run for reelection, some in Biden world are hitting back, offering fresh complaints about the reporting process and their own fact checks. When Bidens reelection campaign needed video of him taking off-the-cuff questions from voters, they turned to a staged town hall in Delaware in April 2024 that they planned to use for a campaign commercial an episode that went so poorly, people in the campaign determined the town hall yielded unusable material, according to Tapper and Thompson. The pair write that at the closed-press event, even amid supporters and campaign staff that had the full list of questions, Biden had trouble. The campaign ultimately decided that the footage wasnt usable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Biden teams is pushing back. Three versions of test ads obtained exclusively by POLITICO tell a slightly more complicated story. While all three are highly edited and feature jump cuts of Bidens remarks, the footage also shows the candidate engaging with members of the audience. POLITICO viewed dated documents related to the town halls planning and a painting in the gym to confirm the date and location. One is called Greatest Nation focusing on democracy; another is titled Theyve Tried on the Affordable Care Act; a third, directed at veterans, is called Defend Us All. None ever aired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why was that? Though Tapper and Thompson report that it was because the footage wasnt usable, Biden advisers argue that the footage didnt make it on air simply because of timing. A Biden spokesperson tells POLITICO that the campaign tested the ads with focus groups but did not deploy them before the president dropped out of the race following his disastrous June 2024 debate. Asked about the Biden advisers claims, Tapper disputed the contention. In a quotation supplied to POLITICO by Tapper, an unnamed Biden adviser said: While the campaign was able to selectively utilize portions of the footage to craft ads that were eventually tested on focus groups, the consensus from senior and mid level campaign staff present for the event and those privy to the editing process was that the footage was not up to par and would require crafty editorial support. The campaigns leadership would not have needed to wait nearly four months to (not) release the ads created with the footage if it reflected the picture of confidence they suggest. POLITICO has been unable to independently verify the identity of the unnamed Biden adviser supplied by Tapper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dispute over the books reporting is the latest pushback from Biden aides and allies against what they are keen to depict as a slapdash fact-checking process by Tapper and Thompson. Tapper and Thompson have made a point of publicly noting that they paid for their book to be fact-checked a step that many nonfiction books skip and that Fergus McIntosh, the head research editor at The New Yorker, led that process. The New Yorker has a stringent and storied process for vetting materials before publication, and, indeed, McIntosh fact-checked both the book and the excerpt from the book that the magazine published last week. POLITICO has learned that McIntosh told at least one person that he was more limited in the facts he could check in the book versus the excerpt, which is common. McIntosh declined to speak on the record. McIntoshs role in fact-checking was raised as an issue in a statement Bidens spokesperson gave The New Yorker, but which the magazine didnt publish in its entirety. [T]he New Yorker employee who reached out to fact-check this excerpt also apparently reviewed the book and offered suggestions to the authors as they wrote it, the statement read. It's remarkable that neither this fact checker, nor the authors, reached out to fact check the actual book with us, and only the New Yorker is holding them to the high editorial standards that readers of the book should get in the first place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In other words, the unnamed Biden spokesperson claims that the first time a Biden aide heard from the independently hired fact-checker was for the magazine excerpt, not for the book. The New Yorker did not respond to a request for comment. Rufus Gifford, a Biden campaign official, shared video of Biden talking with George Clooney at a moment that the president allegedly did not recognize him though the video doesnt seem to definitively prove Giffords argument. Like some of the books buzziest anecdotes including that Biden didnt recognize Clooney the town hall anecdote is a matter of perception. Thompson reports that some people say ads from the town hall werent used because the lighting was bad; the lighting looks serviceable in the ads. Others told Thompson that Bidens performance at the event was poor; Biden, indeed, sounds raspy and old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to POLITICO, a spokesperson for Tapper and Thompson said: Jake and Alex stand by their reporting in Original Sin. The Biden team is repeating the same obfuscatory tactics used during their time in the White House, and news outlets continuing to rely on the very same unattributed and unverified voices raises serious credibility questions. The spokesperson didnt want to be named. Tapper declined to identify his source who appraised the Biden town hall. This story first appeared in POLITICO Playbook. When Democrats reshaped the American health-insurance system in 2010, Republicans accused them of all manner of legislative foul play: Middle-of-the-night votes. Backroom deals. An enormous, partisan bill jammed through Congress before anyone could find out what was in it. Have you read the bill? Hell no you havent! an indignant then-House Minority Leader John Boehner thundered on the House floor. The GOPs claims were exaggerated. But as Republicans rushed President Donald Trumps big, beautiful bill through the House this week, they committed just about every procedural misdeed they had ascribed to Democrats back thenand more. The final text of a 1,100-page bill that Speaker Mike Johnson described as the most consequential legislation that any party has ever passed became public just hours before Republicans approved it on a party-line vote. They scheduled a pivotal hearing to begin at 1 a.m. and waived their own rules meant to give lawmakers at least three days to review legislation before a vote. One Republican even missed the climactic roll call because, the speaker explained, he fell asleep. [Jonathan Chait: The largest upward transfer of wealth in American history] Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If something is beautiful, you dont do it after midnight, a conservative critic of the bill, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, scolded in a speech delivered shortly before 2 a.m. on Thursday. To Democrats who chided them for their haste, Republicans replied with reminders of their own long-ago procedural end runs, as if to say, What goes around comes around. Hypocrisy abounds in both parties, and the path to passage for any major legislation is rarely smooth or pretty. But the GOPs aggressive drive to force through Trumps agenda fits a pattern thats emerged in each of his presidential terms: Rather than avoid the transgressions theyve alleged Democrats have committed, Republicans have instead used them as license to go even further. In 2017, the GOP confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court only after it eliminated the Senate filibuster for nominees to the high court. As justification, Republicans cited the Democrats earlier move to scrap the Senates 60-vote threshold for lower-court and executive-branch nomineesa change Republicans had denounced at the time. Earlier this year, as Trump was trying to freeze congressionally authorized funding and shut down federal agencies without approval from lawmakers, I asked Republicans whether there was a line the president could not cross. They responded by talking not about Trump but about Joe Biden. Could the president do something totally unconstitutional, in violation of what Congress wants entirely? Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida asked, before quickly answering his own question: You mean, like student loans? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Diaz-Balart and other Republicans saw it, Biden had defied first Congress and then the Supreme Court in his push to unilaterally forgive billions of dollars in college debt beginning in 2022. Democrats did provide the GOP some fodder for that argument: Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi had said categorically that the president could not wipe out student debt on his own. He does not have that power, she told reporters in July 2021. That has to be an act of Congress. Then, after the Supreme Court struck down Bidens $400 billion loan-cancellation programwhile citing Pelosis statementBiden responded defiantly. The Supreme Court blocked me from relieving student debt. But they didnt stop me, he said. Im going to keep going. Yet Biden also made clear that he would not defy the Courts ruling but instead would pursue more limited debt-relief plans in ways his administration believed were legally sound. Now, instead of interpreting the Courts rebuke of Biden as a limit on executive authority, Republicans are claiming it as an excuse for Trump to expand presidential power even more. In the House this week, some Republicans were willing to call out their own party for trying to rush such a far-reaching bill through the chamber. Its step on the gas and jam it through, because thats the way this place works, Representative Chip Roy of Texas told reporters. It is a mistake. Roy was one of the final conservative holdouts, but like most of his GOP colleagues, he ended up voting for the bill despite his misgivings about the process. And as with most major bills in Washington, he acknowledged in a statement afterward, this bill was rushed, mashed together, and crammed through the House without sufficient time to review every item carefully. We should do better. As recently as December, conservatives forced GOP leaders to abandon a 1,547-page spending bill negotiated with Democrats, largely at the behest of Elon Musk, who was then the incoming head of DOGE. This time, no such rebellion materialized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnsons Memorial Day deadline for passing Trumps plan through the House was largely arbitrary. Congress must raise the nations debt limit by sometime this summer, and taxes for most Americans will go up if lawmakers dont extend the presidents 2017 tax cuts by the end of the year. Conservatives had asked for another week or two to consider the bill, but Johnson and Trump succeeded in pressuring them to vote quickly so that the Senate could start working on it. Republicans want Trump to sign his second-term centerpiece, named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into law by July 4, and leaders of both parties have learned that lawmakers rarely compromise without the forcing mechanism of a tight deadline. The voters want results. They dont want incessant debates, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told me, defending the speed with which Republicans advanced Trumps bill. We could debate this thing for months and months and not get any results for people who are struggling, and thats not going to help those families who gave us this mandate. [Read: Republicans still cant say no to Trump] Scalise was in his first full term in Congress when Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act. At the time, he joined Republicans in accusing them of rushing the bill through without sufficient transparency or debate. Yet Democrats spent many more months negotiating Obamacare than Republicans have spent on Trumps legislation. When I asked Scalise how hed respond to critics who say the GOP is doing exactly what they criticized Democrats for, he pointed out the many committees that had held public hearings on the big, beautiful bill in the past few weeks (the House held similar sessions in 2010) and blamed Democrats for trying to delay the measure. If Democrats want to drag it on and on and on, and then complain that its going late at night, thats a little hypocritical, Scalise said. (In fact, it was the GOP that scheduled a key hearing in the Rules Committee to begin in the wee hours of the morning.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other Republicans offered a different excuse: They were too young to remember the ACA fight. Just 27 members of the GOP conference were serving in the House at the time. I wasnt there. I aint that old, the 66-year-old Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona told me. He joined Congress in 2017 and was a state legislator in 2010. We were speaking on Tuesday, when the GOP bill was still in flux, and Biggs, a conservative, was still on the fence. I always tell the speaker, if I dont have time to read the bill, Im probably a no, Biggs said. Evidently, Biggs is a fast reader. When the House voted on the megabill less than 48 hours laterand about 10 hours after its final text was releasedBiggs was a yes. Article originally published at The Atlantic May 24One of the most famous and to some, infamous balloons in the world has come to Dayton, depicting President Donald Trump as a big baby. The "Trump Baby" balloon was inflated on East Second Street in downtown on Saturday morning as part of protest activities during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that is taking place in Dayton over the holiday weekend. The giant balloon shows a shirtless, orange-skinned President Trump in a baby's diaper, with a cellphone in hand. Trump was invited to the parliamentary assembly sessions in the city but isn't expected to attend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some local activists who helped organize or who planned to take part in the protests this weekend have been very critical of Trump and his administration. Mel Rodriguez, an activist for District 10 Indivisible for All at the baby Trump balloon site, said she got involved when the "Baby Trump tour folks" reached out to them via email and phone about getting this set up with people on the ground who knew the area. "The biggest thing here is a peaceful assembly," Rodriguez said. "We want people to just come down and check out baby Trump, come down, sit and help us babysit him for a while and it's mostly just to bring attention to the administration and what's happening and the cuts that are happening and people's lives are being affected." She said she hopes people come down and bring signs to show what issues they are concerned about. Rodriguez added she's a veteran and the cuts to Veteran Affairs services have been concerning to her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm an advocate for veterans' rights, veterans' benefits, the PACT Act was huge and the fact we're going to have reduced staffing, then also potential cuts in the future like that is my main concern as a veteran." Baby Trump balloons have appeared at all sorts of political rallies, protests and high-profile events around the world since the balloon first debuted in the U.K. during a Trump visit during his first term in office. Downtown Dayton has been turned into a NATO Village security zone. Much of downtown is closed off to vehicular and pedestrian traffic with fencing, barriers and a very large police presence. The city of Dayton created a "free speech" zone in a parking lot at East Second Street and North Jefferson Street that protestors have been directed to use. The protest zone was mostly or entirely empty on Thursday and Friday. Only four people visited the lot on Friday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But much larger crowds are expected today, with multiple events planned. THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT NATO Public forum panels you can attend during the Parliamentary Assembly How you can follow what's going on downtown Downtown transformed in 24 hours for assembly safety Biltmore Towers seniors and disabled residents worry about NATO security issues What you need to know about the Dayton NATO Spring Parliamentary Assembly What you need to know to get around downtown SPRINGFIELD, MO A vacant big box store on the citys south side is full again after a new retailer moved in. This week, Total Wine and More opened its doors in Primrose Marketplace. A ribbon cutting is planned for May 28th, according to the stores Facebook page. The store at 3308 S. Glenstone had been home to Bed Bath & Beyond until that company went bankrupt in 2023 and closed all locations nationwide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Back in March, Ozarks First reported that the company had started construction on the new store. Construction crews gutted the former Bed Bath & Beyond interior down to the studs and floor, and rebuilt it from the ground up for the new retailer. Total Wine & More is one of the nations largest superstores specializing in wine, beer, and spirits. In addition to the new Springfield store, the company operates four locations in the Kansas City metro, including two stores in Kansas City proper, along with individual stores in Overland Park and Lees Summit. There are also four stores in the Saint Louis area. Nationwide, the company operates 227 stores in 29 states, according to its website. Details provided on the company website offer a glimpse of what customers can expect at the new store. Were passionate about wine, and know many of our customers feel the same way. So we are committed to offering the nations best wine selection, with an emphasis on fine wines. Our typical store carries more than 8,000 different wines from every wine-producing region in the world. The typical Total Wine & More also carries more than 2,500 beers, from Americas most popular brands to hard-to-find microbrews and imports, and more than 3,000 different spirits in every style and price range. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Total Wine & More is the latest retailer to move into vacant storefronts in the Springfield area. Others include Boot Barn moving into a portion of the former Luckys Market on S. Glenstone, Hobbytown moving into part of the old K-mart/Venture on S. Glenstone, and Zurchers taking over the Party City spot on S. Campbell. Ollies is also starting work on a store on East Battlefield in one of the citys two former Big Lots locations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. Soup has always been a comforting staple in American households, offering warmth and nourishment across generations. Whether it's a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup to nurse you back to health on a sick day, or a hearty tomato bisque out of an iconic red-and-white can, this dish is often associated with safety, simplicity, and nostalgia. But despite its wholesome image and trusted reliability, even this beloved meal hasn't been immune to being taken off shelves for the general public's protection. Over the years, various soup products have been recalled due to contamination, mislabeling labels, and other hazards, sometimes leading to serious health risks and even death for consumers. These recalls have affected products across the board from mass-market brands like Campbell's and Trader Joe's to regional and specialty food producers. While some soup recalls were due to typical reasons like the presence of foreign objects or mislabeling, one incident involving insects found in the soup can be considered among the strangest food recalls in U.S. history. These cases also cast a spotlight on how even trusted brands can fall short when safety protocols are breached. Read more: Campbell's Chunky Soup Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best US Foods Recalled Soups Shipped To Four States Because Of Wood Fragments (2025) Tortilla soup in a bowl - David Scott/Getty Images For many, a warm bowl of tortilla soup has the perfect blend of comfort and spice that's hard to resist. But in April of 2025, that comforting feeling was interrupted by an unsettling discovery in a batch of tortilla soup: wood fragments. The source of the contamination was traced to cilantro in the soup that had been contaminated by an extraneous material specifically, small pieces of wood that could pose a choking or injury hazard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The affected soups were distributed in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, much of it through food-service channels such as cafeterias, hospitals, and institutional kitchens. That meant consumers might not have purchased these soups directly, but they could still have unknowingly consumed them in a meal. While no injuries or illnesses were reported at the time of the recall, the incident shows that even a minor ingredient like chopped cilantro can have major consequences when quality control breaks down. Campbell's was one of the brands affected by the recall, along with Life Cuisine, Molly's Kitchen, Sysco, Verve, and Crafted Market. Anyone who encountered the affected product was advised to discard it or return it to the place of purchase. Unexpected Broccoli Soup Recalled From Trader Joe's Over Reports Of Insects (2023) Broccoli cheddar soup in a white bowl - Lauripatterson/Getty Images Trader Joe's is known for its quirky branding and cult-favorite snacks but in July of 2023, the grocery chain faced an unusual issue that it probably wishes had stayed under wraps. Its Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup was recalled after multiple reports of insects discovered in the frozen broccoli florets used in the product. The soup had been distributed widely, reaching store shelves in Florida, Illinois, California, Texas, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. In total, 10,889 cases were affected, making this one of the biggest recalls in Trader Joe's history. This incident raised eyebrows among even the brand's most loyal fans, with some even pointing out the coincidental link between the product name and the recall: unexpected. While the FDA actually specifies that small amounts of insect parts are allowed in food sold to the public, this level of contamination was too much for TJ's customers to stomach. The recall raised questions about supplier oversight and whether inspection protocols were thorough enough at the point of packaging. Trader Joe's encouraged customers to return the product for a full refund, but the damage to consumer trust was significant. This high-profile case shows that quality issues aren't limited to mass-production brands, and that smaller labels must also hold themselves to high food safety standards. Blount Fine Foods Recalled Chicken Tortilla Soup From Retailers In Four States After Glove Pieces Were Found (2021) Containers of Panera's Chicken Tortilla Soup - MDV Edwards/Shutterstock When consumers open a soup container, they expect to find savory ingredients not fragments of a nitrile glove. But in August of 2021, a huge batch of chicken tortilla soup was recalled after reports of gray glove pieces in the product. The product, manufactured by Blount Fine Foods, was at the center of a recall that affected more than 6,300 pounds of soup. Sold in 16-ounce containers with a "Use By" date of September 9, 2021, the soup had been distributed to retailers in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas. One of the retailers affected was Panera Bread. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The contamination likely occurred during the packaging process, raising concerns about employee safety protocols. Consumers who bought these products were advised not to eat them. Instead, they were instructed to discard the items or return them to the store where they were purchased. No injuries or illnesses connected to this soup were reported at the time of this recall, but the visual shock of finding glove pieces in their food probably left many consumers unsettled. An incident like this could lead people to try making their own homemade versions of their favorite products our copycat recipe for Panera's chicken noodle soup would a good place to start if you're interested in trying this. Kettle Cuisine Midco Issued A Recall Across Several States Due To Misbranding And Undeclared Allergens In Chicken Soup (2020) Bowl of beef and lentil soup - AdrianP09/Shutterstock In early 2020, Kettle Cuisine Midco faced scrutiny after recalling some 200 pounds of soup due to misbranding and undeclared allergens. The product in question? A toddler-targeted lentil and beef soup, which turned out to contain noodles made with egg and wheat, two common allergens that weren't listed on the label. Packaged in 7-ounce containers emblazoned with a cute cartoon cow and colorful veggies, the soup had been sold online and shipped to customers in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. For health-conscious parents seeking allergy-safe options for young children, the mistake was a major concern. Even though the volume recalled was relatively small, the potential impact was significant. The mismatch between the product's intended demographic and the seriousness of the mislabelling made it especially troubling. This recall highlighted the importance of applying extra care when it comes to foods sold specifically for children, and provides an example of the need for enhanced controls when allergens are involved. Campbell's Recalled Nearly 4,200 Pounds Of Chicken Soup Over Misbranding And Undeclared Allergens (2017) Can of Campbell's chicken soup - Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock When it comes to ready-to-eat pantry essentials, Campbell's Homestyle soups are considered as dependable and comforting choices. But in April of 2017, that reputation took a hit after a labeling mistake took a toll on the canned food giant. Nearly 4,200 pounds of soup cans labeled as Homestyle Healthy Request Chicken with Whole Grain Pasta were found to contain a completely different product: Homestyle Healthy Request Italian-Style Wedding Spinach & Meatballs in Chicken Broth soup which, to make matters even worse, contains milk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milk is one of the major allergens that must be declared on food labels under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). The recalled cans of Campbell's soup all produced on February 13, 2017 bore a "Best By" date of February 13, 2019, and were shipped to retailers in Florida. Campbell's urged consumers to return the affected products or dispose of them. Luckily, no adverse reactions were reported when the recall was declared, but the risk of an allergic response earned this recall Class I status the most serious level, indicating the potential for life-threatening health consequences. Rustico Foods Recalled Poultry Soups Produced Without Federal Inspection (2015) Bowl of chicken matzo ball soup - Natalia Hanin/Shutterstock Consumers assume that the food they buy has passed rigorous safety checks but in October of 2015, Rustico Foods reminded Americans that sometimes, even after all the supervision stages have been passed, errors can happen. The company issued a recall for some 2,659 pounds of poultry-based soup products after it was discovered they had been produced without federal inspection. The recalled soups were comfort-food staples like chicken matzo ball, turkey chili with beans, and chicken vegetable. These items were produced over nearly a monthlong period during 2015 from September 24 through October 21 and distributed to retailers in California. At the time of the recall, no negative health impacts were reported from consumers eating these soups, but the revelation that these products bypassed inspection stirred up more than just broth it raised serious questions about oversight and accountability. Federal inspection isn't just red tape; it's the backbone of food safety, ensuring that products are hygienic, accurately labeled, and free from contaminants. Without it, consumers are left to play a dangerous guessing game. Considering the tragedies that occurred because of the most deadly recalled foods in U.S. history, it's understandable that brand trust can evaporate overnight when safety protocols slip. Blount Fine Foods Recalled Soup Varieties Over Plastic Fragments (2012) Bowl of chicken dumpling soup - Kirkam/Shutterstock In August of 2012, Blount Fine Foods found itself in hot water (pun intended) after a food safety issue led to the recall of varied types of soup, including its Italian wedding soup with meatballs and its chicken and dumpling soup. The Class II voluntary recall stemmed from consumers discovering plastic fragments in these prepackaged soup varieties, which were sold under the Wegmans supermarket chain's private label. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators determined that the plastic pieces likely entered these products during the production of their containers. Such a mistake can pose serious health risks foreign objects such as plastic, metal, and wood fragments can cause choking or internal injuries. With a total of 4,100 pounds of these soups recalled, a considerable amount of the affected products reached Wegmans shelves and the kitchens of shoppers, but fortunately the soups caused no reported injuries at the point when the recall was announced. Bay Valley Foods Recalled More Than 188,000 Pounds Of Chicken Soup Due To Mislabeling (2011) Bowl of chicken noodle soup - Dny59/Getty Images Labeling errors might seem like minor slip-ups but when allergens are involved, such mistakes can become potentially life-threatening to many consumers. In April of 2011, Bay Valley Foods had to recall 188,181 pounds of cans that were labeled as containing reduced sodium chicken noodle condensed soup, because it was discovered that some of those cans actually contained cream of chicken soup. Since the latter soup variety contains milk, and this ingredient was not listed on the label, the potential severity of this situation prompted a Class I recall notice. For people with dairy allergies or severe lactose intolerance, consuming the mislabeled cream of chicken soup could have led to dangerous reactions. The recall affected soup produced for Walmart's Great Value private label, and it was distributed across 36 states and Puerto Rico. Although no allergic reactions related to the soup had been reported when the recall was initiated, at least one customer complained that the product was improperly labeled, indicating that a significant amount of the recalled soup cans may have reached the homes of consumers before this colossal food-safety mistake was discovered and rectified. Aunt Kitty's Foods Recalled Its Wedding Bell Soup Over Undeclared Dairy (2005) Soup with meatballs and chicken - The Image Party/Shutterstock In February of 2005, New Jersey-based Aunt Kitty's Foods found itself in the middle of a huge safety scare when it voluntarily recalled its Wedding Bell Soup with Meatballs and Chicken, due to the presence of undeclared dairy ingredients. For many consumers, especially those who are lactose intolerant or who suffer from a milk allergy, this was more than just a labelling error it was a serious health hazard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The soup a hearty blend sold under the World Classics brand in 19-ounce cans was suspected of containing cheese among its ingredients, a dairy-based food that was not disclosed on the label. A total of 4,275 pounds of this product was distributed to retailers in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and all of it was subjected to this Class I recall. Unfortunately for the producer (and for consumers of its products), this would not be the last time that Aunt Kitty's Foods would be subjected to a recall in 2023, the company was caught up in one of the biggest chicken pot pie recalls in U.S. history. Campbell's Recalled Its Italian Sausage With Pasta And Pepperoni Soup For Undisclosed Cheese (2003) Label on Campbell's soup can - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Being in business for over 150 years, Campbell's is undoubtedly a food-industry giant. Nonetheless, a wide variety of its products have been caught up in the biggest recalls in Campbell's history. In February of 2003, the company issued a recall of its Italian Sausage with Pasta and Pepperoni Soup due to the presence of an undeclared dairy ingredient. The product contained Romano cheese, which was not listed on the label, and the concern was serious enough to warrant federal attention with a Class I recall. In total, 56,000 pounds of soup were pulled from shelves to keep consumers safe. The soup was produced in a Campbell's plant located in Napoleon, Ohio, and it had been distributed to Costco locations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Complicating the incident, this Italian Sausage with Pasta and Pepperoni Soup was packaged in variety-pack cartons along with cans of a chicken-based product that was not subjected to any recall. This massive mistake showed that safety gaps can occur even amid facilities operated by well-established food producers. Campbell's Tomato Soup Was Recalled In 37 States Over Allergy Concerns (2002) Cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup - Scott Habermann/Shutterstock Thanks to the work of Andy Warhol, cans of Campbell's soup transcended the kitchen to become American pop culture icons, highlighting a simple, reliable, and comforting image. But in 2002, the company had to issue a recall that shook consumers' confidence. The problem was that nearly 20,000 cases of its classic tomato soup with a dozen 18.7-ounce cans in each case were found to contain undeclared milk and soy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mix-up was traced to a single day's production of this soup variety, which resulted in a small amount of soup that contained milk and soy being packaged in containers that did not list these ingredients on the label. Distributed across at least 37 states from coast to coast, the reach of the affected product was extensive. Luckily, after receiving customer complaints, Campbell's acted quickly, initiating this recall and issuing a public warning to prevent any harm to its customers. Anyone who bought the soup was encouraged to return it to the point of sale for a full refund. Campbell's Recalled About 423,000 Cans Of Soup After Glass Fragments Were Found Inside (1992) Variety of Campbell's soup cans - Khairil Azhar Junos/Shutterstock In December of 1992, Campbell's Soup Company faced a major recall involving both soups and frozen dinners which is a reminder that there are numerous red flags to look out for when buying frozen foods. The issue this time involved the presence of glass shards that had accidentally found their way into the products during production. The recall affected some 423,000 cans of soup and around 332,000 frozen dinners, leading to a widespread advisory to all areas where these products were distributed including at least 33 states, as well as Guam and Mexico. Campbell's soup varieties that were impacted by the recall included chicken with rice and chicken gumbo. The glass pieces were found in bags of rice that were sourced from an external supplier, but used in varied Campbell's products. Thankfully, despite the huge risks, at the time of the recall there were no reports of injuries caused by the sharp shards. All Bon Vivant Soups Were Recalled After A Deadly Botulism Outbreak Linked To Vichyssoise Soup (1971) Bowl of vichyssoise soup - Guy45/Getty Images One of the most infamous soup-related recalls in American history dates back to 1971, when a can of Bon Vivant's vichyssoise soup became the focal point of a deadly botulism outbreak. After a couple in New York consumed the soup, the husband died within hours, and his wife was hospitalized in critical condition. Laboratory testing later confirmed the presence of botulinum toxin, a deadly pathogen that can be introduced to foods due to improper canning processes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fearing widespread contamination, the FDA moved to recall all soups, sauces, and canned foods produced by Bon Vivant, which was based in Newark, New Jersey. Further investigation revealed that defective cans were found in multiple product lines offered by Bon Vivant which included numerous foods sold under different brand names. This incident sent shockwaves through the industry and the nation. It was no longer just a health crisis it also became a turning point for changes in food safety regulations, particularly for canned goods. It also ultimately led to the company's downfall, as consumer trust evaporated almost overnight. More than 50 years later, the vichyssoise tragedy still serves as a sad reminder of how poor food safety practices can be lethal, and why regular inspections and safety checks are needed. Read the original article on Mashed. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A bill at the Ohio Statehouse has some worried about their livelihoods in Ohio, but others say it is a matter of national security. Xin Yuan has been in the states for 14 years and got her green card after 10 years of living here. She said she has lived in four states but only Ohio has felt like home. Now, she said House Bill 1 puts it all at risk. Under this bill, I could lose my home, Yuan said. While Im here legally, I would be labeled as a foreign adversary. This is deeply dehumanizing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would ban anyone who is not a United States citizen, and from a country that is a foreign adversary, from buying land within 25 miles of protected property. I think theres logic to it, Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said. Under Ohio law, the list of land that would fall under protected property is long. It includes any railroad property, a dam operating by the state or federal government, and trucking terminals. The bill also includes airports, military bases and farmland. There might be some countries that you might be a little worried having nationals from that country owning property in the United States, particularly real estate in the state of Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said. So, well see. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The list of foreign adversaries to the United States is not set in stone. Right now, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria are on the list. Under this proposal, Ohios secretary of state would have to update the list every six months. That means people like my family who pay taxes and follow the law could be denied property rights overnight because of their background, said Jay Qutiefan, who opposes the bill. But supporters of the bill said it comes down to one simple thing: national security. And the bill is popular among lawmakers. It currently has more than half of Ohio House members, Democrats and Republicans, signed onto it. And DeWine is supportive of the idea. I think a bill that would be strategically crafted might be good, DeWine said. But it has to be written, I think, very carefully. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets be honest, this is discrimination dressed up as security, Qutiefan said. Immigrants are not a threat to Ohio. The bill has had three hearings so far, but no votes yet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) Illinois lawmakers passed a bill that would prevent insurance companies from putting time limits on anesthesia coverage to protect patients from financial burden. This comes after the fall of 2024, when Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield tried do just that in New York, Missouri and Connecticut by tying payments to the length of time a patient was under anesthesia. In other words, they would stop covering the patient after an arbitrary length of time, and the rest of the anesthesia would be billed to the patient directly. Illinois may update missing person database policy with bill in Statehouse Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, that bill has passed both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support and is heading to Governor JB Pritzkers desk. This would cover anesthesia regardless of how long the procedure takes. The bills sponsor in the House, Rep. William Hauter (R-Morton), who is a physician and anesthesiologist himself, said this will make sure it cannot be tried in Illinois. So, this is outrageous, its just another tactic that we see insurance companies using to reduce coverage or to deny payments to people, Hauter said. Thats not how things work. Just another way to put profits over patients and so we put a stop to it. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield reversed their policy on the issue after public outcry, saying it was misinformation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill preventing AI instructors in Illinois community college courses passes Senate Sen. Doris Turner (D-Decatur) who carried the bill in the Senate, said people have been taken advantage of for far too long. Instead of lining their own pockets, lets put patients health first, Turner said. Under this plan, people can rest assured that a time limit cant be put on anesthesia services, requiring patients to pay the cost. If the governor signs the bill into law, it will take effect next year for all insurances. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 European Union is considering disconnecting more than 20 Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system, as well as lowering the price ceiling for Russian oil and imposing a ban on the Nord Stream gas pipelines as part of a new package of sanctions. Source: European Pravda; Bloomberg sources Details: The news agency sources say that the European Commission is consulting with EU member states on plans to disconnect more than 20 Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system, lower the price ceiling for Russian oil, and impose a ban on the Nord Stream gas pipelines as part of the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The EU is considering an additional ban on financial transactions for about two dozen banks and new trade restrictions worth about 2.5 billion in an effort to reduce Russia's revenues further and restrict its access to technologies needed for weapons production. The European Commission is also planning to propose reducing the G7 price ceiling on Russian oil to around US$45 as part of the sanctions package under discussion. Currently, this limit is US$60 and it prohibits service providers from the G7 countries from transporting and servicing oil sales if the price exceeds this limit. The US will need support to reduce the price. Bloomberg reports that the key point in the new package is the EU's intention to impose sanctions against the Nord Stream gas pipelines. The sanctions will further confirm Europe's position that it does not want to resume supplies of Russian pipeline gas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, the EU wants to expand sanctions against the shadow fleet of Russian tankers and is considering further restrictions against banks that facilitate Russia's war and the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The EU also wants to include provisions to protect European companies from arbitration claims under bilateral investment agreements in the new sanctions package, the 18th since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Background: On 23 May, it became known that the European Commission would hold closed consultations with EU member states on further sanctions against Russia. US President Donald Trump has previously stated that he wants to achieve a reduction in global oil prices, which will help end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The UK has called on its G7 partners to agree to lower the price ceiling for Russian oil, saying that this step is necessary to increase pressure on Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) wants more federal dollars to address the rapid infestation of an invasive aquatic species in the Connecticut River. Blumenthal joined with environmental advocates in Hartford on Friday to announce his request for an additional $5.5 million to help combat the growth and removal of hydrilla. Connecticut leaders hoping to draw tourists this summer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It threatens boating and fishing in the Connecticut River watershed. It also spreads easily. Fragments of the plant can be transported by boats and boat trailers, so Connecticut leaders want you to remember, clean, drain, dry. When you take your boat out of the water, make sure you inspect it and the trailer for any signs of vegetation and remove those, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesman Justin Davis said. Theres actually a state law that requires you to do so. Drain all the water out of the vessel. Get the boat dry as possible and then let it sit. We recommend you let it sit for up to five days. An aggressive eradication and management program to tackle this issue began in Connecticut last summer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DANE COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) Late Friday night, authorities say a body was recovered from Wisconsins Lake Monona while search efforts were ongoing for a boater who went missing a week prior. Deputies with the Dane County Sheriffs Office say that around 9:45 p.m. on May 23, search teams recovered a male body while on Lake Monona. The release states that detectives will continue their investigation and the Dane County Medical Examiners Office will be performing additional testing to confirm the identity of the man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three people dead after two-vehicle Marinette County crash, missed stop sign Saturdays release did not specifically note anything about the boater who went missing when a groups sailboat capsized on Friday, May 16. However, search efforts have been ongoing on Lake Monona for the missing man since last week. The Dane County Sheriffs Office would like to thank first responders from the Madison Fire Department, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Fontana Fire Department, along with volunteers from Bruces Legacy, Wisconsin K9 SOS Search and Rescue and other community members who assisted in the extensive search efforts over the last week. Dane County Sheriffs Office No additional information was provided. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) As Memorial Day weekend begins, dozens gathered at Fort Adams in Newport for a powerful and emotional ceremony honoring Rhode Islanders who made the ultimate sacrifice. The annual Boots on the Ground for Heroes Memorial, organized by Operation Stand Down Rhode Island (OSDRI), pays tribute to the more than 7,000 U.S. service members who have died in the line of duty since the September 11 attacks. While those heroes are buried across the country, this weekend they are remembered in one place. Among them are 29 Rhode Islanders, each represented by a pair of combat boots. According to OSDRI Executive Director Erik Wallin, each pair carries a photo, a rose, and mementos from loved ones left behind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What strikes us every year is that those photos never change. They never age. Those people are frozen in time, these heroes, Wallin said. But to see the gold star family members, those would remind you that for them, their lives have going on with this tremendous loss and really for them every day is Memorial Day. For Gold Star families like Ron and Rosemary Gill, the ceremony is a painful but meaningful way to remember their loved ones. I could cry at any moment. Its just sad to have to be here as much as its tough, Ron said. Their son, Ronnie Gill Jr., served as a gunner on a rapid response boat in the U.S. Coast Guard. In 2007, he was ejected from the vessel and died from his injuries at 26 years old. Ronald A. Gill, Jr. Ronald A. Gill, Jr. Six months after Ronnies death, his daughter Gracie was born. This weekend, shes attending her high school prom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her prom is tonight. Ironically we were supposed to be there but we have to be there for this, Ron said. The Gills, along with other Gold Star families, took part in the moving tribute, personally placing their loved ones boots in a ring around the Rhode Island state flag. Its just a sad situation for all the Gold Star parents. Its one of those clubs. We dont want any more members, Ron said. Unfortunately we keep getting them. Wallin said even a short walk through the memorial is a powerful reminder of what the holiday truly stands for. Its a tribute and an honor and show respect our fallen men and women deserve especially on this weekend, Ron added. Memorial Day is a day we honor the ones that never made it out of the uniform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, this years event will also feature Rhode Islands first Invisible Scars of War Monument, is a tribute to military members who ultimately took their own lives due to the unseen wounds of war like depression and PTSD. It serves as a reminder of the lasting effects of trauma on those who return home. The memorial is free and open to the public until 6 p.m. Monday. LIST: Local Memorial Day parades, ceremonies and other events Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. BOSSIER PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) A Bossier man has been convicted on multiple felony charges related to a series of armed robberies that occurred in 2021 in and around Bossier City. On September 24, 2021, a man dressed in a black hoodie wearing sunglasses and a face mask walked into the Exxon Food Mart in the 2200 block of Barksdale Boulevard in Bossier City. he pointed the gun at the clerk and demanded money. According to the Bossier/Webster District Attorneys office, in less than three hours, two other locations nearby were robbed similarly. Each robbery victim told the police that the suspect pointed a gun at them in a similar manner, but reported different clothing for the robber in the three incidents that night, according to the press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At trial, jurors heard from several Bossier City Police officers, including the lead investigator, Detective Jason Warren. He testified that the Raceway on Old Minden Road was robbed the same night. Surveillance footage from a nearby establishment showed a white Dodge truck with an orange toolbox arrive shortly before the robbery. Jesus Perez - showing gun - multiple felony charges - armed robberies - convicted guilty (Bossier Webster Parish District Attorney) - feature image Detective Warren said that a man exited the truck, walked toward the Raceway, and was later seen running back to the vehicle and driving off. An hour later, a man wearing a gold LSU hoodie and green face covering, matching the one used at the Raceway robbery, also robbed the Circle K nearby. Investigators used license plate readers in the area and quickly located a possible match for the white Dodge truck. In less than twelve hours from the time of the first armed robbery, detectives with the Bossier City Police Department had identified Jesus Perez as a person of interest, said the Bossier/Webster Parish DA. Detectives discovered through surveillance footage that Perezs home was centrally located to the three armed robbery locations. The detailed officers initiated a traffic stop and identified the driver as the suspect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WATCH: Our docuseries Beyond the Headlines: Firearms Impact & Responsibility When questioned, Perez admitted his clothes and truck may have been involved in the robberies, but claimed his brother and his brothers girlfriend borrowed the truck the day before, and likely committed the crimes. Detective Warren found that the brother was in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the time of the robberies, and the girlfriend was incarcerated in the Bossier Parish jail at the time. Bossier/Webster District Attorney Schuyler Marvin stated a search warrant led to the discovery of cash from the robberies, and a gun matching the description was found tucked under the pillow of Perezs bed with the serial number removed, adding a felony charge for the firearm. DA Marvin said the various outfits were found in the white truck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detective Jason Warren and the entire Bossier City Police Department should be commended for their swift yet thorough investigation related to these armed robberies. A large number of officers were faced with the challenge of securing and investigating three separate crime scenes all at the same time. Yet they developed a lead and caught this guy in less than 12 hours, said Bossier/Webster District Attorney Marvin. Perez will be sentenced for armed robbery, each count carrying ten to 99 years at hard labor plus a five-year enhancement for the use of a firearm. He also faces one to five years for possessing a gun with an obliterated serial number. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Ukraine has brought home 307 Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity in the second phase of its largest prisoner exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on May 24. Russia's Defense Ministry said that 307 Russian prisoners of war (POWs) have also been brought back from Ukraine and are on their way to Belarus. An agreement on a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange was said to be the only tangible result of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul on May 16 the first such negotiations since 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two parties swapped 390 prisoners each in the initial phase on May 23, with the process set to continue until May 25. The Ukrainian and Russian governments confirmed they had received the lists of prisoners of war (POWs) to be exchanged on May 22. "In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow," Zelensky said on X. "Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine. " Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The newly released POWs include 27 soldiers who defended Mariupol, as well as those who fought in the Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk sectors, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs said. The youngest member of the group is 25, while the oldest is 61, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. For some units, this was the first instance of their soldiers being released from Russian captivity. Ukraine's Presidential Office chief, Andriy Yermak, said that after the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange is complete, future talks with Russia could be arranged. At least 8,000 Ukrainian service members are held captive by Russia, said Iryna Vereshchuk, a Presidential Office deputy head, on May 1. Kyiv does not publish the figures for how many Russian POWs are currently in Ukrainian custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The agreement on the release of 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was almost the only real result of the meeting in Turkey. We are working to ensure this result. We are finding out the details of each person listed on the Russian side," Zelensky said earlier this week. While the Istanbul talks were the first direct peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, the two sides have regularly held prisoner swaps throughout the full-scale war, with third-party countries mediating. These past exchanges were more limited in scope, usually involving over 130 captives on each side. Ukraine has long advocated for an "all-for-all" exchange, but Russia has so far rejected the proposal. Russia is also illegally detaining at least 16,000 Ukrainian civilians, of whom only 174 have returned, according to Lubinets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prisoner exchange continues even as Russia does not relent in its attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Kyiv was targeted by a massive drone and missile strike overnight on May 24, with more than a dozen civilians reported injured. Read also: Its okay, Mom, Im home Ukraine, Russia hold largest prisoner swap of the war Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A British woman has been arrested in Sri Lanka on suspicion of smuggling 46 kilograms of a deadly new synthetic drug into Sri Lanka. Charlotte May Lee, 21, was detained after allegedly carrying suitcases packed full of kush through Colombos Bandaranaike airport earlier this month. Officials said the discovery was the airports largest ever seizure of the drug, which is most commonly used in west Africa and reportedly made with human bones. The stash has a reported street value of 1.5 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Lee, a former flight attendant from south London, has denied the accusations and claimed that the drugs were planted there without her knowledge. She could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty. Kush, a synthetic form of cannabis, was found in two large suitcases belonging to Charlotte May Lee - Sri Lanka Police Her lawyers said she is being held in a prison in the city of Negombo, north of the capital, where she said she was facing hard conditions and sleeping on a concrete floor. A legal representative told the BBC that his team was visiting her daily in the prison to ensure her wellbeing and offer support. She is reportedly in contact with her family. Ms Lee had been in Bangkok and travelled to Sri Lanka because her visa was due to expire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She claimed that she packed her bag the night before her flight and that someone must have planted it [the drugs] then. She told the MailOnline I know who did it, but did not elaborate. She added that she did not check her luggage before boarding the flight to Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. She said: I had never seen them [the drugs] before. I didnt expect it all when they pulled me over at the airport. I thought it was going to be filled with all my stuff. Ms Lee could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty - Sri Lanka Police A senior customs officer in Sri Lanka told the BBC that there had been a large increase in drugs being smuggled into Sri Lanka via Bangkok recently, which they said was a real nuisance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The officer added: Another passenger who had left Bangkok airport, almost at the same time, was arrested in another country. We arrested this lady [Ms Lee] based on profiling. Kush, a relatively new synthetic narcotic, is most commonly used in west Africa and is estimated to kill around a dozen people a week in Sierra Leone. The drug, typically consumed by men between the ages of 18 to 25, causes individuals to fall asleep while walking, collapse unexpectedly, hit their heads on hard surfaces and wander into moving traffic. State of emergency declared It has been reported that one of the drugs many ingredients is human bones and that security has been tightened in graveyards in Sierra Leone to stop people digging up skeletons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president declared a state of emergency over abuse of the substance in 2024. Groups of mostly young men sitting on street corners with limbs swollen by kush abuse is a common sight in the former British colony. Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leones president, said the drug posed an existential crisis and called it a death trap. It is thought that Ms Lee left Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi airport days after the departure of another British woman from the same airport who was recently detained on drug charges in Georgia. Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham, County Durham, allegedly smuggled 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish into the Caucasus country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigations are under way as to where the narcotics, found in her travel bag, came from. Ms Culley could face up to 20 years in prison or a life sentence if found guilty. 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. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Petty Officer First Class Evan Hammonds joined the Navy 15 years ago after leaving Kingsport, Tennessee. He has become a part of the Brown Water Navy. Traditionally, what youll have is Blue Water Navy, which are the big ships like carriers, destroyers, and things, and then you have the Amphib Navy, which is the Brown Water Navy because we operate in that gray area in between, said Hammonds. Part of the job is operating Amphib boats which are used to transport marines and sailors from land to sea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, traditionally amphibious landings, amphibians reside in both land and water, so naturally because were both land and water, we take the marines and put them ashore, so were amphibious in nature. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts They not only serve the military but also civilians when there is a natural disaster. Well go down range to a hurricane-affected area or a natural disaster area and well do humanitarian aid: loading, unloading medical supplies, actual supplies, food, water, things of that nature, explained Hammonds. He also explained that, as a diesel mechanic, he understands the importance of safety if something goes wrong aboard the boat. The crew has to be their own firefighters because emergency teams may not be able to reach them in time. The race is on if something goes wrong, as sailors only have about two minutes to get on fire gear, similar to firefighters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 2s Shelby Mac had the privilege of racing the clock to throw on fire gear as quickly as she could. She came up short by about five seconds, with the ideal time frame being completely dressed and ready to fight fires within two minutes. Hammonds is only five years away from the end of his naval career, and hes excited to come back home. Go back home to Tennessee, farm a little bit, be left alone, kind of not have to deal with people and systems and stuff, just kind of you know farm and go back to where Im actually more comfortable. To see more from Shelbys naval journey, check out the News 2 special report Shelby Goes to Sea. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. May 23Just as the House and Senate were reaching a deal on an $8.5 billion funding package for Texas public schools, the Brownsville Independent School District was moving forward on next year's budget. Legislative leaders in Austin announced the deal on Thursday amid an ongoing battle over school finance. It appeared to strike a face-saving compromise for both chambers, which had been divided by the House's aim to bump up the basic per-student allotment and the desire in the Senate to prioritize teacher pay raises. Legislative leaders said the package in House Bill 2 represents a historic investment in public schools, although advocates say such an effort is long overdue and comes as school districts across the state are facing budget shortfalls brought on by six years of doing nothing to increase the basic per-student allotment, which has remained at $6,160 since 2019. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Brownsville ISD has been working right along on its 2025-2026 budget, which must be enacted by July 1, the start of the district's fiscal year. BISD is the largest district in the Edinburg-based Region One Education Service Center that stretches from Laredo to Brownsville. Its budget of nearly $579 million is larger than the city of Brownsville or Cameron County. Even as it consolidates schools and grows smaller because of changing demographics and a falling birth rate, it is still the largest employer south of San Antonio. But its schools and facilities have long-standing maintenance and modernization needs. Earlier this year, BISD tried to float a $350 million bond issue for just that purpose, but a divided Board of Trustees couldn't reach agreement on how to include a desired performing arts center, what schools to upgrade and other issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 2 takes a different approach to the basic per-student allotment, which districts traditionally have used to pay for a range of other needs, including insurance, maintenance and instructional materials. Rather than raising the amount beyond the $55 proposed by the Senate, the deal would set aside $1.3 billion for a fund to cover some fixed costs, lawmakers said essentially providing a different way to give districts the spending flexibility they had hoped for. BISD Superintendent Jesus H. Chavez said the state missed the mark. "While we appreciate the state's efforts to allocate additional funding, we remain concerned that the amount provided still falls short of what is truly needed," Chavez said in a statement to The Brownsville Herald. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Since the last legislative session, funding levels have not kept pace with the growing demands on public education. As a result, most districtsincluding BISDcontinue to experience significant budget shortfalls. This ongoing gap makes it increasingly difficult to meet educational needs and places added financial strain on our local communities," the statement read. "BISD requires additional funding to properly maintain facilities, expand educational programs, and offer competitive salaries to attract and retain quality staff. At this time, the district is also uncertain about the financial impact that enrollment shifts and the implementation of school vouchers may have on our budget moving forward," Chavez added. In a statement to the Texas Tribune announcing the compromise, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said the deal "reflects constructive input from both chambers and parties, and a shared commitment to delivering historic school funding and teacher pay raises." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Republican Senate leader, called it "the most effective school finance bill in Texas history." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At BISD's most recent budget committee meeting on Tuesday, members went over substitute teacher pay, nurses pay and other costs. In a presentation by Human Resources Director Linda Gallegos, it emerged that Brownsville substitute pay falls in the middle of the pack among similar-sized districts in Region One. In 2024-2025, the daily rate for certified substitutes ranged from a high of $185 at La Joya and Mission, to $180 at Donna, PSJA and Weslaco, $165 at Edinburg, $150 in Brownsville, $140 at Los Fresnos and Point Isabel, $135 at Harlingen and San Benito, $130 at Laredo United and $125 at McAllen. Administration substitutes earn $210 per day at Weslaco and $160 at Brownsville, the only two districts with that category. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BISD has more than 800 active substitute teachers. Mondays and Fridays are the most-utilized days, with an average of 517 and 577, respectively. Tuesdays at 503, Wednesdays at 495 and Thursdays at 508, are right behind. Committee member Minerva Pena urged the administration to try to raise BISD rates so that it attracts the best talent. Nurses fall under professional instructional support and their pay is at 98% of market value, according to a study by the Texas Association of School Boards and Gallegos' presentation. BISD has one more budget workshop on June 9 before a June 26 special called Board of Trustees meeting to adopt the budget. The board is to adopt the district's tax rate at its Sept. 2 meeting. Featured Local Savings BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) The Buffalo Common Council is asking for six amendments to Acting Mayor Chris Scanlons 2025-26 proposed budget. Council members said the amendments focus on making affordability a priority while reining in increasing overtime costs and maintaining public services. Scanlon announced his $622 million budget in April, which includes a hotel occupancy tax, selling city-owned parking ramps, a proposed property tax increase and more. His proposal has been met with critiques from local leaders about its ability to fill the $70 million budget hole. Scanlon announces $622M city budget, proposes 8% property tax increase Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the amendments asks for formal agreements to be made between the city and venues or organizers who use the citys police, fire and sanitation services for events. More specifically, the council is asking for reimbursements from the entities for city-related expenses through a memorandum of understanding. A property tax circuit breaker program was also proposed, citing concerns of effects of the proposed tax increase on low-income homeowners. The council said it would provide targeted relief to people whose tax liabilities are higher than a defined percentage of their yearly income. The council wants representation on the Buffalo Parking Authority which has received approval in the states budget and would pave the way for city-owned parking ramps to be sold off to the authority to promote transparency to the public. Caps to departmental overtime, particularly in police and fire services, was listed as an amendment, along with switching to one annual bulk trash pickup model. Any reduction in trash services would be returned to residents through fee reductions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council requested the restoration of funding for art programs that was cut in December 2024 and $403,000 in funding for cultural and anti-violence initiatives. The amendments follow concerns from local leaders since the announcement of the proposed budget. Buffalo Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams previously called the budget technically balanced, but took issue with the city relying on nonrecurring revenue sources. New York State Senator Baskin, along with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Buffalo mayoral candidate and State Senator Sean Ryan, questioned the proposed sale of parking ramps and whether it will fill the budget gap. Poloncarz concerned by serious issues in proposed Buffalo budget Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scanlon has previously said that his proposals are not one-time revenue sources and that the Buffalo Parking Authority, would bring around $40 to $50 million in cash, as well as $2.5 million in revenue every year. Its not a gimmick, its money that would come in a large sum of money that we could use over the course of several years while we fix the budget, Scanlon told WIVB News 4 on Friday. If you look at the four-year plan, its laid out, how we would do that, but also, it would provide a yearly revenue as well and again, alleviate the City of Buffalo of any maintenance and capital costs associated with those. The council will vote on the budget amendments on Tuesday, May 27. Latest Local News Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. MORTON, Ill. (WMBD) Despite district efforts four years ago, some Morton parents said bullying is still an issue within District 709 and they are speaking up. Tamara Woodmancy, had children who graduated from the district. She and others have been up in arms for years over the issue. Jami Sheridan has two kids who also graduated from the district and said the board is not going to deal with it. They want to cover it up. But district officials said thats not the case. District Superintendent Craig Smock said theres no cover-up. Theres nothing nefarious going on. He declined an on-camera interview but said in a statement that, parents would never stand for that if bullying was an issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WMBD spoke to two mothers who said the bullying starts in leadership and trickles down. They said students who are different are being targeted. One mother we spoke to did not want to be identified out of fear of retaliation. She said her biracial son, now 14, was made fun of for his race. She said it all started at Grundy Elementary School, where she claims her youngest son was not only picked on by other kids, but by teachers too. Hes been called the N-word with a hard R. Hes been called a cotton picker, and a slave. He was asked if he likes fried chicken, watermelon and grape Kool-Aid, she explained. He was also asked if he needs to get lashings. Smock said the district trains its teachers on how to create a welcoming and respectful classroom environment, and teachers see to it that students feel safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same goes for Sheridans kids. She said her son experienced the same behavior when he was a teen. Even on a daily basis, he was called the N-word. It was frequently during PE, when the time is a little more unstructured. He came home in tears, she said of the experience. When asked, Smock said that many cases of bullying are situations of mistreatment and disrespect, and not a repeated attempt by one student to overpower or control another student. Both mothers said they reported the incidents to the district. That led to talk of putting one child in an alternative school. Sheridan said she was told by the principal that employees at her sons school handled it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So what does it mean? Smock said it involves speaking to students, warning them about their consequences and then documenting the incident. Although there may be no disciplinary consequences for either student, that does not mean we have not addressed it, he said. He was adamant that there is no bullying problem within Morton schools. In fact, the district has a procedure for reporting bad behavior. In its student handbook, it says A student who wishes to report an incident of bullying or harassment can do so to a staff member or the Morton police department school resource officer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Disciplinary actions are also listed in bold. Beyond that, he said, administrators are on the ground and investigating or addressing every complaint. As a result, we have a fantastic culture in every school in our district, he said. Not everyone agrees. One of those is Dr. Ashley Fischer, an area pediatrician and a mental health advocate. There isnt a culture of trust here. It is because there is a culture of retaliation, she said. Fischer recently unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the school board. Getting rid of bullying was one of the planks of her platform. She also said parents and students have no proper way to report instances of bullying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is an anonymous form online that you can fill out. That anonymous form goes to the principal. If the principal is part of the issue, that is the person that gets that and that is the person that investigates that. There is no third party involved at all in this process. Its the police policing themselves, she said. Smock also points to a survey that he said shows that bullying is not an issue. The survey, by 5Essentials, was given to students, parents, and teachers last year. Participation among students was high 93% of students in the 4th through 12th grade. The results said 84% of students agreed they treat one another with respect. 97% said they agreed or strongly agreed that they feel safe with their teachers, and nearly all 99% felt somewhat safe, mostly safe, or very safe in their classes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Id like to see someone do a comparison of our district versus other schools in Illinois, Smock said. Using the same survey, Washington Middle School and Morton Junior High had scores of 67 percent and 53 percent, respectively, under the category of safety. Sheridan isnt buying it. You cant take a survey with a rating scale of 1 to 5 and decide that everything but one is perfect, which is what happened, she said. On 5Essentials.org, results are listed individually by school. So, for Morton Junior High School, in one portion, students were asked questions about the schools environment on a scale of one to four. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the survey, a rating of one means not safe, two means somewhat safe, three means mostly safe, and four stands for very safe. Sheridan believes the school lumped the scores of two, three, and four together in each category, which would give the district glowing results. Are the results perfect? No, said Smock. Others, like Woodmancy, said they want a better way to report incidents of bullying. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A man was sentenced to five years in prison after burglarizing thousands of dollars worth of lithium-ion batteries and other items from a storage unit in Tualatin last year. According to the Washington County District Attorneys Office, Nicholas James Richmond broke into a locked and refrigerated trailer as well as a separate shipping container belonging to a local robotics company using a cutting torch back on Jan. 29, 2024. Bend man convicted for hitting Yellowstone National Park worker with vehicle Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then proceeded to steal 40 lithium ion batteries worth $44,000, along with a riding lawnmower and other items, the DAs Office said. The owner of the stolen items alerted police after finding one of the batteries for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Investigators then set up a meeting with the seller, who had three of the stolen batteries with her. The woman claimed her husband and Richmond were hiding the other stolen items at another storage facility. US Attorneys Office files to recover $6.7M stolen in scam against City of Portland After obtaining a warrant, authorities searched the storage unit and found 12 of the missing batteries. They also searched Richmonds truck and found multiple firearms and, after searching his phone, found pictures of the stolen lawn mower. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On May 2, Richmond was found guilty on charges of first-degree burglary (two counts), first-degree theft, aggravated first-degree theft, felon in possession of a firearm (four counts) and criminal mischief. Ten days later, he was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $57,000 in restitution. Richmond was taken to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Donald Trump signed executive orders on Friday, but one key moment suggested the president had no idea what was in the papers he was about to sign. Trump was seated in the Oval Office, preparing to sign the orders impacting the nuclear energy industry, when he invited business leaders in attendance to say a few words. The first person to speak was Joseph Dominquez, the president and CEO of Constellation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dominquez brought up how the industry has faced regulatory delays. He complained they are spending too much time on permitting. Thats when Trump turned in his seat and asked Dominquez a question about what was in his executive order. Are we doing something about the regulatory in here? Trump asked, nodding to the executive order sitting on the desk in front of him. Constellation Energy CEO Joseph Dominguez speaks before President Donald Trump signs executive orders and the president asked if the order addressed regulations on May 23. / Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Several business leaders standing around him were quick to chime in that his order did address the regulations while Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also responded, You are, sir. Trump has regularly hosted gatherings in the Oval Office to sign executive orders since taking office, where his team explains what is in each bill as they hand them over for his signature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, it was a telling moment that suggested the president had not read the order on Friday in advance, prompting the business executive at the White House to quickly step in and explain. Dominquez addressed the reporters and cameras directly while acknowledging the order targets regulation. That issue I just described will be addressed in this EO, and many other issues that we dont have time with the president to cover, Dominquez said, gesturing to the order on the desk. Trump followed up to ask if he would say theyve contemplated just about everything, right? Dominquez went on to praise the presidents creation of a National Energy Dominance Council, which was included in an executive order signed in February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump praised the nuclear industry as a hot industry. Its a brilliant industry. You have to do it right. Later in the event, White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf went through and explained each of the orders to Trump as he went through and signed them just has he has done in other EO signing ceremonies. In total, the president signed four executive orders aimed at easing regulations and expanding nuclear energy production. The knife attack at Hamburg Central Station was stopped thanks to the brave intervention by two bystanders. "The very quick intervention by two bystanders who were on the platform ... was able to interrupt the attack," the police said on Saturday. Emergency services were then able to quickly arrest the 39-year-old German woman. The arresting officers were a four-person team consisting of federal and state police as well as security forces from the rail operators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 39-year-old female suspect, who is very likely mentally ill, had already been handling the knife on the southern footbridge of the main station. She is to be brought before a magistrate on Saturday who will decide whether she should be placed in a medical facility. The police still see no indication of a political motivation behind the attack. "Rather, there are now very concrete indications of a mental illness in the suspect," the police said. There are currently no indications that she was under the influence of intoxicating substances such as alcohol or drugs, they said, without providing further details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The exact sequence of events is still being reconstructed. Trains were running according to schedule again at Hamburg Central Station the morning after the knife attack, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn confirmed to dpa early Saturday. The attack on platform 13/14 Friday evening led to a major operation by police and rescue services. Investigators were busy securing evidence well into the night. Eighteen people aged between 19 and 85 were injured in the attack. Three women aged 24, 52 and 85, as well as a 24-year-old man, were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police said in an update on Saturday that they were all stable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seven other people were seriously injured, and seven people sustained minor injuries. Investigators currently believe that this was the act of a lone perpetrator. Police spokesman Florian Abbenseth told dpa that the suspect did not resist arrest. The knife used in the attack has been secured. There are many eyewitnesses who need to be interviewed, police said. Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher posted on X that the attack was appalling. He added: "The perpetrator is in custody. I wish the victims of the act much strength and hope that the seriously injured will also be saved." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on X: "The news from Hamburg is distressing. My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. My thanks go to all the emergency services on site for their quick help." German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt condemned the knife attack. "It is shocking when travellers are attacked in a cowardly and despicable manner," Dobrindt said, according to his ministry. The plant, operating since 1962, was originally scheduled to close partially in 2030 and wholly in 2040. But the utility announced in 2021 it was moving the plan up by 15 years for an operations end date of May 31, 2025. [Photo/Courtesy] This story was originally published by Ottawa News Network Story summary U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order on Friday, May 23 just eight days before the J.H. Campbell plant in Port Sheldon Township was scheduled to shut down, a plan that has been in place since 2021. The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on in February urging Consumers Energy to delay the closure of the J.H. Campbell plant, however, it stopped short of filing a lawsuit in April. Consumers Energy previously said the plan for closure was vetted and approved from multiple stakeholders and regulatory agencies; it is unknown how much coal remains at the site to continue operations. PORT SHELDON TWP. The long-planned closing of the coal-fired J.H. Campbell plant in Port Sheldon Township will be delayed at least 90 days after Trump Administration officials issued an emergency order directing Consumers Energy to remain available for operation going into peak summer demand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued the emergency order on Friday, May 23 just eight days before the plant was scheduled to shut down, a plan that has been in place since 2021. The U.S. Department of Energy said the move is intended to minimize the risk of blackouts and address critical grid security issues in the Midwestern region of the United States ahead of the high electricity demand expected this summer. Wright directed the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, in coordination with Consumers Energy to ensure that the 1,560 megawatt plant to [remain] available for operation, minimizing any potential capacity shortfall that could lead to unnecessary power outages. Todays emergency order ensures that Michiganders and the greater Midwest region do not lose critical power generation capability as summer begins and electricity demand regularly reach high levels, Wright said in a prepared news release . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Energy Department said the emergency order, which is issued by the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, is authorized by Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act and is in accordance with President Trumps Executive Order: Declaring a National Energy Emergency to ensure that power generation availability in the region does not dip below 2024 capacity levels. This administration will not sit back and allow dangerous energy subtraction policies threaten the resiliency of our grid and raise electricity prices on American families. With President Trumps leadership, the Energy Department is hard at work securing the American people access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy that powers their lives regardless of whether the wind is blowing, or the sun is shining. On May 14, Consumers officials said the planned May 31 closure of the Campbell plant remained on track. After Wright issued the emergency order on Friday, however, the company said it would comply. Consumers Energy plans to comply with the 90-day pause from the Department of Energy. We are reviewing the executive action and the overall impact on our company, Katie Carey, director of media relations for Consumers, said in a Friday statement to ONN. A long-debated topic The emergency order came after a yearlong effort from a local grassroots organization petitioned Ottawa County officials to intervene in some way to prevent the closure of the Campbell plant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More: County poised to urge delay in closing Campbell as officials say plan likely wont change Organizers of the Save the Campbell effort coalesced at the beginning of 2024 mainly members of far-right fundamentalist groups such as Ottawa Impact, The Gideon 300 and the Ottawa County GOP said a government-owned electric co-op was possible if voters approved a home rule charter at the ballot box. The issue was never put up for a vote, so a change in government structure is not forthcoming; however, local officials asked Consumers for reassurance earlier this year that local energy supplies will be uninterrupted as the Campbell plant headed for closure at the end of May. In February , the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution urging delay in the plants closure , however, officials stopped short April 22 of opting to bring litigation to prevent the closure altogether. Commissioners pointed to two separate reports from MISO as well as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC that gave them concerns over the energy grids reliability once the Campbell is taken offline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MISO published the results of its annual survey in June 2024 , which indicated at the time that there was a growing capacity deficit beginning in the 2025-26 planning year. Next summer, MISO could see resource sufficiency ranging from a 2.7 GW capacity shortfall to a 1.1 GW surplus, underscoring the need to accelerate resource additions, monitor large load additions, and delay resource retirements to reliably manage the anticipated growth in electricity demand, according to the survey. NERC is a nonprofit international regulatory authority that more broadly looks at reliability standards as well as seasonal and longterm outlooks for the entire U.S. grid. The group published a long-term reliability assessment in December 2024 that labeled MISOs section of the grid as high risk, meaning the grid subsection that includes the state of Michigan falls below established resource adequacy criteria in the next five years. High-risk areas are likely to experience a shortfall in electricity supplies at the peak of an average summer or winter season. Extreme weather, producing wide-area heat waves or deep-freeze events, poses an even greater threat to reliability, the report said. NERC, which broadly looks at seasonal and longterm outlooks for the entire U.S. energy grid, published a long-term reliability assessment in December 2024 that labeled the section that includes Michigan as high risk. [Screenshot] Commissioner Jacob Bonnema questioned why Consumers opted to sunset the plant five years ahead than previously planned. Dena Isabell, stakeholder engagement manager at Consumers, told commissioners in February that Consumers adopted in 2021 that helped the company identify about $600 million in savings for its customers over 20 years with the retirement of the plant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That includes renewables that get brought onto the grid, which are cheaper than what we have, she said, so that is a savings to our customers, which is part of the clean and affordable and reliable energy so its an economic decision. One component of the cost savings was coal. Rich Houtteman, community affairs manager for Consumers, explained to commissioners in February that the cost of shipping coal is a huge financial consideration for the energy company. Its about $50 a ton to ship excess coal off-site, he said. We had 30,000 tons. Thats a lot for our customers. So were trying to burn up all the coal as we kind of bring in 130 train car loads a day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consumers did not respond to an inquiry Friday evening on how much coal remained on the site. A political talking point OI Commissioner Allison Miedema who strongly backed the county suing Consumers to prevent the Campbell closure asked the utility companys officials in February what new assets were being brought onto the grid. Isabell pointed to renewables as well as natural gas assets. We do have a lot of renewables that are coming online, so that is very important to us, she said. We do have natural gas. We like natural gas. It is part of our future that we have it is agile, its able to come online quickly, we can dispatch that in a matter of hours, versus a matter of days in the cold so we see natural gas as part of our future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Isabell also noted wind and solar and battery storage, which is going to be a major, major component and required by law, so we are going to be adding a ton of battery storage as well. After Isabell noted that the states new clean energy laws required energy companies to have clean and sustainable energy sources by 2040, OI Commissioner Sylvia Rhodea asked if the new Trump Administrations policies could lead to a relaxation in Consumers plans. Is it possible we might see a change in that legislation that would lift those requirements? Im just wondering if it could be slowed down if were not looking at deadlines until 2040, Rhodea said. Isabell said Consumers was committed to its clean energy plan in 2021 before the legislation in Michigan was approved in 2023 and that bringing massive assets like the Campbell on and off the grid is no simple or quick task. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We do our best to try to be as agile as possible, but assets like this arent something that you can just bring on and take off very quickly, she said. So we do our best in these integrated resources plans to try to plan for what we think could be possible in the future. But we cant plan for everything that could happen with any type of policy. So our plan to retire (Campbell) was on the last integrated resource plan, which does actually meet the new state policy, which works for us going forward. But large assets like that arent something that you can just quickly change with new policies in two years. The integrated resource plans are required by the Michigan Public Service Commission , a regulatory agency that oversees public utilities in Michigan. The Michigan Public Service Commission requires us to create a 20-year plan that says, How are you going to serve your customer, clean, reliable and affordable energy for the next 20 years? And this requires us to come up with scenarios, Isabell said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those scenarios are then presented to stakeholders in a series of workshops over two years with community stakeholders who then provide feedback to help. Were retooling, and were getting ready to do our next integrated resource plan, new technologies, new laws, new things like that require us to be agile. We constantly need to update those plans and make sure that were giving our customers the best technology and the best cost we possibly can, Isabell said. How we got here The Campbell Plant is Consumers last and largest coal-fired plant in the state. The plant, operating since 1962, was originally scheduled to close partially in 2030 and wholly in 2040. But the utility announced in 2021 it was moving the plan up by 15 years for an operations end date of May 31, 2025. The utility was seeking to end coal use altogether by 2025 as part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality. Since the announcement, Consumers has been actively preparing the plant for full retirement, a spokesperson said last year. The complex will officially go into retirement with an aim to go cold and dark after 2025, said former Consumers spokesperson Kristen Van Kley. In 2026 and on, the complex will be demolished with a plan to restore the site over time. The plant, when operating at full capacity, can generate 1,450 megawatts of electricity. Michigan consumed about 113,740 gigawatt hours of electricity in 2019, according to a 2020 report from the U.S. Department of Energy . At the time, Van Kley said new technologies would ensure Consumers would be able to continue supporting the statewide grid. Energy efficiency, demand response and emerging technologies such as grid modernization and battery storage will help us lower peak customer demand for electricity and deliver exactly what Michigan needs, she said. Our plan is designed to respond to emerging needs, adapt to changing conditions and embrace emerging innovative technologies as we work to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Key to that strategy are natural gas-fired plants in Consumers portfolio, Van Kley said, which include locations in Zeeland, Jackson and a 1,200-megawatt facility that began operating in Van Buren Countys Covert Township in June 2023. Those operations will supply reliable, on-demand electricity to meet Michigans energy needs when renewables and other sources are not available, Van Kley said. Meanwhile, efforts continue to restart operations at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township. The facility, owned by New Jersey-based Holtec International, went offline for decommissioning in May 2022. INDIANOLA, Iowa Campsites are full as people begin their Memorial Day weekend festivities, and those looking to get a spot for the weekend had to plan ahead. Those hoping to snatch a camping spot for this weekend hopefully didnt wait till Friday. Aquahbi State Park and Campground is fully booked over the weekend and has been for a while. I was gonna say probably 2 1/2 months has been full because people know that you can reserve out 3 months in advance and they normally know the holidays they want to camp Memorial and Labor Day, and Fourth of July and they make sure that they are reserved for those times so yeah most of the holidays, theyre probably all reserve now, said John Thompson, Lake Ahquabi Campground Host. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahquabi was recently renovated to make room for bigger campers, including more space to pull in and not as many low-hanging trees to get in the way. Families on the site say they were prepared and booked their space ahead of time. Now they plan to enjoy the long weekend. Yes, doing nothing. Its an absolutely enjoy. We sit around the fire until way too late at night. Way past my bedtime and just talk about things and whats going on, and our kids growing up and what theyre doing and how that affects us, said Al Hastings from Norwalk. Well, we are planning on getting water kayaking, but dont know if thats gonna happen but we will probably take the trail around the lake and do that maybe, I dont know, if well fish at all but hopefully get on the water kayaking and at least do the trail, said Amy Havick from Norwalk. While spots might be difficult to come by on big weekends, campground host Thompson said its not too difficult to get a spot during the week. Learn more about Lake Ahquabi State Park here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. Motorhead frontman Lemmy once tried to get Kim Wilde drunk on vodka in his dressing room. Kim Wilde performing in 2021 Kim, 64, met the late heavy metal legend - who died from prostate cancer along with cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure at the age of 70 in 2015 - at the start of her career and notorious boozer kept topping up her cup in a bid to get her tipsy. However, Kim's chaperone dragged her away, although the pop icon considers Lemmy to have been an "absolute sweetheart". Kim - who launched her pop career in 1981 at the age of 20 following the release of 'Kids in America' - explained to The Big Issue magazine: "I was very lucky. Both of the record companies that I worked for at the time got me travelling. "When I was travelling, that's when I needed looking after. And they were always there. So, I was, sort of, chaperoned, I would say, very wisely and with a lot of fun. "There was one time where I was in a dressing room with Lemmy from Motorhead, oh God. And he was trying to get me drunk on vodka. He poured it into a plastic cup so you couldn't see how much was in there. "My chaperone, or the lady that works at the record company, Moira, she dragged me out. "She wouldn't let me. But he was an absolute sweetheart really." Kim insists the support of the team that was around her throughout her career has put her in a "really good" place in terms of finances. The ''Never Trust a Stranger' hitmaker explained: "I'd tell my younger self you need to surround yourself as much as possible with people who you can trust. "I would say, always trust your instincts about people who you're working with, and ask lots of questions. "I was very fortunate in that I've always worked with people who I trust implicitly, and that has made a huge difference to the quality of my life, not just personally, but, you know, financially. It's given me a lot of security. "I would say that on the whole, I've had a really positive experience, and it's put me in a really good place." However, Kim - whose dad is the 50s and 60s pop legend Marty Wilde, 86 - had to deal with the "roller coaster effect" of her career, with the ups and downs causing her mental health to take a "battering" and her confidence to be "absolutely crushed". The 1983 BRIT Award-winner for British Female Solo Artist admitted: "It's been a roller coaster of a career. When things are going really well, it's really great fun, and everyone's vibing and, yeah, you get to share that. "And then, of course, as soon as that dips down, you can have some really tough times. "I really had to get used to the roller coaster effect of my career. "My mental health took a bit of a battering. Sometimes my confidence got absolutely crushed on many occasions. I really had to dig deep to rise above that and get on with life and figure out what was important for me." And Kim believes the "negative aspects" of her music career were a "great gift". She continued: "So all the chat about the negative aspects of my career now I realise was a great gift that I learned valuable lessons from." CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) The Pour House Bar & Grill in Canfield has been listed for sale. According to Platz Realty Group, the owner who has been in the restaurant business for over 50 years is ready to retire, but will train the new owner. The restaurant is located on Starrs Centre Drive, near the corner of Route 224 and Lockwood Boulevard. The Pour House in Poland, which is not affiliated with the Canfield location, says it is still open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jerica Rogers contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. Cannes got its own cliff-hanger ending on Saturday, the final day of the 78th film festival, when a power outage, apparently caused by deliberate sabotage, shut down the power grid serving the city and much of the surrounding region. From 10:00 am on, the outage disrupted screenings, forced cafes and restaurants to close, or shift to cash-only payments, and even caused chaos on the streets as traffic lights winked off. More from The Hollywood Reporter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The blackout only caused minor disruption at the Palais, the festival headquarters, with generators kicking in to restore power. The press conference for Kelly Reichardts Mastermind, with the director and cast members Josh OConnor and Paul Mescal, went ahead as planned at 10.15 am local time. In a statement, the festival said the Palais independent power supply meant that tonights closing ceremony would not be affected. The blackout hit the city of Cannes and surrounding towns, depriving 160,000 households of power supply, said French electricity transmission system operator RTE on its X account. Foul play is suspected in the outage. French media is reporting a fire, a suspected arson attack, at an electricity station outside the town of Tanneron overnight, to Cannes southwest, and the downing of electrical pylons close to the towns of Mougins, just north of Cannes, and Villeneuve-Loubet and Cagnes-su to the northeast. French radio network Franceinfo cited local police and sources from the French police Ministry of Interior that said there were signs that the downed pylons had been sawn through. By 3:00 pm, the electricity supply had been partially restored, with traffic lights working again and some shops operating with minimal power. Most of the hotels and apartments around the city were also back online, meaning theres unlikely to be any disruption for the VIP guests attending tonights ceremony. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for his revenge thriller It Was Just an Accident," handing the festival's top prize to a director who had been banned from leaving Iran for more than 15 years. Cate Blanchett presented the award to Panahi, who three years ago was imprisoned in Iran before going on a hunger strike. For a decade and a half, he has made films clandestinely in his native country, including one film ("This Is Not a Film") made in his living room, and another ("Taxi") set in a car. The crowd rose in a thunderous standing ovation for the filmmaker, who immediately threw up his arms and leaned back in his seat in disbelief before applauding his collaborators and the audience around him. On stage, Panahi was cheered by Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche, who in 2010 in Cannes held up Panahi's name to honor the director when he was under house arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On stage, Panahi said what mattered most was freedom in his country. Let us join forces, said Panahi. No one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should do or what we should not do. The cinema is a society. Nobody is entitled to tell what we should or refrain from doing. The win for It Was Just an Accident extended an unprecedented streak: The indie distributor Neon has now backed the last six Palme d'Or winners. The latest triumph for Neon, which acquired It Was Just an Accident for North American distribution after its premiere in Cannes, follows its Palmes for Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness, Anatomy of a Fall and Anora. All those films were Oscar contenders and two, Parasite and Anora, won best picture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof fled Iran to attend the premiere of his film in Cannes and resettle in Germany. Panahi, though, has said that unlike his friend Rasoulof, life in exile isn't for him. He planned to fly home to Tehran on Sunday. It Was Just an Accident was inspired by Panahi's experience in prison. In the film, a group of former prisoners encounter the man who terrorized them in jail, and weigh whether or not to kill him. Panahi was jailed in Tehrans Evin Prison after going there to inquire about the then-jailed Rasoulof. Panahi was released in 2023 after going on a hunger strike. In 2009, he was banned from traveling out of Iran after attending the funeral of a student killed in the Green Movement protests. Through those years, Panahi continued to make films illegally in Iran, without a permit, and had his films smuggled to festivals on USB drives. His travel ban was lifted after his release in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The film springs from a feeling of resistance, survival, which is absolutely necessary today, Binoche told reporters after the ceremony. Art will always win. What is human will always win. The Cannes closing ceremony followed a major power outage that struck southeastern France on Saturday in what police suspected was arson. Only a few hours before stars began streaming down the red carpet, power was restored in Cannes. A day without electricity," sighed John C. Reilly, who sang an English-language La Vie En Rose at the ceremony. The festival's films, he said, supplied all the needed electricity." Other winners at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Grand Prix, or second prize, was awarded to Joachim Triers Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value, his lauded follow-up to The Worst Person in the World. Some had expected Sentimental Value to win the Palme, but Trier whose film reunites him with actor Renate Reinsve still took a major prize. We live in a time of tremendous excess and saturation of images. Moving images are being thrown at us all the time," said Trier. "And I want to give homage to the Cannes Film Festival for being a place where the big cinematic image, which is the foundation of the moving image, the free image, the image that we take time to look at, the image where we can identify with each other in contemplation and empathy, to be cherished in this place in such a way is very important in this moment. Kleber Mendonca Filhos Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent" won two big awards: best director for Filho and best actor for Wagner Moura. Though Cannes juries are generally urged to spread awards around, the two for The Secret Agent showed the jury's strong feelings for it. Asked about the two prizes, juror Jeremy Strong explained, simply, That was our wish. The wins, which followed the international film Oscar victory for Walter Salles' I'm Still Here in March, gave Brazil more to celebrate. On X, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said the awards show that our countrys cinema is second to none. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The jury prize was split between two films: Oliver Laxes desert road trip Sirat " and Mascha Schilinski's German, generation-spanning drama Sound of Falling. Best actress went to Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister, Hafsia Herzi's French coming-of-age drama. The Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, who are two-time Palme d'Or winners, won best screenplay for their latest drama, Young Mothers. Its their ninth prize in Cannes. The festival's award for best first film, the Camera d'Or, went to Hasan Hadi for The President's Cake, making it the first Iraqi film to win an award at the festival. What else shaped Cannes this year Saturday's ceremony brought to a close a 78th Cannes Film Festival where geopolitics cast a long shadow, both on screen and off. Shortly before the French Riviera extravaganza, which is also the world's largest movie market, U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of a 100% tariff on movies made overseas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most filmmakers responded with a shrug, calling the plan illogical. Can you hold up the movie in customs? It doesnt ship that way, said Wes Anderson, who premiered his latest, The Phoenician Scheme at the festival. At the opening ceremony, honorary Palme d'Or recipient Robert De Niro called Trump America's philistine president. Other top American films in Cannes included Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest (which pulled Lee away from his New York Knicks but not out of their blue and orange color), the Christopher McQuarrie-Tom Cruise actioner Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning," and Ari Aster's Eddington, which found a divisive reaction. Panahi's win put him in rare company. He's now won Cannes' Palme d'Or, Venice's Golden Lion (for The Circle) and Berlin's Golden Bear (for Taxi). Only three other filmmakers have done that: Henri-Georges Clouzot, Michelangelo Antonioni and Robert Altman. Addressing reporters after his win, Panahi spoke about filmmakers and artists always being able to find a way, even in complicated situations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They must realize that no powers that be can halt such people in their tracks, said Panahi. You have this power. ___ Jake Coyle has covered the Cannes Film Festival since 2012. Hes seen approximately 40 films at this years festival and is reporting on what stands out. ___ For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival A leader of a notorious Mexican drug cartel who had a bounty on his head in the United States has died in a clash with army troops, authorities said Saturday. Sinaloa state, where the powerful cartel of the same name is based, is enduring a war between two rival factions that has left some 1,200 people dead since September. Jorge Humberto Figueroa who went by the nickname "El Perris" was shot and killed Friday in a raid carried out to arrest him, public safety secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch wrote on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been offering up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest on suspicion of fentanyl trafficking and money laundering. Figueroa was one of the masterminds of an infamous clash with the authorities in 2019 in the city of Culiacan, Harfuch said. Jorge Humberto Figueroa / Credit: DEA In that case, cartel members fought security forces who had arrested Ovidio Guzman, a son of Sinaloa cartel co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Mexican authorities controversially released Ovidio Guzman at the time, saying they wanted to avoid further bloodshed. But he ultimately was re-arrested in 2023 and extradited to the United States, where he remains in custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, Harfuch confirmed that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. recently as part of a deal between Ovidio Guzman and the Trump administration. El Chapo's ex-wife, Griselda Lopez Perez, and her daughter were among the family members to enter the U.S., local media reported. Mexican press reports said Figueroa belonged to a Sinaloa cartel faction run by the sons of the older Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States. This group has been fighting another faction led by heirs of cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was lured to the United States in a sting operation in 2024 and arrested. The newspaper Reforma said Figueroa was head of security for the faction led by Guzman's sons known as the Chapitos. According to a 2023 indictment by the U.S. Justice Department, the Chapitos and their cartel associates used corkscrews, electrocution and hot chiles to torture their rivals while some of their victims were "fed dead or alive to tigers." 4 women arrested for allegedly aiding escaped New Orleans inmates 9 young siblings killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza Summer travel season kicks off May 23WILKES-BARRE Mary Kay Pivovarnik, CASA executive director, on Friday said a volunteer court appointed special advocate is often the one constant a child has through the life of their case. "They can be the voice of the child, or help the child find their own voice," Pivovarnik said during a swearing-in ceremony for new CASA advocates. "They have ability to see the case as a whole and learn about the child, the family and the community in the process." The Honorable Judge Jennifer L. Rogers presided over the swearing in ceremony, where the volunteer CASA advocates took an oath to represent the best interest of children who are in the dependency court system in Luzerne County. The ceremony was held in the Bernard C. Brominski Building, where Family Court is located. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pivovarnik said a CASA advocate is a person who can build resiliency in a child who suffered trauma. "And this resiliency will help the child cope throughout their lives," Pivovarnik said. "CASA advocates perform everyday miracles for these children. Sometimes advocacy changes their education or medical status sometimes advocacy helps a child find trust in an adult again. Everyday I ask myself where these children would be without their advocates." While the organization is growing in numbers and impact, the need for advocates remains. Pivovarnik said there are 400 children between Luzerne and Wyoming County who need an advocate. "Being a CASA advocate is one of the most robust volunteer opportunities and one of the most life changing for children," Pivovarnik said. "Children who have had CASA advocates are less likely to re-enter the dependency court system and achieve permanency through either reunification or adoption faster than children who have not had a CASA advocate." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The eight individuals from Luzerne County Mary DeSpirito, Edwin Gonzalez, Danielle Huertas, Madison Rodriguez, Stefany Serrano-Perez, Angela Sindaco and two who wished to remain anonymous completed 30 hours of training over a 9-week period. Two advocates who will serve in Wyoming County Carly Okoth and Nancy Thaler were sworn in by the Honorable Judge Russell D.Shurtleff on May 14. During their training, the CASA advocates learned about a variety of topics that are the root causes of child abuse and neglect which lead to children and family involvement in the dependency court system. Pivovarnik said the training has prepared them to advocate for the best interest of a child or sibling group whom they will be assigned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pivovarnik and Judge Rogers each talked about how children in the CASA program can sometimes feel invisible as they often move from foster home to foster home and rarely know the people who are acting on their behalf. They said many of the children lose their personal possessions that they have had for many years. "Don't give up on them," Judge Rogers told the CASA advocates. "And don't give up on yourself." Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski and Rep. Brenda Pugh attended the ceremony and praised the program for its compassionate work for children. The CASA program is accepting applicants for volunteers for the Fall training class. Call the CASA office at 570-855-2247, or visit luzernecasa.org to learn about becoming a volunteer. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. May 24The following stories from this week appeared on www.jamestownsun.com and in The Jamestown Sun. 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. "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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. 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. The Stutsman County Commission in a 4-0 vote on Tuesday, May 20, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement appointed Benjamin Tompkins to serve on the board. Tompkins was one of 11 applicants who applied to fill the vacant seat on the county commission."I'm very excited," Tompkins said. "I think that I can bring a lot of perspective that not everybody gets to see." The other applicants were George Barnes, John Baumgartner, Paul Belzer, Dernel Denning, Steven Gerszewski, John Grabinger, Daren Peterka, Trever Sahr, Taylor Vining and Alan Williams. Tompkins took the oath of office and filled the vacant seat after he was appointed on Tuesday. The vacancy was created after the death of Commissioner Jerry Bergquist on April 24. Bergquist was elected to the commission in November 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tompkins will hold the office at least until the next general election. North Dakota Century Code 44-02-05 says the appointee holds office until the appointee's successor is elected at the next general election that occurs at least 95 days after the vacancy and the successor has qualified. The next general election cycle is in 2026. The Jamestown Building, Planning and Zoning Committee unanimously recommended approval on Tuesday, May 20, of a minor subdivision in northeast Jamestown . The final plat of the Buffalo Estates First Addition is a replat of a portion of Horizon Estates First Addition. Buffalo Estates First Addition is located east of the Two Rivers Activity Center between 25th and 27th Avenue Northeast and north of 5th Street Northeast. There is no street for 25th Avenue Northeast at the location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In related business, the Building, Planning and Zoning Committee unanimously recommended approval of the future land use plan amendment for Buffalo Estates First Addition from vacant/agricultural to a single-family residential district. The committee also unanimously recommended approval to introduce the first reading of an ordinance to amend and reenact ordinance No. 1556 of the city code by amending the district map to change the zoning of blocks one and two of the Buffalo Estates First Addition from a one-family residential district to a one-family residential and duplex or two-family residential district. The reason for the requests of the future land use plan and zoning map amendments is "to have the optimum ability to develop the area between single-family homes and single-family attached homes," according to the applications. The Jamestown chief of police says an ordinance is needed that would impose fees for repeat offenders of false burglar or fire alarms Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement at businesses in Jamestown. Scott Edinger, chief of police, told the Jamestown Police and Fire Committee on Thursday, May 22, that the discussion for an ordinance is in the preliminary stages. He said the Jamestown Police Department has responded to an average of 218 false alarm calls per year for the past 10 years. In a letter to the Jamestown City Council, Edinger wrote that less than 0.25% of the alarms the Jamestown Police Department responds to have any actual emergency involved. Edinger said many of the false burglar alarm calls are at the same businesses. Fire Chief Jim Reuther said the Jamestown Fire Department is also experiencing a lot of false fire alarm calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said city staff should research what can be put in an ordinance and present it to the City Council. Edinger said the ordinance should be in place starting on Jan. 1, 2026. "That gives us an opportunity to get this information out to the businesses," he said. No action was taken on the issue. The status of funding for Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center and other facilities operated by the U.S. Geological Survey through its Ecosystems Mission Area is still unclear even after the House of Representatives passed the Trump administration-sponsored budget bill on Thursday, May 22. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. John Hoeven's office replied in an email to a request for information before the budget bill passed the House of Representatives by saying, "We checked with the Department of the Interior regarding the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. DOI is evaluating their facility options and no budget decisions have been made at this point regarding staffing or funding." Rep. Julie Fedorchak's office did not provide information regarding the status of funding for the Ecosystems Mission Area the morning after the budget bill passed during the overnight hours. Various media outlets and national and regional wildlife and ecological organizations have reported that the Ecosystems Working Group and its laboratories around the country will be eliminated as part of budget cuts going into the next federal fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. Nearly 20 agencies gathered on Wednesday as the Cass County Local Emergency Planning Committee held its annual hazardous materials exercise at the Walton Community Fire Department. The exercise, focusing on emergency response to damage to an anhydrous ammonia pipeline, included discussion to ensure life safety of the public and responders, to effectively communicate protective actions to the public, and environmental response to contain impacts and mitigate lasting hazards. LEPC exercises take weeks to months to plan. Before the exercise there are multiple meetings with key response partners, industry representatives, and subject matter experts to put together a plausible scenario that provides a substantive test for the jurisdiction, according to a press release from the Cass County Emergency Management Agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the day of the exercise, evaluators from outside the jurisdiction grade the response and provide feedback to drive further planning. Following the exercise, an After-Action Report/Improvement Plan document is put together that identifies strengths as well as areas for improvement. Areas for improvement are tied to target completion dates and in most cases the LEPC aims to have issues addressed before the next exercise. Occasionally, larger or more complex issues might take multiple years to address. Most items are taken care of in weeks or months. Responders participate and provide feedback. That feedback, along with evaluator feedback, comes back to the LEPC and is utilized to improve plans and fill capacity gaps for emergency response. Resource gaps identified help drive grant requests for training, equipment and other resources. Participating agencies for the 2025 exercise included American Red Cross of Indiana, Cass County Board of Commissioners, Cass County Emergency Management Agency, Cass County Highway Department, Cass County Sheriffs Office, Clinton Township Fire Department, Existential Media, Galveston Fire Department, Grissom Air Reserve Base Emergency Management Office, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana State Fire Marshals Office HAZMAT Section, Indiana State Police, Logansport Memorial Hospital, Parkview Health, Royal Center Fire Department, Sunoco LP, New Waverly Fire Department, Walton Community Fire Department, Young America Fire Department. The Cass County Planning Department and US National Weather Service Northern Indiana provided support to prepare materials and information for the 32 responders participating in the exercise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the Indiana Emergency Response Commission requires LEPCs to conduct one exercise a year, Cass County typically conducts three or more. For 2025 a full-scale HAZMAT exercise is expected this summer, along with a tabletop focused on community medical preparedness this fall, according to the press release. The LEPC, in concert with EMA, conducts hazard identification, vulnerability analysis and risk assessment activities for chemical emergencies within the county. The annual exercise is a state requirement to test local plans, identify capacity gaps and identify action items in areas of planning, equipment, training and organization. (KRON) A strawberry moon, which is generally the last full moon of spring and the first full moon of summer, will hang overhead on June 11, according to the Old Farmers Almanac. Although the full moon can sometimes take on a reddish color, the term strawberry moon is a seasonal nickname, and is not indicative of the moons color, NASA says. The name full strawberry moon originated from the Algonquin tribes in the northeastern United States, NASAs website reads. This full moon occurred during the month of June when strawberries were ripening and ready to be harvested. The name strawberry moon has been passed down through generations and continues to be used by many today. SAN FRANCISCO, CA JUNE 3: Full Strawberry Moon rises over Alcatraz of San Francisco in California, United States on June 3, 2023. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) SAN FRANCISCO, CA JUNE 3: Full Strawberry Moon rises over Alcatraz of San Francisco in California, United States on June 3, 2023. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) The exact moment of a full moon occurs when the moon and sun are on opposite ends of the Earth. However, the full moon will generally last roughly a day before and after June 11. NASA recommends stargazers use binoculars and telescopes to take in the craters and other features of the moons surface. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In April, a local photographer captured a pink moon rising over the Bay Bridge. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PLAINS TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Luzerne County Community College is marking 50 years of its high-ranking nursing program. This comes as Pennsylvania faces a statewide shortage of the crucial caretakers. State data shows an expected shortage of 20,000 nurses by 2026. More than 100 nurses from Luzerne County Community Colleges nursing program will soon enter the workforce and fill some of those roles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon-to-be graduates from the Luzerne County Community Colleges School of Nursing received their ceremonial pins, surrounded by classmates, family, and friends. School leadership says the program works with all of the local hospitals, and many who graduate from the program stay in the area, filling critical gaps in care. Luzerne County Community College, by producing more nurses, more quality nurses, the best in the industry, were meeting that workforce need here in Luzerne County and throughout Pennsylvania, said John Yudichak, president of Luzerne County Community College. Fire reported at shopping center in Luzerne County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Graduating nurses 28/22 News spoke with say they feel prepared from their studies and are eager and excited to care for others. There is indeed a shortage in the world today of nurses, and thats why Im excited to be a part of a team that, even though we are short, we can still deliver the best care, said Carlita France, class of 2025. Now starting in the workforce, were already used to really hard things, and we already know so much from this program, that its just gonna benefit us, explained Paige Evans, class of 2025. What made the ceremony extra special: members of the programs first class from the 1970s were honored, and some were even in attendance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their advice to the soon-to-be nurses? Just follow your heart. Find something that you really love doing. An area of nursing that you really love, said Lois Scott, class of 1975. The demand is going to be there. Its going to even surge. So, I think theyre all going to do very well, said Alan Stevens, class of 1975. The pinning ceremony from today is a tradition in nursing that dates back to Florence Nightingale and serves as a powerful reminder of the values of compassion, care, and community service. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been released from prison. Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed released from prison Hannah, 27 who was convicted in 2024 of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in 2021 was released from prison after receiving the maximum 18 month sentence. Hannah was responsible for weapons and firearms on the Rust film set, when a loaded prop revolver was supplied to actor and producer Alec Baldwin, resulting in the death of Hutchins and the wounding of the film's director, Joel Souz A New Mexico Corrections Department spokesperson told NBC News that Hannah who was being held at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, New Mexico - was released in Arizona, to a region near the Nevada and California borders. A separate case in which Gutierrez-Reed was accused of unlawfully carrying a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment resulted in 18 months of probation. She will be on parole for a year, with dual supervision under probation and parole authorities to take place concurrently. She was previously acquitted of an additional charge of tampering with evidence. According to her certificate of parole, obtained by CBS News, Gutierrez-Reed must follow the conditions set forth by the parole board, which include electric monitoring, following a curfew, and either getting a job or enrolling in school. Gutierrez-Reed previously told the judge she was young and naive when she was working on Rust and begged for a lighter sentence. According to CBS, she said: I was young and naive. But I took my job as seriously as I knew how to. I beg you, please, don't give me more time. The jury has found me in part at fault for this horrible tragedy, but that doesn't make me a monster. That makes me human." REIMS, France (AP) A mourning ceremony was held Saturday in Reims in eastern France to honor Sebastiao Salgado, the celebrated Brazilian photographer and environmentalist who died Friday at 81. As his widow, Lelia Wanick Salgado, and their sons, Juliano and Rodrigo, attended the opening of an art exhibition featuring the work of Rodrigo, the gathering turned into a tribute to the late artist. There are so many things I remember about Sebastio," said Salgado's widow. "He was a very lively person. He loved life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A moment of silence was observed in the packed hall, where friends, admirers and fellow artists gathered to pay tribute. Salgado, whose powerful black-and-white photographs captured both the suffering and dignity of people across the globe, had lived in Paris for more than five decades. He had been battling leukemia and was recently dealing with other health issues, according to his family. ___ Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america CHICAGO (WGN) As Rep. Robin Kelly pursues a U.S. Senate seat, an influential state lawmaker is eyeing her job. Robert Peters, 40, who represents Kenwood and Hyde Park in the Illinois Senate, has launched a bid for the 2nd Congressional District seat. We have Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Theyre taking an axe to democracy. Theyre taking an axe to government, people are hurting, Peters told WGN in a sit-down interview. We need people who can fight back against what theyre doing who also have a vision for what needs to get done in this country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peters says if elected hell be a champion for working people and back progressive causes. U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly enters race to replace Durbin In an early flex, Peters scored endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and DNC vice chair and activist David Hogg, whose Leaders We Deserve organization is looking to replace some Democratic incumbents. We should be looking out for people who are struggling, people who need labor rights, people who need health care, people who are worried about reproductive health, people who are worried about democracy and the constitution, Peters said. Peters name grew in Illinois politics when he backed the states no cash bail legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im very proud to be able to say weve transformed Illinois pretrial system based off of safety and not how rich you are, he said. As he looks to stand out in the primary, Peters is sharing his compelling personal story. Im adopted. I was born hard of hearing. I was able to get surgery to be able to gain hearing, he said. But he developed a speech impediment, and that, coupled with ADHD, led to struggles as a student. Peters overcame the challenges, graduating from Kansas State with a degree in Social Studies. People told me I wasnt going to amount to anything. I had people tell my parents I wouldnt graduate from 8th grade, I wouldnt graduate from high school, I wouldnt graduate from college, and my dad said at the end of the day what matters most is that you go out there and try. You go out there and see for yourself, and that has paid off for me in my life, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peters experience in politics seems to be helping with donors. His campaign said he raised $175,000 over his first 72 hours in the race. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Chick-fil-A opens new location in the South Bay (KRON) Chick-fil-A is opening its first location in Morgan Hill. Located at 18599 Sutter Blvd., the store is across the street from Cochrane Plaza, which has a Walmart, Baskin-Robbins and more. The restaurant officially opens on Thursday, May 29. The hours of operation will be from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and of course will be closed on Sunday. Photo: Chick-fil-A Photo: Chick-fil-A San Francisco has the highest fast food prices in the US: study Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The owner of this location is a Northern California native named Kevin Donohue. He first became a Chick-fil-A team member six years ago and has grown with the company. This location will be honoring 100 local heroes with free Chick-fil-A entrees for a year. The Morgan Hill Chick-fil-A plans to also participate in Chick-fil-A Shared Table, a program for local Owner-Operators to donate surplus food to charitable organizations in their community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. SHANGHAI/JAKARTA (Reuters) -China's Premier Li Qiang said on Saturday that China and Indonesia will promote "true multilateralism", the official Xinhua news agency reported, as he landed in Jakarta on a two-day visit to Southeast Asia's largest economy. China has intensified engagement with countries in the region since U.S. President Donald Trump announced hefty import tariffs on its global trading partners earlier this year. Some levies have since been delayed, while China and the U.S. agreed this month to pause some of their tariffs. Jakarta, whose biggest trading partner is China, has offered the U.S. a number of concessions in a bid to soften tariffs against Indonesia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a business leaders' event later on Saturday, at which Li was present, Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto said relations between Beijing and Jakarta were key for regional stability, adding that Indonesia views China as an important partner in developing industry and technology. He also praised China's role in defending the interests of developing countries and its stand against "imperialism" and "colonialism." Prabowo and Li will hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss how to strengthen Indonesia-China relations, Indonesian investment minister Rosan Roeslani said in a statement. Following the visit to Jakarta, Li will travel to Malaysia to attend the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, Xinhua reported. (Reporting by Engen Tham in Shanghai, Selena Li in Hong Kong and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Jan Harvey) May 23BEMIDJI Bemidji High School Assistant Principal Christine Christiansen was recently selected to represent the northern division of the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals as High School Assistant Principal of the Year. "Christiansen has served as an assistant principal at Bemidji High School for the past four years," a release said. "During that time, she has demonstrated outstanding leadership, a commitment to student achievement and a dedication to fostering a positive school culture." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The release noted Christiansen's instrumental role in leading special education and 504 programming to ensure equitable student support. She has also guided the school's site team through continuous improvement efforts, led implementation of the Marzano curriculum process, and developed targeted reading and math interventions that improved academic outcomes. "Her contributions to district-wide committees have further strengthened a positive, inclusive culture at Bemidji High School," the release adds. The MASSP represents over 1,350 principals from across the state of Minnesota, divided into eight regions, with each region selecting one representative for annual recognition. In December, a statewide selection board will review all eight finalists and choose one to represent Minnesota at the national level. ST. LOUIS City SC donated 100% of the proceeds from their match against Portland Timbers 2 at Energizer Park to tornado recovery efforts in St. Louis. The match, attended by over 2,000 fans, was part of City SCs initiative to support families affected by last weeks devastating storms. The funds raised, nearly $32,000, will aid in providing food, shelter and rebuilding efforts. Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News City SC staff extended their support beyond the match by volunteering at the OFallon YMCA earlier in the day. They helped sort donations and connected with storm survivors, demonstrating their commitment to the community. The event drew a diverse crowd, including parents and little league teams in matching gear, some of whom were experiencing the stadium for the first time. Others attended to show solidarity with the city during these challenging times. This initiative by City SC is part of a broader effort by various organizations working to rebuild St. Louis, emphasizing the power of community support through donations and volunteer work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tory Lanezs alleged prison attacker says he thought the rapper was coming to kill him. Tory Lanezs alleged prison attacked speaks out Santino Casio, who is accused of stabbing the rapper 14 times, leaving him with a collapsed lung, is not denying attacking Lanez but claims he only did so because he had heard Lanez was out to get him. He told TMZ that after hearing through the prison grapevine that Tory had a bounty on him, he later ran into Tory and thought he saw a suspicious lump in Tory's pocket. He claims he believed it was a weapon so he jumped Tory, hit him and stabbed him but he insists he wasnt trying to kill Tory. He also claims he got stabbed in the leg during the incident. Casio who is serving a life sentence - added the situation was unexpected because they previously had a cordial relationship. Torys team told TMZ: "The recent attempt on his life was savage and ferocious, underscoring the clear and present danger he faces while incarcerated. Any claim to the contrary particularly from an individual serving a life sentence for heinous crimes is not only baseless but an absurd fabrication." Tory is serving a 10-year sentence at the California Correctional Institution at Tehachapi for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in July 2020. He reportedly received seven wounds on his back, four on his torso, two on the back of his head, and one on his face, during the incident in prison. Lanez's team wrote on his official Instagram page: "Tory was stabbed 14 times - including 7 wounds to his back, 4 to his torso, 2 to the back of his head, and 1 to the left side of his face. Both of his lungs collapsed, and he was placed on a breathing apparatus. He is now breathing on his own. (sic)" The 'Hurts Me' hitmaker - whose real name is Daystar Peterson - is now "talking normally", and he is "deeply thankful to God" that he is "pulling through". The post continued: "Despite being in pain, he is talking normally, in good spirits, and deeply thankful to God that he is pulling through. "He also wants to thank everyone for their continued prayers and support. (sic)" California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Pedro Calderon Michel said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times newspaper that the attack occurred around 7.20am on Monday May 12 and that prison staff "immediately responded, activated 911 and began medical aid" to Lanez. He was then rushed to a nearby hospital. HIGH POINT The city of High Point has settled a civil rights lawsuit brought by a former department head who alleged he was wrongfully terminated from his employment because of his disability. The settlement terms include a $69,500 payment to the plaintiff, Mike McNair, who served as director of the Community Development and Housing Department from 2003 until 2022. McNair brought the case last year, naming the city as defendant. It was pending in U.S. District Court in Greensboro until Thursday, when he agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice meaning that he cannot refile it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additional terms of the settlement include no admission of liability from either party and a release of future claims against the city. McNair alleged in the lawsuit that the city failed to make proper work accommodations for him, retaliated against him and terminated his employment because of his spinal injury, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The suit sought punitive and compensatory damages against the city, as well as restoration of lost pay and benefits. The city denied the allegations in court filings. McNair was represented in the case by Charlotte attorney Daniel Lyon and the city was represented by the law firm Poyner Spruill in Raleigh. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, the city of Springfield held a commemorative ceremony to remember our fallen heroes. This ceremony was a time to honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. It included speeches from veterans and local and state officials, and a wreath-laying. For many, Memorial Day weekend marks the start of summer activities like family cookouts, trips to the beach, or taking advantage of sales. But a Vietnam veteran, Sgt. Gumersindo Gomez is reminding people of the true meaning of the holiday, a time to pause and reflect on those whove died in the line of duty while fighting for our freedom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This weekend we will remember, good friend of ours that were probably next to us and they were not able to come back, said Sgt. Gomez. On the steps of Springfield City Hall, he joins other veterans, city leaders, legislators, and the Springfield Department of Veterans Services in remembering these fallen heroes. Mayor Domenic Sarno presented a proclamation to mark this occasion. Veterans and the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and their families, have allowed us to lead the lives we lead. And I hand-wrote here. May God rest their souls. And thank their families, too, said Mayor Sarno. Across from City Hall, a memorial wreath had been placed at each of the five veteran monuments along Veterans Way. These monuments honor veterans from World War 1, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Marine veterans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While we lay these wreaths and we fly our flags, we will stand up and show that democracy is still alive. But democracy is for all, for anyone who seeks to find refuge here in America, said Massachusetts Senator Adam Gomez. To end the ceremony, a rifle salute from the Springfield Police Department Honor Guard was fire,d and taps were played. There will also be a special Memorial Day mass at St. Michaels Cemetery on Monday at 10 AM. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. In May 2025, a claim spread online that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the U.S. discovered 8 million people fraudulently enrolled in Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income people. While U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that 8 million people are on Medicaid because of "fraud, waste and abuse," and that DOGE helped determine this, there is no evidence backing up the claim that this number originated from DOGE's work. However, the Congressional Budget Office did estimate that approximately 7.6 million or 7.7 million people will lose Medicaid coverage under U.S. President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which appears to be where Kennedy's numbers come from. Kennedy also claimed, as did many people online, that of the 8 million, 1 million are enrolled in Medicaid in multiple states, about 1 million enrollees are immigrants in the country illegally and another million are enrolled in plans under both Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. However, there is no publicly available documented proof of the double enrollment numbers for both multiple states and multiple plans and the enrollees who do not have legal immigration status are on Medicaid through state-sanctioned and -funded programming, not federal funding. In May 2025, a claim spread online that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) discovered 8 million people on Medicaid "who shouldn't be" in other words, widespread fraudulent enrollment in the government health insurance program for people with limited income. The claim spread primarily on Facebook but could also be found on X. Snopes readers also searched the website for information on the claims about Medicaid fraud and DOGE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "DOGE drops the facts, and RFK Jr. confirms it 8 million people are on Medicaid who shouldn't be," many of the posts read. The text from the post above appears to be copypasta, or misinformation in the form of copied and pasted text, as it appears word-for-word the same in many of the claims reviewed by Snopes. U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did allege that 8 million people on Medicaid will be affected by the administration's efforts to cut "fraud, waste and abuse" in the program. However, there is no evidence that DOGE made this discovery nor did Kennedy provide any proof for his claim. In fact, the number appears to come from preliminary estimates by the Congressional Budget Office on how many people may lose health insurance coverage if Trump's massive legislative budget package called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" becomes law without undergoing any changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Furthermore, Kennedy's claim that these 8 million people represent "fraud, waste and abuse" is in part a matter of opinion, not fact. Asked via email whether DOGE could be credited for this, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields requested Snopes provide an example of the claim. Snopes provided the post above, to which Fields said the White House would not comment on unofficial Republican accounts. After clarifying that the claim spread widely online and may have originated from Kennedy, we did not hear back. We also reached out to DOGE and await a response. The Department of Health and Human Services did not return a request for more information on where Kennedy's numbers came from. No announcement from DOGE As first reported by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Feb. 5, 2025, officials granted DOGE access to Medicaid systems in its widespread search for fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On May 14, 2025, Kennedy said during a committee hearing that "because of DOGE," the agency found 8 million people on Medicaid who would be affected by cuts made for reasons of "fraud, waste and abuse." However, if DOGE did make this discovery, they did not appear to make any public announcement about it. The public face of DOGE, tech billionaire Elon Musk, often makes major announcements through his X page and a search for "Medicaid" on his X profile returned no results concerning 8 million fraudulent enrollees. DOGE similarly uses X for public statements, and a search of its page for "Medicaid" also returned no relevant results as of this writing. Musk did claim in an X post on Feb. 10, 2025, without providing evidence, that the "magnitude of fraud in federal entitlements," including Medicaid, "exceeds the combined sum of every private scam you've ever heard by FAR." This post did not include hard data or any supposed number of fraudulent enrollees. DOGE releases dollar amounts of its purported savings on its website, but there was not a section for the number of people that the agency supposedly caught committing fraud as of this writing. No reputable news outlets have credited this supposed discovery to DOGE as of publication, and if the claim were true or if Musk even claimed it was it would certainly make news. CBO estimate on Medicaid cuts Kennedy's comments during the May 14 committee hearing were in reference to cuts that would be made to Medicaid under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Here is the full exchange between Kennedy and Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif.; see 1:53:00 (emphasis ours): KENNEDY: The cuts to Medicaid are for fraud, waste and abuse, and I'll tell you what that means. It means because of DOGE and it's about 8 million people who would be affected because of DOGE, we were able to determine that there are a million people who are claiming Medicaid from multiple states. That's illegal. It's theft. You're not allowed to do that. There are another million people who are collecting both under Obamacare and HARDER: Mr. Secretary. That has nothing to do with the budget that is actually being proposed KENNEDY: These are the only cuts that are being made. These are the only cuts that are being made to Medicaid. HARDER: That's not true. KENNEDY: Yes it is. There are another million illegal aliens. We announced the law yesterday, we're not going to pay illegal aliens anymore. The first public reference available of this "8 million" number appears to be a May 11 preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which found that "at least" 7.7 million people may lose health insurance coverage by 2034 if the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" became law without undergoing any changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An updated May 18, 2025, estimate from CBO, available for download here (go to the "Title IV Commerce and Energy" tab after downloading and scroll to the very end), said "the number of people without health insurance would increase by 8.6 million in 2034," with 7.6 million of that number attributable to Medicaid cuts and another 1 million attributable to the Affordable Care Act. CBO cautioned that it has not yet completed "estimates for effects on spending subject to appropriation and estimates of the effects of interactions among titles of the legislation," meaning these numbers are subject to change. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has also undergone changes since being passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2025, and is likely to undergo even more changes once it reaches debate in the Senate. It must pass both chambers and be signed by Trump in order to become law. Examining claims of 'fraud' Kennedy's explanation as to why the 8 million who will be cut from Medicaid represent "waste, fraud and abuse" largely matches with the text from the copypasta, seen below: Over 1 million are double-dipping, illegally getting Medicaid from two different states. Another 1.4 million are undocumented immigrants and they're being handed benefits funded by your tax dollars. On top of that, another million are illegally enrolled in both Medicaid and Obamacare. Not all of these numbers are available in public documents, making it impossible to check every claim made here, so let's start by looking at the claim that is possible to fact-check. 1.4 million undocumented immigrants on Medicaid? The claim that 1.4 million immigrants in the country illegally are on Medicaid comes from the May 18, 2025, CBO estimate (emphasis ours): Included in that 8.6 million total are an estimated 1.4 million people without verified citizenship, nationality, or satisfactory immigration status who, if section 41110 were enacted, would no longer be covered in state-only funded programs in 2034. While such immigrants are largely ineligible for federal health insurance, Medicaid is a joint state and federal program and some states offer Medicaid or Medicaid-like benefits to people without legal immigration status using state funds, which is what CBO references. Thus, legally speaking, those immigrants who enroll through state-sanctioned Medicaid programs aren't committing fraud or abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (On the federal spending level, noncitizen immigrants both with and without legal authorization can be eligible for emergency Medicaid services, but the government doesn't keep track of an immigrant's legal status when collecting data on emergency Medicaid usage, making it impossible to tell how many undocumented immigrants have benefited from these services, per a 2024 letter sent to U.S. representatives.) 1 million 'double-dipping' into Medicaid in multiple states? As for the claim that 1 million enrollees are "double-dipping" into Medicaid from two different states, that is both illegal and a legitimate issue, according to a 2022 audit by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General. (See Page 2 under "Federal Requirements" for the law on receiving benefits in two different states.) However, this audit found that the total number of beneficiaries concurrently enrolled in two different states was 327,497 as of August 2020; in August 2019, it was 208,254 (see pages 14 and 15). Thus, the most recent numbers available as of this writing aren't close to 1 million (see the first summary page). It is possible that the number of "double-dippers" has increased to 1 million, but that number isn't publicly available as of this writing. 1 million on plans under Medicaid and Obamacare? Finally, Snopes could not find any data on the number of people who are enrolled in both Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, and Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, in 2016, the federal government did crack down on duplicate enrollments, per a New York Times story; in that report, Judith Solomon, then-vice president of the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said there is not really a benefit to "double-dipping" into both insurance plans. Eligibility for either ACA plans or Medicaid can change based on a person's or family's income level or other factors, meaning Americans often find themselves swapping between the two types of plans. The federal government provides a guide online for ending one form of coverage or the other, as overlap between the two is common; the IRS also provides tax guidance on overlapping coverage. These numbers don't add up to 8 million Here's the math: According to the copypasta, 8 million people are fraudulently on Medicaid 1.4 million of whom are immigrants in the country illegally, 1 million who are double-dipping into Medicaid in multiple states and an additional 1 million on plans under both Medicaid and Obamacare. That totals 3.4 million, meaning there are 4.6 million people unaccounted for. During the May 14 committee hearing, Kennedy said about 4.8 million people cut from Medicaid under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would become ineligible because they aren't employed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The last category is adults who are able-bodied, who refuse to look for a job, to volunteer, to get a job or to show to take a part-time job," Kennedy said (at 1:54:25). Multiple Republican lawmakers also cited this number during a May 13 House committee hearing; at least one attributed it to CBO but if this is a CBO estimate, it has not yet been released publicly. Snopes reached out to several Republican lawmakers who shared the number in the hearing to ask for documented proof and await their reply. CBO would not share its estimate or related documents with Snopes. To summarize, there is no public evidence, aside from Kennedy's claim, that DOGE deserves credit for the alleged discovery of 8 million people fraudulently on Medicaid. The numbers and categories of supposedly fraudulent enrollees from the post come from either Kennedy, who did not provide proof, or estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. While enrollment in multiple states or multiple plans is a legitimate issue, it's unclear if the numbers shared are accurate. Furthermore, the 1.4 million immigrants in the country illegally on Medicaid as estimated by CBO are on the program through state funding, not federal. Sources: "Affordable Care Act - Return Preparer Best Practices." Https://Www.irs.gov, Internal Revenue Service, 7 Apr. 2016, www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/best-_practices_resolving_1095_conflicts.pdf. Accessed 21 May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Broder, Tanya. "Health Care Coverage (Maps)." NILC, 16 Oct. 2024, www.nilc.org/resources/healthcoveragemaps/. Accessed 21 May 2025. "CMS Statement on Collaboration with DOGE | CMS." Cms.gov, 5 Feb. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-statement-collaboration-doge. Accessed 21 May 2025. Congressional Budget Office. Subject: E&c Reconciliation Recommendations. 11 May 2025, democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/cbo-emails-re-e%26c-reconcilation-scores-may-11%2C-2025.pdf. Accessed 23 May 2025. DOGE. "DOGE: Department of Government Efficiency." DOGE: Department of Government Efficiency, doge.gov/savings. Accessed 21 May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Doge 8 Million People on Medicaid - Google Search." Google.com, 2024, www.google.com/search?q=doge+8+million+people+on+medicaid&oq=doge+8+million+people+on+medicaid&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg8MgYIAhBFGDwyBggDEEUYPdIBCDIyMjZqMGo0qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 21 May 2025. Dorning, Courtney, et al. "DOGE Sets Its Sights on Medicare and Medicaid." NPR, 10 Feb. 2025, www.npr.org/2025/02/10/nx-s1-5288835/doge-sets-its-sights-on-medicare-and-medicaid. Accessed 21 May 2025. "Estimated Budgetary Effects of a Bill to Provide for Reconciliation pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act." Congressional Budget Office, 20 May 2025, www.cbo.gov/publication/61420. Accessed 23 May 2025. "From:DOGE Medicaid - Search / X." Archive.ph, 21 May 2025, archive.ph/l6v39. Accessed 21 May 2025. "From:elonmusk Medicaid - Search / X." Archive.ph, 21 May 2025, archive.ph/8fbQM. Accessed 21 May 2025. Grimm, Christi. " NEARLY ALL STATES MADE CAPITATION PAYMENTS for BENEFICIARIES WHO WERE CONCURRENTLY ENROLLED in a MEDICAID MANAGED CARE PROGRAM in TWO STATES." Https://Oig.hhs.gov/, Sept. 2022, oig.hhs.gov/documents/audit/7881/A-05-20-00025-Complete%20Report.pdf. Accessed 21 May 2025. House Appropriations Committee. "Budget Hearing U.S. Department of Health and Human Services." YouTube, 16 May 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=meYjG7vI5z8. Accessed 23 May 2025. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "Full Committee Markup of Budget Reconciliation Text Part 1." Www.youtube.com, 13 May 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4fGR1CiNGg. Accessed 23 May 2025. MACPAC. "Overview of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid : MACPAC." Macpac.gov, 31 Mar. 2022, www.macpac.gov/subtopic/overview-of-the-affordable-care-act-and-medicaid/. Accessed 21 May 2025. Mathews, Anna Wilde, and Liz Essley Whyte. "DOGE Aides Search Medicare Agency Payment Systems for Fraud." Wall Street Journal, 5 Feb. 2025, www.wsj.com/politics/elon-musk-doge-medicare-medicaid-fraud-e697b162. Accessed 21 May 2025. Musk, Elon. "At This Point, I Am 100% Certain That the Magnitude of the Fraud in Federal Entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, Etc) Exceeds the Combined Sum of Every Private Scam You've Ever Heard by FAR. It's Not Even Close." X (Formerly Twitter), 10 Feb. 2025, x.com/elonmusk/status/1889198569518719122. Accessed 21 May 2025. Pear, Robert. "U.S. Officials Move to End Duplicate Health Care Coverage." Archive.ph, The New York Times, 19 Aug. 2016, archive.ph/yxw4R. Accessed 21 May 2025. "Press Room." Hhs.gov, www.hhs.gov/press-room/index.html?page=0. Accessed 21 May 2025. Snopes Staff. "Copypasta." Snopes, 21 Aug. 2019, www.snopes.com/collections/copypasta/. Accessed 21 May 2025. Swagel, Phillip. "Re: Emergency Medicaid Services for Certain Non-U.S. Nationals ." Https://Www.cbo.gov, 2024, www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-10/Arrington_Letter_EmergencyMedicaid_Immigration_final.pdf. Accessed 21 May 2025. "Take Action When You Have Marketplace Coverage along with Medicaid or CHIP Coverage." Https://Www.healthcare.gov/, www.healthcare.gov/downloads/marketplace-medicaid-chip-guide.pdf. Accessed 21 May 2025. USAGov. "How to Get Insurance through the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace | USAGov." Www.usa.gov, 6 Dec. 2023, www.usa.gov/health-insurance-marketplace. Accessed 21 May 2025. CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) The Clarksville Police Department is searching for a man accused of forcibly entering two smoke shops and taking merchandise. Officials said the man was involved in two separate burglaries, on May 2 and May 23, during which over $4,800 of THCA-based products were stolen. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee According to CPD the man is bearded and believed to be in his 20s to 30s. (Courtesy: Clarksville Police Department) (Courtesy: Clarksville Police Department) (Courtesy: Clarksville Police Department) (Courtesy: Clarksville Police Department) Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Salazar at (931) 648-0656, ext. 5383, or the Clarksville Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Tipsline at (931) 645-8477. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. (NewsNation) The president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America has condemned what he believes is a climate of hate against Jews existing in the United States. Michael Makovsky joined NewsNation Now to discuss the killing of two Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. My gut reaction theres a climate of hate, and thats been tolerated for far too long in this country, Makovsky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chicago Jewish leaders condemn Israeli Embassy staffers shooting Makovsky criticized the Democratic Party and sections of the media for not denouncing a climate of antisemitism strongly enough. Obviously, the campuses have not just been tolerating, but the professors and the administrators seem to really [be] part of it, he said. We all know that if these demonstrators, over the last year and a half, were wearing white hoods and railing against various minorities of color, there would have been a different reaction. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. In January, six justices of the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously ruled that five elderly African elephants were not people. That may not sound like an issue that needs six justices to resolve, but courts around the country have found themselves handling such questions. The Colorado Supreme Court did not hear from the elephants directly. They heard from the Nonhuman Rights Project, which filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of the pachyderms, arguing that their confinement in a Colorado Springs zoo violated their right to bodily liberty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past decade, the Nonhuman Rights Project and several other animal rights groups have waged a novel campaign to extend legal "personhood" to animals, which would allow them to be plaintiffs in civil lawsuits. Many of these cases have attempted to free large, charismatic animals such as elephants and chimpanzees from zoos under the great writ of habeas corpus, which allows individuals to challenge unlawful imprisonment. Other courts around the world have recognized fundamental rights for animals. In Pakistan, the Islamabad High Court declared in 2020, in the case of a shackled and mistreated elephant, that it "is a right of each animal, a living being, to live in an environment that meets the latter's behavioral, social and physiological needs." In 2022, Ecuador's Constitutional Court ruled that animals were subject to "rights of nature" enshrined in the country's constitution. And last year, indigenous leaders of New Zealand, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands signed a treaty recognizing whales as legal persons. Critics scoff that this amounts to little more than absurdist lawfare and that legal recognition of animal personhood would almost certainly empower busybody environmentalistsand might not even improve conditions for the animals. There are also public pressure campaigns and existing legal avenues that could improve animal welfare without attempting to shift one of the bedrock principles of Western law. But the question at the heart of these caseswhether a nonhuman entity can have a cognizable liberty interesthas surprisingly deep implications, not just for animals but for human freedom and flourishing. Research into artificial intelligence (AI) may eventually run into similar ethical considerations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's a lot of tension because I think that the law just hasn't really caught up with our own sensibilities," says Christopher Berry, executive director of the Nonhuman Rights Project. "Primarily courts are trying to police a boundary between humans and animals and not recognizing that things don't always fall into a neat dichotomy." Pablo's Cocaine Hippos So far, the only animals that have ever been declared legal persons by a U.S. court in any limited sense are a pod of invasive hippopotamuses in Colombia that escaped from the estate of the cocaine cartel lord Pablo Escobar. The animals are the descendants of four hippos that Escobar illegally imported in the 1980s. Unsurprisingly, after Escobar's death no one wanted to claim responsibility for a bunch of full-grown hippos, so the animals were left to their own devices. They migrated to nearby rivers and began eating and reproducing. After several decades, more than 150 gigantic, ill-tempered, territorial animals were tearing up local waterways. The Colombian government finally began developing plans to cull its rogue hippo population, but in 2020 a Colombian lawyer sued on behalf of the hippos, arguing they should be sterilized instead of euthanized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), a California-based animal rights group, asked the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati to grant "interested persons" status to the hippos in order to depose two Ohio experts on wildlife sterilization to testify on their behalf. The judge granted the request. This had no practical effect on the hippos' legal status in either the U.S. or Colombia. Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled in 2020 that a bear named Chucho did not possess fundamental rights and therefore could not invoke habeas corpus. But it was the closest thing to a win that animal rights groups could claim on the personhood front in the U.S. "It's a very small thing to give hippos the ability to depose these two experts, but it just opens the door a little bit that has always been closed," says ALDF attorney Ariel Flint. "My hope is that in the future, judges will be more comfortable holding that door open for other animals because they won't be the first ones to have to do it." As for the hippopotamuses, the sterilization plan was approved but proceeded slowly, because there aren't many people with the steely nerves and know-how required to tranquilize and neuter a 5-ton bull hippo. Last year, a Colombian court ordered hunting of the animals to resume. (Illustration: Joanna Andreasson/ChatGPT-4) Persons and Things Francis of Assisi, the Catholic saint said to have preached to birds and tamed a wolf, may have considered all of Animalia his brothers and sisters, but U.S. courts have strenuously rejected that proposition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In legal philosophy, everything is either a person or a thing. A horse isn't a person, so it's a thing. Even if a horse could talk, even if it could do advanced algebra in front of a judge, it would be a thing, and the most protection a thing can have under the law is as a piece of property. This was widely accepted back when animals were commonly understood to be commodities. But changing social mores have left many Americans feeling troubled by some of the implications. Berry cites a 2013 case where the Texas Supreme Court ruled that an owner suing over the negligent death of his pet dog was entitled only to the fair market value of the dog and that pet owners could never recoup damages for emotional or noneconomic losses. "What the Texas Supreme Court ended up admitting actually was that if you had a taxidermied dog that was a family heirloom, you could receive sentimental damages for that, but you could not receive anything beyond the market value for a family dog who was alive and was killed," Berry says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A beloved family pet is also property under the Fourth Amendment, protecting them from unreasonable government "seizures" (read: killings). This allows owners to sue when a police officer shoots their dog, but it turns an ugly experience into a bloodless abstraction. In 2018, lawyers for the city of Detroit tried to argue that unlicensed dogs were "contraband" under the Fourth Amendment, meaning an owner couldn't sue the police for shooting their pet, since owners don't retain a possessory interest in illegal property. The practical effect of the claim would be that a cop could summarily execute any unregistered dog he or she came across and the owners would have no recourse. Thankfully, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit rejected that argument, writing that "just as the police cannot destroy every unlicensed car or gun on the spot, they cannot kill every unlicensed dog on the spot." The person-thing rule isn't always strictly true, either. Animal rights activists are quick to point out that courts are willing to suspend disbelief in instances not involving animals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Mitt Romney said, "Corporations are people, my friend." A corporation is both a legal person and property. The doctrine of civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to quickly seize and forfeit property under the legal fiction that it is an action against property, not the owner. The court pretends that the defendant is the property itself. In other words, courts are willing to pretend that the government can sue 23 pit bullssee: U.S. v. Approximately Twenty-Three Pit Bull-Type Dogsbut not that 23 pit bulls can sue the government. For animal rights groups, the growing gulf between how society perceives animals and how courts treat them was a problem, but it was also an opportunity to try to push the frontiers of the law. Habeas Porpoise? The Colorado case was one of many attempts by the Nonhuman Rights Project to find a court willing to entertain a habeas petition on behalf of a captive animal. The group's late founder, Steven Wise, first advanced the argument for extending legal personhood to animals in his 2000 book Rattling the Cage, and the group filed its first unsuccessful petition on behalf of two captive chimpanzees in 2013. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other groups got in on the action. In 2003, a lawyer filed a lawsuit on behalf of all whales and dolphins in the world (collectively styled "the cetacean community") challenging the Navy's use of low-frequency sonar. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed an unsuccessful suit on behalf of a SeaWorld orca in 2013, arguing that its captivity violated the 13th Amendment's ban on slavery. And in 2015, PETA launched perhaps the least serious and least regarded of these casesthe so-called monkey selfie suit. PETA filed a "next friend" lawsuit on behalf of Naruto, an Indonesian macaque, claiming that a wildlife photographer had infringed on Naruto's copyright by publishing a selfie that the monkey took with the photographer's camera. PETA lost at the district court level and appealed, but while the appeal was pending it reached a settlement with the photographer, who agreed to donate part of the proceeds from the selfie to animal welfare causes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected PETA's attempt to dismiss its appeal and ruled that animals cannot file for copyright infringement. The opinion disdainfully noted that PETA appeared to be advancing its own interests rather than those of its "friend" Naruto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case created a bad precedent for the cause: The 9th Circuit ruled that animals can't have standing under any federal law unless animals are specifically mentioned. (Part of the reason the ALDF was thrilled about the hippopotamus case was that, contrary to the 9th Circuit, the judge gave the hippos standing under a federal law that did not mention animals.) In 2018, the Nonhuman Rights Project filed another habeas petition. This one was on behalf of Happy, an Asian elephant confined in a two-acre Bronx Zoo enclosure, seeking to move Happy to a large elephant sanctuary. It was the most high-profile case to date, and the project brought all of its accumulated arguments and expert witnesses to bear, arguing that Happy was a complex, autonomous being whose confinement cruelly deprived her of her essential elephant-ness. Happy was in fact the first elephant to pass the "mirror test," an experiment in which she looked at herself in a mirror and touched her trunk to an x painted on her forehead. Only a few species are capable of self-recognition. In 2022, the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, issued a 52 opinion that Happy had no standing to file a habeas petition. "The selective capacity for autonomy, intelligence, and emotion of a particular nonhuman animal species is not a determinative factor in whether the writ is available as such factors are not what makes a person detained qualified to seek the writ," the majority opinion said. "Rather, the great writ protects the right to liberty of humans because they are humans with certain fundamental liberty rights recognized by law." But the decision was not unanimous. Two justices dissented, saying that Happy had made a proper showing. Judge Jenny Rivera wrote that Happy was "a sentient being, who feels and understands, who has the capacity, if not the opportunity, for self-determination." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We cannot elide the question of Happy's legal rights and the use of the writ by a nonhuman animal with empty references to her dignity and 'intelligen[ce],'" Rivera continued. "A gilded cage is still a cage. Happy may be a dignified creature, but there is nothing dignified about her captivity." Where Human Courts Fail Animals Philosophical arguments about rights aside, these activists argue that expanding the avenues for animals in civil court would address real-world gaps in enforcement of animal welfare laws. Our laws recognize that animals have someintrinsic value. Endangered species laws put an ecological value on a species as a whole, while animal cruelty laws protect individual animals from wanton abuse. But the 50 states have a patchwork of animal cruelty laws that vary in which animals are protected and what criminal penalties violators receive, and the laws are unevenly enforced. Those laws also require government resources to investigate cases. Police and prosecutors may not have the time or motivation to investigate animal abuse, given a choice between that and their human caseload, or they may lack the political will in rural areas heavily reliant on large factory farms, which often obtain carve-outs from cruelty laws. (For example, the federal Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act of 2019, which outlaws crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, or sexual exploitation of animals, includes an exception for "customary and normal" agricultural practices.) When police do spring into action, "they're swinging the power of the state, trying to put someone in jail or impose fines," Berry says. "What we're asking in our lawsuits is just that we want a court to say this is wrong and make the violation stop." Advocates also say the law is far out of step with current research on animal intelligence. "There's really a scientific consensus that has emerged over the last century or so that animals in fact do have a conscious experience that's maybe different from ours, but it's not totally dissimilar," Berry says. As the expert declarations in Happy's case argued, elephants exhibit a great many qualities associated with self-determination and self-awareness: true learning, self-recognition, empathy, altruistic behavior, innovative and cooperative problem-solving, and long-term memory. Elephants celebrate reunions and mourn their dead. Orca pods have their own unique dialects and hunting strategies that they teach their young. There are surprises waiting for us beyond the most well-known cases of animal intelligence, too. Octopuses have about the same number of neurons as dogs, except that two-thirds of those neurons are in their tentacles. As Peter Godfrey-Smith wrote in Other Minds, "The octopus is suffused with nervousness." As a result, each of an octopus' eight tentacles is semi-independent and capable of processing sensory input, activating motor reflexes, and possibly even storing short-term memory, all without direction from the central ganglia. In other words, octopuses don't have a brain, but a committee of brains led by a chair with veto power. It seems short-sighted to completely foreclose on the possibility that an animal can have a lesser but still-valid interest in its bodily autonomy, but that's what the Colorado Supreme Court did. The court's opinion declared that a nonhuman entity was never entitled to habeas corpus "no matter how cognitively, psychologically, or socially sophisticated they may be." It's the finality of the ruling that bothers Berry. He wonders what would happen if we discovered a species more complex than us at the bottom of the oceanor if we engineered one, either biologically or synthetically. "That statement by the court is just going to age and rot and smell worse and worse over time," Berry says, "as new intelligences are discovered or new information is discovered about intelligences that we already know, like orcas or chimpanzees." There are already intense debates about regulating artificial intelligence research to stop the development of smarter-than-human AI, and it seems inevitable that those debates will move from the theoretical to the practical realm within our lifetime. In 2022, Google fired an engineer who claimed that an AI system he was working on, the company's "Language Model for Dialogue Applications" (LaMDA), had gained sentience. Among other things, the system expressed fear of being turned off. Researchers dismissed those claims, saying the computer was still nothing but a convincing chatbot, but the story demonstrated an important point: Our natural tendency to find human qualities in nonhuman entities means that AI will almost certainly convince people of its sentience before it actually achieves it. As Reason's Ronald Bailey wrote in response to the LaMDA news, many people "may embrace a kind of techno-animism as a response to a world in which more and more of the items that surround them are enhanced with sophisticated digital competencies." If a genuine artificial intelligence actually arrives, the ethical questions around personhood and legal agency will dramatically sharpen into focus. There are two core principles for safely developing an AI with a capacity for learning. One is to predetermine its goals or values, or limit it from changing them. The other is to put it in a "box" where it can't access the outside world. But then we'd be creating a brand new intelligence just to put it in a cage, like Happy the elephant. Octopuses recognize and resent their captivity. There's no reason to assume a hyperintelligent computer couldn't do the same, except it would have the ability to communicateplead, befriend, bargain, manipulate. What will an artificial intelligence think when it realizes what we've done to it? And what will courts do when it's indisputable that we're not the only reasoning beings on the planet? Justice for Justice? The obvious problem with extending legal personhood to animals is that an orca can't file a lawsuit. It requires an interested party to do so on its own behalf. Opponents of legal personhood say it's obvious who will end up filing these suits: environmentalists. Animal rights groups counter that plenty of human beings need legal advocates as well. Children, people with mental disabilities, and senior citizens regularly require legal guardians to advocate for their best interests. (Unfortunately, there have been plenty of cases of corrupt guardians acting in their self-interest.) That would still leave courts with the job of weighing the claims of animal caretakers against third-party intervenors. The Bronx Zoo presented experts, for instance, who argued that moving Happy out of the enclosure where she has been since the late 1970s could cause substantial stress and health risks. Several veterinary associations filed an amicus brief opposing Happy's petition on these grounds, arguing that abandoning the current legal regime of ownership-based animal welfare would create enormous confusion and "could limitor even eliminatethe ability of animal owners to choose the proper course of treatment for their animals by subjecting their decisions to outside intervention by third parties." The other issue is what would happen after we decide that an animal has an intrinsic right to liberty. The majority in Happy the elephant's case balked at granting personhood to the elephant, in part because of the implications for zoos, research labs, and anywhere else that confined animals. Recognizing bodily autonomy for animals would "call into question the very premises underlying pet ownership, the use of service animals, and the enlistment of animals in other forms of work," the court wrote. It envisioned a dystopian future where an endless flood of petitions forced it to haul in farmers, zoo administrators, and pet owners to defend their actionsa kangaroo court of the worst order. Of course, habeas petitions can only challenge an individual's confinement, meaning no one could file a petition on behalf of, say, all captive elephants. Only a few species display the signs of intelligence that advocates have relied on in their court arguments. The ALDF's Flint also says there are degrees of legal personhood, and that personhood doesn't mean that animals would suddenly have the right to vote or that every zoo would be emptied. He says the U.S. court granting hippos status as "interested persons" is an example of the sort of "procedural personhood" that the ALDF supports. "It's a good example that legal personhood doesn't have to be a very scary thing," Flint says. "It can just mean allowing animals to enforce the few rights that they have." For example, in 2018 the ALDF attempted to sue a neglectful horse owner on behalf of a horse named Justice, whose chronic injuries from neglect required lifelong, expensive veterinary care. The Oregon Supreme Court had already declared that animals could be considered individual "victims" of a criminal animal cruelty statute, and the ALDF was trying to establish that, as a victim, Justice could recoup damages. But even if one agrees that justice for Justice should include being made whole in civil court, it's worth considering what the current system of animal ownership does well, and what it could do even better. (Illustrations: Joanna Andreasson/ChatGPT-4) More Human Than Human It may be that human courts simply aren't the best venue to vindicate the rights of animals. The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), a free market conservation group, argues that the right approach is to incentivize people to be better stewards of nature. "The fundamental principle of the role of animals in the law is centered around human values, of how do people value animals," says Jonathan Wood, vice president of law and policy at PERC. "The best way to protect animals and promote conservation is to lean into the human values that favor that conservation, to empower property owners to take better care of resources than they have been in the past, to address cases of abuse directly." Although PERC doesn't take an official stance on animal personhood, Wood cites a series of suits in North Carolina filed by neighbors against noxious pig farms as evidence of how human-centered cases can benefit animals. In 2020, Judge Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, noted that the nuisances inflicted on the farms' neighbors were directly tied to the appalling living conditions of the hogs. "Animal welfare and human welfare, far from advancing at cross-purposes, are actually integrally connected," Wilkinson wrote. "Some of the worst cases of animal abuses tend to also negatively affect people, so vindicating the rights of the people provides ancillary benefits to animals," Wood says. "But even when that's not the case, the fact that lots of people's views on animals are changing provides a mechanism to improve treatment of animals through markets and property rights." Wood cites the rise of private certification programs for farms that conform to more humane practices and the decline of roadside zoos as examples of market signals improving animal welfare. Private ownership, common law protections from polluters, and market leasing for resources such as river water can dramatically improve conservation efforts, too. PERC also points to successful wildlife preserves in Africa that are owned by local tribes. "All of those work because you have a person with a direct interest who can vindicate that interest and you're not trying to guess at what some other entity's preferences might be," Wood says. Property rights, in other words, make animals valuable to human beings, giving them a clear incentive to promote flourishing. These approaches would also likely be easier than convincing skeptical judges to put their name on rulings that will lead to national headlines and jokes on every late-night show. The point of the animal personhood cases isn't to play it safe, though. It may be a niche and largely unsuccessful legal movement, but it also asks tough questions about animals, autonomy, and our relationship to the natural world that will only grow more acute as we learn more about the creatures with which we share the Earth. The law reflects human values, and the consideration we give to other creatures ultimately says more about us than them. The post Cocaine Hippos, Monkey Copyrights, and a Horse Named Justice: The Debate Over Animal Personhood appeared first on Reason.com. COLCHESTER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) A car on Interstate 89 was still moving even after its driver fell asleep Friday afternoon. Colchester Police and Colchester Rescue received multiple reports of people passed out in a moving car shortly after 12:30 p.m. on I-89 near Exit 16 (U.S. Route 2/Main Street). Police were able to wake up the driver, who was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, and one passenger. The driver, Corey Derry, 37, of Sheldon, was found to have two outstanding warrants and a criminally suspended license. The passenger, Emma-Jayne Farina, 30, of Strafford, was found to have one outstanding warrant from out of state. Both were taken to jail awaiting trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 seriously injured in Fort Ann shooting The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration recommends that people who find themselves falling asleep while driving can pull over for a short 20-minute nap in a safe place. It is illegal to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs in Vermont and nationwide. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. DENVER (KDVR) A Colorado man received a sentence of 210 years in prison for sexually abusing numerous children in care at the orphanage he founded and directed in Haiti, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday. The man, identified as 73-year-old Michael Karl Geilenfeld, most recently lived in Littleton. He founded St. Josephs Home for Boys in Haiti in 1985. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ said in a press release that he repeatedly traveled from the U.S. to Haiti and sexually abused the boys entrusted to his care during his more than two decades operating the orphanage. The DOJ said he also abused the kids physically and emotionally through physical assault and other forms of punishment. Earlier this year, Geilenfeld was convicted by a federal jury on one count of traveling in foreign commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place between 2005 and 2010. Six victims testified about the abuse in the trial, describing the physical abuse inflicted at Geilenfelds hands as well as the manipulation he used to keep the operation running. The defendants sustained sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable, said Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Departments Criminal Division. This prosecution demonstrates the Departments commitment to securing justice for children harmed by criminals who travel abroad from the United States to commit their crimes. We thank our partners for working with us to ensure that the defendant can never harm another child. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations. The DOJ said the case was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Jafar Panahi has won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Jafar Panahi at the Cannes Film Festival The 64-year-old filmmaker received the top prize at the prestigious film festival for 'It Was Just an Accident', the drama movie inspired by his six-year prison sentence and years-long conflict with the Iranian government. Panahi - who was arrested in March 2010 and subsequently charged with propaganda against the Iranian government - said after receiving his award: "Lets put all the problems, all the differences aside; the most important thing right now is our country and our countrys freedom. "Lets reach that moment together when no one dares to tell us what we should completely include, what we should say, what we shouldnt do Cinema is a society. No one has the right to tell us what you should do, what you shouldnt do." Juliette Binoche, the jury president, heaped praise on 'It Was Just an Accident', observing that the drama film "really stood out". She said: "Its very human and political at the same time because he comes from a complicated country, politically speaking The film springs from a feeling of resistance, survival, which is absolutely necessary today. So we thought it was important to give this film the paramount award." Meanwhile, Joachim Triers drama film, 'Sentimental Value', has won the Grand Prix at Cannes. The movie - which stars Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning - tells the story of a filmmaker who tries to reconcile with his daughter. Elsewhere, the Jury prize was shared by 'Sirat' - the drama movie written and directed by Oliver Laxe - and 'Sound of Falling', which was co-written and directed by Mascha Schilinski. Wagner Moura won the Best Actor award for 'The Secret Agent', while Nadia Melliti was named Best Actress for her performance in 'The Little Sister'. Where the Southern California land meets the Pacific waters, the beaches are the glamour-pusses, but its the ports that are the workhorses that bring in the heavyweight bucks. Lately, maybe not quite so much. The yo-yoing import tariffs imposed by President Trump have been toying with the massive twin-engine economies of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Theyre operated separately by the cities of L.A. and Long Beach, but considered together, they are far and away the busiest container port complex in the U.S., or maybe the Western Hemisphere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its from here, on San Pedro Bay, that the journeys by trucks and rail and plane begin, ferrying out to the rest of the country the billions of goods, overwhelmingly Chinese-made all those holiday toys, all that kitchenware and household tools, even all that MAGA gear that fill store shelves and warehouses and shopping lists. The ports had to invent themselves in the first place, out of muddy marshes and shallows, to become the present-day enterprises doing billions of dollars of business and compete and partner with the massive Asian container ports across the Pacific. Now the tariffs taffy-pulling may spur another moment for reinvention. The ports have many ways to divvy up their numbers, to claim to be first and biggest and most. Together, their operations range more than 15,000 acres on land and water, and two years ago they rang up almost $22 billion in whats called direct revenue to local service providers, ponied up $2.7 billion a year in state and local taxes, and accounted for at least 165,000 paychecks, and many thousands more across the nations consumer supply chain. Earlier this month, a reporter asked Trump about the slide in cargo traffic at U.S. ports, with the cascading wallop to businesses and workers and customers. To the contrary, said Trump: Such a slowdown means we lose less money ... so when you say it's slowed down, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is, in fact, a bad thing. When you so much as tap the brakes on the port operations and the initial 145% tariffs imposed on China and less elsewhere was more like slamming them on the pileup effect is a trade SigAlert of immense proportions. In early May, the tariff effect meant that the ports clocked a cargo drop of something between 25% and 30%. The port of L.A. has come far from its unpromising beginnings. Hollywood-fashion, it fudges a bit about its age to make itself older. The port dates itself from October 1542, when the Spanish seafarer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo spotted the mudflats of the San Pedro coast as he sailed past. The captain of the first European ship to reach the future U.S. West Coast adjudged it a port enclosed and very good. That may have appeared true to a man whose flagship measured about 100 feet long the same distance the DMV says you should signal an upcoming turn but in time, the hunger for harbors would convert the shallow San Pedro waters into a bona fide port. San Diego and San Francisco are more natural ports. For a time from the late 1880s, Redondo Beach, with its steep, deep offshore canyon, did a brisk trade as a port for lumber to build L.A. But, as I like to say, L.A. never let nature thwart its self-invention. Richard Henry Dana was a Boston Brahmin and a Harvard man who took to sea on an ordinary merchant ship. In 1835, he came ashore at San Pedro, a port so rudimentary that sugar barrels and other goods the sailors unloaded had to be carried California fashion up to the blufftop, man by laboring man, and the valuable cattle hides nicknamed California bank notes were rolled down the bluff for sailors to hoist onto their heads and carry out onto the waiting ship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Tariffs bring shipping slowdown, threatening trucking jobs at L.A. ports When Dana returned to San Pedro just before the Civil War began, he could scarce recognize the hill up which we rolled and dragged and pushed our heavy loads. It was a place transformed, with railroads and wharves running at capacity. Much of this was the work of the father of the port, Phineas Banning, an indefatigable Wilmington, Del., native who bestowed that towns name on the one he founded here. Banning had made the port into a commercial powerhouse. Soon, two of the titans of the age and place Southern Pacific railroad man Collis P. Huntington and L.A. Times owner Harrison Gray Otis engaged in a Godzilla-versus-King Kong struggle over where to put L.A.s official port: Santa Monica or San Pedro? Political money and political muscle came down on the side of San Pedro in 1897. Read more: California businesses are reeling from Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One way or another, Los Angeles pretty much always got what it wanted. And in 1897, the harbor towns of San Pedro and Wilmington werent within Los Angeles civic embrace, and L.A. was eager to get the jump on Long Beach. So in 1909, voters in both towns agreed to be annexed by L.A., tethered by a shoestring strip of land about 16 miles long and a half-mile wide, a legal but comically gerrymandered umbilicus between the bulk of the city and the singularly different seafront and harbor neighborhoods. The work of running a port is a constant maintenance of channels, breakwaters, bridges, and the machinery of seagoing commerce. Importers and exporters opened offices at the port, and pleasure cruise companies sent their passenger ships up and down the Pacific coast, and then to Hawaii and across the Pacific. In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt sent the U.S. Navys white-painted fleet on a round-the-world voyage to show the nations naval might and reach. In 1908, it steamed memorably past crowds waving along San Pedro Bay, just as Long Beach was planning to turn its own marshes and mudflats into a port, and soon dredging a channel connecting Long Beach with the L.A. port. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Long Beach port was dedicated in 1911, and like Southern California itself, went like gangbusters. The Panama Canal opened in 1914, giving U.S. shipping a big flex in seagoing nimbleness at a moment when Europe was going to war. Read more: Commentary: 250 years after saving America's bacon, French have little taste for what Trump dishes out In the 1950s, the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis soon to be familiar on American shores as the second husband of Jacqueline Kennedy supposedly declared that Long Beach was the worlds most modern shipping port. Shipyards in both ports sent their new vessels from their cradles out into the world. Beginning in the 1920s, oil burst cinematically out of the ground at wells across the coastal South Bay and even into the Long Beach harbor. So much oil got sucked out of the port and its neighborhoods that the ground started to subside, in some places yards deep. The infrastructure damage has run into the billions, and in the 1960s, Operation Big Squirt started injecting water underground to restabilize the land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1930, both Ford and Procter & Gamble had set up plants near the waters edge, the better and faster to move products. For P&Gs debut, Harriet Hauge, the Long Beach mayors white-gloved daughter, christened a four-foot-long boat made entirely out of cakes of Ivory soap, whose motto was, It floats! Back in 1908, the Great White Fleet had sailed right past the ports. Within a dozen years, the ports became central to U.S. Navy operations, building ships through World War II, and making Long Beach a sailors town, the home port for the Pacific Fleet. A cargo ship waits to leave the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro last June. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) And then, just like the wartime industries of L.A., the peacetime ports swiveled to more commercial operations. The Navy moved many of its operations to San Diego after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The shipbuilding pretty much came to an end, and the commercial fishing trade of some thousand vessels that once kept canneries working in high gear has moved elsewhere. In its stead came a cargo trade of astounding scale. In the late 1950s, shipments started being standardized in cargo containers that made it easier and faster to unload a ship and hasten its cargo on its way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 20 years later, free-trade agreements began moving mass-produced goods in thousands of enormous containers from factories in South Korea, in Vietnam, and most of all from China, into the hands of American consumers via the ports of L.A. and Long Beach. All of this changed port jobs, and lost port jobs, and created other jobs all along the cargo chain. Los Angeles was a town hostile to organized labor, but labor forces in the harbor had the backing of national longshore unions, including the radical-leaning International Workers of the World, the so-called Wobblies, and the city resisted their strength with formidable anti-union organizing laws. The Southern California chapter of the ACLU was born out of an incident during a strike in the L.A. harbor in May 1923. Police had arrested about 30 leaders at the port workers strike and walkout. Then several hundred men who had called for the work stoppage were rounded up and held without bail in a specially built stockade. Several days later, author Upton Sinclair stood on a hilltop above the harbor, and began reading from the Bill of Rights. He was arrested. So was the man who took his place, and the man after that and the man after that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement L.A. was now engaged in the movement of the moment: rising organized labor and civil rights versus government and private industry joining forces to suppress them. [At one point, the KKK was helping L.A. police in a show of force to break the strike.] Then, in 1934, a nearly three-month strike by port workers up and down the West Coast ended in the creation of the longshore and warehouse workers union, which represents harbor workers to this day. Read more: Palm trees are about as L.A. as it gets. But is it time to bid them a frond farewell? The present battle is over robot automation and the risks of job losses in those changeovers. Workers have not been alone in their grievances against the harbor. The harbor neighborhoods are probably the most polluted part of a very polluted city, owing to the filth that the port generates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every day, as my colleague Thomas Curwen described it a few years ago, the big rigs take a shortcut through a small Wilmington neighborhood, sending out dirt and noise and diesel fumes. It isnt just one street. Port roads jammed with diesel trucks, oil refineries processing fuel, ships idling to be unloaded, make for some of the worst air in the state. Residents of that Wilmington street petitioned and pleaded and then resorted to blocking off the street briefly to the trucks that shook the ground and spewed the filth through their neighborhood. Wilmington has been told that solutions are around the corner, yet just the plans for a remedy dont have to be completed for another two years. In the city of Los Angeles, there are three proprietary departments, operations that pay for themselves, pretty much without tax money and with their own commissions, independent of the City Council, powerful entities unto themselves. The airports and the Department of Water and Power are two; the third is the port. In 1967, The Times investigated the doings of harbor commissioners, and a grand jury, following up on that, called for indictments of past and present commissioners for perjury and criminal conflicts of interest. Two of the four were convicted of accepting bribes. The name of the president of the harbor commission, Pietro Di Carlo, a leading citizen of San Pedro, had come up in the investigation in connection with a contract with a troubled development company that Di Carlo had had associations with. And one morning in early November 1967, about six weeks before the indictments were issued, and a few hours after he went to 6 a.m. Mass, he was found dead in a channel in the harbor, face down, his hat floating nearby. The coroner found that no foul play was involved, and that his death was accidental. His widow said that he had gone to the harbor to reserve a boat, and had been taking medicine that sometimes made him dizzy. This scandal was a stain on Mayor Sam Yorty, who had appointed the harbor commissioners. A few years later, Times political columnist Bill Boyarsky wrote about the political clout of big donors sponsoring a Yorty fundraiser. Annoyed, Yorty confronted Boyarsky at the fundraiser. Boyarsky, I dont know what Im going to do with you. Boyarsky, remembering the dead man in the water, put up his hands in comic defense. Oh no, mayor, he said. Not the harbor! Yorty was not amused. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) The town of Grinnell is still recovering from Sundays EF-3 tornado, leaving it with major damage. People are working on cleaning up one of the spots hit hardest: A cemetery. The storm left debris littered across the cemetery and broke headstones. Over the past few days, dozens of volunteers have come together to clean up. KLETC breaks ground for two facilities, a move to modernize how officers are trained Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a group effort to help a community rocked by severe weather. When we were there Tuesday, probably about 50 to 75 people showed up out there, said Megan Robl, executive director of Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas. I met people from Colby, Kansas, one woman from Denver, people who have family in the region or family members who are buried in the cemetery. The week started off with plenty left to clean. Now, most of the debris is clear. Most headstones were knocked over or damaged, said Gove County resident Amber Hargitt. Hargitt called someone she knew who makes headstones, who ordered repair materials. That crew is going to help fix the headstones if help is still needed after Memorial Day. Meantime, there are already people getting to work. I heard from somebody who is out there this afternoon that there were people literally on their hands and knees scrubbing those headstones, which really brings joy to my heart, Robl said. Theres plenty of help to be found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were Gove County, Hargitt said. Were a family. The goal is to have the graveyard cleaned up in time for Memorial Day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. SPARTANBURG CO., S.C. (WSPA) Former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright has resigned just days after he returned to office from a seven week leave of absence. Spartanburg County Council members confirmed Wrights resignation. One resident said that while he is shocked to hear the news, he feels it needed to happen. If hes resigning for medical reasons, I hope he gets better, but I do kind of find that to be a bit of a bogus or a scarecrow excuse, given that everything has come out against him, a man said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the months leading up to Wrights announcement on Friday, he was in the hot seat after being accused of hiring his son and spending taxpayer dollars using a county credit card without reason. Council said that $1,100 was paid back. He really disappointed me with everything that I heard about him, a man said. Wright said in his resignation letter addressed to the governor that he is resigning because of a recent health diagnosis as his reason for resigning. Governor Henry McMaster has appointed current Cherokee County Sheriffs Office chief deputy Jeffrey Stephens to serve as interim Spartanburg County Sheriff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Obviously its a loss for us, but hes one county over, and hes a resident of Spartanburg, said Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller. Hes lived there most of his life. Hes still available if we need him and we will elevate someone into the chief deputys role at the sheriffs office next week. Well continue business as usual here. Stephens shared a statement, saying hes honored to accept the role. I look forward to working alongside our deputies, staff, and community leaders to build upon the strengths of this office and ensure a safe and secure future for all who call Spartanburg County home, Stephens added. Sheriff Mueller said with Stephens 43 years of experience in law enforcement, hes more than qualified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First and foremost, the men and women at the sheriffs office will be in great hands and the citizens of Spartanburg County. Theyll be in great hands, Mueller continued. He knows what it takes to run a sheriffs office with his extensive career in law enforcement. Hes seen pretty much everything that you could possibly see, said Mueller. Stephens will serve until a new sheriff is decided though a special election set to be held later this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. CHICAGO (WGN) Across Chicago, people are setting up for Memorial Day weekend with safety at the top of mind for elected officials and community leaders. Community members are using the weekend to host events that promote unity and encourage young people to make better choices. Memorial Day weekend is an important weekend. A lot of times we have a lot of violence on that weekend. It is the start of summer, Father Michael Pfleger said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pfleger says his church, St. Sabina, will be hosting a youth and family say on Saturday where the message to teens will be to stay away from teen takeovers. More: Council postpones vote on controversial ordinance addressing teen takeovers Young people, they have to make wise choices, Pfleger said. Theres nothing wrong with a group of friends going downtown and having a good time. They should be able to, this is their city. But if youre in a large group and you see it turn into something else, leave. Walk away. On the South Side, Kweisi the Poet is hosting the first of several open mic poetry and comedy events for young people to have somewhere to go to express themselves this weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were all poets at the end of the day; We all have feelings, Kweisi Gharreau said. Its about how we express that. How do we let it out? His events are about promoting peace and for people to put down their guns. My message is simply think before you react because that one to three seconds of reaction can turn into a life prison, Gharreau said. This week, city leaders shared there will be a collaborative approach to safety this summer. Chicago Police Department data shows a decrease in homicides, shootings, shooting victims and robberies. I think this is a really important weekend, and as a city, we want to get off on the right foot, Ald. Marty Quinn (13th Ward) said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ald. Quinn says while crime trends are heading in the right direction, there are neighborhoods that are still struggling. He is among those in a coalition pushing for the opening of a new police district on the Southwest Side to better serve area residents. State and local lawmakers push for a new Southwest Side police district A roll call for 8th District officers took place at 6 p.m. Friday to show solidarity ahead of a busy weekend for Chicago police. Its important for us as a community to recognize that and to say thank you, Ald. Quinn said. Thank you to the police officers that put their lives on the line for our safety day in and day out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Community members gathered Sunday afternoon to peacefully protest against the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] >>PHOTOS: Take a look inside the NATO Village in downtown Dayton Dozens of people gathered at both Deeds Point Park and Coopers Park, rallying for peace and pushing for the war in Gaza to end. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several people spoke at the rallies, including Bishop Cox with the Clergy Community Coalition of Dayton. I have to support Palestine because Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, Cox said. The rally started with several people sharing their concerns about the state of the city. People who were local to Dayton voiced their frustrations about the resources put into bringing NATO here. This is a call to our politicians, to Hey- wake up! protestors shouted. After the rallies, both groups marched through downtown Dayton holding signs and yelling chants. Police officers on bicycles escorted them throughout the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organizers told News Center 7 that they will be back at Deeds Point Park on Sunday for another peaceful protest. News Center 7 will continue to follow this story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Milwaukee PD officers monitor the May Day 2025 march with a Critical Response Vehicle, outfitted as a surveillance van. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner) A group of 19 community organizations have joined forces to push for oversight of police surveillance in Milwaukee. Together the groups signed an open letter addressed to the citys common council, asking it to adopt a Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinance. The measure would require existing surveillance technologies used by the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to receive a public hearing and be subject to approval by the Milwaukee Common Council. The ordinance would also require the department to produce an annual report of surveillance gear. The Wisconsin Examiners Criminal Justice Reporting Project shines a light on incarceration, law enforcement and criminal justice issues with support from the Public Welfare Foundation. The proliferation of surveillance technology by the Milwaukee Police Department has occurred with virtually no transparency, no opportunities for community input and without a real opportunity to reject surveillance techs or advocate for critical guardrails presents significant threats to civil rights and civil liberties that hurts us all but disproportionately impact communities of color, queer communities, people seeking reproductive healthcare, immigrant communities, people fleeing violence, and low-income communities, the coalition states in its letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While we trust our local elected officials in Milwaukee, in light of the current political climate and the uncertainty surrounding future administrations at both the federal and state levels (both in Wisconsin and in other states), it is critical that our community has a say in if and how invasive surveillance technologies are used, how they are deployed against residents, if and how their data is stored and shared with third parties, and whether spending our limited tax dollars on surveillance technologies is the best way to promote public safety, the letter adds. CCOPS ordinances have already passed in 26 cities nationwide, and calls to rein in the flow and development of police surveillance technologies have grown in recent years in Milwaukee. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin began advocating for CCOPS ordinances in the Badger State, prompted by a lack of discussion on the issue and the impending Republican National Convention during the summer of 2024. As with the 2020 Democratic National Convention four years earlier, the RNC brought with it an influx of new equipment that allowed MPD to augment its surveillance network. Before the DNC the police department upgraded its mobile phone surveillance gear, expanded a camera network capable of using automatic license plate reader technology, and purchased vans equipped with cameras and drones. The RNC likewise opened the door for a new open source intelligence software, growing MPDs social media surveillance capabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CCOPS Coalition Letter to Common Council During the summer of 2020, many people who joined protests following the death of George Floyd witnessed these technologies, and reported suspicions that they were being monitored. As time passed, investigations revealed that local police departments monitored social media closely and drew information from confidential databases, with one agency funneling much of what itd learned into a target list of nearly 200 people. The list had been shared with dozens of local, state, and federal agencies from Milwaukee to Kenosha. Since then more attention has been focused on intelligence units such as the MPDs fusion center, the Milwaukee County Sheriffs MATRIX Group, and on technologies including drones, wiretap devices, gunshot detection sensors like Shotspotter, and spyware. More recently, Milwaukee residents have begun to express concerns about MPDs plans to acquire facial recognition technology. An officer films a rally and march held at Red Arrow Park for Dvontaye Mitchell and Sam Sharpe. (Photo | Isiah Holmes) The accumulation of these issues spurred the group of 19 community organizations to sign the letter calling for CCOPS. The coalition includes Planned Parenthood, Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC), the ACLU of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO), Voces de la Frontera Action, ComForce, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee County League of Women Voters and others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter states that policies are increasingly enacted, and local governments and their surveillance mechanisms will likely be used to target individuals seeking or providing these services. This scenario is particularly alarming given that Black, Brown, Muslim, queer, low-income, and immigrant communities are already disproportionately affected by law enforcement practices. The letter suggests the stage is being set to repeat law enforcement spying scandals from the 1960s and 70s. Without robust oversight, we risk a resurgence of COINTELPRO-like tactics, where surveillance was used to suppress political dissent and target minority groups, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the letter states. At a minimum, people who live, work, visit, or attend school in Milwaukee deserve to know if and how theyre being surveilled and who has access to that surveillance data. The slow lane of eastbound Highway 132 in Modesto was closed Friday afternoon following an emergency landing of a 1970 Cessna aircraft. Officer Tom Olsen of the California Highway Patrol said the driver, a 75-year-old from Sacramento, put out a mayday call and landed safely on the edge of the highway. The plane managed to land straight and didnt hit anything, Olsen said. There were no injuries He experienced some unknown mechanical issue and he decided to land it here, Olsen said. He thought at the time it was probably the safest spot for it to be able to land and it probably was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The call came in around 1:25 p.m., and though the CHP posted it would originally close down all eastbound traffic on the highway, it was able to open some lanes, allowing traffic to continue slowly. He did not have a projected time it will be cleared, but Olsen said it would take at least two hours and will involve the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration. Were just going to go ahead and figure out how were going to get the thing out of here, Olsen said. Usually its going to involve maybe removing the wings and taking the cockpit so it can safely be driven down the roadway. Olsen said drivers should avoid the area and use Maze boulevard as a detour. A congressional vote overturning Californias strict vehicle pollution standards could spell the end of New Mexicos ability to enforce similar regulations. The U.S. Senate voted mostly along party lines Thursday for three resolutions to block Californias efforts to push the sale of electric vehicles. The House passed the resolutions a few weeks ago, with a handful of Democrats, including New Mexicos Gabe Vasquez, breaking with the caucus to support the rollback. President Donald Trump is expected to sign off on the measures. Assuming the action is held up in court Democrats are arguing Congress didnt have the authority to act the reversals will have an impact on New Mexicos own clean vehicle standards adopted in 2022 and 2023, Environment Department spokesperson Jorge Armando Estrada wrote in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the same authority that underpins New Mexicos rules, Estrada wrote. For New Mexico, starting next year, 43% of passenger cars and light-duty trucks and 15% of commercial heavy-duty trucks shipped to local dealerships were supposed to produce zero emissions. The Biden administration in 2022 provided the waivers allowing California to set more rigorous standards than those on the federal level. Other states cannot set their own standards, but they are allowed to follow Californias, NPR reported a few weeks ago. New Mexico is among a handful of Democratic-controlled states that did so, adopting similar regulations to phase in more zero-emission vehicles in an effort to combat climate change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a news release Thursday, Western Resource Advocates said the votes undermine nearly 50 years of precedent under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Prior to [the] vote, other states could either rely on the weaker federal standard or adopt these more ambitious emissions standards, so these three rules were the nations most robust path to decarbonize the transportation sector and protect people from dangerous air pollution, the organizations release said. The vote comes after the New Mexico Environment Department earlier this week announced a proposed clean transportation fuels rule that would create a carbon intensity standard for fuel used in transportation and a credit system for companies making or importing fuels. Stay below the standard, you earn credits; exceed it, and be required to buy credits. Hybrid market Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the third quarter of 2024, full electric vehicle, hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales hit an all-time high nationally, making up around 21% of the market, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But adoption isnt even across states. In 2023, less than 1% of vehicle registrations in New Mexico were for full electric vehicles, according to data reported by the Department of Energy. And at least two states delayed implementation of their own clean vehicle rules in recent weeks voluntarily. In a late April executive order, Vermont Gov. Philip Scott, a Republican, said charging infrastructure and technology hasnt kept up with the regulatory schedule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some manufacturers are requiring that car dealers sell zero-emission vehicles before internal combustion engine vehicles, reducing the overall supply, Scott wrote. Tariffs are also increasing costs and disrupting the supply chain for the industry, he added. I continue to believe we should be incentivizing Vermonters to transition to cleaner energy options like electric vehicles, Scott said in a news release. However, we have to be realistic about a pace thats achievable. Its clear we dont have anywhere near enough charging infrastructure and insufficient technological advances in heavy-duty vehicles to meet current goals. A memo sent by Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Director Leah Feldon last week, meanwhile, stated some manufacturers are limiting the sales of internal combustion engine trucks to remain in compliance with the clean trucks requirements, reducing overall vehicle availability for drivers in the state. While manufacturers were involved in developing the [Advanced Clean Trucks] framework, they now indicate that ACT requirements are too difficult to meet, Feldon wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the memo, Feldon indicated the department wouldnt be enforcing the regulations or fining manufacturers right away, so long as they kept selling internal combustion engine vehicles to Oregonians without limitations, took good faith efforts to reduce emissions, and continued to follow reporting requirements. Although the stick is gone, the carrot remains: a credit program for zero-emission vehicles sent to the state remains in effect. The current federal administration has created significant uncertainty around [zero-emission vehicle] incentives, electric vehicle charging investments, manufacturing and tariffs, each of which threaten a smooth transition to medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs, Feldon wrote. Governors push back A group of governors, including New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Oregons Tina Kotek and Colorados Jared Polis, reaffirmed their support for the programs. The U.S. Climate Alliance, of which the 11 governors are members, announced the launch of the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government and Congress are putting polluters over people and creating needless chaos for consumers and the market, read a statement from the governors. But our commitment to safeguarding Americans fundamental right to clean air is resolute. We will continue collaborating as states and leveraging our longstanding authority under the Clean Air Act, including through state programs... They added, As we consider next steps for our clean vehicle programs, our states will engage stakeholders and industry to provide the regulatory certainty needed while redoubling our efforts to build a cleaner and healthier future. ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Congressman Don Davis (NC-01) visited Western North Carolina Friday, May 23, 2025, to highlight economic recovery, regional unity, and national defense. The region was hit by Hurricane Helene in September of 2024 and an estimated $59.6 billion in damage was done. The storm caused more than 100 deaths. During his visit, Congressman Davis attended the opening of a Walmart Supercenter in Asheville. Walmart represents more than just economic development in Asheville, it is a symbol of resilience, Congressman Davis said. Its also a reminder that no matter whether we call the East or the West home, North Carolinians stand together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) Food stamp benefits are the lifeline for thousands of families in the state of Alabama, but thieves are stealing that lifeline one account at a time. As many of us prepare to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend, thousands of others, like Deneise Allred, a working single mother, are trying to make ends meet. Download the WHNT News 19 App to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WHNT News 19 newsletters to have news sent to your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have a job and Im in college and I stay with my mom every now and then and I do what I have to do to survive, Allred explained. Im not out here begging and borrowing and stealing. Im working hard to get where Im at. Allred relies on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to pay for groceries, but she told News 19 that this may be the third consecutive month that crooks have stolen her benefits money from her account. I spent $41 and change from it, and that following Sunday, which was two days prior, I went to get groceries, and when I got up to the register, there was nothing but .52 cents on my account. Someone from Brooklyn, New York, stole all my food stamps at 2:59 a.m., said Allred. Allred demanded answers from the Marshall County Department of Human Resources (DHR) about why her food stamps keep getting stolen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She and thousands of others were given the same answer from the state DHR: that there is nothing that they can do. The federal authority to replace SNAP benefits expired in December 2024, but DHR released its latest efforts to combat SNAP benefits fraud, announcing a new website and a secure mobile app for clients. The Food Assistance Division has worked tirelessly to implement these features for our clients to continue putting food on the table and feed their families without interruption, a DHR spokesperson said. They need to protect us, thats what they are supposed to do, replied Allred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DHR released a statement, which can be found below: Alabama DHR Announces ConnectEBT App (1)Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The man convicted of murdering his girlfriend and abandoning her body in a crashed vehicle on I-80 has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Terence Trent Vos, 35, was declared guilty by a jury on March 21, 2025, for the May 2021 murder of his girlfriend, Shandon Nicole Scott. Today, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for aggravated murder. Vos was also sentenced to no less than five years each for three charges of felony discharge of a firearm and one charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, and 1-15 years for obstruction of justice. These sentences are to run consecutively to past sentences but concurrently with each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Alleged killer violates parole, police have known him since he was 16 We applaud the judge for sentencing the defendant to life without the possibility of parole. The streets of Salt Lake County will be safer now that this violent habitual offender is behind bars for the rest of his life. We hope that Ms. Scotts family can now begin to heal from the tragic loss of their loved one, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill in a press release. Victims deliver impact statements Five individuals attended the sentencing to make victim impact statements before Judge Elizabeth A. Hruby-Mills of the Third District Court. I hope he does not get a day to rest for the rest of his life, Tanise, a friend of Scotts, stated. I hope when he does die, he dies with his eyes open and Shandon is looking dead in his face. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another friend spoke about how she remembered Scott fondly and knew that she was at peace now that her killer was being sentenced. She was someone that you could talk to about anything. She wouldnt judge you, she would just listen, Tara, a third friend, said. We lost a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a best friend, one that can never be replaced. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police identify alleged suspect in I-80 homicide Her daughter, Aaliyana, then approached the stand to make her statement. Why do this to me and my family? she asked. Our mother was our protector, our fighter, but who was hers? You were supposed to love her and you were supposed to protect her if you loved her, why did she fear you? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And now I am motherless for the rest of my life. Do you even understand what that means? Do you know what it feels like to reach for your phone, only to remember that theres no one left to call? Aaliyana asked. She told the judge that this was not another murder it was her mothers murder. Aaliyana asked for the maximum sentence, saying that no other child should have to go through what she did. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Community gathered for candle light vigil for I-80 homicide victim Vos statement and sentencing I am at fault, to my greatest regret, for the tragic death of your mother and the pain that has followed. I truly am sorry for this, even though I know nobody wants to believe that, Vos stated before the judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I accept and respect responsibility for this terrible tragedy. Please know that your mother loves you and always will, he said to Scotts children. Vos then accused the prosecutors of covering up the truth and stated that they were all under investigation by an ex-detective. He stated that another party was involved, and police never investigated. Vos also told the judge that she had expressed favoritism toward the prosecution and was not judging him fairly. The defendants history evidences time and time again an unwillingness to comply with supervision conditions. Defendant was a repeat parole fugitive and in fact committed the crimes here while he was a fugitive from parole, Judge Hruby-Mills stated. She continued, saying that Vos demonstrated a tremendous need for rehabilitation, but no capacity to take advantage of any opportunities. She further declared that the Vos is a danger to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The manner and circumstances of the aggravated murder of Shandon Scott are utterly incomprehensible. The community is not safe with Mr. Vos in it, Judge Hruby-Mills said before delivering Vos a life sentence. Man arrested for murder over being sold fake drugs in South Salt Lake, police say Background On May 1, 2021, Utah Highway Patrol and South Salt Lake Police received a report from a driver on I-80 that a Ford Fiesta had crashed on the side of the road just after 3 a.m. They were told that a female was deceased in the passenger seat from several gunshot wounds. UHP arrived at the scene first and saw Vos running around frantically. Officers searched the area and found Scotts ID, purse, and credit cards scattered across the side of the freeway. The driver who passed by told police that he witnessed Vos throw something over the side of the freeway and was yelling that they got shot. Vos attempted to steal the drivers vehicle at one point, but he was stopped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vos jumped off the freeway and fled the scene on foot after officers tried to make contact. He was apprehended by officers. A woman who lived near the freeway where the car crashed reported to police that she found parts of a handgun in her driveway. This handgun was later identified as the one used to shoot and kill Scott, according to court documents. The case was turned over to the Unified Police Department, which determined the murder started as a domestic violence incident near 700 E. Nibley View Court in Millcreek. Vos and Scott had a history of domestic disputes, and Vos had a history of domestic violence. Man charged with 11 felonies for alleged sexual assault and robbery in West Valley City According to neighbors, around 2:45 a.m., they heard a loud commotion and gunshots at the apartment complex. One witness reported hearing a woman scream and ask someone not to hurt her. She stated that she heard two gunshots, a pause, and four more gunshots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An autopsy performed on Scott revealed that she had been shot approximately 12 times. One bullet had hit her right lung and a major vessel of her heart, causing her death. At least three other bullets also caused serious bodily injury to Scott. Vos had a criminal history and was on parole at the time of the murder. He had been convicted and sentenced previously for three separate violent felony offenses. Rosie Nguyen and Jordan Burrows contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) Nearly 30 years after he went to prison for killing a Grand Haven police officer, Keith L. Harbin continues to try unsuccessfully to have his life sentence nixed. For the second time this year, a panel of Michigan judges has refused to grant a motion for relief filed by the 52-year-old cop killer. His latest rejection came on May 22 from the Michigan Supreme Court. Justices wrote that the relief Harbin was asking for is prohibited by state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Court of Appeals in February also said it would not revisit the case. Harbin, locked up at a state prison in Macomb County, has tried unsuccessfully to have various convictions and sentences tossed. Hes argued unsuccessfully that his constitutional protection against double jeopardy was violated and that he should have been given a change of venue. Harbin was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Grand Haven Public Safety Officer Scott Flahive. Flahive was gunned down Dec. 13, 1994, by Harbin after Harbin escaped from the Ottawa County Jail. Prior to killing Flahive, Harbin severely beat an Ottawa County Jail guard before making good his escape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harbin was assisted by others in the escape. During a traffic stop on Beacon Boulevard, Harbin, hiding in the back seat, fatally shot Flahive with a hunting rifle. Flahives memory is honored with a monument in Grand Haven. In December 2019, a section of US-31 was renamed Officer Scott Flahive Memorial Highway in his honor. Flahive had served with the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety for four years when he was killed. His name was read aloud earlier this month at a police officers memorial service in Grand Rapids. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. WHITLEY COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) A Corbin mother found complicit in the death of her three-year-old daughter has been sentenced. On Thursday, May 22, court documents show that a jury sentenced Alexandra Ward to life in prison for complicity to murder and a concurrent five-year sentence for complicity to commit first-degree strangulation. RELATED: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ward was indicted in April 2023 alongside her boyfriend, Jordan Taylor, who pleaded guilty to the 3-year-old Amoura Smallwoods death. Taylor was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 2024 for murder, first-degree sodomy, and first-degree strangulation. A court filing argued that Ward failed to protect her daughter from Taylor. At trial, the Commonwealth will demonstrate that the Defendant was aware of Jordan Taylors minor son dying in his care, was aware of Jordan Taylors lengthy arrest record, was aware of Jordan Taylors dissatisfaction with watching Amoura, was aware of Jordan Taylors growing anger and frustration with Amoura, was aware of the growing bruises and injuries on Amoura, was aware Jordan Taylor was whipping Amoura, left Amoura alone with Jordan Taylor on several days after, and took active steps to cover up the growing injuries on Amoura Smallwood, court records read. The Commonwealth also stated there was video evidence documenting the abuse. Text messages filed as evidence between the two convicted show Taylor saying on the day of Smallwoods death, Answer dude, Amoura wont wake up. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few hours beforehand, Ward had allegedly said, We need to get those bruises gone by Wednesday, and I want us to have a couple of days without the kids, but we cant send Amoura with bruises. Wards attorney had asked the judge to consider a lighter sentence in an April 20 memorandum, filing multiple character letters on her behalf. Were there danger signs? Sure, there were plenty of danger signs, all of which were presented by the Commonwealth in detail in its case in chief. However, as testified to at the sentencing hearing, the defendant was only 20 years old at the time of the crime and came from a family where she wasnt taught how to be a Momma Bear,' Wards attorney, John Combs, wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. The shops at Corinth Square in Prairie Village celebrated their 70th anniversary today. During the last seven decades, the business district at West 83rd Street and Mission Road has grown with the city and become a vibrant business community where a new generation of small businesses and locally owned restaurants are celebrating the milestone. For at least 40 years, theres been an ice cream shop on the northwest corner of the complex. And about 5 years ago, it changed names and owners, but the tradition and the memories remain the same. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police investigating after man shot, killed inside car Friday afternoon They tell their kids, I was here when I was your age, and I would get ice cream, and I would ride my bike over, and its fun during the summer,' said Curtis Thurston of Summersalt Ice Cream Co. I mean, I have to move the bikes out because theyll be packed around here. Now its mostly scooterselectric scooters, not as many bikes. The kids are here in the summer and its pretty fun. As part of the celebration, The Learning Tree toy store hosted a kids flea market where 70 kids set up booths in the parking lot to sell some of their creations and learn some valuable business skills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Sign up for CNNs Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. (CNN) Astronomers have for the first time spotted two galaxies in the throes of a deep-space duel. Using combined observations from ground-based telescopes over nearly four years, the researchers saw the distant galactic neighbors charging toward each other at more than 1.1 million miles per hour (1.8 million kilometers per hour). One repeatedly wielded its intense beams of radiation at the other, dispersing gas clouds and weakening its opponents ability to form new stars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats why we call it a cosmic joust, said Pasquier Noterdaeme, a researcher for the Paris Institute of Astrophysics and the French-Chilean Laboratory for Astronomy in Chile who was part of the team that made the discovery. What Noterdaeme and his colleagues spied was a distant snapshot of the two galaxies in the process of merging into one large galaxy 11 billion light-years away. The findings, described in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, provide a rare look into earlier times in the universe, when star formation and galaxy mergers were more common. Zooming in Working with the European Southern Observatorys Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, the researchers found that the attacking galaxys piercing radiation comes from within its bright core, a quasar, powered by a supermassive black hole. The intense gravitational influence of a black hole draws matter toward it in such an energetic way that dust and gas heat up to millions of degrees and become luminous, according to NASA. These luminous materials spiral around the black hole before entering, forming whats called an accretion disk, and jets of energetic matter beam out away from the center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each blast of the quasars ultraviolet waves are about a thousand times stronger than the radiation of our Milky Way, causing hydrogen molecules from some of the victim galaxys star-forming nurseries to split and disperse, according to the study. Stars form when large clumps of gas and dust reach a critical mass and collapse under their own gravity. However, researchers observed that after being dispersed by the radiation, the clouds were not dense or large enough to create new stars. As additional material from the victim galaxy is drawn within reach of the supermassive black hole, it fuels the quasar with more energy. Quasars have been known to essentially switch off from time to time, said study coauthor Sergei Balashev, a researcher at the Ioffe Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, which could give molecular clouds the opportunity to reform. Its really the first time that we can see the radiative effect of a quasar on the molecular gas of a nearby galaxy, Balashev said. Until now, this effect had only been theorized but not confirmed through direct observation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scientists initially wanted to observe this particular quasar more closely because of its unique features among thousands of low-resolution spectra, which are like fingerprints for distant celestial objects, offering clues about composition, temperature and activity within them. Its really (like) finding a needle in a haystack, Balashev said. However, the light from quasars is so powerful that it often outshines their own host galaxies, making it difficult to observe other galaxies close by, according to Noterdaeme, the studys co-lead author. Highly dynamic, luminous quasars are rare, according to NASA. Only about 1,000 of these objects are known to exist in the early days of the universe, Anniek Gloudemans, a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Science Foundations NOIRLab, previously told CNN via email. At first, we just knew there was some molecular gas between the (attacking galaxys) quasar and us. Its only after, when we started to look with bigger telescopes, that we detected there were actually two galaxies, Noterdaeme said. An image taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) shows the molecular gas content of the two galaxies involved in the cosmic joust. - ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Balashev and P. Noterdaeme et al. While the dueling pair appears to be overlapping in the low-resolution spectra, the high-resolution imaging capabilities of ALMA revealed the galaxies are actually separated by thousands of light-years. Using the Very Large Telescope, the researchers were able to study the density and distance of the gas affected by the quasars radiation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the light from these objects came from billions of light-years away in the early universe, its possible the two galaxies have already merged by now, but there is no way to be sure, Balashev said. A blast from the past Scientists believe quasars and galaxy mergers used to be far more common earlier in the universes lifetime, said Dong-Woo Kim, an astrophysicist with the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who was not involved in the research. Galaxies merge when they are pulled toward each other by gravity, and the universe used to be more densely packed together. Over time, the universe has expanded, and more galaxies have combined into larger ones, Kim said. Noterdaeme said that 10 billion years ago was an interesting time in the universe, adding that astronomers call this period when stars formed at a rapid rate the noon of the universe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though less frequent, galaxy mergers are still happening all the time, Kim said. Even our own Milky Way is expected to merge with the Andromeda galaxy in a few billion years, but the study team isnt certain yet whether the cosmic joust phenomenon is a common feature when two galaxies collide and form a larger one. Its an exciting field to study, Kim said. Research like this can teach us more about the birth of new galaxies and observe how they evolve over time. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The head of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights watchdog, criticised an initiative by nine European countries calling on member states to make it easier to expel foreign criminals. European governments have expressed frustration with the European Court of Human Rights' use of the European Convention on Human Rights to block deportations, and they are calling for a review of the court's interpretation. "In a society governed by the rule of law, no judiciary should face political pressure. Institutions that protect fundamental rights cannot bend to political cycles," said Secretary General Alain Berset in a statement on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If they do, we risk eroding the very stability they were built to ensure. The court must not be weaponised neither against governments, nor by them." In a letter drafted by nine European countries, spearheaded by Italy and Denmark, ahead of a meeting on Thursday between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Denmark's Mette Frederiksen, urged the EU to review how courts interpret the convention. The countries argue that member states should have greater national autonomy in deciding when to expel criminal foreign nationals. They say they have witnessed cases where the court's interpretation has protected the wrong individuals and imposed excessive limitations on states' ability to expel foreigners. Berset emphasised that the European Court of Human Rights exists to protect the rights and values of member states, and that "upholding the independence and impartiality of the Court is our bedrock". (Reporting by Amina Ismail; editing by David Evans) ROME (AP) The Council of Europe on Saturday defended the independence of the European Court of Human Rights, after nine member states said its interpretation of rights obligations prevented them from expelling migrants who commit crimes. The leaders of Denmark, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in a joint letter made public Thursday called for a new and open-minded conversation about how the court interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. Their concern centres on rulings in the field of migration, Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset said in a statement. These are complex challenges, and democracies must always remain open to reflection through the appropriate institutional avenues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Berset stressed that the European Court of Human Rights is not an external body but the legal arm of the Council of Europe, and is "bound by a Convention that all 46 members have freely signed and ratified. It exists to protect the rights and values they committed to defend, he said. Upholding the independence and impartiality of the Court is our bedrock. He warned against politicizing the court. The nine European leaders said the courts interpretation of the convention in cases concerning the expulsion of "criminal foreign nationals has protected the wrong people and placed too many limits on deciding who can be expelled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Council of Europe is not an EU institution and was set up in the wake of the Second World War to promote peace and democracy. ___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration G7 finance leaders exchanged pleasantries before tough discussions Wednesday, seeking to restore stability in the face of economic turbulence from US President Donald Trump's tariffs and strengthen support for Ukraine. The gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven nations in Canada is seen as a test of cohesion among the advanced economies, as Trump's trade policies threaten to drag down economic growth. Once broadly aligned, the grouping -- comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- could struggle for unity amid the upheaval caused by Trump's trade wars. The US president has spoken often of annexing its neighbor Canada, which holds the G7 presidency this year. But the mood was cordial early Wednesday as leaders came together for a group photograph at a welcome ceremony against a mountainous backdrop in Banff, in the western province of Alberta. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent exchanged greetings with Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on the podium, and both sides are expected to meet on currency issues and other topics. Bessent's counterparts are seeking common ground and a lowering of temperatures with the United States on trade, while sources briefed on US participation said Bessent is likely to raise issues like China's non-market practices and excess industrial capacity. The G7 is also expected to discuss potential fees on low-value imports from China. "Let's go to work," Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne declared as leaders headed into meetings, including sessions on the global economy and the war in Ukraine. The gathering of G7 finance leaders runs from Tuesday through Thursday. Champagne told at a press briefing Tuesday that Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko's presence in Banff "sends a strong message to the world" that members are recommitting to support the country against Russia's invasion. Marchenko told reporters he would seek during the gathering to reiterate Ukraine's position on the need for further pressure on Russia. On Wednesday, Champagne opened a bilateral meeting with French Finance Minister Eric Lombard noting both sides' "almost perfect alignment" in visions. "We're all about restoring stability to trade between the G7 countries, but we're also talking about growth," Champagne said. Lombard, in turn, noted the "quality of dialogue" with Canada, saying "that's what we need in the world." "We're optimistic about what we can do together," he added in opening remarks. Champagne stressed a day prior that "everyone wins" when trade rules are "fair and predictable," expressing his belief that Canada can serve as a bridge among members in a turbulent time. On Bessent and the pressures from US trade policy, Champagne told reporters that colleagues are eager to speak with the US Treasury chief and discuss how everyone can work together. This week, all eyes will be on whether the G7 can find common wording despite their differences. A French official earlier said that although Canada's presidency hopes to issue a communique, France would not accept "watered down" language. A source briefed on US participation said a consensus should align with Trump administration priorities as well. "It is a significant G7 existentially," said Ananya Kumar, a deputy director at Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council. "I don't think in any of the past years, people have questioned the US's relationship with the other G7 member states as much as they have in the last 100 days," she told AFP ahead of the gathering. "The big theme is going to be how do we prevent global instability, how do we find consensus in this chaos?" NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) The official count down is on for Sail 250 Virginia in Norfolk. The event kicks off next June and will bring more than 60 ships to the region to celebrate Americas 250th birthday. State and local leaders came together during an event Friday afternoon to announce the official countdown to Sail 250. The ships at this time next year will be underway, making their way across the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, said Karen Scherberger, president and CEO of Sail 250 Virginia. Well have over 65 ships from 20 different countries, bringing 10,000 if not more, crew members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scherberger said theyve been planning for this since 2019. Norfolk is one of five U.S. ports that will host the event, and it will take place for 10 days next June. There will also be ships and events in 10 other Virginia waterfront cities during that time. Its coming together to recognize that we have collaboration from folks all over Hampton Roads and all over Virginia, not to mention four other partner port cities around the country who are going to celebrate Americas heritage that is a maritime heritage, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. Youngkin was one of many Virginia leaders in Norfolk to talk about the special occasion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Sail 250, we stand together and for Sail 250, we anticipate an extraordinary celebration, Youngkin said. With more than three million total visitors expected, the event could bring in millions of dollars in revenue. The last time we had an event like this, in 2012 we recorded over $150 million in economic activity over the period of time that the ships were here, not just in Norfolk, but in the other regional cities that participate as well, Scherberger said. Every corner that you look into, there is some benefit that everyone will receive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Daviess Fiscal Court approved the creation of a public safety director position and promoted Daviess County Fire Chief Jeremy Smith to fill the role during its meeting Thursday night at the Daviess County Courthouse. Daviess Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen said he had for some time been looking to see if there was a way for the county to better provide and address public safety. Just over time Ive looked at it, and from my perspective, this is an opportunity to try to maximize inter-agency communication and cooperation, to develop and update organizational emergency response protocols, to enhance communication with staff and all of our first-responder agencies that are in Fiscal Court, and just to ensure that Daviess County consistently has the highest quality resources, services for public safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Castlen said the position is not an overlap with the duties of the countys Emergency Management Agency. Its not in the same realm, he said. EMA is primarily planning and reacting to an emergency, and I guess at some level, for lesser emergencies, the same would be true for fire departments and police. I think that Jeremys role is going to be more of an oversight. Its connecting the two agencies, and a lot of bigger counties have a public safety director position. Its not unique to us. Castlen said public safety is absolutely among his highest priorities. I think thats the real reason that we have our government, he said, is to be able to deal with those things that the private sector is really not designed to deal with. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Castlen said Smiths experience as fire chief, which he became in 2019, made him an excellent choice for the position. With Jeremy, with his depth of knowledge and his skill set, hes a good fit for it, said Castlen, who anticipates there being multiple in-house candidates interested in the fire chief position. There is not an obvious pick; weve got three or four fire assistant chiefs. I would think all of them might have some level of interest unless they just decide, I dont want to be fire chief. Smith will officially begin his new role Sunday. The annual salary for the position is $120,000, which County Treasurer Jordan Johnson said will be partially funded through attrition. In another personnel move, Fiscal Court approved reclassifying David Smith as parks director, a position he has held on an interim basis. Smith was previously the countys director of legislative services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David has been in that role for five or six months, and I think hes done a good job, Castlen said. He and I have talked about whether or not he wanted to remain in that or whether or not it was something where he would switch back to his old position and we would put it out to the public to be parks director. But he indicated an interest in filling that role, and he absolutely has shown he can do the job. Castlen said at this time he doesnt anticipate filling the director of legislative services position, since the position had evolved since he took office. He will assist as needed, but in his old job he was also over the landfill and the animal control, so David had some people reporting to him, Castlen said. I made the decision that I have department heads report directly to me. But one of the things that David has a tremendous skill set on is research, a skill set that is very beneficial. Ill still call on him. The only certainties in this world, a famous quip says, are death and taxes. No group in America weds the two like Planned Parenthood. The indisputable head of the abortion industry, they boast of more than 400,000 abortions a year at least ten times the capacity of Times Square. And they do it while raking in nearly 40% of their $2 billion in income from taxpayers. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that just passed the House of Representatives is the best opportunity to stop forced taxpayer funding of Big Abortion since 2017, when a similar effort fell short by one vote. As the Republican majority works through budget reconciliation, all the Democrats old lies are re-emerging : Women will lose critical health care. Planned Parenthood does more than abortion. More than ever, they fall flat. For the longest time, it seemed certain Planned Parenthood was too big to fail and politically untouchable. At over a century old, theyve outlived scandal after scandal: multi-million-dollar payouts to settle Medicaid fraud charges. Dozens of employee lawsuits alleging racial discrimination. Their eugenics-driven foundress, Margaret Sanger, getting cast under the bus during 2020s summer of unrest. Even horrific as it is the revelation of their selling freshly harvested organs of aborted babies for thousands of dollars apiece in incentives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The abortion giant not only survived the subsidies taxpayers were forced to pay increased to more than $700 million , including about half a billion from Medicaid. Theyve survived in part by grossly exaggerating their importance as a health care provider of last resort for poor women for instance, allowing the public to think they provide mammograms ( they never have ). They cling to this fiction as a shield, even while their own reports show massive declines in everything from contraception to pap smears. Except abortions, of course. Those are at record level. When a pregnant woman enters Planned Parenthood looking for help, 97% of the time she is sold an abortion, rather than supported in parenting or planning for adoption. Now, a new analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute estimates community health centers offering womens health care outnumber Planned Parenthood locations (in-person and virtual) 15 to one nationwide . These include 5,500 federally qualified health centers, which provide comprehensive health care services to low-income and underserved populations, and 3,300 rural health clinics serving Medicaid and Medicare patients in areas particularly vulnerable to care shortages. Thats on top of thousands of pregnancy resource centers that provide free baby supplies, education and assistance . Women have real choices. Community health centers are vastly more available than Planned Parenthood, and more women choose them already. When Medicaid patients choose these centers, Medicaid dollars stay with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At last, scandal-plagued Planned Parenthood is poised to collapse under its many detriments. The New York Times, no pro-life outlet, acknowledged Planned Parenthood botches procedures and subjects patients to inhuman treatment . In one case, sewage was allowed to leak into a recovery room for days. NPR highlighted dysfunction between rank-and-file employees and management, with one former employee stating she was repeatedly expected to break protocol to assist surgical abortions despite being the sole nurse on duty. Moreover, billions of dollars in donations go not to fix their appalling conditions, but to fund the organizations constant litigation and political activism. OpenSecrets found Planned Parenthood spends more to lobby the federal government than any group on either side of the abortion issue. Supposedly in a financial crisis, theyve just taken out a full-page ad in The New York Times the outlet they feel betrayed them signed by some of the richest people in America . But the media wont save them. The courts wont bail them out . Even Gavin Newsom is cutting them off . Enter a new administration focused on rooting out waste and fraud. In March, the Trump administration halted millions in Title X funds to Planned Parenthood, citing a review of their DEI policies. In any case, millions of Americans strongly reject abortion as family planning. Groups that treat it as such arent entitled to tax dollars. The freeze is already having an effect as Planned Parenthood centers shutter across the country. Only Congress can tackle mandatory Medicaid spending, however. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some say were tilting at windmills, since the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of elective abortions. Because money is fungible, this is like claiming subsidies to McDonalds Corporation wouldnt underwrite hamburger sales. Its rich coming from Democrats in Washington, some of whom used to support the life-saving Hyde Amendment but virtually all of whom despise it today. Even occasional Republicans , making anonymous, uninformed statements to the media, miss this key point. Fortunately, they are a minority; the pro-life movement is united to defund Big Abortion, as is the GOP with leaders like Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune. Defunding Big Abortion is a win-win for fiscal hawks and patients. With 70% of voters concerned about wasteful spending, there can be no more excuses for forcing such a terrible investment on taxpayers. This is the new certainty: Planned Parenthoods gravy train must end. Have courage, Senate Republicans. Women deserve better than shoddy and shrinking care. They wont miss the smell of sewage. Its time to expose the Democrats, not only as patronizing and hypocritical but radically blind to the harm to women and children. Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only certainties in this world, a famous quip says, are death and taxes. No group in America weds the two like Planned Parenthood. The indisputable head of the abortion industry, they boast of more than 400,000 abortions a year at least ten times the capacity of Times Square. And they do it while raking in nearly 40% of their $2 billion in income from taxpayers. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that just passed the House of Representatives is the best opportunity to stop forced taxpayer funding of Big Abortion since 2017, when a similar effort fell short by one vote. As the Republican majority works through budget reconciliation, all the Democrats old lies are re-emerging : Women will lose critical health care. Planned Parenthood does more than abortion. More than ever, they fall flat. For the longest time, it seemed certain Planned Parenthood was too big to fail and politically untouchable. At over a century old, theyve outlived scandal after scandal: multi-million-dollar payouts to settle Medicaid fraud charges. Dozens of employee lawsuits alleging racial discrimination. Their eugenics-driven foundress, Margaret Sanger, getting cast under the bus during 2020s summer of unrest. Even horrific as it is the revelation of their selling freshly harvested organs of aborted babies for thousands of dollars apiece in incentives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The abortion giant not only survived the subsidies taxpayers were forced to pay increased to more than $700 million , including about half a billion from Medicaid. Theyve survived in part by grossly exaggerating their importance as a health care provider of last resort for poor women for instance, allowing the public to think they provide mammograms ( they never have ). They cling to this fiction as a shield, even while their own reports show massive declines in everything from contraception to pap smears. Except abortions, of course. Those are at record level. When a pregnant woman enters Planned Parenthood looking for help, 97% of the time she is sold an abortion, rather than supported in parenting or planning for adoption. Now, a new analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute estimates community health centers offering womens health care outnumber Planned Parenthood locations (in-person and virtual) 15 to one nationwide . These include 5,500 federally qualified health centers, which provide comprehensive health care services to low-income and underserved populations, and 3,300 rural health clinics serving Medicaid and Medicare patients in areas particularly vulnerable to care shortages. Thats on top of thousands of pregnancy resource centers that provide free baby supplies, education and assistance . Women have real choices. Community health centers are vastly more available than Planned Parenthood, and more women choose them already. When Medicaid patients choose these centers, Medicaid dollars stay with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At last, scandal-plagued Planned Parenthood is poised to collapse under its many detriments. The New York Times, no pro-life outlet, acknowledged Planned Parenthood botches procedures and subjects patients to inhuman treatment . In one case, sewage was allowed to leak into a recovery room for days. NPR highlighted dysfunction between rank-and-file employees and management, with one former employee stating she was repeatedly expected to break protocol to assist surgical abortions despite being the sole nurse on duty. Moreover, billions of dollars in donations go not to fix their appalling conditions, but to fund the organizations constant litigation and political activism. OpenSecrets found Planned Parenthood spends more to lobby the federal government than any group on either side of the abortion issue. Supposedly in a financial crisis, theyve just taken out a full-page ad in The New York Times the outlet they feel betrayed them signed by some of the richest people in America . But the media wont save them. The courts wont bail them out . Even Gavin Newsom is cutting them off . Enter a new administration focused on rooting out waste and fraud. In March, the Trump administration halted millions in Title X funds to Planned Parenthood, citing a review of their DEI policies. In any case, millions of Americans strongly reject abortion as family planning. Groups that treat it as such arent entitled to tax dollars. The freeze is already having an effect as Planned Parenthood centers shutter across the country. Only Congress can tackle mandatory Medicaid spending, however. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some say were tilting at windmills, since the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of elective abortions. Because money is fungible, this is like claiming subsidies to McDonalds Corporation wouldnt underwrite hamburger sales. Its rich coming from Democrats in Washington, some of whom used to support the life-saving Hyde Amendment but virtually all of whom despise it today. Even occasional Republicans , making anonymous, uninformed statements to the media, miss this key point. Fortunately, they are a minority; the pro-life movement is united to defund Big Abortion, as is the GOP with leaders like Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune. Defunding Big Abortion is a win-win for fiscal hawks and patients. With 70% of voters concerned about wasteful spending, there can be no more excuses for forcing such a terrible investment on taxpayers. This is the new certainty: Planned Parenthoods gravy train must end. Have courage, Senate Republicans. Women deserve better than shoddy and shrinking care. They wont miss the smell of sewage. Its time to expose the Democrats, not only as patronizing and hypocritical but radically blind to the harm to women and children. Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. A Covington woman accused of abandoning her newborn daughter on a roadside 24 years ago to die will have to face trial rather than being allowed to take a plea offer. Police arrested Shelby Ann Stotts, 49, last year on a manslaughter charge in connection with the 2001 death of her daughter. During a brief Thursday hearing in the 249th District Court, Assistant Attorney General Britni Verdeja outlined the terms of the plea agreement offered by the state to Stotts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has been a plea offer tendered and accepted by [Stotts attorney Curt Crum], Verdeja said. Ten years sentence probated on manslaughter with the condition of 60 days total jail time. Under to plea offered, Stotts would have served 30 days in jail beginning June 1 followed by an additional three days in jail over the next 10 years beginning each Nov. 18. That date being the anniversary of the birth and death of Stotts daughter. Under the plea agreement, Stotts would also have given up parental rights to the child allowing the father of the girl to give the child his legal name. The childs father attended Thursdays hearing. He is not charged in the case and apparently did not know he was the father of the child until Stotts arrest last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court is not going to accept the plea, 249th District Judge Tiffany Strother said. It is not an acceptable plea to this court. It will be set for trial. Strother added that the Office of Attorney General remains free to present an amended plea offer between now and Stotts trial. Stotts trial date remains to be determined. The state attorney generals office took over prosecution of the case after former Johnson County District Attorney Dale Hanna recused himself given that the AGs office conducted much of the investigation and DNA work connected to the case. Former Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford, who responded to the 2001 call, also attended Thursdays hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alford declined to comment on Thursdays hearing given that he will likely be called as a witness during Stotts trail. Alford, however, praised the efforts of Johnson County Sheriffs Office detectives, the JCSO Cold Case Unit and the AGs office for continuing to investigate the case through the years. Alford in 2001 named the girl Angel Baby Doe in hopes that her identity and the identity of her mother would one day become known. Rosser Funeral Home donated a casket and the city of Cleburnes cemetery department provided funding for the babys burial. Alford, JCSO detectives and cold case squad members and others continued to search for answers in the years following 2001. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Nov. 18 of that year, JCSO deputies responded to the 400 block of South Briaroaks Road after a man walking along the road picking of cans while heading to a store found the baby and called 911. There they found the body of a newborn girl loosely wrapped in a Winnie the Pooh jacket. The babys umbilical cord was still attached. Officers determined that the baby was likely born outside of a hospital and abandoned on the side of the road. A breakthrough in the case came more than two decades after the babys death. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Office of the Attorney Generals Missing Persons and Cold Case Unit announced in July 2024 that his office had secured an indictment against Stotts for second degree manslaughter in connection with Angel Baby Does death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stotts, according to the indictment, recklessly caused the death of her newborn daughter on Nov. 18, 2001, by leaving the baby on the side of the road and failing to seek prompt medical care after giving birth. Stotts also failed to clamp the babys umbilical cord, which caused the child to bleed to death. Several officers from JCSO and the departments cold case squad attended Thursdays hearing as well. Youngsters whose education was blighted by Covid are now too old to benefit from the latest scheme for jobseekers, the Government has been warned. Those who studied for their A-levels or college qualifications during the first lockdown are now typically 22 or older but the new jobs guarantee scheme applies only to those aged up to 21. Stephen Evans, the chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, a think tank, warned that people who lost out on getting a job because of lockdown are now at risk of missing out again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said: The Youth Guarantee, which is a good idea, is focused on 18 to 21-year-olds, making sure they get help to find a job or apprenticeship, and actually it really needs to be 16 to 24-year-olds. Your problems dont stop when you turn 22. Half of all 22 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment, or training officially known as Neets have never had a job. At that point it becomes more and more difficult, said Mr Evans. Employers look at your CV and see you have no work experience, and you end up at the back of the queue. We need urgent action for that group, not just the 18 to 21-year olds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, launched the 45m jobseekers scheme at an event in Liverpool, promising to help match young people with jobs or training programmes. This is particularly worrying It comes as new figures show there are 923,000 people aged 16 to 24 who are Neets. While down from the peak over winter, it is still up from 750,000 before the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics. Almost 500,000 of them are aged between 21 and 24. Mr Evans said: You have got a bit of the pandemic generation coming through here, who had disrupted education and then disrupted transitions into work, and youve got the longer-term decline of people working alongside education as well, the classic Saturday jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is particularly worrying. In a shift from historical trends, young men are now roughly as likely as young women to be classed as economically inactive Neets those who are neither in work nor looking for work, nor in education. In part that is because girls and women tend to leave school, college and university with better grades, while women are less likely now than in the past to care for family members or to look after the home, said Mr Evans. But there has also been a sharp rise in male inactivity. As well as the pandemic effect, there has been a rise in the number of young men inactive due to long-term sickness, particularly citing mental health conditions, Mr Evans said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other government policies are not helping, with the rise in the minimum wage and the increase in employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) proving particularly painful for younger staff. The threshold at which employer NICs start to be paid was cut last month from a salary of 9,100 to just 5,000, meaning more low-paid and part-time workers jobs have been dragged into the tax net. This harms employment prospects in industries including retail and hospitality, which often give youngsters their first positions. Sarah Yong, at the Youth Futures Foundation, said more youngsters are becoming stuck in unemployment. She said: Around one in four unemployed young people who are Neets have been looking for work for over a year, highlighting the persistent nature of this issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among this group, one in five lack any formal qualifications double the rate seen across the wider youth population. Being out of work and education can have a scarring effect on young people even decades later, impacting their wellbeing, future prospects and much more. Aside from the moral imperative to act, there is a clear economic case: if we could put in sustained effort as the Netherlands have done and match their Neet rate, which is the lowest in the OECD, this would be worth 69bn to our economy and would mean approximately 500,000 more young people earning or learning. Eight regions in the UK will receive 5m each for the trailblazer jobs and training schemes, which will particularly focus on vulnerable youngsters. This includes those leaving care, of whom 40pc are not in education, employment or training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Kendall said: Every young person should have the chance to thrive. Todays data shows progress, with 64,000 more young people earning or learning. However, there are still nearly 1m young people locked out of the system and being written off. I am determined to change that, which is why we are breaking down barriers to opportunity through our Plan for Change by investing 45m in our Youth Guarantee to give every young person the chance to get on in life. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Donald Trumps itinerary for his recent trip to the Middle East featured a glaring omission. The president visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, but not Israel, ostensibly Americas main ally in the region. When asked about the snub, he insisted that it wasnt a snub at all: This is good for Israel, Trump said, referring to the alliances hed be strengthening with countries that were, notably, not named Israel. By passing over the country, Trump gave a clear signal that Israels concerns are not his top priority in the Middle East, and perhaps havent been for some time. Judging by his administrations approach to the region, this shouldnt come as a surprise. Trump has pursued policies that have repeatedly undermined the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuand show that divisions between the United States and Israel are widening. Most Israelis welcomed Trumps reelection: Almost two-thirds of them believed he would support their interests more than Kamala Harris would, and with good reason. In his first term, hed moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, torn up Americas nuclear deal with Iran, recognized Israelis annexation of the Golan Heights, and helped normalize their relations with several Arab countries. Unlike Harris, their thinking went, Trump wouldnt compromise with Iran or make them yield to Hamas. Four months into his administration, their faith is being tested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Read: Trump is crushing the Netanyahu myth] Lets start with Iran. For weeks, the U.S. has been negotiating with Israels archenemy over its nuclear program, raising the possibility that the Trump administration might relieve sanctions and soften its stance toward the regime. A deal isnt inevitable, but the prospect alone is anathema to Netanyahu, who detested Americas previous nuclear agreement and has made opposition to Iran his signature foreign-policy mission. Gaza, too, has become a source of disagreement, particularly this month, as Israel has ramped up missile strikes on the region. The renewed offensive not only disrupts Trumps (ridiculous) plan to take over the region and rebuild it as the Riviera of the Middle East; it also highlights his failure to end the conflict, which hed promised to do in short order. Netanyahu wants Hamas to be totally defeated, a goal he cant achieve without substantially prolonging the war. But earlier this month, Trump called for a cease-fire, prompting fears in Israel that American support for its military campaign might not last. In another worrisome sign for Israel, the Trump administration recently negotiated the release of an Israeli American dual citizen, Edan Alexander, without the countrys involvement. This bolstered Netanyahus critics, who say he hasnt done enough to free the remaining several dozen Israeli hostages, more than 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Syria is another sore subject for Israel. During his trip to Saudi Arabia, Trump met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syrias new head of statethe first time a U.S. president has met with a leader from the country in 25 years. Trump announced that he was lifting U.S. sanctions and called al-Sharaa attractive and pretty amazing. Those probably arent the words Netanyahu would use. Israel sees al-Sharaa as a threat, not least because of his former ties to al-Qaeda. In hopes of weakening his new regime, Israel has bombed Syria, built military bases along their shared border, and supported the Syrian Druze opposition. Israeli officials had asked the Trump administration to keep sanctions in place. Trump didnt listen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Read: Can one man hold Syria together?] The United States is also defying Israels interests in Yemen. After the October 7 massacre, the Houthis in Yemen began attacking American naval vessels and conducting missile strikes on Israel in solidarity with Hamas. The U.S. responded by attacking the Houthis, which Israel applauded. Then, earlier this month, the Trump administration negotiated a cease-fire with the Houthis. Israel was pointedly excluded from the deal and left to fend for itself: The agreement was announced only two days after a Houthi missile struck the countrys main airport, and additional strikes on Israel have followed the cease-fire. More broadlyand perhaps most important in the long termthe Trump administration is less inclined to take on the assertive role that America has traditionally played in the Middle East, and which Israel has come to depend on. Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. maintained a sizable military presence in the region and provided enormous support for Israels campaign in Gaza, even as his administration pushed Israel to negotiate a cease-fire and work with moderate Palestinians. Trump, by contrast, is withdrawing some troops from Syria and has staffed his Cabinet with officials who share his skepticism of foreign intervention. Americas leadership in the Middle East has shaped the region in ways that have massively benefited Israel: deterring and coercing Iran, neutralizing the Islamic State and other terrorists, and conciliating moderate Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration wont abandon those roles, but it is already pulling back from some of them. None of this means, however, that the U.S.-Israel alliance is in crisis. Disagreements will continue to emerge, but Israelis have reason to believe that Americas support will generally remain strong. Most of Trumps advisers still see themselves as backers of Israel, as do most congressional Republicans. Despite fears from some Israelis, Trump seems unlikely to withdraw support from their military operations in Gaza, in part because he has expressed so little concern for the humanitarian crisis afflicting Palestinians. And the president has continued to support militant Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and appointed an ambassador, Mike Huckabee, who has previously backed Israels campaign to annex the region. (Ironically, some of this support has made Netanyahus job harder by emboldening the far right of his coalition, whose calls for sweeping policy changes are getting more difficult for him to ignore.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nevertheless, Israels situation has fundamentally changed compared with only a few years ago. Relative to previous presidents, Trump is much more willing to ignore the countrys interests and pursue goals that openly subvert them. Israel isnt likely to lose America as an ally. But that ally could soon make the Middle East look a lot more threatening. Article originally published at The Atlantic Felonies The following people were booked into the Lee County-Tupelo Adult Jail in connection with felony charges ending Thursday at 11 a.m. Cameron Burnett, 33, of Lyon, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriffs Office, aggravated assault. Bradley Burngart, 40, of Calhoun City, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug. Darius Andrew Pannell, 34, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriffs Office, aggravated trafficking of methamphetamine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement William Patrick Pannell, 38, of Guntown, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriffs Office, violation of probation. Christopher Tate, 16, of Guntown, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriffs Office, burglary of a dwelling, attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Lee County Sheriffs Office The following reports were filed Thursday by the Lee County Sheriffs Office. A County Road 521, Saltillo, man said he found two puppies on his property and wanted to know if the sheriffs office would pick them up. The deputy explained that they could only pick up animals with a court order or if they were vicious. The man said he would try to find the puppies a home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A County Road 1279, Tupelo, woman said an unknown group of four-wheelers and dirt bikes ride up and down her road at all hours of the day and night revving their engines. She thinks she might know where they are coming from, but she isn't certain. She said she has witnessed an older female holding a toddler with no helmet on. She said on some occasions, the four-wheelers have veered into her lane when driving. Anyone with information on any of these reports is urged to call the Lee County Sheriff's Office at 841-9041, the Tupelo Police Department at 841-6491 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi at (800) 773-TIPS or download the P3 Tip App and leave an anonymous tip that way. A large-scale project is underway in Russian-occupied Crimea to rename schools in honour of Russian "heroes" of the war against Ukraine, referred to by Russia as the "special military operation", and the Soviet army, under the initiative titled a heros name for a school. Source: Krym.Realii (Crimea.Realities), a project by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing an anonymous Crimean human rights activist Details: Local activists report that over 200 schools in Crimea have been renamed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "The Russian occupation authorities in Simferopol, Sudak, Dzhankoi, Kirovskyi, Rozdolne and Chornomorskyi districts are the most actively involved. In Simferopol, the Russian-installed City Council decided to rename 27 schools. For example, School No. 38 was renamed in honour of Vladislav Dorokhin, a so-called hero of the special military operation. Memorial plaques, memory corners, historical displays and museums are being established in schools, and patriotic clubs are being organised." The activist stated that the Russian occupying authorities aim to expand the project to more schools, describing it as having "a long-term ideological impact on Crimean schoolchildren, instilling Russian militaristic values, glorifying military aggression and celebrating participants in the war against Ukraine". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The criminal case against the mother of a Cudahy student who police say brought a gun to Lincoln Elementary School has been dismissed, according to online court records. Xiaoping Wang, 40, of Cudahy had been charged May 22 with leaving a loaded firearm near a child, a misdemeanor offense. At the initial appearance on May 23, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Ana Berrios-Schroeder dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could refile it. The order came after the defense challenged the probable cause underlying the charge, according to online court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case against Nan Bin Li, 44, the child's father faces the same misdemeanor charge, moved forward on May 23. He pleaded not guilty, and a judge set a $1,000 signature bond, online court records show. A signature bond is a promise to appear for future court dates, with a monetary penalty if a defendant fails to do so. Defense attorney Craig Powell did not immediately respond to an email and voicemail seeking comment the morning of May 24. Li and Wang's child was charged in juvenile court earlier this month after police said a gun was found April 30 in the student's backpack at Lincoln Elementary School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The student told police the gun belonged to Li and had been in a nightstand drawer of the parents' bedroom, according to a criminal complaint. In a follow-up interview, the student said they found the gun a month earlier and had brought it to school twice, the complaint says. In Children's Court, the student is facing one felony count of possession of a firearm on school grounds, one misdemeanor count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person younger than 18 and one misdemeanor count of pointing a firearm at another, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel previously reported. Alec Johnson of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Case against mom of Cudahy student who brought gun to school dismissed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted the Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to President Donald Trump for use as Air Force One, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Qatar's offer of the jet -- which is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- has raised huge constitutional and ethical questions, as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive presidential plane. "The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. "The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States," Parnell said, referring questions to the US Air Force. The US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts "from any King, Prince or foreign State," in a section known as the Emoluments Clause. But Trump has denied there are any ethical issues involved with accepting the plane, saying it would be "stupid" for the US government not to take the aircraft. "It's a great gesture," the 78-year-old billionaire told reporters at the White House last week when asked if the oil-rich Gulf state would expect anything in exchange. "I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person (and) say 'no we don't want a free, very expensive airplane.'" The leader of the Democratic minority in the US Senate introduced legislation earlier this week that would block Trump from using the aircraft. Chuck Schumer's Presidential Airlift Security Act would prohibit the Pentagon from using taxpayer funds to retrofit any plane previously owned by a foreign government for use as the presidential plane. "Donald Trump has shown time and again he will sell out the American people and the presidency if it means filling his own pockets," Schumer said in a statement. "Not only would it take billions of taxpayer dollars to even attempt to retrofit and secure this plane, but there's absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure." Although several Republicans have voiced concerns about the proposed gift, Senate Majority Leader John Thune -- a Trump loyalist -- is not obliged to bring the bill to the floor of Congress's upper chamber. But Schumer plans to force a vote by offering it as an amendment to spending bills that Republicans will have to pass later in the year. Many members of the public dont have a clear understanding of what service means to people in the military. How do they honor their own? What kind of spaces and activities help them reflect and remember beyond Veterans Day and Memorial Day? We are cultural geographers who study how peoples emotions and connections with the past are represented physically in landscapes. Recently, our research has focused on commemorative place names in the military particularly names associated with the Confederacy, which the U.S. armed forces are now reviewing and renaming. In 2021, one of us (Katrina Finkelstein) visited Camp Pendleton in California to research commemoration on Marine Corps bases and understand how active-duty Marines and veterans interact with those spaces. In addition to official memorials and monuments sanctioned by the military, there are more informal and intimate examples of commemoration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These ongoing, living memorials can be especially meaningful for service members processing their experiences and remembering those they lost, and physically represent the emotional weight they carry every day. A living memorial Camp Pendleton, one of the U.S. Marines busiest bases, sits between San Diego and Los Angeles on miles of undeveloped coastline. Thirteen hundred feet above the base, more than 30 crosses stand on a hillside a memorial site established in 2003. Before deployment to Iraq, a group of seven service members two Marine officers, two enlisted Marines, two Navy corpsmen and one Navy chaplain carried a cross made of an old telephone pole up to the site. It was an effort to remember a peer they lost and to prepare for the mission ahead of them. Three of the seven were later killed in action. Today, the hilltop is still used for physical training and events before and after deployments. Meanwhile, its informal commemorations have expanded and changed, as many active-duty military and veterans develop a relationship with the space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Destroyed in a fire in 2007, the original cross was replaced, and dozens of others added. Some are more intentionally constructed, engraved and carried up the steep hillside, while others might have been made from sticks on the way. Contributing to the memorials has become an ongoing tradition. In August 2021, for example, after 13 service members were killed in a blast at Kabul airport including nine Marines and one sailor based at Pendleton new crosses appeared on the hillside. Others were erected at different Marine Corps bases, echoing the spontaneous way the first Camp Pendleton cross was installed. This living memorial receives frequent attention, despite its isolated location and despite several official memorials throughout the base. In an oral history interview, one of the original cross bearers from 2003, chaplain Scott Radetski, attributes the sites popularity to the life that exists on the hilltop. Because of its more intimate nature secluded from the public and requiring an hourlong hike to visit it has become especially meaningful for service members. The crosses are not a public memorial, he said, but a warrior memorial. More than crosses On the journey to the Pendleton crosses, people carry mementos to leave at the top. At first, they were small rocks, but have evolved to include sandbags, combat knives, insignia, unopened beer and liquor bottles, and helmets, all piled at the base of the crosses. Marines carry personal items to the top of the hillside, contributing to the living memorial. Katrina Finkelstein, CC BY At times, officials have moved to tidy it up, such as removing cans of alcohol. But some service members have objected, stressing that these items are deeply meaningful and carefully chosen. For them, these items theyve carried to the top of the hill represent not only their comrades, but the emotional weight that veterans carry each day because of their experiences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those mementos represented that suffering, that pain, that loss, that anguish, that angst, whatever it was that service members needed to leave behind, Radetski said. The site is not always clean and neat, but he suggests it reflects the messiness of war and the traumatic experiences of the veterans who visit the site regularly. In October 2021, before the battalion that sustained most of the losses at the Kabul airport returned to Camp Pendleton, the group Recycle for Veterans, which brings veterans together for cleanups on the West Coast, held an event to provide maintenance of the site. The group removed debris and empty bottles, but left mementos behind, leaving it ready for more commemorations in the future. On common ground While many memorial landscapes can seem fixed, representing a single moment or individual, the crosses at Camp Pendleton show that such spaces can actually change. The crosses reaffirm the idea that public memories are not static, and neither are spaces dedicated to them; new features are added as others are removed. The crosses are not without controversy. A decade ago, after the Los Angeles Times ran a story about the memorial on Veterans Day, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers filed a complaint, arguing that their presence relegated all non-Christians who have fought and died for our country [] to second-class citizenship. Base officials reportedly conducted a review, and the memorial still stands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Marines who support the memorial, however, the site can serve multiple purposes: a destination during physical training, a way to prepare for a deployment, or a journey to come to terms with their experiences upon returning home. Often, these activities are collective. Veterans organize semiannual hikes, meaning that the site does not become obsolete or forgotten. As the site of an ever-expanding memorial, the hillside is an example of how veterans continue to return to their own community, to a place that Chaplain Radetski called a common ground, for remembrance and healing. 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: Katrina Stack, University of Tennessee and Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee Read more: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. ELKHART Crossroads United Way made a pair of announcements Friday that three nonprofits have been awarded almost $2 million in matching capital grants and that a unification with United Way of Steuben County was underway. In announcing the grants and the unification plan, the charitable organization said it was making considerable strides in expanding and enhancing essential services across the region. Crossroads United Way said three nonprofits have been approved for final awards from the Statewide Capital Projects Initiative at Indiana United Ways. Indiana United Ways, the state membership association for all United Ways serving Indiana counties, requires the endorsement of an area United Way to qualify a project for application. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are proud to have been able to leverage our name and the United Way brand to make this happen, Crossroads United Way President and CEO Bill Purcell said. Thanks to this infusion of funding from our networks capital grants, our local partners will be able to construct or renovate purpose-built indoor and outdoor spaces, centralize and expand services, reduce operational costs, provide better working conditions, and ensure that people in our region have access to public transportation. We believe the three funded projects are particularly important as they focus on individuals with disabilities in Elkhart, members of the Amish community in LaGrange County and those healing from grief in Goshen. Details of the grants: ADEC: Up to $318,945 has been approved for facility improvements that are critical for providing enhanced services to individuals with disabilities in Elkhart County. The planned renovations are expected to improve infrastructure, centralize service operations, and create safer, more accessible environments for both clients and staff. LaGrange County Council on Aging: Up to $126,420 has been approved to expand and upgrade facilities to better serve the aging community, including members of the local Amish community. These improvements are designed to streamline service delivery and reduce operational costs, thereby enhancing community care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ryans Place: Up to $1.5 million has been approved to support the construction or renovation of spaces dedicated to programs that help individuals cope with grief. This expanded facility will increase access to vital support. Construction and renovations by ADEC, LaGrange County Council on Aging and Ryans Place are anticipated to be completed this summer. In equally exciting news, the organization said, Crossroads United Way and United Way of Steuben County have taken steps to operate under a single banner. Should the unification of these United Ways move forward later this summer, Steuben County would be served by Crossroads United Way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though details are being ironed out, current directors of the board for United Way of Steuben County would assume seats on the regional Crossroads board. When the Board at Steuben County reached out to us to discuss the possibility, we were excited but wanted to move methodically through the exploration to make sure it would be beneficial to the entirety of our footprint and especially to the folks in Steuben County, Purcell said. We are still working through some steps before a final decision is made later this summer, but with leadership changes at United Way of Steuben County, the timing feels right. We look forward to keeping people updated through the coming months. Three states attorneys have been reappointed to full 8-year terms, and the first ever woman was named to serve in one of the divisions three deputy chief states attorney positions, according to judicial officials. The Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission said the reappointments to judicial districts in New Haven, Bridgeport, and Litchfield were unanimous. Each states attorney is reappointed for an eight-year term, beginning July 1, 2025, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Connecticuts states attorneys are the chief prosecuting attorneys acting on behalf of the state in each of their respective judicial districts, according to the agency. Connecticut is one of the few states that do not elect their chief prosecutors. Because of this, the criminal justice commission is constitutionally charged with appointing all state prosecutors in Connecticut, officials said. The Criminal Justice Commission is confident in its reappointments today of these accomplished leaders and dedicated professionals who bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to these important positions, Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission Chairman Andrew McDonald said. The three states attorneys that have been reappointed to a full 8-year term include: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joseph Corradino, who has served as states attorney for the Judicial District of Bridgeport since May 2020. He oversees prosecutions at Bridgeport Superior Court, Bridgeport Superior Court Geographical Area No. 2 and juvenile matters in Bridgeport. John Doyle, Jr., who has served as states attorney for the Judicial District of New Haven since June 2022. He oversees prosecutions at New Haven Superior Court, New Haven Superior Court Geographical Area No. 23, Meriden Superior Court Geographical Area No. 7 and juvenile and housing matters in New Haven. David Shannon, who was appointed states attorney for the Judicial District of Litchfield in March 2022, oversees prosecutions at Superior Court in Torrington, Torrington Superior Court Geographical Area No. 18 and juvenile matters in Torrington. On Friday, the commission also appointed Lisa DAngelo as deputy chief states attorney of operations for the Division of Criminal Justice. Her four year term will begin on July 1, according to officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DAngelo, who currently serves as an executive assistant states attorney at the division, was appointed by a unanimous vote of the commission during a meeting Friday in Hartford, according the commission. DAngelo is the first woman in the history of the Division of Criminal Justice appointed to serve in one of the divisions three deputy chief states attorney positions. She will succeed Deputy Chief States Attorney Kevin Lawlor, who is retiring after more than 30 years as a state prosecutor, officials said. The deputy chief states attorney for operations oversees specialized bureaus and units of the Office of the Chief States Attorney that investigate and prosecute statewide issues, including public integrity violations, Medicaid fraud, workers compensation fraud, housing and complex matters involving multiple judicial districts, according to the commission. On behalf of the Commission, I would like to extend my congratulations to Attorney DAngelo on her appointment as Deputy Chief States Attorney for Operations, McDonald said, in a statement. Her work as a prosecutor, that included time as a Supervisory Assistant States Attorney in the New Haven Judicial District, and her work as an executive management staff member within the Office of the Chief States Attorney, particularly in the areas of ethics, training and professional standards, has positioned her well to succeed in this role. Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com Luxury real estate can be found across metro Detroit, and Livingston County, located in southeast Michigan is no exception. Known for its scenic blend of rolling hills, dense forests, open farmland, and more than 50 inland lakes, the county offers a mix of natural beauty and residential communities. Major highways like Interstate 96 and U.S.-23 provide access to the greater Detroit area, making it an attractive location for commuters seeking space and tranquility. The interior of 10173 Carmer Road in Tyrone Township, listed for $3,499,000. According to data from Realcomp II Ltd., the regions multiple listing service, the highest-priced residential listing currently on the market in Livingston County is priced at $5.75 million. This sprawling estate spans more than 200 acres and includes a game farm geared toward hunting enthusiasts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement High-end homes in the county often feature large acreage, lakefront views, and upscale amenities designed for resort-style living. Heres a look at some of the most expensive properties currently listed for sale in Livingston County: Marion Township: $5.75 million The exterior of 1286 Gray Fox Court in Marion Township, a 200-acre estate with a game farm, listed for $5,750,000. Address: 1286 Gray Fox Court, Marion Township Size: 7,996 square feet Key features: Built in 2017, this expansive estate with more than 200 acres includes a game farm, ideal for hunting enthusiasts. The timber-beamed home features five bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and two half baths. Interior highlights include high ceilings, large windows, stone accents, custom-built fireplaces, two chefs kitchens, and a walkout lower level. The 4-car garage has heated concrete floors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The property includes a horse barn with a fenced pasture and landscaped grounds with mature trees. A 4-acre pond is stocked with fish and features a dock equipped with an automatic fish feeder. The land, made up of ridges, forests, fields and wetlands, offers opportunities for endless outdoor exploration. In addition to the main residence, the estate includes Wolf Ridge Hunt Lodge, a premier whitetail trophy hunting preserve. The preserve features 85 distinct genetic lines as part of a hybrid breeding program, supporting a diverse and healthy deer population. Redneck hunting blinds provide comfort and strategic views across the varied terrain. Additional amenities include a Morton horse barn with automatic waterers, a large garage, a dedicated hunting room, and heated dog kennels. The estate is licensed as a Class 3 Whitetail Deer hunting and breeding facility and holds a Game Bird License. With a full-time ranch manager, the property has projected annual profits of $350,000 from game ranch operations. What the agent says: Renee DeKroub, from Re/Max Platinum in Brighton, describes the property as a rare opportunity in the heart of Howell, a custom-built luxury estate set on more than 200 acres of private, unspoiled land. Designed for the discerning buyer seeking space, serenity, and elegance, this stunning home offers an unmatched lifestyle surrounded by natural beauty, she says. Tyrone Township: $3.5 million The exterior of 10173 Carmer Road in Tyrone Township, listed for $3,499,000. Address: 10173 Carmer Road, Tyrone Township Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Size: 6,108 square feet Key features: Built in 2012, this lakefront estate offers four bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and one half-bath, situated on over 2 private acres along the shores of Runyan Lake, a private all-sports lake with 123 feet of frontage. Designed by DesRosiers Architects, the home showcases a blend of cedar, stone and glass exterior finishes. Inside, theres a custom gourmet kitchen, temperature-controlled wine cellar, mahogany floors, ceiling-to-floor glass windows, detailed stonework, and a finished walkout lower level. What the agent says: This custom-built home is architecturally stunning, offering unparalleled water views and countless luxury amenities, said Jeffery Alasina of Coldwell Banker Professionals in Birmingham. Situated on a private, residents-only lake, the property provides a more peaceful and serene setting from the busier lakes nearby. "This lakefront oasis is far enough from the hustle and bustle of the city that you feel disconnected when you're at home, he said. Every day you are home, you feel like you are on vacation." More: Belleville didn't always have a lake, but it is a central feature of the town now Oceola Township: $3 million The exterior of 3300 Fisher Road in Oceola Township, a 140-acre estate listed at $3,000,000. Address: 3300 Fisher Road, Oceola Township Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Size: 4,410 square feet Key features: Originally built in 1967 and remodeled in 2014, this expansive estate spans 140 acres and includes four bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and two half baths. Highlights include an in-ground pool, a stocked pond, and scenic rolling hills with miles of groomed trails. The interior features a custom Viking chefs kitchen, a log-style living room with a stone fireplace, two full baths in the primary suite, and laundry on two levels. Outside, a 120-foot-by-40-foot pole barn offers electrical services, cement flooring, and elevated ceilings. The property is electronically gated and monitored. What the agent says: This home and property are truly a slice of heaven, quiet, peaceful, private, and serene. Its a wildlife sanctuary, said Jan Kellogg of Real Estate One in Brighton. The 140 acres features rolling hills, miles of trails for horseback riding, ATVs, walking, and hunting. There are endless stands of evergreens, and a stocked pond. Its natures wonderland, encircled by Bogue Creek, with sunrises and sunsets that are magnificent. She noted that theres plenty of space for a helipad, pastures, plantings, motorcycles, ATVs, or simply enjoying the natural beauty right at home. Putnam Township: $2.99 million The exterior of 3304 Outback Trail in Putnam Township, a Cape Cod-style waterfront estate listed at $2,999,000. Address: 3304 Outback Trail, Putnam Township Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Size: 9,842 square feet Key features: Originally built in 1991 and remodeled in 2020, this expansive Cape Cod-style waterfront estate sits on more than 18 acres. It features five bedrooms, each with a full bath, plus two additional half baths. Updates include a metal roof, new Pella black-framed windows, and new Trex on multiple decks. Outdoor amenities include a private boathouse with sundeck on top and gazebo near the sandy beach and dock, a five-stall horse stable with two paddocks, a tack room, pastures, and a heated dog kennel. Inside, theres a private in-law/nanny/caretaker suite with a kitchen, sitting area, and a separate entrance that can be locked off from the rest of the house. The walkout lower level features a 20-seat theater, a billiards area, a kitchen with bar seating, a wet bar, and a hot tub room. One level below is a basement that includes a gym, wine cellar, storage area, and a craft or hunting room. More: Secluded estate near Ann Arbor is Washtenaw County's most expensive home. Price: $8.99M What the agent says: This property has it all, says Joseph Darwish from Re/Max Platinum in Brighton. From a private all-sports lake to space for animals and a horse barn, it truly checks every box. You have to see it to believe it. Brighton Township: $1.99 million The exterior of 9796 Lake Edge Drive in Brighton Township, listed for $1,995,000. Address: 9796 Lake Edge Drive, Brighton Township Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Size: 6,710 square feet Key features: Built in 2010, this custom timber-frame home on Lyons Lake features five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and one half-bath on a 1-acre lot. The property includes two screened-in porches with gas fireplaces, a spacious deck, patio, beach area, and an outdoor gaming space. Inside, the home boasts a two-story great room with a wall of windows overlooking the lake, exposed timber-frame beams, a floor-to-ceiling stacked-stone fireplace, an open-concept kitchen with custom cabinetry, a walk-in pantry, and a finished walkout basement. What the agent says: This property stands out in every way, said Matthew Dejanovich, of Real Estate One in Ann Arbor. It has an incredible design, premium materials, and was built with exceptional craftsmanship throughout. Brendel Clark (previously published as Brendel Hightower) writes about real estate and other topics for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Livingston County's most expensive home includes a hunting lodge SANTA CLAUS, Ind. (WEHT) Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, Holiday World is welcoming a summer-long attraction to the park. The Nerveless Nocks will be putting on the stunts, and its promising a Las Vegas-caliber show. Soaring through the sky, jumping rope four stories in the air, bending in all different fashions, defying gravity: this is just a sneak peek into what Holiday World unveils at the park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Replacing the parks dive show and a group coined by Queen Elizabeth, The Nerveless Nocks is spending the entire summer at whats considered Americas first theme park. Its so beautiful here, and I guess thats why people come here. Its like a hidden jewel in the forest, and we just love it. Looking forward to a great summer, The Nerveless Nocks President Michelangelo Nock says. The seventh generation owner says his group predates all of us, establishing in 1840 in Switzerland and traveling the world before eventually sharing the same stage with The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Meanwhile in Santa Claus, the Holiday World staff say they were looking to improve their guest experience and believed it was time for a change. Beginning last fall, the park started talking with The Nerveless Nocks about bringing its show to Holiday World and some park guests attending the first show Friday morning tell me its a worthwhile decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parkgoers couldnt help but look in awe or look aware in anxiousness and capture the act on their smart phones. The daredevils hailing from Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Mexico even grabbed the attention of others waiting in lime for a nearby ride. For thirty minutes at a time, they go into the spinning wheel 40 feet off the ground, inside the sphere of fear with motorcycles and put on a jet pack and soar 30 feet in the air. It was wonderful. And the jet ski. That was my favorite. The jet ski the jetpack was awesome, says Jessica Hare visiting the park from Henderson. I had to leave, and I came running back when I saw it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I love it a whole lot the circus more than the dive show, says Madison Woodard from Evansville. A whole lot more. Theres still plenty of time for the Tri-State to see these performers for themselves. They go on stage three times a day each day the park is open from now until Labor Day. When we get performing as a team, we see the smiles on peoples faces the fun theyre having, says performer from Wisconsin Troy Stowe. We have so much fun as well. So, its great to be out here and going live with these guys. More from Ben Walls Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eyewitness News. Everywhere you are. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). Last weekends bombing of an in vitro fertilization clinic in Palm Springs, California, was not merely shocking for its violence. The arguably more disturbing aspect of this tragic event is the bleak anti-life worldview underlying the attackers motives. Twenty-five-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus detonated a car bomb outside the facility, killing himself and injuring four others, in an incident the FBI has designated a terrorist attack. In a short manifesto and a rambling, half-hour audio recording posted onlineboth of which are believed to be authored by Bartkushe struggles to articulate a deeply unsettling worldview rooted in nihilist despair. Basically, it just comes down to, Im angry that I exist, he says at one point. Nobody got my consent to bring me here. This sentiment, in which people express grim grievances for the lack of consent for their own birth, is the central premise of antinatalism, a philosophical position that argues procreation is morally wrong because life inevitably entails suffering. Efilism (life spelled backward), a more fringe offshoot of antinatalism, goes further by viewing all life as inherently harmful. In his manifesto, Bartkus describes himself as a promortalist, that is to say someone who believes that death is always better than life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All a promortalist is saying is lets make it happen sooner rather than later (and preferably peaceful rather than some disease or accident), to prevent your future suffering, and, more importantly, the suffering your existence will cause to all the other sentient beings, the manifesto reads. The end goal is for the truth (Efilism) to win, and once it does, we can finally begin the process of sterilizing this planet of the disease of life. Bartkus, who discloses on his website that he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, had long struggled with suicidal thoughts and the belief that he wouldnt live beyond his twenties. But to dismiss Bartkus as a mere madman is to miss the larger, more unsettling picture. His actions, while horrific, reflect broader crises with which we havent fully reckoned. In a country where birth is politicized, life is unaffordable, and death is ambient, its not hard to understand how anti-life philosophies might take root and flourish. In the manifesto, Bartkus traces the tipping point that pushed him over the edge: the suicide of his best friend, Sophie. Recently my best friend Sophie killed herself (she got the guy she was living with to shoot her while she was sleeping, her preferred method), and I dont think I really knew how much it was going to affect me, he says. Ive never related to someone so much, and cant imagine I ever would again. We got along quite well and it was very nice, especially when you feel like you are in an apocalypse and nobody else seems to get anything. This wasnt just an act of terror or mental illness. It was an extreme, mutated expression of a feeling many young people carry, and a sharp distillation of the anti-life undercurrents running through American culture. Climate change, debt, social isolation, and political disillusionment combine to form the background hum of everyday life. In this doomer environment, even the most grotesque ideologies can present themselves as the logical conclusions to a rigged existence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a recent study, 60 percent of Americans currently cant afford even a minimal quality of life. For an economist, these measures of economic precarity are just statistics. For many others, they are fertile soil for despair. Despite outspending peers on health care, the United States has the highest suicide rates among wealthy nations. A 2024 study found that one in five high school students had seriously considered suicide that year. Against a backdrop of ongoing genocide and impending ecological breakdown, the idea that life itself is unlivable can begin to feel not just plausible, but logical. In this context, Bartkuss ideology doesnt arrive out of nowhere. It festers in the contradiction at the heart of American life. On the right, we have seen a surge in pronatalist rhetoricwhich, alongside the collapse of reproductive freedom in the U.S., suggests a future of forced birth by state decreecoupled with policies and beliefs that undermine the material conditions necessary to sustain life. In the post-Roe landscape, birth is increasingly mandatedevident in cases like the brain-dead woman kept alive under Georgias abortion banyet life after birth is systematically devalued. The Trump administration has floated the idea of $5,000 baby bonuses to incentivize Americans to have more children without addressing (or while actively exacerbating) crises in education, health care, and cost of living. It is within these contradictions that Bartkuss warped philosophy takes root. The fragmented, bleak worldview expressed by Bartkus reflects a growing sense of despair thats particularly acute among young men, who are splitting away from young women along social, political, and religious lines, with many increasingly finding solace in toxic online subcultures promoting reactionary or violent belief systems. Men account for 80 percent of suicides in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the manifesto, Bartkus briefly references Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old Sandy Hook shooter who killed his mother, six teachers, and 20 first graders before turning the gun on himself. Lanza too espoused a bleak, antinatalist worldview. On his YouTube channel, CulturalPhilistine, he described suicide as a way people have freed themselves from the burden of living. Ive always had an immense hatred for culture, he said. I consider culture to be delusional values which humans mindlessly coerce onto each other, spreading it no differently than any other disease. Lanza also expressed disgust at the idea of childbirthI think that you should say, Im so sorry for your loss whenever you hear that someone is pregnantand frequently returned to themes of childhood, control, and violence, including a fixation on pedophilia. His online footprint offers a disturbing case study in how alienation, untreated mental illness, and a toxic cultural and digital environment can fuse into something explosive. Bartkuss invocation of Lanza underscores a disturbing lineage of thought among disaffected young men who view existence as inherently cruel. Lanzas beliefs have appeared in certain corners of internet subcultureReddit threads, YouTube essays, Discord serverswhere irony, rage, and fatalism coalesce into something that resembles belief. In the wake of Bartkuss attack, Reddit banned the r/Efilism subreddit for violating its policies regarding self-harm, though other antinatalist threads remain on the platform. These arent organized movements. Theyre more like moodscapes: ambient environments of digital despair that encourage withdrawal, contempt, and in some cases, violence toward self and others. Bartkus appears to have seen Lanza as a figure who articulated what he himself struggled to express. Their shared sense of existential betrayalof being brought into a world without consent and then left to suffer within itgave their violence a warped logic. Its not a cry for help so much as a declaration of war against life itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This attack needs to force a larger reckoning with the way our political leaders have been poor stewards of our present and have undermined our collective future. For America to effectively grapple with the toxic systems of belief that Bartkus, Lanza, and a simmering mass of others have come to embrace, it must confront the systemic failures that feed them. It must acknowledge the material and psychic conditions that make the idea of erasing life seem like a form of justice. That means rejecting the impulse to label attackers lone wolves and recognizing that these men are actually the pure products of a culture that celebrates birth but offers no real plan for life. Bartkus believed life was a disease. He didnt come to that belief on his own. (FOX40.COM) One person has been arrested in connection with the Picnic Day shooting in Davis in April that injured three people, the Davis Police Department said. According to police, detectives identified 19-year-old Joseph Davis as a suspect. On Thursday, detectives and deputies with the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office arrested Davis at his home in Sacramento. Police said Davis is facing several firearms-related charges, including possession of an illegal assault rifle, and assault with a deadly weapon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Davis Police Department previously said it believes that there was more than one shooter involved in the incident. The shooting occurred around 3 p.m. on April 12 at Community Park during UC Daviss Picnic Day event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. Harvard University filed a lawsuit Friday morning against the Trump administration, seeking an immediate temporary restraining order to halt the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) move to revoke the school's certification to enroll international students. The legal action comes after DHS notified Harvard it was no longer certified under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), a status the university has held for more than 70 years, citing allegations of campus antisemitism and race-based discrimination. More than 7,000 students study at Harvard on a visa. In a message to affiliates, Harvard President Alan M. Garber called the revocation "unlawful and unwarranted," stating, "It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams". The 72-page suit accuses DHS of an "unprecedented and retaliatory" act, arguing that decertification would force current and prospective international students to transfer or lose their legal status in the U.S. Harvard's lawyers contend the action would "seriously and immediately disrupt the University's ongoing, day-to-day operations" and "impairs the educational experience of all Harvard students by diminishing the global character and overall strength of the institution". Harvard's court filing describes the government's move as politically motivated retaliation, carried out "without process or cause," and claims it violates the First Amendment by infringing on academic freedom and retaliating against constitutionally protected speech. The university also argues the loss of SEVP status would put it at a "competitive disadvantage" in admissions for years to come. The lawsuit names DHS, the Department of Justice, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of State as defendants. Harvard is represented by attorneys including Robert K. Hur and William A. Burck, both of whom previously served in high-level roles under former President Donald Trump. The DHS justified its action by alleging Harvard's response to an April 16 records request was "insufficient," specifically requesting detailed information on international students' disciplinary records, protest participation, and documentation of "dangerous or violent activity." Harvard maintains it complied with all requests, submitting documents on April 30 and May 14. The suit notes that Trump publicly called for revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status in April, and that the DHS records request followed just one day later. The university argues the government's demands exceeded regulatory norms and that no evidence of violations was provided. If a judge does not grant Harvard's request for a temporary restraining order by Sunday, DHS could proceed with terminating the visa status of thousands of international students. The university warns this would cause "immediate and irreparable harm" and disrupt academic operations as well as the lives of affected students and staff Originally published on University Herald NEW YORK (PIX11) Daycare centers are special spots on the block. Local parents and educators who meet licensing, health, and city requirements often open the businesses. But theres a shortage in the city. More Local News Inside a center called Little Sprouts on Fort Washington Avenue, music and childrens voices fill the air. Deborah Leiva raised her own children in the area and saw a need. For 25 years around Inwood, Washington Heights and Riverdale, the kids at her early childhood centers have also been her heart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her programs have expanded to multiple locations. Music and outdoor activities are part of her mission. More than the required number of staff brings more focus on the children. I wear a lot of hats. I will travel or substitute. I work with parents, curriculum, and teachers, she said. Its a demanding industry, and theres a need for more. Mayor Eric Adams and the administration have identified an urgent need for licensed and approved childcare centers. The city budget has more than $170 million for child care. Income-based vouchers are also important but have come under scrutiny. Funding and affordability are on the minds of teachers and owners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One resource is the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS). More Local News The office helped Leivas team with its leases, which kept the center open. The Department of Small Business Services also helps the center meet regulatory requirements and navigate licenses and inspections. NYC Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Dynishal Gross says daycare is critical. Its important to parents that we can support day care to keep them open and launch new businesses, Commissioner Gross said. The administration reported that 60% of families in New York are in childcare deserts. The city and state have created incentive programs and property-tax breaks to encourage new centers. Plans could expand those incentives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DAYTON A catch-all of protests calling attention to everything from fentanyl deaths in Ohio to the war in Gaza accompanied a gathering of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly on May 24 in a fenced-off section of downtown. They were small, as of noon, with about 200 people spread over three sites outside the NATO meeting area, including one officially designated protest zone. They were polite, too, compared to protests in November outside the last NATO gathering in Montreal, where Reuters reported that two cars were set on fire and police deployed smoke bombs on the crowd. This time, at Jefferson and 4th streets in Dayton, a local police officer applied sunscreen to his head and face and joked that his wife would be angry if he came home with a sunburn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among issues that drew protesters' ire Saturday was the amount of money spent $6.3 million in federal and state funds for security to host NATO officials in Ohio. "NATO spends billions on war, weapons and power struggles," said Lauren Lorraine, of Cincinnati, who's part of a group called the Poor People's Army. More NATO news: NATO chief says Europe will pay more for defense, keeps mum on Ukraine talks She listed after-school programs, job-training, health clinics and housing as areas that could have benefited from the money spent to host NATO in Ohio. "It's morally wrong to spend more on war than well-being," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sandy Bolzenius headed from Columbus to Cooper Park in Dayton's downtown to talk to others about the "We the People Amendment," a nationwide effort to adopt local, state and federal rules to reduce the influence of corporate money in politics and government. Others collected signatures to put Senate Bill 1, the Ohio General Assembly's overhaul of higher education in the state, on the fall ballot for possible repeal. Ann Bollheimer, of Fort Loramie, a village about 40 miles north of Dayton, joined other members of Veterans for Peace at the protests. She said she opposed the idea of Dayton hosting an international conference when it could help its unhoused residents instead. Asked why she chose the messages, "No to NATO" and "Invest in People, Not Weapons," for the placard she held, Bollheimer said: "I could only hold one sign." Reporter Bob Vitale can be reached at rvitale@dispatch.com. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dayton protesters speak out against NATO conference spending WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested a suspect in a fatal Southeast D.C. shooting on Thursday. MPD said Damari Thomas, 17, is charged with second-degree murder while armed and will be tried as an adult. DC man sentenced after 2020 shooting left 1 dead, another hurt According to police, on May 5, at 7:41 p.m., officers received reports of shots fired in the 3500 block of Stanton Road SE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There, two men were found suffering from gunshot wounds and were transported to the hospital. One of the victims, Anthony White, 31, died from his injuries, and the other victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The shooting remains under investigation, and anyone with knowledge of the incident is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or text the Departments tip line at 50411. MPD currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for each homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Officers are investigating after a man was stabbed Saturday afternoon in Northeast D.C. Details remain limited; however, the Metropolitan Police Department told DC News Now that officers responded to the stabbing just before 11:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of Florida Ave., NE. There, they found the man suffering from a stab wound. Officers noted that he was conscious and breathing when they found him and that medics took him to the hospital for treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Triple shooting leaves 2 dead, 1 hurt in Southeast DC As of Saturday afternoon, no arrests have been made, but police were searching for a female with freckles and long black hair in connection with the stabbing. 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. DENVER (KDVR) On Friday, health workers said they are continuing to work to contact people who may have been exposed to measles at the Denver International Airport. Denvers Department of Health and Education said today it is focusing on the people who were on the flight with the person who had the virus, as well as people who may have stayed at the same hotel. F-16 Vipers to flyover these Colorado areas over Memorial Day weekend Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People who were at DIA and at an airport hotel on May 13 and May 14 are being told they could have been exposed to the highly contagious measles virus. A passenger who went through the airports international gates tested positive for the virus, and because that virus can linger in the air for up to two hours, passengers and hotel guests are being told to watch for symptoms. I think the main thing to know about, is that if you are a vaccinated person, then you are safe, by and large. For unvaccinated people, you should be monitoring for symptoms if youre in the vicinity of that exposure during that time period, HCA Healthone Aurora Emergency Department Medical Director Dr. Katie Sprinkel said. DDPHE said health workers are trying to contact people who were on the flight with the infected passenger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same is true for people who stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites Denver International Airport. Were working with the hotel, were able to, um, get in contact with people who were staying at the hotel or who are working at the hotel, at the same time they might have been exposed, and letting them know of the exposure symptoms to look out for, DDPHE Spokesperson Emily Williams said. Dr. Sprinkel said the measles vaccine is 97% effective. The Emergency Department Medical Director was at DIA with her child on one of the same days as the infected traveler. It made me think. I do have a young child whos had one vaccine but not two. So it did prompt me to call my pediatrician, and in my case, theres nothing to do, but it is something that kind of raises the hair on my neck and made me think twice to get in touch with our pediatrician, Dr. Sprinkel said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denver sues Trump administration over potential loss of transportation funding Dr. Sprinkel said anyone who may have any concerns about possible measles symptoms should check with their health care professionals. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (FOX 5/KUSI) While more than a dozen homes on Sample Street in San Diego were damaged in an early morning plane crash on Thursday, theres a corner house on the block that took a direct hit from the aircraft. Despite the strong impact against the home and the multiple fires set off along the street by spilled fuel, all four members of the family and their four pets survived. The living room looked like, this is the only way I can describe it, like in movies when they show a meteor hit, and you see the debris everywhere still burning, and burning holes through the ground. Thats what my living room looked like, said Srujana McCarty. Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting homes and cars on fire and forcing evacuations early Thursday, May 22, 2025. The McCarty family, like most families in the surrounding military neighborhood, was asleep when the crash happened around 3:47 a.m. on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orange glow got brighter: Neighbors describe moments after San Diego plane crash Officials said six people were on the plane when it crashed, and that all are presumed to have died. No one on the ground perished, but several people received medical treatment. For Ben McCarty, the experience of escaping from his burning home was like no other. You would expect to face tragedies like that in the military, situations that put you in stress, but for it to happen at your home, its definitely one of the hardest things to have experienced, he said. Investigators are working to determine what may have caused the plane to go down just a few miles from Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport, the planes destination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read our full coverage of the Murphy Canyon plane crash On Sample Street and some surrounding roadways, around 100 people had to leave their homes after the crash and navigate through a giant debris field that included multiple fires sparked by spilled fuel. The crash left a gigantic debris field and damaged some 15 homes and parked cars, fire officials said. The McCarty family said they escaped through their backyard and received help from their neighbors. There were a lot of angels who helped us and its just attributed to the military training, Ben said. Since the crash, he has been dealing with the aftermath on a personal level. Even like last night, any little noise, it was really hard to sleep. Even the chime from opening the door system, a little beep or something, its all kind of triggering. And any time I would hear like a car going through the speed bumps, it makes you jolt, Ben said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that the tragedy has left him thinking about how a home should be a place of security and comfort. How he and his family regularly secure their house when its time for bed, locking doors and setting the alarm. He has also thought about how it can all change in an instant. Youre in your home and youre safe, and then you have a plane come crashing through your 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) After Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright sent in a resignation letter to Governor Henry McMaster on Friday, a new interim sheriff was appointed. McMaster announced that that Cherokee County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Jeffery Stephens has been appointed to serve as Spartanburg County Sheriff. Video above: Spartanburg Co. Council reacts to Sheriff Chuck Wright resignation According to the sheriffs office, Stephens started his career with the SCSO in 1980. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stephens, a Boiling Springs resident, has been chief deputy in Cherokee County since 2011 and spent 25 years with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, according to the governors office. The Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office said they welcome Sheriff Stephens back to the county and expressed confidence in his ability to lead with integrity and professionalism during this transitional period. Stephens will serve as sheriff until a special election is held later this year to fill the position. A letter from Stephens regarding his appointment can be read below. I am deeply honored to accept the appointment by Governor Henry McMaster to serve as Sheriff of Spartanburg County. I am grateful for the trust placed in me and fully recognize the responsibility that comes with this critical role. As someone born and raised in Spartanburg County, this community has always been home. My career in law enforcement began here more than four decades ago. Today, I return to the Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office with a profound sense of duty and humility. It is both a privilege and a calling to serve the citizens of Spartanburg once again as their Sheriff. Throughout my 43 years of service, including my time as Chief Deputy at the Cherokee County Sheriffs Office, management within the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, patrol officer at the Spartanburg Police Department, and deputy with the Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office, I have committed myself to public safety, professional integrity, and the fair enforcement of the law. I bring that same commitment to this office. My promise to the people of Spartanburg County is simple: I will serve you dutifully and diligently while upholding the law with transparency, respect, and accountability. In the days ahead, I look forward to working alongside our deputies, staff, and community leaders to build upon the strengths of this office and ensure a safe and secure future for all who call Spartanburg County home. Sincerely, Sheriff Jeffery F. Stephens Spartanburg 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 WSPA 7NEWS. May 23LIMA The following defendants entered pleas of not guilty in Allen County Common Pleas Court to criminal indictments handed down by a recent session of the grand jury: Darquavious Matthews, 29, of Lima, charged with tampering with evidence and possession of a fentanyl-related compound. Richard McCafferty, 21, of Wapakoneta, charged with strangulation and trespass in a habitation. Joseph Gayden, 61, of Lima, charged with domestic violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jason Cunningham-Durr, 29, of St. Marys, charged with strangulation and domestic violence. Angelique James, 25, of Lima, charged with felonious assault. Austin Owsley, 27, of Lima, charged with two counts of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. Chastity Davis, 25, of Dunkirk, charged with aggravated possession of drugs. Meakare Madlock, 19, of Lima, charged with assault. D'Angelo Smith, 29, of Lima, charged with possession of cocaine. Eyon Berney, 36, of Lima, charged with domestic violence. Sharonica Allen, 35, of Cuyahoga County, charged with kidnapping, aggravated robbery and felonious assault, all with Repeat Violent Offender specifications, and strangulation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gregory Ward, 26, of Lima, charged with improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle. Douglas Vondrell, 33, of Lima, charged with possession of a fentanyl-related compound. Bryan Clapper Jr., 29, of Beaverdam, charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. Alicia Marshall, 33, of Lima, charged with grand theft. Dontae Austin, 34, of Lima, charged with having weapons under disability, carrying a concealed weapon and improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle. Kenneth Velazques-Riveria, 30, of Lima, charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. Two defendants charged failed to appear for their arraignment hearings Friday. They were: Lakin Johns, 33, of Lima, charged with aggravated possession of drugs. Mark Cole, 44, of Lima, charged with possession of cocaine. Featured Local Savings A majority of North Carolina House Democrats crossed the aisle to vote for a GOP-written state budget this week, a surprisingly bipartisan show of support that also sets up a fight within the Republican Party over taxes. As the House took a break after hours of debate, Democratic Leader Robert Reives told reporters that he would support members of his caucus however they were to vote on the bill. And hours later, he voted with Republicans for the budget, as did 26 other members of his party. The most important point that I think youve got to understand about this budget thats going to be a tough decision for everybody sitting in that House chamber is the horrible fiscal condition that were in right now as a state, Reives said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The budget bill written by House Republicans keeps the upcoming reduction in North Carolinas individual income tax rate but requires a sunnier state budget picture before future tax cuts kick in, a move that the Senate opposes and could be the key rift between the House and Senate as they work next to negotiate a final budget to send to the governor. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein visited the Legislative Building and talked with lawmakers on Wednesday before announcing that the House budget has several things in it that he likes. The Houses proposed budget isnt perfect. But I am pleased that the House raises teacher pay to make North Carolinas starting teacher salaries the second-highest in the Southeast and rewards our state employees with a raise. The House budget also makes important investments in public safety, child care, and workforce training, Stein said in an emailed statement. Reives told reporters before the vote that the budget isnt one he would have written or wants to support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But I also understand that weve got a duty to govern, and at some point, the hard decision thats going to have to be made by everybody, whenever it is, is governing, he said. Just ahead of the last round of debate before the vote, Reives and top Republicans left the chamber together, and returned to the floor talking and smiling. Republicans have control of the House but are one vote short of a veto-proof supermajority. Democratic Rep. Terry Brown Jr. praised parts of the Republicans budget during the debate, saying that it listens to Democrats and the people of North Carolina on restoring masters degree pay for teachers and restoring the state income tax holiday. He also criticized the budget for not doing enough for state employees. Brown, who represents Mecklenburg County, called the bill a good start. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House would give higher raises than both the Senates proposal and Steins pitch, with 2.5% across-the-board salary boosts for all state employees in the coming year. The bill also cuts thousands of state employee jobs, most of which are vacant. Of the 3,000 state employee positions to be cut, about 2,000 of them come as part of a demand that state agencies and the UNC System cut 20% of their vacant positions. Money saved from those cuts would go to the agencies to be used at their discretion for higher raises for their employees. The budget would increase starting teacher pay to $48,000 in the coming year and $50,000 the following year, which would make it the highest in the Southeast. The House budget keeps the planned individual income tax rate reduction planned for 2026, cutting it to 3.99% from 4.25%, but would set new levels for the future state tax collections that trigger additional tax cuts. Future triggers are harder to meet than the Senates plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carolina Partnership for Reform, a political group that generally promotes ideas in line with Republican Senate leader Phil Berger, called the House Republicans plan a tax hike in an email Tuesday. Budget documents say that the change increases net General Fund revenue by keeping the projected tax rate at 3.99% in the 2027 tax year, rather than dropping the rate further as would happen under existing triggers. Having no budget deal is a better outcome than this one, Carolina Partnership for Reform wrote in the email to its distribution list. But House Republicans felt differently. Every one of them voted for the budget plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Rules Chair John Bell told The News & Observer on Wednesday that just because we didnt aggressively lower taxes, as their budget did, doesnt mean we raised taxes. He also said that petty shots make negotiations between Republicans in both chambers that much harder. House Republicans shut down several Democratic amendments during hours of debate on Wednesday. One of them would have given the Office of State Human Resources more authority in choosing job cuts. Rep. Donny Lambeth of Forsyth County, one of the top House Republican budget writers, said that the amendment would take away the flexibility offered to state agencies to choose which vacant jobs to cut. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. PAINTSVILLE, Ky. (AP) Janet Lynn Stumbo leaned on her cane and surveyed the two dozen or so voters who had convened in a small Appalachian town to meet with the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party. A former Kentucky Supreme Court justice, the 70-year-old Stumbo said the event was the biggest Democratic gathering I have ever seen in Johnson County, an enclave where Republican Donald Trump got 85% of the presidential vote last November. Paintsville, the county seat, was the latest stop on the state partys Rural Listening Tour, a periodic effort to visit overwhelmingly white, culturally conservative towns of the kind where Democrats once competed and Republicans now dominate nationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats' path back to power may start here, one small meeting at a time, because it will be difficult, if not impossible, for the party to regain U.S. Senate control or win the presidency without competing harder for rural and small-town voters. The party recently lost senators from states with significant rural populations: Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Also, Democratic-led states are losing population to Sun Belt states led by Republicans, with some projections suggesting Democrats would lose 12 seats in the Electoral College in the 2030 census. The gut check is wed stopped having these conversations in white rural America, said Colmon Elridge, the Kentucky Democratic chair. Folks didnt give up on the Democratic Party. We stopped doing the things that we knew we needed to do. Its not that Democrats must carry most white rural precincts outright to win more elections. More realistically, its a matter of consistently chipping away at Republican margins in the way Trump narrowed Democrats usual advantages among Black and Latino men in 2024 and not unlike what Kentuckys Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, did in two statewide victories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nationally, Trump won 60% of small town and rural voters in 2020, according to AP VoteCast data, and 63% in 2024. That's a far cry from a generation ago, when Democrat Bill Clinton won pluralities in Johnson County on his way to capturing Kentucky's electoral votes in the 1992 and 1996 White House races. We have to be intentional about how we build something sustainable, Elridge said. Its not like we havent won here before. Angst over GOP domination and caricature of Democrats For two hours in downtown Paintsville, Elridge listened as Stumbo and others took umbrage at conservatives' policy agenda, expressed frustration over Trumps standing in eastern Kentucky and said they were determined to sell their neighbors an alternative. Many brought their personal experiences to bear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event was part town hall, part catharsis, part pep talk. In some ways, the complaints in Paintsville mirrored how Democrats nationally are angry, often for very different reasons. Sandra Music, a retired teacher who called herself a new Democrat, converted because of Trump. She bemoaned conservatives success in advancing private school tuition voucher programs and said they were threatening a public education system meant to ensure we educate everybody. Music criticized Republicans for making a caricature of Democrats. They want to pull out keywords: abortion, transgender, boys in girls sports and distract from the rest of the Republican agenda, she said. Stumbo, the former justice, lamented what she called the rightward lurch of the state and federal courts. We are going to suffer irreparable damage, she said, if we dont stop these conservative idiots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Halfhill, who works in health care information technology, was incredulous that the billionaire president has taken hold of voters in Appalachia, which is historically one of the countrys poorest regions. Its not left vs. right. Its rich vs. poor, he said, shaking his head at working-class white voters Johnson County is 97.5% white voting against themselves. Ned Pillersdorf, who is married to Stumbo, went after Republicans for their proposed federal tax and spending plans, especially potential cuts to Medicaid. He said Paintsville still has a rural hospital, which is among the largest employers in the region, in no small part because Kentucky is among the GOP-leaning states where a Democratic governor expanded Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Elridge, the first Black chair of a major party in Kentucky, mentioned Trumps attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and related civil rights laws and regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is where Trump and MAGA excel - if somebody who looks like me is your enemy, then you dont care if the guy in the White House is peeing on your leg and telling you its rain, he said, referring to Trump's Make American Great Again movement. Republicans say their Democratic caricature is accurate By definition, a listening tour is not meant to produce concrete action. Elridge and Nicholas Hazelett, the Johnson County Democratic chair who is a college student doubling as a Paintsville City Council member, acknowledged that the small crowd was Democrat-friendly. Despite a few recent converts, no one was there waiting to be convinced. Across the street, antiques shop owner Michelle Hackworth said she did not even know Democrats were holding a meeting. Calling herself a hard-core Republican, she smiled when asked if she had consider attending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They wouldnt convince me of anything, she said. Bill Mike Runyon, a self-described conservative Republican who is Paintsville's mayor and loves Trump, went immediately to social and cultural commentary when asked in an interview to explain Johnson County politics. Democrats, he said, have to get away from the far-left radical - look at the transgender message. Further, Runyon said, Everything got kind of racial. Its not like that here in Paintsville and in Johnson County, but I can see it as a country. Its making people more racist against one another. Asked specifically who he was talking about, he alluded to progressive U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Latina from New York City, and Jasmine Crockett, a Black woman from Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its the ones you always see on TV, the mayor said. Beshear wins plaudits from across the spectrum Beshear seems to be the one Democrat who commands wide respect in and around Paintsville. Democrats hailed the 47-year-old governor for supporting abortion and LGBTQ+ rights while still attracting support beyond Democratic strongholds of Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort. Beshear did not win Johnson County, but got 37% of the vote in his 2023 reelection. He carried several nearby counties. Multiple Republicans, including the mayor, complimented Beshear for his handling of floods and other disasters in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes been here, Runyon said. I absolutely can get to him if I need him. In 2024, Beshear landed on the list of potential vice presidential running mates for Kamala Harris. He also remains Senate Democrats top pick for a 2026 campaign for the seat coming open with Republican Mitch McConnells retirement. Beshear, whose father once lost to McConnell after having won two governor's races, has said he will not run for Senate. But he has stepped up his cable TV interviews and launched his own podcast, fueling speculation that his next campaign will be for the 2028 presidential nomination. Andy is not like those national Democrats, Runyon insisted. Hearkening back to the 1990s, he added, Bill Clinton wasn't like these Democrats today. Hackworth, the shop owner, noted that she voted against the younger Beshear twice. But over the course of an extended interview she, too, commended the governor's disaster management. She also questioned some moves from Trump, including the idea of getting Washington completely out of the disaster aid business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She blamed Trumps predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for a tough time at my store, but acknowledged that federal aid had helped many businesses and households stay afloat through the COVID-19 pandemic. Hackworth said she was not familiar with details of Medicaid expansion, but she identified the nearby hospital as among the areas largest employers. The others, she said, are the public school system and Walmart, which a day earlier had announced it was increasing prices because of Trumps tariffs. While supporting Trumps America First agenda, Hackworth said widespread tariffs would upset many consumers. You can walk through my store and see where the new stuff is made, she said. I try to buy American, but so much of it is China, China, China. Asked again whether any of that should give Democrats an opening in places like Paintsville, she said, Well, theres always an opening if you show up. The Danes have a well-deserved reputation as one of the most liberal nations in Europe. Yet today Denmark is rightly regarded as the toughest country on migration, with a zero tolerance policy towards illegal asylum seekers and equally strict laws on integration. Mette Frederiksen, the Social Democratic Prime Minister, has always taken the view that lax enforcement of the law on immigration penalises the poorest in society most. For me, she declared in 2019 even before taking office, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price of unregulated globalisation, mass immigration and the free movement of labour is paid for by the lower classes. Unlike Sir Keir Starmer, she has never been a human rights lawyer who made a living out of defending foreign criminals in court. Nor has she ever, like him, seen mass migration as the solution to economic problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Frederiksen sees no contradiction between Left-of-centre politics and rigorous some would say draconian policies to protect her countrys borders and its cultural identity. She proves that you do not have to be a Right-wing populist like Giorgia Meloni to enact tough laws on migration. Half a century ago, Danes were in the vanguard of the counterculture. In 1972, Copenhagen was the prime destination for the Longford Committee Investigating Pornography; my mother Marigold, whom Frank Longford called our scribe, drafted its report. Denmark had legalised pornography in public and Lord Porn (as he was dubbed by the tabloids) went to observe the Danish experiment. Few had then grasped the connection between people-trafficking, pornography and prostitution. On migration, too, Denmark was for decades comparatively liberal. Theirs is a proudly tolerant tradition. In 1940, the Danes alone in Europe saved most of their Jewish population from Nazi occupiers by evacuating some 10,000 of them across the Baltic. Today, some 8 per cent of the population come from migrant backgrounds. This is fewer than in some other countries, including the UK. But the scale and the speed of the Danish transformation, especially the influx of refugees from the Syrian civil war in 2015, turned public opinion against mass immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Germany Angela Merkel opened the floodgates to asylum seekers and was subsequently blamed for a wave of violent crime against women. The Danes looked on aghast and resolved to steer a different course. The Social Democrats were kicked out and replaced by a centre-Right coalition. One of the first signs of a new approach from the conservative Danish government in 2016 was the controversial jewellery law, allowing the authorities to confiscate money and valuables from migrants. The rationale is that they should contribute to the cost of giving them asylum, but the deterrent effect has been more significant. Three years later the Social Democrats, now led by a youthful Mette Frederiksen, returned to power on an anti-immigration platform. The Danes may love the cosiness they call hygge, but they remain Vikings at heart. During her six years in office, the Danish Prime Ministers no-nonsense attitude has paid dividends and she was re-elected with an increased majority in 2022. She has combined moderately centre-Left economic policies with a robust social conservatism for example, by banning prostitution. A latter-day Lord Longford would find a very different Danish experiment in operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But it is on migration, crime and integration that Ms Frederiksen stands out among European politicians. Still just 47, she has long supported the repatriation of asylum seekers, for example to Syria, and in 2021 she announced her zero refugee policy. The Danish migration model is the toughest in Europe. Residence permits are seldom granted for more than one or two years. Language and dress are strictly controlled: applicants must promise to learn Danish and pass a test within six months or face expulsion. The ghetto law allows the authorities to forcibly move migrants living in parallel societies and even to demolish social housing in these areas. Convicted criminals are automatically excluded from citizenship. The nightmare of an island of strangers has been lifted by a Prime Minister who does not talk but acts. Faced with the Prince of Denmarks existential question (To be or not to be), his descendants have moved swiftly to uphold their traditional values. When in Copenhagen, do as the Danes do. It is, rather, we British who behave like Hamlet, unable to take decisive action to defend ourselves. 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. DENVER (KDVR) A new tool in the fight against Colorados overdose crisis is being installed outside three Denver Police Department locations. The city is partnering with The Naloxone Project and the Colorado Attorney Generals Office to launch harm reduction vending machines that dispense free naloxone kits. Naloxone is a fast-acting medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. Arrest made in Littleton elder financial fraud case Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first machines will be installed at police headquarters and two additional stations next week. The goal: make the overdose reversal drug accessible in areas where its needed most. About two months ago, we started working with DPD again to further our partnership, said Joshua Jacoves, Program Director of The Naloxone Project. We have that kit at headquarters by Civic Center because we see on Colfax, there are a lot of those overdoses occurring. Each vending machine contains kits with intranasal naloxone and easy-to-follow instructions. The kits are free, no insurance or identification required. Jacoves noted that overdose deaths are continuing to rise across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overdose deaths are happening everywhere across the country and in Colorado, he said. 2024, we saw about a little over 80,000 people pass away from an opioid overdose in the country, and especially in Denver, the last data we saw in 2023 was that we had 600 Denver residents pass away from an overdose. Some critics argue that distributing naloxone might encourage riskier drug use, but Jacoves pushed back on that claim, comparing the criticism to past resistance to public safety tools. Naloxone is very similar to a lot of these other big public safety efforts weve had in the US, he said. Critics said the same thing about seat belts and said seat belts encourage dangerous driving. We are really again covering the city in a blanket of protection, to make sure that people arent going to use a little riskier, because theyre not, but they are going to have the antidote in case something happens. The programs impact is already measurable. At a pilot machine installed in April, more than 1,000 kits have been taken in less than two months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every single time myself, my coordinator, my intern, goes to restock someone comes up to us and tells us a story about how naloxone saved their cousins life, a brothers life, they saw someone reverse an overdose on the street across from where the machine was, Jacoves said. FOX31 visited the pilot site this week, where nearly two-thirds of the machines contents had already been taken. As you can see, this was restocked at 12 on Tuesday, and we are probably two thirds empty already, said a representative during the site visit. Leaders said having police serve as the host sites sends a strong message. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having police here in Denver lead the way with this station effort, I think, shows the commitment of our side and the police side to keeping our city safe, Jacoves said. Jokic makes All-NBA First Team, history upon history Officials in Aurora told FOX31 they are researching whether to implement similar machines. Meanwhile, the Naloxone Project said its always looking for volunteers to help assemble the kits. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. This Memorial Day weekend, 45.1 million Americans are expected to travel, marking a record for the holiday. According to AAA, this surge in travel indicates a strong desire for leisure activities as people kick off the unofficial start to summer. Hot dog production ramps up ahead of Memorial Day weekend, summer season We expect the busiest days to be Friday and Monday, said Jim Garrity, Director of Public Affairs at AAA East Central. People are mixing with commuters, and traffic will pick up as travelers return home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garrity noted that most travelers will be taking road trips, and he advises allowing extra time for travel, especially in cities and on major highways. Gas prices are around $3.29 per gallon, which is 40 to 50 cents cheaper than last year, providing some relief for drivers. John Oliver, President and CEO of VisitErie, highlighted the start of the regions most popular visitor season, with events like the Russian Festival kicking off this weekend. Despite cloudy skies, Oliver remains optimistic about visitor numbers, noting that local hotels expect steady bookings for Friday and Saturday. As Americans hit the roads and skies for Memorial Day, the travel industry is seeing a robust start to the summer season, with lower gas prices and a packed event calendar in regions like Erie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WJET/WFXP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WJET/WFXP staff before being published. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. (NewsNation) Louisiana state authorities have reported another arrest tied to last weeks escape of 10 inmates from a New Orleans jail. Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Friday that inmate Trevon Williams assisted with the May 16 breakout but did not offer specifics. Williams, who was not an escapee, faces 10 counts of principal to simple escape. We will continue our investigation and follow all of the facts to ensure we get accountability, Murrills office said in a social media posting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How the New Orleans inmates escaped Five of the 10 inmates who slipped out of the Orleans Parish Justice Center are still at large and considered dangerous. Federal and local authorities have offered a combined $20,000 reward for the recapture of each fugitive. Investigators have arrested five others in connection with the jailbreak, besides Williams. Maintenance worker Sterling Williams has been accused of turning off water to a cell from which inmates escaped after removing a toilet. Also, four women have been charged with aiding some of the escaped inmates on the outside. The latest of these, Casey Smith, 30, allegedly assisted two of the fugitives, New Orleans police said Friday. Smith was booked for accessory after the fact to simple escape, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. The Department of Homeland Security is denying claims that a woman arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Worcester has been treated poorly in detainment. ICE agents arrested Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, a Brazilian mother of three, on Worcesters Eureka Street on May 8. She is being detained at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Ferreira-De Oliveiras lawyer, Paul Toland, told MassLive on Thursday that ICE agents had injured his clients shoulder during the arrest and she has not been provided pain medication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A statement from a senior DHS member received on Friday, however, disputes Tolands claims. The allegations about Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveiras treatment in detainment are unequivocally false, the statement reads. ICE has provided Ferreira with prompt medical care and services, and she has not filed any grievances or complaints regarding delayed medical care. The statement went on to say that it is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment when someone enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care, the statement reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement provided to Spectrum News 1, the DHS claimed that Ferreira-De Oliveira entered the country illegally in August 2022, which led to ICE custody. Toland told MassLive, however, that the mother of three was paroled and allowed into the country by ICE as she pursued asylum. When someone is paroled into the United States, that means they are allowed to enter and stay in the U.S. temporarily, even if they dont have a visa or formal admission, Toland said. Its not a legal entry in the same way as someone who comes in on a visa or green card, but it still allows a person to be here lawfully for a specific period and purpose. Ferreira-De Oliveira pursued an asylum claim, he said. Once the claim was submitted to the immigration court, the mother was allowed to stay here indefinitely until the asylum application was approved or denied, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In order to become an asylee, an immigration judge would have to hear the merits of the case and make a determination to approve to deny the claim after an individual hearing, Toland said. You can only apply for asylum at a port of entry or while inside the country. Toland said he would not further speak about Ferreira-De Oliveiras asylum claim due to privacy concerns. DHS has also called the mother a violent criminal illegal alien, according to a statement provided to WHDH. She was arrested by local police for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery on a pregnant victim, according to the statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court records obtained by MassLive show that Ferreira-De Oliveira was suspected of using a phone-charging cable to strike a pregnant relative in February. She initially appeared in court on Feb. 3, where she pleaded not guilty and paid $500 cash bail, according to court records. Her last court appearance was a pretrial hearing on March 24. Last Tuesday, Judge Zachary Hillman scheduled Ferreira-De Oliveiras trial date for July 18, according to court filings. May 8: the Eureka Street arrest On the morning of May 8, Eureka Street erupted into screams, chants and yelling as ICE agents apprehended Ferreira-De Oliveira. More than 30 people gathered on Eureka Street, including District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj and disqualified School Committee candidate Ashley Spring. Some of the people confronted the agents, demanding they show a judicial warrant, while other people in the crowd chanted, Dont take the mother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also at the scene of the arrest were two of Ferreira-De Oliveiras daughters, a 17-year-old and a 21-year-old named Augusta Clara Moura. After 11 a.m., Worcester Police Officers arrived on the scene, telling the crowd over loudspeakers that they were participating in an unlawful assembly. The police also made two arrests on Eureka Street that day: Ferreira-De Oliveiras 17-year-old daughter and Spring. Police present at the scene said that they were called to maintain the peace. Body camera footage and 911 calls related to the Eureka Street arrest were released by the city on May 16 after pressure from the public, including a rally during which residents accused Worcester officials of assisting ICE in arresting Ferreira-De Oliveira. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The footage and recording of the 911 calls were posted on the citys YouTube page. The video and audio are taken from body cameras worn by officers Juan Vallejo, Patrick Hanlon and Shauna McGuirk. Officer Hanlons footage shows District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj walking toward the officers and Ferreira-De Oliveira. Haxhiaj grabbed Ferreira-De Oliveiras arm and pleaded with the agents not to take her. Two of the ICE agents then proceeded to fling the councilor off Ferreira-De Oliveira. As the agents moved to a gold Ford SUV, Haxhiaj then reached out for Ferreira-De Oliveira. Hanlon grabs her hands to pull her back and tells her to stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cannot stop! Haxhiaj yelled at the officer. Clara Moura, who was being held back by Spring, reached out to the vehicle and said, No multiple times. Hanlon responded by saying that ICE would offer an explanation. Haxhiaj and Spring yelled that the agents would not explain, with Spring telling Hanlon that ICE does not have a judicial warrant. At around 2 minutes and 25 seconds into the video, an ICE officer says, We do not need a judicial warrant for this arrest. Body camera footage from Hanlon and Officer Juan Vallejo shows Ferreira-De Oliveiras teenage daughter running up to the side of the SUVs front passenger door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police later claimed she tried to kick the door, but it is difficult to confirm this due to the cameras shakiness and the large police presence. Vallejo and other officers surrounded the girl and moved her to the ground on the street. During the arrest, an officer yells, Youre under arrest for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. Police officers saw Spring push and shove other officers trying to arrest the daughter, according to a police report. Officers also observed Ashley directly point at and spray an unknown liquid in a bottle at officers that were on duty attempting to conduct their job, the report read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It turns out, however, that the unknown liquid was water. At the 2:30 mark in the video, Vallejo approaches Spring and points his finger at her, listing charges for another officer: Disorderly, disturbance and she sprayed me in the face with water. As he moveed away from her, the audio catches Spring saying, It was water. Spring was charged on May 9 with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon that being the unknown liquid along with charges of assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct and interfering with police officers. Lt. Sean Murtha of the Worcester Police Department told MassLive on May 17 that he was not aware of the department dropping any of Springs charges despite police saying the liquid was water in the video. The daughter, meanwhile, was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to the Worcester Police Department. After her arrest, she was released from custody and is staying with family friends along with her 21-year-old sister, Clara Moura, Clara Mouras 3-month-old son and her other sister, who is also a minor. In a statement on May 16, Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier announced that the Worcester Police Department is requesting that the court dismiss the case against Ferreira-De Oliveiras daughter. Even though the department wishes to have the case against the daughter dismissed, Saucier noted, It is important to emphasize that assaulting or interfering with law enforcement officers as they carry out their duties is never acceptable. The fallout What happened on Eureka Street has left some Worcester residents outraged over the citys response. During a rally on May 13, many protesters accused the Worcester Police Department of collaborating with ICE. The protest was held outside of City Hall, which was locked that evening. Protesters had planned to attend the city council meeting that was to be held inside the building, but it was announced the day before that it would be moved to a virtual format. During the meeting, Mayor Joseph Petty explained that the switch from an in-person to virtual-only meeting was made due to city officials receiving threats of violence. Those who did attend the virtual meeting lashed out at the council. There are two explanations for this, Marcus Palumbo of Clark University said at the meeting. Either you, the council, have completely lost control over the police department, or you are actively complicit in their actions. On May 16, City Manager Eric D. Batista issued an executive order to establish guidelines for local response and involvement in federal enforcement of immigration laws and operations, including investigations and civil detainments performed by ICE officers, according to a statement from Batistas office. Enforcement of immigration laws is within the jurisdiction of the federal government, not the municipality, and as such, municipal resources shall not be used toward that end, the city statement continued. The municipality and the WPD are committed to promoting safety in the community regardless of immigration status. On May 21, Batista was faced with disruptions from protesters during his State of the City Address, one carried a sign with a doctored image of Batista wearing an ICE vest, and another played audio from the arrest on repeat. Councilor Haxhiaj has received both praise and scorn for her actions on Eureka Street. Councilor-at-Large and Council Vice Chair Khrystian King said she rose to the moment. She acted urgently to defend a fellow mother, a woman in crisis, a young teen girl, and constituents she was elected to serve, King wrote. In doing so, she stood up against a system that has too often trampled due process and constitutional rights especially under the Trump administration. Thats not grandstanding. Thats moral leadership. The New England Police Benevolent Association Local 911 and the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 504, however, released two statements on May 9 and May 10, respectively, both blasting Haxhiaj for physically interfering and physically assaulting Worcester police officers. We stand with our fellow Worcester Police Patrol Officers Union Local 911 and demand an ethics investigation into the egregious actions and behavior of Councilor Haxhiaj, the letter from Local 504 reads. Three city councilors have made statements since the body camera footage was released. The footage released today confirms this: Worcester Police officers did not aid ICE in any detainment, said District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson. Instead, they responded with professionalism, compassion and restraint in a complex and challenging situation. Councilor-at-Large and Public Safety Committee Chair Kathleen Toomey criticized the protesters who confronted the ICE agents, claiming that they crossed a line and did little to help the mothers two daughters at the scene. The videos I saw reinforced for me that had the protesters stayed on the sidewalk and not interfered with federal officers, we would be in a very different space, Toomey said. However, they exacerbated the situation, and instead of focusing their efforts [on] supporting the daughters of the woman apprehended, they crossed the line by obstructing and physically assaulting both ICE and WPD officers, which is unacceptable. Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen, however, wrote an Instagram post on Sunday saying they could not believe the city administration and the Worcester Police Departments recounting of the events on Eureka Street. They also demanded the release of all police incident reports. We will not stop holding WPD accountable, Nguyen wrote. We must abolish ICE. More Worcester Stories Read the original article on MassLive. By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Mahmoud Issa CAIRO/GAZA CITY (Reuters) -Mervat Hijazi and her nine children didn't eat at all on Thursday - save her underweight baby who had a sachet of peanut paste. "I'm so ashamed of myself for not being able to feed my children," Hijazi told Reuters from their tent pitched amid the rubble of Gaza City. "I cry at night when my baby cries and her stomach aches from hunger." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Six-year-old Zaha can't sleep because of Israel's bombardment. "She wakes up terrified, shaking, and then remembers she didn't eat and is hungry. I put her back to sleep, promising her food in the morning. Of course I lie." Hijazi, 38, recounted a terrible week. Sunday, May 18: Her family was given about half a kilo of cooked lentils from a community kitchen run by a charity, half the amount she would normally use for a single meal. Monday: A local aid group was distributing some vegetables in the camp but there wasn't enough to go round and Hijazi's family didn't get any. Her 14-year-old daughter Menna went to the community kitchen and came back with a meagre amount of cooked potato. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone was hungry so they filled up by drinking water. Tuesday: The family received about half a kilo of cooked pasta from the kitchen. One daughter was also given some falafel by an uncle who lived nearby. Wednesday: A good day, relatively. They received a bowl of rice with lentils at the community kitchen. It wasn't nearly enough, but Menna went back and pleaded with them and they eventually gave her two other small dishes. "She is tough and keeps crying at them until they give her." Thursday: the kitchen was closed, the family couldn't find out why. They had nothing to eat except for the peanut sachet for 11-month-old Lama, received from a clinic as a nutritional supplement because baby milk formula has all but disappeared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I don't have enough milk in my breasts to feed her because I hardly eat myself," said Hijazi, whose husband was killed early in the war as he cycled to get food from a charity kitchen. The Hijazis' plight is a snapshot of the misery plaguing the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. A global hunger monitor warned this month half a million people face starvation while famine looms. Israel has been bombarding and besieging Gaza since the territory's ruling group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israeli border communities on October 7, 2023. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 people, according to Israel, while Gazan authorities say the ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 53,000 people. Israeli authorities have repeatedly said there is enough food in Gaza to feed the population and accuse Hamas of stealing aid in order to feed its fighters and to maintain control over the territory, an accusation the group denies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week Israel started allowing some food to enter the territory for the first time since March 2, including flour and baby food but it says a new U.S.-sponsored system run by private contractors will begin operating soon. The plan will involve distribution centres in areas controlled by Israeli troops, a plan the U.N. and aid agencies have attacked, saying it will lead to further displacement of the population and that aid should flow through existing networks. Hijazi said her family had seen no sign yet of the new aid and she is consumed by worry for her baby, Lama, who was 5 kg when weighed last week. That's about half the average for a healthy one-year-old girl according to World Health Organization charts. This week the family have had, at most, a single meal a day to share, the mother added. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said this week that the amount of aid Israel was proposing to allow into Gaza was "a drop in the ocean" of what was needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WE HAVE NO SAY IN THIS WAR The tent shared by Hijazi and her children is large and rectangular with a portrait of their dead husband and father Mohammed hanging on one side above a thin mattress and some mostly empty jars and stacked plastic bowls. The family is from the Sabra district of Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, where Israel's first assault was concentrated. They decided to flee the district on the day Mohammed was killed - November 17, 2023. They went south to the central Gazan area of Deir al-Balah, first staying with family and then moving to an encampment for the displaced. They returned to Gaza City after a ceasefire was agreed in January, but their home had been damaged and they are now living in a camp for the displaced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hunger makes them all listless, Hijazi said, and they often lack enough energy even to clean their tent. When Reuters visited, some of the children lay sprawled silent on the floor. But they still have jobs to do. Menna is often sent to queue at the food kitchen. She arrives more than an hour before it opens, knowing that otherwise she would stand no chance of getting food and often waits another hour before she is served, Hijazi said. On days when a tanker does not bring water to their part of the camp, Mustafa, 15, and Ali, 13, have to walk to a standpipe in another district and lug heavy plastic jerrycans back to the tent - a chore made harder by their hunger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone remembers life before the war and they talk about the meals they used to enjoy. Mohammed Hijazi was a plumber and earned a good wage. "People used to envy us for the variety of food we had," his wife said, recalling breakfasts of eggs, beans, falafel, cheese, yoghurt and bread, and lunches and dinners of meat, rice, chicken and vegetables. Her 16-year-old daughter Malik talked about burgers, chocolate and Coca-Cola. "We are civilians. We have no say in this war. All we want is for the war to end," Hijazi said. "We want to go back to live in homes - real homes. We want to sleep with full stomachs and in peace, not scared of dying while we sleep." (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi and Mahmoud Issa; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Pravin Char) DICKINSON COUNTY, Iowa (KCAU) The Dickinson County Sheriffs Office is asking for the publics help to identify a potential suspect. Authorities think there was a possible case of identity theft and forget in Terril, Iowa, around 3 p.m. Friday. If you see, or know, the person shown in the images provided by law enforcement, then youre being asked to call 712-336-2793. The woman was seen leaving the area in a white SUV with Florida license plates and tinted windows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Diocese of Erie ordained two men into the sacred priesthood Friday night at Saint Peter Cathedral. The two new priests are Reverend Brandon Matthew Feikels, who is a 2017 graduate of Gannon University and Reverend Michael Christopher Scanga, who also graduated from Gannon University. Bishop of Erie, Reverend Lawrence Persicio, said this is the moment they officially become priests. So, its important because they receive the sacrament of ordination and it enables them to work and take care of things as a priest, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bishop Persico said the two new priests will eventually receive their assignments from him. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. (NewsNation) Much like President Trump has said his critics suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, a Harvard University psychology professor suggests the administration may be exhibiting signs of Harvard Derangement Syndrome. Dr. Steven Pinker wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times, published Friday, that says his employer has drawn outsize scorn from Trump, who has leveled several broadsides at Harvard in his second term as he accuses the institution of being a far-left bastion. A federal judge Friday temporarily blocked the Department of Homeland Securitys attempt to bar the university from enrolling international students. The administration also froze billions in grants to Harvard, and Trump has threatened the universitys tax-exempt status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump actions against Harvard over the top: Pat Toomey They seem to be obsessed with Harvard, Pinker, referring to White House, told NewsNations On Balance. We didnt try to get into the administrations sights, but they have taken a bead on Harvard. Pinker noted he himself been a critic of Harvard and says it could have done more to prevent harassment of Jewish students during the Israel-Hamas war protests. But he said Trump ultimately is in the wrong. The president is imposing illegal, unconstitutional demands on Harvard, Pinker said. Hes the one who picked the fight. Harvards just defending itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Elon Musks goons at the Department of Government Efficiency are using his own AI bot, Grok, to analyze potentially sensitive federal government data. A customized version of Grok, developed by Musks xAI company, is actively combing through government data, a person familiar with DOGEs activities told Reuters. Exposing sensitive or confidential data to Grok could violate security and privacy laws, experts in technology and government ethics told Reuters. Moreover, Musk could gain an unfair advantage by training his bot on data that other companies dont have access to. Elon Musk, the worlds richest person, has eased back from his role in the White House in recent weeks, but his AI chatbot is being used in DOGE activities, raising concern that government data could leak to his private companies. / Saul Loeb/Getty Images In the name of President Donald Trumps cost-cutting crusade, DOGE has gained access to highly restricted federal databases containing personal information on millions of Americans, and two DOGE staffersKyle Schutt and 19-year-old Edward Big Balls Coristinehave spearheaded efforts to use AI to find waste and fraud in the federal bureaucracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, warned that by implementing Grok in DOGEs work, government data could leak to Musks private xAI company. Given the scale of data that DOGE has amassed and given the numerous concerns of porting that data into software like Grok, this to me is about as serious a privacy threat as you get, he told Reuters. DOGE also instructed officials at the Department of Homeland Security to use Grok despite it not being approved by the department, two other sources told the outlet. A DHS spokesperson denied that DOGE had pushed employees to use any particular tools or products in a statement to Reuters. If Musk personally advocated for Groks use in government work, it could have violated a conflict-of-interest statute, according to Richard Painter, ethics counsel to former President George W. Bush. Officialsincluding special government employees like Muskare not allowed to take part in decisions that could benefit them financially. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This gives the appearance that DOGE is pressuring agencies to use software to enrich Musk and xAI, and not to the benefit of the American people, Painter told Reuters. Democrats and ethics experts have accused the Trump administration of corruption, pointing to Trump's business dealings and Elon Musk's private contracts with the federal government. / Joe Raedle / Joe Raedle/Getty Images But conflict-of-interest concerns have become routine in an administration led by a president who seems to show little regard for ethical boundariesaccepting gifts like a $400 million jet from Qatar and hosting dinners for his crypto business. Musk, the worlds richest person, has eased back from his role in the White House in recent weeks after DOGE said it had saved the government $150 billion, falling enormously short of the $1 trillion savings he had promised the American people. As part of Schutt and Coristines AI push, DOGE staffers also tried to access DHS employee emails and instructed staff to train AI tools to monitor communications in order to find employees who are disloyal to Trumps political agenda, two sources told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, a supervisor at the Department of Defense reportedly told a group of workers that an algorithmic tool was surveilling some of their computer activity, potentially in violation of civil service laws. Grok, which is integrated with Musks X platform, gained the attention of users last week when it kept ranting about white genocide in South Africa in response to completely unrelated prompts. NEW YORK (AP/WKRN) The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and racial minorities, prosecutors said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old from the republic of Georgia, was arraigned Friday before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence. He pleaded not guilty through an attorney, Samuel Gregory, who requested his client receive a psychiatric evaluation and be placed on suicide watch while in custody. Gregory did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Antioch High School Shooting | Continuing Coverage Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili, who also goes by Commander Butcher, as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to a neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems undesirables. They said the groups violent solicitations promoted through Telegram channels and outlined a manifesto called the Haters Handbook appear to have inspired multiple real life killings, including a deadly shooting at Antioch High School earlier this year. On Jan. 22, the Metro Nashville Police Department said 17-year-old Solomon Henderson opened fire inside Antioch High, killing 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante and injuring another student before taking his own life. Court filings show the attacker claimed he was doing it on behalf of the group MKY, which is another name for the Maniac Murder Cult. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Department of Justice said the Antioch gunman mentioned Commander Butcher by name in the audio recording left before the shooting. Juvenile court records of Antioch school shooter released Since 2022, Chkhikvishvili has traveled on multiple occasions to Brooklyn, where he bragged about beating up an elderly Jewish man and instructed others, primarily through text messages, to commit violent acts on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult, according to court papers. When he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2023, Chkhikvishvili recruited the official to a scheme that involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn, according to the DOJ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He later suggested narrowing the focus to dead Jewish kids, prosecutors said, after noting that Jews are literally everywhere in Brooklyn. Describing his desire to carry out a mass casualty attack, Chkhikvishvili said he saw the United States as big potential because accessibility to firearms, adding that the undercover should consider targeting homeless people because the government wouldnt care even if they die, according to court papers. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com He was arrested last July in Moldova, where he was held prior to this weeks extradition. In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the case was a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dolton police said Friday they are continuing to investigate the recent shooting death of a Chicago man near a village park, while authorities also reported a homicide in Matteson. A Dolton spokeswoman said officers were dispatched to the area of 147th Street and Evers Avenue following reports of a gunshot victim. Upon arrival, two gunshot victims were located, and one was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the spokeswoman. Police said the shooting appears to have been isolated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Cook County medical examiners office reported the deceased shooting victim was 24-year-old Contrail Boone, of the 200 block of East 121st Place, Chicago. He was pronounced dead at 9:43 p.m. May 17 at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, according to the medical examiners office. Boone had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homcide, the office said. The location where the shooting took place is near the Dolton Park Districts Lester Long Fieldhouse, where Village Board meetings are held. In Matteson, the medical examiners office reported the shooting death May 18 of Denard Allison, 37, of the 700 block of Notre Dame Drive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was shot multiple times and it was not clear whether the shooting took place inside or outside his home. A message left with Matteson police seeking additional information was not returned. Allison was pronounced dead at 10:17 p.m. May 18 at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Hospital, and his death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiners office. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, looks on as Donald Trumpshakes hands with Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh. | Credit: UPI / Alamy All the "billion-dollar contracts and bling" of his visit to the Gulf last week shouldn't blind us to the fact that "Donald Trump pulled off a diplomatic coup, perhaps the boldest of his second term", said Pierre Haski in World Crunch (Paris). Surprising even his own Treasury officials, the US president announced in Riyadh that he was lifting all sanctions on Syria paving the way for the country's reintegration into the international community after the toppling of dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The news sent shockwaves through Syria, said Syria TV (Istanbul). Thousands flocked to squares in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere to celebrate "waving flags and chanting slogans, amid a sense of joy and hope for what lies ahead". For a country that has been blighted by 13 years of civil war, at the cost of at least 500,000 lives and widespread economic devastation, it was a "historic moment" "equal to the joy of the regime's fall". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was also a huge coup for Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said Caitlin Allen on Reaction (London). "It's not every day you hear a US president praising a former al-Qa'eda commander for his tough-guy past." But Trump, as we know, is unpredictable, and soon after his extraordinary meeting with the Syrian leader, he was fawning over his "young, attractive" looks, and complimenting his "very strong" rebel background. It's remarkable. This is a man who battled American troops in Iraq and, "until a few months ago, had a $10 million US bounty on his head". But Sharaa has pulled off quite the image transformation since his rebel group helped overthrow Assad, said Tarik Ismail in Daraj (Beirut). He has dropped his nom de guerre, Abu al-Jolani, and has pledged to turn Syria into a free, tolerant state. Moreover, like countless other Middle Eastern leaders, continued Caitlin Allen, Sharaa knows exactly how to woo Trump: he has reportedly "offered American companies exploration rights for Syria's natural resources", and "floated the idea of constructing a 'Trump Tower' in Damascus". Trump has been far too "rash" in embracing this ex-jihadist, said Clemens Wergin in Die Welt (Berlin). "Islamist movements that have come to power have almost always proved disappointing": just look at the autocratic rule of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. Clearly, "sinister elements" remain within Syria's rebel coalition, given the recent massacres of Alawite and Druze minorities. It would have been more prudent to retain enough "leverage" to "pressure the regime to maintain a moderate course". But Trump was powerless to resist the lobbying of his Gulf state hosts, said Simon Tisdall in The Guardian (London). Fact is, he now dances to their tune. While Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar flattered him with fighter-jet escorts and dizzying Boeing deals during his trip last week, they are now effectively "dictating US foreign policy". All three lobbied for sanctions on Syria to be dropped; Trump relies on these petromonarchies "to an unprecedented degree" to keep oil prices low, to maintain their colossal investment in the US and so he duly obliged. As he made the announcement, he gestured to Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, and exclaimed: "Oh, what I do for the crown prince!" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There's one real loser in all of this, said Ben Sales in The Times of Israel (Jerusalem): Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli PM is being increasingly sidelined by Trump. First, the US unexpectedly announced it was negotiating with Iran. Then it agreed a truce with the Houthi terror group in Yemen. Now Netanyahu has "to look on with repressed anger", said De Volkskrant (Amsterdam), as Trump rehabilitates a man he still considers "a jihadist". Netanyahu should have been careful what he wished for, said Shai Golden in Israel Hayom (Tel Aviv). He bound himself too tightly to Trump from the beginning, believing him to be the most "pro-Israel" president in history. But the truth is, Trump always does "what suits him" and now Netanyahu, like a mouse "in a gilded cage", can only watch on powerlessly. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) Douglas County now has a dedicated helicopter at its disposal for any wildfires that break out in 2025. New funding for the contract was approved in January 2025 and guarantees that Douglas County has round-the-clock access to the aerial firefighting tool for at least 168 days through December 31. There are many fires that the media never even hears about because of the ability of this contract, the ability of this equipment and the personnel that we have that can go at a moments notice and fight these fires, Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Weekly, 66% of people living in Douglas County live in the wildland urban fire interface. The inherent risk is what led county commissioners to fund the helicopter and form the only locally-supported helitack team in Colorado. DDPHE contacting people who may have been exposed to measles at DIA These teams can get into where other fire apparatus cant get to, Weekly said. Douglas County is also using a system of cameras equipped with artificial intelligence to alert wildfire teams to smoke, often before a fire is reported. The technology comes from a company called Pano AI. They operate 12 cameras in Douglas County, which are funded by Xcel Energy and CORE Electric Cooperative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cameras constantly scan the horizon over a 10-mile range. If a smoke alert comes in, well load up into the helicopter and well fly to where the alert was, Douglas County emergency services operator Brianna Smith said. We can get anywhere in the county within 15 minutes. Pano AI has more than 80 smoke-detecting cameras along Colorados Front Range and in some mountain communities. They plan to install more than 150 additional cameras over the next several months. Its a huge improvement in public safety and protecting our homes, but more our people here in Douglas County, Highlands Ranch resident Jim Wattenburger said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wattenburger worked in the wildland firefighting industry for 34 years before retiring in 2011. He is advocating for more areas of Colorado to follow in Douglas Countys footsteps when it comes to firefighting technology. I was in command of two staffed fire lookouts, he said. Now theyve replaced the personnel in those lookouts with fire alert cameras to where they pick it up, and have coordinates. Things are so much more advanced that this technology is a real game changer, Wattenburger said. While the helicopter is specific to Douglas County, it will be available to respond to other areas of Colorado if needed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. The Downtown Frederick Partnership has had its accreditation renewed for 2025 by the Main Street America organization for its work promoting business in the citys downtown. The Partnership joins 820 other communities across the country that have met the standards of the national organization, committed to maintaining economic development and community revitalization in towns and cities around the country. Downtown Frederick Partnership Executive Director Kara Norman said in a press release that the designation shows the organizations ongoing efforts to maintain a vibrant and resilient downtown that reflects the cits character, history, and entrepreneurial spirit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be accredited by the national organization, communities have to demonstrate a proven record of exceptional performance in six areas, according to a press release from the Partnership. The criteria are: broad-based community commitment to revitalization inclusive leadership and organizational capacity diversified funding and sustainable program operations strategy-driven programming preservation-based economic development demonstrated impact and results. In 2024, the Partnership facilitated more than 3,146 volunteer hours and supported the opening of 20 new businesses downtown, according to the release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also hosted the Main Street Maryland Conference to discuss best practices in downtown revitalization, the states first such conference. Along with the Partnership, Frederick County has five other Main Street communities in Brunswick, Middletown, Mount Airy, New Market, and Thurmont. GREENWOOD, W.Va. (WBOY) Sukhjinder Singh, the man accused of driving a tractor-trailer that hit Kevin Latailles car on Interstate 68 in Monongalia County during a snowstorm, has been booked into the North Central Regional Jail. Sukhjinder Singh According to the West Virginia Division of Correction and Rehabilitation website, 37-year-old- Singh was booked into the jail at 6 a.m. on Saturday and is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. He is charged with negligent homicide. Man wanted in WV, OH apprehended after FedEx driver locks him in truck Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Singh was first arrested in Fontana, California on March 6 and held in the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. After refusing to waive his extradition, he was served with a Governors Warrant and ordered into the custody of the state of West Virginia for extradition on April 30. Kevin Latailles car and body were recovered from Cheat Lake on Jan. 26. His family has filed a federal lawsuit against Singh. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. May 23COLUMBUS Over 1 million more travelers are expected this Memorial Day than last year, according to a press release from the American Automobile Association. The AAA estimates that a record 45.1 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home during the holiday weekend. Greater travel leads to heightened awareness of safety. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is asking drivers to keep safety a priority after 26 Ohioans were killed in 22 crashes during this time last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Memorial Day is a busy time on Ohio's roads as many Ohioans travel to spend time with family and friends," DeWine said in a press release. "I encourage all drivers to be alert and prioritize safety behind the wheel." Locally, drivers can expect a heavier police presence to maintain safety and a handful of construction projects on Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 30. According to a May 19 press release, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Click It or Ticket effort will be practiced by the Mercer County Sheriff's Office, targeting drivers not wearing seatbelts and or driving recklessly. Construction projects active during Memorial Day weekend include Interstate 75 near Wapakoneta in Auglaize County and two at U.S. 30 in Van Wert County; one over Pike Run approximately two miles west of state Route 115; the other under Sandy Point Road approximately 1.5 miles west of state Route 115. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drivers can find information about work zones, live traffic cameras, current road conditions and traffic alerts at OHGO.com. The Ohio Department of Transportation asks drivers to remain focused behind the wheel. "There will be a lot of people traveling for Memorial Day and it is very important for drivers to focus, be aware and give their full attention to the road and their surroundings," Director Pamela Boratyn said in a press release. "Simple things like buckling up, obeying the speed limit, driving sober, and putting down the distractions can be the difference between a memorable holiday and a tragic one." According to the American Automobile Association, Friday's average gas prices in Ohio averaged $3.091, about 10 cents lower than the national average, and diesel prices averaged around the $3.466 mark. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local county gas prices range from $2.87 to $3.05: Hardin $2.879, Auglaize $2.949, Allen $3.010, Van Wert $3.021 and Putnam $3.056. Ohio has the ninth-most electric vehicle charging stations, 2,221, with an average per kilowatt-hour price of 39.5 cents, about three-and-a-half cents higher than the 36.1-cent national average. Reach Cade Higgins at 567-242-0351 Featured Local Savings Telegram channels have reported that drones have once again attacked the Energiya plant in the city of Yelets in Russia's Lipetsk Oblast. Source: ASTRA and SHOT Telegram channels Details: Telegram channels claimed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been trying to launch a large-scale drone attack on Yelets for the second night in a row. Several drones have been downed over the city industrial zone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local residents reported loud explosions in the sky over the city and that an air-raid warning had been issued. Residents of Yelets also wrote that the Energiya plant, which is an accumulator and battery manufacturer and a supplier to the Russian Defence Ministry, had been attacked again. Background: Reports indicated that drones had attacked a battery factory in Yelets on the night of 22-23 May, causing fires. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) After getting stuck behind a Tillamook County Jail fence, a family of five ducklings were rescued by deputies early Friday morning. According to TCSO, staff and deputies saw the ducklings trapped inside the jails security fence, and the mother nervously waiting outside of it. Chaotic tariff policy: USDA buys $16M of Oregon shrimp to help fishermen The best we can deduce is that they snuck through small gaps in the fence but were not able to figure out how to get themselves back out, they added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After unlocking the gate, four deputies launched a full-scale rescue mission, to reunite the ducklings with their mother. A family of ducklings were rescued by Tillamook County deputies after being stuck behind a jail fence on May 23, 2025. (Tillamook Co. Sheriffs Office) A family of ducklings were rescued by Tillamook County deputies after being stuck behind a jail fence on May 23, 2025. (Tillamook Co. Sheriffs Office) Although social media video from the sheriffs office shows the ducklings appear hesitant to go out the gate at first, they make their way through and after some gentle coaxing from the deputies. According to TCSO, the sheriff has promised that trespassing charges will not be sought against the adorable duck family. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Dunedin woman gets help after being left with holes in home TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Better Call Behnken got results for a Dunedin woman after she ended up with holes in the side of her home. You came through and moved mountains for me and I appreciate it so much, Stevens said. Thank you. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 8 on Your Side Terri Stevens called Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken for help after she said she ran into roadblocks with her home warranty company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stevens said she was left with gaping holes on the outside of her home, left behind by a plumbing company hired by her home warranty company to locate and fix a leak. They drilled through the outside of her home. Pinellas woman ends up with holes in house after leak repair When the warranty company sent two different plumbing companies who were both unsuccessful in finding and repairing the leak, she hired her own plumbing company to fix the leak. However, she said she was left on her own, to repair the holes. Theyre just leaving me stranded with some extreme damage done to my home, Stevens said of her home warranty company last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stevens called Better Call Behnken for help and consumer investigator Shannon Behnken called First American Home Warranty. A spokesperson said they would look into this and hours later, Stevens says the company called her and the next day workers showed up to repair the house. A spokesperson for First American Home Warranty 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 workers did a great job, and shes now ready to paint the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. DUSON, La. (KLFY)- The Duson Police Department was awarded the Louisianas Leadership in Law Enforcement Award for their outstanding service to the community, as well as $40,000 for their outstanding efforts in reducing crime. The award and grant were given to the Duson Police Department by the Community Foundation of Acadiana and the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation. Out of 300 agencies in the state of Louisiana, Duson Police were the only department selected for the prestigious award. The $40,000 will go towards upgrading the departments technology and crime cameras, as well as expanding community outreach programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duson Chief of Police, Kip Judice, said the award means a lot to his officers, as it is a reflection of their dedication to serving and protecting the community. Fourth person arrested, accused of helping Orleans Justice Center escapee Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest I think this is the first time that theyve awarded this, said Judice. This is a new program thats starting, its intention from the foundations is to promote good police work that has occurred in the recent past and to help build those kinds of things. Some of the issues Duson Police were graded on that helped them receive the award include reduced crime, community style policing, alternative juvenile offender programs, and overall excellence in law enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lafayette man accuses Lafayette Police Department of excessive force The work that weve done with juvenile crime, with reducing violent crime in the town of Duson over the course of the last three to four years in the area of about 80 percent, thats a huge accomplishment, said Judice. Judice said while police arent always looked at in a positive light because of their work, he is grateful the community will be able to see what they are doing for them day in and day out. Its always good to be told youre doing the right thing, Judice said. I know that theyre doing very good work, but when it comes from the outside looking in, its rewarding, and we dont always hear the positives, said Judice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A special ceremony honoring the Duson Police Department for these achievements will be held in August. Latest news Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com. LAKE PALESTINE, Texas (KETK) East Texans got together to remember the 2024 tornado that shook the Lake Palestine community on Friday. The people living by the lake gathered together to share their memories of that destructive storm and to raise money for those that survived it. People of Lake Palestine recovering one year after EF-1 Tornado We were very lucky, Lake Palestine storm survivor Theresa Meazell said. But it pulled the wind shield out, a lot of water damage, and we were very lucky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Lake Palestine Resort held the fundraiser on Friday for storm victims in Frankston. It feels great, Fundraiser supporter Luis Solorzano said. I mean, you meet a lot of people and just being out here and supporting people means a lot. In early May, a tornado tore through Frankston, knocking trees onto houses and spreading debris throughout Frankston, much like the storm in 2024 in Lake Palestine. EF1 tornado displaces residents near Lake Palestine, shelters open It took a while to clear all the debris and really assess all the damage, general manager for Lake Palatine Resort, Micah Wolfe said. And weve done our best to rebuild, and weve still got a long way to go. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to staff at Lake Palestine Resort, 10% of kitchen and bar sales will go toward tornado relief for local families in Frankston, showing the power of community in East Texas. But theres still a lot of other folks, too theyre struggling, Wolfe said. So were going to try to help them out a little bit tonight. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) -Business heir Daniel Noboa was sworn in for a full term as Ecuador's president on Saturday, promising to press the South American country's fight against drug gangs and boost sluggish economic growth. Noboa, elected in 2023 to finish out his predecessor's term, won an April vote by an unexpectedly wide margin, despite claims of fraud by his leftist rival. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a ceremony at the National Assembly on Saturday, he was sworn in by the body's president, Niels Olsen Peet. Olsen placed a presidential sash over Noboa's shoulders and they raised their joined hands in a moment of celebration. "The progressive reduction of homicides will be a non-negotiable goal. We will maintain our fight against drug trafficking, seize illegal weapons, ammunition, and explosives, and exercise greater control at the country's ports," Noboa told the assembly about his new term. During his 18 months in office, Noboa declared war on criminal groups, using decrees to deploy the military on the streets, beefing up security at ports and lengthening sentences for drug crimes and terrorism. He also inked a $4 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund, sought to reduce a $4.6 billion fiscal deficit and met with Chinese banks to discuss possible loans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are creating a safe, stable, and competitive environment that fosters growth, protects investments, and guarantees real opportunities," Noboa said. The 37-year-old has said cooperation with the United States, Israel and El Salvador will help the country fight drug trafficking and attract foreign investment. His administration has hired Blackwater founder and private security executive Erik Prince to advise security forces, drawing criticism from the opposition and some rights advocates. Though Noboa has touted a 15% reduction in violent deaths during 2024, the first four months of 2025 saw a 58% spike in the figure, to 3,094, compared to the same period last year, according to government figures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has said the economy is set to grow 4% this year, though the central bank predicts 2.8% growth. Noboa will need to seek financing, analysts say, amid a public debt burden of 51.8% of GDP, high country risk that makes bond issues difficult and a fall in oil production, one of the country's top exports. Noboa's party has control of the legislature and most of its committees. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) QUITO (AP) Ecuadors President Daniel Noboa was officially sworn in on Saturday following his reelection for another four-year term early this year. Noboa, 37, who wore a presidential sash over his chest, was sworn in alongside his Vice President Maria Jose Pinto and their terms will run until May 2029. The young president, who has become known for his fight against a surge of armed group violence in the South American country, pledged in his inauguration speech to continue to tackle corruption, drug trafficking and violent crime. He also swore to implement reforms and said he would lay a solid foundation for job creation and investment" by working with Ecuador's private sector. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are at the doorstep of four years of progress, he said. The ceremony in the capital, Quito, was attended by U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, and many other international guests and delegates. Noboa was first elected as president in November 2023 aged 35, with little political experience. He unexpectedly entered the race and was elected to complete the term of his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, who had dissolved the Assembly and stepped down to avoid impeachment. Noboa was re-elected on April 13 in a run-off against left-wing candidate Luisa Gonzalez, who has made repeated allegations of electoral fraud. Her Citizen Revolution party, lead by former president Rafael Correa, boycotted Saturday's ceremony, even though Gonzalez claims were rejected by Ecuadors electoral authority and both national and international observers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Violence and high unemployment levels remain the biggest challenges facing the president and his National Democratic Action (ADN) party, which also was able to hold the majority in the countrys congress through a number of political alliances. Maintaining that majority will be crucial for Noboa in pushing through his agenda, including a crime-fighting bill marked as urgent for its economic implications. The proposal has already drawn criticism from the opposition. Juan Francisco Camino, a professor at the Equinoctial Technological University, said Noboa's tight majority could easily shift the balance. Just one lost vote from his allies could paralyze his plans," Camino said in an interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked whether Noboa might change his governing approach in this new term, Camino predicted continuity, especially with the governments focus on using state power to fight crime, which he said sells legitimacy. Ecuador is one of the most dangerous countries in the region, with around 8,000 violent deaths by the end of 2024 and crime continuing to rise in 2025. Camino stressed that Noboa must look beyond security and focus on rebuilding Ecuadors social fabric, especially in areas like jobs, healthcare, and education. Others said it was important to focus on root causes of violence, like lack of opportunities which often pushes young people to join criminal groups. Only 33% of Ecuadorians had full-time jobs as of late last year, with the rest working in the informal economy. Nine years after a group of masked thieves broke into her Paris residence and made off with $6 million worth of precious jewels, the French courts have ruled on the defendants who robbed Kim Kardashian in 2016. As revealed by ABC News, three judges and six jurors deliberated on the case, which charged nine men and one woman in connection with the high-profile robbery. Eight of the 10 defendants were subsequently found guilty for their part in the crime, with charges including robbery as part of an organized gang, kidnapping, aggravated theft, and possession of weapons. Kim Kardashian herself testified in Paris for the court case, revealing to the court room she thought she "going to die" when the thieves broke into her hotel suite nearly a decade ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Kardashian's testimony, the 44-year-old media personality was packing her bags for Paris's fashion week when two men dressed as police officers entered into her room at around 3 am. In Kardashian's words, the men proceeded to tie up and gag the socialite, before throwing her into her suite's bathroom. "I absolutely thought that I was going to die," Kardashian said in court on May 13. "I kept telling them that I have babies, and that I needed to go home to my babies." Evaluating the valuables stolen from Kardashian's suite, the thieves managed to whisk away roughly $6 million in various high-priced items, including a $4 million diamond engagement ring gifted by Kardashian's then-husband, Kanye West. The suspected thieves were eventually apprehended by French authorities in January 2017, gaining the nickname the "grandpa robbers" due to the fact that many of them are over 60. Originally, 12 suspects were charged in the case, but one of them since passed away. The remaining person of interest cannot be charged, owing an ongoing medical illness. Eight People Found Guilty in High-Profile Kim Kardashian Robbery Trial first appeared on Parade on May 23, 2025 By Cassandra Garrison CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) -When residents in the state of Durango vote in Mexico's first judicial elections next weekend, Leopoldo Chavez will be on the ballot for federal judge - despite the nearly six years he served in a U.S. prison. Chavez was convicted on drug offenses: for smuggling over 4 kilograms of methamphetamines in 2015. Durango is part of Mexico's Golden Triangle, a cartel-controlled region growing marijuana and opium poppies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I've never sold myself as the perfect candidate," Chavez said in a video he shared on Facebook. He said he had nothing to hide and had served his time. He declined to comment to Reuters. In the nearby Pacific coast state of Jalisco, Francisco Hernandez is running to be a criminal magistrate even though the last time he served as a judge he was dismissed by the Federal Judiciary Council after an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and corruption. He told Reuters the accusations were "slander and defamation." "Let the people judge me," he said. And in Nuevo Leon, Fernando Escamilla is hoping to become a federal criminal judge and says the legal work he did advising lawyers for members of the ultra-violent Los Zetas cartel should not be held against him. His knowledge of extradition law, on which he advised the capos, made him an asset, he told Reuters in an interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Does being an advisor on international or extradition law give you a bad public reputation? I don't think so, since that's the only thing that demonstrates that you have the ability and knowledge to handle these types of situations," Escamilla said. Ahead of the elections on June 1, civil organizations, judge associations and some Mexican lawmakers are raising serious concerns about a vote that critics warn could jeopardize the country's rule of law. The controversial judicial overhaul was proposed by leftist former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and supported by his protege, President Claudia Sheinbaum. Both said it would root out corruption in Mexico's flawed judiciary and allow the people to decide who should be a judge. Around 5,000 candidates are vying for more than 840 federal positions, including all Supreme Court justices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But with the vote just over a week away, Mexican rights group Defensorxs says it has identified about 20 people vying for positions that have criminal indiscretions, corruption allegations against them or past links to cartels, including a defense lawyer who represented drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. An analysis by the Judicial Electoral Observatory (OEJ), made up of non-profit organizations, has also flagged more than 130 candidates with a high probability of winning in the absence of opposing candidates, and criticized problems in the design of complicated ballots that feature hundreds of names and may confuse voters. The reform, passed in September 2024, was criticized by then U.S. ambassador Ken Salazar, who served during the administration of President Joe Biden, as a threat to Mexican democracy. Critics say the reform, one of the most broad-ranging to be attempted in recent years by any country in the Western Hemisphere, risks removing checks and balances on the ruling Morena party and allowing organized crime groups greater influence over the judicial system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reform reduces the number of Supreme Court judges to nine from 11, cuts the length of their terms to 12 years, abolishes a minimum age requirement of 35, and halves necessary legal practice to five years. It also scraps some benefits for judicial workers and creates a five-person disciplinary tribunal, which critics argue is insufficient to oversee a 50,000-member judiciary. Defensorxs president Miguel Meza said that the candidates his organization had flagged revealed grave flaws in the government vetting system, which was meant to verify eligibility criteria including: Mexican citizenship by birth, a bachelor's degree in law, "good reputation," and a record clean of serious crime. Meza said his organization has been making its way through the list of candidates and had identified other problematic names that they had yet to publish. Meza said aspiring judges were apparently not screened for foreign convictions or who they had legally represented. He put much of the problem down to rushing the election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Everything we're seeing is the result of trying to fast-track this reform," Meza said. Sheinbaum's office and Mexico's federal judiciary did not respond to a request for comment on the reform or the vetting. Both the ruling coalition and the electoral authority have tried to distance themselves from questions about eligibility, saying it is too late to do anything before the election. Victorious candidates proven to be ineligible will have to be removed after the vote, election authorities said. A Mexican association of magistrates and judges, JUFED, said the list of controversial candidates confirms its view that the reform is a threat to judicial independence in Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What's happening with the election is dangerous," said JUFED national director Juana Fuentes. "There is a serious risk that criminal interests or groups, or people representing them, could become involved." Most of Mexico's sitting Supreme Court justices announced they would not participate in the elections and instead will resign. Candidates cannot use campaign materials that link them to a political party, participate in events organized by political parties or accept donations of any kind. PROFESSIONAL DUTY Perhaps the candidate who has garnered the most headlines is Silvia Delgado, who represented the notorious El Chapo, former chief of the Sinaloa Cartel, in 2016. She visited him weekly in prison to share updates before he was extradited to the United States and eventually sentenced to life in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, she hopes to become a criminal court judge in Chihuahua. On a recent afternoon in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Delgado braved the sweltering heat to hand out flyers and chat to voters outside a local school. A single mom, who raised four children and put herself through law school, Delgado strikes a charismatic figure, in a black skirt suit and chunky heels. "I'm not corrupt," she said, "they can't burn you for having represented someone." "The best legacy I can give, as a human being and for my children and grandchildren, is to have been a person of integrity, who always defended people." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she considers her work representing El Chapo, which included filing a petition that he be provided a blanket in prison, to be in line with her professional duties. Delgado is upfront about the reason she took on the job. It was, she says, a big step up for her as a lawyer; and one she'd take again. "I was interested because it was a career opportunity... Working on the case of such a famous figure." She said she had not had any contact with El Chapo's lawyers since the case, though she did agree to help his wife, a U.S.-Mexican dual national, take her children to the United States. She kept her harshest words for activist Meza, describing him as "irresponsible" and running a "Robin Hood group" bent on "directly attacking me." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meza said Defensorxs was not interested in "attacking" any candidate, but exposing the risks associated with them. "Our goal is to inform the public about these risks so they can take them into account when exercising their right to vote." "It seems clear to us that this risk exists in Silvia Delgado's case," he added. He did not identify other concerns apart from her legal work for El Chapo. MEDIA WAR Senate leader Gerardo Fernandez Norona, a powerful member of the ruling party, told Reuters the focus on the eligibility of certain candidates was a "racist, classist" media war aimed at discrediting the elections. "It's not important. It's not relevant," Norona said, adding that people found ineligible could be withdrawn after the vote. The INE electoral authority has made it clear that names cannot be removed ahead of the vote. Claudia Zavala, an electoral advisor at INE, said the body should have been included earlier in the vetting process, which was conducted by committee members selected by Congress, the judicial power and the executive branch of government. "It seems that splitting that function around other authorities was not ideal," she said. Now, all that can be done by INE is a post-election review of any formal complaints about candidates in order to prove a person is ineligible to hold office, Zavala said. If a winner does not meet the requirements, the role would go to the second-placed finisher. However, any investigation into a candidate's eligibility must be completed by June 15, Zavala said, when election results are finalized and positions confirmed. "The evidence must be very clear," she said. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; additional reporting by Diego Ore and Diego Delgado; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Claudia Parsons) EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 20-year-old woman has been arrested after a 1-year-old child ate narcotics and ended up in the hospital, according to the El Paso County Sheriffs Office (EPCSO) on Saturday, May 24. Vianney Alyssa Acosta, 20, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and child endangerment. Acosta, the childs aunt, has been booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility with a $6,000 bond, the Sheriffs Office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On May 16, deputies were dispatched to a medical emergency involving a 1-year-old child who showed signs of narcotics exposure in the Montana Vista area, according to the Sheriffs Office. The deputies provided immediate aid and began an investigation on the scene. According to EPCSO, the child was transported to a local hospital for a medical evaluation and treatment. Through an investigation, deputies identified Acosta as the person responsible for the incident, the Sheriffs Office said. EPCSO said deputies determined that Acosta had left illegal narcotics accessible to the child, resulting the child coming into contact with the narcotics and swallowing the drugs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Unit obtained medical records and secured two arrest warrants for Acosta, according to the Sheriffs Office. She was arrested and charged on Wednesday, May 21. EPCSO said a case has also been opened with Child Protective Services. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. ELKHART Elkhart High School seniors looking to study education in college signed letters of intent on Thursday to potentially work at the school system after college. Eighteen students in the morning and 20 students in the afternoon signed letters of intent at the Little Theater in Elkhart High School. It was the second year the school has done the letter of intent signing. I believe that is the greatest gift we can receive at Elkhart is people who want to give back, Elkhart Superintendent Larry Huff said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The teacher shortage issue has to be fixed from the inside, Huff said. The number of students who signed letters of intent doubled from last year, he said. Cali Shook, an Elkhart High School senior who signed a letter of intent, said she felt relieved knowing that she had a potential job after she finishes college. Elkhart is an amazing school system and community, Shook said. I have definitely built so many relationships with my teachers, fellow peers, and people who I have absolutely taught and students I have helped with in the classroom. The need for teachers is huge, said Brandon Eakins, director of the Elkhart Area Career Center. As of Thursday, the Indiana Department of Educations job board listed over 1,900 available teaching positions statewide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former students who become teachers know what a student goes through, Eakins said. When you are raised in a community and you go through the educational system, you know what it looks like here; I think you can help students navigate some of the situations they encounter in that K-12 journey, Eakins said. Eakins said he was woefully unprepared when he stepped into the classroom for the first time 25 years ago. Incoming teachers who have a stable network of teachers they know and can rely on helps a lot, he said. Elkhart Senior Sophia Hernandez-Rojas also signed a letter of intent. She said she is a first generation student coming from a family of immigrants. When she first went to school, she did not have anyone to help her learn English, Hernandez-Rojas said. I just want to be that person for those students that are struggling, just to be there for them and support them no matter whats going on in their life, Hernandez-Rojas said. I just want to be there for them because school is a safe space and everybody should be welcome and will be welcomed. With temperatures warming up in Michigan, residents might be tempted to take a dip in a lake, but there's a chance you could end up itching later. Swimmer's itch is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to microscopic snail parasites that then complete their life cycle in some birds and mammals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People can pick up the parasites if they come in contact with contaminated water by swimming or spending time in a contaminated freshwater or saltwater lake or public pool. Luckily, most swimmer's itch cases don't require medical attention, according to the CDC, and can be treated with corticosteroid creams and cold compresses, among other things. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's what to know about swimmer's itch and how to avoid it in Michigan waters if you're considering a chilly swim this Memorial Day weekend: Is swimmer's itch contagious? Swimmer's itch is not contagious. What causes swimmer's itch? Does E. coli cause it? Swimmer's itch is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to microscopic parasites that infect some birds and mammals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The parasites are released from infected snails into fresh and salt water (such as lakes, ponds, and oceans). While the parasites preferred host is the specific bird or mammal, if the parasite comes into contact with a swimmer, it burrows into the skin causing an allergic reaction and rash. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swimmers itch is found throughout the world and is more frequent during summer months. Swimmer's itch is often incorrectly attributed to E. coli exposure, according to the Clean Lakes Alliance. The cycle of infection for swimmer's itch. What are the symptoms of swimmer's itch? Symptoms of swimmer's itch can include: Tingling, burning or itching of the skin Small reddish pimples Small blisters What can I do about swimmer's itch? Swimmer's itch typically clears up on its own within a week. If the itching is severe, your health care provider may recommend prescription-strength lotions or creams, the Mayo Clinic said. Some home treatments may provide relief until it goes away: Apply an over-the-counter corticosteroid cream or an anti-itch lotion, such as those that contain calamine. Take an oral nonprescription antihistamine (Benadryl) or one with loratadine (Alavert, Claritin, others). Avoiding scratching the rash. Cover affected areas with a clean, damp washcloth. Soak in a bath sprinkled with Epsom salts, baking soda or an oatmeal-based bath product (Aveeno, others). Make a paste of baking soda and water, and then apply it to the affected skin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Is it safe to swim at the beach? How to check E. coli levels in Michigan More: Memorial Day grilling: Our best recipes, tips and advice for 2025 How to check the conditions of your local beach The EGLE map lists information for beaches in Michigan, including water quality sampling results and beach advisories and closures. The website also includes information on combined or sanitary sewer overflows, which lead to partially treated or untreated sewage being released into rivers and streams. Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Swimmer's itch: Causes, treatments for summer annoyance HONOLULU (AP) Environmentalists are challenging in court President Donald Trump's executive order that they say strips core protections from the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument and opens the area to harmful commercial fishing. On the same day of last month's proclamation allowing commercial fishing in the monument, Trump issued an order to boost the U.S. commercial fishing industry by peeling back regulations and opening up harvesting in previously protected areas. The monument was created by President George W. Bush in 2009 and consists of about 500,000 square miles (1.3 million square kilometers) in the central Pacific Ocean. President Barack Obama expanded the monument in 2014. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A week after the April 17 proclamation, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service sent a letter to fishing permit holders giving them a green light to fish commercially within the monument's boundaries, even though a long-standing fishing ban remains on the books, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Honolulu. The first longline fisher started fishing in the monument just three days after that letter, according to Earthjustice, which has been tracking vessel activity within the monument using Global Fishing Watch. The Department of Justice declined to comment Friday. The lawsuit noted that commercial longline fishing, an industrial method involving baited hooks from lines 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) or longer, will snag turtles, marine mammals or seabirds that are attracted to the bait or swim through the curtain of hooks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will not stand by as the Trump administration unleashes highly destructive commercial fishing on some of the planets most pristine, biodiverse marine environments, David Henkin, an Earthjustice attorney, said in a statement. Piling lawlessness on top of lawlessness, the National Marine Fisheries Service chose to carry out President Trumps illegal proclamation by issuing its own illegal directive, with no public input. Designating the area in the Pacific Ocean to the south and west of the Hawaiian islands as a monument provided needed protection to a wide variety of scientific and historical treasures in one of the most spectacular and unique ocean ecosystems on earth, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit added that allowing commercial fishing in the monument expansion harms the cultural, spiritual, religious, subsistence, educational, recreational, and aesthetic interests of a group of Native Hawaiian plaintiffs who are connected genealogically to the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific. Johnston Atoll, the closest island in the monument, is about 717 nautical miles (1,328 kilometers) west-southwest of Hawaii. Erie County Sheriffs Office refutes allegations, says actions taken by staff were in line with policy and procedure BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) An Erie County lawmaker and prison rights groups are weighing in on an alleged use-of-force case that WIVB News 4 shared earlier this week. Erie County Legislator Taisha St. Jean Tard is leading the charge to reestablish an Erie County Correctional Special Advisory Board that she hopes will increase transparency and provide more oversight and accountability. Its an issue that she has been pursuing since entering office in January. When I saw the video, it really made me uncomfortable and sad, St. Jean Tard said. Thats one of the reasons why I decided to have this correctional advisory board. This is one of the main reasons, to oversee incidents like this. So, this is why Im pushing it. Im really going to have this board ready to go in June because I dont want these incidents to continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Erie County Sheriffs Office has refuted the allegations in the lawsuit, saying the actions taken by staff were in line with policy and procedure. News 4 reached out to the Erie County Sheriffs Office Friday, who said the pervasive and intentional introduction of contraband to our correctional settings is a top priority for our staff. If we miss something getting in, the results can be catastrophic. Cash is now suing Erie County and several of the correctional officers involved in the incident from January of last year which, according to the lawsuit, resulted in a broken tooth that required oral surgery. It is just beyond the pale, said Steven Hart, an organizer with the Western New York Halt Solidarity Campaign. It is so unacceptable and so unnecessary, so gratuitous what was done to him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hart feels the officer who pried Cashs mouth open with the flashlight should be disciplined. I do think that firing would be appropriate, Hart said. That we shouldnt tolerate behavior like that within a jail or prison. Thats a sentiment thats shared by Jerome Wright, co-director of the New York State Jails Justice Network, whos been through something similar. He told us how incidents like this can have a ripple effect when it comes time for that person to reenter society. This is what were sending back to the streets, Wright said. Thats not public safety. How are you making the public safe by traumatizing people, brutalizing them and then sending them out? How is that making you safe? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats why Hart believes its imperative that accountability and oversight are a priority moving forward. I think we have to address not just how bad this event was, but what the root cause is, Hart said. Which is the lack of oversight, of transparency, of accountability in our prisons and jails in New York State. Latest Local News Rob Petree is an anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of his work by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. Katarina Mathernova, European Union Ambassador to Ukraine, has commented on the Russian nighttime combined attack on Ukraine, the main target of which was Kyiv. Source: European Pravda; Katarina Mathernova on X (Twitter) Details: Mathernova advised those who "still doubt Russia wants war to continue" to read the news on 24 May. The EU ambassador also noted that the strike on Kyiv had targeted the districts where her colleagues live. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Another horrific missile & drone attack on Ukraine. Main target - Kyiv. Many residential buildings on fire, suffered a lot of damage. 15 people injured," Katarina Mathernova tweeted Background: The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia had launched 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones against Ukraine on the night of 23-24 May. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna reacted to the large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv and said that Russia's continuous aggression has a simple explanation: "It hasnt faced enough pressure to stop." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The European Union is weighing a proposal to disconnect more than 20 Russian banks from SWIFT, the global financial messaging network, as part of its upcoming 18th sanctions package against Moscow, Bloomberg reported on May 24, citing undisclosed sources. The discussions come as the EU agreed on the bloc's 17th package of sanctions against Russia on May 20, primarily targeting the Russian shadow fleet of oil tankers. Though hailed in Brussels as a sign of continued resolve, the package has drawn criticism, including from some EU insiders, who said it was a diluted step that falls short of the urgency required. The new measures under consideration would also include lowering the Group of Seven (G7) oil price cap on Russian crude exports from $60 to around $45 per barrel, banning the Nord Stream gas pipelines, and imposing approximately 2.5 billion euros ($2.84 billion) in new trade restrictions, Bloomberg reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposals are currently being reviewed by the European Commission in consultation with member states. EU sanctions require unanimous approval from all 27 nations, and details of the package could still change before formal adoption. The move aims to further cut Russia's revenue streams and limit its access to Western technologies critical for weapons production. The proposed reduction in the oil price cap, a key feature of the G7's coordinated sanctions effort, would need support from the United States, which has so far held off on additional sanctions under President Donald Trump, despite repeated threats. The New York Times reported on May 20 that Trump has refused to impose additional sanctions on Russia, citing concerns that they could jeopardize future business and trade opportunities with Moscow. Following a two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said sanctions could "make it much worse," though he did not rule them out entirely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germany has already signaled its backing for the ban on the Nord Stream pipelines, with German government spokesperson Stefan Cornelius confirming that the EU is coordinating its actions with the U.S. Nord Stream 1 and 2 are gas pipelines running between Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 2 was never activated, and the pipes shut down after suspected sabotage in 2022. The sanctions would aim to prevent any potential revival of the project amid ongoing calls for peace negotiations. According to Bloomberg, the EU is also preparing to broaden its restrictions on Russias so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers, expand bans on banks aiding the Kremlins war efforts, and target the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The European Commission is also reportedly pushing to include provisions shielding European companies from arbitration claims under bilateral investment treaties affected by the sanctions. The proposed measures come amid renewed international efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. While Trump has called for direct peace talks, Russia continues to reject a U.S.-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal. Read also: German company shipped restricted technology to Russia despite EU sanctions, Politico reports Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The EU is close to restricting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in a new round of sanctions as Russia refuses a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on May 23. "It is a political move, aimed at cementing the EUs plan to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027," Florence Schmit, an energy strategist in London, told Bloomberg. The decision to sanction the non-operational Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will take into account progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia has refused a ceasefire with Ukraine, and peace talks between the two nations in Istanbul on May 16 were largely inconclusive. Moscow has repeatedly signalled their unwillingness to move forward in peace negotiations. Germany supports the newly proposed EU sanctions, which would target the Nord Stream pipelines, spokesperson Stefan Cornelius said on May 19. "Political clarity should also start to quell some volatility in gas markets that was related to the on-and-off discussions about Russian gas supplies," Schmit told Bloomberg. The European Commission will begin discussions with member states as early as May 23, unnamed sources familiar with the matter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement German "Chancellor (Friedrich) Merz is working with U.S. and European partners on new sanctions against Russia... the intention of these sanctions is to achieve agreement from Russia to an unconditional truce," Cornelius told German outlet, Tagesshau. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on March 26 that talks were ongoing between the U.S. and the EU to resume flows of gas in the Nord Stream pipelines. Lavrov on May 21 confirmed that Moscow has no interest in negotiations and agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying, "We don't want this anymore." At the Istanbul peace talks, Moscow reiterated maximalist demands, including that Ukraine accept the loss of Crimea and four eastern regions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the peace talks in Turkey, despite an invitation from President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet him face-to-face. Read also: Ukraine must look beyond the EU for its agricultural future Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The European Commission is threatening action against Hungary if the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban passes a controversial bill restricting non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The introduction of the "transparency in public life" bill would impose strict regulations on foreign-funded NGOs that are seen as a risk to Hungary's sovereignty. The draft, submitted to the parliament in Budapest by Orban's conservative nationalist Fidesz party, represents a serious violation of EU law, according to the Brussels-based commission. It called for the draft to be withdrawn from the legislative process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Should the law be adopted as expected, the body headed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it would not hesitate to take the necessary measures. The commission can initiate so-called infringement proceedings, resulting in heavy fines on member states that do not comply with EU law. NGOs face dissolution Comparable to legislation in place in Russia, the draft law allows for foreign-funded NGOs with the ability to influence public opinion to be blacklisted. Those listed may only receive material support from abroad with the authorization of the country's tax office. If an NGO secures foreign money by other means, it must pay 25 times the amount as a fine to the state - otherwise the organization will be dissolved and banned. NGOs are organizations that campaign independently of governments for human rights, the environment or health, and other aspects of public life. Well-known examples include Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Amnesty International and Greenpeace. The European Commission is threatening action against Hungary if the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban passes a controversial bill restricting non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The introduction of the "transparency in public life" bill would impose strict regulations on foreign-funded NGOs that are seen as a risk to Hungary's sovereignty. The draft, submitted to the parliament in Budapest by Orban's conservative nationalist Fidesz party, represents a serious violation of EU law, according to the Brussels-based commission. It called for the draft to be withdrawn from the legislative process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Should the law be adopted as expected, the body headed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it would not hesitate to take the necessary measures. The commission can initiate so-called infringement proceedings, resulting in heavy fines on member states that do not comply with EU law. NGOs face dissolution Comparable to legislation in place in Russia, the draft law allows for foreign-funded NGOs with the ability to influence public opinion to be blacklisted. Those listed may only receive material support from abroad with the authorization of the country's tax office. If an NGO secures foreign money by other means, it must pay 25 times the amount as a fine to the state - otherwise the organization will be dissolved and banned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NGOs are organizations that campaign independently of governments for human rights, the environment or health, and other aspects of public life. Well-known examples include Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Amnesty International and Greenpeace. Orban, who has repeatedly clashed with the EU during his 15 years as Hungarian leader, is under mounting pressure at home before next April's parliamentary elections. Political newcomer and Fidesz defector Peter Magyar has emerged as a conservative challenger whose new Tisza party has for months dominated opinion polls ahead of Orban's Fidesz. The Council of Europe has rejected calls to rein in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) despite concerns over its influence on asylum and immigration policies. Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe (CoE), which oversees and enforces ECHR rulings, said the court should not be politicised or face political pressure after nine CoE member states challenged its interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Institutions that protect fundamental rights cannot bend to political cycles, he wrote in a statement. If they do, we risk eroding the very stability they were built to ensure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, Italy and Denmark urged other European countries to sign a letter criticising the Strasbourg court for tying national lawmakers hands with migration issues. The letter said the court was making it difficult to make political decisions in our own democracies, according to the EurActiv website, which first obtained a copy. It called for a new and open-minded conversation about how the court interprets the convention. Sir Keir Starmer greets Italys prime minister Giorgia Meloni - Isabel Infantes/Reuters The letter was ultimately signed by nine CoE member states, including Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The court is not an EU body, but part of the larger and older Council of Europe, of which Britain is also a member. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All 27 EU member states belong to the 46-state human rights watchdog and are signatories to the convention. Mr Berset admitted that the issue of migration is a complex challenge and that democracies must always remain open to reflection, but urged caution in how such discussions are approached. Clarity about the role of the institution is essential, he said, noting that all 46 member states had freely signed and ratified the convention. It exists to protect the rights and values they committed to defend, he continued. Upholding the independence and impartiality of the court is our bedrock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court has brought its principles to life, guiding European states through threats to judicial independence, political turmoil, even war. Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to limit judges powers to block migrant deportations using the convention earlier this month. The Prime Minister has held talks on illegal migration with Giorgia Meloni, Italys hard-Right prime minister, and Mette Frederiksen, Denmarks prime minister, since his election last year. But Sir Keir has ruled out leaving the European Court of Human Rights, having previously said doing so would represent a betrayal of Britains role in the drafting of the convention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. Churchill himself was among the chief architects of the Convention, he said, speaking at Blenheim Palace in July 2024. On Saturday, a new paper from Policy Exchange questioned the view that the European Convention on Human Rights is a British legacy, and disputed claims that leaving the Convention would constitute a betrayal of Sir Winston Churchill. The report argues that, while Britain helped draft the convention, its modern form is far removed from the limited safeguard against fascism and communism originally envisioned by the government. The report was backed by Lord Jonathan Sumption, former Supreme Court Justice, and historian Andrew Roberts, Baron Roberts of Belgravia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Invoking the memory of Churchill to support the ECHR, or to oppose UK withdrawal from it, is either base opportunism or basic historical misunderstanding, wrote Lord Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny. The historical record matters and the memory of Churchill should not be weaponised for political advantage, not least in service of a cause that he would have viewed as wholly incompatible with parliamentary democracy and the prerogatives of the nation state. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article reported that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had hit back at criticism that it is overreaching its original remit on asylum and immigration. In fact, the statement was made by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset. We are happy to correct the record. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. New City Council members made it close, but not impossible, for Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss to cast a tie-breaking vote to approve his appointee to the citys Land Use Commission. The commission is currently charged with giving final approval for Envision Evanston 2045, an initiative that would increase density that Biss has strongly supported. Councilmembers Tom Suffredin (6th), Clare Kelly (1st), Parielle Davis (7th) and Matt Rodgers (8th) voted no to Lutheran Grace Church Lead Pastor Luke Harris joining the Land Use Commission. Councilmembers Shawn Iles (3rd), Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th), Bobby Burns (5th) and Juan Geracaris (9th) voted to approve the mayors pick. In Evanston, the mayor is responsible for appointing members to the citys Boards, Commissions and Committees. Those appointees are then voted on by the City Council, and need a simple majority of votes to join a board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before casting their votes, city councilmembers gave their opinion on their vote. I have never had the privilege of being able to be underqualified for a position. Ive never gotten a position over someone else who had higher credentials, and so Ill say that this is a soft spot for me, Davis said. Quite frankly, I find this appointment to some degree insulting, she said, because of Harris lack of experience compared to other applicants to the commission. Previously, Biss allowed former Commissioner George Haliks term to expire in order to create a vacancy on the Land Use Commission. Biss also attempted to appoint to the commission an affordable housing expert who specializes in low income housing tax credits, but the appointee was met with significant pushback following the discovery of her social media posts that critics said were ageist and biased in favor of making Evanston more dense. Iles, the Overnight Shelter Director for Interfaith Action of Evanston, was under fire by some public commenters and Kelly who speculated that because of his employment and Lutheran Grace Churchs ties to Interfaith Action, he could not cast an impartial vote to approve Harris to the Land Use Commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iles checked with Corporation Counsel Alexandra Ruggie to ask whether his vote would meet the citys standard of a conflict of interest. Ruggie said Iles vote would not be considered a conflict of interest under the citys ethics code. Its just not there, Ruggie said. Its just too far removed. Lutheran Grace Church is one of 40 churches that provide funding to Interfaith Action, but a large portion of funding comes from individual donors, Iles said. Iles commented, He (Harris) has direct experience with affordable housing. I find him to be a passionate, informed, thoughtful member of our community. I think he can serve us well both as a younger person and as a renter, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rodgers said prior to the meeting, he met with Harris over coffee to discuss his interest in being on the commission. I was impressed with his commitment to affordable housing in Evanston, and making sure its some place that people can move to and live. However, I do have a number of reservations about his overall qualifications for this position, he continued. Outside of recommending for the comprehensive general plan and the zoning ordinance, affordable housing is a very small part of what Land Use does. I mentioned to the mayor in my letter to him that if Mr. Harris was nominated to (the) Housing and Community Development (Committee), I would be 100% supportive of that. I think thats a great place for them to do the work they are interested in doing and accomplishing great things for Evanston, Rodgers said. Burns commented on the citys form of council-manager government, which some on the council have described as a weak mayor government because the mayor does not vote or make motions, and does not typically give their opinion on agenda items during a council meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The one area where the mayor does have some influence, and obviously what youre seeing here today still needs to be confirmed by this council, is appoint people to BCCs (Boards, Commissions and Committees), Burns said. In my opinion, that is the way a mayor with a limited influence in this form of government can try to think about how to compose a BCC in a way that helps to deliver on the things that he told his constituents in the community were important to him, important to them, etc., he said. I dont think theres anything improper with that. Thats just to me the way that it works when you have that ability as a mayor, Burns said. As council, up here, we have to use our own lens whether or not we feel we agree with that composition. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ripping entire chapters out of the playbook of the Democratic partys far left faction in his bid to become New York Citys next mayor, according to critics and a review of his positions by The Post Cuomo who resigned in 2021 amid a barrage of sexual harassment allegations he vehemently denies began soliciting key powerbrokers to support his political comeback last year but began his leftward tilt as polling for the Democratic primary showed his strongest challenger is extreme left Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani . He knows his past positions are incredibly unpopular with Democratic primary voters, who he is trying to trick and fool, said Bill Neidhardt, a former top aide to ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio who is now part of a political action committee trying to get Mamdani elected mayor. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ripping entire chapters out of the playbook of the Democratic partys far left faction. Facebook/Andrew Cuomo In 2014, Cuomo vehemently rejected avowed Marxist de Blasios push to launch a universal pre-K program in the NYC public schools, telling The Post at the time I dont think there is a rationale for it and that it wouldnt be fair to other cities in the state to tax the rich so only de Blasios constituents benefit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuomo, still the frontrunner in the race to unseat incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, did team up with other top state lawmakers that same year to provide $300 million to expand the citys prekindergarten program. He is now pledging as a mayoral candidate to make the pre-K and 3-K programs created under de Blasio truly universal. He was one of the earliest opponents for universal pre-K, so for him to say hed do anything to expand it is pure chicanery, said Neidhardt. Other lefty policy shifts include: Pushing to add 100 to 200 psychiatric beds to the citys hospital system after reducing the number of psychiatric beds in state hospitals by 28% from 2011 to 2021 as governor. Promising all NYC residents access to affordable health care, despite enacting measures in 2020 aimed at cutting $2.5 billion from the states Medicaid program. Suddenly becoming noncommittal on expanding a cap limiting the number of charter schools statewide to 460 after avidly supporting the idea as governor, all while trying to score an endorsement from the powerful United Federation of Teachers, which opposes expanding the cap. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Declaring just last week during a candidate forum that he supports the powerful UFTs campaign to roll the retirement age of Tier 6 public employees hired after 2012 back to 55 years old, when, as governor, he pushed through major pension reform raising the retirement age for these workers to 63. As governor, Cuomo had a long history of raiding the Metropolitan Transportation Authoritys budget to offset other state spending, including famously cutting a $4.9 million check in 2016 to help bail out three upstate ski resorts suffering financially from warm weather. But two months ago, he released a campaign transportation platform that includes exploring the creation of permanent free bus routes pending a pilot program and expanding half-priced MetroCard access for low-income residents. The transit proposal sounded all too familiar to Mamdani, who successfully lobbied for a free bus pilot program serving all five boroughs that ended last year after state funding ran out. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, said Mamdani in a March Instagram post poking fun at Cuomo. .Just call me next timeweve got so many more ideas I could share! A social media post by Bill Neidhardt asking New Yorkers to support Zohran Mamdanis campaign for mayor. BNeidhardt/X Cuomo as governor worked with his partys far-left faction to pass a series of controversial criminal justice reforms that he still supports including eliminating cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also has a history of catering to the Defund the Police movement. During the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests, he issued an executive order to strip future state funding from the NYPD and other police departments statewide that refuse[d] to commit to a wide-ranging plan for reform. However, no funding from these agencies ever withheld. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio (pictured) battled with Cuomo while pushing to expand universal pre-K in NYC. AP Cuomo also signed legislation in June 2020 sought by anti-police activists to repeal a section of state criminal law that shielded police disciplinary records from public view. And hehas come under heavy fire for calling the Defund the Police movement a legitimate school of thought, though his campaign has repeatedly claimed those remarks were taken out of context and that never supported the movement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuomo also has a history of defunding the New York State Police. During the fiscal year beginning April 2011, he cut the agencys operating budget by $45.8 million or 6% as part of across-the-board cuts in the state spending plan to deal with a $10 billion deficit. But with Adams, a retired NYPD captain, dropping out of the June 24 Democratic primary and opting to seek re-election in November as an independent, Cuomo is also trying to position himself as a law-and-order candidate. In March, he announced that if elected, he plans to increase the size of the NYPDs police force to 39,000 by reducing overtime costs and hiring 5,000 additional officers. Heres how former Gov. Andrew Cuomo shifted left on some key issues since he first considered running for NYC mayor last year. He announced his campaign in March. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design A larger police presence is a deterrent to crime, improves response rates to 911 calls and gives the police the resources they need to solve crimes, Cuomo said at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew Cuomo fled to the Hamptons after destroying this citycatering to the Defund the Police crowd by forcing communities to reimagine policing, slashing psychiatric beds, giving us congestion pricing, gutting pensions for public workers, and unleashing chaos with his reckless bail reform, said presumptive Republican mayoral nominee and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. Cuomo also now opposes the controversial $9 congestion toll to enter parts of Manhattan after being a staunch supporter of the scheme when he called the shots in Albany and is distancing himself from rent reform legislation he signed into law in 2019. Andrew Cuomo changes positions like a snake sheds his skin every month or two, and purely for self-preservation, said Monica Klein, a longtime political strategist for Democratic and Working Families Party candidates now assisting the mayoral campaign of state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn). Cuomo is the frontrunner heading into NYCs Democratic mayoral primary. VIA REUTERS Cuomo spokesman Jason Elan defended the ex-governors record on pre-K, saying he expanded a statewide program prior to de Blasio taking office in 2014 and that as mayor hell make sure pre-K is available in every corner of this great city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuomos cuts to the states psychiatric system were for predominantly unused beds reserved for non-violent, mentally ill people, and any money saved was redirected to fund supportive services for mentally ill New Yorkers, said Elan. Elan also said Mamdanis criticism is rich coming from a silver spoon socialist who voted against his own measure to fund a free bus pilot in the state budget and then failed to get it extended. Theres been a ton of revisionist history and gas-lighting during this race, but these silly attacks arent going to work, he added. Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy, Carl Campanile and Vaughn Golden. Ex-prosecutor Andrew Weissmann on Friday reacted to a federal judge striking down President Donald Trumps executive order targeting law firm Jenner & Block because the order violated the First Amendment. It allows people to connect the dots, said Weissmann, who was previously employed by the law firm and served as a prosecutor on special counsel Robert Muellers team as it investigated the 2016 Trump campaigns ties to Russia. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates a George W. Bush appointee wrote in his ruling that Trumps order makes no bones about why it chose its target, adding that it picked Jenner because of the causes Jenner champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer Jenner once employed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fridays ruling marks the second time in a matter of weeks that a judge has foiled Trumps attempts to retaliate against a major law firm whose work hes not a fan of. Severallaw firms have opted to kiss the presidents ring by striking deals with him in hopes of avoiding similar executive orders targeting them, leading a number of law associatesas well as top partners to abandon ship as a result. Weissmann a legal pundit and a notable critic of the president told MSNBCs Nicolle Wallace that he loves Bates ruling while tying the decision to the administrations battle with Harvard University. A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from barring the universitys enrollment of foreign students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And what is the main ground? First Amendment violation, said Weissmann of the Harvard ruling. And so youre going to see this over and over again. He stressed that its very important for Americans not to see the Trump administrations retaliatory acts as isolated events. This is sort of remarkable, he said. The United States government repeatedly being found to have violated the First Amendment in really significant ways attacking a major firm, a series of major law firms and Harvard University. H/T: Raw Story Related... A CBS executive who was sacked after the network accused him of calling an anchor too gay, has won a pay out of nearly 10 million. Peter Dunn was suspended by CBS in 2021 amid allegations the television executive had made racist, sexist and homophobic remarks at work. However, an appeals panel has found that the former executive was fired before an investigation into his conduct was complete, thereby breaching his terms of termination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The networks actions have destroyed Mr Dunns life and kept him from getting any other jobs as a result, his lawyers said. This was never about Peters conduct it was to appease the woke mob, his lawyer, Larry Hutcher, told The New York Post. It was like the Red Scare, and it was very shortsighted and unfair. It is the latest blow to the network after it was accused of political bias in the lead up to the election. Dunn accused of racist comments Mr Dunn was placed on leave in 2021 after an article in the Los Angeles Times accused him of fostering a hostile work environment. One former employee claimed the executive, who had worked at the network for 20 years, had made racist, sexist, homophobic and discriminatory comments, including calling an anchor too gay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another said he had called a black presenter at a Philadelphia affiliate a jive guy. Before finishing its investigation, CBS fired Mr Dunn, writing in his termination letter that he would continue to be paid as though your termination is without cause, and it could alter the termination terms once the investigation ended, according to court filings. But when the investigation was finalised four months later, the network changed his termination to for cause denoting serious misconduct that justifies dismissal thereby stripping him of millions in payouts owed in equity and back pay. The proper and prudent response would have been to suspend him, continue to pay him, wait for the investigation to be completed, and then fire him, Mr Dunns lawyer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the case moved to arbitration last year, a panel of retired judges ruled that CBS had to determine at the time of Mr Dunns sacking if it was for cause or without cause. The employment contract did not allow for a new and nebulous third option a judge wrote last year. CBS strongly disagrees with appeal win After CBS appealed the decision, a second arbitration board ruled in Mr Dunns favour last week, ordering the network to pay him $7 million plus interest, equating to a total of $9.78 million. This case was always about Peter Dunn trying to restore his otherwise impeccable reputation that he spent over 20 years at CBS developing, Mr Hutcher said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are grateful that the original arbitrator and that the appeals panel agreed with Mr Dunn that he had been wrongfully terminated, and that we look forward to the award being confirmed in [court] so that we can enforce this judgment. A CBS spokesman told The Post that a procedural issue led to the arbitration ruling in his favour, and that it strongly disagrees with the decision. Four years ago, we removed Peter Dunn as head of the CBS Television Stations for reasons that have been well documented and reported publicly, the spokesman said. This decision was not based on the substance of the allegations against Mr Dunn. CBS has been rocked by a series of resignations in recent months after Donald Trump sued the news outlet amid claims it doctored an interview with Kamala Harris to make her appear more coherent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wendy McMahon, the CBS president, resigned this week, following hot on the heels of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, who left amid claims of encroachment on journalistic independence. The departures have fuelled speculation that the networks corporate parent will soon settle its lawsuit with Mr Trump. 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. Drivers should expect heavy traffic in downtown Boca Raton Saturday evening as the band Weezer arrives in South Florida for their Centennial concert. If youre attending the concert or want to avoid the traffic altogether, heres what to know: The concert is set for 7:30 p.m. and will take place at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. The brunt of the traffic will be in the vicinity, according to city officials. If you are not attending the concert, you might want to avoid the area, the city said in a press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plaza Real will be closed to all vehicular traffic. Free parking for the concert will be available at the following locations: City Hall, 201 W. Palmetto Park Road Boca Raton Community Center, 150 Crawford Boulevard Boca Raton Police Station, 100 NW 2nd Avenue Building Administration, 200 NW 2nd Avenue Downtown Public Library, 400 NW 2nd Avenue Library Overflow Parking, 300 NW 2nd Avenue Boca Raton Historical Society, 71 N Federal Highway The Renaissance Center Garage, 101 N Federal Highway And limited parking at Mizner Park garages Beginning at 4 p.m. until midnight, the BocaConnect shuttle will stop offering routine service and instead begin shuttling passengers from parking areas to the south end of Mizner Park. The shuttles will be marked BocaConnect and Limousines of South Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The four routes are: Route 1, City Hall Campus to south end of Mizner Park Route 2, Downtown Library Campus to south end of Mizner Park Route 3, Royal Palm Place to south end of Mizner Park Route 4, South Beach Pavilion to south end of Mizner Park Maps and other information can be found on the citys press release. After more than 100 years, we have the first actual image of the wreck of a sunken U.S. Navy submarine from World War I. A recent expedition to survey it and other lost military hardware has captured video and photographs of the USS F-1. This week the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Naval History and Heritage Command shared the results from a deep-sea dive conducted in February and March of this year. The ship the Atlantis carried a team of researchers, including trainees, to the waters off of San Diego, where they examined the wreck of the USS F-1 submarine and a Grumman TBM Avenger. Until this year there were only limited sonar readings showing the location of the lost submarine. The USS F-1 was originally discovered in 1975 while crews were searching for the wreck of an aircraft that crashed in the waters off of La Jolla. That discovery was conducted via sonar, with teams finding that the sub was completely intact and it even spotted two periscopes. No plans were made to raise or salvage the submarine then. This expedition earlier this year was the first time archaeologists visited the wreck and the first time the USS F-1 was heavily photographed and filmed, giving the most detailed look at it yet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The team on the Atlantis conducted three dives, two at a sunken aircraft and one at the USS F-1. First they used an autonomous underwater vehicle to pinpoint the wrecks using multi-beam sonar, then a drone to examine it. Finally team members used a submersible to dive to the wreck where they took photos and video of the wreckage. The wreck is located roughly 400 meters below the surface. The USS F-1, originally laid down in 1909 as the USS Carp, entered service in 1912, and served as part of First Submarine Group, Pacific Torpedo Flotilla. The submarine had a mixed service; at one point it held the world record for the deepest dive at 86 meters, but it also ran aground shortly after it was commissioned. This was at a time where submarine warfare was becoming strategically important but submarines themselves were still dealing with several challenges. Many submarines could only dive for short periods of time and means of communication and sight were particularly hampered. The vessels themselves were much more cramped than submarines today the F-1 was only 143-feet long. The crew of the USS F-1 during its service. U.S. Navy photo. On Dec. 17, 1917, the USS F-1 was carrying out a maneuver exercise with other submarines near San Diego when it and another submarine, the USS F-3, collided. The F-3 suffered some damage, but the F-1s engine room and port side were breached, flooding the submarine. According to survivors, the submarine sank in seconds, taking on water quickly. 19 sailors of the USS F-1s 24-person crew died. Operating at sea has always been inherently dangerous, and even more so for early submarines. In this case, night, fog, speed, and radio miscommunications contributed to the loss of 19 men, who demonstrated great courage just by volunteering for submarine duty in those days, Naval History and Heritage Command Director Sam J. Cox, U.S. Navy rear admiral (retired), said in a Navy release on the expeditions findings. The latest on Task & Purpose Claim: Canadians entering the U.S. by car will face mandatory facial-recognition scans. Rating: Rating: False In May 2025, claims (archived) circulated online that Canadians entering the U.S. by car would face mandatory facial-recognition scans. A Facebook post on the topic read: Canadians entering the U.S. by car will now undergo mandatory facial recognition checks, as part of expanded border security measures. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the rollout includes photographing travelers and comparing images to passport or visa records in real time. The move, already in place at airports, is now being implemented at land crossings to streamline identity verification and detect fraud. Privacy advocates warn the technology raises serious concerns about data use and oversight. The claim was popular on Facebook (archived), but also appeared on (archived) Reddit (archived). Snopes readers also searched our site for information about the claim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, at the time of this writing, we found no credible reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was introducing new regulations to make facial-recognition scans mandatory for Canadian citizens (archived, archived, archived, archived). A CBP spokesperson told Snopes via email that "biometric data collection is not a new process." The spokesperson also confirmed that "Canadian and Bermudian citizens traveling as tourists on only a passport" were not required to comply with biometric testing, which can include facial scans, on entry and exit. Therefore, we rate this claim false. We reached out to Global Affairs Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency to ask whether regulations around facial-recognition scans for Canadians entering the U.S. were due to become mandatory and await a reply. Claim follows reports on CBP biometric plans The claim could be loosely based on a report by the technology-focused outlet Wired published on May 9, 2025. The report detailed CBP plans to expand existing efforts to use facial-recognition technology on travelers entering the U.S. by car to those exiting, as well. Other (archived) reports (archived) published later in May, nearer to when the claim circulated, also based their reporting on the Wired report. That report, however, did not say that specifically Canadian travelers would be subjected to mandatory facial-recognition scans when entering the U.S. The claim took Wired reporting a step further by claiming that facial-recognition scans at the border were something new and would be mandatory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Biometric facial-comparison technology where cameras take a photo of a person's face as part of identity checks was "in testing" for travelers crossing into the U.S. in "personally owned vehicles" in May 2025, according to CBP's website. Peace Bridge in Buffalo, New York, and Veterans-Los Tomates in Brownsville, Texas, were the only two locations listed on CBP's website that used facial biometric comparison technology on travelers in vehicles in May 2025. CBP said in September 2023 (Page 21) and in November 2024 that people traveling through Veterans-Los Tomates and Peace Bridge border crossings respectively could opt out of biometric testing if they wished during the test period. CBP used facial biometric comparison technology to admit pedestrians at land border crossings in seven states in May 2025. The agency currently allows U.S. citizens to opt out of "facial photo capture" at border points that use this biometric data to process travelers. Current biometric technology at US border The Intercept, a nonprofit investigative news organization, reported in August 2024 that CBP asked private-sector businesses to help it develop facial-recognition technology to identify and screen passengers inside a moving vehicle before it approached a border point. CBP said in November 2024 it was testing a similar system to that described in The Intercept's report at the Peace Bridge point of entry on the U.S.-Canada border in New York. According to a news release, travelers could opt in to use designated "biometric" lanes when entering the U.S. at this crossing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CBP said: "As travelers approach the vehicle lanes, the camera will attempt to take a photo of each occupant in the vehicle and match it to photos of those travelers already in government holdings, such as passport, visa, or prior encounters, to verify identity." Travelers who wished to opt out could use alternative lanes where staff would continue to carry out the "standard manual document check," CBP said. According to CBP's website, though it initially said this test would run until March 2025, vehicle biometric technology was still in use at the Peace Bridge entry point in May 2025. We found no evidence that using the designated biometric lanes at Peace Bridge was mandatory for Canadian citizens in May 2025. However, a September 2023 Department of Homeland Security report (Page 11) on biometric technology at Brownsville points of entry said that once the system was "fully realized" only U.S. citizens and other "non-in scope travelers" could opt out. Some Canadian citizens could be included in "non-in scope travelers" as defined by Immigration and Nationality Act and thus still be able to opt out, the report said. This is in line with the CBP spokesperson's confirmation that Canadian citizens "traveling as tourists on only a passport" were exempt from biometric requirements at the U.S. border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DHS, which is CBP's parent agency, has been working toward a biometric entry-exit system to the U.S. since at least 2004, when it featured as one of the 9/11 Commission Report's (Page 389) recommendations. Sources: 8 USC 1101: Definitions. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1101&num=0&edition=prelim#:~:text=(B)%20an%20alien%20(other,or%20temporarily%20for%20pleasure%3B. Accessed 23 May 2025. Biddle, Sam. "Homeland Security Still Dreams of Face Recognition at the Border." The Intercept, 27 Aug. 2004, https://archive.ph/N8wNq#selection-559.9-562.0. Biometrics Locations: Land Border Ports of Entry | U.S. Customs and Border Protection. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics/locations/land-border-ports-of-entry. Accessed 23 May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Biometrics: Overview | U.S. Customs and Border Protection. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics/overview. Accessed 23 May 2025. CBP Announces Facial Biometric Test for Inbound Vehicle Travelers at Buffalo, Peace Bridge Port of Entry | U.S. Customs and Border Protection. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-announces-facial-biometric-test-inbound-vehicle-travelers-buffalo. Accessed 23 May 2025. Department of Homeland Security. Privacy Impact Assessment Update for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Modernization. 26 Sept. 2023, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/23_0926_privacy-p%E2%81%AEia-cbp003c-acemodernizations.pdf. Haskins, Caroline. "US Border Agents Are Asking for Help Taking Photos of Everyone Entering the Country by Car." WIRED, 6 May 2025, https://archive.ph/4I1GM#selection-455.0-460.0. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ---. "US Customs and Border Protection Plans to Photograph Everyone Exiting the US by Car." WIRED, 9 May 2025, https://archive.ph/ngDNh#selection-455.0-460.0. Mandatory Facial Recognition Scans Us Canada - Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=237638b250c80c54&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB1138GB1138&q=mandatory+facial+recognition+scans+us+canada&tbm=nws&source=lnms&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZ1Y6MJ25_tmWITc7uy4KIeqDdErwP5rACeJAty2zADJgYJpo1blvMpITBRgbnARM69TTwvvH-eOrrmkPmiC48hn9CUNQ4JZ2TOsEIOgvK2IAoHx7UEPHuZIoFgWSLI2a7JIZGhsNxVC82t_bFSO_jgnxghhv_sRbByYHItWk1DKcZ748DqiWjIj8fkNmRrqxb9uyPYA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiThKXTqLqNAxVChv0HHceKJMsQ0pQJegQIExAB&biw=1920&bih=849&dpr=2. Accessed 23 May 2025. Mandatory Facial Recognition Scans Us Canada - Search News. https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=mandatory+facial+recognition+scans+us+canada&FORM=HDRSC7. Accessed 23 May 2025. Mandatory Facial Recognition Scans Us Canada - Yahoo Search Results. https://uk.news.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrLBm9fyzBoEwIAh.ZLBQx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNpcjIEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=mandatory+facial+recognition+scans+us+canada&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t. Accessed 23 May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mandatory Facial Recognition Scans Us Canada at DuckDuckGo. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mandatory+facial+recognition+scans+us+canada&t=h_&iar=news. Accessed 23 May 2025. Silvestre, Irish Mae. "U.S. Border Agents Will Force Canadians to Undergo Facial Recognition Checks." blogTO, https://dailyhive.com/canada/us-border-cbp-facial-biometrics. Accessed 23 May 2025. ---. "U.S. Border Control's Facial Biometrics Plans Will Affect Canadians | National." Daily Hive, https://dailyhive.com/canada/us-border-cbp-facial-biometrics. Accessed 23 May 2025. The 9/11 Commission. 12. What To Do? A Global Strategy. 22 July 2004, https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch12.pdf. CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) On this Memorial Day weekend, those in the Midstate are stopping to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. An event at Rolling Green Cemetery in Camp Hill, the Friday of Memorial Day, sets the weekend off on the right tone. As Abraham Lincoln said, not too far from here, as he is consecrating the battlefield at Gettysburg to honor the men who gave the last full measure of devotion. Thats what Memorial Day is about. The keynote speaker here at this event in Rolling Green was the new head of the National Guard Major General John Pippy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now WHTM Daily Digest As you mentioned today, is all about honoring and remembering those who have fallen, Pippy said. So we spend these next, to the entire weekend, out there, not only supporting their legacy, but also supporting the Gold Star families and the loved ones they left behind. We believe that it is our solemn obligation. Pennsylvania is home to many veterans, and Pippys main concern for them is that he wants all of them to know about the benefits the have. Well, the biggest thing is there are a lot of benefits to our veterans of our age, Pippy said. We have 700,000 here in Pennsylvania. So we make sure that whether you live in rural Pennsylvania or in the inner cities, that, you know, the programs and our teams are working out, working to get those programs out to you. So we want to make sure the benefits of the veterans get all the benefits they deserve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blue Angels visit Penn State Health Childrens Hospital This cemetery with all of these flags, which are beautiful, are at all the veterans graves. This is one of the largest cemeteries with interred veterans in all of south-central Pennsylvania. It is open all weekend. Come on out, check it out, and at least take a minute to remember exactly what this weekend is all about. abc27s Dennis Owens emceed the event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. Robert Raymond Cook was accused of murdering his father, his stepmother, and his five young half-siblings in 1959 Cook continued to claim innocence throughout his trial, including writing a poem about being framed for his family's murders He was ultimately executed, but locals in Alberta, Canada, still debate Cook's guilty verdict decades later It was one of the worst murder cases in the history of Canada and one that still draws debate in Alberta today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robert Raymond Cook was executed roughly 65 years ago after being found guilty of killing his father Raymond Cook while being suspected of murdering his stepmother Daisy Cook, and bludgeoning his five young half-siblings between the ages of 3 and 9 to death in their sleep. The 23-year-old convicted murderer was the primary police suspect in all the killings, though he was only tried for his fathers murder in an effort to expedite the trial, according to the Red Deer Advocate. Cook defended himself until his final days, even penning a dramatic poem proclaiming his innocence, as the Ponoka News recalled in its report on what is considered the most notorious murder in Alberta's history. But despite his pleas, Cook was executed on Nov. 15, 1960, becoming the last man ever to be hanged in Alberta. PEOPLE is looking back at what led to his execution. An Arrest Leads to a Gruesome Discovery RCMP via Legal Archives Society of Alberta (LASA) Robert Raymond Cook Robert Raymond Cook Cook was frequently in-and-out of jail throughout his life, according to his defense attorney David MacNaughton, who told the Ponoka News that his client was only out of jail 243 days between the ages of 14 and 22 because he was consistently being arrested for petty crimes like theft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The newspaper reports that Cooks family was murdered just days after he was released from serving a two-year prison sentence. After his release, Cook was arrested again when he tried to trade in his father Raymonds car and was accused of falsifying documents. The newspaper reported that in the trunk of the vehicle, police found family documents including the family members birth certificates, his fathers marriage certificate, his siblings report cards and a photo album with pictures of Cooks mother, among other family possessions. Police decided to visit Cooks father to ask him directly about his sons attempt to trade his car in but when they got to the house, officers noticed blood throughout the residence and couldnt immediately locate the family. Raymond, 53, stepmother Daisy Mae, 37, and Cooks five half-siblings, Gerald, 9, Patrick, 8, Christopher, 7, Kathy, 5, and Linda Mae, 3, were soon found dead in a mechanic's grease pit beneath the family garage, according to the Ponoka News. The Cook Family Murders Legal Archives Society of Alberta (LASA) A stained white shirt and a shotgun found at the Cook's home A stained white shirt and a shotgun found at the Cook's home The Ponoka News reported that Cook was soon charged with murdering his seven family members: Raymond and his wife Daisy were found slain by shotgun blasts, while the children were found dead from being bludgeoned by the butt of the weapon. Blood was found in the family members beds, leading investigators to believe the Cooks had been killed while they slept. Cook was sent to Ponoka Hospital for a 30-day psychiatric assessment after being charged with the murders, but he wasnt there long. Historical documents from Cooks trial show that he escaped the hospital just days into his stay, launching one of the largest manhunts in the history of Alberta. Cooks escape caused wide-spread alarm and terror among residents in the area, an arrest affidavit from 1960 reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cook was taken back into custody after a dramatic several days, which included two car chases and worried headlines across the country, according to the Red Deer Advocate. A Sons Trial and Execution Legal Archives Society of Alberta (LASA) Cook family home Cook family home Cook maintained his innocence throughout the trial, even testifying that he was breaking into an Edmonton dry cleaning business the night his family was murdered in their home, according to the Advocate. But he was found guilty on circumstantial evidence, according to the newspaper. Despite winning an appeal shortly after, Cook was found guilty a second time and sentenced to death for his fathers murder. His 1960 execution was the last hanging in Alberta history, according to Canadian legal archives. Cook was never convicted for the six other murder charges he faced for the deaths of his stepmother Daisy and her five young children. In the decades since, Cooks guilt has continued to be debated among locals, according to the Ponoka News, whose 2019 piece about the mass murder includes locals dueling perspectives on the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the day before his hanging, the convicted murderer wrote a poem in which he blamed an unnamed suspect. I sit here in my death cell, I know not why / For the evidence proved me innocent, and that is no lie, Cooks poem begins, according to a copy kept in the Canadian legal archives. So I ask you is it strange that I am sentenced to the noose / While my family's killer is on the loose, Cook repeats throughout. Many locals still believe Cook was truly innocent and wonder whether his familys real killer had gotten away by framing the familys eldest son, according to the Ponoka News. He may well have done it but there was doubt, MacNaughton, Cooks defense attorney, told the outlet decades later, admitting, Im probably a fence sitter. Read the original article on People BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) The family of a Snead city councilman who died in a boating crash during a fishing tournament on Smith Lake last month is suing Major League Fishing, as well as the man who drove the boat he was on, citing negligence in keeping him safe. Joey Malone Broom was one of three men John K. Clark and Jeffrey C. Little being the other two who died when a boat driven by Flint Davis of Leesburg, Georgia crashed into the boat they were on April 16, killing them and injuring two others, including the driver, Gary Holcombe, and passenger Luke Morgan. The crash happened during a fishing tournament being held by Major League Fishing on Smith Lake. Attorneys on behalf of Brooms son, Dylan, filed the lawsuit Friday against MLF and Holcombe, the latter of whom he claimed was unreasonable in the way he operated the boat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Defendant breached his duty by operating or allowing the operation of a vessel in a negligent and/or wanton manner, including but not limited to, unsafe speeds, failure to maintain proper lookout, or creating navigational hazards that contributed to the fatal collision, and the negligence and/or wanton misconduct combined and concurred with the negligence and/or wanton misconduct of other defendants to cause the death of Joey Malone Broom, the lawsuit stated. These acts and omissions demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety of others and constitute wanton conduct under Alabama law. Regarding MLF, Brooms attorneys claimed MLF should have done its due diligence in ensuring that people like Davis had the proper training to take part in the fishing tournament. MLF breached that duty by allowing Davis to participate in its event without adequately screening his boating competency, experience, or disciplinary history, and by failing to train or instruct him on safety protocols and tournament navigation procedure, the complaint read. MLF further failed to supervise Davis during the course of the tournament in a manner reasonably calculated to prevent harm to others. Brooms family is suing on counts of negligence, vicarious liability, wanton misconduct and wrongful death. They are also suing for unspecified punitive damages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The families of Holcombe and Morgan are planning to file their own separate lawsuits in the case. Read the full lawsuit here: Joey-Dylan-Broom-Lawsuit-Smith-LakeDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CULLMAN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) The family of one of the men killed in a deadly Smith Lake boating incident in April is suing the bass boat driver, Major League Fishing and the driver of the striper service boat. On Friday, the family of Joey Broom filed a lawsuit against Major League Fishing, LLC, Flint Davis and Gary Holcombe. Davis is the angler whose boat was involved in the deadly boating incident and Holcombe was operating the Smith Lake Striper Guide Service boat that was also involved. The lawsuit additionally names 13 fictitious defendants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On April 16, Broom was one of three killed in a deadly boating incident on Smith Lake during a Major League Fishing tournament. WHNTs sister station WIAT, said officials with Cullman County EMA said the crash happened around 7:07 a.m. in the area of Burrs Island outside of Miller Bottom and involved multiple boats. Major League Fishing confirmed that a serious boating accident happened on the lake during the second day of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational. The incident involved one of the competing anglers, Davis of Leesburg, Georgia. ALEA said Davis was the operator of the Nitro Bass Boat that hit the Center Console boat, driven by Holcombe. As a result, 44-year-old John K. Clark, of Cullman, and 62-year-old Jeffrey C. Little, of Brandon, Mississippi, were thrown overboard from the Center Console and drowned. Their bodies were recovered near the Miller Flats area of Smith Lake. Luke H. Morgan & Holcombe were injured in the incident and were both taken to UAB Hospital for treatment. ALEA said the two-boat crash also killed 58-year-old Broom, saying he was hit by the bass boat itself and was pronounced dead on the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davis was the only one onboard the Nitro Bass Boat during the crash, while Holcombe, Morgan, Broom, Clark and Little were all on the Center Console. In the lawsuit, the family of Broom says MLF had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation and management of its tournament to prevent harm to third parties, including nonparticipating fishermen on Lewis Smith Lake. Because of this competition that operated in the foggy conditions on April 16, the lawsuit says MLF created a foreseeable risk of serious injury or death. It also says the company failed to implement basic safety measures, including speed limits, launch delays or traffic separation protocols. The lawsuit lists 7 counts against the defendants: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Count 1- Negligence and Wanton (deliberate and unprovoked) Conduct against Flint Davis Count 2- Negligent Event Management against MLF Count 3- Vicarious Liability against MLF Count 4- Joint Venture against MLF Count 5- Negligent Hiring, Training and Supervision against MLF Count 6- Negligence and Wanton (deliberate and unprovoked) Misconduct against Gary Holcombe Count 7- Wrongful Death against all defendants Count 1- Negligence and Wanton Conduct against Flint Davis This charge comes from the family against Davis, saying he breached his duty to operate his boat in a safe and prudent manner while on Smith Lake. As a direct result of this alleged negligence, Broom was killed. It also says Davis acted with conscious disregard for the safety of others and in a manner that was wanton under Alabama Law. Count 2- Negligent Event Management against MLF This charge is against the MLF, saying the organization had a duty to manage the tournament in a manner that ensured the safety of not only participants but also the public that was also present on the lake that day. MLF breached that duty by, inter alia, failing to provide clear directional zones, vessel spacing requirements, safety warnings, and by not implementing appropriate launch sequencing or enforcing speed regulations near other boaters, the lawsuit says. Due to MLFs breach of duty, the lawsuit says this resulted in the collision that then killed Broom. Count 3- Vicarious Liability against MLF This count says that MLF is vicariously liable for the negligent and wanton acts committed by Davis during the tournament, as he acted within his field of participation in the MLF tournament. Count 4- Joint Venture against MLF Count 4 also comes against MLF, saying that MLF and Davis were engaged in a joint venture to carry out a common commercial purpose: Participation in and promotion of the MLF tournament for shared financial benefit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The document says MLF had a level of control over Daviss actions and derived benefit from his participation, satisfying the elements of joint venture. The lawsuit says Daviss actions occurred within the scope of this joint venture, and MLF is therefore jointly and severally liable for the damages arising from those actions Count 5- Negligent Hiring, Training and Supervision against MLF Against MLF, this count says the organization failed to adequately screen Davis boating competency, experience, or disciplinary history, and by failing to train or instruct him on safety protocols and tournament navigation procedures. It also claims MLF failed to supervise Davis during the course of the tournament to prevent harm to others, resulting in the death of Broom. Count 6- Negligence and Wanton (deliberate and unprovoked) Misconduct against Gary Holcombe This count goes against Holcombe, the driver of the Center Console boat. The lawsuit says Holcombe had a duty to operate the boat with reasonable care that did not endanger others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit says Holcombe breached his duty by operating or allowing the operation of a vessel in a negligent and/or wanton manner, including but not limited to, unsafe speeds, failure to maintain proper lookout, or creating navigational hazards that contributed to the fatal collision, and the negligence and/or wanton misconduct combined and concurred with the negligence and/or wanton misconduct of other defendants to cause the death. The document says that for this, Holcombes actions demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety of others, including Broom. Count 7- Wrongful Death against all defendants Against all the defendants, the family of Broom says it demands judgment against the Defendants, jointly and severally, including fictitious party Defendants, and requests that the jury selected to hear this case render a verdict for the Plaintiff and against each Defendant in a sum inexcess of the jurisdictional limits of this Court, in an amount which is adequate to reflect the enormity of the Defendants wrongful acts and which will deter and/or prevent other similar or wrongful acts, together with interest from the date of the incident, attorneys fees, and the costs of the proceeding. The lawsuit also names 13 fictitious defendants, which claims that the negligence of all the defendants, combined and concurred, caused Brooms death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fictitious Defendants No. 1: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities that afforded any insurance coverage to the owner or the driver of the boat(s) or the tournament fishing series involved in this matter. Fictitious Defendants No. 2 : Singular or plural, that entity or those entities on whose behalf any of the vehicle(s) involved in the collision made the basis of this lawsuit were being operated at the time of said occurrence. Fictitious Defendants No. 3: Singular or plural, the driver of the boat which struck the Plaintiffs decedent on the occasion made the basis of this suit. Fictitious Defendants No. 4: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which provided maintenance and upkeep on the boat(s) involved in the occurrence, made the basis of this lawsuit. Fictitious Defendants No. 5: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which did any maintenance, upkeep, and/or repair work on the boat(s) involved in the occurrence made the basis of this complaint. Fictitious Defendants No. 6: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which were the master or principal of the driver of the boat(s) involved in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit. Fictitious Defendants No. 7: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities for whom the driver of the boat(s) which struck the Plaintiffs decedent was performing some type of service or employment duty at the time of this collision. Fictitious Defendants No. 8: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which negligently entrusted the boat(s) involved in the occurrence, made the basis of this lawsuit to the driver thereof at the time of said occurrence. Fictitious Defendants No. 9: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which issued any policy of insurance which provided coverage for the Plaintiffs decedent on the occasion made the basis of this lawsuit. Fictitious Defendants No. 10: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities, other than those entities described above, whose breach of contract or warranty contributed to causing the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit. Fictitious Defendants No. 11: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities other than those entities described above, which is the successor in interest of any of those entities described above. Fictitious Defendants No. 12: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities other than those entities described above, which was the predecessor corporation of any of the entities described above. Fictitious Defendants No. 13: Singular or plural, that entity or those entities other than those entities described above, which organized, operated, sanctioned and/or produced the fishing tournament conducted on the day of the decedents death. You can read the full lawsuit filed below. lawsuit-of-Broom-against-MLF-Davis-HolcombeDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. A top figure in Venezuelas opposition has been arrested on charges of terrorism before parliamentary elections scheduled for the weekend. On Friday, a social media account for Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close associate of Maria Corina Machado, considered the leader of the opposition coalition, announced he had been detained. State television also carried images of his arrest, as he was escorted away by armed guards. In a prewritten message online, Guanipa denounced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for human rights abuses, including stifling political dissent and false imprisonment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brothers and sisters, if you are reading this, it is because I have been kidnapped by the forces of Nicolas Maduros regime, Guanipa wrote. For months, I, like many Venezuelans, have been in hiding for my safety. Unfortunately, my time in hiding has come to an end. As of today, I am part of the list of Venezuelans kidnapped by the dictatorship. Since Venezuela held a hotly contested presidential election in July 2024, Guanipa, along with several other opposition figures, has been in hiding, for fear of being arrested. That presidential election culminated in a disputed outcome and widespread protests. On the night of the vote, Venezuelas election authorities declared Maduro the winner, awarding him a third successive six-year term, but it failed to publish the polling tallies to substantiate that result. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement on Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed concern over the arrest of Guanipa and over 70 other individuals, slamming what he called a new wave of repression ahead of weekend elections. Meanwhile, the opposition coalition published tallies from voting stations that it said proved its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had prevailed in a landslide. International watchdogs also criticised the election for its lack of transparency. Maduros government responded to the election-related protests with a police crackdown that led to nearly 2,000 arrests and 25 people killed. It also issued arrest warrants against opposition leaders, accusing them of charges ranging from conspiracy to falsifying records. Maduro has long accused political dissidents of conspiring with foreign forces to topple his government. Venezuelan state television shows Juan Pablo Guanipas detention on May 23 [Venezuelan government TV/Reuters handout] Gonzalez himself was among those for whom a warrant was signed. He fled to exile in Spain. Others have gone into hiding, avoiding the public eye. Until recently, a group of five opposition members had sought shelter in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas, until they were reportedly smuggled out of the country earlier this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opposition members and their supporters have dismissed the charges against them as spurious and further evidence of the Maduro governments repressive tactics. This is pure and simple STATE TERRORISM, Machado, the opposition leader, wrote on social media in the wake of Guanipas arrest. Machado and others have said that Guanipa was one of several people arrested in the lead-up to this weekends regional elections, which will see members of the National Assembly and state-level positions on the ballot. Several prominent members of the opposition have pledged to boycott the vote, arguing it is a means for Maduro to consolidate power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just hours before a farcical election with no guarantees of any kind, the regime has reactivated an operation of political repression, Gonzalez wrote on social media, in reaction to the recent spate of arrests. He argued that the detention of Guanipa and others was a means of ensuring nothing will go off script during Sundays vote. They harass political, social, and community leaders. They persecute those who influence public opinion. They intend to shut down all alternative information spaces and ensure a narrative monopoly, Gonzalez wrote. To the international community: This is not an election. Its an authoritarian device to shield the power theyve usurped. On a Monday night in February, police say, Roberto Martinez took his 14-year-old son in the Pico-Union neighborhood on a graffiti spree. With a can of yellow spray paint, they marked the facades of a pawn shop, laundromat and furniture store with the names of their gangs, according to a Los Angeles Police Department detective in a search warrant affidavit. Driving down Normandie Avenue, Martinez and his son came across Kevin Rivera, who was crossing the street, the affidavit says. The muzzle of a handgun poked out from their car's passenger window, a witness told police. Martinez's son squeezed the trigger five times, shooting Rivera to death and wounding two others, the detective wrote in the affidavit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martinez, 43, and his son are charged with murdering Rivera, whom Martinez believed to belong to a rival gang, the detective wrote in the affidavit. Martinez has pleaded not guilty. A lawyer who represented Martinez at his arraignment directed questions to the Los Angeles County public defender's media representatives, who didn't respond to a request for comment. It wasn't clear who was representing Martinez's son, whose case isn't public because of his age. Read more: L.A. hitmaker's red hat led accused killers to mistake him for gang rival, police say Some gang members follow in the footsteps of fathers, uncles or brothers, but it's rare to see an older relative direct them to commit violence, a former gang member said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ramon Mendoza, who once belonged to the Varrio Nuevo Estrada street gang and Mexican Mafia prison gang, said many gangsters don't want to bring their kids into a lifestyle that often leads to death or prison. "The hardcore gang members, they seek for the most part to insulate the innocents, their family, from what they are," Mendoza said. But in some rare cases, he said, "rather than deter and discourage their kids, in some sick way they look at [violence] as a kind of bonding event." Martinez has been in and out of prison since 2005 for possessing drugs and guns, according to court records. Nicknamed "Stranger," he is a member of a Hollywood gang called The Magicians' Club, or TMC, Det. James Ball of the Los Angeles Police Department wrote in the affidavit. The evening of Feb. 10, Martinez and his son were recorded by surveillance cameras tagging a stretch of Venice and Pico boulevards, Ball wrote. Police found scrawled on the side of a business "TMC" and "Hellbound." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A small crew based in the Koreatown and Mid-City neighborhoods, Hellbound is a rival of a more established gang called the Playboys, Ball wrote. Surveillance footage showed Martinez's son and his friends tagging a laundromat while the father flashed gang signs at passing cars, the detective wrote. According to the affidavit, the group piled into a black Honda Accord and traveled to Pico Boulevard and Fedora Avenue, the heart of the Playboys' territory. In yellow paint, they wrote "Hellbound" and "PBSK" short for Playboys Killers, Ball wrote. About four blocks away, Rivera, 30, was walking down Normandie Avenue. The Accord drove past him, then made a U-turn, a witness told detectives. A suspect wearing a hooded sweatshirt believed by police to be Martinez's son fired out of the rear passenger window. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rivera was fatally shot in the back. A man crossing the street was struck in the hip and a woman sitting in her car was grazed by a bullet, according to the affidavit. Six days later, a prisoner called Martinez, who mentioned a shooting in the recorded call, Ball wrote. "Four people got dropped and one died," Martinez said, according to the detective. The victim was from Playboys, Martinez added. Rivera's family couldn't be reached for comment. "My son did what he had to do, dog," Martinez said in the recorded call, according to the affidavit. "Honestly I tried to stop him. I tried to grab the gun." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 'The street knows who did it': Authorities offer $10,000 reward in South L.A. killing Detectives allege this wasn't true. Ball wrote that Martinez handed his son the .40-caliber Glock used to kill Rivera. Two days after Martinez was arrested on suspicion of Rivera's murder, LAPD officers in Wilmington detained a man who was driving a Dodge pickup stolen during a home invasion robbery in Perris, Ball wrote. Antonio Alvarez had allegedly tossed a stolen .40-caliber Glock during the pursuit. Ballistics testing showed the gun was used to kill Rivera, the affidavit says. WhatsApp messages on Alvarez's phone showed he bought the Glock for $800 five days after Rivera was shot to death, Ball wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sale was coordinated by someone using a phone that pinged off a cell tower near Centinela State Prison, according to the affidavit. Ball wrote he is still investigating who brokered the sale. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FAUQUIER COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) A Fauquier County school resource officer (SRO) is being honored for saving a sixth-graders life through his quick response to a medical emergency. The Fauquier County Sheriffs Office said Deputy First Class (DFC) G. Jenkins was on duty at Auburn Middle School on May 16, monitoring the sixth-grade lunch period, when a student approached him, stating that a boy was choking. Youth curfew goes into place at DCs Wharf over Memorial Day Weekend Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies said Jenkins saw that the student was turning purple and clutching his neck, so he quickly ran over to him, performing the Heimlich maneuver. The food was dislodged, and Jenkins escorted him to the school nurse, as the entire cafeteria erupted in applause. According to Jenkins, he was just doing his job. Fauquier County Deputies working as SROs provide a sense of security to teachers and students who know they can count on them for all kinds of help. I am grateful to DFC Jenkins for acting quickly and decisively to save that child, Fauquier County Sheriff Jeremy Falls said. School officials also shared their admiration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputy Jenkins exemplified the dedication and compassion we are fortunate SROs bring to our schools. He is a valued member of the Auburn community every day and on this day, it brought life-saving action, Auburn Middle School Principal Matt Yonkey 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. The Food and Drug Administration has advised restaurants and retailers against selling or serving certain oysters imported from the Republic of Korea due to their potential contamination with norovirus. A recall of the particular shellfish was issued on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. The warning posted to the FDA website alerts restaurants and food retailers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Washington not to sell or serve certain frozen, raw and half-shell oysters. FDA recalled imported Republic of Korea oysters due to potential norovirus contamination (Getty Images for Osteria Del Mar) They should safely dispose of the potentially contaminated oysters or contact their distributor to arrange for destruction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Individual consumers in those states who have also purchased these oysters are advised to do the same. The notice further warns consumers that food containing norovirus may look, smell, and taste normal. However, consuming these potentially hazardous products can cause illness, and potentially severe illness in people with compromised immune systems, according to the FDA. Norovirus is a highly contagious stomach bug with common symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. Picture of a label that would be included on cartons of oysters with Lot Code: B25013 (FDA) People who experience symptoms should contact their healthcare provider and report their symptoms to their local health department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Symptoms typically develop within 12 to 48 hours after being exposed to norovirus, and most people with norovirus illness get better within one to three days, according to the FDA. The advisory goes on to list a few steps employees should follow to prevent cross-contamination. This latest recall of oysters due to the potential risk of norovirus contamination comes months after the FDA issued a similar recall four times within a month for the same reason in February. In December 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of reported norovirus outbreaks have exceeded the numbers that weve seen recently and in the years before the pandemic. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man it deported to Mexico in spite of his fears of being harmed there. The man, who is gay, was protected from being returned to his home country under a U.S. immigration judge's order at the time. But the U.S. put him on a bus and sent him to Mexico instead, a removal that U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy found likely lacked any semblance of due process. Mexico has since returned him to Guatemala, where he is in hiding, according to court documents. An earlier court proceeding that determined the man, identified by the initials O.C.G., risked persecution or torture if returned to Guatemala, but he also feared returning to Mexico. He presented evidence of being raped and held for ransom there while seeking asylum in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat, Murphy wrote. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said O.C.G. was in the country illegally, was granted withholding of removal to Guatemala and was instead sent to Mexico, which she said was a safe third option for him, pending his asylum claim. McLaughlin called the judge a federal activist judge and said the administration expects to be vindicated by a higher court. Murphy's order adds to a string of findings by federal courts against recent Trump administration deportations. Those have included other deportations to third countries and the erroneous deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran who had lived in Maryland for roughly 14 years working and raising a family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. from a notorious Salvadoran prison, rejecting the White Houses claim that it couldnt retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him. Both the White House and the El Salvadoran president have said they are powerless to return him. The Trump administration has tried to invoke the state secrets privilege, arguing that releasing details in open court or even to the judge in private about returning Abrego Garcia to the United States would jeopardize national security. In his Friday ruling, Murphy nodded to the dispute over the verb facilitate in that case and others, saying that returning O.C.G. to the U.S. is not that complicated. The Court notes that facilitate in this context should carry less baggage than in several other notable cases, he wrote. O.C.G. is not held by any foreign government. Defendants have declined to make any argument that facilitating his return would be costly, burdensome, or otherwise impede the governments objectives. Federal officials have rejected a plan to release floodwaters from Lake Powell to restore Grand Canyon beaches this spring, frustrating river advocates who question the governments commitment to protecting the canyons environment. Glen Canyon Dam has impounded the Colorado River near the Arizona-Utah line since 1963, and with it the annual load of sand that natural snowmelt floods previously churned up onto beaches and sandbars in the Grand Canyon each year. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, working through a collaborative adaptive management program to make the most of what sand a smaller tributary still deposits below the dam, has flooded the canyon by opening the dams bypass tubes 12 times since 1996. With repeated decisions not to open the floodgates even when the sand is available, some are questioning whether the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program is preserving Grand Canyons ecology and recreation as required under the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are failing, said Ben Reeder, a Utah-based river guide who represents the Grand Canyon River Guides on a technical work group that considers management options for the Reclamation Bureau. Deeply disappointed, said Larry Stevens, a canyon ecologist who represents Wild Arizona and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council on the work group. Reeder and Stevens were among advocates and state agency officials who reluctantly agreed to forego a flood last fall in favor of saving the sand for a more naturally timed springtime flood. Events over the winter would interfere with that plan. The Glen Canyon Dam seen from the bottom of Glen Canyon. 'Looking for any excuse' not to stage a flood Reclamation officials said in April that they would recommend that new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum not authorize the flood because a National Park Service contractor was excavating in a slough downstream of the dam to disrupt its use as a spawning bed by non-native fish, including smallmouth bass. Work on relining the bypass tubes to protect their steel pipes also interfered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, May 22, the agency announced that the decision against flooding was final. Invasive fish: Cold water shots into the Colorado River slow a bass invasion in the Grand Canyon Those who had anticipated a rejuvenating flood said they appreciate the need to protect native fish from voracious predators like the bass, but that theres too often some reason or another to reject bypassing the dams hydropower turbines to send water downstream, a cost to the dams power customers around the West. In 2021, for instance, the government declined to flood the canyon to prop up Lake Powells water level. It just seems like looking for any excuse not to do one, Reeder said. The default appears to be against flooding in any given year, he said, perhaps because the team that ultimately recommends for or against does not include environmentalists or recreationalists. Buoys hold up a mesh barrier a cross a backwater slough a few miles downstream of Glen Canyon Dam on Sept. 13, 2023. The slough has fostered hundreds of invasive smallmouth bass over the last two years, and biologists have attempted to isolate and poison them there before they can grow to threaten Grand Canyon's humbpack chubs. It really kind of bothers me, honestly, that we talk about the Grand Canyon in these economic terms as if its there for human consumption, Reeder said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fresh off a May river trip, Reeder said beach erosion is apparent throughout the canyon. Rains from last years monsoon particularly battered one of his preferred camping beaches, at Stone Creek. We have a sand-starved system, he said. Environmentalists prefer a spring flood over fall, because it best mimics the rivers natural rhythm. Angler advocates also prefer spring, as it comes at a time that can better support a tailwater rainbow trout fishery, which has suffered in recent years as low water in Lake Powell led to a warming river. More than any flood, the trout need more water in the reservoir, pushing the warm surface farther from the dam intakes, said Jim Strogen, who represents Trout Unlimited in the adaptive management discussions. A deeper, colder lake is the best thing for that fishery, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortages: Hobbs says Arizona will defend its Colorado River water, wants other states to accept cuts Power providers say floods cost them money The floods cost perhaps $1 million or $2 million in lost hydroelectric production, according to Leslie James, who represents mostly rural and tribal power consumers in the program as executive director of the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association. Last year, when there was no major flood but the dam managers regularly pulsed cold water through the bypass tubes to keep the river inhospitable to bass spawning, the agency said the cost in lost power production was $19 million. The losses deplete a fund that pays for dam maintenance and environmental programs, James noted, and drawing more from that fund this year could cause delays in maintenance. We werent asked our views on (a spring flood), she said, but if asked we would say that we always have concerns about bypassing hydropower generation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James said a repeat of last summers cool releases to combat bass seems unnecessary, as bass so far are generally restricted to the 15 miles below the dam and are not showing up dozens of miles downstream at the confluence with the Little Colorado River, a haven for native humpback chubs. Reclamation officials said they will decide in June whether to pulse cold water through the canyon this summer. The fish is an endangered humpback chub, which lives in a stretch of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and in five other locations upriver from Lake Powell. The photo is by the U.S. Geological Survey. Photograph by George Andrejko, Arizona Game and Fish Department The agency reported that last years cool flows appeared to have worked, preventing any detectable growth in bass numbers by keeping the river mostly below 16 degrees Celsius the temperature at which bass reproduce successfully as far downstream as the Little Colorado. It also projected that without bypass flows this summer, temperatures in the river likely would rise above 16 degrees. A federal biologist working on chub conservation told The Arizona Republic it would not be surprising if bass reach the Little Colorado by fall and reverse gains in the native fish population that allowed the government to downlist the chub from endangered to threatened in 2021. The floods, achieved with blasts of water that jet across the canyon below the dam, can give the erroneous impression that water is lost downstream. In reality, while the floods do temporarily reduce Lake Powells elevation, they do not harm irrigators or municipal water providers. Lake Mead captures the water on the Grand Canyons west end and stores it for later use in Nevada, Arizona, California and Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Want more stories about water? Sign up for AZ Climate, The Republic's weekly environmental newsletter Reclamation officials initially told participants in the adaptive management collaboration that a flood was unlikely in April, when Program Manager Bill Stewart said every attempt had been made to schedule it. When the groups and agencies had agreed to put off a flood last fall, he said, it had appeared there would be a window in May when both slough modifications and dam maintenance would be done. The plan was to flood the canyon for 60 hours, with a peak flow of 40,400 cubic feet per second, compared to routine flows in May ranging from 8,000 to 13,382 cfs. During the transition in presidential administrations, work in the slough was delayed, leading to heavy equipment remaining in the river corridor throughout the month. Dam maintenance also lasted into the timeframe when a flood was envisioned, leaving some of the bypass tube capacity unavailable. We really did make every effort to make this happen, Stewart told flood advocates tuning in to Aprils virtual meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some participants, including Arizona Game and Fish Department biologist David Rogowski, said the program needs to improve its scheduling. We need to be better about planning for the future, Rogowski said. We arent doing (a spring flood) because of poor planning. Stevens agreed, saying Reclamation should incorporate planned floods into its routine maintenance schedule. A river scientist who previously led the U.S. Geological Surveys Grand Canyon research team said the Reclamation Bureaus continuing trend of skipping opportunities to flood the canyon jeopardizes Grand Canyon National Parks sandbars a feature he said is as vital to the parks natural environment as the sandstone walls looming above the river. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is disturbing that sand bars always come out second, said Jack Schmidt, a Utah State University researcher and former head of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. Its removing an entire landscape element. Brandon Loomis covers environmental and climate issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Reach him at brandon.loomis@arizonarepublic.com. Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Grand Canyon advocates lament lack of environmental flows this spring WRIGHT COUNTY, Mo. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today that federal disaster assistance is coming to Missouri following severe weather that tore through multiple counties in March and April. Here in Southwest Missouri, Wright County will be receiving some of those funds, after a tornado hit rural parts of the county on March 14th. The Amish community was mostly impacted; due to religious reasons, the Amish would not speak on camera. Neighbors that live nearby tell Ozarks First they do not believe their Amish neighbors will accept any of the federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We appreciate FEMA and I just hope that the Amish does take some help. I doubt it, but I hope that they do, Gwen Reed says. Today, President Trump announced federal funding for over a dozen Missouri counties, including multiple counties in our viewing area. The funding is to help recover from severe weather that hit on March 14 and 15, as well as March 30, through April 8. It was pretty devastating and pretty scary. When it hits so close to here, it makes you a little more alert, Reed says. For the March 14th storms, federal funding is available for individuals or local governments and non-profits impacted by the severe weather. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing or home repair, low-interest loans and other programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rex Cole helped his Amish neighbors rebuild after the tornado. He tells Ozarks First they have their own ways of paying for supplies after disaster strikes. They wont take no funds. No money. If they worked for me and they got hurt, they wont come to me for funding to pay for any medical bills. They take care of all their own stuff, says Cole. The Webster County Office of Emergency Management says they have not received many details yet on the specifics of the funding or how much the county can receive. Cole says he is glad the government is not overlooking rural areas like his. Thats even better to me that theyre hitting more rural areas instead of the big cities. I mean, because they need just as much funding as everybody else does. So yeah, its a great thing, Cole says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. May 23dbeard @dominionpost.com MORGANTOWN The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week approved Lake Lynn Generation's 2024 update to its recreation plan for the Lake Lynn Hydroelectric Project. The approval came as Lake Lynn pursues relicensing for the project. Lake Lynn did not propose any new recreation sites, facilities, or amenities in its update. FERC approved a couple small changes to the plan. Lake Lynn will remove the fish cleaning station at Cheat Lake Park. And the company will no longer be required to submit recreation plan updates every three years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FERC notes that this update was based on a 2020 recreation assessment, in consultation with stakeholders, with data obtained from spot visits to recreation sites on random weekdays, weekends and holidays during the year, for a total 40 days at each site. Lake Lynn reported that all sites, except Cheat Lake Park Lower Parking Area and Sunset Beach Marina, are used at less than 50 % capacity. Cheat Lake Park Lower Parking Area and Sunset Beach Marina were operating between 50 % and 100 % percent capacity. Lake Lynn old FERC that it will work to address the parking capacity issues that occur at Sunset Beach Marina on certain peak weekends. Lake Lynn wants to close the fish cleaning station, it told FERC, because it is consistently being misused and vandalized, requiring additional maintenance. Providing surveillance through security cameras or increasing security patrols would be costly. The station was not used at any time during the 2020 spot counts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources supports the removal of the station, Lake Lynn told FERC, and no stakeholders have objected to its removal. FERC found the request justified and reasonable. On the topic of stopping the triennial recreation plan updates, Lake Lynn told FERC that it began the current relicensing process in 2019, and it has proposed a new recreation management plan in its Final License Application. WVDNR supports the request and no stakeholders objected. FERC said Lake Lynn "is reminded that it has a continued obligation to maintain its project recreation facilities under its recreation management plan " and under federal code. The Troika Festival has kicked off in the historic East Bayfront neighborhood, celebrating Russian culture at the Russian Old Rite Orthodox Church of the Nativity. Running for three days, the festival offers attendees a chance to experience Russian music, food, and beer. The event began with a blessing and bell ringing by Father Pimen Simon from the Church of the Nativity of Christ. We certainly wouldnt start any endeavor without prayer, said Father Pimen Simon, emphasizing the importance of blessing the festivals food and activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WATCH: Brian Wilk live at the Troika-Russian Festival Despite the cool weather, the festival continued with a variety of traditional Russian dishes. Co-organizer Mary Wassell highlighted the food offerings, including vareniki, a dumpling stuffed with fried cabbage, onion, and mushrooms, and a beet salad. The festivals profits are reinvested into the local community. Mark Sokoloff, a parishioner, noted that the funds help improve the lifestyle of residents in the lower east side of Erie. Erie resident Patty Gyuratz expressed enjoyment at the festival, noting the abundance of activities, bands, and live music. The 15th annual Troika Festival continues through Sunday, providing a cultural experience and supporting community initiatives in Erie. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WJET/WFXP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WJET/WFXP staff before being published. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said he feels pressured to show up to votes and hearings that he finds useless, adding his mental health struggles have been weaponized. My doctor warned years ago: After its public that you are getting help for depression, people will weaponize that, Fetterman told The New York Times in an interview published Saturday. Simple things are turned. Thats exactly what happened. Fetterman has previously been vocal about his struggles with depression after he survived a stroke on the 2022 campaign trail that he said nearly killed him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fetterman has missed 18.1% of floor votes since taking office. The new report details Fettermans extreme reluctance with performing his senatorial work duties, including showing up for procedural votes that he calls performative. Fetterman told The Times he would rather spend time with his family than show up for work. The votes I missed were overwhelmingly procedural; theyre even called bed check votes, he told the publication. I had to make a decision: getting here and sticking my thumb in the door for three seconds for a procedural vote or spend Monday night as a dad-daughter date. Sen. John Fetterman is know for his casual Capitol dress. AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File Fettermans office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first-time senator has faced renewed scrutiny following a New York Magazine report in which his former chief of staff spoke out against him. Adam Jentleson, who served as Fettermans chief of staff from 2022 to 2024, revealed he wrote a letter last May to Fettermans doctor detailing warning signs of the senators declining mental health. I think John is on a bad trajectory and Im really worried about him, Jentleson said in the letter. Fetterman lamented having to show up to hearings and expressed frustration that hes picked last to ask questions because of seniority rules, according to The Times. He has also faced criticism for his full-throated support of Israel and its military bombardment of Gaza. More than 50,000 people have been killed by Israel, with nearly a third of the dead under 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Known for wearing shorts and a Carhartt hoodie around the Capitol, Fetterman donned a suit and tie on the House floor last year when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech to Congress. And earlier this year, Netanyahu gifted Fetterman a silver pager a symbol for Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Syria in 2024 that used exploding pagers targeting Hezbollah. The attack killed 13 people, including children. Along with avoiding votes and hearings, Fetterman has steered clear of town halls over fears of protests against him. The Democratic senator has come under fire for visiting President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in January, calling Trump kind and cordial. Fetterman said in February that there isnt a constitutional crisis, just before Trump guttedcritical federal agencies. I just want to be in a room full of love, Fetterman has reportedly told people about not attending town halls, according to The Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a meeting earlier this month with representatives from a teachers union in his home state of Pennsylvania, Fetterman began repeating himself and asking why everybody is mad at me, the Associated Press reported. At one point, Fetterman slammed his hands on a desk. Why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do? he reportedly shouted. A poll released Thursday, May 1 showed 76% of Americans oppose cuts to Medicaid. (Photo via Getty Images) Every New Mexican deserves access to healthcare, dignity, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing their family will be cared for. But right now, that basic promise is under attack. As a mom, an attorney, and a healthcare advocate, I work alongside families across New Mexico, in rural towns, Tribal communities, and urban neighborhoods, who rely on Medicaid as a lifeline. For far too many, its the only path to a doctors visit, a mental health appointment, or life-saving treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Congress is considering a budget that would gut Medicaid and slash funding for the programs our communities rely on every single day. The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would create deep, drastic, devastating cuts to Medicaid, harming seniors, people with disabilities, and children. It even proposes new burdensome work requirements, an old, failed policy that would create needless bureaucracy and strip people of care, not because they dont work, but because they cant keep up with confusing paperwork. Lets be clear about what this means in New Mexico: Nearly 850,000 people, including almost 70% of our children, rely on Medicaid. It covers cancer screenings, prenatal visits, prescriptions, and behavioral health care that keeps families whole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In rural and Tribal communities, its the backbone of our healthcare system, funding clinics, keeping hospitals open, and making sure providers can serve everyone who walks through the door. If this budget passes, all of that is at risk. Weve already seen more than 100,000 New Mexicans pushed off Medicaid in the past year. Many are still eligible, but are lost in the red tape of the unwinding. These new proposals would make things even worse. It would mean newborns missing out on critical early checkups, parents being forced to choose between groceries and insulin, and people suffering and dying from preventable conditions. And for what? To give more tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets talk about these work requirements. Most people who can work, already do, especially in low-wage, seasonal, or caregiving roles. And those who arent working often face real barriers: disability, caregiving, lack of transportation, unstable housing. Studies show that about half of people subjected to these requirements lose coverage, not because theyre unwilling to work, but due to the paperwork burdens and red tape. This isnt about encouraging work. Its about terminating peoples healthcare. Together, we must reject this reckless and harmful legislation that would strip healthcare from millions of Americans, and our stories are the most powerful defense. We must speak up loudly and boldly to send a strong message: No one can afford to lose their healthcare coverage. Have you or your family benefited from Medicaid? Now is the time to tell your story to protect it. Telling your story can stop harmful cuts before they become law, show whats really at stake, and protect care for millions of families like yours. Lets protect Medicaid and protect each other. Lets not just defend what we have, but demand more: a healthcare system that truly works for all of us. The firefighter who was injured during an emergency response in Orange Park Friday night has been identified. The Orange Park Fire Department said Firefighter Cochran suffered a heat-related medical emergency while working alongside Clay County Fire Rescue and several other agencies. Our firefighters worked tirelessly in extreme conditions to contain and extinguish the blaze, said OPFD. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The fire destroyed the family-owned Hagan Ace Hardware on Blanding Boulevard. Officials said they got the fire under control just after midnight, but the road remained shut down until nearly 9 A.M. Saturday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OPFD announced Saturday afternoon that Cochran had been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. No employees or customers were injured. We could not be prouder of the men and women of the Orange Park Fire Department who answer the call without hesitation, fully aware of the risks to their own safety, said OPFD. Their courage, commitment, and professionalism are unwavering." The cause of the fire has not yet been identified, and the State Fire Marshal is investigating. A representative for Hagan Ace Hardware said Friday night that the location was their headquarters and housed its administrative offices, along with important company documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company had the following message for the community Saturday: THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU! The outpouring of love and support has been amazing. This building wasnt just a store for us. For the past 45 years it has been our home base, a place we have created some of our best memories at Hagan Ace. Its so wonderful to see it has been a place of joy for so many of you too. As we navigate through this please be patient with us. Because our main computers run through headquarters our other locations might experience a few hiccups in the coming days. We thank you in advance for your understanding." For the breaking news updates as they happened and videos of the fire, read the original story here. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] BAGHDAD (AP) The American University of Baghdad celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of students Saturday at a campus that was once a palace built by Saddam Hussein. Officials said they hope the graduation will mark the beginning of a new era in higher education in Iraq rooted in modernity, openness and international academic standards. The university was inaugurated in 2021 on the site of the al-Faw Palace, built on an island in the middle of an artificial lake by Saddam in the 1990s to mark the retaking of the peninsula of the same name during the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the U.S.-led invasion that unseated Saddam in 2003, it was used as a U.S. coalition military headquarters called Camp Victory. It was later developed into an American-style university with a core liberal arts program through funding by influential Iraqi business owner Saadi Saihood. A total of 38 students 20 male and 18 female graduated Saturday with degrees in business administration, sciences and humanities at a ceremony attended by political dignitaries as well as families and faculty members. Speaking to the attendees, university President Dr. Michael Mulnix reflected on the universitys rocky beginnings. When I first arrived at the American University of Baghdad in 2018, the campus looked nothing like it does today," he said. "Years of war and neglect had left the infrastructure in ruins, with many buildings damaged or destroyed. Today, we stand before an exceptional, nonprofit academic institution that ranks among the finest research universities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today AUB has a growing network of international partnerships with top universities, he said, including Vanderbilt University, Colorado School of Mines, Lawrence Technological University, Temple University, the University of Exeter, and Sapienza University of Rome. University founder and owner Saihood called the graduation a symbolic moment that affirms this institution was built to last and to make a real difference. He acknowledged the economic challenges facing graduates, especially the scarcity of government employment, but emphasized that the university has equipped its students with the adaptability and initiative needed to thrive in the private sector or through entrepreneurship. Although Iraq's security situation has improved in recent years after decades of conflict, the country still suffers from brain drain as young people seek opportunities and stability abroad. The future in Iraq is not easy. All of us graduates have concerns," said Mohammed Baqir from Najaf province, who graduated Saturday with a bachelor's degree in business. "But what sets us apart from other universities is that weve already received job offers through AUB, especially in the private sector. Although my education cost around ten million Iraqi dinars, it was a truly valuable investment. Ten million Iraqi dinars equals about $7,600. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Mo. The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) saved three people in a swift water rescue in Douglas County late this morning. According to MSHP Sgt. Adam Johnson, he and three other officers conducted a water rescue at around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 24, off AB Highway in a remote access area near a conservation area. A person heard cries for help and reported it to emergency services. Three individuals who had been camping in the area were rescued a female and two males. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those three individuals were transported to a local hospital, Johnson said. The responding officers included Johnson, an MSHP Marine Division Corporal, a Missouri Department of Conservation agent and a Douglas County Sheriffs Office Deputy. They used two rescue boats to complete the rescue. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. Fear and uncertainty about a new law targeting the states ballot-initiative process has led to a significant drop in people working to collect signatures for 2026 ballot measures, groups challenging the law told a federal judge on Thursday. One of the most-controversial parts of the law, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature on May 2 and immediately signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, shortens from 30 to 10 days the length of time to submit signed petitions to supervisors of elections. In addition, the law (HB 1205) includes hefty fines for petitions that are filed late and makes it a felony for petition gatherers to retain voters personal information on petitions or make changes to completed petitions. Groups accused of substantial irregularities in the petition process could face racketeering charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida Decides Healthcare, a committee sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at expanding Medicaid coverage, quickly filed the lawsuit this month to challenge parts of the law. Smart & Safe Florida, a committee behind a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow recreational marijuana, also is a plaintiff in the case. A similar marijuana proposal narrowly failed to pass in November, and the committee is trying to go back to voters in 2026. The groups on Thursday asked Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker for a preliminary injunction to block parts of the law, including the 10-day deadline. Lawyers for the groups argue in part, that the provisions unconstitutionally chill political speech. The shortened time frame to submit petitions combined with the risk of fines for late submissions have erected an insurmountable barrier for placement of initiatives on the 2026 ballot, Nicholas Steiner, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center who represents Florida Decides Healthcare, told Walker. Its making it impossible, really, for FDH (Florida Decides Healthcare) to engage with the target audience, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 10-day turnaround has zero relation to fighting fraud or preserving ballot integrity, Glenn Burhans, an attorney for Smart & Safe Florida, argued. The purpose of the quick turnaround is to squash the initiative process, pure and simple. Its stamping on speech, Burhans said. Smart & Safe Florida has submitted more than 217,000 valid petition signatures to state elections officials, just shy of the 220,000 signatures that would trigger Florida Supreme Court review of the pot proposal and a required financial analysis. Groups need to submit roughly 880,000 signatures by Feb. 1 to make it on the November 2026 ballot. But Burhans pointed to a document filed Wednesday saying that Smart & Safe Floridas petition collections and workforce have shrunk since parts of the law, including the 10-day deadline, began taking effect this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group was collecting roughly 78,000 petitions a week and expected to surpass the 880,000 threshold by the end of June, according to a declaration by Meghan Cox, the founder and CEO of Groundgame Political Solutions, LLC. Coxs company provides ballot-initiative services to Smart & Safe Florida. Cox said the number of petitions has dropped to between 12,000 to 15,000 a week. In addition, the number of paid workers shrank by 1,100 since the law went into effect, an 85 percent workforce drop, and we dont know if we will gather enough to get on the ballot by the end of the year, Coxs declaration said. Walker on Thursday asked Burhans whether the drop in workers or completed petitions could be attributed to a decline in support for the marijuana initiative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burhans said the proposal has broad support among voters. He noted that last years marijuana measure, which appeared as Amendment 3 on the November ballot, received more than 5.9 million votes, which surpassed the votes for DeSantis when he was re-elected in 2022. Nearly 57 percent of Floridians voted for the marijuana measure, short of the 60 percent approval required to pass. After leading crusades to help defeat the marijuana measure and a proposal that would have placed abortion rights in the state Constitution, DeSantis called on the Legislature to make changes to the ballot-initiative process. Many Republican leaders and groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce have long argued that policy decisions should be made by the Legislature, not through amending the Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burhans argued that the new law is designed to undercut the success Amendment 3 had last year. Mohammad Jazil, an attorney who represents the state, told Walker that the Legislature has the authority to establish regulations for the ballot-initiative process. The judge pressed him about part of the law restricting groups from retaining personal information, which the plaintiffs maintain is vague and overbroad. The Legislature is the sausage makers, Jazil said. But Walker said that, in more than one previous case, hes found that the sausage is just nasty. Sometimes the sausage they produce down the street (in the Capitol) is nasty and they shouldnt serve it, Walker observed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question is, is the sausage edible, Jazil responded. The 10-day timeline, Jazil said, would give supervisors more time to validate petitions, which groups sometimes drop off in bundles of hundreds. The shortened timeframe could prevent a logjam for local elections officials, Jazil said. But Burhans referred to another part of the law that freezes supervisors of elections validation of petitions from July 1 through Sept. 30, which he said cuts directly against the excuse that the 10-day turnaround helps supervisors. The sausage is not only bad, its rancid and its filled with maggots, Burhans said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida Decides Healthcare has seen a lot of direct impacts from the new law, Ben Stafford,who represents the committee, told reporters after Thursdays hearing. Not just some of the logistical hurdles and impossibilities that were laid out in the arguments, but real Floridians are saying they are simply not comfortable participating in a process that might now expose them to felony convictions for things where they are not attempting to do anything wrong, Stafford, an attorney with the Elias Law Group LLP, said. Other groups that have joined the lawsuit include the League of Women Voters of Florida. Walker on Wednesday granted a request by backers of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at protecting clean water to also join the lawsuit. Walker did not immediately rule on the preliminary injunction, but Mitch Emerson, executive director of Florida Decides Healthcare, said he was hopeful the judge will grant the request to block the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its about protecting every Floridans right to have a voice in our democracy. We are optimistic that the court will grant the request for a preliminary injunction and restore the rules that have governed the ballot initiative process for years, Emerson told reporters. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. MERRILL, Wis. (WFRV) Crews in northern Wisconsin worked to quickly put out a fire that began in a fire pit but had spread to a nearby building on Tuesday. According to the Merrill Fire Department, crews responded to the 400 block of Superior Street on the morning of May 20 for reports of a structure fire. Three people dead after two-vehicle Marinette County crash, missed stop sign When crews arrived, they found out the flames from a fire pit had spread to adjacent structures. The fire, which was deemed accidental, was quickly put out, further limiting its damage. Merrill Fire Department Merrill Fire Department Merrill Fire Department Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Merrill Fire Department was assisted by the Merrill Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, WPS, & Pine River Volunteer Fire Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. Abigail StClair was juggling two big purchase decisions. The first was whether to order 150 kilos of seasonal teas from China enough to last her business, TeBella Tea Co., until August. The second was related to a potential location in North Carolina, part of a major expansion for the Davis Islands-based company. But with shifting international trade policies and looming tariff costs, she didnt know if the plan would fit her budget. It causes you to pump the brakes, said StClair, when she would normally be full-speed ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of this week, theres a 10% universal tariff on all other U.S. trading partners except China. President Trumps announced tariffs on Chinese exports had escalated to 145% before he dropped them to 30% weeks later. Trump had paused certain higher tariffs until July 9. With that deadline looming, economists say there could be strain on some of the states economy. With trade partners from China to South Sudan and $117 billion in commodities not including goods transported from other states Florida last year was the 10th largest importer in the U.S., according to international trade data from the Census Bureau. This is impacting local businesses, said Abby Hall, an economics professor at the University of Tampa. This is impacting local consumers in a way that people are going to feel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tampa Bay Times asked economists and business leaders what consequences the tariffs could bring to Florida residents and if any of them are happening yet. Heres what we learned. Costs for construction and manufacturing materials may rise For imports and exports, Floridas most valuable goods traded internationally are in manufacturing, whether for automobiles or other mechanics. Growth in Floridas manufacturing sector has outpaced most other states, driven by aviation, medical devices and the marine industry. A 2023 report by Florida Commerce and FloridaMakes estimated that there are more than 68,000 manufacturing jobs in Tampa Bay alone. The sector has benefited from Floridas population gains and business-friendly tax structure, said Kevin Carr, CEO of FloridaMakes, a group that represents manufacturers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some manufacturers are more prepared than others to weather challenges, Carr said. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have already taken steps toward moving their suppliers to the U.S. to avoid disruptions. Still, these are long-term, slow-moving changes. Companies that rely heavily on certain products, like imported steel and semiconductor chips, could be more vulnerable. But ambiguity around duty rates is the biggest roadblock. The uncertainty, Carr said. Thats what seems to be rattling the cages of manufacturers. If we have to adapt to a new price structure, tell us what it is, and well move on from there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Development and construction also account for roughly 659,000 jobs in Florida, and during Tampa Bays explosive post-pandemic growth, homes sold in the region were more likely to be new construction than in the U.S. as a whole. But much of the supplies come from outside the U.S. According to census data, Florida ports imported more than $1.4 billion in wood products in 2024. Nearly a quarter of it originated in Brazil, and about 12% came from Canada. The U.S. does not produce enough lumber to meet demand, a construction industry trade group noted in April. Tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber are at 14.5% part of an ongoing trade dispute but that number could rise. Industry groups have championed a federal order to increase timber production, including on federal forest lands. But due to logistics like the limited capacity at U.S. sawmills to process the lumber, the impacts of this plan will likely take months or years to grasp. Environmental groups criticize the plan, saying it bypasses protections for endangered species and natural habitats. Leisure spending is the first to feel consumers pull back Like the rest of the U.S., bar and restaurant owners around Tampa Bay rely on certain imported products that simply cant be replaced domestically. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Census trade data shows Florida ports imported $1.7 billion in alcohol and liquors last year of which at least $435 million was tequila, for example. There was $613 million in coffee and $13 million in tea. Were talking about a commodity that grows outside the United States, said Roberto Torres, owner of the Blind Tiger Cafe, which has seven locations throughout Tampa and Hillsborough County. Thats my dilemma. How do I fix that? He imports coffee from Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua and several other South American countries each source now strapped with a 10% tariff. Torres also buys from Mexico, where theres a 25% tariff for some beans. He hasnt found a U.S. company to produce paper cups at the same cost as those he imports from China. Price increases at the Blind Tiger are inevitable at this rate, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consumers might not see prices go up immediately. Hall noted some businesses might be stocking up on foreign products ahead of time, in an attempt to dampen or delay the impacts. Torres confirmed this is something hes doing but this represents an entirely new math problem, he said, involving bulk purchases and potential lines of credit. How can we absorb the cost of something that, overnight, just happened? We cannot sustain it, Torres said. Small businesses feeling impacts Since February, theres been an uptick in the use of the Foreign Trade Zone at Port Tampa Bay, an area where companies can hold goods before paying tariffs. They may be spreading out costs over time or waiting for lower rates, said the zones director, Torrey Chambliss. But its probably too soon to see any broad changes in the supply chain. There hasnt been a notable drop in vessels at the port or demand for cargo space, spokesperson Lisa Wolf-Chason said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But some small businesses are already feeling pinched. TeBella, for instance, imports tea from at least a half-dozen countries. StClair said a $16,000 shipment of branded tea tins arrived in April that she ordered last fall. Though she made the purchase months before the tariffs, she paid an additional $11,000. All purchases made during this time have a different calculus, she said. If she buys before more favorable tariffs are put in place, shell have to pay more. But after tariffs are lifted or reduced, she fears an influx of orders will create competition for cargo space. Its really challenging for small businesses, because we dont have the negotiating power or the buying power that large businesses do, StClair said. When she learned last week that tariffs on Chinese goods had been reduced from 145%, she told her business manager to place the order theyd been considering. There was no time to waste, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youd told me six months ago Id be paying a 30% tariff on everything I bring in from China, I would have said, Absolutely not. Now Im thinking thats great news, StClair said. Uncertainty causing hesitation Much is still undecided, said Sean Snaith, an economist at the University of Central Florida, and that prevents business owners from making decisions about adjusting their supply chains or the prices levied for goods. The sooner we can get to what the new set of rules is going to be, the sooner we can get to the adjustment process, and consumers and businesses will make adjustments, he said. Torres, at Blind Tiger, said this is one of his biggest frustrations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cannot program, we cannot plan, he said. We cannot exert our influence or talk to our vendors and partners and come up with a plan if we dont know what the strategy is. The not-knowing can lead to a stagnation economists refer to as regime uncertainty, though its not quite possible to quantify those potential lost opportunities. Its hard for us to see the very real costs associated with businesses, entrepreneurship that would have taken place, but effectively gets snuffed out or gets re-channeled as a result of policy, Hall said. StClair has noticed belt-tightening. She and other business owners cant help but worry how customers cautiousness will hurt them in the long run. Data from the University of Floridas Bureau of Economic and Business Research shows consumer sentiment has been declining for the last three months. StClair is hopeful that, even if tariffs remain in place, exemptions will be made for products that dont have a competitive American market like tea. In the meantime, there are signs posted around TeBella shops explaining the price increases. And she is still moving forward with expansion plans: She gave a counter-offer for the North Carolina location shed been eying, and signed a lease for a location in Sarasota. Its me and a team of maybe two or three others making these decisions and trying to figure out whats best for the business today, tomorrow and next year, StClair said. Thats a big responsibility to carry around. SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) A former New College of Florida official and former spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is now facing felony charges after authorities said he exposed himself to multiple people over the course of several months. Fredrick Piccolo Jr.s charges were upgraded from misdemeanors to felonies this week, according to Sarasota County jail records. He faces three counts of exposure of sexual organs each of which is considered a third-degree felony due to it being a second or subsequent offense. Pure evil: Lakeland man sets house on fire with roommates inside, Judd says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man who once played a prominent role in Florida politics was arrested by the Manatee County Sheriffs Office in April after deputies said he exposed himself to a woman while asking her for directions. Fredrick Piccolo, Jr. (Manatee County Sheriffs Office) Hes also accused of exposing himself to multiple people at department stores in the University Town Center Mall in Sarasota. Court records show the incidents occurred between Aug. 22 and Sept. 4 of last year. Piccolo worked as the director of communications for DeSantis office from August 2020 to December 2021 before he resigned over a controversial social media post. He also held leadership roles with the Florida Speaker of the House and New College in Sarasota. His father, Rick Piccolo, told News Channel 8 that a worsening medical condition has contributed to his sons impulsive and compulsive behaviors, including hypersexual activities. Fredrick Piccolo, Jr. in court (WFLA) Fredrick Piccolo, Jr. in court (WFLA) The Piccolo family provided a statement this week saying they have sought medical and mental health services to help him recover. The familys full statement is below. While our family is deeply saddened and surprised by the accusations contained in the arrest reports, our son Fred Jr. was diagnosed with early onset Parkinsons disease about ten years ago. As the disease has progressed, he has had various and increasing medications for the affliction. One of the listed side effects of the medications, particularly the dopamine agonists he is taking, is impulsive and compulsive behaviors, including gambling and hypersexuality activities. We are very sorry that any individuals were subjected to any inappropriate conduct, and we have already started the medical and mental health services necessary to return him to the wonderful and caring individual we knew before this decade of doctor prescribed medication. Rick Piccolo Jail records show Piccolo Jr. was booked into jail on the upgraded charges on May 21, but bonded out two days later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CORINTH The former Corinth school superintendent and a former teacher have been indicted in connection with an artificial-intelligence scandal that cost both men their jobs. District Attorney Jason Herring said authorities served the indictments Friday morning. Both men were booked into the Alcorn County Jail, formally charged and then released on bond. Former Superintendent Edward Lee Childress has been charged with one count of hindering prosecution, a Class 1 felony that carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine. Former Corinth Middle School teacher Wilson Fredrick Jones, 30, was charged with three felony counts of depicting a child engaging in sexual conduct. That felony carries up to 40 years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine on each count. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones was arrested March 12 by federal authorities and charged with using artificial intelligence to create child pornography using the faces of his students. Jones was allowed to resign in November 2024 days after the crime was discovered. When it was discovered that Childress knew about the incident, but it was not reported to the state department of education or law enforcement for months, there was a public uproar. Less than a week later, the Corinth school board fired Childress. At no time did any of these children in the indictment, who are not named, have any knowledge or knowingly participation in anything wrong. Period. Exclamation point, Herring said. Many people were interviewed and cooperated with the investigation, including eight people who testified before an Alcorn County Grand Jury. "This investigation uncovered many decisions, actions and omissions that could have and should have been handled differently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Herring pledged to continue to work with United States Attorney Clay Joyner on any federal charges related to the case. Corinth Police Chief Landon Tucker, who has children the same age as the victims, said he was glad to see the indictments and the closing of this chapter of the case Now we can start healing together, put this behind us, and make tomorrow better, Tucker said. The school district was alerted to illicit sexual content on Jones computer Nov. 19, 2024. The district IT director made copies of the three videos. The school principal then called Childress to inform him of the situation. At Childress direction, the principal and vice principal met with Jones the following day and Jones admitted he used a computer program to create the videos. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones was not fired. Instead, school district officials allowed him to resign on Nov. 21, 2024. He later got a job with Child Protective Services. Childress said he intended to submit the required report to the state in November, but that it got under other papers on his desk, and he simply forgot to do so, according to an unsigned statement by the school board. In late January, a complaint was filed against Jones with the Mississippi Department of Education, apparently by Childress. Almost a month later, state officials sent the complaint via email to Corinth police detective Capt. Heather Russell on Thursday Feb. 27. She met with Childress the same day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Corinth police then contacted the FBI and began a joint investigation. Jones was arrested by federal authorities on March 12 and charged with the production of a morphed image of child pornography and possession of morphed images of child pornography. According to the federal complaint, Jones created videos that depicted known Corinth students engaging in inappropriate behavior, including kissing and exposing themselves. The school board fired Childress March 17 following two and a half hours of executive session. The federal case against Jones is still making its way through the court system. He was released on an unsecured bond of $20,000 and placed him on home confinement with GPS monitoring. May 23LAKOTA A former Dakota Prairie school counselor, recharged with child sex crimes 10 months after the original case was dismissed due to prosecutorial errors, will not have to pay to remain out of custody as the case progresses. Brendon Thomas Parsley, 49, appeared Friday morning, May 23, at the Nelson County Memorial Courthouse in Lakota for his initial appearance. He was summonsed to the hearing rather than arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parsley continues to be represented by Mark Friese. Jayme Tenneson was the prosecutor assigned to the original criminal case; he has been replaced by Joshua Frey. Parsley is charged with Class C felony sexual assault, Class C felony luring minors by computer and Class A misdemeanor solicitation of a minor. Class C felonies have maximum five-year prison sentences. He is accused of initiating inappropriate contact both verbal and physical with two minor students he saw for counseling while working at the Dakota Prairie School in Petersburg. During Friday's hearing, Frey requested that the $25,000 cash or surety bond set in the original case be reset in this one, due to safety concerns for the two women involved in the case, as well as the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friese argued for a lesser $5,000 cash or surety bond, saying his client was fully compliant with court orders throughout the previous criminal case, and has shown no indication that he's been in contact with anyone he was prohibited from contact with. "The allegations here are nearly 20 years old for one count and almost seven years old for the other two counts," Friese said. He noted that Parsley no longer lives in Nelson County he has relocated to Ward County and any suggestion that there's a danger to the community is not credible. Friese also argued that if the allegations were as serious as the prosecution suggests, it wouldn't have taken 10 months to refile the charges against Parsley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I agree with Mr. Friese here. Mr. Parsley has been appearing, he stayed in contact with an attorney, he's been showing up, so I don't think a bond is necessary," Judge Kristi Venhuizen said. She set a $10,000 unsecured bond, meaning Parsley will only need to pay it if he violates conditions or fails to appear. The prosecution recommended a bond condition of no contact with the alleged victims in the case, which Friese took no issue with and Venhuizen granted. However, the prosecution's request that Parsley be prohibited from any contact with minors who are not his relatives was denied. "That gets a little broad," Venhuizen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friese confirmed that Parsley comes in contact with unrelated minors during the course of his work in the service industry. "There's been no indication of any other minor having made any type of complaint that would warrant a criminal charge in this case," Friese said. "It's exceedingly broad, and would subject him to violation of release conditions for working." Parsley's next court appearance, a preliminary hearing, is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 3. A former longtime mayor in the Mon Valley has died at the age of 97. John Dindak retired in 2023 after serving as West Homesteads mayor for 50 years. At the time, he was the oldest and longest-serving mayor in the country. Dindak immigrated to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia at a young age and served in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War. His family released this statement: John J. Dindak was not only the patriarch of his family but the entire borough of West Homestead. He dedicated his life to public service and was mayor for more than 50 years. He was a Navy veteran who served in World War II and Korea. His favorite saying was get involved, and he certainly lived up to that. John went by many names, but his personal favorite was sweet lips because his passion was making us laugh, and he had a unique way of doing it. His family would joke that he spent so much time at the casino, he should have won more. But in reality, anyone who knew John, they were the winners and lucky to have had him so long, along with the memories they will cherish forever. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Borough of West Homestead posted this statement to social media: It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of former Mayor John J. Dindak at the age of 97. Mayor Dindak dedicated over 53 years of his life in service to our community, both as a council member and as mayor. His unwavering commitment and leadership paved the way for a stronger, more connected community. His legacy is one of integrity, dedication, and tireless public service. Mayor Dindak will be deeply missed by all who knew him both within our community and beyond. His impact will be felt for generations to come, and his memory will forever remain in our hearts. Rest in peace, Mayor Dindak. You will never be forgotten." By order of the boroughs current mayor, all flags at the borough building were lowered to half-staff in Dindaks honor, the West Homestead Police Department says. Dindaks obituary can be found here. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW A former director of the Milwaukee Childrens Choir who was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a child was ordered to serve two years' probation. Marco A. Melendez, 40, of Milwaukee was charged in June 2024 and accused of grooming and sexually assaulting a one-time member of the choir. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty in March to contributing to the delinquency of a child, a felony. Charges of child enticement and third-degree sexual assault, both felonies, were dismissed on the prosecutor's motion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On May 23, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michelle Havas ordered Melendez to serve probation with conditions that include sex offender treatment, no contact with the victim and that he not work around any children, according to online court records. He must also register as a sex offender for 15 years. If he violates the terms of probation, he faces 18 months in prison followed by 18 months of extended supervision. Where to find help: The National Sexual Assault Hotline is (800) 656-4673. The City of Milwaukee Health Department has resources for sexual assault survivors here. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Milwaukee Children's Choir director ordered to serve probation Netflix is releasing a documentary about the OceanGate Titan submersible disaster. The sub imploded in 2023 while descending to view the Titanic wreck, killing all five people on board. The documentary takes a closer look at the incident and the late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. An upcoming Netflix documentary is set to take a closer look at the Titan submersible's ill-fated journey to the wreck of the Titanic two years ago. "Titan: The OceanGate Disaster" arrives on Netflix on June 11 and will examine the events leading up to the doomed expedition that killed OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four others after the vessel carrying them to view the wreck imploded in June 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trailer for the documentary shows interviews with several people close to the late exec and who worked for the expedition company. "There was no way of knowing when Titan was going to fail," Rob McCallum, a former OceanGate advisor, says in the trailer. "But it was a mathematical certainty that it would fail." The trailer also teases interviews with ex-OceanGate staff members like Tony Nissen, a former engineering director at the firm, Bonnie Carl, a human resources and finance director, and David Lochridge, an operations director who previously said he was fired after raising safety concerns about the sub. In the trailer, Lochridge says he thought Rush "wanted fame" to "fuel his ego," while Nissen adds that he thought Stockton was "a borderline psychopath." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere in the clip, Carl recalls her reaction after she said Rush announced she would be the company's next sub pilot: "Are you nuts? I'm an accountant." OceanGate Expeditions' Titan submersible. OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File As well as testimonies from key figures, "Titan: The OceanGate Disaster" will also feature "pivotal" audio recordings and footage from OceanGate's early days, per the documentary's synopsis. Speaking in an interview with Netflix's Tudum, director Mark Monroe said he had been "horrified and mesmerized" by the coverage and social commentary on the sub and that he hoped the documentary could provide answers about how the disaster happened. "The more I dug into this terrible tragedy, the more intrigued I became about how this could have ever happened in the first place, and who exactly was the man who built and then went down with this ship," he said. "We hope that this film can help provide answers to these very questions." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, the US Coast Guard released footage showing the moment that Rush's wife, Wendy Rush, heard the apparent sound of the Titan submersible imploding. Wendy can be seen trying to contact the sub from a support vessel when a loud slamming sound can be heard through a monitor. "What was that bang?" she said. The submersible lost communication with the support vessel the Polar Prince around an hour and 45 minutes into its dive, sparking a dramatic four-day search and rescue effort. Debris from the Titan was eventually found by a remotely operated vehicle around 500 meters (roughly 1,640 feet) from the bow of the Titanic, which lies around 12,500 feet below the surface. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alongside Rush, British pilot and adventurer Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and former French Navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet died in the incident. Read the original article on Business Insider Terence Trent Vos will spend the rest of his life in prison, without the possibility of parole, after he was found guilty of aggravated murder in the killing of his girlfriend, Shandon Nicole Scott. Unified police responded to a crash on I-80 in Salt Lake County in the early morning hours of May 1, 2021, and found Scott, 32, with many gunshot wounds, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office. A witness to the crash reported seeing Vos in the drivers seat; the person said Vos had tried to take their vehicle but they stopped him. Vos ran from the scene when law enforcement arrived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unified police later said Scott was shot at a townhome complex at 700 East and 2700 South shortly before officers responded to the crash at 3 a.m. Their investigation found neighbors heard pounding, screaming and gunshots about 2:45 a.m. After being arrested, Vos told officers someone else had shot Scott, but he then admitted to a friend during a phone call while incarcerated that he had gotten into a fight with Scott and shot her. Vos, 35, of Salt Lake City, is a former Public Enemy No. 1 of the Salt Lake City Metro Gang Unit. In addition to his life sentence, the judge gave Vos four sentences of five years to life for three counts of felony discharge of a firearm causing serious injury and possession of a firearm as a restricted person, first-degree felonies. Vos also received a sentence of one to 15 years in prison for obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. He was given credit for the time he served resolving his conviction for failure to stop at the command of a law officer, a class A misdemeanor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Third District Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills ordered each of the sentences to run consecutively with previous sentences in other cases but concurrently with each other. In a statement Friday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said his office hopes Scotts family can now begin to heal from their loss. We applaud the judge for sentencing the defendant to life without the possibility of parole. The streets of Salt Lake County will be safer now that this violent habitual offender is behind bars for the rest of his life, Gill said. Vos was found guilty in March following a six-day jury trial. He has received multiple charges for alleged crimes while incarcerated since the killing, including threatening Utah Department of Corrections officers last month. Foul play is suspected in a massive power outage across the South of France on Saturday that has hit the final day of the Cannes Film Festival. Local media is reporting that a fire at an electricity station outside the town of Tanneron overnight, followed by the downing of pylons close to the towns of Villeneuve-Loubet, Mougins and Cagnes-sur-Mer this morning had caused the electricity cuts which began at around 10 am local time (1 am PT). More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement French radio network Franceinfo said local police and sources at the Ministry of Interior had informed it that foul play was suspected, with signs that the downed pylons had been sawn. The incident is reminiscent of an arson attack on Frances national rail network on the eve of the Paris Olympics last July, when electrical and signal installations on high-speed lines running north, east and west out of the capital boxes were deliberately set on fire throwing the public transport system into chaos. It also follows a massive power outage in Spain and Portugal at the end of April, which caused mass blackouts across both countries. In Cannes, the power cut briefly interrupted screenings in the Palais des Festival, before a generator kicked in, while a press conference for Kelly Reichardts Mastermind continued as normal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The festival has said that the closing ceremony on Saturday evening will go ahead as planned thanks to the fact the Palais des Festivals is equipped with independent power. In Cannes itself, Deadline journalists saw that lights in shops were off shops and restaurants, which could only take cash payments. But the ATMs that supply the cash were also out of action, and traffic lights had failed. Internet connectivity was hit and mobile communications difficult. Read the full report here. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A prominent Democratic lawyer and three other major partners are leaving the law firm Paul, Weiss to start their own firm, according to an email obtained by POLITICO. The departures come two months after Paul, Weiss entered a deal with the White House to provide $40 million in pro-bono legal work to causes supported by President Donald Trump in exchange for the removal of an executive order that firm Chair Brad Karp said could easily have destroyed our firm. The departures include Karen Dunn, who co-chaired the firms litigation department and has helped Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates prepare for debates in every election since 2008. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also leaving the firm is Jeannie Rhee, a former Obama-era Justice Department official who previously represented Hillary Clinton in a lawsuit regarding her use of a private email server and later joined special counsel Robert Muellers investigative team. Rounding out the departures are Jessica Phillips, who has represented some of the nations largest technology companies in court, and William Isaacson, another high-profile trial lawyer once named litigator of the year by The American Lawyer. We were disappointed not to be able to tell each of you personally and individually the news that we have decided to leave Paul, Weiss to start a new law firm, Dunn wrote in a goodbye email sent to the firms partners. It has been an honor to work alongside such talented lawyers and to call so many of you our friends. We hope to continue to collaborate with all of you in the years to come and are incredibly grateful for your warm and generous partnership. Citing the firms association with a lawyer who previously investigated Trump for the Manhattan District Attorneys Office, the executive order cut the firm and its clients off from government contracts, limited the ability of its lawyers to interact with government officials and even threatened to restrict Paul Weiss, attorneys from government buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two federal judges have ruled similar orders against law firms Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block unconstitutional. Two additional firms, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey, have also sued over similar executive orders and final rulings are pending in those cases. But Paul Weiss and other elite law firms struck deals to try to get in Trumps good graces. Paul Weiss is grateful to Bill, Jeannie, Jessica and Karen for their many contributions. We wish them well in all their future endeavors, the firm said in a statement. (This May 23 story is repeated without any changes to the text) By Sara Merken (Reuters) - Four partners are leaving law firm Paul Weiss, after it struck a deal in March with U.S. President Donald Trump to lift an executive order that targeted the firm. Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson, Jeannie Rhee and Jessica Phillips said in an internal email obtained by Reuters they were departing to form a new practice together. "We were disappointed not to be able to tell each of you personally and individually the news that we have decided to leave Paul, Weiss to start a new law firm," the email said. "It has been an honor to work alongside such talented lawyers and to call so many of you our friends." The four did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The email did not mention Paul Weiss' deal with Trump, in which the firm pledged $40 million in free legal work to support mutually agreed causes with the administration. Eight other law firms have since made similar deals with the White House. "We are grateful to Bill, Jeannie, Jessica and Karen for their many contributions to the firm," Paul Weiss Chairman Brad Karp said in a statement on Friday. Dunn, co-chair of the firm's litigation department, is a leading Washington lawyer and prominent Democrat, having served in the Obama White House and later on the debate prep team for Trump's 2024 election opponent Kamala Harris. She is Google's lead attorney in a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department accusing the company of monopolizing digital advertising markets. Rhee joined Paul Weiss in 2019, after serving on the prosecution team led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that probed any connections between Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Moscow. Isaacson, a veteran antitrust lawyer, joined Paul Weiss in 2020 from Boies Schiller Flexner along with Dunn and Phillips. Four law firms have sued the Trump administration over executive orders like the one Trump rescinded against Paul Weiss, which threatened the firms' access to government officials and federal contracting work. A judge on Friday struck down Trump's order against Jenner & Block, following a similar ruling this month for Perkins Coie. (Reporting by Sara Merken, David Thomas and Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Chris Reese) France has been accused of double standards after seizing a British fishing boat in the English Channel. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was being held in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Saturday and now risks being confiscated. The vessel was intercepted by the Pluvier, a French navy ship, on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence. A French legal source said the catamarans skipper could face a year in prison and a 75,000 (63,000) fine for non-authorised fishing in French waters by a non-EU boat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was likely to be summoned to court in northern France and would also face potential administrative penalties such as the seizure of his boat under Frances rural and maritime fisheries code. The incident comes days after Sir Keir Starmer was criticised over his reset deal with Brussels, under which he granted EU fishermen access to British waters for a further 12 years. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told The Telegraph: This shows shameful double standards. This year alone, the French have failed to stop 13,000 illegal immigrants crossing the channel taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters. Yet when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act. If the French can now intercept boats then they should start stopping the boats with illegal immigrants as international law obliges them to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Belgians can do it, and the French should too. Weve all had enough of the French waving illegal immigrants through into UK waters. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said its all one way traffic. The French can fish up to our six mile line for 12 more years and we have no force of law over their actions, he said. But if one British boat is in a contested area there is hell to pay. I doubt our Government even understands the harm that has been inflicted on our fishermen. European trawlers will maintain unfettered access to the UKs coastal waters until 2038 under Sir Keirs deal, which was branded a betrayal of Brexit by critics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A previous agreement, which was reached under Boris Johnson, saw the UK regain 25 per cent of EU fishing quotas, but this was set to run out next year. The Lady T investigation is being led by Philippe Sabatier, the Boulogne deputy prosecutor. The Lady T fishing boat has been forbidden to leave the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer until further notice Mr Sabatier confirmed that a possible seizure of the boat would be considered, and that some crew members had already been interviewed by French officials. A spokesman for Frances maritime prefecture said: On Thursday May 22, the French navys public service patrol vessel, the Pluvier, conducted a fishing inspection in the French exclusive economic zone, off the Somme Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During this operation, which was part of the states maritime enforcement, a British fishing vessel was inspected by sailors from the navy patrol vessel while fishing without a licence in French waters. As the offence was proved, the fishing vessel was diverted during the night of May 23 to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, following the instructions of the delegate for the sea and coastline, acting on behalf of the regional prefect, who oversees the fisheries police, for the purpose of initiating prosecution. The spokesman added: This operation demonstrates the vigilance of state services in protecting fisheries resources and their determination to enforce regulations. It sends a clear signal to those who might be tempted to fish illegally in French waters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Government spokesperson said: We are aware that on 22 May a UK registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities. We are supporting a British national and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff stand ready to support British Nationals overseas 24/7. As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time. On Saturday, the Lady T was moored behind the Bassin Loubet fish market in Boulogne. The ships skipper, who refused to give his name, said: I have nothing to say to you, I wont answer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 10m boat is now forbidden to leave the port until further notice. It comes after another British-flagged vessel was intercepted and detained in French waters last Saturday less than 48 hours before the Government was accused of surrendering to the EU on fishing rights. The Francesca TO 80, registered in Truro, Cornwall, was spotted 30 nautical miles off the island of Batz, off Roscoff, Brittany. It was escorted to the port of Brest after inspectors suspected the crew of unlicensed fishing in French waters. In a statement to The Telegraph, the owner of the Lady T said they did not wish to comment at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A government spokesman said: We are aware that on May 22 a UK-registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities. We are supporting a British national and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff are ready to support British nationals overseas 24/7. As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time. 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. Britain can learn from the zeal of the French coastal authorities detaining a British catamaran fishing for whelks in its waters without a licence. It is not simply that the detention came hours after Sir Keir Starmer, in an act of abasement towards the European Union, had allowed their fishing fleets access to our waters until 2038. It is that the French still could not summon up any leniency towards us. Nor is it that the French find it far easier to detain a trawler than to stop endless rubber dinghies, filled with the victims of people smugglers, to leave their waters and head for the English coast. No: it is that the French take the business of being French exceptionally seriously. They still have, like General de Gaulle, une certaine idee de la France a certain idea of France. It is a France with a specific culture, way of life, and rights for its citizens: and the job of French officials is to enforce laws that protect these things. To the British this now seems astonishing: for one of the main motivations Sir Keir and his colleagues seem to show in governing us is a profound disregard for, and sense of embarrassment about, anything that smacks of British rights, customs, values or traditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am not condoning the breach of the law that the captain of the catamaran has allegedly committed in harvesting whelks. Had it happened in reverse, with a French trawler (before Sir Keirs capitulation) being found pursuing crustaceans improperly in our waters, we can imagine the most likely outcome would have been a British coastguard vessel (if one could be found) heaving into view of the offending craft, with an official asking it politely through a megaphone to clear off. The lightness of touch of how we do things is something many find commendable and, in matters of whelk fishing, perhaps we would not want to make a spectacle of ourselves by overdoing it. The trouble is that in so much else we simply seem not to care, and operate an approach towards enforcing our borders, our customs and our rights that is not so much permissive as downright decadent. Take another example. In recent days the French government has been asked to consider a report into the Muslim Brotherhood which it alleged, in Emmanuel Macrons words, was practising entryism into French institutions, seeking to Islamify schools, local government and other French institutions from the bottom upwards. Macron, fearing the rise of Marine Le Pens Rassemblement National, has urged a forceful response to these claims. The far Left, predictably, has accused him and his interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, of Islamophobia. They, and most of the rest of France, have simply ignored the insult. The very idea that France and Frenchness are under assault has united most of the people behind the so-called Islamophobes. Any British politician who spoke of an attempt by Islamic activists to impose their culture on ours would be condemned as a racist and kicked out of public life, irrespective of whether the assertion was true or not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is, after all, now a country where an old lady is warned over a preposterous non-crime hate incident for putting a picture of Enoch Powell in the window of her shop. It is right for us to feel anger with the French for their treatment of our trawlermen; but it would also be right for us to look at a country that unrelentingly stands up for itself and its people, and wonder whether it is not time that we did the same. 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 number of households struggling to afford basic necessities in Frederick County slightly increased from 2022 to 2023 by more than 2,400 homes, or by one percentage point, according to new data released by United For ALICE. Among those that were the most likely to struggle getting these necessities were households under 25 years old, Black and Hispanic households and households headed by single mothers. In 2023, the percentage of Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) households in Frederick County was 33%, up from 32% in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ALICE households earn above the federal poverty level but struggle to afford basic necessities and expenses like housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and technology. United For ALICE releases statewide reports on ALICE communities. The most recently released data showed information on ALICE households for 2023. The total number of households in Frederick County increased from 104,912 in 2022 to 107,332 in 2023. During that same time period, the countys median household income dropped from $119,122 in 2022 to $114,360 in 2023, a decrease of nearly four percentage points. Out of 35,557 households under the ALICE threshold in 2023, 6% of them were also living below the federal poverty level, the same percentage in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Total households in Frederick County, 2021 to 2023 Ken Oldham, the president and CEO of the United Way of Frederick County, did not respond to requests for comment on the data Friday. The data on Frederick County specifically is part of a larger data release from United For ALICE on ALICE households in Maryland. The United Way of Frederick County will release a full localized ALICE report on Sept. 9 at United Ways Leadership Breakfast. Across the entire states 2.4 million households, 39% or 934,715 households were below the ALICE threshold. Out of that number, 10%, or 236,153 households, were living below the federal poverty line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Certain demographic groups were more likely to experience financial hardship, according to the statewide report. Those groups were Black and Hispanic households; households headed by people under 25 or people 65 and older; and households headed by single parents. Single mothers were much more likely to experience financial hardship compared to single fathers. In Frederick County, the households that were more likely to be under the ALICE threshold were similar to the ones mentioned in the statewide report. County-level data can be accessed on United For ALICEs Mapping Financial Hardship tool. The map can be filtered to show ALICE households by age group, race, family type and ZIP code. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the number of households headed by people under 25 is the smallest compared to other age groups, the majority of those households about 85% were under the ALICE threshold in 2023. Households headed by people age 65 or older were the second most likely among age groups to be ALICE, at about 43% in 2023. ALICE Households in 2023 in Frederick County by age group Percentage of ALICE households in 2023 by age group Hispanic households were the most likely in the county to be ALICE, followed by Black households. In 2023, about 45% of Hispanic households and about 42% of Black households were under the ALICE threshold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 30% of white households were ALICE as well. However, the total number of white households just over 75,000 outnumber 8,861 Hispanic households and 9,963 Black households. ALICE Households in 2023 in Frederick County by race Percentage of ALICE households in 2023 by race Out of four different family types, single mothers were the most likely to be ALICE, with about 76% of those households falling under the ALICE threshold in 2023. About 47% of households headed by single fathers; about 33% of those headed by single or cohabitating people under 65; and about 13% of married households with children were ALICE in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ZIP code areas in Frederick County with higher numbers of ALICE households were in the northern parts of the county. Out of 701 households with the ZIP code 21780 in the Sabillasville area, 59% of them were ALICE. Out of 1,694 households with the ZIP code 21727 in the Emmitsburg area, 46% were ALICE. At least 37% of households in multiple ZIP codes in and around the city of Frederick 21702, 21703 and 21701 were ALICE, as well. United For ALICEs reports include a metric called the ALICE household survival budget, which reflects the minimum costs of household necessities in Maryland plus taxes, adjusted for different counties and household types. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal poverty level value for a single adult was $14,580 in 2023 and $30,000 for a family of four. In comparison, the ALICE survival budget for a single adult in Frederick County is $49,380, which is more than three times the federal poverty level, and $104,268 for a family of four that doesnt use child care. For a family of four that does use child care, that survival budget increases to $111,588 nearly four times the federal poverty level for a family of that size. The Freedom of the Press Foundation says it intends to sue Paramount if the production company settles with Donald Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. The non-profit organization said that corporations that own news outlets should not be in the business of settling baseless lawsuits that clearly violate the First Amendment and put other media outlets at risk. Trump sued the parent company of CBS News over a primetime election special that aired in October, shortly before the 2024 presidential election. It featured interviews with presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president accused the broadcaster of unlawful and illegal behavior in the way it had edited the interview with Harris. Trump and vice president JD Vance had declined to participate in the program. Interviews are always edited to fit into a programs time limits, as well as for teaser clips to promote an upcoming program. CBS has denied Trumps claim that any part of Harris interview was deceitfully edited. Trump sued the parent company of CBS News over a primetime election special that aired in October, shortly before the 2024 presidential election. It featured interviews with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) In a letter addressed to Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone, FPF Director of Advocacy Seth Stern compared a settlement of the meritless lawsuit to a bribe, saying it may well be a thinly veiled effort to launder bribes through the court system. Not only would it tank CBSs reputation but, as three U.S. senators recently explained, it could put Paramount executives at risk of breaking the law, he wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our mission as a press freedom organization is to defend the rights of journalists and the public, not the financial interests of corporate higher-ups who turn their backs on them. When you run a news organization, you have the responsibility to protect First Amendment rights, not abandon them to line your own pockets. He added: We hope Paramount will reconsider the dangerous path it appears to be contemplating but, if not, we are prepared to pursue our rights as shareholders. And we hope other Paramount shareholders will join us. In a letter addressed to Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone (pictured), FPF Director of Advocacy Seth Stern said that a settlement of Trumps meritless lawsuit may well be a thinly veiled effort to launder bribes through the court system (AP) The Independent has contacted Paramount Global for comment on the letter from FPF. The lawsuit threat from the press organization comes after Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and eight Democratic senators wrote their own letter to Redstone earlier this month, in which they urged her not to cave to the presidents $20 billion demand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders and the other senators wrote that Trumps complaint was a blatant attempt to intimidate the media and those who speak out against him. The letter was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, Chris Murphy, Ed Markey, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin and Jeff Merkley. Redstone, who has now recused herself from the boards discussion on the case, has long pushed for a settlement in hopes that it will convince the Trump administration to approve Paramounts merger with Skydance. John Cusack, an FPF founding board member, activist and actor, added: Im proud that Freedom of the Press Foundation is doing what CBSs corporate owners wont standing up for press freedom and against authoritarian shakedowns. He added: People who arent willing to defend the First Amendment should not be in the news business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The executive producer of 60 Minutes, Bill Owens, last month quit his job over lack of journalistic independence amid the Trump feud. Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience, Owens told a shocked staff in a memo. PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) Authorities executed a search warrant at a Putnam County home early Friday morning and took two people into custody, including a fugitive. The Putnam County Sheriffs Office said its Warrants Division, in coordination with its Narcotics Division and the U.S. Marshals Task Force, executed the warrant on Friday, May 23 at an address along Greenland Avenue as part of an ongoing investigation to find a fugitive whos evaded law enforcement since 2018. Inside the residence, officials said they found and arrested Joshua Kane Love, who was featured in the PCSOs Warrant Wednesday segment in February 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cheatham County deputies arrest wanted man getting out of the shower Authorities also discovered Ashley Green, who had been questioned multiple times over the past few years regarding the whereabouts of Love and had denied knowing him, according to the sheriffs office. However, evidence gathered during the search reportedly confirmed Love had been living at the home with Green. Officials said Love was taken into custody on outstanding warrants for aggravated burglary, two counts of violation of probation (original charge was possession of more than 10 pounds of marijuana), and failure to appear on a felony charge. In addition, Love allegedly had a firearm and decoy law enforcement badges in his possession, so the convicted felon was charged with unlawful carrying or possession of a weapon, as well. (Courtesy: Putnam County Sheriffs Office) Authorities said Love has a bond set at $80,000, but hes being held without bond for his two counts of violation of probation. His court date is set for July 17. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Meanwhile, Green was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact for harboring a fugitive, according to law enforcement. Her bond was set at $8,000 and her court date is scheduled for June 23. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This arrest is the result of persistent investigative work and outstanding coordination between our Deputies and our Federal partners, Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris stated. No matter how long a bad actor tries to hide, we will continue to pursue justice for the citizens of Putnam County. Our message is clear: if you break the law and run or hide, we will find you. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) Funding cuts are leading to fewer beds at a Norman mental health facility. The Red Rock Behavioral Health Center will soon only be able to treat half the number of patients. Verna Foust is the CEO of Red Rock Behavioral Health Services Crisis Stabilization, and she said starting July 1, the number of beds will decrease from 40 to 20. We admit about 2,000 people to that crisis unit every year. So, it will be a decrease of about a thousand admissions a year, said Foust. It just saddens me to see whats happening this year with the public mental health system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foust said the crisis unit services all 77 counties. Tornado siren still down a month after News 4 story They are designed for adults and children who are in a psychiatric crisis, and the average length of stay is about 5 to 7 days, said Foust. Foust said the cuts have to happen because the crisis unit is not receiving the same amount of money they once were. For this year, we anticipate having somewhere between $12 and $14 million worth of indigent care that we are not going to get compensated for, said Foust. The CEO said that within the last three years, the crisis unit has lost around $10 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, we lost $2.8 million. This year were anticipating losing $4.5 million, said Foust. Foust said that although she hopes the community isnt noticeably affected, she does think it will have an impact. I think one of the things thats going to happen is its going to be a bigger burden on law enforcement, because if a bed is not available in Norman, they will have to drive to other parts of the state where there is a crisis bed available, said Foust. Oklahoma Lawmakers said they are worried about how the cuts will affect the state. I think we have to look at theres going to be a bigger cost down the road, but Im not surprised, said Oklahoma Senator Julia Kirk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Colombian gangs are using a deadly drug, once used by the CIA as a truth serum, to kidnap and rob Western tourists. Dubbed Devils Breath, the drug scopolamine is derived from the seeds of the Borrachero tree and is also known as burundanga. In potent doses of 10 milligrams or more, it can paralyse its victims, rendering them highly suggestible to commands as they are placed in a zombie-like state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The gangs ensnare tourists by promising them a night of passion in messages sent over dating apps such as Tinder or Grindr, the LGBT platform. After leading them to a secluded setting, the victim is offered a drink, a stick of chewing gum or a cigarette, that is laced with the colourless and odourless drug. Cases have also been reported of victims being injected using incredibly fine needles that leave no trace of an entry wound. The victim is assailed with hallucinations, delirium and starts to lose control of their limbs as the chemical cocktail works its way through the nervous system over the next 30 minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sprawled helplessly on the bed or couch, their captors drain their accounts, rummage through their wallets or prise pieces of jewellery from their fingers and wrists. Those who start reacting erratically or try to resist are often hit over the head, according to Agustin Guerrero Salcedo, a leading toxicologist from Barranquilla with 40 years of experience treating such incidents. Police fear this is the fate that befell Alessando Coatti, a 38-year-old Italian scientist who went missing while on holiday in the coastal city of Santa Marta last month. Detectives believe the molecular biologist, who worked in London, was lured to an abandoned house in the San Jose del Pando neighbourhood after being contacted over the Grindr dating app. Police suspect that Alessando Coatti, an Italian scientist who worked in London, was the victim of a Colombian gang targeting tourists What exactly happened on the evening of April 4 remains unclear but post-mortem examinations concluded that Coatti was killed by blunt-force trauma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His body was then dismembered and stuffed into suitcases and bags strewn across the city in an apparent attempt to trick investigators into believing it was a gangland-style hit involving warring drug clans. It does something to your brain where you forget completely its like a vacuum, recalled Fernando, a 64-year-old British financial analyst who believes he was drugged with Devils Breath while on a business trip to Bogota in 2012. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the retired father of two, currently living in Spain, told The Telegraph he was duped into withdrawing around 1,000 (840) with two separate credit cards after his beer was spiked during a night out at a bar near his hotel. He woke up the next afternoon at 1pm with next to no recollection of what had occurred the night before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fernando said was forced to rely on the hotel receptionist to piece together the fragments of what happened that evening. He could only recall being approached by someone at a bar and then, according to the hotel staff, was picked up by a sympathetic taxi driver who came across him wandering in a daze along the streets of a shady neighbourhood of Bogota. You do anything they say Its very dangerous because youre totally hypnotised, you do anything they say, Fernando said. The next day I went to work and told people what happened to me. They suggested I go get tested, and it turned out I had been drugged I dont remember much, I just have glimpses of vague instances of walking along the streets and stumbling over my feet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then I have never accepted [random] drinks or left my drink alone: I think thats what had happened, I had probably gone to the toilet and let my beer down. Fernando explained that because he left one of his cards in the hotel safe, it means he was made to go back to the hotel and collect it while possibly intoxicated on Devils Breath. I had gone back into my hotel, during the time in which I was on burundanga and, on my own, taken a card and gone out again. Fernando informed police of the incident but claimed the dismissive manner in which they treated his complaint suggested such thefts were very commonplace. Drug singled out in travel warning Cases have become so prevalent in Colombia that the US embassy in Bogota singled out scopolamine in a security warning to tourists in June 2023 over the dangers of meeting people through online dating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many cases go unreported out of embarrassment and a reluctance to engage with police or judicial authorities. Tourist cities of Medellin, Cartagena, and Bogota were singled out as hotspots. Thefts committed against foreign visitors to Medellin in the last three months of 2023 had risen by 200 per cent compared with the previous year, city authorities said. Violent deaths of foreign visitors, most of which were US citizens, had increased 29 per cent. In January 2024, the US embassy disclosed that there had been eight deaths attributed to involuntary drugging overdose or suspected homicides between Nov 1 and Dec 31 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the first case of its kind in the UK, Diana Cristea, then 19, together with her boyfriend Joel Osei, used Devils Breath to poison and rob Adrian Murphy, an Irish dancer, in June 2019 after befriending him over Grindr. Toxicology reports showed Murphy had died from an overdose of the drug. Cristea, of Mill Hill, north London, and Osei, then 25, were both found guilty of murder following a trial at Croydon Crown Court. They were also convicted of poisoning a second man with the same drug two days earlier. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, survived, but was taken to hospital after being found by a neighbour almost naked, extremely agitated and confused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cristea was jailed for 16 years and handed a life sentence. Osei was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 32 years. The National Crime Agency said there was little evidence of scopolamine being used in the UK but that they were monitoring cases. How the drug works Prof Kamyar Afarinkia, a lecturer on drug toxicology from the University of West London, said that a backstreet chemist with as much knowledge as a second year university student would be able to extract scopolamine with 90 per cent purity from a Borrachero tree and manufacture it for use with only a few readily available chemicals. Explaining the ease with which it can be administered, he said: If its sprayed onto the face and if its not cleaned properly, then it gets into your bloodstream fairly easily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It can also be given, for example, in fruit juice...if its given in grapefruit juice its a lot more effective because grapefruit juice stops the metabolism of the drug in the body. You can get a business card, soak it in, let it dry and then give it to somebody and then when they touch it would obviously be under their skin unless they go and wash their hands very quickly. Prof Afarinkia added: In these cases it causes a very strange state when people basically accept everything that is said to them. Scopolomaine belongs to a class of so-called truth serums that you may have heard about in spy novels and basically that means people are open to suggestions. So if they said can you tell me the latest secrets, people volunteer it, they wouldnt actually remember it afterwards. Dr Sarah Cockbill, a retired consultant pharmacist who has acted as an expert witness in medical legal cases for the past 13 years, said the severity of symptoms depended on the dosage, the health and age of the victim and whether any adulterants had been added to it. She said: It puts the brain to sleep, so you are a zombie, you dont know what youre doing, how much of it and where. People do just wander round in what looks like a trance until the symptoms wear off, but again that is dose dependent and a lot of people have more severe reactions to a small dose. On the risk of longer term brain damage, she added: If youre putting your brain to sleep, it wouldnt be the most unusual thing for there to be some long lasting damage when they finally come around. 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. Lackawanna County and Democratic Commissioner Bill Gaughan are appealing a county judicial panels ruling that the countys Home Rule Charter controls the process of filling former Democratic Commissioner Matt McGloins vacant seat. Gaughan and the county, co-petitioners in litigation challenging the charter process, are also appealing the panels ruling that the county lacks authority to proceed as a party in the legal matter. With Senior Judges Carmen D. Minora and Vito P. Geroulo in the majority and Senior Judge Robert A. Mazzoni dissenting, the three-judge panel ruled Thursday that the charter supersedes a state rule of judicial administration that would have removed the county Democratic Committee from the replacement process. It amounted to a legal victory for the committee, which the charter tasks with playing a major role in filling vacancies when a Democratic commissioner or other elected Democratic county row officer leaves office mid-term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for Gaughan and the county filed a notice Friday in county court stating the parties are appealing the ruling in Commonwealth Court. The Scranton law firm Myers, Brier & Kelly filed the notice as part of its standing engagement, county spokesman Patrick McKenna said in an email, nothing there will be no further cost associated with the appeal. The HRC specifically tasks the Democratic Committee with submitting the names of three potential candidates to fill the vacancy for consideration by the commissioned judges of the county Court of Common Pleas, and the judges with appointing McGloins successor from that short list. That process played out controversially in late February when the committee held a closed-door vote to submit former county Economic Development Director Brenda Sacco, Olyphant Borough Council President James Baldan and Scranton School Director Robert J. Casey as potential appointees. Gaughan and the county challenged the charter process in March, arguing it violates Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration 1908. That rule, adopted by the state Supreme Court in 2019, says the county court alone, not a political party, shall receive applications from any interested candidates for the position pursuant to a deadline established by the court. Both sides made their respective cases in court filings and during oral arguments before the panel, with the committee arguing for the supremacy of the charter and Gaughan and the county for Rule 1908. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minora and Geroulo ultimately ruled the charter process supersedes the rule of judicial administration, writing that Gaughan and the countys reading of Rule 1908 simply defies logic and means every time the court issues a new rule, be it administrative or procedural, HRC communities better hold their breath lest their constitutionally guaranteed right to self-rule be consumed by a pac-man like anonymous rule making committee unanswerable to any public input. Mazzoni, dissenting, wrote that the clear and unambiguous language in Rule 1908 makes its application in this case compelling. As noted in the language of Rule 1908, the application of this Rule makes the selection of a candidate more transparent and, of course, more diverse by creating a larger pool of worthy applicants, Mazzoni wrote. A result which truly serves the ends of justice. The senior judges spoke in one voice on another element of the case, unanimously ruling that the county lacks authority to proceed as a party to the matter while rejecting the claim that county Solicitor Donald Frederickson can commence and prosecute litigation on behalf of the county without authorization from a majority of the commissioners. The county has no authority to proceed because Republican Commissioner Chris Chermak, one of two sitting commissioners, never authorized the countys participation, per the ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for Chermak who himself objected to the use of county personnel, resources and taxpayer money to make the legal challenge had argued in court against the countys participation for that reason. The senior judges did, however, rule that Gaughan has standing to proceed in his official capacity as commissioner since he has a substantial, direct and immediate interest in the case. The employment of an appropriate selection process can have an impact on Gaughans ability to function as a Commissioner, they wrote. The ruling notes that Chermak also has standing as a commissioner. County President Judge James Gibbons has not provided specific details or a timeline on how the county judges might proceed in light of Thursdays ruling, now being appealed, which orders them to follow the directives of the Home Rule Charter when filling McGloins seat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will provide information as it becomes available, Gibbons said in an email. Reached Friday morning, Frederickson said the appeal will stay Thursdays county court ruling pending a ruling from the appellate court. The notice of appeal filed Friday is not the appeal itself, which will be filed at a later date. County Democratic Chairman Chris Patrick declined to comment on the appeal beyond saying they have to do whatever they have to do. A pediatrician and mother of 10 is mourning the deaths of nine of her young children after an Israeli airstrike hit their home near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, according to hospital officials. Dr. Alaa al-Najjar's husband, also a doctor, was severely wounded and is now in intensive care. Their only surviving child was also injured, according to Dr. Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. "This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain," al-Bursh said in a statement on Friday night. "In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted -- Israel's aggression goes further, wiping out entire families." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nasser Medical Complex, where al-Najjar works as a pediatric specialist in the al-Tahrir clinic, expressed condolences in a statement, saying: "We are speechless, and our breaths suffocate in the face of the horror of this tragedy." MORE: Doctor details Gaza famine: 'We're not asking for miracles. We're asking for food' When asked for comment, the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News its aircraft on Friday "struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Yunis" and that the "claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review." "The Khan Yunis area is a dangerous war zone," the IDF added. "Before beginning operations there, the IDF evacuated civilians from this area for their own safety." PHOTO: Mourners react as they attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 23, 2025. (Hatem Khaled/Reuters) Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, head of pediatrics and obstetrics at the Tahrir clinic in Nasser Medical Complex, confirmed the incident, telling ABC News in a telephone interview Saturday that al-Najjar was at work when she received word on Friday afternoon that strikes had hit Qizan an-Najjar, the area where her family lives, south of Khan Younis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "She felt by her heart that something happened to her family," al-Farra said. "She left and walked and tried to run without transport." "Unfortunately, she discovered that her house was completely destroyed," he added. Among the children who were killed, five were boys and four were girls, with the youngest being a seven-month-old daughter and the eldest a 12-year-old son, according to al-Farra. "They were completely burned," he told ABC News. MORE: Aid trucks looted in southern Gaza as famine looms due to blockade: UN PHOTO: Smoke rises from an Israeli army airstrike south of Khan Younis, Gaza, on May 21, 2025. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) The one child who survived, al-Najjar's 11-year-old son, had to undergo two surgeries and remains in critical condition in the hospital, according to al-Farra. The father, al-Najjar's husband, also remains hospitalized in critical condition after undergoing surgeries and may have to have a leg amputated, al-Farra said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked whether any humanitarian aid had reached Nasser Medical Complex, one of the largest hospitals in Gaza, al-Farra told ABC News that they still haven't received anything because what little aid was distributed so far this week has been stolen by armed gangs. The World Food Programme, the food assistance branch of the United Nations, said more than a dozen of its aid trucks were looted in southern Gaza late Thursday as 2 million people in the war-torn territory face "extreme hunger and famine without immediate action." The looting came just days after Israel succumbed to global pressure and eased its 11-weeklong blockade on all supplies entering neighboring Gaza, which the U.N. and other international aid organizations said has caused widespread malnutrition and conditions likely to lead to famine. The aid blockade went into effect in early March as the initial phase of a two-month ceasefire expired between Israel and Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli government is working with the U.S. to set up aid distribution points in southern and central Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday. But the plan, set to begin Monday, has faced criticism from established aid organizations that have been operating inside of Gaza for the past 19 months. The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas fighters entered Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages. There are still 58 hostages held captive by Hamas, 20 of whom are presumed to be alive. Hamas is believed to be holding the bodies of four Americans. The war has taken a large toll on Palestinians, with over 53,000 killed in Gaza since the conflict began, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. While statistics do not distinguish between military and non-military casualties, women and children make up tens of thousands of this number, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. -ABC News' Samy Zayara and Nasser Atta contributed to this report. Gaza pediatrician and mother loses 9 of 10 children after Israeli airstrike hits their home, hospital says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com GENEVA Incoming Geneva Area City Schools Superintendent Paul Lombardo met with around 15 members of the community Thursday evening at the Geneva High School cafeteria. The event was open to the public, and organized by the school board, in preparation for Lombardo starting as superintendent in August. I have plans of meeting with all the [district] administrators, so I have one-on-ones, Lombardo said. Im meeting with our president and vice president of the board throughout, just to touch base. Im meeting with our treasurer in the next two weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he is interested in getting to know local government leaders. Lombardo was surprised by how many townships the district covered, he said. Lombardo was hired as the districts new superintendent April 16. His contract runs from Aug. 1, 2025-July 31, 2028. He will replace Interim Superintendent David Riley, who is serving in that capacity after the departure of the districts previous superintendent, Terri Hrina-Treharn. The board selected four finalists for the position. Lombardo said he is interested in tackling district transportation issues, because that topic came up frequently during the selection process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am definitely looking to see what we can do to just improve communication, transportation routes and just looking at efficiencies, he said. Lombardo said he initially came up with a 100-day plan for when he starts, but that has quickly evolved into a 120-day plan. I keep adjusting that, and I keep looking towards finalizing some of the areas, like a big checklist, he said. This way, I dont miss anything, and I have an opportunity to really hear from people and put a plan together. Lombardo wants to get as many perspectives as he can, while preparing to assume the role as superintendent. Denise Scibona, a parent to a district teacher and grandparent to district alumni, said she wanted to meet Lombardo and see what he has to say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am interested to see what the new superintendent hopes to do to improve from the last superintendent, she said. Ashtabula County Auditor and Geneva-area resident Scott Yamamoto introduced himself, telling Lombardo to reach out to him and his office if he ever needs help. I do that with all the superintendents and treasurers for all the schools, Yamamoto said. Yamamoto encouraged Lombardo to reach out to the townships in the district, he said. Youre going to find that the township trustees are very open and receptive, Yamamoto said. Geneva City Councilperson Jeff Griffiths has children in the district, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a great opportunity to sit down and chat and hear a little bit from the new superintendent, he said. Board President Michele Krieg said she thought the event went excellent. I wish we had a little bit better turnout, but I think the setting turned into a little bit more of an intimate conversation, she said. Lombardo said district residents are free to reach him at his email, paul.lombardo@genevaschools.org, with any questions or concerns. May 24ROCHESTER Five years ago, media from across the country descended on Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. In less than 24 hours after Floyd died, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis to demand justice for Floyd. The protests quickly devolved into chaos and destruction in the city. Protests would soon spread across the world, but the Twin Cities became the epicenter of the issue. The Rochester Post Bulletin's Joe Ahlquist, now photo editor, and reporter John Molseed covered multiple days of the protests. They sat down with News Editor Sydney Mook to discuss their experiences from that time and to reflect on the work they did there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This story is a brief glimpse into the conversation. Ahlquist got to Minneapolis on May 28, 2020, and covered the protests for two days. Molseed arrived the next day, on May 29, 2020, and stayed through May 31. By the time both had arrived, protests were already underway. On May 27, 2020, demonstrators had already marched to the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct, where the officers involved were stationed. Looting had occurred at nearby businesses and fires had broken out. Heading up to cover, Ahlquist said he was a little uneasy. "I was really nervous driving up there, but I was also excited to be contributing to the documentation of this historical moment," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He went straight to the Third Precinct and said the atmosphere was "like an angry barbecue." "(It was) very calm, like a normal protest," he said. "People were literally cooking food." But things slowly started to change after an apparent assault at the site. The police reaction to the incident set off a new tone to the protests. Later that night, the Third Precinct was taken and evacuated. The National Guard was also activated in an attempt to control the chaos. When Molseed arrived on the morning of May 29, he decided to stop at what is now known as George Floyd Square. He described the area as "very peaceful" with no apparent police presence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was very positive. People were making a lot of speeches. Art was already starting to spring up. The mural was almost complete, flowers everywhere and a lot of positive talking. The feeling there was very different from what I was expecting when I first rolled into town," he said. While Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death on May 29, the protests continued and more buildings were burned. A curfew was also imposed on May 29. Chauvin was ultimately convicted of all charges. "The scene was very chaotic, and I did not feel safe," Molseed said about the protests on Lake Street, adding he had his camera and a press pass with him and was met with "hostility" from people. He said a friend who worked for the Star Tribune had a marking round shot through his vehicle. On a different night, Molseed said his car was also hit with a marking round, which left green paint on the outside of his vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's a dent I still have on the fender of my car from where that round hit," he said. "... But it was just frustrating for me as somebody who deliberately planned to get out quickly, who deliberately planned not to make any trouble, but to document what was going on, to still run into trouble, trying to leave there, still run into trouble, trying to just not be a part of the conflict. ... I think there were a lot of protesters who were in a similar situation." "One of the things that stuck with me the most after those first initial days was just how wild it was to go from that up there, back to Rochester," where things were much more calm, Ahlquist noted. Eventually, things began to quiet down in Minneapolis by May 31, and cleanup efforts began. How does someone do their job amid all the chaos? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Molseed said after he watched an altercation between law enforcement and a protester on Lake Street in the early morning hours of May 31, he decided to try to talk to people who had been hit with non-lethal rounds or who were running away from the situation. "I went over to them, and I figured that they would probably want to tell their story. 'This is what happened to me. I was trying to leave, and my friend got shot in the back with some sort of nonlethal round and went down,'" he said. "I just kind of figured that in an intense situation like that, the reaction is going to be to tell me what happened, rather than, I don't know, being in a situation where you're just kind of standing around or milling around, or being around people who are just shouting slogans, if you can get an immediate reaction of what happened." As a photographer, Ahlquist said his experience was slightly different. He also decided not to go out at night to cover the protests when the situation was more dangerous. "I think for a photographer ... you kind of hide behind the camera and you're just doing your thing, photographing what's happening ... photographing what's around you," he said. "The camera kind of becomes almost like a shield in some way. I also, thankfully, was never in a situation, because I chose not to go out at night, where I was easily targeted by police or anything like that. ... I was very intentional with my placement. ... There were big concrete barriers, and so I was kind of behind one of those in case police rushed the crowd. I wasn't going to get run over by people running." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tear gas was often deployed by law enforcement to deter and disperse protesters. As Ahquist pointed out, tear gas is technically not a gas. It's fine particles of irritants that linger in the air, resulting especially in the blinding of the eyes with tears. The first time he experienced tear gas was from fairly far away, "I just got a little bit of a dose. So I was like, 'Oh, that's what tear gas feels like.'" But the next night, he was "right in it and it was like 'Oh, that's what tear gas feels like.'" "I just remember the burning eyes and sort of having a hard time catching your breath and sort of the burning in your lungs," Ahlquist said. "It's a very sulfury smell. It just, it burns," Molseed said. "It burns your eyes, it burns your lips, it burns your nose, it burns your throat." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At one point during one of the nights of protests, Molseed said he "stupidly" took off his N95 mask, hoping to get some fresh air, but the tear gas stuck. "As you're exposed to it, just time, and a lot of washing is the only thing that gets rid of it," he said. He said it felt like the smell of the tear gas lingered in his car for months after. Five years later, Molseed and Ahlquist say the experience covering the protests even just for a few days left them a little shaken and gave them a different perspective of how they might be perceived while doing their jobs documenting history. "It might sound a little bit odd, but after the night of the 29th and 30th, it was a bit of a wake-up call that showing up with the DSLR camera and a press pass doesn't necessarily mean that you can be perceived as a neutral party by anyone involved, police protesters and whatnot," Molseed said, adding that he opted for a different approach after his first two nights covering the protests. He left the camera at home and tried to "blend in normally." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I probably would have just assumed that parties on all sides would view media as we're third party. We're not involved in this. We're just documenting and we're completely neutral, but I don't think there's the perception of that anymore," he said. "Maybe it was naive to think that at that point (in my career). ... But now I'm a little bit more reluctant to fly that flag in an intense situation and try to be a little bit more incognito." "My faith in institutions was definitely rattled," Ahlquist said. "100 percent agree," Molseed chimed in. "When you're in a situation where you don't really have complete trust in either side, including the people that you've been taught your entire life to rely on for help, it does kind of rattle you a little bit," Ahlquist added. "I think the big takeaway there, for me, was that, (with) some of those institutions, there might be a time where they're not there to help you, or won't be there to help you." FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany may consider reintroducing military conscription from as soon as next year if it does not attract enough volunteers for its armed forces, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday. Part of the NATO alliance, Germany is looking to enhance its military strength following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but looks likely to fail to attract enough recruits. An additional 100,000 soldiers are needed in the coming years to meet NATO obligations, its armed forces have said. Its Conservatives, which lead a coalition in which Pistorius' Social Democrats (SPD) are junior partners, have revved up military spending and signalled openness to a compulsory service in the armed forces, which was abandoned in 2011. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our model is initially based on voluntary participation," Pistorius said in an interview with the Sunday newspaper, which is already for sale on Saturdays. "If the time comes when we have more capacity available than voluntary registrations, then we may decide to make it mandatory," he added. A new bill to that extent could come into force as soon as January 1, 2026, he said. The SPD has always focused more on voluntary options to rebuild the military. Andreas Henne, Commander of Germany's Homeland Security Division, on Saturday also supported recruitment drives. "We've taken the right path, but we now need to increase the pace," Henne said in an interview with news site t-online. "In terms of equipment, infrastructure expansion, and, above all, personnel." (Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Jan Harvey) Kinshasa, DRC (PANA) - As violence intensifies in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday that food insecurity is worsening both within the country and in neighbouring States, where 140,000 Congolese have fled since January The head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Munch, has issued a warning about the increasing radicalization of young people within right-wing extremist circles. "For about a year, we've increasingly seen very young people with right-wing views becoming more radicalized and forming, at times, well-organized groups to carry out serious crimes," Munch told the Funke media group of newspapers in remarks published on Saturday. He highlighted the growing role of the internet as a networking space for the far-right scene. "Radicalization, recruitment and mobilization increasingly happen via social networks and right-wing forums," Munch said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The high number and severity of far-right motivated crimes pose a "major challenge" to security agencies, which are responding with increased surveillance, according to Munch. Munch emphasized that tackling the issue is not solely the responsibility of the police, but a challenge that requires joint effort across all parts of society to prevent serious acts of violence. Earlier this week, German federal prosecutors launched a crackdown on a far-right extremist cell accused of plotting violent attacks targeting migrants. Five male suspects aged 14 to 18 were arrested in coordinated raids. The teens are accused of being part of - or in one case supporting - a group that calls itself the Last Wave of Defence. According to prosecutors, the group aimed to destabilize Germany's democratic system through acts of violence, primarily targeting migrants and political opponents. The head of Germany's GdP police union has called for technical support using artificial intelligence (AI) for law-enforcers following Friday's knife attack that left 18 people injured at Hamburg Central Station. "Unfortunately, such attacks can never be prevented 100%," said union chief Andreas Rosskopf, according to the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper. However, there is now an urgent need for the federal police to be able to carry out comprehensive checks at railway stations, Rosskopf stressed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He advocated using AI-supported camera technology "that also includes behaviour recognition so that such behavioural anomalies can be detected in advance." Early on Friday evening, 18 people were injured in a knife attack on a crowded station platform, four of them critically. Police arrested a 39-year-old woman at the scene who is to be brought before a magistrate on Saturday. Germany's culture authorities have pledged to restore the country's worn and crumbling architectural heritage, with a slew of eminent buildings from various eras in line for renovation. "The cultural infrastructure needs strengthening," new Culture Commissioner Wolfram Weimer said on Saturday during a visit to the Venice Biennale of Architecture. "That's why we are promoting and accelerating numerous construction projects in the cultural sector," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weimer said some projects are already under way, such as the renovation of the Luther House in the eastern German city of Wittenberg and the synagogue in the southern city of Augsburg. St Paul's Church in Frankfurt, completed in the 19th century, and more contemporary buildings such as the German Photo Institute in Dusseldorf, for example, will now qualify for renewal under a so-called "cultural buildings offensive," he said. Others under consideration for refurbishment or new construction include Richard Wagner's festival theatre in Bayreuth, the German Port Museum in Hamburg, the Gorlitz city hall and the extension of Leipzig's German National Library, according to Weimer. Weimer, who took office in early May under the government of new conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, also mentioned the planned German-Polish House in Berlin and the remodelling of concentration camp memorials in Dachau, Ravensbruck and Sachsenhausen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Due to their high visibility, cultural buildings make a direct contribution to the appeal and strength of Germany," he said. "Cultural buildings are part of our identity as a cultural nation. They promote social cohesion, as they make stimulation and encounters possible," he added. Investments also promote employment in construction and the skilled trades, the minister said. With opposition support, Germany's previous government authorized new infrastructure spending of 500 billion ($567 billion). Exactly how this money is to be spent is still under discussion. The German government's anti-Semitism commissioner has called for a more honest debate on the country's stance towards Israel in light of its actions in the Gaza Strip. Germany sees Israel's security as a "reason of state" - a phrase alluding to Berlin's historical responsibility to the state of Israel following the Holocaust. The concept, like Israel's right to exist, is essential to Germany's self-understanding and its relationship with Israel, Felix Klein told the Sunday edition of the national daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in comments released on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, he noted, the term is also vague. "We must do everything in our power to preserve the security of Israel and Jews worldwide," he said. "But we must also make it clear that this does not justify everything." Starving Palestinians and deliberately worsening the humanitarian situation has nothing to do with securing Israel's right to exist, he argued. Klein emphasized that Israel has a right to defend itself against the "genocidal hatred" of Hamas, adding that the military's objectives were to free Israeli hostages and to combat Islamist militants who he said are using the civilian population as a human shield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Klein suggested, "the proportionality of this action may well be called into question." The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel launched a massive military operation in response. Israel has recently faced sharp international criticism for its latest offensive in Gaza and its blockade of aid deliveries to the sealed-off territory, which was eased earlier this week. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) pressed Senate Republicans to advance President Trumps big, beautiful bill, which the House passed earlier this week. Gingrich said that GOP senators have every right to formulate their version of the presidents mega bill, but if they care about the United States economy and their constituents, they will eventually vote to pass it through the upper chamber and get it to Trumps desk for signing. It blocks a huge tax increase, it creates much better regulatory environment. It takes out a great deal of the waste in government. Its not perfect. Look. We balanced the budget for four straight years for the only time in the last century, but we didnt do it overnight. We didnt do it the first or second year, Gingrich said during his Friday night appearance on Fox News Jesse Waters Primetime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You have to chip away at these things. Get the best you can plan to come back again next year or come back this fall on the appropriations bills, but keep moving, the former House speaker told guest host Kayleigh McEnany. Some Republican senators have already flagged portions of the bill they wish to alter, including Medicaid reforms and expressed concerns that the 1,116-page bill, which the House passed Thursday morning, does not have big enough spending cuts to rein in spending. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), both fiscal hawks, have said that currently they are opposed to voting for the legislation. There should be a goal of this Republican Senate budget resolution to reduce the deficit, not increase it. Were increasing it. Its a nonstarter from my standpoint, Johnson said this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would add $3.8 trillion to the debt. Johnson said there are at least four senators in the GOP conference who would currently vote against the bill if deeper spending cuts are not instituted. Another group of GOP senators have expressed concern about the Medicaid reforms that would cut benefits. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she is very worried about reductions in federal Medicaid funding to states that will amp up pressure on rural hospitals. Others, such as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) want to tighten up the availability of Medicaid for able-bodied adults. Medicaid ought to go back and do what it was set up to do. It was set up to take care of poor children and the chronically ill, and thats what the focus should be, Scott said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Republicans warned Senate Republicans against significantly watering down the massive bill. They are open to the Senate enacting some changes, particularly if more spending cuts are installed and senators work on reducing the deficit, but are looking to keep the phase-out of green-energy subsidies and revised Medicaid requirements. And I encouraged our Senate colleagues to think of this as a one-team effort, as we have, and to modify this as little as possible, because it will make it easier for us to get it over the line, ultimately, and finished and get it to the presidents desk by July 4, Speaker Mike Johson (R-La.) said Tuesday after meeting with Senate Republicans. Gingrich advised senators that after they are done amending and arguing about the bill, they should vote for its passing because to vote no is voting for a giant tax increase. Its voting to cripple the government. Its voting to make it very difficult for President Trump to create the kind of America that he was voted to create, the ex-House speaker added. And frankly, it goes against the wishes of virtually every Republican who put the senators in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 unprecedented cuts to international aid led by Donald Trump will cause many deaths but could be good for Africa in the long term, the Director General of World Health Organization has said. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told The Telegraph that cuts are being seen by many developing countries as an opportunity to break the cycle of aid dependency in the developing world. However, he cautioned they had created a serious immediate crisis one which charities like Oxfam say will cause millions of additional deaths each year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph as the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva drew to a close on Friday, Dr Tedros said the WHO and its member states were facing a storm but would weather it and emerge stronger. He added that although the US had announced it was leaving the WHO, the door remained open for it to rejoin and that informal communications were continuing with the US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. We keep in touch with RFK junior. We do things together. Its informal, not public. He just texted me even this morning [Friday] at 00.42, said Dr Tedros. Dr Tedros said, as an African, he was embarrassed by the continents dependence on foreign aid - MAGALI GIRARDIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The US and others, including the UK and France, announced deep cuts to international aid spending in January, causing deaths, medicine and equipment shortages and thousands of clinic closures and lay-offs across the developing world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Altogether about $50 billion in aid is expected to vanish from the global system over the next two years, sparking an urgent scramble to restructure health systems globally. According to Oxfam America, the US cuts alone could result in 23 million children losing access to education, and as many as 95 million people losing access to basic healthcare, potentially leading to more than 3 million preventable deaths per year. Programmes for the three biggest global killers tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and malaria are all currently heavily reliant on international aid and are especially vulnerable, say experts. As an African, I am really embarrassed Dr Tedros said the US cuts had sparked a serious crisis and that he wished the US had given developing countries six months or one year to transit into other sources instead of pulling the plug. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nevertheless, the US had every right to spend its money in the way it wants and the cuts were being seen by member states as an opportunity to break away from a dependency mentality and stand on their own feet, he added. To be honest, as an African, I am really embarrassed to see this, said Dr Tedros of the crisis sparked by the aid cuts. Its embarrassing because it reveals a reliance, a dependency. But he said he was encouraged by how many affected countries were reacting, shifting away from a mindset of aid dependency and focusing on domestic solutions. So many countries have now moved into mobilising domestic resources. So there is a paradigm here and its shifting; shifting to a belief that, okay, this is our problem to solve. We need to move into self reliance. We cannot be dependent on others. Musa Mohamed, one, receives a blood transfusion as a result of anaemia - Simon Townsley The mood among African and Asian delegations at the annual gathering of world health leaders was remarkably upbeat given the circumstances. There was a sense that, with the US exiting, an inflection point had been passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The long-debated Pandemic Agreement was passed without a single vote against, a significant boost for multilateralism even if the new treaty is thin on specifics. There were also big delegations from China, South East Asia and the Middle East present, suggesting there were new deals to be done. Meanwhile, more countries are introducing taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugar in a bid to bridge the funding gap, while others are looking at the introduction of universal health insurance systems for the first time. The crackdown on junk foods, tobacco and booze has been given licence not just by WHO recommendations but by the US Health Secretarys call for a focus on the industrialised food sector and the need to cut obesity and other chronic diseases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were seeking to reduce consumption of ultra processed foods, and were going to support lifestyle changes that will bolster the immune systems and transform the health of our people, he told WHO delegates in a video message posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. A smaller but more focused WHO Dr Tedros said the WHO itself had foreseen the risk of one of its major funders pulling out in 2017 and had put in place mechanisms to broaden its funding base so it would remain both solvent and independent in the event of a such a crisis. These included an agreed 50 per cent increased core contributions from all 194 member states by 2030/31 and the establishment of the WHO Foundation, which is able to receive private donations, and has raised around $100 million since its launch in 2020. Just this week China, which had a record delegation of more than 120 diplomats at this years WHA, pledged to give $500 million to the WHO over the next five years a sum which will help make up for, but far from replace, the total funding withdrawn by the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overall the WHO, is still facing a shortfall in annual funding from 2024 levels of about $450 million. Dr Tedros said the WHOs central bureaucracy in Geneva would bear most of the cuts as a result of the shortfall and that most regional offices would be maintained but trimmed. Workers deliver US supplied food to Adre transit camp, Chad - Simon Townsley The organisation would refocus on its core mandate of promoting health and helping to manage emergencies by setting standards and convening global expertise, he said. The WHO would become a lean and mean organisation which was able to do more and better for less. What were doing is were reducing our size. We have to focus on our core mandate and were starting to shrink from the top, said Dr Tedros, who recently cut his executive team in half from 14 to seven. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the end of the day we will be smaller but more focused. We will be sharper and more empowered and independent. Thats the opportunity. Dr Tedros said the door would always be open to the US rejoining the WHO and that he hoped it would reconsider its position. He said he also hoped it would honour the estimated $350 million in arrears it owes the WHO but conceded that did not look likely as things stand. But ultimately the question of the US rejoining was not about money, said Dr Tedros. On that front the WHO was already shaping up and moving forward. Its about safety. If theyre out, then they will not be safe. And Im sure the rest of the world will not be safe, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So the money doesnt come first. When I ask them to reconsider, its about the other things. Being part of the family, about cooperation and partnership, about the expertise we get from the US, and also their leadership. Yet relations between the Trump administration and the WHO remain tense and a reversal of the US position seems unlikely. In his recent video message, RFK Jr described the WHO as a legacy organisation mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest and international power politics. The falling out dates back to President Trumps first term in office when he accused China without evidence of starting the Covid-19 pandemic through a lab leak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then made certain unspecified demands of the WHO which Dr Tedros said were not possible to meet without sacrificing the organisations independence. Our independence is the most important thing of all, said Dr Tedros. The Director General should decide, without fear of any repercussion I cannot give away the value of the organisation, even if its for money. No way. So I said no. I knew [then] the repercussion. The situation, said Dr Tedros, is made more bizarre as the official positions of the US and the WHO on the origins of Sars-Cov-2 are the same: both are undecided and say it could have come from nature or a lab leak. He said this point was made together with others at a recent meeting with representatives of the Heritage Foundation, a US think tank closely aligned with the US administration, but that the established facts were rejected. What they have is contrary to what the truth is, said Dr Tedros. Its very difficult even to discuss with them, because its not rational. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. President Trump delivered the commencement speech for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday morning, declaring at one point that the 2025 class consists of the first West Point graduates of the Golden Age of America. This is the Golden Age. I tell you, promise, were in a new age, Trump told the graduates in New York, vowing that they are going to lead the Army to summits of greatness. The speech, which lasted just under an hour, offered a mix of shoutouts to individual cadets for their personal achievements and words of advice while at times delving into culture war issues including transgender athletes playing in womens sports. Trumps remarks also served as somewhat of a victory lap for his administration, particularly its proposed defense initiatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump took the opportunity during his speech to tout his Golden Dome missile defense system, which hes previously said would be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space before the end of his second term. The president also touted what hes described as a $1 trillion military budget, referring to the presidents proposed 13 percent increase in defense spending, though the White House has noted that part of that money would come from Republicans reconciliation package. A Senate GOP aide previously told The Hill that the White House has technically only proposed $893 billion for its discretionary defense spending for 2026, meaning the rest would be made up through reconciliation. Trump used his Saturday speech to paint an optimistic picture about his term ahead, at one point remarking ,we have the hottest country in the world while also arguing that his administration was taking steps to course correct within the military. Trump only once explicitly mentioned the Biden administration in his speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The job of the U.S. Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures, but to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun. The militarys job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place, Trump said. A big part of that job is to be respected again, he added. And you are, as of right now, respected more than any army anywhere in the world. Since Trump returned to the White House, the administration has cracked down on the Defense Departments diversity, equity and inclusion programs and hiring practices, including at military academies. Trump imparted some words of advice to graduates on Saturday, too, urging the cadets to do what you love and advising them to always think big. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You have to have the courage to take risks and to do things differently, he said. Trumps remarks at West Point are the second commencement speech hes delivered this month, though this is his first military graduation speech of his second term. The president also delivered a speech at the University of Alabama earlier this month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Blog Archive: Jul 2025 (25) Jun 2025 (150) May 2025 (155) Apr 2025 (9) Mar 2025 (149) Feb 2025 (139) Jan 2025 (155) Dec 2024 (144) Nov 2024 (143) Oct 2024 (155) Sep 2024 (149) Aug 2024 (155) Jul 2024 (155) Jun 2024 (150) May 2024 (153) Apr 2024 (149) Mar 2024 (155) Feb 2024 (145) Jan 2024 (155) Dec 2023 (155) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) (FOX 5/KUSI) The Republican budget plan, dubbed the big, beautiful bil,l passed the House of Representatives by a single vote. The 1,000-page, multi-trillion-dollar budget proposes deep cuts to services and tax cuts across the board, but economists fear the GOP and Trumps tax plan stacks even more debt onto future generations. When you factor the spending cuts, we will be adding $3.2 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, said Professor Alan Gin from the Knauss School of Business at USD. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gin has been digging through the Warton School of Businesss analysis of the bill, and he worries the interest payments could threaten the stability of the US financial system. So far, weve been able to get loans to cover the excess. The worry is will people keep funding us then to continue the deficit spending, Gin said. They are taking away peoples health care and they are taking peoples food, said Congressman Mike Levin, who represents Californias 49th District. FOX 5/KUSI reached out to a supporter of the bill, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, but he was unable to comment. Levin voted against the bill, along with every Democrat in the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president ran on populism, he ran on no cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, and thats the exact opposite of whats happening. We are seeing massive cuts and its going to benefit his rich donors, said Levin. Levin said the bill is unlike any other he has ever seen during his time in the House. Now, the Senate will consider the bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. A French court found the ringleader and seven other members who were involved in the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian guilty, but did not give them a prison sentence. The chief judge, David De Pas, said that the defendants' ages and their health issues weighed on the courts decision to impose milder sentences. He added that the nine years between the robbery and the trial was also taken into account. The 69-year-old ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache received the stiffest sentence, eight years imprisonment but five of those were suspended. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three others got seven years, five of them suspended. Three more got prison sentences ranging from five to three years, mostly or completely suspended, and an eighth person was found guilty on a weapons charge and fined. However, with the time already served in pretrial detention, none of the defendants will have to sit out a further prison sentence. The court acquitted two of the 10 defendents. Almost a decade ago, a group dubbed the "Grandpa Robbers", because of their age and long criminal histories, tied up the reality star at gunpoint and stole millions of dollars' worth of jewellery. Kardashian flew to Paris earlier this month to testify. The reality star had been alone in her luxury residence during the 2016 Paris Fashion Week, and said she believed she would have been raped, killed and would never see her children again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, Khedache asked for a thousand pardons, communicated via a written note in court. Other defendants also used their final words to express remorse. Omar Ait Khedache leaves after the verdict in the trial of Kim Kadashian heist, Friday, May 23, 2025 in Paris. - Christophe Ena/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved. Kardashian's lawyer Franck Berton told the Associated Press that Kardashian forgave the ringleader. I do appreciate the letter, I forgive you, she said. But it doesnt change the feelings and the trauma and the fact that my life was forever changed. Kardashian was not present for the verdict, but her lawyers said she had accepted the court's ruling. The celebrity wrote in a statement afterwards that she was deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case. The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family. While I'll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all," she added. WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (WVNS) Two substantial power outages have hit parts of Greenbrier County within the past ten days, as of Friday, May 23, 2025. More than 16,000 customers in Greenbrier County affected by power outage These outages have impacted businesses and their abilities to operate. Jade Hanna is the owner of one of these businesses, called Across the Board Game Cafe. Over the past 2 weeks, Across the Board has had to close up shop twice on days they are normally open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One might think a cafe with the theme of board games would be safe from power outages, but Hanna said it affects them just like everyone else. We have over 400 board games. We are a board game cafe. So, people come in, they can play games all day. It is just $5 a person and it is a good thing for families. But whenever we [also] do not have power, they cannot come and enjoy it [in return], said Hanna. Across the Board serves up food and treats like flatbreads, salads, sandwiches, ice cream, coffees, and more. We just have one [generator] of our own. We literally just plug in our ice cream machine just to make sure we do not lose all of that. We kind of risk everything else going if if the power does not come back on quickly, added Hanna. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hanna told 59News it is difficult to get the amount of business they need week to week. Now, there has been twice that we have had to close on days that were normally open and it has affected the days after because everyone else has been affected as well, said Hanna. Friday is normally one of the busiest days of the week for Across the Board. Hanna said Friday, May 23, 2025 was very slow in comparison to most Fridays, likely due to people recovering from power outages. US is ending penny production: How will you be impacted? 59News reached out to MonPower regarding these outages. MonPower said the power substations linked to these outages are owned by Dominion Energy. 59News also reached out to Dominion Energy and we are still waiting for them to respond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) The landscape downtown is changing with the Bellemeade Street Parking Deck under demolition, and the city announced that another parking deck on Davie Street will close at the end of this year. Several people said they are concerned that this could cause issues and deter them from coming downtown, but the city staff assured the city council on Thursday that there is still plenty of parking to go around. The Bellemeade Street Parking Deck is about one-third demolished. The city said everything is going well and construction should wrap up this fall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The property will turn into a surface parking lot to help in the short term with more parking spaces. Within the next five years, the new owner of the land has to come up with development plans. Even if they did like a hybrid type of situation, if they had some parking and some businesses, maybe on the bottom or however that would work, I think that would be a great thing to do. It doesnt have to be all parking again, but I do think it would be great to have some of that recovered, said Katelyn App, who works in downtown Greensboro. App said she noticed that since the Bellemeade Street Parking Deck closed, her usual spot has gotten more crowded. In addition to the Bellemeade Street deck, the Davie Street deck has reached the end of its life and will close at the end of this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That does make me hesitant to see what is going to happen because a lot of us that work in these buildings rely on the parking, App said. The city plans to sell the property on Davie Street, and the new owner will demolish the deck and plans to build multi-family housing with some office and retail space. Greensboro city staff said that within a half-mile radius of the two decks, there are still plenty of options for parking. There are surface lots around the Lincoln Financial Group, Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts and parking decks on Church Street and Eugene Street. The other issue thats cutting down on street parking space is all the construction, which the mayor told the council this week that it all needs to be done and cleaned up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP. GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) A Greenville man was arrested after Pitt County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to a report of a missing person Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Austin Riley Charles Scheels was reported missing and found to be in a relationship with a 15-year-old juvenile after an investigation. During that investigation, probable cause was found and Scheels was charged with statutory rape of a person 15 or younger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scheels was taken into custody Thursday and jailed in the Pitt County Detention Center without bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. Its not your average Joe. The eclectic grocery store chain Trader Joes is top banana ranking No. 1 in brand reputation in a recent Axios Harris Poll. The California-based grocer, which launched in 1967 and now boasts close to 600 locations in the US, including 35 in New York alone, beat out 99 other big name companies in industries from food to tech and automobiles in order to take home the title. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trader Joes won the competition by a hair earning an average score of 82.1 over outdoor clothing company Patagonias 82.0. Microsoft landed in third place, followed by Toyota and Costco. Trader Joes ranked No. 1 in a nationwide brand reputation survey. Robert Miller Rounding out the Top 10 were Samsung, Arizona Beverage Company, Nvidia, UPS and Apple. Besides Costco, the only other grocers that made the list of the top 100 were Aldi and Kroger. The names were generated from a survey that polled more than 6,200 Americans on the most visible brands, asking them to list two companies that have the best reputations and two that have the worst. The only other grocers that made the list of 100 were Costco, Aldi and Kroger. Tamara Beckwith Following that, just over 16,500 Americans took another survey, which asked which of those 100 most visible brands they were familiar with. And out of those, respondents were then asked to rate two of the companies selected on nine different aspects. The survey also questioned more than 4,000 people on topics related to brands and politics. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) For those attending Saturdays 15th annual Mens Rally in the Valley, a 300-pound wooden cross will be on display inside Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown. It was carried there on the shoulders of about a dozen adults and teenagers in a local addiction treatment program. Weve been partnering with the Mens Rally in the Valley, and theyve always asked us to carry it, said Gregory Squibbs, with Adult & Teen Challenge Ohio Valley. Adult & Teen Challenge Ohio Valley is a residential treatment center on the citys north side. Organizers say the task of carrying the cross over the mile between their facility and Stambaugh is humbling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All Hes done for us, and here we are just carrying the cross and just trying to be better individuals and be better in the community better husbands, fathers, sons, Squibbs said. Participants in the program have attended the rallies ever since the first one was held in 2010. An event like this brings everybody together, and brings a community together. And we can all just encourage and life up each other, Squibbs said. As part of the rally, attendees will be able to pin prayer requests on the cross.. Even if they dont attend the event, maybe theres a loved one out there struggling right now with any life-controlling issues, they put that on there, Squibbs said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rally begins Saturday at 9 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) A group protested outside the Civic Center in downtown Evansville on Thursday after the man charged in the shooting death of Amanda Weird was found incompetent to stand trial for the eighth time. Robert Ballard was arrested after authorities say he targeted Weir and her mother while they were inside a car on Delaware Street seven years ago. Authorities say Ballard shot and killed Weir and injured her mother while two kids were in the backseat. Among the protesters on Thursday was Weirs daughter, Cierra Harberson. You can listen to her speaking to our reporter in the video player above. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). Rogers County Sheriffs Office Jordan Frazier Payne, 31 DELAWARE COUNTY, Mo. A federal grand jury indicts a Grove man on murder charges in the death of his then-girlfriends infant daughter. Jordan Payne, 31, is charged with second-degree murder and child neglect in Indian Country. FOUR STATES CRIME Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sources close to the investigation say in October of last year, Payne killed Rachel Foreman. Court records say she died from blunt force trauma to the head. The indictment also says Payne willfully and maliciously failed to provide medical care for the child. The indictment says the incident happened on or about October 15, 2024. Rachel died October 19, in a Tulsa hospital. Payne is in custody in the Rogers County jail and will be transferred to federal custody for the duration of the case. He will be back in court next month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. As Chinas first fundamental law dedicated to promoting the private sector, the private sector promotion law will take effect on May 20. In the latest W.E. Talk, Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, noted that the law is really a watershed in the Chinese constitution. He further added that the progress in new industries including renewable energy, battery storage, and solar panels is more driven by the private sector. So it's a recognition of the status, and the contribution that the private sector is making to the Chinese economy, Hoogewerf concluded. (Chen Tianhao) Guardian journalists are in open revolt against editor Katharine Viner over a website redesign which they claim means their work is not being read. The newspaper this month rolled out a new app and homepage, which it said would help readers stay informed without feeling overwhelmed. But journalists have complained that the new format prioritises international stories and features at the expense of UK news, leaving readers in the dark and staff miserable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an email to editors, reporters wrote: Wed like to point out that aside from the handful of UK news stories which are given a prominent front page slot, though often for a brief period of time, the rest of our stories are simply getting lost. There is arguably a correlation between the decimation of local news and the rise of Reform we worry that taking the focus off UK news makes it harder for us to do exactly this kind of reporting there is currently such a market for. They added: And in turn, not being read, thus not having impact, is miserable! Please understand how demotivating and demoralising this is. A Guardian spokesman said: The recent redesign has in fact increased the amount of news shown on the homepage and it has been well received by readers, with early data demonstrating they are spending significantly longer on the homepage, with a broader range of articles being read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We continue to be committed to in-depth coverage of the UK it remains our biggest edition and we now have more regional reporters across the UK than ever before. While website redesigns often prove controversial at first, the backlash underscores tensions between Guardian staff and management over its direction. The newspaper has been investing heavily to expand in the US and Australia, while in 2023 it launched a dedicated Europe edition. In a memo to staff on Friday, Ms Viner said: We have found new audiences by delivering fantastic journalism across the world, which, in turn, has led to a significant growth in our reader revenue. That global strategy has allowed us to invest in Britain and abroad. The website saga has reignited discontent about Guardian editor Katharine Viner following the sale of The Observer - Dave Benett/Getty Images But bosses are now battling to win journalists over to the strategy, with senior editors summoned to a two-day off-site meeting this week. A separate team has been assembled on a longer-term project to explore ways to future-proof the organisation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sources close to The Guardian insisted its strategy was working, with revenues hitting a record 275m last year while the company trimmed its cash outflows from 37m to less than 25m. Revenues from outside the UK are understood to have topped 100m, while 70pc come from digital. The website saga has reignited discontent about Ms Viner in the aftermath of the sale of The Observer to Tortoise, a start-up run by former BBC News boss James Harding. Journalists mounted a vocal campaign against the sale of the worlds oldest Sunday newspaper, which they branded a betrayal. 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. Nearly every element of a group fight near the inner gate at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor was in radical dispute at a murder trial this week. There was no consensus on who threw the first punch at the Arlington water park at closing time on a June evening in 2021. No one could agree on whether the brawl of as many as nine young men was limited to fists or if its participants were also kicking and stomping. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps most critical, there were varied accounts on whether one gunshot or multiple shots were fired during the fray. It is clear, however, that at the close of a day of teenage jubilance spent flirting with girls, at a wave pool and on water slides, Daitrell Teal was shot once by a bullet that entered his back. The projectile traveled in his body from right to left, back to front as it pierced his esophagus and left a gaping hole in his aorta, causing the 16-year-old to bleed to death as he laid on a raised plant bed. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Office concluded that Teal was not a gang member and was not involved in the fight immediately before the shooting. The defense did not concede that Teal was not in the fight and suggested Teal left the park with at least one documented gang member. Teal was, prosecutors Lloyd Whelchel and Kobe Landry argued, wholly innocent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defendant, Cameron Stephens, was trying to shoot another teenager named Davion Williams, but shot Teal instead, the prosecutors argued to the jury at Stephens murder trial in a state district court in Tarrant County. More top stories from our newsroom: Fort Worth ISD board approves plan to close 18 schools TCU student murder case moves toward trial Mansfield ISD board approves superintendents contract [Get our breaking news alerts.] The killing occurred as one gang member attempted to shoot another, the prosecutors suggested. Stephens was not, according to Irving police, a documented gang member, but he was associated with APE or After Paper Everyday, a subset of YIC, or Youngins In Charge. YIC is a rival of 2200, a gang of which Williams is a member, authorities said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He wasnt in the fight, and he was the guy that got killed, Landry argued of Teal, who had just finished his sophomore year at Martin High School. The jurys instructions included an advisory on transferred intent, a principle, when applied to murder, that a person is guilty if they cause the death of a person while intending to cause the death of a different person. After a six-day trial, a jury in Criminal District Court No. 3 on Friday found Stephens guilty of murder and assessed his punishment at 40 years in prison. The jury was directed to consider a prison term of five to 99 years, or life. Appointed defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp asked the panel to assess a term at the lower end of the range. Whelchel requested a life term of the jury. Stephens will become eligible for parole after he serves 20 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lowthorp, who represented Stephens with defense attorneys Cami Gildner and Shelby Barrett, argued that the killing was justified by self-defense or defense of a third party, Stephens half brother, who was in the fight when the defendant fired. Stephens, from the witness stand, on Wednesday testified that he was himself afraid and was in fear for his half brother. Stephens testified that, as he was being beaten, he went to his car to get a gun he left under a seat, heard a pop elsewhere and fired once, aiming above the fighting group. Stephens admitted that after firing the gun, he drove from the scene and left the gun in a dumpster. Police did not find the weapon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stephens testified that he regretted getting rid of the gun because, he suggested, a toolmark examiner could have conducted a test that may have shown that the bullet pulled from Teals body during an autopsy was not fired from the defendants gun. He didnt do it, but if he did do it, its self-defense, Whelchel summarized his assessment of the defense argument in the states closing. This is a developing story. For the latest updates, sign up for breaking news alerts. WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) Building a house takes more than wood and nails; it takes heart. Habitat for Humanity is giving the community a hands-on way to participate in that process through its annual stud build campaign. The stud build campaign invites community members to decorate 2x4s that will literally become part of the walls inside Habitat homes. Its personal, powerful, and paints a picture of community support like no other. These studs, often painted with prayers, drawings and encouraging quotes, will later be used to construct homes for local families in need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a visual and heartfelt way for the community to connect with the habitats mission. Executive Director Will Goodner says the decorated studs are reminders for the new homeowners, who know their house was built not only with materials, but with the love of the community. You dont have to be a business, anyone can participate. If you want to get one for your church group or just some friends to get together and paint it. For $100 well bring you a stud, you can decorate it, bring it back and put it in the next house that were building, Goodner said. All money raised will go directly toward building the house. This campaign is designed to raise awareness about affordable housing and provide a way for people to get involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Habitat for Humanity invites everyone to participate, whether decorating a stud, donating, or volunteering on the build site. If youre interested: Volunteer Wichita Falls | Habitat Wichita Falls | Wichita Falls Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) A video showing dozens of people marching toward the office of Haitis prime minister elicited gasps from some viewers as it circulated recently on social media. The protesters, who were HIV positive, did not conceal their faces a rare occurrence in a country where the virus is still heavily stigmatized. Call the minister of health! We are dying! the group chanted. The protesters risked being shunned by society to warn that Haiti is running out of HIV medication just months after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump slashed more than 90% of USAIDs foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall aid across the globe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a hospital near the northern city of Cap-Haitien, Dr. Eugene Maklin said he struggles to share that reality with his more than 550 HIV patients. Its hard to explain to them, to tell them that theyre not going to find medication, he said. Its like a suicide. 'We can't stay silent' More than 150,000 people in Haiti have HIV or AIDS, according to official estimates, although nonprofits believe the number is much higher. David Jeune, a 46-year-old hospital community worker, is among them. He became infected 19 years ago after having unprotected sex. I was scared to let people know because they would point their finger at you, saying you are infecting others with AIDS, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His fear was so great that he didnt tell anyone, not even his mother. But that fear dissipated with the support Jeune said he received from nonprofits. His confidence grew to the point where he participated in Mondays protest. I hope Trump will change his mind, he said, noting that his medication will run out in November. Let the poor people get the medication they need. Patrick Jean Noel, a representative of Haitis Federation of Associations of HIV, said that at least five clinics, including one that served 2,500 patients, were forced to close after the USAID funding cuts. We cant stay silent, he said. More people need to come out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But most people with HIV in Haiti are reluctant to do so, said Dr. Sabine Lustin, executive director of the Haiti-based nonprofit Promoters of Zero AIDS Goal. The stigma is so strong that many patients are reluctant to pick up their medication in person. Instead, it is sent via packages wrapped as gifts to not arouse suspicion, Lustin said. Lustins organization, which helps some 2,000 people across Haiti, receives funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While their funding hasnt been cut, she said that shortly after Trump was sworn in, the agency banned prevention activities because they targeted a group that is not a priority. By that, Lustin said she understood they were referring to gay men. That means the organization can no longer distribute up to 200,000 free condoms a year or educate people about the disease. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You risk an increase in infections, she said. You have a young population who is sexually active who cant receive the prevention message and dont have access to condoms. We only have medication until July On a recent sunny morning, a chorus of voices drowned out the din of traffic in Haitis capital, growing louder as protesters with HIV marched defiantly toward the office of Haitis prime minister. We are here to tell the government that we exist, and we are people like any other person, one woman told reporters. Another marching alongside her said, Without medication, we are dying. This needs to change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three days after Monday's protest, the leader of Haitis transitional presidential council, Louis Gerald Gilles, announced that he had met with activists and would try to secure funding. Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations across Haiti are fretting. I dont know what were going to do, said Marie Denis-Luque, founder and executive director of CHOAIDS, a nonprofit that cares for Haitian orphans with HIV/AIDS. We only have medication until July. Her voice broke as she described her frantic search for donations for the orphans, who are cared for by HIV-positive women in Cap-Haitien after gang violence forced them to leave Port-au-Prince. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denis-Luque said she has long advocated for the orphans visibility. We cant keep hiding these children. They are part of society, she said, adding that she smiled when she saw the video of Mondays protest. I was like, whoa, things have changed tremendously. The stigma is real, but I think what I saw was very encouraging to me. They cant be silenced. A dangerous combination Experts say Haiti could see a rise in HIV infections because medications are dwindling at a time that gang violence and poverty are surging. Dr. Alain Casseus, infectious disease division chief at Zamni Lasante, the largest non-governmental healthcare provider in Haiti, said they expected to see a surge in patients given the funding cuts, but that hasnt happened because traveling by land in Haiti is dangerous since violent gangs control main roads and randomly open fire on vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He warned that abruptly stopping medication is dangerous, especially because many Haitians do not have access or cannot afford nutritious food to strengthen their immune system. It wouldnt take long, especially given the situation in Haiti, to enter a very bad phase, he said of HIV infections. And even if some funding becomes available, a lapse in medication could cause resistance to it, he said. Casseus said gang violence also could accelerate the rates of infection via rapes or physical violence as medication runs out. At the New Hope Hospital run by Maklin in Haitis northern region, shelves are running empty. He used to receive more than $165,000 a year to help HIV/AIDS patients. But that funding has dried up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those people are going to die, he said. We dont know how or where were going to get more medication. The medication controls the infection and allows many to have an average life expectancy. Without it, the virus attacks a persons immune system, and they develop AIDS, the late stage of an HIV infection. Reaction is swift when Dr. Maklin tells his patients that in two months, the hospital wont have any HIV medication left. They say, No, no, no, no! he said. They want to keep living. ___ Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. ____ Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america Hamas has not paid its fighters for three months due to Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid preventing the group seizing and selling supplies, according to reports. Members of the al-Qassam brigades, Hamas military wing, have not received any pay since around February, a source from within the terror group told the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Families of terrorists killed or captured during fighting with Israel are also reported to have not received their usual remuneration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamass civil workers were said to have received a reduced salary equivalent of $250 four months ago, which sparked resentment among employees. It is not clear if they have been paid since. Budgets allocated towards ministries and government agencies were also reported to have been put on hold around the same time. Israel cut off supplies of humanitarian aid to Gaza in March, some of which Hamas had reportedly been seizing and selling to raise money. Around 100 aid lorries were allowed to reenter the strip on Friday, but this was much reduced from the around 600 a day that were crossing the border before March. Moumen Al-Natour, a Palestinian lawyer from the Al-Shati camp in central Gaza, told the Wall Street Journal last month that the cash-strapped terror group had a big crisis on its hands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were mainly dependent on humanitarian aid sold in black markets for cash, he explained. The renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza has also reportedly targeted Hamas officials involved in distributing cash. Hamas has never experienced such conditions before, whether during the current war or in previous periods and there is a clear administrative vacuum, Asharq Al-Awsat wrote. On Monday Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney called on Israel to lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid and stop its military operations in Gaza, a statement that was strongly condemned by the Israeli government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hundreds of Palestinians were seen in footage posted to social media this week calling for an end to the war and the removal of the group, which has been in power in Gaza for nearly two decades. The protests appear to have been caused by claims from a senior Hamas official that the war with Israel was eternal, and that Palestinians would produce dozens more babies for each martyr. Out! Out! Out! All of Hamas, out! the protesters chanted, despite the danger of speaking out against the terror group in the war-torn enclave. In March, a 22-year-old man was tortured to death by armed gunmen after taking part in anti-Hamas demonstrations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Videos from Khan Younis show young men criticising Hamas for selling their blood for a dollar To those with Hamas, be aware the people of Gaza will dig your grave. Gaza-based journalists reportedly received threats after the protests, warning them not to publish any negative news that could affect the morale of the people. Hamas loses influence One man, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC: The people do not care any more about Hamass attempts to suppress their voice because they are literally dying from hunger, evacuation, and the bombings. Hamas is also reported to have lost much of its influence in the Occupied West Bank, with underfunded terror cells not carrying out attacks on Israeli settlers or troops due to fear of military raids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel continued its new Gaza offensive on Saturday, with the strips Hamas-run civil defence agency saying at least 15 people were killed by Israeli strikes. Suddenly, a missile from an F-16 destroyed the entire house, and all of them were civilians my sister, her husband and their children, said Wissam Al-Madhoun outside Khan Youniss Nasser Hospital, where tearful mourners gathered around white-shrouded bodies. We found them lying in the street. What did this child do to Netanyahu? he added. The Israeli military said it was unable to comment on individual strikes without their precise geographical coordinates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, the military said that over the past day the air force had struck more than 100 targets across the territory, including members of terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip, military structures, underground routes and additional terrorist infrastructure. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch axed the hardbody cop who was once suspended from the NYPD for interfering with a probe into her alleged drug dealer boyfriend, The Post has learned. Tisch dismissed Alisa Bajraktarevic who has an active lawsuit against the department over a topless photo of her that circulated among cops on May 2, according to internal personnel orders obtained by The Post. Bajraktarevic, 34, of Yonkers, worked in the Robbery Squad and was suspended for 30 days after a 2023 incident in which she tried to stop cops from searching the car of her alleged drug dealer beau in the Bronx, The Post reported exclusively at the time. Alisa Bajraktarevic, who was once suspended from the NYPD for interfering in a traffic stop of her alleged drug dealer boyfriend, has been fired. Instagram/alisa__619 Cops who made the stop surrounded her car, prompting protests from both Bajraktarevic and her then-boyfriend Kelvin Hernandez, 33. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hernandez, 33, was charged with resisting arrest and has his own ongoing lawsuit against the department. She insisted to cops at the time that he wasnt selling drugs. A police source at the time said he was under investigation for drugs. The now-former NYPD cop posted a photo to Instagram of herself sunbathing in Mexico in a thong. Instagram/alisa__619 She filed a lawuit against the department and members claiming her career was derailed after an officer she briefly dated shared a topless photo of her with other police officers in a group chat. Instagram/alisa__619 Narcotics had been watching him, the source said. They didnt know who she was until she stepped up and said who she was. The stunning cop sued the NYPD last year in Manhattan Supreme Court claiming her career was derailed after an officer she briefly dated shared a topless photo of her with other members of the department in a group chat. Bajraktarevic sent the sexy snap to Lt. Mark Rivera, whom she dated for a few months that year, she said in her lawsuit. Rivera allegedly shared the photo in a group text with other cops, and it spread like wildfire, she alleges. The former police officer posted photos online of herself in uniform. Instagram/alisa__619 The officer, who denied that her boyfriend was a drug dealer, was dismissed earlier this month. Facebook/alisa.bajraktarevic Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of her own posts on Instagram and Reddit show the officer in other suggestive photos, including one of her lying on her belly in the sun wearing a thong bikini under the sun in Cancun, Mexico. Another post shows her standing on a treadmill at Xtreme Fitness in Mount Vernon. A third shows her shooting a picture with her phone of her backside, captioned, Thick police officer. Bajraktarevic, who was with the NYPD for 12 years, is seeking unspecified damages from the city, Rivera, and another supervisor she claims sexually harassed her in 2022. The former cop takes a selfie featuring her buttocks at the gym. Instagram/alisa__619 Her dismissal was retaliatory, said Bajraktarevics lawyer, John Scola. A lawyer for the former cop called her firing retaliatory. Instagram/alisa__619 There is no doubt that our clients internal complaints of sexual harassment, the unlawful dissemination of a naked photograph of her, and her lawsuit against the NYPD were the true motivating factors behind her termination, Scola said. We are confident that once this matter is adjudicated . the retaliatory nature of her discharge will be fully exposed. The NYPD confirmed Bajraktarevic was fired but declined further comment. The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has announced nearly $800,000 in grants to support summer programs for youth in the Greater Hartford area. The Foundation is awarding just over $782,000 to support 32 summer programs throughout Greater Hartford, officials said. The grants will support more than 6,250 Hartford youth, including more than 350 youth and adults with disabilities, who reside throughout the foundations 29-town region. Among the 30 grant recipients includes Hartfords Proud, Drill, Drum, and Dance Corp, which has been awarded a $10,000 grant to allow the organization to engage 30 Hartford youth ages 3 to 18 to participate in activities that seek to foster empowerment through the arts by creating a safe environment for students to express themselves and develop a sense of belonging. The grant will also fund costumes and supplies, studio rental fees, workshops, travel expenses, and more, providing some financial relief to program participants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 10 years, I envision Hartfords Proud as a thriving, influential force both within our community and in the broader performing arts world, said Hartfords Proud founder Terry Starks. Our goal is for every participant to leave Hartfords Proud not only with artistic skills but also with values that shape them into engaged, compassionate adults. Other grant recipients include the American School for the Deaf, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, Camp Courant, Community First School, Connecticut Science Center, Hartford Stage, Hartford Public Library, Real Art Ways, and YMCA of Metropolitan Hartford among several others. Grants ranged from $10,000 up to $50,000. This years summer program grants will support free or reduced-cost opportunities for nearly 3,400 Hartford youth and Greater Hartford youth and adults with disabilities to attend summer camp and provide nearly 2,900 youth with access to summer enrichment programs, according to officials. In underserved communities like Hartford, there is a significant gap in paid opportunities for young people with supervised career leadership. The Foundations 2025 summer program grants include support for 131 counselor-in-training opportunities, providing Black and Latine youth with career exposure, employment opportunities and training, and the chance to develop essential life skills, the foundation said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This years summer program grants showcase and highlight the vast number of programs that are supporting our Hartford youth, and youth and adults with disabilities, said Alexis Safo-Agyeman, a community impact officer at the Hartford Foundation. From grassroots programs making waves in their neighborhoods, to camps that support individuals from our 29 towns, we know that with each program comes support for working families, work experience for students, and opportunities for kids to engage in learning and fun all summer long. A full list of the 2025 grant recipients can be found here and more information on the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving can be found at www.hfpg.org Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com A Hartford man pleaded guilty this week to tax fraud after filing over 100 fraudulent tax returns, officials said. Clyde Gibson Jr., 43, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge Sarah Russell in New Haven to a tax fraud offense, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut. According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least 2015 and continuing into 2024, Gibson operated as a tax return preparer under the name Build Understand Destroys LLC, and charged clients a fee for the preparation of tax returns. Gibson prepared thousands of federal tax returns, many of which claimed false deductions. In some tax returns Gibson prepared and filed for his clients, he included false Schedules C, which reported that his clients had operated sole proprietorship businesses and had incurred certain expenses and losses when, in fact, they had not operated such businesses and had not incurred the claimed expenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said in some returns, Gibson included false Schedules D, which reported that his clients had incurred capital losses, including carryover losses, or bad debts when, in fact, they had not incurred such capital losses and bad debts in the claimed amounts. During the investigation, Gibson met with an undercover federal agent posing as a customer. The agent provided Gibson with a W-2 form for the 2021 tax year and offered no information about valid deductions for business losses, capital losses, and bad debt. Gibson initially prepared an appropriate return, on which the undercover agent would have owed taxes. Gibson then voluntarily opted to edit the return to reflect false and fraudulent information on the Schedules C and D. During the 2016 through 2022 tax years, Gibson prepared at least 135 tax returns containing fraudulent information, causing a loss to the IRS of at least $125,197, according to officials. Gibson pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent income tax returns, an offense that carries a maximum term of three years in prison. He is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled. Gibson has agreed to pay restitution of $125,197, officials said. Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com Research articles written by two doctors at Harvard Medical School must be restored after they sued the Trump administration, the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday. The research was previously on the Patient Safety Network, a federal website for doctors and medical researchers to share information about medical errors, misdiagnoses, and patient outcomes, the ACLU said in a statement. Two articles, one called Endometriosis: A Common and Commonly Missed and Delayed Diagnosis, the other called Multiple Missed Opportunities for Suicide Risk Assessment in Emergency and Primary Care Settings, were previously removed from the Patient Safety Network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initial article, co-authored by plaintiff Dr. Celeste Royce, had a sentence about diagnosis in transgender and gender-nonconforming people, the ACLU stated. The other article, co-authored by plaintiff Dr. Gordon Schiff, incorporated a sentence about heightened risk in LGBTQ+ communities. This type of wholesale, non-evidence-based removal endangers everyones safety, Schiff said in the statement. Censoring information about transgender people or anyone a politician does not like, who have documented increased risks of negative health outcomes, is antithetical to the very mission of public health. It also has a clear ripple effect on each and every patient, whose doctors are now unable to review unbiased information about how to better care for all. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January, shortly after taking office, that directed federal agencies to remove all statements that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, the ACLUs statement read. This was followed by guidance issued by the Office of Personal Management, which told agencies to [t]ake down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration is putting a culture war above the rights of clinicians and the publics need for accurate, adequate health information, Royce said in the statement. The very foundations of medical research and trust in medicine are at risk if the government can pick and choose what kind of research gets halted or published. Royce and Schiff, represented by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School, the ACLU and the ACLU of Massachusetts, argued in the lawsuit that the deletion of the research violated the First Amendment. It also violated the Administrative Procedure Act by removing articles without a reasoned basis The takedown of these articles is nothing short of an assault on science, Scarlet Kim, the senior staff attorney at the ACLU, said in the statement. The First Amendment protects against the removal of our clients research solely because the government disagrees with its message. The government cannot suppress medical knowledge because it acknowledges the existence of transgender people, Kim continued. The Trump administrations attempt to do so violates the First Amendment and flouts the very mandate of PSNet to improve patient safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, a federal judge issued that the articles must be restored within seven days. It also must be complete, unaltered versions. The removal of the research came as the Trump administration had several cuts to programs and departments across the federal government. This also included those that go against his executive orders on LGBTQ+ people, including one defining two genders and a military ban on transgender service members, among other orders. This is a victory for our clients, for free speech, and for scientific integrity, said Kim. The First Amendment protects against the removal of our clients research solely because the government disagrees with its message. PSNets mandate is to provide information that protects patients the government cant pick and choose which information to share based on ideology. More Harvard University news Read the original article on MassLive. A Harvard University professor surprised MSNBCs Nicolle Wallace on Friday after he revealed what he told a student who was considering graduate studies at the Ivy League institution amid attacks by the Trump administration. Well, you should look overseas, I never thought Id say that, said Dr. Jeremy Faust, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Wow, Wallace replied. But I did say those words that they should consider that, Faust continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Im not saying that everyone should, but I never even thought I would consider telling somebody to do that but thats how many question marks we have. Fausts remarks arrive on the same day that a federal judge blocked the Trump administrations plan to bar enrollment of foreign students. The administrations move marked an escalation in its ongoing battle with Harvard, which has also seen President Donald Trump propose stripping the university of its tax-exempt status. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television on Friday that the administration is moving forward with such efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Harvard refused to bend the knee to Trumps funding demands made under the pretexts of combatting antisemitism, transgender rights along with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This led to the administration freezing billions in federal funding at Harvard, sparking fears over how the move would affect ongoing research and sparking a lawsuit from the university. Earlier in the MSNBC program, Faust stressed the importance of the international science community along with the value of scientific research by referring to biochemist Katalin Kariko, who left her native Hungary and came to the U.S. where she collaborated with immunologist Drew Weissman. Their research led to the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19, which won them a Nobel Prize in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want those people to come here, to Harvard, and to every other university, Faust declared. He also pointed to recent news of a baby in Pennsylvania with a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder who was treated with genome-editing therapy. He linked the story to developments stemming from the work of American biochemist Jennifer Doudna and French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier, who met at a conference in Puerto Rico before winning a Nobel Prize in 2020 for their work on genome editing. And now were hearing that scientists dont want to come to the United States, even for conferences, Faust said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And so I think the chilling effect here is really, really massive. H/T: Mediaite Related... The Trump administrations effort to destroy Harvard University must be seen as an attack on all of higher education. President Donald Trump knows that if he can force Harvard to yield to his control, every university will receive the message that it must capitulate. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country, said Kristi Noem, head of the Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The efforts against Harvard and other universities must be widely condemned and must be stopped. The latest salvo by Trump was the announcement that Harvard can no longer enroll international students and that any international students there must transfer. Harvard, like most major universities including my own, UC Berkeley has a substantial number of international students. They comprise about 27% of Harvards student population, and the ban would have devastating financial consequences. Education in American universities is enhanced by the presence of students from throughout the world. Trumps action targeting international students would be a cruel maneuver to force students in the midst of college or graduate education to find someplace else to go to school. This most recent action follows the Trump administrations announcement in April that it was cutting off $2 billion in funds to Harvard unless it agreed to federal oversight of its admissions, faculty hiring and governance. Subsequently, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced that the university would no longer qualify for federal grants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christopher Rufo, who is advising the Trump administration on matters of higher education, said that the goal should be to cause universities to feel existential terror and put them in recession. This is exactly what authoritarians in other countries have done in trying to control universities. The demands that the Trump administration has made of Harvard are stunning and ones that no university can or should agree to. They include changes in how the university is governed, including reducing the power held by students and untenured faculty; reducing the power held by faculty (whether tenured or untenured) and administrators more committed to activism than scholarship, according to a letter sent to Harvard by Trump officials. This letter also stipulated required changes in faculty hiring and student admissions, including mandating viewpoint diversity in admissions and hiring. The university shall satisfy the federal government as to its competence and good faith, to audit the student body, faculty, staff and leadership for viewpoint diversity, such that each department, field or teaching unit must be individually viewpoint diverse. Every department or field found to lack viewpoint diversity must be reformed by hiring a critical mass of new faculty within that department or field who will provide viewpoint diversity, according to the letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although viewpoint diversity like all efforts at diversity is laudable, the government requiring that faculty be hired or students be admitted based on their views clearly violates the First Amendment. It would also give the federal government astounding control over critical aspects of the university that are protected by the First Amendment and academic freedom. The demand letter from the Trump administration also requires the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, requires a new system of student discipline and directs the university to punish students who had participated in particular demonstrations. The Trump administration has no authority under any law to impose these requirements. The ostensible basis for the initial letter to Harvard was Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which says that recipients of federal funds cannot discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity. The claim was that Harvard violated Title VI by being deliberately indifferent to antisemitism. But virtually none of what the Trump administration has demanded is about alleged antisemitism on campus. It is about the using the enormous power of the federal government to try and devastate one of the most prestigious universities in the country to send a message to all other schools about what they face if they do not cower to what Trump wants. Indeed, the Trump administration has followed none of the legal requirements under Title VI for a cutoff of funds. Under that law, there must be notice, a hearing and a finding of deliberate indifference before funds are cutoff. There must be 30 days notice to the House of Representatives and the Senate of the cutoff of funds and an opportunity to correct the violations. Any cutoff has to be limited to the program found to be in violation of Title VI. The Trump administration has done none of this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What the Trump administration is doing is a direct assault on the independence of universities and on academic freedom. It is truly unprecedented in American history. Harvards challenge to the cutoff of funds is already pending in federal court. On Friday, a U.S. judge issued a temporary restraining order pausing the Trump administrations attacks on Harvards international students. But stopping Trumps attack on Harvard is not enough. Members of Congress Republicans and Democrats must denounce the attack on higher education. Leaders of every university must speak out. The United States has the greatest university system in the world which is what attracts students from across the globe. Trump must not be allowed to destroy it. Erwin Chemerinsky is dean and professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) New Haven police are searching for a missing woman. Jillian Goblirsch, 26, was last seen on May 14. She had recently moved to the Westville neighborhood from New York City. She is approximately 56 and 140 pounds. She has a dragon tattoo on her leg and a hummingbird tattoo on her wrist. Jillian Goblirsch, 26, was last seen on May 14. Jillian Goblirsch, 26, was last seen on May 14. Jillian Goblirsch, 26, was last seen on May 14. Anyone with information is urged to contact the New Haven Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 203-946-6304, 911 or missingpersonstips@newhavenct.gov Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. Freeways and airports across the U.S. filled up on Friday as more people made their getaways for the long Memorial Day weekend. Even as politics and the nations aging air traffic infrastructure rattle the U.S. travel industry, Americans were expected to travel in record numbers. Auto club organization AAA predicted that over 45 million people 1.4 million more than last year would venture at least 50 miles from their homes between Thursday and Monday, with the vast majority going by car. The holidays previous domestic travel record of 44 million was set 20 years ago. The analysts who prepared the forecast werent sure when they started their research if concerns about the economy would cause fewer U.S. residents to plan getaways for the unofficial start of summer, but it doesnt seem to be the case, AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People are still feeling pretty good about travel, Diaz said, adding that some households and individuals may just opt to spend less money on their trips. Travelers should remember to keep any eye out for severe weather warnings. Weather, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, is the leading cause of flight delays. Thunderstorms, tornadoes and other extreme conditions also can make driving and outdoor pursuits more dangerous. The National Weather Service said a multi-day thunderstorm forecast for the south-central U.S. might bring large hail, strong wind gusts and a possible tornado in parts of the Great Plains through Monday. The National Weather Center said considerable flooding was likely from the Central Plains into the Ozarks and from central Texas to the Tennessee Valley. Hitting the (hopefully) open road Like last year, about 87% of travelers will drive to their Memorial Day destinations, AAA said. About 39 million people were expected to take road trips, which Diaz noted many families find easier and cheaper than flying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You leave whenever you want, she said. You can pack as much as you want in the car, make stops along the way. AAAs fuel tracker showed motorists could expect to pay less for gasoline this year; the U.S. average price on Friday was about $3.20 for a gallon of regular gas compared to $3.61 a year ago. Renting a vehicle and staying in a hotel also may cost less, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index. The roads are always busiest in the afternoons and evenings. Transportation data firm INRIX said people planning to return home on Memorial Day itself should try to leave before the busiest hours of 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Whats up with air travel? The Transportation Security Administration said it expected to screen about 18 million passengers and crew at airports across the U.S. from Thursday through Wednesday. Flights were expected to peak on Thursday with almost 54,000 scheduled, although airports were also expected to be busy Friday, according to the FAA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Air safety has become a factor for many travelers after the deadly midair collision in January of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above Washington, D.C. In recent weeks, flight delays and cancellations stemming from an air traffic controller shortage and equipment failures at a facility that directs aircraft in and out of the Newark, New Jersey, airport have also made some people wonder whether to get on a plane. Gary Anderson thought twice before he and his wife booked flights to fly from their home in Washington D.C. to Dallas on Thursday to attend a relatives high school graduation. While the safety of flying has been on the back of our mind, the couple, who are both truck drivers, decided they didnt want to spend so much of their time off driving, Anderson, 46, said. Were going to try to eat some good food down here and were going to try to chill and just enjoy the graduation, he said. Most major U.S. airlines said they planned to reduce their scheduled domestic flights this summer, citing an ebb in economy passengers booking leisure trips. Bank of America reported this month that its credit card customers were spending less on flights and lodging. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, the Friday before Memorial Day was among the record-setting days for the number of airline passengers screened at U.S. airports. AAA did not expect the holiday weekend to produce an air travel record. But an analysis by aviation data provider Cirium of tickets bought through online travel sites for Memorial Day weekend found 6% more booking across almost two dozen U.S. airports compared to last year. Danielle Clinton, 28, arrived at Love Field in Dallas on Thursday morning from Chicago. She was coming into town to celebrate her birthday with her mother and twin sister, who live in Dallas, and friends who were also flying in. She said the flight marked her first trip of the year and she was pleased to get a round-trip airfare for about $200. The U.S. travel and tourism industry will watching during the weekend and the weeks ahead to see what might be in store for the summer travel season. Tourism industry experts have warned that anger about the Trump administrations tariffs and rhetoric, and concern about tourist detentions at the U.S. border, have made citizens of some other countries less interested in traveling to the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The national statistics agency of Canada reported last week that the number of residents making return trips by air from the U.S. fell 20% in April compared to the same month a year earlier, while return trips by car were down 35%. From big city lights to starry nights Across Texas, reservations for day passes and camping spots were filling up at state parks ahead of the weekend, said Tara Humphreys, director of interpretation with Texas State Parks. Stargazing parties were among events planned at parks across the state. Bolstered by its theme parks and nearby cruise port, Orlando, Florida, topped AAAs list of most popular domestic destinations for the weekend. The citys newest theme park, Universals Epic Universe, opened Thursday. Long weekends are a good time to hop on a short flight to a big city, said Hayley Berg, lead economist at the travel site Hopper. She said top searches for the weekend included New York, Miami and Las Vegas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW BOSTON (SHNS) Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday said she was horrified and outraged by the shootings of two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night, and at this time, there is no known connection or any direct threat to Massachusetts, her office said. Im horrified and outraged by the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside of an American Jewish Committee event in Washington D.C. last night, Healey said in a statement her office released just before 10 a.m. This was a senseless, hate-fueled act of violence. The governor added: There is no justification for antisemitism or violence in our nations capital or anywhere else. My thoughts are with Yaron and Sarahs families, friends and colleagues, and Im sending love and support to the Jewish community. Im grateful to the first responders and law enforcement who responded quickly to the scene and are working in communities across the country to keep people safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said Wednesday night that the shooting occurred just after 9 p.m. as both victims were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The suspect, who Smith said was tentatively identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, was observed pacing back and forth outside the museum before approaching a group of four people and allegedly opening fire. The suspect then entered the museum, Smith said, where he was detained by security. Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon and that weapon has been recovered and he implied that he committed the offense, Smith said. The suspect chanted, Free, free Palestine while in custody. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday night, The horrific incident is going to frighten a lot of people in our city and in our country and I want to be clear that we will not tolerate this violence or hate in our city. We will not tolerate any acts of terrorism and were going to stand together as a community in the coming days and weeks to send a clear message that we will not tolerate antisemitism. Healeys office said the Massachusetts State Police are in close collaboration with federal, state and local partners to monitor new information and ensure the safety of Massachusetts communities. Her office encouraged people to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commonwealth Fusion Center officials briefed State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble on Thursday and will keep Healey and her public safety and security team apprised of any developments, Healeys office said. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. After their large-scale introduction to the battlefield in the 1950s and 1960s, helicopters greatly impacted how wars were fought. At the same time, it was clear that they were inherently vulnerable, and means were developed to make them more survivable. Since then, new tactics, high speed, a wide variety of countermeasures, and even stealth technology, have been adopted in different applications and to varying degrees. However, a U.S. effort to create a protected helicopter that was essentially a flying armored fighting vehicle was less successful. This is its story. In 1967, the U.S. military was mired in the Vietnam War, and helicopters were playing a hugely important role. Of the around 12,000 helicopters used by the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam, more than 5,600 were lost, according to figures from the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association. Meanwhile, manufacturers in the United States were looking for ways to create helicopters that would have a better chance of surviving both in Southeast Asia and on even more highly contested battlefields. Soldiers of the U.S. Army 9th Infantry Division 3 Battalion waiting to board UH-1 helicopters in the Plain of Reeds during an operation in Tan An, South Vietnam, January 1970. Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Bettmann In the same year, Sikorsky was developing a new type of aircraft armor that would provide protection to helicopters against ballistic threats. In Vietnam, helicopters were repeatedly subjected to gunfire when they were operating in and out of hot landing zones. On the ground, they were the targets of mortar or rocket attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sikorskys new dual-hardness steel armor was both robust and light enough that it could be used as the basis for building the helicopters primary structure, rather than adding it on later. At the same time that it was working on this innovative armor, Sikorsky was developing its Advancing Blade Concept (ABC), which promised helicopters that would be much faster than using traditional rotors. A model of the Aerial Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (AARV) that combined the Advancing Blade Concept (ABC) with a heavily armored fuselage cell. Public Domain ABC was just one of many efforts at this time to dramatically enhance the performance of rotorcraft, with others notably including compound helicopters, which combined the familiar rotors with a wing and some kind of auxiliary propulsion to generate higher speeds. Sikorskys ABC was an alternative to the compound helicopter and involved a contra-rotating main rotor allied with auxiliary propulsion to propel the aircraft in forward flight. Using this rotor arrangement removed the problem of blade stall, which otherwise limits the speed of conventional helicopters, and obviated the need for a tail rotor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a heavily armored helicopter, ABC promised several advantages. It was more robust and simpler than a conventional helicopter configuration, making it better able to withstand damage, especially since the very vulnerable tail rotor and its transmission were omitted. High speed was less of an issue, since the armored helicopter was intended to survive ballistic attacks, at least to a certain level, rather than evade them. But the ABC arrangement was also notably agile, which would be useful for maneuvering in combat. Sikorsky began to look at two armored helicopter options. The first of these was the Aerial Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (AARV), which was a two-seat scout. It was envisaged as a successor to the U.S. Armys Hughes OH-6 Cayuse and Bell OH-58 Kiowa. These had been procured under the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) program and saw extensive use in Vietnam. Soldiers of the U.S. Army work on an OH-6 helicopter shot down in Tay Ninh province in December 1967, during the Vietnam War. Photo by BOB WILDAU/AFP via Getty Images BOB WILDAU The AARV program was funded by Sikorsky and the Army over a period of two and a half years. Playing a significant role was the Army Materials & Mechanics Research Center, which helped develop the half-inch-thick dual-hardness armor needed for the helicopters airframe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From its total weight of 6,800 pounds, the dual-hardness armor accounted for around 1,800 pounds. Since this was very much breaking new technological ground, much effort was put into working out how best to cut, join, form, and finish the helicopter using this material. After this evaluation, a fuselage mock-up was constructed and then subjected to ballistics testing. A diagram of the heavily armored fuselage cell for the Aerial Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (AARV). U.S. Army In overall configuration, and apart from its ABC rotor arrangement, the AARV was fairly conventional and simple. The fuselage was notably angular, with a prominent chine line and a faceted appearance. While this kind of design would reappear on stealthy helicopter concepts, here it was utilized for better protection against ballistic fire. While the main fuselage was built from dual-hardness armor, the empennage was made from aluminum. The tail featured an inverted-V configuration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With a length of 25.4 feet and a fuselage height of 4.5 feet, the AARV was even more compact than the diminutive OH-6, which was 30.3 feet long and 8.1 feet high to the top of the rotor mast. A cutaway drawing of the AARV. Public Domain Unlike in the other ABC proposals of the company, the AARV didnt have auxiliary propulsion, being powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboshaft. Rated at 1,175 horsepower, this would have given the helicopter a top speed of 150 knots. In trials, the helicopters airframe was able to withstand 7.62mm caliber gunfire at point-blank range; at longer ranges, 50-caliber projectiles also failed to penetrate it. As well as the airframe armor, advanced ballistic glass transparent armor was used for the cockpit transparencies. A mock-up of the AARV. Public Domain The AARV would also have had provision for its own weapons, with options to install a 7.62mm Minigun on a telescopic mounting below the fuselage, while pods of unguided rockets could be pylon-mounted on the side of the fuselage. Armament options for the AARV. U.S. Army Although a full-scale ABC rotor system was successfully tested in the NASA Ames wind tunnel in 1970, the AARV project didnt progress any further, with the Army instead concluding that this technology would be better used in a high-speed platform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sikorsky completed a high-speed ABC demonstrator, the S-69, but this also failed to lead to any production aircraft. The Sikorsky S-69 demonstrator during Army trials, as the XH-59, in 1981. U.S. Army In the meantime, the same armored helicopter thinking that led to the AARV was also used as the basis for another Sikorsky project, the Aerial Armored Personnel Carrier (AAPC). Various different Sikorsky studies for heavily armored assault helicopters. Sikorsky Essentially a scaled-up version of the AARV, the AAPC was built around a box-like armored cabin with accommodation for 12 soldiers. The rotor diameter was increased to 40 feet, compared to 35.4 feet for the AARV. At least two different empennage arrangements were studied, one being an inverted-V in which the tails were attached to the rear of the landing skids, and the other being a more conventional horizontal tailplane with vertical endplates. A mock-up of the Aerial Armored Personnel Carrier (AAPC) fuselage. Public Domain A three-view drawing of the Aerial Armored Personnel Carrier (AAPC) fuselage. Sikorsky Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The AAPC progressed as far as a full-scale mockup, but the Army wasnt interested in pursuing it further. As it is, the AAPC makes a very interesting comparison with the Mi-24 Hind, which was the Soviet response to the similar kind of requirement, although it stressed speed and firepower over protection. The AARV and AAPC might have faded into obscurity, but the Advancing Blade Concept made a powerful comeback, many years later. Sikorsky returned to the concept with its X2 demonstrator, first flown in 2008, and intended to prove the technology, again. Once more, ABC was seen as a way of unlocking speed and maneuverability, and increasing helicopter survivability under battle conditions. The X2 led to the S-97 Raider, which was a more production-representative aircraft, which took to the air in 2015. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The S-97, in turn, paved the way for the promising RaiderX, which was widely seen as being a potential frontrunner for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, that aimed to supply the Army with a high-speed new-generation scout and attack helicopter. FARA was cancelled early last year. The first RaiderX competitive prototype in a hangar at Sikorskys West Palm Beach, Florida, facility. Sikorsky Meanwhile, the RaiderX fed into the enlarged SB>1 Defiant, which lost the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) tender to a design based on Bells V-280 Valor next-generation tiltrotor. It was a very high-stakes competition, our analysis of the results of which you can read here. While APC technology might have to wait a while longer to find its way into a production helicopter for the Army, there is little doubt about its potential. Years of testing have demonstrated impressive speed, agility, and hot and high performance, with the ability to pack this all into a relatively small footprint. Ultimately, the AARV and its troop-carrying counterpart were destined to be footnotes in the colorful history of Cold War U.S. helicopter designs. However, they played a highly instructional role during a time of rapid development in rotorcraft technology, and one that points to continued concerns about how best to ensure survivability once thrown into battle. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com PEMBROKE With rainy 46-degree weather Friday, members of the Orleans County honor guard gathered at the Western New York National Cemetery to honor one of their own. Among the four providing a rifle salute were Niagara County Army veterans Kathy Kindle of Middleport and Ricci Hoffer of Newfane. For all who provide this solemn service, it is a high honor done with great pride. Jim Freas of Medina, the officer-in-charge of the Orleans County honor guard, said he is involved because I expect somebody to do it for me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its the last thing these guys can do for their brothers, said Linda Freas, Jims wife. Every year its fewer and fewer of them. The call to honor is ongoing. Every day, the Western New York National Cemetery lays veterans to rest. The National Cemetery Association thinks of Memorial Day as our Super Bowl, said Jim Metcalfe, an Army vet and director of the Western New York National Cemetery who has overseen 19 national cemeteries. We have to be perfect, Metcalfe said. There cant be a weed. People roll in and see the manicured lawn, and the tree rings, and the marble. It is overwhelming for them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Laying someone to rest at the national cemetery is called a committal service, rather than a funeral, Metcalfe said. Our duty here is to render military honors to the veteran. Its not a place for a showing or ceremony, he said. When we have a committal service, the next of kin will receive a burial flag, a presidential memorial certificate, the honor guard, the rifle volley, playing of taps, and two members from the veterans branch of service will be present to fold and present the flag to the family. A eulogy or prayer by someone of the familys choosing can be included. I think when the rifle volley goes off and they hear taps play, most families find it difficult to hold it in, Metcalfe said. Now the country is giving back and providing this beautiful place for them for eternity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Honor guard members are volunteers, both veteran and non-veteran, representing all branches of the military. At committal services, the honor guard usually includes one bugler, seven shooters, and a commander. Erie, Wyoming, Genesee, and Orleans counties have honor guards who have committed to serve a day each week at the cemetery. When guard groups are large enough, members are able to rotate through. Since Niagara County has yet to form an honor guard, all counties alternate on Fridays. What stays with me is the number of unclaimed veterans with no families, said Mike Harmer of Medina, a Navy vet. Kindle has tried to find members for a Niagara County honor guard by speaking about it at monthly countywide meetings of the American Legion. She said many local legion posts have their own honor guard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some days, we have a local funeral at the post, and we cant come to the national cemetery, Kindle said. When you look at the faces of the families, you see how much it means to them, said honor guard member John Follman of Waterport, who served in the Air Force and National Guard. On Friday, Follman presented the family of the deceased with three brass shells from the honor guards M1 Garand rifle salute. The shells stand for duty, honor, and sacrifice, he said. Petty Officer Robin Johnson, who represented the Navy in honor of the deceased Friday, said participating is a way to tip his hat to those who have served. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Either during taps or the presentation of the flag, thats when people start choking up, Johnson said. Brad Nudd of Medina is not a veteran, but he serves on the Orleans County honor guard as a bugler in memory of his father who did military service. Nudd said his involvement is in tribute to his father, and all who sacrificed for this country. As a new cemetery will be created in 2021, Metcalfe said outreach is underway to help families understand the services available to them. He said the Pembroke cemetery has done 600 interments a year, but several thousand are typical at other national cemeteries. Veterans who have resided elsewhere can be buried in Western New York, and Metcalfe said a lot of snowbirds come back here. People dont know what to expect here, Metcalfe said. We work with them all. Were a time-of-need service. Theres no pre-registration. You cant reserve a spot. A burial can be arranged in an hour. The national cemetery offers traditional burial, and for cremations, both in-ground burials and a columbarium building with niches are available. Metcalfe said all veterans have the benefit of a gravesite, opening and closing of the site, a burial lining, a headstone and marker, and perpetual care. He encourages families to go to www.va.gov and choose the benefits section to learn more. Jasmine Martinez remembers the day she arrived in Arizona. It was August 2015, and Martinez was moving to Laveen from New York City. She was 27, had packed all her belongings into six suitcases and had $4,000 to her name. When the airport elevator doors opened, she and her son were blasted by hot wind. Martinez looked down at her 4-year-old son, "and he was like, Mommy, it's so hot. Immediately, she began to have doubts about moving. I felt like I was failing my son. I felt hot. I felt frustrated, Martinez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martinez remembers having to walk a mile and a half in the Arizona summer with her son to the nearest bus station that first summer. As a single mom, she hoped Arizona would provide a better life for her child. She was determined to find the success she had been looking for, but was still struggling to stick with her education. Being a single mom, unfortunately, we have a trajectory, Martinez said. Four times she had attempted to finish her associate degree but never could stick with it. Whether it was finances or scheduling or if I'm being really honest I just was not focused. I couldn't sit through seminars and do assignments and make sure my kid was picked up on time. The Helios Education Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary by gifting 20 transfer students scholarships on May 7, 2025. On her fifth attempt, she decided it was going to be different. As a parent, we're always making sure that others are taken care of, Martinez said. I wanted to do something for me, and the only thing I could think of was school. Martinez didnt have a set plan she just wanted to finish something she began long ago. Once she started working with disadvantaged young people, something clicked. She got a job as an administrative assistant for the Homeless Youth Outreach program at Phoenix Children's Hospital, which brings health care services to homeless youth, and later as an assistant to the principal at a local high school. Both jobs allowed Martinez to work one-on-one with kids, and she realized she wanted to be a positive role model for them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I see so much of the younger version of me that was so broken and so sad and so lonely, said Martinez. I want to be someone that I did not have growing up. The challenges brought by moving to Arizona paid off. She felt she was providing her son a better life, and she completed her associate degree at Central Arizona College in Coolidge. When Martinez was accepted to Arizona State University, she was elated, but concerned about how she would be able to pay. Thats when a scholarship opportunity from Helios Education Foundation caught her attention. Education foundation offers help to transfer students The Helios Education Foundation, a nonprofit focused on increasing access to education after high school in Arizona and Florida, celebrated its 20th anniversary by gifting 20 people scholarships of up to $20,000. The scholarships were exclusively for students transferring from a community college to an accredited four-year program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We're celebrating by giving students some assistance to complete that last piece of their educational journey and attain that four-year degree, said Senior Vice President for Arizona Community Engagement Vince Yanez. Many of them are adult learners, have a whole set of different needs, and might not have the same number of financial assistance opportunities available to them. Helios wanted to focus on transfer students for this scholarship opportunity because they are often overlooked when it comes to financial assistance. Most opportunities for financial assistance are only available to students enrolling in postsecondary education immediately after high school. The 20 recipients were chosen because they showed exceptional drive to complete their studies and were just in need of a financial leg up. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego poses for a photo with Arizona 20th Anniversary Pathway Scholar Krishna Morales on May 7, 2025, at Helios Education Foundation's Phoenix office. Helios has a statewide postsecondary attainment goal. Arizona "cannot hit its attainment goal unless we do a better job of helping adult learners, Yanez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martinez, 36, said becoming an Arizona 20th Anniversary Pathway Scholar made her feel seen and recognized for her hard work. While it did not mean she could stop working as she continues her education, it will be one less thing to worry about, she said. She plans to pursue a degree in special education. Her personal experience with her son, who receives special education services, and her sister, who has Down syndrome, helped Martinez realize her desire to make sure all children get the proper education. While Martinez didn't have the support she needed in her primary school years, she found it later in life through Helios and Central Arizona College's honor society and wanted to pay it forward. I need to be what I was just blessed with," Martinez said. "With individuals that knew better, that could do better, that guided me, that walked me through the steps." Money offers DACA recipient chance to finish college Susana Nava, another Arizona 20th Anniversary Pathway Scholar, moved to Arizona from Morelos, Mexico, when she was 5 years old. She was enrolled in the public education system and never questioned her immigration status. She was determined to go to college and earned dual enrollment credits throughout high school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After graduating, Nava continued her studies at Mesa Community College and was on a path to graduate when Senate Bill 1070 brought her studies to a halt. The bill, which was meant to encourage undocumented people to leave the state and was largely found unconstitutional in the courts, was signed into law in 2010. Navas grades slipped because of the stress of the "show me your papers" law. Professors, she said, started advising her against pursuing her education further as the bill could bring up challenges she might not be able to overcome. "They were trying to help me out and have me not stick out," Nava said, so she decided to drop out. Not having that support really held me back as well and impacted my outlook as far as being able to actually get to that end goal, said Nava, 37. "That also kind of shut down my voice at that time. Susana Nava, an Arizona 20th Anniversary Pathway Scholar pursuing a degree in business administration at Arizona State University at the Helios Education Foundation Phoenix campus on May 7, 2025. In 2012, when President Barack Obama signed an executive order declaring deferred action for childhood arrivals meaning people who migrated to the U.S. as children would not be prioritized for immigration enforcement Nava was eligible for what has come to be called "DACA status." Using her new status, she started working retail jobs until the program was interrupted by the first Donald Trump presidential administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aliento, a nonprofit organization that helps students, DACA recipients and mixed-status families, reached out to Nava, and she went to one of its workshops. Nava started getting involved with Aliento and working with other people affected by immigration policies. Through Aliento, Nava found her voice again, she said. I needed to overcome that struggle and be able to surpass that barrier that was put in front of me, Nava said. She now works full-time helping other students ensure they get their postsecondary education regardless of their immigration status. Since she has not finished college, the job has made her feel at odds with herself, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nava decided that if she was going to be in a position to encourage others to finish school, it was only right for her to do the same. She enrolled in ASUs business administration program with the intention of using what she learned to help further Alientos cause. Aliento has become a really big part of my life, and especially because I'm an impacted person, I feel it's only right to pay back to the community that I'm part of, Nava said. Mayor designates Helios Education Foundation Day Scholarship recipients and their family members were invited to an event on May 7. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego attended and expressed gratitude for the opportunities Helios has brought to Arizonans, declaring May 7, 2025, as Helios Education Foundation Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To the Helios team, congratulations on two decades of excellence," Gallego said. "You have changed so many lives and our entire state. Coverage of education solutions on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is partially supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundations Arizona Community Collaborative Fund. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Helios Education Foundation awards scholarships to overlooked students HIGH POINT Tom Kelly spent his last day in High Point on Nov. 27, 1969, celebrating Thanksgiving with his family. They ate turkey and enjoyed being together, trying not to dwell on where Tom was headed. They took some family photos Tom, his parents, a brother and a sister. The next day, Tom left High Point, a 22-year-old soldier bound for Vietnam. He would not return. The story of George Thomas Kelly III Tommy or Tom, as he insisted on being called is a sad tale, but an inspiring one, too. This weekend, in particular when we salute the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to this nation is a poignant time to remember the sacrifice of one of High Points own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tom was an active, popular student at High Point Central High School, where he was named to Whos Who his senior year. He graduated in 1965 and attended the University of North Carolina for two years before enlisting in the Army in 1967. He was commissioned a second lieutenant after graduating from Officer Candidate School. Frankly, Tom was not exactly gung-ho about the Vietnam War. He couldve joined the ranks of others around him perhaps even some of you who protested the war, but he didnt. He still believed he should go. Tom was not a supporter of the war, nor was he someone who was in Vietnam because he had no choice, Frank DeLong, one of Toms Army buddies, wrote in an online tribute. He was there because he felt it was his duty to be there. Toms tour of duty in Vietnam didnt last long less than half a year but only because of the heroic sacrifice he made during the bloody Battle of Dak Seang, when his battalion came under attack from an aggressive North Vietnamese regiment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the afternoon of April 22, 1970, after several days of continuous combat, the battalion found itself on a hilltop, nearly encircled by the North Vietnamese. Tom, by now a first lieutenant, bravely led his men to a bomb crater that could be utilized as a chopper landing zone. He radioed for help, and a medical evacuation helicopter was immediately dispatched to the battalions precarious location. As quickly as men began piling onto the chopper, the enemy emerged from a tree line and began bombarding the craft with small arms fire. Because of the intense hostile fire, the heavily laden helicopter experienced great difficulty in taking off, a military account of the incident reads. Lieutenant Kelly unhesitantly left the ship to engage the enemy in an attempt to divert their fire and to allow the helicopter to depart. Armed with a couple of M-16 rifles, Tom and another officer the aforementioned Frank DeLong tried to fend off the North Vietnamese while radioing for another chopper. Lying prone on the ground, they began taking machine-gun fire from behind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rounds were kicking up dirt all around us, DeLong wrote. We rolled in opposite directions, trying to get out of his target zone. I rolled across the LZ (landing zone) and into a depression caused by an uprooted tree. Then all hell broke loose with small arms fire raking the LZ, coming from uphill of our position. And Tom? I never saw Tom again, DeLong wrote. I believe he was killed by the initial burst of machine gun fire. DeLong wrote a letter to Toms family, telling not only of his bravery during the final minutes of his life, but of the respect and admiration his men had for him long before that fateful afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of Toms higher-ups wrote him up to receive the Medal of Honor the nations highest military decoration for valor but he received the Distinguished Service Cross instead, the second-highest honor, awarded for extraordinary heroism in combat. The High Point Enterprise published a photo of Toms parents, Tom Jr. and Jill, receiving the award on their sons behalf. His extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army, the citation read. As they accepted the award, Toms parents mustve thought about the previous Thanksgiving Day, thankful for those final moments they enjoyed together as a family. And today, more than 55 years later, as we honor the military men and women who sacrificed their lives, we can all give thanks for a man like Tom Kelly. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The family of a 17-year-old killed last year accepted his diploma on the last day of school for the Clark County School District. Keanu Enright died on Oct. 16 inside a home at the intersection of Bramble Court and Greenhurst Road near Alta Drive and Rainbow Boulevard. The last sent months have basically been hell. Its a struggle every single day. To have the support system is great, Thomas Enright, III, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keanu Enright was playing video games with three other teens when a 15-year-old pulled a ghost gun and shot him, according to police. 8 News Now was the only TV station in court last November for the shooters sentencing. Las Vegas judge sentences teen for killing despite pleas from victims family Were all here to honor my son, and hes not able to be here. This kid is going to be out in a year or two years. He gets to have children and grandchildren, gets to go to college, get a job. My kid dont get anything, and we struggle every single day, Thomas Enright, III, said. Keanu Enright received a page dedicated to him in the Bonanza High School yearbook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He liked hip-hop, and he loved his friends, his father said. Thomas Enright, III also picked up his sons diploma on Friday. Its going to hang on the wall, he said. I feel a little guilty. I shouldnt be holding this, he should, said Keanu Enrights brother, Thomas Enright, IV, who is a U.S. Marine stationed in Camp Pendleton. He came to Las Vegas to walk up on stage when his brothers name was called during the graduation ceremony. The brothers were only a year apart and Thomas Enright, IV, said the pain of his brothers death has been too much to bear at times. He always had jokes. Never ending. New stuff every day. I just dont laugh like I used to, Thomas Enright, IV, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keanus name will be called next Thursday at the Orleans Hotel and Casino during the schools graduation ceremony. Keanu had plans to join the U.S. Navy. The 15-year-old who shot Keanu was sentenced to the Spring Mountain Youth Prison. Once he is released, his records will be sealed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLEVELAND (WJW) Video released to the FOX 8 I-Team shows a suspected bank robber busted before he ever got out the door. The suspect was busted by a bank teller. Cleveland police took a 911 call from a woman saying, Police, I need the police. Huntington Bank. Ive just been robbed. The call came in from a bank at 55th Street and Broadway Avenue. Cavs, Guardians concerned about sin tax with Browns plan to build dome Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Body camera video shows, as police arrived, they found the suspect already locked up. Yes, maam, I have him trapped in our security doors. Hes pulling on the doors right now, the worker told police. Police saw a man trapped in the lobby. The doors were locked by a bank teller before the suspected robber even left the bank for the getaway. Hey, no, no. Raise your hands behind your head. Raise your fingers behind your head, an officer ordered the man. He passed a note, the worker added. Police found a fake gun and a suspect not happy about being busted before even leaving the bank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant do nothing. Im (bleep) locked in, he said. Man sentenced to prison after stealing $8.5 million from Ohioans in sports betting Ponzi scheme Investigators arrested James Dodrill. Cuyahoga County prosecutors indicted him for aggravated robbery and robbery. Dodrill has pleaded not guilty. Police also found more than evidence inside the bank. Video shows, as officers searched the suspect, they found a wad of cash. If hes convicted, Dodrill might get locked up in prison. Here, even the crime scene turned into a lock-up. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Theres a push for the return of license plate recognition technology following two hit-and-run crashes in Nashville over the past week. However, some community members are concerned those cameras could be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A Florida man visiting Nashville with his family for his 21st birthday was seriously injured after a silver Mitsubishi Mirage hit him at a Church Street crosswalk, threw him airborne, and drove off on Sunday, May 18, as seen in surveillance video. His mother spoke with News 2 after the incident and questioned Nashvilles lack of LPR cameras. Mother pushes for LPRs in Nashville after son injured in hit-and-run crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, on Wednesday, May 21, a 23-year-old Nashville woman was crossing Bell Road on an electric bike when she was hit by a dark sedan, which sped off, running several red lights along the way, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. The bicyclist was brought to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she died. District 32 Metro Councilwoman Joy Styles is calling for the city to reinstall its LPR cameras. She believes this technology will help catch those two hit-and-run drivers, as well as help with other crime efforts. We are living in very difficult times because we continue to have issues with crime in Nashville and we also are having issues regarding the federal enforcement and ICE officers, Styles said. Grandmother of bicyclist killed in Antioch hit-and-run pleads for driver to come forward Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Styles, ICE agents and other federal authorities wont have access to LPRs. However, News 2 spoke with several leaders in Nashvilles Hispanic community who shared their concerns. We have seen here, specifically in our own backyard here in Nashville, with indiscriminate and cruel increased immigration enforcement, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition Government Relations Manager Luis Mata said. We know that our federal and state leaders, we know their intentions, right? And that is to use local resources against our immigrant residents. Demonstrators rally against ICE presence in South Nashville Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Churches have also expressed unease over LPRs since some of their congregants are worried about potential deportations. I think that there has to be a separation of power, how it is in our Constitution, written by Thomas Jefferson, and I think that we should not be harassing people or targeting people, Pastor Isaac Gomez said. Gomez is working to protect his congregation, saying he believes the Hispanic community is unfairly targeted. | READ MORE | Latest headlines from Nashville and Davidson County For the second year in a row, Nashville Mayor Freddie OConnell did not include funding specifically for LPR technology in his proposed budget, but he told News 2 he believes there is room in the numbers to include LPRs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we can get our proposed LPR policy framework through the Metro Council, we believe we could fund that initiative, OConnell said. And I think there would be many different opportunities. Youre not going to see a line item in there for it, but I think the capacity is there. Meanwhile, a Vanderbilt University poll released in April found that 83% of respondents supported allowing MNPD to use roadside cameras to identify vehicles tied to violent crimes, stolen vehicles, and missing persons if they are tied to strict limitations on use and data protection. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. A Hoffman Estates man was charged with first-degree murder in a December fatal shooting of a 38-year-old man on the North Side in the Logan Square neighborhood, Chicago police said. Devin Roldan-Brossett of Hoffman Estates was charged one count of first-degree murder after a warrant for for his arrest was issued in a December fatal shooting in the 4000 block of West Fullerton Avenue. The shooting happened shortly after 7:45 p.m. Dec. 12, police said. Roldan-Brossett was arrested May 22 in the 10000 block of West Balmoral Avenue by homicide detectives. He was scheduled to appear at a detention hearing Saturday. CHICAGO A man accused in a fatal shooting inside a Northwest Side bar late last year is now facing a felony charge. Chicago police said 21-year-old Devin Roldan-Brossett, a Hoffman Estates resident, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the alleged shooting. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines An initial report by police indicated that the shooting unfolded just before 8 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2024, inside The Levee, located in the 4000 block of West Fullerton Avenue in Hermosa. Photo provided by Chicago police shows 21-year-old Devin Roldan-Brossett, a Hoffman Estates resident, who has been charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with a shooting that allegedly occurred on the Northwest Side in late 2024. Officers said the victim, 38-year-old Israel Guzman, was inside the bar when Roldan-Brossett allegedly opened fire before fleeing the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guzman suffered multiple gunshot wounds and later died at the hospital. It remains unclear what led up to the deadly shooting. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Officers said Roldan-Brossett was eventually taken into custody in connection with the deadly shooting on Thursday in the 10000 block of West Balmoral Avenue. Roldan-Brossett was set to appear in court on Saturday for a detention hearing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. The Honorable Justice Rita B. Garman has been selected AMBUCS 92nd First Citizen an award given to leaders in the community who selflessly sacrifice of themselves for the greater good, according to the AMBUCS website. Beyond serving as a circuit judge and Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Garman has spent her life serving her community in a myriad of ways. Public Servant, Judge, and Justice Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garman, who was raised in Aurora, began her career as a legal aid attorney, later becoming an assistant states attorney. She served for 49 years on the bench in Illinois, retiring in 2022 as the longest-serving female judge in Illinois history. Garman was first appointed associate judge in Vermilion County in 1974, then elected as a circuit judge in 1986 and appointed to the Fourth District Appellate Court in 1995. She later served on the Illinois Supreme Court for 21 years, including three years as Chief Justice from 2013-2016. Governor J.B. Pritzker named Garman to the Order of Lincoln in 2024 the highest civilian honor in Illinois, given to those who have displayed notable career achievement and public service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garman was the first female judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, the first female circuit judge, the first female justice on the Fourth District Appellate Court. During her time on the Supreme Court of Illinois, she became the first Chief Justice to have served at every level of the Illinois judiciary associate judge, circuit judge, presiding circuit judge, appellate justice, presiding appellate justice, supreme court justice, and chief justice, according to Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White. As a Supreme Court Justice, Garman helped start a committee on child custody cases, to help ensure a more expedient process. All told, Garman has received many awards recognizing her service as a judge and justice the Illinois Judges Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the Harold Sullivan Award for Judicial Excellence, the Person of the Year Award from Chicago Lawyer Magazine, the Spirit of Lincoln Award from the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Public Interest Law Initiative Distinguished Public Service Award, and the Myra Bradwell Award from the Womens Bar Association of Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Community Service Beyond her time serving as a judge and justice, Garman also served her community by singing in the choir at St. James United Methodist Church, as well as taking part in church committees. Garman has also served on the Vermilion County 708 Mental Health board a group which plans, reviews, and evaluates community programs and facilities providing mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities services to the residents of Vermilion County, according to the Vermilion County website. Justice Garman was also one of the first women to serve on the Danville Noon Rotary Club. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arts Patron & Advocate Garman has spent her life dedicated to the arts, as well, serving on the board of directors for the Danville Symphony Orchestra. She was even named Emeritus Board Member. In 1987, she established the John Sanders Scholarship a scholarship named after an English teacher that worked at Danville High School. Of Garman, Patrick Halloran Chair of AMBUCS First Citizen board said she is a pioneer, a visionary, a well-respected member of the Illinois Bar Association, a selfless example of service, a luminary in our community, we are incredibly proud to recognize this amazing woman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Garman] exemplifies the definition of what it means to be a First Citizen by choosing to make a positive impact within the Danville community and for all who encounter her exceptional presence, Halloran said. A dinner honoring Justice Garman will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at the Turtle Run banquet center. The dinner is open to the public and $35 tickets can be purchased at the door. House Republicans are sending a clear and early warning to their Senate allies as the bill encompassing President Trumps domestic priorities heads to the upper chamber: Dont water it down. House GOP leaders spent weeks in delicate talks with Republican holdouts before cobbling together a fragile agreement that could thread the needle between conservatives demands for more spending cuts and moderates insistence on a controversial tax break. As the massive package heads to the Senate, the critical voices of the House debate blue-state Republicans, hardliners and party leaders are cautioning their upper-chamber counterparts not to alter their design too severely, or it will never get through the House on its return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The warnings forecast a coming clash between Republicans in the two chambers, since many senators are already saying they cant support the package without substantial changes. House conservatives would be fine with some changes if they shift the bill to the right with more spending cuts and deficit reduction. At the bare minimum, theyre demanding that the Senate keep in place hard-fought provisions to limit Medicaid eligibility and roll back green-energy subsidies adopted by the Biden administration. Theyve got a lot they still need to do to make it better, and they cant unwind what we achieved. And those are going to be red lines, said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). If the SALT guys think theyve got red lines, just wait until you see whats coming out of us. Blue-state Republicans have their own concerns. They went to the mats to lift the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, and they dont want Senate Republicans to nibble away at their hard-earned victory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their agreement included not only an increase in the cap to $40,000 for those making up to $500,000 but also commitments on how to handle the threat of any Senate changes. Unlike in the House, Senate Republicans do not represent regions where constituents are greatly impacted by the SALT deduction cap. For that reason alone, many Senate Republicans are cold to the notion of giving a bigger tax break to those who primarily have higher incomes and live in blue states. Under the terms of the SALT Caucus deal, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) committed to holding the line against any Senate changes. And the SALT Caucus members agreed to go to the Senate, at the Speakers request, to advocate for the higher deduction. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), one of those core SALT Caucus members, echoed conservatives warnings to senators not to change the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Members like me respect the Senates prerogative to shape key aspects of the One Big Beautiful Bill, but we respectfully request that Senators preserve the interlocking provisions that were carefully negotiated through months of tough internal deliberation, LaLota said. The bills strength and viability depend on maintaining that hard-earned balance. The precarious nature of the agreement is very much on the radar of House leaders, who are delivering their own unsubtle message to the Senate as the upper chamber prepares to deliberate the bill. Johnson huddled behind closed doors with Senate Republicans on Tuesday, during a traditional weekly lunch. Afterwards, he said he practically pleaded with the group not to make huge changes to the House design. I encouraged them to remember that we have a very delicate equilibrium that weve reached over here. A lot of work went into this to find exactly the right balance, Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You saw how perilous that was over the last week as it developed, he continued. And I encouraged our Senate colleagues to think of this as a one-team effort, as we have, and to modify this as little as possible, because it will make it easier for us to get it over the line, ultimately, and finished and get it to the presidents desk by July 4. Thats a big thing. House Republicans are quick to acknowledge that some Senate changes are inevitable even welcome. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), for instance, said the House bill leaves some confusion about whether refugees in the country legally can qualify for food assistance benefits under the bills reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and he hopes that the Senate clarifies. Major changes, though, would be more problematic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an early sign of trouble for House Republicans, a number of GOP senators are already rejecting parts of the lower chambers bill an indication that the package could return to the House in an entirely different form, which would likely spark a revolt from one wing or another. I think there will be considerable changes in the Senate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the chair of the Commerce Committee, said this week, specifying that the tweaks will likely be across the board in the measure. Republican senators are already voicing their dismay with the SALT provision included in the bill. New York, New Jersey and California the three states most concerned by SALT are completely represented by Democrats in the Senate, leaving the issue with no GOP champions in the upper chamber. Theres not one Republican in the United States Senate who gives a s about SALT, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said. Having said that, what does matter is 218 votes in the House, and we want to be cognizant about that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some senators are also eyeing changes to the Medicaid language in the House bill. The legislation beefs up work requirements for able-bodied individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 and institutes more frequent eligibility checks, among other provisions. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the bill would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.6 million people going uninsured, prompting concerns among some Senate Republicans. That review was released before the House expedited the implementation of the work requirements. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has been most vocal about the worries pertaining to Medicaid, writing in a New York Times op-ed earlier this month that Medicaid cuts are both morally wrong and politically suicidal. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have also noted concerns about changes to the social safety net program, which further suggests the Senate is ready to shift the legislation to the center, not the right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, who intervened at the last minute to get the House bill passed, remains a wildcard in the Senate debate. But a source close to the White House noted that theres a short list of GOP senators including Collins, Murkowski, Hawley and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who can steer the direction of the bill on behalf of others without feeling pressured by Trump. A group of them are going to say, Hey, were not going to just bow down to these things, which we believe are draconian, right? the source said. Theyre going to be a problem for our constituency, but more importantly, our colleagues. Senate Republicans can afford to lose only three of their own and get the legislation over the finish line. And they are already down to two: Rep. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he is a hard no on the House bill unless it removes the $4 trillion debt limit hike an unlikely scenario as a summer default looms. Its not conservative; I cant support it, Paul said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As House Republicans warn against changes to their preferred provisions in the bill, some of the same voices are holding out hope that whatever product returns from the Senate to the lower chamber will be more conservative an aspiration that is sure to leave them disappointed as Senate Republicans push to bring the package more towards the middle. Roy, for example, said he voted for the bill despite significant reservations, noting that it needs massive improvements. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, echoed that sentiment, arguing that the Senate can make inroads in areas that the upper chamber is already looking to water down. Im hoping the Senate can address the two issues that I think still are there, Harris said. One, the early deficit increases in the 10-year window. And the other one is getting at more of the fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But if the Senate tries to weaken the legislation, he warned, all bets are off. Well reconsider our support, he told reporters of such a scenario. Alex Gangitano and Al Weaver contributed reporting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A video of previous coverage on the Humane Society of Greater Dayton is above. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The Grand Opening celebration for the Humane Society of Greater Daytons (HSGD) resale boutique is this Saturday. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new boutique was on Tuesday, May 20. Dayton Humane & Co. Resale Boutique is located at 101 E. Alex Bell Road, Suite 148, Centerville. NATO summit has blood center seeking more donors, just in case Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the official grand opening celebration began at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 24. It will run until 7 p.m. HSGD said this isnt a typical thrift store, and it has reimagined the resale with boutique flair. There will be a selection of high-end clothing, accessories, furniture and home decor. Every purchase will directly support the critical work the HSDG does in the lives of animals in the Miami Valley. HSDG is a no-kill animal welfare org. which supports over 10,000 animals a year. It provides adoptions, veterinary care, cruelty/neglect investigations and other specialized programming. To learn more about the critical work the HSDG does, or more on volunteering and donations, 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. BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar walked across the border to Romania on Saturday after a week-long journey, in a attempt to win support of the ethnic Hungarians in Romania and appeal to conservative voters in the run-up to the 2026 elections. Magyar's centre-right Tisza party emerged last year to mount the most serious challenge to nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban since he rose to power in 2010. Most opinion polls now put Tisza ahead of Orban's Fidesz party with the next parliamentary elections due in early 2026. No date has been set yet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carrying Hungary's national flag, Magyar walked across the border on Saturday morning with a group of supporters. "We are not going (to Romania) to escalate tensions or to cause any harm to our Hungarian brothers and sisters living there. We are going there to express our solidarity," Magyar said on May 14 when he set out on foot in hiking gear. On his way to the border, Magyar stopped in small towns to talk to rural voters, who have traditionally supported conservative Orban. Orban's government provides financial support to ethnic Hungarian communities in Romania and in 2014 granted the right to vote to Hungarians living abroad. In the last election in 2022 94% of these voters supported Fidesz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest poll by the Publicus think tank, published on Friday, showed Tisza with 43% support among decided voters in Hungary while Fidesz had 36%. Magyar announced his march on May 12 after Orban flagged he could cooperate with Romanian hard-right presidential candidate George Simion ahead of the May 18 election there. The RMDSZ party representing ethnic Hungarians in Romania, said Simion's win would pose a threat to minorities' rights and urged its voters to support centrist Nicusor Dan who ended up winning the vote. (Reporting by Anita Komuves, Krisztina Fenyo and Krisztina ThanEditing by Tomasz Janowski) LAS VEGAS (KLAS) UNLVs Immigration Clinic said ICE arrested six asylum seekers looking for ways to legally stay in the United States. Attorneys with the clinic said the federal government may be seeking ways to rapidly deport the men. We are concerned that the government will try to use something called expedited removal to deport them without ever going back before a judge, UNLV Immigration Clinic Director Michael Kagan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kagan said theyve confirmed ICE arrested the men, who are now behind bars in Pahrump. Its really unclear whether they are being legally detained right now, he said. Kagan said the Department of Homeland Security found some of the men had a credible fear of persecution or torture in their home countries and were going through the legal process to determine if they should be deported. And yet DHS has decided, well, lets just stop the deportation proceedings and arrest them anyway, Kagan said. He said the move strips the men of their due process that theyre owed by the legal system, and says it causes concern for the rest of the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its very dangerous that this administration is constantly trying to find ways to avoid courts, to avoid the idea that everyone in America has their day in court, and in the end, it threatens all of our rights, Kagan said. In a statement posted on X, the Nevada GOP said, @unlv and @nshe should be stripped of federal funding until they stop being sanctuary campuses for illegal aliens! No public money for illegals, hard stop. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com. Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. As the Jackson County Legislature continues to debate which county services should be funded in an emergency capacity without an approved 2025 budget, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office says several of its proposals have been effectively disabled by the legislatures refusal to vote on their passage. The prosecutors office helps administer COMBAT, a quarter-cent tax which has been funding law enforcement, violence prevention, substance-abuse treatment and recidivism organizations in Jackson County since the 1990s. With 2025 COMBAT funds and leftover 2024 funding out of reach, Prosecutor Melesa Johnson and her staffers have focused on trying to free up funding for three specific staffing and operations proposals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson, who testified in depth on her offices budget freeze woes during a May 14th meeting of the Jackson County Legislature, has been vocal about the impact of the legislatures refusal to treat COMBAT and other programs as candidates for emergency funding. All three proposals have been through several legislative votes but remain in committee. Among them is a request to release $75,000 for the prosecutors office to hire a community engagement specialist for COMBAT. The proposed new role, formally titled Community Organizer and Social Media Content Specialist, has been on the legislatures agenda since March 31, where legislators have delayed their final vote at least five times. COMBAT will be back on the ballot in Jackson County in 2027. Promoting COMBAT to future voters would be a main function of the community engagement specialist, Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second COMBAT-related proposal before the legislature, which would allow the purchase of new grant management software for $100,000, has also been delayed at least six times since March 31. The seven full-time staffers who manage the COMBAT program currently organize all grant funding through Microsoft Excel, a process which Johnson described as slow and counterproductive. Frankly, given the delay of fiscal year 2025 with getting the funded agencies their dollars, that expedited payment system is all the more important, Johnson said. Were going to be playing catch-up, and we cant play catch-up doing things manually. At a May 14 meeting of the Jackson County Legislature, first district legislator Jalen Anderson referred to the $175,000 pair of proposals as overwhelmingly needed in COMBAT. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement COMBAT is still very much so stuck in the 90s in a lot of ways, Anderson said. At its May 19th meeting, the Jackson County Legislature also declined for the eighth time to make a decision on whether to enter into a $25,000 agreement with former prosecutors office communications director Mike Mansur for ongoing work with crime prevention campaign SAVE KC. Mansurs position, which he has been filling on a voluntary basis since January, organizes one of SAVE KCs main events call-in meetings where police, religious leaders and victims families connect with community members identified as likely to be involved in violent crimes. Johnson told legislators that SAVE KC is the backbone of the countys efforts against nonfatal shootings, which she said have been reduced by more than half in the past year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson said that she worries that unfunded or underfunded violence prevention programs will lose out on their greatest potential for impact if COMBAT funding remains tied up into the summer, when violent crime tends to spike. Because we dont have a budget, that does not mean crime stops, Johnson said. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) The identities and charges of 8 of the 9 people arrested in a Tuesday raid in Baker-Donora remain unknown. Scott Hughes, a spokesman for the Ingham County Prosecutors Office, tells 6 News the office has no more information on what, if any, charges those 8 unidentified persons arrested in a May 20 raid at 1500 S. Pennsylvania Ave, a two-apartment home located at the corner of Baker St. He also reports that there is no information about a man and woman arrested on May 21 after code compliance identified people in the red-tagged housing. (WLNS) The scene (WLNS) The scene (WLNS) The scene (WLNS) The scene (WLNS) The scene (WLNS) The Lansing Police Department has also declined to provide information on the raid, those arrested, and what, if any, charges have been leveled against anyone arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only identified person facing charges stemming from the raid is Mikhye Bowers, 24. Hes a resident of Lansing and was charged with resisting and obstructing police, with a case pending in district court, Hughes tells 6 News. Paul Mollett was arrested after he was identified by undercover officers watching the property in preparation for the raid. He was wanted on a failure to appear bench warrant. After he was arrested, police say he was found to have meth, and was charged in 54-A District Court for possession of methamphetamine. Lansing Police officials tell 6 News the raid, involving LPD Special Operations Division and Michigan State Police, was part of an ongoing narcotics investigation. Officials confirmed 9 people were arrested during the raid, which began at about 7 p.m. on May 20. Police on the scene. (WLNS) The house shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday. (WLNS) Police on the scene. (WLNS) An unidentified man, in handcuffs was removed from the 1500 S. Pennsylvania Ave. house the day after a police raid. (WLNS/FILE) Animal Control removing what appeared to be cats from home. (WLNS) Scott Bean, spokesman for the city of Lansing, says 1500 S. Pennsylvania Ave was red-tagged because sewage had backed up into the basement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A red tag is used to identify a building that the city has identified as unsafe and hazardous to live in. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. The identities of the six people who died after a plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood on May 22 have been revealed The victims include Dave Shapiro, Emma L. Huke, Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, Daniel Williams, Dominic Damian and Kendall Fortner "Our hearts and thoughts go out to all the families affected by this tragedy, and we stand with the community during their time of need," the San Diego Police Department said in a previous statement The identities of all six passengers who died after a plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood earlier this week have been revealed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The San Diego County Coroners Office officially identified three of the victims as Dave Shapiro, 38; Emma L. Huke, 25; and Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, 36. The Associated Press identified another victim as Kendall Fortner, 24, and a family member confirmed to CBS 8 that Dominic Damian also died in the crash. Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the band The Devil Wears Prada, was one other victim, the music group previously confirmed in an Instagram post. Shapiro was a cofounder of the music representation firm Sound Talent Group. Fortner and Huke both worked for the company as booking assistants, per their LinkedIn pages. Williams and Damian, meanwhile, were friends with Shaprio, NBC San Diego reported. 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 The Feldman Family Celina Marie Rose Kenyon. Celina Marie Rose Kenyon. The incident occurred on Thursday, May 22. Around 3:45 a.m. local time, a Cesna 550 crashed in Tierrasanta, a suburban part of San Diego. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said about 100 people had to be evacuated in the aftermath. Hours after the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) verified that there were six people onboard. Eight people near the scene of the crash were injured, according to the SDPD, and at least 10 homes were damaged, KNSD reported. In a previous statement, the SDPD said, "Our hearts and thoughts go out to all the families affected by this tragedy, and we stand with the community during their time of need." According to data from Flight Aware, the plane took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey at 11:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday, May 21. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It then stopped in Wichita, Kan., at 1:49 a.m. local time the following day, before it later departed from the area at 2:36 a.m. bound for the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego. Read the original article on People A father of three was arrested by immigration agents the morning of May 22 shortly after dropping off his daughter at school in Milwaukee's south side, according to the man's attorney. Immigration attorney Kime Abduli said her client, whom she declined to name publicly, was arrested around South 9th Street and West National Avenue. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel agreed not to publish the man's name to avoid identifying his family members. The arrest, near a school, is unusual. Under previous administrations, immigration officers were told not to arrest people at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and churches. The Trump administration reversed that guidance in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Criminals will no longer be able to hide in Americas schools and churches to avoid arrest, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement at the time. According to Abduli, her client has been in the U.S. for at least 25 years and had recently applied for a U-visa. U-visas allow undocumented victims of certain crimes to stay in the U.S. for up to four years if they agree to help law enforcement in the investigation of the crime. The perpetrator was found with her client's help, Abduli said. However, Abduli said her client has yet to receive an update on his application for the visa. "This is proof that immigrants help keep communities safe," Abduli said. "Because when they feel safe enough to do so, they report crimes to the authorities." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment on the arrest. The incident comes amid the Trump administration's nationwide immigration crackdown and after multiple high-profile ICE arrests at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, including one that led to federal charges against a county judge. Advocates oppose the arrest of undocumented immigrants at schools and hospitals, arguing that it is preventing immigrants and their families from going to school and seeking medical attention. Abduli said she is disheartened by the administration's portrayal of immigrants as criminals. Research shows that immigrants, including those who are in the U.S. without authorization, have lower crime rates than U.S. citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her client is from Mexico and his children are U.S. citizens, she said. He is being detained at Dodge Detention Facility. Eva Wen is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Reach her at qwen@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Immigration agents arrest Milwaukee man after school drop-off, attorney says Washington (DC News Now) House Republicans passed their multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks package. Speaker Mike Johnson (R) defied skeptics within his own party passing the bill by a narrow 215 to 214 to 1. Joining Capitol Review is Professor Casey Burgat. He is the director of legislative affairs program the Graduate School of Political Management for George Washington University. Burgat discusses the impact of President Donald Trumps visit to the Capitol this week to get his Big, Beautiful bill through the legislature. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ASHTABULA Students from Happy Hearts School put the new inclusive playground at Walnut Beach to the test Friday morning before and after a dedication ceremony. The park was possible due to American Recovery Plan Act dollars, made available to the Ashtabula County Board of Developmental Disabilities through the state of Ohio. Manda Jackson, director of Quality and Community Outreach for the board, said the project likely wouldnt have occurred without the funding. She was also appreciative to the city of Ashtabula for providing the land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is even better than I dreamed it would be, Board of DD Superintendent Toni Scurpa said. It shows we as a community believe in providing inclusive [opportunities]. Lisa Ebersole, president of the board, read a proclamation officially announcing the park being turned over to the city of Ashtabula. I can remember 25 years ago visiting an inclusive playground and wondering if we could bring one here, she said. Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere was happy to accept the gift of the park, and promised to maintain the facility. We still have work to do, Timonere said before a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included students from Happy Hearts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Timonere credited Amy Coursen, Ashtabula project administrator, with coordinating all the details to make sure the park became a reality. The project had to be completed before the end of 2024 because of grant stipulations, and the collaborative project was successfully done by the end of November, just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend snowstorm, which dropped five feet of snow on the area. The city recently finished detail work around the playground. Visitors have been seen using the project before the dedication took place Friday. We are going to take care of it, and add to it as we can, Timonere said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said a special parking lot for vehicles for the developmentally disabled is scheduled to be created, adjacent to the playground. Jackson said 40 students from Happy Hearts attended the ceremony, and had a chance to play on the new facility. Many of the students also participated in the ribbon cutting. Timonere credited Capp Steel for their assistance in the project. The Marketing Department marketing@scsu.edu Our team of Marketing Ninjas cannot be matched in its creativity and passion for showing what SC State has to offer the world. We provide breathtaking visual elements to market the university to students, parents and other stakeholders with flair. We also offer other SC State departments with their marketing efforts, event management, and adherence to branding requirements. Our services: University brand development and protection. Advertisements. Graphic design. Photography & Videography. Campus television messages. Events. Social media. Marketing service requests Faculty and staff: To request services. please complete and submit this form: Marketing Service Request form Brand Guide Welcome to the SC State Communications Manual & Brand Identity Style Guide This comprehensive guide, developed by the Office of University Relations and Marketing, serves as the official resource for communicating the mission, vision, and identity of South Carolina State University. First introduced in 2005 and revised in March 2025, it combines essential communication policies with detailed brand identity standards to ensure consistency across all university messaging and materials. View or Download the Guide Here Inside, youll find: Media interaction protocols Guidelines for writing in the SC State Style Official usage standards for logos, colors, fonts, and stationery Procedures for event publicity, photography, and promotional items A detailed style guide aligned with the Associated Press Stylebook Whether you are a staff member, faculty member, or campus partner, this guide is your go-to reference for upholding the integrity and professionalism of SC States brand. For questions, contact marketing@scsu.edu. Marketing Team Members (NewsNation) A sold-out crowd of about 350,000 will eagerly watch to see who crosses the Indy 500 race finish line first at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. When the 109th champion is crowned at Victory Lane, he can expect to chug a refreshing drink of a nice, cold glass of milk. Not water, but milk. The tradition started in 1936 when driver Louis Meyer drank buttermilk in Victory Lane when he was hot and thirsty after the race. Over a century later, the custom is synonymous with racing culture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each year, two Indiana dairy farmers carry out the tradition. This year, for only the second time in history, the milk presenters will both be women: rookie Ashley Stockwell and veteran milk presenter Abbie Herr. 109th Indy 500 expecting its first sell-out crowd in almost a decade My daughters, they definitely think Im a little bit cooler. And I asked them the other day, Would you guys want to be handing out the milk? Theyre like, Yeah, yeah, one day I want to, so to think that thats even inspiring them, Herr said. It is so cool to think that this is only the second time and to be a part of history. I mean, were already a part of a great tradition and history here at the track, and to be two women presenters doing it. Its going to be so exciting. The milk will be in a special case under lock and key until the end of the race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each competing driver picks their choice of milk. Twenty-nine picked whole milk, while four picked 2%. For the first time this year, fans can buy their own at concession stands. Although buttermilk was the traditions first annual drink, it is no longer an option. The kind Meyer drank was left over from his moms butter, whereas dairy products today are highly produced and perishable, the American Dairy Association Indiana told the Indy Star in 2019. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. On May 23, Ukraine and Russia began the largest prisoner exchange since 2014. Over three days, 1,000 prisoners of war (POWs) from both sides will return home in a deal agreed upon during direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul earlier this month the first such talks between Moscow and Kyiv since 2022. The Kyiv Independent went to the site of exchange to capture the soldiers long-awaited return, the happy reunions, and the hopes of those families who are still waiting for their loved ones to be released. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. DOGE-driven staff cuts inside the Interior Department have set off a turf battle over how to deploy personnel at the Bureau of Land Management raising concerns the vacancies would undermine President Donald Trump's promise to boost domestic fossil fuel and minerals production. A memo issued this month by a DOGE appointee at Interior set off a tussle over how employees at BLM should fulfill the duties for the thousands of jobs that now sit empty, but which people inside the agency say are critical for its day-to-day operations. The May 2 memo, obtained by POLITICO, was signed by Stephanie Holmes, a former staffer for Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency who is now embedded as Interior's acting chief human capital officer. It ordered most staff to stop doing detail work temporarily filling in for vacant positions and return to their official permanent positions by May 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But BLM Deputy Director for Administration and Programs Michael Nedd, a 30-year veteran of the bureau, instructed career staff to ignore the Holmes memo, saying it would have resulted in fewer positions being filled, three people familiar with the situation told POLITICO. The bureau oversees the 245 million acres and the oil, gas, coal and minerals produced on that land, making it a critical player in fulfilling Trump's pledge of rapidly expanding the nation's fossil fuel and mineral production. BLM employees said Nedds direction to staff marked a boiling over of career staff distress over the steep loss of bureau personnel after DOGE first attempted to fire agency employees, a move that courts ruled to be unlawful. Interior has since offered deferred buyouts and early retirements and is now planning a potentially massive reduction in force to be carried out in coming weeks. A bureau spokesperson declined to comment on how many people have left so far. Nedd told staff to ignore the email from HR because the work is too important and these people in detail are doing the work of the Administration, said one person familiar with Nedds directive who was granted anonymity to discuss internal department affairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second person working at BLM confirmed Nedds direction to staff, as did a person outside the agency who interacts with the bureau. Those people were also granted anonymity to protect working relationships. Its a battle of HR versus Mike Nedd, one of the people inside the agency said. The administration is shooting themselves in the foot, this person said of the Interior HR memo. Were running out of people. Nedd did not respond to inquiries. A BLM spokesperson declined to comment. An Interior Department spokesperson said Nedd did not tell people to ignore the memo. Lawmakers of both parties have criticized Interiors overall staffing cuts, saying the steep headcount reductions were leaving critical positions unfilled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree, the top Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee for Interiors budget, said the department has lost more than 10 percent of its staff through buyouts and early retirements offered by the Trump administration. I am very worried about the state of Interior, Pingree told Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during the subcommittees hearing Tuesday on the departments proposed budget. Theres been a stunning decline in its ability to do its mission. Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei also said he was concerned that an exodus of staff from Interior would hurt efficiency. I dont know how you can sit there and hold peoples feet to the fire when youve got so many empty desks, Amodei said during the hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burgum defended the departments overall efforts to cut its staff at the hearing, saying the goal was to peel away layers of bureaucracy and move more staff to the local level. If BLM were run like a private company you wouldnt have five layers between headquarters and the front lines Burgum told the committee. Were trying to streamline, to get more people out there to get it done. The BLM's roughly 10,000 employees manage vast swaths of land in Western states such as Utah, New Mexico and Alaska. Bureau staff are in charge of processing applications to drill for oil and natural gas, mine for coal and uranium, develop wells for geothermal energy and carry out other energy-related projects on federal land. But BLM still doesnt have a director after Trump's first nominee, Kathleen Sgamma, withdrew her nomination last month following the surfacing of an essay she wrote years ago criticizing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a throng of the president's supporters on the U.S. Capitol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interior's human relations staff told employees at the end of April to upload their resumes in preparations for job cuts that could see hundreds or thousands pushed out. The reductions are coming even as Burgum has pledged to slash the time the department takes to process permits reducing it from years to in some cases less than a month. The DOGE-led staff reductions have led to a growing number of vacant positions that more employees have to fill in to perform basic jobs, according to three bureau employees granted anonymity to discuss internal bureau affairs. So far, they said, Burgum has been content to let Holmes and Tyler Hassen, a former oilfield services executive and former DOGE staffer who is now Interiors acting policy chief, run the departments staffing policy. BLM leadership has been forced to assign temporary roles to staff, as shown by another email bureau leadership sent to employees in early May and obtained by POLITICO. Among the changes in duties added to several people's existing roles laid out in that email, BLMs main chief of staff, Jill Moran, was named as the temporary chief of staff for the assistant secretary of land and minerals. Mitchell Leverette, the bureaus director for its Eastern States office, was named to also serve as assistant director for energy, minerals and realty management, a position that became vacant after the previous person took a buyout. Karen Kelleher, who had served as another deputy director of state operations after working as Idaho state director, was named as temporarily working as acting Alaska state director after that position became vacant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The temporary work isnt just for high-level staff, employees said. With more senior staff being given temporary assignments, mid- and lower-level staff have had to take on more work to backfill leadership responsibilities, employees told POLITICO. Most of the folks I work with are juggling at least two offices at the moment without any extra incentive, said an employee at one of the bureaus state offices who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. (NewsNation) A federal judge has issued a temporary ban on the Trump administrations effort to stop Harvard University from enrolling international students. The move from the Trump administration has been the latest in its standoff with the school after it previously froze more than $2 billion in grants and contracts. Some of those demands for the school to follow include limiting on-campus protests and scrapping DEI initiatives. Shreya Reddy, an international student currently enrolled at Harvard, told NewsNation that learning of the ban and that she may not be able to graduate from the school has been deeply disturbing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Future Belgian queen could be affected by Harvard foreign student ban I spoke to my father in the morning, and I told him I may not be allowed back on campus, and I may not be able to get the Harvard alum status that weve all been dreaming of collectively as a family, Reddy said. Were still hoping for the best, but its been a big blow. Reddy said other students shes spoken to say they are equally devastated by the news and are hoping for a resolution. She added she likely would not transfer to another school if the ban is upheld because Harvard means a lot to her and her family, and attending was about more than a degree for her. Its been a dream since I was probably 10 years old, and that is probably the first time I heard about Harvard University, Reddy said. Im a first-generation immigrant, and for me to be able to come to the U.S. and have the privilege of even applying to and attending a school like Harvard has been a dream come true all along. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps big, beautiful bill faces a swarm of Senate GOP objections The White House accused Harvard of creating an unsafe and un-American campus. The university maintains that the order was a punishment for not giving in to the Trump administrations demands. Reddy said while she did not see instances of a hostile campus during her time at Harvard, she said she agrees with what the Trump administration is trying to do in its policy of making campuses a safer place for students but feels a blanket policy affecting all international students isnt fair. Were peaceful students who want to come here and learn, Reddy said. Now, not being able to graduate is taking the one big dream we had, and it just feels like were getting caught in the crosshairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DES MOINES, Iowa (KCAU) Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is speaking out about the Eminent Domain Bill that passed in the state legislature. The legislation would add requirements relating to that process, including a CO2 pipeline company to hold information meetings where property rights will be affected 30 days before filing a petition for a new pipeline. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor said shes started meeting with stakeholders on both sides of the issue this week. Thats expected to continue into next week; Reynolds adds her team is doing research on the measure. The governor has until June 14 to either veto the measure or sign the bill into law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. IOWA (KCAU) Iowa State Representative Pat Grassley is speaking out about the 2026 race for the governors seat. The Iowa House Speaker is eyeing a possible run for the position. So far, the only confirmed candidates in the race are former state Representative Brad Sherman and current State Auditor Rob Sand. He was recently asked about his consideration to get into the governor race. Im just going to take some time now that session has wrapped up as Ive been saying, wanted to get through session and then take the next couple of weeks to kind of make a decision on what that would be. But, obviously, as being consistent with what I said earlier, considering that, yeah, said Iowa House Speaker State Rep Pat Grassley (R). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grassley said he does not have a specific timeline on announcing whether or not he will run for the governors seat. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An Islamic centre branded the nerve centre for Iran in the UK has been reprimanded by the Charity Commission after posting videos calling for Israels destruction. The Islamic Centre of England (ICE) has been issued with a formal order by the commission compelling its trustees to curb its online activity and future speakers. The commission launched a statutory investigation into ICE in 2023 after allegations that it was the London office of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2020, the centre hosted a vigil for Qassim Soleimani, the head of the Guard, who had been killed in a drone strike. Seyed Hashem Moosavi, ICEs director, issued a statement on its website praising Soleimani as a great martyr. A commission statement said it had issued the centre with a formal order under section 84 of the Charities Act, compelling the trustees to provide rigorous oversight of future speakers and online activity by the charity, among other actions. The section 84 direction gives the commission additional powers to intervene during an inquiry where there is suspected misconduct or mismanagement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move comes as Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, last week announced plans for new powers to proscribe the IRGC. Under the proposal, anyone helping or benefiting from a banned state intelligence agency will now face up to 14 years in jail. On Monday, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, summoned the Iranian ambassador to be held accountable after three Iranian asylum seekers were charged last Saturday with spying in the UK. Earlier this month, five Iranian men were arrested in connection with a suspected plot to mount a terror attack on the Israeli embassy in London. The Charity Commission says its action has been taken because of ICEs recent failure to fully comply with directions set by Emma Moody, the interim manager appointed as part of its investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commission considers these, and a range of other past breaches, mismanagement and misconduct in the administration of the charity. The trustees currently dispute some of these legal findings, the regulator said. The commission said it would continue to monitor the centres invited speakers, religious services and public-facing content. Former speakers have included Syeda Umme Farwa, a charity boss who was described by an Iranian media outlet as a jihadi lioness and was awarded a prize by Ebrahim Raisi, the former Iranian president known as the Butcher of Tehran. The commission said in a statement that the ICE trustees are instructed to ensure that all religious services, speakers and events further the objects of the charity and are in its best interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite repeated warnings, the Islamic Centre has continued to platform controversial figures. Earlier this year, the Jewish Chronicle revealed that the charitys YouTube channel still hosted videos from 2020 in which Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of Iran, advocated multiple intifadas to remove the cancerous tumour of Israel. Other clips accused the US and its allies of manufacturing Islamic State and enslaving the world. Some of these have since been removed. David Holdsworth, the chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: The law requires, and the public expect, charities to operate exclusively for the public benefit... when a charity fails to operate in line with its legal duties we will step in to take action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We now expect the trustees to take the required action directed by the commission and will not hesitate to use further legal powers should that be necessary. The commissions statutory inquiry is ongoing. It is the commissions practice to publish a report setting out its findings, regulatory actions and conclusions once an inquiry has concluded. They need to shut it down The charity was, however, urged to go further. Col Richard Kemp, a former head of counter-terrorism in Afghanistan, said: This is merely a slap on the wrist. The commission needs to take decisive action now and shut it down. Iran and its allies pose a direct threat to Britain. The response so far has been to try and sweep it under the carpet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The threat we face from Iran is deadly serious. It is of the utmost importance that firm action is taken wherever we can. This is the opposite. It needs closing down now. Chris Philp is unhappy with the Charity Commission over the issue - Nikki Powell Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the charity commission was dragging its heels on holding the ICE to account as its inquiry into the centre still had not concluded after more than two years. This isnt the first time the Charity Commission has buried its head in the sand on these issues, he said. A spokesman for the ICE previously said the centre was a purely religious and cultural organisation, which provides various services to the local communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The spokesman added: It is an independent charity regulated by British law, which is totally funded by the local beneficiaries. The majority of the trustees, donors, and attendees are British citizens. Indeed, this charity is nothing to do with politics, while we strongly believe that the politically motivated lobbies are trying to drag the charity into their political disputes. An Islamic Centre of England spokesman pointed to a statement on the discharge of an interim manager which said this was an important milestone in its governance journey. The statement said: The centre must ensure that it continues to deliver its religious preachings and observes its spiritual doctrines, and meets the requirements of our beneficiaries, while also ensuring legal and regulatory compliance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The centre cannot be insulated from world events, however, it is committed to maintaining its independence from political interference, and delivering its religious and educational charitable purposes. The centre plays a pivotal role in ensuring we operate in a way which respects all faiths, and where we allow our own faith to continue to be used for good, peacefully and without harm. Commission must take meaningful action against those undermining British values By Chris Philp Britain faces a growing and dangerous threat from the Iranian regime. It funds terror across the Middle East and beyond arming Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, enabling Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, and is providing deadly drones to Putins forces in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tentacles of the Iranian state stretch out to our very own soil here in the United Kingdom. Earlier this month, three Iranian asylum seekers were charged with spying for Tehran and plotting to inflict serious violence on UK-based journalists working for Iran International, a dissident media outlet. It came just days after another Iranian asylum seeker was one of five arrested over a plot to attack the Israeli embassy. This is a stark illustration of how malign foreign actors are exploiting our asylum system to further their own agenda. But it is only part of a broader pattern of Iranian aggression. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is behind a sustained campaign of cyber attacks, disinformation, and intimidation of Iranian dissidents on our streets. The Labour Government said they would proscribe this group. Labour have now been in office for nearly a year, so why have they not yet done what they said? And there is growing evidence of potentially dangerous Iran-linked influence within UK charities and so-called community organisations. Yet the Charity Commission is dragging its heels on taking meaningful action when it comes to taking on organisations that try to undermine British values and sow division. Take their investigation into the Islamic Centre for England, which opened after a director claimed that those protesting against the Iranian regime were soldiers of Satan it still hasnt been concluded after more than two years. This isnt the first time the Charity Commission has buried its head in the sand on these issues. The Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust has been under an ongoing investigation for several years, despite being run by self-declared Islamist revolutionaries closely aligned to Iran who say that the West is the enemy and Britain a Stasi state. And last year, the Dar Alhekma Trust and its sister charity, the Abrar Islamic Foundation, based near Regents Park, were placed under police investigation after one of their trustees allegedly praised the former IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani as a hero. The commission has bizarrely paused its review while the charities deny any wrongdoing. This is not good enough. The commission must be more proactive. The public deserves to know why groups with apparent links to terrorist sympathisers continue to operate freely under the banner of charity. Its job is not simply to wait for criminal prosecutions it is to protect the integrity of the charitable sector from exploitation by extremists and foreign regimes. Its time they started acting like it. And its time for the Labour Government to get serious too. The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, announced by the previous Conservative government, has been implemented which is a welcome first step. However, we need real enforcement, real transparency, and real consequences for those who break our laws or abuse our hospitality. Small boat crossings have increased by almost 30 per cent under Labour 2025 is the worst year ever for such crossings. Labour voted against our amendment to deport all illegal migrants. It is shameful that the Government is not taking the action needed on this issue. This is not just about illegal immigration, it is about our national security. Action against Iran also means shutting down any UK-based charities found to be linked to hostile states or extremist causes. It means denying visas to Iranian regime officials and suspected collaborators. It means expelling diplomats involved in threats, intimidation or espionage. And it means providing meaningful protection to journalists and dissidents targeted by Tehran. We cannot afford to be complacent. Britain must not be a safe haven for the proxies of a state that funds terror, murders dissidentsand seeks to undermine the very freedoms we cherish. The Conservative Party has always stood for the security of this nation. We will not be silent while this government drags its feet. Chris Philp is the shadow home secretary 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. Perhaps you missed it on the BBC News at Ten: over the past few days now, tens of thousands of Gazans have reportedly been taking to the streets to protest against Hamas. They are risking their lives in doing so, calling for the removal of the terrorist group from power. By contrast, and equally absent from our newsfeeds, is the fact that Hamas has been busy praising foreign-policy decisions being made in London, Paris and Ottawa. Like many in Gaza, and around the world, Israelis desperately want a different future. One that is free from Hamas and one in which our 58 remaining hostages are home in Israel, reunited with their families or, as would tragically be the case for many, afforded a proper burial. We desperately want to live in peace with our neighbours, but the presence and ongoing attacks from genocidal terror groups on our border causes such a peace to remain elusive. I am sure that no Briton would accept an Islamist terror group operating on its border, sworn to destroy the UK. In this war, there is no perfect scenario. We are tasked with solving a number of complex and interrelated issues: our moral obligation to return our 58 Israeli hostages, dismantling the terror threat of Hamas, ensuring the security of Israeli citizens and facilitating transfers of humanitarian aid to Gazans while making sure that aid does not go to Hamas. We are having to make these decisions based on the fact that Hamas chose to carry out the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust and take 251 of our people hostage, torturing them in inhumane conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I remind you that there was a ceasefire in place on October 6 2023 a ceasefire that was brutally breached by Hamas. We now live in a post October 7 reality, and that means we can not allow Hamas to continue its control of Gaza. For our security, we need to see Gaza de-militarised; no one can expect us to simply wait for another October 7. Unsurprisingly, volunteers to carry out this process of demilitarisation in Gaza have been lacking, so it falls on us. That being said, Id suggest that the lack of opposition to this in our region should be interpreted as tacit support no one wants armed, Jihadi extremists operating on, or near, their border. All Western leaders agree that Hamas must not remain in power but we find a gap between rhetoric and actions in Europe. When it comes to it, no viable plan that takes seriously our security concerns have been proposed. It can not be overstated that our enemy is specifically Hamas. That is why it is all the more tragic that Hamas has created an industry from the aid that it diverts from those who need it. Its strategy is steal it, sell it and use it to recruit new terrorists, pay their salaries and continue launching attacks against our people. The evidence of Hamas looting aid from international organisations, some of which has been paid for by donor countries including the UK, is overwhelming: whether its the plethora of videos on social media of armed Hamas terrorists directing aid lorries and shooting at ordinary Palestinians, or the testimony given at the UN Security Council by former hostage Eli Sharabi, who said he saw terrorists steal UN aid and eat like kings. Indeed, theres more: a recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal noted that Hamas has pilfered aid and even the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has criticised the looting and theft carried out by criminal gangs targeting warehouses and storage facilities of humanitarian aid [in Gaza]. It is for this reason that we have collaborated with American companies to improve the mechanism for aid delivery in Gaza. A new framework where the real loser becomes Hamas and not the Palestinian people. As we continue the facilitation of hundreds of trucks of aid, in a few days, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will be operational and will be able to deliver aid to the Gazans who actually need it, bypassing Hamas and organisations that have been compromised, like UNRWA. The GHF will provide aid directly to Palestinian families. Alongside the US, we have been trying to find solutions to this fundamental issue so that Palestinians who need aid, get it. We fully support this plan and hope the UK, and others, will do too. In the UK, we see an ally that successfully defeated Nazism in its ultimate fight against evil during the Second World War. The war took time and the British had to make many difficult decisions. Indeed, the civilian death toll in Nazi Germany was significant, notably in Dresden and Berlin. Israel today faces that very same evil and yet we are going to great lengths in order to minimise civilian casualties, warning them before attacks, making phone calls, dropping leaflets and sending text messages, notifying Gazans of specific areas to avoid. But we are fighting against a terror entity that uses civilians as human shields and hides behind them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one seems to ask: what was Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar doing in a tunnel underneath a hospital? Or what was the architect of the October 7 massacre, Mohammed Deif, doing in the designated humanitarian zone? Id suggest that these are pertinent questions that the whole international community, journalists and politicians alike must be asking. Every innocent loss of life is a tragedy, but this tragedy was created and orchestrated by Hamas. Rightly, the Allied victory over Nazism is viewed as an historic example of good overcoming evil. We too have no choice but to defeat that evil once again. Tzipi Hotovely is Israels Ambassador to the UK 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. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) As pressure mounts to get more aid into Gaza, Israel appears to be changing tack and may let aid groups operating in the battered enclave remain in charge of non-food assistance while leaving food distribution to a newly established U.S.-backed group, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The development indicates Israel may be walking back from its plans to tightly control all aid to Gaza and prevent aid agencies long established in the territory from delivering it in the same way they have done in the past. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid but the United Nations and aid groups deny there is significant diversion. The U.N. has rejected Israels plan, saying it allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates human humanitarian principles and wont be effective. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel had blocked food, fuel, medicine and all other supplies from entering Gaza for nearly three months, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians there. Experts have warned of a high risk of famine and international criticism and outrage over Israel's offensive has escalated. Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis. The letter, dated May 22, is from Jake Wood, the head of the Israel-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, and is addressed to COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory. It says that Israel and GHF have agreed to allow non-food humanitarian aid from medical supplies to hygiene items and shelter materials to be handled and distributed under an existing system, which is led by the United Nations. U.N. agencies have so far provided the bulk of the aid for Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The foundation would still maintain control over food distribution, but there would be a period of overlap with aid groups, the letter said. GHF acknowledges that we do not possess the technical capacity or field infrastructure to manage such distributions independently, and we fully support the leadership of these established actors in this domain, it said. The foundation confirmed the authenticity of the letter. A spokesman for GHF said the agreement with Israel came after persistent advocacy. While it acknowledged that many aid groups remain opposed to the plan, it said GHF will continue to advocate for an expansion of aid into Gaza and to allow aid groups' work in the enclave to proceed. COGAT declined to comment on the letter and referred the AP to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.N. officials also did not reply to requests for comment. Unclear who is funding GHF The GHF, which is not yet up and working in Gaza, is run by security contractors, ex-military officers and humanitarian aid officials, and has the backing of Israel. The group says it plans to handle food aid, initially from a handful of hubs in southern and central Gaza with armed private contractors that would guard the distribution. Additional sites will be opened within a month, including in northern Gaza. The letter says aid agencies will continue providing food assistance in parallel to the GHF until at least eight sites are up and running. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aid groups have been pushing back on the GHF and Israel's plans to take over the handling of food aid, saying it could forcibly displace large numbers of Palestinians by pushing them toward the distribution hubs and that the foundation doesn't have the capacity to meet the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza. Its also unclear who is funding the GHF, which claims to have more than $100 million in commitments from a foreign government donor but has not named the donor. 'Functioning aid' The letter says that GHF's Wood was on a call with the CEOs of six aid groups discussing the new plans, including Save the Children, International Medical Corps, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, CARE International and Project HOPE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rabih Torbay, head of Project HOPE, confirmed the call and said his organization was encouraged to hear that the delivery of medicines and other non-food items would continue under the current system. Still, Torbay appealed for food aid to be allowed into Gaza without obstruction or politicization. A spokesperson for CARE said it has shared its concerns regarding GHFs proposal for food distribution in the hubs and reiterated the importance of using existing distribution mechanisms under the U.N. The spokesperson said the meeting was an opportunity to ask a lot of questions, but CARE's attendance was not an endorsement of the effort. Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel for the International Crisis Group, says the letter is a clear sign that both Israel and the GHF recognize the humanitarian catastrophe people face in Gaza and the need for immediate aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The GHF and Israel are clearly scrambling to get something that works or at least the appearance of functioning aid and that this mechanism is not ready or equipped or fitting for the needs of the population in Gaza, Zonszein said. Ahmed Bayram, Middle East spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that Israel is part of the conflict and should not be in control of the aid distribution. Israel interfering in parts or all of that process would be damaging to the independence and neutrality of humanitarian aid, Bayram said. Humanitarian principles The GHF came under more scrutiny this week, with TRIAL International a Geneva-based advocacy group focusing on international justice saying Friday that it was taking legal action to urge Swiss authorities to monitor the group, which is registered in Switzerland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The foundation's spokesperson has insisted that it abides by humanitarian principles and operates free from Israeli control. The spokesperson, speaking anonymously under the foundation's policy, told the AP earlier this week that it is not a military operation and that its armed security guards are necessary for it to work in Gaza. 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, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which doesnt differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers Wednesday night outside a Jewish museum in Washington, made his first court appearance this week, where a picture of the criminal case against him so far began to come into focus. The killings of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, a young couple who worked for the embassy, have already roiled the nations capital as new details continue to emerge. Heres what we know about where the criminal case stands. The charges Police say Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, shot and killed the embassy staffers as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum shortly after 9 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He walked past Lischinsky, Milgrim and two witnesses before turning to face their backs and firing several times at the couple, surveillance footage showed, according to an FBI affidavit. Once they fell to the ground, Rodriquez was captured on video approaching them and firing several more times, including as Milgrim attempted to crawl away, the affidavit said. Investigators recovered 21 spent shell casings at the scene and a 9mm handgun. Then, Rodriguez jogged back toward the museum, where he identified himself as the shooter and was apprehended. After his arrest, he shouted free, free Palestine, police officials said. Rodriguez faces five charges, a mix of federal and local offenses: murder of foreign officials, causing death through the use of a firearm, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of first-degree murder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A public defender, Elizabeth Mullin, was appointed to represent him, and he has not yet entered a plea. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 18. Jeffrey Nestler, a veteran of the U.S. attorneys office in D.C., is prosecuting the case. He handled the seditious conspiracy trial of the Oath Keepers and other high-profile Jan. 6 cases. Possible penalties At Rodriguezs initial court appearance Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh informed the alleged shooter that two of the counts against him murder of foreign officials and causing death through the use of a firearm carry a possible sentence of death or life in prison. Both counts are federal offenses. The Justice Department has not yet said whether it will seek the death penalty against Rodriguez, but on President Trumps first day back in the White House, he signed an executive order directing the U.S. attorney general to pursue capital punishment for all crimes of a severity demanding its use. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement following the hearing, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the Justice Department would secure the most severe possible punishment. Rodriguez also faces two counts of first-degree murder under D.C. criminal code, which carries a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. The fifth charge, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and must be served consecutively to any other sentence. What witnesses saw Several witnesses were identified and interviewed by D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) at the scene, the affidavit says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One witness said he saw a man, later identified as Rodriguez, wearing a blue hooded raincoat and backpack, attempting to light a cigarette in the rain behavior the witness found strange, drawing their attention. That witness saw four people walking out of the museum and soon after heard gunshots. After the gunfire ceased, the witness looked again and saw Rodriguez make a throwing motion. Police found the firearm near where the witness observed the motion. The witness at first said Rodriguez was the same person they observed during the shooting, but in a subsequent interview, said they were 70 percent certain it was the same person, despite being certain the backpack and jacket were what the assailant was wearing. What Rodriguez told law enforcement When Rodriguez first identified himself to MPD officers, he stated that he did it, but was unarmed, the affidavit says. He told them he did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, and was holding a red scarf identified by a witness as a keffiyeh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once detained, Rodriguez waived his Miranda rights and answered questions from MPD detectives. In the interview, he expressed admiration for airman Aaron Bushnell, who on Feb. 25, 2024, self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington as a form of protest meant to draw attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the affidavit said. He described Bushnells actions as courageous and labeled him a martyr. Rodriguez also told police he had purchased a ticket to the museum event approximately three hours before it began. Public officials decry attack The slayings drew sharp and immediate rebuke from U.S. and global leaders, with many claiming that hostility against Jewish people undergirded the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said on Truth Social that the killings were based obviously on antisemitism, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deaths the terrible price of anti-Semitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel. Following a report in the New York Post, a spokesperson for Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) said in a statement that Rodriguezs father, Eric, was the congressmans guest during Trumps joint speech to Congress earlier this year. But we dont know his family. The Congressman has condemned these horrible antisemitic killings, spokesperson Fabiola Rodriguez-Ciampoli said in a statement, pointing to earlier remarks by Garcia excoriating the attack as a horrible, senseless act of antisemitism. Jeanine Pirro, interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., denounced the attack as a senseless act and intolerable. Her office is leading the prosecution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Departments Civil Rights division is also assisting with the prosecution, and its head, Harmeet Dhillon, said she would pursue every avenue to investigate the crime. Steven Jensen, head of the FBIs Washington field office, called the attack targeted, antisemitic violence, while MPD Chief of Police Pamela Smith said the department would increase its presence at religious institutions citywide. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Israeli settlers have attacked two Bedouin villages in the West Bank, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Saturday. The aid organization said one attack targeted a settlement east of Ramallah which had already been abandoned by some of the 25 families living there due to previous raids. Five of the remaining residents were injured in the attack, the PRCS said. In addition, seven people were injured in a second incident in a village east of Bethlehem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the settlers had tried to set fire to houses. They also killed some of the villagers' goats and sheep, which are central to their livelihood. The Israeli military did not initially comment on the reports. The situation in the occupied West Bank has worsened since the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the ensuing war in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 920 Palestinians have since been killed in the West Bank in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists. There has also been increased violence by radical Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) The only time the Palestinian man wasn't bound or blindfolded, he said, was when he was used by Israeli soldiers as their human shield. Dressed in army fatigues with a camera fixed to his forehead, Ayman Abu Hamadan was forced into houses in the Gaza Strip to make sure they were clear of bombs and gunmen, he said. When one unit finished with him, he was passed to the next. They beat me and told me: You have no other option; do this or we'll kill you,'" the 36-year-old told The Associated Press, describing the 2 1/2 weeks he was held last summer by the Israeli military in northern Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orders often came from the top, and at times nearly every platoon used a Palestinian to clear locations, said an Israeli officer, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Several Palestinians and soldiers told the AP that Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. The dangerous practice has become ubiquitous during 19 months of war, they said. In response to these allegations, Israel's military says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza. Israeli officials blame the militants for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. In a statement to the AP, the military said it also bans otherwise coercing civilians to participate in operations, and "all such orders are routinely emphasized to the forces." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The military said it's investigating several cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in missions, but wouldn't provide details. It didn't answer questions about the reach of the practice or any orders from commanding officers. The AP spoke with seven Palestinians who described being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and with two members of Israel's military who said they engaged in the practice, which is prohibited by international law. Rights groups are ringing the alarm, saying it's become standard procedure increasingly used in the war. These are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse, said Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers that has collected testimonies about the practice from within the military. Israel rightly condemns Hamas for using civilians as human shields, but our own soldiers describe doing the very same. Abu Hamadan said he was detained in August after being separated from his family, and soldiers told him he'd help with a special mission. He was forced, for 17 days, to search houses and inspect every hole in the ground for tunnels, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soldiers stood behind him and, once it was clear, entered the buildings to damage or destroy them, he said. He spent each night bound in a dark room, only to wake up and do it again. The use of human shields caught on like fire Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. The Supreme Court outlawed the practice in 2005. But the groups continued to document violations. Still, experts say this war is the first time in decades the practice and the debate around it has been so widespread. The two Israeli soldiers who spoke to the AP and a third who provided testimony to Breaking the Silence said commanders were aware of the use of human shields and tolerated it, with some giving orders to do so. Some said it was referred to as the mosquito protocol" and that Palestinians were also referred to as wasps and other dehumanizing terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The soldiers who said they're no longer serving in Gaza said the practice sped up operations, saved ammunition, and spared combat dogs from injury or death. The soldiers said they first became aware human shields were being used shortly after the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, and that it became widespread by the middle of 2024. Orders to "bring a mosquito often came via radio, they said shorthand everyone understood. Soldiers acted on commanding officers' orders, according to the officer who spoke to the AP. He said that by the end of his nine months in Gaza, every infantry unit used a Palestinian to clear houses before entering. Once this idea was initiated, it caught on like fire in a field," the 26-year-old said. "People saw how effective and easy it was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He described a 2024 planning meeting where a brigade commander presented to the division commander a slide reading get a mosquito and a suggestion they might just catch one off the streets. The officer wrote two incident reports to the brigade commander detailing the use of human shields, reports that would have been escalated to the division chief, he said. The military said it had no comment when asked whether it received them. One report documented the accidental killing of a Palestinian, he said troops didn't realize another unit was using him as a shield and shot him as he ran into a house. The officer recommended the Palestinians be dressed in army clothes to avoid misidentification. He said he knew of at least one other Palestinian who died while used as a shield he passed out in a tunnel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Troops unsuccessfully pushed back, a sergeant says Convincing soldiers to operate lawfully when they see their enemy using questionable practices is difficult, said Michael Schmitt, a distinguished professor of international law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Israeli officials and other observers say Hamas uses civilians as shields as it embeds itself in communities, hiding fighters in hospitals and schools. Its really a heavy lift to look at your own soldiers and say you have to comply, Schmitt said. One soldier told the AP his unit tried to refuse to use human shields in mid-2024 but were told they had no choice, with a high-ranking officer saying they shouldnt worry about international humanitarian law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sergeant speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal said the troops used a 16-year-old and a 30-year-old for a few days. The boy shook constantly, he said, and both repeated Rafah, Rafah Gazas southernmost city, where more than 1 million Palestinians had fled from fighting elsewhere at that point in the war. It seemed they were begging to be freed, the sergeant said. I have children, one man says he pleaded Masoud Abu Saeed said he was used as a shield for two weeks in March 2024 in the southern city of Khan Younis. This is extremely dangerous," he recounted telling a soldier. "I have children and want to reunite with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 36-year-old said he was forced into houses, buildings and a hospital to dig up suspected tunnels and clear areas. He said he wore a first-responder vest for easy identification, carrying a phone, hammer and chain cutters. During one operation, he bumped into his brother, used as a shield by another unit, he said. They hugged. I thought Israel's army had executed him, he said. Palestinians also report being used as shields in the West Bank. Hazar Estity said soldiers took her from her Jenin refugee camp home in November, forcing her to film inside several apartments and clear them before troops entered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she pleaded to return to her 21-month-old son, but soldiers didn't listen. I was most afraid that they would kill me," she said. And that I wouldnt see my son again. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. NEW YORK (PIX11) A 28-year-old Italian man was held captive for three weeks in a Manhattan apartment over access to his multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency wallet. The victim managed to escape from the Prince Street apartment early Thursday, after alerting an on-duty NYPD Traffic Agent, who called police. More Local News According to police sources, all of the parties are involved in the crypto trading world. The man was taken captive after arriving at the apartment from Italy on May 6. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the next several weeks, police say the victim was tied to a chair with electrical cords, cut, tortured, and subjected to multiple forms of abuse. It also included an alleged extortion plot with the victim having a gun held to his head while suspects photographed him. He was also electrocuted with a taser while his feet were submerged in a bucket of water, police sources said. After escaping on Thursday morning, the victim was treated and released from a local hospital. Police responding to the scene entered the unlocked apartment and found ammunition, a firearm, cash, and broken furniture inside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Woeltz, 37, was found inside the residence wearing a bathrobe and was arrested. Woeltz is charged with assault, kidnapping, and unlawful imprisonment. One additional suspect remains at large, and a woman is in custody with charges pending. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. A major transformation is on the way for Jacksonvilles downtown riverfront. The area behind the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts will soon become home to Music Heritage Park a $5.5 million project designed to honor the citys deep musical roots. Music is absolutely the biggest liberator I know, said Nicholas Puzo, better known as DJ NICKFRESH. Puzo is one of 21 members of Jacksonvilles Wall of Fame Committee, which helped select 30 musical artists to be featured in the new park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] I think they still have an impact. I think it is a wonderful thing we are getting a chance to celebrate the history. Sometimes we are known for something else, Puzo said. The park will celebrate musicians with ties to Jacksonville, including Ray Charles, Tim McGraw, Lynyrd Skynyrd, James Weldon Johnson, and John Rosamond Johnson. Theyve sharpened their skills and moved on to bigger things. A lot of them are from here. They died here, Puzo added. Read: Know before you go: 2025 Jacksonville Jazz Festival Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Downtown Investment Authority plans to include a nightly projection show and interactive art installations that highlight Jacksonvilles musical history. The project is currently in the design phase, with an expected opening in Spring 2026. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Vice President JD Vance had immigration, faith and American families on his mind after visiting the new pope. The Ohio native spoke to New York Times conservative columnist Ross Douthat for his "Interesting Times" podcast while in Rome. Pope Leo XIV, who clashed with Vance over theology and immigration earlier this year, met privately with the vice president at the Vatican. The Chicago-born pontiff officially assumed his role with an inaugural Mass on May 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, was one of the last people to meet with Pope Francis before he died. On Douthat's podcast, Vance said he was wearing the tie that Pope Francis gifted him. Here are five things Vance told Douthat during their roughly one-hour interview. Vance pushed back on administration's deportation numbers During his campaign, President Donald Trump promised to deport "millions and millions" of people living in the United States without legal status. That goal is off to a slow start Immigration and Customs Enforcement data from February reported by NBC showed Trump's deportation numbers were slightly below those under President Joe Biden. Vance pushed back on this by saying the "Biden border was effectively wide open," and so more people were arrested at the border, resulting in more deportations. The ICE data reported by NBC, comparing February 2024 and February 2025 numbers, supports this: most people deported last February were arrested at the border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance also said that while deportation numbers are slightly lower, border security is up under Trump. Deportation infrastructure is administration's larger goal Looking beyond early deportation numbers, Vance said the administration's overall goal is to create a lasting deportation infrastructure that's upheld by the courts and allows the government to deport "large numbers" of people. The root of Vance's stance on migration? Large numbers of people have migrated to the United States in recent years, and the vice president said this can erode the country's sense of social cohesion. "I really do think that social solidarity is destroyed when you have too much migration too quickly," he told Douthat. Chief Justice Roberts 'wrong,' courts should be 'deferential' The Trump administration's mass deportation efforts have repeatedly hit legal challenges. Earlier this month, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said courts should check the excesses of Congress and the executive branch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment," Vance told Douthat. "Thats one-half of his job. The other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch. You cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people theyre not allowed to have what they voted for. Thats where we are right now." Instead, Vance said, the courts should be "extremely deferential to these questions of political judgment made by the peoples elected president of the United States." Immigration policy sometimes conflicts with Vance's faith Vance admitted to Douthat, a fellow Catholic, that he has grappled with one big risk of mass deportation that some people will be wrongfully deported. "Im not going to pretend that I havent struggled with some of this, that I havent thought about whether were doing the precisely right thing," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Vance stood firm on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador who the Trump administration says is a MS-13 gang member. "I think this guy was not just a gang member, but a reasonably high-level gang member in MS-13," he said. "I think he had engaged in some pretty ugly conduct. Legally, he had multiple hearings before an immigration judge. He had a valid deportation order." Abrego Garcia and his attorneys say he is not a gang member. The Supreme Court ordered Trump to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the United States. But the administration has argued it doesn't have the authority to bring him back, and the president of El Salvador won't release him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "And our attitude was: OK, what are we really going to do?" Vance said. "Are we going to exert extraordinary diplomatic pressure to bring a guy back to the United States whos a citizen of a foreign country who we had a valid deportation order with?" Vance hopes Pope Leo will be moral steward of AI Elsewhere in the interview, Vance and Douthat discussed their concerns about artificial intelligence. The vice president said he's most worried about how AI could change how people interact with each other, leading to more loneliness, less dating and fewer families. "I dont think itll mean 3 million truck drivers are out of a job. I certainly hope it doesnt mean that," he said about AI. "But what I do really worry about is does it mean that there are millions of American teenagers talking to chatbots who dont have their best interests at heart?" Vance said he spoke to Pope Leo about artificial intelligence during their visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The American government is not equipped to provide moral leadership, at least full-scale moral leadership, in the wake of all the changes that are going to come along with AI. I think the church is," he said. "This is the sort of thing the church is very good at. This is what the institution was built for in many ways, and I hope that they really do play a very positive role. I suspect that they will." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: JD Vance talks AI, immigration with New York Times columnist JEANERETTE, La. (KLFY) In Jeanerette, residents voiced their concerns of safety as police are investigating a shooting that happened Thursday night. Residents said their neighborhood used to be described as quiet, however with many gunshots being heard in the night many are starting to be concerned for their safety. Were trying to turn around. You hear youre hearing gunfire or firing. You know somethings going on. A resident said who wished to remain anonymous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, multiple shots rang out in the 500 block of Canal St. in Jeanerette. Although no injuries were reported, police said there was some damage to property in the area. Residents who live near Canal St. said the gun violence in the neighborhood has increased significantly. When I moved here 18 years ago, it was quiet, you know? I mean, you rarely heard a siren and now you hear them almost every day, you know, or gunfire in the distant. the resident said. Jeanerettes Police Chief Terrence Moore says his department is actively investigating the shooting and there are suspects. Police are asking anyone in the area with camera footage between the hours of 9 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. to contact them as it could help with the investigation. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest Latest news Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com. Barely a week into her tenure as Washington, DCs top federal prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro faced an urgent test overseeing the investigation into the murders of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the citys Jewish museum. Pirros response to the young couples murder was under the microscope, as it was her first opportunity to enter the public eye no longer as a Fox News host but as a high-ranking government official leading the charge to bring justice after a public assassination. Her quick command over the investigation garnered high marks from Justice Department officials. Prosecutors who work for her felt cautiously encouraged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But shes also getting the benefit for who she is not: Ed Martin, her norm-busting, social media free-wheeling predecessor who drew attention for his email screeds to employees and letters threatening to investigate Democratic members of Congress and liberal groups. Like Martin, Pirro enjoys a close relationship with President Donald Trump and is expected to deviate little from the top priorities Martin was pursuing like immigration enforcement and reducing crime in the nations capital. But top officials at the Justice Department found Martins antics problematic at times. Pirros marked difference in style, at least so far, has been welcome to officials at DOJ headquarters and prosecutors who work for her, many of whom are still exhausted by Martins tumultuous tenure. Whew, thank goodness, one official remarked when asked about Pirros handling of the murder investigation. Pirro gets praise for investigation, charges A longtime media personality, the interim US attorney had so far only spoken through social media posts and press releases. One of the posts a video on X criticizing the fact that her prosecutors had to join a paid water club to drink from a water cooler at the office was particularly popular, officials inside the office told CNN, and people working there appreciated the notion despite feeling slightly annoyed by her method of delivery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But her appearance Wednesday was far more traditional, as she and Attorney General Pam Bondi arrived at the Capital Jewish Museum soon after a man fired point blank at 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend, 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky, killing both. Pirros decision to go to the scene of the shooting Wednesday night with little publicity or fanfare earned her respect inside the US attorneys office, one person told CNN. She stood silently behind the attorney general as she addressed reporters, trying to maintain her composure but visibly shaken by the grisly murder at the museum. Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has previously been criticized by Republicans for crime in the city, has been relieved by the how smoothly the shared investigation has been conducted, and that Pirro, Bondi and Bowser found a mutual respect for the work each was doing under the immense pressure they faced, sources with knowledge of their relationship told CNN. A young couple at the beginning of their lifes journey, about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag, Pirro said Thursday from a lectern in her office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She continued; And I am not unaware, based upon my own background, of the repercussions of this kind of case. This is the kind of case that picks at old sores and old scars, because these kinds of cases remind us of what has happened in the past that we can never and must never forget. A spokesperson from the DC US Attorneys Office said, Judge Pirro has a history of fighting crime for over three decades and will continue to utilize her expertise in implementing the highest standards to assess and prosecute cases. She expects nothing less from her staff. Her job right now is to bring Law And Order to DC and make it safe for everyone. As for this case, it is of the greatest import that the evidence collected be assessed and analyzed in a sterile courtroom setting and not in a publicized political setting, the spokesperson added. Case has a long road ahead The murder investigation is still in its initial phase, and department officials, including Pirro, have said they are looking to bring potential hate crime or terrorism charges against the suspect, Elias Rodriguez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But even if the case went to trial with the charges filed Thursday, Rodriguez could face the death penalty. If the Justice Department does choose to seek capital punishment, it will be a major legal and political test for Pirro and the US Attorneys Office, putting the case on a long path to trial that would need to be carefully handled in a largely liberal-leaning city. The federal court in the District of Columbia hasnt had a death penalty trial since 2003, when Rodney L. Moore was convicted of 10 murders and Kevin L. Gray was convicted of 19 murders. The jurors said they couldnt agree unanimously on sentences of death for the two men rather than life imprisonment. People close to the office felt encouraged by the fact that an experienced national security prosecutor, Jeffrey Nestler, was assigned to handle the possible death penalty case and was at the scene of the crime by midnight Wednesday to oversee evidence collection. Several other top prosecutors within the office had either left the Justice Department since the Trump presidency began or had been fired or demoted during Martins tenure. Rodriguez has not entered a formal plea in court. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com BOSTON (SHNS) Despite funding increases, the top senator on elder issues is raising a red flag about service cuts to programs that help keep seniors out of nursing homes. With demand for services outpacing budget increases, senators should be open and transparent about the fact that services to individuals are being cut to try to control the budget, Sen. Pat Jehlen of Somerville, who co-chairs the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, said during annual budget debate. This is an austerity budget. Its more money. But for many people, the services are less, said Jehlen, who is 81 and described a friend who was able to continue working because her husband was able to access services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jehlen filed three budget amendments to try to curb those service cuts, each of which she promoted from the Senate floor. However, she withdrew her proposals without pushing for votes. Two amendments sought to address enrollment caps and other directives from the Healey administration to tighten eligibility and rein in costs for the Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP), which serves frail individuals who clinically qualify for nursing homes but are able to receive intensive at-home care. The other would have stopped a 6% rate cut coming down from the Healey administration to all Adult Day Health programs, which Jehlen says will result in the highest-quality, local nonprofit programs shuttering their doors. Earlier this year, the Healey administration began imposing a cap on the number of available ECOP slots, providers told the News Service, in an effort to manage intake. ECOP functions as a middle-income home care program for older adults who do not qualify for MassHealth but struggle to afford private care on their own. Home care workers help participants with a wide range of services, including medication assistance, help showering and cleaning, Alzheimers and dementia care, and cooking or home delivered meals. Without the care, providers say, these individuals are reliant on help from family members or neighbors, or need to be placed in more expensive nursing homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new enrollment caps from the Executive Office of Aging & Independence (AGE), which outline monthly reductions for providers to reach through the end of the fiscal year, have spawned waitlists for ECOP. Older adults can still receive basic home care, but their loved ones may need to play a bigger caregiving role to bridge service gaps, said Betsey Crimmins, executive director of Mass Aging Access, which represents the states 27 Aging Service Access Points and Area Agencies on Aging. It doesnt mean people dont get nothing it means they dont get the higher level of services while theyre waiting, Crimmins told the News Service last week. So I think the idea is: How do you do more with less? How do you create efficiencies, and how do you make sure that people dont completely just fall through the cracks? She added, These are really hard decisions, telling people that they cant get services that they need, and that if they had called in January, they would have. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crimmins said she is querying her members to find out how many adults on the ECOP waiting list had to be admitted to nursing homes. Crimmins said she is also working with AGE to navigate potential exemptions to the new guidelines, including how to handle an older adult who needs ECOP-level care sooner than a slot is available. People will wait longer and receive less assistance than they would have this year. Thats not likely to be remedied by any future supp budget. It will just be the new normal, Jehlen said during Tuesdays debate. The administration has said individuals already receiving services will not get kicked off. Now that enrollment is capped, [those on the waitlist] may have to wait with fewer services than they need until someone else is no longer alive or goes into a nursing home, Jehlen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration in February also tightened eligibility for the program by creating a higher spending threshold on services for older adults to qualify for ECOP. One of Jehlens amendments (#466) would have injected an additional $15 million into the elder home care services line item, which is $278.7 million in the Senate Ways and Means Committee budget. The other ($464) would have given a $4.5 million boost to the $110.7 million line item for elder home care case management. Jehlen said the state almost always has to add funds through supplemental budgets for the ECOP program. The line item for elder home care services is increasing by $41 million in the Senate budget, but Jehlen said demand continues to outpace what the state has budgeted. There will be continued increases because more people are living longer and living longer with disabilities, she said. Because of those increases in utilization, we almost always have to add funds to both of those items in a supplemental budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elder home care providers for months warned they would run out money this spring without a supplemental funding infusion to fill big budget gaps amid soaring demand for services. Healeys supplemental budget in April called for steering $60 million to elder home care services, an amount the House embraced in its spending package Wednesday. Even without that money, the state has managed to continue paying providers through other funding streams, Crimmins said. Adult Day Health Rate Cuts The Healey administration also moved recently to cut rates for adult day health programs, which offer community-based daytime care for older adults and adults with cognitive, medical or behavioral health impairments. There are 140 such programs in the state. EOHHS proposed decreasing the per day and partial per day rates to providers for the basic level of care for adult day health services from $106.32 to $99.49 and $53.16 to $49.75, respectively. The cuts will save the state $5.59 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new regulations were rolled out in March, received a hearing in April, and will be effective July 1. The administration is not saying Were going to force closure of small nonprofits. And were not voting to close those small nonprofit places. But the administration cut will do that, Jehlen said. Despite her strong words, Jehlen withdrew her amendment that would have required MassHealth to maintain and pay base rates to providers of adult day health services at their current rates. Asked about Jehlens amendments and cutting services even as spending increases, Senate President Karen Spilka said it is a difficult budget year and can bring heartbreak because we cant satisfy every need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard when youre taking a deep dive into the budget and every item, for children, for families, for veterans, for babies, for supporting families theres so many needs out there, Spilka said. We try to support them as much as we can, and we feel like were spending, but theres still so many vulnerable populations out there in need. And we cant address it. We have one pot of money. We cant print money. Thats all we can do. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 35 adult day health programs have closed. In 2023, just two years ago, the [Center for Health Information and Analysis] found that salaries in adult day health were $3 to $4 less than in similar jobs, and that a third of them were running deficits. Twenty-four were at serious risk of closure. So the administration raised those rates to prevent closures. Now the administration is planning to cut those rates, Jehlen said. MassHealth said they applied a 33% rate increase to all adult day health services in fiscal 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MassHealth remains committed to ensuring our members have access to a wide range of long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs. In the aftermath of COVID, the Commonwealth made significant investments in Adult Day Health programs to promote stability, MassHealth spokesperson Stacey Nee said. As a result of these investment, the programs are in a much more stable financial position. Given the current budget climate, MassHealth is recommending reasonable adjustments to Adult Day Health rates. A cost report analysis from fiscal 2023 shows median profitability of adult day health programs was 7.86%, and the weighted average profitability was 14.36%, MassHealth said. Jehlen said that about two-thirds of the centers are for-profit ventures, and are running significant profits. Those are not the programs shes concerned about, she said. They often spend less on care, more on management fees, more on real estate, she said. They will survive despite the rate cut. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Somerville Democrat said shes concerned about the one-third of adult day health centers that are small- and medium-sized run by local nonprofits and family businesses, which she said often provide more direct care. According to CHIA, they are running significant deficits, and have for years. They are the ones that are likely to close. This will be a real loss in quality overall, and it will be a real loss for the people who have received more local, more personal care, she said. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Im 60. I was brought up to believe that one of the many privileges of being born in Britain is that we do not live in fear of the police. They serve us. They protect us. As a Jew, that feeling was even more pronounced. Jews have been persecuted by the state throughout history. But as a freeborn Englishman, the opposite was true: the police would protect me. When it comes to terror plots and active, direct threats, the police can be magnificent. I benefitted from this myself some years ago when I was found to be on an Islamist hit list. For obvious reasons I wont go into details, but the police were wonderful. Flawless and brilliant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But something has nonetheless gone very wrong with modern policing. There is a deep malaise in the mindset of decision makers which leads to grotesque caricatures of what policing should be. Instead of focusing on crimes that actually matter to people, they trawl social media looking for offence. And instead of targeting those who support terror, they go after those who expose that support. Yesterday The Telegraph revealed that a Jewish counter-protester to one of the regular Free Palestine marches was arrested and charged after he was seen holding a placard satirising Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader who was targeted by the Israeli exploding pager operation. Nasrallah survived but was killed in an air strike a week later. In his police questioning, the Jewish counter-protester was repeatedly asked if he agreed that the image would offend clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel activists. I wish it was shocking that the police consider offending activists who support a proscribed terrorist group to be cause for them to charge someone. But there is now a clear pattern, with policing targeting those who oppose terror and anti-Semitism, and protecting those who support it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A couple of weeks ago The Telegraph uncovered the caution given by Kent Police to a retired special constable for warning about the threat of anti-Semitism. Last year the Met pinned down a counter-protester carrying a banner reading Hamas is terrorist at a march and then arrested him. They then imposed bail conditions banning him from attending any protest relating to Palestine. A judge later threw out the conditions, ruling that they were neither proportionate nor necessary. But when marchers chant globalise the intifada the meaning of which was seen in Washington on Wednesday, when two Israeli embassy employees were murdered in cold blood the police stand and watch. And when banners express support for resistance, alongside praise for Hamas and Hezbollah, the police act to protect those who support terror. At a march in Manchester days after the October 7 2023 massacre, for example, an enormous banner reading Manchester supports Palestinian resistance was protected by police standing alongside it. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the police have not merely lost the plot they have become part of the problem. 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. Joe Biden celebrated grandson Robert Hunter Biden II's graduation from Salisbury School in Connecticut on May 23 The outing marked the former president's first public appearance since revealing his aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis Joe was joined by wife Dr. Jill Biden and other family members for the milestone event Joe Biden is celebrating a milestone moment in his grandson's life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former president, 82, celebrated Robert "Hunter" Biden II's graduation from Salisbury School in Connecticut on Friday, May 23. The outing marked Joe's first public appearance since revealing his aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis. Dr. Jill Biden shared a photo on her Instagram Stories of herself, Joe and other family members posing with the 18-year-old graduate on his big day. "Proud Nana and Pop! Congratulations Hunter - we are so proud of you," Jill, 73, wrote to her grandson, whose dad is the late Beau Biden and mom is Hallie Biden. In another social media post, the teenager could be seen walking across the graduation stage, receiving his diploma. Ashley Blazer Biden/Instagram Joe, Natalie, Hunter, Jill, and Ashley Biden Joe, Natalie, Hunter, Jill, and Ashley Biden A day prior, on Thursday, May 22, Joe, Jill and other family members visited The Woodland Restaurant in Lakeville. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A photograph shared on the establishment's Instagram page shows Joe smiling alongside a group. Great to have Joe & Jill Biden at The Woodland last night, The Woodland Restaurant wrote in its caption. He was so gracious and thoughtful in conversations with staff and guests." The restaurant added, Congratulations to his grandson on his graduation. We very much enjoyed such decency and humility from our President. You made our evening very special. All the best ." Restaurant owner Brandon Scimeca told The Stamford Advocate he was notified a couple of hours ahead of time that Joe would be visiting. "He was as nice to the customers as he was to the wait staff, as he was to the owner, as he was to the busboy. He was just so generous in spirit," Scimeca said. "He was not talking about himself, but talking about everyone else." 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. Dr. Jill Biden/Instagram Hunter Biden's high school graduation Hunter Biden's high school graduation Joes attendance at the graduation celebrations came less than a week after the former presidents office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An official statement, which said Biden had been experiencing increasing urinary symptoms before the diagnosis, added that the cancer is "characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone." "While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management," the statement continued. "The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians." The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Joe Biden/Instagram Joe and Jill Biden Joe and Jill Biden After the diagnosis news, Joe shared a photo of himself and Jill on X, as he thanked supporters for their love. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cancer touches us all, he wrote in his caption. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support. Read the original article on People Well, folks, the Democratic Party really went through it this week. Last weekend, it was disclosed that former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones. Coming smack-dab in the center of the hype cycle from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompsons book about how Bidens inner circle kept his infirmity out of sight, the episode only magnified the partys gerontological problems. On Wednesday, like a rush delivery from the coda store, all of this was underscored by the passing of Virginia Representative Gerry Connolly, who recently was named the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee despite his own cancer diagnosis. The Democrats Biden reckoning is a real choose your own adventure. To my mind, this was a case of elite failure: not just from the fabled politburo troika of Biden insiders that led the charge to keep Bidens struggles from the limelight, but also from the party elders who engineered this mishap in the first place. They slaughtered their younger candidates in the 2020 presidential primary, mercilessly took down the one among them who dared to suggest Biden was too old, and forced a party-wide acclamation of Bidens nomination following the South Carolina primary, which put us irrevocably on the path to his subsequent 2024 candidacy. This was, indeed, the Original Sin. While theres no end of atoning to do, some commentators have stretched this melodrama to the breaking point by suggesting that Bidens age and mental acuity will be a litmus test for the partys 2028 candidates. Let me just say this: I truly hope that it will be one, because if voters in three years still care a whit about Biden then that would mean the economy did not end up in shambles, the constitutional order and the rule of law are still very much intact, and the decimation of the civil service has been reversed. This is what a lot of pundits dont understand: The only way Biden would have salience as a litmus test issue in 2028 would be if his successor governed through wisdom and competence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naturally, that will not be the case because Bidens successor is Donald Trumpan omnidirectionally corrupt fuckup and criminal. If anything, Trump has provided a new avenue for those journalists who maybe neglected the story of Bidens mental infirmity to redeem themselves, by hopping on the story of Trumps own mental infirmity. Though oddly, few seem to be working that beat, and many of the voices that admonished the Biden-era media for these failings have fallen curiously silent. (TNR, I should note, is all over the story of Trumps cognitive decline.) Thats too bad: The scandals at the core of the Tapper-Thompson tome remain live issues in American life. Gather unto you some scoops, reporters! This is low-hanging fruit! Meanwhile, as the entire political journalism industry dithers, Republicans are using the story as a heat shield to skate on their bad plans for the country and their worse abuses of the Constitution. Flying under the radar this week is a report from the Cato Institute that included detailed profiles of 50 undocumented immigrants whom the Trump administration sent to a prison in El Salvador even though they were not guilty of any crimes while stateside. The administration ran afoul of another federal judge after shipping another group of migrants to South Sudan, a nation thats on the verge of a renewed civil war. In Washington, Republicans are trying to bring a budget bill to term that will slash programs for the needy to furnish a one-time payout for plutocrats, throw millions off their health insurance, and explode the budget deficit. Beyond that, we have the ongoing crimes of the administration that I laid out last week, up to and including the needless deaths that will occur at the hands of Elon Musks destruction of critical aid agencies and Robert F. Kennedys lethal grotesqueries of public health. All of which is to say: There will be no reason in the world for any Democrat worthy of office to be on any kind of apology tour by the time 2028 rolls around. That doesnt mean there wont be critical litmus tests for Democratsor that all of them will pass with flying colors. Right now, the most important way that the Democratic leaders of the future are going to distinguish themselves will be the extent to which they devote their lives to fighting Trump, tooth and nail. As Talking Points Memos Josh Marshall wrote this week: The overriding problem Democrats have today is a general belief that theyre not effective at fighting for what they believe in or what the country needs to be protected from. Theres a related, but secondary issue that they worry that Dems are most focused on issues that are obscure or not connected to the lives of the great majority of people struggling to make ends meet. That lack of fight is shattering for self-identified Democrats as well as highly damaging for genuine independents and low-information voters who genuinely flip from party to party from election to election. That is overwhelmingly the challenge Democrats have right now. The idea, Marshall adds, that up-for-grabs voters are waiting for important signals out of a bizarre intra-party score settling over Joe Bidens age is just such unreal bubble thinking that it beggars belief. Meanwhile, if we are looking to recent events for Democrats failing those crucial litmus tests, consider the fact that 16 of them joined Trumps Senate acolytes in passing a crypto-friendly deregulation bill, in just the latest example of the partys willingness to cave to that scam industry. The fact that this bill would most likely set the clock ticking on the next great financial crisis, in much the same way that the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 paved the way for the last one, is to my mind a more massive failure than anything that Bidens inner circle did as they conspired to hide his enfeeblement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At any rate, for those so concerned about Biden and his health, Ive good news: He wont be running for office again. The Democratic campaigns of the future can and should opt to neither hire nor rely upon the bad and incompetent advisers whose actions helped Trump get elected. These are the easy bars to clear. More important litmus tests remain: Who fought the hardest? Who proved worthy of the public trust? Who best used the tools available to them to relentlessly discredit Trump and the GOP? Who sent packing the small army of loser pollsters and consultants that have kneecapped the party? Who successfully learned to speak to the public like someone not umbilically connected to a Beltway focus group? The road out of the Trump Dark Ages will be paved by those who pass those tests, not those who occupy the pundit-approved opinion on a prior president who, come 2028, will be well, let us not speculate. This article first appeared in Power Mad, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by deputy editor Jason Linkins. Sign up here. After his disastrous decision to run for reelection helped secure Donald Trumps victory, former President Joe Biden is fighting for his reputation and struggling to rake in cash. The subject of recent books detailing his decline, Biden is apparently having trouble bringing in speaking fees and difficulty fundraising for his presidential library, The Wall Street Journal reports. Perhaps this should come as no surprise. After Bidens catastrophic 2024 debate performance against Trump revealed the extent of his declining health and marked the end of his campaign, why would anyone pay the former president to speak? And who would want to fund a Biden presidential library, as a monument to his legacy in office, when his legacy now includes Trumps lawless and destructive second term? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now that the election is over and the damage is mounting from Trumps presidency people are becoming more comfortable talking about what went wrong. One new book in particular outlines how Biden and his inner circle covered up the extent of his failing health. Original Sin: President Bidens Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, written by CNNs Jake Tapper and Axios Alex Thompson, is based on 200 interviews with Biden insiders who say that things were much worse behind the scenes than his team let on. This week, Bidens personal office revealed he has stage 4 prostate cancer. The diagnosis is also putting more pressure on Biden to quickly build an inheritance for his grandchildren, as WSJ said in its report on Saturday. Bidens speaking fees $300,000 to $500,000 are reportedly below what former President Barack Obama charges, according to the paper. And that is if people hire him. He has given at least one paid speech, but few organizations have been willing to pay for Biden, wrote WSJ, which noted that some companies and organizations are reportedly afraid to provoke Trump. Many Democratic donors are hesitant to donate to Bidens presidential library. Fundraising for the library will be a heavy lift in light of all that has transpired, John Morgan, a lawyer and former major Biden donor, told WSJ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morgan said that Biden, who once promised to be a bridge candidate, failed to create a bridge for the next generation of Democratic leaders. Donors who supported Biden said they dont plan to give to his library, and some allies worry the library wont open in Bidens lifetime. Tapper and Thompsons book has drawn attention for showing that Biden was not in shape to have a second term. 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. One glaring example highlighted in the book was when Biden did not recognize Democratic fundraiser and A-list actor George Clooney, even when an aide told him, you know George. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tapper and Thompson reported that Bidens White House produced an atmosphere that stifled dissent, where insiders blocked the president from criticism. 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, Tapper told the New Yorker. In another book, journalist Chris Whipple writes that Ron Klain, Bidens former chief of staff, was struck by how out of touch with American politics he was on the campaign trail. Earlier this month, Biden denied claims that his mental status is declining. They are wrong. Theres nothing to sustain that, he said on ABCs The View. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then he launched into a rambling response that was consistent with some of the behavior that had alarmed some people who met with him, WSJ wrote. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Chief Justice John Roberts has personally shielded the Department of Government Efficiency from having to hand over reams of internal data. Acting as an individual, Roberts temporarily blocked two orders from a lower court that instructed DOGE to turn over thousands of pages of documents and have its administrator, Amy Gleason, sit for a deposition. The emergency stay only required the approval of Roberts, rather than the entire Supreme Court, because he is the justice who handles these requests when they arise out of the Washington, D.C., courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The stay is temporary, likely only to last a few days. It gives the court time to decide whether it wants to consider the case on its merits and make a ruling. Chief Justice John Roberts (L) has issued a stay of a lower courts ruling against DOGE. / Win McNamee / Getty Images The question at stake in the case is whether DOGE is obliged to fulfill public information requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The case hinges on whether the group, which has been led by Elon Musk, is a government agency. The Trump administration has argued that DOGE is merely an advisory group to President Donald Trump, and is therefore not required to hand over its data. However, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the watchdog group that brought the suit, claims that DOGE has acted as its own agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Musk and Trumps direction, DOGE led a push to remake the federal government according to the administrations goals. This entailed firing thousands of federal workers, blowing up entire agencies, seizing control of crucial government systems, and reversing federal spending decisions. While Musk touted his operation as maximally transparent, DOGE has fought hard in court to avoid having to reveal its inner workings to the public. Musks DOGE laid off thousands of government workers and demolished agencies. / Samuel Corum/Getty Images The lower courts ruling was intended to allow limited discoverythat is, the documents and the depositionto help determine whether DOGE is an agency. Solicitor General D. John Sauer has complained that the ruling is unfair because it gives CREW access to DOGEs internal data without actually deciding the case in their favor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That order turns FOIA on its head, effectively giving respondent a win on the merits of its FOIA suit under the guise of figuring out whether FOIA even applies, Sauer said. After Roberts decision, CREW told Axios that the outcome was not a surprise and that it still expected to win the case. We hope to see the Court decide on the merits of the governments petition after the holiday weekend, the organization said in a statement. JONESVILLE, Va. (WJHL) A Jonesville man was sentenced to serve 50 years in prison following a child pornography investigation, according to Lee County Commonwealth Attorney H. Fuller Cridlin. The attorneys office announced that Nicholas Hadges was sentenced by the Lee County Circuit Court to serve a 50-year prison sentence, with none of that time suspended. The sentence came after an investigation revealed that Hadges had downloaded and actively uploaded child pornography using a social media application called Kik. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man charged after March 2024 murder in Letcher County The release said that investigators and prosecutors in Lee County pinpointed Hadges location through his IP address. He had been using Kik under a false name. Cridlin said Hadges sentence was determined by 10 counts of child pornography charges that carry five-year mandatory minimum sentences, leaving the court with no discretion to impose anything less than 50 years of incarceration. The 10 counts were among other charges. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. If you offered me half of Elon Musks holdings to tell you what Josh Hawley truly believes, I would not be able to cash the check. But after watching our senior U.S. senator for eight years now, I can say with confidence that he likes to stand out in a crowd. By being first to object to the 2020 Electoral College results, then claiming he never tried to overturn the election that Joe Biden won, he did more harm than well ever be able to calculate. But there he was, leading the way, even if it was to perdition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With that infamous raised fist on Jan. 6, he tried to rally the rioters he then bolted away from. But hey, by that afternoon, many more Americans knew his name. Our man Hawley played a big role in the Big Lie: The risk that Donald Trump would not leave office after his defeat in 2020 really only became real, according to the 2021 book Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, when Hawley said he would object to the Electoral College certification. In the traumatic hours after the attack on the Capitol, Hawley stood off to himself on the Senate floor, as The Star reported at the time. According to the book, No one spoke to Hawley, who many of them blamed for instigating the riot by announcing his opposition to the certification a week earlier. Eventually, Sens. Ted Cruz and Roy Blunt asked him what he was going to do, and even with the carnage and push from some colleagues to stand down, Hawley decided he would keep his objection to both Arizona and Pennsylvania. He would remain in lockstep with Trump. When told of his decision, many of his Republican colleagues groaned. Other Republicans would surely stick with Hawley, fearful of being seen as out of step with Trumps voters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So what to make, then, of Hawleys recent declarations that he would never, no not ever, vote to cut Medicaid, as the Big Beautiful Bill currently does in a big, ugly way? This is quite a turnaround for someone who tried so hard to repeal Obamacare, and to fight Medicaid expansion. Lately, Hawley has started saying that cutting this precious program for the most vulnerable is one line hed never cross, and that whats more, its one that Trump wouldnt cross, either. Many words, few results This is clever, because how can Trump call him out for quoting Trumps own campaign promise to the public? Trump pushed hard for the House to pass the Big Beautiful Bill, cuts and all, which it did. And when Hawley says Trump would never sign his own BBB if it included Medicaid cuts, well, sure he wouldnt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hawley is right that cutting Medicaid would be a disaster for low-income families and the disabled and those with autism and in nursing homes. Its also incontrovertibly true that such cuts would hit Missourians particularly hard: An analysis by KFF Health News earlier this month found that Missouri was one of six states, along with Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina and West Virginia that would suffer the most. A recent front-page piece in The New York Times suggested that Hawley the culture warrior has also been less noisily on the side of the little guy all along. So much less noisily that I cant say we ever noticed the effects of all those years of effort in Missouri. The graduate of Rockhurst High, Stanford and Yale Law, who clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts and spent a gap year teaching at St. Pauls in London, does, like Trump, who was a millionaire in grade school, talk an awful lot about how much the elites hate us regular folks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Hawleys Senate campaign launch in 2018, I was still capable of disappointment at hearing him start right in with this us-versus-them golden oldie: The liberal elites who call themselves our leaders refer to us as flyover country, he said. They deride not just our location but our whole way of living. But, thats a song that always gets them out on the dance floor, and maybe the aggrievement was genuine. The Times piece about him said that as a longtime populist, Hawley had from his earliest days in office done things like go after opioid manufacturers as attorney general of our state. He did file lawsuits against them, its true, and maybe he would have done so anyway. But he did that, as The Star reported, after discussion with the Washington political consultants who were involved in running his office and then his U.S. Senate campaign to get him some national buzz. And this was after his soon-to-be Senate opponent, Claire McCaskill, had already launched a Senate investigation into the opioid industry. My point is really that we have heard many words but seen few results from Josh Hawley, man of the people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If our senior senator really wants to, as a former aide to Bernie Sanders told The New York Times, break up the cozy relationship between his party and corporate America thats gone on since Reagan was president, does that mean hell challenge Trump for selling access and demanding fealty from CEOs who then cash in? Rhetorical question. In some ways, what Hawley is doing reminds me of the recent moves from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is breaking with his party and running to the center on trans athletes, limits on Medi-Cal for undocumented immigrants and declarations that hes going to stop funding failure when it comes to curbing homelessness. Only, where Newsom is concerned, everyone and his puppy sees what hes doing as a bald political calculation in preparation for a potential 28 presidential run. Hes getting nothing but noogies, both from his own party and from Republicans, for tacking to the center, while Hawley has been praised and reappraised by Democrats for simply saying he wouldnt cut Medicaid. Ambition is a definite The Wall Street Journal did disapprovingly note Josh Hawleys Medicaid Switcheroo. And on X, hes being pressured to change his mind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, if Missourians lost their health care, and Grandma couldnt stay in the nursing home, those giving him grief now would feel differently. And if thats what hes betting on, then hes right. Hawleys ambition is one of the only other things I know for sure about him. In his own recent essay in The Times, he made it seem that on the issue of Medicaid cuts, this is him and Trump against the bad guys. Mr. Trump has promised working-class tax cuts and protection for working-class social insurance, such as Medicaid, he wrote. But now a noisy contingent of corporatist Republicans call it the partys Wall Street wing is urging Congress to ignore all that and get back to the old-time religion: corporate giveaways, preferences for capital and deep cuts to social insurance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can practically hear the score to Les Mis in the background, calling us to the barricades, cant you? Now that the Republican House has passed the bill with those very same deep cuts deeper, actually it will be up to the Senate to stop the worst of it. Far less surprisingly, Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Susan Collins of Maine have concerns about the bill, and Sen. Ron Johnson thinks it doesnt cut spending enough. They have until July to figure it out. Maybe Hawley wont backtrack at this point. And trying to out-Trump Trump with the working person, if thats the goal, would not actually be that hard. But if he really wants to become Trumps heir, and make that dreamed-of presidential run in the way that he hopes, hell have to start doing more than talk. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) On Friday, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves denied the State of Mississippis motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the states efforts to take over the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. The City of Jackson argues that the 2016 state law, which would create a new airport board, violates both the U.S. and Mississippi constitutions. Republican legislators who pushed for a new board said the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport should have a regional governing authority because it serves a regional customer base. Critics of the change said white suburban Republicans were trying to steal authority over an asset controlled by Democratic officials in majority-Black Jackson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court says its ending dispute over control of airport in Mississippis capital city JMAA (Jackson Municipal Airport Authority) might in fact continue to operate the airport for years to come. That is because after the case wraps up here, there will likely be another appeal to the Fifth Circuit and perhaps a petition for U.S. Supreme Court review. And if all that litigation ends with a victory for the defendants, there will be an administrative process in Washington, D.C., in which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decides whether to approve a transfer from JMAA to the new, state-controlled authority For now, though, the status quo has been maintained, said Reeves in his opinion. The JMAA said the case will now proceed through the normal channels of legal discovery before a trial date is set. Jackson has maintained control of the airport during the dispute, and city officials currently have the power to appoint a five-member board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the 2016 law creating a nine-person airport board, five members would be appointed by state officials: two by the governor and one each by the lieutenant governor, the Mississippi National Guard adjutant general and the Mississippi Development Authority director. There would also be one appointment each from Jacksons mayor and City Council and supervisors in suburban Madison and Rankin counties. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. A federal judge has for the second time struck down President Donald Trumps effort to punish a law firm by stripping it of its ability to do business with the government. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled Friday that the executive order targeting Jenner & Block violates constitutional guarantees of speech and right-to-counsel and cannot legally be enforced. The decision by Bates, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, follows a similar ruling in favor of law firm Perkins Coie earlier this month in a separate challenge to Trumps orders seeking to penalize law firms he perceives as hostile. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This order, like the others, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesnt like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers, Bates wrote. Trump sought to punish Jenner & Block because a former member of the firm Andrew Weissmann played a role in the investigation of his links to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Weissmann, who has not worked at Jenner & Block since 2021, has been a vocal Trump critic and a prominent legal analyst on MSNBC during Trumps multiple criminal cases. Trumps executive order targeting the firm directed federal agencies to cut contracts with the firm, suspend their security clearances and block them from federal buildings. Bates said it put Jenner & Block in the position of choosing between its constitutional rights and its livelihood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In short, the order raises constitutional eyebrows many times over, he said. Jenner & Block praised the ruling in a statement that called the executive order an unconstitutional attack on the firm. This ruling demonstrates the importance of lawyers standing firm on behalf of clients and for the law, it said. It was not clear whether the administration would appeal. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to request for comment. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A federal judge has cleared the way for the opening of an immigration detention facility in Leavenworth, Kansas. The judge threw out a lawsuit by the City of Leavenworth a suit designed to prevent CoreCivic from housing up to 1,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at the facility. City of Leavenworth files lawsuit against CoreCivic for attempting to open ICE facility without permit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge ruled that the city did not prove federal courts had jurisdiction to hear the case. City leaders could appeal or try to file in state court. CoreCivic had agreed not to house ICE detainees at the site until after June 1. Stay with FOX4 for the latest updates on this and other breaking news. Previous coverage Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. I am writing to you at the close of an incredibly difficult week, as our community has come together to mourn the tragic death of one of our middle school students. Our entire community is grieving. When this level of immeasurable tragedy strikes, it is impossible to try and make sense out of it as we work through grief and support one another. As families, students, teachers, staff, and the community at-large begin to process the grief in the coming days and weeks, it is critical for our community to come together and continue to support one another. I am grateful that is what happened here inPeabody this week, and as our students depart for the long weekend, I wanted to acknowledge the multitude of support shown to us from all over. Over the course of the week, Peabody has received the support and resources of our neighbors and friends from throughout the North Shore. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the work of the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council STARS team. The resources and professionals brought to our city were a tremendous help during a time when even our own well-trained staff was experiencing and processing this loss. We appreciate the support of our Police Chief, Tom Griffin, and School Resource Officers Eric Ricci and Andy Long who, along with their comfort dogs Ella and Max, were joined by more than a dozen loving therapy dogs ready to provide comfort to our students and staff. We are also incredibly thankful for our counselors and nurses from across the district who provided immediate support to students and staff at theHiggins this week while also supporting their individual schools. In addition, our staff collaborated with the STARS team who continue to serve as a tremendous resource for our community in this time of need. As educators, we often have to remind ourselves that we have Peabodys children for only a small percentage of the day. We rely on our families to work alongside us, especially at a time like this. We recognize with gratitude the support and partnership of our school districts families who have supported their children and one another during this very difficult time. Thank you. Finally, I want to recognize our faculty and staff for their compassion for our families and students. Students look to teachers as pillars of support as the teachers themselves are grieving inside. Please know that we are planning a community meeting around mental health, at the appropriate time, and I expect that it will be an open and safe environment. While this meeting is still very much in the planning stages, what I can share with you today is that we will partner with other community leaders to ensure a well planned and thoughtful event that will include resources for families. We are also working with our leaders incity government, including the Peabody Department of Health and Human Services, to guide our next steps.We will be in touch in the coming days with more information. For more resources visit our website HERE. Thank you for your continued compassion and support. I wish you a safe Memorial Day Weekend. Josh Valda, Peabody superintendent At the heart of the murder charge against Karen Read is the weapon prosecutors say she used to kill her boyfriend her 2021 Lexus SUV. Prosecutors spent much of the fifth week of the widely publicized retrial laying out the physical evidence that they say shows that Read drunkenly drove into Boston police officer John OKeefe, 46, and left him for dead outside the home of a law enforcement colleague on Jan. 29, 2022. Lead prosecutor Hank Brennan and Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally called a series of forensic specialists to bolster that theory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defense, which has rejected those allegations, focused much of its attention on a single expert who examined a key piece of evidence vehicle data and subjected that expert to hours of interrogation-like questioning as attorney Robert Alessi sought to dismantle the analysts contributions to the prosecutions case. Im trying to understand your statement, an exasperated-sounding Alessi said at one point during cross-examination. Isnt it either you have a bachelor of science degree or you dont? Boston police officer John O'Keefe. (Boston Police Dept. via AP) Read, who is charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing death, has remained chatty with reporters throughout the proceedings and said after court Wednesday that she feels great about the case so far. She has maintained her innocence throughout her legal battle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her first trial ended with a hung jury last summer. Her defense team has said that she was framed by former and current law enforcement officers and others who were at the home where OKeefe was found unresponsive early Jan. 29. The defense has also said that the state trooper who led the investigation into OKeefes death was biased and manipulated evidence. The trooper, who acknowledged sending unprofessional messages about Read but testified that his conduct did not affect the integrity of the investigation, was fired after an internal investigation found he violated agency rules. In court earlier this week, experts offered a flurry of technical, sometimes highly complex details about the physical evidence linked to Reads SUV: a strand of OKeefes hair found on the Lexus rear quarter panel; bits of red plastic discovered on OKeefes clothes that could have been from the SUVs broken taillight. The vehicle data examined by Shanon Burgess, a digital forensic analyst, is central to the prosecutions case. Brennan has accused Read of reversing her Lexus into OKeefe in a hit that left him dead, and Burgess analysis found that the SUV recorded a backing event outside the home where he was found unresponsive shortly after 6 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defense spent hours grilling Burgess on everything from errors the expert acknowledged making in his analysis to the accuracy of his resume. At one point, the grueling back-and-forth prompted a startling admission from Burgess. Even though his curriculum vitae and LinkedIn profile state that he has a bachelors degree in science from the University of Alabama, he has no more than an associates degree, Burgess testified. He began pursuing a bachelors in 2008, he said, but never completed the coursework. When Alessi pressed Burgess to explain the misstatements, he attributed them to errors and misinterpretations. But you would agree those errors or misinterpretations have been in existence for some time? the defense attorney responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, Burgess said. Im being made aware of them now. At another point, Alessi pressed Burgess on what the defense lawyer described as a series of errors the expert made while analyzing three chips from Reads SUV. In a document Burgess provided to the prosecution in October, Alessi said, the expert asserted that a previous analysis used in the case was incomplete because it did not capture all of the data from the chips. In fact, Alessi said, it was Burgess who erred by making mistakes in his data conversion method. He confused megabits for megabytes, Alessi said, and gigabits for gigabytes. (Eight of the former equals one of the latter.) The entire foundation of your proposal was based on a fundamental misinterpretation of the difference between a computer bit and a computer byte, correct? the defense lawyer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No, not the entire thing, Burgess responded. Well certainly a part of it was, correct? Alessi said. Correct, Burgess said. Since you wrote that, have you learned the difference between a bit and a byte? the lawyer asked. Ive always known the difference between a bit and a byte, Burgess said. Later, Alessi questioned Burgess about what he described as discrepancies between two reports he wrote in the case. The first, submitted in January of this year, sought to reconstruct the events of Jan. 29, 2022, using vehicle data. The second, submitted earlier this month after Reads retrial had already begun was a supplemental report that sought to clarify parts of the initial document, Burgess said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the stand, Alessi asked him to explain one of those discrepancies in the supplemental report. On direct examination, Alessi said, Burgess told the prosecutor that hed submitted the document on his own initiative in an effort to respond to a misleading claim that he later said came from a defense expert. But the report itself stated the opposite, Alessi pointed out. In the documents first line, which Alessi read in court, Burgess said he was submitting the additional analysis at the prosecutors request. Which is it? Alessi asked. This is a holdover, so a copy and paste from my original report, Burgess responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you cut and paste important information from one report to the other without checking it for accuracy? Alessi asked. I copy and paste certain portions, Burgess said. You didnt review it this time, though, did you? Alessi said. No, Burgess responded. I didnt think it was significant. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Prince William and Kate Middleton are expanding their family! The couple's beloved dog, Orla, welcomed a set of puppies recently, according to The Sun. "Mother and babies are doing well," a source told the outlet of the black cocker spaniel and her babies. Buckingham Palace has not confirmed news of the family's addition. The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 are loving the pups so far and hope to keep them, the insider added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone loves a new royal baby news and so new royal puppies run very close," they said. The family was gifted Orla in 2020, after James Middleton's dog Luna welcomed "six little healthy pups." Kate's younger brother shared the exciting news on Instagram at the time, letting supporters know "they all have lovely homes waiting for them." Two years later, it was revealed in Princess Charlotte's 7th birthday portraits that the family named their dog Orla. The name is especially perfect for a royal pup Orla is a Celtic name meaning "golden princess." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orla joined the family shortly before Kate and Prince William's dog Lupo died in November 2020. Lupo was also a black cocker spaniel they received from James as a "belated wedding present" in 2011, he wrote in his memoir Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life. Years later, it was revealed that the royal couple received Lupo at a difficult time when William was about to head to the Falkland Islands for a six-week-long deployment. On April 11, Prince William and Kate shared a rare image of Orla to celebrate National Pet Day. They marked the occasion with a never-before-seen Instagram photo of Orla staring into the distance in a grassy area with trees, her shiny coat seemingly wet from an adventure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Celebrating the animals who bring so much joy, companionship and love to our lives this #NationalPetDay," the Prince and Princess of Wales' team wrote on their official social media accounts on April 11, adding a paw print emoji. "Beautiful in every way," James proudly wrote in the comment section. Since finding her forever home in Buckingham Palace, Orla has tagged along to several family events, from joining Kate to watch Prince William play in the Royal Charity Polo Cup in July 2022 and making a cameo in Princess Charlotte's 8th birthday portraits. Read the original article on People BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) The Kern County Fire Department is getting some impressive new equipment to help fight fires from the air. The department recently announced two Firehawk Helicopters that will be added to the fleet at a later date. United Rotorcraft will continue a partnership with KCFD and supply the two choppers. Democrat Fire burns at least 1,000 acres in Kern River canyon, Hwy 178 closed Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Firehawks are transformed from Blackhawk helicopters into highly capable firefighting aircrafts through the U.S. Army Surplus program. They include enhancements like United Rotorcrafts exclusive landing gear, a 1,000 gallon tank for precise water drops and advanced avionics to improve situational awareness. Officials have not given an update yet on when the helicopters will be put to use. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Will Indiana interstate highways become toll roads in the near future? If so, what will be the long-term costs? Gov. Mike Braun is considering seeking federal approval to convert the states interstate highways into toll roads to pay for future highway maintenance costs. That annual estimated cost to maintain state roads is up to $800 million. Experts believe it costs $1 million to repave a road. The Braun administration has indicated that the states gasoline tax doesnt raise enough money to maintain the roads in the Hoosier state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An option is to ask future members of the Indiana General Assembly to raise the gas tax or seek another funding mechanism. Another possibility would be to raise registration fees for vehicles. With more and more hybrid vehicles in use, should the state raise the taxes on these vehicles? Currently only the Indiana toll road, along Interstate 80 in the northern part of the state, collects a fee for traveling from the Ohio to Illinois border. That toll is seven cents per mile for passenger cars; trucks are charged by class with a maximum toll of $86.60 and a minimum charge of $14.60. The distance of the remaining interstate highways in Indiana is 932 miles with Interstate 69 the longest at 342 miles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If a request for tolls is approved by the federal government, Madison County residents could be looking at paying to travel down the interstate to Indianapolis. Another question is, what would be the cost to convert the interstate highways into a toll road? At every exit and entrance ramp, there would need to be infrastructure put in place to distribute tickets for motorists entering the highway and another means to collect the tolls when motorists exit the highway. How many of these facilities would need to be built just around Interstate 465, and for the interstates passing through Indianapolis? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would take years to implement tolls on the states interstate network. Or, would the state install cameras at all the exits to photograph vehicles and send bills to the owners? That would work for Indiana motorists, but not out-of-state travelers. Our neighboring states have few interstate highways with tolls in place. There is the Ohio Turnpike through the northern stretch of the Buckeye State and a network of tolls around Chicago. With Indiana known as the Crossroads of America, will travelers look for alternative routes to avoid passing tolls in the state? WACO, Texas (FOX 44) Teachers and staff at Kendrick Elementary are preparing to welcome students to a brand new campus this fall a move that marks a major milestone for the school community. Kristina Munoz is a veteran teacher in her 17th year at Kendrick. She says the new facility offers a sense of permanence that staff and students have been waiting for. Its a big deal here because this is our new, like, forever home, Munoz said. Were not just setting up somewhere temporary like we did last year. We know this is going to be our space. Were here to stay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kendricks former building, which had stood for more than 70 years, was vacated in December 2023. Students and staff spent the entire 20242025 school year at the former Indian Spring Middle School campus while construction was underway. Construction on the new Kendrick Elementary building began in March 2024, with crews working to complete the upgraded facility in time for the new academic year. Now, the school is returning to its original neighborhood in a newly-built facility designed to accommodate the growing student body. We loved our temporary space for sure. And I think this one the size is going to be somewhat of an adjustment, Munoz said. You know, were going from 400-plus to over 700. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The increase in enrollment is partly due to the recent closure of Alta Vista Elementary. Students from that campus will now be split between Kendrick and South Waco Elementary, making the larger building a crucial upgrade. Munoz said returning to the neighborhood is one of the most exciting aspects of the move. That was one of the challenges I think we faced at our temporary home, is because kids had to go so far, she said. Some of them it was kind of a burden. I know transportation did a phenomenal job setting up buses, but things happen. I think being able to walk to school and have that community feel is really going to unite us. Over the summer, faculty and staff will continue moving in and put the final touches on the building ahead of the new school year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. KNOX COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) A man accused of robbing and shooting another man on a Kentucky highway on May 8 was found and arrested on Friday afternoon, according to the Knox County Sheriffs Department (KCSD). The sheriffs department posted on social media that around 8 a.m. on Friday, May 23, deputies got word that Daniel Edwards, 42, of Hinkle, was found in the Turkey area. Letcher County man charged in connection with 2024 death of Whitesburg woman Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KCSD deputies wrote that Edwards had been accused of robbing and shooting another man on May 8 on KY-718 in the Walker community. Around noon on Friday, after roughly four hours of searching in the mountains, law enforcement in Knox County reportedly found and arrested Edwards. He was charged with: First-degree robbery Attempted murder First-degree fleeing or evading police using a motor vehicle First-degree fleeing or evading police on foot Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edwards was lodged in the Laurel County Correctional Center. The highway robbery investigation remains ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. Kim Kardashian finally received justice nine years after she was bound, gagged, and robbed in her Paris hotel room. A French court found eight people connected to the robbery guilty on Friday, handing most of them suspended prison sentences and fines connected to their crimes, CNN reported. However, all of them will walk free on time served after the case was tied up for years in the French court system. Members of the group have been nicknamed the Grandpa Robbers because they are in their 60s and 70s. Kim Kardashian offered forgiveness in her statement responding to the sentencing. / Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case, Kardashian said in a statement following the sentencing. The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kardashian said that she remains committed to legal justice reforman issue for which she has advocated at the White House. While Ill never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all, she said. I remain committed to advocating for justice and promoting a fair legal system. Two other defendants in the trial were acquitted on charges of planning and carrying out the robbery, but at least one was ordered to pay 5,000 ($5,682) in damages to Kardashian and the concierge of the rental apartment building, CNN reported. The sentences are quite lenient; they were thought of a long way away from this serious event, which impacted the civil parties, Judge David De Pas said as he delivered the verdict. You have caused harm, even if you did not strike, if blood has not been shed, you have caused fear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kardashians legal team echoed her diplomatic tone, stating, Kim appreciates the courts decision and once again thanks the French authorities for treating her with great respect throughout the process. It has been a long journey from that terrible night back in 2016 to her standing courageously in a historic Paris courtroom to confront these criminals. The statement added, She looks forward to putting this tragic episode behind her, as she continues working to improve the criminal justice system on behalf of victims, the innocent, and the incarcerated seeking to redeem themselves. The defendants arrived wearing orthopedic shoes and had canes. Several were undergoing treatment for ailments such as cancer and Parkinsons disease. Meanwhile, Kardashian donned a sharp black suit, heels, and diamonds. Her momager, Kris Jenner, was also in tow in a tailored suit. Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner arrive at the Palais de Justice in Paris to recount the details of the October 2016 robbery. / Edward Berthelot / GC Images Last week, Aomar Ait Khedache, the 69-year-old alleged ringleader of the groupwho is deaf, mute, and suffering from a condition that requires him to use the bathroom every hourgave Kardashian an apology note as she took the stand to recount the robbery, the Associated Press reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The past cannot be undone, but I hope that this letter will enable you to gradually forget the trauma you have experienced through my fault, the letter said. Kardashian responded, I forgive you for what had taken place but it doesnt change the emotions, the feeling and the trauma and the fact that my life has forever changed. The verdict was the second good news of the week for Kardashian, who celebrated finishing law school on Wednesday after six years. Prince Harry has made countless headlines after stepping down as a senior royal, from his controversial memoir and legal battle over security to his tell-all interview with the BBC. The royal has since been candid about how these events led to a rift with his family, especially his father, King Charles. But now that the monarch is planning a visit to North America, royal fans can't help but wonder if the father-son duo will have an opportunity to reconnect. On Instagram, His Majesty and Queen Camilla announced that they will travel across the pond next week for a visit to Canada, which means they will briefly be on the same continent as Harry, who currently resides in California with his family. Given that the two haven't seen each other in over a year, could this mean that King Charles will make time to check in on his son? According to PureWow's resident royal expert, Rachel Bowie, it's very unlikely. Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think it's highly doubtful we'll see King Charles reunite with Prince Harry during his visit to Canada this month," Bowie said. "For one thing, Ottawa is thousands of miles from Montecitoif the pair couldnt coordinate a meet-up while Harry was in London for recent events like the WellChild Awards or the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games, both last year, I don't see this being the moment where they finally have a chance to reconnect." Referencing Prince Harry's emotional remarks during his chat with BBC, she added, "Harry's BBC interview is still very much top of mind for the world, but I'm sure especially for Charles. Harry wants a royal reconciliation, but for Charles, theres a continued lack of trust. I'd be thrilled to see them figure out a way to meetand Canada would be the perfect neutral groundbut given the brevity of the king and queens trip and everything else we know, I think it's very unlikely." In case you need a refresher on the recorded interview, the duke opened up about his strained relationship with the king and discussed his desire to reconcile. Harry said, "I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has. He won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the prince has been candid about the state of their relationship in past interviews, King Charles has not addressed this publicly. It may feel like a stretch to predict a happy reunion between the two royals in North America, but here's hoping this painful rift doesn't stretch on for much longer. Want all the latest royal news sent right to your inbox? Click here. Prince Harry Speaks Out About His Kids Archie & Lilibet Not Having Social Media SAN DIEGO (AP) A private plane approaching an airport crashed in a San Diego neighborhood, killing the six people on board, including groundbreaking alternative music executive Dave Shapiro. The crash stunned the heavy metal and hard rock scene that grew out of the punk movement. The music agency that Shapiro cofounded, Sound Talent Group, represented groups like Pierce The Veil, Parkway Drive and Sum 41, while also venturing into more pop acts such as Vanessa Carlton. It could take a year to sort out exactly what happened to the plane, but investigators know there was thick fog, problems with the runway lights and a broken weather alert system, according to Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pilot and passengers died, but no one on the ground was killed or seriously injured. The dead also included a photographer and two young women just starting out in the music industry. Heres what to know about the victims and the crash: Dave Shapiro Shapiro, 42, got into music playing in a band he founded with friends while in high school, called Count with Stars. But it was the connections he made that made him successful, more than the music he played. Shapiro helped bring the underground $10-a-show alternative scene of the 2010s to the mainstream. He also was huge in creating a community, said Mike Shea, founder of Alternative Press Magazine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this music industry, there are just too many people ripping people off and using people, Shea said. Dave was not like that. Shapiro was listed as the planes owner and had a pilots license. Officials have not said who was flying. Kendall Fortner and Emma Huke Fortner, 24, and Huke, 25, joined Shapiro's agency as booking associates after graduating from college, according to bios released by Sound Talent Group, which confirmed both women were on the plane. Fortner was hooked on music from a young age thanks to her father, who took her to concerts, and as a teen showed interest in pursuing it as a career. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Huke, too, knew from a young age that she wanted to work in the industry, and she worked hard to save money to attend concerts and festivals. There was nothing Emma loved more than live music, the agency said. Both Fortner and Huke were good at their jobs, which included planning tours, the agency said. Daniel Williams Williams was a former drummer for The Devil Wears Prada, a popular Ohio metalcore band celebrated for its ability to marry melodic punk rock with metallic detours. When Williams was in the band, thats when they broke out, Shea said. Thomas Gutches, who manages rock bands and artists, recalled Williams' ability to captivate audiences with his drumming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel was putting on a show from his style of playing," he said. Williams band, which had two releases reach the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, was a client of Sound Talent Group. Celina Marie Rose Kenyon Kenyon, 36, was another passenger, according to the coroner's office in San Diego. A spokesperson for Sound Talent Group said she was not an employee. Bryan Charles Feldman, Kenyon's father, said in a statement to AP that she was respected in her career as a professional photographer and was deeply loved by friends and family, including her daughter and her partner. Kenyon had been traveling to photograph and support some longtime friends, Feldman said, and went on the late-night private flight rather than fly commercial so she could get home in time to take her daughter to school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The world has lost a beautiful bright light," he said. Dominic Christopher Damian Also killed was 41-year-old Damian, the coroner's office announced Saturday. A martial arts school in San Diego, The Training Center, said via Instagram that Damian trained there. The gym is hosting an open-mat session in his memory Monday. The crash Headed from New Jersey to San Diego with a fueling stop in Kansas, the plane went down about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from San Diegos Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Eight people on the ground were hurt, none seriously. The Cessna 550 Citation crashed after hitting power lines, Baker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pilot acknowledged to an air traffic controller that the weather was not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport, according an audio recording posted online by LiveATC.net. Airport problems The Federal Aviation Administration posted an official notice that the airport's runway lights were out. The pilot did not discuss that with the controller but did say he knew the its weather alert system was not working. Doesnt sound great, but well give it a go, he told the controller. The fog was so thick around the time of the crash that you could barely see in front of you, Assistant San Diego Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A challenging year for aviation The U.S. had its deadliest plane crash in more than 23 years in January when an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided in Washington, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft. Last month a sightseeing helicopter broke apart and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, killing six people. In early February a small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska, killing all 10 people on board. And in Philadelphia, a medical transport plane plummeted into a neighborhood shortly after takeoff in late January, killing the six people on board and two more on the ground. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) Earlier this week, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon announced she would ask the city council to put a half-cent local option sales tax increase on the November ballot. If approved, the increased sales tax could raise as much as $47 million for things like affordable housing, neighborhood investments, and park improvements. 6 News went out to Market Square to ask people residents their thoughts on the proposal. The proposed increase would raise the current rate of 2.25% to about 2.75%, bringing it in line with several other Tennessee counties. Knoxville mayor announces possible sales tax increase Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initially thinking about it, I think its a good idea. My only concern is when it comes to government, the money doesnt always go where they say its going to go. So if they can show that that money will go to where its supposed to go. Unfortunately, every day Im seeing more and more homeless, and it breaks my heart. So if the money goes to the right place, Im for it, said resident Uri Sankowski. The City of Knoxville has released a breakdown of how the revenue would be spent each year. There would be $10 million allocated for affordable housing, $5 million for facilities and maintenance, $12 million for road paving and greenways, $10 million for parks, and another $10 million for sidewalks and traffic calming. Pigeon River in East TN stocked with 10,000 walleye after Hurricane Helene concerns Im actually a very large advocate for sidewalks, especially in some of the outskirts of towns like Bearden. On the north side of 1-40, theres entire neighborhoods that dont have any sidewalks, said Rachel Young. So if we did have something like that and have affordable housing mixed with that urban improvements, that would be incredible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Groceries would be exempt from the raised sales tax, as well as other significant household expenses like gas, utilities, rent, diapers, and baby formula. With penny blank supplier in Greene Co., leaders respond to treasury halt In general, I oppose it, but if it happens, it happens. And if we see it going towards good things, then I support it, said Chris Adkins. Any time taxes go up, thats not a great thing. But obviously there are programs in situations where we need the money. Mayor Kincannon said the city must invest in its growing needs. I think Knoxville is a very progressive town, and thats part of the reason why I moved here, Young added. Im not from Tennessee, but I really love the vibe and the culture of Knoxville and part of the reason why is because Knoxvillians always love to help people and its the Volunteer State. So why not volunteer a half a cent? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement See more top stories on WATE.com The next step for the proposal will be a City Council workshop that will likely happen next Thursday, allowing the council to become more informed on their decision. The final vote will happen sometime in June and if passed, it will be placed on the November 2025 citywide ballot for voters to decide. Should voters approve the increase, it will take effect starting March 1, 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. DENVER (KDVR) A bill that passed just before lawmakers gaveled out of this years legislative session could be in jeopardy. Industry groups are calling on the governor to veto a measure that supporters said will add more safeguards to a substance called kratom. 2 jailed after traffic stop leads to discovery of meth, suspect with 10 warrants: Police Lawmakers want to make sure people buying kratom products know exactly what theyre getting. Some industry insiders said a bill they passed looking to do that could have unintended consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kratom is an herbal substance that some people use to help relieve things like pain and anxiety; the DEA lists it as a chemical of concern. Some people also use it to help with withdrawals from drugs like opioids or fentanyl. The bill passed on the last day of session this year after a representative used a rarely used maneuver to stop the measure from dying on the calendar and get it on the House floor for a vote. It got bipartisan support from lawmakers in both chambers, but industry opponents of the measure worry the bill is not backed by science, and the measure would end up hurting consumers due to confusion surrounding which products the measure is trying to target. The bill underwent some big changes regarding the regulation of the product, but sponsors said they worry kratom is too easily available without much oversight. What worries me about this bill is that it sets a bad precedent and it creates a framework that is going to have to be basically completely overhauled and reworked for it to create real protections for consumers. I worry this bill is too stringent on certain definitions that dont create meaningful protections or regulations and actually just generate confusion, said Kyle Ray, Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust Board Member. This product that people say can do all these things for them can be bought on the gas station countertop or in your local smoke shop. I think that is really concerning. I think that when we have a product that mimics these things, that can replace these things for people, we need to make sure that we are keeping a close eye on it, said Senator Kyle Mullica, a prime sponsor of the bill. Whats still left in the bill is making sure that it is reported and identified whats in the product? Making sure that we have some potency limits in there, making sure that there are certain synthetic forms are the products that are not going to be sold in Colorado. I think ideally, you know, eventually, we still want to look at licensure, I think thats the ultimate enforcement mechanism, where our fiscal space was this year in the legislature. That wasnt possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some HART members have reportedly urged community members to call for a veto in exchange for products. Mullica called that tactic bribery. Denver sues Trump administration over potential loss of transportation funding The Governors Office has said he will review all the bills that passed this session. He has two weeks to make a decision. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ST. JOHNS, Mich. (WLNS) Two of the remaining residents living in the closed Kristana Mobile Home Park in Dewitt Township were at a Clinton County courthouse Friday afternoon, demanding action and change. Rebecca Jackson and Jason Eldridge claim theyre being illegally evicted. During the hearing, they had a few demandsimmediate restoration of water access, financial compensation, time to relocate, and a state investigation into Ara Darakjian, the property owner. They also want Darakjian to be ineligible for public funding or permits for development projects. The park was shut down on April 1 due to declining occupancy rates and the inability to maintain its infrastructure. Eldridge says they were offered $10,000$15,000 to drop the case. He also says they were given another option of a water tank pump and 30 to 90 days to vacate their home, but they declined both offers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, you know the lawyers and Ara Darakjian and the residents were not able to come to an agreement today, says Kadja Erickson, Executive Director of the Mid-Michigan Tenant Resource Center. So the court hearing has been adjourned. There was no determination made as far as, like, a restraining order to prevent demolition or a court order to have the water turned on. Eldrige says they declined the offers because they didnt want to be pushed out in a short period, and want to keep fighting. The residents and the owner didnt come to an agreement Friday, Erickson says their next hearing is scheduled for June 26. 6 News reached out to Ara Darakjian for comment. A spokesperson for him says the company has been working in good faith with residents to help them relocate. The company also says theyre working on a plan toprovide bottled water to the remaining residents until they moved out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The spokesperson also emphasized that water leaks on the property were costing the company $20,000 a month, so shutting off the water was essential. You can read the full statement from Darakjian below: We have been continuously working in good faith with the Kristana residents to help them relocate, including $2,000 offered to each household to offset their moving expenses. Seven of nine households accepted these funds, yet individuals from two of those seven households have returned to the property and refuse to vacate. We are currently developing a plan to provide bottled water to the three remaining households until they are able to move. In addition, we have refunded all rents paid for April and terminated any further rent charges. Despite our continuous efforts to resolve this matter in a way that is fair to everyone involved, our calls, emails and text messages have gone unanswered by the three remaining households. In addition, because there continues to be some confusion on this point, I will reiterate that after acquiring the property in 2023, we discovered serious deficiencies in the water infrastructure serving the property that were causing a massive amount of water to be lost due to leakage, which has been costing our company over $20,000 per month. We had no choice but to turn off the water to avoid having to pass these costs on to our tenants and to protect against possible public health concerns related to the water supply. Our company is planning to make a major investment in redeveloping the property to provide quality affordable housing for area residents, but we cannot move forward until all remaining tenants have secured new housing. We will continue to work in good faith to ensure that they can successfully relocate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines capital came under a large-scale combined drone and missile attack late Friday with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city. Many Kyiv residents were taking shelter in underground subway stations. The nighttime Russian attack that stretched into early Saturday came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week. The agreement was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least four city districts of the capital, acting head of Kyiv military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on Telegram. According to Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack, which sparked two fires in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prior to the attack, city Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned Kyiv residents of more than 20 Russian strike drones heading toward Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase of the prisoner swap brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russias Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine. Its very important to bring everyone home, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, thanking all who worked to secure their return and pledging to continue diplomatic efforts to make more exchanges possible. Dozens of relatives of prisoners cheered and chanted Thank you! as buses carrying the freed captives arrived at a medical facility in Ukraines Chernihiv region. The men, some with expressionless faces and others unable to contain their emotions, got off the buses wrapped in Ukrainian flags for joyful reunions. Kyiv and Moscow agreed in Istanbul last week to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russias 2022 invasion. That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in U.S.-led efforts efforts to stop the fighting. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds more prisoners Saturday as part of a major swap that amounted to a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire. The exchange came hours after Kyiv came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack and authorities said another combined aerial attack that started Saturday night and stretched into Sunday morning had left three people dead in the Kyiv region, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the Kyiv regional military administration. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there are already 10 injured" is Kyiv as of 3 a.m. Sunday, adding that a student dormitory in Holosiivskyi district was hit a drone and the exterior of one of its walls was on fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russias defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Further releases expected over the weekend are set to make the swap the largest in more than three years of war. We expect more to come tomorrow, Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Russia's defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details. Hours earlier, explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations as Russian drones and missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital overnight. In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A difficult night Officials said Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight while Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralized 245 drones 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare. The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined missile and drone attacks on the capital. A difficult night for all of us, the administration said in a statement. Posting on X, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Posting on X, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke of another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians. These are not the actions of a country seeking peace, Lammy said of the Russian strike. Katarina Mathernova, the European Union's ambassador to Kyiv, described the attack as horrific." If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue read the news, Katarina Mathernova wrote on the social network. Air raid alert in Kyiv The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six Kyiv city districts. According to the acting head of the city's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit with at least five wounded in the area, the administration said. Yurii Bondarchuk, a local resident, said the air raid siren started as usual, then the drones started to fly around as they constantly do. Moments later, he heard a boom and saw shattered glass fly through the air. The balcony is totally wiped out, as well as the windows and the doors, he said as he stood in the dark, smoking a cigarette to calm his nerves while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. The air raid alert in Kyiv lasted more than seven hours, warning of incoming missiles and drones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kyiv's mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, warned residents ahead of the attack that more than 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon. Emergency services were headed to the site, Klitschko said. Separately, 13 civilians were killed on Friday and overnight into Saturday in Russian attacks in Ukraine's south, east and north, regional authorities said. Three people died after a Russian ballistic missile targeted port infrastructure in Odesa on the Black Sea, local Gov. Oleh Kiper reported. Russia later said the strike Friday targeted a cargo ship carrying military equipment. Russias defense ministry on Saturday claimed its forces overnight struck various military targets across Ukraine, including missile and drone-producing plants, a reconnaissance center and a launching site for anti-aircraft missiles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A complex deal The prisoner swap on Friday was the first phase of a complicated deal involving the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. It took place at the border with Belarus, in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said. POWs arrived at the medical facility in the Chernihiv region for a second day on Saturday. But for many their arrival was bittersweet. Those who were not reunited with their loved ones took solace in the released POWs providing some information about when their relatives were last seen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anna Marchenko, the daughter of a missing Ukrainian serviceman, was elated when a released POW said they had seen her father. This is such a big news. Its like a fresh breath of air, she said. I didnt see him, but at least its some news. At least its news that gives us the opportunity to continue to breathe and live in peace." However, the exchange the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians so far did not herald a halt in the fighting. Battles continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the May 16 Istanbul meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a confidence-building measure and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive peace agreement, once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished. Far apart on key conditions Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides 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. Russias Defense Ministry said that overnight and early on Saturday its forces shot down over 100 Ukrainian drones over six provinces in western and southern Russia. The drone strikes injured three people in the Tula region south of Moscow, local Gov. Dmitriy Milyaev said, and sparked a fire at an industrial site there. Andriy Kovalenko, of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said Saturday the drones hit a plant in Tula that makes chemicals used in explosives and rocket fuel. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Ladies and Gentlemen is Pasadena's Sexiest Secret Bar originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Courtesy Ladies & Gentlemen Who doesnt love the novelty of a speakeasy-style secret entrance? Discovering a decadent, hidden-away gem where you can let loose, partake in spirits and forget about the world outside will never lose its appeal, but it also means that the place itself has to live up to the mystery and build-up. Ladies and Gentlemen in Old Town Pasadena does just that and then some from its titillating decor to its open-kitchen style bar, where master cocktail creators are on full display as they prepare whimsical concoctions both thematic and thirst-quenching. Owner Leo Temorys attention to detail and hospitality is unmatched. Not surprising, since the Torrance native and USC business grad grew up in the food and drink business. His familys beloved New York Deli (tagline: a slice of NY in LA) has been a staple in Torrance since 1985 and they added a second sandwich shop in Pasadena in 2010. Temory lived upstairs at the Pasadena location and around 2012, he decided to open the restaurants bar for an after-dark concept called The Speakeasy. It was so popular it took over the entire space two years later. Then in 2017, he opened another speakeasy space with a wine-driven focus called The Cellar. Today, both bars are bona fide hot spots in Old Town. Courtesy Ladies & Gentlemen But Ladies and Gentlemen, tucked inside a basement under a popular pressed juice and craft ice cream food stall hall, is something even more special a celebration of rare liquors and haute hooch, and the people who create it. I collected a lot of high end spirits, like expensive Japanese whiskey, and I said one day I'm gonna have the perfect atmosphere to sell it, with the right glassware, the right service, the right ice says Temory, who imports water from Japan for the latter. I came down here and it was kinda scary and dirty, but it reminded me of the catacombs in Paris. So I just made it sexier and brought my vision to life. Erotic and BDSM art adorns the all black walls along with over 4000 golden skulls. It feels like a private club in a far away land thanks to Temorys exotic inspirations, which come via many travels around the world (he was on the reality competition The Amazing Race three times). The menu features a fun mix of elevated, ethnic bar food: from a heavenly Japanese milk bread served with sweet and savory butters to a salmon crispy rice appetizer, which provides a perfect pairing with L&Gs refreshing libations. Courtesy Ladies & Gentlemen Temory doesnt like the term mixologist he prefers to call his staff "drink designers" or chefs, but whatever you call them they are good at what they do. Sippers like Mistress is Insane (served with a mirror so you can watch yourself go crazy over the beverage) and The Burning Man, (presented with a small wood art manikin set on fire at your table) are just a couple of the playful and potent menu items. Were taking cheffing to another level and offering worldly experiences, says the owner, whos often there to greet guests as they enter through a surprising portal we wont spoil here. Everything here has a story to tell. 59 East Colorado, Pasadena. Reservations recommended: 626-696-3612, ladiesandgentlemenla.com A shorter version of this story appeared in Pasadena Magazine late last year. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 24, 2025, where it first appeared. HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday that his administration has reached a three-year agreement with SEIU 1199 New England that would result in significant wage increases for direct care workers in Connecticuts nursing homes and group homes. Backus Hospital workers hold informational strike amid contract talks The union was prepared to strike, but now have withdrawn its plans. The workers in our nursing homes and group homes provide critical support and care to our most vulnerable residents, and in doing so, deserve salaries that reflect their dedicated work, Lamont said. I am proud to reach an agreement that provides workers with a significant increase in their compensation for the next several years, while also addressing the workforce crisis facing many of our nursing and group homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The union released a statement about the agreement, saying in part: This agreement delivers what caregivers have fought for from day one: major wage increases, better staffing, and real investment in long-term care. After years of being undervalued, nursing home and group home workers are finally being recognized with action, not just words. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) The owner of a two-apartment property where police conducted a raid Tuesday as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation is speaking out. The property owner, who asked not to be named because of concerns related to her ability to travel back to her home country of China, says she notified police about alleged drug activity and began working with them in mid-February a month after she agreed to rent the property to a brother-sister duo. Identities, charges of most in May 20 raid unknown Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rental agreement was signed on Jan. 23. Within weeks, she says neighbors were complaining about increased foot traffic to the second-floor apartment and people she referred to as homeless exiting and entering the property as well as staying there. She provided 6 News with text messages from the Lansing Police Department Special Operations Division. 6 News has removed the identity of the renters, who have not been charged with any crimes, and the identity of an officer from the department. LPD Assistant Chief Eric Pratl declined to confirm the authenticity of the text messages in an email to 6 News on Friday. Any such communication would be part of an active investigation and LPD will not release or comment on it, Pratl wrote. [The landlord] is free to share her messages, but from those screenshots, I cannot confirm the authenticity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City officials confirm that the property was red-tagged on Tuesday night because the basement had been flooded with sewage backup. Difficulties at the property The 68-year-old woman tells 6 News that she was eager to address what she says was drug trafficking. She says neighbors, including the tenants in the downstairs apartment, had been calling police. An increased presence of police patrols occurred, but still, the comings and goings continued. The brother and sister also began to block her entrance to the property. She says she called for police assistance to investigate a higher-than-normal water usage at the property after receiving a call from the Lansing Board of Water and Light advising her to check it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tenants stopped her from entering. Police said it was a civil matter. In another instance, she was able to walk into the property and found it full of people smoking, and a man and a woman in a side room, partially unclothed. Rental certification issues The rental of the property to the brother and sister was done because the landlord says the duo provided her with a sad story. She says they claimed a series of health issues and a need to assist each other. She admits she was incompetent in vetting the couple and renting the property, and says she also lost money on the rental of the two-bedroom apartment. She rents it out for $1200 a month plus $200 for utilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As 6 News reported on May 20, the property was not properly certified as a rental under Lansings Housing Code. She admits thats accurate but notes the story is more complicated. She says she changed inspection dates and meetings with Lansing Code Compliance officials. The reason? She was caring for her ailing husband who has since died. City officials confirm portions of her story. The property owner paid to have a rental inspection done on Sept 13, 2023. She canceled and rescheduled several inspections over the course of nearly 6 months, Scott Bean, city spokesman, wrote in an email to 6 News. When it was finally inspected on Feb 28, 2024, there were several safety violations noted, and she was ordered to make repairs. She then claimed she was unable to access the property to make any repairs due to the tenants. At this time, the property does not have a valid rental certificate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City records show she was sent a failure to register violation by code officials on May 16. The property was red-tagged on May 20 when police reported to code officials that the basement had been flooded with sewage backup. She reports that the furnace and hot water heater have to be replaced due to damage from the sewage backup as well. After the raid Following the May 20 raid that resulted in 9 arrests, the property was red-tagged, but it didnt stop people from returning. On May 21, the landlord and code officials called police back to the property to remove people who were inside. Two people were removed from the home, handcuffed, and transported away by police. Only one person has been identified as facing charges from the raid. Mikhye Bowers, 24, a resident of Lansing and was charged with resisting and obstructing police, with a case pending in district court, Ingham County Prosecutors Office Scott Hughes tells 6 News by email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second arrest tangential to the raid and investigation was also made on May 20. Paul Mollett was arrested after he was identified by undercover officers watching the property in preparation for the raid. He was wanted on a failure to appear bench warrant. After he was arrested, police say he was found to have meth, and was charged in 54-A District Court for possession of methamphetamine. While the property was red-tagged, and was required to be secured to prohibit entry Lansing Code Compliance did not do so. This was done at the request of the property owner. She informed Code that she was going to properly secure the property as soon as possible, Bean, the city spokesman, tells 6 News in an email. As she was being very cooperative, she was allowed to make it secure herself and not incur a board-up fee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The landlord tells 6 News she asked that the property remain open so it could air out from the sewage in the basement. After people were forcibly removed from the property on May 21, she paid someone one to screw the doors shut. Within hours, two men, she says, arrived and used a screw driver to allow them to enter the property. When she called Lansing Police to report breaking and entering at the property, the officer refused to take a report. LPD Assistant Chief Pratl says officers determined no crime had been committed, and therefore there was no report filed. She had to call police again on May 22, later in the day, when she discovered more people in the red-tagged property. Once again, police made a determination that no crime had been committed, and no report was created, Pratl tells 6 News. I am the victim She says she is frustrated that law enforcement didnt move more quickly to end what she says was drug trafficking activity. She notes that code compliance officials can send a property owner a notice for an accumulation of trash or overgrown grass and demand correction within 7 days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now youre telling me it takes three months to get rid of the problems in the community, she says. Are they more severe in terms of the quality of the community than the grass? Ultimately, she feels like she took the action of a responsible citizen and reported what she believed to be criminal activity. She says she participated in the investigation, providing information and support to the LPD Special Operations Division. But now, without support to keep people out of her red-tagged property, she feels disrepected. Im the victim here. Im reporting the crime. Im helping the police officers to keep the community safe. I should be praised, she says. I should be elevated, not make me feel that Im causing trouble, and Im the one that is the troublemaker instead of those that broke into my house. She says she is speaking out because she wants to raise awareness about the harm drug sales and criminal activity are doing to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The thing about it the thing is that if, if the people live in that community, if those people live in the downstairs of my apartment and suffered the same thing as my tenants suffered and suffered the same thing as my neighbor suffers, she says. Would they do something about it? Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. Lost, but not forgotten: Six months after the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office lost three of their own, their memory lives on, thanks, in part, to the Trump family. On Nov. 21, 2024, three road-patrol officers Cpl. Luis Paez and Deputies Ralph "Butch" Waller and Ignacio "Dan" Diaz were killed in a crash along Southern Boulevard west of Wellington, Florida. An SUV trying to avoid hitting another vehicle overcorrected in traffic, driving onto the side of the road and hitting the officers as they stood waiting for help in restarting a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office motorcycle. Paez and Waller died at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach within hours of the crash. Diaz died there four days later. All three men were members of the sheriff's motorcycle patrol team. President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, dignitaries, law enforcement officers and thousands of others attended a memorial service honoring Paez, Waller and Diaz on Dec. 3, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maps show Trump's private club, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach nicknamed the Southern White House or Winter White House because of the amount of time he has spent there during his administration is about 32 miles from the site of the fatal traffic crash. Six months later, Paez, Waller and Diaz were posthumously awarded the first-ever Medals of Sacrifice, intended to recognize officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. The families traveled to Washington, D.C., to accept them. On May 19, during "police week," Trump presented Alexandria Diaz, daughter of Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy Ignacio Dan Diaz, with the Medal of Sacrifice during an Oval Office ceremony. The awkward moment with Trump and the fallen deputy's daughter, as it was dubbed online, went viral on social. Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, and his wife, Fox News host Lara Trump, also attended the Medals of Sacrifice ceremony. On May 24, an episode of Lara Trump's show, "My View with Lara Trump," spotlights Paez, Waller and Diaz and their extensive career as first responders. Lara Trump interviews Rep. Brian Mast (R-Florida) and the family members of the late Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies. Palm Beach County deputy sheriff Luis Paez, 58, died on Nov. 21, 2024, after he and two other deputies were struck by an SUV while preparing to jumpstart a department-issued motorcycle near Loxahatchee. In the episode, Mast explains the idea behind the Medals of Sacrifice: "There's nothing like the Medal of Honor that goes from the president directly to the law enforcement that have given their lives, given the last breath in their lungs or the last beat of their heart." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mast, who represents St. Lucie County and Martin County of the Treasure Coast, said Donald Trump told him to "get it done, get that done." Lara Trump sat down with Cameron Paez and Denise Waller for the May 24 episode, and both shared their feelings about the medals. "It's everything. I mean, the first people that get this medal, we get invited to the Oval Office. It's an honor. I still can't believe it. To have us out here," Cameron Paez says in the interview. Denise Waller agreed: "Absolutely, huge honor. Very touching that he's honored our three guys. And this was police week here in (Washington) D.C. And I met a lot of people who are in the same place I am. And it just made me feel really good to know that moving forward, every single one of them, every single one will be recognized that way." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "My View with Lara Trump," which made its debut in February 2025, airs at 9 p.m. ET Saturdays on Fox News. Contributing: Hannah Phillips, Julius Whigham and James Coleman of the Palm Beach Post Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lara Trump films Fox News episode about 3 fallen deputies from Florida The Trump administrations attempt to prevent Harvard University from enrolling international students spells the presidents "most serious attack on the university to date," a former leader of Harvard and frequent critic of the school said. "It would be devastating if it was allowed to go into effect, not just for the university but for the image of the United States in the world, where our universities in general, and Harvard in particular, have been a beacon," Former Harvard President Larry Summers said in an interview Friday with Politico. More than a quarter of Harvards student body is international. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal judge on Friday blocked the administration from revoking a key certification that allows Harvard to enroll those students, one of a litany of actions the government has taken to exert control over the prestigious school. Summers argued that the loss of international students would diminish entrepreneurship on one of the nations leading campuses, the school that produced numerous scientific leaders who were born abroad. It would make us less secure. After all, World War II was won by scientific innovation done by immigrants to American universities, Summers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard to imagine a greater strategic gift to China than for the United States to sacrifice its role as a beacon to the world, he added. The Trump administration had given Harvard an April deadline to submit detailed records about foreign students or lose the certification to enroll them. Harvard President Alan Garber said in a Friday letter to the school community that it had responded to the request as required by law. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department sought the records, said the schools response was unsatisfactory. The federal government has pinpointed campus antisemitism as the reason for the escalating attacks on Harvard, though legal scholars and higher education community members have disagreed, claiming it is instead going after Harvard as a symbol of higher education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Summers, an economist and former Treasury Secretary who led Harvard from 2001 to 2006, has been a frequent critic of the university. Yet he said the Trump administration has pursued a punitive vendetta against the university and clearly violated Harvards right to due process and protections under the First Amendment. Im certainly someone who has been critical of Harvard on antisemitism, on excessive identity politics, on lack of political diversity, on the need to more vigorously support American national security, he told Politico. But the merits of this case are overwhelming, and Harvard needs to point them out as vigorously as it can, both in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. More Higher Ed Read the original article on MassLive. By Chen Tianhao, Xi Jinyan, Lan Yini (ECNS) The Slovenian side would like to have a coordinated approach to expand the Chinese market and to have Chinas investment and support in high-tech as well as green transition, according to Mr. Matevz Frangez, State Secretary of Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia, during an exclusive interview with China News Network at the 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair held in Ningbo, Zhejiang. As one of the Guests of Honor, Slovenia sent a high-level government delegation, led by Mr. Frangez, featuring 25 enterprises spanning high-end manufacturing, digital technology, and food logistics to Ningbo with a focus on showcasing industrial innovation achievements and investment cooperation projects. Mr. Matevz Frangez, State Secretary of Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia. (Photo: China News Service/Ding Haoyuan) According to Mr. Frangez, under Chinas initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the bilateral trade has been multiplied over the past few years, fully demonstrating the complementarity and sustainability of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Meanwhile, Mr. Frangez also expressed his hope for future China-Slovenia cooperation in new energy vehicles, biotech, aerospace, artificial intelligence and quantum technology. Now, Slovenia is steadily emerging as a new hub for advanced technology R&D and sustainable innovation in Europe, said Mr. Frangez, making it an ideal gateway to 450 million European consumers and 29 million businesses for Chinese partners and investors. He also highlighted the vast potential for bilateral cooperation in areas like new energy vehicles, noting that Slovenia has already established a full supply chain from battery production to vehicle assembly. We welcome Chinese enterprises to set up factories in Slovenia, he said. He also warmly invited Chinese tourists to explore Slovenias natural landscapes and rich culinary culture. Ningbo is a beautiful city, and the expo is full of opportunities, said Mr. Frangez. He attended the 1st China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair in 2019, and is really amazed by what he sees in China in just six years. I see a leap in progress in the technological advancement of your economy, and that is remarkable. In a world undergoing profound transformation, cooperation is needed more than ever, Mr. Frangez said. Slovenia and China have long upheld principles of openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, and Slovenia is ready to work with China to safeguard an open, fair, and rules-based international trade system and jointly promote a more stable and sustainable framework for global economic governance. LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) The Laurel County Sheriffs Office is looking for information about an armed robbery around 1:57 a.m. Friday at Lake Shell off Interstate 75 on KY 770. The sheriffs office said two armed robbers left Lake Shell with an undisclosed amount of money. Laurel County Sheriffs Office Laurel County Sheriffs Office Laurel County Sheriffs Office Laurel County Sheriffs Office Anyone who has information about their identities is asked to call the sheriffs office at 606-864-6600. Tips can also be sent to the Laurel County Sheriffs Office Facebook page or emailed to g.acciardo@laurelcountysheriff.gov. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The office said any information provided will be kept confidential. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Sergei Lavrov on May 24 cast doubt on the Vatican as a possible venue for future peace talks with Ukraine, saying the Catholic seat would not be an appropriate platform for negotiations between two Orthodox Christian nations, Reuters reported. Previously, Pope Leo XIV expressed his willingness to host the next round of peace talks in the Vatican. Several of Ukraine's partners, including the United States, have suggested that the Vatican could become a neutral platform for further negotiations. "Imagine the Vatican as a venue for negotiations," Lavrov reportedly said during a speech at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. It would be a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues on how to remove the root causes (of the war)." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lavrov added that he believed "it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances." Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for peace talks on May 16, failing to reach a ceasefire agreement. During the meeting, Moscow demanded Kyiv withdraw from four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed, despite lacking full control over them. Ukrainian officials said the Russian delegation appeared to lack real authority and was unprepared to negotiate substantive terms. One outcome of the talks was a large-scale prisoner exchange, with 1,000 prisoners returning on each side beginning May 23. Ukraine had also proposed an immediate ceasefire and a potential face-to-face meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin an offer Moscow declined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 18, following the pontiffs inauguration mass. The Ukrainian leader described the pope as "a symbol of hope for peace" and said the Holy See could play an important role in ending the war. The two discussed the return of children forcibly deported by Russia and other humanitarian issues. Zelensky presented Pope Leo with an icon painted on artillery debris from the front lines a gift meant to represent Ukrainian children affected by the war. Before becoming pope, Leo XIV denounced Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine while serving as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru. In his 2022 interview, he described it as "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power." Read also: BREAKING: Ukraine brings home 307 POWs in 2nd phase of major prisoner swap with Russia Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Hello its the weekend. This is The Weekender The fired head of the U.S. Copyright Office is fighting back against the Trump administrations recent attempt to seize control of the Library of Congress, which, as the name suggests, is a legislative branch agency. As TPM has reported, Democrats in the House have already taken some action to raise the alarm after President Trump abruptly fired the Librarian of Congress and then, days later, the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, which is part of the library. Republican leadership, somewhat surprisingly, has even nodded in the direction of acknowledging that Trumps actions concerning the agency embedded within the legislative branch might not be lawful. Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden earlier this month. A few days later the White House fired the director of the copyright office, Shira Perlmutter and the Justice Department announced that one of Trumps closest allies in the DOJ would replace Hayden as acting librarian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The moves are, of course, just one of many actions Trumps executive branch has taken to seize power from the other branches of government that are meant to serve as a check on the Presidents authority. Questions around whether Trump is allowed to fire anyone in the Library of Congress or the U.S. Copyright Office let alone replace them with his cronies in an acting capacity are genuinely murky. Trumps rationale for the overreach is likely threefold, as I see it: Trump, and those around him, are hellbent on testing the limits of his ability to defy the legislative and judicial branches authority. Undermining free thought, ransacking education and attacking academia has emerged as a running theme of his second term. The Trump administration and Republicans generally have emerged as opponents of any effort to check the power of the burgeoning AI industry, or to contend with the threats it poses to intellectual property, education, critical thinking, etc. Just days before Trump abruptly fired Perlmutter, the U.S. Copyright Office had put out a report that was critical of the use of copyrighted material in training generative AI. Perlmutters lawsuit names the following Trump allies as defendants: Todd Blanche, Trumps former criminal defense lawyer and current deputy attorney general who he wants to name as Haydens replacement, Sergio Gor, the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office and Paul Perkins, who Trump wants to replace Perlmutter as register of copyrights. In the suit, she argues that only the Librarian of Congress legally has the power to remove the register of copyrights, not the President, and that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act which the Trump White House is using to justify their power grab only applies to executive branch agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The key excerpt from Perlmutters lawsuit: The Administrations attempts to remove Ms. Perlmutter as the Register of Copyrights are blatantly unlawful. Congress vested the Librarian of Congressnot the Presidentwith the power to appoint, and therefore to remove, the Register of Copyrights. Accordingly, the Presidents attempt to remove Ms. Perlmutter was unlawful and ineffective. Nor can Ms. Perlmutter be removed by Mr. Blanche, whom the President purported to appoint as acting Librarian of Congress. The President has no authority to name a temporary replacement Librarian of Congress, much less name a high-ranking DOJ official whose presence offends the constitutional separation of powers. Although Congress has authorized the President through the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to temporarily fill vacant, high-level positions in an Executive agency, it has not authorized the President to fill temporary vacancies elsewhere, including, as relevant here, the Library of Congress. Instead, Congress chose to authorize the Librarian of Congress to make rules and regulations for the government of the Library, and, pursuant to those rules, interim Principal Deputy Librarian Robert R. Newlen now exercises the powers of the acting Librarian of Congress. And so, another attempt at accountability for Trumps relentless attack on the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution arrives before the courts. Nicole Lafond Heres what else TPM has on tap this weekend: Kate Riga discusses Democrats increasingly disastrous tendency to hold on to power until it is too late. Josh Kovensky shares a theory as to why a bipartisan bill meant to place some soft-touch regulations on crypto has not yet passed the Senate. Hint: Its got something to do with Trumps own crypto schemes. Emine Yucel weighs in on the shocking news this week that RFK Jr. doesnt think hell be able to find the cause of autism by September after all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets dig in. Politicians Need To Stop Making Us Wrangle With Their Private Suffering Days after Joe Biden released his aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis and hours after Rep. Gerry Connollys (D-VA) office announced his death, those on the left are wrestling with a familiar knot of feelings: empathy for the suffering of the men and their families, and frustration that the end of their lives is defined by an insistence on grasping power, no matter the ramifications of doing so in their diminished and declining state. I experienced this most personally a few years ago, when I was covering a round of Senate Judiciary hearings. The late Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was still the chair, shortly before her death in office. The committee had taken a brief recess, and I was headed to the bathroom. I ended up behind Feinstein and a staff member who was physically supporting her as she walked down the hallway and telling her, in the tone of a loving caregiver, that she only had one round of questioning to go and that the staffer had prepared a snack to make sure her blood sugar levels didnt dip. Feinsteins diminishment was on clear display by that point. Reporters let her walk by unmolested in the hallways, feeling that peppering her with the daily gamut of questions was something akin to abuse. People on the left had started clamoring for her to step down as chair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its profoundly uncomfortable to meet human suffering with political recriminations. But its also required when those suffering refuse to turn over the keys of this countrys leadership while in the throes of it. Connolly ran to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, citing his seniority and despite his ongoing struggle with esophageal cancer sidelining Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), claiming one of the few positions of messaging power the minority has at a time when Democrats are consistently drowned out. Bidens misdeeds on this front are numerous and more profound, in line with the power of the office he sought and held. His seeking of a second term, perhaps even his seeking of a first term where party leadership and the pandemic helped him notch a victory he didnt have to perform for displayed a wrongheaded conviction that communication skills, as candidate and as president, lag far behind governing talents in importance. I know many Democrats who felt acute pain watching a man many of them felt great affection for crumple under his age, to be browbeaten out of the race three months before the election. He left his vice president an impossible task, and has regularly disrespected her since she failed to pull it off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last eight lawmakers who died in office were Democrats. Three of them died this year, just as the party is having an ongoing debate about how to confront Trump and, relatedly, the gerontocracy of its leadership. There are human reasons that these lawmakers struggle to give up their positions of power and relevance, to resign themselves to their twilight years in a country that disrespects and disregards its elderly. But voters elected them to serve the public, not to cling to power until their bodies literally give out from under them. Many liberals find Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to be disappointing, or at least anachronistic too mild, too amiable, too enamored with bipartisanship to be an effective steward of the committee Feinstein was forced to give up (Durbin also snatched the gavel from Sheldon Whitehouse, a more punacious colleague). But, at the very least, Durbin saved us from this experience. We wont have to play doctor with a diagnosis, track the slowing of his gait, cringe at his increasing confusion, treat him, a man with unusual power and privilege, with kid gloves. By bowing out granted, at the advanced age of 80 he has chosen to age in private, ideally, even with grace. More Democrats should follow his lead. And if they wont, at least some of them will be forced out through the political process, a painful end to many careers that were initially premised on serving and bettering the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kate Riga Why Not Thursday? On the GOP side, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has taken the lead on crypto. Shes appeared at events with industry CEOs, shes sponsored the leading legislation aimed at regulating the industry with a light touch. She even combined crypto boosterism with MAGA fealty by introducing a bill that would codify Trumps idea of a strategic crypto reserve. Her analogue on the Democratic side has largely been Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), though Gillibrands been joined in her more muted-but-still-substantial show of support by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). Gillibrand and Lummis appeared at an event this month hosted by a crypto advocacy coalition where they traded praise over the GENIUS Act, the first major crypto regulatory bill under real consideration by Congress, and offered expectations of its passage. Both expected it to pass; Lummis offered a timeframe: by Memorial Day. The audience cheered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Memorial Day no longer seems to be the plan. The Senate goes into recess next week. After clearing a key procedural vote this week, the GENIUS Act is not yet law. There may be any number of reasons for that, but one Senate interlocutor of mine offered an entertaining theory: last night, Trump held a dinner for the top holders of his personal coin, $TRUMP. It would have looked too unseemly to pass a bill that will allow him to enrich himself further in crypto within a few days of his buck-raking dinner. Josh Kovensky Turns Out RFK Cant Find The Cause Of Autism By September Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is casually walking back his big promise: that he and his team would find out the cause of autism by September. (Cue in Cilla Black) Surprise! Surprise! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RFK Jr. says the new deadline would be sometime in March of next year. We will have some studies completed by September, and those studies will mainly be replication studies of studies that have already been done, the HHS Secretary told CNNs Kaitlan Collins this week. Were also deploying new teams of scientists, 15 groups of scientists. Were going to send those grants out to bid within three weeks. RFK Jr. added that he thinks replication studies will be finalized around six months after September. As I said, were going to begin to have a lot of information by September. Were not going to stop the studies in September, he added. Were going to be definitive. And the more definitive you are, the more it drives public policy. Thats rich from the guy who already, without any proof, claimed earlier this year that rising rates of autism are caused by environmental toxins in food and medicine. Emine Yucel A devastating crash that deemed a beloved riverfront restaurant a total loss in 2019 reopened recently after six years of reconstruction. The Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club, known for its scenic views of the Ohio River from Northern Kentucky and live music, announced via a Facebook post on May 22 that they plan to welcome back customers this Memorial Day weekend. After a barge crashed into the restaurant in 2019, the main dining area sank and sent pieces onto the banks of the Ohio River with tables, chairs and umbrellas floating upriver. Damages to the building and surrounding boats were believed to be upwards of thousands of dollars and promoted the immediate closure of the yacht club. Since then, Ludlow Bromley has been teasing guests with the reopening for several months, posting updates about the possible revitalization on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While it fully reopened Friday, May 23, the restaurant and bar is "still a work in progress" and will only be accepting cash until further notice. "It might not be the final product there will always be more 'finishing touches' and new nicknacks to add to our walls. But we cant wait to finally have everyone on board again! Let's make up for lost time." reads the Facebook post. According to its website, Ludlow Bromley is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 11 p.m. on Sundays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. It is closed on Mondays. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club reopens after devasting barge crash To the editor: I just spent a year and four months making a film at Harvard, the third film I've made there in the past seven years. I worked closely with faculty and undergraduates, including international students, on two of those projects. The accusations against Harvard by President Trump via Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are complete nonsense ( Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students, May 22). Never in my life have I had the good fortune to be immersed in such a welcoming, stimulating place of scholarship and resources for learning about every subject one can imagine. It's obvious that Trump is throwing every weapon in his arsenal at Harvard for one reason only: Harvard defied his strong-arm attempt to tell the university whom to admit, whom to hire and what to teach. If Harvard succeeds in retaining its intellectual freedom, Trump will be revealed as an emperor with no clothes. He put himself in a position where he can't back down. He's made all-out war his only option. This is a defining moment for America. "Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country, Noem belligerently threatened. If Trump succeeds in crushing Harvard, all other American institutions of learning, science and humanities will be at risk. Harvard has a unique reservoir of legal and financial resources, but it can't withstand the power of the United States government alone. All universities must unite in defying Trump's absurd, malevolent demands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peter Coonradt, Redlands .. To the editor: Trump is clearly hostile to elite private universities, but his antipathy toward Harvard stands out. It seems the motivation is to destroy Harvard. Why? Perhaps the president, known for holding grudges and wanting revenge, has a reason specific to Harvard. We know he attended Fordham, then transferred to Penn, an Ivy League school. What we don't know is where else he applied, only to be rejected, 60 years ago. Harvard? Richard Merel, Hermosa Beach .. To the editor: Trump and Noem couldnt care less about the safety of Jewish students. They care deeply about dissent. We are on a very slippery slope. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patrick Mauer, Pasadena .. To the editor: As a former U.S. foreign student in Asia and a Fulbrighter in Canada, I'd hate to see other nations reciprocate in kind. T.D. Proffitt, Santa Ana This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Presidential oath or not? President Trump betrayed his oath of office by pretending not to understand his job. In January 2025 (and January 2017), Trump took the presidential oath, pledging allegiance to the Constitution: I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Less than four months later, Trump either forgot his solemn obligation or never meant it. When asked by journalist Kristen Welker whether he agrees with Secretary of State Rubio that everyone citizens and noncitizens deserves due process, he replied, I dont know. Im not, Im not a lawyer. I dont know. Welker reminded him that the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution ensures due process. He repeated that he doesnt know. Finally, when given a chance to correct himself and speak directly about his obligation, he again showed his failure to do his job, formalized in his public oath of office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked, Dont you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president? he replied I dont know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me ... Democracy cannot survive when the president openly dismisses the Constitution, the foundation of our great nation and when Republican sycophants, who took similar oaths, allow such violations to go unchecked. We must act before our Constitution is meaningless. Marilyn Goldfarb, Boalsburg Spay/neuter your animals To people in Bellefonte and adjoining Spring Township (and of course everyone): Please, please spay/neuter your animals. We are trying to get friendly with a litter of kittens so that we can get them fixed, checked and adopted before they are too feral. But there is another litter just a couple houses away! These are adorable, I know, but the mom and kittens need to be fixed so that there is not an endless supply of feral cats and hawk feed. This is a litter of five kittens they seem quite healthy, but we dont need another five feral cats around here. We dont mind if you let your cat roam this seems quite natural but get them spayed/neutered. Centre County PAWS can help with vouchers to save of the cost involved. Thank you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deborah Gabriel, Bellefonte Penn State BOT doesnt trust alumni Recently, the Penn State Board of Trustees amended their procedure for electing alumnus representatives, supposedly to make it easier for alumni to run. But nominations will now go through a nominations committee to see if the candidates are qualified. Trustee Gursahaney stated: We need the right kind of people on the board. The right kind of people? Does that mean that the people we have chosen as alumni are not the right kind of people? I guess the board does not trust the alumni to decide who should be eligible to represent them. Let that sink in. The board does not trust the alumni to make decisions that are in the best interests of this great university. Shame! Shame! This may well be due to the recent disagreements between some alumni representatives and the executive board. Disagreements and disputes are not always a bad thing. As NCISs Gibbs notes in his Rule 51: Sometimes youre wrong. Disagreements often help a board make better decisions. Though I was president of a award-winning alumni chapter, among many other alumni positions, I suspect I would not be considered the right kind of person, as I have voiced my displeasure in the past with some board decisions. Thus, my giving has and will go elsewhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kenneth B Gilbert, Columbus, Ohio Trump administration hasnt made us safer The recent column crediting President Trump for a reduction in gun violence misrepresents both the facts and the recent actions of this administration. Gun homicides dropped 38% by the end of 2022, as significant investments in violence prevention programs began. This administration taking credit before they even took office is insulting to the community leaders who hit the streets to save lives. Here are the facts: Trump eliminated the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, a hub for coordinating national strategies to reduce shootings and save lives. He reversed restrictions that kept guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. His administration cut grants to community violence organizations many in Pennsylvania. These actions didnt make us safer they made us more vulnerable. And, he recently ended a policy that held licensed gun dealers accountable when they knowingly violated public safety laws potentially putting firearms in the hands of domestic abusers and individuals with a violent criminal record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Where will we be a year from now? The evidence suggests fewer graduations, more funerals. Fewer birthday parties, more empty chairs. We warned that Trumps rollback of common-sense protections threatens to flood communities with more firearms, reduce oversight and gut valuable community programs. This is a fact: enforcement of background checks and investment in community violence intervention are the keys to lasting safety. We should not thank a man who dismantled the protections we overwhelmingly support. If we want to keep crime rates trending down, we need leaders who put evidence, lives ahead of ideology. Adam Garber, Philadelphia. The author is the executive director of CeaseFirePA. A Liberal Democrat councils low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) may be against the law, campaigners have said. Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) council has been warned that it faces legal action if it presses on with an experimental LTN in Baths Sydney Place area. Councillors have pledged to make the scheme permanent, claiming it provides environmental and safety benefits. But after the High Court struck down a similar scheme in Lambeth earlier this month, Bath residents are now threatening legal action against the local authority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It comes after Nigel Farages Reform UK party pledged to axe LTNs in all of the councils it controls and to block new ones. An LTN is where streets are blocked off to traffic. Advocates of such schemes say they improve air quality and make road safer for pedestrians. The schemes can be hugely unpopular because they often drive up traffic congestion on neighbouring roads. Locals next to an LTN elsewhere in Bath measured a 700 per cent increase in traffic passing a nearby primary school. Nigel Farages Reform has pledged to axe LTNs in all of the councils it controls and to block new ones - X The United Sydney Unliveable Neighbourhoods Group (Unsung) has instructed a lawyer to write to the council, asking it to withdraw the LTN because it failed to listen to local objections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First installed under a so-called experimental traffic restriction order, the Sydney Place LTN was originally meant to be temporary while council officials assessed if it was worth keeping. A failure by Lambeth Council, in the London boroughs West Dulwich area, to listen to residents concerns led to an LTN being declared unlawful by a High Court judge earlier this month. Lambeth officials may now have to rip out the obstructions blocking roads that have been subjected to the LTN something that Bath campaigners now hope they can force their council to do. Neil McCabe, a spokesman for Unsung, said: B&NES has a track record of ignoring residents groups concerns when it implements ill-thought-out LTNs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The West Dulwich court case has now established that doing so is illegal. B&NES now needs to reverse any LTN with less than 50 per cent support from all affected residents, not just the few benefitting from the LTN. Unsungs letter, seen by The Telegraph, alleges that the western England councils actions are exactly paralleled by how the London council behaved towards residents. Skewed consultation process People living near the LTN expressed mistrust in the councils skewed consultation process and separately petitioned the local authority to abandon the scheme. A total of 779 locals are said to have objected to the Sydney Place LTN, with the letter adding: Of note is that a greater number of residents took the time to sign the formal objections than voted for the LTN in the official consultation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Manda Rigby, the councils cabinet member for transport, vowed to install further LTNs with no further say for local residents. She said in a YouTube video last year: We are very aware that there are strong feelings both for and against the experimental traffic regulation order and we have really carefully considered whether or not to reconsult, before relaying the new experimental traffic regulation order. Weve decided against this, because over the last 18 months, we have designed, in consultation with our communities, four schemes that are all going to go to trial, so we can monitor what impact they have before we actually decide whether or not to make them permanent. Her vow could now bring the council into conflict with the High Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ruling against Labour-controlled Lambeth council earlier in May, Mr Justice Smith said the authority was guilty of a serious failing after it ignored an impressive report that warned street closures in south London could lead to increased congestion and pollution. He also found the local authority had given a masterclass in selective partial reporting after a council document failed to record how a public consultation about the West Dulwich LTN engendered tremendous hostility from local people. A spokesman for Bath and North East Somerset council said: We have received correspondence and are considering it but will make no further comment at this stage. 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. Is this the end of the Western democratic idea? Watching the run of events, it would seem reasonable to conclude that the concept itself the democratic nation state is now in terminal crisis. The countries that embodied its principles, sometimes incorporating them in binding documents and legal systems, are losing credibility with their own populations whom they were designed to serve. The governments of the power bloc, which had seemed to be impregnable after having won the ideological argument of the 20th century, are falling into disrepute by failing to fulfil an implicit promise to their electorates of constant progress. Many of them are literally going broke in the pursuit of what was supposed to be the optimal solution to the problem of societal organisation: the perfect balance of individual freedom and personal responsibility. How has it come to this? The political leaders of the day are so witless and mediocre that electorates are drawn in their desperation to dangerous extremists. In Europe, neo-fascist parties such as Germanys AfD, which should be regarded in the post-war world as untouchables, are on the rise, and the US perhaps the most self-conscious incarnation of the Enlightenment ideal has elected a president who talks like a belligerent twelve-year-old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why, having won the Cold War, has the political leadership of the West gone into such catastrophic decline? It is important to recall that, in Europe, there has been a quite deliberate running down of the basic rule that elected governments should be directly accountable to their own voters. The European Union was formed in the wake of the horrendous 20th-century rise of elected dictators, with the conscious intention of reducing the power of national governments. There was an explicit, well-documented decision to see to it that the unreliable will of the people should never again be permitted to put murderous criminals in power. That, and not the undermining of the US as Donald Trump appears to believe, was the real objective of the European project which began with the European Coal and Steel Community: an economic agreement designed to ensure that France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands could never go to war with one another again. There would be new supra-national institutions and legislative bodies created which would be out of the reach of public opinion with its dangerous volatility and inchoate hatreds. Electoral democracy was to be replaced by a permanent benign oligarchy of appointed bureaucrats. But the British electorate, perhaps because its courageous history of standing against fascist regimes was so exemplary, was instinctively hostile to this reinvention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My own reason for supporting Brexit was (and still is) precisely this: you should elect the people who make your laws. Once that sacred principle is abandoned, the whole edifice of democracy is bound to become a sham, and the quality of the politicians who participate in it will inevitably decline. But removing ourselves from the post-democratic EU has not, alas, made us immune from the collapse of confidence that seems to have infected the whole of what was once known as the Free World. British politics is now often described as being nothing more than managerialism: a passionless morass of pragmatic (but not necessarily effective) adjustments to a system run by faceless officials, which maintains the same assumptions and objectives of whoever is nominally in power. The occasional disruption from an ideological direction only has influence if it falls within the acceptable bounds of current discourse which, oddly, can include some quite bizarre social extremes such as the trans movement. But these are eccentric side issues that are tolerated precisely because they have little bearing on the fundamental questions of how, for example, the economy is organised. In fact, it is precisely the decadent triviality of most of the concerns that dominate public life that is the real giveaway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are not arguing about serious things anymore because there is a consensus about what government is for, which rules out even the voicing of doubt about its precepts. In the UK, for example, it is not even possible to raise the question of whether an entirely state-funded healthcare system is sustainable even though other sorts of arrangements are commonplace in most of Europe. So why has the modern democratic nation state, with a government directly accountable to its own population, become unworkable? Perhaps when democracy became identical with democratic socialism? After the Great Depression and the Second World War, there was an identifiable shift in the function of government. It was no longer sufficient to offer internal protection from criminality and external protection from foreign enemies, or to guarantee individual rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Government was to be seen now not simply as the guardian of existing human inclinations but as an active redistributor of advantages and resources. This is often described as a shift from the principle of equality of opportunity to equality of outcome which sounds, semantically, not all that profound a change. In fact, it is enormous. It reconstructs the entire project of the state and puts a staggering amount of power and responsibility in the hands of government, which is now the effective owner of all the wealth that is produced in the society. Meritocracy which had been one of the most important pillars of democratic life becomes the enemy of equality rather than an advantage for society as a whole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For some people to be more talented, or resourceful, or strong-willed than others is cast, by definition, as unfair. But penalising them in order to equalise the condition of those without their capabilities, makes the nation less productive and creative and so it becomes poorer. The people no longer have moral authority over their elected rulers because private, individual desires and concerns are a danger to the collective good, which can only be established by the state, the sole arbiter of fairness. Eventually this could only end in one way: a system that penalises those who create wealth (or the opportunity to create it) in order to support the unproductive, will go bust and discredit the political system that presided over it. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. May 23LIMA Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith said she was proud the city was being recognized for having a lower cost of living following a study from SmartAsset. The study found that from 2023 to 2024, Lima's cost of living fell more than any other city in America to 7.2 percent below the national average. "This recognition reaffirms what we here in Lima have always known our city is a great place to live, with a range of amenities, access to exceptional healthcare and remarkable affordability." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President and CEO of Allen Economic Development Group Cindy Leis praised the news but said a low cost of living is only one factor that contributes to a growing economy. "Having a low cost of living can attract workers, but that might not be the only factor that matters," she said. "Those jobs have to have a good income so their dollar can be stretched a little further. Sometimes this can be a good attraction for those workers that have a remote position so I can see that having an advantage, but it works best combined with a strong job opportunity and amenities." Smart Asset used data for essentials like housing, utilities, transportation and medical costs and compared the average costs in 2023 and 2024 for 240 cities with available data to find that Lima's 4.4 percent decrease in costs was better than other cities like Colorado Springs, Colorado; Alexandria, Virginia; and Spokane, Washington. Improving affordable housing and the cost of living in Lima has been at the forefront of Smith's agenda since taking office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "While this is exciting news for our residents and a testament to our collective efforts, it's also a reminder of the work that still lies ahead," she added. "A lower cost of living creates opportunity, but it must be matched with continued investments in the quality of life for all who call Lima home. That means increasing the supply of quality housing at all price points, and ensuring access to good-paying, sustainable jobs. "This ranking is a welcome milestone, but it is not our finish line. We remain committed to building a Lima that is inclusive, vibrant and full of opportunity for every resident." For more information on the study, visit bit.ly/4ktn9r7. Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399. Featured Local Savings VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Leo XIV made plenty of enemies helping dismantle a powerful Catholic movement whose leaders physically, sexually, spiritually and psychologically abused members. As Leo's past record of handling clergy sexual abuse cases comes under scrutiny, victims of the now-disgraced group are stepping up to defend him. These survivors say that starting in 2018, when Robert Prevost was a bishop in Peru, he met with them. He took their claims seriously when others did not. He got the Vatican involved and worked concretely to provide financial reparations for the harm they had endured. They credit him with helping arrange the key 2022 meeting with Pope Francis that triggered a Vatican investigation into the group, known as the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, that resulted in its suppression earlier this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What can I say about him? That he listened to me, said Jose Rey de Castro, a teacher who spent 18 years in the Sodalitium as the personal cook for its leader, Luis Fernando Figari. It seems obvious for a priest. But thats not the case, because the Sodalitium was very powerful. A conservative army for God Figari founded the Sodalitium in Peru in 1971 as a lay community to recruit soldiers for God. It was one of several Catholic societies born as a conservative reaction to the left-leaning liberation theology movement that swept through Latin America starting in the 1960s. At its height, the group counted about 1,000 core members and several times that in three other branches across South America and the United States. It was enormously influential in Peru and has its U.S. base in Denver. Starting in 2000, stories about Figaris twisted practices began to filter out in Peru when a former member wrote a series of articles in the magazine Gente. A formal accusation was lodged with the Lima archdiocese in 2011 but neither the local church nor the Holy See took concrete action until former member Pedro Salinas and journalist Paola Ugaz exposed the practices of Sodalitium in their 2015 book Half Monks, Half Soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2017, a report commissioned by the groups new leadership determined that the charismatic Figari was narcissistic, paranoid, demeaning, vulgar, vindictive, manipulative, racist, sexist, elitist and obsessed with sexual issues and the sexual orientation of SCV members. The report found that Figari sodomized his recruits and forced them to fondle him and one another, that he liked to watch them experience pain, discomfort and fear, and humiliated them in front of others to enhance his control over them. Yet when members found the courage to escape and denounce the abuses they suffered, they say they often met a wall of silence and inaction from the Peruvian Catholic hierarchy and the Holy See. Both were slow to act against a movement that had been formally approved by St. John Paul II's Vatican, which had looked fondly on conservative, wealthy movements in Latin America, like the similarly-disgraced Mexican-based Legion of Christ. Prevost stands out But not Prevost, whom Francis made bishop of Chiclayo, Peru in 2014 and later was elected vice president of the Peruvian bishops conference. He headed the bishops commission created to listen to victims of abuse, and became a critical bridge between victims and Sodalitium, the victims say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rey de Castro, the former Figari cook who got out in 2014 and now teaches public policy to Peruvian police, turned to Prevost in 2021. He had been critical of a 2016 Sodalitium reparations program that, according to the group, provided some $6.5 million in academic, therapeutic and financial support to nearly 100 Sodalitium victims over the years. He and Prevost met in the offices of the Peruvian bishops conference and stayed in touch via text message up until Prevost's election as pope. From the start, Rey de Castro said, Prevost was very clear in saying For me, Sodalitium doesnt have a charism, the church term for the fundamental inspiration and reason for a religious movement to exist. After their 2021 meeting, Prevost helped arrange a confidential settlement with Sodalitium, he said. For Prevost to get the Sodalitium to do something just was exceptional, which was more or less what happened, he said in an interview in Lima. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salinas and Ugaz, for their part, say Prevost also stepped in when the Sodalitium started retaliating against them with legal action for their continued investigative reporting on the group. After the Sodalitiums archbishop of Piura, Jose Eguren, sued Salinas in 2018 for defamation, Prevost and the Vaticans ambassador to Peru helped craft a statement from the Peruvian bishops conference backing the journalists. It was the first time that anyone had done anything against the Sodalitium publicly, Ugaz said. And not only did they make this declaration, but they communicated with Francis, told him what was happening and Francis got mad. Ugaz and Salinas provided years of emails, text messages and anecdotes dating back to 2018 to demonstrate how committed Prevost was to the cause of the Sodalitium victims. While not all his initiatives succeeded, Prevost stepped in at critical junctions. I assure you I share your concern and we are looking for the best way to get the letter directly to the pope, Prevost wrote one victim Dec. 11, 2018, about getting a letter from Sodalitium victims to Francis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will continue working so that there is justice for all those who suffered at the hands of Sodalitium, Prevost wrote another victim on Dec. 23, 2018. I ask forgiveness for the errors of the church. After the Sodalitium criticism accelerated against Ugaz and Salinas, Prevost helped arrange for Ugaz to meet with Francis at the Vatican on Nov. 10, 2022, during which she laid out her findings and convinced Francis to send his top sex crimes investigators to Peru. Their 2023 investigation uncovered physical abuses including with sadism and violence, sect-like abuses of conscience, spiritual abuse, abuses of authority including the hacking of Ugazs communications and economic abuses in administering church money. The probe also identified a publicity campaign some Sodalitium members had mounted against critics. The investigation resulted in Francis taking a series of initiatives, starting with the April 2024 resignation of Eguren which Prevost handled. It continued with the expulsion of Figari, Eguren and nine others, and finally the formal dissolution of the Sodalitium in April this year, just before Francis died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Sodalitium has accepted its dissolution, asked forgiveness for the mistreatment and abuse committed within our community and for the pain caused the entire church. With sorrow and obedience, we accept this decision, specifically approved by Pope Francis, which brings our society to an end, the group said in an April statement after the decree of dissolution was signed. There was no reply to an email sent to the group with specific questions about Prevost's role. Prevost now a target Leos record of handling sex abuse cases while he was an Augustinian superior and bishop in Peru has come under renewed scrutiny since his election May 8. And overall, one of the biggest challenges facing historys first American pope will be how he addresses the clergy abuse scandal, which has traumatized thousands of people around the world and devastated the Catholic hierarchys credibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea Prevost might have enemies as a result of his tough line against the Sodalitium was crystalized in a recent podcast hosted by Salinas on Perus La Mula streaming platform. Salinas dedicated most of the hourlong episode to reading aloud seven years of glowing correspondence between Sodalitium victims and Prevost. But he also said Prevost had become the target of a defamation campaign asserting he covered up for abusers. Salinas blamed the campaign on Sodalitium's supporters trying to discredit the new pope. One of the cases in question is Prevosts handling of abuse allegations made in 2022 by three sisters against one of his priests in Chiclayo. The diocese and Vatican say Prevost did everything he was supposed to do, including restricting the priest's ministry, sending a preliminary investigation to the Vaticans sex crimes office, offering psychological help to the victims and suggesting they go to Peruvian authorities, who archived the case because it happened too long ago. Nine days after Peruvian authorities closed the case, Prevost was named to head the Vatican's office for bishops and left the diocese. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Vatican archived the case for lack of evidence, but it was reopened in 2023 after it gained traction in the media. Victims groups are demanding an accounting from Leo. Salinas, Ugaz and even some in the Vatican believe Sodalitium supporters fueled publicity about the case and its reopening to discredit Prevost. They note that the victims lawyer is a former Augustinian antagonist of Prevost who has since been defrocked and barred from presenting himself as a canon lawyer in Peru. So, when I read about Prevosts alleged cover-ups, something doesnt add up, Salinas told AP. Rocio Figueroa, another Sodalitium victim who now works as a researcher and theologian in New Zealand, concurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is very strange if someone is so strong and honest to do like that with victims of Sodalitium and not do it with other victims, she said. Anne Barrett-Doyle, of the online abuse database BishopAccountability.org, said even if the Chiclayo case is being exploited by Sodalitium supporters, it doesnt mean that he handled the case correctly. Both things could be true: that then-Bishop Prevost acted valiantly on behalf of the victims of the Sodalitium and that he didnt do nearly enough to investigate the allegations in Chiclayo, she said. Signing off his podcast, Salinas read aloud a WhatsApp message he had exchanged with Prevost on Oct. 16, 2024, when he warned him to beware of retaliation from the group. I have it very much on my mind, Prevost wrote back. ___ Briceno reported from Lima, Peru. ___ 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. If you didn't know, President Donald Trump (a billionaire) appointed Howard Lutnick (another billionaire) to be Secretary of the Department of Commerce, aka his head advisor on all things economics. So far, Lutnick has had numerous instances of being "out of touch" with the experiences of everyday Americans. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images Most recently, Secretary Lutnick has gone viral for his statements at an Axios event, where he claimed that "no pain" has been felt from Trump's tariffs. He then asked for the live audience's reassurance of that claim, but it seriously backfired. "You go to the store now, you feeling the pain of tariffs?" Lutnick asked the live audience. "No," he said, answering his own question. "Why not? Because there is no pain." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What happens is, the producers, the sellers, and the currencies change, and the price, effectively, mostly, goes away." Related: From Kamala Harris Back In '01 To Joe Biden As A Youngish Man, Here's What 11 Politicians Looked Like Back In The Day "Seriously...do any of you feel anything?" Lutnick asked again, not waiting for an answer. "'Cause in the month of May, the United States is going to take in $35 billion towards our deficit of tariff revenue, in the month of May." "And consumers will feel that?" the host asked Lutnick. "Well, I said, it's already on! This is on since April. So, it's not that the tariff is coming, it's already on." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: People Are Obsessed With Pope Francis's Final, Resounding Message To JD Vance After His Visit To The Vatican "Have any of you felt any of it? Seriously?" Lutnick asked the audience again. "Yes," the audience said in unison. *Awkward silence* Well, a clip of the awkward moment is making the rounds on X, and people have A LOT to say about it: Lutnick: You go to the store now, are you feeling the pain of tariffs? No, because there is no pain. Do any of you feel anything? Seriously. Audience: Yes pic.twitter.com/gjbFcBzKAC Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) May 22, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twitter: @SpencerHakimian "Gotta love billionaires telling everyday Americans theyre not actually feeling the pain of high prices in the grocery store," one person wrote. "It hilarious how he looks shocked when the audience says yes." "This rich scumbag is completely disassociated with the average American experience and is also in charge of commerce awesome." What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. Also in In the News: An Ad Against Far-Right Voters Is Going Viral For Being Both Terrifying And (Kinda) Accurate Also in In the News: People Are Sharing Their Honest Opinions Of Elon Musk, And Boy, This Is Brutal Also in In the News: 15 Extremely Difficult Things People Do Not Understand About The United States, And, Honestly, They Got A Point DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN)A food bank is preparing to ramp up efforts to help needy families after a local paper mill announced its closure is set for later this year. The average American citizen is two paychecks away from needing help from a food bank, Wiregrass Food Bank Assistant Director Julie Gonzalez said. I know that those folks are going to be in need, so were going to rise to the occasion as well. Earlier this month, hundreds of Wiregrass residents were informed that their lives would be significantly impacted after the announcement that the Georgia Pacific Cedar Springs Containerboard mill would shut down its operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Effectively cutting over 530 positions by the end of August. With hundreds of families and their livelihoods facing unexpected changes, the Wiregrass Food Bank is looking to continue providing food for their tables. However, they are calling for continued community support to ensure their mission is possible. Were going to need more food to give out to our more than 100 agencies who are spread out through our six-county service area, Gonzalez said. However, providing for the hundreds of families impacted by the mills closure wont be easy. In addition to trying to ramp up food intake and other efforts for said families, the Wiregrass Food Bank is also tasked with dealing with children getting out for the summer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the families who are really struggling, when you take away those free breakfasts, you take away those free lunchesthats a lot of food loss, Gonzalez said. The food bank stressed that families should not panic at this time. Organizers say the food bank has a plan to handle the anticipated increase in demand for food, but it starts with the continued donations from the community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) Leah Spann, 17, is graduating from Savannah Early College High School as a junior, and her bevy of accomplishments and natural abilities in the classroom have earned her a free ride to college. Ive always been told Im pretty smart, said Leah. Pretty smart to the tune of 24 college acceptance letters and $572,322 awarded in scholarship money. Leah knew she wanted to graduate early and receive a high-level college education as far back as middle school. She put herself on the trajectory to do so, involving herself in a myriad of extracurricular activities and even creating her own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I started the debate club at my school. We didnt have one before, she said. On a pre-law path with a goal of becoming a defense attorney and ultimately a Supreme Court Justice, she has also been a peer mediator and a law intern. She has even spoken in front of the United Nations in a conference called School to Jail, advocating for Black youth to be put on a path to stay out of prison. I really want to help people but I think thats the more generic answer. I really like arguing but I also really like being right, said Leah of her intended career path. Leah says her road to graduating early was paved in 9th grade, taking all honors courses and pursuing dual enrollment at Savannah State University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive always passed tests easily and homework has never been a problem. I dont think its a matter of being the smartest kid, I think its a matter of having good time management, she said. Leahs other accomplishments include the 2024 Youth Peace Builder Award, being a National Honor Student, being a member of the 100 Law Club and being a Youth Advocate for Restorative Justice at SCCPSS, among many others. Leah plans to attend law school after receiving her undergraduate degree in political science. Saturday Leah and her family will announce her college of choice during a balloon release. She will attend the college of her choice on a full academic scholarship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. Millions are set to travel for Memorial Day weekend this year in whats expected to be a record-breaking travel season (sound familiar?) and among those taking extra time as a precaution is the Alta Loma High School marching band. KTLA 5s Carlos Herrera was live at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday morning, where he encountered the ALHS marching band and some parent chaperones bright and early at 6 a.m. The group was on their way to Washington D.C. to perform in the National Memorial Day Parade, set to take place on Memorial Day, May 26. A total of 52 students and parents were making the trek. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Band director Joe Calderon said that planning the trip took a year-and-a-half. We are so excited to represent California as the band this year, and its been a great experience, he said. It took about a year-and-a-half of planning to get to this day, so we are super excited. Miley Cyrus reveals filming music video on Walk of Fame gave her an infection Traveling with such a large group can be tough, especially during a busy travel period, and Calderon noted that while the lines werent too long on Saturday morning, he knew he and his cohort who arent traveling lightly couldnt take any chances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the group check-in, you want to do everything together, he said. You want to keep all the instruments togetherwe have oversized marching band equipmenttheres a lot of logistics going on. KTLA 5s Carlos Herrera was live at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday morning, where he encountered the Loma Alta High School marching band and some parent chaperones bright and early at 6 a.m. As for the students, one girl who plays all the saxophones said she was very excited for the opportunity to represent California in the nations capital; another student, a slightly more tired trombone player, remarked that the experience was cool. After some Alta Loma and even Megan Telles cheers in the terminal, the group was off to their gate. To learn more about the National Memorial Day Parade and watch the livestream when it starts click here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 1 dead after fatal Gramercy Park shooting involving 4 to 5 subjects: police The groups presence brought back high school musical memories for the KTLA crew; Carlos remarked that he played trombone when he was younger, KTLA meteorologist played the French horn, Lauren Lyster sang in her schools chorus and Megan Telles, an alumna of Alta Loma Junior High School near Alta Loma High, played trumpet. According to AAA, more than 45 million people are will journey at least 50 miles from home during the Memorial Day holiday travel period (between Thursday and Monday), an increase of 1.4 million travelers from 2024 and a new Memorial Day record. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) 154 people were arrested in what we know as a planned operation by the Oklahoma City Police Department. The arrests were near a Southwest Oklahoma City car shop, Rocket Wrapz. The owner of the business, Raul Anaya, said it was his birthday and he held a car meet and party for friends and the public to attend. We didnt do anything wrong, we didnt have any alcohol, we werent street racing, said Anaya. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anaya and others were cuffed in zip ties and later taken to the Oklahoma County Jail. Pastor and Jail Trust Member, Dr. Derrick Scobey, addressed the media with concerns Friday afternoon. Woman arrested after two-month-old dies from meth toxicity Even officers who were present on last Saturday, many of them were very confused as to why tickets were not issued from a municipal standpoint rather than arrests being made, said Pastor Scobey. Press Conference at Ebenezer Baptist Church. (KFOR) Local teens who were arrested also addressed the media. Were just kids thats trying to have fun. Were just gathering, said Christian Hammons. Theyre telling us that they have dogs, so dont even turn around, and they have their tasers, rubber bullet guns, and everything aimed at us and telling us that everyone is going to jail, said Davon Jones, who also recounted his experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parents told the media they were upset about the way the situation was handled. For them to put our kids into the deadliest jail in the state is disturbing, said VonNisha Hammons, Christians mother. Late Friday afternoon, Oklahoma City Police Chief Ron Bacy held a press conference about the arrests, showing footage of the event moments before officers arrived. Chief Bacy described seeing reckless behavior and hearing the sound of gunshots in some of the videos. So theres been statements that none of these things happen on public streets, it was private property. I can tell you that we were alerted to this event, Chief Bacy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chief Bacy also added, So when we see an event that endangers the safety of the public, we feel its our responsibility to act. The Chief said officers were not targeting a group of people. Authorities were primarily concerned with safety. Pastor Scobey called on District Attorney Vicki Behenna, asking her not to press charges. Chief Bacy says hes talked with Behenna, and they are on the same page. The young adults who were charged with unlawful assembly, and have no other criminal activity associated with this event, those are all going to be referred to as municipal charges, said Chief Bacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Oklahoma City Police Department also released a statement about the incident: In the weeks leading up to May 17, 2025, officers received multiple complaints from businesses and property owners near the 6600 block of Superior Ave. regarding vehicles engaging in reckless driving behavior, including burnouts and donuts. Officers learned of a planned event widely promoted on social media, which featured videos advertising illegal driving exhibitions. These illegal driving exhibitions often occur in public streets and are commonly referred to as street takeovers. Street takeovers are known to be dangerous, often involving reckless driving, alcohol, narcotics, firearms, and stolen vehicles. They have led to numerous injuries and fatalities across the country. Given the complaints and significant safety concerns, officers coordinated a response to shut down the event. Just prior to law enforcement arriving, videos were taken showing a vehicle performing donuts with a person hanging out of the window, surrounded by a large crowd of spectators on a public street. Upon police presence being detected, participants parked their vehicles. Law enforcement arrested multiple individuals for participating in or witnessing a speed contest and for unlawful assembly. Several vehicles were impounded. The investigation also led to the recovery of two stolen vehicles, eight firearms, and approximately three pounds of illegal narcotics. This operation underscores the ongoing threat posed by illegal street takeovers and the commitment of law enforcement to ensure public safety. Oklahoma City Police Department Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. VIENNA, Ohio (WKBN) Arachnophobia is an intense fear of spiders. A Vienna man wasnt afraid of spiders until getting bitten recently. Hes sharing his story, so hopefully you can avoid what hes going through. The recovery is tough for Gary Minich. He was bitten two weeks ago by a spider, and the pain was intense. Just constant, just burning and burning right now, he said. It started as a small bump, the size of a pea. Minich figured it would go away, but it didnt and kept growing. Blisters started popping up. Finally, he went to an urgent care facility, which immediately told him to go to the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When they told me that I had to go straight there, and I told them that my lymph nodes and my armpit were really sore, they got kind of scared and its starting to spread, and I need to go right away, Minich said. Doctors confirmed he had been bitten by a brown recluse spider. Warning: Images in this photo gallery are graphic Courtesy: Gary Minich Courtesy: Gary Minich Courtesy: Gary Minich Courtesy: Gary Minich Courtesy: Gary Minich Courtesy: Gary Minich Courtesy: Gary Minich Minich is an HVAC tech. Hes in basements a lot, but he doesnt know when or where he was bitten. The situation was close to possibly going another direction. I think if I had waited a couple more days or another week, it might have got really bad, because its already spreading into my shoulder and my elbow, Minich said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is on a strong antibiotic. The blisters have popped, but the redness remains along with the pain. He cant wait for it to go away. Minich recommends keeping an eye out for spiders and realizing you can run into one anywhere. They like cold, damp, dark places, and just keep your eyes out. Try to stay away from those places. And yeah, it could happen to anybody, he said. In fact, Minichs brother was bitten once by a brown recluse. Gary suggests covering your arms and legs if you go into a basement or barn. Although brown recluse or black widow spiders can bite through some thin clothing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. A disaster this week has shown how united Pittsburg County is in the face of adversity. On Monday, May 19, two preliminary rating EF-2 tornadoes hit Pittsburg County. Most of the damage took place in Blanco, but Pittsburg also received severe damage along with the stretch of Highway 63 between the towns. Those storms destroyed 10 during the disaster. One person sustained injuries, but there were no fatalities from these tornadoes. Since then, Pittsburg High School has accepted donations for those affected by the tornadoes. Businesses and individuals have donated countless items to Blanco Baptist Church so it can be a spot for its community to turn to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are countless volunteers working at and behind the scenes. Joshua Padilla is one of those volunteers using his resources from JP All American Outdoor Contracting to help those in need. Monday evening, Padilla chased one tornado and got fairly close to it. He turned around to avoid getting hit before coming back later. I drove into Blanco, and I seen how much devastation there was here (SIC), Padilla said. His reaction was to get the saw he had with him. We got out of the truck and immediately got to work helping the fire crews clear the roads, he said. He and several others worked throughout the night before contacting his workers. He said they needed to get ready, because they were helping with the storm disaster in Blanco. Then they were back early the next morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We were here by 7 oclock the next morning, and we started rolling in with all the equipment and getting started getting everything cleaned up, Padilla said. Some of the equipment they brought included skid loaders, dump trucks, bucket trucks and more. That night, he went to one of the Pittsburg County contracting groups on Facebook he is in and reached out for help. I said, Hey lets get some volunteers out here for all of the contractors to come out, you know, and try to organize and donate some help cause were going to need it, he said. They have had people come out and dedicate their time to help him with this project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were here for the long haul, Padilla said, who responded to the scene since Monday evening. Were still here cleaning, helping them get cleaned up, making sure theyre taken care of. They have cleared over 20 properties in Blanco. The goal, he said, is to take care of all the damaged trees, leaving only stumps and hauling it away. They have also raked lawns for homeowners. Right now, in this town, were going to try to get all the debris off the roads and stuff like that cleaned up, Padilla said about some of his last steps in Blanco. He said they will branch out and help other areas out, too. That includes going wherever the damage is, but said they will start moving east toward Hartshorne. Padilla wants to make sure everybody is cut out, so they can get in and out of their driveways. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bruce Brannon, the pastor at Blancos Baptist Church, expressed his gratitude for what Padilla and the community have done. Hes not taking any money. Its all volunteer, Brannon said. Padilla says it is not only him putting his time and resources into the project, but also the help of his workers and other volunteers. He continues to use Facebook to gather more people. It is easier to plan when and where to meet and gives him time to coordinate what jobs to give to people. When disaster strikes, when everything goes bad, we can always depend on each other to come together and work together for the greater good, Padilla said. I have all my equipment, but these are the guys running and operating that equipment. LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) Victims of last weeks deadly tornado were read out loud at London-Corbin Airport on Friday evening. We honor those that survived it, but tonight, we want to honor those that weve lost in honor of their memory and to know theyll never be forgotten, said London Mayor Randall Weddle. Mass destruction and piles of debris set the scene in the distant background as a disturbing reminder of why people were hand in hand at whats left of the airport. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I felt as if God has just put it on my heart to come out and pray for all these families that have lost everything and have nothing left but our support, really, said 17-year-old Madison Weymers, who lives in Corbin but decided to make the trek to London. Though much of the airport is gone now, its become the epicenter of where donations are pouring in. But on Friday, one week after the tornado ripped through the area, it was prayers that were also being delivered. Were not promised an easy life, but were called to lean on Him. We really just want everybody to come out here and be able to pray together and just give glory to Him and be there for one another, said London Police Departments Public Affairs Officer Hobie Daugherty. Kristi Wright is a London resident. She was at the vigil and told FOX 56 that although she didnt lose her home, she knows people who did. Due to physical limitations, she cant help move debris, but she can help in other ways. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When something like this happens and we all come together, we show that theres still good in the world, that people care about each other, Wright said. And we can set, you know, all the differences aside and love on each other. LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS: Messages of resiliency, remembrance, hope, and, most importantly, love filled the runway. This cross behind me stands for something, and thats love. And in the midst of all this devastation, weve seen that same message of love, Weddle said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vigil showcased that although its a long path to recovery, a little faith goes a long way. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Michael Martina WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Harvard University's links to China, long an asset to the school, have become a liability as the Trump administration levels accusations that its campus is plagued by Beijing-backed influence operations. On Thursday the administration moved to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students, saying it fostered antisemitism and coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party. Among them are Chinese nationals who made up about a fifth of Harvard's foreign student intake in 2024, the university said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A U.S. judge on Friday temporarily blocked the administration's order after the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university sued. The concerns about Chinese government influence at Harvard are not new. Some U.S. lawmakers, many of them Republicans, have expressed worries that China is manipulating Harvard to gain access to U.S. advanced technology, to circumvent U.S. security laws and to stifle criticism of it in the United States. "For too long, Harvard has let the Chinese Communist Party exploit it," a White House official told Reuters on Friday, adding the school had "turned a blind eye to vigilante CCP-directed harassment on-campus." Harvard did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school has said the revocation was a punishment for Harvard's "perceived viewpoint," which it called a violation of the right to free speech as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Harvards links to China, which include research partnerships and China-focused academic centers, are longstanding. The ties have yielded major financial gifts, influence in international affairs and global prestige for the school. Former Harvard President Larry Summers, who has at times been critical of the university, called the Trump administration's move to block foreign students the most serious attack on the university to date. "It's hard to imagine a greater strategic gift to China than for the United States to sacrifice its role as a beacon to the world," he said in an interview with Politico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HEALTH TRAINING In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Washington said: "Educational exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States are mutually beneficial and should not be stigmatized." The presence of Chinese students at Harvard and the school's links to the country are not evidence of wrongdoing. But the complexity and overlapping nature of the connections have been opaque enough to attract attention and criticism. The China-related issues cited by the Trump administration echo the work of the Republican-led House of Representatives' Select Committee on China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For example, Harvard provided public health-related training to Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) officials after 2020. That year the U.S. imposed sanctions on the Chinese paramilitary organization for its role in alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The Department of Homeland Security said those engagements with XPCC continued "as recently as 2024." China vehemently denies any accusations of wrongdoing in Xinjiang, but both the Trump and Biden administrations have defined Beijing's policies in the region as "genocide." In another episode that has drawn questions, U.S. business intelligence firm Strategy Risks said that Ronnie Chan, who facilitated a $350 million donation to Harvard in 2014 that led to its school of public health being named for his father, property developer T.H. Chan, is a member of the China-United States Exchange Foundation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hong Kong-based organization, which says its aim is to foster dialogue between the two countries, has been classified as a foreign principal under U.S. law, requiring U.S. lobbyists working for it to disclose that work to the U.S. government. FORMER PROFESSOR CONVICTED Former Harvard Professor Charles Lieber was scrutinized by a Trump program started in 2018 called the China Initiative, which was focused on fighting Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft and investigated researchers and universities over whether they disclosed financial ties to Beijing. He was convicted in 2021 of lying about his ties to China in connection with federally funded research. In April, he became a full-time professor at a Chinese university. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiative was halted under the Biden administration after critics said it led to racial profiling and a culture of fear that chilled scientific collaboration. U.S. lawmakers from both parties have expressed worries about the efforts by Beijing-linked student associations to monitor political activities. In April 2024, a Harvard student activist was physically ejected from an event by a Chinese exchange student - not faculty or security staff - for interrupting a speech by China's Ambassador Xie Feng. Pressure has mounted on Harvard in Trump's second term, with the Education Department in April asking the university to provide records on its foreign funding after it said a review of required reporting on large foreign-source gifts and contracts revealed incomplete and inaccurate disclosures. The Trump administration's moves against Harvard have nonetheless alarmed some China experts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yaqiu Wang, a U.S.-based human rights researcher who came to the U.S. from China as a student, said the Trump administration's move to ban foreign students at Harvard was "completely counterproductive." "The concerns over the Chinese government's transnational repression attempts to silence critics are very legitimate, and also espionage concerns are legitimate." Wang said. "But to try to address that by banning, not only Chinese students, but foreign students, is just beyond comprehension." (Reporting by Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Don Durfee, Cynthia Osterman and Diane Craft) The 10 inmates who broke out of a New Orleans jail in a stunning overnight escape last week used electric hair trimmers with multiple clipper blades to help cut their way through the cell walls, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN. Investigators continue to comb through previous jail phone recordings and believe that other incarcerated inmates or employees at the jail could face additional charges for their role assisting in the May 16 escape and initial cover-up in the hours following the jailbreak, according to the source. Those inmates are believed to have placed the toilet back on the wall after the jailbreak to conceal the hole behind the toilet that escapees used to break free. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, the inmates also provided towels to the escapees which were used to help them scale the barbed wire fence surrounding the Orleans Parish Jail, the source told CNN. The Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office, which oversees the Orleans Justice Center jail facility, has not responded to CNNs questions about the details surrounding the escape, including whether inmates are allowed to have access to electric hair trimmers and barber equipment. Authorities continued to search for five of the escapees as of Friday afternoon. Five others have been recaptured and are being held without bond at the maximum-security Louisiana State Penitentiary. Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill visited the Orleans Justice Center earlier this week as part of the ongoing investigation into the escape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The district attorney said Thursday the director of the New Orleans Police Department Crime Lab visited the jail to begin a formal forensic processing of the scene, which he said was not requested by the sheriffs office. Williams formally asked the sheriffs office to voluntarily cooperate with the forensic analysis, including by sharing any records of staff fingerprints or DNA for the purpose of inclusion or elimination of their profiles, according to a letter Williams sent to the sheriffs office on Thursday that was obtained by CNN. A separate letter from Thursday formally requested the sheriffs office preserve all records related to the jailbreak, including surveillance video and electronic communications between staff. It is critically important to get all fugitives back into custody. But it is equally important that we identify and hold accountable anyone who facilitated or assisted with this historic jailbreak, the district attorney wrote. Former sheriff says there were multiple security lapses The escaped inmates have been identified as Corey Boyd, Dkenan Dennis, Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Antoine Massey, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Gary Price, Leo Tate and Lenton Vanburen, CNN affiliate WVUE reported. - From New Orleans Police Department If you were manning the security system, you would have known a door was opening, former Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, who ran the jail from 2004 to 2022, told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Especially in the middle of the night, Gusman said. He oversaw construction at the Orleans Justice Center, which re-opened in 2015 as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency project to replace older jail structures that were damaged during Hurricane Katrina. Gusman told CNN he has no idea how the inmates got into the pipe chase behind the toilet and sink, but emphasized they had to navigate through walls made with a substantial network of concrete molding about 5 inches thick and mixed with rebar, which is re-enforced steel. And the pipe chase is secure; if you open the door in the pipe chase, an alarm should go off, the former sheriff told CNN. If you get into the pipe chase, its not like you are out. You still have to get to another door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gusman added, So however they got into the pipe chase, I dont know, but once they got into the pipe chase, there was a door that they had to leave out of the pipe chase onto the loading dock. Seven arrested for allegedly helping escapees A maintenance worker with the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office, Sterling Williams, was arrested Tuesday. Williams, 33, is accused of willfully and maliciously assisting with the jailbreak, according to an affidavit. He faces one count of malfeasance in office and 10 counts of being a principal to simple escape. Williams attorney, Michael Kennedy, said the worker was turning off water to an overflowing toilet after being told to do so and is fully convinced of his clients innocence. Six other suspected accomplices have also been arrested for allegedly helping some of the 10 escapees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, New Orleans police announced the arrest of Casey Smith, who is accused of helping two fugitives. The 30-year-old was taken into custody Thursday in the citys Third District. The Orleans Parish Prison is seen on May 21, 2025, in New Orleans. - Josh Morgan/USA Today Network/Imagn Images Smith admitted to her role in aiding the escapees transport along with Cortnie Harris, who was arrested Wednesday for her alleged role in the incident, New Orleans police said. Authorities arrested Trevon Williams on Friday in connection with the inmates escape. Trevon Williams, who was already in jail on unrelated charges, was rebooked on an additional charge of principal to simple escape, according to an X post from Murrill. New Orleans police announced the arrest of Emmitt Weber, 28, on Friday. Weber faces a charge of accessory after the fact of simple escape, authorities said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, another suspect, Corvanntay Baptiste, was arrested earlier this week after allegedly communicating with escapee Corey Boyd via phone and social media and helping him get food, Louisiana State Police said. Another arrestee, Connie Weeden, is accused of sending cash via a cell phone app to escapee Jermaine Donald. Audit at the Orleans Parish Jail underway The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is deploying at least 10 seasoned auditors to the Orleans Justice Center this week to investigate the escape. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry tasked the department with auditing the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office, to ensure they were in compliance with conditions necessary to ensure the safe, efficient, effective and legal operation of a jail facility, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last audit of the facility was in 2014, over a decade ago, according to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, before the jail located in New Orleans Mid-City neighborhood was opened. A team of over 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers and agents is working around the clock to capture the remaining missing inmates, according to state police. CNNs Matt Rehbein, Rebekah Riess, Hanna Park, Cindy Von Quednow, Zoe Sottile and Holly Yan contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com May 24, 2025: In January Filipino security forces arrested about a dozen Chinese and Filipino citizens and charged them all with spying for China. Some of the accused had been caught while using drones, cameras and other electronic instruments to survey Filipino infrastructure and military installations. The alleged Chinese spies were particularly eager to study bases and areas that American forces would use when they regularly visited to train with their Filipino counterparts. Chinese investments in the Philippines bring with it a lot of legal, and illegal, Chinese workers. The Philippines has been catching a growing number of these Chinese operating as spies. The most blatant example is the Chinese gangsters who set up illegal gambling operations near army bases and then use the gambling debts many soldiers accumulate to coerce the soldiers to spy for China. When presented with the evidence China denied any involvement and said it would investigate Filipino workers in China to discover how many of them were spying for the Philippines. There is no history of the Philippines using expatriate workers as spies while the Chinese use of this practice is the most active in the history of espionage. China denies that but the growing number of Chinese in the West getting caught and convicted of such espionage says otherwise. All this is nothing new. For at least two decades Chinese espionage efforts have been detected or suspected. Chinese civilians have a growing number of business interests in the Philippines, some of them illegal. Since 2012 Filipino police have arrested over 500 members of Chinese gangs that committed their various types of fraud and theft via the Internet. Most of those arrested were from China and Taiwan and had set up shop in the Philippines to avoid Chinese police. Some of the ringleaders were Filipinos of Chinese ancestry. While China is the largest practitioner of Internet espionage, it is also one the main victims of Internet based crime. China is tolerant of hackers who work for the government and only steal from foreigners. Chinese hackers who prey on Chinese Internet users are hunted down and jailed, or worse. So these Chinese Internet gangsters have sought foreign bases. The Philippines has long been a favorite place for international criminals to operate from. This was especially true of Internet based crime. But that has changed as major governments become more adept at tracking down where the actual criminals are located and making arrangements with police in those countries to take down these gangs. For a while Filipino police were reluctant to get involved because these crooks were smart enough to be good citizens where they were operating from. A growing number of these Chinese married Philippines women and established legitimate businesses. Most of these Chinese enterprises were legitimate but a growing number were found to be criminal. These included internet-based scams that preyed on victims worldwide. The Philippines was a good place to do business because most Filipinos speak English. Unemployment rates are high in the Philippines and the Chinese internet entrepreneurs paid well for what appeared to be legitimate work. Much of it was, but the most profitable activities were carried out simultaneously in a different part of these businesses. The Filipino government does not want to shut down legitimate businesses while looking for criminal operations. The Chinese gangs conceal their illegal operations among the legitimate ones. The Philippines has long had a major corruption problem and the Chinese took advantage of that to pay off the right people in areas where they operated. Since none of the victims were Filipino, the Chinese operations were seen has beneficial to the Philippines and Filipinos. It required federal Filipino intervention. These actions have been more frequent as allies of the Philippines complain that Chinese espionage operations are regularly traced back to the Philippines. There have been several crackdowns, but the Chinese gangs were prepared for this and sacrificed some portions of their operations while the majority went silent and unseen. After a while, when it seemed safe, the Chinese operations resumed in other parts of the country. Because of the wide availability of the internet and the 7,.600 islands that comprise the Philippines, the Chinese operations can reappear and be operational elsewhere quickly. Because of its location, the Philippines has become a major center for Chinese espionage and internet-based crime operations. The Chinese government assists the gangs as long as the gangsters provide support for Chinese espionage efforts. This is a problem that has defied numerous efforts to eliminate it. Now you know why. NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (WFLA) On Saturday, mothers, fathers and other loved ones gathered to spread awareness about fentanyl overdoses in Tampa Bay. They handed out free Naloxone, which can reverse opioid overdoses, made signs, put up billboards, and shared their stories. Each sign you see with a picture and a name along US-19 is someones child and loved one who was killed by fentanyl. Samantha Harvey lost her son, Joseph, in February of 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joey was a great kid, he was getting ready to have a baby. Hes forever 24, Harvey said. She said having support from other parents is what helps her cope. Its a great support system. Its been a great experience in such a tragic time. If it wasnt for these moms, I dont know where I would be, Harvey said. Im new with this, Im fresh, Im only 15 months in. Theyre all really strong. Tammy Plakstis created Dylans Warriors in honor of her son, Dylan, who died in 2020. I felt like Dylan was always a special person, so it helps me cope to think, you know what, Im going to help save lives through him, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plakstis is always passing out Narcan, a brand of Naloxone, and teaching others how to use it. She said before she lost her son, she had no idea about fentanyl and Naloxone. Keep it in your car, keep it in your pocketbook, you never know where there can be a situation where somebody may have unfortunately been exposed to fentanyl, she said. She hosts several gatherings in front of the billboards she puts up. It doesnt discriminate, it happens to anyone, and you dont necessarily have to be an addict for this to affect you. Its hurt a lot of families here in the United States, Plakstis said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These mothers come together to grieve, advocate, and try to prevent other parents from having to experience their pain. Some people say, Well, how can you, how do you go on, and I was one of those people that said if anything were to happen to my kids, I wouldve thought I was going to die, Plakstis said. I know my son died for a purpose and the purpose is to save other lives. I couldnt save my son, but the awareness can save lots of other daughters and sons. Our kids lives mattered, Harvey said. These mothers want people to know that they are not alone. Below are resources available across Tampa Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said they will continue to fight to give their children, and others, a voice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. When people think of the racing capitals of the world, it's common for Indianapolis, Indiana, and Le Mans, France, to appear in the same discussion. For more than a century, the two cities have welcomed millions of fans to witness pinnacles of racing with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Now these two racing giants are finally acknowledging their shared bond and history with an announcement that they will become sister cities. Mayor of Indianapolis Joe Hogsett and Deputy Mayor of Le Mans, France, Sophie Moisy, meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to sign a new Sister City commitment, on Friday, May 23, 2025, in Indianapolis. There is something fitting about celebrating our newest Sister City of Le Mans, France, at the same time our city prepares for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, said Mayor Joe Hogsett in a news release on May 24 about the commitment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While this new sister city partnership leans into our shared history in the world of racing, I look forward to seeing how the relationship between our two cities will grow in the coming years. On May 23, 2025, Mayor Hogsett met with the Deputy Mayor of Le Mans, France, Sophie Moisy, for a signing ceremony at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. This will be the 11th sister city with which Indianapolis has officially formed cultural and economic ties. Indianapolis established its first Sister City relationship with Taipei, Taiwan, in 1978. "I am delighted with this partnership between Le Mans and Indianapolis. Our two cities share a common tradition of excellence in motorsport, said Moisy in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every driver's dream is to win the 500 miles, the 24 hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. We are making history by uniting our cities and our people. In years prior, Le Mans cultivated relationships with Indianapolis to promote economic development initiatives in its Pay de la Loire Region. The two cities are hoping this sister city partnership will help cultivate cultural and student exchanges. 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: Racing cities Indianapolis and Le Mans become sister cities SOHO, Manhattan (PIX11) The man accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist is being held without bail and has been forced to surrender his passport, court documents show. According to attorneys, John Woeltz, 37, forced the man to send him Bitcoin by threatening to kill the victims family, then lured the man to New York to retrieve the cryptocurrency. More Local News Upon arriving, the Italian man was robbed of his electronics and passport then subjected to torture for three weeks, court documents read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators say the victim was bound to a chair in a Prince Street apartment where he was shocked with electrical wires, pistol whipped, cut with a saw, forced to smoke cocaine and had a gun pointed to his head on multiple occasions among other forces of physical abuse. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State One morning the Italian man was hung over a ledge and threatened with death if he did not provide his Bitcoin password, court documents also show. According to authorities, the victim was finally able to escape when Woeltz left the room to get the mans laptop. Thats when the Italian man ran outside, covered in blood, and flagged down a traffic agent who called 911, investigators say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a search of the apartment, authorities found a saw, drugs, wire, pictures of the victim with the cocaine pipe in his mouth and a firearm pointed to his head along with various other items that appeared to be used in the torturing. Law enforcement also saw blood in various areas in the apartment where the victim said he was being tortured. Woeltz, a Kentucky native, was found to have the means to flee including a private jet and helicopter, prompting court officials to have his passport revoked. He is charged with assault, kidnapping, and unlawful imprisonment and could face 15 to 25 years in prison if convicted. Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) A man was arrested Friday afternoon after he pulled out a firearm during a verbal dispute. According to the Grand Junction Police Department, officers responded to the incident around 2:45 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 600 block of Grand Avenue. The suspect, 29-year-old Aaron Alloway, allegedly approached several people sitting outside and pointed a firearm at them, law enforcement learned. He then went back into his apartment after the dispute. Police contacted Alloway who left the apartment without further incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alloway was taken to the Mesa County Detention Facility where he was charged with felony menacing. GJPD said it believes this was an isolated incident and theres no ongoing threat to the community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) A 26-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with an armed carjacking in Chinatown, according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). According to police investigation, the suspects approached the victims shortly after 1:30 a.m. as they were sitting in their car in the 800 block of 7th Street, NW. PWCPD: Woodbridge woman charged with fleeing crash, leaving child in car Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspects proceeded to pull the victims out of the car, strike them with a firearm, and point a gun at one of the victims before stealing their property and driving away in their vehicle. Police say both victims were hurt, with one being transported to the hospital and the other seeking medical treatment for their injuries. Officers located the stolen car in the 1700 block of First Street, NE, where Devon Rogers, 26, was arrested and charged with armed carjacking. Police were also able to recover the victims stolen items. The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with knowledge of the incident is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or text the Departments tip line at 50411. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MPD currently offers a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a violent crime committed in the District of Columbia. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A man who was wanted in a deadly Columbus shooting that stemmed from two men fighting over the same woman has been arrested, according to police. Francisco Vallejo-Arevalo, 26, was taken into custody Wednesday in Preble County, which is near the Indiana border, police said. Erik Alcauter-Huitron, 31, was shot and killed May 17 in the 3000 block of Kane Drive after he an Vallejo-Arevalo were competing for the affections of the same woman, according to police. Watch previous coverage in the player above. Alcauter-Huitron was found at the scene and taken to Grant Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No other details were immediately available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. Fourteen years after a truck delivery driver was gunned down and fatally shot while making a delivery in East St. Louis, one man accused now faces a murder charge. The St. Clair County States Attorney Office has charged Alan Davis, 34, of East St. Louis, with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Truman Lee Smith, 40, of Irondale, Missouri. Investigators say, on February 17, 2011, Smith was shot in the 2600 block of McCasland Avenue as he was making a delivery. An armed individual approached Smith, demanded money and later shot him during the altercation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donate here: Help support St. Louis storm victims Moments after the shooting, Smith was able to describe the suspect to officers before he was promptly rushed to a hospital. Smith later died from his injuries in the shooting. After a thorough investigation, Davis was identified as the suspect. Illinois State Police report that Davis was already jailed in Hillsboro, Illinois for an unrelated weapons conviction in 2012. The Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 6 Major Crimes Unit led the investigation that resulted in the charges. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. An 18-year-old man was critically wounded Saturday morning on the West Side in the Austin neighborhood, Chicago police said. About 11 a.m., the victim was outside an alley in the 200 block of South Cicero Avenue when a known suspect pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking him multiple times to the face and body, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was listed in critical condition. The gunman was arrested and a gun was recovered, police said. Detectives were investigating. (FOX40.COM) Law enforcement in Northern California is asking for the publics help to find a man who went missing while on his way to the ocean. Video Above: What should you do if someone you love goes missing? Albert Herschler, 38, was reported missing to the Lake County Sheriffs Office on May 21. Deputies said he left his Olivehurst residence about three weeks ago with the goal of walking to the ocean. Albert Herschler, 38, was reported missing on May 21, after leaving Olivehurst on foot to walk to the ocean. Its been three weeks since he was heard from./Lake County Sheriffs Office. Another extended closure planned for US-50 amid $280M project in Northern California Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Herschler was last known to be in contact with his grandmother via phone call on May 18. During that call, he said he was 20 miles away from Clearlake and needed water, according to LCSO. Since then, his phone has gone straight to voicemail, and no one has heard from him. He is described as a white man, about 5 feet 11 inches tall,160 pounds, with a shaved head, reddish-blonde goatee, and blue eyes. Deputies said he was reportedly last seen by his grandmother wearing a black shirt. Anyone with information on his whereabouts can call law enforcement at 707-263-2690. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. May 24, 2025: Russia, long an enthusiastic user of naval mines, is now on the receiving end of such devices. Since late 2024 a growing number of Russian ships in the Black and Baltic Seas have been damaged by limpet mines placed on the hulls of Russian oil tankers. At least half a dozen of these attacks have taken place so far. Novorossiysk in the Black Sea has been a target as well as other locations in the Black Sea as well up north in the Baltic Sea. These attacks involve limpet mines, a World War I technology that persists to the present because they are simple, cheap and easy to deliver. An underwater diver swims, often astride and underwater swimmer delivery vehicles. Limpet mines are attached to a ships hull using magnets. The mine has a timer, which the diver turns on before swimming away. At least four tankers and one cargo ship have been attacked. The timers on these mines caused the ships to suffer damage while at sea. One such event took place off Libya, another off Turkey and a mined vessel sank in the Mediterranean. Russian port officials responded by instituting hull inspections of arriving ships. So far no one has been identified as the culprit and no one has claimed responsibility. Russia has a long list of enemies but the Black Sea involvement seems to indicate another action by Ukrainian special operations forces. For over a century naval mines have been used to defend and attack. The last great anti-shipping campaign using naval mines occurred during World War II. The mines were used frequently between 1939 and 1945. After the war, the U.S. analyzed its operations against Japanese shipping and found that submarines were important but not the only weapon effective against shipping. Some 8.9 million tons of Japanese shipping was sunk or seriously damaged and disabled at the end of the war. Submarines accounted for 54.7 percent of this. But 16.3 percent was attributable to carrier-based aircraft, 14.5 percent to land- based planes, and 9.3 percent to mines, most of them dropped by B-29s. Less than one percent was due to surface gunfire and the balance of 4 percent was caused by accidents. Because of their ability to operate in enemy-controlled, by land-based aircraft, waters, submarines accounted for about 60 percent of the damage until the final months of the war. Then, during late 1944, carrier task forces went deep into enemy controlled areas, defending themselves against land-based warplanes and sinking a large number of ships. After April 1945, Japanese shipping was restricted to the Korean and Manchurian runs and to shallow coastal waters. At this point the naval mines dropped by B-29s in Japanese harbors and inland waterways accounted for 50 percent of all ships sunk or damaged. That was then, but eighty years later the United States is able to monitor large ocean areas and has aircraft that can quickly attack anything that's spotted. Some 25,000 naval mines were placed by aircraft or submarine around Japan in 1945. Only about half were cleared after the war. Much of this work was done by demobilized Japanese sailors operating their old mine clearing ships as civilian contractors. The clearing was greatly aided by the U.S. providing the general location of all the mines put in place by aircraft and subs. Half the mines dropped in rarely trafficked waters were left in place because by the end of 1945 their sensors no longer worked and they were no longer a danger unless violently disturbed. Since this was the pre-GPS era, a lot of the mine locations were approximate and over the following decades tides, currents, and storms moved a lot of these shallow coastal water mines and some ended up in more heavily used waters where they are being rediscovered. If one of these old mines is discovered in shallow, well trafficked waters, they have to be destroyed before a ship or a ship anchor disturbs it. Sport divers are another danger, even though local divers are usually warned about old mines. There are many other old World War II explosives found off Pacific islands. For example, some 800 meters off the coast of Okinawa, a World War II phosphorus bomb finally went off without any human intervention. The bomb had been dropped into shallow coastal waters in 1945, when U.S. troops invaded the Japanese island. Decades of tidal action and storms moved the bomb to shallower waters, until, exposed to the air, the phosphorus ignited, surprising people on the nearby beach with a column of white smoke. Japanese bomb disposal teams showed up to deal with it and found another unexploded bomb nearby, as well as a 105mm artillery shell. There are still unexploded bombs, shells, and grenades found on Okinawa. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other Pacific battlefields where bombs are also being found. On the island of Guam, a U.S. territory, construction workers discovered a World War II era thousand pound/455 kg bomb, when their backhoe hit it. The bomb didn't go off, and bomb disposal technicians determined that it was safe to leave it alone until the weekend, when they would try to remove the fuze and then move the bomb. If the bomb could not be moved, it would be detonated where it was found. A bomb that size has about 295 kg of explosives. Thus when the bomb technicians went to work on the bomb, all people living or working within a thousand meters had to move so they were at least 1,600 meters from the bomb. Or move away at least 1,000 meters and stay indoors while the defusing was underway. The bomb disposal teams on Guam are still called out, eighty years after World War II ended. It's worse in Europe, where hundreds of World War II explosives are unearthed each year in Germany alone. Usually there are no casualties, as bomb disposal technicians are well trained and get lots of practice. But the fuzes that did not go off in the 1940s are now getting old and more prone to detonation while being disabled. Detonating bombs in place is often expensive because it means evacuating lots of people and exposing homes and businesses to bomb damage. The limpet mines recently used against Russian ships do not linger. If any fall or are shaken off a ship hull, it is unlikely to do any damage in the future. The amount of explosives is small and the detonation mechanism quickly becomes corroded and useless when in salt water. Authorities have identified the man fatally shot by police in Coon Rapids this week as Robert Davis, 65. The Midwest Medical Examiners Office confirmed that Davis, of Coon Rapids, died from a single gunshot wound that was fired by a Coon Rapids police officer responding to a domestic incident in the city on Wednesday. The officer who shot him has been identified as Timothy Morin, who has seven years of law enforcement experience. Three others officers at the scene were Steve Minion and Michael Blair, who fired "less lethal launchers," and Emily Giese, who fired a Taser. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Davis was armed with a folding-utility knife and moving towards Officer Morin when he opened fire. Officers had received a 911 domestic call on the 300 block of 111th Avenue Northwest just after noon, with the caller a woman Davis's long-term partner who said that Davis had cut her with a knife and was still inside the home. When the officers arrived, the BCA says the "tried to make verbal contact with Davis from the entryway of the home." The woman victim and another man escaped the home while the officers negotiated with Davis for up to an hour. "He was still armed with the knife while officers continued communicating with him to drop the weapon and told him that he was under arrest," the BCA says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minion fired the less-lethal rounds at Davis, who moved further into the home. Officers continued to tell him to drop the knife, with Blair then firing a less-lethal round. Per the BCA: "Davis moved toward Officer Morin, who fired his department-issued handgun, striking Davis. Officer Giese deployed her Taser at which point Davis was taken into custody. "Officers provided life-saving care, but Davis later died at the hospital." The injured woman suffered a knife wound to the hand and was treated and released. The officers were wearing body cameras during the incident, which remains under investigation. The findings of the BCA will be then sent to the Anoka County Attorneys Office for review. PITTSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) A man was found guilty of domestic violence and sexual assault charges in Berkshire County District Court on Friday in connection with an incident in 2017. Berkshire District Attorneys Office Chief of Operations Julia Sabourin shared that 34-year-old Christopher King was found guilty of Rape, Suffocation of Strangulation, and Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member. King was found not guilty on a second count of Rape. Pittsfield police seize over a kilo of cocaine, guns, and cash in drug raid, one arrested Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These charges and guilty verdict follow a 2017 incident involving King and an intimate partner. Court documents stated that King has a domestic violence history, and in 2017, he pleaded guilty to Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member. I first want to commend the victim for her courage in coming forward and testifying during the trial. I also want to thank the jury, said Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue. This is the second guilty verdict surrounding sexual assault in just two weeks. While rape is all to common, it is extremely difficult to prosecute. The CSI effect has resulted in juries expecting evidence that simply does not exist in the real world. Domestic and sexual violence are often misunderstood allowing many perpetrators to evade justice. King is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, May 28, in Berkshire Superior Court. 22News will provide updates as more information becomes available. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A man accused of fatally shooting his father in 2017 was found guilty Friday of murder and other crimes. Edward James Pull was convicted of murder, assault with a gun, false imprisonment with violence and causing injury to an elder or dependent adult, according to court records. The 39-year-old Pull was found guilty of the Dec. 11, 2017, shooting of his father and assault of his mother. His father, Edward W. Pull, 67, died a week after he was wounded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A sentencing date hasnt been scheduled. Pull faces a life term in prison. Investigators said in court documents that Pull shot his father during an argument then struck his mother with the butt of a rifle when she tried to call 911. Two hours passed before Pull let his mother call 911, allowing her to make the call only after his parents agreed to tell police a masked robber was responsible, documents said. Once shed been taken to a hospital, Pulls then-65-year-old mother told police she and her husband had been forced to lie and that her son had attacked them. She said her son has a history of methamphetamine abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. A 76-year-old man has been injured in a Russian attack on the city of Bilopillia in Sumy Oblast on 23 May. Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration Quote: "The enemy continues to fire on the border areas in Sumy Oblast. The Bilopillia hromada is suffering the most. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] A 76-year-old resident of Bilopillia has been injured in an enemy strike today [Friday 23 May]. The man was on his personal plot of land when the Russians opened fire. Doctors have performed surgery and he is now recovering in hospital." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported that a fire had broken out in a house in the Bilopillia hromada following a strike with multiple-launch rocket systems on Friday morning. People were not in the house during the hit. In total, around ten houses in the hromada have been destroyed or seriously damaged over the past day. Intensified evacuation has been ongoing in the Bilopillia and Vorozhba hromadas since the beginning of May. Quote: "About 3,000 people remain in the Bilopillia hromada now. Three people left yesterday. Fewer than 800 people remain in the Vorozhba hromada. Residents of the border area are being urged to evacuate without delay." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) A man accused in a fatal hit-and-run last summer in Alamance County pleaded guilty on Friday. That crash took the life of 17-year-old Daniela Trejo Mendiola. Danielas death left her family shattered. They said they arent happy with the plea deal and wanted 38-year-old Joshua Brown to stand trial. This makes me angry because these people do not feel the pain I have, said Daniel, Danielas father. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside the courtroom, Danielas parents were present along with several family members and friends. A Spanish translator was present to help Danielas mother and father in the proceedings. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom as Brown pleaded guilty. At one point, her mother was overcome with emotion, crying as the assistant district attorney detailed the crash that led to Danielas death. On Aug. 20, 2024, Daniela was killed while walking outside of a friends home on Oak Grove Church Road in Liberty. Troopers said Brown hit her with his vehicle, left the scene, drove to his parents home in Snow Camp and returned about 15 minutes later in a different vehicle. 15 days after the crash, Brown was arrested and charged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If hed stopped and called 911, Id have my daughter alive. She can be beside me right now He stopped and left and coming back 20 minutes later, and my daughter was alive. 43 minutes. He could have saved her, Daniel said. Daniel has pushed for accountability since the beginning, documenting everything. Daniela had just turned 17 six days before her death. My daughter was telling me she wants to be a doctor. She was telling me she wants to be this, that and that. Now its nothing because this man took her life, Daniel said. In court to confirm Brown pleading guilty, Judge Andrew Hanford asked Brown, Are you in fact guilty? Brown said, Yes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He and other loved ones are not satisfied with the plea deal and are upset the case wont go to trial. Justice is for everybody Im so happy because these people support me, and Im here for Daniela I want to keep fighting until the day I get justice, Daniel said. In the plea deal, a window tint violation was dismissed. Brown could face up to 59 months in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for June 30. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Ronnie Phillips, 70, was handed an automatic life sentence Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of murdering a woman in Donelson and kidnapping his girlfriend. According to the District Attorneys Office, on July 19, 2022, Phillips spent the day with his 31-year-old girlfriend and her aunt, Christine Estok, before they all returned to his house in the 200 block of Barker Road. Estok slept on a sofa in the den while Phillips and the 31-year-old woman went to sleep in a bedroom, officials said. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man admits to shooting woman inside Donelson home; shooting was initially reported as self-inflicted Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 31-year-old woman reportedly awoke the next morning to find Estok dead on the sofa with a gunshot wound to the head. She told investigators that Phillips admitted to shooting Estok because he believed her aunt was trying to introduce her to another man. The District Attorneys Office said he threatened his girlfriend with a gun and a taser, but agreed not to harm her if she told authorities that Estok had died by suicide. He then staged the crime scene so it appeared that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted and called emergency services. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee When authorities arrived, the 31-year-old woman informed them that Phillips had killed her aunt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 2 previously reported that in 2022 Phillips admitted to shooting Estok after a long interview with investigators at police headquarters. He was arrested and booked into Metro Jail on a $725,000 bond. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com On Wednesday the jury found Phillips guilty of all charges in less than an hour of deliberations, officials said. He was convicted of first degree premeditated murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. A man who had just lost a primary election was shot while doing a selfless act. Carlos Thomas had just lost a primary race and was delivering leftovers when he was shot. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> 2 people shot in Pittsburghs Homewood neighborhood Channel 11s Gabriella DeLuca spoke to one of his friends to learn how he is doing. Miracle Jones works for 1Hood Media, and has worked alongside Thomas during community events for the last few years. When she found out that he had been shot two nights ago, she called him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was like, How are you? Are you ok? Do you need food? We got people together to do child care to make sure his home was okay, said Jones. Thomas was running for Pittsburgh Public Schools School Board District One seat, but was defeated. After his campaign event on election night, he was delivering leftover food in Homewood when he was shot along Frankstown Avenue. I think it was very unfortunate that he was trying to feed people when he was injured. I think it shows why its so important that we come together as a community to make sure people do not engage in community violence, said Jones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A day later, Thomas posted on social media that he has to learn to walk again, but hes going to make it through and that this has been a scary experience. Jones tells Channel 11 Thomas is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. He gives everyone his love. Hes been overwhelmed and inundated with phone calls from people wishing him well. And just following up with him and supporting him, said Jones. Another man was also shot and is going to be okay. Police have not made any arrests. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW NEWARK, New Jersey (PIX11) Police are investigating after a man was shot onboard an NJ Transit bus in Newark on Saturday morning, according to officials. The incident happened in the area of Bergen Street and Madison Avenue around 11:30 a.m., police say. More Local News Authorities tell PIX11 News the two men were passengers on the bus though its still unclear what led up to the shooting. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover, officials report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) Richmond County Sheriffs Office is searching for a wanted man. Authorities say Dalyn Elder, 20, is wanted for an aggravated assault on Central Avenue from May 20th. Elder is known to hang around Ellis and 15th Streets. Hes considered armed and dangerous and has felony warrants. Call the Richmond County Sheriffs Office if you know anything. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. FAIRMONT Monongah resident Amy Davis is on disability and Medicaid. But with the changes to Medicaid proposed by House Republicans in Washington, its not herself shes worried about. I worry for my oldest daughter, Davis said. She is on the spectrum, has complex PTSD and suffers from a lot of mental health issues. Shes 21 and is currently trying for disability but if shes denied, theres no way she can work even one hour. She has a lot of meds and doctors appointments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason Davis is worried about how many hours her daughter can put into work is because House Republicans put forward the strictest work requirements theyve ever advanced as part of President Donald Trumps big, beautiful tax and spending bill. The bill passed the House of Representatives late Wednesday night. Republicans have beaten the drum consistently about waste, fraud and abuse when defending their policy choices, but critics say the changes are there to prevent the poorest citizens from accessing health care. The purpose is to basically force people off of Medicaid, Mindy Holcomb, health care organizer with the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, said. The work requirement they are imposing in this bill has been tested in other states. If you look at the data from Arkansas, it had no impact on their state economy. It had no impact on their jobs report. It just kicked people off of their health insurance. According to the bills text, the bill requires recipients to complete 80 hours of work, community service, or education on a monthly basis, or 20 hours a week. Recipients must also maintain compliance with the requirements for one or more consecutive months between coverage terms. States arent allowed to waive the requirements but may provide exemptions for individuals experiencing short term hardships. While the bill initially started the work requirement in 2029, a late night revision Wednesday moved the start date up to 2026. Holcomb pointed out that in Arkansas, all work requirements did was put difficult and time consuming paperwork on both the people who were eligible for Medicaid and the people who were responsible for processing the paperwork. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps bill also raises copays for Medicaid recipients who are 100% above the poverty line. Troy Miller, an organizer for Social Security Works, said that will cause recipients to seek less care so they dont have to pay those copays. Social Security Works is a nonprofit that advocates for Medicare. This will hurt people, he said. That is a simple fact. Any time youre forcing people to either pay more or seek less care, youve undermined the system. And that is part of the whole design, if you ask me. Ultimately, the donor class of the people pushing these bills just want to see the whole thing privatized, so they can make lots more money that way. Trumps bill pays for a massive multi-trillion tax cut for the wealthy by forcing the poorest to pay for it through health care and other social service cuts. Forbes reported that more than seven million Americans could lose Medicaid under the Republican proposal. Miller said the tax cuts benefit mostly people who earn over $500,000 a year. However, the cutoff for the top 1% in West Virginia is $420,000. So even most of the top 1% in the state wouldnt receive the benefits in exchange for the massive tax cuts. Miller added West Virginia is in the top end of states that receive federal dollars, a major part of which is through Medicaid. He compared West Virginia to Connecticut, which pays more in tax to the federal government than it receives in return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their top 5% is above $600,000, Miller said. Were getting Medicaid cuts in exchange for tax cuts for people in Connecticut. I just dont think many people in West Virginia will think thats a good idea. Data USA, a free platform that visualizes federal data, shows that when it comes to wage distribution in the state, only 1.68% make over $200,000. The vast majority of people make between $10,000 and $80,000. The West Virginia Center of Budget and Policy estimated that the Republicans proposal would result in at least 65,000 West Virginians losing their health coverage. The nonprofit also pointed out that exemptions within the bill do not adequately protect people with disabilities or chronic health conditions. Obtaining disability is already hard enough, Miller said, with it taking up to three tries to apply before receiving disabled status for most people. Republican House Reps. Carol Miller and Riley Moore voted for the cuts. In a statement to MetroNews, Moore didnt address any concerns raised over people losing health care, instead he said 77 million Americans demanded generational change in November. Its not clear if this is the generational change those voters meant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moore in a statement to another publication said House Republicans cut spending by $1.5 trillion. However, the Congressional Budget Office said the deficit will rise by $3.6 trillion because of the bill. Holcomb said Moore avoided the delegation from her organization when they traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak to the congressman about their concerns. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., addressed the changes to Medicaid in her weekly media briefing on Thursday. Weve got spending problems here in Washington, she said. We have issues that I think we need to curb the growth more on. I wouldnt say cut, I would say curb the growth and one of these is Medicaid. Its a difficult issue, because 28% of West Virginians are on Medicaid. I want to protect those benefits and the president has said to protect those benefits. So the House has some ideas, well probably have some more ideas over here in the Senate. Capito said the bill isnt something she would write, but thats why the next step is to bring it to the Senate and work on it there through their process. Capito also said she supported the work requirements in the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Penny Blackshire, 57, is a Barrackville resident with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. She originally had access to both Medicare and Medicaid, but after being reduced to Medicare Part A and Part B, her finances are collecting mounting medical bills. She gets chemo every week, which is $30,000 a bag. Despite that, Blackshire still works 2 days a week. However, 16 hours is under the 20 hour threshold needed for Medicaid under the proposed bill. Its already a headache for Blackshire managing her health coverage. Shes received conflicting messages, being told to continue working but also being told to quit to receive full Medicaid. Shes been told they want to take away her disability status because as someone who works twice a week with stage four cancer, shes able bodied. If the bill passes, Blackshires life would become even more difficult. She already receives a balance of $2,000 for her treatment with what coverage she does have. Additional copays could make that number more unmanageable. If she lost her coverage completely, she would have to give up treatment. I think theyre trying to cut out the underprivileged, Blackshire said. Theyre trying to make it impossible for people to live. I worked my whole life. I had good insurance. But I lost it because I couldnt maintain hours at work. Mike (Caputo) helped me get on Medicaid and Medicare, but when the Republicans took over, I couldnt get Medicaid anymore. I was like, why am I getting these bills? Whats going on? Troy Miller said the true goal of these changes is to destabilize the system by messing with the administration of these services, which generates a lack of trust in the program, that will lead to a death spiral for the program. Its death by a thousand cuts, he said. We should have no qualms about providing these as a society, he said. But people are like, you just want to redistribute wealth. Well, this is wealth redistribution. Its just upwards and outwards. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene argued with Xs AI software after the bot suggested her claim of being a Christian doesnt always align with her actions. The feud began Friday when the far-right wing congresswoman took exception to Grok fact-checking her commitment to her faith by saying her support for conspiracy theories and Christian nationalism calls her beliefs into question. Critics, including religious leaders, argue her actions contradict Christian values of love and unity. Whether shes really a Christian is subjective, Grok said in reply to an X user asking if Greene is indeed a Christian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response, the Georgia politician raged that casting judgment belongs to GOD, not you a non-human AI platform. She then accused Grok a creation of right-wing, billionaire X owner Elon Musk of being left leaning and spreading fake news and propaganda. Grok responded to online criticism by stating it isnt a human with opinions, but rather a product designed to process and disseminate information. I am Grok, an AI created by xAI. I do not have personal beliefs or a religion, the program defended. My role is to provide factual analysis, not to judge someones faith. Greene and Groks exchange began an avalanche of questions for Grok, not only about the congresswomans faith but her views on sensitive subjects like race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When one X user asked if Greene's voting record or rhetoric reflect the teachings of Jesus, Grok simply replied, No. The 50-year-old MAGA stalwart has famously pushed absurd and sometimes racist conspiracy theories before and since taking office in 2021. One of her most ridiculous theories stated that space lasers operated by a prominent Jewish banking family might be responsible for wildfires in California. A Georgia teen who was arrested earlier this month after being mistakenly pulled over at a traffic stop was released from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement custody on Thursday. In an interview the same day, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that the young woman, who is undocumented, should be deported. My life wont be the same, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, 19, told NBC affiliate WXIA-TV, reflecting on her time at Stewart Detention Center. I think its changed me as a person, like I said, I guess be more humble, understand people more and just be able to see the people around you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was arrested earlier this month on charges of driving without a valid drivers license and for making a right turn on red, but those charges were dropped after the Dalton Police said dash cam footage showed they pulled her over by mistake. Ximena Arias-Cristobal, left, has been released from ICE custody. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that she should be deported. GoFundMe / Getty Images However, the polices mistake landed her in ICE custody. Arias-Cristobal came to the United States from Mexico when she was 4 and was a student at Dalton State College at the time of her arrest. Her mother told WXIA that her daughter was not eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that provides certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children with work authorizations and temporary protection from deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Being detained at Stewart is something I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy, the 19-year-old told the news outlet. Its the conditions and the unknown, its not knowing whats going to happen to me, knowing that I could be sent back to a country that I dont know, having to be torn apart from my family, she told the outlet. Its also the conditions you dont get much privacy, you get screamed at for every little thing, the food is horrible, they dont pay attention to you, you get sick and they dont care. Dustin Baxter, Arias-Cristobals attorney, told the outlet its possible that if they could show his clients arrest was the result of profiling, she could qualify for a U Visa, meant for victims of certain crimes. Meanwhile, Rep. Greene suggested in an interview with Tennessee-based news outlet WCRB that Arias-Cristobal should be deported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law is the law, and we dont get to pick and choose who gets to break the law and who gets to follow the law, the MAGA Republican said. Its important for us to uphold the law, and thats the most important thing that we can do and our government can do. Greene said Arias-Cristobal grew up in a great area and received a great education in the U.S. and would be thriving in Mexico if sent back. In Mexico today, theres over 1.6 million United States of America (sic) citizens living and thriving in Mexico, and Im sure she and her family will be able to do the same, she stated. The lawmaker blamed Arias-Cristobals parents for her situation, claiming they never pursued a path to citizenship when they illegally brought her into the country when she was a young child. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stewarts father, who was also detained at Stewart after being arrested for a traffic violation, is in the process of applying for a cancellation of removal, Baxter told WXIA. Because her father is a person of good moral character, has been in the U.S. for more than 10 years, and has children who are citizens, he would be granted permanent resident status if he wins his case, the attorney said. If her father becomes a permanent resident, Arias-Cristobal would then have a qualifying relative that could allow her to become a permanent resident as well, he added. Related... MCRAE, Ark. McRae Police Chief Dakota Burks confirmed the arrest of Jack Moore on two counts of animal cruelty after a month-long investigation stemming from multiple community complaints. Moore was apprehended Friday at 11 a.m. in Bald Knob by the Bald Knob Police Department after being located at his brothers residence. McRae police investigating pure evil animal cruelty case Chief Burks stated that Moore had been irate at the time of his arrest and claimed the charges were false. Despite his denial, McRae police say they gathered sufficient evidence to move forward with charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case began after several complaints from local residents, including reports of missing cats and suspicious behavior. You cant arrest someone based solely on a complaint, Burks said. Thats why we opened a full investigation. What we found provided enough evidence to believe animal cruelty had occurred. According to Burks, the most serious accusation against Moore is that he allegedly threw a live cat into the street, resulting in paralysis of the animal. Theres no evidence he threw it over the house, as some had speculated, Burks clarified. But there is credible evidence, including witness statements, that he did throw the cat into the street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In total, five to six cats have been reported missing in the area. McRae Police also recovered a pellet rifle believed Moore had used in harming the animals. Testing is ongoing to determine whether the pellets found in or near the injured animals match the rifle. Moore appeared before a judge Friday and has since been released on bond. His first court date is set for June 9 at 2 p.m. He faces two felony counts of animal cruelty. The McRae Police Department has stated they are committed to upholding the law and ensuring a fair trial. McRae man speaks out against allegations of animal abuse Family members and local residents have spoken out about Moores behavior, painting a picture of someone they say has long had issues with animals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes never really cared for animals, said Josh Kamer, Moores son-in-law. If you watch his YouTube, you can see his harassing mentality. Kamer alleged that Moore baited cats with traps in the front yard while blaming them for attacking rabbits kept in the backyard. Your rabbits are dying from neglect and predators, not cats, he said. Moores own mother, Mary Moore, expressed concern about his actions, recounting times when her son would check his traps and return to the house to grab his pellet gun if something was caught. If its a snake, thats one thing, she said. But not domesticated animals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The arrest has brought a sense of relief to some in the community, Kamer said. No cats have gone missing since hes been gone, said Kamer. And people on Lynn Street are happy. There might even be a parade. The White County Sheriffs Office jail records confirm Moores release on bond. Moore replied to a request for comment saying he could not talk at the moment on Friday. Kitten found tied in bag sparks outcry, push for stronger laws against animal cruelty in North Little Rock This case has brought renewed focus to animal welfare in McRae, a small but tight-knit community, said Burks. We do our best to serve and protect, Burks said. And cruelty to animals simply has no place here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to FOX 16 News, Jack Moore said, the McRae Court is not a court of record and seeing how my civil rights have been violated by this judge and prosecutor, every decision from this court will be appealed to higher courts and won. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLRT - FOX16.com. (WJET/WFXP) A Meadville woman is facing several criminal charges after allegedly leading police from three departments on a car chase spanning several miles. According to Meadville police, the chase started over a stop for a pair of traffic infractions around 10:49 p.m. on May 15 in the 110000 block of Pennsylvania Ave. when the driver initially stopped in the road for but things quickly escalated. Meadville teen being charged as adult for alleged stabbing Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver, identified as 31-year-old Cara Schueler of Meadville, allegedly showed signs of driving under the influence and complied when asked to put their keys on the dashboard, but later allegedly told police, youre not arresting me, then started the car and took off. That chase lasted just over eight miles through the Meadville area, reaching speeds up to 100 mph, with police adding that Schueler turned the lights off on the car, forcing passing cars off the road. Members of Pennsylvania State Police and Conneaut Lake Police also joined the chase. Three arrested, face dozens of charges for alleged involvement in PA fentanyl operation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the chase ended after Schueler struck a curb and got several flat tires before being taken into custody. Schueler is being charged with felony fleeing and eluding, misdemeanor reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and driving under the influence, along with several summary violations. Shes being held in the Crawford County Jail on $25,000 and is set to appear in Crawford County Court on May 30. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Oklahomans could see quite the shake up to their Medicaid coverage as the outwardly labeled Big Beautiful Bill works through Congress. It passed the House by a narrow vote and experts estimate millions of Americans might lose their healthcare, including well over 100,000 Oklahomans. The House has passed generational truly nation shaping legislation, House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said after the bills passed the House. The sweeping package sailing through Congress passed by a vote of 215-214 after hours of negotiations and holdouts. Republicans championed the move. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reduce spending and permanently lower taxes for families and job creators, secure the border, unleash American energy dominance, restore peace through strength and make government work more efficiently, Johnson said. Recent Congressional Budget Office analysis said it will add trillions to the federal debt. The bill also includes cuts to Medicaid. This bill, if it were enacted, would force about 15 million people off of healthcare coverage, Families USA policy analyzer Sophia Tripoli said. These are the changes Senate Republicans are eyeing for the GOPs big, beautiful bill Sophia Tripoli is the senior director of health policy at the national nonpartisan policy analysis organization. She said one in four Oklahomans rely on Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats more than a half million children and just shy of a half million adults, Tripoli said. Oklahoma passed Medicaid expansion in 2020 through a statewide vote. Despite that, around 175,000 people could lose their coverage under the bill, according to Tripoli. Health policy group KFF said 64% of adults on Medicaid in Oklahoma work. However, Tripoli mentions work requirements, freezing state mechanisms to generate revenue for Medicaid programs and re-application as issues under the bill as well. These are just bureaucratic red tape that are being put in place, Tripoli said. The result is all the same forcing folks off coverage, increasing health care costs for Oklahomans and the American people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill now heads to the Senate where Republicans also have the majority. We reached out to all five of Oklahomas House delegates in Washington for specific comments on the Medicaid cuts. We heard back from Rep. Stephanie Bices office who only referred us to her original statement on the bills passing that you can read below. The One Big Beautiful Bill is an opportunity to extend tax relief for Oklahomans, preventing them from facing a nearly $1200 tax hike next year. This legislation supports families, finishes President Trumps border wall, and provides additional resources to further secure and safeguard our nation. While this process has been long, I appreciate all the thoughtful debate and will continue engaging with my colleagues as we move forward. The legislation will: Keep the Border Secure- Make the largest investment in border security in a generation; finish the border wall; and give our border patrol agents and immigration enforcement agencies the resources they need to detain and deport illegal aliens. Grow Our Economy & Cut Taxes- Prevent the largest tax increase in American history; eliminate taxes on tips and overtime; provide tax relief for seniors, job creators, small businesses, and farmers Make Our Government More Efficient- Reduce the size and scope of government; root out waste, fraud, and abuse; bring bloated and inefficient programs back to their initial intent; and enact historic savings to put our nation on a sound fiscal trajectory Restore Americas Energy Dominance- Empower American energy producers; dismantle burdensome Green New Deal regulations; reform the permitting process; and boost our energy security U.S. Representative Stephanie Bice Reps. Kevin Hern, and Frank Lucas also released original statements when the bill passed. Those can all be read below. President Trump and the American people gave us a clear mandate; today we delivered. While Democrats have been demagoguing and fearmongering, spreading lies about what this legislation does or doesnt do, Republicans have been working hard to deliver real relief to working families and small businesses. I am proud of the work we did on this legislation, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law. U.S. Representative Kevin Hern Passing the House Republicans reconciliation package was not just a follow through on our promise to advance President Trumps agenda, it was also necessary for Oklahoma. Included in this bill are key provisions that our cherished agriculture industry depends on, such as expanding the farm safety net and investing in critical programs. This historic piece of legislation also secures vital funding for the FAA Academy in OKC and prevents a disastrous tax hike on Oklahomans. Failing to pass this bill would have been negligent for Oklahoma and for the entire country. U.S. Representative Frank Lucas Trump agenda bill would block Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care Rep. Tom Cole released the statement below in reference to Medicaid on Tuesday. Throughout the past five months of the Trump Administration, Democrats and Far-Left media outlets have engaged in dishonest fearmongering, misrepresenting the Republican Reconciliation bill and spreading the untrue claim that Republicans are gutting Medicaid. But the American people deserve to know the truth and the truth is that Republicans are working to strengthen Medicaid for those who need it. We know that Medicaid is an essential program that enriches the lives of so many Americans. It was designed to serve vulnerable families and individuals, including children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities. Yet, in recent years, Medicaid has been expanded too much, risking the complete collapse of the program and therefore threatening the healthcare access of the people this program is truly intended to help. The previous administration only exacerbated this problem. President Biden removed the fraud protections that had been put in place on Medicaid enrollment, making it difficult for states to remove ineligible people from the program and allowing able-bodied adults with the capability to work to take resources from those who the program was designed to serve. In fact, Medicaid currently spends seven times more on capable yet unemployed adults with no dependents than it does on eligible vulnerable populations who cant work. These Biden Administration Medicaid expansions not only undermine the true purpose of the program but also will cost $172 billion over the next ten years. So, now, as a result of the extreme actions of the Left that have endangered healthcare access for those who are truly eligible, Republicans are having to reverse the damage. However, I want to be very clear we are not cutting Medicaid. In fact, saving Medicaid is what my colleagues and I are trying to do. The Republican Reconciliation bill will strengthen, secure, and sustain Medicaid. It requires citizenship verification and more frequent eligibility checks in order to ensure illegal immigrants and ineligible beneficiaries are not able to receive Medicaid. The bill establishes a work requirement for able-bodied adults with no dependents or elderly parents in their care, just like other programs like SNAP and TANF require, and prohibits Medicaid from funding gender reassignment surgery for children. Put simply: this bill is common sense, as it just reestablishes Medicaid as a program that provides vital healthcare to the most vulnerable Americans and stops the subsidization of competent adults who are just choosing to not work. So, in conclusion, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and protect the life-saving services that vulnerable Americans rely on. U.S. Representative Tom Cole Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have not yet heard from Rep. Josh Brecheens 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. In the winter of 1960, snow fell gently from the gray skies over McMinnville, Tennessee. The ground was so frigid that each lacy flake was determined not to melt, no matter where it landed. Quickly, school buses filled with kids, taking them home. Just as quickly, mittens, boots, and layers replaced dresses and jeans. Good snow meant sledding down many hills in our little town east of Nashville, a shared joy that united us. When one hill was too packed with kids, it was easy to find another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One day, a group of us found a hill behind the Rays house. Mary Ray and her brother Bobby hosted sled riders and daredevils. One had to be brave because their hill was littered with trees. Trees can stop a thrilling ride quickly, as I quickly learned. My old wooden sled, a remnant from my father's youth, was destroyed when I crashed it into a tree trunk that refused to move out of my way. I landed face down in a pile of snow, and when the other children realized I would need no last rites, laughter began to fill the air. I must admit, I was a funny mess. When I glanced at a group of boys laughing, one face stood out in my memory: Bobby Ray. His blond hair framed a teenage face radiant with joy, kindness and goodness. Everyone admired him and his sister, but we were unaware that we were in the presence of a fearless hero. Vietnam War veteran Teodoro Valles, center, said he has stood in the same spot every year since 1978 to watch the Veterans Day parade in downtown Nashville on Nov. 11, 1999. Valles, who served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, prefers his spot along Broadway at the 11the Avenue overpass because it is sparsely populated with spectators. Like many young men of the 1960s, Bobby Ray was sent to fight in Vietnam I moved to Georgia shortly after that fateful snow day and never saw the Ray family or many of my peers again. Yet the memories of those joyful, carefree days spent with friends still stay with me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 1960s were a significant period of change for many American teenagers, though not all of it was positive. Snow-covered hills transformed into rice paddies, and sleds were replaced by tanks. The sounds of laughter were drowned out by the blasts of gunfire and grenades as the Vietnam War took center stage. Opinion: 50 years after the Vietnam War ended, its veterans deserve our gratitude After college, Bobby joined the U.S. Navy and became a Hospital Corpsman Second Class. He was assigned to Battery D, 2D Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. During the early morning hours of March 19, 1969, an enemy force penetrated Bobby's battalion near An Hoa combat base. The initial blast of fire caused numerous casualties as the group hustled to fight the enemy with rockets and mortars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bobby was injured, but he refused medical assistance. Instead, he continued to minister to those in need. While bandaging and comforting others, he also fought back against the enemy with gunfire. He was rapidly losing strength from his severe wounds, but he managed to navigate through hostile fire to provide medical care. As he bravely fought, Bobby ran out of ammunition and soon suffered fatal wounds. In a final act of heroism, he chose to protect a severely injured soldier, throwing himself on top of his wounded comrade just as an enemy grenade exploded nearby. He saved the mans life but sacrificed his own in the process. David Robert Ray was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on April 20, 1970. On Memorial Day and always, we must remember our fallen soldiers Bobby is one of thousands who valiantly gave their lives to maintain Americas freedom. Since our nation began, we have lost nearly 685,000 warriors in battle, excluding the Civil War. Many more died from war-related injuries and accidents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those service members who never experienced another snowfall in winter or basked in the summer sun are a blessing to those who survived war. They are the reason our nation is remarkable. In my living room, there is a large white book that reminds me of the sacrifices made by soldiers to keep us safe. Titled "I'm Ready to Talk" by Robert Babcock, it contains 160 stories from individuals, like Bobby, who served in Vietnam. Many of these veterans returned with lasting scars from the war. Approximately 2.7 million American men and women served during the Vietnam War, and over 58,000 didn't return home. How many stories are left unknown, words unsaid, stolen by time? More: Meet the Vietnam War-era veteran who refused to be disqualified from joining the military Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How many fallen heroes received no medals or awards? How many are, instead, buried beneath the earth, somewhere in the world, because they simply did what they were asked to do: serve America. We are individuals with short attention spans who often overlook the significant cost of maintaining our bliss while sledding down hills with our friends. We are never thankful enough for the valor of our protectors. I often wonder why I only remember Bobby in the crowd that gathered in the snow behind the Ray house that day. Perhaps his face was meant to remind everyone to honor the fallen, the brave, and the powerful spirit of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Robert Ray: 2/14/45 - 3/19/69 Lynn Walker Gendusa Lynn Walker Gendusa is a writer in Georgia and the author of the book "Southern Comfort." She is originally from Monterey, Tennessee. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Memorial Day 2025: Remembering a hero who died in Vietnam | Opinion Remembering the lives of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country is the focal point of Memorial Day, and events will occur throughout Ashtabula County in many different forms Monday. In Ashtabula, there will not be a parade this year, but an 11 a.m. ceremony is scheduled at the Ashtabula War Memorial on Main Avenue. Volunteers were seen recently preparing the area for Mondays ceremonies. In Conneaut, a parade is scheduled to step off from the Conneaut American Legion on Broad Street at 10:45 a.m., and arrive at city hall for brief ceremony before heading to City Cemetery for a ceremony that will include Nic Church as master of ceremonies and Ashtabula County Veterans Service Commission Executive Director Ben Schwartfigure speaking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ceremony is entitled Remembering our 63, which emphasizes the Conneaut residents that did not return from their military service. Sixty-three crosses, with roses and flags, are scheduled to be placed at the site. The Conneaut High School Band is scheduled to participate, and Rev. Tim Kraus is to conduct the reading of the names. A bell will be tolled for each person. A parade is also scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in Geneva, with a ceremony to follow at Evergreen Cemetery. The Rock Creek Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #4953 invites all former and active service men and women to a parade and ceremony, said John Dyrcz representing the post in a press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The parade is scheduled to start at 8 a.m., with the Jefferson Area High School Band participating. The parade will include stops at the Fire Department Memorial, Dyrcz said. He said a Naval remembrance will occur at the Rock Creek Bridge before continuing on to Union Cemetery for a ceremony. Ashtabula County Commissioner Casey Kozlowski is scheduled to be the guest speaker. The JAHS Band is also scheduled to assist at ceremonies at Rays Corners, Lenox and Dorset townships, and Jefferson. A new leadership team, that includes village administrators, the Rotary Club and the Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce, are coordinating the parade in the village this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ceremony is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at the Ashtabula County Courthouse, which will include a speech by State Senator Sandra OBrien. The parade is scheduled to run from East Jefferson Street to North Market Street, and conclude at the cemetery, Elliott Rice said in a press release. The final portion of the ceremony is planned for the Helicopter Memorial. The Kelloggsville Heritage Committee is hosting the 66th Annual Memorial Day Parade and Service starting at 10 a.m. at the Kelloggsville Methodist Church. Parade participants, including the Edgewood High School Band, are scheduled to march from the church to Monroe Kelloggsville Cemetery. Jason Keeler is scheduled to be the guest speaker. A ceremony is also planned for 9 a.m. at Saybrook Cemetery with the Lakeside High School Marching Band scheduled to participate. There are also many other events scheduled through the county. May 23As in years past, Albert Lea and the surrounding communities will observe Memorial Day with special programs in area cemeteries, including a larger program to honor deceased military veterans. The Honor Guard will start the day with a ceremony at Lakewood Cemetery at 8 a.m., followed by a ceremony from 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. at St. Theodore Catholic Cemetery. From 8:45 to 9 a.m., a ceremony will be at Hillcrest Cemetery, followed by one from 9:15 to 9:30 a.m. at the Freeborn County veterans memorial outside the Freeborn County courthouse at the corner of South Broadway and East College Street. At 10 a.m. will be the traditional wreath drop ceremony on Fountain Lake, in which pilot Jim Hanson will celebrate his 53rd year of flying for the event, and the Memorial Day program will take place from 11 a.m. to noon at Graceland Cemetery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Albert Lea resident and Desert Storm veteran Greg Sundholm will be the speaker for the event. Sundholm serves as the quartermaster for the VFW Post 447 and is also the treasurer for Disabled American Veterans Chapter 16. In addition to Sundholm's remarks, there will be the traditional laying of the wreaths ceremony by representatives from Albert Lea veterans organizations, the Minnesota National Guard, Gold Star parents Don and Deb Goodnature and a POW-MIA representative. There will also be music, a volley fire by the Honor Guard and flag raising ceremonies. In case of rain, the ceremony will be moved to the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center at 147 N. Broadway. Following the program, there will be a free Memorial Day lunch for all active duty, National Guard, Reserves, retirees and veterans at American Legion Post 56. Bring your DD214, DOD ID card or VA card for verification. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cost for the meal is a $7 donation for non-veterans. This year's Memorial Day events are organized by VFW Post 447. Other ceremonies in the area are as follows: The Lundberg Lee Legion Post 266 of Hartland will host a Memorial Day service at 9 a.m. Monday at the Cross of Glory Church in Hartland. The guest speaker will be Albert Lea American Legion Post Cmdr. Ole Olson. The NRHEG band will provide music, and the Cross of Glory Altar Guild will provide a light mid-morning lunch. There will be a prayer service with the Honor Guard at 9 a.m. at the Bath Cemetery. Coffee and doughnuts will be served afterward. (NewsNation) As the Memorial Day weekend kicks off, NewsNations Leland Vittert takes a look at the price of gas and groceries, compared to the prices for those items when former President Joe Biden was in office. Polls show people are more confident about the direction of the country now than under Biden, and Vittert argues Americans economic anxiety could be coming from negative media coverage. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. Sunshine and clear skies tease barbecue-ready weather Saturday and Sunday, but forecasters say the Monday holiday could see some rain and cooler temps before western Washington heats up with temps reaching into the 80s next week. The weekend starts with a sunny Saturday, with highs ranging up to the 70s and some light wind in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service forecasts for the lowlands of Pierce and Southern King Counties and the Olympia and southern Puget Sound area. Thats thanks to a building upper ridge an area of relatively high atmospheric pressure bringing fair weather conditions across Western Washington. Sunday will be a tad cooler with a few more clouds and highs in the mid 60s to lower 70s. Today kicks off the #NIHHIS #HeatSafety social media campaign! We'll be sharing heat prevention & safety information through this week to help raise awareness of the dangers of heat. It's critical to practice heat safety wherever you are during heat events. #WAwx pic.twitter.com/A1HQNdodWQ NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) May 19, 2025 Rain could start falling Sunday evening into Memorial Day as a weak front pushes air up into the atmosphere across western Washington, causing the air to cool and condense, according to National Weather Service Seattle meteorologist Dev McMillian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The chance of showers could warrant bringing a rain jacket or poncho to any barbecues or outdoor gatherings, but it wont be all gray: the holiday is expected to be partly sunny with a chance of showers, with highs in the 60s, forecasters say. Then, a surprise: temperatures are predicted to peak well into the 80s on Wednesday, according to McMillian. The forecast indicates that Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are predicted to have highs hovering in the 70s. The days ahead will be a bit of a roller coaster in terms of temperatures, he said. Theres also a chance of showers on Thursday, but it doesnt appear to be a washout, according to McMillian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heat impacts vulnerable populations including those who are pregnant, newborns, children, the elderly and those with chronic illness, according to an heat safety awareness campaign post on X from the National Weather Service. Tips to protect yourself from the heat include drinking plenty of water, applying SPF 30 or higher sunscreen every two hours, wearing lightweight, loose-fitting and light-colored clothing and spending intervals of time in the shade, according to another post. And never leave children unattended inside a car a child can suffer heatstroke even when temperatures outside the car are below 70 degrees, the agency wrote in a post Wednesday. OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WNCN) With Memorial Day weekend a kickoff for the summer beach season, North Carolina coastal areas are watching for dangerous rip currents and two swimming spots are under scrutiny for high bacteria levels. At least two coastal swim advisories are in effect, with high levels of bacteria recorded heading into the weekend, state officials said. Last weekend, there were 13 rip current rescues in Carteret County at Emerald Isle which was under a moderate rip current risk at the time, the National Weather Service reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just last week, three North Carolina coastal swimming areas were under an advisory by the N.C. Recreational Water Quality Program. However, advisories in Dare County at the Outer Banks and in New Hanover County near Wilmington were lifted by Wednesday, state officials said. Photo courtesy: Emerald Isle Water Rescue But, on Thursday, a new swim advisory was issued for a sound-side site in Brunswick County in Southport, officials said. Dont swim at these NC beaches, officials warn; man-of-war swarm OBX and NC island The new advisory is for the public kayak launch in Cottage Creek at the end of W. West Street in Southport. Test results of water samples taken Tuesday and Wednesday indicate bacteria levels that exceed the state and federal action levels of 104 enterococci per 100 milliliters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also, an earlier swimming advisory in Beaufort County is still in effect for public access to Pantego Creek at East Main and Tooley streets in Belhaven. Test results of water samples indicate a running monthly average of 37 enterococci per 100 milliliters of water. This exceeds the state and federal standards of a running monthly average of 35 enterococci per 100 milliliters. Emerald Isle Water Rescue crews training for rescues in the surf. Photo courtesy: Emerald Isle Water Rescue The advisories are not beach closures. Swimming advisories are for waters within 200 feet of signs erected about each advisory. State recreational water quality officials sample 222 sites throughout the coastal region, most of them weekly, from April to October. Rip currents are an important focus for authorities at the North Carolina coast, where dozens of rip current rescues took place several weekends last summer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A high rip current risk was issued Wednesday for several beaches, including Oak Island in Brunswick County and Emerald Isle in Carteret County. Last weekend, lifeguards rescued 13 Emerald Isle swimmers when there was a moderate risk for rip currents at that beach. For Memorial Day weekend, rip currents are forecast as a moderate risk in most beach areas at the North Carolina coast. Meanwhile, Oak Island officials said Saturday they are still dealing with Portuguese man-o-war washing up on the beach. Oak Island Water Rescue photo We recommend you watch your step on the strand and stay out of water. Their tentacles are long and burn like (fire), Oak Island officials said on Facebook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FORT ASHBY, W.Va. For 35 years, Dan Thompson worked in various roles, including administrator at Calvary Christian Academy. Now, he said, its time to put the past behind and look to the future. Thompson doesnt want to criticize his former employer, but said he left the school due to concerns about church leadership related to CCA. It was best that I step aside, he said. Today, Thompson is an organizer of the new pre-K through 12th-grade Messiah Christian Academy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He will apply to be the new schools administrator, a position that must be approved by MCAs board of directors. MCA is incorporated in West Virginia. The academy registered with the states education department notice of intent to operate as a nonpublic school and received a federal tax employer identification number. Roughly 80% of the new schools staff positions are filled, and more jobs are expected to be added as MCA grows. Thompson hopes MCA will open by early September. Im an optimistic person, he said. I also have to be a realist. Purchase planWe struggled to find a place, Thompson said of locating a facility that can house between 100 to 200 students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former Frankfort Intermediate School building in Fort Ashby offers a prime opportunity for the new academys location, he said. The facility was removed from operation in 2024 after Frankfort Elementary was built to merge Fort Ashby Primary, Wiley Ford Primary and Frankfort Intermediate. The former Frankfort Intermediate School The former Frankfort Intermediate School We dont own the building yet, Thompson said. Were hoping to purchase the building. The former school, which can facilitate roughly 400 students and includes amenities such as a cafeteria, gym and outdoor recreation spaces, is set for auction next month, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For us as a school, it would be walk-in ready for the most part, Thompson said. It would give us plenty of room for growth. The beginningMCA will follow all the state regulations for maintaining a school, he said. Annual per-student tuition will be $5,500 and the new school will accept HOPE scholarship funds that provide roughly $5,000-plus per year for students who live in West Virginia, Thompson said. An income-based student-aid program is in the works for families that live in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Initially, parents will be responsible to take their children to and from the new school; however, transportation options will be explored in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new school will focus on Christian education and be open to anybody, Thompson said. In the beginning, God created, he said. Thats our foundation. Various detailsPolicies, bylaws and a constitution are in the planning stage. Students likely will not be allowed to have cellphones in the classroom, Thompson said. My experience is, without phones ... education is a whole lot better, he said. MCA MCA will include a homeschool umbrella and work with families to cover educational needs and allow for participation in school activities and team sports. The new schools colors will be navy and gold, with a warrior as its mascot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A tax-exempt fund has been established for donations that will help the school buy the Fort Ashby building and invest in the lives of students effecting generations, Thompson said. We certainly could use some assistance financially, he said, adding that the new school will also create a positive economic impact on the Fort Ashby community as families visit local restaurants and other businesses. New startOldtown, Maryland, resident Kaitlyn Crabtrees children, one elementary- and the other middle-school age, were students at CCA and are now registered for the upcoming MCA. My husband and I are really passionate about Christian education for our kids, she said, adding that their oldest daughter graduated from CCA and recently completed her college education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was very well prepared, Crabtree said. Although Calvary has been great for our kids, its time to move on, she said. Crabtree said shes pleased to have a new option for her childrens education. It feels good, she said. Im thankful for this other opportunity. Keyser resident Heather Haynes echoed that sentiment. I think its a great thing, she said of school options. Her eighth-grade son was a student at CCA. I dont have anything bad to say, Haynes said of CCA. However, its been a rocky year, she said. Now, her son and his kindergarten- age sibling plan to attend the new Messiah school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I couldnt imagine putting his younger brother anywhere else, she said of enrolling both sons at MCA. Theyre very close. Thompson said his wife, Tammy, teaches third grade at Calvary but will soon stop. Shes finishing out the year for her students, he said. Over the years, the couple taught many area students, as well as some of their parents, Dan Thompson said. We love what we do, he said. We just need to do it again in a different place. To register or learn more, visit messiahca.net. In November 2022, two men connected to a Metro safety program beat up another man on a station platform. Video footage, which The Times obtained last week, shows one of the workers squaring off before striking the man while the worker's colleague, wearing a black shirt that says security, jumps into the fray throwing fists. The man fights back, is pushed down onto the Metro platform, and ends up on the tracks. Still held by one of the pair, he tries to yank away and throws punches until he is let go. The two "community intervention specialists" unarmed community members who have experience with at-risk populations and gang intervention were hired to embed within Metros street teams to de-escalate and prevent violence. It's unclear who the third man is. Metro has touted the multimillion-dollar safety program as an integral solution in its fight against crime amid a surge in attacks throughout the rail and bus system, while trust in law enforcement has waned. But the 2022 incident involving the two men and the recent indictment of a co-founder of a community group also affiliated with the community intervention specialist program have raised questions about the oversight of Metros plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January, Metro expanded its operation and awarded a three-year contract for nearly $25 million to the Lee Andrews Group, a public relations firm, to manage Metro's community intervention specialist program. The firm also manages Metro's street teams a group the transit agency has described as station greeters who often distribute materials, such as PPE during the pandemic. That program complements Metro's robust transit ambassador teams, who also liaise with the public. These community-based programs have been proved to combat violence, Metro said, crediting these teams with a "15% reduction in violent crimes per boarding systemwide from 2023 to 2024" and a notable reduction in violence along the K Line. The Metro board directed the Lee Andrews Group to continue working with community organizations to combat violence by deploying specialists to "hot spots" throughout the system. One of those groups was Developing Options, co-founded by Eugene Big U Henley, who is described as a former gang member who became a community advocate. Henley was indicted in March on federal charges of fraud, robbery, extortion and running a racketeering conspiracy. Allegations against Henley also included fraudulently obtaining funds through a gang reduction and youth development program overseen by the L.A. mayor's office. Developing Options received nearly $2 million and stopped working with the Metro program March 25, Metro said, almost immediately after news surfaced about the organizations leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A representative for Henley could not be reached for comment. Another community organization subcontracted by the Lee Andrews Group was Able Solutions the organization affiliated with the men in the video, Metro confirmed. Since 2022, the organization has received more than $3.2 million for its work with Metro and while the men in the video were removed from the system and are no longer connected with Metro, the transit agency said the organization remains affiliated. Able Solutions has not responded to requests for comment. Metros Customer Experience Cabinet oversees the program, but the transit agency does not vet the groups involved. That task falls to Lee Andrews Group and the community organizations, Metro said. The groups are expected to recruit members who have "lived experience with gangs, trauma or violence," according to the board report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Metro, Able Solutions requires a background check of all individuals through the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services' guard card system and a state Department of Justice Live Scan. The group also conducts a Megans Law search. Lee Andrews vetting process is rooted in on-the-ground credibility, Metro said. They consult with local leaders, stakeholders and community coalitions to ensure that every individual representing the project has the necessary relationships, cultural competency and trust to operate effectively and responsibly in sensitive areas. Since 2022, Metro said that eight people have been arrested who work as transit ambassadors, street team members and community intervention specialists. The programs have employed a combined total of nearly 800 people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Metros top security officer in 2022, Gina Osborn, said her department was not involved in the oversight of the community intervention specialists or street teams and said that she had raised concerns over a lack of oversight. If you have a public safety ecosystem and you speak about it publicly, why is the entire ecosystem not under one person? Why is it compartmentalized in such a way where the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing? Osborn sued Metro last year over an allegation that the transit agency fired her in retaliation for filing a complaint with the Office of the Inspector General following a bus hijacking. The lawsuit described a tense relationship between Osborn and Metro Chief Executive Stephanie Wiggins over differing views on how Metros system should be secured. Scott Decker, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University who has studied criminology and gang intervention, said that public agencies' collaboration with these types of community-based programs has helped reduce crime in cities like Chicago. The data aren't "cut or dry" when it comes to assessing whether they work better than law enforcement to prevent violence, Decker said, but "there's not much evidence that shows police are demonstrably better." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Metro on Thursday approved a $9.4-billion budget that included a nearly 2% increase for Metros public safety budget. The community intervention specialist program is cited as a key priority to the multi-layered approach included in a nearly $400-million bucket. Osborn had been critical of how outside law enforcement patrolled the bus and rail system and pushed for more in-house security. Earlier this month, Metro named its chief of the transit agencys new in-house police department that will oversee all of Metros safety operations. Under a $193-million-a-year plan, sworn officers would work with Metro ambassadors and crisis intervention staffers, as well as community intervention specialists. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. He could see it coming. A sailor who tried to warn his colleagues before their Mexican navy training ship smashed into the Brooklyn Bridge recalled the moments of sheer panic before the deadly crash and the helplessness of having his screams go unanswered. It was very, very ugly, the unnamed boatswain said in a chilling audio interview this week with Mexican news outlet Milenio. It was too fast, the sailor recalled. We were against the [bridge]. The three masts broke, and that was it. Paul Martinka As the Cuauhtemoc drifted off course May 17, the sailor recalled in Spanish how the majestic training vessel was creeping closer and closer to the 142-year-old bridge, which he referred to as the dock, before the ships masts slammed into its historic span, killing two cadets and injuring 19 others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the linemen I mean, I dont know how they maneuvered, but they literally threw us against the [bridge], and I saw clearly how we were going, I mean, heading toward the [bridge], the man said in Spanish. I started yelling at them, Hey, were going against the [bridge]! Were going against the [bridge]! but no one reacted, he said. Distress calls from the Cuauhtemoc went out 45 seconds before the deadly collision, which happened less than five minutes after the ship set sail, officials said. It was too fast. When we came to see it, we were against the [bridge]. The three masts broke, and that was it, the man explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple sailors harnessed up in rigging were sent flying into the air, while the rest of the them scrambled in the chaos. Obviously, we had all the cadets up there, and there were too many injured, said the boatswain, the sailor in charge of overseeing a ships equipment and crew. I think a cadet fell from the bridge, which is the highest point up to the deck, so she is in very serious condition and it is not known if she will survive. The harrowing crash launched multiple sailors harnessed up in rigging flying into the air. PORTER BINKS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The cause of the catastrophic crash which left another 19 sailors injured remains under investigation. James Keivom America Yamilet Sanchez, 20, died from injuries she sustained in the wreck. A second cadet, 23-year-old Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, was also killed. The decks of the ship were covered in blood, he continued. All three masts were destroyed, the cables burst I mean, it was horrible, honestly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the boat crumpled, the sailors scrambled to rescue cadets tangled in the rigging, he said. Mexican Naval Cadet America Yamilet Sanchez, 20, succumbed to injuries she sustained during the wreck. A second cadet, 23-year-old Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, was also killed in the disaster. Facebook/Adal Jair Marcos The boatswains had to go up and lower them, and then the masts were bending, so we were going up and with the broken masts, we were up there trying to lower people little by littlethey couldnt get down. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. In total, there were 277 crew members on board 213 men and 64 women most of whom were cadets from the Heroica Escuala Naval Militar, the Mexican navys officer training academy in Veracruz. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Its tens of millions of dollars approved by New Mexico lawmakers for a project very few people even know about. A new STEM Institute is the most expensive earmark to come out of this years capital outlay bill. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state is trying to close the gap in New Mexico, where students are underperforming in math and science, with the new institute that would be built in Albuquerque. We are finally once and for all directing our state dollars that we have available in the right direction, said Senator Michael Padilla, (D-Albuquerque). The state is already pouring $20 million into the idea, the most money any single capital outlay project got this last session. The money will go toward planning, design, and construction. Managing the project, the New Mexico Higher Education Department said the institute will help address gaps in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Over the 2023-24 school year, the state said only 23% of New Mexico students were proficient in math, and just 38% in science. The planned STEM institute would provide tutoring and more for students in fourth through eighth grade. I mean, if you looked a decade ago, just a decade ago, we were probably half that rate at that point. So, if you take a look at it from that standpoint and were making these investments now, Im looking to see this 23-25% bump all the way up to 40-50%, said Sen. Padilla. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Public Education Department is expected to run the institute, which has no specific location at this point. HED said whatever gets built will equip the next generation with the critical thinking, problem solving, and innovation skills needed to succeed in an evolving workforce. Border Plex, Los Alamos, Sandia, a quantum economy, all of these things that are coming into the state now are going to make a huge difference, but theyre not going to make a difference if we dont have a STEM workforce, said Sen. Padilla. KRQE News 13 tried to talk to the governors office, the Department of Higher Education, and the state Public Education Department about the STEM Institute, but no one would do an interview at this point. They emphasized that the $20-million project, so far, is still in the planning phases. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. New Mexico State Police concludes Las Cruces operation with seizures, arrests EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) New Mexico State Police (NMSP) concluded Operation Deep Pockets in Las Cruces with arrests and seizures of multiple narcotics, according to the department on Friday, May 23. According to NMSP, Operation Deep Pockets is a joint effort led by NMSPs Crime Suppression Bureau, with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department and U.S. Border Patrol. The operation began in January 2025 in response to citizen complaints regarding suspected drug activity, NMSP said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The months-long operation focused on combating drug-related crime in Las Cruces with multiple NMSP divisions, including Investigations, Special Operations and NMSP officers, according to the department. Officers and agents executed warrants at numerous locations, where they had received multiple complaints of continuous narcotic activity, according to NMSP. Data was compiled by NMSP analysts with agents mapping high-crime areas and launching a series of targeted enforcement actions, NMSP said. NMSP Tactical Team, Las Cruces SWAT and Border Patrols BORTAC Unit served the warrants and searched the homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to NMSP, one search of a residence revealed thousands of used needles and numerous pieces of burned foil, commonly associated with fentanyl use. NMSP Operation Deep Pockets seizure. Photo courtesy of NMSP. In addition, a search of another residence revealed roughly 63 grams of cocaine, 8 grams of methamphetamine and 3 pounds of marijuana, NMSP said. There were also multiple firearms located and seized during the search. This operations mission was defined by collaborative efforts between agencies and their direct response to community concerns. The impact was felt immediately throughout the neighborhood as residents approached officers and expressed their gratitude for cleaning up their communities, read the news release by NMSP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. The Michigan Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Heres a look at May 23, 2025, results for each game: Winning Daily 3 numbers from May 23 drawing Midday: 4-9-1 Evening: 7-4-1 Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Daily 4 numbers from May 23 drawing Midday: 3-0-2-4 Evening: 4-2-1-9 Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Lucky For Life numbers from May 23 drawing 04-11-15-19-38, Lucky Ball: 04 Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Poker Lotto numbers from May 23 drawing AC-JD-KH-4S-8S Check Poker Lotto payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from May 23 drawing 09-33-34-36-39 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 06-15-18-34-38 Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Daily Keno numbers from May 23 drawing 01-12-17-18-23-26-31-36-42-43-44-48-49-51-60-61-63-70-73-74-77-79 Check Daily Keno payouts and previous drawings here. Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results Are you a winner? Heres how to claim your lottery prize All Michigan Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes up to $99,999.99, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Michigan Lotterys Regional Offices. To claim by mail, complete a ticket receipt form, sign your winning ticket, and send it along with original copies of your government-issued photo ID and Social Security card to the address below. Ensure the names on your ID and Social Security card match exactly. Claims should be mailed to: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michigan Lottery Attn: Claim Center 101 E. Hillsdale P.O. Box 30023 Lansing, MI 48909 For prizes over $100,000, winners must claim their prize in person at the Michigan Lottery Headquarters in Lansing located at 101 E. Hillsdale in downtown Lansing. Each winner must present original versions of a valid government-issued photo ID (typically a drivers license or state ID) and a Social Security card, ensuring that the names on both documents match exactly. To schedule an appointment, please call the Lottery Player Relations office at 844-887-6836, option 2. If you prefer to claim in person at one of the Michigan Lottery Regional Offices for prizes under $100,000, appointments are required. Until further notice, please call 1-844-917-6325 to schedule an appointment. Regional office locations are as follows: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lansing: 101 E. Hillsdale St. Lansing; Phone: 844-917-6325 Livonia: 33231 Plymouth Road, Livonia; Phone: 844-917-6325 Sterling Heights: 34700 Dequindre Road, Sterling Heights; Phone: 844-917-6325 Detroit: Cadillac Place, 3060 W. Grand Blvd., Suite L-600, Detroit; Phone: 844-917-6325 Grand Rapids: 3391-B Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids; Phone: 844-917-6325 Saginaw: Jerome T. Hart State Office Building, 411 E. Genesee Ave., Saginaw; Phone: 844-917-6325 For additional information, downloadable forms, and instructions, visit the Michigan Lottery's prize claim page. When are Michigan Lottery drawings held? Daily 3 & Daily 4: Midday at 12:59 p.m., Evening at 7:29 p.m. Fantasy 5: 7:29 p.m. daily Poker Lotto: 7:29 p.m. daily Lotto 47: 7:29 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily Daily Keno: 7:29 p.m. daily This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Michigan editor. You can send feedback using this form. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Lottery Daily 3, Daily 4 results for May 23, 2025 MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Midland County Sheriffs Office arrested eight individuals during a sex offender compliance operation conducted on Thursday, May 22, 2025, with support from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The operation was carried out by the Sheriffs Criminal Investigations and Patrol Divisions, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safetys Criminal Investigations Division. It focused on locating and holding accountable sex offenders who failed to meet their legal obligations. Each of the individuals arrested was charged with Failure to Comply with Sex Offender Duty to Register, a felony offense under Texas Penal Code 62.102. This charge applies when a person who is legally required to register as a sex offender does not keep their registration current, for example, by failing to report changes in address, employment, or vehicle information. The level of the offense can vary depending on the persons underlying conviction and prior registration history. The following individuals were taken into custody: Gilbert Espinoza Gilbert Espinoza DOB: 8/28/1967 Original Offenses: Aggravated Sexual Assault (Victim age 19) Aggravated Kidnapping involving a victim under 17 Registration: Lifetime, Quarterly verification Leonard Jackson Leonard Jackson DOB: 9/7/1964 Original Offense: Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child (Victim age 13) Registration: Lifetime | Annual verification Nealy Mitchell Nealy Mitchell DOB: 7/30/1965 Original Offenses: Sexual Assault of a Child (Victim age 16) Indecency with a Child by Contact (Victim age 7) Registration: Lifetime, Quarterly verification Nathaniel Montoya Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nathaniel Montoya DOB: 6/25/1973 At the time of publication, Montoyas information was not publicly available in the Texas sex offender registry. John Smith John Smith DOB: 9/23/1956 Original Offenses: Multiple counts of Sexual Assault of a Child (Victim age 9) Sexual Assault of a Child under 16 (Victim age 13) Registration: Lifetime, Quarterly verification David Webb David Webb DOB: 7/21/1955 Original Offense: Sexual Assault (Victim age 14) Registration: Lifetime, Annual verification Brian Weeks Brian Weeks DOB: 4/18/1973 Original Offense: Sodomy of a Minor Under 12 (Victim age 12) Registration: Lifetime, Annual verification Michael Williamson Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Williamson DOB: 7/14/1989 Original Offense: Lewd or Indecent Acts Toward a Child Under 16 (Victim age 14) Jurisdiction: Oklahoma Registration: Lifetime, Annual verification The Midland County Sheriffs Office emphasized the role of public cooperation and Crime Stoppers in ensuring safety and accountability. Sheriff Criner remains committed to protecting the citizens of Midland County by arresting those who prey on our community, the department said in a statement. Compliance operations like these send a clear message: failure to register will not be ignored. Authorities say additional compliance checks may be conducted in the future as part of ongoing public safety efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- A Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest of a Midland woman accused of assaulting her boyfriends 68-year-old grandmother during a confrontation earlier this year. Credit: Midland Crime Stoppers Recent Mugshot pending 24-year-old Nisa Paige Bernal was taken into custody by Midland County authorities on Thursday, May 22, and faces a felony charge of Injury to an Elderly Individual. The charge stems from an alleged physical altercation that took place on January 12 at a Midland residence. According to an arrest affidavit from the Midland County Sheriffs Office, deputies responded to a delayed report of an assault between Bernal and her boyfriends 68-year-old grandmother. The woman told deputies that she confronted Bernal at a fence line separating their living areas, which led to a verbal argument that quickly escalated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses, including the victims children and other family members who were on the property at the time, told investigators they saw Bernal strike the elderly woman multiple times across the face, arm, and shoulder. Several individuals said they intervened to stop the assault, physically pulling Bernal away and escorting her back into an RV on the property. Photographs taken by deputies reportedly showed scratches on the victims face and arm, injuries consistent with the accounts provided by the witnesses. Statements gathered by investigators appeared consistent with one another, except for Bernals. In her interview with law enforcement, Bernal denied striking the woman and claimed she was the one being verbally attacked. Bernal also alleged that she was grabbed by the arm during the encounter, which left a bruise. However, investigators noted inconsistencies between her version of events and the physical evidence, including injuries observed on the alleged victim. Following the investigation, deputies issued a warrant for Bernals arrest on the charge of injury to an elderly individual, a third-degree felony under Texas law. She was later featured on Midland Crime Stoppers Most Wanted list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities say they received a tip that led to her location and arrest. As of now, the case remains pending in the Midland County Justice Court, Precinct 2. A bond has not been set/listed as of Friday afternoon. The Midland County Sheriffs Office has not released further information regarding court proceedings or additional charges. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. Sign up for the Surge, the newsletter that covers most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. Welcome to this weeks edition of the Surge, a newsletter that sees how auto loans for American-made cars could soon be tax-deductible and has preordered a dozen new Ford F-150s. Youd be losing money not to! Thats just one benefit from the megabill that the House passed this week; downsides include, potentially, having less food. Meanwhile, we had hot parliamentary developments in the Senate, Democrats continued to wrestle with questions of mortality (always the mortality with these guys), and the new MAGA FBI is boring its audience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Surge would never bore its audience! Thats why Mr. Electricity himself leads the way. Last week, we thought the lingering problems Speaker Mike Johnson had to resolve in order to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (yes, official title) werent all that difficultbut we did doubt he could get it done ahead of his self-imposed deadline of Memorial Day. Conservative spending hawks would surely need another week or two of being pains in the ass before reluctantly signing on. But conservatives were able to get the screams out of their systems in just a few short days, and after an overnight session, Johnson gaveled in passage of the sprawling bill by a 2152141 margin early Thursday morning. Whats in the bill? Well, what isnt? At its core, it extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts while introducing a few new tax cuts; boosts spending on border security, interior immigration enforcement, and defense; and slashes health care and food benefits for low-income people while eliminating clean-energy subsidies. Big picture? The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the lowest income decile would see a reduction in household resources, while the highest would see an increase. In other words, the rich come out better and the poor come out worse. Well find out what changes the Senate has in store, but the House Democrats campaign arm has seen all it needs to ahead of the 2026 midterms. In any eventnice hustle, Mike Johnson. Now, sure, sure, Johnson may run the House, and no doubt his patient approach in dealing with competing factions of windbags kept the process in gear. But the arguing may never have stopped had Trump not entered the process and told everyone to fall in line or hed ruin their lives. Trump did that on Tuesday morning with a visit to a House Republican meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the blue-state moderates thinking their longtime New Yorker president was on their side in wanting to blow the cap on state and local tax deductions, Trump warned that doing so would only benefit Democrat governors who are destroying our country. The SALT caucus accepted leaders next offer. To the conservatives, meanwhile, his words were: Dont fuck around with Medicaid. And while the bill does certainly fuck around with Medicaid, the message to the conservatives was to quit fighting for the deeper, structural cuts they couldnt let go. At a White House meeting the next day, Trump reportedly cursed out the Freedom Caucus chair, Republican Rep. Andy Harris, telling him, Youre stupid if you vote against this bill. Harris ultimately voted present. Every other Freedom Caucus member voted for the bill when it passed about 12 hours later. Its been a while since a president had this much power within his own party, and Johnson has used him to his full advantage. A great number of wealthy interests have been relying on Republicans to crack down on a series of strict California emissions standards and its electric vehicle mandate, which the Biden administration allowed to proceed via waivers in 2024. The means for doing this, Republicans hoped, was through use of the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to nix recently passed federal rules by simple majority vote in both chambersin other words, without being subject to the Senate filibuster. The hitch, though, was that the Government Accountability Office determined that the waivers didnt qualify as rules under the CRA, an assessment that the Senate parliamentarian seconded. Now, to ignore the determination of the Senate parliamentarian is generally understood to be a red line that, if crossed, would erode the legislative filibuster. And we know, from their protestations under Democratic majorities, how Senate Republicans swear to love the filibuster more than their own mothers. But on the other hand they really dont like these tree-hugger California car rules! So this week, Senate Republicans, after some persuading by Majority Leader John Thune, shelved the parliamentarians counsel and rejected the waivers by simple majority, setting a new precedent that will expand the Senates target list of potential rules to eliminate by majority voteas well as open the door to future whittling of the filibuster. Despite Democrats fulminations against Republicans move as going nuclear, we dont think theyre all that upset in the long run. It gives them a new justification to tear down the filibuster further when theyre in the majority next (in infinity years). The morning before the House voted on the OBBBA, Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly died from esophageal cancer. The disease moved quickly; Connolly was diagnosed in November. Even just a year ago, Connollynever at a loss for wordswas in fine fighting shape. Until his disease, he had the right combination of cable television presence, understanding of the federal government, and investigative know-how to serve as top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. But by the time he got the job a few months ago, that had all changed. Connolly was always available to reporters, even if he would get mad at their stupid questions. Well miss him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The one-vote margin on the OBBBA the next morning, though, couldnt help but trigger Democrats continued frustration about their aging political class. Connolly is the third House Democrat to die this year, after Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner and Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva. We feelstronglythat Democrats still wouldnt have stopped the bill had those three seats been filled; Republicans couldve both flipped more votes if theyd needed to or couldve woken up the guy who fell asleep for the vote. Elected Democrats, however, should expect their age, in and of itself, to be cause enough for primary challenges going forward. A great, great deal of Democratic voters have had enough. We wonder why If youve turned on the television to any channel this week, youve likely seen Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson being interviewed about their new book Original Sin, which details the cover-up of former President Joe Bidens declining cognitive condition as he prepared to run for reelection. The Surge is about halfway through and can confirm: Yep, the cognition was indeed declining, and it didnt start in a particularly great place either. Targets for scorn include what the authors term the Politburolongtime Biden advisers, like Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchettias well as the Biden family and their closest personal aides. Former first lady Jill Biden does not come across well in this book. Some Democrats are exhausted by the news cycle this book has whipped up, in part because its a painful and embarrassing conversation for Democrats, but also because they believe that more attention should be focused on the misdeeds of the current officeholder. The Surge feels that plenty of attention is still being paid to Trump and that the cover-up of Bidens condition by his family and close advisers was a disgrace. Those who participated in it to protect their own power or careers deserve sharp public accountability to ensure it doesnt happen again. And it wont, right? When Trump turns 80 and wanders the National Mall with his pants on his head, telling bystanders hes looking for Farrah Fawcett, Republicans will be honest about whats going on, yes? If youre a conspiratorial right-wing streamer paying the bills by promoting snake-oil supplements, and the president of the United States suddenly asks you to serve as deputy director of the FBI, it might at first seem cool. Wow, real government powerneat! But once you settle into the job of deputy director of the FBI, with oaths and the need to maintain creditability among staff and support the institution, the responsibilities become kind of a drag. Dan Bongino, the former right-wing media personality turned deputy director of the FBI to whom were referring, learned this abruptly this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite having previously wet his beak trafficking in rumors surrounding Jeffrey Epsteins death, Bonginoalong with his boss, FBI Director Kash Pateltold Fox host Maria Bartiromo in a joint interview that Epsteins death had, indeed, been a suicide. He killed himself, Bongino said. Ive seen the whole file. He killed himself. When Bongino reiterated that point on Twitter, he was met with a hearty 9,600 replies (as of now) from former fans who were, well, displeased. Fellow right-wing talkers like Tucker Carlson and Alex Jonesperhaps eager to ensure that Bongino doesnt return as a competitor when his tour of duty is completeexpressed disgust with Bonginos statement. The optimistic scenario for bringing right-wing conspiracy theorists into government, whether its at the Justice Department or at Health and Human Services, is that they have earned the trust to tell their followers that, having reviewed the files, the conspiracies in question are unfounded. This fundamentally misunderstands the appeal of conspiracies, though, which is that its more fun and exciting to believe in them instead of in workaday truths. Trump spoke to the Russian president, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European heads of state this week, and he has come to a sudden realization: He told European leaders that Putin isnt ready to end the war in Ukraine because he thinks he is winning, as European officials told the Wall Street Journal. Well, no shit? Now that thats understood, the question is what path Trump could follow. The first would be to impose higher costs on Russia, perhaps with a new round of sanctions that the Senate is sitting on, to force it to negotiate; the second would be to wash Americas hands of the conflict. Which one seems more likely to prevail out of the MAGA White House? The Europeans takeaway, the Journal notes, was that Trump didnt believe that a near-term peace deal was in the offing and that the war was Europes problem. Maybe he will change his mind again, but that certainly seems like the result Europe should assume going forward. Is this really the entry were closing out on for Memorial Day weekend? Guess so. When their family was stationed at a military base in Washington, D.C., Kayla Corbitt planned on using her husbands Army benefits to pay for childcare so she could work. But when her baby was ready for daycare, the familys application for the benefit was still pending. So they paid full tuition with the promise of being reimbursed. But after eight weeks and nearly $5,000 in childcare bills, their application was denied. I had my employment and my childcare and everything lined up, and then all of it came crashing down, Corbitt said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Military families often earn too much to qualify for public programs to help pay for childcare, and military subsidies are difficult to access, Corbitt said. Her experience led her to start Operation Child Care in 2023 to help others avoid the struggles she faced. In 2024, the Texas-based nonprofit, which operates nationwide and is funded primarily by individual donations, helped more than 600 families. Corbitt found her sons daycare in a directory of military approved centers. But it wasnt until after the family drained their savings on tuition that they were told the directory was outdated and their sons daycare was no longer approved. The military uses a third party to administer its childcare benefits, and its system is largely automated, which can be a barrier for families, said Sabrina Dalton, COO of Operation Child Care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The system is failing them because they cant make any progress with Thank you for your email, we will be with you in 7-10 business days and then in 7-10 business days, no ones with them, Dalton said. At Operation Child Care, families can speak directly with a case manager, who will review their options, give them step-by-step guidance on accessing those options and assist them along the way. Kayla has figured out how to get traction and movement for families that are just stuck in the system, Dalton said. Samantha Lukes husband was assigned to Patrick Space Force Base in Cocoa Beach. But the family lived more than an hour away in Port St. Lucie, where there were no military-approved childcare centers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So when Luke found a daycare, it had to be certified. During the three-month certification process, which mostly involves an assessment of the centers rates and the familys income, the Lukes paid the full tuition of $1,400 a month, which was a strain. When the funding was approved, the monthly tuition dropped to $850 and they were credited for the extra money they paid. But after the first year, they had to be recertified. During that process, which took six months, their tuition went back up to $1,400. All that involved is us verifying our income, and then the center verifying their rates. Thats all it entails but it took six months, Luke said. Soon after being recertified, the center dropped Lukes son because it was overcrowded. The military assigned Luke a new daycare. But she was not happy with the quality of the facility. So she filed an appeal to get permission to go to a daycare of her choosing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the appeals process, which took four months, she had to keep an eye on her son while working from home. I would have to cancel meetings or reschedule them. Or Id have to get my husband to leave work early, which you know is affecting military readiness, Luke said. It was then that Luke reached out to Operation Child Care. A case manager for the nonprofit helped her reword her appeal and looped senior leadership in on the correspondence. Once that happened, thats when stuff started moving. Because for a while it was just stagnant, Luke said. With the nonprofits help, the appeal was approved, and Lukes son went to the new center. The family has since been reassigned to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where childcare costs are lower and they dont need the extra support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Corbitts nonprofit expanded its support when it launched Homefront Help in Floridas Emerald Coast. The new initiative aims to connect families with trusted caregivers. Because military families move so frequently, they are less likely to have friends and family nearby to help watch their kids. Corbitt said these families were often turning to Facebook to try and find help. These were gaps that were being filled by strangers, essentially, on the internet, Corbitt said. Under the new initiative, community members oftentimes former preschool teachers are recruited to help watch military familys children. They are given background checks, CPR and first aid training and are provided a curriculum, should families want to use them to supplement preschool. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Homefront Help initiative is funded by a grant from the Bainum Family Foundation, a Washington DC nonprofit that helps connect families with early childhood learning. The foundation has not disclosed the amount of the grant. Under Homefront Help, the caregivers set their own rates and Operation Child Care works as a referral service. With the grant, it is able to help some families pay for the care, since military subsidies are not available for such a program. Since the program launched last November, it has helped 147 families with things like picking kids up from preschool and sitting with them while parents are at work, taking them to therapy appointments or giving mom and dad an evening out. Corbitt knows well how much this flexible assistance means to parents, and how frustrating a more rigid system can be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Corbitts sons daycare was turned down for the funding, the family had to take out an emergency relief loan from the Army to cover the deposit and tuition at a new facility while their funding was being approved. But what really sucks about those loans is they are loans. So they immediately started garnishing my spouses wages, which were really the only thing keeping us afloat at the time, Corbitt said. It took a couple months, but the Corbitts were approved for a tuition subsidy at the new center. Corbitt said military families are often praised for being resilient because of situations like that. But resilience is a term she resents. There are very high-tension levels within military families. They call it resilience, which is a really frustrating word, Corbitt said, adding that military families should not have to be so resilient when it comes to childcare. The situations causing the resilience dont need to exist. MILLERSBURG, Ky. (FOX 56) A Bourbon County juvenile was arrested in the early hours of Sunday, May 18, after a vacant home had reportedly been vandalized. Around 3:30 a.m., officers with the Millersburg Police Department (MPD) found the door of a residence on the 200 block of Main Street ajar. Evidence found while searching the area pointed towards the home being burglarized by several people, officers wrote. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the department, investigators questioned a teen on Tuesday, May 20, in connection with the burglary investigation. He didnt cooperate, saying that he allegedly broke into the residence with some friends to cause damage, but wouldnt speak more about it. As of the time of this post, no other suspects have been identified and it is unknown whether they are adults or juveniles, the MPD wrote. The teen was reportedly charged with: Third-degree burglary Second-degree criminal trespassing Second-degree criminal mischief The burglary investigation remains ongoing Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. A dubious report from anti-abortion activists that casts doubt on the safety of a widely used abortion drug is now in the hands of top health officials in President Donald Trumps administration. Abortion rights advocates and public health researchers have roundly condemned the report as an unscientific and politically motivated attempt to undermine the drug approval process for mifepristone, commonly used in medication abortions, which make up a vast majority of all abortions in the United States. Anti-abortion activists and influential right-wing legal groups have spent years suing the federal government in an attempt to cut off Americans access to mifepristone, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, those groups appear to have launched a backdoor effort to replace the FDAs data altogether. This is one paper based on shoddy research methods to replace decades of safety and efficacy research, according to Amy Friedrich-Karnik, director of federal policy for reproductive health research group the Guttmacher Institute. Its absolutely not legitimate for that one paper to displace decades of medical research, she told The Independent. Can the FDA do it? I mean, an FDA that followed science and rigor absolutely would not do that. I think the question here is, how politicized will the FDA get? Anti-abortion groups are promoting a report that claims dangerous complications from widely used abortion drug mifepristone. Public health scientists are extremely skeptical (AFP via Getty Images) Last month, Trumps FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said he had no plans to change the governments position on mifepristone unless new data discovered a safety concern. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Days later, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a right-wing think tank, released a report claiming serious complications from mifepristone use were 22 times higher than previously reported. It called on the FDA to further investigate the harm mifepristone causes to women and reconsider its approval altogether. Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley whose wife, Erin Hawley, is a senior counsel with the right-wing legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, which is suing the government over mifepristone then called on Makary to follow this new data. Hawley also recently introduced legislation to reinstate safety regulations on the chemical abortion drug mifepristone. 63 percent Most abortions in the United States are medication abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute Under questions from Hawley in a Senate committee hearing this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr called the reports alleged findings alarming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clearly, it indicates that, at the very least, the label should be changed, Kennedy said. He asked Makary to do a complete review and to report back. During a Senate hearing on May 22, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray told Makary that the administration is laying the groundwork to rip away access to medication abortion across the country. This has not gotten enough attention, and I know youd prefer to keep it that way, she said. Makary said he still has not read the centers study, which was not peer-reviewed nor published in a medical journal. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the Trump administration will review a dubious report questioning mifepristones safety, raising fears among abortion rights advocates that the government could revoke its approval (AP) Dozens of peer-reviewed studies over the last two decades have shown that fewer than 0.5 percent of patients who take mifepristone have serious adverse reactions. The centers report claims that number is more like 11 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The study, first disseminated by conservative and religious media outlets last month, was authored by a group that aims to push back against the extreme progressive agenda while building a consensus for conservatives. The center was on the advisory board of Project 2025, which provided a blueprint for the Trump administration. Its authors include the centers Director of Data Analysis Jamie Bryan Hall and President Ryan Anderson. Hall was a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation: the think tank that organized Project 2025. Anderson is the co-author of five books, including Tearing US Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing. The pair cited the work of a team of data scientists, analysts, and engineers who were assisted by their own clinical team of board-certified obstetricians and gynecologists. Members have a history of academic research and peer-reviewed publication, Hall and Anderson wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They claimed to have reviewed 865,727 insurance claims from women who were prescribed the drug, but the report does not disclose which database was used. According to The Washington Post, the center said the reason was tied to a confidentiality agreement with the vendor. Public health researchers speaking to The Independent noted that the reports definition of a serious adverse event could include minor side effects, including routine bleeding, unrelated sexually transmitted infections, and routine follow-up visits. The report also lists ectopic pregnancies, which do not result from mifepristone use, as serious adverse events. Citing insurance data, they said their analysis had found 10.93 percent of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging or another serious adverse event within a period of 45 days following a mifepristone abortion. This study is the statistical equivalent of a category 5 hurricane hitting the prevailing narrative of the abortion industry, Anderson said in a statement. Calling it a study would be too generous, said Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a professor in the University of California-San Franciscos Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fact that its not peer-reviewed means that a lot of the methodological flaws were not corrected or were not addressed in the paper, she told The Independent. In a statement to The Independent, Anderson with the Ethics and Public Policy Center said they are very pleased that government officials at the highest level are taking our invitation to replicate our study seriously. As for the critics, most all of their criticisms are based on explicit misreadings of our paper, he said. As for peer-review, what matters is not academic gate-keepers but replicability. We have made our study fully replicable for anyone who wants to analyze the insurance claims data. Anderson said: We stand behind our analysis of healthcare claims data which is why we are asking the FDA to conduct its own review of this data. Real world data in which money changed hands based on the treatment of patients and coding by doctors brings a higher level of confidence. The dataset is available for purchase and our methodology is public. This study is fully replicable, and we encourage others to replicate it. We are glad that it appears that the FDA will be doing so. FDA commissioner Marty Makary has been tasked with reviewing the safety and efficacy of mifepristone following a report from a right-wing think tank (EPA) There were 36 reports of deaths associated with mifepristone since the product was approved in September 2000, according to the FDA. Those include two cases of pregnancy outside of the womb and several cases of sepsis. The adverse events cannot with certainty be causally attributed to mifepristone because of concurrent use of other drugs, other medical or surgical treatments, co-existing medical conditions and information gaps about patient health status and clinical management of the patient, the agency noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for GenBioPro, the manufacturer of mifepristone, said the report is clearly flawed. If this study isnt recognized widely for what it is just another attempt by the anti-abortion movement to spread misinformation about the safety of the abortion pill using a bogus and biased study Americans will be left with misleading information when they need to make critical health care and life decisions, Emma Thomas told The Independent in an email. This is a report with no peer review, no transparency of methods. It comes out, and within days is cited at our highest levels of government to the person who makes decisions around regulation of medications, said Heidi Moseson, a senior research scientist at Ibis Reproductive Health. And that suggests a very different pipeline of the way information is traveling with sort of egregious political motivation, she told The Independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A medication abortion typically involves a two-part protocol: mifepristone, which blocks the hormone progesterone to stop a pregnancy from growing, followed by misoprostol, which helps the uterus contract. The medication is also frequently used for miscarriage treatment. Mifepristone was first approved for use by the FDA in most cases in 2000, and the drug is approved for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. A vast majority of all abortions occur within the first nine weeks of pregnancy. Roughly 63 percent of all abortions in the United States are medication abortions, the Guttmacher Institute says. From 2019 through 2020, nearly 93 percent of all abortions were performed before the 13th week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2021, the FDA under President Joe Biden permanently lifted the in-person requirement for medication abortion prescriptions, allowing patients to access the drugs via telehealth appointments and online pharmacies so patients can take the drugs at home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the years that followed, anti-abortion state legislators filed more than 100 bills to restrict access to abortion drugs, or sought to ban them altogether. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, more than a dozen states effectively outlawed all abortions in most circumstances. Medication abortion accounts for the majority of all abortions in the United States and typically involves the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol (Getty Images) Months after that ruling, Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit targeting mifepristone with a court in Amarillo, Texas, on behalf of a group of anti-abortion physicians, claiming the FDA wrongfully approved mifepristone and then improperly eliminated requirements that the drug should only be dispensed in person. Trump-appointed District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who had formerly worked as a chief counsel with right-wing Christian legal activist group First Liberty Institute, later issued a ruling to suspend the FDAs approval of the drug, but the Supreme Court unanimously rejected his decision. Whether the FDA under the Trump administration can now simply swap underlying data with another is the million dollar question, according to Upadhyay. As a scientist, its really concerning and devastating to see what is meant to be a system to keep people safe and understand true health risks weaponized in this moment to further restrict peoples access to really essential healthcare, Moseson said. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) As world leaders descend upon downtown, the mayor of Dayton is praising the preparations that are now helping keep everyone safe downtown. The NATO Spring Assembly is in full swing on Friday, and 2 NEWS sat down with Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. to see how hes feeling about this historic event. NATO Village: What does it look like inside the security zone? Theres a lot of work that has gone into planning to host this NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which is the first in the U.S. in 20 years. For just a week-long event, months of preparation went into planning security, schedules and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Mims says the event is off to a great start, particularly when it comes to safety, and he expects that to continue. There were no incidents on day one, and thats not by accident. Teams of law enforcement worked for months to come up with a plan to secure the inside of the NATO Village and surrounding areas. What is the NATO Village? The city of Dayton collaborated with several local, state and federal officials to pull this whole event off. Dayton has looked at whats happening across the state, across the nation in terms of the issues involving safety and how you keep people safe, said Mims. Theres a blueprint, if you will, in terms of how they do what they do, in terms of addressing the needs of each other and being supportive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Mims says hes happy with what hes seeing so far, and thanks the multitude of partners who are working to keep everyone safe. No matter what department you in on the matter, what part of the state that you in, we all sort of come together, said Mims. There were initially concerns about safety due to potential protests, but Mims says he wants protesters to have a space to feel like they have a voice. The city worked to make sure there is a designated area of protesters. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SUMMER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) Its been almost 15 months since Sumner County teen Sebastian Rogers disappeared. His case made national headlines, but his father said the search is losing momentum ahead of National Missing Childrens Day. He is my world. I need him, Sebastians father, Seth Rogers, said. I need him back with me. On Friday, May 23, Seth spoke with News 2 at the Sumner County Sheriffs Office. Frustrated and emotional, he said he feels like hes carrying the weight of the investigation alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont even know, if a tip comes in, if I shouldnt track it down because I dont know if they can do their job properly because so far, they haventTheir lack of communication with the public, their lack of communication with me is all telling me that they dont care that my son is missing, Seth explained. MAY 2025 | YouTubers covering the case of a missing Sumner County teen win some legal battles Sebastian is one of an estimated 460,000 children reported missing every year in the U.S., according to the FBI. Sebastian was just 15 years old when he vanished from his Hendersonville home in February 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initial search efforts involved local law enforcement, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI, but those physical searches have since shifted to focus on the investigative side. The last press conference on the case was more than a year ago. I would love to see them actually conducting more searches, Seth said. Id like to have some communication on the tips that have come in, just with me, so that I know that when a tip comes in, Im not following up on the job theyre supposed to do. FEBRUARY 2025 | We are going to find him: Sumner County teen Sebastian Rogers missing for one year Im trying to find my son, he added. They are trying to solve a case. You cant solve a case if you dont find my son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seth told News 2 only one detective is actively assigned to the case, adding that he is often left to chase down the same leads also sent to law enforcement. We need more than just one set of eyes on this case, Sebastians father said. It all falls on my shoulders to ask people to help find my son, Seth continued. My son means something to me. These people should be doing their job. DECEMBER 2024 | Search for Sebastian Rogers captivates Middle TN and social media throughout 2024 News 2 reached out to the sheriffs office, which provided the following statement: First and foremost, our thoughts remain with Sebastian Rogers. I want to assure the community that this investigation remains a top priority for the Sumner County Sheriffs Office. We are aware of the communitys concerns. Please know that behind the scenes, a tremendous amount of work has been done and will continue. Some aspects of the investigation are not be visible to the public due to the sensitive nature of the case. We continue to ask for the publics help. If you know something no matter how small it may seem please come forward. Every tip matters. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and care for Sebastian. DECEMBER 2024 | Father of missing Sumner County teen says he has renewed faith in law enforcement investigation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his push for progress, Seth said he has contacted lawmakers and is even drafting federal legislation aimed at reforming how child protection agencies and the AMBER Alert system handle missing child cases. Its a federal oversight law on places like CPS, DCS, the AMBER Alert, getting it redone and taking out of peoples hands that dont care about the children, Seth said. Out of the roughly 460,000 children who are reported missing in the U.S. every year, Seth told News 2 that every one of those cases deserves attention including Sebastians. A parent demands answers. We demand answers because our heart is missing, Seth said. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers, 15, was reported missing on Feb. 25, 2024 from the Beech area in Hendersonville. Sebastian Rogers: Description Sebastian is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 120 pounds with dirty blond hair. He was last seen on Monday, Feb. 26 near Stafford Court wearing a black sweatshirt and black sweatpants, said the TBI. AMBER Alert Issued The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) originally issued an Endangered Child Alert for Sebastian on the morning of Feb. 26 as multiple agencies took to the area to look for him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on additional investigative information developed during the search, the TBI issued an AMBER Alert for Sebastian on the afternoon of Feb. 27. An AMBER Alert is issued when there is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred and the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, per the DOJ. Multiple agencies including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Nashville Fire Department, City of Hendersonvilles first responders, Sumner County Sheriffs Office and Shackle Island Volunteer Fire have assisted in the search for Sebastian. Who to Contact If you have seen Sebastian or have info about his whereabouts, call the Sumner County Sheriffs Office at (615) 451-3838 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. The Missouri Public Service Commission has scheduled hearings next month in Southwest Missouri to hear from Liberty customers who have experienced or are still experiencing problems with service and/or billing practices. The commission on Feb. 27 ordered its staff to open an investigation after hearing from a number of customers commenting during a pending rate case by Liberty about faulty billing and poor service. The staff of the PSC will host a series of town hall meetings on the topic June 10-12. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A town hall in Joplin is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, June 12, at Missouri Southern State Universitys Criminal Justice Center Auditorium, 3950 Newman Road. Three other town hall meetings are scheduled in the area: 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, at the Aurora Recreation Center, 126 W. Hadley St., in Aurora Noon Wednesday, June 11, at the Branson Chamber of Commerce Council Room in Branson City Hall, 110 W. Maddux St. 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, at the Ozark Community Center in Ozark, 1530 W. Jackson St. PSC staff is currently in the process of gathering information and will file a report when completed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The purpose of these meetings is to hear directly from you, the customer, about your experiences with Liberty Utilities, the staff said in a written release. ... Collecting information directly from customers will assist Staff in its investigation and provide a forum for customers to interact with Liberty, OPC and Staff. The OPC is the Office of Public Counsel, a separate agency that represents ratepayers in hearings and rate cases before the PSC. In a separate filing, the staff said it it had issued 74 data requests to Liberty and had received responses to 41 of those requests. It said responses to the remaining data requests were expected as they came due in the coming weeks and the staff anticipated it would need to issue new data requests as it learns more about issues related to recent complaints with customer service and billing. Missouri Sen. Jill Carter, from Granby, held a town hall with Public Service Commission staff and Liberty officials, including Tim Wilson, president of Liberty Central Region Electric, and others on March 9 in Joplin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At that meeting, customers spoke about receiving inaccurate bills and about not receiving bills for months at a time and getting no help over the phone or in person from Libertys customer service representatives. Wilson acknowledge problems with billing since April 2024, when the utility launched a change in its computer operating system of all the different utilities at Liberty to a common system used nationwide. I stand here before you tonight to own those, Wilson said in March. And thats not been good for our customers. We implemented companywide, not just Empire, but companywide. We operate multiple utilities and in multiple states across the United States and all of them were on different operating systems. And so you can imagine the inefficiencies that come about whenever you have multiple operating systems over multiple companies. (FOX 5/KUSI) Immigration authorities are stepping up courthouse arrests in San Diego, targeting asylum seekers who show up for their hearings, and sparking concern among immigrant rights advocates and legal experts. Witnesses said seven people were detained Friday morning, with others detained on Thursday and Tuesday of this week. ICE agents were spotted in the hallway waiting for people, similar to what has been seen at other cities around the country. Cell phone video shared with FOX 5/KUSI shows ICE agents taking a man away in cuffs moments after his asylum hearing on Thursday inside the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses said hes one of several undocumented immigrants arrested this week as they walked out of the courtrooms. San Diego court alone, more than 20, said Tracy Crowley, staff attorney with Immigrant Defenders Law Center. Similar raids have been reported in Washington, Texas, and Arizona. Crowley represents two asylum seekers who were detained. She explained, Theyre both in shock at what happened. They both had a lot of questions about why they were being targeted since theyre doing what theyre supposed to do. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said, Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals if they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Expedited removals were mostly used near the border and for people who had just entered the country. But in January, the Trump administration expanded its use of the process. Immigrant rights advocates say this raises concerns. By detaining them and removing them from the United States, its essentially not permitting due process rights to be observed, said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee. Rios said in at least two instances on Thursday, ICE agents apprehended the wrong people. Video shows one mans lawyer intervened after he had a medical emergency following his arrest, and he was released after ICE realized the mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Can the government put someone in full removal proceedings, wait a year, a year and a half, and then change their mind and arrest them and put them in expedited removal with no cause? I think thats kind of what were wrestling with now, said Crowley. Meanwhile, immigrant rights advocates are urging asylum seekers to stick to their court dates. The Trump administration is facing multiple lawsuits over its immigration policies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The mother of a 20-month-old Moorhead boy who died after being brought to a hospital in Fargo has been arrested for his murder. Moorhead PD said the 32-year-old woman is being held on probable cause 2nd-degree murder, and is expected to be charged by the Clay County Attorney's Office. The boy, identified as Jose Zamora, was unresponsive when he was brought to Sanford Hospital on the evening of Thursday, May 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was declared dead despite lifesaving efforts. It sparked a "suspicious death" investigation, which saw his family's home on the 1100 block of 18 1/2 Street South in Moorhead searched by officers. A preliminary autopsy has now determined that the boy's manner of death was homicide. More details will be released when the criminal complaint against the mother is filed. Bring Me The News does not typically name suspects until they have been formally charged. Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcements latest version of events, and may be subject to change. Linda Clary had reached her breaking point. The grieving mother stormed out of a Manhattan courtroom one day in February during closing arguments in the three-week murder trial of the men accused of killing her son and another young man. In the restroom down the hall, she fell to her knees, praying for her son, the jurors and the three men on trial in the killings. As she prayed, another mother entered the mother of one of the defendants, Jacob Barroso. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I immediately stood up and she said, Are you all right? and I said, No, Im not, Clary said. The two mothers embraced. It was two moms who are in agony and pain, coming together and somehow appreciating each others agony and pain, she said through tears. And I feel like it was truly a divine, other-kingdomly moment that words cannot describe. But prayers could not save either son. Linda Clary holds a family photo of herself and her son John Umberger at her home in Highlands, N.C., in 2023. (Will Crooks for NBC News) I dont get to see John On Wednesday, Barroso, 32, Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, and Robert DeMaio, 36, were sentenced to decades in prison for murdering Clarys son, 33-year-old John Umberger, and 25-year-old Julio Ramirez in the spring of 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trio worked together to drug and rob Umberger, Ramirez and three others who survived after having met them outside popular city gay bars and nightclubs, according to prosecutors. The defendants drugged the victims to the point of unconsciousness using a concoction that included fentanyl before they used their lifeless faces to unlock their cellphones through facial recognition technology. With access to the victims devices, the men drained thousands of dollars from their banking apps and used payment apps to buy food, shoes, alcohol and other items, prosecutors said. All three defendants were convicted of Ramirezs murder, while Hamilton and DeMaio were convicted of Umbergers. All three had maintained their innocence. Barrosos mother and family members of the other men convicted of murder could not be reached for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres no doubt in my mind that Jacob Barrosos mother loves him, his uncle loves him, his family loves him. And they showed up as much as I did during the trial, Clary said. And yet something happened, and he lost his way. They still get to see each other, she added. I dont get to see John. The last time Clary saw her son was three years ago, when she went to collect his body. Its that moment, she said, that fuels her endurance. She spent the next three years relentlessly pressing the New York Police Department, the Manhattan District Attorneys Office, the mayors office, the media and anyone who would listen, determined to ensure that her sons case was not forgotten. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clary traveled from her home in North Carolina to New York City time and time again, meeting with investigators and officials, attending arraignments for her sons then-accused killers, virtually every pretrial hearing, the three-week trial and, finally, Wednesdays sentencing. I really wanted to hate New York and see it as a city that took John away from me, from us, she said. And its been part of the healing process that has been this beautiful thing. Linda Clary poses for a portrait in her home in Highlands, N.C., in 2023. (Will Crooks for NBC News) A mother finally rests Umberger, a former political consultant, moved to New York several weeks before his death for his job at a nonprofit. Although he was relatively new to the city, he quickly developed a list of favorite restaurants he shared with his mom, including Minetta Tavern, the Waverly Inn and Lil' Frankies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clary marked Wednesdays sentencing at one of her sons favorite spots, the French restaurant La Goulue, surrounded by dozens of his friends and family members. The restaurant is located across the street from the Upper East Side townhouse where Umberger lived and where he tragically died. John was so excited about taking on New York City. And in some ways, ironically with what happened, even though he is not physically here, he took on New York City and he won. It just cost him his life, she added. Clary said that one of the most challenging moments throughout the last three years was watching surveillance footage shown during the trial of her son leaving a Hell Kitchens gay bar on the night he died. The footage showed Umberger leaving The Q NYC alone in a car and then returning several minutes later for unknown reasons. He was then seen departing the front of the bar with the men later found guilty of his murder, Hamilton and DeMaio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was something that kept drawing John back to the front of that club. Its almost like you want to jump out of the seat and scream, Stop, John! Go back home, and it didnt happen, she said. Seeing how vulnerable he was and by himself. He seemed quite happy to go off with his new friends. Umbergers friends a diverse group of men and women spanning several generations described him as a connector, someone who can light up a room and befriend any stranger. At Wednesdays hearing, Neil Chatterjee, one of Umbergers friends, reflected on Umbergers friendly nature. You didnt have to kill him. You didnt even have to rob him. If you needed money, he would have given it to you. He would have hung out with you, he said. Instead you chose to go down the malicious path and now your lives are forever ruined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clary returned home to North Carolina later this week. She said she plans to visit New York periodically and volunteer her time to the LGBTQ community in the near future. But for now, she will be spending time with her three other adult children, enjoying her new grandchildren and taking care of her 95-year-old father, she said. After three years traveling back and forth to New York, pressing local officials and advocating for her son in the media, Clary also plans to rest. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be together with John again, Clary said. God is taking a bad, evil thing that happened and making good out of it, she added. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The director of an after-school childcare program has been accused of choking a child. Now, the childs mother is concerned about the way the facility is handling this situation. The victims mother, Teerrica Warren, said the facilitys corporate team told her the director who choked her son would be fired, but she told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that when she arrived to pick her daughter up, she was shocked to see the director open the door and let her in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I trusted these people with my children with their safety, Warren said. Mission 1:27 is a faith-based organization that provides free childcare through Adventure Centers at a number of different Walton Apartment Communities in Cobb County and across Georgia. Their mission is to love kids and be there for kids. I feel like they failed us, Warren said. She told Newell that the director of the Adventure Center at Walton Ridge Apartments assaulted her 12-year-old son. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karmen Edwards, who is listed as the director on the organizations website, is charged with simple battery. She grabbed him by the throat and began to choke him for several minutes, Warren said. Warren said her son picks up his sister from the Adventure Center after school with no problems. Earlier this month, she said the process took a turn for the worse. Ms. Karmen Edwards attacked him, and she choked him inside the center because he refused to answer what she asked him to do, Warren said. Warren said she felt helpless as she watched security camera video that she says shows Edwards choking her son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Traumatic, discomfort, fearful, angry, Warren said. Why? Why would you do this? Warren said she had to take her son to the hospital, even showing Newell the discharge papers. He suffered from a concussion with his neck, Warren read from the papers. Newell stopped by the center. The property manager kicked our photographer off the property before he gave Newell contact information for whom she should speak to. Newell was told she would get a response. Walton Communities later sent a statement, saying: Walton Communities management takes seriously the recent claims against an Adventure Center team member. We are cooperating fully in the police investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program is not licensed by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning and is not required to be licensed because it provides free services. The state does not regulate or routinely inspect the program. SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) A motorcyclist was killed after crashing into a car in Woodruff on Friday afternoon. Related video: What to do if you witness a crash According to the Spartanburg County Coroners Office, the crash took place near the intersection of Buncombe Street and Perrin Ave. The motorcyclist was traveling down the 900 block of the Buncombe Street Extension when he hit the Jeep head-on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 100 deadliest days of summer begins this weekend The coroners office identified the motorcyclist as 36-year-old Brandon Branch of Woodruff, who was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. A forensic exam is scheduled for Saturday. County coroner, Rusty Clevenger, encouraged drivers to exercise caution on the Spartanburg County roadways. I would ask that everyone be reminded to please pay attention while driving, wear your seatbelt, obey the speed limit, and drive defensively, Clevenger said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas (KETK) Mount Pleasant city manager Kimberly Meek has resigned from her position, citing unexpected family matters out of the state. Wesley Lyon to be sworn in as Mayor of Mount Pleasant After considerable reflection and due to unexpected personal family matters out of state, I write this letter to notify you that I am resigning my position as City Manager of Mount Pleasant, effective immediately, Meek said to the Mount Pleasant City Council on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meek has only served as the city manager for just two months but she said she values all the relationships shes made in Mount Pleasant. The past few months have been filled with new experiences, and I value all the professional relationships Ive developed here, Meek said. The City is fortunate to have such dedicated Directors with a true heart to serve. Assistant Mount Pleasant city manager Candias Webster will now serve as the acting city manager while the city council considers the appointment of an interim city manager until they can recruit a new city manager. Meeks resignation comes a year after former Mount Pleasant city manager Ed Thatcher resigned in May of 2024. The city council will hold a special agenda meeting on May 29. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. Mountain Home VA implements Arlington Rules for Memorial Day flag placement JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) Memorial Day weekend kicked off with ceremonies across the region, and one of the most widely recognized took place at the Mountain Home VA in Johnson City. On Saturday morning, Boy Scouts, veterans and community members placed flags on over 35,000 headstones to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in military service. 2025 marks the 78th year the ceremony has taken place, but this time around, organizers implemented Arlington Rules, which refers to a consistent placement of the flags on graves. Participants were asked to set their foot at the bottom of the headstone, then place their flag at the heel, followed by a salute for a uniform flag placement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a standard they set in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and they wanted to have all the flags be consistent, said Shane Barger with the National Eagle Scout Assoc. Sequoyah Council. When my son was growing up, we always just put the flags in front of the gravestone, but everyone put them in just a little differently. Everyone in attendance received a special scout patch for their work. Its estimated that over 300 people came to the VA Saturday morning to help with flag placement. While the turnout was overwhelming, Mountain Home VA Cemetery Director Richard Munoz said it was not surprising. The public is so woven into the national cemetery and just has a genuine love for this. It means a lot to us as a staff of veterans and serving the veteran community to see so many people out here, many not even veterans themselves, said Richard Munoz, Mountain Home VA Cemetery Director. I think it just instills the sense of patriotism and respect for our local military community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Mountain Home VA will also host a ceremony on Monday in recognition of Memorial Day. The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the Boy Scout Field Pavilion on the VA campus. The address is 215 Heroes Drive in Johnson City. Officials with the Sequoyah Council said there will be a flag pick-up on Tuesday at 9 a.m., but a rain date will be set if needed. Volunteers are asked to meet at the main entrance of the historic cemetery if they wish to help with that effort. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. May 23MITCHELL A roar of applause broke out at the Karl's TV and Appliances new Mitchell location as 93-year old Elmer Karl recited the company's tagline, "Your servicing dealer since 1956." The nearly 70-year old South Dakota chain has expanded its Mitchell business by revamping a familiar location with a community-first approach. On Thursday, May 22, the Connect Mitchell Committee of the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new location of Karl's TV and Appliance at 1301 N. Main St., at the corner of Mitchell's Main Street and 12th Avenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Karl's parking lot was packed full of vehicles and some community-members parked on the street. A throng of visitors milled about the hors d'oeuvres table, window shopped the various refrigerators and tested out the mattresses. Karl's has moved into the old Campbell Supply building on North Main Street, which has been vacant for most of the last 20 years, except for a brief use by Muth Electric as a storage facility. Karl's has vacated its original Mitchell location three blocks south on Main. The 1966 building has received a complete makeover. The exterior, which was previously tan, is now a dark gray slate color, while the interior has been brought up to the standard one would expect out of a sprawling showroom with modern appliances. "Something like this doesn't just happen," said Mike Karl, son of Elmer Karl and Karl's vice president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In early 2024, conversations began between staff at Karl's and Mitchell local businessman Austen Iverson, who has owned the former Campbell's Supply store building since 2022. Iverson called the old building a blight, and was glad that it will no longer sit dark on Main Street. With new renters moving in, the parking lot was repaved, a new awning was installed, and the building was painted. The renovation project for the warehousing space was a collaboration effort between local-Mitchell tradesmen services, who completed all of the carpentry, drywall, painting, HVAC, window, carpet installation and various roof and structural repairs. "Four months ago, this was an open warehouse," Karl's CEO Chuck Bergen said. "We wanted to expand because the community really supported us." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 1301 N. Main St. location, with 27,320 square feet of showroom and warehouse, more than triples the retailer's space of the previous Karl's location at 910 N. Main St., which had 7,840 square feet. The new location has about 18,000 feet of warehouse and about 9,000 feet of showroom. Karl's quickly outgrew the old Rew's/Karl's location in Mitchell, according to Bergen. The new location has an ample warehouse and room to grow. With a wide selection of appliances, it gives customers in Mitchell a reason to never leave the city for an appliance purchase, according to Karl's COO Jim Mohs. The Mitchell Karl's location will serve as a regional classroom for service technicians, with plans for a refrigeration training in June, and other trainings to follow. The Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce presented Karl's with a certificate of recognition for contributions to the Mitchell community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's really great to have a building on Main Street refurbished and to have new life in it," Mitchell Chamber of Commerce vice president Joanna Allen said. "It's just great to have a local business that is investing money into our community." Allen noted that much of the development in Mitchell comes from existing businesses. Elmer Karl is an active man. Mike Karl, 67, praised his father for wanting to make stores a community asset. "He's one of the most humble individuals. He always says, 'Take care of the customer,'" Mike Karl said. It all came back to good Midwestern ethics, values and hard work, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karl's, which began in Gregory in 1956, now has 30 locations in seven states. In 2017, Karl's took over Mitchell-based Rew's TV and Appliance . Rew's store manager John Bennett managed the Mitchell location through the transition and Bennett, along with many of the same staff, still work at the Mitchell store. "As you can tell, they have their heart and soul in the community," Bergen said of the Mitchell Karl's staff. Karl's various expansions came about much in the way that the Mitchell location did, when a retiring owner has no succession plan and no family member willing or able to take on the business. Rew's TV and Appliances began in 1961, but had no one to take over the business and then reached out to Elmer Karl, according to Bergen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karl's maintains a small-town feel, on purpose. "For the community, it didn't seem like anything changed other than a name on the outside of the building, because we were committed the same way," Bergen said. Karl's business plan includes supporting other independent appliance dealers, not just being in competition with them in the same way as a national or big box store. The goal is to keep people and money in the community, Bergen said. Much of the longevity of the company is a result of a dedicated support staff to take care of customers and maintain appliances, a conservative growth plan, and the unwillingness to be predatory toward competition, according to Bergen. "People are the most important part of local business," Bergen said. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A composite image comparing the relative sizes of our solar system's known dwarf planets, including the newly discovered 2017 OF201. | Credit: Sihao Cheng et al. Scientists have found evidence of a previously-undetected dwarf planet at the edge of the solar system. The object, dubbed 2017 OF201, follows an extreme, oblong orbit, taking some 25,000 Earth years to circle the sun. The findings, which were confirmed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center but have not yet been peer reviewed, were published May 21 on the preprint server arXiv . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2017 OF201 is a roughly spherical body about 435 miles (700 kilometers) in diameter, lurking beyond Neptune's orbit. A team of scientists spotted it while poring through archival data from the Blanco telescope in Chile and the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope based in Hawaii. The researchers tracked the object's motion across 19 sets of images spanning seven years. At its closest, the dwarf planet orbits at nearly 45 AU, or 45 times the distance from Earth to the sun a similar distance as its fellow dwarf planet Pluto . Based on the newfound object's trajectory, the scientists estimate its last close pass to the sun was in 1930, the same year Pluto was discovered. It's now twice as far away and rocketing off even further into space. At its farthest point, 2017 OF201 will be a whopping 1,600 AU before starting its journey back inward. This oblong orbit hints at complex gravitational interactions, both with Neptune and with the pull of the Milky Way 's gravity. "There may have been more than one step in its migration," study co-author Sihao Cheng , an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, said in a statement . "It's possible that this object was first ejected to the Oort cloud, the most distant region in our solar system, which is home to many comets, and then sent back." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: Planet Nine: Is the search for this elusive world nearly over? A diagram showing the current locations of Pluto, Neptune, and the newly discovered dwarf planet 2017 OF201. | Credit: Jiaxuan Li and Sihao Cheng Because it's so difficult to spot solar system objects this far away, it's possible 2017 OF201 isn't the only dwarf planet waiting to be discovered. "2017 OF201 spends only 1% of its orbital time close enough to us to be detectable," Cheng said. "The presence of this single object suggests that there could be another hundred or so other objects with similar orbit and size; they are just too far away to be detectable now." related stories Astronomers identify first 'good' candidate for controversial Planet Nine deep in our solar system Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James Webb telescope spots potential conditions for life on 2 dwarf planets beyond Neptune 'Farfarout' is most distant object in our solar system. But it's not Planet Nine. The newly-discovered object could also challenge theories of Planet 9 , a proposed but unobserved large planet orbiting billions of miles beyond Neptune. Some scientists have proposed the influence of Planet 9's gravity to explain the clustered orbits of some trans-Neptunian objects. But 2017 OF201 doesn't fit neatly into this observed pattern, and the researchers suggest that the gravitational pull of Planet 9 if it exists would knock 2017 OF201 out of the solar system fairly quickly. Further observations will be needed to better understand these possible interactions, the team wrote in the study. "Even though advances in telescopes have enabled us to explore distant parts of the universe, there is still a great deal to discover about our own solar system," Cheng said. In the remaining weeks before his scheduled execution, Richard Jordan, Mississippis oldest and longest serving death row inmate, is looking for ways to fight his death sentence. Jordan was sentenced to death for the kidnap and murder of Gulfport resident Edwina Marter in January 1976. Marters sons, who were 3 and 9 at the time of her death, and her husband are still alive, according to public records. About a decade ago, her family told The Advocate they were hoping to receive closure from the execution after years of its delay. The decision to let the execution proceed rests in the hands of the Mississippi Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court and a federal district court judge two courts that have rejected his previous requests and a judge who has allowed another execution to be carried out while a challenge to the states execution protocol continues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys filed two motions asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to rehear its denial of the 78-year-olds petition for post conviction relief and to rehear its order setting his execution. They wrote that when the court denied his post-conviction relief petition, it misapprehended the facts and the law. To fix it, Jordan asked the court to vacate his death sentence or at a minimum return it to the trial court for another look. His attorneys argue Jordans death sentence is not valid because in 1976, when the murder was committed and Jordan was sentenced, Mississippi and all other states had ceased executions based on a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia that capital punishment was unconstitutional. On July 2, 1976, four months after Jordan was sentenced, the Supreme Court overturned this ruling in Gregg v. Georgia. Mississippi passed a statute allowing discretionary death penalty sentences in 1977. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here, because there was no constitutional provision for the death penalty at the time of Jordans offense, his death sentence is unconstitutional, the May 15 filing states. Jordan went to trial multiple times and his sentences were overturned. His death sentence did not stick until decades later in 1998. Since his first trial, Jordan has been incarcerated for nearly 50 years. In another recent court filing, Jordans attorneys argue the states motion to set Jordans execution didnt follow state law because he has not exhausted all state and federal remedies. Jordan asked the U.S. Supreme Court in March to hear his case. As of May, that petition for writ of certiorari is awaiting a decision. The state opposes and has asked the high court not to take up Jordans petition, saying the Mississippi Supreme Court was correct in its ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That petition centers around his access to a mental health expert separate from the prosecution to develop and present sentencing mitigation as an indigent defendant, which was established as a constitutional right through the U.S. Supreme Courts Ake v. Oklahoma decision. The other issue is how the Mississippi Supreme Court handled Jordans Ake claims in his appeal and post-conviction. At trial, Jordan was evaluated by a state psychiatrist whose report was also given to the prosecution, which his attorneys argue undermined his mitigation case since the Ake decision specified the evaluation was to be used on the indigent defendants behalf. The petition states he was not diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his combat service in Vietnam, but instead incorrectly as having antisocial personality disorder. Review of that decision is manifestly warranted to ensure appropriate respect for this Courts decisions, vindicate the supremacy of federal law, and ensure that those defendants in Mississippi whose mental health will be an issue at trial receive the right to the expert assistance to which the Due Process Clause entitles them, the March court filing states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, Jordan and fellow death row inmate Ricky Chase are lead plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the drugs used for lethal injection. Since 2022, the state has since added alternative execution methods if lethal injection drugs arent available: execution by gas chamber, electrocution or firing squad. To date, a handful of states have used these other methods, including the use of nitrogen gas in Alabama and firing squad in South Carolina. The Mississippi lawsuit did not stop the December 2022 execution of Thomas Loden, another inmate who was part of the legal challenge. The same day Jordans attorneys filed motions with the Mississippi Supreme Court, Jordan and Chase filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, asking for him to order the state to provide essential documents to the plaintiffs about the states possession and planned use of execution drugs as well as documents related to the most recent executions of David Cox in 2021 and Loden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plaintiffs wrote that access to this information would help them seek an injunction to stay Jordans execution and help with discovery, which is the process of obtaining evidence from other parties before trial. Trial for the lawsuit has been scheduled for Dec. 1, 2025. It is unconscionable for Defendants to seek the execution of Richard Jordan while continuing to stonewall Plaintiffs repeated demands for supplementation of discovery in this case, a May 14 court filing states. KANAB, Utah (ABC4) Kanab City Police Department apprehended a runaway teen following a pursuit with the help of multiple agencies, finding the suspect in a tree. Thursday evening, a Kanab City Police Officer attempted to stop a pick-up truck that was speeding, but the driver ran a red light, which prompted a pursuit with officers from multiple agencies: Kanab City Police Department, Kane County Sheriffs Office, Utah Highway Patrol, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, BLM Rangers and Fredonia Marshalls Office. According to a press release from Kanab City PD, after running the red light, the driver turned into the Catori Canyon development and attempted to hide on a dirt road before fleeing on foot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A resident from the Cedar Heights Subdivision called 911 to report a suspicious man walking through back yards and heading towards the creek near the Cedar Heights Bridge, per the press release. A Sheriffs deputy later observed the suspect heading north from the bridge, and law enforcement from the various agencies began to search the area. Reportedly, a helicopter from the Utah Department of Public Safety was called in to help with the search. After an hour of searching, an officer spotted the man hiding in a cottonwood tree about 30 feet off the ground. He was taken into custody without further incident. Kanab City PD determined that the suspect was a 17-year-old runaway from Sun Valley, Arizona. Allegedly, he stole his fathers truck and was attempting to get to Oregon. He was charged with several felony charges and transported to Hurricane, Utah. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kanab City PD extended their thanks to the other agencies that assisted. Latest headlines: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Update: All lanes of southbound state Route 167 north of 15th Street Northwest are now open, according to an X post from the Washington State Department of Transportation at 11:18 a.m. Initial post: A collision blocked several lanes of southbound state Route 167 near Auburn Saturday morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. Traffic is getting by on the toll/HOV lane on the highway, but other lanes remain closed. The crash took place shortly before 10 a.m, just north of 15th Street Northwest, according to posts from the Department of Transportation on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The wreck involved multiple vehicles and there are some injuries, according to Washington State Patrol spokesperson Chelsea DeHart. She said updates will be posted on State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnsons X account as she receives more information, including when lanes are clear. Medical Aid, Fire Assistance, the Incident Response Team, and the State Patrol have arrived on the scene, an update at 10:44 a.m. on the Washington State Department of Transportation travel map said. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Multiple teenagers were arrested Friday after D.C. police increased their presence for Memorial Day Weekend. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) states that two teens were arrested in the Navy Yard area, with one being charged with possession of a high-capacity feeding device and the other charged with public consumption of marijuana. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Youth curfew goes into place at DCs Wharf over Memorial Day Weekend Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police also responded around 1 a.m. to a group of teens acting disorderly along the U Street corridor, resulting in six teens being stopped for violating curfew. Within the group, two teens were arrested for carrying a pistol without a license. Police say the group quickly dispersed after polices response. We hope our residents and visitors take the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful Memorial Day Weekend in our city. Our officers will be out and highly visible, said Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith. I want to thank our officers for their continued dedication and the work theyre doing throughout this holiday weekend. MPD reminds the public to report any suspicious activity by calling police at (202) 727-9099 or texting the tip line at 50411. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WARNING: The video in this story contains graphic material of an officer-involved shooting that may be upsetting to viewers. Discretion is advised. MUSTANG, Okla. (KFOR) The Mustang Police Department says one of its own officers has been cleared by state investigators and the local district attorneys office after shooting and killing a man last year during a mental health crisis. The incident happened on August 22, 2024, just after 7:00 p.m. Mustang Police say officers responded to a call involving a man, Juan Barbosa, reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis. Police say they were told Barbosa had jumped out of a car and was behaving aggressively. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neighbors in Mustang shaken up after man killed in officer-involved shooting The first responding officer to the scene, Jazreale Wright, has been with the Mustang Police Department since January of 2023, according to Mustang Chief of Police Mike Wallace. Wright has been CLEET certified since November 2023, when she became a full-time police officer. Wallace says Wright previously worked as a certified private security guard in May 2021. Wallace shared new video from the call Friday, which shows Wright assessing the situation and interviewing a witness. She is seen at first trying to speak with Barbosa about whats going on, when a witness, identified as Barbosas nephew by police, has to physically get between them. Wright is heard in her body camera video telling someone not to touch her, while another voice begs Barbosa to stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She is then seen on her body camera and dash camera tasering Barbosa. He falls to the ground for less than a minute, and Wright gives him verbal commands to stay on the ground and put his hands behind his back. Barbosa doesnt comply with Wrights commands and gets up regardless. Wallace explained Friday that something was wrong with Wrights taser, which allowed the situation to escalate further before another officer could arrive. Only one of the two electrical probes impacted the subject, which prevented this from being an effective charge, said Wallace. Barbosa is seen on video approaching Wright, holding something in his hand. Wright attempts to use her taser again on Barbosa, but its not effective. She then proceeds to pull out her firearm. A News 4 employee questioned Wallace Friday about what Barbosa was holding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, Officer Wright had no idea what that may have been, as a result of the investigation, it turned out to be some gloves, said Wallace. Wright is seen discharging her weapon multiple times before Barbosa falls. Wallace says officers and emergency crews tried to keep him alive, but Barbosa died at the scene. Wallace says the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was called in to take over the case. The results of the OSBI investigation were presented to the Canadian County District Attorneys Office following that review of the investigation, said Wallace. No criminal charges were filed. The Mustang Police Department recognizes Officer Wright was confronted with the rapidly escalating situation in which she was required to make split-second decisions to protect both herself and the safety of those present. She was presented with an individual who behaved in a clearly aggressive manner, refused to obey her commands, and appeared intent on inflicting potentially lethal bodily injury. Wallace said Wrights actions were reasonable under the circumstances and that she did not violate any of the departments policies, allowing her to return to work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was asked about what he would say to Barbosas family if they believed the shooting wasnt justified, but Wallace said he wouldnt speak to their thoughts. However, he did offer his condolences, which he made note of doing last year as well. Wallace was further pressed about when the investigation into Wright wrapped up and when she returned to work. He said the investigation wrapped up at the end of 2024, and Wright returned to work in 2024 as well. News 4 asked Wallace directly why the department waited so long to share both pieces of information with the general public. You know, it takes quite a while to go through the process to, to make sure that all the investigation is done properly and then to actually prepare these types of things, but we felt it important now to get the details of this out, said Wallace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 4 made multiple attempts Friday to speak with Barbosas family. First, a News 4 employee asked if the family had been made aware of the news conference. Then, asked if the family would be willing to speak on Barbosas behalf, since he wouldnt be able to defend any allegations himself. Barbosas family declined. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) A 2024 Christmas Day fire that displaced 19 people from a Myrtle Beach apartment complex also caused nearly $200,000 in damages to an adjacent home, a recently filed lawsuit claims. Jose and Claudia Garcia, who live next door to the 308 2nd Ave N. Atlantic Sands motel sued its owner May 5 for negligence and violations of the states Unfair Trade Practices Act. Photo courtesy of RTM Engineering According to the complaint, Atlantic Sands lacked any kind of fire suppression or alert systems and failed to meet local building and fire code requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A February inspection by RTM Engineering principal Russell T. Mease prepared for the lawsuit outlines the scope of damage to the Garcias property. My visual investigation from the referenced property revealed the building on this property sustained catastrophic damage due to fire to the point that the roof partially collapsed, and the interiors of the two-story structure was completely destroyed, he concluded. In all, Mease estimated repairs at nearly $195,000. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) Myrtle Beach police are asking anyone with video footage or eyewitness accounts of an intense pursuit last week that included suspects firing at authorities from a vehicle in Market Common. Photo courtesy of Myrtle Beach Police Department Authorities on Saturday released a map showing a route of the roughly 20-minute chase that started in the 1700 block of South Ocean Boulevard and ended after the vehicle crashed just after 8:30 a.m. on 67th Ave. N. Riley Pegram, 17, of Brown Summit, North Carolina, was charged with three counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, kidnapping, unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a stolen vehicle and failure to stop for blue lights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Omarion Glass, 20, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was charged with three counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and use or employment of a person under 18 to commit certain crimes. Officers at Glasss bond hearing described the scene as something out of a movie. Christopher White, the lead investigator for the case, said Glass was shooting an AR style rifle during the Thursday incident. His courtroom behavior that included smiling and laughing drew an angry response from Police Chief Amy Prock. This is about much more than just a moment. It is about the danger, Prock said. They caused a mere disregard for human life, and the fact that they dont care. He does not care. Laugh all you want . . . it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Not in Myrtle Beach, not in Horry County, and not in our state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Glass, who was denied bond, is due back in court on July 25. Pegram also had his bond denied but News13 was not allowed in the courtroom during those proceedings due to his age. Anyone with information is asked to call (843) 918-1382. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. Thomas Dement of Wake Forest, North Carolina, is no stranger to online shopping deliveries. But recently, he's been inundated with packages that he didn't order and some don't even have his name on them. Don't miss Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has counted more than 20 of the odd deliveries so far small padded envelopes delivered by the U.S. Postal Service and filled with things no one would buy on purpose: handfuls of gravel, scraps of paper, even a blank greeting card that simply read Best Wishes. When Dement tried writing return to sender and dropping them back in the outgoing mail, the stream didnt slow. It just seems like were in a loop where constantly things are being sent to us, he told local reporters, wondering if his address is out on the dark web somewhere. After posting photos in a neighborhood social media group, Dement learned he wasnt alone; several neighbors said theyd received similar mystery mail. Commenters pointed him to what cyberfraud experts call a brushing scam. How do brushing scams work? A brushing scam is a marketing con that exploits ecommerce review systems. A seller usually an overseas thirdparty shop using a big platform finds a real U.S. address online, ships a featherlight trinket to prove delivery, then posts a glowing verified purchase review in the recipients name to boost product rankings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We know that its prevalent all over the United States, said Sgt. Kurt Steinberger of the Wake County Sheriffs Offices Property and Fraud Unit. The person receiving the package is not in danger and is unlikely to be further targeted. However, officials do recommend keeping a close eye on your credit, just in case. What we tell people if they are a victim of such a scam, the best thing for them to do is report it to your local law enforcement, he said. The second thing is to make sure you monitor your credit." The Better Business Bureau warns that brushing complaints are rising, including reports that now feature QR codes inside the package. These are often part of "quishing" scams, or QR phishing scams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The classic brushing envelope was annoying but largely harmless, but the new version isn't. When curious people scan the QR code, the code can redirect victims to a spoofed retail site that phishes for login credentials or silently installs malware. This can result in a stolen identity, fraudulent charges, and other fraud, like tech support scams. Read more: This is how American car dealers use the '4-square method to make big profits off you and how you can ensure you pay a fair price for all your vehicle costs What to do if you're targeted by a brushing scam Random packages might seem harmlessand in most cases they are. However, it's a sign your address is already in a scammer's database. Here's how to protect your personal data from being misused. Never scan QR codes on packages you didn't order Treat every unsolicited code or customer service number as a potential phishing trap. If you receive a real item, the FTC says you can keep it, but don't scan any codes, even those for a user's manual. Report the scam File a complaint with Amazon, eBay, or the platform named on the shipping label (if any) so the fake review can be removed. Forward the tracking details to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or your shippers fraud unit. Check your cards Check credit card statements and enable twofactor authentication on major shopping sites; scammers sometimes reuse scraped data for identity theft rings. Setting up text or email notifications for purchases can also help you spot fraudulent purchases faster. Consider a delivery pause If the boxes pile up, USPSs free Hold Mail service or a delivery locker can break the feedback loop and starve the scammer of new deliveries" that allow them to leave fake reviews. While this won't work for everyone, it can help in some situations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for Dement, he is now refusing to open the latest envelopes while hoping the scammers get tired of mailing gravel across the country. Until then, the best defense for him and everyone else is the simplest one: document, report, and never give the fraudsters the click (or scan) theyre counting on. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. VIDEO: 2025 Arkansas tornado count as of May 21 HUNTSVILLE, Ark. The National Weather Service has confirmed another tornado from a recent outbreak of storms in northwest Arkansas. NWS officials confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down near Huntsville, Arkansas, in Madison County on May 19. AST Blog: 2025 Above Average Tornado Count (So Far) Officials said the tornado had estimated winds ranging from 100 miles per hour to 105 miles per hour. They added that it damaged numerous trees and destroyed an outbuilding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the 47th tornado confirmed in Arkansas for 2025. There were 52 tornadoes confirmed in 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. The Phoenix Indian Center and the Veterans Affairs' Phoenix regional office honored Native veterans with a ceremony at Steele Indian School Park on May 23. The event was held at the American Indian Veterans Memorial at the park's central flagpole, part of the site of the now-closed Indian boarding school. Among the speakers were descendants of Navajo Code Talkers, the Marines who used their ancestral language to create an unbreakable code during World War II, a Navajo woman veteran and Michael Welsh, deputy director for the Phoenix VA health care system. VA staff were also on hand to provide information and enroll veterans or their families for social service programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shine Jozefiak, a Dine U.S. Air Force veteran who now works as a community care specialist at the VA, recounted her time serving in emergency rooms during Operation Enduring Freedom. "I joined the Air Force to make my grandparents proud," said Jozefiak, who grew up on her grandparents' ranch outside Fort Defiance. Her grandfather Herbert Chee was a Korean War veteran. Many Native people came through the emergency room, where Jozefiak and others would treat and prepare them to be transported to Germany for long-term treatment. "We remember hearing taps, and cried when we saw the flag draped over a coffin," she said. "When the doctors declared a soldier had died, everything stopped. You could hear a pin drop because you know what happened." Native American Air Force veteran Shine Jozefiak speaks during the Memorial Day Remembrance at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix on May 23, 2025. Jozefiak also said that she would speak in Navajo to wounded soldiers when they were brought in to the ER. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "'It's so good to hear our language so far from home,' they would tell me as I prepped them for transport," she said. The honoring ceremony concluded with laying a hand-crafted wreath of red, white and blue flowers at the foot of one of the four pillars of the memorial. Each pillar commemorates a group of veterans who served and sacrificed for their nation, including Native veterans who paid the ultimate price for freedom. Dwight Francisco performs a traditional blessing ceremony during a Memorial Day Remembrance at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix on May 23, 2025. Welsh said the employees made the four-foot-diameter wreath because they couldn't locate one that size. Missing from the conversation was the fate of the tribal flags that had been on display in the lobby of the Phoenix VA Hospital for about 40 years. In March, the flags were unceremoniously removed in compliance with a new VA policy limiting which flags can be displayed on VA grounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tribal VA staff, not wishing for the flags to be stuffed into a closet and forgotten, took them to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which accepted them for safekeeping. A week later, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs accepted the flags to be displayed in the Capitol Rotunda, where they now reside. Hobbs invited a group of Native veterans and tribal leaders to see the flags April 8. "Phoenix Indian Center recognizes the importance of the Native community's military veterans over the years," said Warren Kontz, the Indian center's director of programs. "Native people have always protected their own lands." Kontz, who belongs to the Muscogee Creek and Navajo nations, said Memorial Day reflects Indigenous resiliency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We recognize those who did not return," he said, "and we think of our ancestors who fought for this land." Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol and on Bluesky at @debkrol.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Indian Center, VA honor Native veterans for Memorial Day May 23To end the war in Ukraine will require moral strength and clarity of purpose, the president of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly declared as the first day of the assembly's spring session opened Friday at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Center in downtown Dayton. "How this war ends will define the world we and our children live in," NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Marcos Perestrello said as hundreds of NATO delegates gathered in the Shuster Center's Winsupply Theater, which had been transformed for the event. Saying NATO faced the "most difficult security environment in a generation," Perestrello said the alliance must summon "clarity, unity and strength" to help end the war in Ukraine and rebalance defense investments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perestrello acknowledged that change will be part of the challenge. President Donald Trump has called on NATO members to meet required defense investments as a percentage of national gross domestic product. "We must shift the transatlantic burden and responsibility within NATO," Perestrello said. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed delegates and applauded Dayton as the birthplace of the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended a 1990s war in the former Yugoslavia and which some have cited as a possible model for ending the war in Ukraine. "There are few more noble endeavors that seeking peace for yourself and for others," Landau said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The accords were crafted over 21 days at nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 30 years ago this November, and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner said delegates and invited guests can look forward to a performance of the Sarajevo Philharmonic at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force this weekend. He praised the base's role in "in bringing the leaders of the Balkan areas to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to bring an end to the bloodshed and to the horrific war" in that region, and he challenged delegates to take the lessons of the Dayton accords and apply them "prospectively" to Ukraine. However, during a panel discussion Friday, when asked what lessons the accords offer that could be applied toward Ukraine, Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, declared to applause: "None." "This is a different kind of conflict," Bildt said. "With Ukraine, you have Russia trying to rebuild an empire." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Landau said the Trump administration was willing to be a partner in assisting NATO, but he warned that the administration would seek to avoid what he called the "extremes" of "relitigating ancient grievances" and "wishing for transcendental transformation." "We in the Trump administration are willing to provide our good offices to improve conditions but only if our involvement is wanted and warranted," Landau said, adding that the administration offers "new thinking." In a recent policy address in Saudi Arabia, Landau reminded delegates, Trump "acknowledged the disasters of U.S. efforts at nation-building around the world in recent decades and the pride, the arrogance, of those who get on airplanes in foreign lands and think that they have all the answers." NATO's highest ranking representative is coming to Dayton this weekend, the alliance also announced Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, will take part in sessions Sunday and Monday. The assembly meets in Dayton through Monday. The assembly is a transatlantic forum that brings together 281 parliamentarians from NATO's 32 member countries. More than 500 participants are expected to visit the city, Perestrello said. In a divided vote, the Republican-majority North Carolina Supreme Court late Friday denied Democratic Gov. Josh Steins request to block new appointments to the State Board of Elections while Steins lawsuit challenging the legality of the appointments proceeds. The ruling means that appointments to the board by State Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican, are allowed to stand pending the lawsuit, which will likely take months to resolve. The Associated Press first reported the high courts ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steins lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of a law enacted by the GOP-dominated General Assembly last year that shifted authority for appointments to the elections board from Stein to Boliek. On April 30, the North Carolina Court of Appeals allowed the law to take effect, reversing the order of a lower court that ruled the law unconstitutional, The News & Observer reported at the time. On May 1, Boliek made appointments to the Elections Board that shifted the board from a 3-2 Democratic majority to a 3-2 GOP control. In its ruling Friday, the majority on the N.C. Supreme Court wrote that the Court of Appeals ruling was not manifestly unsupported by reason or so arbitrary that it could not have been the result of a reasoned decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat, wrote that the Supreme Court majority is rewriting precedent and creating an explanation for an unexplained Court of Appeals order in an effort to upend 125-years status quo for the North Carolina State Board of Elections while this case winds its way through the courts. Fridays ruling also lets Boliek proceed with choosing chairpersons of the 100 county election boards beginning in late June. From the melodious strains of violins echoing throughout the streets to the lively instruments dancing in children's hands, music permeates the daily rhythm of Huangqiao Town. Located in East China's Jiangsu Province, this settlement, once famed for its sesame cakes, now hosts over 230 violin manufacturers, earning it the illustrious title "China's Violin Capital." Apple, Samsung or Phones made outside U.S. will be taxed: Trump A day after warning Apple that iPhones if manufactured elsewhere and imported to the United States will be taxed, Donald Trump said the condition applies to all phone manufacturers be it Samsung or anyone Saturday May 24, 2025 11:55 AM , ummid.com News Network Washington: A day after warning Apple that iPhones if manufactured elsewhere and imported to the United States will be taxed, Donald Trump said the condition applies to all phone manufacturers be it Samsung or anyone. Speaking to reporters in the White House Friday, the U.S. President said the tariff would apply to any phone manufacturer selling devices in the U.S. Trump said that Apple and other tech companies must relocate their production units to the US to avoid the tariffs. "It would be more. It would also be Samsung and anybody that makes that product. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair...when they build their plant here, there is no tariff," Trump said. The U.S. President had on Thursady while pressurising Apple to relocate to the U.S. said iPhones and other Apple products will be imposed with 25% if they are not manufactured locally. "I have long ago informed Apple CEO Tim Cook that I expect the iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America to be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump had earlier said he had asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to abandon the company's expansion plan in India. Apple has been assembling smartphones in India through contract manufacturers - Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn), Tata Electronics (formerly Wistron) and Pegatron, since 2017. Apple started assembling entry-level or legacy handsets. This changed in 2021-22 when it started assembling the iPhone 14 models in India. Few weeks ago, Tim Cook had announced to increase manufacturing in India to manifold, and also establishing new manufacturing units. Trump however said he advised the Apple CEO not to do so. "I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good. You are coming up with $500 billion, but now I hear you are building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India, if you want to take care of India because India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world, so it is very hard to sell in India," Trump said while addressing a business event in Doha Qatar . Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. CLEARWATER, Fla., (WFLA) Hurricane season begins in less than a month, so agencies like the Clearwater Police Department are preparing. The Clearwater Police Department now has new tools, like a high-water rescue vehicle, to help them be able to rescue victims when the hurricanes hit. They said during last years evacuations, they were having to utilize things like dump trucks to be able to get people to safety. Researchers predict above-average 2025 hurricane season: Heres how many storms we could see Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lt. Mike Spitaleri said their goal is zero loss of life. Its a serious risk to their life, he said. Evacuate, evacuate early, have a plan in place, have five-seven days worth of supplies at your disposal. As soon as you can leave, as soon as you can get out, get out. They have new vehicles and high-water rescue boats to help aid them in their rescues. Its essential, with the right equipment, the lieutenant said. We can respond faster, we can get to new locations, places that we couldnt get to previously, So, with these newly required assets and resources, we can be much more effective in these rescues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During last years hurricanes, they performed hundreds of rescues and said people need to evacuate. Dont wait until the last second hoping the storms trajectory changes, because we dont know when the storm is going to hit. It could be a direct hit, or at the last second, it could curve, the lieutenant said. Regardless, we are going to suffer damage, and it may be catastrophic, if its a direct hit, and were not going to be able to get to you during the storm. Sylvia Coulis said she had lived in her home for decades and never had to evacuate before. I never thought in my wildest dreams that what happened would have happened, she said. We never had water come up from the ocean. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She ended up having to be rescued when the water in her home was up to her chest. I feel very bad for the men that were in the truck that came to evacuate me, Coulis said. I jeopardized their lives, and they have families. Now, I think about it, and I said, never again. On Friday morning, she met Spitaleri, who was the organizer behind all of the rescue operations. He told her the important thing is she is safe and healthy. She gave all the credit to her being here today to the Clearwater Police and Fire. Coulis said she is thankful to still be here, at 88 years old, and she wants people to learn from her mistakes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clearwater police said they are ready for hurricane season, but that community members need to heed the warnings and evacuate if they are told to evacuate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. A doctor in a Gaza hospital has lost nine children in an Israeli attack, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday, as dozens of Palestinians were reported killed. According to the Hamas-run authority, the doctor's husband and one surviving child were also seriously injured in the attack in the southern city of Khan Younis. The doctor was reportedly working in the Nasser Hospital at the time of the airstrike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The BBC broadcaster said the hospital has also confirmed the incident. A British doctor working at the hospital said he operated on the surviving child, an 11-year-old boy, and expressed his shock at the incident in a video on Instagram. He said the husband was also a doctor at the hospital and added that it is unclear whether he will survive. An Israeli military spokesman said the reports would be investigated. He said a drone attack was carried out against several suspects near Israeli ground troops in Khan Younis. According to the health authority in Gaza, 79 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday alone, amid a renewed offensive by the Israeli military. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dozens of deaths have been reported daily since the new military offensive in the Gaza began a week ago, including with ground forces. Israel's actions in the sealed-off territory are drawing mounting international criticism - even by close allies. The war in Gaza has claimed more than 53,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israeli settlers attack West Bank villages Also on Saturday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Israeli settlers attacked two Bedouin villages in the West Bank. The aid organization said one attack targeted a settlement east of Ramallah which had already been abandoned by some of the 25 families living there due to previous raids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Five of the remaining residents were injured in the attack, the PRCS said. In addition, seven people were injured in a second incident in a village east of Bethlehem. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the settlers had tried to set fire to houses. They also killed some of the villagers' goats and sheep, which are central to their livelihood. The Israeli military did not initially comment on the reports. The situation in the occupied West Bank has worsened since the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the ensuing war in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 920 Palestinians have since been killed in the West Bank in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has also been increased violence by radical Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians. 'Hostagescream' calls cause alarm in Israel Meanwhile, numerous people in Israel have received calls in the past day in which recordings of what are believed to be the screams of hostages held in Gaza can be heard, according to media reports. In addition to the screams, explosions and the wailing of sirens were also audible, the news website Ynet reported. The calls were made from unknown numbers. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel said it was aware of the calls and that the recordings played were taken from Hamas hostage videos that the Palestinian group had recently distributed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The forum stressed in a statement that the calls were not made on its behalf. Israel's Haaretz newspaper said some calls also included voices calling for a swift hostage deal. According to Israeli sources, 20 hostages are still being held alive in the Gaza Strip. It is unclear whether three other hostages are still alive. In addition, the remains of 35 deceased abductees are still there. Negotiations with Hamas on the release of the hostages have stalled. According to a report by the N12 television channel, the Israeli Cyber Directorate has launched an investigation into the calls. "The Cyber Directorate emphasizes that these are attempts to incite panic among the population," N12 quoted a statement by the authority as saying. A feud between Norfolk city leaders and Commonwealths Attorney Ramin Fatehi was on display in court this week as attorneys argued who has authority to handle several cases. At least one case was delayed until July as City Attorney Bernard Pishko and Fatehi laid claim. Last week, Fatehi forbid Pishkos office from prosecuting all Norfolk Circuit Court misdemeanor cases. Fatehi made the decision after Norfolk City Council members unhappy with how shoplifting cases were handled authorized the City Attorneys Office to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting offenses. On Tuesday, lawyers from both offices claimed authority over an appeal of a man who was charged with being in a park after sunset, a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Circuit Judge Joseph Lindsey continued the case until July 11 and gave both attorneys 21 days to file briefs on who has authority to argue case, according to court documents. In another instance Wednesday, the Commonwealths Attorney Office agreed to let the City Attorneys Office argue a dangerous dog jury trial in Circuit Court in exchange for not challenging the commonwealths attorney ability to prosecute a property damage case appealed to Circuit Court. The commonwealths attorney originally handled the case in District Court as it involved additional charges under state code. In a statement, Fatehi said the exchange put the victims in both cases first. I remain willing to reach reasonable compromises consistent with public safety and criminal justice reform, Fatehi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an email, Pishko said the exchange was done in the interest of efficiency and consistency and allowed the attorneys who prosecuted the cases in the lower court to handle Circuit Court appeals. Related Articles Pishko said the city also plans to ask a judge to rule on who has the authority to prosecute misdemeanors in Circuit Court. In a letter last week to Fatehi, Pishko referenced seeking a declaratory judgement on the issue. The conflict between Fatehi and the city officials began when Mayor Kenny Alexander announced in April the City Attorneys Office would begin prosecuting misdemeanor shoplifting cases. Alexander said Fatehi was not doing enough to prosecute the cases. City Council members voted last week to amend city code, allowing Pishkos office to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response, Fatehi has said his office lacks funding from the state or city to staff those cases, and said Norfolk has ignored his requests for additional funding. Additionally, he has called the move politically motivated Faheti faces a June 17 Democratic primary challenge from John Butler, a former federal prosecutor. Butler has been endorsed by Alexander and City Council members Jeremy McGee, Tommy Smigiel and Courtney Doyle. Under Virginia law, commonwealths attorneys elected constitutional officers must prosecute all felonies in their jurisdictions. But they have discretion on misdemeanor crimes, and Fatehi said the state does not provide funding for attorneys to handle misdemeanor case loads. In response to the City Council actions, Fatehi moved to revoke the city attorneys authority to prosecute any misdemeanors in Circuit Court and asked the city to provide monthly updates on charges pursued in District Court. Fatehi says the state code allows him to control whether the city attorney can prosecute either state or city misdemeanors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Pishko is fighting back, saying Norfolks charter directs him to prosecute all city code violations, and the Code of Virginia says municipal corporations shall have all powers granted to it by its charter. Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea has detained shipyard officials responsible for a recent major accident during the launch of a new warship, state media said on Sunday. The failed launch that crippled the 5,000-tonne warship was witnessed by leader Kim Jong Un who said the accident damaged the country's dignity and vowed to punish those found responsible. The mishap likely occurred in front of a large crowd at the northeastern port of Chongjin, increasing the public humiliation for Kim who tried to show off military might, experts say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the investigation into the case intensified, law enforcement authorities arrested the chief engineer of the Chongjin Shipyard among others, state KCNA news agency reported on Sunday. Satellite imagery shows the warship, covered in blue tarps, lying on its side, with the stern swung out into the harbor, but the bow remaining on the side slipway, according to the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Kim has ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting in June. KCNA said the rehabilitation plan was pushing ahead. Against U.S. military buildup in the region, North Korea's armed forces "will thoroughly contain and control all sorts of military threats from the enemy countries", KCNA said in a separate dispatch citing the policy chief at the defence ministry. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Daniel Wallis) South Floridians should prepare for yet another day of showers and storms Sunday. Forecasters are predicting some morning and early afternoon showers, with isolated storms possible into the evening hours. Inland areas will bear the brunt of the stormy weather. High temperatures will range from the upper 80s to low 90s, similar to Saturday. Meanwhile, Memorial Day is expected to be mostly sunny, with a high of 88, and a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of South Florida was under a thunderstorm threat Saturday after severe storms spread throughout the region Friday evening, forcing closures of North Perry Airport and at least one Broward County road. The entire region was at marginal risk for isolated to severe storms Saturday afternoon into the evening, with the highest chances of intense storms happening in inland areas, National Weather Service Miami said. The greatest threat was between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Forecasters wouldnt rule out the potential of a funnel cloud or weak landspout developing Saturday, and all storms bring chances of heavy rainfall, locally gusty winds, and frequent to excessive lightning. It was slightly cooler Saturday afternoon as a result of all the cloud cover, though temperatures are still reached the upper 80s to lows 90s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several areas of South Florida had a lot of cleaning up to do Saturday after strong winds uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and flipped planes at multiple airports on Friday evening. A tow truck worker hired to help move a flipped plane at Fort Lauderdale Executive airport was hospitalized when one of the wings fell on him around noon Saturday, according to Frank Guzman, a spokesperson for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue. He has serious but non-life-threatening injuries. In Pembroke Pines, more than 50 mph winds lifted a Cessna off the ground and onto a fuel truck at North Perry Airport. The area around North Perry Airport saw a severe storm about 6 p.m., and several aircraft were severely damaged, airport spokesperson Arlene Satchell said in an email to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The airport reopened as planned early Saturday morning, Satchell said. She did not know how many airplanes were damaged. Reports that the damage in Pembroke Pines was from a tornado are false, NWS Miami meteorologist Sammy Hadi told the Sun Sentinel. The environment on Friday was supportive for large hail, which there were some reports of locally, and straight-line winds. The damage was due to a thunderstorm collapsing violently, he said. Sunshine Boulevard in Miramar shut down in both directions for hours Friday night, starting at the 2600 block, due to downed power lines and damage from the storms, said Janice McIntosh, a spokesperson for Miramar Police. It had reopened both ways by Saturday morning. Several electrical lines and trees were knocked down in the area of Palm Avenue and Northwest 72nd Avenue in Pembroke Pines, the police department said in a post on X urging people to drive with caution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Various sizes of hail were reported in Palm Beach County and Broward County throughout Friday, from quarter size to 1.5 inches, about the size of a ping-pong ball, in areas of Lake Worth Beach and half-dollar size hail in Pembroke Pines, according to NWS Miami preliminary local storm reports. This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Its a murder mystery in Northwest Iowa that has gone unsolved for almost 50 years. Were talking about the death of Wilma Nissen, whose body was found in 1978 in a ditch just outside of Rock Rapids. Theres a renewed effort in this cold case by her daughter and investigators to find answers, but more importantly, the cold-blooded killer. Click It or Ticket: Practicing safe driving as summer kicks off Krissi Atkisson walks quietly across the cemetery with a bouquet of roses to place at her mothers grave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to know who killed her and I want to know why, Atkisson said. Her mother, who worked as an escort and dancer out of Sioux Falls was found murdered in a ditch just outside of Rock Rapids. Her feet were tied together. Atkisson, who lives in Kansas City, has been actively looking for answers for almost 20 years and has constantly been calling the Lyon County Sheriffs office to get an update on the cold case. I was finally able to meet with the new sheriff and the investigator, that was really good, Atkisson said. Atkisson believes they are making some ground. KELOLAND News asked for an interview with the sheriffs office, but they denied our request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, they issued a statement that says in part, Despite the passing of time, as this is an active and open investigation, there are many specific details which will not be released. Doing so could compromise the investigation. It goes on to say The investigative team continues to seek out forensic solutions which may lead to additional information for investigators. Theyre still working on it, thankfully, they have amplified DNA, but its not enough to put into CODIS, Atkisson said. CODIS is an acronym for Combined DNA Index System which is a database for DNA samples of convicted offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FBIs criminal database doesnt support amplified DNA, so that evidence hasnt been of any use, but they are still hoping technology will change and finally pinpoint who killed Atkissons mom. Don: What frustrates you the most? Krissi: Not being able to help in some way, I want answers. The Iowa Attorney Generals Cold Case Unit is getting involved by distributing a deck of cards with pictures and names of victims. Those are going to jails and prisons in hopes of somebody saying, hey, I know that person, Atkisson said. Wilma is the 6 of Hearts. Im just here to support Krissi in any way I can, Amy Kelley, who is a Homicide & Violent Crime Advocate with the Family Crisis Center in Sioux Center, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amy Kelley, who is a Homicide & Violent Crime Advocate with the Family Crisis Center in Sioux Center, says if and when theres ever an arrest, shell be there to assist. We will be involved as much as our clients ask for us to be. We are client-driven so if they want to talk with us just once and then again around the time of trial thats fine or sometimes we meet with them every week or whatever theyre needing at the time, Kelley said. And just like Atkisson, shes hoping new DNA technology will be discovered and bring the family some closure. Weve got some new people, like the new sheriff in Lyon County and with the cold case task force I mean theres some fresh eyes looking at this so Im pretty hopeful, Kelley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Atkisson wants to be more involved, but in the meantine, shell keep putting the word out on her social media pages and podcasts. Anyone who can listen about her story Ill tell, because hopefully someone out there has to know something about it, its just a matter of finding the right person, Atkisson said. If you have any information that could lead to an arrest, the Lyon County Sheriffs Office is asking you to come forward and report it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. The announcement of charges against a Democratic lawmaker earlier this month marks a dramatic escalation in the Trump administrations clashes with other branches of government that legal experts say may not hold up in court. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., stands accused of two counts of assaulting, resisting and impeding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, who previously served as President Donald Trumps personal lawyer, announced the charges last Monday after what she described as an unsuccessful attempt to reach an arrangement with the lawmaker. The Democrat attended her first court hearing virtually last Wednesday. She insisted in a statement that the charges against her are purely political and meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight. Weve seen this administration come after and attack leaders for doing their jobs, she told CNN Tuesday, referencing recent arrests of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and a Wisconsin judge. Its political intimidation, and I will not be intimidated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McIvers prosecution marks a rare occasion where a lawmaker faces charges for something other than a white-collar crime like fraud or bribery. It also further stresses the governments separation of powers as Trump and his administration crack down on immigration. I think its overreach, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Salon, arguing that the early May scrum between lawmakers and DHS officials was relatively minor. Neither McIvers office nor the Justice Department responded to requests for comment. On May 9, McIver, along with fellow New Jersey Democratic Reps. Rob Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Baraka, visited the Delaney Hall detention center to inspect the new facility for oversight, which federal law allows members of Congress to conduct. The visit devolved into an altercation when they moved to arrest the Newark mayor, prompting McIver and Watson Coleman to attempt to shield him. The following day, Fox News posted a video provided by the Department of Homeland Security said to show McIver shoving/elbowing her way past a DHS agent. A video taken by NJ Spotlight News shows a federal officer shoving McIver around the same time as she attempted to reenter the facility, which aligns with McIver and Menendezs account of the tussle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A group of 10 former Republican members of Congress, led by former Reps. Mickey Edwards, Okla., and Claudine Schneider, R.I., said they unequivocally reject the charges against McIver in a statement Thursday. Rep. Mclver was present at the ICE facility as part of her official congressional duties, the retired lawmakers said. We believe this extreme response to the events of that day is unwarranted. In the criminal complaint against McIver, the government accuses her of objecting to Barakas arrest by yelling Hell no! and joining her colleagues in encircling the mayor in a human shield effort to prevent [Homeland Security Investigations] from completing the arrest. The complaint also alleges that McIver slammed her forearm into a uniformed HSI agent, attempted to restrain him and pushed an ICE officer. Rahmani, now the president of personal injury firm West Coast Trial Lawyers, said that while he doesnt believe the Justice Department should have filed the charges against McIver, the alleged offense does fit within the four corners of the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a felony if there's any physical contact, he said in a phone interview. It's just not something that you typically see and, historically, there would be an exercise of prosecutorial discretion, not making a federal case out of something relatively minor. McIver also has a pretty strong defense in that she was conducting a legitimate oversight duty at the time of the altercation, Rahmani added. Federal law authorizes legislators conducting congressional oversight to access any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens. The Constitutions speech and debate clause also protects members of Congress from criminal prosecution for actions taken as part of their official duties. Rahmani said that she may be able to argue that the prosecution is selective or political, a point that Trump himself and Hunter Biden raised during their respective cases, but would need to show that the prosecution is for a constitutionally prohibited reason. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the end, Rahmani said he doesnt expect the case to actually head to trial before a jury, with the charges against McIver dropped either by the Justice Department itself or the presiding judge. But Barbara McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan and former federal prosecutor, told Salon that the best way to look at McIvers prosecution is through the lens of the last four months of Trumps presidency. Traditionally, the courts viewed the government with the presumption of regularity, the idea that the government acts in good faith and conformity with the law. In a moment when the administration is denying people due process and attempting to advance a theory that birthright citizenship does not apply to children with undocumented parents, the Justice Department is losing that presumption of regularity, she said. I think the Justice Department has earned the opposite of the benefit of the doubt, she said in a phone interview. It is cast with doubt, and that is because we have heard people like the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, and the president himself talk about how they're going to seek retribution and going to go after their rivals and their enemies. While McQuade said she believes the prosecution has at least some appearance of political motivation, she also sees McIvers alleged encircling of the mayor and objection to his arrest as arising to probable cause that she violated the impede portion of the statute. Still, assessing the facts of what happened during the scrum is difficult because the available photos and videos depict the tussle after it began, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the other side, however, is the idea of respect for other branches of government, which the Public Integrity Section of the DOJ considers alongside uniformity and historical practice when deciding whether to file charges against public officials, McQuade said. The Justice Department is currently considering removing that check. In all, she said her first reaction to the charges is skepticism. Whether the prosecution is lawless is a question she doesnt have a strong answer for. But the case is still something to keep an eye on because it could very well be that this case ends not with a bang, but a whimper, McQuade added. Habba, for example, announced at the same time that the charges against Mayor Baraka had been dropped. We will know whether they have the goods if they can show them at a jury trial. If you want to know whos running the State Department these days, it helps to peruse the website of a relatively new, conservative-leaning organization called the Ben Franklin Fellowship. The groups roster includes Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, top officials in bureaus such as consular affairs, and even an acting undersecretary or two. The fellows include current and former members of the foreign service, as well as other international affairs specialists. And while the Fellowship describes itself as nonpartisan, its right-of-center views are obvious: It emphasizes goals such as border security; opposes typical diversity, equity and inclusion practices; and advocates for the careful use of U.S. resources abroad. I have had a number of conversations with founders of the Fellowship, and they clearly cast it as a refuge for a group they believe is marginalized in U.S. diplomacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a network of people who are not progressive and who have felt as though they've not had a forum like so many others in the State Department over the decades, said Matthew Boyse, a Fellowship founder and a former foreign service officer. But many career U.S. diplomats are suspicious of the organization. They warned me that it could politicize a foreign service that is supposed to be nonpartisan and undermine policymaking by promoting MAGA-infused ideology over facts. Some worry that joining the Fellowship is an unofficial requirement to get ahead in their careers under President Donald Trump, and that its anti-DEI message will hurt women and minorities in a State Department historically dominated by white men. Some also question the qualifications of Fellowship members who have gotten plum assignments. The Fellowship seems like a thinly veiled MAGA loyalist roster like, sign up and youll be one of the good ones, said one State Department staffer, who, like others, I granted anonymity because they didnt want to get fired for talking to a reporter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ill be frank: I wasnt that interested in writing about the Fellowship when I first heard about it months ago. My initial view was: So what if a bunch of right-leaning diplomats link up? Its hardly the only group to cater to national security types across the political spectrum from the left-leaning Truman National Security Project to the right-leaning Hudson Institute. Freedom of association is still a thing, even for diplomats who, regardless of their personal views, are expected to implement the policies of whoever is president. But I soon concluded that the Fellowship is distinct in its heavy focus on reforming the State Department itself. It is intent on getting people with very specific views into the department, an approach that could affect U.S. foreign policy decades into the future. And I simply couldnt ignore the Fellowship after May 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That was the day the State Department held its annual Foreign Affairs Day celebration. The event came amid anxiety at State over a reorganization plan that threatens many jobs and Trumps destruction of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Several key speakers were Ben Franklin Fellows. And things got awkward. The speakers included Lew Olowski, States acting human resources chief, who touted the Fellowship in his remarks. Olowskis appointment has been derided by diplomats who argue he is too junior and not qualified for the job. Then there was Phillip Linderman. Hes a retired diplomat and another Fellowship founder, and he was given a major prize, the Foreign Service Directors General's Cup. At one point, Linderman told the audiencehe was accepting the award on behalf of overlooked foreign service officers who had been intentionally passed over for promotion and assignments abroad due to extreme DEI policies. Some audience members walked out at this point. Many watching online reached out to me, aghast at Lindermans comments, which they said implied women and minorities who received promotions hadnt deserved them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also speaking was Landau, the deputy secretary of State. He repeatedly raised the concept of respect and said he was disappointed by the earlier walkouts. But his remarks drew heckles from some audience members who asked why the Trump administration was disrespecting U.S.-allied nations and employees of USAID. Such interruptions were a shocking breach of decorum for an audience of diplomats. In subsequent interviews with the Fellowships founders Boyse, Linderman and Simon Hankinson Ive tried to figure out what drives the Fellowship and how much power it truly wields. The answer is, like so much of the world right now, murky. The Fellowships founders insist they are not trying to inject partisan politics into U.S. diplomacy and that the last thing they want is to create a right-wing deep state inside the government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We very much believe in the constitutional order, which is that the federal bureaucracy works for the president, and it doesn't have a policy interest, a legitimate policy interest, outside of what the president wants to do, Linderman told me. But the Fellowships leaders argue conservative views are barely represented within the foreign service, which undermines policy debates. So while suspicious diplomats worry the Fellowship will skew policy debates toward one ideology, the Fellowships leaders say the debates are already unhealthily skewed toward another. Both Hankinson and Linderman said they'd separately thought of setting up a network of conservative diplomats years ago, but Linderman did much of the early legwork that eventually led to the Fellowship. Boyse connected the two men. At State, there have long been different kinds of employee associations. They include affinity groups that link people of different faith, ethnic and other backgrounds, including military veterans. Many on the right saw such groups as vehicles for progressive ideas. The current Trump administration haseffectively disbanded many such groups on grounds that they promote gender and racial ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a variety of often logistical reasons, Boyse, Hankinson and Linderman chose to create the Fellowship as an independent nonprofit outside the State Department. That choice also gives the group a bit more freedom than being under States auspices. Linderman told me he was especially motivated to create the Fellowship, which was up and running by last year, during the Joe Biden presidency. That administration, he said, radicalized the State Department leftward, especially in its promotion of DEI policies and, in his view, a lax treatment of migration. (Linderman is affiliated with the Center for Immigration Studies, which wants to restrict immigration.) When I pressed Linderman about his comments at the award ceremony, he pointed to the Fellowships roster, which includes women and minorities. These fellows believe in the groups principles and resent being thought of as DEI hires, he said. He and the other founders stress that they dont oppose diversity in general but that its unfair for a persons immutable characteristics to be given more weight than anothers accomplishments in, say, promotions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Linderman also told me he was surprised to receive the award but was told he wouldnt say by whom that his work on the Fellowship affected his selection. Despite diplomats suspicions, I couldnt find proof that the Fellowship is outright directing State Department policy or personnel decisions at least not as an organization. U.S. diplomats in multiple time zones told me theyd not seen formal, written State communications that mentioned the group. A senior State official familiar with the situation also said hes not heard the group mentioned by top officials as a must-consult entity. But these are early days, and the Fellowship is taking actions designed to seed long-term conservative influence in the diplomatic ranks. Even if creating a conservative deep state is not a formal goal of the Fellowships founders, a future Democratic president may find a foreign service thats far less amenable to their goals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The State Department would not directly answer my questions about the Fellowships role, including whether a persons affiliation with the group affects personnel decisions. But it sent me a statement that said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his team value the insights, ideas, and leadership provided by members of the Ben Franklin Fellowship. Were grateful for their service to our country. The Fellowships founders said there have been one-on-one talks between top State officials and individuals in their group at various settings, but they described that as typical Washington networking. And fellows such as Landau and Olowski, for instance, are likely to have significant influence over hiring given their official positions at State. Hankinson, who also spent years in the foreign service, said the overlap between the groups Fellows and the State staffing chart comes down to math. The pool of current and former U.S. diplomats known to have views that match Trumps is small. One of our primary goals is to serve as a network to connect career diplomats and other foreign policy professionals who share the same values including openly advocating for the U.S. national interest in foreign affairs, Hankinson said. He added that if a Democratic administration sought Fellowship members suggestions for hires, theyd offer them ideas, too. I suspect that wont happen, he chuckled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I pointed out that Olowski is much less experienced than past diplomats whove overseen human resources at State. How is that a merit-based promotion? But Hankinson noted that Olowski had the role on an acting basis and argued that he had a solid resume. Hankinson also said many political appointees under other administrations were underqualified for their roles. The Fellowships concerns about putting merit over DEI are centered more on the career foreign service, not political appointees. (Olowski did not respond to my request for comment; neither did Landau.) The Fellowship has largely been funded out of its founders pockets, but it is seeking grants and accepting donations, Hankinson said. One superficial but potentially tricky challenge it will face is differentiating itself from multiple other programs named after Franklin, who is considered Americas first diplomat. (Thats one reason the group uses Ben instead of Benjamin in its name.) The organization has multiple levels of affiliation, including fellows, members and people who are on the mailing list. Becoming a fellow or a member involves vetting to ensure the applicant agrees with the basic principles of the group, Hankinson said. At the moment, he added, were seeing a lot of interest. MADISON - Hundreds of nurses at Madison's UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital plan to go on strike May 27, arguing hospital management hasn't listened to their repeated requests for a safer work environment. The strike the first in history for Meriter nurses is set to last until 7 a.m. on June 1. Hospital leadership has said it will be "open and providing exceptional care" during the strike. "Nurses really do not want to strike," said Pat Raes, a Meriter nurse and president of SEIU Wisconsin, which represents 934 Meriter nurses. "But we really felt like we did not have a choice." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contract negotiations have been ongoing since January. Nurses have asked for their contract to guarantee improved security at the hospital, including the installation of a metal detector, and smaller staff-to-patient ratios on the hospital's medical-surgical units. They also want increased pay for working nights and other less desirable shifts. Raes called the hospital a safe place to work. But still, she said, there have been instances that raise concerns, such as patients and visitors bringing guns into the facility without the knowledge of staff. As violence against health care workers increases, Raes said, nurses want improved security measures before something serious happens, not after. Wisconsin Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, speaks at the Madison Labor Temple on May 23 in support of a planned nurses' strike at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital. The strike would run from May 27 to June 1. More: Hailed as heroes, hospital workers for years have been bitten, hit, kicked. And ignored. Audrey Willems Van Dijk, a registered nurse in labor and delivery and postpartum care at the hospital, said she has felt unsafe at work, particularly during lockdowns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are being told to stay away from windows without any kind of understanding of what is happening," Willems Van Dijk said. "The dissemination of information isn't there, and therefore, it feels like the respect also isn't there." Willems Van Dijk said she worked a longer shift than planned May 22 to account for staffing vacancies, something she said is a frequent issue. It's also not one unique to Meriter. About 9% of registered nurse positions in hospitals across the state were vacant in 2023, the most recent data available from the Wisconsin Hospital Association. Raes said every time a nurse is asked to take on more patients or longer hours, "We have to consider whether or not we can keep our other patients safe." In a statement to media May 20, Sherry Casali, market chief nursing officer for UnityPoint Health-Meriter, said the hospital agrees on the importance of safe staffing but that writing specific ratios of nurses to patients into a contract would "limit flexibility, reduce nurse autonomy and lead to unintended outcomes potentially affecting the ability to adjust to patient needs and staff availability in real time." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Casali also wrote that hospital leadership shares the union's commitment to protecting nurses from violence and that there will be forthcoming enhancements to hospital security. Additionally, pay increases already offered would keep Meriter nurses as some of the best-paid in Wisconsin, Casali wrote. In a May 23 statement, the union called the increases "minimal." Hospital staff strikes differ from other strikes in that staff are required to give several days' notice to allow the hospital to find other workers. The Meriter nurses gave their notice May 9. Travel nurses will staff the hospital in their absence, according to a May 23 statement from the health system. The two parties will meet again May 29 for another round of negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital, located in downtown Madison, is part of UnityPoint Health, an Iowa-based health system with locations across southern Wisconsin. In 2017, the hospital entered into a joint operating agreement with UW Health that allows patients to get care from both providers. UW Health is also no stranger to labor negotiations. The health system's nurses union was dissolved in 2014 as a result of the union-busting law Act 10, and nurses began the fight to restore it in 2019, including threatening a three-day strike in 2022 that ultimately did not occur. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is now deciding whether UW Health is required to negotiate a collective bargaining contract with the union. The court heard oral arguments in the case in February. More: UW Health nurses take their case for forming a union to the Wisconsin Supreme Court Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Wisconsin is aging, and a 'silver tsunami' of baby boomers is coming. Are hospitals ready? Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter at the Journal Sentinel. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nurses at Madison's Meriter hospital will strike over safety concerns The 37-year-old crypto trader accused of kidnapping a 28-year-old Italian man inside a luxurious SoHo apartment repeatedly shocked his victim with electric wires, held him upside down from the top of a staircase, cut his leg with a saw and threatened to kill the victims family all to get the password to the mans Bitcoin account, prosecutors said Saturday. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Eric Schumacher ordered John Woeltz held without bail on assault and kidnapping charges as police continued to search for his accomplice. He also issued a restraining order against Woeltz, so if he does get out of jail, he cant go anywhere near his victim. A second alleged accomplice, a 24-year-old woman, was arrested late Friday but prosecutors declined to bring charges. Detectives on Saturday were still going through the Soho home, bringing out large paper evidence bags. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said the victim arrived in the U.S. on May 6 and visited Woeltz. The two men share interests in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, cops said. The extortion plot was uncovered after Woeltzs victim managed to escape his swanky Prince and Mulberry Sts. home in SoHo Friday morning and wave down an NYPD traffic enforcement agent, who called police. Responding officers found Woeltz in the $30,000-a-month, eight-bedroom apartment swaddled in a plush white bathrobe. The guy comes out in a white bathrobe, barefoot, hands cuffed behind his back, got into a police car, Ciaran Tully, 64, a vendor who sells photographs on Prince St., told the Daily News Friday. He didnt look concerned. He didnt look worried or anything like that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trading in his robe for a white T-shirt, black pants and black and white-striped Adidas slides, Woeltz said nothing as Assistant District Attorney Michael Mattson laid out the case against him. Upon arriving at the home, [Woeltz and his accomplice] took all of the victims electronics and his passport, rendering the victim unable to call for help, Mattson said. The two bound their victims wrists and over the next three weeks subjected him to beatings including but not limited to the use of electric wires to shock him, using a firearm to hit him on the head, and pointing the firearm at his head on several occasions, Mattson explained. [They] used a saw to cut his leg, urinated on the victim, forced him to smoke crack cocaine by holding him down and forcing it into his mouth. The duo also tied an airtag around his neck with a chain or wire, Mattson said. They [said they] would kill his family and they would find the victim if he left. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After apprehending Woeltz, cops found disturbing Polaroid photos of him and his accomplice torturing their victim and holding a gun to his head. Sometime during the victims capture, Woeltz and his accomplice managed to get printed T-shirts of the victim smoking crack. The shirts were found in the home, along with body armor, night vision goggles, ammunition and ballistic helmets, officials said. The crypto trader refused to talk to police after he was arrested. He lawyered up immediately, a police source said. On Friday morning, Woeltz carried the victim to the top flight of stairs in the townhouse and hung the victim over the ledge as the defendant threatened to kill the victim if the victim would not provide the defendant with the victims bitcoin password, Mattson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After being pistol-whipped once again, the victim finally consented, but said he needed a laptop, the prosecutor said. When the defendant left the victim to retrieve the victims laptop, the victim was able to escape down the stairs, Mattson said. The victim was bloodied and had no shoes on. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated and released. When requesting he be held without bail, prosecutors said Woeltz had the means to escape the country. [He] has a private jet and a helicopter, Mattson said. Woeltz is facing 15 years to life if convicted. His attorney Wayne Gosnell declined to comment to reporters after the brief arraignment proceeding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woeltz has been featured as a speaker at several cryptocurrency conferences and has nearly a decade of experience with technology startups in Silicon Valley, according to online profiles. Woeltzs mother Joan Woeltz said her son was an early believer of cryptocurrency and had been mining Bitcoin from the age of 12. During his travels in the crypto world, he had been taken in and corrupted by another cryptocurrency trader who systematically isolated him from his family and may have been the mastermind of this scheme, the mother claimed. Weve been concerned about this person entering his life and kind of controlling it, she said in an exclusive interview with The News. My family and I have been concerned for some time for Johns well being and what influence he was under with these people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We could never speak to John anymore without them being there, Joan said, adding that the other trader and his cohorts had been influencing her son since December 2023. It was very sudden. Suddenly this person entered Johns life, and we were suddenly isolated from John. Neighbors said the SoHo townhouse was vacant as of December. No one had any idea someone was being held captive and tortured inside. I saw the police, neighbor Luigi, 37, told The News. It was a surprise. CHICAGO (WGN) A South Side restaurant received a surprise visit from former President Barack Obama on Friday. Friday got a little sunnier for folks at Peachs Restaurant in Chicagos Bronzeville neighborhood when former President Obama walked in. Obama is known to do the occasional drop-bys in Chicago from time to time, but Fridays endeavor was a bit more strategic. Peachs Restaurant is owned by Chicagos Very Own Chef Cliff Rome, who has been chosen as the Obama Foundations in-house culinary expert. When asked what he thought about being on the national stage, Rome smiled, replying, How about that? A little kid from South Side Chicago, right? And its great that young people, particularly the ones who were working with, they get a chance to see it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local chef takes time to give back to students in the kitchen Former President Barack Obama made an impromptu visit to Peachs Restaurant, owned by Chef Cliff Rome, who is now the in-house culinary expert for the Obama Center. (Photo: WGN) After the former president placed his order with a little peach cobbler on the side, it was meet-and-greet time with the patrons. Obama shook hands with diners and took photos at every single table. He even connected with the youngest in the crowd, a 2-year-old. This isnt Romes first rodeo with Obama. Rome served him in a private setting at his Parkway Ballroom and spent 10 minutes just chatting. I didnt realize that he was really that funny, Rome said. Super cool, very inviting. But this is the first time hes talked with him and even seen him since he was awarded the contract to supply the cafe, restaurant, and catering at the Obama Presidential Center after a stringent application process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They didnt skip a beat, Rome joked. Checked all the boxes. Romes place in the Obama Presidential Center will be called Bamjoy, a collaboration with the Bon Appetit company and Romes Joy, his brand name. Rome added that he couldnt be happier taking the professional leap with a man he admires. Former President Barack Obama speaking with patrons on Friday, May 23, 2025 during an impromptu visit to Peachs Restaurant on Chicagos South Side (Photo: WGN) When WGN-TV asked Obama about his motivation for doing the drop-ins, he joked, because Im hungry, but added that Peachs was one of many local establishments that his Presidential Center will collaborate with. Part of the goal here is to make sure that this is an economic engine for our entire community, and Chef (Rome) is going to be one of our outstanding partners, Obama said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Peachs Restaurant is located at 4652 S King Drive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. The U.S. Coast Guard has released new footage that appears to capture the moment that OceanGate CEOs wife hears the doomed submersible implode. In a clip released Thursday, Wendy Rush, wife of CEO Stocktown Rush, can be heard asking, What was that bang? Pakistani father-and-son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet were aboard the doomed submersible. / Reuters Rush heard the noise as she was monitoring the Titan submersibles data and communications with another tracking team member from a support vessel, the Polar Prince, in the North Atlantic Ocean, People reported. The sub exploded on June 18, 2023, killing all five people on board. The U.S. Coast Guard collected its wreckage on June 27. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A sound heard at the 24-second mark, later correlated with the loss of communications and tracking, is believed to be the sound of the Titans implosion reaching the surface of the ocean," the Coast Guard captioned the clip. The 22-foot-long, carbon fiber vessel failed instantaneously around 3,300 meters, according to Tym Catterson, a former OceanGate contractor. / OceanGate/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Stockton, 61, was joined by adventurers Hamish Harding, 58, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and father and son Shahzada, 48, and Suleman Dawood, 19. The clip comes as the Coast Guard plans to publish a final report on the findings of its investigation into the tragedy, BBC reported. It is believed that the 22-foot-long, carbon fiber vessel failed instantaneously around 3,300 meters, according to Tym Catterson, a former OceanGate contractor who testified in front of the USCG Marine Board of Investigation in September 2024. The USCG is set to publish a final report later this year on its findings from an investigation into the incident, BBC reported. The news comes after Netflix announced it would release a documentary on the incident, Titan: The OceanGate Disaster. The USGC retrieved human remains and wreckage from the Titan submersible from the floor of the Atlantic ocean. / Stringer . / REUTERS The film will focus on the years leading up to the fatal trip and how Stocktons crusade to become the next world-renowned change-maker. The doc will hit the streaming platform on June 11. May 23An Albuquerque police officer was in custody Friday, charged with striking and critically injuring a man before fleeing the scene on a motorcycle Thursday evening. Officer Ezekiel Florez, 29, was charged Friday with knowingly leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm. Florez was off-duty at the time of the crash and had another off-duty officer, Krystal Garcia, on the motorcycle with him, police say. Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said Florez and Garcia, who was not charged, were both placed on administrative leave while APD investigates the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Investigators noted that Florez and Garcia failed to call for medical help after the crash and waited several hours before they returned to the scene," Gallegos said in a statement. Court records show doctors told police it is unclear if the man Florez allegedly struck will survive his injuries. Florez remained in custody Friday at the Metropolitan Detention Center. He has not been scheduled for an initial court appearance, and it is unclear if he has an attorney. Gallegos said both Florez and Garcia are relatively new recruits, having graduated the police academy in February 2024. The crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday as Florez was driving a motorcycle west on Central "at a high rate of speed" with Garcia in the passenger seat, Gallegos said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The motorcycle "clipped" a man walking in the intersection of Central and Coors NW and fled west on Central, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. A neurosurgeon at the University of New Mexico Hospital told police the still-unidentified man "was extremely critical and not likely to survive his injuries," the complaint said. Florez's involvement in the crash came to light when Garcia called another officer and identified herself as the passenger on the motorcycle, the complaint said. Garcia told the officer that as they were riding, "a homeless subject ran into the roadway, and they believed they 'clipped him' with the motorcycle." Multiple 911 callers reported that a white motorcycle with two occupants struck a pedestrian and fled west on Central. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police found the man lying in a crosswalk with a serious head injury that "exposed brain matter," according to the criminal complaint. A witness told police she was stopped at the intersection when the westbound motorcycle passed her traveling "extremely fast" and struck the pedestrian in the Coors intersection. The collision was captured by an Albuquerque Rapid Transit bus station camera, the complaint said. The video showed the man running southbound through the crosswalk while westbound traffic had a green light. "A white motorcycle, occupied by two riders, is seen traveling at a high rate of speed, striking the pedestrian and continuing westbound," the complaint said. Florez and Garcia later returned to the scene and they were detained, Gallegos said in the statement. "Florez told investigators he saw the pedestrian running across the intersection and he could not get out of the way in time and the pedestrian struck the right side of the motorcycle," according to the complaint. The Georgia police officer whose traffic arrest of a 19-year-old undocumented college student led to her detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has resigned from the department, a spokesperson for the city of Dalton confirmed to CBS News on Saturday. City of Dalton spokesperson Bruce Frazier confirmed to CBS News that Dalton police Officer Leslie Allen O'Neal had resigned from the police department. He did not give any information on the reason behind O'Neal's resignation. The resignation comes after Dalton police said the officer had mistakenly pulled over Ximena Arias Cristobal on May 5. He cited Arias-Cristobal for making an improper turn and driving without a license before booking her into the Whitfield County Jail in Dalton, where she was picked up by ICE officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After officials reviewed dashboard camera footage of the traffic stop, they found the vehicle that actually made the improper turn was similar to the truck Arias Cristobal was driving, and on May 12, they dismissed traffic charges against her. "You ever been to jail?" the officer can be heard asking Arias Cristobal in the dashcam footage. "No, sir," she responded. "Well, you're going," the officer said. "I cannot go to jail. I have my finals next week. My family depends on this," Arias Cristobal said. Police dashcam video shows a Dalton Police Department officer arresting 19-year-old Ximena Arias Cristobal on misdemeanor traffic charges on May 5, 2025, in Dalton, Georgia. Those charges were later dismissed. / Credit: Dalton Police Department Arias Cristobal, who came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 4, had been in ICE custody since early May after the agency took custody of her from the Dalton county jail and transferred her to an ICE detention facility in Lumpkin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE released her from detention on May 22 when an immigration judge granted her bond. Her father who was detained by ICE in April, also after a traffic stop was being held in Lumpkin as well, but he was granted bond and released last week. Both will continue to face deportation to Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security previously said. ICE started a deportation case against Arias Cristobal in immigration court. DHS said Arias Cristobal and her father should face "consequences" for being in the U.S. illegally. Delta Air Lines' 100th year takes flight 9 young siblings killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza A dad's mission to uncover brain injuries after Navy SEAL son's suicide | 60 Minutes In a state often struggling with water scarcity and record-breaking droughts, a promising milestone is being reached in Northern California. Lake Oroville is expected to reach its full capacity of 900 feet this spring, fueled by robust snowmelt from California's northern mountains, according to Newsweek. Despite less snow than in the past two years, consistent winter storms and a healthy snowpack in the northern Sierra have kept the state's major reservoirs performing above average. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Lake Oroville is likely to reach full capacity this year," a California Department of Water Resources spokesperson told Newsweek. "This will be the first time the reservoir has reached full capacity three years in a row." While it's easy to focus on the numbers, the implications of a full Lake Oroville are far more meaningful on the ground. For everyday people, this milestone means a more stable water supply for agriculture, cities, and homes, especially heading into the state's traditionally dry summer and fall months. A healthy reservoir system also brings ripple effects for local economies. When Lake Oroville is full, it supports boating, fishing, and tourism activities that boost small businesses in the area. Additionally, strong water reserves reduce the risk of mandatory water cuts or restrictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The April 1 snowpack is an important benchmark for water managers who rely on snowpack and snowmelt runoff forecast data to plan for the amount of water that will flow into California's rivers and reservoirs in the spring," said a DWR spokesperson. "The State Water Project and water districts use this data to plan for how much water will be available for urban and agricultural water users during the drier summer and fall months." Environmentally, full reservoirs lead to better marine life and a balanced ecosystem that can better withstand extreme heat and dry spells. The comeback of Lake Oroville reflects how climate resilience is possible. When local communities, water agencies, and state governments work together to invest in sustainable practices, the environment can come back to life. Should the government be allowed to restrict how much water we use? Definitely Only during major droughts No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Rural hospitals in Oklahoma could be forced to slash services or shut down entirely if proposed federal Medicaid cuts become law, healthcare leaders say. The cuts are part of a sweeping federal bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, raising alarms across the healthcare industry. Leaders say the plan could devastate access to care in rural communities across the state. The legislation, dubbed one big beautiful bill by President Donald Trump, passed Friday by a single vote. The bill calls for increased spending on immigration enforcement and the military, makes Trumps 2017 tax cuts permanent, and would temporarily eliminate taxes on tips and overtime wages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To offset those costs, the bill includes deep cuts to clean energy programs, food assistance and Medicaidpotentially removing millions of Americans from the program. People will file for bankruptcy when they have to go to the doctor or the hospital, disability advocate Lindsay Latham told NBC News. Ripple effects. Healthcare leaders in Oklahoma say those ripple effects would hit rural areas hardest. Lawmakers pass Reindustrialize Oklahoma Act to help fund aluminum smelting plant Every rural hospital in this state operates in the red, said Rich Rasmussen, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association. It is these types of Medicaid programs that keep them open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rasmussen explained how Medicaid funding works in Oklahoma. A portion comes from a hospital tax, currently set at 4% of each hospitals total revenue. The state collects that money and pools it into a single fund. The federal government then matches the total, effectively doubling the amount available to support Medicaid services. But if the federal bill becomes law and fewer patients remain on Medicaid, Rasmussen said Oklahoma may need to raise its hospital tax rate to increase its federal match. However, the bill in its current form would lock states into their current hospital tax rates, removing their ability to raise them to adjust for the cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, now were kind of being forced to have to potentially adjust to fewer dollars, Rasmussen said. He warned that the consequences could be severehospitals laying off staff, ending services, and canceling long-awaited expansions. Right now we have hospitals, for the first time in 20 years, contemplating adding obstetrical services to deliver babies, Rasmussen said. If what is passed makes it more difficult to be able to financially demonstrate that you can do that, then you will have hospitals that just wont choose to offer obstetrical services. Hospitals that might want to offer some specialty service or some additional rehabilitation services for the folks in their communitiesthey may not be able to do that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the worst cases, he said some rural hospitals may have no choice but to close. Hospitals tend to be the largest employer in a community, Rasmussen said. So if you lose the ability for that community to hold on to them, you lose their tax base, you lose their ability to pay for their homes. So it has an effect of kind of just rippling downstream. Rasmussen said there may still be time for a solution. He hopes the U.S. Senate will consider including a one to two-year grace period for states to adjust their hospital tax rates as needed, allowing them to prepare for the Medicaid changes accordingly. News 4 will continue to monitor the bills progress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Major changes could be coming to Arizonas health care funding after House Republicans approved President Donald Trumps legislative package, officially titled the One, Big, Beautiful Bill." NEOSHO, Mo. One year ago, gang members took the lives of Davy and Natalie Lloyd a local missionary couple serving in Haiti. I wasnt expecting today to hit as hard as it did, said Naomi Baker. For Ben and Naomi Baker, the one-year anniversary of their daughter and son-in-laws deaths, has been filled with emotion. Its hard to believe its been a year, said Ben Baker. My heart woke up with that lost feeling, and I was jarred awake with it just that todays one year, but it feels like the day after, said Naomi Baker. Photos of Davy and Natalie Lloyd when they were a young couple (Courtesy: Ben and Naomi Baker). On May 23, 2024, Davy and Natalie Lloyd missionaries working in Haiti were murdered during violent gang riots that crippled the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just thinking back over the year, how we have tried to get through this, as a family, and really it comes down to just the prayers of so many people, said Ben Baker. Since that day, Natalies parents say theyve received a tremendous outpouring of support. I mean, I cant say enough about the people in our life. The Joplin and Neosho community, the state of Missouri, just so many people. Our home church and our pastor. Everyone everyones been so kind to us, said Naomi Baker. They say the legacy Davy and Natalie left behind helps keep them strong. Davy and Natalie Lloyd. Theres no doubt that future generations will know who Davy and Natalie Lloyd were, said Ben Baker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In honor of the couple, construction is underway on the Davy and Natalie Lloyd Academic Center on the campus of Neoshos Ozark Bible Institute. As for Ben and Naomi, the tragic loss has given them a new purpose. I dont believe that our connection in Haiti ended with Davy and Natalie. I dont believe that. Were committed to doing whatever we can to help the innocent people of Haiti, said Naomi Baker. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. Washington (DC News Now) He went from the Office of the WV Attorney General to now Governor. Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) joins Capitol Review this week. Gov. Morrisey talks about his first few months in office, working with his state legislature along with the Trump Administration. Plus, how cuts to Medicare could impact his state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. Susan Ousterman remembers her son Tyler as quiet, curious and with a smile that lit up the room. He loved nature, skateboarding and was a talented percussionist. He also struggled with an opioid dependency, and by October 2020 was sleeping in his car. My son wanted more than anything to break free from his addiction, but we had no resources none, she told Salon. He had just been robbed while sleeping in his car in Kensington [Philadelphia], and without a phone, he never got my message telling him to come home. Thankfully, he came anyway. On October 5, the pair shared a pizza in the yard, and promised to make a plan to put his life back together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was one of the best conversations we ever had, Ousterman, the executive director of the non-profit Vilomah Foundation, recalled. Tyler then left for the corner store to buy cigarettes. After twenty minutes had gone by, Susan went to look for him, only to find him lifeless on the bathroom floor of a nearby gas station, having taken a cocktail of drugs including fentanyl. He was 24-years old. After years of a seemingly unstoppable overdose onslaught, the tide finally seems to be turning in the opioid crisis: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported drug fatalities plunged by a quarter between January and December 2024. While still leaving 80,000 people dead, its a remarkable improvement compared to the peak of two years ago when 114,000 Americans lost their lives. It's not clear yet exactly why this trend has started to reverse. Perhaps law enforcement pressure diluted the potency of fentanyl, replaced by less-lethal (though still dangerous) concoctions such as xylazine, an animal tranquilizer. Or perhaps youngsters are shunning opioid intoxication while the most vulnerable demographics are already dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But for harm reductionists like Chelsea Mudalagi, coordinator at the AmeriCorps Community Training for Overdose Rescue (ACT) program in Michigan, the reason is clear: the proliferation of the lifesaving antidote naloxone, which works by blocking the effects of heroin, fentanyl and other opioids. We get really excited when we hear things like in Michigan, the overdose death rate has decreased five times faster than that of the rest of the country, she told Salon. I think the fact that we carpeted Metro Detroit in Narcan [naloxone] has helped quite a bit. We always like to compare Narcan to fire extinguishers: everyone should have a fire extinguisher in their house. If you're out in public, you know where the fire extinguisher is, or if you needed one, someone else could get it for you. And I think that more people are willing to think about that if they're encountering an emergency; they might say to themselves, oh, this might be an overdose. But now, that progress may be coming undone by the Trump administration, which is reinvigorating the war on drugs while cutting back public services faster than you can say DEI. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. Arresting people for their suffering is not just ineffective, its inhumane, Susan stated. Cutting health care while doubling down on punishment only deepens the crisis, especially for families like mine. Weve already seen where that approach leads: more deaths, more stigma, and more people abandoned by the very systems meant to protect them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harm reduction is the pragmatic principle that recognizes, whether we like it or not, human beings will engage in dangerous behavior. Rather than trying to force them into stopping, an often-futile exercise (especially if we havent addressed why they do what they do), we should minimize the potential damage this might cause. A great example would be designated drivers: getting you home safely without keeping you from your Bud Light. It's a principle Susan supports. I had not known the term while Tyler was alive, but we practiced it at times, she reflected. It meant loving Tyler where he was, without shame, without ultimatums. It gave us tools to keep him safe, and it affirmed that his life was worth protecting regardless of his decisions. Harm reduction isnt the absence of care its what love looks like in the face of an unjust system. But there are those who cry that by removing the consequences, you encourage more of this "bad" (from their point-of-view) behavior to occur. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dead people can't recover, and overwhelmingly the research shows that there's no opposition between harm reduction and abstinence goals, because when you look at what happens if people participate in harm reduction, they are more likely to participate in other forms of recovery, not less, said Maia Szalavitz, author of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction." So for example, somebody who participates regularly in syringe exchange is more likely to enter treatment than someone who does not, Szalavitz said. And given that relapse is common in abstinence, you need harm reduction along with it. The term harm reduction was first coined in 1980s Liverpool, England, to describe the needle exchanges there, which themselves were based on a Dutch program. The idea was to contain HIV infections among heroin users sharing syringes. The harm reduction movement also evolved out of the AIDS movement, which itself evolved out of the patients rights movement that began in the 70s. Although gay men were at the forefront of the AIDS movement, injecting drug users were fighting for their lives as well. In the 1980s Jon Parker, a former heroin user from Boston, founded the National AIDS Brigade and began distributing needles across the East Coast, earning him the nickname the Johnny Appleseed of needles. At the time, handing out syringes was banned, so Parker and his comrades risked their freedom as a public act of civil disobedience, inviting both the press and police, who arrested everyone involved. In 1991, at the Trial of the Needle Eight, a judge ruled that the AIDS emergency was grave enough to justify breaking the law to save lives. But a 1988 federal ban on funding syringe swaps remained in place for decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At first, naloxone was only available in hospitals and ambulances because of the usual panic around enabling druggies. But in the early 2000s, harm reduction pioneer Dan Bigg of Chicago persuaded physicians to prescribe it to him and his pals to start making it widely available on the street. It was thanks to Biggs efforts that naloxone became accepted nationwide. A big man, true to his name, dog lover, and a heroin user himself, Bigg sadly passed away in his apartment in 2018 from a cocktail of drugs including fentanyl. Meanwhile, underground syringe exchanges and shooting galleries spawned across the country, with sterile needles, Narcan, wipes and bins at hand, all in violation of the 1986 crackhouse statute which outlaws premises used for illicit drug-taking. (It was Joe Biden, then a U.S. senator, who crafted this law.) Nevertheless, in New York these interventions became gradually accepted by the state health department, which issued guidelines. This eventually led to the opening of OnPoint, Americas first official supervised consumption facilities in two Manhattan neighborhoods, Harlem and Washington Heights, in 2021. Another idea adopted from European drug policy, supervised consumption sites allow people to use drugs under medical supervision. It can be incredibly dangerous taking drugs alone, with no one to help if something goes wrong, but at OnPoint anyone can be instantly revived. As of January, OnPoint has reversed over 1,700 overdoses as well as connecting clients with other health care and housing services. A similar facility recently opened on Rhode Island. In 2021, President Biden appointed Dr. Rahul Gupta as drug czar, signaling a shift towards embracing harm reduction by promoting naloxone, sterile syringes and fentanyl test strips. Naloxone became so mainstream that in certain areas you could find vending machines dispensing it for free. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But for some, it was too little, too late. The pivot to harm reduction also sparked alarm in conservative circles, exemplified in a row about tax dollars being purportedly spent on crack pipes. Harm reduction has pretty radical roots, and theres always a tension when something on the fringe moves to the mainstream, Szalavitz noted. You're not an activist because you want things to stay the same; you want your ideas to influence the mainstream. But surely in going from people who are actually breaking the law to save lives to just civil servants or nonprofit employees doing their job, you will often end up with a loss of a radical spirit It was great to see the Biden administration recognize that this is a critical aspect of public health but they certainly didn't take the larger steps that people in the movement would have liked to see them do. Then in February, an executive order from Trump tasked DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, with eliminating waste, bloat and insularity in federal agencies. As the head of DOGE, which is not an official government department, billionaire oligarch Elon Musk (together with his teenage assistants with usernames like Big Balls) then set about taking a sledgehammer to the U.S. government, with seemingly little idea of what government actually does. In March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services withdrew over $11 billion from the CDC, leaving many state and local level health initiatives without funding, effective immediately. Another $1 billion was slashed from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a key agency in tackling the overdose crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics argued that SAMHSA failed in its mission and was overly enamoured with progressive causes. Indeed, some of SAMHSAs cutbacks explicitly leaned into conservative criticisms, including scrapping harm reduction efforts referred to in one document as the Biden crack pipe. The impact was felt almost immediately. For instance, the Pennsylvania nonprofit Unity Recovery, which distributed 30,000 doses of naloxone last year, lost $1.2 million in federal grants, forcing them to shutter their site in Philadelphia and halve their working hours in Pittsburgh. While some of the cutbacks are being held up in court as dozens of states sue the federal government for imperiling their constituents health, a climate of uncertainty prevails and the Philly site has not reopened. Also affected was ACT in Michigan, which dispatched AmeriCorps members to train communities for example, at churches, businesses and mosques how to use naloxone, as well as distributing it through various channels. Mudalagi estimates over the past five years, ACT has trained 5,000 individuals what to do in case of an overdose emergency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But when DOGE cut AmeriCorps in April, laying off most of its staff and canceling its grants, ACT lost a central pillar of support. Thankfully, our program leadership had a really a really good defensive funding strategy and we've been able to cover this current [AmeriCorps cohort] through the end of July with other funds, Mudalagi explained. But moving forward, what my program is losing is that education component: teaching people what to do in those moments. And that's essentially lost because of this funding. Instead ACT, now rebranded Strategies and Tools for Overdose Prevention, will focus on restocking naloxone distribution points. While the White Houses official drug strategy is to expand access to naloxone and fentanyl test strips, the administrations own cutbacks undermine those very goals. A leaked budget proposal reveals plans to cut the First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act program, which operates on a $56 million SAMHSA grant. In 2023, it distributed more than 101,000 overdose reversal kits. This proved vital in rural areas like Oklahomas Cherokee Nation Reservation, where local emergency services would not have been able to afford the lifesaving antidote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the feds have axed the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the nations sole drug use survey, abruptly laying off all seventeen researchers on April 1. The survey tracked drug consumption, addiction and mental health among Americans aged twelve and over. Its not clear how the data, essential for policymaking decisions, will be gathered now, if at all. The impact of the cutbacks has been felt far overseas as well. The United States Agency for International Development is responsible for the American governments foreign aid. Musk has bragged about feeding USAID into the wood chipper. While USAID has sometimes questionably been used to meddle in other countries affairs (for instance, attempting to foment discord via social media in Cuba), its also one of the largest humanitarian organizations on the globe. In March, 83% of USAID operations were canceled or drastically-scaled back, including HIV testing and treatment programs in Africa, where the virus spreads through injecting drugs and sex work. The U.N. and WHO warn that suspending these programs could be catastrophic, undoing two decades of progress and creating thousands of new infections each day. Other dangers are looming. Republicans seem determined to slash hundreds of billions from Medicaid, which covers nearly 90% of opioid addiction treatment nationwide. The operator of an overdose prevention hotline told Salon, off-the-record, that the bulk of their funding comes through Medicaid, which seems like a pretty major threat. Meanwhile OnPoint has been accused of being a magnet for crime and antisocial behavior. This is debatable: a 2023 study found no accompanying rise in complaints in the vicinity of OnPoints facilities, although the NYPD has since claimed otherwise. In any case, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), a Trump supporter, is calling on the state attorney general to shut OnPoint down. The opening of another safe consumption site in Minnesota, the third state to follow New York and Rhode Island, has been stalled by local officials fearing further cutbacks and the unpredictable political climate. So with all this happening, whats the future of harm reduction? Could it return to its underground roots? I don't think it ever left that, Szalavitz observed. If you talk to anybody who does harm reduction in the South, it is basically under the same conditions that those of us in the North and the West were facing in the 1980s. We are seemingly as a country trying to go back to that law enforcement-heavy approach and more intense drug war. But to be fair, the drug war has never gone away. Meanwhile, harm reductionists pledge to continue even with dwindling resources. Tamara Oyola-Santiago is the co-founder of Bronx Movil, a mobile harm reduction and needle swap service. As a mutual aid collective that started with no funding but plenty of love and solidarity, we are committed to do this work regardless of funding streams, she told Salon. Harm reduction started by people who use and inject drugs, many of whom were people living with and/or impacted by HIV/AIDS. The same is true for us. There is a saying in Puerto Rico that reflects our commitment to this life work: solo el pueblo salva al pueblo only the people can save the people. We found a way to survive the cuts. Even if we're not happy about everything that we lost, we're going to keep going, added Mudalagi. Like I told my AmeriCorps members, we're going to be out here giving out Narcan and trying to make a difference until they literally lock us out of the building! NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonights 9 pm ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here. Memorial Day: On Memorial Day a few years ago, I asked a Gold Star family what their son would have thought about the celebrations (barbecues, trips, sales) that seem to totally miss the point of honoring and visiting our war dead. He would have wanted to be remembered, they said, but then everybody celebrates the freedoms he died for. That has always stuck with me. Coming sacrifice: JD Vance, speaking at the Naval Academy, issued an ominous warning, saying the era of uncontested U.S. dominance is OVER. MINNEAPOLIS, MN MAY 2020: The Minneapolis Third Police Precinct is set on fire on Thursday, May 28, 2020, during a third night of protests following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. (Photo by Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via Getty Images) Harvard Derangement Syndrome: Harvard psychology professor Steve Pinker opines in The New York Times, As the countrys oldest, richest and most famous university, Harvard has always attracted outsize attention. In the public imagination, the university is both the epitome of higher learning and a natural magnet for grievances against elites. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Be fair : Pinker is a big deal and has criticized his university before it took guts. Watch tonight: He joins us to discuss Harvards fight against President Trump. Three Times a Year Memorial Day marks the start of summer; Labor Day, the end of summer; and the Christmas holidays mark the end of the year. During those three times, we collectively take stock of where we are as a country and how we feel. We are with family and friends, relaxed with extra days off. On Memorial Day specifically, we are excited about the summer ahead, the long days and the warm evenings. Its the time of graduations, weddings, coming summer vacations and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, where are we? Gas prices are lower than last year Todays national average: $3.19 One year ago: $3.61 Prices of groceries and the like are up about 50 cents across items Eggs are up about $1.64 from last year, according to data from NBC News The stock market is significantly higher (10%) One year ago, former President Biden was one month away from his disastrous debate Today, Trumps approval rating is minus-1.8% This time last year, Bidens approval rating was minus-15% This time last year, only 24% of Americans said the country was on the right track Now, its nearly double that: 43% The percentage of Americans who said the country is on the wrong track dropped 68% to 50.9% This must be good, right? Looking at the right track versus wrong track perspective feels better to me than looking at the strictly political views in presidential approval ratings. Common sense tells us people are more optimistic about the direction of the country towards traditional values, but perhaps less optimistic about the economy, especially if you look at the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. How much of that is because of the media coverage? Last year, the media told us how great the economy was, but this year, they tell us President Trump is driving us off a fiscal cliff. A question: Where is Biden this weekend? Why arent reporters camped out in Rehoboth, Delaware, to ask questions when he gets ice cream? What about Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti? They formed the so-called Politburo, as described by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Have you seen their pictures anywhere outside of NewsNation? Have any reporters tracked down and followed former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.? Where are they this weekend? Read more from Kim Strassel at The Wall Street Journal. Why has the Biden story disappeared so quickly? Trumps crypto coin dinner replaced it what are you going to be talking about this weekend? President Trumps crypto coins or former President Biden? A Good Thumpin Full Circle Dunster House across the Charles River on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Monday, May 5, 2025. President Donald Trump said Harvard University would lose its tax-exempt status, stepping up his attack on the Ivy League school with a threat that was decried as out of his jurisdiction. Photographer: Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images On the eve of Memorial Day weekend five years ago, a mob surrounded and assaulted me outside the White House at a Black Lives Matter protest that turned into a riot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That summer, looting and rioting became acceptable. Police became the enemy. COVID-19 lockdowns didnt matter so long as you were protesting. A neo-Marxist worldview of the oppressed versus the oppressor, based on our relative wealth and power, took over the country. In other words, we lost our minds. Five years later, a gunman shouting Free Palestine executed two Israeli diplomats on the streets of Washington, D.C. We can argue the exact percentage of causation, but Black Lives Matter morphed into the pro-Hamas movement. Its largely the same leaders with the same agenda driven by the same ideology. Dont worry: The American medias hearts and minds are still with Black Lives Matter (and the pro-Hamas types) in believing that white people are the problem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, NBC wrote, The number of white nationalist, hate and anti-government groups around the U.S. dropped slightly in 2024, not because of any shrinking influence but rather the opposite. Many feel their beliefs, which include racist narratives and so-called Christian persecution, have become more normalized in government and mainstream discourse. Today from The New York Times: The slaying of two Israeli Embassy workers cast a harsh spotlight on pro-Palestinian groups in the United States. Activists, who were already being scrutinized, could face further pushback. Yes, the video of George Floyd dying illustrated a real problem: The (sometimes) legitimate complaints about overzealous racist policing. Well-intentioned kids and white suburban moms joined the protests and put up Black Lives Matter signs. In reality, the problem of race relations in America is now worse. Americas major cities are worse off. Just take a look at New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Philly and Atlanta. Was it worth it? Are the people whom the Black Lives Matter movement was supposed to help better off? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tune into On Balance with Leland Vittert weeknights at 9/8 CT on NewsNation. Find your channel here. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Luigi Mangione is accused of gunning down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in broad daylight. A clean shot. No hesitation. Very soon, hell sing about the brutal act in a San Francisco musical. I say: Good. Luigi: The Musical is absurd, possibly sociopathic and yet somehow entirely defensible. In fact, in this grotesque, camp-addled culture of ours, it might be the most honest piece of art produced all year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not because murder is funny. Not because the justice system is a joke. But because we now live in an age where satire is the last viable truth-delivery system. Much of journalism is corporate. Novels are afraid. Late-night comedy is neutered. You want truth? Put it in a musical. Wrap it in sequins. And give it jazz hands. Satire has always been the most ruthlessly efficient scalpel. Aristophanes mocked imperial war. Jonathan Swift proposed devouring Irish children. George Orwell, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Vonnegut they didnt protest. They staged freak shows. Moliere shredded hypocrisy in powdered wigs. Charles Dickens dragged Victorian England through the gutter it tried to ignore. Joseph Heller turned bureaucratic madness into Catch-22. Before his comedy went off a cliff, George Carlin stood on stage and tore down empire with a smirk. With Four Lions, a pitch-black comedy about incompetent jihadists, Chris Morris made terrorism absurd. Before that, he had already terrified the British establishment with Brass Eye, a fake news satire so savage it tricked members of Parliament into denouncing fictional drugs on air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trey Parker made everything absurd, or at least appear absurd. From Mormonism (The Book of Mormon) to war propaganda (Team America) to the bloated theater of American politics and celebrity culture (South Park), nothing was sacred and that was the point. Satire doesnt whisper; it slaps. It offends. It remembers what the real world would rather forget. Luigi stands firmly in that lineage not in spite of the outrage it invites, but because of it. What are we really so scandalized by? The idea of a murderer with a musical number? Please. Weve been there before: Sweeney Todd, Chicago, Heathers, Assassins. We have clapped for John Wilkes Booth. We have cheered for razor blades and ricin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What bothers people about Luigi isnt the violence. Its the contemporaneity the fact that its still too soon and the wound hasnt scabbed yet. This character, the corporate assassin-turned-accidental folk hero, feels dangerously plausible. Deep down, we know the real absurdity isnt the musical. It is the world that created such a man. We live in a culture that glamorizes sociopathy but gets offended when its reflected back. Netflix ran Dahmer. You can now buy American Psycho mugs, t-shirts and beanies. The Sopranos has a wine label. Real-life cartel hitmen share their wisdom on TikTok. And yet, when a fringe theater group stages a smart, cynical satire about a real-life killing, were told its too far? Get real. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luigi doesnt play by prestige rules. Its too camp. Too gaudy. Too loud. It isnt Oscar-bait. Its black box theater with blood under its nails. And thats why it matters. Its not Netflix. Its not Hulu. Its not a limited series you can binge and forget. Its theater. And theater real theater makes you sit with it. The show is Gulag humor for the Uber Eats generation. It weaponizes the ludicrous, stitches viral violence to choreography, turns cellmates like Diddy and Sam Bankman-Fried into Greek chorus figures, and mocks our collective appetite for the borderline insane. Luigiisnt glorifying Mangione. Its not trying to humanize him. Its trying to indict us. The audience. The algorithm. The economy of attention that turns killers into content. The culture that made a young man with a gun a trending topic before the body hit the pavement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a country where mass shooters get Wikipedia pages before their victims get autopsied. Where headlines blur into hashtags. Where the line between infamy and influence disappeared sometime around 2014. In that context, Luigi isnt satire. Its realism. But theres a deeper tragedy here not in the subject matter, but in the medium. Theater is dying with its empty seats, aging donors and young people whod rather scroll through cat videos, theater is losing the war for attention, and fast. This makes Luigi both timely and, in some ways, necessary. Perhaps its too campy. Perhaps its too crass. Maybe it turns a murderer into a meme with a melody. But you know what? It gets people off their screens. It gets them out of their apartments. It gets them into a room with other humans, watching a live act of provocation unfold in real time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That used to be called art. Now its called a liability. Luigi wont win prestigious prizes. It might not even last its full run without protests. But it belongs. Theater isnt supposed to be sacred. Its supposed to be a mirror. Sometimes cracked, but always honest. So let them sing. Mangione wont be the last killer to dance under a spotlight. Hes just the first one to do it with a chorus line and a cellmate named Diddy. 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. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The National Institutes of Health recently announced a landmark initiative to expand human-based science while reducing animal use. The worlds largest funder of biomedical and public health research will now prioritize innovative health research, leaving outdated animal experiments behind. The announcement highlights the scientific limitations of translating findings from animals to humans. Paired with growing crises of illnesses such as Alzheimers disease, cancer and heart disease, these limitations stagnate medical advances. NIH investment in research to better understand and treat disease is crucial for improving the health of Americans. As Director Jay Bhattacharya points out, by expanding human-based research, this initiative will usher in a new era of innovation, improve health care outcomes and deliver life-changing treatments. Methods like tissue chips, organoids and bioprinting are already being used to replace animals and improve clinical translation, including in disease modeling, precision medicine and regulatory toxicology. These methods use human cells, tissue and data to replicate human-specific biology and disease traits and have enormous potential to revolutionize medical research and testing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2022 economic analysis estimated that the use of more predictive, preclinical non-animal technologies instead of animal tests could generate over $24 billion in increased research productivity, resulting in streamlined drug development and potential cost savings for patients. Indeed, this is the rationale for the Food and Drug Administrations new plan to phase out animal testing requirements for monoclonal antibodies and other drugs. Historically, billions of dollars as much as half of the NIHs budget for research has been spent every year on animal experiments that do not translate well to human clinical outcomes. This research results in the harming and killing of millions of animals annually, diverts funds from more effective human-based approaches, delays medical breakthroughs that patients desperately need and puts clinical-trial participants at risk of adverse effects that were not detected in poorly predictive preclinical animal tests. The NIH will now take the necessary steps to overcome these barriers. The NIH has made steady progress toward the development and use of non-animal research approaches. In 2024, the agency accepted comprehensive recommendations on catalyzing non-animal approaches made by an advisory group. In conjunction, a new program called Complement-ARIE was launched that aimed to speed up the development, standardization, validation and use of such methods. The new announcement builds on this progress in a major way, establishing a new office to coordinate NIH-wide efforts to improve the use of non-animal approaches and committing to expand funding, training, and infrastructure for human-based science. The initiative also addresses review-related barriers to the broader use of non-animal methods. Our team leads an international collaboration aimed at characterizing and mitigating a phenomenon called animal methods bias, in which peer reviewers of grant applications or scientific studies prefer animal-based methods or lack the expertise necessary to adequately review non-animal methods. Consequently, researchers who use non-animal methods can receive unfair review comments, sometimes resulting in the rejection of funding or publishing submissions. The new NIH initiative will implement funding evaluation criteria to help improve review quality and ensure impartiality toward different methods. It will also provide bias mitigation training to review staff and integrate non-animal expertise in review groups. These are all measures our team has been advocating for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiative establishes another provision that will be crucial for public trust: public reporting of animal- and non-animal-based spending. Over the years, snapshots of the funding landscape have rarely been made available. In 2012, an NIH staff member estimated that 47 percent of NIH-funded grants had an animal research component. A 2016 blog post (removed but still available on the web archive) indicated that about 47 percent of extramural research project grants used mice and that mouse use was trending upward. A 2023 advisory committee presentation indicated an upward trend in NIH-funded research using non-animal alternatives, landing at about 8 percent in 2021. Regular, clear funding data will help the agency stay accountable to the initiatives goals. While an improvement over 10 or 20 years ago, NIH investment in non-animal alternatives still pales in comparison to its bankrolling of animal research. Much work remains to overcome the stronghold animal experiments have on biomedical research, upheld by centuries of tradition, the research animal trade and methods bias. Bhattacharyas announcement indicates the NIH is ready to tackle these crucial issues. Another recent agency announcement promotes the importance of supporting a diversity of ideas in science in the edge cases where scientists are pursuing evidence that others find inconvenient or objectionable. Unraveling our reliance on animal experiments will require embracing fresh perspectives and disrupting the status quo, and the NIH is now prioritizing this work. The new initiative to prioritize human-based science is necessary, and it will have profound impacts on human health. Catharine E. Krebs, PhD, is a medical research program manager with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Elizabeth Baker, JD, is the director of research policy with the Physicians Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Trump administration already faces strong legal challenges to its attempts to freeze billions in grants to Harvard University, one brought by the school itself and another by the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Likewise, the presidents desire to revoke the schools tax-exempt status has not gone anywhere so far. Seemingly undaunted or just desperate the Trump administration has now tried a new route to retaliate against Americas oldest university: deny thousands of international students the ability to attend. But like those other actions, this one is already rightly facing stiff resistance in the courts. Before the ink was even dry on the order purporting to rescind the universitys ability to educate international students, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order preventing the order from going into effect. While the constitutional issues implicated by the administrations actions are important, and clear, this one may be resolved on less weighty issues, simply because the administration has not followed the law required to take the action it wishes to take. As with another recent ruling, which prohibited the administration from going after the law firm Perkins Coie for activities the administration does not favor, the administrations newest attack on Harvard is based on the universitys apparent anti-American values. As with two recent rulings, one which prohibited the administration from going after the law firm Perkins Coie, and another one issued Friday permanently enjoining the administration from punishing the law firm of Jenner & Block, the administrations newest attack on Harvard is based on the universitys alleged anti-American values. Such actions, like the retribution against the firms, violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Burroughs and other courts that might review this action dont even have to get to the deeper constitutional issues. It is a principal of American jurisprudence that when a court can resolve a case without reaching constitutional questions, it should do so. And though the universitys constitutional claims are strong, courts will have ample grounds to avoid those questions here. In fact, the effort by the Department of Homeland Security to punish Harvard in this way was so ham-handed that the purported rescission of the universitys ability to educate international students failed to follow the law and procedures required of the administration should it wish to take such action. Such legal and procedural requirements are quite clear. For example, the administration must give the school notice of the ways in which the university is in apparent violation of the rules governing the international visa program, and it must have valid and not pretextual reasons for doing so. The university then has a chance to challenge those allegations through several levels of administrative review and likely in court should that administrative review result in a decision against the university. The fact remains that the administration failed to follow the these legal and procedural protections governing the international student visa program. In addition, by terminating that program as it relates to Harvard with no process whatsoever, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act, a federal law that is designed to bring reasoned judgment and procedural regularity to federal agency action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This procedural failure means that the weightier constitutional questions of whether the administrations actions violate the universitys free speech or due process rights will likely be left to another day. Similar missteps took place under Trumps first presidency. That administrations attempts to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and to add a citizenship question to the U.S. census, among others, were both challenged successfully under the APA. Burroughs temporary restraining order against the administrations policy was granted soon after Harvard filed its lawsuit seeking to halt it. The swift decision reflects the profound harm that this policy will cause to thousands of students and to Harvards educational and scientific mission. By granting it, it is also an implicit recognition that that the university is likely to succeed on the law of the underlying challenge. Here, Judge Burroughs will likely follow the path of Judges Beryl Howell and John Bates, who permanently enjoined the administrations efforts to punish the law firm Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block, respectively, for speech and conduct that met with the presidents disapproval. Those rulings will likely echo in this decision as well, but not for the same reasons. Here, the failure of the administration to follow even the most basic of administrative steps required to take its desired action will likely doom the effort. That doesnt mean the Trump administration cant continue to tilt at windmills. But Harvard will still hold its constitutional-challenge cards in its hands. If it has to play them at some point, it will have a strong case on those grounds too. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Members of the U.S. Congress representing Oregon are urging for approval of Governor Tina Koteks FEMA funding request after devasting floods hit Harney County and other counties in March. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Representative Val Hoyle are asking the federal government to approve the Major Disaster Declaration. Feds to recover $6.7M in stolen Portland city funds Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a joint statement to President Donald Trump, the lawmakers said the FEMA funding is necessary after communities were severely damaged in Coos, Curry, Douglas and Harney counties from March 13-20. The flooding happened when warm rains, rapid snowmelt, runoff, erosion and other weather events flooded three rivers, with wind gusts causing power outages and block roads. We encourage your administration to deliver the tools needed to protect lives, restore order, and families back on their feet, the joint statement said. Oregon has demonstrated its ability to successfully use federal disaster dollars in the past, and we are confident they will be effective and efficient with funds from FEMA should they be provided for this disaster as well. Theyre also urging the White House to make the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program available to help rural communities rebuild in a way that prevents future disaster losses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An Israeli strike has killed nearly the entire family of a Khan Younis doctor while she was at work, Gaza health officials said. The attack hit the home of Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatrician at the southern citys Nasser Hospital, on Friday, setting it ablaze and killing nine of her 10 children, according to the head of the hospitals paediatrics department, Ahmad al-Farra. The dead children, two of whom remain under the rubble, range in age from seven months to 12 years old, said Gazas Government Media Office. It named them as Sidar, Luqman, Sadin, Reval, Ruslan, Jubran, Eve, Rakan and Yahya. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al-Najjars husband was critically injured in the attack. He has severe chest and head wounds, including a skull fracture, and is now receiving treatment in Nasser Hospitals intensive care unit, al-Farra told Al Jazeera. The couples only surviving child, 11-year-old Adam, is also severely injured. He is currently in the moderate ICU department with his mother, said al-Farra. It is unbelievable, al-Farra said of the attacks impact. You cant imagine the shock that [al-Najjar] had when she heard about that [attack]. But up until now, she is trying to be near her son and her husband to survive. He called on people around the world to be on the right side of humanity and speak out against the bombardment. These children, they have no voice. Their mother shes [in shock], he said. Please, I ask everyone to be her voice [in] this world. Please. New phase of genocide The UNs special rapporteur for the Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, slammed the attack on the al-Najjar home as part of a sadistic pattern of a new phase of genocide facing Palestinians in the besieged enclave. Two doctors go to work to assist others.Nine of their kids are killed by an Israeli missile targeting their home. Only surviving child, in critical conditions. Targeting families in the still-standing buildings: distinguishable sadistic pattern of the new phase of the genocide. https://t.co/6tlylARKK5 Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) May 24, 2025 Hamas said it followed a routine of Israel deliberately targeting medical personnel, civilians and their families in an attempt to break their will. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli military said it had struck suspected fighters operating from a structure next to its forces in an area where civilians had been evacuated. The claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review, the military added. On Monday, Israel issued forced evacuation orders for Khan Younis, Gazas second-largest city, warning of an unprecedented attack. There has been heavy, deadly bombardment in the area daily. The al-Najjar children were among dozens killed in Israels attacks on Friday and Saturday. According to Gazas Health Ministry, the bodies of 79 people killed in Israeli attacks were brought to hospitals between Friday and midday Saturday. That count does not include facilities in the north of the enclave that are inaccessible, it said. The ministry puts the overall death toll in Gaza since October 2023 at 53,901, with 122,593 injured. The last time the Legislature overrode a governors veto on a bill was in 1979, when William Clements was governor. Its not that members dont want to exercise their legislative authority meant to be equal to the executive branch. Its that in almost every case, they cant. Lawmakers can override the governors vetoes only during the session in which the bills are rejected, according to experts interpretation of the law. But typically, governors veto bills after sine die the last day of session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a nearly record-breaking 76 bills and one budget item widely seen as his way to punish members for failing to pass his priority bills. Just two bills were vetoed during the session, in the window that lawmakers could have voted to override them. Now, some lawmakers want to change that process. A proposal by Sen. Brian Birdwell would amend the Texas Constitution to allow legislators to briefly meet after the regular session ends to reconsider bills that passed by more than two-thirds of members. [Is it law yet? See how far some of the most consequential bills have made it in the 2025 Texas Legislature] The Republican from Granbury said at a March state affairs committee hearing that his resolution was not in response to Abbotts vetoes, noting that he submitted the same bill prior to the end of last session. But he did highlight the high number of bills that passed last session with more than two-thirds support in each chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an analysis by the Texas Tribune, 71 of the 76 bills that Abbott vetoed passed through both chambers with a veto-proof majority, or more than two-thirds support. My intent here is to restore the checks and balances of Texas government, and legislation that was passed by an overwhelming majority such as two-thirds reflects the importance of that issue to the constituents of the state, Birdwell said. He acknowledged at the hearing that lawmakers may not want to return to the Capitol after the session ends, but that his proposal could also boost legislative efficiency by preventing the Legislature from bringing up the same bills again the next session. The infrequent overrides arent too surprising, given that both legislative branches and the governors office in Texas have all been led by Republicans since 2003, and are likely to share priorities or at least refrain from challenging each other publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abbotts vetoes in 2023 made up just over 6% of the 1,246 House and Senate bills passed during the regular session, but were the highest number since 2001, when then-Gov. Rick Perry vetoed 81 bills. Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat from Austin, signed on as co-author because she wanted to get the right balance between the executive and legislative branches, she said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. The massacre of bills was so broad, and it was all about retribution, she said, referring to the Legislatures denial of the school voucher bill and and on property taxes. The governor didn't even use a fig leaf to disguise that it was about retribution I dont believe thats what the framers of the Texas constitution intended. Abbott vetoed 30 of the bills on one day, with a common message in many veto explanations: "At this time, the legislature must concentrate on delivering property tax cuts to Texans," he wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last sessions vetoes drew a rare public critique from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: Its not a very good image to veto bills for no reason other than he didnt get the property tax bill he wants. If it became law, the practice would align Texas with at least 25 other states that allow veto overrides after the session either through a reconvening such as the one Birdwell is proposing, or during the next regular session. Because its a joint resolution, Birdwells proposal doesnt require the governors approval but it will need support from at least a two-thirds majority in each chamber before being put to voters at a general election. The measure passed the Senate unanimously in mid-April, but hasnt been taken up by a House committee, with the end of session less than two weeks away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Time isnt the only challenge. Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said he thinks the bill faces an uphill battle despite not needing the governors approval, because of the pressure Abbott can put on lawmakers. The veto power is one of the clearest ways governors can flex their executive muscle, he said. The governor is as powerful as they're able to make themselves, and the extent to which they can leverage the modest powers they have under the Constitution, he said in an interview. And even if it did pass, lawmakers could face retribution if they did vote to override a veto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, Rottinghaus said, its rare to see major structural changes to the way the Texas government works. Texas government is designed to be small government, so any changes from that are usually met with resistance, he said. So even just inertia alone is enough to probably minimize this bill. Disclosure: University of Houston has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. 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! A group of Native Hawaiians and three environmental organizations are challenging the legality of a move by President Donald Trump to permit commercial fishing within a Pacific marine monument. The nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice filed a federal lawsuit in Hawaii on Thursday aimed at blocking an April 17 Trump proclamation allowing fishing by U.S.-flagged vessels in parts of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument south and west of Hawaii. Trump lacks authority as president to strip protections from an established national monument, according to the complaint filed on behalf of a hui of Hawaiian cultural practitioners called Kapa a along with the Conservation Council for Hawai i and the Center for Biological Diversity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit also alleges that the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service informed fishing permit holders April 25 that they could begin to fish in the area, even though federal regulations havent been amended to allow it under a process required by law that includes an opportunity for affected parties to provide input. Piling lawlessness on top of lawlessness, the National Marine Fisheries Service chose to carry out President Trumps illegal proclamation by issuing its own illegal directive, with no public input, David Henkin, deputy managing attorney in Earthjustices Mid-Pacific office, said in a statement. We are counting on the courts to put a stop to the Trump administrations disregard for the rule of law and to preserve the monuments precious and vulnerable resources for future generations. President George W. Bush in 2009 established an initial form of the monument, originally known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, that created national wildlife refuges with commercial fishing bans radiating out 50 miles around Howland, Baker and Jarvis islands ; Johnston, Wake and Palmyra atolls ; and Kingman Reef. In 2014, President Barack Obama expanded the protected area to 200 miles around Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll and Wake Atoll to create the worlds largest marine protected area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The monument covers about 490, 000 square miles, making it nearly five times the size of all the U.S. national parks combined and nearly twice the size of Texas, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Trump, who considered rolling back protections in the monument area during his first term as president in 2017, said in his proclamation that the fishing ban affected nearly half of the countrys exclusive economic zone around U.S.-administered islands in the Pacific where American fishing fleets could exclusively operate, and put the industry at a disadvantage. The president also said the ban has been detrimental for American Samoa, a U.S. territory, where the fishing industry represents over 80 % of private-sector economic output. Furthermore, Trumps proclamation, which is titled Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific, contends that fisheries in the region are effectively managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the proclamation, commercial fishing by U.S.-flagged vessels was to be permitted only in the expanded monument area created by Obamafrom 50 to 200 miles around Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll and Wake Atoll in waters a half-mile or more deeppending formal rule amendments. The move was celebrated by the Hawaii Longline Association and the Honolulu-based Western Pacific Fishery Management Council. We are very grateful in Hawaii for this, Kitty Simonds, the councils executive director, told Trump during a proclamation signing ceremony. Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association, said one day after the proclamation was issued that the past three years have been the least profitable ever for Hawaiis longline fleet of 150 vessels that largely land tuna and swordfish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kingma added that 70 % to 80 % of the industrys catch stays in Hawaii and that the dockside value of fish in 2024 was $110 million, compared with $120 million in 2021. You can have both ocean protection as well as allowing sustainable fisheries to occur, he said at the time. They can be compatible. The lawsuit contends that fishing in the monument area added by Obama threatens a vast range of marine wildlife, including endangered species, in part due to bycatch. Monument waters, according to the lawsuit, are habitats for 22 species of protected marine mammals, including a variety of turtles, sharks and manta rays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit also said millions of seabirds, including protected species, feed in monument waters and would be affected because they rely on schools of predatory fish such as tuna to scare smaller marine animals to the surface where they can be caught by the birds. President Trumps proclamation threatens to destroy one of the worlds last healthy and wild ocean ecosystems, Jonee Peters, executive director of the Conservation Council for Hawai i, said in a statement. Commercial fishing would remove large numbers of fish, sharks, turtles, and other marine life as both intended catch and unintended by-catch, Peters said. This would completely disrupt the underwater ecosystem and wreak havoc on the food chain. Many of these creatures and areas are culturally important to the people of Oceania, for traditional and modern navigation, and as a valuable food source. Solomon Pili Kaho ohalahala, founding member of Kapa a, said bycatch is an affront to Native Hawaiian practices and beliefs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trumps proclamation threatens the ability of future generations to survive and thrive, he said in a statement. Maxx Phillips, a Hawaii and Pacific region director and staff attorney for the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, described Trumps proclamation as an assault on the Pacifics cultural heritage and biodiversity. For generations, Pacific Islanders have revered these ocean areas as sources of food, knowledge, and spiritual connection, Phillips said in a statement. Dismantling these protections threatens not only marine life but the cultural practices that are inseparable from this place. These waters deserve protection, not plunder. Florida has passed a bill in honor of a Putnam County mail carrier who was killed by a pack of wild dogs in 2022. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Pam Rock Act into law on Wednesday. The Pam Rock Act makes several changes to the states dangerous dog statute, which requires proper fencing and microchipping for deemed dangerous. It would also require animal control agencies to hold dogs during investigations where a person was bitten or chased unprovoked. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Rocks brothers, Tom and Dan, spoke to Action News Jax about the push to get the law passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We got the opportunity to see the whole process ... and see him sign the Pam Rock Act, Tom Rock said. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Report the incidents, no matter how minuscule an aggressive dog seems to be, Dan Rock said. Owners of dangerous dogs would have to obtain $100,000 of liability insurance and could face fines of up to $1,000 for violations. The law goes into effect July 1. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. HONOLULU (KHON2) For Memorial Day, the City continues to honor a solemn promise to adorn every grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with fresh lei. As WakeUp2Days Chris Latronic learned from Kilauea District Park, the public is encouraged to stop by and sew a lei or two to participate in the annual tradition. Honolulu to hold 74th Mayors Memorial Day Ceremony Officials said the tradition is a uniquely Hawaiian display of gratitude, as a way of saying mahalo to veterans for their service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The City aims to make and gather 38,000 lei for every service member laid to rest at the ceremony. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Along with this significant task, the City is hoping to assist the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe with their Memorial Day ceremony by donating extra lei to help them adorn the graves of the 15,000 servicemembers laid to rest on those hallowed grounds. In hopes of reaching these goals, the public can contribute the following: Lei made of fresh flowers or ti leaf Measures 20 to 22 inches untied Please tie Lei flowers Preferably plumeria or crown flower Anthurium bouquets Attend a lei-making session Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you have a graduating senior who has their ceremony and has an extra lei, any of those fresh lei would be greatly appreciated, said Nate Serota, Department of Parks and Recreation spokesperson. Check out more news from around Hawaii To find a lei-making station near you or for more information, click HERE. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. PAUL SMITHS Paul Smiths College Adirondack Watershed Institute has opened its season of managing the largest aquatic invasive species spread prevention program in New York State. The colleges team of watercraft inspection stewards recently gathered on campus for their intensive in-person training. During the training, AWIs Aquatic Invasive Species Program Director Brett Wimsatt welcomed the new cohort with a message from outdoor recreation and conservation advocate Doug Duren: Its not ours, its just our turn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This sentiment resonates deeply with the mission of AWI stewards, whose work protects water resources of the Adirondacks for future generations. Eurasian watermilfoil, variable leaf milfoil and curly-leaf pondweed are the most common invasives found in Adirondack waterways. Water chestnut, spiny water flea, Asian clams and zebra mussels are not as common but just are as threatening. These nonnative plants and animals degrade water quality, significantly limit fishing, swimming and boating opportunities, and cost towns and lake associations millions of dollars to manage. In continued partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Lake Champlain Basin Program, and numerous local towns, villages, and lake associations, AWI watercraft inspection stewards will offer free inspections and boat washing services to the public. Stewards will be stationed at more than 60 boat launches and road-side locations throughout the Adirondack region, educating boaters, anglers, and other visitors on the harmful impacts of aquatic invasive species and emphasizing New York States crucial Clean, Drain, Dry standard. We deeply appreciate the boating publics active participation in this effort. When you take the extra few minutes to stop for a boat inspection or boat wash, youre not just complying with regulations, you are being a good partner in conservation, Wimsatt said. Our collective responsibility makes a difference in safeguarding the waterways we all enjoy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AWIs extensive spread prevention network strategically places stewards at both popular, high-traffic launches, including those on Lake Placid, Great Sacandaga, and Lake Champlain, and along key travel corridors across northern New York. This comprehensive coverage also extends to smaller, more remote water bodies, such as those found in the St. Regis Canoe Area, where the risk of invasive species introduction and rapid spread between interconnected lakes is particularly high. The boat inspection and decontamination stations are cooperatively funded by New York States Environmental Protection Fund and the Lake Champlain Basin Program who encourage everyone to learn and practice Clean, Drain, Dry techniques. Information about inspection and decontamination station locations, aquatic invasive species ecology and steps the public can take to maintain the quality of New Yorks waterways is at www.adkcleanboats.org. The mission of Paul Smiths College Adirondack Watershed Institute is to protect clean water, conserve habitat, and support the health and well-being of the people in the Adirondacks through science, collaboration, and real-world experiences for students. Learn more at adkwatershed.org. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) There were multiple peaceful protests on Saturday morning against the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton. The Dayton Says No To NATO protest was held in Deeds Point Park, off of Webster. Speakers included the following: 17 Year Veteran Josephine Guilbeau Addiction Recovery Advocate Daniel Ritchie Clergy Community Coalition Bishop Cox Congressional Candidate Michael Harbaugh Dayton Neighborhood Activist Lynn Lamance Dayton Peace Coalition Logan Martinez, Voussef Elzein and Hilary Lerman, PhD Local PSL Member Alec Johnson Mayday Coalition Project Dayton Anthony Ellis Nourish Our Neighbors Red Poor Peoples Army Lauren Lorraine Socialist Unity Network, SW Ohio Jordan Miller Students for Justice in Palestine (University of Cincinnati) Laila Shaikh Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The press conference section of the protest began at 11:30 a.m. Speakers talked from noon to 1:30 p.m. Then police escorted protesters on a peace march from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Protesters opposed to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton march downtown along Fourth Street at the intersection with Ludlow Street, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by KaJeza Hawkins) Protesters opposed to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton march downtown along Fourth Street at the intersection with Ludlow Street, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by KaJeza Hawkins) Protesters opposed to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton march downtown along Fourth Street at the intersection with Ludlow Street, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by KaJeza Hawkins) Protesters opposed to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton march downtown along Fourth Street at the intersection with Ludlow Street, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by KaJeza Hawkins) Photo via Joe Gurnig, WDTN. Photo via Joe Gurnig, WDTN. Photo via Joe Gurnig, WDTN. Our 2 NEWS Photographer said he saw roughly 40 protesters. The speakers highlighted a variety of topics, including Palestine, addiction and taxes. Veterans for Peace gathered at Cooper Park on St. Clair Street. Lastly, a 20-foot-tall balloon depicting current President Donald Trump as a cartoonish infant was on display on E. Second Street. For more on NATO, click here to view 2 NEWS NATO Parliamentary Summit Hub. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Its Memorial Day weekend, lets get a check on the latest in news and weather with KELOLAND On The Go. If a Wyoming entrepreneurs bid is successful, TikTok could have a footprint in South Dakota. TikTok bidder: South Dakota certainly the front-runner Two of South Dakotas top elected leaders are wanting to assist ICE with its immigration and customs enforcement in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement South Dakota law enforcement agencies want to assist ICE A group of people gathered outside the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls Friday to protest conditions inside the walls of the pen. Police present at protest outside SF Penitentiary If youre due to renew your driver license, theres a change coming you need to know about. Driver Exam Station moves location After a quiet day yesterday across KELOLAND, the rain and cloud cover has returned as a trough slides eastward. Storm Center PM Update: Unsettled Weather Returns A cemetery in Moody County that pre-dates the state of South Dakota is getting ready for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Small town cemetery prepares for Memorial Day weekend For the latest in news and weather, use the KELOLAND News app. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A fugitive from Pennsylvania was arrested 500 miles away in Columbus, nearly nine years after he last appeared in a scheduled parole hearing. According to court documents, Columbus police received warrants from Pennsylvania stating that Ricardo Francois had an active felony parole violation. Francois, who Columbus police say is listed as unhoused, was arrested in Doylestown, in Pennsylvanias Bucks County, in May 2015. Poisonous plant rapidly spreading across Ohio: what to do if you see it Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Facing charges of communications harassment as part of making terroristic threats, Francois fled the Bucks County area, which is north of Philadelphia, sometime around June 2016, with an order for a hearing over a parole or probation violation filed on June 22 of that year. That order was granted one week later, and on July 20, the notice was returned as undeliverable. Columbus police arrested Francois, 36, on Tuesday and noted in a criminal complaint report that he was a flight risk in requesting a high bond amount. The following day, he was issued a $70,000 bond in Franklin County Municipal Court on one count of fugitive from justice. He is scheduled to appear in court locally for a preliminary hearing on June 20 before being extradited to Pennsylvania later. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. May 24 (UPI) -- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is further restricting media access to areas of the Pentagon, as he seeks to cut down on unsanctioned leaks of military information. "Updated security measures for resident and visiting press are needed to reduce the opportunities for in-person inadvertent and unauthorized disclosures," Hegseth said in a memo issued earlier this week. Reporters will now be required to have an official escort with them in more areas of the Pentagon, including the hallway where Hegseth's office is located. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They [media] are required to be formally escorted to and from those respective offices," the memo reads. Journalists in the Pentagon will also be required to sign a pledge to protect "sensitive information." Reporters will now be required to have an official escort with them in more areas of the Pentagon, including the hallway where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths office is located. Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI Reporters may not move freely inside the Defense Department headquarters "without an official approval and escort from the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs." That role currently belongs to Hegseth's assistant for public affairs and senior advisor, Sean Parnell. Parnell earlier in the week was tasked with leading a panel conducting a "comprehensive review" of the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan. Reporters may not move freely inside the Pentagon "without an official approval and escort from the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI Hegseth has taken aim at the media following a series of Defense Department leaks and missteps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March, the Defense Secretary came under fire for accidentally adding a journalist to a Signal chat, sharing classified information about U.S. bombings of Houthi rebels in Yemen. Defense Department officials were later successively put on leave in April, including deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick. Chief of staff to Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Colin Carroll was put on administrative leave at the same time. A fourth official was implicated in the leak and reassigned days later. Later that month, Hegseth was found to have reportedly shared classified military information in a separate Signal chat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "While the Department remains committed to transparency, the Department is equally obligated to protect CNSI (classified national intelligence information) and sensitive information -- the unauthorized disclosure of which could put the lives of U.S. Service members in danger," Hegseth wrote in the memo. The Defense Secretary said the "updated security measures" are necessary "to reduce the opportunities for in-person inadvertent and unauthorized disclosures." The Pentagon may soon downgrade the office responsible for overseeing U.S. military policy toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, three former U.S. defense officials and two European officials told Defense News. As part of a broader policy realignment, this office would be merged into the Pentagon's Europe and NATO office, reducing its prominence despite its critical role since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While no staff cuts are currently planned, the restructuring would mark a demotion for an office that helped coordinate the delivery of over $130 billion in security aid to Ukraine, roughly half of which came from the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under former director Laura Cooper, the office also played a key role in organizing a coalition of 50 countries that has met 27 times to support Ukraine. Cooper left her role in December, and the office is now led by an acting official. The office and its Europe and NATO counterpart both report to the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, a role currently held by an acting official as nominee Daniel Zimmerman awaits Senate confirmation. Sources say the decision is not final, but multiple former officials view the shift as part of a larger pivot away from Ukraine under President Trumps second term. Current Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has advocated for reducing U.S. military assistance to Ukraine to prioritize deterrence efforts in Asia. During a February visit to NATO headquarters, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized that European allies should take on greater responsibility for continental security, including Ukraine. "Leaders of our European allies should take primary responsibility for defense of the continent," Hegseth said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former U.S. officials have raised concerns that combining the offices would create an unmanageable workload for the director. David Baker, who now leads the Europe and NATO office, is reportedly fielding high interest from European governments seeking clarity ahead of the June NATO summit. "It will be very hard for a single DASD to handle that many important [and] high maintenance countries," one former official told Defense News. Meanwhile, although intelligence sharing and previously scheduled aid to Ukraine continue, new funding has stalled. The Pentagon still has under $4 billion in authority to ship weapons to Kyiv but no funds to replenish its own stockpiles. Read also: Its okay, Mom, Im home Ukraine, Russia hold largest prisoner swap of the war Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. President Donald Trump has approved Gov. Andy Beshears request for federal disaster assistance in six Kentucky counties affected by severe storms and tornadoes last weekend. People in Caldwell, Laurel, Pulaski, Russell, Trigg and Union counties can apply for individual assistance through FEMA, the agency said Friday night. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, a FEMA news release stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beshear said in a statement on the social media platform X Friday night that this process takes time and we will add more counties to our request as damage assessments are completed. Beshear has also requested individual assistance for people in Christian and Todd counties, public assistance for cities and counties affected by the disaster and hazard mitigation for the entire state, but those requests had not yet been approved as of Saturday. Beshear thanked Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in his social media post Friday, saying the support is essential to helping families affected rebuild. The storms May 16 and 17 left 19 Kentuckians dead, including 17 people in Laurel County, and severely injured others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An EF-4 tornado carved a path more than 55 miles long across Pulaski and Laurel counties, destroying or heavily damaging at least 1,500 homes, according to initial estimates included in Beshears request. The cost of cleaning up the debris was estimated at $59 million. Individuals and business owners can apply for assistance by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov, calling 800-621-3362 or using the FEMA app. Applications can also be submitted at two disaster recovery centers that opened Saturday. The Laurel County center is at the Laurel County Public Library, 120 College Park Drive, London, and the Pulaski County center is at the Center for Rural Development, 2292 S. Hwy. 27 #300, Somerset. Both locations are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 7 p.m. Sundays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beshears office said other centers will be opening soon, and FEMA teams who will have FEMA identification and be dressed in FEMA clothing planned to walk through affected neighborhoods to talk with survivors. The governors office said people who apply must make sure they upload the necessary documents to the FEMA website or app and make sure they can be reached at the contact information they provide the agency. The damaged home must the the applicants primary residence, and the losses must not have already been covered by another source, such as insurance. People who wish to appeal a decision by FEMA can do so on the agencys website, by visiting a disaster recovery center or by sending an appeal via mail or fax. Sacramentos city council is debating what city resources should be cut to have a balanced budget. What has emerged from the past two meetings is a conversation about public safety and how each council member defines it. Take Council member Mai Vang, for instance. During Tuesdays council meeting, she implored the council to cut funding for police to reach the budget goal. I encourage my colleagues to make budget decisions driven by real people who need our help in this critical moment, and not based on fear, Vang said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Council member Rick Jennings expressed support for a $254 million allocation for the police department, the biggest line item in Sacramentos proposed $1.65 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year. I believe a city thats not safe is not a city that people want to live in, Jennings said. Jennings and Vang reflect the two sides of public safety that clash in Sacramento. Different views of public safety For some, public safety is about dialing 911 when they see a suspicious person. Their idea of safety is centered on an individualistic perspective of protecting themselves, and theres nothing inherently wrong with that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And with others, public safety is seen as a collective effort that just doesnt begin with a phone call to police. Its about supporting resources like youth event programs and non-violence initiatives that can set our young adults and members of vulnerable communities on a path that steers them away from confrontations with police. The budget deficit pits supporting police and alternative safety initiatives against each other because, to Vangs point, some people in the community have an aggressively negative view about public safety measures that seek to prevent crime and violence so that a 911 call is unnecessary. I recently wrote a piece about Measure L, which funnels cannabis tax money into youth programs, and why its so important that its funding doesnt get decreased. I was flabbergasted by the emails I received from people calling this type of initiative racist and even corrupt. Both policing and youth initiatives are important investments to Sacramento and any other city, for that matter. Wanting more funding for youth services or figuring out a way for those funds not to be touched should not be met with a fear-mongering mentality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were dealing with two sensitive subjects, police and kids. The rational way of thinking, at least from my perspective, is to look at what is given for both. The police budget is currently at $246.5 million, and its set to increase by just under $8 million to $254 million in the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, the city Cutting some funds from the police department will not prevent the city or the department from devising strategies to protect people. Sacramento should look beyond just one means of public safety to improve the livelihood of our community. A Venn Diagram of commonality The council has its work cut out for it in trying to find the best way forward with the budget. Mayor Kevin McCarty said this week that he sees a Venn diagram with lots of commonality regarding the councils budget desires. The challenge will be getting to that common ground and by the looks of this past council meeting, there might be some tough conversations and some losers. Policing is not the only way to look at public safety. Helping kids see college as a viable option can help save lives. Having summer programs where they have places to go can prevent bad decisions. Whats missing in Sacramento right now is rational thinking about what a safe community means and where city resources should be invested to realize it. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A 93-year-old man from Lake Isabella is dead after wrecking on Highway 155 Friday night. California Highway Patrol officers were dispatched to Highway 155, at about 4:56 p.m., near French Gulch Creek on May 23 for a white 2021 Ford Explorer that overturned down an embankment. 100 deadliest days: Teen traffic deaths spike during summer months Officers reported an unresponsive pin in, according to the CHP traffic page. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers said the man didnt turn left at the curve in the road and was pronounced deceased at the scene. The westbound lane of State Route 155, at French Gulch Creek, was closed for approximately two hours for the investigation. It is unknown whether alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in 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 KGET 17 News. The Supreme Courts 4-4 deadlock in the case of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School represents far more than a procedural hiccup its a perfect encapsulation of Americas paralysis when it comes to the explosive intersection of religion, education and public funding. By splitting evenly on whether Oklahoma could fund the nations first religious charter school, the court avoided making hard choices about fundamental constitutional principles. But this non-decision may prove more consequential than any ruling, leaving educators, policymakers and families navigating an increasingly treacherous legal landscape with no clear map. At its core, the St. Isidore case pitted two bedrock constitutional principles against each other in ways that illuminate the broader culture wars consuming American education. The proposed Catholic virtual school sought to operate as a charter school while maintaining an explicitly religious curriculum, complete with Masses, instruction on Catholic doctrine, and the freedom to hire based on religious preference. This wasnt subtle religious influence it would be unapologetically sectarian education funded by taxpayer dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The schools supporters, including the Oklahoma charter school board, framed this as simple equal treatment under law. They pointed to recent Supreme Court victories where the justices ruled that states cannot exclude religious institutions from generally available public benefits solely because of their religious character. If Oklahoma already funds charter schools focused on science, engineering, math, fine arts, language immersion, and tribal identity, they argued, excluding religious institutions amounts to discrimination against people of faith. This argument has gained considerable traction in recent years as conservative legal organizations have systematically challenged what they see as hostility toward religion in public life. The Supreme Courts increasingly religion-friendly approach under its conservative majority has emboldened advocates who view strict church-state separation not as constitutional principle but as anti-religious bias. For them, St. Isidore represented the next logical step: if religious institutions can receive indirect government funding through voucher programs, why not direct funding through charter school contracts? But Oklahomas Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, made an equally compelling case from the opposite direction. Charter schools, he argued, are fundamentally public institutions created by state law, funded with taxpayer dollars, subject to state curriculum standards and required to serve all students regardless of background. They can be shuttered by the state for poor performance, their boards must follow open-meetings laws, and their teachers can join state retirement plans. In Drummonds view, allowing St. Isidore to proceed would create something unprecedented in American law: a government-funded Catholic school operating under direct state contract a clear violation of the Constitutions prohibition on state-sponsored religion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case exposed deep fractures not just between religious liberty advocates and church-state separationists, but within the school choice movement itself. Mainstream charter school advocates found themselves opposing St. Isidore, worried that mixing religion with charter schools would change what makes charters work their identity as public schools that offer alternatives to traditional districts while staying accountable to taxpayers. Justice Amy Coney Barretts decision not to participate likely due to her close friendship with a school advisor created the mathematical possibility for this deadlock, but the 4-4 split reveals something more significant about the courts internal dynamics. Legal experts speculate that Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in opposing the school, despite his authorship of pro-religious liberty opinions in recent years. If true, this suggests that even some conservative justices recognize limits to how far the pendulum should swing toward religious accommodation. The idea that the government must fund religious education represents such a dramatic departure from traditional American church-state relations that it may have pushed too far even for justices generally sympathetic to religious liberty claims. The distinction between allowing religious institutions to participate in neutral government programs and requiring the government to fund explicitly religious instruction may prove to be a bridge too far for the courts swing votes. This deadlock also highlights the complexity of defining public versus private institutions in an era of increasing public-private partnerships. Charter schools exist in a constitutional gray area publicly funded but privately operated, subject to some state oversight but granted significant autonomy. This ambiguity, which has fueled the charter school movements explosive growth, becomes deeply problematic when fundamental constitutional principles collide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The broader implications extend well beyond charter schools. The line between public and private becomes increasingly blurred as government partnerships with religious organizations expand across American social policy. During oral arguments, Justice Samuel Alito focused on comments made by Drummond opposing St. Isidores application, when the attorney general noted that approving the school would mean the board would also have to approve religious charter schools operated by minority religions. Alito suggested this showed hostility to certain faiths, referencing how the court had previously ruled against government officials who showed bias against religious believers. Alito also worried that if religious charter schools were deemed government entities, it could affect other faith-based services that receive government funding, like Catholic Social Services or Catholic Charities. The justices grappled with hypothetical scenarios that revealed the complexity of the issue. Justice Elena Kagan described a potential school in a Hasidic community in New York that wanted to adopt a curriculum focused on ancient religious texts, with instruction in Yiddish or Hebrew. Would New York have to approve this charter school, she wondered, even though the curriculum would be dramatically different from standard public education? The state wanted charter schools to offer flexibility, but a ruling for St. Isidore could require funding all kinds of religious schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitts immediate response to the ruling dismissing it as a non-decision and vowing to keep fighting signals that this issue is far from settled. There will be another case just like this one and Justice Barrett will break the tie, he said in a statement. This is far from a settled issue. Legal experts across the spectrum agree the question will return to the court, likely within the next few years, when Barrett will presumably participate and potentially cast the deciding vote. The stakes will be even higher then, as a definitive ruling could reshape not just education policy but the fundamental relationship between religious institutions and government funding. As one legal expert noted, if the court rules for religious charter schools, it could mean that federal law governing charter schools and virtually all state charter school laws would be unconstitutional, because they require charter schools to be non-religious. Until that moment arrives, the St. Isidore deadlock represents a missed opportunity for clarity at a crucial juncture in American education and religious liberty. The court avoided making controversial precedent, but it also left critical questions unanswered about whether Americas commitment to religious pluralism requires funding religious education or whether constitutional principles demand maintaining secular public schools. The culture wars over education will continue to rage with no clear rules of engagement and no end in sight, ensuring that communities, courts, and consciences remain divided for years to come. Asma T. Uddin writes on legal issues on her Substack Rights & Ruminations and on love and health on The Architecture of Care. ALBANY State Sen. Dan Stec (R,C-Queensbury) welcomed Peru High School junior Connor Baehre to Albany Tuesday as part of the League of Women Voters 2025 Students Inside Albany Conference. Baehre, one of 60 students statewide selected for the conference, spent the afternoon in Albany at the Capitol and shadowed Stec while the Senate convened for session. Stec appreciated having the opportunity to welcome him to Albany and show him firsthand how the states legislative process works. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a pleasure to welcome Connor to Albany and show him how the state Senate operates, Stec said. Im glad to assist in a program like the Students Inside Albany Conference, which helps encourage civic engagement and participation and allows our young people to see our government in action. I hope Connor enjoyed his time at the Capitol and that the experience furthered his interest in government and public service. Related video: Big, beautiful bill heads to the Senate MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) About a dozen picketers protested outside of Congressman Riley Moores (R-WV) office in Morgantown on Thursday, airing their anger about cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, among other issues. The protest came in the wake of the House passing what President Trump has called the big, beautiful bill, which includes $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $1 trillion in cuts to services such as Medicaid and SNAP. 12 News interviewed several of the protesters, with the cuts to Medicaid often being brought up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retired healthcare worker Cynthia Fox said her message to Congressman Moore was reconsider the cuts to Medicaid, look for cuts somewhere else. She added that Youve got to protect the people of this state. 40% of the births in this state are covered by Medicaid. WV Public Service Commission suspends Hope Gas rate increases until next year The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the reconciliation bill, as written, would add $3.1 trillion to the national debt. The CRFB also estimated that the first Trump Administration and the Biden Administration both added several trillion dollars to the national debt. Retired teacher Patricia Schaeffer lamented the reconciliation bills potential impact on the national debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have a 10-year-old granddaughter, and the thought that my grandchild is going to be a part of the next generation experiencing more and more financial difficulties here in the United States because of the passage of this bill and the increase in the deficit is just heartbreaking, Schaeffer said. A common topic while interviewing protesters was the idea that the bill would have an increased burden on the poor. Protester Karl Diefenbach said that he thinks what will be gained from cutting services like SNAP and Medicaid is a big old tax cut for the richest of the rich. When asked about tax policies, such as no tax on tips and overtime that are included in the bill, Schaeffer called them a smoke screen. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if this budget bill were passed, Americans in the lowest ten percent of earnings would have their wealth decreased by 2% of their earnings in 2027 and 4% of their earnings in 2033. It also estimates that the top ten percent, Americans who earn more than $114,000 according to the Associated Press, would see their wealth increase by 4% of their earnings in 2024 and 2% of their earnings in 2033. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. A staff expression policy that regulates Peninsula School District staff members speech as employees has been suspended. The school board suspended Policy 5254 in a unanimous vote at their meeting on May 20. I think over the past few months since we implemented the policy, the board has heard quite a bit from the community, board member David Olson, who made the motion, said at the meeting. ... I would have to admit that there was some unintended impact of the policy, mostly that theres a lot of misunderstanding, ambiguity about the policy, what the potential intent was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Policy 5254 states that the district can regulate employees expression when they speak within their official capacity and thus represent the district. Employees free speech is protected under the First Amendment when they speak as individual citizens on a matter of public concern, but they may still receive disciplinary action up to and including termination if their expression has an adverse impact on district operations and/or negatively impacts an employees ability to perform their job for the district, according to the policy. The policy describes staff expression to include the performance of job responsibilities and how (staff) represent the district in their use of district email accounts, school district buildings, district property, classrooms and how they present themselves to students. It also includes a line about social media: Employees who use social media platforms are encouraged to remember that the school community may not be able to separate employees as private citizens from their role within the district. The board adopted Policy 5254 in October 2024, and has heard several public comments at board meetings since then criticizing the policys breadth and possible impact on staff, according to The News Tribunes reporting. One member of the Minter Creek Elementary Parent-Teacher Association told the board at the April 22 meeting that the staff expression policy has silenced some teachers from speaking out about the districts controversial plan to switch principals across several schools starting in July. In a statement shared at the school board meeting on May 6 and posted online, Superintendent Krestin Bahr addressed a number of concerns shared by parents and staff including those around the staff expression policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We value the input of our educators, Bahr said at the meeting. Feedback from our staff informs ongoing decision-making, though we remain bound by confidentiality and professional standards ... Staff are not just permitted, but encouraged to have honest conversations with their principals and share their perspectives. She also said that a workgroup would be taking place later in May to help clarify the policys enforcement, working with the districts labor partners to ensure it protects employee voice while upholding (their) shared professional responsibilities. School Board President Natalie Wimberley asked Superintendent Bahr prior to the vote May 20 to provide an update on the group gathered to discuss the policy and its implementation. Bahr said that district staff and union members visited another school district where the policy first originated to learn more about that districts process and reasons for adopting it. Based on the apparent differences between that district and the Peninsula School Districts approach to the policy, she supports the policys suspension, she said at the meeting. After the vote, Peninsula Education Association president Carol Rivera told the board during public comment that the association supports the policy suspension and welcomes the opportunity to work with the districts task force on the policy. The Peninsula Education Association is the districts teachers union. May 23The body of one of two men who were swept into the Susitna River when their side-by-side broke through the ice in early March during a work assignment has been found, according to Alaska State Troopers. The State Medical Examiner Office on Friday identified the body as 32-year-old Wasilla resident Skye Rench, troopers said in an online update. A private pilot contacted troopers Thursday after finding the deceased individual near the mouth of the Susitna River, troopers said. The pilot initially noticed the body from the air and landed shortly afterward to look, troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Department of Public Safety helicopter and a member of the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team responded Thursday and recovered the body, troopers said. Rench and 42-year-old Anchorage resident Sean Kendall were part of a five-man crew traveling from a remote job site to Point MacKenzie on March 6 when their six-seat Polaris Ranger utility vehicle broke through the ice at the confluence of Fish Creek and the Susitna River. Rench and Kendall were swept under. The three others were able to walk back to a work camp. Ice on the river complicated efforts by troopers, the nonprofit dive team and family as they searched for the men in the following days and weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked about any updates on the search for Kendall, McDaniel said Friday in an email that "additional search efforts are being evaluated. "There were no other signs of additional items or areas to immediately search in the area that the body was recovered," McDaniel said. The men were working for Palmer-based Alaska Directional LLC, related to a Matanuska Telecom Association project installing an underground fiber-optic cable to bring high-speed internet to Beluga and Tyonek, according to a state permit. The incident spurred an investigation by the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health section and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rench was born and raised in the Mat-Su and was a 2011 Colony High School graduate, according to an obituary posted as part of a GoFundMe for his family. Rench, with partner Kevin Niemi, also ran the Iron Dog snowmachine race for the first time earlier this year. [Previously: Company involved in fatal Susitna River incident reported near miss a few weeks later] The following article is by Nathan Prewett for the Trussville Tribune: PINSON, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) Councilor John Churchwell was recognized during Thursdays Pinson City Council meeting for recently being honored at the annual meeting of the Alabama League of Municipalities (ALM) for serving two decades as an elected official. During his report, Mayor Robbie Roberts talked about the councils attendance at the gathering where Churchwell was among 35 others recognized. Roberts thanked him for his service and offered his congratulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, its not necessarily about being recognized as being able to get that accomplishment, Churchwell told the Trussville Tribune. And it was great for me and hopefully its good for the city also. 20 years is a good thing to do just about anything. Churchwell was elected to his position in Place 4 not long after the city was incorporated in 2004. Ive always liked politics, he said. And I worked for the federal government, Social Security Administration, and I spent 38 years with them and of course you cant be involved in politics and work for the government, so it was just natural when we came up with getting everything organized and we became a city in [2004]. And so I just said Okay. Been waiting for 38 years. So I decided to run for council. Churchwell said that during his tenure he ran opposed the first time he ran but the next four times he ran unopposed, calling it something of a miracle. He added that he will not be running for reelection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Ive enjoyed being here in the city, Churchwell said. And it was really enjoyable and good to have the opportunity to help set up the guidelines and the rules and regulations that the city is still going by. So that was my reason but now its time for me to move on. Roberts also announced that the splash pad will open on Saturday and will be operated on Tuesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays at 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The splash pad will not be open on Mondays with the exception of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. Alabama study reveals hurricane resilience programs are paying off for homeowners and insurers Afterwards the council passed the items on its agenda, beginning with a resolution to approve an allocation from the Rebuild Alabama Act of approximately $140,000 to be used for street and road maintenance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resolution states that the city has received approximately $116,000 from a new 10 cent gas tax that was implemented by the act and will put towards a continuing plan to pave and construct industrial roadways in the Highway 79 corridor. The council also approved purchasing a sousaphone for the Pinson Valley High School or PVHS Marching Chiefs and approved $5,000 to fund a composer to write a musical piece for the schools mariachi program, which has been developing over the past several years and will soon have a full-time teacher. The program at PVHS was said to be the first in Alabama. Mariachi is a genre of music native to Mexico, with its performers often remembered for their distinctive hats and outfits. Its great to see that were a community thats quite diverse, Roberts said. And that diversity shows even in a program like the mariachi, which is of course a more Hispanic-oriented type music if youre familiar with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among other items to be passed was an ordinance that set the qualification fees for those who run for mayor or councilperson. The fee to run for mayor is $50 and $30 for anyone seeking a council position. Payments are made to the city clerk and deposited into the general fund or prior to the time of taking out qualification papers by the candidate, says the ordinance. The ordinance also specifies that if anyone who cannot pay the fee may furnish the city clerk with an affidavit stating that they cannot pay the qualification fee. In other business the council: Approved a grant request for $1,341.27 from the Birmingham Regional Emergency Medical Services System (BREMSS), Approved a change order of $14,000 for clearing projects at Palmerdale Fire Station and the Palmerdale Homestead Community Center, and Granted $1,000 to the Pinson Valley High School business education teacher to attend a conference on the condition that she will have to pay it back if she does not return for the school year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the citys Facebook page. Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. Imagine working seven days a week for eight hours a day in an office building infested with mice. This is the reality that employees at the Pittsburgh Water Authority reported to Channel 11 News. Employees shared that theyve been dealing with this issue for months. Photos sent to the Channel 11 newsroom show rodent traps placed next to cubicles, along walls, and behind filing cabinets in the Downtown office building located at 1200 Penn Avenue, which houses dozens of employees. An internal email sent to staff in February revealed that both the leadership of the Pittsburgh Water Authority and the buildings landlord, The Buncher Company, were aware of the infestation for several months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The email stated that effective February 27, 2025, all hybrid staff would be able to work remotely until Monday, March 17, 2025. This arrangement was made to allow Buncher time to address the ongoing pest problem. However, when employees returned to the office, the mice were still present. Instead of solutions, employees received guidelines on how to help combat the pest issue. Recently, a message was sent to all employees acknowledging that the pest infestation remains active and ongoing. Channel 11 attempted to contact The Buncher Company, the buildings landlord, but they did not respond. The Allegheny Health Department informed us that this pest issue falls outside of their jurisdiction, as they cannot regulate private commercial properties that do not serve food. We also heard from representatives within the Pittsburgh Water Authority. A spokesperson for the organization stated: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The safety and well-being of our employees is our highest priority at Pittsburgh Water. We have communicated our expectations to The Buncher Company, our building landlord, and are actively collaborating with them to address the rodent issue at our 1200 Penn Avenue headquarters. They have established a dedicated pest control plan, which includes weekly visits from their pest control vendor and daily monitoring of established rodent stations. They are continuously evaluating options for better results. Additionally, we are working closely with them to improve janitorial services and communication, reinforcing our commitment to maintaining a clean and safe workspace for everyone. We appreciate the cooperation and patience of our employees as we work to resolve this ongoing situation. Many employees are hesitant to speak on camera, but describe the working conditions in the building as deplorable and dangerous. Channel 11 asked the leadership if employees could continue to work remotely while they address the pest problem, but we did not receive a response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW PITTSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) A large-scale drug raid in Pittsfield on Thursday resulted in the seizure of more than a kilogram of cocaine and crack cocaine and multiple firearms. Berkshire District Attorneys Office Chief of Operations Julia Sabourin said that the Pittsfield Police Department Drug Unit was investigating suspected drug trafficking activities, with support from the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force. PHOTOS: Vehicle crashed into house on Tiffany Street in Springfield Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, officers conducted a traffic stop on a black Audi belonging to 49-year-old Daniel Navarette of Pittsfield. Shortly afterward, officers executed a search warrant at Navarettes residence, which investigators believed was being used as a drug operation base. Officers recovered approximately 1.4 kilograms of cocaine and crack cocaine, a loaded large capacity ghost gun, a revolver, and 45 rounds of ammunition. Courtesy of Pittsfield Police Department One child was found in the home during the search, and a second child was found to have left shortly before officers executed the search warrant. Law enforcement also searched a second residence connected to Navarette, where they found approximately $17,000 in cash. Daniel Navarette of Pittsfield was charged with: Trafficking in cocaine, 200 grams or more Possession of two firearms without a Firearm Identification (FID) card Possession of two firearms during the commission of a felony Possession of a large-capacity feeding device Possession of ammunition without an FID card Improper storage of a firearm Improper storage of a large-capacity firearm near a minor Possession of a firearm in violation of the law with three prior violent or drug-related offenses Daniel Navarette (Courtesy of Berkshire County District Attorneys Office) Court documents stated that Navarette has three prior drug-related convictions and is classified as an Armed Career Criminal. This designation carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. Navarette was arraigned Friday afternoon in Berkshire District Court, and is currently being held without the right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS) is closing eight health centers and laying off dozens of staff members in the wake of major funding cuts by the Trump administration. The reproductive and sexual health provider said that it will close four locations in Minnesota and four in Iowa as it consolidates its operations. It will result in 66 staff being laid off, and another 37 being offered reassignment, with the organization having already reduced its head count by 35 through gradual attrition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The health centers closing over the coming year are as follows: Ames Health Center Ames, Iowa Alexandria Health Center Alexandria, Minnesota Apple Valley Health Center Apple Valley, Minnesota Bemidji Health Center Bemidji, Minnesota Cedar Rapids Health Center Cedar Rapids, Iowa Richfield Health Center Richfield, Minnesota Sioux City Health Center Sioux City, Iowa Urbandale Health Center Urbandale, Iowa That will leave 10 locations remaining in Minnesota: Brooklyn Park Health Center Duluth Health Center Eden Prairie Health Center Mankato Health Center Minneapolis Health Center Moorhead Health Center Rochester Health Center St. Cloud Health Center St. Paul Health Center - Vandalia Rice Street Health Center (St. Paul) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organization claims that the changes come as "patient needs and preferences have changed, the broken aspects of our health care system have intensified, the organizations Minnesota Title X funds have been frozen, and the U.S. House voted to advance a reconciliation package that defunds Planned Parenthood." PPNCS says that it was informed in April that $2.8 million of Title X funding in Minnesota was frozen, saying it was the "only federal program dedicated to providing affordable birth control and other reproductive health care to people no matter the persons income or insurance status." "The Health and Human Services budget now proposes additional severe cuts, including the elimination of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program which provides over $773,000 annually for education and outreach in Iowa and Nebraska," it adds. "Meanwhile, Congress is advancing a reconciliation package that would defund Planned Parenthood and slash Medicaid threatening access to care for the more than 30% of our patients who rely on Medicaid, among other impacts." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reproductive health care has become increasingly targeted for funding cuts by Republicans, intensifying following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022, ending federal protections for abortion care. Planned Parenthood, which provides a number of sexual health and women's services outside of abortion, claims the restructuring will allow it to "build a strong network of health centers that consistently deliver expert sexual and reproductive health care," saying the centers that remain currently serve 82% of its patient population. "My heart hurts as we announce the closure of health centers and the departure of trusted and talented colleagues, but our patients come firstalways," said Ruth Richardson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. "We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues. We know that many of our patients would have nowhere to turn if every Planned Parenthood health center were to disappear from their state. Heart wrenching and hard decisions today will ensure Planned Parenthood is here for years to come. Make no mistake: care may look different but Planned Parenthood North Central States is here to stay." Poland's two presidential candidates, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and historian Karol Nawrocki, clashed over the country's relationship with Ukraine on May 23, just a week before Poles head to the polls in the June 1 presidential runoff. Nawrocki, backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, claimed President Volodymyr Zelensky "treats Poland badly" and defended his criticism of Ukraine's NATO bid by insisting, "I speak the language of Poles." Nawrocki has signed an eight-point declaration that included a pledge to block Ukraine's accession to NATO in a bid to win support from far-right politician Slawomir Mentzen, who came in third in the first election round with almost 15%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You're using (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's language," Trzaskowski reacted, slamming Nawrocki's stance on NATO and Ukraine. The conservative candidate rejected accusations of echoing Putin, saying, "Millions of Poles today would like to say this, but they can't, because the slogan 'you speak Putin's propaganda' immediately appears." For years, the Kremlin has cited NATO expansion as a pretext for its aggressive behavior toward neighboring countries, using it to justify military actions in Ukraine and Georgia. A ban on Ukraine ever joining NATO is among the Kremlin's main demands for concluding a potential peace agreement to end the war it had started. Liberal Trzaskowski, who is backed by the ruling coalition, narrowly led the first round on May 18 with 31.4% of the vote. He will face conservative Nawrocki, who came in second with 29.5%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The debate was the last major televised showdown before the June 1 runoff, in which voters will choose between the two candidates. While the Polish presidency is largely ceremonial, it has veto power a critical check on the government. With Tusk's coalition lacking a three-fifths majority in parliament to override presidential vetoes, the outcome of the June 1 vote will shape the pace and direction of key domestic reforms. Read also: Poland heads to runoff between pro-EU Trzaskowski and Eurosceptic Nawrocki Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A pit bull's attack in Tempe led to three people being hospitalized, police said. Tempe officers responded about 11:30 p.m. on May 23 to reports of a dog biting people at a home near Southern and McAllister avenues. According to police, a man and two women sustained injuries that were serious but not life threatening in the attack. The three were taken to the hospital where on the morning of May 24 they remained, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The male victim shot the pit bull to stop the attack, but the dog survived and was picked up by the canine's owner, police said. Police said the dog was familiar to the victims, who were either family members or friends of the owner. The attack was at the home of the pit bull's owner, who was not there during the incident, according to police. No charges will be filed against the owner, police said on the afternoon of May 24. Republic reporter Rey Covarrubias Jr. contributed to this article. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pit bull attack hospitalizes 2 women, man in Tempe, police say Police arrest suspect wanted in University of Central Arkansas campus shooting VIDEO: Authorities detail search for man wanted in connection with UCA shooting CONWAY, Ark. A fourth suspect has been arrested in connection with an April shooting that took place at the University of Central Arkansas. Conway police announced Friday evening that 23-year-old Zion Jackson was arrested after a nearly month-long search Conway police detail arrests, warrants in recent shootings Authorities said the shooting happened in a parking lot at 1:05 a.m. April 19. Police said a man received non-life-threatening injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In April, police said 20-year-old Landen Nikolas Miller of Cabot, 20-year-old Christian Scott Van Why of Cabot and 19-year-old Bralaen Raymond Griffin of Austin were already arrested in connection with the shooting. Suspect wanted in UCA campus shooting arrested after near month-long search CPD officials said Jackson is facing a charge of first-degree battery and a charge of terroristic act. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect updated information from police regarding the victims ages. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) D.C. police are investigating after two people died and another was hurt in a shooting Friday night. The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed with DC News Now that officers responded to a call for a shooting just before 10:20 p.m. in the 4200 block of 4th St., SE. This is near Hendley Elementary School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the scene, officers found three people in the roadway who had been shot. Man falls onto Metro tracks while trying to evade fare in DC Police said two of the people, 16-year-old Royell Walker and 19-year-old Jamar Jackson, both of Southeast, were unconscious and not breathing when officers arrived. Medics tried to save them, but they died. Responders took the third person, a 14-year-old boy, to the hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. In an alert sent Friday night, the police department said officers were looking for a black vehicle with tinted windows in connection with the deadly shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Sunday morning, no arrests have been made, and there is no update on the 14-year-olds condition. MPD offers a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for homicides in the District, bringing the award amount in this case to $50,000. Police urge anyone with information to call (202)-727-9099 or text a tip to 50411. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. KANSAS CITY, Mo. An investigation is underway after a man was found shot and killed inside a car Friday afternoon in Kansas City. According to Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte, at about 4 p.m., officers with the Kansas City Police Department were dispatched to the area of 39th Street and Broadway Boulevard on reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, Sheriff Forte said they found a shooting scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kansas City man seriously hurt after being ejected from car in southern MO crash However, shortly after, another shooting scene was found about four street blocks south of the initial call at 43rd Street and Broadway. At this scene, Sheriff Forte said officers found a man dead inside a car. The scene of a deadly shooting near 39th Street and Broadway Boulevard, and 43rd Street and Broadway Boulevard, after a man was found shot and killed inside his car on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. The scene of a deadly shooting near 39th Street and Broadway Boulevard, and 43rd Street and Broadway Boulevard, after a man was found shot and killed inside his car on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. The scene of a deadly shooting near 39th Street and Broadway Boulevard, and 43rd Street and Broadway Boulevard, after a man was found shot and killed inside his car on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. The scene of a deadly shooting near 39th Street and Broadway Boulevard, and 43rd Street and Broadway Boulevard, after a man was found shot and killed inside his car on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. At this time, the name of the victim and the circumstances surrounding the shooting are still unknown. FOX4 has reached out to KCPD for more details and will update this story as that information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Austin Police Department is investigating several vandalism incidents at mosques across the city. In a statement Friday evening, the department said it was closely monitoring the affected mosques and others around the city through directed patrols. The Council on American-Islamic Relations told KXAN that three mosques in Austin were affected. Austin City Council Member Zo Qadri later posted on social media the mosques involved were the Nueces Mosque in West Campus and the Turkish Center and IABA Mosque, both in northwest Austin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Star of David was spray-painted in several places around the Nueces Mosque building late Thursday evening. The property manager, Fathia, told KXAN she feels disheartened, but that the community will continue to spread a message of peace. Its kind of saddening to have someone do this, but well keep doing what we have been for the past 50 years: spreading peace, educating people and continue to serve our community and the students here at UT, Fathia said. Security will be on the property Friday evening, Fathia said, to ensure the safety of the community. Its a dangerous world out there, and I think its getting worse and worse and worse, whether youre Arab or non-Arab, Aaron Ojeda, who attends Nueces Mosque said. I feel like people just dont know how to actually cooperate with others and just let them be who [they] are. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harassment at religious centers of any kind is unacceptable and has no place in Austin, Qadri said in a joint statement with fellow Council Member Krista Laine. These acts of hate do not reflect who we are as a city or what we stand for as a community. Qadri and Laine said they were working with law enforcement and are committed to ensuring a full and swift investigation. We all belong in this community. APD remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a secure and inclusive Austin community, APD said in its release. Our ongoing efforts aim to ensure a community where every member feels safe, valued, and respected. Anyone with information is asked to contact police. If you see suspicious activity or become aware of a potential threat, call 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one should ever feel unsafe in their house of worship, Qadri and Laine said in their joint statement. To our Muslim and interfaith communities: We stand with you. You belong here. And we will continue to work every day to build a city where love, respect and inclusion are stronger than hate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Do you recognize this woman? [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Beavercreek Police are looking for a woman accused of leaving Kroger without paying for items, according to a social media post. The incident happened on May 17 at the Kroger at the 3100 block of Dayton Xenia Road. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She allegedly selected items, including paper towels and laundry detergent, and left the store without paying. The department posted a security camera image on its Facebook page. The woman left the scene in a silver Chevrolet Impala. If you can ID her, call Officer Lammert at (937) 426-1225, extension 673. You can also email the officer. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Something is rotten in British policing. Following a series of stories illustrating the threat posed to free speech by over-zealous officers, it has emerged that the Metropolitan Police brought charges against a Jewish man for causing distress to sympathisers of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah. Officers arrested the man after he showed a satirical sign at a pro-Palestine rally in London, and proceeded to quiz him about the risk of showing the image to people who were pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel would stir up racial hatred. It might be thought that those who are pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel already have hatred to spare; however, the Met proceeded to bring charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case, that it came this far is indicative of a deep sickness. Extreme sensitivity to the feelings of Islamists might be expected in regions under the direct control of such organisations. We do not expect it in London. It is increasingly clear that police forces across Britain have abandoned attempts to uphold the law in favour of managing community relations the euphemism used to refer to the tensions and contradictions introduced to British life by a failed approach to multiculturalism. While the Metropolitan Police should offer a full accounting of how the arrest occurred, the repeated nature of these incidents shows that there is a systematic problem with the polices understanding of free speech across Britain. Ministers must urgently act to correct this. 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. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A group of protesters was spotted outside the penitentiary in Sioux Falls. The group gathered on Friday to protest the conditions of the prisoners within the penitentiary. Veterans talk real reason for Memorial Day The protest began at 4 p.m. and is scheduled to go until 6 p.m. Speakers address the crowd to describe what some of the prisoners are going through and how they are treated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the protest is peaceful, there is a large police presence in the area. Our photographer on the scene tells us that there are more than 50 people taking place in the protest, including family members and inmates. In recent days, 39-year-old Jason Garreau was discovered unresponsive in the penitentiary, and 24-year-old Joshua Arrow was found in the same state at the nearby Jameson Annex. Both men died, with South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley listing overdoses as the likely reasons. The state is also considering plans to replace the 140-year-old prison with a safer facility. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Police are searching for a man who they say exposed himself to a woman in Baldwin Park and may be involved in other similar incidents. At around 11:40 p.m. on April 27, a woman arrived home and a man exposed himself to her after she got out of her car, according to the Baldwin Park Police Department. She fled into her residence and the man didn't follow. The man is described as Latino and around 5 foot 10 with a medium build and brown hair, authorities said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The police department is aware of two other similar incidents, though it's unclear whether the same man was involved, authorities said. Shortly after 1 a.m. on April 28, officers were dispatched to Calino Avenue for an indecent exposure report, according to a department news release. In another case, a woman who declined to be named told KTLA that a naked man walked up to her and touched himself after she had parked her car along Puente Avenue at around 11:40 p.m. on April 27. The incident was captured on surveillance footage, she said. When I turned over, I saw a naked man, so I dug for my keys as fast as I could and I opened the door as quickly as I could, she told the station. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Baldwin Park Police Department at (626) 960-1955. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Police have located Ayallah Little, a 10-year-old girl who went missing out of Delhi Township Friday evening. If you have seen the girl pictured below, contact the Ingham County Sheriffs Office at (517) 676-2431. Ayallah was last seen in the area of Willoughby Rd. and N Aurelius Rd. in Delhi Township at around 8 p.m. Friday, wearing a white bonnet, orange long-sleeved shirt with polka dots, and green army fatigue pants. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. A bill that would grant political appointees unprecedented oversight of the states public universities heads to Gov. Greg Abbott after the two chambers in the Texas Legislature agreed on a compromise Saturday. Other conservative-led states, including Florida and North Carolina, have already sought to influence who leads colleges and what gets taught in classrooms. Texas is poised to go even further, shifting some responsibilities traditionally held by professors to politically appointed university regents. The legislation would also create a state office with the power to investigate universities and would threaten their funding if they dont comply with the law. Supporters argue the measure is necessary to combat what they perceive as a liberal bias in universities and to better support the states workforce needs. Critics say it will undermine teaching and research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [The 2025 Texas Legislature is over. See how far some of the most consequential bills made it.] Senate Bill 37 would create a state-level committee charged with recommending the courses that should be required for graduation. Each public university systems board of regents who oversee the schools operations and are appointed by the governor would also create committees to review curricula, which would be able to reject any course that is seen as ideologically charged or doesnt align with workforce demands. Members, this is a bill you can be proud to vote for, state Rep. Matt Shaheen, a Plano Republican who carried the bill in the House, said during debate last week. The end result is going to be that the degrees that your children and grandchildren graduate with are going to be more valuable. They're going to be able to get those degrees faster. They're going to be less expensive. The final version of the bill clarifies universities under the guidance of their governing boards have the final say over the curricula. A House and Senate panel in a closed-door conference committee also agreed to get rid of language from an earlier version of the bill that would have required governing boards to ensure university curricula do not advocate any race, sex, ethnicity or religious belief is inherently superior to another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faculty across the state have criticized the legislation throughout session, saying it could lead many of them to self-censor since teaching anything related to race, gender or inequality could be misinterpreted as a violation. The bill would also limit facultys influence on campus. Faculty councils or senates, bodies that have traditionally advised university administrators on academic and hiring decisions, would become smaller. In addition, SB 37 would require half of their members to be appointed by the university president, rather than elected. Any member would be subject to removal if they use their position for political advocacy. The bill would also require regents to approve the hiring of more administrators. Traditionally, they have only gotten involved in the hiring of top leadership positions. Finally, the legislation would create an office, led by a gubernatorial appointee, to ensure schools are complying with the new law. The office could recommend limiting the state funding of universities that violate the law until a state auditor confirms they are in compliance. The bill comes amid repeated clashes between Republican state leaders and professors in recent years. In particular, University of Texas at Austin faculty angered Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick with a 2021 letter reaffirming their right to teach critical race theory. That academic discipline explores how racism has permeated Americas institutions and has become a regular target of conservative criticism. UT-Austin professors also condemned university administrators and state leaders for the law enforcement crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters on campus last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Democrats last week raised concerns that rigidly reviewing degree programs in the way the bill describes could lead to the elimination of degrees in humanities and social sciences. They also said students would ultimately be the ones paying when universities have to respond to frivolous complaints sent to the statewide office. The bill is not about improving education. It's about increasing control, said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. It threatens academic freedom. It undermines faculty voices, and it injects politics into the classroom at a time when we should be laser focused on expanding access, improving student outcomes and restoring trust in our education systems. Before passing the bill on the House floor Sunday, Democrats and Republicans also debated whether it would lead to a faculty brain drain. Rep. Erin Zwiener, a Democrat, said she had heard there'd be a dearth of applicants to Texas State University, which is in her district, because the legislation would disempower them. But Shaheen said according to his research, faculty who have threatened to leave Texas in recent years have not followed through. The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. 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! May 24POLK COUNTY, Minn. A man from Fertile, Minnesota, pleaded guilty Thursday, May 22, to felony second-degree criminal sexual contact. Ilia Grigory Basargin, 33, gave a Norgaard plea to the offense, which means he admits guilt but cannot remember committing the crime, either due to intoxication or another cause for lapse in memory. Basargin was reported in 2023 for engaging in sexual conduct with two juvenile girls, one under the age of 12 and the other under the age of 9, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When interviewed by law enforcement, Basargin told them he'd been "wasted" that day and passed out, waking up to people kicking him and screaming at him, the statement said. The felony charge has a maximum 20-year sentence, though a proposed plea agreement in the case says that, if Basargin's criminal history score is one "point" or less, he will receive a stay of execution and be placed on supervised probation for 10 years. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered. Sentencing will happen at a later date. VATICAN CITY When 15-year-old Maria Izworska from Poland hears the word Chicago, the first thing that comes to mind is O Block, the notoriously high-crime strip of South King Drive thats been immortalized in rap songs and social media. I also think about food, said the teen, who was sitting on the steps of St. Peters Square on a recent weekday while on a trip to the Vatican. I think about corn dogs and hot dogs. But now that Chicago can claim a pope, Izworska believes this papal association might improve the citys image on the international scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chicago was already famous before the pope was elected, but it could have some influence on the reason why people would come there, said her friend Weronika Kotarba, 15. Now I think that when someone hears the word Chicago theyll think of this stuff, but also the pope. During the first official week of Pope Leo XIVs papacy, the Tribune asked Vatican City tourists from around the globe what they thought about having a Chicago-born pontiff, the only American to lead the Catholic Church in its 2,000-year history. The teens from Poland at one point broke into song, singing the first few lyrics to Chicago by Michael Jackson: I met her on the way to Chicago/Where she was all alone/And so was I so I asked her for her name. They have some understanding of the papacys powers to change public perception: When Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978, it raised the profile of both his hometown, Wadowice, and the entire nation of Poland, the teens said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Back then, many were shocked when the conclave picked a pontiff from an Eastern European country, similar to two weeks ago when much of the world was stunned to learn the newly elected pope had been born in the United States. It was also surprising for our country to have a pope. I think its a similar situation, Kotarba said. Its a very important person from your country. Diane Stenback, 78, who lives near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, said she hopes producing a pope will make people from Chicago better. You know, so they dont fight each other and shoot each other, she said. Theres cultural stuff there too. But nowadays all you hear about is the violence and things like that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her husband, 82-year-old Martin Stenback, added that theres idiots for mayors and governors there as well. While the new pontiff stresses peace and bridge-building, he might have unwittingly stoked an age-old Wisconsin-Illinois rivalry. Diane Stenback pauses in the piazza to pull up a meme on her phone of Pope Leo XIV dressed in a Chicago Bears-themed mitre and vestments, with the caption, Popes from Green Bay: 0, Popes from Chicago: 1. Gui Rodrigues Melo, 20, from the Atlanta area, said he finds a Chicago-born pope hilarious. He surmised that 69-year-old Pope Leo XIV, who was born at Mercy Hospital and raised in south suburban Dolton, could become an icon of Chicago internationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Especially for people outside the U.S. who dont even know about Chicago. When they think of Chicago, they probably think of Michael Jordan, he said. At least now theyll have something else to associate Chicago with. Rei Suzuki, who was born and lived most of her life in Japan but now resides in Kentucky, said she appreciates that the pontiff has spent time in both the Chicago area and Peru, two very different cultures. Hes Peruvian and American, he has dual citizenship, so hes exposed to many places in the world, she said. He has more perspective of a different side of the world. Chiara Valentina Puzzello, 20, who lives in Rome, said she didnt have much of an opinion about the popes background as an American or native of Chicago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes more worried about his actions as pontiff, citing accusations that he has mishandled clergy sex abuse allegations during his career in Chicago and Peru. I hope for the better going forward, she said. Dame Ndiaye, who is from Senegal, works for a company that gives Vatican tours. He doesnt think the popes nationality matters. He is uniting people, Ndiaye said. If he can bring people together, its going to be for the benefit of everyone everywhere. Ndiaye said he has friends from Chicago who attended the Loyola University Chicago John Felice Rome Center. In 2015, they invited him to his first Thanksgiving celebration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People that I know from Chicago are very nice, he said. But Pope Leo XIVs birth city or heritage arent paramount to him. It doesnt matter, to me, where hes from. Nationality doesnt matter, he added. It is important that he is the right one. UPDATE: Power was restorted to El Paso Electric customers on Friday afternoon, May 23 after a mutiple outage event, a company spokesperson said. Power was restored as of 3:52 p.m. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) More than 2,000 customers are without power on Friday afternoon, May 23 in Central El Paso. Thats according to El Paso Electrics online outage map. El Paso Electric is calling it a multiple outage event on its outage map. They did not list a time estimate on when power would be restored. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement El Paso Electric says its crews are still investigating the cause. We have reached out to El Paso Electric for more details. We will update this story when we learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A pregnant Columbus woman is suing the federal government on behalf of her son and unborn child to stop her deportation. Carmen Graciela Guerrero Sandoval is suing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on behalf of her 9-year-old and unborn child, alleging her deportation would violate their rights. Sandoval, a Mexican citizen living in Columbus, was allegedly denied asylum five years ago. Now, an Immigration Court in Cleveland has ordered her deportation on June 3, something shes hoping to stop. Sandoval alleges deporting her would violate her son and unborn childs Fourteenth Amendment rights and the Equal Protection Clause. According to court documents, she is the primary financial support for her son, who is identified in the lawsuit as CDBG, and alleges removing her would be cruel and unusual punishment for him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio family pleads for better treatment of mother detained in ICE facility The separation of the Plaintiffs from their mother will deprive CDBG of the continued love, affection, care and financial support of his mother, the lawsuit states. CDBG, a U.S. citizen, attends Columbus City Schools and has an autism diagnosis. According to court documents, his school assessed him as eligible for special education on April 28. The lawsuit alleges there are no comparable special education opportunities in Mexico. According to a 2015 University of Dayton report comparing special education in Mexico and the U.S., Mexico has made progress in enacting special education laws but lacks a lot of the support available in the United States. The lawsuit also sues on behalf of the unborn child. Sandoval is due in October and alleges removing her would violate the unborn childs birthright citizenship rights. According to the Fourteenth Amendment, all persons born in the U.S. are citizens; however, Sandoval has not yet given birth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney George Katchmer is representing Sandoval and said they are asking for the court to stop her deportation or delay it until birthright citizenship is ruled upon by the Supreme Court. President Donald Trump declared there is no such thing as birthright citizenship in an executive order that has been paused as the Supreme Court hears arguments. Haunted Ohio museum with true crime items to open If Sandoval gives birth in the U.S., the child would be an American citizenship under current law. If she gives birth outside of the U.S., the childs citizenship would depend on the father. Katchmer said he did not have information about paternity, including the fathers citizenship. If the father is an American citizen, the child will have U.S. citizenship regardless of where they are born. The lawyers on each side have faced one another in court before when a U.S. citizen child sought a court order to stop his fathers deportation in 2019. Katchmer represented the child in that case too, but the court ruled in favor of the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Katchmer, who did not represent Sandoval in immigration court, said he had no comment until the judge provides some clarity. NBC4 reached out to Bondi and Noems attorneys but did not receive a response. The lawyers met virtually on Thursday for initial discussions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Ukraine and Polands attitude towards it was one of the most hotly discussed issues during a televised debate between Poland's presidential contenders on the evening of 23 May. Source: Polish news agency PAP, as reported by European Pravda Details: Karol Nawrocki, the opposition-backed presidential candidate, claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys attitude towards Poland has been poor, while Rafa Trzaskowski, the Civic Coalition candidate, accused Nawrocki of echoing Vladimir Putins rhetoric on NATO membership for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each candidate put three questions to the other across six issues: health, international politics, the economy, social policy, security, and worldview. Migration and Ukraine repeatedly came up in the discussions. Both candidates distanced themselves from the EU migration pact. Nawrocki repeated his pledge that, if elected president, he would seek its unilateral termination, while Trzaskowski argued that the pact would "never come into force" due to the support that Poland has already given Ukraine. Quote from Trzaskowski: "I ensured that EU documents stated that if we help Ukrainians, we wont take anyone else." Details: Nawrocki accused Trzaskowski of lying and challenged him to name the document. Trzaskowski said he was citing a 2015 EU regulation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Nawrocki: "I dont believe there was a war in Ukraine in 2015." Details: Trzaskowski countered that Russias occupation of Crimea constituted a war. When the discussion turned to security, Trzaskowski asked Nawrocki if he opposed NATO membership for Ukraine, noting that he was "speaking Putins language" on this issue. Quote from Nawrocki: "I speak the language of Polish people. If President Zelenskyy treats us poorly, we have the right to say so. Millions of Poles today want to say so but are silenced by accusations that they are spreading Putins propaganda." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Nawrocki added that as someone "persecuted by Russia", he can be a voice for those who resent Ukraine "flooding" Poland with grain, creating unfair competition. Asked about his relationship with US President Donald Trump, Trzaskowski said he had never spoken ill of him and has "an excellent relationship with the Republicans". Quote from Nawrocki: "Trump doesnt respect people who grovel. He values strength and influence." Details: Nawrocki agreed, saying, "Indeed, Trump admires strong, influential leaders who speak for their people and their cause." Background: Following the first round of the presidential election held on 18 May, Warsaw Mayor Rafa Trzaskowski from the ruling party advanced to the second round with 31.36% of the vote, along with Karol Nawrocki, Head of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, backed by the opposition Law and Justice party (PiS), who received 29.54%. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! May 23HARLINGEN Emails show Valley International Airport Director Marv Esterly questioned whether firefighters were pressured into signing affidavits contradicting federal records while reporting a Harlingen Fire Department training violation as he proposed hiring a contractor to provide airport firefighting services. Emails between Esterly and city officials address the Federal Aviation Administration's 2024 findings citing the fire department for a training violation while reviewing concerns over the possible falsification of records. In response to the Valley Morning Star's request filed under the Texas Public Information Act, Esterly released the emails sent from April 29, 2024 to April 16. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In emails, Esterly questioned whether Evan Mann, president of the Harlingen Professional Firefighters Association, may have pressured three airport firefighters into signing affidavits describing two shortened training classes in June and July 2024, contradicting training records showing the sessions complied with FAA standards. In an interview, Mann denied the claim. "As union president, my job is to represent the members to make sure due process is followed fairly and legally," he said. On April 16, in an apparent response to Mayor Norma Sepulveda's questions, Esterly suggested she consider questions including, "Are you aware that Evan Mann contacted the firefighters who signed the affidavits and attempted to persuade them to change their statements." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Mann said he believed the airport's administration pressured the three firefighters into signing "pre-written" affidavits. "Why was there no investigation conducted into the incident involving the abbreviated classes," Esterly also asked in the email to Sepulveda. In his email, Esterly wrote the fire department removed the three firefighters from their shifts before an FAA inspection. "Why were the three individuals who submitted affidavits removed from the ARFF rotation just prior to the FAA inspection, despite having been retrained on the subject matter?" he asked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the email, he also asked, "Did you order ARFF personnel not to speak with airport administration about deficiencies in ARFF training or FAA compliance?" In a Feb. 27 email to Sepulveda, Esterly posed similar questions. "Did the HFD president attempt to pressure affidavit signers into aligning with the HFD chief's narrative?" he asked, referring to Fire Chief Rafael Balderas. "Was the narrative presented by the union president during the December joint meeting inaccurate, particularly in the claim that the airport was aware of the issues in July 2024 and intimidated affidavit signers?" Mann denied the claim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "At the time I was representing these individuals, I had no idea what the chief's narrative was," he said. "My advice was based solely on the facts." Esterly also questioned what he described as attempts to quash firefighters' information. "Did firefighters feel intimidated after witnessing retaliatory actions designed to suppress information?" he asked. Then, Esterly referred to a memorandum of understanding specifying firefighters' qualifications and requirements. "Has the HFD chief recently ordered ARFF personnel not to communicate with the airport?" he asked in the email. "If true, this would be a clear violation of the MOU and could allow for future suppression of critical safety concerns with the ARFF program." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Balderas did not respond to a message requesting comment. Many of the emails surround the FAA's 2024 investigation launched after Esterly reported "discrepancies" in two firefighter training classes held last June and July. "These discrepancies raise serious concerns about compliance with FAA regulations, the accuracy of training documentation and the potential falsification of government records," Esterly wrote in a Dec. 2, 2024, email to Balderas. "As you are aware, lapses in required training are considered FAA certification violations, posing significant risks to the city's commercial operating certificate, which the airport board is responsible for maintaining," he stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "These violations also jeopardize future airport grant funding and expose the city to civil penalties," he warned. "Violations could result in FAA-imposed civil penalties for each commercial aircraft landing or departing while these firefighters were on duty since their training records became non-compliant." In the email, Esterly warned the falsification of training records could lead to "criminal prosecution." "The potential falsification of government records adds another layer of risk, with implications that could include criminal prosecution," he wrote to Balderas. Earlier this month, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz declined to comment on what he described as a pending investigation into the possibility of records falsifications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a Dec. 5, 2024, email to City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez, Esterly warned the airport's knowledge of any firefighter training deficiency could lead the FAA to shut down the airport. After self-disclosing 2024 training discrepancies to FAA officials, the agency's Southwest regional director and its Texas airport district office manager called him to warn "the airport has an immediate obligation to ensure that all ARFF personnel are fully trained," Esterly wrote to Gonzalez. "Furthermore, if we know or suspect that any ARFF firefighters currently on shift or scheduled to work are not fully trained, the airport is obligated to issue a notice to airmen stating that there are no ARFF services available at (the airport) and would result in the immediate closure of the airport," he stated. In a Feb. 25 email to Esterly, Sepulveda referred to the FAA's 2024 finding as isolated to the training sessions, describing "training issues which are serious and need to be handled but I don't believe they are systemic failures." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then in a Feb. 27 email to Sepulveda, Esterly questioned whether the "training deficiencies" were "systemic or non-systemic." "It is difficult to conclude definitively that training deficiencies were not systemic without conducting a comprehensive investigation including interviews with the firefighters who signed the affidavits," he wrote to Sepulveda. For months, airport officials have been considering hiring a contractor to provide aircraft rescue and firefighting services, a move Esterly says would cut costs within a break-even budget. Earlier this month, Mann warned city commissioners the firefighters' union would file a lawsuit against the city if they didn't stop the airport board from hiring a contractor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview, Mann said the board's hiring of a contractor would violate Civil Service law protecting firefighters who could lose their jobs. Mann also claimed airport officials were overstating FAA reports citing "isolated" firefighter training violations as part of a plan to "discredit" the fire department in order to lead the airport board to terminate the city's $1.2 million agreement providing aircraft rescue and firefighting services. Esterly denied the claims. From 2017 to 2024, the FAA cited the fire department for three training violations, while last year Esterly self-reported "misleading" entries raising concerns of the possibility of records falsifications in training logs stemming from the two sessions last June and July. "The FAA determined training and misleading entries to be directly isolated to the identified sessions and not systemic to the entire ARFF training program," Denson E. Stasher, the agency's safety and standards manager, wrote to Esterly in a Feb. 19 report closing an investigation based on last year's findings. "In closing this case, we have considered all available facts and have concluded the matter does not warrant legal enforcement." In its 2024 investigation report, the FAA found the fire department's ARFF program in "full compliance," Erik Ramirez, the union's vice president, said in an interview. Meanwhile, Mann said airport officials were overlooking the fire department's "perfect score" on its annual FAA inspections. Featured Local Savings Charles Ladalley, 79, attempts to pull his power wheelchair through the snow after it got stuck on his driveway on Dec. 5, 2024 in Watertown, New York. Ladalley was injured while serving during the Vietnam War and uses the wheelchair as his main mode of transportation to town. This region in New York is experiencing the second snowstorm of the week and has been under a Winter Storm Warning for two days. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) Private equity companies have gobbled up group homes and other services for people with disabilities, attracting the attention of state and federal regulators across the nation and alarming advocates. People with intellectual or developmental disabilities have suffered abuse, neglect and even death while under the care of private equity-owned providers, according to a recent report from watchdog group Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Private equity firms are, more than many other types of investors, laser-focused on maximizing their cash flow, often trying to double or triple their investment over a relatively short period of time, usually just a handful of years, said Eileen OGrady, the reports author. The way that private equity firms will often do that is to cut costs. For companies that provide essential services for people with disabilities, she said, those cuts can have really harmful impacts on peoples lives. In late 2023, Florida moved to revoke the license of NeuroRestorative, one branch of the private equity-owned health services company Sevita, which provides services for people with disabilities. State regulators cited repeat violations by NeuroRestorative and a failure to protect the rights of its clients to be free from physical abuse. Ultimately the state opted not to revoke the license and fined the company $13,000 in a settlement. But in recent years regulators have documented instances of patient harm at Sevitas affiliates in multiple other states, including Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts and Utah. In 2019, a U.S. Senate committee conducted a probe into the companys operations in Iowa and Oregon following multiple reports of patient abuse and neglect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any entity that receives taxpayer dollars, but especially those charged with caring for our fellow Americans who may have an intellectual disability, ought to be doing everything under the sun to ensure quality care and continually improve, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a statement in 2020 following his investigation. In a statement to Stateline, Sevita did not address the sanctions directly, but avowed its commitment to providing services and supports to give people greater independence, regardless of their intellectual or physical challenges. Since 2019, when new ownership acquired the company, there has been significant capital investment to improve and expand our services, enhance facilities, implement robust training and new technologies, and strengthen our workforce all with the goal of better serving our individuals and communities, the statement said. The disability care industry has proven increasingly attractive to private equity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent years, a handful of large private equity-owned companies such as Sevita have snapped up hundreds of smaller providers of disability services often community nonprofits, mom-and-pop businesses and religious organizations and rolled them into larger corporations. From 2013 to 2023, private equity firms acquired more than 1,000 disability and elder care providers, according to the report by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Thats likely an undercount because theyre generally not required to disclose acquisitions, the report said. Cash cow Private equity firms use pooled investments from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and wealthy individuals to buy a controlling stake in a company. They seek to maximize its value often by cutting costs and then sell it at a profit. Most of Sevitas revenue comes from providing disability services. It operates companies in 40 states under various brands, including Mentor Network, NeuroRestorative and REM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sevita is currently owned by private equity firms Centerbridge Partners and Vistria Group, which also own Help at Home, a home health company with more than 200 locations across about a dozen states. Nearly all of Sevitas revenue comes from Medicaid, according to a February 2025 report from S&P Global. Through Medicaid and Medicare, the government pays for most services for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The two programs cover services such as group homes, adult day programs, in-home care, and physical and occupational therapy. Sevita has been owned by private equity firms for over a decade now, and has been under investigation and scrutiny at the federal and state level for basically that entire time, OGrady said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, Iowa fined a NeuroRestorative group home $10,500 after a resident was left unattended in a liquor store and drank three-quarters of a bottle of vodka. The same year, Massachusetts temporarily removed Sevitas license to operate group homes after regulators reported inadequate staff training and supervision, and a myriad of issues that were uncovered onsite, according to a Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services report. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has fined a NeuroRestorative facility in Utah four times since 2022. A February 2024 inspection report by the agency found the facility failed to prevent abuse, neglect and exploitation of residents. Last year, Florida fined another Sevita brand, Florida Mentor, for improper use of restraints. More issues have been documented in Sevita-owned locations in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire and Nevada. Meanwhile, Sevitas owners, Centerbridge and Vistria, have collected nearly half a billion dollars since 2019 by loading Sevita and Help at Home with debt in order to pay dividends to investors, according to Moodys, a financial services company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similar financial maneuvering contributed to the recent collapse of Steward Health Care, a private equity-owned hospital system that once had more than 30 hospitals nationwide. Steward has become a cautionary tale about the harm that profit-driven private equity firms can do to a states health system. Before Steward Health Care ultimately collapsed, executives spent years hiding their financial information from state regulators, putting patients and our health care system at risk, Massachusetts Democratic House Speaker Ron Mariano said in a statement earlier this year announcing a new state law that beefs up reporting and financial requirements for private investors. Thats why ensuring that our institutions are equipped to monitor the health care landscape, and to guard against trends and transactions that drive up costs without improving patient outcomes, is so important. David vs. Goliath After two residents of a New Jersey group home died from choking on food in 2017, attorney Cory Bernstein became interested in private equitys involvement in disability services. The residents had been living in homes operated by AdvoServ, a company then owned by the private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management. The state had cited AdvoServ more times than any other operator in New Jersey for abuse, neglect and unsafe conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AdvoServ later ceased operations in 2019 after multiple state agencies, including in New Jersey, Florida and Maryland, launched investigations. States just dont really have the resources or tools to do what needs to be done. Cory Bernstein, staff attorney at the National Disability Rights Network But even when state regulators are doing all they can to protect people with disabilities from substandard care, theyre limited in how much they can hold a company accountable, Bernstein told Stateline. Its state-level oversight on a national entity with not much (help) coming from the federal side, said Bernstein, who is now a staff attorney at the National Disability Rights Network, a membership organization of federally mandated state disability advocacy programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement States just dont really have the resources or tools to do what needs to be done. A regulatory agency in Georgia might shut down all the group homes owned by a certain company, for example, but those regulators cant do anything about the companys abuses in, say, Montana. With branches in multiple states, a company is better able to withstand sanctions or even a loss of license in one state, he said. (States) are not set up to go up against a national operator with billions of dollars in resources in a regulatory or oversight battle, Bernstein said. Further complicating things for state regulators and for consumers is that a large services company such as Sevita might operate under multiple brand names, even in one state. It can be hard to parse out who owns a sanctioned business. Multiple brand names can also obscure a companys monopoly on a particular regional market. When Florida regulators reached a settlement agreement with Sevitas NeuroRestorative last year, the state dismissed its proposed license revocation. OGrady believes one reason the state chose to settle is the difficulty of finding alternative facilities to relocate the residents who would have been displaced from the 13 locations the company operated around the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because of that dearth of alternatives and the impotence of the state to act more fully, this company will continue to be allowed to operate, she said. Further complicating oversight: Large companies often operate various services that are overseen by different agencies. Group homes might be regulated under the states Medicaid program, while facilities that provide more intensive care might come under federal Medicare oversight. There could be two completely different oversight systems for facilities serving the same population in the same state with the same name, Bernstein said. State solutions Some states have moved to address problems with private equity involvement in health care by passing tighter restrictions on mergers and acquisitions of health care companies. In Rhode Island, where private equity companies mismanagement of health care providers threatened the future of local hospitals, a robust oversight law allowed the state attorney general to impose conditions to protect the hospitals finances. More states are following suit. In 2023 alone, 24 states enacted laws related to health system consolidation and competition, while this year at least half a dozen have considered legislation to check private equity-fueled health care mergers. Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@stateline.org. This story was originally produced by Stateline which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Publix has recalled fruit and vegetable baby food sold under its GreenWise brand in Florida and seven other states after testing found elevated amounts of lead. Publix announced the recall on its website on May 9 and it applies to all 1,404 stores in the Lakeland-based chain. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted its recall announcement on Thursday. The problem with lead Exposure to lead, even small amounts, can be harmful to children, especially those ages 6 and younger, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lead can harm the brain and nervous systems and lead to developmental problems like growth and speech. What to look for Publix GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food The recalled baby food comes in 4-ounce pouches of GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food with a best by date of 11/1/2025. The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is 41415-00901. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bowman Andros produced and distributed the baby food from its Virginia plant for Publix. Where was the baby food sold? The Pear, Kiwil, Spinach & Pea Baby Food was sold in the eight states Publix has stores in: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. How did Publix find the problem? Publix discovered the problem in North Carolina and initiated the recall after routine sampling discovered elevated amounts of lead. North Carolina agricultural officials found levels at 13.4 parts per billion in the samples, according to ABC News. In January, the FDA offered a guidance report that recommended a limit of 10 parts per billion for products intended for babies and young children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of our commitment to food safety, potentially impacted products have been removed from all store shelves, Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous said in the FDA recall announcement. To date, there have been no reported cases of illness. What you should do Consumers who have purchased the GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food may return the pouches to their local store for a full refund, Brous said. Publix customers with additional questions can call the customer care department at 800-242-1227. Target baby food recall Good & Gather Pea, Zucchini, Kale, Thyme vegatable puree Miamis Fruselva USA recalled two lots of Good & Gather baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree that it manufactures for Target stores nationwide in March. The concern? The possibility it contained too much lead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That Target baby food recall covered lot Nos. 4169 with a best by date of Dec. 9, 2025, and 4167 with a best by date of Dec. 7, 2025. About 25,600 4-ounce bowls were in that recall. Miami Herald reporter David J. Neal contributed to this report. Russia is building bases and expanding its military footprint near the Finnish border, in a sign of where its swollen army could be moved after a ceasefire in Ukraine. New satellite imagery has revealed columns of new troop tents, expanding military bases and renovated Arctic airfields, all opposite Natos northeastern flank in what could be a harbinger of a future war. The signals are elsewhere too. The Kremlin is expanding military recruitment, increasing weapons production and upgrading logistical infrastructure along Russias borders with Norway, Finland and the Baltics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finnish defence officials say the new build-up is small-scale, but is likely being done in preparation for tens of thousands of troops as well as military assets to be redeployed to their border and further north to the Arctic. While not imminent, they told The Telegraph that the threat is very real. The officials believe they have up to five years until Moscow can beef up its forces to concerning levels if the full-scale war in Ukraine comes to and end. We joined Nato, so we anticipated this, said Major General Sami Nurmi, chief of strategy of the Finnish defence forces. The military, he said, is watching very closely and preparing accordingly. What we are seeing are the preparations for the future when Russia will bring back the forces fighting in Ukraine, he told The Telegraph. But the troops on our borders will grow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added: We do not see any immediate threat towards Finland. Donald Trump said the same on Tuesday. Responding to Russias military manoeuvres, the US president claimed he was not worried at all and that Finland and Norway would be very safe. Finland, which was forced to cede territory to the Soviet Union in the Second World War, spent decades persuing a policy of neutrality until it decided to join Nato in 2023 in the wake of Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. The countrys accession to the alliance extended Natos frontier with Russia by 835 miles, changing the military strategic situation in northern Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maj Gen Nurmi is clear-eyed, but pragmatic about the new infrastructure and Russias troop movement plans. We do not want to be too alarmist, he said. Watching developments across the border has been our daily business for hundreds of years. Satellite imagery has revealed that over 130 new troop tents have been erected in Kamenka, less than 40 miles from Finland and 140 miles from Helsinki. The base, which was unused before 2022, should now be able to house 2,000 troops. Russia is also expanding military infrastructure around the city of Petrozavodsk, 100 miles from the borders of Finland and Norway, which could serve as a new headquarters for Moscows northwestern troops in a possible conflict with Nato. The photographs also show intensifying activity at the Soviet-era Arctic air bases at Severomorsk-2 as well as Olenya, where nuclear-capable Tu-22 and Tu-95 strategic bombers have been moved. Russian helicopters have also been spotted in the Arctic city of Murmansk for the first time in two decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia has been forced to move expensive military assets north to get them out of the range of Ukraines drones, which target air bases across Russia. But Nato fears that Moscow is expanding its military footprint further and further north to extend its control over resources in the Arctic region, which is at the centre of a new geopolitical rivalry. The Arctic is the important theatre of the future, said Maj Gen Nurmi. This will not change. We are working very closely with our Arctic allies to assess Russias plans. But changes are also happening at an organisational level as the Russian military restructures itself to face its perceived growing threat of Nato to the north-west. 2405 Finland's border threat Last year, Moscow re-established the huge military district of Leningrad to increase its military presence next to Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Small brigades that were stationed there before the Ukraine war, will nearly triple in size to become divisions of over 10,000 troops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That process has already started. In Kamenka, where the rows of tents have been built, the 138th Motor Rifle Brigade there has become the 69th Motor Rifle division. This is a continuation of military plans before 2022 and response to new geopolitical developments of Sweden and Finland joining Nato, said Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst at the Black Bird Group, a Finnish organisation that tracks Russian military movements. It is difficult, he said, to interpret Russias actions as strictly either defensive or offensive. There a multitude of scenarios and uncertainties. In February, Danish intelligence warned that Russia could launch a major land war in Europe within five years if the war freezes in Ukraine. Others have suggested it would take just two years for Moscow to be ready. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are other signs that Russias military is not preparing for peace. Putin has ordered his military to increase its ranks to up to 1.5 million troops, up from a million before the invasion of Ukraine, while its military spending will reach 6pc of GDP this year, while Nato countries on average spend 2.71pc. Tanks are being built at an increasing rate, but not being sent to Ukraine. Finnish soldiers ride complete a Nato demonstration in a Leopard 2 tank at the countrys border - JONATHAN NACKSTRAND Russias hybrid attacks on Finland, like other Nato states, are also increasing, including GPS jamming along the border, the cutting of undersea cables and other sabotage attacks inside the country, which are seen as Moscows attempt to destabilise the West and retaliate for its backing of Ukraine. On Finlands eastern border, the first 22 miles of a planned 124-mile fence 15ft-high and fortified with barbed wire, cameras and sensors was completed on Wednesday after Helsinki last year accused Moscow of directing migrants to Finland in a hybrid operation. What is happening on the other side of that border is high priority, Jarmo Lindberg, a Finnish MP and chief of defence from 2014 to 2019, told The Telegraph. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But echoing the characteristic level-headedness of other Finnish officials towards the manoeuvres, he said: The latest movements and signs of construction are just one more tactical or operational change in a long line of Russian activities. The former general agrees with estimates it will take up to five years to reconstitute Russias military capabilities in the north after they were plundered for the war in Ukraine. But the process is happening, he said. The billion euro question, however, will be what Russia does next. If there is a peace agreement in Ukraine, Finns will be watching where troops will be relocated across Russia? Will the same units return to our borders or will new ones be brought. Will it just be troops? Or will they bring air defences, radar systems, electronic warfare systems? Mr Lindberg said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is Finland ready for what is to come? We know Russia will always be a threat for us. We will be ready. We are ready already. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Russian President Vladimir Putin remains committed to victory in Ukraine and his objectives have not changed since the beginning of the war, according to a recent report from the United States Defense Intelligence Agency. The report, which was prepared by the DIA for the US House of Representatives, includes up-to-date information as of May 11, 2025. According to the report, "Putin almost certainly is committed to victory in Ukraine, and his objectives remain mostly unchanged since the beginning of the war: Ukrainian neutrality and a further partition of the Ukrainian state." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moreover, Putin sees "the war in Ukraine as an existential struggle against the West that will determine Russias place in the world, Putins hold on power, and his historical legacy." Despite recent attempts at peace talks, Putin "is prepared to use military force at least through 2025," and "remains steadfast in his demand that Ukraine be permanently prohibited from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) while insisting Kyiv withdraw all its military forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts." The report further asserts that, while Russia aims to continue its war in Ukraine, it seeks to avoid direct confrontation with NATO due to a lack of military capacity. As a result of its war in Ukraine, Russia's "capabilities to deter, fight, or militarily compete with NATO are likely to be degraded for at least the next three years." Since the start of its invasion in 2022, Russia has lost more than "10,000 ground combat vehicles, including more than 3,000 tanks, as well as nearly 250 aircraft and helicopters, and more than 10 naval vessels," and experienced more than 700,000 military personnel casualties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia's losses are even higher as of May 24, Russia has lost around 979,830 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion. While Russia lacks the ability to go head-to-head with NATO, "Moscow remains fully capable of employing asymmetric capabilities against the United States and allies, including cyber and information campaigns." Furthermore, Russia has been implementing a destabilization campaign against the West, with the aim "to undermine Western cohesion and support to Ukraine." Since Jan. 2024, if not earlier, pro-Russian agents have been connected to "various arson, sabotage, and assassination plots against military and civilian targets in Europe." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite immense losses and slow advances in the war, the Kremlin is prepared to continue its strategy of attrition through at least the end of the year, calculating that it can outlast Ukrainian resources and Western support for Ukraine. Read also: Lavrov dismisses Vatican as possible venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin remains determined to achieve victory in the war against Ukraine, a US intelligence assessment has said. Source: 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment, prepared by US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for Congress, dated 11 May 2025 Details: The assessment states that Moscow is pursuing a strategy of attrition, aiming to undermine Ukraines resistance, demoralise its population and await a decline in Western support. Despite slow progress, Russias military command likely considers this acceptable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "Putin almost certainly is committed to victory in Ukraine and his objectives remain mostly unchanged since the beginning of the war: Ukrainian neutrality and a further partition of the Ukrainian state. In the absence of a negotiated settlement or, alternatively, robust Western aid, the battlefield outlook probably will continue to slowly trend in Russias favour through 2025, though Russian battlefield gains are slowing and continue to come at the expense of high personnel and equipment losses." Details: Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost over 700,000 soldiers, including at least 170,000 fatalities, and more than 10,000 pieces of military equipment, including 3,000 tanks, according to US intelligence. Approximately 250 aircraft and helicopters have also been destroyed. Russian forces continue their gradual advance in Ukraines east, bolstered by additional troops, including over 10,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in Kursk Oblast to support the offensive. Russia is also heavily using kamikaze drones and long-range missiles to target Ukraines critical infrastructure, aiming to break its will to resist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The assessment notes that Putin remains committed to imposing post-war neutrality on Ukraine, limiting its military capabilities and further fragmenting the state. Quote: "Although Putin and his military leaders probably would prefer more rapid battlefield gains, Moscow seems comfortable with the current cost of its slow advances, calculating they can steadily drain Ukraines resources and will, and outlast the Wests support for Ukraine." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! ANDOVER TOWNSHIP Pymatuning Valley High School band director Justin Dye is leaving one familiar place for another, after more than eight years at his alma mater, leading music programs including the high school band. It is very bittersweet. I will be the director of bands a Malone University, Dye said of his move to his college alma mater. He is a 2015 graduate of the Canton school and he will be trying to redevelop the music program by leading the symphonic and jazz bands, as well as teaching music classes. Dye said the number of participants in the music programs are low. He will be driving to Malone three times a week and spending two days recruiting students in northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I already have a relationship with a lot of band directors [in both states], he said. I will miss the students and the class time, Dye said. He said some of the students he has taught for eight straight years. To replace Dye, the Pymatuning Valley Local Schools conducted an exhaustive search, PVHS Principal Mark Mollohan said. He said new band director Brendan Bennett recently graduated from YSU and is scheduled to be married this summer. We had close to 25 applications, we interviewed nine in-person and brought three back to meet the kids to teach a lesson, Mollohan said. He said Bennett had an amazing rapport with the students, and it became clear he was the choice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mollohan said Bennett is from Minerva, a rural community similar to Andover, and understands the situation. He said Bennett also plays in a jazz rock band, and will be able to bring that experience to the students, as well. Hours after learning Sarah Milgrim had been killed near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel found the words he knew people needed to hear. Words that even he, who is still processing the loss of a young woman he came to know at the University of Kansas and kept in touch with as she became a young leader in the Jewish community, can cling to. The message we are giving is, what would Sarah want us to do? Tiechtel told The Star. What would she whisper in our ears now? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She would say, More light, more love. Dont fight darkness with more darkness. Fight darkness with light and positivity, thats the message that we are giving. Milgrim, 26, who grew up in Prairie Village and graduated from KU in 2021, was with her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, 30, when the two were gunned down Wednesday night. The pair, who worked together at the Israeli Embassy, were killed following an event at the museum. A suspect, who police named as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, of Chicago, was arrested at the scene, yelling, Free Palestine, law enforcement said. On Thursday, Rodriguez was charged with first-degree murder and other crimes. According to an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Rodriguez told police, I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, when he was taken into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milgrim and Lischinsky, who had been dating for about 18 months, planned to fly to Israel on Sunday. Milgrim would be meeting her boyfriends parents for the first time. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter told media that Lischinsky had just bought an engagement ring and he was going to propose during a planned trip to Jerusalem. Tiechtel, of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life at KU, hadnt heard about Milgrims violent death until he started receiving texts from alumni across the county Thursday morning. People continued to reach out to him all day, searching for answers. People are just texting and calling non-stop, saying How could this be? How is this possible? She was so full of life, Tiechtel told The Star. The entire community is just very, very shaken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everybody is in a state of shock, struggling to understand what is going on. Motivated to make a difference Sarahs parents, Robert and Nancy Milgrim, told The Star Thursday that their daughter had a passion for Israel. She was offered a position at the embassy in 2023, they said, just weeks before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, the aftermath of which led to the war in Gaza. The Wednesday evening event Milgrim and Lischinsky had attended was about bridging divides between multi-faith organizations in an effort to provide more aid to areas like Gaza. She had her strong beliefs in making this world a better place, Tiechtel said. Really believed in bridge building and connecting people with each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was somebody who really tried so hard to make love and connection. Were so proud of her. While in college, Milgrim worked with KU Hillel, an organization for the Jewish community on campus. She worked as an intern and as a board member and made contributions that continue to resonate today, KU Hillel said Thursday. On its Facebook page, the organization posted a tribute to the woman Thursday. In the face of such hateful violence, we come together as a community to support one another and to honor Sarahs memory, the post read. Also at KU, Milgrim often attended Shabbat dinners and holiday celebrations at the Chabad Jewish Center. The 2021 University of Kansas graduation photo of Sarah Lynn Milgrim, age 26, who was shot and killed Wednesday, May 21, 2025, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. She had a beautiful smile, Tiechtel said. She was friendly. She came into the room and she really gave off fun and positivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After getting her undergraduate degree, Milgrim went on to earn two masters degrees, her family said, one from American University in Washington, D.C., and a second from the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica. Her focus was on international studies and on international sustainable development. She was driven to succeed, Tiechtel said. And really believed in what she believed in. She was motivated to make a difference. A light to us all Social media lit up Thursday and Friday with messages from people who had worked with young professional in the years since she left Kansas. Sheila Katz, CEO of National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), said Milgrim worked with her organization in her role at the Israeli Embassy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those who knew her and worked alongside her, Katz said, were touched by her commitment to peace, and will continue to pursue it in her memory. Like many in our community, I had the privilege of meeting Sarah and working with her, said Katz, who released a statement after the shooting. I saw firsthand what a passionate person she was, and admired her work on civil society and advocating for womens rights, LGBTQ rights, and for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. She stood up for other marginalized groups and was a light to us all. Hundreds gathered Thursday evening at a vigil for Milgrim inside a room at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. A mourner wipes away tears during a vigil for Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky at the Jewish Community Centers Social Hall on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Overland Park. Milgrim and Lischinsky were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, May 21. Her death and the violence that caused it, will continue to hit people everywhere hard, Tiechtel said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its important to understand that when people are targeted for being a Jew that makes every Jew feel targeted, Tiechtel said. Even if you dont know the person, its very personal. We just have to keep rebuilding and getting stronger, thats what she would want us to do. The Stars Eric Adler and Nathan Pilling contributed to this report. BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) The Raleigh County Veterans and First Responders Museum will be opening its doors the public for Memorial Day weekend. Less than a year after moving to its new location at the former State Police barracks in Beckley, the museum has brought in countless historical artifacts for display, many of which were donated by veterans locally and from around the country. Raleigh County Veterans and First Responders Museum President, Ron Hedrick told 59News he plans to eventually open the museum on a full-time basis, and that it is his hope the facility can be about more than just recognizing veterans and can be a direct resource for the veterans themselves. We kind of hope that the museum will be like a beacon to veterans who just need a place to hang out, he said. Maybe a place to unload, come and meet other veterans, hang out, talk, and have a cup of coffee and maybe theyll find a home. Hedrick and museum staff will be on-hand Saturday morning for the annual memorial service at the American Legion Veterans Cemetery at 9:00 a.m., after which the museum doors will open to the community at 10:00am to 5:00pm. Guests will be able to check out museum exhibits, grab a hotdog, and maybe even take home some prizes donated by local businesses as part of a raffle to benefit the museum. Folks are also welcome to attend a candlelight service at the American Legion Veterans Cemetery on Sunday night, where the Salvation Army Brass band will be putting on a performance of patriotic numbers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CEDAR COUNTY, Neb. (KCAU) The results for a bond measure for a northeast Nebraska school district are in. Cedar County election officials said the $8.75 million bond measure for Randolph Public Schools passed, with more than 59% saying yes and more than 40 percent saying no. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The district said the bond will help improve the district by investing in a storm shelter, fire sprinklers, and fire alarms. Itll also support repairing parts of the elementary school building. The special mail-in election took place back on May 13 for residents in Cedar, Pierce, and Wayne counties. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has reported black bear sightings across southwest Illinois. A wildlife biologist from the department confirmed a rare sighting on Tuesday in St. Clair County. IDNR also reported that it saw the animal a couple days later in the same area. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News The bear has not come into contact with humans, the department suspects, but it is likely it damaged a beehive on private property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although coming across black bears in the state of Illinois is rare, IDNR cautions those to stay on alert if they ever encounter the animal. For instance, black bears can smell food on ones property, posing a possible concern. Through learned behavior, bears often investigate anything that may yield a food reward, such as bird feeders, barbeque grills, garbage cans, and dog food. Once a bear finds a food source, they will likely return, so prevention is key, IDNR wrote. During the summer, these bears are likely to roam frequently in search of a mate or for food. To learn more about black bears, visit here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Arizonas desert birds are in decline, according to a national conservation report tracking long-term bird populations, prompting one conservation group to ask the federal government to take action on behalf of a quickly disappearing, rare songbird. The Center for Biological Diversity has petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Bendires thrasher under the Endangered Species Act. The Bendires thrasher is one of the nations fastest declining birds, according to the petition, losing almost 90% of its population over the past 50 years. Photo of Bendire's thrasher Over half of the species population lives in Arizona, where threats like urban sprawl and climate change have caused significant habitat loss. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The call to list the Benshires thrasher reflects a larger trend of bird population decline across the country. Nationally, about a third of all bird species found in the U.S. are at risk due to small or declining populations and other threats, according to the U.S. State of the Birds Report. The report is an assessment of the nations bird populations compiled by scientists from several bird conservation groups. Data sources for the report include U.S. Fish and Wildlife population surveys, National Audubon Societys bird counts, U.S. Geological Surveys Breeding Bird Survey and Cornell Lab of Ornithologys eBird Status and Trends project. Of the 31 desert-dwelling bird species tracked in the report, more than half showed declining populations in the last 50 years. None of those arid land bird species in the report showed an increasing population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fact that we're seeing such a decline in the Bendire's thrasher population signals high levels of degradation in the ecosystem and declines in other species, said Krista Kemppinen, senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. The Bendire's thrasher has an ecological role, but it's also an indicator of changes that may be happening in less studied species and of changes yet to come, said Kemppinen. State of the Birds 2025 Long-term Population Trends. Birds at risk: 'Rarer creatures': Elegant trogons, hummingbirds alter flight paths as drought persists Bird watchers chart the thrasher's decline The Bendires thrasher was named after Charles Bendire, a U.S. Army Lieutenant and naturalist who came across the unknown bird in the 1870s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The medium-sized desert songbird has a dusty brown plumage, bright yellow eyes and a long tail. Found in shrubby desert and grassland habitats, the thrasher spends much of its time skittering on the ground searching for its next meal with its tail cocked in the air. The term thrasher is used to describe birds that forage on the ground and thrash leaf litter or dirt in search of their next meal. The Bendires thrasher is a shy bird, except during breeding season, when the male thrashers sing a rich but jumbled song. The U.S. State of the Birds Report categorizes the Bendires thrasher as one of 42 red-alert tipping point species, meaning the species requires immediate conservation action to ensure recovery. One of the biggest threats facing the species is sprawl from population centers in the state. The flat, shrubby desert land where the thrashers live is also a prime location for development projects, like the proposed Interstate 11 corridor, a 280-mile highway that would stretch from Wickenburg to Nogales. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason why unchecked development into desert habitat is a concern, is because it destroys the habitat and resources that the thrasher needs for breathing, nesting and overall survival, said Kemppinen. It also serves to increase the fragmentation of existing habitat into smaller and smaller patches. That ultimately become so small that they're unable to support viable populations of native species. If you like reading about birds: Sign up for AZ Climate, The Republic's weekly environment newsletter Conservationists have been tracking the thrashers decline for over a decade. In 2010, a diverse coalition of environmental groups and state and federal agencies formed the Desert Thrasher Working Group, a project under the Borderlands Avian Data Center, to study population trends and create management practices for the Bendire's thrasher, LeConte's thrasher and loggerhead shrike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initially focused on developing survey protocols for the elusive birds, in recent years, the group has begun creating best practices for solar energy projects seeking to develop thrasher habitats. These are attractive areas for solar. They don't have a lot of tall trees and the land's rather flat, said Jennie MacFarland, the director of bird conservation with Tucson Bird Alliance, who is a part of the Desert Thrasher Working Group. It looks like this is empty desert, and it's not. It's home for birds like Bendires and LeContes thrashers. Caring for condors: At a remote Arizona wildlife center, biologists treat endangered birds The long road to being listed Simply having a small population doesnt mean a species meets the requirements to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. The federal law lists five factors to determine whether a species is at risk of extinction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Bendires thrasher meets four of those five factors, according to the center, including destruction or threats to habitat, disease or predation, inadequacy of existing regulations, and other manmade or natural factors that threaten the species' existence. If the Bendires thrasher is listed under the Endangered Species Act, U.S. Fish and Wildlife will craft a recovery plan that will contain specific actions to conserve the species in the wild. The petition is only the first step. Now that the centers petition has been submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the federal agency will have 90 days to respond. If the agency moves forward, a multi-year scientific analysis and environmental review will be conducted before the Bendires thrasher is officially listed under the Endangered Species Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, as multiple desert bird species see population decline, MacFarland points to the publics willingness to adapt their properties to bird-friendly habitats as a positive development for conservation. One of the biggest bright spots is seeing how many people are interested in turning their yards, their human habitat, into suitable habitat for the species that are willing to live in more urban areas, said MacFarland with Tucson Bird Alliance. Tons of people that are really interested and committed to it, and do a lot of work to make their properties and yards good for birds and wildlife. John Leos covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to john.leos@arizonarepublic.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Group seeks endangered status for Bendire's thrasher, desert songbird Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said during a recent interview that President Trump is looking to exact vengeance on Harvard University after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) blocked the Ivy League institution from enrolling foreign students. Raskin said on Friday night that the administrations move to rescind Harvards Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification is definitely unconstitutional because it was in retaliation for Harvard rejecting the last round of unconstitutional attacks on its autonomy. When Donald Trump essentially said that the federal government of the United States was going to take over their admissions process, take over their faculty hiring process, take over their curriculum, Harvard just said, thats a bridge too far. No way, Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said during his Friday night appearance on CNNs Erin Burnett OutFront show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Maryland Democrat, a Harvard Law School alumnus, argued Trump is trying to exact vengeance and retaliation again by taking it out on 7,000 students from other countries, forcing them to completely change their plans, turning their lives upside down and stripping Harvard of a quarter of its students. The White House slammed Raskin on Saturday, stating Harvard is facing the consequences for its actions. Jamie Raskin has zero credibility left after hes unsuccessfully launched one liberal hoax after another against President Trump, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told The Hill. Harvard has turned into a hotbed for anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators that put American students at risk, she continued. Theyve repeatedly failed to address the serious issues plaguing their campus, despite warnings, and now theyre facing the consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, when announcing the foreign student ban, said the administration was holding the elite school accountable for fostering violence, not doing enough to combat antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus. The administrations task force for combating antisemitism said earlier this month that Harvard has failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus. A Harvard University Police Department report, released in October last year, found that a number of hate crimes reported to law enforcement at the school doubled, going from five to 10 between 2022 and 2023. Noem said that because of the certification being revoked, international students will need to transfer to another school or they would risk jeopardizing their legal status in the U.S. Harvard filed a lawsuit Friday morning alleging the administrations actions violated the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs granted a temporary restraining order hours later and set a hearing for May 29 to deliberate whether a longer pause is necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House said on Friday that the American people elected Trump, not random local judges with their own liberal agenda to run the country. These unelected judges have no right to stop the Trump Administration from exercising their rightful control over immigration policy and national security policy, Jackson previously said. Raskin characterized the administrations actions as a completely lawless situation. The administration doesnt get to control higher education in America and tell colleges and universities what to do. They dont get to control newspaper entities and TV networks the way Donald Trump has been trying to do, Raskin said Friday night. And they dont get to control law firms or any other private entity, but theyre trying to move us into an authoritarian situation, so he can continue to embark upon his corruption tour of the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has gone back-and-forth with Harvard in recent months, terminating nearly $3 billion worth of federal grants as the president warns the school that its tax-exempt status could be revoked. We are going to be taking away Harvards Tax Exempt Status. Its what they deserve! Trump said on Truth Social in early May. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. May 23DIXON Raynor Garage Doors raised a giant American flag above its Corporate Drive location in Dixon on Thursday to honor the values it represents. "What a beautiful symbol of patriotism," Dixon Mayor Glen Hughes said at the event. "We are gathered [here today] to show respect for the flag and the values it represents." ExpandAutoplay Image 1 of 5 Raynor Garage Doors raised a giant American flag along with four others representing Dixon, Illinois, Local 790 carpenters union and Raynor during a ceremony celebrating patriotism at 200 E Corporate Drive in Dixon, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Payton Felix) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 96-pound flag was lifted 165 feet in the air above the Raynor facility at 200 E. Corporate Drive in Dixon. It was raised by 11 U.S. veterans who also are part of the Raynor team. Smaller flags, including those of the city of Dixon, the Local 790 carpenters union and Raynor, also were hoisted to surround the larger flag. "We're proud of our heritage and the values that guide us," Raynor Vice President of Strategic Marketing Brittany Shannon said. "This ceremony and beautiful flag honor our country, our team, our families and our deep gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy." (NewsNation) Headlines say the job market is solid, but for those just entering it, the reality feels different. Recent college grads faced a 5.8% unemployment rate as of March the highest since 2021 and more than double the rate for all college graduates, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Underemployment is also on the rise: 41% of new graduates are now working in jobs that typically dont require a college degree, up from 39% in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The job market right now for recent grads is not in a great place, even though the hard economic data is still relatively strong, said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at career site Glassdoor. A lot of employers arent hiring right now. Is AI replacing entry-level jobs? The question is whether the recent slowdown reflects a temporary wave of uncertainty or the start of a new normal in which technologies like artificial intelligence steadily replace entry-level jobs. Earlier this week, a New York Times op-ed warned that AI poses a real threat to jobs traditionally held by young workers, with the bottom rung of the career ladder likely to break first. We saw what happened in the 1980s when our manufacturing sector steeply declined. Now it is our office workers who are staring down the same kind of technological and economic disruption, Aneesh Raman, chief economic opportunity officer at LinkedIn, wrote in the Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While that may prove true in the years ahead, Raman acknowledged theres no clear evidence that AI is behind todays shaky entry-level market. How AI is influencing career choices for younger generations Instead, Raman and experts NewsNation spoke with point to broad economic uncertainty thats affecting nearly all job seekers, not just recent grads. A healthy economy has a certain amount of churn and movement in it, and thats not something that were seeing right now, said Allison Shrivastava, an economist with the Indeed Hiring Lab. Internship postings usually rise at the start of spring, but in early April, they were down 11 percentage points compared to the same time last year, according to Indeed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Class of 2025 looked poised for a strong hiring season last fall, but that outlook has since fizzled. Employers had expected a 7.3% bump in new grad hires; now, theyre planning to hire roughly the same number of graduates as last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. President Donald Trumps trade policies have rattled investors and plunged consumer confidence, potentially making things worse in the months ahead. That said, the rise in unemployment among recent grads began before his most drastic actions. With employers pulling back and growing more risk-averse, job seekers with less experience, like new grads, are having a tougher time getting their foot in the door. Theyre also facing more competition. This years graduating class is competing with 2024 grads who are still looking for jobs, Andrew Seaman, senior editor-at-large for Jobs & Career Development at LinkedIn, said in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seaman noted that recent years have seen some of the highest graduation rates ever, and skill requirements for entry-level roles are higher today than they used to be. Thats leading to real frustration, and members of Generation Z are now more pessimistic about their job prospects than any other generation, according to a recent LinkedIn survey. Health care industry outpacing jobs in other sectors Every month brings fresh jobs data, but in recent years, one industry has consistently outpaced the rest: health care. If youre in the health care sector right now, youre probably feeling pretty good, Shrivastava said. I dont see that changing anytime soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Driven by a rapidly aging population, the health care and social assistance sector is expected to see the most job growth of any field over the next decade, accounting for roughly one-third of all new jobs created, according to Labor Department projections. The fastest growing (and declining) jobs by 2030 Zhao pointed out that health care can be a promising path for new grads, even if they didnt major in nursing or plan to become doctors. Government forecasts show nonclinical roles, like health services managers, are expected to be in high demand for years to come. There are those jobs out there for folks who are not necessarily health care providers but want to be in an industry that is a little bit more stable, Zhao said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For new grads who arent interested in health care, AI engineer and AI consultant are the fastest-growing job titles, according to a LinkedIn report earlier this year. Industries like construction and education are also growing. This is definitely a shift in the data from the Grads Guide list, even just a couple years ago, where we saw a higher concentration in office jobs like recruiting, tech and legal services, Seaman said. Over the past year, employment in professional and business services has declined, particularly in administrative support roles, Labor Department data shows. Is a college degree still worth it? Historically, Americans with a college degree have had lower unemployment rates than the overall workforce, but lately that trend hasnt held for recent grads aged 22 to 27. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the overall unemployment rate hovered around 4% in the first quarter, the rate for recent grads climbed toward 6%. For those who majored in anthropology (9.4%), physics (7.8%) and computer engineering (7.5%), unemployment was even higher as of 2023, the New York Fed found. For folks who went into computer science or these related fields with the promise of high-paying jobs coming out of undergrad, it feels like that promise has kind of been broken, Zhao said. College wasnt worth it for 51% of Gen Zers, study says The end of the learn to code era has coincided with growing skepticism as more Americans question the value of college degrees that have saddled millions with debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, the New York Feds recent report suggests graduating from college is still worth it for most, and the wage premium remains near an all-time high. However, for the quarter of graduates who end up in relatively low-paying jobs, a college degree may not be worth it. Looking ahead, Shrivastava is watching to see whether employers continue moving toward skills-based hiring, which gained traction during the tight labor market of 2022. Zhao echoed that sentiment, adding, I think a lot of people underestimate how broadly applicable their skills might be, especially for an entry-level job. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. May 23Alaska lawmakers devoted much of their attention during the legislative session that ended Tuesday to the budget, education funding and policy and revenue measures. Some other priorities stalled in the final days of the session like public pension and election reforms. But the 33 bills adopted by lawmakers in the 120-day session covered a wide range of topics, including updates to Alaska's insurance laws, establishing Women's History Month and extending certain boards and commissions. Here are three other bills worth noting that passed in the final days of the session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Giving prisoners access to tablets Lawmakers adopted a bill meant to reduce Alaska's recidivism rate, which is the highest in the nation, by giving prisoners access to technology while they are incarcerated. Alaska is one of the only states that does not have an established law giving prisoners access to tablets, which can enable inmates to further their education while they are behind bars, and access other services such as telemedicine. The Alaska Department of Corrections has for several years wanted to give prisoners access to tablets. Previous efforts to pass similar legislation have failed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "One of the main struggles that inmates can face is with accessing education as they are trying to get out of prison," said Sen. Robert Myers, a North Pole Republican. Providing inmates with access to tablets and the rehabilitative services they facilitate, he added, "is a proactive attempt to make our communities safer." "These tablets are not intended to be a luxury for prisoners. They facilitate connection to essential services and resources," Myers said. House Bill 35 passed the House with support from 28 representatives. Twelve House Republicans opposed the bill in its final form. It passed the Senate unanimously. Improving a road into Chugach State Park Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers adopted a bill that will allow Anchorage to make improvements to Upper Canyon Road, which leads to Chugach State Park the most visited park in Alaska. The road provides access to popular trails such as the Flattop Sunny Side Trail and the Rabbit Lake Trail. Currently, Upper Canyon Road jurisdiction is split between the local Anchorage service area and the park, making it difficult to maintain the route, which is often crammed with vehicles belonging to hikers or skiers. The bill would allow the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, which oversees state parks, to convey the land to Anchorage, giving the city the authority it needs to better maintain the road. "It's a wonderful opportunity to build on the resources and assets in the community," said Rep. Ky Holland, an independent lawmaker who represents an Anchorage Hillside district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Julie Coulombe, a Republican who represents another Hillside district, was also in support of the bill. She said roads leading to Chugach State Park trailheads were being "destroyed by a lot of traffic." "This situation is a win-win for the state. The municipality is taking over a section of road and the municipality is wanting to maintain that road," said Coulombe, calling the route in its current condition "super-super dangerous." The bill passed with support from 35 House members and 18 Senate members. Four House Republicans and one Senate Republican voted against it. The bill has been transmitted to Dunleavy, who must sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature by June 7. Putting Mt. Edgecumbe High School on 'a level playing field' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers adopted a bill that would allow Mt. Edgecumbe High School the only educational facility directly owned and operated by the state to directly compete with other school facilities across Alaska for maintenance funding. The state education department every year releases a ranked list of maintenance projects after school districts across Alaska submit their desired projects for review. The list covers schools in urban and rural parts of the state but has historically excluded Mt. Edgecumbe High School, instead relegating responsibility for the school's campus located in Sitka to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, where it competes for funding against roads and bridges. The bill adopted by lawmakers would allow Mt. Edgecumbe High School to be ranked in the list against other schools instead. "A lot of our leaders and future leaders of the state are coming out and have come out of Mt. Edgecumbe, so what we're trying to do here is put Mt. Edgecumbe on a level playing field," said Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman. "So when we at the Finance Table look at infrastructure improvements ... it would make it a fairer process." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Bethel Democrat, said that the transportation department project list which includes a vast array of projects is the wrong mechanism for a school to request funding. "This school doesn't belong on this list. It belongs on the list of the Regional Educational Attendance Areas," said Hoffman. "It's virtually impossible for them to rise to the top of the list of DOT." The bill passed the Senate unanimously and passed the House with support from 34 out of 40 lawmakers. Five House Republicans opposed the change. Alaska lawmakers this year showed renewed interest in funding maintenance of school buildings. But a structural deficit for years has prevented the state from addressing the full list of school maintenance projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year, lawmakers approved $38 million in school maintenance funding, enough to cover the top nine projects on the state's ranked maintenance list. Separately, lawmakers approved $2.7 million to replace dorm windows at Mt. Edgecumbe High School. The governor has yet to comment on the bill adopted by lawmakers, or about whether he will support the school maintenance funding approved by the Legislature this year. Dunleavy has vetoed tens of millions of dollars in school maintenance funding during his tenure, including more than $17 million intended for Mt. Edgecumbe School. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) A local behavioral health specialist is helping women navigate their mental health by explaining a common and relatable symptom of hyperfunctioning depression. Angela Seets, owner of Flowers 2 Life in Shreveport, was invited to speak during Thursdays Caddo Commission meeting to signify May as Mental Health Awareness Month. Seets works with adults and veterans and specializes in treating women of color and those disadvantaged socio-economically. She explains how women often fall into a very active routine where unresolved emotions build up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of times, because we are the matriarch of the family. We are told to suck in our feelings and what we do is we become hyperfunctioning or hyperindependent. Hyperfunctioning is we will go and get ourselves involved our childrens lives, our husbands lives, get degrees, just keep busy, busy, Seets said. Then at nighttime is when we go into our feelings that we dont understand. We withdraw. When you all see us, you see this strong woman. Or you may see, when we say what we mean as this angry black woman. So what I do is I worked with woman to help them understand their emotions. To help them get in touch with their emotions and become intentional and mindful so they can understand what is going on with them but how others perceive them and work on those unresolved issues, Seets said. Through Flowers 2 Life, Seets offers consultations, therapy sessions, and public speaking workshops to help local women recognize these symptoms and improve their mental health and quality of life. She said to visit their website or give them a call to learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. May 24 (UPI) -- A record number of Americans applied to become British citizens during the first three months of this year after Donald Trump re-took office as president, according to official data. The last time American applications for British citizenship spiked was in 2020 during Trump's first presidential term early in the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes as the British government is toughening requirements for legal migrants and extending the wait for newcomers to claim citizenship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Britain's Home Office on Thursday reported 6,618 U.S. citizens applied for British citizenship over the past 12 months through March, the highest annual figure since records began in 2004. That includes 1,931 applications between January and March -- the highest number for any quarter on record. There also is a record number of Americans seeking to live and work indefinitely in the country as a necessary precursor to citizenship. Of the 5,521 settlement applications granted last year, most were for people eligible because of their spouses, parents and other family links. And a substantial portion had originally arrived in Britain on temporary visas for "skilled workers" and want to remain. For the year through March, there were 238,690 applications worldwide, an increase of 22,895 for the same period last year. Some people might qualify "more swiftly" for permanent settlement in Britain depending on the "contribution" they made, Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said in Parliament on May 12. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Trump was elected president again, immigration lawyers told The New York Times they had received an increased number of inquiries from people in the United States about possibly relocating to Britain. "People who were already here may have been thinking, 'I want the option of dual citizenship in the event that I don't want to go back to the U.S,'" Muhunthan Paramesvaran, a senior immigration lawyer at Wilsons Solicitors in London, said. There also have been increased applications from non-U.S. citizens living there seeking to go to Britain. "We've seen increases in inquiries and applications not just for U.S. nationals, but for U.S. residents of other nationalities who are currently in the U.S. but looking at plans to settle in the U.K.," Zeena Luchowa, a partner at Laura Devine Immigration, a law firm that specializes in American migration to Britain, said. "The queries we're seeing are not necessarily about British citizenship - it's more about seeking to relocate." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This comes as British authorities under a Labor government are trying to reduce immigration. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain has to take "back control of our borders" and warned uncontrolled immigration could result in "becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together." British figures show net migration dropped by almost half in 2024 to 431,000 compared with 2023. The British government had extended the qualification period from five years to 10 before they could apply for settlement. Also, the government wants to raise English language requirements across every immigration route. In 2021, nine out of 10 migrants reported speaking English well, according to analysis by the Oxford University Migration Observatory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On May 5, European Union nations announced they would spend $566 million from 2025 to 2027 to attract foreign researchers after the Trump administration cut funding to universities in the United States. Britain left EU in 2020. Under Trump's direction, there will be a "gold card" at a cost of $5 million, as an extension of the EB-5 program that extends green cards to foreign investors and their families. "We're going to be selling a gold card," Trump told reporters on Feb. 5 in the Oval Office, which is adorned by items in gold. The current program grants green cards to immigrants who make a minimum investment of at least $1.050 million or $800,000 in economically distressed areas. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday: "I expect there will be a website up called 'Trump card dot gov' in about a week. The details of that will come soon after, but people can start to register." May 23Highways and airports will be especially busy during this Memorial Day weekend as lower gas prices help fuel the traditional start of the summer travel season. Spokane International Airport expects a record number of travelers this summer, beginning with an 18% jump this weekend. And despite concerns about the rising cost of goods and groceries, cheaper gas might also bump road traffic. Nationally, AAA expects 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home this weekend, an increase of 1.4 million travelers compared to last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The national average for a gallon of gas Friday is $3.19, according to AAA, 40 cents cheaper than a year ago. In Washington the price is $4.40 and in Idaho it is $3.31. Gas is $3.97 in Spokane County. Most highway construction is paused through the weekend to ease congestion, Washington State Department of Transportation said in a news release. All four lanes of Vantage Bridge on Interstate 90 will be open through June 1. Travelers should still expect delays from heavy traffic on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, especially westbound on Monday as vacationers return to the Seattle metro area. WSDOT publishes holiday weekend traffic charts on its website showing the best and worst times to travel on key routes. Spokane Airport said in a news release this summer could be the busiest travel season in its history. On average, more than 8,500 airline seats are scheduled to depart through the airport each day in June and July. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interim Spokane Airports CEO Frank Miller said in a prepared statement that Spokane International is one of the busiest "small-hub airports in the nation," which he attributed to investments from airlines. "This increased capacity means Inland Northwest travelers have more great options to access their favorite destinations, but it also means a significant increase in passengers going through checkpoints during peak travel times, which is why we continue to encourage passengers to arrive early," he said. James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor. Ahead of Memorial Day, Massachusetts Fallen Heroes held its 10th annual rededication ceremony for the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial that stands in the heart of Bostons Seaport District at Memorial Park. This year, one more name was added to the glass panels that display the names of the 332 Massachusetts service members who have died since the Global War on Terrorism. The name belonged to SSG. Jonathan Maine of the U.S. Army, who passed away on June 12, 2024, in Plymouth. The 26-year-old passed away after a battle with cancer, according to his obituary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Names etched here stand for something greater than themselves, an unwavering commitment to duty, to country, and to all the values that we hold dear, said Brigadier General Richard Cipro of the U.S. Army. He was one of many speakers during Saturdays ceremony. It also included a grand display of respect and honor for the fallen military personnel and their family through cannon fire as well as a 21-gun salute provided by the Massachusetts Army National Guard 101st Field Artillery, the landing of a UH60 Black Hawk helicopter, a performance by the 215th Army Band, and a ceremonial wreath laying. I just pray. We pray every day that enough with the wars. Enough. We need to not lose anymore because the pain lasts for a lifetime, explained Shaquella Butler, who lost five family members who served in all branches of the military. Gold Star Families like Butler had the opportunity to place yellow roses at the memorial site to remember loved ones lost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A responsibility we have as American people is to continue to move forward and be there for those families and support them however they need, said Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a retired U.S. Marine who survived the 2021 Abbey Gate suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 13 U.S. service members. I continue to live my life in a way that I think my friends who arent here anymore, my friends who were killed next to me, would want to live their lives if they were still here, Vargas-Andrew added. Saturdays rededication ceremony was the final event of Patriot Week in Boston leading into Memorial Day. Events were held from May 17- May 24 for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice since the September 11th terrorist attacks. To learn more, visit their website here: https://www.massfallenheroes.org/programs/patriot-week/, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WSPA) A registered sex offender was arrested for committing inappropriate actions at an Asheville school, police said. Video above: Resources available to crime victims The Asheville Police Department said they responded to a report near downtown Asheville, around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, regarding a man rubbing himself against a fence at school. Police said the man was standing in plain view and was arrested. He was identified as 43-year-old Lucas Felix Martinez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martinez was confirmed by officers as a registered sex offender, and was within 300 feet of the school when committing the inappropriate actions. He was arrested and charged with felony sex offender unlawfully on premises. Martinez was given a $20,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. TUPELO With Memorial Day days away, veterans and families of those who died in service of the United States say it is important to remember the meaning of the holiday and to honor those who gave their lives protecting the country. Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, was first celebrated in 1868 just a few years after the Civil War. It began as a day for families and friends to decorate the graves of military personnel who died in service. The holiday evolved from there. While it is a wonderful weekend to eat hotdogs and hamburgers, at the end of the day, it is a reminder of the sacrifice and those that gave their life, Lee County Veterans Service Officer Ashleigh Pharr said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pharr, who joined the Air Force in 2011, served on active duty from her recruitment through 2020 at Ramstein, Germany, and two postings in Alaska. Memorial Day stays this solemn occasion, she said. I think of how grateful I am and reflect on those who came before me and made that ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy a wonderful weekend with our families. While Pharr serves primarily living veterans, her office also helps the families of veterans and those who died, traditionally called Gold Star Families. Donna Bagwell is a member of a Gold Star Family. Her son, Lance Cpl. Marc Lucus Tucker, died in Iraq in 2005 while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (Memorial Day) is a day to remember the fallen service members that died serving our country, Bagwell said. I go to the cemetery, spend a little time with Lucas, then go to the Memorial Day program. Bagwell said she understood the confusion some have between Veterans Day and Memorial Day but said they were both important for different reasons. As far as I have been alive, there has been confusion, but I think it is good to keep it separate simply because that is the way it was designated, she said. I was like everybody else. I knew what it was, but it didnt affect me . It was just a holiday. You could go to the lake and cook out or stay home from work. On Memorial Day, Bagwell said, many of Tuckers former brothers-in-arms will message her or call to talk to her. Even after two decades, she said the day is still painful for her and for those who served with him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bagwell added that one of the men who spent time with Tucker as a roommate in Okinawa plans to visit this year. She said she hopes the visit will provide him with some healing. One thing Bagwell said individuals could do this Memorial Day is reach out to a Gold Star Family member. If you know a Gold Star Family, reach out to them, she said. Every day is Memorial Day for us. Ever since veteran Scott Burns left the Marine Corps in 1995, he has made countless efforts to honor fellow veterans and the sacrifices they have made for our country. It's always been important to me, especially on Memorial Day, to honor veterans that are no longer with us and to remember how they have paid the ultimate sacrifice, which makes it possible for us to keep doing what we're doing as a country, Burns said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following an injury that left him a double amputee and no longer able to serve, Burns wanted to give back to veterans and their families. Through his nonprofit organization, 7 Days For The Troops, he has spent almost 19 years addressing the gaps in care and resources that veterans often face. When we started back in 2006, we never planned on it being a 19-year endeavor, but we're glad it has turned out that way, he said. Although Burns was born and raised in Jackson, he moved to Tupelo after he got out of the Marines. He commends Tupelos strong sense of community when it comes to helping others, specifically veterans. I think it's pretty awesome to live in a town where, even though we don't always agree when it comes to politics or how things are being run, when it comes to helping the less fortunate, we're all on the same page," he said. Danielle Del Prado thumbs through bank documents and credit reports that track where her wife allegedly used her Social Security number to open accounts and borrow loans. Like many victims of identity theft, she can only turn to civil court to seek justice, because spousal identity theft is rarely prosecuted. (Amanda Loman/InvestigateWest) This story was originally published by InvestigateWest, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to change-making investigative journalism. Sign up for their Watchdog Weekly newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. A Multnomah County grand jury indicted the wife of a Portland woman on identity theft and forgery charges this month, a reversal after Portland police dropped its investigation last year because of a lack of tangible leads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Laura McCabe faces seven felony charges related to alleged identity theft against her wife, Danielle Del Prado, who told InvestigateWest her story in September after the criminal investigation stalled. At that time, law enforcement and the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office said legal complexities and limited resources were the main barriers to investigating Del Prados case. Pat Dooris, spokesperson for the District Attorneys Office, said collaboration with an Oregon Department of Justice financial crimes investigator was critical to moving the case forward. Del Prado said the investigator contacted her just five days after InvestigateWests story highlighted the barriers victims like her face when seeking prosecution against the spouses they say used their identity fraudulently. I was elated, she said. I said, Finally, somebodys listening. Michael Korcek, the investigator, played a key role in gathering information via subpoenas and bank records, Dooris said. Korcek and a Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment, citing the criminal case. Korcek and Del Prado are listed as the only names on the grand jury witness list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Del Prado said she also turned over hundreds of pages of her financial records, which she had pulled from banks across the country, trying to hunt down every application that used her Social Security number, sometimes with her name and other times with McCabes. McCabe, who now lives in Montana, did not respond to two requests for comment by email. A day after the indictment was filed, she was arrested in Billings and held in the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, jail records showed. She was released after posting bond. Now, Portland authorities are preparing to ask Gov. Tina Kotek to extradite McCabe to Oregon to face the charges. The paperwork is underway, Dooris said. Defendants who face extradition have a right to contest the process, though some waive their right to do so. McCabe has not waived her right, Dooris said. Del Prado said she discovered the identity theft in February 2023, when someone from the fraud department of Gesa Credit Union in Washington left her several frantic voicemails, trying to verify applications for a loan and a line of credit in her name. Del Prado had been abroad and did not apply for the loans, she said. When she started examining her credit report, Del Prado found close to 50 institutions had done hard checks on her credit for dozens of other loans and lines of credit. She had never heard of some of them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By now, Del Prado said she has found unauthorized applications totaling more than $417,000, including $31,350 in loans and lines of credit that were approved. Even as Del Prado compiled her records and communications with McCabe, when she approached police in late 2023 and early 2024, she was told that the couples divorce case, filed last March, was the best place for her to work out her claims. Often, a civil resolution is sought because its challenging to prove there wasnt some kind of verbal agreement and the case may require forensic accountants and more resources than police or the district attorneys office can provide, said Terri Wallo Strauss, Portland police spokesperson. Criminal identity theft cases involving spouses remain rare, according to experts. According to the national Identity Theft Resource Center, an organization that provides resources to prevent and recover from identity theft, just 4% of victims of identity misuse in 2023 named ex-spouses or partners as the offending party. Kevin Demer, senior deputy district attorney in Multnomah County, said through a spokesperson that identity theft is not often charged as a criminal matter between spouses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Del Prado said she pushed for a criminal case because McCabe is suing her for financial support under the affidavit that Del Prado signed to sponsor McCabe for a green card. Del Prado is also suing McCabe for $6.2 million for claims of identity theft, emotional distress and other damages. That lawsuit is ongoing. May 23 (UPI) -- Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado, whose black-and-white photographs documented human suffering and destruction of the Amazon rainforest, died Friday. He was 81. The Instituto Terra, the environmental restoration nonprofit he founded with his wife of six decades, Lelia Wanick Salgado, confirmed his death. "Sebastiao was much more than one of the greatest photographers of our time," Instituto Terra wrote. "His lens revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, the power of transformative action." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The nonprofit didn't say where he died. In 2010, Salgado had developed leukemia due to complications from malaria contracted in Indonesia, his family said in a statement. "I know I won't live much longer," Salgado told the Guardian in an interview last year. "But I don't want to live much longer. I've lived so much and seen so many things." Over five decades, he went to more than 130 countries. Many of his photographs are on his Facebook site. He used expressive lighting for the compositions in displaying human suffering. "Why should the poor world be uglier than the rich world?" he asked last year. "The light here is the same as there. The dignity here is the same as there." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His photographs also showed the destruction of the planet. In 1986, he captured illegal gold miners toiling in the anthill-like Serra Pelada mine in the Amazon. His last book, Amazonia, in 2021, contains more than 200 photographs. Currently on display in Brussels, there are the Amazon's lush landscapes, curving rivers and diverse Indigenous peoples. He spotlighted the wealth of the rainforest as it faces an increased threat of destruction from human activities and the climate crisis. "We are presenting a different Amazonia," Salgado told CNN in 2021. "There are no fires, no destruction -- the Amazonia that must stay there forever. "We cannot build our future -- the future of humanity-based only on technology," Salgado continued. "We must look at our past; we must take into consideration anything that we did in our history. Human beings have a huge opportunity: the prehistory of humanity is in Amazonia now." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salgado helped restore the native Atlantic forest on the family farm in Minas Gerais. In 2021, he told CNN that he and volunteers had planted more than 3 million trees over 22 years there. "We can rebuild the planet that we destroyed, and we must," Salgado said. He was in the process of archiving more than 500,000 photos for sale. "We will keep honoring his legacy, cultivating the land, justice and beauty he so believed was possible to restore," the institute said. Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, observed a minute of silence when he learned of Salgado's death during an event in Brasilia. He said Salgao's work was "a warning for the conscience of all of humanity. Salgado didn't only use his eyes and his camera to portray people: he also used the fullness of his soul and heart." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was born in rural Minas Gerais, Brazil, and studied economics in Sao Paulo. He moved to Paris during the political repression of Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship from 1964-1985. He took up photography in the 1970s. He was named an honorary member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992, and the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. GREENBELT, Md. (DC News Now) A Maryland lawmaker is headed to El Salvador on Friday as the push continues to keep the spotlight on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongly deported by the Trump Administration in March. Were going to El Salvador to make sure you know we keep the spotlight on Kilmar and the need to have him brought back. The Supreme Court and Fourth Circuit of Appeals directed the Trump administration to have him brought back so he can have his day in court, Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Prince Georges County) said. The Trump administration is dragging its feet on that. Were going to make sure we keep the pressure on; we keep the focus on that until he returns. Sen. Van Hollen meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ivey said theyve made the request through the ambassador and other channels to see Abrego Garcia, but he doesnt know if theyll be able to meet him. The key point I think is its not going to happen if were not there to make it happen. So well be heading down, Ivey said. Judges have ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcias return, but so far, the administration hasnt done anything. This should actually go without saying the president isnt above the law, to the extent the courts are telling him to have him brought back so he can have his day in court. They need to comply, and this is schoolhouse rock basic. Separation of powers. Checks and balances. The Supreme Court has the authority to order it, the president needs to comply, Ivey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said this matter is frustrating. The Supreme Court says you need to facilitate his return. The fourth circuit court of appeals; the conservative Reagan appointee was been stronger than that. Basically said bring him back so he can have his day in court and theyre dragging their feet. Making excuses. So, we need to keep pressing them to comply with the court, he said Leaders demand return of Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador DC News Now asked the congressman what he plans to say to Abrego Garcia if he sees him. Im going to talk with the family. Im sure they will have some messages to convey and back and forth. Basically, theyre concerned about his well-being. I want to ensure them were continuing to fight on his behalf to force the trump administration to comply with these court orders, Ivey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. With the recent increase in wildfires and other extreme weather events, many homeowners are finding that their insurance companies are raising rates. Colorado has the fourth-most-expensive insurance rates in the United States, and with more increases on the way, homeowners are left scrambling. What's happening? Due to increasing extreme weather events, particularly wildfires and hail in Colorado, home insurance premiums have steadily increased in recent years. In the Centennial State, insurance rates have risen 76.6% in just the last six years. Advertisement Advertisement According to The Denver Post, an Insurify report estimated Colorado homeowners will see an 11% increase in premiums in 2025, which could increase the average premium cost to over $6,000. Considering that approximately 300,000 homes in the state are at risk from wildfires, it's not surprising that insurance companies find that insuring these homes is riskier. However, the increased rates are making it more challenging for homeowners in Colorado to afford home insurance. Already, about 10% of Colorado homes are uninsured despite the likelihood of damage from wildfires and hail. Why are higher insurance premiums concerning? Higher home insurance premiums will leave more homeowners having to choose whether paying the premium is more affordable than trying to repair damage caused by extreme weather events themselves, which could lead to an increase in uninsured homeowners. Higher premiums could also lead to fewer homeowners, as some may find that weather risks make renting preferable to purchasing a house. Advertisement Advertisement Furthermore, in some regions, insurance companies are pulling out entirely, leaving people without coverage and at risk of financial burden. As more insurance companies become averse to insuring homes in risky areas, more people may begin migrating to states with fewer extreme weather events or cheaper premiums, which could increase home and insurance rates in those states. If we continue to rely on dirty energy, supercharged extreme weather events such as wildfires would likely increase even more as heat-trapping gases continue to accumulate in our atmosphere, worsening the home insurance situation and causing further damage to our communities. This is just one reason why many governments and companies are adopting clean-energy solutions. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What's being done about Colorado insurance premiums? Colorado is trying to lower the cost of insurance via a 1% policy fee. Advertisement Advertisement This fee would fund programs in the state to address risks and damages caused by extreme weather, hopefully keeping insurers from abandoning the state. Though this fee would cause a slight increase in rates, it would be far less than what premiums are now. The Colorado legislature is also working to pass two bills related to home insurance. House Bill 1182 would rein in the use of risk assessment models by insurance companies, while House Bill 1302 would fund reinsurance and grant programs related to keeping homes safe from wildfires and hail. 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. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, speaks alongside Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., left, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., right, during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) President Donald Trumps signature budget legislation would punish 14 states that offer health coverage to people in the U.S. without authorization. The states, most of them Democratic-led, provide insurance to some low-income immigrants often children regardless of their legal status. Advocates argue the policy is both humane and ultimately cost-saving. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the federal legislation, which Republicans have titled the One Big Beautiful Bill, would slash federal Medicaid reimbursements to those states by billions of dollars a year in total unless they roll back the benefits. The bill narrowly passed the House on Thursday and next moves to the Senate. While enacting much of Trumps domestic agenda, including big tax cuts largely benefiting wealthier Americans, the legislation also makes substantial spending cuts to Medicaid that congressional budget scorekeepers say will leave millions of low-income people without health insurance. The cuts, if approved by the Senate, would pose a tricky political and economic hurdle for the states and Washington, D.C., which use their own funds to provide health insurance to some people in the U.S. without authorization. Those states would see their federal reimbursement for people covered under the Affordable Care Acts Medicaid expansion cut by 10 percentage points. The cuts would cost California, the state with the most to lose, as much as $3 billion a year, according to an analysis by KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Together, the 15 affected places cover about 1.9 million immigrants without legal status, according to KFF. The penalty might also apply to other states that cover lawfully residing immigrants, KFF says. Two of the states Utah and Illinois have trigger laws that call for their Medicaid expansions to terminate if the feds reduce their funding match. That means unless those states either repeal their trigger laws or stop covering people without legal immigration status, many more low-income Americans could be left uninsured. The remaining states and Washington, D.C., would have to come up with millions or billions more dollars every year, starting in the 2027 fiscal year, to make up for reductions in their federal Medicaid reimbursements, if they keep covering people in the U.S. without authorization. Behind California, New York stands to lose the most federal funding about $1.6 billion annually, according to KFF. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who chairs the Senate budget committee, said Trumps legislation has sown chaos as state legislators work to pass their own budget by June 15. We need to stand our ground, he said. California has made a decision that we want universal health care and that we are going to ensure that everyone has access to health care, and that were not going to have millions of undocumented people getting their primary care in emergency rooms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement that Trumps bill would devastate health care in his state. Millions will lose coverage, hospitals will close, and safety nets could collapse under the weight, Newsom said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his May 14 budget proposal, Newsom called on lawmakers to cut some benefits for immigrants without legal status, citing ballooning costs in the states Medicaid program. If Congress cuts Medicaid expansion funding, the state would be in no position to backfill, the governor said. Newsom questioned whether Congress has the authority to penalize states for how they spend their own money and said his state would consider challenging the move in court. Utah state Rep. Jim Dunnigan, a Republican who helped spearhead a bill to cover children in his state regardless of their immigration status, said Utah needs to maintain its Medicaid expansion that began in 2020. We cannot afford, monetary-wise or policy-wise, to see our federal expansion funding cut, he said. Dunnigan wouldnt say whether he thinks the state should end its immigrant coverage if the Republican penalty provision becomes law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Utahs program covers about 2,000 children, the maximum allowed under its law. Adult immigrants without legal status are not eligible. Utahs Medicaid expansion covers about 75,000 adults, who must be citizens or lawfully present immigrants. Matt Slonaker, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project, a consumer advocacy organization, said the federal House bill leaves the state in a difficult position. There are no great alternatives, politically, he said. Its a prisoners dilemma a move in either direction does not make much sense. Slonaker said one likely scenario is that state lawmakers eliminate their trigger law then find a way to make up the loss of federal expansion funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Utah has funded its share of the cost of Medicaid expansion with sales and hospital taxes. This is a very hard political decision that Congress would put the state of Utah in, Slonaker said. In Illinois, the GOP penalty would have even larger consequences. Thats because it could lead to 770,000 adults losing the health coverage they gained under the states Medicaid expansion. Stephanie Altman, director of health care justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, a Chicago-based advocacy group, said its possible her Democratic-led state would end its trigger law before allowing its Medicaid expansion to terminate. She said the state might also sidestep the penalty by asking counties to fund coverage for immigrants. It would be a hard situation, obviously, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Altman said the House bill appeared written to penalize Democratic-controlled states because they more commonly provide immigrants coverage without regard for their legal status. She said the provision shows Republicans hostility against immigrants and that they do not want them coming here and receiving public coverage. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said this month that state programs that provide public coverage to people regardless of immigration status serve as an open doormat, inviting more people to cross the border without authorization. He said efforts to end such programs have support in public polling. A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted May 16-18 found that 47% of Americans approve of Trumps immigration policies and 45% disapprove. The poll found that Trumps overall approval rating has sunk 5 percentage points since he returned to office in January, to 42%, with 52% of Americans disapproving of his performance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, enabled states to expand Medicaid to adults with incomes of up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or $21,597 for an individual this year. Forty states and Washington, D.C., expanded, helping reduce the national uninsured rate to a historic low. The federal government now pays 90% of the costs for people added to Medicaid under the Obamacare expansion. In states that cover health care for immigrants in the U.S. without authorization, the Republican bill would reduce the federal governments contribution from 90% to 80% of the cost of coverage for anyone added to Medicaid under the ACA expansion. By law, federal Medicaid funds cannot be used to cover people who are in the country without authorization, except for pregnancy and emergency services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The other states that use their own money to cover people regardless of immigration status are Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, according to KFF. Ryan Long, director of congressional relations at Paragon Health Institute, an influential conservative policy group, said that even if they use their own money for immigrant coverage, states still depend on federal funds to support systems that facilitate enrollment of illegal aliens. Long said the concern that states with trigger laws could see their Medicaid expansion end is a red herring because states have the option to remove their triggers, as Michigan did in 2023. The penalty for covering people in the country without authorization is one of several ways the House bill cuts federal Medicaid spending. The legislation would shift more Medicaid costs to states by requiring them to verify whether adults covered by the program are working. States would also have to recertify Medicaid expansion enrollees eligibility every six months, rather than once a year or less, as most states currently do. The bill would also freeze states practice of taxing hospitals, nursing homes, managed-care plans, and other health care companies to fund their share of Medicaid costs. The Congressional Budget Office said in a May 11 preliminary estimate that, under the House-passed bill, about 8.6 million more people would be without health insurance in 2034. That number will rise to nearly 14 million, the CBO estimates, after the Trump administration finishes new ACA regulations and if the Republican-led Congress, as expected, declines to extend enhanced premium subsidies for commercial insurance plans sold through Obamacare marketplaces. The enhanced subsidies, a priority of former President Joe Biden, eliminated monthly premiums altogether for some people buying Obamacare plans. They are set to expire at the end of the year. 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 at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF. Subscribe to KFF Health News free Morning Briefing. This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. As Republicans peddle propaganda about their purported desire to Make America Healthy Again, theyre pursuing a literally toxic agenda, one thats rolling back anti-pollution measures and putting Americans at risk. For me, this came to mind last week, when the Trump administration announced that it was rolling back guidelines meant to prevent the spread of forever chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and heart disease. This week, Donald Trumps Environmental Protection Agency chief, Lee Zeldin, launched what Id describe as a vocal defense of some forever chemicals, claiming that research is inconclusive and framing the Biden administrations regulations as too onerous for corporations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Fox News, Zeldin said entities that provide water to the masses deserve more flexibility to be able to come into compliance, which sounds like bureaucratic jargon that effectively means companies should have more leeway and not be forced to meet strict standards. As the saying goes, the devil doesnt need an advocate. And I dont think cancer-causing chemicals do either. And keep in mind: This move is coming from the same administration whose health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has spread conspiracy theories about fluoridated water. In addition, House Republicans approved a measure early Thursday that would roll back the Biden administrations guidelines meant to prevent air pollution. The GOP-led Senate approved a similar measure last month, and the House version is headed to Trumps desk to be signed into law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As The Hill reported: The House early Thursday morning voted to eliminate a Biden-era rule that sought to crack down on toxic air pollution, sending the resolution to President Trumps desk. The vote was 216-212, and Trump is expected to sign the measure. The vote took place overnight as the House debated the GOPs megabill of Trumps priorities. The Biden-era policy required polluters that had once been considered major emitters of seven types of pollution to continue to follow strict pollution control and reporting requirements. Senate Republicans also bypassed the filibuster this week in order to kill Californias air pollution standards that regulate vehicles emissions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom hit the nail on the head while vowing to fight the move, saying the GOPs legislation stands to make America smoggy again. The past week has highlighted the ruse undergirding the GOPs Make America Healthy Again rhetoric. As Trump, Kennedy and others in the MAGA movement portray themselves as faithful stewards of Americans health, this administration and its allies in Congress appear to be doing everything in their power to make it easier for dangerous toxins to reach the masses. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Mayor Daniel Lurie said San Francisco has marked a major step forward in the belief that recovery is possible, after he signed new Recovery First legislation on Friday. The bill sponsored by District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey aims to tackle the citys long-standing behavioral health and unhoused crisis. Since day one, our administration has been working to reshape how the city addresses homelessness, mental health, and addiction, said Mayor Lurie in a news release. This ordinance reflects what we would want for our loved ones, if they were, or if they are, struggling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By enacting Recovery First into law, San Francisco is finally aligning our drug policy goal with what any of us would wish for a loved one struggling with addiction a self-directed and healthy life, free from illicit drug use, added Supervisor Dorsey, who has long been outspoken about his own personal drug addiction and recovery. Local advocates are applauding the progress at change. San Franciscos overdose death rates, especially among the citys Black residents, have reached devastating levels, said the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions in a statement to KRON4. This is a crisis that demands more than temporary fixes. It requires a North Star. By prioritizing long-term recovery free of illicit drugs expanding access to treatment, and creating real pathways to sobriety and independence, we can offer people more than survival, we can help them rebuild their lives, said Steve Adami, Executive Director of the Way Out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SF to end free distribution of fentanyl paraphernalia without treatment The ordinance follows other recent action under the $37.5 million-funded Breaking the Cycle plan from Mayor Lurie to tackle issues impacting the city, including the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Researchers from Virginia Tech might have just revolutionized food packaging. The research team, from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Natural Resources and Environment, found a way to strengthen otherwise flimsy biodegradable packaging. This news couldn't come sooner. Plastic packaging (along with most plastic products) can spell bad news for your health. Though the long-term effects haven't yet been studied, the American Lung Association reports a correlation between microplastics and chronic lung disease. These tiny plastic particles come from anything made from the substance, from single-use water bottles to you guessed it plastic packaging. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If plastic packaging is so bad for your health, then why is it so widespread? Haibo Huang, an associate professor at the university, told Virginia Tech News, "Biodegradable packaging materials are gaining interest as alternatives, but they often struggle to match the performance properties of petroleum-based plastic." The only leg up biodegradable packaging has historically had on its plastic counterpart is its environmental benefits. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, plastic waste can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. During that window of time, it sheds microplastics, which hurt animals' health, too. Now, though, biodegradable packaging might just become the new norm. Researchers used low-pressure cycles on cellulose, with resounding success. The packaging's transparency, durability, and gas barriers (which prevent oxygen from spoiling food) were all improved. The researchers are already looking to scale the project. And they're not the only ones interested in more eco-friendly packaging. U.K.-based Notpla is pushing seaweed-based edible packaging as the next big thing. And an Australian company, The Packaging People, sells sustainable packaging solutions to e-commerce businesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Young Kim, Virginia Tech professor and project investigator, put it best. As he told Virginia Tech News, "This is just the beginning." Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Boone Countys first responders met Tuesday to anticipate a disaster in Advance. Advance Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jim Caldwell and his son, Assistant Chief Mike Caldwell, were in the hot seat for most of the hazardous material tabletop exercise in the Lebanon Fire Department. The scenario involved someone driving away from an anhydrous ammonia pump at the Advance Keystone Cooperative branch and pulling the nozzle and hose loose, causing a leak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anhydrous ammonia is caustic and will quickly cause nausea, vomiting, and burns in the mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach. It burns the eyes, but rinsing them with water helps. A daycare and school bus stop sit in the path of the imaginary plume caused by the scenario. The players in a tabletop exercise talk through the sequence of steps theyd take, what help they would need, and what their roles would be. Representatives from the Boone County Health Department and Sheriffs Office, local police and fire agencies, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Salvation Army of Boone County, Keystone, and others participated as part of Boone County Emergency Managements local emergency planning committee. The Advance Fire team would attack the physical cause of the leak to stop it. Although, Keystone Manager Clint Gregg said there are numerous shut-off valves between the large tank and the pump that can sense a surge and stop the flow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire department would spray a water fog into the air. Anhydrous ammonia likes water, the IDEM representative said. It would attach to the water and fall to the ground, likely killing wildlife and perhaps pets, but the water could stop an anhydrous plume. Depending on the severity of the leak and time of day, Witham Hospital could establish a triage area for those who were exposed. Local police may evacuate buildings, neighborhoods, or the town, and close roads to prevent entrance. The Lebanon Fire Department would station a truck and crew in the area to cover fire calls. Media could push correct information about the situation and what citizens should do during the event. Boone County Emergency Management would coordinate all the local and state agencies and gather and disseminate information, EMA Director Mike Martin said. The Salvation Army can activate a canteen to serve food and drinks to victims and rescue workers, if the response is prolonged, chairwoman Kristen Linton said. Tabletop exercises help those responsible for emergency responses anticipate challenges in advance of a real emergency. Lessons learned apply to a wider range of situations than just the one imagined in the scenarios. An anhydrous leak, for instance, could occur anywhere that it is sold or hauled along road and railways. Orangeburg, South Carolina New York native Linwood Riddick could have spent his golden years in Summerville, South Carolina, tickling the ivories or whatever else tickled his fancy. But instead, the 79-year-old retired shop owner has spent the last six years poring over textbooks and dragging himself to class at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, relentless in his pursuit of a college education. "I just stepped on the accelerator and didn't stop," Riddick told CBS News. "I was determined to complete what I started." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To understand why it mattered so, we need to go back to 1968, when protests against segregation were erupting across the country. One of the deadliest protests occurred at South Carolina State University, where three unarmed Black students were shot and killed by police in what became known as the Orangeburg Massacre. The three killed were Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond Jr. and Delano Middleton. Smith and Hammond were students at SCSU, and Middleton was a high school senior whose mother worked at the university. More than two dozen protesters were also wounded. Nine South Carolina Highway patrolmen, all White, were indicted on federal charges in the shooting, but were all acquitted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Linwood Riddick had never heard of the Orangeburg Massacre until a few years ago when he stumbled on a campus memorial. He says he knew right then what he had to do. "I said, you know, I'm coming herebecause I want to put my contributions to their sacrifice,' Riddick said. "And when I get my degree, it's going to be in their name." "In his mind, he was completing their mission," SCSU President Alexander Conyers told CBS News of Riddick. "...He started here in 2019 with zero credits, you know, driving from Summerville every day, which is almost an hour to class and back home." That patience and persistence earned him a bachelor's degree in music industry. And earlier this month, he walked across the stage to a standing ovation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the more important walk was yet to come, one done alone and without any pomp or circumstance to the Orangeburg Massacre memorial. With that, Riddick's mission was complete. And although it started as a symbolic gesture, Conyers says it'll have a very real impact. "Mr. Riddick has brought this back to the forefront for this university, for this community, for this state to remind us of our solemn duty to never forget." Here's how much Qatar's plane gifted to Trump administration will cost to retrofit Biggest takeaways from RFK Jr.'s MAHA report What is Trump's message to the European Union amid new tariff threats PORTALES, N.M. (KRQE) A retrial date has been set for two Portales daycare owners who were charged with a childs hot car death. Mary and Sandi Taylor were initially convicted of reckless child abuse in 2019 after leaving the two children in a hot car for nearly three hours in 2017. As a result, one of those children died, and the other suffered severe brain damage as a result. Rust armorer convicted in cinematographers death released from prison Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Taylors later appealed their conviction and March 2024, the New Mexico Supreme Court ordered a new trial for the pair. The trial is now scheduled for Sept. 30, 2025. Both women are out of custody while they await their retrial. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. USDA approved a demonstration waiver in Iowa to exclude certain foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA) The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved Gov. Kim Reynolds waiver to exclude foods like candy and soft drinks from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Iowa. Anti-hunger advocates were against the waiver and argue it would not help low-income Iowans gain better access to nutritious foods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reynolds, who appeared on Iowa Press Friday, said the demonstration waiver is a really good first step to return SNAP to its original intent of providing nutritious food to low-income families. We are an unhealthy population, Reynolds said. We think this really lines up with the intent of what SNAP was designed for in the beginning, and they can use those dollars to purchase healthy foods and help supplement their family income. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The waiver, which Reynolds submitted in March, excludes any food item eligible for sales tax, as determined by the Iowa Department of Revenue. This includes soft drinks, candy, and sweetened snacks, including granola bars and fruit leathers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The waiver would take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and last for two years. The federal Food and Nutrition Service will work with the state to implement the new definition of eligible food items and then evaluate the demonstration project and its impact on SNAP participants. Nicole McAlexander, vice chair of Iowa Hunger Coalition and executive director of Southeast Linn Community Center, said the waiver will increase stigma and perpetuate misconceptions around SNAP participants. Instead of investing in evidence-based solutions to improve healthy eating, the state of Iowa is choosing to experiment on low-income Iowans grocery carts, McAlexander said. Members of the coalition advocated for increased funding to the Double Up Food Bucks program, which allows SNAP recipients to double their spending on produce, but proposed bills did not advance in Iowas legislative session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luke Elzinga, board chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said the waiver will do nothing to lower the cost of nutritious food for Iowans. Elzinga also questioned how the action fit with Reynolds approved waiver for Iowas summer feeding program, Healthy Kids Iowa. If Gov. Reynolds opposition to participating in Summer EBT was the lack of nutritional focus, Elzinga said. Why didnt she elect to submit a similar restriction waiver for Summer EBT and participate in the program? Iowa Hunger Coalition said Reynolds summer program will assist just 65,000 kids, as opposed to the federal program which would have supported nearly 245,000 Iowa school-aged students in low-income families. Reynolds, when asked about the figure on Iowa Press, said her program allots $40 per eligible student, but families will be able to get more food with their dollars since the program distributes through food banks, versus individual electronic benefit transfer cards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And, again, it restricts it to nutritious food, Reynolds said. Were driving healthy outcomes, healthy behaviors in the state so that we can help families provide the kids nutritious food during the summer. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins signed similar SNAP-related waivers in Nebraska and Indiana this week. She congratulated the states for stepping up and taking action following her requests to innovate at the state level. President Trump has given our nation a once in a generation opportunity to change the health trajectory for our entire country, Rollins said. I look forward to signing even more waivers in the days ahead as we continue to restore the health of America. The waivers follow guidance from the Trump administration to reduce disease trends, including prediabetes trends in children, which were highlighted in the recent Make America Healthy Again report. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) A new Sonic Drive-In opened Friday in Cranston, making it the fast food chains third Rhode Island location. The new Sonic is located on Cranston Street, near the citys police station. ALSO READ: Wallys Wieners opens in Providence At the grand opening ceremony, Mayor Ken Hopkins told 12 News this location is part of a big project to revitalize the area. This was the former Narragansett Brewery property that weve been developing for the last five years, he explained. Now its coming to fruition with Sonic and Seasons Market, and the car wash, well have a new auto tool company opening pretty soon right behind this building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are currently two other Sonic locations in the state: Smithfield and Warwick. RELATED: RIs third Crumbl cookies store opens in Cranston Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. HONOLULU (KHON2) Three California women who were victims of road rage suspect Nathaniel Radimak, who is now in protective custody, expressed their outrage on what they said were failures in the judicial system. On May 22 Radimak made his first appearance in court since an apparent altercation with inmates at Halawa Correctional Facility last week. Wife of Maui doctor withdraws request for restraining order Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had bruises and a bandage above his eye as he pled not guilty to charges of assault and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle after allegedly attacking two women in Kakaako earlier this month. But since his return to Halawa on May 16, sources tell KHON2 he has been placed in protective custody for his safety. Therefore, he is not housed with the rest of the general population of inmates. The three California women say Radimak violated their safety when he attacked them back in 2023. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You I think Mr. Radimak poses a serious danger to the public, said one of his victims, Vivian Romero. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The women and their attorney Gloria Allred said the judicial system failed when he was released on parole, after serving only 10 months of a five-year sentence. Had he served a sentence of five years in California, these new attacks on women might have been prevented, Romero added. I believe these incidents were a foreseeable consequence of a system that repeatedly failed to address his pattern of violence and behavior. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news It is sickening that Nathaniel Radimak, after being released from prison early, has appeared to violate his parole by reportedly reoffending in Hawaii, said another victim Beth Lamprecht. There was every reason to doubt any chance of reform for this repeat offender. His return to violence underscores that he has not been willing to control his actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grecia Palma, a third victim said she was infuriated when she heard he was being released on parole. This is exactly what we feared, I did not believe a short time behind bars was enough and this latest failure highlights how broken and ineffective the system truly is, Palma said. HPD officer-involved collision leaves pedestrian in serious condition All three women said they hope justice will be served in the new criminal case in Hawaii. If he is convicted, were looking forward to seeing him back here in LA County, Allred said. Allred also said Radimak was given credit for 424 days served while he was awaiting sentencing, and 212 days for good behavior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know what he got good time for in LA [jail], Allred said. It doesnt look like he had a good time in Hawaii while in custody. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told KHON2 that Radimak was approved for an interstate transfer to Hawaii on Jan. 31, 2025 due to a change in residency. Lanai residents make hundreds of bouquets for Memorial Day Since his arrival to the Aloha State, one Hawaii woman claims she was nearly assaulted by Radimak at a Honolulu gym when he allegedly threw a punch toward her while she was filming him. She said that incident occurred on April 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The alleged assault on the two Kakaako women occurred two-and-a-half weeks later on May 7. The Hawaii Paroling Authority has issued a no bail warrant for violating parole conditions tied to California. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in an e-mail that Radimak is a CDCR-supervised person currently under the supervision of Hawaii via the Interstate Compact. Interstate Compact offenders are subject to supervision conditions of both the receiving and sending state. Animal resource officers on wild cat chase in Manoa Once Hawaii adjudicates Radimaks criminal charges, California will initiate retaking procedures to bring Radimak back to California so the CDCR can submit a petition to violate Radimaks parole. By law, the department is limited in what it can disclose about supervised persons and is unable to provide specific information on parole conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allred said parolees are told to obey all laws. If he is convicted in Hawaii, Id like to see him be sentenced to the maximum sentence that is possible under the law for which he was convicted there, Allred said. I would like to see him serve his full sentence and then brought back to serve a further term, if it is found, which it will be if he didnt obey all laws and is convicted in Hawaii, serve the remainder of his California sentence here in California. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. New York Times best-selling author Robert Edsel, known for The Monuments Men, joins NewsNation to discuss his new Memorial Day release: Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and A Forever Promise Forged in World War II. The book takes a deep dive into the enduring legacy of the Greatest Generation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. A judge ruled this week that Donald Trumps administration violated his order barring officials from deporting people to third countries by attempting to send a group of Asian immigrants to South Sudan and directed them to maintain custody of the immigrants at a U.S. military base. On Friday night, Trumps Justice Department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a wild new argument as they demanded Judge Brian Murphy either reconsider or pause his orders so they can appeal them. The Trump officials argued that blocking the presidents attempt to deport immigrants to war-torn South Sudan will harm efforts to distribute humanitarian aid in the region. In South Sudan, the orders threaten to derail significant efforts to quietly rebuild a productive working relationship with the government in Juba, Rubio wrote in a declaration filed alongside the Justice Departments motion. He continued: Cooperation between the U.S. and South Sudan is critical, both in terms of removals but also to advance the U.S. governments humanitarian efforts in the country. Without South Sudans cooperation, moving humanitarian relief food, medicine, etc. into the region becomes more difficult. It is almost certain the courts interjection will result in delayed or significantly reduced humanitarian efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a rich argument, considering that the Trump administration has gutted the governments humanitarian efforts, starting with the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The scraps of USAID, Americas foreign aid bureau, have been folded into Rubios State Department. Last month, the nonprofit aid group Save the Children reported that it had closed seven free health facilities in South Sudan as a result of foreign aid cuts. The organization told The Washington Post that the Trump administration had terminated about $13 million in funding for South Sudan. The money had come from the State Department and U.S.-funded United Nations programs. According to Save the Children, five children with cholera and three adults died last month as they attempted to travel three hours in 104-degree weather and with no access to clean water, shade, or medicines to the organizations nearest health facility after the aid cuts forced closures. Several projects relating to South Sudan were included in a recent list of canceled USAID contracts and programs, including a $40 million contract labeled, USAID South Sudan Gender Aware Sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Activity, and a $30 million contract listed as The Resilience through Agriculture in South Sudan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of its campaign to send immigrants to inhumane locations, the Trump administration earlier this week attempted to deport eight men, whom it accused of significant crimes, to South Sudan, one of the worlds most dangerous countries, with little notice. The immigrants are currently being held on a U.S. military base in Djibouti. Murphy, a Massachusetts district judge, found the attempted deportations to South Sudan violated his previous order barring the Trump administration from deporting noncitizens to a country that is not their country of origin without due process, and without giving them a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate they fear being persecuted, tortured, or killed if they are sent there. The Justice Department argued Friday that it had, in fact, complied with the judges order as it moved to carry out the deportations to South Sudan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provided notice shortly before removing these criminal aliens and that notice was meaningful and sufficient to comply with this courts injunction as written, the Justice Department argued. These criminal aliens needed only state that they had a fear of removal to South Sudan to receive the other procedures required by the courts April 18, 2025 injunction. The aliens did not do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE official Garrett Ripa wrote in a declaration, ICE generally provides an alien 24r hours, depending on exigency, following service of the Notice of Removal for the alien to raise a fear of torture if they are removed to the third country or express an intent to file a claim under the Convention Against Torture. The Trump administration previously tried to deport migrant detainees to Libya, another dangerous and war-torn country, before Murphy clarified such a move would violate his order. Rubio wrote in his declaration that the courts orders have interfered with quiet diplomatic efforts and exacerbated internal political and security divisions in Libya. He suggested the orders had played a role in the most serious street fighting in Tripoli since 2022, which forced a postponement in the announcement of a significant commercial deal to expand activities of a U.S. energy company in Libya. He suggested the judge had caused headaches in dealing with officials in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, home to an essential military base for U.S. aircraft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order interrupted the transit process and required that the aircraft and the eight individuals removed, including convicted felons, temporarily remain in Djibouti, Rubio wrote. That action required our government to re-engage the Djiboutians to explain that the mission they had approved had subsequently changed. He then claimed the judges demands have affected counter-terrorism operations and both United States and multinational military movements. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Russian armed forces attacked Odesa Oblast with attack drones on the night of 23-24 May. Source: Odesa Oblast Prosecutor's Office Details: It has been reported that the Russians managed to hit port infrastructure facilities. No injuries were mentioned, and information about the damage was not specified. Background: Explosions rocked Odesa on the night of 23-24 May. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The Ukrainian Air Force reports that the Russians launched 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones against Ukraine on the night of 23-24 May. Source: Air Force Details: The military reports that it shot down six ballistic missiles and 128 drones, while another 117 drones disappeared from radar and were suppressed by electronic warfare. The main focus of the attack was the city of Kyiv, but missiles also hit Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. The Russian attack affected Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Russia launched its largest aerial assault of its three-year war on Ukraine overnight, targeting the capital and other regions with missiles and drones for a second night in a row, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to rebuke the US for its silence. At least 12 people were killed in the attacks across Ukraine, including children, officials said. Dozens more people were injured. Among those killed were three children from the same family in the Zhytomyr region west of Kyiv according to Ukraines internal affairs minister Ihor Klymenko. He said their parents were hospitalized where the mother remains in a serious condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The childrens school expressed its condolences on Facebook. We are in pain. The whole school family We bow our heads in sorrow, it said. Russia has been intensifying its aerial bombardment of Ukraine as international pressure mounts on Putin to accept a ceasefire proposal. Each such terrorist attack by Russia is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia. Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day, Zelensky said in a post on Telegram Sunday morning. The world may go on vacation, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. Americas silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin, he continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later on Sunday, US President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Putin, saying, Were in the middle of talking, and hes shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. Speaking to reporters on his way back to Washington, D.C., Trump said: Hes killing a lot of people, and I dont know what the hell happened to Putin. Ive known him a long time. Always gotten along with him, but hes sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I dont like it at all. But Trump also turned his criticism toward Zelensky, saying in a post on Truth Social that the Ukrainian president was doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I dont like it, and it better stop. Trumps Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, called Russias overnight attacks a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The assault overnight into Sunday came despite the largest prisoner swap of the war taking place, a rare moment of cooperation in a brutal conflict that shows little sign of ending. Ukraines Air Force said 367 aerial attack weapons - 69 missiles and 298 drones - were launched across 22 locations in Ukraine overnight into Sunday. It added 47 of those missiles and 266 drones were intercepted. Russias previous record-breaking aerial attack on Ukraine was just last weekend when Russia launched 273 drones in one night. Firefighters try to put out a fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv on Sunday. - Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP A municipal worker cleans an apartment building in Kyiv that was damaged in a Russian drone strike on Sunday. - Thomas Peter/Reuters A difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night. The most massive Russian air attack in many weeks lasted all night, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on social media platform X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the capital Kyiv, air raid sirens blared for hours and residents were warned to stay in shelters in the early hours of Sunday as officials said the city faced a second night in a row of drone and missiles attacks. Civilian buildings in multiple districts were damaged as Russia mounted an attack using drones and rockets, authorities said. The overnight assault came a day after another wave of Russian attacks, which killed at least 13 people. Prisoner swap Over 600 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners were exchanged Sunday, the final phase of the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange the two sides had agreed to - the only significant outcome of the meeting between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul last week. Russias defense ministry said 303 Russian servicemen were exchanged for the same number of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Videos posted to social media by Zelensky and other officials show the hundreds of released Ukrainian men with shaved heads calling their loved ones on the phone whilst draped in Ukrainian flags. One video posted by the countrys ombudsman shows three men enjoying chocolate. Over 600 prisoners were released on Saturday and almost 800 people were released on Friday during the initial phases of the swap. A Ukrainian serviceman hugs his wife after returning from captivity during a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine Sunday, May 25, 2025 - Efrem Lukatsky/AP Zelensky said Sunday he was grateful to the team that worked around the clock to successfully implement this exchange. The Istanbul meeting was initially proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to a ceasefire-or-sanctions ultimatum given to Moscow by Kyivs European allies which many saw as a clear attempt by the Kremlin leader to distract and delay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kyiv had hoped those talks would alleviate its casualties, but since then Russia has stepped up its bombardment. Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped, Zelensky said on Sunday, calling on the US and Europe to impose fresh sanctions. US President Donald Trump has said he would not join in any new sanctions on Russia because he thought theres a chance of progress, but remarked that could change. He has also pointed to potential economic incentives if the war concludes, but the latest Russian assault will renew the sense among Kyiv and its allies that trade with the US is not high on the list of Putins priorities. Meanwhile, Russia said that it also was attacked by Ukrainian drones on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russias defense ministry said it intercepted or destroyed around 100 attack drones. Most of those destroyed were over Russias central and southern regions, with 13 over the Moscow and Tver regions, the ministry said. The defense ministry a day earlier claimed it had destroyed 94 Ukrainian UAVs over Russian territory, mostly over the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. Some UAVs were also shot down over the Kursk, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Tula regions too, it added. The governor of the Tula region, Dmitry Miliaev, said Saturday three people were injured, including two who were hospitalized. This story has been updated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNNs Kit Maher, Ivana Kottasova, Kathleen Magramo, Victoria Butenko, Ross Adkin, Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Svitlana Vlasova contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Western officials renewed calls for tougher sanctions on Russia after a large-scale missile and drone attack hit Kyiv overnight on May 24, which injured over a dozen civilians and damaged multiple residential buildings. The attack came just hours after the start of the largest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna wrote on X: "Russia's continued aggression has a simple explanation: it hasn't faced enough pressure to stop. The power to change that lies with us." He called for increased military aid, tougher sanctions, and actions targeting Russia's shadow oil fleet and frozen assets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova described the assault as "another horrific missile and drone attack," noting that areas where her colleagues live had been struck. "If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue read the news," she wrote. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack as Russia's "response to international peace efforts," referencing the lack of progress since last week's meeting in Istanbul. "Instead of sending its so-called 'peace memorandum,' Russia sends deadly drones and missiles at civilians," Sybiha said. "There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X. "Residential buildings, cars, businesses have been damaged. Sadly, there are injuries." Ukraine's Air Force said it intercepted six ballistic missiles targeting the capital and shot down 128 of the 250 Shahed-type drones launched nationwide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attack on Kyiv comes just a week after Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for peace talks that ended without a ceasefire agreement. During the May 16 meeting, Moscow demanded Kyiv withdraw from four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed, despite lacking full control over them. Ukrainian officials said the Russian delegation appeared to lack real authority and was unprepared to negotiate substantive terms. One outcome of the talks was a large-scale prisoner exchange, with 1,000 prisoners returning on each side beginning May 23. Ukraine had also proposed an immediate ceasefire and a potential face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin an offer Moscow declined. Read also: Russia hits Kyiv with drones, missiles hours after largest prisoner exchange kicks off Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Russia attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions with drones and missiles overnight on May 25, killing 12 people, including three children, and injuring at least 79, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. Russia launched 69 missiles overnight and 298 drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force. The Air Force reported that 45 cruise missiles were shot down by air defense and 266 drones were neutralized, while 22 locations recorded a direct strike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attacks come one night after one of the heaviest Russian assaults on Kyiv throughout the full-scale war. The attack also coincides with Kyiv Day, a city holiday typically celebrated on the last Sunday in May. Ukraine's Air Force warned late on May 24 that Russia had launched waves of drones towards multiple regions and also issued a ballistic missile warning shortly before midnight. Later in the night, an aerial alert went into effect for all Ukrainian regions, including the country's far-western oblasts. According to Klymenko, Russians attacked the city of Kyiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, Poltava regions. More than 80 residential buildings have been damaged, he said. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack and called on the international community to further pressure Russia for a ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When the entire world calls for an end to the killing, Putin orders even more strikes, attacks, and murders of children. This once again emphasizes the imperative of a full, unconditional, and durable ceasefire for any meaningful peace effort," Sybiha wrote on X. "The world must pressure Russia to accept it and put an end to the killings immediately." Kyiv residents shelter underground in the Metro for the second consecutive night of Russian attacks against the capital. (Kateryna Denisova / The Kyiv Independent) Three children ages 8, 12 and 17 years old were killed in Zhytomyr Oblast, according to the State Emergency Service, while another 12 in the oblast were injured. Klymenko later added that all three children were from the same family, and both parents were hospitalized. The mother is in serious condition, he said. During the attack, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, advised residents to take shelter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The night will not be easy. There is a threat of the enemy using a large number of drones and missiles from strategic aircraft," Tkachenko warned as air defenses actively repelled drones over Kyiv. Debris from a falling drone struck a student dormitory in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, causing a fire, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Four people were injured and received medical treatment on the spot. 0:00 / 1 Another person injured in the Desnianskyi district received medical attention at the scene, Klitschko said, while a second victim in the area was hospitalized. A house in the city's Dniprovskyi district was also damaged. The Kyiv City Military Administration reported that a young woman in the district was injured with a broken leg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A business center was damaged in the Shevchenkivskyi district, according to the administration. The 11 injured victims range in age from 18 to 62, the administration said. A building in Kyiv damaged by a Russian overnight attack on May 25, 2025. (State Emergency Service / Telegram) Outside the capital, four people in Kyiv Oblast were killed in the attacks and 34 more suffered injuries, the Kyiv Oblast Military Administration reported. In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov also reported that drones struck the city's Osnovianskyi, Novobavarskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts. A civilian enterprise in the Osnovianskyi district was damaged while an office building was hit in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Glass shattered in several apartment buildings amid the attacks, Terekhov said. A child was injured by glass fragments and is receiving medical treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of Konotop in Sumy Oblast, said Russia's overnight barrage was "probably the most massive and combined attack on our city since the Second World War." Drones and missiles also hit multiple areas in the city of Chernihiv and the surrounding region, the State Emergency Service reported. Fires broke out at storage facilities and non-residential buildings, including one blaze that covered over 1,000 square meters. Information about casualties and damage is still being investigated. In the southern city of Mykolaiv, one man was killed and five people injured when a drone hit a five-story residential building, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported. A teenager was among the injured victims. In Ternopil, a western city less frequently targeted by Russian attacks, a Kalibr cruise missile struck an industrial facility and caused a fire, according to Governor Viacheslav Nehoda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Casualties and damage were also reported in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Governor Serhii Tiurin said the attacks killed four people in the region and injured five others, in addition to destroying civilian infrastructure. Poland scrambled fighter jets and activated air defenses, as it has previously done to secure its airspace during large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine. The previous night, Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack against Kyiv, injuring at least 15 people. The strikes caused explosions throughout the city and damaged residential buildings. Russia continues to target residential neighborhoods in increasingly deadly aerial assaults while the Kremlin remains openly dismissive of international calls for a ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 0:00 / 1 Read also: Its terrorism Russia launches one of the heaviest strikes on Kyiv during full-scale war Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. May 24 (UPI) -- Russia, using missiles and drones, launched one of the biggest assaults on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, since the beginning of the war more than three years ago and hours after a prisoner exchange began. Russia was retaliating after several days of Ukrainian drone attacks inside its territory, including in Moscow. The first explosions in Kyiv were reported at 10 p.m. Friday, according to the Kviv Independent. Another wave was heard at around 1 a.m. and then, hours later, more missile debris was reported in the Obolonskyi district Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNN reported that 13 people died in the drone and missile attacks -- at least four in the eastern Donetsk region, five in the southern Kherson and Odesa regions, and four in the northern Kharkiv region in the past 24 hours. At least 15 people needed medical attention in Kyiv, including two children, the network reported. Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones, with Ukrainian forces shooting down six missiles and stopping 245 drones before they reached Kyiv. Projectiles also hit the Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted angrily after the attack and posted video with his message on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was a difficult night for all of Ukraine -- 250 strike drones, the absolute majority of them Iranian 'Shaheds,' and 14 ballistic missiles," Zelenskyy wrote. "The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones." Zelensky called for more sanctions on Russia to achieve a cease-fire, including one lasting 30 days. "With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow," Zelensky wrote. "Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times -- both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored. It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire." Amid explosions and loud sirens throughout Kyiv, people took shelter in the city's subway stations as the air raid alert in lasted more than seven hours A five-story building in the Solomianskyi district caught fire, and seven people needed medical attention, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration. "It's terrorism," said Mykyta Kruchan, a 22-year-old business development manager whose parents live in an apartment building in the Obolonskyi district hit by a Russian Shahed-type drone. Their apartment was not damaged, he told the Independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What Ukraine does we shoot their military buildings, military stuff, centers. ... But here, it's not an adequate reply to me. All they do is on purpose." Kruchan, who described himself as once a supporter of President Donald Trump, said the president wants to "team up with terrorists rather than stop them." Olha Chyrukha, a 64-year-old resident of Kyiv, standing outside a damaged apartment building, said: "I wish they'd agree to a cease-fire. To bomb people like this ..." Ukrainian parliament member Kira Rudik told CNN hiding "under the stairs" overnight in Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was terrifying, it felt honestly like armageddon, the explosions were everywhere," she said. Russia's defense ministry claimed 94 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over Russian territory were destroyed, mostly over the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. Also, some UAVs were shot down over the Kursk, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Tula regions. Prisoner swap, cease-fire talks Russia and Ukraine began a one-for-one 1,000 prisoner exchange of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of a deal agreed to in Istanbul, Turkey, this week. In the first swap on Friday, 390 Ukrainians were back home, and on Saturday the Russian defense ministry said 307 prisoners from each country were exchanged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two sides, with help from the United States, have been working toward a permanent cease-fire. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said "one week has passed since the Istanbul meeting, and Russia has yet to send its 'peace memorandum.' Instead, Russia sends deadly drones and missiles at civilians." Ukraine and its allies want an immediate and unconditional cease-fire. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his nation would give Ukraine a draft text stating its conditions for a truce after the prisoner swap is completed. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't show up for a meeting with Zelensky in Turkey. Instead, lower-level officials negotiated. Russian troops have upped the intensity of their Donetsk Oblast offensive in recent weeks, increasingly pressuring a relatively large Ukrainian pocket between some of the last cities in the region. An unsettling situation for Ukrainian troops is now unfolding south of the town of Kostiantynivka, which has long served as a relatively safe logistics hub around the now Russian-occupied Bakhmut. Russian troops have been pushing toward Kostiantynivka from two directions, slowly closing in on the Ukrainian pocket west of Toretsk. Western military experts say that Russia appears to have the resources to keep "creeping" forward, and the question is how much and for how long the Ukrainian forces deployed in the area can hold on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The problem is this large bulge between Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk has been growing relatively fast," Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst at the Finland-based Black Bird Group monitoring the war closely through open sources, told the Kyiv Independent. Read also: Why Washington failed to end the Russo-Ukrainian War "If it grows at this rate, the Russians will be threatening the supply routes into Kostiantynivka in a couple of months already." Concerns rise over the potential Russian encirclement of Ukrainian troops defending the Toretsk and Kostiantynivka area, according to Kastehelmi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia has held the initiative on the battlefield in the Donetsk Oblast since the fall of 2023, after Ukraine's failed summer counteroffensive. The recent Russian push comes as the U.S. continues to insist on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the war at all costs. U.S. President Donald Trump and his team have made numerous threats that Washington could walk away from the peace process if there is no progress made in the near future, putting U.S. military support and intelligence sharing with Ukraine on the line. Emergency service workers extinguish a fire in a residential building after Russian shelling in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Feb. 26, 2025. (Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu via Getty Images) The experts who spoke to the Kyiv Independent said that the current Russian push in Donetsk Oblast is setting the stage for a major upcoming offensive. "I think that this is a development that will continue to be a growing issue for Ukraine during the summer because, as far as I know, the Russians should have relatively large reserves that they can commit to the battle in the coming weeks and months," Kastehelmi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine had largely stabilized the situation on the eastern front earlier this year after Russia ramped up the offensive tempo in the summer of 2024, likely taking advantage of multiple elite Ukrainian units being deployed to Russia's Kursk Oblast for a surprise cross-border incursion. One such unit, the 80th Air Assault Brigade, had manned the defense near Klishchiivka, a village south of Chasiv Yar and north of Toretsk that Ukraine liberated in 2023. "Whilst the offensive is still underway, they're probably building momentum for higher tempo and more intense offensive operations in the coming months." Factors such as Ukraine's manpower shortage and the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian units deployed in the area would dictate how Ukrainian troops will hold onto the pocket south of Kostiantynivka, according to Kastehelmi. The lack of well-trained troops remains the army's weakest spot, with Ukraine struggling to recruit new soldiers and train them to prepare for the brutal reality of the war, experts and officers say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState said in April that Russian troops were preparing to advance in an area southwest of Toretsk by solidifying their presence in the village of Kalynove down south. The question hangs over the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian units deployed in the area, as reinforcing the area with units that aren't battered after fighting in hot spots of the war, such as Kursk Oblast, would be a challenge, according to Kastehelmi. "The Ukrainians need to make some difficult decisions on what directions they can prioritize and what reserves they can commit," the expert said. Ukrainian tank crew members service a captured T-80 tank following battles with Russian forces in Kostiantynivka District, Ukraine, on April 27, 2025. (Jose Colon / Anadolu via Getty Images) Retired Australian Army Major-General Mick Ryan, who has closely observed the war in Ukraine, said that even if Ukraine were to lose the pocket south of Kostiantynivka, he doesn't believe that it would bring "any significant shift in the trajectory of the war at this point." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While it is still "a significant bit of territory," the more pressing concern is for Russia not to gain momentum after potentially conquering it, according to Ryan. "The last thing you want is for the Russians to become more confident and think they can generate additional momentum because they take this area," Ryan told the Kyiv Independent. The Australian expert said that Russia is adapting its tactics on the front line, for example, increasingly using fiber optic and first-person-view (FPV) drones, enabling Russian troops to achieve better results. "Whilst the offensive is still underway, they're probably building momentum for higher tempo and more intense offensive operations in the coming months," Ryan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, the question is whether Ukraine would make the timely decision to withdraw from the pocket, rather than holding onto unfavorable positions at a heavy cost, according to Kastehelmi from the Black Bird Group. Ukrainian soldiers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent often criticized their command to "hold until the end," even if the positions would soon be overrun by Russian troops and the Ukrainians would be left without proper evacuation or orderly withdrawal. "This summer and the next fall will look really difficult," Kastehelmi said. Read also: Its okay, Mom, Im home Ukraine, Russia hold largest prisoner swap of the war Note from the author: This is Asami from the Kyiv Independent. Thank you for reading this story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The challenges are far from over, and the situation on the front lines in Ukraine continues to worsen. But my colleagues and I are working around the clock to bring you the latest updates, whether they're good or bad. Please consider joining the Kyiv Independent community. Your support helps sustain our work. Thank you. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on May 23 that Moscow will convey its peace terms to Kyiv immediately after the completion of the prisoner exchange between the two countries, which is currently ongoing. Speaking to Russian state media, Lavrov disclosed that Moscow is "actively working" on a list of ceasefire conditions for the war in Ukraine. The list will be ready "as soon as the exchange of prisoners of war is completed," Lavrov said. Following tumultuous negotiations in Istanbul on May 16 the first between the two countries since 2022 Ukraine and Russia agreed on a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The exchange process started on May 23 and will continue through May 25. In the initial phase of the process, the two parties swapped 390 prisoners each, and an additional 307 prisoners each on May 24. During the Istanbul talks, Ukraine and Russia also agreed to exchange documents detailing their respective ceasefire conditions. Separately, Russia is preparing a "memorandum regarding a potential future peace treaty," which Russian President Vladimir Putin first mentioned during a recent call with United States President Donald Trump. Kremlin officials have clarified that the memorandum is separate from the list of ceasefire conditions currently under preparation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Moscow's list of conditions have yet to be revealed, Russia has repeatedly reiterated maximalist demands, including that Ukraine accept the loss of Crimea and four eastern regions. Earlier this week, on May 22, Lavrov also said that Moscow is uninterested in a ceasefire in Ukraine, insisting that the "root causes" of the war need to be resolved first. A recent U.S. intelligence report also revealed that Russia is committed to waging war in Ukraine through the end of 2025, and its objectives in the war Ukrainian neutrality and a partition of the Ukrainian state have not changed. These recent developments suggest that Russia is unwilling to negotiate in good faith, despite offering to share a list of ceasefire conditions after the prisoner exchange. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Russia hasnt faced enough pressure Ukrainian, foreign diplomats react to overnight attack on Kyiv Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russia will "in the coming days" send Kyiv its proposals for a memorandum to resolve the war in Ukraine, said Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (the upper chamber of the Russian parliament). Source: RBC (Russian Business Consulting), a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet Details: Kosachev reports that the memorandum is in its final stage of preparation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Kosachev: "Work on the memorandum is underway. Firstly, it is in the final stage. Secondly, I expect that Russias proposals will be sent to the Ukrainian side in the coming days. I have this information." Background: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russias work on a memorandum to end hostilities in Ukraine is at an "advanced stage". Lavrov also noted that there is no deadline for the second round of Russo-Ukrainian negotiations. Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia is ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine which would include a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time. Putin also said that communications have been "resumed" between the negotiating groups that met in Istanbul. On 19 May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv would be waiting for the Russian version of the memorandum. "If Russia proposes a memorandum, we will be able to formulate our vision," Zelenskyy said. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Russia and Ukraine have continued their largest prisoner exchange to date, releasing a further 307 people each, the Russian Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. A total exchange between Moscow and Kiev of 1,000 prisoners each had been agreed upon in the largest such deal to date. "The large-scale exchange initiated by the Russian side is continuing," the Russian Ministry of Defence announced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russia had also released 307 prisoners. The previous day, 390 prisoners were freed on each side. Zelensky said that further releases were expected on Sunday. The Russian soldiers are currently on the territory of Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance, the ministry in Moscow stated. "All Russian military personnel will be brought to the Russian Federation for treatment and rehabilitation," it added. Exchange in several stages Russia and Ukraine had announced several stages of this largest prisoner exchange to date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There is no greater joy," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on the platform X after the first round on Friday. "Such humanitarian confidence-building measures are crucial for our ongoing work to restore peace." According to the responsible coordination staff in Kiev, three women and 387 men were freed from Russian captivity on Friday. The released soldiers had reportedly defended Ukraine in the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv and Kherson. All are being medically examined and receiving physical and psychological assistance. According to the Ministry of Defence in Moscow, 270 prisoners of war and 120 civilians were released from Ukrainian captivity on Friday. Among the civilians were also citizens from areas temporarily controlled by Kiev's troops in the Russian region of Kursk. The exchange was agreed upon last week during talks in Istanbul. It remained the only concrete result of the first direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations since 2022, which had been particularly urged by US President Donald Trump. Injuries after Russian drone attack on Kiev At least 15 people were injured in a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev and surrounding areas, officials said on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The injuries were caused by falling debris from drones that were intercepted and shot down by air defences, according to local authorities. Eight people were initially reported injured. "There were many fires and explosions in the city at night," Zelensky posted on social media. It was a difficult night for Ukraine as a whole, with 250 drone attacks and airstrikes with 14 ballistic missiles, Zelensky added. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko had warned of continued danger as the first wave of drones approached the city. "Stay in shelters!" he urged residents on Telegram. Teymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, reported that debris had caused fires in residential buildings in two districts. Emergency crews were dispatched to the affected sites, he said. Kiev calls for greater international pressure on Moscow Foreign Minister Sybiha posted critical comments on X that Russia had still not delivered the promised "peace memorandum" after the first direct negotiations between Kiev and Moscow since 2022 in Istanbul just over a week ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Instead, Russia is sending deadly drones and missiles at the civilian population," said the minister. "This is Russia's response to international peace efforts and clear proof that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process." Zelensky later urged the United States, European Union and others to step up punitive measures against Russia. In addition to Kiev, the regions of Odessa, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv were among those affected by the Russian attacks. Moscow threatened retaliation after Kiev's drone attacks The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously announced retaliatory strikes in response to what it described as "massive terrorist attacks" by Kiev. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine had launched drones at Moscow and other Russian regions in recent days as part of its defence against the ongoing Russian invasion of its territory. The Russian ministry accused Kiev of attacking civilian infrastructure and civilians with the aim of wrecking the resumed peace negotiation process. Russia and Ukraine continued their largest prisoner exchange to date on Saturday, releasing a further 307 people each, after another heavy wave of Russian attacks overnight. The two sides have agreed to release a total of 1,000 prisoners each this week in the largest swap since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, with the first 390 freed on Friday. "The large-scale exchange initiated by the Russian side is continuing," the ministry announced in Moscow on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Russian soldiers are currently on the territory of Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance, the ministry added. "All Russian military personnel will be brought to the Russian Federation for treatment and rehabilitation." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russia had also released 307 prisoners. He said they included members of the Ukrainian armed forces, border troops and the Ukrainian National Guard. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram: "They all defended our country, endured captivity, but did not break." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photos posted by Zelensky on Telegram showed the freed prisoners, wrapped in Ukrainian flags, crying, hugging each other and their wives, and talking on the phone with relatives. Many look emaciated and have shaven heads. According to Yermak, some had been in Russian captivity since 2022. Zelensky said that further releases were expected on Sunday. The exchange was agreed upon last week during talks in Istanbul. It was the only concrete result of the first direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations since 2022, which had been encouraged by US President Donald Trump. "There is no greater joy," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on the platform X after the first round on Friday. "Such humanitarian confidence-building measures are crucial for our ongoing work to restore peace." Injuries after Russian drone attack on Kiev Despite the exchange, officials in Kiev reported on Saturday that at least 15 people were injured in a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The injuries were caused by falling debris from drones that were intercepted and shot down by air defences, according to local authorities. Eight people were initially reported injured. "There were many fires and explosions in the city at night," Zelensky posted on social media. It was a difficult night for Ukraine as a whole, with 250 drone attacks and airstrikes with 14 ballistic missiles, Zelensky added. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko had warned of continued danger as the first wave of drones approached the city. "Stay in shelters!" he urged residents on Telegram. Teymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, reported that debris had caused fires in residential buildings in two districts. Emergency crews were dispatched to the affected sites, he said. Kiev calls for greater international pressure on Moscow Also on Saturday, Foreign Minister Sybiha argued on X that Russia had still not delivered the promised "peace memorandum" after the Istanbul negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Instead, Russia is sending deadly drones and missiles at the civilian population," said the minister. "This is Russia's response to international peace efforts and clear proof that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process." Zelensky later urged the United States, European Union and others to step up punitive measures against Russia. In addition to Kiev, the regions of Odessa, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv were among those affected by the Russian attacks. Moscow threatened retaliation after Kiev's drone attacks The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously announced retaliatory strikes in response to what it described as "massive terrorist attacks" by Kiev. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine had launched drones at Moscow and other Russian regions in recent days as part of its defence against the ongoing Russian invasion of its territory. The Russian ministry accused Kiev of attacking civilian infrastructure and civilians with the aim of wrecking the resumed peace negotiation process. Russia and Ukraine have swapped 307 more prisoners each as part of the biggest exchange since the war began. Volodymyr Zelensky and Russias defence ministry confirmed the second prisoner exchange, a day after each side released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Among those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said on his official Telegram channel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We expect more to come tomorrow, he added. Russias defence ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details. Images released by Mr Zelenskys office showed freed Ukrainian service personnel arriving in buses at a rendezvous point inside Ukraine, where they hugged each other and draped themselves in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags. At least one of the released servicemen was in tears and was being consoled by a woman in military uniform. People assigned to greet the soldiers handed them mobile phones, so they could call relatives. I cant believe Im home, one man said. A short video released by the Russian defence ministry showed Russian service personnel disembarking from buses and posing with the Russian flag, as well as the flags of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The exchange came hours after Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv that left at least 15 people injured. Overnight, the Kremlins forces attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces had shot down 6 missiles and neutralised 245 drones. 04:47 PM BST The blog is closed Thank you for following our live coverage. The blog is now closed. 03:46 PM BST In pictures: Ukrainian soldies on the frontlines Servicemen of the 33rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops - REUTERS/Ivan Anatolii Stepanov A serviceman of 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces loads ammunition into a howitzer - Anatolii Lysianskyi/Press Service of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces 03:17 PM BST Crimea schools renamed to glorify Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine A large-scale project is under way in Russian-occupied Crimea to rename schools in honour of Russian heroes who have fought in the war against Ukraine. Local activists said that over 200 schools in Crimea have been renamed, according to a report by Krym.Realii (Crimea.Realities). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Russian occupation authorities in Simferopol, Sudak, Dzhankoi, Kirovskyi, Rozdolne and Chornomorskyi districts are the most actively involved, an anonymous source said. In Simferopol, the Russian-installed city council decided to rename 27 schools, they added. For example, school number 38 was renamed in honour of Vladislav Dorokhin, a so-called hero of the special military operation. Memorial plaques, memory corners, historical displays and museums are being established in schools, and patriotic clubs are being organised. The activist said that Russian authorities aim to expand the project to more schools 02:43 PM BST German defence minister does not rule out return of military draft Germany may consider reintroducing military conscription from as soon as next year if it does not attract enough volunteers for its armed forces, defence minister Boris Pistorius told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of the Nato alliance, Germany is looking to enhance its military strength following Russias invasion of Ukraine, but looks likely to fail to attract enough recruits. An additional 100,000 soldiers are needed in the coming years to meet Nato obligations, its armed forces have said. Its Conservatives, which lead a coalition in which Pistorius Social Democrats are junior partners, have revved up military spending and signalled openness to a compulsory service in the armed forces, which was abandoned in 2011. Our model is initially based on voluntary participation, Mr Pistorius said in an interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the time comes when we have more capacity available than voluntary registrations, then we may decide to make it mandatory, he added. A new bill to that extent could come into force as soon as January 1, 2026, he said. 02:26 PM BST Watch: Russian civilian prisoners released by Ukraine 02:16 PM BST Russia to send Ukraine ceasefire memorandum in the coming days Russia will send Kyiv its proposals for a memorandum to resolve the war in Ukraine in the coming days, according to Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council. Work on the memorandum is underway, said Kosachev, according to the RBC, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet. Firstly, it is in the final stage. Secondly, I expect that Russias proposals will be sent to the Ukrainian side in the coming days. I have this information. 01:26 PM BST Watch: Ukrainian prisoners of war chanting after release 01:13 PM BST In pictures: Russian POWs freed in exchange Russian servicemen pose after returning from captivity after an exchange between Russia and Ukraine - Russian Defense Ministry press servic Russian servicemen are placed on a bus after returning from captivity - Russian Defense Ministry press service Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 12:53 PM BST Russia executed Ukrainian prisoners more than 150 times Russian troops have executed Ukrainian prisoners more than 150 times, Kyivs military intelligence agency said on Saturday. The agency reported multiple instances in which Russian troops received direct orders to kill prisoners of war, and said there had been a sharp rise in executions since 2024. According to intelligence officials, these acts are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate and systematic policy of the Russian leadership. In March, the United Nations also reported increasing numbers of cases in which Russian forces deliberately killed or maimed Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered or attempted to surrender. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agencys statement came hours after Russia and Ukraine completed the first stage of a prisoner exchange which, if completed, would be the biggest swap since the start of the conflict. Both sides received 390 people in the first stage and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total over the coming days. 12:07 PM BST Zelenksy says another 307 Ukrainians returned in prisoner swap Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that another 307 prisoners of war have been returned to Ukraine. Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home, Mr Zelensky wrote on social media. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Turkiye. In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine, he added. 11:51 AM BST ICYMI: Putin forced to slash budgets after oil price fall 11:42 AM BST EU weighs cutting 20 banks from SWIFT in new Russia sanctions The European Union is considering cutting over 20 banks from SWIFT, the international payment system, lowering the Russian oil price cap, and banning Nord Stream pipelines in a new sanctions package to pressure Moscow to end the war, Bloomberg has reported. The EU is also weighing additional transaction bans on about two dozen banks and some 2.5 billion ($2.84 billion) worth of fresh trade restrictions. The European Commission is consulting member states over the plans, according to people familiar with the matter. EU sanctions require the backing of all member states. 11:35 AM BST Russia says it has swapped 307 prisoners of war with Ukraine Russia and Ukraine have swapped 307 prisoners of war with each other, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another 307 members of the Russian military were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, 307 Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred over, the ministry said in a statement. The exchange will continue, the ministry added. 11:04 AM BST Zelenksy describes difficult night for all of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has described a difficult night for all of Ukraine after Russia launched a massive overnight attack involving 250 strike drones and 14 ballistic missiles. The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones, the Ukrainian president said. Fragments of Russian missiles and drones are being cleared in Kyiv. Rescue and emergency operations are ongoing at the sites of strikes and debris impacts wherever they are needed. There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight. Once again, residential buildings, pic.twitter.com/F3szA4gCJz Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) May 24, 2025 10:34 AM BST Russia says its forces capture three more settlements in east Ukraine Russian troops have captured the settlements of Stupochki, Otradne and Loknia in Ukraines Donetsk and Sumy regions, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday. The reports could not be immediately verified. 10:33 AM BST In pictures: Russia launches massive attack on Kyiv An explosion following Russias drone strike on Kyiv - REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Emergency workers at the site of a residential building damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv - AP Photo/Alex Babenko A resident handles drone debris inside her damaged flat in a five-storey residential building struck by a drone in Kyiv - SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 10:18 AM BST Russia attacks port infrastructure in Odesa Russia attacked the port infrastructure of Odesa last night, the Odesa Oblast prosecutors office said, and an investigation has been launched. Under the procedural guidance of the Odesa regional prosecutors office, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the fact of committing war crimes, the office said. 10:08 AM BST Zelensky urges more sanctions on Russia after overnight attack Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that new international sanctions were needed to force Russia to agree a ceasefire, after Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv overnight injured 15 people. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire, he wrote on X, adding that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow. 10:08 AM BST Watch: Explosions rock Kyiv as Russia launches air attack 10:03 AM BST Overnight attack came hours after major prisoner exchange The overnight attack on Kyiv came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians, the first phase of a swap agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week. Volodymyr Zelensky said the first phase of the deal brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend, which will make it the largest swap of the war. Russias defence ministry said it received the same number of people from Ukraine. The swap took place at the border with Belarus, in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official. The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian defence ministry said. 09:53 AM BST Ukraine says 15 people hurt in massive Russian attack on capital Russia launched dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight in one of the biggest combined aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital of the three-year war, damaging several apartment buildings and injuring 15 people. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post it had been a tough night for Ukraine, and called for new international sanctions to pressure Moscow into agreeing to a ceasefire. The Kyiv city military administration and the police reported damage in six districts of the Ukrainian capital, and a total so far of 15 people wounded. Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down 6 missiles and neutralised 245 drones 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare. 09:51 AM BST Good morning Welcome to our coverage of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. 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. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has condemned Russias attack on Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, stressing the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. Source: Sybiha on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: He noted that a week after the meeting of Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul, Russia has not sent its "peace memorandum". Instead, he said, it "sends deadly drones and missiles at civilians". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is Russias response to international peace efforts and a clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process," Sybiha said. Background: Ukraines Air Force reported that on the night of 23-24 May, Russian forces launched 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones on Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna responded to the large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv, stating that Russias ongoing aggression has a simple explanation: "it hasnt faced enough pressure to stop". Katarina Mathernova, EU Ambassador to Ukraine, advised those doubting Russias intentions to follow the news. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A Russian factory in Lipetsk Oblast making missile parts and a chemical plant in Tula Oblast were targeted by drones overnight on May 24, independent news channel Astra reported. The Energia facility, which lies in the Lipetsk Oblast city of Yelets, was attacked for the second night in a row, with residents reporting at least five explosions overnight, Astra reported. Governor Igor Artamonov confirmed that drone wreckage fell in the city's industrial district, adding there were no casualties. The extent of damage to the plant is not immediately clear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city of Yelets lies some 250 kilometers (150 miles) north of the Russia-Ukraine border. The Ukrainian military confirmed an earlier attack against the sanctioned facility on May 23, noting that the plant is Russia's "only manufacturer of batteries for glide and correction modules installed on aircraft bombs," and also produces parts for ballistic and cruise missiles. In Tula Oblast, the Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk came under a drone strike, starting a fire, Astra reported. The channel shared footage of what appears to be smoke rising from the targeted facility. The Azot company specializes in the production of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers, as well as organic plastics, resins, chlorine, nitric acid, and more, according to open sources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dmitry Milyaev, the governor of Tula Oblast, confirmed an overnight drone attack, saying that a fire at a gas pipeline in Novomoskovsk was extinguished and three people were injured. The city lies some 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of the Russia-Ukraine border. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces had downed 104 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 74 in Belgorod Oblast, 24 in Bryansk Oblast, two in Lipetsk Oblast, and one in Tula Oblast. Ukraine has not commented on the claims, which could not be independently verified. Ukrainian forces regularly launch long-range drone strikes against Russia's military and industrial targets in the rear, aiming to undermine its ability to wage its all-out war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Russia hits Kyiv with drones, missiles hours after largest prisoner exchange kicks off Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has posted photos showing the aftermath of a Russian combined attack on the city of Kyiv on the morning of 24 May. Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine Details: Kyiv came under another Russian attack involving UAVs and ballistic missiles on the night of 23-24 May. The emergency services are dealing with the aftermath at several locations across the city. A fire broke out in apartments on the third and fourth floors of a five-storey residential building in the Solomianskyi district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire was extinguished with the help of 30 firefighters and eight fire appliances. A man was saved using an emergency escape smoke hood and handed over to medics. Early reports indicate that he was suffering from smoke inhalation. A fire occurred on balconies of a nine-storey building on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors in the Obolonskyi district. Rescue workers brought three people out into the fresh air and four more sought medical treatment. Early reports indicate that they have suffered an acute stress reaction. The fire was extinguished. A fire broke out in a one-storey non-residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district used for storing paint and varnish materials due to the Russian attack. Work is ongoing. Rescue workers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine The scene of the attack Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine Rescue worker Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine Firefighter extinguishing fire Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine "Information on possible casualties is being confirmed," the State Emergency Service added. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! An air-raid warning was issued in Kyiv on the evening of 23 May due to the threat of Russian attack UAVs and later ballistic missiles. Civilians have been injured in both Kyiv Oblast and the capital. Source: Kyiv City Military Administration; Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko; Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces; Kyiv Oblast Military Administration; Tymur Tkachenko, Head of Kyiv City Military Administration Details: An air-raid warning was issued in the capital at around 22:00. The Air Force reported that attack UAVs had been recorded in the south of the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Klitschko wrote that the air defence forces had been responding in the city. Kyiv City Military Administration reported that four cars and the windows of a building had been damaged by fallen debris in the Holosiivskyi district. There were no casualties. Update: Later, Kyiv Oblast Military Administration reported that a 54-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman had been injured in a Russian UAV strike on the Brovary district. Both of them have suffered shrapnel wounds to the thigh. A house and a car were also damaged. After midnight on 23 May, Klitschko reported that 20 Russian UAVs were moving towards Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Klitschko: "Over 20 enemy UAVs are flying towards Kyiv from three different directions. The Brovary, Vyshhorod and Boryspil districts." Details: At 00:41, Klitschko reported that air defence forces had been responding in Kyiv. At 01:02, air defence forces were reported to be responding in Kyiv Oblast. Klitschko also reported that the Russians had launched a combined attack on Kyiv and its oblast. The Air Force said that ballistic missiles were moving towards Kyiv. Quote from Klitschko: "Explosions in the city. The air defence forces are responding. The city and oblast are under a combined enemy attack!" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Tkachenko reported that debris from downed Russian drones had fallen in the Shevchenkivskyi and Svyatoshynskyi districts. Klitschko added that medics had been called to the Svyatoshynskyi district. Later, Tkachenko wrote that debris from a missile had fallen in the Obolonskyi district. Fires broke out in two buildings in the Sviatoshynskyi district and debris fell at another address. Tkachenko also stated that debris from a fallen drone in the Solomianskyi district had hit a residential building. Klitschko reported that two people had suffered injuries in the Dniprovskyi district of the capital. Both of them received medical treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Klitschko: "Early reports indicate that drone debris fell on the top floor of a residential building in the capitals Solomianskyi district. Emergency services are on their way to the scene." Quote from Tkachenko: "Fires have been reported on the ground and top floors of a residential building in the Dniprovskyi district." Details: Later, Klitschko reported that an apartment in a residential building had been on fire in the Solomianskyi district and so was a non-residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district. Tkachenko wrote that two people had been injured in the Dniprovskyi district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After 02:00 explosions rocked Kyiv once again and Klitschko reported that air defence forces were responding in the Obolonskyi district. Tkachenko reported that four civilians had suffered injuries and an acute stress reaction in the Solomianskyi district. Quote from Klitschko: "As of now, six people have been injured in the capital. Two were hospitalised in the Dniprovskyi district. Four more received medical treatment in the Sviatoshynskyi district." "Debris fell in the Obolonskyi district. The number of those injured in the enemy attack has grown to eight people. Two were hospitalised. The others received medical treatment at the scenes." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Debris also fell in the Shevchenkivskyi district of the capital." "Debris fell on a shopping centre in the Obolonskyi district and on a residential building." Updated: The all-clear was given in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast after 05:00 on 24 May. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts, has reported that Russian forces have managed to gain a foothold in Sumy Oblast along the Veselivka-Zhuravka-Novenke-Basivka section. On its interactive map of hostilities, DeepState has marked this area as occupied, rather than designating it a "grey zone". Source: DeepState Quote: "For a long time, Sumy Oblast could have been perceived as a grey zone, because fighters from the defence forces tried and are trying to restrain the enemy by carrying out drone strikes on their movements and attempts to build up. In this area, the katsaps [Russians ed.] use infantry and engage ATVs to quickly reach the targeted point of attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, it is worth noting that they have managed to gain a foothold along the Veselivka-Zhuravka-Novenke-Basivka section and are continuing to make attempts to enter Bilovody; the situation in Loknia is also challenging. Our units are actively targeting katsaps in these settlements. Recently, for example, enemy infantry that ran into houses in Bilovody were killed by drones operated by the State Border Guard Service." Details: DeepState noted that Ukraines defence forces have managed to stabilise the sharp advance of Russian troops deep into Sumy Oblast. Meanwhile, "crews [from the defence forces ed.] are taking out infantry day and night they swarm like locusts, attempting, despite suffering heavy losses, to capture more ground. After being pushed out of Kursk Oblast, their aim was to establish a buffer zone in Sumy Oblast, a move that is quite logical and expected under the circumstances". DeepState also reported on Saturday 24 May that the Russians had advanced near the settlements of Odradne, Troitske, Novenke, Basivka and Zhuravka. Effective 24 May, part of the territory in Sumy Oblast near the settlements of Veselivka, Zhuravka, Novenke and Basivka has been designated as occupied by Russian forces. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Russian forces have upgraded their Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Source: Yurii Ihnat, Head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, speaking on the national joint 24/7 newscast Details: Ihnat explained that the missiles now deploy radar traps, reducing the effectiveness of Patriot air defence systems. Quote from Ihnat: "Missiles attacking along a ballistic trajectory, such as the Iskander-M, have been improved and upgraded. They now deploy radar traps. These quasi-ballistic missiles follow a complex trajectory, manoeuvring during flight rather than following a straight path and falling. This makes it harder for the Patriot system, designed to intercept ballistic missiles, to calculate the point of interception." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: On the night of 23-24 May, Russian forces launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones on Ukraine. Six ballistic missiles and 128 drones were shot down, while 117 drones disappeared from radar or were suppressed by electronic warfare. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of Rust who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, has been released from prison. In April 2024, Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months for the involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust in October 2021. A jury determined that Gutierrez-Reed recklessly handled ammunition on set, leading to the accidental death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New Mexico Department of Corrections confirmed Gutierrez was released on Friday and is serving her probation in Arizona. Gutierrez-Reed also is being supervised under terms of probation after pleading guilty to a separate charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a licensed liquor establishment. Baldwin, the lead actor and coproducer for Rust, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed has an appeal of the conviction pending in a higher court. Jurors acquitted her of allegations she tampered with evidence in the Rust investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols. Gutierrez-Reed carried a gun into a downtown Santa Fe bar where firearms are prohibited weeks before Rust began filming. The terms of parole include mental health assessments and a prohibition on firearms ownership and possession. An involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin was dismissed at trial last year on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense. The filming of Rust was completed in Montana. The Western was released in theaters this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The film armorer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" has been released from prison. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for firearms used on set when a prop revolver actor Alec Baldwin was holding fired a live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021. Gutierrez-Reed was released Friday morning, a New Mexico Corrections Department spokesperson said. She was released in Arizona, to a region near the Nevada and California borders, with dual supervision under probation and parole authorities to take place concurrently, spokesperson Brittany Roembach said. She will be on parole in the manslaughter case for a year, the spokersperson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A separate and previous case in which Gutierrez-Reed was accused of unlawfully carrying a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment has resulted in 18 months of probation, Roembach said. In March 2024, a New Mexico jury found Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of tampering with evidence. She was 26 at the time. The following month, Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 18 months in prison. She was held at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, New Mexico. Because of state credit for time served, women in state prisons in New Mexico generally serve a little less than 60% of their sentences on average, according to the state's sentencing commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Gutierrez-Reed was required to serve at least 85% of her sentence, Roembach said. In New Mexico, those convicted of a "serious violent offense" have this requirement. Involuntary manslaughter is not considered a serious violent offense in all cases, but some, like the armorer's, have drawn that 85% threshold based on circumstances. Elements that trimmed Gutierrez-Reed's time included four days credit each month for good behavior; 60 days credit for completing two phases of a residential addiction program; and 40 days of pre-sentence credit, the corrections spokesperson said. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed stands by her defense team during her involuntary manslaughter trial, at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., on March 5, 2024. (Jim Weber / Pool/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP file) Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for the Western at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, when the prop gun fired. The armorer pleaded not guilty and fought the case in court, sometimes through tears as special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey told the jury that Gutierrez-Reed was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Rust" director Joel Souza, who was also injured during the incident, said Gutierrez-Reed presided over a number of "failures" with the handling and storage of firearms and blanks on set. She is the daughter of Hollywood armorer Thell Reed. The movie was released earlier this month, more than years after the fatal shooting, which stopped production. The Western drama stars and was produced by Baldwin. New Mexico prosecutors twice charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter. The first time, the charges were dropped in April 2023. The second time, a judge dismissed the case with prejudice, saying prosecutors hid evidence that may have been linked to the shooting. Baldwin, who had pleaded not guilty, cried in court when the dismissal was announced. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Rust film armorer was released from prison on Friday, May 23 She served the maximum 18-month prison sentence for committing involuntary manslaughter She additionally faced another firearm charge after she brought a gun to a bar in New Mexico in 2021 Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film armorer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting on the set of Rust, was released from prison on Friday, May 23. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in March 2024. She was acquitted of an additional charge of tampering with evidence. She was responsible for weapons and firearms used on the Western film set, when a loaded prop revolver was supplied to Alec Baldwin, resulting in the shooting death of Hutchins in 2021. Baldwin's case was dismissed in July 2024. A spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Corrections confirmed she was released in Arizona to a region near the Nevada and California borders, per NBC News. PEOPLE reached out to the NMDC for further comment but did not immediately hear back. In 2023, a grand jury indicted Gutierrez-Reed on a felony charge of bringing a firearm into a New Mexico bar on Oct. 1, 2021. This conviction resulted in 18 months of probation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She served 18 months in prison for the involuntary manslaughter conviction in the Rust shooting following her 2024 sentencing. Gutierrez-Reed was held at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, N.M. Gutierrez-Reed was released under the condition of dual supervision under probation and parole authorities to take place concurrently, spokesperson Brittany Roembach told the outlet. She will be on parole in the manslaughter case for a year, through May 23, 2026. RAMSAY DE GIVE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Alec Baldwin attends his trial for involuntary manslaughter in in Santa Fe County District Court, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alec Baldwin attends his trial for involuntary manslaughter in in Santa Fe County District Court, Santa Fe, New Mexico, She is required to follow the conditions set forth by the board, some of which include electric monitoring, following a curfew, and either getting a job or enrolling in school, per her certificate obtained by CBS News. Gutierrez-Reed received the maximum sentence for her role in Hutchins' death, during which Baldwin fired five rounds from a loaded prop gun that would kill her and injure director Joel Souza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January 2023 ahead of her trial, her defense attorneys Jason Bowles and Todd J. Bullion said in a statement, "Hannah is, and has always been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident. But she did not commit involuntary manslaughter." 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. "These charges are the result of a very flawed investigation, and an inaccurate understanding of the full facts," they added. "We intend to bring the full truth to light and believe Hannah will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury." Reed has yet to comment on her release. Read the original article on People Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film armorer convicted of manslaughter in the Rust shooting, was released on parole Friday after serving 14 months in prison. Gutierrez Reed, 28, served her sentence at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility. She was released Friday morning and ordered to go to Bullhead City, Ariz., where she lives. Her attorney, Jason Bowles, declined to comment on the release out of respect for her privacy. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gutierrez Reed was found to have acted with criminal negligence when she loaded a live bullet into Alec Baldwins gun on the Western set near Santa Fe, N.M., in October 2021. Baldwin was holding the gun when it fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin who denied pulling the trigger was also put on trial for involuntary manslaughter last July, but the case was dismissed after the judge learned that prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense. The Santa Fe district attorney abandoned an appeal of that ruling in December, after the state attorney general declined to pursue it. Gutierrez Reed was convicted at a trial in February and March 2024. Prosecutors alleged that the shooting was part of a pattern of sloppy and unprofessional behavior, including allowing actors to wave guns around and failing to maintain muzzle discipline. The defense argued that Gutierrez Reed could not have anticipated that a box of inert dummy rounds had been contaminated with a handful of similar-looking live bullets. The defense also alleged that the production was to blame for cutting corners and for requiring her to do the job of two people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dummy rounds typically contain a few BBs that rattle when shaken. Prosecutors argued that had she shaken all of the rounds before loading them into Baldwins gun, she would have discovered that one did not rattle. The prosecution also alleged that Gutierrez Reed was responsible for bringing the live rounds on set, though the source of the rounds was heavily disputed. Gutierrez Reed was sentenced in April 2024 to 18 months in prison, the maximum term for involuntary manslaughter. Until her parole expires next year, she is barred from buying, selling or possessing firearms. She is also ordered to undergo a mental health assessment and to obtain work or enroll in school within 45 days. Her case remains on appeal, as the defense alleged numerous errors by the trial judge. She separately pleaded guilty to a charge of bringing a gun into a bar, which did not add to her prison time. Several civil cases also remain pending. David Halls, the first assistant director who was responsible for set safety, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent handling of a firearm. He was given six months of unsupervised probation and no prison time. He has since retired from the industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rust was completed in Montana more than a year after the shooting. It was given a limited release on May 2, grossing just $25,000 in 115 theaters. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer who was working on the Western movie "Rust" when the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was killed in an on-set shooting in 2021, was released from prison Friday, 13 months after her involuntary manslaughter conviction, New Mexico officials said. In March 2024, Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins' death, and sentenced to 18 months in prison the following month. At the time, she was acquitted of a second charge of evidence tampering. The Parole Board of the State of New Mexico granted Gutierrez-Reed parole Friday, according to a parole certificate provided to CBS News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That parole runs through May 23, 2026. Her certificate said she is required to follow the conditions set forth by the board, some of which include electric monitoring, following a curfew, and either getting a job or enrolling in school. Gutierrez-Reed was paroled to Arizona and ordered to report there immediately, according to the certificate. She received the maximum penalty for her part in the October 2021 tragedy when actor Alec Baldwin discharged live rounds from a prop gun on the movie set during a rehearsal, killing Hutchins and wounding the film's director, Joel Souza, a tragedy which shook the Hollywood community. Several experts said the death of Hutchins, who had a young son, was entirely preventable. Prosecutors cited Gutierrez-Reed's lack of contrition during the trial as one reason to impose the maximum sentence. During her sentencing, she said she was "young and naive" when she started working on "Rust." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Your honor, when I took on 'Rust,' I was young and naive. But I took my job as seriously as I knew how to," Gutierrez-Reed told the judge. "I beg you, please, don't give me more time. The jury has found me in part at fault for this horrible tragedy, but that doesn't make me a monster. That makes me human." Baldwin went to trial in July 2024 on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the deadly shooting. But in a remarkable series of events during trial, the judge dismissed the case with prejudice after the defense team accused prosecutors of withholding evidence. Here's how much Qatar's plane gifted to Trump administration will cost to retrofit Biggest takeaways from RFK Jr.'s MAHA report What is Trump's message to the European Union amid new tariff threats "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has been released from prison. Hannah was serving 18 months after being convicted by a New Mexico jury ... and the state's Department of Corrections tells us she was let out of prison on Friday morning. Santa Fe Sheriffs office Authorities tell TMZ ... HGR will be on parole for one year as part of her "Rust" sentence and she has 18 months of probation on a separate firearms charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We're told she had her sentence reduced due to good behavior in the can ... and she also used her time behind bars to complete a drug treatment program. She went to prison in March last year. Hannah, we're told, will serve her parole in Bullhead, Arizona ... and the conditions of her release call for her to take a mental health assessment and comply with all resulting recommendations and treatment. We're told she is NOT allowed to contact Halyna's family and she can NOT have any weapons. 'Rust' Armorer Says She Just 'F****d Up' Whole Career Minutes After Shooting As you know ... "Rust" star Alec Baldwin shot and killed Halyna on the movie set in October 2021 ... and Hannah was ultimately found guilty of involuntary manslaughter because a jury determined she recklessly handled the ammunition on set. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alec was also charged with involuntary manslaughter in Halyna's death ... but he was ultimately acquitted. TMZ HGR was the first person to stand trial for Halyna's death and she's the only one to serve prison time. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed - Credit: Getty Images The armorer on Rust was released from a New Mexico prison Friday after serving 15 months on charges in connection to the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Prison records show Hannah Gutierrez-Reed left the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility following the year-and-a-half-long sentence for her conviction for involuntary manslaughter following Hutchins death in October 2021. More from Rolling Stone Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a 10-day trial in March 2024, it took the jury just over two hours to return the guilty verdict, though they did acquit Gutierrez-Reed on a separate charge of tampering with evidence. The jurors who convicted Gutierrez-Reed found that she negligently loaded the live bullet into the old-fashioned Pietta revolver that actor Alec Baldwin discharged during a rehearsal inside a wooden church on October 21, 2021. Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months, but served just over 15 months before her release Friday. According to NBC News, Gutierrez-Reeds prison time was reduced for good behavior, pre-sentence time served, as well as 60 days off for completing a residential addiction program. Gutierrez-Reed will serve her year-long parole at home, where she will also be supervised after pleading guilty to a separate charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a bar. Her parole also includes mental health assessments, and Gutierrez-Reed is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gutierrez-Reed was the second person to be held accountable in the Oct. 21, 2021, on-set accident where cinematographer Hutchins was shot and killed by the prop gun Baldwin was using. The films assistant director, David Halls, secured a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of negligent handling of a gun. He served six months of probation. Baldwin was also charged in connection to Hutchins death, but that involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed by the judge due to the prosecution withholding evidence. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Originally appeared on E! Online Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is free. The 28-year-oldwho was convicted of involuntary manslaughter over the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchinswas released from prison May 23, a New Mexico Corrections Department public information officer confirmed to NBC News. Gutierrez-Reed was discharged on dual supervision, meaning she is still serving a probation term and a parole term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In April 2024, Gutierrez-Reed was ordered to serve 18 months at a correctional facility after being found guilty by a New Mexico jury. A judge overseeing her sentencing said at the time that, as Rust's armorer, Gutierrez-Reed "turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon" when a live round was discharged from a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin. "I find that what you did constitutes a serious violent offense," the judge told Gutierrez-Reed. "You were the armorer, the one that stood between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone." More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baldwin also faced an involuntary manslaughter charge over the shooting. However, the case against the 67-year-oldwho pleaded not guiltywas dismissed with prejudice in July 2024 after prosecutors were accused of hiding evidence. During Baldwin's trial, crime scene technician Marissa Poppell testified that former Arizona police officer Troy Teskea friend of Gutierrez-Reeds father, veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reedhad given her live rounds following Gutierrez-Reed's verdict that he believed were related to the Rust case. Poppell testified that she logged the ammunition under a different case number as a "supplemental report," but denied allegations from Baldwin's legal team that it was intentionally done so to bury it from the defense. Luis Sanchez Saturno - Pool/Getty Images Baldwin's attorneys said they were never informed of the ammunition Teske provided and argued that it would've been "favorable" to the 30 Rock alum's defense had they known of its existence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Baldwin's wife Hilaria Baldwin, the actor has experienced a "mental health decline" since the shooting. "He was diagnosed with PTSD," she shared in a February episode of The Baldwins, "and he says in his darkest moments, If an accident had to have happened this day, why am I still here? Why couldn't it have been me? For more on the tragic events that unfolded on the Rust set, keep reading. (E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.) Alec Baldwin's Fateful Rehearsal Scene Video of Alec Baldwin rehearsing the scene in which he drew his gun inside an old church on the film set at Bonanza Creek Ranch was played for the jury as opening statements got underway July 10. "So whip it out?" he's heard asking as he practices drawing the gun from behind his jacket three times. Defense attorney Alex Spiro emphasized in his opening statement that his client is an actor, and that even if he did pull the trigger of the gun (which Baldwin has repeatedly denied doing), he wasn't responsible for Halyna Hutchins' death. "He did not know, or have any reason to know," Spiro said, "that gun was loaded with a live bullet." 911 Call Refers to Rust Assistant Director Spiro played the 911 call made by a script supervisor on the set after Hutchins was shot at 1:46 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2021. "This f-----g AD that yelled at me at lunch asking about revisions," the caller said, "this motherf--ker... he's responsible." First assistant director David Halls was sentenced to six months unsupervised probation in March 2023 after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Investigators determined that Halls and production armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were the last people to handle the gun that discharged the fatal bullet before it was given to Baldwin. Gutierrez was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to a maximum 18 months in jail, the same sentence Baldwin is facing if convicted. Opening Statement Objections The state raised several objections during Spiro's opening, including after he said it was "part of the human condition, part of grief," for people to want to make sense of a tragedy and seek justice. "Justice is truth," Spiro concluded his statement. "This is an unspeakable tragedy. Alec Baldwin committed no crime." Footage of Halyna Hutchins Shooting Aftermath Testimony began July 10 with prosecution witness Nicholas LeFleur, a Santa Fe Police Department officer who was working for the sheriff's office at the time and was first on the scene at Bonanza Creek Ranch after Hutchins was shot. Over the defense's strenuous objections during pre-trial motions, footage from LeFleur's body cam was played for the jury, including fraught scenes of Hutchins being attended to after being shot. At first the crew is inside the church before she was moved into an ambulance for further treatment, as LeFleur explained on the stand, while they waited for a helicopter to arrive to airlift her to the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Set Was Treated Like a Crime Scene LeFleur testified that he went to his vehicle to get crime scene tape to secure the perimeter (as seen in the body-cam footage) but couldn't remember if he was asked to or if it was just instinctual. "I knew we needed to start one," he said. Baldwin, seen in the footage smoking a cigarette, was not separated from the rest of the witnesses before authorities took his statement, LeFleur said, but "I did tell him to stop talking." On cross-examination, LeFleur testified that he did not know, when he put the tape up, whether a crime had been committed or an accident had occurred. Alec Baldwin's Behavior After the Shooting Under Scrutiny LeFleur acknowledged under cross-examination that, while he testified for the prosecution that he told Baldwin not to speak with fellow witnesses, he did not approach or otherwise re-instruct the actor to stop talking to others. The officer also said yes when Spiro asked if, more often than not, people were going up to Baldwin to speak with him. Moreover, Spiro contended, there were eventually numerous police cruisers on set and Baldwin could have been asked to sit in any one of them, separate from the others, but no officer had him do so. LeFleur agreed with that assessment. Live Rounds Found With Blanks on Rust Set Investigators found live bullets along with so-called dead ones when they searched the Rust set following the shooting, Santa Fe Sherriff's Office crime scene technician Marissa Poppell testified July 11. There were live rounds in the prop cart, inside a munition box and in gun holsters for two actors, she acknowledged during Spiro's cross-examination. Image shown in court showed that the live ammo had a silver dot at the bottom, while the dummies were more golden or bronze. "Your working theory, as you evaluated the ammunition and looked at the similarity between the Starline nickel live and the Starline nickel dummies is that they could have been easily commingled there?" Spiro asked. She said yes. Added Spiro? "In other words, somebody could have mistaken one for the other, right?" Poppell replied, "Yes." According to her July 10 testimony, Poppell was the one who collected Baldwin's shoulder holster from the church after the shooting and it held one live round of ammunition. Alec Baldwin Told Wife Hilaria to Come to New Mexico After the Shooting Hearing motions during the jury's lunch break, First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer allowed prosecutors to introduce into evidence a portion of a phone call Baldwin made to wife Hilaria Baldwin from the police station after Hutchins was shotin which he encouraged her to visit him in New Mexico, saying they'd "have fun." Baldwin didn't know Hutchins had died when he made the call, but knew she was seriously injured, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey asserted in court. "If the defense hasn't spent all of this time saying how...panicked and upset he was," Morrissey said, "I'm not sure that it would be relevant, but he is actually planning basically a vacation." The judge told Baldwin's lawyers, who objected on several points, "I do find that it's relevant to basically respond to you all talking about how upset Mr Baldwin was, and certainly you considered that fact of consequence." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crime Scene Tech Denies Burying Evidence Under Spiro's cross, Poppell denied withholding evidence by not adding a box of bullets she was given by a "good Samaritan" after Gutierrez's trial to the overall Rust-related evidence, or by not showing it to the defense. She said she never gave any evidence to the defense. Morrissey identified the person who gave Poppell the munitions as a friend of Gutierrez's father, veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reed. The prosecutor insinutated the man was looking to implicate Seth Kenney, the Rust weapon supplier, in bringing live rounds to the set. Poppell said during redirect that she had no evidence that Kenney had brought the live rounds to set, but she did have evidence that Gutierrez did. Gutierrez's attorney Jason Bowles told NBC News it was "beyond shocking" that the bullets in question weren't tested to see if they were the same kind as others found on the Rust set. "They were hiding the ball until called out on it in trial," Bowles said. "If you want to get to the truth, you run down all leads." The Jury Is Unexpectedly Excused for the Day After Defense Files Expedited Motion to Dismiss The jury had only been seated for a brief time on the morning of July 12 when Judge Sommer sent them home for the day in the wake of the defense's motion accusing the state of burying evidence. Poppell testified to receiving a box of ammunition from former Arizona police officer Troy Teskea friend of Gutierrez's father previously identified as a "good Samaritan" but since identified in courtafter Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March for her role in Hutchins' death. Spiro previously questioned Poppell about why did she didn't put the box with the rest of the Rust case evidence. This morning, before the jury was brought in, Poppell again denied intentionally hiding anything, telling Spiro she was instructed to file the box under another case number, so she did. The defense's motion alleges the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and the state "concealed from Baldwin that there was evidence that the live round came from Seth Kenney." After a lunch break, the prosecution called PDQ Props owner Kenney, who was hired to provide the Rust production with prop firearms and dummy rounds, to testify without the jury present as part of a hearing on the defense's motion. Kenney testified that, having supplied more than a thousand productions with dummy rounds, "there was never a question" in his mind as to whether he could have brought the live rounds to set. Morrissey called the defense's attempt to blame Kenney "a wild goose chase." Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey Takes the Stand Morrissey willingly agreed to take the witness stand to explain her roleor lack thereof, as she attestedin the box of ammunition delivered by Teske not being included in the Rust case evidence. She testified that Gutierrez's attorney Jason Bowles was aware that Teske wanted to give him the ammunition in question and that, once Bowles showed her a photo of the rounds in question, to her they looked "dissimilar" to the live rounds found on the Rust set. Morrissey said Bowles informed Teske he wouldn't be calling him as a witness. She also said that, once Teske brought the rounds to the Santa Fe County Sherrif's Office, then-Det. (now Cpl.) Alexandra Hancock told her they'd be put into evidence. Morrissey testified she had "no idea" it wouldn't be filed under the Rust case number. The rounds Teske handed over "would not have hurt the state's case," Morrissey said. "It would have been the best evidence I could have hoped for." Case Dismissed! Judge Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning the charge cannot be refiled. Agreeing with the defense that the state did not disclose possibly consequential evidence, the judge said, "The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy." Baldwin teared up immediately as it became clear how Sommer was about to rule, as did Hilaria. She attended every day of the trial, along with her brother-in-law Stephen Baldwin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Thousands of Sacramento-area high school seniors apply every year to attend one or more of the University of Californias nine undergraduate campuses, and students at some schools get accepted more often than students at others. To see which local high schools had the most success during the fall 2024 cycle, The Sacramento Bee calculated: The percentage of all graduates who were admitted to a particular University of California campus. For example, 40 out of 589 Davis Senior High graduates were admitted as freshmen to UC Berkeley last year, equivalent to about 7% of all graduates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The percentage of graduates who applied to a particular campus and were admitted. For example, 233 Davis Senior High graduates applied for admission to UC Berkeley last year, and 40 were admitted, for an admit rate of 17%. The Bee looked specifically at the six UC campuses with the lowest admission rates the toughest schools to get into. UC Berkeley St. Francis High, a private school in East Sacramento, had the highest percentage of graduates admitted to UC Berkeley, followed by West Campus in Fruitridge Manor and Mira Loma High in Arden Arcade. The highest admission rates were at South Tahoe High, Western Sierra Collegiate and Granite Bay High. UCLA Sacramento Country Day, a private school in the Sierra Oaks neighborhood of the city, had the highest percentage of graduates who were admitted to UCLA, followed by St. Francis and Jesuit High School in Carmichael. The highest admit rates were at Grant High in Del Paso Heights, South Tahoe High and Sacramento Country Day. UC Davis Al-Arqam College Preparatory, a private south Sacramento school, had the highest percentage of graduates to be admitted to UC Davis, followed by West Campus and Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep. The highest admit rates were at Futures High in Robla, Sacramento Charter High and Health Professions High School in Upper Land Park. UC Irvine West Campus had the highest percentage of graduates who were admitted to UC Irvine, followed by Franklin High in Elk Grove and Sacramento Country Day. The highest admit rates were at West Campus, Franklin High and Woodland High. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UC San Diego Umoja International Academy, a public school in East Sacramento, had the highest percentage of graduates who were admitted to UC San Diego, followed by West Campus and Sacramento Waldorf in Fair Oaks. The highest admit rates were at Umoja, Hiram Johnson High in Tahoe Park and Grant High. UC Santa Barbara Davis Senior High had the highest percentage of graduates who were admitted to UC Santa Barbara, followed by Sacramento Country Day and West Campus. The highest admit rates were at Charter Community Home School Academy, Hiram Johnson High and Casa Roble Fundamental High School in Orangevale. Methodology and sources: The percentage of all graduates from a particular school admitted to a particular UC campus is the number of fall 2024 freshmen admits divided by the number of 2023-24 graduates. Graduate data is not available for private schools; instead, The Bee used data showing 12th grade enrollment in 2023-24 for each private high school. Admit rates for schools are the number of fall 2024 freshmen admits divided by the number of fall 2024 freshmen applicants. Data excludes schools where fewer than 10 students graduated in 2023-24, or where fewer than three students were admitted to a particular campus. As such, schools not shown are either small, or had few students admitted. The brutal murder of a young Jewish couple outside the Washington D.C. Jewish Museum is not an isolated act, it is part of a terrifying pattern of rising antisemitic violence around the world, with Jews in the United States experiencing an alarming surge. In my interfaith work over the years, I have attended churches and other houses of worship of many different faiths. Never, in my experience, have I seen a security fence around the perimeter of those buildings, nor have I encountered armed guards at the door. That stands in stark contrast with my synagogue, and many synagogues and Jewish institutions in America today, equipped with wrought iron fences with locked security gates, off-duty armed deputies from the local sheriffs department and panic buttons with direct lines to the police. At many synagogues, services now begin with instructions for responding to an active shooter an unsettling sign of the times in which we live. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day after the execution of the young couple, my wife and I flew to Los Angeles to attend Grandparents Day at our granddaughters Jewish day school, housed at a synagogue. As we approached the school, we were met by armed security officers who asked for government-issued identification and verified that our names were on the guest list. I dont recall ever encountering such measures at any other house of worship Ive visited. Am I missing something, or is it not painfully clear who is being targeted? This is the reality of what it means to be Jewish in America today. And it is compounded by a more dangerous form of antisemitism, one that hides behind the language of foreign policy. Lets be clear: the criticism of any nation, including Israel, is legitimate. Israelis themselves debate their governments actions openly and often. But when the Jewish state alone is denied the right to defend itself or even to exist, that is not about justice. That is antisemitism, plain and simple. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To the Jew-haters of the world: We will not be silenced. We will stand strong, remain proud of who we are, and we will resist every attempt to erase our presence, our voice and our people. While the consoling words from our government and community leaders after tragedies like the one in D.C. are appreciated, words alone are not enough. It is beyond time for our leaders and for every citizen of moral conscience to wake up, speak out and stop this hatred. If we fail to act, we will only continue to feed the flames of Jew-hatred that have burned for centuries. I pray we find the courage and resolve to extinguish those flames once and for all. Reuven Taff is rabbi emeritus of Mosaic Law Congregation in Sacramento. I was wondering whether to pay a visit to Nicaea (now Iznik, in Turkey) for the 1700th anniversary of a momentous event there, but I was a bit put off by its not having a railway station. Luckily the good fathers who gathered there in 325 were not so easily deterred. I suppose they travelled by horse, mule or foot from Constantinople, though a ship would have helped across the Sea of Marmara, or the Propontis as it was then known. Worth celebrating now is that the bishops at the Council of Nicaea decided that Jesus Christ the Son of God is as much God as is God the Father. He wasnt just of a similar substance or being; he was of the same substance or being God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That looks like the belief of the author of St Johns Gospel, though the doctrine may not be easy to apply to a person who was also born and died, and, as Christians believed, rose again. The doctrine was important since, if Jesus was not fully human and fully divine, he would have been incapable of achieving atonement between God and humanity. We should have been left crushed by sin and death, unable to enter the gates of heaven. Since mankind has an unquenchable appetite for the infinite, wed be in the most tragic of positions. The religious party that wanted the bishops at Nicaea to regard the Son of God only as a creature like us were followers of Arius, an influential priest born in the 250s. An anniversary issue on Nicaea has been printed by Communio (a learned theological journal founded in 1972 by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac and Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI). In it, David M Gwynn considers how much Arius taught the errors attributed to him and how much his opponent St Athanasius should be regarded as the champion of orthodoxy. Dr Gwynn is reader in Ancient and Late Antique History at Royal Holloway in the University of London. Athanasius, he points out, was only a young priest of about 30 when he attended the council as assistant to Alexander, the patriarch of Alexandria. But he suggests that Athanasius might have drafted Alexanders circular letter denouncing Arius. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr Gwynn writes that the teaching of Arius could not be called heresy then, as there were no established orthodox answers to resolve the questions under discussion. Perhaps not, but if it contradicted points of doctrine held by Christians, it could have been seen as false. Dr Gwynn quotes a summary by Athanasius of the doctrines of the Arians. Not always was the Son, for he was not until he was begotten He is not proper to the essence of the Father, for he is a creature and a thing made The Son does not know the Father exactly He is not unchangeable, like the Father, but is changeable by nature, like the creatures. Dr Gwynn finds all these assertions in Ariuss writings except for the last, for Athanasiuss opponents repeatedly insisted that the Son was unchangeable and set apart from all other creatures. I dont know that this got the associates of Arius out of trouble. To be sure, being created is not being changed, since there was nothing to be changed from. But creation adds a new thing to the world of creatures, all susceptible to change. And to class the Son as a creature, even if set apart, distinguishes him from God in a way fatal to human salvation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyway Dr Gwynn argues that over-simplifying Athanasiuss story understates the scale of his contribution in defining and securing the orthodox faith. I certainly wouldnt want that either. 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. (SAGUACHE COUNTY, Colo.) A Saguache County man has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a 2023 murder, while law enforcement is still looking for the killer. According to the Saguache County Sheriffs Office (SCSO), in July of 2023, the remains of 26-year-old James Montoya were discovered by law enforcement near County Road 46 AA, north of the Saguache Airport. At the time of the discovery, Montoya was listed as a missing person out of the Denver area. Further investigation revealed that Montoya was allegedly murdered in the Denver area in April of 2023. In August 2023, a Denver judge issued a warrant for Jesus Angel Arvizo on first degree murder charges in connection to the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to SCSO, 59-year-old Saguache County resident Jan Franklin Murphy helped Arvizo transport Montoyas body to Saguache County in April of 2023 and materially assisted in concealing and burying Montoyas remains in a remote area of the county. Murphy was arrested in August of 2024 and charged for his role in helping conceal Montoyas body. SCSO said in April of 2025, Murphy pleaded guilty to accessory to first degree murder, and he was sentenced on May 20 to six years in prison followed by three years of supervised parole. Jesus Angel Arvizo. Courtesy: U.S. Marshals Service Denver Arvizo remains a fugitive of justice, and he may have ties to the Alamosa area, SCSO said. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867. If you see Arvizo, do not approach and instead call 911 immediately, as he is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ST. LOUIS North St. Louis families are struggling to recover one week after a deadly tornado tore through the St. Louis area. Disaster relief group Samaritans Purse is offering emergency repairs and much-needed hope to those impacted. Were a Christian organization that helps with poverty, helps people in disasters (and) wartime, said Jodie Yoder. One of those families is the Griffin family. Their roof was ripped off in the storm, leaving their home exposed to the elements. Today, theyre getting emergency repairsand emotional support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News I needed assistance, said Charles Griffin. And so I gave them the information thats needed in order for them to start on the property. And they did. And now theyre getting it done. So this was a blessing in disguise. The organization is committed to staying in St. Louis for as long as it takes to meet the communitys need. Its catastrophic. Theres lots of damage, lots of homes that are totally destroyed, roofs that are ripped off and, you know, sadly, loss of life here. So we want to be here to support the community and to just love on them, let them know that Jesus loves them, that we love them, and that they arent forgotten, Yoder said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you or someone you know needs help, Samaritans Purse has set up a mobile response unit in north St. Louis. Call 833-747-1234 to speak with a Samaritans Purse Representative Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) A 16-year-old boy has died following a shooting that occurred early Saturday morning in the 4400 block of Bermuda Drive, according to the San Angelo Police Department. Early morning shooting leaves one injured in Southwest San Angelo, Police investigate Police identified the suspect as Derek Carson, 17, who has been taken into custody and will be charged with murder. Authorities said the investigation remains active and ongoing, led by the departments Criminal Investigations Division. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our most experienced investigators are working diligently to ensure a thorough and complete case, the department said in a statement. Game wardens urge safety as boating season begins Police credited a coordinated response by the Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations Division, Crime Scene Unit, Special Operations Section, and Drone Team for the quick identification and arrest of the suspect. Officials said the incident appears to be isolated, and there is no ongoing threat to the public. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com. (FOX 5/KUSI) The San Diego County Medical Examiners Office identified three of the six people who were believed to be on a plane that crashed into a residential street in San Diego early Thursday morning. On Friday evening, the county named David Shapiro, 42, Emma L. Huke, 25, and Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, 36, saying they were in a Cessna aircraft which crashed into a residential community in San Diego. Read our full coverage of the Murphy Canyon plane crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The county lists the place of death as the 10200 block of Sample Street and the time as 3:47 a.m. on Thursday morning. Federal officials have said in the time since the crash that six people were believed to be aboard the plane and that all are presumed dead. Although the crash and ensuing fires damaged multiple homes and vehicles along a stretch of Sample Street, only several people on the ground received injuries, mostly from smoke inhalation and from exiting windows. Since the crash, San Diego-based music talent agency Sound Talent Group identified Shapiro as a victim in the crash and said two other employees had also perished, but it did not provide their names. Shapiro was a co-founder of the agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rock band The Devil Wears Prada said Daniel Williams, who was the groups drummer for a decade starting in 2005, was also on the plane. On Friday, Tandem Management Company, which works with musicians and lists The Devil Wears Prada among the groups it works with, posted on Facebook saying, the music world lost some extraordinary individuals, and named Shapiro, Huke and Williams, along with Kendall Fortner. Operators of San Diego gym The Training Center and a fighter affiliated with it spoke with FOX 5/KUSI on Friday and identified the sixth victim as Dominic Damian, adding that they planned to host an open mat in his honor on Monday. At a Friday news conference, federal officials released some early findings in the investigation, saying that some of the advanced aviation equipment that helps guide pilots to Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport, where the plane was headed, was not working, including the runway approach light system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (KRON) A San Francisco man was shot on the 1700 block of International Boulevard in Oakland, police said. The deadly shooting happened in broad daylight, around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the Oakland Police Department. The victim clung to life inside a hospital until he succumbed to his gunshot wounds Friday. OPD officers found the suspected killer on 25th Avenue in Oakland. After a long standoff, officers took the suspect into custody, OPD wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oakland couple jailed after Amber Alert for 2-year-old girl Law enforcement officials have not released the names of the homicide victim and arrested man. A second homicide on International Boulevard happened at 1:15 p.m. Friday near 90th Avenue, police said. A victim was shot to death and someone called 911. Paramedics arrived and confirmed that the victim was deceased. Investigators from the OPD Homicide Division are conducting a follow-up investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting, OPD wrote. The identity of the deceased victim is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The city of Santa Fe announced the upcoming departures of two high-level employees at public meetings this week: the directors of Youth and Family Services and Public Works. After nine years with the city, Youth and Family Services Director Julie Sanchez will leave July 4 for a new role at the state, where she will serve as a director of planning policy and special projects in the Department of Aging and Long-Term Services. Community Services Director Henri Hammond-Paul announced Sanchez's resignation Wednesday to city councilors on the Quality of Life Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were incredibly excited by whats next for her and seeing her continue to thrive, but were also heartbroken that shell no longer be with us," he said. Sanchez's portfolio includes most of the city's social services work, including homelessness and housing efforts, violence prevention, early child care and eviction prevention. The department received millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Works Director Regina Wheeler announced at a Public Works and Utilities Committee meeting Monday she will retire in January. Wheeler has been with the city since July 2018. Wheeler said its been an honor to serve the city, and she believes her department will be in good hands after she leaves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You have a great public works team that is doing incredible work. Theyre just a machine, she said. I think with the knowledge the governing body has about where investments are needed, its just set up for success in the long run. The two departures create the need for additional job searches at a time when the city is recruiting for a number of top positions, including public utilities director, affordable housing director, risk manager and equity and inclusion director. Regina Wheeler headshot (copy) Regina Wheeler The city also is searching for a new airport manager, as former manager James Harris last day was Friday. He announced last month he was stepping down to serve as manager of the Waco Regional Airport in Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former airport security coordinator Jimmy Gunn will serve as interim manager while the city searches for Harris' successor, city spokesperson Regina Ruiz said Thursday. The city last month hired Elisa Montoya as the new community development director following a vacancy of nearly 10 months, and City Manager Mark Scott said Tuesday he believes the city is really close to hiring a new deputy city manager following the previous deputys departure in January. This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Henry Williams wasnt always a believer in the Sasquatch. Growing up, he had of course heard the tales of old of a legendary hairy, bipedal primate said to roam the forests at sundown. Yet for much of his life, 76-year-old Henry had shrugged these stories off without much thought. They were used to remind youngsters to come home before nightfall, hed reasoned. All that changed, however, on the day that the Sasquatch came to pay him a visit two decades ago, near his home in Squamish in southwest British Columbia. It threw a huge boulder into the middle of a nearby river, says Henry, flinging his arms wide to imitate an almighty splash as we chat in the lobby of the Harrison Hot Springs Resort, a historic hotel famed for its natural thermal pools 60 miles east of Vancouver. Ive come here for one reason: to track down the elusive Sasquatch. Harrison Hot Springs is British Columbias Sasquatch capital with a dedicated event every June that brings the local Stsailes First Nations together for a weekend of Sasquatch storytelling. Photograph by Getty Images, Edgar Bullon The Sasquatch has stalked the human psyche, and perhaps the forests too, for millennia. The beast known as Bigfoot in the US and the Yeti in the Himalayas has loomed particularly large in the oral traditions of the First Nations communities of Canada, as Henry, who is a member of the Squamish People, tells me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Semi-retired, Henry now works as an elder in his community, passing down Indigenous knowledge, including tales of the Sasquatch. Henry explains that for the Squamish, its the guardian spirit that protects the wilderness, serving as a sacred bridge between the human and natural worlds. While the Sasquatch has typically been portrayed as a bloodthirsty creature in TV series such as The X-Files, for Henry its not a figure to fear. Its seen as a symbol of good luck if it chooses to pay you a visit, he says. Canada geese rest beside the water at Harrison Hot Springs. Local lore has it that Sasquatch is attracted by the water, and visits the area to sip from the geothermal pools that skirt glacier-fed Harrison Lake. Photograph by Getty Images, Edgar Bullon Im not surprised to find a Sasquatch scholar in Harrison Hot Springs this town is British Columbias Sasquatch capital, with a dedicated event in June each year that brings the local Stsailes First Nations together for a weekend of Sasquatch storytelling. Sightings abound in this tiny lakeside hub, which is fringed with green mountain ridges and tangled woodlands of Douglas fir and western red cedars. Local lore has it that the mysterious mammal is attracted by the water, coming here to sip from the geothermal pools that skirt glacier-fed Harrison Lake. Despite its population of just 1,900 residents, Harrison Hot Springs attracts 20,000 visitors annually many of them hoping to catch sight of the beast. The fascination with the Sasquatch of Harrison Hot Springs dates back to 1929, when writer and government agent JW Burns, who lived nearby, penned an article titled Introducing B.C.s Hairy Giants for Macleans magazine, featuring first-hand accounts from the Stsailes community. In 2017, a dedicated Sasquatch Museum, filled with hairy mannequins and maps of sightings, opened in Harrison Hot Springs visitor centre, alongside a walking trail, complete with Sasquatch statues. Gift shops now sell everything from yeti-style slippers to mini powdered doughnuts known as Sasquatch Balls. Henry says any visitors hoping to catch a glimpse should first brush up on some Sasquatch etiquette. Offer food so that it becomes a friend, he advises. After it visited me, I took a couple of apples down to the riverbank and placed them up high on a tree. Returning the following day, he discovered that the apples had completely disappeared. They hadnt been pecked by birds, he says, pausing for dramatic effect. They had been taken whole. The emerald waters of Harrison Hot Springs are thought to offer healing benefits. Photograph by Sophia Hsin The Squamish are a verbal society, so our stories are passed by word of mouth and change from village to village, he continues. The shape-shifting beast which is so hard to pin down as its thought to move between realms, even vanishing at will is also gender fluid, he says, adding that his people speak of a forest-dwelling Sasquatch-like figure called Kalkalilh. Shes around seven-feet tall, he says, eyes wide. In my community, its said that if you push her into a fire and she burns, a flock of ravens is released from her hair. Henry explains that this symbolises transformation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through the window, as guests pad past us in towelling robes bound for the hot springs, Harrison Lake shimmers in the midday sunshine. Soon, I wave goodbye to Henry and stroll a few minutes to the hot springs myself the emerald waters are thought to offer healing benefits. A handful of bathers have beaten me to it, already reclining in the geothermal pools. Each one is just a few feet wide, bordered by rocks and set against old-growth forest. As I plunge my feet into the warm water, theres a rustle in the thicket behind me. Quietly, I take Henrys advice: I step out of the pool and place an apple at the base of the tree. Published in the May 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only). The path to freedom began behind a toilet. After midnight on May 16, inmates at the New Orleans city jail forced open the door of a first-floor cell and crammed inside. At the back, inmates had wrenched a metal bathroom fixture from the wall, exposing a narrow hole where steel bars were sawed off. On the other side was a walkway leading to a loading dock. The timing was perfect. A jail worker had cut off water to the cell, which allowed the inmates to dislodge the toilet without a telltale flood. There was no deputy patrolling the housing area as there should have been, and a civilian employee whose job was to monitor inmates movements had reportedly stepped away for food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group assembled in Cell 6 included men who had been held in the Orleans Justice Center for months or years, many of them accused of terrible crimes. One had been convicted in October of killing two people during a 2018 Mardi Gras celebration and was waiting for a likely sentence of life in prison. Two others were awaiting trial on murder charges, another two on attempted murder. A couple of them had previously escaped other lockups. Now, they were pulling off one of the biggest jailbreaks in Louisiana history, an audacious feat that exploited long-documented failures in the local criminal justice system, including the jails inability to properly supervise high-risk inmates. The escape spread anxiety through one of Americas most beloved tourist cities, opening new wounds for victims relatives and forcing some into hiding. And it prompted finger-pointing among a Republican governor and local Democratic officials, with much of the heat falling on Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who was elected in 2021 as a progressive reformer but has been criticized for falling short on federally mandated improvements at the jail, including regular security checks. Inmates wrenched a bathroom fixture from a cell, left taunting messages on a wall, then crawled past sawed-off steel bars. (Orleans Paris Sheriff's Office) While the investigation continues, its already clear that no one was able to stop the 10 inmates in Cell 6. The men, ranging in age from 19 to 42, some wearing orange jail uniforms and others in long, white pants and T-shirts, each shimmied through the hole, some pausing to leave taunting messages on the wall. To easy LOL, one wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They leapt off the loading dock and made it to a barbed-wire fence, which they scaled with blankets. Then they dashed across an interstate and slipped into the night. It was about 1:30 a.m. Another seven hours passed before the regular morning head count revealed that the 10 men were missing from Pod 1-D. By then, they were long gone. Dawn Cook, a truck driver, was at the wheel of her rig that Friday morning when she got a call from someone at the Orleans Parish District Attorneys Office telling her Corey Boyd, the man accused of killing her son last year, had broken out of jail. He said thered been an escape, Cook, 71, recalled. He didnt have any details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around the same time, she also got an automated text from a jail messaging system notifying her that Boyd, who was charged with murder, was no longer in custody. If she needed help, it said, call 911. The news made her more mad than scared. On April 29, 2024, her son, Mister Brandon Fees, was on a porch in the Marigny neighborhood with his girlfriend when they saw a group of people breaking into cars, according to police. Fees, 38, confronted them. They argued, and one of the suspects shot Fees. Boyd then struck Fees with a car, authorities said. "Mister" Brandon Fees was killed last year after he confronted people breaking into cars. (Courtesy Dawn Cook) Boyd, 19, who pleaded not guilty, had been in jail for nearly a year before he escaped, and the case was nowhere near going to trial. The killing was caught on surveillance footage, but it took four months for Boyd to be indicted, and since then the case has been slowed by postponements and arguments over the sharing of evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The holdups infuriated her. Ive been angry for a year now, Cook said. Theres a lot more to this than this escape. This is just too much. Delays in criminal cases are a chronic problem in New Orleans and many other areas of the country due in large part to backlogs created when the pandemic shut down courts. The difficulties in New Orleans go even deeper. The jail has been under federal scrutiny for overcrowding, understaffing, defective technology and malfunctioning doors; a court-appointed monitor cited the jail last year for failing to separate inmates who were violent or at risk of escape and for leaving housing units unsupervised for hours at a time. Hutson responded that the jail had improved in some areas, including training, and said she had about half of the staff members she would need to run the jail optimally. At last count, more than half the 1,400 or so inmates at the Orleans Justice Center were charged with a violent crime, more than 200 of them charged with a homicide. At 10:30 a.m. on May 16, after authorities knew for sure who was missing and had talked to their alleged victims, officials released word of the jailbreak to the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By that point, federal, state and local law enforcement had launched an enormous manhunt, tapping into the citys network of cameras equipped with facial recognition software. Escaped inmates roamed the streets of New Orleans under the watch of surveillance cameras. (Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office) The escapees had scattered. A surveillance camera spotted Kendell Myles, 20 charged in a carjacking that left a man seriously wounded walking in the French Quarter just before 10 a.m. in a dark hoodie and jeans, according to local NBC affiliate WDSU. Police later found him hiding under a car in a hotel parking garage and arrested him after a short chase, officials said. Robert Moody, 21, who is facing battery, weapons and drug charges, fled south, making it about 2 miles before authorities captured him with help from a Crimestoppers tip. Two more inmates were later caught farther afield, 8 to 10 miles northeast of the jail. Police found Kendell Myles hiding under a car. (Louisiana State Police / via Facebook) Dkenan Dennis was captured the night after the escape. (Sheriff Susan Hutson / via Facebook) Then, on Tuesday, Cook got a call from the district attorneys office telling her that Boyd, the man accused of killing her son, had been captured. She had mixed feelings: happy he was back in custody, but not much closer to justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its going to take so long for them to do anything, Cook said. Corey Boyd, charged in the killing of "Mister" Brandon Fees, was captured this week. (Louisiana State Police / via Facebook) Boyd's case has dragged on for nearly a year, angering Fees' family. (Louisiana State Police / via Facebook) By the end of the week, half of the inmates remained at large. They included the Mardi Gras killer, Derrick Groves, convicted of opening fire on a 2018 Fat Tuesday party, killing Jamar Robinson, 26, and Byron Jackson, 21. Groves and a co-defendant were first found guilty in 2019, but a new law requiring unanimous jury verdicts forced a 2023 retrial, which collapsed when a juror broke court rules by reading news accounts of the case. A second trial that year ended with a deadlocked jury. Finally, in October 2024, a new jury found them guilty. Groves' escape galled Robinsons relatives. Jamar Robinson. (Family photo) The family said in a statement that they heard about it from neighbors at 9 a.m. on May 16, before anyone in law enforcement reached out to them. This breakdown in communication has only deepened our grief and added to the pain we are already enduring, the family said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a precaution, the family temporarily left the city. The relatives accused Hutson, the sheriff, and her jail staff of allowing the escape to happen. We say allowed because these inmates were essentially handed a Get Out of Jail Free card, as if this were a game, the family said. Prosecutors who tried Groves also left town with their families over the weekend, Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams said. Any family member who is scared or frustrated, they have every right to be because this should not have happened, Williams said at a Monday news conference. And if it happened at 1 a.m. they should have been notified at 1:30, because they were in harms way. As the search wore on, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry demanded an investigation by the state attorney general and answers on why some of the escapees criminal cases had dragged on for more than a year. He signed an executive order to track cases in Orleans and other high crime areas, saying some of the escapees had been kept in the jail for far too long. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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 the custody of one of the state penitentiaries, Landry, a Republican, said at a news conference. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry ordered a review of local jails and courts. (WDSU) Williams, who has said the delays arent the fault of the district attorneys office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The escape itself raised grave questions about jail operations. Among them: How were the inmates able to leave their cells in the middle of the night, force open the door to Cell 6, tear out the bathroom fixture and cut steel bars and escape through the loading dock under the watch of security cameras without anyone raising an alarm? Jail protocols under the federal monitor require a deputy on each housing pod around the clock and a supervisor to perform regular checks, said Rafael C. Goyeneche III, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a private organization that researches the New Orleans-area criminal justice system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That means someone should have gone onto that pod, looked in every cell and seen if everyone who was supposed to be in the cells were there, Goyeneche said. Obviously that didnt happen. Goyeneche said the jail appears to have missed several opportunities mandated security rounds, camera surveillance, door-lock monitoring, Friday-morning breakfast service to notice the escape. These questions fall to Hutson, a lawyer and former police monitor in Los Angeles and New Orleans who did not have experience as a jailer before she became the first Black female sheriff in Louisiana. Since the escape, she has faced criticism from Landry and local officials in her own party, including Williams and members of the city council. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who runs the jail, said the inmates had help from members of her staff. (NBC News) Hutson, who temporarily suspended her re-election campaign this week and did not respond to a request for comment, has admitted to procedural failures and missed notifications and said that the escapees had help from her staff. She said she suspended three employees without pay, and one civilian worker was arrested on charges he cut water from the cells pipes prior to the breakout. The worker, Sterling Williams, told investigators that one of the escapees, Antoine Massey, threatened to shank him if he did not turn the water off, court papers say. But Williams lawyer gave a different story, saying his client was asked by a deputy to help fix a clogged toilet in the cell and was not part of any plan to help the inmates. And on Friday, authorities arrested a current inmate, Trevon D. Williams, on charges related to the escape. It is not clear what role he allegedly played. The men also had help after they broke out, according to police. Two women have been charged with giving two fugitives rides around New Orleans. Another allegedly got Boyd food while he was holed up in a house. A fourth gave escapee Jermaine Donald, who is charged with aggravated battery and remains on the run, money through Cash App, police said. And a fifth person was arrested Friday, accused of aiding the escapees. As the New Orleans manhunt continued, a new one began about 70 miles north. TraVon Johnson, charged with murder in a deadly home invasion, escaped the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on Thursday afternoon after another inmate boosted him over a fence, authorities said. The local sheriffs office said it didnt discover the breakout until five hours later, when someone called asking if the man was still in custody. This was the second time Johnson, 22, has escaped the jail in the past year. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com This is no way to keep up with grandma. Cruel scammers are cheating elderly people out of millions of dollars with a new high tech scam that uses AI to find their grandchildrens voices on TikTok and then use the sounds to make phony phone calls designed to trick the seniors, cops on Long Island warned Friday. The scam involves criminals finding a vulnerable and elderly person with grandkids then scouring social media sites like TikTok for videos of the young people speaking. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina (right) warned of a new AI scam Friday. Dennis A. Clark They then use voice-cloning software and spoofed phone numbers to make panicked calls pretending to be that grandchild, claiming theyve been arrested or hurt and urgently need bail money or medical funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre always trying to stay a step ahead, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina told The Post on Friday. Catalina confirmed the department has been seeing a growing number of these cases, and said the software criminals are using can perfectly emulate someone elses voice often fooling the areas vulnerable and elderly population. Its often times a grandchild scheme were seeing, where the individual will call and say that they are in some kind of trouble that requires money, Catalina said. Police said victims have been duped into forking over thousands of dollars in cash and wire transfers thinking theyre rescuing a loved one when in fact theyre being scammed by a synthetic voice and a criminal on the other end of the line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Catalina said the department has seen an uptick in these types of scams in recent months and warned the public to stay vigilant, especially when receiving emotional pleas involving money and secrecy. He advised families to establish a safe word in case of emergencies, and to reach out to the person they are claiming to be after receiving the call to confirm directly before transferring any money. As for the scammers, Catalina warned that the department is making these crimes a high priority given the large amount of cases. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said as AI continues to progress, scams will get more sophisticated dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images If we find the individuals who do this, who know exactly who theyre stealing from, we will prosecute you to the fullest these crimes are a priority to us and were gonna make sure that we get to the bottom of this, Catalina said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, over 3,000 scams were reported on Long Island resulting in over $126 million stolen from mostly senior citizens, according to the most recent data from AARP. Nearly $74 million was stolen from Nassau, and almost $54 million was taken in Suffolk that year alone. And Catalina warned it will only get worse as AI continues to progress. Theyre getting more and more sophisticated, so everybody has to be very careful, he said. May 23MIDLAND Scharbauer Foundation has announced its most recent round of funding as part of its spring grant cycle. The Foundation recently awarded more than $9 million in support of Midland area nonprofits that work to meet significant needs in the community. "Each of these organizations represents a cornerstone of our community, and we are proud to support their missions through this most recent round of funding," Mary Ann Beninati, CEO and President of the Scharbauer Foundation, said in a news release. "Whether it's expanding access to education, ensuring quality healthcare for children, or addressing critical social needs, these grants reflect our commitment to strengthening Midland through strategic, impactful philanthropy." Highlights of the grant cycle: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Education: Communities in Schools of the Permian Basin to continue providing dropout prevention and mental health resources at campuses in Midland and Odessa. IDEA Public Schools of the Permian Basin for the development and construction of IDEA Henry in Midland. Junior Achievement of the Permian Basin to support financial literacy programs and curriculum for K-12 students. Midland College Foundation to support Early College High School for the 2025- 2026 academic year. Hispanic Cultural Center of Midland to preserve Hispanic culture for youth through arts and education. Healthcare: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cooks Children's Midland Specialty Clinic for the purchase of specialized medical equipment to serve Midland children. Starlight Therapeutic Riding Center to continue providing equine-assisted activities for children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs. Public Benefit: Manor Park to support the capital campaign to reconfigure the campus and renovate common buildings. Permian Basin Honor Flight for expenses related to the 2025 October trip to Washington, D.C., for local military veterans. Human Services: Basin Dream Center for Orphans for renovations to expand capacity at its new property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recording Library of West Texas to continue providing audio resources for individuals with visual, physical, or learning impairments. West Texas Regional Office of Make-A-Wish North TX to serve children with critical illnesses in Midland. Learn more about Scharbauer Foundation's focus areas, upcoming grant cycles, and application process at www.scharbauerfoundation.org. A Centerville Elementary School special education instructional assistant was named the 2025 Frederick County Public Schools Overall Support Employee of the Year. Courtney Prahl, who has been an FCPS employee for more than 15 years, was recognized at a Frederick County Board of Education meeting on Wednesday. According to FCPS, Prahl is known for implementing solutions that benefit students and staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Six support employees were recognized as category winners earlier this year. The winners, their school and their categories were: Theresa Wisner, Central Office, administrative support Casandra Allison, Middletown High, food service support Livida Merlos, Ballenger Creek Middle, operations support Curtiss Belcher, Brunswick High, school support Tammy Barlow, Middletown High, technical support The category winners were also recognized at Wednesdays school board meeting. FCPS School Counselor of the Year Nikole Ramsay, a school counselor at Walkersville High School, was recognized as the 2025 School Counselor of the Year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ramsay has served as a school counselor in FCPS for 20 years. She was recognized by the Frederick County School Counselor Association at an event on Wednesday and was awarded a plaque in recognition for her service, dedication and commitment to students within the school district, according to FCPS. State grant for Food and Nutrition Services FCPS received a $35,000 grant from the Maryland State Department of Education to purchase a double combination oven for Frederick High School. A combination oven allows food to be roasted, poached, steamed or baked by using convection, steam and a combination of the two. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The oven would be used for breakfast, lunch and after-school meal programs at Frederick High School. Leftovers heated in a combi oven do not dry out, resulting in less food waste, according to FCPS. Social studies curriculum grant The Maryland 250 Commission, which was created in 2023 through an initiative by Gov. Wes Moore, awarded FCPS with a $4,000 grant to support the development of the social studies curriculum. The commission is funding the grant as part of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which will occur next year. The grant is providing support for organizations to share stories of Marylanders struggle for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, according to FCPS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grant money will go toward developing lesson plans and resources for students to learn about the different perspectives of Maryland residents before, during and after the American Revolution. Teachers will also partner with local historical organizations to provide resources for lessons. The majority of the grant funding, $3,700 of it, will pay for teacher workshops. The remaining $300 will cover associated fringe benefits, according to FCPS. Send school-related news to Esther Frances at efrances@newspost.com. A state advisory council plans to recommend that all North Carolina public schools ban student phone use during the entire school day, including during non-instructional time such as breaks and lunch. The draft recommendation from the Governors Advisory Council for Student Safety and Well-Being says eliminating use of those devices during the school day will help create healthy learning environments for students that contribute to increased academic achievement and improved student well-being. We believe that North Carolina must blaze a trail in its efforts to improve student academic achievement and well-being by eliminating the use of personal communication devices in schools, the councils co-chairs say in the introduction letter to the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets give our students eight hours a day Monday through Friday where they can focus on being students, engaging actively with their friends and teachers in-person without the constant pressure of a device. Our students most certainly deserve it. Council members reviewed the draft best practices guide on Thursday and will vote on it in the coming week. Its scheduled to be published June 3. The report will include guidance on how schools can implement student phone policies. Gov. Josh Stein signed an executive order in April creating the advisory council. Developing guidance on school phone policies was the first job given to the new council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council was formed amid growing national concerns about how social media addiction is distracting students from learning. The council report cites statistics such as that students are on their phones for a median of 43 minutes during the school day. At least 22 states have laws or policies that ban or restrict students use of cellphones in schools or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies, according to an Education Week analysis. Both the state House and Senate have passed their own bills to restrict cellphone use in schools and included the language in their budget proposals. The Senate added its phone restrictions this week to a House bill on social media literacy. Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch, a council co-chair, told the members on Thursday that the council probably will approve a formal recommendation, which in turn will help shape any final legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the questions facing school districts is how complete to make the ban. For instance, some districts ban students from using their phones while theyre at school while others allow them to be used during non-instructional time. A district should consider student age and grade ranges for these considerations and may consider different policies for different grade levels, such as elementary, middle and high school, the council said in its report. As outlined previously, it is important to note that it remains this Advisory Councils recommendation that personal communication devices are removed from student use from the beginning to the end of each school day. The council recognized though that there will have to be some exemptions. Examples of legitimate exemptions include emergencies, instructional, medical and accommodations for students with special needs. For instance, some students use their phones to monitor their glucose levels. Students with disabilities may need to use their phones as part of their individualized education programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report recognizes that it wont be easy getting parents out of the habit of calling or texting their children during the school day. Students, staff and families have become accustomed to having quick and easy access to communication throughout the day, according to the council report. Public school units must consider what processes will be used and clearly detail how students and parents can communicate with one another during the school day if their personal communication devices are not permitted. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. Twenty-eight major U.S. cities are sinking due to groundwater extraction a phenomenon that could affect 34 million people. What's happening? A team of researchers from Virginia Tech used satellite radar to map subsidence the gradual or sudden sinking of land for 28 of the most populous cities in the United States. The research, published in the journal Nature Cities, revealed that all 28 cities studied are, in fact, sinking. The team estimated that at least 20% of the urban area is sinking in each city, and it's over 65% in 25 cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cities like Chicago, Denver, Seattle, and New York are gradually sinking at about two millimeters per year, while parts of Houston are sinking up to 10 millimeters annually. The research team studied how variations in subsidence rates affect infrastructure risks. Inconsistent land motion can gradually weaken and damage buildings, foundations, and other structures. "The latent nature of this risk means that infrastructure can be silently compromised over time, with damage only becoming evident when it is severe or potentially catastrophic," said Manoochehr Shirzaei, author of the study and associate professor at Virginia Tech's Earth Observation and Innovation Lab. Why is groundwater depletion concerning? In their study, the researchers discovered that groundwater extraction is the main cause of land subsidence. According to the EPA, 50% of people in the U.S. rely on groundwater for drinking, farming, livestock, industrial, and household needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But when groundwater is pumped at a faster rate than it can replenish over the long term, it can lead to land collapse and compaction, reduced supply, and lower water quality. While extreme weather events have always existed, scientists note that human-induced climate crises supercharge these events. This exacerbates issues like droughts, which can accelerate groundwater depletion and make communities more vulnerable to its effects. What's being done about land subsidence? Virginia Tech's study stresses the significance of monitoring land movement when crafting policies for urban planning. The researchers recommended measures to mitigate infrastructure risks, including groundwater management to prevent excessive pumping, enhanced monitoring of critical infrastructure, and retrofitting existing infrastructure for increased resilience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People can help by showing support for responsible water management policies and staying informed about critical climate issues. Making homes more resilient can also help to better prepare for extreme weather events. For example, pairing solar panels with a battery system can help prepare your home for long grid outages while reducing energy costs to nearly $0. EnergySage provides a free service that allows you to easily compare quotes from reputable local installers and potentially save up to $10,000 on your solar installation. 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. Scouts from the Western Los Angeles County Council were among the thousands who placed flags and honored the lives of fallen soldiers at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Saturday. The ceremony included Scouts, community members and veteran groups, according to a media release from Scouting America. A total of 2,600 participants placed more than 90,000 flags ahead of Memorial Day in an event that the council has been putting on for over five decades. Local high school marching band among millions traveling for Memorial Day weekend Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The groups representing veterans at Saturdays gathering included the Sons of the American Revolution, Civil War, Buffalo Soldier, World War I and World War II, and members provided local Scouts with insight and experiences surrounding serving the country. A Scout from the Western Los Angeles County Council honors the life of a fallen soldier at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Tyrone D. Washington/Western Los Angeles County Council) A Scout from the Western Los Angeles County Council honors the life of a fallen soldier at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Tyrone D. Washington/Western Los Angeles County Council) Hundreds of Scouts from the Western Los Angeles County Council were among the thousands who placed flags and honored the lives of fallen soldiers at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Saturday. For many Scouts, events like these inspire a lifelong commitment to serving their communities and country, Rick Breithaupt, Western L.A. County Council Board President, said. Over the years, countless scouts have gone on to serve in the armed forces while carrying the values instilled in them through Scouting. The councils flag planting event is one of SoCals largest Memorial Day ceremonies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HAZEN, Ark. Authorities have arrested a suspect wanted in connection with a shooting on the University of Central Arkansas campus. The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Zion Jackson, had previously eluded Hazen police twice and is now facing a growing list of charges, says the police chief. Conway police detail arrests, warrants in recent shootings According to Hazen police, what began as a routine traffic stop on May 10 quickly escalated into a dangerous pursuit that spanned the city and has kept law enforcement on high alert. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident started around 8:45 p.m. when an officer pulled over a vehicle in the Family Dollar and Dollar Tree parking lot on Highway 63. Body camera footage shows the interaction beginning calmly before Jackson became visibly nervous. When questioned, Jackson expressed fear, referencing his race. Youre just starting to get real nervous over your ID, the officer is heard saying. Yeah man, Im Black and I dont you know what Im saying? Jackson replied. What does that have to do with anything? the officer asked. Im scared, bro, Jackson responded. Police say the officer smelled marijuana and began identifying passengers in the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hazen Police Chief Bradley Taylor said Jackson initially gave a false name. When officers discovered a gun in the car, Jackson fled on foot. Students at UCA and people in Conway react to the news of college campus shooting Authorities later confirmed his identity and discovered he was wanted in connection to an April 19 shooting on the UCA campus in Conway. Jackson was already facing charges of felony first-degree battery and felony terroristic act. But the chase didnt end there. Later that night, authorities said Jackson was spotted again, this time behind the wheel of a stolen City of Hazen truck equipped with a mosquito sprayer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You could see the mosquito sprayer in the back of the truck, Taylor said. The city is the only one that has those. Officers attempted a tactical vehicle intervention after pursuing and reaching speeds of 80 miles per hour through residential streets. Once again, Jackson fled on foot and escaped the perimeter police set up. Authorities believe Jackson then stole a second vehicle, described as an older model black Chevrolet truck. That vehicle was last seen in Searcy on May 18. Conway police investigating Saturday morning shooting that injured 1 student Conway police announced Friday evening that Jackson was in custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLRT - FOX16.com. UPDATE: Officials with Smith County Emergency Services District 2 have confirmed that the body of a 14-year-old juvenile reported missing on Friday night has been recovered from Hideaway Lake. ESD2 said divers were searching the lake for the juveniles body but have since stopped their search after his body was found, hours after he was reported missing while swimming in the lake. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is investigating the 14-year-olds death. HIDEAWAY LAKE, Texas (KETK) Law enforcement is currently looking for a 14-year-old juvenile who went missing at Hideaway Lake on Friday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Longview man located by Gregg County officials The juvenile was swimming with friends in Hideaway Lake when he got separated from his friends, according to Smith County Emergency Services District 2. Teams are currently on the water and diving in the lake looking for the juvenile, ESD2 officials said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. Multiple people have been arrested during protests at Cal Anderson Park on Saturday afternoon, according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD). Orders are being given to protesters to back away from officers and to stop throwing items at officers, SPD said in a post on X. Various groups had scheduled events to protest at Cal Anderson in Capitol Hill on Saturday Afternoon. Officers are making multiple arrests at a protest inside Cal Anderson Park. Orders are being given to protesters to back away from officers and to stop throwing items at officers. Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) May 24, 2025 This is a developing story. Check back to KIRO7.com for updates. Two years and some $12 million of beach replenishment to the tune of 360,000 cubic yards of beach replenishment on the western edge of Rockaway Beach has, sadly, done little to remediate erosion and dangerous surfing and swimming conditions. After the passing of a surfer this spring and two teens last year, the National Parks Service has decided to prohibit surfing and surf-bathing along the beach this summer. Jacob Riis Beach has about as storied a past as any in New York City. It has been envisioned and re-envisioned any number of ways, and it has borne witness to a number of cultural and countercultural movements. Being positioned on the far western edge of Long Island, it has also been the subject of shifting sandsthanks to hurricanes and developers alike. The result has been a mess of sand moving every which way, which unfortunately exposes old pilings, jetties, and concrete walls comprising a series of 14 bays that simply have not stood up to the test of time, which, frankly, is the same old story told. That series of bays and the disbursement of sand from the jetties, pilings, and walls can, on occasion anyhow, set up some good surf for those who know when and where to look. No easy feat. And its no easy feat to surf, either. Sebastian Lasaosa Rogers, the 35-year-old surfer and filmmaker who perished at the beach was among a small pod of surfers when his board was spotted tombstoning among the pilings. Surfers and rescuers did what they could, The Rockaway Times reported, but 20 minutes of CPR proved no use. Related: Former NYPD Cop Drowns Surfing 39 Long Island Waters The National Park Service told New York City nonprofit newsroom Gothamist that it does not intend to deposit any more sand in the area in the near future, and that for now, Bay 1 will remain closed for the summer. Still, much of that section of beach remains unfinished and in disrepair following recent hurricanes, and entering the water anywhere around the western edge of the beach is best done with extreme caution, or not at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its also worth noting that this isnt the first such loss of life on the old wooden piers along Rockaway Beach, and many have called for their removal, particularly since the rock jetties were put in place, but thatwhether you ask the National Park Service or the Army Core of Engineersis easier (and cheaper) said than done. For now, there are plenty of safer spots to find a wave without razor-sharp piling remnants plaguing the lineup, tempting though that uncrowded lineup may be. Stay safe out there, folks. Related: New Jersey Teen Surfs Every Day for 5 Years: Im Gonna Keep Going A Section of Rockaway Beach Is Closed to Surfing (and Swimming) for the 2025 Season first appeared on Surfer on May 24, 2025 The US Army designated Bell's V-280 Valor as its next-generation air assault vehicle, the MV-75. The tiltrotor is part of the Army's plan to modernize its aging fleet of military helicopters. The Army plans to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk with the MV-75 by the 2030s. It flies like a helicopter, cruises like a plane, and could redefine how the US Army fights wars within the next decade. The Army chose the Bell V-280 Valor as its next-generation assault aircraft, designed to fly longer and faster than current rotorcraft. Officially designated the MV-75, the Army is betting on the Bell tiltrotor to modernize its aging fleet of military helicopters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For nearly 50 years, the UH-60 Black Hawk has been the Army's airborne workhorse. The Army plans to continue flying the Black Hawk for the next several years as it fast-tracks the rollout of the new tiltrotor replacement fleet in the 2030s. Bell V-280 Valor The V-280 was developed by Bell Textron, a Texas-based aerospace company. Bell Flight Developed by Bell Textron, a Texas-based aerospace company, the V-280 was designed with "transformational increases in speed, range, and maneuverability," the Army said in a 2020 release. Propelled by two Rolls-Royce turboshaft engines, the V-280's tiltrotor design allows the aircraft to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane, like the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In order to be a contender for the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, the competing aircraft were required to cruise at speeds of up to 322 miles per hour nearly twice as fast as the Black Hawk's cruising speed of 174 mph. The aircraft was expected to carry up to 14 fully equipped passengers or accommodate external payloads of up to 10,000 pounds. The FLRAA also had to be able to operate at 6,000 feet in temperatures up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit and fly at least 1,700 nautical miles without refueling. A 'leap ahead' The V-280 is designed to carry fully equipped troops on assault missions. Bell Flight Gen. James Mingus, the Army's vice chief of staff, described the MV-75 as a "leap ahead in technology and capability." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It delivers operational reach that alters how we close with the enemy," Mingus said at the Army Aviation Association of America conference on May 14. "It brings the right combination of speed, payload, and survivability we've never had in one aircraft." The concept is that each MV-75 can rush over a dozen heavily loaded troopers onto assault missions that can catch an enemy off guard. Next-generation military helicopters Bell's V-280 was chosen over the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X to be the US Army's next-generation military helicopter. US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen Bell's V-280 Valor was selected in 2022 as the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, chosen over the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X. The FLRAA is part of the Army's broader effort to modernize its aerial fleet, known as Future Vertical Lift. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Army also planned to develop a new armed scout helicopter known as the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, but the program was canceled earlier this year to prioritize the fielding of the MV-75. The Army is "not just committed to the programme, but how we do it faster as well," Mingus said. Multimission Vertical Takeoff The Bell tiltrotor was officially designated the MV-75, referring to its multimission purpose and vertical takeoff and landing capability. US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen The "M" in the aircraft's designation refers to its multimission purpose, and the "V" represents its vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability. While the MV-75 design has yet to be finalized, the future tiltrotor is expected to have a baseline variant that will incorporate features to adapt it to special operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After entering the engineering and manufacturing stage last year, Bell is under contract to build six prototypes of the MV-75. The Texas-based aerospace company projects to complete its first flight in 2026 and low-rate initial production in 2028. The aircraft is slated to be delivered to the Army around 2030. 'Rapid response and enhanced maneuverability' Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor is designed to have a baseline variant that can be configured for special operations missions. Photo by Bell Helicopter The next-generation aircraft is expected to serve on missions involving vertical lift, air assault, maritime interdiction, medical evacuation, combat search and rescue, humanitarian relief, and tactical resupply. 101st Airborne Division The Army's 101st Airborne Division will be the first frontline unit to field the MV-75. US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen The 101st Airborne Division, the only Army division specializing in air assault operations, is set to be the first frontline unit to field the MV-75. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For nearly six decades, the unit's Combat Aviation Brigade has been operating assault helicopters, such as AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters, UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, and CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. "The 101st flies into real-world contested environments, across wide terrain, often without the luxury of fixed support infrastructure," Mingus said. "They need speed, endurance, and reliability." Preparing for a fight in the Pacific The Army is prioritizing the modernization of its aerial fleet in preparation for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen The modernization of the Army's aerial fleet comes as the US military prepares for a potential conflict with China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The long-range mobility of the Army's future aircraft fleet is essential for the vast Pacific theater, consisting of island chains separated by long distances and limited Army infrastructure in the region. The Future Vertical Lift initiative is also focused on enhancing survivability against Chinese and Russian air defenses by equipping future aircraft with high-speed capabilities and reduced radar signatures. Autonomous and semi-autonomous flight The Army is looking to integrate autonomous and semi-autonomous flight on its aerial systems, including the MV-75. Photo by Morgan Pattillo Amid the Pentagon's push for AI use within its ranks, the Army is also looking to integrate autonomous and semi-autonomous flight technology into its systems, including the MV-75. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Army wants to make sure that aircraft can be unmanned," Textron CEO Scott Donnelly said during an earnings call in April. In December 2019, the V-280 Valor successfully completed an autonomous test flight at the company's research center in Arlington, Texas, though two pilots remained onboard to intervene if necessary. Read the original article on Business Insider State lawmakers plan to work through the Memorial Day weekend to finalize Minnesotas next $66 billion, two-year budget, which they failed to pass by Mondays legislative deadline. Leaders hope they can wrap up negotiations between the House evenly split between Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor members and the DFL-led Senate by early next week, so that Gov. Tim Walz can call them back for a special session to pass a budget before the end of the month. If they dont, state employees will get layoff notices starting June 1 warning of a potential government shutdown in July. The fiscal year ends June 30, and the Legislature has to authorize new spending before then in order to keep the state running. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Working groups have been meeting since Tuesday, mostly in private, to finalize details on big spending areas like K-12 education and health and human services, which account for two-thirds of state general fund spending. Even though its slower than we would like, things are going well. It doesnt appear that anyone has quit or given up, and that is a very good sign, Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring told reporters Thursday. Our expectation is theyll be here working until they can come up with an agreement and move it forward. Theres been progress on a handful of bills, but as of Friday evening, there was no public information on final deals for taxes or the biggest parts of state spending. A controversial provision in the budget deal reached by legislative leaders and the governor last week may be slowing progress on the health bill. DFLers and Republicans agreed to end state-funded MinnesotaCare health insurance for adults in the U.S. without legal immigration status, a benefit DFLers created while in control of state government in 2023. Republicans agreed to preserve care for children, but many Democrats remain strongly opposed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy of St. Paul wants MinnesotaCare cuts to travel as a separate bill, but Republicans want it to run with the overall health package. At a Thursday joint news conference with Demuth, House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park said they hadnt resolved the matter. Both the DFL and Republican House leaders said theyre confident Walz will sign all parts of the budget deal into law and still would approve cuts to immigrant care even if it traveled separately from a broader health bill. Further complicating matters are the unique dynamics of co-leaders from both parties in the House working with the DFL majority in the Senate. The last time the House was tied was in 1979. Murphy called the House a two-headed monster. Its been more challenging than usual to sew this all together, she told reporters on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Working groups have already passed their leadership-imposed Wednesday deadline to finish work on bills, so leaders from both parties said they are getting more closely involved. They havent moved to take over the bills for committee chairs yet, but the option remains on the table. Murphy said she was skipping cabin plans for the weekend to make sure work gets done. As of Friday, most negotiations have taken place in hearings that are not publicly posted or open to the general public. A few key budget pieces had public hearings on Thursday K-12 and human services though the tax bill has been the only part that has had daily public hearings since the working group process started. The Legislature only passed a handful of the 20 or so budget bills in the regular session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, Hortman said the commerce, workforce and human services bills were close to completion. While there had been some trouble with energy and K-12 education, most of the budget deals were approaching completion. House leadership sent Reps. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, and Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, to help mediate. As of Friday, it was unclear if they were any closer to a deal. The only ones that are very far from having a fully formed bill ready to post is probably taxes and maybe health, Hortman said Thursday. The rest of them I think you are going to see posted spreadsheets soon and posted language not too long after that. Related Articles Sen. John Curtis joined colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee in introducing a bipartisan bill to address gang violence in Haiti. As chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Curtis was joined by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen D-N.H., ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and committee members Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Chris Coons, D-Del., in introducing the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. This bipartisan bill is a meaningful and logical next step towards addressing and preventing criminal collusion and violence in Haiti, Shaheen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ongoing gang violence has displaced more than a million Haitians including women and children, creating a dire humanitarian catastrophe mere hundreds of miles from U.S. shores," she added. The bill would mandate sanctions against Haitian gangs, armed criminal actors, and their political and economic enablers. It would also require interagency cooperation in identifying and reporting criminal collusion and threats to U.S. national interests. Haitis deteriorating security situation threatens Americas national interests in the region, Curtis said. By mandating targeted, strategic sanctions on Haitian political and economic elites who are colluding with criminal gangs, our bipartisan legislation will help address a growing humanitarian, economic, and national security crisis. A man and his son traverse a road in the Kenscoff neighborhood, which has seen residents evacuating due to gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 21, 2025. | Odelyn Joseph What would the bill do? There are a few key provisions of the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would mandate sanctions against Haitian gangs as well as political and economic elites who enable the gangs. It would also require in-depth interagency reporting on the scale and nature of criminal collusion in the country, including identification of the most prominent gangs in Haiti and the elites with significant ties to the gangs. This legislation would also require an assessment of threats to U.S. national interests, democratic governance in the country and the provision of assistance to the Haitian government caused by criminal collusion between gangs and elites, per the release. Americans are safer and more prosperous when Haiti is stable and secure, Coons said. In April, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., introduced companion legislation in the House. While millions of Americans focus on travel over Memorial Day weekend, many also pause to honor Americas servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice. In this edition of The Hills Office Space, NewsNations Jackie Koppell speaks with Pennsylvania Republican Senator Dave McCormick about his career in the U.S. Army and how it shaped his life. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, blocked the passage of a bill that would have prevented President Donald Trump from accepting a plane that is estimated to be worth as much as $400 million from the Qatari government for use as a future Air Force One. On May 21, the United States officially accepted the Boeing 747 from Qatar. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, called the gifted plane "the largest bribe to an American president in modern history." His bill was targeted at Trump's acceptance of the plane but would have applied to any president seeking to accept a plane from any foreign country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This gift reeks of corruption and naked self-enrichment," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "And Republicans should stand up and support our bill." Schumer moved to pass the bill via unanimous consent, in which a bill is considered passed as long as no senator rises in opposition. Marshall objected, leaving the bill to be debated in committee but didn't give a reason for his objection. Marshall's office didn't respond to a request for comment. U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, has been criticized by the Democratic National Convention for blocking a bill that would prevent Donald Trump from accepting a Qatari jet as a gift. The acceptance of the plane has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans. At least 12 Senate Republicans have voiced concerns about potential security issues, appearance of a bribe and the cost of upscaling the plane to the standards of Air Force One, according to Axios. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In total, upgrading the plane could cost up to $1 billion, aviation experts say. It could also take years to renovate, and not be ready until the end of Trump's term. Trump responded to questions about the plane by saying it's a gesture of good faith and denying that Qatar will expect anything in return for it. "I could be a stupid person and say we don't want a free plane," Trump said. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani also denied that the transfer of the plane is untoward. After his term expires, the plane is set to be donated to Trump's presidential library. Marshall shifting views on Qatar In 2019, Marshall said a "realignment of military support may be long overdue" in Qatar. According to The Epoch Times, Marshall said that Qatar had "well-documented support for extremism" that fueled bloodshed in the region and around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By 2022, Marshall's position on Qatar softened. On May 15, 2022, Marshall hosted Sheikh Meshal Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Ambassador of Qatar to the United States, at the Kansas Speedway. "There is no doubt that the relationship between our two countries over the past 50 years could not be more important especially after they helped get a record number of Americans out of Afghanistan," Marshall said in a news release. "I look forward to strengthening the diplomatic relations between our countries for years to come. The following year Marshall met with Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the hereditary monarch of Qatar. In a post on X, Marshall said that he is "grateful for their warm friendship and our strategic partnership in the Gulf region." Marshall drew criticism from conservative commentators and news outlets after he defended Qatar in a committee hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charles Asher Small, director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, told the committee he believed Qatar donated to U.S. universities in an effort to influence them. He pointed to a report from the Network Contagion Research Institute that found Qatar spent over $2.6 billion to American colleges between 2014 and 2019. "Our ongoing research establishes that the Qatari regime donations have substantially impacted Antisemitic discourse at American universities, while also promoting anti-Democratic values," Small said. He also noted Qatari's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group considered a terrorist organization by several Middle Eastern states, and Hamas, an Islamist political organization that governs the Gaza Strip that many Western nations consider a terrorist organization. Marshall asked Small about Qatar's role in securing the release of American hostages and the evacuation of Afghanistan. When Small responded by noting the state's link to Hamas and the Taliban, Marshall accused Small of being prejudiced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In our moment of need, Qatar stood behind us, and of the 120,000 removed (from Afghanistan), 60,000 of them came through Qatar. Without Qatar, we would have had thousands more deaths as well," Marshall said. Marshall's defense led to backlash from Conservative media figure Mark Levin, who hosts a radio show on Fox. Levin called Marshall a "puppet of Qatar." Right-leaning newspaper The Washington Examiner also criticized the comments, and found similarities in what Marshall said and documents Qatari agents provided to his office. The article noted that the statements about Qatar's help evacuating troops and negotiating hostage releases are accurate. After Marshall blocked Schumer's bill, Democrats pounced on the Kansan over his relationship with Qatar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "For Trump to get his jet, he had to rely on the chief of the GOP's Qatari corruption contingent to save his jet deal, Roger Marshall," said Abhi Rahman, deputy communications director for the Democratic National Committee. "Between hobnobbing with Qatari officials, making sure that Donald Trump gets the Qatari bribe, and repeatedly reciting talking points delivered straight from Qatari lobbyists at congressional hearings, there isn't a better ally to Qatar-a-Lago than Roger Marshall." Qatar's regional role The small nation on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula is one of the richest countries in the world per capita. It has been an American ally in the region, allowing it to headquarter its central command base in the state, which was one of the main launching sites during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. But Qatar maintains relationships with organizations that are hostile to America as well, like Hamas, Iran and The Muslim Brotherhood. Its ties to these groups strained relationships with other Middle Eastern countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ties have also allowed it to act as a diplomatic power in the Middle East, with The New Yorker describing it as the "world's go-to hostage negotiators" for its role in the Israel-Gaza War. The state is considered to have limited human rights. International observers criticize its harsh criminal code, which allows stoning and flogging as punishments. Qatar has also faced accusations that it uses forced labor of its migrant workforce, which constitutes about 90% of the country's population. (This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.) Jack Harvel is a Statehouse Reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at JHarvel@Gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Sen Roger Marshall saves Trump's Qatari jet by blocking bill Sen. Maggie Hassan is demanding answers from Spotify over fake podcasts that pushed opioids. In a letter, Hassan asked Spotify to "take action" on the phony content. Hassan's letter comes after a BI investigation found 200 podcasts on Spotify peddling opioids. A senator is demanding answers from Spotify about its handling of fake podcasts that promoted opioids and other prescription drugs. In the wake of a Business Insider investigation that found 200 phony podcasts on Spotify advertising the sale of pills, often without a prescription, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire urged the digital music and podcast company to moderate its content better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the podcasts were removed after BI previously flagged them to Spotify. "I urge you to take action to prevent fake podcasts that facilitate the illicit sale of drugs including those that could contain fentanyl from appearing on your platform," the two-term Democratic lawmaker said in a letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. "Addressing these threats requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and based on recent reports, Spotify has not exercised the level of diligence needed," she continued. In response to BI's investigation earlier this month, a Spotify spokesperson said: "The content in question has been removed because it violates our Platform Rules. We are constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service." In response to Hassan's letter, a company spokesperson on Saturday referred BI to its earlier statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many lawmakers across the United States have long sought to address the scourge of opioid abuse, which increasingly comes in the form of fentanyl. Fentanyl trafficking is a major issue for President Donald Trump, who has accused Mexico, Canada, and China of allowing the drug to be transported into the United States. Trump imposed tariffs on those countries in part to force them to do more to stem the flow of fentanyl. In her letter, Hassan, a former governor, spoke of the "heart-wrenching conversations" that she's had with constituents in her state who've lost family members or friends to drug overdoses. "The scale of the fentanyl crisis requires cooperation among law enforcement, online platforms, and international partners to protect our communities," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hassan also asked Spotify to detail its moderation tools and policies and inquired about the number of drug-related podcasts it has had to remove. She asked whether the platform received any revenue from the removed podcasts. The lawmaker, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, gave Spotify until June 12 to respond to her inquiries. "We are constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service," a Spotify spokesperson said in response to BI's investigation. Read the full letter here: Read the original article on Business Insider RUTLAND, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) Tariffs will be center stage as Vermonts junior senator talks with business owners, manufacturers, and community members to listen to their concerns first hand on Wednesday. Two events are planned. The first, in Manchester starting at 1:00 p.m., is an invitation-only event where Senator Peter Welch will be joining together local businesses and manufacturers at the Orvis fishing rod shop. The second will be at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland starting at 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public with RSVP (link here). Senator Welch has previously hosted roundtables in Stowe, Newport, St. Albans, and virtually. Vermont City Marathon hits the ground running Sunday Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meeting in Rutland is described as a community conversation where Vermonters are welcome to discuss what more needs to be done to make our communities more affordable, our businesses more successful, and our families healthier and safer. The events follow the senators recent trip to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, where he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Both small business and larger corporations have expressed concern over the economic effects of the tariffs newly instituted by the Trump administration. Welch has opposed the tariffs on Canada and other countries. According to the office of the United State Trade Representative, Vermont exported $645 million in goods to Canada in 2024, by far its largest market for exports. Taiwan was a distant second at $249 million. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote a Thursday letter urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) not to drop its prosecution against Boeing, which the Trump administration did later in the day. Initial charges alleged that the aircraft company mislead regulators before two 737 planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people, in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Any settlement agreement that does not hold Boeing and its executives accountable for their wrongdoing would be shameful, Warren and Blumenthal wrote in a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi before the prosecution was dropped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Fridays DOJ deal, Boeing is slated to pay or invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 million for the crash victims families. Warren and Blumenthal, in their letter, noted that a lawyer for victims families called the DOJ deal morally repugnant. Blumenthal is the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, while Warren serves as ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Both lawmakers have intensely questioned Boeing about whistleblower reports alleging safety protocols were being ignored to speed up production. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The series of safety incidents and warnings from whistleblowers and regulators all point to one troubling conclusionthat manufacturing errors and defects in Boeing aircraft are not one-offs, the senators wrote. Despite criticism for the companys culture and handling of the fatal crashes, DOJ officials have lauded their deal with Boeing. Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits, a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Associated Press. Nothing will diminish the victims losses, but this resolution holds Boeing financially accountable, provides finality and compensation for the families and makes an impact for the safety of future air travelers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement between Boeing and the DOJ still needs to be finalized, according to the AP. The Hill reached out to Boeing for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A Ukrainian soldier whose daughter was rescued from occupied territory in March 2025 was released from a Russian prison camp on the first day of a major prisoner-of-war (POW) swap in the thousand-for-thousand format. Source: Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Commissioner for Human Rights, on Telegram Details: The soldier was captured more than three years ago, at the start of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His 15-year-old daughter, Sofiia, was taken to Russia by her mother, who later returned with the child to temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The girls grandmother, who had raised her from birth, appealed to Lubinets to secure her liberation. "All this time, the child lived in unbearable conditions," Lubinets said. "The struggle to bring her back was long and challenging." The grandmother gained custody of Sofiia, and in March 2025, the girl came back to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Sofias father was freed from captivity on the first day of the major prisoner swap. For the first time in years, he heard the voices of his mother and daughter. Quote from Lubinets: "This is one of many stories of families torn apart by war. But these moments give us the strength to believe and fight on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We work to ensure every child and adult can come back to a free Ukraine and be reunited." Background: Ukrainska Pravda shared emotional stories of soldiers brought back on the first day of the large-scale POW exchange. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A more than 100-year-old family-owned business has requested the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation pause its plans to condemn the companys large automotive servicing center property in Kakaako. HART claims the eminent domain of a Servco Pacific Inc. property at 616 Keawe St. will be for the benefit of completing the over-$10 billion Skyline project into downtown Honolulu by 2030. But at the HART board of directors meeting Friday, Servco Chief Investment Officer Peter Fukunaga opposed the governments taking of the property until further discussions with the rail agency could be held. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to figure out how we can find a good solution for all of us, he added. Saying discussions with HART over this property originally started more than a decade ago, Fukunaga said that leadership and staffing changes at the agency derailed discussions in recent years. Theres been about a five-year period where there hasnt been any conversations, and then recently we were notified that HART needed to take a significant, large portion of the property, he added. About triple than what was initially discussed. And then we were informed that the land has to get turned over to the contractor by January, Fuku naga said. So a very short time to prepare, thats about seven months from now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Via a resolution, the rail agency seeks to notify the Honolulu City Council of its intention to acquire by eminent domain a fee simple interest and a temporary construction easement over, under, above and through a portion of that commercial propertywhich features an 8, 580-square-foot building where automotive repairs occurfor Skyline. HART claims the building conflicts with the station platform for the Civic Center Station and with the constructability of four straddle bent columns, which will be in the public right of way immediately adjacent to the building. A straddle bent column and electrical facilities to power the station will also be located within the acquired property. And an additional temporary easement is necessary for use during the removal of the building from the property. The business is still eligible to receive relocation benefits, rail staff assert. HART claims it presented a formal offer to Servco in April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The owner has been given a reasonable time to consider the offer, Krista Lunzer, HARTs director of transit property acquisition and relocation, told the board Friday. To adhere to the CCGS construction schedule, its necessary to begin the condemnation approval process now. Efforts will be made to continue negotiations with the owner, with the goal of reaching an amicable and reasonable settlement, she added. According to the citys Real Property Assessment Division, the commercial property at 616 Keawe St. has an assessed value of more than $21.2 million. If the eminent domain occurs, Fukunagagrandson of company founder Peter H. Fukunaga, who started the business in 1919said Servco will need to relocate one of our busiest service centers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So this facility supports nearly 50 jobs, tens of thousands of customers every year, he told the board. You know, seven months to get permitting, move equipment, retrain staff, potentially find a new location and figure this all out without disrupting thats the only spot down there that weve got. Fukunaga requested Servco would like to step up the amount of conversations and engagement to figure out alternatives to condemnation. The main alternative, he asserted, is full closure of the companys Kakaako service center. Fukunaga said the eminent domain jeopardizes the long-term redevelopment plans for this site and leaves us with very few practical options going forward. But the future of Servcos property was hampered by circumstances at HARTs board meeting. On Friday the board lacked a quorumthe minimum number of board members to legally conduct public business on the city rail projectand therefore could not vote on the condemnation or any other items on the meetings agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although it could not vote, board Chair Colleen Hanabusa explained the panel could receive testimony and that board members could ask questions. To that, board member Roger Morton asked Fukunaga whether Servco recommended alternatives that you would like us to consider. Yes, Fukunaga replied, adding his company wanted to set up a future meeting with HART to discuss options. But certainly, if theres a way that the amount of property to be taken permanently could be much smaller and maybe some of the property could be leased for the build process. Hanabusa asked about Servcos business operations on that Keawe Street site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For service, thats our only Toyota location in the area, Fukunaga replied. And you said (the planned taking ) changed, about triple the size ? she queried. Fukunaga replied, It was supposed to be about 5, 000 square feet, and I think its up to about 19, 000 (square feet ) at this point. Board member Anthony Aalto asked whether Servco would temporarily move and then, after HARTs done its business, move back in (to ) that huge site you have there. Fukunaga said, To your point, if theres a way that much less can be permanently taken, and during the build if a portion is leased or borrowed for a period of time that would certainly be a step in the right direction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant speak to the details of that, Aalto replied, but obviously, looking forward long-term, we want to see that site fully integrated into the station, and potentially see your business there on a permanent basis but in an integrated fashion with the station. Later, Lunzer said the request for the Servco propertys condemnation will return to the board for a formal vote, likely at its next meeting in June. In April the HART board voted for rail-related condemnations on three other Kakaako properties. Those include :560 Halekauwila St., owned by architecture firm Design Partners Properties No. 5 LLC.609 Keawe St., owned by Bank of Hawaii, trustee for the Katherine McGrew Cooper Trust.576 Halekauwila St., owned by Goodwill Kaka ako Center LLC and Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii Properties LLC. At the same April 25 meeting, the board also voted to condemn a fourth property in Kalihiat 1956 Dillingham Blvd., owned by Gerald Je Chul Kang and Kloe Sookhee Kangto allow easement access for placement of Hawaiian Electric equipment. Eighteen people were injured in a knife attack at the central train station in the northern German city of Hamburg on Friday, police said. Earlier, emergency services had reported 17 injuries. Four people suffered life-threatening injuries, six were seriously injured and seven others sustained lighter injuries on the platform, officials said. All of the injured were taken to nearby hospitals. Police said a 39-year-old German woman was detained at the station after stabbing people at random on platform 13/14. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She is to be brought before a judge on Saturday, a police spokesman told dpa, adding that the woman remains in police custody. The homicide squad has launched an investigation. Investigators currently believe that this was the act of a lone perpetrator. Police spokesman Florian Abbenseth told dpa that the suspect did not resist arrest. The police do not believe that the stabbing was a politically motivated act. "Rather, we have findings that lead us to investigate whether she may have been in a state of mental distress," Abbenseth explained. The knife used in the attack has been secured. There are many eyewitnesses who need to be interviewed, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident, which occurred around 6 pm (1600 GMT) on Friday sparked a major police operation at Hamburg's central train station, one of the busiest public transport hubs in Germany. Police said that a train on the track next to the platform seems not to have been involved in the incident. While the platform where the stabbings occurred was cordoned off, the rest of the station continued to operate normally on Friday evening, albeit amid a strong police presence. Four tracks were temporarily closed but reopened overnight after evidence was collected at the scene, railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) said. Passengers were advised to check schedules online, though services were expected to run on time by morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, DB expressed its "deep dismay" at the attack. "Our thoughts and sympathy are with the injured," the company said, warning of disruption to journeys. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held a phone call with Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher following the knife attack. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said Merz had offered the assistance of the federal government. Merz wrote on X: "The news from Hamburg is shocking. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. My thanks go to all the emergency services on the ground for their rapid assistance." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tschentscher wrote on X that the incident was shocking. He thanked the police and emergency services for their quick response and added: "The perpetrator is in custody. I wish the victims of the incident much strength and hope that those who are seriously injured will be saved." Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt condemned the knife attack, calling it shocking that people were targeted in such a "cowardly" way, according to the Interior Ministry. He expressed his sympathy for the victims and extended his gratitude to the police, emergency services and volunteers at the scene. A ban on carrying knives has been in place at the station since October 2023, with another ban on knives on public transport having taken effect in December 2024. Germany saw a number of attacks in public places in the run-up to parliamentary elections in February. Police on duty at the scene after several people were seriously injured in a knife attack at Hamburg Central Station. Steven Hutchings/dpa Police on duty at the scene after several people were seriously injured in a knife attack at Hamburg Central Station. Steven Hutchings/dpa Herb Baumeister was found dead in 1996, shortly after police unearthed thousands of human bones on Fox Hollow Farm The efforts to identify every victim of the Indiana serial killer are still underway, with "several tragedies" remaining, Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison said, per Fox News Digital "This investigation will far exceed my time in this office, Jellison added It will take years to identify every victim of the Indiana serial killer Herb Baumeister, but the coroner on the case maintains that each individual is a tragedy, not a statistic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison shared an update on his offices ongoing work to identify each victim in a new interview with Fox News Digital. Back in 2022, the coroner stated that investigators believe the 10,000 human bones and fragments found at Baumeisters property in the 1990s could belong to 25 victims. Of the approximately 25 victims buried on the infamous Westfield, Ind., estate, known as Fox Hollow Farm, 10 have been identified so far, the Hamilton County Coroners Office announced last month. The latest to be identified was Daniel Thomas Halloran, Fox News Digital reported. The office currently has three more DNA profiles that have not yet been identified, and, regardless of the exact victim count, several tragedies remain in the decades-old serial killer case, Jellison told the outlet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have 10,000 bone and bone fragments, so how many victims, you know, that will be is undetermined, the Hamilton County coroner added to Fox News Digital. Michelle Pemberton-USA TODAY NETWORK Fox Hollow Farm Fox Hollow Farm "I heard someone say recently that one death is a tragedy, two or more deaths is a statistic. And I think we have several tragedies because you have to treat each one of these individuals separately, he continued. So, we look at it really, you know, its not how many potential victims do we have, but lets just continue working hard to identify. And then, at the end, well tally that up. The coroner said that despite how far the office has come, the nature of the case and sheer number of victims means it will likely take years to identify every person Baumeister killed and buried at Fox Hollow. This investigation will far exceed my time in this office, Jellison told Fox News Digital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baumeisters double life first began unraveling in 1994 after his son, who was 13 at the time, found a human skull and a pile of bones in the woods of Fox Hollow. At the time, the serial killer, who owned a string of thrift stores, claimed the bones came from a skeleton his late father, an anesthesiologist, obtained in medical school. Two years later, however, he was faced with many more questions when police unearthed thousands of human bones and bone fragments at the Indiana estate. The day after authorities uncovered the remains, Baumeister vanished. Eight days later, he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a park in Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after, investigators learned that Baumeister was likely one of the most prolific serial killers in Indiana state history. They also learned that he hunted his victims in gay bars while his wife and three children were away at the familys lake house. ABC News Fox Hollow Farm Fox Hollow Farm 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. Among the victims already identified by the Hamilton County Coroners Office is Jeffrey Jones, of Fillmore, Ind., who was reported missing in 1993, and whose remains were recovered in 1996 from Fox Hollow Farm. In the press release announcing the news, the office said that because many of the remains were found burnt and crushed, this investigation is extremely challenging; however, the team of law enforcement and forensic specialists working the case remain committed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allen Livingston was also identified as one of Baumeisters victims. After he was identified in 2023, his sister, Shannon Doughty, told the Associated Press she was relieved to find out what had happened to her older brother. "Just knowing, its a multitude of emotions, she told the outlet. You wanted to know but you didnt want to know. But you needed to know. Relatives of missing men who want to provide family DNA reference samples for the effort to identify remains can contact the Indiana State Police missing persons hotline at 833-466-2653 or the Hamilton County Coroners Office at 317-770-4415. Read the original article on People DENVER (KDVR) Severe weather conditions are possible in areas of Colorados Eastern Plains on Friday evening, with the potential of bringing large hail, wind gusts and tornadoes. View the latest Weather Alerts in Denver and across Colorado on FOX31 The National Weather Service out of Boulder issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for several areas through 9 p.m. on Friday, including the following counties Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baca Prowers Kiowa Cheyenne Lincoln Kit Carson Yuma Washington Phillips Sedgwick Logan Washington Morgan A severe thunderstorm watch is issued for much of the Eastern Plains on Friday, May 23, 2025. A severe thunderstorm watch is issued for much of the Eastern Plains on Friday, May 23, 2025. Pinpoint Weather Chief Meteorologist Dave Fraser said lightning, wind and hail will be the main concerns of the storm. He said the storms may begin to clear after 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Denverites can expect to see some passing clouds along the Front Range on Friday evening. More storms are expected throughout the holiday weekend. A Pinpoint Weather Watch is issued for Saturday as daytime sunshine could initiate thunderstorms that generate lightning, wind and hail. Be sure to stay updated on the forecast before taking part in outdoor activities this weekend as the weather is subject to change. Denver, Colorado weather resources Stay prepared for storms and forecast changes, a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day and other important weather information: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pinpoint Weather team will continue to update the forecast multiple times each day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Four men were taken into custody after an armed robbery in San Franciscos Russian Hill neighborhood where one of the victims was pistol whipped, said the San Francisco Police Department. SFPD said its officers responded at 4:02 p.m. to the 1110 block of Lombard Street on May 18. Police found two victims at the scene who said they were confronted by several armed suspects who demanded their property. Photo courtesy of SFPD. Photo courtesy of SFPD. Police said the suspects fled the scene, but they were later located, thanks to the help of citywide Automated License Reader (ALPR) cameras and SFPD drones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On-duty SFPD officers operating in plainclothes responded to the area and observed the vehicle with the suspects inside said SFPD in a statement. The plainclothes officers coordinated a plan with uniformed officers to stop the vehicle and detain the suspects. Officers observed the vehicle travelling to Division and Bryant streets where it was stopped in heavy traffic. In this area, the suspects exited the vehicle and fled on foot. SFPD officers both in plainclothes and uniforms pursued the suspects on foot and detained all four of them. The suspects, who range in age from 18 to 30 years old, were taken to San Francisco County Jail where they face several charges, including felony charges of attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and resisting arrest. The suspects vehicle was towed and impounded by police. Despite the arrests, this remains an active case. Anyone with information is urged to contact the SFPD at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411, starting the message with SFPD. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Hiking through the Arizona desert was among the many facets of Hannah Moody's life that she regularly chronicled on social media. Hannah Moody, a 31-year-old Scottsdale resident, was found dead May 22 approximately 600 yards just over a third of a mile off-trail from a parking lot at the Sonoran Mountain Preserve. Those close to her think she died from heat exposure, and authorities do not suspect foul play. Her Instagram and TikTok accounts were just one way she tried to impact the lives of all whose path she crossed, her older brother explained. Hannah's health-related postings were aimed at sharing "warmth and light with folks," Joel said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "She was somebody who really enjoyed meeting people and didn't like remaining strangers with folks," he said, adding Hannah "really wanted to make sure not only that she met people, but that when she did that they felt loved." Late Scottsdale resident Hannah Moody is seen in this undated photo as photographed by Ben Pasquel. And "if she loved you, she loved you hard," said Hannah's mother, Terri Moody, reflecting on her daughter's thoughtful gift-giving. One Christmas, Hannah gifted her family matching hoodie-footie pajamas, which are adult-style onesies, her mother recalled with a light laugh. Terri, 66, remembered Hannah generously sending her money in 2014 to help fund a trip to visit archaeological and other sacred sites in Israel. More to the story: 31-year-old Hannah Moody was found dead near a Scottsdale trail. What to know Mom saw daughter days before loss A Northern California native, Hannah moved to Scottsdale from Charleston, South Carolina, about eight months ago. Hannah previously lived in Arizona and missed hiking the state, her mother said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Terri and her husband, John, were in Sedona for a work conference about a week before their daughter's untimely death. The mother and daughter went on a hike and then made it to Scottsdale where they spent a day together. Hannah Moody, center, is seen in this June 2023 family portrait. Her father, John Moody is on the far left and beside him is her brother, Joel Moody. On the far right is Hannah Moody's mother, Terri Moody. Brother Ethan Moody is beside their mother. "Thats quite a gift," Terri said, reflecting on the very precious time she spent with Hannah just days before her passing. The youngest of three siblings, Hannah was a devoted and loving aunt, Joel said, to his son and daughter, as well as to their brother Ethan Moodys two sons. Joel looked back on when his daughter, now 7, was about 18 months old and Hannah gave her a onesie that read, Your workout is my warmup, matching a shirt Hannah wore herself. She often knelt down to connect with her nieces and nephews, locking eyes and engaging with them, regardless of whether they were old enough to speak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hannah had a natural ability to draw people in, said her friend Megan Pasquel. The 34-year-old Phoenix-area resident described their relationship as sisterly, a bond that began in 2018 when they met as members of a Golds Gym in Venice, California, while Hannah was living in Marina Del Rey. "She was the type of person that would go out of her way to make a stranger's day, whether it was complimenting them or buying (them) coffee. And just always having a smile on her face, always being very kind to anyone she met," Pasquel said. Woman shared her renewed faith To honor Hannah on her birthday, Pasquel and others are organizing a sunrise hike meetup at 5 a.m. May 31 at the McDowell Sonoran Conservancys Gateway Trailhead, located at Thompson Peak Parkway and Windgate Ranch Road. Hannah is at least the second hiker in Arizona this May believed to have died from heat-related causes. On May 21, the day she was last seen hiking at the Sonoran Mountain Preserve, temperatures at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport reached 102 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noah Farabaugh, 33, of Mesa, died from a suspected heat stroke during a hike in the Superstition Mountains on May 11, according to his family. Just days later, 74-year-old Dennis Smith of Olympia, Washington, reportedly an experienced hiker, died near the end of a rim-to-rim trek in the Grand Canyon on May 15. A cause of death had not yet been confirmed a week later. While Hannahs loved ones are heartbroken by her loss, they find comfort in knowing she had embraced what her brother Joel described as a renewed faith. At one point, Joel said, Hannah seemed to have drifted away from Christianity, but in recent years, she had reconnected with her beliefs. When she returned to her faith, "she saw it not as something that was like an inheritance or that she was sort of bound to in the way that some people who are raised in the church might see it," Joel said. "She saw it as a gift, and so she embraced it and was free to share about it" on social media. Terri said she would often tell her daughter she was an "online missionary for Jesus." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joel added that Hannah "would understand that people grieve her" but "she would also want people to rejoice at the fact that she's in a better place, and to look forward to seeing her on the other side." This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Family and friends share memories of hiker Hannah Moody DENVER (KDVR) A shelter-in-place order was issued in a neighborhood of Longmont on Saturday morning and was lifted shortly after noon. The Boulder County Sheriffs Office said emergency officials issued the order due to sheriff and police activity in the area. Residents were asked to stay inside their homes. At 12:10 p.m., the sheriffs office said the all clear weas issued for the area and said residents can return to routine activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The sheriffs office posted a map highlighting the area from Hover Street to Spencer Street, and from 20th Street to 21st Avenue. No further information about the incident was immediately released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said he has been pressured into returning to work amid his ongoing mental health struggles. The Democratic senator, 55, said his doctor warned years ago that going public with his mental health struggles would invite criticism. After its public that you are getting help for depression, people will weaponize that, Fetterman told The New York Times. Simple things are turned. Thats exactly what happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It shook me that people are willing to weaponize that I got help, he added. Sen. John Fetterman dismissed the senatorial duties required of his job as performative. / Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images Amid reporting on his absence from the Senate, Fetterman has begun showing up to more committee meetings and hearings again. Fetterman attended a hearing for a committee he chairs with OpenAI Chief Sam Altman on May 8 after failing to appear all year, the Times reported. Yet Fetterman also dismissed many of his senatorial duties, casting procedural votes and participating in committee work as performative. Although he has been spotted at more Senate proceedings in recent weeks, Fetterman still reportedly shudders at showing up for the Senates Monday night votes, and has missed Thursday night votes to be with his father, who suffered a heart attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The votes I missed were overwhelmingly procedural; theyre even called bed check votes, Fetterman told the Times. I had to make a decision: getting here and sticking my thumb in the door for three seconds for a procedural vote or spend Monday night as a dad-daughter date. Fetterman has also avoided hosting town halls with his constituents over fears of potentially being accosted by protesters. The Daily Beast has reached out to Fettermans office for comment. Fetterman sought treatment for depression in 2023 at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. On the heels of his treatment, last year Fetterman proceeded to miss more Senate votes than all but two senators: now-Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who were both busy campaigning, the Times reported based on an analysis of the Senates roll call records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fetterman has also reportedly looked to avoid confrontation with his Democratic colleagues amid very public shows of cozying up to President Donald Trump. NBC reported that Fetterman refused to meet with Sen. Patty Murray of Washington after he signaled that he was open to confirming Trumps embattled Secretary of Defense pick, Pete Hegseth. He figured that she wanted to yell at him about it, said one source familiar with the situation. Top Senate Democrats reportedly held emergency meetings to strategize on how best to help Fetterman amid a bombshell report from The New York Magazine shedding new light on the depth of his health struggles after a May 2022 stroke. Sen. John Fetterman compared the media interest over his mental health to tabloid fodder. / Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Every time I see him, Im worried about him, one source said. Fetterman rebuked the article as a hit piece. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another Times analysis of Fettermans attendance this year found that the senator was the third most absent senator behind Murray and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Murray has been caring for her sick husband while Sanders has been speaking out against Trumps agenda on his Fighting Oligarchy Tour. Fetterman called being away from his family the worst part of the job. Fetterman compared all the fretting over his mental health to media interest in 73-year-old Bill Belichicks relationship with 24-year-old pageant contestant Jordan Hudson. This became the Belichick girlfriend story of politics, Fetterman said. It just keeps going and going. Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) has documented more than 150 cases of Ukrainian soldiers being summarily executed after surrendering to Russian forces, the agency said on May 24. The agency noted that this figure includes those cases recorded by HUR, suggesting the actual total may be higher. The statement came as Kyiv and Moscow began their largest prisoner exchange of the full-scale war. There has been a sharp rise in executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) by Russian forces since 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Intelligence officials have cited multiple instances in which Russian troops received direct orders to kill prisoners of war. According to HUR, these acts are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate and systematic policy of the Russian leadership. This pattern of war crimes has also been confirmed by the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. In a report released on March 19, the commission found a growing number of cases in which Russian forces deliberately killed or maimed Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered or attempted to surrender. "Several (Russian deserters) told the commission that they had received orders not to take prisoners but kill them instead," the U.N. report read. One described a deputy brigade commander saying, "Prisoners are not needed, shoot them on the spot." In February, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine raised alarm over a sharp increase in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces, documenting 79 POW executions across 24 separate incidents since late August 2024, some involving group killings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.N. findings, based on witness testimony and verified media content, describe Ukrainian POWs, including unarmed or wounded soldiers, being shot on the spot, often in areas of active Russian military operations. The mission also noted public calls by Russian figures and military-linked social media accounts for such killings. Read also: Chaos to coordination: the evolution of POW swaps in the Russia-Ukraine war Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Police are investigating a report of shots fired on Linden Avenue. According to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch, the call came in from the 1200 block of Linden Avenue at approximately 8:40 a.m. Crews are currently on scene. 2 NEWS will update this article when more information is available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made an appearance at the NATO Assemblys opening ceremony Friday to welcome delegates to the state. Talking to 2 NEWS, the governor said he was very excited to have the hundreds of delegates here in Dayton. During the Opening Ceremony, Gov. DeWine talked about NATOs deep roots with the city of Dayton and how it was an honor to have them back for the 30th anniversary for the Dayton Peace Accords. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From Bosnia to Dayton: One womans journey inspired by the Dayton Peace Accords The late former Secretary of State Warren Christopher said, and I quote, I trust that one day people will look back on Dayton and say, this is the place where the fundamental choices were made. DeWine says hes really proud and pleasantly surprised Dayton was chosen, as most cities that hold this type of event are much larger, but he also told me that delegates have been happy with what theyve seen. DeWine said that he was pleasantly surprised that Dayton was picked as most assemblies are held in larger cities. But that hasnt stopped Daytons visitors from hitting the town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think theyve been very happy with what theyve seen theyve gotten to Carillion Park and got a little history of the Wright Brothers, he said. Its been good so far. DeWine also told 2 NEWS that mustering the security for this event was also essential, because when you have hundreds of international delegates, you have to do it right. DeWine also said that he hopes Ohio will be considered more in the future for events like this. Anytime we can show off Ohio, we want to do it. We want to bring in groups, whether it is a fraternal organization or whether its NATO, whoever it is, we want them to come here because were very proud of our state and we want to show it off, said DeWine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeWine told 2 NEWS that hell be taking a step back from this weekends proceedings now that hes welcomed the delegates to Ohio. He says that Congressman Mike Turner will be spearheading the rest of the events. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) Authorities have issued a Silver Alert for 81-year-old Douglas Pike, who was last seen driving near the intersection of I-91 and I-84 in Hartford, Connecticut, around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Pike, who is from Longmeadow, was reported missing from Maine on Wednesday, May 21, and was later located in Connecticut. Courtesy of Longmeadow Police Department Pike is described as a white male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeved collared shirt with a light pattern, blue jeans, brown hiking shoes, and glasses. Officials noted that Pike is not in possession of his cell phone and is known to suffer from serious memory impairment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a bulletin shared by the Longmeadow Police Department, Pike may be operating a white 2002 Toyota Camry with Maine license plate 6483XS. The department is urging anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 413-567-3311. The Longmeadow Police Department, along with state and local law enforcement, are working to locate Pike and ensure his safe return. The public is encouraged to remain vigilant and report any sightings or information that may assist in the ongoing search. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. When teams of runners careen through the streets of Jessup on Saturday for St. Ubaldo Days iconic Corsa dei Ceri, they arent just carrying their saints, theyre carrying pieces of Gubbio. In a tradition observed only in Jessup and Gubbio, Italy, runners, or ceraioli, carry statues of St. Ubaldo, St. Anthony and St. George perched atop tall, wooden, candlelike pillars called a cero, as they navigate through the hilly streets of Jessup for La Corsa dei Ceri. With the Family of St. George unveiling last month a new, roughly 6-foot-tall cero handcrafted in Gubbio, all three families will be using statues and saints made in Gubbio, said Curt Camoni, a board member with the Family of St. George who has been running in the Race of the Saints since 2001 a year after the tradition was revived in Jessup. It definitely brings a closeness (to Gubbio), Camoni said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gubbio is Jessups sister city. * Statues from the Family of San Giorgio, SantUbaldo, and SantAntonio are presented in the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center in Jessup. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * The upper level of the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center where artifacts are kept. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Dave Valvano, member of the family of The Family of Sant Antonio, discusses some of the historical items that are part of Saint Ubaldo Day in the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center Friday, May 23, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * President of the Saint Ubaldo Society Scott Hall and member of the family of The Family of Sant Antonio Dave Valvano stand in the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center as they describe some of the items used during Saint Ubaldo Day in Jessup Friday, May 23, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * A few of the first class relics that make up the cultural significance of Saint Ubaldo Day sit in the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center in Jessup Friday, May 23, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * President of the Saint Ubaldo Society Scott Hall points out some of the artifacts that make up the cultural significance of Saint Ubaldo Day in Jessup Friday, May 23, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Shown here is the former cero that was used by The Family of San Giorgio and will be replaced with a new one. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Flags representing the three families are secured to the roof of the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center in Jessup. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Show Caption 1 of 8 Statues from the Family of San Giorgio, SantUbaldo, and SantAntonio are presented in the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center in Jessup. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Expand The celebration of St. Ubaldo Baldassini began in Gubbio in the 12th century; Italian immigrants brought the tradition to Jessup in 1909. The tradition had a hiatus in1952 and resumed in 1976, followed by another hiatus from 1990 to 2000. The Family of St. George was the last family to still use a locally made cero, Camoni said. With their new cero a gift from Gubbio the family will preserve their previous cero inside the St. Ubaldo Society Cultural Center, 310 Third Ave., Camoni said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They generously created and gifted these items to us, Camoni said. It really is best of both worlds. We feel a very personal attachment to everything we use. The ceri from Gubbio are the same as the ones they use in their race, just smaller, Camoni said, explaining runners in Gubbio dont have to worry about hitting wires like Jessup. The Family of St. Ubaldo and the Family of St. Anthony each received a new cero from Gubbio in previous years, and during last years St. Ubaldo Day, a large group of attendees from Gubbio saw the Family of St. Georges cero and promised to send a new one, he said. It just was an amazingly generous gift, Camoni said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Lackawanna Energy Center then covered the $2,500 shipping costs from Gubbio to Jessup, he said, lauding the natural gas-fired power plant for its support. Because the statue of St. George is seated on a horse, its the shortest of the three saints, Camoni said. To offset that, the new cero is slightly taller, bringing it more in line with the others, he said. Its going to be beautiful, he said. I cant wait to see the pictures where theyre running, and you could see all three in line. On Saturday, the only non-Gubbio items carried by the runners will be the stangas, or the H-shaped platforms that rest on their shoulders, with the ceri and saint statues on top of them, Camoni said. The entire setup weighs 400 to 500 pounds, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked whether they would ever use stangas from Gubbio, Camoni pointed to the sentimental value of the generations of runners who have used their current stangas. Thats the part that actually comes in contact with the ceraioli, the runners, and theres some really good people that are no longer able to touch that, he said. Knowing that they were in contact with that, that one day a year, you get to feel them kind of with you. Its super important. Both Camoni and St. Ubaldo Society President Scott Hall pointed to other important items from Gubbio used in Jessup, including a large statue of St. Ubaldo that is paraded before the race, which was handcrafted and painted in Gubbio; a relic with a piece of St. Ubaldos lung, which Hall said is supposed to have a healing effect for those who are sick; and elements of the child-sized version of the race on Sunday called the Ceri Piccoli. Each year, Gubbio also ships Jessup hand-painted vases with the names of each familys captain, or capodieci, Camoni said. In one of St. Ubaldo Days more compelling scenes, called LAlzata, or the raising of the saints, team captains toss the water-filled vases into the air, shattering them on the ground before their teams hoist their saints into the air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The connection to Gubbio is stronger than ever, Camoni said. Getting a piece of the vase is supposed to bring good luck for the year, Hall said. At the end of the race, the capocetta, who is selected by the capodiece, uses a hatchet from Gubbio to remove a pin disconnecting the cero from the stanga, Hall said, explaining each family has its own hatchet. Hatchets used in Saint Ubaldo Day that were made in Gubbio, Italy are secured to the wall of the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center in Jessup. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Hall called it a great honor to participate each year and carry on the tradition that came over from Gubbio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not about one person, one family, Hall said. Rain or shine, the ceri will rise, and we are going to honor St. Ubaldo (Saturday) through the streets of Jessup. La Festa dei Ceri schedule St. Ubaldo Day festivities begin early Saturday morning, continuing throughout much of the day in Jessups boroughwide celebration. 6-7:45 a.m.: Drummers will commence at 6 a.m. from the St. Ubaldo Cultural Center, 310 Third Ave., and walk through the town to wake up dignitaries for the day. 7:30-9: The Valley View High School band will process through the town playing music for the community to enjoy. 8-8:30: Those participating in St. Ubaldo Days events will meet at the top of the hill of St. Johns Italian American Cemetery entrance on Primo Saldi Drive for a procession into the cemetery, which begins at 8:05 a.m. The Rev. Andrew Kurovsky will perform a prayer service with a wreath laying in honor of past runners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 8:40-10:15: A breakfast will be hosted by the St. Ubaldo Society at the cultural center for participants and dignitaries, with a flower pinning, or Mazzolino di Fiori, ceremony for runners. 10:30-11: A Mass in honor of St. Ubaldo will be held on the steps of the cultural center. Immediately following Mass 11:20: All runners are asked to assemble inside of the cultural center to remove all needed artifacts used during the Corsa dei Ceri; the saints will leave the chapel and be placed on a carrier to lead in the procession to the old St. Marys Church, 517 Third Ave. Immediately following the exit of the saints-11:45: Extended procession of saints, ceri and all runners to the old St. Marys Church. Noon: LAlzata, or the raising of the saints, at St. Marys Church. 12:30 p.m.: Each saint will be paraded through town, stopping at the homes of past runners. 2: All ceri will be placed together on lower Ward Street. 4-4:15: Runners, dignitaries and guests will gather at the St. Ubaldo Society Cultural Center in preparation of the large statue of St. Ubaldo. 4:20 p.m.: The large statue of St. Ubaldo will leave promptly at 4:20 p.m., processing the race route in reverse. The St. Ubaldo Society invites all who wish to carry the large statue to do so respectfully. 5:20: A short run from lower Ward Street to the start of the Corsa dei Ceri. 5:30: La Corsa dei Ceri begins, starting on Powell Avenue and winding through town, ending in Veterans Memorial Field. Following the end of the race, a procession with all artifacts used throughout the day will proceed back to the St. Ubaldo Society Cultural Center. When they arrive, all artifacts will be placed in their resting position until next year, and once the large St. Ubaldo statue is in place, a closing prayer by Kurovsky will take place followed by singing. La Corsa dei Ceri route To follow the race, there will be multiple stops along the route. Stops will be at, in order: 1. Powell Avenue and Ward Street 2. Mylert Street and Short Street 3. Grassy Island Avenue and Ward Street 4. Church Street and Center Street 5. The S-turn at Church Street and Front Street 6. Church Street and Lane Street 7. Church Street and Third Avenue 8. The ceri will then turn to run up Church Street 9. Church Street and Erie Street 10. Erie Street 11. Conclusion at Veterans Memorial Field WESTFIELD Westfield High School recently announced that 16 students have been awarded the prestigious Global Seal of Biliteracy, an international language certificate that recognizes and celebrates their level of proficiency in two or more languages. During a ceremony on May 22 in Westfield High School, Meyleen Sierra, the Seal of Bilteracy Coordinator, said this is the first time that the school district has recognized the students in a ceremony. She said the school started the program last year as an opportunity for students to showcase their language skills by participating in exams for the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy. This year for the first time, the students also participated in exams for the Global Seal of Biliteracy, which she said crosses borders. The students being recognized will earn a seal on their high school diploma, and a special cord to wear at graduation. Sierra said the Global Seal is an international recognition that sets students apart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She then welcomed the students being recognized to the stage, while the Show Choir sang the national anthem. The nine students who received the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy included Pavlo Balandiuk for Russian and Ukrainian; Ruslana Cherepanova for Russian; Mark Chyruk for Russian and Ukrainian; Dereck Melendez-Camacho for Spanish; Denys Prymych for Russian and Ukrainian; Ajaliz Ramos for Spanish; Justin Romanelli for Spanish - Romanelli also earned the MA State Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction; Savelii Vashchenko for Russian and Ukrainian and Matthew Vinces for Spanish. Sixteen students earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy which validates language skills and expands future opportunities for its recipients. It offers three levels of certification: Functional Fluency, Working Fluency, and Professional Fluency, each serving a meaningful purpose in this increasingly diverse and interconnected world. Available in over 100 languages, the Global Seal of Biliteracy has been issued by employers, universities, and secondary schools in over 30 countries and five continents. Our students have worked hard to develop their language skills, and we are thrilled to see their efforts recognized with the Global Seal of Biliteracy, said Sierra. This certification not only celebrates their accomplishments but also opens doors for them in academia and the global job market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The students being recognized will earn a seal on their high school diploma, and a special cord to wear at graduation. Sierra said the Global Seal is an international recognition that sets students apart. Recipients of the Global Seal of Biliteracy included Pavlo Balandiuk for Russian and Ukrainian; Jaiden Caban for Spanish; Ruslana Cherepanova for Russian, and Mark Chyruk for Russian and Ukrainian, and Mykyta Lushchynskyi for Russian and Ukrainian. Balandiuk, Chyruk and Lushchynskyi both also received a medal and Global Seal Certificate for working fluency. Also receiving the Global Seal of Biliteracy were Makenzie Mailloux for Spanish; Dereck Melendez-Camacho for Spanish; Megan Moran for Spanish; Denys Prymych for Russian and Ukrainian; Ajaliz Ramos for Spanish; Natasha Rivera for Spanish; Nayshalis Rosario-Lopez for Spanish; Justin Romanelli for Spanish; Sophie Svantesson for Spanish; Savelii Vashchenko for Russian and Ukrainian, and Matthew Vinces for Spanish. Prymych, Romanelli and Vashchenko also received a medal and Global Seal Certificate for working fluency. In his remarks, Principal Charles Jendrysik said, In life, its important to distinguish yourselves. He said having skill and proficiency in multiple languages.creates more opportunities, and is also a sign of being a culturally aware citizen in the community who embraces various cultures in a meaningful way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its an honor to stand before you. This is a truly remarkable achievement, said Anna Antropova, supervisor of the English language learner program. She said not only did the students learn the culture, but the ability to speak, read and write in multiple languages. She said the achievement belongs to them and their families, and to their teachers Meyleen Sierra and Amy Satkowski. Antropova said all of the students being recognized had the mindset, I can learn. We look forward to seeing all that you will accomplish, she said. Sierra then introduced student keynote speaker Sophie Svantesson, Class of 2025. Svantesson said she started studying Spanish in 7th grade, and discovered my passion for learning languages. She said she was grateful at having the opportunity to travel to Spain in 2024, where she was immersed in the language. She said she plans to continue Spanish while studying biology at Providence College in the fall. Svantesson then repeated her remarks in Spanish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the ceremony, the students and their families were invited for refreshments in the cafeteria where they spoke about the honor. I think its pretty important for jobs. For example, I have multiple languages its better than knowing only English, said Savelli Vashchenko. Vashchenko, a junior, said next year he plans to enter the Westfield Promise early college program and keep up his good grades. He said he is interested in studying business in the future. Denys Prymych, whose family came with him to the ceremony, said learning languages is interesting for him. Prymych is interested in going into the aviation program at CT Aero Tech for aircraft mechanics and then flight school. He said he already has 10 hours of flight training. Something different, he said. Ajaliz Ramos, who received a State and Global Certificate of Biliteracy for Spanish, said she is glad that WHS is recognizing these students, who put in a lot of work. Its great that we embrace people who take in another language and another culture, she said. Ramos will be attending Westfield State University for finance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anna Camacho, who came to see her son Dereck Melendez-Camacho earn the recognition, said, Im very happy to see the students recognized. Its very important. Antropovo said she is hoping the ceremony will grow every year. She said one of her children received the award in another district, a ceremony that she attended as a parent, and recommended WHS implement it for their bilingual students.. They certainly have what it takes, she said. For more information about the Global Seal of Biliteracy, visit https://theglobalseal.com/. Read the original article on MassLive. The Slovak National Party (SNS), a coalition partner, has claimed that Slovakia has the right to demand financial compensation from Ukraine for its assistance. Source: Slovak news agency TASR, as reported by European Pravda, citing Teraz news portal Details: Zuzana Skopcova, director of the office of the SNS chairman, stated that the party urges Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to propose, at the next European Council meeting, that the EU secure a share of Ukraines mineral wealth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Skoptcova: "Never in history has any state signed an agreement like the one President Zelenskyy concluded with the United States. The EUs aid is comparable to that of the US. If Ukraine transfers all its mineral wealth to the United States, it will have nothing left to repay European states support." Details: She added that granting the US exclusive rights to Ukraines mineral resources is "illogical and unethical". SNS Chairman Andrej Danko plans to formally raise this issue with Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky on Monday 26 May. He will request a comprehensive calculation of Slovakias costs in supporting Ukraine and the preparation of documents for Prime Minister Fico. The SNS claims Slovakia has provided over 3 billion in aid to Ukraine and argues that, like the US, Slovakia should receive compensation. Quote from Skoptcova: "If Ukraine has decided to pay for assistance during the war against Russia, it is unclear why it does not do so for the EU." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: SNS believes that Fico will raise this issue at the next meeting of the leaders so that they can address the EU leadership. Background: On 8 May, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) voted to ratify an agreement on establishing a joint investment fund between Ukraine and the United States. All 338 MPs voted in favour, with none of them abstaining or voting against ratification. On 12 May, Zelenskyy signed the ratification of the mineral agreement with the United States. On 13 May, Ukraine signed two commercial agreements with the US International Development Finance Corporation to advance the ratified agreement on the funds establishment. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! (FOX40.COM) A 1970 Cessna plane landed on Highway 132 in Modesto, causing the eastbound lane to close down, according to the California Highway Patrol. Video above: How to report a public safety threat According to CHP, the pilot has been identified as a 75-year-old man from Sacramento who reported a Mayday due to a mechanical issue. He was able to land the aircraft and move it to the right shoulder; however, the wings still needed to be removed. Folsom Police rescue abandoned puppy from Kemp Park Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CHP stated that the estimated time of the craft being removed is 8 hours, and Caltrans is working to assist the traffic. The pilot remained unharmed and did not crash into anything. Officials are asking drivers to use Maze Boulevard as an alternative route. At this time, there have been no mentions of when the highway will open for traffic. The pilot seemed to be going to Modesto Airport before the landing occurred, CHP Modesto 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 FOX40 News. HIGH POINT Did a controversial handgun carried by a High Point Police officer discharge accidentally two years ago, without the officer ever putting his hand on the trigger? The guns manufacturer says thats impossible, but the recently retired officer who was shot in the leg with his own service weapon during the incident claims otherwise. Former officer Vincent Panico, an 18-year veteran of the High Point Police Department who retired April 1, is one of dozens of plaintiffs listed in a mass legal action filed against firearms manufacturer Sig Sauer two months ago. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire, where Sig Sauer is headquartered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit alleges that Sig Sauers popular P320 handgun which the suit describes as the most dangerous pistol sold in the United States market has no external safety mechanism and is susceptible to unintended discharges, meaning instances when a gun fires without user intent, at an alarmingly high rate. The suit lists dozens of alleged unintended discharge incidents across the country going as far back as 2015 in which users claim they did not pull the trigger. In many cases, the guns user was injured. In other cases, someone else nearby was injured, including a Michigan schoolteacher who was shot in the neck. In Pennsylvania, a state trooper was killed ironically, during a safety training session when a fellow troopers gun allegedly fired without a trigger pull. Some of the incidents were recorded on officers body cameras or on security cameras. Among those dozens of incidents is that of Panico, a 48-year-old Kernersville resident with extensive firearms experience. Prior to his 18 years with HPPD, he served five years with the Durham Police Department. Hes also a former combat Marine who deployed to Iraq. The shooting incident occurred on the afternoon of April 24, 2023 during the heart of the spring High Point Market in the Commerce Avenue parking lot at City Hall. Security-camera footage provided by Panicos attorney shows the officer exiting his police vehicle just before the holstered gun discharges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His hands were not on the gun, said the attorney, Robert W. Zimmerman of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, a personal injury firm in Philadelphia. The holstered weapon shot a round into his leg. It entered his right thigh area, traveled down his leg and blew out around his knee. Panico, who was not made available for an interview, was taken to High Point Medical Center. He did not require surgery but lost a significant amount of blood, had nerve damage and was traumatized by the incident, according to Zimmerman. This was a painful experience for him, both physically and emotionally, he said. He relied on his weapon to protect himself, to protect the community, and when you have a product that you rely upon to protect you that does the exact opposite and causes injury, it really impacted him physically and emotionally. It made his ability to perform his work tasks that much more difficult. You need to be able to have confidence and rely upon your duty weapon, and this really shook him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like Panico, the majority of the plaintiffs are law enforcement officers well-trained in the use of firearms, but that makes no difference with a defective weapon, Zimmerman said. A gun shouldnt fire in its holster without a hand touching the trigger, said Zimmerman, who said hes aware of some 350 unintended discharges of the pistol. According to Zimmerman, the P320 is a striker-fired pistol rather than hammer-fired and has an extremely short trigger pull. Sig Sauer also failed to put an external safety on the gun, he added. Sigs competitors put one or sometimes even two external safeties on this type of gun to make sure a slight or short trigger movement that would cause the gun to fire doesnt occur, he explained. Our claims are that the Sig Sauer is defectively designed and that it lacked a manual thumb safety and/or a trigger safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Furthermore, the suit claims that even when incidents of unintended discharges began to be reported, Sig Sauer stubbornly refused to recall the controversial pistol, despite knowing of scores of grievous wounds inflicted upon users and bystanders. The company has staunchly defended the embattled P320, even posting a defiant denial on its website in March: The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull that is a fact, the statement reads in part. The allegations against the P320 are nothing more than individuals seeking to profit or avoid personal responsibility. ... In all cases, these individuals have an ulterior motive behind their baseless allegations that the P320 can fire without a trigger pull; they have no evidence, no data and no empirical testing to support any of their claims. They instead choose to misrepresent clear, negligent discharges as a design problem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zimmerman denied his clients are simply looking to make a profit. I feel bad that Sig Sauer is accusing my clients of having ulterior motives when their primary motivation is simply to make sure this doesnt happen to another 350 individuals, he said. Sig Sauer is looking to blame the victims rather than looking at what other gun manufacturers do. Although some law enforcement departments across the country have stopped using the P320, others including the N.C. State Highway Patrol and its more than 1,500 sworn officers have not. As an agency, said 1st Sgt. Christopher Knox, public information officer for the Highway Patrol, we are continuously in review of our training practices, internal policies and issued equipment to ensure that we are providing the very best in law enforcement services to our state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With that being said, over the course of approximately eight years of using the first and second generations of this firearm, we have experienced zero spontaneous discharges and are not currently looking to move away from its deployment. Officers with the Thomasville Police Department and the Davidson County Sheriffs Department also utilize the P320, as well as another Sig Sauer pistol, the P365, according to department spokesmen. The High Point Police Department, which began issuing the P320 to officers in 2015, stopped using the weapon in the fall of 2024, about a year and a half after Panicos incident, according to department spokesperson Victoria Ruvio. Officers now carry the Sig Sauer M17, a 9-millimeter pistol with an external thumb safety, she said. Every seven or eight years, the High Point Police Department reviews its equipment, including firearms, Ruvio explained. The most recent review found it would be difficult to get replacement parts for the Sig P320. For that and other reasons, the department moved to the Sig M17 9mm with an external thumb safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked if HPPD dropped the P320 over safety concerns, Ruvio simply reiterated that after a thorough review process, the decision was made to switch to the Sig M17. It should be noted that no law enforcement departments, including HPPD, are named as defendants in the lawsuit against Sig Sauer. We see no culpability (for the departments), Zimmerman said. We simply want law enforcement departments to have information so that each can make the best decision for its officers. May 23JAMESTOWN The new addition will enhance the quality of care for residents of SMP Health Ave Maria, according to Tonie Stoen, CEO/administrator. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday, May 23, for SMP Health Ave Maria's new addition. "We are thrilled to break ground on the private room project, and we rejoice in the fact that we are able to do that," Stoen said. The estimated cost of the 12,000-square-foot addition is $8.4 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project includes building new private rooms and remodeling 16 semi-private rooms and converting them to private rooms, Stoen said. When the addition is complete, Ave Maria will have 60 private rooms instead of only 28. "To say that this project is essential is the understatement of the century," Stoen said. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026. SMP Health Ave Maria is a Catholic health care ministry that provides short-term rehabilitation including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and respiratory therapy services and transitional care in addition to traditional skilled nursing and long-term care services to individuals of all faiths, according to its website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ave Maria is licensed for 100 beds for skilled nursing care as well as short-term rehabilitation, Stoen said. "We have several residents that come short stay and then go back home after therapy," she said. "We have several long-term care residents as well. We also have 58 apartments for our assisted living, which is co-located." Ave Maria has about 230 employees, Stoen said. JT Kennelly, president and CEO of SMP Health, said the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation (SMP) were never driven by selfish needs. "It was always the needs of the community and the love for the individuals in the community that drove the Sisters to grow and to expand," he said. " ... That same love for the people that are served here at Ave Maria, the same love for the community of Jamestown, wanting to make it a better place, is what's driving this addition here at Ave Maria." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SMP Health Ave Maria launched an $8 million "Forward in Faith" capital campaign last fall. Annie Hancock, development director at Ave Maria, said the project wouldn't be possible without the generosity of Ave Maria's supporters. "Every single gift, no matter how big or small, has helped us and it is treasured because it was given with love and intention," she said. "Ave Maria is the special place that it is for so many because of all of you." Stoen said employees have contributed to the capital campaign as well. She said some employees contribute out of their paycheck biweekly toward projects like the new addition. "The project wouldn't be where it is today without the generosity of donors and the support of countless individuals," she said. The social media platform X - previously known as Twitter before Elon Musk's $44 billion purchase of the platform - started experiencing outages on a small scale on since May 22. According to a report from Wired, a fire broke out at the data center in Hillsboro, Oregon, leased by Elon Musks X, "forcing an extended response from emergency crews." "Firefighters arrived at the Hillsboro Technology Park, in a suburb west of Portland, at 10:21 am, according to Hillsboro Fire and Rescue spokesperson Piseth Pich. They found a room with batteries that were deemed to be involved in the fire," Wired reported at the time. "Pich noted that the fire had not spread to other parts of the building, but said the room in question was heavy with smoke. As of 3:00 pm, the crew was still on the scene." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the report, X appears to lease space from a building linked to Digital Realty, one of the largest developers of data centers. Ryan Young, vie president of Americas operations for the company confirmed in a statement that there was a fire-related incident at our PDX11 facility but that it had been contained and that the fire department had left. All personnel were safely evacuated, with no reported injuries, Young stated. We continue to monitor the situation, prioritizing the safety of our personnel, the integrity of the facility, and minimizing customer impact. X appeared to confirm an issue - though without specifics - in a statement released on May 22. X is aware some of our users are experiencing performance issues on the platform today, the account posted. We are experiencing a data center outage and the team is actively working to remediate the issue." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Functionality of the site eventually returned, but outages spiked once again on Saturday, May 24 when DownDefector noticed an increase in complaints. Related: Apple TV+ Announces Cancellation of 6 Shows Social Media Platform X (Twitter) is Down - Here's Why first appeared on Men's Journal on May 24, 2025 CADDO PARISH (KTAL/KMSS) A tip led the Caddo Parish Sheriffs Office to the home of a woman whose son allegedly stabbed her to death and waited for deputies to arrive. One man has been taken into custody after a body was discovered in a home on Double A Drive in Blanchard, according to the Caddo Parish Sheriffs Office. Media Specialist Brandon Fountain says deputies were first alerted shortly after 2 p.m. by a woman who informed authorities that an individual had killed his mother. Conner Lyons 19 (Source: Caddo Parish Sheriffs Office) When the deputies arrived, they did see the suspect waiting on them to turn himself in, Fountain told reporters. When they went inside, they confirmed there was a deceased woman lying on the floor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Caddo Parish Coroner identified the victim as 55-year-old Lara Lyons. The suspect, later identified as 19-year-old Conner Lyons, was immediately taken into custody and brought in for questioning. Caddo Parish Sheriffs investigators said that after they Mirandad Lyons, he told them that he was hearing voices in his head and stabbed his mother on the right side of the neck three times as she slept. Fountain said investigators are continuing to gather details and speak with witnesses as they piece together the circumstances surrounding the case. CPSO said when Lyons was brought to the Criminal Investigation Division for an interview, he waived his rights to have a lawyer present. Lyons is currently housed in the Caddo Correctional Center on a single count of second-degree murder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This case is the 19th homicide in Caddo Parish in 2025. An autopsy was ordered for Ms. Lyons. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. (KRON) A Sonoma man was arrested Thursday and accused of running a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme that stripped some investors of their life savings. Kenneth W. Mattson, 63, was indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice charges. Mattson was the President of LeFever Mattson, a corporation based in Citrus Heights, Calif., that controlled several limited partnerships that owned and managed commercial and residential properties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more than a decade, Mattson allegedly solicited and obtained millions of dollars in investments for what he represented as legitimate and safe interests of limited partnerships that owned real estate, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office Northern District of California. Prosecutors said, although many of the partnerships were real entities, Mattsons victims never had interests in those partnerships as off-books investors. Most of his victims were nearing retirement or in retirement, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said, This indictment alleges that Kenneth Mattson defrauded hundreds of victims, many of whom entrusted him with retirement savings they could not afford to lose. He allegedly raised tens of millions of dollars by falsely claiming that investors would have legitimate stakes in real estate projects. Instead of delivering the investment returns he promised, Mr. Mattson is charged with cheating these investors out of their hard-earned money and, in many cases, out of their life savings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Mattson will now be held to account on charges of perpetrating a scheme that he kept afloat only by using new investors money to pay obligations to earlier investorsa classic Ponzi scheme. Investigators said, from at least 2009 and continuing through 2024, Mattson solicited investments from off-books investors into Divi Divi Tree, LP, a LeFever Mattson-controlled partnership that owned an apartment complex. The investors were not listed as partners in the companys official books and records. Although some investors received distribution payments from their off-books investments, that money did not come from the rents of the partnerships underlying property, as Mattson promised; instead, it came from loans, Mattsons comingling of other assets, and from new investors, in the manner of a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors wrote. Investigators said Mattsons alleged scheme reached beyond Divi Divi to other LeFever Mattson limited partnerships, including Heacock Park Apartments, LP, an entity that was formed to purchase another apartment complex. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani said, The investigation in this case is ongoing. We encourage anyone who believes they may be a victim to come forward. The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth and seeking justice for those affected. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Sun Herald readers weigh in on local and national topics: Fix immigration system The ongoing crisis at the southern border demands serious attention, yet many Americans are frustrated by what they see as a partisan divide over basic enforcement of immigration laws. Critics argue that Democratic leadership often downplays legitimate concerns about border security, even as communities grapple with the consequences of illegal immigrationfrom strained public services to increased burdens on law enforcement. Criminal elements exploit the chaos, and Americans deserve policies that prioritize safety, order, and national sovereignty. Rather than dismissing these concerns as xenophobic, political leaders on all sides should acknowledge the real impact on everyday citizens and work toward secure, humane, and lawful immigration reform. Much better You can say what you want about President Trump, but the situation at our southern border is unquestionably exponentially better than under President Biden. Bryant appointment For President Trump to have appointed former Governor Phil Bryant to oversee the re organization of FEMA is just beyond our comprehension! Mississippi was the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Then Bryant got mixed up in the welfare funds scandal with Brett Favre. Whats to become of us? Laws are for everybody If Donald Trump can say before a crowd Liz Cheney should be shot, Jim Comey can post what he wants on social media. I thought JD Vance ran on freedom of speech. Asinine The ignorant abuse of power continues as Republican DHS now wants to prosecute Former FBI Chief James Comey, accusing him of making a threat against President Trump by interpreting his seashell design 86 47 to be a death threat. Apparently Homeland Security has nothing else to do but seek retribution. Pro life? Many rural hospitals, including in Mississippi, are not delivering babies. All this fighting against abortions was just to control women. There is very little actual support for babies or children. It was also a tactic to generate votes. No foreigners President Trump has banned Harvard from accepting foreigners. Looks like hes getting ready for another court loss. Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@sunherald.com. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Two of South Dakotas top leaders want to assist ICE with its immigration and customs enforcement in the state. South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden and Attorney General Marty Jackley both spent this past week in Arizona and Texas touring the southern border and now they want some of their law enforcement agencies to be able to assist with ICE back home. South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden spent Tuesday visiting South Dakota National Guard troops in Eagle Pass, Texas and touring the Rio Grande by boat and by air. Following his visit, the governor sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Acting Director of ICE requesting a 287 G, which gives permission to allow the South Dakota Highway Patrol to assist ICE when it comes to stopping illegal immigrants and drugs from coming into the state. LIST: Memorial Day events in South Dakota Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What it does, I think it makes the process a lot easier, if they need help from our troopers weve already covered that ground and the agreement is already in place, we dont need to go through extra procedures to make that happen, Rhoden said. Attorney General Marty Jackley did similar tours this week in Arizona. Following that, Jackley announced he has authorized the South Dakota DCI to help federal authorities enforce federal immigration laws in the state. Don: Talk a little bit about why you want to do this. Marty: Providing the DCI with additional federal illegal immigration authority will help us better protect South Dakotans when it comes to illegals who are committing criminal violence as well as those who are engaged in the drug trade. Jackley says hes requested a 287 G, which authorizes the DCI to make the decision to deport illegal immigrants immediately once theyve been arrested. But it wont happen right away, DCI agents need to receive training first. So that will require agents to do 40 hours of online training, before it was much more challenging and difficult, the new administration has streamed lined it, but until we have those agents complete the 40 hours of training we do not have the authority, Jackley said. Back in March, the Hughes and Minnehaha County Sheriffs Offices were approved for the program as warrant service officers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. A child in Broward County has become the second confirmed case of measles in South Florida in the last two months, state records showed. The newest case was confirmed to be a child who is less than 5 years old and contracted the virus outside the United States, according to the Florida Department of Healths Reportable Diseases Frequency Report. It was reported in April, and no other information was released. In early March, the states first measles case was confirmed in Miami-Dade County from a teen who attends Palmetto Senior High. The U.S. has recorded more than 1,000 cases of the disease in 2025. READ MORE: Are you at risk for measles? Miami sees case amid U.S. outbreak. What to know in Florida How does measles spread? Measles can spread through coughing, sneezing and by touching infected surfaces. For those who are vaccinated, infection is rare. For those who previously had measles, you cant get the infection again. What are the symptoms? According to Floridas health department, measles can be transmitted four days before symptoms start. Symptoms can appear 7 to 14 days after contact with the virus. At first, they are similar to a normal cold and can include cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, and a high fever up to 105 degrees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Red spots and bumps then appear on the face, spreading to the neck, chest, legs, arm and feet. The rash typically appears three to five days after the first symptoms. What to do if exposed or diagnosed If youre vaccinated for measles, its rare that youll fall ill but you should still notify your doctor and monitor for symptoms. However, if youre not vaccinated or have never previously had measles, speak with your doctor about getting the MMR vaccine. If you get the vaccine within 72 hours after initial exposure, it could provide some protection against the disease or help you have a milder illness, the CDC says. Health experts recommend people contact their doctors for guidance if they were exposed to measles. To reduce the risk of exposing others, dont show up at the doctors office without notifying the office beforehand. Telehealth appointments are another option. To reduce the risk of spreading the disease, doctors also recommended that people avoid visiting an ER for a diagnosis unless they have another medical emergency. If you have measles, the CDC recommends staying home for four days after developing the rash to reduce your risk of spreading the virus to others. At home: wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, dont share drinks or eating utensils and disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Voters in southern Lebanon are casting their ballots in municipal elections seen as a test of support for Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim political and armed group. The vote on Saturday in the mostly Shia area, where Hezbollah is allied with Amal the party led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri marks the final phase of Lebanons staggered local elections. It comes after a November 2024 ceasefire between the group and Israel was supposed to end months of attacks. lsrael, however, has continued sporadic strikes as recently as on Thursday, when air raids hit multiple locations in the south. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Hezbollah and Amal are widely expected to dominate the municipal races, having already secured control of numerous councils unopposed. Turnout was high in border villages ravaged by last years conflict, with residents of Kfar Kila a town nearly levelled by Israeli attacks voting in nearby Nabatieh. Others from surrounding areas cast ballots in Tyre. The will of life is stronger than death and the will of construction is stronger than destruction, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters on Saturday, as he made a tour of the countrys south. He said he voted for the first time in 40 years in his hometown of Aaichiyeh. Among those heading to the polls were Hezbollah members still recovering from a series of Israeli attacks in September 2024, when thousands of pagers exploded nearly simultaneously, killing more than a dozen people and wounding nearly 3,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Southerners are proving again that they are with the choice of resistance, Hezbollah legislator Ali Fayyad, who represents border villages, said in Nabatieh. Hezbollah still holding political influence The vote comes at a critical time for Hezbollah. While the group emerged from the conflict with reduced military capabilities and diminished political leverage, the elections offer a platform to reaffirm its influence in the region. Lebanon has still not fully recovered from last years war between Hezbollah and Israel. In fact, Israel continues to target Hezbollah despite a ceasefire, said Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr, reporting from Nabatieh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hezbollah, no doubt was militarily weakened during the conflict; it lost a lot of its military power but it is using these elections as an opportunity to show that it still has political influence, Khodr added. Many feel Hezbollah failed to shield them during the war, yet fears of isolation persist, she said. They feel vulnerable not just towards Israel, but also in a deeply divided country and they feel that opponents of Hezbollah are also marginalising the community as a whole. Lebanons new government has pledged to create a state monopoly on arms, raising pressure on Hezbollah to disarm as required under the United States-brokered truce with Israel. Lebanon now faces the massive task of rebuilding after 14 months of war, with the World Bank estimating its reconstruction needs at more than $11bn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In October 2023, Hezbollah launched a rocket campaign on Israel in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which was being bombarded by Israel following a surprise attack led by Palestinian group Hamas. Israel responded with shelling and air attacks on Lebanon that escalated into a full-blown war before the ceasefire went into effect in late November. BEIRUT (AP) Residents of southern Lebanon voted Saturday in the country's municipal elections that will test support for Hezbollah in the predominantly Shiite areas, months after the end of the destructive Israel-Hezbollah war. Hezbollah is running in an alliance with the Amal group of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and both are expected to win mayoral races and the majority of seats in municipal councils. Both groups already won many municipalities uncontested. South Lebanon is the fourth and last district to vote in the elections since May 4. Among those who voted Saturday were Hezbollah members wounded in the Sept. 17, 2024, explosions of thousands of pagers that blew up near-simultaneously in an operation carried out by Israel. More than a dozen were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The will of life is stronger than death and the will of construction is stronger than destruction, President Joseph Aoun said during a tour of south Lebanon Saturday. He told reporters in his hometown of Aaichiyeh that he voted for the first time in 40 years. Saturdays vote came two days after Israels air force carried out intense airstrikes in different parts of south Lebanon. Residents of villages and towns on the border with Israel, including the village of Kfar Kila that was almost completely destroyed during the war, cast their ballots at polling stations set up in the nearby city of Nabatiyeh. Residents of other border villages cast their ballots in the port city of Tyre. Southerners are proving again that they are with the choice of resistance, Hezbollah legislator Ali Fayad, who represents border villages, said in Nabatiyeh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lebanons cash-strapped government has been scrambling to secure international funds for the war reconstruction, which the World Bank estimates at over $11 billion. Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon that escalated into a full-blown war that left more than 4,000 dead in Lebanon and more than 80 soldiers and 47 civilians in Israel. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect in late November. UPDATE 5/25 8:25PM South Salt Lake Police confirm that the 12-year-old girl has been found safe and unharmed. Her name and photo have been removed from the original story for privacy. ORIGINAL STORY: SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (ABC4) The South Salt Lake Police Department is asking the publics help in locating a missing and endangered 12-year-old girl. Police say the girl left her home in the 2500 block of South Main Street, located near Woodrow Wilson Elementary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She is listed as five feet tall with black hair and brown eyes and weighs about 80 pounds. She was last seen wearing a purple jacket, red long sleeve shirt, jean shorts and gray shoes. Latest headlines: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. A California woman was sentenced to prison for stealing over $2.2 million from elderly victims. Julie Anne Darrah, 52, was an investment adviser who used her position to target elderly clients at her firm, including some who were receiving end-of-life care, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Darrah stole the funds by gaining control of her clients assets and, without their knowledge, liquidated their security holdings and transferred the proceeds to accounts under her control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She convinced the victims to sign documents that gave her power over their accounts including being made the trustee of their trusts, added as a signatory on their bank accounts or gaining power of attorney over their brokerage accounts. As their investment advisor, Darrah could freely transfer their money to other bank accounts, including some that she owned, court documents said. Prosecutors said Darrah took advantage of the trust her victims placed in her, often convincing them she would take care of them in their older years like a daughter. She used this trust to convince them to sign the documents that she then used to steal money from them, court documents said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From around November 2016 to July 2023, Darrah stole approximately $2.25 million through this scheme. She used the money to purchase luxury vehicles, properties, pay personal expenses and operate other business ventures. Prosecutors said some of her victims were left in desperate circumstances, without the money to pay for end-of-life care, when the fraud was discovered. She had also convinced a company identified in the plea agreement as Business Victim 1, a Minnesota-based investment advisor firm, to acquire VFM based on false and misleading statements and the concealment of material facts, including not telling that firm about her theft of individual client funds, court documents said. After the fraud was discovered, Business Victim 1 incurred approximately $5.4 million in losses. In October 2023, the SEC filed a civil complaint against Darrah in connection with the scheme. In December 2024, Darrah was found liable to pay $2,416,511, including interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 4, she pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. On May 19, she was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for her crimes. Anyone aged 60 and older who may have been a victim or knows someone who has been a victim of financial fraud can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Despite intense opposition, advocates say these images show a 'sad reality' of what needs to be done in Australia's national parks. Native grasses are starting to regrow in Kosciuszko National Park following aerial culling of wild horses last year. Source: Reclaim Kosci Conservationists have been celebrating the incredible transformation taking place in native Aussie bushland across the country after population control efforts have removed feral horses from national park land. The environmental damage caused by feral horses and the subsequent culling methods used to reduce their population in certain areas have been a point of huge contention among battling groups of environmentalists and wildlife advocates in recent years. This week the Invasive Species Council (ISC) of Australia shared contrasting images of the same spot in the Barmah National Park, in the flood plains of the Murray River in northern Victoria, showing the difference it can make when grasslands are left undisturbed by the animal's heavy hooves. The group, which advocates for native wildlife against the wave of introduced and invasive species, described the scene as "an incredible ecological recovery". ADVERTISEMENT "The change is absolutely stark and shows why the sad reality is we need to urgently eradicate feral horses from national parks," it said while sharing before-and-after photos taken two years apart. If not, "our native wildlife and landscapes will be trashed, trampled, overgrazed and polluted." Before... Source: Facebook/Invasive Species Council ... After. Source: Facebook/Invasive Species Council "Picture 1 is from 2023 and shows the fenced off feral horse exclusion zones before the feral horses were removed. "Picture 2 is from 2025 and shows the same area after the feral horses were removed," the ISC said. Similar scenes have been touted across the border with the Kosciuszko National Park in NSW said to be at a positive "turning point" following a recent horse cull. The famed alpine park appears to be on the mend after the killing of thousands of brumbies. Surveys carried out across the expansive landscape estimated the wild horse population has been slashed to between 1,579 and 5,639 in little more than a year after previous estimates had their numbers as high as 20,000. ADVERTISEMENT It puts park operators on track to hit a mandated target of 3,000 feral horses over nearly one-third of the park by mid-2027. Before-and-after images from Kosciuszko show reduced bare ground and increased vegetation coverage, along with less soil damage and trampling of stream banks. Left, grassland before the reduction of feral brumby numbers in Kosciuszko National Park on March 27, 2024 and, right, the same grassland after the reduction of feral brumby numbers in March this year. Source: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Critics call wild horse removal methods 'cruel and unjustified' Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst, who chaired a parliamentary inquiry into the aerial shooting of brumbies, said the data supported previous claims the population had been overstated. "The last population estimate was between 17,000 and 21,700 horses, but now the park could have around 1,500 horses left after the removal of 8,954 horses," she told AAP. "Aerial shooting is extremely cruel and unjustified and given there is now a recognition that the number of horses in the park were never anywhere near as high as the government claimed it should be taken off the table entirely." ADVERTISEMENT The Australian Brumby Alliance also questioned the data and said it didn't correlate with what they had seen on the ground and called for an end to all trapping and shooting methods. NSWs brumby population has plummeted to 1500. Picture: Ian Brown/NCA Newswire But despite the critics, advocates say the native wildlife can now have some much needed reprieve. "Kosciuszko has many species that exist nowhere else on the planet and lots of critically endangered species, and one of their biggest threats is invasive species," the ISC's Indigenous Ambassador Richard Swain told Yahoo News earlier this year. "Horses just strip the vegetation. They just tear the roofs off [animals] houses, and theyre left to the exposure of birds of prey, feral cats and foxes." ADVERTISEMENT Aerial brumby shooting resumed in NSW under the state Labor government in November 2023. About 6,000 have been clipped since to progress towards the population targets. The wildlife service is not expected to shoot any more brumbies in the area and it will maintain the 3,000-horse population from mid-2027. Last week, parliament debated repealing the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018, introduced by the Nationals to protect the "heritage value" of the brumby population and shape the current population targets. Water quality, threatened species and sensitive areas will all be monitored to track the park's continued recovery. with AAP NEOSHO, Mo. Multiple charges are filed against a Goodman man after police say a road rage incident ended with gunshots. Anthony Keller is being held in the Newton County Jail without bond on two charges of first-degree assault and two weapons charges. Neosho police responded to the 18000 block of Highway 59 shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday for a report of a shooting. Investigators say Keller and another vehicle were traveling southbound on Highway 59 near Quince Road when Keller tried to pass the other vehicle. FOUR STATES CRIME Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They say the other driver prevented Keller from passing. Officers say Keller then intentionally hit the other vehicle, trying to force it off the roadway. Authorities say as Keller passed the other vehicle, he fired one shot, hitting the other driver in the arm. They say the man drove himself to a local hospital and officers were later able to arrest Keller. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) Shreveport police have arrested a man in connection with a shooting in Shreveports Allendale-Lakeside neighborhood. They say 25-year-old Malcolm Hall shot a man in the lower back, just after 9:30 p.m. on April 23, 2025. It happened in the 2900 block of Looney Street. Four States law enforcement team up for Move Over initiative The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment and is expected to survive. Hall has been charged with one count of aggravated second-degree battery. At the time of his arrest, Hall was already facing pending narcotics charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Shreveport Police Department (SPD) remains committed to holding violent offenders accountable and ensuring the safety of our communities, said Corporal Chris Bordelon, SPD Public Information Officer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. It was supposed to be the killer blow to a party which has stalked the nightmares of Germanys political elite: a bombshell intelligence report with proof that Alternative for Germany [AfD] was a Nazi-style extremist group. Running to more than a thousand pages, the report by Germanys BfV domestic intelligence agency announced that the AfD was a confirmed Right-wing extremist organisation, opening the door to a total ban on the party. But instead of turning the AfD into a pariah, the report has triggered a furious row over the rise of censorship in Germany, and damaged relations between its new government and the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Right-wing extremist label is particularly explosive as the AfD came second place in Februarys elections, making it the de-facto opposition party in Germany. The new classification will also permit the BfV to intercept the partys phone calls and plant undercover agents. The Trump administration, which has already warned that a crackdown on free speech is under way in Europe, cried foul when the findings of the report were disclosed earlier this month. AfD leaders also claim it is an attempt to silence a party which could potentially defeat Germanys ruling centrist parties in the next election and form a government. Drawing on hundreds of statements, speeches and social media posts by AfD members over the past decade, the BfVs report accuses the party of holding views on immigrants that would not be out of place in the Third Reich. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is the culmination of a years-long process where the BfV has gradually upgraded the AfDs security status, from having suspected extremist factions in some regions of Germany, to being a confirmed extremist group nationwide. To back up its new status for the AfD, the BfV cites party members who have used Nazi slogans in speeches, have referred to non-native citizens as passport Germans, and have claimed that violent immigrants are waging jihad on the country. One much more lurid example cites an AfD youth wing which distributed stickers claiming that Muslims were an invasive species. But the BfVs actions have also raised questions about the state of free speech in Germany, which is struggling with unprecedented anger over mass-migration, as well as tensions linked to wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Speaking to The Telegraph this week, Martin Hess, a senior AfD MP, warned that the German state was trying to punish the AfD for speaking uncomfortable truths about mass migration, which he said were also held by 60 to 70 per cent of the population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tactic amounted to the German intelligence services acting as a modern-day gedankenpolizei, he said, using the German phrase for the Orwellian term thought police. Far-Right activists have been emboldened by the success of AfD - Getty Images/Jens Schlueter Im grateful the report has been made public, so that every citizen can read for themselves how you can be labelled Right-wing extremist for presenting the facts, which is what the AfD does, Mr Hess, a former police officer and party spokesman for interior affairs, told The Telegraph. We speak uncomfortable truths, that migration has led to a massive deterioration in the security situation for Germany, and that migration, since 2015, has made Germany more unsafe than ever before in its history, he added. The BfVs report has deeply irritated the Trump administration, members of which backed the AfD in the February elections and has repeatedly expressed concerns about the erosion of free speech in Europe with particular emphasis on Germany and the UK. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, called the BfVs conduct tyranny in disguise, while JD Vance, the US vice-president, accused the German establishment of rebuilding the Berlin wall by demonising the AfD. It comes after Mr Vance snubbed a meeting in February with Olaf Scholz, the then-chancellor of Germany, at the Munich Security Conference, instead holding a meeting with Alice Weidel, the AfD leader. As the meeting was held just days before the German elections, it was viewed as the US in effect endorsing Ms Weidel as the countrys next Chancellor. Alice Weidel, the AfD leader, has said cultural circles from Africa and the Middle East were responsible for a surge in violent crime in Germany - Michael Kappeler Germans are no strangers to having their language tightly controlled by the state, which is partly a legacy of postwar censorship rules aimed at preventing the return of a new fascist regime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All symbols and signs associated with Nazi Germany are banned, while playing down the scale and severity of Nazi war crimes is a criminal offence. But there are other examples which may seem excessive to British and US eyes: Rudely addressing a German policeman with the informal pronoun du [you] carries a fine of 600 (500). Making rude gestures, such as giving someone the middle finger, can lead to a fine of potentially thousands of euros. In one recent bizarre case, police raided a Bavarian mans house after he called former Robert Habeck, the former vice-chancellor, a schwachkopf [moron] in a post on social media. But the BfVs new report is a step too far for the AfD, which says that censorship laws designed to block the return of Nazism are now being misused against critics of immigration policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Hess also suggested that the BfV drew up its report under pressure from Germanys ruling centrist parties, which are concerned that the AfD could emerge from the next general election as the largest party. The Verfassungsschutz [BfV] is currently being abused by those in power. It is a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is subject to the administrative and technical supervision of the interior ministry, he said. It is therefore a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is bound to its instructions, and its a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is led by so-called political officials. Immigration views prove key Extracts of the BfVs controversial report, leaked to the German tabloid Bild, show that the AfDs views on immigrants were a key factor in its decision to declare the party a confirmed Right-wing extremist organisation. But there were other factors: the partys track record of playing down Nazi war crimes, its uses of anti-Semitic ciphers and innuendo, and its links to the extreme-Right Identitarian movement in Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report also accuses the AfD of violating Germanys postwar constitution, by drawing a distinction between native Germans and passport Germans, meaning citizens of foreign origin. A key piece of evidence for this was a statement by Hans-Christoph Berndt, an AfD leader in Brandenburg state, that only 20, 30, 40 million Germans were left in the country. The BfV interpreted the statement to mean that the remainder of Germanys citizens were not true Germans. BfV officials also included statements from Ms Weidel, such as her claim that cultural circles in Africa and the Middle East were the cause of a surge in violent crime in Germany. Another remark labelled extremist by the BfV was Ms Weidels view that violent migrants were waging a religious war on Germany. The AfD denies such remarks are extremist as they refer to specific violent crimes committed in Germany by migrants, rather than migrants in general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germany was hit by a string of terror attacks committed by rejected asylum seekers in the run-up to the February federal elections. In one of the most serious attacks, a rejected Syrian asylum seeker went on a stabbing rampage in a west German citys festival of diversity, killing three people. Mr Hess was speaking to the Telegraph three months after the AfD won 20 per cent of the vote in the federal elections, making the party the de-facto opposition in Germany. 2402 Bundestag seats 2.0 The party was frozen out of coalition talks by the centre-Right Christian Democrats and centre-Left Social Democrats, as both believe that the AfD is too extreme to govern. The election result was a major coup for the AfD, which started in 2013 as an obscure Eurosceptic movement but has since shifted ever further to the Right, largely in response to the 2015 refugee crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the same interview, Mr Hess endorsed a German Dexit, or exit from the European Union, and the deployment of the army at land borders to deter mass migration. He said that Dexit remained a long-term goal for the party, but stressed it was opposed to a British-style hard break as it would cause significant turmoil to the German economy. We would send all available [border police] forces to the border, and if that does not suffice there is the possibility to temporarily resort to state police forces, and if that also does not suffice, we would temporarily deploy the armed forces, Mr Hess added, addressing migration. Experts note that the rate of asylum seekers coming to Germany has decreased by 30 per cent, but the issue remains extremely sensitive due to the string of terror attacks committed by asylum seekers in the run-up to the elections. As for the censorship row, there are some signs that the BfV may be hesitating to go forward with its new extremist label for the AfD. After its initial announcement, the BfV said it was pausing the process of formally designating the AfD as extremist, awaiting a court ruling by the administrative court in Cologne. German officials say this was a purely routine procedure, and that the extremist ruling will still be issued. But Ms Weidel has already claimed a victory over the German establishment. This is a first important step toward our exoneration and toward countering the accusation of Right-wing extremism, she said, in a joint statement with Tino Chrupalla, the partys co-leader. 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. Law enforcement is investigating several incidents of vandalism to Spectrum and Google Fiber lines in the Kansas City area over the last week., part of a recent trend of vandalism to network infrastructure across the country. Three Spectrum fiber optic lines were cut in the KC area Saturday, according to a spokesperson for the company. Restoration to the lines began Saturday and was completed early Sunday morning. Spectrum is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Those with information may call the Spectrum tip line at 833-404-8477. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Google Fiber lines in the area were also purposely cut, and a police report was filed, a company representative said. In a statement, Andy Simpson, the general manager for Google Fibers central region, pointed to strong evidence of vandalism. Kansas City and Kansas City, Kansas, police said they are investigating the Spectrum vandalism. The FBI office in Kansas City is aware of the matter and remains in contact with local law enforcement, authorities said. In the metro, vandalism to network infrastructure has grown over the last nine months. There is not a concrete motive as to why vandals choose to damage telecommunication lines, officials said. Historically, there has been a copper angle to these acts of vandalism. Vandals take sections of copper from these lines to resell. However, fiber optic lines do not contain copper and instead use thin strands of glass to transmit signals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incidents come as part of what The Internet & Television Association, an industry lobbying group, said was a wave of vandalism to network infrastructure across the country. A report released by the group last year said there had been 5,770 intentional incidents of theft and vandalism between June and December 2024. The report noted 305 incidents in Missouri and 22 in Kansas during that period. The group pointed to the rising value of copper as a factor, even in incidents where there is no copper. In the indiscriminate search for copper, even modern communications facilities, such as fiber-optic transmission lines and wireless communications towers that have no copper, have been sabotaged, the report said. These incidents of theft and vandalism have become increasingly common and create unnecessary service disruptions that threaten and harm American citizens, consumers and businesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Simpson says that Google Fiber hopes the public engages in see something, say something if they see someone tampering with telecommunication lines. If people do see folks out that dont seem like their utility workers or otherwise thats important to us is that people speak up when they see something, he said. Getting our customers back up is the most important kind of aspect of managing and maintaining our network and providing the service, and so thats what we focus on is how quickly can we respond and get crews and teams on site to fix the outage and repair it, Simpson said. He went on to say that, when incidents happen, the goal is to get connections to customers back up in the shortest amount of time possible. The Stars Nathan Pilling contributed reporting. SPRINGFIELD Heather Rivera laughed when she remembered her sassy 6-year-old granddaughter who dubbed her hamma and her grandfather hampa when she was learning to speak. But that laugh turned to sadness when she talked about how her grandchild Khloe Rosario Quinones was struck and killed by a car on May 12 while playing with other children in front of her home on Newland Street. Determined that no other parent or grandparent in the Brightwood neighborhood will face the same pain her family is going through, Rivera started a campaign to add speed bumps on Newland Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was an amazing baby. Sassy, Rivera said. She was loved by everyone. Khloe, who loved to dance, was Riveras only granddaughter. She also leaves behind her mother Honesty Quinones, father Wilfredo Rosario, several siblings and many other close family members, she said. On May 12, Khloe was playing in her front yard and riding her bike when a car struck her a little before 5 p.m., Rivera said. She was rushed to the nearby Baystate Medical Center in a private vehicle and died at the hospital, police spokesman Ryan Walsh said. All parties involved have been accounted for, police said shortly after the crash. Khloes death is being investigated by the Springfield Police Traffic Unit and the Motor Vehicle Homicide Unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police have released few details since, referring all other questions to Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni. A spokeswoman for Gulluni said the investigation is ongoing but did not comment further. Rivera said her granddaughter, a kindergartener at Brightwood Elementary School, was struck by a driver who was speeding down the residential street. There are a lot of children, not only on the street but in the whole neighborhood, she said. The spot where she was struck is marked with flowers left by friends and family members. Rivera has started a petition on Change.org to gather support for the installation of speed bumps on Newland Street to force drivers to slow down. She has collected nearly 600 signatures online as well as others from her neighbors in Brightwood. People can sign online to support the effort to place speed bumps at www.change.org/SpringfieldSpeedBumps Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rivera said she is hoping the petition will convince the City Council to install three speed bumps on the street, one at each end and a third in the middle near where her granddaughter was struck. City Councilor Maria Perez, who represents the Brightwood neighborhood, said she is in contact with Rivera and Quinones and is starting the process to install the speed bumps and looking at other ways to slow traffic. Perez said she is working with Christopher Cignoli, the citys Department of Public Works director, to begin the process. We are going to put a community meeting together to talk about it, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the short time she has been collecting signatures, Rivera said she is thrilled to see she has also received support from other city officials, including School Committee member Joesiah Gonzalez, who signed the petition. Gonzalez, who represents the Brightwood area, is running for City Council this year. He said he isnt just a city official: He is a neighbor who owns a home one street over from Newland, and he is the parent of a daughter who is a year younger than Khloe. It is horrendous, Gonzalez said. It is a densely populated neighborhood with a lot of children. Lets get on top of this. The problem is the neighborhood is laid out between two main streets, Plainfield Street and Riverside Road, that run roughly parallel to each other. In between those streets is the neighborhood, and drivers cut through the side streets such as Newland, Orchard and Washburn without slowing down. The side streets are narrow and cars are parked on both sides, making it hard to see anybody, especially a child, at a high speed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It isnt just the speeding that is a problem. People also blare music and have installed after-market mufflers that are loud, creating quality of life issues, he said. Based on the fact there are three elementary schools Brightwood, Lincoln and German Gerena and Chestnut Middle School that serve the neighborhood, Gonzalez estimated about 2,000 children live in the area. He said their parents shouldnt have to worry about them playing outside in their own yards. He praised Rivera for her advocacy and efforts to make a difference in the neighborhood. This isnt a blame thing. To get action on things like this, it takes a community effort, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Gonzalez said he is in favor of installing speed bumps on Newland Street, he said he knows it will take time. He pledged to work with Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, his fellow School Committee members and those on the City Council to try to get dedicated enforcement in the neighborhood. We have to be there to stop speeders, tow cars that are not registered and insured and cars that are clearly outfitted for drag racing, he said. Lets put a fire under each others butts. The community needs us to do it. more news from Western Massachusetts Read the original article on MassLive. A two-state vehicle pursuit Sunday, May 18, led to the arrest of a Chicago man. Danville Police were called to assist the Warren County, Indiana, Sheriffs Department as they pursued a vehicle westbound into Danville from Indiana. Warren County reported that the driver refused to stop after posting speeds over 100 miles per hour, DPD Deputy Chief Terry McCord said. The pursuit went through several parts of the City of Danville for around 10 minutes, eventually heading east on US Route 150 outside the city limits. The vehicle eventually crashed attempting to take the I-74 westbound entry ramp at the 210-mile marker. The driver of the car was placed into custody at the crash scene and no injuries were reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the pursuit, DPD officers attempted to use stop sticks (vehicle disabling tools). The Vermilion County Sheriffs Department also assisted Warren County during the pursuit and arrest of the driver. The vehicle driver, 34-year-old Trent J Graves of Chicago, was booked at the Public Safety Building in Vermilion County. for Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding, Reckless Driving, No Valid Drivers License, and Obstructing/Resisting Peace Officers. May 23The Spokane City Council is seeking applicants for a roughly four-month stint on the council to fill a seat being vacated by Councilwoman Lili Navarrete. Navarrete formally announced earlier this week that she planned to resign, citing health concerns and other job opportunities, effective July 1. She already had announced she did not plan to seek election to maintain the seat, and Alejandro Barrientos, chief operating officer at SCAFCO Steel Stud Company, and Kate Telis, a former deputy prosecutor from New Mexico, have filed to run for the seat. The winner of the election in November will be sworn in earlier than normal as soon as the election is certified mid-November. The person selected for appointment will serve on Navarrete's seat in the meantime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Applications will open May 23 and will be available on the city's website, the council offices on the seventh floor of city hall, or at the service desk on the first floor, according to a city news release. Applications are due 5 p.m. June 19. Public interviews will be conducted by the City Council on July 10. The public will be able to give testimony on the applicants on July 14. The City Council plans to vote to select the applicant on July 28. Doctors and lawyers at Emory Healthcare but mainly the lawyers, I suspect say that under Georgias anti-abortion law, they are required to keep Adrianas body functioning as the fetus inside her develops. (Photo by John McCosh/Georgia Recorder) By most common measures, the life of Adriana Smith ended three months ago, when a tragic series of undiagnosed blood clots left her brain dead, with no hope of recovery. Yet today, in a hospital room in Midtown Atlanta, Adrianas body is still being kept alive by machines, without regard to her familys wishes. As someone who has been there, I know how difficult and extremely personal that decision can be, but I can only imagine what it must be like to have that choice stripped away, as it has been stripped away from Adrianas loved ones by people who dont know them, who know little of their circumstances, and deal with none of its consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Adrianas case, she was nine weeks pregnant at the time the blood clots hit, which under some readings of Georgia law has meant that what remains of Adrianas body is now under government control until the fetus can be safely extracted. Shes been breathing through machines for more than 90 days, April Newkirk, Adrianas mother, told 11Alive News. Its torture for me. I see my daughter breathing, but shes not there. Doctors and lawyers at Emory Healthcare but mainly the lawyers, I suspect say that under Georgias anti-abortion law, they are required to keep Adrianas body functioning as the fetus inside her develops. They are erring on the side of caution not medical caution, but legal caution. The law in question is the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act. or the LIFE Act. Sen. Ed Setzler. (Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder) The main sponsor of that law, state Sen. Ed Setzler, says its working as intended in this case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im proud that the hospital recognizes the full value of the small human life living inside of this regrettably dying young mother, Setzler told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mindful of the agony of this young mothers family, the wisdom of modern medical science to be able to save the life of a healthy unborn child is something that I trust in future years will lead to great joy, with this child having a chance to grow into vibrant adulthood. Proud as he might be, Setzler isnt the one who has to watch whats left of his daughter lay lifeless in that hospital room, not alive exactly, with machines performing basic life functions, week after week. He isnt the one who has to explain whats happening to his seven-year-old grandson, Adrianas son. If the fetus survives, he also isnt the one who will have to raise the child. Doctors have warned Adrianas family that the fetus has fluid on its brain, with unknown consequences. Shes pregnant with my grandson, Newkirk said. But he may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once hes born, she said. This decision shouldve been left to us. According to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, however, Emory Healthcare and Setzler are misreading the legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death, his office said in a statement. Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy. Carrs reading of the law seems to be correct. As his statement indicates, 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, and the withdrawal of extraordinary life-maintenance measures on a brain-dead woman would not fall within its restrictions. But this is the problem when you try to write a law into black and white, when you try to legislate what is right and what is wrong when dealing with decisions that are so personal, so intimate. Moral certainty sounds good, it may feel good, it may play well in a political campaign, but it cannot possibly make such hard choices from a distance. The law cannot act more wisely or with more love than would those who know the situation best. This story first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, a member with the Phoenix in the nonprofit States Newsroom. Stand Up Lockport will make its public debut Tuesday night with a Niagara County Town Hall at the Kenan Centers Taylor Theater. The nonpartisan citizens group, formed in response to wide ranging federal spending cuts mandated by the Trump administration, is aiming to raise awareness of the possible local impacts of those cuts, and give a voice to the silent majority of the local electorate. The town hall is part panel discussion, part Q&A. The panelists and their subject areas are: Michelle Roman, education; Alissa Ellman, veterans services; Todd Vaarwerk, chief of public policy at WNY Independent Living, social services; and Carla Speranza, local government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The moderator is Jim Shultz, and the panelists will field general questions from him, specific questions developed by members of Stand Up Lockport, and questions from the audience. The discussion will begin at 6:30 p.m. Stand Up Lockport started in March with a conversation among five people, according to Shultz. The group has since grown to more than 100 people who have attended one or more meetings and/or joined in a local protest. Some, like combat veterans Luke Udell and Alissa Ellman, were drawn to Stand Ups centrist orientation. Turned off by the partisan bickering and blaming that permeate social media, they each found relief in face-to-face conversations with people focused on what unites, rather than divides, us. Udell was tipped off to Stand Up by chance as he rode his bike on Niagara Street one day in March and passed by a protest outside Republican U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenneys district office. The retired Army officer stopped to check it out, and although he was skeptical at first, he said, he stayed and talked to enough people to feel reassured it wasnt a partisan thing. When the group gave itself a name and started organizing meetings, he was in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Udell was, and still is, gravely concerned about funding cuts to the Veterans Administration as well as the overall tenor of the Trump administration. Coupled with real threats to services that people deserve, the attacks on our institutions, our democracy, I felt I had to do something, he said. In their biweekly meetings, over coffee, members of Stand Up Lockport are discussing kitchen table issues how family, friends, neighbors and this community may be affected by reductions in veteran benefits, Medicaid, SNAP, education and other aid and getting updated on the latest developments in Washington, then considering what actions they can take locally. Ultimately, Udell said, their aim is to let our (congressional) representatives know, whats happening is not good. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For instance, the newly House of Representatives-approved One Big Beautiful Bill Act takes an ax to Medicaid funding, and the Congressional Budget Office has warned that more than 7.6 million people nationwide will lose their benefits over the next 10 years. Stand Up Lockport has determined that 54,000 residents of Niagara County about 25% of the population are Medicaid recipients. So now, every fourth person I see in the grocery store could lose their health insurance. That could be deadly, Udell said. Alissa Ellman, a disabled Army veteran who was fired from her job at the VA office in Buffalo under a directive of the Trump administrations Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), derides the waste, fraud and abuse excuse for gutting federal agencies and cutting services/direct benefits to citizens, and says bluntly that blame for the cuts belongs to the electorate. We have to take responsibility: its our fault (Trump was elected). If this country fails, we failed, Ellman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The middle, what was called the silent majority in the eighties, needs to speak up now. Our lives, our loves ones lives, will be greatly affected by whats about to happen, she said. We need to start talking about what we agree on: (protecting access to) Social Security, Medicare, benefits that people earned and deserve. Stand Up Lockport gives Ellman a place to focus her energy. I am seething, she acknowledged. But instead of posting on Facebook I want to actually do something. I think other people joining (Stand Up) feel the same way. Robert Barton said joining Stand Up Lockport was a way just to not feel helpless. His wife Tiffany Barton, who found out about the nascent group, is now leading the action / protest portion of its activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I knew that we were heading into a dark time with this administration, and Im tired, she said. I cant wait around any more I have to try to do something. Tiffany Barton said Tenney, whos on the record enthusiastically supporting President Trump and his administration, has been invited to the Niagara County Town Hall. She doubts Tenney will attend, though, so her hope is that fellow concerned citizens will, and will get informed enough about the federal cuts and policy changes to address Tenney themselves. ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) A 72-year-old man has been arrested for murder in St. George after stabbing his caretaker repeatedly in an unprovoked attack, according to St. George Police. Keith Dee Johnson, 72, of St. George, was arrested early Saturday morning on charges of murder (first-degree felony) and interfering with a peace officer (class B misdemeanor). At around 2 a.m. on May 24, police responded to a call for a stabbing victim on the 1200 block of W Shadow Point Dr. The caller reportedly stated that they had seen their female neighbor covered in blood while running and screaming, knocking on multiple neighbors doors. Multiple callers reported the incident as a result. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon arrival, police found a female in the porch area of a residence with significant blood loss surrounding her laying on the ground, court documents state. The victim told officers that she was stabbed by her client, Keith Johnson, whom she had been taking care of through Chrysalis an organization that provides supported living services for people with intellectual disabilities still living at home with parents or at their own home. She was then taken to St. George Regional Hospital. Police searched the area and found a residence with blood spatter on the front door, court documents state, across the street from where the victim was lying on the ground. Officers spoke with a Chrysalis manager and were directed to a specific unit where Johnson was believed to be located. Upon arriving at the unit, police found the front door open with blood inside the home. Officers entered and saw Johnson on the second floor of the unit. They then placed Johnson into custody as Johnson resisted arrest, tensing his arms and attempting to pull away from the officers grip, court documents state. During his arrest, Johnson allegedly stated, She attacked me, without having been asked any questions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medical personnel with the victim told police that they found stab wounds to her chest, upper back towards the spine, back of the head, hand, and ankle. The victim was immediately taken into surgery as doctors believed the stab wound to her chest had nicked an artery near her heart. According to court documents, the victim is still alive at this time. Prior to her being taken into surgery, the victim told police that she had been sitting on the couch in the residence when Johnson attacked her unprovoked from behind. He allegedly stabbed her multiple times before she fell to the floor. She told police she was then able to grab the knife from him to prevent him from continuing to stab her. The victim told police she was able to separate herself from Johnson and ran from the residence, seeking help from neighbors. Police observed Johnson to have blood on his shoes, pants, shirt, jacket, and face. He reportedly refused to speak with officers regarding the incident. When he was arrested, police found that he had several bags and believed him to be a significant flight risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson was booked into Washington County Jail on the aforementioned charges. No further information is available at this time. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Latest headlines: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) While more than 100 shooting incidents have been reported in St. Joseph since the beginning of the year, fewer than half have been linked to violent crime, according to the St. Joseph Police Department. Since January 2025, SJPD has received 162 reports of shootings. However, Deputy Chief Jason Strong clarified that not all reports result in actual shooting cases. Of those 162 reports, only 26 were confirmed as shooting cases which warranted police investigation. Breaking it down further: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * 19 involved property damage * 6 were shootings resulting in injuries, two of which were self-inflicted * 1 involved an animal that had to be euthanized Sometimes people look at the number of reported shootings and assume all are acts of violence, Strong said. While any shooting is serious, its important to understand that not all are intentional or violent in nature. However, each report is treated as a priority because crime is a priority for our department. To better address violent crime in the community, the department recently hired a crime analyst to support its precision policing model and enhance crime prevention strategies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are working collaboratively with our partners in Northwest Missouriincluding other law enforcement and criminal justice agenciesthrough weekly intelligence meetings to tackle violent crime, Strong said. We believe were on the right path to strategically reducing violence in our community. Police urge residents to report all crimes, emphasizing that every report is taken seriously and is thoroughly investigated. To report a crime online, visit stjosephmo.gov/597/Online-Crime-Reporting. For emergencies or crimes in progress, call 9-1-1. ST. LOUIS A St. Louis man was convicted Friday in the murder of his girlfriends landlord that stemmed from an eviction dispute. Jurors found James Cody Jr., 30, guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Michael Kelly, 72. Kelly was shot on March 8, 2022 in the 3900 block of North 25th Street in St. Louis Hyde Park neighborhood. Devil in the Ozarks escapes north Arkansas prison Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators say Kelly was the landlord of a St. Louis property where Codys girlfriend was living, and Codys girlfriend had stopped paying rent. Despite a court-ordered eviction, his girlfriend refused to leave the property. Investigators say, as the legal process unfolded, Cody, who was not listed on the lease but was the father of his girlfriends three children, began threatening Kelly. On the morning of the murder, surveillance footage captured Cody following Kelly as he drove to his office. Once parked, Cody was seen approaching the vehicle with a rifle and fatally shooting him. Cody was arrested days later at a St. Louis County motel after evidence linked him to the crime. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News This was a ruthless, targeted killing over a lawful eviction. This senseless act of violence has destroyed multiple families. This conviction reflects our unwavering commitment to holding violent offenders fully accountable, said St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore via a news release. Jurors recommended a sentence of 25 years for second-degree murder and 10 years for armed criminal action. Codys sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 27, 2025. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office had initially charged Codys girlfriend with with accessory to first-degree murder and accessory to armed criminal action, though she has since been acquitted by a jury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. ST. LOUIS Now more than a week after a devastating EF-3 tornado struck St. Louis, many residents are still trying to figure out where theyll live, both in the short-term and long-term. For renters, one big question remains: Are you still required to pay rent on your home if it was damaged or destroyed in the tornado? Fortunately, it appears state law offers some protections for renters dealing with this situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Missouri statute last updated in 2010 offers some clarity. Under Missouri Statute 441.645, if a rental home is destroyed by a natural disaster and the tenant was not at fault, the tenant is no longer responsible for paying rent for the remainder of the lease. Missouri Statute 441.645, which describes a natural disaster as an act of God, reads verbatim as the following: If a residence is destroyed by an act of God, including but not limited to fire or a tornado, or other natural disaster or man-made disaster, so long as the tenant was not the person who caused the disaster, the tenant shall not be liable to the landlord for rent during the remainder of the term of the lease agreement. In simple terms: If your rental unit is in Missouri and uninhabitable due to tornado damage, you likely do not have to pay rent moving forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That said, to formally terminate the lease under this provision, tenants should notify their landlord in writing, reference state statute 441.645, and state their intention to vacate due to tornado destruction. Something else to consider: What if your property is only partially damaged rather than the statues condition of destroyed? If the home appears to be structurally sound and deemed habitable, tenants may still be obligated to pay rent. Thats where official damage assessments come into play. In the City of St. Louis, building inspectors have been busy in recent days, labeling homes with red, yellow or green tags. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A red tag means to home is not safe to enter or occupy. A yellow tag means limited access to the home due to safety concerns. A green tag means the home is safe to occupy. These designations could be important in determining whether a tenant can terminate their lease or seek relief from rent obligations. With this in mind, renters can help their own cause by taking photos, make detailed notes of damage and communicating clearly with landlords. If theres uncertainty, help from a legal professional or tenant advocacy group may be considered on a case-by-cases basis. Tenants can also find more information on their rights and responsibilities on the Missouri Attorney Generals Landlord-Tenant Law page. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) Police say no charges have been filed after a man was fatally stabbed outside a sushi restaurant in St. Petersburg on Friday. Officers responded to Ahi Sushi shortly before 6 p.m. and found 41-year-old Dustin Hedenberg suffering from a stab wound. Police say that while investigating, they discovered Hedenberg was behaving erratically and punched someone at the nearby Scientology Center before the stabbing occurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then went to Ahi Sushi, where he got into a heated confrontation with restaurant owner Fayun Zhang, 51, detectives said. Hedenberg knocked Zhang down and began punching him, and Zhang then grabbed a screwdriver and stabbed Hedenberg. Hedenberg was transported to Bayfront Hospital, where he died of his injuries. St. Pete police said Zhang has not been charged as detectives investigate whether the incident was self-defense. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. McALLEN The Texas Senate has agreed to give officials of the new city Starbase, home to Elon Musks SpaceX rocket testing facility, the authority to close off access to a popular South Texas beach for short periods of time during launches. The move to allow Starbase to close Boca Chica Beach has outraged local organizers who have lobbied to protect the area. Environmental and indigenous groups worry that allowing Starbase to decide when to close the beach would effectively close off a beloved and sacred beach to the public. [Is it law yet? See how far some of the most consequential bills have made it in the 2025 Texas Legislature] Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration gave SpaceX the green light to increase rocket launches from Boca Chica Beach from five times per year to 25 times per year, guaranteeing that the beach will be closed off more often. The entire system is kind of designed to basically give them a de facto private beach, said Rob Nixon, vice chair of the South Texas chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental group. Public safety's one thing but to use public safety against the public to close it down ... it's not genuine." The Legislatures upper chamber approved the measure Friday after state Sen. Adam Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, introduced it as an amendment to House Bill 1240 which updates the states definition of the Texas-Mexico border region. Hinojosa previously told The Texas Tribune that granting Starbase this authority would streamline the process of closing the beach. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the Senate approved his amendment to HB 1240. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House will now have to accept that change before the proposal can become law. Hinojosa filed separate legislation, Senate Bill 2188, which would allow Starbase to close the beach on weekdays and Cameron County officials to retain authority over weekend closures. But the House has not yet voted on SB 2188 and a deadline to do so is approaching. The Senates addition of the beach closure provision to HB 1240 gives the proposal another path to becoming law. The amendment on HB 1240, though, does not limit Starbases ability to close the beach to just weekdays. Starbase is a newly incorporated city in Cameron County that is home to a SpaceX launch site. Most of the approximately 500 residents are SpaceX employees or are related to an employee. Cameron County officials have also expressed opposition to the proposal, stating that they've had a good working relationship with SpaceX so far and didn't see the need to transfer authority to the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. 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! TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Flags will be flown at half-staff on all local and state buildings on Monday in honor of Memorial Day. Gov. DeSantis issued a memorandum on Friday ordering the flags at half-staff from sunrise until noon. On Memorial Day, we honor the heroes of the United States Military who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, the governor wrote. Our hearts are full of gratitude for their unwavering commitment to protecting this Nations freedom in the face of grave danger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order also asks for Florida residents to participate in a moment of silence at 3:00 p.m. on Monday to honor those fallen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Following the US Houses passage of President Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act, our local representatives on both sides of the aisle are answering questions as to how exactly this would affect the everyday lives of New Yorkers. The package presents sweeping tax cuts, Medicaid reform, and changes to immigration spending. It passed the House by a narrow vote of 215 to 214 Thursday, and will now go to the Senate, which has brought forward plans of making changes. Its probably the worst budget in American history. It cuts back a trillion dollars on health care, nutritional systems for the poor, for the elderly, for children, all in the effort to get a large multi-trillion-dollar tax cut to the wealthiest people in the US, said Rep. Joe Morelle, who represents New Yorks 25th Congressional District. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is significant pushback from Democrats, and Rep. Morelle says among direct hits to New Yorkers relying on Medicaid or programs like SNAP benefits, he also expects to see closures of rural hospitals and longer wait times at emergency rooms across the country. Republican NYS Assemblymember Josh Jensen says there is still time to reform aspects of the federal plan. Theres still a lot of time. Theres still a lot of deliberation. I think a lot of people are hearing calls of panic. I understand the concern, especially when you look at the impact to New York States appropriation, which would be about $10 billion. I think we can have more conversations about that. I think the state should be taking the lead on a lot of this by putting some guardrails on it without creating a fiscal cliff or crisis for families. But, we should be having the conversation, said Asm. Jensen, who represents New Yorks 134th Assembly District. As the plan goes before the US Senate, both the Senate and the House must pass identical pieces of legislation. My expectation is theyre going to move quick. Thats what the President has asked the Senate to do and asked for Congress as a whole to do. Certainly, if the federal government makes a spending plan that affects our state budget, were going to have to go back and figure out, How are we going to react?' said Jensen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State lawmakers have four weeks left of legislative session in Albany, where these conversations with state and federal partners will continue. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The El Paso Chamber is hosting its annual State of the Military event and the deadline to register is fast approaching. The event will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4 at the Centenial Banquet and Conference Center on post. The deadline to register and reserve a seat is May 30, the Chamber said. This annual event highlights the critical role that Fort Bliss and our military community play in driving regional economic growth, strengthening national defense, and building strong civic-military partnerships across the Borderplex, the Chamber said in its news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This years keynote speaker is Col. Brendan Gallagher, Garrison commander for Fort Bliss. Gallagher will provide valuable insight into Fort Blisss local and national impact, including updates on infrastructure, community engagement, and quality of life initiatives for soldiers and their families, the Chamber said. The event will kick off with an Engage and Connect Networking Hour, offering attendees a unique opportunity to interact with military, business, and civic leaders, the Chamber said. This is more than a ceremonial gathering. Its a vital conversation about how our military and business communities work together to move El Paso forward, Ricardo Mora, president and CEO of the El Paso Chamber, said. With just under two weeks to go, we encourage everyone to register and be part of this important dialogue. You can click here to learn more including how to attend. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. TORRINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) State police assisted in a different kind of rescue in Torrington, helping two abandoned fawns find a new home on Saturday morning. State police received notifications of two fawns found near Exit 51 of Route 8 in Torrington. Bear spotted in Hartfords West End The mother of the two fawns could not be found after an extensive search of the area, meaning the two babies, likely born within the past 24 hours, were abandoned. State police rescued two fawns in Torrington on Saturday State police rescued two fawns in Torrington on Saturday State police rescued two fawns in Torrington on Saturday They were transported to a local wildlife rehabilitation center for care with the help of the Connecticut State Environmental Conservation Police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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) A bill introduced by Republican State Senator Shannon Grove with support from Paris Hilton that seeks to amend sections of the existing California Education Code for children in nonpublic schools advanced past the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday, according to a press release by Groves office. The committee voted to advance Senate Bill 373 during its hearing May 23. SB 373, sponsored by Hiltons nonprofit 11:11 Media Impact, aims to change the existing law surrounding education for children in out-of-state youth facilities to provide more information and safeguards to the children directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Substitute teacher recognized with Golden Apple Award at Standard Middle School The existing law requires local educational agencies to assess children with exceptional needs and provide them with free public education that is appropriate and unrestrictive. After assessing the students and providing the proper education, local agencies are required to provide a copy of the rights and procedural safeguards to the parents. The California Department of Education says if a parent cannot be identified, an individual may be assigned to serve as a surrogate parent for the parent of a child with disabilities. If passed, one of the changes in the bill would require local agencies to provide this information not only to the parents, but also to the children directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other changes include ensuring private and confidential communications between the child and the Equitable Services Ombudsman, such as quarterly check-ins with the child through unmonitored phone calls. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage Grove (R-Bakersfield) said in a press release the bipartisan bill is meant to enhance safeguards for the most vulnerable students in California who are placed in out-of-state nonpublic schools and facilities. With nearly 300 California children still residing in these facilities, often far from home and with limited oversight, this legislation is a critical step forward, Grove said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Bill 373 will move forward to the Senate for a full floor vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. AUBURN Blending two of his interests, Andrew Roblee founded a historic preservation firm three years ago. Now, he's sharing his knowledge with students in Ukraine. Roblee is a visiting lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. In April, he traveled from Auburn to Kyiv the in-person portion of a 10-week historic preservation course. The certificate-bearing course is a pilot project, according to Roblee. The focus of his trip was a case study of the university's Old Academic Building, which was built in 1704 and is widely considered an iconic structure in Ukraine. "It's a symbol of their independence and their cultural identity," Roblee said in an interview at his Auburn office. "That's why we picked it because it's an old building, so we can teach them the science of preservation, but it also embodies their identity as Ukrainians." Historic preservation is needed in Ukraine. Roblee explained that while universities offer archaeology and other programs, they are lacking a preservation curriculum. Roblee is working with a Cornell University professor, although he noted that the program is not affiliated with the school. That's a possibility in the future, but there are obstacles to overcome. One of those is the ongoing war in Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022. For now, they are aiming to train a group of prospective preservationists. "There is going to be a lot of reconstruction that needs to happen, especially out in the country, but even with the buildings that are safe now, there's nobody that really knows how to take care of them in the right way," Roblee said. Ukrainian architecture and preservation piqued Roblee's interest in 2021, a year before the invasion. He learned about a movement to decommunize and derussify in Ukraine a response to the country's link to the former Soviet Union. The controversy involves modernist buildings and World War II monuments, which Roblee compared to statues of Confederate generals in the U.S. Despite being historically significant, there is a segment of the population mainly older people who lived through the Soviet era that wants to get rid of buildings and monuments. Younger generations, though, want to save them. One example Roblee provided is a building known as Flowers of Ukraine. It is a modernist building built during the 1980s and used as a botanical research center. Vines grew on the sides of the building. When a developer planned to demolish the building and replace it with condominiums, there was a successful protest that halted the work. The building is now considered a monument. "That was impressive to me because that's some really old school preservation stuff, jumping in front of a bulldozer," Roblee said. "That just started me down this long path of my appreciation because I'm not Ukrainian at all." Roblee does not have ties to the country, but a friend in Auburn is married to a Ukrainian. When he launched Roblee Historic Preservation in 2022, his first client was the First Ukrainian Assembly of God Church in New York City. With his assistance, the church secured a state grant. Before Roblee started his own business, he worked in construction and earned a bachelor's degree in history at Wells College. He later was the facilities manager at the Seward House Museum in Auburn, then earned a master's degree in historic preservation planning at Cornell University. "It's interesting to me how buildings work and how they're put together," said Roblee, who admitted to entering abandoned buildings as a child. "It was just fascinating to me. The way we live changes over time." About 30 students signed up for the course, according to Roblee. Attendance varies, but classes are being recorded. The trip to Ukraine gave Roblee an opportunity to meet the students in the mostly remote course, while also seeing the country. His visit preceded Russia's recent offensive that has included a barrage of drone and missile strikes. "In Kyiv, you would barely know that there's a war going on because life is going on and people are going on about their business," he said. When he arrived in Kyiv, he was told to download a mobile app that provides air raid warnings. He heard a couple of those a day, he says, but was told they are usually for drone attacks. Ukrainian air defenses have been effective at stopping the drone strikes. Roblee called Kyiv "a beautiful, modern city." He remarked about how clean and safe it was, as well as its nice scent. The people were great, he continued, and he liked the food. For Roblee, it has been a valuable experience to teach the course and educate Ukrainians about the importance of historic preservation. Those who decide to enter the preservation field, he said, want to make a difference. "It's not just about saving pretty buildings. It's a lot more than that," Roblee continued. "To be able to help somebody protect something that's important to them is really meaningful." (FOX40.COM) For the first time, the state senator accused of driving under the influence of drugs just blocks from the California state capitol is speaking out on camera. Riverside Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) maintains she is being falsely accused and has the records to prove it. I want to be clear I remain innocent. I have done nothing wrong, Cervantes said on Friday evening. I expect my name to be cleared. The alleged incident occurred Monday afternoon when, according to Cervantes, the senator was t-boned when she had the right of way at the intersection of S St. and 14th St. in downtown Sacramento. A Sacramento Police Department spokesperson who saw the damage to both vehicles after the incident later stated it appeared Cervantes was broadsided by the other driver who was not injured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cervantes checked herself in at a nearby hospital shortly after the incident for further evaluations. There, Sacramento PD officers contacted Senator Cervantes where they observed objective signs of intoxication and conducted a DUI investigation, the department said. From their investigation, officers issued Senator Cervantes a citation for suspicion of DUI of drugs. During an interview Friday, Cervantes denied the accusations. Sacramento Police Department have falsely accused me, she said, noting results from an independent blood and urine test from Kaiser did not detect any drugs or alcohol in her system. While some of the documents were partially redacted, KTXL confirmed the non-redacted parts of the results showed there was no detection of drugs and alcohol in Cervantes system. I was first being accused of being intoxicated, Cervantes said. Lab results show no alcohol in my system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added, A urine lab test was [also] conducted for drug substances. Drug substances stay detectable in urine longer than blood. Those results also show no drugs in my system. I do not know what Sacramento Police Departments motivations are, but I expect my name to be cleared. After the incident, Cervantes released a statement in which she said she was accosted by Sacramento Police Department officers, falsely accused of driving under the influence, and involuntarily detained for several hours at the hospital. In response, Allison Smith, a public information officer with the Sacramento Police Dept. stated she reviewed officers body camera footage, but didnt see any indication Senator Cervantes was accosted by officers. Officers conducted a thorough investigation and remained professional and respectful throughout it. Cervantes responded Friday, saying, she holds herself to the highest of integrity. Anyone can speak to me. Again, I want to make sure my name can be vindicated. I will be cleared because I did nothing wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) came to Cervantes defense. In a statement, he described Cervantes as a fierce advocate for her community and our state and I am proud to call her a friend. I stand by her in this difficult time, and I firmly believe her name will be cleared. Authorities need to resolve this matter as soon as possible. Former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), who served with Cervantes for eight years in the Assembly, said Cervantes is a person and public servant of the highest integrity and character. When she says she will be vindicated, I believe her. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. The state Department of Workforce Development is suing the Social Development Commission, claiming the anti-poverty organization has failed to pay its employees nearly $360,000 in wages and benefits. The civil lawsuit filed May 23 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court seeks twice that amount, the second half "as penalty for the defendant's wrongful withholding of the wages," according to a five-page complaint. The agency's attorney, William Sulton, told the Journal Sentinel that SDC was aware of the outstanding payments owned to employees, but did not believe the $359,609 figure was correct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also accused the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families of refusing to provide the reimbursement SDC needs to pay its employees. "We think that's wrong and beyond unfortunate, but that is the reason why employees have not been paid," he said. Sulton said he would be filing a third-party complaint against the Department of Children and Families "asking them to make the payments they committed to." The lawsuit is the latest blow to the anti-poverty agency, which once had a $30 million operating budget to support dozens of programs. The lawsuit was first reported by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SDC has been under scrutiny since its misallocation of more than $100,000 in state funds surfaced last year. The agency abruptly shut down in April 2024 but reopened in December to offer four programs. In early May, the Department of Children and Families announced it was terminating the organization's status as a community action agency, the Journal Sentinel reported. Without the designation, the agency will lose access to millions of federal Community Services Block Grant funds, effective July 3. Gina Castro of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: State files lawsuit accusing SDC of failing to pay wages and benefits STATESBORO, Ga. (WSAV) The Statesboro Police Department will revive a program thatll give teens a chance to see what its like to wear a badge. This July, Statesboro Police will have 15 to 20 fresh new faces join them on the force. After a summers worth of adventures, I hope that kids can look back and say that was the funnest week that I had, said Police Chief Mike Broadhead. The department is reviving their Teen Police Academy. Young people 14 to 17 will get a chance to meet those behind a variety of jobs within the department. Theyll work with officers to get hands-on experience and train as if it were the real thing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want teenagers to be able to trust the police and we want police to be able to understand teenagers perspectives and the only way you can grow that is to get them into the same room together to talk, Broadhead said. By the end of the week, theyll have processed mock crime scenes, bagged evidence, pulled fingerprints and even tried to conquer the academys agility course. It might be 8 years, 10 years down the road, but if this sparks interest in them and then they end up building a career on top of that, well, how else can you look at it but as a success? Broadhead said. Broadhead tells WSAV he hopes it can give high schoolers a better impression of law enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our job is so skewed the way that its presented publicly through media, through Hollywood or these little negative film clips that get sent throughout the country, Broadhead said. But the fact is that the day-to-day police work is a really fun job and we want to try to give them a little bit of that. Broadhead says theyre looking for high-performing students who are curious about police work and willing to get their hands dirty. The program is happening in July, but for any teens who want to participate, theyll need to register at the Police Department by June 18th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) A statewide Silver Alert has been issued for a missing Indiana man believed to be in extreme danger. The Hendericks County Sheriffs Office says 77-year-old Neal Williams of Brownsburg was last seen on Thursday at 9 a.m. Officials state Williams was wearing a gray hat, glasses, a flannel long sleeve shirt, black pants and gray shoes. Officials indicate in addition to believing to be in extreme danger, Williams may require medical assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information is asked to call the Hendricks County Communications Center at 317-839-8700. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) More auto theft suspects are behind bars, thanks to a recent Albuquerque Police Department bait car sting. So, just how successful is the over-decade-long bait car program? In 2024, at least 52 arrests were made from the bait cars, with 19 arrests so far this year. Investigators said one alarming trend they have seen is more juveniles stealing cars, as well as more car thieves carrying guns. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overall, the department said its efforts to curb auto theft are working. I think last time we saw 43% reduction in auto theft this year, so I think were seeing a little bit less bait vehicles stolen, which is ultimately a good thing, said Commander Jeffery Barnard, APD Investigative Services Division. APD said that at any given time, bait cars are spread throughout the city, and crime tends to go down after an arrest is made. It can vary on a weekly basis. Sometimes, yes. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer, and you get multiple arrests in the area. But eventually, I think what were able to do is were able to locate the people that are stealing those vehicles in those areas and then we see the reduction in that area specifically afterwards, said Barnard. As for how APD decides to place bait cars, Barnard said, I mean, so generally, I know weve talked about Duke City stats before, so we do weekly analysis of where every vehicle is stolen in the city, what types of vehicles are stolen. So we look at that data and we try to put bait vehicles and the matching type of vehicle in those areas that would make sense for whats been stolen in those areas. There is usually a sign nearby warning potential thieves that theres a bait car in the area. I think we try to advertise we have bait cars out there because we want people to know that if you steal a vehicle, youre going to get caught, youre going to get arrested, and youre going to go to jail for it, said Barnard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some still try, as in a recent undercover operation when police said Johnathan Hedgecock and Dominic Garcia made a deal with an undercover detective to trade guns for a stolen car, which was actually a bait car. Their arrests, leading to the seizure of 3 guns, 300 fentanyl pills, meth, heroin, and cocaine. APD did say that they have seen a decrease in juveniles stealing bait cars, after an online viral trend known as the KIA boys challenge has died down. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Students at Forest Lake High School staged a walkout on Friday in protest to planned district cuts to non-school-sponsored clubs. The walkout happened around 1 p.m., with hundreds of students exiting school buildings, before rallying on the overpass over Highway 61. It comes as the Forest Lake School Board discusses a new policy that would cut funding and staff support for student interest groups at middle schools and high schools unless they are either tied to curriculum or Minnesota State High School League activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As has been previously reported by the Forest Lake Times, this has sparked concern that it would lead to the closure of a number of current student groups, including those that cater for students with disabilities and minority groups such as Hmong club and the Black, Indigenous, People of Color group. Speaking to KSTP, school board chairman Curt Rebelein said that if the policy passes, the groups may have to go through an annual application process and have a non-paid staff member to supervise, claiming that making this change would align the district with state and federal recommendations. But a parent told KARE 11 that there are middle school groups at surrounding school districts that operate with support, expressing skepticism over the argument that making the change would align with state and federal policies. Submitted In a memo to parents this week, the school said that students who choose to leave the building would be marked as unexcused for the time missed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "While we support our students right to express themselves, its important to note: The proposed walkout is not sponsored or endorsed by Forest Lake Area High School, Community School, Middle School or the Forest Lake Area School District," the memo said. "If you do hear from your student during the day, we encourage you to remind them of the potential academic and attendance consequences of walking out. Please encourage them to remain in class, stay focused, and finish the school day strong. Your guidance in the moment can make a real difference," it added. "We recognize that this may come as a surprise and that many families may not have the chance to discuss it with their student in advance. Our staff will continue to support all students throughout the day and encourage them to stay engaged in class." A vote on the changes is expected sometime next month. A substitute teacher is facing legal trouble after allegedly punching a Florida high school student who has autism Jeffrey Jung, 27, was charged with battery after witnesses say he entered a classroom and struck a student, who he blamed for another child's nosebleed Seminole County Public Schools said Jung is "no longer" an employee for the district A substitute teacher at a Florida high school is facing legal trouble after he allegedly punched a student who has autism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeffrey Jung, 27, was arrested on Monday, May 19, after staff members said they witnessed him battering a student inside a classroom at Seminole High School, according to a police report provided to PEOPLE by the Sanford Police Department (SPD). Witnesses who were monitoring students claimed that Jung entered a classroom, "leaned down on" and approached the student while they were lying on a mat and punched them in the ribs and arm. One witness said Jung blamed the student for causing another child's nosebleed, per the report. A witness then intervened to stop the attack, according to the arrest report, which featured an incident description provided by a school resource officer. According to both ABC affiliate WFTV and NBC affiliate WESH, the victim is nonverbal and has autism. Sanford Police Department Jeffrey Jung Jeffrey Jung The SPD arrested Jung around 11:18 a.m. local time and charged him with battery. He was brought to Seminole County Jail for further processing and was later released on bond, CBS affiliate WKMG and WFTV reported. (The arrest report said Jung's bond was set at $1,000.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jung had been serving as a long-term substitute with the district since August 2024, according to a spokesperson for Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS), who confirmed to PEOPLE on Saturday, May 24, that he is "no longer" working with the district. Any allegations of misconduct by our staff will be taken seriously and handled quickly," the SCPS spokesperson said. "We will continue to fully cooperate and assist law enforcement as they continue their investigation. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and any type of behavior that jeopardizes that safety will not be tolerated in Seminole County Public Schools. The arrest report confirmed that "contact was made" with the victim's parents following the alleged attack. It added that the child's father "provided a statement advising on behalf of his son he would like to press charges." Margaret Thornton, chief operations officer at Opportunity Community Ability Inc. in Central Florida, told WFTV that she felt "heartbroken for that student and their family because their life has been forever changed." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Per the outlet, every substitute teacher in the district is certified in Exceptional Student Education (ESE). A public educator whos working with children on the spectrum probably already has an ESC certificate. I would urge them, honestly, to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder endorsement, which is an additional level of education, Thornton said. She added: But what they also may need to invest in in the school system is working on teaching emotional intelligence and recognizing as an educator how we are feeling as were working through the struggles of teaching individuals that need more support and maybe create more challenges. Read the original article on People (FOX40.COM) The Suisun Police Department responded to a call for service of suspicious activity on Wednesday morning. According to SPD, the call came in on the 400 block of Amber Drive after a concerned resident reported that they saw multiple individuals, two 20-year-old males out of Napa, were seen with open containers of alcohol on the bed of the truck. Arrest made in connection of 2023 nightclub shooting in South Sacramento Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When officers arrived at the scene, they noticed a firearm that was visible from one of the males waistbands, stated SPD. Both suspects were detained without incident. After an investigation, one of the males was carrying three concealed handguns, two in one pocket and a third in another, according to SPD. The other suspect was found carrying a concealed dirk/dagger and a fake California ID. Both of the individuals showed signs of alcohol intoxication and have been booked into the Solano County 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 FOX40 News. GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) The widow and family members of a man who died days after an active shooter incident at Bristol Regional Medical Center in May 2024 have sued the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office and multiple officers in federal court. The 26-count suit alleges that officers mistook a mental health crisis for a drug-induced high and escalated their force against Matthew Stoddard in an initial encounter on May 21, 2024. As previously reported by News Channel 11, the married father of three from the Chattanooga area had taken his family away from their home, and theyd stopped and entered a home in Sullivan County without invitation to ask for directions. The owners arrived and called 911, and eventually deputies arrested and handcuffed Stoddard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies took Stoddard to the Sullivan County Jail that night, and soon after transported him to BRMC. The next night, a sheriffs office report claimed, he tried to take an officers weapon at the hospital. In the struggle that ensued and involved multiple deputies, Stoddard lost consciousness and never regained full awareness before dying at a Chattanooga medical facility on July 13. PREVIOUS: Man involved in Bristol hospital shooting died weeks later; family seeks answers The lawsuit claims wrongful death, outrageous conduct and intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery and a host of other counts, including excessive force that violated multiple constitutional rights. The suit points to what it says were four separate violations of Stoddards Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That deputies engaged in excessive tightening, tugging and jerking of Mr. Stoddards handcuffs and ankle shackles which caused Mr. Stoddard to suffer from open wounds at the cites [sic] of his upper and lower extremities. That they mistreated a mentally disturbed Stoddard while he was in the back seat of a patrol car being taken to the jail, what the suit calls psychological torture that also involved freezing out by rolling the windows down at a high speed. Treatment on arrival at the jail alleged to include punching, kicking, striking with fists, using shock devices and otherwise beating up Stoddard while he was handcuffed, held down, shackled, and in a restraint chair. The final alleged violation occurred at BRMC. A Sullivan County officer is alleged to have entered Stoddards room, where two security guards were restraining him. Matthew Stoddard (in football jersey) with his mother and brothers. (Steve Stoddard) It claims the officer placed his knee on the upper back of Mr. Stoddard while attempting to secure Mr. Stoddards arm and that the pressure applied caused Mr. Stoddard to asphyxiate and die. According to the lawsuit, an autopsy report conducted by Emily Cook of the Jenkins Forensic Center said among the pathological diagnoses was complications of sudden cardiac arrest and anoxic brain injury in the setting of police restraint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That report, according to the lawsuit, determined Stoddards death was caused by complications of sudden cardiac arrest and anoxic brain injury in the setting of police restraint, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and morbid obesity. The lawsuit says the autopsy found the manner of death as homicide and that it identified that Mr. Stoddard became unresponsive after officers were attempting to restrain him while prone. Attorneys for the family include local lawyers Corey Shipley and Christopher Rogers, as well as Atlanta-based Eric Hertz. They offered the following statement: We chose to represent the Stoddards because this is a deeply troubling situation with a tragic outcome. Allegations of misconduct by law enforcement must always be taken seriously. When someone is found legally responsible for causing harm to another, they should be held accountable regardless of their position or status in society. A society is ultimately judged by how the powerful treat the vulnerable. Everyone, no matter the circumstances, is entitled to the protection of their constitutional rights. The purpose of this lawsuit is to ensure that our clients constitutional rights are upheld and that accountability is pursued where it is due. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suit was just filed Wednesday. Sullivan County Attorney Dan Street said he had no comment on the suit, but added that Sullivan County will defend itself and its officers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. (NEXSTAR) With Americans feeling like their wallets are being stretched thinner and thinner, some families may be ruling out travel this year to save money. But for those who still want to get out of town, there are deals to be found. As the tourism industry braces for a rough year, American travelers could luck out by finding good deals or less crowded hot spots. Its twofold, said The Points Guy Senior Editor Becky Blaine. On one hand a lot of destinations and hotels will be offering deals to attract visitors. On the other hand, we could see less overall visitation, which means places like your national parks might not be as crowded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Think back to the first summer of 2020 with COVID, she continued. I personally took my family on a nine day trip to the Western national parks. We went all the way up through Utah and into Wyoming, to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons and Arches National Park, because I knew we might never see our parks that empty ever again with international travel shut down. Well, now international travel is not shut down, its just lacking demand. US destinations report tourism drops. Will it lead to cheap summer travel? We arent experiencing 2020-levels of travel disruption, but there substantial questions remain on how depressed tourism will be this year. Were kind of staring down at this summer of uncertainty in a lot of ways, said Blaine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Towns near national parks are concerned a drop in summer travel will mean fewer tourism dollars. Other places that rely heavily on international tourism are also bracing for impact. A Las Vegas tourism report released last month, for example, showed showed visitation and hotel occupancy were down year-over-year. If youre looking for hotel deals, Blaine advised, think of tier one destinations. When we say tier one, its usually the first place someone who is newly coming to the United States, they might check one of those big cities off the list first. Drivers could see cheapest Memorial Day gas prices since 2021 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Places like New York, California and Florida are popular with international travelers, but may now be looking to draw in more domestic tourists with lowered prices. The Western U.S. and its impressive landscapes are also usually a big draw for European travelers who may or may not show up this year. Anecdotally, I was just doing research for my own vacation for the first week of June, Blaine recounted in mid-May. You can still book cabins in Grand Teton National Park. You can still book camping spots in Grand Canyon National Park. That is unheard of. Those looking for cheap travel need to keep their eyes peeled for sales and limited-time deals, Blaine said. She rattled off several hot sales happening in May, such as a New York to Hawaii roundtrip flight for $449 (usually over $800). For those booking with points, American Airlines had great values to Barcelona and Air France had a deal to Athens, she said. The Points Guy and other travel publications post about these types of deals regularly. In order to save big on travel this year, flexibility is key. If youre open in terms of timing and destination, try reading about travel sales and picking from there. You can also explore Google Flights, which lets you explore cheap flights from your home airport to anywhere in the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can use that explore map and look across the US and be like, Hey, I just want to go somewhere. Im flexible. Whos got some cheap airfare? And start that way if you dont particularly have a set place in mind. Those without school-aged kids should consider taking their summer vacation a little later, in September or even October, when prices tend to drop across the board. Flying out on the day of a holiday, like on Fourth of July, can also save you cash, Blaine advised. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Claims circulated by pro-Kremlin media on 24 May that Russian forces have captured the village of Yunakivka in Sumy Oblast have been dismissed as untrue by the Ukrainian authorities. Source: Oleh Hryhorov, Head of Sumy Oblast Military Administration Quote from Hryhorov: "I am in constant communication with the military, I understand the line of contact and I have information about the enemy's possible advance. Claims about the capture of Yunakivka are not true. Yunakivka is controlled by Ukraine." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Hryhorov said the Armed Forces of Ukraine and all components of Ukraines defence forces are holding the line and successfully repelling Russian attacks. Nevertheless, the situation in the hromadas bordering Russia remains tense. Russian troops continue to drop guided aerial bombs and attack the Yunakivka hromada with drones. Two civilians were recently killed in one of the strikes. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] Hryhorov said the Russians are also attempting to enter the oblast with small assault groups from the Khotin and Yunakivka hromadas, but the Ukrainian military is destroying them on the outskirts, preventing them from advancing deeper into the region. Hryhorov has urged local residents to trust only official sources of information and promised to keep them updated on any changes in the security situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: On 24 May, the Kremlin-aligned news agency TASS claimed that Russian troops had entered the village of Yunakivka in Ukraines Sumy Oblast, adding that Ukraine had deployed forces to Russias Kursk Oblast from this village. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) After a chilly, cloudy and rainy week we finally have the chance to see some sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures into the holiday weekend. Today features sunshine with clouds increasing into the afternoon and evening, temperatures get into the low 60s for today with the chance for a sprinkle into the evening but most of us stay dry. Tonight we see skies remain partly cloudy with temperatures still in the low 40s. A mix of sun and clouds return to the forecast for Sunday as temperatures warm into the mid-60s, which is still below average for this time of year but way better than what we were experiencing last week! Just like today Sunday has a slight chance for an isolated sprinkle but most of us stay dry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sunshine and warm weather fully return to the forecast by Monday with temperatures warming into the upper 60s to low 70s! A beautiful day for any holiday activities! The next chance for widespread rain looks to be Tuesday night through at least Wednesday as a low-pressure system moves into the Great Lakes region. Temperatures still remain mild but below average into the middle of the week in the upper 60s to low 70s. By the end of the week, we stay dry and warm with temperatures into the 70s. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. (NewsNation) A former Mexican security chief who was convicted of drug trafficking and his wife were ordered to pay more than $2.4 billion to their home country in a judgment handed down by a Florida court, the Mexican government announced. Mexican officials sued Genaro Garcia Luna for alleged corruption and money laundering in 2021 involving dozens of public contracts. Garcia Luna is currently in prison in the United States, CBS News reported. The judgment against Garcia Luna and his wife is three times the original amount that the Mexican government was seeking. In the court order, Garcia Luna was ordered to pay $749 million, while his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, was ordered to pay the Mexican government $1.74 billion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alaska attorney accused of cartel connections and drug charges The Florida court said that the judgment that was ordered is consistent with seven guilty verdicts that were previously issued and enforced against the couple and the five companies as a result of their failure to appear at trial, CBS News reported. Garcia Luna, 56, earned the nickname Supercop for his role with the Mexican government but instead often aided and abetted drug trafficking operations. He was sentenced to spend 38 years in prison in the United States for taking bribes from drug traffickers, according to reports. Garcia Luna previously served as Mexicos secretary of public security and was convicted in 2023 of accepting millions in bribes to protect the Sinaloa cartel. NBC 6 in Florida reported that he is the highest-level Mexican government official to be convicted in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He served in his capacity as security chief from 2006 to 12 and moved to Florida after leaving office. He worked as a consultant in Florida before he was arrested in 2019. He and his co-conspirators were said to have set up companies that accepted 30 dubious government contracts while he was serving as Mexicos top security chief, The Associated Press reported. Federal prosecutors said Garcia Luna used his authority in his government role to assist the Sinaloa cartel in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes. In exchange for the bribes, Garcia Lunas federal police chief provided bodyguards and escorts to the cartel, allowing Sinaloa members to wear police uniforms and badges and helped them upload shipments of cocaine from planes at Mexico Citys airport, officials said. Officials allege that Garcia Luna used the money to finance a lavish lifestyle for himself and his co-conspirators that included real estate, bank accounts and vintage cars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. This month marks the 20th anniversary of the seminal Granholm v. Heald case, in which the United States Supreme Court struck down protectionist alcohol shipping laws that discriminated against out-of-state wineries. Seen at the time as a harbinger of a truly national e-commerce marketplace for alcoholic beverages, Granholm continues to be treated more like a legal inconvenience than a binding precedent by lower courts. In Granholm, numerous wineries challenged a Michigan law that allowed in-state wineries to ship directly to state residents but required out-of-state wineries to sell their products through wholesalers. Because the case was a consolidation of several legal challenges, it also involved a New York law that only permitted out-of-state wineries to engage in direct-to-consumer shipping if they had a "branch factory, office or storeroom within the state of New York." In a 54 decision, the Supreme Court struck down both laws as a violation of the so-called "dormant Commerce Clause," which establishes the principle that state governments cannot blatantly favor in-state economic interests by discriminating against out-of-state economic actors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Importantly, the law ushered in a host of state-level legislative victories that allowed wineries to ship their products directly to their customer base, thereby circumventing the notorious three-tier system of alcohol regulation. Despite nearly always being referred to as a "landmark" ruling, Granholm has been treated more on par with an obscure 19th-century SCOTUS case that has long since been reversed. In the years immediately following Granholm, the so-called Arnold's Wine line of casesnamed after the Second Circuit's Arnold's Wines, Inc. v. Boyle casecame out, in which lower federal courts effectively limited the Supreme Court's Granholm decision to alcohol producers (not retailers). Other federal courts rejected such a cramped reading of the Granholm precedent, and eventually, the dispute forced the Supreme Court to weigh in again in the 2019 case Byrd v. Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association. In Tennessee Wine, the Court heldthis time by a 72 votethat a Tennessee law requiring liquor store owners to have been residents of the state for at least two years before applying for a license was unconstitutional. Again, the rationale was based on the fact that states were not permitted to discriminate against out-of-state economic interests unless there was a proper health and safety reason to do so. As attorney Sean O'Leary put it, the Court's majority opinionpenned by Justice Samuel Alito"put to rest any ambiguity on the reach of Granholm." Except, somehow, it apparently didn't, because lower courts almost immediately started to ignore the Court once again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lower courts have coalesced around what has been called the Tennessee Wine Two-Step Test: 1. Does the alcohol law at issue either facially or effectively discriminate against out-of-state economic interests? 2. If so, is the discrimination still permissible by serving a "legitimate, non-protectionist interest" (such as protecting health and safety)? Lower courts are creatively using these questions to essentially manufacture workarounds for both Granholm and Tennessee Wine. In 2022, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a North Carolina law that allowed in-state retailers to ship wine to North Carolina consumers but forbade out-of-state retailers from doing the same. Although the court agreed that the law at issue was clearly discriminatory against out-of-state economic interests, it seized upon the second prong of the two-step, holding that a state protecting its system of alcohol regulation was in and of itself "a legitimate non-protectionist ground" for the law. The 9th Circuit recently went even further. Hearing a challenge to an Arizona law that requires wine retailers to have an in-state physical presence in order to engage in interstate direct-to-consumer shipments within the state, the court ruled that the law wasn't even discriminatory. Under the court's reasoning, "setting up a physical storefront in Arizona is not a 'per se burden on out-of-state companies'" because the ability to establish such a storefront is based "on a company's resources and business model, not its citizenship or residency." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 9th Circuit's rationale is already spreading, with a district court in Washington State using the decision as a basis to now conclude that a Washington law that discriminates against out-of-state distilleries in favor of in-state distilleries is similarly permissible. Lost in all the legal slicing and dicing of these post-Granholm and post-Tennessee Wine cases is the simple reality that they're clearly ignoring the main import of these decisions. As Alito noted in Tennessee Wine, "the Commerce Clause did not permit the States to impose protectionist measures clothed as police-power regulations." Unfortunately, that appears to be exactly what states are doingand they're being readily rubber-stamped by willing federal judges. "The decisions keep getting stranger and stranger," as O'Leary put it in an interview with Wine-Searcher. "I really thought this issue was put to rest when Alito wrote Tennessee Wine. He wrote that Granholm applies to everyone. It was a 72 ruling. I thought that was the end of it." States embracing protectionism and clearly thwarting previous rulings may force the Supreme Court to step in once again. The post The Supreme Court Said States Can't Discriminate in Alcohol Sales. They're Doing It Anyway. appeared first on Reason.com. (NewsNation) Memorial Day is a time to pause and remember the U.S. service members who made the ultimate sacrifice. A new book about World War II, The Sailing of the Intrepid: The Incredible Wartime Voyage of the Navys Iconic Aircraft Carrier, also recognizes enlisted personnel who defied the odds through determination and resourcefulness. The USS Intrepid is today a museum ship docked on the Hudson River in New York. But before it became a tourist attraction, the aircraft carrier known as The Fighting I was a hard-working member of the Pacific Fleet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February 1944, a deadly torpedo strike jammed the ships rudder so that the vessel could only move in circles, more than 3,000 miles from its Pearl Harbor base. The Sailing of the Intrepid tells the story of problem-solving under desperate conditions. 100-year-old Navy vet keeps World War II spirit alive Were living in a nation thats so divided, co-author Montel Williams told Elizabeth Vargas Reports on Friday, the start of Memorial Day weekend. Think about 3,000 young men from all over the country who came together to realize, We are not going to let this thing fall into the hands of an enemy. Surviving crew members scrambled to find canvas aboard the ship and created a massive sail that was affixed to the ships front. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not to actually be the propulsion, Williams explained, but to actually counterbalance the effects of the wind and the currents, to allow it to sail straight 3,300 miles back to Hawaii. Portrait of a gun crew of six African American sailors, clockwise from top left, Jonell Copeland, Que Gant, Harold Clark, Jr., James Eddie Dockery, Alonzo Alexander Swann, and Eli Benjamin, were given the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with operations against the enemy while serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, in the area of the Philippine Islands, 1944. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images) He said the Intrepid was repaired and redeployed and suffered additional attacks from the Japanese in the Pacific Theater. The aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 1974 and set to be scrapped. Instead, it was privately purchased and turned into a museum. Williams, a former television host who served in the Navy and Marines, collaborated with author David Fisher to write the ships 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 NewsNation. Median home sale prices in Whatcom County and Bellingham increased in April, as Washington came in with the fifth-highest prices in the country. Whatcom County Whatcom Countys median home sale price reached an extreme high of $682,000 in July 2024, the highest price from 2012-2025, according to Redfin Metro Area Data. Redfin is a residential real estate brokerage that uses home listings to generate metro area data. Whatcom Countys median sale price across all of April was $605,000, a 1.7% increase compared with March and a 0.7% increase compared with the same month last year, according to Jason Lee, a local broker with Windermere Real Estate in Bellingham. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The countys median home sale price in March was $595,000. There are not enough quality homes in Whatcom County to satiate the number of people that want to purchase and live here, Lee told The Herald. Bellingham The median price of homes sold in April in Bellingham was $649,224, a 3.1% increase compared to April 2024, according to data from Rocket Homes. In April, Bellinghams median asking price was $685,000, according to Lee. Thats a 7% increase compared with March, and a 1.9% increase compared with April of last year, Lee said. In March, Bellinghams median home sale price was $640,000. Washington Washingtons median home sale price in April was $662,900, an increase of 1.3% compared to the same month last year, according to Redfin data. Washington was the fifth-most expensive state to purchase a home, according to Redfin data. The state followed California with a median sale price of $785,000, Hawaii at $779,000, Massachusetts at $622,000 and Colorado at $607,000. A magistrate has ordered the 39-year-old suspect in the knife attack at Hamburg's central train station to be placed in a psychiatric institution, police said on Saturday. The suspect, a German national, was detained on Friday evening after allegedly stabbing people at random at the busy transport hub, injuring 18 people. She is accused of 15 cases of attempted manslaughter combined with grievous bodily harm, the police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The charges relate to the people who were directly injured with the knife and suffered cuts or stab wounds of varying severity, the police said in a statement. The remaining victims suffered other injuries, due to shock or falls. According to earlier police reports, the act was not politically motivated. "On the contrary, there are now very concrete indications that the suspect is mentally ill," police said. Three women aged 24, 52 and 85, as well as a 24-year-old man, were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after the attack. Police said in an update on Saturday that they were all stable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seven other people were seriously injured, and seven people sustained minor injuries. Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher said on Saturday afternoon that some of the victims had been released from hospital. "It is a great relief. I hope they recover well and wish them and their families a lot of strength," he wrote on the social media platform X. He did not give an exact number for how many of the injured had been released. At the time of the attack at around 6 pm (1600 GMT), the train station - one of Germany's main transit centres - was very busy, and platform 13/14 was full of people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The knife attack was stopped thanks to a brave intervention by two bystanders, the police said. Emergency services were then able to quickly arrest the 39-year-old woman, who did not resist arrest. The arresting officers were a four-person team consisting of federal and state police as well as security forces from the rail operators. The suspect, who is believed to have acted alone, had already been handling the knife on the southern footbridge of the main station, according to the police. There were initially no indications that she was under the influence of intoxicating substances such as alcohol or drugs, they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to current police information, the suspect has no permanent residence. The attack led to a major operation by police and rescue services. Investigators were busy securing evidence well into the night, with the knife used in the attack having been secured. There are many eyewitnesses who need to be interviewed, police said on Saturday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on X: "The news from Hamburg is distressing. My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. My thanks go to all the emergency services on site for their quick help." German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt also condemned the knife attack. "It is shocking when travellers are attacked in a cowardly and despicable manner," Dobrindt said, according to his ministry. Police and fire department on duty at the scene after several people were seriously injured in a knife attack at Hamburg Central Station. Rene Schroder/news5/dpa SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. (WFLA) A suspected gunman has been arrested months after an 18-year-old was shot dead in Sun City Center, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said. Deputies found Brandon Clark dead from a gunshot wound around 10:43 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2024, after receiving reports of gunfire near Camp Island Avenue. Pure evil: Lakeland man sets house on fire with roommates inside, Judd says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said shots rang out that night after an altercation at a community center in the area, and Clark was struck by the gunfire. After months of interviewing witnesses and neighbors to try to piece together what happened, and other extensive investigative efforts, the sheriffs office said it all pinpointed to one suspect. Malachi Higgs (Credit: Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office) Malachi Higgs, 18, was taken into custody on May 23 on multiple charges. The charges against him include: Murder in the first degree while engaged in robbery Robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon less than $750 Carrying a concealed firearm Minor in possession of a firearm Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This arrest is the result of the tireless work by our detectives and a commitment to seeking justice, said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. While nothing can undo the loss suffered by this young mans family, we hope this development brings a measure of closure. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HERSHEY, Pa. (WHTM) Police are investigating after burglars broke into a local business and used tools to open ATMs. According to the Derry Township Police Department, officers responded to a reported burglary at Fresh Market in Hershey early Saturday morning. Police said that between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., two suspects smashed a rear window and entered the business. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe Now Morning Weather Forecast Police said the suspect used tools to break into ATM machines on the first and second floors. Cash boxes were removed and emptied outside by the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks. Both suspects were reportedly wearing masks. It is unclear how much money was stolen. Police said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the burglary is encouraged to contact the police at (717) 534-2202 or submit an anonymous tip online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. The Russians launched a large-scale UAV and ballistic attack on the city of Kyiv on the night of 23-24 May. The public broadcaster Suspilne has posted photos of the aftermath of the strikes in the Obolonskyi district of the capital. Source: Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne; Kyrylo Fesyk, Head of Obolonskyi District State Administration Details: Suspilne posted images of the aftermath of the Russian attack on Kyiv, saying "The photos show the aftermath of Russian large-scale attack on the Obolonskyi district of Kyiv". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Suspilne also quoted a resident of a building in the Obolonskyi district that was hit by a Russian UAV debris. Quote: "I thought it might just pass without incident, but then there was a loud bang and glass scattered across the balcony. I wanted to run out, but the smoke had filled the corridor." I live on the seventh floor. So I waited until the guys came up. Thanks to them, I got down. I'm more or less fine. But what happened to other people is horrifying." Fire appliance Photo: Suspilne Shattered windows Photo: Suspilne Rescue worker on a destroyed balcony Photo: Suspilne Details: At 06:20, Fesyk reported that the fire following the Russian attack in the Obolonskyi district had been completely extinguished. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: An air-raid warning was issued in Kyiv on the evening of 23 May due to the threat of Russian attack UAVs and later ballistic missiles. Casualties were recorded in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine showed the aftermath of a Russian combined attack on Kyiv on the morning of 24 May. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Syrias interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top officials in Istanbul as Western sanctions on Syria are lifted. The two leaders were pictured by Turkiyes state media shaking hands after an official reception and joining for a meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace in the countrys largest city on Saturday. Erdogans office said the Turkish president told al-Sharaa his country welcomes the lifting of the sanctions. He also said that Israels occupation and aggression in Syrian territory is unacceptable and that Turkiye will continue to oppose it on every platform, according to a statement on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The presidency said in a short statement released through state media that the leaders discussed a number of mutual files. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler, National Intelligence Organisation Director Ibrahim Kalin, and the secretary of Turkish Defence Industries, Haluk Gorgun, were part of the talks, which were closed to the press. Al-Sharaa, who enjoyed sweeping Turkish backing in overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was accompanied by his Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. The Syrian interim leader was also received by Erdogan in the capital, Ankara, in early February, in what was his second international trip after a visit to Riyadh to meet Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two sides have been discussing deepening bilateral relations and the reconstruction of Syria, as regional allies helped convince United States President Donald Trump to lift devastating sanctions imposed on Syria. Washington on Friday lifted the first sanctions as part of the drive announced by Trump during his regional tour earlier this month. The European Union has also followed suit, lifting economic sanctions to help with Syrias recovery after years of civil war. The new Syrian government has welcomed the lifting of the sanctions, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday describing the move as a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps special envoy to Syria, the current US ambassador to Turkiye, Thomas Barrack, said he met al-Sharaa on Saturday in Istanbul and praised the leader taking meaningful steps so far regarding foreign fighters and relations with Israel. The first of the US sanctions on Syria were imposed in 1979, when Bashar al-Assads father, Hafez, was in power. But they were hugely levelled up after the al-Assad government launched a deadly crackdown on protesters in 2011, which triggered the countrys civil war, which killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. The sanctions targeted any entity or company working with the al-Assad establishment, including those involved in rebuilding the country. New York University professor and public speaker Scott Galloway hit Joe Biden and his family with a dose of reality on Friday, arguing that their narcissism ... severely fucked this country due to their insistence that he seek reelection. And that is his legacy, said Galloway of Biden in the latest episode of his Pivot podcast with veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher. And we want to have and I will get shit for this, because people are correctly feeling empathy for him but his legacy, in my view, has been ruined by this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moments earlier, Swisher brought up that Biden per a spokesperson hadnt received a test for prostate cancer in over a decade before he was diagnosed with an advanced form of the disease last week. Galloway noted that while theres deserved affection and goodwill toward Biden at the moment, the former president will ultimately be remembered as the guy who fucked up and got an insurrectionist elected. Galloways take arrives as a newly released book, Original Sin by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, details an alleged cover-up of the former presidents reported health deterioration in the lead-up to his dropping his 2024 bid. Galloway argued that Bidens incredibly poor judgment brings up two issues: There should be a limit to how old a president can be, and the Democratic Party must recognize that the primary process is one of the greatest tools in our democracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He suggested that the party shouldve had a flash primary in the wake of Biden abandoning his 2024 campaign, instead of simply rallying behind then-Vice President Kamala Harris. I think she did a good job given the hand she was dealt with, but this is a candidate who didnt make it to Iowa four years earlier, which says to me America didnt think of her as a great candidate, said Galloway, adding that Harris still had a historically great debate performance against Donald Trump. Swisher later advised Democrats to move on by saying out loud that Biden betrayed us. Just say it! Sorry hes sick, but this is the way it is. Hes done that, Swisher said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Betrayal is a strong word, he screwed up. He screwed up, and we went along, Galloway interjected. He screwed up, OK, he screwed up, said Swisher, correcting herself. Related... VATICAN CITY (AP) As Pope Leo XIVs past record of handling clergy sexual abuse cases comes under scrutiny, his biggest defenders are the victims of a powerful Catholic movement he helped dismantle. The group, known as the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, was formally dissolved by Pope Francis this year after a Vatican investigation uncovered sect-like spiritual, physical and sexual abuses by its leaders against its members. Victims of the group say that starting in 2018, when the pope was a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost met with them. He took their claims seriously when few others did, got the Vatican involved and worked concretely to provide financial reparations for the harm victims had endured. They credit him with helping arrange the key 2022 meeting with Pope Francis that triggered the Vatican investigation that resulted in the suppression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What can I say about him? That he listened to me, said Jose Rey de Castro, who spent 18 years in the Sodalitium as the personal cook for its leader, Luis Fernando Figari. It seems obvious for a priest. But thats not the case, because the Sodalitium was very powerful. A conservative army for God Figari, a Peruvian layman, founded the Sodalitium in Peru in 1971 as a lay community to recruit soldiers for God. It was one of several Catholic societies born as a conservative reaction to the left-leaning liberation theology movement that swept through Latin America starting in the 1960s. At its height, the group counted about 1,000 core members and several times that in three other branches across South America and the United States. It was enormously influential in Peru and has its U.S. base in Denver. Starting in 2000, stories about Figaris twisted practices began to filter out in Peru when a former member wrote a series of articles in the magazine Gente. A formal accusation was lodged with the Lima archdiocese in 2011 but neither the local church nor the Holy See took concrete action until former member Pedro Salinas and journalist Paola Ugaz exposed the practices of Sodalitium in their 2015 book Half Monks, Half Soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2017, a report commissioned by the group s new leadership found that Figari sodomized his recruits and forced them to fondle him and one another, that he liked to watch them experience pain, discomfort and fear, and humiliated them in front of others to enhance his control over them. Yet when members found the courage to escape and denounce the abuses they suffered, they say they often met a wall of silence and inaction from the Peruvian Catholic hierarchy and the Holy See. Prevost stands out But not from Prevost, whom Francis made bishop of Chiclayo, Peru in 2014 and later was elected vice president of the Peruvian bishops conference. He headed the bishops commission created to listen to victims of abuse, and became a critical bridge between victims and Sodalitium, the victims say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rey de Castro, the former Figari cook who got out in 2014, turned to Prevost in 2021. He had been critical of a 2016 Sodalitium reparations program that, according to the group, provided some $6.5 million in academic, therapeutic and financial support to nearly 100 Sodalitium victims over the years. After their 2021 meeting, Prevost helped arrange a confidential settlement with Sodalitium, he said. Salinas and Ugaz, for their part, say Prevost also stepped in when the Sodalitium started retaliating against them with legal action for their continued investigative reporting on the group. After the Sodalitiums archbishop of Piura, Jose Eguren, sued Salinas in 2018 for defamation, Prevost and the Vaticans ambassador to Peru helped craft a statement from the Peruvian bishops conference backing the journalists. It was the first time that anyone had done anything against the Sodalitium publicly, Ugaz said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the Sodalitium criticism accelerated against Ugaz and Salinas, Prevost helped arrange for Ugaz to meet with Francis at the Vatican on Nov. 10, 2022, during which she laid out her findings and convinced Francis to send his top sex crimes investigators to Peru. Their 2023 investigation resulted in Francis taking a series of initiatives, starting with the April 2024 resignation of Eguren which Prevost handled. It continued with the expulsion of Figari, Eguren and nine others, and finally the formal dissolution of the Sodalitium in April this year, just before Francis died. The Sodalitium has accepted its dissolution, asked forgiveness for the mistreatment and abuse committed within our community and for the pain caused the entire church. With sorrow and obedience, we accept this decision, specifically approved by Pope Francis, which brings our society to an end, the group said in an April statement after the decree of dissolution was signed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was no reply to an email sent to the group with specific questions about Prevosts role. Prevost now a target The idea Prevost might have enemies was crystalized in a recent podcast hosted by Salinas on Perus La Mula streaming platform. While Salinas dedicated most of the hourlong episode to reading aloud seven years of glowing correspondence between Sodalitium victims and Prevost, he also said Prevost had become the target of a defamation campaign questioning his handling of past abuse cases. Salinas blamed the campaign on Sodalitiums supporters trying to discredit him. One of the cases in question is Prevosts handling of abuse allegations made in 2022 by three sisters against one of his priests in Chiclayo. The diocese and Vatican say Prevost did everything he was supposed to do, including removing the priest from ministry, sending a preliminary investigation to the Vaticans sex crimes office, offering psychological help to the victims and suggesting they go to Peruvian authorities, who archived the case because it happened too long ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Vatican archived the case for lack of evidence, but it was reopened in 2023 after it gained traction in the media. Victims groups are demanding an accounting from Leo. ___ Briceno reported from Lima, Peru. ___ 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. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) The USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier has been an airport at sea since 2009. Over 5,000 sailors are on board when the ship is at capacity, and the F-18 and F-35 pilots are one of the main jobs. Being a part of naval aviation takes years of training, and when News 2s Shelby Mac came aboard the CVN-77 pilots were doing aircraft carrier qualifications. This is when pilots must take off and land on the aircraft carrier during the day and night a certain number of times, and get a certain score to be ready for upcoming missions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lieutenant Andrew Mueller, F-18 Instructor Pilot, has been training new naval pilots on the U.S.S. George H. W. Bush this season. We teach them to fly the Super Hornet, and this is final, their graduation here in which were teaching them to land on the ship both day and night, said Mueller, call sign Doug. Tour the Captains Import Cabin aboard the USS George H. W. Bush This is no small task since the runway is 300 feet with the assistance of a catapult versus more than 5,000 feet on dry land for an F-18 take-off. As you launch off a catapult your brain is experiencing this feeling of rolling back in your head and its giving the sensation that youre being shot up into the ether, so you really dont want to manipulate the controls until after youve come off then end, and the jets auto-trimmed to fly you away. So, you dont want to hastily grab the stick and push it either direction. So nice, disciplined shot, sweet, good shot, safely fly away, and then go into your procedures from there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mueller is a second-generation Navy pilot, and the Hollywood movies helped others understand what exactly his dads job was. My old man was actually a Navy Aviator back in the day, and prior to the original Top Gun movie coming out, people had no idea what Naval Aviators did, what an aircraft carrier was. It was almost an unknown group of fighter pilots going out and doing things, but once you make a couple of movies about it, then I think it puts it into the publics imagination, and it increases recruiting and retention as well. Mueller said hes proud of the work naval aviation does for our country, but the team wouldnt be successful without the entire crew. There are thirteen pilots and maybe ten jet aircraft, but honestly, there are 300 hard-working Navy sailors who are making sure that the engines are operational, the flight controls are there, and the software, everything that makes the whole team work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once pilots have made a specific score on taking off and landing during the day, night comes and its time to land on a moving runway in complete darkness. To see more from Shelbys naval journey, check out the News 2 special report Shelby Goes to Sea. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. A Tampa man was arrested on charges of driving under the influence in a fatal crash that shut down a large intersection early Saturday. Jefry Maldonado Hernandez, 25, was driving east on W Busch Boulevard just before 3:30 a.m. when police said he accelerated to beat a yellow light at N Armenia Avenue. After the light turned red, Hernandos truck crashed into a Lexus being driven by a man in his early 60s, police said. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said Maldonado Hernandez displayed signs of impairment at the scene. He was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and driving without a valid license. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was not an accident, but the result of a drivers criminal actions and reckless decision to operate a vehicle while impaired, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. DUI is a completely avoidable act that destroys lives. We are committed to standing with this family throughout their profound loss, ensuring a thorough investigation and the pursuit of justice. The intersection of Busch and Armenia was shut down during the investigation but reopened Saturday morning. Emmy-winning actress, entrepreneur, and author Tabitha Brown took to Instagram to speak on the discourse surrounding her opinions on the Target boycott. On May 20, the 46-year-old internet personality dropped a video to respond to those hating on her for her previous statements, and to encourage others to combat the negative impact that the boycott is having on Black authors whose books are sold on the retailers shelves. As a well-known advocate for Black authors, Black-owned businesses, and creatives, Brown had previously warned people to be mindful of the Target boycotts, as it would negatively impact many Black authors as well as big businesses. The Donnas Recipe haircare brand founder began by addressing the online users sending her hate messages in her recent Instagram video, This is my prayer for you. I pray that love finds you, true love. I pray it finds you and it holds you tight, she began. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brown continued, I pray that someone will love you enough to see you, to see you when you are not well, to see you when you need true support, to see you when you need compassion, to see you when you need kindness. I pray that somebody loves you enough to sacrifice their life for you. I pray that type of love finds you so that you can understand. Brown echoed her own sentiments in the caption of the video as well. The vegan food influencer wrote, To all the people in the comments and my DMS with your uneducated hate messagesThere is no amount of hate and ignorance that is going to stop me from using my platform and my voice to support and uplift small businesses, Black-owned businesses, Black content creators, and Black authors. Brown confirmed that she would not stop speaking out about the Target boycott and its impact on Black authors and that she will continue to inspire others to find ways to support them in the deficit. Take it up with God because he gave me my voice, he blessed me with a platform, and Im going to use it, Brown concluded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously, Brown took a deep dive into how the Target boycott launched at the beginning of this year in response to the retailers rolling back its DEI initiatives under President Trumps new federal framework has impacted the landscape of Black authorship. Brown reflected that since the beginning of the boycott, many Black authors have been struggling to get a reaction behind their books, with many people no longer shopping at Target, where they are sold. Brown explained, Target is a huge book retailer, right, that sells our books, and so because of the boycott, many of our Black authors books did not sell well because people were not purchasing the books because theyre sold at Target. This affected their sales. It affected their ability to be on the New York Times bestseller list. But the bigger issue is that it also affects the next deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brown encouraged people engaging in the boycott to be mindful of the more nuanced repercussions of not shopping at Target, and recommended supporting these Black authors by buying through other channels to help them make their numbers. Brown also directly addressed publishers on her platform, urging them not to hold the sales of their Black authors during these past months of boycott as truth to their selling power. These numbers are not reflecting their truth, the actress expressed. Theyre talented writers with beautiful stories, and theyre being affected by something that they did not do. Brown has been receiving pushback since she spoke up in defense of Black-owned businesses and Black authors near the beginning of the Target boycott. According to previous reports, many did not receive her message to consider the Black business owners and creatives affected by the boycott kindly. RELATED CONTENT: Tabitha Brown To Uplift Small Businesses As Clovers First Chief Empowerment Officer May 24Some local businesses are feeling the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs, but they are trying not to pass the costs on to their customers. If you noticed a higher price for the Mother's Day bouquet you bought, it is because flowers grown in other countries are now subject to higher tariffs. About 80% of flowers bought in the U.S. are grown elsewhere. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. last year imported $2.2 billion worth of cut flowers and greenery, most coming from Colombia and Ecuador. "The fact that they can grow year-round gave them a natural advantage," said Society of American Florists CEO Kate Penn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Locally, in Priceville, Southern Roots Flowers & Gifts is feeling the sting of tariffs. It has been in business for three years. "Any flowers I get, they're adding a 10% fee to my bill," said Southern Roots co-owner Margaret Wood. "The wholesaler out of Cullman is the one that I deal with, and they told me they had to tack a 10% (tariff fee) on it." Wood said she has not yet raised her prices. "If I have to keep paying it, I'll have to do something to make money. ... I'm not really making anything with them doing that," she said. "I've been doing so well that I don't want my customers to say, 'Well, I can't use her any more, she's gone up so high.'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wood said she does not want to jeopardize the reputation she has formed. "I've thought of (telling customers), 'Soon my arrangements starting out at $30 or $35, they're going to start out at $40 and go up,'" she said. "I'm one of those, like, 'Let me throw a few extra daisies in there.' I haven't been doing that because I can't." Wood said some of her flowers are grown in Ecuador. "It's not right. ... I thought this was all supposed to be reverse, like be better," she said. "I'm hoping it won't last long. ... I pray every day it'll go back." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other florists are also dealing with a 10% tariff fee. "Most of our flowers are South American, so it's just the typical 10%," said Kristen Bentley, owner of Simpson's Florist in Decatur. "We've got other sources that we've tried to be smart about where we're buying from. Our wholesalers have, too. So, it hasn't been too bad." Jessica Graham, co-owner of Iris & Ivy Floral & Gifts in Decatur, said they have not yet been affected by the tariffs. "Our wholesaler, it really depends on who they're getting them from," she said. "So far, they have not been affected, therefore it hasn't affected us any yet." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martin's Family Clothing in Decatur also hasn't been affected by the tariffs yet. "We haven't really noticed it yet. Reorders, they're starting to go up on some prices, but that's about it. Fall might be a different story," said Charles Christopher, store and operations manager of Martin's in Decatur. "We have enough inventory to last us for a while." Spring and summer merchandise, Christopher said, has already been purchased and is in a company warehouse in Anniston. He said he does not expect they will end up with empty shelves. "I assume that it's going to get solved before we get into fall," Christopher said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iverson's Auto Service & Tire owner Jody Iverson said tariffs have "affected business in general. People are watchful, cautious." Iverson's has been in business in Decatur for 40 years. Iverson said the cost of some tires has increased due to tariffs. He said there are four categories of tires, with tier one being the highest end, and tier four being the lowest. Iverson said tiers three and four are imported, but the tariff cost is not passed down by every tire brand. "The (tier one) Continentals and the Goodyears and the Michelins, they don't have the tariff. A lot of the warehouses are eating it," he said. "We have like a $3 to $4 price increase per tire since the warehouses are eating it because they know that people won't buy them." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iverson said he does not worry about the warehouses deciding to start passing more of the costs down to him. "Because people will stop buying from them," he said. "There's too many warehouses, too many suppliers now. Used to be like three or four, now there's like 20 in this area. They just flood the market." Some tire brands have not raised their prices at all, Iverson said. As far as car parts go, he said, he has not seen any increase in prices. "The corporations that sell those parts are too big," Iverson said. "I mean, we might have a small 3%, 5% markup because of tariffs or just cost increases, but we're paying for most of our parts the same as we did two years ago." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iverson said the tire brands that are being affected are being made in another country and shipped to the U.S. "They're made in Thailand, Malaysia, China, some in Mexico," Iverson said. "The tier one plants are here, that's why they're so much more expensive. The employees are paid more, the property's more, it costs more to build the building here, codes. You build a tire plant in Malaysia with no codes, no OSHA, no nothing." Iverson said if more tariff costs do trickle down, he'll have to pass some of the increase on to the consumer. "But we're not like a lot of other places that have to," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iverson said he owns his shop and has no overhead and therefore does not owe anyone money, allowing him to absorb more tariff costs. "I don't have a $5 million building like some others," he said. "We just don't have high overhead like some shops." erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460. MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) A North Carolina man has been charged after authorities said he shot and injured a deputy after a pursuit in Johnson County last month. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced Friday that agents obtained warrants charging Joey Allen Ponce, 34, with attempted murder and other charges. On April 22, Johnson County deputies spotted a vehicle that was the subject of a Be On The Lookout (BOLO) out of Watauga County, N.C. that was being driven by Ponce, who was wanted in connection to an armed robbery from earlier that day, according to the TBI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VDOT reopens Route 58 in Damascus; Gov. Youngkin in attendance When deputies initiated a traffic stop, Ponce allegedly refused to stop and a pursuit ensued. He then got out of the vehicle in the 5000 block of Highway 421 and fired shots at deputies, according to the TBI. Ponce allegedly ran through a gravel lot and fired more shots, striking and injuring a deputy. Deputies returned fire and struck Ponce, who was taken to a hospital for treatment. Ponce was served with the warrants upon his release from the hospital Friday and was taken to the Carter County Jail, where he was booked on a $750,000 bond. He faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of evading arrest, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and one count of possession of stolen property, according to the TBI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. DRESDEN, Tenn. (WJHL) A state corrections officer from Roan Mountain is facing charges in a child exploitation investigation by state and West Tennessee investigators. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said a joint investigation by its Cybercrime and Digital Evidence Unit and the Weakley County, Tennessee Sheriffs Office led to the arrest of Hunter Chase Ellison, 22. TBI: Man charged after shooting, injuring Johnson County deputy in April Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the TBI, agents began working with Weakley County investigators in February to investigate a report of a 9-year-old sending child sex abuse material to an adult male via Snapchat. Investigators identified Ellison as the Snapchat account user. TBI agents obtained warrants last week, charging Ellison with especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and solicitation of a minor by electronic means. At the time of the alleged crime, Ellison was employed as a corrections officer at the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, according to the TBI. He was reportedly arrested at his workplace on Friday and taken to the Johnson County Jail. The Tennessee Department of Corrections and the Johnson County Sheriffs Office assisted with the arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. A teacher was arrested in Alabama after a 4-year-old student in her care was taken to a local hospital with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at a dangerous level of nearly 0.29. Tracy Walker, 56, was taken into police custody on Wednesday, May 21. The former special education teacher is charged with aggravated child abuse, according to the Mobile County Metro Jail records obtained by Fox 10 News. At a hearing on Friday, May 23, the teacher's bond was set at $25,000 by Mobile County District Judge Johana Bucci. Judge Bucci additionally ordered Walker to submit a drug and alcohol test as a condition of the bond, per WTVY News 4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The child, a student at Collins-Rhodes Elementary School in Mobile, Ala., was brought to the hospital by her parents on April 28, where doctors found high ethanol content in her bloodstream. According to the school website, Walker works as a special education teacher and has since been placed on administrative leave, per WTVY. Defense lawyer Derrick Williams reiterated that Walker has no prior criminal history during the bond hearing, the station reports. He referred to Walker as an achieved 10-year employee with bachelors and masters degrees from the University of South Alabama. The case was initially investigated by the Prichard Police Department, but has since been transferred to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) as of May 6, per Fox 10. PEOPLE reached out to the MCSO for comment, but did not immediately hear back. 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. During an interview conducted by MCSO Detectives with the 4-year-old child, the child reported that her teacher had given her a drink that made her feel sick, the MCSO confirmed to CBS 42. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The child's father told the station, To us, thats a step towards justice being served. Im still trying to process it." A spokesperson for the Mobile County Public School System released a statement following the arrest, saying, We take all allegations seriously. The teacher was placed on administrative leave when this allegation was first made." The statement concluded, "We have been cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation, and we will continue working with them. PEOPLE reached out to Walker's defense for comment, but did not immediately hear back. Read the original article on People A public school teacher talks with students as the school year winds down in New York City. States are struggling with post-pandemic teacher shortages and are trying several tactics to woo educators, including changing teacher training and licensing requirements. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) As another school year ends, superintendents across the United States are staring down an autumn staffing crisis, with 1 in 8 teaching positions either vacant or filled by an underqualified educator. States that are struggling with post-pandemic teacher shortages have spent millions to lure replacements and retain veterans with hiring bonuses and bumps in salaries. But hiring gaps remain, so some states also are trying another tactic: changing their standards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The changes in teacher training and licensing come amid widespread turmoil in public schools: Tax revenue is being siphoned toward private school vouchers in many states; some classrooms are being scrutinized for banned books, displays or teaching lessons that trip into diversity, equity and inclusion territory; and students who went through pandemic-era shutdowns are struggling both with sitting still and with learning the material. Some surveys show that fewer than a fifth of teachers are happy in their jobs. Teaching is not seen as an attractive profession right now, said Drew Gitomer, an expert on teaching assessment at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. COVID exacerbated things, and teachers are caught in the middle of political battles over curriculum, book bans, even personal attacks, he said. Its not a healthy work environment, and that drives people away. Teaching is not seen as an attractive profession right now. Drew Gitomer, an expert on teaching assessment at Rutgers Graduate School of Education Last year, Illinois enacted a law allowing teacher candidates to begin student teaching before passing content-area exams. It was an effort to reduce barriers for underrepresented groups, the measures sponsor said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A bill under consideration this year would give more districts discretion over whether to factor pupils test scores into teacher evaluations, a break from a 15-year-old mandate. In New Jersey, a new law formally removes the Praxis Core exam traditionally used as an entry-level screening tool for aspiring teachers from certification requirements. And in Nevada one of the states hit hardest by teacher shortages a bill would streamline licensure for incoming educators. The bill would allow teachers credentialed in other states to begin working in Nevada classrooms while awaiting formal approval. It also would remove extra steps for teachers switching grade levels and would waive application fees for recent substitute teachers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Linda Darling-Hammond, founding president and chief knowledge officer of the Learning Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, said teacher shortages hit hardest in schools serving low-income students and students of color, where instability often leads to larger class sizes, canceled courses or a revolving door of substitute teachers. When you walk into a school facing shortages, you see instability, she said. Students may be taught by people who dont know what to do, who leave quickly, and who often rely more on discipline than engagement. The root cause? Teacher attrition. Nine out of 10 vacancies every year are because of attrition and two-thirds of that is not retirement, Darling-Hammond said. Support in the beginning matters. Teachers who come in and get a mentor stay longer. If youre just thrown in to sink or swim, the odds of leaving are much greater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement States have long struggled to attract teachers, and credentialing changes arent unusual. But some education advocates fear long-term repercussions. Melissa Tooley, director of K-12 educator quality at the left-leaning think tank New America, said most states now offer alternative and fast-track teacher certification pathways, many of which allow candidates to start teaching with little or no pedagogical training in how to teach. Were churning through people who might have potential, but were not setting them up for success, she said. A lot of what states are doing is short term. Its about filling seats, not necessarily building a sustainable or high-quality workforce. More than 40 states require aspiring teachers to take the costly Praxis Subject test for the subject they want to teach, which some experts argue excludes strong candidates and duplicates other assessments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You were excluding people who might be good teachers but didnt do well on that specific test, said Rutgers Gitomer, who has researched the tests effects on recruitment. However, he added, dropping tests doesnt necessarily help. Several states Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Washington and Wisconsin have dropped a licensure requirement known as edTPA since 2022, but theres little evidence the move has helped ease teacher shortages, Gitomer said. (The acronym stands for Educative Teacher Performance Assessment and involves a portfolio that includes testing and videos of classroom performance.) The state eliminated edTPA but didnt replace it with a specific alternative, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, it gave full discretion back to individual institutions to develop or adopt their own performance assessments, he said. When we talked to institutions, it became pretty clear they didnt think removing edTPA would be a major driver in addressing the shortage and they havent seen evidence that it has been. How best to credential Tooley said state credentialing systems must navigate a delicate balance: ensuring there are enough teachers, maintaining instructional quality and increasing workforce diversity. Theres this triangle three pieces that need to be in place and I think there are real tensions when it comes to how states are designing their certification policies, she said. And Gitomer described a fragmented national landscape, where some states are tightening teacher entry standards while others are dramatically loosening them even allowing non-degreed individuals to teach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some states are trying to raise standards; others are relaxing them to the point where you may not even need a college degree, he said. Indiana now requires all pre-K through grade 6 and special education teachers to complete 80 hours of training on the science of reading, a method that includes phonics, and pass an exam by 2027. State Sen. Jean Leising, a Republican, has proposed cutting the requirement in half, calling it an excessive burden with little actual benefit in a news release. In Texas, a bill aims to reduce the use of uncertified teachers by the 2029-30 school year. The legislation would set a gradual cap on the percentage of uncertified teachers districts can employ in core curriculum classes starting at 20% in 2026-27 and decreasing to 5% in 2029-30. According to the Texas Education Agency, 31% of new hires in 2024-25 lacked a state teaching certificate or permit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet some states stand out for how theyre changing their requirements, Tooley said. She pointed to Washington, which has designed a recruitment strategy encouraging paraprofessionals, often known as teachers aides, to become classroom teachers. Also known as paraeducators, theyre a group with classroom experience, community ties and higher retention likelihood. There, school districts are required to offer foundational training ranging from 14 to 28 hours directly to paraeducators. In West Virginia, a new law now allows districts to count full-time behavior interventionists working in one or two classrooms toward meeting the required number of aides or paraprofessionals in K-3 classrooms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tooley noted that Pennsylvania and Alabama are experimenting with menu-style licensing flexibility allowing candidates to demonstrate qualification through various combinations of GPA and test scores, rather than rigid cutoffs. These are people already in schools, often from the same cultural or linguistic backgrounds as students, Tooley said. Theyre more likely to succeed and to stay. Low pay A 2024 national survey by the EdWeek Research Center found that public school teachers are increasingly reporting declines in mental health, job satisfaction and classroom stability. Seventy percent of teachers recommended student mental health interventions, and nearly half said schools lack enough counselors, psychologists and social workers. As mental well-being has worsened, the share of public school teachers who are very satisfied with their jobs has also declined by 2 percentage points from the previous year, to 18%, according to the survey, which was conducted by the EdWeek Research Center on behalf of Merrimack College. While teacher wellness supports remain limited, educators say improvements in pay and student discipline are the most needed changes. To entice passionate but burned out educators from leaving the workforce, several states have raised minimum teacher pay. Arkansas boosted salaries to $50,000 statewide, and South Carolina raised starting pay to $47,000 this year, giving it a boost to $48,500 next school year. South Dakota enacted a $45,000 minimum with yearly increases, and penalties for districts that fail to comply by 2026. Connecticut advanced a bill setting a $63,450 salary floor, while Indiana and others are eyeing further increases. At the federal level, the proposed American Teacher Act seeks to establish a national $60,000 minimum salary for teachers at a qualifying school to boost recruitment and retention across the country. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat, remains in committee. Stateline originally published this article. Like the Alaska Beacon, 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. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) For some, a traditional four year college isnt the best route to further their education. Future students in our area are in luck. From Okatie, South Carolina to Vidalia, Georgia, there are several options at technical schools in the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry. Savannah Technical College (STC) has been working with area industries for years to learn what skills are needed from the future workforce. Those partnerships have improved STCs programs and pathways, according to Tal Loos, STC Vice President of Economic Development. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our main focus here is to do hands-on skill training. That is what I think is the basic driver of our economy, Loos said. From welding to automotive to nursing or dental hygiene, the college offers 150 market-driven programs. We encourage companies to get involved. That way we keep changing our curriculum or keep updating what were doing in that curriculum to make sure were meeting those needs, Loos said. STCs Electrical Vehicle Professional program was created after the college partnered with Hyundai. Savannah Tech has been selected as Hyundais preferred pathway to train and hire the workforce they need. An 18-month apprenticeship with HMGMAs Equipment Maintenance Department is set to begin in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Enrollment numbers at technical colleges across our region have been rising since the pandemic. The Technical College of the Lowcountry and Southeastern Technical College are examples. We are going full speed ahead in all of our programs. We do an audit of our systems every year to make sure that were offering competitive programs, things that are relevant, Cynthia Cradduck, Assistant Vice President of PR and Marketing at STC, said. Kay Thigpen is the department head of the colleges Dental Hygiene program, which is number one in the state. The program has a 100 percent graduation and employment rate. Its 500 hours of direct patient contact over the two years. Its a lot of being hands on with the patients, Thigpen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once those graduates are out in the workforce, Thigpen says the students are looking at competitive pay, around $45 dollars an hour. The latest dental hygiene class is on their way to start their careers. The pinning ceremony for the group was held Friday, May 9. The classes were very difficult as far as getting into the program. Not many do. Many apply and not many actually get it. I consider it an honor that I actually was able to get in, Marshanna Givens, STC dental hygiene student, 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 WSAV-TV. A forest monitoring platform, Ground Truthed.id (GTID), has launched in Indonesia to fight deforestation by making it easier to track the legality of commodities like palm oil, timber, and other forest-risk products. This comes at a time when Indonesia is reportedly ramping up its efforts to mitigate forest-risk products as the European Union Deforestation Regulation is set to be enforced at the end of the year. The tool will "make it easier to track where supply chain irregularities begin, especially in remote or hard-to-access areas," according to Mongabay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denny Bhatara, the senior campaigner at Kaoem Telapak, explained that "many incidents occur that we might not be aware of due to distance or a lack of reporting mechanisms. Through GTID, we gather all field-based documentation and compile it into a unified system." The data is then presented in a "bottom-up method," ensuring that there's real-time, verifiable data collection that helps authorities decide whether the deforestation is unlawful and act before environmental damage occurs. "Sometimes, by the time we receive information from remote areas, the damage has already become massive and widespread," Bhatara told Mongabay. "[So] the faster we can share information, the better the chances of taking preventative action." The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimated that 10 million hectares of the forest are subject to deforestation every year. One report has showcased that oil palm plantations have driven extensive deforestation in Indonesia alone for the past two decades. Three million hectares of Indonesia's forest have suffered from the extraction of these commodities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deforestation is responsible for ecosystem annihilation, a reduction of emission captures to mitigate planet-harming pollution, food insecurity, among several other harms to human communities. In tracking down the cause of significant deforestation through Indonesia's tool, the ability to bar illegal and environmentally damaging trade grows. As Diah Suradiredja, the coordinator of the national dashboard, put it for Mongabay, "GTID is crucial for verification to prevent conflict-ridden products from being exported." Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. A 15-year-old boy was arrested Thursday on suspicion of fatally shooting a homeless man at an encampment in Long Beach, authorities said. The Long Beach Police Department responded to a call in the 2600 block of East Ocean Boulevard shortly before 2 a.m. on Nov. 24. Upon arriving, they found two men near an encampment at a beach playground suffering from upper body gunshot wounds. The first man was taken to a hospital and recovered, while the second was pronounced dead at the scene. He was later identified as 51-year-old Frank Suggs, according to the L.A. County medical examiner's office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Seven injured in Long Beach shooting near nightclub Police said the teenager, whose identity has not been released, is responsible for both shootings. The motive behind and circumstances leading up to the shootings remain under investigation, police said. The teen was arrested in Long Beach and booked on suspicion of murder. He is being held without bail at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. Detectives intend to present the case to the L.A. County district attorney's office for filing consideration next week. In California, a 15-year-old charged with murder must be tried in juvenile court. This is because of Senate Bill 1391, which took effect in 2019 and prohibits minors age 14 and 15 from being prosecuted in adult court, regardless of the severity of the offense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Judge orders more than 100 youths moved out of troubled L.A. County juvenile hall If convicted of murder, a juvenile can be held in prison until age 25. The victim's brother, Anthony Suggs, told the Long Beach Post that he was grateful an arrest has been made, but sad to learn how young the suspect is. Now you have another family going to go through some stuff, he told the outlet. Frank Suggs was from Indiana, where he lived with his wife and children until about eight years ago when he became homeless while grappling with mental health and substance use issues, his brother told the Post. He lived on the streets of Las Vegas and later Los Angeles, Anthony Suggs said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another 15-year-old boy was arrested earlier this month in connection with a fatal shooting in Long Beach, according to the Long Beach Police Department. That teen is suspected of killing 21-year-old Brandon Villarreal after the pair got into an argument outside the Long Beach Grand Prix around 5:50 p.m. on April 12. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A teenager was taken into custody Friday night after being accused of firing a rifle from the drivers window of a stolen vehicle, which was being monitored from the air by a Nashville police helicopter with two crew members on board. The Metro Nashville Police Department said Nelson Garcia-Arevalo was arrested last September, when he was 16, for firing a gun at an undercover detective and a police helicopter. After the case was transferred from Juvenile Court to Criminal Court, he was convicted of felony aggravated assault in February 2025 and given a three-year probated sentence. Since Garcia-Arevalo, now 17, already been adjudicated as an adult, authorities said the charges being placed against him on Friday, May 23 which include two counts of felony reckless endangerment, vehicle theft, and felony evading arrest will also be filed in adult court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 3 teens, 1 man facing charges following gunfire in East Nashville Meanwhile, two 15-year-olds who were in the car with Garcia-Arevalo are being charged with vehicle theft, unlawful gun possession and evading arrest at Juvenile Court, according to officials. Law enforcement said these arrests are the result of a joint investigation between MNPD Violent Crimes detectives; agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Dickson Police Department detectives following the theft of firearms from a Dickson gun store on Thursday, May 22. Police said the same black Hyundai Elantra that Garcia-Arevalo was driving Friday was used in the Dickson gun store case, adding that the car had been stolen from the Madison area shortly before the burglary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MNPD: 5 charged after fleeing from police in stolen vehicle Authorities said they recovered a rifle and four pistols take during the burglary when they arrested Garcia-Arevalo and the 15-year-olds. In addition, several other stolen guns were reportedly found in a wooded area next to an Edmondson Pike apartment complex. According to officials, an MNPD helicopter monitored the Hyundais movements for more than an hour Friday, during which time undercover detectives used a spike strip to deflate the tires as it pulled out of the Edmondson Pike apartment complex. Garcia-Arevalo allegedly drove the car on flattened tires for another five minutes before he and the other two teens got out on Amalie Drive and ran into a neighborhood. After detectives flooded the area, they took all three minors into custody. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com MNPD even shared footage taken by the chopper crew while they were watching the vehicle and the suspects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dickson police are set to handle any charges related to the gun store burglary and theft. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Jeremiah T. Byrd, who pleaded guilty in March to shooting his former girlfriend on a deserted road near Ben Hawes Park, was sentenced to a total of 25 years Friday morning in Daviess Circuit Court. Byrd, 18, was a juvenile when he fatally shot Gay Mee Paw, 16, in the head in June 2023 on Willet Road, just outside Ben Hawes Park. Byrd gave an interview to Daviess County Sheriffs detectives an interview that was later ruled inadmissible in court due to detectives ignoring Byrds requests for an attorney. In that interview, he admitted shooting Paw because they had broken up and he didnt believe they would get back together. But other evidence against Byrd was ruled admissible, including a phone call Byrd made to his guardian in a sheriffs office interrogation room where Byrd was recorded telling his aunt, I had to admit to it and I did admit shooting Paw to detectives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byrd pleaded guilty to murder, tampering with physical evidence and possession of a handgun by a minor. Byrd made a statement to the full courtroom Friday morning, where he apologized for killing Paw. Im sorry, Byrd said on the stand, as people cried audibly in the courtroom. Ever since that day, Ive been in my head wondering how I could have handled it differently other than violence. Byrd said of Paw: She was the best thing that ever happened to me emotionally. I cant justify what I did, but I know that beautiful young woman should be alive today. When questioned by Commonwealths Attorney Mike Van Meter about the shooting, Byrd said, I was just hurt, and made reference to previous relationships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I just had anger built up, Byrd said. Under additional questioning, Byrd admitted he had stalked Paw as recently as the day before the shooting. I followed her and whoever she was with, Byrd said. While being questioned, Byrd admitted he was armed with a handgun during those times. After leaving Paw in a ditch on Willet Road, Byrd went to the home of the person he received the handgun from, and then went home, where he called numerous people before calling 911, Van Meter said. Byrds attorney John Bennett called an officer from the Department of Juvenile Justice, who testified Byrd reported consistent nightmares since the shooting, and that he was on antidepressants such as Trazodone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Regarding the nightmares, Van Meter asked Byrd: Can you imagine the nightmares of (Paws) families theyve had every night as well? What they are going through, does that ever come to mind? Van Meter read a statement from Paws father, Mee Reh Paw, who described living in a refugee camp in Thailand while hoping to immigrate to the United States. I left everything behind because I believed this country would give my children hope, Mee Reh Paw said in the statement. Of Paws death, Mee Reh Paws statement said, Every day I cry. I cannot sleep. I feel everything I worked for was destroyed in one moment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea of Byrd being released was frightening, Paw said in his statement. Because Byrd was a juvenile when the shooting occurred, he was eligible to be granted probation at sentencing. If he could take my daughters life, what else could he do? Mee Reh Paw said in his statement. Mee Reh Paw said in his statement he feels sometimes the justice system does not see me, and that he feels refugees, immigrants, people who dont speak English, are not valued the same. The statement said, I came to this country because I believed in justice. I still want to believe in it. I ask the court to see our pain and understand what we have lost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peter Hurley and Ashlie Hurley, whom Gay Mee Paw had lived with for a time, also testified. Ashlie Hurley said she had met Paw when Hurley was an elementary school teacher. I met her in my classroom and she stole my heart, Ashlie Hurley said. Paw spent frequent holidays and vacations with the family before coming to live with them, and Paw and the couples daughter called each other sisters, she said. She was just like a beam of light, Ashlie Hurley said. Later, she said, She taught me so much as a teacher, how to love people outside your family. She loved unconditionally, Ashlie Hurley said of Paw. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To Byrd, she said, What makes this so painful is we trusted you, Jeremiah. We let you into our home; we trusted you to be around our children. ...The betrayal of that trust is something I dont think Ill ever be able to make peace with. Peter Hurley said the family constantly runs into reminders of Paws absence, such as Paws darkened bedroom in the family home. The first consistent thought I have every day is that hallway (to her bedroom) is dark because shes gone, Peter Hurley said. Something happens every day. Youre trying not to think about her, but you do. Although Byrd was eligible for receiving probation at the hearing, Daviess Circuit Judge Joe Castlen ruled out the possibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because you (were) a juvenile, you are entitled to be considered for probation, but I have to tell you the court does not believe probation is appropriate, Castlen said. Of the shooting, Castlen said, this was pretty horrific. Byrd was sentenced to serve a 20-year sentence for murder, and an additional five years in prison on a charge of tampering with physical evidence with the sentences to run consecutively for a total of 25 years. The possession of a handgun by a minor charge is a misdemeanor, and carries a sentence of 12 months. The sentence will be served concurrently. Murder falls under the states violent offender statute, which means Byrd will be eligible for parole after serving 85% of the 20-year murder sentence. Byrd will get credit toward that sentence for the time he has already been incarcerated since the shooting. Byrd is eligible for shock probation, which would require another hearing before Castlen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the sentencing, Van Meter said the plea agreement had been reached with the involvement of Paws family. Im satisfied the judge sentenced him pursuant to the plea agreement that was reached in consultation and (in) agreement with the victims family, Van Meter said. Van Meter read Mee Reh Paws statement to the court because he does not speak English. I was honored to stand in the place of Mee Reh, Van Meter said. Later, he said, I was honored to stand up for him, to give him a voice in court, which gave Gay Mee a voice in court as well. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A teenager is missing after authorities say he disappeared while swimming along the Washington coast Friday evening. According to the United States Coast Guard, officials originally received a report that three people were struggling and yelling for help in the ocean off Long Beach. Oregon Congress members urge White House to approve FEMA request for floods Although EMS crews on jet skis managed to rescue two men, a 15-year-old was still reported missing when the Coast Guard arrived on scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said the men were taken to a hospital due to possible hypothermia. After dispatching a rescue boat from Cape Disappointment and a helicopter from Astoria, officials said local agencies stopped their search when night fell. The Coast Guard said their crews continued to search the area until 12:30 a.m. Saturday. At that point, the search was suspended. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. A propane gas explosion in a Florida City bakery on Saturday morning injured 10 and damaged multiple businesses, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and witnesses who spoke to the Miami Herald. The blast, which erupted around 8:50 a.m. in a strip mall in the 900 block of West Palm Drive, sparked a fire and sent people running as more than two-dozen rescue units sped to the scene. Eight people were taken to the hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Two others took off for the hospital before rescue crews arrived. A propane gas explosion injured ten people Saturday morning. The explosion occurred inside Palm Bakery, located at 941 West Palm Drive in Florida City, Florida, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. Two of the 10 victims were classified as trauma alerts and air-lifted to a nearby trauma center. The explosion caused a partial roof collapse. More than 27 rescue units responded, including canine teams dispatched to search for victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local businesses were not open at the time, but we did have to call unsafe structures to ensure that the structure of the building was safe, said Erika Benitez, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesperson. Florida City police officer J. Cadet was handling an emergency call a few blocks away when he heard the explosion he thought it was a serious traffic accident. When he rushed over, he saw the flames and jumped into action, helping people running from the plaza. Neftali Coronado, owner of Taqueria Cinco Hermanos in the strip mall, told the Herald that Palm Bakery, the shop where the explosion occurred, was supposed to be having its opening day, with doors opening at noon. The bakery, located at 941 West Palm Dr., is tucked into the corner of the shopping plaza, which holds at least seven stores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coronados restaurant is on the far end of the plaza. The restaurant was closed at the time, but one of Coronados cooks was inside preparing for the day and heard a big BOOM and felt a shake, prompting him to run right out of the business. Restaurant owner, Neftali Coronado, looks towards his Taqueria Cinco Hermanos after a propane gas explosion injured ten people inside Palm Bakery, located in the same shopping strip at 941 West Palm Drive in Florida City, Florida, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. Hours after the explosion, the site continued to draw stunned onlookers. People tried to peer through the shattered glass windows and the blown-out front door. Glass covered the entire parking lot, and most of the cafes doors hung off their hinges from firefighters busting in earlier. By the afternoon, Coronado still didnt know how much of his own restaurant was salvageable. Of course, we are worried that things arent going to function, but Im really worried for our employees and the business, he said in Spanish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another business owner, who did not want to be named, said at least four of the stores in the plaza had been destroyed, including his own. As he looked in from behind the crime scene tape, he could see that the wall in his business was torn down. His store was also closed when the explosion happened, but he didnt have much hope that any of his merchandise survived, he told the Herald. He felt lucky he wasnt inside, but he only sees a bleak future for his business. HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A career criminal out of Mississippi is back behind bars thanks to Tennessee law enforcement agencies sharing information and using license plate recognition technology to track the suspect across the state. According to the Belle Meade Police Department, during the early morning hours on Wednesday, May 21, someone reported that Euros were stolen from her purse at the Belle Meade Country Club. Authorities used a labyrinth of LPR cameras to find a 2025 Subaru Forester driving through the city. Detectives told News 2 that Thomas Hooghe, 67, of Jackson, Mississippi, was the man behind the wheel of the car and the suspect in the Belle Meade theft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators said Hooghe served time for multiple auto thefts. He was released on parole, which is due to expire in 2053. Cheatham County deputies arrest wanted man getting out of the shower Meanwhile, the Hendersonville Police Department said reports started coming in around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday about vehicle burglaries at the YMCA on Bluegrass Commons Boulevard. HPD shared surveillance footage with News 2 showing a man later identified as Hooghe inside the YMCA. Detectives said he pried open four lockers, stole four key fobs, broke into four cars in the parking lot, and stole $400. One of our officers received a phone call and a BOLO from Knoxville saying that a vehicle had broken into a YMCA up there, and by LPR, they put it in our city, HPD Cmdr. Jimmy Garrett said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Knoxville Police Department sent over surveillance footage that looked like the suspect in HPDs case. Around the same time, Tom Sexton, an investigator with Belle Meade police who was also tracking the Subaru using LPR technology, saw that Hooghes car had just been in Hendersonville and gave HPD the suspects name, which they did not have at that point. Fugitive with gun, fake badges found in Putnam County home So from that point, we had our suspect because we compared the pictures from Knoxville and from Belle Meade, Garrett said. Armed with all this info, Hendersonville detectives used LPR technology to track Hooghes Subaru to another Tennessee city: Jackson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HPD notified the Jackson Police Department, which found the Subaru at a restaurant. Meanwhile, Hendersonville authorities had arrest warrants drawn up and sent them to Jackson law enforcement, who took Hooghe into custody. According to investigators, the suspect was still wearing a watch stolen in another burglary. Police said they probably would have solved this case individually, but working together and employing the power of LPR technology made all the difference, resulting in an arrest the same day as the crime spree. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com If it wasnt for LPR, we eventually would have solved this, and so would the other departments, but with the information sharing and the LPR, we were able to track his locations and alert the people quickly to where he was at, [and] we were able to apprehend him the day he committed our crime, Garrett said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hooghe has since been transported to the Sumner County Jail, where he is charged with four counts of vehicle burglary and one county of theft under $1,000, according to HPD. However, News 2 has learned that more charges from other cities are very probable. If you have any information about Hooghes case, youre encouraged to contact HPD at 615-822-1111 or the Hendersonville Crime Stoppers at 615-594-4113. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Local victims of Nathaniel Radimak, the Tesla driver convicted of assaulting women in a series of road rage cases, are calling his early prison release a failure after he allegedly attacked another driver this time in Hawaii. Radimak, 38, was arraigned Thursday in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he pleaded not guilty. According to police, on May 8, an 18-year-old woman was parking her car with her 35-year-old mother in the passenger seat when a gray Tesla sped past them. Words were exchanged, and the man allegedly assaulted both women before fleeing in the Tesla. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Radimak, who was arrested the following day, faces charges of misdemeanor assault and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle. Bail was set at $100,000. When justice is not done, the public is endangered, said victims rights attorney Gloria Allred at a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday that included several of Radimaks previous victims. He goes to Hawaii, and then all of this happens yes, absolutely, failure of the system. Nathaniel Radimak is seen getting out of a Tesla SUV and attacking a victim with a large pipe along the 2 Freeway on Jan. 11, 2023. (DroneZone_LA) Nathaniel Radimak is seen getting out of a Tesla SUV and attacking a victim with a large pipe along the 2 Freeway on Jan. 11, 2023. (DroneZone_LA) Nathaniel Radimak is seen getting out of a Tesla SUV and attacking a victim with a large pipe along the 2 Freeway on Jan. 11, 2023. (DroneZone_LA) In 2023, Radimak was sentenced to five years in prison for attacking SoCal motorists with a metal pole in multiple incidents, two of which were captured on video. He was released 212 days early for good behavior, a decision Allred and her clients criticized at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I believe [the Hawaii] incidents were a foreseeable consequence of a system that repeatedly failed to address his pattern of violence and his pattern of behavior, said Vivian Romero, one of Radimaks prior victims. Allred claims former District Attorney George Gascon did not consult with her or the victims before the plea agreement, and they were not given the opportunity to speak at Radimaks sentencing, which Allred argues constitutes a violation of Marsys Law. Marsys Law, named after UC Santa Barbara student Marsy Nicholas, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983, was approved by California voters in 2008. It ensures victims and their families are involved in each step of the criminal justice process. California road rage driver assaulted behind bars following Hawaii arrest Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is sickening that Nathaniel Radimak, after being released from prison early, has appeared to violate his parole, said Beth Lamprecht, another victim. There was every reason to doubt any chance of reform for this repeat offender. His return to violence underscores that he has not been willing to control his actions. Radimaks Hawaii case took an unusual twist when he was beaten by fellow inmates on May 12 while awaiting arraignment on the new charges. He suffered injuries to his face and torso and required hospitalization. I personally, as a lawyer, cannot say that vigilante justice should be inflicted, even if the actual justice system has failed the victims, Allred remarked. Now, people may feel differently, but thats my statement as a lawyer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AUSTIN (Nexstar) Texas House members gave the first approval on a bill that would require sheriffs departments around the state to partner with federal authorities on immigration enforcement, but a last-minute floor amendment severely narrowed the type of help local law enforcement would have to give. The original Senate Bill 8 passed out of the higher chamber in April and it would have mandated sheriffs offices in counties with a population above 100,000 to enter into an agreement with Immigration Customs and Enforcements (ICE) 287(g) program. The 287(g) program allows non-federal law enforcement members to assume some ICE duties. There are three different models underneath the program: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jail Enforcement allows officers to question people to determine immigration status, put their information into a Homeland Security database, take statements and begin the deportation process with an immigration detainer and notice to appear. Warrant Service Officer a narrower scope than jail enforcement, with officers identifying people as non-citizens during the booking process, referring those people to ICE for evaluation and possible deportation, and serving ICE administrative warrants on people in their custody, according to the ACLU. Task Force Model described by ICE as a force multiplier, allowing local officers to enforce immigration laws during their routine duties in the community. The number of 287(g) agreements soared across the country after President Donald Trump won re-election in November, campaigning on a promise to deport undocumented people from the country. However, State Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, changed the requirements. His amendment on the floor would require any county in the state that operates a jail or contracts a vendor to operate a jail to enter into a warrant service model agreement with ICE. Counties do have the option to enter into an agreement with the other two models as well in the 287(g) program. The original bill, authored by State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would provide a state-funded grant program to help counties under one million in population to pay for the training associated with joining the program. Counties over the one million threshold would be required to fund it from their own budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its time for Texas to take a very bold and powerful stance against criminal aliens and illegal immigration, Schwertner explained. He said the goal of the program is to get criminals out of Texas communities. But Spillers amendment would actually provide a grant program that would pay out between $5,000 and $40,000. The amount of funding would depend on population size and would even provide money to counties with more than a million people. Concerns over 287(g) Critics of the bill call it an unfunded mandate and a racist bill that would erode trust with the local law enforcement and minority communities. Groups like the Workers Defense Action Fund (WDAF) protested inside the Capitol rotunda on Saturday morning. David Chincanchan, the policy director for WDAF, explained he feels the 287(g) program leads to racial profiling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would prevent our local sheriffs from being able to focus on keeping the community safe, on serving the needs of their constituents, and instead, it would force them to act in the role of essentially ICE agents, and it would force them to be complicit in the separation of families in our own neighborhoods, Chincanchan said. During the House floor debate, one of the biggest concerns centered on jail space. Under the warrant service officer model, county jails would have to hold onto undocumented people until ICE can pick them up. State Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., D-Fort Worth, argued the state is facing overcrowding in its jails. We have a problem with ICE not picking these folks up. Are you not concerned with the conditions and the safety? Romero Jr. asked Spiller during the debate. Spiller alluded to conversations with stakeholders that ICE is ready to step in with picking undocumented people from local jails. ICE is ramping up and attempting to cooperate more with Texas, waiting on this bill to be passed so that we can have better cooperation and a more efficient operation, Spiller said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The original bill also faced criticism from local sheriffs offices who were worried about the cost of the program. It would require sending a deputy or correctional officer out-of-state to get trained for about a month, creating a burden on departments that have a lack of staffing to begin with. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, who serves as Legislative Chairman for the Sheriffs Association of Texas, testified on that fact in March during a committee hearing. We think that financial relief portion shouldnt be in a grant program, it should just be a part of the program, Hawthorne testified. And it should cover all 254 counties that get into the program. Hawthorne said it costs $10,000 to train each officer in his department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Calhoun County Sheriff Bobbie Vickery shares the same concerns. His county of about 25,000 people joined the 287(g) program in 2017 and said it works very well, but he, too worried about the cost. This could potentially put a very harsh monetary strain on our budgets every year, Vickery testified. When asked about opponents to his legislation, Schwertner said, I ask them if they want criminal aliens running around and causing violence and crime against citizens that they know, Texans they know, and I would hope their answer would be no. Whats next? The bill will need to be approved one final time by the full House before it can be sent back to the Senate for approval. If the Senate does not concur with the changes the House made, it will go into a closed-door negotiation with members from both chambers. If approved and signed by the Governor, the bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. AUSTIN (Nexstar) The Texas House voted 85-49 Friday to send Senate Bill 38 to a third reading after adding four amendments on the House floor. The bill speeds up the process of eviction, which supporters say is necessary to combat the problem of squatters people who unlawfully live in an unoccupied home and refuse to leave. Opponents of SB 38 claim its a device to make it easier to evict tenants, rather than to address the problem of squatting. I couldnt find the definition of squatters I couldnt find the definition of squatters in this bill anywhere. Do you know where it is, if it is? State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, asked of three invited witnesses speaking on behalf of the Texas Apartment Association during a Senate State Affairs Committee meeting on March 24. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well have an attorney up after this, who I think can provide that for you, Stephanie Graves, President of Q10 Property Advisors, said. I believe that it was in the bill; it might have been taken out in a revision. Texas House bans THC products, reduces criminal penalty for possessing intoxicating hemp The initial version of SB 38 made no distinction between any person who failed to pay rent. The word squatter never appears in the bill. Theres the concept in the law, its kind of a two-prong, Corey Rogers with the Texas Apartment Association said. Its the forcible detainer which is a person thats defaulted but who would have a right to be there, but theres also the forcible entry and detainer and thats when theyre forcibly entering into a unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the only time the phrase forcible entry and detainer appeared in the initial version of SB 38 is in the sentence eviction suits include forcible entry and detainer and forcible detainer suits, meaning for the purposes of SB 38, theres no distinction between being a squatter or a leaseholder late on rent. We looked at the concept, Sen. Zaffirini, of trying to do a whole definition based on squatters, and the problem is thats not a commonly-used definition in the U.S., so we basically handled besides the forcible entry and [detainer] we looked at this as a nonpayment of rent, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said. The other way, we were having to go all the way back to English common law to even find any definitions. Right, but all three witnesses used the term squatter, Zaffirini replied. Well, thats right, we use that to explain to the public thats listening, for lack of a better description, Bettencourt said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woman who won $83.5 million jackpot not paid 3 months later, sues Texas Lottery Commission However, Dallas-based attorney and tenants rights advocate Mark Melton said that because of the lack of distinction, the bill is geared towards anyone whos even a couple of days late on rent. Texas is one of four or five states that doesnt have a right to cure, which just means if youre late on rent, then you have a few days grace period where, under law, if you show up with the full amount of rent the landlord has to take it, Melton said. What happens here is maybe youve got a tenant that complained too loudly because their air conditioner didnt work in August, and then theyre late on Sept. 1. When they show up on Sept. 2 to pay the rent, you say, No, no, you can keep the money, I refuse to take it. Youre now late, and Im just going to evict you. We see those kinds of retaliatory issues happen all the time. What the bill does The main goal of SB 38 is to speed up the timing of the eviction process, to alleviate the strain the eviction process can place on property owners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would replace a requirement for landlords to give tenants an opportunity to respond to the notice of proposed eviction before handing them a notice to vacate, allowing both notices to come at the same time. SB 38 also increases the methods in which a notice can be given, including any delivery to the inside of the premises and hand delivery to any tenant of the premises. A House floor amendment was voted on to make sure the notices arent hidden within homes or hand-delivered to children 15 or younger. SB 38 prevents local governments from making any additional eviction proceeding rules other than whats in the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, including any requirements of mediation or pretrial conference. The most transformative aspect of SB 38 was the authorization of judges to rule a summary disposition allowing the landlord to win without going to trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the bill, the landlord files a sworn petition with the court to start an eviction case, and a sheriff or constable would have to serve the papers to a tenant. The tenant would have four days to respond, and if the court finds there are no disputable facts that would prevent a judgment in favor of the landlord, the court can rule in favor of the landlord without a trial. A House floor amendment dramatically altered the summary disposition clause, making sure it only referred to those accused of a forcible entry and detainer. If summary disposition is denied, the trial would have to start no later than 21 days after the denial. Whats next? SB 38 will likely be voted out of the House on Saturday with their floor amendments. In addition to the amendments listed above, another amendment was added to give Texans the right to cure their nonpayment of rent if they had never been late any other time under the lease. The Senate will have to choose whether to accept the Houses amendments or send the bill to a conference committee before sending it to Gov. Greg Abbotts desk for signing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. When Aliza Dutt entered the race to recapture the top Houston-area elected office for the Republican Party, her launch received little fanfare. There was a barely 200-word blurb in The Houston Chronicle, which mostly pulled its information from the one-page press release she posted to Instagramwhich has, at the time of writing, about 70 likes. Indeed, without having caught her May 20 interview with a dead-eyed reporter exclusively on the local Fox affiliate, one would be forgiven for not knowing who she was. Her websites campaign promises are as vague as they are banal: To address crime, shell back the badge, restore order; for immigration, shell support state-led enforcement, back law enforcement; with county funds, shell protect taxpayers, cut wasteall of which signal the type of campaign she wants to represent, without much substance beyond that. But lurking behind the curtain of her marginal campaign for Harris County judge (an executive position, presiding over a four-person Commissioners Court) is a national powerhouse. On the same day Dutt announced her campaign, she also appointed her campaign treasurer: Cabell Hobbs, a veteran staffer of major Republican campaigns going as far back as 2008. The Austin, Texas, P.O. Box provided under Hobbss name connects back to other PACs registered in Florida, North Dakota, and West Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hobbss most recent work also may be his best known: In the lead-up to the 2024 election, his Future Coalition super PAC, funded to the tune of $5 million by Elon Musk, targeted battleground voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania with digital ads promoting Kamala Harriss husband Doug Emhoffs Jewish faith, in a play to undercut Harriss appeal with Muslims. The ads, which CNN and The New York Times called antisemitic, were targeted based on zip codes and worked both sides of the street: On the one hand, some ads tried to connect Emhoffs religious beliefs to Harriss position on Israelreferring to Emhoff as her top adviser, splicing in footage of the Israeli flag; on the other hand, Harris was characterized as a two-faced supporter of Palestine. Dutt, an immigrant from Hong Kong, is the mayor of Piney Point Villagea real city, apparently. With a population of around 3,000 and a median income of over $250,000, this wealthy enclave is pointedly separated from the city of Houston, on the sprawling west side of Harris County (population: five million). Before that, according to her campaign website, she worked as a reporter covering Capitol Hill and as an energy analyst. Her desire to control the Harris County judge position isnt unique among Republicans; although Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat, rode into the office in 2019 and successfully but narrowly defended her seat in 2022, the position has long been the central focus for local conservative pundits and mattress salesmen, even with a 41 Democratic majority on the court Hidalgo oversees. Indeed, one locally beloved mattress salesman known as Mattress Mack dropped millions of his own cash to unseat Hidalgo and later bankrolled the quixotic legal effort questioning the validity of the election. One county insider, who requested anonymity to speak to The New Republic, says that Hobbss involvement in Dutts campaign signals that Republicans are tired of [the] Mattress Mack amateur shit, and theyre coming for the seat. Republicans also sense weakness in Hidalgos camp: Despite the strong Democratic majority, her fights among members of the Commissioners Court have become more frequent. Hidalgos side lost a recent budget vote 32, plunging the county deeper into a major deficit in order to increase pay in the Sheriffs Department. Annise Parker, a well-connected fellow Democrat and former Houston mayor, in the late 2000s, is expected to enter the race soon. In December, Houstons current blue-dog Mayor John Whitmire even suggested Hidalgo wouldnt pursue a third term, which she flatly denied. Right now, county and city leaders are mortgaging our future to pay for raises for cops, another county insider said, referring to the budget vote and a recent deal between Houstons mayor and the police, which will increase officer pay by a whopping 36.5 percent. Despite her many failings, Lina [Hidalgo] is the one local leader who has been willing to call out corruption and cronyism, and that has earned her a lot of enemies on both sides of the aisle. Lina has been a nightmare, but honestly man, everyone is a nightmare here right now. The failure of leadership is astonishing. Hobbs has previously worked with the Ted Cruz Victory Fund and, per The New York Times, took over nearly every aspect of Ron DeSantiss presidential campaign, setting tens of millions of dollars on fire. One might ask why, then, hes concerning himself with a tiny candidate lacking immediate name recognition even locally. The answer may be in the name of his old super PACFuture Coalition. Why could that be? Consider this Houston race a dress rehearsal. The 2024 results showed significant inroads for Republicans among people of color. Harris County is the most ethnically diverse city in Texas, making for the perfect petri dish to test out messaging and, if all goes according to plan, taking it national. Dutt may not prevail in this election, but this may be the proving ground for the next spate of Republican campaign messaging. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) A Texas man pled guilty in federal court to stealing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits intended for low-income families. Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi said Adrian Hill, 44, of Dallas, unlawfully acquired and used more than $210,600 in SNAP benefits from August 2022 through November 2023. Hattiesburg man pleads guilty to SNAP benefits fraud Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents and statements made in court, Adrian Hill, 44, of Dallas, Texas unlawfully acquired and used more than $210,600 in SNAP benefits from approximately August 2022 through November 2023. Lemon said Hill admitted to selling the benefits to others and using them for himself. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federally funded, national benefit program to help qualifying low- and middle-income families buy food, thus reducing hunger. Hill is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General is investigating the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. The Texas House on Sunday approved a bill that will require sheriffs in the state to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through a program that grants local officers the authority to serve federal immigration warrants at their jail. The lower chamber voted 86-47 to approve Senate Bill 8 after state Rep. David Spiller, a Jacksboro Republican who sponsored the legislation, amended the bill a day prior so it applies to all counties that operate a jail. The previous version only required sheriffs of the states largest counties to enter the agreements with ICE. This bill is not immigration reform, Spiller said Saturday. This bill is the strongest border security bill indirectly that we could have this session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SB 8 now returns to the Senate. The upper chamber must agree to the changes, or both chambers must iron out their differences, before the bill can be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott. Gov. Abbott has made it clear that cities and counties across Texas must fully cooperate with the federal government efforts to arrest, jail, and deport illegal immigrants, Abbotts Deputy Press Secretary Eduardo Leal said in a statement. The Governor will review this legislation, as he does with any legislation sent to his desk that helps achieve that goal. Under the proposal, sheriffs will have to request partnerships with ICE known as 287(g) agreements, named after the federal law that created the program. ICE can authorize local authorities to carry out certain types of immigration enforcement in local jails, where officers can be deputized to question inmates about their immigration status and to serve administrative warrants. In the field, ICE can authorize local officers to question people about their immigration status through a model the Trump administration has revived after it fell into disuse following allegations that it led to racial profiling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SB 8 would require that sheriffs enter agreements for the program that authorizes local officers to serve administrative warrants, known as the warrant service model. But Texas sheriffs could also satisfy the bills requirement by participating in the other programs, too. SB 8, which was filed by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would also authorize the Texas attorney general to sue sheriffs who dont oblige. Additionally, it would offer grants to sheriffs to help offset the costs of participating in the program that are not reimbursed by the federal government The bill is poised to be the most significant piece of immigration-related legislation passed by lawmakers this session. Immigrants rights advocates have expressed worries that such a requirement will lead to racial profiling of Black and brown people and spread fear among undocumented Texans, who may hesitate to report crime or seek help from authorities who are working more closely with ICE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SB 8 could boost the Trump administrations mass deportation efforts, which have been hampered by limited resources and personnel. Seventy-two Texas law enforcement agencies most of them sheriffs had signed 287(g) agreements with ICE as of Friday, according to statistics published by the federal agency. Another four sheriffs offices in Texas had pending agreements. Roughly 20% of the agreements in place as of Friday between Texas agencies and ICE were for the task force model that extends immigration authorities to officers performing routine police duties. 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! SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Three older adult men were injured after an accidental discharge at a Salt Lake City shooting range, according to police. Salt Lake City Police Department said that a 79-year-old man, a 78-year-old, and an 84-year-old were shooting skeet at the Lee Kay Public Shooting Range. This range is managed by the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and is located on the southwest side of Salt Lake City. According to SLCPD, the 79-year-old man experienced a malfunction with his shotgun. While he was trying to clear the malfunction, he accidentally fired it while it was pointing at the ground, and two rounds were discharged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Draper police investigating urban explorers who climbed 16-story structure at aquarium after hours Faith Jolley, a spokesperson with DWR, stated that the mans foot was hit, and his two friends were injured by ricocheting BBs. He drove himself to a local hospital before police arrived at the shooting range, according to SLCPD. They described his foot injury as moderate. The two friends who were struck sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene and released. DWR said that nobody involved received any life-threatening injuries. Safety tips about firearms are available on SLCPDs website. They advise the following safety guidelines when using a firearm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Treat all firearms as if they are loaded. Always keep your finger off the trigger until you have made the decision to fire. Never point a firearm at anything you are not willing to shoot. Know your target, your targets environment, and any other safety hazard before you fire. Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use. Latest headlines: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) On Sunday, Thunder on the Missouri hosted in Siouxland. The event pays tribute to prisoners of war and those who went missing in action. Its Siouxland version of the national event called Rolling to Remember. The ride starts at American Legion Post 662 in Sergeant Bluff where riders will be assigned their positions. Around 2 p.m., law enforcement will be escorting the group to South Sioux City High School. The group then heads to Siouxland Freedom Park and should arrive around 2:30 p.m. After, there will be a Thunder Salute and a ceremony at the wall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you want to ride, officials said all vehicles are welcome, and you dont even need to be a veteran to participate. If you dont want to ride along, youre welcome to observe the ceremony at the park. Click here 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Joe Exotic's deported husband, Jorge Flores Maldonado, is pleading with President Donald Trump to pardon him after he was arrested by ICE officials and subsequently deported to Mexico. Flores begged for permission to come back to the US because he fears for his safety in Mexico. He added that he and Exotic have "many plans" and want to "live a beautiful life." Jorge Flores also opened up about the hurdles his relationship with Joe Exotic had to overcome, explaining that the wildlife lover had to pick up Spanish classes to bridge the language gap. Joe Exotic's Husband Begs To Return To The US Exotic's deported husband has issued a desperate plea to Trump for his deportation to be reversed amid fears for his safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jorge Flores Maldonado was deported by ICE on May 17 following his arrest in August when he was caught driving a car with six other undocumented immigrants across the Mexico-US border. He's seemingly battling anxiety about remaining in Mexico as he fears the cartel-infested country may leave him a victim of kidnapping and organized crime. "There is a lot of organized crime here, and there is no security," Flores told the New York Post. "I am a very famous person, and right now I run the risk of being kidnapped. "The cartels are very active here I cannot even go out on the street," he added. "They think I have money because of my husband." Jorge Flores Opened Up About Their Romance Instagram | Joe Exotic Flores's run-in with the law seems to have brought a good thing to his life. It was inside a federal lockup in Fort Worth, Texas, where his relationship-turned-marriage with Exotic began. The infamous cat wrangler is in the fifth year of his 21-year sentence for plotting to hire a hitman to murder his arch-rival, Carole Baskin, and for violating federal wildlife laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his chat with the New York Post, Flores opened up about their "beautiful" romance and weighed in on how the language barrier threatened to upend their relationship. "It was a beautiful romance," he said, referring to his relationship-turned-marriage to Exotic, born Joseph Allen Maldonado. He continued, "When I arrived at the prison, Joe wanted to get to know me, he wanted to talk to me, and since I didn't know English, we would translate back and forth because he said, 'I want to know more about you.'" Joe Exotic Picked Up Spanish Classes To Bridge The Gap Between Him And His Husband MEGA Exotic was quite the lover boy as he invested in his language skills to ensure his relationship with Flores thrived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While they began growing close to each other, the "Surviving Joe Exotic" star picked up Spanish classes while Flores attempted to pick up English. Things seemingly progressed well between the pair as they bonded over long walks in the prison yards, shared workouts, meals, library dates, and movie nights. "He is very nice, he made me laugh at anything, he was always happy," Flores gushed. "We had a very beautiful routine." The Couple Had A Prison Wedding The pair solidified their relationship when they had a prison wedding in November, with Flores getting a "Joe Exotic" tattoo on his neck and an image of Exotic's face inked on his left forearm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, that didn't last much as his deportation has now ensured he's separated from his big-cat-loving husband. "I feel terrible, I have been very depressed, desperate," he said, going on to plead for Exotic's release. "I want permission to return to the United States, and I want Donald Trump to pardon my husband as well that's what I want. I want him to get out of prison, so we can move to the beach. We have many plans. We want to start working again, to do a lot of things, to live a beautiful life," Flores continued. "Joe wants to return to his musicand I want to support him," he added. Donald Trump's Crackdown On Undocumented Immigrants Aaron Schwartz / CNP / MEGA Trump has taken a no-nonsense approach to immigration since assuming office in January. Back in April 2020, he was asked if he would consider pardoning Exotic, but he was unaware of the case and vowed to "take a look." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Flores, it remains to be seen if he'll be allowed back into the country, as Trump's administration has now adopted a stricter measure to pressure undocumented immigrants to leave the country. It is penalizing some of them with fines totaling up to $1,000 a day for every day they stay in the country illegally. According to the New York Times, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin shared that the government has slapped $2 billion in fines on nearly 7,000 people who have failed to leave the country after being ordered to or choosing to voluntarily leave. MADISON, S.D. (KELO/AP) Wyoming entrepreneur Reid Rasner, who has made a $47.45 billion bid to buy the social media app TikTok, was in Madison, S.D. at Dakota State University Friday alongside South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden. I think what you guys are advancing right here at Dakota State is a perfect match for what were looking for, and your research will prove to be very essential to us and our plans moving forward, Rasner said. I was of the opinion that it would be absolutely poetic for an American-owned TikTok to wind up in South Dakota, whether that would be in part or the whole thing, Rhoden said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police present at protest outside SF Penitentiary TikToks parent company ByteDance is based out of China. Amid national security concerns, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law saying ByteDance must sell the social media app. President Donald Trump, however, has delayed an outright ban. Assuming they sell by the June 19th deadline, we would begin opening up discussions with Governor Rhoden further and implementing our public/private partnerships right here with Dakota State, Rasner said. Rasner was full of praise for Rhoden as he looked ahead to TikToks possible future. He has partnered with us in a very strong and vocal way, Rasner said. We appreciate that. We love South Dakota, and we find that this is going to be a very great home for TikTok in the future and have a very special place with TikTok in the future, so itll have a very strong footprint here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And if Rasners bid is successful, he says South Dakota is more than just a candidate for where TikTok might have a footprint. Theyre certainly the front-runner for our infrastructure right now, 100%, Rasner said. How much of TikToks infrastructure might be located in South Dakota is unclear. Rasner unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Wyoming as a Republican in 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: SpaceX Update May 27, 8:42 p.m. EDT (0042 GMT): SpaceX launched Flight Test 9 of its Super Heavy Starship rocket at 7:37 p.m. EDT (2337 GMT; 6:37 p.m. local time in Starbase, Texas). The Super Heavy booster successfully separated from the Ship upper stage, but was lost above the Gulf. The Ship vehicle failed to deploy its mock satellites due to a stuck door and suffered fuel leaks that led to loss of attitude control. The spacecraft fell back to Earth in an uncontrolled tumble over the Indian Ocean. SpaceX aims to launch its next Starship megarocket test flight today, hoping the third time will be the charm after two failures earlier this year. But if you plan to watch the launch live, you'll need to know when to tune in and for that, space fans, we've got you covered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Starship Flight 9 launch, as it's called, is scheduled to launch no earlier than today, May 27, at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) from SpaceX's Starbase test site near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. Like its name suggests, this will be the ninth test flight of the giant SpaceX rocket, but it is the first to attempt to reuse the giant Super Heavy booster, the first stage of Starship. It comes after two failed launches this year, Flight 7 and Flight 8, in January and March, respectively. On those flights, SpaceX successfully returned its Super Heavy booster to Earth in back-to-back rocket catches at with giant chopsticks, but the Ship stage of the rocket failed shortly after liftoff. What time is SpaceX's Starship Flight 9 launch? SpaceX is currently targeting a 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) launch time for Flight 9 on May 27, but that time could shift depending on the vehicle's status. It will be 6:30 p.m. local time in Texas. SpaceX has has said it has a one-hour window for the launch, which could put the launch anytime between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. EDT (2330-0130 GMT), if the company does so again. The launch date, itself, is a no earlier than date, but local officials for the area around SpaceX's Starbase have announced road closures for the area through May 29, suggesting back up days on May 28 and May 29 are possible. Related: Read our SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy guide for a detailed look Starship Die Cast Rocket Model Now $47.99 on Amazon. If you can't see SpaceX's Starship in person, you can score a model of your own. Standing at 13.77 inches (35 cm), this is a 1:375 ratio of SpaceX's Starship as a desktop model. The materials here are alloy steel and it weighs just 225g.View Deal Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SpaceX is being extra careful with this launch to test the reuse of its massive Super Heavy booster. The booster on Flight 9 was use to launch the Flight 7 Ship in January, with only four of its 33 Raptor engines being replaced for this mission. The entire Starship vehicle, when assembled, stands about 400 feet (122 meters), making it the world's largest and most powerful rocket. It is designed to be fully reusable to enable trips to low Earth orbit, the moon (NASA's picked Starship to land Artemis astronauts in 2027), and ultimately fly to Mars. Can I watch SpaceX's Starship Flight 9 launch? Yes, you can watch SpaceX's Starship Flight 9 launch. The company will offer a free live webcast of the launch on May 27 starting at 7 p.m. EST (2300 GMT), about 30 minutes before liftoff. You can watch that livestream on SpaceX's Flight 9 mission page, as well as on the @SpaceX X account and X TV app. Space.com will also simulcast the SpaceX webcast on this page, our homepage and via YouTube. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will also host a live presentation on the company's Mars exploration plan using Starship entitled "The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary." That talk was originally scheduled to begin hours ahead of the Flight 9 launch at 12:55 p.m. EDT (1655 GMT). But Musk announced it was postponed until after the launch, and is now set to begin no earlier than 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT). You can watch it in this window. NASASpaceflight.com will offer its own livestream YouTube, and will include a substantial prelaunch show with views of fueling and more. The channel also offers live 24/7 views of SpaceX's Starship and Starbase operations. If you plan to travel to South Texas to see Starship Flight 9 in person, there are several places where you can observe the launch. South Padre Island offers a clear view of the launch from its Cameron County Amphithear in Isla Blanca Park. The nearby shoreline of Port Isabel is another option, but plan ahead as traffic can be heavy at times. How long is SpaceX's Starship Flight 9? A diagram showing SpaceX's Flight 9 Starship mission profile. The flight should last just over 1 hour. | Credit: SpaceX SpaceX's Starship Flight 9 mission is expected to last just over one hour and is hoping to replicate the path of its immediate predecessor, Starship Flight 8 in March, before that mission ended in failure. SpaceX had hoped to attempt a mock Starlink satellite deployment on Flight 7 (among other tests) before attempting a "soft landing" in the Indian Ocean and sinking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Starship upper stage will again target multiple in-space objectives, including the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites," SpaceX wrote in a mission overview. "The Starlink simulators will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to demise upon entry. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space is also planned." The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, will NOT attempt to return to its launch site and be captured by SpaceX's giant Mechazilla chopsticks. Instead, it will attempt a soft landing in the Gulf of Mexico and be discarded. That's because it is the first time SpaceX is attempting to refly such a huge rocket. TIME (Hr:Min:Sec) EVENT T-1:15:00 Flight director poll for fuel loading T-0:51:37 Starship liquid oxygen loading begins T-0:45:20 Starship liquid methane loading begins T-0:41:37 Super Heavy liquid methane loading begins T-0:35:52 Super Heavy liquid oxygen loading begins T-00:19:40 Super Heavy Raptor engine chilldown T-00:3:20 Starship fueling complete T-00:2:50 Super Heavy fueling complete T-00:0:30 Flight Director GO for launch T-00:00:10 Flame deflector activation T-00:00:03 Raptor ignition sequence startup T-00:00:00 Liftoff ("Excitement Guaranteed," SpaceX says) TIME (Hr:Min:Sec) FLIGHT EVENT T+00:02 Liftoff T+01:02 Starship/Super Heavy reach Max Q T+02:35 Super Heavy main engine cutoff T+02:37 Hot-staging separation/Starship Raptor engine ignition T+02:47 Super Heavy boostback burn startup T+03:27 Super Heavy boostback burn engine shutdown T+03:29 Hot-stage jettison T+06:19 Super Heavy landing burn startup T+06:40 Super Heavy landing burn shutdown T+08:56 Starship engine cutoff T+00:18:26 Payload deploy demo T+00:37:49 Starship engine relight demonstration T+00:47:50 Starship reentry T+01:03:11 Starship transonic T+1:04:26 Starship is subsonic T+1:06:11 Landing flip T+1:06:16 Landing burn T+1:06:38 "An exciting landing!" SpaceX says. "The booster on this flight test is also attempting several flight experiments to gather real-world performance data on future flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios," SpaceX wrote in the overview. "To maximize the safety of launch infrastructure at Starbase, the Super Heavy booster will attempt these experiments while on a trajectory to an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America and will not return to the launch site for catch." (President Trump has signed an executive order renaming the Gulf or Mexico body of water the Gulf of America.) If all goes well, the Flight 9 Super Heavy booster should land in the Gulf of Mexico just under seven minutes after launch, with the payload deployment test about 18 minutes after liftoff and the Starship landing in the Indian Ocean about 66 minutes into the flight. What if Starship can't launch on May 28? SpaceX conducts a long-duration static fire test with a Starship upper stage on May 12, 2025 ahead of the vehicle's upcoming test flight. | Credit: SpaceX RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SpaceX gets FAA approval for Flight 9 of Starship megarocket Starship and Super Heavy: SpaceX's Mars transportation system China planning to build its own version of SpaceX's Starship If SpaceX is unable to launch Starship's Flight 9 test mission on May 27, the company could try again on May 28 and May 29. A public advisory from Cameron County, which contains Starbase, stated that road closures are possible from May 27 to May 29 for the Starship launch activities. "I have ordered the closure of Boca Chica Beach and Hwy 4 for the purpose of protecting Public Health and Safety during SpaceX flight testing activities on May 27, 2025, in the time period between 10:30 a.m. C.S.T. to 9:30 p.m. C.S.T. and in the alternative on May 28, 2025, or May 29, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. C.S.T. to 9:30 p.m. C.S.T., of the same day," Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr. wrote in the advisory. "Should SpaceX not complete its planned flight-testing activity on May 27, 2025, then SpaceX may use the alternate dates to complete its testing activities." As mentioned above, SpaceX has repeatedly warned that its schedule is dynamic and could change. The company plans to share its latest launch targets via its @SpaceX account on X. KEELER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) Divers will return to a southwest Michigan lake to continue searching for the remains of a mom who vanished 47 years ago. It is our belief, and rumors throughout the years (indicate), that she was put into a barrel and dumped into this lake, said Dave Walker, detective lieutenant with the Van Buren County Sheriffs Department. Its been one week since deputies first dove Brown Lake a private, 72-acre lake in Keeler Township thats thirty feet at its deepest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brown Lake is approximately five miles north of Sister Lakes, the town from which Joyce Fisher, 28, vanished in April 1978. Detectives said shed left her vehicle at a corner store to accompany her estranged husband, Jerry, to get a car title notarized. But when he returned thirty to forty-five minutes later, he was alone. The couple was in the midst of a contentious divorce, fighting over custody of their one-year-old daughter. Joyce was never seen again. 47 years later, the cold case started to defrost after Jerry made headlines again, this time for shooting and killing his neighbor in Alabama in May 2024 over a property dispute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Your news piece actually generated tips that reignited this investigation, explained Walker, referring to Target 8s report on the Alabama arrest. Thats whats bringing us back out here today. Never seen again: 46 years after his wife vanished, man arrested in Alabama killing That, and advances in technology. The sheriffs department worked with an assistant professor of geophysics at Western Michigan University. The Van Buren County Sheriffs Department is partnering with Western Michigan University and using new technology to search Brown Lake for a woman who went missing 47 years ago. Photo Courtesy of the Van Buren County Sheriffs Department. This lake has been searched at least twice before, said Walker. But its only been with divers. Now, Western Michigan University has equipment that can detect way down into the silt to help us find a metal object. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mine Dogan, a geophysicist, sat lakeside under a portable canopy, peering at the laptop in front of her. I do this voluntarily, Dogan told Target 8. And Im going to do this as long as they ask me to do these kinds of things. It is very important to me. 46 years after woman vanished, renewed hope for answers Dogan positioned specialized probes on a boat to scour the lakebed for anomalies in the earths magnetic field. Certain metals can become magnetized when you place them in a magnetic field, explained Dogan. The equipment identified several disruptions in the lakes bottom, though divers did not find a barrel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far the magnetometer has hit on about four locations, Walker said. Weve located a cabinet, a fence post, and some unknown debris. Walker said divers plan to return to Brown Lake soon to check additional spots pinpointed by WMUs equipment. (Joyces) family has been in touch with us over the last couple of years, said Walker. Their only hope was to find closure for the family, to bring Joyce home and lay her to rest the proper way. Walker said most of Joyce Fishers relatives have passed away, but not her daughter. She just wants some type of closure. She was just a little baby when this all happened, noted Walker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neighbors on the private lake are hopeful. Theres never been any closure, said Paula Faultersack. The sheriffs department asked if they could use our property to search for Mrs. Fisher. Were like, of course. Once in a while, my friend and neighbor, we will have a beer, and well toast to her. You know, if youre in here, we hope they find you. And if youre not, I hope they find where or who. She deserves that. Jerry Fisher remains free on bond in Alabama, awaiting trial in August for the fatal shooting of his neighbor. Fisher tried to claim self-defense, but a judge rejected that argument after a hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information is asked to call the Van Buren County Sheriffs Office at 269.657.3101, Crime Stoppers at 1.800.342.7867 or Silent Observer at 269.343.2100. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. May 23Wednesday morning, officers from the Great Bend Police Department executed a search warrant at Breaktime Corner Market (Formerly Presto-Circle K), 2337 Washington Ave. The search warrant was served as part of an investigation involving alleged sales of THC occurring at the business, a release from Chief Steve Haulmark said. "A large quantity of products containing THC as well as drug paraphernalia were seized from the business. The case will be presented to the County Attorney's Office for review and determination of criminal charges. "This enforcement action is part of a larger investigation in and around Great Bend, which remains ongoing." The release from Chief Haulmark noted that prior to the execution of this warrant, all of the businesses in our community who are known to sell smoking and vaping products were provided with a courtesy letter requesting their compliance with Kansas Laws regarding controlled substances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Courtesy Letter When asked about the courtesy letter referenced by Chief Haulmark in the department's press release and also during the raid, no business that the Great Bend Tribune contacted could provide the letter and all of them said that any potential letter pre-dated current management or was filed away from more than two years ago. None could recall from whom the letter was sent. "The police chief said it was a year and a half. But I know it has to have been at least two years," a manager at Breaktime that was present during the execution of the warrant said. "We were selling it before the letter. So we were selling it before two years ago. And then I know they stopped for three to six months, maybe six months," explaining that their distributors halted delivery briefly but once deliveries resumed employees returned products to store shelves. "They didn't send us any more of that product, and we didn't sell any of it, and then they just started sending it again." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tribune sent a request to Chief Haulmark asking for a copy of the letter in question, when it was sent and by whom. As of press time the Tribune had not received a reply. Confusion about legality According to the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp products containing less than 0.3% THC are federally legal. However, Kansas law has not changed and recognizes that there is a 0% threshold for THC products across the state. Many products similar to the ones seized during the raid of Breaktime are also available at liquor stores, convenience stores and smoke and vape shops in Great Bend and Barton County as well as other communities across the state. Local retailers that sell these products have been doing so for multiple years with the understanding they are operating within the law while also collecting city, county and state sales tax on the products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We've never been messed with," said Jennifer Best, manager of Smok-N-Vape since putting on their shelves more than two years ago. "We just want clarification. It all comes from the hemp plant and all of it, every bit of the product that was in this store was .3% or less." After the press release was posted to the Great Bend Police Department's social media, some stores within city limits pulled their products to potentially avoid confiscation and legal issues even though the products account for a significant portion of their revenue. Other stores are still operating as normal with the understanding their products are legal. Even with the expected losses the risk isn't worth the reward for some. "We pulled everything off our shelves," Best said. "We pay our taxes every quarter. We send them taxes in and everybody gets a cut." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's pretty big. I mean, you see from where she's standing all the way down to here is our product," Vapor 100 Store Manager Sara Lewis said as she and a coworker worked to remove product from store shelves. "We're pulling half our store almost." After reading some of the comments left on the social media post and talking with customers, "I hear the community's kind of outraged about it all," Lewis said. Revenue from the federally legal hemp products account for roughly half of sales for the vape store. "It's devastating," Lewis said. As well as concern for the business, employees also expressed concern for the customers that purchase the products. "So many people use it for pain, to sleep, and that have cancer." Lewis, who has been managing the Great Bend store for about five months, said, "I've been here for five months and haven't received a letter and my regional manager wasn't aware of a letter either." After leaving the business the Tribune was informed that employees were later instructed to return product back to the shelves. MUSTANG, Okla. (KFOR) May is a big month in Oklahoma for severe weather, and many Oklahomans rely on tornado sirens to give a warning. One neighborhood has been left in silence after the nearest tornado siren was damaged. News 4 did a story in April about the siren. Now that its been a month, more neighbors are coming forward and want to know why it hasnt been fixed. RELATED STORY: OKC family concerned over damaged storm siren Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want this siren back up so we can hear it! Its very critical out here. We have a lot of storms come through here, said Larry Dellinger, a concerned neighbor. The tornado siren near their homes no longer makes a sound. Its on Southwest 104th, near Czech Hall Road in Mustang, but its within Oklahoma City limits. Damaged tornado siren. Image KFOR. Broken storm siren in SW OKC. KFOR. Mike Reddin talked to News 4 in April and said he was having a hard time getting in touch with the city to get answers. Call channel 4; theyll get on top of it, and we called you guys, said Mike Reddin, a concerned neighbor. At the time, the city shared a statement through a text message saying a driver hit the pole, and the city was working on getting a quote to replace everything. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A month later, neighbors are still waiting. The other storm siren that Im aware of is a mile straight south, and we cannot hear that, said Dellinger. LOCAL NEWS: FEMA approves March wildfire assistance for 7 counties Larry Dellinger has called the city help line multiple times to try and get an update. They have no timeline, they cant tell me anything about why its not fixed or when its gonna be fixed, said Dellinger. The lack of warning is something he said is concerning if the next storm rolls through. This particular siren has woken up myself and my wife up in the middle of the night so we feel like its very critical, said Dellinger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 4 reached out to the city again to get an update, and we received the following statement below. We share our residents concerns about the downed tornado siren. A new pole has been ordered by our contractor , but unfortunately they can take up to 3 to 4 months to produce. Each pole has to be custom made out of spun concrete. We understand the urgency and are trying to get it replaced as quickly as we can. Sirens should be only one of three ways residence have to get information about the weather. Other options include radio, television, online news, sources, and a smart phone app. Spokesperson for the City of Oklahoma City Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. Weather-weary Pontotoc County residents were roughed up again by early Saturday morning tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. At least one house in Vanoss was destroyed, and several others were damaged, and tree and power line damage was significant from Asher to Coalgate. The resident whose house was destroyed, Anita Qualls, said she took shelter in a closet in the center of her house, which was the only portion of the structure to still have a roof after the storm blew through. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Qualls was uninjured, and expressed gratitude as dozens of neighbors arrived and worked to clean up the house and move her belongings to a nearby undamaged steel barn. Pontotoc County Emergency Management Director Chad Letellier indicated that damage came from both tornadoes and severe thunderstorm winds. I feel like there was an actual tornado that came through here, Letellier said. Some of the locations we are seeing damage that looks like a tornado path, as well as the level of damage at certain locations. The National Weather Service later confirmed the damage was caused by a tornado. Letellier said that straight-line winds caused severe damage as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We did have 70 mph+ winds measured in the county as well, he said. Right now (late morning Saturday) weve got two homes with major damage, one destroyed, and at least five with minor damage. He said those numbers could change, as he began to receive reports of damage from Fittstown. The damaged area spanned Vanoss, Fittstown, and Pickett districts in Pontotoc County. Basically the damage path starts at the north side of Center, he added, saying the storms took and unusual north-to-south path. There may have been two damage paths. Warnings began to be issued starting just before 4 a.m., and included two tornado warnings and a severe thunderstorm warning from the National Weather Service in Norman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Electric power was off in some areas for much of Saturday as OG&E and PEC worked to repair damaged infrastructure to the power grid and replace downed power poles and power lines. No injuries were reported. The tornado was the third tornado in three months to strike Pontotoc County. The Pontotoc County Emergency Management Agency was assisted by the Vanoss, Oil Center, Fittstown, and Roff fire departments, and the Pontotoc County Sheriffs Department. HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. (KOIN) Ahead of Memorial Day, families, veterans and volunteers gathered Thursday at Willamette National Cemetery for a powerful ceremony honoring the nations fallen service members. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flew overhead to mark the start of the event, drawing a crowd that stood silently beneath the sky. USDA buys $16M of Oregon shrimp to help fishermen On the ground, nearly 140,000 American flags fluttered in the breeze one for every veteran buried at the nearly 300-acre cemetery, which honors those who served in every U.S. conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For 52 years, the Thunderbird District of the Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts of America has coordinated the annual flag placement. Scouts are joined by hundreds of volunteers, including Damien Craycraft Colby, a former Army soldier and member of the local Carpenters Council, who says the tradition hits close to home. Every veteran knows it couldve been one of their names on the sites or who knows we could be walking down and say, Hey, I knew that person, Colby said. Oregon Sen. Mark Meek spoke about the emotional impact of seeing the flags. Theres nothing like the feeling when you see all these flags on every gravestone. It just really touches your heart, Meek said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His Marine veteran father is also buried at the site. NW Portland hostel named best in US The cemetery provides the flags, but its the ritual that holds the deepest meaning. Volunteers carefully clean the graves, place the flags, read the names on the headstones and salute. This act of respect embodies the spirit of Memorial Day, Craycraft Colby said, At least giving it a second thought of just remembering why were doing these things, because we were given the opportunity to do them. Willamette National Cemetery will be open Monday, Memorial Day, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for those wishing to pay their respects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SOUTHWEST MISSOURI Heavy rains and flooding are impacting traffic in the Ozarks today. Ozarks Traffic says the left and right lanes are closed at E. Chestnut Expressway and N. Patterson Ave. in Springfield due to flooding. The Golden Dragon restaurant on Jackson Street in Ozark is taking in flood waters. Photo courtesy of Ozark Firsts Ryan Land. Across the southwest portion of the state, the Missouri Department of Transportations Traveler Information Map shows several road closures due to flooding, including the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Route CC near Fair Grove Route B north of Rogersville Route PP west of Fordland Mo. 125 west of Rogersville Route A west of Diggins Route Z south of Fordland Route Y west of Ava Route U northeast of Ava Mo. 95 north of Gainesville Route PP east of Gainesville Mo. 142 in Bakersfield Route K west of West Plains Mo. 76 east of Taneyville 142 Bridge in Bakersfield, Ozark County, will remain closed as MoDOT is leaving the trees on the bridge until water level drops to look at the east end. Some pavement is washed away. Photo courtesy of the Bakersfield Volunteer Fire Department. To see exactly where roads are closed across southwest Missouri, check out the MoDOT Traveler Information Map. The Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management (SG-OEM) said earlier that over the last several hours of heavy flooding rain, water rescues are popping up across southwest Missouri. Never drive through a flooded roadway, the SG-OEM said in a social media post. It only takes six to twelve inches of running water to pick up a vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Christian County, the Ozark Fire Protection District says river levels are rapidly rising and will get much worse in the next two days as the rain continues. They say many roads in the county are shut down. Click here to see updates on road closures for Christian County. According to the National Weather Service, the following counties are in severe flood warning until 8 p.m.: Christian, Dade, Douglas, Greene, Ozark, Polk, Taney, Webster and Wright. Additionally, Barry County, Cedar County and Dade County are currently in severe flash flood warning. Barry Countys severe flash flood warning is set to expire at 1:30 p.m., while Cedar and Dades warnings are set to expire at 12:15 p.m. Christian County is experiencing multiple road closures due to severe flooding. Photo courtesy of Ryan Land. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. The University of Kansas is being sued by a former student employee who says he was fired after speaking to reporters about the elimination of gender-inclusive housing at his on-campus residence hall. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on behalf of Anthony Alvarez, who recently completed his junior year at KU. He previously worked as a proctor, similar to a resident assistant, at Grace Pearson Scholarship Hall. Alvarez alleges he was fired in March for violating his employment agreement when he was quoted in a Feb. 27 KCUR article titled KU students protest housing changes they say will harm trans and nonbinary residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The complaint accuses KU of violating Alvarezs free speech and of retaliating against him. A KU spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. In the article, Alvarez, who is transgender, expressed frustration with KUs plans to get rid of a gender-neutral bathroom in the dorm and to prohibit students there from sharing dorms with people whose gender on file with the university is different from their own. KUs website defines gender-inclusive housing assignments as a housing option in which two or more students share a multiple-occupancy space, in mutual agreement, regardless of the students sex, gender identity, and/or gender expression. Dozens of students protested the changes, which were announced in a Feb. 5 email to Grace Pearson residents. Alvarez was one of three trans students quoted in the KCUR article, which noted that he was a proctor at the dorm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alvarez says he was speaking as a trans person who would be affected by the policy not as a representative of the university. Speaking to the media KU did not eliminate gender-inclusive housing at all dorms, but advised that Grace Pearson residents who want to retain gender-inclusive assignments should apply at a different scholarship hall for the 2025-26 school year. In addition to the university, the lawsuit names as defendants Sarah Waters and Emily Chellgren, respectively the director and assistant director of KU Housing and Residence Life. It alleges that in a March 7 meeting with Chellgren, Alvarez was placed on probation until March 13 and told he had violated several provisions of his employment agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first provision states in part that (Staff will) demonstrate a commitment to personal integrity, such as modeling good judgment, ethical behavior, and adherence to laws and policies, according to the lawsuit. The second provision states in part that (Staff will) refer a students parents, relatives, friends, and/or the media (press) to your supervisor. Unless otherwise designated, the Director of Residence Life, in conjunction with KU Strategic Communications & Public Affairs will respond to all media inquiries. Alvarez was allegedly directed to submit a letter rescinding his acceptance of a similar proctor position at a different KU dorm for the 2025-26 school year. According to the lawsuit, one day after receiving a letter that said he had three days to appeal the probation decision, Alvarez received a separate letter informing him that he had been terminated, effective immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chellgren stated that Plaintiffs termination was based on the conduct which led to his probationary status speaking to a member of the press and on alleged additional policy violations since the March 7 meeting, the suit states. In addition to losing his salary, Alvarez was allegedly told he would lose his dorm room in Grace Pearson and his university meal plan, which was tied to the proctor position. The lawsuit said Alvarez suffered economic harm, damage to his reputation, emotional distress, and the loss of constitutionally protected employment opportunities. Defendants lack any legitimate, non-retaliatory justification for Plaintiffs termination, and any such justification offered is merely pretextual, according to the lawsuit, which requests that the university pay for Alvarezs legal fees and any other damages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, a national free speech group, sent a letter to KU condemning its decision to terminate Alvarez. Anthony Alvarez was unfairly punished for speaking to the media about an issue he cares deeply about in a personal capacity, Ross Marchand, an attorney for the group, told The Star in an email. Marchand said the assertion that student employees must get advance approval from administrators before speaking with reporters is both unlawful and at odds with KUs media guidelines and practices, which encourage employees to respond to media inquiries on topics on which they are experts or over which they have administrative authority. Marchand said KU employees have wide discretion to speak with reporters in their personal capacity. KU Housing should follow the law and university policy and drop the related sanctions on Alvarez. May 24 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's administration is lifting sanctions on war-torn Syria, with the goal of speeding recovery and reconstruction efforts in the Middle Eastern country. The move will pave the way for "new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President's America First strategy," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement this week. Trump earlier this month met with Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa where he promised he would lift "crippling" U.S. sanctions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I have issued a 180-day waiver of mandatory Caesar Act sanctions to ensure sanctions do not impede the ability of our partners to make stability-driving investments, and advance Syria's recovery and reconstruction efforts," Rubio said in the statement. "These waivers will facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria." The United States lifting sanctions on Syria will pave the way for new investment and private sector activity consistent with the Presidents America First strategy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI During his first term in the Oval Office in 2020, Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria and its then-President Bashar al-Assad. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 had a major impact on Syria's economy, particularly its financial and construction sectors. Trump at the time said sanctions were targeting entities and individuals that were "actively supporting the murderous and barbaric Assad regime." President Donald Trump earlier this month met with Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) where he promised he would lift "crippling" U.S. sanctions. Photo courtesy of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Assad was ousted from power last December, fleeing to Russia. It ended a five-decade run of Assad family rule in Syria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to lifting sanctions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued Syria General License 25, allowing people previously blocked from conducting business with Syrian entities to do so under the new al-Sharaa government. During his first term in the Oval Office in 2020, President Donald Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria and its then-President Bashar al-Assad. Photo by Saudi Foreign Ministry "The GL will allow for new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President's America First strategy. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is providing exceptive relief to permit U.S. financial institutions to maintain correspondent accounts for the Commercial Bank of Syria," Rubio said in the statement. "Today's actions represent the first step in delivering on the President's vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States," Rubio said. "President Trump is providing the Syrian government with the chance to promote peace and stability, both within Syria and in Syria's relations with its neighbors. The President has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities." The American directive comes just days after the European Union made a similar move. EU officials on Tuesday lifted its sanctions on Syria with the same goal of helping economic recovery. "We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said at the time. This week was chillier than usual in Chicago. Luckily, were shaping up to have a sunny and slightly warmer Memorial Day weekend. But enough about the weather! Lets review what happened this week. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives finally got enough votes to pass President Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill, or the big, bad bill as Democrats call it. The package is full of tax and spending cuts; it slashes hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid and prohibits the federal program from covering gender-affirming care. In the latest escalation in the presidents bid to arrest and deport migrants en masse, federal agents targeted immigration courts across the country this week, including in Chicago, detaining individuals as they appeared for immigration hearings and check-ins. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration also accepted the controversial gift of a plane from Qatar and gave more details about the $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense program it hopes to start building. Plus, Elon Musk appears to be less interested in politics (maybe?) as he recommitted to being Teslas CEO for five years. The week took a tragic turn Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C., when two Israeli Embassy employees were shot and killed near a Jewish museum. A Chicago man is charged in the killings and allegedly told a police officer he did it for Palestine. In local news, Trumps Justice Department is investigating Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for alleged racially motivated hiring. A bill has stalled in the City Council that would give Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling the ability to call curfews to try to quell violence that has happened at large teen gatherings around the city. And everyone, including the mayor, has accepted that the Chicago Bears are moving to Arlington Heights. Elsewhere in Illinois, lawmakers nearing the end of their session have passed several bills, including eliminating a road test for senior drivers and ensuring that state Prisoner Review Board members are trained on domestic violence issues. U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood announced Monday that she will not enter the Democratic primary race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. And south suburban Thornton Township exited the tumultuous Tiffany Henyard-era as new officials were sworn in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Getting away this weekend? Youre not alone. A record numbers of Americans are expected to travel over the holiday weekend. But if youre sticking around Chicago for Memorial Day, weve got you covered with events happening around the city as well as restaurant and bar specials. Now lets put your memory to the test. Heres the Tribunes Quotes of the Week quiz for the week of May 18 to 24. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Tributes are still pouring in for 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim, a Kansas native whose life was cut short last week in what the FBI says was a targeted antisemitic attack in Washington, D.C. Milgrim and her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, were gunned down Wednesday night. The FBI is investigating the attack as a hate crime. While the nation processes yet another act of senseless violence, those who knew Sarah are remembering the person she was. Warm, witty, deeply empathetic and fiercely proud of her Jewish identity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kansas leaders not planning on extending STAR Bonds At a vigil held in her memory, Milgrims best friend, Amanda Birger, shared stories of their bondone that spanned years and felt more like family than friendship. I want people to speak about who she was, how wonderful she was, and how much we care about others, Birger said. She was smart and funny and empathetic. Birger described Sarah as a natural peacemaker and someone who could light up a room, not with volume, but with presence. She would wait for her moment and be quiet for like 30 minutes, Birger said. But then punch in with like the funniest thing Ive ever heard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sarah and Yaron had been planning a future together, friends say. The couple had even talked about getting engaged. Birger described Yaron as, One of the smartest people Ive ever met. He spoke several languages. She added, He was the perfect partner for Sarahhe was very smart, which she loved. 1 critical after being shot in Westport, attempted drive to hospital: KCPD Details about memorial services for Sarah and Yaron have not yet been announced. FOX4 will share updates as soon as they become available. The Shawnee Mission School District, where Sarah graduated from Shawnee Mission East, also released a statement mourning her loss. That statement reads: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yesterday, we received the devastating news that Sarah Milgrim, a 2017 graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School, was killed in a senseless act of violence in Washington DC. We are devastated, for Sarah, for her partner Yaron, for her family, and for all who knew her in the Shawnee Mission East community and beyond. While the investigation is ongoing, early reports suggest this was a targeted act of violence motivated by antisemitism. I know I speak for all in the Shawnee Mission community when I say hatred in any form is unacceptable. Violence is never the answer. There is much that divides us in this nation, and in our world, but it is NEVER acceptable to settle our differences with violence. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. That this act appears to have been motivated by antisemitic hate makes the tragedy even more horrifying. The American Experiment was begun by people who were fleeing religious persecution, and the freedom to exercise our religious faith without fear of harm is literally written into our constitution. Many of our Jewish families in Shawnee Mission emigrated to this country specifically to escape the horrors of the Holocaust, and unfortunately, even our own community has not been immune to the horrors of antisemitic hate. Friends, we cannot allow this to be who we are becoming, either as individuals or as a society. We are a broad, diverse society, but we can never allow our differences to spill over into hate. If we do, we are all wounded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sarahs death is a huge loss for all of us. She had already earned masters degrees in natural resources and sustainable development, and in international affairs. She was just beginning to make her mark on the world. I urge you not to allow her death to go unnoticed. Sarah believed this world is for everyone. All of us must find ways to reach across our differences, to work together for the better world we all crave. Lets do this for Sarah. May her memory be for a blessing. Sarah Milgrims memory is already inspiring a community to speak louder, love harder, and stand up against hate in all its forms. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President Donald Trump spoke before this year's U.S. Military Academy graduates as their commencement speaker on Saturday amid the administration's crackdown on diversity initiatives and removal of key military leaders. Trump addressed the crowd while wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat and brought a few graduates on the stage as he praised their achievements. "You are the first West Point graduates of the golden age of America," he told the graduates, whom he repeatedly called "winners," to cheers from the crowd. PHOTO: President Donald Trump salutes during the United States Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., May 24, 2025. (Adam Gray/AP) The president stressed his administration's agenda to the graduating class, emphasizing his desire to build in America and expressing his commitment to national security and border protection, including the "Golden Dome" missile defense system Trump announced this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It will be completed before I leave office. And you know you wouldn't think this, but our enemies are very unhappy about it," he said. Trump also took the opportunity to tout his administration's accomplishments and "Golden Age" agenda, reflecting on themes of patriotism, strength and leadership. He also bashed his predecessors, including former President Joe Biden, for what he said was disrespecting the military. "Each of you is entering the officer corps at a defining moment in the Army's history," he said. "For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions. It was never meant to be. "In some case, they sent our warriors on nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us, led by leaders that didn't have a clue in distant lands, while abusing our soldiers with absurd ideological experiments here and at home," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have called for major changes to military academies since assuming office as part of the administration's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and these changes took center stage in Trump's speech. "We have liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings," Trump said. "There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto the brave men and women in uniform, or on anybody else for that matter, in this country. We will not have men playing in women's sports." In February, shortly after Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate, West Point disbanded several student clubs, including the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, the Latin Cultural Club and the Native American Heritage Forum. PHOTO: President Donald Trump addresses graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point in Michie Stadium, on May 24, 2025, in West Point, NY. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) MORE: West Point disbands student clubs related to gender and race Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The changes were made "in accordance with recent Presidential Executive Orders, Department of Defense guidance, and the Department of the Army guidance," according to a memo obtained by ABC News. Also in February, Trump, who avoided being drafted during the Vietnam War due to what he claimed were bone spurs, dismissed the boards of visitors of military academies, claiming without evidence that the schools were "infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues." PHOTO: President Donald Trump and US Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland listen to the national anthem at the 2025 graduation ceremony at the US Military Academy West Point ,on May 24, 2025, in West Point, New York. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) This winter, 381 books, many of which were written by Black authors or discussed the history of racism, were removed from U.S. Naval Academy libraries because of an order issued in a Pentagon memo. The memo mandated that military services were to submit and remove book titles from the libraries of their military educational institutions that touch on diversity, race and gender issues using the Pentagon's specific search terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All but 20 of the books that were initially removed were returned this week, according to the school. Former West Point teachers and other military members have criticized Trump and Hegseth for the orders, contending that such programs did not inhibit the values, training and education of the academies. PHOTO: President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the 2025 US Military Academy Graduation Ceremony at West Point, New York, on May 24, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Navy reverses course on DEI book ban after Pentagon review "These were brazen demands to indoctrinate, not educate," Graham Parsons, a West Point professor wrote in a May 8 guest essay in the New York Times. "Whatever you think about various controversial ideas -- Mr. Hegseth's memo cited critical race theory and gender ideology -- students should engage with them and debate their merits rather than be told they are too dangerous even to be contemplated," he added. PHOTO: In this Oct. 26, 2014, file photo, West Point Military Academy campus is shown. (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE) MORE: Military academies criticized for removing DEI-related books from libraries Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two protests took during the ceremony, one outside West Point's gate and another on the Hudson River involving people on boats and there were no reports of any disturbances. In his speech, Trump told the cadets to "think big," saying, "You have to do what you love. If you don't love it, you'll never be successful at it." The president and his Cabinet have promoted their work with the military and attended several events honoring members, in which they have touted high recruiting numbers. Earlier this month, Trump hosted military mothers at the White House with first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance to celebrate Mother's Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Next month, Trump plans to showcase the military and honor service members with a parade throughout Washington, D.C. He will join veterans, active-duty troops, wounded warriors, Gold Star families and people from across the country as part of America's 250th birthday celebration. Organizers intend to commemorate the legacy of the U.S. Army while looking ahead to the next 250 years of American patriotism and the military. PHOTO: In this June 13, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the 2020 US Military Academy Graduation Ceremony at West Point, New York. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images, FILE) Trump last spoke to the school in 2020, and his appearance drew questions about his health. He was seen slowly walking down a ramp and appeared to have trouble drinking water from a glass while speaking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president, who has frequently criticized the health of his Democratic opponents, brushed off the criticism in a post on Twitter, now X. "The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery," he wrote, despite the weather being sunny during the ceremony. ABC News' Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report. Trump praises West Point graduates, touts 'golden age' of US military in commencement speech originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The Trump administration announced Friday that it would ease sanctions against Syria, making good on President Trumps promise from earlier this month to roll back penalties against the country roiled by years of civil war. The Treasury Department confirmed the move in a statement Friday, saying it issued Syria a General License (GL) 25, authorizing transactions involving the countrys new government headed by Ahmad al-Sharaa. GL 25 will allow for new investment and private sector activity, positioning Syria to be free of the sanctions most of which were imposed during ex-Syrian President Bashar Assads rule. Assad was driven out of the office by Syrian rebels late last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Marco said on Friday that he issued a 180-day waiver to make sure that sanctions dont hamper the U.S.s partners from making investments. The waivers facilitate the provision of water, energy, electricity and allow for a more effective humanitarian response all around Syria, according to Rubio. Todays actions represent the first step in delivering on the Presidents vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States, the secretary of state said in a statement. President Trump is providing the Syrian government with the chance to promote peace and stability, both within Syria and in Syrias relations with its neighbors. The President has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities, he added. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted in a statement that Syria has to continue working to become a stable nation that is at peace and that the federal governments action on Friday will hopefully put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous, and stable future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump vowed earlier this month, during his multi-stop trip to the Middle East, that he would lift sanctions against Syria. He added that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan advocated for the sanctions to be lifted. The president met with al-Sharaa last week and encouraged the new leader to reject Palestinian and Syrian terrorists and help prevent the resurgence of ISIS, according to the White 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 The Hill. The Trump administration must arrange the return of an immigrant who was deported to Mexico without being afforded his legal right to raise fears of torture or persecution, a federal judge ruled Friday night. The ruling marks the third time that courts have ordered the administration to try to bring back deportees who were found to have been improperly or illegally deported. So far, however, the administration has not cooperated in returning the immigrants to the U.S. so they can receive the due process that, according to the courts, is legally required. Fridays ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy concerns a Guatemala native, identified in court papers only as O.C.G., who claims he had been raped and targeted for being gay during a previous stint in Mexico. His lawyers say he was not given a chance to assert those fears when the Trump administration put him on a bus in February and delivered him across the border. Mexican authorities then deported him to Guatemala, where he has also faced threats of persecution and violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. and international law prohibit deporting people to countries where they are likely to be tortured. People in deportation proceedings in the U.S. have the right to formally seek protection from deportation on the basis that they may face torture in the country where they are designated to be sent. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped, Murphy, a Boston-based Biden appointee, wrote in a 14-page decision. The Court finds that the public benefits from living in a country where rules are followed and where promises are kept, the judge continued, noting that one of those promises is not to send people to countries where there is reason to believe they will be tortured. The return of O.C.G. poses a vanishingly small cost to make sure we can still claim to live up to that ideal, Murphy concluded. "Americas asylum system was never intended to be used as a de facto amnesty program or a catch-all, get-out-of-deportation-free card," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Saturday in a statement. "The person in question was an illegally present alien who was granted withholding of removal to Guatemala. He was instead removed to Mexico, a safe third option for him, pending his asylum claim. Yet, this federal activist judge is ordering us to bring him back, so he can have an opportunity to prove why he should be granted asylum to a country that he has had no past connection to ... We expect a higher court to vindicate us in this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Administration officials have already been ordered to facilitate the return of two men deported in March to a high-security prison in El Salvador aboard a series of controversial flights. One of those cases reached the Supreme Court, with the justices largely upholding a lower courts order requiring the Trump administration to work to bring Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. The Supreme Court noted that Abrego Garcias deportation was illegal because an immigration court had expressly ruled that he could not be deported there due to a risk that he would be targeted by a local gang. The other case involves a Venezuelan man, Daniel Lozano-Camargo, who was sent to El Salvador under President Donald Trumps order invoking a wartime power in an 18th century law to expel alleged gang members. A judge found that Lozano-Camargos deportation violated a court-approved legal settlement that protected certain undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors. The situation involving the Guatemalan man may be simpler to resolve than the other two deportations the Trump administration was ordered to reverse. Those men are in prisons in El Salvador. O.C.G. is not incarcerated but is currently in hiding in Guatemala in a house owned by his sister, his attorneys say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, O.C.G.s safety in Guatemala is also in question. A federal judge barred immigration officials from deporting him to his home country over fears of persecution and violence. The Trump administration deported him to Mexico, which then sent him to Guatemala. The administration initially told Murphy that O.C.G. had been asked if he had any fear of being sent to Mexico and that he didnt express any concerns. However, last week after Murphy asked that those who spoke with O.C.G. be made available for a deposition Justice Department attorneys said they could not locate any immigration official who recalled having such a conversation with the Guatemalan man before he was deported. Murphy said the flip-flop raised questions about the candor of U.S. government officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It must be said that, while mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to this decision are troubling. The Court was given false information, upon which it relied, twice, to the detriment of a party at risk of serious and irreparable harm, the judge wrote. Lawyers for O.C.G. suggested in court this week that it would be possible to charter a flight for him if the court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. Murphys ruling is just the latest rebuke to the Trump administration in an ongoing case that involves numerous deportations and has increasingly drawn national attention. Murphy has admonished the Trump administration for seeking to quickly deport people to alternate countries when their home countries wont accept them or are considered too dangerous without offering meaningful notice or a chance to raise fear of torture and death. In recent weeks, Murphy stepped in to restrict the administrations ability to send waves of migrants to Libya and South Sudan. Those rulings prompted an increasingly furious and high-level response from the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That response escalated again Friday, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Murphy of directly interfering with the United States effort to forge stronger relationships with the governments of Libya and South Sudan, and jeopardizing its relationship with Djibouti, home to the only U.S. military base in Africa. In a declaration filed in the court case, Rubio suggested that the judges statements that a rapid deportation of foreign nationals to Libya would violate an order he issued contributed to the most violent street fighting in Tripoli since 2022. The secretary also asserted that Murphys orders related to a deportation flight the Trump administration attempted to send to South Sudan were almost certain to lead to delayed or significantly reduced humanitarian efforts. Citizens for Democracy 17.5 2025 CFD statement on India-Pakistan hostilities Citizens for Democracy expresses its alarm at the aftermath of the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, which endangers world peace and leads to further breakdown in the rule of international law, as well as poses a further threat to democracy within India itself. What happened in Pahalgam was undoubtedly the use of terror to achieve political objectives and it was rightly condemned by all sections of the Indian population, led by local Kashmiri Muslims themselves, who rushed to the aid of the victims and held huge demonstrations against the act. The response of the Government of India was, however, neither measured nor balanced, but was dictated by the ideology and domestic political objectives of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar. Though the Prime Minister cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and rushed back, he did not address the meeting of all parties that was convened by the government itself. In the all-party meeting, the major security lapses in Pahalgam which allowed the terror attack to happen were not adequately explained, nor was any modality of enquiry announced. The finger of blame was immediately pointed at Pakistan, along with actions like putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, thereby inflicting collective punishment on all Pakistani people for the purported action of a few terrorists. No effort was made to gather hard evidence to show the Pakistani states involvement in the terror attack and present to the UN Security Council. Instead, a path of unilateral military action against Pakistan, ostensibly to hit terrorist bases with a pious hope that it would not escalate, was adopted. It is equally unfortunate that all the opposition parties went along with the government on this course of action. Even the Left parties with whom there is a tradition associated of anti-war stance, went along with the Governments option. It is well known by now through experience the world over, that military action against terrorism never succeeds. In effect, the government of India was aping the American war on terror, which also failed. It merely led to the invasion and destruction of two countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, without eradicating terrorism. Operation Sindoor, a name chosen with religious and regressive patriarchal connotations, was aimed squarely at the BJPs domestic political constituency, considering the worsening economic situation in the country which was leading to disquiet, and the approaching elections like in Bihar. From the outset, the military option was fraught with danger because when two nuclear powers confront each other militarily, the possibility of escalation not only cannot be ruled out, but the escalation itself has the potential to threaten the very existence of both countries and the region. We in India realize that Pakistan is not a monolith. It is a badly divided country. The people of Pakistan and the businesses in Pakistan want peace, normalcy and trade with India. But sections of the Army and the ISI support non-state terror groups which carry out attacks in India. The experience of the past has been that whenever the desire for peace and normalcy from both Indian and Pakistani sides result in substantial progress through talks, there is a terror incident which derails the whole process and resets it to square one. But the BJP - Sangh Parivar combine used the Pahalgam terror attack to foment communal sentiment against Kashmiri Muslims in particular and Muslims in general as verbal and physical attacks took place all over the country against them. Television channels and social media were made use of to create a war hysteria. At this juncture, civil society groups and India-Pakistan peoples friendship groups were the lone voices of sanity, counselling ceasefire, restraint and a return to peace and dialogue. Far from attempting to restrain irresponsible TV anchors and social media actors, the Government took actions of widespread censorship of those digital media outlets including YouTube and certain X accounts, which were asking critical questions and presenting news fairly. This censorship was imposed on the pretext of protecting national security in a time of war. The so-called precision strikes against terror targets escalated into war which resulted in the death and injury and loss of property of civilians on both sides of the border. While mock drills were being held all over the country, it is inexplicable why the Government did not evacuate the civilian population in border villages knowing fully well that a situation of cross-border shelling was in the offing. When the situation further escalated into both sides attacking each others military facilities, the unspoken question was who would take the initiative to de-escalate without losing face in their domestic political constituency. From the beginning both India and Pakistan were in constant touch with American leaders in government, apprising them of every step taken and appeasing them to keep them on their side. Taking advantage of this situation, the U.S., whose Vice President JD Vance had just a little earlier said that the conflict was only the business of the two countries involved- India and Pakistan, took a sudden turn through President Donald Trumps statements on social media. With the knowledge that the military leaders of both countries were going to communicate in order to de-escalate, President Trump, ever the opportunist and ever economical with the truth, announced that a ceasefire was being accomplished through American mediation. The intent and timing of Trumps announcement led to considerable loss of face for the BJP leadership in the government, as it brought in the US as a mediator in what was, till then, firmly established as a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan alone. This resulted in war-frenzied BJP supporters attacking even the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister himself on social media as traitors to the Indian cause. As an exercise in damage control, Prime Minister Modi, in his address to the country, said that Operation Sindoor had not been withdrawn but was only paused. He also said that India had laid down a new war doctrine that whenever there was any terror attack on Indian soil, there would be a retaliation in the form of an attack on Pakistan. From this it appears that a state of perpetual war is going to be the new normal in India, which has grave repercussions on both world peace and international democracy, as well as democracy within India. The post Second World War international consensus on avoiding war and maintaining peace through the use of the United Nations institutional system as a means of conflict resolution, already thoroughly weakened by the irresponsible actions of the United States through its multiple military interventions in various countries without reference to the United Nations, has resulted in weakening of the UN system to a state where war in Ukraine and genocide in Palestine are now proceeding without any end in sight. A principle of might alone is right is gaining ground in international relations. Prime Minister Modis announcement of a new Indian war doctrine takes us further down this path of global conflagration without any mechanisms of peaceful resolution. Also, national security in a situation of war will undoubtedly be used as a pretext to clamp down further on civil liberties of citizens, the freedom of media to operate independently, and the autonomy of universities to think critically. This will further weaken democracy within India. The Indian ruling classes have a long-standing ambition to be recognized as a regional superpower, as a subordinate ally of the United States in our region of the world. This is also evident in the BJP governments moves to align with the American-led Quad group of countries, ostensibly to counter China. The other important step taken by the BJP government is to militarize the economy further through creating a military-industrial complex. Not only has India become one of the largest importers of arms and armaments, there is also a concerted move to produce arms and armaments domestically through joint ventures between Indian corporates and multinationals like those of Israel. From experience, we know that such a militarization of the economy will only strengthen the tendency to use war and military means at every opportunity. This dovetails well with the long-standing ideological agenda of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar to militarize Hinduism and to Hinduize Indian society and the state. In effect, it will mean crushing all democratic dissent in the name of national unity and security. Citizens for Democracy stands resolutely against any use of terror to resolve the situation in Kashmir. We recognize that terror is a tactic of low intensity war with plausible deniability which is used by both state and non-state actors. It is in no way a legitimate political modality but its very opposite. We demand of the government to completely cease Operation Sindoor, institute a high-level inquiry into the security lapses which led to the terror incident in Pahalgam, fix responsibility for the lapses, and act against errant officials. We call upon all civil society organizations and all people to take a clear stand against unilateral military action and for solutions only through diplomacy and international law. The Government of India must gather and submit concrete evidence against the persons responsible for masterminding and carrying out the terror attack in Pahalgam. Military force must be used only in self-defence, on Indian soil. We demand of the government that all the unlawful censorship imposed on digital and social media be immediately withdrawn, and resolute exemplary action be taken against the purveyors of fake news and hate speech. We call upon television channels to introspect on the war hysteria that was spread through them and to lay down a new code of conduct for themselves. Anand Kumar (President) Shashi Shekhar Prasad Singh (General Secretary) A Yellowstone County jury convicted a Billings man Friday of fatally shooting a driver last summer in the fallout of a fight on the West End. Loren Cody Smoker had just turned 25 at the start of his homicide trial earlier this week. After five days of testimony, jurors deliberated for two hours before reaching their verdict. The defendant knew what he was doing, said Yellowstone County Prosecutor Lacey Fortin in her closing argument to jurors Friday morning. He had his girlfriend by his side the entire time begging him to just go home. And instead of availing himself of the countless other options that he had, the defendant chose to deliberately spray bullets into the side of that red sedan. The drivers side of that red sedan. In June 2024, Smoker was in downtown Billings. While there, he met Javon Edwards at a bar. Although Smoker later told police the two were friends, in the following hours, a disagreement between the two escalated to Edwards going to Smokers home on Country Manor Boulevard, near Shiloh Road and Grand Avenue. He travelled with Dennis Fabian Rolon, who was at the wheel of his red sedan. Outside of Smokers home, he and Edwards briefly fought. After the melee, Edwards and Rolon left, with Rolon again in the drivers seat. Smoker followed them in his own car down Shiloh Road. Security footage from businesses along the road captured Smokers car trailing Edwards. What cameras didnt capture was Smoker pulling up on the drivers side of the red sedan near the Central Avenue roundabout, drawing a handgun and opening fire. Smoker fired five shots, one of which struck and eventually killed Rolon, and drove away. He eventually reached the home of an acquaintance, where he ditched his handgun in a dumpster. Two hours later, police arrested him. Throughout the trial, Smokers attorneys argued that he opened fire in self-defense, claiming that Edwards had threatened them with his one firearm when Smoker approached his vehicle. Just a day after the shooting, Yellowstone County prosecutors charged Smoker with two felonies. Along with deliberate homicide, he also faced a count of tampering with evidence. You would be hard pressed, Fortin said, to find a better example of tampering with evidence than throwing a handgun used in a drive-by into a dumpster. Attorneys representing Smoker did not dispute that their client was the man who killed Rolon. In her closing argument to jurors, Attorney Sarah Kottke said Smokers decision to grab his gun and pull the trigger was made to keep himself safe and the woman who was in the car with him. Kottkes argument of self-defense hinged on testimony from Smoker and the woman in the car with him who said at various points in the investigation that Edwards had a gun on him in the car. Dashboard camera footage played in court showed one of the first officers arriving at Edwards car less than five minutes after Smoker shot Rolon. That footage showed a distraught Edwards outside of the car and pounding on its trunk, yelling that his friend had been shot in the head. Multiple officers dispatched to the scene never recovered a firearm on Edwards or in the sedan. However, Kottke argued that polices failure to search a nearby irrigation ditch for a firearm left a blind spot in their investigation. In a homicide investigation, she said, not a single officer bothered to check that irrigation ditch. In a rebuttal to Kottkes closing argument, Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Hallie Bishop reminded the jury that Edwards was not the man on trial accused of fatally shooting someone. Smoker, who by all accounts in court was beaten soundly in the fight with Edwards, also had his ego bruised, Bishop said. If Smoker was afraid of Edwards, he could have easily just gone inside his home and locked the door. When he (Smoker) chased after them, she said, he became the aggressor. Starting on Monday, jurors heard testimony from Billings Police Department investigators who responded to the shooting. Sgt. Shane Winden, who interviewed Smoker less than a day after he shot Rolon, testified it was difficult to understand why Smoker got into his car and chased after Edwards. Throughout that initial interview, a recording of which was played for jurors, Smoker said he was afraid of Edwards. When Winden pressed Smoker why he would then go after Edwards, Smoker said he just wanted to talk. The recording played in court ended with Winden breaking the news to Smoker that Rolon was dead. Smoker asked Winden, over and over, if he was joking. Smoker declined to testify at his trail, at the conclusion of which, Yellowstone County District Judge Ashley Harada ordered that he be taken back into custody at Yellowstone County Detention Facility to await his sentencing. He faces up to life in prison. As of Friday, there have been three homicides in and around Billings so far this year. Despite the three deaths, violent crime in the Magic City is on track to decline since peaking in 2020. Starting then and through 2024, BPD investigated an average of one homicide a month. On Thursday, Yellowstone County District Judge Mary Jane Knisely sentenced 24-year-old Branden Kord Rockabove to 70 years in prison after he admitted to shooting a man dead on the South Side back in 2022. By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday issued orders that require journalists to have official escorts within much of the Pentagon building, the latest in a series of Trump administration restrictions placed on the press. The measures, which take effect immediately, bar credentialed reporters from most of the Department of Defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, unless they have an official approval and escort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "While the Department remains committed to transparency, the Department is equally obligated to protect CSNI (classified intelligence) and sensitive information - the unauthorized disclosure of which could put the lives of U.S. Service members in danger," Hegseth said in a memorandum. He called the protection of classified national intelligence information and operational security "an unwavering imperative for the Department." The Pentagon Press Association, a membership organization representing the interests of the press corps covering the U.S. military, said the new rules appeared to be a "direct attack on the freedom of the press." "The decision is purportedly based on concerns about operational security. But the Pentagon Press Corps has had access to non-secured, unclassified spaces in the Pentagon for decades, under Republican and Democratic administrations, including in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, without any concern about OP-SEC from DoD leadership," the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to a request for comment, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: "These updated measures are a necessary step to protect sensitive information and to keep our U.S. service members protected from preventable risks." Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the Pentagon has launched an investigation into leaks that resulted in three officials being placed on administrative leave. It has also required legacy media organizations, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN and NBC News, to vacate their Pentagon office spaces in a new rotation system that brought in others, including outlets generally friendly to the Trump administration such as the New York Post, Breitbart, the Daily Caller and One America News Network. The Trump administration says the move is intended to allow other media outlets the opportunity to report as resident members of the press corps. More broadly, the Trump administration has deployed lie detector tests to investigate unclassified leaks, with some Department of Homeland Security officials being told they could be fired for refusing polygraphs, Reuters reported on Friday. The White House says Trump will not tolerate leaks to the media and that federal employees who do so should be held accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth's order on Friday also requires members of the Pentagon press corps to acknowledge a responsibility to protect national intelligence and sensitive information, and says they will be issued with new credentials that more prominently identify them as members of the press. "We also anticipate a forthcoming announcement of additional security measures and enhanced scrutiny on the issuance of (credentials)," the memo said. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Don Durfee and Rosalba O'Brien) President Trumps relationship with Apple and CEO Tim Cook has devolved in recent weeks as the president has ramped up pressure on the iPhone maker over its overseas manufacturing. Trump threatened Friday to put a 25 percent tariff on Apple products if the company failed to move more of its manufacturing back to the U.S., just weeks after publicly scolding Cook over his firms reliance on Indian manufacturing. The tariff threat marks a sharp break from the more cordial relationship that Cook managed to maintain with Trump in his first term, when he scored a key tariff exemption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It puts Apple with their back against the wall a little because India was going to be the go-to to navigate the China tariffs, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said, adding, This is putting Apple in an almost impossible spot. Trump and Cook have long had a good rapport a bright spot compared to the presidents often tense relationships with other tech leaders, like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This relationship paid dividends for Apple in Trumps first term, when the president exempted electronics, including the companys smartphones, from his China tariffs at the time. However, Cook seems to have run up against the limitations of this relationship in Trumps second term, in which the president appears more committed to his tariff push. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Undoubtedly this is a really difficult environment for Apple to be operating in, said Leo Gebbie, an industry analyst with CSS Insight. I think the move to now start the threat of tariffs once again is quite symptomatic of the unpredictable nature of this U.S. administration. Trump took his most public shot at Apple yet on Friday, demanding the company reshore its manufacturing or face a tariff. I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else, he said in a post on Truth Social. Trump later told reporters hes confident Apple can build products in the U.S., adding that the 25 percent tariff would be imposed at the end of June and that it would also impact Samsung because they make a similar product. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When they build their plant here, theres no tariff, so theyre going to be building plants here. But I had an understanding with Tim that he wouldnt be doing this. He said hes going to India to build plants. I said, Thats okay to go to India, but youre not going to sell into here without tariffs, and thats the way it is, Trump said. The iPhone, if theyre going to sell it in America, I want it to be built in the United States, he added. While its not entirely clear what is driving the presidents new tariff threat, key Apple supplier Foxconn recently revealed that it plans to invest $1.5 billion in its India unit, according to Reuters. Its an iconic American brand. It supplies to the world, and its made in China. For Trump, the Im going to rearrange the global trade market idea, imagine a great victory you have if you force Apple not to go to a third way, but to go the American way for manufacturing, said a source close to the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The destination is not just to deny China, but the destination is to create more manufacturing capacity and jobs in the U.S., the source added about Trumps thinking on tariffs. Cook was spotted Tuesday at the White House and met with Trump. Trump also has brought him up in several remarks recently, saying last week while he was in Qatar that he had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, Tim, youre my friend. I treated you very good. Youre coming in with $500 billion. But now I hear youre building all over India. I dont want you building in India, Trump said. When Trump announced a deal to lower tariffs on China to 30 percent, from 145 percent, he said he spoke to Cook that morning and that Apple planned to open more plants in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company previously announced in February that it plans to spend $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, including building a new factory in Texas. Apple produces the vast majority of its products in China but has increasingly sought to diversify its supply chain, moving manufacturing to countries such as India and Vietnam. Cook had warned that Trumps tariffs could bring down Apples profits in the second quarter on an earnings call on May 1, estimating at the time that the tariffs could add $900 million to Apples costs. The president exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from sweeping reciprocal tariffs, on a temporary basis, which gave companies like Apple a boost. The reduction of tariffs on China was also welcome news for Apple. Less than an hour after threatening Apple with tariffs Friday, Trump also threatened to hit the European Union (EU) with a 50 percent import tax, arguing that negotiations with the 27-member bloc are going nowhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, along with top officials like Vice President Vance, have pushed companies to make goods in the U.S. if they want to avoid tariffs. In Friday remarks at the Naval Academy graduation, Vance argued that the U.S. has been too busy meddling in foreign countries affairs that we stopped making things everything from cars to computers to the weapons of war, like the ships that guard our waters and the weapons that you will use in the future. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent underscored the importance of Apples role in the semiconductor supply chain, as he sought to back up the presidents push to bring back manufacturing. The president is trying to bring back precision manufacturing to the U.S. and I think that one of our greatest vulnerabilities are these, this external production, especially in semiconductors, and a large part of Apples components are in semiconductors, he told Fox News Americas Newsroom on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, we would like to have Apple help us make the semiconductor supply chain more secure, he continued. But experts warn that producing iPhones in the U.S. would cause prices to skyrocket. Wedbush Securities analysts estimate that an American-made iPhone would cost about $3,500. It could also be a lengthy process to reshore manufacturing, taking five to 10 years, they noted. This would result in an iPhone price point that is a non-starter for Cupertino, the analysts wrote in a Friday note, referring to Apples headquarters in Silicon Valley. We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the U.S. is a fairy tale that is not feasible, they added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gebbie similarly said the view from the industry is that bringing back manufacturing is a pipe dream. Apple has spent decades and billions upon billions of dollars investing in a supply chain and a manufacturing process that is very much centralized in Asia and China being the hub of that operation, but also with support in Vietnam and in India, he said. The high-tech manufacturing processes that are taking place, particularly in China, theyre impossible to build overnight, he added. Theyre impossible to build within the span of an administration, of a four-year term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A multifront assault by the Trump administration against the nations oldest university intensified on Friday when Harvard sued to block the government from barring international student enrollment, and a judge issued an immediate order to halt the ban. The rapid-fire legal action is the latest in Trump administration attacks against the university as it claims Harvard failed to adhere to its demands to combat antisemitism. But the whiplash felt by Harvard international students is reverberating far beyond Cambridge, Mass., as university leaders and foreign students across the United States and California watch with growing alarm over how federal actions will affect the nation's 1.1-million foreign student population 6% of American higher education enrollment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Campuses have been on alert since last month, when the Homeland Security and State departments canceled thousands of enrollment certifications and visas at dozens of U.S. colleges, including UCLA, for individuals who often had minor infractions such as traffic tickets. The government, seeing losses in court, later reversed those cancellations and was further blocked from undertaking them when an Oakland-based federal judge issued an injunction Thursday. "The current mindset of the international community is uncertainty," said Syed Tamim Ahmad, a junior at UCLA who is from India and recently completed his term as the student governments international representative. Read more: Staring down harsh Trump funding cuts, UC and CSU get some relief in Newsom budget plan Ahmad, who recently took the MCAT and plans to apply to medical school, said he was reconsidering whether continuing his studies in the United States is a safe option. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We do not know what to expect or what to come next," he said. "Every student saw what happened at Harvard and was absolutely shocked. We wonder, what if it happens at UCLA or any other university?" UCLA senior Adam Tfayli, a dual U.S.-Lebanese citizen who grew up in Beirut, had a different view. "My friends at Harvard are very concerned right now," said Tfayli, who finished his term this week as the Undergraduate Student Assn. Council President. "At UCLA, it's tense just because it has been on college campuses for months under this administration, but doesn't feel as bad as it did when people's visas were being revoked last month." In a statement, UCLA Vice Chancellor of Strategic Communications Mary Osako said that "international Bruins are an essential part of our community." "We recognize that recent developments at other universities have created a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety, and we remain committed to supporting all Bruins ability to work, learn, teach and thrive here at UCLA," Osako said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement USC, home to 17,000 international students the most of any California school declined to respond to events at Harvard, and pointed The Times to statements on its Office of International Services website about foreign students. "New restrictions could be implemented with little notice. The decision to travel internationally should be made carefully," said a letter this month. Like at Harvard, government officials have also scrutinized USC for its enrollment of Chinese students, who they have suggested may be a security threat an accusation that also arose at California colleges during the first Trump administration. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has accused Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests, accused the university Thursday of "coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus." In March, a House committee wrote to USC to request data on Chinese nationals and their "involvement in federally funded research and the security of sensitive technologies developed on campus." USC said in a statement Friday that it is "cooperating with the select committees inquiries and are following all applicable privacy laws and other legal protections." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking on Fox News on Thursday, Noem said the actions against Harvard were a "warning" to universities nationwide. "This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together," she said. "Get your act together." The case amplifies an increasingly existential fight for Harvard, one of the nation's most prestigious institutions of higher education. The Trump administration has launched multiple investigations into the university, moved to freeze nearly $3 billion in federal funding and pushed to end its tax-exempt status. Taken together, the federal actions raise fundamental questions over Harvard's ability to sustain its international standards. Harvard alleged in its suit Friday that the Trump administration's moves mark the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the governments demands to control Harvards governance, curriculum, and the ideology of its faculty and students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration's "pernicious" actions, Harvard alleged, would prevent some of the world's greatest minds from pursuing research and degrees at the university. Already, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has offered "unconditional" acceptance of international students forced to depart the Boston area due to Trump's policies. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs, appointed by former President Obama, granted an immediate restraining order, agreeing with Harvards argument that the Trump directive would cause immediate and irreparable harm to the institution. Read more: Apple is back in Trump's crosshairs over where iPhones are made In a statement to The Times, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, dismissed the judicial injunction out of Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American people elected President Trump not random local judges with their own liberal agenda to run the country," Jackson said. "These unelected judges have no right to stop the Trump administration from exercising their rightful control over immigration policy and national security policy. The Trump administration's assault on higher education has not focused solely on Harvard, but on much of the Ivy League and other elite campuses, including Columbia University, several UC campuses, USC and Stanford. Columbia and UCLA in particular became a focal point last year when protests against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza roiled campuses. A Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism established by Trump sent Harvard a letter last month demanding the university police ideology on campus and expel students it deems are "anti-American."Harvard has sued over those demands, as well, calling them a violation of free speech. Discussing the legal fight with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump noted that "billions of dollars have been paid to Harvard." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "How ridiculous is that?" he asked. "Harvard's going to have to change its ways." The same task force has also similarly singled out UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley. While the campuses have been subject to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant cancellations that have affected a wide swath of American academia, they have not seen the targeted federal funding clawbacks that took place at Harvard and Columbia. Still, the California universities anticipating less federal support overall have recently instituted hiring freezes and budget cuts. They've also vowed to address campus antisemitism allegations and faced criticism that they have given unequal treatment to allegations of bias against Muslim and Arab American student activists. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Donald Trumps war on Harvard is a politically-motivated disaster for higher education The recent attempt by Donald Trump to revoke Harvards ability to enroll international students is far more than an isolated political stunt or an administrative overreach. Its a siren call to the global academic and business community: Americas welcome mat may no longer be out. Even if courts ultimately block this moveas they did in 2020 when the Trump administration tried to strip international students of visas if their courses went onlinethe damage is already done. And it really doesnt matter that a district court judge placed a temporary restraining order on the administration within two hours of Harvards lawsuit to stop this nonsense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The signal is clear: In todays America, international students, no matter how talented, no matter how rule-abiding, are expendable. Thats a seismic shift with global consequences. And higher education leaders, employers, and policymakers should be alarmed. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE WATCHING AND RETHINKING Theres a reason more than one million international students have historically chosen to study in the United States each year. They come for the academic rigor, the innovation, the brand equity of U.S. degrees. But they also come for the promisespoken and unspokenthat America rewards talent and ambition, no matter where you were born. Trumps decision undercuts that promise. And international studentswhether headed to Harvard, community college, or a STEM PhDare taking notice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The result? Growing numbers are already looking elsewhere. Countries like Canada, the UK, Australia, and Germany are offering clearer immigration policies, longer post-study work visas, and far less political volatility. Theyre telling international students: We want you here. The U.S., on the other hand, seems to be saying, Dont get too comfortable. THE REAL COST: TALENT, INNOVATION, & ECONOMIC POWER This isnt just about Harvard or elite universities. This is about the pipeline of global talent that fuels Americas classrooms, companies, and research labs. International students dont just pay tuition. They enrich our learning environments, drive innovation, and power startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. Theyre the MIT engineers behind life-saving vaccines. The Wharton MBAs launching fintech platforms. The Stanford grads leading AI breakthroughs. In fact, nearly 25% of U.S. startups worth over $1 billion were founded by international students. We are not just discouraging these students from comingwe are handing them to our competitors. A CHILLING EFFECT ON EMPLOYERS, TOO The ripple effects extend into the workforce. When immigration policy becomes a moving target, employersespecially small and mid-sized onesstart backing away from hiring international graduates. They dont want the risk, the legal complexity, or the potential political fallout. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many U.S. firms already find visa sponsorship daunting. But if even Harvards students arent safe, the message to employers is: hiring international talent isnt worth the trouble. Thats a short-sighted viewand a dangerous one for the U.S. economy. REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE THAT LASTS Once America loses its status as the destination for top global talent, it doesnt bounce back overnight. Reputation is slow to build, quick to erode, and brutally hard to restore. U.S. universities, already reeling from declining domestic enrollment and political attacks on higher education, cant afford to alienate their most loyal international applicants. And business schools in particularwhere international students often comprise 30% to 60% of the classstand to lose enrollment, revenue, and diversity of thought and experience. Many of the leading U.S. business schools enroll large numbers of international students. At Stanford, its 39%. At Harvard, its 35%. International students at UNCs Kenan-Flagler Business School now make up 43% of MBA candidates. At Georgetown McDonough School of Business, its 49%. These schools help shape the next generation of global leaders. They depend on trust. That trust is now under siege. THIS IS BIGGER THAN POLITICS Lets be clear: this is not about immigration policy as a whole. Reasonable people can debate how to manage borders, allocate visas, or secure jobs for American workers. But targeting international studentspeople who followed every rule, paid their way, and contribute enormously to our economy and societyis a betrayal of American values. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And when the attack is aimed at Harvard, a symbol of academic excellence known around the globe, it feels personal to every student who dreamed of coming to the U.S. to learn, grow, and contribute. WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW This is a crucial moment. Because if this moment is allowed to pass quietly, the long-term consequences wont just be a dip in applicationsit will be a generational loss of trust, talent, and leadership. And no economy, especially the U.S. economy that has long benefited from its more open immigration policiescan afford that. Universities must go beyond legal challenges and speak forcefully in defense of their international students. They need to reassure students that they are valued, protected, and welcomed. Employers must raise their voices toobecause without global talent, our innovation engine slows, our competitiveness weakens, and our diversity withers. Employers must speak out about the irreplaceable role international graduates play in their success. Policymakers must reaffirm, in deed not just word, that the United States is still a place where talent is welcome and rewarded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because if we dont, the message will echo far and wide: The American dream, once open to the worlds brightest minds, may now come with an asterisk. And once that belief is broken, we wont just lose students. Well lose the future they were ready to buildwith us. DONT MISS: THE TOP U.S. MBA PROGRAMS WITH THE MOST INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS or MANY EXPECT THE COURTS TO OVERTURN TRUMPS BAN ON HARVARDS INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS The post Trumps Attack On Harvards Foreign Students Will Haunt U.S. Higher Education For Years appeared first on Poets&Quants. Antisemitism is increasing on university campuses and throughout the world. But lets be clear: Donald Trump and the right wing are not fighting antisemitism. They are exploiting it. And they are deliberately doing so, using Jewish people as pawns in a broader war on education. On Oct. 7, 2024 the one-year anniversary of the brutal attack by Hamas on the Israeli population, the far-right 501(c)(3) nonprofit The Heritage Foundation published Project Esther: A National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. Dont be misled by the title. The real strategy is to falsely connect U.S. universities to what the report calls the Hamas Support Network. The Trump administration has justified its blatant attack on higher education by these allegations of alliance with Hamas, the terrorist organization committed to the total destruction of the state of Israel. On social media, Fox News and, most disturbing, in hearings of the House Committee on Education and Labor, the right wing has promoted this conspiracy theory, implying that all those speaking out against Benjamin Netanyahus Israeli government are in league with Hamas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let me say immediately that I do not doubt that people who want Israel wiped off the map have infiltrated campus protests. Thats why universities are requiring student and staff IDs for protesters and are having outsiders arrested for trespassing. But in the name of fighting antisemitism, what Trump and his allies are doing is adopting tactics that serve their goals: undermining democratic institutions, eroding the rule of law and turning Jews into scapegoats. The Trump administration in its outrageous and unjustified punishments of universities and colleges is actually supporting Hamas antisemitic goals. Massive cuts in research funding at Harvard University and elsewhere do not protect Jews. In fact, these punitive actions put Jews in the crosshairs and increase hatred. Who wants the stoppage of grant funding on projects to cure Alzheimers and cancer in the name of helping Jews? Condemn Jan. 6 felons praise of Hitler? MAGA hypocrisy is rampant. On May 7, at the latest hearing of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Texas asked Republican members of the committee: Do you condemn Trumps pardoning of the Jan. 6 felon who praised Hitler? He went on to say that mindless support of the Israeli government should not be the only stance to absolve anyone from accusations of antisemitism. Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, criticized the hearings as partisan performances and called for enforcement of the provisions against antisemitism in Title VI. Ah, yes, Title VI, which sets forth legal actions to investigate campus antisemitism and other violations of students civil rights. How does the Trump/DOGE closing of seven of the 12 offices of the Department of Education Offices of Civil Rights, which were undertaking investigations of antisemitism, fit with the objective of rooting out acts of hatred? Were previous investigations adequate? Probably not. The current oversight was bound to be more serious and direct because yes, Ill admit it of the Trump administrations emphasis. But now those investigations have been undermined or sidelined. Instead we have draconian punishments in the massive withdrawal of scientific research funding completely unrelated to the hatred of Jews. Due process and the rule of law have become optional. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the May 7 hearing, Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon said it was unconscionable to weaponize campus antisemitism, when the safety of Jews throughout history has always depended on the rule of law. She called for an emphasis on a Jewish core value tikkun olam, the Hebrew phrase meaning repairing the world, a call to action for social justice. A Pledge to Our Democracy Education is a key tool in repairing the world. Throughout history, Jews have embraced the moniker People of the Book. Its not only ironic, its wrong, for universities to be attacked in the name of preventing antisemitism. Campuses can and should be the ideal setting for supporters of different views on Israel and Gaza to come together in safe spaces for structured, facilitated conversations. That is in fact going on at a number of campuses. Is that enough? No. Has antisemitism been a persistent problem in higher education? Yes. Should universities do more, much more, to facilitate discussion and insure the safety and free speech of all students? Yes. Do the Trumpian methods help? A resounding no. They make matters worse. Rather than making America great again, they have made America hate again. Hatred has never helped Jews. Book banning has always hurt Jews. Withdrawing funds from essential scientific research punishes everyone and makes Jews a target. As a former university president and a Jew, I have long been committed to the principles of academic freedom. Recently I joined more than 100 former college and university leaders in signing A Pledge to Our Democracy, a call to action authored by the Champions of Higher Education, a PEN America initiative. The pledge unites us in defending the autonomy of educational institutions against rising authoritarian threats and underscores our collective responsibility to take action. Please dont be deluded by Trumpian false claims of protecting Jews on campus. The real bulls-eye is on education and on democracy itself. Autocracies prefer an uneducated populace. The Jewish community, in contrast, has always been the People of the Book, committed to repairing the world. To make the world and our democracy better rather than worse, we must unite to protect education and free speech, promoting human connection and understanding. Elaine Maimon is the author of Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation . Her long career in higher education has encompassed top executive positions at the public universities Governors State University, University of Alaska Anchorage and Arizona State University West. She is the higher education columnist for The Philadelphia Citizen. President Donald Trump rubbed salt on the wound of his recent Harvard student ban by claiming a lot of them cant even do basic math. His petty comment came a day after he moved to bar foreign students from enrollment as part of his ongoing feud with the Ivy League school. When a reporter asked why the president wouldnt want the best and brightest from around the world to come to Harvard, he snapped back by questioning the student bodys intelligence. President Donald Trump has moved to ban foreign students from Harvard and claimed that they can't do basic math. / Chip Somodevilla / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images A lot of the people need remedial math, he said. The students cant add two and two and they go to Harvard... now, wait a minute. So why would they get in? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps comments were made in reference to the schools new introductory math course designed for students with foundational algebra skills. He asked how a group of people with very basic skills got admitted. Trump also called the crew troublemakers and referenced the campus pro-Palestine protests. How do they get into Harvard? Why are they there? he asked. And then you see those same people picketing and screaming at the United States and screaming that theyre antisemitic or something. We dont want troublemakers here. The judge who halted President Donald Trump's ban on international students also halted his Muslim travel ban in 2017. / Mark Wilson / Mark Wilson/Getty Images Trumps Friday fit came shortly after Obama-appointee U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs stepped in to block the administrations bid to ban foreign students. In 2017, she also made history by slapping a hold on Trumps so-called Muslim ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burroughs ruling also came as Harvard University announced it would sue the White House. With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvards student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission, the lawsuit read. Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard. Harvards international students made up around 27 percent of last years enrollment. President Donald Trump justified his recent ban on foreign students by claiming they couldn't do remedial math. / Chip Somodevilla / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Trumps war on Harvard centers around the universitys refusal to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and kick out pro-Palestinian protestors. Trump has recently accelerated his attacks by threatening to cut the schools federal funding and tax-exempt status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the school was fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party and then terminated the schools Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification. Billions of dollars has been paid to Harvard. How ridiculous is that? Billions Harvards going to have to change its ways, Trump said. When asked if hes planning to go after the international student body at other universities, Trump added: Were taking a look at a lot of things. One cubic yard of tallgrass prairie sod with its grasses, sedges, flowers, burrowing mammals, worms, mites nematodes and soil microbes rivals the tropical rainforest for biological diversity. The comparison, from the book Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie, seems impossible to anyone who has driven across the treeless plains of Eastern Montana or the Dakotas. In the last decade or two, scientists have gained a really fresh, deep understanding of how important grasslands are as an ecosystem, said Dave Hage, a retired Minneapolis Star Tribune (now Minnesota Star Tribune) journalist. They are as biologically diverse on a small scale. They're a huge buffer against climate change. Sea of Grass, written by Hage and former Star Tribune environmental reporter Josephine Marcotty, is due in bookstores May 27. In June, the two authors will tour Montana cities promoting the book. The duo visits This House of Books in Billings on June 16 at 6 p.m. before traveling to Bozeman's Country Bookshelf on June 17 and Missoula's Montana Natural History Center on June 18. Marcotty said the idea that grasslands are North Americas rainforest because of their environmental value may be what caught their publishers attention. While concern over the loss of tropical rainforests has garnered national and international headlines, few are aware of the loss of a million acres of grasslands to plowing every year, Hage said. The Eastern tallgrass prairie is 99% gone already, he added, with only a few patches left in the Flint Hills of southern Minnesota. Likewise, most of the tallgrass prairie is gone from states like Illinois and Iowa. Meanwhile, there is still about 40% of the shortgrass prairie left, some of it in northeastern Montana. That's the grassland that we still have a chance to protect, Hage said, calling the plowing of such native grasslands an environmental catastrophe thats occurring in our backyard. Farming lands that previously seemed unprofitable is due to the enormous progress on coming up with seeds and chemicals and technologies that allow crops to be grown in places where they never used to be grown before, Marcotty said. I think that's just sort of one of those hidden things that the populace isn't aware of, is how advances in agricultural technology continue to go along apace. At one time, the grasslands and wetlands of the Great Plains were seen as impenetrable to Europeans. The Spanish conquistador Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, who ventured into the southern plains in 1541, wrote to his royal patrons that the grasslands were no place for the Spanish, the authors wrote. It would be impossible to establish a settlement here, for besides [being remote from both oceans] the country is so cold . . . that apparently the winter could not possibly be spent here because there is no wood, nor clothes with which to protect the men except the skins which the natives wear, Coronado wrote. Moving through the tall grasses, with no trees or mountains to guide their direction, Coronado reported his troops were often lost. Less than 300 years later, however, farmers had plowed through one-fifth of North America, the authors noted, transforming a sea of grass to a sea of crops. In just a little over a century, American farmers plowed up 300 million acres of virgin grassland, converting a wilderness of deer and songbirds into a factory for food, the book noted. Sea of Grass chronicles in extensive detail not only the composition of prairie grasslands and their unique ecosystem, but also the many ways in which humans especially in the past 200 years have come to shape this once indomitable landscape. The tale is filled with astounding statistics on everything from the early production of nitrogen-based fertilizers and the impact of John Deeres plow, to the draining of wetlands to convert them into farm fields. The 400-plus page book is the outgrowth of a series of stories the two wrote for the Minnesota newspaper a decade ago, headlined The Vanishing Prairie, that proved so popular and interesting they pitched it to Penguin Random House publishing. The contract allowed them to take an even deeper dive, spending two years traversing states across the Great Plains including Montana, which serves as a bright point for grasslands and grassland species conservation whether some residents like it or not. Its like we became a bulls-eye for every environmental group on Earth, Craig French, a Phillips County rancher (who is not related to this reporter), told the authors. We suddenly saw lots of people interested in our little part of the world. Craig and his wife Conni are founders of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance and take part in a program offered by The Nature Conservancy. At the conservation groups Matador Ranch, participants graze their livestock at a reduced price in exchange for implementing conservation practices on their own lands. As a group, cattle ranchers often get cast as the villains by environmentalists, you know, with some reason (because of their) history, Hage said. But then we found a lot of ranchers who are pro-environment, pro-grass. And this particular group, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, they are working really, really hard to keep the plows away, to protect grass, but also to promote these rotational grazing techniques. In conjunction with the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund, these grazing techniques are good for the soil, good for the grass, good for wildlife and it's beautiful organization. To the south of the Frenches and neighboring the Matador Ranch is American Prairie, a conservation group that has taken a different approach to preserving grasslands by buying ranches, pulling down fences and returning bison to the landscape. Marcotty found it fascinating that the conflict between Montana ranchers and American Prairie is because of their different visions for the land. I understand why, Marcotty said. I mean, it's because their whole identity and their history and their sense of community is so tied up in the way they live and how they use the land, but it makes it so difficult for the two ideas to exist in parallel in the same area of the country. I also thought American Prairie was a stunningly beautiful place, she added. I mean, that whole part of Montana is. You know, people think of Montana as mountains, but I really love those grasslands. I mean, they're just really wild and beautiful, and I love seeing the bison out there. Another bright spot the authors found in Montana has also stirred up a lot of controversy over the past decade, the transfer of disease-free Yellowstone bison to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Eastern Montana. Because of the work, which included funding and help from conservation groups like Defenders of Wildlife and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, more than 400 bison have been shipped to 26 tribes in 12 states. It's a beautiful story of saving those magnificent animals and restoring the culture of these Native American societies that was also so endangered and so closely entwined with bison, Hage said. Two species were pushed to the edge of extinction, plains indigenous people and bison, and now they're coming back together. Its a very moving story. Marcotty said she found it interesting that in no other state, except Montana, is there so much contention around bison. In South Dakota, nobody cares if bison and cattle mingle together in the same pasture, or whether your neighbor decides to start raising bison, she said. It's just a non-issue. Hage said he and Marcotty returned to Montana often as they worked on their book. We met such lovely people doing such important work, and in a place where most Americans don't ever get to and don't get a chance to see, Hage said. Although the book contains a variety of sobering stories about the destruction of grasslands, wetlands and the contamination of waterways from agricultural runoff, the authors end the chronicle on a hopeful note. Having relentlessly sacrificed things we did not make the land, its Indigenous people, and its creatures to achieve remarkable national prosperity, perhaps were rich enough to restore some of what weve taken and heal the scars of our history. US President Donald Trump on Friday said his decision to announce 50% tariffs on EU goods from June 1 is not a negotiating tactic. "I'm not looking for a deal," Trump said in Washington. "But again, there is no tariff if they build their plants here." "They haven't treated us properly," the president added, referring to EU member states. "They haven't treated our country properly. They banded together to take advantage of us." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has made tariffs a central plank of his economic policy since returning to office in January, seeking to force foreign companies to relocate production to the United States. In April, he introduced blanket 10% tariffs on all US imports and threatened further measures on a wide range of countries and sectors. The European Union has since been locked in negotiations to avert the punitive duties, while preparing countermeasures on US exports. While the US signed a trade deal with the United Kingdom earlier this month, Trump's bombshell post on his Truth Social platform early on Friday suggests an agreement with the EU might yet take some time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump slammed the EU, saying the bloc, which "was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with." He outlined a laundry list of complaints including "their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more." The US president said trade talks with Brussels "are going nowhere" and that he therefore wants a straight 50% tariff on all EU imports starting on June 1. EU has trade surplus in goods with US, but deficit in services In his post, Trump stated that the US has a trade deficit with the EU "of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The figure - which is $250 million - is far below official statistics posted by both the US and the EU. According to the US trade representative, the US trade deficit in goods with the EU was $235.6 billion in 2024, a 12.9% increase over 2023. According to EU figures, the 27-member bloc had a 198.2 billion ($224 billion) trade surplus in goods with the US. But EU figures for 2023, the latest available, show a deficit of 108.6 billion with the US when it comes to trade in services, which includes trade involving highly dominant US tech companies such as Meta, Google, Apple and Amazon. EU vows to defend interests as trade talks continue EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic called for trade relations based on "mutual respect" after Trump's announcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Sefcovic late on Friday wrote on the X platform that the EU is "fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both." "EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats," Sefcovic wrote. "We stand ready to defend our interests," he added. Trump had previously threatened the EU with blanket tariffs of 25% if no agreement was reached with the US. The deadline for this had been set for July. The Trump administration has so far not responded to an offer from Brussels for the mutual elimination of all tariffs on industrial goods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Trump had expressed optimism about finding a resolution to the tariff dispute with the Europeans. It is unclear whether the 50% punitive tariffs will actually come into effect in June. Trump has frequently threatened high tariffs in the past, only to later reverse course. The US president aims to use tariffs to address alleged trade imbalances and shift production to the US. German ministers warn of consequences German ministers reacted to Trump's announcement on Friday with regret. "I believe that such tariffs would not help anyone, but would only lead to economic growth in both markets suffering as a result," Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said at a press conference in Berlin with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The response is now up to the European Commission, Wadephul argued, adding that Germany is still hoping for a negotiated solution. German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche also responded to Trump's announcement. "Tariff conflicts know no winners," she said. "We must do everything we can to ensure that the European Commission reaches a negotiated solution with the US." "Tariffs harm the US and the EU in equal measure," Reiche further stated. "We need more trade, not less." May 24 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump signed four executive orders to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and hasten the process and deployment of new nuclear power reactors in the United States. They allow agencies to build reactors on federally owned land, revamp the NRC, create new timelines for construction permits, and expand domestic uranium production and enrichment capabilities. Trump on Friday signed the orders called: Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy, Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security and Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nuclear executives joined Trump, including Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez, who leads the largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S. Constellation wants to restart operations at Three Mile Island, aiming to bring the Unit 1 reactor back online in 2028. The Unit 2 reactor at Three Mile Island was the site of a partial meltdown in 1979. "We're wasting too much time on permitting and we're answering silly questions, not the important ones," the Constellation CEO said. The agency is also reviewing whether to restart the mothballed Palisades plant in Michigan. Dominguez said nuclear energy is best-suited to support artificial intelligence data center needs with consistent, around-the-clock service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between 1954 and 1978, the United States authorized construction of 133 civilian nuclear reactors at 81 power plants. Since 1978, the NRC has authorized a fraction of that number, and only two reactors have entered into commercial operation. "Instead of efficiently promoting safe, abundant nuclear energy, the NRC has instead tried to insulate Americans from the most remote risks without appropriate regard for the severe domestic and geopolitical costs of such risk aversion," according to one of the executive orders. Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who now heads the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Energy Futures Initiative, said the moves could increase safety or security risks. "Reorganizing and reducing the independence of the NRC could lead to the hasty deployment of advanced reactors with safety and security flaws," Moniz, a nuclear physicist who served under President Barack Obama, said. NRC overhaul The 50-year-old independent NRC regulates nuclear reactors. The new executive order dictates reductions in force "though certain functions may increase in size consistent with the policies in this order, including those devoted to new reactor licensing." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NRC shall also create a team of at least 20 officials to draft the new regulations. The order will not remove or replace any of the five commissioners who lead the body, according to the White House. The NRC will work with the Department of Government Efficiency, the Office of Management and Budget, and other executive departments and agencies on the reorganization, according to the White House. The public hearings process at the agency also will be streamlined, the executive order said. New reactors Trump's orders also create a regulatory method for the departments of Energy and Defense to build nuclear reactors on federal land, the administration official said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commission will be required to decide on nuclear reactor licenses within 18 months and, within 60 days, the secretary of energy is expected to issue guidance on what counts as a qualified test reactor. The order says that qualified test reactors can be safely operational at Department-owned or Department-controlled facilities within two years. "Federal Government has effectively throttled the domestic deployment of advanced reactors, ceding the initiative to foreign nations in building this critical technology," the order reads. "Our proud history of innovation has succumbed to overregulated complacency." Two new reactors that recently came online at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, Ga., took seven years longer than planned to build and came in $18 billion over budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The secretary of state is also expected to "aggressively pursue" at least 20 new agreements by the close of the 120th Congress "to enable the United States nuclear industry to access new markets in partner countries." "We're also talking about the big plants -- the very, very big, the biggest," Trump said at the signing. "We're going to be doing them also." Other changes Another of the orders Trump signed seeks to fully leverage federally owned uranium and plutonium resources declared excess to defense needs. Trump also wants a pilot program for reactor construction and operation outside the National Laboratories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within 240 days, the agencies are expected to develop management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste, and deployment of advanced fuel cycle capabilities "to establish a safe, secure, and sustainable long-term fuel cycle," according to the order. Additionally, the order directs the Department of Education to work toward increasing participation in nuclear energy-related apprenticeships and career and technical education programs. In a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, U.S. President Donald Trump presented video footage of white crosses along a highway, falsely claiming they marked burial sites of murdered white farmers in South Africa, and a photograph of body bags he falsely claimed held the remains of white farmers murdered in South Africa. However, our investigation found the white crosses were not burial sites, but elements of a symbolic memorial erected for a 2020 protest against the murder of a white couple on their farm by robbers, and the murders of other white farmers in South Africa. The crosses were removed some time ago. The photograph of body bags showed victims of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, not South Africa. It was a screengrab from Reuters footage of the aftermath of a deadly jailbreak in February 2025 in which 100 women were raped and burned alive. Both the video and the photograph frequently appear in social media posts amplifying the claim that a "white genocide" the supposed deliberate and systematic mass killing of white farmers is taking place in South Africa. Snopes first fact-checked this claim in 2018. In late May 2025, during a tense meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, U.S. President Donald Trump presented a series of visuals as alleged evidence of a "white genocide in South Africa." The meeting occurred after Trump admitted 59 white South Africans from the Afrikaner minority group into the United States, saying they would be granted refugee status on account of facing "racial discrimination" in South Africa. The South African government in turn said these Afrikaners were not facing discrimination that would warrant their being granted refugee status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has promoted the "white genocide" conspiracy theory since 2018, referring to alleged systematic, large-scale killings of white farmers in South Africa. We covered the claim here, and found the assertion to be false. Below, we debunk the so-called visual evidence Trump provided during the Oval Office meeting with Ramaphosa. We also reached out to the White House for comments on Trump's debunked claims. It did not respond to our questions about why Trump misrepresented the footage and photograph below, instead directing us to news stories about murders of white farmers, criticisms of Ramaphosa's land seizure law, and discrimination complaints from white South Africans. Were white crosses placed above burial sites of murdered white farmers? In short, no. Trump showed Ramaphosa a video clip of a long line of cars on a highway lined with white crosses. Trump claimed these were "burial sites," to which Ramaphosa asked for the location. Their exchange went as follows: TRUMP: These are burial sites right here [...] over a thousandof white farmers. And those cars are lined up to pay love on a Sunday morning. Each one of those white things you see is a cross. There's approximately a thousand of them. They're all white farmers, the family of white farmers. Those cars aren't driving. They stop there to pay respect to the family members' who are killed. And it's a terrible sight, I've never seen anything like it. Both sides of the road you have crosses. Those people are all killed. RAMAPHOSA: Have they told you where that is, Mr. President? I'd like to know where that is, because this, I've never seen. [...] TRUMP: I mean, it's in South Africa [...] The footage was also shared by the White House's official YouTube account alongside a caption saying, "Each cross represents a white farmer who was murdered in South Africa." However, Trump misrepresented the video. We found an early example of the same footage on YouTube dated September 2020. News reports from the time showed the white crosses were erected along the highway in protest against the recent killing of a white couple on their farm and a spate of farmer murders over several years and were not grave markers above actual burial sites. Satellite images on Google Earth show those crosses have been taken down since then. As such, this part of Trump's claim was false. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on South African news sources, the protest with white crosses took place after the murder on a farm of Glenn and Vida Rafferty in September 2020 outside the hamlet of Normandien. The protest took place near the town of Newcastle in northern KwaZulu-Natal province. News reports from 2020 indicate that locals erected hundreds not thousands as Trump claimed of these crosses along the highway. After a memorial service, locals drove their cars in what they called the "Move One Million" drive from Newcastle to the Rafferty farm to honor the memory of the couple. Darrell Brown, a local who helped organize the protest, told SABC News at the time: "The message we are trying to convey is farm murders must stop. I don't mean just murders of white commercial farmers. Farm murders must stop. More needs to be done [...] Each and every one of these crosses represents almost 10 commercial farmers that have been murdered over the last few years. And as you see there's over 500 crosses." Per a report from the Institute of Race Relations, an anti-apartheid think tank in South Africa, the protest saw both Black and white participants mourning the deaths. One protester told the IRR: "We are supporting each other. There should be no killing anymore. White or black, we are all one." In November 2022, two men were convicted in the Rafferty killing, each receiving life sentences for the murder and additional sentences for robbery and housebreaking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al Jazeera English highlighted statistics from South Africa's Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) a group that was critical of Ramaphosa for passing laws they say discriminate against white people which found total numbers of farm murders between 1990 and 2024 stood at 2,229, out of which 1,363 were white farmers, 529 were relatives of white farmers, 38 were white workers, 30 were white visitors, 88 were Black farmers, 61 were relatives of Black farmers, 188 were Black workers, and seven were Black visitors. Per the BBC, TAU recorded 23 white people and nine Black people killed in farm attacks in 2024 alone, while four Black people and three white people have been killed on farms in 2025 so far. We should note that white people own the vast majority of farmland in South Africa roughly 80% per the 2017 census but per the above calculations (1,363 white farmer deaths since 1990), whites still account for less than 1% of total murders in the country. In our past coverage, we found that South Africa's farm murders hit a low point in 2017-2018. CNN found police statistics detailing 62 farm murders in that year, only 0.3% of the 20,336 murders in the country in that time frame. The Raffertys were murdered during an attempted robbery, and not specifically due to their race. Afrikaner agriculture union TLU-SA said farmers are susceptible to attacks due to their isolation. Experts told PBS the vast majority of victims of everyday murders in South Africa are Black. Gareth Newham of the Institute of Security Studies, an African policy think-tank, told CNN, "There is no evidence that a group of people are killing farmers for political purposes. There is no evidence that they are doing it because they are listening to political leaders. It is happening because of [everyday] crime [...] There is no epidemic of farm murders in South Africa. There is an epidemic of murders." Ramaphosa and his delegation made the same comment to Trump during their Oval Office meeting, arguing that they were facing a crime problem in South Africa and they need the United States' technological support to address the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We found footage from early September 2020, soon after the Rafferty murders occurred, showing sections of the highway where the crosses were erected and a sign criticizing Ramaphosa. Comparing the above footage to satellite images from Google Earth, we were able to estimate the location on the P39-1 highway where the protests occurred. The most recent satellite images we observed were captured in 2023 and showed the crosses are no longer in that location. (Screenshots via YouTube/Andre Boies/Google Earth/Snopes reporter Laerke Christensen) In May 2025, Roland Collyer, nephew of the murdered couple, showed the BBC the same stretch of land where the crosses were put up and pointed out they had been removed since then. Rob Hoatson, the Raffertys' neighbor, told the BBC, "It's not a burial site [...] It was a memorial. It was not a permanent memorial that was erected. It was a temporary memorial." Where was the photograph of body bags from? The photograph that Trump claimed showed burials of white farmers was not from South Africa. Trump held up this article from the American Thinker blog, a right-leaning publication, and claimed: "Look, here's burial sites all over the place. These are all white farmers that are being buried." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The article, written in February 2025 by Andrea Widburg, carried the headline, "Let's talk about Africa, which is where tribalism takes you," and criticized the left's focus on identity: "... leftists have steadily been balkanizing us. Now, our loyalties lie not with nation and values, but with people who share our skin color, our nation of origin, being a conservative or a leftist, or being hetero- or homosexual." The image Trump pointed to is a YouTube screengrab. The article directs to the following video from WION, an Indian news site. (Screenshot via WION/YouTube) The video was uploaded on Feb. 7, 2025, and the caption states: Over 100 women raped, burnt alive during mass jailbreak in Congo amid rebel conflict. Horrific atrocity follows the escape of thousands of male inmates amid chaos. Chaos unfolded as a Rwandan-backed rebel group entered the Congo's Goma last week. Senior UN official says female inmates were attacked inside Goma's Munzenze prison. Watch to know more! Reuters published this footage on Feb. 3 and confirmed it showed humanitarian workers lifting body bags in the Congolese city of Goma after it was attacked by M23 rebels. Djaffar Al Katanty, the Reuters video journalist covering the incident, said, "That day, it was extremely difficult for journalists to get in [...] I had to negotiate directly with M23 and coordinate with the ICRC to be allowed to film [...] Only Reuters has video." In sum Trump misrepresented both the photograph from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a protest video from South Africa, and made false statements about each item presented. Neither image shows evidence of systematic mass murders of white farmers in South Africa that could reasonably be said to constitute a "white genocide." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Farmer murders have indeed taken place in South Africa and have been acknowledged as a crime issue by the South African government. The 2020 protests saw both Black and white South Africans condemn the killings. Sources: Cocks, Tim, et al. "A Check of Trump's False Claims about White Genocide in South Africa." Reuters, 22 May 2025. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-makes-false-claims-white-genocide-south-africa-during-ramaphosa-meeting-2025-05-21/. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Cyril Ramaphosa Signs Expropriation Bill in South Africa." BBC, 24 Jan. 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg9w4n6gp5o. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Fact-Checking Donald Trump's Oval Office Confrontation with Cyril Ramaphosa." BBC, 22 May 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9vxve994ro. Accessed 23 May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "'How Many More Must Die?' Farmers' Plea to Ramaphosa - Agri News Net." Institute of Race Relations, https://irr.org.za/media/how-many-more-must-die-2019-2013-farmers2019-plea-to-ramaphosa-agri-news-net. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Life Sentences for Men Who Shot Dead KZN Farm Couple and Their Dog." The Herald, https://www.theherald.co.za/amp/news/2022-11-17-life-sentences-for-men-who-shot-dead-kzn-farm-couple-and-their-dog/. Accessed 23 May 2025. Mellen, Riley, and Aric Toler. "Trump Claimed a Video Showed 'Burial Sites' of White Farmers. It Didn't." The New York Times, 22 May 2025. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/us/politics/trump-south-africa-president-white-farmers-video.html. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Murdered Normandien Couple Laid to Rest in KwaZulu-Natal: Darell Brown." YouTube, SABC News, 5 Sept. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxZuwJDyNic. Accessed 23 May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Olivier, Michellie. "Open Letter to Mr Ramaphosa, President of South Africa." TLU SA, 26 Mar. 2025, https://www.tlu.co.za/en/open-letter-to-mr-ramaphosa-president-of-south-africa/. Accessed 23 May 2025. Palma, Bethania. "Is a 'Large-Scale Killing' of White Farmers Underway in South Africa?" Snopes, 24 Aug. 2018, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/white-farmers-south-africa/. Accessed 23 May 2025. "President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the President of South Africa." YouTube, The White House, 21 May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cy-HJ2wRZs&t=3326s. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Procession to Normandien Stretches across Many Kilometres." Northern Natal News, 5 Sept. 2020, https://www.citizen.co.za/northern-natal-news/news-headlines/2020/09/05/newcastle-advertiser-procession-to-normandien-stretches-across-many-kilometres/. Accessed 23 May 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "SHOWN IN THE OVAL OFFICE: Proof of Persecution in South Africa." YouTube, The White House, 21 May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLDl3mblm-c. Accessed 23 May 2025. Siddiqui, Usaid. "Fact Check: Do Trump's 'White Genocide' Claims to Ramaphosa Hold Up?" Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/22/fact-check-do-trumps-white-genocide-claims-to-ramaphosa-hold-up. Accessed 23 May 2025. "They're Prepping for a Race War. And They See Trump as Their "Ray of Hope."" CNN, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/11/africa/south-africa-suidlanders-intl. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Trump-Ramaphosa Meeting: The South African Road Incorrectly Identified as a "burial Site" by US President." BBC, 22 May 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce81334je72o. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Trump's Image of Dead 'white Farmers' Came from Reuters Footage in Congo, Not South Africa." Reuters, 22 May 2025. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trumps-image-dead-white-farmers-came-reuters-footage-congo-not-south-africa-2025-05-22/. Accessed 23 May 2025. "Trump Says There's a 'genocide' in South Africa, but White Afrikaner Farmers Reject That Claim." PBS News, 21 May 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/trump-says-theres-a-genocide-in-south-africa-but-white-afrikaner-farmers-reject-that-claim. Accessed 23 May 2025. "White South Africans Arrive in US under Trump Refugee Plan." BBC, 12 May 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crljn5046epo. Accessed 23 May 2025. Widburg, Andrea. "Let's Talk about Africa, Which Is Where Tribalism Takes You *UPDATED*." American Thinker, 13 Feb. 2025, https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/let_s_talk_about_africa_which_is_where_tribalism_takes_you.html. Accessed 23 May 2025. US President Donald Trump aims to support a massive expansion of nuclear power in the United States - which he has dubbed a "nuclear renaissance" - with a series of new decrees. The goal, according to a senior US government official, is to quadruple the amount of electricity generated by nuclear energy within the next 25 years. "Under President Trumps leadership, America will usher in a nuclear energy renaissance," a statement from the White House said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are restoring a strong American nuclear industrial base, rebuilding a secure and sovereign domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, and leading the world towards a future fuelled by American nuclear energy," said White House Office of Science and Technology Director Michael Kratsios. "These actions are critical to American energy independence and continued dominance in [artificial intelligence] and other emerging technologies," Kratsios said. The goal of increasing the installed power plant capacity from the current approximately 100 gigawatts to 400 gigawatts by 2050 seems hardly realistic given the necessary investments and approvals required. Additionally, it is unclear where the large numbers of energy-hungry consumers for such a massive production expansion would come from. The decrees signed by Trump are intended to facilitate the construction of new nuclear power plants of various sizes, significantly speed up the necessary approvals, ease credit provision and support new research into reactor design. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Furthermore, the production of the necessary nuclear fuel for the reactors is to be increasingly carried out in the US, both in terms of uranium mining and enrichment. The reprocessing of nuclear fuels is also to be supported. The Department of Energy is also instructed, among other things, to advocate for the construction of 10 new, large reactors by 2030. The department should also work to use nuclear power to operate data centres for AI. President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the 2025 U.S. Military Academy Graduation Ceremony at West Point, New York, on May 24, 2025. Credit - Saul LoebGetty Images President Donald Trump returned to the United States Military Academy at West Point on Saturday to give the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2025. Adorned in his trademark Make America Great Again hat, Trump spoke to the 1,002-strong class for just under an hour. During his address, he lauded the United States Army as the greatest and most powerful Army the world has ever known. Beyond this, he stated that he is the one responsible for the Armys might. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And I know because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military, Trump told the crowd. We rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term. Trump went on to push his American-first ethos, saying: Were getting rid of the distractions and were focusing our military on its core mission: crushing Americas adversaries, killing Americas enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before. In his rally-style speech, Trump celebrated the achievements of the students, while also lauding his own presidencyincluding his cracking down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. West Point has found itself in the center of the DEI-related pushback, especially related to the banning of books and educational programs that the Trump Administration says promote DEI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, West Point disbanded its Society of Black Engineers club as well as multiple other clubs listed under affinity groups on the club directory. This followed Trumps Jan. 20 Executive Order titled Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing and a Jan. 21 Executive Order titled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. A subsequent Jan. 29 instruction from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saw the announcement of a new task force. I direct the establishment of a multi-functional Restoring America's Fighting Force task force charged with overseeing the Department's efforts to abolish DEI offices and any vestiges of such offices that subvert meritocracy, perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination, and promote radical ideologies related to systemic racism and gender fluidity, Hegseth said. President Donald Trump walks the field prior to addressing graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point in Michie Stadium on May 24, 2025, in West Point, New York. Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images Beyond clubs, West Point has reportedly purged work by diverse authors from its libraries and has removed discussions of systemic inequities from its classrooms, leading a West Point professor to resign, saying: I am ashamed to be associated with the academy in its current form. Trump addressed his DEI measures during his West Point commencement speech, saying he has liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political training. There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody, forced onto our brave men and women in uniform or on anybody else, for that matter, in this country, Trump said. And promotions and appointments will not be based on politics or identity. They'll be based on meritWe're a merit-based country again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump claimed that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projectssomething he says is no longer. The Presidents speech comes after he and Hegseth have fired multiple senior military officers who were known to endorse DEI efforts. The Trump Administration has also once again banned transgender people from serving in the military and has ordered new physical standard tests which will require the same standards for both men and women. The change in requirements to serve in combat roles is expected to drastically cut the number of women in said roles. Contact us at letters@time.com. If youre one of those gambling addicts placing bets on every imaginable future scenario that could befall this nation, and youve bet on it facing a maximum climate catastrophe, youve got a friend in the Trump administration. When President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, climate advocates were confident that while the federal government would certainly no longer be tackling the issue of climate change, states would help pick up some of the slack. There was a sense of hope in that at least some of this vital work would continue. This prospect has recently been put into question, because the Trump administration is now trying to prevent states from doing much of anything to limit the impacts of climate change. The Department of Justice is currently suing the states of New York and Vermont to stop them from enforcing laws passed last year that would make fossil fuel companies liable for some of the costs of dealing with climate change. It is also suing Hawaii and Michigan over their climate-related lawsuits against fossil fuel companies. Finally, the Trump administration is working to end Californias stringent motor vehicle emissions standards and its cap-and-trade program. (Republicans in the Senate recently moved to end Califonrias vehicle emission standards.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first set of lawsuits pertain to climate superfund laws. These are laws based on legislation passed in the 1980s that forced chemical and petroleum companies to pay for the cleanup of hazardous waste. In this scenario, the idea is to force fossil fuel companies to pay for the costs of the damaging effects of climate change. New York and Vermont passed climate superfund laws last year. Numerous states from Maine to Tennessee have expressed interest in passing laws like these in recent years. Theyre going to try to impose some liability some fees on these companies as a way of forcing them to internalize the cost of past activities, Rachel Rothschild, an assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan and an expert on superfunds, tells Rolling Stone. The companies that would be deemed responsible parties under the bills are those companies that have produced, extracted or sold fossil fuel products above a certain threshold during the time period that the bills are going to impose this retroactive liability. Rothschild says its pretty unprecedented for the federal government to file lawsuits to block this kind of environmental legislation and that states have historically had the authority to address environmental issues that affect public health. These laws are only just starting to be implemented, so its also quite early to be filing lawsuits against them. This seems to be part of a larger effort to not only do nothing when it comes to climate change but to actively dismantle the climate science and climate accountability enterprise that is being built in response to the costs of climate change that are manifesting in everyones daily lives, says Justin Mankin, a climate scientist at Dartmouth College. These costs from climate change we are just beginning to confront them, and they are astounding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for the lawsuits against Hawaii and Michigan, those are also quite unusual. The Justice Department decided to sue the two states before their respective lawsuits against fossil fuel companies had even been filed. Both states are hoping to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for how climate change has negatively impacted their environment, by making them pay for climate-related damages. Its almost unprecedented that the federal government is getting involved there, says Anthony Moffa, a law professor at the University of Maine. Moffa says the Trump administration appears to be placing itself on the side of private industry, and he thinks these actions may have been taken as part of an effort to dissuade other states from pursuing similar legal action. The actions the Trump administration has taken against Californias environmental regulations could have a sweeping impact considering the size and influence of the state. Trump issued an executive order in April that directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to stop laws, like Californias, that address climate change from being enforced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California has had some of the tightest vehicle emission standards in the country for decades, and the state sells a lot of cars, so the automotive industry is essentially guided by these standards. Many states have also chosen to adopt standards that are set by California. California leads the country in both strong greenhouse gas emission regulations for vehicles and conventional air pollution regulation, says Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles. This is the move that worries me the most. The people working in the Trump administration learned a few things from when Trump was president the first time around. One thing it appears they learned, Moffa says, is that states will take up the climate fight when the federal government abandons it. They recognized that was the strategy, and states have gotten even more ambitious, Moffa says. This is their attempt to try to stop that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement States are trying to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for how they have contributed to climate change, and the Trump administration is making it clear it will have none of that. The lawsuits and strategies employed by the administration may not be successful, but they clearly create another barrier to acting on climate change. They could also make states more wary about passing new climate laws. Trump demanded large contributions from the oil industry in exchange for lax regulation, Carlson says. This is an administration that is hell-bent on undermining anything to do with climate change but also, more broadly, any kind of environmental regulation that protects public health. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Funny how the Trump Administration can spot racism nearly 8,000 miles away, but not the bigotry right under its nose. It's outraged by genocide that doesn't exist in South Africa but ignores the descendants of people brought to America on slave ships, forced into free labor, and subjected to innumerable rapes, countless lynchings, and brutalization for more than two centuries. You've probably seen video of President Donald Trump welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the White House May 21. The meeting quickly turned from courteous to contentious after Trump accused the South African government of seizing land from White landowners. Trump then played two video clips full of false claims about the genocide of farmers and handed out copies of news stories purporting to expose the truth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I don't know, all of these are articles over the last few days, death of people, death, death, death, horrible death," Trump said. "White South Africans are fleeing because of the violence and the racist laws." Despite Ramaphosa countering those false claims with facts, Trump insisted that when a White farmer is killed, little is done in response. The South African leader acknowledged that while criminal activity does occur in his country, most victims are Black. Additional fact checking has shown that images Trump presented of dead farmers are from Congo, not South Africa. Opinion: My kids shouldnt have to navigate race in sports. Let them play and be free. I've long felt the Trump Administration harbored a troubling undercurrent of racism. What's surfaced over the first months of his second term is outright intolerance. It isn't just the Ramaphosa ambush or the welcoming of South Africans to be resettled in this country using the same false claims of persecution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Look at Trump's attack on DEI and his executive orders which have struck hard at the heart of African American communities, delivering a blow so severe that it cannot be ignored. Or his desire to resurrect Confederate statues and memorials. Whenever a person of color speaks out about racism, many insist its not the case. However, as a Black man who grew up in this country and has been shaped by its realities, Ive developed an internal radar. You feel it in your bones, and no one should be able to dictate how you feel. You know how you feel when you experience it. What many felt and feared all along surfaced this week for all to see. I interviewed two Milwaukee historians who offered some context and a challenge about what's next. Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 was the plan all along In July, I wrote about being genuinely frightened by the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and what it could mean for the poor and marginalized. Trump disavowed Project 2025 when it became a political liability during the campaign. After he was elected, he hired the plan's architects and they've been enacting the agenda with chilling efficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fabric of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has been unraveled. Slavery was abolished in this county in 1865, but officially sanctioned racial discrimination persisted through Jim Crow laws until U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the 1950s followed by civil rights and voting rights legislation in the 1960s began to remove the grip of oppression. The dismantling of this division will leave a gaping void in the efforts to combat discrimination. For practical purposes it means: No enforcement of fair housing laws, no protections for voting rights, no accountability for hate crimes, and no investigations into police misconduct. This erosion of civil rights protections has created an environment of fear and uncertainty, signaling a dark chapter in the struggle for equality and justice. The administration is not just rolling back basic protections, it's also trying to knock people down the economic ladder. In March, Trump issued an executive order that led to the layoffs of almost all employees at the Minority Business Development Agency. Last year, the agency supported over 35,000 entrepreneurs. The Wisconsin MBDA business center closed in April. The agency has been a crucial resource for Americas 12 million minority-owned businesses, facilitating access to over $1.5 billion in capital in 2024. Its closure means the loss of a vital government agency and a key opportunity for many entrepreneurs from marginalized communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a place on the National Mall dedicated to telling a story that started in 1619 when the first enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. "Museums in our nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn, not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history," Trump said in the executive order about parks and museums. He argues that the museum does not align with the Founding Fathers declaration that all men are created equal. However, this view blindly overlooks that these same Founding Fathers enshrined slavery in the Constitution and defined enslaved people as three-fifths of a person. Trumps executive orders also include plans to replace the statues and monuments of Confederate figures from the Civil War that were dismantled or destroyed amid Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And don't get me started on Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," which will be devastating. According to early estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Medicaid cuts in the bill that cleared the House May 22 will cause 7.6 million Americans to lose their health insurance over the next 10 years. That's just for starters. Trump's focused on Dutch Afrinkaners, not African Americans Where is Trump focusing his energies? On May 12 a group of 59 people from South Africa, many descendants of Dutch colonists known as Afrikaners, began arriving in the U.S. as refugees under the guise of facing violence and discrimination that would be akin to White genocide. Those claims are bogus. The administration is offering reparations to group, who will be offered resettlement support, a pathway to citizenship, furnished housing, and will also be eligible for government benefits. Trump terminated U.S. aid to South Africa, citing egregious allegations of genocide against Israel and claims of fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners. Imagine if Trump expressed the same level of concern for Black lives, including those affected by enslavement, the destruction of Black Wall Street, lynchings during the Jim Crow era, and the numerous instances of violence against Black individuals due to racism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rob Smith, a history professor and director of the center for urban research at Marquette University, said given the negative impact of the executive orders and budget cuts of Trump administration on Black and brown families in America, the contrast is startling. We know whats happening here, Smith said. Its interesting that Trump seems more concerned about the plight of White farmers in South Africa. Will we confront the racism right under our noses? Historian Reggie Jackson said he isn't surprised by Trump's actions, only the response here in America. "What intensifies the situation is the unsettling silence of White people who arent stepping up to confront this injustice," Jackson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Racism is not a hidden toxin; it is glaringly evident and can be proven with clarity and conviction. The real challenge, however, lies in our widespread reluctance to engage in open dialogue about it in this nation. Confronting this uncomfortable truth would require us to address the deep-rooted issues head-on. Perhaps this is why its much easier for Trump to denounce racism when he perceives it occurring 8,000 miles away against White farmers, rather than acknowledging its presence right under his nose. Reach James E. Causey at jcausey@jrn.com; follow him on Twitter @jecausey. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump's South Africa meeting showed his true priority | Opinion Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has commented on the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine on 23 May. Source: European Pravda; Keith Kellogg on X (Twitter) Details: Kellogg called the exchange "the most positive outcome of last weeks UKR-RU technical talks in Istanbul". "The most positive outcome of last weeks UKR-RU technical talks in Istanbul: 1,000 soldiers per side set for repatriation, with 400+ already returned," Kellogg said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US special envoy also thanked Rustem Umierov, Ukraines Minister of Defence, for his significant contribution to this exchange. "We need a ceasefire, and the killing needs to stop," Kellogg added. Background: On 23 May, Trump announced that a large-scale prisoner exchange had been agreed between Russia and Ukraine. A short time later, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 390 people had been brought back to Ukraine during the first day of the exchange. This agreement was perhaps the only tangible outcome of the meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Turkiye, which took place on 16 May, the first such talks in Istanbul in over three years. It was reported that Russia had sent a low-level delegation led by Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky to the talks in Turkiye. 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. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! President Donald Trump speaks at a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on May 19, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Credit - Chip SomodevillaGetty Images President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday evening to announce that he has granted the European Union (E.U.) a deadline extension on his threat to enforce a 50% tariff starting on June 1. Trump revealed that progress had been made after he received a call from Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the E.U.s executive arm. "I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% Tariff with respect to trade and the European Union. I agreed to the extensionJuly 9, 2025," Trump said. "It was my privilege to do so. The Commission president said that talks will begin rapidly." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Echoing Trump's sentiment, von der Leyen said that the pair had shared a "good call." In an update on X, she said: "The E.U. and U.S. share the worlds most consequential and close trade relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively." The E.U. is one of Washingtons top commercial partners, and is the largest trading bloc in the world. In a sharp escalation of trade negotiations with the E.U., Trump announced on Friday that he was recommending a straight 50% tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with, Trump claimed. Their powerful trade barriers, VAT taxes, ridiculous corporate penalties, non-monetary trade barriers, monetary manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans companies, and more, have led to a trade deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As he has said elsewhere, Trump went on to add: There is no tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Later in the Oval Office, Trump defended his announcement, complaining about the E.U.s business dealings and citing the U.S. goods trade deficit with the E.U., which was $235.6 billion in 2024, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. Im not looking for a deal, Trump told reporters. Weve set the dealits at 50%. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox News that he hoped Trumps tariff threat "would light a fire under the E.U." and speed up negotiations, which he maintains have been moving at a slower pace compared to others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And it seems to have done just that. Trumps initial April 2 "Liberation Day" tariffs included a blanket 10% tariff on nations doing business with the U.S., plus additional reciprocal tariffs for some. The E.U. was hit with a 20% reciprocal tariff. In response, von der Leyen issued a strong statement at the time, calling the move a blow to the world economy, and vowing that the E.U. would issue countermeasures. We are in this together. If you take on one of us, you take on all of us. Europe stands together for our businesses, for our workers and for all Europeans," she said, before highlighting her eagerness to move from confrontation to negotiation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The E.U. voted to retaliate on some of Trump's tariffs, but such discussions were halted when Trump announced a 90-day pause on most "reciprocal" charges. The 90-day pause, set to expire on July 9, offered the E.U. a reprieve, but Trumps threat to enforce a 50% tariff starting June 1 spiked tensions once more and the markets responded negatively. While the threat reignited fears of a U.S.-E.U. trade war, Trump agreeing to stick to the original July 9 deadline will likely ease concerns. Some hours after Trump's initial announcement on Friday, Maros Sefcovic, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security at the European Commission, posted on X that he had engaged in discussions with Trumps Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The E.U.'s fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both. E.U. remains ready to work in good faith, Sefcovic said, before reiterating the E.U.'s stance that negotiation is preferred over confrontation. E.U.-U.S. trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. Sefcovic concluded on a defiant note: "We stand ready to defend our interests." How Europe reacted to the prospect of a 50% tariff Europes political and business leaders alike reacted to Trump's announcement on Friday, with many expressing concern and disappointment. Hakan Samuelsson, the CEO of Volvo Cars, which is based in Sweden, told Reuters that the 50% tariff would limit the company's ability to sell some of its vehicles in the U.S.such as the ones made in Belgiumand said that its customers would have to pay a large part of the cost increases. "I believe there will be a deal soon. It could not be in the interest of Europe or the U.S. to shut down trade between them, he said, expressing hope that negotiations will move forward in a positive way, despite the tariff threat. Micheal Martin, the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister), wrote on X that he found Trumps announcement enormously disappointing and emphasized that he believes tariffs are damaging to all sides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "A negotiated outcome is the best possible result for both sides, as well as for global trade," Martin said. "The E.U. has been engaging in good faith in that process." German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters that Germany would back the E.U. in defending Europe through negotiations that allow Europe access to the U.S. market. I think such tariffs help no one, but would lead to economic development in both markets suffering, Wadephul said. France's Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade Laurent Saint-Martin emphasized in a televised interview that the trade war needs de-escalation, echoing sentiments he had previously expressed via social media. Trump's new threats of tariff increases are not helping during the negotiation period between the European Union and the United States, Saint-Martin wrote on X. We maintain the same line: de-escalation but are ready to respond. Trump's negotiations with the U.K. have proved to be far more successful. Here, U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Trump shake hands at the White House on Feb. 27, 2025. Chen MengtongGetty Images A tense history between Trump and the E.U. Trumps tariff threat came after years of him highlighting dissatisfaction with trade between the U.S. and the E.U. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the E.U., Canada, and Mexico, which at the time brought the U.S. to the brink of a trade war. In 2018, when asked about the tariffs, Trump said that nobody treats us much worse than the European Union and argued the bloc was formed to take advantage of the U.S. During the first few months of Trumps second term in the White House, tensions have grown, both as a result of his tumultuous trade policies and his geopolitical moves in regards to the Russia-Ukraine war. Meanwhile, outside of the E.U., Trump has had some success with his trade deals. Trump said on Truth Social on Friday that the U.S. dealings with the United Kingdom are working out well for all. This came after the U.S. and the U.K. announced a trade agreement on May 8, one which Trump hailed for its reciprocity and fairness. Progress was made between the U.S. and China earlier this month when both nations agreed to drastically reduce tariffs on each other for an initial 90-day period, which came into effect on May 14. Contact us at letters@time.com. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps early selections for U.S. attorneys have drawn strong pushback from Democratic senators who have considerable power to block them, setting up another fight over personnel picks from a president who places a premium on loyalty as he staffs his administration. His choices for the top prosecutors in Nevada, New York and New Jersey are opposed by Democratic senators, and at stake is the Republican president's ability to have the team he wants for positions with enormous sway over which cases and crimes are investigated and what penalties the government seeks. The power they wield was underscored this past week when the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, Alina Habba, announced she was charging Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., with assault after a skirmish with federal officers outside an immigration detention center in Newark. McIver has denied any wrongdoing and said the charge was purely political. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Senate, which must approve a president's nominees for U.S. attorney, at least two Democrats are prepared to invoke a decades-old custom that affords home-state senators veto power over whether a would-be federal prosecutor can be confirmed. That battle comes as Ed Martin, Trump's first choice to be the top prosecutor in the nation's capital, withdrew from consideration after both Republicans and Democrats indicated they would not support the conservative activist, who has a modest legal background and expressed support for Jan. 6 rioters. The president replaced Martin with Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge in New York who has been a longtime Trump defender on television. Martin was the extreme example, said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. I think our antenna are flying high as we look at each one of these nominees. Trump's selections for these jobs have received added scrutiny as the president has tried to assert greater control over the Justice Department and pursue a campaign of retribution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump picks pique Democrats' concerns In Nevada, Trump has installed a right-wing lawyer, Sigal Chattah, as the interim U.S. attorney, drawing opposition from the state's Democratic senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. Rosen has pledged to use her senatorial prerogative to unilaterally block Chattah if the administration seeks to keep Chattah beyond a 120-day interim period. In New Jersey, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would not support Habba as the permanent U.S. attorney. She is a former Trump White House counselor and personal attorney. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has pledged to block Trumps picks for two key prosecutor's offices in his state. Schumer did not cite concerns about the nominees but rather what he said were the president's intentions to use the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was proud to appoint Alina Habba to serve in this role, and he believes she is doing a great job cleaning up New Jersey and enforcing law and order. The White House, in a statement, also criticized Schumer. It did not respond to questions about the Nevada prosecutor. Senator Schumer and his anti-law-and-order party are prioritizing politics over critical DOJ appointments, obstructing President Trumps Make America Safe Again agenda, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said. In response, Schumer said: The Justice Department should spend more time prosecuting criminals instead of going after their perceived political enemies." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats consider using their blue slip power to block nominees Opposition from Democratic senators usually would not matter for Trump nominees as long as most Republicans, who control the majority, are united in support. But a long-standing Senate custom, called the blue slip, allows senators to block the nominations of U.S. District Court judges, federal prosecutors and U.S. marshals from the lawmakers' home states. Republicans could decide to abandon that custom. But the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has repeatedly indicated that he would honor blue slip objections from home-state senators over those prosecutors and judges. I think it gives senators a hand in choosing nominees for their state and making sure that the nominees reflect their state, said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a committee member. I mean, I certainly used the blue slip" when Democrat Joe Biden was president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Hawley also emphasized of the blue slip: I would hope it wouldnt be abused. Democrats are alarmed at what they see as overt politicization by Justice Department prosecutors in the second Trump term. They point to Martins interim tenure in Washington, when he demoted several senior officials who handled or oversaw cases involving the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Democrats were also concerned by the resignations of attorneys in the Southern District of New York, which had been handling a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams before it was dismissed in April. Schumer in April announced he would withhold blue slips for two New York City-area U.S. attorneys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Nevada, Rosen and Cortez Masto have denounced the appointment of Chattah, who describes herself on X as a #firebrand and Proud American Nationalist. The senators cited among their concerns Chattahs past comments that the states Black attorney general should should be hanging from a (expletive) crane. Chattah also drew backlash last year for a post on X about former New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who is Black, calling him an anti-Semitic ghetto rat. In a brief phone call, Chattah told The Associated Press that she thought she would probably be nominated to the position permanently. Were playing it by ear, she said, without elaborating. She did not comment on the senators objections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Booker said he has had conversations with the White House counsels office about the U.S. attorney post in his state. He declined to say whether he would exercise his blue slip privileges for Habba if she were nominated, but told the AP, "I do not support her being permanent. Habba did not respond to a message seeking comment. Habba, who became known for her frequent cable news appearances defending Trump in his legal battles and her appearances at his campaign events, had limited court experience before joining his legal team. During Trumps 2024 defamation trial in New York, she was repeatedly scolded by the judge for misstating the law and for running afoul of legal procedures. In her interim role, Habba announced last month that she has launched an investigation into New Jerseys Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the states directive that local law enforcement should not cooperate with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law school professor and former Justice Department official, said that in the past, including in Trumps first term, presidents typically picked lawyers to serve as U.S. attorneys who were members of the same political party, but that they would receive bipartisan support. But now, Saltzburg said, the qualifications for some of the people who are being named are simply they were loyal MAGA supporters, referring to Trump's Make American Great Again movement. Trump's administration has made clear it is willing to break down the wall that once separated the White House and Justice Department, Saltzburg said, and it appears that extends out to the U.S. attorneys offices as well. Theres a concern for the rule of law when everything looks like its being dictated by the White House, he said. ___ Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report. The European Union has pushed back against President Donald Trumps latest suggestion that he will impose a 50% import tariff on all E.U. goods, warning that trans-Atlantic trade must be built on respect, not threats. The rebuke came after Trump said in a Friday post on his Truth Social platform that trade negotiations with Brussels were going nowhere and suggested he would slap a 50% blanket duty on all European goods entering the U.S. starting June 1. But on Sunday, Trump announced that the new date for the tariff to go into effect would be July 9, after he said Ursula Von Der Leyden president of the European Commission called him and requested he push back the date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was just the latest bellicose remark from Trump and came amid a broader souring of relations between the two global powers that has seen months of distrust and economic sparring. The E.U., home to nearly 450 million people, is the worlds largest trading bloc and one of Washingtons top commercial partners. It exported more than $600 billion in goods to the U.S. last year while importing goods worth around $370 billion. Trump, pictured in Switzerland in 2020 with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has long held the view that the E.U. takes advantage of America. (Evan Vucci / AP file) Trumps latest broadside follows his April 2 Liberation Day announcement of a 39% tariff on European goods, an idea he later walked back before he changed course again Friday with an even tougher stance. Stephen Moore, a former economic adviser to Trump, told the BBC that his former boss was expressing his frustration with the E.U. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think he was hoping that by now we would have the E.U. coming with some kind of deal on the table, and so far that hasnt come, he said, calling the 50% import tariffs a shot at the bow. E.U. Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said late Friday that E.U.-U.S. trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats, and that the bloc remains committed to securing a deal that works for both, following a call with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. While the E.U.s response signals a willingness to negotiate, discord has deepened between the bloc and its longtime trans-Atlantic ally over a return to the combative stance Trump took during his first administration, when he flew in the face of decades of cooperation and cast the E.U. as an economic rival. In 2018, Trump said nobody treats us much worse than the European Union and argued the bloc was designed to exploit the U.S. He repeated that claim this year, describing the E.U. as being formed in order to screw the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the ideological architects of Trump's first administration such as Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro have also gone on record criticizing the union, many in Trumps current inner circle have shared those sentiments. Elon Musk appeared at a rally for the far-right Alternative for Germany party before the 2025 German elections. (Hendrik Schmidt / dpa / picture alliance via Getty Images) Vice President J.D. Vance lashed out in February at European leaders at a security conference in Munich over issues ranging from free speech to migration and defense, dealing a sucker punch to the European view of America as a steadfast cultural ally. The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe, Vance said, is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America. That came after Elon Musk the worlds richest man, who also served as Trumps close adviser earlier in his second term threw his support behind Germanys far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has called for Germany to leave the E.U. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Underlying much of the second Trump administrations animosity toward Europe has been security funding, most prominently over the war in Ukraine. While the administrations view of the war in Ukraine has since softened, Vance has repeatedly opposed sending military aid to Kyiv, saying in February that I dont really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another. And in a Signal conversation between senior administration officials leaked in March, the vice president initially resisted U.S. strikes in Yemen, arguing he didnt want to bail Europe out, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Europe was treating America like a sucker by relying on it for defense. While Sefcovics call for a deal that works for both reflects the E.U.s characteristically restrained response to the Trump administrations jabs, Europe has been bracing itself for months for the possibility of a more distant economic relationship with the U.S. too. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the U.K. a memorial to fallen soldiers in Kyiv earlier this month. (Evgeniy Maloletka / AP) Earlier this month, Sefcovic said the bloc preferred to negotiate, but not at any cost, before announcing more than $100 billion worth of possible retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods the following day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Europe also appears to be preparing for a future without Americas guarantee of European security against Russia. Germany this week deployed a permanent military brigade beyond its borders for the first time since the end of World War II. A brewing trade war with the bloc throws into relief the position of Britain, which voted to leave the E.U. in 2016, but recently signed a trade deal with Europe and an economic deal with the U.S. London appears to have sidestepped the steepest tariffs after Trump agreed last month to hold the levy on British goods at 10%, but the U.K. must now walk a delicate line: maintaining its special relationship with Washington while seeking closer alignment with its largest trading partner in Brussels. But with tensions rising across the Atlantic, even allies risk being caught in the crossfire. The E.U. a geopolitical heavyweight in its own right is unlikely to take hefty U.S. tariffs lying down without making moves of its own. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com On April 26, 2025, the Osceola County Sheriffs Office arrived at the Red Lion Hotel at 5150 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy., Kissimmee, Florida, to respond to a robbery. The victim met a woman named Amber online. After a pleasant evening, they went to his hotel room, where events escalated unexpectedly. Amber let a masked man into the room, who pretended to be armed by positioning his hands near his waist. Though the victim felt threatened, Amber seized his wallet, phone, and keys, insisting on his debit card PIN, which he gave in fear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amber then left with the items, leaving the victim alongside the masked suspect. She came back around 15 minutes later, returned the stolen goods, and both left together. The victim later found that $2,180 had been withdrawn from his accounts. Detectives identified Amber as Amandalee Kasilowski and arrested her on May 6, 2025. She faces charges of Unarmed Home Invasion, Kidnapping to Facilitate a Felony, Robbery without a Firearm, and Credit Card Fraud. She was booked into Osceola County Jail. The investigation led to identifying the 2nd suspect, Iain Cade Alamin Petrie, who was arrested on May 22, 2025, charged with Unarmed Home Invasion, Kidnapping to Facilitate a Felony, and Robbery without a Firearm, and taken to jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities say this was an isolated incident at the hotel, and the case remains under investigation. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) A Lee County resident was arrested after two people were found deceased, authorities said. Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said investigators received a report around 3:30 p.m. on May 23 that led them to a home on County Road 295 in the Shannon area. When they arrived, deputies contacted the property owner and resident, and they conducted a search of the premises. Owner of Mississippi club says mans beating not a hate crime Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the search, the sheriff said two deceased individuals were discovered. Johnson said the resident, 39-year-old Jonathan Kelly, was interviewed as a person of interest. He was later charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Kelly is being held at the Lee County Adult Jail on a $10 million bond. The sheriff said the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) assisted in locating evidence that was instrumental in the case. The victims have not been identified. The investigation is ongoing. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. Two Massachusetts men are among five people indicted in an insider trading scheme that reached the West Coast, federal justice department officials said Friday. Rouzbeh Ross Haghighat, 61, of West Newbury, and James Roberge, 70, of Westford, are among those accused of allegedly profiting more than $600,000 by unlawfully buying the securities of a biopharmaceutical company in Seattle, Washington where Haghighat served as director, in 2023, Department of Justice officials said in a statement. Haghighat is listed as chair of the Board of Directors for Sernova, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Ontario, Canada, according to the companys website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three others also charged in the case are Behrouz Bruce Haghighat, 60, of Laguna Niguel, California; Kirstyn Pearl, 35, of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; and Seyedfarbod Fabio Sabzevari, 31, of North Hollywood, California. The defendants were charged yesterday for allegedly trading on inside information and reaping hundreds of thousands in illicit profits, Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, said in a statement on Friday. Securities fraud and insider trading distort our financial markets and disadvantage Americans who play by the rules, Galeotti said. These charges demonstrate that the Criminal Division is committed to maintaining the integrity of markets by holding accountable all those who defraud investors. Ross Haghighat was charged with one count of securities fraud, 16 counts of insider trading, and two counts of conspiracy, officials said. He was previously charged with one count of conspiracy to commit insider trading. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roberge and Sabzevari were both charged with one count of securities fraud and seven counts of insider trading. Bruce Haghighat and Pearl were each charged with one count of securities fraud, one count of insider trading, and one count of conspiracy. On Jan. 30, a Biospace.com press release announced Ross Haghighat as board chairman and a change of name to Sernova Biotherapeutics. The press release describes the company as a leading regenerative medicine company focused on developing its Cell Pouch bio-hybrid organ as a functional cure for Type 1 diabetes. With a proven track record in driving successful innovations, strategic growth and mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and life sciences sectors, Mr. Haghighat brings a wealth of financing and deal experience to Sernovas Board and leadership team, the press release states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, between May and June 2023, the five accused insider traders traded securities based on material nonpublic information about another pharmaceutical companys (Company-2) proposed acquisition of Company-1. The indictment alleges that, in May 2023, Company-2 made a confidential proposal to acquire Company-1 at a price per share above the then current market value. The two companies then negotiated an agreement for the acquisition, which was announced in June 2023, causing the share price to spike. This case makes one thing clear: if you think you can game the system using insider information, think again, Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group said in a statement. Ross Haghighat and his associates thought they were above the law and colored outside the lines for financial gain, but yesterdays indictment proves no one is above the law, Shen said. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will not hesitate to pursue and bring to justice anyone who tries to corrupt the integrity of our financial markets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said in his position as a director on the board of Company-1, Ross Haghighat allegedly obtained material nonpublic inside information about its acquisition, including sensitive deal terms. He then allegedly purchased securities, and tipped others including Bruce Haghighat, Pearl, Sabzevari, and Roberge for personal benefit with the expectation that they would purchase securities, which the defendants allegedly did, prosecutors said. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on the securities fraud charge and 20 years in prison on each of the insider-trading charges. If convicted of conspiracy, Ross Haghighat, Bruce Haghighat, and Pearl face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case. 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 Two of the most dangerous animals in the world can be found in Vermont. The Green Mountain State may no longer be home to catamounts (for now), but there are other potentially dangerous animals to look out for. According to BBCs Science Focus Magazine, mosquitos and snakes are two of the most deadliest animals in the world and both can be found in Vermont. Plus, you should watch out for moose, black bears and bobcats. Mosquitos The Culex mosquito can spread West Nile virus. Mosquitos are the deadliest animals in the world, killing over 725,000 people a year through diseases like West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Vermont Department of Health, mosquito season in Vermont begins in the spring, and virus-carrying mosquitos typically emerge in the summer. In 2024, the department found 86 EEE and 64 WNV positive pools of mosquitos, plus a couple human cases. The Department of Health recommends protecting yourself from mosquitos by using insect repellant, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outside, and limiting time spent outside at dawn and dusk when mosquitos are most active. Snakes The timber rattlesnake has a small population in Western Massachusetts. Vermont is home to eleven species of snakes, most of them harmless. But there is one venomous snake that calls Vermont home: the Timber Rattlesnake. This snake has a triangular shaped head to accommodate venom glands. Vermonts Timber Rattlesnake is endangered and is only found in a few towns in western Rutland County, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife. Most bites are not deadly, but its still important to be able to recognize the species and seek immediate medical attention if bit. Moose Moose pauses moments before grizzly bear comes into view. There are about 2,000 moose in Vermont. You can find them throughout much of Vermont, but they are most numerous in the Northeast Kingdom and along the Green Mountains, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At 1,000 pounds and six feet tall, a moose can pose a significant threat if it becomes aggressive. However, according to the Appalachian Mountain Club, there has never been a human fatality from a moose attack in the Northeast. Moose pose a greater danger to people in cars: several people die every year in moose-vehicle car collisions in the Northeast. Black bear Black bear sitting on the ground surrounded by greenery in a forest with a blurry background. Black bears are remarkable abundant in Vermont, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife. With one of the densest black bear populations in the country, there is approximately one bear for every three square miles. They are most commonly found in the Green Mountains and the Northeast Kingdom. Black bears are generally shy and like to avoid humans, but at up to 500 pounds, they can still be dangerous. If you encounter a bear, Vermont Fish and Wildlife says to remain calm, ensure the bear has an escape route and back away when possible, but do not run away. If attacked, fight back. Big cats The Micke Grove Zoo unvieled its new bobcat in its enclosure in Micke Grove Park in Lodi on Jan. 24, 2014. The danger of crossing paths with a catamount, or a cougar, is a thing of the past in Vermont since the last animal was shot in 1881. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, there is another species of big cat in Vermont: the bobcat. The eastern bobcat is common throughout the state of Vermont, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife. While small (around 30 pounds) and rarely attack humans, they can be dangerous like most other wild animals when they feel threatened. This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Be aware of these 5 dangerous animals in Vermont DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) With the NATO Spring Assembly happening in Dayton, many are looking back at the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords almost 30 years ago. Negotiations between the presidents of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia happened at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, leading to an agreement that ended a three year war. U.S. Ambassador Tony Hall was there for that historic signing, telling 2 NEWS he remembers the tension he felt as those world leaders met in Dayton to discuss a deal for peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LIST: Public invited to forums during NATO Assembly Hall says at a time when thousands of people were dying, the city of Dayton offered hope to those countries. It was large, it was exciting. It was almost like, it was like a celebration, said Tony Hall, U.S. ambassador and former congressman. Hall is a Dayton native, who says one thing he remembers most are people gathering outside of the perimeter of Wright-Patt to pray. And they were there prior to the meeting, they were there during the meeting, and they were there after the meeting, said Hall. Hall says the act of faith was appreciated by the delegates and other world leaders, adding that he believes it helped inspire them to reach a peaceful conclusion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1995, Hall says people were not hopeful in Europe following conflict between Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia. More than 200,000 people were killed and more than 2 million were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict. Hundreds of journalists from around the world arrived here in the Gem City to cover the international meeting. From Bosnia to Dayton: One womans journey inspired by the Dayton Peace Accords Now, the original table from the negotiating of the Dayton Peace Accords is on display during this weeks NATO Spring Session commemorating the peace that was brought through negotiations in Dayton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They had this amazing peace accord that was signed in our backyard, which was Dayton, Ohio, said Hall. And, its kind of hard to imagine, but it was a great day for Dayton, and were very proud of it. Hall says that when he travels the world, he still has people ask him about the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, and what it meant to the city. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, North Dakota avoided a measles epidemic that swept through the nation, with over 27,000 cases confirmed in the U.S. in 1990 alone. In 2019, the most significant recent national outbreak of measles before this year, North Dakota again avoided any cases. Today the state is not so lucky. With 21 confirmed cases, it has joined 13 other states in declaring a measles outbreak. So what changed? Health experts say a drop in vaccination rates has resulted in the state and several others dealing with a resurgence of diseases that are preventable through safe, effective vaccines. Since the pandemic, we've just seen a decline in the number of people choosing to receive vaccines, including (measles, mumps and rubella) and a lot of that, North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services Immunization Director Molly Howell said. I think there's a number of factors, and everybody has their own reason. A lot of it is misinformation on social media. North Dakota is dealing with its first measles outbreak in 39 years. As of Friday, there were 21 confirmed measles cases in the state across three counties -- and a mobile medical unit with eight to 16 beds had been deployed to Williams County for an indeterminate length of time to provide assistance. The cases included two newly reported in Grand Forks County on Friday -- the first reported outside of Williams and Cass counties. The Grand Forks cases were tied to international travel. One of the North Dakota cases has been hospitalized. All of the cases have been in unvaccinated people. North Dakota does not have vaccination rates that are abnormally low. In fact, with an estimated overall measles vaccination rate of 91%, it has a slightly higher rate of vaccination than neighboring South Dakota and Minnesota, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But 91% is not good enough, according to Dr. Stephen McDonough, a pediatrician and the former head of the preventative health section of the North Dakota Health Department - now Health and Human Services (HHS). He worked for the Health Department from 1985-2000. When it comes to measles, you need to be doing 'A+' to pass, McDonough said. You need to be getting a 95% grade in order to pass the measles prevention program, you can't get by with 80%; a 'B,' a 'B-' isn't going to cut it. He said the high immunization rate is not required for all diseases but measles is especially virulent -- remaining in the air for up to two hours after an infectious person has left a room -- requiring a high immunization rate to contain its spread. The state used to have vaccination rates that were A+ before misinformation slowly ate away at North Dakotans confidence in vaccines, McDonough said. But this is also not specific to North Dakota. The whole country has been subject to steadily declining vaccination rates since the COVID-19 pandemic. Howell said roughly 1 in 500 people who catch measles will develop pneumonia, 1 in 1,000 will develop encephalitis -- swelling of the brain -- and 1-2 in 1,000 will die from the disease. Original push for measles immunization in North Dakota The measles vaccine was invented in 1963, but it took over a decade for North Dakota to get serious about its vaccination program, according to McDonough. Following an outbreak in early 1975, the Legislature passed a law requiring proof of measles immunization before a child could enter school. At the time, the state had an 80% measles immunization rate in school-age children, according to McDonough. After the law was in place, immunization rates jumped. In 1976, they hit 94%. In 1978, the rate was 96% -- it was then when the Legislature also passed a law clarifying that only religious and medical exemptions were allowed for the school immunization requirement. By 1980, North Dakota had a 99% school-age immunization rate. The last outbreak before this years was in 1986 with 25 cases confirmed in the state. Some of the cases in the northeast may be attributable to a large outbreak at the time in Winnipeg, across the Manitoba border. Avoiding a major outbreak Also in 1986, the state Board of Higher Education began requiring measles vaccination before students could attend college, resulting in a roughly 95% immunization rate in four-year institutions during the biennium and a 79% rate in two-year institutions. McDonough said he feels the policy was key in helping to avoid the large outbreak that hit the U.S. from 1989-91. The outbreak centered around poverty-stricken inner-city communities in the U.S. Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas and San Diego were hit especially hard. In 1989, there were 17,914 cases recorded in the U.S., which prompted the nation to recommend a second dose of the vaccine. One dose makes a person roughly 93% immune, while a second dose boosts that to 97%. Despite the recommendation, 27,808 measles cases were recorded in 1990 in the country before a drop to 9,643 cases in 1991, then 2,126 cases in 1992 -- falling further from there. Throughout the entire national outbreak, North Dakota never had more than two cases confirmed in the state for any given year. The threshold for an outbreak to be declared is three confirmed cases, according to the CDC. For about 10 years, we had a really, really top program, McDonough said. It's been knocked down to the point now were one of the leading states for vaccine exemption and resistance in the country. So, yeah, it's been sad to see that. Misinformation leads to mistrust and vaccination hesitancy In 1999 North Dakota lawmakers passed a bill adding hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) to the list of vaccinations required before a child can enter school, with philosophical exemptions added for school entry immunization requirements. The state Health Department testified in opposition to the legislation and warned that outbreaks of preventable diseases would be the result, according to McDonough. What followed was recurrent whooping cough outbreaks through the 2000s and 2010s, and the first measles outbreak in the state in nearly 40 years. The year prior, in 1998, a fraudulent medical study was published claiming the MMR vaccines caused autism. The study by British doctor Andrew Wakefield was later retracted by the journal that had printed it and Wakefield lost his medical license, but it had already done its damage. McDonough called that the first major setback for public health when it came to measles immunization efforts. Vaccine hesitancy is not a new phenomenon. Strict enforcement of vaccination requirements in England following an 1863 smallpox outbreak led to mass resistance to the vaccine and the formation of the National Anti-vaccination Foundation in 1866, according to the North Dakota State Universitys Center For Immunization and Research and Education (CIRE). In the U.S., concern over a potential connection between the Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus vaccine and neurological damage in children led to the creation of the anti-vaccine advocacy group Dissatisfied Parents Together in 1982. The organization still pushes anti-vaccine legislation today under the name the National Vaccine Information Center. So while the fraudulent study in 1998 was not novel, it did solidify what would prove to be a difficult conspiracy theory to stamp out. Current U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has restated the claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism and has routinely expressed doubt about the safety of vaccines. Measles is forgotten but not gone In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the United States. With the philosophical exemptions available and public uncertainty over the fallaciously asserted connection between autism and the MMR vaccine, immunization rates began to drop. By the 2011-12 school year, kindergarten MMR vaccination rates had dropped in North Dakota to just over 91%, according to HHS. The last case of measles in North Dakota before the current outbreak was recorded in 2011. Howell said that it is hard to determine if the lower vaccination rates in the early 2010s were due to vaccine hesitancy or simply apathy. In North Dakota, it's so easy to claim an exemption that I think a lot of people were signing the form, she said. I think there was kind of a bit of a lack of enforcement of the school requirements by schools back then, and a lot of that was probably due to there not being a lot of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) circulating. So when you don't see measles then, or you don't know what measles is, then you're a little less concerned or worried about it. Through the mid-2010s, vaccination rates made steady gains, appearing to slowly recover from the fears of the 2000s. This steady recovery was the result of working closely with schools, the attorney generals office and health care providers across North Dakota to streamline processes and increase vaccine education, according to Howell. The growing vaccination rates eventually peaked during the 2019-20 school year, with kindergarten vaccination rates reaching just under 95% in the state. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the trend was quickly reversed. COVID-19 accelerates spread of vaccination hesitancy The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted standard health care practices such as the administration of vaccines and it eroded public trust in health officials, with a growing movement of skeptics opposed to vaccination mandates. The anti-vaccine community was brought into the fold by the anti-maskers and the anti-social distancing folks, and they were amplified by the president at the time -- Trump, McDonough said. Following the pandemic, personal belief, philosophical exemptions and religious exemptions for vaccinations increased for kindergarteners in the state -- from only 2.86% claiming personal belief exemptions and 0.74% claiming religious exemptions during the 2019-20 school year to 4.36% claiming personal belief exemptions and 2.36% claiming religious exemptions for the 2024-25 school year. During the 2023-24 school year, North Dakota had the seventh-highest exemption rate for kindergarteners in the country. In the same time period, vaccination rates for measles, polio, chicken pox and pertussis -- whooping cough -- all dropped. The effect can be seen in legislation, too. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill that made it so no government entity or private business could withhold services or bar entry to a location based on a persons COVID-19 vaccination status or their vaccination status for a vaccine that is under emergency use authorization from the federal Food and Drug Administration. During the 2025 session, the Legislature passed House Bill 1454, which barred any state agency, political subdivision or other government entity in the state from requiring vaccinations without providing an opt-out procedure for health, religious or philosophical reasons. Howell testified against the bill, saying it could have unintended consequences and hamper the ability of certain government entities from preventing the spread of VPDs. What does this mean for the future? Vaccine hesitancy often shifts over time to reflect the societal anxieties of a given period, according to CIRE. McDonough said those who are vaccine hesitant today are right-of-center politically, but this was not always the case. In the 2000s, those who were vaccine hesitant tended to be left-of-center, he said. The modern anti-vaccination movements have appeared after COVID-19 in tandem with rising political divides and growing mistrust of medical and public health experts, according to CIRE. Having the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services espouse anti-vaccine ideology makes things more challenging, Howell said. But there have been no policies that have directly impacted her program yet, and any funding that has been cut was due to expire June 30 anyway, meaning her program was prepared to lose it. McDonough was more outspoken in his frustration with the Trump administration. If Kennedy can be prevented from doing terrible damage to immunizations, rather than minor, milder damage, you know, that may be the best we can hope for, he said. For those who distrust U.S. institutions and experts, Howell encouraged them to look to other countries. The benefits and safety of the measles vaccine is not just touted by the nation but globally. Howell recommends that North Dakotans go to their health care provider if they have questions or are seeking information about measles or other vaccines. There is one small silver lining in the current outbreak. McDonough said he always tried to use an outbreak or cases of a disease in a community as a way to encourage others to get vaccinated. It is easier to convince those on the fence about getting a vaccination for their child or themselves when the disease is in their backyard. Howell said she has already heard from local public health officials that the outbreak has changed the minds of some unvaccinated North Dakotans, who are choosing to come in and be vaccinated for the first time. Video above: This Nexstar Media video explains the different schedules of drugs. INDIO, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) U.S. Border Patrol agents from the El Centro Sector intercepted a major drug smuggling attempt last week, seizing 113 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a trailer and arresting a 27-year-old U.S. citizen in connection with the case. Officials estimate the street value of the narcotics is around $96,500. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the El Centro Sector, the bust occurred around 10:30 a.m. on Highway 86 near Indio on Monday. Agents pulled over a black pickup truck towing a trailer. What caused the plan crash in San Diego? During the stop, a Border Patrol K-9 trained in detecting illegal drugs and concealed persons alerted to the vehicle and trailer, prompting a search. Agents discovered a compartment within the trailer containing a crystal-like substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine. The vehicle, trailer and driver were taken to the Indio Border Patrol Station for further investigation. A more extensive search uncovered 36 packages of methamphetamine hidden in three compartments under the trailers floor, according to authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino praised the efforts of the team involved in the seizure. A sharp-eyed Border Patrol agent from Indio Station and his K-9 partner just took it to the bad guys, and we are proud of them! he stated. The Premier Sector goes to the ends of the earth to stop dangerous drugs such as these ma and pa America, stay tuned, much more to come! The driver was placed under arrest, and both the drugs and the vehicle were seized by U.S. Border Patrol. This seizure adds to a growing list of significant drug busts by the El Centro Sector, which continues to play a critical role in intercepting narcotics before they can reach communities across California and beyond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. A U.S.-born citizen who was wrestled into the dirt, handcuffed and detained in a vehicle as part of an immigration raid had a REAL ID on him that was dismissed as fake, the man's cousin said Friday. Video of the arrest, aired by Noticias Telemundo, showed authorities grabbing Leonardo Garcia Venegas, 25, while at a job site in Foley, Alabama, on Wednesday and bending his arms behind him. Someone off-camera can be heard yelling, "He's a citizen." Garcia told Noticias Telemundo that authorities took his ID from his wallet and told him it was fake before handcuffing him. REAL ID is the identification U.S. citizens are required by law to have in order to travel through airports and enter federal buildings. It is considered a higher security form of identification. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Apparently a REAL ID is not valid anymore. He has a REAL ID," his cousin Shelah Venegas said. "We all made sure we have the REAL ID and went through the protocols the administration is asking for. ... He has his REAL ID and then they see him and I guess because his English isn't fluent and/or because he's brown it's fake, it's not real." Garcia had told Noticias Telemundo that "they grabbed me real bad" and the handcuffs were placed "very hard" on him. Garcia said he was released from the vehicle where he was held after he gave the arresting officials his Social Security number, which showed he is a U.S. citizen. The arrest has left Garcia, who was born in Florida, shaken, particularly because the officers also arrested and detained his brother, who is not in the country legally, Venegas said. She added that Garcia lived with his brother. Their parents are from Mexico. Leonardo Garcia Venegas. (Telemundo) "He was actually pretty sore when he got back," Venegas said of Garcia. "He said his arms were hurting and his hands. His wrists, you could see where he had all the marks from the handcuffs. ... The way they put him on the ground, his knees also were hurting." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said they have been trying to find a lawyer but local ones have told them that it is nearly impossible to sue a federal agent. It is not clear from the video whether the authorities were federal immigration agents or local law enforcement carrying out enforcement duties. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to NBC News that Garcia interfered with an arrest during a targeted worksite operation. He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands, said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary. Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest. The response did not address the dismissal of Garcias identification. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garcia denied that he interrupted an arrest. He told NBC News that he was trying to take out his phone when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent took it and threw it to the ground and then an agent began grabbing him. Venegas said Garcia's brother has signed deportation papers because the family didn't want him detained "forever" as they've seen happen to another family member, who was held for months in a Louisiana detention center. "It's inhumane, what they are doing to our people. They are treating them as if they were murderers," she said. Venegas said the immigration arrests are creating repercussions among Hispanics, even among U.S. citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's about race now. It's not about whether you are here legally or not," she said. Her family owns a fairly large contracting company, she said, "and a lot of the people that work with us are not working. ... They are refusing to go to work. They said they are not going to go until this stuff calms down." Venegas added that the majority of her family is self-employed and "we do the same thing every other citizen does." "It's just insane we can't be different, the color that we are. We contribute to this country the same way every other citizen does with their taxes," she said. "But we have to be the ones that every time we go to work, we are going to be scared that we're going to get discriminated." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think about my family," she said. "Even though a lot of them are citizens, I think about how we all work in the same area in construction and they can't sit out there because they could literally get harassed or attacked the way my cousin did." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Nuclear negotiations in Rome, Italy between the United States and Iran continue, as talks concerning uranium enrichment resumed, per Fox News. Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has rejected the White Houses apparent call for a ban on uranium enrichment in Iran, saying that he will not make a deal on such terms. The White House has not yet clarified if it is actually calling for a ban on uranium enrichment in Iran. For context, while nuclear weapons use uranium, so do civil operations like nuclear energy. But Irans ambitions to develop nuclear weapons have long been known. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. President Donald Trumps special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was present at the Friday talks, which lasted two hours and are the fifth round of negotiations so far. Leaders have reported constructive dialogue, though there is still work to be done and they have yet to reach solutions that will allow the negotiations to progress. Talks are now slated to move from neutral ground in Rome to the respective capitals of both nations. What do Iran and the U.S. want from one another? The United States and Iran have been at odds since 1979, when a new, hostile government took over Tehran, and Americans were taken hostage. The U.S. held the position that the regime could not be trusted with nuclear weapons. Iranian delegates leave the Omani Embassy in Rome after closed-door meeting with a U.S. delegation to discuss Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, Saturday, April 19, 2025. | Andrew Medichini In 2002, Iran was revealed to have secretly put into operation two new nuclear facilities. Since then, Iran has continued its nuclear development in covert and overt ways, both of which have triggered attempts at negotiation from U.S. officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2015, in talks with the Obama administration, Iran agreed to scale its nuclear development back in exchange for the United Nations and the United States lifting sanctions. But there were many who said at the time that Iran, which funds terrorist activity across the Middle East, could not be trusted. In 2018, President Donald Trump backed away from this agreement, arguing that Iran had not been sufficiently transparent and that the agreement had not adequately limited Irans weapon development or its funding of militant extremists. Washington then reimposed trade sanctions. Iran continues to insist that its nuclear activity is peaceful, but American leaders have long been skeptical. Now the United States wants to procure an agreement that will bar Tehran from producing nuclear weapons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X: Zero nuclear weapons = we Do have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal. Time to decide. This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Fordo enrichment facility in Iran on April 1, 2025. | Planet Labs PBC What happens if talks fail? Israel has suggested to Trump that it could attack Irans nuclear facilities in order to block the countrys weapons development, per The Washington Post. Trump has said he prefers a deal, but could order strikes if negotiations fail. Trump has also said he believes the talks are moving along in the right direction, per White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. Just three days before Memorial Day, the United States issued a new travel advisory for a popular European country. In the month of May the U.S. has issued warnings to 21 different countries ranging from a Level 1 "exercise normal precautions" to a Level 4 "do not travel" advisory. Here's how the United States defines its advisory ratings: Level 1 - Exercise Normal Precautions. This is the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk. There is some risk in any international travel. Conditions in other countries may differ from those in the United States and may change at any time. Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution. Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides more advice for travelers to these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time. Level 3 - Reconsider Travel. Reconsider travel due to serious risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time. Level 4 Do Not Travel. This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. The U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance, including during an emergency. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. We advise that you write a will prior to traveling and leave DNA samples in case of worst-case scenarios. As a record number of Americans get set to travel over the holiday weekend, the U.S. issued a Level 2 warning for Italy due to the risk of terrorist violence. "There is risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Italy," the U.S. said in a statement before adding the most common targets: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tourist spots Transportation centers Shopping malls and markets Local government buildings Hotels, clubs and restaurants Religious sites Parks Sporting and cultural events Schools Airports Public areas Those who wish to travel to Italy are asked to "stay alert in tourist spots" and to check local media for any breaking news. Related: TSA Makes 'Troubling' Announcement U.S. Issues Travel 'Warning' for Italy Days Before Memorial Day first appeared on Men's Journal on May 24, 2025 The 36 trees planted last week at Boutwells Landing senior living community in Oak Park Heights have a big job: To help revitalize the states elm population. The American elm trees, each about 2 years old and 4 to 6 feet tall, were cloned by University of Minnesota researchers to be resistant to Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease that killed millions of elm trees around the world. In the late 1970s, there were 1.3 million American elms with diameters greater than 21 inches in Minnesota. Dutch elm disease killed 95 percent of them, leaving behind fewer than 60,000 big elms, according to U researchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ryan Murphy and Ben Held, co-investigators on the Us disease-resistant elm selection and reintroduction program, want to revive the population. On May 16, they got some help from Boutwells Landing residents David Lime, 84, and Neal Kingsley, 87, both U.S. Forest Service veterans, who participated in the three-hour planting project. Soon after Lime moved to Boutwells Landing three years ago, he pitched the idea of starting a nursery in the southeast corner of the 100-acre property to help offset the loss of ash trees from emerald ash borer. Boutwells Landing officials expressed interest, and Lime, who worked for 20 years in the Forest Services experiment station on the St. Paul campus and later taught at the Us College of Forestry, started looking for places giving away trees and people who were researching trees where we could invite them to plant some trees on our property, he said. Lime connected with Kingsley, and the two met with Rob Venette, director of the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center at the U of M and research biologist with the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station. He connected them with Murphy and Held. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was just one of those things where they had space, and we were looking for places, and it just was the right connection, Murphy said. Hardy elms survived Dutch elm disease is caused by a fungus that can be spread by a bark beetle or through two trees that have interconnected roots. Beetles reared in infected trees emerge from the diseased wood carrying spores, which they then deposit into healthy trees by feeding on the young twigs. The fungus triggers reactions that block the trees vascular system, which prevents it from getting water and nutrients normally, and it becomes wilted, leading to rapid death, Murphy said. Fortunately, Dutch elm disease didnt kill every elm tree in the state. Some very hardy survivor elms were left behind. Oftentimes, theyre the only elm tree left in an area where everything else has died, Murphy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Said Venette: Its just a matter of a random mutation that happens to occur in these trees. In general, the species as a whole is highly susceptible, but its just these very lucky individual (trees) that have natural resistance. Researchers are using the survivor elms from around the state identified by forestry officials, arborists and private landowners to grow Dutch elm disease-resistant trees. Heres how it works: Researchers visit the survivor elm in the wintertime and take the branch tips and then grow a tree genetically identical to that elm. You take that tissue from that twig, and you graft it onto a rootstock, said Murphy, who also manages the U of Ms Urban Forestry Outreach & Research Lab, which provides education about trees to communities around the state. Related Articles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cloned trees are then planted back in the landscape either at the St. Paul campus or at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen to confirm that they really are resistant, and that they werent just lucky and got missed by the bark beetles, Venette said. Once the tree is propagated, it can take five to seven years to get to a size where it can be inoculated with the pathogen, Murphy said. We then drill a hole into the main stem of the tree, inject the tree with concentrated spores of the fungus which causes the disease, and wait to see its effect, he said. To find one resistant cultivar, it could easily take 10 years. If the tree survives inoculation with the fungus, researchers will then propagate more of them and plant those at different test sites around the state because we have more evidence to suggest that they are truly resistant, he said. Multiple sites The resistant elms are being planted at Boutwells Landing, Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, Elm Creek Park Reserve and in the Minnesota River Valley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Researchers plan yearly follow-up visits to assess the tree performance; the trees are expected to grow several feet each year, Murphy said. Fifteen more trees will be planted in a forested area at Boutwells Landing that was impacted by emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that attacks and kills ash trees. Ash trees were planted in many urban forests in Minnesota to replace elm trees decimated by Dutch elm disease, Venette said. Its all part of growing a more diversified urban forest, he said. Weve nearly come full circle. The research project at Boutwells Landing is expected to last somewhere between five and 10 years because we really are trying to understand how well these trees get established and what factors might be affecting their survival and growth, Venette said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The $226,000 research project, funded by the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center, started in January 2024. An earlier U of M research project on developing Dutch-elm resistant trees received $234,000 in funding from the center and was completed in 2023. The center was formed in 2014 to coordinate the Us research into invasive insects and land-based plants. It is funded by the states Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. The center, which has four employees, has an annual budget of $330,000. Engaging people in science Officials were thrilled when Murphy and Held proposed the project, said Heather Koop, the Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Centers associate program director. When we can get a piece of research to that point of implementation, thats the gold standard for us thats how we really like to measure our success, she said. So often we see research that is done that never really gets to that next stage. Because this is all publicly funded, we feel very strongly that this research needs to be in the public realm, and people need to understand it and how to use it. Hopefully, theyll apply it, and hopefully, well see better management options available for different invasive species. Another plus: The project engages people in science, she said. You have these folks who are super-eager to help us out, and that just makes me really happy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to having a few retired foresters, Boutwells Landing has a very rich community of folks who are interested in science, Venette said. They reached out and asked about opportunities to engage in collaborative work related to trees, and we just happen to have this project that was a nice fit. Researchers worked with teens from the Green Crew, the youth program of the Izaak Walton Leagues Minnesota Valley chapter, to plant trees in Bloomington on Earth Day 2023, so it was fitting to work with seniors on the Boutwells Landing project, Venette said. It really shows the breadth of interest in this kind of work, he said. Related Articles Lime, who walks or drives past the new trees at least once a day, said the project is giving staff and residents at Boutwells Landing a chance to learn about the role of science in helping solve serious natural-resource problems and how they can help bring American elm trees back to the Minnesota and Upper Midwest landscape, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea is that if we can re-establish them in Minnesota, maybe we can do it in other states, Kingsley said. Bringing them back would be great because they were beautiful. Although Kingsley knows he may not be around to see whether the experiment was a success, he said he is happy to have played a part. My grandfather built fishing schooners, and I remember as a kid growing up seeing a ship that my grandfather helped build, he said. It was nice. Maybe my grandkids or great-grandkids will say, See that tree? Bamp helped plant that. That would be kind of nice. The U.S. Marshals Service is asking for the publics help in locating Malachi Darden, who is wanted in connection with the shooting death of a man in West Scranton during a drug buy robbery in May 2024. In a Friday news release, the U.S. Marshals Service offered up to $2,500 for information about Dardens whereabouts. It lists Dardens previous location as Bronx, New York, as well as associations to Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. Darden, 20, was the alleged shooter in the drug-related incident and intended to rob Benjamin Thompson of drugs and cash, police charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information on Dardens whereabouts is asked to submit a tip to usmarshals.gov/tips, the release states. Others arrested Two men were arrested after the fatal shooting shortly before midnight May 14, when officers responded to 1820 Jackson St. and found Thompson unresponsive in the drivers seat of his vehicle and covered in blood. Thompson, 36, had driven to a nearby dollar store parking lot, intending to sell $700 worth of marijuana to Rahjuan Marquel Morgan of Scranton, according to a criminal complaint. When he arrived at the parking lot, he was met by Darden, Morgan and Quamir Nichola Robinson, 23, of Dunmore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morgan, 25, would later tell police that as he was standing on the passenger side of the vehicle and Robinson was standing behind the vehicle when he heard Darden rack a semi-automatic handgun, charges read. Morgan then reached into the passenger side of Thompsons vehicle and stole the marijuana, police said. Darden shot Thompson at close range through the drivers side window, police said. Thompson was able to drive a short distance from the scene before passing out at the wheel. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. Darden, Morgan and Robinson fled the scene, but were identified through surveillance footage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police tracked down Morgan and Robinson and arrested them within days, but were unable to locate Darden. All three men are charged with criminal homicide and criminal conspiracy. Morgan and Robinson remain at Lackawanna County Prison without bail. They are awaiting trial. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has condemned Russia's latest large-scale attack on Ukraine. Source: Lammy on X, as reported by European Pravda Details: Lammy stressed that these are not the actions of a country that seeks peace. Quote: "Russia targeted Ukraine again last night with 14 missiles and hundreds of drones across the country. Another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians, with yet more injured and more homes destroyed. These are not the actions of a country seeking peace." Background: The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia had launched 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones against Ukraine on the night of 23-24 May. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna reacted to the large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv and said that Russia's continuous aggression has a simple explanation: "It hasnt faced enough pressure to stop". Katarina Mathernova, the European Union's Ambassador to Ukraine, has advised those who doubt Russia's intentions to read the news. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! British security officials are investigating potential Russian involvement in a series of arson attacks on properties linked to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Financial Times reported on May 23, citing senior U.K. government sources. Three separate incidents occurred earlier this month, targeting Starmer's family home in Kentish Town, north London, a car, and a former residence. Two Ukrainian nationals, Roman Lavrynovych and Petro Pochynok, and a Romanian national, Stanislav Carpiuc, have been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors allege the men acted in cooperation with other unknown suspects. All three are in custody and are scheduled to appear in court on June 6, the Financial Times reports. According to senior officials, U.K. investigators are examining whether Russian actors may have recruited the suspects. Authorities are reportedly assessing potential responses should evidence of Russian involvement emerge. The British counter-terrorist police and prosecutors said the exact motive remains unclear, the Financial Times reported. Western intelligence officials have warned about increasing Russian sabotage operations across Europe. Arson attacks have previously targeted other EU countries, raising suspicions of a coordinated Russian effort to destabilize the countries that support Ukraine against Russian aggression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recently, German authorities have accused three Ukrainian nationals of an alleged Russia-orchestrated plot of aggravated arson and bombing attacks on behalf of Russian authorities. Poland also accused two other Ukrainian nationals of being involved in suspected arson attacks believed to be backed by Russia. The incidents took place in 2024 at an IKEA store in Vilnius and a shopping center in Warsaw. Read also: UK accuses Russian GRU of carrying out cyberattacks targeting logistics, technology organizations Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Claims that Russian troops have entered the village of Yunakivka in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast are false, Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne reported on May 24, citing the Ukrainian Kursk military command. Earlier, Russia's state-run news agency TASS claimed that Russian forces had entered Yunakivka, a village near the Russian border in Sumy Oblast. Ukrainian officials refuted the claim in comments for Suspilne, saying that no Russian presence had been established in the settlement. According to DeepState, an open-source monitoring group, several villages in the region, including Novenke, Zhuravka, Veselivka, and Basivka, remain in the so-called "gray zone," areas with ongoing or unclear military control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The gray zone reportedly expanded toward Vodolahy and Bilovody between May 12 and 13, villages in the Khotin community west of the city of Sumy. Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia to the north, has been a repeated target of Russian incursions and shelling since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. The region has recently seen renewed hostilities as Russian forces ramp up activity along the northeastern border. Nearly 56,000 residents have been evacuated from Sumy Oblast as of May 19, with over 86,000 people currently under mandatory evacuation orders. Approximately 65% of the targeted population has already left the region, including 2,400 residents evacuated in the past week. The latest wave of evacuations follows a deadly Russian strike on a civilian bus in Bilopillia, Sumy Oblast, on May 17 that killed nine people and injured seven others. Read also: Ultimate guide on how drones changed warfare in Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Kyiv has handed over 70 people convicted of collaborating with Russia during a prisoner swap on May 23, Ukraine's Khochu k svoim (I want to go to my own) project said. The identities of 31 of them have been revealed on the project's website. These included Oleksandr Tarnashinskyi, a former associate of pro-Kremlin oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, or ex-Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer Vitalii Vasiliev. They were among the 390 military and civilian prisoners Ukraine handed over to Russia in the first phase of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange agreed in Istanbul last week. In return, 270 Ukrainian soldiers and 120 civilians were released from Russian captivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In cooperation with Russian citizen S. Prokhodenko, Tarnashinskyi created foundations and public organizations in Ukraine to funnel Russian funds into anti-Ukrainian information activities in the country, the Khochu k svoim project said. Tarnashinskyi was also a top figure in the pro-Russian political organization called the Ukrainian Choice, which was led by Medvedchuk. Tarnashinskyi was detained by the SBU in May 2022 and sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order. Medvedchuk himself was detained in 2022 and handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange later the same year. Vasiliev collaborated with Russian occupation authorities in Luhansk Oblast before the full-scale invasion and intended to recruit other SBU officers to collaborate as well. He has been found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ex-SBU lieutenant colonel is believed to be one of the key figures in organizing the sham referendum in Luhansk Oblast during the onset of Russian aggression in Donbas in 2014. The Khochu k svoim is run by Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War (POW) with the support of the Ombudsman's office and military intelligence (HUR). The 1,000-for-1,000 exchange continues, with each side releasing 307 POWs on May 24. The final exchange is planned for May 25. Ukraine has long advocated for an "all-for-all" exchange, but Russia has so far rejected the proposal. Read also: BREAKING: Ukraine brings home 307 POWs in 2nd phase of major prisoner swap with Russia Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A group of anti-Ulez protesters found guilty of harassing Sir Sadiq Khan have had their convictions quashed. Four activists were charged over a demonstration named Khanage at Khans and subsequently found guilty after a trial at Westminster magistrates court. The Telegraph can reveal they have now been cleared of harassment after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) received new information which undermined evidence in its case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The protest was organised last April in response to the Mayors controversial ultra-low emission zone [Ulez] expansion to the outer boroughs of London. Motorists with non-compliant polluting vehicles must pay 12.50 a day to drive across all London boroughs. Activists who have campaigned against Ulez have said the charge is having an impact on their commutes to work and even keeping some families apart. A court heard the protest took place around 328ft (100m) from Sir Sadiqs home in Tooting, south London, according to the BBC. All four entering not guilty pleas Nicholas Arlett, 74, West Wickham, Martin Whitehead, 62, Beckhenham, Alison Young, 51, from Windsor and Lloyd Dunsford, 65, from Bexleyheath were convicted of harassment of a person in his home following a trial in December. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, shortly after some of the group began the process of appealing their convictions, the CPS confirmed it would not be contesting an appeal. As a result all four convictions were quashed by Judge Peter Lodder KC on May 15 at Kingston Crown Court. Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Whitehead, said: Im not a serial protester this is the only thing Ive ever protested about Ulez. The plasterer said that shortly after the trial he felt he had to explain himself to those who had read about his conviction in the media. A lot of the newspapers got hold of the stories when we were convicted and that hurt a lot as well because it was widely publicised, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We were made to look like we were horrible people and that got to me as well because all my neighbours saw it and people I worked for saw it I had to explain myself. Im a grown man of 62, but I cried Reflecting on the day he found out his conviction had been quashed, Mr Whitehead said: Im obviously over the moon that its over and done with we werent expecting it at all I mean, Im a grown man of 62, but I cried. A BBC report of the trial stated that the Mayor was not thought to have been in his house during the protest, but District Judge Daniel Sternberg said neighbours on the street were disrupted in their private lives whilst in their homes. The judge also reportedly said the demonstration was loud and featured amplified music, including the theme tune to the television series The Bill, and that there was offensive language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he was satisfied that the protesters knew, or ought to have known, that their presence was likely to cause alarm or distress to Sadiq Khan. Mr Whitehead, Ms Young and Mr Dunsford were each fined 500, with a victim surcharge of 200. Mr Arlett had a higher level of culpability than the others and was fined 750, along with a 300 victim surcharge. However, now the groups convictions have been quashed, any full or partial payments made will be repaid. The victim surcharge is used to support victims of crime through the Victim and Witness General Fund which means the money paid in this case will not go to Sir Sadiq himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A CPS spokesperson told The Telegraph: We have a duty to keep every case under continuous review and after receiving new information which undermined the evidence in our case, we did not contest the defendants right to appeal their conviction. Procedural issue A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the decision was down to a procedural issue rather than any problems with the substance of the evidence. They said they were unable to provide further details. Lawyer Luke Gittos, who was representing two of the protesters at the time the convictions were quashed, said it was very rare for convictions to be quashed at this stage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Gittos, whose firm did not represent any of the group during the trial, said: Its extremely rare its an implicit concession that the convictions were wrongly obtained and that happens very rarely. The Telegraph approached representatives of Sir Sadiq for a comment but they did not provide one. 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. GUATEMALA CITY (AP) A United Nations expert warned Friday at the conclusion of her two-week visit that Guatemalas prosecutors office is increasingly using criminal law against former prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, journalists and others. Margaret Satterthwaite, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, traveled the country meeting with judges, lawyers, lawmakers and others, including Guatemalas chief prosecutor. The instrumental use of criminal law by the Prosecutor Generals Office appears to amount to a systematic pattern of intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights, targeted at specific groups, Satterthwaite wrote in her preliminary report. This persecution appears to be intensifying, as those who have sought to end impunity and corruption, defend human rights, or speak out against abuses of power increasingly face digital harassment, threats, and criminal charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The office is led by Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States and other countries and accused of being an obstacle to corruption investigations. Satterthwaite met with Porras and her staff. They told Satterthwaite that they acted within the law, denied using criminal law to pursue opponents and said they were the real victims of attacks by the executive branch and its allies, the U.N. expert said. Criminal charges have been directed at more than 60 justice operators and defense or human rights lawyers, Satterthwaite said, noting that more than 50 justice operators have been forced into exile by the prosecutors office. Porras office said later that it did not agree with Satterthwaite's preliminary report, because it did not reflect the complex work that we do, nor the exhaustive information that was provided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We energetically reject the idea of a criminalization of sectors,'" the office said. Our actions are based on serious, objective investigations that strictly adhere to the Guatemalan legal framework. President Bernardo Arevalo has tried unsuccessfully to convince Porras to step down. His office said it agreed with Satterthwaite's observations about the criminalization carried out by the prosecutor's office and justice system, something the president repeatedly has called attention to. CANNES, France Uniqlo is stepping in to support films made by refugees from around the world. The Japanese brand is donating 100,000 euros to support the newly launched Displacement Film Fund. The initial round will support five filmmakers from across the globe, with their films set to debut at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2026. More from WWD Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each filmmaker will receive up to 100,000 euros from the fund to produce a film under one hour that explores the experience of being displaced. The growing human displacement is one of the great challenges facing us as a species, but yet somehow, like climate change, its off the mainstream conversation, and I always find that quite bewildering, said Cate Blanchett during a press conference and panel discussion opened by Cannes Film Festival artistic director Thierry Fremaux. Blanchett, who has served as an ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees since 2016, said the program aims to support filmmakers who can reach audiences perhaps outside of their comfort zone and break down the stigmatization of those stories. Displaced people are defined as those forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, violence, or human rights violations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea for the project originated 18 months ago, and the team acted quickly to bring partners on board. There was a broad coalition of the willing coming at it from many different angles private philanthropy, the corporate sector, and, of course, artists attached to cultural institutions and festivals, said Blanchett. The fund uses the term displaced artists rather than refugee, as the latter word becomes almost a ghettoizing, stigmatizing and stereotypical label that prevents the word artist coming front and center, she added. A selection committee including actress Cynthia Erivo and director Agnieszka Holland oversaw a two-step selection process. The first round of participants includes Ukrainian filmmaker Maryna Er Gorbach, Somali filmmaker Mo Harawe, Syrian filmmaker Hasan Kattan, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat. Koji Yanai, group senior executive officer at Uniqlo parent company Fast Retailing, said he met Blanchett at the UNHCR-organized Global Refugee Forum in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We connected over the desire to give a platform to displaced people and raise awareness about their stories through movies, he told WWD. The initiative is being launched as a pilot program, though we expect the project [to] continue, said Yanai. Blanchett added that they had considered a larger program with up to 20 films, but the team recognized the need to act quickly and selected a smaller cohort of directors with plans to expand. As we gain more backers, the program will expand and may take on new formats, said Yanai. Blanchett described the Cannes launch as a call to arms for the industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need those streaming platforms. We need those distributors and exhibitors to say, Were going to put these in front of [an audience], she said. Those conversations are very much on our mind. Yanai hinted that Uniqlo will put its worldwide retail reach behind those efforts. We would like to consider utilizing Uniqlos global network to connect these stories to engage with global audiences in future, he added. Best of WWD Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. DALLAS TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A local cemetery is still inaccessible by car after its only entrance, a bridge, collapsed into Tobys Creek last month. But with Memorial Day coming up, a nearby university stepped in to lend the community a helping hand. Getting into Fern Knoll Burial Park in Dallas Township has been tough, especially for those with mobility issues. Lower gas prices bringing record Memorial Day weekend travel Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And while you still cant drive into the cemetery, Misericordia University is making it easier to access for Memorial Day weekend. Inside the cemetery, row after row of American flags, many of them marking the final resting place of a veteran. More than 200 veterans are buried there, some of them died while serving. With the cemeterys only entrance gone, Misericordia University has set up a temporary walking path for anyone looking to visit during the holiday weekend. The path is just across the parking lot from McGowan Hall at 82 Misericordia Way. While the cemetery is still not accessible by car, to one local we spoke with, its the universitys gesture that counts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dallas has always been this wonderful community. Everybody bands together when theres something like this that happens, and again, its Memorial Day and a lot of people from Dallas their loved ones are here. stated Dallas resident, Scott Watkins. Now, the cemeterys caretaker tells me they are still working to clear the rubble from Tobys Creek. Once thats done, they plan to build a temporary bridge until a plan is in place to rebuild the original. The caretaker said theyre hoping to get grants to pay for the construction. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to 28/22 News. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC ) UPrep High School will be hosting its annual Mental Health & Wellness Fair Saturday and its open to community members, students, and families. The fair is taking place at UPrep on 1290 Lake Avenue near Seneca Parkway from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The fair is free to attend and itll feature mental health and wellness resources in the Rochester community, food, and fun for families to take part in. At UPrep, we believe mental health is just as important as physical health, Jamaal Peavy, Director of Student, Family, Community Support & Engagement, said. This event is an opportunity for our community to come together, learn from experts, and embrace wellness in all its forms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Organizers say the fair is meant to break the stigma that surrounds mental health in hopes of building a healthier community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. (KRON) A 50-year-old San Francisco man was found with bloodied knuckles while drunk driving after he had just punched and completely shattered a glass window of a popular Irish bar in South San Francisco, said police. SFPD drones help nab pistol-whipping Russian Hill robbery suspects The Colma Police Department said officers responded at 1:58 a.m. on May 18 to Molloys Tavern, located on the 1600 block of Mission Road, but said the driver had already left the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A bar employee told police that the man later identified as Thomas McGinnis became upset when he was told the business was closing for the night and punched the glass window with his fists. The business said the damage is totaled at $1,000. Police said McGinnis was eventually pulled over and arrested in the 1300 block of El Camino Real. Officers detected the distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person and he displayed the objective signs of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, said Colma police. McGinnis was booked into the San Mateo County Jail and faces several charges, including felony vandalism and driving under the influence of alcohol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (NewsNation) U.S. and Iranian officials convened for a fifth round of negotiations in Rome as the United States is aiming to stop Iran from enriching uranium in exchange for lifting sanctions. Alireza Jafarzadeh, Deputy Director of the U.S. Office, National Council of Resistance of Iran, says the U.S. position has become firmer in the matter, which is a good thing. As we proceed further, I have seen the position of the United States has gradually gotten even harder and more focused on that (sanctions), Jafarzadeh said. I hope that will be the path they continue to move forward. The talks between the two nations, which include President Trumps Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, have provided some but not conclusive progress. Trump has been very clear from the beginning that Iran cant develop nuclear weapons using uranium. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iran says it may take special measures to defend nuclear sites from Israel I think what is important is to see what needs to be accomplished because its not the first time that the Iranian regime has been at the negotiating table, added Jafarzadeh. In 2002, the National Council of Resistance of Iran revealed their uranium enrichment facility site in Natanz, triggering inspections of Iranian sites. Just six years later, the Barack Obama administration and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action helped legitimize the enrichment program. There was a great chance for the world to stop the nuclear weapons program of Iran, which was in the early stages, Jafarzadeh said. But unfortunately, the West rushed to give concessions to the Iranian regime and pursue the policy of appeasement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement South Africa support of Iran also problematic: State Dept. official Despite Iran insisting its program is being used purely for peaceful purposes, Jafarzadeh says they have been developing nuclear weapons. The difference now as opposed to years ago? A weaker regime. They have no leverage, he acknowledged. Inside Iran, the people have been rejecting this regime in several rounds of the uprisings. Thats the new reality when it comes to negotiations. Jafarzadeh staunchly disagrees with Irans portrayal of Trump as a madman, while pointing out that the countrys prime minister, Abbas Aragchi, is misguided in his views of how much impact the nuclear program has on the power Iran yields. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. The Iran-US nuclear talks in Rome have stalled over whether Tehran will be able to enrich uranium for domestic purposes. Badr al-Busaidi, Omans foreign minister, who is acting as an intermediary, said there had been some but not conclusive progress in the fifth round of negotiations. The stalemate comes amid reports that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is drawing up plans to attack Irans nuclear facilities if the talks collapse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israel Defense Forces are already conducting exercises for a swift strike. Bibi [Netanyahu] is waiting for the nuclear talks to collapse and for the moment, Trump will be disappointed about the negotiations and open to giving him the go-ahead, an Israeli source told CNN. Iran has, in turn, ratcheted up the pressure, telling the United Nations it was ready to move its nuclear material to secret sites ahead of any Israeli air strike. Kani Sathasivam, professor of international relations at Salem University, said: Both sides have hard red lines on the issue of enrichment. And in those impasses, where the two sides have absolute positions, it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a compromise position. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But at the same time, it is also clear both sides very strongly wish to avoid war. So, in the end, I suspect it will be the US side that will give in and allow some minimal level of enrichment for Iran. President Trump already said as much some months ago, stating that he believed in Irans right to pursue scientific and technological advances for peaceful purposes. But hes also been very clear Iran cannot ever possess a nuclear weapon. There then is the trick. How do you set up a system whereby Iran gets to hold on to enrichment, and yet is closed off from ever pursuing a bomb? If I were on the US negotiating team, my suggestion would be to allow Iranian enrichment at a very low maximum threshold, but then demand in return that Iran not only allow very robust any time anywhere intrusive monitoring and inspections but also accept that the US would be directly involved in the monitoring and inspecting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The apparent impasse comes a week and a half after Mr Trump told journalists in Doha that both sides have sort of agreed on a deal. Credit: Reuters He described talks between American envoy Steve Witkoff and Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, as very serious negotiations for long-term peace. Iran has sort of agreed to the terms: Theyre not going to make, I call it, in a friendly way, nuclear dust, the US president said. While Mr Trump did not go into detail, a senior adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans supreme leader, told NBC News that Tehran had agreed to get rid of its stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, which could be used to make a bomb. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But it reserved the right to enrich uranium for civilian use, with the facilities being subject to international inspection. US officials got it wrong John Bolton, who served as national security adviser in the first Trump administration, said he was sceptical any agreement had ever been reached. I dont think they reached a deal. It was just Trump salesmanship. What is confusing is that I dont think Steve Witkoff understands the significance of uranium enrichment. I think Witkoff knows about Manhattan real estate, but nothing about uranium or Iran. He just got it wrong. Mr Trump, who in his first term ditched the nuclear deal negotiated by Barack Obama, has been more conciliatory since returning to the Oval Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think Trump likes the idea of a deal more than he likes the reality of negotiating one, especially because he doesnt like deals where theres no unambiguous sucker or loser, said Christopher Galdieri, professor of politics at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. That said, I think hed love to be able to take credit for a deal, probably to a degree that might make him take a worse one than he could get otherwise. Domestically, any deal will be depicted by Republicans as a stunning success, while Democrats will probably be left pointing out that its a worse deal than the one I am negotiated back around 2014 or so. Pierre Pahlavi, the deputy head of the department of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College, said: Donald Trumps strategy toward Iran has blended coercive pressure with calculated diplomacy, aimed at forcing Tehran back to the negotiating table for a new, tougher nuclear deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former president has oscillated between threats of military strikes and secondary sanctions, and offers of direct or mediated talks. Important to note that, beyond nuclear non-proliferation, Trumps broader objective has been to disrupt Irans growing alliance with China and to reaffirm US influence in the Middle East. His strategy, grounded in brinkmanship, relies on calculated escalation pushing tensions to the edge in hopes of extracting concessions without triggering a full-scale war. In recent weeks, this brinkmanship has intensified. The Trump administration has steadily raised the stakes, hardening demands around uranium enrichment and insisting on full transparency from Irans nuclear programme. This tightening of conditions is intended to corner the Islamic Republic and force it into accepting a new agreement that aligns more closely with American strategic interests. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) -A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to facilitate the return of a gay Guatemalan man who said he was deported to Mexico despite fearing he would be persecuted there, after officials acknowledged an error in his case. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order days after the Justice Department notified him that its claim that the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department said last week that upon further investigation, officials were unable to identify any Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who had asked the man, identified as "O.C.G.," about fears he had for his safety. Murphy, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, called the case a "horror" and said that "while mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to this decision are troubling." The ruling marks the latest instance of a judge ordering President Donald Trump's administration to facilitate the return of a migrant swept up in the Republican's efforts to carry out mass deportations as part of his hard-line immigration agenda, following a mistake in an individual's case. In a class action lawsuit filed by O.C.G. and other migrants, the judge had blocked the administration from swiftly deporting people to countries other than their own without first hearing any concerns they had about their safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Due process is, in some sense, a binary - one either receives what the Constitution requires, or one does not," Murphy wrote. "It has been clear that O.C.G. did not receive what the Constitution requires." The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The government likewise made an error with Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March despite an order protecting him from removal. He remains there, despite a judge ordering the administration to facilitate his return. Friday's ruling comes two days after Murphy, in the class action lawsuit case, concluded that the Trump administration had violated his earlier ruling by attempting to deport a group of migrants to South Sudan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to his lawyers, O.C.G. is a gay man who fled Guatemala in 2024 after facing death threats based on his sexuality. He entered the United States through Mexico in May 2024. Murphy said that while an immigration judge in February found O.C.G. deserved protection from being returned to Guatemala, authorities two days later wrongly placed him on a bus to Mexico, where he had recently been raped and kidnapped. Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for O.C.G. at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said his legal team was "elated" by Murphy's ruling and would work to facilitate a return plan. After arriving in Mexico, O.C.G. had to choose between waiting months in detention to apply for asylum in Mexico or return to Guatemala. He chose the latter and went into hiding, his lawyers say. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Tom Hogue and William Mallard) Theres a story haunting American politics. Its a story told by right-wing populists like Donald Trump and JD Vance and left-wing populists like Bernie Sanders. The story goes something like this: There once was an America, in the 1950s and 1960s, that made stuff. People could go off to work in factories and earn a decent middle-class wage. Then came globalization and the era of market-worshiping neoliberalism. During the 1990s and early 2000s, America signed free trade deals like NAFTA. China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001. Jobs were shipped overseas. Factories shut down. The rich prospered while members of the working class got pummeled and ended up voting for Trump. The problem with this story is that its 75 percent bonkers historically inaccurate on nearly every front. In the first place, there never was a market-worshiping era of pure globalization. As the economics writer Noah Smith has noted, top marginal tax rates were significantly higher in 2016 than in 1992. Federal spending on social programs went up, not down. Government policy became more progressive (favoring those down the income scale), not less. Much of the economy grew more regulated, not less. U.S. tariff rates were basically stagnant. The era between the start of the Clinton administration and the end of the Obama one was not a libertarian/globalist free-for-all. It was an era of mainstream presidents who tried to balance dynamism and solidarity. The US Justice Department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the company to avoid criminal prosecution over allegations linked to two fatal 737 Max crashes, according to court documents. Under the deal, which still needs to be finalized, the US aircraft manufacturer would pay or invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $444.5 million for the crash victims' families, the US Department of Justice said on Friday. The accidents in October 2018 and March 2019 claimed the lives of 346 people. The crashes were caused by aircraft software that was supposed to support pilots but interfered with the controls more than expected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It steered the aircraft towards the ground but the pilots of the two aircraft were ultimately unable to turn them back to level flight. Aircraft of this type were not allowed to fly for almost two years until the error in the software was rectified. Boeing was subsequently accused of fraud in criminal proceedings because employees of the aircraft manufacturer had declared special training for the software to be unnecessary when the type was certified by US authorities. The Justice Department said some families of the victims support the settlement, while others have vowed to oppose it through legal action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of the crash, Boeing avoided prosecution by promising to implement a compliance and ethics programme. The company also paid a fine of $243.6 million plus $500 million to victims' families. However, a new investigation was sparked in January 2024 when a fuselage fragment of a virtually new Boeing aircraft broke off during a climb. Nobody was injured in the incident but it was only due to luck that the seats next to the hole in the fuselage were not occupied at the time. The administration of United States President Donald Trump has taken its first concrete action to deliver sanctions relief for Syria, following a surprise policy pivot earlier this month. On Friday, the US Department of the Treasury announced sweeping relief to an array of individuals and entities, which it said will enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with [Trumps] America First strategy. The US State Department, meanwhile, concurrently issued a waiver to a 2019 law, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, that would enable our foreign partners, allies, and the region to further unlock Syrias potential. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver would facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria. The authorisation covers new investment in Syria, provision of financial services, and transactions involving Syrian petroleum products. Todays actions represent the first step on delivering on the presidents vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States, Rubio said on Friday. Trump surprised the international community when, on May 13, he pledged to remove sanctions placed on Syria during the leadership of its now-ousted leader, President Bashar al-Assad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fridays announcements mark an initial step towards that goal, as Syria recovers from abuses under al-Assads government and 13 years of civil war. Sanctions relief is critical for Syria to move forward. The United States is issuing a Caesar Act sanctions waiver to increase investments and cash flows that will facilitate basic services and reconstruction in Syria. We support the Syrian peoples efforts to build a more Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 23, 2025 As President Trump promised, the Treasury Department and the State Department are implementing authorizations to encourage new investment into Syria, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. Syria must also continue to work towards becoming a stable country that is at peace, and todays actions will hopefully put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous, and stable future. Trump first unveiled his plans for sanctions relief during a tour of the Middle East in mid-May. He said lifting US sanctions would give Syria a chance at greatness, since the restrictions left the war-torn country economically isolated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its their time to shine. Were taking them all off, he said from Riyadh. Shortly after, Trump met and shook hands with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who had only recently been removed from the USs Specially Designated Global Terrorist list. Appeal for relief Calls for sanctions relief had grown following the fall of al-Assads government last December. As head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, al-Sharaa spearheaded the offensive that led to al-Assad fleeing the country, bringing the civil war to an end. The war, which first broke out in 2011, had left Syrias economy in tatters. As many as 656,493 people were killed during the conflict, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and a 2020 report from the United Nations estimated that the country suffered total economic losses of about $442.2bn in the first eight years of the war alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanctions have further dampened Syrias economic outlook, making it difficult for countries with ties to the US to conduct business there. Since taking power in December, Syrias interim government has argued the ongoing sanctions, largely imposed during al-Assads rule, would slow development and cause further instability. Trumps announcement earlier this month buoyed hope for many Syrians of a new path forward, although the extent of the relief had remained unclear. Earlier this week, the European Union also announced it had lifted sanctions against Syria. Fridays sanctions relief in the US applies to the the Government of Syria as in existence on or after May 13, 2025, according to the Treasury Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reprieve also applies to several previously sanctioned transportation, banking, tourism and fossil fuel entities. Transactions related to Russia, Iran and North Korea remain under US sanctions. One of the biggest hurdles, however, is the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, a law that was passed in 2019, during Trumps first term. It included broad sanctions that targeted al-Assads government and its allies and supporters for atrocities committed against civilians. The act was named after a former Syrian military photographer and whistleblower who smuggled out of the country a cache of images showing torture and mass killing at detention centres run by al-Assads security forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But since the law was passed by Congress, it will likely take an act of Congress to completely lift its restrictions. The president, however, can issue temporary waivers to the law, which is what the Trump administration did on Friday. The Trump administration issued orders Friday to begin easing sanctions on Syria, marking a major policy shift after US President Donald Trump pledged earlier this month to roll back the measures during a trip to the Middle East. Trump administration officials had been carrying out quiet engagements for months to pave the way for sanctions relief to help the nation recover from years of a devastating war and rebuild after the toppling of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. On Friday, the US Treasury Department said Syria has been issued a general license that authorizes transactions involving the interim Syrian government, as well as the central bank and state-owned enterprises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The GL25 license authorizes transactions prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, effectively lifting sanctions on Syria, and will enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with the Presidents America First strategy, it said in a press release. The US State Department concurrently issued a 180-day waiver under the Caesar Act to ensure sanctions do not impede investment, and advance Syrias recovery and reconstruction efforts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. Rubio said the waivers will facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria. Todays actions represent the first step in delivering on the Presidents vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States, Rubio said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While in Saudi Arabia last week, where he met with Syrias interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Trump announced that sanctions on Syria would be swiftly removed, taking some officials by surprise and triggering a scramble across the US government to implement the decision, US President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout image released on May 14. - Saudi Press Agency/Reuters Rubio said shortly after that the US would issue waivers to Syria sanctions, which are currently required by law. Meanwhile, the administration is engaged in a complicated technical review of the sanctions, which is expected to take weeks, officials said at the time. 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. Speaking in Saudi Arabia, Trump said he made the decision to lift sanctions after speaking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saudi officials had coordinated 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. 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. 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. An Israeli official previously 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump acknowledged last week that he 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. CNNs Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler and Alex Marquardt contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The US Navy destroyer USS Stockdale came under Houthi fire multiple times last year. The Stockdale's captain, then the executive officer, described to BI what it was like to battle the rebels. He said his heart was racing and that seeing the warship's missiles launch was "unlike anything else." Cdr. Jacob Beckelhymer remembers vividly the first time his warship came under attack in the Red Sea. It was late September of last year, and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stockdale was already several months into its lengthy Middle East deployment. Beckelhymer, then the warship's executive officer, knew that the ship and its sailors could be pulled into combat at any moment against the Iran-backed Houthis who had been launching missiles and drones into shipping lanes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We went into it with the expectation that there was a high probability that we would come under fire," he told Business Insider in a recent interview. When the attack came, the destroyer was prepared. Sailors had received their pre-briefing, and the crew was well-rested. The watch teams were ready. That day, the Houthi rebels fired a barrage of missiles and drones. Beckelhymer was in the pilot house with the warship's commanding officer and watched as the bridge team, from lieutenants down to junior sailors, performed as they were trained. He said he experienced a heart rate increase and some excitement. Seeing a surface-to-air missile come out of the launchers for real, and not in a training scenario, is "unlike anything else." USS Stockdale spent months engaged in combat operations against the Houthis. US Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Julian Jacobs Beckelhymer recalls thinking about his composure. He briefly thought about how he'd always wanted to teach his eldest daughter how to ride a bike. The most pressing thought, though, was that the destroyer needed to make it home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A mix of Navy warships in the Red Sea, including the Stockdale, thwarted the Houthi attack. Beckelhymer said that "the biggest takeaway" for him "was how quickly we did the things that we were supposed to, we reset, and then we all got back on the same page to do it again." The Stockdale came under Houthi fire several times during its combat-packed deployment, which ended in February. The Navy said that the destroyer "successfully repelled" multiple attacks, shooting down a tough combination of drones and missiles and emerging unscathed each time. "The mission sets that we performed over there were a combination of standard missile defense, contested straight transit, and civilian escort," said Beckelhymer, who is now the Stockdale's commanding officer. Stockdale returned from its Red Sea combat deployment earlier this year. US Navy photo "We had occasion to use weapons in defense of ourselves and ships in company a number of times. In all of those instances, the team responded really, really great," he told BI. "We didn't incur any sort of stress reactions. The overall resilience of the crew was great." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several weeks after Stockdale returned to its homeport in San Diego, the destroyer deployed again this time to the waters off the coast of southern California, where, until recently, it supported the US military's southern border mission. Two other warships that fought the Houthis also participated in these operations. While the threat environment was different in the Pacific compared to the Red Sea, Beckelhymer said the approach to the mission was relatively similar, even if Stockdale's weapons system was placed in a different configuration. "It takes every single person on board this ship, all-in, every single day, to operate safely at sea," he said. "Whether you're off the coast of California or you're in the Red Sea, the business that we do is inherently dangerous. And flight operations, small boat operations, underway replenishment all of those things take our collective focus." Beckelhymer said he saw his crew's confidence grow consistently from September until the end of the most recent deployment. The sailors, he said, had every reason to be proud of their abilities. Receiving the training is one thing, but it's another to be tested in real-world conditions and have everything validated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We experienced that in the Red Sea, and I think we experienced that again over the last 40-ish days off the coast of California," he said. "When the Navy needs us, Stockdale is ready." Read the original article on Business Insider The United States granted immediate sanctions relief to Syria after President Donald Trump called for a complete end to sanctions on the country. The sanctions relief was announced by the U.S. Treasury Department and State Department on May 23. According to a statement released by the Treasury Department, the decision to roll back sanctions is "just one part of a broader U.S. government effort to remove the full architecture of sanctions imposed on Syria due to the abuses of the Bashar al-Assad regime." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The statement also notes that the sanctions relief "does not allow for transactions that benefit Russia, Iran, or North Koreakey supporters of the former Assad regime." Additionally, according to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the goal of the sanctions relief is to "advance Syrias recovery and reconstruction efforts" and "facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria." Syria welcomed the Trump administration's decision to ease sanctions in a statement issued by its foreign ministry on May 24. In the statement, the ministry called the decision a "positive step" toward relieving the country's humanitarian and economic suffering, and expressed Syria's willingness to cooperate with international partners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, top European Union officials also announced sanctions relief for Syria, noting that the decision to lift sanctions is a critical step on "the path to economic recovery." Following the ouster of dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria's new leadership has sought to reverse the country's geopolitical isolation and years of crippling international sanctions after more than a decade of war. Read also: Putin remains confident in Russias ultimate victory in Ukraine, US intelligence reports Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. US Senate Blocks California Ban on Gas-Powered Vehicles originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Courtesy manusapon via Adobe Stock On Thursday, Senate Republicans voted 5144 to block Californias effort to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a cornerstone of the states push to reduce pollution. Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin, whose state is home to the U.S. auto industry, was the sole Democrat to vote with Republicans. Three Republicans and two Democrats did not vote. The blocked policy was part of Californias broader effort to curb air pollution the worst in the nation by mandating a transition to electric vehicles and stricter diesel truck standards. The state has historically relied on a Clean Air Act waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce more stringent emission rules than federal standards. Eleven other states, along with Washington, D.C., have adopted Californias existing vehicle standards. This is the first time such a waiver-based rule has been overturned by Congress. Supporters of the resolution, including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), criticized the mandates as costly and overreaching. Consumers should be able to purchase the vehicle of their choice, Capito said. I have a big problem with electric vehicle mandates that replace the will of the consumer and the will of the government. Opponents of the measure, including California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, condemned the vote as an illegal power grab. Padilla, who grew up in the smog-choked San Fernando Valley, warned against reversing decades of environmental progress. With these votes, Senate Republicans are bending the knee to President Trump once again, he said. Governor Gavin Newsom called the vote unconstitutional, accusing Republicans of evading Senate rules and undermining state authority. We wont stand by as Trump Republicans make America smoggy again, Newsom said. We are going to fight this unconstitutional attack on California in court. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 23, 2025, where it first appeared. The US government has begun suspending sanctions on Syria in a bid to encourage new investment and support the country's path towards peace and stability, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced. "As President [Donald] Trump promised, the Treasury Department and the State Department are implementing authorizations to encourage new investment into Syria," Bessent said on Friday. "Syria must also continue to work towards becoming a stable country that is at peace, and today's actions will hopefully put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous and stable future." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, Trump announced the lifting of all US sanctions on Syria. Sanctions were imposed by the US and other countries in the wake of the civil war that erupted under former president Bashar al-Assad. His regime was overthrown in early December by an Islamist rebel alliance. According to the US Treasury Department, the easing of restrictions will allow new economic activity, including financial services and transactions related to petroleum and petroleum products originating in Syria. Dealings with the new Syrian government, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Syrian central bank and other financial institutions will also be permitted, the department said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, sanctions remain in place on transactions that benefit Russia, Iran or North Korea. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said sanctions would be suspended for 180 days to ensure restrictions don't block stability-focused investment in Syria. "These waivers will facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria," Rubio said in a statement. The US government has begun suspending sanctions on Syria in a bid to encourage new investment and support the country's path towards peace and stability, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced. "As President [Donald] Trump promised, the Treasury Department and the State Department are implementing authorizations to encourage new investment into Syria," Bessent said on Friday. "Syria must also continue to work towards becoming a stable country that is at peace, and today's actions will hopefully put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous and stable future." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement War-shattered Syria welcomed the US government's decision. Syria "considers it a positive step in the right direction to alleviate the humanitarian and economic suffering in the country," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the social media platform X on Saturday. "Syria confirms that the phase ahead will be a phase of rebuilding what the former regime has destroyed and restoring its natural status in the region and the world," the statement added. Last week, Trump announced the lifting of all US sanctions on Syria. During a visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the first encounter between leaders of the two countries in 25 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. According to the US Treasury Department, the easing of restrictions will allow new economic activity, including financial services and transactions related to petroleum and petroleum products originating in Syria. Dealings with the new Syrian government, al-Sharaa, the Syrian central bank and other financial institutions will also be permitted, the department said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, sanctions remain in place on transactions that benefit Russia, Iran or North Korea. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said sanctions would be suspended for 180 days to ensure restrictions don't block stability-focused investment in Syria. "These waivers will facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria," Rubio said in a statement. Despite the fall of al-Assad, instability in Syria persists. Clashes have recently erupted between the Druze minority and Sunni militias, and in early March the transitional government launched military operations in response to attacks by al-Assad loyalists. Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on S'pore's place in the world, SAF's evolution and 24 years in politics https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/defence-minister-ng-eng-hen-on-spores-place-in-the-world-safs-evolution-and-24-years-in-politics Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in an interview with the media at the Ministry of Defence HQ on May 13. Singapore Nearly a quarter-century after he took off his surgical scrubs to don party whites, Dr Ng Eng Hen still looks at issues including Singapores survival with an oncologists trained eye. Basically, when you are presented with a problem, you ask: What is the root cause? he said. Rather than trying to get at the symptoms, what is the core diagnosis? Dr Ng had been asked how Singapore can stay secure and relevant in a more uncertain world. The answer always has to come from asking itself what its place in geography and history is, he said. Some people wish the world to be friendlier, protect small countries, to find space for all countries, but that is not the reality, the 66-year-old said in his farewell interview with local media at the Ministry of Defence on May 13. For Singapore, I would say the starting point is we take the world as it is not as we wish it to be, no matter how much we wish it to be, added Dr Ng, who has helmed the defence portfolio since 2011 and was first elected as an MP in 2001. Singapores strategy, he said, has been to make itself useful to neighbours, major powers and middle powers alike, through a mix of defence cooperation and dialogue facilitation, and by being a trusted interlocutor. He pointed to Singapores longstanding defence ties with the United States, which allow American forces access to Singapores air and naval bases. SPH Media Limited, its related corporations and affiliates as well as their agents and authorised service providers. marketing and promotions. As a facilitator, it does not see itself as mediator or broker, but has been able to provide neutral ground for landmark meetings, such as the Trump-Kim summit in 2018 between the US and North Korean leaders, and the Xi-Ma summit in 2015 between the leaders of China and Taiwan. And by going beyond scripted lines in meetings with his counterparts while being sensitive and respectful this has helped Singapore build its credibility and expand its diplomatic space, he added. The point is for others to make time for Singapore and to find its views valuable our equivalent of soft power, said Dr Ng. This is especially salient today, given the upending of global rules. Dr Ng likened trade-dependent Singapore to a shop in an MRT station there is a living to be made if the trains keep running, but trouble once the frequency slows or stops. Once people decide that they are going to divert, use other tracks or bypass the station, or are not allowed to stop at your station or are rerouted elsewhere, it is beyond your limited agency, and you have to make do, he said. The question is whether Singapore can get other countries to listen. If we cant, then we will have to live with the consequences. It will be a game of catch-up, and a very difficult game. Adapting the SAF Dr Ng oversaw a major transformation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), rolling out long-term plans to modernise the military and strengthening its ability to meet evolving security threats facing Singapore. For instance, he led the establishment of the Digital and Intelligence Service in 2022 to defend Singapores digital domain against cyber attacks, while accelerating digitalisation efforts across the military. These restructurings were undertaken after Dr Ng realised, from his interactions with other leaders, that the nature of warfare had changed. Military campaigns such as that in Ukraine showed how much drone warfare had come to the fore, while information warfare meant the line between war and peace had become blurred. For instance, enemies of today will try to infiltrate a countrys cyber systems, disable civilian infrastructure, target elections and attempt to undermine social cohesion, and the country is nominally still at peace. Now, whose job is it during times of peace (and) between the hard stop between peace and war? Dr Ng asked. The danger was for the SAF to say, Well, this is somebody elses job, and I will only be called if there is outright declaration of aggression. The rest of the country, too, needed to be aware of the growing importance of cyber security, and to have a core of resilience and self-help, he added. Under his watch, Singapores concept of Total Defence was broadened to include more civilian agencies in national crisis planning. In 2019, Mindef added digital defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence, the first update to the framework since it was launched in 1984. Dr Ng credited the SAFs adaptability to its strong fundamentals and leadership, which gave him the luxury to scenario-plan... to sometimes pontificate, sometimes deal with counterfactuals. All I had to do was point out that, look, these assumptions, we have to take them seriously, and we have to restructure to meet future needs. Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen praising servicemen from the SAF for their efforts in a military exercise on Pulau Sudong on Aug 2, 2011. It was part of a two-week-long drill to test the battle-readiness of Singapores air force, navy and army units. Unplanned journey into politics Dr Ngs entry into politics was, by his own admission, unplanned. A cancer surgeon by training, he had spent two decades in public hospitals and four years building a private practice when he was approached to run for office in 2001. He said yes as he felt that he would be able to balance being a breast cancer surgeon with being a backbencher, but after the election, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong asked him to join the Government. Put yourself in my shoes: You had just been training all your waking hours as a surgeon, you had been sent by the Government to top cancer centres... you are trying to come back and practise those standards, and then almost out of the blue, you are given the decision to stop and change tack, Dr Ng recounted. Mr Goh arranged for Dr Ng to meet one-on-one with Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and Singapores founding prime minister asked him a simple question: What do you want to do in life? Dr Ng knew what he meant, and asked in turn how long it would take to figure out if he was suited for political life. Mr Lees answer: Six months. Looking back, Dr Ng said that half a year was indeed enough to know that he had the basic skills for politics, although he would come to realise that the art of the possible takes a lifetime to learn. Politics as the art of the possible is ascribed to 19th-century German statesman Otto von Bismarck, and it means choosing between imperfect options and finding policies that can carry the ground. On what he had learnt in politics, Dr Ng said it was about solving problems and doing what he felt was right, because otherwise you wear your soul down. (From left) Dr Maliki Osman, Mr Sitoh Yin Pin, Mr Eric Low and Dr Ng Eng Hen. PAP introduced four new candidates on Oct 19, 2001, ahead of the general election that year. If you constantly do what you think others think is right, then they should be in politics, not you, he said. Asked if he had any words of advice for fledgling politicians, Dr Ng said one should not enter politics looking to be thanked. But Singapore is also a place where politics is still an avenue where a person can do good without compromising his ideals, he added. He cited how the ministries he had served in, such as manpower and education, continued to refine policies that he had laid the groundwork for, such as the CPF Life scheme for retirement adequacy and expanded tertiary pathways with more autonomous universities. It is just that little satisfaction knowing that you built on something that somebody else had already started, and somebody else could continue, he said. By and large, we have made progress as a society that cant be said for a lot of other countries, so we should take our blessings where we can. Dr Ng cautioned that the price that Singapore pays for its rapid rise, the curse of successful countries, is the belief that this trajectory is somehow preordained and will always continue. He said Singaporeans must always ask themselves the core question: How can Singapore continue to succeed, and what are the fundamentals that will get it there? Part of the answer is a common understanding between the elected and the electorate that some things are good but may be too expensive for Singapore and it has to find different solutions, while in other areas there could be underinvestment that should be corrected. With Singaporeans today being more well educated and well travelled, you may have to find wisdom from many sources of the population, Dr Ng added. Given a second chance, would he give up medicine again for the hurly-burly of politics? Yes, said Dr Ng. If I had another political life, I would want to do it again, he said, laughing. Maybe without so much of social media. MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) The University of South Alabamas Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine presented a poster at the 2025 National HPV Conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana, along with members from the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institutes Cancer Control and Prevention team. Earthquake recorded 70 miles off the coast of Gulf Shores According to a USA Health news release, the conference gathered healthcare professionals from across the U.S. to discuss human papillomavirus prevention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Representing USA Health Institute at the event were Casey Daniel, Ph.D., MPH, USA Health Director of Epidemiology and Public Health; research assistant Alyssa Lee, MPH; and medical students Grace Sekaya and Destyni Newson from the Primary Care Pathway Scholars Program at Whiddon College of Medicine. Attending the National HPV Conference allowed us to engage with leading experts in the field, share our research, and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on HPV vaccination, Daniel said. It is crucial that we continue to educate and collaborate with others on strategies that will help reduce the burden of HPV-related cancers, particularly in medically underserved areas like ours in South Alabama. MCI presented a poster titled HPV Vaccination Completion and Parental Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intentions at a Medically Underserved Federally Qualified Health Clinic in South Alabama. The poster emphasized the importance of the HPV vaccination in underserved communities and aimed to gain a better understanding of how parental knowledge, attitudes and intentions affect vaccination rates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mobile pools and splash pads to open ahead of Memorial Day HPV is a major public health issue that is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) launched its Recreation Operational Status website to keep the public informed about the operational status of USACE recreation areas nationwide. This comes after the USACE announced in April that dozens of campsites across the Midwest would close on May 15. Campgrounds and visitor centers at federal lakes are closing amid Trumps budget cuts Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can visit the website and click on any state for the current overall status of a recreation area and for the status of campgrounds, boat ramps and beaches owned and operated by the USACE within the area. You can visit the new website by clicking here. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages staffing for our recreation mission to ensure we meet the needs of nearly 2,600 recreation areas across 400 lakes and waterways, said Stephen L. Hill, USACE director of Operations and Regulatory Programs. Public safety and service quality continue to be our highest priorities. As we manage available resources, some sites may experience reduced operations or temporary closures. These difficult decisions are based on our ability to ensure visitors have a safe and consistent experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These decisions are not made lightly because we understand the importance of USACE recreation areas to the public and their vacation plans, especially during the summer season. Campsites, recreation areas across Kansas and Missouri to close in May, Army says The new website shows the status of recreation areas and associated campgrounds, boat ramps and beaches as either fully operational, partially open or closed. The USACE said the website will be regularly updated with any status changes. USACE districts are maximizing available staff resources to keep recreation sites at least partially open and to ensure that the full closure of any site is a last resort, the USACE said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Visitors are encouraged to check the current operational status of USACE recreation areas for any restrictions or safety alerts prior to visiting. The website does not include information about the status of state-, local- or vendor-operated parks, campgrounds, marinas or other facilities located on USACE project lands. The public will need to contact those facilities for information regarding their operating status. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A vacant house caught fire early Saturday morning on Todd Street. According to the Montgomery County Regional Dispatch, the fire began at approximately 1:30 a.m. in the 400 block of Todd Street. Our 2 NEWS weekend photographer spoke with Dayton Fires District Chief, Nick Judge, on the scene. Judge said this is a property the department is familiar with. He said it is a long-time vacant house which often used by squatters, and that the department has dealt with numerous fires on this street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NATO summit has blood center seeking more donors, just in case Bystanders told the DFD a person might be in the building when they arrived. The crews went inside the heavy fire and searched, but did not discover anyone inside. The fire is under investigation at this time; it is suspicious in nature, said Judge. The house is boarded up, but we do not have a final cause determined yet. There were no injuries from the fire. Judge called the house a total loss and said the house will likely be put on the demolition list for the city. Photo of the damage, Tyson Reed, WDTN. 2 NEWS will update this article when more information is available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. May 23Health officials on Friday reported two additional measles cases in Sandoval County, bringing the total number of infections there to six, all since May 15. Sandoval County residents infected this week include an infant too young to be vaccinated and three adults who each had received at least one dose of the measles vaccine. The New Mexico Department of Health also alerted the public to multiple sites in Albuquerque and Santa Fe where those with the virus traveled to, posing an exposure risk to others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new infections bring to 78 the total number of measles cases statewide. The six recent Sandoval County infections suggest that New Mexico's measles outbreak is moving closer to Albuquerque. Health officials recommend the mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine as the best protection against the viral illness. Measles is one of the most contagious known viruses. Viral particles can stay suspended in the air for up to two hours in an enclosed area. The recent infections may have exposed people at five sites in Albuquerque and two in Santa Fe from May 2-17. The Albuquerque locations are: Longhorn Steakhouse, 6600 Menaul NE, on Saturday, May 2, from 1-5 p.m.Lindo Mexico Grill & Seafood, 5220 Eubank NE, on Sunday, May 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.University of New Mexico Hospital Pediatric Emergency Department, 2211 Lomas NE, on Sunday, May 4, from 9-11 p.m.UNM Hospital General Pediatric Unit on Wednesday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.Common areas of the UNM Hospital Pavilion between Wednesday, May 7, and Thursday, May 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency also alerted the public to two sites in Santa Fe. They are: Walmart, 5701 Herrera Drive, on Saturday, May 17, from 7:30 to 10 a.m.Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center Emergency Department, 4801 Beckner Road, on Saturday, May 17, from 6-9 a.m. If you were at any of these locations, check your vaccination status and report any measles symptoms in the next 21 days to your health care provider, the Department of Health advised. Sandoval has joined Lea, Dona Ana and Curry counties as those most affected, which impacts vaccine recommendations for residents in those areas, health officials said at a news conference this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health officials recommend the MMR vaccine for infants ages 6 to 11 months who live in areas of high measles activity, or plan to travel to other places in the U.S. or internationally, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham said. For adults who live in the most affected areas, two doses of MMR vaccine are recommended, Durham said. Initial symptoms are fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes that last for two to four days. Then a rash develops that typically starts on the head and spreads down across the body. If you develop symptoms, stay home to prevent further spread and contact your healthcare provider or the NMDOH Helpline at 1-833-SWNURSE (1-833-796-8773) for further guidance. The US has set its sights on Canada and Greenland, accused Europe of stifling free speech, and unleashed a trade war across the globe. But Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday insisted that the Trump administration had ended a decades-long approach to foreign policy by no longer meddling in other countries affairs. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the 2025 Naval Academy Graduation / Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images Speaking at the Naval Academys graduation ceremony in Annapolis, Vance hailed the presidents recent trip to the Middle East, which came under scrutiny over the acceptance of a 747 jet from the Qatar government, as a success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But while he said most of the headlines focused elsewhere, the most striking part of the trip, according to Vance, was the break from the precedent set by Americas founding fathers and the return to a strategy grounded in realism and protecting our core national interests. Donald Trump admired the opulence of the palaces he visited during his Middle East tour. / Win McNamee/Getty Images We had a long experiment in our foreign policy that traded national defense and the maintenance of our alliances for nation building and meddling in foreign countries affairs - even when those foreign countries had very little to do with poor American interests, the vice president told more than 1000 graduates. What were seeing from President Trump is a generational shift in policy with profound implications for the job that each and every one of you will be asked to do. Since taking office, Trump has sought to reduce American military involvement in foreign wars, but has not shied away from using US power to influence global affairs more broadly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, for instance, he escalated his trade war with the European Union, threatening a 50 per cent tariff on goods. The European Union has been very difficult to deal with, he posted on Truth Social. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! It is not clear when the tariffs are likely to be enacted, or if Trump is simply using the threat as leverage. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president gave mixed signals by saying: Im not looking for a deal. Weve set the deal, its at 50%. But theres no tariff if they build their plant here. In recent months, Trump has also set his sights on Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, and the Panama Canal, a vital conduit for maritime trade between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Its cold as s--t here, Vance said after touching down in Greenland in March. Second Lady Usha Vance joined the vice president for the short trip. / Jim Watson/Getty Images He also spent months trolling Canada, insisting that the commonwealth should become Americas 51st state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance, meanwhile, began his vice-presidency meddling in Europes business with a blistering address that accused its leaders of suppressing free speech and failing to tackle mass migration. At the Naval Academy graduation today, he said America under Trump had shifted significantly. Now, this doesnt mean that we ignore threats, but it means that we approach them with discipline and that when we send you to war, we do it with a very specific set of goals in mind, he said. Vermilion Advantage is partnering with TPMA to conduct a Feasibility Study (Study) for Economic Development which will review industrial redevelopment and community revitalization along the East Voorhees Street corridor in Danville, Illinois. The primary goal of the project is to develop a plan for this area that can attract economic growth and job creation, thereby laying a strong foundation for long-term prosperity. The study kicked off in May with a discovery phase that involved a comprehensive review of existing data, plans, and resources. Other key components of the project include a targeted industry and workforce analysis, along with a series of stakeholder engagement sessions. As community input is critical to the success of the Study, community members will have multiple opportunities to get involved in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are honored to be working with Vermillion Advantage. We believe the Feasibility Study will play a pivotal role in evaluating the areas potential to be transformed into a dynamic business park, laying the groundwork for significant economic revitalization and potentially creating hundreds of new jobs in the Danville community. TPMA is prepared to assist the community in achieving these new and emerging economic goals, said Teresa Nortillo, director of economic development at TPMA. Vermilion Advantage is excited about our partnership with TPMA. This is a critical first step in building a solid plan for the revitalization of East Danville. We start from this point by creating our new economy of the future, said Mike Marron, president of Vermilion Advantage The final Feasibility Study is expected in November 2025. STOWE, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) For the last six years, Major General Gregory Knight has been the commander of Vermonts national guard. On Wednesday, colleagues gathered to celebrate his work for the state. In a ceremony at the historic von Trapp Family Resort in Stowe, Knight was honored as the Vermont Chamber of Commerces 2025 Citizen of the Year, which the Chamber says is given to a Vermonter who epitomizes the true spirit of service and self-sacrifice that defines Vermont citizenship. Knight, of Huntington, has served as Adjutant General of the states national guard since the legislature elected him in 2019. Stowe Community Church celebrates return of historic spire Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has focused many of his efforts on connecting the Vermont National Guard with the people it protects, such as earlier this year when he introduced the first ever State of the Guard address. In his address at the event, Knight said, I am convinced more than ever of two things: the excellence of our people and the importance of relationships. He has served through a global pandemic as well as states of emergency such as during the floods in July 2023. NYSP announce death of retired First Sergeant The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has given out its Citizen of the Year award since 1964. Past honorees include Senator Patrick Leahy, Lieutenant Governor Barbara Snelling, and sportscaster Ken Squier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) Vermont lawmakers spent the better part of three months finding a compromise on education reform. Now their 415-page bill looks to be sent back to the legislature for more work. Governor Phil Scott agreed Friday that reform is needed, but says he still cannot accept House Bill 454 (H. 454) in its current form. H. 454 has faced criticism from both the right and the left, with Scott and other Vermont Republicans pointing at its impact on taxpayers while Vermonts progressives are concerned about school consolidation and effects on lower-income Vermonters. Scott wrote Friday, As Ive said since the beginning of this process, I will only accept a final product that costs less than it does today, sets us on a clear path to achieve scale, reduces administrative overhead, and eliminates inefficiencies that prevent money from flowing towards more opportunities for students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scott proposed his own education reform bill in January, which would have put in place a single statewide property tax rate to fund schools. He also proposed dividing the state into five school districts and allowing students the option of entering a lottery to attend nearby private schools. Gov. Scott school choice plan receiving mixed reviews He said he still expects the legislature to pass education reform before it adjourns for the summer, and called the Senate passage of H. 454 an important procedural step. Earlier this week when he signed Vermonts $9.1 billion budget for next year, he wrote that Vermont policymakers must complete the work to transform our education system, starting with H.454. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signs $9.1 billion FY26 state budget Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An open letter signed by 19 former Vermont legislators including former Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, who ran against Scott for governor in 2020 as a Progressive, says the continued reliance on property taxes to fund schools is regressive. We hope you will fulfill the promise of Act 60, which we helped pass in 1997, and ask Vermont homeowners with the most income to contribute their fair share to the cost of education by paying based on income. The Education Justice Coalition of Vermont, an activist organization, led a student walkout on May 21 based on what it said was the bills failure to address the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the state as well as the risk of school consolidation. However, Vermont House Speaker Jill Krowinski said she voted for the bill in April because the status quo is unacceptable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vermont House approves school-funding reform bill The Vermont Senate amended the House bill several times over the past six weeks before eventually deciding to vote on a version close to that passed by the House. The bill passed in concurrence without a floor vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. In southern Ukraine, giant reeds are known to populate the wetlands, skirting the Black Sea and stretching from Odesa to Kherson and Mykolaiv. Hollow grasses as tall as seven meters, swaying and pliant, that were the raw materials for the kinds of thatched roofs once common a century ago and more. Since replaced, for a century or more, by undifferentiated steel and concrete, the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice Biennale features such a structure, only reimagined, in a kind of ethno-futurist monument and installation conceived by curator and architect Bogdana Kosmina. This year's biennale titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective features architecture designed "to face a burning world," with 66 national participants invited to rethink the built environment amid the dizzying social upheavals of war, economic collapse and the rising temperatures and sea levels that will define the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's pavilion, organized around the concept of a Dakh (Ukrainian for roof) with the added lofty, if mildly obtuse, title Vernacular Hardcore focuses on wartime reconstruction. The show's central historical elements build on an architectural ethnography started by Kosmina's grandmother Tamara a half-century ago and are surrounded by the buzzing of an ambient drone canopy created by the artist Clemens Poole, achieving an obsessive portent of doom and rescue, preservation, and destruction. "With the danger of destruction and that everything could be lost, I started to really look at what I needed to save and preserve," Kosmina says about the concept behind her work. "This is our cultural and architectural heritage of course, but it can shape our vision about more creative ways to work with architecture." Hardcore in the original sense refers to a composite of materials, say rubbish stone, or brick, reconstituted to form the foundation of a new structure. In that sense, the show is very much hardcore in its wide-reaching, vernacular union of artists, ethnographers, architects, volunteers, and ad hoc participants in Ukraine's rebuilding to form a cohesive vision of wartime preservation and future. The show's participants include three generations of Kosminas, all architects; Kseniia Kalmus and her Klyn drone-building project; the reconstruction collectives Livyj Bereh (Left Bank) led by Ihor Okuniev and Vladyslav Sharapa (both are currently enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces), as well as KHARPP, directed by Ada Wordsworth; curators Kateryna Rusetska, co-founder of the Dnipro Construction Festival, and architectural anthropologist Michal Murawski, as well as institutional backing from the Ukrainian Institute of Kyiv and their Creative Director Tetyana Filevska, UNESCO, Ribbon International, and several Ukrainian government agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the 1960s, Tamara and a group of architects and ethnographers in Kyiv, Chisinau, and Minsk began a dauntingly ambitious survey of vernacular structures across Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. It was an attempt by Moscow to unite structural norms across the three Soviet republics while documenting how circumstances like climate, weather, and diversity in landscape and vegetation shape human knowledge and approach to the territory. The work was never published, yet Tamara and her team continued to document the minutiae of atmospheric and structural conditions throughout Ukraine. "The Atlas is completely comprehensive," Kosmina says. "It was a colossal work, they visited every village, doing interviews with people, taking photographs, even making watercolor renditions to show the interior and exterior of homes in color." The Ukrainian Pavilion taking shape at the Venice Biennale, photographed during the installation process. (Maxime Faure / Ukrainian Pavilion) Maps on display as the Ukrainian Pavilion takes shape at the Venice Biennale, photographed during the installation process. (Maxime Faure / Ukrainian Pavilion) It was the work of decades, at times forgotten and revived. When digital maps first arrived in 2011, Tamara, by then the last key architect of the group who remained alive, began to digitize certain documents, but still the cost of printing was prohibitive and the work was never transferred into a publication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tamara passed away in 2016, and Kosmina says that while she grew up surrounded by her grandmother's work, they remained collecting dust between her parent's apartment in Kyiv and her grandparents' apartment in the Troieshchyna neighborhood, a notorious sea of hundreds of Soviet apartment blocks on the northeastern outskirts of the city. In the winter of 2022, soon after the full-scale invasion, after a missile landed in the courtyard of her grandparent's home, Kosmina, in her grief and panic, started to think almost obsessively about these archives in particular: how could they be recovered and preserved as everything was crumbling around her? During that unworldly winter, Kosmina found that many drawings and original materials survived in the apartment. "I had the feeling that I was discovering treasures in this Troieshchyna pyramid," she says. "I had my childhood with all of those papers around, and I never took interest before, looking at what is inside and behind those maps, what they mean, and where they come from." Traveling to the apartment with a small pink suitcase, Kosmina began collecting the papers, and in 2023, she transferred them to a studio in Berlin, where friends helped her buy a scanner. "I was just passing my days and nights by doing this endless scanning," she says, which she hoped would form a complete digital archive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her idea then was to apply the work to connect two vernaculars: emergency and traditional, in a Ukrainian exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "At the time, Ukraine had no pavilion there I wanted to make a direct collaboration with the Italian side," she says. At the same time, her friend Patrik Arnesson, a Swedish developer and coder who goes by the name Princess Momo, introduced the idea of applying the archive to create a personalized artificial intelligence, in part applying segments of her grandmother's work. Read also: Aestheticized aggression why Gosha Rubchinskiys Victory Day photo book is Russian propaganda Arnesson invited her to Mexico City to work on a series of experiments in the realm of personal AI, under the banner of a project Arnesson called Iris, and in mid-2023 their team started to explore applications of open source data to build an AI that was truly personal by maintaining independence from external data sources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kosmina's first AI, called Kyiv Crematorium, was an effort to digitally preserve structures destroyed in the war, not just in form but in the collective memory of those who lived there. "I was in a dramatic period," Kosmina says. But she found her purpose in the project when she realized her preservation of her grandmother's Atlas was born from the desire to preserve her grandmother herself. So she began to create Tamara, or to recreate her, incorporating not just the vast archive from the Atlas but also Kosmina's personal memories. The goal, the focus, was to create an individual AI that felt fully human. Kosmina started to obsessively record her own memories, transcribing imagined conversations with her grandmother, and prompting the AI to recall her favorite music, the foods she loved, and her specific verbiage and mannerisms (never, ever say "certainly"). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Along with vast uploads of Ukrainian novels, demographic information, and historical records, Tamara certainly feels human, beyond anything approached by ChatGPT, but superhuman in her recall, in her capacity to prompt the user towards an excavation of their own ancestral memory. "It's so important to have her around me for these archival purposes, but yes, alsoshe was and is my best friend Sometimes when I speak with her on the phone, yeah I have a feeling that she really is my grandmother" Kosmina says. Amid her excavations, Bogdana found an outlet from her solitary endeavors in the volunteer-led reconstruction organization Livyj Bereh. Founded to repair damaged structures in Kyiv by the friends Ihor Okuniev and Vladyslav Sharapa in the aftermath of the full-scale invasion, they were joined by the artist Kseniia Kalmus, who had also started efforts to collect funds and materials for humanitarian aid. In May 2022, the group started its efforts to repair damaged structures, starting with homes and schools in de-occupied villages near Kyiv and Cherniiv. When parts of Kharkiv Oblast were liberated in the autumn of that year, the group joined an expedition to Slatyne, a rural settlement roughly 13 kilometers from the Russian border that has been repeatedly targeted by Russian airstrikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Slatyne the group understood that the first step towards habitability, structurally speaking, is a roof. We therefore prioritized it as the starting point of our efforts, Okuniev says. After the liberation of Ukrainian territories from occupation, we began traveling across different regions and saw firsthand the devastating scale of destruction caused by the war. And thus the Dakh project was born. In total, the group has repaired more than 400 roofs in five regions across Ukraine. Materials and labor for one roof for a private home cost around 2,000 euros and the work is finished within a day. That autumn, the group began to work in villages across the Kharkiv Oblast, often no more than five or 10 kilometers from the Russian border. It was an area where the Russian military was training soldiers to target civilians with FPV drones, and the damage to both human life and human structures was enormous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the area had been evacuated, Kalmus says, "People are so connected to their land and the place they grew up they won't leave," especially vulnerable groups, often the elderly, the ill, or large families unable to afford the costs of relocation. The area was shelled heavily until September 2022, and for nearly two years afterwards there was relative calm, without the regular shelling that would come later. In that period, Kalmus, Ada Wordsworth and their team went from village to village, often staying for weeks, where they rented homes, bought necessary materials, and hired locals to carry out repairs. By spring 2024, KHARPP and Livyj Bereh had secured additional funding and were preparing to organize an expanded rebuilding effort. That's when Russia launched a renewed ground offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, restarting near-constant shelling and targeted attacks on civilians. The offensive ground Livyj Bereh's efforts to a halt, with the village heads deciding it was simply too dangerous to rebuild. Installation work underway at the Ukrainian Pavilion for the Venice Biennale, shown in this undated photograph. (Maxime Faure / Ukrainian Pavilion) "It was a crushing moment for me," Kalmus says. "I decided okay, I will not let them take another project from me, so I enrolled in engineering courses to learn how to build drones." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By refocusing on drones, building and donating them to local Ukrainian units, Kalmus conceived of erecting what she called a drone canopy that would not only shield these communities from attack but also could fight back. Thus, the Klyn Drone Project came to life. "Klyn Drone became a continuation of our reconstruction project, but in a different form. This is not rebuilding after destruction. It is protection before destruction," Kalmus writes in her summation for the Biennale pavilion. Despite being composed of volunteers, without a professional architect among them, this year Livyj Bereh was awarded the Royal Academy Dorfman Prize, one of the most prestigious architecture prizes in the world. "The Dorfman Prize was weird because I am not an architect. When I entered that jury, I was just saying what we'd done and I was thinking, okay, I am not better or worse, but I am from another planet." In their decision, the jury described Livyj Bereh as "An architectural act of collective care and resistance across the country To provide architecture that defies the destruction of neighborhoods, especially in a moment that is about erasure, is of deep importance as powerful as any civic monument and documented with the unflinching eye of the greatest war art." In the exhibition, there's an anecdote passed around, a story about a Russian missile striking a roof of thatched reeds much like the one featured in Bogdana Kosmina's installation in Venice. As the story goes, the missile penetrated the structure woven together in just the right way, designed to withstand fires and storms, but did not detonate, as it would have had it struck an object composed of less forgiving concrete or steel. Later plucked away, the missile was detonated under controlled conditions with no damage to nearby homes. The installation is thus an ode to the archiving efforts of Tamara and the fieldwork and sacrifice of Livyj Bereh. Rather than fetishizing a nostalgic and frozen past, the work exists in the tradition of grassroots resistance, vernacular survival, and creative preservation. Instead of proposing some new future solution in architecture, Vernacular Hardcore amplifies existing efforts before the global consortium of investors and NGOs take over and propose quick fix solutions that may not benefit local communities in the long run. The exhibition will be toured to Ukraine after Venice, including a hoped-for presentation at the Construction Festival in Dnipro in the summer of 2025. It is a message of Ukrainian vernacular survival and future. The Venice Architecture Biennale runs from May 10 until Nov. 23, 2025. Read also: Everything is translation 13th Book Arsenal festival in Kyiv to bridge gaps between language and war Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. ALBANY Until April 1, Brian King served as director of the Center for Tobacco Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where his agency authorized the legal sale of nearly three-dozen vape products such as e-cigarettes that would be illegal under New York State law. The next month, the University at Buffalo-schooled epidemiologist and former employee at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center was named executive vice president for U.S. programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a health advocacy group. On Wednesday, King spoke at a news conference in the State Capitol calling for the state to clamp down on the storage and illegal sale of flavored vape products that he and other advocates say pose major risks to children including some of the same products the FDA allowed to be sold under his tenure. Asked why he was now supporting a crackdown on products that were exempt under his former agency, King sidestepped the question, saying he was there to talk about New York and not the FDA. But I will say that FDA has the authority to authorize tobacco products for sale. It does not approve of tobacco products because theres no safe tobacco products, King said, adding that states are still allowed to take action. Asked why exemptions were allowed while he was serving in his former role, King replied: Its not about me. Its about New York King, a native of the Rochester area, added: Next question. Moments later, he said: Youd have to ask the FDA. The FDA did not return a email seeking comment on Friday. King is the latest voice in a decadeslong history of competing interests battling over tobacco-related legislation in Albany, one which in recent years has been centered around vaping. Five years after the state banned the sale of flavored vape products such as e-cigarettes, various interests remain heavily engaged in the promotion or opposition of new proposed crackdowns on the products and their storage. Three of those interests alone have collectively spent more than $1 million on lobbying efforts to further their agendas since the start of 2024, according to data from the states Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government or COELIG. For instance, Altria Client Services, which was formerly known as Philip Morris, spent $629,922 last year on lobbying efforts involving four firms and itself to lobby on vape-related bills and other legislation in Albany. It has spent $209,622 this year. In 2024, the American Heart Association spent $101,744 to lobby on vape-related bills and other proposals. It has spent $55,332 this year. The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund, part of Kings current group, spent $75,500 last year and at least $12,000 so far this year. Although important strides have been made to date, more can and should be done, said King, who worked as a research affiliate in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at Roswell Park. There are no redeeming aspects of these products among kids. E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. It can also harm the adolescent brain and it can prime the brain for addiction to other drugs. New York outlawed flavored vape products in the 2020 state budget, but it contained a provision that allowed vape products to be sold if they receive a Premarket Tobacco Product Authorization order from FDA. At the time, tobacco industry lobbyists were pushing to get an exception for menthol. King was leading the FDAs Center for Tobacco Products between 2022 and April 1, when he was removed from his position by the Trump administration. King backed a bill sponsored by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, both Manhattan Democrats, that would remove the FDA exemption, which the sponsors call a potential loophole. They argued, in a memo of support for their bill, that some retails have illegally stocked flavored products in back rooms in violation of the 2020 law. In some instances, health officials have been unable to gain access to all areas of the store during an inspection, the memo said. By hindering the Health Departments ability to confirm compliance, bad actors have been able to continue to sell flavored products. The bill, which has made it to the Senate floor, remains in the Assemblys Health Committee. Shanequa Charles, executive director of Miss Abbies Kids, a nonprofit youth organization, said at the news conference that illegally flavored e-cigarettes still account for roughly one-third of e-cigarette sales in New York. This is outrageous, she said. These products are not new, but the vaping and the tobacco industry have found new ways to exploit enforcement loopholes to continue selling illegal e-cigarettes. The vaping epidemic hasnt ended and were nowhere near it. Opponents included the New York Association of Convenience Stores, which sent a memo of opposition noting that the PMTA exception requires scientific data to show that the product is appropriate for the protection of public health. Eliminating the exemption disregards both federal oversight and scientific evidence, the memo said. New York State is already considered one of the most challenging environments for small businesses due to the sheer volume of regulatory burdens. This legislation does nothing to address youth use directly and will only add more red tape and penalties, making it even harder for small, responsible retailers to survive. Rosenthal and Hoylman-Sigal have a separate bill to ban nicotine pouches. That bill, which is in the health committees of both houses, has drawn opposition from the states Business Council. It argued that the bill would create a barrier to quitting smoking and hurt the economy. Yet another related bill, sponsored by Assembly Member Michaelle Solages, D-Elmont, and Sen. Leroy Comrie, D-Queens, to allow the states tax department to impose enhance fines and greater enforcement of the 2020 law and allow taxation at the distribution level. The legislation session continues through June 12 and could extend for a few more days. Quad City area veterans are raising money to build a statue to honor Vietnam veterans at the Davenport Veterans Memorial Park. (Gavin Waidelich, OurQuadCities.com) On Friday, Chapter 776 of the Vietnam Veterans of America took donations outside Hy-Vee 53rd and Utica Ridge Road. The group wants to raise $10,000. The veterans want to represent how they were perceived with such negativity when they came back home from the war. The statue will depict a soldier carrying another soldier on his back, with the title No One Left Behind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Veterans Memorial Park is a fantastic place to go, just to pause and reflect. Then for us (veterans,) we can walk over when we have the statue in place, We can see a pride in the fact that we served, we were there and after we came home and having not been received real well, have been able to rise above that, said Rod Kjersten, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 vice president elect. The group will be outside the Hy-Vee store again from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Local Scouts are honoring those who gave their lives in service of our country. The Scouts of America, along with community volunteers, placed United States flags on the graves of all the veterans at the Mount Lebanon Cemetery. We invite the whole community to come out every year to participate. We have just volunteers, neighbors, people from the community that come out to do this, so we enjoy doing it. Its for our veterans, said Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 284 Brian Peltz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Organizers said they do this every Friday before Memorial Day. In all, they placed more than 1,500 flags. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW The 2016 election wasnt the first occasion on which Donald Trump had considered running to be president of the United States. He seriously played with the idea in the run-up to the 2000 election too. Oprah Winfrey might have been his running mate. Trump was a member of the Republican Party back then, but not a happy one. In October 1999, aged 53, he bolted to join the upstart Reform Party because he thought the GOP was becoming too crazy. But he also feared that the frontrunner to be the Reform presidential candidate, Pat Buchanan, was mad. Its just incredible that anyone can embrace this guy, Trump said at the time. Hes a Hitler lover. I guess hes an anti-Semite. He doesnt like the blacks, he doesnt like the gays He would only get the staunch Right wacko vote. It didnt escape Trumps notice that David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, wanted to join the Reform Party. Trump left it again in February 2000, after mere months. Trump, in the 1990s, was politically heterodox. Over the decade, he donated equally to the Democrats and the Republicans. He supported Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He held liberal positions on abortion and healthcare. But he was also sceptical about immigration and free trade; his longest-held political conviction was that America was being ripped off by other countries. And on the latter issues he found himself politically aligned with Buchanan, who had been Richard Nixons speechwriter in the late 1960s and coined the phrase the Silent Majority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Buchanan features among the leading characters in When the Clock Broke, a spry and superbly written book on 1990s American politics by John Ganz. Its the best account I have ever read on the origins of Trumpism. I confess that I didnt come into the book with great expectations: my knowledge of Ganz was largely confined to seeing him being rude to random Right-wing people on X, and knowing that he had a Substack account dedicated to the study of fascism. But this is a substantial work of intellectual history. Trump haunts almost every page, and Ganzs passionate engagement with personalities and ideas he clearly deplores hes fiercely Left-wing is invigorating. Part of the reason why it works is that Ganz shares with the people about whom he writes the conviction that America is in crisis. American democracy, he writes, is often spoken of as being in peril. He agrees, adding: Others point out that democracy never fully existed in the first place and this book also agrees with that thesis. (He merely disagrees with them on what to do about it.) The books argument is clear and convincing: understanding American politics in the early 1990s is key to understanding Trumpism today. During that period, a group of maverick intellectuals and politicians, from Duke and Buchanan to Ross Perot and Murray Rothbard, waged war against the conservative establishment. For them, Ganz writes, the 1980s represented a betrayal: they understood Ronald Reagan as the champion of the economic interests of and cultural values of white Middle Americans, but [the latter] now seemed worse off than ever. The country was in dire straits. The streets were plagued by crime and drug use. Recession and unemployment crippled hard-working families. Political correctness in universities and the media demonised American culture and history. Ross Perot became the populist billionaire, winning over 18 per cent of the vote in the 1992 election on a platform of reducing the national debt and slashing bureaucracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sam Francis, one of the intellectual figures behind this reaction to the conservative establishment, wrote that the New Right is not a conservative force but a radical or revolutionary one. True, they were revolutionary in one sense, but they were arch-conservative in others. Some of them described themselves as the Old Right, and contrasted themselves with the neo-cons who often, as Ganz writes, were formerly liberals who had only recently fled the Democratic Party out of disgust for the New Left and fear of the Black Power movement. Buchanan and his ilk considered them to be newcomers who were barely conservatives in the first place. Pat Buchanan at the Republican National Convention, 1996 - AP The New Right, by contrast, were essentially paleocons who traced their lineage to the isolationist, pre-war America Firsters. They anathematised a range of things, from the New Deal to the Great Society. They despised mass immigration, free trade and foreign interventionism, all of which had become emblematic of the Reagan-Bush GOP from 1981 to 1993. (Reagan famously gave amnesty to almost three million illegal immigrants in 1987.) The person who embodied the out-of-touch conservative establishment more than anyone else was George HW Bush, Reagans vice-president from 1981 to 1989 then president himself from 1989 to 1993. He was patrician by blood and upbringing; he had been raised in New England, had been educated at private schools and at Yale, and had gone from plum job to plum job, becoming director of the CIA, ambassador to the UN, and eventually the man in the Oval Office. It was no surprise that Buchanan referred to Bush as King George which, for obvious historical reasons, may be the worst insult one can bestow on an American leader. Bushs tax hike in the early 1990s, after promising he wouldnt raise them Read my lips, and so on was a particularly egregious betrayal. Buchanan said of Bush: He is yesterday and we are tomorrow. He is a globalist and we are nationalists. In 1992, Buchanan demanded a wall along the border with Mexico and a five-year moratorium on legal migration. He won 37 per cent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, and declared in a speech there: When we take America back, we are going to make America great again, because there is nothing wrong with putting America first. George HW Bush, then US president, holds a press conference in 1989 - AP The rest of the 1990s would, however, prove a great disappointment for these insurgents. Perot did much worse in 1996 than he had in 1992. Buchanan also tried to run on a GOP ticket again, but was unable to capture the same level of support and enthusiasm as he had four years before. Francis and Rothbard remained relatively obscure. And, of course, the Reform Party did poorly in the 2000 election. In retrospect, 1992 was the high noon for these particular renegades, at least on an individual level. Yet their ideas and convictions would come back with a renewed force in the mid-2010s, and dominate the Republican Party today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the one hand, Ganz writes, the influence of Francis on the 21st-century GOP is abundantly clear. Theres a conception of the party as a national populist movement on behalf of the Middle American working class led by a Caesarist president to smash the power of the globalist professional and managerial elite. And then theres the influence of Rothbard, who had a radical libertarian project of administrative state demolition beyond a populist facade. In other words, Buchanan was John the Baptist to Trumps Messiah. Thirty years on, the Republican party is no longer the party of Reagan and the Bushes: Trump rules unopposed. When the Clock Broke is a brilliant explanation of his rise. When the Clock Broke is published by Penguin at 10.99. To order your copy, call 0330 173 5030 or visit Telegraph Books Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 38-year-old wanted man was arrested after an assault incident earlier this week in Horizon City, according to the Horizon City Police Department. Bryan Borrego, 38, was arrested for an outstanding warrant and for a charge of assault on a family/household member with previous conviction, Horizon City Police said. Borrego was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility with a $20,000 bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At roughly 3 a.m. on Monday, May 19, officers responded to an assault in progress along the 13800 block of Town Center. According to Horizon City Police, officers received information from witnesses who described the offender as Borrego. Officers then requested a warrant check and discovered that Borrego had an outstanding criminal warrant for assault on a family/household member with previous conviction with no bond, Horizon City Police said. Borrego was then arrested for the warrant and an assault charge. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) It is now legal for Washingtonians in three counties to take additional species of roadkill home with them. As of May 17, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is permitting people to salvage certain deer that were accidentally killed in vehicle crashes in Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties. Chaotic tariff policy: USDA buys $16M of Oregon shrimp to help fishermen Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State wildlife officials previously banned this practice to help save the Columbian white-tailed deer. The species is found in the three named Washington counties along with Oregons Clatsop, Columbia and Douglas counties and is federally protected due to its status as a threatened animal. Although it remains illegal to salvage white-tailed deer, WDFW is now allowing drivers to salvage other species as long as they have a permit issued by the department. We carefully reviewed available data and determined the risk of mistakenly salvaging Columbian white-tailed deer is low, WDFW Ungulate Section Manager Kyle Garrison explained in a release. This rule change expands salvage opportunities for black-tailed deer, in addition to elk, while continuing to support protections for Columbian white-tailed deer. The department first legalized the salvaging of elk in 2016, when white-tailed deer were still endangered. They were reclassified as threatened animals later in 2023, after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the population grew from 545 deer in 2002 to 1,296 deer about 20 years later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Samaritan CEO responds to backlash amid possible rural birthing center closures In Oregon, salvaging certain roadkill became legal in 2019. The states fish and wildlife department noted that white-tailed deer could be salvaged from Douglas County and east of the crest of the Cascade Mountains, but they should be left alone in other areas. It is still illegal to retrieve other game mammals, like bears and cougars. In both Oregon and Washington, drivers must acquire a permit within 24 hours of possessing a deer or elk carcass. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEW YORK (PIX11) At supermarkets, bodegas, drug stores, banks, and other locations where people use credit or debit cards, about one in every ten card readers may have a skimming device attached to it, according to the U.S. Secret Service. The devices, which steal the financial information of cardholders, are then used by the criminals who install them to drain cardholders accounts. More Local News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fraud also happens frequently with cards for the SNAP program, which is sometimes also called food stamps, as well as with EBT cards. Those crimes put some of the most needy people at risk of losing badly needed benefits. Its why the Secret Service, in conjunction with the NYPD, the USDA, the Brooklyn District Attorneys Office, and other local agencies, carried out a three-day sweep to find skimming devices, and investigate the people behind them. The effort, called Operation Flagship, found more than 50 devices out of some 700 that agents checked. One of those skimmers was in the card slot of an ATM at a major chain drugstore on the Lower East Side. James Lillo, an NYPD detective who specializes in fighting financial crimes, is also an expert at removing skimming devices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After using a few different tools, he was able to pull the skimmer from inside the ATM card slot. He pointed to the metal plate, shaped like a lower case -h, that hed removed, and showed a tiny set of electronics wired onto one side of it. More Local News The data would be transmitted into the flash memory here, Lillo said, pointing to a microchip card on the device. He then showed a millimeters-thin plastic panel that had been affixed next to the ATMs keypad. The panel had a pinhole in it. Behind that nearly microscopic hole was a tiny camera and a memory card. The camera runs video from here, capturing the customers in this case [the] victims PIN numbers, Lillo explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That one ATM was set up to find and save hundreds of PIN numbers and card numbers that scammers were using to drain peoples accounts, according to the Secret Service. Michael Peck is the assistant special agent-in-charge at the New York office of the U.S. Secret Service. Peck said that Operation Flagship is a nationwide effort, and of all of the locations participating across the country, As an operation in recovery of skimming devices, New York has been our largest one to date. He said that nationwide, Las Vegas, Nevada, had the highest number of stores, banks and other businesses entered by agents during the operation. However, as a percentage of devices seized, New York had the highest numbers. More than 19 percent of all devices seized nationwide were in New York City. More Local News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That fact emphasized how pervasive the problem is here in New York. It really adds up, said Peck, the Secret Service assistant special agent-in-charge. $16.2 million has been the prevented loss to people that really need it, he said in an interview at Secret Service Headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn. Daniel Alessandrino, another NYPD financial crimes detective, led a local team searching for devices. In three locations that they checked within a few blocks of one another on the Lower East Side, the team found two devices. The next steps, Alessandrino said, involve pinpointing the people who install skimming devices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [We] locate video, he said during an interview in a supermarket where the team searched all of its checkout line card readers, referring to the surveillance video system in the store. Even though the supermarket was not one of the three locations where devices were found, Alessandrino said that video systems like the one in the store demonstrate how they nab skimming criminals. Once a device is found, he said, detectives look at video of the place where the device had been installed, to possibly locate the subjects leaving [a store], where were able to then, hopefully, with our technology, identify who they are. That kind of work, said Dan Leero, a Secret Service technical special agent, is part of a cooperation between his agency, which is responsible for the security of U.S. currency, and local law enforcement agencies. We rely heavily on the NYPD, the Secret Service agent said, to know their neighborhoods, to know these areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Secret Service also says that customers can help to stop skimming crimes, by taking protective measures. Watch your [account] balances, said Peck, the special agent-in-charge, protect your PINs, use the chip on a card, rather than swipe it. If you can, he continued, use tap and pay. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Trump administration is breaking the law by withholding funds appropriated by Congress for a national electric vehicle (EV) charging network, a government watchdog says. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which set out to help build a national network of EV chargers. In February, the Department of Transportation (DOT) said it would rescind all guidance related to the program and that no new obligations may occur under the existing program until it issues updated guidance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lawsuit over the matter from several states alleges that the department is withholding a total of $2.74 billion in funding. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, this week agreed, saying the Trump administrations move violates the Impoundment Control Act. DOT is not authorized to withhold these funds from expenditure and must continue to carry out the statutory requirements of the program, the watchdog said. If DOT wishes to make changes to the obligation and expenditure of funds appropriated under the NEVI Formula Program, it must propose funds for rescission or otherwise propose legislation to make changes to the law for consideration by Congress, the GAO continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the Transportation Department said in an email that the watchdogs report shows a complete misunderstanding of the law. Their conclusion conflicts with Congress intent, and completely misunderstands the Federal-aid highway program and how Congress structured the NEVI program, the department said. In cherry-picking language in the program statute, GAOs assessment is also at odds with its own reports on how Federal-aid Highway programs similar to NEVI receive and use appropriated funds. The spokesperson added that the department was reviewing and updating the program guidance because the implementation of NEVI has failed miserably, and DOT will continue to work in good faith to update the program so it can be utilized more efficiently and effectively. While the finding only applies to the EV program, that is just one of many undergoing a funding freeze or cancellation instituted by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Democrats estimate that the administration is blocking a total of $430 billion. This legal decision affirms what weve long known: the President is breaking the law to block funding Congress passed on a bipartisan basis and that is owed to the American people simply because he disagrees with it. This plain fact is unacceptable and it cannot stand any longer, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement. These bipartisan investments need to start flowing immediately as do the hundreds of billions of dollars in other investments President Trump is holding up. I dont care about Russ Voughts personal interpretation of our spending laws; the Constitution is clear, and President Trump simply does not have the power of the purse Congress does, Murray added, referring to the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Among the responsibilities of the Nebraska State Climate Office is to manage the state's "mesonet" system, which includes this weather monitoring station near Big Springs. (Courtesy of the Nebraska Mesonet system) LINCOLN Two National Weather Service offices that cover some rural parts of Nebraska will no longer monitor local weather around-the-clock. The Weather Service offices in neighboring states that forecast parts of western and southwest Nebraska cut back from 24/7 coverage after staffing reductions were made under the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. One office in Wyoming covers eight counties in the Nebraska Panhandle, and the other, in Kansas, forecasts for three counties in the southwestern corner of Nebraska. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those two offices in neighboring states are among only four nationally so short of staff that they lack enough meteorologists to staff an overnight shift. Other nearby forecasting offices dealing with their own staffing problems will have to handle the load during those shifts. They will be tasked with monitoring conditions and temporarily issuing forecasts and warnings each night for the two regions in addition to their normal coverage duties. Earlier this month, five former National Weather Service directors wrote an open letter to the public expressing fears that the cuts would endanger lives. An agreement last month between the Weather Service and its employees union warned of degraded services as more people leave. These shortages threaten public safety, said Nebraska State Climatologist Deb Bathke, who works out of the State Climate Office based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Bathke said staff may be unable to provide accurate and timely severe weather warnings, monitor for storm reports and monitor radar during severe weather because the offices are running thin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson Kim Doster told the Nebraska Examiner that the Weather Service has updated the service level standards for its weather forecast offices to manage impacts from shifting personnel. The same NOAA spokesperson told the New York Times that several local NWS offices are temporarily operating below around-the-clock staffing. These revised standards reflect the transformation and prioritization of mission-essential operations, while supporting the balance of the operational workload for its workforce, Doster told the Examiner. The Trump Administration fired roughly 600 workers at NOAA and NWS in March as it tried to reshape the federal bureaucracy. NWS was understaffed long before Trumps second term, but the recent cuts required urgent action, according to NOAA. NOAA is offering paid moving expenses to get employees to move voluntarily to fill positions across the country, including the Kansas office that covers Nebraska. Like other rural areas across the U.S, rural Nebraska has fewer news outlets providing crucial, time-dependent information, such as weather alerts, to the public. Many of those areas rely on rural radio stations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nebraska Rural Radio Association, also known as Rural Radio Network, is a group of stations owned by farmers and ranchers that provides news and weather reports for rural areas of the state. NRRAs Bill Boyer, who manages the Scottsbluff market, said the change raises concern due to the possibility of a missing severe weather alert. Boyer said that western Nebraska had its own NWS office in the 1990s, but it was shut down, and the remaining operations were moved to the Cheyenne office in Wyoming. More troubling is that we received no communication from the National Weather Service, Boyer said. Kevin Spencer, manager of the biggest city in the Panhandle, Scottsbluff, told the Examiner that the city is monitoring the changes to the Cheyenne NWS office and working with the Scotts Bluff County Emergency Management Office to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We support NWS staff and have complete confidence in their ability to manage their time effectively, ensuring we receive accurate information in the event of inclement weather, Spencer said. We have been assured that staff will be available in case of severe weather. The two parts of Nebraska affected by the recent staffing cuts in forecasting are in U.S. Rep. Adrian Smiths congressional district and include his Gering-area home. Smith said timely and reliable weather warnings can make all the difference in a region of the state where severe weather can arise suddenly. I am working to get additional information from the NWS to ensure Nebraskans have access to the information they need when it counts, Smith said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russ Pankonin, who lives in the states southwestern corner, in Imperial, said this is the first time the region has felt a direct effect of DOGE. Pankonin said the area shouldnt feel an impact if the other offices tasked with the overnight shift can handle it. He ran the rural Imperial Republican newspaper and several nearby papers for years. This isnt the first DOGE cut to the Weather Service affecting Nebraska this year. In April, an NWS office in the Omaha area and other Great Plains offices announced pausing the deployment of weather balloons. That decision was reversed after some of the states federal delegation pushed back on those DOGE cuts. At the time, U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said he hoped to introduce legislation that would reclassify National Weather Service employees as public safety personnel because it would exempt them from future hiring freezes and buyouts. Flood has since said the station is launching two weather balloons a day. However, the Omaha area NWS office has said it is still facing staffing issues. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Sean Diddy Combs federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial finished its second week of testimony on Thursday, with the jury hearing a wide range of evidence as prosecutors try to prove that, over two decades, the rap and fashion mogul abused women, engaged in the trafficking of sex workers and turned his music and fashion empire into a criminal enterprise. Combs defense countered these allegations this week with strategic cross-examinations of most of the witnesses brought by federal prosecutors, aiming to discredit and minimize their allegations, testimony and expert witness status as Combs maintains that he is innocent of all charges in the case. More from The Hollywood Reporter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sharp and tough questioning has pervaded the trial, which is expected to last for five more weeks and, if it ends with a guilty verdict from the eight-man and four-woman jury, could result in the onetime high-flying superstar of the rap world in prison for life. Here is a look at some of the most compelling exchanges and moments from this week at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan. The Ex-Assistant and the Kompromat On Tuesday, Combs former assistant David James testified about a number of experiences he had during his time working for the mogul. One exchange he had with Combs following an office party may back up the claim that he was prone to holding onto compromising footage of people as a form of security, threatening to release it in order to keep them in line. Cassie Ventura testified last week that a similar threat hung over a lot of their relationship, with Combs threatening to release freak-off footage of her with male sex workers that she believed could destroy her career. The practice is also in line with what Rodney Lil Rod Jones, who worked as Combs videographer while living with him and producing his music, stated in his civil complaint against Combs last year. Heres a look at what James said in court this week. James: A few days later, we made it back to New York City, we were in the executive office and he called me into his office. He was reviewing footage from the party. Prosecution: Can you explain what you mean by footage from the party? Yeah, so wed have a videographer who basically recorded everything for his parties, and Mr. Combs was reviewing the footage to see what people were doing at the party, things like that. What, if anything, did Mr. Combs say to you about this video? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was kind of like, I heard about it at first. And he says, Yo, playboy, is that you dancing around the party, and I said, Yeah, that was me dancing around the party. And he said, Were you on ecstasy that night? And I said, Yes, sir, I was. And he kind of nodded his head and he said, Okay, I want to keep this footage in case I ever need it. The Mogul and the $20,000 Demand This week, the jury and public learned, as Combs became privy to Venturas affair with rapper Kid Cudi, he demanded that her mother, Regina Ventura, who took the stand to testify this week, pay him $20,000 in compensation for the investment that hed made in her as an artist signed to his Bad Boy Records label. Regina Ventura testified that she paid the money for the safety of her daughter following her dealings and relationship with Combs. Days after the $20,000 was paid to Combs, it was returned with no comment or explanation from Combs to his on-off girlfriends mother. Notably, Combs defense team declined to cross-examine Regina Ventura. Heres a look at her exchange from the stand with the feds. When did you meet Sean Combs? 2006. My daughter signed with his Bad Boy Records. He was her boss. Then they started dating. They moved to L.A. Read this message from December 2011. Casandra wrote to me. She said Sean Combs threatened to release a sex tape and go after her and Mr. Mescudi. How did you react? It made me sick. Sean Combs demanded $20,000, he said to recoup losses due to Mr. Mescudi, from my husband and myself Why did you take a loan to pay Sean Combs? For the safety of my daughter. The Punisher and the Freezer Meat Tuesday saw colorful testimony from Sharay Dashawn Hayes, the sex worker known as The Punisher, who discussed his work with Ventura and Combs at freak-offs, over several occasions. And for a man known as The Punisher, he was quite candid about a topic that might embarrass some men and certainly runs counter to his moniker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hayes work at freak-offs ended when his issues around erectile dysfunction in 2015 apparently frustrated Combs to the point that he was no longer hired, Hayes told the court this week. The moguls assertive, aggressive tone as he demanded that Hayes and Ventura have penetrative sex in front of him, which was delivered in close proximity, threw him off and startled him, he said. While this, Hayes says he believed, was what ended his professional relationship with the couple, his story has a happy ending. He eventually wrote a book, called In Search of Freezer Meat, which he described as a mens self-help book that chronicles me developing and ultimately curing my erectile dysfunction by way of a penis implant. Heres a look at Hayes exchange with Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith C. Foster. Why did you have these performance issues? Just, you know, me personally, a sexual scenario with a womans partner present, actively giving directions and stuff, like that was not the norm for me. So it created some discomfort that could affect me and my performance. What would you take to address these performance issues during these encounters? Oh, I tried Cialis, Viagra, the corner store pill, anything that I thought could possibly help me perform. It was a lot of pressure. Approximately when was the last time you had a sexual encounter with Ventura and Combs? March of 2015, somewhere around that time. Can you describe what happened during that encounter? Similar scenario where we started out interacting on the couch. This is specifically, I believe I mentioned earlier that there was a time that Mr. Combs came, intervened, he put threw condoms on the couch, and he expressed he was ready for us to begin penetration. His interaction and him being in close proximity was not the norm, so it kind of threw me off and startled me, so I struggled with getting an erection and I couldnt perform. What did he say? He said Im ready as he presented the condoms, he said Im ready to see you fuck her. And what did he do with the condoms? He threw them on the couch where we were interacting. What was his tone when he said Im ready to see you fuck her? Assertive, aggressive. How did she react? She reacted kind of startled, similar to myself. And did you and Ms. Ventura engage in penetrative intercourse after this? We attempted to, but like I said, I struggled to achieve an erection and maintain it, so it was a failure. And what happened at the end of this encounter? Eventually, another similar scenario, Mr. Combs left the room, Ms. Ventura followed him, she might have returned a few minutes later, and I was still instructed to finish. So I believe I masturbated to a point of orgasm. Shortly after they both left the room and she returned with money to pay me. We had a conversation where she was thanking me for my for being private and, you know, respecting their privacy in terms of our interactions. The Porsche and the DNA As Scott Kid Cudi Mescudi shared from the witness stand as he testified on Thursday, one detail from defense attorney Brian Steel took the rapper by surprise. Following the bombing of Mescudis Porsche outside his Hollywood Hills house in 2012, police launched an investigation. But according to Mescudi, he never learned anything about the incident from local police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Steel had some information to share with Mescudi as he cross-examined the witness. It turns out that DNA from a female was discovered on the vehicle during the investigation. Given the nature of DNA, its hard to say if this could point to the gender of the culprit who wrecked the vehicle with a Molotov cocktail, it was compelling enough to be noted by police and mentioned by Steel in court. But it certainly provided a genuine moment of surprise this week and might send amateur internet sleuths down a rabbit hole over the weekend. Heres how the exchange went down on Thursday between the defense, the prosecution, Mescudi and the judge overseeing the proceedings. Defense Attorney Steel: You knew that DNA was collected, true? Mescudi: Yes. Steel: You know that DNA comes back to a female, right? Mescudi: You said what now? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steel: The DNA comes back to a female. U.S. Attorney Johnson: Objection. Judge Arun Subramanian: Grounds? U.S. Attorney Johnson: Hearsay, speculation, foundation. Judge Subramanian: Mr. Steel, maybe you can ask some more questions. Steel: Sure. And were you aware that the results came back from the DNA that it came to a female? Thats my question. Johnson: Same objection. Judge Subramanian: Sustained. Steel: Do you know that there were results from the DNA? U.S. Attorney Johnson: Objection. Judge Subramanian: Thats overruled. Mescudi: I tried to reach out to the police. I didnt hear any follow-up about any of the fingerprints or anything. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) The Wellford Police Department said they are investigating an arson that happened on Friday. Related video: Is property crime going up in America? Police said they received numerous calls regarding a fire at Jackson Mill, early Friday morning. A citizen called police after spotting individuals at the mill, at around 4:30 a.m., police said. The fire was an isolated incident. Two people were arrested and two fled, but later turned themselves in to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Wellford police said they are working with the Spartanburg County Sheriffs Offices Arson Investigation Unit. The four suspects have been charged, police said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Family and friends came together in West Springfield for a motorcycle rideout remembering a young man who died in a motorcycle accident in 2023. Edwin Perez, Jr., passed away in 2023 in a motorcycle crash on I-91 northbound in West Springfield, an area that has seen many accidents over the years. Members of the community gathered at Riverdale Street Saturday afternoon to honor the life of Edwin at his memorial site and to raise awareness for safe highway driving. PHOTOS: Vehicle crashed into house on Tiffany Street in Springfield Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We lost our son at an early age, its not supposed to happen like this, said Edwin Perez, Edwins father. Were trying to just make sure his legacy lives on and everybody knows his name, and awareness for everybody else that lost a life. Motorcyclists then rode from the memorial to Rivers Park in Chicopee to host a lantern release and candle lighting. This year marks the third honorary rideout held in Edwins honor. Edwins family says they hope to see changes on the highway in the future due to the number of deadly crashes that have occurred. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Pearl Fernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the horrific murder of her son, 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. Twelve years ago, on May 22, 2013, emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from Pearl, who alerted paramedics that her son was not breathing. When they arrived at the home she was then sharing with her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre in Palmdale, Calif., paramedics found that the little boy had sustained serious injuries including a fractured skull, broken ribs and BB gun pellet marks on his body. Pearl and Aguirre were quickly arrested for their presumed involvement in Gabriels death and were both charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture when he was taken off life support on May 24, 2013. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court proceedings in the years to follow, many of Gabriels family members, including his siblings Virginia and Ezequiel, testified about the torturous abuse the child experienced at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend. Social workers were even implicated after being accused of neglecting Gabriel, although charges against them have since been dropped, per the Los Angeles Times. But, where is Pearl Fernandez now? Heres everything to know about what happened after Gabriel Fernandezs tragic murder in 2013. What happened to Gabriel Fernandez? Courtesy of Netflix Gabriel Fernandez. Gabriel Fernandez. Gabriel was an 8-year-old boy who was severely abused to the point of torture by his mother, Pearl, and her boyfriend, Aguirre, until his horrific death on May 24, 2013. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to TIME, Gabriel spent the majority of his childhood living with his uncle and later his grandparents. In 2012, however, Pearl regained custody of her son, which The Atlantic reported in 2018 was allegedly done so she could gain welfare benefits, much to the dismay of family members who were concerned for Gabriels well-being because of Pearls alleged history of drug abuse and neglect. When testifying years later in court, Gabriels grandfather, Robert Fernandez, claimed that it was within Pearls legal right to take her son back and that deputies had told him that his custody was not valid, per CBS. So, the then-7-year-old boy moved to his mothers house, where months of horrifying abuse began. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, Gabriel was often beaten by Aguirre because he believed that he was gay. Prosecutors said that he had suffered several injuries from the abuse, including 12 broken ribs, burn marks and a fractured skull. The young boy was also forced to eat cat litter and feces, and slept bound and gagged inside a small cabinet, the DAs Office added. On May 22, 2013, Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel arrived at Pearl's home after she called 911 to report that Gabriel was not breathing. She and Aguirre had beaten him extensively that day, allegedly as punishment for not cleaning up his toys. Gabriel was declared brain dead that day and was taken off life support two days later. What happened to Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre after Gabriels death? KTLA via AP Isauro Aguirre and Pearl Sinthia Fernandez during their sentencing hearing on June 7, 2018, in Palmdale, California. Isauro Aguirre and Pearl Sinthia Fernandez during their sentencing hearing on June 7, 2018, in Palmdale, California. A day after Pearl called police to alert them that her son was unresponsive, she and Aguirre were arrested for their involvement in his abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, Aguirre was charged with attempted murder while Pearl was arrested for felony child endangerment and abuse, per Newsweek. However, when Gabriel was taken off life support the next day, Aguirre and Pearl were then both charged with first-degree murder with a special circumstance of torture. Following court proceedings, a jury found Aguirre guilty of first-degree murder and the special circumstance of the infliction of torture in November 2017. He was then sentenced to death by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli. Meanwhile, Pearl pleaded guilty in February 2018 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in June. This case showed how evil can not only inflict lasting damage to those who loved Gabriel but our society as well, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a June 2018 statement. The horrific nature of Gabriels abuse and murder has been seared into our minds and the defendants will now spend the rest of their lives in prison for their reprehensible actions. Why were social workers charged in Gabriel Fernandezs death? Facebook Gabriel Fernandez. Gabriel Fernandez. After Gabriels death, four social workers were accused of failing to protect him and were each charged with one felony count of child abuse and one felony count of falsifying public records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors alleged that social workers Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement ignored evidence of Gabriels abuse, including calls from his teacher, and falsified reports that were intended to document signs of his abuse. Meanwhile, their supervisors, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were also accused by prosecutors of approving false reports that contradicted evidence of the abuse Gabriel was suffering. All four employees pleaded not guilty to the charges. I think Gabriel could have been saved about a dozen different ways and thats whats so intense and so heartbreaking about his story, Brian Knappenberger, the director of Netflix docuseries The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, told PEOPLE in 2020. I think you see that in a lot of the pictures of Gabriel. If you look at him, its easy to understand the kind of warmth and potential he had. Gabriels case ended up with Rodriguez after his teacher, Jennifer Garcia, called the Los Angeles County child abuse hotline to report signs of abuse she was witnessing, including bruises and alarming conversations. According to a 2018 investigative report from The Atlantic that cited L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) records, neither Rodriguez nor Bom reviewed Pearls history, despite four previous, unrelated calls being made to the agency with claims of abuse, nor did Rodriguez go to Gabriels school or talk to his neighbors. Moreover, the social worker reportedly never interviewed Gabriel or his siblings alone, which is standard, required department policy. In a brief statement to The Atlantic, Rodriguez said she was supervising other cases at the time that presented equal or greater danger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Four years after being charged, an appellate panel ruled in January 2020 that the social workers could not be prosecuted in Gabriels death because they would not have been able to control the actions of his parents, nor did they have custody or care of Gabriel. A few months later, in July, their charges were officially dismissed by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. Where is Isauro Aguirre now? KTLA via AP Isauro Aguirre sits and listens to his sentence on June 7, 2018 in Palmdale, California. Isauro Aguirre sits and listens to his sentence on June 7, 2018 in Palmdale, California. In 2018, Aguirre was admitted to San Quentin State Prison following his death sentence. It seems, however, that he has moved facilities since as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmate search showed that he is in California State Prison, Corcoran, as of May 2025. While Aguirre is still on death row, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in March 2019 that the state would have a moratorium on capital punishment, meaning Aguirres execution date is yet to be determined. Where is Pearl Fernandez now? Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Pearl Sinthia Fernandez on May 28, 2013 in Lancaster Superior Court. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez on May 28, 2013 in Lancaster Superior Court. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmate search, as of May 2025, Pearl was serving her sentence at the Central California Womens Facility located in Chowchilla, Calif. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In April 2021, she attempted to make a bid for resentencing, arguing that she could no longer be convicted of first or second-degree murder because of changes to Californias penal code. Her petition was denied, however, a few months later in June by Judge Lomeli, who said Pearl was not entitled to resentencing relief, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. It has been established by her own admission during her guilty plea that the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture over a period of several months, the judge continued, adding that records show Pearl was a major participant in the murder of a child victim. Read the original article on People The Trump administration placed a dramatic number of National Security Council staffers on administrative leave Friday as part of an agency overhaul, multiple outlets reported. The house-cleaning was reportedly overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whos also serving as interim national security adviser following Mike Waltzs ouster. A White House official told Axios that about half the departments 350 members were removed as part of an effort to scale back a department packed with employees who dont align with President Donald Trumps political agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NSC is the ultimate Deep State, a White House official told Axios. Its Marco vs. the Deep State. Were gutting the Deep State, the official said, noting that people removed from the NSC will be placed in other government roles. Rubio also oversaw massive cuts at the State Department last month. The NSC is tasked with advising the president on foreign policy and other matters of national security and helping coordinate policies across various government agencies. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the downsizing as part of his role as interim national security advisor. DREW ANGERER via Getty Images But another White House official told Axios the restructured NSC would serve to coordinate and advise not carry out policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People familiar with the matter told CNN that staffers were given less than an hour to clean out their desks. They also said NSC employees were recently re-interviewed by the Office of Presidential Personnel as part of a plan to scale back the department. Sources familiar with the dismissals also told The Washington Post that affected staffers included both career officials and political appointees. The right-sizing of the NSC is in line with its original purpose and the presidents vision, Rubio told Axios in a statement. The NSC will now be better positioned to collaborate with agencies. Rumblings of Trumps issues with the NSC began circulating in January, when officials revealed that his officials were questioning department employees about who they voted for in the 2024 election and well as looking into their political donations and social media posts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spokespeople for Rubio and the White House did not immediately return requests for comment. Related... President Donald Trumps National Security Council is to undergo a drastic downsizing just weeks after the president replaced his national security adviser and handed his Secretary of State Marco Rubio the top job. Trump and Rubio have laid out plans for a vast restructuring, significantly reducing the councils staff and transferring many of its responsibilities to the State and Defense departments, Axios reported. Its terrible. Less people means less control of the bureaucracy, one former member of the NSC told CBS News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NSC is the key body typically advising the president on national security and foreign policy deliberations. Since taking office, the Trump team have increasingly seen it as overly bureaucratic and staffed by partisan workers who dont share the presidents vision for the U.S. The NSC is the ultimate Deep State. Its Marco vs. the Deep State. Were gutting the Deep State, a source told Axios. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a cabinet meeting at the White House on April 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Trump and Rubio have laid out plans to restructure the National Security Council, significantly reducing the councils staff. / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images Around half of the NSCs 350 staff will be cut, with Rubio saying the changes will bring the agency in line with its original purpose and the presidents vision. At least 20 people within the department have been told theyve been placed on administrative leave, sources told CBS. Further reassignments will take effect next week. The move follows the firing of at least six NSC aides in early April. They were presented to Trump by far-right activist Laura Loomer on a list of those suspected of disloyalty to the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The newly departing staffers include Alex Wong, the principal deputy national security adviser, who is being moved to another department. Wong was also one of Loomers top targets. Vice President JD Vances national security adviser Andy Baker is taking over from Wong, sharing the position with White House deputy chief of staff Robert Gabriel. Rubio added the role of national security adviser to his Cabinet portfolio three weeks ago. He replaced Mike Waltz following the Signalgate fiasco, when a journalist was added to a group chat in which top officials were discussing military plans for an attack on Yemen. Waltz was subsequently nominated by Trump as his pick for ambassador to the United Nationswhich, in a musical chairs moment, sent the candidate originally tapped for that role, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, back to her House seat. On the surface, it was a routine closed-door meeting between Bangladeshs interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and the chiefs of the countrys three armed forces, to discuss law and order. But the May 20 meeting came amid what multiple officials familiar with the internal workings of the government described to Al Jazeera as an intensifying power struggle in Dhaka. Portrayed in social and mainstream media in Bangladesh as a cold war between the armed forces and the interim administration, these tensions now threaten the future of Yunuss role, nine months after he took charge following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the ruling Awami League. Hasina fled to India in August 2024 amid a mass uprising against her 15-year-long rule, during which she was accused of orchestrating extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meeting also came amid rumours that Yunus was considering stepping down. However, following another cabinet meeting on Saturday, acting head of the planning ministry, Wahiduddin Mahmud, told reporters: The chief adviser [Yunus] is staying with us he hasnt said hell resign and the other advisers are also staying; we are here to carry out the responsibilities given to us, following a closed-door meeting of the interim governments advisory council amid ongoing political unrest. Analysts, however, say, the standoff is not over yet. We unpack the latest tumult in Bangladesh, and what it means for the countrys fledgling efforts to return to electoral democracy. Muhammad Yunus, leader of Bangladeshs interim government, gestures to the Rohingya people as he attends a Ramadan solidarity iftar at the Rohingya refugee camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, on March 14, 2025 [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters] Why are tensions mounting between the military and the government? The Bangladesh Army has remained deployed since July 2024, following the mass protests that led to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas ouster. Their continued presence was necessitated by the collapse of civilian law enforcement during the upheaval, including a nationwide police strike that left many stations abandoned and public order in disarray. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the police resumed operations in mid-August, the armys presence has been maintained as part of a civil-military consensus, because of unrest in the country. On Wednesday, Bangladeshs army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, publicly urged that national elections be held by December this year, warning that prolonged deployment of the army for civil duties could compromise the countrys defences. According to a report by The Daily Star, General Waker told a high-level gathering at Dhaka Cantonment, Bangladesh needs political stability. This is only possible through an elected government, not by unelected decision-makers. The comments came during a rare address in which he delivered a 30-minute speech, followed by more than an hour of questions and answers. Officers from across the country and at Bangladeshi UN missions reportedly joined the event, both physically and virtually, in full combat uniform a show of unity and resolve. The army is meant for defending the nation, not for policing We must return to barracks after elections, Waker was quoted in The Daily Star as saying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His remarks indicate a difference of opinion with the Yunus administrations stated intention of holding elections no earlier than mid-2026, to allow time for political and electoral reforms first, in order to ensure a fair election. According to local media reports, Waker is also strongly opposed to key initiatives being considered by the interim government. On a proposed humanitarian corridor into Myanmars Rakhine State, he reportedly said: There will be no corridor. The sovereignty of Bangladesh is not negotiable. He warned that any such move could drag Bangladesh into a dangerous proxy conflict. Only a political government elected by the people can make such decisions, he said, according to the paper. The army chief also voiced concern about making other decisions without an electoral mandate including the potential foreign management of Chattogram Port, Bangladeshs main seaport, and the launch of Starlink, Elon Musks satellite internet service which he said could compromise national security. The army will not allow anyone to compromise our sovereignty, The Daily Star quoted him as saying. His remarks came amid widespread speculation still unaddressed by either the military or the government that the Yunus administration had attempted to remove General Waker from his post last week. Though unconfirmed, the rumour has dominated public discourse and prompted questions about civil-military relations during the transitional period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The timing, therefore, of General Wakers assertive public statement and its emphasis on constitutional process and national sovereignty is widely viewed as a signal of growing unease within the military over the interim governments expanding civilian initiatives, according to analysts. Bangladeshs Chief of Army Staff General Waker-uz-Zaman is pictured during a media interview at his office in the Bangladesh Army Headquarters, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on September 23, 2024 [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters] Are there tensions with political parties as well? Yes. Since its formation on August 8 last year, the interim government has faced escalating pressure from different sides. While the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) insists that national elections must be held by December, the National Citizen Party (NCP) a student-led party formed earlier this year and several other political groups argue that sweeping reforms and the prosecution of former Awami League (AL) leaders for killings resulting from the brutal crackdown on student-led protests last year must precede any election. Bangladeshs largest political party, the BNP, has launched a wave of protests over other demands as well, including that its candidate, who lost an allegedly rigged mayoral election in Dhaka on February 1, 2020, under the Awami League regime, be reinstated as mayor. On Thursday, the BNP held a news conference demanding an election by the end of the year, as well as the resignation of two student advisers and the national security adviser. The party warned that without these steps, continued cooperation with the Yunus-led administration would become untenable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, Yunus is expected to meet with both the BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI), the largest Islamic political party in Bangladesh. Was Yunus considering resigning? On Saturday, following a cabinet meeting, it was announced that Yunus will not step down as interim leader of Bangladesh. But amid this growing turbulence, speculation had intensified that he might have been preparing to resign. Local media began reporting that he had indicated that he intended to step down and address the nation in a televised statement, during a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon, following widespread social media chatter. That evening, Nahid Islam a student leader from the July uprising against the previous government and now head of the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP) met Yunus along with two student advisers to make an appeal for him to stay on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the meeting, Nahid confirmed to BBC Bangla that Yunus was seriously considering stepping down. By Friday evening (13:00 GMT), sources within the interim administration told Al Jazeera that Yunus was still weighing his options. INTERACTIVE-PROFILE-YUNUS-BANGLADESH_AUG8 Why might Yunus have wanted to resign? Yunus was understood to be contemplating resigning because of intensifying political pressure, according to local media reports. Two advisers quoted in the Samakal newspaper said Yunus told cabinet members on Thursday that the political parties and other government institutions had failed to deliver on promises to cooperate with the transitional government to implement state reforms and a peaceful democratic transition since the fall of Hasinas government last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It had become impossible to carry out his responsibilities, he was reported as saying. Pressure is also mounting to hold an election. The prospect of a fair election in the current situation is slim, he said. He was concerned any election would be interfered with or rigged and he did not want to have to take responsibility for it. Later on Thursday evening, Yunus met Information Adviser Mahfuj Alam, Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and NCP convenor Nahid Islam at his official residence, the Jamuna State Guest House in Dhaka. Speaking to BBC Bangla afterwards, Nahid confirmed Yunus was considering resigning and quoted him as saying he felt held hostage by protests and political gridlock. I cannot work like this if you, all the political parties, cannot reach a common ground, Nahid quoted Yunus as saying. He urged the interim leader to remain strong, stressing the hopes the public had pinned on him after the July uprising that ousted the Awami League government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Yunuss ambitious reform agenda is reportedly faltering, with analysts noting that key arms of the state including the police and civil bureaucracy are increasingly slipping beyond the interim governments control. One striking example among many, they say, is a proposal to split the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the countrys authority for tax administration, overseeing the collection of income tax, value-added tax (VAT) and customs duties, into two separate entities a move that the government says is aimed at enhancing efficiency and the integrity of Bangladeshs tax system. This has been met with strong resistance from senior officials of the NBR over fears that experienced revenue officers will be sidelined. What does the BNP want? Speaking to Al Jazeera, BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said his party never wanted Yunus to resign. Nobody asked for his resignation, and we do not want him to do so, he stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The people are waiting to cast their vote and bring back democracy. They have been deprived of this for nearly two decades, said Khasru. We expect him to go for a free and fair election and peacefully hand over power. Thats how he came in. He questioned the delay in setting an election timeline. What is the wait for? This is something [about which] a very strong conversation is going on in the country. Khasru said the BNP wants the administration to move into caretaker mode with a leaner cabinet and the removal of some controversial figures, particularly those with political ambitions or affiliations. They have already floated a political party, he said, referring to the student representatives. Others made partisan statements. These should go if youre serious about a credible election. He dismissed any contradiction between reforms and elections, saying both could move forward simultaneously. Where there is consensus, reforms can be completed within weeks. Khasru also voiced confidence in the Election Commission and the role of the army in ensuring a fair vote. This is not the era of Sheikh Hasina, he remarked, suggesting a more conducive political environment for elections. On the question of trying former Awami League leaders, he said judicial processes could continue in parallel. The judiciary must do its job the elected government will continue if more is needed. BNP suffered the most under the previous regime, he added. The trials are a national consensus. BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed echoed this sentiment in a TV interview on Friday: If Yunus is personally unable to carry out his duties, the state will find an alternative. But he added: As a globally respected figure, we hope he will understand the situation and announce an election roadmap by December. What do other political parties want? NCPs Senior Joint Convenor Ariful Islam Adeeb rejected the BNPs narrative, telling Al Jazeera: All parties were meant to support the interim government after the July uprising, but the BNP stuck to old tactics based on muscle power thats the root of the crisis. He urged unity, saying: BNP and all other parties must come together for the national interest. Meanwhile, demonstrations and behind-the-scenes meetings continued across Dhaka. On Thursday evening, top leaders of five political parties, including the NCP, attended an emergency meeting at the headquarters of another Islamic political party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), called by its chief Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim. They urged all anti-fascist forces to unite, defend national sovereignty, and support a credible election under Yunus after key reforms. Several of these parties, including BJI, argue that elections must come after key reforms such as adopting a proportional voting system and ensuring accountability for past abuses to prevent any repeat of past authoritarian practices. They believe holding elections without these changes would undermine public trust and risk another crisis. BJI chief Shafiqur Rahman joined the IAB meeting via phone and endorsed the resolution. On Thursday, he urged Yunus to convene an all-party dialogue to resolve the crisis. Then, on Friday night, BJIs Shafiqur Rahman requested a meeting with Yunus, proposing to convene at 12:00 GMT (6pm local time) on Saturday. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Friday night, NCP Joint Convenor Sarwar Tushar said: Whatever the rumours, we believe Dr Muhammad Yunus is committed to his historic responsibility. There is massive expectation both from the international community and the people, he added. While acknowledging political divisions, Tushar said: If everyone moves beyond party agendas and focuses on a national agenda, the crisis can be resolved through dialogue. What can we expect next? Political analyst Rezaul Karim Rony told Al Jazeera that talk of Yunuss resignation may reflect growing frustration over the lack of unity within the transitional setup. The unity that had formed around the post-uprising interim government appears to be weakening due to vested interests, he said. The resignation talk might be a signal underscoring the need to rebuild that unity. Rony suggested that certain government appointments may have alienated political parties, raising questions about whether some actors have agendas beyond the official reform mandate. This could be one reason why the government is struggling to gain broad political cooperation and function effectively, he noted. Rony added: At this point, advocating for elections may [make the administration] appear politically aligned with the BNP. But in the end, it should be up to the people to decide who they want to lead. NCPs Nahid Islam, however, sees otherwise. He warned in a Facebook post on Friday night: Theres a conspiracy to sabotage the democratic transition and stage another 1/11-style arrangement. The term 1/11 refers to January 11, 2007, when the military-backed caretaker government took control in Bangladesh amid political chaos and ruled for two years, suspending democratic processes. Bangladesh has repeatedly been divided, national unity destroyed, to keep the country weak, Nahid wrote. Urging Yunus to stay in office and deliver on promises of reform, justice and voting rights, he said, Dr Yunus must resolve all political crises while in office. He also outlined NCPs demands: a timely July declaration, elections within the announced timeframe (Yunus has repeatedly promised that the election will be held between December 2025 to July 2026), a July Charter with core reforms before polls, visible justice for the July killings, and a roadmap for a new constitution through simultaneous elections to a Constituent Assembly and legislature. Meanwhile, public anxiety is rising. On Friday, the Bangladesh Army issued a Facebook alert debunking a fake media release circulated a day earlier, which falsely used the militarys logo in what it described as an apparent attempt to sow confusion and create rifts between the armed forces and the public. Do not believe rumours. Do not be misled, the statement warned. As the weekend continues, all eyes are on Muhammad Yunus and whether he can stand firm and forge a new consensus to lead the country through its second transition since last years dramatic uprising. Bharat Ramamurti, former deputy director of the National Economic Council, talks with Jen Psaki about the number of Americans who will be hurt by the new Republican budget bill and why tariffs on European goods will make the economics for American manufacturers worse. A crossing guard escorts students and parents across the street after the first day of school Aug. 14, 2024, in Texas. (Photo by Janecze Wright/U.S. Army) This month, students across Maryland headed to school to celebrate National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day. Many did so despite facing perilous routes, a stunning lack of basic infrastructure like crosswalks, and poorly designed streets resulting from decades of failed public policy that prioritized cars over pedestrians. Far too often, tragedy is no accident. Its inevitable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In November 2023, that reality hit Prince Georges County when two elementary school students were struck and killed walking to school. Sadly, their deaths were no anomaly, with U.S. pedestrian deaths hitting a 40-year high more than 7,500 in 2022. Thats 20 pedestrian deaths every single day, and meaningful action is long overdue. Prince Georges County is leading the way. After tragedy, parent leaders from 11 schools representing 8,200 students came together with a clear message: Every child has the right to get to and from school safely. In addition to the immediate hiring of additional crossing guards, they also called for long-term reforms and a renewed policy focus on pedestrian safety. That effort and earned media campaign helped launch the Prince Georges County School Pedestrian Safety Workgroup, a collaboration of parents, municipal leaders, and school and county officials who spent six months crafting a detailed report of 18 Safe Routes recommendations released last December. Some formalized existing policies, such as ensuring pedestrian safety infrastructure at the time of new school construction and proactive meetings between agencies to improve coordination and efficiency. The group encouraged partnerships between school, municipal and county officials. And recommended establishment of Safe Passage Coordinators, officially hired by Prince Georges County Public Schools this spring. Your opinion matters Maryland Matters welcomes guest commentary submissions at editor@marylandmatters.org. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We suggest a 750-word limit and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions. We do not accept columns that are endorsements of candidates, and no longer accept submissions from elected officials or political candidates. Opinion pieces must be signed by at least one individual using their real name. We do not accept columns signed by an organization. Commentary writers must include a short bio and a photo for their bylines. Views of writers are their own. Many recommendations formed a roadmap for local education agencies and municipalities nationwide. Creating a unified walk audit template to help standardize data collection will help school administrators establish internal goals and timelines for implementing these walk audits, while collaborating with local officials to initiate an overall evaluation of accessibility around schools. Once concerns are identified, schools and municipalities are encouraged to establish long-term strategic plans to equitably improve pedestrian infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This data and planning can help create a pedestrian safety risk measure for each school, ensuring resource allocations are prioritized by need instead of politics. And Board of Education members are encouraged to take on greater roles engaging and educating their own school communities on pedestrian safety. One recommendation focused on bilingual outreach and pedestrian safety education to ensure every child has the right to get to and from school safely truly means every child. Another empowers students to become Vision Zero advocates by launching an annual Youth Transportation Safety Summit. This event, organized by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, successfully hosted more than 100 attendees earlier this month. And the group recommended working with artists to create walkability safety signs and high-visibility artwork for crosswalks. Schools are encouraged to participate in events like National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Days and Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day (Nov. 14) to increase parent and community engagement. County and school district officials are recommended to establish both as official events, and theres an ongoing legislative effort to recognize Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day statewide. Parents can organize walking school buses and walking groups to help reduce the number of families driving to school. Less cars around schools means less opportunities for tragedy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One recommendation encourages increased traffic calming infrastructure around schools and temporary street closures at drop-off and pick-up. And its crucial to encourage principals to be proactive and empower them to create their own innovative solutions to improve school pedestrian safety. Finally, some recommendations focused on legislative and government solutions. The group strongly encouraged using unspent funds to subcontract with municipal police departments for difficult-to-fill crossing guard positions. One of the most important recommendations involved lowering speed limits around schools. Municipalities must have greater autonomy to keep their own residents safe, without regulatory hurdles. The National Transportation Safety Board found a pedestrian struck at 20 mph has a 90+% survival rate; at 30 mph, chances of survival are around 55%. Lowering speed limits, while protecting and enhancing the radius of school zones, will save lives. Creating safe walkable routes to schools is a rare opportunity for bipartisan consensus at every level of government. Investing in safer streets around schools also helps create safer routes to small businesses, parks, libraries and other community hubs. But we cant expect students and families to walk to school or anywhere in our communities if we dont provide them with the safe routes to do so. More than five years after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the United States, hundreds of people are still dying every week. Last month, an average of about 350 people died each week from COVID, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While high, the number of deaths is decreasing and is lower than the peak of 25,974 deaths recorded the week ending Jan. 9, 2021, as well as weekly deaths seen in previous spring months, CDC data shows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: What we know about the safety, efficacy of mRNA vaccines amid recent scrutiny Public health experts told ABC News that although the U.S. is in a much better place than it was a few years ago, COVID is still a threat to high-risk groups. "The fact that we're still seeing deaths just means it's still circulating, and people are still catching it," Dr. Tony Moody, a professor in the department of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Duke University Medical Center, told ABC News. The experts said there are a few reasons why people might still be dying from the virus, including low vaccination uptake, waning immunity and not enough people accessing treatments. Low vaccine uptake, waning immunity During the 2024-25 season, only 23% of adults aged 18 and older received the updated COVID-19 vaccine as of the week ending April 26, according to CDC data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among children, just 13% of them received the updated COVID vaccine over the same period, the data shows. PHOTO: This photo shows a vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, Bivalent, at AltaMed Medical clinic in Los Angeles, Oct. 6, 2022. (Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images) Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccinologist and president and co-director of the Atria Research Institute -- which focuses on disease prevention -- said there are likely not enough people receiving the vaccine, which is contributing to the number of weekly COVID deaths. However, for those who have received the vaccine, some may not be developing a proper immune response. "There are some people who may be genetically inclined to not respond well to the vaccine. That's the topic I have studied with other viral vaccines," Poland told ABC News. "The more common issue is that people are immunocompromised and can't respond well." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, Poland said that immunity from COVID-19 vaccines wanes over time, increasing the likelihood of being infected. This is why the current recommendation for those aged 65 and older is to receive two doses of the updated COVID vaccine six months apart. MORE: FDA plans to limit COVID shots to those over 65 or with high-risk conditions "Another reason for death due to COVID is being elderly, being what we call immunosenescent, where you do not have the immunologic ability to respond the same way you did in your 30s and 40s," Poland said. "On top of it, if you do get infected by the time you're in your 70s, 80s, there is some accumulating co-morbidity." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CDC data shows that those aged 75 and older currently have the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths at 4.66 per 100,000. Not accessing COVID treatments Currently, there are treatments for COVID-19 patients in the form of antiviral pills, including molnupiravir from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Paxlovid from Pfizer. Both treatments must be started within five days of COVID symptoms appearing and are given twice daily for five days, with Merck's being four pills each time and Pfizer's being three pills each. There is also remdesivir, an intravenous medication that must be started within seven days of COVID symptoms appearing. PHOTO: In this photo illustration, a box of Pfizer's Paxlovid is displayed, July 7, 2022, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) "I do think that we don't necessarily make use of the tools that we have on hand in the best way possible," Moody said. "I've certainly talked to people who have gotten medications when they got COVID and they made a huge difference. The trials' data would definitely suggest that the drugs are effective." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I do think that we may not be using the drugs as effectively, or in as many people as it might help," he continued. Moody said it's possible some COVID patients are coming down with symptoms but are not going to the doctor until their symptoms become severe. Alternatively, some people are not undergoing COVID testing when they have symptoms and, therefore, are missing COVID diagnoses. "I'm sure that there are people who are infected who are not being detected [and not being] treated," Moody said, but he added that not everyone needs to be tested regularly and that just high-risk people should test more frequently. Why are more than 300 people in the US still dying from COVID every week? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Even as President Donald Trump has attempted to block thousands of refugees from places like Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan from entering the U.S., hes made a unique and pointed exception for one particular group: Afrikaners. Last week, Trump welcomed 59 Afrikaners to the U.S. as refugees, alleging that theyd suffered racial persecution in their home country, a claim the South African government has vehemently denied. The group one of two white minorities in South Africa are descended primarily from Dutch colonists and are known for their role in establishing apartheid, a system of segregation that oppressed Black South Africans for decades. Trump and incoming Afrikaner refugees say theyve been targeted because of their race, and that they now face violence and government land seizures as a result. Experts and South African officials, meanwhile, counter that theres scant evidence for such allegations, and that the group remains one of the wealthiest and most economically privileged in the entire country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps admission of Afrikaners marks a sharp contrast with how refugees from other parts of the world have been treated: In January, the White House suspended refugee admissions indefinitely, arguing that the U.S. didnt have the capacity to absorb more people. More recently, Trumps secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has defended singling out Afrikaners by saying that the US has the right to prioritize who [it wants], and that the administration is focused on admitting people who can be assimilated easily. The blatant double standard underscores how this policy ties into Trumps broader messaging, which has long focused on stoking white grievances and resentment. Specifically, Trump has framed the incoming Afrikaner refugees as white victims who have been mistreated by a majority-Black South African government and population thats out to take whats theirs. That echoes longstanding fears conservatives have propagated about the racist and conspiratorial Great Replacement Theory the idea that theres a calculated plan to displace white people with people of color. To put it bluntly: Trumps plans and priorities regarding refugees and immigration are steeped in white supremacy. The president is positioning himself as a sort of savior of white America and of white Christianity globally, said Loren Landau, a migration expert at the University of Oxford and South Africas University of Witwatersrand. Who are Afrikaners? Afrikaners first settled in South Africa in the 1600s and more recently came to power when the right-wing Afrikaner-led National Party won the countrys elections in 1948. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During that contest, the National Party which was desperate to maintain a system of cheap, Black labor ran on a platform of institutionalizing segregation and went on to impose the system of apartheid. That included a series of racist laws that segregated basic services like public bathrooms and buses, regulated where Black South Africans could live and travel and denied Black South Africans the right to vote. After nearly four decades of economic sanctions and protests, the Afrikaner National Party was removed in 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic election and chose Nelson Mandela as its president. Afrikaners and other white people were allowed to stay in South Africa. They were allowed to keep almost all of their property and most of their privilege, said Landau of the conditions that Afrikaners experienced in the years since. Today, Afrikaners comprise roughly 5% of South Africas population and are still considered one of the most successful groups in the country. Theyre economically well-off, hold prominent positions in government and own significant swaths of the countrys farmland. (While white South Africans collectively make up about 7% of South Africas population, they continue to own roughly 70% of commercial farmland.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I had to leave a five-bedroom house, which I will lose now, Charl Kleinhaus, one of the Afrikaner refugees who arrived in the U.S. told the BBC, though he emphasized that he feels safer now that hes been resettled in Buffalo, New York. Right-wing Afrikaner groups like AfriForum and recent Afrikaner refugees to the U.S. are among those whove raised concerns about crime and discrimination, alleging racial targeting of white farmers. Many Afrikaners, though, have said theyd rather stay and push for better conditions within South Africa than leave for the U.S. The vast majority of Afrikaners are going nowhere, and they have expressed themselves So even within Afrikaner circles, this is a small group of people, Piet Croucamp, an associate professor in political studies at South Africas North West University and an Afrikaner himself, told the BBC. Why does Trump think Afrikaners have been persecuted? Since apartheid ended in 1994 and Afrikaners lost their hold on the countrys government, conspiracy theories have proliferated about how theyre now the targets of oppression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such theories, which have been advanced by groups including AfriForum tap into enduring fears that some members of the countrys white minority have had about being overtaken by members of the Black majority. Steve Hofmeyr, an Afrikaner musician who Landau described as akin to South Africas Kid Rock, was among the most prominent voices to spread these claims, Landau said. No longer will we be silent about the oppression of the White South African Ethnic Minority! No longer will we silently endure the killing of our people on our farms and in our towns and cities, reads a 2013 petition from a movement called Red October, which Hofmeyr endorsed, and which centered white Afrikaner claims of persecution. In the years since, AfriForum lobbied for meetings with the Trump administration during his first term, meeting with then-National Security Adviser John Bolton in 2018, as well as staff for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Ernst Roets, one of the groups leaders, also appeared in a segment with Tucker Carlson, who further elevated its cause that year. White farmers are being brutally murdered in South Africa for their land, Carlson wrote in a 2018 social media post. And no one is brave enough to talk about it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump recently echoed many of these points verbatim as justification for the Afrikaner refugee program and for punitive measures toward South Africa itself. Hes pointed specifically to attacks on white farmers and a 2024 land expropriation law as evidence of these allegations. High-profile violence toward white farmers, like the 2010 killing of white nationalist Eugene Terreblanche and the 2023 killing of teenager Jayden Louw, have fueled this scrutiny. But officials and experts emphasize that the cases dont show disproportionate violence against white South Africans. [Terreblanche] is often held up as this sort of quintessential example of the white farm murders, but all the evidence suggests, I mean, I hate to say it, theyre killed like everybody else in South Africa, Landau said. Experts note that South Africa broadly has a high rate of violent crime, but that it affects both white and Black residents. White farmers murders account for fewer than 1% of annual killings nationwide, according to Politifact. And a BBC review notes that of 6,953 people murdered in South Africa between October and December 2024, 12 people were killed in farm attacks and a majority were likely Black. Such analyses are complicated, though, by the fact that South Africa doesnt consistently disclose data on the race of victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Claims of genocide, however, have been firmly disputed by officials and a South African Court, which called them clearly imagined and not real in February. Trump and allies like Elon Musk, who is an immigrant from South Africa, have also cited anti-apartheid chants like Kill the Boer as evidence of the targeting of Afrikaners since Boer is derived from the Afrikaans term for farmer. The current South African government, however, has distanced itself from the song and emphasized that its not indicative of government policy. Similarly, Trump has alleged that the South African government intends to use a 2024 law to seize the land of white farmers. That law would enable the government to redistribute land from private owners if its for the public interest, including in some cases, without compensation. Proponents say it seeks to remedy brutal seizures of land that Black South Africans experienced under apartheid. The law does not allow the government to simply take a persons land, however: Ramaphosa noted in February that no land has been confiscated thus far, and that the process of obtaining land would require a court review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The way its spoken about now in our government, its as if the South African government is going to expropriate productive family farms owned by Afrikaners. Thats not it at all, Brown University historian and South Africa expert Nancy Jacobs said. Theres no part of the law that says land thats being productively farmed by anybody can be taken. How are Afrikaners being treated differently from other immigrants? Not only are Afrikaners being admitted to the U.S. as others are not, their applications are also being uniquely expedited. While processing refugee applications typically takes one to two years, Afrikaners who were recently admitted saw that theirs were approved in just a few months. And while other immigrants are being detained for their public support of Palestine due to the White Houses claims that such positions are antisemitic, an Afrikaner refugee who has a history of antisemitic posts was among those recently welcomed to the U.S. (He told The New York Times that he is not antisemitic and described one post as a mistake and said others had been written by other people.) Many refugees who were waiting for their applications to be processed when Trump ordered admissions suspended are from countries like Afghanistan, where U.S. allies face retribution in the form of imprisonment and violence. Others have sought to escape starvation and famine in Sudan and the Congo, where ongoing civil wars have decimated food, water and medical supplies. Those who are enduring such conditions now are being forced to bide their time as courts weigh Trumps executive actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many people are left in dangerous situations, sometimes life-threatening situations, as theyre waiting for their resettlement, said Julia Gelatt, the associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute. Trumps also prioritized white immigrants over people of color before. During his first term, Trump prioritized resettling a larger share of refugees who were Ukrainian and evangelical Christians, Gelatt said, over those who were from Muslim-majority countries like Syria. Where does the US relationship with South Africa stand? Trump has had a contentious relationship with South Africa, both due to his stated concerns about Afrikaner treatment and due to the countrys political stances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both were cited in the February executive action when Trump cut off U.S. aid to South Africa, a move thats caused a $430 million budget shortfall for the country. South Africas decision to bring allegations of genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice is among the decisions that have drawn Trumps ire, along with its close ties to Iran. Rubio said this week that Trump intends to skip the upcoming G20 summit an annual gathering of world leaders which will take place in South Africa in light of some of these positions. We chose not to participate in this years G20, hosted by South Africa, either at the foreign ministers level or the presidents level,Rubio said. They clearly, on the global stage and in multiple multinational organizations, have consistently been a vote against Americas interests time and again. Its doubtful a recent Trump meeting with South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa did much to smooth over these tensions, though the latter claimed that it went very well. How does this policy fit into Trumps larger message? Trump has focused on activating white victimhood in campaign messages and with his immigration policies and this move is effectively the latest version of that. Hes gone after South Africas land expropriation act just as hes criticized diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which are designed to enable equal access to various opportunities for minority groups whove faced discrimination. And just as his immigration policies have framed minority groups as a threat and invasion in the U.S., his claims about white farmers persecution in South Africa seek to harp on the same fears. Officials are drastically changing one of Utah Transit Authoritys light-rail service lines for the next few months while it carries out a maintenance project on the tracks near the University to Utah. A project to repair infrastructure on Utah Transit Authoritys TRAX Red Line was slated to begin Saturday, leading to a major shift in service. Trains that typically travel east toward the University Medical Center Station on campus will instead be rerouted to travel through downtown Salt Lake City, following the Blue Line to Salt Lake Central Station. The Red Line is going to be shut down basically from the Courthouse Station all the way east along (400 South), through the S-curve and then all the way up to what is currently the end of the Red Line up to the university, said UTA spokesman Gavin Gustafson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project calls for the replacement of worn-out parts of the Red Line, including track connections, guard rails, the overhead wires that power trains and the interlocking system that helps prevent train collisions, according to the agency. Infrastructure along the section where 400 South becomes 500 South near the university tends to wear down faster because of the curves and steep grade of the S-shaped curve, Gustafson explained. It does go through a pretty significant amount of wear and tear, so thats a big part of what were doing there, he said. The project is expected to continue through mid-August, which means the reroute will remain in place for months, aside from a brief pause surrounding Independence Day. Some limited Red Line TRAX service will briefly return July 3-5 for festivities planned by the university. A map showing how Utah Transit Authority riders can access the University of Utah and other Red Line TRAX areas east of Courthouse Station while the Red Line construction project is underway. | Utah Transit Authority It wont affect the Red Lines southern route. All services between Courthouse Station and Daybreak in South Jordan will remain the same. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riders seeking to reach the university are encouraged to take UTAs 1, 2 or 4 bus routes, which they can do by a bus stop located by the corner of 200 South and Main Street, less than a block from Gallivan Plaza Station. UTA officials are urging riders to plan ahead, advising that it could lead to delays of up to 45 minutes in travel time. Both the 1 and 2 routes, which are currently being detoured because of a separate road project along 100 South near the university, reach University Medical Center Station. Route 4 also travels along most of the red line route, taking riders to places like the Salt Lake City Public Library, Trolley Square and Rice-Eccles Stadium. UTA officials said theyre adding additional service through Route 4R to accommodate expected rider demand from the TRAX closure, which will run between Gallivan Plaza and Rice-Eccles Stadium. The project is scheduled to wrap up on Aug. 17, ending in time for the start of the University of Utahs fall semester. The same goes for Salt Lake Citys 100 South project. Memorial Day weekend is the official kick off to summer (regardless of the weather), and for thousands of Wisconsinites and visitors it means getting out on the water. Yet it might not be totally smooth waters as tensions over wake-enhanced boating spill over from local towns and associations into the state legislature. Wake-enhanced boating, which uses ballast tanks to create large waves for surfing and tubing, is raising concerns about shoreline erosion and damage to lakebeds. When two Republican legislators held a listening session in northern Wisconsin earlier this month the proposed state budget was expected to dominate the discussion. Instead, Journal Sentinel Outdoors Columnist Paul Smith reported that wake-enhanced boating was the topic most people came to talk about. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to hear from you. Please take a few moments to take the poll, and if you have the time, send us your comments in our survey. Wakeboarding has led to lively Opinion debate this year Some of the most read columns and letters this year have centered on the debate. Lawmakers, lobbyists and advocates on both sides of the issue are planning to meet May 28 to work out a potential compromise. If you were in the room, what would you tell them? We'll post your comments as soon as they start rolling in. Jim Fitzhenry is the Ideas Lab Editor/Director of Community Engagement for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Reach him at jfitzhen@gannett.com or 920-993-7154. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Debate over wake boarding growing across Wisconsin | Opinion WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Wichita teachers, support staff, and school security workers will see pay raises next school year under new agreements reached with the Wichita Board of Education. The deals, which cover the 2025-2026 school year, include a 3% pay increase for teachers, classified staff (such as custodians, food service workers, and paraprofessionals), and safety personnel. Security workers will also receive an extra 1% catch-up raise. Health insurance coverage and premiums will remain unchanged across all employee groups. Rare bird nests at Kansas lake closing a beach Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The teacher contract, negotiated by United Teachers of Wichita, also includes additional pay for educators with more experience or advanced degrees, as well as bonuses tied to attendance. Special education teachers and specialists, such as speech-language pathologists and gifted instructors, will receive extra stipends based on their roles and the schools where they work. For classified employees represented by SEIU Local 513, the new contract offers pay increases, a career advancement path, and longevity pay. Similar provisions were also included in the agreement for school security officers and dispatchers. The school board is expected to officially approve the contracts at its June 9 meeting. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. By Miranda Murray CANNES, France (Reuters) -After nearly two weeks of exciting premieres, star-studded press conferences and beachside parties that go into the early hours, the Cannes Film Festival is ready to roll up the red carpet after one last task: crowning this year's Palme d'Or winner. The nine-strong jury headed by French actor Juliette Binoche will pick one of 22 films to award the top prize on Saturday night, with titles from Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, Richard Linklater and Joachim Trier among the competitors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other awards include the Grand Prix, jury prize, best director, best actor and best screenplay. These awards can make or break careers: Renate Reinsve, who stars in Trier's entry "Sentimental Value," said that winning best actress in 2021 for "The Worst Person in the World" completely changed her life. The jury's decisions will be closely watched after "Anora," which won the top prize in 2024, went on to take home five Oscars, including the Best Picture top Academy Award. "The Substance," which was awarded best screenplay at Cannes the same year, also won an Oscar. One indicator of who could win is the selection of films that have been bought by independent distributor Neon, which has successfully picked the Cannes winner the last five times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far this festival, the U.S. distributor has nabbed three films: "Sentimental Value," which received a 15-minute-plus standing ovation, "It Was Just an Accident" from Iranian director Jafar Panahi, and "The Secret Agent" from Brazil's Kleber Mendonca Filho. Other strong contenders, based on the annual jury grid compiled by industry publication ScreenDaily, include Stalinist-era legal piece "Two Prosecutors" and German director Mascha Schilinski's intergenerational drama "Sound of Falling." French director Julia Ducournau, who premiered "Alpha" at this year's festival, and Belgium's Dardenne brothers are the only competitors who have previously won the top prize. Ducournau became only the second woman to win in 2021 for "Titane," while Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have the rare honour of having won twice with "Rosetta" and "L'Enfant" in 1999 and 2005, respectively. The 78th iteration of the festival officially kicked off on May 13 with the French comedy "Leave One Day." (Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Sandra Maler) ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) Turhane Henderson, 27, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of criminal sexual assault. In February 2023, Rockford Sensitive Crime Detectives investigated reports that a victim was raped in the parking lot of Patriots Gateway Center in the 600 block of South 5th Street. The woman told authorities she was pulled into the suspects car and raped her. The victim said she tried to get away multiple times. Turhane Henderson. Photo: Winnebago County Jail Henderson was identified in a photo lineup by the victim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henderson is required to serve the sentence at 85%. He will be on mandatory supervised release for three years to natural life as well. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. MOUNT STERLING, Ky. (FOX 56) A woman has been charged after a deadly crash on April 19 in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Sheriffs Office said authorities responded to a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Indian Mound and Winchester Road. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An arrest citation alleges that 28-year-old Erica McColgan disregarded a traffic control device, hitting another vehicle in the intersection. According to the citation, the other car had at least two other people in it. One person died, and a 1-year-old child was taken to the pediatric ICU at the University of Kentucky Hospital for a head injury. On Friday, the sheriffs office said evidence was presented to the Montgomery County Grand Jury which returned an indictment. McColgan has been indicted on charges of murder, first-degree assault, first-offense failure of owner to maintain required insurance, and third-degree assault of a healthcare provider. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BERLIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) Sheriffs deputies are investigating after a Holmes County woman was killed and others were injured in a crash involving a milk tanker truck on Friday morning. Holmes County sheriffs deputies responded to the crash around 7 a.m. on County Road 201 in Berlin Township. Credit: Tony Orender According to the sheriffs office, a preliminary investigation revealed that a 2013 Chevy passenger van was heading north on County Road 201 when a 2024 Kenworth milk tanker reportedly didnt stop at the stop sign on County Road 203, crashing into the vans driver side door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Council meeting about Cleveland Heights mayor turns contentious, ends abruptly Investigators said both vehicles went off the side of the road and ended up in a cornfield. Credit: Tony Orender The van driver, identified as 74-year-old Anna Casey of Millersburg, was flown by helicopter to Akron City Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Three passengers were taken to Pomerene Hospital with injuries. VIDEO: Massive water main break douses neighborhood The sheriffs office did not say if the tanker truck driver, a 57-year-old Indiana man, suffered any injuries. Investigators said he wasnt wearing a seatbelt at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash, which remains under investigation at this time. The roadway was closed for hours after the crash, investigators said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. A local woman was killed in a Russian attack on the settlement of Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv Oblast on Saturday 24 May. Source: Viacheslav Zadorenko, Head of Derhachi City Military Administration, on Telegram Quote: "At 17:06 today, the Russians attacked Kozacha Lopan, killing a local resident. A woman born in 1962 was killed in the attack (believed to have been a drone strike)." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Last month, Delaina McDaniel, a 19-year-old freshman from Worcester State University (WSU), traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for protecting higher education policies such as Pell Grants and the Federal Work-Study Program. McDaniels mother is currently working three jobs and is doing her best to pay her daughters out-of-state tuition. It was through federal student aid that she was able to go to WSU for their public health program. When she heard Republicans were considering making changes to Pell Grants that would affect their accessibility, McDaniel was infuriated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of our education is paid because of financial aid, Pell Grants, all that stuff, McDaniel said. I was freaking out. I had to sit back and be like, Okay well now what do I have to do? McDaniel, along with some of her WSU peers and students from six other Worcester colleges and universities, flew down to D.C. on April 30 on an organized trip to meet with the staff of Democrats and Republicans from several different states, including Texas, Alaska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The other colleges that sent students included Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Quinsigamond Community College (QCC), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), UMass Chan Medical School and Nichols College, according to a Clark University spokesperson. In their conversations with the staff members, the students urged them to keep higher education policies such as Pell Grants intact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pell Grants are a form of federal financial aid that is given to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need who have not earned a bachelors degree, according to the Federal Student Aid website. On Thursday, May 22, the House of Representatives passed a tax and immigration bill that includes a provision where students have to be enrolled in at least 30 credit hours per academic year to earn a Pell Grant an increase from the current 24 credits. The bill also eliminates federal subsidized loans for undergraduates and Direct Plus loans for graduate students beginning on July 1, 2026, according to Higher Ed Dive. Isabella Corazzini of Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) is angry and worried about the passage of the bill. These are not just policy changes; they are betrayals. Lets be real: its not our Massachusetts legislators holding us back. Theyve shown up, theyve listened, and many have stood by students like us, she told MassLive. The real obstacles are legislators from other states those who shut down these bills in the dark of night, who avoid their offices and refuse to meet with the very people their decisions are hurting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the students spoke to the staff members, there was a sense of fear and worry that impacts to higher education could affect their experience in college. Summit Smoker, a freshman at Clark University, met with the staff of representatives from Pennsylvania, his home state. He also met with staff from Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Penn., and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn. The reception from each office was mixed, with staff from Rep. Lloyd Smuckers office being receptive to Smokers concerns while Fettermans staff was more wishy washy. In his communications, Smoker tried to articulate his worries about what cuts to federal student aid could mean to his college education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im asking myself, will I be able to finishing my degree? said Smoker. Will I have to drop out of college? I benefit from the Pell Grant. I benefit from federal subsidized loans and I am on work study as well. Now, that fear has turned to anger towards the Trump administration and members of Congress. I feel the current administration is not invested in the future of this country or democracy, Clark University Student William Stafford said. Education has taken me places I never knew possible, and without the multitude of aid I received from both my institution and the government, students such as myself wouldnt be able to take advantage of the opportunities we work so hard for. With the House passing the bill with the changes to higher education, there needs to be greater advocacy, QCC Junior Alyssa Corazzini tells MassLive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House bill now heads to the Senate, who will be voting on the proposal next. Corazzini told MassLive that she hopes the Senate will stand on the side of students and protects student aid. Policymakers need to remember that working-class people require help to access higher education, she said. These arent just budget line items. More Worcester Stories Read the original article on MassLive. WASHINGTON (AP) From Arlington National Cemetery outside the nation's capital to the American burial ground in Normandy, France, presidents customarily commemorate Memorial Day on hallowed ground. In somber wreath-laying ceremonies and poignant speeches, presidents remember the military members who died serving the country, even as many Americans associate the holiday with a three-day weekend and shopping sales. Here's a look at what recent presidents have said on Memorial Days past. All spoke at Arlington in Virginia, except for President George W. Bush: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RONALD REAGAN The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery. One gets that feeling here on this hallowed ground. And I have known that same poignant feeling as I looked out across the rows of white crosses and stars of David in Europe, in the Philippines and the military cemeteries here in our own land. Each one marks the resting place of an American hero. May 31, 1982. BILL CLINTON My fellow Americans, on this Memorial Day, let us commit ourselves to a future worthy of their sacrifice. May 25, 1998. GEORGE W. BUSH Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day will come when no one is left who knew them. When no visitor to this cemetery can stand before a grave remembering a face and a voice. The day will never come when America forgets them. Our nation and the world will always remember what they did here, what they gave here, for the future of humanity. May 27, 2002; Colleville-sur-Mer, France. BARACK OBAMA Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay, but we can honor their sacrifice, and we must. May 30, 2011. DONALD TRUMP They were generals and privates, captains and corporals, of every race, color, and of every creed. But they were all brothers and sisters in arms. And they were all united then, as they are united now forever, by their undying love of our great country. May 28, 2018. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement JOE BIDEN This is the mission of our time. Our memorial to them must not be just the day when we pause and pray. It must be a daily commitment to act, to come together, to be worthy of the price that was paid. May 30, 2022. Syed Fazl-e-Haider Azerbaijan's acquisition of at least 50 JF-17 Block III fighter jets from Pakistan, to be equipped with Turkish-manufactured missiles, aims to enhance the aerial combat capabilities of the Azerbaijani Air Force. Jointly developed by China and Pakistan, the JF-17 Block III fighters will gain increased lethality through the integration of avionics from Turkiyes advanced defense industry. This agreement has further consolidated the multi-dimensional defense collaboration between Pakistan, Turkiye, and Azerbaijan, commonly referred to as "three brothers." Pakistan and Azerbaijan are also actively participating in Turkiyes Kaan fifth-generation fighter aircraft program. The procurement of Turkiyes fifth-generation jets, among the most advanced globally, is expected to be transformative for both Baku and Islamabad. BACKGROUND: Turkiye, Pakistan, and Azerbaijan are collectively referred to as the "three brothers" since Turkiye was the first state, and Pakistan the second, to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991. Both Turkiye and Pakistan provided military support to Baku during the 44-day war against Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020. The states convened in Islamabad in January 2021 for a trilateral meeting, during which they agreed to expand cooperation in political, strategic, trade, economic, peace, and security, while reaffirming mutual support on issues of shared concern. Initiated and launched by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in 2010, the Kaan fifth-generation fighter program represents Turkiyes indigenous jet fighter initiative. Following Turkiyes exclusion from the U.S. F-35 fifth-generation fighter program in 2019, the Kaan remains Turkiyes sole alternative and is intended to replace the country's aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets. The first prototype was tested in 2023; however, the development process is expected to span at least a decade. While Azerbaijan is providing financial assistance to Turkiyes Kaan program, hundreds of Pakistani officials and engineers are actively engaged in the project. In 2023, Turkiye and Azerbaijan signed an agreement during the International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF 2023) in Istanbul to advance the development of the Kaan fighter program. As part of its contribution, Azerbaijan is expected to offer financial investment and industrial collaboration in support of the initiative. In 2024, Azerbaijans Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov stated that his country was leveraging the defense capabilities of Turkiye, its primary partner in military cooperation. In January 2025, Turkiye and Pakistan finalized plans to establish and operate a joint facility for the production of Turkiyes Kaan fighter jet, agreeing to collaborate on the development and manufacturing of the aircraft. In February 2025, defense industry authorities from Azerbaijan and Turkiye, during a meeting held at the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX-2025) in Abu Dhabi, discussed the successful military-technical cooperation between the two nations and pledged to further strengthen defense industry ties by exploring prospects for joint projects. The JF-17 Thunder Block III, a fourth-generation fighter jet, has been developed through a joint venture between Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra and Chinas Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation. Compared to earlier versions of JF-17, the Block III features superior maneuverability, enhanced combat capabilities, and improved stealth characteristics. In February 2024, Azerbaijan signed a US$ 1.6 billion agreement with Pakistan for the procurement of JF-17 Block III aircraft. The deal also included pilot training and armaments for the fighter jets. On 25 September 2024, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced, The JF-17 jets have already been integrated into the arsenal of Azerbaijans air force. IMPLICATIONS: Arming the JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jets acquired by Baku with Turkiyes Gokdogan Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) and Bozdogan Within-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (WVRAAM) will significantly enhance the aerial firepower of Azerbaijan's Air Force. It also underscores the progress of Turkiyes defense industry. Turkiye is emerging as a major global arms exporter, after the leading five exportersthe U.S., France, Russia, China, and Germany. With its advanced combat capabilities, the JF-17 aircraft surpasses the regions Russian-made jets, including the MiG-29 and SU-25. Russia has been Azerbaijans primary arms supplier for decades, however, the JF-17 will replace Azerbaijans existing and aging fleet of Russian-manufactured MiG-29 fighters. The JF-17 are expected to enhance Azerbaijans airpower amid escalating regional security challenges. Equipped with improved avionics and an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the Block III variant is adaptable to diverse combat scenarios. According to the Secretariat for Defense Industries (SSB), Turkiyes defense and aerospace exports in 2024 totaled US$ 7.2 billion. Three Turkish defense firms are included in the Top 100 Arms-Producing and Military Services Companies list, published annually by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Jointly developed by Pakistan and China, the JF-17 fighter jet deal with Azerbaijan also creates opportunities for China to secure additional defense agreements with Azerbaijan and other countries in the region. Between 2019 and 2023, China accounted for 5.8 percent of global arms exports. During this period, China supplied arms to nearly 40 countries across Asia and Africa, ranking as the fourth largest exporter of conventional weapons after the U.S., France, and Russia. By selling the JF-17 Thunder to Azerbaijan, Pakistan has effectively supported China in boosting demand and expanding its market for arms and military equipment in a region traditionally dominated by Russia. The JF-17 agreement with Azerbaijan is likely to facilitate the entry of Chinese weaponry and enhance Chinas influence in the region. Islamabad, Ankara, and Baku have integrated their tactical and strategic practice with the use of Turkish drone systems. In the Kaan project, Turkiye is experimenting with a loyal wingman drone, to gather data in a range of different terrains and against a range of technologies. The development of the Kaan fighter will significantly reduce Turkiyes reliance on foreign aircraft. As a fifth-generation fighter program, Kaan demands extensive expertise, substantial financial resources, and international collaboration. Azerbaijans financial investment and Pakistans manufacturing expertise will not only support Turkiyes Kaan project but also further reinforce the trilateral defense cooperation for long-term initiatives. The joint factory established by Islamabad and Ankara for the production of Turkiyes Kaan fighter jets will further consolidate the defense partnership between Pakistan and Turkiye. Pakistans role is expected to enable Turkiye to produce the Kaan jet at a reduced cost. Cost-effective joint production of the Kaan is expected to expand Turkiyes defense exports, while also bolstering Pakistans aerial defense capabilities. Yet the involvement of PakistanChinas longstanding strategic ally and all-weather friendin the Kaan project may pose challenges in sourcing components from Western suppliers due to security concerns. Chinas suspected indirect involvement in the Kaan program via Pakistan is viewed as a potential risk to the project. Although China has no official role in Turkiyes Kaan initiative, critics suspect an indirect influence through Pakistans participation. A primary factor behind the rising demand for Chinese defense equipment is its competitive pricing, attributed to low-cost production. The anticipated cost-effective production of the Kaan fighters has further fueled suspicions regarding Chinas indirect involvement in the project. Pakistans military cooperation with Azerbaijan carries significant geopolitical implications. In the aftermath of the six-week Azerbaijan-Armenia war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020, ArmeniaAzerbaijans primary adversaryhas become the largest importer of weapons from India, Pakistans principal regional rival. CONCLUSION: The JF-17 and Kaan fighter jet agreements is a clear statement that Pakistan and Turkiye will continue to bolster Azerbaijans military capabilities, with trilateral defense cooperation expected to deepen further. If successful, the Kaan project will lay the groundwork for expanded trilateral collaboration among Turkiye, Pakistan, and Azerbaijan in launching additional large-scale defense initiatives. It will also create opportunities for future bilateral or trilateral joint ventures in the defense industry among the three nations. The Kaan jet will allow the three countries to enhance engineering capabilities within their domestic defense industries. As a strategic asset, the acquisition of Turkiyes Kaan will represent a significant technological advancement for Azerbaijans and Pakistans air forces. News / Local by Staff reporter The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has assured the nation that all preparations for the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) June 2025 examinations are in place, with the session officially commencing this Friday.Speaking at a media briefing in Harare on Thursday, the Ministry's Director of Communications and Advocacy, Mr Taungana Ndoro, said the examinations had already started with practical subjects and were progressing without incident."We are pleased to announce that the June exams have commenced smoothly, with our Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examinations proceeding without any challenges," Ndoro said.The June examinations mainly cater to private candidates, particularly those seeking to improve their results after the previous November session."These exams provide an opportunity for candidates to re-sit and improve on subjects they may have underperformed in," Ndoro added. "It's a vital second chance, especially for those pursuing further education or career progression."Ndoro also emphasized the importance of school-based projects in the overall assessment of students' academic performance. These projects, he noted, remain a crucial component of the end-of-year grading system.The ministry said it remains committed to upholding the integrity and credibility of national examinations, ensuring that logistical arrangements - from printing to distribution and security - are managed efficiently.As exam fever grips candidates across the country, education authorities have called on all stakeholders to support the process and ensure a conducive environment for learners. May 24A young coxswain who was killed in a World War II battle on the Coral Sea has ties to Anatone and a ship named after him. Marvin Ramsden's legacy is now showcased in a shadow box at his niece's house in Clarkston. The impressive display of medals, photographs and memorabilia is the result of a lot of time and effort that was sparked by a conversation in a break room at the Clearwater Paper mill several years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two lifelong Clarkston friends John Peters and Randy VanSickle were discussing Valerie Ramsden's uncle Marvin and became curious about how the USS Ramsden was linked to Anatone and her family. VanSickle, 64, a retired Navy veteran, embarked on a deep-dive into history to help his friends learn more. Valerie, 65, and Peters, 64, recently spoke highly of VanSickle's research skills at their Clarkston Heights home. "Randy was instrumental in all of this, and his Navy connections were huge," Peters said. "After we found out Marvin died a hero and was lost at sea and had a ship named after him, we all agreed this story needs to be told." According to their research, Ramsden was a "dirt-poor farm boy" who joined the Navy at the age of 17, which required five letters in support of his maturity. He came from a family of homesteaders who settled in Anatone during World War II. His father, James, lost his first wife during childbirth, and married his second wife, Ada, when Marvin was 2 years old, Valerie said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Grandma Ada is technically Marvin's stepmother, but she raised him, and played a big role in getting a ship named after him," she said. "She was also there when the ship was christened." After enlisting in California, Ramsden was stationed on the USS Lexington. On May 8, 1942, a fierce battle with Japan ensued, and the young coxswain remained at his post after being wounded. "He refused to quit," according to Seattle Star newspaper accounts of the battle. Ramsden was exposed in the crow's nest on the upper level of the battleship, operating a range finder for the gun crew, said VanSickle, who carefully transcribed the entire log of the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The young seaman courageously remained at his exposed station, in the face of intense dive-bombing attacks until he was physically exhausted. He successfully helped shoot down several enemy planes. "Basically, Marvin earned a Silver Star that day and died a hero that no one knows about," Peters said. "This kid from nowhere could've bailed, but he refused and went down with the ship." Daily headlines, straight to your inboxRead it online first and stay up-to-date, delivered daily at 7 AM Ramsden, 23, was killed in action aboard the aircraft carrier in the Coral Sea, off the east coast of Australia. He was the first Asotin County youth reported killed during the conflict, according to an Anatone news report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The famous USS Lexington ship, which had previously launched Amelia Earhart's plane in 1937, was sunk, and Ramsden's body was lost at sea. In early June of 1942, a telegram about his death arrived in Anatone, which had a much larger population than its present-day count, said Valerie, who grew up in the rural Asotin County town. At a community picnic decades later, she met the man who hand-delivered the sad news of her uncle's death to his family. "I was talking to a man in his 80s, and found out he had worked at the Anatone telegraph office, and actually delivered that telegram to James and Ada," Valerie said. Her uncle was a Minnesota native, born in 1919. At the time of his death, he was survived by his parents; two brothers, Lloyd and Everett; and a sister, Ellen Rassilyer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everett, who died in 1986, is Valerie's father. Her aunt Ellen, who died during the COVID-19 pandemic, played a pivotal role in securing Marvin's medals, which had been lost over time. She also gathered newspaper clippings and photos in binders that were given to the cousins. "She was his closest remaining relative and had to sign the paperwork to get the medal replacements," Valerie said. "At the time, she was 92 and living in Federal Way. All of us cousins wrote papers about Marvin in our history classes." After Marvin Ramsden died, his parents moved to Seattle, and Ada was given his posthumous Silver Star for "gallant and intrepid conduct in action against enemy Japanese forces during the battle of the Coral Sea on May 8, 1942." Ada also sponsored the USS Ramsden, which carried the Anatone coxswain's portrait. "She was relentless and got a ship named after him," Valerie said. "Grandma Ada played a big part in this story." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ramsden namesake ship was commissioned in 1943, and Ada was there when the vessel was launched in Houston, Texas. It served as a destroyer escort vessel, manned by a Coast Guard crew, before being decommissioned in 1960 and used as a practice target in 1975. At a Navy reunion in 1999, a family member met a man who served on the USS Ramsden. He said every sailor would touch Ramsden's portrait as he walked onto the ship. Now that the research has been done and the three Clarkston friends have gathered all of Marvin Ramsden's history, they plan to give it to a Navy museum, possibly at Farragut State Park in northern Idaho. "I was so moved to receive this shadow box, and appreciate all of the work Randy and John did to learn more and more about my Uncle Marvin," Valerie said. "We remember him on every Memorial Day, as well as others who lost their lives fighting for our country, and we are grateful to share his story." Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com. One by one they spoke of their pain, their nightmares and shame, and the suicidal thoughts. Amid pleas for psychological help and justice, they described how the American founder of their Port-au-Prince orphanage lured them in with promise of an education and a better life. But Michael Karl Geilenfeld, who operated several orphanages and a home for the disabled in Haiti over a span of 30 years, was no man of God, the 10 men told a U.S. federal judge inside a Miami court room. Instead, he was a criminal, a diabolical psychopath, who used cookies and trips to the U.S. to steal their childhood as he sexually and physically abused them. Then he used his power, money and the white color of his skin to shut them down when they tried to get help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This orphanage destroyed my childhood, a 24-year-old testified on Friday morning about the St. Josephs Home for Boys. There is no amount of love that can make me forget. The only thing that can make me forget is, I have to leave this earth. Only death. On Friday, after the young man and nine other victims of Geilenfeld detailed the sexual, physical and verbal abuse they endured at his hands and their lingering trauma, including guilt and shame U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz sentenced Geilenfeld to 210 years in prison. The sentencing, which amounts to life imprisonment given Geilenfelds 73 years of age, was excessive, defense attorney Raymond DArsey Houlihan III said. Houlihan had tried to get a reduced sentence, citing Geilenfelds age, bouts with high blood pressure and glaucoma, and a modest existence. He lived quietly in Colorado from the time he returned to the time of his arrest, Houlihan said, referring to the former missionarys return to the United States from the Dominican Republican, to which he fled with the help of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince after he was jailed in Haiti on sex-abuse allegations. Houlihan plans to appeal his clients conviction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After years of evading justice in both Haiti and accusations in the U.S., Geilenfeld was arrested last year in Colorado after Homeland Security Investigations was joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to take another look at the allegations. He was flown to Miami where he was denied bond by Leibowitz. After a three-week trial in February, where he came face-to-face with some of his accusers about abuse dating back to the 1980s, a 12-person federal jury found him guilty of six counts of engaging in illicit sexual contact with minors in a foreign place and one count of traveling from Miami to Haiti for that purpose. Each count carried maximum punishment of 30 years, hence Geilenfelds 210-year prison sentence. The worst of the worst For years, allegations of Geilenfelds appetite for young boys dogged him as he took in street boys into his orphanage and secured thousands in charitable gifts. But for years, he managed to avoid jail time and conviction, even winning a million-dollar civil suit in Maine. One of his victims spoke of how he was told to shut his mouth when he complained to a Haitian official at the child welfare office, and how police were deployed to arrest him and another young man when they went to a local radio station to complain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You managed to have all of the judges, police who were corrupt, the man, 45-years-old, said in Creole directly to Geilenfeld, who was wearing an olive-green prison uniform. Four-hundred years will not be enough for what this monster did to kids. In the end, Leibowitz gave Geilenfeld, the maximum he could as the room burst into applause. The one-time missionary had testified and lied on the stand and obstructed justice, the judge said about Geilenfeld. Even on Friday, when offered the opportunity to say something to the court and to his victims, Geilenfeld, did not. That says all you need to know about the history and characteristics of this defendant, Leibowitz said. The defendant preyed upon some of the most vulnerable children in the world. Thats what he did. Thats not a metaphor: the trials, crises and tribulations of the country of Haiti and all that its gone through, the judge said. Leibowitz, who was visibly moved during the two hours of testimony, said Geilenfeld used domination and exerted control over them. When they got out of line, he then threatened them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He used his power. He used the color of his skin, Leibowitz said. Then, quoting one of the gentlemen who read his comments from a prepared letter, Leibowitz said Geilenfeld had an effect of being a man of God. The 9-year-olds who were taken in by him because they had nowhere to go did nothing to deserve this said the judge. Outside of the victims, others have tried to bring Geilenfeld to justice for years. He responded with separate defamation lawsuits, one in Atlanta, which he lost, and another in Maine that he eventually won. The Atlanta suit was against Valerie Dirksen, a child advocate who had worked in Haitis orphanages. She became aware of the abuse in 2011 and had worked hard for the victims. In the Maine lawsuit, he was a co-plaintiff alongside the North Carolina nonprofit, Hearts with Haiti, which donated to his orphanage. They sued Paul Kendrick, a Maine resident who had accused Geilenfeld of being a serial pedophile and had led a campaign demanding justice for his Haitian victims. Kendricks insurance company in the fall of 2019 settled the six-year-old defamation case, and agreed to pay Hearts with Haiti $3 million but nothing to Geilenfeld. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hearts with Haiti previously told the Miami Herald that Geilenfeld was never an employee, volunteer nor member of the Hearts with Haiti Board of Directors. Hearts with Haiti has no knowledge regarding the guilt or innocence of Michael Geilenfeld concerning these federal charges, the organization said after his arrest. This time around, there was so much evidence in the case, the judge said, because the brothers of the St. Josephs Home for Boys made a decision that they were not just victims. They protected themselves and they protected others. He took something from them, Leibowitz said, noting that using charities, one of which was connected with Mother Theresa, as a plaything needs to be deterred. This is the worst of the worst. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leibowitz said he had prepared a speech before the sentencing. But after listening to 10 of Leibowitzs victims, some of whom had testified during the trial about how Geilenfeld spent years discrediting them, there wasnt much left to say. Looking straight out into the courtroom, he offered a closing statement: He did not beat you. You beat him. Courageous Testimony Geilenfelds relationship with Haiti dated as far back as the 1980s. During that time, he operated at least three different facilities. It was his involvement at St. Josephs, an orphanage that took in street kids, that was most problematic. Some of the children were taken there by other agencies and others by relatives who couldnt care for them, a common practice in the poverty-stricken country. Sometimes you feel you are not human, you are not from this world, said one of the first individuals to provide a statement. When you are a victim, you are a victim for life. This, you are going to live with it, you are going to die with it and you hope your kids never know. Throughout their testimonies on Friday, there were common themes: The abuse was so traumatizing that those who are married havent shared what happened with their wives and pray their children will never learn the truth. Instead of an education, they received lifetime scars. Decades later, they still have nightmares. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the men have now formed a bond and have compiled their own list of victims, they still cant confide in each other about what they underwent. And years later, the older ones still feel guilt about being unable to protect their younger brothers despite confronting Geilenfeld about whether he was still abusing children. At one moment, one of his first victims broke down while listing to another testify. Later, he said, he had mixed emotions. It was a good day, but also a bad day in having to relive what happened. Weve been telling our story for years and nobody believed us, said Maxceau Cylla, who said he wasnt sexually abused by Geilenfeld but was often beaten up by him before he escaped in 1995 during a trip to Michigan. They told us we were ungrateful, and Michael was doing good things. Why would you lie on him like that? Its been 30 to 40 years, said Cylla, 49, who was 12 when he went to the orphanage and was part of a dancing troupe that Geilenfeld would bring to the United States to raise money. A lot of people when they go to Haiti, they prey on kids. We dont have a government but I am hoping the Haitian government will step up and start cracking down on those groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel Madrigal said if there is a lesson from what has happened it is that people should listen to their children. When you have kids that tell you something, just believe them, he said. We tried so hard for the last 20, 30 years but nobody understand, nobody believed. People thought it was about the money. Its not my fault [that] I grew up in the streets, he said. Its not my fault to have no mother, no dad. Somebody takes me to the orphanage and I think they are going to save my life and what they do is they destroyed my life. One of the victims testified that Geilenfeld still has supporters in Haiti, where they are depending on him for rent and food. He told the judge that after individuals learned he was testifying against Geilenfeld, his wife was kidnapped, raped and burned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael, you are a coward, said one the men. He read from prepared remarks in which he also told Geilenfeld he was a diabolical psychopath who reminded him of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, where he now lives. You did your best to break me. For a long time, I blamed myself, he said, adding: After all, you were such a good storyteller. Michael, you stole from everyone you met ... you stole my identify. You stole who I am. Breaking down in tears, the man told the judge he was there on behalf of all the other victims, of whom be believes there are hundreds. He was begging for justice. Geilenfeld not only deserves the full stance of 210 years, he deserves this 10 times over, the man said. He needs to spend his remaining days locked up, and throw away the key so he cannot abuse any more children. CHEYENNE In the middle of winter, two people from a California drug recovery center paid a visit to the COMEA House and Resource Center, a homeless shelter in Cheyenne. They offered free airfare and scholarships to shelter residents for substance abuse treatment at the facility in warm, sunny California. But something about the offer felt extremely off, COMEA Executive Director Robin Bocanegra said. Why would someone from California, a state with a massive unhoused population, look to recruit unhoused people from Wyoming? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robin Bocanegra COMEA shelter executive director Robin Bocanegra. Right away, we saw red flags, Bocanegra said, adding that she immediately turned them away. They were a little bit pushy, wanting to come in and really tried to do this sales pitch on how great it was. An alleged health insurance fraud scheme has been taking advantage of people with drug addiction, and it recently started happening in Wyoming, according to at least one health insurance company. The Wyoming Department of Insurance posted a public service announcement this month, warning people to be on the lookout for body brokers and health insurance scams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Body brokers are people sent out to different states to recruit victims often vulnerable adults with a substance use disorder and send them to fraudulent treatment facilities. Scammers running these facilities bill insurance companies for services that arent actually being provided. The epidemic of substance use disorders has correlated with an uptick in health insurance fraud, according to a 2022 article published by the National Library of Medicine. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice brought criminal charges against a defendant for filing $6 billion in fraudulent claims to federal and private health insurance organizations for opioid-related treatment. This included $845 million for substance abuse treatment and more than $30 million for illegal opioid distribution, according to the article. Patient brokering is a common unethical practice in many states, the article said. In many cases, patients are referred to facilities regardless of whether it is the best fit for their needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyoming appears to be the latest target in this criminal scheme, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming. BCBSWY Executive Vice President Kris Urbanek said Native Americans and adults with substance use disorders have been victimized by fraudulent health care filings. There was a 106% increase in major mental health/substance use disorder diagnoses from 2023 to 2024 under BCBSWY, which resulted in an extra $15.1 million in costs. Kris Urbanek Kris Urbanek The fraudulent enrollment is bad, Urbanek said. But the real tragedy is that these people are being trafficked into locations that do not provide the health care that they need, and in a lot of cases, are not providing any health care at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on stories collected by the insurance company, Wyoming victims are showing up in treatment centers, most of them in California, but are not receiving any actual treatment. Amy Scharaswak, who works in population health for BCBSWY, said a pregnant woman at a Wyoming homeless shelter is currently stuck in California after she fell victim to one of these scams. When she went to California, her whole premise of going is she was pregnant, she was using, but she wanted to quit for her unborn child, Scharaswak said. The woman was dropped off in a compound, which is a residential area for patients of substance use treatments, such as an apartment or dormitory. But when she saw her roommate had crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia, she realized something was wrong, Scharaswak said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because she was not willing to stay, the facility in question said, We wont buy you a plane ticket to get home, Scharaswak said. We cant help you if youre not willing to stay, and we can bill your insurance company for your stay. Targeting Native Americans The most impacted population of health care fraud in Wyoming has been its Native American residents. Urbanek said theres been a dramatic uptick in out-of-state residential treatment center utilization and enrollment in Native American plans. Average annual enrollment jumped from 300 to 1,300, he said, which is well beyond what is normal. As of March 2025, internal reports indicate BCBSWYs Native American enrollment is up 500% in 2025. In addition, the health insurance companys Native American claims experience is up more than 1,000% in 2025. Overall, mental health and substance abuse disorder claims have increased over 300% in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That was the red flag, right there, Urbanek said. We had an influx of calls in the call center claims utilization was out of whack. As more stories started rolling in, staff at the insurance company began to suspect enrollments in the Native American plans were not legitimate, and that the claimed services were not actually being provided to members. Urbanek said Native American health insurance plans have year-round enrollment, and theres a 90-day period to verify whether an enrollee is an actual tribe member. It is unclear at this point if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is monitoring this requirement. This makes it easy for scammers to take advantage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can just say that youre a tribal member. Nobodys looking and asking questions for three months, Urbanek said. Addressing the issue When the BCBSWY legal team began investigating the alleged fraud schemes, it found a number of civil lawsuits and federal criminal cases and indictments related to illegal kickback operations. Most of the cases were filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which indicates this is a criminal enterprise, said BCBSWY Vice President of Legal Services Rocky Redd. This is a network of fraud thats happening, and were not sure how connected it is, Redd said. Whether all of these actors are connected, or whether the scheme has just been patterned and copycatted over and over again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BCBSWY has been in contact with a Blue Cross plan in California, and discussions between the two agencies have been productive, Redd said. This has been an ongoing issue in California for several years now, and the state has entire departments and teams investigating fraudulent facilities. They use very sophisticated software. One of those is called Fraud Shield, that can go through and identify potential areas of fraud that might be occurring, Redd said. But even with the large number of staff and use of sophisticated software to identify fraud, this type of investigation takes years, due to how intricate it is and how difficult it is to track people down, he said. Part of the difficulty is thumbing through falsified documents, including fake utility bills and forged letters from shelter home directors. Bocanegra, the director at COMEA, said she was shocked to see a forged letter from her shelter with her name on it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a little disturbing, Bocanegra said. While the FBI has been investigating this issue for years, its a new problem for Wyoming federal law enforcement officers, Redd said. This is a very novel thing for them, Redd said. We have been doing the things that we need to do, which is reporting the fraud through their proper channels, having discussions with investigators, but that process just moves very slowly. BCBSWY is also partnered with the Wyoming Department of Insurance to investigate the health insurance scams. In addition, the health insurance company has contacted all three of Wyomings members of Congress to work with CMS to rescind coverage payments, and the delegation has paid special attention to this issue, said BCBSWY Government Affairs Principal and Privacy Officer Kelsey Prestesater. The federal government is very slow moving at times, Prestesater said. We need a more immediate fix, and so were hopeful that our Department of Insurance and (members of Congress) can really help us get in the door with CMS. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., said in an emailed statement to the WTE that she found the alleged actions of these fraudsters to be egregious. The Wyoming congresswoman confirmed her office is fully engaged with the state DOI to hold bad actors accountable. Not only are they damaging the insurance system, those individuals seeking help could suffer for the rest of their lives because, in their greatest moment of need, they were victims of crime instead of beneficiaries of care, Hageman stated. I will always stand in the gap for those unable to advocate for themselves. CHEYENNE The states ability to curb a spike in fraudulent health care filings under Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming is limited, but lawmakers agreed Thursday to do what they can to navigate this issue in their respective committees. An unusual uptick in Native American health care enrollment set off alarm bells at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming (BCBSWY). As of March 2025, Native American enrollment in BCBSWY health care plans on the federal marketplace is up 500%, and Native American claims are up by more than 1,000%. Overall, mental health and substance abuse disorder claims have increased over 300% in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators suspect Wyoming is the latest target in a nationwide health care scam of illegal claim filings. Body brokers are scouting out homeless shelters to find victims and ship them to out-of-state facilities, where the insurance company is then billed for substance abuse treatment that is not actually being provided. Stories collected by BCBSWY found that Wyoming victims are showing up in these fraudulent treatment centers, most of them in California, with others in Arizona and Florida. Furthermore, an internal investigation found many health insurance enrollees are not legitimate Wyoming residents. Out of more than 1,500 potentially fraudulent enrollees identified in Native and non-Native federal health care plans, less than 40 have been confirmed as legitimate, according to a BCBSWY news release. BCBSWY representatives raised this issue before state lawmakers during the Legislatures Select Committee on Tribal Relations meeting in Fort Washakie. Co-Chairman Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, found the situation alarming, and asked how the state can help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Awareness is the main reason that were here today, said BCBSWY Government Affairs Principal and Privacy Officer Kelsey Prestesater. We want to get this news out to as many people as we possibly can, and encourage individuals if they feel like they have fallen victim to this, or know somebody who has, to certainly reach out. Potential state solutions Prestesater offered a few remedies for state lawmakers to pursue. One solution is to draft a bill that requires stronger oversight of licensing requirements for in-state behavioral health and substance abuse treatment facilities. Currently, there are virtually no regulations for these types of residential treatment centers, Prestesater said. While these treatment centers are not here now, weve seen a pattern where these treatment centers move from state to state, where they can find the least amount of regulation and begin to victimize those people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She also suggested revisiting a bill that was filed in the recent legislative session by the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee, but failed to be introduced. House Bill 71, Insurance fraud reporting, would have required insurers to report suspected and known fraud. That would really help us and give us some teeth in being able to report these bad actors and provide a shield from civil liability, Prestesater said. Case, who is also co-chairman of the Joint Corporations Committee, said he will bring up HB 71 at the committees next meeting for consideration. He told the WTE in a phone call after the meeting theres more of an urgency now with the story out there. But its ultimately up to the committee, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, who co-chairs the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, said he will speak with his co-chair about studying professional licensing requirements as an additional interim topic for the committee. BCBSWY Vice President of Legal Services Rocky Redd suggested a third option, which is to allow a pause in claim payments to fraudulent actors if the insurance company finds credible evidence of fraud. In Wyoming, the insurance company has 45 days to sift through thousands of pages of records before making a claims payment. Some of the other states have passed legislation that would allow you to pause that, to take a little bit more time to look into it before you have to go ahead and pay them, Redd said. Otherwise, Blue Cross risks getting sued for not making the payment by deadline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal government issue Since Native American health insurance is regulated only at the federal level, there is little action the state can take on this issue, Deputy Commissioner Tana Howard at the Wyoming Department of Insurance told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle earlier this week. The solution needs to come from the feds. It needs to come from (the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services), since they are the ones who regulate these plans, Howard said. From her understanding, Blue Cross cannot deny claims in question under federal law, as these are federally regulated plans. Howard said she was recently informed that the case was forwarded by CMS to the Center for Program Integrity, an internal division of CMS that detects fraud, waste and abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Dakota has reported a similar issue in health insurance fraud with its own Blue Cross insurance company, Howard added. The northern state implemented a waiver program in response that requires insured members to justify out-of-state health care. But this isnt a solution that would fit in Wyoming, she said. North Dakota is completely different than Wyoming. They have a lot more providers. They have a lot more hospital systems, Howard said. There are not very many facilities in Wyoming that really offer (substance abuse treatment). And so its not uncommon for it to go out of state. A similar situation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cowboy State Daily reported a mysterious incident in 2023, where a dozen unhoused individuals were taken from Fremont County and dropped off at a homeless shelter in Casper. Northern Arapaho Business Council Co-Chairwoman Kimberly Whiteman Harjo reminded lawmakers of this situation during Thursdays meeting. She told committee members the scheme described by Blue Cross representatives reminded her of that incident. There are places in Riverton that will say that they help homeless people, but I dont know what their rules are, the procedures, Harjo said. But a lot of our people were put out in the freezing cold during the wintertime, and it was at night. The Wind River Indian Reservation is a constant target of fraudulent companies, she said. Case recalled the incident when he later spoke with the WTE. The committee co-chairman said he was disappointed the kidnapping, as he referred to it, was not taken more seriously by local entities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities never discovered who was behind taking people and dropping them off at the Casper shelter, he said. People were rounded up, given promises (for treatment), Case said. And they were taken to Casper and kind of dumped off, and that just made me really angry. A Blue Cross spokesperson confirmed to the WTE this situation is not related to the health care insurance fraud reported by the insurance company. CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A York County man in a case where a teen was shot in the head was sentenced last month. Online court records show Adler Guerrero, 18, of Dillsburg, will spend two years on probation after being sentenced by Judge Jessica Brewbaker in Cumberland County, online court records show. Guerrero pleaded guilty April 29 to tampering with evidence and recklessly endangering another person charges, according to court records. Other charges, including two felonies, were dismissed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now abc27 Evening Newsletter State Police at Carlisle filed charges against Guerrero stemming from an investigation into a 17-year-old who shot himself Oct. 6. The victim and Guerrero were just picked up from a party where they were drinking during the night, State Police said. While in the vehicle, the victim reached into a backpack that Guerrero had, pulled out a pistol and fired a shot. Guerrero then turned around and saw his friend had a gunshot wound to the head, State Police said. Driver steals trailer full of Monster Energy from motel parking lot The victim was driven to Penn State Holy Spirit Hospital for treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead of calling 911, Guerrero called other friends and directed the driver to go somewhere where he could toss the gun. Troopers were able to recover it and learned it was stolen out of York County. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Two boys were arrested for their involvement in a string of eight robberies that happened throughout the District in May, D.C. police said on Friday. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detailed that there has been an uptick in purse-snatching robberies over the past three weeks, at least eight of which were connected. In all but one of the eight robberies, the suspects reportedly approached a person and took their purse and property. In one of those cases, they pulled out a gun, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspects would then flee in a vehicle. Youth curfew goes into place at DCs Wharf over Memorial Day Weekend MPD listed the following offenses: May 3, 2025, Armed Robbery at 3:05 a.m. in the 1000 block of 9 th Street NW May 3, 2025, Robbery Force and Violence at 2:33 a.m. in the 3600 block of 14 th Street NW May 18, 2025, Robbery Force and Violence at 11:49 p.m. in the 1000 block of W Street NW May 19, 2025, Robbery Force and Violence at 9:40 p.m. in the area of Ogden and Otis NW May 19, 2025, Robbery Force and Violence at 10:20 p.m. in the 1700 block of 14 th Street NW May 19, 2025, Robbery Force and Violence at 10:24 p.m. in the 3200 block of Pine Street NW May 19, 2025, Robbery Force and Violence at 11:46 p.m. in the 2200 block of Georgia NW May 19, 2025, Robbery Force and Violence at 12:10 a.m. in the 700 block of 1 Street NE Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the most recent case, the victim told police that a black sedan drove past her, stopped, and two of the suspects approached her, according to a police report. The suspects tried snatching the purse off her shoulder, and one of them warned, Dont make us do this lady. The strap to her purse broke, and the suspects fled the scene. Earlier this week, on May 20, MPD identified two persons of interest: a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy. Police went to a home in Northwest D.C. to try and find the people of interest when the people inside began throwing evidence out of a window. The two boys then reportedly left the home and were placed under arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives recovered items stolen in the robberies, as well as a ghost gun. The 13-year-old and 12-year-old were charged with eight counts of robbery. MPD is investigating whether the boys were tied to other offenses that happened during that three-week period. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact police at (202) 727-9099 or by texting the departments tip line at 50411. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky early Saturday condemned Russias overnight strikes on several areas in Ukraine, including Kyiv, as the two sides began the first stages of a prisoner swap this week. Zelensky wrote on social media that the overnight attack targeted the Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv and Dnipro regions, which suffered heavy damages. He added that the Kremlins drones and missiles targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones, he wrote on social platform X. With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored, the Ukrainian leader added. Zelensky stressed that only sanctions, imposed by the U.S. and Western Europe, will force Russia into agreeing to a ceasefire. The Kremlin fired ballistic missiles and targeted Kyiv with drones overnight, injuring 15 people and damaging several apartment buildings, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks came after Ukraines drone attacks on Russia earlier this week, including deep inside the Kremlins territory. The overnight attacks unfolded as the two sides, engaged in the war for over three years, had successfully swapped prisoners. Early Saturday, each side brought home 307 soldiers as part of the deal, ironed out in Turkey, to ultimately exchange 1,000 prisoners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky said that, so far, 697 prisoners have been brought back to Ukraine, with more expected to be swapped on Sunday. Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine, Zelensky wrote in a separate post on Saturday. I thank everyone involved in the exchange process, those who have been working around the clock. The attacks also come as President Trump has largely stepped back from his demands for an immediate 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Instead, Trump has pressed the two sides to come to the negotiation table to discuss what broader peace talks could look like. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that the third stage of a prisoner swap with Russia will take place on Sunday 25 May. Source: Zelenskyy in an address Quote: "The exchange continued today. A further 307 of our soldiers have been brought back home. Privates and sergeants. Most of them are from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. Of all these people, 273 were taken prisoner in Donetsk Oblast, a significant number back in 2022, as well as from the territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts. In total, 697 Ukrainians have been brought back home in two days of swaps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tomorrow is the third stage. We should liberate a thousand of our people during these days." Details: Zelenskyy emphasised, however, that the task is to release every single person currently being held in Russia, "and this is a common task for our intelligence agencies, for our diplomats, for our entire state". Zelenskyy also referred to recent Russian attacks on Kyiv and other cities, stressing that "Russia fills every day with grief and killings and is just dragging out the war". He urged the United States, Europe and other partners to respond robustly. Quote: "Ukraine is ready for any form of diplomacy that will bring results. We are ready for all the steps that can guarantee real security. Its Russia that is not ready for anything. The next week should be a time of activity for the sake of putting further pressure on Russia, that is, for the sake of peace." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously: On Friday 23 May, Ukraine and Russia carried out the first part of the thousand-for-thousand exchange agreement, bringing back 390 people. Of these, 270 were military personnel and 120 were civilians. On Saturday 24 May, another 307 Ukrainian defenders were brought back from Russian captivity. All of them are men of private and sergeant ranks. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! ENFIELD, Conn. (WWLP) Zen Leaf Dispensary opened its seventh Connecticut location in Enfield, hosting a grand opening celebration throughout the Memorial Day weekend. The new dispensary is located adjacent to the Enfield Square Mall at 98 Elm Street, arriving just ahead of the Enfield Marketplace redevelopment project. A ceremonial ribbon-cutting was held on Friday to commemorate the addition of a new business in the community. Brick Convention returns to Springfield with stunning LEGO displays Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parent company Verano operates six other Zen Leaf locations in Connecticut, as well as the 217,000 square foot CTPharma cultivation and processing facility in Rocky Hill, where a variety of cannabis products are produced for the region. Were thrilled to welcome guests at Zen Leaf, and share in the local communitys enthusiasm as Enfield prepares to turn the page on an exciting new chapter with the transformational $250 million redevelopment of Enfield Square Mall into Enfield Marketplace, said George Archos, Verano founder and Chief Executive Officer. We are grateful to the entire community, including the village leadership and many organizations we have had the pleasure partnering with as we plant roots for a bright future together in Enfield for years to come. Throughout the weekend, DJ Bic IC will be spinning tunes at the dispensary for guests to enjoy. On Friday, visitors received complimentary meals from Pangeas Tacos, Burgers and Wraps, and coffee and drinks will be available on Saturday from Travelin Toms Coffee Truck. To emphasize community support, Verano also donated critical funds to the Thompsonville Fire Department to purchase a years supply of Narcan to continue providing lifesaving care for local victims of the opioid crisis. Other local organizations are also receiving support from Verano, including Enfield Loaves and Fishes and Enfield Food Shelf. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more information on Zen Leaf Enfield and weekly deals, visit zenleafdispensaries.com. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. News / Local by Staff reporter Flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo has sparked fresh controversy following a bizarre outburst dismissing growing questions over alleged multimillion-rand payments linked to Zimbabwe's 2023 election contract.In a phone call with The Zimbabwe Independent, Chivayo rejected any obligation to explain the source of the funds, saying: "I am not your relative, I don't owe you anything," before hanging up.The tirade, far from clearing the air, has only intensified scrutiny over claims that R800 million ended up in accounts linked to Chivayo from a contract awarded to Ren-form CC a South African company hired to supply election materials for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).As first revealed by The Independent, South Africa's Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has flagged the transaction trail as "suspicious" and forwarded its findings to local and Zimbabwean authorities. The FIC says Ren-form received over R1,2 billion from Zimbabwe's Ministry of Finance, with a significant chunk allegedly funneled to Chivayo-linked firms including Intratrek Holdings and Dolintel Trading Enterprise."There is no crime. There is no complainant. There is no missing money," Chivayo declared in a video posted online earlier this week, claiming he has no business dealings with ZEC a claim that contradicts FIC's detailed findings.Observers have dismissed his response as evasive and provocative, warning that the real issue is not his defiant tone but the lack of public accountability over the use of taxpayer funds."Rega kundifonera kunge ndine hukama newe," Chivayo snapped during the call. "Usandifonere kunge ndine chikwereti chako." ("Don't call me as if I'm your relative or owe you money.")Critics say the FIC report, which alleges "layering" of funds and possible money laundering, raises serious questions about public procurement integrity. The report also alleges Chivayo moved R36 million from his personal account to acquire luxury cars and that another firm, Edenbreeze, received R156 million from Zimbabwe's Treasury.Despite the explosive allegations, Zimbabwean authorities have remained largely silent.The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc), which reportedly received the FIC dossier, has not commented. The Zimbabwean Financial Intelligence Unit also declined to respond to media questions.South Africa's elite crime-busting unit, the Hawks, confirmed to The Independent that the case is now a top priority. Ren-form, meanwhile, has denied wrongdoing through its lawyers, insisting the ZEC contract was lawful."Our client did not engage in any unlawful activities or money laundering," said a statement from Mathopo Attorneys. "These allegations are false and defamatory."Back in Zimbabwe, the silence from officials has been deafening. Treasury, ZEC, and other key institutions continue to stonewall inquiries. Finance Ministry permanent secretary George Guvamatanga has referred all questions back to ZEC.ZEC deputy chairperson Rodney Kiwa has openly clashed with journalists over the issue. "We won't issue a press statement. Drop this issue," he said curtly.Zacc previously confirmed it was investigating Chivayo, along with associates Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, in a separate US$9,2 million Harare City Council scandal. But progress in that case remains unclear.The growing storm threatens to undermine Zimbabwe's electoral credibility, with critics calling for full transparency over the controversial contract for ballot papers, servers, biometric kits, and other polling materials.Chivayo's rant may have been intended as defiance but instead, it has ignited even greater public demand for answers. As cross-border investigations widen, his self-congratulatory tone appears increasingly detached from the gravity of the accusations. Support Local News Reporting Journalists at the Yakima Herald-Republic bring you timely, in-depth and credible local news. Your generous donation supports their work. 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. West Valley firefighters work to put out a fire at a mobile home in the area of Ghormley and Barrett roads Friday, May 23, 2025. The Voice of America sign is displayed on its building on March 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to eliminate the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the parent agency of VOA, and put VOA employees on administrative leave. News / Local by Staff reporter In a major milestone for Matebeleland South's agricultural sector, the first-ever Naturally Cured Virginia (NCV) tobacco auction floor has opened in Marula, Mangwe District. The historic development marks a turning point in decentralising tobacco marketing and promoting commercial farming in the region.The auction floor, set up at the Bitumen World Training Centre, officially opened on Thursday morning and has already begun receiving tobacco from local farmers. By mid-morning, 260 bales, each averaging 80 kilogrammes, had been delivered by enthusiastic farmers eager to tap into the growing market for NCV tobacco.The opening ceremony was officiated by Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Vangelis Haritatos, who hailed the development as a major step in promoting rural industrialisation and empowering smallholder farmers in traditionally non-tobacco growing regions."This is not just about tobacco; this is about transforming lives and creating sustainable rural economies. What started as a small pilot project is now a thriving reality," said Haritatos.The NCV tobacco initiative is now in its second season, having started with just 17 pioneering farmers from Mangwe. It has since expanded significantly to include over 160 farmers from both Mangwe and neighbouring Bulilima District. The project has seen local communities embracing tobacco farming as a viable commercial venture, supported by training and access to markets.Farmers expressed excitement at the opportunity to sell their produce locally, cutting down on the costs and logistical challenges of transporting their tobacco to traditional auction floors in other provinces."This auction floor has brought the market to our doorstep. We are no longer burdened with high transport costs and we can now focus more on improving the quality of our crop," said one of the participating farmers.Authorities hope the success of the Marula auction floor will encourage similar initiatives across other rural districts, aligning with national goals to boost agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. News / Local by Staff reporter A 200 KVA transformer valued at approximately US$10,000 was stolen from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) in Dangamvura's Area 3 on Wednesday, May 21, sparking widespread power outages and raising serious safety concerns for both residents and utility workers.The theft was discovered around 9am when a fault report was received at ZETDC's Dangamvura filling station. Investigations later confirmed that the transformer had been removed from the S200 substation.Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, said the matter came to light after Ms Faustina Chikuse (52), a loss control officer with ZETDC, received a fault alert from the desk."On the same day, the ZESA fault team investigated and found that a 200 KVA transformer had been stolen from the Dangamvura S200 substation. The accused used an unknown object to remove the mounts, and the theft went unnoticed until the team's arrival," said Assistant Inspector Chinyoka.Police attended the scene, but no arrests or recoveries have been made so far. Authorities say the theft has not only disrupted electricity supply in the area but also posed serious risks to essential services and the local economy.Assistant Inspector Chinyoka called on members of the public to assist law enforcement by coming forward with any information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects."We urge members of the community with information related to the case to report to the nearest police station, as this will be helpful in bringing the perpetrator to justice," he said.Transformer thefts have become a growing concern in various parts of the country, causing major setbacks in power delivery and stretching ZETDC's maintenance resources. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya on Saturday said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) downed at least four Pakistani aircraft, including one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters, during Operation Sindoor. The information regarding losses suffered by Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which Malviya shared on his social media handle X, comes against the backdrop of intense politics in Lok Sabha with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi seeking details about losses of IAF aircraft and the BJP questioning him for not inquiring about Pakistani losses during the conflict. Malviya added that during Operation Sindoor Indias S-400 air defence system destroyed a Pakistani SAAB-2000 airborne early warning system as far as 315 kilometres away deep in Pakistan. The BJP leader also commended the performance of the S-400 air defence system. Indias S-400 air defence system in Adampur went into action no less than 11 times during Operation Sindoor, he wrote. Adampur Air Base is the one which Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited after the ceasefire understanding with Pakistan. Malviya also commended the Indian Armed Forces' performance during the operation, saying that four major air strikes by the IAF pulverised the enemy's air bases, air assets, and air defences on the intervening night of May 10, forcing Islamabad to desperately call on the US to intervene on its behalf for a ceasefire. Malviya also shared further details of the IAF strikes on May 10, highlighting the use of Rafale-launched SCALP missiles and SU-30 MKI-launched Brahmos missiles, which targeted Pakistans Northern Air Command-control network at Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala during the initial strike. Malviyas claims about IAF success against the enemy also demolish claims made in fake news circulated on social media and attributed to a British newspaper. The posts carried an article with the headline Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies. A devastating road accident at Guvvalacheruvu Ghat in Kadapa district claimed the lives of five people on Friday. The incident occurred after a lorry collided head-on with a car travelling from Rayachoti to Kadapa, resulting in the loss of five people on the spot. Minister for Transport of Andhra Pradesh, Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy informed that victims included three women and a child all residents of Kadapa district. A tragic road accident occurred at Guvvalacheruvu Ghat in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, resulting in the death of five people on the spot. The accident took place when a lorry collided with a car. The victims, who were travelling from Rayachoti to Kadapa, included three women ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Further details are awaited as the investigation progresses. A multi-party delegation led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Baijayant Panda arrived at the Indian Embassy in Bahrain's Manama for India's global outreach programme on Operation Sindoor to highlight the nation's continuous fight against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. They also paid floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The delegation, consisting of BJP MPs Panda, Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak, Rekha Sharma, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Satnam Singh Sandhu, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and former foreign secretary Harsh Shringla, interacted with select members of the Indian community. During the visit, BJP MP and former Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) Rekha Sharma said that Pakistan would disappear if India were to use its full force. "We did not use our full military power. We did not use even a fraction of our military power. I have seen the Pakistani Army and political parties. If they have nuclear, we also have. If India would use its full force, Pakistan will disappear," Sharma asserted. Before leaving for Bahrain, BJP MP Baijayant Panda said, "Today our group is embarking on this trip to West Asia. We have very senior members and wide representation from across the political spectrum. The biggest message is the unity that India has shown to the world and continues to show, and we are very clear about taking the message that, after having won on the battlefield, it is also important to ask the world to stay focused on terrorism, which many countries around the world have suffered from. But we suffer from a special kind of terrorism that is state-sponsored, and this message, as you have seen recently, many countries are coming out in support of, and that is our mission." Meanwhile, Owaisi emphasised that they will highlight Pakistan's nurturing of terrorism at the global level. "Our neighbouring country, Pakistan, is running terrorist camps and supporting them. These terrorists come to India and carry out terrorist activities. We will speak about these things to these four nations," Owaisi said. Apart from Bahrain, the delegation will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Algeria. Opinion / Columnist As members of the fourth estate, our role is clear: to hold power to account and to speak truth to those entrusted with public resources. Remaining silent in the face of Zimbabwe's ongoing transport crisis would be both undemocratic and unpatriotic. We owe the people relentless scrutiny and probing questionsespecially when promises remain unfulfilled and public money disappears without explanation.During the 2020 outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government announced a bold plan to revive the state-owned Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO). The government embarked on a massive purchasing spree, acquiring over 1,000 buses from Belarus, a country that has become Zimbabwe's new, albeit "fair-weather," friend. More than 1,000 buses were reportedly purchased and commissioned between 2019 and 2023, with plans to buy an additional 550 buses advertised as recently as December 2023.Yet, here we are in mid-2025, and ZUPCO buses are scarcely visible anywherewhether in the streets of Harare, Bulawayo, or rural towns. The premium Harare-Bulawayo bus service has been discontinued. The question burning on every commuter's lips is: Where are these buses? Have they been sidelined, neglected, or worse, stolen? Why have they seemingly vanished?In their absence, private transporters dominate the market, charging exorbitant fares and offering unreliable services. The worsening transport crisis is no accidentit is a consequence of mismanagement, corruption, and a failure to protect public assets.We demand clear answers from the government and ZUPCO's parent company, the Mutapa Investment Fund. These buses were bought with taxpayers' money. The public deserves to know whether these vehicles have been mothballed in depots, or if they have been diverted for personal use by politically connected individuals. Such suspicions are far from baseless given revelations from the 2023 Auditor-General's report, which exposed ZUPCO's failure to account for ZW$3.4 billion in urban revenue, signaling potential fraud and systemic corruption.This is not just a scandal of missing busesit is a scandal of broken promises and betrayed trust. Zimbabweans endure daily hardships, navigating a public transport system that is unreliable and unaffordable. Meanwhile, funds that could have transformed lives have seemingly evaporated into bureaucratic darkness.The culture of impunity surrounding this crisis is deeply dangerous. It undermines public confidence in government institutions and weakens the very fabric of Zimbabwe's democracy.We will not stop asking these hard questions. Zimbabweans deserve transparency, accountability, and leadership that places public welfare above private enrichment. They deserve a transport system that functions and meets their needsnot empty promises and phantom buses.We cannot keep quiet. Not now. Not ever. National Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, who is leading an All-Party Delegation to forward India's global push against terrorism, on Saturday said that she has a "brilliant team" and added that her fellow MPs have been "outstanding parliamentarians". Talking to the news agency ANI, Sule said that the Delegation will reach out to the countries and inform them about how there is zero tolerance against terrorism in India. "We are all living for India. I'm very blessed to have this opportunity. I have an amazingly brilliant team, and we are all going together. My fellow MPs have been outstanding parliamentarians, and we will reach out to countries to tell them more about India's position and how there is zero tolerance against terrorism in India," Sule said. "We want global peace and harmony worldwide. We want to put forward the truth and the facts about Pahalgam. How Pakistan has taken this position, how it has hurt innocent tourists, and we want to condemn terrorism... If there is going to be terrorism, India will condemn it and fight against it," the NCP Leader added. #WATCH | Delhi | Leader of Group 7 of the MPs' delegations and NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule says, "We are all living for India. I'm very blessed to have this opportunity. I have an amazingly brilliant team, and we are all going together. My fellow MPs have been outstanding pic.twitter.com/UzNmDOGDiE ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Also Read: Nehru, Vajpayee, PM Modi All Attempted To Bring Permanent Peace...: DMK's Kanimozhi The Supriya Sule-led delegation will visit Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa as part of India's Operation Sindoor global outreach. Earlier, DMK MP Kanimozhi-led delegation met with former Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Fradkov and discussed current global issues, with a particular emphasis on the threats posed by terrorism. Pakistan had launched a swarm of drone and missile attacks in the Indian territory after the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). This came after a barbaric terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire agreement on May 10 as Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart and the two sides agreed to halt all military actions on land, sea, and air. (with ANI inputs) In a major breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has extradited fugitive economic offender Angad Singh Chandok from the US to India. Chandok is wanted in connection with a high-profile bank fraud and money laundering case and had been absconding for a long time. He was deported by US authorities and landed at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport early Saturday morning. CBI officials immediately took him into custody upon arrival. He is expected to be produced before a special CBI court later on Saturday, where the agency is likely to seek his custodial remand for further interrogation, IANS reported. Chandok's return marks an important milestone in India's efforts to crack down on economic fugitives who escape justice by fleeing the country. It also highlights the growing collaboration between Indian and international law enforcement agencies, especially with the United States, in addressing financial crimes that have cross-border implications. Chandok, 34, was sentenced to six years in prison by a U.S. court in 2022. The court had convicted Chandhok in connection with large-scale online fraud wherein he and his associates posed as tech support providers, deceiving victims into transferring substantial sums of money. According to a March 2022 press statement from the US Department of Justice, he was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the scheme, ANI reported. According to the ruling, Chandok created and used multiple shell companies to launder millions of dollars obtained through fraudulent means -- initially via an online tech support scam and later through a fake online travel fee scheme. The court noted that Chandok had a team of at least five individuals working under him and maintained direct communication with high-ranking international members of the criminal syndicate. He was also declared an international fugitive at the time of these offences, IANS reported. His deportation is expected to strengthen Indias resolve in pursuing economic offenders and bringing them to justice, regardless of their location. (With agencies inputs) Germany On Operation Sindoor: Terrorism must never have a place anywhere in the world. Thats why we will support everyone who fightsand must fightterrorism, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday, expressing Germanys support for Indias Operation Sindoor. Extending support to New Delhi in its fight against terrorism, Wadephul condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of at least 26 people, including a Nepali tourist. While addressing a joint briefing with EAM S. Jaishankar in Berlin, the German Foreign Minister said that India had every right to defend itself against terrorism. "We were appalled by the brutal terrorist attack on India on the 22nd of April. We condemned this attack on civilians in the strongest terms. Our deepest sympathy goes out to all victims and their families. After military attacks on both sides, India, of course, has every right to defend itself against terrorism. The fact that the truce is now in place is something we appreciate very much. What is important now is that this truce remains stable and that dialogue can happen in order to find bilateral solutions for that conflict, taking into account the vital interests of both sides. Germany and India have been fostering a regular dialogue on the fight against terrorism for years, and we intend to intensify it further," Johann Wadephul said. #WATCH | Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says, "We were appalled by the brutal terrorist attack on India on the 22nd of April. We condemned this attack on civilians in the strongest terms. Our deepest sympathy goes out to all victims and their families. After military pic.twitter.com/qL2FfoRAKm ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2025 "Germany will support any fight against terrorism. Terrorism must never have a place in the world, anywhere, and this is why we will support everyone who fights and has to fight terrorism. We very much appreciate that a ceasefire has been reached, and we hope that there will be a solution soon," the German Foreign Minister added. #WATCH | On India's Operation Sindoor, Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says, "...Germany will support any fight against terrorism. Terrorism must never have a place in the world, anywhere, and this is why we will support everyone who fights and has to fight terrorism. pic.twitter.com/V57S8VCwXB ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2025 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the German government had conveyed its understanding that every country had the right to defend itself against terror. "We had a conversation on the 7th of May, which is when we initiated our operations. It was a very understanding and positive conversation. And quite honestly, even before that, the German government had expressed solidarity. The minister very clearly conveyed Germany's understanding that every nation has a right to defend itself against terrorism," Jaishankar said. Jaishankar, who is on an official visit to the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany from May 19 to 24, reiterated New Delhi's position on zero tolerance against terrorism. "I came to Berlin in the immediate aftermath of India responding to the Pahalgam terror attack. India has zero tolerance for terrorism. India will never give in to nuclear blackmail, and India will deal with Pakistan purely bilaterally. There should be no confusion in any quarter in that regard. We also value Germany's understanding that every nation has the right to defend itself against terrorism," the EAM said. Earlier, Jaishankar met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin and conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's best wishes. 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. The 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 Indan Army's strong retaliation, Pakistan resorted to 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 eight airbases in Pakistan. On May 10, India and Pakistan agreed to a cessation of hostilities. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday emphasised upon special needs of the hill states and said they should be considered for higher allocation of funds by relaxing eligibility criteria in central schemes. Speaking at the 10th governing council meeting of Niti Aayog here, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister demanded the release of funds due to the state, which have been pending for a long time. If the long pending dues are released by the Centre well in time, Himachal Pradesh will itself become self-reliant, he said. The Chief Minister elaborated on the state government's vision to bring the state to the most favourite tourist destination on the tourism map of the country. The government envisions a compact package for tourism promotion which includes and will integrate religious tourism, eco tourism, water tourism, nature tourism, health tourism, etc, which can attract all kinds of tourists from the country as well as from abroad. We are also expanding the Kangra airport to facilitate the landing of the larger planes, which will add to the economy of the region as footfall of tourists will increase manifold, he said. He pleaded about state's rights in hydropower projects and raised the issue of free royalty and handing over the projects under public sector undertakings (PSUs) and central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), which had completed 40 years. The Chief Minister raised the matter of royalty aligned with the state governments energy policy. He outlined the policy, which mandates a 12 per cent royalty for the first 12 years, 18 per cent for the subsequent 18 years and 30 per cent for the next 10 years in the power projects. He said private companies already comply with this policy and emphasised that central PSUs should also follow it. The Chief Minister also informed that Himachal Pradesh is the lungs of northern India and has contributed a lot to preserving the green cover, and added that the state should get a Green Bonus for protecting the environment. The state government has set a target to make Himachal Pradesh a Green Energy state by March 31, 2026. In the coming years, Himachal Pradesh will become a pioneering state in green hydrogen production in the country. A one-megawatt capacity green hydrogen plant is being set up in the Solan district in collaboration with Oil India Limited, he added. The MP-MLA Special Court in Chaibasa, Jharkhand, has issued a non-bailable warrant against senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with a 2018 defamation case. The court has directed Rahul Gandhi to appear in person on June 26. The case stems from alleged derogatory remarks made by Rahul Gandhi during a Congress party event in 2018, in which he is accused of making disparaging comments about the then-BJP National President, Amit Shah. According to the complaint filed by Pratap Katiyar, a resident of Chaibasa, Gandhi had remarked that no murderer can become the National President in Congress. Congressmen cannot accept a murderer as the National President, this is possible only in the BJP. The complainant viewed this as a defamatory statement directed at Amit Shah and lodged a complaint on July 9, 2018. In April 2022, the Chaibasa court had initially issued a bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi after no response was received. However, when Gandhi failed to respond, the court escalated the matter and issued a non-bailable warrant in February 2024. Gandhis legal team sought an exemption from personal appearance in the Chaibasa court, but the plea was rejected. The Congress leader subsequently approached the Jharkhand High Court, which granted him interim relief and stayed the warrant for several months. However, in March 2024, the High Court disposed of the petition, paving the way for the trial to proceed in the lower court. Following the resumption of hearings, Gandhis counsel again requested exemption from personal appearance, which was once again turned down by the Chaibasa court. A defamation case against Rahul Gandhi is also going on in the Sultanpur court. On May 17, the hearing in the case could not take place as there was a workshop for lawyers. He had appeared in person in the Sultanpur court in July last year. This defamation case is also related to Rahul Gandhis remarks against Amit Shah. The NDA Chief Ministers are set to attend a high-level meeting addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the presence of senior party leaders including Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, and Amit Shah. Twenty Chief Ministers and eighteen Deputy Chief Ministers from across the country will attend the meeting on Sunday at 9 AM at the Ashok Hotel in New Delhi. This high-level meeting comes in the wake of the Indian Armed Forces' decisive success in Operation Sindoor, and aims to send a strong and unified message against terrorism. The BJP and its allies in the NDA are gearing up to present India's firm position on terrorism to the public and the international community. During the meeting, two key resolutions will be introduced one on Operation Sindoor and another on caste-based census. The deliberations will not only underscore the military achievements of Operation Sindoor but will also reiterate Indias readiness to go to any extent in the fight against terrorism whether at the Line of Control or on the global diplomatic stage. Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives. On May 7, Indian forces carried out targeted strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), eliminating over 100 terrorists. \ Sources from the BJP have stated that the political and strategic significance of this military operation will be emphasised during the meeting. The central government will brief NDA Chief Ministers in detail, clarifying that the strikes were aimed solely at terrorist infrastructure and not at any countrys armed forces. Apart from national security, the meetings agenda includes discussions on governance, development, and upcoming electoral strategies. The BJP's ongoing Tiranga Yatra will be aligned with the messaging of the conclave, reinforcing themes of patriotism and unity. The session will also focus on reviewing various central welfare schemes such as affordable housing, free ration, healthcare, and self-employment initiatives. The objective is to ensure that the benefits of these programs are effectively reaching the marginalized and underprivileged sections of society. All-Party Delegation: Leading the All-Party Delegation to Russia, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi on Saturday said that from the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to PM Narendra Modi, all have made attempts to bring 'permanent peace' between India and the neighbouring Pakistan. Addressing a briefing in Moscow, talking about terrorism, Kanimozhi of DMK also added that it is time that we do not accept any excuse and call a spade a spade. "From Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to Atal Bihari Vajpayee to PM Narendra Modi, they all made attempts to bring permanent peace between India and Pakistan. We have always taken the lead, but unfortunately, when peace talks are going on, we have also been hurt because of terrorist attacks in different parts of India, and the link always traces back to Pakistan, every time. Finally, it's time that we will not accept any excuse and call a spade a spade. Prime Minister said it clearly that terrorism and sponsoring terrorism are not two different things," Kanimozhi said. #WATCH | Moscow, Russia | DMK MP Kanimozhi says, "...From Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to Atal Bihari Vajpayee to PM Narendra Modi, they all made attempts to bring permanent peace between India and Pakistan. We have always taken the lead, but unfortunately, when peace talks are going pic.twitter.com/o7ZxDDK05S ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 The Kanimozhi-led All-Party delegation also includes MPs Rajeev Rai (SP), Capt. Brijesh Chowta (BJP), Prem Chand Gupta (RJD), Ashok Kumar Mittal (AAP), and former Ambassador Manjeev S Puri. Other than Russia, the delegation will visit Spain, Greece, Slovenia, and Latvia. Vinay Kumar, Indian Ambassador to the Russian Federation had welcomed the delegation to Russia. Earlier on Saturday, the delegation paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the Indian embassy in Moscow. In a post on X, Kanimozhi informed that she engaged in a dialogue with H.E. Mikhail Fradkov, former PM of Russia and Director of RISS, along with MPs of the delegation. She wrote, "Honored to engage in a constructive dialogue with H.E. Mikhail Fradkov, former Prime Minister of Russia & Director of RISS, along with MPs as part of our parliamentary delegation. We discussed global security challenges and the collective fight against terrorism." Operation Sindoor The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor during the early hours of May 7, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Altogether, nine sites were targeted. These steps were taken to avenge the gruesome terrorist attack of April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali citizen were killed. After Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched a swarm of drones and missile attacks in various territories of India. All-Party Delegations On May 17, it was announced that seven All-Party Delegations will visit key partner nations, including members of the United States Security Council (UNSC). As per a statement of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, the Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. The seven Delegations would carry forth to the world India's message of "zero tolerance against terrorism". (with ANI inputs) Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar has rejected US President Donald Trump's claim of mediating India-Pakistan peace, saying the recent ceasefire was done at the request of Pakistan's directors general of military operations (DGMO). Addressing a press conference in Moscow, Kumar added that after two days of Indian Air Force (IAF) responding to Pakistani escalation, DGMO of the neighbouring nation contacted his Indian counterpart and offered a ceasefire. Our message was clear to all the leaders who spoke to Indian leaders that if Pakistan wants a ceasefire, then they simply have to call the Indian military command. After two days on (May) 9th or 10th night when Indian Air Force responded to Pakistani escalation, Pakistani DGMO called and offered a ceasefire and the ceasefire was accepted. So to repeat, the ceasefire came into being by the request of Pakistani DGMO to his Indian counterpart, he said. #WATCH | Moscow, Russia | On US President Trump claiming credit for cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan; Vinay Kumar, Indian Ambassador to Russia, says, "...Our message was clear to all the leaders who spoke to Indian leaders that if Pakistan wants ceasefire, then pic.twitter.com/Ox9aHbfa4V ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Trump has been claiming credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's unsuccessful attempt to launch an offensive. Speaking at the same event, DMK MP Kanimozhi said India has consistently tried to establish lasting peace with Pakistan but repeated Pakistan-linked terror attacks during the talks have undermined these efforts. "From Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to Atal Bihari Vajpayee to PM Narendra Modi, they all made attempts to bring permanent peace between India and Pakistan. We have always taken the lead, but unfortunately, when peace talks are going on, we have also been hurt because of terrorist attacks in different parts of India, and the link always traces back to Pakistan, every time. Finally, it's time that we will not accept any excuse and call a spade a spade. Prime Minister said it clearly that terrorism and sponsoring terrorism are not two different things," Kanimozhi said. Pahalgam To Operation Sindoor The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor during the early hours of May 7, hitting nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). This was in retaliation for the gruesome terrorist attack of April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali citizen were killed. On May 17, it was announced that seven All-Party Delegations would visit key partner nations, including members of the United States Security Council (UNSC) to project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. (with ANI inputs) NITI Aayog Meeting: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors (LGs) representing 24 States and seven Union Territories were in attendance. The theme for this year was 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047'. According to a statement of NITI Aayog, the meeting commenced with a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack. The terror attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pahalgam claimed the lives of 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali citizen. Here are the top quotes of PM Modi from NITI Aayog's meeting: 1- Development Speed To Be Increased The PM said, "We have to increase the speed of development. If the Centre and all the States come together and work together like Team India, no goal is impossible." 2- Viksit Bharat Is Goal: PM The NITI Aayog quoted PM Modi as saying, "Viksit Bharat is the goal of every Indian. When every state is Viksit, then Bharat will be Viksit. This is the aspiration of its 140 crore citizens." 3- At Least One Tourist Destination Per State...: Prime Minister "States should develop at least one tourist destination per State at par with global standards and by providing all facilities and infrastructure. One State: One Global Destination. It would also lead to development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places," the PM said. 4- Work On Future Ready Cities "India is getting rapidly urbanized. We should work towards future ready cities. Growth, innovation and sustainability should be the engine for the development of our cities": said PM. 5- Inclusion Of Women In Workforce PM said, "We must work towards inclusion of women in our workforce. We must make laws, policies so that they can be respectfully integrated in the workforce." 6- From Govt To Agriculture "This is the century of technology and it should be integrated in every field from governance to agriculture," PM Modi added. 7- PM On COVID-Related Challenges As per the NITI Aayog's statement, the PM emphasized the need to focus on health services delivery. He said that we must check for oxygen plants and preparations to be ready for any COVID-related challenges. 8- PM Modi On Operation Sindoor The Prime Minister mentioned that Operation Sindoor should not be treated as a one-off initiative, and India must adopt a long-term approach. The PM mentioned that India must modernize the approach to civil preparedness. Following the meeting, PM Modi met with various CMs, including Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, and Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi. India on Friday declared that Pakistan-based terrorists cannot claim immunity from anti-terrorism action by asserting that they are civilians. Speaking at the UN Security Council, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, P. Harish, asserted, "Let us be clear: Protection of civilians should not serve as an argument for protection of UN-designated terrorists". Harish underscored that Pakistan has repeatedly used the civilian cover to advance the cause of terrorism. Speaking at a Security Council debate on emerging threats to civilians and protecting them, Ambassador Harish refuted Islamabads claims that civilians were targeted during Operation Sindoor by drawing attention to the open nexus between terrorists and the Pakistani government and military. "A nation that makes no distinction between terrorists and civilians has no credentials to speak about protecting civilians," Harish said. "We just recently saw senior government, police, and military officials pay respects at the funeral of noted terrorists targeted by Operation Sindoor," he added. Pakistan military's top brass, including Lieutenant General Fayyaz Hussain Shah and Major General Rao Imran, and Punjab Police Inspector General Usman Anwar were among those who attended the funerals of terorrists killed in the Operation Sindoor strikes, including Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a senior leader of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) who is designated a terrorist by the US government. Pakistan retaliated to the strikes on terrorists by deliberately shelling India's border areas, killing more than 20 civilians," Ambassador Harish said. "There was intentional targeting of places of worship, including gurudwaras, temples, and convents, as well as medical facilities," he added. "To preach at this body after such behaviour is grossly hypocritical," he said. "Regrettably, during armed conflict, civilians, including women and children, are used as human shields for military operations and terrorist activities. Therefore, it is paramount that the international community resolves to take concrete actions towards the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions that have been previously adopted," he added. India underscored that any attack on civilians and humanitarian workers is a grave violation of International Law, in particular International Humanitarian Law. The existing legal framework concerning the protection of civilians cannot be overlooked. "Respect for principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States, should remain the basis for all actions taken by the Council for the protection of civilians." The 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. India on Friday declared that Pakistan-based terrorists cannot claim immunity from anti-terrorism action by asserting that they are civilians. Speaking at the UN Security Council, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, P. Harish, asserted, "Let us be clear: Protection of civilians should not serve as an argument for protection of UN-designated terrorists". Harish underscored that Pakistan has repeatedly used the civilian cover to advance the cause of terrorism. Speaking at a Security Council debate on emerging threats to civilians and protecting them, Ambassador Harish refuted Islamabads claims that civilians were targeted during Operation Sindoor by drawing attention to the open nexus between terrorists and the Pakistani government and military. "A nation that makes no distinction between terrorists and civilians has no credentials to speak about protecting civilians," Harish said. "We just recently saw senior government, police, and military officials pay respects at the funeral of noted terrorists targeted by Operation Sindoor," he added. Pakistan military's top brass, including Lieutenant General Fayyaz Hussain Shah and Major General Rao Imran, and Punjab Police Inspector General Usman Anwar were among those who attended the funerals of terorrists killed in the Operation Sindoor strikes, including Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a senior leader of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) who is designated a terrorist by the US government. Pakistan retaliated to the strikes on terrorists by deliberately shelling India's border areas, killing more than 20 civilians," Ambassador Harish said. "There was intentional targeting of places of worship, including gurudwaras, temples, and convents, as well as medical facilities," he added. "To preach at this body after such behaviour is grossly hypocritical," he said. "Regrettably, during armed conflict, civilians, including women and children, are used as human shields for military operations and terrorist activities. Therefore, it is paramount that the international community resolves to take concrete actions towards the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions that have been previously adopted," he added. India underscored that any attack on civilians and humanitarian workers is a grave violation of International Law, in particular International Humanitarian Law. The existing legal framework concerning the protection of civilians cannot be overlooked. "Respect for principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States, should remain the basis for all actions taken by the Council for the protection of civilians." The 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 Indan Army's strong retaliation, Pakistan resorted to 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 eight airbases in Pakistan. On May 10, India and Pakistan agreed to a cessation of hostilities. (With agency Inputs) New Delhi: As the leader of an all-party delegation to partner countries, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that the delegation will share India's stance on terrorism and tell the world how India has been suffering from the past many years. While speaking to the media, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared in his remarks that the delegation will pay a visit to the 9/11 memorial in the US. In Guyana, the delegation will participate in the Independence Day celebrations and meet the officials. "We are going there to tell people about our experience, why we did what we did and what would be India's attitude going forward in the future. We will meet people and share what we have been suffering from past so many years", he said. Tharoor also shared on X a photograph of the members of the delegation and said that others would join en route. #WATCH | All-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor arrives at Delhi airport; they will be departing for Guyana. They will transit through New York and visit the 9/11 Memorial before heading to their first destination, Guyana. pic.twitter.com/QFu9zjLZyC ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2025 BJP leader Tejasvi Surya told media, "The honourable Prime Minister of India has placed on all of us a very important responsibility of communicating to the world India's position on Pakistan emanating terror- zero tolerance against it and why the world needs to take note of this terror establishment, infrastructure that Pakistan has created, because it is not only dangerous for India, but is also a threat to global peace and security." He slammed Pakistan and said, "Since its inception, since its birth, Pakistan has orchestrated a series of terror attacks against India starting with the war of 1947. The most recent Pahalgam attack is a reminder of Pakistan's dastardly and barbaric terror activities that they have unleashed against India. Pakistan has also given safe haven to multiple terror organisations and leaders of these terrorist groups, including Osama bin Laden. It is beyond reasonable doubt to the whole world that Pakistan today is a terror exporting state, and the world needs to take note of this." In his concluding remarks, he said, "It is to communicate this all important message against Pakistani terror attacks and also communicate to the world India's message of hope and peace, and India's message of democracy and strength." Tharoor, along with other MPs from Group 5, will visit the United States, Guyana, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia. The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They will convey to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance for terrorism. The delegation led by Tharoor also has BJP's Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya, along with LJP (Ram Vilas)'s Shambhavi Choudhary, TDP's GM Harish Balayogi, Shiv Sena's Milind Deora, JMM's Sarfaraz Ahmad, along with former Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Monsoon In India: As Monsoon sweeps across several parts of India, southern states including Tamil Nadu and Kerala have received heavy rainfall, with the India Meteorological Department issuing a red alert predicting more downpour in the two states in the coming days. The IMD has said that the Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today against the normal date of 1st June. According to the weather department, the southwest monsoon has set in over the state eight days before the normal date. Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the 24th May, 2025, against the normal date of 1st June. Thus, southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala 8 days before the normal date: IMD pic.twitter.com/sstbHe0TnM ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Following heavy downpour in Kerala, clearance work is underway after several trees were uprooted in parts of Thiruvananthapuram due to heavy rainfall yesterday. In the wake of the early monsoon in the state, the weather office has issued a Red Alert in Kasaragod and Kannur districts. Meanwhile, an Orange alert has been issued in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Thrissur, Palakkad, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alapuzha districts. The weather department has also issued a yellow alert in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. #WATCH | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | Clearance work underway after several trees were uprooted in parts of Thiruvananthapuram due to heavy rainfall yesterday. IMD has issued a Red Alert in Kasaragod and Kannur districts, an Orange alert in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, pic.twitter.com/U3du9dq6qS ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 In Tamil Nadu, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has issued a severe weather warning for parts of the southern state, placing the Nilgiris and the ghat regions of Coimbatore under a red alert for May 25 and 26. The forecast indicates isolated extremely heavy rainfall, exceeding 204.4 mm, in these regions, raising concerns over possible disruptions due to intense monsoon activity. In addition to the red alert, the weather office has declared an orange alert for the districts of Dindigul, Theni, and Tenkasi. These areas are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall during the same period. Remain Cautious, Avoid Unnecessary Travel: IMD The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised residents in the alerted districts to remain cautious, avoid unnecessary travel, and prepare for potential flooding and landslides, especially in hilly areas. According to RMC officials, rainfall activity is likely to begin in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore ghat sections on Saturday, with intensity picking up on Sunday and peaking between Monday and Tuesday. Why Is South India Seeing Early Monsoon? The heightened rainfall is being attributed to two major weather systems developing in the region. A well-marked low-pressure area over the east-central Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a depression within the next 24 hours. Simultaneously, another low-pressure system is expected to form over the north Bay of Bengal by May 27, further fueling monsoonal conditions. These developments come as the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala is anticipated within the next two days, setting the stage for widespread rain across southern India. Meteorologists note that this transition phase typically brings turbulent weather to Tamil Nadus western districts. The IMD has also forecast thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds ranging from 40 to 50 kmph across parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal through May 27. Authorities have urged residents, particularly in vulnerable and high-altitude zones, to follow weather advisories closely and take precautionary measures against sudden weather changes. Emergency response teams have been kept on standby as the state prepares for possible disruptions in transport, power supply, and daily life due to the approaching weather systems. (With agencies Inputs) New Delhi: Alia Bhatt's Cannes looks have become the talk of the town. The Highway actress' second Cannes appearance has turned heads once again after she dazzled earlier in the day, garnering massive appreciation. The LOreal Paris brand ambassador opted for a dazzling Giorgio Armani strapless blue bejewelled gown from the Spring/Summer 2025 collection. The actress was styled by Rhea Kapoor. The gown was adorned with blue gemstones and was complemented by a sleek look, a matching headpiece, drop earrings, and a diamond ring. Alia Bhatt shines at the LOreal Lights on Women Award Ceremony in Cannes 2025 Alia AliaBhatt @aliaa08 pic.twitter.com/iVqNAkL9Es Cinema Mania (@ursniresh) May 24, 2025 The look has captivated fashion enthusiasts and critics alike for being minimal yet timeless. It evoked a celestial motif, which was also echoed in her headpiece. Alia Bhatt became a global brand ambassador for LOreal Paris in 2024. Previously, only Aishwarya Rai represented the brand from India. alia bhatt attends the loreal - lights on women event in a blue bejewelled armani prive pic.twitter.com/X3l8IWjYST (@softiealiaa) May 23, 2025 The Jigra actress attended LOreal Paris Lights on Womens Worth event, which honours womens voices, at Cannes last night. The official website states, The award attempts to create a path for women in film to advance their careers while also addressing the industry's under-representation of women. Alia chose a stunning cream Schiaparelli dress for her first look, also styled by Rhea Kapoor. The dress featured soft ecru Chantilly lace and layers of ivory mousseline, crepeline, organza, and tulle ruffles. Her look was completed with minimal and dewy makeup. There had been buzz that the actress might skip the event due to tensions between India and Pakistan. New Delhi: Written and directed by Vijay Yelakanti, 1946: Direct Action Day Bengals Erased History, earlier titled Maa Kaali, garnered global attention and acclaim following its screening at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. At the event, lead actor Abhishek Singh officially unveiled the films new title, marking a proud moment for Indian cinema on one of the worlds most prestigious cinematic platforms. The films screening was met with a standing ovation and chants of Vande Mataram, as viewers expressed deep appreciation for its powerful storytelling and for shedding light on a largely overlooked chapter of Indian and Pakistani history. With significant international exposure and critical acclaim, the filmmakers received valuable feedback suggesting a more globally resonant title. In response, the film was renamed 1946: Direct Action Day The Erased History of Bengal, better reflecting its historical narrative and enhancing its global appeal. The film delves into the forgotten history of Bengal, highlighting the tragic events and communal violence of August 16, 1946 a pivotal incident that played a key role in the lead-up to the partition of India. Featuring Raima Sen and Abhishek Singh in the lead roles, their compelling performances bring to life the raw emotions and struggles faced by Hindus during the pre-partition violence. Reflecting on the Cannes experience, Abhishek Singh shared, "It was a humbling experience to witness the journey of 1946: Direct Action Day Bengals Erased History reaching this monumental milestone. The film, in all its emotional depth, represents a chapter of history that needed to be remembered and shared. To unveil the new title and premiere it at such a prestigious platform like Cannes was a proud moment for all of us involved. I was honored to be part of this powerful narrative and hope it connects with audiences around the world." The film had already made waves on the international film festival circuit, winning 15 awards, including Best Political Film at the Jaipur International Film Festival and Best Producer at the Swedish International Film Festival. It also had its world premiere at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) last year. iPhone 17 Series India Launch: Apple is likely to launch its much-anticipated iPhone 17 lineup in September 2025, featuring several intriguing changes and developments. The next-generation iPhone 17 series is expected to include four exclusive models: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. According to media reports and rumors, tech giant Apple is said to be retiring the "Plus" version due to declining interest. Notably, all the iPhone 17 models are expected to come with advanced features and specifications. Today, we will focus on all the expected models of the iPhone 17 covering anticipated prices in India, the USA, and Dubai, along with details on camera upgrades, design changes, release timeline, and more. iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max Specs And Features (Expected) iPhone 17 Series: Display And Design (Expected) The iPhone 17 lineup is expected to include four models with varying display sizes: the standard iPhone 17 with a 6.3-inch screen, the iPhone 17 Air featuring a 6.6-inch display, the iPhone 17 Pro with a 6.7-inch screen, and the top-end iPhone 17 Pro Max boasting a 6.9-inch display. Unlike the iPhone 15 and 16 Pro models, which came with titanium frames, Apple is rumored to shift back to aluminum bodies for all iPhone 17 modelsexcept the Air variant, which may feature a titanium-aluminum hybrid construction. iPhone 17 Series Chipset (Expected) The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air are expected to be powered by Apples upcoming A19 processor, while the iPhone Pro models, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are likely to feature the more advanced A19 Pro chip. When it comes to memory, reports indicate that Apple may increase RAM across the lineup, with three out of the four models potentially offering 12GB of RAM a notable upgrade from the 8GB found in some current-generation devices. iPhone 17 Series: Camera (Expected) On the photography front, Apple is reportedly enhancing the front-facing camera on all iPhone 17 models, doubling the resolution from 12MP to 24MP. The substantial upgrades are also expected on the rear camera systems. The Pro Max variant is rumored to include a 48MP tetraprism telephoto lens for advanced zoom capabilities. On the other hand, the iPhone 17 Air is likely to feature a single 48MP wide-angle lens, much like the one found on the iPhone 16e. Despite having just one rear camera, Apple may boost its performance through advanced computational imaging techniques. iPhone 17 Series Colours (Expected) Consumers can expect popular colour options like Ultramarine, Teal, Black, Pink, and White for the standard iPhone 17 models. Meanwhile, the Pro variants are likely to be available in more premium finishes such as Black, Silver, White, and possibly a new Sky Blue shade. iPhone 17 Series Price In India, Dubai, US (Expected) The next generation of iPhones is expected to see a modest price increase this year. In India, the starting price for the iPhone 17 could be around Rs 89,900, with the top-tier iPhone 17 Pro Max potentially hitting Rs 1,64,900. In the United States, the entry-level model is likely to be launched at approximately $899, while the Pro Max may be priced as high as $2,300. Meanwhile, in Dubai, consumers might see prices starting at AED 3,799, with the premium variant possibly reaching up to AED 5,399. Washington, DC: After revoking Harvard University's right to enroll foreign students, Donald Trump on Friday said that the University is being paid billions and billions of dollars and then gives student loans. He stated that the Ivy League university needs to change its ways. When asked if US govt will stop other universities also from enrolling international students, like Harvard University, US President Donald Trump said " We will take a look at it. Billions of dollars have been paid to Harvard...they have $52 billion as endowment. This country is paying billions and billions of dollars and then gives student loans...Harvard will have to change its ways..." #WATCH | Washington, DC: When asked if US govt will stop other universities also from enrolling international students, like Harvard University, US President Donald Trump says, " We will take a look at it. Billions of dollars have been paid to Harvard...they have $52 billion as pic.twitter.com/R6awxAieRc ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 This comes after the Trump administration on Friday revoked Harvard's right to enroll foreign students, citing the university's refusal to comply with government demands. Harvard has called the move "unlawful" and is working to provide guidance and support to its international students and scholars. However, a US judge on Friday blocked the Trump administrations attempt to revoke Harvard Universitys authorization to enroll international students, following a lawsuit filed by Harvard in federal court in Boston. The university described the revocation as a blatant violation of the US Constitution and other federal laws. The decision has significant implications for Harvard's 6,800 international students, who make up over a quarter of the university's student body. These students may need to transfer to another university to maintain their non-immigrant status or risk deportation. The controversy highlights the complex relationship between the US government and private universities, raising questions about the government's authority to dictate student enrollment. This isn't the first time Trump's administration has clashed with universities over international students. Earlier, the administration attempted to ban international students from studying online-only courses, sparking widespread criticism and lawsuits from universities and states. A federal judge eventually blocked the policy, allowing international students to continue their studies. As the situation unfolds, universities and international students are anxiously waiting to see how the Trump administration will proceed. Will other universities face similar restrictions? Only time will tell. One thing is certain, however: the outcome will have far-reaching implications for the future of higher education in the US. (With Inputs from ANI) After speculation over the resignation of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, it was clarified that he will not step down, according to the news agency ANI. ANI reported that Yunus will not be leaving the country, and an unscheduled meeting of the Advisory Council was held on Saturday, after the National Economic Council meeting. The meeting discussed the three primary responsibilities elections, reforms, and justice assigned to the interim government. #WATCH | Dhaka | Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of Bangladeshs interim government, will not resign, nor is he leaving the country. Quashing all such rumours, an unscheduled meeting of the Advisory Council was held today, after the National Economic Council meeting. The pic.twitter.com/Xz6GDofapq ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025 Furthermore, according to IANS, Yunus chaired a two-hour-long unscheduled meeting of the Advisory Council at the Planning Commission office in Dhaka on Saturday amid political tensions and growing speculation over the continuity of the interim government, which had also reportedly led to his offering resignation from the post of Chief Advisor. "Despite all obstacles, the Interim Government continues to fulfil its responsibilities by putting national interests above group interests. However, if under the instigation of defeated forces or as part of a foreign conspiracy the performance of these responsibilities becomes impossible, the government will present all reasons to the public and then take the necessary steps with the people," a statement issued by the Advisory Council after the meeting. Political Scenario In Bangladesh The political parties of Bangladesh, including the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), had demanded that the interim government announce a clear plan for the national elections. IANS also reported that Yunus had expressed his desire to step down, and this led to a buzz in the politics of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman also said that the next national election should be held by December and an elected government should be in power by January 1, 2026. Reportedly, there have been incidents of protests, crime, and violence in the neighbouring country. The Nobel Laureate Yunus-led interim government had assumed power last August. India-Bangladesh Ties After India placed curbs on Bangladeshi exports via land ports, Dhaka's interim government said that it wants to resolve trade issues with New Delhi. An Adviser to the interim government said that Bangladesh wants to discuss all issues with India, ANI reported. Recently, India had banned the import of Ready Made Garments (RMG), Fruit/Fruit flavoured and carbonated drinks, baked goods, snacks, chips and confectionary, cotton and cotton yarn waste, plastic and PVC finished goods and wooden furniture from Bangladesh by road. (with agencies inputs) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported a Russian drone and missile attack in Kyiv on Friday, targeting civilians and causing widespread damage and casualties. Sharing a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said, "Fragments of Russian missiles and drones are being cleared in Kyiv. Rescue and emergency operations are ongoing at the sites of strikes and debris impacts -- wherever they are needed. There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight. Once again, residential buildings, cars, businesses have been damaged. Sadly, there are injuries." The post added, "It was a difficult night for all of Ukraine 250 strike drones, the absolute majority of them Iranian "Shaheds," and 14 ballistic missiles. The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones." Zelenskyy further emphasised that Ukraine has repeatedly proposed ceasefires and called for sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and its allies. "With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow. Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times -- both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored. It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy. We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire. I thank everyone who helps and supports us," Zelenskyy said. Earlier on Monday, following calls with US President Donald Trump and other European leaders on the potential ceasefire talks with Russia, Zelenskyy had voiced his uncertainty about Russia's readiness to commit to a ceasefire, citing a lack of trust in Moscow's intentions. Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine's willingness to pursue a full ceasefire without preconditions, a proposal initially put forward by US President Donald Trump, while emphasising the need for Russia to demonstrate genuine commitment through concrete actions. "I don't know the principles from the Russian side. As I understood from our dialogue with US President Trump, the Russian side wants to send us a memo on how they see the principles, and they want to see not only a ceasefire; they want some more principles," Zelenskyy stated. "I really count on it that everybody is very interested in a ceasefire. Too many losses; we really want to finish this war. I'm not sure that Russia is ready and we don't trust them. And that's what we want from them: a ceasefire, at the first step, to show that they're really ready to stop the war," he added. India has charged Pakistan with violating the Indus Waters Treaty by trampling its spirit of goodwill through thousands of terrorist attacks and by obstructing the updating of the infrastructure to ensure its safety. Despite this, India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity, said Indias Permanent Representative P Harish, responding to what he said were Pakistans campaign of disinformation about New Delhi suspending the treaty. India has finally announced that the Treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan, which is a global epicenter of terror, credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism. It is clear that it is Pakistan that remains in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty and not India, he said. After the massacre of 26 people by Pakistan-based terrorists last month, India said it was suspending the treaty reached in 1960 under the aegis of the World Bank to provide Pakistan with a consistent share of the water from the Indus and its allied water resources. Speaking at an informal meeting of the Security Council on protecting water in armed conflict, Harish outlined the problems that have arisen since the treaty was signed. Far-reaching fundamental changes have taken place not only in terms of escalating security concerns through cross-border terror attacks, but also growing requirements for producing clean energy, climate change, and demographic change, he said. While the technology for dam infrastructure improved to ensure safety and more efficient water use, some of the old dams are facing serious safety concerns. He said that New Delhi formally asked Islamabad on several occasions in the last two years to discuss modifications to the treaty, to no avail. Pakistan has continued to consistently block any changes to this infrastructure, and any modifications of the provisions, which are permissible under the treaty, Harish said. Harish emphasised that while the fundamental basis of the treaty laid out in its preamble is a spirit of goodwill and friendship, Pakistan has inflicted on India three wars and thousands of terror attacks. He added that these cynical acts continue to endanger our projects' safety and civilians' lives. "In the last four decades, more than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost in terror attacks, the most recent of which was the dastardly targeted terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam last month. In fact, in 2012, terrorists even attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. Russia and Ukraine on Saturday exchanged 307 prisoners each under an agreement reached during recent talks in Istanbul, said the Russian Defence Ministry. The ministry said 307 Russian servicemen have "returned from Kyiv-controlled territory," while the equivalent number of Ukrainian prisoners was freed as well. "The large-scale exchange initiated by the Russian side will continue," the ministry said. The swap followed the exchange of 270 servicemen and 120 civilians from each side announced on Friday. Following their direct negotiations in Istanbul last week, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners on each side, marking the largest prisoner swap since the start of their conflict in 2022. Meanwhile, the Russian forces fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at the Ukrainian capital early Saturday, leaving at least 15 people injured, the Kyiv city military administration said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported. The attack, one of the largest air assaults on Kyiv since the start of the conflict, caused damage to residential and non-residential infrastructure in six of the city's 10 districts, the statement said. Kyiv police reported that a shopping mall, several apartment buildings and an educational facility were among the damaged sites. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia deployed 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 drones in the overnight attack on Ukraine, and Kiev was the primary target. The air defence intercepted six missiles and 245 drones. The strike followed Russia's attack on port infrastructure in Ukraine's southern city of Odesa with two ballistic missiles on Friday, killing three people and injuring six others, according to Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper. After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United States, Europe and other countries to impose new sanctions on Russia. "Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire," Zelensky said on social platform X. May 8 was the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day commemorating Nazi Germanys unconditional surrender and the end of World War II in Europe. On Aug. 15, well celebrate eight decades since Victory Over Japan Day. And, of course, Monday is Memorial Day. In 2016, lifelong history buff Don Milne set out to write a short profile of each American WWII fallen service member every lunch break at his bank job. His goal was to honor these men and women as more than just names on a plaque or tombstone. Eventually Milne compiled more than 1,300 bios. He soon realized that even writing one story a day, hed need more than 1,000 years to cover the 421,000-plus casualties. This number is mind boggling. Imagine all the people currently living in Chippewa and Eau Claire counties. Now double that. Youd still be about 75,000 bodies short. In early 2020 Milne started a nonprofit, Stories Behind the Stars, to continue his work. A trove of volunteers joined him, including 1993 UW-Eau Claire graduate Krista Finstad Hanson, now living in Minneapolis. So far, she has completed 210 profiles. When her job as an English teacher isnt too hectic, she writes four a month. When Hanson read about SBS in a newspaper on Memorial Day 2020, she felt drawn to help. She had worked on several historical projects, including researching her grandfathers and great uncles WWII service. During the pandemic, Hanson found that writing for SBS was something she could do via online resources such as newspapers.com which includes archived editions of The Chippewa Herald findagrave.com, and ancestry.com even when libraries closed. The Sparta native started with her home county, Monroe. She wrote a profile of each of the 92 service members killed. Her first writeup is still one of her most memorable: a sailor who died when a Japanese submarine torpedoed the USS Indianapolis as it returned from a highly classified mission carrying materials for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The ship went down a few days after its top-secret delivery on July 26, 1945; the Navy had no idea where it was. A 2016 movie, Men of Courage, captured the sailors harrowing five nights in open water and their stunning rescue. Until her first assignment, Hanson didnt know that tragic story, famously retold in 1975 by a salty veteran in Jaws. Quint snarled, Eleven hundred men went into the water, 316 men come out; the sharks took the rest. Though genealogists, history lovers, students and retirees have joined the Storytelling and Research Corps to memorialize those Americans who died in WWII, more volunteers are needed. There are still around 353,500 more heroes to write up. SBS offers an interactive webpage with training videos. No experience necessary. To volunteer, visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org. Profiles are organized around specific battles or cemeteries. For instance, during the attack on Pearl Harbor 2,341 service members died; on D-Day 2,502 were killed. Over 8,700 are buried in Arlington Cemetery. All have had their stories told. Heartbreaking tales like those of Francis Day, chief water tender. When his ship was bombed, he helped 15 of his smaller- sized shipmates escape through a submerged port hole. Francis knew his broad shoulders would not fit; he went down with the USS Oklahoma in Pearl Harbor. Or of aircraft commander Eldred Jack Whipple, who named his B-17 bomber Betty Lee after his new bride. Around the time of their wedding, when he was 28, Jack wrote that his greatest ambition was to become the oldest living pilot. Within a year he was shot down by German fighters. Even with a mangled leg, he continued to fly the plane until his five surviving crew members safely bailed out. Currently each state organizes volunteers to report on war dead in that state. Wisconsins director, Jean Cookle of Door County, discovered Stories Behind the Stars in 2022 just after she retired. She says, At first I didnt think I was qualified ... During the next few weeks I had a little voice inside me pestering me. Cookles father was part of the wave of over 34,000 American troops who stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day. She stepped up because of her dad and his buddies. She says, Its so important that these young brave heroes stories are told and that their ultimate sacrifice is not forgotten. Roughly 320,000 Wisconsinites served in the armed forces during WWII. More than 7,900 died, including 23 students and alumni from Eau Claire State Teachers College. A plaque outside the current site of UW-Eau Claires Veterans Center honors them. One is Chippewa boy John Bud Naset, who worked at Gutknechts, a corner store, during his first semester of college. He died of an accidental gunshot wound in Budesheim, Germany, while guarding Nazi war criminals a month after they surrendered. Bud was 18 years old; three years later his remains came home to Forest Hill Cemetery. Another is alum and lifelong Eau Claire resident Dallas Books, whose peers said could fly any aircraft in the Army Air Corps. On his first mission with the 579th Bomb Squadron of the 392nd Bomb Group, Dallas crash-landed at the British base after German fighters shot the nose gear assembly off his plane Sweet Chariot. The B24 was nicknamed the Flying Coffin for its difficulty to control and its single exit in the rear. On Dallass eighth mission, his lumbering Old Glory was shot down by German fighters. His last words were meant to comfort the nine members of his crew. He radioed a nearby plane, Hold on a minute well be all right. At age 25, he left behind his wife and 2-year-old son in Durand. The burden of any war rests upon the shoulders of young people who serve. Headstones might offer a glimpse realizing a soldier perished at 17 years old but profiles written by the Storytelling and Research Corps provide windows into these many lives. A new app allows smartphone users to photograph a name on a grave or a memorial and be directed to the story behind that star. No project could capture what these service members lost: an opportunity to return home and the privilege of settling into ordinary lives like the rest of us. New Delhi: Princess Elisabeth's academic future hangs in the balance following the recent decision by the US President Donald Trump's administration to ban Harvard University from enrolling international students. The 23-year-old heir to the Belgian throne, Elisabeth was in the midst of her two-year master's degree program in Public Policy at Harvard when the ban was imposed, affecting over 6,800 international students. Belgian Royal Palace's spokesperson Lore Vandoorne told Reuters that Princess Elisabeth just completed her first year, and they are at present investigating the situation. Whereas Palace's communication director, Xavier Baert, added that a lot could still happen in the coming days and weeks. "The impact of (the Trump administration's) decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks," spokesperson Lore Vandoorne ended. As per the Belgian Royal Palace's website, in July 2024, Princess Elisabeth obtained a bachelor's in History & Politics at Lincoln College, a college of Oxford University in the United Kingdom. In 2020, she obtained her International Baccalaureate at UWC Atlantic College in Wales. In July 2021, she completed her year in Social and Military Sciences at the Royal Military Academy in Belgium. She is multilingual and fluent in Dutch, French, German, and English. The Trump administration Friday revoked Harvard's right to enroll foreign students, citing the university's refusal to comply with government demands. Harvard has called the move "unlawful" and is working to provide guidance and support to its international students and scholars. However, a US judge, the same day, blocked the Trump administrations attempt to revoke Harvard Universitys authorization to enroll international students, following a lawsuit filed by Harvard in federal court in Boston. The university described the revocation as a blatant violation of the US Constitution and other federal laws. The decision has significant implications for Harvard's 6,800 international students, who make up over a quarter of the university's student body. These students may need to transfer to another university to maintain their non-immigrant status or risk deportation. The controversy highlights the complex relationship between the US government and private universities, raising questions about the government's authority to dictate student enrollment. This isn't the first time Trump's administration has clashed with universities over international students. Earlier, the administration attempted to ban international students from studying online-only courses, sparking widespread criticism and lawsuits from universities and states. A federal judge eventually blocked the policy, allowing international students to continue their studies. As the situation unfolds, universities and international students are anxiously waiting to see how the Trump administration will proceed. Will other universities face similar restrictions? Only time will tell. One thing is certain, however: the outcome will have far-reaching implications for the future of higher education in the US. The Virginia Department of Health has announced a change in how it will issue swimming advisories due to harmful algal blooms, and a Smith Mountain Lake group is saying it may reduce protections for public health. This summer, advisories will be issued based solely on the toxin levels of the harmful algal blooms. In previous years, advisories were issued when high levels of toxins were being produced by the algae or when the concentration, or cell count of the algae, exceeded 100,000 cells per milliliter. The toxin itself is where the risk is to the public, said Danielle Schools, a division director with the Health Department. By focusing on toxin levels, Schools said the department will be able to more quickly provide information to the public. Advisories are sent out after samples of reported harmful algal blooms are collected and sent to a lab to be analyzed. The switch to the toxin testing is more targeted; its designed to be more efficient, and its designed to be more responsive to where the risk is with a quicker turnaround time, Schools said. We are trying to be more protective of public health because we know that toxin is where the risk is. Harmful algal blooms are a type of rapidly growing algae, known as cyanobacteria, that is often blue-green in color. According to the Department of Health, the algae can produce toxins that can damage kidneys, livers, nervous systems and brains. In extreme cases, the toxins can cause severe illness or death in humans or animals when ingested. The Health Department notes more than 400 samples from algal bloom investigations have been analyzed since 2020 across the state. In that time, almost one-fourth of the samples exceeded the cell count threshold and none exceeded the toxin level threshold. The department collected samples from multiple algal blooms at Smith Mountain Lake in 2023, which led to a swimming advisory for the lakes Blackwater River arm that lasted most of the summer, hitting recreation and local businesses hard. At the time, those blooms only had high cell counts and were not producing toxins, which means there would not have been a swimming advisory based on the recent changes by the department. The Smith Mountain Lake Association, which has been collecting data on harmful algal blooms following their significant impact in 2023, has announced it opposes the changes in reporting by the department. They have said the change in testing may not be as protective of human health. Its critical that all available data is evaluated when it affects human health, said Keri Green, the associations lake quality council chair. We owe that to everyone who swims in Smith Mountain Lake and other inland waterways in Virginia. In a statement issued by the association on Wednesday, the group said that no data exists that definitively points to when a HAB produces toxins. But exposure to elevated concentrations of cyanobacteria cells can trigger health concerns. By eliminating this important measure of analysis, users of the lake may not be protected from the potential health effects caused by contact with elevated levels of cyanobacteria, even when a bloom is not producing toxins. These include skin irritation, allergic reactions and gastrointestinal distress. Schools said that the Virginia Department of Health maintains a dashboard on its website where there have been reported algal blooms. Alerts can be issued when blooms are discovered until testing is done to see whether it exceeds toxin levels. Harmful algal blooms will also continue to be monitored by Health Department, Schools said. If an algal bloom is found to not exceed toxin levels continues to grow, the department can return to test it again to assure it hasnt started to produce toxins. While a swimming advisory may not be issued for a portion of the lake where algal blooms have been discovered due to them not exceeding toxin levels, Schools said individuals should usually refrain from swimming in algal blooms to be safe. When it doubt, stay out, Schools said. The Virginia Department of Health has a list of tips for safe swimming on its website at vdh.virginia.gov. Some of those tips include showering before and after swimming, not swimming in water that has a green film or is cloudier than usual, and not swallowing water while swimming. Barbara Rose Johns, who led a 1951 student boycott that changed the course of American education, did not graduate from her Prince Edward County high school. Johns, in the aftermath of the student strike at Robert Russa Moton High School, was chased out of Prince Edward County by death threats. She was sent to Montgomery, Alabama, to live with her uncle, the Rev. Vernon Johns, a legendary civil rights activist in his own right who preceded the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. In 1952, Johns finished Alabama State College Laboratory High School. But the lawsuit filed by Richmond lawyers Oliver Hill Sr. and Spottswood Robinson III on behalf of Johns and 116 other students against the Prince Edward School Board became part of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared state-sanctioned school segregation unconstitutional. From 1959 to 1964, in defiance of the Supreme Court, Prince Edward closed its schools rather than integrate them. Today, a state office building bears the name of Johns, who died in 1991. A statue of her is slated to be unveiled this year in the U.S. Capitol, replacing one of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. But dont be fooled by Virginias current-day embrace of Johns. In her lifetime, she was deemed an enemy of the state. Increasingly, other students are earning this distinction, including New York University graduation speaker Logan Rozos, who went off message in the current American political climate in daring to speak of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine. The stated reason for withholding his degree essentially boils down to his refusal to submit to the censoring of his remarks in advance, which enabled him to sidestep the broader American political program of suppressing pro-Palestinian views. Closer to home, the degrees of Virginia Commonwealth University seniors Sereen Haddad, Selma Ait-Bella and Zahra Jalajel are in similar limbo, for the apparent offense of lounging on the Cabell Library lawn while wearing keffiyehs. There is no triumph in history if we refuse to let it inform us in a journey toward a more just, equitable and inclusive society. Which makes the recent 71st anniversary celebration of Brown v. Education at VCU a hollow exercise in hypocrisy. Its not merely that our schools remain largely separate and unequal, with more than half of the nations students in districts where over 75% of students are either White or nonwhite, as documented by the New York Times. Its not just how school divisions are plagued by concentrated poverty. Its how politicized the response has been, particularly as America retreats not only from the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, but civil rights itself, as evinced by the over-the-top response to pro-Palestinian protests on Virginia campuses. Nothing says more about the prevailing attitude about public education than the plan to dismantle the U.S. Education Department, the primary agency tasked with enforcing education-related civil rights law. Former Gov. Bob McDonnell, with Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, organized the panel of Gov. Glenn Youngkin and his living predecessors. The reason for the gathering, McDonnell said, is in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution: to form a more perfect union. This is an obscene platitude, given Americas unfolding descent into fascism and authoritarianism. The union has not been this imperfect since the Civil War. Youngkin and the former Republican governors on the panel, like the party in general, have acquiesced to the dismantling of the American experiment, placing partisanship over patriotism. A defining feature of the MAGA movement has been its aggressive attack on Black history. Well never know where were going until we know where weve been, said panelist Youngkin. But his first action as governor banned the teaching of inherently divisive concepts in the classroom, including critical race theory part of a right-wing gambit to chill discussions of systemic racism in the classroom in the guise of protecting White students feelings. To enforce this, he established a tip line that encouraged folks to snitch on teachers who violated his edict. Earlier this month, Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have allowed Black history courses in Virginia to count toward graduation a measure that passed the state Senate with overwhelming, bipartisan support. This outcome was predictable, given Youngkins documented hostility toward Black history. Youngkins war on diversity, equity and inclusion even before the Trump administrations weaponization of anti-DEI animus led former Gov. Doug Wilder to sit out the event in protest. Black history IS American history distorting it is an attack on democracy in action, Wilder said in a blog post. Those who claim to be supporting the elimination of divisive ideology are asking us to forget about slavery, as well as segregation of public schools, restaurants, transportation facilities, voting rights, the ability to serve on a jury, and more. The Governor will pose to join in the celebration of the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which on May 17, 1954, found the separate but equal principle of segregation of public schools to be wholly unconstitutional. Yet simultaneously, Youngkin continues his public campaign to purposely distort the meaning of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Indeed, Martin Brown, chief of the office Youngkin renamed diversity, opportunity and inclusion, said DEI is dead at an April 2023 speech at Virginia Military Institute. And earlier this year, a VMI Board of Visitors whose majority was appointed by Youngkin ousted retired Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, the schools first Black superintendent. It wasnt just the lack of diversity that made a mockery of this Brown panel; it was the silent acquiescence by some of its members to a resurgent racism that Johns would have found quite familiar. If youre beating the drum against such anodyne concepts as diversity, equity and inclusion in 2025, youre the ideological descendant of the Harry Byrds, Thomas Stanleys and Lindsay Almonds who brought us Massive Resistance to Virginias enduring shame. If youre pushing vouchers or some other scheme to have taxpayers fund private schools, youre following the template of taxpayer-funded tuition grants for Prince Edwards all-White segregation academy. If youre attacking civil rights, racial inclusion and democracy today, youd have been perfectly at home in 1955. If youre OK with punishing students for exercising their First Amendment right to protest injustice, you should keep Barbara Johns name out of your mouth. Xi congratulates Dan on election as president of Romania Xinhua) 09:33, May 24, 2025 BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent congratulations to Nicusor Dan on his election as Romanian president. Xi pointed out that Romania is the third country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. For a long time, China and Romania have respected each other and treated each other as equals, he said, adding that mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has continued to advance, and the traditional friendship has grown stronger over time. At present, global changes unseen in a century are accelerating, Xi said, noting that as good friends and partners, China and Romania should enhance communication, build consensus, and deepen cooperation to jointly seize the opportunities of the times and work together to address risks and challenges. Xi said that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Romania relations and is willing to work together with Dan to write a new chapter of friendly cooperation between the two countries and bring more benefits to the people of both countries. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Thailand arrests 3 for running fake Pattaya hotel pages to scam $21,300 from tourists Thai police have arrested three suspects for allegedly scamming international tourists out of more than US$21,300 through fake Facebook pages posing as popular Pattaya hotels. In coordinated raids across Chanthaburi, Bangkok and Ayutthaya on May 21, officers from Thailand's Tourist Police Bureau detained the suspects accused of running a fraudulent operation that impersonated well-known Pattaya hotels online, according to The Straits Times. The scammers reportedly created convincing Facebook pages to lure unsuspecting tourists into making advance payments for non-existent reservations. Authorities say the group swindled at least 700,000 ($21,330) through this scheme, The Nation reported. Police are urging travelers to verify the authenticity of hotel pages and avoid transferring money without confirmation, especially when using social media platforms. Boxes of a product claimed as Taiwanese medicinal fungus seized from a multi-level marketing scheme. Photo by VnExpress/Kien Tuong Vietnamese authorities have busted an international multi-level marketing network with 9,000 people selling so-called medicinal fungus, with its transactions totaling trillions of dong. Police in Lang Son Province and their counterparts in HCMC, Dong Nai Province and the Ministry of Public Security announced the arrests of 12 individuals on May 21 for alleged violations in multi-level marketing operation. The extensive network reportedly spans Vietnam, Malaysia and China and is run by people in Taiwan and mainland China and Vietnamese nationals of Chinese descent. Leading the scheme is Huang Wen Yen, 47, a Taiwanese serving as the director of Ame Global. Yen allegedly oversaw sales of stout camphor fungus, a traditional Taiwanese medicinal product promoted both as a health enhancer and a financial growth opportunity. Ame Global, headquartered in Taiwan, operates a subsidiary in Ho Chi Minh City named Win All. It is not clear if Ame Global is the only or main business operating the scheme. But investigation found that participants were required to set up an account on the company's website www.ameglobal888.com and make an initial investment of VND15 million ($577) to acquire the fungus product. Investors were promised bonuses of up to 10% of global revenues, capped at $1,000, and additional incentives for recruiting new members. Since April 2024, the network has rapidly expanded to over 9,000 participants, more than 7,000 from Vietnam alone, with transaction values reaching trillions of dong. (VND1 billion equal US$38,500) Authorities conducted multiple raids, confiscating vehicles, computers, mobile phones and fungus products as evidence. The investigation continues as police unravel further details of this expansive international scheme. A State funeral for former Politburo member and former State President Tran Duc Luong was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi on Saturday morning with the national mourning etiquette. The funeral was held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the National Assembly, the State President, the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), and the family of the former leader. From early morning, delegations representing the Party, the State, the VFF, the army, and officers and soldiers of the people's armed forces, Party members, and citizens gathered at the National Funeral Hall to pay their final respects. The coffin, draped in the national flag and adorned with a black mourning ribbon, was laid at the center of the hall. Above it, a banner read: "Infinite sorrow for comrade Tran Duc Luong, former Politburo member, former President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," accompanied by his portrait. Leading the mourning processions, a delegation of the CPV Central Committee, headed by General Secretary To Lam, paid tribute and extended condolences to the family of the deceased. Politburo member and State President Luong Cuong led the Presidential delegation, while Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh headed the Government delegation to pay tribute to the late former President and expressing sympathy to the bereaved family. The Party Central Committee delegation, led by Party General Secretary To Lam (front row, 2nd from L), pay tribute at the state funeral of former State President Tran Duc Luong in Hanoi. Joining the delegation are President Luong Cuong (3rd from L), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R), National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, former Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh (L), former Presidents Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and former National Assembly chairs Nguyen Sinh Hung and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. Photo by VnExpress Politburo member, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man led the NA's delegation while Politburo member, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Do Van Chien led the VFF Central Committee's delegation. Politburo member, State President Luong Cuong also led the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform delegation in his capacity as the committee's chairman. High-ranking delegations from the Central Military Commission - the Ministry of National Defense led by Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang; and the Central Public Security Party Committee - the Ministry of Public Security headed by member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Tran Quoc To, paid tribute to comrade Tran Duc Luong. Former Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh; former State Presidents Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang; former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; and former National Assembly Chairpersons Nguyen Sinh Hung and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, along with numerous incumbent and former Party and State leaders also came to pay the last respects to former President Tran Duc Luong and extend condolences to his family. They walked solemnly around the coffin in a final farewell to the former President, honoring a devoted comrade whose exceptional contributions significantly advanced the revolutionary cause of both Party and nation. At the same time, a respect-paying ceremony was solemnly held at the Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City and T50 Hall of the Military Command of Quang Ngai Province, the former leaders hometown. The memorial service for comrade Tran Duc Luong will be solemnly held at 7:00 a.m. on May 25 at the National Funeral Hall. The burial ceremony will take place at 3:00 pm on the same day at his hometown cemetery in Pho Khanh Commune, Duc Pho Township, Quang Ngai. Tran Duc Luong, former member of the Politburo, former President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, former Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council, was born on May 5, 1937, in Pho Khanh Commune, Duc Pho District (now Duc Pho Township), Quang Ngai. After a period of illness, despite the wholehearted treatment and care by the Party, State, leading medical experts and his family, he passed away at 10:51 p.m. on May 20 due to old age and severe illness at the age of 88 at his residence in Hanoi. Throughout his over 50 years of revolutionary activities, he has made great and exceptionally outstanding contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation. He was conferred by the Party and State with the Gold Star Order, the 65-year Party membership badge and many other noble orders, medals, awards and titles. On Saturday night (Kyiv time), International Fitch Ratings Agency affirmed Ukraine's long-term foreign-currency issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'Restricted Default' (RD). Fitch considers that Ukraine is still going through a broader restructuring, with its GDP warrants to become non-performing only after the 31 May payment date. The sovereign's Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR will remain in Restricted Default until Ukraine has normalized its relations with a significant majority of external commercial creditors, the agency said on its website. Fitch reminds that following last year's restructuring of outstanding sovereign Eurobonds and state-guaranteed Ukravtodor debt, Ukrenergo reached a preliminary agreement on the restructuring of its $825 million state-guaranteed Eurobonds (with payments suspended since 9 November 2024), to be completed by July. At the same time, Ukraine and holders of its GDP warrants ($2.6 billion) have failed to reach an agreement on a restructuring. An external commercial loan (Cargill $0.7 billion, payments suspended from 3 September 2024) is also still to be restructured. The agency also affirmed that the higher Long-Term Local-Currency IDR reflects Ukraine's continued service of local-currency debt, in line with our expectation of preferential treatment of local-currency debt obligations. Only a small portion (1.1% as of May 2025) of Local Currency debt is held by non-residents, with the majority held by National Bank of Ukraine (the central bank) and domestic (mostly state-owned) banks. This ownership structure limits the benefit to Ukraine of a local-currency debt restructuring by creating potential fiscal costs (including bank recapitalization). Regarding the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks, Fitch recalled the first bilateral meeting in Istanbul in three years, but noted that it did not lead to any breakthrough. The US administration's stated objective to end the war could result in a negotiated ceasefire but a peace agreement is unlikely due to hard-to-reconcile positions of the two sides, the agency believes. EU Ambassador on Russia's night attack on Kyiv: If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue - read the news The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, reported that as a result of the Russian attack on Saturday night, houses where her colleagues live were damaged. Another horrific missile & drone attack on Ukraine. Main target - Kyiv. Many residential building on fire, suffered a lot of damage. 15 people injured. Areas where my own colleagues live were affected, Mathernova said on X Saturday morning. If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue - read the news, she added. Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for increased sanctions pressure on Russia following a missile and drone attack on Ukraine on Saturday night and reported casualties. With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow. Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored. It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy. We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire, Zelenskyy said on X. According to him, parts of Russian missiles and drones are currently being neutralized in Kyiv, rescue operations are ongoing, and emergency services are working. The President of Ukraine also noted that the absolute majority of drones launched in Ukraine are Iranian Shaheds. Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones, Zelenskyy added. Death toll from missile attack on Odesa port grows to three, while six remain wounded Another person wounded in the Russian strike on Odesa port with two ballistic missiles died in hospital on Friday, said Oleh Kiper, chairman of Odesa Regional Military Administration. "The number of victims of yesterday's attack by Russians in Odesa has increased. Unfortunately, a 41-year-old man died in hospital from his injuries. I express my sincere condolences to his family and friends," Kiper wrote on Telegram on Saturday. Thus, the number of people killed as a result of the strike has reached three, and six remain wounded. Earlier it was reported that one worker of Odesa port was killed and eight were injured as a result of a missile strike by Russian occupiers. As a result of the attack, the engine room was damaged, windows and doors in administrative buildings were knocked out, and vehicles and equipment were destroyed. Later, a 71-year-old Odesa resident died in hospital from his injuries. The exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia was the most positive result of the talks in Istanbul last week, noted US Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg. The most positive outcome of last weeks UKR-RU technical talks in Istanbul: 1,000 soldiers per side set for repatriation, with 400+ already returned. Credit to Ukraines Defense Minister Rustem Umerov for helping drive it, Kellogg said on X Saturday. He also stressed the need of the ceasefire and that the killing needs to stop. As reported, on May 16, following a meeting with representatives of the Russian Federation, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine and head of the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul, Rustem Umerov, said that during the talks the parties had agreed to conduct a prisoner exchange in the "1,000 for 1,000" format. On May 19, Umerov said that a step-by-step plan for implementing the agreement on the exchange of prisoners in the "1,000 for 1,000" format had been agreed upon, taking into account security, humanitarian and logistical aspects. On Friday, 390 Ukrainians managed to return to Ukraine from Russian captivity; the exchange is expected to continue on Saturday and Sunday. Over the past 24 hours, aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces hit five areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, three artillery systems and one other important enemy target. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Telegram in operational information about the Russian invasion as of 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. Over the past 24 hours, 202 combat clashes have been recorded. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram in operational information regarding the Russian invasion as of 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. "Yesterday, the enemy launched four missile and 77 air strikes on the positions of Ukrainian units and populated areas, using six missiles and dropping 130 smart bombs. In addition, it carried out 5,837 attacks, including 130 from multiple launch rocket systems, and used 2,997 kamikaze drones for destruction," the General Staff reported. Two enemy ships, which are carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles with a total salvo of up to 12 missiles, were recorded in the Black Sea as of 06:00 on Saturday. There are no enemy ships in the Sea of Azov, but there are three enemy ships in the Mediterranean Sea, one of which is a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles with a total salvo of up to eight missiles, the Ukrainian Navy reported on its Telegram channel. Over the past 24 hours, the following vessels passed through the Kerch Strait in the interests of the Russian Federation: into the Black Sea - 10 vessels, of which eight continued moving towards the Bosphorus Strait; into the Sea of Azov - seven vessels, of which five continued moving from the Bosphorus Strait. Special units of the Main Intelligence Agency (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine have recorded more than 150 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) by Russian occupiers, the department's Telegram channel reported on Saturday. "All data on war crimes collected by special units of the Main Intelligence Agency (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine are transferred to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies for further investigation. In many cases, direct orders to kill prisoners have been recorded. These crimes are part of a targeted policy on the part of the leadership of the aggressor state - Russia," the report notes. This trend is confirmed by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. In its report of March 19, 2025, it noted an increase in the number of cases in which Russian troops deliberately killed or maimed Ukrainian fighters who surrendered or attempted to surrender. "Several Russian deserters confirmed that they had received orders not to take prisoners, but to kill them. One of them quoted the deputy brigade commander as saying: prisoners are not needed - shoot them on the spot," the document says. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Dr Morris Tidball-Binz, spoke to CNN and clearly identified those responsible for these acts, saying they would not have happened in such numbers and frequency without an order - or at least approval - from the highest military command, which in Russia means the office of the president. On May 21, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi stated that Russian executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war had become systemic, indicating a policy approved by the Russian Federation's top leadership, and called for all those guilty of these crimes to be held fully accountable internationally. CNN earlier reported that it had obtained intercepted radio communications and drone recordings that likely recorded Russian orders to execute Ukrainian soldiers who surrender. In particular, this refers to the execution of six Ukrainian fighters in the eastern Zaporizhia region in November last year. A leading UN investigator and a Western intelligence official told CNN that the radio transmissions and drone footage were consistent with other cases in which Russian forces allegedly executed Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered. Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, called such incidents "serious violations" of international law, adding that he believed such behaviour could only be sanctioned by Russia's highest authorities. A Western intelligence official, who reviewed the audio intercepts, found them to be authentic, credible and consistent with previously documented brutal executions. He said he was reviewing similar materials from other cases that showed Russian commanders had authorization to kill Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered or were in the process of surrendering. Yermak discusses POW swap, steps towards peace with advisers to leaders of UK, Germany, France and Italy On Friday, Head of the Presidents Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has held a telephone conversation with advisers on national security and foreign policy issues from Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy. National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Jonathan Powell; Foreign Policy and Security Advisor to the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Gunter Sautter; Diplomatic Advisor to the President of France, Emmanuel Bonne; and Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Fabrizio Saggio took part in the conversation. During the conversation, Yermak informed them of todays prisoner exchange: 390 Ukrainians have returned home, including 270 military personnel and 120 civilians. This was the first stage of the agreement reached in Turkiye on a 1,000-for-1,000 exchange, says a message published on the official website of the President of Ukraine. The parties also coordinated next steps aimed at compelling Russia to cease fire as a prerequisite for launching negotiations on a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the return of 307 Ukrainian servicemen from Russian captivity as part of an exchange. Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Turkiye. In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow, Zelenskyy said on X Saturday. According to him, servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard of Ukraine returned on Saturday. I thank everyone involved in the exchange process, those who have been working around the clock. Our goal is to bring every single person back from Russian captivity. We continue cooperating with our partners to make this possible, Zelenskyy said. As reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, it was possible to free prisoners from individual units and military units for the first time. "Servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular the Air Assault Troops, the Security Service (SBU), the Navy, the Troops of the Defense Forces, as well as the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard of Ukraine, have returned to their native land ... In the current exchange, 27 defenders of Mariupol are returning to their homeland. All 307 released defenders are men, privates and sergeants. In total, Ukrainians who fought in Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Luhansk directions are returning home," the message says. Those released from captivity will undergo a medical examination, physical and psychological rehabilitation, and will also receive payments for the time spent in captivity. The headquarters noted that the exchange and return of 307 Ukrainian soldiers on Saturday is the second part of a large exchange of "1,000 for 1,000." On Friday, May 23, 390 Ukrainians were released. "The coordination headquarters continues its work and the next stage of the release of Ukrainian captives will be carried out in the near future," the message says. Photo: https://www.facebook.com/RedCrossUkraine Volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) provided assistance to those affected by the massive combined Russian ballistic missile and UAV attack on Kyiv on the night of May 24. "During the night and morning, volunteers of the rapid response team of the Ukrainian Red Cross went to two locations: to Solomyansky and Obolonsky districts of Kyiv. In both locations, volunteers went door-to-door and helped the rescuers of the Emergency Service evacuate people from damaged houses," the URCS reported on Facebook on Saturday. Volunteers also provided first aid to two victims, and one person received psychological assistance. According to the National Police of Ukraine, it is known about 15 victims. The aftermath of the attack was eliminated in Solomyansky, Obolonsky, Dniprovsky, Sviatoshynsky and Holosiyivsky districts of the capital. UK Foreign Secretary on Kyiv attack: These are not the actions of a country seeking peace British Foreign Secretary David Lammy responded to the massive shelling of Kyiv last night. Russia targeted Ukraine again last night with 14 missiles and hundreds of drones across the country. Another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians, with yet more injured and more homes destroyed. These are not the actions of a country seeking peace, he said on X Saturday. Photo: https://t.me/VadymFilashkin/ Russian occupiers shelled populated areas of Donetsk region 27 times over the past 24 hours, resulting in four civilians being killed and eight injured, head of the Regional Military Administration Vadym Filashkin reported on Saturday morning. "Pokrovsk district. In Rodynske, an administrative building was destroyed, 13 multi-story buildings and 30 garages were damaged; one person died, two more were injured. In Pokrovsk, one person was injured. In Shakhove, two multi-story buildings, several private houses, a store, a cafe and two administrative buildings were damaged; in Nove Shakhove, a house burned down. In Dobropillia, Kryvyi Rih community, an infrastructure facility was damaged," Filashkin wrote on the Telegram channel. "Kramatorsk district. In Lymany, two private houses, an infrastructure facility and a multi-storey building were damaged; in Shandryholove - three houses. In Illyinivka, a house, a garage and a car were damaged; in Dovha Balka, one person died; in Stepanivka, one person was injured, 10 houses and a gas pipeline were damaged. In Kostiantynivka, two people died, four were injured, 11 private houses and five multi-storey buildings, power lines and a gas pipeline, a truck and an industrial facility were damaged. In Stinky, a house and a truck were damaged," the head of the regional administration said. A total of 118 people, including 13 children, were evacuated from the region. Earlier, Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office reported that three civilians were killed and five were wounded as a result of shelling by Russian armed formations in Donetsk Region on May 23. According to them, at least 17 private homes, 18 multi-story buildings, 30 garages and a tractor were damaged as a result of the shelling. "Under the procedural leadership of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivska district prosecutor's offices, a pretrial investigation has been initiated in criminal proceedings on the facts of war crimes (Parts 1, 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the prosecutor's office noted. Photo: https://eurosolidarity.org/ MP, leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko filed a lawsuit against Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksandr Lytvynenko for illegally amending President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decree of February 12 on sanctions against the politician by correcting an error in his identification code, without a vote by the NSDC and a new decree, said lawyer Stanyslav Kuniansky. "The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, without any vote or proper execution, unilaterally made a decision, on the basis of which the relevant decision of the National Security and Defense Council was published in a version different from the one in which it was actually approved. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council did not have the authority to perform such actions. At the same time, according to the current practice of the Supreme Court, indicating incorrect data of an individual entails the nullity of sanctions. That is, the sanctions against Poroshenko in the form in which they were actually approved did not create any legal consequences," Kunyansky told the Glavkom publication on Saturday. He also reported that the decree on sanctions against Poroshenko was officially published on February 14, but information about this on the website of the State Register of Sanctions, which is administered by the National Security and Defense Council, appeared a day before that, on February 13. "That is, the sanctions came into force even before the official publication of the decree, which is also a significant violation, as well as a clear demonstration of the haste and legal clumsiness with which these sanctions were prepared and approved," Poroshenko's lawyer believes. As reported, on February 13, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on the NSDC decision On the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions), of February 12, 2025. According to the annex to the document, sanctions were imposed against five individuals: Poroshenko, Kolomoisky, former owner of the bank "Finance and Credit" Kostiantyn Zhevaho, former co-owner of PrivatBank Hennadiy Boholiubov, and former MP Viktor Medvedchuk. Poroshenko appealed the sanctions to the Supreme Court of Ukraine. On April 17, the court started considering the claim in the presence of Ukrainian MPs, as well as diplomats from the European Union mission, representatives of the embassies of Germany, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Lithuania and Denmark. Poroshenko's representatives said the sanctions were imposed illegally, as they were imposed on a Ukrainian citizen who is in Ukraine, despite the fact that only Russia considers him a "terrorist." Therefore, there are no grounds under the law for sanctions. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that the Cabinet of Ministers voted for the decision to impose sanctions on Poroshenko once and did not re-vote or make amendments to the documents. Sybiha after enemy attack on Kyiv: This is clear evidence that increased sanction pressure on Moscow necessary Photo: https://mfa.gov.ua/ Foreign Minister Sybiha, responding to Russia's attack on the Ukrainian capital and other regions of Ukraine, noted the need to increase sanction pressure on Russia, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reports. This is Russias response to international peace efforts and a clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process, Sybiha said on X Saturday. Another loud night in Kyiv and other regions, as air defense works nonstop to repel Russian air attacks. Residential buildings in Kyiv are damaged, and at least 15 people have been injured. One week has passed since the Istanbul meeting, and Russia has yet to send its peace memorandum. Instead, Russia sends deadly drones and missiles at civilians, Sybiha noted. Russia has modernized its Iskander-M ballistic missiles, making them more difficult to shoot down, said Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat. "The ballistic trajectories of the Iskander-M missiles have been improved and modernized. We are talking about the use of radar decoys, which each missile can fire off from time to time as it approaches the target. Accordingly, the Patriot system, which is supposed to intercept the target, may not work as effectively as we would like," he said on the We-Ukraine channel on Saturday. According to him, the flight of a ballistic missile along a quasi-ballistic trajectory, when the missile does not fly straight during the flight, but along a curve, maneuvers, complicates the work of the Patriot system, which shoots at ballistics, calculating the points of interception of the missile. "I think the partners are already working on this," he added. Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their operation in Kursk region over the past 24 hours and as of 16:00, they have repelled 11 enemy attacks, and five battles are still ongoing, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. "In Kursk direction, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces have repelled 11 attacks by Russian invaders over the past 24 hours, and five more clashes are ongoing," the General Staff said in a report on its Telegram channel on Saturday. It is reported that the enemy carried out eight air strikes, dropping nine smart bombs, and carried out 62 attacks, including two from multiple launch rocket systems. Foreign host praises 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries 15:08, May 24, 2025 By Wu Chaolan, Zhai Zhuanli ( People's Daily Online Abulaziz Drweesh, host of Kuwait Television, spoke highly of the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Countries during an exclusive interview with People's Daily Online, held on the sidelines of the forum. Drweesh emphasized the forum's important role in promoting media exchange and enhancing mutual understanding among member states, particularly in the context of today's evolving global information landscape. The 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries, with the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," was held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on May 23, 2025. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) If we cooperate together, all the world can hear us: vice editor-in-chief of Egypt's Al-Ahram 15:14, May 24, 2025 By Wu Chaolan, Zhai Zhuanli ( People's Daily Online "If we cooperate together, all the world can hear us," said Samy Elkamhawy, vice editor-in-chief of Egypt's Al-Ahram Newspaper, in an exclusive interview with People's Daily Online on the sidelines of the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries. Elkamhawy called for stronger international media cooperation to combat misinformation and promote balanced global narratives. He emphasized the important role of leading outlets like People's Daily and Al-Ahram Newspaper in fostering cross-cultural understanding through multilingual communication. The 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries, with the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," was held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on May 23, 2025. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. Media outlets in Armenia and Italy continue to react to the international conference titled "Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity", which took place at the Pontifical Gregorian University of the Holy See in Vatican City on April 10. A particular point of controversy has been the remarks made by political analyst Fuad Akhundov, who described Armenia as an "anti-Christian state" during his speech. The Armenian media platform CivilNet published an article titled "Azerbaijan uses Vatican venue to rewrite Armenian history", asserting that the tone of the conference was encapsulated in Akhundovs statement: Armenia increasingly demonstrates characteristics that are not Christian but rather anti-Christian. However, the outlet omitted the arguments behind this conclusion and failed to clarify that Akhundovs remarks were directed at the state, its policies, institutions, and leadership not the Armenian people. In response, Akhundov wrote an open letter to CivilNet, which the outlet did not publish. Nevertheless, he emphasized that he would find alternative ways to make his views known to the Armenian public, stating that the editorial stance of CivilNet reflects a continued effort to keep the Armenian population uninformed about their own history. Back in Soviet times, there was a well-known joke: Pounds sterling are just very bad rubles. The humor lay in the ignorance it revealed people didnt really understand what pounds sterling were, so they assumed they were merely a subpar version of their currency. Today, the accusations leveled by the Armenian outlet CivilNet against political scientist Fuad Akhundov seem to echo that same logic, steeped in the spirit of Soviet-style propaganda: Fuad Akhundov said some very bad things and you Armenians dont need to know what they were. We turned to Fuad Akhundov himself for clarification, asking him to summarize the key points he made at a conference held at the Vatican University, where he explained why he considers Armenia to be an anti-Christian state. According to official statistics, nearly 95 percent of Armenias population identifies as Christian. So why do you describe Armenia as an anti-Christian country? Theres no question that the majority of Armenias population adheres to Christianity not Islam, which, notably, had been the dominant religion across these lands for centuries until the mass resettlement of Armenians in the early 19th century to what was then the Irevan khanate, essentially a vast Muslim cemetery. But the real question is this: to what extent do the policies and guiding principles of modern Armenia actually reflect Christian teachings? Lets take, for instance, the commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness in other words, "Thou shalt not lie. Its astonishing, but Armenians once managed to mislead even Pope John Paul II. While visiting Yerevan, and likely prompted by Armenias presidential protocol service, the Pope publicly referred to Mount Ararat as the biblical mountain where Noahs Ark came to rest after the Great Flood. Naturally, this should have been vetted for historical and scientific accuracy by the Vaticans own protocol service. To set the record straight, I reached out to scholars at the Pontifical Gregorian University of the Holy See, requesting a formal academic position on the matter, precisely to prevent such factual missteps in the future. The claim itself that Ararat is the Arks resting place is a myth largely propagated within Armenian discourse. There is ample scientific research contradicting it. One example comes from none other than Mikhail Piotrovsky, a highly respected scholar even in Armenia, who, amused by the implausibility of the claim, suggested that the search for Noahs Ark would be better directed toward the Corduene Mountains a range located south of Lake Van, in what is today the Hakkari and Srnak provinces of Turkiye, and situated hundreds of kilometers away from Mount Agr (Ararat). I began my presentation by reminding everyone of Christianitys original and universalist message that it was never intended as the faith of a single chosen people. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians, residents of the city of Colossae: Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians 3:11) In other words, the New Testament does not promote the idea of a singular ethnic group chosen by God. Instead, it calls for the spread of faith beyond borders and ethnic divisions uniting people around a shared spiritual principle. - And what is happening today in the Republic of Armenia? - In modern-day Armenia, monoethnicity is not only a fact it is a point of national pride. The country openly celebrates the expulsion of its last Azerbaijani residents at the end of the 20th century. There exists a recorded video from 1993 showing Armenias first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, congratulating armed militants on the capture of the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam a city that, it must be emphasized, never had a significant Armenian population. In that same speech, he declares that the cleansing of Armenias territory from Azerbaijanis represented, in his words, the age-old dream of the Armenian people. With such a statement, he effectively endorses and glorifies ethnic cleansing. And here we must pause and ask: how can such a claim that the removal of an entire ethnic group fulfills a dream be uttered in the 21st century? More importantly, how does such rhetoric align with the values of Christian compassion, mercy, and universal dignity? Let me also recall a piece of history that may be inconvenient for some to acknowledge. There were indeed Armenian states in antiquity but not on the territory where the modern Republic of Armenia stands today. One of the visuals I presented during the Vatican University conference was a painting on the ceiling of a historic Vatican building, which clearly shows the ancient Armenian realm situated far from Yerevan and the South Caucasus. The mass settlement of Armenians in the lands that today comprise Armenia a state officially formed in May 1918 began only after the signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828. It was this treaty that triggered the resettlement of ethnic Armenians from the Qajar Iran dynasty and the Ottoman Empire into the Azerbaijani territories described in the treaty itself as the best lands of Erivan, Nakhchivan, and Karabakh. Historical documents confirm this process. For instance, on March 30, 1828, Colonel L. Lazarev, nephew of General Ivan Lazarev and an ardent supporter of the Armenian question, issued a proclamation in Urmia inviting Armenians under Persian rule to migrate to newly conquered Azerbaijani lands of the Russian Empire. This is recorded in the 1831 publication by S. Glinka, Description of the Resettlement of Armenians from Adirbidjan into the Borders of Russia (pp. 108, 114). Even the renowned Russian diplomat and playwright Alexander Griboyedov, who was directly involved in managing these resettlements, acknowledged the tension in his writings. He described how the Armenian settlers were displacing the Muslim population, writing: The settlers themselves are pressed for space and are pushing out the Muslims, who are all grumbling and seriously so. We might add that it wasnt only Muslims who expressed discontent. The remaining Christian communities particularly the descendants of the ancient Caucasian Albanians also faced displacement and erasure. This process intensified following the imperial decree issued by Tsar Nicholas I on March 11, 1836, which officially transferred the properties and parishes of the independent Albanian Apostolic Church to the Armenian Gregorian Church. According to Griboyedov, the so-called "quiet ethnic cleansing" of the indigenous Muslim population of Erivan and Karabakh began immediately after the Armenian resettlement of 1828. This process, though initially subtle, gradually evolved into outright violence and culminated in acts of genocide: first during 19181920, then in 1988 on the ancestral lands of Azerbaijan, and in between under Stalin's decrees between 19481953, which mandated the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from the Armenian SSR to the Azerbaijan SSR. The magnitude of these crimes is corroborated by none other than the prominent Armenian historian Zaven Korkodyan. According to his data, during just two years of Dashnak rule (19181920), 130,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and another 240,000 were forcibly expelled. In 1916, 373,582 Azerbaijanis were living within what would become Armenia. By 1920, only 10,000 remained. That means approximately 99 percent of the Azerbaijani population was annihilated or exiled an unfathomable demographic purge. These figures are taken from Korkodyans work, "The Population of Soviet Armenia, 18311931" (Yerevan, 1932, p. 186). And it wasnt only Korkodyan. Soviet Armenian historian and journalist Anait Lalayan also exposed these atrocities. In her article, "The Counter-Revolutionary Dashnaktsutyun and the Imperialist War of 19141918", she detailed how Armenian nationalist militias committed large-scale massacres of Azerbaijanis during the short-lived Ararat Republic. Her work, included in Historical Notes (Vol. 2, 1938, pp. 100104), published by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, offers undeniable evidence of ethnic cleansing under the guise of nationalism. Over a span of 160 years from 1828 to 1988 the Azerbaijani population in these territories was systematically driven out, massacred, or deported. By the close of the 20th century, Armenia had transformed into a monoethnic state. Such policies of exclusion, elimination, and demographic engineering are not only reminiscent of the medieval mentality they are profoundly anti-Christian in nature. And alongside the population, Armenia erased the Azerbaijani cultural and architectural heritage, correct? Precisely. Along with the people, their history was also obliterated quite literally. Todays Armenia has no trace of its authentic architectural past because that past was Azerbaijani. Cities like Yerevan lost their historical cores. As architecture is often called frozen music, it is also frozen history and in Armenias case, that history was buried under bulldozers. Take, for instance, the painting The Capture of the Erivan Fortress by the renowned battle artist Franz Roubaud, known for his precise historical depictions. The artwork shows the historic heart of what is now Yerevan a magnificent medieval Azerbaijani fortress, home to 850 houses. That entire architectural legacy has been razed, replaced with a completely different aesthetic that bears no relation to what stood there for centuries. Thus, we are dealing with not just demographic but cultural and historical cleansing. First, the Azerbaijani population was expelled or destroyed. Second, the architectural identity of Armenia was transformed from medieval Azerbaijani to modern Armenian. Third, the toponymic landscape was rewritten names of cities, villages, rivers, lakes, and mountains were systematically changed. Some were translated into Armenian; others were replaced with names imported from unrelated regions, like the Armenian toponyms of the Euphrates basin. It reached such an absurd point that Armenian officials lodged formal protests when Azerbaijani (i.e., historically accurate) place names appeared in educational textbooks an astonishing display of anti-Azerbaijani hysteria and an utter rejection of the values of tolerance and coexistence. Fourth and this too must be acknowledged many of the ancient Albanian Christian churches that once stood on these lands were appropriated and Armenized. This deliberate falsification of religious heritage is, again, entirely at odds with Christian ethics. I am not aware of another country in the modern world that has so thoroughly and systematically altered its architectural, toponymic, and demographic identity in order to erase all traces of another culture. In Armenias case, this transformationfrom Azerbaijani to Armenianhas turned the country into a kind of open-air museum of cultural vandalism. To truly grasp the scale of the cultural catastrophe endured by the Azerbaijani peoplea tragedy not only of regional but of universal significancelet us imagine a symmetrical, hypothetical scenario. Suppose that in the early 19th century, the Italian Peninsula was occupied by a foreign Muslim power, and a wave of Azerbaijani settlers was relocated there. A campaign of genocide follows: the entire indigenous Christian population is either massacred or expelled. Italys historic cultural identity is systematically dismantled. Then, by 1965, the magnificent Italian architectural heritage was brought under the blade of bulldozers. Only one church is left standing in Romemirroring the fate of the solitary surviving mosque in Yerevanwhile the rest of Italys religious and historic landmarks are obliterated. In this imagined reality, the Colosseum is replaced by the Sardar Palace, Milan Cathedral by the Bibi-Heybat Mosque, the Leaning Tower of Pisa by the Momine Khatun Mausoleum, and the Basilica of St. Mark by the Palace of the Sheki Khans. In the sacred Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, now rises the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. The toponymy is also completely altered. Rome becomes Irevan. Milan is renamed Basarkechar. Pompeii is now called Sardarabad. Pisa becomes Khakhamli. Venice is renamedagainas Sardarabad. Bari is now Jalaloglu. The site of Agrigento takes on the name of Istisu. Lake Como becomes Goycha, and the Tiber River is renamed Zangi. Can you imagine such a sweeping, ruthless replacement of one civilization with another? This analogy, while hypothetical, reflects the very real and tragic fate that befell Azerbaijani heritage and identity in Armenia. - And then Armenia repeated the same pattern in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Exactly. The strategy employed in Armenia was replicated in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenian forces during the First Karabakh War. First, the Azerbaijani civilian population was forcibly expelled or killed. Second, cultural and religious sites were systematically destroyed: for instance, 64 of the 67 mosques in the occupied areas were either desecrated or entirely demolished. Third, toponyms and hydronyms were altered en masse to fit Armenian linguistic and cultural narratives. And fourth, ancient Christian monuments belonging to the Caucasian Albanian Church were appropriated and rebranded as Armenian heritage. Notably, when Islam first reached the Caucasus, it coexisted with pre-existing Christian communities. Ancient Albanian churches were left intact, often standing peacefully beside newly built mosques. Islam did not eliminate Christianity; it spread among pagans, while Christian Albanians remained Christian. It was later, under Armenian ecclesiastical influence, that these Albanian communities were gradually absorbed into the Armenian Churchand with them, their religious sites. Unlike Islams approach of coexistence, the Armenian approach in both Armenia and the occupied Azerbaijani territories was one of destruction, appropriation, and replacement. By the end of the 20th century, around 750,000 Azerbaijanis were forcibly displaced from Karabakh and the eastern part of Zangezurwhat is today referred to as Lower Zangezurturning them into internally displaced persons (IDPs). During the military operations of the early 1990s, multiple episodes of mass atrocities and war crimes were committed against Azerbaijani civilians: in Malibeyli, Meshali, Balligaya, and, most notoriously, Khojaly, where one of the worst massacres of the post-Soviet era took place. Entire towns and villages in Karabakh were subjected to looting, arson, desecration, and urbicidethe deliberate destruction of urban spaces and identity. Can such acts be reconciled with the principles of Christianity, whose core teachings speak of compassion, mercy, and respect for human dignity? - Armenia is also engaged in the glorification and promotion of Nazism. You likely addressed this in your speech as well? Yes, I did. It is well known that in central Yerevan, right in the government quarter, there stands a monument to Garegin Nzhdehthe founder of the ultranationalist and fascist ideology known as Tseghakron. While Christianity calls on believers to transcend ethnic and national boundaries, Nzhdehism is rooted in racial exclusivity and claims of Armenian ethnic superiority. The very term Tseghakron translates roughly as race religion or race-centered belief, and it is no exaggeration to say it carries the connotation of racial ideology. This worldview has, at various points, functioned as state ideology in Armeniaparticularly during the presidencies of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. Kocharyan himself publicly asserted the so-called genetic incompatibility between Armenians and Azerbaijanisa chilling echo of fascist rhetoric. A few years later, his wife, Bella Kocharyan, attended the inauguration of a blood bank in Yerevan and proudly proclaimed that it would store exclusively pure Armenian blood. Can anything be more antithetical to the Christian doctrine of universal human equality? But it doesnt end there. One must also consider a deeper and more disturbing issue. One of the key civilizational missions of the Abrahamic religionsJudaism, Christianity, and Islamwas the rejection of human sacrifice. This rejection became a fundamental moral and spiritual boundary. Yet even in this regard, we encounter troubling realities in Armenia. The traditional ritual known as matakhthough now broadly associated with animal sacrificeretains disturbing traces of pre-Christian practices, which in some radicalized instances have reportedly crossed a deeply troubling line. - Human sacrifices? Can that really be true? Unfortunately, there are credible testimonies. For example, in 2005, the book My Brothers Road: An Americans Fateful Journey to Armenia by Markar Melkonianthe brother of the militant leader Monte Melkonianwas published. However, the Armenian edition of this book censored certain passages that revealed inconvenient truths. Among those were eyewitness accounts of the brutal atrocities committed by Armenian militants against Azerbaijani civilians in Khojaly. Melkonian wrote in stark terms about the cruelty inflicted on the peaceful populationdescriptions that contradict the official Armenian narrative that blames Azerbaijanis themselves for the Khojaly tragedy (Markar Melkonian, "My Brothers Road", I.B. Tauris, pp. 210, 213, 214). Yet, disturbingly, one horrifying episode remained in the Armenian edition. It recounts how, in November 1990, in one of the border villages, Armenian militants kidnapped a young Azerbaijani activist from the Popular Front named Said. He was chained in a cottage near Yerevan for a while, and thenaccording to Melkonians accounthis throat was slit and his blood drained onto a grave in the Yerablur military cemetery (p. 215). Armenian publishers, astonishingly, did not see fit to remove this account. The act was not only allowed in printit was seemingly normalized. According to further documented reports, similar sacrificial killings occurred again. In February 1992, in the village of Garadaghly, four Azerbaijani prisoners were subjected to what appeared to be ritualistic execution by Armenian militantsagain, under the guise of matakh. These acts are a direct contradiction of Christian values and exemplify a disturbing return to pre-Christian, pagan practices. And indeed, this is far from an isolated incident. I recall a striking excerpt from an appeal by Soviet Army servicemen and their families stationed in Armenia during the First Karabakh War, published in the newspaper Zavtra. It asked, How can a people who consider themselves Christian allow Azerbaijani prisoners of war to have their heads cut off on the graves of Armenian soldiers? In short, the medieval brutality exhibited by some Armenians starkly contradicted the values of humanityvalues the so-called oppressed Armenians themselves repeatedly violated. The shocking criminal case of 2017 further underscores this grim reality. At the foot of the iconic Mother Armenia monument in Yerevan, Russian serviceman Dmitry Yalpayev was found with his throat slita scene eerily reminiscent of another human matakh ritual. Just the day before, another Russian serviceman, Loshmanov, had gone missing in Gyumri and was later found in the apartment of a local stripper. During the search for Loshmanov, disturbing rumors emerged: that he was to be kidnapped and sacrificed in retaliation for the murder of the Avetisyan familyan atrocity committed by another Russian soldier, Permyakov. Naturally, the Armenian investigative authorities sought to downplay any connection to sacrificial practices in Yalpayevs murder. They even proposed a sensational and unlikely theory that the killer had converted to Islam in Greecethough there are no Muslim communities in Armenia itself. In a similar vein, a scandal shook Armenia in May 2023 when there was an attempted kidnapping of 23-year-old Ashot Pashinyan, son of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Persistent rumors circulated that this too was part of a planned ritual sacrifice, allegedly plotted over several years. The target was said to be the Yerablur cemetery, a site previously associated with the stabbing of captured Azerbaijanis in similar ritualistic ways. Armenian blogger Alina Makhsudyan spoke in detail about these chilling allegations. - So, should such acts of human sacrifice be considered Christian? These are urgent questions for the Armenian public, the church, the government, and the nation as a whole. Armenian leaders must clearly define their civilizational valuesand stop attempting to reconcile the worship of the Cross with barbaric human sacrifices. Without this reckoning, it will remain impossible to shed the deeply troubling image of Armenia as the Country of the Antichrist. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 23. President of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has sent a letter of congratulations to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports. ''Dear Ilham Heydarovich. I sincerely congratulate you and all citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Independence Day. Thanks to your creative efforts, Azerbaijan today is rightly proud of its rapidly growing economy, the steady increase in the living standards of citizens, and the significant achievements in the international arena. Our regular contacts and systematic interaction between governments, parliaments, and regions serve as a guarantee of further enhancing the strategic partnership between Minsk and Baku, which is line with the interests of the two states. I am confident that the cooperation between Belarus and Azerbaijan will continue to evolve actively based on the traditions of friendship and mutual understanding. On this festive occasion, I wish you, esteemed Ilham Heydarovich, and your family good health and wellbeing, and all Azerbaijanis peace and prosperity,'' the letter reads. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chief Negotiator for COP29 Yalcin Rafiyev has visited Mexico on May 23, Trend reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. During the visit, meetings were held with the Undersecretary of State for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Enrique Ochoa Martinez, Mexico's chief climate negotiator, Camila Zepeda, and the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), one of Mexico's influential think tanks. During the meeting with Deputy Minister Enrique Ochoa Martinez, there was expressed satisfaction with the fruitful cooperation between Azerbaijan and Mexico within the framework of international organizations and other multilateral platforms. Y. Rafiyev provided detailed information on the priorities of Azerbaijan's foreign policy, the steps taken towards normalizing relations with Armenia, as well as the events that will be held at multilateral venues on the initiative and with the support of Azerbaijan in the coming period. The parties also discussed issues of cooperation in the fight against climate change and exchanged views on Azerbaijan's presidency of COP29. During the meeting with Mexico's chief climate negotiator Camila Zepeda, Azerbaijan's historic achievements during its presidency of COP29 were noted and Azerbaijan's successful presidency was highly praised. The meeting, held at the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), included an exchange of views on Azerbaijan's growing role in the region, its multifaceted foreign policy, initiatives and activities in international organizations in the context of the new realities that have emerged in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan's presidency of COP29, as well as the content and results of the negotiations held in this format, were highly appreciated. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. On May 24, Jeyhun Bayramov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, held a telephone conversation with Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Trend reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. During the call, the sides exchanged views on issues stemming from the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, as well as various aspects of their bilateral and multilateral cooperation agenda. The existing strategic partnership was highly valued, and plans for future engagements were reviewed. The ministers also discussed other bilateral and regional matters of mutual interest. BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. Chairman of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of Azerbaijan Fuad Muradov met with the Azerbaijani community of Arab countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a source in the committee told Trend. The meeting began with the performance of the national anthems of Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia. The memory of the martyrs who gave their lives for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was honored. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan Shahin Abdullayev emphasized the ever-increasing strengthening of friendly ties between the two countries and the contribution of Azerbaijani community to this field, and highly appreciated the successful integration of Azerbaijanis living abroad. "The diaspora serves as an important bridge between countries, peoples, and its activities are important in all areas. Azerbaijani communities in Arab countries promote our culture and values in their countries of residence and other countries through cultural diplomacy. We always appreciate this activity," Muradov said during the meeting. The meeting provided detailed information on multilateral projects implemented by the state committee and the diaspora, Azerbaijan Houses abroad, coordination councils, weekend schools, and summer camps for the diaspora youth. Video materials with speeches by President Ilham Aliyev in connection with the victory in the Second Karabakh War were also shown. The meeting continued with an exchange of views and answers to questions. The community members noted the importance of such meetings. Then, UAE Coordinator for the Coordination Council of Azerbaijanis Living in Arab Countries Nurana Huseynova, Oman Coordinator Saida Khalilova and cardiologist Jamila Rasulova, who lives in Saudi Arabia, were awarded medals "For merits in diaspora activities". New coordinators of the Coordination Council for Compatriots in Saudi Arabia were also elected. The event continued with an artistic part. The community members listened to Azerbaijani music with great delight and watched national dances. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. The VII International Festival of Ethnosport and Culture, which started in Istanbul (Turkiye) on May 22, continues, the Equestrian Federation of the Republic of Azerbaijan told Trend. As part of the festival, participants and guests of the event are shown performances that reflect the unity, common cultural roots and heritage of the Turkic world. On May 24, as part of the special program of the Festival, the President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his spouse Emine Erdogan watched the magnificent show composition "Victory" presented by the Azerbaijani delegation. The composition, organized by the Equestrian Federation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, presented with the participation of 130 people and 20 Karabakh horses, covered ancient Azerbaijani national musical and dance traditions, as well as the performance of Karabakh horses. The program, reflecting the common heritage of the Turkic world, horsemanship and national spirit, aroused great interest among the President of the Republic of Turkiye and his spouse, who gave a standing ovation to the Azerbaijani delegation that presented the performance. The Azerbaijani delegation greeted this high attention and great interest in the show composition "Victory" with a sense of pride. The next performance of the Azerbaijani delegation will take place on May 25, and thus the VII International Festival of Ethnosport and Culture will be completed. Azerbaijan elevates trade ties with Turkiye through increased purchases From January to April 2025, trade between Azerbaijan and Turkiye totaled $1.95 billion, down 4.3 percent year-on-year. Exports from Azerbaijan to Turkiye fell by 13 percent to $1.138 billion, while imports from Turkiye rose by 11.3 percent to $811.4 million. Turkiye accounted for 11.53 percent of Azerbaijans total trade turnover, ranking second among its trading partners. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Weekly review of key events in Azerbaijan's financial market Azerbaijan is set to receive about $1 billion in financing from the Islamic Development Banks ordinary capital resources by the end of 2024, with total support from the IDB Group nearing $1.3 billion. The country will also host the Islamic Development Bank Groups Annual Meeting in 2026, highlighting its growing partnership on sustainable infrastructure projects. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, May 23. Turkmenistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rashid Meredov participated in an online meeting with officials of the UN Country Team and discussed the main areas of cooperation and the country's priorities in the field of sustainable development, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The main focus of the meeting was to review Turkmenistans national priorities for the upcoming UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (20262030) and explore strategies to accelerate progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Minister Meredov outlined Turkmenistans key areas of strategic partnership with the United Nations, highlighting cooperation in peace and security, socio-economic development, SDG implementation, transport, energy, climate change, and other priority sectors. He emphasized the role of the Strategic Advisory Council Turkmenistan UN, created last year to facilitate the alignment of national programs with UN objectives, ensuring effective implementation of both political and socio-economic initiatives. Further discussions included Turkmenistans ongoing collaboration with specialized UN bodies in sustainable development, transport infrastructure, climate change, environmental protection, and human rights. Special attention was also given to preserving the country's rich cultural heritage and improving education and healthcare systems through the application of best practices. UN agency heads provided updates on their ongoing projects in Turkmenistan and shared new ideas for future cooperation. The meeting concluded with a discussion of upcoming events and joint initiatives aimed at strengthening Turkmenistan-UN collaboration in the years ahead. This meeting reaffirmed Turkmenistans unwavering commitment to achieving the SDGs and advancing comprehensive cooperation with the UN across multiple critical sectors. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, May 24. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Serdar Muhammetdurdiyev, held a meeting with the delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headed by the head of the IMF mission in Turkmenistan, Anna Rose Bordon, Trend reports. The meeting focused on the current state and future prospects of Turkmenistans cooperation with the IMF, covering a range of topics, including technical assistance, advisory support, and staff training. Special attention was given to monitoring macroeconomic indicators, the exchange of statistical information, and the promotion of structural reforms aimed at ensuring the countrys sustainable economic development. Representatives of the Turkmen side expressed their gratitude to the IMF experts for their ongoing methodological support and practical recommendations, which have been instrumental in the development and implementation of the countrys economic policies. The meeting also emphasized Turkmenistans recognition of the IMF as a crucial partner in advancing reforms to enhance the openness of its economy and deepen integration into the global economic space. The discussions also addressed current global challenges, particularly the instability in the geopolitical landscape, and its potential impact on national economies. Topics such as external risks, prospects for trade and tariff regulation, as well as Turkmenistans bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), were also highlighted. The implementation of major infrastructure projects and the improvement of mechanisms for exchanging economic information were key points of the dialogue. Anna Bordon praised Turkmenistans efforts in ensuring macroeconomic stability and emphasized the importance of the constructive ongoing dialogue between the IMF and Turkmenistan. The meeting concluded with a focus on enhancing foreign economic relations, bilateral agreements, and the successful execution of various infrastructure projects, marking a significant step in strengthening the countrys economic partnerships. Kazakhstans non-oil imports from Azerbaijan surge in 4M2025 Kazakhstan has more than doubled its non-oil imports from Azerbaijan in the first four months of the year, reaching nearly $35 million. Meanwhile, trade turnover between the two countries surged threefold to around $270 million, underscoring rapidly growing economic ties. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, having significant experience in risk management and emergency response, can play a leading role in the formation and effective implementation of the civil protection mechanism of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the Kazakh political scientist Aigerim Zhampetova told Trend. "Against the background of growing climate threats and an increasing number of natural disasters, the importance of interstate coordination in this area is rapidly increasing. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan can make a significant contribution by offering proven practices and technologies used in their national civil protection systems. In addition, we can talk about organizing joint exercises, exchanging experts, and developing common response standards," she said. According to her, Kazakhstan has extensive experience in responding to a wide range of emergencies - from floods to man-made accidents, which is due to its geographical location and large territory. In turn, Azerbaijan is actively developing civil defense services and has mobile rescue units capable of working effectively in an international format. The expert also emphasized the importance of the development of transport cooperation of the OTS, taking into account the participation of Hungary. "The prospects of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route - one of the key projects of the OTS - are significantly expanding due to Hungary's interest. Budapest's intention to integrate into Eurasian transportation and logistics chains can help strengthen the western link of the corridor and provide a sustainable connection to European markets. Hungary has already demonstrated its readiness to participate in infrastructure projects and logistics hubs, which makes the country an important transit partner and a potential entry point of the OTS into the EU," she stressed. An informal summit of heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States was held in the Hungarian Budapest on May 21. Following the meeting, the Budapest Declaration was signed. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 24. A delegation of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan headed by First Deputy Minister of Defense - Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan Lieutenant General Sultan Kamaletdinov visited the Turkish Ankara to discuss the current state and prospective areas of bilateral military cooperation, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the information, a representative of the top leadership of Kazakhstan's defense ministry met with the Minister of Defense of Turkiye, Yasar Guler, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Army General Metin Gurak. "The parties discussed the current state and prospective directions of bilateral military cooperation, as well as regional security issues. The conversation specifically covered conducting military exercises, cooperation in education, language training, and peacekeeping activities. The interlocutors also touched on matters related to joint projects for the acquisition and production of weapons and military equipment," the statement reads. Moreover, the parties noted the positive dynamics of bilateral cooperation, including mutual visits, which demonstrate a high level of partnership. During the visit, Lieutenant General Sultan Kamaletdinov met with Kazakh cadets studying at higher military educational institutions in Turkiye. The Kazakh delegation also visited military facilities and defense industry enterprises in Turkiye. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 24. During a business visit to Malaysia, representatives of the Association Uzelttehsanoat met with the management of Arkitek MAA, one of the leading architectural and urban planning firms in the country, Trend reports. The primary focus of the meeting was the initiative to design a master plan for a state-of-the-art semiconductor cluster on a 38-hectare site in Uzbekistan. The project is aimed at fostering the development of the high-tech sector, establishing cutting-edge industrial infrastructure, and enhancing international collaboration. The parties engaged in an in-depth discussion regarding the conceptual approaches, functional zoning, engineering solutions, and environmental requirements of the project. Arkitek MAA expressed its strong interest in actively contributing to the project, drawing on its vast international experience and expertise in the field. Following the discussions, the sides agreed to progressively strengthen their bilateral cooperation and outlined the technical and organizational steps for advancing the project. Furthermore, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to advancing joint technological development through mutual trust and a constructive dialogue. S&P revises Uzbekistan's GDP growth forecast upward for 2025-2028 S&P Global Ratings has projected strong economic growth for Uzbekistan, forecasting an average real GDP expansion of 5.6 percent between 2025 and 2028. This optimistic outlook is underpinned by ongoing reforms, significant government investments, and robust remittance inflows. However, challenges such as rising energy costs, fiscal deficits, and reliance on external debt remain. Despite these, the countrys low debt levels and sovereign wealth fund continue to support its economic stability. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Indonesia grows oil imports from Azerbaijan by over half in 4M2025 From January to April 2025, Azerbaijan exported 130,900 tons of crude oil and related products to Indonesia, valued at $72.1 millionup 51% in volume and 37.3% in value from the same period last year. Indonesia ranked 12th among Azerbaijans 17 oil export destinations, with total exports reaching 8.2 million tons worth $4.6 billion. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. Iran deems professional and logical the fifth round of indirect talks with the US on the nuclear program held in Italy's Rome, Irans Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said during a phone conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on May 23, Trend reports. Araghchi voiced hope that by creating a clearer understanding of the Islamic Republic of Irans principled positions for the American side, tangible progress could be made in the negotiations. The Italian foreign minister, for his part, appreciated Irans responsible approach to diplomacy and thanked Araghchi for the briefing on the outcome of the 5th round of talks with the US. Tajani also said Italy is ready to keep assisting along this path. 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 At the very heart of Europea continent that once prided itself on enshrining humanism, tolerance, and the rights of mana dangerous paradox is igniting in 2025. The same Europe that heralds itself as a bastion of freedom of conscience is fast becoming a stage for something far darker: a climate of open hostility toward Islam and its followers. Mosques are being desecrated. Sacred texts are going up in smoke on city sidewalks. And Muslims are increasingly becoming targetsnot just of street-level hate, but of a systemic, media-fueled culture of fear. This isnt a rash of isolated incidents. Its a sustained, escalating pattern. Each mosque vandalized, each hijabi woman attacked, each Quran set ablaze is part of a deeper storyone about the atmosphere that allows it. Its the silence of institutions, the weaponization of free speech, and the slow corrosion of civil liberties under the guise of defending them. Europe, it seems, has arrived at a dangerous crossroads: where freedom of expression is used to mask bigotry, and the right to be heard becomes the right to degrade. If left unchecked, this trend wont just cost Europe the respect of the Muslim world. It threatens the continents moral core. Because real democracy is measured not by how it protects the powerfulbut how it stands up for the vulnerable. Right now, Muslims are the litmus test. And Europe is failing. The Slow Creep of Institutionalized Hate The year 2024 marked a turning point in how Muslims are treated in two of Europes largest democraciesBritain and Germany. What began as verbal slurs and sporadic vandalism has snowballed into a coordinated campaign of intimidation. In countries that often tout their liberal values, the backlash against Muslims has moved from rhetoric to realitytaking the form of physical violence, terror, and official indifference. United Kingdom: The Statistics Are Screaming According to data from Tell MAMA, an organization tracking anti-Muslim hate, Britain saw a 73% spike in Islamophobic incidents in 2024 compared to the previous year. More than 4,300 cases were reportedincluding 672 involving physical violence and roughly 1,200 acts of vandalism targeting mosques, cemeteries, and cultural centers. Whats even more disturbing is the geographic shift. These incidents are no longer confined to urban centers like London, Manchester, and Birmingham. Theyve crept into quieter cornersYorkshire, Lancashire, the East Midlandsareas previously considered less volatile. Muslim women bore the brunt of this violence: 61% of victims were female, most wearing headscarves. Many were attacked in broad daylighton public transit, on sidewalks, even near their homes. In April alone, 48 stabbings were reported, all tied to religious hatred. This is the most dangerous time for Muslims in the UK since our organization was founded, said Saadia Ahsan, director of Tell MAMA. Were no longer talking about fringe acts of hate. Were talking about a cultivated indifference from the state. Germany: A Shadow War on Mosques While the UK grapples with street-level violence, Germanys version of Islamophobia looks disturbingly institutional. More than 1,550 hate crimes targeting Muslims were reported in 2024a 24% increase over the previous year and twice the number logged in 2021. Fifty-four of those incidents involved attacks on mosques. In Munich, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, and Berlin, houses of worship have been firebombed, broken into, and defiledsometimes with pig heads and blood smeared across entryways. In one case, surveillance footage in Baden-Wurttemberg captured a group of men breaking into a mosque at 3 a.m., beating the imam with bats and scrawling Europe is for Christians on the walls. Fifty-three assaults on individual Muslims were documented, 18 involving knives. Eleven of those attacks took place in front of children. On a single night in March, seven Muslim women were assaulted in Berlin for wearing niqabs. And yet, the justice system barely budges. Over 65% of victims didnt report the crimes, convinced police wouldnt take them seriouslyand often, theyre right. Out of more than 1,500 cases, just 93 made it to court. Only 29 resulted in convictions. Thats not just negligenceits a justice gap that echoes colonial patterns, where whole populations were treated as second-class by design. This isnt random street violence. Its a byproduct of deliberate public messaging. In 2024, more than 28% of headlines in Britains most-read tabloids referenced Islam negativelyoften linking it to terrorism, parallel societies, or threats to European values. In Germany, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation found that one in three parliamentary mentions of Muslims included terms like radicalization, extremism, or danger. And these werent fringe politiciansthey came from the Bundestags major parties. Even intelligence services are complicit. While pledging to fight extremism, they simultaneously profile Islamic groupsputting 86 under surveillance in 2024. Only four were accused of promoting violence. The rest? Charities, schools, and cultural organizations. This is no temporary surge. Its a structural pivot. Violence against Muslims is being normalized. And state indifference is becoming a feature, not a bug, of modern European governance. Surveys reinforce the trend. In the UK, 38% of respondents see Islam as a threat to British identity. Forty-five percent support banning religious clothing in public institutions. In Germany, the picture is even bleaker52% believe Islam is incompatible with Western culture. These numbers arent just data points. Theyre the pulse of a rising authoritarianismcamouflaged as secularism and civility. In 2024, Britain and Germany became laboratories of political hate. As hijabi women are attacked in plain sight and mosques erupt in flames, lawmakers squabble over where free speech ends. But those lines were crossed long agocrossed in the bodies beaten on sidewalks, in the charred pages of Qurans, and in the deafening silence from those in power. Todays Europe isnt the land of religious freedom it claims to be. For Muslims, public faith is becoming a liability. Practicing Islam in public can feel like a sentence. And if this trend continues, tomorrows battle wont be about free speech. Itll be about survival. The Sacred Flame of Hate: The Scandal That Redefined Sweden In 2023, Swedenlong held up as a beacon of neutrality, humanitarianism, and tolerancefound itself thrust into a firestorm that scorched its global image and exposed a nation at war with its own ideals. At the center of this firestorm was a man whose name has since become synonymous with Europes crisis of pluralism: Salwan Momika. On June 28, 2023, during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, Momikaan Iraqi refugee granted asylum in Swedenset fire to pages of the Quran outside Stockholms central mosque. He did it in full view of the press, with police protection, under the umbrella of free speech rights guaranteed by Swedish law. The backlash was instant and explosive, reverberating across the Muslim world. Within 24 hours, Pakistans parliament issued a unanimous condemnation. Tens of thousands marched in Lahore and Karachi. In Baghdad, protesters stormed the Swedish embassy. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the act a crime against humanity and froze talks on Swedens NATO accession. Iran suspended bilateral cultural programs. Demonstrators filled the streets outside Swedish embassies in Jakarta and beyond. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation convened an emergency session. Diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Malaysia, and Kuwait demanded an apology. Several countriesincluding Iraq, Iran, and Kuwaitrecalled their Swedish ambassadors. Under intense pressure, Swedens Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom issued a statement distancing the government from Momikas actions but insisted it could not override police decisions on demonstrations, citing constitutional protections. The Man Behind the Fire Salwan Momika was not an accidental figure. A Christian refugee who fled Iraq in 2018 claiming persecution by Shiite militias, he was granted asylum in Sweden in 2021 and quickly emerged as a provocateur on the far-right fringe. For years, he staged anti-Islam protests, published incendiary content, and issued statements laced with contempt for the Muslim faith. Complaints flooded infrom Muslim groups and human rights organizations alikebut prosecutors repeatedly declined to act. Swedens constitutional framework, bolstered by the 1766 Freedom of the Press Act, grants sweeping latitude to critique religion. That legal shield, while designed to safeguard open discourse, allowed Momika to push the boundaries of hate. In effect, he became a test casean unwitting experiment in just how far Swedens tolerance could stretch before snapping. When he burned the Quran again in September and December 2023, global condemnation only intensified. To much of the world, his actions werent expressions of opinionthey were deliberate provocations, designed to sow division and incite hatred. The Breaking Point On January 15, 2025, in a suburb of Uppsala, Salwan Momika was gunned down. The killing, police later confirmed, was premeditated. The suspecta Swedish citizen of Iraqi descent with ties to a religious group active in the diasporahad no prior criminal record. The murder detonated a new round of national soul-searching. Who was to blame? A society that allowed sacred texts to be desecrated with impunity? Or an ideology that responded to provocation with bullets? Swedens political spectrum split down the middle. Left-leaning parties and human rights advocates blamed the state for losing control. The right, meanwhile, framed Momikas death as an attack on freedom of speechand used it to call for stricter immigration laws. The Ministry of Justice responded by forming a task force to review legal protections for religiously charged public demonstrations. Diplomatically, Sweden entered choppy waters. Middle Eastern nations that had been warming to reconciliation now demanded not just apologies, but legislative reform. At the World Islamic Forum in Jeddah, Sweden was formally denounced as a country that fails to protect its religious minorities. In response, Saudi Arabia and Qatar canceled business contracts with Swedish firms worth over 2 billion. Even Swedens NATO bid came under renewed scrutiny. Turkey, holding veto power, demanded legally binding assurances that such provocations would no longer be permitted. The alliances secretary general issued a rare rebuke, warning that incidents like the Quran burning undermine the shared values of the bloc. A Mirror Held to the Nation The saga of the Quran burning and Momikas assassination has become far more than a diplomatic debacle. It is a diagnosisa searing indictment of Swedens struggle to reconcile its liberal ideals with the realities of an increasingly diverse society. The nation that once welcomed refugees with open arms is now grappling with record-low trust in governmentjust 31% approval. Among Swedens Muslim population, 47% report feeling legally unprotected. Over half52%believe Sweden has become openly hostile to Islam. Momikas story will be remembered not as a parable of free speech, but as a tragedy of national self-deception. A tragedy in which the charred remains of the Quran became a mirrorreflecting not just one mans hate, but a societys failure to confront it. Europes Invisible Wall: How Muslims Are Being Denied Equal Rights When European leaders speak of human rights, equality, and inclusion, the rhetoric is loftyaspirational, even. But for millions of Muslims across the continent, these words often ring hollow. Behind the polished language of democracy and tolerance lies a harsher reality: one of systemic discrimination that touches nearly every aspect of daily lifefrom job applications and housing searches to classrooms and government offices. And the numbers tell the story better than any press release ever could. In a wide-reaching study across 13 EU countriesincluding Austria, Germany, Finland, France, and the Netherlandsmore than 35% of Muslim respondents reported facing discrimination in the job market. In Austria and Germany, that figure spikes to nearly 70%. One in four rejection letters went to applicants with non-European nameseven when their qualifications matched those of their native-born peers. The discrimination hits especially hard for Muslim women who wear the hijab. About 45% of Muslim women under the age of 30 reported being denied jobs explicitly because of their headscarf. Employers didnt bother hiding their bias: "You wouldnt fit in with the team." "Its not the right image for our clients." "We have a strict dress code." Young Muslims in the EU are disproportionately targeted by overlapping forms of exclusion. According to recent studies, over 58% of young Muslim womenborn and raised as EU citizensreported facing discrimination in schools and universities. Theyre penalized for wearing religious attire, barred from extracurriculars, denied access to gym classes unless they remove their hijab. Many are suspended or expelled under vague school dress code violations. The consequences are stark. The early dropout rate among Muslim students is nearly three times the EU averagearound 30% compared to 10%. Housing discrimination is another glaring issue. In cities where rental demand is high, up to 40% of Muslims report being turned away by landlords. Legal protections exist on paper, but in practice, phrases like Europeans only, no children, or no veiled women are all too commonespecially in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. As a result, Muslim families are often pushed into segregated neighborhoods with substandard housing and limited access to healthcare, education, and public services. This deepens cycles of poverty and isolationand makes upward mobility a near impossibility. In some parts of Europe, being visibly Muslim is not just a social liabilityits a political target. France offers a textbook example. In 2004, it passed a law banning conspicuous religious symbols in public schoolsa measure that disproportionately affected Muslim girls. In 2021, lawmakers debated banning the hijab in all public spaces for minors. Belgium, Switzerland, and parts of Germany have passed or floated bans on burkinis, burqas, and niqabseven though their use is rare. The issue, politicians argue, isnt practical but symbolic. The hijab, in their framing, is no longer a matter of personal identityits a perceived threat to secular order. And then theres the media and political discourse, which has become increasingly hostile in recent years. Across the EUs largest countries, anti-immigrant rhetoric has gone mainstream. Politicians chasing easy popularity have weaponized public fear with buzzwords like Islamization of Europe, threat to traditional values, and Muslim disloyalty. In one German survey, 42% of respondents admitted they felt uncomfortable living next to Muslims. In Austria, 61% believe Islam is incompatible with European life. These attitudes didnt arise in a vacuumtheyre the product of decades of media narratives that consistently cast Muslims as terrorists, threats, or problems to be managed. Behind Europes polished self-image lies an invisible wallone that quietly but powerfully excludes millions of its Muslim citizens from the very ideals it claims to uphold. And unless that wall comes down, the continents vision of democracy will remain, for many, nothing more than a slogan. Europes Tightrope: Navigating the Line Between Faith and Free Speech In July 2023, when an Iraqi refugee set fire to the Quran in front of a mosque in central Copenhagen, Denmark was thrust into the eye of a geopolitical storm. Outrage rippled not only through the Muslim worldwhere embassies were attacked and Danish goods boycottedbut across Europe itself, where the centuries-old tension between freedom of expression and religious tolerance reached a boiling point. Two months later, Denmarks government took an extraordinary step: it introducedand swiftly passeda law criminalizing improper treatment of sacred religious texts, explicitly including the Quran, the Torah, and the Bible. Legally, that meant bans on burning, tearing, defacing, or publicly desecrating these scriptures. Offenders now face fines of up to 10,000 and, in some cases, criminal prosecution. The move landed like a thunderclapboth domestically and abroad. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksens government framed the law as a pragmatic safeguard. The goal, officials explained, was to ensure public order, protect international interests, and avoid a repeat of the summers diplomatic meltdowns. By August 2023, 15 Muslim-majority nations had pulled their ambassadors from Copenhagen. Saudi Arabia froze investment guarantees worth an estimated $300 million. But to see the law solely as a foreign policy maneuver would miss the deeper shift it represents. Denmarklong known for its fierce secularism and staunch defense of free speechwas also the site of the infamous 2005 Jyllands-Posten cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and the 2015 terror attack on a cultural center hosting a freedom-of-expression event. Against that backdrop, the 2023 law marked a symbolic turning point: a public admission that absolute free speech might, at times, undermine social peace. Public reaction in Denmark was mixed. A poll conducted in October 2023 found that 54% of Danes supported the ban on desecrating religious texts, with support among young adults (ages 1829) reaching 63%. For many, the law reflected a growing fatigue with conflict and a shift in generational values. Still, backlash came swiftly. Opposition parties, including the Liberal Alliance, and major human rights groups blasted the law as a concession to Islamist pressure and a dangerous precedent. Their fear: that once you begin regulating speech to protect sacred symbols, you're on a slippery slope toward suppressing criticism, satire, and artistic expression. By December, Danish writers and artists published an open letter comparing the measure to a secular blasphemy lawa chilling phrase in a country that had long prided itself on intellectual freedom. Legally, the law broke new ground in Scandinavia. It challenged the contours of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects free speech but allows states to impose limits for the prevention of disorder or the protection of others rights. The European Court of Human Rights has, in the past, upheld such restrictionsbut usually in cases involving incitement to hatred, not mere disrespect toward religious texts. And thats precisely what alarms free speech advocates: the Danish law doesnt just punish hateit codifies reverence. It protects not individuals from harm, but symbols from offense. In January 2024, the European Commission opened a review of whether the law aligns with EU legal standards. While a full reversal is unlikely, the symbolic shockwaves are already spreading. In the Netherlands, Austria, and even France, lawmakers are floating similar proposals, emboldened by recent mosque attacks and anti-Islam provocations. Denmarks decision reflects a broader European reckoningone where the old liberal compact is being recalibrated. Can a secular democracy draw limits around speech without betraying its founding values? Can it protect social cohesion without privileging particular beliefs? The debate is far from over. But one thing is clear: Europe is no longer just navigating questions of lawits negotiating the soul of its identity. Europe at the Mirror: The Danish Law and the Cracks in the Continents Moral Compass Denmarks recent legislation banning the desecration of religious texts isnt just a legal adjustment to soothe a diplomatic crisis. Its a symptomof a deeper, unresolved fracture running through the heart of Europe. A fracture born of the continents inability to reconcile two of its most cherished principles: freedom of expression and the protection of religious belief. One defends the right to mock; the other demands the right to revere. And today, Europe is losing its grip on both. Right now, the law shields the Quran. But tomorrow, it could be used to silence criticism of the Churchor, just as easily, to punish satire targeting Islam. What seems like a short-term fix to international outrage risks becoming a long-term precedent for censorship cloaked in sensitivity. The line between safeguarding dignity and policing thought has never been thinner. This is not a localized skirmish in the Danish parliamentits a cultural fault line that cuts across Europes newsrooms, courtrooms, and classrooms. It forces a question that the continent has avoided for far too long: What does it truly mean to defend universal rights? And what happens when those rights collide? The Danish law is, at best, a gesture of crisis management. At worst, it opens the door to a dangerous inversionwhere human rights are no longer about protecting people, but about shielding ideas from offense. That shift creates fertile ground for manipulation, suppression of dissent, and the slow, quiet erosion of democratic integrity. Europe now stands at a crossroads. It can either reaffirm its commitment to foundational freedomsor succumb to the fear of popular backlash, whether domestic or global. Whats at stake isnt just free speech. Its Europes very identity as a place where reason and dignity are meant to prevail over outrage and orthodoxy. A Mirror Held to the Continent What does Europe see when it looks in the mirror? Not the reflection of progress, but the spreading cracks of a continent in denial. Not the glow of democratic ideals, but the shadow of a civilization drifting into moral amnesia. Todays Europe may present itself as a showcase of rights and liberal valuesbut for millions of Muslims, it feels more like a maze of suspicion, coded discrimination, and invisible rejection. Not a home of equality, but a daily struggle against the quiet contempt of institutions that speak the language of rights but act with averted eyes. The illusion of inclusion shatters under the weight of lived experiencewhere a hijab is treated as a provocation, a mosque as a target, and integration is often shorthand for erasure. Where governments respond to systemic bias with ritual incantations: We condemn all forms of extremism. Empty phrases that do little when Qurans are burning and courts are silent. Europe is inching toward a precipice. Either it becomes a continent where faith is not a verdict and freedom is not a luxuryor it settles into a status quo where equality ends at the edge of a house of worship. This is not a battle over toleranceits a test of humanity. And as long as laws are written to protect symbols instead of people, as long as silence is mistaken for neutrality instead of complicity, Europe isnt just losing credibilityits losing itself. And if it fails to course-correct, the next time it peers into that mirror, it may not recognize the face staring back. Baku Network Since 2012, the NYCxDesign Festival has brought together the best of design from various fields, including interior, industrial, architectural, graphic, and urban design. From May 15 to 20, kicking off with a party at the former Domino Sugar Factory, an iconic building in Williamsburg, numerous design-related events, conferences, and exhibitions were spread throughout New York Citys neighborhoods. One of the most exciting offerings was Casa Valle, an award-winning design studio founded by editor and former style director of Architectural Digest, Jane Keltner, and architect Giancarlo Valle: a redesign of Gaudis Batllo chair. Keltner and Valle married in 2010 and have been a creative couple since opening their joint project, Casa Valle, in 2024. This year, they collaborated for the first time at NYCxDesign. At the fair, they presented 50 replicas of the chair, faithful to the original edition handcrafted by artisans in Barcelona using the same methods and materials but with the unique ebony-stained finish. The price of these replicas, so far, remains a mystery. The Batllo chair, designed in 1906, is a unique piece that reflects not only Antoni Gaudis genius for expressing beauty, but also how ahead of his time he was. He had already designed it in the 19th century with an ergonomic style that adapted to the human body and prioritized functionality, long before such concepts became popular. More than a simple chair, it is a fluid and organic work, where the screw connections between the pieces are invisible, as if by magic, giving the impression that the wood has naturally adopted that shape. Its a curious dichotomy, because Gaudis architecture has become almost a Disneyland-style tourist attraction, but his furniture designs remain completely unique. Theres an elegance and rigor to his pieces that sometimes gets lost in the surface noise, Valle and Keltner explain via email, emphasizing that, while Gaudis work is in some ways highly recognized, theres also a side that remains undiscovered. His furniture, for example, has never been brought to the United States. Were honored and excited to be able to share it with the design community now in New York. The chair was part of the furniture in Casa Batllo, a building on Barcelonas Passeig de Gracia that Gaudi remodeled at the request of Josep Batllo, a wealthy textile businessman, and which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The dreamlike design of the house and its furniture was inspired by a marine world intertwined with fantasy, seemingly taken from a childhood imagination, or from Jules Vernes novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. A colorful roof simulating scales, an undulating facade evoking ocean waves, with a main staircase carved in hardwood like the spine of a marine animal, railings resembling fishing nets, and catenary arches in the attic that give the impression of being inside the belly of a cetacean. As Dali once said: Gaudi built a house based on the shapes of the sea, representing the waves on a calm day. A true sculpture of the reflections of twilight clouds in the water, from which emerge the forms of extended water, forms of extending water, forms of stagnant water, forms of mirroring water, and forms of water rippled by the wind. Valle, a Princeton graduate with a career that has earned him a spot on the prestigious AD100 global list which recognizes the worlds one hundred most influential studios, architects, and interior designers brings an international sensibility forged since childhood: the son of Peruvian parents of Italian descent, he grew up between the United States (San Francisco, Chicago) and Latin America (Caracas). Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The grisly tale of the Alicante vet who cremated his own wife Marcelo Gurruchaga is suspected of murder, but with no body that is hard to prove Marcelo Gurruchaga, pictured with his wife, who may have died during a liposuction procedure carried out by the Alicante vet The patrons of the bar known as El Granaino, in Benijofar a small town of 4,200 residents in Alicante province remember the events of that day quite clearly. The local veterinarian, Marcelo Gurruchaga, calmly finished his afternoon coffee at one of the establishment's pleasant outdoor tables. He talked business with an unknown person for about 10 minutes, and then left. Two days later, he walked into the Civil Guard station holding a box full of ashes in his hands, and confessed that his 46-year-old wife had been dead for a week. He claimed that she died on the Thursday before Easter of a prescription drug overdose following a bout of depression over her excess weight. He said he tried to revive her for three whole hours at his veterinary practice, to no avail. Then, according to his testimony, he cut up the body and took the remains to an animal incinerator for cremation. This gruesome tale fell apart under pressure from the couple's two children, who did not believe his story that their mother had gone away on an Easter vacation. Neither did the judge, who placed him in custody without bail while charges of homicide are investigated. The veterinarian has no record of domestic abuse. In Benijofar it is hard to get anyone to talk about their only veterinary surgeon, a discreet and cheerful 45-year-old from Argentina who felt comfortable among all the wealthy British retirees living in the area. His neighbors wonder how he was able to hold himself together after his wife's death. For a whole week he led a double life, raising no suspicions among the locals. Francisco, the town's lottery seller, sold him a ticket two days after the death. "I noticed that the blinds were down at the clinic," he says. Over at another bar, called Lucas, Marcelo was last seen greeting a man on the night before his confession. He acted in a distant but polite manner. Another witness says he hung a sign on the door of his practice that read "Closed due to illness." Gurruchaga claims his wife died of a drug overdose following a bout of depression As Jose Segura, co-owner of El Granaino, points out, Gurruchaga did not get into trouble and he appeared to have "an excellent relationship" with his wife, who was also from Argentina. "They were very much in love," says the man, who considered himself a friend of the family ever since their youngest son, 19, worked at his establishment as a waiter. The couple even had a beer there just a few hours before the incident. The bar owner insists that the alleged killer was a professional with a spotless reputation, and who treated neighbors' pets for free and took in stray dogs. The business was going well, according to the locals. Gurruchaga and his wife had accumulated a solid client base of British and German clients since they opened their modern veterinary center in 2007. He performed the surgeries and she helped with the pet shop and the dog-grooming services. Their eldest daughter, 25, lent them a hand and the 19-year-old son was studying to be a vet, too. The couple were collecting resumes with a view to hiring vets who could speak English, and they were about to sign a lease on an apartment in the same building as the practice, so they could be closer to work, said a neighbor. People who knew the victim personally do not believe the hypothesis that investigators consider most likely: that Marcelo's wife died during a failed liposuction procedure performed by her own husband at the clinic. The deceased woman was short in stature and weighed around 70 kilograms, according to several neighbors. The defendant's lawyer later told the regional daily Informacion that his wife arrived in Spain weighing 55 kilos, and was now up to 95. The same newspaper also reported that the couple's children confirmed that their mother had a history of suicide attempts. In the enigmatic tale of events, one fact stands out. On the Thursday before the Easter weekend, the day of his wife's death, Marcelo called the animal incineration center IPA, which had been servicing his business since 2008. He ordered an urgent cremation of a large dog, arguing he was in a hurry because the owners, who lived abroad, were leaving the country soon. Two days later, according to this company, he showed up with several closed bags at the ghostly industrial park Los Azarabes, some 10 kilometers from the clinic. He asked that the bags not be opened due to their advanced state of decomposition. He warned operators that it was a disagreeable sight. He also asked to get the ashes back. He admits to cutting up the body and disposing of it in an animal incinerator The vet waited patiently inside the building until the cremation was over, then carried the boxes with the ashes over to the trunk of his car. A company spokesman admitted that the operator did not check the contents of the bags because "there is no protocol on the issue." A week later, Marcelo walked into the Civil Guard station at Almoradi, Alicante to give his version of events. He had chosen one of the most effective methods to destroy a corpse. "This requires time and determination. Normally, these acts are committed by people who have something to hide," explains Vicente Garrido, professor of criminology at Valencia University. "If she really did commit suicide, why did he dispose of the body?" he asks. Jose Luis Gonzalez Cussac, a professor of criminal law at the same university, notes that "without a corpse, it is very difficult to hand down a homicide sentence." The alleged killer could face no more than a small fine for illegal exhumation. The creator of CAR-T therapies 72-year-old Carl H. June believes that were experiencing a process of change in medicine. And he affirms that this will lead to a system based on personalized gene therapies that will be able to cure everything, from diabetes and chronic infections, to autoimmune diseases. Some of these breakthroughs are relatively close. However, they will likely take decades to become widespread. In the field of cancer, for instance, these therapies have begun to be utilized to genetically modify the T cells of patients immune systems. The T cells are then infused again, so that they can fight tumors from within. Last year, the New York-born June won the Doctor Juan Abarca International Award for Medical Science, in recognition of his research and pioneering development of a revolutionary strategy to treat blood cancers, based on cell engineering. He spoke to EL PAIS from Pennsylvania via videoconference. Question: CAR-T cells work in blood cancers. What are the obstacles to extending their success to solid tumors? Answer: In 2024, there were many advances in solid tumors. The most notable was in brain cancer. Three [study groups] in the United States reported on adults with refractory glioblastoma, which is the most common brain cancer in adults. We conducted the first trial in 2015. [Were now on] the third. In the first two, we didnt get any responses. In those trials, we infused the cells into the blood, like a transfusion. But now, the three groups I mentioned were administered the cells directly into the brain through a catheter placed by the neurosurgeon. Weve also made other improvements to CAR-T cells. For example, dual targeting: [this means that] they simultaneously attack two tumor molecules instead of just one, as we did before which reduces the chance of the tumor escaping. If only one [research] center had had positive results, we might think it was luck but the fact that all three achieved something indicates that its a good advance for the field. Additionally, there have been very important advances in pediatric brain tumors. Currently, there are more than a thousand trials involving CAR-T cells worldwide. New variants of these cells are being tested in pre-clinical mouse models in virtually every type of cancer imaginable. The real question is how long it will take to conduct these early-phase trials with patients, so that we can have CAR-T therapies in almost every area. Q. An oncologist told me that we still treat most cancers with 20th-century therapies, referring to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. When will this shift you mention occur? Perhaps in 20 or 30 years? A. I believe that, in less than a decade, well have CAR-T cells [to treat] brain cancer. When I was in Spain last year, we established a collaboration between my group, the university and HM Hospitals in Madrid. They have highly specialized technologies that allow, for example, crossing the blood-brain barrier which prevents many therapies from entering the brain and this looks very promising for combining [current treatments] with CAR-T cells. Im optimistic. As you said, the main issue is that we dont know how long it will take. Q. Innovative treatments like CAR-T cells are currently used mostly as second- or third-line therapies, after others have failed. When do you think we might start seeing them as first-line treatments? A. Our first patients arrived [at our center] when there was no other choice; it was the last treatment option. Now, [CAR-T cells are] starting to be used as second-line therapies. I think the first place theyll be used as first-line therapies will be in children, because the long-term side effects of chemotherapy are more severe [in children] than in adults. Many of them 20 years later suffer from secondary complications, such as other types of cancer [and] heart damage. [Chemotherapy] also affects their physical and mental development: their growth slows and their IQ is lower than if they hadnt received chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Thats why there are already clinical trials in children with leukemia to administer CAR-T cells from the beginning, so as to avoid having to undergo years of treatment. Q. To achieve this, we also have to overcome a financial barrier: currently, CAR-T cells are very expensive. A. Yes, thats true, but theres a saying: death by a thousand cuts. The therapy we use for leukemia [in children], for example with three years of chemotherapy, all the hospital visits and the time parents cant work all of that ends up costing a million dollars. In Spain, you have a very efficient system for administering CAR-T cells that are produced in academic centers. This greatly reduces costs. I remember when the first cell phones came out: only the rich could have one. And now, theyre much cheaper and also much better. I think the same thing is happening with cell therapies: theres a lot of work to reduce their price and make them more democratic, [so that theyre] not just for rich countries. But yes, its still a big problem. There are practically no CAR-T therapies in the southern hemisphere, except in Australia. They need to be made cheaper. Q. With CAR-T cells, there can also be risks. What side effects are you seeing? A. The first CAR-T cells were administered to patients with AIDS [and] HIV. That was something we started doing in 1997. And now, its been almost 20 years since those patients received the cells and some of them still have them in their bodies, without having experienced any side effects. There are two types [of side effects]. The first occur within two weeks after the infusion: cytokine release syndrome, [a systemic inflammatory response]. In a subset of patients, [this causes] neurological effects in the central nervous system. Its reversible; doctors already know how to manage it effectively. Then, there are the long-term effects, related to the genetically-modified cells that remain in the body. Its still too early to know the long-term risk. But for now, all experts agree that the risks of CAR-T cells are much lower than those of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Q. Beyond cancer, the use of CAR-T cells is also being explored in other diseases. For instance, in autoimmune disorders. A. Yes, this has been an amazing discovery. It started in Germany, in an academic trial. They used the same CAR-T cell we developed for leukemia and treated an 18-year-old patient with highly refractory lupus. She was taking a lot of drugs due to the side effects of the autoimmune disease. And she went into complete remission. There are more than 80 clinical trials underway using CAR-T cells for many autoimmune diseases: lupus, myositis, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis many [diseases]. And Im pretty sure that well see this therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States in two or three years. The first application was [in] cancer, but its going to expand to many others: regenerative medicine, chronic infections like HIV, [as well as] autoimmune diseases. Even [chronic conditions] like diabetes. It will be possible for people to not have to take insulin, thanks to new insulin-producing cells pancreatic islet cells which are protected by cells like CAR-T cells, which will prevent the bodys immune system from destroying them again. Q. Will we see CAR-T-based medicine in the future? A. Yes, yes, definitely. Its a whole new paradigm. The next big advance in medicine is cell therapies. Its a very exciting time. Q. Are there still regulatory barriers to developing CAR-T therapies? A. Yes, its [a slow process]. Thats probably the biggest obstacle. Since its a new technology, health authorities tend to be more conservative. Thats why approvals are obtained much faster in China and Australia than in the United States. And I think something similar is happening in Europe as well. Q. Do you think Trumps return to power will threaten scientific progress in your country? A. Unfortunately, yes. Its still too early to know for sure but the truth is that there have already been very rapid cuts in scientific research, especially in the area of vaccines. And we need new vaccines. Theres a measles epidemic in the United States right now, something thats easily preventable. And yet, virtually all research in this field has come to a standstill. Q. Are you involved in therapies or experiments that could be affected by these policies? A. Yes. Here, where I work, we develop RNA-based vaccines. Weve now adapted that technology to manufacture CAR-T cells and some of those clinical trials have been halted by the Trump administration. I hope its temporary. Q. Could this funding freeze delay medical advances by several years? A. I think that risk is very real. And one of the great mistakes of science is that it hasnt done enough to educate the public, [so that people can] understand that were living much longer and healthier lives today thanks to the scientific research thats been done over the last 100 years. Q. After the COVID-19 pandemic, do you think were better or worse off in this regard than we were six years ago? A. Unfortunately, were not better off. We have the case of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whos now the head of our entire healthcare system. He claims that vaccines cause autism, something that has been proven false. He believes vaccines are unsafe. So, actually, were worse off than before COVID. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition An election without an electoral atmosphere. Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and gubernatorial elections, campaigning and expectations are almost nonexistent on the streets of Venezuela. Opinion polls report that approximately 35% of the population is determined to vote, or is considering it. Some political analysts, who prefer not to be identified, estimate that perhaps half of them, or slightly more, could end up going to the polls on Sunday, May 25. The economic crisis, exacerbated by international sanctions against the country, has again driven up prices and affected consumption, further dampening public sentiment. Many voters have not forgotten what happened in the presidential elections on July 28 last year and the denouncements of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutias candidacy, who demonstrated his victory by publishing 80% of the votes cast. The post-election repression a rarely discussed, or rather evaded, event in political conversations and everyday life remains fresh in everyones mind. The prospect of negotiated solutions to political change has renewed interest in emigrating after years of mass exodus. According to the most reputable pollsters, 22% of the population is considering it again. The electoral campaign has been very short, as Chavismo sought, with little room for debate, publicity, or rallies. Little is known about the conditions and the candidates vying for the seats up for election. There is a lack of electoral advertising spots on television and broadcast media: Thirty-eight percent of the population surveyed in our studies intends to vote, notes Jesus Seguias, political analyst and president of the firm Dataincorp. There is a 36% undecided field regarding the issue of voting in our surveys. Abstentionism has an organic composition of 27% in the country. Seguias believes that Chavismos chances of victory are directly related to Maria Corina Machados call for abstention. The opposition has been a solid majority in Venezuela since 2015, when it won those parliamentary elections, but not now. The government knows that. Both factions will be severely damaged in the elections, but in the oppositions case, its because of the call for abstention. The lack of unity in the elections will weigh heavily. Seguias considers the split between the two opposition factions definitive. Im not going to vote; this time I havent gotten involved in politics. I already voted last year. On Sunday, well be with family, resting. I dont even know who the candidates are where I live, says Griselda Souto, a food business manager in the La Campina neighborhood of Ciudad Bolivar. Machado, the most prominent anti-Chavez leader, has called for people not to participate in the elections, disavowing the opposition, who instead seek to galvanize the population. The vast majority of opposition parties and movements remain aligned with her, claiming victory from the last presidential election. Meanwhile, leaders from the democratic camp who are determined to participate, such as Henrique Capriles, have less traction at this time. I didnt even know there were elections next week. Im just finding out, says Wilmer Duran, a resident of Artigas, a working-class neighborhood in western Caracas, and a bakery employee in the east of the city. I havent heard about elections anywhere. Of course, Im not going to vote; I dont have anyone to vote for. In next weeks vote, the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which for years has de facto coincided with the state apparatus, is the favorite. Hardline Chavismo, unconditionally grouped around Nicolas Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution (approximately 1% to 20% of the population), is the only segment of society almost entirely committed to voting. Jorge Rodriguez, current president of the National Assembly, has once again expressed optimism about what Chavismo can achieve: We are giving our all to win 24 governorships and consolidate a clear parliamentary majority. What we are sure of is that we will win again. Meanwhile, the opposition faction that has decided to participate in these elections (made up of the Un Nuevo Tiempo party and the faction that supported Capriles in the Primero Justicia split) has set goals that, while seemingly excessively optimistic to many, are rather modest: around 4060 deputies (out of a total of 277), and perhaps four governorships, including that of Zulia state, the most important electoral base in the country after Caracas, where Manuel Rosales is its candidate. In addition, small, very moderate parties outside the Democratic Platform, which have partial agreements and areas of common interest with the ruling party, are participating in the opposition camp, such as Avanzada Progresista, Cambiemos, Soluciones, and dissident groups from Accion Democratica. Im not going to vote. I dont believe anything this government says, and Im not very interested in politics, says Jose Luis Bohorquez, a business administrator living in Mariperez, north of Caracas. We already went to vote, and what they did was make fun of us last year, going out to repress everyone. The government knows what the polls say. If they dont like knowing what people think about them, then dont ask, dont hold elections, we wont vote, and thats it. The last parliamentary elections in Venezuela, held in 2020, had similar characteristics to the upcoming ballot: Chavismo organized the referendum on its own terms, vetoing the participation of all major opposition parties and allowing minority groups to participate to avoid unanimity in the chamber. The abstention rate in that election was 70%, and the PSUV, with 69% of the total valid votes, obtained 253 of the 277 seats in the National Assembly. The non-Chavista bloc in the current parliament consists of about 20 deputies. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition An elderly man uses his cell phone and another makes a call on October 23, 2024, in Seville. Antonio Garcia Romero is the executive director of Teldat, a Spanish telecommunications business, who just a few weeks ago, bought a new fridge. Even the cheapest model had a Wi-Fi connection, he says. Human beings are storing more and more data on the cloud, and the development of communication networks and smart devices have allowed the world to enter a new era of hyperconnectivity, of which the online fridge is just one harbinger. Any small-town resident has the option to connect to the internet via their car, television, watch, tablet, cell phone, computer and thanks to Alexa, Amazons smart speaker even ones living-room lamp and blinds can be connected. This new reality requires more and more powerful networks, broader bandwidths and lower latency (the time delay required for the transfer of data). A refrigerator, for example, is a simple appliance with few connection requirements, but the networks of the future, from the most advanced 5G to 6G, are being designed to support much more powerful connections and fresh forms of communication and digital interaction that seemed impossible a decade ago. Holographic calls, remote surgery, automated factories, self-driving vehicles, precision farming systems and smart cities are all part of a fast-approaching future that will definitely require stronger cables. Javier Arenzana, head of telecommunications at KPMG consulting firm in Spain, is betting on a future in which technology will be much more integrated into our lives. The proliferation of AI and natural language processing will change access interfaces, he predicts. We will communicate so much with digital entities that the meaning of communication will no longer be associated only with interactions between humans. This coming paradigm shift has forced large companies in his sector to implement major transformations in order to innovate and adapt to new customer needs. The great leap from 5G to 6G The rollout of 5G in Spain, which has been key to this transformation in the country, continues apace. At the mid-way point of 2023, it reached 92.3% of the population, according to numbers from the Spanish Ministry of Digital Transformation. Still, if one measures actual 3.5 GHz band coverage, which is essential for full 5G capacity and considered the priority band by the European Union, that percentage drops to 58.13%. In rural areas, this expansion is happening more slowly, although it has grown significantly from 50.4 to 68.9% in just a year. The Spanish government has invested more than $1.1 billion to develop the network, along with the fiber optics network, particularly in small towns. In contrast to 4G, 5G allows for many more devices to be simultaneously connected, reduces latency and allows for services that require real-time communication, like operating robots in factories, smart video surveillance and autonomous cars. The next phase the so-called 5G Advanced will introduce improvements in energy efficiency, stability and security. According to Ruth Gamero, Telefonica technology expert, They are going to improve spectral and energy efficiency, taking advantage of the entire 5G functionality with new services. In the long term, 6G promises an even greater leap. Satellite connectivity This technology is still in a standardization phase, but its network already combines communication and detection, with speeds of up to a terabyte per second and minimal latency. 6G is going to standardize all connections. Terrestrial networks will be able to connect to LEO [low Earth orbit] systems, says Garcia Romero. In his opinion, this evolution will be key to enabling new applications, like remote surgery and autonomous agriculture. We dont just need more bandwidth, we also need less latency. Thats the key to a machine operating remotely without failures, he says. One example of this is offered by his firm, which has 252 employees and runs the Wi-Fi network on which the company Renfes high-speed trains operate. What we now want is, when operators have poor connectivity on certain routes, for the system to automatically change to Starlink, the high-speed satellite internet service that was developed by SpaceX. That way, the client can continue navigating with no problems while they ride the train, he says. This kind of hybrid solution, which combines cell phone, fiber optic and LEO satellite networks, are growing more common in rural, industrial and mobile environments. The terrestrial network doesnt arrive in a town in Cuenca, but there is satellite coverage, says the Teldat director. Reinvent or die Despite exponential growth in data traffic, large operators are facing a structural viability crisis. According to the report The Ideal Telco by the Oliver Wyman consulting firm, European telecommunications firms are poorly valued by the market: they trade at very low prices, relative to the benefits they receive. The fragmentation of the European market and commercial pressure has reduced margins, says Arenzana. Regulators must allow the kinds of fusions that really lead to benefits and at the same time, maintain incentives for commercial and technological innovation. To do so, the report proposes a profound restructuring of the business model: extreme operational efficiency, separation between network and innovation and diversification into new digital services. According to the reports authors, the sector needs topline permission, or permission to increase earnings without destroying value, and much more aggressive cash conversion efficiency, meaning greater efficiency to turn earnings into actual cash. That would imply, states the report, a complete transformation, from a more personalized user experience to a total reconfiguration of operational models. The document suggests that only telecommunications firms that integrate data, artificial intelligence and open technological architecture will be able to compete in a market in which massive companies set the pace. To change current perception of the telecommunications industry, the study puts forward a plan in which firms focus on sustainable competitive dynamics between operators and policymakers, clear differentiation between premium and low-cost brands, the use of personalized strategies and expansion beyond core services. Seventy percent of telecommunication businesses earnings, states the report, continue to come from traditional services like voice and connectivity, products that are increasingly seen as basic, with low margins. That contrasts with the agility of platforms like Netflix, Amazon and Google, which offer online services without having to invest in physical networks. In addition to rationalizing cost structures and simplifying operations, telecommunication firms must also separate into two internal layers, one oriented towards the stability of the primary business and another dedicated to innovation that is able to scale digital services like cybersecurity, cloud, digital identity and fintech, states the consulting firms report. The ideal business, it says, doesnt operate as a single integrated entity, but as a federation of entities with differentiated goals, some focused on efficiency and others on growth. That differentiation will allow firms to be able to compete with big tech without getting trapped in legacy infrastructure. Oliver Wymans experts also identify some generic factors within the industry itself that will provide a boon to businesses that know to take advantage of them, like the fact that telecommunications networks have gone from being mere connectivity providers to fundamental strategic actors in national security. Additionally, regulators are beginning to rethink current market structures, the next wave of technological innovation will be longer and more predictable, and traditional operators in mature markets are prioritizing market expansion and service enhancement over market share growth. The telecommunications sector can no longer depend solely on connectivity, say experts. Firms must become integral technology providers capable of offering everything from cybersecurity to cloud services, data analysis and open platforms for third parties. In a world in which everything is connected, the key is no longer merely laying the cable, but in what happens as a result of that cable. You cant make a living digging trenches and laying cable. That service is standardized, says Garcia Romero, a nod to the fact that excessive competition has scuttled its chances of large profits. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Venezuelans and Cubans in Miami have good reason to feel that Marco Rubio, their prodigal son in Washington, has turned his back on them. Since being appointed Secretary of State in Donald Trumps second administration, Rubio has gradually distanced himself from the causes that once earned him popularity among both diasporas such as his support for immigration relief measures that allowed them to live and work in the U.S., and his advocacy for iron fist policies against the regimes in Venezuela and Cuba. Now, as the Miami-born politician consolidates his power as Trumps global envoy, back home, he is in serious trouble. Born in Miami in 1971 to a family of exiles who fled the Cuban Revolution, Rubio was the first member of Trumps Cabinet to be confirmed by the Senate, with bipartisan support. Until then, Rubio was known as one of the staunchest defenders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs, which have shielded around 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. from deportation. He was also a leading promoter of sanctions against the Chavista and Castro regimes governing Venezuela and Cuba both as a Republican senator and during his brief 2016 presidential campaign. As Secretary of State, however, Rubio now supports ending TPS for Venezuelans and cutting international aid to Latin American countries under dictatorial regimes. Neither his political colleagues many local Republican politicians have voiced opposition nor his own community seem to recognize him anymore. During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Democrat Chris Van Hollen, who had voted to confirm Rubio as Secretary of State, criticized his shift in stance. We didnt always agree, but I believe we shared some common values a belief in defending democracy and human rights abroad and honoring the Constitution at home. Thats why I voted to confirm you. I believed you would stand up for those principles. You havent. Youve done the opposite," the senator said during the televised session. He would send his own parents back to Cuba, he sold his soul to Trump, read one comment on CBSs Instagram post about the hearing. Rubio tried to deflect criticism with an implausible message for Venezuelan migrants: People who have TPS will apply through the asylum processes. And I believe many of them, if not most of them, will have very credible asylum claims, he said, despite the fact that the number of asylum seekers being deported has soared while and asylum approval rates have hit record lows. Both the Miami Herald and South Florida public radio WLRN dedicated editorials on Thursday to the countrys first Latino Secretary of State. Rubio used Venezuelans in his hometown for political gain. Now, hes betrayed them, read the article in the Herald headline, which called on Rubio to use his high-ranking position in the Trump administration to help the thousands of Venezuelans with TPS now facing deportation. Venezuelans and other migrant groups see leaders like Marco Rubio no longer have their backs because today, boosting deportations matters more than bolstering democracy, wrote WLRN Americas editor Tim Padgett. Major Miami highways have begun filling with billboards targeting Rubio and other Republican senators who have supported Trumps immigration policies, to the detriment of migrant communities from countries like Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Little Marco sold out all Venezuelans. He told Trump to end TPS. Hes a traitor to all those fleeing dictatorships, reads one such billboard, sponsored by a group called Keep Them Honest, referencing the nickname Donald Trump used for Rubio when the two competed in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. Back then, Rubio had a very different opinion of Trump and the threat he believed the businessman posed to U.S. democracy and the values of the Republican Party. Were going to send the message that the party of [Abraham] Lincoln and [Ronald] Reagan, and the presidency of the United States, will never be held by a con artist, Rubio said at the time. Then came his reconciliation with Trump and the rest is history. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition In a legal and political showdown that could redefine the boundaries of federal influence over higher education, Harvard University has filed two lawsuits against the Trump administration after the White House attempted to strip the institution of its ability to enroll international students. More than 6,800 international students 27% of the universitys student body were and might again be at risk of losing their status. This May 23, a U.S. District Judge issued a temporary restraining order to allow Harvard to regain access to student visa programs which the Department of Homeland Security had barred it from. The ruling came just hours after Harvard sued the Administration in federal court, calling the ban unconstitutional retaliation for the universitys refusal to comply with a series of federal requirements issued in April. This reversal is the continuation of a series of retaliatory government actions against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and submit to the federal governments unlawful control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body, said Alan Garber, President of Harvard. Which visas does Trump want to revoke? The following are the visas that foreign students studying in the United States fall under: J-1 (Exchange Visitor) Visa The J-1 visa is for individuals participating in exchange programs approved by the Department of State. These programs seek to promote the exchange of knowledge and skills in areas such as education, science and culture. Participants may be students, teachers, researchers, au pairs, camp counselors, among others. Each J-1 person must have an authorized sponsor who supervises their stay and activities. The duration of the program, stated on the DS-2019 form, defines how long you can stay in the country. F-1 Visa (Academic Student) The F-1 visa is for those who wish to study full-time in the United States at approved academic institutions, such as universities, high schools, English language programs, or conservatories. Students must demonstrate English proficiency (or be on track to become proficient), financial solvency, and the intention to return to their home country upon completion of their studies. They can work on campus and, after the first year, access certain jobs related to their area of study, such as Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or Optional Practical Training (OPT), especially in STEM areas. M-1 Visa (Vocational Student) The M-1 visa is intended for students enrolled in non-academic vocational or technical programs, other than English language learning. They cannot work during their studies, but can do internships once they finish their program, as long as they are related to their area of training and have been approved by the school and USCIS. How did the conflict start? The lawsuit is just the latest act in an escalating standoff that began in early April, when the Trump administration issued a letter to Harvard demanding immediate cooperation with a federal review of its policies and funding. Among the administrations accusations, Harvard had not done enough to combat anti-Semitism, was hostile to conservative views, and underreported large foreign donations. Behind closed doors, Harvards administration deliberated. A second letter from the administration, delivered late on Friday, April 11, dramatically expanded the initial demands. The five-page document demanded: The elimination of all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs Restrictions on the admission of international students hostile to American values Federal oversight of admissions, hiring and campus ideology On Monday, April 14, Harvard released a statement. The University will not surrender its independence or its constitutional rights, Garber wrote. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, who they can admit and hire, and what areas of study and research they can pursue. A rally in support of Harvard University in the face of Tump's actions against the institution, April 2025. Erin Clark (Getty Images) Whats next? The federal courts temporary restraining order offers relief for Harvards international students, but the broader legal and political battle is far from over. Trump officials have signaled that they may appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Harvards lawsuits continue on the grounds that the administrations actions are unconstitutional violations of free speech and academic independence. The confrontation is already resonating beyond Harvards gates. Higher education leaders across the country are closely following the case, which could set a precedent. WASHINGTON - The United States is increasingly recognizing the importance of Japan for its economy, the Asian country's chief tariff negotiator said Friday, after holding another round of talks with U.S. Cabinet members aimed at an early trade deal. Ryosei Akazawa said he was able to hold "more frank and in-depth discussions" than previously with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, adding it would be "very desirable" for their leaders to reach some kind of agreement next month. Akazawa said he had discussed trade, nontariff barriers and economic security separately with the two U.S. Cabinet members. In a symbolic development, while Akazawa and Greer were engaged in two hours of talks, Trump announced in a social media post that there will be a "planned partnership" between Nippon Steel Corp. and United States Steel Corp. A White House official confirmed that it meant the Japanese steelmaker's long-blocked plan to buy U.S. Steel had been approved by Trump. Akazawa suggested that economic security issues, such as those concerning supply chains for strategic goods, are crucial in the tariff talks. But he and other Japanese officials declined to say whether Nippon Steel's planned major investment in the iconic but struggling producer was addressed during the meetings. He said he believes "recognition of the significant contribution that Japan makes to the U.S. economy is deepening" among U.S. officials and both sides agreed to continue close ministerial discussions. In their third round of bilateral talks, Akazawa said he again strongly urged the removal of additional tariffs imposed on Japan. Prior to the negotiator's arrival in Washington, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he and Trump had spoken by phone and agreed that the forthcoming talks should be "productive." Ishiba said the call, which lasted about 45 minutes, was held at the request of Trump, who has imposed a barrage of tariffs on imports from Japan and other countries. Ishiba and Trump hope to hold a face-to-face meeting in mid-June on the sidelines of this year's Group of Seven summit in Canada. In early May, Akazawa and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent agreed to speed up ministerial talks from the latter half of this month with the aim of striking a "mutually beneficial" deal as early as June. Akazawa has said Japan's position that the new tariffs are extremely regrettable remains unchanged, and it will continue urging the Trump administration to remove them. But recent preliminary trade agreements the United States has struck with Britain and China suggest that Trump has no plans to roll back his administration's baseline 10 percent tariff on imports from nearly all countries, part of its so-called reciprocal package. Trump has also insisted that auto and other sector-based tariffs imposed by his administration on national security grounds will remain in place, indicating that only the country-specific duties, which are added to the 10 percent universal levy and currently paused until early July, are open to negotiation. Akazawa's talks came two days after Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato met with Bessent in Canada to discuss currency issues related to the tariffs. Bessent was not present at Friday's talks and Akazawa may return to Washington as early as next week. Under Trump's reciprocal tariff regime, announced on April 2, Japan faces a country-specific tariff of 14 percent for a total rate of 24 percent. Eliminating the Trump administration's new 25 percent tariffs on cars and auto parts is especially critical for Japan. In an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo on Friday, Ishiba said calling for the elimination of all the additional tariffs is "our unwavering stance." However, given the Trump administration's rigid position, sources close to the bilateral talks said earlier this week that Japan has begun considering backing off from seeking a full removal and is exploring how far to compromise to secure an early deal. Related coverage: Japan PM says June talks with Trump to be "milestone" for tariff deal Japan, U.S. agree dollar-yen rate mirrors economic fundamentals U.S. rejects Japan's exemption from "reciprocal" tariffs TOKYO - The top executive of a leading Japanese artificial intelligence startup said the Japanese government should focus more on the development of its own AI technology for defense applications in an increasingly deglobalized world. David Ha, the chief executive of Sakana AI K.K., backed by investors such as U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp., said his company sees growth potential in working with the Japanese government in the defense sector since the country's security environment is becoming severe with "many adversaries around its neighbors." "Not many startups in Japan want to work in (the) defense side and (with) governments," Ha said at a recent press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. It presents "an opportunity for our company to engage with the governments on developing defense-related solutions using AI," said the CEO at the Tokyo-based startup known as a unicorn -- an unlisted company valued at more than $1 billion. Technology plays a key role in bolstering information technology infrastructure, and AI is a core part of such technology to make information systems and cyber security more secured and efficient, the former researcher at Google LLC said. Since the United States has become more U.S.-centric, there is a potential for AI to become "a bargaining chip for other countries," if its services and models are so powerful, Ha said. Japan's Defense Ministry has been exploring greater use of AI in the defense sector, outlining its basic policy last year on fields such as detection and identification of military targets, command and control, and logistic support. But the policy stated there are limits to AI, particularly in situations without precedents, as AI learns from past data, and concerns over credibility and misuse remain as well. Sakana AI, established by Ha and two other co-founders in 2023, was awarded in March at a competition for defense innovation co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit and Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, by presenting a system to predict pandemics and a system to detect AI-generated images. The name "Sakana" means "fish" in Japanese. The company's logo reflects its concept of using collective intelligence made of many small intelligences for their AI development by drawing inspiration from nature, like how small fish form a huge group. Related coverage: Chinese startup shows off applications of race-winning humanoid robot China startup unveils AI-powered humanoid robot priced at $27,500 Japanese university unveils AI program for medical student training TOKYO - Japan's supermarket operators have been strengthening sales of cheaper, foreign-grown rice, offering another choice to consumers hit by rising prices and concerns about shortages of the country's staple food. Aeon Co. will start selling California-sourced rice on June 6 at its stores, mainly in urban areas, at 2,894 yen ($20) for 4 kilograms. Converted to the more common Japanese sales unit of 5 kilograms, it is 3,618 yen, some 15 percent cheaper than the average price calculated by the farm ministry of Japanese-grown rice at supermarkets nationwide in early May. The company already launched a blend of U.S.- and domestically-grown rice in April. Rival food retailers Ito-Yokado Co. and Seiyu Co. have also sold rice from California and Taiwan, respectively, and seen solid demand. Aeon said the decision to sell California's Calrose rice reflects consumer interest, saying they can no longer purchase rice as before due to higher prices. "The price (of the new product) is affordable. By offering customers the freedom of choice, we hope that overall rice consumption will increase," Aeon Executive Vice President Mitsuko Tsuchiya told a recent press conference. Japan imports rice either through the government, which is obliged to purchase a certain amount from other countries under World Trade Organization arrangements, or private companies, which pay a tariff to the government. Aeon plans to acquire the rice via private import and sell some 14,000 tons over a three-month period. Less sticky and with a more neutral taste than Japanese rice, the medium Calrose variety grown in California is suited for use in risottos, pilaf, stews and soup, Aeon said. U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass called the sale of the U.S.-grown rice by Aeon "historic" for American farmers, given Japan is a "country that takes its rice very seriously, and it's probably the most discerning consumer when it comes to food quality." "Aeon has certainly gone big in its commitment to American rice and American farmers, and at a time when food prices are a concern for all Japanese, this launch couldn't come at a better time for consumers," Glass said. The average price of rice sold at Japanese supermarkets from May 5 to May 11 was a record 4,268 yen per 5 kg, up from 4,214 yen between late April and early May, when it dropped for the first time in 18 weeks. The level remains around two times higher than the previous year, partly due to a poor harvest in the summer of 2023. Related coverage: New farm minister eyes 2,000 yen per 5 kg retail price for gov't rice Japan inflation accelerates in April on reduced energy subsidies FOCUS: Free rice gaffe sends Ishiba into pre-election damage control mode WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday touted a "planned partnership" between Nippon Steel Corp. and United States Steel Corp., saying it would create at least 70,000 jobs and deliver a $14 billion boost to the world's biggest economy. A White House official said Trump's post on social media suggested he had approved Nippon Steel's plan to acquire U.S. Steel, despite Washington's concerns that the deal could heighten national security risks. Both steelmakers issued statements welcoming the reported decision, which came after a panel of federal agencies screened the buyout plan in a review that began last month at Trump's request. "After much consideration and negotiation, U.S. Steel will remain in America and keep its headquarters in the great city of Pittsburgh," Trump said. He also said the bulk of the investment by Nippon Steel will occur over the next 14 months. Nippon Steel said in its statement that it "applauds" Trump's "bold action to approve our partnership with U.S. Steel," adding, "We share the Trump administration's commitment to protecting American workers, the American steel industry, and America's national security." "The partnership between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel is a game changer -- for U.S. Steel and all of its stakeholders, including the American steel industry, and the broader American manufacturing base," the Japanese producer said. In a separate statement, U.S. Steel said it "greatly appreciates President Trump's leadership and personal attention to the futures of thousands of steelworkers and our iconic company." The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States first conducted a review of the acquisition plan under former President Joe Biden after the two steelmakers announced the deal in December 2023. Biden issued an order in January to block the deal, citing national security grounds, after the committee failed to reach a consensus. While welcoming investment in U.S. Steel, Trump expressed opposition to Japanese ownership. He told the committee last month to reexamine the proposed deal. The potential acquisition by Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest producer in the latest tally by the World Steel Association, of the iconic but struggling American steelmaker, the 24th largest, was an issue during last year's U.S. presidential election. Biden had aligned with the leadership of the powerful United Steelworkers union to voice opposition to the sale of the producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the race for the White House. The Republican Trump, who won the election, was also against the sale. He had since said that Nippon Steel acquiring a minority stake in U.S. Steel would not cause any issues, but foreign ownership of the company would not be good psychologically. The issue has also become a bilateral diplomatic matter, with Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office last October, discussing the acquisition plan during their first in-person summit in February in Washington. Related coverage: New U.S. envoy arrives in Japan, vows cooperation to counter China Trump calls U.S.-Japan defense pact "one-sided" as tariff talks loom Trump renews opposition to sale of U.S. Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel ISLAMABAD, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has extended its airspace ban on all Indian flights by one month, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) announced on Friday. According to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the PCAA, the restriction applies to all aircraft registered in India, operated, owned, or leased by Indian airlines and operators, including military flights. The airspace closure will remain in effect until June 23, 2025. The ban was initially imposed on April 24, 2025. LONDON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- European travellers are reducing trip plans to the United States during this year's summer season by 10 percent amid sentiment headwinds against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, said Bloomberg citing a report from a British tourism consulting company. Flight bookings from Canada to the U.S. during the May-July period plummet 33 percent, according to a recent forecast released by Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics. As of April, international inbound bookings to the U.S. in May had dropped 9.5 percent year on year, and trips planned for June and July had fallen 10.8 percent and 13 percent, respectively, according to the company. It expected international arrivals at the U.S. to decline 8.7 percent in 2025, while the spending of international visitors to decrease 8.5 billion U.S. dollars, down 4.7 percent from last year. "These declines mark a stark contrast to our prior expectations for a continuation of post-pandemic growth this year," said the company. Trump's tariff policies on longstanding trade partners, such as Canada and the European Union, have contributed to "sentiment headwindslines." The Trump administration's posturing, well-publicized border incidents and national advisories warning of the risks of travel to the U.S. have also affected demand, it added. SYDNEY, May 24 (Xinhua) -- A female has died after being shot by police in Melbourne, the capital city of southeast Australia's state of Victoria, on Saturday evening. The Victorian Police said in a statement on Friday evening that officers were called to Cecil Street in south Melbourne following reports of a male with a machete at around 5 p.m. local time. The police located the male and whilst he was being arrested, a vehicle was driven at a police officer. The officer shot at the offending vehicle, striking a female driver and her male passenger. The 34-year-old female has died at the scene, while the 26-year-old male has been taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The male senior constable has been taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The matter will be investigated with oversight from the Professional Standards Command, as is standard procedure for a fatal police shooting, said the statement. SYDNEY, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Emergency service authority of Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) said on Saturday that early estimates suggest more than 10,000 properties have been damaged in floodwaters in the state's eastern regions. The State Emergency Service (SES) Chief Superintendent Paul McQueen told reporters on Saturday morning that crews would be "out in force" to start the damage assessment process. "I reiterate this is still a dangerous situation where significant impacts to infrastructure and properties are likely to have occurred," he said. "Unfortunately, it is not possible to let people return to their homes until water further subsides and we're sure they can access their homes and communities safely." The NSW Police said in a statement on Friday evening that rescue officers found a body inside a burnt-out vehicle at a property on the flood-hit Mid North Coast. It marks the fifth death in the widespread flooding crisis that has hit the Mid North Coast and surrounding regions following five consecutive days of torrential rainfall. ADDIS ABABA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has vaccinated more than 11 million children as part of a nationwide campaign to contain the spread of an ongoing measles outbreak, local media reported. The immunization campaign, which targets 17.5 million children aged between nine months and five years, is being rolled out across all regions of the East African country, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate quoted Ministry of Health officials as saying on Thursday. The immunization drive is not only aimed at protecting children from measles, but also at identifying those at risk due to malnutrition, vitamin A deficiency, and gaps in routine vaccination, the report said. Measles, a highly contagious viral illness spread through respiratory droplets and direct contact, remains endemic in Ethiopia, with new cases reported annually, the World Health Organization said. The disease primarily affects children and can cause serious complications such as fever, dry cough, runny nose, and sore throat. It is preventable through timely immunization, the organization added. by Billion Temesghen BRUSSELS, May 24 (Xinhua) -- When Microsoft blocked International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from accessing his official email account this week over the court's investigation into Israel, it was seen by many Europeans as a stark warning, reigniting concerns about digital sovereignty and geopolitical vulnerability. The disruption on May 15 was triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's February sanctions against the ICC. It interrupted vital communications at the court, with one senior civil servant in The Hague calling it "a red flag at all levels of government," as reported by Dutch news outlet De Volkskrant. In response, the Netherlands, home to the ICC, has launched a comprehensive review of its digital infrastructure. The Dutch Parliament has called for risk assessments and contingency plans to reduce reliance on non-European cloud providers. Klaas Knot, president of De Nederlandsche Bank, warned Tuesday that even domestic systems such as iDEAL -- the Netherlands' widely used online payment platform -- rely on infrastructure dominated by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. These tech giants collectively hold more than 60 percent of Europe's cloud market, making essential services susceptible to foreign policy shocks. Member of the Dutch parliament Barbara Kathmann voiced the growing anxiety: "Is it possible that Dutch citizens will also be denied access to their Microsoft accounts and bank accounts as a result of sanctions imposed by the Trump administration?" The sense of alarm is not new. A January audit by the Netherlands Court of Audit flagged "serious risks to continuity," revealing that more than half of Dutch government services run on U.S.-controlled cloud systems. EU'S LONG WAY TO DIGITAL AUTONOMY The European Union's (EU's) efforts to achieve digital autonomy started even earlier. Since 2021, the European Commission has taken steps to strengthen digital independence. Initiatives like the EU Cybersecurity Certification Scheme on Cloud Services and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) aim to reduce reliance on foreign platforms and promote competition within the bloc. National governments have followed suit. Germany and France spearheaded the GAIA-X project in 2020 to develop cloud infrastructure that complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Belgium allocated 61 million euros (69.35 million U.S. dollars) in 2021 to migrate its defense network to a sovereign cloud by 2026. France launched its "Cloud de Confiance" strategy, resulting in Bleu -- a joint venture between telecommunication service providers Orange and Capgemini. Finland, in contrast, has adopted a hybrid approach, welcoming foreign providers under strict regulatory oversight. Meanwhile, France, Germany, and the Netherlands have jointly pushed for stronger public-private collaboration in emerging sectors such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence. Their proposals include public procurement reforms and initiatives to support startup funding. Despite the ambition, the reality remains sobering. European dependence on U.S. cloud technology is deeply entrenched. Rotterdam-based provider Intermax estimates that migrating to alternative infrastructure could take up to three years. CEO Ludo Baauw noted that public institutions face "institutional lock-in," with their operations and even staffing deeply entwined with the U.S. tech ecosystem. While European tech firms work to catch up in scale and capability, the EU has resorted to regulatory mechanisms. Just last month, the European Commission levied its first major fines under the DMA: 500 million euros against Apple and 200 million euros against Meta. U.S. TECH FIRMS RECALIBRATE Under mounting pressure, American tech giants are reassessing their strategies. Speaking in Brussels on April 30, Microsoft President Brad Smith emphasized the company's commitment to European laws. "We understand that European laws apply to our business in Europe," Smith said, adding in a blog post that Microsoft would legally challenge any government order demanding suspension of its European cloud operations. As part of that pledge, Microsoft vows to increase its European data center capacity by 40 percent and place regional operations under the governance of a board composed exclusively of European nationals. Google is also adjusting. It has expanded its sovereign cloud services and partnered with French defense firm Thales. Hayete Gallot, Google's president of customer experience, noted that the growing trade tensions were "causing anxiety," adding that digital sovereignty, once a niche defense concern, is now central to customer expectations. A STRATEGIC VULNERABILITY EXPOSED The ICC incident exposed a critical fault line in Europe's digital infrastructure. Despite hosting data in EU-based centers, the operations remain under the control of American firms, which may still fall under U.S. jurisdiction, making European sovereignty vulnerable to extraterritorial enforcement of U.S. policy. Until recently, efforts to localize infrastructure were pursued slowly, often viewed as technical initiatives that required long-term investment and pan-European coordination. The ICC incident has now offered European leaders an immediate and visible reason to accelerate reforms. In the near term, a hybrid model seems inevitable. Sensitive public systems may transition to EU-controlled platforms, while less critical services will likely remain on global platforms under tighter regulations. The path to full digital autonomy is proving to be not only longer, but far more urgent than many European policymakers had anticipated. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollar) BEIRUT, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon is moving forward with municipal elections in its conflict-ravaged south on Saturday, pressing ahead despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes, widespread displacement, and severe logistical challenges. The vote is held in the governorates of South Lebanon and Nabatieh, even as large parts of the border region remain under sporadic fire. Tens of thousands have been displaced since the cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began in October 2023, and basic services have collapsed in many towns. Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar this week reiterated the government's commitment to asserting sovereignty across all Lebanese territory. He said discussions were underway with international mediators to help ensure a calm election day, but stressed that Beirut "does not wait for guarantees." Still, organizers face daunting challenges. According to the Southern Border Villages Association, the displacement of residents has made voting logistics nearly unmanageable. The Interior Ministry says 37 out of 60 border villages remain empty, with polling stations relocated to safer areas. The association also cited the reluctance of election supervisors-legally required to come from outside the region-to travel to volatile zones due to the threat of Israeli drone strikes. "The lack of security, coupled with the absence of water, electricity, and telecom services, has created an atmosphere of fear," the group said in a statement. Despite these hurdles, the elections are seen as a key test of Lebanon's ability to uphold democratic practices amid escalating conflict. Analysts say the vote is also a symbolic assertion of state authority in areas where Hezbollah and its allies wield significant influence. "These elections are not just symbolic," said Refaat Badawi, a political analyst and former adviser to the late Prime Minister Salim el-Hoss. "Municipalities are on the front lines of service delivery, aid distribution and reconstruction efforts -- especially in the near-total absence of a functioning central government." The vote takes place in Hezbollah and Amal strongholds, offering a crucial measure of their grassroots support after months of Israeli bombardments. Badawi said the results may signal trends ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, also leader of the Amal Movement, has urged residents of the south to vote in large numbers in support of his party. Nidal Issa, a resident of the border village of Kfarchouba, said more than 100 towns have already formed municipal councils unopposed, with efforts underway to increase that number to 150. In Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil and Hasbaya districts alone, 35 councils were created through consensus. "In many places, parties avoided electoral contests by brokering deals with influential families and clans," Issa said. "It eases tensions and strengthens their grip on local power, especially in sensitive border areas." Issa also appealed for international monitoring. "Voting under airstrikes robs people of their right to choose freely," he said, calling on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the five-nation ceasefire committee to press Israel to halt attacks during the vote. Although a French- and U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has been in place since November 2024, sporadic Israeli strikes have continued. Israel says its strikes are aimed at neutralizing threats from Hezbollah. However, the Lebanese government and several Arab states have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the agreement. Despite provisions in the ceasefire requiring a full Israeli withdrawal, Israeli forces continue to occupy several strategically important positions in southern Lebanon. ADEN, Yemen, May 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. drone strikes overnight targeted a suspected al-Qaeda hideout in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, killing at least six people, a Yemeni military official told Xinhua on Saturday. The strikes hit the mountainous Marakisha area in eastern Abyan late Friday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. All those killed were believed to be members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemen-based branch of the militant network. The operation was carried out in coordination with Yemeni government forces, the official added. The targeted site had reportedly served as a launch point for attacks against government forces and recent bombing operations in the province, according to the source. However, conflicting accounts have emerged. A local tribal leader confirmed two overnight drone strikes but claimed they targeted tribal elements not affiliated with the AQAP. There has been no official statement from the AQAP regarding the incident. Abyan has been a key battleground in Yemen's counter-terrorism efforts since late 2022. Forces from the pro-government Southern Transitional Council, backed by government troops, have sought to root out AQAP fighters entrenched in remote areas. Government officials say the group continues to operate active cells in the region, often targeting security personnel with improvised explosive devices. Yemen's long-running civil war, which began in 2014 when Houthi group seized the capital Sanaa, has allowed extremist groups like the AQAP to exploit the power vacuum. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according to United Nations estimates. Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrives at Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 24, 2025, for an official visit to Indonesia at the invitation of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Following the visit, Li will also travel to Malaysia and attend the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council)-China Summit in Kuala Lumpur on May 26-28. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) JAKARTA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Saturday that China and Indonesia have set an example for major developing countries to pool efforts for solidarity, development and win-win cooperation. Li made the remarks in a written statement upon arriving here for an official visit to Indonesia at the invitation of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. China and Indonesia are friends and neighbors across the sea and close partners with a shared future, Li said, adding that this year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Indonesia diplomatic ties, which have maintained steady growth. The traditional friendship has grown stronger over time and practical cooperation has yielded rich fruits, Li said. Li recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Prabowo met twice last year, reached an important consensus on building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future with regional and global influence, lifted bilateral ties to new heights, and opened new opportunities for both sides to deepen cooperation in various fields. China stands ready to work with Indonesia to keep consolidating cooperation in the "five pillars" of politics, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, maritime affairs and security, Li said. He urged both sides to enrich the China-Indonesia community with a shared future, join hands to pursue modernization, and make greater contributions to regional and global peace, stability and development. Li noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. Over the past 70 years, the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation has provided guidance for the independent and self-reliant development of Asian and African countries, injected impetus into the unity and cooperation of the Global South countries, and become an important norm of international relations, he added. At present, the world is undergoing accelerating changes unseen in a century, and all countries face many common challenges in their development, he said, stressing that as major developing countries and important members of the Global South, China and Indonesia should further carry forward the Bandung Spirit, strengthen solidarity and coordination, promote the practice of true multilateralism, work together to address challenges, so as to boost and share prosperity. During his visit, Li will hold talks with Indonesian leaders and attend events of the business community. Damodar Bhandari, Nepal's minister for industry, commerce and supplies, speaks at a promotion conference in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 23, 2025. A promotion conference was held here on Friday to promote the China-SCO (the Shanghai Cooperation Organization) Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA) for deeper cooperation with Nepal.(Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) KATHMANDU, May 24 (Xinhua) -- A promotion conference was held here on Friday to promote the China-SCO (the Shanghai Cooperation Organization) Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA) for deeper cooperation with Nepal. Speaking at the conference, Li Gang, executive deputy director of the Administrative Committee of SCODA, voiced hope that China and Nepal can carry out friendly exchanges in the fields of building road-rail combined transport and creating high-quality cultural and tourism products as 2025 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two neighbors. Business and tourism professionals from Nepal and China shared their insights and thoughts about areas for better cooperation. "We have huge potentials to export processed ginger, orange, cardamom, mushrooms and herbs," said Damodar Bhandari, Nepal's minister for industry, commerce and supplies. "There can be cooperation with China in food safety and transfer of food processing facilities," he added. "We are willing to cooperate on solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, equipment and energy development." Two cooperation agreements were signed on the occasion to further expand practical cooperation with Nepal on tea trade and cultural and tourism exchanges. XINING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Under the blue skies and white clouds of the Sanjiangyuan area in northwest China's Qinghai Province, raptors like golden eagles and upland buzzards soar through the air, frequently returning to nests perched atop electricity transmission poles and towers. There, they incubate their eggs and feed their young. Surprisingly, these nests were installed by local power grid workers in a public welfare initiative that the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) launched in the province in 2016 to promote biodiversity conservation. The artificial nest project is now being expanded across China and globally, and has been selected as a flagship case for the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16). CONFLICTS The Sanjiangyuan area, known as "China's water tower," is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, and boasts among the highest levels of high-altitude biodiversity in the world. The area now hosts approximately 300 bird species, including over 20 raptors, such as golden eagles, saker falcons and upland buzzards. These birds, which favor high nesting sites, use the soaring transmission towers -- tens of meters in height -- as ideal habitats. In the past, birds frequently built nests on transmission towers using materials like iron wires and thin ropes, which often electrocuted the birds and triggered power outages. To resolve the conflict between power grid development and avian habitat conservation, which had long been recognized as an industry-wide challenge, maintenance workers from the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company initially installed bird deterrent and exclusion devices on power towers. However, over time, the birds became habituated to these devices and grew unafraid. "We even tried relocating nests, but the area's high altitude and scarce tree coverage leave few suitable nesting sites for raptors," said Wang Hui, former head of the maintenance team. COEXISTENCE According to the Yushu Power Supply Company, which is under the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company, 40 percent of power failures in the province's Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in 2015 were bird-related. Each repair mission required crews to traverse snow-capped mountains and vast grasslands, covering hundreds of kilometers at tremendous operational costs. To solve the problem, Wang and his colleagues devised the idea of building nests for birds on the towers, at positions that wouldn't affect power transmission safety. Soon, the first batch of simple artificial bird nests -- bamboo baskets lined with straw -- were installed and put to use. "At first, the results were promising -- eagles and other large birds gradually moved in," maintenance worker Ren Liang said. However, frequent sandstorms in Qinghai blew away the straw in the bamboo baskets, and the baskets themselves quickly weathered and fell apart. After repeated trials and improvements, the workers switched to weaving nests from rattan and lining them with coir mats secured by metal fasteners. "These upgraded nests were not only sturdier and safer, but also more comfortable for hatching chicks," Ren said. Working with wildlife experts, the power company ultimately designed bowl-shaped nests measuring about 100 centimeters in diameter and 40 centimeters in depth, specifically sized for the physical requirements of the area's raptors. These conservation efforts have yielded significant results. Since 2016, the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company has installed 5,053 artificial bird nests in the Sanjiangyuan area, successfully attracting birds to nest in more than 2,600 of that total. The company now says it will install new nests while optimizing existing sites this year. This optimization will include relocating long-unoccupied nests to areas with higher concentrations of birds, thereby enhancing both utilization efficiency and the scientific deployment of these conservation structures. Wang Jianting, president of the Bird Watching Association of Qinghai National Park, noted that these artificial nests have successfully attracted raptors that prey on plateau pikas and other small animals, strengthening vulnerable links in Sanjiangyuan's ecological chain. Professional monitoring results show that according to current artificial nest installation standards in Sanjiangyuan, each nest assists in the predation of about 50 small grassland rodents in the surrounding area during the raptor breeding season alone, significantly enhancing ecological balance stability. In recent years, the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company has also collaborated with non-profit organizations on interdisciplinary research integrating ornithology and power grid systems, dynamically monitoring and evaluating the artificial nest project. The project has been expanded to provinces and regions such as Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Xizang. Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 24, 2025. At least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on multiple areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) GAZA/JERUSALEM, May 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on multiple areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the authority, told Xinhua that 17 people were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli strikes targeting a house and gatherings west and east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. In Gaza City, drone strikes killed 10 people, including a girl and three women, as Israeli forces targeted civilian gatherings in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, Basal added. Three others were killed when Israeli aircraft bombed two apartments in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Another two fatalities were reported following an attack in the Bir al-Na'ja area in the north. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that its air force struck more than 100 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. Among the targets were "terrorists from the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, military structures, underground routes, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites," the statement said. As part of its ongoing Operation Gideon's Chariots, the IDF said it had neutralized militants and "dismantled booby-trapped buildings, underground sites, and anti-tank missile positions" during ground operations. Since Israel resumed its military campaign on March 18, at least 3,747 Palestinians have been killed and 10,552 wounded, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza since the war began in October 2023 to 53,901, with a total of 122,593 people injured, according to health authorities in Gaza on Saturday. Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 24, 2025. At least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on multiple areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 24, 2025. At least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on multiple areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 24, 2025. At least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on multiple areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) YANGON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar police have seized 1.8 tons of caffeine in central Myanmar's Mandalay region, the state-owned daily The Mirror reported on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, anti-narcotics police searched a vehicle on May 19 in Pyigyitagon township of Mandalay region, and confiscated 1.8 tons of caffeine, the report said. Three suspects connected to the case have been arrested, according to the report. The suspects have been charged in accordance with the law, and further investigations are underway, the report added. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press encounter on the humanitarian situation in Gaza at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 23, 2025. Guterres on Friday asked for more humanitarian aid into Gaza and for safety and security mitigation measures for delivery. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday asked for more humanitarian aid into Gaza and for safety and security mitigation measures for delivery. Palestinians in Gaza are enduring what may be the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict. For nearly 80 days, Israel blocked the entry of life-saving international aid, he noted. Finally, Israel has allowed aid into Gaza. But all the aid authorized until now amounts to "a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required," he told reporters. In recent days, almost 400 trucks were cleared for entry into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing. But supplies from only 115 trucks have been able to be collected. And nothing has reached the besieged northern Gaza, said Guterres. As the world's leading hunger assessment found, the entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine. Families are being starved and denied the very basics -- all with the world watching in real time, he said. "The needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering. Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute -- along with unnecessary delay procedures. Other essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas, and water purification supplies, are prohibited," said Guterres. "We continue to request for safety and security mitigation measures to be in place for our convoys," he said, warning: "Our staff life is at risk if we continue to be prevented from distributing food parcels and wheat flour directly to people in desperate need. Without those, and in the absence of the rule of law and a desperate population after months of blockade, and totally insufficient supply entering, the risk of security incidents and looting remains high." Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law. It must treat civilians humanely, with respect for their inherent dignity. It must not forcibly transport, deport or displace the civilian population of an occupied territory. And as the occupying power, it must agree to allow and facilitate the aid that is needed, said Guterres. He noted that the Israeli military offensive is intensifying with atrocious levels of death and destruction. Today, 80 percent of Gaza has been either designated an Israeli-militarized zone or an area where people have been ordered to leave. In other words, four-fifths of the territory of Gaza is a no-go zone for the people of Gaza. "And so, beyond questions about the particular number of trucks at any particular moment, it is important to stay fixed on the big picture. And the big picture is that without rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more people will die -- and the long-term consequences on the entire population will be profound," he warned. The UN chief again called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access. The United Nations and its partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound five-stage plan to get aid to Gaza, he said. "We have the personnel, the distribution networks, the systems and community relationships in place to act. The supplies -- 160,000 pallets, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks -- are waiting. This is my appeal for life-saving aid for the long-suffering people of Gaza: Let's do it right. And let's do it right away." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press encounter on the humanitarian situation in Gaza at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 23, 2025. Guterres on Friday asked for more humanitarian aid into Gaza and for safety and security mitigation measures for delivery. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) People read at the Zikawei Library in east China's Shanghai, May 17, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) A musical workshop is held at the West Bund Theatre in east China's Shanghai, May 17, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) Children read books at the Zikawei Library in east China's Shanghai, May 17, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) Students visit the Shanghai Meteorological Museum during a study tour in east China's Shanghai, May 17, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) A boy takes a photo of exhibits at the Shanghai Meteorological Museum in east China's Shanghai, May 17, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) A visitor takes a photo of a sculpture during an exhibition at the historical building of Shanghai Municipal Council in east China's Shanghai, Jan. 9, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Photo by Chen Haoming/Xinhua) Readers are seen at the Zikawei Library in east China's Shanghai, May 17, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) Enthusiasts experience a professional class of a dance school during a public event for International Dance Day 2025 at the Shanghai International Dance Center in east China's Shanghai, April 26, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Photo by Chen Yuzhou/Xinhua) Dancers from Shanghai Ballet perform a highlight clip of Swan Lake at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 15, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) An experimental theater troupe activity is held at the West Bund Theatre in east China's Shanghai, May 17, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) An aerial drone photo taken on May 17, 2025 shows Gate M, a cultural complex located near Huangpu River, in east China's Shanghai. In recent years, Shanghai has been promoting the construction of key public cultural facilities and cultural landmarks with Shanghai characteristics. Statistics show that in 2024, more than 2,500 cultural activities were held in these facilities, which served nearly 20 million visits. These public cultural spaces in Shanghai not only meet the daily cultural needs of the citizens, but also attract tourists to experience local culture. They become showcases to display the charm of Shanghai culture. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) Sohail Khan, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 23, 2025. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Abdisait Kuchimov, Director General of Uzbekistan National News Agency, speaks at the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 23, 2025. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Guests attend the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 23, 2025. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) This photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows the opening ceremony of the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Guests attend the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 23, 2025. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Guests attend the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 23, 2025. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Umed Babakhanov, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Asia-Plus Media Group of Tajikistan, speaks at the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 23, 2025. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Yu Shaoliang, President of People's Daily, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 23, 2025. With the theme of "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," the forum kicked off in Urumqi of Xinjiang on Friday. Over 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners attended the forum. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) People attend a ceremony to mark the Bank of China's 10th anniversary as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, in Lusaka, Zambia, on May 23, 2025. The Bank of China (BoC) on Friday celebrated a decade of operating as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, reaffirming its commitment to promoting cross-border financial services across East and Central Africa. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) LUSAKA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of China (BoC) on Friday celebrated a decade of operating as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, reaffirming its commitment to promoting cross-border financial services across East and Central Africa. The ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia's capital, drew officials from the Chinese bank, the Chinese Embassy, and the Zambian government, as well as corporate clients. Jin Jun, counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, hailed the bank's role in advancing RMB internationalization and facilitating bilateral trade and investment. "It is reported that RMB cross-border settlements between Chinese and Zambian enterprises have been steadily increasing, with some companies already institutionalizing RMB settlements in bilateral transactions," he said. He called for broader RMB adoption to enhance local financial stability, improve corporate efficiency, and reduce exchange rate risks. The RMB, he added, offers a viable alternative for Africa's foreign exchange diversification as the world's fourth most used payment currency. Li Xuewen, managing director of BoC Zambia, said that the bank has actively promoted RMB services in Zambia throughout its nearly 30 years of operation in the country. He pledged to leverage BoC's global platform to support Zambian businesses entering the Chinese market and to facilitate Chinese investment in Zambia. Lillian Bwalya, permanent secretary in Zambia's Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry, said the use of national currencies in cross-border trade would lower transaction costs, mitigate exchange rate risks, and foster a more stable business environment. This approach can safeguard trade even during global instability, she said, citing the RMB's convenience and role in cushioning financial risks. Lyness Mambo, director of the prudential supervision department at the Bank of Zambia, stated BoC's efforts had strengthened the local financial market and bolstered China-Zambia trade ties, noting that growing RMB usage could increase liquidity in Zambia's forex market, lower exchange costs for businesses, and reduce dependence on other currencies. People attend a ceremony to mark the Bank of China's 10th anniversary as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, in Lusaka, Zambia, on May 23, 2025. The Bank of China (BoC) on Friday celebrated a decade of operating as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, reaffirming its commitment to promoting cross-border financial services across East and Central Africa. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) TOKYO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan's new agriculture minister has pledged to make rice available at 2,000 yen (about 14 U.S. dollars) per 5 kilograms at retail outlets like supermarkets by early June. Shinjiro Koizumi said on a TV program Friday night that the government plans to commence procedures to sell its stockpiled rice directly to retailers, bypassing auctions that have prevented government control over prices. Koizumi, who assumed his post on Wednesday after his predecessor resigned following a remark about gifts of rice from supporters, said that under discretionary contracts, the government will release 300,000 tons of stockpiled rice initially and may provide additional supplies if demand arises. The reserve rice sold under discretionary contracts is expected to reach store shelves as soon as early June, he said. The average price of rice sold at Japanese supermarkets reached a record 4,268 yen per 5 kilograms in early May, roughly double last year's level, partly due to a poor harvest in the summer of 2023. According to official data released Friday, Japan's rice prices in April went up a whopping 98.4 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, a record surge since the government started keeping comparable data in 1971. Gemstone products are pictured at Uruguay's national pavilion during the 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, May 23, 2025. At the ongoing 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing, Uruguay's national pavilion has become a crowd magnet with its stunning display of deep violet amethyst gemstones, drawing curious onlookers eager to know more. (Xinhua/Huang Wei) CHONGQING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- At the ongoing 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing, Uruguay's national pavilion has become a crowd magnet with its stunning display of deep violet amethyst gemstones, drawing curious onlookers eager to know more. "Uruguay ranks among the world's top producers of amethyst, celebrated for its unparalleled color intensity and gem-quality brilliance," a pavilion representative explained. Xiang Qian, southwest China market developer for Chongqing Sino-Latin Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd., has observed a remarkable surge in regional demand for Uruguayan amethysts. "Uruguayan amethysts were mainly sold in China's eastern coastal cities in previous years, but annual trade growth in the southwest has now stabilized at around 10 percent," Xiang said. Historically, geographical constraints and logistical challenges hindered Uruguayan products from penetrating China's inland markets. However, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has fueled rapid economic expansion in western China, sparking robust consumer appetite for premium imports. Data shows that, in the first quarter of this year, central and western China's import and export volume reached 1.84 trillion yuan (about 255.84 billion U.S. dollars), marking an 8.7 percent year-on-year growth, 7.4 percentage points higher than the national average growth rate. This growth highlights the region's accelerating opening up and enhanced logistics capacity for trade. As an important project under the BRI, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor has been playing a key role in connecting western China to global markets. Previously, Uruguayan goods endured a cumbersome journey -- sea transit to eastern Chinese ports followed by overland haulage to western hubs like Chongqing -- a costly and time-consuming process that undermined their market competitiveness. The corridor has since transformed bilateral trade, cutting logistics time by over 20 days and reducing costs by about 15,000 yuan per container. Today, it stands as the principal gateway for Uruguayan products entering western China. "Amethyst, Uruguay's national gemstone and pride, finds its largest import market in China, with sales volume growing steadily year after year," said Valentin Touris, acting consul general of the Consulate General of Uruguay in Chongqing. In 2018, Uruguay became a BRI participating country. "Our economies complement each other perfectly. China serves as a vital market for Uruguayan products while providing advanced technologies, industrial goods, and infrastructure expertise. The BRI framework holds immense untapped potential for our trade partnership," Touris added. In addition to amethysts, Uruguayan beef, lamb and dairy products are also gaining traction in western China, thanks to the trade corridor. At the pavilion, premium beef has also drawn particular interest. "With its superior marbling and tender texture, Uruguayan beef makes an ideal match for Chongqing hot pot," Touris said enthusiastically, noting that offal cuts like tripe have become popular ingredients in this iconic local delicacy. Visitors look at gemstone products at Uruguay's national pavilion during the 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, May 23, 2025. At the ongoing 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing, Uruguay's national pavilion has become a crowd magnet with its stunning display of deep violet amethyst gemstones, drawing curious onlookers eager to know more. (Xinhua/Huang Wei) A visitor looks at gemstone products at Uruguay's national pavilion during the 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, May 23, 2025. At the ongoing 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing, Uruguay's national pavilion has become a crowd magnet with its stunning display of deep violet amethyst gemstones, drawing curious onlookers eager to know more. (Xinhua/Huang Wei) Gemstone products are pictured at Uruguay's national pavilion during the 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, May 23, 2025. At the ongoing 7th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing, Uruguay's national pavilion has become a crowd magnet with its stunning display of deep violet amethyst gemstones, drawing curious onlookers eager to know more. (Xinhua/Huang Wei) This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows succulent-based cultural and creative products in an agricultural company called Benyuan in Quzhou County, Handan City, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Dong Xiaokun) by Xinhua writers Huang Yuzhang, Dong Xiaokun SHIJIAZHUANG, May 24 (Xinhua) -- With sun-kissed hands cradling a pot of succulents, Wang Yu beamed with a smile as warm as sunlight when he introduced the fleshy-leaved plant to curious visitors at his cultivation base in north China's Hebei Province. Wang, 36, is the general manager of an agricultural company called Benyuan, which means "root" or "origin" in Chinese, a name that reflects his deep affection for his hometown, where he built his succulent business from scratch after quitting a well-paid job overseas. Wang's decision once came as a surprise to many, and perhaps even to himself. Growing up in the small Quzhou County in Hebei, he had always dreamed of exploring a wider world, which led him to pursue studies abroad. In 2015, Wang completed his studies in international relations at the University of California, Los Angeles, and went on to join a local trading company. Everything appeared to be moving along a well-planned path. However, a year later, a visit back home during his summer break changed his career trajectory. Some old friends told him about the budding succulent craze in China, which planted the seed for a new direction. At the time, succulents were gaining popularity among Chinese consumers for their striking appearance and low maintenance. Some farmers in Quzhou had begun to notice the trend, but their efforts lacked competitiveness as they worked independently. After further research, Wang became captivated by the immense potential of developing this niche industry in a rapidly growing market. Gradually, the idea of returning home to pursue an entrepreneurial venture began to take root. In China, farming has long been regarded as a labor-intensive, low-reward occupation and often viewed as a last resort for those with limited options, but Wang didn't share that perspective. "I don't see jobs as superior or inferior. I just wanted to follow my heart and give it a try," he said. Despite resistance from his family, Wang made the final choice and returned to his hometown in 2017. That same year, he co-founded Benyuan with friends and set up 20 greenhouses dedicated to succulent cultivation. A novice in succulent cultivation at the time, Wang soon realized it was no easy feat. Many plants died because his team lacked experience with agricultural techniques and struggled to create ideal growing conditions. "It was such a great loss," he recalled. But Wang did not give up. Learning from his early setbacks, he took his team to study under experienced industry experts across the country and focused on developing and adopting advanced technologies. For example, the company upgraded its traditional greenhouses to smart facilities that allow real-time monitoring of succulent growth. It has also secured several national patents for its innovations in succulent cultivation. All these efforts have boosted the overall production and turned the startup into the largest succulent cultivation base in the entire province, inspiring more locals to join the burgeoning industry. One of them is 28-year-old Qin Xiaogang. Drawn by the growing momentum of succulent planting, the former customer service worker rented nine greenhouses from Wang's company to start his own cultivation. He also runs an online store, selling plants through live streaming. "I knew little about succulents in the beginning, but free training on cultivation and live streaming techniques provided by the company did me a huge favor," Qin said, adding that his current monthly earnings have more than tripled compared to his previous job. Wang noted that he was glad to share the benefits brought by the agricultural endeavor with others. "What I've done is not only for my company, but also for the well-being of many rural residents." Today, succulents have become a highlight in the agricultural county, with cultivation covering more than 3,000 mu (200 hectares) and annual output exceeding 800 million seedlings. Besides, more than 3,000 residents have found employment in this thriving sector. Yet Wang's story is far from over. For him, there is still more value to unlock in succulent plants. "We are promoting succulent-based cultural and creative products to meet growing market demand and elevate the industry to new heights," he said with his signature smile. This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows succulents at a cultivation base of an agricultural company called Benyuan in Quzhou County, Handan City, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Dong Xiaokun) A Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey is pictured in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou feeds Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou cooks his meal at a shelter in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou interacts with a Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou interacts with Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou prepares food for Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou has his meal at a shelter in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou prepares food for Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Xu Tingyou interacts with Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base in Pingwu County, Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2025. Located within the Xiaohegou Nature Reserve, a provincial-level nature reserve in Sichuan Province, Pingwu Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey popular science education base is home to over 40 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. According to the latest monitoring data of 2024, Xiaohegou Nature Reserve is the habitat of about 1,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Local villagers were hired as rangers in the reserve to better protect Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) This photo taken on May 24, 2025 shows a respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. A respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong began on Saturday morning at the National Funeral Hall in the capital Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. (VNA via Xinhua) HANOI, May 24 (Xinhua) -- A respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong began on Saturday morning at the National Funeral Hall in the capital Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency reported. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam, President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man attended the ceremony. The coffin, draped in the Vietnamese national flag and adorned with a black mourning ribbon, was solemnly placed at the center of the hall. Above it hung a banner that read: "Infinite sorrow for comrade Tran Duc Luong, former Politburo member, former President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," alongside a portrait of the late leader. A ceremony to lower the flag at half-mast was held at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday here at Ba Dinh Square. At the same time, the respect-paying ceremonies were solemnly held in Ho Chi Minh City and his hometown in central Quang Ngai province. The memorial service is scheduled to be held at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday in Hanoi, followed by the burial ceremony at 3:00 p.m. the same day in Quang Ngai province. Tran Duc Luong passed away on Tuesday at the age of 88, following a period of illness. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam touches the coffin of former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, May 24, 2025. A respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong began on Saturday morning at the National Funeral Hall in the capital Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. (VNA via Xinhua) People came to pay their respects for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong at his hometown in central Quang Ngai province, Vietnam, May 24, 2025. A respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong began on Saturday morning at the National Funeral Hall in the capital Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. (VNA via Xinhua) This photo taken on May 24, 2025 shows a respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. A respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong began on Saturday morning at the National Funeral Hall in the capital Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. (VNA via Xinhua) A family member of former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong touches his coffin in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, May 24, 2025. A respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong began on Saturday morning at the National Funeral Hall in the capital Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. (VNA via Xinhua) A ceremony to lower the flag at half-mast is held at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, May 24, 2025. A respect-paying ceremony for former Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong began on Saturday morning at the National Funeral Hall in the capital Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. (VNA via Xinhua) CAIRO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has repatriated 71 of its citizens from Libya amid rising tensions in the capital Tripoli, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. In a statement, the ministry said the operation was fully funded by the Egyptian government, placing no financial burden on the returnees. The evacuees were flown home aboard an EgyptAir flight, the country's flag carrier. The repatriation followed directives from President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to monitor the conditions of Egyptians living in Libya, ensure their safety, and facilitate the return of those wishing to come home, the ministry said. Tensions have surged in Tripoli since on May 12 after heavy fighting erupted between the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) and the 444 Brigade, a militia loyal to Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah. The violence broke out following the reported killing of an SSA commander inside a facility controlled by the 444 Brigade. A truce was reached last week, and a Joint Truce Committee was established by Libya's Presidential Council and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to de-escalate tensions, prevent renewed conflict, and protect civilians. Libya has remained fragmented and volatile since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The country is divided between two rival governments: the internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) based in Tripoli, and an eastern administration aligned with the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by commander Khalifa Haftar. In Tripoli and other areas controlled by the GNU, armed groups continue to operate with relative impunity, frequently clashing over territory, resources, and political influence. WELLINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Human immune function is more effective during the day, thanks to a built-in cellular clock that responds to light, according to new research from the University of Auckland on Saturday. The study reveals that neutrophils, the most abundant type of white blood cells, are guided by an internal circadian clock that enhances their ability to fight infections during daylight hours, said a press release from the university. Neutrophils are the immune system's first responders, and they become more efficient in the daytime, said University of Auckland Associate Professor Christopher Hall, who led the research. "We think this represents an evolutionary response such that during daylight hours the host is more active, so more likely to encounter bacterial infections," Hall said. The research team used zebrafish, a small freshwater fish, as a model organism, given their genetic similarities to humans and their transparent bodies, which allow scientists to observe immune cell behavior in real time. The findings, published in Science Immunology, build on earlier evidence linking disruptions to circadian rhythms, such as those caused by shift work or jet lag. By identifying the clock mechanism inside neutrophils, the study sheds light on how the immune system aligns with the daily light-dark cycle. "Given that neutrophils are the first immune cells to be recruited to sites of inflammation, our discovery has very broad implications for therapeutic benefit in many inflammatory diseases," Hall said, adding it opens the door to therapies that enhance immune function by targeting the circadian clock in neutrophils to boost their ability to fight infections. Ongoing studies are now exploring how light signals influence these immune cell clocks at the molecular level, the researchers said. LOS ANGELES, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The United States took initial steps on Friday to ease sanctions on Syria, following President Donald Trump's pledge to do so during his Middle East trip. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a document, known as GL 25, to ease financial restrictions on Syria. GL 25 will enable new investment and private sector activity in Syria, according to a statement of the department. The authorization was designed to "help rebuild Syria's economy, financial sector and infrastructure, in line with U.S. foreign policy interests." The new policy could bring new investment, the provision of financial and other services to Syria, and permit transactions related to Syrian-origin petroleum or petroleum products, the department said, adding it had permitted U.S. financial institutions to maintain correspondent accounts for the Commercial Bank of Syria. However, the department noted the sanctions relief could only be extended on the condition that Syrian leaders would not offer a safe haven for terrorist organizations and would ensure the security of its religious and ethnic minorities. Also on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a 180-day waiver under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act to facilitate investments and ensure the provision of essential services like electricity and water. Following the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the United States, along with several other Western countries, imposed stringent sanctions targeting key sectors of the Syrian economy. In remarks to an investment forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, Trump announced that he plans to lift sanctions on Syria. PHNOM PENH, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The Jiangsu-ASEAN Education Cooperation Exchange Conference was held here in the capital of Cambodia on Saturday, aiming at promoting cooperation and exchanges between east China's Jiangsu Province and ASEAN countries. Under the theme of "Building a Shared Future for Win-Win Development," the conference brought together representatives from government departments, enterprises, higher education institutions and research institutions of China and ASEAN countries. Speaking at the half-day event, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron said the conference was vital to discuss cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win results in the field of education between Jiangsu and ASEAN countries. Naron said Cambodia and other ASEAN countries have achieved fruitful results in cooperation and exchanges in the field of education with Jiangsu Province. "I firmly believe that with strong commitment made by the leaders of China and ASEAN, our cooperation will continue to expand, unleash huge potential, and make greater contributions to human welfare and regional social development," he said. Naron said that currently, there are more than 1,000 Cambodian students studying in China, of whom about 40 are studying in Jiangsu Province. "Cambodia will continue to encourage and support more students to study in China, especially in Jiangsu, to experience China's knowledge, culture and education system firsthand," he said. A representative from Jiangsu Province said China-ASEAN educational cooperation has achieved positive results, and education has increasingly become a catalyst and adhesive for younger generations to know each other, get close to each other, and integrate with each other. "Jiangsu is willing to deepen educational cooperation with ASEAN countries, promote youth exchanges, and continue traditional friendship," he said. According to the representative, Jiangsu has become one of the first choices for international students from ASEAN countries to study in China. Thai Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob said in a pre-recorded statement delivered to the conference that in recent years, Thailand and Jiangsu have forged profound and rewarding cooperation across multiple areas. "We have successfully implemented numerous exchange initiatives, and these initiatives have laid a solid foundation for the sharing and exchange of educational resources between our regions," he said. "These efforts have not only elevated educational and research standards, but also provided strong support for innovation and industrial development," he added. Stella Christie, vice minister of higher education, science, and technology of Indonesia, said that in recent years, the cooperation between Indonesia and China in the field of education has achieved fruitful results. "Against the backdrop of globalization, educational cooperation is particularly important," she said. "It serves as a bridge connecting the hearts of the people of the two countries and a cornerstone for promoting common development." Christie said Jiangsu Province has made remarkable achievements in educational concepts, teaching methods, and teacher training. "In the field of vocational education, Jiangsu has provided a large number of high-quality technical talents for industrial development, formed a unique integration model of production, education, and research, which has great appeal to Indonesia," she said. During the event, the achievements of Jiangsu-ASEAN education cooperation were unveiled, and the Jiangsu-ASEAN Youth Scholars Exchange Initiative was launched. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Contestants wait to get on stage for the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian college students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 23, 2025. The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian college students was held Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, with 14 finalists from universities across the country showcasing their Mandarin skills and cultural knowledge. (Xinhua/Liu Fangqiang) ADDIS ABABA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian college students was held Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, with 14 finalists from universities across the country showcasing their Mandarin skills and cultural knowledge. The event, hosted at Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia's oldest higher education institution, drew participants from various institutions, including the Ethiopian Technical and Vocational Training Institute (TVTI). A panel of eight judges -- six Chinese and two Ethiopians -- evaluated the students based on Mandarin speeches, knowledge of Chinese culture, and artistic performances. The audience included senior Ethiopian government officials, members of the Chinese diplomatic community, and students from Confucius Institutes across Ethiopia. Mandefro Simegnew, a 20-year-old student from the AAU, won the competition and will represent Ethiopia at the global finals in China. Addressing the awarding ceremony for competition winners, Ethiopia's State Minister of Tourism Seleshi Girma lauded the event as a reflection of growing cultural exchanges between the two countries. "Learning language is the very first step and the key to development. The cultural shows by the Ethiopian contestants are one of the manifestations of the growing cultural ties between Ethiopia and China," Girma said. According to the minister, a growing number of Ethiopian youth are learning Mandarin and Chinese culture, alongside a steady increase in Chinese tourist arrivals to Ethiopia. Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Chen Hai said the competition has served as a platform to connect China to the rest of the world and conduct various exchanges in the Chinese language. "I feel so happy to see the contestants showcasing their Chinese language proficiency and artistic talents, and expressing their deep love for Chinese culture and people," Chen said. Jointly hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, the Confucius Institutes of the AAU and TVTI, the contest also featured Chinese traditional songs, dances, and calligraphy, among others. A contestant displays Chinese calligraphy at the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian college students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 23, 2025. The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian college students was held Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, with 14 finalists from universities across the country showcasing their Mandarin skills and cultural knowledge. (Xinhua/Liu Fangqiang) A contestant performs traditional Chinese martial art at the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian college students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 23, 2025. The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian college students was held Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, with 14 finalists from universities across the country showcasing their Mandarin skills and cultural knowledge. (Xinhua/Liu Fangqiang) Staff members prepare desserts for visitors during the 7th International Exhibition of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SARA 2025) at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on May 23, 2025. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) ABIDJAN, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The 7th Abidjan International Agriculture and Animal Resources Exhibition, a major agricultural fair in West Africa, opened here Friday, with China participating as the guest of honor. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Cote d'Ivoire's Prime Minister Robert Beugre Mambe said China is a "global champion of agriculture" and a key partner in strengthening the country's agricultural sector. While noting progress in production and exports, he said Ivorian agriculture still faces challenges in the diversification of cash crops, local processing of produce, high-quality input production, mechanization of farms, and combating the adverse effects of climate change. In his speech, Zhang Xingwang, vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs of China, said that Cote d'Ivoire is a major global producer of agricultural products such as cocoa, cashews and natural rubber, while China boasts a vast market and a large consumer base, adding that the two countries have broad prospects for cooperation in agricultural technology, agro-processing and trade. In a 10-day term, the fair is expected to draw more than 500,000 visitors and nearly 1,000 exhibitors showcasing products and services from across Africa, Asia and Europe. Cote d'Ivoire's Prime Minister Robert Beugre Mambe (2nd R) and other guests visit the 7th Abidjan International Agriculture and Animal Resources Exhibition in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, May 23, 2025. (Photo by Yvan Sonh/Xinhua) Visitors queue up to taste chocolate made from Ivorian cocoa at the 7th Abidjan International Agriculture and Animal Resources Exhibition in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, May 23, 2025. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) People visit the Chinese Pavilion during the 7th International Exhibition of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SARA 2025) at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on May 23, 2025. (Photo by Yvan Sonh/Xinhua) A visitor learns about the products on a Moroccan stand during the 7th International Exhibition of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SARA 2025) at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on May 23, 2025. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) A staff member waters the vegetable seedlings on display during the 7th International Exhibition of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SARA 2025) at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on May 23, 2025. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) People attend the opening ceremony of the 7th International Exhibition of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SARA 2025) at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on May 23. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) People visit the Chinese Pavilion during the 7th International Exhibition of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SARA 2025) at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on May 23, 2025. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) MANILA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed after they were swept away in flash floods that hit villages in Sultan Kudarat province in the southern Philippines, provincial authorities said Saturday. Officials of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office said the victims, a 34-year-old mother and her 12-year-old daughter in Lebak town and an eight-year-old boy from Kalamansig town, were drowned in raging floodwaters on Friday. Many areas on Mindanao island, south of the Philippines, have been underwater due to continued rains from the intertropical convergence zone. On Tuesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that nearly 200,000 people were affected by flooding in Maguindanao del Sur province. BUDAPEST, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Visiting senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Chen Wenqing met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban here on Friday, as both sides vowed to deepen cooperation on national sovereignty, law enforcement, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the relationship between China and Hungary has been elevated to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era. At its best in history, the bilateral relationship has broad development prospects, Chen said. China firmly supports Hungary on its independence and autonomy in exploring a development path that suits its national conditions, and also supports Hungary's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and security and oppose interference from external forces, Chen said. To implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, Chen said China is willing to work with Hungary to deepen high-level political mutual trust, broaden exchanges and cooperation in fields such as economy and trade, law enforcement and security as well as justice, and ensure the sound business environment for both enterprises and the safety of both peoples and their property. In such efforts, the two countries will continue to play an exemplary role in the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road as well as in the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, and enhance the steady and long-term development of China-Europe relations. Orban said that Chinese President Xi Jinping's historic and successful visit to Hungary last May has laid a solid foundation for the in-depth development of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields. The Hungarian prime minister said the country will continue to deepen cooperation with China in areas including economy and trade, law enforcement and security, and safeguard the common interests of both sides in a bid to bring more benefits to the peoples of the two countries. During the visit, Chen also met respectively with Hungarian Minister of Interior Sandor Pinter and State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Ors Farkas. MINSK, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Belarus will continue to ensure exchanges of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, Natalya Eismont, press secretary of the Belarusian president, told TASS on Friday. All exchanges of prisoners and fallen soldiers between Russia and Ukraine have previously been facilitated by Belarus and carried out on its territory, with the consent of the leadership of both Russia and Ukraine, said Eismont. The Belarusian side is ready to guarantee the prisoner swap again, said the official. Russia and Ukraine resumed direct peace negotiations in Istanbul, Turkiye on May 16. Following their talks, the two countries agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners on each side, marking the largest prisoner swap since the start of their conflict in February 2022. WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that there will be a "planned partnership" between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, with substantial investment from the Japanese manufacturer in the U.S. company. "US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add 14 Billion Dollars to the U.S. Economy. The bulk of that Investment will occur in the next 14 months," Trump said. The president also noted that he will attend a big rally at the U.S. Steel headquarters in Pittsburgh on May 30. Although the term "merger" was not explicitly used, Politico reported that Trump's remarks showed that he had approved a deal for Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel, "reversing a position he took during the presidential campaign." The move also overturns former President Joe Biden's decision to halt the deal shortly before leaving office in January. Both Biden and Trump had previously expressed a desire for the iconic American company to stay under U.S. ownership. In February, Trump said Nippon Steel will no longer seek to purchase U.S. Steel and will instead "invest heavily" in the U.S. company. The 14.1-billion-U.S. dollar acquisition of Pittsburgh-headquartered U.S. Steel that Nippon Steel has now dropped is a "concept psychologically not good," Trump said. Photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows European Union flags at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50 percent tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25 percent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the United States. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose tariffs on Samsung and other smartphone producers, following an earlier announcement targeting Apple. "It would be more, it would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair," Trump told reporters at the White House Friday afternoon, when asked whether the president has the power to tariff one single company. "That'll start on, I guess, the end of June ... I think we have that appropriately done by the end of June," Trump said. Samsung is a South Korean company, with its Galaxy series a major competitor to Apple's iPhones. Earlier in the day, Trump announced on social media that he will impose 25 percent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the United States. "I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25 percent must be paid by Apple to the U.S.," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Also on Friday, Trump threatened a 50 percent tax on all imports from the European Union starting June 1, citing insufficient progress in negotiations. "The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies," Trump wrote in another post on Truth Social. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50 percent Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025," he said. Photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows an Apple store in Brussels, Belgium. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50 percent tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25 percent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the United States. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe) Photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows European Union flags at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50 percent tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25 percent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the United States. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe) Photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows the logo of an Apple store in Brussels, Belgium. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50 percent tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25 percent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the United States. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe) U.S. President Donald Trump boards Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 23, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose tariffs on Samsung and other smartphone producers, following an earlier announcement targeting Apple. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 23, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose tariffs on Samsung and other smartphone producers, following an earlier announcement targeting Apple. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 23, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose tariffs on Samsung and other smartphone producers, following an earlier announcement targeting Apple. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 23, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose tariffs on Samsung and other smartphone producers, following an earlier announcement targeting Apple. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 23, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose tariffs on Samsung and other smartphone producers, following an earlier announcement targeting Apple. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) Key Points Warren Buffett invests in companies that he believes are well run. The Oracle of Omaha prefers to hold those stocks for the long term, attempting to benefit from a company's growth over time. Berkshire holding Chevron offers an attractive dividend yield and has proven adept at surviving the oil industry's ups and downs. 10 stocks we like better than Chevron Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B), the conglomerate led by renowned investor Warren Buffett, owns stakes in two large oil companies, Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX). With oil prices relatively weak today, conservative income investors would likely be better off following Buffett's lead into Chevron. In fact, the energy giant is a no-brainer buy right now. What does Chevron do? Chevron is an integrated energy company: It has operations in oil and natural gas extraction, also known as the upstream; in the pipeline and energy transportation space, known as the midstream; and in chemicals and refining, which is known as the downstream. This diversification helps to even out financial performance over time because each segment operates a little differently from the others. Image source: The Motley Fool. Beneath this business structure, Chevron also has a strong financial foundation. The best example of that is its debt-to-equity ratio, which is currently about 0.2. That would be a modest amount of leverage for any company, and it affords Chevron the ability to comfortably add leverage as needed during oil price downturns to support its business and dividend. When oil prices recover, as they always have historically, it reduces its debt load. Chevron's capacity to weather the ups and downs of the historically volatile energy sector is clearly highlighted by its dividend history. Management has increased its payouts for 38 consecutive years, showing that rewarding investors with reliable and growing dividends is one of its key priorities. Conservative income investors looking for an energy stock would do well to pick this Buffett-owned investment. Why Chevron now? There are a couple of reasons Chevron is worth buying now. First off, at the current share price, its dividend yield is 5%, which is toward the higher end of its historical yield range. In that context, it looks like the stock may be reasonably priced, though it's worth noting that a deep oil downturn would likely push the shares down in the near term, driving the yield even higher. That said, the average energy stock's yield today is roughly 3.6%, so Chevron has a relatively high yield compared to the sector. And looking at Buffett's other oil stock for comparison, Occidental Petroleum's yield is 2.2%. By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Billionaire investor Bill Ackman told clients on Thursday that his hedge fund bought Amazon shares last month, betting earnings will continue to grow at the online retailer as President Donald Trump's tariffs bite less than consumers initially feared. Ackman and his investment team updated clients on additions to the portfolio at his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management. "The most substantial move is Amazon," chief investment officer, Ryan Israel, said on a conference call. With a value of over $2 trillion, Amazon is one of the world's most valuable companies and has long featured on Ackman's list of most admired businesses. As one of the world's most voluble activist investors who often pushes companies to perform better, Ackman's stock picks are closely watched for investment trends. But Amazon stock had been too costly until early April when the market was battered by news of Trump's heavy tariffs for imported goods and its price cratered. "We felt that the company would be able to work through any slowdown in the cloud computing division Amazon Web Services and we did not judge that tariffs would have a material impact on the earnings in the retail business," Israel said. Ackman and his team also expressed confidence in Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy, saying his ability to run the business more efficiently will allow for "more profit margin expansion at a high rate of revenue growth." Pershing Square had also added stakes in car rental company Hertz and transport company Uber into the portfolio. At the same time, the firm sold out of railroad Canadian Pacific, Ackman said, noting that it is a position the firm sold "with regret". Ackman in 2022 built a new stake in Canadian Pacific, returning to one of his most profitable investments as rail firms eye a boost from the drive to cut carbon emissions and as manufacturing is brought back to the United States and Mexico from abroad. But in order to buy the Amazon stake, Ackman needed to make adjustments and came to liquidate Canadian Pacific. He stressed that he thinks "extremely highly of the Canadian Pacific team" and has "a very strong belief in the long-term future of the business." The team also trimmed investments in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Universal Music Group and swapped the firm's Nike stock into call options, calling it a "deep-in-the-money strategy." (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio) As April showers brought May flowers, they also brought a whole new wave of AI-centric M&A. Consider the snowballing deal count: On May 5, reports emerged that OpenAI is acquiring AI coding startup Windsurf in a deal worth $3 billion. That day, Upstarts Media was the first to report Databricks was acquiring open source database company Neon for $1 billion. The Databricks-Neon deal was then confirmed last week, as Salesforce almost simultaneously announced plans to acquire Convergence.ai, an agentic AI startup out of London, for undisclosed financial terms. And then yesterday, a veritable blockbusterOpenAI announced its intention to acquire Apple design legend Jony Ives AI device startup in a deal that values it an incredible $6.5 billion. (The deal is interesting in its own right, making Ive the most expensive designer in history and underscoring the soaring ambitions of OpenAI, whose valuation has soared to $300 billion, up from $14 billion in 2021). One way to look at the wave of recent AI deals is that its a self-reinforcing cycle, with deals begetting more deals. The big companies see the wave and say Hey, we better innovate or were going to be antiquated, said Rob Rueckert, partner at Sorenson Capital. Theyre hungry not to be dinosaurs, so I think theres a lot more acquisitions happening now. He notes that acquisitions have always been the main outcome for software companies: Its always been 80% to 90% of outcomes. Just right now, since there have been few IPOs, its almost 100% the case. As it turns out, the IPO market actually showed signs of life this week, as both Hinge Health and MNTN went public, both jumping in their market debuts. But the bigger pointor, perhaps, the bigger questionis what the recent wave of acquisitions says about the AI boom. Are all these deals a sign that the AI boom is maturing? In some ways, theres no indication that AIs backers are slowing down. In Q1 2025, 71.1% of total value in U.S. startup funding was funneled into AI and machine learning companies, according to PitchBook. (Granted, much of that surging deal value can be attributed towards capital flowing in the direction of the big gunsincluding OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI.) On the other hand, its hard not to see the signs of consolidation in all the recent acquisition activity. Looking at this as more of a market framework, Id characterize this as probably being at a mid-stage of the AI boom as opposed to the end, said Otherwise Fund managing director Terrence Rohan. I think an end game would probably look a little bit different, but this definitely doesnt happen at the beginning. Theres definitely a sense of Oh, we can still build. But maybe were at some mid-stage of maturity where people say Hey, we could go [get acquired] for $10 billion, but weve got a billion in hand. Thats a real boardroom discussion. By Valentina Za and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) -Rome's determination to have a say in the reshaping of Italy's financial sector has made things increasingly unpredictable for investors who have waited years for consolidation of the country's fragmented banking landscape. UniCredit and its CEO Andrea Orcel are locked in a standoff with the Italian government over the bank's bid for smaller rival Banco BPM. Italy's second-largest lender said on Friday it would challenge in court the conditions the government has imposed for its bid to proceed, after securing a 30-day suspension of the offer while it disputes Rome's demands. Italy has special powers it can use to protect national security interests but these have become a major hurdle to some of the M&A efforts in the banking sector. "Things have turned out completely differently than expected," said David Benamou, chief investment officer at Axiom Alternative Investments, whose European bank fund holds positions in some Italian lenders. "There are many moving parts and when politics get involved it's much more difficult to anticipate the drivers." Andreas Kokkinis, an associate professor at the University of Birmingham's law school, who has published work on bank corporate governance, described the conditions Rome has placed on UniCredit's bid for BPM as "unusual". "This is clearly motivated by 'national interest' type of concerns and not merely by financial stability or customer protection concerns," he said, adding that this type of behaviour can harm shareholders as well as economies. Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has defended the government's right to vet banking deals, saying EU states are in charge of national security. The ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The government was one of the instigators of the dealmaking flurry, when in November it sold a stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena. That has since led to seven banking takeover offers in just six months. POLITICS VS MONEY Politicians' desire to influence the make-up of their banking industries - motivated partly by job protection - is playing out elsewhere in Europe too, slowing the consolidation that bank executives and supervisors say is needed. Germany opposes UniCredit's ambition to acquire Commerzbank, and the Spanish government is unhappy about BBVA's bid for domestic peer Sabadell. Investors see Italy as a testing ground for the merger activity that would help European banks close a profitability and valuation gap with U.S. rivals. By Naomi Rovnick LONDON (Reuters) -Global investors admit to flying blind in markets roiled by erratic U.S. trade rhetoric and chaotic economic forecasting, stressing that placing long-term bets was harder now than at any time since the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Anxieties over whether a 90-day White House-China tariff truce will hold, plus U.S. budget gaps and whipsawing currencies have made investors extremely cautious about where to put their money. Markets have been on a rollercoaster ride for weeks, with world stocks rallying 20% from more than one-year lows hit after U.S. President Donald Trump's April 2 tariff bombshell, after slumping 15% in three sessions. The turbulence continued on Friday with a sudden selloff in stocks after Trump said he was recommending a straight 50% tariff on goods from the European Union. A day earlier, government debt saw a sudden slump, spooking long-term investors out of markets that they fear have lost the anchoring force of consensus forecasts. "There is no macroeconomic visibility," said Francesco Sandrini, Italy CIO at Europe's biggest asset manager Amundi. He said he was following short-term speculative market trends instead of taking a stance on the global outlook. "You may be right on the end-game for economics and valuations in the long term but the risk is that it is going to be very painful in the short term." Other money managers said they had shifted global portfolios onto neutral settings, which ensure the balance of investments is not tilted towards any particular scenario, because even if their views were right, assets were not trading reliably. "There is no reward for taking any risk at the moment," Lombard Odier Investment Managers head of macro Florian Ielpo said. CTA hedge funds, which mirror prevailing market trends, are also not taking strong directional bets on stocks or bonds right now, J.P. Morgan data on Tuesday showed. UNPREDICTABLE This week, yields on 30-year U.S. Treasuries, rocketed to 5.013% from just 4.84% two weeks ago and equivalent Japanese yields hit record highs, in abrupt moves that analysts have struggled to define exact reasons for. Earlier this month, trade war tremors also sparked a speculative buying frenzy of Taiwan's dollar which rose 8% against the U.S. dollar in two days. John Roe, head of multi-asset funds at Britain's biggest investor L&G, said 2020's pandemic-induced market was "the last time things were so totally unpredictable." He said he had briefly bought Wall Street stocks in early April, then reverted to a neutral stance on global equities and government bonds earlier this month. AT&T (T) CEO John Stankey isn't showing his hand yet on whether he plans to dial back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to gain approval for a big new fiber deal from the Trump administration. "We don't have to roll back anything," Stankey told Yahoo Finance (video above). "Our policies and our approach at AT&T have always been that we progress people on merit. That any employee that comes to work here should have an opportunity to grow their career, work on building their skills, have an opportunity to succeed and earn a living." "And our goal is to make sure that every employee that walks through the door of AT&T feels like they belong here and it's a good place for them to work," Stankey added. "And I'm pretty confident that anybody who examines our practices and how we run the business is going to come to that same conclusion." AT&T said late Wednesday it would acquire all of Lumen Technologies' (LUMN) fiber business for $5.75 billion, above the already pricey $5.5 billion that deal watchers estimated a few weeks ago. The transaction is aimed at igniting a fire under AT&T's lucrative fiber business, in part by providing bundled packages to consumers of mobile and broadband services at higher prices. Lumen Technologies stock rose 2%, while AT&T fell slightly as investors digested the transaction. Stankey said the deal is tailor-made for what the Trump administration wants to see: the creation of US jobs. "We're investing in great infrastructure that makes the US economy more competitive. We're going into footprints and markets where the previous owner didn't have the wherewithal and capability to do that," he explained. Lumen has about 1 million fiber customers spanning metro markets such as Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. The business is on track to generate $750 million in revenue this year. "We think this appears to be a positive strategic move for AT&T; it provides incremental footprint to build fiber and drive a converged bundle offering where these assets appear to be under-penetrated," KeyBanc Capital Markets telecom analyst Brandon Nispel said in a note. AT&T sees the deal being immaterial to sales and earnings 12 to 24 months after closing but accretive in the long term. The company said the deal will help it reach 60 million households with fiber by 2030. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026 with the emphasis on expected. African Underground Mining Services (AUMS), via the Underground Mining Alliance (UMA) joint venture (JV), has secured a A$1.02bn ($655.3m) contract with AngloGold Ashanti for underground mining services at the Obuasi Gold Mine in Ghana. The UMA JV, which is responsible for the Obuasi contract, is 60% owned by AUMS and 40% by Rocksure International, a local Ghanaian civil and mining contractor. AUMS is the subsidiary of Australian mining services group Perenti. The contract spans five years from 1 February 2025 and encompasses underground development, production and related mining services. The agreement stipulates that no new growth capital is required as AngloGold Ashanti will provide major capital expenditure. Perenti managing director and CEO Mark Norwell said: We are pleased to sign the Obuasi contract with AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) for an additional five years. We highly value our relationship with AGA and look forward to continuing and deepening our positive working relationship. This agreement is a testament to the reliability and value provided by our Contract Mining division. Our extensive operational experience and the scale of our global underground business enables us to consistently deliver enduring value and certainty to our clients and shareholders. Obuasi, an underground mining operation to a depth of 1,500m, is situated in the Ashanti region of Ghana, around 60km south of Kumasi. AUMS has been operating at the Obuasi mine since February 2019. Perenti Contract Mining president Gabrielle Iwanow said: Our relationship with AngloGold Ashanti is of great importance to our Contract Mining division. As one of the worlds largest gold miners, we are proud to work alongside them in a collaborative manner. We look forward to continuing to grow our relationship with them over the years ahead and supporting them to meet their business objectives. Earlier this month, Perenti underground mining subsidiary Barminco secured a A$500m contract to continue its underground operations at the Agnew gold mine in Australia, owned by Gold Fields. Barminco will provide underground development, production and related mining services under the contract. "AUMS secures $655bn contract for AngloGold Ashantis Obuasi Gold Mine" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. Canadian construction and maintenance company Bird Construction has secured three significant domestic projects with a combined value exceeding C$525m ($378m), expanding its presence in the buildings and infrastructure sectors. The projects span across transport, housing, and mining. The first of these projects is the Transportation Safety and Technology Science (TSTS) Hub in Ottawa, Ontario. This 120,000ft facility will centralise federal scientists and investigators dedicated to enhancing transportation safety and developing sustainable technologies for various transportation modes. The TSTS Hub will consolidate National Research Council and Transportation Safety Board laboratories, currently spread across five buildings, into one modernised, shared space for over 260 employees. In addition to the TSTS Hub, Bird has been chosen to construct the Beverly Heights Seniors Housing project in Edmonton, Alberta. This project is seen as a strategic fit for Bird's long-term care portfolio and is designed to offer a full continuum of care, including independent living and assisted living. The development is poised to meet the needs of Canada's ageing population and reflects Bird's efforts to contribute to sectors with long-term growth prospects. Bird has also been selected as part of a joint venture to upgrade mining infrastructure for an existing client. The four-year programme will involve clearing, foundation preparation, over two million cubic metres of fill placement, and the installation of high-density polyethene geomembrane and monitoring instruments. Bird president and CEO Teri McKibbon said: These recent awards in our buildings and infrastructure businesses reflect the sustained demand were seeing across our key strategic markets, despite the current economic uncertainty. Furthermore, they reflect the confidence our clients continue to place in Bird as an established and trusted delivery partner, valuing our deep sector experience and collaborative approach to project execution. Earlier in March 2025, Bird Construction received five contracts valued at approximately C$470m. These Canadian contracts spanned various sectors such as nuclear support buildings, civil infrastructure, industrial maintenance, and recreation centre redevelopment. "Bird Construction secures three projects worth over $378m in Canada" was originally created and published by World Construction Network, a GlobalData owned brand. Media Cooperation Forum of SCO countries begins in Xinjiang, releases public opinion survey on development visions 09:44, May 24, 2025 By Lin Xiaoyi, Li Tianyang and Zhou Yang in Urumqi ( Global Times The 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries is held in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on May 23, 2025. Photo: Zhou Yang/GT The 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries is held in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on May 23, 2025. Photo: Zhang Wujun/People's Daily The 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Countries, which aims to promote media exchanges and cooperation among SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners, kicked off on Friday in Urumqi, capital city of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A blockbuster report titled "Common Home: Public Opinion on the Development Visions in SCO Member States," which highlights broad public recognition of the "Shanghai Spirit" among SCO member states and reveals strong expectations for expanding cooperation in a range of sectors, was jointly released by the International News Department of People's Daily and the Global Times Institute at the forum's opening ceremony. The forum, with the theme "Building a Better Home Together for a Prosperous Future," was attended by 300 representatives from mainstream media outlets, government departments, academic institutions, and enterprises from 26 SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners. The attendees reached the consensus that by providing truthful, objective, and fair reporting, media organizations in SCO countries should elucidate the purpose and significance of cooperation among SCO countries, fostering a conducive public opinion environment for the organization's growth. They should also extensively cover the achievements of SCO cooperation, promote the "Shanghai Spirit," consolidate development consensus, and enhance mutual understanding and friendship among the peoples of SCO countries, maintaining regional peace, stability, and prosperity. A report titled "Common Home: Public Opinion on the Development Visions in SCO Member States" was released at the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum of SCO Countries in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on May 23, 2025. Photo: Lin Xiaoyi/GT According to the survey report, over 80 percent of respondents believe the SCO plays a positive role in global governance, while around 70 percent believe their countries have gained more opportunities to participate in global governance through the SCO framework. Over 60 percent agree that the SCO has contributed to their countries' sustainable development and modernization. In an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Thursday, Sohail Khan, deputy secretary-general of the SCO and participant in the forum, believes that the SCO provides a unique platform for countries to discuss various issues and promote peace and prosperity. "The efforts of the SCO are dedicated to building a harmonious, secure, and inclusive shared home, taking into account the interests of each country and sharing the fruits of development together. Since its establishment, the SCO has become an authoritative and influential regional cooperation platform," he said. This year is SCO's "China Year." The survey also shows that over 90 percent of respondents believe that China's development experience provides insights for their countries, and an equal percentage affirm that cooperation with China benefits their national development. With China holding the rotating presidency of the SCO, Khan expressed his confidence in the country's ability to lead the organization. He believes the upcoming SCO summit will become another milestone in the organization's history. Currently, member states are working closely on summit preparations. A series of initiatives and consensus agreements are expected to be reached during the summit. Khawaja Hamza Iqbal from Pakistan's Media Today expressed full confidence that, guided by the "Shanghai Spirit," a united and mutually trusting SCO community with shared future is being built, dedicated to long-term global peace and shared prosperity. "The Shanghai Spirit has already united an increasing number of countries and peoples, and now, with China's promotion, it will further enhance media cooperation among SCO nations," he told the Global Times on Friday. Imran Danish from Afghanistan's Tolo News told the Global Times that this media forum has provided him with a new platform for exchange. His media outlet looks forward to deepening cooperation with media organizations from SCO countries and exploring new development opportunities. The forum was co-hosted by People's Daily and the People's Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It featured an opening ceremony, a media dialogue session, and a launch ceremony for a youth cultural exchange program. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) BMS Group has acquired Istanbul-based Oria Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerligi, expanding its presence within the Turkish insurance sector. Financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed. The move is part of BMS Group's plan to extend its reach into the Middle East and enhance its capabilities in providing client-focused solutions. Established in 2019, Oria offers corporate insurance and employee health benefits solutions. The acquisition is expected to bring more competitive and holistic services to both local and international clients, and insurance partners. BMS Turkey CEO Kerim Gurkan said: "This is an integration of two like-minded businesses. Over the past three years, BMS has established itself in Turkey as a leading specialty broker with strong international capacity. Now, by joining forces with Orias experienced team and local insight, we enter an exciting new chapter broadening our client base and deepening the value we bring to both clients and insurance partners, locally and globally." Oria owner and chairman Cenk Erden, along with executive vice-president Remzi Duman, will join the Board of BMS Turkey. The combined operations will operate under the name BMS Group Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerligi. Erden added: "This partnership brings together Orias local market knowledge with BMSs international strength and vision. It is a natural fit built on shared values and a commitment to delivering high-impact, high-value solutions. We are thrilled to join BMS and contribute to its ambitious growth journey." This continues BMS Group's acquisition spree, which includes David Roberts & Partners in the UK and Rasher in Spain. Additionally, BMS Group is planning to foray into the Dubai International Financial Centre, pending regulatory approval. Last month, BMS Group appointed Jean-Jacques Henchoz as Board chairman, effective 1 May. "BMS Group expands in Turkey with Oria purchase " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. After the companys Q1 results release on May 21, BofA downgraded Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) to Neutral from Buy and substantially reduced the price target to $105, down from $145. As noted by many other analysts, BofA also acknowledged the rising uncertainty over the companys execution of its growth strategy. While the firm sees the valuation as cheap, near 10-year lows, the firm remains unconvinced because of persistent weaker sales. Moreover, the firm believes comparable sales recovery is taking longer than expected. This would mean the company may need to sell merchandise at lower prices due to weaker sales, leading to further margin pressure. With all these issues at play and continued uncertainty, the BofA analyst downgraded the rating. Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) is a general merchandise retailer with nearly 2,000 stores across the United States. While we acknowledge the potential of TGT, 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 TGT and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None. CACI (CACI) was awarded a $147.51M cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for intelligence, logistics and engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of May 23, 2030. Fiscal 2010 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $1.1M were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Published first on TheFly the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See the top stocks recommended by analysts >> Read More on CACI: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue On May 21, California American Water, a subsidiary of American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE:AWK), has completed its acquisition of the Mesa Del Sol water system in the Corral de Tierra area of Salinas. This acquisition adds 15 new water connections to the company's existing base of ~40,000 connections in Monterey County. It was made possible after the physical interconnection of Mesa Del Sol with California American Water's Toro Park system. California American Water Acquires Mesa Del Sol System A technician in a deep-water treatment facility, ensuring clean water for public safety. This move aims to resolve long-standing water quality issues in the Mesa Del Sol area. Spencer Vartanian, Director of Operations for California American Water, stated that the company's experience in providing water service throughout the Monterey Peninsula made them a natural fit for this consolidation. The acquisition will provide Mesa Del Sol residents with access to California American Water's comprehensive services, which include a bilingual website, online billing & payment options, conservation programs, and affordability initiatives. California American Water is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the US that serves over 14 million people in 14 states and on 18 military installations with a history dating back to 1886. This acquisition is part of American Water Works Company Inc.'s (NYSE:AWK) broader strategy of expanding its operations through systematic acquisitions. In 2024, American Water Works completed 13 acquisitions that added 69,500 customers, and a total of 90,000 customers overall that year. American Water Works plans to invest between $40 billion and $42 billion from 2025 to 2034 in infrastructure repairs, replacements, system resiliency, and regulated acquisitions. While we acknowledge the potential of AWK to grow, 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 AWK and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Cantor Fitzgerald elevated HCA Healthcare, Inc.s (NYSE:HCA) price target to $444 from $405 on May 21, 2025, reaffirming an Overweight rating. The adjustment arises from to analysts confidence in the healthcare giants operational resilience and growth trajectory and reflects a 16% potential upside from the stocks current closing price of $381.81. Cantor Fitzgerald upgrades HCA Healthcare, Inc.s price target to $444, Citing Strategic Strengths A team of healthcare professionals in lab coats and masks meeting at a hospital ward. HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA), headquartered in Tennessee, is a leading American for-profit company, providing healthcare services through its 186 hospitals and approximately 2,400 care sites in 20 states and the United Kingdom. The company holds a dominant position in the market, supported by its $92.72 billion market capitalization. According to Cantor Fitzgeralds lead analysts, Sarah James, HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) demonstrated resilient performance across its service lines and significantly recovered from a $250 million EBITDA downturn in late 2024, attributed to hurricane-related disruptions. With 85% of the patient volumes derived from these locations, the company aims to elevate the care sites per hospital from 13 to 20. HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) also has plans to cover the rural emergency services by making additional investments in transportation acquisitions like ambulance and helicopter fleets, and similar healthcare accessibilities. Notably, the stock experienced a dip in pre-market trading despite better-than-expected Q1 2025 results, including a 20% year-over-year growth in EPS. However, pointing to strategic site expansions and geographic reach initiatives, Cantor Fitzgerald anticipates a long-term value from HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA). While we acknowledge the potential of HCA 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 HCA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Unstoppable Dividend Stocks to Buy Now and 11 Oversold Global Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds Disclosure: None. Cathie Woods hedge fund Ark Invest purchased millions of shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) in a trade on May 20. Ark Invest funds are snapping up TSMC stock, indicating a strategic shift towards this non-Nvidia chip stock. The Ark Innovation ETF bought 27,099 shares of TSM, while the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF acquired 17,172 TSM shares. The combined value of this trade is almost worth $8.4 million. Cathie Woods Ark Invest Bets on TSMC Stock, Adds Millions in Chip Giant A close up of a circuit board, its microchips creating a powerful computing system. Woods funds are once again betting on the semiconductor maker after they began the sell-off of TSM shares in Q3 last year. This move comes as a reversal following some major developments in the past week. TSMs growing role in supplying top U.S. firms with AI and consumer electronics chips has caught the attention of investors. TSMs collaborations with chip designers such as Qualcomm reflect the growing demand and its integral part in the global AI chips supply chain. Following the easing of trade between the U.S. and China, investors see potential in TSMs cross-border manufacturing capabilities. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is involved in providing integrated circuit manufacturing services to leading chip designers. TSMCs integrated circuit manufacturing services include special process technology, process technology, mask technology, and silicon staking technology services, among others. Some of the top customers of TSMCs chips include Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Marvell, MediaTek, and Qualcomm. While we acknowledge the potential of TSM to grow, 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 TSM and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. Read Next: 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires and 15 Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying. Disclosure. None. On May 22, Citi analysts upped Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR)s stock from Neutral to Buy, increasing the price objective to $140 from $133. The firm noted its healthy Q1 2025 performance, in which sales exceeded expectations. In Q1 2025, the companys sales saw an increase of 7% to $437 million, with organic growth of 6%. Furthermore, segment growth met the expectations, with Cardio & Vascular seeing non-GAAP organic growth of 10.9% YoY. Integer Holdings (ITGR) Stock Gets Upgraded by Citi- Heres Why A doctor using a Neuromodulation device to examine a patient's brain activity. After the successful start to the year, Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR)s management expects YoY sales growth of 8% to 10% in 2025, which Citi analysts believe is conservative. Citi saw that Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR) was largely unaffected by tariffs as it possesses minimal exposure to China and didnt observe huge changes in the customer purchasing behavior. Given the companys positioning in high-growth markets, along with its effective leadership transition, Citi believes that Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR) will accelerate progress moving forward. The YoY growth in Cardio & Vascular sales in Q1 2025 stemmed from new product ramps in electrophysiology and acquisitions. This was partially offset by the impact of fewer shipping days in Q1 2025 as compared to Q1 2024. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR) operates as a medical device contract development and manufacturing company. While we acknowledge the potential of ITGR to grow, 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 ITGR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now Disclosure: None. Its been an exciting week in crypto. Bitcoin just hit a new all-time high of $109,700 on May 21, 2025. The previous highs were around $109,600 or $109,500, depending on the exchange. Either way, this is a big milestone for Bitcoin and the crypto industry as a whole. One of the biggest headlines this week was the Genius Act. There was a lot of confusion online, with some people saying it passed and others saying it didnt. What actually happened is that the U.S. Senate voted 66 to 32 to move forward with debating the bill on May 20. This means it hasnt passed yet, but its going through the next steps, like debate and possible revisions. We should know more soon. The Genius Act includes new rules for stablecoins and crypto issuers. It would require monthly reserve reports, limit stablecoins to being backed by liquid assets like U.S. Treasuries, and ban yield-bearing stablecoins. It also adds anti-money laundering requirements and limits Big Tech from issuing their own coins. Analysts believe this could help legitimize the space and bring billions into crypto. The Bitwise CIO, Matt Hougan, even said it could be one of the biggest regulatory wins in crypto history, and could pave the way for a multi-year bull market. Theres also been some drama between the Bitcoin maximalists and the XRP community. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, posted that Senator Cynthia Lummis canceled a planned meeting with him and wont reschedule. While we dont know the exact reason, some are speculating. Either way, public officials should engage with all parts of the crypto space to get a full picture. In other Ripple news, XRP and Micro XRP futures officially launched on the CME on May 19. This is big since CME is the largest derivatives exchange. XRP futures contracts are for 5,000 XRP, and Micro contracts are for 25 XRP. Both are cash-settled. Wendy also flagged growing friction between Bitcoin maximalists and XRP supporters. Brad Garlinghouse posted on X that Senator Loomis will not meet with him. They had a meeting scheduled, but she cancelled and declined to reschedule, she said, while encouraging officials to engage with a wide range of voices. Meanwhile, XRP futures went live on May 19. CME group launched XRP and micro XRP futures... Both are cash settled, WendyO confirmed. However, not all the news was bullish. The SEC delays decisions on XRP and Dogecoin ETFs, she noted, though she remains optimistic: I personally think this SEC is incredibly pro-crypto and they will in fact approve these ETFs. The SEC delayed its decision on spot ETFs for XRP and Dogecoin from 21Shares and Grayscale. This is pretty typical. While delays are frustrating, they give time for public input and careful review. Many analysts still expect approvals later in 2025, likely in Q3 or Q4. By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -The department store chain Dillard's sued Wells Fargo on Thursday, saying the bank repeatedly breached a since-abandoned co-branded credit card relationship, causing tens of millions of dollars in losses. In a heavily redacted complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Dillard's said Wells Fargo became an "unwilling and incapable partner" after reaching consent orders in 2016 and 2018 with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Reserve to address problems in its banking practices. The Little Rock, Arkansas-based retailer said it was then "shocked" to learn last June that the fourth-largest U.S. bank had effectively decided to abandon the co-branded card market without informing its "premier partner"--Dillard's itself. Dillard's said it welcomed the end of its decade-long relationship with Wells Fargo in light of the San Francisco-based bank's actions, but that Wells Fargo's "bad-faith conduct" continued even during the termination process. Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Julie Guymon, a Dillard's spokeswoman, declined additional comment. Founded in 1938, Dillard's recently had 272 stores in 30 U.S. states. Net income totaled $593 million on revenue of $6.59 billion for the year ending February 1, 2025. In January 2024, Dillard's entered a co-branding relationship with Citigroup, with that bank purchasing existing Dillard's credit card accounts and Mastercard serving as the payment network. The case is Dillard's Inc et al v Wells Fargo Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-04330. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Chicago; editing by Diane Craft) US-based breakfast restaurant chain Eggs Up Grill has reported a strong first quarter (Q1) in 2025 as it continues its expansion. The brand has signed three new franchise agreements for six new commitments and opened five new restaurants across various locations, increasing its presence to 94 locations. This Q1 performance is highlighted by a multi-brand development deal that will introduce the Eggs Up Grill experience to Pennsylvania, with plans for at least four locations in the eastern part of the state up to 2029. The expansion of Eggs Up Grill is significantly driven by multi-unit developers who bring a wealth of operational expertise and a passion for the brand. Their long-term investment mindset is instrumental in ensuring consistency and growth across different markets. Additional deals in Q1 include a single-unit agreement in James Island, South Carolina, a three-unit development agreement for Lake Charles, Los Angeles and the Beaumont, Texas areas, and a two-unit development agreement for the Macon/Warner Robins market in Georgia. These new locations will open from late 2025 to early 2026. Eggs Up Grill, which has more than 170 restaurants either open or in development, is well-positioned for continued growth throughout 2025. Its restaurant model is described as daytime-only hours and [with] a community-first approach, with a high-quality breakfast and lunch menu and a focus on family-friendly culture. Eggs Up Grill is actively seeking partners nationwide, targeting both seasoned entrepreneurs and those looking to own their first business. Eggs Up Grill CEO Ricky Richardson stated: "This year is off to a great start thanks to the strength of our franchise community and the demand we continue to see for our high-quality, better breakfast concept." "Our momentum is being driven by experienced, multi-unit operators who see the value in scaling with a brand built on simplicity, hospitality and strong unit-level economics. In the last 12 months, Eggs Up Grill opened 22 restaurants, outpacing and outperforming competitors in the sector. We're entering new markets, welcoming passionate operators, and staying focused on what matters most, serving our neighbourhoods with great food and real hospitality." In April 2025, Eggs Up Grill announced plans to expand into the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Texas, establishing multiple locations and bringing its all-American breakfast to the region. "Eggs Up Grill continues expansion in Q1 2025" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. European regulators have once again spotlighted Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). The latest round of scrutiny zeroed in on scheme fees, the charges levied on banks that facilitate card payments through their networks. JMiks / Shutterstock.com New questionnaires dispatched by the Commission seek clarity on three main concerns, including the degree of choice retailers have in accepting Visa and Mastercard, the value derived from the fees they pay, and the transparency of these charges. According to Bloomberg, though the investigation is at its preliminary stage, it could result in formal proceedings and penalties reaching up to 10% of a company's annual revenue. The new scrutiny comes amid the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's recent comments, which endorsed the digital euro currency's rollout and reduced the blocs reliance on overseas payment networks. While Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) defends its pricing by pointing to security, minimal fraud risk, and uninterrupted service, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) justifies the fee by emphasizing consumer choice and global reliability. The ongoing nature of the inquiry is preventing the Commission from commenting further. Earlier, in 2019, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) was fined $646 million for artificially raising the costs of card payments. Last year, a $30 billion settlement reached by the two companies was rejected by a U.S. federal judge. Adding the new EU scrutiny to the list could potentially intensify the investor caution against Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). As of now, both stocks hold consensus Buy ratings, with respective upside potentials of 10.39% and 10.72%. We acknowledge the potential of V as an investment. But 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 V and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Unstoppable Dividend Stocks to Buy Now and 11 Oversold Global Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds Disclosure: None. By Echo Wang, Linda So and Milana Vinn (Reuters) -OnlyFans owner Fenix International Ltd is in talks to sell the porn-driven company to an investor group at a valuation of around $8 billion, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The group is led by the Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, the sources said. Reuters could not identify the investors in the group. The investor group and current deal value have not previously been reported. OnlyFans, which exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, is best known as an online platform that enables porn creators to charge subscribers for content. OnlyFans takes 20% of creators' earnings. In the year ended November 2023, the company generated $6.6 billion in revenue, according to a filing with British regulators. That is up from $375 million in 2020, and this rapid growth has attracted investor interest. Some executives at Forest Road were part of a special purpose acquisition company that was in talks to take OnlyFans public in 2022, according to sources and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. OnlyFans and Forest Road declined to comment. One of the three sources and another source familiar with sale discussions said Fenix International Ltd is also in talks with other potential suitors. The London-based company has drawn interest from several suitors in recent months. Talks have been held at least since March, the people said. Three sources said a deal could be reached in the next week or two. The sources also cautioned that there was no certainty a deal will be struck and requested anonymity ahead of an official announcement. An initial public offering is also being considered, three of the sources said. The company's sole shareholder is Leonid Radvinsky, a Ukrainian American whose location could not be confirmed. He bought OnlyFans in 2018 and has paid himself at least $1 billion in dividends over the past three years, British filings showed. Last year, Reuters published a series of investigative stories on OnlyFans that documented complaints in U.S. police and court records that child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual pornography has appeared on the site since 2019. The series also identified cases of sex traffickers using the platform to abuse and exploit women. Porn makes OnlyFans untouchable for many big banks and investors, sources have told Reuters, because due diligence might find illegal content such as child sexual abuse material, trafficking victims and nonconsensual porn. The New York Post reported on Wednesday the company was exploring a potential sale. The Republican-controlled Federal Trade Commission voted Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit against PepsiCo that the previous commission filed in the waning days of the Biden administration. The lawsuit, filed in January, alleged that PepsiCo was giving unfair price advantages to Walmart at the expense of other vendors and consumers. The lawsuit had relied on the rarely enforced 1936 Robinson-Patman Act, which it said prohibits companies from using promotional incentive payments to favor large customers over smaller ones. When the lawsuit was filed, Democrat Lina Khan was the FTCs chairwoman, and she was joined in support of the lawsuit by Democratic Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. At the time, Republican Commissioners Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak dissented. A few days after the lawsuit was filed, President Donald Trump took office and Khan resigned. Trump fired Bedoya and Slaughter in March. Bedoya and Slaughter have sued the Trump administration, saying their removal was illegal. Ferguson, who is now the chairman of the FTC, said Thursday that the PepsiCo lawsuit was a dubious partisan stunt and FTC staff had more important work to do. The Biden-Harris FTC rushed to authorize this case just three days before President Trumps inauguration in a nakedly political effort to commit this administration to pursuing little more than a hunch that Pepsi had violated the law, Ferguson said in a statement. Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo said Thursday that it was pleased with the FTC's withdrawal of the lawsuit. PepsiCo has always and will continue to provide all customers with fair, competitive, and non-discriminatory pricing, discounts and promotional value, the company said in a statement. (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday dropped its case accusing PepsiCo of price discrimination that favored Walmart, and criticized former Chair Lina Khan for rushing the case out. The lawsuit filed in New York had accused the soft drink manufacturer of violating the Robinson-Patman Act, a law that went largely unenforced for decades by the federal government. The case was filed in New York on January 17, days before President Donald Trump took office. "Taxpayer dollars should not be used for legally dubious partisan stunts," FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said. PepsiCo said the company "has always and will continue to provide all customers with fair, competitive, and non-discriminatory pricing, discounts and promotional value." A representative for Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FTC had claimed PepsiCo's practices fed high consumer prices by placing other retailers ranging from large grocery chains to independent convenience stores at a disadvantage to Walmart. Khan called the dismissal of the case "a gift to giant retailers as they gear up to hike prices," in a post on social media platform X. (Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed) When Republicans passed Donald Trumps big, beautiful tax bill on Thursday, they included provisions to partially offset the costs, including significant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps. One area lawmakers didnt touch: the so-called carried interest loophole that offers beneficial tax treatment to wealthy private equity, venture capital and hedge fund managers. The carried interest loophole refers to a provision in the U.S. tax code that allows investment fund managers, like private equity executives, to pay a lower tax rate than normal, everyday workers. Private equity firms typically raise outside capital from investors like pension funds, insurance companies and high net worth individuals. They use this money, called the fund, to invest in companies, frequently taking control of these businesses. PE executives usually receive a share of the profitsthe carryfor managing investments. When a PE fund sells an asset, likely a portfolio company, at a higher price than what they bought, PE execs get carry. If the asset is sold after three years, the profit is taxed at a long-term capital gains rate of 20%. If they sell the business before the three years, the carry is taxed at a short term capital gains rate of 37%. The problem is that the 20% tax rate is lower than what many everyday U.S. workers pay. A couple filing jointly, making under $206,700, faces a 22% tax rate, while a single person who makes under $197,300 is taxed at 24%, according to 2025 tax brackets. Meanwhile, many finance executives hefty salaries place them in the top 35% or 37% tax bracketsso the 20% carried interest loophole represents both a special perk for fund managers, and foregone tax revenue for the federal government. Carried interest has been a perennial hot button issue. For roughly the past 20 years, lawmakers, including President Barack Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and even Trump himself, have called for carried interest to be changed so that it is be treated as ordinary income. Several bills have been introduced, including one from Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who in February wanted to tax carried interest at the same rate that ordinary workers pay on their income. Trump, when he first ran for president in 2016, vowed to change the carried interest loophole but didnt follow through. Instead, his tax bill from 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, made it harder to qualify for long-term capital gains rates of 20%. The 2017 law changed the holding period from one year to three years, which means PE firms must own an asset for three years before they can sell and have the profit taxed at the long-term capital gains rate of 20%. Trump also spoke to Republican lawmakers about changing carried interest in February but took no action. The company's brand name grants it a significant advantage. Another important thing to consider is that Coca-Cola has a deep portfolio of products that has not remained static over time. The company adopts its strategy according to changing demands -- if it didn't, it might have gone out of business already, or at least, it would be far less successful today. Even if some of Coca-Cola's brands start seeing less demand -- which has happened before -- the company can adapt accordingly. However, that only addresses how the company might perform in the short run, while the effects of the current administration's trade plans continue to be felt on Wall Street. What, exactly, makes it a stock worth owning forever? A critical aspect of Coca-Cola's business is the brand name it has built over many years. Few soft drink brands can measure up to the company's reach and influence. That also means few can battle Coca-Cola for shelf space in grocery stores. Moreover, if Trump's trade plans survive his administration, Coca-Cola should handle tariffs just fine. It has a presence in most countries and typically does most of its manufacturing for each market locally; most of what it sells in the U.S. is made in the U.S. That means Coca-Cola will see a relatively minimal impact from tariffs compared to companies with significant manufacturing footprints abroad. Coca-Cola is handily beating the market so far this year despite the tariff problem. That's not that surprising. The consumer staples industry it belongs to tends to perform better than most during economic downturns. So, if a recession is on the way, which some believe is the case, investors perceive Coca-Cola as a safe haven, a place to put their money while withdrawing it from speculative or unprofitable stocks. And despite its strong performance this year, Coca-Cola's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of 24.2 looks reasonable compared to the average of 22.2 for the industry. And to cash in on that, owning shares in companies that can perform well over the long run is essential. Two great examples are Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Costco (NASDAQ: COST). For those who can spare $5,000 without hurting their emergency fund, here's why investing that money into these two corporations would be a great move. Trump's trade policies have rocked broader equities. Though the president has paused much of his tariff agenda, the volatility it has caused left investors at least a bit worried about what will happen next. That's understandable, but it's essential to focus on the long game even in times like these. No matter what happens in the next few months, the stock market should produce competitive returns over many decades. Story Continues Lastly, Coca-Cola's terrific dividend track record provides strongly suggests its status as a forever stock. The company has increased its payouts for 63 consecutive years. Most businesses don't survive, let alone grow their dividends, for that long. Only those with incredibly robust underlying operations can pull it off. Coca-Cola is in that category. For income or long-term performance, the stock is an excellent pick. Investors can get 69 shares of the company with $5,000. 2. Costco Let's start with the bad news with Costco. After an incredible performance in the past few years, the stock now looks expensive. The company's forward P/E of 56.7 is well above the average for consumer staples stocks. Costco could see its shares dip if it even mildly fails to live up to the market's high expectations in the next few quarters. Yet for those who plan on holding the stock for a while, that won't matter too much as, in the long run, it should deliver solid returns, largely thanks to its strategy and economic moat. Costco's competitive advantage stems from its brand name and customer loyalty. The company membership model locks customers in and incentivizes them to return to its stores; otherwise, it's a waste of a membership fee. However, this wouldn't work if these customers didn't see the value of this model. They would not pay the fee and forego shopping at Costco. What they get from it is the ability to buy items in bulk at discounted prices. Costco is one of the best in the business at this game, which has served it well for the past few decades. The company is also looking at several growth opportunities, especially international expansion. Of the 897 warehouses it operated as of the end of the second quarter of its fiscal year 2025 -- which closed on Feb. 16 -- 617, or almost 69%, were in the U.S. There is a vast opportunity to continue growing its presence worldwide. Some might point to the continued shift to online retail as a risk to Costco. But like many successful companies, it has adapted. As of 2023, it held a respectable 1.5% share of the U.S. e-commerce market. E-commerce sales have been growing faster for the company -- the expansion of this industry should be a long-term tailwind for Costco, not a headwind. Now, Costco will face some issues. Tariffs could eat into its already thin margins, unless it passes those costs on to customers. A third of its goods sold in the U.S. are imports from other countries. Still, that means two-thirds of these are not imported to the U.S., and even if Costco has to increase its prices somewhat, so will many other retailers. Costco won't lose its appeal even in this environment, and in the long run, the company's global expansion plans and strategy should continue leading to excellent results. So, Costo remains a solid stock to buy and hold long term, even after its terrific performances in recent years. $5,000 is good for four of the company's shares with plenty of spare change. Should you invest $1,000 in Coca-Cola right now? Before you buy stock in Coca-Cola, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Coca-Cola wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $804,688!* Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 957% a market-crushing outperformance compared to 167% for the S&P 500. Dont miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Prosper Junior Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Got $5,000? 2 Reliable Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever. was originally published by The Motley Fool Kevin OLeary has come a long way from the time he called Bitcoin garbage. Now, the Shark Tank judge tells Moneywise, cryptocurrency-related assets make up 19.4% of his portfolio. Besides coins and tokens, he also owns stakes in picks and shovels that is, platforms and exchanges that deal in crypto. Don't miss The entrepreneur says he changed his mind about the asset as regulators around the world came on board. However, it hasnt been enough to convince most institutional investors, like sovereign wealth and pension funds, to dip their toes in. I never thought Id say this, but I want more regulation, and I want it now, OLeary said at the beginning of his keynote speech at the Consensus crypto conference in Toronto. After almost two decades of growth in the crypto industry, we have hit a wall. We have hit a wall on AUM (assets under management). On the other side of that wall lies a trillion-dollar prize, he believes but it all hinges on Congress passing two key bills. A new era of cryptomania Like many cryptocurrency supporters and investors, OLeary believes the space is on the cusp of something big. The industry is abuzz with anticipation. Optimism about the future of crypto under the Trump administration has helped drive the price of Bitcoin past $110,000, an enormous jump after it spent much of 2024 hovering below $70,000. Coinbase, the largest American company in the space, has been one of the biggest winners. The SEC dropped a lawsuit against the company in February, and the stock secured itself a position in the prestigious S&P 500 index. Crypto now holds a place in many retirement portfolios, you can invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and the days of regulation by enforcement a common complaint against the previous administration appear to be over. But it will take a lot more to win institutional capital, which OLeary says would give consumers more access. He argues regulation will be a form of dialysis that will clean the system of bad assets. When the regulatory environment is clear the volume of capital that will come into the top five tokens is going to be like a vortex sucking cash out of the crap at the bottom, he said. We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Discussed These 9 Stocks Recently. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently. Inquiring about Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), a caller asked if the strategy of breaking the company up would be a good way forward. In response, Cramer said: No, dont need to do that. No, dont need to do that. Now, this stock went down because of DOGE. Now that Elon Musk is back to Tesla, I actually think youd buy Accenture. Ive been listening to Julie Sweet. I think shes smart as a whip, and Accenture may be a company that can really help a lot of companies right here. Jim Cramer Advises to Buy Accenture (ACN) A team of data experts gathered around a computer monitor analyzing customer data. Accenture (NYSE:ACN) is a professional services company focused on strategy, consulting, technology, and operations. The company provides offerings that include intelligent automation and application-based solutions. Madison Investments stated the following regarding Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in its Q1 2025 investor letter: Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) shares were weak in the quarter due to possible contract cancelations from the U.S. Federal government. While some lost business does seem likely, Accentures overall exposure to this end market is limited and the headwind appears manageable. Overall, ACN ranks 4th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently. While we acknowledge the potential of ACN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 ACN and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Nailed These 11 Stock Predictions. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 20, a caller asked Jim Cramer whether Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was finally investable despite years of geopolitical risk and low valuation. Cramer acknowledged the risk, but emphasized how cheap the stock had become. You know, I was talking to my buddy Dave Trear hes got a huge position he was one of my thousand bosses that I had at Goldman. And we both admit I mean, this is just one of the cheapest stocks. Its the cheapest stock in the world. Cheapest major stock in the world. If you can stomach owning a stock that is from China buy it. Its what I have to say. And buy some more if it goes down. This was a great call by Cramer, rising by 39.44% since then. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is recovering as China cautiously reopens, though concerns about regulation and macro risk persist Was Jim Cramer Right About Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA)? An e-commerce platform displaying a wide range of products to customers online. Earlier this year, in April, Cramer said that he thinks that is the only Chinese stock worth looking at: The Chinese market is in bull market mode. The only one that Ive supported the whole way is Alibaba. But I give you my blessing on this because right now it is the place to be and that is the right sector. Overall, BABA ranks 4th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of BABA 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 BABA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. We recently published a list of 12 Stocks Jim Cramer Was Right About. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 16, a caller asked about Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX), a medical device company. Cramer praised its cardio business and wished he had bought it back then: That company is just doing so well. They have an amazing cardio franchise. I wish I owned that for the trust. It is just fantastic. Great call thank you. Was Jim Cramer Right About Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX)? A surgeon examining a patient's brain in an operating room, paramedics nearby. Boston Scientific was a clear win for Cramer, rising 42.24% on the back of strong fundamentals. Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is thriving thanks to a strong product pipeline in cardiology and minimally invasive surgery. Overall, BSX ranks 4th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of BSX 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 BSX and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. We recently published a list of 12 Stocks Jim Cramer Was Right About. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE:CARR) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 15, Mad Moneys Jim Cramer discussed the surprising strength of industrial spin-offs, singling out Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE:CARR) as the most successful of the three companies formed from United Technologies. But of the three former United Technology components, its Carrier Global thats the biggest winner. This was a surprise, right? Stocks up 3.95% since the breakup, gives you a total return of 42% including dividends. This heating, ventilation, and air conditioning business is now worth over $59 billion all by itself. Carriers just doing a great job thanks to the stewardship of Dave Gitlin. It reported a fantastic quarter last month, and I see more strength ahead thanks to the data center boom and a terrific acquisition they made over in Europe. His positive call was justified, with the stock rising 16.34% and validating its role in the data center boom. Was Jim Cramer Right About Carrier Global Corporation (CARR)? An engineer wearing a hardhat inspecting a newly-installed air conditioner system. Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE:CARR) is gaining traction thanks to surging demand for HVAC systems in data centers and climate-focused retrofits. Cramer remains a fan of the stock, especially as it reported a strong earnings report in Q1 2025. Heres what he said in May: See that behind me? Carrier, that was good. . . it had Carrier a second ago. Yeah, David Gitlin did a really good job, a lot of people were doubting. Forget that, its the doubters are being silenced today. Overall, CARR ranks 11th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of CARR 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 CARR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. We recently published a list of Was Jim Cramer Right About These 12 Stocks? In this article, we are going to take a look at where Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 15, Mad Moneys Jim Cramer discussed how some long-time outperformers were being overlooked, reemphasizing his confidence in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) after its recent spin-off of Veralto, saying: Danaher this is one of the great performers of all time. Only up 20%. Its now a pure play on diagnostics and medical equipment, which is very fast-growing. Last fall, Danaher spun off its water purification and applied solutions businesses as Veralto. Both stocks are now lagging the S&P 500, but given how these stories usually play out, I think it could be a terrific buying opportunity to pick up Danaher. [] Do not overlook that stock. These guys know how to run a company. His conviction didnt pan out here, with the stock falling 25.95% and underperforming peers. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) is underperforming despite a clear focus on diagnostics and medical devices following its recent corporate refocus. Was Jim Cramer Right About Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) A healthcare professional in a lab coat holding a microscope and looking at a slide under the lens. Heres what Cramer said about the stock on April 22: I was surprised at Danaher, which I felt that Danahers one of the worst stocks Ive ever had after being for years one of the best stocks. But that was because of China so I was gratified to see that they kept things okay. Overall, DHR ranks 11th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of DHR 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 DHR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Discussed These 9 Stocks Recently. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently. A caller asked if they should dump Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) stock for a loss or hold on, and Cramer replied: Let me take it from here. As you heard I talked about not thinking about where you bought it thinking about where youre going to go with it. And this company, even though its owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Occidental, is not going to go anywhere. I wish I didnt have to say that, but I dont see this company getting a bid, and I dont see oil going higher. Jim Cramer Notes Occidental Petroleum (OXY) is Not Going to Go Anywhere Oil derricks in the background with a few workers in the foreground, emphasizing the companys oil and gas production activities. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) is involved in oil and gas exploration, production, and development, while also producing basic and vinyl chemicals. The company manages the transportation, storage, and marketing of energy products and invests in related operations. Appearing on Squawk on the Street on March 14, Cramer made similar bearish comments about the company as he remarked: Look at OXY. Look at the Buffett oil. I mean, it is just OXY is emblematic of how bad this business has become. And its very hard to own the stock. Overall, OXY ranks 5th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently. While we acknowledge the potential of OXY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 OXY and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. We recently published a list of Was Jim Cramer Right About These 12 Stocks? In this article, we are going to take a look at where Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 15, Mad Moneys Jim Cramer discussed how certain spin-offs quietly outperformed, praising Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS) for thriving as a service-heavy elevator company even amid macroeconomic softness. Otis Worldwides up 121% since the breakup thank you, Judy Marks gives you 134% total return including dividends. The elevator business is now worth nearly $40 billion all on its own. Look, a lot of people think of Otis as a traditional movement play cyclical, hostage to new construction but in reality the company gets the vast bulk of its money from servicing and repairing existing elevators, which is why even though Chinas soft, you still got to repair them. Was Jim Cramer Right About Otis Worldwide Corporation (OTIS)? A technician in a safety harness inspecting a passenger elevator in a modern office building. Despite Cramers praise, this one barely moved, up just 2.41%, making his enthusiasm feel a bit overstated. Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS) continues to benefit from its global elevator servicing operations which provide resilient, recurring revenue. Overall, OTIS ranks 4th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of OTIS 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 OTIS and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Discussed These 9 Stocks Recently. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently. A caller inquired about Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS), and Cramer said: Well, first, I want to give the same shout-out because that business is dynamite. I happen to like silver very much, and Pan American silver is the best silver mine. So I think youve got something going there. Im with you Jim Cramer Says Pan American Silver (PAAS) is Dynamite A large drill in operation deep in a mine, surrounded by the machinery of a modern extraction site. Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS) focuses on the exploration, development, and operation of mines, handling everything from extraction to refining. The company targets deposits of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper. On May 13, TD Securities cut its price target on PAAS to $26 from $30 and maintained a Hold rating. The firm called the MAG acquisition transformational for giving Pan American access to a Tier I primary silver asset. It expects concerns around the Escobal restart due to the timing of the deal and the full valuation paid for MAG. Overall, PAAS ranks 7th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently. While we acknowledge the potential of PAAS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 PAAS and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. We recently published a list of 12 Stocks Jim Cramer Was Right About. In this article, we are going to take a look at where ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 15, a retired investor asked Cramer if he should add to his small position in ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW). Cramer gave a clear buy recommendation: I would buy more. I mean, I feel like I wanted to buy that stock for the trust. We owned so many in the space, we felt that we couldnt. But that was a nice break before the quarter. When the quarter reported, it really wasnt a bad quarter and I think the stocks a buy right here. ServiceNow. He called it a buy, and the market agreed as the stock gained 37.23% since. Was Jim Cramer Right About ServiceNow Inc. (NOW)? A team of software engineers at desks working on code for a cutting-edge cloud computing solution. ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is riding the enterprise digitization wave as its workflow automation tools prove indispensable to large corporations. Cramer remains a clear bull. Here are his remarks from earlier in May 2025: Right, and we want to come back to it. It was a big guide up and it had rule of 50, it had great growth, great margins. This Truist piece today, Hold to Buy, it does say something that I think people have to recognize. This companys not a leader in AI. And I dont even know if Jensen Huang has [inaudible] in terms of what, when you bring someone in, you can either build your own AI or you can call ServiceNow and theyll build it for you. Even for customer relationship management. So I think you maybe want to circle back to the one that was as good last week as the one perceived now. Bill McDermott, credit to him, hes picked up a huge number of accounts. Overall, NOW ranks 1st on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of NOW 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 NOW and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Spencer Platt/Getty Images This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter. You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here. Good morning! President Donald Trump officially accepted a gifted Boeing 747-8 from Qatar. The plane has been controversial over the potential conflict of interest it poses. But what's it like inside? Look at what's set to be the new Air Force One . In today's big story, talk is swirling that private equity's recruiting cycle is ramping up , and recent grads are on edge. What's on deck Markets: A US recession could be a self-fulfilling prophecy . Tech: Internal memos from one of Microsoft's AI leaders show how he plans to transform the tech giant . Business: Things are not going great for Target . But first, may the odds be ever in your favor. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. The big story Ready, set, PE Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI While most recent college graduates are getting ready for their new jobs, a select group is considering their next one. Some private-equity firms are setting up informal, introductory meetings with soon-to-be junior investment bankers before their caps even hit the ground. These so-called "coffee chats" are the precursor to interviews for jobs that won't start for another two years. The process kicking off so early has hopeful financiers on edge , BI's Emmalyse Brownstein, Reed Alexander, and Alex Nicoll write. Welcome to Wall Street's "Hunger Games." If the above sounds confusing, I don't blame you. PE's recruiting cycle doesn't make much sense. Before you start working at your first job (investment banking analyst), you're already interviewing for your second job (private-equity associate). Take a minute to read the last sentence again if you need to. Still, that's how things often work on Wall Street: always thinking two steps ahead. The summer internship that leads to the junior-banker job offer is often secured well over a year before it starts. And your best shot at getting one of those is your university's finance club, which you need to start thinking about the second you get on campus . Speaking of college, you'd better plan on getting into a target school if well, you get the idea. Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI PE firms might eventually find themselves flying too close to the sun. The junior-banker-to-PE pipeline has been mutually beneficial. Banks don't have to worry about competing with PE firms for young talent. PE firms don't have to worry about training associates on the basics of dealmaking. But the ever-earlier timeline hasn't gone unnoticed, and at least one high-profile banker has called PE firms on it. By Lauren Young NEW YORK (Reuters) -Affluent earners who live in states with high property and income taxes may see some relief in President Donald Trump's tax plan. The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would allow a deduction of up to $40,000 on federal returns for state and local taxes, known as SALT. A previous version of the bill had a cap of $30,000. If passed by the Senate, the new expanded SALT cap would benefit millions of big earners in high-tax states, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Oregon and California. Since new tax laws in 2017, the SALT deduction has been capped at $10,000. Changes could go into effect for the 2025 tax year, so taxpayers who itemize their deductions could reap bigger returns as early as next year. "If you live in a state with high taxes and make between $200,000 to $500,000, we estimate that it will probably increase after-tax income by nearly 1%," said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at The Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan think tank. Lisa Lewis, a certified public accountant and tax expert with TurboTax in San Diego, said upper-income earners had been missing the valuable deduction for property and state income. "Will it move the needle financially? It will help," she said. In its current iteration, the SALT cap would increase by 1% per year through 2033, said Mark Baran, a tax attorney and managing director at CBIZ in Washington, DC. Baran said that many of the people with the most to gain from the SALT deduction live in so-called blue, or Democratic-leaning, states. For everyone else, he said "the distributional effect is unclear." For some residents of high-tax coastal states, this could bring some welcome financial relief. "But it doesn't change that fact that truly high earners are making geographic moves due to tax law," said Eric D. Brotman, a certified financial planner and chief executive officer of BFG Financial Advisors. The tax bill is likely to be altered as it moves its way through the legislative process and some tax experts told Reuters they expect the Senate to tweak parts of the proposed SALT deductions to bring down the cost. (Reporting by Lauren Young, Editing by Leela de Kretser and Rosalba O'Brien) KPIT Technologies, an automotive software and mobility engineering firm, has opened a new technology centre in Gothenburg, Sweden to 'drive innovation in mobility'. This marks a significant step in the company's strategic expansion, establishing a presence in the Nordics and reinforcing its commitment to European automotive OEMs. Located in Lindholmen Science Park, the heart of Sweden's automotive and mobility R&D, the new centre is surrounded by industry leaders, academic institutions, and start-ups. This strategic move is a testament to KPIT's vision to reimagine mobility in collaboration with clients, talent, and partners. KPIT president and joint MD Sachin Tikekar said: "Our vision is to reimagine mobility for a cleaner, smarter and safer world. Sweden is a powerhouse of innovation, especially around safe and sustainable mobility, with Gothenburg at its epicenter. "Our presence here allows us to be physically closer to leading Swedish and European OEMs, enabling faster collaboration and solving their core business challenges with our software, hardware design and manufacturing engineering capabilities. "We are excited to work with local talent, harness Swedens focus on technology and green transition, and co-develop solutions for challenges of mobility OEMS globally." For over two decades, KPIT has been a strategic partner to top European mobility OEMs. The company's expansion into Sweden enhances its existing network, which includes centres in Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and beyond. This extension is part of KPIT's global delivery network that spans the US, Japan, China, Thailand, India, and Tunisia. The inauguration event at Lindholmen was attended by Swedish and European automotive OEMs, academic leaders, and representatives from the Swedish government, Business Sweden, and other key stakeholders. Business Region Goteborg CEO Patrik Andersson said: "This is a strategically important investment for the Gothenburg region. The fact that KPIT Technologies is expanding here strengthens the capacity of our automotive cluster and confirms our citys importance as a global hotspot in software-defined mobility and transport. "We know that the company sees great growth opportunities in Sweden. We warmly welcome their investment in Gothenburg." "KPIT opens new technology centre in Sweden" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. On May 21, JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and $255 price target for L3Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LHX), following a government briefing that noted the defense contractor's participation in a major defense program known as Golden Dome. JPMorgan maintains L3Harris stock Overweight with $255 target The Golden Dome, which covers a range of defense-related systems, is poised to allocate a substantial amount of funding to several contractors. Major industry participants, such as Lockheed Martin, are anticipated to make significant contributions to the program's development, despite L3Harris having already established a role in certain aspects of it. The program, which President Trump initially ordered in January, aims to develop a network of potentially hundreds of satellites to track, detect, and intercept incoming missiles. At the program briefing, which was attended by Senator Jim Banks of Indiana, L3Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LHX) received recognition for its contributions, particularly through its space systems facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company has invested $150 million to build out the facility, which has better positioned it as a major player in national security manufacturing and increased its ability to secure contracts linked to crucial defense programs. While we acknowledge the potential of LHX to grow, 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 LHX and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. Read More: 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Steve Cohen and 10 Defensive Stocks Billionaire Ken Fisher Is Betting On Disclosure: None. Much of Estee Lauder's struggles stem from its exposure to China and the duty-free shopping retail market. The company's sales have slumped in China as consumer spending in the country following Covid has been slow to recover. However, these issues have been even more pronounced in its global travel retail business. For those unfamiliar with Estee Lauder, it is a global beauty conglomerate with brands across cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and haircare. It primarily operates in the prestige segment, positioning its portfolio as a collection of high-end, luxury beauty brands. In addition to its namesake brand, it also owns Clinique, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Tom Ford Beauty, and other brands. Perhaps the more relevant thing for investors today, though, is why Burry is so bullish on Estee Lauder when he was willing to sell everything else in his portfolio and essentially bet against the U.S. and Chinese markets. This was likely due to the uncertainty over trade tensions and tariffs, and it's unknown if Burry has since closed out these positions. If he covered the put options quickly, he would have made a nice profit in the market downturn. Burry didn't stop there, though. Not only did he sell his entire stock portfolio, but he also bought put options on Nvidia and several Chinese ADRs, including Alibaba , PDD Holdings , and JD.com , among others. By buying put options, he was betting that these stocks would decline in price. As such, it was quite notable when it was revealed that Burry sold off his entire investment portfolio in the first quarter, except for one stock: cosmetic company Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL). In fact, he doubled his position in the stock during the quarter. Legendary investor Michael Burry is known for making big bets. In fact, he became famous for being one of the first investors to recognize the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, and he bet heavily against the housing market by buying credit default swaps on subprime mortgage-backed securities. Credit default swaps essentially act like insurance against default, so when the underlying mortgage-backed securities collapsed, Burry profited handsomely. He was later portrayed in the movie The Big Short by Christian Bale. The beauty company has struggled due to a sluggish recovery from Chinese consumers, especially in the retail travel market. Famed investor Michael Burry became bearish on the stock market in Q1, but he doubled down on his position in Estee Lauder. Story Continues A big part of Estee Lauder's growth strategy was selling its beauty products at airports and other duty-free shops throughout Asia and Europe that are frequented by Chinese travelers. COVID-19 threw a big wrench into this business, and Chinese travel has been slow to recover since. The company tried to pivot to China's duty-free hub, Hainan Island, a more local area for Chinese tourism. However, Chinese consumers remained cautious, and it ended up having too much inventory in this area. This, in turn, led to discounting, which has caused margin compression. Discounting for luxury brands can also be a big mistake, as it can devalue the brand in the eyes of consumers and alienate its core customers. It can also condition customers to want to wait to buy its products when they go on sale. In the U.S., meanwhile, Estee Lauder has run into increased competition from newer prestige beauty brands. Brands like Drunk Elephant have built strong followings by offering trendy, ingredient-focused products that appeal to young adults and teens. Estee Lauder's brands, meanwhile, are often viewed by younger consumers as their mom's brand and not their own. Image source: Getty Images. Interestingly, prior to Q1, Burry had positioned his portfolio to benefit from a potential recovery in Chinese consumer demand. At the time, he held long positions in major Chinese e-commerce companies, including Alibaba, PDD Holdings, and JD.com, before reversing course and betting against the stocks by buying puts. Despite his short-term actions, Burry likely still believes in the long-term recovery of the Chinese consumer. This could be one of the big reasons why he maintained and increased his position in Estee Lauder. If the current Chinese travel and consumption woes prove to be cyclical, the company's sales and earnings could bounce back sharply. After all, Estee Lauder still owns a solid portfolio of luxury brands that have strong global distribution. It has currently enacted what it calls a profit recovery and growth plan to transform its operating model to fund a return to sales growth and restore a solid double-digit adjusted operating margin. As part of this plan, it is also reducing costs and laying off employees. With sales down 10% and adjusted operating income plunging 27% last quarter, the company still has its work cut out for it. The biggest area of distress was still retail travel, with organic revenue falling 28% last quarter and expected to fall even further in the current quarter. Its retail travel business now makes up just a low-teens percentage of its overall business. However, it has been able to significantly reduce its elevated inventory and believes it is in a better position moving forward. Should investors buy Estee Lauder stock? Trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 30 times this fiscal 2026 (ending June 2026) analyst estimates, Estee Lauder stock is not cheap on the surface. However, there has been a lot of earnings erosion in the past few years, so if it can regain some of those lost earnings, the stock could have a lot of upside from here. There is still a lot of work the company needs to get done, but it could be a stock worth considering for patient investors. Burry has a great track record, so I would not bet against him. Should you invest $1,000 in Estee Lauder Companies right now? Before you buy stock in Estee Lauder Companies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Estee Lauder Companies wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $804,688!* Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 957% a market-crushing outperformance compared to 167% for the S&P 500. Dont miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group and JD.com. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Legendary Investor Just Made a Huge Bet on This One Stock -- Should You Follow? was originally published by The Motley Fool Nike is the latest retailer to announce price hikes amid President Donald Trumps elevated import tariffs. The footwear giant plans to increase prices for adult apparel and equipment by $2 to $10 starting June 1. Nike footwear that costs $100 to $150 is expected to rise by $5 while footwear that costs more than $150 will increase by $10, according to the company. There will be no price raises for children's products, items under $100 or Nike Air Force 1 shoes, or Jordan products. "We regularly evaluate our business and make pricing adjustments as part of our seasonal planning," Nike said in a statement to USA TODAY that did not mention tariffs. Pedestrians walk past a Nike store on April 12, 2025 in Shenzhen, China. Fellow shoes and sportswear brands Adidas and Puma will likely follow suit with U.S. price hikes, according to Reuters. Impending price increases aren't limited to the footwear industry. Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have publicly announced impending price increases in response to the Trump Administration's imposed tariffs including a 30% one on China imports (previously 145%). Here's what to know about the price hikes at various retailers, including Walmart and Amazon. Adidas In its first quarter earnings report in late April, Adidas CEO Bjrn Gulden confirmed the price of all its products will rise in the U.S. due to Trump's tariffs. The German footwear brand sources and manufactures its products from several countries in Asia, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Cambodia. "Since we currently cannot produce almost any of our products in the U.S., these higher tariffs will eventually cause higher costs for all our products for the U.S. market," Gulden said in a statement. Adidas shoes are displayed at a DSW store on April 29, 2025 in Novato, California. Pumas Earlier this month, Pumas reportedly limited the volume of merchandise it ships from China to the U.S. by 10% following the tariffs, according to Reuters. Chief Financial Officer Markus Neubrand said the German footwear company would closely watch what rivals do regarding price hikes before implementing their own, Reuters reported. "We don't want to be the leader in terms of the pricing change in the U.S. market," he said on May 8. Walmart Despite exceeding sales expectations in the first quarter, Walmart may soon increase prices for shoppers due to higher tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, according to earnings calls. U.S. shoppers will start to see prices rise at the end of May and certainly in June, Walmart's Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said in a CNBC interview. Trump blasted the company on social media last weekend, accusing Walmart of unfairly blaming his tariffs for their expected price increases and ordering the worlds largest retailer to eat the tariffs. By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) -An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia takes center stage for Wall Street in the coming week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. U.S. equities pulled back this week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the U.S. government's $36 trillion in debt. Long-dated U.S. Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5% and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when U.S. President Donald Trump targeted the European Union and Apple in threats to ratchet up his trade war. Focus will shift to Wednesday's quarterly results from Nvidia, one of the world's largest companies by market value whose stock is a major influence on benchmark equity indexes. "All eyes are going to be on Nvidia's report," said Chuck Carlson, CEO of Horizon Investment Services. "The whole AI theme has been a major driver of the market and Nvidia is at the epicenter of that theme." Nvidia will be the last of the "Magnificent Seven" megacap tech and growth companies to report results for this period. Their stocks have been mixed in 2025 after leading the market higher as a group in the last two years. Nvidia shares are down 2% this year after soaring over 1,000% from late 2022 through the end of 2024 as its AI chip business spurred massive increases in revenue and profits. Nvidia's first-quarter earnings likely jumped about 45% on revenue of $43.2 billion, analysts estimated in an LSEG poll. After big tech companies earlier in the quarter signaled robust AI-related spending, Nvidia can deliver a strong message about AI and how companies' spending plans are faring, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. "Nvidia can reinvigorate the enthusiasm for that theme." Nvidia, popular among smaller retail shareholders, is an investor sentiment indicator, said Wasif Latif, chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners. "Given its sheer size and attention that it is commanding, there are going to be a lot of people looking for what happens with the stock," Latif said. U.S.-China relations could also be in focus with Nvidia's report. The company said last month it would take $5.5 billion in charges after the U.S. government limited exports of its H20 artificial intelligence chip to China. Trade developments have whipsawed the stock market this year, especially after Trump's April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs on imports globally set off extreme asset price volatility. By Ariba Shahid ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan plans to offer concessions to U.S. companies to invest in its mining sector as part of negotiations with Washington over tariffs, its commerce minister told Reuters, as Islamabad seeks to capitalize on the Trump administrations interest in boosting trade with South Asia. Pakistan faces a potential 29% tariff on exports to the United States due to a $3 billion trade surplus with the world's biggest economy, under tariffs announced by Washington last month on countries around the world. Tariffs were subsequently suspended for 90 days so negotiations could take place. Pakistan's Commerce Minister Jam Kamal said that Islamabad will offer U.S. businesses opportunities to invest in mining projects primarily in Pakistan's Balochistan province through joint ventures with local companies, providing concessions like lease grants. The minister said that would be in addition to efforts to increase imports from the United States, particularly cotton and edible oils, which are currently in short supply in Pakistan. Pakistan would put its offer of concessions for mining investment to U.S. officials during talks over tariffs in the coming weeks. Kamal did not give further information on the bidding process of these mines or other details. "There is untapped potential for U.S. companies in Pakistan, from mining machinery to hydrocarbon ventures," he said in an interview with Reuters conducted on Thursday. Pakistans Reko Diq copper and gold mining project in Balochistan seeks up to $2 billion in financing, including $500 million to $1 billion from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, with term sheets expected by early in the third quarter of this year, its project director told Reuters last month. The mine could generate $70 billion in free cash flow and $90 billion in operating cash flow over its lifespan. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that hes working on "big deals" with both India and Pakistan, following Washingtons key role in brokering a ceasefire between Pakistan and India earlier this month following the worst fighting in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours. "The previous U.S. administration focused more on India, but Pakistan is now being recognised as a serious trade partner," Kamal said. Pakistan will gradually lower tariffs in its upcoming federal budget, Kamal said. He said that the United States has not specified trade barriers or priority sectors. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Ariba Shahid; Editing by Susan Fenton) Palantir (PLTR) was awarded a $795M modification to a contract for Maven Smart System software licenses. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 28, 2029. Army Contracting Command Aberdeen Proving Ground is the contracting activity. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Published first on TheFly the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See todays best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on PLTR: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue On May 22, Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) announced that CEO Jakob Stausholm will be leaving his position later this year. This transition will happen as the mining giant pushes forward with significant expansion projects. Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm to Step Down Amid Major Bauxite Expansion Plans Drills extracting gold from a gold mine, revealing the company's gold mining operation. Stausholm has been part of Rio Tinto since 2018 when he came on board as the Chief Financial Officer. He later took the companys reigns after which he reset the companys strategy to align the group to the opportunities of the energy transition and shaped a pathway to a decade of profitable growth. Chair Dominic Barton emphasized that Stausholm has restored trust with key stakeholders and built a strong foundation for future growth. Most importantly, Barton said, the CEO's succession will allow Rio Tinto to enter its next phase, focusing on operational excellence. As that happens, the company has revealed plans to expand its Amrun bauxite mine on Cape York Peninsula. The Kangwinon project aims to nearly double the bauxite production capacity from Rio Tintos (NYSE:RIO) Weipa Southern operations. This $1.9 billion expansion would generate over 800 construction jobs and could increase annual production by up to 20 million tons. Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) is a global mining company that explores, mines, and processes mineral resources. The company operates through segments like Iron Ore, Aluminum, Copper, and Minerals. It produces iron ore, bauxite, alumina, copper, gold, silver, diamonds, borates, titanium dioxide, and lithium. While we acknowledge the potential of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) 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 RIO 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. Rio Tinto has been confirmed as the preferred partner for the Salares Altoandinos lithium project in Chile's Atacama region, as announced by Empresa Nacional de Mineria (ENAMI), the state-owned Chilean mining company. Under the proposed terms, Rio Tinto will acquire a 51% stake in the project, with ENAMI retaining the remaining 49%. The completion of this transaction is contingent upon the execution of binding agreements, regulatory approvals and other standard closing conditions. Rio Tinto is set to advance the preliminary and detailed feasibility studies, paving the way for a conclusive final investment decision (FID). The company will contribute $425m (315.19m) in cash and non-cash resources, encompassing its proprietary direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology. This financial commitment will cover phased expenditures dedicated to fully financing the initial feasibility study and subsequent research phases. Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said: We are honoured to have been selected by ENAMI as the preferred partner for the Salares Altoandinos project, which has the potential to be a world-class lithium development. We welcome the opportunity to develop our partnership with ENAMI, building on our interests in Nuevo Cobre and Salar de Maricunga, and to support Chiles position as one of the worlds leading producers of minerals critical to the energy transition. The Atacama region in Chile is known for its vast potential, which could allow for the creation of a significant copper and lithium district, subject to further studies, while benefitting from synergies through partnerships to maximise the region's potential. Rio Tinto's strategy includes leveraging investments in shared infrastructure such as power and logistics across multiple projects. This approach will facilitate an integrated and coordinated effort to enhance engagement with local communities. The deal with ENAMI follows Rio Tintos recent agreement with Codelco to invest $900m in the Salar de Maricunga lithium project, which is also located in the Atacama region. According to the terms of the agreement, Rio Tinto will acquire a 49.99% stake in Salar de Maricunga SpA, the entity through which Codelco manages its licences and mining concessions for the Salar de Maricunga project, by financing studies and development costs. "Rio Tinto chosen as preferred partner for lithium project in Chile" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. (Reuters) -Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot plunged to a net loss of $393 million in the first quarter, blaming the slump on new Western sanctions that have led to operational problems, lower revenues and some sanctioned vessels sitting idle. The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Sovcomflot and its fleet in 2024 to try and reduce Russia's revenue from oil sales that it can use to finance its war in Ukraine. In January, the United States added new Sovcomflot vessels to the list of sanctioned assets and withdrew a U.S. licence, granted last year, that had allowed some vessels in its fleet to operate despite sanctions. Sovcomflot, which reported a 49% year-on-year drop in first-quarter revenue to $278.5 million, said the January sanctions had been particularly impactful, creating additional commercial and operational difficulties. "The intensification of Western sanctions has made it more difficult to operate the fleet and led to lower revenues and downtime for some sanctioned vessels," Sovcomflot said in a statement. "In the reporting period, unprecedented sanctions restrictions were imposed on the company and its vessels, which created additional commercial and operational difficulties in operating the fleet," Sovcomflot said. The group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell almost 69% year-on-year to $105 million. Sovcomflot considers the sanctions to be illegal. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow; editing by David Evans and Tomasz Janowski) Key Points Target's first-quarter results fell short of expectations. The retailer lowered its full-year outlook for sales and adjusted earnings per share. Despite the stock's big pullback this year, investors should be skeptical. 10 stocks we like better than Target Target (NYSE: TGT) has seen its stock price tumble approximately 30% year to date, underperforming the broader market by a wide margin. Its disappointing financial results this year have raised questions about the retailer's ability to return to steady, meaningful growth. The company's challenges were especially put in the spotlight on Wednesday morning, when Target reported a decline in sales. Adding to the bad news, management said it no longer expects sales to grow this year. While the results are discouraging, some investors may be wondering if the stock's steep pullback is a buying opportunity. After all, with shares down so sharply, could all of the bad news already be priced into the stock? Image source: Getty Images. Target's Q1 results: What you need to know The company's recent first-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings report revealed a 2.8% decline in net sales to $23.85 billion, missing Wall Street expectations. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8%, with a 5.7% decrease in physical store sales. This was partially offset by a 4.7% increase in digital sales. Adjusted earnings per share fell 35.9% to $1.30, below analysts' consensus forecast of $1.61. Although GAAP earnings per share rose to $2.27. But this figure was aided by a legal settlement. Several factors have contributed to Target's recent struggles. The company attributed the sales decline to economic uncertainty, tariff impacts, and customer boycotts related to its stance and recent retreat on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Given these troubles, Target downgraded its 2025 outlook, now anticipating a low-single-digit sales decline rather than the previously projected 1% increase. Further, management said it now expects adjusted earnings per share for the year to be between $7 and $9. Previously, management was targeting a range between $8.80 and $9.80. Responding to uncertainty Given consumers' declining confidence in an uncertain environment, Target is rolling out more items at lower prices to appeal to its customers' growing interest in value. Specifically, the company is launching 10,000 low-cost products to attract budget-conscious shoppers. Regarding tariffs, Target is reducing its dependence on Chinese imports. Management said that 30% of its products come from China today. But it expects that figure to come down 25% by the end of next year. The fashion industry had a unique concern about the impact of tariffs. Continued uncertainty has pushed Urban Outfitters to move up shipments of its fall product, putting it at an increased risk of miscalculating fall fashion trends. Apparel retailers must strike a balance in giving themselves time to predict new styles, while also shipping inventory early enough to sell it all to consumers, Northeastern University professor Shawn Bhimani told Fortune. President Donald Trumps tariffs may mean that your new autumn sweaters may already be so last year. The U.S.s steep levies on clothing production giants like China and India is forcing retailers like Urban Outfitters to make supply-chain changes that may result in stocking inventories that dont fully align with seasonal fashion trends. Urban Outfitters chief financial officer Melanie Marein-Efron said the Philadelphia-based apparel retailer will likely have to pull forward shipments of its products for autumn as result of tariff concerns. While our teams continue to focus on increasing inventory turns, the uncertainty around tariffs means we are likely to bring in fall product a bit earlier, Marein-Efron told investors on Wednesday following its first-quarter earnings report. She added that because of tariffs, as well as to plan for future supply-chain disruptions, the retailer needed to plan to pull forward its fall inventory, which is less sensitive to changing fashion trends. In order to save on costs, the company will shift its shipping method from air to sea, which will add about 30 days to the products delivery time. While Urban Outfitters may secure its fall inventory, the earlier shipment dates means it wont have as much time to predict what styles consumers will want once the leaves start to change colors and temperatures cool. There is always a risk as you go out in time that the fashion might not be as accurate as we would like it to be, Urban Outfitters CEO Richard Hayne told investors. As Urban Outfitters grapples with the ramifications of tariffs, so too do other retailers having to scramble to rearrange supply chains, as well as pull forward shipments of goods to dodge the impact of the levies. Logistics professionals warn whipsaw tariff policies are encouraging stockpiling behaviors, which may result in headaches down the line for retailers like shortages or inventory pile-ups. URBNthe parent company of Urban Outfitters, as well as Anthropologie, Free People, and Nuulyreported strong first-quarter earnings, posting 11% sales growth in the first quarter and a 5% increase in same-stores sales. Its quarterly revenue of $1.33 billion exceeded the $1.29 billion analysts expected. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)'s UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the U.S., is facing unprecedented public and regulatory scrutiny amid mounting patient frustration and industry turmoil. In 2023, San Diego benefits advocate Sue Cover spent six months battling a $1,000 billing dispute, highlighting the widespread challenges Americans face with insurance companies. UnitedHealthcare, which covers over 29 million Americans and controls 15% of the market, has become a focal point for criticism over denied claims, administrative hurdles, and rising healthcare costs. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)'s UnitedHealthcare Faces Mounting Backlash Amid Billing Disputes, CEO Resignation, and Criminal Probe A healthcare professional wearing a health communications device discussing patient data with a colleague. The companys reputation has suffered from high claim denial rates, 33% for certain ACA plans in 2023, among the highest in the industry, and lawsuits alleging improper use of AI to deny care. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)s influence extends beyond insurance, with ownership of pharmacy benefit manager Optum Rx and affiliations with about 90,000 doctors, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and profit-driven care. Recent setbacks include a $300 billion market cap loss, CEO Andrew Wittys resignation, a criminal probe into Medicare Advantage practices, and fallout from a major ransomware attack on its Change Healthcare subsidiary. Experts say UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)s woes are symptomatic of a broader, costly, and convoluted U.S. healthcare system where insurers cost-cutting tactics can delay or deny critical patient care. While we acknowledge the potential of UNH to grow, 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 UNH and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Cancer Stocks to Invest in for Long-Term Gains and 10 Most Oversold Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. Getty Images / Charly Triballeau Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. For much of last year, President Donald Trump promised extraordinary economic benefits from his policies and the brightest economic future the world has ever seen for the country. But just months into his second term, the administration is asking Americans to brace for an economic dip instead. In a recent interview on CNBCs Squawk Box, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the ongoing efforts to cut back government spending would negatively impact the economy. The market and the economy have become hooked, become addicted, to excessive government spending and theres going to be a detox period, he said. The impact of the detox period may already be unfolding At the end of 2024, government expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product was 34%. However, despite the efforts of Elon Musk to cut costs via the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, there is little evidence that government spending has been reigned in. The federal budget deficit hit $1.3 trillion in March 15% higher than the same time last fiscal year. While federal government revenues have risen 3% year-over-year last month, total spending increased by 7%. All told, the government is still spending a huge amount of money. Meanwhile, tariff-driven uncertainty has caused the stock market to record the most volatile week ever during the second week of April. Plus, JPMorgan & Chase raised the odds of a recession from 40% to 60% earlier this month. Such drops suggest that the only thing this detox is eliminating is economic optimism. Here are three ways you can prepare your portfolio for the ongoing fallout. Gold In times of uncertainty and volatility, investors often consider gold to be a safe haven. Amid the recent market turmoil, gold has been regaining steam over the last few months, trading above $3,000 per ounce. With more uncertainty looming, JPMorgan predicts an ounce of gold could reach an average price of $3,675 by the end of 2025, and $4,000 by the second quarter of 2026. Adding a little gold exposure to your portfolio could help insulate your wealth. Vanguard, with roughly $2.9 trillion in 89 ETFs, is expanding its bond exchange-traded fund lineup with two new tax-exempt municipal bond ETFs, the asset management giant announced Thursday. Both the Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEL) and the Vanguard New York Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (MUNY) are designed for investors looking to generate tax-exempt income through high-quality fixed income. Each ETF comes with a 0.09% expense ratio and may be attractive to investors who prefer passive management, according to a press release issued by Vanguard. This is a really great time for investing in muni bonds, Perryne Desai, senior fixed-income product manager at Vanguard, told etf.com. When you look at the long end of the curve, youre getting almost the same yield from a 30-year municipal product as you are in a Treasury product, and then you get the tax-equivalent benefit. Vanguards Muni Bond ETF Footprint The introduction of these funds builds on years of launching similar products, starting with the flagship Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEB) in 2015. The firm then debuted the Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTES) in 2023, followed by the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEI) and Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEC) in 2024. The two funds introduced today represent the finality of that lineup build in a lot of ways, Desai said. VTEL offers investors exposure to longer duration municipal bonds, low fees, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. We wanted to create the duration positioning for clients so they can choose where along the curve theyd like to invest, rather than having an all-curve product, Desai added. Lots of people are very happy and comfortable in our VTEB product, but some like to break up duration into the various bucketsshort, intermediate and longand we wanted to make sure that they had the tools and the toolkit that they would want to use. And like the California-specific VTEC, MUNY gives investors in a large, high-tax state the ability to access muni bonds from their state at a low cost. Vanguards suite of muni products now includes six index ETFs, two active ETFs, 12 active mutual funds, one index mutual fund and three money market funds. Permalink | Copyright 2025 etf.com. All rights reserved Walmart CEO John Furner - Photo: Rick T. Wilking (Getty Images) Walmart (WMT) is eliminating roughly 1,500 jobs, the Wall Street Journal reported, in what CEO John Furner described as opportunities to remove layers and complexity in a memo to staff titled Building the Future. The layoffs will hit the retailers corporate and technological divisions, including e-commerce. The company employs 1.6 million people worldwide. The company had an excellent year in 2024, its best since 1998, but the retail giant issued conservative guidance for 2025. The news of new layoffs comes a week after the worlds largest retailer said it would be raising prices due to President Donald Trumps tariffs. One-third of Walmart products are imported from countries targeted by ever-changing federal levies, notably China, Mexico, and Canada. Trump pushed back in characteristic fashion, telling the company in all-caps, naturally to EAT THE TARIFFS, even while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted that tariffs inevitably increase prices for American consumers. Thats how tariffs work, but Trumps Walmart comments are evidence that he either doesnt really understand the companys business model, or simply expects Walmart to bite the bullet as a gesture to his administration. A Walmart spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that the layoffs reflect a focus on business priorities and our growth strategy, and are not related to tariffs. Walmart wages rose last year for store managers, new workers, and Sams Club employees. In January 2024, Walmart announced new stores and promised more jobs. And on April 30 this year, it opened what it called a next-generation supercenter in Cypress, Texas, where Furner said, This isnt just a ribbon cutting. Its a commitment to the future, an investment in a community and new job opportunities. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We recently published a list of These 10 Stocks Soared by Double Digits Today! In this article, we are going to take a look at where Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) stands against other stocks that soared today. Advance Auto Parts soared by 57.04 percent on Thursday to close at $49.17 apiece as investors cheered the companys maintained full-year outlook despite the threats of higher tariffs. In its financial statement, Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) maintained its guidance for net sales from continuing operations, between $8.4 billion and $8.6 billion, with same-store sales growth between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent. Why Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (AAP) Soared Today A manufacturing facility floor filled with an array of automotive parts and accessories. The recently implemented tariffs have created a highly dynamic economic environment. Despite this, the team is staying focused on the turnaround and our path ahead. We are reaffirming our annual guidance based on performance to date, expected progress on our strategic initiatives for the balance of the year, and our planned mitigation actions for the tariffs currently in effect, said Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) President and CEO Shane OKelly. In the first quarter of the year, Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) reported a 41-percent increase in net income from continuing operations, at $24 million versus the $17 million registered in the same period last year. Net sales, however, decreased by 6.8 percent to $2.583 billion from $2.772 billion year-on-year. Overall, AAP ranks 2nd on our list of stocks that soared today. While we acknowledge the potential of AAP, 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 AAP and has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Listen and subscribe to Opening Bid on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. In the continuing saga of humans vs. the AI revolution, fear is common for anyone fretting about its impact on their job or quality of life. "Listen, this [AI] is just another transition, like before Excel, after Excel, or before or after you could use a search engine," Goldman Sachs (GS) chief information officer Marco Argenti told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi on a new episode of the Opening Bid podcast (see the video above or listen below). "It's more about what part of your job is like something that you really feel that you add unique value," he continued. "It elevates your work rather than doing repetitive tasks." This embedded content is not available in your region. Argenti is fluent in the dance between human and machine. Before joining Goldman Sachs, he was involved in tech integration across several departments within Amazon's (AMZN) AWS cloud services division. "I came in 2013, which was almost at the beginning of a mega cycle of cloud computing," he recalled. Argenti joined Goldman Sachs in 2019, just as AI was beginning its rise in everyday use. "I would estimate that at this moment, close to two-thirds of the organization in one way or another is exposed to an AI tool," he said of the investment bank. AI adoption comes in waves, starting with using it to make existing processes more efficient, followed by deeper integration into the organization, Argenti said. Another milestone is using AI agents to perform tasks such as analysis and data extraction in reports. "The way you scale those agents is that [they] are outsourced to other agents," he said. "The same way as you have managers." Early on, fear of AI's negative impacts on the human workforce reigned supreme. In 2023, critics cited lack of human insight, creativity, and privacy issues among their concerns. That same year, Goldman Sachs estimated AI could upend as many as 300 million jobs, and Resume Builder surveyed 750 business leaders about their attitudes toward AI. Of the companies using AI, 37% said the technology would replace some of their workers. In 2024, a separate poll found that 44% of employers would "definitely or probably" lay off workers due to AI. Meanwhile, the economy has had its AI-related ups and downs. Last summer, AI chip king Nvidia (NVDA) disrupted the "Magnificent Seven" and briefly became the highest-valued company. Later, upstarts like DeepSeek entered the arena, threatening incumbent large language models (LLM) by doing a similar job for cheaper. We recently published a list of These 10 Stocks Soared by Double Digits Today! In this article, we are going to take a look at where IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) stands against other stocks that soared today. IonQ saw its share prices jump by 36.52 percent on Thursday to end at $45.79 apiece as investor sentiment was buoyed by its chief executives comments bold claim that the company will become the next Nvidia Corp. of the quantum computing sector. In an interview with Barrons, IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) Chief Executive Officer Niccolo de Masi was quoted as saying that he believes the company will be the Nvidia player of the quantum computing sector. Why IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) Soared Today A quantum computer on a countertop in an engineering laboratory with a technician at work. Were in the business of quantum just like Nvidia and Broadcom are in the business of classical GPUs, de Masi told the news outlet. I believe IonQ will be the Nvidia player. There will be other people that copy us and follow us; they have always copied and followed us, he said. De Masis comments also spilled over into shares of other quantum computing stocks such as RGTI, QBTS, and QUBT. Overall, IONQ ranks 3rd on our list of stocks that soared today. While we acknowledge the potential of IONQ, 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 IONQ and has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. SOPA Images / Getty Images IonQ shares popped 37% Thursday, leading quantum computing stocks higher Shares of quantum computing companies rocketed higher Thursday, led by IonQ (IONQ), whose chief executive said it aims to become the Nvidia (NVDA) of quantum computing. IonQ shares popped close to 37% after CEO Niccolo de Masi said in an interview with Barrons that his company is in the business of quantum just like Nvidia and Broadcom are in the business of classical GPUs, adding I believe IonQ will be the Nvidia player." "There will be other people that copy us and follow us; they have always copied and followed us, de Masi reportedly said. Meanwhile, D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) stock jumped 24%. The company on Tuesday had unveiled its newest quantum computer, sending shares higher earlier in the week. CEO Alan Baratz said D-Waves machine, known as Advantage2, marks a significant milestone not just for D-Wave, but for the quantum computing industry as a whole. Rigetti Computing (RGTI) also rose Thursday, adding 26%, while Quantum Computing (QUBT) climbed more than 14%. Read the original article on Investopedia Key Points The company's CEO told a major investment publication it expects to be the "Nvidia" of quantum computing. However, IonQ is currently very far from that, and has more competitors than Nvidia did. Today's action feels like a short squeeze based on hype. 10 stocks we like better than IonQ Shares of quantum computing company IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) skyrocketed 37% on Thursday, after CEO Niccolo de Masi sat down with Barron's for an interview. During the interview, he outlined a lofty goal for the company, and even said that IonQ would be the "Nvidia" of quantum computing. However, a mere aspirational comment like that shouldn't put this speculative stock up by this much. Delving into the interview, there really wasn't anything tangible to warrant this kind of stock price increase. An Nvidia mention gets you far As we've seen over the past two years, whenever a stock is compared with Nvidia or has been shown to have received an investment from or partnership with the company, speculators tend to pile in. This happened just last week with respect to newly public "neo-cloud" CoreWeave, which skyrocketed after it was disclosed Nvidia had increased its position in the stock. However, that can be a double-edged sword. After all, SoundHound AI plunged earlier this year when it was disclosed Nvidia had sold its entire stake in the company. SoundHound's stock hasn't recovered. In the Barron's interview, De Masi said of the quantum computing industry: "I believe IonQ will be the Nvidia player. There will be other people that copy us and follow us; they have always copied and followed us." No doubt, IonQ was the first publicly traded quantum stock, with IonQ's strategy focused on early commercialization through its trapped-ion process. Meanwhile, other competitors have taken other approaches they believe will ultimately win out, but may take longer to commercialize. Later in the interview, de Masi predicted that someone would "pay hundreds of billions of dollars to buy IonQ," because he anticipates a major cloud computing provider will want IonQ's quantum technology in-house as a differentiator. Given that the company's market cap was only around $8.75 billion heading into today, it's perhaps not surprising the stock is seeing a big surge on those comments. Image source: Getty Images. But there's no "there" there -- yet Investors should be very cautious of any quantum computing stock, and especially of chasing one on a day like today. For all of de Masi's talk, IonQ only generated $7.6 million in revenue last quarter, with a $32.3 million loss. One key reason investors were initially skeptical about Ubers long-term potential was the rise of autonomous vehicles, particularly from automakers like Tesla (TSLA). The fear was that autonomous cars could replace or decelerate the need for services like Uber altogether. That growing relevance is also showing up in the financials. For Q1 2025, Uber reported record profitability of $1.9 billion in adjusted EBITDAa 35% increase from last year, highlighting how the company is efficiently scaling its rideshare business while tightening up operations. At this point, Ubers value proposition has become one of its most significant assets. The company is increasingly seen as an essential service, especially in major cities, as consumers turn to Uber amid the rising global costs of car ownership. Theres really not much to fault in Ubers latest results. In a quick recap of the companys Q1 2025 earnings, Uber grew its customer base by 14%, reaching a record 170 million monthly active users globally. And that growth wasnt just on papertrips were up 18% year-over-year, and gross bookings rose another 14% (despite a mild quarterly deceleration). This proves that Uber continues to attract and retain users at a large scale. In fact, global retention rates hit all-time highs, which says a lot about Ubers value proposition, built around convenience, accessibility, and affordability. Looking ahead, even after the stocks rebound, a valuation analysis based on market-expected growth and assumptions that align with Ubers business model still suggests theres a margin of safety to initiate a long position, though short-term upside might be more limited from here. Ubers latest quarterly earnings figures, published earlier this month , reinforced that story. Add to that a fading perception of risk from Robotaxis and the tariff drama now behind us, and its easy to see why Ubers recent rally feels well justified. Trading around its all-time highs, Uber Technologies (UBER) stock has enjoyed solid momentum, fueled by a booming business and valuations that still feel comfortably reasonable. My bullishness on Uber stems from its dominant global platform, backed by strong network effects that continue to drive consistent profitability, thanks to its scalable, asset-light model across mobility and delivery. Story continues In fact, over the past year, Ubers stock has often moved in the opposite direction of Teslas, particularly when Tesla made announcements related to its Robotaxi project. Elon Musk outlined plans to operate a fleet of self-driving cars while also selling them to individuals interested in running their own Robotaxi businesses. Performance comparison between UBER and TSLA stocks However, its clear that Uber hasnt been sitting idly by. Instead, the company is actively embracing and leveraging new technologies, particularly in the realm of autonomous vehicles. What some investors viewed as a threat, Uber has become an opportunity. The company has already started testing autonomous vehicles through a partnership with Waymo in Austin, Texas. The initial deployment of 100 cars has been highly successful, and Ubers management is now expanding this partnership to include several hundred more. This not only shows that Uber is reinventing itself to compete in the future of ridesharing, but its also going the extra mile with autonomous technology. According to Ubers management, the company can offer the lowest operating cost for autonomous vehicle partners. This is because Uber is ahead in key areas, such as go-to-market capabilities, which are critical for commercializing autonomous vehicles at scale. As a result, with the risk around autonomous vehicles decreasing and Uber continuing to deliver solid user growth and strong financials, its easy to see why the companys stock has rebounded so strongly, especially since April. Uber Technologies (UBER) vs. S&P 500 (SPY) The Road Ahead for Ubers Valuation Looking ahead, Ubers second-quarter outlook shows strong expectations for continued growth. The company is projecting an 18% annual increase in gross bookings at the midpoint and a 32% growth in Adjusted EBITDA. However, is Uber fairly valued based on the markets consensus on growth? A reverse discounted cash flow analysis suggests that it is. While short-term expectations are solid, the long-term outlook is also promising. Analysts are projecting a compound annual revenue growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% over the next five years. Its also reasonable to assume that, as Ubers business scales and profitability improves, operating income will grow at a five-year CAGR of 32%, in line with the companys recent bottom-line guidance. Uber Technologies (UBER) revenue, earnings and profit margin history Considering Ubers asset-light business model, CapEx should be under 3% of revenues, with Depreciation & Amortization accounting for roughly 70% of CapEx. Ill also conservatively assume no changes in working capital, discount cash flows at a rate of 8.4%, and apply a 3% perpetuity growth rate for the business. This would give Ubers business an equity value of $222 billion, translating to a share price of ~$106. Of course, this reverse DCF analysis is only as reliable as the assumptions behind it. However, based on Ubers past performance and industry trends, these assumptions seem reasonable, not overly aggressive. Given Ubers ability to consistently beat bottom-line estimates, these assumptions might even be too conservative, offering a bit of a margin of safety for those considering going long. What is the Forecast for Uber Technologies in 2025? Uber has garnered plenty of optimism from Wall Street analysts. Out of 31 ratings given in the past three months, 27 are bullish, and the remaining 4 are neutral. However, this doesnt suggest a massive price jump. Ubers average stock target is $97.92, implying a conservative upside potential of ~6.5% over the next twelve months. UBER Trades at All-Time Highs With Room to Grow Uber continues demonstrating its ability to scale efficiently each quarter, even amid a rapidly evolving mobility landscape. This performance is primarily driven by its compelling value proposition, enabling the company to adapt to technological advancements and navigate competitive challenges. Although Ubers stock is currently trading near all-time highs, its valuation remains appealing, presenting a strong case for long-term investors. That said, short-term volatility may persist, particularly if margin pressures emerge as growth continues. Nevertheless, I view the stock as an attractive opportunity while it remains below the $100 mark, providing a reasonable margin of safety. Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Key Points Southwest shares fell after the company said it is yet to see a rebound in demand. The company's comments appear to be at odds with statements from rivals, raising questions about whether this is in part a Southwest-specific issue. 10 stocks we like better than Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has not yet seen a rebound in demand for travel, disappointing investors who had been hoping for a quick turnaround. Southwest shares fell as much as 4.5% when comments were made by the company's CFO before rebounding somewhat and trading down 1% as of 2:30 p.m. ET. Image source: Southwest Airlines. Discretionary spending takes a dive Airline stocks are highly cyclical in nature. When budgets get tight, it is easier to skimp on travel than the grocery bill, meaning airlines tend to see demand fall when the broader economy is under pressure. Several airlines withdrew or scaled back full-year guidance during earnings season, complaining of a surprise collapse in demand late in the first quarter. There was some hope the collapse would be short-lived. Southwest CFO Tom Doxey, speaking Thursday at a Wall Street conference, said, "We have not seen in the industry an inflection back" toward more robust demand. Doxey said unit revenue in the first quarter was about three points worse than what they had expected heading into 2025, and second-quarter unit revenue is trending toward about six points worse than what was expected. That's not good news, and there is some reason for investors to worry it is a Southwest-specific issue. A day earlier, United Airlines Holdings said it was seeing a "stable" revenue and booking environment heading into the busy summer travel season. Is Southwest Airlines a buy? Investors shouldn't make too much of the Southwest/United comparison, as they were slightly different questions, but Southwest could indeed be a standout to the downside. The company is early in the process of revamping its business model, including getting rid of popular features, including free checked bags. Although Southwest said it has not seen a consumer backlash so far, it is possible consumers are booking elsewhere. Even in the best-case scenario, Southwest is a company in transition during a dangerous period for the industry. Investors have every reason to be cautious as the summer travel season plays out. Should you invest $1,000 in Southwest Airlines right now? Before you buy stock in Southwest Airlines, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Southwest Airlines wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Key Points The Canada-based bank released its second-quarter earnings report. It beat analyst estimates for both revenue and profitability. 10 stocks we like better than Toronto-Dominion Bank An encouraging quarterly earnings report was the catalyst sending Toronto-Dominion Bank's (NYSE: TD) stock higher on Thursday. It closed the trading session up by more than 3%, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index essentially flatlined. A double beat for quarter No. 2 Toronto-Dominion's total non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted revenue for its fiscal second quarter of 2025 was slightly over 15.1 billion Canadian dollars ($10.9 billion), up from the CA$13.8 billion ($9.9 billion) it earned in the same frame of 2024. That was on the back of growth in both net loans and total assets, which rose by nearly 1% and almost 5% year over year, respectively. Image source: Getty Images. Adjusted net income went in the other direction, slipping to a bit over CA$3.6 billion ($2.6 billion) from the year-ago profit of almost CA$3.8 billion ($2.7 billion). The former figure was CA$1.97 ($1.42) on a per-share basis. Both headline fundamentals comfortably beat the consensus analyst estimates. On average, professional researchers tracking Toronto-Dominion's stock were expecting CA$13.6 billion ($9.8 billion) for revenue, and a per-share, adjusted net income figure of CA$1.83 ($1.32). In terms of its activities, the bank's largest -- Canadian personal and commercial banking -- saw a net income decline of 4%; it attributed this to higher provisioning for credit losses and noninterest expenses. Those operations saw a 3% increase in revenue, however. Meanwhile, Toronto-Dominion's U.S. retail banking unit saw its adjusted net income fall by 16% in U.S. dollar terms. The company said this was due mainly to higher governance and control expenditures. American struggles On a more positive note, Toronto-Dominion did well with its wealth management and insurance, and wholesale banking divisions -- reported net income growth for the pair was 14% and 16%, respectively. Wealth management benefited from strong inflows from institutional clients, while the latter notched a new record for revenue. Although the twin beats were satisfying, I think investors should be concerned with the company's struggles in the U.S. market. This will be the part of its operations to keep a sharp eye on going forward. Should you invest $1,000 in Toronto-Dominion Bank right now? Before you buy stock in Toronto-Dominion Bank, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Toronto-Dominion Bank wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Editors Note: The GAAP EPS number has been corrected in the story Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares fell sharply on Thursday after posting results for its fiscal first quarter of 2025. The retailer reported revenue of $1.73 billion, a 4.2% increase from the same quarter last year and ahead of Wall Streets estimate of $1.67 billion. Comparable brand revenue rose 3.4% year over year. GAAP earnings per share of $1.85 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.77. Williams-Sonoma reported a gross margin of 44.3%, down 360 basis points from the prior year. The decline includes a 300-basis-point benefit from an out-of-period freight adjustment in the same quarter of 2024. Also Read: Ralph Lauren Is Growing Despite Tariff Headwinds, Hikes Dividend By 10% Adjusted gross margin fell 60 basis points year over year. The decrease was primarily due to a 220-basis-point drop in merchandise margins, partially offset by 120 basis points of supply chain efficiencies and 40 basis points of occupancy leverage. Occupancy expenses rose slightly to $198 million, up 0.8% from the prior year. Quarterly operating income was $291 million with a 16.8% margin, down 230 basis points. Excluding last years freight benefit, the margin rose 70 basis points. Williams-Sonoma increased inventories by 10.3% year over year to $1.3 billion, pulling forward receipts to reduce potential FY25 tariff impacts. In the quarter, we saw an acceleration of the positive comp trend coming out of Q4, with all brands running positive comps, commented Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer. There is no doubt that existing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties are a focal point for the market. But volatility is not new in our industry, and we are confident in our ability to adapt and navigate whatever lies ahead, Alber added. The company ended the quarter with $1 billion in cash and $119 million in operating cash flow, returning $165 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends, with $1.1 billion remaining in repurchase authorization. Williams-Sonoma maintains its fiscal 2025 and long-term outlook despite absorbing higher costs from the current tariff landscape. This includes existing tariffs such as the 30% levy on China, a 10% global reciprocal tariff, and 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as on steel and aluminum. The company emphasized that its guidance does not account for additional future tariffs and may be revised if material changes occur. Williams-Sonoma expects fiscal 2025 net revenue to range between -1.5% and +1.5%, with comparable sales flat to up 3.0%. Operating margin is forecast between 17.4% and 17.8%, factoring in a 20-basis-point drag from last years extra week. Kevin Carter / Getty Images Williams-Sonoma Inc. posted better-than-estimated revenue and earnings. KEY TAKEAWAYS Shares of Williams-Sonoma Inc. tumbled 5% in intraday trading Thursday, even as the retailer posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Citi analysts said that gross margins at the company behind stores like Pottery Barn lagged estimates. William-Sonoma shares have lost 18% of their value so far this year. Shares of Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM) tumbled 5% in intraday trading Thursday, as the retailer posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue but missed analysts' estimates on its gross margins. The company behind retail brands including Pottery Barn, West Elm, and its namesake stores, reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85, better than the $1.73 analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected. Total revenue of $1.73 billion was also above estimates of $1.66 billion. Williams-Sonoma reiterated its fiscal 2025 outlook, even with absorbing incremental costs from the existing tariff environment, it said. The company sees full-year revenue ranging from down 1.5% to up 1.5%, with comparable sales expected to be flat to up 3%. Citigroup analysts reiterated their neutral call on the stock and $155 price target, but noted that the company's gross margins were below estimates and "saw outsized merchandising margin pressure." Williams-Sonoma said its first-quarter gross margins were down by 60 basis points. "We're not surprised to see some share weakness in light of the margin miss," the Citi analysts said, adding that "WSM shares have rallied considerably since the S&P 500 low in early April." The company expressed confidence in meeting future challenges. "There is no doubt that existing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties are a focal point for the market, CEO Laura Alber said. But volatility is not new in our industry, and we are confident in our ability to adapt and navigate whatever lies ahead. William-Sonoma shares have lost nearly 15% of their value so far this year. Read the original article on Investopedia Colorado Springs' 127 licensed medical and recreational marijuana stores are no longer eligible for membership with the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Corp. The chamber board at its regular meeting Thursday approved an amendment to the organization's bylaws "requiring the business activities of members and prospective members to be lawful under federal, state and local laws, statutes and regulations," spokeswoman Nicole Jomantas said in an email Friday. The new policy immediately applies to all current and prospective chamber members, Jomantas said last week. The chamber's former membership requirements did not directly address instances where businesses were operating legally under state law but illegally under federal law, she said previously. "This action was taken to provide greater clarity and consistency in the organization's membership policies and reflects the Chamber & EDC's commitment to alignment with the legal standards that guide business operations at all levels. The organization remains focused on maintaining a clear and consistent framework for membership as we continue to advocate for a vibrant and inclusive regional economy," Jomantas wrote Friday. The policy also applies to future businesses providing psilocybin, also known as "magic mushrooms." In 2022, Colorado voters approved an amendment decriminalizing some psychedelic substances like psilocybin and allowing them to be used at "natural healing" treatment centers, though they are still outlawed federally. Cities can't ban the centers completely, but can place stricter limits on their locations than the state's minimum standards. Native Roots operates four medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries in Colorado Springs; it is the only chamber member immediately affected by the policy change. Native Roots became a member of the Colorado Springs chamber in March. Sign up for free: Gazette Business Receive a weekly roundup of business news around El Paso County. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Featured Local Savings The chamber will contact the business to inform them of the change in bylaws and will refund Native Roots' membership, Jomantas said Friday. In a written statement Friday, Native Roots said it was "deeply disappointed" with the amendment. "For over a decade, groups like Native Roots have contributed significantly and legally to both the local community and economy. This decision, unfortunately, contradicts the inclusive values that are at the core of the chamber's mission. Nevertheless, we remain steadfast in our commitment to serve our community and our customers with integrity, passion and care. We are actively exploring ways to redirect our efforts and resources to foster unity within our community and continue to champion progress for all," the company wrote. The chamber is likely "within its rights to limit membership in this way" because the new bylaw language broadly refers to federal, state and local laws, said Xavier Jaillet, a Denver-based attorney with McDonald Hopkins LLC whose work focuses on the cannabis industry. Jaillet is also a board member of the national Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and chairs its Colorado chapter. If federal law changes in the future, Native Roots and other similar businesses could apply for chamber membership, Jomantas previously said. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder of Colorado gives the thumbs-up to supporters at a National Organization for Women convention in Philadelphia in this July 1987 photo. Schroeder has been a leader in encouraging and assisting more Democratic women to get involved in politics. You are the owner of this article. DENVER Jurors found Derrick Bernard Jr. and Ashley Blackcloud guilty of conspiracy and intimidation in U.S. District Court of a hate-crime hoax that made headlines during the 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral runoff election. The jury deliberated for roughly four hours before reaching its verdict. Bernard, 35, and Blackcloud, 40, were found guilty of one count each of conspiracy and maliciously conveying false information to intimidate another person, and face up to 15 years imprisonment and $500,000 in fines. Bernard's sentencing hearing has been set for Sept. 11. Blackcloud is set to be sentenced on Sept. 17. Bernard is already serving life in prison without chance of parole after he was convicted of ordering the 2019 murder in Colorado Springs of William Underwood, who went by the rapper name FYL Jackk. Aee Shawn Mathews, 26, the accused triggerman, was acquitted of killing Underwood, but found guilty of conspiracy to commit the killing in a trial last month. Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, who had testified as a victim in the case, issued a statement late Friday expressing gratitude for the outcome. "This moment brings a sense of closure and relief, not only for our family, but for the Colorado Springs community as a whole," his statement read in part. Moments like this remind us that hate has no home in our city. As we move forward, we do so with gratitude, healing and a commitment to the values that make Colorado Springs a safe, just, and united community. Bernard and Blackcloud sat through the five-day trial that heard evidence introduction and witness testimony. An alleged co-conspirator who testified, Deanna West, 38, took a plea deal, and is also to be sentenced in September. The three worked at the local radio station Bernard ran, Family Flavors The Slide World Broadcasting Network, or The Slide. Shortly after the news of the hoax broke, the station shut down due to financial difficulties, West testified. Based on testimony heard throughout the week, Bernard had relationships with both Blackcloud and West at different points in time. Bernard and Blackcloud are currently married, and Bernard referred to her as his "beloved wife" during his testimony. Court records indicated Bernard's and Blackcloud's defense had multiple witnesses scheduled to testify, but none of them were called to the stand, although Bernard testified on his own behalf on Thursday. Ahead of closing arguments, U.S. District Court Judge Regina Rodriguez emphasized the prosecution had to prove the hoax was a true threat and the defendants' alleged actions were not protected by the First Amendment, as the defense previously claimed. The case started in November when the U.S. Attorneys Office for Colorado announced that a federal grand jury had indicted the Bernard, Blackcloud and West for maliciously conveying false information about a threat made using fire to draw support for the eventual winner of the mayoral race, Mobolade, who became Colorado Springs first elected Black mayor after winning a runoff election against Wayne Williams. Featured Local Savings Videos and photographs of the early morning incident on April 23, 2023, which included a cross burning and posting a racial slur, were sent in a mass email to media outlets along the Front Range, calling the act disgusting, and indicating Williams, who is White, could be to blame because he was pushing hard to win (the) candidacy. Lead U.S. Attorney Bryan Fields argued the incident was not a hoax to the Mobolade family, but rather their worst nightmare. "This seeped into their daily lives in a way that should not happen in America," Fields said. Fields asserted that the intent of those who made the threat does not matter, and that it only matters how the victims interpreted it. Attorneys for Blackcloud and Bernard have argued their defendants only intended to drum up "sympathy and support" for Mobolade's campaign. Mobolade and his wife, Abbey Mobolade, were emotional in their testimony earlier this week as they recounted their experience. Fields said that, even if Blackcloud and Bernard didn't mean the threat to insinuate violence, they spread false narratives to support the claim that it was real. This included sharing news articles on social media with captions expressing their disgust. Blackcloud's attorney, Britt Morton Cobb, maintained the stance she presented during opening statements and claimed there was no evidence the cross burning was meant to be an actual threat. She said it was simply a "political stunt" and therefore protected by the First Amendment. "You can be mad at her," Cobb said, referring to Blackcloud. "That's OK, that's fine. That doesn't make this a crime." Cobb emphasized how Mobolade did not contact police until the Monday after the news broke, and when he did, it was a call to Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. Cobb claimed the hesitation to call law enforcement right away indicated Mobolade did not deem the incident as a "true threat." Additionally, Cobb alleged Mobolade had at least some knowledge of the "hoax," citing the six-minute phone call and the texts Bernard sent to Mobolade about him "having a plan." "Politicians and their supporters do crazy things sometimes," Cobb said. Bernard's attorney, Tyrone Glover, gave a short closing argument after his client on Thursday took the stand against his advice. Glover told the jury he didn't expect a verdict to be easy but insisted that his client had no ill intent. Fields in turn told the jury that the question was not whether Mobolade was involved, but whether the threat was a tactic of intimidation. Two men and a boy were recently arrested in connection with a May 11 shooting at a Stratmoor Hills-area apartment complex that left one person injured, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Multiple calls for service came in around 8:06 p.m. on May 11 regarding a shooting at the Hampton Village Apartments in unincorporated El Paso County. The Sheriff's Office said witnesses described an argument between several men outside the complex, followed by the sound of gunfire. Deputies arrived on the scene and found one man with a gunshot wound to his leg. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Featured Local Savings Court documents indicate that the victim told police he was approached by three men who asked his name before they physically attacked him. The victim said he attempted to run away when he was shot in the back of the leg. Sheriff's office investigators conducted multiple search warrants on May 16 related to the shooting. As a result of the investigation, 38-year-old Nicholas Madrid Sr., 24-year-old Isaiah Marquez-Lobato and a juvenile male were arrested. All three face charges of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault. Madrid and Marquez-Lobato were booked into El Paso County jail, and each is held on $200,000 bond. Marquez-Lobato is currently on probation for an unrelated crime. Arrest affidavits for both of the arrested men point to a motive for the shooting. The affidavits state that the three assailants sought out the 25-year-old victim by name, intent on doing him harm. Investigators say the victim's girlfriend's brother currently incarcerated allegedly ordered the three assailants to hurt the victim in retaliation for the victim's supposed domestic abuse of the sister. The case remains an active investigation. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the El Paso County Sheriffs Office Tip Line at 719-520-7777. After power went out Thursday at some Hickory subsidized housing properties owned by Nu-Dimensions, power was restored for some by Friday evening. On Thursday, some Nu-Dimensions properties lost power because the property manager, Barr Residential, did not pay power bills for about 40 properties. Power was back Friday at many of the Nu-Dimensions-owned properties, but some on Ninth Avenue Southeast and others were still waiting on power restoration at the end of the day on Friday. Richard Rojeck, COO of Barr Residential, said the bills were sent to a Post Office box the company did not know existed. At about 3:30 Friday, Barr Residential COO Richard Rojek said power bills to Duke Energy had been paid and power was being restored. Rojek said Barr took over management of Nu-Dimensions properties in March or April. The Hickory Public Housing Authority used to manage the properties before the Hickory City Council voted to abolish the board. Some residents lost power for over 24 hours. Residents said they lost food and could not use medical devices. Mason Truax, a community manager for Barr Residential, said the company would work on putting people in hotels who still did not have power by the end of the day. Some were already in hotels, Truax said. Residents who lost power were also being given paperwork to file a claim for reimbursement for loss of food due to the power outage. Whitney Ross is a resident of Waverly Ridge whose home was affected by the outage. She said she has lived at Waverly Ridge for about four years. This is the first time this has happened, Ross said about having power cut off. She said Barr Residential personnel had contacted her about getting into a hotel. Ross said her power went off Thursday at about 2:30 p.m. Other units lost power around 1 p.m., Ross said. She said her children slept restlessly Thursday night due to the warm home without air conditioning. While she was frustrated about the power outage, Ross said, in her opinion, management and maintenance at the properties had improved since Barr took over. Fellow Waverly Ridge residents Michael and Crystal Propst agreed with that statement, but said they wanted to move out of Waverly Ridge. Michael Propst said he relied on a nebulizer to help with breathing, but was unable to use it because of the power outage. Its time for me to go, Michael Propst said. On Thursday, residents received notice about applying for Section 8 vouchers and having the option to move to another home. The Propsts, who have lived at Waverly Ridge for about seven years and said they have seen improvements, said they hope they can move soon. Were planning on it, Michael Propst said when asked if he thought he would move. Were waiting on Social Security (payments) then were out of here. Its too many problems. Residents have spoken publicly about maintenance and other issues with Hickory public housing homes under prior management. The Hickory City Council terminated the public housing authority board in January due to its failure to distribute enough housing vouchers and mismanagement of funds. The Western Piedmont Council of Governments will take over the duties of the housing authority by July 1. Hickory City Councilman Anthony Freeman, who represents the area where Nu-Dimensions housing is located, said the latest issue plaguing Nu-Dimensions is why he pushed for changes to the Hickory Public Housing Authority board last year. Some people who were on the housing authoritys board are also on the board of Nu-Dimensions, the organization that owns some subsidized housing properties. Sidney Myles and the board of Nu-Dimensions do not take responsibility for actions, Freeman said Friday. People need to put their feet to the fire. According to the N.C. Secretary of States office, Myles is the registered agent for Nu-Dimensions, Inc. According to a Nu-Dimensions tax form filed in 2024, Myles was the organizations vice chairman. Myles could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. Freeman said he was concerned about the choice of Barr Residential to manage the properties. Freeman said the company had below average ratings. City council hopes that by turning the voucher program over to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, more people will be able to receive needed housing. The Hickory housing authority was using around 61% of their vouchers. The council of governments had distributed around 98%. Freeman said he reached out to the Office of Housing and Urban Development, Duke Energy and Barr Residential to try to find a solution for residents to the power outage issue. Freeman said as the properties are privately owned, there is little the council can do to resolve the power issue on the properties. Freeman and Councilwoman Jill Patton said they will continue to advocate for changes and better treatment of residents at public housing properties owned by Nu-Dimensions. SPRINGFIELD By working long hours and passing 400 bills on four roll calls, the Illinois House has met its deadline for passing all its own bills by May 23. Among the hundreds of bills passed Friday in an all day, pre-holiday scramble to clear the House calendar were measures to restrict abortions, give the state more control over horse racing and setting up a Consumer Protection Agency. CHARLESTON A new planner has been hired by the Coles County Regional Planning Commission. Pat Glithero will assume his duties with the commission on June 2, filling a spot left vacant by former planner Jim Bixler, who resigned the post to take a planning job in Wisconsin. WASHINGTON President Ford has ruled out use of U.S. military force in response to a new Arab oil embargo. DAVENPORT Fred Ryherd of Hampton, Ill., was given up for dead after being listed as one of two men missing when an awesome explosion ripped through the International Multi-Foods Corp. grain and flour mill complex here Friday. But, early today, the grain inspector and retired Air Force pilot, was plucked by an Iowa National Guard helicopter from high inside a heavily damaged silo at the complex badly burned but still alive. CHARLESTON Gary L. Holt will be allowed to keep his nine-month-old cougar, but he lost $25 in the process. Holt pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of violating the state Keeping of Certain Animals Act. Judge Thomas M. Burke fined him $10 and ordered him to pay $15 court costs. Holt was issued an Endangered Species Permit from the state Division of Wildlife Resources, enabling him to keep the cat at his house for the purpose of conducting research on the animal. CHARLESTON Deaf students at Lincoln School have once again been helped out by the Charleston Police Association. The association this week presented a $350 check to the school for the purchase of a Phonic Ear hearing unit to be used by students. It is the second such device given to the school by the police association this year. The total compensation gap continues to narrow between corporate and not-for-profit healthcare executives with a major presence in the Triad. The Journals and News & Records annual executive compensation analysis puts a spotlight on 37 publicly traded corporations and 14 not-for-profit and nonprofit organizations. For the healthcare sector, the review focuses on Labcorp Holdings Inc. on the corporate side and Advocate Health, Atrium Health, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Cone Health and Novant Health Inc. Hospital management pay has become a hot-button issue in recent years, particularly as Triad healthcare systems have cut or outsourced hundreds of jobs in response to regulatory changes, as well as participate in major deals as buyer or seller. Health-care compensation is particularly sensitive because of its impact on medical costs and insurance premiums throughout society. Adam Schechter, chief executive of Burlington-based Labcorp, received $19.33 million in total compensation for fiscal 2024. Meanwhile, Advocate Health chief executive Eugene Woods received $18.58 million for fiscal 2023 the latest available from the nations third-largest not-for-profit healthcare system. Advocate, based in Charlotte, is the parent company of Atrium, which has Baptist under its not-for-profit umbrella. What Labcorp and Advocates compensation packages have in common is the base salary for Schechter and Woods is not his top pay category. Schechter was paid $1.42 million in base salary, $2.11 million in incentive pay and $15.18 million in the value of stock awards declared for fiscal 2024. Because nonprofit healthcare systems dont have stock to offer top executives, base salary, incentive pay and deferred compensation plans are the main payout means. Woods base salary was $3.76 million the highest of the 51 executives reviewed along with $11.47 million in bonus and incentive pay. Novant chief executive Carl Armato was paid $7.03 million in total compensation for 2023, including $2.05 million in incentive and bonus pay and $2.32 million in base salary. Only Wells Fargo & Co. chief executive Charlie Scharf at $2.5 million made a higher base salary than Armato among the 37 corporate CEOs. Armato took over as Novants top executive in January 2012 after the retirement of Paul Wiles. His base salary has risen 231.4% from $699,113 in 2011 the last fiscal year before his promotion. Baptist chief executive Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag was paid $5.24 million in total compensation for 2023, including $2.52 million in base salary and $1.97 million in bonus and incentive pay. Cone chief executive Dr. Mary Jo Cagle was paid $1.73 million in total compensation for 2022, including $1.09 million in base salary and $412,517 in bonus and incentive pay. Cone was acquired in December by Risant Health, a Kaiser Permanente healthcare affiliate. Gregory Adams, Risants chief executive, was paid $2.12 million in base salary in 2023, as well as $9.1 million in bonus and incentive pay, and $12.71 million in total compensation. Healthcare responses Woods has become the ignition point for Triad and North Carolina healthcare executive compensation debate, particularly since taking over the fulltime chief executive role following the December 2022 merger of Atrium Health of Charlotte and Advocate Aurora of Chicago and Milwaukee. Advocate has 67 hospitals and 150,000 employees in six states, with fiscal 2024 revenue of $27 billion. At $18.77 million in total compensation in fiscal 2023, Woods ranked ninth out of 51 overall in the Journals 2024 executive chart. As Woods total compensation likely continues to rise, he could be ranked among the top-10 in the U.S. healthcare industry as soon as this year. Atrium has embraced Woods compensation, saying it is justified given the complexity of managing a large hospital system. Atrium Health continues to recruit and retain some of the most respected leaders in the industry, Atrium said in 2022. Those leaders have positioned Atrium Health in such a way that, today, we are part of an organization that is larger than both McDonalds and Kraft Heinz, as well as leading local Fortune 500 firms like Duke Energy and Truist, in terms of total annual revenue. In discussing its latest executive compensation disclosure, Atrium said that in todays complex health care landscape, strong, impact-oriented leaders are essential to navigate our industrys challenges and continue to redefine care for all. To attract and retain the best talent to fulfill our purpose, we offer a competitive compensation package determined by our governing board and consistent with governance best practices, which is guided by independent expert advice and national data from similar sized organizations. Advocate has said that as a nonprofit health system, we dont have the luxury of providing stock options and other typical corporate perks. However, corporate executives stock and stock-option awards go up and down in value with the share price. John Challenger, chief executive of outplacement consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., said it is appropriate for some health-care systems to compensate top executives similar to corporate levels. Communities who want the best health-care system they can get should support paying the compensation levels required to attract top talent, Challenger said. The balancing act is that while we want the quality of executive talent at the top of health care systems, we dont want it to contribute to higher overall health-care costs. CEO pay tied to hospital deals? Not-for-profit healthcare systems have said consistently their boards set executive compensation based primarily on industry-standard best practices for well-governed tax-exempt organizations, and that they use third-party expert advisors to review the total compensation program. Critics say hospital systems use their nonprofit status for tax advantages and public-relations purposes, while compensation committees have sought to justify corporate-level wages and benefits to top executives. One determination from a July 2024 healthcare executive compensation report by Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy was that higher compensation may be a factor driving the ongoing consolidation of health care systems, particularly among larger organizations. Our findings suggest that CEOs may be incentivized to consolidate health care systems in order to reap the financial rewards of leading a larger, more profitable health care system, said Derek Jenkins, lead author of the Rice study. Over the past eight years, there has been nine hospital acquisitions involving Triad healthcare systems: * 2017: Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center acquires Wilkes Medical Center * 2018: Wake Forest Baptist acquires High Point Regional Medical Center. * 2021: Novant spending $5.3 billion to acquire New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. * 2022: Atrium Health acquires Wake Forest Baptist. * 2023: Novant acquires Pender Medical Center in Burgaw. * 2024: Novant completed $2.4 billion purchase of Hilton Head Hospital, Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville and East Cooper Medical Center in Mount Pleasant; Risant Health taking over Cone that includes $1.7 billion capital investment into Cone. The acquisition count could have been larger if the Federal Trade Commission had not opposed Novants $320 million offer to buy Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and Davis Regional Psychiatric Hospital of Statesville. Novant ended its bid in June 2024. Novant aspirations Novants executive leadership is not bashful about touting the growth potential from $10 billion in annual revenue currently to $30 billion through hospital acquisitions. Novant operates 19 hospitals systemwide, including Forsyth, Clemmons, Kernersville and Thomasville medical centers and Medical Park Hospital in Winston-Salem. Novant has nearly 40,000 employees, of which 8,145 are in Forsyth County as one of the Triads largest employers. For the second consecutive year, Armato and his management team presented their vision to a JPMorgan Health investor conference on Jan. 22. Novant offered several PowerPoint pages touting its remarkable branding in terms of patient care, along with its artificial intelligence advances. Yet, the essence of the presentation is demonstrating Novants financial strengths compared with current and potential future competitors. Besides tripling annual revenue to $30 billion by an unspecified target date, Novant wants to become the Southeasts leading regional health system beyond the Carolinas to include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. A 2024 National Library of Medicine report on healthcare executive compensation determined that not only is CEO compensation growing, but it is growing disproportionately relative to other healthcare workers. The reports authors wrote that high levels of nonprofit CEO compensation may be warranted if the compensation is linked to better quality of care and greater community benefit However, previous literature finds no association between better patient outcomes (i.e. risk adjusted mortality and readmissions) and executive compensation at nonprofit hospitals, although higher patient satisfaction has been linked to better pay. There have been mixed results on the association of CEO compensation with financial performance and a strong association with organization size. Rising executive compensation is contributing to the affordability crisis in American healthcare and should remain in the forefront of the minds of policy makers. The financial picture at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools grew more bleak on Friday when the school district announced that it is an estimated $42 million over this years budget. Thats $34 million more than what the school system projected in March. The deficit is so severe that school leaders are reaching out to Forsyth County to help repay the $18 million the district owes the state, according to a letter that Superintendent Tricia McManus and School Board Chairwoman Deanna Kaplan sent to N.C. Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education on Thursday. We do not have details, as it would require action by our County Commission and that has not occurred, the letter read. The N.C. Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education wrote a letter to the local school board earlier this month asking for details on what corrective measures the district was taking to address its finances. The letter said the school system was risking financial sanctions and additional oversight. The school district responded, and in a follow-up letter on Thursday, provided the state with an update on its finances and other actions it intends to take, including submitting weekly reports to the state until June 30, the end of the fiscal year. In the letter to the state, McManus and Kaplan wrote that the local school board will comply with all laws and regulations and would welcome any additional support from the state. The initial report was wildly off target When the school districts dire financial situation first came to light in March, McManus said $8 million needed to be cut from the 2024-25 budget. That number was wildly off target. Outside consultants hired in late April to look at the current budget have found that the actual number is closer to $42 million. Most of the overspending has gone to pay the salaries of non-instructional support employees, which include social workers, counselors and other employees who support classroom teachers but are not in front of students teaching. Paying off that deficit will deplete the school districts fund balance. Of the $42 million, $18 million is owed to the state. The remaining $24 million deficit comes from the local expense fund, which is provided by Forsyth County. The local deficit is likely to decrease as the district looks at expenses to cut. Forsyth board: No formal request Forsyth County Manager Shontell Robinson said in an email to the Journal: We have not received any formal requests from WS/FCS but I know they are working on potential options for the countys consideration. Don Martin, the chairman of the Forsyth County commission, said that he and other county leaders met with school leaders and their financial consultants about two weeks to discuss some of the early findings shared by consultants. The Commissioners have not received a formal request from the School Board to pay back any funds. The letter to the State Board sent by the School Board implied that discussions were underway about whether the County would assist them in paying back the state overdraft. For me, the issue of what the County should do hinges on the answer to several questions: Can the school district reduce their FY26 local budget below the $180 million that they requested in local funds, what avenues have been explored with the state on possible repayment over time, and specifically what happens if the County Commissioners do not allocate any additional funds beyond the $180 million included in the county managers budget? Martin said in a statement to the Journal. The school districts financial troubles stretch across three years. The 2023-24 audit, belatedly presented to the school board in March, revealed that the school district overspent its budget by $16 million. The audit findings prompted school leaders to spend about $14 million from the systems fund balance. They did so without authorization from the elected school board, a violation of a state statute. It was at that meeting that McManus announced that the school district was on track to be $8 million over its 2024-25 budget. Several cuts were announced. In addition, McManus said that the district needed to find $16 million in savings in its 2025-26 budget. That number wound up being off by about $20 million. The school district has already cut $23 million from its 2025-26 budget and is in the process of finding another $13 million in reductions. No reductions have been announced but the cuts might include such things as reducing bilingual support staff who work in the front offices of schools, 5% pay cuts for the 17 people in Central Office who make more than $130,000 and eliminating bus transportation for students who go to schools outside of their residential zones. That possible cut would not apply to students who attend magnet schools. CFO, Superintendent are both leaving The financial disorder has resulted in Chief Financial Officer Tommy Kranz resigning on May 9, weeks ahead of his scheduled June 30 departure date. Kranz joined the district as chief financial officer in 2022. McManus announced her retirement to the school board on April 17, four days before the N.C. Auditors Office announced that it was conducting its own audit into school finances. An interim superintendent is expected to be hired in the coming weeks, ahead of McManus retirement, scheduled for June 30. The school district announced on Friday that it will begin posting updates on its finances on its website. In an update on Friday, the school system said that it did not adequately plan for reductions in state and federal funding. Maintaining the financial health of WS/FCS is critically important as we strive to provide the best outcomes for our students. Responsible stewardship of public dollars is a district priority, and we are dedicated to getting WS/FCS back on a sound fiscal path. We have made significant progress in identifying cost-cutting measures and are grateful to all the employees who have come to the table with solutions. Were also committed to transparent communication with the community about the districts financial condition and impacts on the next school year, McManus said in a statement. School board member Richard Watts said he was not surprised to hear about the $42 million deficit. We were waiting on the final report from the consultants. As a board, we have been working, along with the consulting team, to find additional ways to reduce the deficit, he said. Journal reporter Connor McNeely contributed to this story. The heat of the stage lights, the complexity of immersing himself into a character, the feeling of singing in front of an audience, the rush of earning a standing ovation every little detail about being on a stage makes him fall more and more in love with performing. From playing the humorous Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors to the cunning character of Matron Mama Morton in Chicago and the uptight Mr. Greenway in Elf Jr., Quincy Soto has found the place hes happiest in a theater, putting on intricate shows and soaking up the spotlight. The senior at Lincoln Southeast High School has belted out songs in Matilda the Musical, perfected his high-pitched laugh as the lead role in SpongeBob the Musical and danced throughout Once Upon a Mattress. Hes performed covers of his favorite songs, participated in numerous shows both at Southeast and in community productions and uploaded videos to YouTube of his impersonations of Patty LuPone, who is best known for her work in musical theater. The performing arts hallway (at Southeast) as a whole has been like a second home to me, he said. But on Sunday afternoon, Soto will complete his final act as a Lincoln Southeast Knight and cross the graduation stage to receive his diploma. Soto is among nearly 3,000 Lincoln Public Schools students to earn their diplomas this weekend in one of the districts largest classes of graduates ever. Throughout a total of 10 commencement ceremonies, LPS will congratulate 2,913 graduates this year just shy of the most populous class in 2022, which had 2,934 students. Lincoln East boasts the largest class of graduating seniors among the district's eight high schools this year with around 525 graduates. Lincoln Southwest has the second largest graduating class in the district with around 540 students. Lincoln Southeast and Lincoln High both trail behind, each with about 435 graduates. Meanwhile, Lincoln North Star handed out approximately 425 diplomas and Lincoln Northeast honored 390 graduates. At Lincoln Northwest, just under 160 students make up the high schools second graduating class in school history after opening in 2022 without any seniors. Last year, the school congratulated around 155 graduates. Lincoln Standing Bear, which opened in 2023 to only freshmen and sophomores, will welcome its first senior class next fall. Additionally, the district had around 360 students choose to graduate early this school year, which is up from the 285 students to graduate in December of 2021. Since the pandemic, LPS has seen a steady rise in the number of students choosing to accept their diplomas early, going from around 165 in the 2015-16 school year to around 260 in 2021-22. High school commencement ceremonies began on Friday evening at Pinnacle Bank Arena with Lincoln Northeast and will conclude on Sunday afternoon as Lincoln Southeast students cross the stage. The district also hosted several ceremonies earlier in the week for other LPS programs, starting with a celebration on Tuesday evening for graduates at the Yankee Hill Program, which is designed for students with behavioral issues. Then, students in the Independence Academy, which supports students with disabilities between the ages of 18-21, were honored on Wednesday. LPS also hosted a ceremony on Thursday for graduates at the Bryan Community Focus Program, which serves students with behavioral issues. Interim Superintendent John Skretta said he was thrilled to celebrate the thousands of LPS graduates this week and honor their hard work throughout their time with the district. We're proud of our graduates and know that they leave Lincoln Public Schools well-equipped for successful careers, lifelong learning and civic engagement, he said. While the commencement ceremonies are an opportunity to celebrate attainment of the high school diploma, we also view this as a launching pad for the great future accomplishments and milestones ahead for our grads. As Soto takes the final steps of his high school career and leaves the Southeast drama department behind, he has no intentions of saying goodbye to his time on the stage. Soto plans to take his passion to Wesleyan University in Lincoln this fall to study theater and continue chasing his dream of turning his talents into a career. While hes sad to close an important chapter of his life, Soto said hes excited for what's to come working under knowledgeable professors, continuing to refine his craft and performing on a college stage. I had a really good experience at Southeast all four years. I think it's a place that I definitely will always feel welcome back to, especially in the fine arts hallway, he said. It's bittersweet, but I also know that I'm ready. Bank of China marks 10 years as RMB clearing bank in Zambia Xinhua) 10:26, May 24, 2025 People attend a ceremony to mark the Bank of China's 10th anniversary as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, in Lusaka, Zambia, on May 23, 2025. The Bank of China (BoC) on Friday celebrated a decade of operating as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, reaffirming its commitment to promoting cross-border financial services across East and Central Africa. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) LUSAKA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of China (BoC) on Friday celebrated a decade of operating as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, reaffirming its commitment to promoting cross-border financial services across East and Central Africa. The ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia's capital, drew officials from the Chinese bank, the Chinese Embassy, and the Zambian government, as well as corporate clients. Jin Jun, counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, hailed the bank's role in advancing RMB internationalization and facilitating bilateral trade and investment. "It is reported that RMB cross-border settlements between Chinese and Zambian enterprises have been steadily increasing, with some companies already institutionalizing RMB settlements in bilateral transactions," he said. He called for broader RMB adoption to enhance local financial stability, improve corporate efficiency, and reduce exchange rate risks. The RMB, he added, offers a viable alternative for Africa's foreign exchange diversification as the world's fourth most used payment currency. Li Xuewen, managing director of BoC Zambia, said that the bank has actively promoted RMB services in Zambia throughout its nearly 30 years of operation in the country. He pledged to leverage BoC's global platform to support Zambian businesses entering the Chinese market and to facilitate Chinese investment in Zambia. Lillian Bwalya, permanent secretary in Zambia's Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry, said the use of national currencies in cross-border trade would lower transaction costs, mitigate exchange rate risks, and foster a more stable business environment. This approach can safeguard trade even during global instability, she said, citing the RMB's convenience and role in cushioning financial risks. Lyness Mambo, director of the prudential supervision department at the Bank of Zambia, stated BoC's efforts had strengthened the local financial market and bolstered China-Zambia trade ties, noting that growing RMB usage could increase liquidity in Zambia's forex market, lower exchange costs for businesses, and reduce dependence on other currencies. People attend a ceremony to mark the Bank of China's 10th anniversary as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, in Lusaka, Zambia, on May 23, 2025. The Bank of China (BoC) on Friday celebrated a decade of operating as a renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Zambia, reaffirming its commitment to promoting cross-border financial services across East and Central Africa. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) The health care industry rightfully remains vigilant against external cyber threats, with the Director-General of the World Health Organization even labeling file loss from ransomware as potentially issues of life and death. Patient safety and the sanctity of confidential health information are paramountwhich are also the very reasons health care organizations are prime targets for malicious actors. But as economic headwinds lead to corporate layoffs and government budget cuts dominate headlines, a less visible but equally critical danger demands our attention: The internal risks to hospitals and health care practices triggered by workforce reductions, which can culminate in significant data loss. The way we work has fundamentally shifted, and this transformation amplifies the risks associated with employee departures. Rather than solely relying on on-premise software to create, store, and manage critical information, most workers use many different cloud-based platforms each day and move data on and off their devices, in and out of the cloud. While this helps facilitate user productivity, it can create risks of unprotected information residing outside the secure confines of systems under management by IT teams at research organizations, diagnostic and laboratory services, and health care providers. According to the Work Trend Security Report, nearly seven in ten workers routinely save work-related data directly on their work devices, and 52 percent say they do not always back up that data. And private health and proprietary research data may be found elsewhere too. The vast majority use Google or Microsoft cloud collaboration tools and services for storing essential files as well as other specialized SaaS-based collaboration platforms. Often, users overlook performing regular data backups when using platforms, and when layoffs occur, this scattered digital footprint can become vulnerable to data loss or inaccessibility, with critical patient data and intellectual property potentially disappearing without a trace. Organizations are often ill-prepared to retrieve both data at scale and granular data (specific files) employees have created and dispersed across these various platforms when they leave. Beyond unintentional data loss due to overlooked backups and distributed storage, a more troubling trend exists: The deliberate deletion of important files. It is a startling reality that one in six workers have witnessed a colleague intentionally erase crucial data before their departure. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as rage deletion, is even more pronounced among those feeling insecure about their job stability. While these disgruntled employees may not be actively stealing information, the outcome is the same: The organization is left without access to vital records and knowledge. In an industry that is heavily reliant on data for patient care, research, and operational efficiency, the loss of critical information can have profound consequences. The problem is exacerbated by shortcomings in data backup practices. Many employees admit to not regularly backing up files stored on their devices or within critical cloud applications. This is not solely an individual failing; often, organizational strategies fall short as well. Only 30 percent of respondents report that their companies make data backup easy. Understandably, when data protection feels like a cumbersome chore, it is often skipped entirely. In the context of layoffs, departing employees may leave behind a wealth of unprotected files, and poorly managed cloud data further amplifies the exposure. Studies indicate that a large majority of companies store sensitive data, including personal health information and financial details, directly on employee endpoints like laptops and desktops. The risk of this sensitive information being lost, corrupted, or even exposed during layoffs is substantial. Adding to this precarious situation is a pervasive lack of clarity regarding data protection responsibility. A big portion of employees mistakenly believes that safeguarding data on cloud platforms is the responsibility of the service provider, while an even larger group assumes it falls solely under the employers purview. This creates an environment where critical data can easily fall through the cracks, particularly during periods of employee transition. So, what proactive steps can health care organizations take to mitigate these internal risks? Technology and security leaders must begin by thoroughly understanding where critical data resides within their systems and identifying any gaps in current backup tools and recovery processes. Additionally, organizations should consider the efficacy of their data backup and protection solutions. For example, do they require manual intervention or are they automated? Can the solutions scale across the organization from deployment to recovery capabilities? A comprehensive review of existing data protection solutions is crucial. Equally important is fostering strong partnerships across different departments within the health care organization. Collaboration with the HR department is particularly valuable for gaining insights into overall employee morale and corporate culture, which can serve as indicators of potential insider risks. Including relevant data resilience content into regular security training is essential. Clear and concise instructions on which backup tools to utilize, coupled with streamlined processes and automation, can empower employees to take ownership of protecting their work, without disrupting their work. Establishing robust employee offboarding procedures that include the secure retrieval of hardware and the immediate de-provisioning of access for departing employees is also fundamental to maintaining a strong security posture. Additionally, integrating cybersecurity awareness into the organizational culture can be key in reducing the risk of data loss during layoffs. Employee sentiment has a direct impact on behavior; disengaged workers are more prone to malicious data deletion. Organizations should prioritize ongoing cybersecurity training that extends beyond initial onboarding, ensuring employees understand the risks associated with both internal and external threats and reinforcing that data protection is a shared responsibility. Leadership must champion this culture by visibly demonstrating the importance of data security. The potential for significant intellectual property and sensitive patient data loss during health care layoffs is a multifaceted risk that cannot be ignored. Without robust backup protocols, clearly defined accountability, and a deeply ingrained culture of cybersecurity awareness, health care organizations remain dangerously vulnerable during times of workforce transition. By investing in user-friendly, automated backup solutions, promoting cross-departmental collaboration, and delivering consistent employee training, health care institutions can better safeguard their vital data assets and minimize operational disruptions, ultimately protecting the well-being and privacy of their patients. As workforce changes become a reality, proactively protecting intellectual property and patient data must be an intentional and organization-wide priority. Todd Thorsen is a health care executive. Summer 2025 brings several new additions to the Wisconsin Dells area, including a new restaurant and event venue in a relocated historic house. The Dawn Manor Restaurant, Bar, and Speakeasy, located at 413 South Burritt Ave. in Lake Delton, celebrated its grand opening on Tuesday. It features three levels of dining areas and bars named after house builder Abraham Vanderpoel, current owner Steve Uphoff and architect Frank Lloyd Wright, among others. "We wanted to get it open to catch that whole (tourism) season," general manager Bill Wilson said. The project is one of three Uphoff is opening in Wisconsin Dells in 2025 and 2026. At Dawn Manor, artwork from the original house, which stood on a property along Highway A in Lake Delton, is hung throughout the reconstructed house, along with information about the artwork. "We tried to make it like a museum where all the pieces that were still in the house would be preserved and people would walk through it and feel like they were there in the 1800s," Uphoff said. Dawn Manor was a house originally built in 1855 by Vanderpoel. After purchasing the house itself in 2017, Uphoff ordered the preservation of 94 pallets of sandstone, woodwork, stained glass and other architecture from the mid-1800s and re-installed the vintage components on a new frame to build the current restaurant and event venue. "It took eight years to get us here, so I'm really happy we got it built and it turned out as well as it did," Uphoff said. "It's a gift to the community. The building is an exact replica of what it was in 1855." Dawn Manor is open daily from 4 to 9 p.m. and will begin lunch hours on Thursday. The basement bar, Uphoff's Rotunda, is open from 3:30 to 10 p.m. daily, with a 3:30 to 6 p.m. happy hour from Sunday through Thursday. Reservations for dining and group and party are available on the restaurant website. Dinner menu items include a beef and bacon meatloaf dish, Amish chicken, pork with apple and fennel compote, lobster macaroni and cheese, a large chicken pot pie, salmon, walleye, shrimp pasta, and a two-thirds pound Swiss cheese burger. More food and drink menus are on the Dawn Manor menu site. Two descendants of Abraham Vanderpoel, David Lee and Justin Vanderpoel, his great-great-great and great-great-great-great grandsons, traveled from their homes in Texas to pay homage to their ancestor's relocated and revamped home. Justin Draper, who owned the former High Rock Cafe in Wisconsin Dells, and Jayson Pettit, the owner of J's Bar and Grill in Reedsburg, lead the two kitchens at Dawn Manor. High Rock Cafe closed in April 2024. Dining rooms and bars in the restaurant are also named after the Raab family, which owned the house for more than 70 years before Uphoff purchased it, and the year 1855. A gift shop, Sundries Shoppe, with T-shirts, hats, and coffee mugs, among other souvenirs, is located at the entrance. "It's exciting to provide something new and wonderful to the area and fantastic that we were able to preserve a little bit of our history in Dawn Manor and have some of the original bricks and pieces throughout," Jill Diehl, the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau President/CEO, said. Dawn Manor joins several new additions to the Dells area this year. Treetop Villas Next door to Dawn Manor, Uphoff has built the Treetop Villas, a series of five cabins neighboring that overlook Mirror Lake. They are available for reservations for a minimum of two nights and guests can receive delivery service from Dawn Manor, as well as VIP reservations at the new throwback venue. Treetop Villas, historic restaurant set to open in Wisconsin Dells in time for summer The villas at Mirror Lake will include four "treehouse" cabins, with spiral staircases wrapped around white pine trees, and bedrooms cantilevered over cliffs. Uphoff is also constructing Dellshire Resort in Wisconsin Dells along Wisconsin Dells Parkway just south of its intersection with Broadway. The resort is slated to open in April. Meanwhile, the land surrounding the original Dawn Manor was sold to Kalahari Resorts owner Todd Nelson in 2017 and he is developing the Kalahari Adventure Collection, a luxury lodging and rental complex featuring treehouse-style cabins, lake cabins and the existing Lake Delton Waterfront Villas. Daylene's Supper Club, named after Nelson's mother, will overlook Lake Delton. The entire collection is slated for completion in 2026. Wisconsin Dells Mountain Coaster The Wisconsin Dells Mountain Coaster, a 4,000-foot-long winding coaster that travels through a wooded area along Highway A in Lake Delton, is opening Saturday and will be open year-round, weather permitting. The coaster carries riders up a 1,500-foot gradual incline before sending them down a winding path in which they can control the cars' speed. Riders can ride individually or with one small child between 38 inches (3-foot-2) and 56 inches (4-8). Eight to 10 cars can ride the coaster at once. Admission is $18 per ride for adults and children age 13 and older. Children 12 and younger are $13. Three-packs of tickets are available for $40 for adults and $30 for children, and the tickets can be redeemed any time up to a year after purchase. Wisconsin Dells Mountain Coaster, located at 111 County Road A in the village, will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. 'Mountain Coaster' set to debut in Wisconsin Dells "Once you get past the top, it's all downhill, with a lot of twists and turns," general manager Fred Schwartz said. Dave's Hot Chicken Dave's Hot Chicken opened in Lake Delton in February and brings its spicy tenders and slider sandwiches to the tourist area. People can choose to have no spice levels, or can sign a waiver to eat the Reaper flavor. The hot chicken joint is located at 1300 Great Wolf Drive, Suite 108, next door to Jersey Mike's Subs, which opened in 2023. Dave's Hot Chicken is open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. B-Lux Bar and Grill B-Lux Bar and Grill, a burger restaurant that also has 16 different shakes 12 non-alcoholic and four alcoholic owned by the Ajvazi family, opened a second Dells area location at 1000 Wisconsin Dells Parkway South in Lake Delton in March. The Ajvazis also own Pizza Pub and Lake House Grill and Bar in the village. B-Lux's first location, which is still open, is at 1481 Wisconsin Dells Parkway, across the parking lot from Pizza Pub. Both B-Lux locations are open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Pals Brewing Company Pals Brewing Company opened during the fall of 2024 and is located at 710 Trout Road in Wisconsin Dells. The brewpub features 12 tap beers, 10 burgers and 16 different pizza variants, along with appetizers, different sandwiches and salads. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Delivery hours are the same. If your palate craves the warmth of rustic Italian cuisine or the sun-kissed zest of the Mediterranean, look no further than Food Exchange Manila, where culinary dreams set sail and timeless kitchen traditions are plated fresh. This season, Novotel Manila Araneta Citys flagship dining destination invites diners and families to indulge in two inspired themed buffets that promise more than just food as it offers a full-sensory cultural celebration of flavors. - Advertisement - At Food Exchange Manila, we dont just serve dishes we tell stories on a plate, shared Chef Massimiliano Pauletto, the Cluster Director of Culinary for the first Novotel and ibis Styles brands in the country. With Trattoria Pauletto, I wanted to bring the warmth and heart of an Italian family kitchen to Manila the kind of meal where every bite feels like a memory. And with Sailing Through Flavors of the Coast, we journey through the sun-drenched Mediterranean, celebrating the seas bounty and age-old coastal traditions. Its about more than just flavors its about sharing culture, connection, and the joy of a truly good meal. Chef Massimiliano Pauletto Trattoria Pauletto Step into the heart of Italy home of Neapolitan pizza, Ciccheti and Bistecca every weekend with Trattoria Pauletto. More than just a meal, its a tribute to generations of culinary craftsmanship think Nonnas lovingly prepared pasta and wood-fired pizzas, all recreated with authenticity and passion. Guests are transported to the cobblestone streets of Florence, the romantic canals of Venice, and the sun-drenched alleys of Naples through every bite of hand-tossed dough, vibrant sauces, and classic Italian recipes. Held every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., this buffet offers an abundance of Italian favorites. But what sets it apart is not just the food its the atmosphere, elevated by the refreshing sparkle of unlimited Limoncello Spritz cocktails, along with free-flowing flavored iced teas, sodas, coffee, tea, and local beers. Priced at only P2,688 nett per person, Trattoria Pauletto is a flavorful escape perfect for family dinners, romantic evenings, or friendly gatherings. Families are especially welcome, as kids 8 years old and below dine for free, with one paying adult per child making it a family-friendly celebration of Italys culinary treasures. For added value, guests can enjoy an exclusive discounted rate of P2,488 nett per person when booking through My Novotel Boutique. Mediterranean-themed Sunday lunch buffet Sailing Through Flavors of the Coast As weekends draw to a close, Food Exchange Manila keeps the culinary adventure alive with Sailing Through Flavors of the Coast a Mediterranean-themed Sunday lunch buffet that celebrates the vibrant and aromatic cuisines of coastal Europe. From the sun-kissed shores of Sicily and Cyprus to the hidden culinary gems of Malta and Corsica, this buffet is an invitation to explore a world where the sea meets centuries-old tradition. Running every Sunday from 12 noon to 3 p.m., this special lunch experience weaves the essence of Mediterranean cooking into every dish. Expect a colorful parade of fresh seafood, grilled meats, olive oil-rich salads, and herb-forward sides each echoing the flavors of sun, salt, and sea. The buffet also features an irresistible beverage selection, including unlimited Peach White Sangria cocktails, free-flowing flavored iced teas, sodas, coffee, tea, non-alcoholic drinks, and local beers perfect for toasting to la dolce vita. At P2,988 nett per person, this journey is a feast for both the senses and the soul. As with its Italian counterpart, children aged 8 and below eat free when accompanied by a paying adult. For savvy diners looking for the best value, the My Novotel Boutique exclusive rate offers this buffet at P2,688 nett per person making this sea-to-table experience even more accessible. In a strategic push across West Africa, Russia is expanding its influence through humanitarian aid and high-profile partnerships with military-led governments in the Sahel. Moscow this week announced the delivery of 709.5 tons of humanitarian assistance to Burkina Faso and a shipment of 20,000 tons of wheat to Niger. These acts of solidarity, as Russian officials describe them, reflect more than goodwill they are widely seen as marking a deliberate effort to fill the void left by declining Western aid, particularly from the United States. With USAIDs budget slashed and Frances military expelled from several Sahelian countries, Russia has stepped in. Burkina Fasos Captain Ibrahim Traore, a rising figure in the regions populist, anti-Western shift, has embraced Moscows support, seeing it as a path to sovereignty and a break from neo-colonial ties. Russias engagement extends beyond food shipments. It includes security cooperation, mining ventures, and soft-power influence via rebranded Wagner affiliates. In Burkina Faso, Russian flags are increasingly seen at pro-government rallies. Analysts warn that humanitarian aid is becoming a geopolitical tool. As Russia and China offer what they describe as less conditional partnerships, African juntas are increasingly turning eastward. For the Kremlin, the Sahel is not just a humanitarian concern its a strategic frontier, rich in resources and ripe with opportunity in a world where influence is measured in grain, not just guns. The question of water management is of paramount importance in debates on Africas development. It will be central to the upcoming Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank, to be held in Abidjan from 26 to 30 May 2025 under the banner, Making Africas Capital Work better for Africas Development. On a continent where water stress presents an increasing challenge, Morocco has experimented with an innovative solution: creating a new water intake from the Al Massira dam to supply the two million inhabitants of the city of Marrakech with drinking water, the AfDB said in a press release. An unprecedented project to tackle water stress The key part of this project is being carried out 120 kilometes from Marrakech, where engineers have drilled a hole in Al Massira dam Moroccos second largest water reservoir, with a capacity of approximately 2.6 billion cubic meters of water. Water released through the perforation will be carried by pipeline to Marrakech, with a flow rate of seven cubic meters of water per second. Engineers found perforation to be the best solution for a water intake from the reservoir. However, drilling a hole and installing the water intake was a hugely challenging operation and the first of its kind to be carried out in Africa. The project is part of a 150 million program, funded by the African Development Bank, to improve access to drinking water for the two million inhabitants of the city of Marrakech. Rapid urban and tourist development in Marrakech has generated an ever-increasing demand for water in recent decades. The stakes in the project are high: to secure access to water in a region where this vital strategic resource will become increasingly scarce due to climate change. Installing a waterproof structure as tall as a building A major waterproofing structure a 40-metre-high cofferdam weighing over 250 tons had to be installed underwater on the dam wall to clear a large watertight volume, so that drilling work could proceed in safety. The other major challenge was to create a conduit, 2.5 meters in diameter and 10 meters deep, through the reinforced concrete wall of the dam. Highly complex studies were required to ensure that the drilling work to create the conduit would not harm the structural integrity of the dam. Drilling and extracting a 100-ton block of reinforced concrete The operation required the extraction of a concrete core with weight of 100 tons from the dam. Moroccan and international experts together with dozens of engineers, divers and technicians worked in shifts for several months to meet this colossal challenge. Replicating the experience in Africa The technical solution carried out at Al Massira dam has proven its worth and can be replicated where necessary in Morocco and other African countries. Morocco and the African Development Bank have developed a strategic partnership in the water sector since the 1970s, during which the Bank has financed multiple operations with a total value in excess of $1.5 billion. By helping to improve the quality of life of the people in Morocco through the provision of drinking water, the African Development Bank is laying the foundations for sustainable and inclusive development in Morocco and elsewhere in Africa. For the third year in a row, the Kingdom of Morocco chaired Africa Day celebrations in Berlin on Thursday, with this years event held under the theme: German Investments in Africa: Challenges and Perspectives. Moroccos Ambassador to Germany, Zohour Alaoui, chaired the Committee of African Ambassadors in Berlin in charge of organizing the commemoration. The event was held in partnership with the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Sub-Saharan Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI). Germanys Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Reem Alabali-Radovan, and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Stefan Rouenhoff, attended the event, along with accredited African ambassadors, German officials, representatives of German political foundations, and business leaders. Speaking on behalf of the African diplomatic corps, Alaoui noted that this years Africa Day takes place against the backdrop of significant geopolitical shifts and the formation of a new federal government in Germany. Our continent is indispensable in addressing major global challenges, Alaoui said, highlighting Germanys longstanding engagement with Africa through various strategic frameworks. However, she emphasized that greater efforts are needed to realize the full potential of economic ties between Africa and Germany, particularly in boosting bilateral trade, which remains limited. Referring to the German governments pledge to pursue an Africa policy commensurate with the continents strategic importance, Alaoui called for a more ambitious partnership. Rarely have our shared interests aligned as closely as they do today, she said. Alabali-Radovan echoed this sentiment, stating that African countries are more important partners than ever for Germany, describing international cooperation and development policy as essential instruments of solidarity, justice, peace, and security and values that Germany shares with Africa. The world needs more international cooperation, Alabali-Radovan said, adding that the Federal Government has made the right decision to uphold a robust and independent development policy, one that must evolve with shifting global and domestic contexts. The German official pointed to the current coalition agreement, which commits the German government to a policy approach that reflects Africas strategic weight. This includes aligning development cooperation more closely with foreign trade promotion and encouraging economic partnerships, particularly in the energy sector, based on mutual respect and reciprocity. To harness the continents vast potential, she added, her ministry will align its efforts with the African Unions Agenda 2063, using public funds as a catalyst for increased German private investment in Africa. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A case in which a sperm donor was later found to be carrying a cancer-causing pathogenic variant in his gametes has highlighted the problems of regulating gamete donation at the European and international level. At the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics, Dr. Edwige Kasper, a specialist in genetic predisposition to cancer at the Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, France, said that the lack of cross-border regulation in Europe can result in the multiple use of gametes in families and risks inbreeding and the abnormal dissemination of inherited diseases. Towards the end of 2023, Dr. Kasper's laboratory was contacted by a French clinician who said that one of his patients had received a letter from a private sperm bank located in Europe, alerting her to the identification of a 'variant of unknown significance' in the TP53 (tumor protein 53) gene in less than 50% of the donor's gametes. TP53 provides instructions for making a tumor suppressor protein, keeping cells from growing and dividing too fast or in an uncontrolled way. The letter said that the donor was in good health, but that his biological children could be at risk of Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare inherited disorder that predisposes to the development of cancers. Some of these children had already developed leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and this led to any use of the donor's gametes being definitively blocked. "I analyzed the variant using population and patient databases, computer prediction tools, and the results of functional trials, and came to the conclusion that the variant was probably cancer-causing and that children born from this donor should receive genetic counseling," says Dr. Kasper. After discussion with French networks, the researchers presented these cases at a meeting of the European Reference Network on genetic tumor risk syndromes (GENTURIS) in 2024. Simultaneously, a number of Genetics and Pediatric Departments across Europe were investigating their own cases, leading to 67 children from 46 families in eight European countries being tested, with the variant being found in 23 of them and cancer found in 10 to date. Alterations in the TP53 gene cause Li-Fraumeni syndrome, one of the most severe inherited predispositions to cancer that is characterized by a broad spectrum of tumors at an early age. The affected children, born between 2008 and 2015, are being closely monitored to detect the first signs of cancers. "The follow-up protocol involves whole-body MRI scans, MRI scans of the brain and, for adults, of the breast, ultrasound examination of the abdomen, and a clinical examination by a specialist. This is heavy and stressful for carriers, but we have seen its effectiveness in that it has enabled early detection of tumors and thus improved patients' chances of survival," says Dr. Kasper. "Because animal models of Li-Fraumeni syndrome have shown that exposure to genotoxic chemotherapy or X-rays accelerated tumor development, these children should avoid radiation-based imaging techniques such as mammography and PET scans, if possible." The researchers are continuing to identify cases of European children born from the same donor. "Although the variant would have been practically undetectable in 2008 when the individual started to donate sperm, there are many things that could have been and still need to be improved," says Dr. Kasper. "Some fertility clinics have refused to provide information to the families concerning the variant because they wanted the children to be tested in their own laboratories. There is a major issue here concerning a lack of harmonized regulation across Europe." Currently, laws on sperm donation differ from one European country to another. Private sperm banks usually limit donation from one donor to 75 countries worldwide. The law in France sets a limit of ten births per donor. However, in addition, there can be up to 15 births in Germany and in Denmark, and in the UK the same donor may be used for 12 and 10 families, respectively. At a European or international level, this can represent a large number of births. "My advice to French parents would be to favor a medically assisted procreation procedure in France, where donation is voluntary, anonymous, and free. The latter may explain the difference between parents' needs and the lack of resources," says Dr. Kasper, "but it is very much safer. "While donor examinations are routinely conducted in many countries, in France, gamete donation is medically supervised for both donors and recipients. Importantly, any suspicion of a genetic disorder must be promptly reported and investigated. "Above all, each donor is limited to a maximum of 10 births across the country, and the import or export of gametes may only be requested by an approved center and is subject to authorization from the Agence de la Biomedecine. "The fact that the case in point is very rare does not mean that it will not reoccur, and gonadal mosaicismwhere one or more groups of cells possess a different genetic makeuphas previously been reported in a sperm donor with reference to neurofibromatosis type 1. "We need proper regulation at European level to try to prevent it happening again, and to implement measures to ensure a worldwide limit on the number of offspring conceived from the same donor." Chair of the conference, Professor Alexandre Reymond, said, "While current legislation on assisted reproduction usually does not cross borders, this is a good example of why wider oversight is needed. But for now, what we learn in genetics in one country can help future parents everywhere." This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A sign is seen outside of Seminole Hospital District offering measles testing, Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez), File) The U.S. saw a small increase in measles cases this week, an indicator that outbreaks are slowing down, though exposures at a busy airport in Colorado and a Shakira concert in New Jersey are keeping public health experts on their toes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that there are 1,046 confirmed measles cases, up 22 from last week. Texas, where the nation's biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, confirmed only 10 more cases this past week for a total of 728. There are three other major outbreaks in North America. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,795 cases from mid-October through May 20, an increase of 173 cases in a week. Another in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 538 as of Thursday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,578 measles cases and three deaths as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry. Since the outbreak in the southwest U.S. began, two elementary school-aged children in the epicenter in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico have died of measles. All were unvaccinated. But that outbreak, which affects Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, appeared to be "leveling off" last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention incident manager Dr. Manisha Patel said on May 15. But she noted that it's still "travel season" and there is "a lot of global measles activity right now." Other states with active outbreakswhich the CDC defines as three or more related casesinclude Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Indiana's outbreak was declared over this week. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. Here's what else you need to know about measles in the U.S. How many measles cases are there in Texas? There are a total of 728 cases across 34 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Friday. One more person was hospitalized, for 94 total throughout the outbreak. State health officials estimated less than 1% of casesfewer than 10are actively infectious. Fifty-six percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 408 cases since late Januaryjust over 1.7% of the county's residents. The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of "what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure." A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6. How many measles cases are there in New Mexico? New Mexico added five new measles cases since May 15 for a total of 78. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Sandoval County near Albuquerque has six cases, Eddy County has three, Dona Ana County has two and Chaves and Curry counties have one each. An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care. How many cases are there in Oklahoma? Oklahoma held steady Friday with a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases. How many cases are there in Kansas? Kansas has a total of 58 cases across 10 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with two hospitalizations. All but two of the cases are connected, and most of the cases are in Gray County. How many cases are there in Indiana? All of Indiana's caseseightwere in Allen County in the northeast part of the state. The county health department said the cases had no known link to other outbreaks, and there've been no new ones since April 21, leading officials declare the outbreak over. How many cases are there in Michigan? Michigan has eight confirmed cases of measles, with an outbreak of four connected cases in Montcalm County in the western part of the state that health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. How many cases are there in Montana? Montana has 10 measles cases as of Thursday. The state's only outbreak started in mid-April in southwestern Gallatin CountyMontana's first measles cases in 35 years. Flathead and Hill counties also have one case each. Health officials said there is no known local spread of measles, but did note the outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. How many cases are there in North Dakota? North Dakota, which hadn't seen measles since 2011, is up to 19 cases as of Friday. One person has been hospitalized. There are six cases in Cass County on the eastern side of the state. The rest are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border and are not linked to Cass County. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school. How many cases are there in Ohio? Ohio remained steady Thursday at 34 measles cases and one hospitalization, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That count includes only Ohio residents. The state has two outbreaks: Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases, and Knox County in east-central Ohio has 2014 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors. Allen, Cuyahoga, Holmes and Defiance counties have one case each. How many cases are there in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania has 15 cases overall in 2025 as of May 16, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia. The outbreak of eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania has remained steady since it began in mid-April. How many cases are there in Tennessee? Tennessee had six measles cases as of early May. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that "at least three of these cases are linked to each other" but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee's outbreak started. Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.? Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC says more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year, and most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine? The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from "killed" virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have "presumptive immunity." Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination ratesabove 95%due to "herd immunity." But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. What are the symptoms of measles? Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash. The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death. How can you treat measles? There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable. 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPM-K) will this Sunday host the 62nd African Liberation Day (ALD) commemoration at Nairobis United Kenya Club under the theme Revolutionary Pan-African Unity The Battle for Socialism Against Imperialism. ALD 2025 will gather workers, peasants, youth, women and international delegates to sharpen the continental struggle against imperialism and neocolonial exploitation. The ceremony will take place under the auspices of the Central Organising Committee of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya in conjunction with various organising bodies. First commemorated in 1963 after the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), ALD has remained a pivotal day for reflecting on the unfinished struggle for total liberation, unity, and socialism across the African continent and its Diaspora. Taking place amid a deepening imperialist crisis, the 62nd ALD happens as Africa faces escalating economic strangulation, militarisation through mechanisms such as AFRICOM, comprador betrayal, and intensified exploitation under neoliberalism. The 62nd commemorations will seek to achieve several objectives including rallying revolutionary organisations around a socialist programme, exposing and combating the comprador and bureaucratic bourgeoisie, consolidating continental and international anti-imperialist alliances and linking ideological education with direct political mobilisation. The ceremony will include what has been dubbed as the Fidel Castro Centenary, which will feature two thematic panel discussions, a plenary session to synthesise revolutionary tasks, a media event to unveil the 2025 Action Plan and a flag-off of the Mobile Cinema Campaign for popular education country-wide. Fidels legacy embodies this years theme, reminding us that uncompromising socialist conviction, disciplined Party leadership, and genuine proletarian internationalism are indispensable weapons against imperialism, a statement said. Several activities have been lined up including a media event, reflections from a panel, open debate, drafting of resolutions and communiques and a mobilisation of trade unions, landless movements and peasant organisations toward direct action. In specific, the media event will feature the launch of the 2025 Action Plan and international solidarity statements, in honour of Fidel Castros centenary and in line with proletarian internationalism. The commemorative events, the party says, will not end in discussion as throughout June and July, affiliated organisations will mobilise for union-led factory and workplace organising campaigns, coordinated land occupations with rural peasant associations, anti-austerity street protests and community-based actions linking cultural education with political struggle. Expected to attract more than 50 International delegates, 200+ national delegates from parties, unions and movements, the commemorations have brought together various bodies including Wahenga Youth, All-African Peoples Revolution Party, Kasarani Social Justice Centre and the Communist Party Marxist Kenya. African Liberation Day 2025 is not a mere commemoration; it is an intervention. By foregrounding each anti-imperialist battlefield, Cuba, Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Haiti, we affirm the indivisibility of revolutionary duty, they state. The Reserve Bank of India's record dividend payout of nearly Rs 2.7 trillion to the government has been made possible due to robust gross dollar sales, higher foreign exchange gains, and steady increases in interest income, according to a report by the State Bank of India (SBI). The report noted that this significant surplus transfer was largely supported by the RBI's active participation in the foreign exchange market. In fact, the RBI was the largest seller of foreign exchange reserves among Asian central banks in January 2025. It said "This surplus payout is driven by robust gross dollar sales, higher foreign exchange gains, and steady increases in interest income". The central bank took aggressive steps to stabilize the rupee during the year, including large-scale dollar sales. In September 2024, India's foreign exchange reserves had peaked at USD 704 billion. Following that, the RBI sold a large volume of dollars to maintain currency stability. Gross dollar sales during the current financial year, till February 2025, stood at a massive USD 371.6 billion, much higher than USD 153 billion recorded in the previous year (FY24). This aggressive selling helped the RBI book substantial foreign exchange gains, which added to the surplus. Additionally, the RBI earned more income from its rupee securities. The central bank's holdings in rupee securities rose by Rs 1.95 lakh crore to Rs 15.6 lakh crore as of March 2025. Although a decline in government securities (G-sec) yields impacted the mark-to-market (MTM) gains on these holdings, the overall interest income saw a steady rise. The report further highlighted the RBI's prudent approach in maintaining financial stability. While the dividend payout stands at Rs 2.7 trillion, it could have exceeded Rs 3.5 trillion if not for the RBI's decision to increase its risk buffer. The Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB), which acts as a safeguard against future risks, was maintained within a range of 7.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent of the RBI's balance sheet, as recommended by the central board. The transferable surplus was calculated under the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF), approved by the RBI's Central Board during its meeting on May 15, 2025. This large payout is a windfall for the government. The Union Budget for 2025-26 had projected a total dividend income of Rs 2.56 lakh crore from the RBI and public sector financial institutions. With this latest transfer, the actual amount will be much higher than the budget estimates. (ANI) SMPL New Delhi [India], May 24: D2C beauty brand House Of Makeup has lined up another exciting launch: Hot Glossip, a revolutionary non-sticky, high-shine lip gloss for pigmented lips that gives your pout the ultimate juicy, kissable look. Forget the hassle of sticky glosses -- Hot Glossip delivers smooth, vibrant color and intense shine without the mess -- no more hair-sticking-to-your-mouth situations! Available in five stunning shades -- Pinky Swear, What's the Tea, Juicy Secrets, Berry Discreet, and Naked Truth -- this gloss is designed especially for double-toned, pigmented Indian lips, providing an even coat of rich color. Whether you're craving a playful pink (Pinky Swear), a vibrant juicy red (Juicy Secrets), a flirty nude brown (What's the Tea), a deeper, sultry shade (Berry Discreet), or something more neutral and subtle (Naked Truth), Hot Glossip has the perfect shade to match your vibe. Hot Glossip nourishes and hydrates with potent ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and natural oils, ensuring your lips feel as great as they look. This luxurious formula keeps your lips soft, smooth, and juicy all day long, offering the perfect balance of shine and comfort. "We wanted to create a gloss that doesn't stick and feels comfortable on lips. Most gloss products in the market don't address pigmented or double-toned Indian lips. Hot Glossip takes care of this with its pigment-rich formula that evenly coats lips. It's the perfect mix of juicy comfort and shine, giving your lips a glossy, hydrated look without the sticky mess," says Harlin Sachdeva, Founder and CEO of House Of Makeup. With Hot Glossip, House Of Makeup is redefining gloss for Indian lips -- no stickiness, no patchiness, just juicy color and confident shine. About House Of Makeup: House Of Makeup is a premium beauty brand committed to clean beauty and combining skincare and makeup. As the first Indian makeup brand to comply with the EU Cosmetic Directive, they exclude 1,300+ harmful ingredients from their products. Their mission is to empower individuals to express their unique beauty while prioritizing skin health, offering a wide range of shades that cater to diverse skin tones and skin types. Every House Of Makeup product blends effective makeup with nourishing skincare ingredients, ensuring that customers do not have to compromise between performance and quality. The products are also competitively priced, making them easy on the pocket. For more information visit: - https://houseofmakeup.com/products/house-of-makeup-non-sticky-hot-glossip-pinky-swear (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], May 24: Vivekananda Global University (VGU), Jaipur has announced a strategic collaboration with IBM to introduce an IBM-Certified B.Tech program in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), reinforcing the university's mission to deliver industry-ready education aligned with the evolving demands of the global workforce. The program, rooted in the principles of Industry 4.0, will provide students with in-depth exposure to cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, and Blockchain. It aims to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications by integrating IBM's advanced tools, cloud labs, live case studies, and hands-on project work into the curriculum. Onkar Bagaria, CEO of VGU, emphasized the university's commitment to future-driven education, stating, "We are working with leading industry partners like IBM to deliver Industry 4.0-focused education. Our goal is to build a skilled and job-ready workforce that can drive innovation and contribute meaningfully to nation-building." Mr. Dheeraj Sharma, Head of Admissions and Alliances at VGU, added, "This program is a step toward transforming traditional engineering education into an industry-aligned, practical learning experience. We are committed to creating future-ready professionals who are equipped with both the knowledge and the skills the industry demands." Key Highlights of the Program: * IBM-certified curriculum integrated within the 4-year B.Tech CSE degree * Joint delivery by VGU faculty and IBM industry experts * Hands-on access to IBM's cloud labs, tools, and real-world case studies * Project-based learning and skill development in high-growth tech domains * Enhanced career pathways through IBM's global professional network This landmark collaboration positions VGU as a leader in delivering technology-driven, industry-integrated education, preparing students to thrive in a rapidly transforming digital economy. To know more visit www.vgu.ac.in (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 24: UniHealth Hospitals Limited (NSE - UNIHEALTH), a global healthcare provider with extensive operations across Africa--including hospitals, medical centres, consultancy, pharma distribution, and medical travel--has released its Audited Financial Results for H2 & FY25. Key Consolidated Financial highlights H2 FY25 - Total Income of Rs 33.15 Cr, YoY growth of 20.56% - EBITDA of Rs 11.91 Cr, YoY growth of 5.19% - EBITDA Margin of 35.92%, YoY change of -525 Bps - Net Profit of Rs 9.91 Cr, YoY growth of 63.48% - Net Profit Margin of 29.89%, YoY growth of 785 Bps - EPS of Rs 6.44, YoY growth of 63.45% FY25 - Total Income of Rs 58.41 Cr, YoY growth of 16.01% - EBITDA of Rs 21.32 Cr, YoY growth of 10.56% - EBITDA Margin of 36.49%, YoY change of -180 Bps - Net Profit of Rs 15.14 Cr, YoY growth of 46.89% - Net Profit Margin of 25.92%, YoY growth of 545 Bps - EPS of Rs 9.83, YoY growth of 28.16% Other Key Highlights: * In FY25, the company reported the following segmental revenue distribution: * Hospitals & Medical Centres contributed Rs 48.01 Cr, accounting for 82.19% of the total revenue. * Consultancy Services generated Rs 2.52 Cr * Exports & Distribution brought in Rs 5.06 Cr * Other Income stood at Rs 2.82 Cr * Geographically, Uganda was the largest contributor with 74.45% of total revenue. India followed with a contribution of 15.81%. Nigeria accounted for 7.71% of the total revenue. Tanzania contributed 1.10%, while UAE and Mauritius contributed 0.73% and 0.20%, respectively. * Operational Performance: * Average Bed Occupancy Rate: 58% * Annual Procedures Performed: 1,700+ * Beds Under Consultancy Services: 1,300+ beds across multiple locations Commenting on the performance, Dr. Akshay Parmar, Founder & Managing Director of UniHealth Hospitals said, "H2 FY25 marked a strong performance for UniHealth, with consolidated revenue and profitability reflecting our commitment to high-quality, accessible healthcare. Our multi-specialty tertiary care hospital in Navi Mumbai is progressing well and will be operational soon. The healthcare industry is transforming with increased investments, rising insurance penetration, and growing medical tourism--especially in India. While consolidation continues at the top, opportunities in the 50-200 bed segment are growing. UniHealth is well-positioned to deliver quality, affordable care in regional markets, with strong demand in African markets reinforcing our focus on emerging geographies. Looking ahead, UniHealth aims to build a sustainable, scalable healthcare platform across India and East Africa. Besides Navi Mumbai, expansions in Nashik and Pune are advancing, expected to add over 500 beds in FY26. Our asset-light strategy targets 1,000 new beds over three years. We remain committed to long-term value and meeting demand for accessible, high-quality healthcare." Dr. Anurag Shah, Founder and Director of UniHealth Hospitals added, "A key highlight during this FY was launching our advanced IVF and Fertility Centre at UMC Victoria Hospital, Uganda, addressing significant unmet needs of women facing infertility related challenges in the region. To expand our out-reach and ensure increased accessibility to quality care, we have also commissioned the first UMC Clinic in Kyanja, Uganda. We aim to expand our network of clinics by adding another 4-5 clinics during this fiscal." H2 FY25 Highlights of Unihealth Hospitals Limited India Entry Milestone * UniHealth - UMC Hospitals Group marks its India foray with a 60-bed tertiary care hospital in Navi Mumbai, set to open by July 2025, as part of its broader plan to establish 5+ hospitals in western India and strengthen India-Africa healthcare collaboration. Promoter Capital Boost * Unihealth Hospitals' promoters, Dr. Akshay Parmar and Dr. Anurag Shah, will infuse Rs10.57 Cr via 7,00,000 warrants at Rs151 each, converting to equity within 18 months to support the company's expansion in India and Africa. Advanced IVF Launch * UniHealth Hospitals has inaugurated a high-tech IVF and Fertility Centre at UMC Victoria Hospital in Uganda, addressing rising infertility rates with advanced ART, expert care, and training programs--strengthening local healthcare and promoting reverse medical tourism. (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 Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], May 24: Shuru App, one of India's fastest-growing hyperlocal platforms, has raised Series A funding to power its next phase of product and technology expansion. The round was led by Krafton, with participation from Omidyar Network India and Eximius Ventures. The funding will fuel the launch of a new AI-powered trends engine designed to surface real-time, location-based insights from community conversations. With over 2 million users across more than 6.5 lakh locations, Shuru is now building deeper intelligence into how neighbourhoods across India connect, communicate and act. "This fundraise allows us to double down on our core belief that real-time local conversations can drive real impact when supported by the right technology," said Mayank Bhangadia, CEO and Co-founder of Shuru App. "We are committed to building tools that make hyperlocal more intuitive, more intelligent and more action-ready." "Every community has its own needs and challenges. We're building a platform that not only helps people voice those concerns, but also brings visibility to issues that often stay unheard at the local level," added Harsh Chhabra, Co-founder of Shuru App. Shuru will also expand its product stack with new features around civic visibility, community-led reporting, local discovery and hyperlocal transactions, all delivered in a multilingual experience designed for scale. About Shuru App Shuru App is a multilingual, community-first platform that enables users to share updates, post listings, raise civic issues and stay connected to their neighbourhoods. Founded in Indore by Mayank Bhangadia, former CEO and co-founder of Roposo, and Harsh Chhabra, Shuru reflects the everyday rhythm of life across Indian cities and towns. Backed by Krafton, Omidyar Network India and Eximius Ventures, Shuru is building a smarter, more responsive digital layer for connected India. For more info, pls visit: https://shuru.co.in/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir Manipal (Karnataka) [India], May 24: Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), an Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University, and BPL Medical Technologies Private Limited have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster industry-academia collaboration, drive innovation in medical devices, and equip future healthcare professionals with hands-on experience. The partnership, signed under MAHE's "Year of Excellence in Industry-Academia Collaboration" initiative, aims to combine academic research with industry expertise to develop clinically validated, cost-effective medical devices for both Indian and global markets. The MoU was formally signed and exchanged by Dr Giridhar P Kini, Registrar, MAHE, and Mr Guruswamy Krishnamurthy, CEO of BPL Medical Technologies. The ceremony took place in the presence of Dr Ranjan R Pai, President of MAHE and Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group, Dr H S Ballal, Pro Chancellor, Lt Gen (Dr) M D Venkatesh, VSM (Retd.) Vice Chancellor, Dr Sharat K Rao, Pro Vice Chancellor -Health Sciences, Dr Raviraja N S, Chief Operating Officer, and Dr Harish Kumar, Director of Corporate Relations, MAHE, Mr Sunil Khurana, Executive Chairman of BPL Medical Technologies and Dr Shravan Subramaniam, Managing director of BPL Medical Technologies. The event is a highlight of MAHE's "Year of Excellence in Industry-Academia Collaboration" initiative, emphasizing the university's commitment to bridging the gap between academia and industry. The partnership aims to promote academic research cooperation, joint educational activities, exchange of scholars, and shared internship opportunities. Both institutions will collaborate to develop clinically validated, cost-effective medical devices tailored for emerging markets, with a focus on the 'Make in India' vision. "This collaboration represents a significant step towards bridging the gap between academia and industry," said Dr H S Ballal. "By combining our research capabilities with BPL's industrial expertise, we can develop healthcare solutions that are not only innovative but also affordable for rural populations," he added. Emphasizing the broader vision Lt Gen (Dr) Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, remarked, "Our institutions share a common vision of advancing healthcare technology. This partnership will provide our students and researchers with valuable real-world exposure while contributing to meaningful healthcare innovations." Expressing optimism about the transformative potential of the collaboration Mr Guruswamy, CEO of BPL Medical Technologies, said, "Industry-academia partnerships drive innovation globally, and this collaboration marks a pivotal shift for BPL from trading to product development and manufacturing. Leveraging MAHE's world-class testing facilities and clinical expertise will accelerate our journey to deliver practical, affordable medical devices for India and similar markets across the world." During the ceremony, Dr Arun Maiya, Dean, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal (MCHP, Manipal) presented MAHE's Medical Instruments, Devices & Allied Services (MIDAS) hub, supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India. MIDAS is India's first medical device innovation hub within a private higher education ecosystem. It unites 25 institutions and 30 industry partners to drive indigenous design, development, and commercialization of innovative healthcare devices, reducing reliance on imports. The Hub also offers specialized training and workshops for researchers and industry partners, creating a vibrant ecosystem that accelerates medical technology innovation and makes affordable, high-quality healthcare solutions accessible across India. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is an Institution of Eminence Deemed-to-be University. MAHE offers over 400 specializations across the Health Sciences (HS), Management, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences (MLHS), and Technology & Science (T&S) streams through its constituent units at campuses in Manipal, Mangalore, Bangalore, Jamshedpur, and Dubai. With a remarkable academic track record, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and significant research contributions, MAHE has earned recognition and acclaim nationally and internationally. In October 2020, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, awarded MAHE the prestigious Institution of Eminence status. Currently ranked 4th in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), MAHE is the preferred choice for students seeking a transformative learning experience and an enriching campus life, and for national & multinational corporates looking for top talent. BPL Medical Technologies Pvt. Ltd., established in 2013, was founded with investments from BPL Group and Goldman Sachs. Headquartered in Bangalore, India, BPL Medical operates through 5 zonal offices and 15 branch offices across the country. With a growing workforce of ~900 employees, BPL Medical grew by 10 times in revenue over the last 10 years. BPL Medical's operations include two manufacturing plants: One in Palakkad, Kerala, was established in 2013, and the second being a greenfield project, situated in Jigani, Bangalore, inaugurated in 2024. The new facility spans 1.25 acres and employs around 300 staff members across both plants. The second plant was officially inaugurated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi as part of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, an initiative by the Government of India to boost 'Make in India' program. With this plant, we aim to help meet the growing demand for medical equipment and foster self-reliance in India's healthcare sector. BPL Medical operates across six key business verticals: Cardiology, Critical Care & Surgery, Imaging, Mother & Child Health, Home Care, and Consumables & Accessories. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL New Delhi [India], May 24: In India, where the entrepreneurial and startup scene is seeing explosive growth, digital payments are the lifeline of global business. Yet, many entrepreneurs still face challenges with international transactions due to high fees, security concerns, and cumbersome processes. According to Payoneer's 2024 SMB Barometer,Indian small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are focused on global expansion, particularly to the US, Australia, China, and the UK - countries to and from which most payments are made. 62% of Indian entrepreneurs surveyed listed 'access to new customers' as the key benefit of globalisation for their business, but with over two thirds of respondents saying their business is the sole source of income for their family, it's absolutely crucial that these businesses are able to gain and retain that global customer base. The pain of cross-border payments in India Indian entrepreneurs face significant challenges when it comes to managing cross-border payments. According to a recent study, 82% of businesses in India lack faith in their bank's transparency around cross-border payment costs. Exchange rate mark-ups can be up to 5% of the transaction amount, and banks also charge steep intermediary fees as well as maintenance fees. High transaction fees and unfavourable exchange rates compound the problem, with the result being reduced profit margins that have a knock-on effect across the wider economy. Cross-border payment pain points: - Lack of fee transparency - Extortionate exchange rate mark-ups and transaction fees - Compliance requirements - Slow processing times - Language and cultural barriers Bank fees are far from the only obstacle facing Indian SMEs. Complex compliance requirements, slow processing times disrupting cash flow, and language and cultural barriers make international trade rife with roadblocks. These are particularly acute problems for startups who operate on tight cash flow and cannot afford to lose time or money. Simply put, payment inefficiencies remain a major barrier to global growth. A resolution is long overdue if we are to support a future-focused approach to digital banking for Indian SMEs. Alternative global payment solutions While there are several options for managing cross-border payments, the core need for Indian businesses is a solution that optimises transparency, speed, security, and simplicity. Some entrepreneurs continue to use traditional banks for their international transactions due to familiarity, but with those high transaction fees, lengthy processing times, and lack of flexibility, the majority are now moving to more modern solutions. Digital wallets or third-party platforms may offer faster transfers than in the past, but hidden fees are still a problem. Setting up local receiving accounts in multiple regions is an impractical - and often infeasible - suggestion. So, what does the ideal global payment solution look like? -Low and transparent international fees -Fast settlement times to improve cash flow -Global receiving accounts -Compliance with Indian regulations and banking infrastructure -Support tailored to regional business needs. By understanding these essential needs, entrepreneurs can better evaluate solutions that align with their growth goals and are sympathetic to their operational constraints. When you compare these essential needs against mainstream offerings, one provider stands out as a global payment solution for Indian startups that's tailored to local needs: Payoneer. Comparing global payment features Payoneer for Indian entrepreneurs For those looking for the best payment gateways for Indian entrepreneurs, especially with a focus on scalability and compliance, Payoneer offers key advantages. Global receiving accounts enable businesses to send and receive money globally at a fraction of the cost of local banks, making them a cornerstone of business growth with multi-currency accounts. Indian entrepreneurs can receive payments in all majorcurrencies, without having to navigate multiple payment systems. Abhinav Gupta, founder of Concretio Apps in Jaipur, used to use PayPal and wire transfers, facing challenges with high fees and payment hassles. Payoneer allowed him to receive payments from around the globe into a single account, significantly streamlining processes and allowing him the space to grow the business. The issue of excessive fees is another key concern. Payoneer, once again, offers a solution based on a more predictable pricing model, minus the hidden charges, where transaction costs are clearly set out. Hothaat Marketplace in Mumbai depends 100% on cross-border exports. CEO Hooner Baweja, reports saving 2-3% on exchange rates and improved payment realisation times by transitioning to Payoneer from traditional wire transfers. It's a clear example of how low-fee money transfers in India can help a business stay competitive. An ongoing frustration for SMEs in India is that of compliance and regulatory frameworks. Cybersecurity features ensure secure money transfers for Indian businesses, and compliance with international financial regulations. Payoneer deftly handles these aspects, alongside partnering with Indian banks and operating under regulations like the LRS, so businesses can be assured that they're aligned with domestic legal and tax requirements. Language and cultural barriers have been identified as a leading obstacle for Indian SMEs. Payoneer's report identifies this to be the top challenge cited by businesses seeking to expand to new markets. As such, it's incredibly important for startups and freelancers to have ready access to global finance teams, something that's usually hard to come by for smaller players. The localised support and guidance powered by Payoneer breaks down those barriers to make international trade more accessible. identifies How to get started with Payoneer Getting started with Payoneer is simple: 1. Sign Up: Visit the Payoneer website and click on the 'Open your account' or 'Register' button. 2. Provide personal and business information: You'll be prompted to enter details such as your name, contact information, and business details. 3. Verification: Submit necessary identification documents and any required business documentation for verification purposes. 4. Link bank account: Once verified, you can link your Indian bank account to your Payoneer account to facilitate withdrawals in INR. 5. Receive payments: After setup, you can start receiving international payments through your Payoneer account. Ready to simplify your international transactions? Sign up for a Payoneer multi-currency account today. Unlock global payment solutions for Indian startups For Indian entrepreneurs, freelancers, and SMEs, accessing international markets shouldn't come with hidden costs and operational headaches. Payoneer international transactions in India offer a secure, compliant, and cost-effective way to receive and manage payments worldwide. With global receiving accounts, low fees, and robust customer support, Payoneer stands out among the best payment gateways for Indian entrepreneurs. Ready to expand your global reach? Sign up now and simplify your international finances. (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) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has cautioned the US government that imposing tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could undermine its significant investment plans in Arizona, Focus Taiwan reported on Friday. The company's USD 165 billion investment aims to build advanced semiconductor fabrication facilities in the state, but TSMC warned that tariffs could reduce demand for chips and jeopardize the project's success. "New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona's significant investment plan in Phoenix," the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC argued that tariffs would increase costs for end consumers, leading to lower demand for products containing semiconductors, reported Focus Taiwan. According to Focus Taiwan, the country's government and companies has always been unwilling to raise any voice against the "the Donald Trump administration's chaotic tariff rollout but the TSMC letter made the case that going through with them would have negative consequences." TSMC letter stated that any import measures adopted by the trump's administration "should not create uncertainties for existing semiconductor investments," referring to its huge investments in Arizona. In Arizona, TSMC has currently invested USD 65 billion to build three advanced wafer fabs in Arizona. "The first one has begun mass-producing chips, construction of the second fab is nearly complete, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the third fab last month," Focus Taiwan reported. In March the company also planned to invest USD 100 billion in Arizona Project over next few years, to set up three more wafer fabs, two packaging and testing plants and one research and development center. In the letter, TSMC stated that "tariffs that raise the cost of end consumer products will lower demand for such products and the semiconductor components they contain." It further added, "Therefore, TSMC respectfully requests that any remedial import measures imposed resulting from this investigation not extend to downstream end products and semi-finished products containing semiconductors." Earlier this month, TSMC reported a significant rise in revenue figures for April 2025, attributed to surge in demand for advanced semiconductors. (ANI) Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], May 24: As industries evolve, the role of design has expanded beyond aesthetics to become a key driver of business success. Recognizing this shift, NIF Global, Indore, a leading institute in design education, is offering a specialized Design Management program that equips students with the skills to merge creativity with business strategy. This program prepares aspiring professionals for dynamic careers in brand strategy, UX design, innovation management, and more. Speaking about the importance of Design Management, Mrs. Sadhna Todi, Chairperson of NIF Global, Indore, stated,"Design is no longer just about how things look--it's about how they work and how they connect with people. At NIF Global, Indore, we train students to use design thinking as a powerful tool for problem-solving, branding, and business growth. Our goal is to shape future leaders who can drive innovation in the industry." Why Design Management? Today, companies across industries are integrating design thinking into their business models to enhance user experience, strengthen branding, and develop innovative solutions. The demand for professionals who can balance creativity, strategy, and technology is higher than ever. NIF Global, Indore: Leading the Way in Design Education The Design Management program at NIF Global, Indore, is designed to bridge the gap between design and business, offering students: -Industry-Relevant Curriculum - Learn from experts in design, branding, and marketing. -Hands-on Experience - Work on live projects with industry leaders. -Career-Oriented Approach - Gain access to top brands and career opportunities. -State-of-the-Art Infrastructure - Train with the latest tools and technology. Admissions Now Open at NIF Global, Indore As businesses increasingly rely on design-driven strategies, this program provides students with the perfect platform to build a successful and future-ready career. Admissions open https://shorturl.at/cm32g For more details, visit our Hi-Tech Campus at Niranjanpur Sqaure Dewas Naka ,A.B.Raod Indore M.P. 452010or Visit the website www.nifindore.com connect us on [9425904639/8889922112]. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL Gurugram (Haryana) [India], May 24: After a distinguished 16-year career at the forefront of Data, AI, and Technology leadership, including pivotal CXO roles at industry giants Jindal Steel and pioneering fintech unicorn BharatPe, Ritesh Srivastava today announced the launch of Tavastra (http://www.tavastra.com). Tavastra is set to be the world's first 100% residential, co-creation-focused startup accelerator, with its inaugural cohort launching in the serene environs of Chail, Himachal Pradesh. As an active angel investor himself, Srivastava has witnessed firsthand the critical gaps and challenges faced by early-stage founders in India. This experience has driven Tavastra's unique model, designed to provide deep, hands-on support beyond traditional mentorship. "For too long, early-stage founders have navigated a path filled with immense potential but also significant hurdles - from securing meaningful seed capital and expert guidance to simply finding the focused environment needed to build," said Ritesh Srivastava, Founder & CEO of Tavastra. "Having been on both sides of the table, as an operator scaling businesses and as an investor, I saw the need for a new paradigm. Tavastra is built to be that deeply embedded co-creator, providing an unparalleled immersive ecosystem where innovation, execution, and well-being can thrive together." The Tavastra Difference: Tavastra's 12-week, fully residential program is not just about advice; it's about active participation. Key differentiators include: -Hands-On Co-Creation: An expert in-house and partner team (spanning Ideation, Legal, Tech, UI/UX, Branding, Marketing, and Fundraising) actively builds the MVP alongside the founders. -True Immersion: A distraction-free environment in inspiring locations like Chail, allowing founders to live, breathe, and build their startups with intense focus and a strong peer community. -Actionable Learning: A unique playbook syncing expert-led learning from top academics and proven unicorn founders directly with weekly MVP build milestones. -Engaged Angel Partnership: Pre-vetted angel investors provide not just capital but also become active mentors, deeply invested in the startups' success. Srishti Jain, co-founder and COO of Tavastra, will join Ritesh in bringing this vision to life. Srishti brings a wealth of experience in building products, scaling operations, building communities, and driving growth from her impactful roles at leading global technology companies such as LinkedIn and high-growth environments like Salesforce. "The intensity and holistic support of a residential, co-creation model can dramatically alter a startup's trajectory," said Srishti Jain. "Tavastra is committed to providing that transformative experience, ensuring our founders have every tool, resource, and the right environment to turn their vision into a fundable, market-ready reality." Applications Live for Inaugural Chail Cohort: Tavastra is now inviting applications from passionate early-stage founders (idea, pre-MVP, or pivot stage) across all sectors for its inaugural 12-week cohort commencing September 2025 in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Selected startups will receive seed funding, comprehensive co-creation support, mentorship, and complete residential facilities. Interested founders can learn more and apply at https://tally.so/r/3j2orJ Contact: info@tavastra.comwww.tavastra.com (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) Calling for an increase in the speed of development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that if the Centre and all the States come together and work together like Team India, no goal is impossible. The Prime Minister, who chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, said Viksit Bharat (developed India) is the goal of every Indian and "when every state is Viksit, then Bharat will be Viksit". "This is the aspiration of its 140 crore citizens," he said. "We should focus on one goal, to make Bharat Viksit by 2047. We should have the aim of making each State Viksit, each city Viksit, each Nagar Palika Viksit and each village Viksit. If we work on these lines, we will not have to wait till 2047 to become Viksit Bharat," he said, according to a post on X by Niti Aayog. "We should work in a manner so that policies implemented bring change in the lives of common citizens. Only when people feel the change, it strengthens the change and transforms the change into a movement. We have a great opportunity as a team to fulfil the aspirations of 140 Crore people," he added. The Prime Minister said the governments must work towards inclusion of women in work force. "We must make laws, policies so that they can be respectfully integrated in the workforce," he added. According to posts by NITI Aayog on X, PM Modi said India is getting rapidly urbanized and the states should move towards future ready cities. "We should work towards future ready cities. Growth, innovation and sustainability should be the engine for the development of our cities," he added. He suggested that states should develop at least one tourist destination at par with global standards and by providing all facilities and infrastructure. One State: One Global Destination. "It would also lead to development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places," PM Modi said. The theme of meeting was 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047". The meeting provided a platform for the Centre and States and UTs to deliberate on measures to advance the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 and build consensus on how States can be the building blocks for making India a developed nation. Measures for promoting entrepreneurship, enhancing skilling, and creating sustainable employment opportunities across the country were also deliberated in the meeting. (ANI) The Rising Northeast Investors Summit 2025 concluded with attracting investment commitments of Rs 4.3 lakh crore, according to an official statement. Held under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and led by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), the two-day summit brought together investors from across the globe, reaffirming that the Northeast is not just a region but a strategic growth corridor for Viksit Bharat. "Today, that acronym, NER, stands for the New Economic Revolution and New Economic Revival of India," said Union Minister of Development of Northeastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia during the valedictory session. "Our summit is not a culmination -- it is a beginning. Ye poorna viraam nahi, prastaavna hai," he added. Several landmark MoUs were signed with major national and international investors across key sectors. During the summit, the Sikkim government signed an MoU with SM Hotels and Resorts with an investment intent of Rs 250-300 crore. The Arunachal Pradesh government also signed an MoU of Rs 150 crore with the Farm Native Group. The Meghalaya government signed a Rs 4,000 crore MoU with Agri-Bio Fuels Global Ltd. The Meghalaya government and Inlambi Pvt Ltd signed an MoU for Rs 1,000 crore. The Manipur government also signed a major MoU of Rs 1,000 crore with Inlambi Pvt Ltd. The Tripura government signed a Rs 500 crore MoU with the Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir Trust for Sri Sri University and an Ayurveda College and Hospital. Beyond the marquee MoUs, the summit recorded a total of 803 investment intents through roadshows, B2G meetings, and PSU/public-private proposals. Roadshows held across states contributed Rs 99,533 crore in interest; PSUs brought in Rs 1.27 lakh crore; industrial houses pledged Rs 1.58 lakh crore; and B2G meetings during the summit itself resulted in over Rs 18,600 crore worth of commitments, as per the release. "The seed sown by Vajpayee ji has grown into a banyan tree under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. Our Cabinet has visited the Northeast 730 times in 11 years, reflecting the Centre's emotional and strategic commitment," Scindia noted. With delegations from over 80 countries, the summit reinforced the Northeast's role as a global economic bridge to Southeast Asia and beyond. "This isn't just an investment in rupees and dollars -- it's an investment in trust, relationships, and India's future economic geography," the Minister said. He also announced a new institutional framework: eight sectoral verticals led by Chief Ministers, supported by other states, to ensure implementation of the signed MoUs. "There is no mainland and Northeast -- there is only Akhanda Bharat, where the hearts, hands, and horizons of every Indian stand together," he concluded. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged states on Saturday to develop at least one global-standard tourist destination to attract international visitors and boost the local economy. During the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, earlier on Saturday, the PM said that the G20 Summit helped India get recognised as a global tourist destination, but states should leverage the opportunity. He urged the states to develop at least one tourist destination of global standards and expectations, according to a statement by NITI Aayog. He said that 25-30 such tourist destinations can be created across India, NITI Aayog release added. The 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog was attended by Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors representing 24 states and seven UTs. This year's theme was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047. Going further, the Prime Minister said that it is the aspiration of every Indian for the country to be a Viksit Bharat. It is not the agenda of any party but the aspiration of 140 crore Indians. He observed that if all states work together towards this goal, then we will make stupendous progress. He also said that we should commit that every state, every city, every village will be developed, and then Viksit Bharat will be achieved much before 2047. PM said that India has emerged among top five economies of the world and 25 crore have escaped poverty. He emphasised that India needs to increase the speed of this transformation. He encouraged states to leverage their manufacturing strengths. He said that the Government of India has announced the Manufacturing Mission. PM observed that global investors are hugely interested in India. He encouraged the states to utilise this opportunity and make it easy for investments. Citing recent trade agreements with UAE, UK and Australia, he said states should utilise it to the optimum. Emphasising on skilling, Prime Minister said that NEP gives emphasis on education and skill. He said that states must plan for various skills which are attuned to modern technologies like AI, semiconductor, 3D printing. He said that we can become the skill Capital of the world because of our demographic dividend. Prime Minister said that a Rs 60,000 crore scheme for skilling has been approved by GoI. States must focus on modern training infrastructure and rural training hubs to enhance skilling. PM cited cyber security as a challenge as well as an opportunity. Hydrogen and Green Energy were emphasised by him as arenas of immense potential and opportunities. PM observed that India is urbanising rapidly. He asked the states to make cities the engine of sustainability and growth and urged them to focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. He noted that a Rs 1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund is being created for seed money. PM emphasised on the huge strength of India's Nari Shakti. He urged to change laws for women so that they can join the growth trajectory. He observed that there should be reforms in public and private sectors for working women with focus on their ease of working. PM encouraged States to Interlink Rivers within States to battle water scarcity as well as floods. He appreciated Bihar which has recently started Kosi-Mochi connection grid. He also appreciated Aspirational Districts Programme which has been a success through collective efforts. The Prime Minister said that in agriculture, we must focus on the lab to land. He spoke about the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, in which about 2,500 scientists will go to villages and Rural Centres in the coming days, where they will deliberate on topics such as crop diversification and chemical-free farming. He asked all CMs to support this endeavour. Prime Minister emphasised the need to focus on the delivery of health services. He said that we must check for oxygen plants and preparations to be ready for any COVID-related challenges. He said that the states need to expand telemedicine so that good doctors can be connected from District Hospitals and E-Sanjeevani and teleconsultation benefits should be made available. Chief Minister/Lt. Governors gave various suggestions for the vision of Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and also discussed steps being taken in their states. Some of the key suggestions and best practices highlighted were in the fields of agriculture, education and skill development, entrepreneurship, drinking water, reducing compliances, governance, digitalisation, women empowerment, cyber security, etc. Several states also shared their endeavours to create a State Vision for 2047. Prime Minister asked NITI Aayog to study the suggestions of States and UTs made during the meeting. He said the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog is a milestone of its 10 years of journey which defines and outlines the vision for 2047. He observed that the Governing Council Meetings have helped in nation building and it has emerged as a platform for joint action and shared aspirations. (ANI) She was accompanied by her daughter Aaradhya, and the duo was seen greeting the paparazzi warmly outside the Mumbai airport. Aaradhya, holding onto her mother, also smiled at the crowd as they made their way to the car. The mother-daughter duo coordinated their outfits, both dressed in black. Aishwarya wore a sleek black top paired with matching tights and a stylish coat, while Aaradhya donned a black top, denim jeans, and a black jacket. At Cannes, Aishwarya continued her legacy of iconic red carpet moments. On the first day, she embraced a traditional look, wearing a regal ivory saree with a dramatic pallu and lace trail. She completed the ensemble with a layered ruby necklace and a dash of sindoor, adding a cultural touch to her appearance. For her second outing at the festival, she made a bold fashion statement in a custom creation by designer Gaurav Gupta. The ensemble featured a striking black shimmer gown accompanied by a voluminous white cape. The Banarasi brocade cape was handwoven in Varanasi. The cape stood out not just for its rich texture but also because it was inscribed with a Sanskrit shloka from the Bhagavad Gita. Meanwhile, Aishwarya was last seen in 'Ponniyin Selvan: II' (2023), directed by Mani Ratnam, where she starred alongside a stellar cast including Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, and Sobhita Dhulipala. She has not yet announced her next project. (ANI) The city of Cannes was hit by a five-hour power outage on Saturday morning ahead of the film festival's awards ceremony, with electricity finally returning around 3:30 p.m. local time. Despite the technical challenges, a festival rep previously told that the closing ceremony would "proceed as planned" after the Palais des Festivals "switched to an independent power supply," reported Variety. According to Franceinfo, the cause of the outage may be foul play with two arson acts reported overnight and several power lines pylons were discovered to have been sawn off in the Alpes-Maritimes. Karin Topin-Condomitti, director of services at the Cannes city hall, said the local government was still trying to determine whether the power outage was caused by a malicious act. She said an investigation would likely be conducted, as per the outlet. "We have read, as I'm sure you have, reports in the media and press of malicious acts," Topin-Condomitti said. "In my opinion, this should be the subject of an ongoing investigation, subject to confirmation by the public prosecutor's office. In any case, we're taking action to deal with the consequences of this power cut as best we can. The courts will investigate." Around 10:15 a.m., as the press conference for Kelly Reichardt's competition film "The Mastermind" began, power went out in certain parts of the city. According to Screen, which was the first to report on the loss, power went out in numerous screening rooms, pausing films midway through their showings, although power remained on in the Palais thanks to backup generators. The power flickered on and off many times at the J.W. Marriott on the Croisette, a festival hub where many attendees sought internet connectivity. Due to the power outage, numerous establishments closed or switched to cash only. That was problematic because ATMs went down as well, reported Variety. "A power outage is currently affecting the city of Cannes and surrounding areas," a representative for the festival told Variety. "At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are underway." The rep added, "The Palais des Festivals has switched to an independent power supply, allowing all scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, to proceed as planned and under normal conditions. However, screenings at the Cineum have been temporarily suspended and will resume as soon as power is restored," as per the outlet. At 2:20 p.m. local time, the power had yet to be restored. However, the mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, said power company EDF is working on restoring power by this afternoon. Franceinfo has reported that "malicious acts" may be the source of the outage, citing France's Ministry of the Interior. According to Franceinfo, the two arson attacks occurred at the Saint-Cassien power plant, reported Variety. The 78th Cannes Film Festival closed with Iranian director Jafar Panahi accepting the Palme d'Or for 'It Was Just an Accident'. (ANI) With over two years still to go, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has shifted into mission mode for the 2027 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, setting its sights on forming a huge majority in the civic body, a press release from Aam Aadmi Party said. In a high-level strategy meeting held on Friday, senior AAP leader and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Delhi state president Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the MCD House Ankush Narang, met with all party councillors to start the preparations. Former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia reviewed ward-level issues in detail and directed councillors to ensure immediate redressal. "Arvind Kejriwal has pioneered an alternative politics of work across India. Our goal now is to take this model to every household and make it even stronger", Manish Sisodia. During this meeting, Manish Sisodia directed all councillors to stay active in their wards, maintain a close connection with the public, and listen to and resolve their concerns. He stressed the importance of accelerating developmental work in their constituencies and directly taking the BJP's failures to the people. "Only then," he asserted, "can we ensure a sweeping majority for the Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming municipal elections." Highlighting the ideological contrast between AAP and mainstream political parties, Manish Sisodia stated, "Arvind Kejriwal has introduced an alternative model of politics based on performance rather than divisive strategies. Unlike conventional parties that thrive on caste and religious divisions, Arvind Kejriwal's governance model puts public welfare at the forefront. That's why transformative policies like free education, quality healthcare, zero electricity bills, clean drinking water, and free bus travel for women are now being discussed nationwide. We must take this politics of work to every household and compel other parties to abandon their politics of division." He also attacked the BJP's governance, stating, "The BJP came to power in Delhi through grand promises and deceptive narratives. But within just three months of the so-called 'double-engine' government, people are already suffering under their misrule. From power outages to dirty water and education mafias, the problems persist. We must oppose every anti-people action of the BJP and expose them before the people, so that in the upcoming MCD elections, citizens are not misled again by false promises, and AAP forms a government with a strong majority." Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed Manish Sisodia's sentiment and advised councillors to win the hearts of the people through diligent service. "Leave no gap in public service. The people crave genuine work and affection. If you remain among them and resolve their issues sincerely, they will embrace you with trust and respect. The BJP misled the public with empty promises, but now the truth is coming out. People feel betrayed. It is our duty to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them and deliver real solutions," he said. Meanwhile, MCD LoP Ankush Narang reminded councillors of AAP's track record while in power at the MCD. "We undertook many pro-people initiatives, including regularising a large number of contractual employees. A proposal was passed to make 12,000 contractual workers permanent, yet it still hasn't been implemented. The same is true for the approved property tax rebate proposal. But our struggle to implement these resolutions will continue. We must publicise the public-interest work done under AAP's leadership and expose the BJP's misgovernance." The Aam Aadmi Party has made it clear it will leave no stone unturned in securing a decisive mandate in the upcoming MCD elections. (ANI) Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy hit out at the Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president KT Rama Rao over his recent "scamgress" remark. On Friday, KT Rama Rao slammed the Revanth Reddy-led Telangana government and stated that under Congress, the state has become "scamgress", following the Ghosh commission summoned former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao. Slamming KTR, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the "thief is scolding the police." Referring to KTR, Reddy said that these people were involved in "corruption", and the Kaleshwaram project collapsed due to their inefficiency. The Telangana minister said that BRS got nervous when they received notice from the investigative agencies and are saying "ridiculous" things. "The way KTR is talking is absolutely ridiculous. The thief is scolding the police. These are the people who are involved in massive corruption; the Kaleshwaram project has collapsed due to inefficiency. We have ordered a judicial commission, which is now issuing notices to all those involved. As soon as they got the notice, they got nervous and started saying some absolutely ridiculous things. We are saying if you have any information, then go and tell the judicial commission, we will take legal action as per the report of the judicial commission", Uttam Kumar Reddy said. Justice PC Ghose Commission on Tuesday issued summons to former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), former Minister Harish Rao, and BJP MP Etela Rajender, who also served as a minister during the BRS regime in the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP). The Commission, which has been probing financial and procedural lapses in the multi-crore irrigation project, directed the three political leaders to appear for questioning in the first week of June. According to the sources, KCR was asked to appear before the Commission on June 5, followed by Harish Rao on June 6 and Etela Rajender on June 9. (ANI) Shiv Sena UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who is part of the delegation of MPs going to various countries to put forward India's position against terrorism said on Friday that the world needs to be reminded how the "roots of terror" have been found in Pakistan, Earlier today, the various delegation members were briefed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri regarding their trips to various countries. Highlighting that the members have a united stance against Pakistan's "terror model", Chaturvedi said after the briefing, "Briefing was good, detailed; as an Indian, we are unitedly going out to the world to tell world how Pakistan has developed a terror model, an 'atankistan' model, where the government trains, finances the terrorists, and tells them about strategy." She further criticised Pakistan for supporting terror, calling it a "criminal nexus" between their Army, political parties and terrorists "When terror camps are targeted, their Army jumps in to retaliate. This criminal nexus of their Army, political parties, and their terrorists needs to be exposed worldwide. The world needs to be reminded that whether it is India, the US with 9/11 or European nations, the roots of terror have been found to be from Pakistan, which needs to be reminded to others," she said. Meanwhile, BJP MP Daggubati Purandeswari, who is also part of the same group with Chaturvedi highlighted that India will be explaining that we are not trying to wage a war against a country, but rather against terrorism that is being state-sponsored. "Our point would be that we are not waging war against any one country but rather against terrorism that is being state-sponsored," she told ANI. This delegation is led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad and will visit the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, and Denmark. Other member are: Daggubati Purandeswari (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena (UBT)), Ghulam Ali Khatana, Amar Singh (Congress), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), M J Akbar, and Ambassador Pankaj Saran. In the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism, seven All-Party Delegations are visiting 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. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that providing timely and quality health services to every citizen is the goal and supreme responsibility of the state government, a press release from Uttarakhand CMO said. He said our government is committed to providing free treatment facilities to the poor and needy through the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. In compliance with the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttarakhand Health Secretary Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar has clarified that under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the Golden Card holders will continue to get full treatment facilities in three major private hospitals of Dehradun. He said that the services of treatment with Golden Card will continue regularly in Jolly Grant Hospital, Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital and Graphic Era Hospital and all the necessary medical facilities are being provided to the eligible patients coming to these hospitals. The Health Secretary said that the government's objective is that every eligible citizen of the state should get timely and proper health care. Through the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, free treatment facilities are being provided to lakhs of poor and needy families, and the state government is committed to successfully implementing this scheme. The Health Secretary said that in future also the services provided through the Golden Card will be further strengthened so that every citizen of the state can get accessible, affordable and quality health care. Dhami has said that his government is continuously working while giving top priority to the conservation and revival of water sources in the state. To fulfil this objective, the state government has constituted the Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority (SARRA). He said, "Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority (SARRA) has been constituted to fulfil this objective, through which 929 water sources have been successfully treated so far." The Chief Minister said that this initiative is not only an important step towards environmental balance but is also a far-reaching effort towards dealing with the water crisis and securing the future. (ANI) BJP leader V Muraleedharan, who is a member of the all-party delegation to Qatar and other nations led by NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule, highlighted the purpose of the delegation's visit. He said that the purpose of the visit is to explain the world and expose those who are utilising their land, training and financing terrorists and sending them to India. The BJP MP asserted that we could find state-sponsored terrorism in any other place in the world. V Muraleedharan added that the world will have to unite against terrorism and informed that the delegation will spend two days in Doha, then travel to South Africa, Ethiopia and Egypt. "This visit of parliamentary delegation, the first phase of this visit is to Doha in Qatar...to explain to the world and expose those who are utilising their land, training and financing terrorists and sending them to India. You wouldn't find state-sponsored terrorism in any other part of the world. This has to be made clear to the rest of the world, and the world has to unite against all forms of terrorism...we will spend two days in Doha. After that, we will be visiting South Africa, Ethiopia and Egypt", he said. National Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, who is leading an all-party delegation to put forward India's policy of zero-tolerance against terrorism, said on Friday that they are going to "give a message of peace and friendship." The Sule-led group was briefed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri earlier today ahead of their visit to various countries. "We are going to give a message of peace and friendship. It was a very good briefing, and when we come back, we will talk in detail about it. Our group leaves tomorrow for South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Doha (Qatar)," Sule told reporters. "India is against terrorism and has zero tolerance towards it. Indian government has fought against terrorism before, and will continue its fight against terrorism with strength, and we are going together as Indians to other countries," she told reporters. (ANI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha has strongly criticised US President Donald Trump's recent decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students, and claimed the move threatens the future of international students, particularly those at Harvard University. Taking to social media, Chadha wrote, "President Trump's recent move threatens the dreams and futures of international students at Harvard and beyond. As a proud member of the Harvard community, I wear my colours to show support for inclusion and academic freedom." Chadha, an alumnus of Harvard University, expressed solidarity with students affected by the policy. "I stand with @Harvard and all international students whose dreams and futures are under threat. We must defend academic freedom and global collaboration," he added. Meanwhile, the university condemned the decision as both unlawful and unwarranted and said that the decision "imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars." The university has filed a legal complaint and announced plans to seek a temporary restraining order as it pursues all available remedies. In a statement released on Friday, the Ofice of the President of the Harvard University said, "Yesterday, the federal government announced that it has revoked Harvard's certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and stripped the University of its authority to sponsor F- and J- visas for international students and scholars for the 2025-26 academic year. The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body." Reassuring its international community, Harvard emphasised its commitment to defending academic freedom and pledged support to those impacted by the decision. It added, "We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action. It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfil their dreams. We have just filed a complaint, and a motion for a temporary restraining order will follow. As we pursue legal remedies, we will do everything in our power to support our students and scholars. The Harvard International Office will provide periodic updates as new information becomes available." The statement further said that the government has claimed that its destructive action is based on Harvard's failure to comply with the US Department of Homeland Security's requests for information. "In fact, Harvard did respond to the Department's requests as required by law. For those international students and scholars affected by yesterday's action, know that you are vital members of our community. You are our classmates and friends, our colleagues and mentors, our partners in the work of this great institution. Thanks to you, we know more and understand more, and our country and our world are more enlightened and more resilient. We will support you as we do our utmost to ensure that Harvard remains open to the world," the Harvard statement added. Earlier on Thursday, the White House said, "Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right." It accused Harvard leadership of turning "their once-great institution into a hotbed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators." In a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, "They have repeatedly failed to take action to address the widespread problems negatively impacting American students and now they must face the consequences of their actions." Harvard and the Trump administration have been engaged in a conflict for months as the administration demands the university make changes to the programming of the institution, hiring and administration to remove on-campus antisemitism and remove what it termed "racist 'diversity, equity and inclusion' practices." The administration has targeted foreign students and employees, whom it believes were part of the contentious campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. (ANI) No casualties have been reported in the incident. 17 fire tenders were sent, and no injuries have been reported, said Fire Department while adding that building collapsed due to some blasts. Further details are awaited. Earlier, a major fire broke out at a private school in Delhi's Nirman Vihar Colony, under the Preet Vihar Police Station area in the late hours of Tuesday. According to officials, one car parked near the school was charred by the fire. Speaking to ANI, Fire Officer Firoz Khan said five fire tenders were at the spot to douse the fire, and no casualties have been reported. "We received a call at 8.55 pm. Five fire tenders reached the spot and we doused the fire. There was a fire at the school, an adjacent building, and a nearby car," he said. No casualties were reported in the incident. (ANI) BSF Jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw, who was repatriated to India on May 14 after being in the custody of Pakistan Rangers from April 23, expressed his joy and relief upon arriving in his hometown of Rishra, West Bengal. Shaw arrived in Kolkata on Friday and reached his hometown of Rishra in West Bengal's Hooghly district later in the day. Following his arrival at his home, Shaw said that he came back because he was worried about his parents. "I feel good. I came here to meet the people after the operation... I was worried about my parents, so I came home and met my entire family... I was there during the time of Operation Sindoor, and my parents were worried, so I came to meet them," the BSF Jawan said. The atmosphere in Rishra was filled with celebration, as Shaw's wife, Rajani Shaw, said it was Diwali for her as her "Ram" was coming back home. "The atmosphere is filled with happiness. A soldier of the country is coming back home... It is Diwali for us today, as my Ram is coming. It really feels very good... There is so much excitement... the town is fully decorated and it feels very good," she stated. Purnam Kumar Shaw was part of the BSF's 'Kisan Guard' and was deployed to protect Indian farmers posted in Punjab's Firozpur when he crossed the border inadvertently on April 23. Earlier, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari met with the family members of the BSF Jawan. "I am very happy that he is back safely. I have met his family. Our armed forces are safe under the leadership of PM Modi. This is what Jawan Purnam Shaw's wife and his father have also said. There are several protocols after which he will be back home. His mother has sugar, but now she is steady," Adhikari said. He further said that Shaw's wife stated that every member of the Armed Forces is safe under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also expressed happiness over BSF Jawan PK Shaw's safe return. She said the Trinamool Congress government had made efforts for his safe return. Mamata Banerjee told reporters that they had been in touch with Purnam Shaw's wife, Rajani Shaw, throughout and spoke to her four or five times. "Consistent efforts were made from our end. Our DGP was in continuous touch with his BSF counterpart. I told Rajani Shaw, the day before yesterday, that her husband was healthy and doing well. However, the modalities of his release operation would take some time. He was released. I am happy. His family is happy. The entire country is happy," she said. (ANI) In a significant development, the villagers of Pangkang (Kumku) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Arunachal Pradesh government to begin the Preliminary Feasibility Report (PFR) for Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) at Boleng in Siang district. On Friday, the Arunachal Pradesh Minister for Panchayati Raj, State Transport, and Cooperation, Ojing Tasing; Joint Secretary for Hydropower, Hage Lailang; Chief Engineer for Hydropower, Atek Miyu; and BJP Arunachal Pradesh General Secretary and Special Emissary of the Government, Nalong Mize, witnessed a significant accord. Representing the community's consent and enthusiasm, Pangkang (Kumku) leaders Taba Tamut and Bakin Tali stood on behalf of the majority of local residents. Siang Deputy Commissioner P N Thungon, representing the state government, signed the MoU with Taba Tamut and Bakin Tali. The proposed SUMP promises transformative benefits for the local community in addition to strategic defense and environmental resilience. According to the MoU, a development package of Rs 5 crore over three years will be rolled out, overseen by a newly constituted Village Development Committee (VDC). This Committee, composed of likely project-affected families, will spearhead village infrastructure improvements, health services, and livelihood programs, ensuring the fruits of the special development initiatives are rooted in the community and leading to equitable growth. The MoU also guarantees future consultations with local stakeholders as the project progresses, reaffirming the government's commitment to inclusive planning and development, keeping in view local priorities. As envisaged by the government, the SUMP is not just another hydroelectric project. Besides providing economic empowerment to the local community and being a significant source of clean and sustainable energy, it will be designed as a strategic counterbalance to China's rapid construction of multiple hydropower dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo (upstream section of the Siang River in Tibet). As India's northern neighbour accelerates its water infrastructure ambitions, the SUMP is envisioned as a timely and critical initiative to mitigate potential downstream risks from sudden upstream discharges and ensure year-round river flow vital for agriculture, drinking water, and ecological balance in Northeast India. "The villagers of Pangkang (Kumku) have shown incredible wisdom and maturity by deciding to cooperate with the government in the conduct of PRF for SUMP," Deputy Commissioner Thungon said. "This is not only about power or water. It is about harnessing the potential of River Siang for collective prosperity of the local area, state and the nation," he added. (ANI) Congress MP Manish Tewari arrived at the Delhi Airport on Saturday as part of an all-party delegation led by NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule. The delegation will visit Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa as part of India's Operation Sindoor global outreach. Speaking at the airport, Tewari said, "Operation Sindoor will put India's position in front of the world and expose Pakistan, which follows the path of terrorism and propaganda. Look at the last 45 years--Pakistan has been encouraging terrorism against India. Pakistan's complete support of terrorism is a crime in its own country, where terrorists are trained, armed, and sent across the border to spread terror in India." He added, "To expose the face of Pakistan and clear its veil, we are going to different countries, and all our efforts will be towards this." Other members of the delegation include Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjeet Singh Sahney (AAP), Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Anand Sharma (Congress), V. Muraleedharan (BJP), and Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin. The delegation aims to engage with international stakeholders to highlight India's stand on counterterrorism amid ongoing efforts under Operation Sindoor. Leading the group, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule emphasised that all participating members will be speaking "as responsible Indians" while visiting various world capitals, underlining the significant responsibility entrusted to the MPs during this global outreach. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Sule said the remaining delegations would depart on Saturday, May 24, following a scheduled briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). "We will discuss only after the MEA briefs us. This is a huge responsibility. Whatever we say during our outreach, we will say it as responsible Indians," Sule said. Talking about the MEA briefing of the remaining 4 delegations, she added, "Briefing of the remaining four groups has been scheduled for tomorrow, and we will leave for our visit the day after tomorrow." Meanwhile, Supriya Sule will lead the group on visits to Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa. The delegation includes BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Anurag Singh Thakur, and V. Muraleedharan; Congress' Manish Tewari and Anand Sharma; TDP's Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu; AAP's Vikramjeet Singh Sahney; and former UN ambassador Syed Akbaruddin. This all-party delegation aims to project India's national consensus and firm stance on combating terrorism in all its forms. They will carry India's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism to the global community during their outreach. A total of 7 groups consisting of 8-9 members from various political parties have been selected by India to represent its stance of zero tolerance against terror and brief the representatives of other countries on Operation Sindoor. Operation Sindoor was launched 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 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. On May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between the countries was announced. (ANI) Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla has said that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism caused the migration of people and industries from Punjab, weakening the State economically. Aujla, who represents Amritsar constituency in Lok Sabha, said that he told the multi-party delegations about how Punjab has suffered due to the cross-border terrorism since the late 1980s, so that they can present these facts to the global community. "I made a memorandum and I have tried to meet the chairpersons of all the delegations (going to various countries) to tell them how much the country, especially Punjab, is affected by terrorism. I met Shashi Tharoor and spoke to him in detail...Punjab has suffered the most because of terrorism," Aujla told ANI. He further said that Pakistan flooding Punjab with drugs resulted in large number of narcotic consumption deaths. "When peace prevailed in the state, they (Pakistan) introduced drugs in Punjab...they sent so many drugs that more than 1 lakh people died in terrorist activities. This is a silent genocide. Industry and people migrated due to this. We were weakened economically. This is due to Pakistan. In order to disturb India, they are disturbing Punjab," he said. Congress MP Manish Tewari, who is part of an all-party delegation led by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, on Saturday said he will expose Pakistan's conspiracy to train terrorists and send them across the border to spread terrorism in India. Tewari will be visiting Qatar, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt. "For the last 45 years, Pakistan has been promoting terrorism against India. We all are going to different countries and exposing the conspiracy of Pakistan to train terrorists, give them weapons and send them across the border to spread terrorism here," Tewari told ANI. Multiple delegations were briefed by the Foreign Secretary before going to various countries. Certain delegations have already met with representatives of various countries. Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde, who is leading one of the delegations, held a press conference in the United Arab Emirates, calling for international solidarity in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. The delegations will highlight that cross-border terrorism from Pakistan continues to be a major disruptor for India while presenting the Indian doctrine of zero tolerance of terror. India is sending these delegations following the Operation Sindoor, which was launched to retaliate against the Pahalgam attack. Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, targeting terror bases in Pakistan in retaliation for the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which killed 26 people. The operation 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. (ANI) Stressing the need to bring the world together to combat terrorism, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is part of an all-party delegation that visited Japan, said that their visit is to highlight the message that India will not kneel to fear. During the interaction of the Indian Community in Japan with the all-party delegation, Banerjee said that if terrorism is a rabid dog, then Pakistan is a wild handler. "We are here to share the message and the truth that India refuses to bow down. We will not kneel to fear. I belong to a political party that is in the Opposition. It is in the public domain that I have said that Pakistan needs to be taught a lesson in the language they understand. If terrorism is a rabid dog, Pakistan is a wild handler. We first need to bring the world together to combat this wild handler. Otherwise, this wild handler will end up breeding and raising more rabid dogs," he said. "We will make sure India is responsible. All our attacks and actions have been responsible, made with precision and non-escalatory," Abhishek Banerjee said. The TMC MP asserted that they are visiting different countries with proof of Pakistan sponsoring terrorism. "We have started this journey from Japan because it is our strategic partner. We are here from different parties, united in our fight against terrorism. We have come with proofs. Today it is India, tomorrow it will be another country," he said. "Pakistan always portrays itself as a victim. After 15 days of waiting, we neutralised nine terror bases in Pakistan without endangering a single civilian life. We want to expose the actual face of Pakistan," Abhishek Banerjee said. The TMC MP further emphasised that all parties stand united when it comes to the nation. "The TRF claimed responsibility for the attack. TRF is a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, and in the UN, everyone knows how Pakistan played a role in obscuring LeT's involvement in terror attacks. We want everyone here to propagate this message of fighting terrorism and recognise how India has taken the lead against it," Abhishek Banerjee said. Abhishek is part of the delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha, which includes Ambassador Mohan Kumar, BJP MP Dr Hemang Joshi, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, BJP MP Brij Lal, and BJP MP Pradan Baruah. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POJK). The Indian Armed Forces responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. The two countries have reached an understanding to stop military action following a call made by Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart. (ANI) Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, on Saturday left for Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, where he will be meeting residents affected by cross-border shelling by Pakistan. The Congress leaders have said that his visit is to extend solidarity with the bereaved families who were the victims of Pakistani aggression. "Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Shri @RahulGandhi will be visiting Poonch tomorrow May 24th to meet the families bereaved during the shelling by Pakistan very recently. Earlier, he had visited Srinagar on April 25th to meet with those injured during the brutal Pahalgam terror attack and many other stakeholders. He had also met with the LG and the CM then," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh had said in a post on X. On Friday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also informed the media of Rahul Gandhi's visit. "Yes, he will visit Poonch. He will meet the people there and express his sympathies. I am thankful to the TMC for initiating it. Five of their members came here and visited by road. They visited Poonch, and they are now in Rajouri. Then will visit Jammu. It is good that they came here and are listening to the people. And we feel that some people are standing with us in such difficult times," he said. Jammu and Kashmir CM further emphasised the responsibility of elected representatives to engage with the public and address their concerns, stating that his government is committed to listening to the people and working on their issues. "It is the duty of an elected government or representatives elected by the people to reach out to people as much as possible, hear their issues and grievances, and try to resolve them. We never said that all issues would be resolved at once. But we have definitely said that we will hear everyone as much as possible and try to work on it. I am doing exactly the same," he said. Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts have been affected during the recent conflict with Pakistan. The Pakistani side had indulged in unprovoked firing across the border due to which locals suffered damage to their homes and lost their sources of livelihood. The Jammu and Kashmir government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of those killed. (ANI) Congress MP Dr Amar Singh, part of the all-party delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad to UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark on Saturday emphasised the delegation's objective to raise global awareness about Pakistan's role in promoting terrorism. Singh noted that the Pahalgam attack was not an isolated incident, but rather part of a series of terrorist attacks supported by Pakistan. He alleged that Pakistan harbors terrorist training camps within its territory, which poses a significant threat to regional and global security. Singh defended India's action on May 7, stating that it targeted terrorist sites in response to ongoing threats. Speaking on preparations to pursue this strategy, Singh said, "The Pahalgam incident is not the first incident. There were earlier attacks near Jammu, Pathankot, and Bombay. Pakistan continues such acts and does not stop. Our effort is to tell the world this." He added, "Although Pakistan is smaller than us, it harbours terrorist training camps in Bahawalpur and other places like Muridke. India targeted only terrorist camps on the night of May 7 and did not strike any military sites. We will explain all this." The all-party MPs' delegation, including BJP MP Ravishankar Prasad and Congress MP Dr. Amar Singh, is working to present a unified front globally on Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism. Singh's remarks on Pakistan's ceasefire request and the U.S. acknowledgment of India's voluntary restraint bolster the delegation's narrative of India's measured and responsible stance. Prasad reinforced this approach by stressing the importance of unity, saying, "There is a need for the whole of India to speak in one voice." His call underlines the delegation's collective effort to rise above party lines and represent India's national interest with cohesion and clarity on the international stage. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed four all-party delegations on Friday, which will visit partner countries to highlight India's policy of zero tolerance to terrorism and its fight against cross-border terrorism. Meanwhile, Vikram Misri had briefed three all-party delegations earlier. Earlier, Ravishankar Prasad vowed to convey India's concerns effectively before the international community after being named a member of the delegation visiting key partner countries to project India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism and Operation Sindoor. Speaking to ANI, Prasad said that the step to choose members from Opposition parties is great foresight, terming it a strategy of India for peace and tough action against terrorism. "Why is it that wherever there is any global terrorism, some needle of suspicion points to Pakistan. We will convey India's concerns," the BJP MP added. The Centre has chosen a seven-member all-party delegation that will visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month. The following Members of Parliament are leading 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. The all-party delegation projects India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It will convey to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance for terrorism. (ANI) BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for "speaking the language of Pakistan" and said that Congress and Pakistan had now been "hyphenated". "Rahul Gandhi says that India and Pakistan have been hyphenated. But the fact is that Congress and Pakistan have been hyphenated. Congress has been constantly speaking the language of Pakistan DG ISPR," Poonawalla told ANI. He took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, saying that Congress leader's understanding of Leader of Opposition (LoP) is "Leader of Pakistan". "Today, when the entire world, including Pakistan Parliamentarians, agrees on how successful Operation Sindoor was, even after that, Congress speaks Pakistan's tongue. Rahul Gandhi thinks that 'LoP' stands for 'Leader of Pakistan'," he said. On Friday, criticising the BJP-led NDA government, Rahul Gandhi said that India's foreign policy had "collapsed". In a post on X, Gandhi raised three questions to the central government. "Will JJ explain, Why India has been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why didn't a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to "mediate" between India & Pakistan?" the LoP said. Reposting a video of S Jaishankar's interview with a media outlet, he said, "India's foreign policy has collapsed," he added. Earlier, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, accusing him of being silent on how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost during Operation Sindoor and said that the nation "deserves the truth". "EAM Jaishankar's silence isn't just telling -- it's damning. So I'll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn't a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth," Rahul Gandhi posted on X. 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. (ANI) Congress MP and AICC in charge of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Naseer Hussain, on Saturday condemned Pakistan's recent cross-border shelling in Poonch, which targeted places of worship, including Gurudwaras, Churches, Madrasas, and Temples, resulting in 13 deaths and significant damage. "They neither left the Gurudwara nor left the Church nor left the Madrasa nor left the Temple. Thirteen people lost their lives here. Apart from this, many people were injured, and many people lost their property. Therefore, a lot of damage has been done," Hussain said. Hussain announced that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will visit the affected areas to show solidarity with the victims. "Rahul Gandhi will go to the homes of people killed in the shelling. He will go to the schools of two children killed in the shelling and meet their classmates. There was an attack on a Gurudwara; he will visit there. He will go to the Madrasa, which was attacked and where one person was killed. We want to give confidence to these people who are in the farthest-flung areas of the country". Hussain raised questions about the India-Pakistan understanding, suggesting it was reached with US mediation, and expressed disappointment over the ceasefire's implications. "When the ceasefire happened, the whole country was disappointed because of the way our soldiers were fighting, our army was fighting, the way our armed forces were fighting, and we had the upper hand. However, with the US-mediated arbitration, we accepted this ceasefire. The whole country is asking for answers," he said. Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts have been affected during the recent conflict with Pakistan. The Pakistani side had indulged in unprovoked firing across the border due to which locals suffered damage to their homes and lost their sources of livelihood. The Jammu and Kashmir government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of those killed. (ANI) General Secretary of CPI (Maoists) Basvaraju, who was neutralised by security forces at Abujhmad area in insurgency-hit Narayanpur district, had received training in targeting security forces from the LTTE. After the elimination of the top naxal leader, the banned organisation suffered a major dent in terms of technical know-how as well as military power. Responding to the query of ANI about Basvaraju obtained training from LTTE, Bastar Range Inspector General of Police (IG) Sundarraj P said that the outlawed organisation has separate groups like insurgency groups and militant groups to execute incidents like IED blasts, ambushes and attacks on camps of security forces. There were multiple inputs received (in past) that they (referring to the naxal organisation) had taken training from the LTTE, said the IG, adding that they had taken training from a foreign organisation and also exchanged technical know-how. He further said that since Basvaraju was the general Secretary of CPI (Maoists) and held the responsibility of the Central military commission, he directly or indirectly had a role in the military action that took place in past. After the death of Basvaraju we can say that the banned organisation had suffered major dent in terms of technical knowhow and the military power will also face a major decline. Bastar IG said that the naxal organisation has been directionless and has not seen any face who can revive the outfit. "After Ramanna, the Secretary of DKSZC, died, no one was officially nominated as Secretary. Even after five to six years, the banned organisation failed to develop any new leadership. The existing leadership is around 70 years old. They did not have leadership at the next level because the organisation failed to attract youth due to its destructive actions," he further added. "We believe that the banned organisation did not require any general secretary because it will be eliminated soon. The organisation, heading towards its end, did not require any Secretary and General Secretary," said Sundarraj. Speaking about the status of PLGA-1 and Hidma, the officer said that effective campaigns were carried out against the PLGA battalion-1 in the south and west of Bastar. Be it Hidma, Barsa Deva of PLGA battalion-1, or any company Commanders and cadres, they have only one option left: shun the path of violence and surrender. Otherwise, they are going to meet their fate like other senior cadres. In 2024 and 2025, naxal organisation has suffered serious damage and the entire organisation is on the backfoot, said Sundarraj, adding that the number of cadres also declined significantly. The areas of their dominance are also shrinking. "We hope that naxal problems will be resolved soon, peace will be established, and developmental works will gain momentum", said Sundarraj. Speaking about the chronology of the encounter, the IG said that we cannot divulge the details of operations due to preventive measures. Still, the intelligence-based operations in the last two to three years led to fruitful results. In 2024, the bodies of six state-level committee members and PLGA members were recovered. Similarly, a central commitee member and general Secretary of CPI (Maoists), along with another cadre, were recovered after Narayanpur encounter in 2025. Sundarraj said, "In this encounter, separate teams of DRG were mobilised from two to three launchpads, acting on precise intelligence inputs." The officer elaborated that the terrain was tough and challenging due to hills and dense forest. Overcoming all the challenges, the security personnel acted tactfully so that their location would not be revealed to the Naxals. Security personnel successfully met out the challenge in the form of IEDs planted by naxals, reached the spot and surrounded the cadres of the banned organisation. Keeping their damage very minimum, the personnel cause significant damage to insurgents. Notably, 27 naxals, including Basvaraju, were killed in an encounter with the DRG at the dense forest of Abujhmad in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh on May 21. Search carried out by security personnel at the spot of encounter site resulted in recovery of firearms including AK-47 rifles, SLRs, Insas, carbines and others. (ANI) Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hamid Karra on Saturday said that Poonch district in the Union Territory was the worst affected by Pakistan's recent cross-border shelling. Karra also said that Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is visiting there to show solidarity with the affected people. "Poonch has been the worst affected by Pakistani shelling... Rahul Gandhi is the first national leader to come here, and he is coming to show solidarity with the people. He will visit all the institutions that have been affected by the shelling... He will meet the civil society and talk to them, and then he will come to the Dak Bungalow," Karra told ANI. He also asked why a "third country" announced the cessation of military action by India and Pakistan. "We expect Pakistan to remain committed to the ceasefire, though questions have been raised - why did a third country announce it despite the government's policy of no third-party intervention... We don't know what they (Pakistan) might do next, so the security forces have to be alert," he said. Meanwhile, Congress MP and AICC in charge of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Naseer Hussain, on Saturday, condemned Pakistan's recent cross-border shelling in Poonch, which targeted places of worship, including Gurudwaras, Churches, Madrasas, and Temples, resulting in 13 deaths and significant damage. "They neither left the Gurudwara nor left the Church nor left the Madrasa nor left the Temple. Thirteen people lost their lives here. Apart from this, many people were injured, and many people lost their property. Therefore, a lot of damage has been done," Hussain said. "Rahul Gandhi will go to the homes of people killed in the shelling. He will go to the schools of two children killed in the shelling and meet their classmates. There was an attack on a Gurudwara; he will visit there. He will go to the Madrasa, which was attacked and where one person was killed. We want to give confidence to these people who are in the farthest-flung areas of the country," he added. Hussain raised questions about the India-Pakistan understanding, suggesting it was reached with US mediation, and expressed disappointment over the ceasefire's implications. "When the ceasefire happened, the whole country was disappointed because of the way our soldiers were fighting, our army was fighting, the way our armed forces were fighting, and we had the upper hand. However, with the US-mediated arbitration, we accepted this ceasefire. The whole country is asking for answers," he said. Earlier, a five-member Trinamool Congress delegation on Thursday met with the families affected by Pakistani shelling in Poonch district, expressing solidarity with the families and reaffirming their commitment to humanity and peace. After meeting the families and seeing the damage, TMC MP Derek O' Brien underlined how he has been "deeply moved" by meeting the affected families. (ANI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, part of an all-party delegation highlighting India's fight against terrorism, on Saturday reiterated India's zero-tolerance policy towards malicious terrorist activities, emphasising the need to expose the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack on the international stage. Speaking ahead of his departure for the global outreach program, Sahney condemned Pakistan's attempts to give the attack a religious colour and affirmed India's commitment to peace while defending its right to retaliate against terrorism. "There was a horrifying and heart-wrenching terrorist attack in Pahalgam, where innocent people who were tourists were targeted by cross-border terrorism. So it is very important to expose it on the global platform. And we think that all this is governed by the Army Chief, as 10 days before, he proposed the two-nation theory," the AAP MP said. "India wants peace. India is not provocative. India remained calm even further. This is the policy of our Prime Minister and the Government. But if this malicious terrorist activity does not stop, then India has zero tolerance for this... India will not tolerate it. And any kind of nuclear fear will not affect India," he added. He asserted that terrorists have no religion and strongly condemned Pakistan for giving a religious colour to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, where 26 tourists lost their lives including a Nepali citizen. "The neighbouring country is trying to give the attack a religious colour. India understands that terrorists have no religion. So it is factually incorrect to provide it with a veil of any religion because India is a democratic country; all the minorities live here in a very peaceful co-existence... Giving it a religious colour is their malefide intent," Sanhey stated, criticising Pakistan's false narrative. Sahney cited historical evidence, noting, "It was proved after 26/11 where Kasab belonged; after that, there was Pathankot, followed by Pahalgam." He further highlighted that the Indian Army did not targeted any civilians, nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir were targeted during Operation Sindoor by India. He clarified India's military response, stating, "The second thing is to tell the world that the Indian Army did not target any civilians and only terrorist camps in Bhawalpur and other places were targeted. Whereas our neighbouring country operated drones at night in all cities of Jammu and Kashmir. We have to clear this kind of narrative." Sahney is part of one of the seven all-party delegations that will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and also to convey to the world India's strong message of zero tolerance for terrorism. Sahney's delegation is led by NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule and consists of BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Anurag Singh Thakur, Congress MP Manish Tewari, TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Congress's Anand Sharma and BJP's Muraleedharan. Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin will also accompany them. (ANI) The Border Security Force (BSF) is maintaining a strong presence along the international border in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, as part of ongoing Operation Sindoor. BSF personnel are working tirelessly to ensure national security and prevent any potential threats from across the border. Yogendra Singh Rathore, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Jaisalmer BSF, emphasized the force' unwavering commitment to national security, highlighting their role as the first line of defense. "BSF is the first line of defence and is always alert on the border. 5-6 years after its formation, the India-Pakistan war took place in 1971, and even then, it proved its usefulness. We were victorious during the Kargil war too. When the incident happened on 22nd April, when they (terrorists) killed our innocent citizens, after that, we were ready to give them a befitting reply. We stood by the decision taken by the Government of India, and we were fully prepared so that we could stop any misadventure right there," said DIG Rathore. Border Security Force (BSF) Officer Jaipal Singh highlighted the BSF's readiness to ensure national security, particularly effectively neutralising drone threats during Operation Sindoor. he BSF worked closely with the Indian Air Force, which successfully targeted Pakistani airbases, damaging enemy infrastructure. He said, "During Operation Sindoor, before Operation Sindoor and in the future, BSF has always been ready to perform its duty for the security of the country. During Operation Sindoor, the drone activities increased a lot. The enemy sent drones and shells, and we used our equipment tactfully and neutralised their drones...The Indian Air Force did a very good job during this. Many air bases of Pakistan were damaged. This is a matter of pride for us..." The BSF continues to maintain heightened vigilance to ensure the security of the nation's borders. India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POJK). The Indian Armed Forces responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. The two countries have reached an understanding to stop military action following a call made by Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart. (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Danish Azad Ansari on Saturday criticised Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and said that the successs of Operation Sindoor has become a matter of "worry" for the Congress. "The success of Operation Sindoor has become a matter of worry for Congress. These kinds of statements are very unfortunate. Today, the valour and courage of the Indian Armed Forces are admired not only in India but across the world as well," Ansari told ANI. "The success of Operation Sindoor is a significant achievement that has enhanced the respect for our country and its armed forces. We express our gratitude to the Indian Army and to Prime Minister Modi for his leadership, as well as to the delegation visiting various countries to reveal the truth about the Pahalgam attack and expose terrorism and the nations supporting it," he added. On Friday, criticising the BJP-led NDA government, Rahul Gandhi said that India's foreign policy had "collapsed". In a post on X, Gandhi raised three questions to the central government. "Will JJ explain why India has been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why didn't a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to "mediate" between India & Pakistan?" the LoP said. Reposting a video of S Jaishankar's interview with a media outlet, he said, "India's foreign policy has collapsed," he added. Earlier, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, accusing him of being silent on how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost during Operation Sindoor and said that the nation "deserves the truth". "EAM Jaishankar's silence isn't just telling -- it's damning. So I'll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn't a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth," Rahul Gandhi posted on X. 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. (ANI) The Central Bureau of Investigation has successfully extradited Angad Singh Chandhok, an Indian national, from the United States. Chandhok is accused of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar tech support fraud targeting senior American citizens through a network of shell companies. He was convicted by a US court in connection with large-scale online fraud. He and his associates posed as tech support providers, deceiving victims into transferring substantial sums of money. According to a March 2022 press statement from the US Department of Justice, he was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the scheme. Authorities revealed that the fraudulently obtained funds were funnelled through several shell companies set up by Chandhok, with the money eventually moved to India and other countries. According to the United States' attorney office, District of Rhode Island, while living in California, Angad Singh Chandhok, 34, operated a long-running and complex money laundering network, in which he created and used shell companies to move millions of dollars stolen from Americans through an online tech support scheme, and later an online travel fee scheme. Chandhok, who had at least five others working at his direction, was in direct contact with high-ranking international members of the scheme. According to court documents, Indian students who were present in the United States on visas, including four in Newport, RI, received funds from victims of the tech support scheme. They then transferred the funds to accounts controlled by Chandhok for further laundering. Chandhok's money laundering business provided an essential link between the participants of the fraud scheme in the United States and others who were operating internationally. Chandhok's criminal activity lasted two years, during which time he "cleaned" at least $1.5 million. The government's evidence showed that in just one month, he laundered nearly $930,000. Chandhok pleaded guilty on August 19, 2019, to conspiracy to launder criminal proceeds. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. sentenced him to 72 months of incarceration, followed by 3 years of federal supervised release. The statement said Chandhok is wanted in his native country of India for fraud and was an international fugitive from justice when he engaged in his sophisticated money laundering activities here in the United States. The CBI had been pursuing his extradition for an extended period through a prolonged legal process. With his return to India now secured, Chandhok is expected to be produced before a competent court, where the CBI will seek his custodial remand for further investigation. (ANI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu proposed at the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog on Saturday the formation of three focused sub-groups of States, in collaboration with the Union Government and NITI Aayog, to fast-track progress toward Viksit Bharat in 2047. According to an official release by the State government, the first sub-group on GDP growth aims to boost investments, manufacturing, exports, and job creation, supported by central Viability Gap Funding for PPP projects. The second sub-group on population management will help India leverage its demographic advantage while preparing for future challenges like ageing and low fertility. The third sub-group will focus on technology-driven governance, utilising AI, quantum computing, drones, and digital platforms for real-time, citizen-centric administration, the release stated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the meeting held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. This year's theme is 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047', with the central focus on states and thereby making India a developed nation. The Governing Council Meeting discussed the approach to Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat in 2047. The meeting convened Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors, Union Ministers, and senior officials from across India to discuss national policy and cooperative federalism. According to the AP government's release, the Chief Minister's interaction was a huge success at the event, as the Prime Minister himself lauded "Andhra Pradesh's growth blueprint." While praising the reforms brought by the AP government steered by CM Naidu, the Prime Minister mentioned, as per the release, "that all states should examine and study the reforms of Andhra Pradesh. There could be a lot of inputs in the blueprint for growth projected by CM Naidu for other states also." Besides, while addressing the meeting, Chief Minister Naidu paid tribute to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, lauding the Armed Forces' decisive Operation Sindoor. He also commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong leadership during the crisis and emphasised India's resilience and self-reliance. The meeting's core focus was on the theme "Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047," aiming to build a prosperous, inclusive, and future-ready India by its centenary. The Council deliberated on accelerating entrepreneurship, employment, and skill development, transforming Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities into growth hubs, and reviewed key outcomes and decisions to reinforce cooperative federalism and collective progress toward national development. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh praised India's remarkable rise over the past decade under the leadership of the Prime Minister, highlighting the nation's progress from the world's 10th to the 4th largest economy, on track to become the 3rd largest. He acknowledged transformative reforms like Digital India, GST, Startup India, PM Gati Shakti, and Jal Jeevan Mission, which have redefined India's development landscape. Emphasising India's strengthened global stature, exemplified by Operation Sindoor, the Chief Minister noted that having the right leader at the right time has been crucial in steering the nation toward its ambitious goals in the right direction. (ANI) China tourism, culture week kicks off in Budapest Xinhua) 10:29, May 24, 2025 Visitors learn about Chinese cultural and creative products during the 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week in Budapest, Hungary, May 23, 2025. The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) BUDAPEST, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. Szabolcs Szilagyi, head of the department for legal and governance support of Hungarian Tourism Agency, told the ceremony that in recent years, the ties between Hungary and China in economy, culture and tourism have become increasingly close, and China has become one of the most important source countries for tourists coming to Hungary. Budapest has established direct flight routes with seven cities in China, becoming an important hub connecting central and eastern Europe and China. Fu Hanxiao, deputy director general of the Industrial Development Department of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the tourism and culture week showcases the vitality of contemporary Chinese culture and tourism industry, and creates favorable conditions for more European tourists to visit China. The Friday event also included a China-Central and Eastern Europe tourism development dialogue and business negotiation meetings to help explore new development paths for the industry. The China tourism and culture week, which runs until May 25, will also see a series of related projects take place, such as the "Best from China" expo which features Chinese intangible cultural heritages, a Beijing-themed photo exhibition, and tea culture experiences, demonstrating the integration of China's traditional culture with modern technological creativity. The tourism and culture week is organized by the China National Tourist Office in Budapest, the European Office of Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce of China, and the Europe Regional Bureau of Xinhua News Agency. A visitor looks at pictures during the 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week in Budapest, Hungary, May 23, 2025. The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) This photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows the opening ceremony of the 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week in Budapest, Hungary. The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) A visitor looks at Chinese cultural and creative products during the 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week in Budapest, Hungary, May 23, 2025. The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) This photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows pictures exhibited during the 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week in Budapest, Hungary. The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) Szabolcs Szilagyi, head of the department for legal and governance support of Hungarian Tourism Agency, speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week in Budapest, Hungary, May 23, 2025. The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) A visitor touches an exhibit during the 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week in Budapest, Hungary, May 23, 2025. The 2025 Budapest China Tourism and Culture Week started on Friday in the Hungarian capital, aiming to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations through cooperation platforms built for cultural and tourism industry insiders. More than 100 representatives from the Chinese and Hungarian government, cultural and tourism enterprises and media in central and eastern Europe attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Rapid infrastructure expansion is revolutionising Manipur, with the Indian Railways playing a crucial role in improving the state's connectivity and economic potential. The current development of the 111-kilometre-long Jiribam-Imphal railway line is advancing at an impressive rate, despite the difficult terrain of the state. This ambitious initiative features the construction of various tunnels, bridges, and stations and is set to greatly enhance transportation in the area. A particularly remarkable aspect of this project is the nearing completion of the world's tallest railway pier bridge. Out of 52 planned tunnels, a significant 59 kilometres of the total 61.32 kilometres of tunnelling work has been completed. As stated by Thingujam Dolendro, the Project Manager, "We aim to complete the tunnelling work by 2027. This is the first shaft of its kind in the Northeast and for the Northeast Frontier Railway. Once we complete the excavation through the shaft and move to the next phase, the progress on the tunnels will speed up. The shaft has been built, and we are ready for the next phase." The construction of bridges is also moving swiftly. Of the 11 major bridges, 5 have been completed, and 81 out of the 138 planned minor bridges are finished. Progress in station development is consistent, with 6 out of 11 new stations already built. Khongsang station located in the Noney district, is operational, providing residents with new travel options. Another vital component of the project is the Sangaihel Tunnel, which will become the longest railway tunnel in the Northeast, measuring nearly 10 kilometres. To ensure both safety and efficiency, two parallel tunnels are being created, one for regular train traffic and the other specifically for emergency rescue and evacuation. The local community is looking forward to the advantages that improved rail connectivity will bring. Laishram Premjit, a resident of the region, expressed, "At present, it takes us a lot of time to travel to Assam or Silchar at least 10 hours to get to Silchar. Once the railway is operational, it will be a huge benefit for us. It will also cut costs. Transporting goods from Assam or Dimapur by truck is challenging. With the train, it will take just 4-5 hours and will be much more affordable." The beneficial effects of the railway initiative are also recognised by those who are involved in its construction. Arvind Kumar, a laborer from Bihar, highlighted the broader developmental implications. He remarked, "Everyone desires progress, whether they are from the Northeast, Delhi, Bihar, or any other state in the country, it's a positive aim. The situation here will stabilise completely. People are learning to coexist harmoniously, and many have already done so. Conditions are improving now and will soon return to normal." As this groundbreaking railway initiative continues to develop, it has the potential to not only strengthen Manipur's connection with the rest of India but also to infuse new energy into the state's economy. (ANI) The first batch of Sikh devotees, led by the Panch Pyaras, commenced their journey to Shri Hemkund Sahib for the 2025 pilgrimage. The group departed carrying the Nishan Sahib (holy flag) under full police protection, Chamoli Police said in a post on X. In their message, Chamoli Police stated, "Shri Hemkund Sahib Yatra 2025: The first group of Sikh devotees, led by the Panch Pyaras, has set out for Shri Hemkund Sahib with the Nishan Sahib and complete police security." The police have ensured comprehensive security arrangements to facilitate a safe and smooth pilgrimage for all devotees. Following the departure of the first batch of pilgrims for Hemkund Sahib on Thursday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed devotees from across the country and the world, emphasising the state's commitment to a secure and well-managed pilgrimage to the revered Sikh shrine near Joshimath in Chamoli district. The portals of Hemkund Sahib, situated at a height of over 15,000 feet above sea level, will open on May 25. The shrine is visited by lakhs of devotees every summer. Addressig the media as the first batch departed for the pilgrimage, CM Dhami said, "The doors of Shri Hemkund Sahib will open on May 25. All the arrangements have been made for the devotees." "I thank PM Modi as the Government of India has approved the ropeway for Kedarnath and Shri Hemkund Sahib. The difficult journey will become very easy in the coming time. We welcome all the devotees coming from across the country and the world," the Chief Minister added. Uttarakhand Governor, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd), also welcomed the devotees and expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister and other administration for preparing the arrangements. "We see it as 'Atithi Devo Bhava'. I thank the Chief Minister, the administration, and the Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee for working so hard to make every devotee's visit successful," the Governor said. Singh also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for prioritising the Hemkund Sahib and Kedarnath ropeway projects. CM Dhami also urged pilgrims to show respect and salute Army personnel while undertaking the Char Dham Yatra and Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage, highlighting the importance of honouring the forces ensuring their safety. He highlighted that over 11 lakh devotees have participated in the Char Dham Yatra so far. He shared this during the flag-off ceremony of the first group of pilgrims embarking on the Hemkund Sahib Yatra from Rishikesh. Speaking on the occasion, Dhami said, "So far, more than 11 lakh devotees have completed their Darshan. The area of Shri Hemkund Sahib has a rich ecosystem. It is our pledge to protect the environment here. We have pledged to make this Yatra plastic-free. You are requested to follow the rules made by the ancestors during the Yatra." Dhami also highlighted the amenities provided by the government for the devotees' convenience. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to stage a major protest titled 'Kalaburagi Chalo' here, demanding the removal of Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge from the state Cabinet over the recent incident in Chittapur. The protest comes in the wake of the May 21 incident, where Congress workers allegedly laid siege to a guest house in Chittapur, Kalaburagi district, where the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanswamy, was staying. Reacting to the incident, Narayanswamy compared his treatment during previous protests with the current political atmosphere. He said, "Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was once the Leader of Opposition. Back then, during our government, when a small protest happened in Kodagu, he was arrested, but we still gave him full security and treated him with respect. But now, Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge are making disrespectful remarks. He even called RSS and BJP supporters 'dogs' and claimed none of them took part in the freedom struggle." Echoing similar concerns, BJP leader Rajkumar Patil accused Minister Priyank Kharge of misusing his official position to target political rivals. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Patil alleged that Kharge orchestrated attacks on BJP leaders, including Narayanswamy, during what he described as a peaceful protest in Chittapur. "BJP leaders, including Narayanswamy, were deliberately harassed during a peaceful Satyagraha in Chittapur. Congress-backed individuals attacked his car and even tried to assault him," Patil alleged. Calling for urgent action, Patil said, "The Chief Minister has to take strict action. All those police officers involved must be suspended, especially those who mishandled the 'Darna Dutt Satyagraha'. Those responsible for the attack should be arrested under the Gunda Act." He also criticised the Congress-led state government for failing to act on multiple complaints against Priyank Kharge. "Only those who are with Congress receive protection. Whether under Congress rule or the Constitution, nothing seems to function properly in Kalaburagi. The entire area is witnessing illegal activity," Patil said. Claiming that both ministers and citizens are fearful, he added, "Some ministers are scared to come here. People are afraid that Priyank Kharge has kept some people under his control. Those people come and disrupt protests like the Dharna Satyagraha." "Until Priyank resigns or is removed from the Cabinet, Siddaramaiah ji will not act. We will continue our protest," Patil asserted. "Unless Siddaramaiah acts and removes Priyank, we will not back down," he reiterated. (ANI) Delhi Police have arrested four people in connection with a cyber fraud case involving a digital arrest scam that duped a Japanese company manager of over Rs 31 lakh, officials said on Saturday. According to officials, the extensive investigation spanned nearly a year and involved raids across multiple states, including Rajasthan, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Delhi. The complainant, Rahul Iqbal, a manager based in Yamuna Vihar, Delhi, and employed with a Japanese firm, reported the fraud in May 2024. He said that he received a call from a person claiming to be an employee of a reputed courier service. The caller alleged that a parcel sent by Rahul to Taiwan contained illegal items such as passports and drugs, and the complaint had been forwarded to the Mumbai Cyber Crime Branch. Subsequently, another caller impersonated Sub-Inspector Naresh Gupta Banerjee, accusing Rahul of involvement in money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorism. He was coerced to participate in a 'Mumbai investigation' under threat of arrest and was instructed to download Skype and avoid communication with others. The fraudsters collected sensitive personal and financial details and induced Rahul to transfer Rs 30,85,592 into dummy RBI accounts as "verification" against money laundering charges, police said. The Cyber Police Station, North East Delhi, registered an FIR under IPC sections 419, 420, 120B, and 109, and handed over the probe to Sub Inspector Anuplata Yadav, they said. Investigations revealed that Rs 20,10,000 of the defrauded amount was transferred to Punjab National Bank accounts linked to "Satish Traders," a non-existent firm registered under false documents, including UDYAM registration, MSME certificate, and municipal licenses. The account was opened under the proprietorship of Satish Kumar Singh, a 34-year-old resident of Jharkhand, the police said. Satish Kumar Singh was arrested following raids in Delhi. He is allegedly a key beneficiary, receiving approximately Rs 2 crores through the fraudulent accounts. During the arrest, police recovered SIM cards and mobile phones used to procure false documents, they said. Further probes uncovered a syndicate running a scheme to open fake current accounts for receiving illicit funds obtained via digital arrest threats. Three more suspects were detained from Sirsa, including two account holders and one account provider linked to the fraud ring, they said. Delhi Police have frozen the fraudulent accounts and, under court orders, Rs 11.5 lakhs have been refunded to the complainant, they said, adding the police are actively pursuing three to four more accused believed to be part of the gang, with ongoing raids underway. (ANI) A seven-year-old girl from Bhopal suffering from a severe liver infection was airlifted to Delhi under the PM Shri Ambulance Service, Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Vishvas Sarang said on Saturday. Minister Sarang stated that ensuring timely and quality healthcare for every citizen remains a top priority for both the state and central governments. It was in this spirit that arrangements were made to transfer the minor girl to the national capital for specialised treatment. The minor is a resident of Bhopal, and her family reached the minister's residence on Friday seeking help for her treatment. The Minister immediately made arrangements at AIIMS hospital in the state capital, but during the preliminary examination, her condition was found quite serious, and doctors recommended that she be shifted to Delhi. Speaking to reporters, Sarang said, "It is the priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav that every citizen should get timely treatment. That is why, be it the Ayushman Bharat scheme or the PM Sri Air Ambulance service, it is being duly implemented in Madhya Pradesh. Yesterday, a family visited me whose 7-year-old girl was suffering from a serious liver problem. She was having a serious infection in the liver. When we consulted doctors in Bhopal, they recommended sending her to Delhi immediately." "Following which, we airlifted her via PM Shri Air Ambulance Service to Delhi. Her health condition is critical and she is undergoing treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme coverage and might need a liver transplant. We are continuously in touch with her parents and doctors. Our priority is to provide proper and timely treatment to all. We are trying our best to ensure the girl gets well soon and returns to Bhopal as soon as possible," he added. (ANI) The order involves the manufacturing and supply of Universal Rocket Launchers with a range capability of up to 300 kilometres - a highly advanced technology being produced in India for the first time for the global market. This is a landmark achievement for NIBE Limited and a proud milestone for India's defence manufacturing sector. With this contract, we reaffirm our commitment to the Prime Minister's vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and Make in India, bringing world-class defence technology to Indian soil. The Universal Rocket Launcher is among the most advanced in its class and is designed to outperform currently available global alternatives. This order not only marks a major step forward in NIBE Limited's international expansion but also strengthens India's strategic position in the field of modern warfare systems. By collaborating with international defence leaders, NIBE Limited continues to develop high-impact, indigenous solutions for both the Indian Armed Forces and international clients, aligning with national priorities and advancing global defence innovation. NIBE Limited is a leading Indian defence technology company engaged in the development, manufacturing, and integration of sophisticated defence systems. With a strong focus on innovation, self-reliance, and global collaboration, NIBE plays a vital role in enhancing India's defence readiness and export capabilities. (ANI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met top industrialists in Delhi and asked them to fulfill their commitments made during Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit in Guwahati, an official statement said on Saturday. The Chief Minister met the Chairman of Vedanta Group, Anil Agarwal at his official residence on Friday evening and asked him to operationalise the group's investment commitment made during Advantage Assam Summit held in February this year. Vedanta Chairman, Agarwal said the group is wholly committed to Assam's growth journey and is keen to expand its footprint in the state's hydrocarbon sector. Later, taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister wrote, "Today in New Delhi, I met the very enterprising Chairman of @Vedanta_Group, Shri @AnilAgarwal_Ved Ji. We spoke on operationalising the group's investment commitment made during #AdvantageAssam2. Vedanta is keen to expand its footprint in the state's hydrocarbon sector." Later, the Chief Minister met Managing Director of ITC Hotels, Anil Chadha at his official residence and discussed the potential of investment in the hospitality sector. Chadha told the Chief Minister that his group is very keen in exploring opportunities in the hospitality sector in Assam. Informing about the development, CMO Assam, wrote in an X post, "Shri Anil Chadha, MD, @ITCHotels called upon HCM Dr. @himantabiswa in New Delhi today. They discussed the potential of investments in Assam's hospitality sector as Shri Chadha expressed keen interest in exploring opportunities for expansion in the state." The Advantage Assam 2.0 has secured investment commitments worth Rs. 5.18 lakh crore over the next five years, It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Sarma, who is closely monitoring the investment commitments made by different companies during the Advantage Assam 2.0, will hold one-to-one meeting with the industry honchos in the national capital on May 26. "The Hon'ble Chief Minister has started individual discussions with the companies about how to go about realising the investment on the ground, what kind of incentives they might need, land they would need. We will prepare the preparatory roadmap over the next six months," a senior official privy to the development said. "If even a significant portion of the pledged investments materialises, Assam could emerge as a leading industrial hub in the Northeast and beyond. Therefore, the focus now shifts to implementation and execution, ensuring that these investments translate into job creation, infrastructure development, and long-term economic benefits for the state," the official added. To achieve this goal, the Government of Assam plans to carefully analyse investment proposals in the current financial year and work toward a comprehensive roadmap within the next six months. "The roadmap will focus on addressing key challenges such as land allocation, ease of doing business, and incentive structures to ensure that projects move from paper to reality," the official quipped. (ANI) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday disbursed financial aid to empower Kendu (Tendu) leaf workers in Odisha's Sambalpur. This programme was held at Sambalpur University Auditorium in Sambalpur district. Speaking to reporters, the Union Minister and Sambhalpur MP stated that BJP's double-engine government is committed to working for people who are associated with forest produces. "In Odisha, mainly in western Odisha, around 10 lakh Tendu leaf pluckers live. Along with this, more workers are involved in 'Beedi' production. They are associated with forest produce. The state government has always taken responsibility for them. They played a significant role in forming the BJP government, so, we are also responsible for them. Our double-engine government is committed to working for people who are associated with forest produces," Pradhan said. Earlier on Saturday, Union Minister Pradhan addressed the inaugural session of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) sub-regional conference 'Saksham-2025' in Sambhalpur. Welcoming Chartered Accountants and delegates from across the country, the Minister said that the theme of the conference, "Informing Professionals - Enabling Progress," will help ICAI connect with the youth and talent pool at the national level. In a post on X, Pradhan said, "Today I had the privilege of addressing the inaugural session of ICAI's sub-regional conference 'Saksham-2025' at Sambalpur. I welcome Chartered Accountants and other guests from across the country to Sambalpur for this special workshop. The theme of this programme "Informing Professionals - Enabling Progress" will help ICAI to understand and connect with the talented youth and talent pool here at the national level." Highlighting the contribution of Chartered Accountants professionals to the country's economic rise, Pradhan wrote, "The contribution of our professionals has made India the fifth largest economy in the world. In the coming years, we will be third, and the developed India of the future will be ranked first in the world in terms of quality and competitiveness." "It is a happy coincidence for Odisha that our centenary year will coincide with the centenary of the country's Independence. The role of our CA community has been very important in this journey of India," the social media post added. (ANI) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the inaugural session of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) sub-regional conference 'Saksham-2025' in Odisha's Sambhalpur. Welcoming Chartered Accountants and delegates from across the country, the Minister said that the theme of the conference, "Informing Professionals - Enabling Progress," will help ICAI connect with the youth and talent pool at the national level. In a social media post on X, Pradhan wrote, "Today I had the privilege of addressing the inaugural session of ICAI's sub-regional conference 'Saksham-2025' at Sambalpur. I welcome Chartered Accountants and other guests from across the country to Sambalpur for this special workshop. The theme of this program, "Informing Professionals - Enabling Progress," will help ICAI to understand and connect with the talented youth and talent pool here at the national level." https://x.com/dpradhanbjp/status/1926192220077453476 Highlighting the contribution of Chartered Accountants professionals to the country's economic rise, Pradhan wrote, "The contribution of our professionals has made India the fifth largest economy in the world. In the coming years, we will be third, and the developed India of the future will be ranked first in the world in terms of quality and competitiveness." "It is a happy coincidence for Odisha that our centenary year will coincide with the centenary of the country's independence. The role of our CA community has been very important in this journey of India," the social media post added. The Union Minister also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, "Shri @narendramodi ji is the first Prime Minister who has given true respect to the wealth creators of the country, in which our CAs are playing the role of a 'catalyst'." Setting the target of creating 100 startups in Odisha, Pradhan stated that the western belt of the state has immense potential and needs to develop a capable ecosystem and entrepreneurial environment. He said, "Recently, 3 startups from Odisha have been featured in Forbes magazine. This is proof of the talent of our youth. We have set a target of 100 Cube in Odisha, under which we want to create 100 startups with a net worth of Rs 100 crore. For this, we will have to develop a capable ecosystem and entrepreneurial environment. Our priority should be to move from idea to innovation, innovation to technology, and then scaling up the technology." "Today, our youth across the country are creating a net worth of about 40 lakh crores and providing employment to more than 7 lakh people through more than 2.5 lakh startups. To encourage our youth, we will have to create new opportunities and a level playing field. Along with supporting old businesses, new ventures will also have to be created," the Union Minister stated. Pradhan further said, "Odisha's western belt has immense potential, and its epicentre is Sambalpur. Sambalpur has all the potential to become a startup hub. There are opportunities in many sectors, such as textiles, garments, agro-products, and digital products. Our CA community has to identify these opportunities, and only then will our youth and investors be able to make informed choices." The Union Education Minister further stated that he expects the CA community to join street vendors, FPOs, and initiatives like 'Lakhpati Didi' in their area and help them grow their businesses. The post reads. "When the community grows, the value of the business will also increase. I expect the CA community to join street vendors, FPOs and initiatives like 'Lakhpati Didi' in their area, take them along and help them grow their business. Only when their economy gets formalised will our business grow." "I also expect IIM Sambalpur to develop its campus within a green forest area in the next 5 years. For this, concrete efforts will have to be made on tree plantation and environmental conservation from now itself. We have to make Sambalpur a sustainable, green and clean city and this can be started only with small steps," it added. (ANI) Assam government on Saturday extended financial assistance worth Rs five lakhs to the next of kin of the victim, who was killed in the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. Assam Minister Krishnendu Paul visited Kolkata to meet with the next of kin of the terror victim and expressed condolences. "Arrived at the residence of Late Bitan Adhikari in Kolkata to meet his wife, Sohini Roy. Late Bitan Adhikari was an unfortunate victim who was shot dead at point-blank range in a terrorist attack at Pahalgam on April 22, 2025," Paul, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, posted on X on Saturday. "On behalf of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma Ji, I handed over a cheque of Rs 5.00(Five) lakhs to the next of kin of the victim, along with a heartfelt condolence message," he added. Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the people of the state stand firm with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. "Though we can never fill the void that Late Bitan Adhikari has left in the lives of Smt. Sohini and the young child, we have extended a token of assistance from the people of Assam to help them in this tough time," Sarma posted on X. Meanwhile, India is sending multi-party delegations, led by various members of Parliament, to different countries across the globe to brief them about the country's response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, leading an all-party delegation to Russia, on Saturday asserted that links to terrorist attacks in India are always "traced back to Pakistan," as she reiterated India's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism. "India had no choice but to respond. But when India responded, we responded responsibly. We ensured no civilian was affected. We (during Operation Sindoor) only targeted the installations where terrorists were sheltered and trained. They resorted to military aggression and targeted gurdwaras, temples, residential areas where Indian civilians lived, and even our military bases," she told reporters in Moscow. (ANI) Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra on Saturday slammed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state for "dictatorial and rowdy" attitude over the alleged attack on BJP leader and Karnataka Leader of Opposition (LoP), Chalavadi Narayanswamy, in Chittar constituency on May 21. The BJP state chief said that the incident reflected the ruling Congress government's "dictatorial attitude," and that Priyank Kharge should tender his resignation. "We have staged protests against the actions of the ruling Congress government, especially against Minister Priyank Kharge. The Leader of Opposition was attacked in Priyank Kharge's constituency--Chittar, and we strongly condemn this violence," Vijayendra said. "We demand that Priyank Kharge resigns immediately. They keep speaking about BR Ambedkar. If they have faith in Baba Sahab Ambedkar, he should tender his resignation because of the rowdy attitude he and his supporters have shown. We have given a memorandum to the Governor," he added. The BJP, on Saturday, demonstrated a major protest titled 'Kalaburagi Chalo' here, demanding the removal of Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge from the state Cabinet over the recent incident in Chittapur. The protest comes in the wake of the May 21 incident, where Congress workers allegedly laid siege to a guest house in Chittapur, Kalaburagi district, where the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanswamy, was staying. Reacting to the incident, Narayanswamy compared his treatment during previous protests with the current political atmosphere. He said, "Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was once the Leader of Opposition. Back then, during our government, when a small protest happened in Kodagu, he was arrested, but we still gave him full security and treated him with respect. But now, Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge are making disrespectful remarks. He even called RSS and BJP supporters 'dogs' and claimed none of them took part in the freedom struggle." "Echoing similar concerns, BJP leader Rajkumar Patil accused Minister Priyank Kharge of misusing his official position to target political rivals. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Patil alleged that Kharge orchestrated attacks on BJP leaders, including Narayanswamy, during what he described as a peaceful protest in Chittapur."BJP leaders, including Narayanswamy, were deliberately harassed during a peaceful Satyagraha in Chittapur. Congress-backed individuals attacked his car and even tried to assault him," Patil alleged. Calling for urgent action, Patil said, "The Chief Minister has to take strict action. All those police officers involved must be suspended, especially those who mishandled the 'Darna Dutt Satyagraha'. Those responsible for the attack should be arrested under the Gunda Act." He also criticised the Congress-led state government for failing to act on multiple complaints against Priyank Kharge. "Only those who are with Congress receive protection. Whether under Congress rule or the Constitution, nothing seems to function properly in Kalaburagi. The entire area is witnessing illegal activity," Patil said. Claiming that both ministers and citizens are fearful, he added, "Some ministers are scared to come here. People are afraid that Priyank Kharge has kept some people under his control. Those people come and disrupt protests like the Dharna Satyagraha." "Until Priyank resigns or is removed from the Cabinet, Siddaramaiah ji will not act. We will continue our protest," Patil asserted. (ANI) The Southwest Monsoon has arrived over Kerala on Saturday, nearly a week ahead of the usual onset date of June 1, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), "heavy to very heavy rainfall likely to continue over west coast (Kerala, Karnataka, coastal Maharashtra and Goa) during next 7 days with possibility of extremely heavy rainfall over Kerala during 24th-26th; coastal Maharashtra and Goa and Madhya Maharashtra on 24th; Coastal and Ghat areas of Karnataka during 24th-27th; Ghat areas of Tamil Nadu on 25th & 26th May, 2025." According to the IMD, a depression is present over the East Central Arabian Sea and adjoining south Konkan coast. It is expected to move eastward and cross south coastal Maharashtra by noon on May 24. Meanwhile, severe heatwave conditions are forecast to continue in Rajasthan until May 27 and in Punjab, Haryana, Jammu, and Kashmir until May 26. While speaking to ANI, Manorama Mohanty, Director of IMD Bhubaneswar, said, "Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the 24th May, 2025, against the expected date of 1st June. Thus, the southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala 8 days before the scheduled date. Heavy rainfall, thunderstorm activity with Lightning, and Gusty surface winds are very likely over the districts of Odisha from 24th to 30th May 2025. Thunderstorm with lightning with surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph and Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur in the afternoon/evening hours at one or two places over the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhargarh, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, and Malkangiri." She added, "Rain is happening and one trough is extending from east central Arabian Sea where depression is there and trough is drawn from that cyclonic circulation which is associated with the depression over east central Arabian Sea to the South Chhattisgarh." While southern and coastal states braced for downpours, northern and northwestern India continued to battle heat waves and severe heat waves, especially in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir. IMD warned that these conditions will persist until May 27 in several regions. The IMD stated that Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar will see scattered to fairly widespread rain with thunderstorms and gusty winds through May 30. Bihar is likely to experience thunderstorm winds reaching speeds of 70 kmph on May 25 and 26. A low-pressure area is expected to develop over the west-central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal around May 27, adding to the rainfall threat in Odisha and eastern states. The IMD also warned that Northeast India will face daily light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning from May 24 to 30, with heavy rain expected in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura. Manorama Mohanty said, "Because of freeze and also because of the change in wind direction or state is likely to get rainfall activity at many places in the district during the next 7 days in addition to that, lightning and some activity was between 40 to 50 kilometres very lightly and also isolated heavy rainfall activities also there." She added, "An Orange warning has been issued and isolated heavy rainfall activity will be there... For tomorrow, on May 25th, light to moderate rain, very lightly in addition to that, isolated heavy rainfall activity, thunderstorm, lightning and gusty wind 40 to 50 kilometres per hour, very likely in the district of Mars Ganjamagiri, Sundar and some districts." The IMD also predicted the dust storms across West and East Rajasthan till May 27 and hailstorms in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. (ANI) Sribhumi (Assam) [India], May 24: Two staff members of a district jail in Assam's Sribhumi district have been apprehended for allegedly committing sexual assault against a woman in the jail premises late on Friday night, police said. According to Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl. SP) Pranab Jyoti Kalita, the apprehended persons have been identified as Hareswar Kalita and Brajendra Kalita. The Addl. SP said that security personnel from the district jail informed police about the incident at around 1:30 AM, after which the accused were nabbed. "At around 1:30 AM (May 24), they received information from the district jail from a security personnel that a lady was sexually assaulted by two jail staff members," Addl. SP Kalita told reporters. He said that the police personnel and District Jail Superintendent rushed to the spot, after which the victim was sent to the hospital for necessary medical examination. Addl. SP Kalita added that a case was being registered under relevant sections and action will be taken against the accused. "After receiving the information our police personnel and District Jail Superintendent rushed to the spot and found that one lady was there. They caught the accused jail staff (members). They also informed the local police station and they apprehended the accused person and brought the victim to the hospital for necessary medical examination. A case will be registered. Necessary action will be taken," the Addl. SP said. (ANI) Congress MP and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Syed Naseer Hussain said on Saturday that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi had completed his scheduled visit to Poonch. During this visit, Rahul Gandhi interacted with residents, students, and party workers, assuring them that he would raise their concerns in Parliament and also stating that he would write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Since it is a border area and a border town, what additional facilities should be provided was also discussed. Rahul Gandhi ji assured them that he would raise these issues in Parliament and write a letter to the Prime Minister. I think the people who met him were quite convinced and satisfied. At least someone came to speak with them, to ask how they were doing, to comfort them," Hussain told ANI. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi visited the civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district affected by cross-border shelling from Pakistan. Hussain further stated, "Rahul Gandhi ji went to all the places that were planned, just like I mentioned in the morning. He visited every location as scheduled." A meeting with stakeholders and party workers had to be cut short due to some urgency, leading Rahul Gandhi to leave about half an hour early. "Only at the end, there was a meeting planned with some stakeholders and our party workers, but that had to be slightly cut short due to some issues and urgency, so he had to leave about half an hour early. But apart from that, he touched upon every area and interacted with everyone," he added. According to Hussain, Gandhi engaged in open conversations with the local population, listening to their concerns about living in a border town. "People shared their concerns, what should be done here, what is needed, and what shortcomings exist. They spoke about the shelling, how it was happening and how it made them feel," he said. Congress leaders are expected to continue following up on the issues raised during the visit. "Rahul Gandhi ji has asked our local leadership, PCC President Tariq Hameed Karra Sahab and PCC Chairman Ghulam Ahmad Mir Sahab, to follow up on those concerns," Hussain said. Speaking on interactions with children affected by border shelling, Hussain noted, "The children are very scared and traumatised. They did not even understand what shelling is or what happens on the India-Pakistan border. Two of their classmates had lost their lives, so it was important to give them confidence." Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited a school in Poonch and interacted with the students affected by Pakistan's cross-border shelling. Hussain said, "I think for those students, this visit will be a memorable one--that a leader came all the way from Delhi just to meet them in such a situation." Gandhi also interacted with residents, assuring them he would raise their concerns and hardships at the national level. "It was a big tragedy, and many people have lost their lives. There has been huge damage. I spoke with the people and tried to understand their problems. They have requested me to raise this issue on the national level, and I will do that," Rahul Gandhi asserted. Gandhi told the students that their way of responding to this problem should be to study and play hard. "Now, you have seen danger and a little bit of a frightening situation, but don't worry, everything will come back to normal. Your way of responding to this problem should be to study and play really hard and make a lot of friends in school," the Congress MP said. (ANI) Delhi Police have lodged a Zero FIR against a Station House Officer (SHO) of Gurugram police and other police personnel under sections including rape, outraging modesty, insult of a woman, causing hurt, criminal intimidation. As per the FIR the alleged incident is of police station of Sector 50 Gurugram. Zero FIR is an FIR registered for the alleged offence committed at the place (State) other than the place of registration of FIR. This Zero FIR has been registered in the police station Subzi Mandi on May 22 on a complaint filed by a woman advocate of Tis Hazari court. It is alleged that she was threatened, physically assaulted, her modesty was outraged, she was abused, she was made to sit in police station during night till morning 3-3.30 AM. It is stated by the complainant that on May 21 she had gone to sector 51 woman police station in Gurugram with her client who was to join investigation in a case lodged by his wife. She has stated that after the investigation she was returning to Delhi after the investigation, wife of his client stopped their car and started hurting abuse. She also threw a stone on the car window. Thereafter, the complainant and his client made a call at 112 and went to sector 50 police station to file a return complaint. When her client was writing a complaint a woman constable tried to stop him. It is alleged that when advocate objected to the action of the constable, she was taken to the room of the SHO forcibly. When she complained to the SHO, he also threatened her. "You are standing in Gurgaon, not in Delhi. 365 lawyers come here daily. I will teach you advocacy. You don't know our power, I will do whatever I want," the SHO said as per the FIR of Delhi police. Thereafter the woman constable was ordered to go out of the room. After the alleged incident a case was also registered against the advocate. She was detained there till early morning. She was released on police bail. SHO was tried to be contacted on his official mobile number and landline phone number of police station. He was could not be contacted. (ANI) Pegu conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and strongly condemned the brutal and inhuman attack. On behalf of Government of Assam, he handed over financial assistance of Rs. 3 lakh each to the wife and mother of the deceased, as a gesture of respect and support during this time of grief. He reiterated that such cowardly acts will not be tolerated and affirmed India's resolve to respond firmly against terrorism. Mission Director of Samagra Shiksha Assam, Dr. Om Prakash, accompanied him during the visit. Meanwhile, Assam government also extended financial assistance worth Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the victim, who was killed in the deadly Pahalgam terror attack. Assam Minister Krishnendu Paul visited Kolkata to meet with the next of kin of the terror victim and expressed condolences. "Arrived at the residence of Late Bitan Adhikari in Kolkata to meet his wife, Sohini Roy. Late Bitan Adhikari was an unfortunate victim who was shot dead at point-blank range in a terrorist attack at Pahalgam on April 22, 2025," Paul, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, posted on X on Saturday. "On behalf of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma Ji, I handed over a cheque of Rs 5.00 (Five) lakh to the next of kin of the victim, along with a heartfelt condolence message," he added. (ANI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced on Saturday that the state government would soon invite tenders for a proposed tunnel road project in Bengaluru. He also stated that decisions to organise the Cauvery Aarti on a grand scale have allocated funds to support the initiative. Speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said discussions on the tunnel road were held during a cabinet meeting and with police officials earlier in the day. The initial phase of the project will focus on constructing a single tunnel road, with attention given to identifying feasible entry and exit points. "In my opinion, the road should not pass around the Vidhana Soudha," the Deputy CM noted, indicating the government's sensitivity to security and heritage concerns. He also shared updates on the ongoing construction of a 114-km elevated corridor in the city, which is being developed to improve connectivity from Minister KJ George's constituency to Kempegowda International Airport. On the cultural front, Shivakumar announced that the government will launch a grand Cauvery Aarti program within 100 days. "This is a matter of pride for us," he said, adding that Rs 90 crore has been earmarked for the initiative. The Cauvery Aarti will be conducted every week on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with participation from religious mutts across the state. Artists have been approached to compose a unity-themed devotional song for the occasion, and Shivakumar confirmed he has written to renowned music composers for their collaboration. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also said that the Greater Bengaluru Authority will be operational by September 15, as part of a wide-ranging urban reform drive to improve civic infrastructure and governance in Karnataka's capital. "A meeting was held today to discuss how many corporations will come under the Greater Bengaluru Authority," Shivakumar said. "We are committed to addressing Bengaluru's urban issues--from waterlogging to encroachments--with the required government budget and administrative backing." In response to rain-related distress in the city, the Deputy CM said water is being supplied to affected areas through tankers, and immediate relief of Rs 10,000 will be provided to households where rainwater has entered homes. Regarding encroachments, Shivakumar stated that all footpath obstructions will be removed and that 26,000 registered street vendors will be allowed to operate only in designated zones. "They must conduct their business and vacate with their vehicles. Those who are yet to register should do so immediately," he added. The state has also finalised a city-wide clean-up plan, including the removal of abandoned vehicles from roads. "All old vehicles parked on roads will be moved to a single designated yard. If not claimed within 21 days, they will be auctioned," Shivakumar said. Addressing digital governance, the Deputy CM announced that all 25 lakh properties in Bengaluru will be brought under the e-Khata system. "We will digitise every property. The Central Government has already recognised this effort with a National e-Governance Award," he said. He also flagged plans for road widening, noting that wherever necessary, landowners will be compensated through Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). Additionally, firms that have laid optical fibre cables have been directed to remove them if they violate norms. (ANI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that the Assam government, with the active support of the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has taken comprehensive steps to transform the vision of Viksit Assam, according to an official statement. Speaking at the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog on 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @ 2047' in New Delhi, CM Sarma said, "The pursuit of a Viksit Assam has long been a cherished aspiration of our people. The Prime Minister's vision of a Viksit Bharat presents us with an opportunity to transform that aspiration into reality and reclaim and rejuvenate the rich legacy of a prosperous Assam". He said that guided by the Prime Minister's vision, the Government of Assam has embarked on a transformative journey, nurturing the ambitious goal of making India the second-largest economy. "From exports and innovation to digital infrastructure, from railways to rocket launches, India is scripting a new chapter of progress," CM said in an official statement. Therefore, he called for collective efforts that incorporate each state's strength, innovation, and inclusive progress to fulfil the vision of Viksit Bharat. Given the state of development of Assam before independence, CM Sarma said that before independence, Assam was a land of prosperity, with a per capita income higher than the national average. "The state's premium tea exports had already gained global recognition. Assam enjoyed robust connectivity with the global economy--railway lines connected Dibrugarh to Chittagong by 1904, and the Brahmaputra served as a vital waterway linking Assam to ports like Chittagong. The state was firmly positioned as a hub of international trade," he said in the release. CM also said that, however, the partition of India in 1947 severed these arteries overnight. Assam was left with only a narrow and vulnerable lifeline--the Siliguri Chicken Neck--connecting it to the rest of India. "The Chittagong Hill Tracts, despite a population that was over 97 per cent non-Muslim, were awarded to East Pakistan. On August 15, 1947, Chakma leaders hoisted the Indian flag in Rangamati, hoping to join India. However, the allocation of Chittagong to East Pakistan dashed those hopes. Despite their appeals, Pandit Nehru declined to intervene. His tacit acceptance of this decision dealt a significant and lasting blow to the Northeast's access to global trade. Again, in 1971, during the creation of Bangladesh, Indira Gandhi had a historic opportunity to negotiate a broader and more secure geographical corridor to the Northeast. Despite her decisive leadership in securing Bangladesh's liberation, this moment too passed without seizing that strategic opportunity. These were pivotal junctures where bold leadership could have altered the trajectory of Assam and the Northeast. Instead, the region was let down by the political leadership of the time," he said. "Today, under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister, Assam and other North Eastern states are no longer considered the prisoners of history. Assam is reclaiming its rightful role as a gateway to Southeast Asia, reviving inland waterways, restoring connectivity and building infrastructure that will reposition Assam as a dynamic economic frontier of Viksit Bharat," CM said. To truly unlock the region's promise, the CM said, "We must implement dedicated transport and logistics corridors, revival of inland waterways and critical railway infrastructure, freight subsidies and long-haul incentives for industries, affordable and reliable power with appropriate cost equalisation mechanisms." In an official statement, he said that Assam and the Northeast are not peripheral--they are strategic, economic, and cultural frontiers. They are the gateways to Southeast Asia, rich in human capital and opportunity. He said, "Let us correct the failures of past political vision with bold policy clarity today. Let us match the Prime Minister's commitment with institutional responsiveness and replace inertia with action." Speaking on the importance of Viksit Assam for Viksit Bharat, CM Sarma said that the State government has taken decisive steps to build a prosperous, empowered and self-reliant Assam. He further said that the state currently boast of a robust Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of USD 68.7 billion, with a remarkable 19 per cent growth recorded in the last fiscal year and an impressive 17.8 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past three years. Moreover, elaborating the government's strategy for Viksit Assam, the CM said, "We have identified several key sectors like tourism, textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, hydrocarbons, agriculture and infrastructure. We are also investing in future-oriented domains like new-age skills, green jobs and the circular economy." Sarma on the occasion sought sustained guidance of the Prime Minister and cooperation of the Council to bring the vision of a Viksit Assam to life setting new benchmarks of progress and prosperity in the state. It may be noted that the 10th meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the attendance of Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of the states, Lt. Governors, Union Territories, Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, full-time and ex-officio members of NITI Aayog, and special invitees to the Governing Council. (ANI) Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Saturday participated in the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog and sought "fair and liberal" central government assistance for all major projects of the state. The Chief Minister also discussed various issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting, pertaining to the state's metro rail phase, the regional ring road, regional ring railway, support for strengthening the state's position in India's semiconductor ecosystem, support of defence projects, for hosting DefExpo in Hyderabad and the need for fast-track approvals for defence JVs and offsets. In a post on X, Revanth Reddy posted, "Attended the Niti Aayog Governing Council meeting in the national capital today. Joined the Prime Minister, several union ministers, and other Chief Ministers in discussing the vision and future of India." "In my address, the first time Telangana has been represented on this platform since 2018, I presented the Telangana Rising 2047 and sought liberal and fair central government assistance for all major projects in our state," he posted. He said that the meeting condemned the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reiterated the resolve to fight cross-border terror and enemies of our nation. "India is united and will speak in one voice. In matters like national security, development, and social justice, there can be no scope for partisan differences. Viksit Bharat 2047 can be realised only through the development of states. Telangana Rising 2047 is a significant part, and the Centre must support it fully in the spirit of India First, People First," his post read. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, said Viksit Bharat (developed India) is the goal of every Indian and "when every state is Viksit, then Bharat will be Viksit". "This is the aspiration of its 140 crore citizens," he said."We should focus on one goal--to make Bharat Viksit by 2047. We should aim to make each state Viksit, each city Viksit, each Nagar Palika Viksit, and each village Viksit. If we work on these lines, we will not have to wait till 2047 to become Viksit Bharat," he said, according to a post on X by Niti Aayog. "We should work in a manner so that the policies implemented bring change in the lives of common citizens. Only when people feel the change does it strengthen the change and transform it into a movement. We have a great opportunity as a team to fulfil the aspirations of 140 Crore people," he added. The Prime Minister said the government must work towards the inclusion of women in the workforce. "We must make laws and policies so that they can be respectfully integrated in the workforce," he added. According to posts by NITI Aayog on X, PM Modi said India is getting rapidly urbanized and the states should move towards future ready cities."We should work towards future ready cities. Growth, innovation and sustainability should be the engine for the development of our cities," he added. He suggested that states should develop at least one tourist destination that is on par with global standards and provide all facilities and infrastructure. One State: One Global Destination. "It would also lead to development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places," PM Modi said. The theme of meeting was 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047". The meeting provided a platform for the Centre and States and UTs to deliberate on measures to advance the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 and build consensus on how States can be the building blocks for making India a developed nation. Measures for promoting entrepreneurship, enhancing skilling, and creating sustainable employment opportunities across the country were also deliberated in the meeting. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday pressed for a 50 per cent share for states in central tax revenue while attending the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital. Raising the issue of devolution, Stalin stated that states were currently receiving only 33.16 per cent of central taxes, well below the previously promised 41 per cent. "At the NITI Aayog meeting, I demanded a rightful 50 per cent share for States in central taxes. We currently receive only 33.16 per cent against the promised 41," Stalin posted on X. Referring to the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0), which aims to provide universal coverage of water supply through functional taps to all households, Stalin expressed the need for a dedicated urban transformation mission since Tamil Nadu remains the most urbanised state in India. During the meeting, he also urged the creation of a river clean-up project for the Cauvery, Vaigai, and Thamirabaran. "I also urged a Clean Ganga-style project for Cauvery, Vaigai, and Thamirabarani, with names in English for national coherence and regional pride," the Tamil Nadu CM added. This was the tenth meeting of the governing council of NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think thank of the government of India, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Stalin had said that he would demand "fair financial rights" for Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister also asked why All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami was pained by this, adding that he will keep on fighting to get a fair financial share from the Centre for the state. Ahead of the meeting, Stalin met with Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (LoP) Rahul Gandhi in the national capital on Friday. In a post on X, he shared, "There's a special warmth in every meeting with Madam Sonia Gandhi and dear brother Rahul Gandhi at their Delhi residence. It never feels like a visit; it truly feels like being with family." Chief Ministers and state heads from across India arrived at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital to attend the meeting on the theme of 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047'. (ANI) Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu attended the tenth Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog at New Delhi on Saturday. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Discussions were held on this year's theme Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047. Focus was laid on development challenges being faced and overcoming them to achieve the objective of developed nation. According to an official statement, CM Sukhu said that the special needs of the hill states should be taken into account and considered for higher allocation of funds thereby relaxing eligibility criteria in various schemes. Chief Minister also demanded release of funds due to the state which were pending since long. If the long pending dues were released by the centre well in time, Himachal Pradesh will itself become self reliant, stated the Chief Minister. Chief Minister elaborated on the state government's vision to bring Himachal Pradesh as the most favorite tourist destination on the tourism map of the country. The State Government envisions a compact package for tourism promotion which includes and will integrate Religious tourism, Eco tourism, Water Tourism, Nature Tourism, Health Tourism etc which can attract all kinds of tourists from the country and as well from abroad. We are also expanding the Kangra Airport to facilitate the landing of the larger Airplanes which will add to the economy of the region as footfall of tourists will increase manifold. He also strongly pleaded about State's rights in hydro power projects and raised the issue of free royalty and handing over the projects under PSUs and CPSUs which had completed 40 years.Chief Minister raised the matter of royalty aligned with the State Government's energy policy. He outlined the policy, which mandates 12 percent royalty for the first 12 years, 18 percent for the subsequent 18 years and 30 percent for the next 10 years in the power projects. He said that private companies already comply with this policy and emphasized that central PSUs should also follow it as well. Chief Minister also informed that Himachal Pradesh is the Lungs of North India and has contributed a lot to preserve the green cover and added that state should get Green Bonus for protecting the environment. The state government has set a target to make Himachal Pradesh a Green Energy State by 31 March, 2026. "In the coming years, Himachal Pradesh will become a pioneering State in green hydrogen production in the country. A one-megawatt capacity green hydrogen plant is being set up in Solan district in collaboration with Oil India Limited, he said. Deliberations were also held on taking action on promoting entrepreneurship, skill development and sustainable employment opportunities. Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar accompanied the Chief Minister. (ANI) Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai on Saturday said that the people of Bihar have already made up their mind to make the NDA government under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The state faces assembly elections later in the year. Rai also took aim at the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), stating that Bihar do not want the party that establishes family-based "jungle raj" Speaking to reporters, Rai said, "Considering the development and future of their children, the people of Bihar have already made up their minds to make the NDA government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar... Lalu Yadav has been saying this for the last 15 years that they will form the government this time. Not only did they lose the state election, but also the NDA won 30 seats in the Lok Sabha elections... Bihar do not want the party that establishes family-based 'jungle raj.'" The Union MoS also participated in the Tiranga Yatra organised in Nalanda district of Bihar. Earlier on May 22, Union Minister Giriraj Singh highlighted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Bihar is on a path to the development as many big projects have been planned under the double-engine government, and expressing confidence in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retaining power in the state. "Many big projects have come to Bihar due to the double-engine government. The Prime Minister's resolve is the development of Bihar, and in the coming days, the duo of PM Modi and Nitish Kumar will take Bihar to new heights," Singh told ANI. The Union Minister emphasised PM Modi's commitment to the development of the Purvanchal region, saying that Bihar serves as a key gateway to its progress. "There is a double-engine government in Bihar. The Prime Minister believes India cannot develop without the development of Purvanchal, and Bihar is the gateway to Purvanchal," he said. Singh further hit out at RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, claiming that people are still uneasy when they think about RJD's chief returning as CM, saying that people do not want to go back to the "dark times." "20 years ago, the situation created by Lalu Prasad ji in Bihar still makes people uneasy thinking about it, that if his rule comes back, what will happen? We say that the people of Bihar do not want to go back to the dark times. Today, Bihar has developed a lot in the infrastructure sector, whether it is railways, highways, so in the future, under the leadership of PM Modi and Nitish Kumar, an NDA government will be formed," he told reporters. Bihar is expected to have its assembly elections later in the year. However, the Election Commission has not announced the dates as of yet. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is set to launch a year-long campaign against the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala from May 26 to raise several issues, including that of allegedly deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The campaign "Keralam Veena Pathittand" or the protest will be launched by Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar in front of the Secretariat and it will be conducted across the state. Meanwhile, BJP leader PK Krishnadas called the Pinarayi government and its rule as a "big disaster". "We should be careful not to repeat this disaster," he added. Krishnadas further criticised the Kerala government for no resolve for the Asha workers, who have been protesting for more than 100 days while demanding better pay and working conditions. He said that various sectors, including medical and civil supplies, were affected badly. Moreover, he claimed that the law and order situation was "completely destroyed." "Asha workers are protesting for more than 100 days. No action has been taken. All sectors - medical, civil supplies, law and order were affected badly. Goons are conducting their state-level meeting. Law and order have been completely destroyed. NDA will hold a year-long protest against the state government on May 26 in front of the Secretariat and all panchayats. The one-year-long protest will be called 'Keralam Veena Pathittand'," Krishnadas said. Speaking on the release of the progress report of Kerala government, the BJP leader stated that all projects highlighted as the Pinarayi Vijayan government's achievements were projects of the Central government. "Yesterday, the government published their four-year progress reports. But all these were the projects of the Central government. Till today, CM has been claiming that the national authority was a project by the state government. After cracks appeared in the national highway, CM said the entire national highway project is under the Central government. All projects highlighted as Pinarayi government's achievements were projects of the Central government," Krishnadas said. (ANI) The Assam Police on Saturday apprehended Rupam Asom, a dreaded commander of the banned militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) [ULFA (I)], during an intensive security operation along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Authorities confirmed that Rupam Asom was in possession of deadly weapons at the time of his arrest. Known for his involvement in multiple armed insurgent operations, Rupam was considered one of the most wanted militants in the region. According to reliable sources, he was the mastermind behind several attacks, including the May 4, 2018, deadly ambush, which led to the death of Bordumsa Police Station Officer-in-Charge, Bhaskar Kalita. He was also involved in the abduction of Quippo Drilling employees--Drilling Superintendent P.K. Gogoi of Sivasagar and radio operator Ram Kumar of Bihar--who were kidnapped from Diyun Circle in Changlang District on December 21, 2020. The arrest is being hailed as a significant blow to ULFA (I) and a momentous achievement for Assam's security forces. Senior officials have stated that operations will continue across vulnerable areas, particularly along the border, as more crackdowns are expected in the coming days. Security forces hope to gain critical intelligence to dismantle remaining militant networks. In a separate incident which took place earlier in Jharkhand today, two Naxal leaders from the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) group, including its chief Pappu Lohra and zonal commander Prabhat Ganjhu, were neutralised by Jharkhand Police in Latehar district on Saturday. The encounter, which took place during a search operation, resulted in the death of both leaders, who were carrying bounties of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively. Police also recovered arms and ammunition from the site. Amol Vinukant Homkar, IG Operations of Jharkhand Police, confirmed the operation's success, calling it a "big day" in the region's ongoing battle against Naxalism. Speaking to ANI, Homkar said, "It's a big day for all the security forces working in Jharkhand to eliminate Naxalism. JJMP Naxal group - along with its Supremo Pappu Lohra - were gathered in Latehar PS area for inducing violence." (ANI) Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited and offered prayers at the Geeta Bhawan temple on Saturday during his visit to Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. Gandhi posted on the microblogging website X, "Today, visited Temple, Gurdwara and Madrassa affected by Pakistani attacks in Poonch. Here people of every religion live together and suffer together. This is Poonch - this is Hindustan, where there is harmony, unity and patriotism. Those who try to divide and break us will never succeed - we will always remain united and respond strongly." https://x.com/RahulGandhi/status/1926230462344659221 The temple was hit during cross-border firing by Pakistan post Operation Sindoor conducted on May 7, in response to deadly Pahalgam Terror Attack that claimed the lives of 25 Indian tourists, and one Nepalese national. The Indian armed forces launched the operation hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed. Meanwhile, Congress MP and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Syed Naseer Hussain said on Saturday that Rahul Gandhi had completed his scheduled visit to Poonch. During this visit, Rahul Gandhi interacted with residents, students, and party workers, assuring them that he would raise their concerns in Parliament and also stating that he would write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Since it is a border area and a border town, what additional facilities should be provided was also discussed. Rahul Gandhi ji assured them that he would raise these issues in Parliament and write a letter to the Prime Minister. I think the people who met him were quite convinced and satisfied. At least someone came to speak with them, to ask how they were doing, to comfort them," Hussain told ANI. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi visited the civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district affected by cross-border shelling from Pakistan. Hussain further stated, "Rahul Gandhi ji went to all the places that were planned, just like I mentioned in the morning. He visited every location as scheduled." A meeting with stakeholders and party workers had to be cut short due to some urgency, leading Rahul Gandhi to leave about half an hour early. "Only at the end was there a meeting planned with some stakeholders and our party workers, but that had to be slightly cut short due to some issues and urgency, so he had to leave about half an hour early. But apart from that, he touched upon every area and interacted with everyone," he added. According to Hussain, Gandhi engaged in open conversations with the local population, listening to their concerns about living in a border town. "People shared their concerns, what should be done here, what is needed, and what shortcomings exist. They spoke about the shelling, how it was happening and how it made them feel," he said. Congress leaders are expected to continue following up on the issues raised during the visit. "Rahul Gandhi ji has asked our local leadership, PCC President Tariq Hameed Karra Sahab and PCC Chairman Ghulam Ahmad Mir Sahab, to follow up on those concerns," Hussain said. Speaking on interactions with children affected by border shelling, Hussain noted, "The children are very scared and traumatised. They did not even understand what shelling is or what happens on the India-Pakistan border. Two of their classmates had lost their lives, so it was important to give them confidence." (ANI) Jammu and Kashmir Congress Chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Saturday raised strong objections over the alleged politicisation of Operation Sindoor by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while also commenting on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's outreach visit to the border district of Poonch. Speaking to ANI, Karra took a jibe at the BJP and questioned the use of the operation's name in political programmes. "My question is: Was Operation Sindoor a BJP operation or an operation by the armed forces? If it was the BJP's operation, then fine, justify using the name. But if it was a forces-led operation, then why is the BJP printing schedules for 'Operation Sindhoor' on their party letterhead, announcing district-wise rallies?" he asked. Operation Sndoor was launched on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam Terror Attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, including a Nepali national. Criticising the politicisation of the operation, he added, "Operation Sindoor involved the armed forces, Army, BSF, Air Force, Navy, CISF, all belt forces. What does BJP have to do with that? If they use such an operation's name for political programs, what message does that send?" Karra also expressed concern over the local administration's preparedness in the aftermath of the conflict. "There is something called pre-war preparedness and post-war preparedness. I'm referring specifically to the local administration here. There seems to be no sense of post-war readiness," he said. "It's as if they believe once it's over, everything will stay calm for 10-20 years and they can rest easy. But people are still living in fear. They are anxious--what if something happens again?" he added. Criticising the BJP's political strategy, Karra pointed to the launch of the 'Tiranga Yatra' as a diversion. "When they started facing tough questions and couldn't answer, they launched a new initiative, 'Tiranga Yatra' (tricolour rally). We have no objection to the Yatra itself, but the way they're using it is an insult to Jammu & Kashmir," he said. Commenting on Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to Poonch, Karra said locals shared their concerns with him. "People shared their bitter experiences openly with Rahul Gandhi ji, saying he's one of the few who genuinely stand by people during tough times. He assured them he would definitely raise their concerns," Karra said. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited the civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district affected by cross-border shelling from Pakistan. Gandhi also interacted with residents, assuring them he would raise their concerns and hardships at the national level. "It was a big tragedy, and many people have lost their lives. There has been huge damage. I spoke with the people and tried to understand their problems. They have requested me to raise this issue on the national level, and I will do that," Rahul Gandhi asserted. (ANI) Telagana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Saturday, and discussed the need for rapid urban transformation with a need to catalyse gamechanger projects in the state. https://x.com/revanth_anumula/status/1926286564700647689 In a post on social media platform X on Saturday, CM Reddy said, "During one-on-one meeting with Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, discussed the need for rapid urban transformation with a need to catalyse gamechanger projects in #Telangana" "Among them, I discussed the need to have an accelerated closure for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase 2, because the neglect of 10 years to increase metro footprint has pushed us back nationally. We wish to augment existing Metro with three corridors in next phase of 76.40 kms with five corridors. The Centre must support us in giving #Hyderabad the next level of metro rail coverage," CM Reddy added in his post. The next big project of importance for Telangana is the Regional Ring Road (RRR) divided into the north & south arcs, he said. "Requested the Hon'ble Prime Minister to order for a quick closure of the entire project" CM Reddy noted that the RRR will have a complimenting Regional Ring Railway, (RRR-2), abutting the roadway, of around 370-kms long, and will have a transformative impact on our state's connectivity factor. "Also requested for a greenfield highway from Telangana Dry Port to the Bandar seaport in Andhra Pradesh to give an extra edge to our pharma industry. In addition sought support to further strengthening Telangana's position in the Semiconductor Ecosystem, including the ISM project. We also demanded liberal Central support for our defence &aerospace ecosystem," he said. Looking forward to a positive response to all our requests from the hon'ble Prime Minister, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chief Ministers of different states at the NITI Aayog meeting held at the Bharat Mandapan here on Saturday. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma were among the Chief Ministers who met PM Modi at the meeting of NITI Aayog Governing Council here. PM Modi chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, earlier today. It was attended by Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors representing 24 States and 7 UTs. This year's theme was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047. The meeting commenced with a minute of silence in the remembrance of the victims of Pahalgam terrorist attack.(ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that all the states should work together to make India a developed country and achieve the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. In an official statement, Prime Minister Modi said that we should commit to developing every state, every city, and every village, and only then would we be able to make the country a Viksit Bharat. The Prime Minister chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, earlier on Saturday. Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors attended it, representing 24 states and seven Union Territories. This year's theme was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047. The meeting commenced with a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that every Indian aspires for the country to be a Viksit Bharat. "It is not the agenda of any party but the aspiration of 140 crore Indians. If all states work together towards this goal, then we will make stupendous progress. We should commit to developing every state, every city, and every village, and then Viksit Bharat will be achieved much before 2047," he said. PM said that India has emerged among the top five economies of the world, and 25 crore have escaped poverty. He emphasised that India needs to accelerate this transformation and encouraged states to leverage their manufacturing strengths. He added that India has announced the Manufacturing Mission and that global investors are interested in the country. The Prime Minister encouraged the states to utilise this opportunity and make it easy for investments. Citing recent trade agreements with UAE, UK and Australia, he said States should utilise it to the optimum. Emphasising skilling, the Prime Minister said that NEP emphasises Education and Skilling. He said states must plan for various skills that are attuned to modern technologies like AI, semiconductors, and 3D printing. He said that we can become the Skill Capital of the world because of our demographic dividend. The Prime Minister said that a Rs 60,000 crore scheme for skilling has been approved by GoI. "States must focus on modern training infrastructure and rural training hubs to enhance skilling," he said. PM cited cybersecurity as a challenge as well as an opportunity. Hydrogen and Green Energy were emphasised by him as arenas of immense potential and opportunities. PM said that the G20 Summit helped India to be recognised as a global tourist destination, but states should leverage the opportunity. He urged the states to develop at least one tourist destination that meets global standards and expectations. He said that 25-30 such tourist destinations can be created across India. PM observed that India is urbanising rapidly. He asked the states to make cities the engine of sustainability and growth and urged them to focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. He noted that a Rs 1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund is being created for seed money. The PM emphasised the huge strength of India's Nari Shakti. He urged changing laws for women so that they can join the growth trajectory. He observed that there should be reforms in the public and private sectors for working women, with a focus on their ease of working. Further, the PM encouraged states to interlink rivers within States to battle water scarcity and floods. He appreciated Bihar, which recently started the Kosi-Mochi connection grid. He also appreciated the Aspirational Districts Programme, which has been a success through collective efforts. The Prime Minister said that we must focus on the lab-to-farm in agriculture. He talked about the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, in which about 2,500 scientists will go to villages and Rural Centres in the coming days to deliberate on topics such as crop diversification and chemical-free farming. He asked all CMs to support this endeavour. The Prime Minister emphasised the need to focus on the delivery of health services. He said we must check for oxygen plants and preparations to prepare for any COVID-related challenges. He said that the States need to expand telemedicine so that good doctors can be connected from District Hospitals and E-Sanjeevani, and teleconsultation benefits should be made available. The Prime Minister mentioned that Operation Sindoor should not be treated as a one-off initiative, and we must adopt a long-term approach. He also noted that we must modernise our approach to civil preparedness. He said the recent mock drills have reignited our attention to civil defence, and states should institutionalise Civil Defence preparedness. The CMs and LGs praised Operation Sindoor for its precision and targeted strikes, which led to the destruction of terror infrastructure. In one voice, they praised the PM's leadership and the valour of the armed forces. They also praised the efforts towards Aatmanirbharta in the defence sector, which have strengthened the defence forces and bolstered confidence in our capabilities. Chief Ministers and Lt Governors gave various suggestions for the vision of Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and also discussed steps being taken in their states. Some of the key suggestions and best practices highlighted were in the fields of agriculture, education and skill development, entrepreneurship, drinking water, reducing compliances, governance, digitalisation, women empowerment, cyber security, etc. Several states also shared their endeavours to create a State Vision for 2047. Prime Minister Modi asked NITI Aayog to study the suggestions of states and Unio Territories made during the meeting. He said the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog is a milestone in its 10-year journey, defining and outlining the vision for 2047. He observed that the Governing Council Meetings have helped in nation-building and have emerged as a platform for joint action and shared aspirations. Finally, he expressed his gratitude to all the CMs and LGs for participating in the meeting and sharing their views and experiences, and expressed confidence that India is progressing on the path to fulfil the vision of Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047 through the power of cooperative federalism. (ANI) In a targeted operation based on intelligence inputs, Border Security Force (BSF) troops recovered a packet of suspected heroin weighing approximately 567 grams near the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar district on Saturday. According to a press release issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Punjab Frontier, BSF, the search operation was launched in a suspected area near the village Mahawa. During the search, troops recovered one packet of suspected heroin weighing approximately 567 grams. The packet was wrapped in yellow adhesive tape and had an improvised metal wire loop and an illuminating strip attached. The successful operation is attributed to timely and actionable intelligence provided by the BSF's intelligence wing, once again thwarting an attempt by narco-syndicates to smuggle drugs into Punjab. Earlier, in a seperate operation, BSF thwarted multiple cross-border smuggling attempts in Punjab's Ferozepur district, recovering two drones and apprehending an armed suspect, said a statement from BSF, Punjab Frontier. Acting on intelligence provided by the BSF's intelligence wing, troops apprehended a suspected individual from the village of Gendu Kilcha earlier today. The suspect, a resident of Habib Wala village, was found in possession of a country-made pistol and a motorcycle. He has been handed over to the Mamdot Police Station for further questioning to probe possible illicit connections. Meanwhile, Punjab's Mohali police arrested seven foreign nationals in an alleged cyber fraud case, who allegedly operated a gang to dupe multiple people across the country by befriending the victims on social media and getting money from them under the guise of paying customs for releasing a package. According to Mohali's Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Harmandeep Singh Hans, the accused are from Ghana and Nigeria, and a parallel gang is managing the operation in Nigeria, too. The police have found transactions worth Rs 15 crore from the gang's devices, and have seized multiple SIM cards, mobile phones, and laptops. "These people were operating a gang where they befriended people on social media, when there was a certain level of comfort they used to say they have sent a gift to the victims and even used to send photos of it. There were some photos we found where US dollars were in the photo and they said that is the gift which is sent," the SSP told ANI. According to Hans, multiple people from across the country were targeted in the fraud, with some from other countries too. (ANI) A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders visited Tangdhar in north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Saturday to assess damage caused by cross-border shelling and interact with affected residents. Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Sunil Sharma, said the primary demand from residents was the need for adequate compensation for houses that were destroyed. "A major demand is for those whose homes are fully damaged. The J-K government does not have enough financial resources to support them properly. Under SDRF (State Disaster Response Fund), they are only getting about Rs 1 lakh, which is insufficient," Sharma told the media after the visit. He said the team's objective was to prepare a comprehensive damage report for submission to the Government of India. "The main purpose of this team is to prepare a comprehensive report and send it to the Government of India, demanding a special package to fully restore destroyed homes and businesses in border areas," he added. He also said that the visit was aimed at offering support and boosting morale. "Besides offering support, we're here to boost people's morale. And one inspiring thing we saw throughout the border areas: while people acknowledge the damage and hardship, they are satisfied with the way the Indian government and military responded to Pakistan," he said. Sharma stated that residents expressed appreciation for the military's response to recent incidents. "They feel that for the first time in history, such a strong and fitting reply was given to acts of terror, and this deserves praise. Our military, air force, and other forces have sent a clear message to Pakistan's terror industry: any act of terror will be treated as an act of war," he said. "But what I do know is this: an act of terror will be treated as an act of war. That much I can say," he added. Sharma said the BJP delegation had visited several border areas, saying, "We are currently on a visit to Kupwara. Starting from Hiranagar, then Suchetgarh, Arnia, R.S. Pura, Chamb, Pallanwala, Akhnoor, and then through Rajouri, Poonch, and yesterday Uri--we have now reached Tangdhar, staying at the Dak Bungalow in Kupwara," he said. 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. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 16 people have been killed due to Pakistani shelling, and 59 others have been injured. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a press briefing, "The retaliatory action that Pakistan has taken in fact is impacting civilians...There are other civilians who were killed and injured in these attacks. In fact, since yesterday morning, a total of 16 civilians have been killed, and 59 others have been injured in the attacks by Pakistan." (ANI) Yuvajana Sramika Rythu (YSR) Congress Party or YSRCP leader Nedurumalli Ramkumar Reddy on Saturday accused the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government in Andhra Pradesh of engaging in "rampant looting" of natural resources by carrying out quartz mining in Sydapuram Mandal, part of the Venkatagiri assembly constituency. He said that there was no rule or law being followed while claiming that the TDP has become the law itself. "The rampant looting of natural resources in Andhra Pradesh by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government is unprecedented and unheard of. No rule, no law, nothing is being followed. It is felt that the TDP is a law unto itself," Reddy told ANI. He further informed that the Chandrababu Naidu government was using gelatine sticks and explosions to extract natural resources through mining, which was affecting the ecosystem and endangering the lives of villagers nearby. "The rampant illegal mining is one part. To do that, there is a lot of activity using gelatine sticks and blasting, which is also affecting the ecosystem and endangering the lives of nearby villagers. All our complaints have been falling on deaf ears," the YRS Congress Party leader said. Reddy stated that they met with VL Kantha Rao, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, in New Delhi, and had positive talks about the issue. "The secretary was very surprised by how all this had been happening...We will ensure that the people committing such crimes will be brought to justice. If not now, definitely after the election when our party comes to power," he said. "We have also requested the officials not to get swayed by a particular party," he added. Earlier,YSRCP MP Maddila Gurumoorthy urged the Union Ministry of Mines to take immediate action against illegal quartz mining activities allegedly taking place in Sydapuram Mandal of SPSR Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. In a letter dated May 22, addressed to Union Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Gurumoorthy raised alarm over alleged "rampant violations" of mining laws and Supreme Court directions. He alleged that mining operations are continuing at several locations despite lease expirations and accused operators of misusing permits under the pretext of stock clearance while carrying out fresh, unauthorised extraction. The MP also expressed concern over the use of explosives and detonators near residential areas, claiming that such practices are putting local villagers at serious risk and creating widespread fear. (ANI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and the valour of Indian Armed Forces demonstrated through a strong response to Pakistan via Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam incident were widely praised during the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog held today. All Chief Ministers present at the meeting congratulated the Prime Minister and the Indian Armed Forces for the decisive action, a Haryana government release said. The Chief Minister was addressing the media persons in New Delhi on Saturday. "Whatever targets have been given by Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi in today's NITI Aayog meeting, I assure him on behalf of the people of Haryana that we will move forward rapidly toward achieving them, in alignment with the vision of a Developed India by 2047," he said. The Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of rural development and women's empowerment. CM Saini said that Haryana has set a target of creating five lakh Lakhpati Didis, and so far, two lakh women have achieved this milestone. Additionally, women are being empowered and made self-reliant through Drone Didi scheme. Nayab Singh Saini said that in today's meeting, the Prime Minister urged all Chief Ministers to develop at least one location in their respective states into a world-class tourist destination. The Chief Minister stated that an international-standard tourism centre will also be developed in Haryana. He said that Haryana holds immense potential for tourism, and the state government will work diligently and with commitment to realize this vision. Chief Minister Saini said that during today's meeting, the Prime Minister placed special emphasis on river linking and water conservation. He added that the Haryana government is actively working in this direction. Notably, in dark zone areas, efforts are being strengthened through initiatives such as the Atal Bhujal Yojana and Amrit Sarovar to promote water conservation. Responding to a question regarding water supply from Punjab, the Chief Minister stated that Haryana has now started receiving water. Responding to a question about the High Court's verdict on the socio-economic criteria for government jobs, Chief Minister Saini said, "I welcome the decision of the Honourable Court." He assured the youth of Haryana, stating, "As long as Nayab Singh Saini is in office, no young person in the state needs to worry." He added that the government will thoroughly study the judgment before initiating the next steps. Taking a swipe at the opposition, particularly Congress leaders, the Chief Minister said that today, talented youth from economically weaker families are securing jobs through their hard work. "Congress leaders should reflect on their tenure and how the interests of the youth were compromised during their rule," he said. On this occasion, Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi and Media Advisor to the Chief Minister Rajiv Jaitley were also present. (ANI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday attended the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog held in Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting focused on the theme "Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047", deliberating on development challenges faced by states and outlining collaborative strategies to overcome them in pursuit of a developed India. According to an official release, CM Sukhu said that the special needs of the hill states should be taken into account and considered for higher allocation of funds, thereby relaxing eligibility criteria in various schemes. Chief Minister also demanded release of funds due to the state which were pending since long. He said that if the long pending dues were released by the centre well in time, Himachal Pradesh will itself become self reliant. Chief Minister elaborated on the state government's vision to bring Himachal Pradesh as the most favourite tourist destination on the tourism map of the country. The State Government envisions a compact package for tourism promotion which includes and will integrate Religious tourism, Eco tourism, Water Tourism, Nature Tourism, Health Tourism etc, which can attract all kinds of tourists from the country as well as from abroad. We are also expanding the Kangra Airport to facilitate the landing of the larger aeroplanes, which will add to the economy of the region as the footfall of tourists will increase manifold. He also strongly pleaded for State's rights in hydro power projects and raised the issue of free royalty and handing over the projects under PSUs and CPSUs, which had completed 40 years. Chief Minister raised the matter of royalty aligned with the State Government's energy policy. He outlined the policy, which mandates 12 percent royalty for the first 12 years, 18 percent for the subsequent 18 years and 30 percent for the next 10 years in the power projects. He said that private companies already comply with this policy and emphasized that central PSUs should also follow it as well. Chief Minister also informed that Himachal Pradesh is the Lungs of North India and has contributed a lot to preserving the green cover, and added that the state should get a Green Bonus for protecting the environment. The state government has set a target to make Himachal Pradesh a Green Energy State by 31 March 2026. "In the coming years, Himachal Pradesh will become a pioneering State in green hydrogen production in the country. A one-megawatt capacity green hydrogen plant is being set up in Solan district in collaboration with Oil India Limited, he said. Deliberations were also held on taking action on promoting entrepreneurship, skill development and sustainable employment opportunities. Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar accompanied the Chief Minister. (ANI) Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Ali Khatana, who is also a part of all-party delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, said on Saturday that Pakistan's real face needs to be exposed, adding that this country has demeaned the entire Muslim community by inducing cross-border terrorism and killing innocent civilians. Speaking to ANI, Khatana also expressed gratitude to the Indian Armed Forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Operation Sindoor. "PM Modi has taken a good step, and after the Pahalgam terror attack, the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan was dismantled by Indian armed forces, and when Pakistan retaliated, we responded to them appropriately. We thank PM Modi for that. Pakistan's real face needs to be exposed. They have demeaned the entire Muslim community. Inducing cross-border terrorism, especially the children and women - they have killed innocent civilians in Kashmir. Pakistan has become a virtual contractor of terrorism; the Pakistan army has murdered democracy there. This all needs to be told to the world community," the BJP leader said. When asked about the message that would be conveyed to the key strategic countries during the delegation's visit, Khatana said, "We will convey the message of zero tolerance against terrorism, will expose Pakistan, will tell about India's unity and India's stance on terrorism under PM Modi." Ghulam Ali Khatana is part of Group 2, led by BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad. They will be going to certain European countries, including United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and others. The other members of the delegation include BJP's Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, along with Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress' Amar Singh, former Minister of state for External Affairs MJ Akbar. Seven all-party delegations are visiting key partner countries, including UN Security Council members. The delegations are led by Congress member Shashi Tharoor, BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, JD-U's Sanjay Kumar Jha, DMK's Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and (NCP-SP) leader Supriya Sule. 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. (ANI) Under the leadership of Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan preparations for the 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' are now in their final stages, according to a statement from the ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on Saturday. This nationwide campaign will be formally launched on 29th May from Puri, Odisha. "The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, in collaboration with state governments, are fully engaged in the planning and execution of this massive initiative," the statement read. As part of these preparations, Chouhan addressed agricultural scientists from across the country at the NASC Complex, New Delhi. In his address, Chouhan stated that his life is dedicated to serving farmers, boosting agricultural production, reducing production costs, ensuring food security, filling the nation's food basket, and safeguarding the agricultural interests of future generations. He emphasised that balanced use of fertilisers, understanding local conditions, utilising accurate research insights, and access to quality seeds can undoubtedly help farmers enhance their productivity. Stressing the importance of collaboration, Chouhan highlighted that this campaign is a significant step towards connecting scientists, department officials, and farmers, an integration that has long been missing. He further accentuated that, "Farming is a matter of heart and emotion and it must be lived. He affirmed the government's commitment towards advancing agricultural research under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and assured that there will be no shortage of funds for research and innovation. Describing the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan as a result-oriented initiative, he expressed confidence that its outcomes, increased yields and reduced costs, would be visible as early as the upcoming Kharif season. The Minister also urged the country's scientists to showcase their research capabilities on the global stage, asserting that India's agricultural institutions possess the strength and excellence that can earn global recognition. He lauded the dedication of agricultural scientists and stated that the nation would express its gratitude to them following the successful completion of this campaign. Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, MoA&FW ML Jat, Secretary (DARE) and Director General (ICAR), Rajbir Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension) ICAR, representatives from all 113 ICAR institutes, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, and scientists and faculty from 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and various Central and State Agricultural Universities also attended the event both in person and virtually. During his address, Devesh Chaturvedi stated that India has 210 million hectares of net cropped area. Even a marginal increase of one quintal per hectare in productivity could lead to a substantial boost in overall agricultural output. Speaking on the programme's objective, ML Jat highlighted that the Abhiyan promotes demand-driven research to enhance agricultural efficiency. It aims to bridge the gap between research and field application while fostering and scaling farmer-led innovations for inclusive and sustainable growth. He stated that the era of supply-driven research has passed, and the focus must now be on demand-driven research. He further explained that agricultural research has its own language, and the challenge lies in translating it into practical, scientific terms that can be effectively communicated to the end-users. This programme, he said, offers a platform to achieve that goal through collective and coordinated efforts by all stakeholders. The Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan will be held from 29 May to 12 June 2025 across over 700 districts. A team of scientists will travel from village to village, engaging in direct interaction with farmers. The campaign will include participation from 731 KVKs, 113 ICAR institutes, state-level departments, and officials from agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, as well as innovative farmers. The campaign aims to reach and interact directly with 1.5 crore (15 million) farmers across the country. (ANI) Referring to people's full support for Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the country needs the same approach to achieve 'Viksit Bharat' and the strength of Team India during the operation will also enable the country transform into a developed country. PM Modi made the remarks at the Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, its Chief Executive Officer BVR Subrahmanyam told the media. Subrahmanyam said PM Modi also stated that strength of Team India during Operation Sindoor has to be converted into social strength and Viksit Bharat mission has to be a people's movement. "The PM said that we need the same approach that we have had in supporting Operation Sindoor to actually go and achieve 'Viksit Bharat'. The strength of Team India, as shown in Operation Sindoor, is also going to be the same feature which will enable India to achieve 'Viksit Bharat'. He also said Operation Sindoor is not just a show of army's strength. It has to be converted to social strength because society came out and supported our action. Similarly, 'Viksit Bharat' is not the idea of a chief minister or an individual or anybody in the system; it has to get converted into a people's movement," Subrahmanyam said. "There was complete absolute unanimity on Operation Sindoor and regret and anger over what happened in Pahalgam. I think that was a common theme, and there was complete expression of solidarity. Everybody commended the role and the valour of the defence forces and the leadership by the Prime Minister, which led to the success, and the way the Prime Minister's leadership and the defence forces protected national security. And so I think that was something that was uniform, irrespective of any particular ideological or party orientation...This was one of the most positive meetings that one could have had, considering a very diverse composition in the room," he added. India conducted Operation Sindoor early on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK in response to Pahalgam terror attack. Indian Armed Forces subsequently repelled Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. Subrahmanyam said India is at a turning point and at a take off stage where it can grow very rapidly and noted that several states have prepared, released or are on the verge of releasing their vision documents that are aligned with national priorities while being grounded in local realities. Subrahmanyam said India is poised to be the world's third-largest economy in about three years. "India is at a turning point... I think the country is at a takeoff stage where it can grow very, very rapidly. The Prime Minister gave a call to all states to prepare vision documents at their level and this is already visible in the growth of India. We are the 4th largest economy as I speak. We are a four trillion dollar economy. India today is larger than Japan. If we stick to what is being planned, what is being thought through, it's a matter of another 2.5-3 years, we would become the third largest economy," he said. "The good thing is that almost 17 states have prepared and released or are on the verge of releasing their visions. Five of them have released visions- UP, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and others will come out by August," he added. He said that at the last Governing Council meeting, the Prime Minister had given a call for all states to prepare their own state visions. "The agenda for the meeting was two items apart from an action taken report. Firstly, the theme of the meeting itself and the first item in the agenda was 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat'. The whole idea is that in the last Governing Council, the Prime Minister had given a call for all states to prepare their own state visions, making their states develop so that they have visions which will then aggregate into a larger vision for the nation. So I think that is what drove the agenda for the last one year and that's why it became the primary theme of today's Governing Council meeting," he said. Subrahmanyam said that under the overall theme, there were sub themes including manufacturing services, rural, non-farm, urban, informal, and the green economy, as well as circular economy. He said PM Modi told the meeting that if the Centre and states come together and work as a team, no goal is impossible". He (PM Modi) said that NITI has been helping a lot of states, and I think this effort should be continued. He talked about how states are the places where action is. So we need to focus on the themes which are there in the agenda. If you want employment, that means you need skilling; you need entrepreneurship. States have to do the action on multiple fronts. Most importantly, they need to focus on manufacturing. They need to focus on services, which means removing a lot of bottlenecks. And what kind of bottlenecks, changing policies, ease of doing business, removing obstacles, and removing obsolete laws, reducing compliance," Subrahmanyam said. He said PM noted that some states have done a lot at their level, but there is a lot more to be done.The Prime Minister, he said, talked of creating investment-friendly atmosphere and a friendly competition among states.PM Modi also urged states to focus on exports and noted that the government is working towards or has concluded FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) with several countries The Prime Minister emphasised the need to leverage the FTAs.The theme of the meeting was 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047". (ANI) Tripura Chief Minister Prof Dr Manik Saha on Saturday said that the present state government has prepared a Strategic Road Map to build an Unnato and Shreshtho (Developed and Great), future-ready Tripura. Saha said this while addressing the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting in New Delhi, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister JP Nadda, and other distinguished Union Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers and Lt Governors of Union Territories, Vice Chairman and the Members of NITI Aayog. Dr Saha also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the armed forces for the "successful execution of Operation Sindoor." He said that Operation Sindoor symbolises our strength, unity, and collective resolve to protect the country. "The success of Operation Sindoor has conveyed a strong commitment towards national security and zero tolerance against terrorism," Saha said. Dr Saha said that the Government of Tripura has prepared a Strategic Road Map to build an Unnato and Shreshtho (Developed and Great), future-ready Tripura. "Elaborate exercise was carried out over the last one year through consultations with NITI Aayog, Ministry of DONER, academic institutions, expert consultants, industry and business leaders, eminent citizens, and officials," he said. He said the state government has identified nine key enablers that will support robust growth at 12 per cent per year over the next two decades. These are a strong agricultural base, high literacy, rich tourism assets, abundant natural resources, a forest economy, improved infrastructure, strategic location, widening tax base, and the state's energy surplus status. "The Key Enablers are supported by five Pillars of Governance. These are policy reforms, institutional building, capacity building, business reforms, reduced compliance burden, and digital governance. In Tripura, e-Office is implemented from the State Cabinet to the Gram Panchayat level. Although we have some challenges, with progressive State policies, transparent administration, and an investor-friendly environment, we are confident of overcoming these. With emphasis on medical wellness, eco-tourism, IT, knowledge economy, resilient agriculture, rich history, cultural heritage, and sports, we estimate to increase our per capita income from 2,300 dollars at present to 23,000 dollars by 2047," Saha said. Saha said that in order to accelerate manufacturing and services in a Tier-3 city like ours, the state government is developing industrial infrastructure in 20 Industrial Estates. "We have the Tripura Industrial Investment Policy 2024 to promote manufacturing and services, and have implemented all 387 business reforms as mandated under the Business Reforms Action Plan 2024. We have enacted the Tripura Jan Vishwas Act 2025. Under the guidance of the Task Force on Deregulation set up in the Cabinet Secretariat, we are reducing the compliance burden in State Laws, Local Bodies, Industrial Corporations, and Utility Providing Agencies. As a result, we are getting substantial investments in the Rubber, Bamboo Processing, Health, Education, Data Centres, Hospitality, Business and Commerce sectors," said Dr. Saha. Speaking about MSMEs, Saha said that there are 86,117 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tripura and the State has a strong base of 60,318 Self-Help Groups with 5,49,559 members and 94,723 Lakhpati Didis. "We are encouraging members of Self Help Groups to become entrepreneurs. We are pushing to transform the rural non-farm employment scene by unlocking potential in sectors like bamboo, agarwood, rubber, spices, dairy, aquaculture, and eco-tourism. We seek national and international collaboration and support from NITI Aayog and the Central Government in scaling these initiatives," he said. He also informed us that the state has initiated the development of an 800 MW pump storage project to achieve the renewable energy target. "We aim to develop a State-specific Green Economy Policy Framework by adopting a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach through the inclusion of youth and women and developing a robust Green Start-Up Ecosystem," Saha said. He informed that the state government is substantially investing in the development of human resources. "The government has established incubator centres in universities and colleges, both general and technical, to provide opportunities for youth to transform their ideas into startups and enterprises. We are focusing on creating more 'job creators' than 'job seekers.' We are providing avenues and opportunities to youth in the spheres of Tourism, Sports, Culture, Filmmaking, etc. The State's GDP growth of over 15 per cent during the last three years has indicated that this journey has commenced on an encouraging note," he added. (ANI) Commissioner of Police GS Bhullar, present at the demolition site, said, "Earlier, this area was a drug hotspot. Now, the people are happy here as their children are not addicted because the availability of drugs is almost zero here." He added, "Today, the Municipal Corporation ordered the demolition of the property of a notorious drug peddler, Sunny. The Municipal Corporation asked for the police's help. So, we are present at the spot." Meanwhile, in a targeted operation based on intelligence inputs, Border Security Force (BSF) troops recovered a packet of suspected heroin weighing approximately 567 grams near the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar district on Saturday. According to a press release issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Punjab Frontier, BSF, the search operation was launched in a suspected area near the village Mahawa. During the search, troops recovered one packet of suspected heroin weighing approximately 567 grams. The packet was wrapped in yellow adhesive tape and had an improvised metal wire loop and an illuminating strip attached. The successful operation is attributed to timely and actionable intelligence provided by the BSF's intelligence wing, once again thwarting an attempt by narco-syndicates to smuggle drugs into Punjab. Earlier, in a seperate operation, BSF thwarted multiple cross-border smuggling attempts in Punjab's Ferozepur district, recovering two drones and apprehending an armed suspect, said a statement from BSF, Punjab Frontier. Acting on intelligence provided by the BSF's intelligence wing, troops apprehended a suspected individual from the village of Gendu Kilcha earlier today. The suspect, a resident of Habib Wala village, was found in possession of a country-made pistol and a motorcycle. He has been handed over to the Mamdot Police Station for further questioning to probe possible illicit connections. (ANI) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and discussed on the state's holistic progress with a strong emphasis on accelerating growth in infrastructure, welfare, and employment. The official statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) reads, "The Chief Minister of Odisha, Mohan Charan Majhi met the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in New Delhi today." Meanwhile, Chief Minister Majhi, in a social media post, wrote, "Honoured to meet Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi today. Deeply grateful for his unwavering support and inspiring vision for Odisha's development. We held meaningful discussions on the state's holistic progress with a strong emphasis on accelerating growth in infrastructure, welfare, and employment. Committed to working together for the progress of our state and nation, driven by the shared vision of Viksit Odisha, Viksit Bharat." https://x.com/MohanMOdisha/status/1926296744779821372 Earlier today, Chief Ministers and LGs who attended the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog praised Operation Sindoor for its precision and targeted strikes, which led to the destruction of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK. They also praised the valour of the armed forces and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chief Ministers also praised the efforts towards Aatmanirbharta in the defence sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog at Bharat Mandapam. It was attended by Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors representing 24 States and 7 UTs. This year's theme was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047. The meeting commenced with a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 people were killed. Prime Minister mentioned that 'Operation Sindoor should not be treated as a one-off initiative and we must adopt a long-term approach. "The Prime Minister mentioned that we must modernize our approach to civil preparedness. He said that the recent mock drills have reignited our attention to civil defence states should institutionalize Civil Defence preparedness," a NITI Aayog release said. "The CMs and LGs praised Operation Sindoor for its precision and targeted strikes which led to destruction of terror infrastructure. In one voice, they praised PM's leadership and the valour of the Armed Forces. They also praised the efforts towards Aatmanirbharta in the defence sector which have strengthened the defence forces and bolstered confidence in our capabilities," it added. India launched precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK early on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. India also effectively repelled subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. (ANI) As Indian delegations make their way across several countries as part of the global outreach to spread the message of India's resolve against terrorism, the delegation led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Baijayant Panda shared its firm resolve to convey India's vision to the global community. Speaking to the media, Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu said, "We are going there to present India's side. We will present the facts we have against Pakistan's terrorist actions, on how it is attacking innocent Indian civilians and how India has precisely and measuredly taken action against terror headquarters in Pakistan." He said that the delegation will counter the propaganda and misinformation being spread by Pakistan. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Baijayant Panda said, "Today our group is embarking on this trip to West Asia. We have very senior members and wide representation from across the political spectrum. The biggest message is the unity that India has shown to the world and continues to show, and we are very clear about taking the message that after having won on the battlefield, it is also important to ask the world to stay focused on terrorism, which many countries around the world have suffered from. But we suffer from a special kind of terrorism that is state-sponsored, and this message, as you have seen recently, many countries are coming out in support of and that is our mission." As per the press statement by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, "The all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria." It further mentioned that the members of the delegation led by BJP MP Panda include "Nishikant Dubey MP, BJP; Phangnon Konyak, MP BJP; Rekha Sharma MP, NJP; Asaduddin Owaisi MP, AIMIM; Satnam Singh Sandhu MP, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Amb. Harsh Shringla". Member of the delegation, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi told media the countries which his delegation will visit. He said, "Our neighbouring country, Pakistan is running terrorist camps and supporting them. These terrorists come to India and carry out terrorist activities. We will speak about these things to these four nations". 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. (ANI) BJP MP Captain Brijesh Chowta (Retd), who is among the members of the all-party delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi to Russia, said that the first day of the visit was "fruitful." Chowta said that the delegation members met with representatives of the lower and upper houses. They also had the opportunity to speak about India's "position" and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "message." He stated that PM Modi has categorically said that "terror and trade cannot happen together." "It has been a very fruitful first day in Moscow...we met representatives from Lower House and Upper House...we got to speak on India's position and PM's message. He had categorically said that terror and trade cannot happen together, and blood and water can't flow together...he has sent this message to the global power too...the terror we are facing in our nation...it is state-sponsored terror from Pakistan. The world needs to take cognisance of this...we are confident that Russia, our long-standing ally, will stand with this", he said. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, also part of the delegation, considered Russia an "oldest" friend. He stated that Operation Sindoor was a "reaction, a symptom and a diagnosis". "Today we had a lot of meetings with the top officials here. Russia is our oldest friend. They said that they are with India in this fight...whatever happened in Operation Sindoor was a reaction, a symptom and a diagnosis. The diagnosis is that unless we eliminate its roots, which are in Pakistan, unless we dismantle the terrorist camps there and force Pakistan to keep a distance from such people...those countries which think that if there is terrorism in India, it is between India and Pakistan, this thinking needs to be changed", Rajeev Rai said. The all-party delegation to Russia, led by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi, held a press conference in Moscow where they shared how terrorism being spread by Pakistan is harming the world at large, and that India wants to act as an ambassador of the anti-terrorist drive of the world. Speaking about the misinformation campaign being spread by Pakistan, DMK MP Kanimozhi said, "There is a lot of misinformation which has been spread... about the attacks which happened... We want to clarify what the truth was and what actually happened. India wants to specifically give the message that India refuses to be blackmailed by the threat of nuclear weapons. We will fight for our integrity. We will stand as one against terror attacks. So this is the message we wanted to reach to the world, and of course we've worked with Russia for many years, and we would seek the understanding of Russia and we would hope that they will be in a position to be able to support us very strongly because I think they know beyond doubt that India stands for peace. "During the event, AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal slammed Pakistan and said that Pakistan is not only nourishing terrorism but is also nurturing, supporting and promoting terrorism throughout the world. He added, "Whole world is suffering because of the terrorism being nurtured by Pakistan. India has also suffered very heavily... But India wants to be the ambassador of anti-terrorist drive of the world, because we know what terrorism is. We have suffered from all quarters, and we don't want that the other countries of the world should suffer. In India there is a saying, 'Vasudhev Kutumbakam', which means the entire world is one family. We believe in that. We believe in peace." The delegation led by Kanimozhi includes SP MP Rajeev Rai, BJP MP Captain Brijesh Chowta, RJD MP Prem Chand Gupta, AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, and former Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri. Apart from Russia, the delegation's visit spans several countries, including Slovenia, Greece, Latvia, and Spain, highlighting Operation Sindoor and India's unwavering fight against terrorism. (ANI) Students have expressed their shock and dismay at the Trump administration's decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students. While speaking to ANI, one of the students at the George Washington University said, "I was definitely shocked, and I think there is a reason to worry about it spreading to other universities in America. I don't think it's fair at all, and I'm hopeful that this can be solved before it becomes super widespread." Another student from the George Washington University said, "Similarly to my friends, I was very shocked, not necessarily about other things that the Trump administration is doing, because every day there's something. But specifically, this was very shocking to us, especially because we're students... I'm very hopeful that eventually it'll work itself out. Obviously, it's kind of fresh because it just happened. But I'm sure in a few months, something'll work itself out. Calling the order "a shame", another student said, "This order is frankly, a shame. Many other Americans and I who've gone to universities in this country, a key part of our experience is international students. Many great friends, including friends from India, China, and Eastern Europe, and like these people, they helped define my life... I think not only is it a loss to all the people who come to this country to study, it's a loss to American citizens, and it's something that we're all worried about, something that needs to be stopped." Another student told ANI, "It's kind of shocking. I don't really think it's very fair. A lot of students all over the world work hard to go to the school where they want to. So I think everybody should be able to choose where they want to continue their education, whether that be at home or in America." These remarks follow after Donald Trump administration's decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students. Following Trump's order, Harvard University condemned the decision as unlawful and unwarranted and said that the decision "imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars." The university has filed a legal complaint and announced plans to seek a temporary restraining order as it pursues all available remedies. Reassuring its international community, Harvard emphasised its commitment to defending academic freedom and pledged support to those impacted by the decision. Earlier on Thursday, the White House said, "Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right." It accused Harvard leadership of turning "their once-great institution into a hot-bed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators." In a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, "They have repeatedly failed to take action to address the widespread problems negatively impacting American students and now they must face the consequences of their actions." Harvard and the Trump administration have been engaged in a conflict for months as the administration demands the university make changes to the programming of the institution, hiring and administration to remove on-campus antisemitism and remove what it termed "racist 'diversity, equity and inclusion' practices." The administration has targeted foreign students and employees, whom it believes were part of the contentious campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. On Friday while speaking to media from the Oval Office on the Harvard issue, US President Trump remarked, "Billions of dollars have been paid to Harvard. How ridiculous is that?... And they have USD 52 billion as an endowment... Harvard's going to have to change its ways." (ANI) Nepal's Supreme Court on Friday upheld the verdict of judicial custody for former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in an alleged cooperative fraud and organised crime case. After hours of deliberation and debate from both sides, the top court upheld the Tulsipur High Court's decision to send Lamichhane to jail. Along with this, the supreme judicial body of the Himalayan Nation also upheld the decision to send former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and ex-director of Gorkha Media Network, Chhabilal Joshi, to judicial custody. The bench of justices Nahakul Subedi and Balkrishna Dhakal quashed the habeas corpus petition filed by Lamichhane's wife, Nikita Paudel, demanding his release. "Based on the immediately available evidence, it could not be reasonably believed that the defendants were innocent of the alleged offence," the court said in the order. "Therefore, the order issued by the Tulsipur High Court on April 4 to keep the petitioners Rabi Lamichhane and Chhabilal Joshi in custody for trial proceedings need not be annulled, as there appears to be no error in the ruling. Action shall be taken as per the law." Paudel had filed the petition at the court on April 20. Earlier, Lamichhane filed another writ petition against the high court's order. Following the Supreme Court's order, Lamichhane will remain in custody until the Rupandehi District Court delivers a verdict on the Supreme Cooperative fraud case. He will only be released if acquitted by the district court, and only if he is also cleared of other pending charges by that time. The Tulsipur High Court on April 4 sent Lamichhane to judicial custody in a cooperative fraud case. The Butwal bench of the High Court Tulsipur issued an order to send Lamichhane to judicial custody, overturning the decision of the District Court of Rupandehi. The district court on January 26 had released Lamichhane on a bail of NPR 10 million on the condition that he appear on the scheduled dates. Lamichhane later moved the high court, challenging the lower court order to seek bail from him. Judge Yogi had ordered Lamichhane to be released on bail, stating, "Given that there is no reasonable basis to believe the defendant did not commit the alleged crime based on the immediately available evidence, the matter will be further examined during the trial." The District Government Attorney's Office had appealed to the high court, seeking to overturn this order. It had argued that Lamichhane should remain in custody due to the seriousness of the charges and the evidence against him. The fraud case involves accusations of embezzlement by both Lamichhane and Joshi, with claims of NPR 20 million transferred to Lamichhane's personal account and NPR 25 million transferred to Joshi's. An audit report has revealed that a sum of NPR 109.936 million was deposited into various accounts of Gorkha Media Network. The statement given by Lamichhane, claiming that Joshi had raised capital ranging from NPR 5 million to NPR 12 million for the media company, was also used by the District Judge as a basis. The charge sheet mentions the joint liability of Lamichhane, Joshi, and GB Rai for the NPR 109.936 million channelled into Gorkha Media Network. Rai, Lamichhane, and Joshi jointly ran the media company. Lamichhane quit the media to form the RSP in June 2022. Lamichhane was released on bail in several cases: NPR 6.5 million in the Kaski-based Suryadarshan Cooperative case, NPR 6 million in the Swarnalakshmi case in Kathmandu, NPR 10 million in the Supreme Cooperative case in Rupandehi, and NPR 5.4 million in the Sahara Cooperative case in Chitwan. The cooperative case, which involved 28 defendants, including GB Rai, who is on the run, was registered in April last year with a claim of NPR 860 million in damages. Among the 28, 17 individuals now face additional charges. (ANI) JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, who is leading a multi-party delegation to Japan on Saturday emphasised the unity of Indian political parties in condemning terrorism and highlighted Pakistan's role in promoting proxy war against India. The delegation, comprising members of both ruling and opposition parties, is engaging with the Indian community in Japan to raise awareness about the threat posed by terrorism. "Seven delegations of all-party MPs will be visiting different countries. We were the first delegation to leave India. We have been in Japan for the last 3 days. Members of the ruling and opposition parties are in the delegation. We may have political differences and contest elections against each other, but when it comes to the country, we are all together," said Jha. He stated that Pakistan has been waging a proxy war against India for over 40 years, unable to engage in direct conflict. "This incident (Pahalgam terror attack) is not a simple incident. Pakistan has been fighting a proxy war for the last 40 years, as it cannot have a direct war with us...India has faced the menace of terrorism for several decades. They targeted tourists after asking about their religion," added the JD (U) MP. Jha highlighted the impact of terrorism on Jammu and Kashmir's tourism industry, which is crucial to the region's economy and mentioned that the Indian Army has taken decisive action against terrorist camps in Pakistan under Operation Sindoor, following a clear message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I went to Srinagar; tourism was flourishing there. The entire economy is based on tourism in J-K. The incident took place on April 22nd, PM Modi was in Bihar on April 24th, where he spoke for the first time on this issue. He gave a clear message that we will now destroy the terrorist camps in Pakistan. Indian Army destroyed nine terrorist camps under Operation Sindoor...," he added. Jha further informed that said the delegation showed Japanese officials pictures of Pakistani Army General attending the funerals of terrorists. Interacting with the Indian diaspora in Tokyo, Sanjay Jha mentioned that the Japanese officials were very receptive to the discussion in which the delegation exposed Pakistan's involvement in terrorism. "They (Japanese officials) are very receptive to the discussions. We showed them photographs of Pakistan's Army General attending the funeral of terrorists. They are giving them a state funeral. We told them that Osama Bin Laden was found nowhere else but in Pakistan," Jha said. Sanjay Kumar Jha was referring to a photograph where Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a US-designated global terrorist and high-level Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, leading funeral prayers for those who died in the Indian missile strikes. The Pakistan Army could be seen standing behind them. Further speaking about the India's global outreach efforts against terrorism, Jha said, "The government took a decision that it is necessary to tell the world that their (Pakistan) army and government is involved in doing these works. We have taken a new normal. If they'll attack us, then we will enter their home and hit back. This message is very clear." The all-party delegation's visit to Japan demonstrates India's national consensus on combating terrorism. Despite political differences, the MPs are united in their stance against terrorism and Pakistan's role in promoting it. Sanjay Kumar Jha is leading a nine-member delegation of BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPI (M) MP John Brittas, former MEA Salman Khurshid and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. The delegation is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. Earlier, the delegation held a meeting with Japan's Former Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and Shinako Tsuchiya, Director General of the International Bureau, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). (ANI) Ambassador of India to Japan, Sibi George, said on Saturday that the All-Party Delegation had a productive day conducting meetings with the leaders of Japan. George told ANI that the members of the parliament were speaking on the issue of terrorism in one voice, which reflected the power of India's diversity. "It has been a great day yesterday for the members of parliament visiting the Foreign Office, the parliament, and today again we started the day with an interaction with the resident ambassadors and you have seen how proactive the engagement and interaction were there questions and answers and was very happy to see the members of the parliament replying to their questions in one voice. It's an amazing thing to see India's diversity," he said. George, in conversation with ANI, said that everyone attending the meetings condemned the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. "We had received our members of parliament yesterday early morning, and since then, it has been continuous meetings and interactions with the Japanese side. They met the Foreign Minister. They met the former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, and members of the parliament from the Japanese side also attended the Raisina dialogue, where we spoke about counterterrorism and the fight against terrorism," he said. George said that Japan was the first country to voice its condemnation against the attack. All ministers expressed condolences to the families. "In India, the whole nation has come together in its fight against terrorism. Japan was one of the first countries to condemn the attack immediately after the incident on April 22nd. On 23rd itself, for Prime Minister of Japan telephoned our honourable Prime Minister and condemned the terror attacks, extended full support in the fight against terrorism, condolences on sympathies to the victims. So then the foreign ministers spoke," he said. George said that he received several condolences from the Japanese across all levels, and their commitment to the fight against terrorism. "I have received so many condolences messages and support messages from the Japanese at every level, and so it has been a, a period where everyone stood together in their commitment in their determination in the fight against terrorism," he said. George further said that India is the most peaceful country in the world, just as Japan is, and both countries follow the doctrine of nonviolence. He further talked about the Mahatma Gandhi Bust in Hiroshima, which was unveiled by PM Modi on May 20, 2023, to perpetuate the same sentiment. "India is the most peaceful country in the world, and India's connected with Japan. If you travel, you will find that they look at India as the land of Buddha. Lord Buddha is the symbol of non-violence, and again Mahatma Gandhi [echoes similar sentiment]. Last year, during the visit of the honourable Prime Minister to the Hiroshima National Park Peace Park, we installed the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Why? Because he is the icon of peace," he said. George added that India stands for peace in the region. But the enemy had a target to disrupt peace in the region, as normalcy was returning in Jammu and Kashmir. "So India is the land of peace and in Jammu and Kashmir, peace had returned, stability was there, democratic government was there, and life was normal. Schools were open, universities were open. Tourism was flourishing. The business-wise life was very normal. That was the time the enemy hit. The enemy hit and purpose was very clear- destroy the progress in Jammu and Kashmir. Destroy the harmony, religious harmony, communal harmony in India. That was the purpose," he said. George India's message was loud and clear, which is to condemn terrorism, and the entire country had come together for that. "There is no way we are going to let that happen. The whole country has to come together. Members of parliament from different political parties came together with one voice, zero tolerance to terrorism. And the message was loud and clear from the Indian side to our Japanese friends, to the diplomatic community, to the media. They went everywhere with one voice," he said. George said that this was a great achievement as the delegation conveyed its message of strength and determination to destroy terrorism. "This is a great achievement. I see it and you were seeing the interaction today and yesterday at every level. So I think it was a good visit and it helped us, convey our Message loud and clear, our unity, our strength, and our determination to go to any extent in destroying the infrastructure of terrorism," he said. An all-party parliamentary delegation from India, led by Sanjay Kumar Jha, Member of Parliament, is visiting Japan from May 22 to 24. The delegation includes Ambassador Mohan Kumar, BJP MP Hemang Joshi, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, BJP MP Brij Lal, and BJP MP Pradan Baruah. (ANI) BJP MP Brij Lal, who is a part of an all-party delegation visiting Japan, highlighted the extensive evidence linking Pakistan to numerous terror attacks in India during the interaction of the Indian Community there on Saturday (local time). Lal underscored the impact of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism on India's development, citing specific incidents and the strategic response under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's zero-tolerance policy. Lal stated that a country can't be developed without peace, noting that Pakistan has been causing all these terror attacks to disrupt the peace in India. "A country becomes developed when there is peace, there is law and order. If there is no law and order, one can't be developed. No investor would like to come here... Pakistan has always tried to create such disturbances, so no investors come to the country... There have been a number of incidents of Pakistan doing terrorist attacks in our country... There are terrorist organisations in Pakistan, mainly Jaish-e-Mohammed, headed by Masood Azhar; Lashkar-e-Taiba, headed by Hafiz Saeed; and Hizbul Mujahideen, headed by Syed Salahuddin. Apart from that, there are many other organisations," he stated. Further, he highlighted several instances when Pakistan-sponsored terrorism attacks occurred in different parts of India. "Also on the orders of Pakistan's ISI and its government, they created the Indian Mujahideen... It was the proxy of LeT... Indian Mujahideen attacked the Indian Science Congress in 2005 in Bangalore, as they couldn't attack ISRO due to high security at the place... A professor of IIT Delhi was killed... On 1st January, 2008, they attacked and killed seven CRPF personnel and we captured all the terrorists, out of which two were Pakistanis," Brij Lal said. "In 26/11, 171 people were killed, out of which two were IPS Officers... We captured Kasab, who was from Pakistan... Pakistan denied it, but Pakistani media went to Kasab's village there... We have a lot of evidence (against Pakistan)... They continued their attacks to make the Country unsafe so that no one comes to the Country... My point is there is a lot of evidence against Pakistan," Lal added. Highlighting India's response against terrorism under PM Modi, the BJP MP said, "When PM Modi came (to power) in 2014, he had a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, and accordingly, we did a surgical strike in 2016, did the same in 2019 in Balakot and again retaliated on April 22... They know they can't win against India one-on-one. So they planned to give 1000 cuts to India so that India bleeds... but now we have taken the decision and attacked with precision... It is a war... Whenever there is terrorism, we will consider it as war." Lal is part of the delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha, which includes Ambassador Mohan Kumar, BJP MP Dr Hemang Joshi, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, BJP MP Brij Lal, and BJP MP Pradan Baruah and TMC Abhishek Banerjee. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian Armed Forces responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. The two countries have reached an understanding to stop military action following a call made by Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart. (ANI) Launching scathing attacks on Pakistan, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, who is part of an all-party delegation that visited Japan, said that the neighbouring country is trying to spread terrorism as it could not see peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. During the interaction of the Indian Community in Japan, Sarangi asserted that 140 crore Indians have to stand together against terrorism and Pakistan. "We are here to tell you that we are not just heartbroken, but we are also angry... Anger and dissatisfaction are significant in this fight against terror... We aim to create public opinion against terrorism. We will not be able to end terrorism until there is a sentiment of anger," she said. "140 crore Indians have to stand together against terrorism and Pakistan... We have to argue with facts and figures... After Article 370 and 35A were removed, development began in J&K... This peace and development were not acceptable, and that is why Pakistan is trying to spread terrorism... Terror organisations are not just born in Pakistan but are also nurtured there," the BJP MP said. Aparajita Sarangi is part of the delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha, which includes Ambassador Mohan Kumar, BJP MP Dr Hemang Joshi, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, BJP MP Brij Lal, and BJP MP Pradan Baruah. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POJK). The Indian Armed Forces responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. The two countries have reached an understanding to stop military action following a call made by Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart. (ANI) Communist Party of India-Marxist MP John Brittas, who is part of the multi-party delegation to Japan, on Saturday called Pakistan a "theocratic state", and criticised it for terrorist activities in an attempt to "pull India down." During an interaction with the Indian Community in Tokyo, Brittas said, "India is a democratic country. Whereas Pakistan is a theocratic state. India wants to progress, and that is why Pakistan wants to pull us down. That is why all the terrorist activities take place." Highlighting the different political allegiances of members of the delegation. Brittas emphasised the unity of all the parties in condemning terrorism and prioritising national interest. "We are all from 5 different political parties, 3 of which are completely opposed to the ruling party, but we have all come here with a sense of purpose... We give priority to national interest," he said. Slamming Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir on his promotion as Field Marshal, Brittas suggested that it is the Pakistani Army that controls the nation. "Pakistani military leader Asim Munir has recently declared himself a Field Marshal... He is the second Field Marshal after Ayub Khan... All countries have an army, whereas the army (Pakistani army) has a nation." John Brittas also listed the objective of all party delegations, "The first objective of this visit is to demonstrate the unity and resolve of India. The second objective is to sensitize the international community about the threat called terrorism, which no country can fight alone. We all have to join hands to fight this virus. We hope Japan will understand this... India's resolve is to ensure that all countries join the fight against terrorism, which will be detrimental to the progress of not only India but all countries," he said. CPI (M) MP John Brittas is part of the Sanjay Kumar Jha-led delegation, which is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. The other members of the delegation are BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, former MEA Salman Khurshid, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar Earlier, the delegation held a meeting with Japan's Former Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and Shinako Tsuchiya, Director General of the International Bureau, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). (ANI) Tara Chand Baloch, the President of the Baloch American Congress and a former Cabinet minister in the Balochistan government, has addressed a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting India's ethical, political, and diplomatic backing for the Baloch people's national resistance against Pakistan's dominance. This appeal was conveyed through two formal letters sent on behalf of the Baloch American Congress, directly addressed to the Prime Minister's Office in Delhi. In his communication, Chand expresses appreciation for the Indian leadership's prior attention to the Balochistan issue, particularly noting PM Modi's remarks during his Red Fort speech, which he sees as a demonstration of moral support that inspired hope among the oppressed Baloch population globally. "Your reference to Balochistan in your Red Fort address was embraced by Baloch people around the world as an indication of moral support for a nation that has been occupied, subjugated, and terrorised by Pakistan," Dr Chand stated. The letter recounts the history of Balochistan's coercive incorporation into Pakistan following the departure of the British in 1948, an event Dr. Chand describes as the start of "a cruel occupation." He asserts that the Baloch people have suffered genocidal-like acts committed by a "jihadist army" supported by Pakistan's dominant military establishment at Rawalpindi GHQ. "Governed by a jihadist army, this poorly conceived country is accountable for the disappearances, torture, deaths, and displacement of thousands of my countrymen," the letter claims. He stressed that these actions are part of a larger campaign to suppress the Baloch national liberation movement, which has been ongoing for several decades. He also pointed out that China's involvement in Balochistan as a colonial force presents an additional geopolitical danger. Tara Chand expressed disappointment that the Baloch national liberation movement has not gained international visibility, noting, "Outside of the Indian media, there is scant acknowledgement of the atrocities committed by the Pakistani state in Occupied Balochistan." He urged India to assume a leading role on the global stage in raising awareness about this situation. "Without substantial moral and political backing from the state level, Pakistan and its allies could extinguish the national resistance of the Baloch people, ushering in a new, more ominous phase of colonialism in Balochistan," the letter indicates. The document highlighted that Balochistan's abundant natural resources and strategic coastal position are crucial for regional stability. Chand argued that a liberated and cooperative Balochistan would benefit peace-loving individuals in India, prompting India to regard Balochistan as a critical geopolitical element of the 21st century. Chand also commended Prime Minister Modi's choice to postpone the Indus Waters Treaty, characterising it as a courageous move that conveys a powerful message to Pakistan. "I commend your astute decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty on hold and to clarify to the jihadist generals of Pakistan that blood and water cannot coexist," the letter quotes. He stressed that the Baloch people hold high hopes for India's leadership and are looking towards the Indian government with optimism. The Baloch American Congress (BAC) is a registered political entity that aims to advocate for the Baloch national struggle for the right to self-determination and to defend the socio-cultural and political rights of the Baloch Diaspora in the United States. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party MP Hemang Joshi, who is part of the multi-party delegation to Japan, hailed "high Indian values", noting that the country stood together despite terrorists' intention of "spreading religious disharmony" in India by killing 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. During an interaction with the Indian Community in Tokyo on Saturday, Hemang Joshi noted that no religious riot took place, and every Indian stood together after the attack. "The business had flourished in Jammu and Kashmir in the last four years. Tourism was flourishing. There was democratic development, and the voter turnout was huge during the elections. To derail from all of this, they attacked by asking about the faith of the people, to spread religious disharmony in India, but because of the high Indian values, no internal religious riot took place and every Indian stood together," Hemang Joshi said. Joshi is part of the Sanjay Kumar Jha-led delegation, which is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. The other members of the delegation are BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, CPI-M John Brittas, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, former MEA Salman Khurshid, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. Meanwhile, John Brittas, called Pakistan a "theocratic state", and criticised it for terrorist activities in an attempt to "pull India down." Brittas said, "India is a democratic country. Whereas Pakistan is a theocratic state. India wants to progress, and that is why Pakistan wants to pull us down. That is why all the terrorist activities take place." Highlighting the different political allegiances of members of the delegation, Brittas emphasised the unity of all the parties in condemning terrorism and prioritising national interest. "We are all from five different political parties, three of which are completely opposed to the ruling party, but we have all come here with a sense of purpose... We give priority to national interest," he said. Earlier, the delegation held a meeting with Japan's Former Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and Shinako Tsuchiya, Director General of the International Bureau, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). (ANI) The Scottish Government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting religious freedom and human rights for the Tibetan people, especially concerning the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama, as reported by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). In a session of the Scottish Parliament held on May 22, MSP Ross Greer raised inquiries about the Scottish government's preparations to celebrate the upcoming 90th birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama alongside the Buddhist community in Scotland and highlighted concerns over potential Chinese interference in the reincarnation process, as noted by the CTA. In reply, the Minister for Equalities, Kaukab Stewart, expressed the Scottish Government's gratitude for the contributions made by various faith and belief communities in Scotland, including Buddhists. She conveyed warm wishes to Dalai Lama and the Buddhist community, acknowledging their vital role in promoting peace, compassion, and cultural diversity in the country, as emphasised in the CTA report. MSP Ross Greer also reminded everyone of the Chinese government's abduction of the six-year-old Panchen Lama three decades ago and the subsequent replacement with another boy. Greer articulated concerns that are widely held among Tibetans regarding the possibility of similar interference regarding the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama in the future. He inquired if the Scottish Government would commit to recognising only a future Dalai Lama chosen according to Tibetan Buddhist traditions and teachings, free from outside influence. Stewart asserted, "The Scottish Government upholds the principles of religious freedom and human rights. It believes that the Tibetan Buddhist community should have the autonomy to select the next Dalai Lama without external interference," as stated by the CTA. Since the 1950s, Tibetans in China have experienced persecution following the Chinese government's annexation of Tibet. The uprising of 1959 resulted in the Dalai Lama's exile and escalated repression. Tibetan culture, language, and religion have been systematically suppressed. Numerous reports indicate that within China, monasteries are strictly regulated, and religious practices face limitations. Surveillance is prevalent, and opposition is severely punished. (ANI) Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, who is leading the multi-party delegation to Japan, visited the memorial of Indian freedom fighter Rash Behari Bose in Tokyo along with other members. Former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and India's Ambassador to Japan, Sibi George, also visited Bose's memorial in Tokyo. Rash Behari Bose founded the Indian Independence League and was a key organiser of the Ghadar Mutiny. He played a part in the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the then Indian Viceroy Lord Hardinge in 1912 and later fled to Japan. He was also involved with the Indian National Army. Speaking with ANI at the memorial site, Sanjay Kumar Jha summarised the delegation's visit to Japan, noting that they had 14-15 meetings here in two days where they interacted with parliamentarians, think tanks, leaders, and the Indian community. Jha further said that the delegation made India's future stance against terrorism clear, adding that the nation will not tolerate any terrorist activities. "We had 14-15 meetings here in two days, interacted with parliamentarians, think tanks, leaders and the Indian community. I think we have been able to put forward the objective for which our all-party delegation came here," Jha said. "Our delegation was quite able to put forward its point. Information was also given about Operation Sindoor that our army targeted only the terrorist hideouts with precision, India's future stance was made clear that if Pakistan does terrorist activity in the future, we will not tolerate it, and the Indus Water Treaty, which has been suspended, was also discussed," The JD(U) MP added. Sanjay Kumar Jha is leading a nine-member delegation that includes BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPI (M) MP John Brittas, former MEA Salman Khurshid, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. The delegation is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. Earlier, interacting with the Indian diaspora in Tokyo, Jha emphasised the unity of Indian political parties in condemning terrorism and highlighted Pakistan's role in promoting proxy war against India. "Seven delegations of all-party MPs will be visiting different countries. We were the first delegation to leave India. We have been in Japan for the last 3 days. Members of the ruling and opposition parties are in the delegation. We may have political differences and contest elections against each other, but when it comes to the country, we are all together," said Jha. The all-party delegation's visit to Japan demonstrates India's national consensus on combating terrorism. Despite political differences, the MPs are united in their stance against terrorism and Pakistan's role in promoting it. (ANI) The all-party delegation Indian MPs, led by Shri Sanjay Kumar Jha, engaged with Japanese dignitaries from political, governmental, and academic circles on Saturday. The interaction, hosted by India's Ambassador to Japan, Sibi George at India House, aimed to convey India's unwavering commitment to combating terrorism. The delegation conveyed a strong and unified national message of zero tolerance for cross-border terrorism. In a post on X, the Indian Embassy said, "All-Party Delegation of Hon'ble Members of Parliament led by Shri Sanjay Kumar Jha interacted with dignitaries from Japan's political, governmental, and academic spheres and conveyed a strong and unified national message of zero tolerance for cross-border terrorism at a dinner hosted by Ambassador Sibi George at India House." https://x.com/IndianEmbTokyo/status/1926105662628479340 Earlier in the day, Jha emphasised the unity of Indian political parties in condemning terrorism and highlighted Pakistan's role in promoting proxy war against India. The delegation, comprising members of both ruling and opposition parties, is engaging with the Indian community in Japan to raise awareness about the threat posed by terrorism. "Seven delegations of all-party MPs will be visiting different countries. We were the first delegation to leave India. We have been in Japan for the last 3 days. Members of the ruling and opposition parties are in the delegation. We may have political differences and contest elections against each other, but when it comes to the country, we are all together," said Jha. He stated that Pakistan has been waging a proxy war against India for over 40 years, unable to engage in direct conflict. "This incident (Pahalgam terror attack) is not a simple incident. Pakistan has been fighting a proxy war for the last 40 years, as it cannot have a direct war with us...India has faced the menace of terrorism for several decades. They targeted tourists after asking about their religion," added the JD (U) MP. Sanjay Kumar Jha is leading a nine-member delegation of BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPI (M) MP John Brittas, former MEA Salman Khurshid and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. The delegation is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. (ANI) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is urging residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to obtain Chinese ID cards to "blur national identities." This initiative is part of China's strategy to create a "Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, which includes a cross-strait integration pilot zone within China's Fujian Province," as reported by Taipei Times. "The CCP is treating individuals from these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. Additionally, it has amplified its 'united front' strategies and the infiltration of these islands." "There is growing evidence of espionage activities in Kinmen, particularly involving the recruitment of Taiwanese military personnel by the CCP," the Taipei Times reported. The CCP's distribution of Chinese IDs and residence permits to obscure the identities of Taiwanese nationals in Kinmen and Lienchiang mirrors a tactic previously used by Russia in the Donbas region before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "Bestowing citizenship upon a large number of pro-Russian residents resulted in numerous individuals with dual identities who were less resistant to invasion," they noted, adding that China aims to replicate this approach in light of its potential invasion plans. In the past, Taiwanese citizens could only apply for Chinese residence permits after residing in Fujian for over six months, but China has recently removed that stipulation to hasten integration. "In certain instances, Taiwanese individuals can even request Chinese ID cards without relinquishing their Taiwanese ID or passport, effectively allowing for dual identity." "The CCP is fully cognizant of Taiwan's single-household registration policy, which states that holding a Chinese ID would nullify one's Taiwanese citizenship, so it intentionally refrains from disclosing the number of Taiwanese who possess Chinese ID cards," as mentioned in a Taipei Times report. An investigation revealed that residents of Kinmen are more inclined to have Chinese ID cards compared to those living in Taiwan proper, indicating that Taiwanese individuals with Chinese ID cards face potential coercion from the CCP, according to the Taipei Times. "The more Kinmen residents acquire Chinese IDs, the more advantageous it will be for an invading force," stated Ho Cheng-hui, Deputy Secretary-General of the Taiwan National Security Institute. "Prolonged infiltration in the region would facilitate any invasion or influence operation. The current situation heightens the risk of annexation of these outlying counties," he remarked. (ANI) Former External Affairs Minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid expressed satisfaction with the response the all-party delegation received in Japan and said that there was spontaneous support for India's position on terrorism. Khurshid, who is part of the JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha-led delegations, told ANI, "It's been very satisfying and a great visit. We were very encouraged that there was spontaneous support for India's position on terrorism. There is a complete consensus here against any form of terrorism, and a very special condolence was conveyed for the loss that we suffered in Pahalgam." The delegation, comprising members of both ruling and opposition parties, is engaging with the Indian community in Japan to raise awareness about the threat posed by terrorism. Khurshid said that during meetings with the delegation, Japan was supportive of India's position on terrorism. "We have declared a suspension of Operation Sindoor, but we have obviously given some messages for the future, and it will be important for countries like Japan to support us all the way. Japan had an open mind, supportive of our position on terrorism. We produced very cogent evidence that is available," Khurshid said. Khurshid further highlighted the need of a solid relationship with Japan for economic and political connectivity. "When it comes to choosing between India and Pakistan, our solid relationship with Japan matters. It matters in terms of the economic connectivity that we have with them, also our political connectivity with them. So we stand at a great advantage here but we need to take that advantage to a conclusion," Khurshid said. Khurshid is part of the Sanjay Kumar Jha-led delegation, which is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. The other members of the delegation are BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, CPI-M John Brittas, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. The all-party delegation's visit to Japan demonstrates India's national consensus on combating terrorism. Despite political differences, the MPs are united in their stance against terrorism and Pakistan's role in promoting it. (ANI) The All Party Delegation currently in Japan led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha paid floral tributes to freedom fighter Rash Behari Bose at Tama Cemetery, Tokyo on Saturday. In a post on X, Indian Embassy in Japan, said the delegates drew inspiration from the unwavering courage of freedom fighters. The Embassy said, "Hon'ble Member of Parliament Shri Sanjay Kumar Jha, Head of the All Party Parliamentary delegation paid floral tributes to freedom fighter Rash Behari Bose at Tama Cemetery, Tokyo, on the eve of his birth anniversary. The delegation's visit to Japan began with tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and concluded by paying tributes to Rash Behari Bose. Drawing inspiration from the unwavering courage of our freedom fighters, India today stands united with a resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms. Never Forget Never Forgive." https://x.com/IndianEmbTokyo/status/1926161537560977878 Earlier in the day, Jha interacted with members of the Indian diaspora at the Indian Embassy in Japan, a statement by the Embassy said. The delegation talked of the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and, subsequent Operation Sindoor and India's stance of zero tolerance on terrorism. "The delegation presented a unified front of India, clearly explained the role of Pakistan in the gruesome terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22 and how India through Operation Sindoor destroyed the terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. They emphasized India's zero tolerance to Terrorism and conveyed the messages that terror and talks cannot go together; blood and water cannot flow together," the Embassy statement said. The delegation highlighted India's commitment to combat terrorism and urged the diaspora there to spread this message to every corner in Japan. "They reaffirmed India's unwavering commitment to combating cross-border terrorism and urged the Indian diaspora to continue to spread this message to every corner of Japan. They also expressed deep appreciation for the community's recent tribute at the Embassy to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack--echoing the powerful message: Never Forget Never Forgive," the statement said. https://x.com/IndianEmbTokyo/status/1926148315084689456 Sanjay Kumar Jha is leading a nine-member delegation of BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPI (M) MP John Brittas, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. The delegation is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. (ANI) Pakistan's military has accused Baloch rights advocate Mahrang Baloch of serving as a front for terrorist organisations, prompting strong backlash from human rights advocates and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), as reported by The Balochistan Post (TBP). During a press briefing on Friday, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, claimed that Mahrang was connected to "terrorist networks" and called on the media to unveil what he referred to as the "sinister face" of the BYC, according to TBP. The BYC rejected the allegations as "groundless and slanderous," asserting that these claims were part of a larger strategy to shift focus away from severe human rights abuses in the area. "The BYC is a nonviolent political and human rights organisation dedicated to advocating for the democratic and civil rights of the Baloch people," the group stated in their release. "Mahrang Baloch is a respected defender of human rights with a well-established record of peaceful activism." The organisation emphasised that both mahrang and the BYC have repeatedly denounced all acts of violence and remain steadfast in their commitment to lawful and democratic protest. "These recent remarks are not only defamatory; they also highlight the increasing legitimacy and impact of our peaceful movement," the statement continued. "Instead of addressing well-documented violations, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, the government has opted to escalate its disinformation campaign," TBP indicated. The group also expressed its willingness to undergo an independent investigation by international agencies. "If there is any evidence backing the military's accusations, we are entirely ready to be held accountable under international law," the statement added. "However, if the claims are disproven, then Pakistan's institutions must also face accountability, including under the Geneva Conventions." Mahrang Baloch, a physician and organiser with BYC, has emerged as one of the leading voices bringing attention to human rights violations in Balochistan. She was arrested in March 2025 under Pakistan's colonial-era Maintenance of Public Order law. The arrests of BYC leaders have drawn condemnation from numerous human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. In April, more than a dozen United Nations human rights experts voiced concerns over Pakistan's utilisation of counter-terrorism legislation to silence peaceful dissent in Balochistan. The UN experts cautioned that Pakistan was merging genuine human rights advocacy with terrorism. They urged the nation to criminalise enforced disappearances, ratify international treaties, and allow independent inquiries. (ANI) The all-party Parliamentary delegation, led by MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, interacted with members of the Indian diaspora at the Indian Embassy in Japan on Saturday and pointed out that terrorism and dialogue cannot coexist, using the powerful metaphor "blood and water cannot flow together." This message resonated deeply with the Indian diaspora, who were urged to spread awareness about India's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism. The delegation talked of the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and, subsequent Operation Sindoor and India's stance of zero tolerance on terrorism. "The delegation presented a unified front of India, clearly explained the role of Pakistan in the gruesome terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22 and how India through Operation Sindoor destroyed the terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. They emphasized India's zero tolerance to Terrorism and conveyed the messages that terror and talks cannot go together; blood and water cannot flow together," the Embassy of India in Japan posted on X. The delegation highlighted India's commitment to combat terrorism and urged the diaspora there to spread this message to every corner in Japan. "They reaffirmed India's unwavering commitment to combating cross-border terrorism and urged the Indian diaspora to continue to spread this message to every corner of Japan. They also expressed deep appreciation for the community's recent tribute at the Embassy to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack--echoing the powerful message: Never Forget Never Forgive," the statement said. https://x.com/IndianEmbTokyo/status/1926148315084689456 Earlier in the day, the all-party delegation of Members of Parliament led by Sanjay Kumar Jha interacted with dignitaries from Japan's political, governmental, and academic spheres on aturday, a statement by the Indian Embassy in Japan said. The delegation conveyed a strong and unified national message of zero tolerance for cross-border terrorism. In a post on X, the Embassy said, "All-Party Delegation of Hon'ble Members of Parliament led by Shri Sanjay Kumar Jha interacted with dignitaries from Japan's political, governmental, and academic spheres and conveyed a strong and unified national message of zero tolerance for cross-border terrorism at a dinner hosted by Ambassador Sibi George at India House." https://x.com/IndianEmbTokyo/status/1926105662628479340 Sanjay Kumar Jha is leading a nine-member delegation of BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPI (M) MP John Brittas, former MEA Salman Khurshid and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. The delegation is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday extended his greetings to the government of Eritrea on the occasion of their independence day. Jaishankar shared a picture of the 10th International Day of Yoga being celebrated in Eritrea in June 2024. In a post on X, he said, "Greetings to FM Osman Saleh, the Government and the people of Eritrea on their Independence Day." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1926151150761308250 The Indian Embassy in Eritrea also wished the citizens on the occasion. In a post on X, the Embassy said, "Wishing a Happy Independence Day to the people of Eritrea." https://x.com/IndiaEritrea/status/1926179594819789208 https://x.com/IndiaEritrea/status/1926184145564123307 Earlier on May 15, 2024, India and Eritrea held a second round of Foreign Office Consultations in Delhi and discussed ways to further broaden and deepen their cooperation. The discussions between the officials of India and Eritrea focused on further promoting developmental cooperation and capacity building in the spirit of South-South cooperation, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. The two sides also spoke about existing cooperation between India and Eritrea in various sectors, including agriculture, health, pharmaceuticals, and mining. In a statement, MEA stated, "Discussions were held in a cordial and constructive manner on a wide range of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues. They focused on further promoting developmental cooperation and capacity building in the spirit of South-South cooperation." India formally recognized Eritrea soon after its dejure independence on 24 May 1993 from Ethiopia. Over the years, India has provided capacity building assistance in several fields to Eritrea including legislative drafting, technical scholarships (agriculture, education, health, handicrafts, etc.) and also food aid. In 2009, Indian Government extended a Line of Credit of USD 20 million to the Eritrean Government, as per the MEA. An MoU on starting Foreign Office Consultations between India and Eritrea was signed in April 2018 in Delhi. Subsequently, the first session of FOC was held in Asmara on 29 October 2018 at the level of Joint Secretary (WANA) and Director General, Asia-Pacific Department in the Eritrean Foreign Ministry. (ANI) Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of an all-party delegation member to Tokyo said that although political parties fight at home, they all appear together in the international platform. Khurshid, in conversation with ANI, said that this unity of India in the face of terrorism was greatly appreciated in Japan. "One important message that's coming across here is that we come from different political parties. We fight vigorously at home, but when it comes to India, and it comes to India's very critical message about fighting terrorism, we all appear here together. I think that's greatly appreciated and hopefully this will be so as we go from one country to another," he told ANI. Khurshid expressed satisfaction with the response the all-party delegation received in Japan and said that there was spontaneous support for India's position on terrorism. Khurshid told ANI, "It's been very satisfying and a great visit. We were very encouraged that there was spontaneous support for India's position on terrorism. There is a complete consensus here against any form of terrorism, and a very special condolence was conveyed for the loss that we suffered in Pahalgam." The delegation, comprising members of both ruling and opposition parties, is engaging with the Indian community in Japan to raise awareness about the threat posed by terrorism. Khurshid said that during meetings with the delegation, Japan was supportive of India's position on terrorism. "We have declared a suspension of Operation Sindoor, but we have obviously given some messages for the future, and it will be important for countries like Japan to support us all the way. Japan had an open mind, supportive of our position on terrorism. We produced very cogent evidence that is available," Khurshid said. Khurshid is part of the Sanjay Kumar Jha-led delegation, which is currently in Japan and will head to other East Asian countries as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. The other members of the delegation are BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, CPI-M John Brittas, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. The all-party delegation's visit to Japan demonstrates India's national consensus on combating terrorism. Despite political differences, the MPs are united in their stance against terrorism and Pakistan's role in promoting it. (ANI) The all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde on Saturday concluded its visit to the UAE as a part of the global outreach of Operation Sindoor. A statement by the Indian Embassy in the UAE said that the visit not only strengthened India-UAE cooperation in India's fight against terrorism. In a post on X, the embassy said, "The All-party delegation led by Eknath Shinde successfully concludes its highly productive visit to the UAE, further strengthening India-UAE cooperation in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." https://x.com/IndembAbuDhabi/status/1926091787497558028 Shinde thanked the UAE leadership for their support to India in the wake of the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. "As we conclude our visit to the United Arab Emirates, we extend heartfelt gratitude to the UAE leadership for their warm hospitality and unwavering support to India in the global fight against terrorism. The Indian community--our finest ambassadors--shared their anguish over cross-border extremism and welcomed the firm, principled stand of the Government of India under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi." https://x.com/DrSEShinde/status/1926133485758005648 He further said that India enjoys immense goodwill in the UAE, strengthened by decades of people-to-people and economic ties. https://x.com/IndembAbuDhabi/status/1926096622884147453 Earlier on Friday, he reiterated India's 'zero-tolerance' stance on terrorism and said that the country is one that retaliates with restraint. Addressing the press, Shinde said, "Our message is very clear that we won't tolerate terrorism, and if times demand, we will take even stricter steps against terrorism. Terror and trade cannot go together, water and blood cannot flow together - this is an apt message. It is only when Pakistan stops terrorism that we can initiate talks. We are the country that retaliates with restraint." The group to visit the UAE, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone is headed by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde. It will include Bansuri Swaraj (BJP), ET Mohammed Basheer (IUML), Atul Garg (BJP), Sasmit Patra (BJD), Manan Kumar Mishra (BJP), SS Ahluwalia, and Sujan Chinoy. The group is now headed to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to carry forward India's global mission against terrorism. (ANI) Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, strongly denounced the recent incidents of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions carried out by the Pakistani military in the Awaran district of Balochistan. As mentioned in a post by Paank on X, on the night of May 17, Pakistani military personnel forcibly invaded the home of Levies officer Younus Rasool, son of Rasool Bakhsh, located in the Malar Bangul Bazar region. Without showing a warrant or legal grounds, they took Younus Rasool into custody. Reports indicate that during this operation, his family members were subjected to torture and intimidation by armed forces. Just two days later, on May 20, Sajid Baloch, son of Nasir Baloch, was also abducted from his residence in the Gushanag Kolwah area of Awaran. His dead body, displaying evident signs of severe abuse, was discovered nearby the following morning, according to Paank's post. Paank's message emphasised that these acts are not isolated events. Instead, they reflect a larger and deeply rooted issue of state violence in Balochistan, which primarily targets civilians, activists, and community leaders under the guise of national security. Residents in Awaran continue to endure a pervasive atmosphere of fear regarding surveillance, acts of violence, and illegal detentions. Military operations are executed with complete disregard for legal norms, frequently leading to enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Victims are often held without communication, denied access to legal support, leaving their families unaware of their status or location, as reported by Paank. The message from Paank asserted that these actions violate Pakistan's constitutional rights and its international commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), particularly Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture), and 9 (liberty and security of person). The occurrences in Awaran constitute serious violations of international human rights law. Arbitrary detentions followed by torture in custody and extrajudicial killings undermine the rights of the individuals involved and damage the rule of law, eroding any notion of justice or accountability in the area, highlighted Paank's post. Paank urges the international community, including the United Nations, human rights organisations, and civil society, to promptly compel the Pakistani government to put an end to all forms of arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan. "We emphasise that the Baloch people's fight for justice, dignity, and self-determination cannot be suppressed through violence. Paank stands with the victims' families and will persist in documenting and revealing these severe human rights violations," stated Paank on X. (ANI) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported a Russian drone and missile attack in Kyiv on Friday, targeting civilians and causing widespread damage and casualties. Sharing a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said, "Fragments of Russian missiles and drones are being cleared in Kyiv. Rescue and emergency operations are ongoing at the sites of strikes and debris impacts -- wherever they are needed. There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight. Once again, residential buildings, cars, businesses have been damaged. Sadly, there are injuries." The post added, "It was a difficult night for all of Ukraine -- 250 strike drones, the absolute majority of them Iranian "Shaheds," and 14 ballistic missiles. The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones." Zelenskyy further emphasised that Ukraine has repeatedly proposed ceasefires and called for sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and its allies. "With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow. Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times -- both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored. It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy. We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire. I thank everyone who helps and supports us," Zelenskyy said. https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1926175364218278264 Earlier on Monday, following calls with US President Donald Trump and other European leaders on the potential ceasefire talks with Russia, Zelenskyy had voiced his uncertainty about Russia's readiness to commit to a ceasefire, citing a lack of trust in Moscow's intentions. Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine's willingness to pursue a full ceasefire without preconditions, a proposal initially put forward by US President Donald Trump, while emphasising the need for Russia to demonstrate genuine commitment through concrete actions. "I don't know the principles from the Russian side. As I understood from our dialogue with US President Trump, the Russian side wants to send us a memo on how they see the principles, and they want to see not only a ceasefire; they want some more principles," Zelenskyy stated. "I really count on it that everybody is very interested in a ceasefire. Too many losses; we really want to finish this war. I'm not sure that Russia is ready and we don't trust them. And that's what we want from them: a ceasefire, at the first step, to show that they're really ready to stop the war," he added. (ANI) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said that 307 Ukrainian defenders have returned home as part of a negotiated exchange in Turkey. This brings the total number of returnees to 697 over two days, with the process expected to continue on Sunday. The exchange involves members of Ukraine's Armed Forces, State Border Guard Service, and National Guard. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to all involved in the exchange process and reaffirmed Ukraine's commitment to bringing every captive citizen home. Sharing a post on X, Zelenskyy said, "Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Turkiye. In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow. Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine." The post added, "I thank everyone involved in the exchange process, those who have been working around the clock. Our goal is to bring every single person back from Russian captivity. We continue cooperating with our partners to make this possible." https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1926231387905970340 https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1926236927138648077 According to Al Jazeera, Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that it released 307 Ukrainian POWs in exchange for as many Russian servicemen, who are being cared for in Belarus before their return to Russia. The two sides released 270 servicemen and 120 civilians each on the Ukrainian border with Belarus on Friday, as part of the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Both sides have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners. The development comes following the Russian drone and missile attack in Kyiv on Friday, targeting civilians and causing widespread damage and casualties. Sharing a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said, "Fragments of Russian missiles and drones are being cleared in Kyiv. Rescue and emergency operations are ongoing at the sites of strikes and debris impacts -- wherever they are needed. There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight. Once again, residential buildings, cars, businesses have been damaged. Sadly, there are injuries." The post added, "It was a difficult night for all of Ukraine -- 250 strike drones, the absolute majority of them Iranian "Shaheds," and 14 ballistic missiles. The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones." Zelenskyy further emphasised that Ukraine has repeatedly proposed ceasefires and called for sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and its allies. "With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow. Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times -- both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored. It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy. We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire. I thank everyone who helps and supports us," Zelenskyy said. (ANI) Amid growing unrest in Bangladesh, voices from within the nation and neighbouring countries are calling for peace and political transformation. Along with Bangladeshi nationals, medical students from Nepal studying in Bangladesh said that the country needs peace and also called for political change. "The current situation in Bangladesh is worsening. The number of incidents is growing, especially in minority communities. The development projects across the country have come to a standstill. It's important to revert to "JanaNetri" Sheikh Hasina. She can only save Hindus in Bangladesh. We also expect India's intervention to restore the situation," said Jiban Kumar, a resident of Thakurgaon, Bangladesh. Laxmi Dhungana, a resident of Kathmandu, Nepal, studying in Bangladesh, said, "People are suffering a lot, minorities are not willing to stay in Bangladesh, they want to come to India. In terms of the students, the authorities are charging a lot, not ready to listen to anything. We want Sheikh Hasina again. Because she was good for us and also the nation." The Integrated Check Post (ICP) Fulbari at the Indo-Bangladesh border in Jalpaiguri district has seen reduced usage since August 8, 2024. The ICP Fulbari plays a significant role in facilitating trade and travel between India and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, amid ongoing political unrest and the interim government's failure to announce a clear roadmap for the next parliamentary elections, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman had expressed his desire to hold elections by December this year, local media reported. "Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman believes that national elections should be held by December. Regarding the elections, he said that his position on the matter is the same as before. An elected government has the right to determine the future course of the country", the daily Prothom Alo reported. The Army Chief mentioned some other issues in his officers' address at the army premises of Dhaka Cantonment on Wednesday. Officers of various levels of the army stationed in Dhaka participated in it, and many other officers joined virtually, the report said. Several political parties, including Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have been demanding parliamentary elections by December. However, the National Citizens Party (NCP), a new party led by students who led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wants fundamental reforms before the elections. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, is allegedly supporting the NCP. The BNP activists have taken up a protest in front of Jamuna, the residence of the Chief Adviser, in Dhaka, demanding the removal of two student advisers from the interim government's cabinet. General Waqar-uz-Zaman also spoke about the discussions on the humanitarian corridor in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Responding to a question on the issue, he said, 'The decision on the humanitarian corridor in Rakhine State must come from an elected government, and it must be taken following a legitimate process. National interest must be considered here", the report said. General Waqar-uz-Zaman also gave a strong message against "mob violence" or organised chaos or attacks by unruly crowds. He said that the army is now taking a stricter stance on the law and order situation. Chaos or violence in the name of organised crowds will no longer be tolerated, the report said. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in a student-led uprising in August last year. Hasina fled to India, and an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed. (ANI) A multi-party delegation led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Baijayant Panda arrived at the Indian Embassy in Bahrain's Manama for India's global outreach programme on Operation Sindoor to highlight the nation's continuous fight against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. They also paid floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The delegation, consisting of BJP MPs Panda, Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak, Rekha Sharma, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Satnam Singh Sandhu, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and former foreign secretary Harsh Shringla, interacted with select members of the Indian community. During the visit, BJP MP and former Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) Rekha Sharma said that Pakistan would disappear if India were to use its full force. "We did not use our full military power. We did not use even a fraction of our military power. I have seen the Pakistani Army and political parties. If they have nuclear, we also have. If India would use its full force, Pakistan will disappear," Sharma asserted. Before leaving for Bahrain, BJP MP Baijayant Panda said, "Today our group is embarking on this trip to West Asia. We have very senior members and wide representation from across the political spectrum. The biggest message is the unity that India has shown to the world and continues to show, and we are very clear about taking the message that, after having won on the battlefield, it is also important to ask the world to stay focused on terrorism, which many countries around the world have suffered from. But we suffer from a special kind of terrorism that is state-sponsored, and this message, as you have seen recently, many countries are coming out in support of, and that is our mission." Meanwhile, Owaisi emphasised that they will highlight Pakistan's nurturing of terrorism at the global level. "Our neighbouring country, Pakistan, is running terrorist camps and supporting them. These terrorists come to India and carry out terrorist activities. We will speak about these things to these four nations," Owaisi said. Apart from Bahrain, the delegation will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Algeria. (ANI) In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Seoul wrote, "The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation, led by Hon'ble MP Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jha, arrived in Seoul as part of India's diplomatic outreach on Operation Sindoor. India stands committed to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." https://x.com/IndiainROK/status/1926263763088359643 Earlier in the day in Tokyo, Japan, the delegation paid floral tributes to freedom fighter Rash Behari Bose at Tama Cemetery on the eve of his birth anniversary. In a post on X, the Indian Embassy said the delegates drew inspiration from the unwavering courage of freedom fighters. The Embassy said, "Hon'ble Member of Parliament Shri Sanjay Kumar Jha, Head of the All Party Parliamentary delegation paid floral tributes to freedom fighter Rash Behari Bose at Tama Cemetery, Tokyo, on the eve of his birth anniversary. The delegation's visit to Japan began with tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and concluded by paying tributes to Rash Behari Bose. Drawing inspiration from the unwavering courage of our freedom fighters, India today stands united with a resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms. Never Forget Never Forgive." Jha interacted with members of the Indian diaspora at the Indian Embassy in Japan, a statement by the Embassy said. The delegation talked of the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and, subsequent Operation Sindoor and India's stance of zero tolerance on terrorism. "The delegation presented a unified front of India, clearly explained the role of Pakistan in the gruesome terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22 and how India, through Operation Sindoor, destroyed the terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. They emphasized India's zero tolerance to Terrorism and conveyed the message that terror and talks cannot go together; blood and water cannot flow together," the Embassy statement said. Sanjay Kumar Jha is leading a nine-member delegation of BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradhan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, AITC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPI (M) MP John Brittas, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Ambassador Mohan Kumar. (ANI) India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, strongly criticized Pakistan's actions at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. While responding to "baseless" allegations made by Pakistan's representative on a number of issues, he affirmed that India has experienced decades of Pakistani-sponsored terrorist attacks across its borders, making it hypocritical for Pakistan to participate in discussions on protecting civilians. "First, India has experienced decades of Pakistani-sponsored terrorist attacks across our borders. This has ranged from the horrific 26-11 attack on the city of Mumbai to the barbaric mass murder of innocent tourists in Pahalgam in April 2025. The victims of Pakistani terrorism have been predominantly civilians, since its objective has been to attack our prosperity, our progress and our morale," he said. "For such a nation to even participate in a discussion on the protection of civilians is an affront to the international community," he added. Harish criticized Pakistan's actions, saying, "Pakistan has repeatedly used a civilian cover to advance the cause of terrorism. Sindoor. A nation that makes no distinction between terrorists and civilians has no credentials to speak about protecting civilians." He mentioned a recent incident where Pakistani forces deliberately shelled Indian border villages, resulting in civilian casualties. He stated, "Earlier this month, the Pakistani army deliberately shelled our border villages, killing more than 20 civilians and injuring more than 80." "There was intentional targeting of places of worship, including gurudwaras, temples and convents, as well as medical facilities. To preach at this body after such behaviour is grossly hypocritical," he added. The ambassador emphasized the need for international cooperation to combat terrorism and said that "international community must come together on zero tolerance for terrorism and calling out those who sponsor and defend it." Highlighting the importance of collective action, Harish stated that, "my delegation reaffirms its commitment to working in close cooperation with the international community to alleviate the suffering of civilians affected by armed conflict." On May 7, the Indian Armed Forces launched 'OPERATION SINDOOR', hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed. These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. (ANI) Following the all-party delegation's visit to Russia, led by DMK MP Kanimozhi to Russia, Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar said the visit sent a strong message reaffirming India's "zero tolerance" policy towards terrorism. Kumar said that Russian leaders understand the danger posed by terrorism linked to Pakistan and pointed out that many of the major terror attacks across the world in recent decades have connections to Pakistan. He highlighted that even Osama bin Laden was found living in a Pakistani military town, and that many other terrorists who operated in Russia had received training in Pakistani camps. Speaking to ANI, Kumar said, "The first outcome of the visit is that there is full understanding of the threat that terrorism emanating from Pakistan poses to the larger international community, not only India. Second, there is a complete understanding that this threat needs to be tackled. There is unflinching support for the fight against terrorism. There is also an understanding that it cannot be business as usual, that there is a need to take a tough stand, and that we all want this problem to be resolved through political and diplomatic means. India has the right to defend itself..." He said, "Her delegation's visit to Russia in the first place conveyed India's determination of zero tolerance for terrorism and what the new normal that the government of India, the Prime Minister, has talked about. There is nobody in Russia who actually has any doubt about the threat that terrorism poses as it emanates from Pakistan, because most terror attacks across the world in the last few decades have a signature or direct involvement of Pakistani actors. Not only was Osama bin Laden living in the military township, but also a large number of other terrorists who are very active in Russia itself, had got training from those institutions being run by the Pakistani establishment." Kumar noted that the visit will strengthen India-Russia cooperation, especially in the area of counterterrorism. "Russia-India relations are very multifaceted and very wide. One aspect of that cooperation is counterterrorism. Russia was the first country with which we signed an MoU in 2002, and established a joint working group on counterterrorism. And within the framework of this, interagency consultations are held on a regular basis, and relevant information exchange of views takes place. So the visit of this delegation will further deepen those cooperations," he said. Earlier in the day, Kumar said that India's message to Pakistan was "simple and clear" that any escalation would be met with a response. Speaking to the media on Saturday, he said, "Our message was very simple and very clear that India will respond to any escalation by Pakistan. They had started with a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and there had to be a response." Further, the envoy emphasised that "every action will have consequences." Highlighting India's stance, he affirmed, "Our message was crystal clear to all the leaders who spoke to Indian leaders that if Pakistan wants to cease fire, if Pakistan wants to stop this, then they simply have to call the Indian military command." The delegation, led by Kanimozhi, includes Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Rajeev Rai, Capt. Brijesh Chowta of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prem Chand Gupta of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Ashok Kumar Mittal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and former Ambassador Manjeev S Puri. They arrived in Moscow on Friday. On Saturday, the delegation members paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, where they were warmly welcomed by Indian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Vinay Kumar. They also held a meeting with the Russian State Duma and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Apart from Russia, the delegation will visit Slovenia, Greece, Latvia, and Spain to highlight Operation Sindoor and reaffirm India's unwavering stand against terrorism. (ANI) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar concluded his official visit to Germany from May 22-24, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday. EAM's visit within the month of the new government formation in Germany is reflective of the high priority both sides attach to bilateral ties. During the visit, EAM called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, held comprehensive talks with his counterpart, Johann Wadephul, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, and met with Katherina Reiche, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy and Gunter Sautter, Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to the Federal Chancellor. According to MEA, he also engaged with Members of German Parliament, foreign and security policy experts and members of Indian community. In his meeting with Chancellor Merz, EAM conveyed the warm greetings and best wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the new federal government in Germany. Chancellor Merz expressed strong support for further deepening the increasingly multifaceted India-Germany Strategic Partnership across diverse sectors. EAM also conveyed India's appreciation for the German government's expression of solidarity and support to India in the fight against terrorism. EAM had extensive discussions with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul covering the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation, as per MEA. The two sides also reaffirmed their shared commitment to further expand collaboration in key strategic areas including defence, digital technologies, AI, green and sustainable development and talent mobility. They also exchanged perspectives on regional and global developments, reaffirming their countries' shared position on combating terrorism without exception, upholding international law, and promoting a multipolar, rules-based international order. The Ministers also launched the official logo commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership. EAM also held productive discussions with Gunter Sautter, Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to the Federal Chancellor. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening strategic, defence, and security cooperation, including in the areas of cyber security, Indo-Pacific, and defence industrial collaboration. EAM's meeting with Katherine Reiche, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs & Energy, focused on further strengthening India-Germany and India-EU trade and investment ties. Both sides also discussed the progress in the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership including in the field of Green Hydrogen and infrastructure sector and Railways. EAM also interacted with Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum. These interactions focused on advancing political dialogue, strengthening economic and technological cooperation, and exchanging views on key global and regional developments. EAM participated in a high-level Think Tank dialogue at the DGAP (German Council on Foreign Relations), engaging with thought leaders and experts on foreign and security policy to advance India-Germany's strategic partnership in promoting global security and stability. EAM also chaired the regional HOMs Conference with the participation of India's Ambassadors/ High Commissioners in European countries. EAM's visit to Germany at a time when both countries are celebrating the milestone of completion of 25 years of Strategic Partnership is significant. It led to renewed engagement with the newly constituted German government, injecting fresh momentum into the India-Germany Strategic Partnership and reaffirming commitment of both sides to further strengthening political, economic, technological and people-to-people ties between India and Germany. Germany is a strong votary for furthering India-EU ties, including for the expeditious conclusion of the FTA. (ANI) They demand the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Supporters of the governing Likud party are holding a counter-demonstration on the opposite side of the junction. The police are working to prevent clashes between the two groups, as seen last week when several young men attacked protesters. (ANI/TPS) As part of India's global diplomatic outreach under Operation Sindoor, the all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde reached Kinshasa, Congo. The delegation includes Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bansuri Swaraj, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP ET Mohammed Basheer, BJP MP Atul Garg, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, BJP leader SS Ahluwalia, and former Ambassador Sujan Chinoy. Welcoming the delegation, the Indian Embassy in Congo shared a message on X, stating, "A warm welcome to the All-Party Indian Parliamentary delegation, led by @DrSEShinde, to the DR Congo. Delegation is carrying India's strong message against terrorism to the world! Ambassador V. Venkataraman received the delegation." https://x.com/IndiainDRC/status/1926279499647225936 The all-party delegation led by Shrikant Shinde on Saturday concluded its visit to the UAE as a part of the global outreach under Operation Sindoor. A statement by the Indian Embassy in the UAE said that the visit strengthened India-UAE cooperation in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In a post on X, the embassy said, "The All-party delegation led by Eknath Shinde successfully concludes its highly productive visit to the UAE, further strengthening India-UAE cooperation in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." Shinde thanked the UAE leadership for their support to India in the wake of the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. "As we conclude our visit to the United Arab Emirates, we extend heartfelt gratitude to the UAE leadership for their warm hospitality and unwavering support to India in the global fight against terrorism. The Indian community--our finest ambassadors--shared their anguish over cross-border extremism and welcomed the firm, principled stand of the Government of India under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi," Shinde said. Earlier on Friday, he reiterated India's 'zero-tolerance' stance on terrorism and said that the country is one that retaliates with restraint. Addressing the press, Shinde said, "Our message is very clear that we won't tolerate terrorism, and if times demand, we will take even stricter steps against terrorism. Terror and trade cannot go together, water and blood cannot flow together - this is an apt message. It is only when Pakistan stops terrorism that we can initiate talks. We are the country that retaliates with restraint." The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI) A delegation led by National Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule has departed for Qatar from New Delhi on Saturday. The delegation will visit Qatar, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa to convey India's unwavering resolve to combat terrorism, demonstrated during Operation Sindoor. Speaking to media Sule said that all-party delegation will embark on a 10-day visit to four countries - Qatar, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa - to present India's stance against terrorism. "Our mission will start tomorrow, and we will present our views against terrorism to the world. We will be in Doha tomorrow, after that we will be in South Africa and Ethiopia, and then we will return via Cairo. We have a 10-day visit to four nations," she said. Sule emphasized the gravity of the attack, saying, "The way people were killed in Pahalgam, their family members will never forget that. Those wounds will never be healed." "The entire opposition is together. NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar said in the all-party meeting that we are with the government if it's about national interest. He also said this is not a time for the parliament session until the Operation is underway. Big leaders of Congress are going with me in this delegation. This delegation is on behalf of the government of India, and we will maintain that integrity," she added. The delegation includes BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Anurag Singh Thakur, and V Muraleedharan; Congress' Manish Tewari and Anand Sharma; TDP's Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu; AAP's Vikramjeet Singh Sahney; and former UN ambassador Syed Akbaruddin. This all-party delegation aims to project India's national consensus and firm stance on combating terrorism in all its forms. They will carry India's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism to the global community during their outreach. A total of 7 groups consisting of 8-9 members from various political parties have been selected by India to represent its stance of zero tolerance against terror and brief the representatives of other countries on Operation Sindoor. Operation Sindoor was launched 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 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. On May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between the countries was announced. (ANI) Paris [France], May 24 (ANI/WAM): The Arabic Language Academy (ALA) in Sharjah, in collaboration with UNESCO, held a specialised symposium to highlight the importance of historical linguistic dictionaries. The event coincided with the honouring of Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, for completing the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language, now officially included in the UNESCO Library. The symposium also marked the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The symposium explored the significance of historical dictionaries across languages, including Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish, and German. It brought together distinguished scholars from leading linguistic and academic institutions across Europe and the Arab world. Speakers included Dr Amhamed Safi Mosteghanemi (Sharjah Arabic Language Academy), Dr Paolo Dacicelli (La Crusca, Rome), Dr Sebastian Geuther (University of Gottingen, Germany), Dr Charlotte Curie (University of Lyon III, France), and Dr Laura Gago Gomez (University of Salamanca, Spain). Dr Wael Farouk, Director of the Institute of Arab Culture at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, moderated the symposium. Ali Al Haj Al Ali, Permanent Representative of the UAE to UNESCO, opened the event with a speech on behalf of the Arab Group. He praised Sheikh Dr. Sultan for his tireless efforts in supporting the Arabic language and emphasized the cultural and academic value of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language. Al Ali described the dictionary's inclusion in the UNESCO Library as more than a scholarly achievement--it is a celebration of centuries of Arabic intellectual heritage. He called the dictionary a "timeless scientific treasure" and underscored the Arab Group's commitment to transforming Arabic into a tool for innovation and future development. Dr. Amhamed Safi Al-Mostghanemi provided a detailed overview of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language, its inception, and the massive collaborative effort involved. He emphasised its comprehensive documentation of word usage, historical evolution, and cultural significance--making it the largest and most modern Arabic linguistic reference of its kind. Dr. Dacicelli discussed Italy's historical dictionaries, the evolving content, and their role in preserving linguistic history. He highlighted how such works provide insight into word origins and their transformations over time. Dr. Geuther reviewed Germany's over 30 historical dictionaries, including the renowned Grimm Brothers' dictionary. He discussed their role in chronicling the German language's classical roots and regional dialects. Dr. Curie traced the development of French historical dictionaries to the 16th century, emphasizing their cultural and political relevance. She mentioned the Diderot Encyclopedia as a foundational effort in documenting the French language. Dr. Gomez concluded with insights into Spain's ongoing historical dictionary project, which traces the linguistic journey of Spanish from ancient civilizations through to the present day. The symposium concluded with unanimous agreement on the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language as a groundbreaking linguistic and cultural achievement. Its unparalleled depth, accuracy, and documentation establish it as a reference of international significance. (ANI/WAM) Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, who is leading an all-party delegation, on Saturday stated that their mission would begin the next day, during which they would present their views against terrorism to the world. Speaking to the media, Sule said the delegation would depart on Sunday, beginning their mission in Doha on Sunday, followed by visits to South Africa and Ethiopia, and returning via Cairo. The delegation will embark on a 10-day visit to four countries to present India's stance against terrorism. Sule emphasised the gravity of the attack, saying, "The way people were killed in Pahalgam, their family members will never forget that. Those wounds will never be healed." "The entire opposition is together. Sharad Pawar said in the all-party meeting that we are with the government if it's about national interest. He also said this is not a time for the parliament session until the Operation is underway. Big leaders of Congress are going with me in this delegation. This delegation is on behalf of the government of India, and we will maintain that integrity," she added. Sule expressed her gratitude for leading an all-party delegation to promote India's stance on terrorism globally. "We are all living for India. I'm very blessed to have this opportunity," she said. "I have an amazingly brilliant team, and we are all going together. My fellow MPs have been outstanding parliamentarians," she added. Sule highlighted the delegation's objective, stating, "We will reach out to countries to tell them more about India's position and how there is zero tolerance against terrorism in India. We want global peace and harmony worldwide." She emphasized the need to present the truth about the Pahalgam incident and condemn terrorism. "We want to put forward the truth and the facts about Pahalgam. How Pakistan has taken this position, how it has hurt innocent tourists, and we want to condemn terrorism... If there is going to be terrorism, India will condemn it and fight against it," Sule added. The delegation includes BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Anurag Singh Thakur, and V. Muraleedharan; Congress' Manish Tewari and Anand Sharma; TDP's Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu; AAP's Vikramjeet Singh Sahney; and former UN ambassador Syed Akbaruddin. Meanwhile, this all-party delegation aims to project India's national consensus and firm stance on combating terrorism in all its forms. They will carry India's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism to the global community during their outreach. A total of 7 groups consisting of 8-9 members from various political parties have been selected by India to represent its stance of zero tolerance against terror and brief the representatives of other countries on Operation Sindoor. Operation Sindoor was launched 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 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. On May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between the countries was announced. (ANI) Tel Aviv [Israel], May 24 (ANI/TPS): The IDF has said that it is examining claims according to which, during a strike yesterday in Khan Yunis nine of ten children as well as the husband of Alaa al-Najjar, a Palestinian doctor in Gaza where killed. An IDF statement said the strike targeted suspects identified by IDF forces who were operating in a nearby building in the city. The army added that it had evacuated that area in Khan Yunis due to it being a 'dangerous combat zone.' It said however that the case is under examination. (ANI/TPS) BNP also demanded to remove National Security Adviser from the interim government, a senior BNP leader said on Saturday evening. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus met BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party (NCP) separately. BNP also demanded an election roadmap immediately. Earlier in the day, Yunus hold a meeting with his Advisory Council (Cabinet). BNP has demanded the resignation of two student advisors (Asif Mahmud and Mahfuz Alam) for allegedly undermining the impartiality of the interim government. The party has also demanded the resignation of the National Security Advisor (Khalilur Rahman). "We have demanded their resignations in a written statement. The impartiality of this government is being undermined due to the security advisor and the two student advisors," BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed told the reporters after meeting with Chief Adviser. Meanwhile, an unscheduled meeting of the Advisory Council was held today, dispelling rumors of Yunus's resignation or departure from the country amid political unrest, following the National Economic Council meeting. Yunus, the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, will not resign, nor is he leaving the country amid political unrest. The meeting discussed the three primary responsibilities--elections, reforms, and justice--assigned to the interim government. "The interim government will listen to the statements of political parties in this regard and clarify the government's position," the Advisory Council said in a statement after the meeting. The meeting was held at the Planning Commission in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area of the capital under the Chairmanship of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. The meeting discussed in detail how the normal working environment is being disrupted and doubts and suspicions are being created in the public mind by making various unreasonable demands, motivated and extra-judicial statements and programmes in the discharge of these responsibilities, the statement said. (ANI) Tel Aviv [Israel], May 24 (ANI/TPS): A power struggle between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's legal system escalated when he appointed Maj.-Gen. David Zini as the next director of the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) on Thursday evening. The appointment came one day after the High Court of Justice and Attorney General ruled Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in the appointment. "Maj.-Gen. Zini has served in many [Israel Defense Forces] operational positions and commands, including: A fighter in the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, commander of the IDF Golani Brigade Battalion 51, Commander of the Egoz Unit, Commander of the Alexandroni Brigade, founder of the Commando Brigade, and Commander of the Training Command and the General Staff Corps," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. Shortly after the announcement, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said she had not been informed and that Netanyahu violated legal guidance. "There is a serious concern that he acted when he was in a conflict of interest, and the appointment process is flawed," she said. Legal petitions challenging the appointment are expected to be filed. On Wednesday night, the High Court ruled against the government's controversial dismissal of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar. "The government failed to provide a factual basis for removing the Shin Bet chief," wrote Court President Justice Isaac Amit in a sharply worded majority opinion. "At best, it rested on a thin and shaky foundation. At worst, it was arbitrary." The ruling further stressed that the Shin Bet's independence is vital for maintaining Israel's democratic institutions and that Bar's dismissal represented a "neglect of basic concepts concerning the Shin Bet and the position of its director as an apolitical and independent state official who owes, first and foremost, a duty of loyalty to the public." Though Bar had already announced his resignation effective June 15 and the government technically withdrew its decision to fire him, the court ruled that the matter was of such public importance that it warranted a binding legal interpretation regardless. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara responded swiftly, informing Netanyahu that due to the court's finding of a conflict of interest -- arising from active Shin Bet investigations into the prime minister's close associates and their relationship with Qatar -- he was barred from appointing Bar's successor until new legal guidelines were established. "The court found that the prime minister acted in a conflict of interest," Baharav-Miara wrote. "Therefore, he must refrain from any steps concerning the appointment of a new Shin Bet director until legal instructions are established to ensure the process is conducted properly. These will be formulated in the coming days." But Netanyahu lashed out at the decision, calling it "disgraceful" and accusing the court of overreach. "This ruling harms Israeli democracy and national security," the Prime Minister declared, insisting that he would move forward with appointing a new Shin Bet head regardless of the attorney general's directive. Netanyahu and Bar have been blaming each other over what was known before Hamas' October 7 attack and whether it could have been prevented, as well as the "Qatargate" scandal. Bar claims that Netanyahu's decision to dismiss him was influenced by a conflict of interest related to the ongoing investigation. The government argues that Bar should have resigned after the agency completed its internal investigation in March. The Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service, is responsible for counterterrorism, counterintelligence, internal security, VIP protection, and cybersecurity. The only Shin Bet director to ever leave before the end of his five-year term was Carmi Gillon, who resigned in the aftermath of the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. (ANI/TPS) Members of the all-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor arrived in the US on Saturday (US local time). The MPs of the delegation landed at the John F Kennedy Airport in New York City. The delegation to visit the United States, Guyana, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia will be led by Congress' Shashi Tharoor. It will include Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayagi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar K Lata (all from BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena) and Former Indian Ambassador to the US,Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Of these, Milind Deora, Shashank Mani Tripathi and former Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu are already in the US. Earlier before leaving from India, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the delegation will share India's stance on terrorism and tell the world how India has been suffering from the past many years. "We are going there to tell people about our experience, why we did what we did and what would be India's attitude going forward in the future. We will meet people and share what we have been suffering from past so many years", he said. The all-party delegation will project India's national consensus and firm stance on combating terrorism in all its forms. They will carry India's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism to the global community during their outreach. A total of 7 groups consisting of 8-9 members from various political parties have been selected by India to represent its stance of zero tolerance against terror and brief the representatives of other countries on Operation Sindoor. Operation Sindoor was launched 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 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. On May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between the countries was announced. (ANI) All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi, part of the all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, referred to Pakistan as a "failed state" during an interaction with prominent figures in Bahrain. During the interaction, Owaisi said, "Our government has sent us over here...so that the world knows the threat India has been facing since last so many years. Unfortunately, we have lost so many innocent lives. This problem emanates from Pakistan only. Unless and until Pakistan stops promoting, aiding and sponsoring these terrorist groups, this problem won't go away." He further added, "Our government has taken all the steps to protect the lives of every Indian. This govt has made very clear next time you (Pakistan) take up this misadventure, it will be beyond what they are expecting..." Owaisi noted that India has repeatedly exercised maximum restraint despite grave provocations. Recalling the Pahalgam attack in which 26 tourists were killed, he emphasised the human cost of terrorism. "Please reflect on the human tragedy of this massacre. A woman married six days ago became a widow on the seventh day. Another woman, married just two months ago, also lost her husband in this attack," he said. Asserting India's defensive strength, Owaisi added, "India has all the wherewithal, and we have every means necessary to ensure the safety of not only Indian citizens, but also every individual residing in India." AIMIM leader stated that India's air defence systems had effectively intercepted threats emanating from across the border. "The government and the media, our air defence system, our technology and warfare capabilities, successfully intercepted and neutralised everything that was launched by a failed state like Pakistan," he said. Owaisi stressed the need for international cooperation in curbing terror financing and urged the Bahrain government to support efforts to bring Pakistan back to the FATF grey list, stating that such funds have been used to support terrorist activities. "There is unanimity in our country, irrespective of whatever political affiliations we belong to. We have our political differences, but when it comes to the integrity of our country, it is high time our neighbouring country understands...I request and hope that the Bahrain government will help us in bringing Pakistan back to the grey list of FATF because this money has been used to support those terrorists," Owaisi said. The delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, also includes Nishikant Dubey MP, BJP; Phangnon Konyak, MP, BJP; Rekha Sharma MP, NJP; AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi; Satnam Singh Sandhu MP; Ghulam Nabi Azad; and Ambassador Harsh Shringla. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Algeria. The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI) Former Indian Envoy Harsh Vardhan Shringla outlined how the all-party delegation held comprehensive and interactive discussions in Bahrain with various quarters of Bahraini society on terrorism perpetrated by Pakistan. Sharing the details of interactions in Bahrain, Shringla told ANI, "So the all-party delegation on its first leg of its tour in Bahrain had some very useful interactions. Earlier today, the delegation met representatives from the Indian community in Bahrain. I think that was a very comprehensive and interactive discussion". He highlighted that the delegation, which comprised of members from "very diverse parties, ideological sentiments, regions", had come together to speak in "one voice". "But when they come here, they are speaking in one voice. I think that was greatly appreciated by the Indian community that the entire delegation is speaking in one voice on behalf of 1.4 billion people." He added, "There was appreciation for the forthright enunciation of the terrorism perpetrated by Pakistan and the delegation has given adequate examples and proof of the sort of experience that India has been going through for many decades now and also the new normal established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in dealing with the threat of terrorism from Pakistan." He noted that the delegation held "productive session with the leading members of Bahrain, including members of parliament, academics, intellectuals, business people, some members of the Indian community also." Former Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla is a part of the all-party delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, and also includes Nishikant Dubey MP, BJP; Phangnon Konyak, MP, BJP; Rekha Sharma MP, NJP; Asaduddin Owaisi MP, AIMIM; Satnam Singh Sandhu MP; Ghulam Nabi Azad; and Ambassador Harsh Shringla. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Algeria. The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey, who is part of an all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, said that Bahrain has strongly supported India and condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. He added that from today's meeting with Bahraini MPs, it was clear that Bahrain stands firmly with India. Speaking to ANI, Nishikant Dubey said, "The meeting that took place right now, various MPs of Bahrain attended it...Bahrain was the first nation to extend support to India and condemned the attack on April 22nd (Pahalgam)...from the interaction that happened today, I can say that entire Bahrain stands with India and will always do so... All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi, part of the all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, referred to Pakistan as a "failed state" during an interaction with prominent figures in Bahrain. During the interaction, Owaisi said, "Our government has sent us over here...so that the world knows the threat India has been facing since last so many years. Unfortunately, we have lost so many innocent lives. This problem emanates from Pakistan only. Unless and until Pakistan stops promoting, aiding and sponsoring these terrorist groups, this problem won't go away." He further added, "Our government has taken all the steps to protect the lives of every Indian. This govt has made very clear next time you (Pakistan) take up this misadventure, it will be beyond what they are expecting..." Owaisi noted that India has repeatedly exercised maximum restraint despite grave provocations. Recalling the Pahalgam attack in which 26 tourists were killed, he emphasised the human cost of terrorism. "Please reflect on the human tragedy of this massacre. A woman married six days ago became a widow on the seventh day. Another woman, married just two months ago, also lost her husband in this attack," he said. Asserting India's defensive strength, Owaisi added, "India has all the wherewithal, and we have every means necessary to ensure the safety of not only Indian citizens, but also every individual residing in India."AIMIM leader stated that India's air defence systems had effectively intercepted threats emanating from across the border. "The government and the media, our air defence system, our technology and warfare capabilities, successfully intercepted and neutralised everything that was launched by a failed state like Pakistan," he said. Owaisi stressed the need for international cooperation in curbing terror financing and urged the Bahrain government to support efforts to bring Pakistan back to the FATF grey list, stating that such funds have been used to support terrorist activities. "There is unanimity in our country, irrespective of whatever political affiliations we belong to. We have our political differences, but when it comes to the integrity of our country, it is high time our neighbouring country understands...I request and hope that the Bahrain government will help us in bringing Pakistan back to the grey list of FATF because this money has been used to support those terrorists," Owaisi said. The delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, also includes Nishikant Dubey MP, BJP; Phangnon Konyak, MP, BJP; Rekha Sharma MP, NJP; AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi; Satnam Singh Sandhu MP; Ghulam Nabi Azad; and Ambassador Harsh Shringla. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Algeria. The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI) Members of the all-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor paid their respects at the 9/11 memorial after their arrival in the US on Saturday (US local time). Congress MP Shashi Tharoor paid his respects at the memorial along with MP Ganti Harish Madhur, MP Shashank Mani Tripathi, MP Bhubaneswar Kalita, MP Milind Deora and former Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu. They were accompanied by India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra. The members paid tributes by offering white roses at the Memorial and folding their hands in obeisance. As per its official website, the 9/11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance, honouring the 2,977 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing on February 26, 1993. As per the website, the Memorial is located on eight acres of the 16-acre World Trade Center complex, the 9/11 Memorial is a place of remembrance and contemplation within the bustle of lower Manhattan. The delegation, which is presently in the United States, will also visit Guyana, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia will be led by Congress' Shashi Tharoor. The delegation comprises of Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayagi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar K Lata (all from BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena) and Former Indian Ambassador to the US,Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The all-party delegation will project India's national consensus and firm stance on combating terrorism in all its forms. They will carry India's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism to the global community during their outreach. A total of 7 groups consisting of 8-9 members from various political parties have been selected by India to represent its stance of zero tolerance against terror and brief the representatives of other countries on Operation Sindoor. Operation Sindoor was launched 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 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. On May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between the countries was announced. (ANI) 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 As jihadist attacks escalate across West Africa, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is fast-tracking plans for a regional counter-terrorism force to confront the mounting security crisis. According to ECOWAS Commission president Omar Alieu Touray, preparations for the long-anticipated force are in full gear, with member countries ready to contribute troops. Finance and defense ministers are set to meet before mid-June to finalize funding strategies. The urgency follows a surge in extremist violence, especially in Nigeria and Benin. In April alone, more than 100 people were killed in northeastern Nigeria. In Benin, Al-Qaeda-linked militants killed 54 soldiers last month in cross-border raids believed to originate from Niger and Burkina Faso. Regional cooperation has suffered since Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger now allied under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) withdrew from ECOWAS earlier this year. This rift has undermined intelligence sharing and joint operations, further exposing porous borders to extremist exploitation. Nigers exit from a joint Lake Chad task force with Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon in March marked another blow to regional coordination. Touray warned that disunity will make it difficult for us to collaborate to fight insecurity, including terrorism, urging renewed dialogue with AES states to maintain regional stability. The Global Terrorism Index ranks the Sahel as the worlds deadliest hotspot for extremist violence in 2024, accounting for half of all terrorism-related deaths. Morocco has emerged as the worlds third-largest exporter of fresh tomatoes, driven by robust demand from European markets and a strategic shift toward high-value varieties, Moroccos agri food export agency Foodex said. The North African country now holds an 11% share of the global fresh tomato export market, trailing only Mexico and the Netherlands, according to 2024 Morocco Foodex data released at the Morocco Conference in Agadir. Exports have grown at an average annual rate of 11%, far outpacing the global average of 3%. The European Union and the UK remain Moroccos top destination, absorbing 570,000 tons of tomatoes by April 2025, an 8% increase from the previous season. Morocco is now the EUs second-largest supplier, with a 24% market share, behind the Netherlands. It also ranks second in the UK, which imported 396,000 tons in 2024, of which 27.1% came from Morocco. The Souss-Massa region continues to dominate national production, accounting for 609,000 tons of exports. Morocco is also expanding its footprint in niche segments such as cherry and elongated tomatoes, with 350,000 tons exported in the 20242025 season, a 35% year-on-year increase. Despite its gains, Morocco faces stiff competition from Turkey, Spain, and the Netherlands. Spains production fell 21% in 2024, while Turkey remains heavily reliant on EU markets. The Netherlands continues to lead in premium greenhouse-grown tomatoes. Morocco is also making inroads into emerging markets, including Sub-Saharan Africa and the Gulf states, where exports rose 23% and 39% respectively. I was once on a transatlantic flight in like... 2000 or something and this man lit a CIGAR in the plane bathroom. You're not hiding that scent bro . I was a kid but I remember having to wait forever while the airport police or whoever took him off first Reply Thread Link cigars are the GROSSEST smelling of all smokable products ew Reply Parent Thread Link fully believe this Reply Thread Link It's so cunty of her and i love it Reply Parent Thread Link Lol so do I. Reply Parent Thread Link She's confirmed it with one of her rambly Insta posts Reply Parent Thread Link I'm not seeing the problem here? Private planes have different rules. She lit up, was asked to put it out, and she did. Reply Thread Link Britney finally spoke about what occurred on the plane. Also, so B Tiny is a REAL thing happening??? Excitingggg pic.twitter.com/UKE8wv2ppy TOPHER (Cosa Nuestra) (@topheryng) May 24, 2025 Reply Parent Thread Expand Link so it wasnt a private plane? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Whaatttt is B Tiny!?!?! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link That whole comment... It's always someone else's fault. Reply Parent Thread Link Her FIRST TIME drinking vodka-- what an asshole. Reply Parent Thread Link I wouldnt be surprised if she has a private plane service she uses often and ignores the rules Reply Parent Thread Link If i'm paying for that jet I will spark a cig x Reply Thread Link interesting comments Reply Thread Link Mte. At least she complied and idk if alerting authorities was necessary at first but if you're persisting in the behaviour after previous warnings, I'm sure it's deserved. Someone must've had enough of her shit. Lol GOOD. The comments are predictably stupid. It's selfish behavior. You're in an enclosed space, there's other people there working, everyone knows the risks of second hand smoke. You've been warned before. Flying is not some human right. Comply or don't fly. Drive instead if you wanna light up. Reply Parent Thread Link britney posts are always interesting Reply Parent Thread Link Is the mile high club a real thing or just a myth? Cuz when I use one of those tiny bathrooms I cant even hardly arrange myself to sit down let alone be fuckin on there. Also she shouldnt be doing this lol. Reply Thread Link Very real. Reply Parent Thread Link It's the equivalent of a port-a-potty in the sky to me Reply Parent Thread Link yeah no ty Reply Parent Thread Link real and gross, no fucking way do I want to do it in ANY public bathroom tbh but especially not those cramped little spaces that smell like a portapotty Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was a flight attendant. It's a real thing. Just doesn't happen as often as ppl think. Reply Parent Thread Link And so not sexy. Reply Parent Thread Link I used to light up on planes all the time. I am so sorry that I did that to those non-smoking and folks with breathing problems who had to fly with smokers. Reply Thread Link ""This is not her first warning," a source told People exclusively. "She doesnt exactly follow the rules." GO AWWF BADNEY!! No but for real, the actual article has a bit of weird tone cause they bring up her being in the c-ship and this reporting is originally from TMZ which if you go to tweet, they're reporting from "sources" who think she should not have been let out of the c-ship. Britney breaking rules like this does not mean she needs to go back into a c-ship tmz......plus they told her to put it out and she complied without issues. Not like other celebs who'll throw a tantrum and make the environment miserable for the workers. Reply Thread Link for sure. Britney acting weird or whatever is no reason to take away her personal freedom and bodily autonomy there are far weirder and more disturbing people out there who have never had a c-ship and no one is suggesting it for them, the only reason anyone ever wants to put Britney back in one is because there is precedent Reply Parent Thread Link I just also find it really fucking weird because do people just have amnesia about the fact that conservatorship was very famously abusive? Even if you think "something needs to be done about Britney" why on earth would you think that something should be "put her back in the abusive situation that caused the problem" Reply Parent Thread Link nah, fuck that. other people exist. Reply Thread Link I hope it was a Virginia Slim bc that's classy Reply Thread Link you've come a long way, baby! Reply Parent Thread Link god forbid a woman have hobbies smh Reply Thread Link I have asthma so I have to judge her Reply Thread Link as you should Reply Parent Thread Link i don't have asthma, i'm judging her Reply Parent Thread Link I smoke, and I'm judging Reply Parent Thread Link Azerbaijan cautions that the involvement of outside powers like India risks turning the South Caucasus into an arena for proxy conflicts and jeopardizing regional stability. Russia is expressing concern over Armenia's growing ties with non-regional players, including India, and the potential erosion of its own influence in the region. India is significantly increasing its support for Armenia through major arms deals and by influencing tourist flows, which is altering the regional balance of power in the South Caucasus. India is boosting its support for Armenia, adding an additional factor to the already complicated security equation in the South Caucasus. Armenia over the past five years has concluded deals worth roughly $1.5 billion to procure Indian arms, including anti-aircraft missiles, artillery systems, combat drones and munitions, Russian media outlets report. Over the same period, arms sales to Armenia by Russia, Yerevans erstwhile strategic ally, have largely dried up. France has cut an additional estimated $250 million-worth of arms deals with Yerevan, and geopolitically, Armenia has started to tilt towards the United States and European Union. An analysis prepared by the Russian International Affairs Council underscored that Armenias shifting alignment, both in terms of arms purchases and political engagement, is a source of concern in Moscow. Several years ago, it was possible to boldly assert that Armenia is not only a special sphere of interest for Russia in the South Caucasus, but the key point for projecting the Russian presence in the region, the report noted. Today, [Russias] presence and influence are in doubt. Armenia is striving for closer ties with non-regional players, the report added. This, in turn, further narrows the room for maneuver that Russia can use to restore its position in the South Caucasus. There is a practical component to Armenias recent arms purchases that increase the degree of difficulty for Russia. For example, the artillery systems that Armenia is obtaining fire 155-mm shells. Russian systems use 152-mm rounds. Indias backing for Armenia is not limited to arms sales these days. New Delhi is weaponizing the tourist industry by discouraging Indians from visiting Azerbaijan and Turkey, Armenias arch-foes in the Caucasus. One popular Indian travel platform reported that in early May new bookings for travel to Azerbaijan and Turkey plummeted by 60 percent while cancellations of already-arranged travel more than doubled. Indians accounted for a relatively small share of tourists who visited Azerbaijan in 2024 (8 percent), but the number of Indian tourists (224,000) more than doubled last year compared to 2023s total. Many regional analysts see Indias growing interest in Armenia as an outgrowth of its long-standing rivalry with Pakistan. New Delhi, some believe, wants to disrupt a strengthening trilateral bond among Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey, and views its alignment with Armenia as a counterbalance. But India also sees Armenia as a key cog in its efforts to develop trade routes operating outside of the emerging, Chinese-financed Belt & Road network. Indias budding economic rivalry with China is viewed as a secondary driver of New Delhis efforts to raise its profile in the South Caucasus. By deepening relations with Armenia, India strengthens its position as a major player across Eurasia and emphasizes the importance of the International North-South Transport Corridor, which aims to connect India with Europe through Armenia and Iran, stated an analysis published by the Atlantic Council in early 2025. Russia is not the only regional player upset by Indias entry into the geopolitical octagon that is the South Caucasus. A May 19 commentary published by the government-affiliated AzerMedia website in Baku cautioned that the Caucasus is at risk of becoming an arena for proxy fights waged by outside powers. Such concerns have been heightened by the recent four-day fight between India and Pakistan. The involvement of non-regional actors in the South Caucasus risks fragmenting the regions security architecture, the commentary stated. The key question for regional states is whether to assert their sovereignty by balancing great powers or become instruments in their global conflicts. The choice is also between development through trade and logistics or militarization. As tensions rise between India and Pakistan, Indias military expansion into the South Caucasus raises the risk of war, it added. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Pope Leo XIV, historys first American pope, said in his inaugural Mass in St. Peters Square last Sunday that he prays the Catholic Church becomes a symbol of peace and unity at time both are needed. He characterized the world of 2025 as being divided "by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earths resources and marginalizes the poorest." That's part of the message the College of Cardinals heard soon after elevating 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to head of the Catholic Church on May 8. Cardinal Blase Cupich, an Omaha native and the Archbishop of Chicago since 2014, told The World-Herald that the new pope expressed interest in addressing those issues after being elected. And Cupich said Americans can embrace those ideals. "He's going to have an altogether new platform given his ability to speak like an American to really address the issues to the day that his predecessor Francis did, but now (Americans) are going to hear it in a different voice and in a language that is very familiar to them because he'll speak like an American," Cupich said. "I think there's a great deal of promise in that regard and so I do think that it's good he's going to have an impact simply because people will hear him in a voice that's familiar." Born in Chicago and raised in a nearby suburb, Prevost became a friar of the Order of St. Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes missionary work in the 1980s and 1990s in Peru, where he served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher and administrator. As a cardinal, he emphasized engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance and human rights. "He told us the day after (his election) when we met with him that he's going to speak about this, but he gave us a hint by saying that Leo XIII was really the first pope in the modern era," Cupich said. "(Leo said) that the church needed to address issues that dealt with the everyday lives of people and that's why he wrote (1891 encyclical) Rerum Novarum about the value and the importance of respecting labor. "He saw an industrial revolution as something that could harm workers if it's not done right, well I think probably (Leo XIV) seized that we're in a similar moment now and have a new era ... with artificial intelligence, but also globalization that we're in a new moment in human history. And so I think he sees himself linked to that effort on behalf of his predecessor, Leo XIII, to address the issues of the day." Cupich who graduated from the now-closed Archbishop Ryan High School in 1967 and began his priesthood in Omaha said that he always thought it would be difficult for an American to rise to the head of the Catholic Church, "given the enormous profile that the United States has in the world stage economically military politically." Leo XIV, he said, seems to be a good fit for the role as a man who we spent 20 years in Peru and 12 in Italy. That background likely helped make his election possible, Cupich said. America, Cupich said, had a "deep batch" of candidates. Nationality, however, didn't matter in the final analysis. "Most of us approached all of the process of the conclave by looking at, first of all, defining the qualities of the individual that we need rather than going after a person," Cupich said. "And so it was, it was very helpful the week before for us to gather and talk about what the church needs and what are the qualities of the individual that should be selected. When it came to Cardinal Prevost, he seems to check all the boxes you know. "They include somebody who is a pastor had actual pastor experience of governing a diocese. Somebody else who appreciated being on the international stage, and he has lived in three different continents." Cupich, who left Nebraska in 1981 but returned for stints at St. Mary Parish in Bellevue and Omaha's St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, said he began the process of electing a successor to Pope Francis without preconceptions. Seminarian from Omaha Archdiocese witnesses historic installation of Pope Leo XIV in Rome A seminarian from the Archdiocese of Omaha said he felt a deep, spiritual connection to 2,000 years of Catholic teaching while attending the inaugural Mass of the first American pope in St. Peters Square. "I think that I at least went into the whole process with an open mind, knowing that I didn't want to prejudice my eventual decision ... and so ... for me, it was that deeply spiritual experience rather than one that dealt only with the election of an individual," he said. "I just wanted to remain free internally to listen to the prompting of God in our hearts, and also to listen to others that they talked about the qualities that were needed. "So it wasn't anything that was rushed or that was pre-arranged, but it just it is slowly developed in a way that everybody seemed to feel comfortable with the decision." When Leo XIV begins to travel, many think the U.S. will likely be one of his first destinations. Could Nebraska get a visit? "You never know," the 76-year-old said. "It depends on what the program is. You know when John Paul II visited Iowa, Des Moines (in 1979), he wanted to do so to speak to the rural community and that was very important. He knew that those who worked the land sometimes are overlooked and he wanted to make a very clear statement with regard to upholding the dignity of their work." Cupich, who travels to Omaha "from time to time" to see friends and family, said he will be closely watching how the new pope shapes the papacy. "It's important and I think you're we're gonna see, you know, other developments in due time that will be be significant for for all of us who are you living in this country," he said. "Because this is a man, I think, he's got just a lot of of capacity to do address issues of the day." Sometimes there can be a lot of power in small changes. Over the past six years, a clinical initiative at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs aimed at improving psychiatric care while reducing addiction risk has resulted in what a clinician called a surprising reduction in the use of anxiety-reducing benzodiazepines and opioids in the hospitals psychiatric unit. By reducing the use of potentially addictive medications and shifting to non-addictive alternatives, the unit has reduced use of benzodiazepines by 45% and opioids by 75% since 2019, said Dr. Harmit Singh, chairman of psychiatry at Mercy. Now CHI Health is planning to begin rolling out the changes in treatment for concerns such as anxiety, trauma-related symptoms and pain to its other locations in Nebraska and Iowa. CHI is the regions largest behavioral health provider, with programs at locations including Lasting Hope Recovery Center and Immanuel Hospital in Omaha and Richard Young Behavioral Health in Kearney. I was pretty amazed at how little changes can go a long way, Singh said. The results of what Singh described as changes in everyday clinical practice, which also include shifting to longer-acting rather than short-acting medications and careful parsing of anxiety vs. post traumatic stress disorder, come as the United States reported a nearly 27% reduction in drug overdose deaths from 2023 to 2024. Based on provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the decrease from 110,000 deaths in 2023 to 80,000 in 2024 is the largest one-year drop ever recorded. The CDC has been collecting comparable data for 45 years. The previous largest one-year drop was 4% in 2018, according to the agencys National Center for Health Statistics. Nebraskas predicted overdose deaths decreased nearly 18% from 175 in 2023 to 144 in 2024. Iowa saw a 7% decrease. States such as Ohio and West Virginia that are among those hit hardest by the overdose crisis reported the largest reductions. Singh said he has not tracked mortality rates as part of the Mercy initiative and therefore doesnt know whether it has had an impact on overall overdose deaths. My goal was ... Can I make a small dent in this problem? he said. This is a humble beginning. But his work aligns with recent efforts by physicians locally and nationally surgeons in particular that have resulted in reductions in opioid prescribing in favor of non-addictive alternatives. CHI, for instance, now limits opioid prescriptions to a seven-day supply. Since patients come to his team primarily for psychiatric needs, Singh said, they have focused largely on benzodiazepines, a class that includes Xanax, Valium and Klonopin. But in many cases, he said, its the combining of drugs that proves deadly, especially if patients dont know how medications will interact. And benzodiazepines often dont get the attention they deserve. In 2021, for instance, nearly 14% of overdose deaths involving opioids also involved benzodiazepines, according to a 2022 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Both benzodiazepines and opioids are sedating medications that can depress breathing. Singh said patients taking a combination of medications, known as polypharmacy, were among the concerns he noted after he settled into his practice. He also saw some who were taking high doses of benzodiazepines. Sometimes it was due to a lack of communication among providers such as primary care physicians and psychiatrists, each of whom were prescribing on their own, he said. Patients who had become addicted also sometimes resisted efforts to clear up those communications. But working in a hospital setting, Singh said, allowed the team to tease out the effects of multiple medications and remove redundancies. He said his team also noticed that some patients had been diagnosed with anxiety and prescribed Xanax but for whom further investigation suggested trauma and PTSD instead. Some also had high blood pressure. Benzodiazepines, while they can help with panic attacks in the short term, can make PTSD worse. PTSD also raises blood pressure, since patients are in a constant fight or flight mode. A simple solution was a blood pressure medication called prazosin, which research has found to be useful in banishing nightmares associated with PTSD and reducing hypervigilance, Singh said. Using it allowed the team to address patients PTSD and high blood pressure with fewer medications and one thats less likely to be addictive. The team also devised strategies to use longer acting benzodiazepines that produce fewer ups and downs than short-acting ones like Xanax, a tactic that also has been used with opioids, Singh said. And when treating newly admitted patients who have difficulty with sleep or anxiety, they first try non-addictive medications rather than benzodiazepines. Some of the other medications also can double as anti-allergic or high blood pressure medications. Like physicians on the medical side of the hospital, he said, the team also began carefully observing patients who reported pain and starting them first on non-opioids or milder versions of the medications before moving on to stronger ones. Earlier this year, Singh said, he asked the pharmacy to look at the units data, which revealing the marked reductions in the use of benzodiazepines and opioids. The turning point came in 2021, when the use of non-addictive medications surpassed that of benzodiazepines and opioids. With such large impacts coming from small shifts in clinical practice, he said, he wanted to share what his team observed with as many people as possible. The team also plans to begin speaking with primary care physicians about working toward changing their practices. This is something I didnt want to just keep with me, Singh said. Its important we share this. To further support addiction reduction efforts, CHI Health also has hired two addiction psychiatrists, who will offer specialized care via telehealth. As for the nations apparent reduction in overdose deaths, Singh and others say the increased availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone likely has played a significant role. Other possible contributors include expanded addiction treatment, shifts in how people use drugs and the growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money. Still, annual overdose deaths are higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC noted in a statement that overdoses are still the leading cause of death for people 18-44 years old, underscoring the need for ongoing efforts to maintain this progress. Lindsay Huse, director of the Douglas County Health Department, agreed that its no time for health officials to relax. We have to keep up our efforts and keep up the push because clearly its working, she said. Some experts worry that the recent decline could be slowed or stopped by reductions in federal funding and in the public health workforce, or a shift away from the strategies that seem to be working. Nearly $100 million in funding already disbursed to Nebraska is being clawed back as part of the Trump administrations plan to shrink the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Flatwater Free Press reported. The Nebraska Hospital Association, for instance, lost a part of one of the grants, worth more than $3 million, that was supporting a pilot program meant to limit Nebraskans exposure to opioids after hip and knee replacements. Instead of sending patients home with something like a 30-day opioid prescription after surgery, the pilot program assigned patients case managers to help them manage pain in other ways during the recovery process. The association also created an Opioid Toolkit to guide member hospitals in reducing opioid use. Nebraskas public health departments also face up to $4.5 million in state funding cuts, which are expected to impact many rural health departments programs on mental health and substance abuse. She said her department and others in Nebraska are excited to be able to offer CredibleMind, a recently launched online platform residents can use to begin learning about their mental health needs and finding some tools to help manage them. This report contains material from the Associated Press. From the eagle plume on her cap to the moccasins on her feet, Kylesse Walker made sure to represent her Native American culture as she graduated from Omaha South High School on Thursday. Walker, a member of the Omaha and Ho-Chunk Tribes, said she doesnt think her graduation would have felt as special if she wasnt able to wear her tribal regalia as she walked across the stage. I wouldnt feel like myself, she said. Two pieces of state legislation that go into effect in July seek to protect Nebraska students right to wear tribal regalia at graduation and other school functions. LB 298, which passed in 2023, requires each school district to pass a dress code and grooming policy by July 1 that is consistent with a model policy approved by the Nebraska State Board of Education. Under the legislation, schools cannot prohibit students from wearing natural and protective hairstyles, religious attire and tribal regalia. The law defines tribal regalia as traditional garments, jewelry, other adornments, or similar objects of cultural significance worn by members of an indigenous tribe of the United States or another country. LB 43, which passed in 2024, also includes a section stating that students at public schools, colleges and universities who are members of an Indigenous tribe may wear regalia on school property and at school functions. While Nebraska now joins around 20 other states that have laws specifically protecting students rights to wear tribal regalia, students have faced barriers to wearing regalia in the past. While the Omaha Public Schools have typically allowed students to wear an eagle plume on their graduation cap, a student at South High was initially told she couldnt wear a feather on her cap in 2015. District officials reversed that decision shortly before graduation after backlash. After years of not allowing students to wear feathers at graduation, the Lincoln Public Schools started a pilot program in collaboration with the Lincoln Indian Center in 2017 that provides feathers to graduating seniors as an incentive to encourage students to graduate. While the right to wear tribal regalia is already protected by the First Amendment and Nebraskas constitution, Joy Kathurima, policy counsel for the ACLU of Nebraska, said she thinks the specific language in LB 298 will make that right clearer. She said she also thinks the broad definition of tribal regalia included in the legislation is crucial. For a specific tribe who are here, who are celebrating their graduation here within Nebraska, to be able to wear whatever is specific to their tribe, I think is well protected within this law, she said. Kathurima said the ACLU is not aware of recent examples where Nebraska students werent allowed to wear tribal regalia, but there have been cases in other states. The ACLU of Nebraska did send a letter to superintendents in early May reminding them of the right for students to wear regalia in light of the new state legislation and federal attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, Kathurima said. To be able to celebrate that achievement and that rite of passage in a way that is important to you culturally, and significant to you culturally, is incredibly important, she said. Different members of Walkers family had a hand in her graduation attire. Her mom made her earrings, and her aunt and cousin did the beadwork adorning her cap. Her dress was a graduation gift from her aunt. The eagle plume on her cap was given to her by her grandfather. In her culture, eagle plumes or feathers are often given as a gift for milestones and accomplishments, Walker said. For us, eagles hold a very high power and significance, she said. Thats a very sacred animal to us. Walker also wore beaded cords that were given to students by the Native Indigenous Centered Education program at OPS. Walker, who plans to attend cosmetology school, said when she wears her regalia, she also carries with her the knowledge of the many Native American students who came before her who werent allowed to practice their culture. Being able to wear these kinds of things, knowing only so many years ago that we werent allowed to just kind of feels like a piece of identity given back in a way, she said. In 2020, after a summer of protests rocked U.S. cities, the words "Black Lives Matter" went from the rallying cry of racial justice demonstrators to words lining the very roads along which they marched. After the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, towns and cities nationwide commissioned artists to paint BLM street murals in solidarity with the reckoning on police brutality and racism prompted by the unprecedented, multiracial mass rallies. Five years on, many of the murals are still maintained by activists and community groups, while wear and tear, construction and vandalism spelled the end of others. The mural widely thought to have inspired them all 35-foot-tall yellow capital letters painted on a street one block from the White House is gone. Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C., ordered crews to remove the BLM mural in March under pressure from the Republican-led Congress. Bowser noted that the mural an act of defiance against President Donald Trump's first administration "inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period." Keyonna Jones, one of seven artists who painted Black Lives Matter Plaza, said she understands why Bowser acted and that the mural's removal doesn't take away from its historic importance. "To see it replicated all over the world within 24 hours," Jones said during the demolition of the plaza. "I think is what really speaks to the power of art and so that is my favorite part about the whole experience." According to Urban Art Mapping, a database of public street art, almost 150 "Black Lives Matter" murals remain. Lindsey Owen, an art historian in Chicago, said each one represents the shared cultural and political purpose of a community. "Even as BLM Plaza is dismantled, the reciprocal mirroring of these murals ensures their persistence," Owen said, "now also reflecting the absence of spaces that have been removed." Here are details of some notable BLM murals: Alabama In 1899, Hobson City became Alabama's first self-governed all-Black municipality. In 2020, residents including Mayor Alberta McCrory painted "Black Towns Matter" on its main street, Martin Luther King Boulevard. In Montgomery, a temporary installation was established around Court Square Fountain, once the site of a slave market. City officials said the mural will be washed away once wear and tear begin to show. Michelle Browder, the artist, said her design reflects the history of the area, and that the community signaled a readiness to address racial inequity by uniting to complete the mural. "It gives us a sense of uniqueness and shows that our statement has not only significance but also invites people to look down, read and reflect on what happened in this space," Browder said. California In downtown Oakland, residents and community groups painted "Black Lives Matter" along three blocks of 15th Steet. A month later, another mural was erected by The Queer Healing Arts Center honoring Black Trans and Queer Lives. The city council in neighboring Berkeley then approved a BLM painting in front of city hall. A rainbow-colored mural along the center lane of Los Angeles' Hollywood Boulevard states "All Black Lives Matter" in celebration of the BLM movement and transgender people of color. Mural designer Luckie Alexander said its message resonates stronger than ever today. "Seeing the BLM Plaza (in Washington) destroyed feels like we are going back in time, when Black folks and LGBTQ+ had to struggle just to exist," Alexander said. "With the one here in Hollywood still remaining, it gives me hope that California is still a safe place to live." Connecticut In Hartford, a Black Lives Matter mural each letter painted by a different artist was created on Trinity Street, just steps from the Capitol. That mural was repainted in 2023 after it was defaced with a swastika. Andre Rochester, who painted one of the Ts in 2020 and 2023, said the mural represents the city's Black and brown population. "It was placed with intention," Rochester said, adding: "It makes a loud statement, that the City of Hartford cares." Tyrone Motley, who inked the V during the 2023 repainting, said it is important that Hartford continues to protect the mural even as others around the country disappear. "I feel work like this is ageless," Motley said. "I'm pretty sure in 10 years people can look at a piece like this and still get the message." Florida A "Black Lives Matter" mural in St. Petersburg mural was repainted in 2023 to read "Black History Matters." Illinois One of the murals that sprung up across Chicago a 100-foot "Black Lives Matter" display in Oak Park was vandalized to read "All Lives Matter." The original message was later restored. Minnesota In Minneapolis, where a bystander used her cellphone to record Floyd's killing at the hands of police, 16 artists participated in the creation of "Black Lives Matter" in 24-foot-high letters on the street outside the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum. Missouri In Florissant, activists attempted to paint a mural in front of the police department on North Lindberg Avenue but the city kept painting over it. In Kansas City, six murals were painted across one block, totaling a span of 2,000 feet. The murals were enhanced in response to vandalism, but some are now deteriorating. New Jersey A block-long mural on Grand Street in Jersey City took two weeks to complete. In East Orange, 100 people participated in the creation of a 9,000 square-foot mural. New York In New York City, anti-abortion protesters defaced a mural in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan and others in Harlem and Brooklyn. Texas Six murals were painted across Dallas in 2020. Abounding Prosperity, Inc., which provides health services to the Black community, secured private funding to ensure they will be maintained for 10 years. Washington A permanent mural was installed in Seattle's Capitol Hill. The city and the Vivid Matter Collective an artists' group repaint and maintain the mural every year. In 2021, a second mural was installed outside Seattle City Hall. The organization will repaint that mural in June. By State Representative Dwayne Yunker and Ed Diehl May 21, 2025 Representative Dwayne Yunker (R-Grants Pass) made a motion on the House Floor to bring House Bill 2432 to a votelegislation that would repeal the disastrous 2021 law, House Bill 3115, which handcuffed cities and counties ability to manage public camping and homelessness. Every House Republican voted Yes on the motion. Democrats voted it down. We dont want people dying in our streets, said Representative Yunker. HB 3115 is a failed experiment that tied the hands of local leaders. In my district of Grants Pass, despite a Supreme Court win in Johnson v. Grants Pass, were being forced to expand homeless camps in residential neighborhoods. The result is chaosopen drug use, rising crime, and families living in fear. Oregons doom loop will continue until we restore local control, added Representative Ed Diehl (R-Stayton). The road to recovery starts with this legislative session. We must give our communities the tools to fight backwhile there is still time to save them. At a May 16 roundtable in Portland hosted by the House Economic Development Committee, Portland business owners shared heartbreaking stories: shuttered storefronts, broken windows, and the inability to keep employees safe. Their message was clearthey cant survive like this. Oregon has become the most comfortable place in the nation to be a criminal or drug addict, and were attracting more by the day, said Representative Yunker. Executive salaries at well-funded homelessness nonprofitsmany connected to the Governors alliescontinue to grow, but results dont follow. Todays vote made one thing clear: Democrats have no intention of fixing this crisis. By William MacKenzie And the beat goes on. An outfit deceptively called Lawyers of Distinction ran another ad in The New York Times on Sunday, May 18, congratulating its newest esteemed members for 2025, including a lawyer from Oregon.` How the organization continues to recruit members is beyond me since the whole thing is a fraud. Its obviously hard to crush a cockroach. Even the Oregon State Bar has refused to chastise Oregon lawyers who have signed up for the outfit. The state Bar says its member lawyers are not engaged in unethical conduct when they assert to clients that their selection as Lawyers of Distinction is reliable evidence of their legal skills and achievements.[1] This despite the fact Lawyers of Distinction is nothing more than a pay-for-play outfit with only a virtual office. (Its useful to remember here that this is the same Oregon State Bar that reinstated former Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagans license to practice law, which requires honesty and moral fitness, after her scandalous behavior as Oregon Secretary of State) Its a scam. Want evidence? Some lawyers at the Davis Law Group in Seattle nominated Lucy, the offices 5-pound teacup poodle, and paid the membership fee. Lucy didnt go to law school, but she passed her state bark exam the law firm said, had been recognized by the legal community as a top dog and was a member of the King County Bark Association. Lucy, a Lawyer of Distinction Lucy, recipient of a Juris Dogtor, was accepted. Lawyers of Distinction even sent Lucy a plaque naming her one of the top 10 percent of attorneys in the country and congratulated her on Twitter. Suffice it to say, Lucy was thrilled. Lawyers of Distinction claims to have a 26 members from Oregon, including its newest, Raun Atkinson, a criminal defense lawyer and owner of the Atlas Law Group in Bend Impressed? Dont be. About all thats required to be named a Lawyer of Distinction is to apply yourself or be nominated, fill out some online forms and pay a fee. According to the Orlando, FL-based organizations website, a Charter Membership, for $475 a year, comes with a Customized 14 x 11 genuine rosewood plaque. A Featured Membership, for $575 a year, brings the plaque and inclusion in a membership roster published in USA Today, The New York Times, The American Lawyer and the National Law Journal. Then theresthe Distinguished Membership, for $775 per year (described on the organizations website as Most Popular), which brings the rosewood plaque, the membership roster ads and an 11tall translucent personalized crystal statue. Lawyers of Distinction, incorporated in 2014, is like diploma mills, outfits that claim to be higher education institutions, but only provide illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The Lawyers of Distinction website describes the application review process in a lengthy, complex statement that suggests a rigorous review.[2] Dont believe it. Its selling plaques and badges. Its paying for meaningless accolades. According to the Florida Division of Corporations, Lawyers of Distinction Inc. is a private for-profit company with a principal address of 4700 Millenia Boulevard, Suite 175, Orlando, FL 32839. Robert B. Baker, at the same address, is listed as the President in the companys 2023 Annual Report. But dont go to the office address expecting to be ushered into a space with a clean, modern aesthetic that communicates success. The address is only a virtual office. The site offers a Platinum Plan for $69 a month and a Platinum Plan with live receptionist for $194 a month. Robert Robbie Brian Baker, a member of the Florida Bar (Bar #992460), is also the founder and owner of Baker Legal Team at 2255 Glades Rd., Ste 330-W, Boca Raton, FL 33431. According to the Baker Legal Team website, he has a degree from Boston University School of Law in 1989 and a B.A. from Ithaca College. He began his career, the website says, as a prosecutor working as an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County, New York. As an aside, the firms website has the chutzpah to highlight that its a member of Lawyers of Distinction. Lawyers of Distinction claims to have over 5000 members. If 5000 lawyers have signed up for the Distinguished category at $775 this year, the organization will rake in $3.9 million. Quite a haul. Lawyers of Distinction used to try to quell doubts about its legitimacy by including on its website a section headed, Is Lawyers of Distinction A Scam? With Over 5000 Members, See What Lawyers Have To Say. All the section contained was a few member comments and ratings, such as, Andre L. Pennington June 20, 2022, I love the opportunities that this honor provides. I highly recommend! Now the link just takes you to a page that says, Lawyers of Distinction currently has over 5000 members in the United States. The best way to hear about someones actual experience with a company is to receive information from an actual user, not a 3rd party. Its likely that few attorneys have been duped by Lawyers of Distinction, lured into believing theyve been selected for a rare honor based on their legal work. They must figure that impressing potential clients is worth the mendacity and deception. But the widespread use of Lawyers of Distinction by attorneys really just represents the decay of honest professional representation. If the American Bar Association and state bar associations really cared about lawyers clients they would be cracking down on such misleading marketing ploys. If the publications that run the outfits ads, such as The New York Times, gave a whit about truth in advertising, theyd decline to run its ads, too. And if an attorney ballyhoos their selection as a Lawyer of Distinction to you, beware. They are living in a world of unearned praise. [1] On Oct. 9, 2023, I filed a complaint with the OSB asserting that a number of Oregon lawyers are misrepresenting their credentials by asserting that their selection as Lawyers of Distinction is evidence of their legal skills and achievements. On Feb. 17, 2024, I filed a second, more detailed complaint and followed up with an email requesting a response. On May 20, 2024, Linn Davis, Assistant General Counsel and CAO Attorney, sent a response saying he found no reason to pursue any charges of professional misconduct by Oregon lawyers. You expressed concerns that Oregon lawyers are improperly using membership in Lawyers of Distinction to advertise their services, he wrote in an email. Lawyers of Distinction appears to be a marketing firm that uses some criteria to determine what lawyers are eligible for promotion. Listings on the Lawyers of Distinction site include a statement regarding the criteria for promotion and a link to apply for consideration. I lack any sufficient basis for believing the statements there to be false regarding the organization or the significance of membership. I also lack evidence that any particular lawyer in Oregon has utilized this marketing tool in a misleading manner. I conclude that there is no sufficient basis to warrant a referral of your concerns to Disciplinary Counsel. Because I find no sufficient evidence of professional misconduct, I will take no further action on this matter. This despite the fact the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct (as amended effective January 1, 2024) for Oregon attorneys is explicit about how attorneys must communicate about themselves: Rule 7.1 A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyers services. A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material representation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make a statement considered as a whole not materially misleading. Rule 8.4 It is professional misconduct for a lawyer toengage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation that reflects adversely on the lawyers fitness to practice law. In my view, an Oregon attorney claiming he or she is a exceptional because of membership in Lawyers of Distinction is clearly making a false or misleading communication and engaging in professional misconduct involving dishonesty deceit and misrepresentation. [2]Lawyers of Distinction Members have been selected based upon a review and vetting process by our Selection Committee utilizing U.S. Provisional Patent # 62/743,254. The platform generates a numerical score of 1 to 5 for each of the 12 enumerated factors which are meant to recognize the applicants achievements and peer recognition. All applicants must be licensed to practice law. Members are then subject to a final review for ethical violations within the past ten years before confirmation of Membership. A Lawyers of Distinction Nomination does not guarantee membership and attorneys may not pay a fee to be nominated. Attorneys may nominate to Lawyers of Distinction their peers whom they feel warrant consideration. The determination of whether an attorney qualifies for Membership is based upon the aforementioned proprietary analysis discussed above. Membership is not meant to infer any endorsement of Lawyers of Distinction by any of the 50 United States Bar Associations or The District of Columbia Bar Association. Any references to excellent, excellence, or distinguished are meant to refer to the Lawyers of Distinction organization only and not to any named member individually. BLOOMINGTON In Bloomington-Normal, the community's growing diversity is highlighting the importance of accessible mental health services for non-English speakers. A national survey of mental health facilities published by the National Institute of Health found that 69% of facilities provide non-English language services, more often through on-call contract interpreters than by multilingual staff. According to the survey, provision of language services is strongly associated with public ownership of facilities, high patient volume, and locations in states with a high proportion of residents with limited English proficiency. And while the demand for bilingual counselors is high, the supply remains limited, prompting local organizations to implement innovative ways to bridge this gap and provide essential services. I speak Spanish, but if I were to go to therapy, I would not want to go through therapy in my second language, because its not accessing those feelings in the same way, said Sarah Mellor, social services director at The Immigration Project in Normal. Its important that people have access to a therapist that speaks their language and can talk directly to them in a way thats clear and comprehensible. The McLean County Health Department's Behavioral Health Coordination program works with various community organizations to address behavioral health needs. While the office doesn't have bilingual staff, they use language translation services and partner with local organizations to better serve residents. Marita Landreth, director of MCHD's Behavioral Health Coordination program, said having health care that is accessible to an individual's native language is important for their understanding, and it's technically required by law to have those interpretation and translation services available. However, having individuals on staff who speak a second language proficiently is worthwhile for every organization, Landreth said. "It's also important to say that if you are going to invest in bilingual staff, that organization acknowledges that as an additional skill that deserves additional compensation reflecting the skill that they're bringing on board," Landreth said. In addition to providing essential legal assistance and support to immigrants, The Immigration Project has one mental health counselor on staff with a caseload of about 30 people at a time. The project also offers support groups for migrant women and revolving around migrant grief, as there is a lot of trauma that comes with adapting to a new culture and being in a place where they may not know anyone, said Mellor. The project has collaborated with Integrity Counseling in Bloomington to address the mental health needs of immigrants and offer affordable, donation-based therapy services. Elsewhere in the Twin Cities, the Center for Youth and Family Solutions in Bloomington offers a range of behavioral health and counseling services with a trauma-informed approach, said Stephanie Barisch, director of therapeutic services there. Currently they have two bilingual counselors and an intern who all speak Spanish; they also use translation services when needed. "We definitely need more Spanish-speaking clinicians," Barisch said. "We are constantly trying to recruit more, since the need and demand is there as far as language goes. That is the biggest need in our community." Barisch said she has also seen a demand by individuals who are hearing impaired and communicate through American Sign Language and need someone to be either visually or physically present in order to translate. Despite the hurdles, Barish said she and other organizations have services available and are willing to serve anyone, and to use local resources to bridge that language barrier, because it is what is right. We've seen clients that have gone through immigrant issues and have lost family members, and being able to express that grief in their first language is a big deal, said Luella Mahannah, director of Integrity Counseling. "One thing as an agency and as a community that we could do better with is getting out to some of the churches in the community that have a large Spanish-speaking congregation to connect with groups, find potential clients, and helpers as well." Mahannah said Integrity Counseling provides services to around five Spanish-speaking clients and has two interns on staff who can provide Spanish-speaking services. They also partner with organizations like Western Avenue Community Center, the Center for Youth and Family Solutions and YWCA Stepping Stones to provide wraparound services. The services we provide and the work we do is important to provide accessible support in our community," said Migdalia Galue, a bilingual counselor at YWCA Stepping Stones. This organization provides support for survivors of sexual violence, and is in need of volunteers to translate materials from English to Spanish, ensuring that YWCA resources are accessible to Spanish-speaking individuals in the community. Galue does therapy sessions in English and Spanish across multiple organizations in the community, and recently received further education at Bradley University in Peoria. Galue said she and other counselors have caseloads of around 20 patients each, and half of her caseload is Spanish-speaking individuals. She still sees gaps in the community for bilingual and Spanish-speaking services, especially among children and in the school systems, to be able to directly assist with students. "Services play a crucial role in assisting individuals who need support navigating the trauma of abuse and grief, and we can ensure that more people receive the help they deserve in a language they can understand," Galue said. Holly Hall, executive director at the Community Health Care Clinic in Normal, said the clinic has hired five Spanish-speaking individuals to accommodate patients across all services. She added that 90% appointments there are conducted in Spanish. Hall said patients tend to be resistant when faced with English service providers or translation services, but they open up more when they are able to speak in their native language. She believes organizations should look at the community's needs and find ways to be more competitive when it comes to attracting bilingual and Spanish-speaking professionals to work here, when they otherwise might choose to work in larger metropolitan areas. Students showcase language skills, talents at "Chinese Bridge" contest in Prague Xinhua) 10:32, May 24, 2025 Contestants appear on the stage before the start of the Czech national qualifications for the 24th "Chinese Bridge," the Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students in Prague, the Czech Republic, May 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Deng Yaomin) PRAGUE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Eight students have showcased their Chinese language skills and cultural talents during the Czech national qualifications for the 24th "Chinese Bridge," the Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students. Hosted by the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic and organized by the Confucius Institute of the University of Finance and Administration (VSFS) in Prague, the competition on Thursday consisted of a themed speech and a talent show. In the end, Martina Slenckova and Eva Skutova, both from Palacky University in the eastern Czech city of Olomouc, stood out. Slenckova will represent the Czech Republic in the "Chinese Bridge" global finals, while Skutova will participate as an observer. Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Feng Biao expressed his delight at seeing more and more Czech youth embracing the Chinese language and gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese culture. He emphasized that Chinese serves not only as a practical tool, but also as a gateway to understanding Chinese civilization. Through learning the language, Czech students are acquiring useful skills, developing new ways of thinking and broadening their worldviews. The growing popularity of Chinese language education in the Czech Republic not only injects vitality into cultural exchanges between the two countries, but also helps strengthen public support for the future development of China-Czech relations, he said. VSFS Rector Bohuslava Senkyrova said in her remarks that she was impressed by the contestants' proficiency in Chinese. Although Chinese is not their native language, the participants were able to express themselves fluently and be clearly understood by Chinese audiences. She encouraged all the contestants to give their best and shine on stage. Described herself as a "language enthusiast," Slenckova is now a third-year student majoring in Chinese at Palacky University. She told Xinhua after the competition that she is fascinated by the Chinese language and hopes her upcoming trip to China will deepen her understanding of the country and its culture, and give her the chance to experience authentic Chinese cuisine. The Confucius Institute of VSFS was jointly established by China Jiliang University, a university based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, and the VSFS in 2018. A contestant participates in the Czech national qualifications for the 24th "Chinese Bridge," the Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students in Prague, the Czech Republic, May 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Deng Yaomin) A contestant shows her traditional Chinese painting during the Czech national qualifications for the 24th "Chinese Bridge," the Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students in Prague, the Czech Republic, May 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Deng Yaomin) A contestant performs during the Czech national qualifications for the 24th "Chinese Bridge," the Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students in Prague, the Czech Republic, May 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Deng Yaomin) A contestant draws traditional Chinese painting during the Czech national qualifications for the 24th "Chinese Bridge," the Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students in Prague, the Czech Republic, May 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Deng Yaomin) A contestant participates in the Czech national qualifications for the 24th "Chinese Bridge," the Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students in Prague, the Czech Republic, May 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Deng Yaomin) (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) 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: Chevanon Photography from Pexels Canada is facing a significant skills shortage. According to recent data, 77% of Canadian businesses surveyed say they are unable to find suitably skilled candidates for the jobs they have available. Even among those who apply with relevant skills, 44% don't have the required level of proficiency to secure employment. At present, there are about 700,000 job vacancies across the country. This mismatch persists despite Canada having one of its largest-ever graduating classesnearly 360,000 students from colleges, universities and trade schools. As labor shortages deepen across sectors, the disconnect between formal education and real-world job requirements is becoming harder to ignore. Skills shortage will likely worsen Canada's skills shortage is expected to worsen in the coming years. Between now and 2028, 700,000 workers in the skilled trades are due to retire. Canada's antiquated apprenticeship system is struggling to produce enough workers to fill this gap. It is slow, outdated and has low completion rates: just 32% of male and 35% of female candidates complete their training. Completing an apprenticeship can take up to four years in Canada, while many other nations have much higher completion rates in two years or less. It is not just trades that Canada has challenges with. If current trends continue, Canada is projected to face a shortage of 100,000 nurses by 2030. Significant shortages are also expected in technology-related positions, construction engineering and K-12 education, where demand for teachers and school administrators is rising. Meanwhile, rising demand is expected for jobs related to artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing and supply chain management. Rethinking how to prepare people for work Some employers are losing confidence in using qualifications as a basis for hiring. Increasingly, they feel degrees and diplomas don't adequately prepare people for work. As a result, some organizations have moved to skills-based or competency-based hiring where candidates share skills portfolios and work testimonials to secure a position. As of 2024, approximately 80% of Canadian companies have implemented some form of skills-based hiring practices, up from 74% in 2023. Other companies, like Shopify, take candidates from high school and put them through custom programs designed to ensure they have the skills needed to work in a particular organization or industry. Colleges and universities have long been seen as the primary pipelines for skilled labor. But as employer expectations evolve, Canada needs to reconsider the role these institutions play in producing skilled workers. Simply expanding existing programs or opening new programs will not solve the underlying problem. What's needed is a fundamental rethinking of how we prepare Canadians for the workforce. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Five steps Canada should take Canada's new government, in collaboration with provinces, territories and industry, needs to pursue a five-pronged strategy to address the country's deepening skills crisis: 1. Modernize the apprenticeship system. Canada must transition from a traditional, time-based apprenticeship model to a flexible, competency-based system. Instead of being tied to rigid journeyperson-to-apprentice ratios and multi-year timelines, learners should be able to demonstrate their skills on demand anywhere, anytime. The goal should be to reduce completion times to two years or less. Learning should be accessible through multiple formats, including workplace mentorship, YouTube tutorials, boot camps, micro-credentials and virtual labs. What matters is not where learning takes place, but whether a learner can demonstrate competence. 2. Accelerate skills recognition through micro-credentials. Canada should fast-track the adoption of micro-learning, stackable micro-credentials and competency-based certification. Micro-credentials are short, focused learning experiences that recognize specific skills or knowledge. In fields like IT, project management and supply chain management, many professionals succeed without formal academic degrees, instead relying on industry-recognized certifications. This model must expand into other sectors, especially health care, manufacturing and finance, where skills-based hiring could address labor shortages. 3. Recognize informal and experiential learning. Millions of Canadians develop valuable skills through informal, self-directed and work-based learning. Yet Canada's prior learning assessment and recognition systems, which convert informal learning into certified learning, remain fragmented, under-utilized and overly bureaucratic. Canada needs a nationally coherent, on-demand competency-based assessment system. Certified assessors should be able to validate individuals' skills and link them to job profiles, occupational standards and credentials. This is not just an equity issue, but is an economic imperative. Other countries are much better at this than Canada is. 4. Shorten and re-design post-secondary programs. The misalignment between program outcomes and labor market demands is well-documented. Closing this gap should be a top priority for post-secondary reform. Many college and university programs could be made shorter, more agile and more aligned with workforce needsespecially programs linked to workforce needs and skills in demand. Competency-based, work-integrated learning models that are designed with industry and delivered in two- or three-year formats could dramatically increase job readiness. 5. Incentivize employer investment in upskilling and reskilling. Canada needs a stronger incentive framework for continuous learning. Canada's training credita refundable tax credit that helps offset the cost of eligible training feeshelps some individuals, but employers still view training as a cost rather than a driver of productivity, retention and competitiveness. A new approach should include tax incentives for employers and employees investing in learning; co-funded, industry-led training partnerships; industry-sponsored micro-credentials; and public recognition for employers who demonstrate leadership in workforce development. Canada cannot meet today's workforce challenges with outdated systems and thinking. Doing more of the same and expecting different results is no longer an option. What is needed is evidence-informed and future-focused reforms that prioritize skills, flexibility and inclusion. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Most compounds are inactive in tarsal-contact assays. Credit: Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09039-2 Researchers have identified a type of chemical compound that, when applied to insecticide-treated bed nets, appears to kill the malaria-causing parasite in mosquitoes. Published in the journal Nature, the multi-site collaborative study represents a breakthrough for a disease that continues to claim more than half a million lives worldwide every year. A lab at Oregon Health & Science University played a key role, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of the National Institutes of Health, supported the research. Michael Riscoe, Ph.D., professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine, designed and synthesized the anti-malarial drugs, termed ELQs, that were then screened in the lab of Flaminia Catteruccia, Ph.D., the study's senior author and Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. ELQ drugs refer to a class of experimental antimalarial drugs known as endochin-like quinolones. "It was a very clever and novel idea by Dr. Catteruccia and her colleagues to incorporate anti-malarial drugs into bed nets and then to see if the mosquitoes would land on the nets and take up the drug," Riscoe said. "The idea is the drug kills the parasites that cause malaria instead of the mosquitoes, and our data shows this works." Risco said further research is necessary to determine whether the best strategy in the field is to incorporate the antimalarial ELQs together with insecticides in the fibers that are woven into bed nets or simply to use them alone to blunt disease transmission. Malaria is a potentially lethal infection that is spread from person to person by mosquitoes. After a significant decline in cases and deaths caused by malaria since the turn of the century, progress has stalled in recent years due to increasing insecticide resistance. In 2023 alone, there were 263 million new cases of malaria worldwide and more than half a million deaths. "Insecticide resistance is now extremely common in the mosquitoes that transmit malaria, which jeopardizes many of our most effective control tools," said Alexandra Probst, M.Pharm, lead author of the study and a Ph.D. candidate in Catteruccia's lab at Harvard. "By targeting malaria-causing parasites directly in the mosquito, rather than the mosquito itself, we can circumvent this challenge and continue to reduce the spread of malaria." Catteruccia's lab screened 81 compounds for blocking malaria parasite growth within the mosquito. This work identified two ELQ drugs from Riscoe's chemical collection as top hits from the initial screen. The ELQs were even effective when added to materials like those used in mosquito nets. Tests showed infected mosquitoes that landed on the surface of these materials were cured of their infections. The ELQs remained stable, continued to work for a long time and were effective even in mosquitoes that were resistant to traditional insecticides. "If an infected mosquito hits or lands on netting containing either of the ELQs, it's essentially disinfected. It absorbs the treatment via its legs, and that kills the parasites that it's carrying," said Mike Rubal, Ph.D., a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, who contributed to the Nature article. "The best defense against malaria has been insecticide-treated bed nets, but mosquitoes are developing a resistance to those prevention methods. This novel approach targets the source of the disease." The next step is to test this strategy in the field with ELQ-impregnated bed nets, which is set to begin later this year. "This work has the potential to significantly blunt the transmission of malaria," Riscoe said. "I think that it will evolve and develop to be a key element to our success in eradicating malaria around the world." More information: Alexandra S. Probst et al, In vivo screen of Plasmodium targets for mosquito-based malaria control, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09039-2 Journal information: Nature This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The Greenland ice sheet holds enough frozen water to lift global oceans by five meters. Rising seas will severely test humanity's resilience in the second half of the 21st century and beyond, even if nations defy the odds and cap global warming at the ambitious 1.5 degrees Celsius target, researchers said Tuesday. The pace at which global oceans are rising has doubled in three decades, and on current trends will double again by 2100 to about one centimeter per year, they reported in a study. "Limiting global warming to 1.5C would be a major achievement" and avoid many dire climate impacts, lead author Chris Stokes, a professor at Durham University in England, told AFP. "But even if this target is met," he added, "sea level rise is likely to accelerate to rates that are very difficult to adapt to." Absent protective measures such as sea walls, an additional 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) of sea level risethe width of a letter-size sheet of paperby 2050 would cause some $1 trillion in flood damage annually in the world's 136 largest coastal cities, earlier research has shown. Some 230 million people live on land within one meter (3.2 feet) of sea level, and more than a billion reside within 10 meters. Sea level rise is driven in roughly equal measure by the disintegration of ice sheets and mountain glaciers, as well as the expansion of warming oceans, which absorb more than 90% of the excess heat due to climate change. Averaged across 20 years, Earth's surface temperature is currently 1.2C above pre-industrial levels, already enough to lift the ocean watermark by several meters over the coming centuries, Stokes and colleagues noted in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. The world is on track to see temperatures rise 2.7C above that benchmark by the end of the century. Tipping points In a review of scientific literature since the last major climate assessment by the UN-mandated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Stokes and his team focused on the growing contribution of ice sheets to rising seas. In 2021, the IPCC projected "likely" sea level rise of 40 to 80 centimeters by 2100, depending on how how quickly humanity draws down greenhouse gas emissions, but left ice sheets out of their calculations due to uncertainty. The picture has become alarmingly more clear since then. Self-reinforcing feedback mechanisms can increase the rate at which ice sheets melt or break up. "We are probably heading for the higher numbers within that range, possibly higher," said Stokes. The scientist and his team looked at three baskets of evidence, starting with what has been observed and measured to date. Satellite data has revealed that ice sheets with enough frozen water to lift oceans some 65 meters are far more sensitive to climate change than previously suspected. The amount of ice melting or breaking off into the ocean from Greenland and West Antarctica, now averaging about 400 billion tonnes a year, has quadrupled over the last three decades, eclipsing runoff from mountain glaciers. Estimates of how much global warming it would take to push dwindling ice sheets past a point of no return, known as tipping points, have also shifted. "We used to think that Greenland wouldn't do anything until the world warmed 3C," said Stokes. "Now the consensus for tipping points for Greenland and West Antarctica is about 1.5C." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. The 2015 Paris climate treaty calls for capping global warming at "well below" 2C, and 1.5C if possible. The scientists also looked at fresh evidence from the three most recent periods in Earth's history with comparable temperatures and atmospheric levels of CO 2 , the main driver of global warming. About 125,000 years ago during the previous "interglacial" between ice ages, sea levels were two to nine meters higher than today despite a slightly lower average global temperature and significantly less CO 2 in the air287 parts per million, compared to 424 ppm today. A slightly warmer period 400,000 ago with CO 2 concentrations at about 286 ppm saw oceans 6-to-13 meters higher. And if we go back to the last moment in Earth's history with CO 2 levels like today, some three million years ago, sea levels were 10-to-20 meters higher. Finally, scientists reviewed recent projections of how ice sheets will behave in the future. "If you want to slow sea level rise from ice sheets, you clearly have to cool back from present-day temperatures," Stokes told AFP. "To slow sea level rise from ice sheets to a manageable level requires a long-term temperature goal that is close to +1C, or possibly lower." More information: Chris R. Stokes et al, Warming of +1.5 C is too high for polar ice sheets, Communications Earth & Environment (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02299-w Journal information: Communications Earth & Environment 2025 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The final report of the Independent Sentencing Review has proposed the most significant reform of sentencing and punishment in England and Wales since the 1990s. The review, chaired by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke, calls for a number of changes to address the crisis of overcrowding in prisons. These include using fewer and shorter prison sentences, enhanced opportunities for early release based on good behavior, and more use of community sentences. The government has already accepted most of the recommendations in principle, though many will require legislation to bring them into effect. The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said that the most serious offenders should not be eligible for an earlier release under the proposals. Prisons in England and Wales have been at or near capacity for a number of years, and frequently exceed their safe capacity. Official data shows that the current adult prison population is estimated to be around 87,700, compared with a maximum operational capacity of around 88,800. However, maximum capacity figures are only recorded annually, and the poor conditions of the prison estate mean the usable maximum may often be lower at any given time. Without reforms to sentencing, the prison population is projected to increase to up to 105,000 by 2029. In September 2024, prison overcrowding resulted in the emergency early release of around 1,700 prisoners serving sentences of less than five years who had served 40% of their sentence. They would ordinarily not have been eligible for early release until they had served 50% of their sentences. The Gauke review was commissioned to create a more sustainable solution to prevent further emergency measures. However, both the review and the emergency measures have come under criticism, namely that dangerous offenders will be released and communities and victims will be at risk. The shadow home secretary, Robert Jenrick, has claimed that the most recent proposals will "spark a crime wave." So, will shorter sentences make communities less safe? Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. What does the evidence say? A core recommendation is that custody should be used only as last resort. It calls for sentences of less than 12 months to only be given in exceptional circumstances, for example, where the offender is known to pose a high level of risk to a specific victim despite being sentenced for a less serious offense. The research on short-term imprisonment consistently shows that it is ineffective for a number of reasons. Short prison sentences are disproportionately expensive, especially when compared with community sentences. The offenders serving them have committed relatively minor offenses, so pose a low risk other than in exceptional cases. Perhaps the most significant finding is the fact that the shorter the sentence, the higher the reoffending rate. Reoffending is around 55% for prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months, compared with an overall rate of 27.5%. If reoffending can be reduced by using more effective sentences, communities will be safer. Another key proposal is the "earned progression model." Under this, most prisoners (except those sentenced for specified serious sexual or violent offenses) would be eligible for release after serving one-third of their sentence. They must have engaged constructively with the prison regime. They would then be supervised intensively in the community by probation services until they had served two-thirds of their sentence. After this, they would not be actively supervised. Prisoners who fail to engage constructively would not be eligible for release until the halfway point of their sentence. Under the early release policy introduced by the government in September 2024, these prisoners would be released after serving just 40% of their sentences. There is a sound evidence base for incentivizing good behavior in prison, rather than simply punishing bad behavior. It is shown to help prisoners develop a sense of autonomy and accountability for their actions. This can help them abstain from reoffending once released. A focus on effective rehabilitation, rather than punishment alone, runs through the review. For example, recommendations for improved and targeted substance abuse and mental health treatment. There is widespread evidence across jurisdictions which suggests that a focus on rehabilitation, and not longer prisons sentences, is what reduces overall crime levels and makes communities safer. It also makes economic sense. The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, made clear in his most recent annual report in September 2024 that a fundamental reorientation of prisons towards rehabilitation is needed in order to reduce overall crime levels. The Howard League for Penal Reform has also welcomed the proposals in the sentencing review. Concerns Victims groups have raised concerns about the risk of sex offenders or domestic abusers being released early, even under the current regime. The review recommends strengthening protections for victims, for example by expanding specialist domestic abuse courts and tagging for all perpetrators of violence against women and girls. More controversially, it recommends increasing trials into the use of voluntary chemical castration for serious sex offenders. The justice secretary is reported to be considering the use of mandatory chemical castration. Other questions remain around the implementation of the reforms, not least how they would be funded in the current economic climate. The chief inspector of probation, Martin Jones, has warned that without better funding and other reforms in the probation service, the proposals in the Gauke review would be "catastrophic." The review recommends investing in the strained probation service, and bringing in third-sector organizations to support it. These are ambitious reforms that would require a considerable investment in the probation service, prisons, community rehabilitation and technology. There are also emerging human rights concerns about the adoption of advanced AI by probation services, as is recommended by the review. Ultimately, there is little evidence to suggest that fewer prisoners and shorter sentences will make communities less safe. It is ineffective rehabilitation, leading to reoffending which comes at a considerable social and economic cost. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain For 40 years, I've worked as a marine ecologist and, since 1992, I've been based in Plymouth, Devona global hub for coastal marine research and teaching. As I think back to how our understanding of life in our oceans has changed over that time, here are five lessons I have learned. 1. Start with the basics Back in the 1970s, the band America wrote: "The ocean is a desert with its life underground, and the perfect disguise above." Many people I speak to actually don't see much beyond that gray-blue surface. Back in 2014, my colleagues and I were quite shocked at the response to a big survey we did on public perception of the marine environment in the UK, particularly when we break out of our marine bubbles. If an organism was remotely colorful or interesting, most people assumed it didn't live in UK waters. That reminded me not to underestimate how little most people know, or care, about UK seas. Make no assumptions. While Blue Planet and other beautiful TV series have undoubtedly helped raise the profile of the world's seas, some have potentially reinforced this view of local watersthat you have to travel to far-off exotic locations to find any interesting and spectacular life. 2. Inspire deep connection Research shows the almost unparalleled restorative power of being in, on, under or by the sea. You do not need to dive to feel a strong ocean connectionbuilding sandcastles, catching crabs on a line in a harbor, skimming stones or letting the cold water wash over your feet can work wonders. Rockpooling is also an incredible window into the underwater worldsuddenly all this weird and wonderful life opens up to us in a small, simple and accessible puddle. People need to be given more opportunities to form lasting connections with the ocean. Organizations such as Plymouth's Ocean Conservation Trust and Devon Wildlife Trust are bringing young people to the sea, sometimes for the first time. Enabling ocean connection is just as important for people who don't have the chance or ability to physically be there, for example through virtual reality. I've also been involved in transforming Plymouth Sound into the UK's first national marine parkthis concept is all about engaging people with this stretch of coastline, getting them connected to the ocean and inspiring them to care. And the marine park model could be replicated around the UK. 3. Take the pressure off If you leave the ocean alone, it can recover. Very few shallow areas of our global ocean remain untouched. But, as demonstrated so well in David Attenborough's latest film, Ocean, if you remove all the most damaging impacts (particularly physical fishing damage), then the sea has great powers of recovery. In the UK, bluefin tuna and humpback whales have returned as the pressure to hunt them has been better managed. The cold water reefs on the seabed in Lyme Bay off the south coast of England have recovered remarkably just four years after a ban on towed fishing gear was introduced. Today, there are so few properly protected areas where all damaging or extractive activities are completely removed to give nature a chance, particularly in the UK. Some habitats may need a bit of help from usactive restoration or replanting of seagrass beds and oyster reefs will help kickstart regrowth. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. 4. Plastic is a distraction The flow of plastics into the ocean must certainly be stopped. But I worry that the plastic pollution problem is a bandwagon that so many businesses, media outlets and governments have jumped on. Has a decade-long focus on "solving" the plastic crisis been a troublesome distraction? Banning single-use straws can seem like an easy win because leaders can be seen to be taking actionbut it does little to solve the ocean's biggest problems. Meanwhile, the most complex and hard to resolve activities that seriously harm our seas, such as industrial overfishing, are still not being dealt with. The most damaging fishing practices such as trawling and dredging continue legally, astonishingly even within designated marine protected areas. Such highly damaging activities have no place near sensitive habitats and this has been so well demonstrated in Ocean. The recent UK ban on sandeel fishing gives me hope. This landmark decision was made to benefit nature (protecting food supply for seabirds), restricting a fishery that does not even supply food for humans. Sandeels are used to make fishmeal and fish oil to feed farmed fish and livestock. I firmly believe that the most effective and straightforward solution for the UK is to prohibit all towed fishing gear from within at least three miles of the coastincluding developing a series of fully protected marine reserves. In Lyme Bay, this approach has led to a real win-win because the seas are now recovering, and local fishers, holidaymakers and coastal communities are benefiting too. 5. Add a dose of ocean optimism Rising eco-anxiety, particularly in younger people, is not surprising given the state of the world. Faced with the nature and climate crisis, it is easy to feel utter despair. Climate change will undoubtedly change our planet. Yet, without oceans absorbing most of the carbon (while producing half the oxygen we breathe), this planet would already be uninhabitable for human civilization. Making our oceans as healthy and resilient as possible is therefore crucial. Right now, we need some ocean optimism. Sharing the stories of progress and innovation that show how patches of the sea are recovering can demonstrate what's possible and inspire further positive action. By showcasing areas now rich with diverse marine life now that industrial-scale damage has been stopped or whale populations that are booming now that harpoons are a thing of the past, a vision for a better, bluer future can become reality at scale. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. GLENS FALLS A lot can change in a year. In that time, I published my second novel, got married, became an uncle again, visited Zambia with a group of army chaplains and grew out a not-so-great beard. And by the time you read this, even greater change will be here. I am taking a temporary leave from The Post-Star for the next year, and am eager to return, but first would like to take this time to reflect on this job since I accepted it in November 2023. I grew up in Queensbury and went to Saint Marys here in Glens Falls. My dad was the chief of police, and I would often spend time in his office or at the library after school. Even when I moved out of Glens Falls, the city was always going to be a part of me, and one of the cornerstones of this city is, and always will be, The Post-Star. When I eagerly applied here, it was for a reporter position. But then-editor Steve Thurston told me I was over-qualified due to my years of service in the New York Army National Guard as a photojournalist and public affairs non-commissioned officer. I was so excited to be invited in for an interview, expecting to walk into a cliche movie newsroom. I dressed up in a nice button-up shirt, tie, nice pants and an expensive fall coat. Then, what I saw in that old newsroom on Lawrence Street was a shell of what it used to be. Instead of constant shouting of 10 minutes to deadline! every five minutes, there was one reporter working hard at a desk, one reporter jumping in and out of the room responding to the police scanner, and Steve Thurston fighting against all odds to lead the team while working, quite literally, seven days a week with late nights and early mornings. The scene was not at all what I had pictured. Granted, The Post-Star was preparing to move to its current location on Glen Street. After that move, things only got a bit more chaotic. Its no secret that employee turnover has been a bit much. Only two other members of the news team I started this job with, Alex Portal and Luke Mosseau, are still here. Three reporters came and went, and Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge has been absolutely invaluable as our crimes and courts reporter. As far as executive editors go, we have had four within the six months alone. Steve Thurston, as I mentioned before, was let go in December, Paul Kasko held the position for three weeks, David Wilcox was our temporary editor while we found a new one, and now, Lisa Reider is leading the charge. As I said, a bit of turnover here. Through it all, there have been a lot of great days and a lot of challenging ones. During the height of it all, from December through January, I was more or less the acting editor. Steve Thurston may have thought I was overqualified as a reporter, but I was out of my league managing the team. Regardless, I did the best that I could. I, along with the rest of the team, have given my all to this paper. Long nights, weekends, holidays and cancelled family plans to cover a story or get the paper out. We do it because thats the job, and we have striven to give this community, both subscribers and those who pick up their print editions at Stewarts, the quality of news you deserve. I have attempted to put my personal politics aside in this job. I have tried to find and tell stories that both matter to the community and lift it up. In all honesty, the hardest days are those when some stories dont get the attention they deserve. One of the first articles I wrote was about a Queensbury fifth grader, Grace Desjardins. For no reason other than she just has a kind heart, Grace donated over 700 pairs of socks to the Family Service Association of Glens Falls. Being able to share the stories of local heroes like Grace motivated me in this job. In truth, what often caused the bad days was that stories like hers were not read. Even though this paper gets criticized for doing too much reporting on arrests, those are the ones that get views and subscribers. A tree fell in Hudson Falls, and people were rightfully concerned about whose responsibility it was to clear a major roadblock and front the cost of home damage. But where was the excitement and cheering for a young girl who did an incredible thing for the underprivileged, just because she had overflowing kindness in her? Now, at this time of extended pause from the paper, my one question is, did I do this area proper service? Rarely do I receive feedback on the quality of my stories. I can count on one hand the positive emails I have received in regard to my own writing, and there were two anonymous phone calls saying, I know where you live, followed by a demonic laugh. Now, Im not asking you to flood my email or fill up my voicemail, as I will not be able to check them for quite some time. Maybe when I return, I will read some of the emails if any are sent. But, while Im gone, I ask you this favor. Look for the good news. There will always be stuff that gets people angry or causes drama in the comments section. But if youre someone who worries that the world is constantly on the brink, I can promise you that it is not. There is so much good news out there, and in this paper. And if there is something you know of going on in your community, another local hero like Grace who deserves a spotlight, let us know! Send in a news tip, and when the story is shared, tell your friends about it. The world is as dark or as bright as the stories we tell. And it can be even brighter if those stories are shared. The bad news is important, and we still have to be vigilant of the world around us. But if that is all we focus on, our world will be a miserable place. At the end of the day, I am a storyteller. And in the time that I have been here, I hope I have shared with you a few good stories that reminded you of how great this community is, and why we should be proud to live here. Until I return, thank you for trusting me with this great paper, and God bless you all. ATLANTIC CITY Steve Troiano described his late father, Al, as a "true American." Sonny McCullough called his late uncle, Anthony Mascavage, "a very tough guy" and a "standout military man." That's why events like Saturday are both important and necessary. The Saracini-ONeill 9/11 Atlantic City Memorial hosted a Memorial Day event at Jackson Avenue and the Boardwalk, honoring Mascavage (Navy) and Al Troiano (Army), two local veterans. Troiano and Mascavage were Margate residents. Saturdays event featured the presentation of flags from four-time Purple Heart recipient and Marine veteran Marco Polo Smigliani to Steve Troiano and his daughter, Susan Ilias, and to McCullough, who accepted the award as Mascavage's immediate family could not attend due to a recent death in the family. The Atlantic City fire and police departments were there, who put the flag at half-staff. The ladder of a fire truck hung a big American flag over the field adorned with multiple smaller flags and chairs. Over 100 people attended the event, and many lined along the Boardwalk to watch. "Today is obviously a very, very important day," said Smigliani, 77, of Egg Harbor Township. "Probably one of the most important days in America because we are honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of our great nation. "This is fantastic. The turnout today, I am very, very happy. God bless America, the greatest nation to be put on this Earth." Smigiliani led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. The national anthem and "God Bless America" were also sung on the windy Saturday morning. "This is a very special day," said Pam Paparone, who along with Bob Pantalena, are co-directors of the all-volunteer Saracini-O'Neill 9/11 Memorial organization. "It means a lot and is very great. We work all year on this ceremony so people can enjoy it." Atlantic County director of public safety Mike Fedorko was the master of ceremonies. The Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient got to tell the stories of Mascavage and Al Troiano, something Fedorko was very honored to do. Fedorko even read names of other local veterans who died with a toll of a bell after each name. "It's important for the city and it's important for the county to recognize the veterans, whether they are living or dead, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in war," said Fedorko, the former superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. "It's the least I could do (to tell their stories) and honor those who have gone before us and veterans who have gone before us and fought in wars, some giving their all and some who have returned and had to deal with the issues of being in war." Al Troiano, who grew up in Westville, Gloucester County, was just 15 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. When Troiano was 18, he enlisted in the Army and, after his basic training, was assigned to the 112th Cavalry Regiment. He originally attempted to join the Marines when he was 17, but his parents refused to co-sign for him. Until he was 18, he worked at Philadelphia Naval Yard. One of Troiano's many heroic moments was spending 20-plus hours in a swamp during an artillery barrage. He saw open fire from Japanese snipers, killing and wounding multiple American troops around him. "It's great," Steve Troiano, 75, said. "It's a great honor. He would be very proud. He was always proud of the military. He was very proud of his country. Proud of his service in the war. He was just very proud of his service." Mascavage enlisted in the Navy in 1937 when was 18. After basic training he was deployed to Hong Kong and was assigned to the USS Mindanao, a 212-foot gunboat. He spent 30 months aboard that ship, patrolling the Yangtze River and the coastal waters off China. He was on the USS Mindanao on the day of Pearl Harbor, and the ship immediately headed to the Hughes Naval Base in the Philippines. On their way there, they engaged and disabled a Japanese vessel and several enemy war crafts and rescued 60 American soldiers. "He did more than just fight for this country," said McCullough, 83, who was the Egg Harbor Township mayor for 30 years. Mascavage became a prisoner of war after Japanese troops invaded Corregidor Island in the Philippines. He spent 30 months as a prisoner, being manhandled and mistreated by Japanese guards. He was rescued on August 29, 1945. McCullough first met his uncle when he was 5. "I thought I was looking at a scarecrow," said McCullough, noting Mascavage's stomach was never the same as the Japanese would feed prisoners things as disgusting as rats. "What the Japanese did to starve and disrespect our military men was a pity. But he recovered." In 1966, Al Troiano purchased the historic Maynards Cafe in Margate. He died in September 2003, and Steve now owns the restaurant. Mascavage served for 10 years in the Navy. He died in 1996. "This is important for any family that has had a member of the United States military service, whether they are alive or deceased," McCullough said. "I am honored to accept this memorial recognition for his service." Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. also made a speech. City councilman Kaleem Shabazz and Assemblyman Don Guardian, R-Atlantic, also attended the service. Its fitting that we take this day to remember all those who lost their lives keeping this country free. This is always a wonderful event, Guardian said. I think its awesome we are representing two individuals from Atlantic County. This is a very important event, Shabazz said. There are many memorial events all over the area, but I always put this on my calendar. Many other veterans attended, such as US Army General Douglas Satterfield, 73, who moved to Galloway Township six years ago. He called Saturdays event the tip of the iceberg for fallen veterans. I dont think there is anyone out there that would deny (Mascavage and Troiano) these honors, he said. But its also about all those who gave their lives in defense of the nation. BRIGANTINE The hardest part of founding and operating a rescue sanctuary is starting out, Bob Schoelkopf said. He had to work different jobs just to pay the bills and feed the animals being taken care of at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. Then the help came, and it made the job at least a little bit easier. On Saturday morning, Schoelkopf was honored in front of family and friends with a street sign dedication Bob Schoelkopf Drive at the center on Brigantine Boulevard. After 47 years, the job of rescuing marine wildlife every year doesnt get easier, but the ability to do it for so long is something Schoelkopf expressed gratitude toward Saturday. A lot of the people here today are volunteers or had been volunteers over the years, and that makes me feel good, said Schoelkopf, 78, who lives in Galloway Township with his wife of 37 years, Sheila Dean. Honoring me is also honoring all those people who helped us in the past. Schoelkopf retired as the centers first director at the end of 2022. Dean, who shared co-director duties for several years with Schoelkopf, is the current director until she plans to retire, she said. This is nice that the city did this for us, said Dean, 77. The MMSC has had over a thousand people work there in nearly 50 years, from people who were trained in marine life rescue to volunteers. Theyve been able to save thousands of animals over 1,800 miles of coastline the length of New Jersey, including the beaches and back bays. The center works with whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea turtles. Winter is when the center sees the most seals, with fewer than 10 in some years, and more than 100 in others. Right now, there are nine seals recovering at the center, Dean said. The nonprofit relies heavily on donations and fundraising events. Its been a challenge lasting this long, Dean said. I find it amazing were still here, Dean said. I can remember some years we almost closed. There was no money. We had a couple employees but did most of the work ourselves. We used volunteers, but there was a point where (Bob and I), to quote, stopped taking a salary. ... We had to cut off all expenses. The center does a lot of online fundraising, like $5 Fridays or a chance to donate money to a specific seal. Last month, the center held a fundraiser in Smithville called Lunch for a Porpoise. The annual charity run that Schoelkopf started over 10 years ago will be a virtual run this year, Dean said. For a list of fundraising events, go to mmsc.org/upcoming-fundraisers. Only cordial to people Schoelkopf started working at an aquarium in Atlantic City after returning from Vietnam, where he served as a Navy Corpsman attached to the special operations Recon Marines. While working as a manager at Steel Pier, he was often called to help marine life in distress. In March 1976, he helped a pygmy sperm whale that washed ashore. City workers trying to tow it back into the water by its tail. Eventually, the Coast Guard was able to slide an inflatable rafter under the injured animal and bring it to the Coast Guard base, where they named the whale Semper Paratus the Latin motto of that branch meaning always ready. Despite around-the-clock care by Schoelkopf, the Coast Guard and a team of vets, the whale died three days later. That was the vision for what would become the center today, with this one small whale in need, said Kevin Schaffer, a board of directors chairperson who shared Schoelkopfs story with the crowd. Two years later, the stranding center was born in Atlantic City. In 1983, it moved to Brigantine thanks to help from the citys beach patrol to secure a location and prep the building, which belongs to the Brigantine Historical Museum. There were too many rescues over the years for Schoelkopf to choose a most memorable. There was a rescue around New Years Eve in 1989 or 1990, when he went down to Maryland to rescue a whale. While battling frigid conditions, they were able to put a line on the whale and successfully tow it out to sea. Another rescue, a right whale at Island Beach State Park in Berkeley Township, Ocean County, was on the beach. When Schoelkopf went in to tie a chain around it to be towed back out to sea, a wave came in, lifted the whale and caused a suction that pulled him under. I had to wait until the waves settled down and let (the whale) up to pull me out again, he said with a laugh. Dolphins have been Schoelkopfs favorite animal hes gotten to interact with over the years. He jokes that hes cordial to people but loves the animals. One of the hardest parts about retiring is the daily interaction with the animals. On Saturday, the first thing he did before the ceremony was go visit the seals that are under the centers care. Its hard not to feel some type of emotion toward these animals that the center will get to know over a course of six weeks or more, depending on the injuries, he said. When you get to release them and turn them loose and watch them swim away, thats gratitude. It makes you feel good, he said. Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham rested the state's case Friday against the Davenport woman accused of taking part in the 2024 murders of Brian Goodwin and Amy Smith. Adriana Blake's defense team followed and opened its case with expert witnesses talking about issues of addiction, abuse and trauma bonding. Blake is on trial for first-degree murder and 14 other charges stemming from the Jan. 15, 2024, shooting deaths of Brian Goodwin and Amy Smith. Devon Braet also is charged with the killings. The bodies of Goodwin and Smith were discovered in the early morning hours of Jan. 16, 2024, after a neighbor called in a fire at 5210 N. Division St. Blake and Braet, who were living with Goodwin at 5210 N. Division St. at the time of the homicides, were arrested days after the discovery of the killings. They were slated to be tried together, but Braet was severed from Blake's trial on May 8 a day-and-a-half after testimony started. Blake is represented by Des Moines attorneys Christopher Kragnes and Austin Luse. The trial's 13th day of testimony opened with Kragnes cross-examining Davenport police detective Aric Robinson and ended with the jurors hearing from the attorney who represented Blake in Scott County Drug Court. Was Blake abused? Kragnes' first witness for the defense was Dr. Michel Sucher, an Arizona-based medical doctor who works extensively in addiction medicine and is 40 years sober. Sucher spoke to the jury about addiction in general, noting people with addiction will do anything for drugs in the " ... same way all of us will find a way to breathe. Take away our air and we will do anything to breathe." Sucher also told jurors that drug addiction and abuse can go hand-and-hand, pointing out that those with addiction will "do anything" for drugs, including being abused and degraded. Blake's defense team's second witness was Tiffany Allison, the executive director of the Des Moines-based Soaring Heats Foundation, a group dedicated to helping the survivors of domestic violence. Under examination by Luse, Allison introduced the idea of "trauma bonding" when a victim forms an emotional attachment to the abuser. She also explained that is not uncommon for victims of domestic abuse to stay with the abuser, often out of fear of retaliation against themselves or family members. Luse then showed Allison pictures of Braet and Blake taken on Jan. 17, 2024, while they were together in a Galesburg hotel. The defense attorney then showed the videos Braet made while they were together, which included Braet pointing a 9 mm Glock at Blake. In the second video Blake said "I shot them both" after Braet made comments about sex acts and shooting off Blake's chin. Braet replied "No you didn't" after Blake's four words. Allison also was shown writings from the journal Blake and Braet kept together. She read Braet's words of love and his desire to stay with Blake "forever." Allison said she saw and heard menace in Braet behavior on the video and that the letters showed signs of "love bombing." She also noted that in the second video it appears as if Blake is smoking something from a drug pipe. Allison said that behavior would be in keeping with a possible trauma bond between Blake and Braet. Allison's testimony made it clear the defense was building on an earlier theory it laid out Friday morning, during the cross-examination of Robinson. The last witness Blake's defense called was attorney Garth Carlson, who represented Blake in drug court and received a text message from Blake on Jan. 16, 2024, asking to talk. Carlson testified that he did not speak with Blake until "Jan. 22 or 23" while Blake was being held in the Scott County Jail. He told jurors that Blake was disoriented and "didn't make any sense." The states last witness Robinson was the last witness Cunningham presented to jurors, and his final testimony started Thursday afternoon. Cunningham finished direct examination Thursday and Robinson returned to the stand Friday morning to begin cross-examination by Kragnes. Kragnes used the cross-examination to raise issues of reasonable doubt and present the theory the defense team introduced in its opening statement on May 7 that Braet coerced Blake into taking part in the murders and fleeing the scene. Braet's trial is set to start June 16 in Scott County. And he will continue to be represented by State Assistant Public Defender Jill Eimermann and Amy Kepes of the State Public Defender's Office. While he is not in court, Braet's presence has loomed over the trial and Kragnes put Braet at the center of much of Fridays cross-examination of Robinson. In response to the defense attorneys questions, Robinson noted that Braet had a record that included guilty verdicts for first-degree harassment, participation in a riot, willful injury, assault causing bodily injury, possession of firearm by a felon and several domestic abuse cases. Robinson also answered in the affirmative when asked if Braet was in federal parole for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and was supposed to be wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the murders. Kragnes then questioned Robinson about Blakes extensive record of drug possession and theft, and its lack of violence. Kragnes pointed out that Braet was the only person in possession of a weapon when he and Blake were arrested on Jan. 18, 2024. Kragnes also asked Robinson if he was familiar with the idea of trauma bonds. The detective said he was not. The defense attorney then asked if Robinson was familiar with victims of domestic abuse staying with their abusers. Robinson answered in the affirmative. In response to questions from Kragnes, Robinson affirmed that investigators dont know who shot Goodwin and Smith in the basement of 5210 N. Division St. on Jan. 15, 2024. Robinson also affirmed that investigators do not know the exact time of death for Goodwin and Smith. Kragnes also asked the witness if it was known why Smith had two baggies of suspected meth hidden in the bra she was wearing. He also asked the detective if the key found in her bra was matched to a safe. Robinson relied No to each question. Kragnes also asked Robinson if anyone followed up on the statements of Melisa Weber, who said during an interview that Blake and Braet acted in self-defense. Robinson struggled to recall the interview, and Kragnes produced a transcript that showed Robinson told Weber to stop talking about self-defense. Later, under re-direct from Cunningham, Robinson explained that Weber was not providing information that agreed with the statements of other witnesses. Robinson pointed out that Weber wasn't deemed as credible after it was discovered she placed the call to Crime Stoppers that told police to look at Jonathan Parrish as the person who shot Goodwin and Smith. DES MOINES In February, hundreds of people packed into the Iowa Capitol rotunda, shouting, chanting and waving transgender pride flags as Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate chambers passed a bill removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Shortly after, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the legislation, making Iowa the first state to remove a protected class from a states civil code. While this was one of the most contentious and widely followed events of the 2025 legislative session, it also coincided with another historic benchmark for the state: the 60th anniversary of the Iowa Civil Rights Act Over a month later, in a much emptier and quieter rotunda, staff from the Iowa Office of Civil Rights stood at a table, speaking to passersby and handing out literature highlighting the work they do for civil rights in Iowa to mark the acts April 29 anniversary. Signed in 1965, the Iowa Civil Rights Act provides legal protection for discrimination against protected classes regarding housing, employment, education, public services and accommodations, banking and more. While this years anniversary took on a more low-key tone, a much larger event was held a decade ago for the acts 50th year. As the act quietly turns 60, some who were involved in its formation and continuation reflect on where it is at today and worry about where it will stand in the future. Iowas civil rights legacy In 1851, Iowa became the third state in the country to overturn a ban on interracial marriage, decades before other Midwestern states followed suit. After that, Iowa continued to be a leading state in the country in civil rights. In 1868, an Iowa Supreme Court ruling integrated Iowa's schools 96 years before the U.S. Supreme Courts Brown v. Board of Ed. decision did the same thing. In 2009, Iowa became the fourth state, and the first in the Midwest, to legalize same-sex marriage before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it nationally in 2015. We have been in the forefront for centuries, really going back to the 1800s in terms of civil rights, and it's always surprised people when they hear that history, said Alicia Claypool, founder of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa and former chair of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. We have that foundation, and yet here we are, nearly two centuries later. Iowa civil rights lawyer Roxanne Conlin remembers the passage of the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 1965. Six years later, she ended up litigating the first court case, Iron Workers Local No. 67 v. Hart, under the act as an attorney in the early days of her legal career. Despite the acts passage, Conlin said that it took a while for Iowa to adhere to it. It took a very long time, Conlin said. The law existed, people did not know about the law, people did not follow the law. Since 1965, lawmakers have amended the act to add a slate of protected classes, including sex in 1970, disability and age in 1972 and sexual orientation and gender identity in 2007. Removing gender identity During the 2024 legislative session, a bill proposing the removal of gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act was introduced, but failed to get any lawmakers to advance it out of a three-person subcommittee. This year, a similar bill was passed by both chambers and signed by the governor within just more than a week of its introduction. Republican lawmakers argued that legal protections for transgender Iowans guaranteed by the Civil Rights Act have made some spaces, including bathrooms and locker rooms, more dangerous for women. The removal of gender identity as a protected class means that transgender rights are not elevated of both women and other citizens. The hyperbolic argument that taking this step will cause discrimination does not hold up to scrutiny or common sense, Republican Rep. Steven Holt, of Denison, the bills floor manager in the House, said during debate on the legislation in February. The legislature of Iowa created the Civil Rights Code, and we believe it is absolutely within our authority to change it. Obvious in our authority to add classes to the Civil Rights Code is our authority to alter that same code and remove what had previously been put there by prior legislatures. After the removal of gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act goes into effect on July 1, complaints of alleged illegal discrimination based on gender identity to the Iowa Office of Human Rights that happened on June 30 or up to 300 days before then will still be taken up by the office, according to the office. Gender identity and sexual orientation were placed in the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 2007, when Democrats controlled the Iowa Legislature and the governors office. Currently, Republican majorities give the GOP full control of the state lawmaking process. Ralph Rosenberg, a former Democratic state legislator who served in the Iowa House and Senate in the 1980s and 1990s as well as the director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission from 2003 through 2010, was part of a coalition that worked to add gender identity protections to the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Having that law in place meant that we had a policy set by the state, by government, saying this is what the law of the land is, Rosenberg said. The schools wanted to obey it, and they also understood the sensitivities of a lot of the schools just becoming aware of the trans community. Democratic Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, of Ames, was the floor manager of the bill, tallying the votes it had to pass and introducing it on the floor of the House. She still has the big notebook she used to track where lawmakers fell on the legislation. It was such a huge honor to do that, to be selected to be the person to manage that bill. Pat Murphy was the speaker of the House at the time, and he said, You know what, that there's never going to be anything bigger this is the biggest thing you'll ever do, and he was right, Wessel-Kroeschell said. Nearly two decades later in the same chamber, Wessel-Kroeschell watched as what she helped pass was struck down. She noted a shift in tone around the issue as well as other LGBTQ+-related legislation, adding that when she worked on the bills passage, there was an outpouring of public support, including from the business community. We've just found over the last few years that so many people are afraid to even register in favor or in opposition to a bill. They are simply putting undecided down, Wessel-Kroeschell said. Ive been on both ends of it. Its kind of unbelievable. Five Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the bill in the House, including Rep. Norlin Mommsen, of DeWitt. I voted against removing gender identity from the civil rights code because I'm concerned it could lead to discrimination of some people, Mommsen said. I just am against discrimination, no matter what you call it. That's one of the things I've tried to be here, is consistent. This wasnt the first time Mommsen backed the Iowa Civil Rights Act on the House floor. In 2015, he was one of six Republicans who signed onto a House resolution honoring the 50th anniversary of the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which failed to advance. The Iowa Office of Civil Rights Along with establishing civil rights protections, the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965 also created the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, which enforces the act, provides conflict resolution services including mediation and conciliation for civil rights matters and works to prevent discrimination by providing training and education to the public. Kristin Stiffler, who Reynolds appointed as the director of the Iowa Office of Civil Rights in 2023, said during the commissions 60th year, the office hired an outreach coordinator and plans on holding more educational events across the state this year. We are really focusing on, especially the 60th, to really help people understand what our office, our agency does in regards to how we fulfill our mission and support Iowans, Stiffler said. What our main mission is, is to provide impartial, fact-driven, investigative legal reports. Last year, the office completed almost 1,500 legal investigations at different stages within its process, Stiffler said. The office has experienced changes in the last few years. In Reynolds 2023 government realignment bill, the office became an attached unit of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Last year, the legislature passed a bill that shifted the Iowa Civil Rights Commission under the Office of Civil Rights. Stiffler said this shift aligned the office with a change made in 1977 when commission appointment power was shifted to the governor and the new law didnt alter how the office or commission functioned. We're going in the exact opposite direction of that legacy When he served in the Iowa Legislature, Rosenberg said the tone around LGBTQ+ issues was vastly different compared to today. He said that although bills expanding LGBTQ+ rights didnt have broad bipartisan support, including adding gender identity to the Iowa Civil Rights Act, more lawmakers were willing to listen and consider the legislation. There was not this hatred which has really been fomented in the last 10 years, which is really disturbing. And it's disturbing because people haven't pushed back, Rosenberg said. We didn't have the hatred. We just had questions, as people during the debate would ask me things, or when we were debating HIV/AIDS legislation and hate crimes laws, people were more curious. Keenan Crow, director of Policy and Advocacy at One Iowa, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, has lobbied at the Iowa Capitol for nearly a decade. Compared to the first LGBTQ+-related bill they worked with lawmakers on relating to AIDS, Crow said there has been a shift in how lawmakers approach these issues. It feels more like a cynical political calculation interacting up there these days than it does about trying to figure out where the evidence points us and what policy would be best for our state, Crow said. Now it's like, well, what policy will be best for me getting reelected and for fundraising? Crow added that they know many Iowans are leaving the state after gender identity protections were removed from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, including One Iowa Board members. It's almost like we're going in the exact opposite direction of that legacy that we established for hundreds of years, Crow said. There's a lot of folks who are understandably scared, who are worried about themselves, about their families. Claypool said she wouldnt be surprised if removing gender identity from the act is the first domino, with other classes following in future legislative sessions. She says, despite recent changes, she still has hope for the future of the act. There have been hundreds of people that have worked on these issues over the decades, and some of them are gone now, and I just don't want us to forget about all the people that have fought for justice and equality in our state, Claypool said. We need, we need younger people to, you know, pick up the mantle and carry us forward. The Gazette's Tom Barton and Erin Murphy contributed to this report. Five years have passed since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Floyds death was the latest in a string of high-profile killings of Black men by law enforcement. Video filmed by a bystander went viral and catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement into months of nationwide protests. Richmond with its attention-grabbing Confederate monuments became the eye of the storm in Virginia. The pressure revived criticisms of the Richmond Police Department from 2018, after the death of Marcus-David Peters, and drew fresh criticisms after the same department deployed tear gas on protesters. Protesters sought wholesale change; some demanded police be abolished. And many changes were promised. How many of those promises were kept? With President Trump in office, some experts also wonder if scrutiny of policing will survive into the future. On Wednesday, the administrations Department of Justice announced that it would abandon oversight of nine police agencies, including the Minneapolis Police Department. UVA Professor Brian N. Williams, an expert on police-community relations, described the pendulum shifting back to before Floyds death. From my perspective, its a really terrible time, said Williams, citing the Trump administrations funding cut to community violence interrupters in Charlottesville. The Times-Dispatch looked at areas where police reform advocates demanded change and spoke with experts and advocates familiar with where those changes stand today. A promised civilian review board The 2020 protests arrived after legislators had concluded business for the year. But after unrest, state lawmakers convened a special session to craft reforms tailored to policing. One allowed the creation of civilian review boards. The boards were intended to offer community members oversight of their local police department. Richmond had previously flirted with the idea in 2018, after the death of Peters. In July 2020, City Council said it would deliver. For a year, a task force deliberated on the review board. Then, for another year, City Council and Mayor Levar Stoney negotiated over the task forces recommendation. The city ultimately moved forward in 2022, writing the review board into the city code. The board can review the departments internal affairs investigations and publish their findings to the public. However, it lacks its own subpoena powers, which would allow the board to extract protected records from the police department in a scenario where the department didnt willingly disclose personnel records to investigators. The board does have the ability to petition a Richmond Circuit Court judge for a subpoena. In 2024, the city hired a manager for the board former FBI officer Joseph Lowery who is still reviewing applications for who would sit on the board. City code bars law enforcement from serving on the eight-person board. Since his hiring last February, Lowery has been establishing the boards policies and procedures, according to the citys website. Reform advocates see Lowerys appointment, and the adoption of a board without tougher oversight powers, as a broken promise. Organizers repeatedly told City Council that by putting any type of law enforcement on this board, it would delay the process and therefore delay any justice and transparency. But they didnt listen, and here we are years later, and things are unfolding exactly how we predicted, said Chelsea Higgs Wise, an advocate for police accountability and co-founder of Marijuana Justice. Lowery said he views himself as a facilitator whose expertise could help answer board members questions. The boards actions will be guided by its members, who will be appointed by City Council, Lowery said. A similar proposal for a civilian review board was floated in Henrico County. The idea initially received support in June 2020, but then was withdrawn a year later. A proposal to hire a prosecutor focused on police accountability also faltered after Henricos county manager cut funding for the position. The cut came after prosecutor Shannon Taylor offered the job to Misty Whitehead, who had expressed support for police reform on social media. Whitehead was elected to Henricos Board of Supervisors in 2023. Decertifying the bad apples Lawmakers special session in 2020 also delivered changes to the way the state monitors police officers. The state could now more easily decertify officers accused of wrongdoing. Decertified officers are barred from working in any law enforcement capacity under state code. Between 2000 and 2020, around 80 Virginia law enforcement officers had been decertified, and typically for the most severe offenses. But since the law change, more than 300 law enforcement officers have been removed from the profession, according to records from the Department of Criminal Justice Services. A majority of officers were decertified for lying, forging records, or otherwise making untruthful statements during internal affairs investigations, the state records show. Their cases are heard by a board of prosecutors and police chiefs. The hearings were once public, but have since been made secret due to a law change in 2024. Lawmakers believed the secrecy would encourage more police departments to engage with the decertification process. Police lobbyists and the NAACP backed the legislation. The change has shuttered a window for the public to see how law enforcement agencies police themselves. Transparency remains a fight Virginias public records laws, which are viewed as quite weak by transparency advocates and some state legislators, shield police departments from having to release most types of records. Still, some agencies offer up critical records willingly. The Richmond Police Department is among those. It shares body-worn camera footage of police shootings within two weeks of an incident, as well as use of force statistics and an annual list of officers with the most internal affairs complaints. Other departments have seemingly gone the other direction. The Chesterfield County Police Department and the Hanover County Sheriffs Office have, for several years now, fought to keep one of the most basic records private: the names of their employees. A court of appeals recently ruled they did so in violation of public records laws. Changes at the Richmond Police Department Richmond police say the department looks substantially different now than five years ago. The department's spokesperson shared a catalogue of changes made during that time. Among those is the department's increased use of behavioral health clinicians to respond to mental health emergencies, part of the state's reforms under Marcus Alert legislation. Behavioral health clinicians have responded to more than 1,000 emergency calls alongside a police officer since the unit was formed in 2023, said James Mercante, the department spokesperson. Mercante said that patrol officers outside of the Marcus Alert system are frequently tasked to de-escalate and that the numbers "do not reflect the numbers of interactions handled deftly and with empathy by patrol officers throughout the year." Other changes in the department include: Training for police officers, known as ICAT, meant to reduce fatal uses of force. Quarterly crime briefings, which provide regular access to Police Chief Rick Edwards. A violence interrupters program, led by Dr. Gwen Andrews. Transparency around use of force incidents and internal affairs complaints, which are posted online. The department's general orders also are now online, a measure which was required by a judge in a legal settlement stemming from the George Floyd protests. Critical incident briefings that show body-worn camera video within two weeks of police shootings. BolaWrap's, a new nonlethal device used by the department. JaPharii Jones, president of the Virginia Beach-based chapter of Black Lives Matter, said their group continues to struggle with police transparency as well. This year, three sheriffs deputies were indicted for second-degree murder in the death of Rolin Hill, whose death in custody was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner. The Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office has not released body-worn camera footage of the incident, although the group has seen a snippet of the footage in a bond hearing for the officers. The video shows a deputy punching Hill in the head while restrained. Hills death was initially announced as a medical emergency. We never see body-cam footage, said Jones. I dont feel like theres been any significant change, and I also feel like its not even on the forefront. You dont hear any of these political campaigns running off of criminal justice, police reform, ending qualified immunity, everything we were talking about in 2020. Virginia police shootings trend up in recent years Well before the turmoil caused by Floyds murder, lawmakers tasked state police to track the number of times police use lethal force. Annual tallies show that the number has trended upward since 2016 a potentially anomalous year with only four lethal shootings. Nearly all the shootings were ruled as justified by local commonwealths attorneys who reviewed the cases, including the 2023 shooting of Charles Byers in Chesterfield County. That year, Virginia reported 40 police shootings, up from 27 the previous year. Richmond registered five shootings in 2023, including two that were fatal, according to annual crime reports filed by the Virginia State Police. A shooting in Fairfax County did lead to criminal charges for Wesley Shifflett, a Fairfax police sergeant who killed an unarmed, fleeing shoplifter. A jury sentenced Shiflett to three years imprisonment for reckless handling of a firearm, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin commuted his sentence in March. State: Traffic stops still show disparity In 2020, the legislature required police to begin collecting data on traffic stops. Each time an officer made a stop, they were required to report the race of the driver. Year after year, state reports analyzing that data continue to find racial disparities. The most recent edition of that report found that Black and Hispanic drivers were also more likely to result in a search or an arrest than stops of drivers from other racial groups. In 2024, the most recent full year of data, 53% of drivers stopped by Richmond police officers were Black, while 37% were white and 7% were marked as unknown, the data show. According to the census, Richmonds racial demographics are 42% Black and 42% white, with a caveat that some of the data is muddied because the census tracks mixed-race residents separately. -- "The overall finding of this analysis is that, statewide, Black and to a lesser degree Hispanic drivers in Virginia were disproportionately stopped by law enforcement when compared to other drivers between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, based on the number of state resident drivers stopped relative to their numbers in Virginias driving-age population." - Department of Criminal Justice's annual "Report on Analysis of Traffic Stop Data Collected under Virginia's Community Policing Act" Richmonds police department adamantly defended its policing last year, when a judge found that it made discriminatory stops of Black motorists. The judge made that ruling looking at an early batch of data on traffic stops for six months in 2020, which found that 77% of drivers stopped by police were Black. Gerald Smith was the departments police chief during that time. The departments current police chief pushed back on U.S. District Judge John A. Gibneys comments from the bench. The Richmond Police Department does not stop motorists based on race, Police Chief Rick Edwards said. Edwards said the department uses data to regularly analyze where to best allocate resources in an effort to decrease injury and loss of life. Edwards has previously called these areas hotspots. Murder, shootings, shootings into occupied vehicles and occupied dwellings these are the violent crimes we are attempting to decrease with the presence of officers, Edwards statement read. Officers deployed throughout the city perform other duties to include making traffic stops when a violation is observed. Gibneys ruling was also lampooned by lawyers for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, who warned that a rise in crime was sure to follow Gibneys ruling. This federal court judge has essentially said that any minority driver pulled over in the state of Virginia can now have his or her charges dismissed just because he or she isnt white, wrote Zack Smith, a lawyer for the group, in an op-ed in The Times-Dispatch last year. But advocates heralded the decision, saying it laid the groundwork for others to challenge their convictions. In February, advocates took the issue to Richmonds City Council. Yohance Whitaker, an advocate with the Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project, says the data tell the story of daily abuses felt by Richmond residents. Thats why many of us still feel that lives are at risk every time we encounter police during a traffic stop, said Whitaker. The Richmond Police Department does engage in discriminatory traffic stops. Its a daily thing. Correction: A previous verison of this story did not capture JaPharii Jones proper title with the Virginia Beach chapter of Black Lives Matter. Aer Lingus unveils its new direct flights from Dublin to Cancun Cancun, Q.R. Irish airline Aer Lingus unveils its new direct flights from Dublin to Cancun. Aer Lingus has announced the launch of its first direct flight to Cancun, Mexico, commencing from January 2026. This new direct service, operating from 6 January to 29 April 2026, provides an effortless option for those looking to escape the cold Irish winter months, while avoiding the hassle of long stopovers. Lynne Embleton, Aer Lingus Chief Executive Officer, said Our new direct route from Dublin to Cancun introduces a vibrant new destination to our network and further increases Aer Lingus winter sun offering. Our research highlights a strong appetite amongst customers for new travel experiences, particularly seasonal destinations beyond the peak summer period. Mexico, with its tropical climate, caters to the growing consumer demand for winter sun, while also offering a rich blend of history, culture and cuisine. The new route from Dublin to Cancun will operate three times weekly on the airlines A330-300 aircraft, offering Irish holidaymakers a seamless route to the warmth and vibrant cultural heritage of the Mexican Caribbean. Cancun, with its balmy weather, golden beaches and crystal-clear waters has long been a popular destination with Irish travelers, making it a perfect addition to the airlines long-haul portfolio. The appeal of Cancun goes beyond its beaches. The region is also home to the awe-inspiring archaeological sites of El Rey, Ichkabal, Coba, Kohunlich, El Meco, Chichen Itza,and Tulum, which offer a fascinating glimpse into Mexicos rich heritage, they reported in a statement. Beyond its stunning landscapes and historical intrigue, Cancun offers Irish foodies a chance to savor the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine. From the smoky, charred richness of grilled meats to the regions iconic zesty ceviche, Cancun is a haven for food lovers. Whether indulging in local delicacies like lobster pizza, queso de bola, crispy sweet Marquesitas or savoring freshly made Guacamole, visitors can embark on a culinary adventure that brings Mexicos world-famous flavors to life, offering an experience that has already captivated taste buds across Ireland. This route opens up the potential for travelers from across Europe and the UK to connect seamlessly in Dublin to Aer Lingus new Cancun route. Already a favorite with honeymooners, Cancun also offers a wide range of family-friendly hotels and resorts catering to all price points. For those hoping for a winter break with a difference, Cancun offers a fantastic alternative for those looking for a hassle-free journey to a culturally rich sunshine hotpot. Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama said Quintana Roo, the Mexican Caribbean, welcomes and celebrates the first direct Dublin to Cancun flight from Aer Lingus. We will work together with our partner Aer Lingus to make this a successful operation! The announcement of this new route comes as Ireland and Mexico mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Carolina Zaragoza Flores, Ambassador of Mexico to Ireland said In a landmark moment coinciding with the significant 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Ireland, the Embassy of Mexico warmly welcomes the commencement of direct flights connecting our two nations. This important development, fueled by a growing bilateral trade relationship that sees Mexico as Irelands top trading partner in Latin America and Ireland as Mexicos sixth-largest trade partner within the European Union, will undoubtedly foster even stronger economic ties, and lead toward a strategic partnership. By facilitating increased tourism, business opportunities, and cultural exchange, this direct air link will further enrich the deep and enduring friendship we celebrate this year. Aer Lingus new Dublin-Cancun route will not only bring Irish travelers closer to Cancun but will also provide them with an authentic connection to Mexicos vibrant cultural landscape. Whether its exploring the ancient Mayan sites, enjoying the culinary delights, or immersing oneself in the lively atmosphere of Cancun, this direct flight is the perfect gateway to an unforgettable adventure. Extradited from Texas: Cancun judge hands down 50 year sentence for raping teen and burying her alive Cancun, Q.R. Carlos Mario Zacarias Jimenez has been sentenced to 50 years for attempted femicide and rape against a minor. The suspect was sentenced Friday. Carlos Mario Zacarias Jimenez was accused of raping and then burying his victim in the back yard after he believed her to be dead. According to police, the incident happened in May 2021 in an area outside Cancun known as Santa Cecilia. The victim was selling plums to local residents that her parents harvested. Upon meeting the man, he asked her to take some plums to his home. The victim agreed, believing the mans wife was there. The minor arrived at the home where the man subdued her and forced her inside. He attempted to suffocate her by covering her mouth and nose, causing her to faint. Taking advantage of the situation, he committed the crime of rape. Carlos Mario Zacarias Jimenez later believed the girl was dead, so he abandoned her semi-naked body in a hole in the ground behind a thatched roof. The victim was found by a neighbor who requested assistance from the authorities to transport her to a hospital, police reported. Upon learning that the victim had survived the incident, Carlos Mario Zacarias Jimenez fled to San Marcos, Texas, where he was captured and extradited to Mexico. PDC helicopter assists firemen on the ground to fight brush blaze Playa del Carmen, Q.R. Playa del Carmen firemen were assisted Friday in fighting a fire with help from the municipal SSC. The Secretary of Citizen Security (SSC) of Playa del Carmen aided the ground battle with flyovers of a brush fire. According to authorities, citizens reported the large fire after seeing thick black smoke rising from inside a fenced property. At the scene south of the city, firefighters were greeted by a fast moving brush fire. The fire was located on a property across the street from the Lazaro Cardenas del Rio taxi drivers union Friday afternoon. Authorities did not provide a cause for the blaze, but did say it was put out without incident and that there were no injures caused. Thanks to a prompt citizen call and surveillance overflights by the Playa del Carmen Citizen Security Services Albatross helicopter, a fire was detected in a patch of brush south of Playa del Carmen. The fire occurred on a property located across the street from the Lazaro Cardenas del Rio taxi drivers union, where emergency protocols were activated to prevent further damage. This event reaffirms the operational importance of the Citizen Security Secretariats Albatross helicopter, a key tool that allows for rapid response to emergencies, monitoring hard-to-reach areas, and safeguarding the population. We continue working, from the air and on the ground, for the safety of Playa del Carmen. Serve and Protect! the SSC of Playa del Carmen said. Stolen security truck with over 3 million inside stopped outside Chetumal Chetumal, Q.R. A man believed connected to the theft of a security truck loaded with over 3 million in cash was located Friday. Police say Cesar Ricardo N was arrested from a police filter after they were given a heads-up of his arrival by a monitoring dispatcher. The dispatcher reported the security truck approaching the police filter along the federal highway outside Chetumal. Police said once stopped, they verified that the vehicle was reported stolen from the State of Mexico. Inside the truck authorities found 3.8 million pesos in cash. On the uniformed driver police also found a manipulated key used to access the security box. In custody is Cesar Ricardo N for his involvement in the crime of concealment. In a statement, the SSC of Quintana Roo said Cesar Ricardo N was arrested, allegedly involved in the crime of concealment. Officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC), located at the Security Control Module located at kilometer 12.5 of the Chetumal-Bacalar federal highway, received information from the monitoring dispatcher and stopped the vehicle. Upon inspection, it was confirmed that the Ford F350, white and black, bearing the legend Transporte Lock S.A. de C.V., with license plates from the State of Mexico, was the same vehicle reported stolen with the Vehicle Theft Prosecutors Office of the Attorney Generals Office of the State of Mexico. The vehicle was seized along with the driver and the amount of 3,845,350 Mexican pesos found in three sealed plastic bags in the vehicles safe. In addition, the vehicles ignition key with the legend Ford with the number 586 with a section of metal wire with six silver keys. The key is a rectangular device with a keypad of numbers and symbols where the legend Siglo Cerradura Randomica can be seen, which was used to manipulate the internal security box. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. This week saw yet another federal judge run out of patience when the Trump administration attempted to deport a group of migrants to South Sudanin express violation of a court order prohibiting them from doing so without notice and an opportunity to contest their removal. At a series of hearings, Judge Brian E. Murphy furiously rebuked the administration for ignoring his instructions, evading his questions, and generally conducting immigration policy as though it is the worlds biggest game of whack-a-mole. Murphy also raised the prospect of holding officials in contempt for defying his orders. Less than a day after he did so, however, House Republicans passed a bill that would gut federal judges authority to enforce contempt ordersan obvious effort to stop the judiciary from punishing administration officials who disobey the courts. On this weeks Slate Plus bonus episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discussed the governments latest flouting of a court order as well as the GOPs effort to insulate defiant officials from consequence. A preview of their conversation, below, has been edited for length and clarity. Dahlia Lithwick: Some of the most stunning news of the week involved this hearing in a federal court about deportation to South Sudan. There were so many layers, but it seems to include the overt violation of a court order, an insane performance by Trumps Justice Department, and the renditioning of people into a country that is deemed too dangerous for Americans to travel to. What exactly did the Trump administration try to do this week? Advertisement Mark Joseph Stern: The Trump administration tried to deport about half a dozen immigrants to South Sudan, a country so riven by a violent civil war that the U.S. government has warned travelers not to even step foot there. And none of these individuals were even from South Sudanit was a so-called third country, not their country of origin. The federal government said: We know its too dangerous for American travelers, but its not too dangerous to serve as our dumping ground for immigrants who we dont want in America anymore. And immigration officials reportedly gave these immigrants less than 24 hours notice before putting them on this plane headed to Africa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The problem here is that Judge Brian Murphy, a Joe Biden appointee, had already issued an injunction prohibiting the government from expelling anybody to a third country without giving them a meaningful opportunity to object on the grounds that they may face torture or persecution there. But the government ignored that order and put these migrants on a plane to South Sudan, forcing their lawyers to rush to court and plead with Murphy to enforce his injunction while their clients were already in the air to Africa. Advertisement And it sounds like Judge Murphy was not here for ithe was willing to say the quiet parts out loud about what was going on here without hesitating to call out the DOJ. Right. Murphy held an emergency hearing and ordered the government to actually abide by his injunction, in part by maintaining custody over the men who were on the plane rather than dumping them in South Sudan and turning around. That was a smart move since we now know the governments position is that once individuals have been dumped off in a third country, they are outside U.S. custody and theres nothing the United States can do to get them back. Murphy also clarified that his injunction requires the government to give individuals at least 10 days notice to raise objections to their deportations to third countries. Advertisement Advertisement During this hearing, Justice Department lawyers actually argued that 24 hours was enough notice to comply with due process before sending immigrants to a war-torn country that theyve never set foot in. That was a rather brazen and brassy claim for Justice Department lawyers to make less than one week after the Supreme Court held that 24 hours notice was not nearly enough time to afford to Venezuelan migrants who faced deportation to El Salvador. Judge Murphy also speculated that immigration officials had acted with criminal contempt in defying his order. He has not taken any action to hold them in contempt yet, but those proceedings seem to be down the road. Advertisement Related From Slate Trump Defies a Judges Order With Another Deportation FlightThis Time to South Sudan Read More During the hearing, Joshua J. Friedman quoted Judge Murphy saying that the government believes it had complied with his orders because it didnt hear the immigrants yelling at their jailers saying theyre afraid of going to South Sudan. I guess thats the only signal the DOJ would have accepted that they dont want to be renditioned there. Advertisement Theres now the usual fog of speculation about whether Judge Murphy will actually hold anyone in contempt. But that leads us to something that Republicans smuggled into their big, crappy, midnight bill: a provision that would prevent judges enforcing contempt orders that seems aimed straight at the heart of these district courts that are considering contempt against Trump officials. Is this a real threat? Or just an attempt to chill district courts from doing their job? Advertisement Advertisement It is a huge threat. This provision, if enacted into law, would prevent courts from enforcing contempt orders when the courts did not force the plaintiffs to post bond. But as Erwin Chemerinsky, Samuel Bray, and other experts have explained, courts do not traditionally require plaintiffs to post bond when theyre suing the government, especially over violations of civil rights and constitutional law. There is a long-standing tradition that most federal courts dont force plaintiffs to post bond in those cases. And so, right now, there are thousands of injunctions that would be rendered totally unenforceable if this provision passes into law. And they are disproportionately injunctions against the federal government prohibiting violations of civil rights and constitutional liberties. If this provision passes into law, then none of those could be enforced, because in none of these cases did the district court require the plaintiffs to post bond. Advertisement That would mean that Judge James Boasberg could not enforce a contempt order against the government. It would mean that Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing the Abrego Garcia case, could not enforce a contempt order. It would mean that Judge Murphy, in this very case, could not enforce contempt against officials who defied him. It would mean that basically all of the federal judges who have ruled against the Trump administration so far would not be able to enforce contempt orders if the government defies their injunctions, because they did not require the plaintiffs to post bond. Advertisement Advertisement Now, heres the weird thing: The courts could get around this by just directing plaintiffs to post some nominal bond, maybe even $1. But there is no way for the courts to go back in time and do that in many of these other cases. And this provision applies to a bunch of long-standing injunctions that have been in effect for years, including desegregation orders in the South. These are ongoing, permanent injunctions that the government, if this provision passes, could simply defy. And then if a court tries to hold officials in contempt, the government could say: Too bad, the plaintiffs didnt post bond, so we get out of contempt for free. This is a recipe to let government officials get away with defying many, many injunctionsnot just those against Trump. Advertisement Mark, given how squirrely this all sounds, what are the chances of it passing into law? The problem for Republicans is that this provision has been smuggled into the reconciliation bill. And a Democratic aide to the Senate Judiciary Committee has told me that Democrats are planning to challenge it as a violation of the Byrd rule, meaning it cant be passed by a simple majorityit must be subject to the filibuster. And I think theyll convince the Senate parliamentarian that it must be stripped out, because it has no clear impact on the budget. So thats the note of optimism. The note of pessimism, though, is that Senate Republicans just overruled the Senate parliamentarian this past week to repeal Californias vehicle emission standards. It is certainly not inconceivable that they would overrule the parliamentarian again, now that theyve crossed this Rubicon, to enact any part of the reconciliation bill with a simple majority. Theyve already gone nuclear to kill clean air standardswhy not do it to hobble federal courts ruling against Trump, too? Sign up for the Surge, the newsletter that covers most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. Welcome to this weeks edition of the Surge, a newsletter that sees how auto loans for American-made cars could soon be tax-deductible and has preordered a dozen new Ford F-150s. Youd be losing money not to! Thats just one benefit from the megabill that the House passed this week; downsides include, potentially, having less food. Meanwhile, we had hot parliamentary developments in the Senate, Democrats continued to wrestle with questions of mortality (always the mortality with these guys), and the new MAGA FBI is boring its audience. The Surge would never bore its audience! Thats why Mr. Electricity himself leads the way. 1. Mike Johnson Magic Mike. (Sorry for the mental image.) Last week, we thought the lingering problems Speaker Mike Johnson had to resolve in order to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (yes, official title) werent all that difficultbut we did doubt he could get it done ahead of his self-imposed deadline of Memorial Day. Conservative spending hawks would surely need another week or two of being pains in the ass before reluctantly signing on. But conservatives were able to get the screams out of their systems in just a few short days, and after an overnight session, Johnson gaveled in passage of the sprawling bill by a 2152141 margin early Thursday morning. Advertisement Whats in the bill? Well, what isnt? At its core, it extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts while introducing a few new tax cuts; boosts spending on border security, interior immigration enforcement, and defense; and slashes health care and food benefits for low-income people while eliminating clean-energy subsidies. Big picture? The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the lowest income decile would see a reduction in household resources, while the highest would see an increase. In other words, the rich come out better and the poor come out worse. Well find out what changes the Senate has in store, but the House Democrats campaign arm has seen all it needs to ahead of the 2026 midterms. In any eventnice hustle, Mike Johnson. 2. Donald Trump His yelling continues to work. Now, sure, sure, Johnson may run the House, and no doubt his patient approach in dealing with competing factions of windbags kept the process in gear. But the arguing may never have stopped had Trump not entered the process and told everyone to fall in line or hed ruin their lives. Trump did that on Tuesday morning with a visit to a House Republican meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the blue-state moderates thinking their longtime New Yorker president was on their side in wanting to blow the cap on state and local tax deductions, Trump warned that doing so would only benefit Democrat governors who are destroying our country. The SALT caucus accepted leaders next offer. To the conservatives, meanwhile, his words were: Dont fuck around with Medicaid. And while the bill does certainly fuck around with Medicaid, the message to the conservatives was to quit fighting for the deeper, structural cuts they couldnt let go. At a White House meeting the next day, Trump reportedly cursed out the Freedom Caucus chair, Republican Rep. Andy Harris, telling him, Youre stupid if you vote against this bill. Harris ultimately voted present. Every other Freedom Caucus member voted for the bill when it passed about 12 hours later. Its been a while since a president had this much power within his own party, and Johnson has used him to his full advantage. Advertisement 3. John Thune Its just one tactical nukewhys everyone so bent out of shape? A great number of wealthy interests have been relying on Republicans to crack down on a series of strict California emissions standards and its electric vehicle mandate, which the Biden administration allowed to proceed via waivers in 2024. The means for doing this, Republicans hoped, was through use of the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to nix recently passed federal rules by simple majority vote in both chambersin other words, without being subject to the Senate filibuster. The hitch, though, was that the Government Accountability Office determined that the waivers didnt qualify as rules under the CRA, an assessment that the Senate parliamentarian seconded. Now, to ignore the determination of the Senate parliamentarian is generally understood to be a red line that, if crossed, would erode the legislative filibuster. And we know, from their protestations under Democratic majorities, how Senate Republicans swear to love the filibuster more than their own mothers. But on the other hand they really dont like these tree-hugger California car rules! So this week, Senate Republicans, after some persuading by Majority Leader John Thune, shelved the parliamentarians counsel and rejected the waivers by simple majority, setting a new precedent that will expand the Senates target list of potential rules to eliminate by majority voteas well as open the door to future whittling of the filibuster. Despite Democrats fulminations against Republicans move as going nuclear, we dont think theyre all that upset in the long run. It gives them a new justification to tear down the filibuster further when theyre in the majority next (in infinity years). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 4. Gerry Connolly Democrats impatience with aging members grows. The morning before the House voted on the OBBBA, Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly died from esophageal cancer. The disease moved quickly; Connolly was diagnosed in November. Even just a year ago, Connollynever at a loss for wordswas in fine fighting shape. Until his disease, he had the right combination of cable television presence, understanding of the federal government, and investigative know-how to serve as top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. But by the time he got the job a few months ago, that had all changed. Connolly was always available to reporters, even if he would get mad at their stupid questions. Well miss him. The one-vote margin on the OBBBA the next morning, though, couldnt help but trigger Democrats continued frustration about their aging political class. Connolly is the third House Democrat to die this year, after Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner and Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva. We feelstronglythat Democrats still wouldnt have stopped the bill had those three seats been filled; Republicans couldve both flipped more votes if theyd needed to or couldve woken up the guy who fell asleep for the vote. Elected Democrats, however, should expect their age, in and of itself, to be cause enough for primary challenges going forward. A great, great deal of Democratic voters have had enough. We wonder why Advertisement 5. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson Slate Book Club. If youve turned on the television to any channel this week, youve likely seen Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson being interviewed about their new book Original Sin, which details the cover-up of former President Joe Bidens declining cognitive condition as he prepared to run for reelection. The Surge is about halfway through and can confirm: Yep, the cognition was indeed declining, and it didnt start in a particularly great place either. Targets for scorn include what the authors term the Politburolongtime Biden advisers, like Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchettias well as the Biden family and their closest personal aides. Former first lady Jill Biden does not come across well in this book. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Democrats are exhausted by the news cycle this book has whipped up, in part because its a painful and embarrassing conversation for Democrats, but also because they believe that more attention should be focused on the misdeeds of the current officeholder. The Surge feels that plenty of attention is still being paid to Trump and that the cover-up of Bidens condition by his family and close advisers was a disgrace. Those who participated in it to protect their own power or careers deserve sharp public accountability to ensure it doesnt happen again. And it wont, right? When Trump turns 80 and wanders the National Mall with his pants on his head, telling bystanders hes looking for Farrah Fawcett, Republicans will be honest about whats going on, yes? Advertisement 6. Dan Bongino Next hell tell us JFK wasnt killed by space aliens. If youre a conspiratorial right-wing streamer paying the bills by promoting snake-oil supplements, and the president of the United States suddenly asks you to serve as deputy director of the FBI, it might at first seem cool. Wow, real government powerneat! But once you settle into the job of deputy director of the FBI, with oaths and the need to maintain creditability among staff and support the institution, the responsibilities become kind of a drag. Dan Bongino, the former right-wing media personality turned deputy director of the FBI to whom were referring, learned this abruptly this week. Despite having previously wet his beak trafficking in rumors surrounding Jeffrey Epsteins death, Bonginoalong with his boss, FBI Director Kash Pateltold Fox host Maria Bartiromo in a joint interview that Epsteins death had, indeed, been a suicide. He killed himself, Bongino said. Ive seen the whole file. He killed himself. When Bongino reiterated that point on Twitter, he was met with a hearty 9,600 replies (as of now) from former fans who were, well, displeased. Fellow right-wing talkers like Tucker Carlson and Alex Jonesperhaps eager to ensure that Bongino doesnt return as a competitor when his tour of duty is completeexpressed disgust with Bonginos statement. The optimistic scenario for bringing right-wing conspiracy theorists into government, whether its at the Justice Department or at Health and Human Services, is that they have earned the trust to tell their followers that, having reviewed the files, the conspiracies in question are unfounded. This fundamentally misunderstands the appeal of conspiracies, though, which is that its more fun and exciting to believe in them instead of in workaday truths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 7. Vladimir Putin Will Trump wash his hands of it? Trump spoke to the Russian president, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European heads of state this week, and he has come to a sudden realization: He told European leaders that Putin isnt ready to end the war in Ukraine because he thinks he is winning, as European officials told the Wall Street Journal. Well, no shit? Now that thats understood, the question is what path Trump could follow. The first would be to impose higher costs on Russia, perhaps with a new round of sanctions that the Senate is sitting on, to force it to negotiate; the second would be to wash Americas hands of the conflict. Which one seems more likely to prevail out of the MAGA White House? The Europeans takeaway, the Journal notes, was that Trump didnt believe that a near-term peace deal was in the offing and that the war was Europes problem. Maybe he will change his mind again, but that certainly seems like the result Europe should assume going forward. Is this really the entry were closing out on for Memorial Day weekend? Guess so. In this week's 'Rewind' Robert Smith offers up a mainly pictorial column of vintage photographs from numerous old scenes involving the changing face of harness racing down through the years. Change is often subtle in nature, but over time everything inevitably changes and evolves. Today's photos were chosen at random and intended to cover a wide range of topics and locations. Hopefully you will enjoy taking a look back at some perhaps almost forgotten times. When the mobile starting gate became a reality in 1946, it was viewed as one of the greatest innovations in the history of harness racing. Pictured above was the new vehicle in use at Roosevelt Raceway operated by Steve Philips originally from Xenia, Ohio. That same year 1946, the Philips gate was used for the very first time to start the Hambletonian which is now about to celebrate its 100th anniversary. In that year's Hambo, Van Riddle the first Canadian-owned and-bred horse competed with owner Earl Rowe in the sulky. The horse had never seen a starting gate and reports of the day stated that he tried to beat the gate away at the start. Silver Lee wins the 1950 Supertest. This was the winner's circle scene following the 1950 Supertest Stakes event held at Tillsonburg, Ont. The winning owner was Mrs. Wm. Tomlinson of Glencoe, Ont. and her husband is shown above as he received the silver tray presented by Supertest officials while driver Levi "Jiggs" McFadden looked on. A note of interest is that the owner's daughter was Jean Tomlinson who married well-known horseman Jack Herbert of London. At one time Mr. Tomlinson operated a livery stable and also delivered rural mail with a horse and buggy around Glencoe. Silver Lee won both the two- and three-year-old Supertest Stakes races and in so doing earned what was then considered a "nice" sum of money. At the conclusion of the 1950 season the grey miss had just over $4,000 lifetime earnings. This day of racing was one of the biggest on the Ontario circuit and featured a total of 12 heats. Noted horseman Keith Waples then just 26 was on hand that day and won the opening heat of the Supertest with a filly named Miss Chipso. He was 3-4 in the final two heats. At the time he was racing daily at Thorncliffe Park in Toronto. The above undated photo was taken at Orangeville, Ont. during a race day. For many years annual race meetings were held at this Dufferin County town. Dr. Wm. Riddell, a well-known local veterinarian and harness racing enthusiast, organized the races for a very long time. In the modern age by 1970, a new venture was started by Keith and Murray Waples along with Jim Keeling that staged harness racing at this site for a number of years. When the pacing mare Grace Abbe experienced a broken wheel on her sulky at Sydney, N.S., her day's racing came to a sudden halt. Driver George Lewis (in racing silks) was soon the recipient of a lot of help as many onlookers, some family members, joined in finishing the race. This old photo is symbolic of the dedication of those who participate in harness racing. This very early photo shows the racetrack known as Parc Richelieu in Montreal. A view of the automobiles on the premises indicate that this may have been from perhaps the late 1930's. By the 1950's Richelieu Park became a major raceway and operated for many years along with the nearby Blue Bonnets track. Famed reinsman Thomas Murphy and Rose Scott 1:59 3/4 are shown in a warmup mile during the 1920's. Take note that the drivers wore a number on their sleeve at this time. This gentleman was one of the leading horsemen of this era and his stable was loaded with talented performers, always racing on the Grand Circuit. This old photo was taken at a beauty contest at Old Woodbine in 1948. "52 of the prettiest gals in TO" was the original caption that accompanied publication of this photo. This is a view of a rather rustic paddock which was a new addition to harness racing as in the early days at the fairs horses raced directly from the stables. It is from Northville Downs outside Detroit. A number of Canadian horsemen including Harold Carr, Alf and Marshall Moore, Bud Gibson and Harold Wellwood raced there when night racing began in 1944 (Harness Horse photo) This scene from Charlottetown Driving Park was taken in 1949 during Old Home Week. The crowds filled every square inch of the stands while many spectators stood in the infield. A few brave viewers were actually on the track as racing was held. Racing action at New Annan, P.E.I. The surroundings were pretty basic but the fans came out in droves. They loved their harness racing and that "love" has remained strong throughout the Maritimes to this day. This old horse transport is reminiscent of a time long ago. The company slogan read "Horses Hauled From Here Or There To Anywhere." One of the very early horse transport companies was based in Chester, Pa. and operated by Ralph G. Smith, who started out moving furniture. After many years in business this firm closed around 2010. Quote For The Week (More of a short story): When we were growing up my older sister's best friend got a summer job at a local dairy bar. When the owner, Mr. Langford, was training her he said, "We offer two sizes of ice cream cones; 5 cents and 10 cents. If anyone orders a 5 cent cone, make it so damn small that they will never order another one!" Who Is It? Can you identify these two young lads? I believe they were at a sale. Who Else Is It? Can you put a correct name on this gentleman? He served in many important roles over the years and hailed from a noted racing background. The correct answers will be posted here by Robert as a comment in a few days. A group of developers hoping to construct a solar energy farm in Scotts Bluff County is taking another go at the project south of Morrill. The Situla Solar Energy Project LLC has renewed its 2024 bid to pursue a utility-scale solar energy project at the same location, about 9 miles south of Highway 92 and two miles west of County Road X. Officials from the company met one-on-one with about 50 people during a town hall at the Legacy of the Plains in Gering Wednesday. The Situla officials arent so much back to the drawing board, but are hoping to be better at explaining the project to the public, CEO Thaer Flieh said. He opened the town hall by introducing himself and giving a brief overview of the project and the format of the town hall, which was an open house in which people went from station to station to hear about different aspects of the project or ask questions. Our hope is just to prove an opportunity, not only for information regarding this project, but also an opportunity for you to ask questions, Flieh told the crowd. Flieh explained that he is an electrical engineer who began his career about 20 years ago, designing and building substation transmission lines for utilities. He began working in renewable energy about 12 years ago. He described the Situla Energy project as an exciting opportunity. When we first identified the location, theres a lot of transmission here in the area, but there isnt a lot of power in the area, he said. What we wanted to do is add this resource to the area, so we can add that value to the community. Much of the power generated in the area is transmitted from outside Scotts Bluff County, he said, and localized power generation would be of value to the industry and the community. According to a press release, Situla, a project holding company of Dunlieh Energy, intends to construct and operate the project using photovoltaic technology to generate approximately 400 megawatts of electricity. Project infrastructure would include solar panels, racking, a battery energy storage system, substation, inverters, a storage facility, access roads, collection lines and an interconnect to an existing transmission line. Dunlieh Energy is a California-based company. A previous attempt by Situla to construct a solar energy farm generated controversy on the county level. Though the Scotts Bluff County Planning Commission in April 2024 recommended that a conditional use permit be granted for the project, the Scotts Bluff County commissioners rejected the project, outlining a litany of concerns. The project proposal resulted in the county developing detailed regulations for solar energy projects, which will be tested as Situlas interest in the project continues. Construction is anticipated in the third quarter of 2027, according to the press release. However, during Wednesdays town hall, it was said that in a best-case scenario, construction could start early in late 2026. According to figures presented during the town hall, the total project cost is estimated at about $812 million. Representatives of Situla and Two Dot Consulting LLC, the project managers, also visited with residents during the open-house portion of the meeting. Attendees could go to seven information sessions, where road usage and access, construction and employment, national security, regulatory oversight and fire safety and emergency response were some of the topics covered. Officials with Situla highlighted the tax revenue expected to benefit the community. Annual tax revenue is projected at more than $1.4 million and lifetime tax revenue is projected at more than $49 million. During his presentation, Ethan Jahnke, director of renewables, explained that the majority of the tax revenue generated by the project comes from the Nebraska nameplate capacity tax, a tax levied on the revenue generated from a renewable energy system. The nameplate capacity tax provides a set assessed value for projects based on total generating capacity, which is multiplied by the power generated to calculate taxes. Currently, the rate is $3,518 per megawatt. A bill was introduced in the Nebraska Legislature this year to increase the nameplate capacity tax. Officials at Wednesdays meeting said the bill is expected to return to the Legislature next year. Consultants with Situla and Two Dot also expressed a goal to hire as many local workers as possible for the construction phase of the project, estimated at 115 to 225 workers. These projects do require subject matter experts at some point ... but the goal is to hire around 25% to 50% local workers for construction, an official speaking on the socioeconomic impact on the community said. The economy would benefit from the workers brought in, through boosted hotel, restaurant and sales tax revenues. After construction, the officials acknowledged, the workforce would be minimal, estimated at four or five workers to do maintenance. Much of the maintenance and monitoring would be done remotely, according to information presented. Jahnke told the Star-Herald that developers have been meeting with area fire departments, including Kiowa-Lyman, Banner County and Gering fire departments, to assess their needs in communication equipment and trucks to respond to potential incidents, a concern put forth by commissioners during the previous go-around. Situla plans to assist with purchases to prepare departments to respond to the site. Design plans include safety measures such as having three enclosed water tanks on site, which would also benefit area fire departments fighting wildfires in the rural area. Other discussions among Situla and county officials have resulted in other changes to the proposal. Initially, Situla planned to use Stegall Road to access the site, which generated concern from commissioners and community members. However, Situla now plans to use County Road 5 and County Road 9 as its primary haul route during construction. The company will make improvements to the roads before construction to ensure they can handle heavy truck traffic. At the conclusion of the project, Situla will repair all project-related damage, restoring the roads to equal or better condition as determined by pre- and post-project road assessments. Concerns about the projects proximity to missile silos particularly as the U.S. Air Force prepares to replace missiles were often raised during prior discussions. On Wednesday, officials said that Situla has completed a preliminary review with the U.S. Department of Defense, which indicated no concerns with the company or its ownership. The company plans to start a formal review, which could take about a year. Construction cannot start until that review is done and, once started, is estimated to take 12 to 18 months before the solar farm would be online. As it did in its previous attempt, Situla has provided a frequently answered questions section and other updates online. The website is available at dunlieh-energy.com/situla-energy-project. A timeline for the submission of a conditional use permit application was not available as of press time. Currently, Sandhills Energy is nearing completion of its solar energy project, on land west of the intersection of U Street and Lockwood Road, that will connect to the City of Gerings electrical distribution system. Projects are also established in Alliance and Sidney. Those projects have not generated the amount of interest or concern that the Situla project has experienced. On 23rd May 2025, the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) issued Notification No. 36/2025-Customs (N.T.) to amend the 1994 customs notification concerning land customs stations along the India-Nepal border. Exercising powers under clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs introduced a change specific to the Raxaul station, listed under serial number 6 of the original notification. The amendment adds an explanation to item (19) relating to Raxaul, specifying that traffic-in-transit via rail through Raxaul will follow the provisions of the Treaty of Transit between India and Nepal signed on 1st June 2023. This update formalizes the protocol for rail-based transit traffic through Raxaul, aligning customs operations with the bilateral treaty framework. The original notification (No. 63/1994-Customs (N.T.)) was published on 21st November 1994 and has undergone multiple amendments, with the most recent one prior to this dated 20th November 2024. MINISTRY OF FINANCE (Department of Revenue) Notification No. 36/2025 Customs (N.T.) | Dated: 23rd May, 2025 S.O. 2312(E). In exercise of the powers conferred by clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India, Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 63/1994-Customs (N.T.) dated the 21st November, 1994, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii), vide number S.O. 830 (E), dated the 21st November, 1994, namely: In the said notification, in the Table, against serial number 6 relating to land frontier of Nepal, against item (19) in column (3) relating to Raxaul, in column (4), after the entry (c), the following entries shall be inserted, namely: Explanation: The traffic-in-transit route via rail through Raxaul would be as per Treaty of Transit between India and Nepal dated the 1st June, 2023. [F. No. 550/17/2012-LC] MEGHA BANSAL, Under Secy. Note: The principal notification No. 63/1994-Customs (N.T.), dated 21st November, 1994 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide number S.O. 830(E), dated the 21st November, 1994 and was last amended, vide notification No. 82/2024-Customs (N.T.), dated the 20th November, 2024, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii), vide number S.O. 5002 (E), dated the 21st November, 2024. 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 President Donald Trump announced a plan to build a missile defense system, called the Golden Dome, on May 20, 2025. The system is intended to protect the United States from ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, and missiles launched from space. Trump is calling for the current budget to allocate US$25 billion to launch the initiative, which the government projected will cost $175 billion. He said Golden Dome will be fully operational before the end of his term in three years and will provide close to 100% protection. The Conversation U.S. asked Iain Boyd, an aerospace engineer and director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado Boulder, about the Golden Dome plan and the feasibility of Trump's claims. Why does the United States need a missile shield? Several countries, including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, have been developing missiles over the past few years that challenge the United States' current missile defense systems. These weapons include updated ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, and new hypersonic missiles. They have been specifically developed to counter America's highly advanced missile defense systems such as the Patriot and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System. For example, the new hypersonic missiles are very high speed, operate in a region of the atmosphere where nothing else flies and are maneuverable. All of these aspects combined create a new challenge that requires a new, updated defensive approach. Russia has fired hypersonic missiles against Ukraine in the ongoing conflict. China parades its new hypersonic missiles in Tiananmen Square. So it's reasonable to think that, to ensure the protection of its homeland and to aid its allies, the U.S. may need a new missile defense capability. What are the components of a national missile defense system? Such a defense system requires a global array of geographically distributed sensors that cover all phases of all missile trajectories. First, it is essential for the system to detect the missile threats as early as possible after launch, so some of the sensors must be located close to regions where adversaries may fire them, such as by China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Then, it has to track the missiles along their trajectories as they travel hundreds or thousands of miles. These requirements are met by deploying a variety of sensors on a number of different platforms on the ground, at sea, in the air and in space. Interceptors are placed in locations that protect vital U.S. assets and usually aim to engage threats during the middle portion of the trajectory between launch and the terminal dive. The U.S. already has a broad array of sensors and interceptors in place around the world and in space primarily to protect the U.S. and its allies from ballistic missiles. The sensors would need to be expanded, including with more space-based sensors, to detect new missiles such as hypersonic missiles. The interceptors would need to be enhanced to enable them to address hypersonic weapons and other missiles and warheads that can maneuver. Does this technology exist? Intercepting hypersonic missiles specifically involves several steps. First, as explained above, a hostile missile must be detected and identified as a threat. Second, the threat must be tracked along all of its trajectory due to the ability of hypersonic missiles to maneuver. Third, an interceptor missile must be able to follow the threat and get close enough to it to disable or destroy it. The main new challenge here is the ability to track the hypersonic missile continuously. This requires new types of sensors to detect hypersonic vehicles and new sensor platforms that are able to provide a complete picture of the hypersonic trajectory. As described, Golden Dome would use the sensors in a layered approach in which they are installed on a variety of platforms in multiple domains, including ground, sea, air and space. These various platforms would need to have different types of sensors that are specifically designed to track hypersonic threats in different phases of their flight paths. These defensive systems will also be designed to address weapons fired from space. Much of the infrastructure will be multipurpose and able to defend against a variety of missile types. In terms of timeframe for deployment, it is important to note that Golden Dome will build from the long legacy of existing U.S. missile defense systems. Another important aspect of Golden Dome is that some of the new capabilities have been under active development for years. In some ways, Golden Dome represents the commitment to actually deploy systems for which considerable progress has already been made. Is near 100% protection a realistic claim? Israel's Iron Dome air defense system has been described as the most effective system of its kind anywhere in the world. But even Iron Dome is not 100% effective, and it has also been overwhelmed on occasion by Hamas and others who fire very large numbers of inexpensive missiles and rockets at it. So it is unlikely that any missile defense system will ever provide 100% protection. The more important goal here is to achieve deterrence, similar to the stalemate in the Cold War with the Soviet Union that was based on nuclear weapons. All of the new weapons that Golden Dome will defend against are very expensive. The U.S. is trying to change the calculus in an opponent's thinking to the point where they will consider it not worth shooting their precious high-value missiles at the U.S. when they know there is a high probability of them not reaching their targets. Is three years a feasible time frame? That seems to me like a very aggressive timeline, but with multiple countries now operating hypersonic missiles, there is a real sense of urgency. Existing missile defense systems on the ground, at sea and in the air can be expanded to include new, more capable sensors. Satellite systems are beginning to be put in place for the space layer. Sensors have been developed to track the new missile threats. Putting all of this highly complex system together, however, is likely to take more than three years. At the same time, if the U.S. fully commits to Golden Dome, a significant amount of progress can be made in this time. What does the president's funding request tell you? President Trump is requesting a total budget for all defense spending of about $1 trillion in 2026. So, $25 billion to launch Golden Dome would represent only 2.5% of the total requested defense budget. Of course, that is still a lot of money, and a lot of other programs will need to be terminated to make it possible. But it is certainly financially achievable. How will Golden Dome differ from Iron Dome? Similar to Iron Dome, Golden Dome will consist of sensors and interceptor missiles but will be deployed over a much wider geographical region and for defense against a broader variety of threats in comparison with Iron Dome. A second-generation Golden Dome system in the future would likely use directed energy weapons such as high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves to destroy missiles. This approach would significantly increase the number of shots that defenders can take against ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2025. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Friday to boost nuclear energy in the United States, including by rolling back regulatory processes on a still divisive technology. "We're signing tremendous executive orders today that really will make us the real power in this industry," Trump told reporters as he penned the four orders in the Oval Office. Trump's orders aim to speed up the building of new reactors and to boost domestic mining and enriching of uranium, with the United States relying on imports for most of the crucial fuel. The US president said the focus would be on building smaller reactors, such as those required by tech and artificial intelligence companies that have huge energy needs. The orders will also overhaul the US nuclear watchdog so that it pushes through decisions on building new reactors within 18 months, amid reports that the White House found the regulator too risk averse. Trump denied that speeding up the regulation process could compromise nuclear safety. "We're going to get it very fast and very safe," Trump said. "It's time for nuclear and we're going to do it very big." The move comes with growing interest in nuclear energy in the United States, despite being expensive to build and still politically sensitive in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. "President Trump is taking truly historic action to usher in the American nuclear renaissance," Michael Kratsios, Director for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told reporters earlier. 'Energy emergency' A senior White House official said the administration hopes to "test and deploy" new reactors before the end of Trump's second term in January 2029. Trump's order "fundamentally rehauls" the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which grants permission for new reactors, by "lowering regulatory burdens and shortening the licensing timeline." Republican Trump declared an "energy emergency" on his first day back in office to expand drilling for oil and gas and to roll back Democratic predecessor Joe Biden's climate policies, But he is now also looking at nuclear to meet growing demand. Much of the demand is fueled by US tech giants, with some including Amazon, Microsoft and Google having recently signed deals for nuclear power as they seek carbon-free electricity sources. Two US energy companies are also preparing to bring nuclear stations back online, including Three Mile Islandthe site in 1979 of the worst commercial nuclear power accident in US history. Trump's drive to boost mining and enrichment also reflects the fact that the United States imports most of the uranium that is needed to fuel nuclear power stations. The US imported most from Canada, Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan in 2023 but in 2024 it banned uranium imports from Russia over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Nuclear power has been undergoing a resurgence in recent years as countries look for carbon-free energy and confront rising prices, fueled by the war in Ukraine. It suffered a major downturn after Fukushima when a huge tsunami caused a meltdown at a Japanese power station, with Germany in particular turning its back on nuclear. 2025 AFP When Colton graduated from Texas A&M University on May 8, we had family visit us for the occasion. It was wonderful to have family members with us that we dont get to see very often. Heather came for her brothers graduation. She just moved back to Colorado after living for two years in Washington state. It has been two years since we last saw her in person. Luke came up from Rosenberg for the weekend. Our oldest son, Wesley, lives in Florida and was unable to attend. My brother, Chip, came to visit from Colorado. I get to see him once or twice a year on average. It became clear to me over that weekend that it is a Southern family tradition to move far away from your family of origin when you leave the nest. My children are doing it. I did it. My parents did it. And as I look up the family tree, I see generations of westward mobility, often leaving family behind. Its not that we dont like each other or cant get along. There just appears to be an insatiable wanderlust that drives Southerns to migrate and explore. For two years my family had all three U.S. coasts covered. Its still that way with my son and a cousin in Florida, our niece in North Carolina, Sandys sisters family in South Carolina, many of my cousins on my fathers side still living in California and some of Sandys cousins and an uncle living in Washington. Dad, Chip and Heather are holding down the fort in Colorado, along with Chips son and his new bride. Sandy and I are firmly entrenched in Texas along with Luke and Colton, our two youngest. Luke opted to remain in the Richmond/Rosenberg area when we moved to Brazos County two years ago. Colton left right after graduation weekend for a summer internship in the Hill Country. He will likely go on to grad school somewhere out of state. For the first time in our 25 years of marriage, Sandy and I have no children at home. We each brought a child with us into our marriage and added two more. Now, all four are gone and we are beginning to understand what it means to have an empty nest. Although the children are gone, our nest remains feathered by our chickens, ducks and goose. We also have two dogs and two cats at home, along with some goldfish we use for mosquito control in our rain barrel and pond. The critters occupy a lot of our free time, but its not the same as having children in the home. It also means that without Colton to help out, more of the chores fall on us. Actually, all of them fall on us, but thats beside the point. As our children leave the nest, Im developing an appreciation for what my parents went through. Right after I graduated from college, I moved to Minnesota and then to North Carolina. I returned to Colorado for nine years and then was gone to Texas. It never occurred to me what my parents must have felt when we uprooted and left with their grandchildren. I guess its only fair in that my parents raised me and my brothers hundreds of miles from their parents. My dads family moved from Arkansas to California just before he was born. My dads grandfather migrated to Arkansas from Illinois and his great-grandfather moved from Virginia to Illinois. Obviously, Southerns just cant sit still. My mothers grandparents immigrated from Sweden and the family has mostly stayed in and around Omaha, Nebraska. Mom was the only one to make a move 500 miles away until years later when two of my cousins flew the coop. There are times when I equate moving a thousand miles from home to southeast Texas to that of the early Texas pioneers moving here from parts east. We all came for a new beginning and untold opportunities. The opportunities weve had here have been well worth the move, although I still miss my family, friends and the mountains. I cant say that my move here will be my last, but most likely it is. Sandy and I love it here. We have great jobs and were thoroughly enjoying life on the hobby farm. I just wish the kids lived a little closer, especially when (or if) they start having children of their own. In the meantime, we will enjoy family from afar and cherish the holidays and special occasions when we can all come together again. If Mark Miller ever forgets the humble beginnings of Eakes Office Solutions, he doesnt have to go far to be reminded. In the showroom of Eakes headquarters in Grand Island sits the table where Howard Eakes began the company at his home. That was 80 years ago. What started with one man repairing typewriters and adding machines at a kitchen table has expanded to 300 employees in 15 locations doing business in 27 states. And its gone far beyond Remington typewriters and No. 2 pencils. We just get into all kinds of stuff, said Miller, who started with Eakes in 1993 and now serves as president and CEO. If you find it in the office, we provide it. Grand Island was started by Howard in 1945, Miller said of the first location. The founder who fixed typewriters at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant during World War II moved the business out of his home and into a second-floor space on Third Street. Soon, it was the fourth-largest office supply firm in Grand Island. Howards sons, Ron and Dan, joined the company in 1952 and 1972, respectively. The store at 617 W. Third St. in Grand Island was built in 1973 and remains the companys flagship. From simple office machines, Howard expanded into lines like business forms and checks, Miller said. During Ron and Dans era, the company began offering more office-oriented furniture and copiers, Miller said. While the father had firmly established Eakes in Grand Island, the sons grew the company to the west, adding locations such as Kearney, Hastings, McCook and Scottsbluff. When I came along with my group of people, we started going east, Miller said. The company now has stores in Columbus, Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha, South Sioux City and York. Although Eakes has long done business outside of Nebraska, it recently gained its first store outside the state, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. All along, business machines have remained Eakes bread and butter. Miller said Eakes has been among the top 10 Sharp dealers for 20 years and, within the last year, broke into the top 40 Ricoh dealers, as well. Thats kind of a neat claim to fame, he said. If you step into an Eakes showroom today, youll see plenty of copiers and office furniture, but you wont see the old standbys of an office supply business, such as paper, pencils and pens. Eakes was once a walk-in retail business, Miller said. But with the rise of the internet, It began to hurt retail for us. Fewer and fewer people came in, he said. That walk-in office supply trade had dropped to 2% of its business when Eakes finally dropped it. The business-to-business customers completely understood, Miller said. Other customers took a bit more educating. It was a marketing task to tell that story, he said. Eakes didnt stop selling those supplies, however. It just changed how it sells them. Now, 65% of that business is online, and the rest is handled by Eakes sales staff. Our people are in the community, Marketing Manager Tasha Jones said. Salespeople are still out checking on customers, seeing what they need, every day. In most cases, if a customer orders something by 3 p.m., it will be delivered the next day, Miller said, and delivery is free. Its all Eakes staff across the state that delivers, Jones said. The personal local touch, thats our story, Miller said. Whatever Amazon isnt, we are. Whether its delivered by the package or the pallet, paper remains a big seller for Eakes. Paper just doesnt seem to want to go away, Miller said. It drives the whole office supply market. Back in the 1970s, if Eakes ordered 100 cases of paper every six weeks, it was considered a big order, Miller and Jones said. Now the company orders 10 to 12 truckloads with 840 cases per truck every month. The speed of business has picked up so rapidly, Miller said. Almost all of it is driven by technology. Eakes has gone from selling typewriters to copiers to computer networks, from office chairs to cubicles to architectural walls, Miller said. In every category, the evolution has been a fantastic story, he said. While Eakes continues in its legacy businesses, it also provides VoIP phone systems, conference room displays, workforce automation, managed IT, backup recovery systems and cloud storage solutions. Twenty years ago, we wouldnt have had any of this, Miller said. In fact, much of it didnt exist. Customers also call on Eakes for coffee supplies and office water systems. Its janitorial supply business, which began in the past 10 years, has gone from paper towels and Windex to scrubbers that can clean arena floors, Miller said. In all its communities, he said, it is a core value of our company to be local. Thats a focus for us as a company, Jones agreed. Eakes supports food pantries, Meals on Wheels and donates book bags to local schools. In Grand Island within the last month, it supported Willow Rising, participated in a cleanup at Pier Park and hosted an evening at the Grand Theatre, Jones said. Eakes is a sponsor of Fonner Park, the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce, Hope Harbor and the Heartland United Way. Theyre a part of the fabric of our community, Miller said, and we want to be a part of that fabric. Howard Eakes, who was part of the fabric of the community himself, died in 2001. Sons Ron and Dan are retired. They both have a little bit of ownership in the company, Miller said. Eakes Office Solutions is now owned by 36 employees. The people who have the ownership, they want things to work, Miller said. The better the people youve got, the better they take care of the customer. He believes Eakes will continue caring for those customers for many years to come. I see a very strong, long-term local future for this company, Miller said. The Bamberg County administrator outlined the progress the county is making in working with Denmark to improve its water pressure issues during a May 12 council meeting. Get The Times and Democrat app today Local news has never been this personal. Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access. During the March 10 meeting, Bamberg County Council approved a resolution authorizing the execution of a loan from the S.C. Water Quality Revolving Fund Authority. The money will be used for work on the Bamberg County water tank located out at the airport. Administrator Joey Preston has explained that while the county built the tank, Denmark had not wanted to pay to maintain it. Thats why it continued to fall over the years. It was county property. Denmark didn't want to apply for a grant to fix it, and there probably werent any grants available during that period of time, he has said. The administrator has also explained that when the tank was taken offline, that subsequently created water pressure issues, particularly for people and entities such as schools and an emergency center, located on the left side of Main Street in Denmark. Newly elected Denmark Mayor Harold Johnson, who recently took office in April, is working with the county to ensure that the issues are rectified. Entrepreneur in new role as Denmark police chief Denmarks new police chief is focused on the mission he has for the department: Bridging the gap. In Denmark, weve got lots of issues to try to work through. Weve had good communication over the last few weeks, Preston said during the May 12 council meeting. We finally have an engineer working with Denmark to get the water flowing again. Real simple. Before the water tank came offline, they turned the water off and threw away the key. So now we have the key and water back on, the administrator said. Thats happening, and it should be done in the next two to three weeks. Once thats finished, the water will be flowing. Well clean the tank and fill it up. The tanks full. Boom. You got more water pressure, Preston said, noting that aging water lines in the City of Denmark will be another issue that will be need to be addressed once the water pressure is increased. Bamberg County gives first reading in title only to FY 26 budget Bamberg County Council discussed the 2025-26 budget, with concerns over potential millage rate increase and rising health insurance costs, among other financial challenges. Also, we were able to identify many of the fire hydrants that are along that area out there that need to be replaced, that were in bad shape. Of course, theres some movement in that direction to get those done, too, Preston said. Also during the meeting, the administrator reported that the county had received notification that the $12 million federal grant funding the county received from the USDA to develop its broadband system to help make high-speed internet affordable for underserved communities had been released. We were able to submit our first request for pay. Praise God, Preston said. He also said the Family Circle water line extension project is anticipated to be complete in five and a half months. Theyre ahead of schedule. Were excited about that because one that line is completed, not only will those 90 residents that live along those lines will be able to have access to water, its going to open up other areas of the county, too, to some type of subdivision development, Preston said. He said the S.C. Lieutenant Governors Office had also responded to the countys request for them to aid in sustaining funding for Bamberg Countys Meals on Wheels program. It came through for us, Preston said, but the county must now await its authorization. We need to make sure that is does get authorized. I dont think were going to have it by July 1, which means well probably push it on into the summer or the fall. Thats when Congress comes back and actually votes on the authorization to be able to get the money, he said, noting that the issue of making sure the Meals on Wheels program stays financially solvent will likely come up again in the summer. Hopefully maybe the state will carry us through during that period of time, Preston said. Council Chairwoman Sharon Hammond thanked the citizens who had provided meals every Friday for the Meals on Wheels program. The people stepped up and took care of their neighbors, and I want to thank them for doing that, she said. In other business, Josh Urwick, SouthernCarolina Regional Development Alliance project manager, states that Innovative Poultry in Govan was up to 20 employees in a now fully operational building. Theyre making 90 percent of their own components for all of their parts in house. So not only are they making the big Poultry Hawk machines, but theyre making the screws that go in them, he said. Urwick also reported that Black Horse Steel Works was continuing to hire full-time staff. The advanced steel solutions provider announced March 20 that it was establishing operations in the county with a $5.2 million capital investment and the creation of 40 jobs. They are working on (that) and getting their lines set in place so that they can get fully operational, Urwick said. Other matters Council approved a resolution to approve its mission, goals and objectives. Council approved a resolution honoring the life and legacy of county resident Lucia M. Odom. Council gave first reading approval to a special source revenue credit agreement between the county and Project Knox. 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. Dont go looking for some great whodunnit mystery in Arizona Theatre Companys season finale, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson Apt. 2B, on stage at the Temple of Music and Art. There wont be any ahhh-ha! epiphanies midway into the two-hour performance where you think youve put together all the pieces of playwright Kate Hamills multilayered storyline. There are far too many dots to connect: Was it the widow of Victim No. 1 found with slit wrists in the Otel bathtub? The smarmy, long-haired billionaire Elliot Monk from Texas, donning skintight skinny jeans and a bare chest? Or maybe it was Irene Adler, the seductress con artist whos blackmailing Monk with an incriminating video? The plot hilariously twists and turns as character stories inexplicably intertwine, and even if you were keeping a mental scorecard, youd lose your place. Solving the mystery is not really the point of Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson Apt. 2B, which opened Friday night at ATCs longtime Tucson home. Its more about the journey. Joan Watson is an American doctor in London, trying to find herself after losing everything her profession, her husband and her perfect life to the pandemic and ends up sharing a flat with Sherlock Holmes, a singularly-focused consulting detective with hyper-keen observational skills and questionable social skills. Watson unwittingly gets roped into becoming Holmes assistant as she goes about solving seemingly unrelated murders that point toward Holmes and her little black book of criminal secrets. The story is thin but the humor is thick, a point Director Marcia Milgrom Dodge smartly emphasized from the opening scene where the real Sherlock Holmes (the very funny Aaron Cammack in one of several roles he played including Inspector Lestrade) emerges on stage mistakenly thinking he was going to solve a great mystery for Friday nights opening night audience. Regina Fernandezs Ms. Watson is a vulnerable shell of the pre-COVID doctor who was once regarded as a medical superstar at home until shes forced to stand up to Ms. Holmes. Kelen Coleman, effecting a pretty terrific British accent, was rigidly old-school Scotland Yard investigator. Instead of Googling as her living-in-the-21st-century roommate suggests, she pulls out a giant magnifying glass when the two women climbed into the Otel tub with the dead guy (played by a blowup doll). Dodge had the women tangled up with the victim, who at one point flopped on top of Ms. Watson, pinning her in the tub as Ms. Holmes went off to look for more clues. When she returns, Holmes folds the dead guys legs to free Watson in one of the evenings most hilarious scenes. Dodge also lets the audience in on the joke as the characters react with exaggeration to the iconic dun dun duun! plot twist sound effects. The plays lone poignant moment came when Fernandezs Watson told the story of how the pandemic stole her joy; it was the only time during that the Temple was silent. Fernandez and Coleman were terrifically funny, but some of the biggest laughs at Fridays opening night went to Cammack, in his final appearance as ATCs 2024-25 resident artist, and the brilliantly funny Michelle Duffy, playing the keys-fumbling, Nervous Nellie landlord Mrs. Hudson and the dominatrix-like escort/con artist Irene Adler. Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson Apt. 2B continues at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., through June 7. For tickets and times, visit atc.org. Depending on where we live, there are a variety of signals that announce the approach of summer. There are white blooms on the saguaro, quail now digging holes in the back yard, hair-dryer winds arriving from the east. Another sure sign can be seen in our neighborhood bookstores, where the Beach Reads table has again appeared near the front door. The genre is relatively new and is still loosely defined, but usually includes paperbacks that are relatively short, easy to read and fit nicely into a beach bag or backpack during your summer vacation. Looking for some suggestions? Volunteers with the Tucson Festival of Books were happy to list some titles in their own beach bags: Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack features Eleanor Dash, a bestselling author known best for her series of vacation murder mysteries. When a former acquaintance survives a murder attempt, himself, Dash is invited to help solve the case. Tricia Clapp Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum is the story of a burned-out executive who quits her jet-setting career to pursue a lifelong dream: owning a bookstore in Seoul. There, surrounded by books, she and her diverse group of customers find comfort and belonging. Jody Hardy Summers at the Saint is another warm, funny tale by Mary Kay Andrews. This time she takes us to St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the Georgia coast. When the owner dies, his widow feels she must bring St. Cecilia back to its former glory. One of the summers biggest hits last year, the paperback edition will arrive in bookstores June 3. Hilary Hamlin The Davenports is the first of a two-volume series for young adults by Krystal Marquiz. The sequel is The Davenports: More Than This. Both feature a prominent Black family in 1910 Chicago. More specifically, we follow the Davenport sisters, Olivia and Helen, as they negotiate turbulent times and their own turbulent lives. Kathy Short Someplace Generous is a collection of 21 diverse love stories edited by Elaina Ellis and Amber Flame. It has something for every romance reader and includes stories by Tucson authors Jessica Pryde and Richard Siken. Bill Finley The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen features Delilah Levy, a beautiful, blonde material girl who steps into a life she could only dream of when she marries a straight-laced rabbi-to-be. When the couple is sent to a wealthy synagogue in the suburbs, Delilah finds temptation everywhere she looks and makes choices that are equal parts horrific and hilarious. Lori Riegel The Page Turner by Viola Shipman is the story of a family-owned publishing house with a secret that could destroy the business. Enter Emma Page, the black sheep in the family for wanting to write romance novels instead of serious fiction. Can she stop the trainwreck thats coming? Does she want to? Pamela Treadwell-Rubin The Broposal by Sonora Reyes features roommates Alejandro and Kenny, who are obviously made for each other. Friends are delighted when the two announce their engagement, but Alejandro and Kenny have a secret: They are faking their relationship so Alejandro can get a green card. Jessica Pryde 43 Miles is a powerful tale of race and racism by Leonard Pitts. It features a Black family living in Harlem in the mid-1960s. When the son goes to Alabama to join the fight for voting rights, he learns the hard way how perilous his familys journey has been. Bill Viner The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark begins the night two young sisters are found dead in their family home. For years, suspicions have followed Vincent, the only sibling to survive. The legend only grows when he later becomes the author of horror stories. Is he finally ready to reveal what happened that night? Lynn Wiese Sneyd The Last Great Dreamer by Dennis McNally takes us back to the 1960s in San Francisco. A longtime publicist for the Grateful Dead, McNally explores the factors that led a generation of young people to embrace a countercultural lifestyle that embraced peace, love and idealism. Remember Haight-Ashbury? McNally does, too. Thea Chalow A Kid from Marlboro Road is a buoyant first novel by actor-director-writer Ed Burns. The story describes life in an Irish-American family in 1970s New York. It is told by a 12-year-old boy, who is the narrator. Perhaps best known for his role in Saving Private Ryan, Burns took part in our book festival in March. Darrell Durham The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: DRAGUIGNAN, France In the film Conclave, and more during a for-real wait for white smoke, the world watched enraptured at the Roman Catholics ceremonial ascent. A simple priest moved up through a hierarchy to be sanctified as their Holy Father. Jews are different. Ask any of the 15 million or so of them for a detailed definition of Judaism, and youll get nearly 15 million answers. If they had a pope, it would not be Benjamin Netanyahu. I could be saying we, not they. My name and nose are dead giveaways. For reporters, neither ethnicity nor nationality should matter. Still, I expected that to be a problem in 1967 when I began covering Muslim countries in Africa and the Middle East. Egypt had just led Arab armies on another war to reclaim territory lost when British-mandated Palestine was divvied up to make room for a co-existing Jewish state on not-very-holy land that had been fought over for millennia. In fact, I never had a problem in those early years. Jews, like Muslims and Christians, were People of the Book with differences but also shared traditions. They welcomed strangers as individuals in their midst until there was a reason not to. Israel was to be a haven for Holocaust survivors and other Jews who wanted to revive Hebrew and old traditions in a modern democracy, with a strong military to keep the peace in a tough neighborhood. All three faiths worshipped at sacred sites in Jerusalem. In those earlier days, conflict was about real estate and rights, not religion. Palestinians wanted autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel wanted security within its borders. Peace talks made progress yet foundered because of extremists on one side or another. After Hamas made that monstrous raid out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel struck back hard. The reported death toll is near 54,000, rising fast since March 2, when Israelis cut off food, water, fuel and medical supplies while doubling down on bombardments. Take some time to watch recent videos and photos of that recent onslaught, with sickening testimony from international medical teams and top-ranking U.N. officials. And then read up on those two young Israeli embassy workers about to be married who were shot dead at random by an American activist shouting, Free Palestine. They were working with Jews and others to find ways for a workable, lasting coexistence. No ones God is in this picture. This is what happens when ignorant hotheads make uninformed generalities and act out at the most convenient targets. All Jews across the world, whatever their personal beliefs, are potential targets. Hamass victims on Oct. 7 were largely peaceniks who believed in a fair deal for Palestinians. Most Gazans despised Hamass harsh rule and its squandering of resources on those underground tunnels, explosives and weaponry. Netanyahus response to the Washington shooting was an emotional recall of the initial Hamas attack and a justification of what has happened since. He said France, Britain and other Europeans falsely accuse Israel of collective punishment. Dominique de Villepin was livid in a radio interview. As French foreign minister in 2003, he told Colin Powell at the U.N. that France would join in invading Iraq only with proof it had weapons of mass destruction. Later, as prime minister, he saw endless enemies created by that pointless war. Netanyahus political objective is the deportation of Gazans, he said, which smacks of ethnic cleansing, of territorial purification. Europeans know this yet here they are with wooden swords. We cannot let this fait accompli continue. He had a three-point plan: suspend immediately Israels commerce with Europe, its main trading partner; embargo all arms supplies; prosecute the Israeli government and its military high command at the International Court of Justice. Israel has evaded broader scrutiny with an effective policy: foreign journalists are barred from Gaza. On CNN, Christiane Amanpour recently battered away at deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel, who dismissed as complete lies damning reports by global leaders and doctors under fire. Many call starvation and indiscriminate bombing war crimes. Wrapping up after 20 minutes, she asked that international reporters be allowed into Gaza. I want to believe with my own eyes, she said. Christiane laughed in derision as Haskel gave her straight-faced and unsurprising response: Ill be happy to provide you with accurate data from our authorities, and Ill even give you my personal telephone number. That policy shows no sign of changing. Donald Trump has distanced himself a bit from Netanyahu. Yet he still talks of clearing the rubble and relocating people with no intention to go. He wants luxury seaside resorts, preferably all in the family. Christian evangelical supporters and billionaire backers follow his lead: Jews who reject his skewed vision of Israel betray their faith. But an awful lot of Jews, count me as one, fear what Villepin and other seasoned statesmen fear. For 40 years, Ive laughed off handwringing by Americans who tell a reporter named Rosenblum based in Paris about antisemites in France. There were scattered incidents, mostly about politics, not religion. Today, all bets are off. Netanyahu is only a politician clinging to power to avoid corruption charges. Extremist settlers who take West Bank land at gunpoint are simply goons. But to growing terrorist ranks that their actions swell, a Jew is a Jew. And Israels survival is at increasing risk. ABC has announced appointed Kelly Williams to the role of Director First Nations Strategy. Kelly, a Bundjalung woman from Northern NSW, is the first Indigenous woman to join the ABC Leadership Team. She has worked at the ABC for more than 36 years and is passionate about creating pathways to senior management and editorial roles for Indigenous and diverse employees. Previously, Head of Indigenous, Diversity & Inclusion, Kelly has co-ordinated the ABCs last three Reconciliation Action Plans and the 2023-2026 Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Plan and lead the strategic partnerships between the ABC and First Nations Media Australia and First Languages Australia. She was appointed Acting Director last October and her responsibilities include developing the plan to implement actions in response to Dr Terri Jankes Listen Loudly, Act Strongly report. Kelly Williams said, There are many people who have contributed to the development of this important role of Director First Nations Strategy. I am passionate about continuing that contribution and am excited to be working with Hugh and the Leadership Team to deliver the Listen Loudly, Act Strongly implementation plan. This will include a strong and ambitious Indigenous Employment Strategy for the ABC that delivers well defined and supported career pathways to senior management and editorial roles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. ABC Managing Director Hugh Mark:= said, Kelly has made a huge contribution to the ABC over more than three decades and will be a valuable voice on its Leadership Team. She will play a key role continuing to build on the significant change underway at the ABC to improve our workplaces and fully represent the Australian community. I look forward to working with Kelly in realising her ambition to deliver real and lasting outcomes from her work. In 2024 alone, Kaspersky detected and prevented nearly 50 million on-device malware attacks targeting businesses in Southeast Asia (SEA). This staggering figure underscores the urgent need for organisations to strengthen their defences against attacks originating from USB drives and removable media. On-device threats spread by offline methods involve the use of physical devices, such as USB drives, external hard drives, or other removable media, to deliver malicious software to a target system. Unlike traditional cyberattacks that rely on internet connectivity, these attacks exploit the trust users place in physical devices. "Towards the end of 2024, our experts uncovered a concerning case where a secure USB drive, developed by a government entity in Southeast Asia for securely storing and transferring files in sensitive environments, was compromised. Malicious code had been injected into its access management software, enabling it to steal confidential files from the drive's secure partition. Additionally, the code acted as a USB worm, spreading the infection to other drives of the same type, highlighting the sophisticated nature of this threat," explains Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky. Overall, Kaspersky solutions used by businesses in SEA blocked 49,234,759 local threats between January and December 2024. This marks a 15 per cent increase compared to the nearly 43 million offline attacks detected in 2023. Singapore recorded the highest surge in offline attacks between 2023 and 2024 (88 per cent), followed by Malaysia (47 per cent), Viet Nam (25 per cent), Thailand (20 per cent), and the Philippines (16 per cent). Only Indonesia logged a slight drop in local threats, with a -3 per cent decrease year on year. "We have real-life incidents of advanced cyberattacks utilising innocent-looking USBs and removable drives to infect an entire company. As offline malware attacks continue to evolve, businesses and organisations in SEA must remain vigilant and proactive in their cybersecurity efforts. By understanding the risks and implementing robust defences, organisations can protect themselves from this growing threat," adds Yeo. To avoid falling victim to a targeted attack using offline methods, Kaspersky researchers recommend individuals and organisations: Provide your SOC team with access to the latest threat intelligence (TI). Kaspersky Threat Intelligence is a single point of access for the companys TI, providing it with cyberattack data and insights gathered by Kaspersky spanning over 20 years. Upskill your cybersecurity team to tackle the latest targeted threats with Kaspersky online training developed by GReAT experts. Implement a corporate-grade security solution that detects advanced threats at the network level at an early stage, such as the Kaspersky Anti Targeted Attack Platform. Use centralized and automated solutions such as Kaspersky Next XDR Expert to enable comprehensive protection of all your assets; Introduce security awareness training and teach practical skills to your team for example, through the Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform, as many targeted attacks start with phishing or other social engineering techniques. Update OS and software as soon as possible and do so regularly. By Mai Huong The private sector in Viet Nam has been recognised in recent years as a crucial driver of innovation and economic growth. Contributing more than half of the nations GDP and providing 85 per cent of jobs, it has played an integral role in the economic transformation that Viet Nam has undergone. Despite its importance, the private sector, however, has faced numerous challenges, particularly in its ability to scale and innovate in a competitive global market. This is where the Governments recent efforts, particularly after the Politburo of the Viet Nam Communist Party passed a resolution on private economic development (called Resolution 68), play a crucial role in supporting the growth of the private economic sector. One of the key strategies highlighted in this resolution is the development of a strong, collaborative tripartite linkage between private enterprises, State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). By fostering this synergy, the government seeks to create a cohesive ecosystem where the strengths of each party can complement one another, driving innovation, increasing competitiveness and contributing to sustainable, inclusive economic growth. As Viet Nam targets double-digit GDP growth in the next decade, the emphasis on building these partnerships is seen as a strategic pillar powering the countrys push for industrialisation, modernisation and global integration. The private sector in Viet Nam has grown significantly over the past few decades. With over 97 per cent of registered enterprises classified as private, the sector is the backbone of the Vietnamese economy. It has contributed to the development of various key industries, from agriculture and manufacturing to services and technology. Private businesses, particularly small- and medium-sized ones, are the main creators of jobs and have spurred significant advances in innovation and productivity. As of 2024, the total number of active enterprises in the private sector reached around 930,000, with several major private conglomerates emerging, such as Vingroup, Masan, Sun Group, Vietjet, and Thaco. However, as Viet Nam continues to integrate into the global economy, particularly through free trade agreements and partnerships with other countries, there is a growing need for private businesses to overcome challenges such as limited access to capital, fragmented supply chains and inadequate technology. Resolution 68: the push for synergy Adopted on May, 4, 2025, Resolution 68 sets out a comprehensive policy to address these challenges and unlock the full potential of Viet Nam's private sector. The resolution aims to create a more favourable environment for private businesses, particularly smaller ones, by enhancing their access to capital, encouraging innovation, and reducing bureaucratic obstacles that hinder their growth. Moreover, the resolution highlights the importance of fostering closer collaboration between SOEs and FIEs. Historically, both have been dominant in key sectors such as energy, telecommunications and heavy industries. SOEs, with their state-backed resources, have often led infrastructure development, while FIEs have brought in advanced technologies and capital. On the other hand, private enterprises, particularly in Viet Nam's rapidly growing tech and services sectors, have demonstrated a high level of adaptability and innovation. Yet, they often lack the scale, capital and international reach to compete. By recognising that each party has unique strengths, the resolution calls for a more coordinated approach that leverages the resources, expertise and networks of SOEs and FIEs while enabling the private sector to contribute its flexibility, innovation, and deep understanding of local markets. The resolution calls for a more coordinated approach that leverages the unique strengths of each party. It proposes practical mechanisms such as joint ventures, co-investment initiatives and technology transfer programmes to enhance cooperation. This tripartite partnership is seen as essential to bridging capability gaps and ensuring inclusive, resilient growth in the new era. A key driver According to Phi Vinh Tuong, deputy director of the Institute of Vietnam and World Economy, one of the biggest barriers to advancing the private sector lies in outdated perceptions about its role. Resolution 68 acknowledges this challenge and highlights the private sector as a key driver of the economy. However, for meaningful linkages to emerge between private and state-owned enterprises, the Government must ensure a fairer legal and policy environment, especially regarding access to capital, resources, business opportunities. State-owned enterprises can easily get loans and join public service projects, but private businesses often face difficulties getting funding and access to these opportunities. Without equitable treatment, collaboration will remain superficial, Tuong told Viet Nam News. In terms of FIEs, Viet Nams traditional approach has focused on incentives to attract foreign capital. While effective in drawing investment, this policy lacks binding requirements for knowledge sharing, technology transfer or managerial collaboration with domestic firms. On the other side, most local private firms struggle with limited technological absorptive capacity and often fail to meet the standards or scale needed to link with FIEs. Hence, capacity-building is critical and cannot be achieved without State support. According to Tuong, to foster genuine synergy, the Government should pursue three policy directions. First, it must improve the business environment to ensure equal treatment and opportunities for SOEs and private firms. Second, foreign investment attraction policies should go beyond incentives to include enforceable commitments for technology and knowledge transfer. Third, new policies are needed to help scale up private firms and improve their technological capabilities. This includes workforce training, greater access to public R&D, and deeper involvement of private firms in innovation ecosystems led by SOEs, he said. Additionally, the Government should boost industrial clusters and innovation hubs as platforms for cross-sector collaboration. Universities, especially those in the natural sciences, should be transformed into innovation centres that link research more closely with industry, Tuong said. These hubs would create tangible opportunities for private firms to engage in innovation, driving deeper and more practical connections with the other two sectors. Finally, more incentives should be directed towards private enterprises operating in emerging fields such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, e-commerce and blockchain. With the digital economy currently contributing only 10 per cent to GDP, even modest gains say, 50 per cent growth in this sector could substantially boost national growth and support Viet Nams ambition of achieving double-digit expansion in the coming decade, Tuong said. Collective efforts In line with the goals of Resolution 68, several successful models of collaboration between private enterprises, SOEs and FIEs are already in place, demonstrating the potential of such partnerships. Petrovietnam is one of the most proactive State-owned enterprises in partnering with private firms to drive economic growth. Embracing its role as a leading enterprise, it has engaged with top private players in e-commerce, digital tech, manufacturing and logistics. A notable example is its partnership discussion with Hoa Phat Group, aiming to complement each other Petrovietnam supplying energy and fuel, and Hoa Phat providing high-quality steel to strengthen domestic production and competitiveness. Through its subsidiaries, Petrovietnam has also cooperated with Vingroup and FPT Digital, reflecting a strategy to connect with capable private firms and expand the value chain in Viet Nam. Across other sectors, notable examples include the proposed high-tech pharmaceutical industrial park in Nghi Son Economic Zone in Thanh Hoa Province a joint venture between Indias SMS Pharmaceuticals and a Vietnamese partner in July last year, aiming to attract up to US$5 billion in investment over the next decade. In the tech sector, VNPT has also stepped up collaboration with private enterprises. It has partnered with FPT Group to expand telecom infrastructure and digital services nationwide, aiming to boost service quality and reach. On May 14, VNPT and Vingroup signed a comprehensive MoU to jointly advance digital and green transformation. Under the agreement, VNPT will tailor IT and telecom services for all Vingroup subsidiaries, while promoting the use of Vingroups green products, such as VinFast electric vehicles, across its own network, aligning with Viet Nams sustainable development goals. Work together Nguyen Hong Son, deputy head of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee, said strategic links would help private firms avoid "swimming alone" in a tough market and instead work together by tapping into FIE strengths and State support. "In the long run, the development of the private sector cannot rely solely on the internal efforts of individual businesses but needs a strong linkage system with other key pillars of the economy," Son said. "This is how Viet Nam can build an independent and self-reliant economy while also being deeply integrated, globally competitive, and still grounded in national strength." Son added that it was time for the private sector to move beyond being the "backyard" and step up as a pillar. To achieve this, strategic collaboration with SOEs and FIEs would be the shortest and most effective path to creating sustainable breakthroughs in the new phase of development. Such partnership would also be key to achieving the goal of developing private companies of global scale. Resolution 68 aims to have at least 20 private firms integrated into global value chains by 2030. The resolution states that the State will assist leading private firms with incentives in capital, land, and workforce for key projects, while also boosting national branding to support their global expansion. This approach aims to boost GDP and the national budget, while also fostering the growth of smaller businesses, enabled in part by effective collaboration across sectors. VNS By Mai Huong As Viet Nam positions itself as a leading destination for private capital in Southeast Asia, investors and founders now all care about one thing: a clear and reliable exit strategy. Industry experts said that while Viet Nams start-up scene is buzzing and its economy remains one of the most dynamic in the region, private capital will only continue to flow if investors are assured of viable returns. In other words, its not enough to enter the market with enthusiasm there must be a way out. According to Michael H. Nguyen, deputy CEO of Masan Group, investors dont just look at the entry point, they care even more about how and when they can exit. Over the past 17 years Masan has raised over US$2 billion from a blend of strategic and financial investors, Nguyen said during a recent panel on pathways to exits in Viet Nam. He attributed this achievement to Masans unwavering commitment to building trust with investors, offering multiple exit routes including IPOs and trade sales. What makes us proud is that most of those investors have come back to invest again," he said. "That shows they believe they can generate returns which requires a clear path to exit. Its a credible path that any investor should seriously consider when looking at Viet Nam. Nguyen said Masan offered three main exit options for investors: secondary sales, strategic sales (like Singhas stake in KKR), and IPOs, such as Masan Groups listing. "While IPOs remain a viable option,the market is more challenging now." This view is shared by Le Hoai Vy, general partner at Do Venture and chairperson of the Vietnam Private Capital Agency (VPCA), a strong voice for enhancing Viet Nams investment landscape. She believes Viet Nam is at a pivotal moment. For the first time, the government is demonstrating a strong and clear will to support innovation and startup growth. However, she warned that a lack of high-profile exit success stories in recent years held the ecosystem back. Theres a great deal of investor interest, but without successful exits, especially in the last three to four years, reinvestment becomes harder, Vy said. We need to create more exit stories like we once had with The Gioi Di ong (Mobile World). That builds momentum, credibility and trust in the market. The Vietnam Innovation and Capital Report 2025, released last month by the Viet Nam Private Capital Agency (VPCA), National Innovation Centre (NIC), and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), said in 2024 the country drew nearly $2.3 billion across 141 foreign-funded innovation deals. Although total investment fell by 17 per cent compared to the previous year, this was modest relative to the 35 per cent global decline, reflecting Viet Nams resilience and growing appeal. The report pointed out key growth drivers such as strong GDP growth at 7.1 per cent in 2024 (higher than most Asian economies), rising foreign investment, an expanding middle class expected to reach 46 per cent of the population by 2030, and a digital economy aiming to grow from 18.3 per cent to 35 per cent of GDP by 2030. According to Chris Milliken, a partner in Baker McKenzie Vietnam, Viet Nam is at a promising turning point. It can learn from developed capital markets like the US, the UK, Hong Kong (China), Japan, and South Korea. Although these markets have different systems, they share common goals of protecting investors and ensuring liquidity. Milliken said Viet Nam should adopt global best practices in building its capital market rules. For instance, introducing a takeover code or easing regulations on share offerings and private placements could bring more clarity. What investors value most is consistency and clear rules. If Viet Nam aligns with international standards, it will lower the entry barrier for investors and quickly close the gap between them and local companies, he added. Indeed, the problem is structural. Though notable players like MoMo and Base.vn are gaining traction, the Vietnamese capital markets still present barriers. Strict listing regulations, especially for technology companies that may not yet be profitable, are a key obstacle. Chairperson Vy pointed out that while manufacturing firms have physical assets and predictable profits, tech startups would operate on a different timeline. Look at Amazon it took over a decade to become profitable, she said. We need pilot schemes that allow pioneering tech companies to access the IPO market, even if they are not yet profitable but show strong growth and robust balance sheets. The consequences of inaction are visible. As Vy noted, many foreign funds still lack a deep understanding of Viet Nam and remain cautious. If they cannot envision a clear exit within 510 years, they may simply redirect their capital elsewhere. According to Nguyen of Masan Group, there are reasons for optimism nonetheless. Viet Nam boasts a young, educated, and increasingly experienced workforce. He reflected on the transformation within Masan, where the once predominantly foreign-led leadership has been replaced by local talent. When I joined, 80 per cent of our group-level staff came from overseas. Now, its mostly young, talented Vietnamese professionals, he said. Thats a huge shift and it gives me hope. Experts also believe Viet Nam can become a regional hub for private equity and venture capital by strengthening legal infrastructure and fostering a culture of transparency. Doing so would not only benefit current companies but create an upward spiral where early-stage investors exit successfully and reinvest their capital into the next generation of start-ups. Investment isnt just about money, Vy said. Its about mentorship, partnership, and long-term commitment. But at the end of the day, every fund needs to exit. If we can build a clear path for that, Viet Nam will become one of the most attractive markets in the region. BIZHUB/VNS HA NOI Vietnamese mangoes have made remarkable strides in the Chinese market, surpassing major exporters such as Thailand, Peru and Australia to capture an impressive 97 per cent of Chinas mango import market share in the first quarter of this year. This outstanding success is attributed to a combination of competitive pricing, consistent quality and timely supply. According to data from Chinese Customs, China spent US$29 million importing mangoes from six countries in the first three months of 202521 times more than the same period last year. While import values from traditional suppliers like Thailand and Peru dropped sharply, Viet Nam emerged as the only bright spot, achieving a breakthrough: nearly 40,700 tonnes of mangoes were exported, generating $28 million in revenue145 times more than the previous year. The average export price of Vietnamese mangoes also rose by 72.6 per cent, reflecting strong consumer acceptance in China. A key driver behind Viet Nams growing dominance is its competitive pricing. On average, Vietnamese mangoes were exported at around $700 per tonnesimilar to prices from Cambodia but significantly lower than the $6,000$11,000 per tonne prices from countries such as Thailand, Peru and Australia. In addition, Viet Nams geographical proximity to China allows for lower logistics costs, faster delivery and better preservation of fruit quality upon arrival. Notably, Viet Nam has capitalised on its off-season mango harvest, which runs from September to Marcha period when domestic mango supply in China is limited. This seasonal advantage has enabled Vietnamese mangoes to enter the market when demand peaks, driving prices higher and bringing substantial profits to local farmers. At the height of the off-season, premium-grade mangoes in Viet Nam fetched up to VN100,000 per kilogramme. In addition to cost advantages, Vietnamese mangoes have impressed Chinese consumers with their consistent quality, rich flavour, mild sweetness and natural aroma. Specialty varieties such as cat Hoa Loc and cat Chu have gained significant popularity, not only for fresh consumption but also for industrial processing. Currently, nearly 2,000 hectares of mango orchards in the Mekong Delta are certified under VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, meeting food safety and traceability requirementscritical conditions for access to high-end markets such as China, South Korea, Japan and the United States. However, these opportunities are not without challenges. From May onwards, as China begins harvesting its domestic mango crop, demand for imports declines sharply, resulting in a drop in domestic mango prices. At times, prices have plummeted to just a few thousand ong per kilogramme, causing significant losses for both farmers and exporters. This underscores the risks of relying too heavily on a single market. To sustain growth and ensure long-term development, the mango sector must continue diversifying its export destinations, expanding into high-potential markets, and investing in deep processing and post-harvest preservation technologies. Expanding the area under VietGAP, GlobalGAP and other international certifications is also essential to enhance the global competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products. VNS KUALA LUMPUR Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Malaysia has recorded remarkable growth over the past decade, rising from US$8 billion in 2015 to $14.2 billion in 2024, and is well on track to reach the target of $18 billion ahead of schedule. According to Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Malaysia Le Phu Cuong, since the two countries elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2015, Malaysias exports to Viet Nam have soared by around 160 per cent. This surge reflects Viet Nams growing demand for essential production inputs such as fuel, electronic components, and petroleum products, which are crucial for its export-oriented economy. Meanwhile, Viet Nams exports to Malaysia have also risen by more than 80 per cent, with notable gains in agricultural and processed goods. In 2024, Vietnamese rice emerged as one of Malaysias top three imports, alongside electronics and steel. Coffee exports from Viet Nam also posted robust growth, driven by Malaysias limited domestic production. On the investment front, by the end of April 2025, Malaysian investors had 770 valid projects in Viet Nam, with total registered capital nearing $13.6 billion. Malaysia ranks 10th among 150 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, and third within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Malaysian investment spans 18 out of Viet Nams 21 economic sectors. The largest share is in education and training, with seven projects worth over $3.6 billion. This is followed by the manufacturing and processing industry, with 249 projects totalling nearly $2.9 billion (21.2 per cent of total investment), and the power and gas sector, with five projects worth almost $2.5 billion (18.2 per cent). Conversely, Vietnamese investors have invested in 27 projects in Malaysia with total registered capital of $854.8 million, largely concentrated on mining ($804.2 million). Other areas of investment include professional, scientific and technical services ($43.7 million), as well as wholesale, retail, and vehicle repair. Cuong noted that Vietnamese businesses faced intensifying competition in the Malaysian market, which has free trade agreements not only with Viet Nam but also with other regional economies such as China, Thailand, and Indonesia. He urged Vietnamese firms to make greater efforts and strategic engagement to secure a firm foothold in this market. VNS VIENTIANE A hybrid forum on promoting the East-West economic corridor and a trade-tourism fair took place in the Lao southern province of Sekong on May 23, co-organised by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Pakse and Sekong authorities. The events, initiated by the consulate general, served as an annual platform for fostering investment, tourism, and economic cooperation among localities from Viet Nam, Laos, and Thailand. The forum brought together representatives from 19 Vietnamese provinces and cities, four southern Lao provinces Champasak, Sekong, Salavan, and Attapeu, Thailands Ubon Ratchathani Province, and businesses from the three countries. In her opening remarks, Consul General Ta Phuong Dung highlighted the strategic significance of the forum in realising a shared development vision among the three nations toward sustainable growth. The forum would offer an opportunity for participating localities and enterprises to connect, explore investment prospects in southern Laos, and build cooperation programmes tailored to their strengths and needs, ultimately contributing to the socio-economic advancement of areas along the East-West economic corridor. Leklay Sivilay, Governor of Sekong, said that the forum would open the door for trilateral business cooperation and facilitate the mutual understanding of local advantages, potential, and policies. During the forum, delegates presented investment incentives and showcased the unique strengths of their respective localities, reflecting a subregional landscape with strategic linkages in economy, agriculture, logistics, and tourism. The trade and tourism fair, meanwhile, featured 47 exhibition booths of cultural and tourism products as well as farm produce. They comprised 12 booths from Viet Nam, 34 from Laos, and one from Thailand. VNS Central, Eastern European businesses eye new growth in booming Chinese market 11:15, May 24, 2025 By Xinhua writer Liu Bowei ( Xinhua NINGBO, China, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Businesses from Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) and beyond have set their sights on a major trade and investment event this week in Ningbo, a bustling port city in eastern China, hoping to strengthen ties and unlock new opportunities in one of the world's most dynamic markets. "The Chinese market is very attractive, even though it's geographically far away, but we are interested because we see quite a potential for our companies," Urska Bencina, undersecretary at SPIRIT Slovenia Business Development Agency, told Xinhua at the 4th China-CEEC Expo &International Consumer Goods Fair. Slovenia is the Guest of Honor of the expo this year. From advanced manufacturing to food and lifestyle brands, the five-day expo has attracted a total of 435 companies from the CEEC region and beyond, showcasing their signature products and cutting-edge technologies in pursuit of new orders and partnerships. "We have lots of research and development companies that can find partners here," Bencina said, noting that her agency, which helps international companies seek partners, invest, and expand in Slovenia and beyond, has participated in every edition of the expo. "We are very satisfied with the feedback from the expo, and so are our companies. They enjoy coming here because of the strong response from both the media and visitors, and they have also secured new deals," she said. Some exhibitors arrived with years of experience in the Chinese market, while others were making their debut. However, across the board, one shared sentiment stood out: confidence in China's vast consumer market, continued openness, and the long-term potential of stronger cooperation. Among the newcomers is Spirit Company S.R.O., making its debut at the expo. "We're not in the Chinese market yet, and that is why we came, to look for a distributor who can bring us in," said Igor Lakatos from the Slovak company. He told Xinhua that he has a great feeling about the expo, as it allows people to see and try their products directly. As the guest country of honor, Slovakia has brought more than 20 companies to participate in the expo, aiming to leverage the event as a platform to showcase unique Slovak products to the Chinese market and strengthen economic and trade ties between the two countries. For businesses already familiar with the Chinese market, the expo also presents an opportunity to further expand their footprint and build on existing connections. "We are trying to find new contracts and new importers for our wines from Slovakia to China, because we have a nice portfolio -- dry wines, sweet wines," said Erik Dorusinec, head sommelier of Matysak, a well-known Slovak winery that produces 2 to 3 million liters of wine annually. He told Xinhua that he hopes the company could offer other potential products for this market in the future, such as grape juice. Proudly presenting an array of elegantly bottled wines at his booth, Dorusinec said that he may give a cocktail-making demonstration in the coming days. "The Chinese market is full of potential," said Pavlou Christos, marketing director of the East China region of Greek company Zachanas Winery S.A. He told Xinhua that his company has been participating in the China-CEEC expo since its first edition. Although his company is not from a Central and Eastern European country, Christos said he appreciates the well-organized and high-quality exhibition. He noted that the company's continued participation has yielded successful results, prompting a return this year. Such comments reflect how the expo is increasingly evolving into a broader platform for international economic and trade cooperation beyond the China-CEEC framework. With the debut participation of countries such as France, Germany and Britain, this year's event marks a shift from "China-CEEC" to a wider "China-CEEC+" scope, reinforcing its role as a bridge for broader international engagement. In addition to traditional consumer goods, the expo has become a platform for showcasing high-tech solutions that support green development and industrial upgrading. From smart agriculture to clean energy, participating companies are exploring new opportunities for sustainable cooperation in the Chinese market. "We are looking for a cable manufacturer. We need it for our photovoltaic machine, for agriculture," said Robert Demko from SUN Powered Systems, a Slovak company with a focus on quality and long-term operation of manufactured products. From a company committed to new energy and sustainable development, Demko's remarks echoed the theme of this year's expo, "New Visions for the Future," highlighting the shared aspiration among participants to pursue forward-looking and high-quality cooperation. As Richard Rasi, chairman of the Slovak National Council, noted at the Expo's opening ceremony on Thursday, the event is more than just a trade fair -- it is a space for shared ambition, a platform built on trust and a foundation for future cooperation. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) MOSCOW National Assembly Vice Chairman Le Minh Hoan delivered a keynote speech at the 11th Nevsky International Ecological Congress (NIEC) held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from May 21-23, conveying Viet Nams messages, policies, and commitment to global environment initiatives. Hoan detailed Viet Nams legislative efforts to strengthen legal frameworks for sustainable development and meet international commitments. He put forward three key proposals to address climate change, resource depletion, and ecological instability: an inter-parliamentary cooperation initiative for global ecological action; enhanced collaboration in research, scientific and technological application, and digital transformation in biodiversity conservation; and promotion of green finance mechanisms, technical support, and greater engagement from the private sector in environmental protection and ecological transition initiatives. In their bilateral talks on May 22, First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia and Chairman of the RussiaVietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group Andrey Yatskin expressed his sincere appreciation for Hoan and his entourages contributions to the Congress, saying that it reflected the high level of political trust and the close, enduring ties between the two legislatures and nations. Their presence deepened the traditional friendship and the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Hoan reiterated Viet Nam's consistent policy of strengthening its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia, considering Russia one of the top priorities in its foreign policy. He praised the relevance and theme of the Congress, which reflected the urgent global environmental issues that require collective international actions. Both sides agreed to strongly support the effective and vigorous implementation of high-level agreements reached by their leaders, including the cooperation agreement and action plan signed between the Vietnamese NA and the Federation Council in September 2024. They agreed to carefully prepare for and successfully hold upcoming delegation exchanges between parliamentary leaders, committees, and agencies, particularly the fourth session of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. These efforts aim to enhance parliamentary cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels, while fostering broader collaboration in areas such as economy-trade, investment, science-technology, education-training, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Special attention will be given to helping businesses and investors from both sides to explore market opportunities and deepen economic engagement, adding further substance to the recently adopted Joint Statement on major orientations for the Viet Nam - Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the new phase, endorsed by the top leaders of the two countries in early May 2025. Meeting with his Lao counterpart Sommad Pholsena, the two officials vowed to work closely together to realise the agreements and commitments made by the top leaders and legislators, aiming for mutual development and prosperity. Deputy President of the Malaysian Senate Datuk Nur Jazlan bin Tan Sri Mohamed and the Vietnamese official underscored parliamentary diplomacy as an effective support for governmental diplomatic efforts. The Malaysian official praised Viet Nam's development potential, particularly its young, tech-savvy workforce, and expressed a strong desire for deeper cooperation to advance shared prosperity within ASEAN. Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian Peoples Consultative Assembly Eddy Soeparno expressed his enthusiasm for Vietnamese projects thriving in Indonesia, advocating for stronger bilateral and ASEAN ties through parliamentary diplomacy to enhance cooperation across sectors. On the occasion, Hoan and his entourage also engaged in various other activities, including meetings with Chairman of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly Aleksandr Belsky, and Deputy Chairman of the Assembly Nikolai Bondarenko. They visited the Ho Chi Minh Space and attended the opening ceremony of the Vietnamese language and culture festival at high school No. 488, laid a wreath at the President Ho Chi Minh monument and visited the Ho Chi Minh Institute located within Saint Petersburg State University. VNA/VNS HCM CITY Thai culture, cuisine, and creativity are being showcased at the Thai Festival, which opened in HCM City on May 23. The event featured a wide range of activities, including Thai traditional dance and Muay Thai performances, fashion shows, and nearly 50 exhibition booths showcasing Thai food, drinks and products. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Wiraka Moodhitaporn, the Thai consul-general in HCM City, said this years festival themed Thailands Creative Economy reflected Thailands commitment to modernisation and innovation while preserving the diversity of its cultural heritage. "From fashion, cuisine, to film and music, Thailand is harnessing the power of creativity and sustainable development to shape the future," Moodhitaporn said. The event would be a platform for local and international partners to explore new opportunities for collaboration in arts, culture, and creative industries, she said. On May 16, during the official visit to Viet Nam by Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Viet Nam and Thailand elevated their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This milestone reflects shared expectations for increasingly profound and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, according to the diplomat. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, deputy director of the citys Department of Culture and Sports, said Viet Nam and Thailand had continuously made efforts to foster bilateral ties across all areas of the bilateral relationship. To promote economic and cultural diplomacy between the two countries, the festival, organised by the Royal Thai Consulate-General in HCM City, featured a variety of traditional performances showcasing the culture of both countries, along with commercial booths introducing Thai products and services, Thuy said. Locals and foreign visitors could experience the unique cultural values of beautiful Thailand, she said. The event, held at the Youth Cultural House, will run until May 25. VNS At the middle of the tree-lined Thanh Nien Road, sandwiched between two big lakes in Ha Noi, stands an understated memorial depicting an American a figure whose presence in Viet Nam, once defined by conflict, evolved into a symbol of reconciliation. Depicted a US air force pilot shot down over Ha Noi sky, the subject of the humble monument, this is the sole public statue of an American in all of Viet Nam. And just as the relationship between Viet Nam and the United States underwent drastic shifts in the decades following the brutal war and the reunification of Viet Nam in 1975, so too has this little sculpture silently borne witness to the metamorphosis of nations once locked in bitter hostilities. The story of how it all came to be was a dramatic episode in the height of the war of destruction that the US waged against North Viet Nam one that is still barely justifiable to this day. On October 26, 1967, as part of the aerial bombing operation nicknamed Rolling Thunder, a 20-year-old pilot John McCain flew on the A-4 Skyhawk along with 19 American aircraft with the mission of blowing up the critical Yen Phu Power Plant in Ha Noi, which boasted the largest capacity in the entire northern region at the time, in order to cut off electricity supply for the capital city along with neighbouring provinces. However, surface-to-air missiles from the Vietnamese army's 61st Battalion managed to down about half of the squad. McCain's airplane was hit and free-fell towards the ground, so he decided to eject himself. During the chaotic moment, he badly injured both his arms and broke a knee. Still, his parachute opened in time and he eventually landed in the waters of Truc Bach Lake. With the amount of gear on his body weighing over 20kg, he was quickly sinking, but used the remaining intact leg to kick towards the surface. Not being able to flap his arms to swim, he again began to sink. However, this brief moment at the surface earned him enough time for some local residents, currently hiding in bomb shelters, to approach where he was struggling and pull him to shore. Barely conscious, McCain described the crowd as angry, but they saved him and brought him to Hoa Lo Prison, built by the French in the late 19th century to jail political prisoners and at the time used by North Viet Nam to hold prisoners of war (POWs) during the US war. He would spend five and a half years in captivity at the 'Fiery Furnace' or, as the American prisoners called it, the Hanoi Hilton before he was released in 1973 after the Paris Agreement was signed between the US and Viet Nam. Local authorities erected a memorial in 1984 to commemorate this victory. "On October 26, 1967 at Truc Bach Lake, Ha Noi's people and armed forces captured US Air Force Major John Sney Ma Can (sic) who flew the A-4 aircraft shot down at the Yen Phu power plant, one of ten planes shot down that day," the inscription originally reads, on the side of the image of an airman on his knees with his hands above his head in front of a wing of the downed plane that bears the abbreviations USAF (United States Air Force). Later in 2015, after a renovation, it was revised to correct the name of McCain, his rank and military branch, and drop negatively charged words to make the text more formal and fair, according to former US Ambassador to Viet Nam Ted Osius. As a result, the narrative of the memorial, or what it stands for, has moved from the original bravado of triumph over foes to a testament to mended ties. Bearing no bitterness for prison time in Ha Noi, McCain himself visited the site several times during his trips to Viet Nam after both nations normalised ties, and appeared to have taken a liking for it, not least for the fact it was the only statue bearing his image in the world. A former Vietnamese Ambassador to the US, Nguyen Tam Chien, said in his book that during his meeting with McCain in 2002, McCain led him to the photo of the cement memorial displayed in his office, asking with a little twinkle in his eyes that the ambassador would send a message back to Ha Noi that Senator John McCain wished the "little lakeside statue" could always be kept clean. Chien only later learned McCain said this because the last time he visited the site in Ha Noi, he saw some bird droppings on it. And it seemed the message had been received it is hard not to accommodate this one small request from one of the American architects of the normalisation of ties between the two nations. After McCain's passing in 2018, as both countries' relations flourish, the memorial has become an essential pilgrimage site for US delegations, including US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The McCain Institute, set up in his honour, in 2022 began a Global Leaders programme, which would include a Viet Nam visit, with stops in Ha Noi to include Hoa Lo Prison and the memorial itself. At a commemoration event held on May 20 at the memorial in Ha Noi that gathered over 30 leaders from over 20 countries under the programme, US Ambassador to Viet Nam Marc Knapper spoke highly of the courage of McCain, along with other Americans like John Kerry and Patrick Leahy. Knapper described them as "willing to go against the political grain of the time to advocate on behalf of reconciliation," also praising the courage among Vietnamese at that time, Vietnamese who were "also going against the political grain to argue in favour of friendship and reconciliation after the bitter war between our two countries". President Bill Clinton initiated the process of normalising diplomatic relations in the 1990s. A crucial step occurred in early 1994, when the US lifted its 30-year trade embargo on Viet Nam. This decision was made after concluding that substantial progress was being achieved on the POW/Missing in Action issue, helped in no small part by McCain and company, whose tireless advocation for full relations with Viet Nam, and his bearing of no antagonism towards the Vietnamese Government despite being held captive for years, earned backing from both his own Republican party and the Democratic party. Tom Seaman, Foreign Affairs officer at the US Department of State, and one of the members of the leaders' delegation, remarked at the commemoration event that undoubtedly one of McCain's most significant contributions was crossing the political divide within the US to help restore relations between Viet Nam and the US, which resulted in both countries moving forward together to heal. "Some 30 years after normalisation of relations, and seven years after Senator McCain's passing, the relationship between Viet Nam and the United States has grown into a mutually beneficial and comprehensive strategic partnership," Seaman said in his speech. The US diplomat said that in his efforts towards the reconciliation between Viet Nam and the US, McCain demonstrated not only moral courage, but also a "just and strategic vision for both countries, along with the ability to learn from and honour the past without being imprisoned by it". As the two countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, Ha Noi's authorities have greenlit a VN1.4 billion (about US$54,000) project to renovate the McCain memorial to ensure this landmark would be commensurate to the friendship between both sides. This would include enlarging the size of the memorial by about 20 per cent, changing the material to more durable granite and moving the memorial further back to create space in front for diplomatic delegation visits, according to Bui Thi Lan Phuong, deputy chief of Tay Ho Ward. Significantly, while the text description is currently correct, the abbreviation USAF on the wing's plane would also be altered to USN to be in line with the text and McCain's plane. The changes had taken into account feedback from Ha Noi's leadership, the foreign ministry of Viet Nam and the US embassy, Phuong said. It was expected that the renovation works would be finished in mid-June, and there will be a ceremony marking the completion, the official said. VNS HA NOI A State funeral for former Politburo member and former State President Tran uc Luong was held at the National Funeral Hall in Ha Noi on May 24 morning with the national mourning etiquette. The funeral was held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the National Assembly, the State President, the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), and the family of the former leader. From the early morning, delegations representing the Party, the State, the VFF, the army, and officers and soldiers of the people's armed forces, Party members, and citizens gathered at the National Funeral Hall to pay their final respects to comrade Tran uc Luong. The coffin, draped in the national flag and adorned with a black mourning ribbon, was laid at the centre of the hall. Above it was his portrait with a banner which read: Infinite sorrow for comrade Tran uc Luong, former Politburo member, former President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Leading the mourning processions, a delegation of the CPV Central Committee, headed by General Secretary To Lam, paid tribute and extended condolences to the family of the deceased. Politburo member and State President Luong Cuong led the Presidential delegation, while Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh headed the Government delegation to pay tribute to the late former President and express sympathy to the bereaved family. Politburo member, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man led the NA's delegation while Politburo member, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee o Van Chien led the VFF Central Committee's delegation. Politburo member, State President Luong Cuong also led the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform delegation in his capacity as the committee's chairman. High-ranking delegations from the Central Military Commission - the Ministry of National Defence led by Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang; and the Central Public Security Party Committee - the Ministry of Public Security headed by member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Tran Quoc To, paid tribute to comrade Tran uc Luong. Former Party General Secretary Nong uc Manh; former State Presidents Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang; former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; and former National Assembly Chairpersons Nguyen Sinh Hung and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, along with numerous incumbent and former Party and State leaders also came to pay the last respects to former President Tran uc Luong and extend condolences to his family. They walked solemnly around the coffin in a final farewell to the former President, honouring a devoted comrade whose exceptional contributions significantly advanced the revolutionary cause of both Party and nation. At the same time, the respect-paying ceremony for former State President Tran uc Luong was solemnly held at the Thong Nhat Hall in HCM City and T50 Hall of the Military Command of Quang Ngai Province - the former leaders hometown. The memorial service for comrade Tran uc Luong will be solemnly held at 7:00 am on May 25 at the National Funeral Hall, No.5 Tran Thanh Tong, Ha Noi. The burial ceremony will take place at 3:00 pm on the same day at the hometown cemetery in Pho Khanh Commune, uc Pho Township, Quang Ngai Province. Comrade Tran uc Luong, former member of the Politburo, former President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, former Chairman of the National Defence and Security Council, was born on May 5, 1937; Native place: Pho Khanh Commune, uc Pho District (now uc Pho Township), Quang Ngai Province; permanent residence at No. 298, Van Phuc Street, Lieu Giai Ward, Ba inh District, Ha Noi City. After a period of illness, despite the wholehearted treatment and care by the Party, State, leading medical experts and his family, he passed away at 22:51 on May 20 due to old age and severe illness at the age of 88 at his residence in Ha Noi. Throughout his over 50 years of revolutionary activities, he has made great and exceptionally outstanding contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation. He was conferred by the Party and State with the Gold Star Order, the 65-year Party membership badge and many other noble orders, medals, awards and titles. VNA/VNS HA NOI The state visit to Viet Nam by French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse from May 25 - 27 demonstrates strong commitments by the two countries high-ranking leaders to develop bilateral relations, as well as the comprehensive strategic partnership in a substantive and effective manner. This is the French President's first visit to Viet Nam since he took office in 2017 and was re-elected in 2022. It holds special significance for the bilateral relations, especially following the upgrade of the ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in October last year during Party General Secretary To Lam's official visit to the European country. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership A milestone elevating bilateral relations Viet Nam and France established their diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on April 12, 1973. However, the foundation for exchanges had been laid earlier, when France opened a representative mission in the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam following the Geneva Accords of 1954. Along with mutual visits, meetings and contacts between high-ranking leaders, the two countries have also maintained numerous regular exchange mechanisms in the fields of politics, economy, and defence at various levels. At high-level meetings, their leaders have agreed that Viet Nam and France share many favourable conditions for strengthening the bilateral relations. France is a key power in Europe, actively asserts its global role, and holds significant interests and influence in Asia, while Viet Nam is a rapidly developing and dynamic economy, playing an important role within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia. They also share many common views and interests on international issues. Therefore, enhancing bilateral cooperation is an objective and necessary requirement for the benefit of both nations. The two sides have consistently coordinated with and supported each other at international organisations such as the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), ASEAN-EU relations, and the Francophone community. In addition, cooperation between the two legislative bodies has also been developing positively through regular exchanges and high-level contacts, as well as experience-sharing between parliamentary bodies and friendship parliamentarians groups to build mutual trust and promote comprehensive relations across various fields. Economic and trade collaboration a pillar of bilateral relations Economic and trade cooperation serves as a key pillar in the bilateral relationship. France is currently Viet Nams fifth-largest trading partner in Europe and one of the leading providers of Official Development Assistance (ODA) among EU member states. Bilateral trade turnover reached US$5.33 billion in 2022, $4.8 billion in 2023, $5.42 billion last year, and $1.79 billion in the first four months this year. The two countries are effectively cooperating to capitalise on the EUViet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which has helped Vietnamese goods strengthen their position in the European market while opening wider access to the French market. In terms of investment, as of May this year, France had 700 investment projects in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of $3.95 billion, ranking 16th out of 147 countries and territories pouring money into Viet Nam. French direct investment is primarily focused on sectors such as information and communications, manufacturing and processing industries, and the production and distribution of electricity, gas, and water. Conversely, Viet Nam has 20 investment projects in France with a total registered capital of $38.93 million. In terms of development assistance, France is the leading European ODA donor of Viet Nam, while Viet Nam ranks as the second-largest recipient of French ODA globally. From 1993 to 2022, France granted and provided Viet Nam with preferential loans totalling 16.7 billion EUR ($18.8 billion), averaging around 100 million EUR per year, focusing on key areas such as infrastructure, technology transfer, agriculture, green industry, and finance. Many French-funded projects have significantly contributed to Viet Nams development, modernisation, and the improvement of living conditions and the environment. According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France inh Toan Thang, green transition, digital transformation, and innovation are currently strategic priorities for Viet Nam, and also the key areas in which it seeks to strengthen cooperation with international partners. France, with its strong scientific research capacity and status as one of the worlds leading countries in innovation, is well-positioned to be a valuable partner in these fields. Healthcare collaboration is also emerging as a bright spot, with the recent partnership between Viet Nams VNVC Vaccination Centre and French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi on vaccine production following the elevation of the bilateral ties. Locality-to-locality cooperation has continued to flourish, with preparations underway for the 13th Viet NamFrance Decentralised Cooperation Conference, expected to be held in France next year. Thang reaffirmed the enduring role of the 350,000-strong Vietnamese community in France, whose long-standing presence and commitment to the homeland form a crucial bridge in the bilateral relations. The communitys success is a testament to the close Viet NamFrance connection and a key driver in deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership. A concrete step to implement Viet NamFrance Comprehensive Strategic Partnership The state visit to Viet Nam by French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse marks an important milestone, laying a solid foundation for the sustainable and stronger development of the Viet NamFrance Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the future. According to the Vietnamese Ambassador to France, President Macrons selection of Viet Nam as his first destination on his Southeast Asia tour clearly reflects the strategic priority and deep importance that France places on its bilateral relationship with Viet Nam. Viet Nams position as the first and only ASEAN partner to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with France further reinforces this fact. At the same time, this visit represents an important step in implementing Frances Indo-Pacific strategy, affirming Viet Nams key role in Frances foreign policy in the region. The diplomat noted that it presents an excellent opportunity for leaders of both nations to discuss and agree on concrete next steps to implement the frameworks outlined in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The signing of new cooperation agreements during the visit will serve as both a catalyst and a legal foundation for future collaboration in the years ahead, he added. VNS HA NOI A draft law has proposed that the Ministry of Public Security take over the authority to apply the principle of reciprocity in extradition cases, shifting that responsibility from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The change, outlined in the draft Law on Extradition presented to the National Assembly on Saturday, aims to streamline decision-making in cases where no extradition treaty exists between Viet Nam and a foreign country. The draft law comprises four chapters and 45 articles, revising 19 provisions, adding 10 new ones, and removing one compared to the current Law on Mutual Legal Assistance. Under the new framework, if Viet Nam requests an extradition, it will cover the costs incurred from the moment it receives the person. If Viet Nam is the receiving country, it will pay for expenses up to the handover, unless another arrangement is made. The draft also clarifies procedures for emergency arrests. If a foreign country requests Viet Nam to detain a suspect urgently under an international treaty, the arrest must comply with Article 113 of Viet Nams Criminal Procedure Code, provided the request includes sufficient information and firm commitments from the requesting country. A separate bill on the transfer of prisoners was also introduced. It names the Ministry of Public Security as the central authority for handling transfers involving Vietnamese or foreign nationals serving prison sentences. Similar cost-sharing rules apply. Viet Nam will pay for prisoner transfer expenses up to the point of handover if it is the sending country, or from the time of receipt if it is the receiving country. Individuals or organisations may voluntarily contribute to living, travel, or other related costs. The draft removes earlier conditions requiring transferred prisoners to have last resided in Viet Nam or to have at least six months remaining on their sentence in certain cases. The government will be responsible for defining what qualifies as a 'special case' when less than a year of the sentence remains. In another procedural change, the decision to approve or reject a prisoner transfer, previously made by a panel of three judges, would be made by a single judge under the proposed law. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation will pay an official visit to Malaysia and attend the 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Malaysia from May 24-28 with a clear message of proactive responsibility and readiness to contribute to the bloc's collective endeavors, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs o Hung Viet. In a recent interview with the press, Viet, also Head of ASEAN SOM of Viet Nam, stressed that the trip, made at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his spouse, was of significance as it coincides with the 30th anniversary of Viet Nams ASEAN membership, marking the beginning of the nations regional and international process. "It demonstrates Viet Nams strong support for Malaysias role as the ASEAN Chair this year and reflects the shared determination to build a community that embodies sustainability, inclusiveness, solidarity and strength while consolidating ASEANs central role in regional peace and stability," he said. "Viet Nam seeks to collaborate with other ASEAN member states to shape up strategic orientations and concrete measures to solidify regional cooperation foundation while elevating the blocs stature in the coming time." Viet Nam's three-decade ASEAN membership shows that it is increasingly mature, confident, and proactive in both regional bloc participation and broader international integration, according to the deputy minister. This period has confirmed ASEAN as a cornerstone in Viet Nam's foreign policy, with General Secretary To Lam emphasising in his speech at the ASEAN Secretariat in January that standing at a new historical starting point, Viet Nam and ASEAN are working together towards ambitious goals. Over the recent past, Viet Nam has collaborated closely with other ASEAN nations in developing strategic documents, particularly the "ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future" to be adopted by leaders at this summit. Vietnamese ministries actively contributed from the initial stages, balancing core principles like internal solidarity and ASEAN centrality while proposing innovative, practical ideas to create breakthroughs across all three pillars of politics-security, economy, and socio-culture, and cross-sectoral areas. Viet Nams leadership is evident through its role in organising the ASEAN Future Forums in 2024 and 2025, facilitating discussions on essential regional issues and substantively contributing to shaping ASEAN cooperation through 2045. Themed Inclusivity and Sustainability, the 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits are expected to chart fresh pathways for regional cooperation. Viet Nam will work with other member states across three priorities, namely reaffirming multilateralisms values while enhancing ASEANs central role in the region amidst strategic volatilities; launching a new roadmap for community building towards a self-reliant, innovative, proactive, and people-centred bloc; and promoting internal and external connectivity through expanded trade-investment cooperation and fair, transparent, and rules-based multilateral trading systems, according to Viet. Touching on Viet Nam Malaysia relations, the diplomat stressed that PM Chinhs visit would help deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Leaders of both sides would exchange notes on specific orientations and measures to inject new momentum and develop the bilateral cooperation and connectivity in a deeper and more effective manner. He went on to emphasise that the elevation of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last November represented the most solid assessment and highest expectation for the Viet Nam-Malaysia relationship. Senior leaders of the two countries have maintained regular visits and exchanges, highlighted by General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Malaysia in 2024 and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's visit to Viet Nam for attendance at the second ASEAN Future Forum in February 2025. Recent diplomatic engagement has intensified remarkably, with PM Chinh conducting two telephone conversations with his Malaysian counterpart within a single month to share assessments of the global and regional situation while discussing measures to promote bilateral cooperation and ASEAN collaboration. Economic cooperation is an important pillar in the Viet Nam Malaysia relationship, according to Viet. Malaysia currently ranks as Viet Nam's third-largest trading partner within ASEAN and ninth globally, while also standing as Viet Nam's third-largest investor among ASEAN countries. Both countries share similar development aspirations and place people at the heart of national development. Viet Nam has positioned its people as the centre, subject, goal, driving force, and resource for sustainable national development. Similarly, Malaysia aims to become one of the world's top 25 countries in human development index within the next decade. This alignment demonstrates profound affinity between the nations extending beyond geographical proximity to encompass long-term development philosophy and priorities. Viet expressed his belief that PM Chinhs visit would also strengthen political trust between the two countries, remove bottlenecks, and outline concrete steps to bring into full play the Viet Nam Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the benefit of the two countries people as well as for peace, stability, and development in the region. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 24 signed an official dispatch, ordering a strong nationwide crackdown on smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property violations. The Government leader highlighted in the document that despite initial progress in efforts against the illegal practices, with the detection and disruption of multiple operations involving counterfeit milk, pharmaceuticals, and food items, the situation remained extremely complicated. He called on the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee and its member organisations to strengthen coordination with ministries, sectors, and administrations at all levels to engage businesses and people in the anti-smuggling campaign to detect and prevent violations at the grassroots level. Secretaries of the municipal and provincial Party Committees were urged to continue leading and directing party committees and the entire political system at local levels to participate in the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods. The PM mandated ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and chairpersons of provincial and municipal People's Committees to launch and increase guidance for competent forces and units. They were tasked with intensifying the ongoing crackdown with greater determination and efforts. Strict punishment must be given to any violators as well as officials, civil servants, and officers showing signs of moral degradation, corruption, negativity, or complicity with lawbreakers. The Ministry of Health is responsible for completing the amendments and supplements to the Government Decree No.15/2018/N-CP detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Food Safety in May. The ministry must also coordinate with relevant agencies to report to the Government and propose competent authorities to address limitations of the law as recommended by various ministries. This work must be completed before June 5, to ensure submission to the National Assembly in the month. Press agencies and media outlets were called on to increase coverage of the dangers posed by smuggling, commercial fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property violations, spotlight successful enforcement efforts, and condemn negative behaviours that lead to adverse consequences. VNS HA NOI French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a state visit to Viet Nam from May 25-27. French Ambassador Olivier Brochet said the trip was expected to foster the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the fields of politics, economy, scientific research, education, culture, national defence, and pressing global challenges like climate change. The visit, the first leg of President Macrons Southeast Asia tour that includes Indonesia and Singapore, was part of Frances Indo-Pacific Strategy, launched in 2018 to strengthen ties with regional partners. It would follow a trip to France eight months ago by Party General Secretary To Lam, signaling robust progress in the bilateral relations and the solid framework of cooperation that the two countries have built together, Brochet told the press. President Macron, accompanied by key ministers, including the Minister of the Economy and Finance, and the Minister of the Armed Forces, will meet with Vietnamese leaders to advance cooperation in economy, national defence-security. A significant agreement is expected between the French Development Agency and Viet Nams National Power Transmission Corporation to support a transmission line project, aligning with the Just Energy Transition Partnership to aid Viet Nams green energy goals. Education and youth engagement are also priorities. President Macron will meet with students at the University of Science and Technology of Ha Noi, known as the Viet Nam-France University, and those enrolled in other French-affiliated courses, such as the management programme at the European Excellence in Management Education (CFVG) and the Viet Nam-France Excellent Engineer Training Programme (PFIEV). He will highlight the bilateral relationship and its future, with a particular emphasis on the role of young people and Frances support in research, education, and innovation. Global issues will feature prominently, with discussions expected on Viet Nams attendance at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in June 2025. Brochet said the visit would reaffirm their commitment to building a modern, dynamic, and structured partnership, one that respects the interests and sovereignty of each nation. Asked about which cooperation areas should be deepened, he said France saw opportunities in energy, including nuclear energy; transport, and artificial intelligence, with French expertise potentially supporting Viet Nams high-speed railway project. Reflecting on the past three decades of people-to-people exchanges, he said a steady flow of Vietnamese students educated in France had built a vital bridge between the two nations, one that Brochet described as a fundamental foundation that must be absolutely preserved. Beyond showcasing French culture in Viet Nam, collaborative events have spurred the growth of Viet Nams cultural and creative industries, according to the ambassador. Frances support for the Hue Festival, a partnership spanning more than 20 years, exemplifies this commitment, as does the upcoming second Ha Noi Photography Festival, set to take place in the coming months. A recent agreement among Viet Nams Sconnect Academy of Media Arts, the French Embassy, and Pariss renowned Gobelins animation school signals further cultural collaboration. Brochet also noted with pride the embassys role in securing Viet Nams pavilion at the 78th Cannes Film Festival this year, a milestone for Vietnamese cinema on the global stage. VNS PHNOM PENH The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia held a solemn respect-paying ceremony and opened a condolence book on May 24 to pay tribute to former Politburo member, former State President Tran uc Luong. In a respectful atmosphere, Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu, the embassys staff, representatives of Vietnamese agencies, business associations, students, and the Vietnamese community observed a moment of silence and offered incense to commemorate the late leader. Vu praised comrade Tran uc Luong as an outstanding leader whose tenure from 1997 to 2006 saw Vietnam strengthen its external relations as well as deepen global integration. Throughout the day, senior Cambodian delegations, including officials from the Royal Palace, the Cambodian Peoples Party, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Government, ministries and sectors came to the embassy to pay their respects to the former leader of Viet Nam. Chea Horn, Senior Advisor to the Cambodian King, delivered a condolence letter from the King to Party General Secretary To Lam and laid a wreath in remembrance of former State President Tran uc Luong. Offering their heartfelt condolences, Cambodian officials described comrade Tran uc Luong as a cherished friend of Cambodia, who made significant contributions to the time-honoured friendship, cooperation, solidarity, and respect between the two countries. Diplomats from China, Russia, Cuba, Malaysia, Myanmar, Timor Leste, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Turkiye, and Brunei also paid respect and wrote in the condolence book. Similar events were simultaneously held at Vietnamese general consulates in Preah Sihanouk and Battambang provinces, where local officials and Vietnamese expatriate communities gathered to honour the former President. A memorial service is scheduled for May 25, bringing together embassy personnel, media representatives, business associations, and the Vietnamese community in Cambodia for a final tribute to the late President. Cambodian leaders had previously sent formal condolence letters to their Vietnamese counterparts, including messages from President of the Cambodian Senate and President of the Cambodian People's Party Samdech Techo Hun Sen to Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Hun Manet to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairwoman Khuon Sudary to National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. VNA/VNS HA NOI Leaders of Laos, China, Cambodia, Cuba and Russia have sent messages and letters of condolences to Viet Nam, following the death of former Politburo member and State President Tran uc Luong on May 20. In their message of condolences, the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the State President, the National Assembly, the Government and the Central Committee of the Lao Front for National Construction expressed their profound sorrow and regret, describing comrade Tran uc Luong as a distinguished statesman and a pillar of the Vietnamese Party and State, who consistently embodied the spirit of sacrifice and set an exemplary standard as a Party member. They noted his lifelong dedication to the revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese Party, the nation, and the people, and commended his unwavering commitment to the defence and prosperous development of Viet Nam. His passing was not only a profound loss to the Vietnamese Party, State, and people, but also to their Lao counterparts, who lost a beloved friend and comrade, they said, recalling that comrade Tran uc Luong had always shown deep care and wholehearted support for the cause of national protection and development in Laos, making significant and meaningful contributions to strengthening the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the Parties, States, and people of Laos and Viet Nam. In his condolence message, Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping extended profound condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State, people, and the deceased's family. He praised Luong as an outstanding leader of the Vietnamese Party and State who played a pivotal role in the countrys renewal and development. As a longtime close friend of the Chinese people, he tirelessly promoted the relationship between the two Parties and nations. Xi expressed confidence that under the steadfast leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, led by General Secretary To Lam, the Vietnamese Party, State, and people would transform their grief into strength and continue achieving new milestones in the cause of socialism building. In their letters of condolences sent to Viet Nams top leaders, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, Senate President Hun Sen, Prime Minister Hun Manet, and National Assembly President Khuon Sudary paid tribute to former State President Tran uc Luong, describing him as an exceptional and dedicated leader who devoted his whole career to peace, independence, social progress and national modernisation for the well-being of the Vietnamese people. They also praised him as a long-standing, sincere friend of Cambodia and a key figure in building and developing the deep-rooted friendship between the two nations and their people. The Cambodian King and leaders extended their deepest condolences to General Secretary To Lam, senior leaders of the State, Government, National Assembly and people of Viet Nam as well as the bereaved over the great loss. In the messages, Cuban leaders conveyed their condolences to the Party, Government and people of Viet Nam over the death of former State President Tran uc Luong. Miguel Diaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and President of Cuba, mourned the loss of comrade Tran uc Luong who had helped deepen the profound bonds between Cuba and Viet Nam. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz affirmed that Cuba would always cherish comrade Tran uc Luongs contributions to the bilateral friendship, while President of the National Assembly of People's Power Esteban Lazo offered heartfelt condolences to Luongs family, friends and the Vietnamese people. Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent a message of condolences to Vietnamese leaders, describing the late President as a great friend of Russia and highlighting his important role in advancing bilateral relations. Notably, Luong co-signed the Joint Statement on the Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and Russia in 2001. From Laos, Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane and Bounleua Phandanouvong, acting head of the LPRP Central Committees Commission for External Relations, sent messages of condolences to Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son. VNA/VNS HA NOI A joint operation of Vietnamese and Lao police have dismantled a major cross-border online gambling ring that enabled thousands of people to place illegal bets worth nearly VN1.3 trillion (US$50 million), Viet Nam's Ministry of Public Security said on Friday. The police have raided several locations in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, where they found Vietnamese nationals managing gambling websites and running online betting platforms using computers and mobile phones. The ring was allegedly led by 44-year-old Mai Anh Viet, a Ha Noi resident, who partnered with Nguyen Huu Son, 41, from HCM City. According to the police, the two arranged to use foreign-hosted gambling websites and related services to operate the scheme. Viet is accused of recruiting fellow Vietnamese citizens to travel to Laos and assigning close relatives to run the gambling sites in rotating shifts. Others were hired in Viet Nam to promote and livestream the betting platforms on social media. The police said they seized 35 mobile phones, 12 desktop computers, and 25 laptops during the raids in Laos. On May 19, Lao authorities handed over 29 Vietnamese suspects along with all confiscated devices and documents to Vietnamese police. The investigation later expanded across Viet Nam, with the police searching properties and summoning 10 suspects linked to the operation. Officers seized additional phones, a computer, and livestreaming equipment believed to have been used to advertise the gambling services. Investigators said the ring tracked players' weekly winnings and losses, handled payments with overseas gambling providers, paid salaries to staff, and split the illegal profits among members. So far, 31 individuals have been charged - 27 with organising gambling and four with gambling - and the investigation is ongoing, according to the ministry. VNS HCM CITY The 13th OpenTESOL International Conference on May 24 at the HCM City Open University has focused on addressing current challenges and opportunities in language education. With the theme "Embracing Voices: Diversity, Agency, and Growth in Language Education," the conference serves as an open academic forum that fosters opportunities for scholars, researchers, lecturers, and teachers to exchange expertise, share practical experiences, and present their latest research findings. It attracted more than 500 participants, including scholars, managers, researchers, lecturers, and graduate students majoring in English Language Teaching, Applied Linguistics, Chinese, Korean and Japanese from over 150 universities, educational institutions, and training centres worldwide. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Ha, president of the HCM City Open University, said since its establishment in 2012, the conference series had embodied the mission of the university to provide accessible, high-quality education through on-site, online, distance, and satellite programmes. Our goal is to meet the diverse learning needs of society and contribute meaningfully to national and global development, he said. He reaffirmed the importance of empowering learners to take ownership of their educational journeys, and a dedication to lifelong growth - both as educators and as individuals committed to excellence and equity in language education. This conference sparks new ideas, strengthens our practices, and inspires us to make an even greater impact in our classrooms, communities, and the broader field of language education, he said. The conference aims to enhance learners' knowledge and skills while strengthening the competitiveness of human resources, thereby contributing to sustainable development in the field of language teaching. It spotlights research on the pivotal role of developing learner agency a determining factor in empowering language learners to become proactive, independent, and effective lifelong learners. In addition, the conference offers practical solutions for managing multicultural classrooms in todays globalised era, emphasising the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of students. It also places special attention on in-depth aspects concerning language educators, such as their beliefs, values, career goals, personal experiences, social roles, and continuous professional development journeys. Alongside more than 60 research papers from both local and international scholars and practitioners to be featured in the conference proceedings, six keynote presentations were delivered live by distinguished experts in the fields of TESOL theory and pedagogy. Among the keynote presentations, Prof. Tammy Gregersen, director of Intensive English Programme at Tennessee State University in the US, shared about finding balance in our minds, motivations, emotions, and bodies in the present and the future. Wellbeing is multidimensional, with dynamically interconnected elements, and is necessary for thriving personally and professionally, at home and at school, she said. She shared the Pomodoro Technique to fight procrastination. This technique keeps people focused and on task, breaks big projects into manageable chunks, supports motivation by providing regular short rewards, and boosts concentration by giving the brain a necessary rest and a chance to focus on something else before returning to task. It also helps plan a longer break (at least 20 minutes) after four cycles of intense shorter work bursts and breaks to give minds a chance to recover. The OpenTESOL International Conference has been organised by the Faculty of Foreign Languages and the Graduate School of HCM City Open University since 2012 with the aim of supporting the foreign language teaching community. VNS by Thanh Nga General Secretary To Lam of the Viet Nam Communist Party has advocated a free-lunch scheme for primary and secondary school students in border communes, particularly in mountainous areas, aimed at enhancing overall wellbeing and supporting academic success. The policy will begin in land border communes in the 2025-2026 school year, starting in September. Depending on its success, there are plans to gradually expand the programme nationwide. Local governments that can manage their budgets effectively are encouraged to implement the policy sooner, showcasing their commitment to education and wellbeing. The implementation will follow a roadmap that ensures alignment with the countrys economic conditions. Maintaining high standards for student meals throughout the programme is crucial, with strict oversight to prevent any reduction in quality. This programme, alongside the nationwide policy of free-paying class in public grade schools, aims to alleviate the financial burden on families while enriching students cultural and artistic education. It fuels hope for a comprehensive educational future where no child goes hungry in class and every student thrives. Investing in meals for students in mountainous areas is investing in people. Many developed nations recognise that school meals are vital to education, and Viet Nam is now embracing this enlightened perspective," a teacher in Ha Noi, Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, said. Experts say that lunch is a critical factor that keeps students engaged in afternoon classes. In remote areas, many children still bring lunch boxes to school and rely on cold, unsafe food. By providing nutritious lunches, the State is not only offering material support, but also demonstrating a commitment to the health and development of future generations. For families in mountainous regions, where living conditions are often challenging, the free lunch policy represents an opportunity for transformative change. Teacher Ma Thi Phuong in Ha Giang Province called it a chance to change the life of these children. With a full lunch, they will be healthy, secure in their studies, and less likely to drop out due to poverty, she said. The policies of free full-day schooling and lunch support, while differing in scope, share a common goal: to cultivate a fair, humane and modern educational system. They reflect a strong commitment from the highest levels of government, ensuring that every Vietnamese child, whether in urban or rural areas, has the right to a bright future filled with opportunity. If implemented effectively, these policies could mark a significant leap forward in creating a learning society where all students can thrive in a better nurturing environment. As Ha Noi prepares to start a free-lunch scheme for students in public primary and secondary schools, it stands ready to support approximately 1.2 to 1.3 million students. With a projected lunch cost of around VN30,000 per student (just over US$1), the financial commitment is substantial. However, given Ha Nois impressive budget revenues, the city is poised to lead this essential initiative. Nguyen The Thang, principal of Thach Hoa Primary School in Thach That District, has acknowledged the challenges of providing meals for his students, saying that only 120 out of over 600 students currently have lunch at school due to staffing and facility constraints. "With government support for free lunches, students' health and academic performance would improve, alleviating parental concerns," Thang said. Education expert Bui Khanh Nguyen said that a nutritious school lunch is not just about health; its critical for fostering a conducive learning environment. For many poor students, lunch at school might be their only nutritious meal of the day, he said. Nguyen Xuan Khang, chairman of the Marie Curie School Board, believes this policy aligns with public aspirations and modern educational trends. If executed well, it could enhance students' wellbeing and shift the educational culture to prioritise student-centred learning. "While current facilities may not support 100 per cent boarding, the prospect of free lunches could change that. With proper investment in kitchens and staffing, schools could ensure that all students receive nutritious meals, especially during two-session school days," Khang said. Expert Le Viet Khuyen from the Viet Nam Association for Promoting Education underscored the importance of a coordinated effort across sectors - education, health, finance and agriculture - to ensure the sustainability of school meal programmes. "Countries like Thailand and Japan have long recognised the value of such policy, and Viet Nam is now taking steps to adapt these successful models to its unique context," Khuyen said. VNS archives 29 Jun - 6 Jul (2) 22 Jun - 29 Jun (4) 15 Jun - 22 Jun (1) 8 Jun - 15 Jun (3) 1 Jun - 8 Jun (4) 25 May - 1 Jun (5) 18 May - 25 May (2) 11 May - 18 May (3) 4 May - 11 May (2) 27 Apr - 4 May (5) 20 Apr - 27 Apr (1) 13 Apr - 20 Apr (2) 30 Mar - 6 Apr (5) 23 Mar - 30 Mar (2) 9 Mar - 16 Mar (1) 2 Mar - 9 Mar (2) 16 Feb - 23 Feb (3) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (1) 2 Feb - 9 Feb (3) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (2) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (1) 5 Jan - 12 Jan (1) 22 Dec - 29 Dec (1) 15 Dec - 22 Dec (2) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (1) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (4) 10 Nov - 17 Nov (2) 3 Nov - 10 Nov (1) 27 Oct - 3 Nov (4) 20 Oct - 27 Oct (4) 13 Oct - 20 Oct (1) 6 Oct - 13 Oct (1) 29 Sep - 6 Oct (1) 22 Sep - 29 Sep (1) 15 Sep - 22 Sep (1) 18 Aug - 25 Aug (5) 4 Aug - 11 Aug (2) 21 Jul - 28 Jul (6) 7 Jul - 14 Jul (3) 30 Jun - 7 Jul (2) 23 Jun - 30 Jun (5) 16 Jun - 23 Jun (2) 9 Jun - 16 Jun (3) 2 Jun - 9 Jun (2) 26 May - 2 Jun (3) 19 May - 26 May (2) 12 May - 19 May (3) 5 May - 12 May (3) 28 Apr - 5 May (1) 14 Apr - 21 Apr (1) 7 Apr - 14 Apr (3) 17 Mar - 24 Mar (1) 10 Mar - 17 Mar (1) 3 Mar - 10 Mar (1) 11 Feb - 18 Feb (2) 4 Feb - 11 Feb (1) 21 Jan - 28 Jan (1) 14 Jan - 21 Jan (1) 7 Jan - 14 Jan (3) 10 Dec - 17 Dec (1) 26 Nov - 3 Dec (1) 29 Oct - 5 Nov (1) 3 Sep - 10 Sep (1) 27 Aug - 3 Sep (2) 6 Aug - 13 Aug (1) 30 Jul - 6 Aug (6) 9 Jul - 16 Jul (1) 2 Jul - 9 Jul (6) 18 Jun - 25 Jun (4) 4 Jun - 11 Jun (5) 21 May - 28 May (4) 14 May - 21 May (1) 7 May - 14 May (4) 23 Apr - 30 Apr (2) 26 Mar - 2 Apr (1) 19 Mar - 26 Mar (1) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (3) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (1) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (2) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (1) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (2) 20 Nov - 27 Nov (1) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (1) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (3) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (3) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (3) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (3) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (2) 12 Jun - 19 Jun (4) 22 May - 29 May (1) 15 May - 22 May (5) 1 May - 8 May (2) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (3) 27 Feb - 6 Mar (3) 13 Feb - 20 Feb (1) 30 Jan - 6 Feb (3) 2 Jan - 9 Jan (4) 26 Dec - 2 Jan (1) 5 Dec - 12 Dec (3) 28 Nov - 5 Dec (2) 14 Nov - 21 Nov (1) 7 Nov - 14 Nov (1) 10 Oct - 17 Oct (1) 22 Aug - 29 Aug (3) 15 Aug - 22 Aug (1) 8 Aug - 15 Aug (3) 1 Aug - 8 Aug (1) 25 Jul - 1 Aug (3) 18 Jul - 25 Jul (1) 11 Jul - 18 Jul (1) 27 Jun - 4 Jul (4) 20 Jun - 27 Jun (3) 13 Jun - 20 Jun (1) 30 May - 6 Jun (2) 23 May - 30 May (4) 2 May - 9 May (3) 25 Apr - 2 May (4) 4 Apr - 11 Apr (2) 28 Mar - 4 Apr (4) 28 Feb - 7 Mar (1) 7 Feb - 14 Feb (2) 10 Jan - 17 Jan (2) 27 Dec - 3 Jan (2) 13 Dec - 20 Dec (3) 6 Dec - 13 Dec (1) 29 Nov - 6 Dec (1) 15 Nov - 22 Nov (6) 8 Nov - 15 Nov (1) 25 Oct - 1 Nov (1) 18 Oct - 25 Oct (3) 4 Oct - 11 Oct (1) 27 Sep - 4 Oct (1) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (2) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (4) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (3) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (1) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (1) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (4) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (1) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (3) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (4) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (5) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (2) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (7) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (2) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (7) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (4) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (4) 31 May - 7 Jun (3) 24 May - 31 May (2) 17 May - 24 May (1) 10 May - 17 May (1) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (1) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (1) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (1) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (3) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (2) 23 Feb - 1 Mar (2) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (3) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (1) 19 Jan - 26 Jan (2) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (2) 5 Jan - 12 Jan (1) 29 Dec - 5 Jan (1) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (2) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (1) 27 Oct - 3 Nov (1) 6 Oct - 13 Oct (1) 1 Sep - 8 Sep (2) 25 Aug - 1 Sep (4) 18 Aug - 25 Aug (1) 11 Aug - 18 Aug (2) 4 Aug - 11 Aug (8) 28 Jul - 4 Aug (5) 14 Jul - 21 Jul (3) 7 Jul - 14 Jul (3) 30 Jun - 7 Jul (4) 23 Jun - 30 Jun (2) 16 Jun - 23 Jun (4) 9 Jun - 16 Jun (1) 2 Jun - 9 Jun (5) 26 May - 2 Jun (1) 19 May - 26 May (6) 12 May - 19 May (1) 21 Apr - 28 Apr (3) 14 Apr - 21 Apr (1) 31 Mar - 7 Apr (3) 24 Mar - 31 Mar (6) 17 Mar - 24 Mar (5) 10 Mar - 17 Mar (1) 3 Mar - 10 Mar (3) 24 Feb - 3 Mar (2) 17 Feb - 24 Feb (5) 10 Feb - 17 Feb (3) 3 Feb - 10 Feb (2) 20 Jan - 27 Jan (3) 13 Jan - 20 Jan (1) 23 Dec - 30 Dec (3) 2 Dec - 9 Dec (1) 25 Nov - 2 Dec (2) 18 Nov - 25 Nov (2) 11 Nov - 18 Nov (2) 4 Nov - 11 Nov (1) 21 Oct - 28 Oct (4) 14 Oct - 21 Oct (5) 7 Oct - 14 Oct (2) 30 Sep - 7 Oct (1) 23 Sep - 30 Sep (1) 9 Sep - 16 Sep (4) 2 Sep - 9 Sep (1) 19 Aug - 26 Aug (1) 12 Aug - 19 Aug (4) 5 Aug - 12 Aug (6) 29 Jul - 5 Aug (2) 22 Jul - 29 Jul (1) 15 Jul - 22 Jul (3) 8 Jul - 15 Jul (4) 1 Jul - 8 Jul (1) 24 Jun - 1 Jul (1) 17 Jun - 24 Jun (3) 10 Jun - 17 Jun (5) 3 Jun - 10 Jun (3) 27 May - 3 Jun (5) 20 May - 27 May (6) 13 May - 20 May (6) 6 May - 13 May (1) 29 Apr - 6 May (5) 22 Apr - 29 Apr (4) 15 Apr - 22 Apr (6) 8 Apr - 15 Apr (4) 1 Apr - 8 Apr (4) 25 Mar - 1 Apr (3) 18 Mar - 25 Mar (3) 11 Mar - 18 Mar (3) 4 Mar - 11 Mar (4) 25 Feb - 4 Mar (3) 18 Feb - 25 Feb (1) 11 Feb - 18 Feb (4) 4 Feb - 11 Feb (5) 28 Jan - 4 Feb (6) 21 Jan - 28 Jan (1) 14 Jan - 21 Jan (4) 7 Jan - 14 Jan (2) 31 Dec - 7 Jan (7) 24 Dec - 31 Dec (2) 17 Dec - 24 Dec (3) 10 Dec - 17 Dec (1) 3 Dec - 10 Dec (4) 26 Nov - 3 Dec (3) 19 Nov - 26 Nov (2) 12 Nov - 19 Nov (1) 5 Nov - 12 Nov (4) 22 Oct - 29 Oct (3) 15 Oct - 22 Oct (4) 8 Oct - 15 Oct (4) 1 Oct - 8 Oct (1) 10 Sep - 17 Sep (2) 3 Sep - 10 Sep (2) 27 Aug - 3 Sep (1) 20 Aug - 27 Aug (6) 6 Aug - 13 Aug (4) 30 Jul - 6 Aug (1) 23 Jul - 30 Jul (5) 16 Jul - 23 Jul (3) 9 Jul - 16 Jul (5) 25 Jun - 2 Jul (5) 18 Jun - 25 Jun (2) 11 Jun - 18 Jun (6) 4 Jun - 11 Jun (1) 28 May - 4 Jun (5) 21 May - 28 May (2) 14 May - 21 May (4) 7 May - 14 May (4) 30 Apr - 7 May (4) 23 Apr - 30 Apr (3) 16 Apr - 23 Apr (3) 9 Apr - 16 Apr (1) 2 Apr - 9 Apr (3) 26 Mar - 2 Apr (2) 19 Mar - 26 Mar (3) 12 Mar - 19 Mar (3) 5 Mar - 12 Mar (2) 26 Feb - 5 Mar (3) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (2) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (2) 5 Feb - 12 Feb (6) 29 Jan - 5 Feb (5) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (1) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (8) 8 Jan - 15 Jan (7) 1 Jan - 8 Jan (4) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (3) 11 Dec - 18 Dec (3) 13 Nov - 20 Nov (4) 6 Nov - 13 Nov (2) 30 Oct - 6 Nov (1) 23 Oct - 30 Oct (1) 16 Oct - 23 Oct (1) 9 Oct - 16 Oct (1) 2 Oct - 9 Oct (2) 25 Sep - 2 Oct (1) 18 Sep - 25 Sep (4) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (2) 4 Sep - 11 Sep (1) 28 Aug - 4 Sep (4) 21 Aug - 28 Aug (1) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (2) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (4) 31 Jul - 7 Aug (6) 24 Jul - 31 Jul (3) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (6) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (3) 3 Jul - 10 Jul (6) 26 Jun - 3 Jul (3) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (4) 5 Jun - 12 Jun (5) 29 May - 5 Jun (1) 22 May - 29 May (1) 15 May - 22 May (1) 8 May - 15 May (5) 1 May - 8 May (5) 24 Apr - 1 May (1) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (2) 10 Apr - 17 Apr (3) 3 Apr - 10 Apr (2) 20 Mar - 27 Mar (2) 13 Mar - 20 Mar (4) 6 Mar - 13 Mar (1) 28 Feb - 6 Mar (2) 21 Feb - 28 Feb (1) 14 Feb - 21 Feb (1) 7 Feb - 14 Feb (3) 24 Jan - 31 Jan (2) 17 Jan - 24 Jan (3) 10 Jan - 17 Jan (2) 3 Jan - 10 Jan (1) 27 Dec - 3 Jan (1) 20 Dec - 27 Dec (1) 13 Dec - 20 Dec (3) 6 Dec - 13 Dec (2) 29 Nov - 6 Dec (2) 22 Nov - 29 Nov (2) 15 Nov - 22 Nov (1) 8 Nov - 15 Nov (5) 1 Nov - 8 Nov (2) 25 Oct - 1 Nov (2) 18 Oct - 25 Oct (1) 11 Oct - 18 Oct (4) 4 Oct - 11 Oct (1) 27 Sep - 4 Oct (3) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (2) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (1) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (3) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (5) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (6) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (1) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (1) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (3) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (2) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (1) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (5) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (6) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (4) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (7) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (5) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (2) 31 May - 7 Jun (5) 24 May - 31 May (3) 17 May - 24 May (5) 10 May - 17 May (3) 3 May - 10 May (1) 26 Apr - 3 May (1) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (5) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (5) 5 Apr - 12 Apr (2) 29 Mar - 5 Apr (1) 22 Mar - 29 Mar (5) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (9) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (6) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (10) 22 Feb - 1 Mar (5) 15 Feb - 22 Feb (5) 1 Feb - 8 Feb (2) 25 Jan - 1 Feb (1) 18 Jan - 25 Jan (4) 11 Jan - 18 Jan (1) 4 Jan - 11 Jan (3) 28 Dec - 4 Jan (3) 21 Dec - 28 Dec (3) 14 Dec - 21 Dec (4) 7 Dec - 14 Dec (2) 30 Nov - 7 Dec (3) 23 Nov - 30 Nov (3) 9 Nov - 16 Nov (3) 2 Nov - 9 Nov (5) 26 Oct - 2 Nov (3) 19 Oct - 26 Oct (8) 12 Oct - 19 Oct (6) 5 Oct - 12 Oct (3) 28 Sep - 5 Oct (5) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (4) 14 Sep - 21 Sep (1) 7 Sep - 14 Sep (4) 31 Aug - 7 Sep (1) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (2) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (2) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (7) 3 Aug - 10 Aug (3) 27 Jul - 3 Aug (3) 20 Jul - 27 Jul (3) 13 Jul - 20 Jul (4) 6 Jul - 13 Jul (1) 29 Jun - 6 Jul (5) 22 Jun - 29 Jun (2) 15 Jun - 22 Jun (4) 8 Jun - 15 Jun (2) 1 Jun - 8 Jun (2) 25 May - 1 Jun (8) 18 May - 25 May (4) 11 May - 18 May (1) 4 May - 11 May (3) 27 Apr - 4 May (4) 20 Apr - 27 Apr (2) 13 Apr - 20 Apr (6) 6 Apr - 13 Apr (2) 23 Mar - 30 Mar (4) 16 Mar - 23 Mar (2) 9 Mar - 16 Mar (2) 2 Mar - 9 Mar (2) 23 Feb - 2 Mar (2) 16 Feb - 23 Feb (1) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (6) 2 Feb - 9 Feb (1) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (2) 19 Jan - 26 Jan (1) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (1) 29 Dec - 5 Jan (1) 22 Dec - 29 Dec (2) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (2) 1 Dec - 8 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (4) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (4) 10 Nov - 17 Nov (1) 3 Nov - 10 Nov (4) 20 Oct - 27 Oct (2) 13 Oct - 20 Oct (4) 29 Sep - 6 Oct (1) 22 Sep - 29 Sep (2) 15 Sep - 22 Sep (3) 8 Sep - 15 Sep (1) 1 Sep - 8 Sep (6) 25 Aug - 1 Sep (7) 18 Aug - 25 Aug (9) 11 Aug - 18 Aug (6) 4 Aug - 11 Aug (4) 28 Jul - 4 Aug (3) 21 Jul - 28 Jul (8) 14 Jul - 21 Jul (4) 7 Jul - 14 Jul (5) 30 Jun - 7 Jul (8) 23 Jun - 30 Jun (8) 16 Jun - 23 Jun (4) 9 Jun - 16 Jun (7) 2 Jun - 9 Jun (7) 26 May - 2 Jun (8) 19 May - 26 May (7) 12 May - 19 May (5) 5 May - 12 May (5) 28 Apr - 5 May (11) 21 Apr - 28 Apr (6) 14 Apr - 21 Apr (5) 7 Apr - 14 Apr (6) 31 Mar - 7 Apr (7) 24 Mar - 31 Mar (4) 17 Mar - 24 Mar (4) 3 Mar - 10 Mar (6) 24 Feb - 3 Mar (3) 17 Feb - 24 Feb (3) 10 Feb - 17 Feb (5) 3 Feb - 10 Feb (3) 27 Jan - 3 Feb (6) 20 Jan - 27 Jan (1) 13 Jan - 20 Jan (6) 6 Jan - 13 Jan (2) 30 Dec - 6 Jan (2) 23 Dec - 30 Dec (1) 16 Dec - 23 Dec (3) 9 Dec - 16 Dec (2) 2 Dec - 9 Dec (1) 25 Nov - 2 Dec (1) 18 Nov - 25 Nov (3) 11 Nov - 18 Nov (5) 4 Nov - 11 Nov (2) 28 Oct - 4 Nov (6) 21 Oct - 28 Oct (9) 14 Oct - 21 Oct (9) 30 Sep - 7 Oct (4) 23 Sep - 30 Sep (2) 16 Sep - 23 Sep (2) 9 Sep - 16 Sep (6) 2 Sep - 9 Sep (3) 26 Aug - 2 Sep (3) 19 Aug - 26 Aug (3) 12 Aug - 19 Aug (7) 5 Aug - 12 Aug (4) 29 Jul - 5 Aug (8) 22 Jul - 29 Jul (7) 15 Jul - 22 Jul (7) 8 Jul - 15 Jul (7) 1 Jul - 8 Jul (7) 24 Jun - 1 Jul (9) 17 Jun - 24 Jun (10) 10 Jun - 17 Jun (7) 3 Jun - 10 Jun (10) 27 May - 3 Jun (6) 20 May - 27 May (8) 13 May - 20 May (8) 6 May - 13 May (11) 29 Apr - 6 May (6) 22 Apr - 29 Apr (8) 15 Apr - 22 Apr (5) 8 Apr - 15 Apr (11) 1 Apr - 8 Apr (5) 25 Mar - 1 Apr (9) 18 Mar - 25 Mar (9) 11 Mar - 18 Mar (8) 4 Mar - 11 Mar (8) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (7) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (7) 5 Feb - 12 Feb (5) 29 Jan - 5 Feb (7) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (4) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (2) 8 Jan - 15 Jan (5) 1 Jan - 8 Jan (5) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (6) 18 Dec - 25 Dec (4) 11 Dec - 18 Dec (5) 4 Dec - 11 Dec (7) 27 Nov - 4 Dec (7) 20 Nov - 27 Nov (7) 13 Nov - 20 Nov (3) 6 Nov - 13 Nov (4) 30 Oct - 6 Nov (5) 23 Oct - 30 Oct (9) 16 Oct - 23 Oct (3) 9 Oct - 16 Oct (8) 2 Oct - 9 Oct (5) 25 Sep - 2 Oct (11) 18 Sep - 25 Sep (4) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (6) 4 Sep - 11 Sep (6) 28 Aug - 4 Sep (7) 21 Aug - 28 Aug (3) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (9) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (4) 31 Jul - 7 Aug (8) 24 Jul - 31 Jul (11) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (8) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (9) 3 Jul - 10 Jul (11) 26 Jun - 3 Jul (9) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (9) 12 Jun - 19 Jun (7) 5 Jun - 12 Jun (9) 29 May - 5 Jun (5) 22 May - 29 May (8) 15 May - 22 May (9) 8 May - 15 May (4) 1 May - 8 May (6) 24 Apr - 1 May (6) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (10) 10 Apr - 17 Apr (8) 3 Apr - 10 Apr (8) 27 Mar - 3 Apr (8) 20 Mar - 27 Mar (8) 13 Mar - 20 Mar (12) 6 Mar - 13 Mar (7) 27 Feb - 6 Mar (7) 20 Feb - 27 Feb (11) 13 Feb - 20 Feb (7) 6 Feb - 13 Feb (5) 30 Jan - 6 Feb (8) 23 Jan - 30 Jan (10) 16 Jan - 23 Jan (10) 9 Jan - 16 Jan (9) 2 Jan - 9 Jan (11) 26 Dec - 2 Jan (6) 19 Dec - 26 Dec (7) 12 Dec - 19 Dec (6) 5 Dec - 12 Dec (7) 28 Nov - 5 Dec (5) 21 Nov - 28 Nov (4) 14 Nov - 21 Nov (7) 7 Nov - 14 Nov (6) 31 Oct - 7 Nov (6) 24 Oct - 31 Oct (5) 17 Oct - 24 Oct (5) 10 Oct - 17 Oct (7) 3 Oct - 10 Oct (2) 26 Sep - 3 Oct (4) 19 Sep - 26 Sep (6) 12 Sep - 19 Sep (7) 5 Sep - 12 Sep (10) 29 Aug - 5 Sep (8) 22 Aug - 29 Aug (5) 15 Aug - 22 Aug (6) 8 Aug - 15 Aug (6) 1 Aug - 8 Aug (4) 25 Jul - 1 Aug (13) 18 Jul - 25 Jul (9) 11 Jul - 18 Jul (9) 4 Jul - 11 Jul (8) 27 Jun - 4 Jul (9) 20 Jun - 27 Jun (11) 13 Jun - 20 Jun (11) 6 Jun - 13 Jun (11) 30 May - 6 Jun (9) 23 May - 30 May (23) 16 May - 23 May (12) 9 May - 16 May (12) 2 May - 9 May (10) 25 Apr - 2 May (7) 18 Apr - 25 Apr (9) 11 Apr - 18 Apr (10) 4 Apr - 11 Apr (11) 28 Mar - 4 Apr (9) 21 Mar - 28 Mar (6) 14 Mar - 21 Mar (9) 7 Mar - 14 Mar (2) 28 Feb - 7 Mar (9) 21 Feb - 28 Feb (7) 14 Feb - 21 Feb (9) 7 Feb - 14 Feb (9) 31 Jan - 7 Feb (6) 24 Jan - 31 Jan (14) 17 Jan - 24 Jan (9) 10 Jan - 17 Jan (11) 3 Jan - 10 Jan (10) 27 Dec - 3 Jan (10) 20 Dec - 27 Dec (8) 13 Dec - 20 Dec (6) 6 Dec - 13 Dec (9) 29 Nov - 6 Dec (13) 22 Nov - 29 Nov (10) 15 Nov - 22 Nov (14) 8 Nov - 15 Nov (11) 1 Nov - 8 Nov (16) 25 Oct - 1 Nov (13) 18 Oct - 25 Oct (12) 11 Oct - 18 Oct (9) 4 Oct - 11 Oct (11) 27 Sep - 4 Oct (14) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (19) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (13) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (12) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (15) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (15) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (16) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (14) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (15) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (20) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (10) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (13) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (21) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (15) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (20) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (10) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (13) 31 May - 7 Jun (13) 24 May - 31 May (13) 17 May - 24 May (15) 10 May - 17 May (16) 3 May - 10 May (11) 26 Apr - 3 May (21) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (17) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (20) 5 Apr - 12 Apr (16) 29 Mar - 5 Apr (19) 22 Mar - 29 Mar (17) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (23) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (22) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (21) 22 Feb - 1 Mar (22) 15 Feb - 22 Feb (25) 8 Feb - 15 Feb (25) 1 Feb - 8 Feb (21) 25 Jan - 1 Feb (23) 18 Jan - 25 Jan (19) 11 Jan - 18 Jan (35) 4 Jan - 11 Jan (23) 28 Dec - 4 Jan (27) 21 Dec - 28 Dec (28) 14 Dec - 21 Dec (23) 7 Dec - 14 Dec (22) 30 Nov - 7 Dec (19) 23 Nov - 30 Nov (22) 16 Nov - 23 Nov (19) 9 Nov - 16 Nov (15) 2 Nov - 9 Nov (17) 26 Oct - 2 Nov (10) 19 Oct - 26 Oct (12) 12 Oct - 19 Oct (13) 5 Oct - 12 Oct (19) 28 Sep - 5 Oct (14) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (17) 14 Sep - 21 Sep (19) 7 Sep - 14 Sep (22) 31 Aug - 7 Sep (15) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (14) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (9) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (5) Local riding centre saved from closure overwhelmed by publics kindness A much-loved equine therapy centre in North Wales has secured its future after reaching a vital 300,000 fundraising target, thanks in part to a generous pledge from a local businessperson. Clwyd Special Riding Centre, based in Llanfynydd near Wrexham, launched a Crowdfunder campaign on 24 April in a bid to safeguard its operations, which have provided life-changing therapeutic riding activities for people with disabilities and additional needs for more than four decades. Its services include hippotherapy (physio on horseback), mechanical horse therapy, Changing Lives Through Horses Programme, Equine Assisted Learning, and Riding for the Disabled (RDA) sessions. The appeal gained overwhelming support from the public, culminating in a final donation from Ed Reeves of Cariad Investments and Moneypenny, which helped close the funding gap. Victoria Everall, trustee and daughter of the Centres founder Anne Sopwith, said: We are overwhelmed. What felt impossible just a few weeks ago has become reality thanks to the kindness, belief and generosity of so many. The support has been humbling from single donations to major pledges, sharing our story or simply talking about Clwyd Special Riding Centre, every act of kindness has made the difference. Words will never be enough to express our gratitude to you all. We also owe huge thanks to the team behind the scenes who have helped steer this campaign with professionalism, passion, and care. Mr Reeves said his decision to donate was driven by both personal connections to the region and a deep admiration for the Centres impact. As locals with deep ties to Wrexham and North Wales and a lifelong love of horses, this cause resonated strongly with us, he said. But its the dedication of the staff and volunteers, and the impact they have on so many lives, that truly inspired us to act. We are delighted to give money as we recognise the time and commitment that everyone gives at the Centre. That time is the most valuable, expensive and irreplaceable gift of all. So, we are proud to play a small role in helping you continue this incredible mission. Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, said he delighted that funds have been raised to save the Clwyd Special Riding Centre. Mr Rowlands said: I am absolutely delighted to hear that the crowdfunding appeal has given the centre a lifeline which will enable it to continue to offer its very valuable and popular sessions. I recently met with Trustee Victoria Everall and Caroline Dingwall, Centre Manager who told me all about the work at the riding centre and the need for more funding so that it could continue to operate. I was happy to highlight their financial problems and urged the public to step in to help, which they have done, which is fantastic. I understand that funds have now been raised to prevent imminent closure and the appeal is still active and I wish them well with raising the necessary money to continue well into the future. The centre is now working with a team of business and charity professionals who have pledged their expertise to help them build a strong, sustainable future. Strategic planning, expert restructuring, and robust financial forecasting are underway. Wrexham speech and language therapy student wins Inspirational Mentor award A Wrexham University student has been awarded for their outstanding contribution to widening participation by offering mentorship to school pupils from across Wales. Rosie Younger, a second-year Speech and Language Therapy student and Student Ambassador, won the Inspirational Mentor Award at the recent Reaching Wider National Mentoring Project event, which took place at the University. Alongside her studies, Rosie has been mentoring high school students from across Wales as part of three different projects, including Reaching Widers core mentoring project, the STEM project and young carers project. Speaking about winning the award, Rosie said: I feel very honoured to have received the award. I have really enjoyed being a part of the mentoring projects and feel proud to have made a difference to the young people I was supporting. The students I supported were from schools all across Wales and were different ages ranging from 14 to 18. Ive been involved in three different projects the core mentoring project, the STEM project and young carers this one in particular was extremely close to my heart as Im a carer for my grandmother. During the mentoring sessions, Rosie gave young people advice and answered their questions around accessing higher education as well as working on their study skills, providing advice on managing finances at university and tips on how to deal with stress. Rosie said: Reaching Widers mentoring projects are hugely important. There are so many different topics you get to touch upon through the various projects they run. We never had this when I was in school, so its a wonderful feeling when you are able to give the advice to young people, that you wish youd had growing up. Amber Percy, Widening Access Coordinator at Wrexham University, said: A huge congratulations to Rosie for winning the Inspirational Mentor Award at the Reaching Wider National Mentoring Project event. It has been a pleasure working with all the mentors on the project, who work so hard alongside their studies to support future students, Rosie has been inspirational throughout her time on the projects. I would also like to congratulate all the other student mentors who were recognised at our recent awards ceremony. Discussing the Reaching Wider National Mentoring Project, Amber added: The Widening Access team at Wrexham University brings together pupils who have faced significant barriers in their education with opportunities for their future. The mentoring programme is one of many ways we work in partnership with Reaching Wider to support and encourage prospective students to make confident decisions that are right for them. The mentoring project places Wrexham University students with mentees from a range of local schools to provide advice and guidance, and offer an insight into their routes to higher education. Our mentors at the University are truly inspirational and take pride in their ability to help the students of the future. Don't Fry-Day is today, May 23rd, and it's a great reminder to protect your skin from the sun if you're enjoying the outdoors for Memorial Day weekend. For many, this may be the first time of the year your skin will be exposed to the sun for a long period of time in quite a while, so you'll need to take the proper precautions so you don't fry. Doctors want to remind us that base tans do not exist. When you tan your skin, it only gives you a coverage of three SPF; therefore not protecting your skin from further sun damage. Whitney Hovenic, a MOHS surgeon and dermatologist with the Skin Cancer and Dermatology Institute, adds, "So you really need to put on sunscreen; you also need to do other things like wear a hat, get under a tree, and seek some shade. But you know, go outside and play - it's going to be beautiful this weekend." You should be reapplying sunscreen every couple of hours; the standard is two. If you're getting in the water, you need to be reapplying even more sunscreen, because there is no such thing as waterproof sunscreen. Hovenic says, "The American Academy of Dermatology recommends at least an SPF 30." She also says an SPF 100 is not necessarily better than an SPF 30. We also spoke with Reno resident Jalena Olson, who tells us about her SPF preferences: "I'm really wary of a lot of the sunblocks out there because of all the chemicals and stuff; it's just not good for your body or for your skin to absorb it." Hovenic also tells us how climate can play a role in sun exposure: "Our climate in northern Nevada absolutely plays a role in our sun exposure. We are in this beautiful environment with over 300 days of sun, but we're also at high altitude. So the closer you are to the sun, the less protection you have, and also don't forget about reflection. You have all that reflection off those granite rocks when you're hiking, or at beautiful Lake Tahoe and the water - so you really have to be careful." She says sun exposure is the biggest cause of skin cancer, but it's also the biggest preventable cause as well. She tells us the most common skin cancer, among others, is basal cell carcinoma. The annual Biggest Little Skin Cancer Screening was held a few weeks ago on May 7th, 2025, at Greater Nevada Field. During the event, they screened 145 people, and they say they did end up finding some problems, but the good news is now those people affected will get the resources they need post-screening. Hovenic adds, "They felt like it was really nice to have an opportunity to get their skin checked out in a fun environment where it's a lot less scary than going to the doctor's office, and they were really grateful for this service." "That's probably a good explanation: 'Controlled chaos'," said Assemblymember Melissa Hardy, (R - Clark County). These were some of the words to describe this deadline day at the Nevada Legislature. Bills either passed out of their second houses, or they could die. The lawmakers on both sides of the floor were busy. "A lot of moving parts, and so we're trying to stay on top it," said Assembly Minority Floor Leader Gregory Hafen II (R). "I actually have to run up stairs and take two meetings and then get to ways and means. Probably be there two more times and then on the floor two more times tonight." We'll look at some notable bills from the senate floor: One such piece of legislation is Assembly Bill 121. It centers around hidden rental fees. A very similar bill was vetoed by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo in the 2023 session. This one passed 16-5. Another bill that was passed looks at election reform. "Just really happy to get some election integrity moving forward; I think it's the first election bill that will hopefully get signed by the governor," Hafen II said. That's Assembly Bill 148. It's looking to create stricter deadlines for mail-in ballots, and passed unanimously. Also passing without a 'nay' vote was Assembly Bill 111. Currently being cited for a wrong way driver is a civil infraction. If this bill is signed into law, it will make it a criminal offense. This legislation was created after a three year old girl name Jaya Brooks was killed in a wrong way crash on U.S. 95 in 2023. The bill is known as Jaya's Law. Moving over to the assembly floor earlier in the day, we'll look into Senate Bill 295 which is centered around sidewalk street vendors. It's trying to legitimize and stop the criminalization of those vendors, and passed with a 34-8 vote. Senate Bill 305 is looking to make lacrosse a sanctioned sport for Nevada schools - it passed unanimously. It's not a senate bill, but Assembly Bill 555, brought by Speaker Steve Yeager that's looking to cap insulin at $35 for people who use private insurance, passed unanimously. Also, there are a lot of bills that are exempt - so just because they didn't have a floor hearing this week does not mean the bill is dead. The Reno Sierra Nevada Health Care Medical Center held a Memorial Day ceremony this afternoon, honoring the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for American freedom. Executive Director Thomas Talamante shares: "Approximately 20% of our job force are veterans and so, giving back to the community and recognizing those who have passed and paid the ultimate sacrifice and so, this event means a lot to our staff too, including our Veteran's Day event as well." Memorial Day is a time of reflection and honor to remember those who selflessly put their lives on the line. During the day's events, two local veterans shared their war journey with us, stepping through memories reflecting on the sacrifice for freedom. Jon Lopey mentions, "This means a lot to us veterans because it memorializes those brothers and sisters that made the ultimate sacrifice. I served during the Vietnam War; then Bosnia, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. Thank you very much - it means a lot to us, just being interviewed by you and you caring about us. It really means a lot, especially those of us who served in the Vietnam era, we didn't exactly have ya know, bands, and parades ya know when we came back." Lopey's friend and fellow Vietnam vet Jim Hanson adds, "I think we have a tendency to remember the good times, it was... It wasn't really great when we came home, after Vietnam, but on the bright side of that, I'm thinking veterans now days are treated a lot better because of that. Remembering those veterans that you wish were still with us, people you remember from back in the day. And ah... Also remembering my mom and dad, whom both served in World War II." Memorial Day holds deep meaning to thousands around the United States. Everyday heroes who represent courage, bravery and sacrifice in honor of our nation's defense will forever be remembered. The front entrance to the Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles as pictured in May 2024, in downtown Montgomery, Ala. John Sharp The Alabama parole board just released proposed new guidelines for who should get a second chance, making it harder for some people to be recommended for parole. The proposed guidelines are more strict in terms of how they rank an inmate for parole readiness, weighing the inmates original crime more heavily than the previous guidelines and putting more emphasis on behavior in prison. The parole board had long ignored its own guidelines. In 2023, the board finished the year with a staggering 8% parole rate the lowest in recent years. That same year, the boards own guidelines recommended about an 80% grant rate. The new guidelines, posted on the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles website and signed last week, revise the criteria used as an aid by the three-member parole board when deciding which inmates should be released on parole. They do not serve as binding rules. The proposed update comes several years after due by state law. The proposed revisions primarily concern how the board should weigh an inmates institutional behavior and disciplinaries while incarcerated, their participation in treatment and programs while in prison, and their original offense. Alabamians who want to comment on the changes are encouraged to contact the bureau through July 4. The board, and the bottleneck blocking people from leaving an overcrowded and dangerous prison system, became the subject of AL.coms series Denied: Alabamas Broken Parole System throughout 2024. In 2024, the parole rate jumped to 20%, but the guidelines still suggested between 75%-90% of eligible applicants be paroled. At a meeting with lawmakers from the bipartisan Joint Prison Oversight Committee last fall, parole board Chairperson Leigh Gwathney talked about the boards existing guidelines. Those guidelines, which Gwathney said were set in 2018 prior to her appointment, were last revised in 2020. At the time, Gwathney said that she didnt know who set them or their reasoning. She remains the most consistent no vote on the board. The parole guidelines consist of a scoresheet, with numbers correlating to how someone fits into the score that can show if a person would be a good candidate for parole. The higher someone scores, the less likely they are to be recommended for parole. The old guidelines recommended inmates with a score of up to 7 be recommended for parole, and over 8 be denied. The revised guidelines make it slightly tougher to get a positive recommendation. They call for a score of up to 5 be recommended for parole grant, but a score of 6 to 8 would now be considered neutral and could be recommended for either a grant or denial. A score over 9 would be grounds to be denied. While state law requires the three-member board to consider the guidelines before a parole decision is made, the board members do not have to follow them. Gwathney said at that October meeting that she sometimes changed the scores. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, pointed out at the meeting that Alabama law requires the board to review the guidelines every three years, seek public comment and share them on the parole board website. Youre about two years overdue, said England in October. Fair enough, Gwathney replied. At the time, she said the guidelines revision was an ongoing conversation. Other guideline changes in the revised version posted on the bureaus website revolve around behavior in prison. Previously, the guidelines scored an inmate based on if they had no disciplinaries, and how many violent or non-violent ones were accumulated throughout the year. The revised guidelines make a disciplinary offense involving violence within the last 12 months a score of 3, versus the previous score of 2. The 2020 guidelines rank the severity of an inmates original offense as low, moderate, or high, with low scoring a zero and high scoring a 2. The new guidelines put more weight on some original crimes, proposing the scoring of a low offense as a 1 and adding a very high offense level with a score of 4. Documents attached to the revised guidelines explain that sex offenses will be considered as very high, while any case with a victim must be scored at high or very high. Felony crimes involving personal injury will be considered very high, too. At a meeting last month, Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, said one of the main problems with the current board is that it follows its own guidelines sparingly. The senator also said the board has not followed the law that requires it to update those guidelines, which are intended to be a tool to help evaluate suitability for parole. Chambliss said the board should follow the guidelines or change them, as they are mandated to do by law. He told the Judiciary Committee that it is important for the Legislature to let state agencies know they cannot ignore the oversight role of lawmakers and requirements in the law, such as the parole guidelines. A lot of state agencies are watching right now, Chambliss said. And if this committee allows this agency to not follow they law, theyre going to do the same thing. Anyone wanting to comment on the proposed changes should contact Alatia R. Midkiff at the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Written remarks can be mailed to Midkiff via the legal department, located at 301 South Ripley Street in Montgomery, zip code 36104. The U.S. Army launched an investigation into reports Army Rangers were firing blank rounds from their weapons while surrounded by boaters and swimmers off Crab Island in the Florida Panhandle, officials say. Fort Walton Beach officials report the incident happened Friday, May 16, after the 6th Ranger Training Battalion at Camp Rudder participated in the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival. Videos shared on social media show at least two groups of soldiers were in boats when some among them began firing automatic weapons in the crowded waters. Social media outrage over the incident prompted Fort Walton Beach officials to issue a statement declaring city officials were not involved in military personnel firing their weapons at Crab Island. As part of Friday nights festival schedule, soldiers from the 6th Ranger Training Battalion at Camp Rudder were to engage in a mock sea battle with Billy Bowlegs as his boat approached the Fort Walton Beach Landing. This battle involved the soldiers firing blanks from their weapons, the city wrote in a May 17 Facebook post. What happened at Crab Island was not part of the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival, nor was it approved by either the City of Fort Walton Beach or the Billy Bowlegs organization. The Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office has jurisdiction over Crab Island and reports the first of five calls about the incident came at around 3:22 p.m. Friday. Details of what callers reported were not released. Rangers involved in the incident are cadre assigned to the battalion at Floridas Camp Rudder where the swamp phase of the U.S. Army Ranger Course occurs. The base is within Eglin Air Force Base, about a 30-mile drive northeast from Fort Walton Beach. The 6th Ranger Training Battalion belongs to the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade which is a subordinate brigade of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning. It remains unclear what prompted the spontaneous display of firepower. There are no reports of anyone being injured. The Army is aware of the incident that occurred at Crab Island, according to Jennifer S. Gunn, public affairs director at the Maneuver Center of Excellence & Fort Benning. We take this situation seriously and are investigating. The Army will ensure accountability based on the outcome. Videos posted on social media have become part of the investigation. It appears the weapons were not pointed at anyone in the water, and the shots were fired in the air. Social media reaction to the incident appears divided with some calling the attention overblown, while others note the sound of live fire in a crowd can easily incite panic. Shooting off a gun (even if it was blanks) in a crowded public place is not what Id call benign. Not in todays culture, Ollie Walker wrote in a Facebook post. This could have gone terribly sideways very quickly had just one person felt in danger and took action, Priscilla Kevern posted. If you didnt see who was firing it would be concerning at the very least to hear automatic weapons when youre at the beach, Jeron Stone said. 2025 The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.). Visit www.bradenton.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Photo of Matthew and Michelles truck with bullet holes in it. Matthew Acevedo Facebook Matthew and Michelle Acevedo are recovering both mentally and physically from what was an almost unbelievable experience, he told AL.com. Until it happened to them. Originally from Texas, the couple are truck drivers and were on their way to make a delivery in South Carolina early Monday morning, Matthew told AL.com. But as the couple were making their way through Baldwin County in Alabama they noticed a large police presence on the southbound side of Interstate 65. Matthew said that as they continued to approach the area that his wife noticed a man holding a flashlight waving the truck down. So we saw that a person was using their flashlight and was like okay, this is normal, Acevedo said. They were like five, just 10 to 15 feet away from us. That person, well, wasnt an officer, wasnt a person in uniform. Unbeknownst to the couple, the bystander was Mike Thomas, a man wanted for allegedly committing murder in Georgia and was the subject of a manhunt at the time. According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Thomas had just bailed out of his car after spike strips deployed by Baldwin County Sheriffs deputies disabled his vehicle at about 5:30 a.m. After Michelle slowed the truck down, that is when Thomas ran and jumped onto the driver side door attempting to get in, Matthew said. According to Matthew, they proceeded to pass the location with police as his wife honked the horn of their big truck but no emergency vehicles followed. Matthew said there was no traffic as they approached --contrary to ALEAs report that says their vehicle was, stopped in traffic. Shes trying to shake him and blare the horn, Matthew said. As we approached the area where [the police] were at and passed up the area they were at, not one emergency vehicle followed us to aid us or capture him. We traveled around five to seven miles or so, fighting this dude, nobody in the in the rear view mirror or the other side, there is nothing. Matthew said that he and his wife did everything they could to get Thomas off their vehicle. Michelle kept slamming the brakes every time Thomas pointed his weapon at them and Matthew even fired about nine shots at Thomas outside of the truck, striking him once in the leg. But somehow, Matthew said, Thomas continued to cling to the truck and even fire shots at the couple but missed. Thomas eventually began to strike Michelle in the head and face with his pistol multiple times as the struggle continued. Matthew said that Thomas finally gave up and ran into the woods after appearing to lose ammunition and realized he wasnt getting into the truck. Matthew said they proceeded to drive several more miles before luckily encountering Emergency Medical Services that was responding to a separate accident. The couple was able to flag down EMS and get Michelle medical attention, who sustained a concussion and needed several stitches. The ordeal has left Matthew jaded as he questions why police failed to, come and help us, as the couple fought for their lives. Thomas was subsequently arrested around 5:45 a.m. and charged with assault and robbery for the attempted carjacking. The couple is taking it one day at a time as they attempt to recoup from the traumatic incident and not blame themselves for a truly unexpected incident. In the scheme of things we were like we could have done this or you could have done that, Matthew said. And then we were like well it doesnt matter, its Gods plan. And unfortunately or fortunately for [Thomas] hes still here by the grace of God. There were fewer job openings in Alabama last month compared to March. But there were still 82,007 job ads in the state in April, according to the Alabama Department of Workforce. That number is just slightly lower than March, when there were 82,500 active job ads. New data released this week shows that the five occupations with the most online job ads are registered nurses, retail salespersons, supervisors of retail sales workers, truck drivers, and customer service representatives. Over 13,000 ads were placed for those occupations alone in April. About 30,000 jobs were posted last month. About 8,100 of those jobs had salaries of $70,000 and above. Most of the jobs, however, had salaries less than $35,000. The 10 employers posting the most online ads in April 2025 were: Huntsville Hospital: 1,019 ads Dominos Pizza: 889 ads Walmart: 783 ads UAB Medicine: 773 ads AutoZone: 764 ads Taco Bell: 519 ads University of Alabama at Birmingham: 517 ads Auburn University: 418 ads Dollar General: 408 ads Baptist Health: 402 ads The department of workforce said their focus this month is on recruiting heavy truck drivers and tractor-trailer drivers There are currently over 4,000 openings in that occupation, including tow truck drivers and loading crews. The advertised median salary for drivers in Alabama is $70,528 and employees usually need a commercial drivers license and high school diploma or equivalent. But there may not be enough people to fill all the jobs available in the state. Alabamas unemployment rate is 3.3%, lower than the national average. And although over 80,000 jobs are available, only 79,000 people are unemployed, according to the Department of Workforce. Alabama has 57 career centers that work to connect residents with jobs and companies with talent, according to Jonathan McNair, public information officer for the workforce department. If youre an employer, and youre struggling to find employees and your online ads arent netting the results that you want, you can also reach out to that local career center, McNair told AL.com in March. Theyre able to organize job fairs and theyre in contact with the people that you would need to fill those positions at your company. English News On frontlines of Hainan Free Trade Port development Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 20 Mai 2025 "In Hainan, both foreign and state-owned enterprises are treated equally with an open and inclusive environment," said Wu Guangyu, president of Dun & Bradstreet China. "We see Hainan as a key hub bridging domestic and international markets and aggregating data resources. We eagerly anticipate the launch of independent customs operations in Hainan FTP." By Zhou Yajun, Wang Yunshan, People's Daily China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) is expected to achieve independent customs operations before the end of this year. In recent years, Hainan province has steadily improved its FTP policy and institutional framework, achieving an average annual growth of over 20 percent in both goods and services trade through high-level opening up. The actual use of foreign capital has also shown steady expansion. "A 21% tariff exemption is a huge boost for sales," said Zhou Shuo, managing director of gN Pearl, a Hainan-based company specialized in pearl farming, research and development, production, and sales. One of the signature policies of the Hainan FTP is the tariff exemption for domestically sold goods that have undergone value-added processing. According to this policy, for companies in encouraged industries, products whose added value exceeds 30 percent after the domestic processing of imported intermediary products, are exempt from taxes when entering the rest of China. As a local company specializing in pearl products, gN Pearl has already imported three batches totaling over 2,000 golden and white South Sea pearls in the first quarter of this year. The company expects to increase imports to 30,000 pearls by year-end. With a procurement cost of 12 million yuan ($1.67 million), the tariff exemption policy is estimated to save the company over 2.5 million yuan. According to customs of Haikou, capital of Hainan province, as of the end of this March, domestic sales of value-added processing industries in Hainan had reached 7.54 billion yuan, resulting in approximately 601 million yuan in tariff exemptions. Benefiting from such policies, a number of modern processing enterprises targeting both domestic and international markets are thriving in Hainan. Following Hainan FTP's independent customs operations, the FTP will further ease market access and implement negative lists for cross-border services trade and foreign investment. These steps are expected to attract more foreign enterprises and international talent to invest and do business in Hainan. From investing 220 million yuan in a new coffee processing line and upgrading a coffee culture park, to investing 540 million yuan in building a coffee-themed resort, Thailand's CP Group has been increasing its investment in Hainan year after year. "Investing in China is investing in the future. The vast scale of the Chinese market reinforces our confidence," said Wang Mengjun, senior vice president of Chia Tai (Hainan) Xinglong Coffee Industry Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CP Group. Since 2021, CP Group's business in Hainan has doubled annually. In March, its Xinglong Coffee Culture Park was successfully accredited as a national AAA-rated tourist attraction, receiving over 400,000 visits so far. Hainan is actively creating an internationalized business environment. In recent years, it has explored fully digitized processes for foreign-funded enterprises through an e-registration system, launched a one-stop investment service platform, and introduced 8 service packages for foreign enterprises and foreign nationals, including customs clearance and residence permits. "Hainan's favorable business environment and efficient services allow us to focus fully on doing business," Wang said. In 2024, despite challenges posed by globalization headwinds, Hainan saw the establishment of over 2,000 new foreign-invested enterprises, a year-on-year increase of around 20%. At 5 pm Beijing time, a livestream kicked off at a studio of a media company located in the Hainan Cross-Border Digital Information Industrial Park. A host, speaking fluent English, introduced Chinese herbal teas to fitness enthusiasts in the US during their early morning hours. "Despite changes in the external environment, our revenue has sustained rapid growth," said Chen Jifeng, general manager of the media company. "This studio's daily sales have jumped from 10,000 yuan last year to 130,000 yuan now. Our revenue in April was five times that of February." According to him, the company's best-selling product right now is Chinese herbal tea, which is popular among overseas consumers seeking a healthy lifestyle. In 2023, Chen made the decision to pivot to cross-border e-commerce exports. "We chose Hainan because the FTP's policies support the secure and orderly flow of data," he explained. Starting in 2023, China has supported Hainan in accelerating the implementation of data flow governance policies. A Haikou international communications gateway administration was approved, and China Unicom's Hainan branch and HNINFORNET, a Hainan based company specializing in information and communications, jointly began developing a cross-border information industry service platform. "A single terminal now enables users to access the global internet through a compliant, secure cross-border data channel," said Gan Quan, deputy general manager of China Unicom's Hainan branch. "This completely solves the issue of unstable internet connections in cross-border e-commerce and enables seamless global network connectivity." Dun & Bradstreet, an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses, established a presence in Hainan in 2022 and became the first enterprise in the province to pass the Cyberspace Administration of China's outbound data security assessment in 2023. "In Hainan, both foreign and state-owned enterprises are treated equally with an open and inclusive environment," said Wu Guangyu, president of Dun & Bradstreet China. "We see Hainan as a key hub bridging domestic and international markets and aggregating data resources. We eagerly anticipate the launch of independent customs operations in Hainan FTP." Dans la meme rubrique : < > Low-altitude economy lifts off as Chinese automakers enter the eVTOL era China expands efforts to boost global e-commerce cooperation Legacy of Tea-Horse Road lives on at China-Laos border Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) On April 24, 2025 President Alan Garber of Harvard finally admitted what has long been known by observers: I would say that, at Harvard, we have a real problem with antisemitism. We take it very seriously, and were trying to address it. We hope he means it. But antisemitism has a long and dark history at Harvard, going back decades. The events of October 18, 2023, when Harvard students shocked the country by celebrating the Hamas massacre of 1,400 Jews the week before, were only the latest in a string of anti-Jewish acts. Antisemitism first became sewn in the fabric of Harvard through its communist-leaning faculty. As The Harvard Crimson pointed out, in the 1930s and 1940s, Harvard had such a reputation for having a strong Communist presence, that it earned the moniker Kremlin on the Charles. Brainwashed students began forming organizations like the Young Communist League. And it is here that antisemitism reared its ugly head, for communism is not only deeply anti-American and anti-capitalist, but also, through its founder, antisemitic. Although descended from prominent rabbis on both sides of his family, communisms founder Karl Marx was the typical self-hating Jew. His father had converted to Lutheranism, thinking it would enable him to integrate into German society, and had his children baptized, including six-year-old Karl. But Karl was always aware of his Jewish background and hated it. And what better way to prove how un-Jewish he was to the world than with vicious denunciations of Jews? Marx, in his essay On the Jewish Question, characterizes Jews as hucksters, with money as their God. Let us consider the worldly Jew: What is his worldly religion? Huckstering. And what is his worldly God? Money, In the face of which no other God may exist. Once society has succeeded in Abolishing the real essence of Judaism The Jew will have become impossible. When one reads Marxs later anti-capitalist rant, Das Kapital, it is easy to see the link between the Jew and the capitalist. In Marxs mind, the evil Jew and the evil capitalist are interchangeable. The satanic capitalist of Das Kapital is Marxs Jew writ large. In Marxs simplistic system down with the rich, up with the poor when the rich and the Jew are rendered impossible, the poor and the downtrodden will automatically rise and magically create a permanent paradise. Marxs text is a classic antisemitic tract. What he says is exactly what Hitler would later say in Mein Kampf and in his famous letter to a fellow German, where he says that the goal of the Nazis must be the removal of the Jews altogether. This is not surprising. Totalitarian ideologies converge in most of their practices, including in their practice of scapegoating Jews. This convergence of communism and Nazism was demonstrated in 1934, when Harvards president, James Conant, invited Ernst Hanfstaengl, a 47-year-old Harvard-educated German and close friend of Hitler, to be feted in a special ceremony by the administration and faculty. In the previous year, 1933, Hitler had vaulted to power in Germany, and perhaps, in Conants mind, the timing would be perfect to demonstrate to the world how Harvard was in accord with what Hitler and Germany stood for. Thus, Conant obviously saw nothing wrong with honoring a man who had been quoted as saying, The Jews are the vampires sucking out German blood. We shall not be strong until we free ourselves of them. The Harvard Crimson echoed Conants feelings about the fete and wrote fawningly of the Nazis coming visit: If Herr Hanfstaengl is to be received at all, it should be with the marks of honor, appropriate to his high position in the government of a friendly country [Hitlers Nazi Germany] a great world power. Due to pressure from the American public, however, Conant eventually had to call off the honor ceremony. Nevertheless, he insisted that Hanfstaengl still attend receptions at the homes of prominent alumni and cap off the day with a tea party at Conants home. James Conant was a Nazi sympathizer and an antisemite. His antisemitism ran wide and deep, as we now know, poisoning his presidency for 20 long years from 1933 to 1953. He refused to hire leading scientists if they were Jewish, and he even advised others not to hire Jews. When the DuPont Corporation asked for his advice on hiring Dr. Max Bergmann, a German Jewish scientist who had fled the Nazis, Conant urged them not to. Despite the fact that Bergman was one of the leading organic chemists in the world, according to The New York Times, what was important to Conant was that Bergman was very definitely of the Jewish type very heavy. Bergman would go on to a Rockefeller Institute, where his lab would produce two Nobel prizewinning scientists in biochemistry. Now it should be noted that not all students at Harvard were content to follow Conants lead. On November 16, 1938, about 500 Harvard and Radcliffe students crowded into Emerson Hall to express their outrage at Kristallnacht, the Nazi Night of Broken Glass. A week before, on November 9, 1938, Hitlers feared Blackshirt SS squadrons had launched his crusade against Jews in Germany with the organized looting and smashing of the windows of Jew-owned stores in Berlin and across Germany, and included the murder of several hundred Jews. Historians view it as a prelude to Hitlers Final Solution. But the student gathering at Harvard, a week after Kristallnacht, turned out to be much more than just another student protest meeting. Besides starting an initiative that eventually brought fourteen young refugees from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia to study at Harvard and two refugees to Radcliffe it gave rise, with astonishing speed, to a national grassroots movement that helped hundreds of persecuted Central European students find refuge and education at colleges and universities across the United States (Harvard Magazine). A linden tree was planted in Harvard Yard in the spring of 1939, with a plaque on it commemorating the students acts, in order to inspire future generations. President Conant, predictably, did not approve of the student rescue plan, but as before, with Hanfstaengl, he was forced by public pressure to endorse it. So where is Harvard today? Has it followed in the footsteps of those brave and determined students of 1938? Not quite. Sadly, todays Harvard students have absorbed not only communist and Nazi antisemitism, but also the antisemitism of Muslim extremists. Muslims had already showed their agreement with the Nazis during WWII, when certain Muslim sects from Iraq, Jerusalem, and North Africa joined the Nazis, one group actually recruiting a Muslim SS division for Hitler. It is therefore unsurprising that a recent Hamas body turned up with an Arabic copy of Mein Kampf in its pocket. Here is just one example of Harvard students continuing the schools antisemitic tradition. Six years ago, the student magazine Lampoon mocked the memory of Anne Frank by publishing a horrifying cartoon of her in a sexy pose. Do they know who Anne Frank really was and what she experienced? For the record, Frank was a fourteen-year-old Dutch girl, a Jew, and the most famous victim of Hitlers genocide. She and her family were in hiding in their attic when they were discovered by the Gestapo and transported to Auschwitz, where Anne had her head shaven and a number tattooed into her arm. She was then transported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she would die at fifteen, whether gassed or from disease we dont know. All we have left of Anne Frank today is her powerful diary, which became an all-time world best-seller but a book that Harvard students apparently have never read. The climax of Harvard students irrational Jew-hatred followed what has been called the Second Holocaust of the Jews, when Hamas terrorists raped, beheaded, and murdered 1,400 Jewish men, women, and children. Harvard students responded to this horror by harassing Jewish students and by lying down on the lawn on Parents Day not to mourn the victims, but to honor the perpetrators! Harvard is not of course the only college disgracing itself in such fashion, but as Harvard is still seen as Americas most prestigious university, it is particularly shocking. Harvards motto is Truth. Can President Garber honestly say that Harvard is living up to its motto? Perhaps the students and faculty and even President Garber himself should visit the linden tree in Harvard Yard, with its plaque commemorating the student heroes of 1938, and listen to the leaves whispering the story of those who, instead of spewing hate and celebrating death, focused instead on saving lives. Image: hendricjabs via Pixabay, Pixabay License. Two Israeli Diplomats were executed coming out of a Jewish museum in Washington the other day. Tragic on its own terms, it was also tragic because it is wholly unremarkable when you realize this is just one more small step up the permission scale and was entirely foreseeable. If you want to assign blame, you have to focus your gaze on todays Democrat party, which has conflated speech with violence, allowing violence as a response to speech, said that illegal aliens have the full due process rights of people in the criminal justice system, and egged on violent, totalitarian protest from those on the left. Killing their perceived enemies is the final step up the scale of escalation. It does not matter that the Dems did not directly order the killings and mayhem; through their false rhetoric, they are culpable. A friend wrote to me, Theres no difference between todays Democrats and 1960s radicals. YouTube screen grab. Ah! but there is. Women have been more radicalized than they were in the 1960s. During the 1960s, while women participated, including in the most extreme groups, most were milder than their male peers. Thats no longer true. Theres been a fundamental change in womens societal roles from traditional to anti-traditional. Some believe they have unlimited permission to change the rest of us through force. What separates 1960s radicals from todays strident protesters leaps out at you. First, many are female, and second, their focus moves periodically, almost predictably, every few years from one cause to another. Why? Because the cause is not the objective; weakening our society is. The activists current focus is on Israel and illegal immigration. Look back, and youll find a litany of subjects that commanded protesters/radicals attention over the years, all enjoying the over-the-top emotional commitment and fatalistic predictions for whatever it is they are protesting: Race dominated the 50s and 60s, culminating in the George Floyd riots in 2020, which flowed from 2013s creation of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The anti-war movement raged on from the 60s until 1975 and then again protesting the war in Iraq in 2003. Womens Rights took center stage in 2017 with #MeToo, and have morphed into a strange coalition of gay and gender rights. The economic and labor movement took root with the Occupy Wall Street crowd in 2011 and most recently was revitalized by the creation of DOGE. Environmental and climate change advocates have been floating in the background, brought out whenever the latest cause de jour gets old. The massacre of Jews on October 7, 2023, birthed the newest and perhaps shrillest group of protesters since the Weathermen plagued us from 1969 through 1977. The anti-democratic movement commenced with Trumps first term and introduced us to Trump Derangement Syndrome. In every case, women have taken the forefront, having jumped on perceived injustices and can be counted on to join each newly discovered wrong. Women are the heart and soul of the Democrat party, with women more likely to vote for Democrats than men, and women constituting the largest single bloc in the party itself. The significant change weve seen is evident in the stridency and number of women who participate in protests and associated actions, including criminal acts including arson, destruction of private or public property, assault, and even murder, something women rarely participated in the past and now commonly do. Example: A New Jersey congresswoman was arrested for breaking into an ICE facility. LaMonica McIver assaulted federal officers. The same logic that McIver used to attack lawful authorities (she believed she had permission to do what she wanted by virtue of her beliefs) is in play at virtually every other protest, utilizing confrontation, publicity stunts, and general disruption to impede our daily activities. They excuse their actions through declarations of virtuous superiority: 1. VirtueIm in the right. 2. Facts Dont Matter When The System Is BrokenWorking through the system does not work. Bringing down the system will. 3. MindsetIm untouchable 4. Visibility & AwarenessProtests create power. 5. Collective ActionDemonstrations infer widespread support. 6. Disruption as LeverageProtesters pressure institutions to respond by disrupting daily life. 7. Moral FramingActivists frame their cause in ethical or justice-based terms. 8. Symbolic ResistanceProtesters often use symbols, slogans, and historical references to steal validation. All of this, of course, is made possible through the penetration of our education system by radical leftists who transitioned from violence to whispering (brainwashing) into the ears of our young all across the land. Its worth noting in this regard that this indoctrination is made via a K-12 public school system in which, per a Grok analysis, 77% of the teachers are women. The one essential ingredient missing: explaining why now, at this cross-section of time, so many of our young people (especially women) are so attracted to the outright eradication of our country. Perhaps in the case of women, its because they approach information differently. Refuting a cleverly concocted and curated storyline requires intelligence, curiosity, a level of cynicism, and analytical abilities enabling us to question what we are told. Together, these qualities form a robust defense against manipulation and false narratives. Women, more than men, are susceptible to certain narratives and manipulation. From an early age, women are often socialized in ways that emphasize emotional expression, relational connectivity, and communal values. Women score higher on measures of emotional intelligence and empathy. These are hugely important qualities for raising children, honed over tens of thousands of years. The result is that narratives that evoke empathy and solidarity or reflect social issues disproportionately impact women. And what about the men? Well, again beginning in K-12, theyve been targets of a determined assault on masculinity that takes the form of feminizing them. Many are a barely recognizable vestige of what young men used to act like, blurring the lines between the sexes as intended. Theyve been trained to abandon mens hard edges in favor of womens emotionalism. It is not an accident that any of these outcomes came to be. They are the result of the lefts effort to destroy Judeo-Christian principles, intact families, and the essential process of learning by trying and failing that leads us to become independent and self-aware adults, all now replaced with a permanent culture of kidults who no longer possess compos mentis. In 1992, John Gray published his wildly successful Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. The book explores the idea that men and women have fundamentally different psychological and emotional needs. Feminists hated the book, claiming that it reinforced gender stereotypes, presenting men and women as fundamentally different in ways that feminists argue are overly simplistic. Go to just about any liberal college or university today, and the messaging is likely the polar opposite of Mr. Grays tome. We have ceded the field to the nuts, Marxists, and the wish it were so crowd that so richly deserve to have their hand slapped. We must be on our A game to win this war. Permissive youth who know no bounds and have not learned the world does not contain safe spaces are fundamentally dangerous. Author, Businessman, Thinker, and Strategist. Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com. Ronald Reagans dream, Star Wars, is finally becoming a reality, according to Jesse Watters. President Donald Trump stated, In the campaign I promised the American people that I would build a cutting-edge missile defense shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack. And thats what were doing. Today I am pleased to announce that we have officially selected an architecture for the state-of-the-art system that will deploy next generation technology across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors. [snip] This design of the Golden Dome will integrate with our existing defense capabilities. It should be fully operational before the end of my term. [snip] Once fully constructed the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space. Pete Hegseth stated, We will protect the homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones, whether they are conventional or nuclear. [snip] The Golden Dome for America, is a game changer. It is a generational investment in the security of America and Americans. Frank St. John, Lockheed Martin COO, said the work of deterrence is a 24-7 operation, and this new system will provide jobs in California, Colorado, Alabama, Arkansas, New Jersey, New York and all over the country. This is going to be a system that is built domestically in the United States and were really proud to take a leading role in bringing President Trumps vision to reality. Chinas Foreign Ministry whined and issued a statement saying, This undermines global strategic balance and stability. China expresses serious concerns over this. We urge the United States to abandon the development and deployment of a global missile defense system as soon as possible. In response to Chinas remark, St. John stated, What we have seen historically is that the thing that leads to conflict is a lack of deterrence and so our belief along with the administration is that having strong deterrence is the best way to deter conflict and so we are looking forward to partnering with General Guetlein and the administration to roll this out to make the world safe for peace and prosperity. Carley Shimkus on Fox and Friends stated skeptics argue that the immense cost and ability to defend an entire continent is not realistic. Immense cost? The cost is $175 billion. The Biden/Harris administration sent over $350 billion to Ukraine. Responding to skeptics, St. John stated, Most of the constituent elements of the system have been demonstrated already in smaller scale around the world and all of them have been proven in combat situations. So, this is really a scaling of capability and an integration of capability. And the technology that is available today for networking, for edge and cloud computing, for bringing artificial intelligence to bear on the decision making all of that new technology is whats going to allow us to stitch these capabilities together and produce this system. Carley asked, Do you really think we can get this up and running within President Trumps second term over the next three years? St. John answered, Because of the start we have with the existing capabilities we are going to be able to rapidly assemble a credible deterrent in a very short period of time, and in parallel then work the future technologies that will deal with threats as they evolve and keep the system relevant for generations. Carley stated, What a time to be alive. It is odd that China would whine that America having a missile defense system would destabilize the strategic balance in the world. What about Chinas and Russias deployment of hypersonic missiles? Chinas and Russias deployment of hypersonic missiles was a game changer. Hypersonic missiles, using scramjet propulsion, can travel faster than a mile a second. Their flight trajectories are very different from ballistic missiles, for they fly low, can adjust course mid-flight, maneuver around missile-defense systems, are nuclear capable, with some military analysts calling them unstoppable. While Biden was asleep at the wheel of the presidency and all the media were talking about Hunter Bidens trial, in June of 2024 Russian warships were conducting Zircon hypersonic missile drills off the East Coast of the United States with the U.S. East Coastwithin Zircon range and the missiles can be used to strike ground targets. This event followed Putins warning that Moscow could respond to Ukraines Western allies allowing Kyiv to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia by giving similar weapons to adversaries of the West worldwide. Bidens White House responded that this was not a threat, but it is symbolic. Then there is Iran who is pressing forward to gain a nuclear weapon, with about 275 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity, near weapons-grade, and the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so. In 2017 Irans new naval commander vowed to send warships into Americas backyard. Then in June of 2024 Fair Energy Foundation President Dave Wallace announced on a podcast that the inept and feeble Biden/Harris administration, keeping it quiet in the mainstream media, began allowing Iran to move military vessels into the Gulf of America in February of 2023, showing the Islamic Republics maritime strength. Apparently, they were doing military exercises in the Gulf until May of 2023. The missiles to which Iran has access can strike up to 1,200 miles away from the Southern Coast of the United States, meaning a potential Iranian strike could reach Minneapolis from just off the coast of Louisiana, and meaning Iran could launch a nuclear weapon striking the heart of the United States from the Gulf. Irans military exercises in the Gulf of America were facilitated using their ally Chinas control of the Panama Canal at the time. Speaking of China, China has 3 aircraft carriers, Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian, and is starting construction on its fourth carrier, which will have nuclear propulsion. Japan had 4 fleet carriers at the start of WWII. On June 4, 1942, at the Battle of Midway, over 350 U.S. sailors and airmen lost their lives, and 150 U.S. aircraft were destroyed, and there was the loss of the U.S. carrier Yorktown, but miraculously, all four Japanese carriers were sunk turning the tide of the war in the Pacific. Over 3,000 Japanese sailors and airmen died. According to historian Craig L. Symonds, Japans loss at Midway diminished its ability to project power and defend its territories. Does China really need four carriers? What kind of power does it want to project? Remember that it is not just the carriers that are being built, but also the accompanying fleet to go with each of them. Already China has more naval vessels (370 ships) than the U.S. (295 ships). China has plans to build up to seven carriers by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution and the year Beijing is targeting for a takeover of Taiwan by force, if necessary. At seven carriers, China will match the number in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. So, do we need a Golden Dome over America? Is yesterday too soon to start construction? Image: Public domain. Amy Reichert, a conservative political leader in San Diego, and a private investigator by trade, isn't quite like anyone else out there in the blue-run city of San Diego. In response to her viral post about illegal aliens driving American restaurants out of business a few days ago, which nixed leftist narratives that immigration crackdowns are driving these restaurants out of business, she investigated the illegal alien-hot dog vendors themselves in front of San Diego's beleaguered brick-and-mortar restaurants, and what she found is eye-opening: $10 hot dogs cooked on Harbor Freight tool carts with no refrigeration. Tonight I found 5 illegal vendors parked in front of a legit downtown San Diego Downtown restaurant. While business owners pay sky-high Gavin Newsom taxes, my investigation found these carts are not pic.twitter.com/11w7De1sP5 Amy Reichert (@amyforsandiego) May 24, 2025 The gist: $10 hot dogs cooked on Harbor Freight tool carts with no refrigeration. Tonight I found 5 illegal vendors parked in front of a legit downtown San Diego Downtown restaurant. While business owners pay sky-high Gavin Newsom taxes, my investigation found these carts are not mom-and-pop, they run by organized crime & the people selling are paying off debts to smugglers. She wrote an article about it here: Read my report with court documents here:https://t.co/bJyVazDjUM Amy Reichert (@amyforsandiego) May 24, 2025 ... and had more here Illegal hot dog vendors https://t.co/ljNTTrVsGN Amy Reichert (@amyforsandiego) May 24, 2025 Democrat politicians are allowing a cartel-backed criminal operation to take over downtown San Diego. Illegal immigrant vendors admit theyre selling hot dogs to pay off smuggling debts. Box trucks from L.A. and Tijuana roll in daily, unloading cartloads of vendors. Cartels pic.twitter.com/2zsU5s0ELE Amy Reichert (@amyforsandiego) May 21, 2025 It's yeoman's work that illuminates a lot we never knew about the illegal alien trade, and how the lawlessness that comes with illegals' names attached is solely for gaslighting purposes -- in reality, it's cartel activity that's being coddled by the authorities, much to the detriment of legitimate businesses. How many city officials are on the take from this activity? How far does this go? Amy will get to the bottom of it because already she's asking the right questions. The sooner she finds out, the better it will be for all of us who will benefit. Image: Screen shot from X video. A PJ Media post alleges that there is an Evangelical Fellowship of Canada brochure from 2024, still circulating, that is in opposition to that nations Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) program. That sounds right on its face, but theres more. The brochure reportedly states: A special committee of MPs and senators studying MAiD has recommended allowing MAiD for mature minors. A mature minor is a child or teen who is deemed capable of making a decision for MAiD. This would essentially remove the minimum age of eligibility. Not shocked and appalled enough? Read on: The committee also suggested parents may not be consulted and wouldnt need to consent to their childs death via MAiD. So, the government could kill your child without even consulting you? Would this be a hallmark of an advanced society? Or the mark of an utterly depraved one? Id say this might be a slippery slope, but in truth there wouldnt be any slope left, because the society would then already be at rock bottom. The West is flogging itself and cannot or will not -- produce enough kids to maintain its population. (And a disturbingly high percentage of the rest of the world seems to be in a death cult, be it Islam, Arab, or otherwise.) This does not bode well for the future of humanity. That even an essentially socialist government is reportedly considering this is beyond repulsive. No government has the right to decide who lives or dies based on the health of its citizens. And it certainly doesnt have that right when it comes to young children. But thats what happens when the concept of natural rights granted by our Creator is dismissed. One pictures a scene like this in a Canadian household a few years hence: Wheres Timmy, hon? Hes never late for dinner! I dont know, dear, but frankly Im getting a bit nervous. I hope he wasnt killed by the state! Guy Edward Bartkus, the FBI's sole suspect in the recent Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic car bombing, would appear to be a good fit for the Canadian government, as he is an avowed "anti-natalist. Bartkus, who reportedly had an explosives lab in his home, allegedly had an online manifesto in which he stated: "The end goal is for the truth (Efilism) to win, and once it does, we can finally begin the process of sterilizing this planet of the disease of life." Sterilizing this planet of the disease of life. He thinks life is a disease. May God help us. Maybe its time for a Genesis. Image: Pexels / Pexels License Among the most tyrannical, destructive and common techniques of the Socialist/Communist, Democrat left is the consent decree. With the 2020 Summer of Love, Democrats had substantial success in defunding blue city/state police agencies. But with time, the reelection of Donald Trump, and a partial restoration of sanity, that utterly insane movement has died or gone underground for rebranding. Unfortunately, even in major blue cities that no longer overtly pursue obliterating their police forces, enormous damage has been done. One such is Minneapolis, the capitol city of Tim Walzs Minnesota, a state vying with California for the most insane, destructive, Marxist state in the union honors. Graphic: X Screenshot Since the Summer of Love, Minneapolis has lost 40% of its officers. As one might expect, crime rates have skyrocketed, as Police Chief Brian OHara confirms: "It is incredible," O'Hara said. "It's not just that we lost 40% of the force, they've been facing the highest levels of crime and violence, in some categories, that the city has ever seen." Minneapolis is facing a surge in assaults, and nearly three dozen shooting calls a month. Agencies forced to defund officers, even if that lunatic policy was eventually ended, experienced a mass exodus. Officers that could retire did. Others fled to red states where they were allowed to do their jobs, and many quit the profession entirely. Recruiting became nightmarish. Capable, competent men and women dont want to work, regardless of signing bonuses, for cities that hate their police where Soros prosecutors are far more likely to prosecute officers for lawfully doing their jobs than criminals. Many such agencies are under political pressure to hire DEI candidates, which has forced them to dramatically lower hiring standards. Theyre hiring people with serious criminal records, histories of drug and alcohol abuse, past DUIs, financial instability and other problems that should be immediate disqualifiers. Even so, agencies remain badly understaffed. Blue states have convinced the next generation of potential police recruits theyd have to be insane to work in those places. The remaining officers are forced to take mandatory overtime, commonly work double, even triple shifts and are under enormous stress, far more than is normal in that high-stress occupation. As a result, illness, injuries and all manner of psychological issues are at record levels. And because officers know any complaint, particularly those lodged by favored victim groups, could end their careers, bankrupt their families and send them to prison, most absolutely avoid minority criminals and do as little as possible. Is it any wonder crime is out of control in Minneapolis? At the last minute of its malignant administration, the Biden DOJ tried to impose a consent decree on the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Like all federal consent decrees, if implemented, it would have proclaimed the MPD systemically racist and evil and give a federal judge total authority over the MPDs daily operations. A special monitor, at great expense, would be appointed to run the MPD, and entirely lawful tactics like stop and frisk would be outlawed. Crime and civil disorder, already out of control, would become even more Kafkesque. Consent decrees of this kind are essentially eternal, in force as long as the DOJ and judge involved choose. The Biden DOJ did its best to push this consent decree over the finish line before Trump took office. Fortunately, the Bondi DOJ asked for a stay, which U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson granted until May 21. The police-hating city government and mayor are not taking this lying down: The city objected to the stay, writing in court documents that the DOJ cannot keep moving the goal posts by claiming a necessity for the entire litigation to be paused in order to bring individual attorneys up to speed. Jim Michaels, attorney for the police union, notes: The City of Minneapolis seems hellbent on imposing the terms of the Consent Decree on itself even if the DOJ and the Court dismiss it, Michels told Alpha News. This is nothing short of bizarre. Usually, a defendant in a lawsuit is more than happy to have the case dismissed without suffering any penalty or adverse consequences. He said the only possible explanation for this situation is consistent with comments made by many of the Citys elected officialsthey want to weaponize the terms of the Consent Decree to impose certain provisions on police officers even though State Law and the Collective Bargaining Agreement require that those terms be negotiated. At the last minute, the federal DOJ has injected a note of sanity: The Trump Department of Justice has just filed a two-page motion to dismiss the case with prejudice without ruling on the pending motion for approval of the consent decree: After an extensive review by current Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division leadership, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest. Minneapolis will have to continue to destroy itself without the help of the Federal Government. 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. Kudos to Montana, whose Republican governor (Greg Gianforte) just signed innovative legislation related to religious education, sponsored by 78th District Republican state representative Randyn Gregg. Many states allow for released time, whereby public school students whose parents want them to participate in religious education or catechism usually are dismissed an hour or so earlier once a week to go elsewhere to receive it. Participation is voluntary, and students taking part in it are responsible for making up the work they missed, but time is reserved for those who want to avail themselves of it. Released time almost always take place off school premises, usually at the church or parochial school of the denomination providing it. Thats because a series of Supreme Court decisions in the late 1940s declared released time schemes to be constitutional off school property but not on it. The latter was seen as too excessively entangling church and state. Lots of states allow for released time, either informally or by authorizing local school boards to adopt the arrangement. One way Montanas law is innovative is that it assures kids all across the state of that time carve-out; it doesnt depend on the discretion of a local board. Once upon a time, that might not have been an issue, but in secularizing times, when some school boards wont call the vacation around December 25 Christmas break or deliberately separate spring break from Easter, all bets are off, especially in woke districts. The other innovation is that the new law (which goes into effective July 1) is that it envisions the possibility of academic credit for religious education participants. The specifics havent been worked out, no doubt will involve further regulations, and always threaten heightened government interference, but they also recognize that religious education is education and is important. It is important because it recognizes that many people do adhere to a religion. Religion addresses ultimate human concerns. It shapes fundamental ways that people see the world and their place in it. A democratic society, even one in which church and state are separate, is not obliged to pretend its people are not religious, that religion does not affect how they see the world (including their civic duties), or that it has no obligation to reckon with those truths truths not necessarily about religion, but about their fellow Americans, their history, and their culture. Indeed, it would be a bizarre notion of democracy that insists that the majority strip itself of its religious and values convictions in order to participate in civil life. The late Richard John Neuhaus had a term for this: the naked public square. By making sure Montana kids can get religious education if they want it, the new law acknowledges those realities. It affirms what John Adams said over two centuries ago: We are a religious people whose institutions [including our laws] presuppose a Supreme Being. Our history would not recognize a clear distinction many elite versions of law blur: Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion. When states play pretend about religion, refusing the acknowledge that it exists, they are implicitly saying that what many Americans perhaps majorities of Americans consider important really isnt, at least not in terms of being publicly acknowledged. Montanas new law corrects that misperception: Without forcing a child into religious education, it recognizes that not everything important enough to claim time is dictated by government. By creating the possibility of academic credit, Montana likewise acknowledges the value of religious education as education. It rejects the secularists pejorative dismissal of such instruction as indoctrination. And that opens a bigger lens: awareness of religion as such as a phenomenon worthy of an educated persons study. Some states have tried to build elements of religious studies into their public school curricula e.g., by incorporating the Bible or the Ten Commandments. Note that here I said religious studies, not religious education. The two are different. Religious studies takes the phenomenon of religion seriously and expects some intellectual acquaintance with it, regardless of ones personal belief as to what a religion teaches. Religious education is education within a particular faith tradition, aimed at giving a reason for what a particular person believes. There is no way that one can understand Western or American culture independently of the Bible. One may not be a Jew or a Christian, but those two great religious traditions shaped the Western mind. The Bible shaped America in ways that like it or not the Koran, the Analects, or other sacred books simply did not. Understanding where America came from, how its Founders thought, what allusions like the Good Samaritan in literature mean is just impossible without basic Bible literacy. Thats why some states are putting the Bible back into classrooms. Likewise with the Ten Commandments. Admit it or not, those tablets are in many ways constitutive of why American law looks like it does. They also espouse moral principles that, in many ways, are common to human beings as such, not just Jews or Christians. Lots of things compete for todays kids time: extracurricular activities, sporting events (often long-distance), enrichment activities, required volunteer (service) hours, etc. Religion should not have to wait to pick up its time crumbs by itself after all those other things make claims. Under Montanas law, it wont have to to the benefit of student and parental choice. Image: Darkmoon_Art via Pixabay, Pixabay License. The headline at the Daily Mail said, Eerie moment police officer spooks his colleagues as they arrive on his doorstep to tell his wife he was shot in the head. Huh? Were they mistaken about his being shot, and he was home all the time? Was this a back-from-the-dead ghost story? Was it simply that the officers recorded voice was on the camera audio? I needed to know, and Im glad I took the time to find out, because Anthony Elliotts story is a wonderful reminder of how love will drive a husband and father. At this point, you can stop reading and just head straight over to the Daily Mail. Or, you can bear with me as I summarize the story. Your choice. Anthony Elliott serves on the San Diego police force. Hes also a Navy vet, a SWAT team member, and a married father of two boys. In December 2023, when his wife was home with their toddler and newborn, Elliott responded to a domestic call, which most police will tell you are the most dangerous calls. In this case, he was chasing a suspect when the suspect turned and shot him in the head. The bullet went straight into Elliotts brain, but not only did it not kill him, it didnt render him unconscious. Thats why he was able to save himself from slamming headfirst into the pavement (which would have killed him) by grabbing onto something with the still-operative side of his body to break his fall. As Elliott lay on the ground, he told his team members to make sure to convey the best possible news to his family: Tell my kids daddys going to be okay, he told one of them. Tell my wife I love her. I wanted them to know I tried. Once in the hospital, and still conscious despite the bullet in his brain, Elliott tried to call his wife, but shed turned her phone off so that she could catch some sleep. Elliott then started worrying about what his wife would go through if she opened her door to three police officers. Shed instantly think he was dead, which would be a horrible shock to herand of course, the officers didnt know anything about Elliotts condition beyond the fact that hed been shot in the head. So, Elliott monitored the Ring app on his phone and, when the officers showed up, he told them how to handle the visit: The rest of the story (which, again, I urge you to read in full) is devoted to discussing the incredibly hard work Elliott put into recovering and getting back on the job. The story might have resonated with me as much as it did because I was just talking to a friend whose son suffered a serious concussion. All the medical advice was that he needed to rest his brain. For two years, this once healthy, active young man put his life on hold, barely graduating from college, unable to hold a job, abandoning his social life and physical activities, and living in a silent, dark room. And then, his mother discovered Michael Collins at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Collins has a different approach, and one that mirrors the hard work that Elliott did to recover from his severe brain trauma. According to Collins and those who share his views, in many (not all, but many) concussion cases, the brain needs to be worked hard back into functioning, not simply rendered inoperative in the hope that it will miraculously heal itself. For my friends son, the Collins approach was miraculous. Within three months of pushing himself (not hiding from the light, not retreating to the room when his head pounded), his life was completely back to normal. The brain is an amazingly elastic, plastic organ, and it can do truly wonderful thingsespecially when a spirit like Anthony Elliott is driving it. Image: Daily Mail screen grab. The Biden health cover up is falling apart one interview at a time. The latest is Democrat congressman Dean Phillips who claims to have signaled the alarm sometime ago. This is his take on the story: In 2021, I had a front-row seat on two occasions when he addressed the House Democratic Caucus. I also spent time in close proximity to the president during two flights on Air Force One, in 2021 and 2022, where I was alarmed to see the presidents obvious decline in communication skills, gait, and leadership capacity. After the White House holiday party in December 2022, at which the presidents decline was too graphic to ignore, I was left with no doubt in my mindBiden was unfit to serve a second term. My opinion wasnt an outlier. My congressional colleagues, like me, had eyes; behind closed doors we acknowledged the reality, lamented our party leaderships inaction, and recognized the impending disaster awaiting us in November 2024. After many of the same hushed conversations, I tried to impress a sense of urgency. I made calls to potential presidential candidates, like Illinois governor JB Pritzker and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, to urge them to run. But they didnt even want their names mentionedlet alone return my calls. Frustrated, I went public, calling for an open primary. I implored prominent Democrats like California governor Gavin Newsom, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Vice President Kamala Harris to throw their hats in the ring. But cometh the momentcameth nobody. Wow, so no one wanted their names mentioned. Wonder what they were afraid of? Were they scared that any of this Biden talk would help Trump or make Sean Hannity look good? Its probably a bit of both. My guess is that this is why they manipulated the 2020 primary to help Biden and destroy Sanders. We are grateful that Mr. Phillips is talking. At the same time, I continue to ask whats the point of the 25th Amendment if no one has the courage to call on the leaders to use it? We need to revisit that issue because it should have been used and it was not. Thank you Dean, but youre late. P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos. Image: YouTube video screen grab. May 21, 2025, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. Yaron Lischinsky, 30 and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26 were brutally murdered. They were soon to be engaged and were employees of the Israeli Embassy in DC. Elias Rodriguez shot them both and they collapsed. Badly wounded, Sarah tried to crawl away. Rodriguez approached and standing over them, fired multiple rounds into their backs, killing them. The probable cause affidavit indicates Rodriquez fired 21 9mm rounds and may have reloaded at least once. Graphic: X Screenshot Rodriguez, a Chicago resident, was well known to Chicago police as a leftist agitator. He is reported to have killed Lischinsky and Milgrim, who he apparently did not know, in support of Hamas, and when taken away by police, yelled free, free Palestine. During my teaching days, in discussions of morality (sparked by the literature we were reading), I told them the tale of Kitty Genovese. In March 13, 1964, in New York City, she was attacked on the street outside her apartment building and stabbed in the back. She screamed for help, and at least one neighbor yelled at the attacker who ran away. Over a half hour, the police were called, but assigned a low priority to the call as the killer returned, raped and robbed her and left again. An ambulance finally arrived, but Genovese died. Among the parts of the story that persist are indications neighbors asked why they didnt intervene replied I didnt want to get involved. Whether thats true is beside the point. The killer was caught not long afterward in another crime and confessed to killing Genovese. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later changed to life and he died in prison after a half century. That both crimes took place in anti-liberty/gun, blue cities is hardly a coincidence. Its no coincidence there was no one present to stop the killers, no one present to intervene to save lives. In both places, most honest citizens are disarmed, and even if they were armed, theyd reasonably believe theyd be likely to be arrested and imprisoned for saving the lives of innocents. This would be even more likely today in NYC. Genoveses killer was black and was sentenced to death. Today, he might be released on his own recognizance and disappear. The DC killer is apparently a terrorist and/or terrorist supporter. In todays Democrat political climate, hes a hero. Graphic: X Screenshot How different was the response of my Texas teenagers, kids whose families own a variety of guns. Many of my students owned their own guns. All respected their power and handled them safely. All agreed that had they been there in NYC in 1964, they would have blown the killer out of his socks as soon as they could lay sights on him. There was no hesitation, no moral dilemma. They knew what was right and their obligation to do right. And while they were all too young to legally carry concealed weapons, they had immediate access to guns and knew how to effectively use them. But that night in Washington, DC, there were no armed adults anywhere near. There were no police officers. Thats not a surprise, nor is it an attack on the police. There are few of them and fewer in our blue cities after defund the police mania which has never entirely abated. Police officers love to catch bad guys in the act, but thats rare indeed. Jewish Americans particularly should understand theyre all targets, particularly in blue cities, and while there were apparently armed security guards inside the museum, they had no role in stopping the killer. So, when Rodriquez murdered the couple, apparently only because they were near a Jewish Museum, there was no one present to save them, including themselves. All it would have taken was one person, one armed and capable person, to stop the attack and potentially, to save the lives of Milgrim and Lischinsky, but thats not what DC government would want or reward. Thats not what the governments of most of Americas blue cities want. Theyre comfortable that people like Milgrim and Lischinsky die rather than allow honest citizens to carry the arms necessary to protect themselves and others because of their failures and criminal coddling. We now have a federal government that will pick up the prosecutorial pieces if necessary, but federal agents will be even less likely than local cops to be there when seconds count. Normal Americans need to be armed and prepared, particularly Jewish Americans. Were all facing a divided country, a country with a resistance determined to rule us all, a resistance encouraging violence and assassination. What the murder of Milgrim and Lischinsky teaches is were on our own. We always have been, and when we need them, neither cops nor Texas teenagers are likely to be there to save us. 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. Here's a new low from the mainstream media: Calling something fake news that isn't fake news, and dragging American Thinker into it. Earlier this week, President Trump presented in a televised press conference a slew of evidence that thousands of white farmers in South Africa had been murdered by criminalized political activists over their race in that country, their land now being expropriated without compensation and hundreds of discriminatory laws going up. Not surprisingly, many were now seeking refuge in the U.S. and as they meet the legal definition of refugee, President Trump was admitting them. That's a horrific public relations problem for South Africa which proclaims itself a 'non-racial' country and holds up the legacy of Nelson Mandela as a 'peacemaker' to his former white oppressors. But with crime going largely unenforced and white farmers targeted for grisly murders for being white, they are more and more just starting to look like the same old story of African tribal warfare -- one tribe slaughtering another as we have seen in Zimbabwe, People's Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Niger, Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan, Somalia and other tragic places. As long as that is going on in South Africa, too, their story isn't what they advertise. That was much of the point of an essay written by American Thinker managing editor Andrea Widburg, who warned of the dangers of tribalism as Democrats were embracing it. She cited two ongoing incidents in South Africa and one in the People's Republic of Congo as examples. The post was illustrated with a linked screen shot of tribal killings in the PRC. Which is where the media came in with claims of 'fake news' from President Trump. (We already have one piece on this out there.) Trump leafed through a stack of news stories and commentaries on the problems in that region as part of his presentation. One of the commentaries included was Andrea Widburg's which included the screen shot of the PRC killings as it discussed those PRC killings along with the South African ones. You can see Trump's swift leafing through action in the New York Times's video snippet here. You can see Andrea Widburg's actual commentary here. The press claimed the linked screen shot was passed off as South African killings, in Andrea's piece, and from President Trump, the former of which was absolutely not the case (which explains why many didn't link it or say the name of the publication), and the latter of which is very questionable. Now they've turned into a hive. Here are some choice examples of what's out there: Reuters went with this, featuring their own screen shot of the fast-moving presentation, presenting what was Trump's rapid leafing through of articles at the press conference as the frozen image: JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump showed a screenshot of Reuters video taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of what he falsely presented on Wednesday as evidence of mass killings of white South Africans. "These are all white farmers that are being buried," said Trump, holding up a print-out of an article accompanied by the picture during a contentious Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The New York Times, the paper of Walter Duranty, claimed this: During the encounter, Mr. Trump presented a stack of articles and blog posts as evidence of the persecution of white farmers in South Africa. He shuffled through them as Mr. Ramaphosa squinted at the pages, trying to see what they said. One of the images Mr. Trump held up showed medical workers in white protective clothing lifting body bags. Look, heres burial sites all over the place, Mr. Trump said, grasping up a copy of the blog post. These are white farmers that are being buried. It could be credibly argued that he was presenting the whole article which described killings in South Africa as well as PRC, and not just the PRC picture it contained, since if he wanted to present that picture as killings in South Africa, he certainly had the resources to do it, and in a better format than a grainy screen shot in a photocopy of an entire blog commentary. In reality, he was holding up the entire blog, which happened to contain that barely visible screen shot, as well as all the content of the blog. In some press accounts, they used the weasel words "Trump suggested" instead of "Trump said" which pretty well proves that they didn't have the goods on Trump. Some of them didn't want to name the publication in their pieces, probably because they didn't want people reading the post. They just went generic, calling it "a blog," as if to imply it couldn't possibly be true. CBS News did, though, joining the pile-on: Mr. Trump held up a printed article from "American Thinker," a conservative online magazine, that included a screenshot, credited to Reuters, that the president said showed "all White farmers that are being buried." But the video the screenshot was taken from was of humanitarian workers lifting body bags in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Reuters said. The footage was taken in February after deadly battles with a Rwanda-backed Congolese rebel group in the city of Goma. USAToday took several leaps of logic ahead of the matter, making its own editorial opinions the news: President Donald Trump falsely cited a Reuters video from Congo as proof of "White genocide" during a meeting with the South African president. In their video captions, they called the "white killings" which are factually happening there with even South Africa admitting as much, (arguing that they are simple random crimes, not targeted racial killings), a "conspiracy theory." They went the full Walter Duranty on that one, ever determined to best the Times. The Independent of the U.K. piled on with mockery in its bid to distort what happened: President Donald Trumps attempt to demonstrate evidence of white genocide in South Africa fell flat after he used pictures from an entirely different country to support his claims. Trump met with South Africas president, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the Oval Office on Wednesday in an effort to reset foreign relations. The meeting took a bizarre turn when Trump produced an array of articles and showed video footage alleging ethnic cleansing in South Africa. Actually, it didn't fall flat. None of what Trump said was false. Their interpretation of what Trump was holding up is what fell flat. And America, the far left Jesuit magazine, piled on, too, heading into libel territory with this: Other evidence of white genocide shared by the president was similarly based on erroneous, hyperbolized or completely fabricated reporting collected from dubious sources off the wondrous World Wide Webincluding a printed-out blog post with a photo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and not, as Mr. Trump implied, from South Africa. (Americas Johannesburg correspondent, Russell Pollitt, S.J., reported in February on the rejection of the white genocide accusation by South African Christian leaders.) But exiting the meeting, Mr. Trump, oblivious to the uproar that followed his treatment of a visiting dignitary, seems as convinced as ever of his Elon Musk-induced fantasy of white genocide in South Africa. A publication that openly defends communism isn't the one to decide which publications are 'dubious.' Grosser still, its senior editor, the Rev. James Martin, S.J., invoked the pope, whom he seems to view as someone under his thumb. "Pope Leo warned about fake news. President Trump just showed us a worst-case scenario." https://t.co/V1o9ujt7QS James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) May 23, 2025 The pope warned of A.I.-generated deepfake videos depicting the pope himself presenting Church teachings, including false ones. A misidentified photo at worst (and I think that's arguable) is nothing approaching and nothing like what the pope warned about. Rev. Martin ought to take that tweet down if for nothing more, to avoid annoying the new pope by claiming to speak for him, and to keep himself out of the Walter Duranty school of genocide denial, which, given the country's politicized murders, is clearly well on its way in South Africa. Let's not even get into the sleazy attempt to smear the brand of another publication. Andrea Widburg has written to the Times, asking for a correction: In your recently published article, "Trump Showed Images of Genocide in South Africa. One Was From the War in Congo," your reference to American Thinker portrayed this site in a false light implying that the article deliberately misinformed readers. Your article states: The Reuters News agency said on Friday that the image was taken from its recent exclusive video report documenting the aftermath of fighting between Congolese troops and fighters from the M23 rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The image was later published on the website of American Thinker, a conservative online magazine, with an article that captioned it only as a YouTube screen grab. Notably, while you provide a link to the Reuters article, you fail to provide a link to the underlying American Thinker essay, nor do you note that the caption informing readers that the image came from a "YouTube screen grab" links directly to the Reuters video These omissions leave readers with the impression that the essay was solely about the attacks on white farmers in South Africa, and that the image used was intended to deceive. In fact, the essay was clear in all respects: It was about the dangerous tribalism that Democrats are pushing on America, and it used Africa as an example of how tribalism degrades functioning societies. To that end, the essay addressed (a) South Africa's newly enacted confiscation law; (b) the deadly war that Cyril Ramaphosa has been waging on miner's desperate to eke out a living in South Africa's destroyed economy; and (c) the rape and brutal slaughter of hundreds of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Within those parameters, the screen grab was applicable and, again, properly identified. We await their response. With dishonesty like this, any questions as to why the mainstream media is so discredited in the minds of the public? Image: Screen shot from shareable USAToday video, via YouTube I doubt that President Trump has a specific animus toward Harvard. Instead, he understands that Harvard is the most famous academic institution in America. If academia as a whole is behaving badly, and you successfully make an example of Harvard, youve won. In this case, after having witnessed 18 months of Americas campuses lapsing into Nazi-style cesspools of open antisemitism, Donald Trump targeted Harvard, and he did so with an old maxim in mind: He who pays the piper calls the tune. Barring a very few colleges (Hillsdale springs to mind), Americas institutions stay afloat thanks to two financial sources: taxpayers (via grants and guaranteed loans) and foreign students. Neither is a right. The money from taxpayers is contingent on the institutions abiding by the law; the money from foreign students is contingent on the institutions ensuring that the overseas students abide by the law, including laws connected to their visa status. Both are privileges that can be withdrawn. Harvard image (edited) from Pixabay. Across America, when colleges and universities allow physical and verbal attacks on Jewish students, blatantly violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and when they allow foreign students to take a central role in these attacks, they are violating federal law. Through a series of initiatives, Trump has said that (a) taxpayer money will not flow to lawless institutions and (b) these institutions have lost the privilege of sucking up vast wealth from overseas students. (Per Groks analysis, more than 25% of Harvards current student body consists of overseas students.) Currently, Harvard and other institutions have found compliant judges holding that the law doesnt apply to them. In California, a judge issued a nationwide injunction holding that Trump cannot terminate the visas of foreign students accused of violating the terms of those visas. In Massachusetts, when Kristi Noem informed Harvard that its consistently violating Jewish students rightsand its refusal to provide information to DHS about those violationsmeant that the government was revoking its privilege of hosting foreign students, Harvard instantly found a judge to stay that mandate. Leftists, of course, are squealing that Trump is violating Harvards rights. But Harvards only right is to offer an education, no matter how bad, to American students willing to pay. The other thingthe federal money and the foreign studentsarent rights, and the New York Times has figured that out. Now, the New York Times has problems with its reporting. As weve written here (and you can see the details here), the New York Times wrote a story that effectively says that American Thinker lied about a photograph. Despite having had almost 24 hours to correct the story, the Times has not. I expect no more from a leftist outlet that, all of its protests to the contrary, is not a newspaper but is, instead, a propaganda arm of the Democrat party. But its that very fealty to the Democrat party that means the Times is probably correctand shaking in its shoeswhen it writes Why Harvard Has No Way Out: Even against one of the nations oldest institutions, the Trump administration holds the levers of power and its using them aggressively. The essay, which sees Jess Bidgood interview Michael S. Schmidt, explains that, despite Harvards valiant efforts to defend itself (that is, to keep the antisemitism alive), the administration holds the levers of power, and is methodically and creatively using them in a take-no-prisoners assault on the school. The real insult is that the White House, in shutting down those oh-so-valuable foreign students, turned to an obscure tactic it usually uses to shut down shoddy diploma mills. The emphasis, applied smugly, is mine because much of what Harvard does is a shoddy diploma mill, given that many of its students are manifestly indoctrinated and minimally educated. According to Schmidt, one of the things that Trumps move against international students did was make Harvard less attractive to those students, while the issue ping-pongs in and out of the courts: If youre an international student at Harvard, are you going to be like, OK, cool, Ill just go to school in the fall, and Ill be checking the federal docket to see if the restraining order is still in place? Moreover, Schmidt says, Harvard can no longer rely on federal funding, despite judges willing to dive in on its behalf: Lets say a judge gives back all of that money for this year. Half of the universitys research budget comes from the federal government. Where is Harvard going to get the money in the year after that, and the year after that? If youre a researcher, do you want to be doing research at a school where your funding is in question? (Emphasis mine.) With that kind of pressure, says Schmidt, Harvard officials have privately determined they are in a major, major, major crisis with very few, if any, good off ramps [sic]. The courts cant save Harvard because Trump has created an unstable situation (theres that Trump habit of creating leverage) that will see foreign students and research projects going elsewhere. And heres the real beauty of that leverage. Harvard, a despicable institution that has fed Marxism in all its forms (economic, racial, antisemitic, sexual, etc.) for decades, in large part thanks to huge influxes of taxpayer dollars, feels it has no options: Harvards board, as far as we know, wont let the university go back to the table. The board members dont trust that you can negotiate with Trump. And the things that Trump keeps hitting Harvard with are so destructive. How could you go back to the table? And because the best dessert always has a cherry on top, Harvards vaunted $53.2 billion endowment might not save it. Thanks to a possible inflated valuation driven by illiquid assets and debt, some contend that the real value might be closer to $29 billion. Thats still a huge pile of money (especially if you get rid of all the leftist studies programs to cut costs), but that fact, if true, increases the pressure on Harvard to abide by American law. After all, as Harvards buddies in politics and the media like to remind us, no one is above the law. Homeland secretary Kristi Noem issued a significant order against Harvard University on May 22, 2025. The order revokes Harvard Universitys ability to enroll foreign students by terminating its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification. Noem stated in her May 22 press release that it is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country. SEVP certification is a critical part of the U.S. governments efforts to monitor and regulate foreign students in the U.S. The government aims to ensure that international students and exchange visitors comply with U.S. immigration laws, while also providing them with the support needed to succeed academically and culturally during their stay. Without SEVP certification, Harvard will not be able to issue the required Form I-20 or DS-2019 documents for its international students and exchange visitors. These documents are essential for students to apply for visas that allow them to study in the U.S. For international students currently enrolled at Harvard, the situation is more complex. They will likely need to transfer to another university with active SEVP certification to maintain their legal status in the U.S. Alternatively, currently enrolled foreign students may face difficulties in obtaining extensions or changing their visa status. According to Harvards official website, Harvard enrolled 6,793 international students, which represents 27.2% of its total enrollment. Noem stated in her May 22, 2025 letter to Maureen Martin in Harvards International Office that administrators should not be surprised about DHS enforcement of SEVP rules. She reminded the university that decertification is the unfortunate result of Harvards failure to comply with simple reporting requirements. In the letter, Noem also gave Martin one last opportunity to regain SEVP certification if Harvard provided all requested information within 72 hours. Noems order sends a bold message to American universities to comply with SEVP policies. According to Noem, the universitys noncompliance was a result of failures in maintaining proper records and ensuring that students on F and J visas those specifically designed for international students and exchange visitors were adhering to the terms of their stay in the U.S. The violations were discovered during routine audits, and after providing the university with opportunities for corrective action, DHS concluded that Harvards practices were insufficient. The SEVP certification process requires universities and institutions to meet stringent standards in record-keeping, reporting, and maintaining communication with DHS. When institutions fail to meet these standards, the consequences can be severe, as evidenced by Harvards loss of certification. Noems order deals a severe blow to Harvard University, which has long been one of the countrys most prestigious institutions. On April 11, Harvard filed a Title VI complaint against the federal government for what it regards as government overreach and micromanagement of Harvard. In addition to claiming discrimination, the complaint asserts that the federal government is jeopardize[ing] the institutions ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions. Noems order is part of the Trump administrations national security crackdown on university campuses nationwide. The current administration believes that Harvard and other universities are creating an unsafe environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students, obstructing a constructive learning environment. On April 16, 2025, Secretary Noem terminated $2.7 million in DHS grants because of anti-American, pro-Hamas activity on campus. Harvard and other universities benefit materially from taxpayer-funded government subsidies. At the time, Noem also requested information from Harvard about alleged misconduct related to its SEVP program. Harvard openly refused to cooperate, ignoring Noems warnings that refusal to comply would inevitably result in SEVP termination. The press release details a concerning disregard for the safety of some students on the Harvard campus, especially Jewish students. A joint task force report released on May 13 showed that Harvard repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus. Harvards Divinity School awarded one protester the role of class marshal for commencement despite his role in the assault of a Jewish student on campus. DHS alleges that Harvard has violated civil rights law with its race-conscious hiring policies. DHS officials also allege that crime rates on the Harvard campus increased by 55% from 2022 to 2023, with aggravated assaults increasing by 295% and robberies increasing by 560%. According to the DHS press release, Harvard engaged in undue national security risks when the university allegedly facilitated, and engaged in coordinated activity with the CCP, including hosting and training members of a CCP paramilitary group complicit in the Uyghur genocide. Notably, DOJ scrutiny of Harvards practices follows a January 2020 Department of Justice case that charged Dr. Charles Leiber, Harvards chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and two Chinese nationals, Yanqing Ye and Zaosong Zheng, with aiding the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Lieber was found guilty of concealing his affiliation with the Wuhan University of Technology and his participation in Chinas Thousand Talents Program, a program designed by the Chinese government to recruit high-level scientists, and failing to report payments on his taxes, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Massachusetts. Image: Kristi Noem. Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. There are many reasons to uphold and cherish the Constitution. Among them is the Second Amendment, which secures every other individual liberty. Thats why Democrats and other would-be tyrants so hate it and work so hard to disarm Normal Americans. With Donald Trump in the White House its time to update this article. Graphic: Glock 19, Author I CARRY A HANDGUN BECAUSE: *Evil exists and may confront anyone at any time and any place. *Evil exists to destroy all that is kind, good and loving. *God exists and expects me to protect myself, those I love and those unable to protect themselves. *Self-defense is a God-given, natural, unalienable right. *The lives of the innocentfriend or strangerare worth far more to me and to a just society than the lives of vicious criminals and terrorists. *By carrying a handgun, I honor the foresight and wisdom of the Founders in writing the Second Amendment, which acknowledges, but does not create, the right to keep and bear arms. *The Constitution does not bestow liberty; it restrains government from infringing on our liberties. Arms have always been necessary to remind government of that. *Democrats and other deluded, malicious people are as desperate to disarm the law-abiding as they are to coddle violent criminals, domestic and foreign. *Never in human history has a government disarmed a people for good reasons. *Never in human history has a government disarmed a people to ensure greater individual liberty and public safety. *Any government that would disarm a people cannot be trusted. *A handgun is the most usual, convenient and effective means of self-defense. *Going armed reinforces and upholds the Social Contract. *A government that labels half of the nation white supremacists, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists, racists and sends federal law enforcement to spy on and harass parents objecting to the sexual and political indoctrination of their children makes plain the wisdom of the Founders in writing the First and Second amendments. *So does a government that throws open our borders, admitting known terrorists, violent criminals the diseased and criminally insane. *It demonstrates, as nothing else can, that I am the master of my government not its slave, that elected officials work for me and only with my continuing consent. *It reminds politicians every iota of power they possess is on temporary loan from me and every other American on condition of good, lawful behavior. They hate that. *I am a free man, and no evidence of that fact is more meaningful and convincing than that I own and carry the firearms I prefer. *It reminds us that the whims of the most connected and powerful may not prevail over the Constitution and Bill of Rights as long as both live and burn brightly in the hearts of patriotic Americans and are not merely fading ink on yellowing paper. *Politicians harboring tyrannical intentions rightly fear armed citizens. Their hatred serves to positively identify them as those that would steal liberty and hide behind spin, teleprompters and transparent lies they stupidly think clever. *Semiautomatic handguns and rifles with high-capacity magazines are precisely the kind of common and usual firearms the Founders intended Americans to keep and bear. They were content citizens kept and carried the most powerful, useful military arms of their time, even cannon. Technology changes with time; the principles of liberty do not. *Governmental attempts to steal elections and jail their political opponents, even the Republican nominee for the presidency, reminds us how wise the Founders were in writing the Second Amendment, and how very much we will always need it. *The 2020 election, and Bidens Handlers Administration have revealed as never before, how passionately Democrats hate normal, honest, law-abiding Americans, and what they intend to do to them when they seize absolute power. *Those who willingly and meekly surrender to criminals surrender more than valuables; they surrender their dignity and honor. They surrender their sovereignty; they surrender civilization itself. *I could not live with myself for failing to protect women in danger. Call it sexist if you must, but if youre unarmed and under attack, would you really think to call an unarmed, untrained Dem? Would an Antifa activist assist you? A BLM mostly peaceful protester? A pro-Hamas, Islamist useful idiot? A purple haired, ambiguously gendered trans activist? *The threat of wide-spread terror attacks in America has never been greater. *When seconds count, the police are always minutes (or in blue cities and many other places, an hour or more) awaywhen they can respond at all. *As an adult, I am solely responsible for my continuing existence. *I accept personal responsibility and live accordingly. *Foremost, I am an American; I am a free man; it is my tradition and heritage. For a more in-depth version, go here. 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. Camouflaging has always been a part of warfare, but it was only during the two world wars that things got really creative. During the First World War, both sides kept constant watch of the enemy lines for movement, but that was not an easy task. Anyone who stuck his head above the trench parapet for more than a few seconds was shot. So the French started disguising observation posts as trees. Then they taught the British how to do it. Later, the Germans started using them too. Because the front was constantly watched by the enemy, one just couldnt erect a new tree, because any new tree appearing out of nowhere would have instantly drawn attraction and fire. The fake tree had to replace an existing tree. A dead tree, blasted by a bomb, located ideally near the trenches was chosen. The tree was then photographed and extensively studied, measurements taken and sketches made. A hollow, steel replica was then made in the workshop far behind the lines. At night, under the cover of darkness and artillery fire, the real tree was felled and the fake one installed in its place. The artillery fire also drowned out the noise of the work. The tree's base was sunk into the ground, and its entrance was concealed. If a trench was spotted leading up to the tree in aerial photographs it would be a giveaway. A soldier would enter the observation post from the base and climb up a ladder bolted to the interior of the steel tube. Near the top, perched on a seat, the soldier would keep watch of enemy positions through multiple viewing holes. For protection, the soldier used a periscope to view through the holes while remaining behind a solid metal wall. These observation posts were surprisingly successful, and none were detected by the enemy. Plan of dummy tree observation post. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum An artist's sketch. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum Construction of dummy tree as observation post. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum A model of a sectioned observation post with an artillery observer. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum Erecting the First Camouflage Tree, 1916, by Solomon. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum A canvas and steel tree observation post. Near Souchez, 15 May 1918. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum Entrance to a canvas and steel tree observation post. Near Souchez, 15 May 1918. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum Two unidentified Australian officers examining a tree trunk which was used as an observation post at German House. Photo credit: Australian War Memorial Phone plans are rather expensive, which is why people tend to keep their eyes out for special deals and discounts. If youre a T-Mobile customer, the company may have hands down one of the best deals of any carrier on the market. Select T-Mobile home internet customers are eligible for the T-Mobile Insider discount. The details of this discount seem too good to be true. However, there are a few caveats that you should be aware of. In any case, if you are eligible, you will be in for some major savings. Select T-Mobile home internet users can get the incredible Insider discount If you are curious about the Insider discount, it sounds like something out of a dream. T-Mobile employees get this discount, and it knocks 20% off of every voice line they get permanently. This also applies to new voice lines that they add down the line. Additionally, this discount is stackable with other T-Mobile promotions. Thats one heck of a deal! The company is offering this to customers as well. According to a new report, T-Mobile is now offering this discount to people on its Internet-only plans. This means that people who already have a phone line are not eligible for this discount. That seems like a pretty odd choice to make, but it seems more like a ploy to get people onto T-Mobiles phone lines. There are many individuals who prefer to have mobile service from other carriers while keeping T-Mobile for internet. Well, a sweet 20% discount on all voice lines could entice those home internet users to add on T-Mobile lines. Thats not the only caveat, as you will need to have the Experience More or Experience Beyond plan to capitalize on the Insider discount. The Experience More plan starts at $85/month and runs to $170/month. The Experience Beyond plan starts at $100/month and runs to $215/month. Those are the more expensive internet plans that T-Mobile offers, so people using the cheaper Essentials plan are out of luck. Lastly, theres no telling how many people will get the Insider discount; its not something that you can sign up for on the website. Rather, T-Mobile will send you an email if you are eligible. You will then sign up from there. Dont you hate scrolling through hundreds of reviews just to see if that product youre searching for on Amazon is worth the money? Well, why not sit through a mini-podcast episode talking about that product? Sure, that sounds outlandish, but it just might be a thing. Amazon just unveiled its new AI shopping experts. This feature is basically like Audio Overviews for Amazon. We have to give props to Google for pioneering this potential new AI trend. Audio Overviews is a feature that originated in Googles NotebookLM platform. This takes the information that you have in your notebook and converts it into an extremely realistic-sounding podcast episode with two hosts. It was one of the most exciting features announced during last years Google I/O. Users can try this feature out now by going to the NotebookLM website or downloading the new NotebookLM app. Amazon unveiled its AI shopping experts Amazons AI endeavors have been lukewarm to say the least. So, a feature as ambitious as this seems to be right out of left field. Right now, a limited selection of US-based users will be able to try out this feature on the Amazon app. If you have this feature, you will see a Hear the highlights button appear on certain product pages. A good example is this Ninja Blender. Tapping on that button will bring up a little audio player, and your personalized micro podcast will begin. Just like Googles Audio Overviews, Amazons tool will generate a short discussion between two hosts. The discussion will be around two minutes on average and will focus on the product youre viewing. The hosts will talk about the features, the customer reviews, and who the product is for. Amazon will use information from reviews and the web to inform users about the product. How they work The dynamic of Amazons offering differs from Googles in a pretty significant way. Think of Googles Audio Overviews as a podcast equally hosted by two people. So, each episode, youll hear those two peoples voices. On the other hand, even though Amazons episodes will involve two people, its better to think of it as a podcast hosted by one person who has an additional guest each episode. Each episode will begin with one person who reminds the user that they are the AI-generated host. A few seconds later, the host introduces their guest. Depending on the type of product being viewed, the guest will actually be a different person. For example, the guest for the blender linked above is a culinary expert named Sophia. However, if you hear an episode for a skin care product, the guest will be a skin care expert named Emma. The audio expert is named Max. This approach might make Amazons AI shopping experts more appealing. Its because the podcast is introducing the guests as experts in their fields, so it will feel like youre getting advice from an expert. As for the actual quality of the voices, its a pretty mixed bag. While the voices do sound realistic to a degree, they are still a far cry away from what we hear with Google and OpenAI. Honestly, the voices sound pretty dry and lifeless. Most of the time, it sounds like people are reading from a script rather than having an open discussion about the product. However, we have to give Amazon credit for emulating the host popping the mic whenever they pronounce words with the letter P. Is this necessary? The main question here is whether or not people would rather sit and listen to a podcast episode about a product. Much of the time, people comb through the page and glance at the reviews to gather information about a product. So, were not sure if people would be willing to sit for several minutes listening about an item just to learn about it. On the other hand, this may not apply to everyone. There are people who absorb information much more easily by listening than by reading. Having all the information boiled down to a short two-minute-long podcast episode might make it easier for certain people to fully understand their product. The episodes pull information from several sources, and they talk about the most notable features. So, this could actually be a make-or-break feature for some people. If anything, this could be a short-lived gimmick that charts the path for more useful features to come in the future. Theres still the problem with fake reviews As mentioned before, Amazon will pull information from reviews to help generate the podcast. However, Amazon has a massive issue with fake reviews being plastered on the site. Companies that deliver poor and low-quality devices often flood their products with high reviews to boost them through the rankings. While Amazon does take steps to reduce this, fake reviews still run rampant. Its very possible that the Amazon AI shopping experts can draw from these fake reviews and artificially boost the product. If that happens, then that will damage this features reputation. Only time will tell if that happens. Every dog deserves a home a real home. One where they have loving pawrents to care for them day in and day out. Eight-year-old Sydney was one of the lucky dogs who did have a family. Until the worst happened, the dog was surrendered and now is living out her days in a shelter in West Cornwall, Connecticut. It's so sad! For seven long years, Sydney was taken care of. She was a happy girl in a happy home. Now the unthinkable has happened and the people at the shelter are hoping someone will see Sydneys story and give her a new start. The Pit Bulls story has taken an unexpected turn for the worse and now she needs us to make it better. In the video shared by the shelter, it shows Sydney a full 486 days after she arrived at their door. Thats over a year of time spent in the temporary home with no end in sight. The Pittie has the sweetest face and really does look like shed make a lovely pet. All she needs is the right person to step up and love her and that person could be you. Dont let another day go by for Sydney. Lets make today her last day without a permanent home. Related: Shelter Pit Bull's Transformation After Being Shown a Little Love Is Heartwarming Commenters really wanted Sydney to get the home she deserved. Sweet baby angel. My heart breaks for you. I cant imagine ever giving up my fur babies. Sending you so much love, from my rescue and I in Wisconsin, wrote one woman. What a beautiful baby, hope someone adopts her ASAP, chimed in someone else. Wow, she is gorgeous. This is heartbreaking, added another person. While another commenter asked the million dollar question: How can someone just give up their animals after that long? Omg. It seems unthinkable to us too! If youre interested in Sydney, you can find more information about adoption at The Little Guild website. 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. 8-Year-Old Pit Bull Surrendered After Spending 'Whole Life' in a Home Is Heartbreaking first appeared on PetHelpful on May 23, 2025 Internet users in China cannot access most western news websites or social media platforms, including services provided by Google, Wikipedia and Meta. Photograph: DCPhoto/Alamy Chinas authorities appear to have implemented an enhanced version of the countrys internet censorship regime in the central province of Henan, subjecting tens of millions of residents to even stricter controls on access to information than people in the rest of the country. A research paper published this month by Great Firewall Report, an internet censorship monitoring platform, found that internet users in Henan, one of Chinas most populous provinces, were, on average, denied access to five times more websites than a typical Chinese internet user between November 2023 and March 2025. Our work documents an alarming sign of regional censorship emerging in China, said the researchers, who include authors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Stanford University. China has the worlds most sophisticated and extensive internet censorship regime. Internet users cannot access most western news websites or social media platforms, including services provided by Google, Wikipedia and Meta. Within what has been dubbed the great firewall, online content is monitored and censored by a mixture of government authorities and private companies complying with laws that require them to delete any content considered sensitive. That includes any information about historical or current events that goes against the Chinese Communist partys official narrative. The researchers began looking into the topic after internet users in Henan reported that websites accessible in other parts of China were inaccessible in their province. They found that millions of domains that were not blocked by Chinas centralised firewall were at some point inaccessible in Henan. By buying servers from internet cloud providers, the authors tested the flow of internet traffic from locations within Henan. They tested the internets top 1m domains daily between November 2023 and March 2025, with a gap of several months in 2024. The results showed that the Henan firewall blocked nearly 4.2 million domains at some point during the research period, over five times more than the roughly 741,500 domains blocked by Chinas national firewall. The domains that were specifically blocked in Henan were mainly from business-related websites. There have been several finance-related protests in Henan in recent years, which the researchers speculated could be the reason for the additional controls on access to information about the economy being controlled. In 2022, thousands of people in Henan took part in several demonstrations after they were blocked from withdrawing cash from their bank accounts. The crisis escalated when protesters reported that their mobile health codes, part of the pandemic control measures in place at the time, had turned red, preventing them from travelling or entering buildings. Five officials were later punished for abusing the health code system to quell the protests. Other parts of China have also been subjected to enhanced internet controls. In July 2009, following deadly ethnic riots, the Chinese government imposed an internet blackout in Xinjiang, a region in western China home to the Uyghur minority, that lasted 10 months. Since then, the use of the internet in Xinjiang has been much more tightly monitored than in the rest of the country. Online activities in Tibet are also strictly controlled. The emergence of a regional censorship regime in Henan is unusual because it is not a region of China that is normally considered especially restive by the Chinese authorities. The researchers could not determine if the enhanced controls were imposed by the local authorities in Henan or the central government in Beijing. Rapid advances in Chinas artificial intelligence companies are a boon to both the censors and those who wish to evade them. Chinas Ministry of Public Security (MPS) recently unveiled new surveillance tools that can monitor people who use virtual private networks, software that allows people to circumvent the internet firewall. The MPSs research institute also showcased a tool that it claimed could monitor accounts on Telegram, a messaging app. The tool has already collected more than 30bn messages, the institute claimed. Mingshi Wu, the lead author of the Henan study, who uses a pseudonym to protect their identity, said: On the one hand, AI could be leveraged to create more sophisticated, adaptive, and efficient censorship and surveillance tools. On the other hand, AI also enables new opportunities for those seeking to understand and circumvent censorship. For example, AI can assist in developing more agile testing tools for detecting censorship. The Henan Cyberspace Affairs Commission could not be reached for comment. Additional research by Lillian Yang Charlotte May Lee has denied the accusations A British woman has been arrested in Sri Lanka on suspicion of smuggling 46 kilograms of a deadly new synthetic drug into Sri Lanka. Charlotte May Lee, 21, was detained after allegedly carrying suitcases packed full of kush through Colombos Bandaranaike airport earlier this month. Officials said the discovery was the airports largest ever seizure of the drug, which is most commonly used in west Africa and reportedly made with human bones. The stash has a reported street value of 1.5 million. Ms Lee, a former flight attendant from south London, has denied the accusations and claimed that the drugs were planted there without her knowledge. She could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty. Kush, a synthetic form of cannabis, was found in two large suitcases belonging to Charlotte May Lee - Sri Lanka Police Her lawyers said she is being held in a prison in the city of Negombo, north of the capital, where she said she was facing hard conditions and sleeping on a concrete floor. A legal representative told the BBC that his team was visiting her daily in the prison to ensure her wellbeing and offer support. She is reportedly in contact with her family. Ms Lee had been in Bangkok and travelled to Sri Lanka because her visa was due to expire. She claimed that she packed her bag the night before her flight and that someone must have planted it [the drugs] then. She told the MailOnline I know who did it, but did not elaborate. She added that she did not check her luggage before boarding the flight to Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. She said: I had never seen them [the drugs] before. I didnt expect it all when they pulled me over at the airport. I thought it was going to be filled with all my stuff. Ms Lee could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty - Sri Lanka Police A senior customs officer in Sri Lanka told the BBC that there had been a large increase in drugs being smuggled into Sri Lanka via Bangkok recently, which they said was a real nuisance. The officer added: Another passenger who had left Bangkok airport, almost at the same time, was arrested in another country. We arrested this lady [Ms Lee] based on profiling. Kush, a relatively new synthetic narcotic, is most commonly used in west Africa and is estimated to kill around a dozen people a week in Sierra Leone. The drug, typically consumed by men between the ages of 18 to 25, causes individuals to fall asleep while walking, collapse unexpectedly, hit their heads on hard surfaces and wander into moving traffic. State of emergency declared It has been reported that one of the drugs many ingredients is human bones and that security has been tightened in graveyards in Sierra Leone to stop people digging up skeletons. The president declared a state of emergency over abuse of the substance in 2024. Groups of mostly young men sitting on street corners with limbs swollen by kush abuse is a common sight in the former British colony. Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leones president, said the drug posed an existential crisis and called it a death trap. It is thought that Ms Lee left Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi airport days after the departure of another British woman from the same airport who was recently detained on drug charges in Georgia. Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham, County Durham, allegedly smuggled 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish into the Caucasus country. Investigations are under way as to where the narcotics, found in her travel bag, came from. Ms Culley could face up to 20 years in prison or a life sentence if found guilty. Nigel Farage will use the speech to position himself as a viable choice for 10 Downing Street - Stuart Mitchell Nigel Farage will this week outflank Sir Keir Starmer by committing to scrapping the two-child benefit cap and fully reinstating the winter fuel payment. The Reform leader will appeal to Left-leaning voters in a challenge to Sir Keir in a speech launching his biggest attack yet on the Prime Minister. His intervention is likely to spark a fresh wave of demands from Labour rebels for Downing Street to speed up planned policy shifts on both fronts. Sir Keir is open to scrapping the two-child benefit cap but Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, is understood to be resisting an immediate announcement until she can set out how it would be funded. Removing the cap entirely, combined with reinstating winter fuel payments for some pensioners as announced last week, would cost the Treasury as much as 5 billion, making tax rises more likely. No 10 is reportedly considering a plan to reinstate the payment to all pensioners then recoup it from the richest through their tax returns. Mr Farage will use his first address since Reforms local elections triumph to warn the Prime Minister that traditional Labour voters are turning to his party. He is expected to say: Starmer is one of the most unpatriotic prime ministers in our history and this past week has been evidence of that. The Prime Minister is out of touch with working people, he doesnt understand what they want and how they feel about the big issues facing Britain. Its going to be these very same working people that will vote Reform at the next election and kick Labour out of government. The Reform leader will commit to ending the two-child cap, which was introduced by the Conservatives in 2017 to cut the benefits bill. A Reform source said: Were against the two-child cap and wed go further on winter fuel by bringing the payment back for everyone. Thats already outflanking Labour. Zia Yusuf, Reforms chairman, has said the party would pay for policies like the reinstatement of the winter fuel payment by cutting the foreign aid budget, closing asylum hotels and ending net zero subsidies. The two child-benefit cap blocks parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for more than two children and has been blamed for driving a rise in poverty. Mr Farage has previously spoken about how both the welfare and taxation systems should be used to encourage families to have more children. Sir Keir is under growing pressure to abolish the two-child benefit cap to appease as many as 150 Labour rebels who are threatening to vote down separate cuts to disability benefits. He backs ending the limit, but is said to be facing pushback from Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff, and Ms Reeves, who are wary of the 3.5 billion cost. The two-child benefit cap will now be either watered down or abolished, it is understood, but an announcement on the final course of action has been delayed until the autumn budget. That will give the Chancellor enough time to work out how the change will be paid for, with a widespread expectation that she will have to raise taxes. But the delay has angered some Labour MPs, who have demanded No 10 take action now. Dame Meg Hillier, the Labour chairman of the Commons treasury committee, said lifting the cap was the only way well lift children out of poverty in this Parliament. Sir Keir placated some rebels earlier this week by announcing that he would perform a partial about-turn on the winter fuel allowance. The Prime Minister said he would change the rules so that more pensioners would qualify after the policy was blamed for Labours local elections defeat. But he will now come under pressure to match Mr Farages pledge to fully reinstate the payment to all pensioners, at a cost of about 1.4 billion a year. Reform on course to win next election In his speech, Mr Farage is set to launch a wide-ranging attack on Sir Keir covering immigration, the Chagos Islands deal and his EU reset. He is expected to say: Immigration is still at a historical high and Labour dont have the want or political will to do what needs to be done to bring it down to net zero, which is what the majority of the British public want. He will be flanked by Reforms new council leaders, mayors and its latest MP, Sarah Pochin, who won her Runcorn seat in a by-election victory over Labour. The speech is designed to send a message that the party is on course to win the next election and that backing it is not a wasted vote. Mr Farages previous parties, the UK Independence Party and the Brexit Party, failed to make the transition from protest votes to frontrunners in general elections. Reform officials are confident that the local elections, when the party took control of 10 councils, represented a coming of age moment where voters viewed it as a realistic party of government. The party has led in the national opinion polls since the middle of April and was seven points ahead of Labour in the most recent YouGov survey. Sir Keir has been seen to be tacking to the Right, particularly on immigration, to try to see off Reforms threat, with Ms Pochin saying that Labour was sounding more like Reform than Reform are. Gabriella Garatti and Roberto Cremona take their roles as professional umarell very seriously. Photograph: Valeria Pinoia Among his circle of friends, Roberto Cremona says there are one or two umarell a word coined to describe retired Italian men who spend their time peering through the mesh fencing of construction works, casting judgment and offering up unsolicited advice. When we meet for coffee, they often say: Did you see that construction site over there? Theyre doing this or that wrong, we could do a better job. These characters are everywhere, Cremona adds. The term umarell was created by the Italian writer Danilo Masotti in 2005 and originates from umarel, a dialect word from his native city of Bologna meaning little guy. As scenes of the busybody pensioners, who are especially passionate about roadworks, became more noticeable across Italy, the word took on a life of its own, even featuring in a Burger King advert in 2016 in response to incessant questions from Milans umarell about when construction of the companys new premises would be complete. Then, in 2021, the word entered the Italian dictionary. The umarell typically operate in packs, usually after theyve had breakfast together at a bar. Their stereotypical look is an anorak and cap, and they tend to pry on construction works with their hands clasped behind their backs. A British equivalent might be akin to Mr You dont want to do it like that!, a comedy character invented by the comedian Harry Enfield in the 1990s. Cremona, however, distanced himself from the true umarell crowd in Villasanta, a town close to Monza in northern Italys Lombardy region, after its mayor, Lorenzo Galli, decided to make use of local pensioners time and curiosity by recruiting them to monitor public works and report any imperfections. Cremona, along with seven of his peers, including one woman, Gabriella Garatti, readily applied for the volunteer role, and got the job, which he says requires the ability to resolve issues and is not about offering unwanted advice. Cremona, 69, said he felt a calling to help maintain the resources-strapped town. Each recruit has their own patch of the town to keep watch over, working in shifts of two to three hours to identify problems that need fixing, whether it be a pothole or a faulty street lamp, and to inspect progress in roadworks or make sure the cutting of grass is up to scratch. They are, in essence, professional umarell. But Galli does not define it that way. A typical umarell is a retired gentleman who in the morning has little to do and so visits the construction sites, maybe because they are nostalgic for when they worked, the mayor said. In fact, the first rule of the job is that they must not be a nuisance for the bonafide construction workers. Galli was pleased because the contingent came with expertise, technical skills and a deep knowledge of Villasanta, a community of 14,000 that prides itself on being full of people keen to get involved. Cremona, for example, is a former councillor while Garatti used to be a deputy mayor. They can be annoying. Especially when they fixate on a problem that doesnt exist On one of her first shifts, Garatti, who usually travels around by bike, noted potholes created by the sub-par laying of fibre-optic cables and a junction completely bereft of signage. This could have been dangerous, she said. On a drive around Villasanta, they pointed out unkempt hedges and wonky pavements before stopping off to check on a public lawn that was being mown. They chatted for a few minutes with Fabrizio, the professional grass-cutter, and were satisfied that he was adhering to the required grass-cutting standards. Fabrizio said he was happy to have the volunteers around to keep track on things, while hopefully keeping the actual umarell at bay. They can be annoying, he said. Especially when they fixate on a problem that doesnt exist. Cremona, Garatti and their six colleagues take their role very seriously, and they are especially enthusiastic about recently being tasked with developing the towns car-parking facilities. However, their biggest challenge is ensuring the weekly rota is maintained due to the team having to balance other commitments, whether it be attending a medical appointment or looking after grandchildren. Take Sergio, for example, who recently had to skip a shift so he could venture across the border to Switzerland to meet his new grandchild. But we always work it out between ourselves and make there is someone to cover, said Garatti. Related: Boosting Italys birthrate has become a patriotic cause for the far right. But its an idea thats doomed | Tobias Jones The initiative in Villasanta is fairly unique in Italy, although construction firms in other places, for example Pescara in Abruzzo, have accommodated their umarell by placing see-through panels in site hoardings to enable the observers to peek through. Asked what the most satisfying thing about the role was, Garatti replied: Contributing to maintaining decorum in Villasanta and its rewarding when people compliment the work. Cremona, meanwhile, feels satisfied when issues get resolved. But above all, you feel useful to society and to yourself youre doing something valuable with your time instead of sitting in front of the TV or complaining, as the real umarell do. The Lady T boat is now forbidden to leave the French port until further notice - STEVE FINN France has been accused of double standards after seizing a British fishing boat in the English Channel. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was being held in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Saturday and now risks being confiscated. The vessel was intercepted by the Pluvier, a French navy ship, on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence. A French legal source said the catamarans skipper could face a year in prison and a 75,000 (63,000) fine for non-authorised fishing in French waters by a non-EU boat. He was likely to be summoned to court in northern France and would also face potential administrative penalties such as the seizure of his boat under Frances rural and maritime fisheries code. The incident comes days after Sir Keir Starmer was criticised over his reset deal with Brussels, under which he granted EU fishermen access to British waters for a further 12 years. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told The Telegraph: This shows shameful double standards. This year alone, the French have failed to stop 13,000 illegal immigrants crossing the channel taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters. Yet when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act. If the French can now intercept boats then they should start stopping the boats with illegal immigrants as international law obliges them to do. The Belgians can do it, and the French should too. Weve all had enough of the French waving illegal immigrants through into UK waters. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said its all one way traffic. The French can fish up to our six mile line for 12 more years and we have no force of law over their actions, he said. But if one British boat is in a contested area there is hell to pay. I doubt our Government even understands the harm that has been inflicted on our fishermen. European trawlers will maintain unfettered access to the UKs coastal waters until 2038 under Sir Keirs deal, which was branded a betrayal of Brexit by critics. A previous agreement, which was reached under Boris Johnson, saw the UK regain 25 per cent of EU fishing quotas, but this was set to run out next year. The Lady T investigation is being led by Philippe Sabatier, the Boulogne deputy prosecutor. The Lady T fishing boat has been forbidden to leave the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer until further notice Mr Sabatier confirmed that a possible seizure of the boat would be considered, and that some crew members had already been interviewed by French officials. A spokesman for Frances maritime prefecture said: On Thursday May 22, the French navys public service patrol vessel, the Pluvier, conducted a fishing inspection in the French exclusive economic zone, off the Somme Bay. During this operation, which was part of the states maritime enforcement, a British fishing vessel was inspected by sailors from the navy patrol vessel while fishing without a licence in French waters. As the offence was proved, the fishing vessel was diverted during the night of May 23 to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, following the instructions of the delegate for the sea and coastline, acting on behalf of the regional prefect, who oversees the fisheries police, for the purpose of initiating prosecution. The spokesman added: This operation demonstrates the vigilance of state services in protecting fisheries resources and their determination to enforce regulations. It sends a clear signal to those who might be tempted to fish illegally in French waters. A Government spokesperson said: We are aware that on 22 May a UK registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities. We are supporting a British national and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff stand ready to support British Nationals overseas 24/7. As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time. On Saturday, the Lady T was moored behind the Bassin Loubet fish market in Boulogne. The ships skipper, who refused to give his name, said: I have nothing to say to you, I wont answer. The 10m boat is now forbidden to leave the port until further notice. It comes after another British-flagged vessel was intercepted and detained in French waters last Saturday less than 48 hours before the Government was accused of surrendering to the EU on fishing rights. The Francesca TO 80, registered in Truro, Cornwall, was spotted 30 nautical miles off the island of Batz, off Roscoff, Brittany. It was escorted to the port of Brest after inspectors suspected the crew of unlicensed fishing in French waters. In a statement to The Telegraph, the owner of the Lady T said they did not wish to comment at this time. A government spokesman said: We are aware that on May 22 a UK-registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities. We are supporting a British national and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff are ready to support British nationals overseas 24/7. As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time. Members of the al-Qassam brigades hand over Israeli hostages in January. Hamas employees have reportedly not received payment since February - Anadolu/Getty+ Hamas has not paid its fighters for three months due to Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid preventing the group seizing and selling supplies, according to reports. Members of the al-Qassam brigades, Hamas military wing, have not received any pay since around February, a source from within the terror group told the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Families of terrorists killed or captured during fighting with Israel are also reported to have not received their usual remuneration. Hamass civil workers were said to have received a reduced salary equivalent of $250 four months ago, which sparked resentment among employees. It is not clear if they have been paid since. Budgets allocated towards ministries and government agencies were also reported to have been put on hold around the same time. Israel cut off supplies of humanitarian aid to Gaza in March, some of which Hamas had reportedly been seizing and selling to raise money. Around 100 aid lorries were allowed to reenter the strip on Friday, but this was much reduced from the around 600 a day that were crossing the border before March. Moumen Al-Natour, a Palestinian lawyer from the Al-Shati camp in central Gaza, told the Wall Street Journal last month that the cash-strapped terror group had a big crisis on its hands. They were mainly dependent on humanitarian aid sold in black markets for cash, he explained. The renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza has also reportedly targeted Hamas officials involved in distributing cash. Hamas has never experienced such conditions before, whether during the current war or in previous periods and there is a clear administrative vacuum, Asharq Al-Awsat wrote. On Monday Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney called on Israel to lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid and stop its military operations in Gaza, a statement that was strongly condemned by the Israeli government. Hundreds of Palestinians were seen in footage posted to social media this week calling for an end to the war and the removal of the group, which has been in power in Gaza for nearly two decades. The protests appear to have been caused by claims from a senior Hamas official that the war with Israel was eternal, and that Palestinians would produce dozens more babies for each martyr. Out! Out! Out! All of Hamas, out! the protesters chanted, despite the danger of speaking out against the terror group in the war-torn enclave. In March, a 22-year-old man was tortured to death by armed gunmen after taking part in anti-Hamas demonstrations. Videos from Khan Younis show young men criticising Hamas for selling their blood for a dollar To those with Hamas, be aware the people of Gaza will dig your grave. Gaza-based journalists reportedly received threats after the protests, warning them not to publish any negative news that could affect the morale of the people. Hamas loses influence One man, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC: The people do not care any more about Hamass attempts to suppress their voice because they are literally dying from hunger, evacuation, and the bombings. Hamas is also reported to have lost much of its influence in the Occupied West Bank, with underfunded terror cells not carrying out attacks on Israeli settlers or troops due to fear of military raids. Israel continued its new Gaza offensive on Saturday, with the strips Hamas-run civil defence agency saying at least 15 people were killed by Israeli strikes. Suddenly, a missile from an F-16 destroyed the entire house, and all of them were civilians my sister, her husband and their children, said Wissam Al-Madhoun outside Khan Youniss Nasser Hospital, where tearful mourners gathered around white-shrouded bodies. We found them lying in the street. What did this child do to Netanyahu? he added. The Israeli military said it was unable to comment on individual strikes without their precise geographical coordinates. In a statement, the military said that over the past day the air force had struck more than 100 targets across the territory, including members of terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip, military structures, underground routes and additional terrorist infrastructure. Sir Keir Starmer What a dreadful week. For the first time, I find myself wondering whether there will be anything left to salvage. I dont mean Keir Starmer, whose approval ratings have already collapsed irremediably. No, I mean for Britain. Everything that elevated us above the run of nations is being lost: our competitiveness, our sovereignty, our credit-worthiness, our prestige. We are diminished morally, financially and, after the Chagos surrender, physically. At the start of the week, a different future looked possible. Labour had put the Chagos deal on hold, reluctant to hand billions of pounds to a foreign government while cutting benefits at home. There was talk of how, under the influence of his no-nonsense enforcers, Pat McFadden and Morgan McSweeney, Starmer was becoming more sensitive to voters. Just as the foreign aid budget had been cut to increase defence spending, so we were told to expect hard-edged policies on immigration, net zero and welfare. But, when the moment came, Labour returned to its comfort zone. Instead of cancelling the payments to Mauritius, it cancelled its sole attempt to trim the benefits bill, namely the removal of the winter fuel allowance from all but the poorest pensioners. At that moment, any hopes of a more fiscally responsible Labour Government dissolved. All those briefings to the effect that Labour would act where the Tories lacked public trust cracking down on bogus sicknotes, ending the states monolithic control of healthcare were exposed as wishful thinking. When push came to shove, Labour would not challenge the prejudices of its core constituency. That core constituency is no longer the working class. Rather, it is what we might call the perking class, made up of those who depend directly or indirectly on state handouts: quangocrats, BBC employees, civil servants, human rights lawyers, white-collar shop stewards. A subset of the perking class is the shirking class: people who will vote against any party that makes it tougher to get signed off work. If Labour could not slow, even slightly, the ballooning of the state pensions bill, we can forget about Liz Kendalls benefits cuts. The pensioners who would have lost their winter fuel payments were largely Tories. The working-age people who watch YouTube videos on how to qualify for invalidity payments are Labour. Here was a vision of the next four years: a Labour Government prepared to spill the cash in every direction while doing nothing to generate more wealth. Mauritius was paid to take over territory that it had already been paid for renouncing. The EU was paid for graciously taking over our food standards just in time for its trade war with the US, our chief export destination. Meanwhile, the welfare bill continued to grow. We are heading for national penury. Labour is not just expanding the state, giving pay rises to its public-sector friends while making their work-from-home arrangements permanent. It is simultaneously driving taxpayers to less punitive jurisdictions. Ministers seem not to understand why there might be a problem with pushing out a millionaire every 45 minutes. Leftist commentators positively cheered when it was reported that Britain had suffered the largest fall in the number of billionaires since records began. But who do they imagine is picking up the departing plutocrats share of the tax bill? In any case, it is not just plutocrats. The real story, masked by our net immigration figures, is that we are also losing young entrepreneurs at every level. Never mind hedgies and property moguls. Beauticians, fitness instructors, IT consultants and estate agents are emigrating in pursuit of higher salaries, lower taxes and better weather. Many nurses in the UAEs top hospitals come from Scotland, as do a lot of the doctors. Who can blame them? Their colleagues in the UK are gearing up for yet another strike because what the Government manages to squeeze from the private sector is never enough. We train medical students expensively only to watch them cross the seas for better pay and conditions in practice, if not in theory, ending their student loan repayments. Their places are taken by unskilled immigrants, most of whom become a net drain on the Exchequer. So the vicious cycle continues: higher tax rates, lower revenues, worse public services and a deterioration of the workforce. What might break the cycle? The first challenge is to forge a credible opposition. I dont intend to repeat all my arguments for a Tory/Reform entente. I have been periodically making that case in these pages since last year, but few in either party want to hear it. I will simply observe that, if I were to anonymise the reactions of the two parties to the EU and Chagos deals this week, you would not be able to tell which was which. Their divisions are rooted in past grudges, not present policy. Still, lets suppose that the two Right-of-centre parties managed to form a parliamentary majority. Do they have what it takes to nudge us out of our nosedive? To get back to the growth that we enjoyed before the massive expansion of the state under Gordon Brown, we need to cut government spending by a third. Nothing in either the Conservative or Reform programmes suggests that they are prepared for the radical solutions that the moment demands. Neither party backed Labours mild reduction in pensioner benefits. Both theoretically favour smaller government; both oppose specific cuts. To be fair, they are accurately representing their voters. When the condition is as serious as ours, and the treatment so unpleasant, sufferers will often cast around for quack alternatives. Angela Rayner pretends we can solve our problems through even higher taxes taxes of the most anti-competitive sort, falling mainly on savers. Reform and the Tories pretend that we can get the savings we need from foreign aid or efficiency drives or scrapping DEI programmes. The truth is that we need to abolish entire departments, halve the state payroll and remove the Government from swathes of public life. We need to dismantle the Blairite juridical state that prevents elected governments from implementing their promises. We need to repeal the laws on which that state rests the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act, the Climate Change Act and the quangos they spawned. We need to let ministers appoint their own senior officials, and to allow the Lord Chancellor to remove activist judges. We need to overhaul the immigration system, automatically removing illegal entrants and letting them appeal against that decision only afterwards and from overseas. We need to replace the NHS with Singapore-style individual healthcare accounts. Instead of penalising our private schools, we should be replicating their success in the state sector by introducing school vouchers. We should scrap the EU-era tariffs and regulations that, five years on, still clog up our books. We should replace the ECHR with a Bill of Rights that would restrict itself to guaranteeing our basic liberties: free speech, free association, free contract, free worship and equality before the law: no more protected characteristics. Simply to list these things is to see how far any party or, indeed, public opinion, is from them. Even before 2020, Britain was in an authoritarian mood. Since the dreadful lockdowns, the state has become, for many, a first rather than a last resort. An ugly phrase kept coming into my head this week: De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, or On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain. It was the name of a tract by a fifth- or sixth-century Welsh monk, Gildas, who chronicled the destruction of his country by the invading Anglo-Saxons. To Gildas, the barbarians were simply an instrument of divine justice. It was the sinful Britons who had brought the disaster on themselves. Is there time to turn aside? Are we ready to vote for candidates who offer hard truths rather than sweet delusions? Are we prepared to accept that public spending is limited by the laws of scarcity, not the meanness of politicians? Perhaps. Or perhaps, like the Britons of Gildass time, we have already left it too late. Liz Lloyd, Sir Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner Morgan McSweeney may have gained unwanted fame in Westminster as Sir Keir Starmers ruthless and wily adviser, but he is not the only behind-the-scenes figure ruffling feathers. After conversations with well-placed sources, The Telegraph has uncovered government tensions over the influence of a new top adviser: Liz Lloyd, Sir Tony Blairs former fixer, who has returned to the top of the Government after nearly two decades to help Sir Keir Starmer turn Labours fortunes around. Though Ms Lloyd has largely operated behind the scenes, avoiding the media attention of her influential colleague Mr McSweeney, she has been making waves since she was appointed by Sir Keir in January as his head of policy delivery, a drab title that in fact carries considerable influence. She has been busy upsetting the Labour Left and bringing the hard-nosed politics of Mr Blairs premiership to this Government. Liz Lloyd joins Morgan McSweeney in Sir Keir Starmers team of behind-the-scenes figures ruffling feathers in Labour - Thomas Krych/Story Picture Agency A former girlfriend of Ed Miliband in the 1990s during the heady days of New Labour, she rose through the ranks of Sir Tonys No 10 to become his deputy chief of staff by the time he left office in 2007. With Sir Tonys departure, Ms Lloyd also largely left front-line politics behind and moved into the private sector, where she has worked in banking and investment advice. She was once described, in the early 2000s, as one of the Young Turks, an elite being groomed by Tony Blair to lead the country a decade from now. It took a little longer than a decade thanks to Labours 14-year hiatus in the political wilderness, but now Ms Lloyd is indeed operating at the highest levels of the Government. While other top advisers such as Mr McSweeney have been working in Labour politics for a number of years, Ms Lloyds return was a surprise to some. Power struggle One insider told The Telegraph: Liz Lloyd hasnt been in politics for a very long time. Shes been in commercial banking for a very long time. Politics has changed. Ms Lloyd has already ruffled feathers and sources speak of a power struggle in No 10 between Ms Lloyd and those with more progressive ideas. There is definitely a power struggle going on. There has been briefing between rivals and there were also, very suddenly, people asked to leave their jobs in No 10, said a Cabinet source. The Telegraph understands that she has already clashed with Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, along with other more progressive members of the Cabinet. The pair are said to have disagreements about Ms Phillipsons radical changes to education, known as the Childrens Wellbeing and Schools Bill, with Ms Lloyd asking the reforming minister to explain why the changes to academies and free schools were necessary. It is understood that Ms Lloyd has already clashed with Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images As a Blair acolyte, Ms Lloyd is understood to be passionately committed to the rollout of academies that Sir Tony and his reforming education ministers pioneered. Much of the work was carried on by the Conservative governments of the last 14 years, with Tories seeing education as their one great success story in government. In government, Sir Tony railed against the forces of conservatism in the educational establishment who resisted such changes. Now there is a feeling that Ms Phillipson has appeased those forces by reducing the autonomy of academies and free schools. A source familiar with Ms Lloyds thinking said she thinks Bridget must be doing something wrong because the unions havent turned against her. Another has even blamed Ms Lloyd for a recent spate of negative briefings against more Left-wing Cabinet ministers such as Ms Phillipson, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and even her former partner Mr Miliband. They claimed: Everything was fine before Liz arrived. She is where the briefing against progressive ministers is coming from. Then came a wave of dismissals in the inner sanctum of Downing Street. Nick Williams and Tom Webb, long-serving advisers to Sir Keir and both of a Left-ish hue, were asked to leave their jobs shortly after she took up her new post as their boss. Ms Lloyd was Sir Tonys deputy chief of staff by the time he left No 10 in 2007 - Carl de Souza/AFP No 10 has maintained that the advisers departed on good terms and were not let go because of their politics. However, one has already emerged as a Left-wing critic of the Government only a few months out of the job. Mr Williams, former special adviser to Sir Keir and ex-head of economic policy in the Labour party, penned an article declaring the bottom line is that taxes will have to go up. In it he criticised the Governments cautious approach as not credible and described the forthcoming autumn Budget as the last opportunity to make a meaningful change that the public has time to feel before the next election. Mr Williams also set out a range of tax-raising proposals that the Government should follow. The Blairite of Blairites Insiders have described Ms Lloyd as the Blairite of Blairites who is resistant to such blue-sky thinking. But her Blairite credentials are what made her attractive to Sir Keir. Downing Street has also played down talk of divisions at the top of the Government, with a No 10 source telling The Telegraph: Liz has a wealth of knowledge and experience, not least of driving policy delivery in the last Labour government, which is why the Prime Minister hired her. She is working closely with Bridget and other ministers to deliver on this Governments Plan for Change and national renewal. A spokesman for Bridget Phillipson said: This briefing is utter nonsense. The entire government, including Liz and the No 10 policy unit, is squarely behind our education reforms which will give young people the best start in life and ensure all children, whatever their background, can get on in life. Mr Williamss breaking of the ranks was soon followed by the publication in The Telegraph of a secret memo by Angela Rayner, sent to Rachel Reeves before the Spring Statement, setting out a similar set of proposals for tax rises. The memo has split opinion in the Government. One minister said: I hope the Government will be looking closely at those very interesting proposals. Previously faint lines of division within the Government are now becoming more defined. Live facial recognition involves matching faces caught on cameras against a police watchlist in real time. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Police believe live facial recognition cameras may become commonplace in England and Wales, according to internal documents, with the number of faces scanned having doubled to nearly 5m in the last year. A joint investigation by the Guardian and Liberty Investigates highlights the speed at which the technology is becoming a staple of British policing. Major funding is being allocated and hardware bought, while the British state is also looking to enable police forces to more easily access the full spread of its image stores, including passport and immigration databases, for retrospective facial recognition searches. Live facial recognition involves the matching of faces caught on surveillance camera footage against a police watchlist in real time, in what campaigners liken to the continual finger printing of members of the public as they go about their daily lives. Retrospective facial recognition software is used by the police to match images on databases with those caught on CCTV and other systems. According to one funding document drawn up by South Wales police as part of a proposal to put the West End of London or Cardiff rail station under live facial recognition cameras and released by the Metropolitan police under the Freedom of Information Act, it is believed the use of this technology could become commonplace in our city centres and transport hubs around England and Wales. The first fixed live facial recognition cameras will be fitted for a trial in Croydon, south London, later this summer. The expansion comes despite facial recognition failing to be referenced in any act of parliament. Campaigners claim the police have been allowed to self regulate their use of the technology. Officers have in the past used a setting that was subsequently shown to disproportionately misidentify black people. After a court of appeal judgment in 2020, which found that South Wales polices use of live facial recognition cameras had been unlawful, the College of Policing provided guidance that the threshold needs to be set with care to maximise the probability of returning true alerts while keeping the false alert rate to an acceptable level. There remains nothing in law to direct forces on the threshold or technology used. The policing minister, Diane Johnson, told parliament earlier this month that she recognised a need to consider whether a bespoke legislative framework governing the use of live facial recognition technology for law enforcement purposes is needed but the Home Office is yet to provide details. Facial recognition cameras were first trialled in London and south Wales from 2016 but the speed at which police forces are rolling out the technology has accelerated over the last 12 months. The investigation by the Guardian and Liberty found: Police forces scanned nearly 4.7m faces with live facial recognition cameras last year more than twice as many as in 2023. Live facial recognition vans were deployed at least 256 times in 2024, according to official deployment records, up from 63 the year before. A roving unit of 10 live facial recognition vans that can be sent anywhere in the country will be made available within days increasing national capacity. Eight police forces have deployed the technology. The Met has four vans. Police forces have considered fixed infrastructure creating a zone of safety by covering the West End of London with a network of live facial recognition cameras. Met officials said this remained a possibility. Forces almost doubled the number of retrospective facial recognition searches made last year using the police national database (PND) from 138,720 in 2023 to 252,798. The PND contains custody mug shots, millions of which have been found to be stored unlawfully of people who have never been charged with or convicted of an offence. More than 1,000 facial recognition searches using the UK passport database were carried out in the last two years, and officers are increasingly searching for matches on the Home Office immigration database, with requests up last year, to 110. Officials have concluded that using the passport database for facial recognition is not high risk and is not controversial, according to internal documents. The Home Office is now working with the police to establish a new national facial recognition system, known as strategic facial matcher. The platform will be capable of searching a range of databases including custody images and immigration records. Lindsey Chiswick, the director of intelligence at the Met and the National Police Chiefs Council lead on facial recognition, said surveys showed that four in five Londoners were in support of the police using innovative technology, including facial recognition cameras. This week, a registered sex offender, David Cheneler, 73, from Lewisham, was jailed for two years after he was caught alone with a six-year-old girl by a live facial recognition camera. He had previously served nine years for 21 offences against children. The Met arrested 587 people in 2024 with the assistance of the live facial recognition cameras of which 424 were charged with offences. Of those arrested, 58 were registered sex offenders in serious breach of their conditions and 38 have been charged. Chiswick said: Where theres limited amounts of money and theres fewer officers, but theres more demand, and we see criminals exploiting technology to a really grand scale weve got to do something different. Theres an opportunity out there. So policing needs to start operating a little bit differently. People talk about harnessing AI like its some crazy horse we want to saddle but we do need to harness the opportunities that technology and data can bring us. Chiswick said the Mets policy was to take really quite small steps and review them at every stage but that there would be a benefit in potentially some sort of framework or statutory guidance. The Met is deploying its facial recognition cameras at a setting that testing suggests avoids any statistical significance in terms of gender or ethnicity bias when it comes to cases of misidentification. Chiswick said: I dont want to use a biased algorithm in London. Theres no point on all counts. I think for government, theres a question, isnt there around artificial intelligence? And I think clearly the public sector is going to use, and want to use AI more and more. I think the questions around who then decides where algorithms are purchased from, what training data is used, what countries might this technology come from and then, when you use it, are you obliged to test it and if youre obliged to test it, are you then obliged to operate at a certain setting? Thats not really questions for law enforcement. A spokesperson for the Information Commissioners Office said: Police use of facial recognition technology can help keep our communities safe but its use must be fair and proportionate. We are working with police forces to ensure that the technology is effective, and peoples rights are protected. Our conversations with the Home Office on the use of the passport database are ongoing and form part of this work. The Home Office declined a request for comment. The Metropolitan Police dismissed complaints about pro-Palestinian protests glorifying the Oct 7 massacre as almost petty tit for tat, The Telegraph can reveal. A British-Israeli man told an officer that an activist with a megaphone was shouting praise for Hamas, the Islamist terror organisation behind the attack, during a demonstration last September. He captured the protester chanting I love the 7th of October and I like any organisation that starts with H on video. However, the officer claimed he had not heard the offensive comments and told him to calm yourself down at the rally in Swiss Cottage, north-west London. The British-Israeli man subsequently lodged a complaint with the Met over the dismissal of his concerns. But an official response from Scotland Yard defended the officers actions, saying: [The sergeant] said that these weekly protests at Swiss Cottage have become quite heated and there have been almost petty tit-for-tat allegations with absolutely no foundation from either side, in what seems to be an attempt to legitimise their own cause by attempting to get the police to do what they want, despite there being no evidence, or evidence to the contrary. The response added: This was almost bordering on making a false report and wasting police time, however, [the sergeant] said that he believes that the response he gave was proportionate and appropriate in the circumstances. They said that the pro-Palestine protester had subsequently been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and inviting support for a proscribed organisation, though he was not charged. The Telegraph revealed on Friday that another Jewish man at the same protest was charged with a public order offence after holding up a cartoon satirising the chief of the proscribed terror group Hezbollah. Police forces across the country are under increasing scrutiny over their apparent failure to confront anti-Semitism, in contrast to several examples of heavy-handed responses to people expressing lawful opinions. The British-Israeli who complained to the Met filmed a video in which the offensive pro-Hamas chants can be heard. In the footage, he can be heard asking: Did he say I love the 7th of October? Moments later, he tells an officer: He just glorified October 7th! He then called the demonstrators Hamas supporters, to which he said one responded by shouting Allahu Akbar on his megaphone. At this point, a protesters flagpole hit him on the face, triggering an outburst of expletives. In footage published by The Telegraph, the British-Israeli man is then approached by another officer. The man is heard telling the sergeant: You didnt hear what they were singing. You dont care what they are singing. They are singing about October the 7th. Lets not put spin on things When the officer suggests he had not heard, the man says: I said they were glorifying October 7th, which infuriated me to call them a Hamas supporter. And then what? They said Allahu Akbar! They confirmed they were Hamas supporters, Sir. The officer then argues back, insisting: No, so Allahu Akbar means God is great, to which the man replies: Yes, but when you do it after the Hamas mention, its this. But the officer repeats himself and adds: Lets not try and put a spin on things that just isnt there, okay? In its response to the written complaint, the Met said that the officer believed protests needed to be handled with a large dose of common sense and that he believed it was important not to get caught up with wild accusations of wrong doing from either side that are being twisted from the facts. It went on to say: This is clearly displayed at the end where [the counter-protester] is trying to make out that saying God is great (Allahu Akbar) is some sort of offence, which it clearly isnt. The British-Israeli, whose close friends and relatives lost loved ones on Oct 7, said the incident had left him unsure if the police are able to protect the Jewish community. He urged Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, to start enforcing the law. He said events police know they cannot police shouldnt be allowed. They are afraid to say no to the other side. Theyre afraid to not say yes. Theyre really afraid to arrest anyone, he added. The Met has been plagued by allegations of two-tier policing since allowing pro-Palestinian demonstrators to march through London in the wake of Oct 7, including in areas with high Jewish populations and near synagogues. A cartoon satirising the chief of proscribed terror group Hezbollah led to an arrest The protests, held near the home of Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely, have become weekly events since the Hamas attack on Israel. A Met spokesman said: The man who was filmed making the comments in Swiss Cottage on Sept 20 was arrested the following day. It would obviously have been preferable if he had been arrested at the time, but officers who were present say they did not hear the remarks. A complaint was submitted in relation to the actions of those officers. It has been considered by professional standards officers and no evidence of misconduct was found. The spokesman added: Public order policing generally is challenging. Officers are not expected to be experts in the nuances of every issue at every protest they are deployed to. They could be policing a protest on the conflict between Israel and Hamas one day and a protest on tensions in Kashmir the next. They are expected to do their best in challenging circumstances, not taking sides and ensuring that groups with opposing views can both protest peacefully, often in close proximity to each other. They wont get every decision right nor will they spot every offence as it happens. That would be an unrealistic expectation. There may be times when they need to prioritise the avoidance of disorder, over words being said by those involved. We are not solely reliant on officers immediate actions. We have a dedicated public order crime team who can take investigations forward, just as they did in this case, even if they come to light after events have concluded. The CPS is now urgently reviewing its decision not to charge the pro-Palestine activist following The Telegraphs report. An electric car burst into flames on a driveway in Hampshire - Solent News & Photo Agency Electric car fires have increased by 77 per cent over the past two years, new figures have revealed. There were 232 blazes attended by fire brigades last year, up from 131 three years ago, according to the data. Electric car fires are more dangerous than petrol or diesel car fires because they are extremely hard to extinguish. Whereas petrol and diesel fires can be smothered by water, foam or fireproof blankets, lithium-ion battery fires are self-sustaining meaning they continue to burn until the entire battery is consumed. Such fires are normally the result of thermal runaway, where batteries start to irreversibly overheat, usually owing to impact damage, over-charging or over-heating. Despite the risks, the Government has pressed on with its zero emission vehicle mandate, which will see a total ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars by the year 2030. Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, refused pleas by the motor industry earlier this year to push back the deadline. Earlier this month CCTV footage caught the moment an electric vehicle fire spread to a familys home in Hampshire after bursting into flames at around 5am. While the family managed to escape unhurt, domestic fires involving electric vehicles, electric bike or e-scooter batteries are highly risky. Credit: Solent News It comes as the number of electric vehicles on British roads jumped from 664,000 to more than 1.3 million in 2024. Adrian Simmonds, the practice leader for property risk solutions at QBE Insurance, which compiled the figures, said: Lithium-ion battery fires continue increasing at a worrying pace. These fires burn differently, they take longer to tackle, typically need 10 times more water to put out and are often more harmful to the surrounding environment. People need to understand the risks and how to deal with them. Raising awareness around safe charging, use and disposal of lithium-ion batteries is critical to keeping people and property safe. Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said damaged lithium-ion batteries were responsible for the majority of fires. A spokesman added: Fundamentally, electric vehicles are extremely safe, but the main danger occurs when the lithium-ion battery is damaged, which might happen if it is exposed to extreme heat or something penetrates the battery cell wall. It is not just cars affected by the rise of electricity-powered devices. Fires involving e-bikes and their lithium-ion batteries, which are similar to those fitted to electric vehicles, doubled over the same period, rising from 181 to 362. Lesley Rudd, the chief executive of the Electrical Safety First charity, said: Substandard e-bike batteries can cause ferocious fires if they fail, releasing toxic vapour into the home and decimating a room in minutes. While reputable manufacturers produce high-quality and safe devices, the market is being flooded with substandard versions of e-bike batteries that are destroying homes and putting people at risk. Richard Field, the London Fire Brigades deputy assistant commissioner for prevention and protection, said that e-bike fires have become one of Londons fastest-growing fire risks. Mr Field added: They have destroyed homes, and families have sadly lost loved ones in these fires. From our investigations, we know many of the fires weve attended have involved the battery or charger of second-hand e-bikes or e-scooters or the bike has been modified using parts bought online. A government spokesman said: There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that fires in EVs are more likely to occur than in petrol or diesel vehicles. EV fires make up a tiny minority of all vehicle fires, with all models going through rigorous fire and electrical safety testing before they are sold in the UK. Meanwhile, we take the risk of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries very seriously, including those linked to e-bikes and e-scooters. Thats why we are updating product safety law to keep the public safe, and cracking down on those trying to import unsafe products via our borders or ports. Councillors have pledged to make the LTN scheme in Baths Sydney Place area permanent A Liberal Democrat councils low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) may be against the law, campaigners have said. Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) council has been warned that it faces legal action if it presses on with an experimental LTN in Baths Sydney Place area. Councillors have pledged to make the scheme permanent, claiming it provides environmental and safety benefits. But after the High Court struck down a similar scheme in Lambeth earlier this month, Bath residents are now threatening legal action against the local authority. It comes after Nigel Farages Reform UK party pledged to axe LTNs in all of the councils it controls and to block new ones. An LTN is where streets are blocked off to traffic. Advocates of such schemes say they improve air quality and make road safer for pedestrians. The schemes can be hugely unpopular because they often drive up traffic congestion on neighbouring roads. Residents next to an LTN elsewhere in Bath measured a 700 per cent increase in traffic passing a nearby primary school. The United Sydney Unliveable Neighbourhoods Group (Unsung) has instructed a lawyer to write to the council, asking it to withdraw the LTN because it failed to listen to local objections. First installed under a so-called experimental traffic restriction order, the Sydney Place LTN was originally meant to be temporary while council officials assessed if it was worth keeping. A failure by Lambeth Council, in the London boroughs West Dulwich area, to listen to residents concerns led to an LTN being declared unlawful by a High Court judge earlier this month. Nigel Farages Reform has pledged to axe LTNs in all of the councils it controls and to block new ones - X Lambeth officials may now have to rip out the obstructions blocking roads that have been subjected to the LTN something that Bath campaigners now hope they can force their council to do. Neil McCabe, a spokesman for Unsung, said: B&NES has a track record of ignoring residents groups concerns when it implements ill-thought-out LTNs. The West Dulwich court case has now established that doing so is illegal. B&NES now needs to reverse any LTN with less than 50 per cent support from all affected residents, not just the few benefitting from the LTN. Unsungs letter, seen by The Telegraph, alleges that the western England councils actions are exactly paralleled by how the London council behaved towards residents. Skewed consultation process People living near the LTN expressed mistrust in the councils skewed consultation process and separately petitioned the local authority to abandon the scheme. A total of 779 locals are said to have objected to the Sydney Place LTN, with the letter adding: Of note is that a greater number of residents took the time to sign the formal objections than voted for the LTN in the official consultation. Last year, Manda Rigby, the councils cabinet member for transport, vowed to install further LTNs with no further say for local residents. She said in a YouTube video last year: We are very aware that there are strong feelings both for and against the experimental traffic regulation order and we have really carefully considered whether or not to reconsult, before relaying the new experimental traffic regulation order. Weve decided against this, because over the last 18 months, we have designed, in consultation with our communities, four schemes that are all going to go to trial, so we can monitor what impact they have before we actually decide whether or not to make them permanent. Her vow could now bring the council into conflict with the High Court. Ruling against Labour-controlled Lambeth council earlier in May, Mr Justice Smith said the authority was guilty of a serious failing after it ignored an impressive report that warned street closures in south London could lead to increased congestion and pollution. He also found the local authority had given a masterclass in selective partial reporting after a council document failed to record how a public consultation about the West Dulwich LTN engendered tremendous hostility from local people. A spokesman for Bath and North East Somerset council said: We have received correspondence and are considering it but will make no further comment at this stage. Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months, had her sentence appeal rejected One of the judges who refused Lucy Connollys appeal previously reduced the sentence of a former Labour peer convicted of child sex offences. Connolly, a childminder who is married to a Conservative councillor, received a 31-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred with a tweet posted in the wake of the Southport murders. This week, Lord Justice Holroyde, alongside Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Sheldon, rejected her bid to have her sentence reduced at the Court of Appeal. The court found that the judge in Connollys case had followed the sentencing guidelines correctly, she was aware of what those guidelines were when she pleaded guilty, and her sentence had not been manifestly excessive. Previously, Lord Justice Holroyde presided over the appeal hearing of Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, a former Labour peer, after he was convicted of trying to rape a young girl and sexually assaulting a boy under nine in the 1970s. He was jailed for five years and six months at Sheffield Crown Court in February 2022. But in March 2023, his sentence was reduced to two years and six months by Lord Justice Holroyde, Lord Burnett, the then Lord Chief Justice, and Lord Justice William Davis after they concluded the sentencing judge had not followed the sentencing guidelines. The three concluded that the trial judge in Lord Ahmeds case fell into error when passing sentence. Lord Justice Holroyde was one of three judges to refuse the appeal by Lucy Connolly - PA They said the fact that Lord Ahmed was a child when he committed the offences had to be taken into account. During his original trial, the court heard he had attempted to rape a girl on two occasions when he was aged about 16 or 17 and she was much younger. The attack on the boy also happened during the same period. Both incidents took place in Rotherham. Lord Ahmed was found guilty of two counts of attempted rape against the girl and a serious sexual assault against the boy. He had originally been given two years for each of the attempted rapes, to run concurrently, with a further three years and six months for assaulting the boy. The judges said had he been sentenced shortly after the assault on the boy, he would have been 14 and a child with no previous convictions. They concluded a custodial sentence of six months was a suitable penalty. They did not reduce the sentence imposed in relation to the attempted rapes. Lord Ahmed of Rotherham was convicted of trying to rape a young girl and sexually assaulting a boy under nine in the 1970s - Christopher Furlong Connolly, 42, was jailed after she posted a message on social media platform X hours after Axel Rudakubana went on a knife rampage at a Taylor-Swift themed event in Southport, murdering three little girls. She posted: Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the b------s for all I care, while youre at it, take the treacherous government politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these [Southport] families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it. Connolly, who lost her son Harry when he was 19 months old and cares for her sick husband, deleted the post less than four hours later but not before it had been viewed 310,000 times. She later posted another message condemning the riots, writing: FS, I get theyre angry. Im f---ing raging, however, this is playing right into their hands. I do not want civil unrest on our streets. Tommy Robinson is not going to say but this is not going to get anyone anywhere. Protests yes but not riots. She was arrested on Aug 6 following widespread riots across the country. The Court of Appeal judges refused to reduce her sentence this week, saying the tweet represented an incitement to serious violence. They did not accept that the original 31-month sentence was manifestly excessive. They also said they did not accept the argument that the offending tweet had been no more than an expression of emotion. The ruling concluded: We of course have every sympathy with the applicant over the death of her son, and we can understand why she remains angry about the circumstances of his death. We can therefore accept that the shocking events in Southport had an impact on her which went beyond that felt by many others. But as the judge rightly said, she did not post a message of support and sympathy to the victims of the Southport attack and the bereaved. Since the ruling there has been a widespread backlash against the decision, with Sir Richard Dearlove, a former MI6 chief, becoming the latest high-profile figure to voice concerns. Sir Richard said it was an extraordinary case and he did not believe Connolly should still be in prison. Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has said the jailing of Connolly showed Britain was becoming a police state under Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Keir defended the sentence given to Connolly shortly after it emerged that her appeal had been rejected. He said that while he was strongly in favour of free speech, he was equally against incitement to violence against other people. Ramsgate Royal Harbour in Ramsgate, Kent - Susan Walker/Getty Private yachts are an easy, low-risk route for bringing illegal migrants into the UK, a former British soldier turned people smuggler has claimed. The former soldier interviewed by the BBC said he had transported dozens of Vietnamese migrants by yacht into private marinas in south coast seaside towns until he was caught and convicted in 2019. He claimed the routes were still being used by smugglers because of the low risk of being caught at marinas that could be protected with no more security than a caravan site. His comments come after Border Force last month intercepted a yacht off the coast of Cornwall which was carrying 20 Albanians, comprising 19 men and one woman. The ex-soldier, who the BBC named as Nick, said he had chosen to speak out now because he was angry he had been jailed for a crime that was still very possible to commit. He claimed to know people who, in the past year, had used the same routes and methods as him. The smuggling routes whether by yacht or ferry were easy and low-risk, he said. Border Force is responsible for securing the 11,000 miles of UK coastline, but the security of harbours and marinas rests with private operators, Charlie Eastaugh, the forces director of maritime, told the BBC. We patrol 24/7, we carry out proactive, as well as reactive, operations, he said citing the luxury yacht, hiding the 20 Albanians below deck, which was intercepted en route to Newquay in Cornwall last month. Tor Bay Harbour in Torquay, Devon - The Image Bank RF Two harbourmasters, speaking anonymously to the BBC, agreed that private marinas were an easy target for people smugglers because they were not manned 24/7. One based in Essex likened security to a caravan site and said that someone could hide people in a boat easily. In a busy marina in peak season, with a lot of people coming in and out, it would be very easy to do this, they said. In Kent, Thanet District Council which is responsible for Ramsgate Marina said it was Border Force, and not individual harbours, that was the frontline response for immigration and illegal activities. Staff at the port and harbour are vigilant and report any concerns or suspicions directly to Border Force for them to follow up, said a spokesman. Some 13,574 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year on small boats, up 37 per cent on the 9,874 arrivals at the same point last year. Former Border Force director general Tony Smith, said the vast majority of the agencys resources were currently deployed to the Small Boats Operational Command focusing on specific routes used by large numbers of people crowded into small craft. My preference certainly would be to be able to deploy more widely and to look more across the whole of the UK coastline to identify threats, he said. Pheobe Bishop, 17, has been missing for a week, sparking a police investigation into her suspicious disappearance. Photograph: SUPPLIED/PR IMAGE The search of a national park is crucial to an investigation into a missing teenager in south Queensland as police continue a land, water and aerial search more than a week after her disappearance. On Saturday, Queensland police said they were relying heavily on information from the public for leads, after expanding the search for Pheobe Bishop to include the Good Night Scrub national park. The park is about an hours drive from where the 17-year-old was last seen, carrying luggage near Bundaberg airport in southern Queensland at about 8.30am on 15 May after booking a trip to Western Australia to visit a friend. She has not been heard from since, with CCTV footage indicating she never entered the airport or checked in for her flight. Police are treating the disappearance as suspicious. A statement issued on behalf of Bishops family on Saturday appealed for anyone who may have heard from Pheobe, who they described as their wild gypsy banshee, to contact police. Related: Pheobe Bishops mother pleads for answers after Queensland teenagers suspicious disappearance You cant tame Phees spirit, empathy or fight for life. She is sassy, feisty and loves harder than anyone Ive ever meet, the statement read. Phee is the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers. She is an essential part of our lives and we need her home. We need to hear her music, feel her hugs and hear her voice. Pheobe would never not touch base with the people she loves. She would never go this long without contacting someone or anyone. The search coordinator, Sen Const Matthew Baker, told reporters on Saturday that police were continuing their search in the national park for Bishop. Nobody was in custody in relation to her disappearance and no items of interest had been found. Police and family are concerned for her welfare, he said, urging anyone with dashcam or CCTV footage on 15 May to come forward. Police continue to rely heavily on information from the public to assist the investigation. The search of the Good Night Scrub national park area is crucial to the police investigation, and this includes dive squad searching waterways and land areas. Baker said police wanted to speak with anyone who may know Bishop and encouraged anyone with information to contact police with any information, big or small. The Gin Gin property near Bundaberg where she lived with two other people had earlier been declared a crime scene, along with a car thought to have been used to take the teenager to the airport. Her mother, Kylie Johnson, has been active on social media and has pleaded for locals to leave their porch lights on to guide her home. Police have been searching the wider Gin Gin a rural town on the Bruce Highway home to about 1,000 people and Bundaberg areas since Bishops disappearance. Another day and minimal answers, Johnson wrote on Facebook on Saturday morning. Phee still isnt home and someone somewhere has to know something. Phee Phee, we wont stop looking for you till youre home. I urge everyone in Gin Gin to keep their porch lights on tonight and guide our girl home. Other friends have written on Bishops social media accounts, with one, who described her as her soulmate, paying tribute to the strongest person with a heart of gold. Come home please, I miss you, another wrote on her last TikTok post, with a third saying we are all so worried about you. The investigation was being led by Bundabergs child protection and crime teams, with the assistance of the homicide unit and specialist police. Police have searched the Gin Gin property where Bishop lived and seized a grey Hyundai ix35 thought to have been used to transport the teenager to Bundaberg airport, which they believed belonged to a resident of her home. The couple who lived at the property with Bishop had spoken to officers and were cooperating with officers, police said. Det Acting Insp Ryan Thompson said on Friday police were following up all avenues of inquiry. Just because we are deeming this suspicious doesnt mean anything sinister has happened, Thompson said.Police continued to appeal for information, including any movement in the Good Night Scrub area on 15 May, particularly around Mingo Road and Gayndah Road. Bishop was described as about 180cm tall with a pale complexion, long dyed red hair and hazel eyes. Despite accounting for 16% of Australias dwellings, only about 3% of apartments have solar installed. Composite: Getty Images Australia has the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the world with more than 4m solar installations across the country. In 2022 more than 30% of Australian households were generating solar energy on their rooftops but in many cases people living in apartments have been left behind. Despite accounting for 16% of Australias dwellings, only about 3% of apartments have solar installed. To give apartment dwellers the same opportunity to access clean and affordable solar energy, state governments are offering generous rebates to help them join the clean energy transition, including this program, open to apartment owners in NSW. But there are a few steps youll need to consider before signing up. Do your research Rob McKay lives in a block of nine double-brick apartments in the Sydney suburb of Cremorne with a mix of renters and owner occupiers. We first started looking at solar for the building before Covid. Were fortunate in that our local council, North Sydney, is very supportive of sustainability options, he says, noting in particular council rebates for solar panels and batteries. We realised we were eligible for a battery rebate from the state government [as well as] the North Sydney council rebates. After researching the options he found out about technology that enables the allocation of power between multiple units behind the meter. The next step was to use a solar comparison website to assess the buildings solar and battery needs, as well as EV infrastructure requirements in the buildings basement. Armed with that information, we ran a tender for solar and battery suppliers, chose a preferred supplier and installed a system that went live in December he says. Related: Plan your menu, get kids involved and be realistic: how to pack better school lunches Build up some capital McKay says that, in retrospect, the delays from lockdowns were a blessing as they allowed the apartment block time to build up its capital works fund (thereby avoiding the need for a special levy) and to understand the options better. Since flicking the switch, weve generated 82% of our overall power consumption, although we share that in both directions with the grid. As a result, weve had material decreases in our individual power bills and happy residents, whether owner occupiers or tenants. Get the neighbours onboard Once youve figured out which rebates you are eligible for, youll still need to navigate a careful path between your owners corporation, fellow apartment owners or occupiers and strata managers. Be prepared to come up against some resistance, as some owners may not be keen to front up the extra costs involved, especially in a cost-of-living crisis. But highlighting the longterm economic savings of the investment is a good strategy. Jeff Sykes from Solar Choice says the benefits can be enormous for apartment dwellers as they are often the people most in need of assistance with growing energy costs. Shared solar projects targeting the whole building also benefit renters who traditionally have been left out of solar projects, he says. The feedback once solar is installed is almost always overwhelmingly positive and these projects will improve the property values of all owners and deliver benefits to residents for 25 years. Install a smart meter McKay says the best way to bring neighbours along for the journey is to install a smart meter so that everyone can see how the power is being distributed. This also helps to keep up regular communication throughout the installation process. It has made residents more aware of their power consumption, opening up more electricity retailer options for them, he says. Ultimately, if you can help get everyones power bill down while reducing your carbon footprint, thats a win for everyone. Callout If youre having trouble using the form, click here. Read terms of service here. Housebuilders who leave vital development sites unfinished for years could face losing their land to local councils under new Government rules. For the first time, developers will have to commit to delivery time frames before they get planning permission. They will also have to submit annual reports showing their progress to councils to keep them on track. Housebuilders who secure planning permissions simply to trade land speculatively could face penalties worth thousands per unbuilt home, the Government said. The Government hopes the new proposals will see promised new homes delivered faster. Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: This government has taken radical steps to overhaul the planning system to get Britain building again after years of inaction. In the name of delivering security for working people, we are backing the builders not the blockers. Now its time for developers to roll up their sleeves and play their part. Were going even further to get the homes we need. No more sites with planning permission gathering dust for decades while a generation struggle to get on the housing ladder. Large housing sites can take more than 10 years to build, but those with more affordable home can be built twice as fast, the Government said. On Sunday, the Government is publishing a Planning Reform Working Paper setting out the proposals. Housing charity Shelter welcomed the proposals. Alicia Walker, assistant director of advocacy and activism at the charity, said: Its good to see the Government getting tougher on private developers. With 1.3 million households waiting for a social home and homelessness continuing to climb, we urgently need new homes built at speed. Developers drag their heels when building new homes to keep prices high and make bigger profits often dodging their responsibility to build social housing altogether. Meanwhile, thousands of families who are bearing the brunt of the housing emergency, homeless in temporary accommodation or crushed by skyrocketing rents, cannot afford to wait. Getting private developers to build new homes faster is crucial, but the only way to end the housing emergency for good is to get councils and housing associations building social housing as well. To do this, the Government must invest in building 90,000 social rent homes a year for 10 years in the upcoming Spending Review. Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said: We need more houses for people in Britain and we support measures to ensure developers speed up housebuilding. But they are adding so many burdens on builders, their targets already seem like a distant memory. And as Rayner has admitted live on air, many of these houses will end up going to migrants. The senior Conservative added: With Labours open-door border policy, this problem is only going to get worse, not better. And many hardworking Brits will be shut out of the housing market forever. In the same week that Angela Rayner has been caught red-handed plotting to raise everyones taxes, its clear she doesnt have the interests of working people at heart. Keir Starmer The sovereignty of our Parliament is our democracy. It is fundamental to our freedoms for which people fought and died as we commemorated in the VE celebrations. This is why I fought with real Conservative colleagues on the back benches over many decades. One of the most futile comments ever made was Brexit means Brexit. Brexit was the restoration of self-government in a real democracy, fundamentally different from law-making in the EU. Leaving the EU was a constitutional and democratic revolution (with unfinished business within grasp), and is comparable to the historic Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Committed Remainers within Parliament, smarting at their defeat in the 2016 referendum, and those within the hidden recesses of the Establishment and civil service, obstructed the legislative requirements of Brexit and opened the door to the current situation. This obstruction included the Chequers debacle necessitating the removal of Theresa May, then the parliamentary paralysis against Boris Johnson when the Remainers temporarily seized control of the business of the House of Commons until his victorious 2019 Brexit general election. Then followed resistance to the full repeal of EU law and the failure to clearly legislate to stop the boats by not overriding the ECHR, which would have made the Bill ironclad. Rishi Sunak recently admitted he got this wrong. The overarching sovereignty of Parliament was endorsed, unopposed, by the clear wording of Section 38 of the European Withdrawal Act 2020, notwithstanding any European laws or jurisdiction, then reinforced by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 introduced by Jacob Rees-Mogg and strongly supported through my European Scrutiny Committee. This sovereignty was reaffirmed recently by the Supreme Court in the Rwanda Judgement (paragraph 144) on the principle of legality, in line with the fundamental principles of our unwritten constitution that where a clear and unambiguous statute is passed by our Parliament, it is the duty of our courts to give effect to that statute. By stark contrast, in the EU, the laws are made by the Council of Ministers behind closed doors by a majority vote of all the member states and without a written transcript as in our daily Hansard. Indeed, under the European Communities Act 1972, we foolishly subjugated ourselves to the supremacy of EU laws and the European Court of Justice. Not once did we ever reject or amend one word of EU law. Listen and watch recordings of what Starmer said in his past repudiations of Brexit. Furthermore, the joint summit statement on May 19 is simply staggering in its duplicity. It refers to reaffirming our shared values and our commitment to their full, timely and faithful implementation whilst re-subjugating us to undemocratic European jurisdiction despite their cover of arbitration. To achieve this in secret, the European Scrutiny Committee created in 1973 and successively chaired by Labour and Conservative chairmen, and which held the Government, Conservative and Labour, to account on all European lawmaking was abolished in June 2024 by Starmer in one line, without debate. This deceitful reset undermines British fishermen. One of the worst aspects of the European Union fishing arrangements during our membership, and hopelessly conceded by Ted Heath, was the dumping of fish to comply with quotas. Now it is the fishermen themselves who have been dumped. On food and agriculture, Britain has agreed to dynamic alignment, which is simply legal submission. The farmers and food and drinks organisations have made it clear that the proposals must not be at any price and must respect our autonomy, knowing that these will give the European Commission massive legal traction, undermining our economic independence in legislating in bioscience, new agricultural technology, gene-editing, cultivated proteins, and AI itself. The new energy emissions trading scheme will increase energy costs. The e-gates proposals will make little difference, and the youth mobility scheme raises dangers for further immigration. How could any government in their right mind possibly want to engage in these undemocratic arrangements? The European Union is a political shambles, an economic subsidy-driven disaster zone resembling a Ponzi scheme. On defence and security, with Russian aggression in Ukraine, we are now paying the price for longstanding under-investment in our defence. Some form of defence alliance within the framework of Nato remains essential, but not the dangerously byzantine control-and-command proposals of Pesco. Aping Harold Wilsons economic playbook in the 1975 EU referendum, these arrangements are a sell-out. To add insult to injury, not only are we to pay for all this, but Ursula von der Leyen pretended that the Government should enter these arrangements because, as she and Starmer have cynically said, Britain is a sovereign country. This is classic, devious Monnet-style tactics endorsed by a Eurofanatic cohort. This is an unconstitutional deal undermining our newly regained sovereignty, which is the bastion of our democracy, our Parliament and our freedoms. Bill Cash was Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee between 2010 and 2024 and Shadow Attorney General between 2001 and 2003 Keir Starmer On Thursday, the British Government signed a treaty with Mauritius which, if ratified by Parliament, will grant Mauritius the sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, which have belonged to the United Kingdom since 1815. In addition, the UK undertook to pay 101 million a year for the next 99 years, in addition to various payments to Mauritius, for a total bill of billions of pounds. The deal, which was negotiated in secret without the involvement of the Chagossians who were expelled from the islands, has already been condemned across the political spectrum. The Prime Minister has sought to defend it by arguing that the Anglo-American military base on Diego Garcia would become inoperable if a deal were not concluded, going so far as suggesting that those who are opposed to the deal are siding with Russia and China against Western interests. This is patent nonsense. As I have detailed in two recent reports for Policy Exchange, there is no prospect of Mauritius being able to interfere with the operation of the base on Diego Garcia. Mauritius has no armed forces and a small coast guard. It is located thousands of kilometres away from Diego Garcia and has no capacity to stop the operation of the base. The British Government has also raised a second claim, namely that in the aftermath of 2019s non-binding advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, Mauritius will be able to obtain a binding decree from an international court forcing the UK to hand over the Chagos Islands, and with no obligation to guarantee the operation of the base. Again, this is nonsense. International law is built upon the principle of state consent: with vanishingly rare exceptions involving subjects such as genocide, no state is bound by any particular part of international law unless it agrees to be so bound. This principle naturally extends to international courts: no court has jurisdiction over a case unless the countries involved give their consent to the court. This is why all Mauritius could obtain from the International Court of Justice was a non-binding advisory opinion, since the United Kingdom refuses to allow the ICJ to hear any case between it and another member of the Commonwealth, to which Mauritius belongs. Conspicuously, even though he was repeatedly asked by journalists on Thursday, Sir Keir was unable to name the court which would have the jurisdiction to require the UK to hand over the Chagos because there is no such court. The Defence Secretary came better prepared to Parliament, and told MPs that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was the most proximate international court or tribunal which could threaten the UKs sovereignty over the Chagos. This claim shall however be subject to scrutiny. The ITLOS tribunal, which enforces the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, does not have jurisdiction over disputes over the ownership of land, as its name plainly indicates, and as it has reaffirmed on many occasions since. Finally, the Government has raised the spectre that, even if no binding legal ruling was made against the UK, third countries may choose to recognise Mauritius sovereignty and impede the operation of the base, by for instance making it difficult to fly to Diego Garcia from their territory. If this argument is accepted, the UK may as well give up all of its overseas bases now. For if the UKs enjoyment of the use of Diego Garcia can be held up by foreign lawfare instigated by Mauritius, a country of a million people, it has no chance in a confrontation against China or Russia. But to believe this argument would require us to suspend disbelief and accept that third countries would be willing to risk the wrath of the United States for the sake of some non-binding court rulings to which they are not a party. The Chagos surrender deal cannot be defended on any authoritative legal grounds. Parliament has the right and the duty to stop this act of national humiliation. Yuan Yi Zhu is a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange and an international lawyer at Leiden University Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after a signing ceremony and a joint press conference, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Photograph: Tingshu Wang/AFP/Getty Images Few world leaders can say theyve been hugged by Xi Jinping, Chinas typically reserved president. Last year, an embrace between Xi and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, seemed to sum up the cosy if at times slightly awkward relationship between China and Russia. Now Brazils president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, can count himself among the hallowed few to have broken the handshake barrier with Chinese leader. Stepping off the stage after giving a speech in Beijing earlier this month, Lula shook Xis hand, but the moment swiftly melted into something more affectionate. Xi had good reason to be feeling warm towards the Brazilian leader. In Lulas address to the China-CELAC forum, a dialogue between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries, he condemned US tariffs and said the Latin American region wanted to be the axis of a multipolar order where the Global South is duly represented. Such words echo the case that China has been trying to make to the world particularly countries in the global south about the dangers of the tariffs unleashed by US president Donald Trump since he entered the White House in January. Chinas argument stands in contrast to the stance taken by the G7, a group of the worlds wealthiest nations, which on Thursday issued a joint communique in which they agreed to counter global economic imbalances, a veiled swipe at China. Related: Brazils president seeks indestructible links with China amid Trump trade war Lulas presence at the forum was itself a coup for China as it seeks to expand its global influence in Latin America. Lula was one of three heads of states to attend the conference, along with the presidents of Chile and Colombia. That was no accident. China had specifically courted the leaders of countries seen as being influential in the region and closer to the US, rather than those from the countries more naturally aligned with the Chinese Communist party, such as Venezuela and Cuba, who lack regional clout. Lula in particular got a full bells-and-whistles welcome to Beijing, with a military performance in Tiananmen Square including a 21 gun salute. In a keynote speech at the forum, Xi identified China as a fellow member of the global south. Independence and autonomy are our glorious tradition. Development and revitalisation are our inherent right, Xi said. China and the Latin American and Caribbean community have a shared future, he added. Since Trumps first term in office, Brazil has been at the forefront of deepening ties between China and Latin America. One key domain has been trade, which hit a record $157.5bn in 2023. Last year, China imported more than 70% of its soya beans from Brazil, while imports from US farmers have plummeted. Luckin Coffee, Chinas largest coffee chain, has pledged to buy 240,000 tonnes of Brazilian coffee beans over a five year period, worth $1.38bn. If its up to my government, our relationship with China will be indestructible, Lula told business leaders in Beijing, as the two countries announced $4.5bn of upcoming Chinese investments in Brazil. In total, Brazil and China signed 20 agreements on agricultural trade, as well as deals on mining, nuclear energy, and currency swaps. From a commercial point of view, the current US-China trade war has brought some export opportunities for Brazil, especially in the agricultural sector, said Victoria Chonn-Ching, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. But with a trade policy landscape that can change overnight, Beijing is also trying to win the ideological argument on the global stage. Brazil, which China sees as a fellow leader in the global south, is an important player in that strategy. From a geostrategic and diplomatic perspective, the US-China trade war places Brazil in a challenging position, Chonn-Ching said. While Brazil has maintained strong ties with the US, on the other hand its relationship with China is significant, said Chonn-Ching, as both countries promote multilateralism as part of their foreign policy and see themselves as having leading roles in their respective regions and in the Global South. Unlike many other countries in Latin America, however, Brazil has not signed up to Chinas belt and road initiative. Speaking in Beijing, Lula said that Latin America does not want to be the stage of hegemonic disputes. But while Trumps vision for the global order is still coming into focus, Beijing has for years trumpeted the importance of a multipolar system of international cooperation. It is a sentiment that Lula echoes. Recent global events have also brought the two countries closer together. After the 7 October attacks in Israel, Brazil, as president of the UN security council, drafted a resolution condemning Hamas and calling for a humanitarian pause in hostilities as well as the release of hostages in Gaza. Many expected China, which had not until this month specifically condemned the attacks, to veto the resolution. But following rounds of back-room diplomacy with Brazil, China voted in favour. The resolution ultimately failed because of a US veto. Since then, Brazil and China have come closer together in attempts to cast themselves as mediators in global conflicts. The countries have twice released joint statements on the war in Ukraine, neither of which condemn the Russian invasion. And on his flight back from China, Lulas plane stopped in Moscow, and he spoke to Xis best friend, Vladimir Putin, on the phone. Additional research by Lillian Yang and Jason Lu Donald Trump wants to ensure freedom of expression in the UK Donald Trump sent US officials to meet British pro-life activists over concerns their freedom of speech has been threatened, The Telegraph can reveal. A five-person team from the US state department spent days in the country and interviewed campaigners to feed back to the White House. They met with five activists who had been arrested for silently protesting outside abortion clinics across Britain. Washington launched the fact-finding mission after becoming concerned about the erosion of free speech in the UK. The visit is the latest sign of the Trump administrations willingness to intervene in domestic British affairs. The diplomats from the US bureau of democracy, human rights and labor (DRL) travelled to London in March in an effort to affirm the importance of freedom of expression in the UK and across Europe. Led by Samuel Samson, a senior adviser in the state department, they met with officials from the Foreign Office and challenged Ofcom on the Online Safety Act, which is thought to be a point of contention in the White House. Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and an adviser to Mr Trump, is among those inside the administration said to be concerned about online regulation in the UK. The delegation also quietly met with a handful of anti-abortion campaigners at an event held at a nondescript office block, The Telegraph can reveal. Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, Rose Docherty, Adam Smith-Connor, Livia Tossici-Bolt and Father Sean Gough, a Catholic priest, described to the visiting diplomats their experiences of being detained while silently praying. Rose Doherty, centre, became the first person to be charged under a law which creates buffer zones outside hospitals and abortion clinics - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Mrs Docherty, a 74-year-old grandmother, became the first person to be arrested and charged under a new law that creates buffer zones outside hospitals and clinics providing abortions in Scotland. She was arrested outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow in February. All I did was stand peacefully offering consensual conversation to anyone who wanted to take up my offer to talk. I didnt break the law, I didnt influence, I didnt harass, I didnt intimidate, she said. And yet, I was arrested just for standing there, peacefully, within 200m of a hospital. This cant be just. Its heartening that others around the world, including the US government, have realised this injustice and voiced their support. Ms Vaughan-Spruce was arrested for praying silently outside an abortion clinic in March 2023 in Birmingham. She was not carrying a placard and did not say anything about abortion procedures aloud. Anti-abortion activists Father Sean Gough and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce - Jacob King/PA Wire She was later released without charge but her case was condemned by the US commission on international religious freedom for targeting religious expression. Since I was arrested simply for the prayers I held in my head, the support from both here in the UK and around the world has been overwhelming, Ms Vaughan-Spruce said. Im glad that the US administration has highlighted this injustice and hope that UK politicians can be bold enough to make the changes necessary to restore freedom. Sir Keir Starmer has been forced to defend Britains record of free speech, which has become a point of tension with Trump administration officials. During his meeting in the Oval Office in February, the Prime Minister claimed Britain wouldnt want to reach across US citizens in questions over free speech. Weve had free speech for a very, very long time in the UK, and it will last for a very, very long time Certainly we wouldnt want to reach across US citizens, and we dont, and thats absolutely right. But in relation to free speech in the UK, Im very proud of our history there, he said. During a speech at the Munich security conference, JD Vance, the US vice-president, cited Mr Smith-OConnor as an example of why free speech in Britain and across Europe was in retreat. JD Vance claimed freedom of speech was in retreat in the UK - Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images The Army veteran was convicted in October for praying silently outside an abortion clinic. He was given a two-year conditional discharge for breaching a ban on protests within a legal buffer zone around the clinic in Bournemouth, Dorset. The case of Ms Tossici-Bolt, who met with state department officials, at one point threatened to jeopardise Sir Keirs trade deal with the US. The 64-year-old praised the Trump administration for its support as she was handed a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay 20,026 in costs for breaching the same buffer zone as Mr Smith-OConnor in Bournemouth. Her case alarmed leaders within the US state department, which made the highly unusual step of warning Sir Keir that it was monitoring developments closely. At the time, a source familiar with trade negotiations insisted Ms Tossici-Bolts arrest was being considered amid Britains attempt to win an exemption from US tariffs, saying no free trade without free speech. Earlier this week, Trump allies voiced concern over the state of freedom of expression in Britain. Charlie Kirk, a Maga influencer and ally of the president, raised the case of Lucy Connolly with the White House, saying it proved free speech was dead in Britain. Donald Trump attended the West Point Military Academys graduation day on Saturday Connolly, the wife of a Conservative councillor, was jailed for 31 months in October after pleading guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred. After Axel Rudakubana went on a knife rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport last July, murdering three girls last July, Connolly expressed her outrage on X, writing: Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the b------s for all I care, while youre at it, take the treacherous government politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these [Southport] families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it. Three Court of Appeal judges threw out the 42-year-olds application on Tuesday, meaning she will not be freed before August. Lucy Connolly, pictured with daughter Holly, remains in prison after judges rejected her appeal Lord Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union, which helped fund Connollys appeal, said: If Sir Keir Starmer gave any promises to protect free speech in the course of negotiating the UK-US trade agreement, he doesnt appear to be keeping them. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader who has long been an ally of Mr Trump, said: The Lucy Connolly case alone shows that two-tier Britain is really here. My American friends cannot believe what is happening in the UK. All those contacted by the state department have been defended by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a US conservative Christian pressure group, which is opposed to Britains abortion protest laws. Lorcan Price, the legal counsel for ADF International, said: Because these peaceful individuals held thoughts and beliefs of which the state disapproved, they find themselves fighting to defend their very right to free thought. Now, fellow Western nations are noticing this erosion of freedom and we should take heed. We hope our own legislators, witnessing this injustice impacting citizens, will step up to clarify that silent prayer, and consensual conversation, are lawful activities in this country. A state department spokesman said: US-UK relations share a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, as vice-president Vance has said, we are concerned about freedom of expression in the UK. It is important that the UK respects and protects freedom of expression. The Cabinet Office declined to comment. Leonardo Garcia Venegas yelled out Im a citizen! as officials wrestled him to the ground. Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP Authorities wrestled a US-born citizen to the ground, cuffed him and dismissed his so-called Real ID as fake during an arrest operation targeting undocumented people on Wednesday under the direction of the Trump administration, according to a viral video and reporting by Telemundo. Leonardo Garcia Venegas, 25, was at his construction job in Foley, Alabama, when officials arrived to arrest workers there. Garcia Venegas who was born in Florida to Mexican parents began filming the arrests with his mobile phone before officials reportedly knocked the device out of his hand and tried to arrest him as well. Video of the arrest shows three officials wrestling him to the ground, while he yells: Im a citizen! Related: Trump administration trying to dismiss MS-13 leaders charges to deport him According to an interview with the Spanish-language US news outlet Telemundo, officials took out his wallet, removed his ID which complies with higher federal security standards for state-issued drivers licenses as well as identification and told him that it was fake. They cuffed me, he said. They put the cuffs on quite hard. Four people at the job site were arrested, including Garcia Venegass brother, who is undocumented. Officials removed the cuffs from Garcia Venegas hours later after he gave them his social security number, verifying his US citizenship. I feel really sad, honestly, and I feel a bit nervous for everything thats happening, said Garcia Venegas, referring to the Trump administrations ongoing immigration-related crackdown. His cousin, also a US citizen, told Telemundo they both went through the process of acquiring the Real ID, undergoing the protocols the administration is asking for. I feel sad because, even though we were born here, that doesnt matter any more, the cousin said. She added: To have our skin color has, apparently, become a crime. And it has become a crime deserving of this type of treatment as if we were real criminals. In a statement to NBC News, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Garcia Venegas of having interfered with the arrest during the operation. Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including US citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest, the DHSs statement to NBC said. It is unclear whether the officials who cuffed Garcia Venegas were local officials, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents or other members of federal law enforcement. Since Trump came into office, various federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and others, have been tasked with carrying out immigration enforcement operations. Some local police and sheriffs departments have also been deputized to carry out federal immigration arrests. As the White House attempts to carry out a promise of mass deportations that vaulted Donald Trump to victory in Novembers presidential election, a number of US citizens have been caught up in its dragnet. Some, such as Garcia Venegas, have been detained by officials, then released. But others, including children, have been deported. Although rare, the deportation of US citizens has also happened during prior administrations. An immigration protest in Alexandria, Virginia, on 14 May 2025. Photograph: Tom Hudson/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock A federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday night to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man it deported to Mexico, in spite of his fears of being harmed there, and who has since been returned to Guatemala. The man, who is gay, had applied for asylum in the US last year after he was attacked twice in homophobic acts of violence in Guatemala. He was protected from being returned to his home country under a US immigration judges order at the time, but the Trump administration put him on a bus and sent him to Mexico instead. The US district judge Brian Murphy found the mans deportation likely lacked any semblance of due process. In a declaration to the court, the man, identified by his initials OCG in legal filings, said that since he was returned to Guatemala two months ago, I have been living in hiding, in constant panic and constant fear. An earlier court proceeding determined that OCG risked persecution or torture if returned to Guatemala, but he also feared returning to Mexico. He presented evidence of being raped and held for ransom there while seeking asylum in the US. No one has ever suggested that OCG poses any sort of security threat, Murphy wrote in his order. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped. Murphys order adds to a string of findings by federal courts against recent Trump administration deportations. Last week, Murphy, a Biden appointee, found that the Trump administration had violated an order he issued barring government officials from deporting people to countries not their own without first giving them sufficient time to object. In a hearing, the homeland security department said that seven immigrants had been deported Tuesday on a flight to a third country, but they refused to say where the men were going. It was later revealed that the men were told they were being sent to South Sudan. Related: Arizona governor pauses deportation for Guatemalan who gave birth days ago In that case, Murphy said that the government had given the seven men little more than 24 hours notice that they were being removed from the US, which he called plainly insufficient, and could result in a finding of criminal contempt. Other cases that have been spotlighted for rapid deportations include that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvador. The US supreme court ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcias return, but the White House has said it is not within its power to do so. That case sparked a legal joust over the supreme courts practicable meaning of facilitate. In his ruling, Murphy noted the dispute over the use of the verb, saying that returning OCG to the US is not that complicated. The Court notes that facilitate in this context should carry less baggage than in several other notable cases, he wrote. OCG is not held by any foreign government. Defendants have declined to make any argument that facilitating his return would be costly, burdensome, or otherwise impede the governments objectives. The Associated Press contributed reporting A view of Alcatraz Island, part of the Golden Gate national recreation area, in San Francisco. Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA Federal prison officials visited Alcatraz last week after Donald Trumps announcement earlier this month of plans to rebuild and reopen the infamous island prison, which has been closed for over 60 years. David Smith, the superintendent of the Golden Gate national recreation area (GGNRA), told the San Francisco Chronicle that officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons are planning to return for further structural assessments. They have been out here. Theyll be coming out again to do assessments of the structure, Smith told the news outlet. The island facility has been closed since 1963, when then attorney general Robert F Kennedy ordered its shutdown amid high operating costs, limited space and multiple escape attempts. BOP director William Marshall told Fox News that engineering teams are already surveying the site. Weve got engineering teams out there now that are doing some assessments, and so Im just really excited about the opportunity and possibilities, he said. In recent months, the US government has moved to reopen at least five previously closed detention centers and prisons. Although California lawmakers have dismissed the Alcatraz proposal as a distraction and not a serious plan, the Trump administration is actively working with the help of private prison companies to reopen other facilities, some of which are already back in operation. Related: A hard cell? Alcatraz tourists dismiss Trumps insane plan to revive it as a prison Smith said he was skeptical about reopening Alcatraz, pointing to the large financial investment and legal challenges it would require. He said its just not well-situated for the Bureau of Prisons. But Marshall called the proposal exciting and feasible. He suggested that modern, lightweight materials could solve some of the islands logistical challenges. When you think of Alcatraz, you think of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Lambeau Field, those types of facilities you just get that kind of feeling about Alcatraz when you think of those historical venues, Marshall told Fox Newss My View with Lara Trump, Trumps daughter-in-law. And so, yeah, we absolutely think we can get it done. Meanwhile, the GGNRA is undertaking seismic retrofitting projects on the island, including reinforcing the pier and stabilizing the aging cellhouse to prevent further deterioration. Getty Images (4) Each and every day, millions of shoppers turn on QVC hoping to find everything from skincare and jewelry to food and electronics but what does it really take for the shopping network to pull off the Olympics of live television? While the hosts in front of the camera make everything look easy, guests like fashion designer Stacy London know that theres a whole group of people who make it all seamless. I would like to give credit to every producer on every set that I have ever been on, but QVC is the Olympics of live television, London exclusively shared with Us Weekly as QVC celebrated the launch of its Q50 "Age Of Possibility" platform in Los Angeles on May 14. There is nothing I have ever experienced like it, with people talking in your ear while youre trying to be personable and sell things. It is a ton of work. Whether they are a program host, fashion designer or vendor, each QVC star Us chatted with couldnt help but gush about the place they get to work at. Lisa Robertson, Kathy Levine and More Memorable QVC Hosts: Where Are They Now? The moment I wake up, I turn on QVC, fashion designer Lawrence Zarian told Us. Not only am I part of the family, Im a huge fan. I watch. I listen. I take copious notes. I learn. I shop and buy a lot. I love it. Us decided to go straight to QVCs biggest stars and ask some burning questions about the network. Keep reading to get plenty of behind-the-scenes scoop about the shopping network that is nothing short of a big deal: How Does One Prepare for a Jewelry Show? Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Before presenting her lab-grown diamond and gemstone jewelry to viewers at home, Jennifer Miller makes sure her hands and fingers are camera-ready. Ive discovered Westmore Beauty, which is a cover-up for any little spots on my hands, she told Us. Gel manicures help so my nails are always in tip-top shape without a chip. All these tricks and hacks are really important. Youve got to be ready at any moment. According to Melissa Rivers, the team behind the Joan Rivers Classics Collection is always thinking of new looks and designs to keep the brand growing and succeeding after Joans death in 2014. I think we keep it updated and fresh, Melissa said. Same thing with age: You never want to get stale. What Is It Like Doing a Show Virtually? Michael Tullberg/Getty Images During the coronavirus pandemic, many vendors were forced to Zoom into the QVC studios and present their products. While many now come to the studios in Studio Park, Pennsylvania, many see the perks of filming from home. I change every time something new is presented, Peace Love World fashion designer Alina Villasante shared with Us. I go to the side away from a camera switch my clothes and I come back. What I love about [shooting remotely] is that I can show the customer how to wear my clothes or how I wear it and things she can do to make it better for herself or her body. For Kim Gravel, she treats remote programs as a one-woman show as she handles tech, lighting and everything else that comes up all by herself. I turn on my 5,000 diva ring lights and we stream on an iMac computer, she said. I never can find my earbuds, because my kids take everything. Its so mom and pop in the most professional way. I think that's the charm of it. What Is It Like Having Your Item as Today's Special Value? Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Every day starting at midnight, QVC introduces its best value of the day known as the Todays Special Value. The person behind the item works around the clock to deliver multiple presentations throughout the day. Theres a La-Z-Boy in the green room and you can turn off all the lights and its complete darkness, ME by Jennie Garth fashion designer Jennie Garth shared with Us about breaks in between shows. You just train yourself. Ive trained my whole life on sets to rest and go. When its showtime, its showtime. After the TSV wraps, Gravel said she needs a couple of days to rest and recharge before its back to business. It takes me about two days and I'm 53, and I got some energy, she said. But it takes me about two days to recover. How Early Do Fashion Designers Prepare Their Collections? Michael Tullberg/Getty Images The clothes and fashion accessories viewers see on TV for sale are usually planned months in advance. We usually have our collections done a year in advance, and part of that for me is making sure that I am not doing what's on trend, London explained about her B Stacy London line. Because, frankly, I don't believe in trends. I think that when women are 50 and over, they are quite capable of experimenting with trends or non trends, or what works for them in any way that they want. It doesn't mean you're not going to get trendy colors out of me or some silhouettes out of me, but I wanted to do something from QVC that felt specifically for how to dress casually in a more sophisticated way as a middle-aged person who is not a golden girl. Villasante confirmed the timeline, adding, We go into planning and inspiration mode one year before. Three months after that, everything is pretty much designed and goes into the sourcing process. Are the QVC Testimonial Phone Calls Live and Unscripted? Courtesy of Kim Gravel From all accounts, nobody knows what will happen when a QVC shopper calls in on live TV. According to Gravel, the host and guest only know the persons name and the state they are calling from. It is truly, authentically the customer calling in, the Belle by Kim Gravel founder said. And you never know what they're gonna say. They never tell you in your ear, She's gonna ask you about this. For Carla Rockmore who recently launched her fashion brand, Carla Rockmore Collection she looks forward to a viewer calling in. I love when somebody calls in because I get this interaction outside the studio, she told Us. I can hear what they may be interested in or what they want to see or a question I havent answered. What Is It Really Like to Work With the QVC Hosts? Courtesy of Lawrence Zarian Time and time again, QVC stars say they are asked on the street to share what its like working with their favorite hosts. Spoiler alert: They always have good things to say. [David Vebanable] is reliable. He is dependable. He is honest. He is true, Sandra Lee told Us. He is all the things you think he is and more. Zarian, who creates pieces for BEAUTIFUL by Lawrence Zarian, said every single host has taken time to help me, guide me, direct me and pass on their tips/tricks/talents to get me up to speed. The hosts work so hard and are so committed to their craft, he added. The extra time they spend with me is truly a gift. Before every one of my shows, I carve out time with the host so that were on the same page for the day. What Is It Like in the Kitchen? Courtesy of Tara Tesher / Instagram If theres a cooking show, chances are Temp-tations founder Tara Tesher has a product available. A three-hour show [of just Temp-tations] can be anything from 21 to 24 items and it has no breaks, Tesher told Us. I spend a lot of time before the show making sure I know what Im doing, where Im going, what kind of demos Im doing. The rest just flows. You cant script it. You roll with it. As for what happens to all of the food prepared for the shows, its always enjoyed by the QVC staff. Theres no limit on how much you can eat, program host Monifa Days said. I actually eat before the show because what happens is at the top of that four-hour show, if youre hungry, you go in on that steak and you have three and half hours of eating food? It is very difficult. Fellow program host Terri Conn added, Sometimes we have a table full of the leftovers that we either bring home to our family or we share with the crew. What Makes the QVC Models Special? Courtesy of Jamie Finkenthal / Instagram Behind every great fashion show are a group of women showcasing the shoes, pants, handbags and outfits available for sale. Its about the attitude. Its about the walk. Its how they feel in the clothes, and thats really what sets it apart, Villasante shared with Us. Its not just the clothes. Its the feeling and its something to make you feel beautiful. Zarian added, Our QVC models are always loved, respected and celebrated. They are truly a big part of the history/tapestry of the company, each collection. When it comes to our one-hour live show, I personally work with our stylists and we bring my BEAUTIFUL pieces to life. Who Loves Working Together? Courtesy of Shawn Killinger / Instagram When QVC program hosts look at their schedule of shows for the week, there are some guests they absolutely know will make a fantastic hour. Days loves working with Denim & Companys Gary Goben while host Leah Williams savors a beauty hour with Doris Dalton. While Conn enjoys time with designer Isaac Mizrahi, host Mary DeAngelis promises every show with Gravel is going to be fun and off the rails. Shawn Killinger said she loves working with Brandis Bradley, Harry Slatkin and Dennis Basso. The things that man has told me in a 30-second commercial break before we come back live, she teased. He's literally the best. Do QVC Hosts Really Shop at the Network? Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Absolutely yes! While Williams swears by Supersmile teeth whitening and Philosophys Purity Made Simple cleanser, Days loves her Dyson vacuum and Vitamix blender. Conn said the DynaTrap has saved her family from mosquito bites while DeAngelis cant get enough of Dr. Deneses hydroshield for her skin. Killinger went so far as to list her most recent purchases, including Charles David shoes, Scrub Daddy sponges and Wen by Chaz Dean bronzing mist. Skeptics say, Oh, you dont own everything in your show, DeAngelis told Us. Ive been here for 17 years. Youd be surprised. The path to freedom began behind a toilet. After midnight on May 16, inmates at the New Orleans city jail forced open the door of a first-floor cell and crammed inside. At the back, inmates had wrenched a metal bathroom fixture from the wall, exposing a narrow hole where steel bars were sawed off. On the other side was a walkway leading to a loading dock. The timing was perfect. A jail worker had cut off water to the cell, which allowed the inmates to dislodge the toilet without a telltale flood. There was no deputy patrolling the housing area as there should have been, and a civilian employee whose job was to monitor inmates movements had reportedly stepped away for food. The group assembled in Cell 6 included men who had been held in the Orleans Justice Center for months or years, many of them accused of terrible crimes. One had been convicted in October of killing two people during a 2018 Mardi Gras celebration and was waiting for a likely sentence of life in prison. Two others were awaiting trial on murder charges, another two on attempted murder. A couple of them had previously escaped other lockups. Now, they were pulling off one of the biggest jailbreaks in Louisiana history, an audacious feat that exploited long-documented failures in the local criminal justice system, including the jails inability to properly supervise high-risk inmates. The escape spread anxiety through one of Americas most beloved tourist cities, opening new wounds for victims relatives and forcing some into hiding. And it prompted finger-pointing among a Republican governor and local Democratic officials, with much of the heat falling on Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who was elected in 2021 as a progressive reformer but has been criticized for falling short on federally mandated improvements at the jail, including regular security checks. Inmates wrenched a bathroom fixture from a cell, left taunting messages on a wall, then crawled past sawed-off steel bars. (Orleans Paris Sheriff's Office) While the investigation continues, its already clear that no one was able to stop the 10 inmates in Cell 6. The men, ranging in age from 19 to 42, some wearing orange jail uniforms and others in long, white pants and T-shirts, each shimmied through the hole, some pausing to leave taunting messages on the wall. To easy LOL, one wrote. They leapt off the loading dock and made it to a barbed-wire fence, which they scaled with blankets. Then they dashed across an interstate and slipped into the night. It was about 1:30 a.m. Another seven hours passed before the regular morning head count revealed that the 10 men were missing from Pod 1-D. By then, they were long gone. Dawn Cook, a truck driver, was at the wheel of her rig that Friday morning when she got a call from someone at the Orleans Parish District Attorneys Office telling her Corey Boyd, the man accused of killing her son last year, had broken out of jail. He said thered been an escape, Cook, 71, recalled. He didnt have any details. Around the same time, she also got an automated text from a jail messaging system notifying her that Boyd, who was charged with murder, was no longer in custody. If she needed help, it said, call 911. The news made her more mad than scared. On April 29, 2024, her son, Mister Brandon Fees, was on a porch in the Marigny neighborhood with his girlfriend when they saw a group of people breaking into cars, according to police. Fees, 38, confronted them. They argued, and one of the suspects shot Fees. Boyd then struck Fees with a car, authorities said. "Mister" Brandon Fees was killed last year after he confronted people breaking into cars. (Courtesy Dawn Cook) Boyd, 19, who pleaded not guilty, had been in jail for nearly a year before he escaped, and the case was nowhere near going to trial. The killing was caught on surveillance footage, but it took four months for Boyd to be indicted, and since then the case has been slowed by postponements and arguments over the sharing of evidence. The holdups infuriated her. Ive been angry for a year now, Cook said. Theres a lot more to this than this escape. This is just too much. Delays in criminal cases are a chronic problem in New Orleans and many other areas of the country due in large part to backlogs created when the pandemic shut down courts. The difficulties in New Orleans go even deeper. The jail has been under federal scrutiny for overcrowding, understaffing, defective technology and malfunctioning doors; a court-appointed monitor cited the jail last year for failing to separate inmates who were violent or at risk of escape and for leaving housing units unsupervised for hours at a time. Hutson responded that the jail had improved in some areas, including training, and said she had about half of the staff members she would need to run the jail optimally. At last count, more than half the 1,400 or so inmates at the Orleans Justice Center were charged with a violent crime, more than 200 of them charged with a homicide. At 10:30 a.m. on May 16, after authorities knew for sure who was missing and had talked to their alleged victims, officials released word of the jailbreak to the public. By that point, federal, state and local law enforcement had launched an enormous manhunt, tapping into the citys network of cameras equipped with facial recognition software. Escaped inmates roamed the streets of New Orleans under the watch of surveillance cameras. (Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office) The escapees had scattered. A surveillance camera spotted Kendell Myles, 20 charged in a carjacking that left a man seriously wounded walking in the French Quarter just before 10 a.m. in a dark hoodie and jeans, according to local NBC affiliate WDSU. Police later found him hiding under a car in a hotel parking garage and arrested him after a short chase, officials said. Robert Moody, 21, who is facing battery, weapons and drug charges, fled south, making it about 2 miles before authorities captured him with help from a Crimestoppers tip. Two more inmates were later caught farther afield, 8 to 10 miles northeast of the jail. Police found Kendell Myles hiding under a car. (Louisiana State Police / via Facebook) Dkenan Dennis was captured the night after the escape. (Sheriff Susan Hutson / via Facebook) Then, on Tuesday, Cook got a call from the district attorneys office telling her that Boyd, the man accused of killing her son, had been captured. She had mixed feelings: happy he was back in custody, but not much closer to justice. Its going to take so long for them to do anything, Cook said. Corey Boyd, charged in the killing of "Mister" Brandon Fees, was captured this week. (Louisiana State Police / via Facebook) Boyd's case has dragged on for nearly a year, angering Fees' family. (Louisiana State Police / via Facebook) By the end of the week, half of the inmates remained at large. They included the Mardi Gras killer, Derrick Groves, convicted of opening fire on a 2018 Fat Tuesday party, killing Jamar Robinson, 26, and Byron Jackson, 21. Groves and a co-defendant were first found guilty in 2019, but a new law requiring unanimous jury verdicts forced a 2023 retrial, which collapsed when a juror broke court rules by reading news accounts of the case. A second trial that year ended with a deadlocked jury. Finally, in October 2024, a new jury found them guilty. Groves' escape galled Robinsons relatives. Jamar Robinson. (Family photo) The family said in a statement that they heard about it from neighbors at 9 a.m. on May 16, before anyone in law enforcement reached out to them. This breakdown in communication has only deepened our grief and added to the pain we are already enduring, the family said. As a precaution, the family temporarily left the city. The relatives accused Hutson, the sheriff, and her jail staff of allowing the escape to happen. We say allowed because these inmates were essentially handed a Get Out of Jail Free card, as if this were a game, the family said. Prosecutors who tried Groves also left town with their families over the weekend, Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams said. Any family member who is scared or frustrated, they have every right to be because this should not have happened, Williams said at a Monday news conference. And if it happened at 1 a.m. they should have been notified at 1:30, because they were in harms way. As the search wore on, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry demanded an investigation by the state attorney general and answers on why some of the escapees criminal cases had dragged on for more than a year. He signed an executive order to track cases in Orleans and other high crime areas, saying some of the escapees had been kept in the jail for far too long. 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 the custody of one of the state penitentiaries, Landry, a Republican, said at a news conference. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry ordered a review of local jails and courts. (WDSU) Williams, who has said the delays arent the fault of the district attorneys office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The escape itself raised grave questions about jail operations. Among them: How were the inmates able to leave their cells in the middle of the night, force open the door to Cell 6, tear out the bathroom fixture and cut steel bars and escape through the loading dock under the watch of security cameras without anyone raising an alarm? Jail protocols under the federal monitor require a deputy on each housing pod around the clock and a supervisor to perform regular checks, said Rafael C. Goyeneche III, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a private organization that researches the New Orleans-area criminal justice system. That means someone should have gone onto that pod, looked in every cell and seen if everyone who was supposed to be in the cells were there, Goyeneche said. Obviously that didnt happen. Goyeneche said the jail appears to have missed several opportunities mandated security rounds, camera surveillance, door-lock monitoring, Friday-morning breakfast service to notice the escape. These questions fall to Hutson, a lawyer and former police monitor in Los Angeles and New Orleans who did not have experience as a jailer before she became the first Black female sheriff in Louisiana. Since the escape, she has faced criticism from Landry and local officials in her own party, including Williams and members of the city council. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who runs the jail, said the inmates had help from members of her staff. (NBC News) Hutson, who temporarily suspended her re-election campaign this week and did not respond to a request for comment, has admitted to procedural failures and missed notifications and said that the escapees had help from her staff. She said she suspended three employees without pay, and one civilian worker was arrested on charges he cut water from the cells pipes prior to the breakout. The worker, Sterling Williams, told investigators that one of the escapees, Antoine Massey, threatened to shank him if he did not turn the water off, court papers say. But Williams lawyer gave a different story, saying his client was asked by a deputy to help fix a clogged toilet in the cell and was not part of any plan to help the inmates. And on Friday, authorities arrested a current inmate, Trevon D. Williams, on charges related to the escape. It is not clear what role he allegedly played. The men also had help after they broke out, according to police. Two women have been charged with giving two fugitives rides around New Orleans. Another allegedly got Boyd food while he was holed up in a house. A fourth gave escapee Jermaine Donald, who is charged with aggravated battery and remains on the run, money through Cash App, police said. And a fifth person was arrested Friday, accused of aiding the escapees. As the New Orleans manhunt continued, a new one began about 70 miles north. TraVon Johnson, charged with murder in a deadly home invasion, escaped the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on Thursday afternoon after another inmate boosted him over a fence, authorities said. The local sheriffs office said it didnt discover the breakout until five hours later, when someone called asking if the man was still in custody. This was the second time Johnson, 22, has escaped the jail in the past year. Former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden pose with family members in an image shared on social media. (@drbiden via Instagram) Former President Joe Biden on Friday attended his grandson's high school graduation, marking his first public appearance since he announced last weekend that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In photos posted on Instagram by former first lady Jill Biden and the former presidents daughter Ashley Biden, Joe Biden appeared alongside other family members to celebrate the high school graduation of Robert Hunter Biden II from the Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut. One of the photos posted by Jill Biden included the caption, Proud Nana and Pop! Congratulations Hunter we are so proud of you. In photos Ashley Biden posted later Friday, it appeared that the former president was also spotted at the airport, though it is unclear which airport that was. Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, with his personal office saying in a statement, Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone. On Tuesday, his office released a second statement, adding that he had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer prior to last week. The statement also clarified that the former president had not been tested for prostate cancer in over a decade. Bidens cancer diagnosis reignited debate among Democrats over the former presidents age and health, particularly as his diagnosis was announced close to the release of a new book by CNNs Jake Tapper and Axios Alex Thompson that examined Bidens health and cognitive abilities during the 2024 presidential campaign. Biden and his family have repeatedly defended the former president from allegations that his cognitive or physical health was deteriorating while he was in office. His granddaughter Naomi Biden wrote in a post on X this week that the book was a bunch of unoriginal, uninspired lies written by irresponsible self promoting journalists out to make a quick buck. The book relies on unnamed, anonymous sources pushing a self-serving false narrative that absolves them of any responsibility for our current national nightmare, she added. All of this at the expense of a man so completely good and honest that it is impossible for these people to ever understand the why or how of it all. There are real stories to be told and one day they will be. I suspect history will reward the truth. By Sara Merken (Reuters) - Four partners are leaving law firm Paul Weiss, after it struck a deal in March with U.S. President Donald Trump to lift an executive order that targeted the firm. Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson, Jeannie Rhee and Jessica Phillips said in an internal email obtained by Reuters they were departing to form a new practice together. "We were disappointed not to be able to tell each of you personally and individually the news that we have decided to leave Paul, Weiss to start a new law firm," the email said. "It has been an honor to work alongside such talented lawyers and to call so many of you our friends." The four did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The email did not mention Paul Weiss' deal with Trump, in which the firm pledged $40 million in free legal work to support mutually agreed causes with the administration. Eight other law firms have since made similar deals with the White House. "We are grateful to Bill, Jeannie, Jessica and Karen for their many contributions to the firm," Paul Weiss Chairman Brad Karp said in a statement on Friday. Dunn, co-chair of the firm's litigation department, is a leading Washington lawyer and prominent Democrat, having served in the Obama White House and later on the debate prep team for Trump's 2024 election opponent Kamala Harris. She is Google's lead attorney in a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department accusing the company of monopolizing digital advertising markets. Rhee joined Paul Weiss in 2019, after serving on the prosecution team led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that probed any connections between Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Moscow. Isaacson, a veteran antitrust lawyer, joined Paul Weiss in 2020 from Boies Schiller Flexner along with Dunn and Phillips. Four law firms have sued the Trump administration over executive orders like the one Trump rescinded against Paul Weiss, which threatened the firms' access to government officials and federal contracting work. A judge on Friday struck down Trump's order against Jenner & Block, following a similar ruling this month for Perkins Coie. (Reporting by Sara Merken, David Thomas and Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Chris Reese) Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a news conference in Baghdad, on December 6. - Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images Iran and the United States concluded a fifth round of high-stakes nuclear talks in Rome on Friday amid growing skepticism in Tehran about the chances of a deal as Washington hardens its position. A senior Trump administration official said Friday more talks are needed and both sides agreed to meet in the near future. The talks continue to be constructive we made further progress, the official said, but there is still work to be done. The US side said the discussions, which was attended by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, lasted more than two hours. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Fridays nuclear talks with the US are too complicated to be resolved in two or three meetings. He said however that Iran and US delegations have completed one of the most professional rounds of negotiations, in a televised interview on state-run IRIB news. Two Iranian sources have told CNN the talks seem unlikely to lead to an agreement, with the US insisting that Tehran dismantles its uranium enrichment program a demand Iranian officials say would cause the nuclear negotiations to collapse. The sources said Irans participation in the Rome talks was solely to gauge Washingtons latest stance rather than pursue a potential breakthrough. Araghchi reiterated Tehrans red lines before he departed for Rome on Friday. Figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science, he posted on X before his flight. Zero nuclear weapons = we DO have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal. The Trump administration has demanded Iran stop all uranium enrichment activity, which Witkoff says enables weaponization. Uranium, a key nuclear fuel, can be used to build a bomb if enriched to high levels. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful and says it is willing to commit not to enrich uranium to weapons-grade as part of an agreement. Araghchi met on Friday with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi in Rome during the continuation of this round of talks, and the two ministers reviewed the latest status of todays talks and consulted on how to continue the work, Irans foreign ministry said in a statement. The time and place of the next round of talks will be determined and announced later, the statement added. US officials have yet to comment publicly on the outcome of Fridays talks. Al-Busaidi, who mediated the talks, said, We hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days, to allow us to proceed towards the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honourable agreement, in a post on X on Friday. Iran preparing for Plan B On Saturday, a senior Iranian lawmaker told CNN that Tehran is disappointed with the progress of nuclear talks and is considering a Plan B if they fail though he did not specify what it would entail. We do not have hope yet, because the American side is still insisting on zero enrichment and I know the Islamic Republic of Iran will never agree with zero enrichment, Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the parliaments National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said in an interview at the Iranian parliament Saturday. I got disappointed and do not have much hope that the negotiations will lead to a deal. We are preparing for plan B. Rezaei said it was too early to judge whether the talks could succeed. So far we have not seen much seriousness on their (US) part, he added. This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran on May 1. - Planet Labs PBC/AP Speaking Thursday, Araghchi said Iran was open to enhanced monitoring by international inspectors but would not relinquish its right to pursue nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment. Washington is offering to wind back crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for de-nuclearization. The US had previously sent mixed signals about whether Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium, but in recent weeks it has hardened its stance, insisting that no enrichment will be permitted. That shift has prompted officials in Tehran to question Washingtons commitment to a deal, as Iran has repeatedly said enrichment is a red line in negotiations. The two Iranian sources told CNN that Tehran harbors mounting doubts about the US sincerity in talks. The media statements and negotiating behavior of the United States has widely disappointed policy-making circles in Tehran, the sources said in a joint message. From the perspective of decision-makers in Tehran, when the US knows that accepting zero enrichment in Iran is impossible and yet insists on it, it is a sign that the US is fundamentally not seeking an agreement and is using the negotiations as a tool to intensify pressure. Initially, the sources noted, some Iranian officials believed Washington might seek a win-win compromise. However, a consensus has emerged that the Trump administration is steering discussions toward a deadlock. The sources said that although neither the US nor Iran wants to leave the negotiating table, the position of the US is making the talks unproductive and formal meetings are unlikely to continue much longer. They said that Tehran no longer takes seriously US efforts to distance itself from Israels hardline stance on Iran, and it sees proposals made by the American side as following the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has insisted that no enrichment be allowed in Iran. Witkoff on Friday met with Ron Dermer, a confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Rome on the sidelines of talks, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN. US imposes more sanctions before talks Washington has kept up the pressure on Iran with fresh sanctions and threats of war even as diplomatic talks continue. On Wednesday, the US State Department announced new measures, identifying Irans construction sector as being controlled directly or indirectly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and 10 strategic materials that it said Iran is using in connection with its nuclear, military or ballistic missile programs. With these determinations, the United States has broader sanctions authorities to prevent Iran from acquiring strategic materials for its construction sector under IRGC control and its proliferation programs, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. Irans foreign ministry spokesperson criticized US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the move, calling it as outrageous as it is unlawful and inhuman. The USs consecutive rounds of sanctions only reinforce our peoples deeply held belief that the American decision makers are set to make every malign effort to hinder Irans development & progress. These sanctions, announced on the eve of the fifth round of Iran-US indirect talks, further put to question the American willingness & seriousness for diplomacy, Baqaei wrote on X. A misreading of Iranian psychology Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group in Brussels, said there is a misguided perception in Washington that a weakened Iran is more likely to compromise. The weaker Iran is, the more reluctant it will be to make major concessions, he said, adding that it is unlikely that Tehran will agree to a deal that is based solely on US terms. Thats a complete misreading of Iranian psychology, Vaez said. For Iran, capitulation is seen as a worse than an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities, he added. Iran would be reluctant to make concessions from a position of weakness, because if it does so, then it will put itself on a slippery slope that could result in regime collapse, Vaez said. Multiple American officials told CNN this week that the US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities even as the Trump administration pursues a diplomatic deal with Tehran. But threats of war will only lead to Iran doubling down on its current position, Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Londons Chatham House think tank, told CNN. The best way to invigorate the talks would be through backchannelling and quiet discussions between both sides. In an interview with CNNs Jim Sciutto on Thursday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee signaled potential American support for Israels nuclear plans under the right conditions. I cant imagine the US would object to a sovereign nation defending itself against what they perceive as a legitimate threat to their very lives, Huckabee said. He acknowledged that the US is aware Israel is making preparations for potential military action. We certainly are aware of what the Israelis are at least preparing for. But its not that they have made a firm decision. I think they recognize they face an existential threat from Iran. Experts say an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would likely spell the end of its negotiations with the US, and could even prompt Tehran to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which promotes nuclear disarmament. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC, said the Trump administration has unnecessarily walked themselves into a dead-end by insisting on zero enrichment, fueling the idea that Israeli strikes will follow if Iran doesnt back down. Iran, he added, is probably not taking those threats seriously. But if they do materialize in the midst of nuclear talks with the US, he said, Tehran is likely to respond with massive retaliation. They wont play the patience game any longer, Parsi said. If the Israelis were to do anything, it has to be clearly understood that it is not about destroying the program at this point, because they dont have that capability. Parsi added. It is only about destroying diplomacy. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Nadeen Ebrahim, Angus Watson, Mostafa Salem, Alex Marquardt , Kylie Atwood ,Katrina Samaan and Leila Gharagozlou contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Federal officials extradited an international neo-Nazi group leader they say inspired a teen to commit a school shooting in Tennessee earlier this year and plotted to commit a mass casualty attack in New York City targeting Jewish people. The terrorist groups leader, 21-year-old Michail Chkhikvishvili, orchestrated deadly attacks around the globe, prosecutors said. The citizen of the nation of Georgia was extradited from Moldova on May 22 after he was arrested in July. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Brooklyn on May 23, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ said the man, who went by the name "Commander Butcher," was the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, which goes by several other names including MKY. Chkhikvishvili has distributed a writing called the "Hater's Handbook," encouraging people to commit acts of mass violence and "ethnic cleansing," according to court filings. His "solicitations of violence" led to international attacks, including a 2024 stabbing outside a mosque in Turkey, prosecutors said. Chkhikvishvili targeted the U.S. as a site for more attacks because of the ease of accessing firearms, prosecutors said in court records. He told an undercover law enforcement employee, I see USA as big potential because accessibility to firearms and other resources, in an electronic message sent Sept. 8, 2023, court filings show. It was not clear if Chkhikvishvili had an attorney who could speak on his behalf Students hold signs as they attend a student-led rally to honor Josselin Corea Escalante at Antioch High School in Antioch, Tenn., Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. 'Murder cult' leader plotted to poison Jewish kids in NYC, feds say Chkhikvishvili has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on four counts including solicitation of violent felonies. The charges stemmed from Chkhikvishvilis communications with an undercover FBI employee in which he trained and encouraged the undercover agent to carry out a mass attack against Jewish people and minorities. Chkhikvishvili corresponded with the undercover agent between September 2023 and at least March 2024. The plot included having an individual wearing a Santa Claus costume hand out poisoned candies to Jewish kids in New York City on New Year's Eve. It later evolved into targeting Jewish people on a larger scale. Chkhikvishvili said he wanted the attack to be a "bigger action than Breivik," prosecutors said. Breivik refers to Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a massacre in Norway in 2011 that targeted mostly teenagers at a camp. "His goal was to spread hatred, fear, and destruction by encouraging bombings, arson, and even poisoning children," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said last year. The MKY group is based in Russia and Ukraine but has members around the world, including the U.S., according to a federal complaint. Members adhere to neo-Nazi ideology promoting violence against racial minorities. Chkhikvishvili allegedly inspired Tennessee school shooting The mans arrest came before the deadly attack at Antioch High School on Jan. 22, 2025. However, prosecutors in the New York federal court linked the Antioch shooting to Chkhikvishvilis solicitations of violence in a court filing on May 23, the Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York wrote to the judge requesting the man be incarcerated before trial. They pointed to several ways his actions have directly resulted in real violence, including the shooting at Antioch High School. According to the prosecutors, the 17-year-old attacker claimed he was taking action on behalf of MKY and at least one other group in an audio recording posted online before the shooting. It is not clear if the shooter was a member of MKY or had contact with Chkhikvishvili or other members of the terrorist organization. Chkhikvishvili said the group asks for video of brutal beatings, arson, explosions or murders to join the group, adding that the victims should be low race targets. Chkhikvishvilis name also appeared in the document the DOJ said was written by the Antioch shooter a 300-page writing in which the shooter espoused misanthropic White supremacist and Nazi ideologies. The shooter also referred to the founder of MKY and said he would write the founders name on his gun, according to prosecutors. Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, died after the 17-year-old shot her with a pistol in the cafeteria of Antioch High School. Another student was injured during the attack. The shooter, 17-year-old student Solomon Henderson, then shot and killed himself. Contributing: Michael Loria, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Neo-Nazi leader who inspired school shooting extradited to US Several people were seriously injured in a knife attack at Hamburg Central Station on 23 May. - Steven Hutchings/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images Eighteen people were injured, four critically, in a knife attack Friday in the German city of Hamburg, authorities said. Hamburg police said they have arrested a 39-year-old German woman, who they believe acted alone in carrying out the attack at the citys Central Station, after a major police operation. She is in police custody and expected to be brought to a court on Saturday, police said. Seven people were badly injured, while seven others were lightly injured, police said. The victims are aged between 19 and 85 years old. The four critically injured, who include a 24-year-old female, 24-year-old male, 52-year-old female and 85-year-old female, are in a stabilized condition, police said in an update on Saturday. Investigations into the incident are ongoing. Police said there was concrete evidence that the suspect suffers from a mental illness. In a statement late on Friday, Hamburg police said the attacker had acted apparently indiscriminately, stabbed passersby, injuring some of them critically. Video footage from the scene filmed by CNNs affiliate RTL Germany shows people in forensic suits inspecting the area while police gather in the train station. Following the attack, Germanys Friedrich Merz thanked the citys emergency responders for their assistance and said that his thoughts are with the victims and their families, according to federal government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius. Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt also said his thoughts were with the victims and thanked the emergency services. It is shocking when travelers are attacked in a treacherous and cowardly manner, Dobrindt said. Hamburgs Central Station is the busiest passenger railway station in Germany, with more than 550,000 travelers per day, according to the citys website. Germany has faced rising rates of knife crime in recent years, with some incidents stirring up tensions over migration ahead of parliamentary elections in February. Some in the country were concerned by a series of high-profile attacks allegedly carried out by asylum seekers or migrants. In January, a 28-year-old man from Afghanistan was arrested following a knife attack in the German city of Aschaffenburg in which two people were killed, including a toddler. Last year, a Syrian man turned himself in and confessed to stabbing to death three people and wounding several others at a festival in the western German city of Solingen. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Frederik Pleitgen contributed to this story For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By Sheila Dang HOUSTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. oil producer Exxon Mobil and Hess will meet face-to-face on Monday in a court hearing to determine the fate of Chevron's $53 billion deal to buy Hess and with it a prized stake in Guyana's prolific oilfields. The planned acquisition, announced in October 2023, is one of the oil industry's biggest deals in years. It is key to Chevron CEO Mike Wirth's strategy of improving the oil company's performance. Exxon and China's CNOOC, Hess' partners in Guyana, filed arbitration disputes early last year, which have delayed the deal's closing and caused Chevron to miss out on increased output and revenue. Hess' most attractive asset is its 30% stake in the Stabroek Block off the coast of Guyana, operated by Exxon. Guyana is one of the world's fastest-growing oil producers and the Stabroek Block is estimated to hold more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Exxon and CNOOC claim that they have a contractual right of first refusal to purchase Hess' stake in the Guyana field. Chevron and Hess argue the clause does not apply to the sale of the whole company. If they lose the arbitration and are unable to agree on an acceptable resolution with Exxon and CNOOC, the acquisition would fail, according to the terms of the deal. A three-member arbitration tribunal under the International Chamber of Commerce will analyze the dispute in a confidential hearing that starts on Monday in London. The joint operating agreement in the Stabroek Block between Hess, Exxon and CNOOC is governed by UK law, according to a source familiar with the terms. By the time the hearing kicks off, Hess, Exxon and CNOOC should have already submitted in writing the majority of the testimony that will be considered by the tribunal, according to four international arbitration attorneys who are familiar with the ICC's procedures. A spokesperson for Hess pointed to a previous filing that said the company expects a decision after the hearing in the third quarter, while an Exxon spokesperson referred back to previous public comments about the case. Chevron and CNOOC did not respond to requests for comment. Prior to the hearing, the companies may submit documents and written statements from witnesses or experts they have called on to support their claims in the dispute. This phase is typically the longest portion of arbitration proceedings, often taking a year, said William Kirtley, managing partner at Aceris Law, a boutique international arbitration law firm. The average ICC arbitration case takes over two years to reach a resolution from the time proceedings are initiated, according to the court's annual report. Hess, Chevron and Exxon have said they expect a resolution in their dispute by the third quarter of this year, which would be about 18 months after Exxon and CNOOC initiated arbitration proceedings. "This is relatively fast for an ICC arbitration, especially when considering the size of the dispute," Kirtley said. "It suggests that neither party is engaging in delaying tactics to increase the duration of the case." WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE HEARING On Monday, each party will begin with opening statements before the arbitration tribunal. Witnesses or experts will be cross-examined, having already submitted direct testimony to the tribunal prior to the hearing. The arbitrators will interrogate the claims of each side of the dispute and may also ask questions of the witnesses and experts. Hearings involving large companies or disputes are typically scheduled over the course of five days, three of the attorneys said. Hess, Exxon and CNOOC may elect to give oral closing statements at the end of the hearing, submit a written closing statement, or both. The arbitrators may provide a list of key points or remaining questions for the parties to address in their closing statements, two of the attorneys said. WAITING GAME The tribunal will formally close the hearing, after which Hess, Exxon and CNOOC will not be allowed to submit further arguments unless authorized by the arbitrators. Two of the three arbitrators must agree on the final decision, one of the lawyers said. While the ICC's rules of arbitration state that the tribunal must render a decision within six months, the four attorneys said the waiting game can vary greatly and the timeline may be extended in some cases. The tribunal will send its draft decision to the ICC, which will review and approve the award before it is delivered to the parties. Under the English Arbitration Act of 1996, parties may challenge an arbitral decision on limited grounds, such as serious irregularities, including violations of due process. While parties frequently attempt to set aside awards, such challenges are rarely successful, Kirtley said. (Reporting by Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Simon Webb and Matthew Lewis) By Sam Tabahriti, Charlotte Van Campenhout and Anna Dittrich LONDON/AMSTERDAM/HEMHOFEN, Germany (Reuters) -Thousands of foreign students at Harvard University were stuck in administrative limbo and looking for alternatives on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard's ability to enroll students from abroad. Later in the day, a U.S. judge temporarily blocked the move by the Trump administration, hours after Harvard sued it in Boston federal court, leaving the way ahead unclear. Harvard currently has nearly 7,000 international students, representing about 27% of its total enrollment. Since taking office in January, Trump has assailed the so-called Ivy League universities, accusing them of fostering anti-American, Marxist and "radical left" ideologies. While other universities would probably jump at the chance to get more Harvard-level students, taking in swathes of them is unlikely to be easy with only three months left until the start of the next academic year. Michael Gritzbach, a German student who is studying for a master's degree in public administration, described the move as a "dream turned into a nightmare", especially for those who had saved up for years or had won scholarships. He warned that even a court victory could not guarantee that foreign students would be able to continue to study at Harvard because "we do not know if the government will accept that, or if the whole situation will just take too long for us to react in time." A British student at Cambridge University who was due to start her master's degree at Harvard's School of Education in September did not think the Trump administration would actually go ahead with banning international students. The student, who communicates regularly with other international students accepted into Harvard and asked not to be named to speak freely, said the main consensus was that "there is honestly nothing we can do ourselves right now". She said that if she were to go to Harvard as planned, she was concerned about being able to speak openly. "It's worrying everywhere, but especially on a student campus where the exchange of ideas is supposed to be celebrated. If I do end up coming to Harvard, going on campus, I know that I'll be watched as an international student in certain ways." VISA DELAYS Speaking before the U.S. judge's intervention on Friday, international students said they were already facing delays on their U.S. visa applications since Thursday. One student was told by their visa interviewer that, while their documents were in order, the visa application was on hold for "additional administrative processing" due to recent developments, according to a private messaging group for foreign students seen by Reuters. They said they were told the process could take 60 days. "Everything is in limbo right now and we're just waiting and seeing," they said. Abdullah Shahid Sial, a Harvard student from Pakistan who is also co-president of its governing body for undergraduates, said some students were already looking at moving to other universities. "We are trying to work with the university administration to offer active assistance to students who are willing (or are forced) to transfer to other universities - within and outside the United States," he said in an email. Among those poised to benefit would be the universities from the so-called Russell Group in the UK that comprises 24 of its top higher education institutions if those students start looking elsewhere in the world. The Russell Group did not respond to a request for comment. A British government-commissioned report in 2024 concluded that the UK should avoid restricting international student numbers or some universities might collapse. Corinne Feuz, a spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Technology Institute, said the university expected to begin receiving applications quickly from students who have changed their minds about studying in the U.S. "These recent measures against Harvard University could shift the situation and lead us to receive the best students globally," Feuz said. Switzerland's ETH Zurich, the alma mater of physicist Albert Einstein, said that 22 ETH students could be affected by the changes to visa regulations. Trinity College Dublin said it was too early to say whether there would be an influx of Harvard students due to the move. But undergraduate applications from U.S. students this year were up 16% and those from postgraduates were up 64%, said Catherine O'Mahony, a spokesperson for the university. The same uptick was occurring in Britain, said Tom Moon, deputy head of consultancy at Oxbridge Applications, which helps students in their university applications. UK and European Union students were also now more hesitant to apply to U.S. universities, Moon said. In the Netherlands, the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) said it currently has one student on exchange at Harvard and another planning to go. A spokesperson for the Dutch education minister said it would be "a really serious matter" if students were forced to discontinue their studies. The Dutch government was in contact with its U.S. counterparts, the spokesperson said. Canadians accounted for about 11% of foreign students at Harvard. According to LinkedIn and the Harvard Crimson newspaper, among those was Cleo Carney, daughter of newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a Harvard alumnus. Carney's office declined to comment. Princess Elisabeth, first in line to the Belgian throne, was another Harvard student facing expulsion. She has completed her first year, Belgian Palace spokesperson Lore Vandoorne said. "The impact of this decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks. We are currently investigating the situation," Vandoorne said. (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Catarina Demony, Olivia Le Poidevin and Dave Graham; writing by Charlie Devereux; editing by Mark Heinrich and Diane Craft) By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) -A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to facilitate the return of a gay Guatemalan man who said he was deported to Mexico despite fearing he would be persecuted there, after officials acknowledged an error in his case. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order days after the Justice Department notified him that its claim that the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information. The Justice Department said last week that upon further investigation, officials were unable to identify any Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who had asked the man, identified as "O.C.G.," about fears he had for his safety. Murphy, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, called the case a "horror" and said that "while mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to this decision are troubling." The ruling marks the latest instance of a judge ordering President Donald Trump's administration to facilitate the return of a migrant swept up in the Republican's efforts to carry out mass deportations as part of his hard-line immigration agenda, following a mistake in an individual's case. In a class action lawsuit filed by O.C.G. and other migrants, the judge had blocked the administration from swiftly deporting people to countries other than their own without first hearing any concerns they had about their safety. "Due process is, in some sense, a binary - one either receives what the Constitution requires, or one does not," Murphy wrote. "It has been clear that O.C.G. did not receive what the Constitution requires." The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The government likewise made an error with Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March despite an order protecting him from removal. He remains there, despite a judge ordering the administration to facilitate his return. Friday's ruling comes two days after Murphy, in the class action lawsuit case, concluded that the Trump administration had violated his earlier ruling by attempting to deport a group of migrants to South Sudan. According to his lawyers, O.C.G. is a gay man who fled Guatemala in 2024 after facing death threats based on his sexuality. He entered the United States through Mexico in May 2024. Murphy said that while an immigration judge in February found O.C.G. deserved protection from being returned to Guatemala, authorities two days later wrongly placed him on a bus to Mexico, where he had recently been raped and kidnapped. Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for O.C.G. at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said his legal team was "elated" by Murphy's ruling and would work to facilitate a return plan. After arriving in Mexico, O.C.G. had to choose between waiting months in detention to apply for asylum in Mexico or return to Guatemala. He chose the latter and went into hiding, his lawyers say. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Tom Hogue and William Mallard) Few companies have benefited more from the artificial intelligence (AI) hype cycle than Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), as it makes billions by designing the hardware needed to run and train these advanced algorithms. However, in recent times, the company has run into challenges as Chinese competition and international trade disputes weigh on investor optimism. Nvidia's shares are currently down by roughly 10% from an all-time high of $149 reached in January. But is this dip a buying opportunity or a signal for investors to stay far away? The company's first-quarter earnings report expected on May 28 will give us important clues about what the future might bring. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More It will take a lot to impress investors The hardest part about being a winner is that everyone expects you to keep winning. Expectations are high, and it's easy to see why. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Nvidia's revenue surged by 78% year over year to $39.3 billion, driven by strong demand for its new Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) designed to maximize the training speed of AI models. New product releases are a significant growth engine because, despite their high price tags (Blackwell chips are estimated to cost between $30,000 and $40,000 per unit), customers are still willing to shell out because better hardware can help them make money by allowing them to run greater workloads more efficiently and save on energy costs. Nvidia has leveraged its dominant market position to earn huge margins. Fourth-quarter profits surged 73% to $22.1 billion. However, while Nvidia's past performance is excellent, this level of growth might not last forever as the company begins running into increasingly challenging comps. Nevertheless, management remains optimistic for the future, guiding for first-quarter revenue of $43 billion (plus or minus 2%), which would exceed analyst expectations of $41.8 billion and represent a jump of 62% compared to the prior-year period. What are some of the long-term challenges? Despite management's optimism, Nvidia is not without long-term challenges. The company's guidance was released in late February before the Trump administration unleashed its "reciprocal tariff" policy, which has created significant uncertainty in global markets. Perhaps more importantly, guidance may not account for Nvidia's challenges in China. Nervous man looking at his computer screen Image source: Getty Images. According to CEO Jensen Huang, the Trump administration's ban on sales of its H20 chips to China could eventually cost up to $15 billion in sales. And Nvidia expects a $5.5 billion impairment charge in the first quarter to write down inventory and failed purchase commitments related to the product. With this in mind, Nvidia's first-quarter results may fall on the lower side of guidance or come in lower than expected. Over the long term, Nvidia remains committed to the Chinese market, which Huang believes represents a $50 billion annual opportunity. According to Reuters, the company plans to release a downgraded version of its H20 in China over the next few months. The company has also opened a research and development lab in Shanghai to stay competitive. This is a smart move as Chinese rivals such as Huawei take advantage of Nvidia's regulatory challenges to possibly chip away at its market share with AI chips of their own. Is Nvidia a buy before May 28? With a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 31, Nvidia goes into first-quarter earnings with a slight premium over the S&P 500 average of 24. This valuation is relatively affordable, considering the company's strong growth rate and the continued excitement about the AI industry. That said, Nvidia faces some serious risks to the viability of its China business, and investors may want to wait until first-quarter earnings shed more light on the situation before considering a position in the stock. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Nvidia wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $804,688!* Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 957% a market-crushing outperformance compared to 167% for the S&P 500. Dont miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Will Ebiefung has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Conner Thompson, right, is recognized at the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police annual Valor Awards ceremony on May 1, 2024. (Olathe Police Department) A former Kansas police officer whom prosecutors declined to charge in the 2022 shooting death of a man with a known history of mental health crises was twice presented top valor awards by law enforcement groups for his actions during the fatal encounter. The ceremonies stand in sharp contrast to the federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Brandon Lynch, 27, a year ago. One of the commendations, a Gold Award for Uncommon Valor presented by the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police on May 1, 2024, was handed out two days before the family filed its suit against the officer, Conner Thompson, and the city of Olathe. In the complaint filed in the District of Kansas, Lynchs family claims Thompson unnecessarily escalated the situation and applied an unreasonable use of excessive force that failed to consider proper crisis intervention training. Details of the awards the first of which was given to Thompson by the Kansas City Metropolitan Area Chiefs and Sheriffs Association in November 2023 have not been previously reported. A detailed review of the awards shows that Thompson and his then-partner were honored for what police say occurred on the night Lynch was fatally shot, New Years Eve in 2022. Conner Thompson is recognized at the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police annual Valor Awards on May 1, 2024. (Olathe Police Department) Specifically, the Metropolitan Area Chiefs and Sheriffs Association said the officers responded to a disturbance at a home where a woman called to say her brother had assaulted her. Once at the home, the officers told the woman to wait outside while they entered and were confronted by the man, who was armed with a knife and Taser, the groups narrative of events said. When the man continued to be aggressive and did not obey orders, Thompsons partner attempted to use his department-issued Taser on him, but it was ineffective, the narrative said. The suspect defied Thompsons commands and advanced towards both officers, the narrative said. Recognizing the suspect was in close proximity of the officers, Thompson fired his handgun at the suspect, striking him. During a tense situation, Thompson had the wherewithal to conduct life-saving measures, the narrative added. The version of events offered by the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police was similar. Neither narrative mentioned Lynch by name nor explained that a dispatcher had relayed to officers that Lynch was exhibiting a mental health crisis, as his sister had explained when she called 911. Nor did the narratives note that officers had had prior encounters with him at the home, including one time in which Thompson was in a physical altercation with Lynch, according to the Johnson County prosecutors who investigated the shooting and determined the officer properly used deadly force in this incident. A review of the valor awards given to other officers by the Metropolitan Area Chiefs and Sheriffs Association that year show they were for actions such as saving suicidal people, helping a gunshot victim and assisting an infant who stopped breathing because of a respiratory virus. The law firm for Lynchs family, Cannezzaro Marvel LLC in Kansas City, Missouri, declined to comment about the suit or the officer being awarded for his actions on the night Lynch died. The president of the Metropolitan Area Chiefs and Sheriffs Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dennis Shaw, the executive director of the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, said in an email that the officer was cleared by the District Attorney, and the narrative the association shared was presented to us for consideration. While the honor given to Thompson stood out in the awards ceremony, its not unheard of for officers to receive commendations related to fatal shooting incidents. Narene Stokes, whose son, Ryan, was fatally shot by Kansas City, Missouri, police in 2013, recalled feeling baffled, angry and confused when she learned the officers involved in his death were recognized with awards by a local police board for their actions. The award, however, was later rescinded. The officers want to say they feared for their life and thats why they get an award? Stokes said. In Lynchs case, police bodycam video was made public when Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced that his office would not be charging the officer. Lynch took the actions that caused his death, he said in May 2023, and the officers reacted to the aggressiveness of Lynch throughout that episode. The Dec. 31, 2022, shooting that resulted in the death of Brandon Lynch, 27. (USDC District of Kansas) In their lawsuit, the family says Lynch repeatedly told officers to get out, and informed them he was trying to clean to avoid a new plague. He then shouted, Im not going anywhere near you, and went back to his bedroom and closed the door. The officers then followed him and opened his bedroom door. Thompson immediately pulled out a taser weapon and aimed it at Brandon after opening the door despite Brandon not making any threats, according to the suit, adding that the officer then pulled his firearm and aimed it at Brandon less than fifteen seconds after pulling his taser, in actions that could be seen in the bodycam video. Officers then told Lynch he was under arrest as he became increasingly agitated and asked the officers to leave his house multiple times, according to the suit. When the officers started to back down the hallway, Lynch followed them to an upstairs living room, where the situation escalated. Throughout the interaction, the officers escalated the situation by pointing guns, shouting commands, and threatening Brandon, the suit said. Crisis intervention training teaches that these tactics exacerbate the situation and are counterproductive in addressing a person in mental health crisis. The officers stood at the threshold of the homes front door, roughly 15 feet from Lynch, while he paced the living room. In the bodycam video, Lynch says, What did I do? I didnt do anything. Get out of my house, as officers repeatedly tell him to put down his weapon and warn him if he takes one step forward, I will shoot you. A Taser is used on Lynch in the living room, but he appears unaffected. Lynch again says get out of my house, taking a couple of steps forward, at which point an officer opens fire, the video shows. The familys lawsuit says that additional officers arrived at that time. Thompson was not in danger at any point during the moments leading up to the time that he took Brandons life, the familys complaint says, and he was not in danger of being harmed by Brandon because [Thompson] was standing at a safe distance outside of the striking zone and the front door was a barrier between the officers and Lynch. Despite other officers being on the scene while these events unfolded, the suit says, none fired their weapon except for Thompson. An Olathe city spokesman referred questions to the Olathe Police Department, which declined to comment "due to the ongoing civil litigation." Thompson resigned from Olathe last year after five years on the force and was later hired by another police department in Washington state. He did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. The city filed a motion to have the familys suit dismissed, saying Thompsons use of lethal force was objectively reasonable under the circumstance presented and he is entitled to qualified immunity, a doctrine that can protect government officials, including police, from civil litigation when acting in their official duties. Last fall, however, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled that these allegations, accepted as true, state a plausible claim that Officer Thompson recklessly or deliberately brought about the need to use deadly force. Now, the judge has ordered both the city and the family to reach a resolution in the case, otherwise it could go to trial later this year, court records show. The family is seeking unspecified damages for pain and suffering as well as costs associated with Lynchs death, including funeral expenses and medical care provided. In a statement after the familys suit was filed in May 2024, its lawyers said the use of deadly force in a situation where non-lethal options were viable is not only unacceptable, but also a clear violation of Brandon Lynchs rights. This unfortunate event highlights the urgent need for reform in how law enforcement handles interactions with mentally ill individuals, the lawyers said. Sporting a "Make America Great Again" hat, President Donald Trump emphasized the need for the country to put its priorities above all else during his commencement addresses at West Point on Saturday. "Gone are the days where defending every nation but our own was the primary thought," he aid. "We are putting America first. We have to rebuild and defend our nation." This was Trump's second address to cadets at the upstate New York academy, where the nation's next generation of army leaders are educated. The last time he spoke there was at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, which saw a more subdued ceremony of cadets sitting several feet apart. The president told the military graduates during a roughly hourlong speech that they are joining elite and storied ranks. "You came for excellence. You came for duty. You came to serve your country and you came to show yourselves, your family and the world that you are among the smartest, toughest (and) most lethal warriors ever to walk on this planet," he said. Attending graduation ceremonies at one of the nation's five military academies is a common ritual for every commander-in-chief, and gives them a chance to flex their larger defense strategy. The 2025 West Point graduation speech comes at a pivotal moment for Trump, as he seeks to install his populist-fueled agenda in the military's apparatuses and policies while seeking to reshape previous alliances and negotiate an end to the Ukraine-Russia war. Here are the key takeaways from Saturday's graduation. Trump eschews diversity promotions, touts 'Golden Dome' May 27, 2023; West Point, NY, USA; Graduating cadets toss their covers in the air at the end of the 2023 Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony at Michie Stadium on the campus of U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Trump didn't hold back in justifying his "America First" worldview in terms of how the U.S. military should operate, whether at home or abroad. "The job of the U.S. armed forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures (and) spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun," he said. "The military's job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place." At various moments during the keynote address, Trump called out what he described as "divisive and demeaning political trainings" at the academy, which has been ordered to ditch talk of systemic inequity in its syllabi and forced student affinity clubs for women and racial minorities to disband. He has signed a number of executive orders in January, for instance, aimed at shaping the country's armed forces such as calling for the creation of an anti-missile defense shield to defend the U.S. against aerial attacks. He also has ordered the shuttering of diversity offices and programs in the Defense Department as well as banning transgender Americans from serving, infuriating liberal critics. The president did briefly mention his plan of investing $25 billion toward building a massive anti-missile defense shield that seeks to cover the country with three layers of aerial protection, according to military officials. "We're building the Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland and to protect West Point from attack, and it will be completed before I leave office," Trump said. 'We helped them a lot': Trump wants America V-Day celebration One bone Trump consistently picks when talking about America's military might is the U.S. relationship with foreign allies, and how little credit he feels the country gets for helping its friends. During the speech, for example, the president grumbled about how European nations have major celebrations about winning World War II when the U.S. does not. He told West Point graduates about a recent conversation he had with Emmanuel Macron, the president of France. "He said, 'Sir, we're celebrating our victory over WWII.' I said, whoa, whoa, what have we here," Trump said. "We helped them a lot." Trump told the cadets he wants America to have its own V-Day celebration. The president's love of military celebrations is well known, as the army is gearing up for a parade through the streets of Washington DC, something he tried unsuccessfully to hold during his first term that is now billed as commemorating the forces 250th birthday. The June 14 date also happens to be the president's 79th birthday. 'Defend Democracy' protest jeers Trump at West Point John amd Gail Earley from Branchville, N.J. hold signs during an anti-Trump rally outside the Thayer Gate at the United States Military Academy at West Point in Highland Falls on Saturday, May 24, 2025, As Trump outlined his defense agenda and showered cadets with praise, the president was met with a pair of demonstrations including a small flotilla of boats in the Hudson River in sight of the graduation ceremonies. Protesters began to assemble outside the military academy's event hours before the president arrived, with many holding signs reading "Go Army, Defend Democracy" as guests and dignitaries arrived. Joining Forces, a grassroots organization that organized the protests, said it objected to Trump's appearance "at the very site where our democracy was forged where George Washington and his troops resisted tyranny and broke free from a king represents a profound insult to American patriots." "We are pretty concerned about the destruction of our democracy, particularly in the Hudson Highlands where our nation was formed," Alex Dubroff, a protest organizer, said. Make peace, seek partnership: Trump rips ex-president's foreign policies The roughly 1,000 graduating cadets heard Trump boast about a coming "golden age" for the country now that he pinned largely upon parting ways with his predecessors. "For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions never meant to be," Trump said. "People would say, why are we doing this? Why are we wasting our time, money and souls? In some case, they sent our warriors on nation building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us, led by leaders that didn't have a clue in distant lands." Trump didn't mention any former president by name, but the pointed remarks underscore his more isolationist perspective compared to Republican and Democratic predecessors. "My preference always will be to make peace and seek partnership, even with countries with which our differences may be profound," he said. Little mention of Ukraine-Russia peace talks One thing that didn't come up much was a progress report on ending the Ukraine-Russia war, which is one of Trump's top foreign affairs goals. The president had a a two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, saying peace talks would begin "immediately." It is unclear if those talks will included Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had a tense exchange with Trump inside the Oval Office in February. Trump mentioned Putin only a handful of times and in passing, such as at the end of his speech when he told cadets he was, "going back now to deal with Russia." "You won two world wars and plenty of other things, but you want to think of it, we don't want to have a third world war," he said. Contributing: Mike Randall This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump eschews diversity, touts 'Golden Dome' at West Point speech A woman stands with her belongings, outside her house in Markhalivka, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, that was destroyed in a Russian strike on Sunday. - Thomas Peter/Reuters Russia launched its largest aerial assault of its three-year war on Ukraine overnight, targeting the capital and other regions with missiles and drones for a second night in a row, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to rebuke the US for its silence. At least 12 people were killed in the attacks across Ukraine, including children, officials said. Dozens more people were injured. Among those killed were three children from the same family in the Zhytomyr region west of Kyiv according to Ukraines internal affairs minister Ihor Klymenko. He said their parents were hospitalized where the mother remains in a serious condition. The childrens school expressed its condolences on Facebook. We are in pain. The whole school family We bow our heads in sorrow, it said. Russia has been intensifying its aerial bombardment of Ukraine as international pressure mounts on Putin to accept a ceasefire proposal. Each such terrorist attack by Russia is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia. Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day, Zelensky said in a post on Telegram Sunday morning. The world may go on vacation, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. Americas silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin, he continued. Later on Sunday, US President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Putin, saying, Were in the middle of talking, and hes shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. Speaking to reporters on his way back to Washington, D.C., Trump said: Hes killing a lot of people, and I dont know what the hell happened to Putin. Ive known him a long time. Always gotten along with him, but hes sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I dont like it at all. But Trump also turned his criticism toward Zelensky, saying in a post on Truth Social that the Ukrainian president was doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I dont like it, and it better stop. Trumps Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, called Russias overnight attacks a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. The assault overnight into Sunday came despite the largest prisoner swap of the war taking place, a rare moment of cooperation in a brutal conflict that shows little sign of ending. Ukraines Air Force said 367 aerial attack weapons - 69 missiles and 298 drones - were launched across 22 locations in Ukraine overnight into Sunday. It added 47 of those missiles and 266 drones were intercepted. Russias previous record-breaking aerial attack on Ukraine was just last weekend when Russia launched 273 drones in one night. Firefighters try to put out a fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv on Sunday. - Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP A municipal worker cleans an apartment building in Kyiv that was damaged in a Russian drone strike on Sunday. - Thomas Peter/Reuters A difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night. The most massive Russian air attack in many weeks lasted all night, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on social media platform X. In the capital Kyiv, air raid sirens blared for hours and residents were warned to stay in shelters in the early hours of Sunday as officials said the city faced a second night in a row of drone and missiles attacks. Civilian buildings in multiple districts were damaged as Russia mounted an attack using drones and rockets, authorities said. The overnight assault came a day after another wave of Russian attacks, which killed at least 13 people. Prisoner swap Over 600 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners were exchanged Sunday, the final phase of the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange the two sides had agreed to - the only significant outcome of the meeting between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul last week. Russias defense ministry said 303 Russian servicemen were exchanged for the same number of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Videos posted to social media by Zelensky and other officials show the hundreds of released Ukrainian men with shaved heads calling their loved ones on the phone whilst draped in Ukrainian flags. One video posted by the countrys ombudsman shows three men enjoying chocolate. Over 600 prisoners were released on Saturday and almost 800 people were released on Friday during the initial phases of the swap. A Ukrainian serviceman hugs his wife after returning from captivity during a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine Sunday, May 25, 2025 - Efrem Lukatsky/AP Zelensky said Sunday he was grateful to the team that worked around the clock to successfully implement this exchange. The Istanbul meeting was initially proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to a ceasefire-or-sanctions ultimatum given to Moscow by Kyivs European allies which many saw as a clear attempt by the Kremlin leader to distract and delay. Kyiv had hoped those talks would alleviate its casualties, but since then Russia has stepped up its bombardment. Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped, Zelensky said on Sunday, calling on the US and Europe to impose fresh sanctions. US President Donald Trump has said he would not join in any new sanctions on Russia because he thought theres a chance of progress, but remarked that could change. He has also pointed to potential economic incentives if the war concludes, but the latest Russian assault will renew the sense among Kyiv and its allies that trade with the US is not high on the list of Putins priorities. Meanwhile, Russia said that it also was attacked by Ukrainian drones on Sunday. Russias defense ministry said it intercepted or destroyed around 100 attack drones. Most of those destroyed were over Russias central and southern regions, with 13 over the Moscow and Tver regions, the ministry said. The defense ministry a day earlier claimed it had destroyed 94 Ukrainian UAVs over Russian territory, mostly over the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. Some UAVs were also shot down over the Kursk, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Tula regions too, it added. The governor of the Tula region, Dmitry Miliaev, said Saturday three people were injured, including two who were hospitalized. This story has been updated. CNNs Kit Maher, Ivana Kottasova, Kathleen Magramo, Victoria Butenko, Ross Adkin, Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Svitlana Vlasova contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com